Beneath the Surface

by Lynn H. Blackburn

  But she couldn’t remember how she got out of the car or how she got to the hospital. Wait. The ambulance. The emergency department. Yes.

  At least she was still in Carrington. That was a good sign. If she’d been in critical condition, then they might have sent her to one of the trauma hospitals.

  A nurse she didn’t know sat at a computer to her right.

  “Hi,” the nurse said. “I’m Wren. You’re doing great.”

  Leigh tried to sit up.

  “Hold on,” Wren said. “There’s no hurry. You’ve only been out of surgery about thirty minutes. You’re a nurse. You know how this works. Relax.”

  Something on the edge of Leigh’s consciousness wouldn’t leave her alone. She tried to grab it, but it floated away. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

  What couldn’t she remember?

  “You’re okay,” Wren said again, no doubt responding to the increased frequency of beeps from the monitor. Leigh took a slow breath. The uncertainty, the fear, the vulnerability—these were things she avoided at all costs.

  “How did they get me out?” she asked. She needed answers. She needed to feel some sort of control over her situation.

  “I’m sorry, Leigh. I don’t know,” Wren said. “I can try to find out for you.”

  “Yes. Please.”

  Leigh closed her eyes. She needed to think. She needed a car. She needed to call Kirk and tell him what was going on. Or maybe not. He was in Germany. He and his wife, Simone, had moved six months earlier. It was a great opportunity for him. International experience was crucial to advancement with his firm.

  And they’d been happy to get away from Simone’s family for a while. Her decision three years earlier to convert from Islam to Christianity and then marry the man who’d told her about Jesus had caused a horrific split in her family. Most of them refused to acknowledge her existence. The few who did continually tried to get her to recant.

  She’d seen the opportunity to put an ocean between her and her family as a blessed relief.

  But Leigh knew Kirk didn’t trust Simone’s family, even from an ocean away, and he wasn’t inclined to leave Simone alone. But if he knew she was in the hospital, he’d want to come home. Which was ridiculous.

  She could take care of herself. Although she didn’t know how she would get home from the hospital.

  Wait a minute. She could get home just fine. She’d get a ride with a friend. Or call a taxi. She could figure this out. It was just the anesthesia making her anxious over nothing.

  Voices on the other side of the curtain pulled her back to full consciousness. “I’m this young woman’s surgeon,” a gruff voice said. “And I have known her since she was born. You keep up the good work, young man.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The curtains parted as Dr. Price entered her recovery area and she caught a glimpse of a police officer standing on the other side.

  Something about that didn’t make sense. Had Dr. Price been talking to the police officer?

  “I always love chatting with you, Leigh,” Dr. Price said as he approached her bed, “but I prefer you come see me conscious and on your feet. You scared me this morning.”

  “Sorry, Dr. Price.” She’d been good friends with Dr. Price’s youngest daughter, and he was one of her favorite doctors in the entire hospital. Everyone loved him.

  His daughter had died from a rare form of leukemia when she was a sophomore in college and more than once Leigh had caught a wistfulness in Dr. Price’s expression when he looked at her. She had a funny feeling he was thinking of his daughter whenever that happened.

  “Tell me everything,” she said.

  “I can’t tell you everything, but I can fill in a few gaps for you. They brought you in by ambulance this morning. Your little off-roading adventure resulted in a nicked femoral artery, but you did a great job of applying pressure while you waited to be freed from that metal trap you wound up in. We got the blood flowing again with no problem and the nick was no worse than what could happen in a heart catheterization. Easy to repair. Minimal recovery time. I want to keep you overnight for observation because you did flip your car today, but there’s a chance I’ll let you out of here tomorrow. Assuming you behave yourself, that is.”

  “I’ll try,” she said.

  Dr. Price ran through some of the usual post-operative questions. He asked about her pain level, if she was nauseated, if she had any other questions. He seemed satisfied with her answers.

