Truths Unveiled

by Kimberly Alan

  Pam counted her blessings again. Katie Jarrod had become a fast friend. From the beginning, she and Rebecca Cartwright had quickly and easily opened their arms and hearts to her. Furthermore, they both provided a sympathetic ear during that short breakup she and Tom went through. If she and Tom had remained apart, Pam knew their friendship could only stretch to a limited degree. Nevertheless, she valued the fact that they didn’t abandon her outright. They could have, she knew. And she would have understood. But they didn’t.

  “Grandma!” the boys shouted, almost in unison. They rushed into her open arms.

  “We gave Rusty a birthday party!” Mark told her. He held her hand and brought her over to the couch. “Do you want a piece of cake?”

  Pam listened with one ear. The other focused on the scanner. She then unplugged it and reconnected it in the kitchen, out of the boys’ earshot.

  “Medic One to Dispatch.” Tom’s voice sounded faint. She knew he was on his portable radio and probably working on a patient, but dispatch didn’t respond.

  “Medic One to Dispatch,” Tom repeated. “I need additional fire and rescue units. One vehicle is on fire with occupants still inside. Request assistance. I’m at the northernmost end of the accident.”

  No answer. Pam did some quick mental visualizing. Tom approached the scene from the north. He must have cut across the median. The rest of the units, which were just arriving, approached with traffic from the south.

  “Medic One to Dispatch, did you copy? Request Assistance!”

  Pam heard the unusual panic in his voice. It sped through her like a rocket. She grabbed the phone to dial 911. Dispatch would pick up and she could tell them Tom needed help. Before she finished dialing, the scanner’s fire frequency lit up.

  “Engine Four to Command.”

  “Engine Four go ahead,” the fire company’s command center responded.

  “We just heard an explosion from north of our location. We’ll be heading that way to investigate.”

  “Roger, Engine Four.”

  Pam froze. A sinking, helpless feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. Something terrible had happened. Quickly, she turned to the living room. The boys were busy, playing Go Fish with Katie. Good. She fixed her attention back to the scanner. Why was it so quiet? Where was Tom?

  Seconds passed like hours. Pam could barely breathe. Finally, a voice came through.

  “Engine Four to Command. We are arriving at the site of the explosion. It appears a car caught fire and exploded. We have two victims.”

  “Roger, Engine Four.”

  “Two victims?” Pam questioned. In general, no one thinks about rescue workers getting injured, but it happened. Tom was often placed in terribly dangerous situations. Immediately, her imagination took over and ran through the scene: Tom was helping a patient in a car and his radio failed. The car exploded and he was hit by the blast…

  No matter how hard she tried, Pam could not wipe the vision from her mind. “No, God!” her thoughts screamed. Not now. Not after all we’ve been through. After we’ve finally found each other!

  Unable to wait, she reached for her keys. She knew where they were. She had to get there.

  Truths Unveiled

  Truths Unveiled

  Chapter Fifty

  Pam headed for the door just as the red light on the scanner caught her eye. The ambulance channel! She darted back.

  “Medic One to Dispatch.” It was Tom.

  Pam’s breath caught. Thank you, she prayed.

  “Medic One, go ahead.”

  “How do you read me?”

  “Loud and clear, Medic One.”

  “Roger that. I must be having a problem with my portable radio. I need an ambulance at the far north of the accident. I have two patients with minor injuries. They need an ED evaluation.”

  “Roger, Medic One.”

  Filled with relief, Pam could not listen any more. She made it to the bathroom and closed the door. Leaning against it, she counted her blessings.

  ****

  “Hey, where’s Pam?”

  Pam recognized A.J.’s voice. Checking her face in the mirror, she blew her nose and ran a brush through her hair. Opening the bathroom door, she nearly fell over Rusty. Delilah blocked the rest of the doorway.

  “Goodness,” she exclaimed. “I didn’t realize I was missed.”

  She knew the dogs were going through a bit of adjustment with the boys here. “Don’t worry,” she told them. She gave each dog a pat on the head. “We still love you. You’ll get used to it.”

  “Come here, Pam,” A.J. called. “Quick. I want to show you something on TV.”

  “Be right there.” She went to the kitchen sink and filled a glass with water. “Katie, can I get you a drink or a snack?”

  “No, dear,” the woman responded. She and Mark were busy putting together a model airplane at the coffee table.

  Making her way into the living room, Pam saw that A.J. was watching a ski competition. She plopped down next to him on the couch.

  “Hey, kiddo. What’s up?”

  A.J. stood and looked around. Seeming satisfied, he returned to the couch and whispered, “Can I ask you something?”

  “Of course.”

  “I don’t want to seem like a pain.”

  “Ask away,” she assured him.

  He pointed to the television. “Can you do that?”

  Pam followed his hand. On the screen, she saw two legless skiers race down the mountain. Hm. He had questions. Well, they were bound to come up eventually. “Yes,” she nodded. “I can.”

