“And she gets arrested for spying,” Debbie finished. “Is that right?”
“Oh, no, no, no! I’m sure she will wriggle out of this quite convincingly, like she picked up the files by mistake. You know the sort of political double-speak they come up with.”
“Uh-huh, okay. So if she gets out of it, how do you get her transferred?”
“Oh no, it’s the first stage. Once the minister sees that he can’t trust her, we go to the second stage.”
“Right,” Debbie said, “How many spy movies have you seen to come up with this idea?”
Paula scowled at Debbie. “This will work. It has worked before. So where’s her handbag?” She looked around the office.
“She’s got it with her. Give them to me and I’ll put them in when she isn’t looking,” Debbie offered with a smile.
Paula smiled and handed the files to Debbie. The door opened and Paula sighed. Mrs. Lambros was about to enter the office.
***
Eva was standing half in and half out the door, talking to one of the workmen who had been outside their temporary offices. Debbie could see Eva’s dark blue jacket was splotched with white paint. Debbie was delighted to see Henry standing next to Eva. The only person she knew had a calming influence on Eva other than Zoe was Henry. Eva visibly relaxed when he was around her, although she looked anything but relaxed at that moment. Debbie’s plan to have Eva actually go to lunch had worked. She had called Henry, and told him her boss needed to get out of the building and stay out for a while. Henry didn’t need a lot of convincing to have lunch with his friend.
Henry entered the office and Debbie saw that his dark jacket was also splotched with the paint.
Judging from the look on Eva’s face, she wasn’t at all happy. Debbie could only see the bottom half of the man’s white overalls through the open door, but had a perfect view of Eva’s irritated look.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Eva muttered.
“Look, sweetheart, I’m sorry about your jacket.”
Eva looked up at the painter. “What are you doing here? This hallway doesn’t need painting! It’s the cottage that needs painting,” she said. “This hallway is perfectly acceptable.”
“I don’t know, sweetheart. I was told to come here and paint it. I think it’s going to take maybe the rest of the day. My job is to paint it, but the boys are having some trouble with securing this part...see this part?”
“Yes, but can you see the ceiling panel is missing? There was a workman here
yesterday—”
“I know, love, but we were told to come here.”
“Can you see that this isn’t a good idea?” Eva responded. Debbie was surprised to see Eva’s reaction. Her usually very patient friend was extremely annoyed. Debbie had never seen Eva lose her temper in all the years she had known her.
“Well, I’m telling you to pack this up and get out of here NOW!” Eva yelled at the workman. She went inside the office and forcefully slammed the door shut. Debbie stared open mouthed at her. She glanced at Henry, who also looked shocked.
“What?” Eva asked. “This was my favorite jacket,” she muttered as she took it off, inspecting the paint splotch. “Do we have any mentholated spirits around?”
“No, but the painter might,” Debbie quickly replied.
Eva glared at her. “I don’t like that idea very much.” She left the jacket on the chair and rolled up the sleeves of her long sleeved cotton shirt. “What are you doing here, Mrs. Wainright?”
“Um…”
“You are going to lunch…”
Eva stopped what she was doing. She ignored Debbie’s lunch suggestion and stared down Paula. “I said, what are you doing here, Mrs. Wainright?”
“I...uh...”
“Good grief, I’m dealing with too much silliness today. Is that for me?” Eva asked and looked at the file in Debbie’s hands. She came forward and reached for it. Debbie pulled them away.
“What are you doing?” Eva asked tersely. “Are you going to give that to me or not?”
“No.”
Paula turned to Debbie with a quizzical look on her face and then turned back to Eva.
“You are going to lunch with Henry,” Debbie stated firmly.
With arms akimbo Eva starred at the floor for a long moment. She appeared to be trying to control her temper from what Debbie could ascertain. After a tense few moments and an exaggerated deep sigh, Eva looked up at Debbie. “Give me the file, since I supposedly have a meeting to go to after lunch. I also don’t have a jacket and it will look…”
Debbie took off her own jacket and gave it to Eva. “There. It may be a little small on you, but it will pass.”