  He glanced at the nurse who sat in the corner before turning back to her. He lowered his voice. “There’s a young officer who would like to see you. Ryan Parker?”

  Heat flooded her face.

  “You did list him as your emergency contact, did you not?”

  She was going to strangle her brother. “It was Kirk’s idea.”

  “It was a good one.”

  “I guess.”

  “Can he come in? He’s worried about you.”

  What could she say? No, I don’t want him to see me like this? That would be awkward since she shouldn’t care one way or the other how Ryan Parker saw her. And it wasn’t like Ryan thought of her as anything other than Kirk’s little sister. He wouldn’t have been worried if it weren’t for Kirk.

  “Sure,” she said.

  “Wren, I’m going to allow Investigator Parker in here for a brief visit. Then when she’s ready, let’s get Leigh settled into a room for the rest of the day. I believe you’ll see a note about that.” He pointed toward the ginormous monitor in front of Wren.

  “Yes, Dr. Price. I’ll make sure she’s well taken care of.”

  “I’ve got a few other folks who couldn’t wait for normal office hours to utilize my services, so I’ll be in surgery most of the day, but I’ll be back by to check on you before I leave for the night. If you need anything, you holler. Got it?”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you.”

  Dr. Price left and the police officer was still out there. The anesthesia was clearing from her mind. Something was not right. Dr. Price’s comment about there being a note in the computer about her room? Where were they taking her?

  “Wren?”

  “Yes? Would you like something to drink?” Wren picked up a can from the desk. “Maybe try some ginger ale?”

  “Sure, but—”

  “Knock, knock.” Ryan’s voice came through the curtain. “Dr. Price said it was okay . . . ?”

  “Come on in, Investigator Parker,” Wren said.

  “Thanks,” Ryan said with a nod. Then he turned his attention to Leigh. “You scared me to death,” he said.

  He seemed to mean it.

  “I got a text this morning saying you were in a car wreck. That you didn’t have brakes. I got here as fast as I could, but you were already in surgery. How are you feeling?”

  “I’m okay,” she said. “I hate that you came over here. It’s not a big deal.”

  Ryan’s brow creased.

  “Ryan?”

  Where was Ryan’s smile? His crazy laugh? Why wasn’t he joking with her?

  “Why do I get the feeling I’m missing something?”

  “We need to talk.”

  Those were not words she had ever wanted to hear from Ryan Parker.

  “Let’s wait until you’re settled into a room and feeling better,” he said.

  “Let’s not.”

  “Leigh, please.” Ryan glanced at Wren, then toward the curtains all around them. “Later,” he mouthed.

  This was bad. This was very, very bad.

  “Please,” he whispered.

  “Fine,” she mouthed. “Wren,” she said, raising her voice to a normal volume. “What do I need to do to get out of here?”

  Wren laughed as she handed her a cup with a bendy straw. “Not much more than you already have. I’m waiting on your room to be ready and we’ll get you settled.”

  “Thanks.”

  She took a sip of ginger ale. She didn’t even like ginger ale. But she really didn’t want to throw up in
front of Ryan, and the combination of anesthesia and fear had her stomach heaving.

  “Investigator Parker?”

  The police officer from the hallway poked his head in. “Sorry to bother you, sir. A word?”

  Ryan gave Leigh a small smile. “I’ll be right back,” he said, and then he disappeared to the other side of the curtain.

  Was that supposed to make her feel better or worse?

  “He’s so cute,” Wren said with a conspiratorial whisper. “Are you dating?”

  “Oh goodness, no,” Leigh said. “He’s just a friend.”

  Wren didn’t look convinced.

  “I’ve known him since I was little. He’s my brother’s best friend.”

  Wren nodded as she typed something into the computer. “Whatever you say,” she said. “Ready to get a room with real doors?”

  “I’m ready to go home,” Leigh said.

  “First things first,” Wren said.

  Another noise outside her room captured her attention and a friendly face poked through the curtain.

  “Hey, girl. If you didn’t want to work tonight, you could have said so.”

