Piper stepped closer. “I’m a cousin. Her closest relative.”
“I can give you a small amount of information. She’s in a coma, with head contusions and bruises on her hand. On the plus side, no broken bones. We’ll do more tests, keep a watch on her, and monitor her progress. That’s all we have now. Can you tell me anything about what happened that might be helpful?”
“It was a moped accident outside Nolan. Someone attacked her.” Aggie rolled her hands together. “The moped was crashed to bits.”
The doctor studied the chart. “I’ll leave it to you to notify any other relatives of her condition. There’s nothing you can do tonight. She’ll be resting. Come visit her tomorrow.”
“We’ll do whatever we can.” Aggie inched backward.
Piper shook rain off the canvas carryall. “We’ll see if we can figure out what happened, and then I’ll clean the mud off her bag.”
The two women plodded toward the lobby.
“Why did you say you were her cousin?” Aggie looked puzzled.
“So we could get medical information about her. If you aren’t related, they can’t tell you anything.”
Aggie nodded. “There’s a saying, ‘A gypsy has three truths. One for you. One for me. A third for himself.’ See, now you’ve become an honorary gypsy.”
Piper took her arm.
Evidence of chaos continued its path around the globe.
Currents crawled through the ocean.
Water dripped from faucets.
Blood flowed through blue vessels.
Hearts beat out simple songs.
Things set in motion progressed according to the laws of physics, and hummed a tune. Do re mi fa. So there.
CHAPTER 32
The two club women trudged up the creaky staircase to Lily’s room above the garage. At the top, Aggie flung open the door.
“Good grief, I know this look. The person watching us has attacked again.” Aggie stumbled toward the curtains flapping at the open window. She pushed down the sash with a thump.
“What a disaster.” Piper looked at the open dresser drawers. “Not her housekeeping, for sure.” She picked up a sweater. “Everything strewn around. You’re right. It looks like my place after the break-in. Like you said. The same person.”
Aggie foraged through the clothes on the closet floor. “And he comes closer and closer.” She hung up shirts and slacks and skirts. “And now Lily has been hurt.”
Piper leaned over to pick up a leaflet. “Look, it’s about monarchs. I’ll take it to the hospital. Lily loves butterflies.” She stacked books by the bedside. “What about this? A flyer about the Book of Cures. I’ll take that too.”
Aggie turned the wastebasket right side up. “Griffo had a red flyer too. Did you get one?”
“I don’t know. Freddie handles the mail at home.” Piper pulled out her phone. “I’ll call the sheriff. Darn, we shouldn’t touch the rest of her things. Except maybe pick up her underwear.”
“Someone plans to poison us and we’re warned not to leave. Someone breaking in all over town. Then Lily is attacked.” Aggie paced around the room, murmuring, “Dear ancestors of the forest, protect us from evil. Protect us from poison. Protect us from darkness and burlap sacks. Keep us safe.”
In ten minutes, a siren wailed its loud song down the road, then arrived at the farm. They ran to the top of the stairs to meet the sheriff.
“This is downright scary,” Piper said. “Someone crashed into Lily.”
Aggie added, “Someone put a bag over her head.”
The sheriff marched through the door. “Don’t worry. I’m here now. And more help is on the way.”
“We did tidy up some,” Piper said. “Probably shouldn’t have done that.”
The sheriff nodded. “Don’t worry about it.”
Detective Jamison arrived and shook off his wet coat. “You two, sit on the bed.” He poked around Lily’s dislodged furniture and belongings and finally turned to the sheriff. “What can you tell me?”
“My deputy is watching the Emporium,” the sheriff said. “And I deputized Fred to keep an eye out for the lady in gray. I’ll take over as soon as I can.”
“But what happened to the librarian?” Jamison checked the rain on the window sill.
The sheriff turned to him. “I got the 911 that Ms. McFae had an accident driving Aggie’s moped into town. Someone smashed her little vehicle to kingdom come and attacked her. About the state of this room, not sure. These two cleaned it up some before I got here. I’d say someone was after her valuables. She’s in the hospital.”
