The Demise

by Diane Moody

  “Miss Parker, they found you in your car half-submerged in the Harpeth. The paramedics got you out and brought you here. You don’t remember any of that?”

  She tried to think, but nothing surfaced. She shook her head and closed her eyes again. “My head really hurts.”

  “That’s most likely from the air bag deploying. We’ve got a drip going to give you some relief.” Then the doctor addressed someone else in the room. “Let’s flip off that overhead light.”

  The intensity of the light lessened considerably, but Julie kept her eyes closed. Her thoughts were all muddled, but she knew this must be bad if she was laid up in a hospital emergency room. Julie flexed her hand and felt something taut on the back of it. She reached over with her other hand and felt the tiny tube taped there.

  “That’s your IV, so you’ll want to leave that alone. It’s supplying the painkiller and keeping you hydrated.”

  “Okay. What else?”

  “What else?”

  “ . . . is wrong with me.”

  “We’ll wheel you down to X-ray in a few minutes to make sure you have no fractures or broken bones, but from my initial examination, I haven’t found any major injuries. You’ll feel pretty bruised up and sore, but hopefully nothing more serious.”

  “Dr. Roberts, there’s a TBI agent here who needs to speak with her.”

  “Matt?” Julie croaked.

  “You know him?”

  “Yes, he’s my . . .” Julie’s chin began to tremble. “Please.”

  The doctor patted her forearm. “Okay, just take it easy. We’ll let him come in, but just for a few minutes, okay?”

  Julie nodded as tears leaked from her eyes.

  “Julie?” Matt rushed to her side. “Oh Julie, I was so afraid, I—”

  “What happened? I can’t remember.”

  Her hand shook badly as she reached for him. Matt wrapped his hand around hers and cupped her face with the other, thumbing the tears from her face. “Shhh, don’t cry. You’re okay. You survived. That’s all that matters.”

  Hearing the emotion in his voice undid her, but as a sob wracked her body, a sharp pain in her abdomen clutched her. She cried out, struggling to find a breath.

  “Take it easy, Miss Parker,” Dr. Roberts said. “I’m sorry, Mr.—”

  “Bryson. Matt Bryson.”

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Bryson, but we need to get her down to X-ray. You’re welcome to have a seat out in the waiting room until they bring her back. I’ll let you know when you can see her, okay?”

  “Sure. Just one more second?”

  “Make it fast.”

  As they readied her to go, Matt leaned in close. “Julie, I’m so sorry. I’ve been such a fool. When I saw your car in the river, I thought . . . I thought I’d lost you, and I realized—”

  “You were there?”

  “I was at Sparky’s waiting for you, and you were so late. There was a sheriff’s deputy sitting in the next booth, and I heard his radio go off about a car in the river. I just knew it was you. And I thought I’d lost you . . .”

  “Oh Matt, I’m so sorry.”. Her chin wobbled as fresh tears pooled in her eyes. “I’ve been such an aggravation to you ever since—”

  “Shhh.” He pressed his fingers to her lips. “We can talk about it later, but right now I need you to take it easy and let them take care of you. I’m not going anywhere, so I’ll be right here when you get back, okay?”

  The tight bands of fear crushing her chest began to relax, like a balloon slowly losing air. An overpowering sense of relief flooded her soul as a shaky smile took form. “Okay.”

  He kissed her tear-stained lips, then her forehead, then her hand in his.

  “Okay, you two, let’s get going.”

  He held her hand as long as he could as they rolled her bed from the room.

  Chapter 24

  While Julie was having X-rays taken, Matt finally remembered to call Gevin. He didn’t have his cell number, so he looked up the number of his studio and dialed, but the call went straight to voicemail. He left a message and was trying to figure out how to track him down when Gevin hurried into the waiting room.

  “Matt! How’s Julie? Is she okay?”

  “I was just trying to reach you. How’d you find out?”

  “Small town, remember? Jeff gave me a call. I came as fast as I could. Is she okay?”

