Tangle of Strings

by Ashley Farley

  Thea bolted upright. When she saw her brother standing over them and realized what was happening, she flung herself backward into Annie’s lap. “She’s not going anywhere with you!” Thea said, her arms stretched wide in defense of her friend.

  “Thea! Get the hell out of my way!” Tyrone cocked his arm back and smacked his sister on the side of her face.

  Thea drew her knee in and kicked her brother square in the chest, sending him crashing against the wall behind him. “Run, Annie, run!” Thea jumped to her feet and made a dash for the bedroom hallway.

  Annie scrambled over the back of the sofa. She was darting toward the door when she saw a flash of light and heard the crack of gunfire. The impact of the bullet propelled her forward, forcing her to the ground. The front door flung open, and men with machine guns, dressed in dark clothing with helmets on their heads and bulletproof vests covering their torsos, stormed the house. “Drop your weapons and get your hands in the air.”

  More shots rang out as bullets whizzed by her head. Somewhere on the floor close by, Thea screamed hysterically. The shooting stopped and Thea’s cries for help diminished to a whimper.

  “We need medical attention in here. Now!” a voice called.

  Lying paralyzed and facedown on the floor, Annie saw legs in boot-clad feet hurrying past her. Finally, a pair of boots stopped in front of her. These were different than the others, still black but ankle height where the others were midcalf. She recognized these boots. And the lazy drawl of the person they belonged to. “Hang in there, honey.” She felt a hand on her head, stroking her hair. “Help is on the way.”

  “Eli.” Her mouth formed the word but no sound escaped her lips. We’ve gotta stop meeting like this. She closed her eyes and everything went black.

  THIRTY-SEVEN

  Cooper

  Cooper’s parents half-carried, half-dragged him out of the house to his father’s sedan—his mother gripping his elbow and his father’s arm circling his waist. They situated him in the bucket seat and buckled him up as though placing a toddler in a car seat. Sean crawled in beside him, placing a reassuring hand on his brother’s forearm. Cooper couldn’t remember the last time his family had ridden in the same car together. They typically drove separately wherever they went, even to church. At least one of the boys, usually both of them, was rushing off to their next leisure-time or school-related activity.

  They seldom had family time anymore. Cooper missed the mornings when his father drove them to school, the conversations they shared about sports and current events, and the stories he told them about his patients. Back when he still drove the Volvo wagon. Before he bought this old man’s wet dream. Cooper sniffed. The interior still smelled new, even though he’d owned the car for almost two years. The creamy leather seats cushioned him like a cloud.

  He envisioned his parents taking off for a weekend in Beaufort or Savannah next fall after he and Sean left for college, when their nest was empty and they were free to go as they please. He pictured his father peeling back the convertible top and his mother’s dark hair blowing in the wind as she sang loud and off tune to songs by Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston. Her, wearing those big round sunglasses that reminded Cooper of Flik from A Bug’s Life. Him, with his Atlanta Braves baseball cap on to prevent his balding head from burning.

  Thank goodness his mother would be riding shotgun and not that Daisy person.

  Cooper rested his head back against the seat and tried to imagine his own midlife crisis. What kind of tricked-out vehicle would he buy? A red Silverado jacked up with mud tires—his deer dogs in a dog box in the bed of the truck and his rifles hanging on the gun rack on the rear window—came to mind. A truck so big he’d have to lift Annie onto the passenger seat when they went out to dinner. A vision of him driving his redneck machine down the crowded streets of Manhattan, surrounded by yellow taxicabs and big city buses, caused his daydream to come to a screeching halt. Maybe New York wasn’t the best place for him after all.

  There were plenty of Southern cities large enough to support lucrative careers in graphic design. Raleigh, Charlotte, Richmond. Even Charleston. He might survive New York for college, but he wanted to make his permanent home in the South. Closer to his parents. Next door to his twin. He and Sean would grow old together. Share holidays and go hunting. Serve as each other’s best man when they got married and be there for each other when their children were born.

