Walk Through the Valley

by Debbie Viguié

“No problem. What happened next?”

  “I went to the box office and picked up my ticket. We had seats in the first row of one of the sections. The knights came out on horseback, and they all looked magnificent. The master of ceremonies made an announcement and said that one knight was on a special crusade of his own that night. I kept looking for Kyle, sad that he was missing out. All of a sudden this one knight rode his horse right up to the edge of the arena until he was right in front of me. He tilted his lance forward and I noticed that there was a satin bow tied on it, and on the bow was a ring. He took off his helmet and it was Kyle.”

  Lisa’s eyes were tearing up again. Cindy’s were, too, as she pictured the scene playing out.

  “He said that he would slay dragons for me, that he loved me. He asked me to marry him. I said ‘yes’ and untied the ring. A squire came and took his horse and he came to sit beside me. Everyone toasted us and cheered. It was amazing, crazy, so very, very over-the-top.”

  “So very Kyle,” Cindy said with a choked laugh that ended as a sob.

  Lisa nodded. “I barely even saw the rest of the show, I was so dazed. It turns out he knew some of the guys from one of his filming trips here and I guess he’d been planning this for a while.”

  “I know when I saw him back in November he seemed pretty sure you were the one,” Cindy said, hoping it would bring Lisa comfort in some small way.

  A nurse bustled in, interrupting, and Cindy took a moment to dry her eyes.

  “You need to rest now,” the nurse told Lisa, giving a significant glance at Cindy.

  “I can’t,” Lisa protested.

  “You must. I’m giving you something to help with that,” the nurse said.

  Cindy took the hint and stood shakily to her feet. “I’ll see you in the morning,” she promised Lisa who just nodded.

  Out in the hall Cindy checked her phone. No messages from her father yet. She wanted to call Jeremiah, but she knew she’d completely lose it and she didn’t want to sob uncontrollably in the hospital corridor. She leaned for a second against the wall, exhausted, spent, and unsure what to do with herself.

  “Cindy? Are you okay?”

  She glanced up at the sound of her name and stared at a man standing a couple of feet from her. It took her a moment, but she finally recognized him as Martin, the man who’d been next to her on the plane.

  “I have to admit I kind of wondered if I’d run into you,” he said.

  She stared at him. “What are you doing here?”

  “My job. I’m a salesman, remember? I sell hospital supplies and equipment. I was supposed to take the administrator of this hospital out to dinner tonight, but he had a family thing he had to deal with.”

  “Oh.”

  He took a step closer, his brow furrowing. “Seriously, are you okay? How’s your brother?”

  “Not good,” she admitted.

  “I’m sorry to hear that. Is he in there?” he said, gesturing to the room she’d just left.

  “No, his fiancée is in there. She’s doing better than he is.”

  “Oh. Well, where are you headed?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. It was the truth.

  “Well, I haven’t eaten, so care to join me downstairs? The cafeteria here isn’t half bad.”

  “I’ve already eaten.”

  “Okay, then watch me eat and have a cup of coffee. You look like you need some caffeine to keep you going.”

  She had nowhere else to go and he was right, caffeine would probably be a good idea.

  “Okay,” she said with a weary nod. She took one step away from the wall and then stopped.

  She was tired and not thinking quite straight, but she had a sudden pressing question she needed him to answer. “You’re not going to like try to kill me or kidnap me or anything, are you?”

  It sounded absurd even as she was saying it.

  “Excuse me?” he asked, eyebrows raising incredulously. “Ah, no. Do I look like a killer or a kidnapper?”

  “No, but you’d be surprised how many people are and don’t look like it.”

  He took a step backward, hands partially raised.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m really tired and I’ve been through some...stuff...the last few years.”

  “Clearly,” he said, nodding. He still looked wary, though.

  “You’re right. I need some caffeine. Shall we go?”

  He lowered his hands. “Okay. Hey, at least since we’re in a public place we know we’re both safe.”

  If only it was that simple, she thought. Fortunately she kept herself from voicing it out loud. Martin would probably run screaming at that point, and really, who would blame him?

  Five minutes later, for the second time that night she found herself sitting down at a table in the cafeteria. Normally she was a soda drinker, but she had opted instead for strong, black tea. She cradled the warm cup in her hands and savored the sensation. She had placed her phone on the table so she could stare at it from time-to-time willing it to ring.

  Martin had opted for a meal that looked like pot roast and mashed potatoes and he was digging into it with abandon. “I love good food,” he said, after his fifth forkful.

  “And that counts?” she asked.

  “Most certainly. It’s recognizable and it’s comfort food. You wouldn’t believe some of the places I’ve been and what I’ve eaten there.”

  She sipped her tea while he continued to eat. Finally he began to slow down. “You know, you really need to get some rest. You look like you’re about to drop,” he said, before gulping some coffee.