  Matt dropped into a chair, and Gevin took one across from him. “She’s all right. At least as far as I know. They took her down to X-ray, but she should be back any minute.”

  “Did you get to see her?”

  “Yes, but only for a couple of minutes. She was alert but seemed really confused. They had her on some kind of pain meds so that might be part of it. I don’t know.”

  “Did she tell you what happened?”

  “No, the doctor said she asked Julie but didn’t get very far. She said Julie mentioned something about a truck and got really agitated.”

  “You think a truck edged her off the road?”

  “I don’t know. By the time I got there—”

  “Wait, you were out at the scene?”

  Matt nodded. “She was supposed to meet me for dinner at Sparky’s. When she didn’t show up, I tried to call her, but got no answer. Tried a couple of more times. Nothing. But there was a sheriff’s deputy having dinner in the next booth, and I overheard his dispatch alert about a car that had gone into the Harpeth. The dispatcher gave the location. I jumped up and asked him where that was. I just had a gut feeling, you know? So I followed him and got there in less than ten minutes. Gevin, it was . . . I almost got sick when I saw the back of her car sticking up out of the water.”

  “She’s a good driver, Matt. If anything, she’s overly cautious. I’m always kidding her about driving like an old lady. Something must have happened.”

  “I know, and that’s what’s bothering me. Jeff said he’d let me know if they learned anything from their initial investigation.”

  “Mr. Bryson?”

  They looked up as a nurse approached them. “Dr. Roberts wanted me to let you know that Miss Parker is back from X-ray. She said you can come back if you’d like.”

  “Okay, thanks. This is Julie’s brother. Is it all right if he comes too?”

  “Sure, just keep it brief.”

  Matt stood aside and let Gevin enter first into the small ER room.

  “Hey, Jules. What happened, sis?” He took hold of her hand and leaned in to kiss her forehead. “How’re you doing?”

  “I’m not sure. It’s all kind of mish-mash in my brain.”

  “That’s okay. We’ll get it all sorted out later. Are you in pain?”

  She licked her lips slowly. “Yeah, a little. Kinda achy all over, y’know?”

  Dr. Roberts appeared at the door. She pressed the top of the canister on the wall and cleansed her hands with anti-bacterial soap. “Well, the good news is, nothing’s broken. The bad news is, you’re going to be pretty sore for a few days. Your seatbelt saved your life, but as often happens in these cases, it bruised you across the hips on impact. But we can prescribe something to help with the pain and tenderness while you’re recovering.”

  “That’s great,” Matt said, gently patting Julie’s blanket-covered foot.

  “Hi, Dr. Roberts. I’m Gevin, Julie’s brother.” He reached out to shake her hand, but she held them up.

  “Sorry, just sanitized. But it’s nice to meet you, too.” She moved closer to Julie’s bed. “How are you feeling? Dizziness? Headache? Any more nausea?”

  “I guess they told you I threw up downstairs.”

  “They did, but that’s not unusual. Your body is still in shock from the trauma. It will get better, but I’ll add something to your drip to control the nausea. Anything else?”

  “The headache is still pretty bad.”

  “It’ll take a day or two for that to go away. I’d like to keep you overnight for observation. Then, if you’re up to it and all your vitals look good, I’ll let y
ou go home sometime tomorrow. We’ll get you up and moving a little later, but otherwise you’ll need to take it easy as much as possible.”

  “Okay. Thanks.”

  The doctor glanced at Matt and Gevin. “I assume you two will keep an eye on her?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Around the clock.”

  Julie rolled her eyes at her two caretakers.

  “All right then. If you two will head back out to the waiting room, we’ll get her moved upstairs to her own room.”

  “Jules, do you want me to bring you some pajamas?”

  “That’d be great. And my toothbrush. Dr. Roberts, will I be able to take a shower? I feel really gross.”

  “Sure, but you’ll need someone to assist you.”

  “Oh, uh . . .”

  “Well, uh . . .”

  “Don’t worry, gentlemen, I’ll have an aide help her.”

  Julie started to laugh but stopped, cradling her stomach. “Ohhh, please don’t make me laugh.”

