Hidden in the Stars

by Robin Caroll

  “But you don’t think it was?”

  “Doctors don’t usually adjust their rounds around a patient visiting, and they surely don’t run off.” He squeezed her arm. “Stay with her, please. I’ll be back soon.”

  Charlie nodded, then headed back to Sophia’s bedside.

  Julian shut her door. “Officer, no one is to go in this room unless you call me and get approval, do you understand?” He wrote down his cell number on a piece of paper in his notebook, tore it out, and handed it to the officer. “No one except me or Detective Alexander unless you call me. Got it?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Julian turned and headed toward the elevators, adrenaline pushing his steps faster and faster. This could be a big break in the case.

  Or it could be nothing.

  As he stepped into the elevator and pushed the button for the security office floor, one thought slammed against him: how did they know she was still alive?

  11

  He thinks the doctor . . . the man, is one of them, doesn’t he?” Sophia mouthed to Charlie. “Julian thinks he came here to kill me, doesn’t he?”

  “He’s just being cautious and thorough. It’s his job.”

  Sophia narrowed her eyes. “Don’t lie to me, Charlie.”

  Charlie sighed and slumped into the chair. “I’m sorry. He is being cautious and thorough, but yes, he’s suspicious of the man who came in here. He believes he isn’t a doctor, but won’t panic us until he’s checked.”

  Sophia’s heart pounded. Good thing she wasn’t still hooked up to the beeping machine because it would be going overtime

  right now.

  “It’s going to be okay. Don’t get all sideways on me now.” Charlie made direct eye contact with her.

  “I’m fine. A little unnerved is all.” Then she remembered she was never alone. “God’s got this anyway, right?”

  Charlie smiled. “Right, and we might be making a big deal out of nothing. It’s entirely possible the guy was legit and just strange.”

  “Yeah. I know.” Yet the more she thought about it, the more she realized that probably wasn’t true. The guy had come here . . . for her. She closed her eyes and tried to remember what he looked like. She opened her eyes and mouthed to Charlie, “We need to remember what he looks like. Julian will definitely want to know as many details as possible.”

  “Right.” Charlie grabbed a pen and piece of paper from her purse. “I’d say he was almost six feet.”

  Sophia nodded. “Maybe weighed one-eighty or one-ninety?”

  “Yeah, I’d say that’s about right. He had light brown hair, but I didn’t see any blond in it. Did you?”

  “No.” And now, with his image in her mind, it bugged her. “Charlie, he didn’t look intimidating at all.”

  Charlie broke eye contact to stare at her notes, then looked back at her. “You’re right. He didn’t.”

  “Don’t you think the person those attackers would send to finish me off would at least look a little intimidating or scary?”

  Charlie nodded. “I do. He didn’t look like either.”

  “Now that I think about it, he looked like he was a little scared.” The wideness of his eyes when he saw Charlie, who was, by no stretch of the imagination, intimidating or scary. The way he rushed out . . . “I don’t think he was with the men who attacked me and Mamochka. He just doesn’t look the part, nor did he act threatening in any way.”

  “I agree, but he didn’t seem like a doctor either.”

  “Maybe he’s new? Or one of the doctors in training or something.”

  “Could be.” Either way, they’d have to wait until Julian got back to discuss it with him. Sophia breathed a little easier now that she’d thought it through and didn’t think the guy was out to harm her. He had probably—

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t let you in unless I get permission,” the officer’s voice outside rose.

  Charlie stood. “I’ll go check it out.” She disappeared out the door, then returned moments later, carrying Sophia’s lunch tray.

  Sophia laughed.

  “Julian told the officer no one but he and Brody could come in without his permission. The poor guy was trying to call Julian’s cell and block the aide from bringing the tray at the same time. I thought I’d save the poor guy.” She set the tray on the table and lifted the lid. “Oh, look. Yummy beef broth, yogurt, and chocolate milk.”

  Actually, it sounded really, really good. Maybe being scared for your life, then being relieved made you hungry. Either way, Sophia was famished.