“I don’t think Lily had much to steal,” Aggie said.
“Which hospital?” Jamison gripped the bedpost.
The sheriff stopped sorting objects. “The closest one, Groverly General.”
The detective came over to the women. “I’m taking over. Aggie, let Piper walk you over to the farmhouse and lock the door. Piper, I’ll drive you home after I make some calls.”
“I’d feel better staying with Aggie.”
“Okay, that’s fine.” Jamison turned to the sheriff. “Keep the deputy at the Emporium. Let Fred go home and you watch the bookmobile. I’ll contact you after I check on Ms. McFae’s condition. With the bookmobile closed, Minnesota Fiddler has the perfect window of opportunity to retrieve her stash.”
Back in the vardo, Griffo took a slug of slivovitz and pulled out the sword. He was able to slip it down an inch into his throat before his hand shook. He pulled out the blade and threw it down. “Things are goin’ hellova caddywompus.” He yanked off the cage cover.
The snake hissed at him, and he rattled the cage.
“She didn’t have the ring and it wasn’t in my room. The craziest part was, she didn’t even look the same.”
His nerves rampaged through his body and he bounced from one wall to the other, batting at the cabinets until he was worn out. He opened the vardo door, turned around three times and rubbed his rabbit’s foot, then slumped down on the mattress.
The snake coiled in its enclosure, ready to strike.
Griffo got up to kneel before the cage. He crooned to the serpent, “Why don’t you like me?”
The tattooed lady stood at the open door. “I like you fine.”
His head swiveled around, and he took in her colorful, design-covered body. “Wow, don’t you look great. I’m Griffo. Do you know anyone who knows anything about this snarly snake?”
“Matter of fact, I do. I’ll tell you a secret about working with your little buddy. Learned it from my friend, the stripping snake charmer.”
Early the next morning, Aggie and Piper waited outside the hospital room for the doctor to finish his examination.
“Can we see her?” Piper walked up to the physician, catching him before he moved on.
“Only for a few minutes. She’s still in a coma. We’re watching her carefully.”
“Is there anything we can do?” Aggie said.
“Talk quietly to her when you’re there,” the doctor said. “The sound of familiar voices can be beneficial to someone in her condition.
When Aggie and Piper entered Lily’s room, they saw the nurse fussing around the monitoring equipment.
She smiled at them as she checked the drip tube. “I’m so glad she has family with her. She must be an interesting woman with such glorious tattoos.”
Aggie shrugged.
Piper stared.
“I have to answer a call, but I’ll be right back. Remember to talk quietly.”
The two women waited for the nurse to leave.
“What did she mean?” Piper hovered at Lily’s bed. “I never saw any tattoos.”
Aggie moved to the other side. “I have no notion.”
“Dare we look?”
Aggie smoothed a wrinkle in the cover. “Better not to.”
“A temptation, though.” Piper leaned over the still form.
“We just hold her hand and talk,” Aggie said, “like the doctor said.”
/> “Do you think the tattoos were a secret she might have told us?” Piper put her mouth close to Lily and whispered. “I’ve got the bag of books you had last night. The mud on the outside dried, and I brushed it off.” She placed the tote bag on the bottom shelf of the nightstand. “Almost good as new.”
“We brought reading from your room. It’s here, waiting for you.” Aggie set two books on top of the stand. This old book of poetry and — oh, wait, I’ll put this one about classic erotica in the drawer for when you wake up.”
The patient was silent. So were the visitors.
Aggie went to the window to gaze out. “It’s hard to keep talking when she can’t answer.”
“Maybe I’ll read to her about the butterflies. That might make her happy.” Piper pulled out the leaflet she’d found in Lily’s room. “Studies show that chemicals sprayed on corn crops might affect the plant pollen and might blow on milkweed plants nearby. When monarch butterflies feed on the milkweed… Oh dear, it would be poisonous. That’s not a cheery thought.”
