by Ann Mullen
He pulled the stethoscope from around his neck, leaned down and pressed it to my chest under my hospital gown. “Breathe deeply,” he commanded. After several seconds, he told me to roll over.
“That’s easier said than done,” I moaned. The minute I tried, pain flooded my whole body and I cried out in agony. “Oh, Lord, help me.”
He stuck the cold object to my back as I imagined all kinds of things he must be seeing. My gown was open in the back and I wasn’t even sure if I was wearing underwear. I slid my hand over my hip to check. Ah, ha! I did have on underwear. I felt much better with that bit of knowledge.
He laughed out loud. “Didn’t know if you had on underwear, did you?”
“You know, I don’t think I like you anymore. You’re making fun of me, and I was in a really, really bad car wreck. You should be pampering me, instead of giving me a hard time.”
“My point exactly, Mrs. Blackhawk.”
“Now I know I don’t like you anymore.”
“Sure you do. Why else would you come to visit me so often?”
“It’s not by choice, I can assure you.”
“I want you to take this seriously, Jesse. Do you know what actually happens when you have a concussion?”
“Sure, I do. You bang your head and then you get better.”
“During the process of your head being banged around, your brain gets knocked around, too. Then it starts to swell. Been having any headaches this morning?”
“Yes, I have… real bad ones.”
“Read the information I gave you. I don’t want you to be driving down the road and get dizzy and not know that you need to immediately pull over. After you’re released, you might want to hold off on driving for a while.”
“Okay, I will. You scared me into it. Mission accomplished.”
“Fortunately, you were unconscious when Dr. Arnold set your arm. She didn’t have to give you anything for the pain.”
“I’m sure I felt it in my sleep.”
He rolled his eyes at me.
“The cast will have to stay on for a few weeks.”
“That’s what all the doctors say, and it winds up being six months. I’ve had friends who were told that same tale. I had a friend who had to wear a cast on his leg for eight months. David wasn’t happy about that. His doctor told him he’d be like new in about six weeks. That was a joke.”
“The length of the time depends on the severity of the break. I won’t bore you with medical terms, but in your case, the break was limited to a fracture of the elbow. We’ll remove the cast and see what we need to do after that if it hasn’t healed properly. However, I’m confident that you’ll make a complete recovery. You’re young and your bones are still strong. If you were a lot older, I’d be concerned.”
“It better heal properly. I’m pregnant, and nobody’s going to be giving me drugs or doing surgery on me. God managed to make sure my baby was safe from the accident, and nobody’s going to get in his way!”
“I see you’ve picked up a little religion from your mother.”
“Maybe a little bit.”
“Behave yourself, stay in bed, and get some rest. I’ll check on you again before I leave.”
“Thanks, Doc. You can count on me.”
I heard him mumbling to himself as he walked out of the room.
What’s the matter with him? Doesn’t he trust me? I was just about to drift off when I looked up and saw Cole standing in the doorway.
“Howdy, stranger,” he said. “I thought you might like to have something of beauty to go along with your own beauty.” He held out an exquisite arrangement of what appeared to be a couple of dozen yellow roses in full bloom. “A peace offering,” he added as he set them down on the window ledge beside the flowers Mom had brought. “I’m sorry for everything that has happened to all of us in the past few months. I hope you’ll forgive me. I know I’ve acted strangely, and for that I apologize.”
My heart was filled with awe. Cole had finally come to his senses.
“Of course,” I answered. I was taken with his charm and for a minute I had forgotten about my anger toward him. I had my suspicions about Claire’s shoulder pain. I somehow knew he was involved in that so-called accident.
Cole walked close to my bed, leaned down and kissed me full on the lips… a long, lingering, tongue-in-the-mouth kiss… a kiss about as French as it could get.
I was overwhelmed.
When he backed away and looked toward the door, I knew from the grin on his face that I didn’t want to look up. I knew exactly what I’d see.
