Past Forward- A Serial Novel: Volume 3

by Chautona Havig

  “Thank you. I’ll—” Joe slid the phone open and reacted just as Leroy expected. “This belongs to one of our guys. I wonder what kids were doing with it. Did you get a look at any of them?”

  Leroy shrugged. “They’s just kids you know. Hats and jackets—I couldn’t tell you. There were three though, if that helps—” he added eagerly. Always looked good to be desperate to help when asked—only when asked.

  “That’s ok, they probably found it, looked to see whose it was and panicked. This guy got hurt in an accident outside of Brunswick tonight. The town is a little shook up about it.”

  “You sure it’s the right guy? Why’s his phone here?”

  “We’ll sort that out. Thanks for bringing it in. Can I get your name for my report? I have to write a report if I sneeze.”

  “Shore, shore. Leroy. Brown.” At Joe’s raised eyebrow, the man shrugged and grinned. “What can I say? I didn’t name me. When that song came out, my mama said I had to live above it. I think she wanted me to be a preacher or sumpin’.”

  “Do you have a license, Mr. Brown?”

  “Shore, shore. Here it is.”

  Leroy whipped his wallet from his back pocket and passed his license across the counter. Joe wrote down name, address, and license numbers. “What are you doing in Fairbury?”

  “Drove in from Memphis today. I tried to make it to the city, but I’m hungry so I thought I’d try to find some place open.”

  “The convenience store has a few frozen things, but this town closes up at nine.”

  “Thanks. Hope your friend is ok.”

  “He will be. Thanks for bringing this in.”

  After Leroy left, Joe called the Chief for permission and then listened to Willow’s messages for Chad. He punched her phone number, amused to find it number one in the list. That man needed to open his eyes.

  “Willow? This is Joe Freidan from down at the station.”

  “Why do you have Chad’s phone?”

  “Someone found it and brought it in. He must have dropped it on his way to take the prisoner to Brunswick.”

  The relief in Willow’s voice cut him. He didn’t want to have to worry her, but she needed to know. “There was an accident, Willow. They took Chad to the hospital, and he’s going to be ok, but he was hurt...”

  “Was it on the way to or from—”

  “The other man didn’t make it.”

  “I see. Thank you, Off—Joe. Goodnight.”

  Chapter Seventy-Four

  Machines blipped, a nurse punched buttons and changed IV bags, and Chad’s head pounded. His eyes fought him, but he eventually forced the lids upward. The room was dark. A hospital. Why was he in a hospital?

  “You feeling better, officer?”

  “Head hurts.”

  “We kind of expected that. You hit it pretty hard.”

  Chad focused his eyes but the nurse was a blur. “Why are you out of focus?”

  “You can’t see me clearly?”

  The man made a note on Chad’s chart, but not before Chad asked, “This is a hospital isn’t it?”

  “You aren’t sure?”

  He tried to rub his eyes but an IV pulled. “Ouch. I can’t remember. How did I get here?”

  “Look, your parents asked for a call when you woke up. They were going to come right away, but Dr. Ellory recommended they wait until you woke up.”

  “Don’t call them. They can come in the morning.” Chad’s arm ached. “Why is my arm so sore?”

  “Seat belt. The bruises are horrible.”

  Nothing made sense. Seat belt, bruises—what was the nurse talking about? “I was in an accident?”

  The nurse, Gabe, handed him a cup of water with a straw. “Your voice sounds dry. Mouth probably needs some moisture.”

  “Why am I so cold?”

  “We’ve had a hard time bringing up your temperature. You were out there for over an hour they think.”

  “Out where?” Nothing made any sense to him.

  “On the highway,” the nurse added patiently. “Totaled that car.”

  Car. He’d been in a car instead of his truck. “Was I on duty?”

  “Just rest, Officer Tesdall. The doctor will explain everything in the morning.”

  As the man reached the door, Chad called out to him. “Did anyone call Willow? Someone needs to be out there with her. She shouldn’t be alone.”

  “Who is Willow?”

  “My fiancée. She shouldn’t be left alone. Please call the station and have them send someone out there.”