  “I can’t. Not until my brother Kyle gets out of surgery at least,” she said.

  He frowned. “You know, one of the doctors was telling me they had a famous Kyle in the hospital.”

  Cindy nodded gloomily. “That’s my brother. Kyle Preston.”

  “That travel guy?”

  “Yes. Let me guess, you’re a fan?” Cindy asked. She drank some more tea, enjoying the warmth of it as it went down her throat.

  “To be honest, I’ve only caught one or two shows, but I’m pretty sure my kid sister wants to bear his children.”

  Cindy spewed tea on the table. “Oh my gosh! I am so sorry,” she said, hurriedly grabbing some of his napkins to mop it up.

  “My fault. I think I made an inappropriate joke.”

  “No, it’s just, I’ve never heard it put that way before,” Cindy said, still embarrassed as she finished mopping up the liquid.

  “Well then you don’t know my sister. I believe that was one of her Facebook posts last month. She’ll be devastated to hear that he has a fiancée.”

  She’ll be even more devastated if he dies.

  Cindy shook her head. She shouldn’t think like that.

  Her phone rattled to life on the table and she jumped. “Hello?” she asked breathlessly as she snatched it up.

  It was her dad. He sounded tired. “He’s out of surgery. We still don’t know much of anything.”

  “Okay, where are you?”

  “In the lobby at the moment. I booked us a room at the hotel across the street. I think we’re going to head over in a few minutes. We’re both exhausted. The nurses have reassured me they’ll call if there’s any change. You want to come with us?”

  “Yes, I’ll be there in a minute,” Cindy said.

  She ended the call. “He’s out of surgery, and it sounds like my folks and I are all going to go get some sleep,” she explained.

  “Good, you need it,” Martin said.

  “I have to go, I’m sorry.”

  “No, go. You’ve got my card. If you need anything, just give me a call.”

  “Thanks,” she said.

  She scooped up her trash and tossed it on her way out of the room. She hurried upstairs and found her parents waiting for her. They headed outside, and she was surprised at just how bright it was for being nighttime. The sky was lit up by all the artificial lights of the city.

  They went down to
the corner and crossed the street. Her father was right, the hotel entrance was literally right there. They walked inside, encountering slot machines right next to the door. A few minutes later they were staggering into their room. It was cramped, but it had two queen beds. Cindy sat down wearily on the one by the window. She hadn’t had to share a hotel room with her parents since she was in high school. Apparently, though, it was the only one available. It seemed there was a medical conference going on. She wondered if that’s why Martin was here at this particular time.

  Her parents had brought a suitcase that had stuff thrown haphazardly in it. She didn’t have anything with her.

  In her pocket she felt her phone vibrate and she pulled it out. Jeremiah had texted her.

  How’s it going?

  She had promised she would call him. There was no way she was doing that in front of her parents, though. She forced herself to her feet. “I need to go down to the gift shop and grab some sundries,” she said.

  “You need money?” her dad asked as he stood, gazing at a mismatched pair of pajamas.

  “No, I’m good.”

  Her mom was just sitting on the edge of the bed, staring into space.

  Cindy made it out of the room and headed downstairs. She had seen a store in the lobby when they’d checked in. Hopefully she could get some necessities there. What she most wanted was a toothbrush and a pair of pajamas.

  Fortunately, she found both. The pajamas had a playing card motif on them but looked comfortable. She went ahead and bought herself a deck of cards, too. She didn’t have a deck in her purse currently and she needed something to fidget with.

  Once she had purchased the items she walked out of the store. A minute later she found a chair by a hotel courtesy phone in a small alcove that was a little less noisy than the rest of the area. She sat down and pulled out her phone to call Jeremiah.

  “Hello?”

  She closed her eyes and felt herself relax slightly at the sound of his voice. Regardless of all the craziness they’d had that day just hearing his voice made her feel better, safer somehow.

  “Hey, it’s me,” she said.

  “How are you?”

  “Better than I expected to be, honestly. Kyle just came out of another surgery for internal bleeding, and we don’t know much else at this point. My parents are a wreck although Dad is holding it together better than Mom is. Kyle’s fiancée is banged up and has a broken wrist but otherwise seems okay. She’s nice.

  “Fiancée?”

  “Yeah, apparently they got engaged two days ago. Seems like everyone’s getting married. Well, if he survives, he will be. It’s just such a mess,” she said.

  She could hear the exhaustion in her own voice, and that was never a good thing.

  “So, what happened?”

  “It was an accident. They were driving back from her parents’ house when some idiot ran a red light, slammed into their car, and then took off.”

  Jeremiah was silent for so long she finally asked, “Are you still there?”

  “Yes, sorry. I was just thinking. Are you sure it was an accident?”

  “That’s what they’re saying. Why?”

  “It’s just, the last time Kyle was the victim of accidents, it turned out not to be so...accidental.”

