“Sorry,” Lin murmured. She felt groggy and so tired but she knew she was too uncomfortable to sleep just then. She seemed to hurt all over.
“That’s ok,” Sue got up and walked to the door, “but now that you are coming back to life, I think I’ll go down to the cafeteria and see what I can find to eat at this late hour. Back in a minute.”
Lin nodded briefly as Sue exited the room. She lay back against the pillows and closed her eyes but sleep still eluded her. She tried not to focus on the pain in her arm and head but it was hard. She might have managed to doze for a few minutes, but she was awake once more when Sue returned.
“I thought maybe I would find you asleep,” Sue remarked.
“I dozed a bit—I’m so uncomfortable…” Lin complained.
“Well, it’s after eleven now. The painkillers will be coming soon and you’ll likely rest better then,” Sue reminded her.
Sue settled back in the reclining chair and drew a blanket over her legs. She looked up and saw that Lin’s eyes were, indeed, still open.
“Neal Smith was here earlier,” Sue ventured. “He showed up in the emergency room and was most upset. In fact, he was in tears. He would’ve stayed but he had a class to teach from seven until ten. It was about six already when they brought you in.”
“How did he know?” Lin was puzzled.
“I called him,” Sue confessed, “You have his number programmed into your cell phone. I thought he should know.”
“He wanted to come back after his class, but the doctor told him you would not be allowed any visitors before tomorrow. The doctor said I could stay with you tonight and Billy was here to learn what you remembered if you woke up, but that was all. Don’t worry—Neal said he would be back in the morning.”
“I’m not worried,” Lin replied, “in fact, I’m not sure what to say to him anyway.”
“I guess you’ll think of something,” Sue murmured as she fluffed up the pillow she had stuffed in the chair and tried to settle in for a nap.
Lin didn’t feel like talking anymore anyway. She lay back on her pillows and waited for the nurse to come in and send her to dreamland. Shortly before midnight the long awaited painkillers arrived.
“No needle stick this time,” the nurse smiled, “these go in your IV.”
Lin watched as she inserted the syringe in the IV port and the liquid meds flowed in. They were like magic—she saw the nurse cut off the lamp and felt the bed being lowered. That was the last thing she remembered.
***
It was almost eight o’clock the next morning when Lin awoke. Gingerly she did a mental inventory of her body—the pain in her arm was now more of a dull ache, her face felt a bit sore, and her headache was no longer pounding—just a dull throb remained. In spite of the meds that had induced her deep sleep, she felt more alert and clear-headed. She still could remember no additional details of what had happened though—her memory was still foggy. Every time she tried to recall the events of the evening before the details seemed lost to her.
No one was in the room when she awoke but a nurse soon arrived with a cup of pills.
“What are all these?” Lin wanted to know.
“This one is an antibiotic to prevent infection with your cuts. The blue one is an anti-inflammatory drug—that’s to help with your shoulder—inflamed tendons and such. The other is a strong pain killer.”
Lin shook her head at the nurse, “Just the first two please—I don’t want the pain killer, I’m groggy enough already.”
“You may regret that decision,” the nurse said, “ that strong IV dose you took at midnight will be totally gone in a couple of hours.”
“How about a couple of Tylenol,” Lin suggested. “I promise I’ll let you know if I need more.”
“It’s your choice,” the nurse replied. “I’ll get the Tylenol for you but I’ll have to tell Dr. Barnes when he comes in.”
“Fine,” Lin replied. She felt a little like a disobedient child but she knew she wanted to be able to think clearly—to remember more details of what happened—and she wanted to get out of this hospital.”
When the nurse returned with the Tylenol, Lin asked, “Where’s Sue, she was gone when I woke up?”
“She left about seven this morning. I think she was going home to shower and change. She said she would be back about nine or nine-thirty. You missed breakfast—the doctor left orders not to wake you after midnight—but I can get a tray sent up for you,” the nurse busied herself, straightening up the bed and organizing things in the room.