  She smiled at the sight of her coworker’s mischievous grin. Keri Marshall had been the one to teach her the ropes in the emergency department and was one of the finest registered nurses she’d ever had the privilege to work with. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “Checking on you. You look good.”

  “Liar.”

  Keri chuckled as she approached the bed. “I brought you a present.”

  A present?

  Keri dropped a small duffle bag on her bed. A quick glance through the bag explained everything. New pajamas, underclothes, and some basic toiletries.

  Her eyes burned. “You didn’t have to do that.”

  “Ain’t no big thang,” Keri said with a shrug. “If I was in here with a bunch of coworkers, I’d want to be able to cover up all of the essentials, you know?”

  Leigh’s thoughts flashed to Ryan. Yeah. She knew. “Thank you,” she said.

  Keri patted her arm. “I’m on tonight. If it slows down for a second, I’ll come check on you. Try to keep it on the road next time. Got it?” Keri blew her a kiss as she disappeared.

  “Got it,” Leigh whispered to no one.

  Wren bustled around the bed, adjusting IV cords and preparing her for transport. Leigh didn’t pay her much attention. Too many questions were begging for answers. How could her brakes have given out that way? She’d had the car serviced a week ago. Wasn’t that something they would have checked? And what could Ryan want to talk to her about? Why couldn’t they talk in front of Wren?

  Did the police think she’d fallen asleep at the wheel? It wouldn’t be the first time someone working nights had nodded off on the way home. She’d seen more than one of them after they had crashed their cars. But they never could quite remember what had happened.

  That wasn’t the case for her. She’d never forget the acid that filled her mouth when her brakes went all the way to the floor. Or the adrenaline surge as she careened across the road and into the ditch.

  The appearance of the transporter and the uniformed police officer pulled her back to the present.

  “Ready to go, Leigh?” The smiling face of the transporter stood in sharp contrast to the fierce expression on the police officer’s face. Was she in some sort of trouble? Is that what Ryan wanted to talk to her about? Had she done something wrong? She’d run her car off the road because she was trying to protect the people in the car and the man on the tractor. Were they going to arrest her for something?

  The police officer barely acknowledged her, even as they were wheeled into a service elevator and whisked to the fourth floor. When they arrived at her room, he went in first and checked out the room, but as soon as the bed was secured, he went back outside.

  “You’re all set,” the transporter said. “Your nurse is on her way.”

  “Thank you.”

  For a brief, blissful moment, Leigh was alone. She didn’t have to pretend to be okay. Didn’t have to keep her face passive or try not to let anyone see how frightened she was.

  Then the nurse bustled in. “I’m going to be your nurse today,” she said. “I’m Megyn. That’s spelled m-e-g-y-n because that’s the only proper way to spell Megyn.”

  Leigh nodded in agreement. “Of course.”

  “Excellent. I’m glad we agree. I think we’ll get along fine.”

  Megyn was efficient and moved quickly as she helped Leigh settle. She gave her some grief about her wanting to change into the pajamas Keri had brought but relented with a dramatic sigh.

  “I shouldn’t let you do this, you know,” she said.

  “I know,” Leigh said. “Thank you.”

  At least she’d be able to talk to Ryan without the distraction of a stupid hospital gown. Megyn left with a promise to return soon. The door didn’t close behind her. A strong hand caught it. A soft tap.

  “May I come in?”

  Ryan.

  “Get in here,” she said.

  His eyes widened as he approached her bed. “Are you okay? Is something wrong? Do I need to get the nurse?”

  Had he lost his mind? “No, everything is not okay. Yes, something is wrong. Don’t you dare go get a nurse. You tell me what is happening and you tell me right now.”

  The relief that filled Ryan’s face at her outburst made no sense at all. Especially when it faded to speculation and concern.

  “Leigh . . .” He paced around her small room before coming to a stop at the foot of her bed. “I’ll try to explain what I know, but it’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it right now.”

