Frozen Stiff

by Mary Logue

  CHAPTER 13

  3 January: 7 am

  Claire knew the doctors started rounds early at the hospital so she decided to go straight there before work and see if she could catch Dr. Cornwall and get the scoop on Daniel Walker.

  Before going outside, she looked out the kitchen window and checked the thermometer. The temperature had hit a high of zero. A slight warm-up. She piled into her full-length down coat and pulled on her hat with the ear-flaps. Then she pushed the button on her remote to start the squad car—a Christmas present from Rich. If she waited a few minutes the car might almost be warm before she started driving. It seemed to make her whole day go better if she didn’t have to start it shivering in a frigid vehicle.

  Watching out for black ice on the frozen roads, Claire made it to the hospital by seven. As she was walking up to Daniel Walker’s room, she saw Dr. Cornwall turning a corner down at the end of the hall. She jogged to catch up with her.

  “May I talk to you for a moment?”

  “Sure, it’s actually a slow day for me.” Dr. Cornwall smiled and swept back her ponytail. “Winter doldrums I guess. No one wants to see a doctor until they pay for their Christmas presents.”

  “I never thought of that. I just wanted to check on Daniel Walker. How’s he doing?”

  “Well, except for the fact that he’s going to lose three toes on his left foot, quite well.”

  “Does he seem with it to you?”

  “Yes, surprisingly so. His mental facilities seem to be intact. Neurologically he’s sound.”

  “Is he remembering what happened?”

  “From what I can gather, not completely. I haven’t questioned him much about the incident. However, he knows what year it is, he knows where he is, and he doesn’t want to lose his toes. All that seems pretty normal to me.”

  “How much longer will you keep him in the hospital?”

  “I’d say he’ll leave in the next day or two, depending on how the amputations go.”

  Somehow hearing the word, “amputation,” and realizing that the surgery was going to happen soon, put a darker spin on losing a few toes. “What will that do to him—having his toes cut off?”

  “His balance might be affected. We don’t realize how much we rely on our toes to keep us from pitching forward when we walk and stand. And he’ll be in some pain. But other than that, he should be fine. While he looks awful, the rest of his frostbite patches are healing nicely. He’s lucky he’s not going to lose his nose.”

  The thought of losing a nose made Claire’s stomach turn. “Yeah,” she agreed. “I’m curious. How long could he have stayed at that temperature and still been able to be resuscitated?”

  “That’s hard to say.”

  Claire wondered why so much was hard for a doctor to say. Maybe that was a phrase they learned in school and were taught to preface most sentences with it. “Give it your best shot.”

  “There are too many variables. I’ve heard of someone being revived after being out in the cold for over a day. But that guy was at least wearing clothes. Outside like that, I wouldn’t have thought much longer than he did. Mr. Walker was about as close to dying as one can get.”

  10 am

  Danielle’s cellphone buzzed in her pocket. The hospital had a thing about cell phones. They freaked out if they rang so she had to put hers on vibrate. She took the phone out and read the message: “mt me B K PLZ DM.”

  “Danger Man.” What a punk Andy was. She looked around the dingy waiting room. But she wouldn’t mind getting out of there. She didn’t know anyone else around this craphole little town. It would be nice to talk to someone about how weird this all was. Burger King was as good a place as any and at least she might get some regular food. The slop in the hospital cafeteria sucked.

  They still weren’t letting anyone but the cops in to see her father, but she slipped by his room as she was leaving and waved at him. He was sleeping, but at least she had tried. His face looked so terrible it gave her the heaves.

  When she got down to the main floor she asked directions to the Burger King and then bundled up to go out the door. Thank goodness none of her friends could see her. Sherri had lent her a down coat and she looked like the Michelin Man. But at least it kept her somewhat warm. Her car wasn’t too cold inside; the sun had warmed it up.