  “Hmm.” Charlie looked at Sophia’s hands, then darted her gaze around the room. “I know you hate to depend on others, and I’m more than willing to feed you, but I have an idea to help you feed yourself. Interested?”

  It would be awesome to not have to have someone feed her. It was humiliating. She nodded.

  “The broth’s too thin for this, so I’ll just let you drink it out of a straw when it cools a little, okay?”

  Sophia nodded.

  “Same with the milk.” Charlie rolled her eyes. “Well, with the straw, I mean. It’s obviously not too hot.” She took the top off the yogurt and set it on the tray, then went to the bathroom, returning with one of the pairs of disposable gloves. “Okay, let’s glove you up.”

  After the gloves were secure, Charlie pulled open one of the drawers and grabbed a roll of self-adhering elastic wrap. She situated the spoon in Sophia’s right hand and then slowly and gently wrapped the bandage around, securing the spoon to Sophia’s hand. “There.”

  Charlie adjusted the height of the table, then arranged the tray and yogurt cup so Sophia could manipulate the cup with just the fingertips on her left hand. Charlie put the napkin over Sophia’s chest. “You might make a little mess. It’s okay if you do.” She stepped back. “Go ahead and give it a try.”

  Sophia took a deep breath, then tried.

  And failed.

  God, please. I’m not asking to win a gold, just to be able to feed myself.

  It took her three times, but she finally got the spoon into the cup, and was able to get it into her mouth. And she didn’t even spill a drop!

  “Yeah, you’re awesome,” Charlie said.

  Sophia made quick work of the yogurt.

  “Well, look at you.” Charlie helped her scrape the last bite, then undid her hands. “The broth is cool enough now. Would you like some?”

  Sophia nodded, and Charlie put the straw to her lips.

  She’d just finished off her milk when Julian returned. “I just reviewed all the video footage from the last two and a half hours on your floor. I saw the man enter and leave three minutes later, but we didn’t get a clear image of his face, so we have no identification.”

  “Tell him what we discussed,” Sophia mouthed to Charlie.

  Nodding, Charlie filled Julian in on their impressions. When she was finished, Julian stared at Sophia. “You weren’t apprehensive about him?”

  She shook her head. “Besides, God’s with me. I have to believe I didn’t die for a reason. I’m not going to start being scared now.”

  “Hmm. I stopped by the nurses’ station again and had them check your chart. No doctor or nurse or therapist or lab technician had any notation of coming by, or intent to come by and see you today. And before you say anything, I checked with the floor’s charge nurse about what your hand doctor looks like. He’s in his early fifties and balding, nothing like the description you two came up with.”

  “Then I have no idea who he was, but I truly don’t believe he’s with the men who attacked me and my mother. He seemed more like . . . well, like a weasel than an aggressor.”

  Julian chuckled. “A weasel, huh?”

  It did strange things to Sophia’s heart to see him laugh. She could almost imagine him out of his profession, laughing.

  With her.

  Heat infused her face and she shot a glance at Charlie, who met her stare with a raised eyebrow.

  It was almost as if Cha
rlie could read her mind. How was it possible, to have someone know her so intimately, when she’d only known her for such a short time? She’d been on teams and in training with girls all her life, but she’d never bonded with any of them. Was it only because of the brutality of the attack on her that she was more readable? Or the grief from losing her mother?

  Julian kept smiling. “I did, however, learn your hand doctor is supposed to make rounds soon. He’s actually finishing up a surgery, then the nurse said he’ll make rounds. And yes, I asked . . . he’s scheduled to actually come talk to you today, instead of just reading your chart.”

  If Sophia could talk, she’d sing a halleluiah chorus right now.

  “Thought that might make you happy.” Julian glanced around the room. “Much nicer digs than before. More spacious.”

  Sophia smiled, then caught Charlie staring at Julian as if he’d just sprouted another head. Was she reading his mind, too? Julian stared back at Charlie, and it was as if they were having a full conversation between them with not a single word said.