Eva nodded, took the jacket, and put it on. Debbie also gave her the file. Eva looked at it and then up at Debbie.
“What is this?”
“I bought it down for the minister to review,” Paula said and smiled weakly.
“You are his secretary, and you have his schedule. Do you see him here?” Eva indicated with her hand and blinked rapidly. Debbie was certain Eva’s eyes were hurting her again by the way she was now squinting at Paula.
“No, Mrs. Lambros.”
Eva sighed. “I don’t want these lying around here.” She tapped the end of the file against her chin. “I’m meeting with Mrs. Hester in an hour. Call ahead and see if Mr. Hester is anywhere around there, or better yet, try calling his secretary,” she said sarcastically as she glared at Paula.
“He is going to be there.”
“Well, problem solved.” Eva put the file on top of the other files she had. “I think I’ll take them with me and give them to him. You can now go,” she said to Paula.
Paula glanced at Debbie and then left the office very quickly.
“Can you go to lunch now? You haven’t had anything all day.”
“Yes, mother I’m going to lunch and as you can see Henry is here to take me like I need a nanny,” Eva responded tersely.
“You are cranky today.” Debbie ignored Eva’s uncharacteristic surliness and adjusted Eva’s shirt lifting the shirt collar to sit on top of the jacket lapels.
“I’m sorry. I’m just feeling awful at the moment.” Eva mumbled and blinked rapidly. “Contact the building manager and get him to come down immediately. They sent the painters to the wrong building. I can’t believe they sent the painters here instead of the cottage.” Eva opened the door. “Henry, let’s get out of here.”
“When you come back, we need the nurse to look at your eyes.”
“Yes, alright.”
Henry grabbed his jacket and walked through the door before Eva. Debbie walked with them to try to calm Eva down.
“Do you need some aspirin?” Debbie asked and put her hand on Eva’s arm.
Eva stopped and shook her head. “I should have stayed at home like Zoe wanted me to today. I’ll have something to eat and maybe this headache will improve,” she said and walked out followed by Debbie.
Debbie watched Eva turn to sidestep the painter’s drop sheet when they heard a noise from above. Debbie looked up and at that moment the painter yelled out.
“Watch out!”
“Oh, bloody hell!” the other painter cried out. The paint bucket and the ladder leaned precariously for a moment before painter, ladder, and paint bucket came crashing down.
Everything happened so fast. Debbie tried to grab Eva’s arm to move her away but Eva was moving away from her. Eva wasn’t fast enough to avoid the large paint drum from slamming into her head, and she was thrown against the opposite wall. She connected with the brick wall head and shoulder first, and collapsed against the wall. The ladder came crashing down with the painter and was going to strike Eva. Debbie watched in horror at the carnage unfolding before her. Debbie spun around to find Henry only to see him dive over Eva’s prone body. The ladder and painter landed on him instead.
Pandemonium broke out on the floor with everyone coming out of their offices. Debbie, horrified, rushed over to E
va’s side and dropped to her knees next to Henry who was yelling at Eva in German. The files, now forgotten, were haphazardly strewn across the floor, some of them covered with paint and blood.
CHAPTER 12
Henry stifled his scream as he tried to guard Eva’s body against the painter who had fallen and landed on his legs. The pain shot through him like someone had shoved a hot poker through his leg, but he tried to keep it at bay. The painter managed to roll off to the side and off Henry’s leg. Henry paid no attention to the painter and ignored his pain. The wooden ladder had hit Henry flush across his shoulders as he tried to protect Eva. He felt the wood slivers pierce his upper back. He could feel the wetness against his shirt and assumed it was blood. He didn’t care.
He managed to lift himself knowing his leg was broken and noticed Eva was convulsing. “Oh god, oh god,” he exclaimed in the semi darkness. The light bulbs had been smashed when the ladder hit them on the way down. The only light was coming from the open office doors and he could barely see. Eva’s head was bleeding profusely from where the bucket had hit her. Henry stopped for a moment to calm himself before he tore off his jacket to use as a makeshift bandage to try and stem the blood, and loosened Eva’s shirt, which was now covered in blood.