  A.J. crunched his forehead the same way she’d seen Tom do. “My mom says you got hurt in a car accident. One of your legs got crushed. Part of it’s fake.”

  “Yes, that’s true.”

  “Was it real bad?” he asked softly.

  Seriously, Pam nodded. “It was.” His questions intrigued her. Kids are so wonderful. And they’re so much smarter than adults give them credit for. Clearly, A.J. had been contemplating how to talk to her about this. The television program gave him a perfect opportunity to bring it up. “Do you want me to tell you what happened?”

  “Mom says it was a real rainy night. You and another car hit each other and ended up in the woods.”

  Well, thank you, Susan, Pam said silently. “Your mom is right. That’s about the gist of what happened.”

  Pam noted the child focusing on her left leg. The “fake” one.

  “Can I see it?”

  Pam didn’t mind. But she wondered what Susan would think. Fortunately, she was wearing jeans. “Tell you what. The next time I wear a skirt, I’ll show you the whole thing and how I can bend at the knee. For now,” she took off her sneaker and sock. “You can take a look at this.”

  A.J. studied the lifelike prosthetic foot and ankle. “It’s like a doll’s.”

  She laughed. “You’re right. A good friend of mine back in Boston makes them.”

  “Cool,” he exclaimed, checking it out from all angles. “It doesn’t look fake unless I look close up. How does it work?”

  As simply as she could, Pam explained. “My thigh is attached to a pouch, a small bag-like contraption. The pouch is attached to a metal rod that goes down to the foot. It’s got a bendable part at the knee and the ankle.” She pointed to both areas of her leg. “All of it is covered with this doll-like plastic material that you can see here.”

  A.J. looked over to his brother and Katie, then back to Pam. Moving closer, he whispered, “Can I touch it?”

  Pam smiled. “Of course. Try to tickle my toes.”

  Tentative, he wiggled his fingers, then felt the soft material.

  “It won’t bite,” Pam whispered.

  Gaining more courage, he touched it harder. Then tapped lightly. “Can you feel this?”

  “Afraid not.”

  He tried another spot, this time harder. “Here?”

  She shook her head.

  Thoroughly impressed, his wide blue eyes filled with awe. “Th
at’s great! It means that if you stub your toe, it won’t hurt.”

  “Imagine that!” she replied, wanting so much to wrap him in a bear hug. But that could wait. She didn’t want to force herself on him. In the meantime, she marveled at how wonderful he and his brother were. Spending time with them gave her a glimpse of a whole other part of life she hadn’t even known was missing.

  She noticed he grew quiet. Then he said, “So you went away?”

  “To Boston. That’s where I lived before we moved here. I stayed in the hospital for a long time. But I got better, and here I am.”

  “And you knew Dad back then.”

  Here we go. “I did.”

  “But he married Mom.”

  Pam nodded. “Yes, he did.” As she spoke, she wondered how much he knew about the situation.

  “They fight a lot when they are together,” he told her. “It’s better this way.”

  “I’m glad you’re happier.”

  “Yeah. And now you’re going to be our step-mother.” He made it sound like a confirmation.

  “Actually,” she replied, leaning over to tickle him, “Some kids use the term ‘step-monster.’ “

  The boy’s eyes shot to hers. She winked. After digesting that for a moment, his mouth broke out into a wide grin. “Cool.” He stood and reached for her hand. “Let’s see if you can beat me in Nintendo.”

  Truths Unveiled

  Truths Unveiled

  Chapter Fifty-One

  “This is unbelievable!” Pam groaned, disgusted that her Volvo would not start. She threw the keys onto the passenger seat. “You’re only six months old!” Drained and edgy from a busy twelve hour shift, she collapsed back against the seat and stared out at the pouring rain. It hadn’t stopped for two days. The parking lot was one huge puddle. Of course, she’d forgotten an umbrella. Actually, she’d left it somewhere. Or did it blow apart in Boston’s last storm?

  Leaning against the headrest, Pam closed her tired eyes and rubbed her throbbing temples. After counting to sixty, she stuck the key back into the ignition. I’ll try one more time, she told herself.

  At first, after a series of churns, the engine caught. “Hey! Good. Keep it up,” Pam urged out loud. Then it died. Quickly, she tried again. “No! Not the clicking sound!” She sighed. That was the one that told you the vehicle was definitely dead. “Ugh!” Grabbing her purse, she braced herself for the cold rain and stormed back into the ED.

  “Back so soon? I thought you were done for the night.”

  “So did I,” Pam told Marcia, one of the veteran RNs at the nurse’s station. “Car trouble.”

  “I thought Volvos were supposed to be maintenance free.”

  “Me too. Who should I call for a tow?”

  Marcia handed her the phone. “I don’t know. It’s after midnight. Whoever it is will take forever. Want me to call Tom?”