  Finally, Julian cleared his throat and looked back at Sophia. “The officer outside will be checking ID badges from this point forward. Verifying everyone who comes into the room.”

  “I hope you told the poor guy he could let the aides bring in meal trays. If I hadn’t intervened and gotten Sophia’s lunch tray, she’d have died of starvation,” Charlie teased.

  “He should be thorough.”

  “Don’t you intimidate him, Julian Frazier. I know what a bully you can be,” Charlie said.

  “I’m not a bully. I’m just making sure he’s doing his job.” Julian’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “But, I need to get back to the station. Brody called, and they’re going over the golf cart now. I want to be there in case they find anything.” He smiled at Sophia, and her mouth formed a returning smile on its own accord. “I’ll be back later this evening. If you need me in the meantime, Charlie knows my number.”

  Charlie stood. “I do.” She smiled at Sophia. “I’m going to grab a bite and let you rest for a bit. I’ll be back in less than an hour.”

  “Thank you.” Sophia watched them leave.

  Once they’d closed the door, she closed her eyes and let her fingers caress another square on her mother’s quilt, the deep, red from Mamochka’s portrayal of Death in La Valse.

  “Why weren’t you the girl in white?” Sophia asked, watching her mother sew the intricate pattern with the dark crimson bodice material.

  Mamochka laughed, the sound as light and graceful as she was when dancing. “Oh, my sweet. I’ve always liked dancing the passionate roles of the dark. Like the dark swan in Swan Lake. And Death in La Valse.”

  “But you’re too pretty to be mean.”

  She set down her needle and thread and hugged Sophia. “You, my dear, are an angel.”

  Sophia ran her hand over the tulle of the skirt, then reached for the stack of playbills. She flipped through them, staring at her mother’s pictures. So beautiful. “No, Mamochka, you’re the angel.”

  * * *

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  Julian strode down the hospital hallway, Charlie dogging his every step. She grabbed his arm and spun him to face her. “Julian. What are you doing?”

  “I’m working a case.”

  “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.” Charlie crossed her arms over her chest.

  No, he knew what she meant, but he didn’t want to discuss it with her right now. Maybe never, but at least not until he got some grasp on exactly what this odd sense of attraction and protection he felt about Sophia.

  “I see the way you look at her.”

  “Mind your own business, Charlie.”

  “You saved her, Julian. The girl’s got hero-worship in her eyes every time she looks at you. Don’t you dare bat those dark-as-night eyes at her to get information for your case, then break her heart. She’s not used to men like you.”

  “Men like me?” What, was he some kind of player or something? Seriously, he rarely dated.

  “Yes, men like you. Men.” Charlie shook her head and let out a heavy sigh. “Don’t you see? Sophia’s been so sheltered, so wrapped up in her gymnastics and training, I bet she’s never even so much as been kissed by someone over the age of twenty-one.”

  “I’m not kissing her, Charlie.” But if he was honest with himself, he’d admit he wanted to. Desperately. Last night when he’d been feeding her, he’d been so sorely tempted to just lightly graze his lips against hers.

  “Be sure you don’t, Julian. I mean it. That girl in there is a good girl, and she’s been through a lot. She’s lost everything.”

  “I know, Charlie.” He didn’t need her telling him how to act, what to do, or how to feel. “This is my case. I know exactly what she’s been through and what she’s lost. You don’t have to remind me of that.”

  “I just don’t want to see her get hurt again is all. I like her. I care about her.”

  Problem was, so did he. “I’ve got to get back to the station. Are you staying for a while?”

  “Yeah. At least until her hand doctor comes by. She has a lot of questions for him.”

  “I would imagine. I’ll check back later.” He turned and left.

  The afternoon sun beat down on the parking lot, making it downright sweltering. Soon, the Fourth of July celebrations would begin, and there’d be even more going on in the village. He hoped to solve Sophia’s case before then.

  He met Brody back at the station, down in the forensics lab where the technicians had already started working on the golf cart.

  “Anything new with Sophia?” Brody asked.