When the nurse left to check on her breakfast, Lin decided to “test the waters” and try getting up. When she sat on the edge of the bed a rush of dizziness overcame her. When the room quit spinning, she reached for her IV pole with her left hand—being careful with the line that was in her arm.
Carefully pushing the IV pole in front of her and using it to help her balance, she slowly made her way to the bathroom. By the time she finished there and made her way back to bed she was exhausted—but she had not passed out or fallen. The hardest part was trying to balance with only one available hand—and that attached to an IV.
She settled herself in the bed to wait for her breakfast, which arrived shortly.
The nurse looked around the room and noticed the bathroom door that stood ajar.
“You’ve been up,” she scolded, “Let me check that IV, you may have dislodged your port!”
Lin didn’t try to defend herself but submitted silently to having her IV checked. Nothing was amiss but the nurse wasn’t happy as she left the room.
It was difficult to eat with only a left hand, and that tethered to an IV line, but Lin managed to drink some juice and milk. Her efforts with the cereal and fruit were less successful. She really wasn’t very hungry anyway.
Soon a young aide came in to bathe her and refresh her bed linens. Settled against clean sheets and pillows with a fresh hospital gown, Lin began to feel somewhat better, at least physically. She tried hard to remember details of the attack but they still eluded her. She could only remember the harsh words, the wrenching pain, and the weight of her assailant pushing her into the door. Maybe it was the meds and maybe just the overall stress and frustration she felt, but Lin felt tears well in her eyes. Why was she not able to control this crying?
She was still crying, albeit quietly when Sue came into the room.
“What’s wrong!” she exclaimed when she saw Lin’s tear stained face, “ should I call the nurse?”
“No, don’t, I’m much better this morning, really—just frustrated at being so helpless.”
“It may be the meds working on you, but you have to also remember that you experienced a very violent assault yesterday. That would shake up anyone!” Sue responded.
“If you feel up to it, I’ll sit you up in the chair here. Maybe getting out of that bed for awhile would help.” Sue offered.
“I’ve been up once already,” Lin bragged. “I think I wasn’t supposed to do that.”
“We’ll be careful and I’m here to help.” Sue helped Lin to sit on the edge of the bed again and then gently led her, IV pole and all to the high backed recliner where she had spent the night. Lin felt chilly and welcomed the warm blanket tucked around her legs. Sitting up did make her feel better.
Lin had barely gotten settled in the chair when she looked up to see Neal Smith standing in the doorway. His face appeared gaunt and drawn as if he hadn’t slept much at all.
Seeing that Neal had arrived, Sue quietly slipped out of the room, murmuring something about going to find some coffee.
Neal stood near the door for a moment, saying nothing, but his eyes reflected the hurt and caring he felt. He crossed the room and pulled the other chair—a smaller straight chair—up as close as he could to Lin’s side. He reached out and gently touched her left hand—carefully avoiding her IV.
“ I am so sorry, Lin. I feel so bad about this,” his voice reflected his anxiety
“ Unless you were the
guy who wrenched my arm and shoved me into that door, you have nothing to apologize for,” Lin managed to smile.
“But somehow, I think I should’ve been able to do something to prevent this mess,” Neal shook his head, “Maybe if I had never tried to help Cullen—had never been so greedy myself—this entire situation would never have developed.”
“Don’t go down that path, Neal.” Lin was serious, “ it does no good. We can’t change anything in the past and I seriously doubt that your decisions were the only ones that led to any of this—life just isn’t that simple! All we can do is live in the present and do the best we can.” Lin carefully lifted her left hand and stroked Neal’s face. There were tears in his eyes.
“I haven’t done my best—not for a long time I’m afraid—but I’m going to do something about that—today,” Neal placed a hand gently on her bandaged shoulder and leaned toward her, lifting her chin with his other hand. His eyes met hers with warmth and tenderness. His lips were ever so gentle on hers. He tenderly traced the scrape on her cheek.
“I have to go, now,” he said, “but I’ll be back tonight.”