  Pam shook her head. “No. He’s been on call. At least one of us should get some sleep.”

  “How are you ladies this fine evening?”

  Pam watched a huge smile form on Marcia’s face. She turned to find Bill Houser walking toward them. He wore a yellow rain slicker, dotted with rain drops, and carried a clipboard wrapped in plastic.

  “Long time, no see,” Pam greeted. Actually, since she still received police protection, she saw him several times a day and night since the break-in at her new apartment. It made her wonder how much longer such protection would continue. Since then, everything had remained quiet. No more newspaper articles, calls or break-ins.

  Though Pam knew it wasn’t realistic, she wanted to think that the perpetrator had decided to leave her alone. Maybe he or she realized she didn’t mean any harm. Or that she was sincerely sorry for what happened. Or maybe he or she had decided to direct their attention elsewhere when it became clear Pam intended to stay.

  “You’re here late, Bill,” the nurse flirted. “How can I help you?”

  “Just bringing in one of the local frequent fliers.”

  Pam shot him a questioning glance.

  “You know. One of our old-time geezers. They drink themselves into a stupor, go around town making their presence known, then we go pick them up. Since they’re not all that healthy, and we don’t know how much they drank, we bring ‘em in here to get checked out before putting them behind bars to sleep it off.”

  “It must get old,” Marcia sympathized.

  “Sure does. But hey, it’s part of the job.” Then he turned to Pam. “Don’t you look happy?”

  Marcia let out a giggle. “Oh, she’s thrilled. She just finished a busy shift and her car won’t start.”

  “Any idea who I should call?” Pam asked him.

  “Nobody.” Houser winked. “Just wait here.” He reached for his radio. Grateful, Pam listened to him contact the town garage and arrange a tow.

  “You’re all set,” he said. “They’ll bring it directly to the dealer over on Route 30. You can probably get a loaner car in the morning.”

  Pam gave him an appreciative smile. At the same time, she stifled a yawn. “Thanks so much. I think I’m going to catch a few hours in one of the on-call rooms. I’ve got to be back here in twelve hours anyway.”

  “Why don’t I give you a ride home?”

  “Oh. No. Thanks for the offer but I don’t want you to go out of your way.” She blocked out the tempting thought of taking a shower and climbing into her own bed.

  Marcia giggled again. “She’s not used to our small town hospitality yet.”

  “Looks that way,” Houser agreed. “Come on,” he urged. “Get your stuff.”

  Seeing Marcia nod in agreement, Pam relented. “That would be great.”

  “The cruiser’s parked around back.”

  ****

  Tom woke to the sound of a fire engine pulling into the parking lot. He’d been snoozing in his desk chair, subconsciously waiting for the next rescue call.

  “Hey! Get up!” Eddie bellowed in the doorway. He was dressed in full firefighting gear. “We’re onto something here.” He handed Tom a large envelope. “I gotta go, but take a look at this and call me later.”

  Tom removed the blown-up photograph of Pam’s Escort after the accident. “This makes no sense!” he complained. An oval, metal emblem, approximately two or less inches in diameter, stuck into the rear bumper. “Where’d that come from? It was supposed to be a head-on collision!”

  Now studying the picture closer, more questions filled his head. The emblem was from a Ford. But, unless he was mistaken, not just any Ford. He checked his watch and dialed Eddie’s cell phone.

  “Did you catch it?”

  “Yeah,” Tom answered. “And no. That emblem is from a Crown Victoria. The Police Interceptor model. What the heck happened? Did a cop cruiser crash into her? And if so, when? There’s no report of police involvement at the scene.”

  “Next question.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Why were this photograph and the others taken out of the police department’s file?”

  For what felt like the millionth time, Tom searched his memory for the events that night. Arriving at the scene, he could hear the fire engine’s sirens right behind him. Two police cruisers were already on site. “I keep seeing Murphy’s face.”

  “Me too,” Eddie replied. “It’s not hard to figure out why Susan is such a kook. The apple surely didn’t fall far from the tree in that family.”

  “Yeah, but why tamper with the evidence? Was he involved in some way? Is he one of the men Pam recalled?”

  Eddie cleared his throat. “Or was Susan somehow involved? It’s no secret, Tom. She hated Pam.”

  Tom felt his skin start to crawl. She still does. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat. “You think she tried to run Pam off the road that night? In a cop car?”

  “Don’t know, man. But there she was, two months pregnant, and the father of the baby was in love with someone else. Desperate situations sometimes call for drastic solutions.”

  “Or her
father did it,” Tom whispered. He remembered George Murphy storming into the living room that night. No wonder he eventually died from a heart attack. Red-faced, a dark blue vein protruding on his forehead, he narrowed his dark eyes and practically spit at Tom. His fists, clenched in rage at his sides, looked ready to strike at any second. The guy considered himself the patriarch of the town. No way would he let his eldest daughter be disgraced.