  Why wouldn’t she want to talk about it now? “Okay.”

  “Your brakes failed today.”

  “Yeah. I kinda noticed when I was hurtling down a hill at seventy miles an hour and they didn’t work.”

  He should have smiled at that. He didn’t.

  “Leigh, someone cut your brake line.”

  Of all the things he could have said, that was the last thing she’d expected.

  “What?”

  “Your brake line—it had a small cut. It was intentional.”

  She tried to process his words. “I had it worked on last week. Surely they would have noticed—”

  “It was done last night. While you were at work.”

  “How could you possibly know that?”

  “Because if it had been done any earlier, your brakes would have failed before you got to the hospital.”

  This couldn’t be happening. Why would—? Who—?

  The familiar terror crept up her spine. No. No. It couldn’t be. He was gone. Dead. Buried. Literally.

  “I’m sorry about this,” Ryan said. “But when you’re ready, I’m going to need you to tell me everything you can about your stalker.”

  The color drained from Leigh’s face. The volume on the monitor had been turned down, but Ryan could see how her heart rate accelerated as he spoke.

  “Leigh,” he said. “It’s going to be okay. I won’t let anything happen to you. We’ll figure this out.”

  “He’s dead,” she whispered. “It wasn’t even his fault. The cancer messed up his brain. Barry never would have done the things he did if he hadn’t had a tumor wreaking havoc on his mind.”

  He could tell she believed that. He’d have to check the police reports and talk to the officers in Durham to see if they agreed. He admired her ability to see the guy as a victim rather than a monster.

  But he’d met a lot of monsters.

  Most of them didn’t deserve any sympathy.

  Oh, sure, they’d had hard lives, caught some tough breaks. But no one had the right to take another life. No one had the right to abuse and terrorize another human being.

  He waited to see if Leigh would say anything else. He hated talking to her like this. Now. Right out of surgery. He’d had his appendix out a few years ago and couldn’t remember anything that happened for a so
lid twenty-four hours after the surgery. Would she recall their conversation? Or resent him for it?

  “He started calling the hospital,” she said in a faraway voice. “He’d ask to speak to me, refused to speak with anyone else. We all knew about the tumor. Everyone humored him.”

  She looked out the shaded window to her left. “I didn’t think anything of it at first. Sometimes it annoyed me. Most of the time I felt sorry for him. I helped him with all his symptom management, pain management. I’d even go check on him when he came in for chemo.”

  She closed her eyes. “Then he showed up at the door of my house one night.”

  Ryan could imagine the scenario.

  “I wasn’t overly alarmed at first.” She looked at him now, her eyes pleading for understanding. “He was sick. Dying. I tried to be nice. I didn’t let him come inside or anything. I’ve thought about it a million times, but I can’t think of anything I did to encourage him.”

  “Leigh—”

  “I know.” She cut him off. “I know it’s not my fault. But you can’t help but wonder if there wasn’t something you could have done differently. Something that would have kept it from being such a mess later.”

  He didn’t try to argue with her. He could imagine how her compassion had kept her from seeing the danger at the time—and still made it difficult for her to blame the man entirely for his actions.

  “I called his daughter. She came and picked him up. So apologetic. But then he was back at two in the morning. Scared me to death when my doorbell rang. When I saw it was him, I didn’t even open the door. Told him he needed to go home. Called his daughter. Again.”

  She took a sip of a pale beverage and wrinkled her nose.

  “Want me to get you a fresh drink? What would you like?”

  “A Coke,” she said without hesitation.

  “Consider it done.”

  He opened the door. The officer stationed outside glanced in his direction. “We’re okay in here,” he said. “Just do me a favor. Catch the nurse the next time you see her and get Leigh a Coke.”

  “Will do,” the officer said.

  Ryan walked back to Leigh’s side. She was smirking at him.

  “What?”

  “There’s this handy little thing on the bed.” She pointed to the glowing lights on the rail. “It calls the nurse. You don’t need a cop to get a Coke.”