“Oh god, Evy, stay with me. We’re not doing this again! You are not going to die on me!” Henry yelled as Eva’s body stilled. He sighed with relief when he saw her eyes open. The light hit Eva’s eyes and Henry’s heart almost stopped. The relief turned to shock to see Eva’s eyes were now completely white. It lasted seconds before she closed them.
Henry managed to sit up despite the pain of his own injuries and cradled Eva’s bleeding head. Her blood soaked his shirt and pants. His injuries were insignificant compared to those of his best friend.
***
Percy and Jana had just stepped out of the elevator to find the corridor in semi-darkness and everyone in a panic. When his eyes adjusted, the full impact hit Percy. Blood, paint, ladders, men writhing of the floor and papers strewn all over the floor. To his horror he saw Eva and sprang into action. He knelt beside a young man who was holding Eva, pressing a makeshift bandage made out of his jacket to her head to stop the bleeding.
“Did someone call the ambulance?” Percy called out and got an affirmative from someone. He didn’t know who it was nor did he care at that moment. “The ambulance is on the way. You’re bleeding, son.”
“Don’t care.”
“What’s your name, son?”
“Henry Franz, sir. I’m Eva’s friend.”
“Let me take over. You’re hurt and bleeding—”
“No,” Henry replied and held onto Eva even closer. “No, sir, I don’t want to move.”
“Alright,” Percy said. “Forrester! Did the ambulance say when they will be here?” He growled, not looking up at the gawking young man who he knew was hovering at his shoulder.
“Y—yes sir, they said immediately. Is she going to be all right?”
“I don’t know. Do I look like a doctor? What the hell happened?” Percy got up off the floor and went over to the painter to look after the poor fellow who appeared to be in a lot of pain.
“I...don’t know sir, I was in my—”
“Never mind, we will find out later.” Percy waved the hapless man away. He spotted his secretary looking dazed in the corner. “Mrs. Wainright, get some of the desk lamps so we can see what we are doing here and call maintenance.”
“Yes, sir,” she said, and quickly left.
Percy looked up gratefully to see the doors open and the paramedics rushing towards Eva. Henry reluctantly let go of his charge only when the paramedic arrived beside him.
“She hit the wall after the paint bucket hit her,” Henry said hurriedly. “Um…she also had convulsions.”
“Is she an epileptic?” the paramedic asked Henry, who shook his head.
“You’re bleeding as well, sir, let me…,” the paramedic said to Henry, who steadfast refused to move. “Did she regain consciousness?”
“Yes, briefly.”
“She did?” Percy asked. Henry nodded. Another pair of paramedics came rushing in and went over to the painters who were also injured.
“Forrester!” Percy yelled again and went in search for his assistant.
***
Debbie knelt beside Henry, unable to do anything. She glanced down in shock at her hands that were stained with blood and blinked back tears. She was torn between staying with Eva and picking up the classified papers that were now strewn all over the corridor. Seeing that the paramedics had arrived, she got up and tried to find all the paperwork. She managed to pick up the files that were spread all around Eva and tried not to look at Eva’s stricken battered face. She knew if she did, she would fall apart. Eva needed her to be strong and to be on top of everything right now, and that is what she intended to do. She went back to Henry and knelt beside him. “Henry, you’re hurt, you need—”
“No, I’m not leaving her.”
As the paramedics were lifting Eva onto their gurney, Henry tried to stand, only to find his legs collapse under him. Debbie tried to hold him but couldn’t manage on her own. Another paramedic arrived and helped Henry onto a gurney.
“I need to go with her,” Henry called out to the paramedics.
“Sir…”
“I need to go with her!” Henry yelled and tried to get up from the gurney.
“Stay where you are,” Debbie said to him. “You’re going to go to the hospital with her.”