There was no sign that Lily heard their voices, but when butterflies were mentioned, the yellow and green spikes of the monitor moved up an increment. On another machine, little white blips drew out a miniature mountain range, up and down, then up a bit further. The nurse floated in.
“I wonder what she’s thinking.” Aggie said.
The nurse checked the machines. “Wish we knew. We scan the brain and take pictures. Doctors interpret all the blips and stimuli racing around inside. Some day we may know more about what goes on inside the head of a coma patient.”
“What do you think?” Aggie asked.
“Only that technology can’t chase down our thoughts yet. Maybe that’s a good thing. Our ideas still belong to us alone. The world is round. Or flat. We think what we choose.”
“And through closed eyelids, the world’s as thin as an insect wing.” Aggie murmured. “Mama Nanninski once said that.”
“Exactly. All is not as it appears.” The nurse straightened the blankets. “If I were you two, I’d go home and rest. Come back this afternoon. I don’t expect anything to happen for a while.”
At Cut & Curl, Piper answered the phone and winced at the notification. Her Groverly doctor’s office was calling. “This is Piper Valerian.”
“Mrs. Valerian, I’ve examined your mammogram and after checking the results, I believe the next step is to schedule a routine biopsy. It’s not a difficult procedure, and it gives us the answers we need. I can put you through to scheduling now, so you can set a date.”
“I need a little time to think,” she said.
“Be sure and call the office to set up a date. Try not to worry. It’s not a long procedure.”
“Okay.” She hung up and crumpled into the barber chair. She felt her body go numb.
If Lily wanted to say something, she couldn’t, even though she tried. Words about butterflies fluttered through her head, about symbiosis and biodiversity. Pesticides blowing on plants endangering monarchs. About caterpillars half the normal size, after feeding on leaves dusted with poisonous pollen. Then, dying. Words. More words. Sad words.
In her mind, laser beams bounced back and forth as she plowed her way through fields of corn, searching for interconnected strings between men and women and other species. She thought she heard a butterfly struggling to break free of its cocoon, working its way toward the light and the leaves. Like an insect fighting to break the threads that held it tightly inside its silken womb, Lily struggled to break the cords that bound her to the bedding.
Shift after shift, the hospital caregivers intruded with necessary body pokes and prods. Lily kept busy, breathing in and breathing out. Outside her hospital window, the universe poured its explained and unexplained events down the funnel of time. Fronts passed. Stars came out.
Minnesota Fiddler grabbed an ale at the Hopper. “Sleepy little town you’ve got here. It’s surprising you guys have your own bookmobile. But it doesn’t seem to be open much of the time.”
“Yeah,” Jeremy polished glasses behind the counter. “The librarian had an accident. Now that she’s in the hospital, it’s closed.”
“That’s too bad.” The corners of Fiddler’s mouth twitched.
CHAPTER 33
At the Groverly Hospital, Detective Jamison presented his credentials to the doctor and explained his purpose. At first the physician denied the request, then relented, as long as a nurse was present and the visit was brief. The detective opened the blinds and turned up all the lights to watch the patient’s expressions.
“Ms. Lily McFae, can you hear me? It’s Detective Hugh Jamison. There’s something I need to say.” He lightly touched her hand. “In case you’re fooling the doctor. And me. I want you aware of your situation.”
Lily’s face was a mask, without wrinkle or emotion.
“I’m not sure you should say anything that might disturb the patient,” the nurse said.
“It will only be a few sentences. If she’s in a coma, she won’t understand.”
“And you must understand that I will be keeping a close eye on her machines.”
He looked at Lily. “If evidence is found that you’re connected with the theft of the Book of Cures, you may be taken into custody.”
The patient did not budge, but the pulse in her vein bobbled at the sound of his soft, calm voice.
“I see a small signal. It might be the start of distress. I’m sure the lights should not be so high.” The nurse snapped off the lamp and turned the dimmer to low.