  Julian nodded, filling him in on the strange man who’d posed as a doctor and gotten into her room, ending with, “Sophia and Charlie both said the man didn’t appear aggressive in any way, I let the officer at the door understand how important it is to verify those ID badges.”

  Brody nodded. “Now might be a good time to send the sketch artist over to the hospital. I know you wanted to wait on Sophia to get a little better to work with the artist on sketches of the men who attacked her, but I don’t think we can wait any longer. And while the artist’s there, he can make a sketch of the fake doctor.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Great. I’ll call the artist.”

  “Will you call Charlie and let her know as well?” He didn’t want to hear another lecture from her.

  “Sure.” Brody stepped out of the observation room, already lifting his phone to his ear.

  The head forensics tech waved at Julian to come to the intercom. Julian did and pressed the button. “Whatcha got, Robert?”

  “No fingerprints, but we found two areas we’re extracting DNA to test. Found four hairs, too.”

  “Let me know as soon as you get the results, okay? Thanks for rushing this.”

  Robert gave a curt nod, then went back into the lab area. Julian met Brody in the hall and filled him in.

  “Let’s just pray there’s evidence to not only identify the attackers, but link the golf cart to the crime.” Brody slipped his phone back into his hip holder.

  “I’m hoping the same myself, partner.”

  “Yeah, but I’m praying.” Brody chuckled.

  Julian remained silent as they walked back to their desks. Even after everything Sophia had gone through, she still clung to her faith. He normally would chock it up to her age and naïveté, but Brody was by no means young or naïve. Maybe they were onto something.

  No. He’d chased down that rabbit hole before, only to have Eli cut down in front of him. Eli had loved the Lord, and God didn’t save him.

  If God wouldn’t save a good man like Eli, there was no hope for Julian.

  12

  Your fingers aren’t broken at all, and your surgery site is healing nicely with no sign of infection. I’m going to order less bandaging to give you more range of motion. No grabbing things yet, though. You can’t bend your knuckles like usual. Just your fingers.
Understand?” Dr. Davies, the hand surgeon, pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his hawklike nose.

  Sophia nodded. The doctor had examined her hands carefully, cleaned the area himself, then rewrapped them in a much looser, thinner manner. She looked at Charlie and mouthed the question burning her heart. “Will I ever be able to compete as a gymnast again?”

  Charlie’s voice trailed off.

  Dr. Davies slowly shook his head. “I’m sorry. I’m a great surgeon and this was clean breaks with textbook repairs, but the extensiveness of the damage . . . I doubt you’ll be able to put your entire body weight on just your hands again.”

  Sophia pressed her lips together and nodded. Everything got a little blurry as her eyes filled with tears.

  “I’m sorry.” Dr. Davies patted her shoulder, then took her chart and left.

  The tears wouldn’t be denied. They slipped down her face in silence.

  “I’m so sorry, Sophia,” Charlie said, her voice cracking.

  Sophia sniffled and wiped tears onto her shoulder. Lord, You have to help me. I’m not strong enough to bear this on my own. Please show me the path You want me to take.

  The officer stuck his head into the room. “Ms. Montgomery?”

  “Yes?” Charlie answered.

  “Your gr—Alena Borin is here to see you.”

  Charlie looked at Sophia. “Your call.”

  She’d just gotten the most devastating news . . . she didn’t know if she could handle seeing the woman who never wanted her born.

  Forgive.

  The word reverberated in her mind. Over and over.

  Forgive. Forgive. Forgive.

  “Sophia?”

  Hard as it would be, she knew what she had to do. She nodded at Charlie.

  “Yes, it’s okay. Send her in,” Charlie told the guard. “Are you sure?” she whispered to Sophia.

  “No, but it’s what I need to do.” With Your strength, Jesus. Your strength.

  Alena walked into the room. “MIlaya Moyna, you are looking better.” She stopped when she saw Charlie.

  “I’m Charlie, remember? I translate for Sophia.”

  “You can still not talk?” Alena moved closer to the bed.