  Cooper had realized a lot about the importance of family during the past week. And about the importance of love.

  The caravan of Sweeney cars arrived at the hospital at the same time. They gathered on the sidewalk out front and entered the emergency room in single file behind Mike. The young triage nurse greeted him with a sympathetic smile and directed him around the corner to the elevators. No one minded being pressed together in the elevator. They were family, after all.

  “Listen up.” Mike held up his hand to get the group’s attention. “Annie is already in surgery. That’s all we know for now. I’m going to show you to the surgery waiting room on the second floor. A nurse should be in soon to give you an update. I’m gonna head back down to the ER and see what I can find out about Thea and her mother.”

  None of them asked questions, because no one knew what questions to ask.

  Cooper found a seat in a secluded corner of the empty waiting room, away from his family. The day’s lineup of college basketball games had ended and two commentators were offering recaps on the wall-mounted television nearby.

  Sean approached him. “Can I get you something, bro? Maybe a Coke.”

  “Nah. I’m fine. But thanks,” Cooper said, slumping down in his chair preparing for a long wait.

  “Okay, then.” Sean dropped to the chair beside him. “Let me know if you change your mind.”

  His twin’s presence didn’t bother him. Sean didn’t need to be told that Cooper wasn’t in the mood to talk. Tonight, once again, they were two parts that made up the whole. They’d been together since the beginning of time. The beginning of their time anyway, when they shared the same space inside their mother’s belly. Their understanding of the other’s needs was innate.

  Oh God, what if Annie is pregnant with twins? Having identical twins wasn’t genetic, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t still happen. Annie hadn’t been to see the doctor yet. At least not that kind of doctor. No tests had been done on her, like that ultra-whatever test where they took a picture of the baby inside the womb. If Annie was carrying twins, they’d have enough babies to go around. One for Faith and Mike. One for Annie and him to keep for themselves. The absurdity of the idea brought a palm to his forehead. He would never separate his twins.

  But wait. If he wasn’t willing to give up one of his twins, why were they considering adoption for just one baby? Truth be told, he’d never been high on the idea of adoption from the beginning. He’d been concerned about the timing of the pregnancy, about the glitch it threw in his plans for college, but the idea of having a little Annie or Cooper running around had always appealed to him. Annie had been shot, taken a bullet to the back. That much they knew. What if the baby didn’t survive? What if she didn’t survive?

  Hours passed, or so it seemed, but it was really only thirty minutes according to the clock on the wall on the other side of the room. A nurse, dressed head to toe in mint green scrubs, appeared in the waiting room. Her gunmetal eyes, the only part of her body visible, studied them over the top of her surgical mask as they gathered around her.

  She pulled off the mask. “I have little to report at this stage. Annie has a team of surgeons on her case. They’re still assessing the damage caused by the bullet. But her vitals are strong, which is a good sign. I’ll be back when I know more.” She hurried out of the room before they had a chance to ask questions.

  No sooner had she left than Mike returned with Eli in tow. He wore a grim expression and a five o’clock shadow. Dark circles rimmed his gray eyes. Rust-colored stains covered his uniform shirt. Blood? Coope
r wondered. Could it be Annie’s?

  Eli gave Sam a peck on the lips, and turned to Cooper. “I’m sorry, man,” he said, gripping him tight. “I did everything I could.”

  THIRTY-EIGHT

  Eli

  Eli drew away from Cooper and faced the others. “I know you all have a lot of questions, but first and foremost is our concern for Annie. She’s a very brave young woman. She was shot in the back while trying to escape the Bells’ home. She’s in surgery as we speak. I trust you already know this.”

  Heads nodded around the room.

  Eli continued. “Thea shared some of what happened with me. I’ll let Mike speak to Thea’s injuries in a minute. But I’m here to tell you that Annie endured a lot inside that house. She’s going to need our support in the days, weeks, and months ahead.” Eli paused, giving this information a chance to sink in. “Now, as for the others, Willie Bell is behind bars. He faces a host of charges that will send him to prison for a very long time. His brother, Tyrone, is dead. Burning in hell, I hope, for what he did to his sister’s face.”