“Sorry, but she’s under suspicion in a stolen book theft. In addition, I have questions about more serious crimes committed in connection with the theft. And about her accident.” He turned to the patient. “Things will go easier for you if you can provide information that results in the return of the volume, or any information about the death of Maxine Morton. And I need to know about your attack.”
The nurse checked the machines. “Look here, her blood pressure’s up. I suggest you stop now, because I need to notify the doctor.”
He touched Lily’s hand. “I understand. It looks like she has nothing to say today. Get well soon. Damn it.”
Kicked out of the hospital, he started for Nolan and the bookmobile stakeout.
He pulled in, parked, and found the sheriff in an unmarked car. “You’ve had a big day. I’ll finish the watch tonight.”
“If you’re sure, I’ll take off.” The sheriff started the car and waved goodbye.
Although Hugh’s least favorite thing was surveillance, he’d made the positive ID of Fiddler in the square, found the coins, and felt a responsibility to join in the stakeout. When he reparked between two cars in front of the Hopper, he had a clear view of the bookmobile.
After the bar closed and the cars left, he moved his vehicle next to an SUV that shielded his presence. A couple hours later, he spotted a shadow limping through the middle of the square. Now and then, the form disappeared in the trees, but the person moved steadily toward the bookmobile. The figure stopped at the rear door for a few minutes, hovered over the knob, then disappeared inside. Jamison checked to make sure his gun and handcuffs were ready. It wouldn’t take long for the intruder to check the loose floorboard. He counted to ten. Sliding out of his car, he ran to the bookmobile door and yanked it open. “Hands up. Stop whatever you’re doing right now. I’m an officer of the law and my weapon is drawn.” He flashed a light at the intruder. The woman in the windbreaker turned, her mouth open. She put her hands over her head.” Hey man, where’d you come from?” The closet door hung ajar and the floorboard was removed. A backpack lay at her feet.
“Never mind. What’s your name?”
“Uh, Minnow Watson.”
“Not to be confused with Minnesota Fiddler, I expect. You’re under arrest for breaking and entering this vehicle. Now, hands behind your back.”
“Look Mister, give me a break, huh? I was hungry. Thought there’d be food in here.”
“I don’t think
so.” He snapped on the cuffs. “What else were you looking for?”
The woman shrugged “Uh, I left, ahh, I left my book.”
“And you expected to find it under the floorboard of the closet?”
“There’s nothing inside, but old books and cleaning things. I looked inside that compartment. It’s empty. You can’t prove I took a thing.”
“Maybe because I confiscated the items you wanted to reclaim, gold coins stolen from a family in Groverly. Unfortunately, they were not recovered in time for your trial, but we now have fingerprints. Get moving, Ms. Fiddler. You’re going to Groverly to be processed.” The detective marched her out the bookmobile, locked the vehicle, and led her to his car.
In her hospital room, Lily was deeply involved in an imagined interrogation. Under a bright light bulb, a man named Hugh pressed her hand and threw impossible questions her direction, pinning her down, not believing anything she said about a book. The brilliance of the lamp sent out heat to warm her blood. The filament glowed hot and white. The heated particles vibrated. Shafts of energy headed straight for the pupils of her eyes. If she could open her lids, the light would enter and she’d see him and the color of his shirt. She’d look into his face and speak.
But her eyes stayed glued shut. Her dream hand tried to reach her breast, but her body disappeared. The back of his tweed coat faded away, and the scene slowly dissolved to black.
Aggie came by the next afternoon. She peeked around the corner to see a nurse taking Lily’s pulse and temperature, checking her blood pressure and smoothing her bed.
One soft step and then another, she tiptoed in. “I was with Lily when she came in. Can I stay a few minutes?”
“Yes, but her condition remains the same. I’ll be next door,” the nurse said.
Aggie waited until they were alone. She bent over her friend and whispered, “Forgive me, Lily, but I need to talk to someone who won’t think I’ve lost my rocks, or is that marbles? Anyway, you’re the chosen one.”
The Erotica Book Club for Nice Ladies Page 26