  Gabe stood at the desk his hand hovered over the phone. “What’s wrong?”

  “That officer from Fairbury. He’s worried about his fiancée. Said she shouldn’t be alone.”

  “So…” the supervising nurse began.

  “I was trying to decide whether to call his parents, the Fairbury station, or Dr. Ellory.”

  Clara grabbed the chart and looked at Gabe’s notes. “He doesn’t remember the accident?”

  “No. I doubt he knows the passenger died, but I didn’t mention it. I don’t know if he even knows there was a passenger. He asked if he was on duty.”

  Clara picked up the phone and called Dr. Ellory. “Remember, most of the other docs here want you to leave it to whoever’s on duty, but Dr. Ellory would want a call.”

  “What about calling the station in Fairbury?”

  “We’ll leave that to Dr. Ellory.”

  Thirty minutes later, a disheveled doctor crept into Chad’s room. “Officer Tesdall?”

  “I’m awake.”

  “Your eyes were closed, so…”

  “Everything’s so blurry—makes my head swim and I get nauseous” Chad took another sip of water. “So I’ve been keeping my eyes shut.”

  “Do you remember the accident?”

  Chad shook his head slightly. “No. Did someone call Willow?”

  Dr. Ellory pulled up a chair and watched the machines as Chad talked. “Who is Willow again?”

  “My fiancée. She shouldn’t be alone. I think it was my turn tonight, so Judith won’t be going out there. It’s not safe—”

  The monitors showed the agitation Chad felt even before he voiced it. “Why isn’t it safe, Chad?”

  “Someone is stalking her or something. Always in her house or harming her animals.”

  “Chad,” the doctor began. “You caught that man. You were bringing him here when you had the accident.”

  “I was?”

  “You don’t remember?”

  “No. I remember driving to Willow’s to pick her up for snowman building, but I don’t know if I made it.”

  “Did you say your eyes were blurry?” Dr. Ellory went over the nurse’s notes and made a few of his own.

  “Yes.”

  “Ok, we’re going to do another blood test and see if we can get some answers. How does that bump on the head feel?”

  Chad shook his head. “It’s there, a bit sore, but nothing I can’t live with.” After a pause, he added. “You’re sure we got the guy. He’s in custody? Willow’s safe?”

  Dr. Ellory laid an arm on Chad’s good shoulder. “Chad, the man is gone. He didn’t survive the crash.”

  At the door, Chad’s voice called out once more. “Will someone call Willow? She’ll worry if I don’t come home. I was supposed to sleep there tonight, but—” Confusion filled his features. “I guess if we caught him, she might know and wouldn’t expect me.”

  “We’ll call if it’ll make you feel better, but we’d probably wake her.”

  After a moment’s deliberation, Chad nodded. “With everything going on, she’s not going to sleep well until she knows we caught him and that I didn’t forget about her.”

  “What’s her phone number?” Dr. Ellory smiled as he left the room. Young people were so dramatic sometimes. “Clara, get a blood test on him and check for benzodiazepines.”

  “Rohypnol?”

  “Possibly.” He picked up the phone and dialed Willow’s number. On t
he third ring, a sleepy voice answered. “Yes? This is Willow Finley.”

  “I’m Dr. Ellory from Brunswick Medical Center. Chad Tesdall is awake and calling for you. Normally, I wouldn’t recommend someone coming in this late, but I think he’d feel better if you were here.”

  “Is he ok?”

  “I’m beginning to think there was more trauma than we first suspected. If you could come in…”

  “I’ll be there in four hours. Five if the snow is deep.”

  “We’ve got clear roads all around here.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  “Thank you, Miss Finley. With an injury like his, we want to keep him as comfortable as possible.”

  Dr. Ellory stopped in Chad’s room to let him know Willow was on her way, but seeing the officer asleep, he retreated. They’d have answers soon. “Clara, if the tox comes back clean, get him an MRI and call me.” He started for the door and then paused. “Oh, and when he wakes up again, let him know his fiancée is on the way. Call the family at seven.”

  Two hours later, Gabe noticed Chad trying to focus on the clock across the room. “Dr. Ellory called your fiancée. She’s on her way.”