  When Danielle got to the Burger King, she parked as close to the door as she could and looked at herself in the mirror. Was it even worth it to put on lipstick? She pulled her tube out and it would hardly even slide across her lips. Why was she bothering for Andy anyway? She hoped he didn’t think there was still something going on between them, if so she’d have to set him straight.

  It hadn’t really worked out on any level. He was overly anxious and didn’t know how to take his time. Plus, he was way too young for her. She wanted to play around for a few more years, but then she wanted to find someone like her dad, someone who knew how to make money and, even more importantly, knew how to spend it on her.

  When she walked into the joint, he was already there, waving at her from a booth. Waving at her. What was that about? She pointed at the counter and he held up a bag of food. She ordered a cheeseburger and small fries, then she splurged on a shake. She figured she needed the extra calories to keep warm. She heard you burned off lots of calories shivering.

  When Danielle slid into the booth across from Andy, he ducked his head, then said, “Hey.”

  “Hey, yourself, farmer,” she said. He hated it when she rubbed it in that he lived on a farm.

  “Pretty cold, huh?”

  “I don’t want to talk about the weather. It is what it is.” She bit into her hamburger and tasted the tang of the ketchup.

  “Yeah, I guess.” Andy slurped at his soft drink. “How’s it going with your dad? How’s Sherri handling it?”

  She tried not to snap at him. “He’s doing okay. Don’t even say Sherri’s name to me. She’s a bitch.”

  Farm Boy laughed. “And you’re not?”

  She flinched and felt herself close to slapping him, but she had to play it cool, not let him know she had her own vulnerabilities. “What’s with you? This has been really hard on me. And she doesn’t help matters at all.”

  He sat back. “Well, I know you’re busy, but you could at least give me a call from time to time.”

  Man, he was like a little pussy, so needy, but then that was why she had picked him out at the beach—easy to handle. That and his bod. Plus, he had amused her with his hick ways. There were so many things he didn’t know and he was just so excited to find them out. It had been kinda fun. But now he was a drag.

  “Listen, I need to focus right now. Focus on my dad. Let me just get through this and I’ll give you a call.”

  “What’s going to happen with your dad? Do you think he and Sherri are going to get back together again?”

  “Over my dead body. What a horrible thought. I sincerely hope not. In fact, I will do everything in my power to see that that doesn’t happen.”

  • • •

  3 pm

  “They’re gone,” Daniel said as he stared down at the foot of his bed.

  Sherri sat down in the only chair in the bare room. A blond-haired nurse stood in the doorway.

  “I know,” she said, looking down at the lump in the bed which was his bandaged foot.

  “They took off three of my toes and part of my foot.”

  “I’m sorry, Dan.”

  He shrugged. “I can’t feel a thing. What’s a couple toes?” He looked up at her. “But my nose itches.”

  “Don’t start scratching it now. You don’t want to get it infected.”

  “Where have you been?” he asked.

  “Out in the waiting room. I’m not allowed to be with you alone,” she explained to him.

  “Why not?” he asked, a slight whine in his voice.

  Sherri forced herself to look at him. His face looked even more awful than it had yesterday. The blisters were weeping and his nose was a dark, st
ormy blue. Only his eyes looked like they used to—deep brown and steady. Daniel had been a handsome man when she first met him. He had aged a bit since then—silver streaks in his remaining hair, a bit of a paunch, but not bad. But the way he looked now, he could star in a horror film.

  “Because the cops think I might have tried to kill you.” Sherri figured there was no sense in keeping it a secret from him.

  He gave a raw laugh that sounded like something had scraped his throat. “That’s ridiculous. Why would you want to kill me?”

  “For your money.”

  “Would you kill me for my money?”

  “No, it doesn’t matter that much to me. Plus, Danielle just informed me that you had changed your will and I wouldn’t have gotten any anyway.”

  “Danielle told you that? She’s been busy. Don’t believe everything she says.” He laughed, which turned into a throaty cough. The he spit out, “Anyway, you’re too lazy and too nervous to try to kill me.”