“I may not be here,” Lin said hopefully. “I hope Dr. Barnes will release me today—I’ll be staying at Walnut Canyon with Sue for the time being, I suppose.”
“I’ll call later then,” Neal said, “but I will try to see you tonight—if you feel up to it.”
When he had gone, Lin sat back and thought about what he’d said. She wondered what he planned to do today and hoped that, whatever he did, it would be what was right for him.
By the time Sue returned to the room with two steaming cups of fresh Starbucks coffee from the lounge downstairs, Lin was more than ready to get back into the bed. It wasn’t long before she drifted off into a peaceful nap while Sue sat down to read. As she drifted off, Lin realized she hadn’t drunk her coffee—oh well, she thought sleepily—I probably should avoid caffeine anyway.
Dr. Barnes arrived shortly before noon. He carefully examined her—gently probing her head wound and the scrape on her cheek. He asked about her pain, checked her eyes and reflexes and then sat down in the straight chair—pulling it close to the side of the bed.
“You are a very lucky lady,” he shook his head as he spoke. “You have a mild concussion and your shoulder is pretty much a mess but it could’ve been much worse! You have no broken bones—the tendons in the shoulder are stretched and torn but still—no broken bones. I can’t promise that you won’t need some shoulder surgery later but, for now, I think we should just keep it immobilized and give it time to heal on its own.”
“Does it have to be taped so tightly,” Lin asked.
I’d like to leave it taped for at least 24 more hours—then we might try a sling—it will have to be strapped down though—you mustn’t move it. I’m going to discharge you since you have someone to help you,” He smiled appreciatively at Sue, “ I’ll leave some prescriptions at the desk—including something for pain. I noticed that you refused that this morning. That’s ok—but if the Tylenol doesn’t work, you’ll have a prescription. I’ll see you in my office tomorrow morning to check that shoulder.”
Sue had had the foresight to bring Lin some fresh clothing—just in case. As soon as the IV was removed, Lin found that she could manage fairly well with her left hand—and a bit of help. She was soon ready to leave but Sue suggested that they stop by to check on Sophie’s Dad before they headed home.
The elderly man was actually doing pretty well. Sophie told them that he would probably be discharged to a rehab center near the hospital over the weekend. Her mother would remain in Flagstaff at the Taylor House for the time being so that she could be close to him; Sophie planned to take Michael back home to the reservation. A friend was coming to drive them back tomorrow.
“One of the conditions of his release is that he go back to school,” Sophie reported, “He and Teddy are not going to be charged with murder—but there still may be some charges coming related to the things they were doing for Raymond Tso. Actually, I think he’s excited about going back to school.”
Lin smiled, “ I’m sure he’ll do well and I expect that his age and situation will be taken into account when it comes to possible charges.”
Sophie seemed relieved that her son’s ordeal—at least the worst part—was over. She expressed concern about what had happened to Lin. Her own bruises were healing well but her father faced a long ordeal of rehabilitation. “Now you,” she sighed, “what’s next!”
“Hopefully, this will all be over soon,” Lin tried to reassure Sophie, “Tso is in jail and two of his men have been arrested also. The fellow who attacked me should be picked up soon.” Lin certainly hoped this was all true.
Chapter 28
It felt good to be back at Sue’s apartment. Lin was resting comfortably seated in an easy chair with her feet propped on an ottoman. A soft pillow placed beside her injured shoulder provided support. Sue bustled about in the kitchen and soon appeared with a tray full of food that she placed on a table close to Lin’s left hand. The savory aroma from the cup of warm soup alerted Lin to the fact that she hadn’t really eaten since the previous day’s breakfast. She felt ravenous.
Sue had made things easy to be handled with one hand—soup in a cup, sandwich cut in half, and a huge chocolate chip cookie which she had managed to salvage from the ruins of the dinner purchased at Wildflowers. Lin ate every crumb.
When Sue had cleared away the tray, she went back to the bedroom to change into her volunteer uniform. She was scheduled to work a partial shift that afternoon.