But, I did look up.
Billy stood there, looking back. He was heartbroken. He dropped the can of Pepsi.
CHAPTER 5
Claire walked past Billy, noticed the can on the floor, but forgot about it as soon as she looked up and saw Cole standing by my bed. She walked over to him, smiled, and then put her arm around his waist. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.
Mom bent down, retrieved the can of soda and said, “We’d better be careful about opening this can or we’ll have Pepsi all over the ceiling.”
Neither Billy nor I spoke for a few seconds. I didn’t know what to say, and I think he was afraid to speak at all. I was amazed at how he kept his cool. When I looked up and saw him, I had expected the worst. I expected him to fly across the room and attack Cole, but he didn’t. He remained calm. I think he knew that what had just happened wasn’t my fault and that I had no control over the situation. But still, it looked bad. Now I knew how Billy felt about the situation with Carl. He wasn’t guilty, but it looked that way.
“I’m sorry about your soda, `ge ya,” Billy said as he walked over to the bed and stood opposite Cole. He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. “I can get you another one, if you want.”
“Don’t be silly,” Mom protested. She tapped the can several times with her finger and then released the tab slowly. The drink fizzed as if to burp, but didn’t spray. “Your dad taught me that trick,” she said and then giggled. “It doesn’t work all the time though.” She handed me the can.
I took a big gulp. I was too nervous to do anything else. I was still waiting for the roof to blow off the building after what had just gone down, but it didn’t happen. Instead, Dr. Bryant walked in the room with a smile on his face.
“Hello, everyone,” he said.
We all responded with our greetings.
“Did you read the literature I gave you? Of course, you didn’t.” He glanced around the room. “I’m sure someone will see to it that you do.”
Everyone in the room bobbed their heads in agreement.
“We’re going to run a couple of tests first and then I’ll have a nurse assist you in taking a shower. We don’t want that cast to get wet. Have you gotten out of bed, yet?”
“No,” I answered.
“Well, let’s get the tests done, get you a shower, and later I’ll come back when the results are in. If everything looks good and you don’t have any dizziness, we’ll let you go tomorrow.”
“That’s great,” Billy said as he reached over and shook the doctor’s hand. “Thanks, John.”
“My pleasure,” he responded as he turned and left the room.
“Maybe everything can get back to normal now,” Mom said.
“What about Carl?” I asked. I looked over at Claire. “What’s the deal with him?”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “To be honest, I thought something bad had happened to him when he didn’t answer his phone, and I blamed Billy.” She looked in his direction. “I’m sorry about that. I should’ve known better. My imagination got out of control.”
“It seems to run in the family,” he said. He smiled over at me. “I think I’ve caught it, too.”
Everyone laughed.
“The day of your accident, I called you from work,” Cole said, looking over at Billy. “But nobody answered.”
“Ah, so that was you?” Billy asked. “We were walking out the door when the
phone rang. Jesse ran back to check Caller ID. When she said it was the sheriff’s office, we ignored the call. Sorry, I didn’t realize it was you.”
“Sheriff Hudson told me to call you and request that you come in and make a statement. He’d just left Claire, and he wasn’t very happy. He called the D.C. Police and told them the situation. They went back to Carl’s house, but he was gone.”
“Do you think the sheriff’s going to come after Billy for his role in rescuing the kids and obstructing the justice?”
“I think Billy will probably get a slap on the wrist from somebody over this.”
“I’ve been to the sheriff’s office almost every day to answer questions since you’ve been in the hospital,” Billy said to me. “That’s why I wasn’t here when you woke up.”
“He must be satisfied with your answers, because you’re not in jail,” I said.
“I don’t think you need to worry about Sheriff Hudson,” Cole added. “It’s out of his jurisdiction. He’s just helping the D.C. Police Department out of courtesy. Our main concern is if they have anything.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Carl is still missing and…”
“The kids aren’t,” Billy added. “Under the circumstances, if Carl doesn’t show up soon, they’ll go to his house and tear it apart. If they find one strand of hair that shouldn’t be there, or a drop of blood, there’s going to be trouble. You know how things can escalate.”