  Mike stepped forward on cue. “Thea has a broken nose and a fractured cheekbone. Our resident plastic surgeon is in with her now. Thea is a remarkable young woman. Her efforts saved Annie’s life. She’s a survivor. She will make it through this. Eli is right in that we owe her a huge debt of gratitude.”

  “What about Thea’s mother?” Sam asked.

  “Flora didn’t fare as well,” Mike said, concern etched in his face. “Frankly, she’s in pretty bad shape. She was in a diabetic coma when they brought her in. They are doing what they can for her. Only time will tell.”

  Sam brought trembling fingers to her lips. “What’s gonna happen to Thea if her mother doesn’t make it?”

  Eli hooked an arm around her waist. “I can’t turn my back on that kid, not after what she did for Annie. And for Flora. I hope you’re with me on this.”

  “Absolutely,” Sam said. “We’ll provide Thea with anything she needs, even if she has to move in with us. We have an extra room.”

  “What are Flora’s chances?” Faith asked.

  “Fifty-fifty,” Mike answered, and launched into an explanation of the complications of diabetes.

  Eli’s cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He extracted himself from his wife and took the call from the chief out into the hall. When he clicked on the call, he heard loud voices in the background. “Chief, are you there? I can barely hear you.”

  “I’m here. Sorry. Let me step away from the crowd.” The background noise grew distant. “There. Now. That’s better. The bride and groom are getting ready to leave. All the women are in tears. You know how it is. My sister is a basket case.”

  Eli leaned back against the wall, and crossed his tired feet. “You should be throwing rose petals instead of calling me.”

  “I’ve reached my limit of mushy lovey-dovey stuff for the day. Besides, I’ve just gotten off the phone with Logan Pomeroy. He couldn’t say enough good things about you. According to him, you handled the situation by the book. He complimented your talents and your leadership.”

  Eli smiled to himself. It was bittersweet to hear this praise. “Thank you, sir.”

  “I wanted to be the first to congratulate you, Detective Marshall.”

  Eli’s mouth dropped open. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

  Chief Andrews chuckled. “You heard me, Detective. I don’t blame you for wanting to hear me say it again. It’s been a long time coming. Take the next two days off to spend with your family. But be in my office at nine a.m. sharp on Tuesday to discuss the responsibilities of your new position.”

  Eli removed the phone from his ear, double-checking the caller ID. “Are you offering me a promotion?”

  “That’s the idea, Marshall,” Andrews said, his tone now irritated. “But if you aren’t interested—”

  “Oh, I’m interested, all right. Thank you, sir. Thank you very much.”

  “Don’t thank me. You earned it. I believe in rewarding my men for their hard work. If I had listened to you from the beginning, we might have avoided this whole ugly situation with the Bell brothers.” Eli heard muffled voices, and the chief came back on the line. “Listen, Eli. I gotta go. My wife is here with me. I’ll see you on Tuesday.” He ended the call and the line went silent.

  Eli stared at the phone in his hand. Damn. He’d finally made detective. Kinda hard to get excited with Annie on the operating table, Flora in ICU, and Thea’s beautiful face smashed to a pulp.

  If I had listened to you from the beginning, the chief had said. Eli had a long list of what-ifs that would cause him sleepless nights in the weeks ahead. What if he hadn’t gone after the Bell brothers in the first place? What if he’d made certain Tyrone and Willie were in the farmhouse before he ordered his men to bust up their party? He’d known there was a high probability the brothers were hiding out inside Flora’s house. What if he’d forced his way in the first time he’d knocked on her door that afternoon? What if he’d waited in the driveway for Thea and Annie to come home?

  He walked to the window at the end of the hallway and stared out at the lights illuminating the sidewalks and parking lot. He couldn’t very well go back in the waiting room and boast about his good fortune. He would keep it to himself for now. If Annie didn’t make it, he’d turn down the promotion. No way could he wear the detective badge knowing his ambition, his desire for advancement had cost Annie her life.