  “That’s true too.” Sherri found herself smiling, in spite of his nasty comment. Daniel Walker did know her quite well. After all, they had worked together for ten years and then been married for the last five. He should know her.

  “When am I going to get to go home? I keep asking them and no one will tell me. Can you find out?”

  Sherri looked at the nurse. “Do you know?”

  “Might be as soon as tomorrow,” the nurse answered.

  “You don’t have to stand there. I’m not worried about Sherri. She’s still my wife,” Daniel said to the nurse. He was always trying to boss everyone around. Sherri wondered what the nurse would say.

  The blond-haired nurse smiled and said, “I do have to be here. It’s part of my job.”

  Daniel waved his hand. “Don’t you have something better to do? People’s lives to save?”

  “Not at the moment.”

  “Well, it’s your time. I guess you can do what you want with it.” Daniel turned back to Sherri. “Any chance you could get me something decent to eat? I’m starving to death here.”

  “What would you like?”

  “What I’d really like is a steak, but I guess a hamburger would do. With the whole works—fries and all. Cholesterol be damned.”

  “I’ll get you a hamburger for dinner.”

  He leaned his head back. His eyes closed. He sighed, then opened his eyes and said, “Sherri, thank you for being here.”

  She blinked her eyes. She did not want him to see her cry for many reasons—her pride and his pride too. But he hadn’t spoken so kindly to her in a long time. “You’re welcome.”

  CHAPTER 14

  3 January: 3:30 pm

  Claire was surprised to walk into Bonnie’s room and find her alone in bed with the bundle of a baby tucked in next to her. In front of the young girl was a tray of food—soup, bread, chocolate milk. Lots of liquids. She must be trying to breastfeed. This had to be a good sign.

  Bonnie was staring down at her newborn, touching him on the face as if seeing if he were real. Her long brown hair hung like a shawl around her shoulders and she looked like a plump Madonna.

  “Bonnie,” Claire asked. “How’re you doing?”

  Bonnie started, then looked up and saw the uniform and held her baby tighter. “Who are you?”

  “A deputy sheriff, Meg Watkins’ mom. I didn’t mean to startle you, but I’d like to ask you a few questions. Everything is fine.” Claire stepped closer and couldn’t help but lean down to admire the baby. He had a broad face with faint, wide eyebrows and a chubby hand was near his mouth, waving around. His hair was thick but very light, appearing like down on his head. She had the nearly irresistible urge to reach out and stroke him, but she needed to ask Bonnie a few questions first. “He’s adorable.”

  “Do you think so? I think he’s kinda scrawny and squished looking.”

  “But look at that hair. He’s going to chunk out soon enough, but don’t worry if he drops a little right at first. That’s normal.”

  Claire pulled up a chair and sat down next to the girl. “You can keep eating. I just wanted to ask you a few things.”

  “About what?” Bonnie spooned up some soup.

  “I’ll be really straight with you. I’m wondering about your relationship to Daniel Walker.”

  The spoon Bonnie had been holding clanged to the tray, then fell to the floor.

  “I’ll get it,” Claire said, not wanting the girl to try to reach down from the bed and also to give her a second to gather herself together. When she handed the spoon back to Bonnie, she caught her eyes and said, “This is just between you and me. No one else will know.”

  “Why are you asking me about Mr. Walker? I just did some house cleaning work for him.”

  “What do you think of him?”

  Bonnie shrugged. “He’s a nice guy. Pretty smart.”

  “Does he pay you well?”

  “Better than I could get any other place around here.”

  Claire had been thinking about how she would phrase the important question. She knew many interrogators came at things slantwise, but she tended to come at the issue straight ahead, especially with someone like Bonnie. The young girl would be unprepared for it and since she was probably not much of a liar, be forced to come out with something that was close to the truth.

  “Bonnie, who is the father of your baby?”