  “Whew, that was close.” Gevin kissed her forehead again. “I love you, sis, but I’m not sure I could help you shower. Just sayin’.”

  “As if ?” Julie croaked.

  “I’ll be back in a little while with your things.”

  As Gevin slipped around the bed, Matt took his place. “Okay if I stay with you tonight? I mean, y’know, just to keep an eye on you. Doctor’s orders and all that.”

  “Of course it’s all right.” She reached for his pinky.

  He leaned over and kissed her cheek, lingering for a moment. “See you upstairs in a little while.”

  When Matt joined Gevin out in the waiting room, he found Jeff Carter and a couple of his deputies.

  “What can you tell me?” Matt asked.

  “There were no tire marks at the point of exit off the road, which makes sense since her brake line was cut.

  “Her brake line was cut?” Matt suddenly felt dizzy. “Someone wanted her dead.”

  “It sure looks like it,” Jeff answered.

  “But Julie’s got no enemies,” Gevin argued. “Everybody in Braxton loves her. You guys know that.”

  “Except . . .”

  They waited for Matt to continue. “Except what?” Gevin pressed.

  Matt raked his fingers through his hair. “She’s been . . . and I told her—I begged her to stay out of it, but—”

  “You lost me. You told her to stay out of what?” Jeff asked.

  Over the next few minutes, Matt filled him in on Julie’s recent escapades in her attempt to solve the mystery behind Peter Lanham’s death. Jeff listened intently. “Well, there you go. That’s our Julie.”

  “Yes, and now we can see where that got her,” Matt snapped. “Someone’s trying to shut her up. For good.”

  “But who?” Gevin asked.

  “I don’t know,” Matt said quietly. “But I’m going to find out if it’s the last thing I do.”

  “Just makes sure it’s not the last thing you do,” Jeff said. “If Julie’s on someone’s hit list, you are too, Matt.”

  Chapter 25

  All things considered, Julie slept fairly well through the night. The soreness would wake her each time she tried to change positions, but all she had to do was look at Matt sleeping in the recliner beside her bed to feel safe and comforted. She wrestled with worrisome dreams, but couldn’t remember much about them when she woke up the next morning.

  Matt drove her back to Braxton when she was released shortly after noon.

  “I waited until you had some time to recover, but I need to ask you something,” Matt said, glancing over at her.

  “Ask away. I’m a captive audience. I’m a little drugged at the moment, but give it a shot.”

  “Did you have any problems with your brakes on your way home from work yesterday?”

  “No, not that I was aware of.”

  “Did you make any stops on the way, or did you go straight home?”

  Uh oh.

  “Julie?”

  “Uh, well, let me think.” Here we go again. He’ll probably pull over and leave me on the side of the road once I tell him. Then again, surely he wouldn’t harm someone just released from the hospital, right?

  “Julie? Is there a problem?”

  “No, not really. I just . . . well, see, the thing is—”

  “Julie?” His tone had changed. The same tone Ricky Ricardo used when Lucy got in trouble. Lucy, you got some ‘splainin’ to do.

  “Okay, I met Brad at Braxton Park after work. He was going to give me a tennis lesson.”

  He snapped his head sideways so fast, she heard his neck pop. “I didn’t know you played tennis.”

  “I don’t.” A sigh slipped out before she continued. “I asked him to give me some pointers on the game, but only because I was hoping he’d show up in Reeboks.”

  His fingers gripped the wheel. For a second, she visualized those fingers around her throat.

  “Well? Did he show up in Reeboks, Miss Marple?”

  She let a casual laugh roll off her lips. “Nope. Nikes this time.”

  They stopped at a light, and she could tell he was fighting his temper. With his eyes still on the red light, he said, “Julie, stop and think about it. You might think you’re helping—never mind I’ve asked you not to, and repeatedly, for the record. But every time you pull one of these stunts, you’re putting yourself in danger. For all you know, Brad could be the one who messed with your brakes.”