  “What?”

  “He called and told her you were concerned about her and asked her to come in. She said she’d be here in about four hours. Where does she live?”

  “Five miles this side of Fairbury.” Chad said trying to sit up and concentrate.

  “Working?”

  “Walking.”

  Gabe shook his head. “No, does she have to work? It doesn’t take four hours to drive over from Fairbury.”

  “No, but it takes at least that long to walk.”

  “In this weather? No one—”

  “Willow would. She doesn’t drive. If the doctor said to come, she’d come. What time did you call?”

  “Two hours ago.”

  Chad sank back into the pillow, thinking. “It’s probably the same distance to come all the way than go home at this point. I need to make a call.”

  “If she’s already half way here—”

  “No. It’s Ditto. Someone needs to go out and milk Ditto.”

  “Does what you just said make sense to you?” Gabe questioned.

  “Of course.”

  “That tox screen is gonna come back positive.”

  At the first sign for Brunswick, Willow drank half her water bottle, pulling it from inside her coat. Ten miles to go. She passed the scene of the accident, wondering if the glass on side of the road was from his or some other accident. Walking grew easier as dawn brought light around her. When the sign told her it was only five more miles, Willow drank the rest of her water. A few trucks slowed, but she waved them on, ready to flee if necessary.

  Cold, tired, hungry, and thirsty, Willow welcomed the sight of the turnoff for Brunswick. A convenience store bustled with people preparing for the long commute to Rockland or out to the bottling company outside of town. Willow squeezed inside and asked directions to the hospital. Ten minutes later, she left still sipping a hot cup of coffee and thankful for kind people.

  Inside the hospital, she asked for directions to a restroom, stripped out of her snowsuit and boots, and brushed her hair. “Should have left it messy. Chad likes that,” she murmured as she tamed the tangles and smoothed it.

  The nurses on in Chad’s wing hustled her into his room taking the snow clothes from her. “We’ll get you a bag for these. You should have told us you weren’t driving. We’d never—”

  “I wanted to come. I’m fine,” she whispered. Is he asleep?”

  “For now. He wakes up from time to time. He seems to have a bit of amnesia, but he’ll be ok.”

  Gabe lowered Chad’s bed and dropped a rail. Willow pulled her chair as close to it as she could get and sat ready to watch until he awoke. “Are you warm enough?”

  “I’m fine, really.” Willow laid her cool but not cold hands on Gabe’s arm to demonstrate. “I know how to keep warm outdoors.”

  “His parents will be here in about an hour I think. We just called thirty minutes ago. You got here fast.”

  She stood. “I forgot. I need to call for someone to go milk Ditto.”

  “Ditto exists?”

  “My goat,” she explained. “She’ll be miserable before I can get home.”

  “Chad called someone a couple of hours ago about milking Ditto. I thought he was delirious.”

  She sank back into the chair and rested. The nurses came in and out but Chad slept. By the time Marianne and Christopher arrived, they found Willow leaned over the side of his bed, one hand covering his, sleeping. She looked horribly uncomfortable.

  “Willow,” Marianne whispered shaking her slightly. “Honey, wake up.”

  “Marianne?” she whispered sleepily.

  “We’re here now. Why don’t you get some rest somewhere? Have you been here all night?”

  She shook her head disoriented. “No. I got here sometime around seven-thirty.”

  “How did you get here? We stopped on our way, but no one was home.”

  “I walked. They called and said Chad wanted me to come, so I came.”

  Christopher’s eyes widened. “What time did you leave?”

  “Around two-thirty… maybe three? I think. I don’t remember.”

  Marianne whispered something into Christopher’s ear. Christopher nodded and took Willow’s elbow. “Come on. You need some rest. Let’s get you a room across the street. Once you’ve slept for a little while you can come back. We’ll call if he wakes up again.”

  “But—”

  Somehow, Christopher managed to get Willow out the door, across the street, and into a room at the motel. “I’ve got your room number. We’ll call if he wakes up, but you try to sleep.”