“We shouldn’t have anything to worry about then,” I added. “You didn’t even go inside.” I thought about what I had just said and realized how idiotic that statement was. I looked up at Billy and caught the look in his eyes. He didn’t go in the house, but his brothers had. One of the main things I’ve learned from doing private eye work is that a person leaves trace evidence everywhere they go. Whether it’s a flake of skin or a fiber from clothing, they leave something, and a good forensic team can find it. Crime scene technicians are very good at putting pieces of the puzzle together. I know. I’ve seen them do it on television many times.
“That’s not exactly true,” Billy said.
“Did you go in the house, or not?” I asked. “You told me you stood at the door and talked to Carl.”
Our conversation was interrupted by a hospital nurse. “I’m afraid your company will have to leave, Mrs. Blackhawk. We’re running a little behind and the doctor has a test scheduled for you in twenty minutes. If we could just hurry this along, I’d appreciate it.” She pushed a wheelchair up to my bed as she ushered everyone out. “She’ll be back in about an hour,” she said to them. She looked at Mom. “Maybe you could help us with the shower before she accepts visitors again. I was told that you brought her some clothes.”
“Actually, her husband brought the clothes, but I’ll be glad to stay and help.”
Billy gave me a quick kiss and said he was going home to shower and take care of the dogs. He promised to be back soon. He got out of answering my last question.
Claire and Cole also left. Cole’s mother, Elsie, was watching the kids and Claire didn’t want to leave them with her too long. “She becomes overwhelmed after a few hours, and I did promise her that I’d fix dinner tonight if she watched the kids.”
I wasn’t even going to go there. I did, however, wonder if Elsie was afraid that Carl would show up, but considering she’s Cole’s mother, I figured she probably carries a gun, too. She could take care of herself!
Two hours later, after they took a picture of my brain (which they swore wouldn’t hurt my baby) and after they had poked, prodded, and taken way too much blood for my liking, I was fresh out of the shower and back in bed, dressed in my sleeping attire—an oversized T-shirt and a pair of flannel lounging pants. Normally, I just wear panties with my T-shirt, but this was different. I was in the hospital and I didn’t want everyone looking at my rear end. I was as comfortable as I could be under the circumstances, but I would’ve liked to have been in my own bed at home. At least, I wasn’t dizzy anymore and my headache wasn’t too bad. The nurse said I should avoid taking medication unless the pain became extreme. Doctors don’t like to give meds to women who are pregnant, unless absolutely necessary, she had told me. I agreed. I could deal with a headache, but I wasn’t too sure about the arm. I would do my best to work through the pain until I couldn’t stand it any longer. So far, I was hanging in there.
By dinnertime, I was famished. My appetite had returned and I was ready to gobble down everything in sight. I settled for spaghetti while I waited for Billy to return. Looking out the window, I could see the snowflakes beginning to fall.
“Mom, you should go home,” I said. “It’s starting to snow. I’ll be fine. Billy’s coming back any minute.”
Mom walked over and looked out the window. “Oh, they’re big flakes. They won’t amount to much.”
“Still, I think you should leave before it gets dark. Please, Mom.”
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” she asked. “I can stay until Billy gets back. I don’t mind.”
“I know you don’t, Mom. I’d just feel much better knowing that you’re at home, safe and sound, instead of out on the roads while it’s snowing. You know how quickly it can turn ugly out there.”
“That’s true,” she said.
“Call me as soon as you get home, so I won’t worry.”
“Okay, honey.” Mom leaned down and kissed my cheek. “I’m so proud of you, Jesse.”
“Why?” I asked, confused.
“I just am,” she said as she picked up her purse and headed out the door. “I’ll call as soon as I get home. Love you, honey.”