  “Brad? C’mon, he’s a little weird, but he’d never do something like that. I just wanted to know one way or the other. About the shoes.”

  “And somehow you thought playing tennis would provide proof, one way or the other.”

  “Well, sure. The guy lives in athletic shoes. Plus, I thought if I hung out with him for a little while, he might tell me something about his family, y’know?”

  She could tell how hard he was trying to keep calm. “Julie, don’t you see how hard you’re making this for me? Even putting aside the damage you’re doing to my investigation, I can’t be there 24/7 to watch over you. Look what happened! If those folks hadn’t seen your car go flying off that ravine, you could have died! And I—” His voice caught. He shook his head and kept his eyes on the road.

  She felt the tears welling up in her eyes and turned to hide them from him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  For a moment, he said nothing. Then he reached for her other hand. “Hey, look at me.”

  She dashed a renegade tear from her cheek and looked back at him.

  “I’m at a total loss how to protect you. If for no other reason, can’t you please understand how much I care about you? How devastated I would be if anything happened to you?” He laced his fingers with hers and squeezed them gently.

  Julie pressed her lips together to stop the trembling. “I know.”

  He lifted their hands to his lips and kissed the back of hers. “Call me crazy, but I don’t want to lose you, Julie.”

  A few moments later they pulled up in front of her loft. He helped her out of the car then took her in his arms. They stood there for a moment, neither saying a word, then turned and slowly made their way inside. Gevin met them at the studio door, then helped Matt move her up the stairs to the loft and into her bedroom. Gevin offered to stay if Matt needed to leave, but Matt wouldn’t hear of it, insisting he could work from the living room while she rested.

  She fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

  Around four-thirty she woke up needing to go to the bathroom. She rolled to her side and slowly sat up, then carefully got to her feet and padded into her bathroom. She almost fell asleep again sitting on the john, but thankfully didn’t. She rinsed and dried her face then opened the door into her room.

  That’s when she heard voices coming from the living room.

  “Thanks for coming, Underwood. I hope it wasn’t an inconvenience.”

  “Not a problem, Matt. I completely understand. Any leads on who might have
tampered with her car?”

  “Someone tampered with my car?”

  Both stood as she opened her bedroom door the rest of the way. Matt was at her side in seconds.

  “What are you doing up?”

  “I had to go to the bathroom. What are you all talking about?”

  Underwood’s countenance was shadowed with concern. “How’re you doing, Julie?”

  “I’m okay. Really. Just some bruising and tenderness. No big deal.”

  “It is a big deal,” Matt insisted as he escorted her to the sofa. He stuffed a throw pillow behind her back and propped her feet up on the coffee table. “Are you sure you don’t want to go back to bed?”

  “I’m sure. I can’t stand lying around like this. Especially with all these bits and pieces of memory floating around in my head.”

  Matt took a seat beside her. “Like what?”

  “Like seeing the grill of that truck coming straight at me, then flying over that embankment—” An involuntary shiver shook her. “I stomped and stomped on my brakes, but nothing happened. That’s what happened, didn’t it? Someone disabled my brakes.”

  Matt’s knee bounced. “Yes.”

  A dull ache filled her chest. “Seriously? I thought it was just a mechanical problem or something.”

  “No, Julie, it was intentional.” Matt rested his elbows on his knees and rubbed his hands together. “But I don’t want you to worry about that right now.”

  “Matt, I’m fine. Really.”

  He sat up. “Look, we can talk about it later. Underwood and I need to talk, and he agreed to come here so I didn’t have to leave you. It might be best if you went back to bed so we can talk.”

  “Actually, if she’s up to it,” Underwood began, “I’d like for her to hear this too. If that’s okay with you, Matt?”

  “No, I don’t think she—”

  “I’m fine, Matt. What’s on your mind, Jim?”

  Matt stared at her before turning his attention to Underwood. “For the record, I do not think this is a good idea, but go ahead. What have you got?”

  Underwood looked at Julie. “When I heard what happened to you, I realized I could no longer hold onto some information that might be of use to the investigation. I don’t know if Matt has told you about—”