  Willow stared at the door after Christopher left. They were right. She hadn’t slept, she was still a little chilled, and she was physically exhausted from her fifteen-mile trek to Brunswick. A hot shower sounded wonderful. She’d shower, sleep for an hour or two, and go find them again.

  Christopher and Marianne sat in the corner of Chad’s room whispering. “Did you see what I saw?” Marianne whispered excitedly.

  “A girl willing to walk fifteen miles, in the snow, uphill both ways, to see our injured son?”

  “Well, that too.”

  “What?”

  Nearly giddy with the realization of what it might all mean, Marianne nearly squealed. “She’s wearing a ring!”

  “So she got over her jewelry phobia?”

  “On her left hand,” Marianne added meaningfully.

  “She said yes,” Christopher whispered.

  “She must have!”

  “Wow.”

  Chad groaned. His head still hurt and his hand felt heavy. He forced his eyes to focus and saw Willow sleeping on his hand. She’d made it. Trying not to wake her, Chad slipped his hand from beneath her and rested it on her head. His parents had been there. He was sure of it, but the only ones there now were he and Willow.

  The morning nurse, Julie, entered. “Where did my parents go?” he whispered.

  “We sent them for some lunch when your fiancée arrived.”

  Chad nodded, his mind trying to process those words. He’d mentioned her as his fiancée. His parents probably knew. Well, they’d keep it quiet for a few more weeks. “How long has she been here?”

  “Gabe said she came in at around seven-thirty, but your parents sent her to take a shower and get some sleep. She was back here by noon so they went to eat. You have a good family.”

  “The best,” he agreed.

  Willow stirred and Chad’s hand slid along her cheek as she raised her head. “You’re awake.”

  “So are you,” he chuckled softly.

  “They said you’d probably sleep off and on all day. You had some kind of drug in your blood.”

  “Drug? Is that why I can’t remember?”

  Julie adjusted the blood pressure cuff. “Yes. It also explains your low blood pressure, diso
rientation, blurred vision, amnesia—”

  “That sounds like—”

  “Rohypnol.”

  Confusion clouded Chad’s eyes. “But how? I didn’t take—”

  “It took a while but we found what we think is an injection site at the base of your neck,” Julie explained. “Dr. Ellory thinks someone injected you while you were out.”

  Before Chad could ask why anyone would do that, someone called for her. He noticed Willow’s confused expression and squeezed her hand. “They’ll figure it out. It’s ok.”

  “But—”

  “Hey,” he interrupted at the sight of her ring. “You’re wearing it.”

  “It’s silly.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  Shaking her head, Willow tried to explain. “I was worried. It was getting later and later and you weren’t home. I don’t even know why I thought of it, but when I put it on, I felt better. I—” She swallowed. “I forgot I had it. I’m sorry.”

  “Why?”

  “Your parents—” she reminded him, pulling off the ring. “You wanted to wait and now.”

  Chad took the ring from her and slipped it back on her finger. “It looks nice. Wear it. Mom and dad can keep quiet for a few more weeks.”

  “Quiet about what?” Christopher’s voice startled them.

  “Our engagement.”

  “So that wasn’t your mother’s imagination?”

  “Christopher!”

  “No,” Willow admitted. “We weren’t going to say anything until after Luke’s wedding, but I had the ring on and I forgot. It’s my fault.”

  Marianne started to protest but Chad’s laughter stopped her. “See what I mean, Mom? I’m lousy around women. She’s apologizing for agreeing to marry me now.”

  “That’s not true!”

  “Now she’s calling me a liar,” Chad goaded.

  Crossing her arms over her chest, Willow leaned back into her chair and refused to speak to him. “He’s been drugged you know,” she warned the Tesdalls.

  As he expected, his mother latched onto the idea and began throwing out ideas about wedding dates, plans, and locations. His father, on the other hand, brought up the most important subject—food. Watching Willow, he saw her slide from interested to overwhelmed in the space of just a few minutes. It would be good for her to see how others viewed weddings. When he thought she’d endured enough, Chad called a halt to the impromptu planning session. “I promised her she didn’t have to think about it until after Luke’s wedding, and I need to keep my promise.”