“I can’t leave her, Debbie.”
“I know, but you’re hurt…”
“No!” Henry pushed Debbie’s hand away and tried to get off the gurney but didn’t manage to get far before the paramedic gently pushed him back.
“Stay where you are, son; you’re going to the hospital.” Percy came up the side and put his hand on Henry’s uninjured shoulder.
Debbie looked around the corridor. Blood and paint mixed together, reminiscent of a macabre murder scene from a movie. “Oh my god, Zoe…” she whispered. “I have to tell Zoe…” She saw Jana helping one of the paramedics. She knelt beside her and leaned in. “Mrs. Hester, I need to speak to you.”
Jana gave her an incredulous look. “I’m a little busy right now, Debbie, can’t it wait?”
“No, ma’am, it can’t. Please, this is important.”
“All right, you have five minutes. I want to go with Eva to the hospital.” Jana got up from the floor and looked down at her skirt, which was covered in paint.
Jana followed Debbie into the office and closed the door. “All right, what is so important?”
Debbie took a deep breath and handed the paint-damaged papers to Jana, who took them and read a few paragraphs.
“How did you get these?”
“To cut a very long story short, Mr. Hester’s secretary gave them to me to put in Mrs. Lambros’ handbag. I’m not sure if you know, ma’am, but Mrs. Wainright doesn’t like Mrs. Lambros all that much.”
“Yes, I do know, but what you are implying goes beyond simple acrimony. You do realize that?”
“Yes, ma’am, I realize that. I told Mrs. Lambros before she stepped out and got hit. She was going to meet with you and hand the papers over at the meeting.” Debbie didn’t think the day could get any worse but knew it would once Zoe had been told about the accident.
“Did you get them all? We can’t have sensitive documents lying around outside.”
“Yes, ma’am, I did. Some of them are covered in paint, but I’m sure I got them all.”
“All right, I won’t be able to deal with this until I get back.”
They both turned to the door when a light tap was heard and Forrester stuck his head in. “Mrs. Hester, Mr. Hester told me to tell you that the ambulance is leaving.”
“I’ll be right there.” Jana turned to Debbie when the door closed again. “Get on the phone to Mr. Lambros. His number—”
“I have his telephone number, ma’am.”
&nbs
p; “Good; I’m going to the hospital.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Debbie nodded as Jana left the office. She leaned against the desk and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She took a deep breath and pushed herself off the edge of the desk and back into the corridor.
***
“Well, if it isn’t my favorite red-headed niece!”
Zoe leaned against the gate and laughed at her aunt Stella, who was standing at the threshold of her medical practice. Stella was a short woman with snow-white hair and dark eyes that almost seemed black. What she lacked in eye color, she made up for in her flamboyant dress sense. Zoe shook her head in amazement when she saw her aunt, who was dressed in bright red pants with an almost migraine inducing yellow and pink shirt. A bright pink scarf was tied around her neck.
“You only have one red-headed niece!”
“I know, and she’s my favorite,” Stella exclaimed and came down the steps to greet Zoe. “How are you, my darling?”
“I’m good. Did you have a good time up in the mountains?” Zoe asked as Stella put her arm around her and escorted her inside.
“We had a glorious time. You were so right about that cabin—very romantic.”
“Oh no, no, no, I don’t want to hear about your romantic weekend.” Zoe broke away from Stella and put her hands over her ears. “It’s wrong to tell me.”
A woman’s gentle laugh echoed into the waiting room and Zoe turned to find Stella’s partner, Theresa, affectionately known as Tessa, come in with a canvas in her hand. Tessa was Eva’s aunt—a tall, slender woman with long dark brown hair and light gray eyes. Her serene nature always made Zoe feel at ease. “Oh, my darling, you don’t know the half of it.”
“Oh no, la la la la la la.” Zoe cupped her ears and sang out, causing Tessa and Stella to laugh at her antics.
[Intertwined Souls 05.0] No Good Deed Page 11