  There were plenty of other ways, safer ways, to earn a living. Maybe he’d go into business with Sam. They could expand the seafood business into other markets, open up satellite locations even. He could teach criminology at the local community college or go back to school and get a degree in substance abuse counseling. He had plenty of time to think about it. The most important thing tonight was Annie.

  THIRTY-NINE

  Annie

  Annie woke long before she opened her eyes. She determined from the now familiar, floating-on-a-cloud feeling and the beeping of the heart monitor that she was in the hospital. She searched her mind for its most recent memories. What’d happened that landed her there? The car accident? No, that was ten days ago. Thea’s house. Her evil brothers. Annie had tried to escape and the pressure from the gunshot wound. She wiggled her toes on both feet and then her fingers. Somehow she’d managed to escape being paralyzed twice in one month. Had the bullet hurt the baby? The bed began to spin beneath her and she opened her eyes. She was surprised and oddly comforted to see Heidi sitting in the reclining chair beside the bed.

  Heidi saw that she was awake and smiled. “Welcome back, sweet girl.”

  Annie licked her parched lips. When she tried to speak, the words came out in a hoarse whisper. “Is Thea…?”

  Heidi scooted the chair closer to the bed. “Thea is fine. The plastic surgeon patched up her face. Once the swelling goes down, she’ll be as good as new. She’s been asking about you. She wanted me to tell you that you rock.”

  Annie tried to smile but her lips hurt too much.

  “She’ll come see you as soon as she can. For now, she’s with her mother up in ICU.”

  Annie swallowed. “You mean Flora’s alive?”

  “She had a rough go of it, but she’s hanging in there. Showing some signs of improvement from what I understand.”

  “And Tyrone?”

  “The SWAT team shot him when he tried to escape the house. He died on the spot. He got off easy if you ask me. Willie, his younger brother, is in jail. For a long time, according to Eli. You can rest easy knowing they won’t be bothering you anymore.”

  Annie inhaled a deep breath. One question left. “What about the baby?”

  She felt Heidi’s hand on hers. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. The bullet missed your spinal chord by a fraction of a centimeter. You’re fortunate that you weren’t paralyzed, but the trauma to your body was too much for the fetus.”

  Annie looked away. Her fetus had never stood a chance. The tiny creature growing inside of her that sh
e’d begun to think of in terms of gender and hair and eye color had never grown larger than a lima bean. “I’m sure Jackie’s glad.”

  Heidi sighed. “To tell you the truth, she’s heartbroken. She feels awful about the way she treated you. She’ll apologize to you in person when she gets the chance. Everyone was too emotionally involved, but given time, everything would’ve eventually worked itself out. I’m convinced of that. The Sweeneys all love you very much.”

  “They do now. Because I nearly died. They didn’t love me so much yesterday.”

  “Don’t be too hard on them. We’ve all learned some valuable lessons in the past few days.” Heidi stroked her arm. “The doctors have assured us that you’ll be able to have healthy children one day. You’ll have your baby. But when you do, it’ll be on your terms, when you’re good and ready. It won’t be anyone’s business but yours and your husband’s.”

  “I’m glad you’re here, Heidi.” The words spilled from Annie’s lips before she could stop them.

  Heidi studied Annie’s face. “You are?”

  Realizing that she was, in fact, very glad her mother was sitting beside her hospital bed rubbing her arm rendered her speechless. She nodded. Why play pretend with someone else’s family when she could have the real thing?

  “You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that.”

  Annie paused for a minute as she collected her thoughts. “I’m grateful to the Sweeney family for all they’ve done for me.” She swiped away a tear. “Truly, I am. I don’t know what I would’ve done without Faith and Mike these past eight months. But it’s awkward for me living with them. I’ve tried. I just can’t think of them as parents. I had a different relationship with Daddy than most kids. I was more of a parent to him than he was to me. Even more so after he got sick. Faith and Mike mean well. But they treat me like a teenager. And I’m not like most teenagers.”