“I can beg off if you need me to stay with you,” she offered, “ Mike, my supervisor, said that would be ok. I could take whatever time I need for you.”
“No, no,” Lin insisted, “ I’m mobile and I’m feeling pretty good actually. I hurt but it’s not unbearable and I have my Tylenol if I need it! Please go ahead.”
“Billy Taylor called and said he was coming back to talk to you this afternoon. Can you manage getting up to go to the door or should I ask him to come to the visitor center first to get a key?” Sue questioned.
“I’m fine, I can manage.” Lin pointed to the hiking stick that Sue had placed beside the chair, “With this I can manage just fine. Go ahead and don’t be late.”
After Sue left, Lin felt sleepy so she carefully moved from the chair to Sue’s sofa where she stretched out for a nap. She awoke to a knock on the door and Billy Taylor’s greeting, “You OK in there?”
“I’m coming, I fell asleep—be there in a minute,” Lin replied. She carefully got up with the aid of the hiking stick and made her way to the front door.
“Hey, you look a lot better than you did last night!” Billy seemed surprised. “Of course hospital wear is not especially flattering,” he laughed.
“I’m doing fine,” Lin told him, “ still pretty sore but even the pain is subsiding. My head is still muddled though—for the life of me, I can’t remember much about the attack or my assailant. There is some detail nagging at the corner of my mind that I keep struggling to remember—maybe it’s important—but it just isn’t there! I really can’t add anything to my earlier recollections at this point.”
“Try not to worry about it. Just relax. You do have a mild concussion and that is probably affecting your recall. It will come—with time. Meanwhile, the tribal police are questioning all of Raymond Tso’s close associates and they are looking for that blue SUV. I feel certain they’ll have this guy soon. In any case, everyone up there should be aware by now that Tso is in custody so I doubt any of his cohort would act against anyone at this point. They can be sure they would be caught! The man did have a lot of connections though. His loan business had teeth into a lot of folks on the Rez. Still, I think you should be quite safe here, with Sue.
“I want to get back to Wupatki as soon as possible,” Lin responded, “I know that Danielle is managing but she could use more help and I could at least answer phones and run the cash register—stuff like that. May
be I’ll come back after I see Dr. Barnes in the morning.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard,” Billy warned. “Wupatki will still be there and Danielle and Toby can manage. Besides, I think the SCA volunteers arrive next week also.”
Reminding Lin to call him if she began to remember more about the attack, Billy soon took his leave. Lin passed the remainder of the afternoon reading and napping.
Neal had promised he would call but as five o’clock approached she still had heard nothing from him. She tried not to think about him—but his worried face kept reappearing in her mind. She was worried about him also—about what he was going to do and what would happen to him—and to their relationship.
It was time for more meds. So far the Tylenol was holding her pain down to a dull ache. She was grateful for that as the stronger stuff made her already impaired memory even fuzzier. Lin made her way to the kitchen where she poured herself a tall glass of soda to wash down the pills. She then settled herself on the sofa to try to read but she soon fell asleep again.
It was already dusk when she awoke. Sue was stirring in the kitchen and some delightful smells were drifting Lin’s way—she realized she was hungry again.
She glanced at the clock—almost six and still no call.
“What’s cooking?” she called to Sue.
“My famous homemade lasagna.” Sue replied, “I bought ingredients earlier this week but haven’t had time to make it until now. It should be ready in about half an hour.” Sue came into the living room. “Sleep well? You were really sawing logs when I got home.”
“Really,” Lin replied, “guess my body is trying hard to mend itself. I must admit I’m feeling much better with all the rest I’ve had today. I think I could go home tomorrow—after I see Dr. Barnes, of course.”
“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea….” Sue started to admonish Lin but then thought better of it, “ …but maybe—just see what he says. By the way, Neal called the visitor center this afternoon. He had tried to call your cell—guess the signal was not good—sometimes it’s fine here but then…”
Earthcrack: A Lin Hanna Mystery Page 31