“Love you, Mom.” I blew her a kiss as she was leaving.
I’m so lucky, I told myself as I pushed the noodles around on my plate. What happened to my appetite? One minute I was starving, and the next I couldn’t fathom the idea of trying to swallow hospital food. What was I thinking? Actually, I had taken a few bites and it was pretty good, but my appetite was gone along with my husband. What was wrong with that man? Where was he? My patience was getting short. I wanted an answer to my question. It was apparent that Billy hadn’t told me the whole story. Doubts began to take over.
“How am I supposed to eat with my left hand, anyway?” I asked out loud. “I’m not the most agile person as it is. I’m a fast thinker, but I’m not that quick on my feet... or fast with my hands. But I’m working on it.”
“You’ll get used to it,” Dr. Bryant said as he came in the room and walked up to my bed. “Or you’ll go hungry.”
“Where did you come from?” I asked, looking up from my plate. “You always show up right in the middle of something.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to interrupt your conversation with yourself.” He turned his back for a second and snickered.
“It seems to me that I once told you that you belong on stage.”
“Yeah, I remember that,” he said. “And I told you to take care of yourself. It seems we both should pay closer attention to what others say to us.”
His words cut quickly. I panicked. Was something wrong? Tears rose and spilled down my face by the time I got the words out.
“Is there something wrong with my baby, Doc?”
Dr. Bryant look stunned as he spoke. “Your baby’s fine.” He tried to calm me by putting his hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Jesse. I didn’t mean to upset you. I keep forgetting how emotional pregnant women can be. Your baby is fine and your tests look good. You should be able to leave in the morning.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Billy said as he walked in the room. He held a small bouquet of wildflowers wrapped in thin, white paper and tied together with a small blue satin ribbon. He lay the flowers in the crook of my arm—the one with the cast.
I smiled up at him.
After a short exchange of words, Dr. Bryant was gone.
“I guess we need to talk, huh?”
“I would think so, unless you want me and this baby to have to live on food stamps, because h
is daddy is in prison and we had to spend all our money on lawyers.”
Billy laughed.
I cried.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
I cried harder.
“Lord, help me,” he said. “And we still have seven more months to go. Am I going to make it?”
“Seven months and ten days, to be exact… well, maybe,” I said, correcting him. “They can’t be absolutely sure about the date, but that’s their best guess.”
“Dry your eyes, `ge ya. I’m not going to jail. I didn’t tell you every single detail because it was late and I was tired. If something had gone wrong, rest assured, you’d know about it.”
“I think it’s about time you tell me everything.”
“There’s not much to tell,” he said, clearing his throat. “Like I said, I went up to the door, rang the bell, and waited for Carl to answer. It took him a few minutes. I figured he was checking me out through the peep hole and trying to make up his mind whether or not it was safe to let me in. He finally opened the door and we talked for a few minutes. He invited me in for a drink and I accepted his offer.”
“No, way! Please tell me that you didn’t…”
“I only went…”
“Trace evidence—ever heard those words? How many times have you warned me about leaving something at the scene? Don’t you follow your own advice?”
“But…”
“I don’t think I want to hear anymore.”
“You need to. There’s something else I need to tell you… just in case.”
“Just in case of what?”
“Regardless of what happens, I want you to know the truth.”
“Something went wrong, didn’t it?” Now I really was turning into a nervous wreck. Something bad had happened, and Billy was going to have to pay for it. I could tell from the tone in his voice that he was afraid. No, that couldn’t be it, because Billy wasn’t afraid of anything!
“We went to the bar in his living room and he fixed us a drink. We talked about the situation. He became belligerent and raised his voice. I didn’t want the neighbors to hear, so I tried to calm him down. It was like he was on drugs or something. He was out of control. He yelled at me and then reached behind the bar and pulled out a gun. Of course, I stepped back at the sight of the pistol in his hands. Guns scare me when they’re in the hands of someone like him.”