  Bonnie lifted her head like a doe hearing a noise that might mean danger. She looked around the room.

  “This is between you and me,” Claire assured her.

  “Do you really need to know?”

  “It might be helpful.”

  “I think you already know.”

  “Do I?”

  “Well, you asked me about Mr. Walker.”

  Claire noticed that Bonnie called him Mister. They must not have gotten very close. “Was it just once?”

  Bonnie shook her head.

  “More than that?”

  “Only twice. My mom was sick so I went and cleaned their house. Mr. Walker was there both times.”

  “Did he force you?”

  Bonnie shook her head again. “No, not really. He was very nice to me. We sat and talked and he even gave me a beer. Just one beer. But it wasn’t like I was drunk or anything. You know, we were just hanging out. He treated me like an adult. He asked me questions about myself. He wasn’t a lech or anything. I don’t know. It just happened. I didn’t mind. It was kinda nice.”

  “Are you sure? You know what he did was against the law, because of your age.”

  “Really? That seems stupid, when I went along with it. In a way, I was glad to get the first time over with. Everyone makes such a big deal about it.”

  Claire nodded. Thank goodness he hadn’t forced her. But he had sure left her holding the package, so to speak.

  “And you really didn’t know you were pregnant?”

  “No. My stomach hurt, but I just figured it was cause I was gaining weight. I was embarrassed about that.”

  “What about your period?”

  “It’s always been a little irregular. I never paid much attention to it.”

  “So Mr. Walker doesn’t know he’s a father?”

  Bonnie looked down and shook her head.

  “Do you want him to know?” Claire asked.

  Bonnie shrugged.

  “Let me be clear. Mr. Walker broke the law. We could arrest him for what he did to you.”

  Bonnie looked up. “Do you have to? I’d rather keep it quiet. Does he even have to know?”

  “I think he should know. At least he needs to take responsibility for his actions.”

  “So are you going to arrest him?”

  Claire thought of Daniel Walker, frozen and blistering, having parts of his body cut off. Bonnie probably wasn’t even aware of what had happened to him, that he was on the next floor of the hospital. “We’ll see.”

  The baby started fussing, his broad face turning red. When Bonnie cuddled him, he quieted. She seemed to know what to
do with him already.

  “Have you named him yet?”

  “No. I’ve been watching him, trying to see what he looks like to me. I’ve thought of Kevin and Logan. What do you think?”

  “Those both sound like very good names. Solid. Just like your beautiful baby is going to be.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Bonnie, I need to ask you one more question. Does anyone know about your relationship with Mr. Walker? Your parents? His wife?”

  “Not my mom. Just my dad.”

  “What’d he say when he found out?”

  “That he was going to kill him.”

  4 pm

  John Gordon stared out the window at the brittle sun glaring off the icy crust on top of the snow. He didn’t know what to do with himself. He felt like he was frozen inside and it wasn’t just because of the weather. He was waiting to hear back from the lawyer, trying to decide what he would do depending on which way the phone call went.

  No matter what happened with the farm, he didn’t feel like he could leave his mother again, but there was no work for him to do in Pepin County during the winter.

  He’d put in an application at the dog food factory and at the cabinet maker down near Hager City, but he wasn’t holding his breath. Both places had told him they weren’t hiring, but still let him fill out an application.

  Until he knew what was going to happen with the farm, he felt all tied up in knots. The thought of losing the homeplace made him sick, like the earth had changed into a land he didn’t know anymore. How could something like this have happened to him? He had planned on spending his whole life on the farm. It was the only place he felt real.

  There were projects to do around the house and out in the barn, but he didn’t feel like doing anything to make the place any better if Walker was going to buy it. John was pretty sure that Walker had no intention of fixing up the house. He’d tear it down, cut up the land and sell it off to some rich folks for tennis courts and swimming pools. Good farmland going to waste. Where did people think food was going to come from in the future if they kept on developing all the land that way?