  She knew he was referencing the cattle drive that they had all been on together. “I hadn’t thought about it,” she said quietly. “He’s here on vacation, though, so it can’t be a work thing.”

  “Hasn’t he done shows in Vegas before?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Maybe someone he encountered back then has some kind of issue with him.”

  “I hope not,” Cindy said, pressing her free hand to her forehead which was beginning to throb. She’d have to remember to go back into the store and grab some aspirin.

  “Sorry, I’m still jumpy from last week. I’m sure I’m just being paranoid,” Jeremiah said swiftly, as though sensing her distress.

  “I know, I had a hard time believing with all the crazy risks he takes and stunts he pulls that this is all because of something so common as a car accident. It’s just a crazy, unexpected accident.”

  Like our sister.

  She bit her lip, focusing on the pain so she wouldn’t start crying at the thought. She pulled it back together and then quickly asked, “How are things there?”

  He paused for a moment and then said, “That guy Christopher showed up at my house asking for my help to prove that his boss is innocent before the man’s reputation is irredeemably trashed.”

  “Wow. What did you say?”

  “I said ‘no’. I have too many other things going on, and I am not interested in getting that close to the situation given how many reporters are going to be covering every aspect of it.”

  “Kind of goes against that whole ‘the man of mystery in the shadows’ thing, doesn’t it?”

  He actually chuckled which made her smile. “A little bit.”

  “I really don’t believe that guy did it.”

  “Well, when you get back I’m sure you can figure out who did.”

  “Yeah, but Christopher was right about one thing. Every hour that suspicion is on him makes it that much harder for him to recover politically even if he is exonerated. Besides, what if the real killer goes free? Then I’d end up having to testify at his trial as to what I saw and an innocent man could go to jail. I couldn’t deal with that.”

  Jeremiah sighed on the other end of the line. “Cindy, do you want me to work on this and keep you in the loop?”

  “Yes, please.”

  There wasn’t anything she could do to help her brother, but there was something she could do to help Henry.

  “Alright. I’ll do it for you,” he said.

  “Thank you.”

  “Now go get some rest.”

  “I will,” she promised.

  “And call the minute you know anything.”

  “You, too.”

  “Goodnight,” he said.

  “Goodnight.”

  Reluctantly she ended the call. She sat there for a moment just taking in deep breaths. Aspirin. She remembered that she needed to go back into the store and get some.

  She put her phone in her purse and then picked up her shopping bag. She stood and started crossing the lobby toward the store.

  Out of the corner of her eye she saw something moving quickly. She turned her head just as something slammed into her. She staggered, nearly falling, and she felt her purse being ripped out of her hand.

  She turned just in time to see a man in a hoodie sprinting toward the front doors of the hotel. He was carrying her purse.

  7

  “Stop, thief!” Cindy shrieked as loudly as she could.

  A security guard rushed forward and the thief sidestepped him. The front of the hotel had a bank of doors and he was heading for the one on the right. Before he got there, one of the doors in the middle opened and Martin walked inside, a newspaper under one arm.

  “Martin! Stop him!” Cindy shrieked, pointing frantically.

  He turned, saw the thief just steps away, and dove at his legs, tackling him to the ground. Cindy’s purse flew out of the man’s hands and landed a couple of feet away.

  The security guard rushed forward, put one knee on the thief’s back, grabbed his arms and handcuffed them behind his back. Other people in the lobby burst into spontaneous applause.

  Martin reached over and retrieved her purse.

  “Don’t move,” she heard the guard tell the guy on the ground.

  She raced up. “Thank you!”

  “When I said to call me if you needed anything, this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind,” Martin panted as he straightened up and handed Cindy her purse.

  “I’m sorry. Thank you. Wow. How did you learn to do that?”

  “I played football in high school. Plus, I have three older brothers.”

  Cindy clutched her purse tightly. “Well, thank goodness for football and older brothers.”
>
  The police arrived in what seemed like record time. It turned out they had already been in the vicinity taking the statement of another purse snatching victim. Apparently she had not been as lucky as Cindy, though.

  “Doesn’t that seem a little coincidental?” she quietly asked Martin as the one officer hauled the thief to his feet.

  The guard overheard. “It’s the most common crime here in Vegas. Some thieves just lift your wallet, even right out of your purse and you might not know it for hours. It makes it hard to catch and prosecute some of these guys. I’d keep a good hold on yours from now on.”

  “Thank you, I will,” she said. She didn’t bother to point out that she’d had a good hold on it earlier, but it hadn’t mattered because of the amount of force the thief had used.

  “Ma’am, are you willing to press charges?” the officer who didn’t have hold of the thief asked.

  She nodded.

  “We’d appreciate it if you could come down to the station with us and help fill out some papers.”

  Before she could say anything Martin intervened. “Could she come in tomorrow? Her brother is in critical condition in the hospital, and she’s desperately in need of some sleep.”

  “That would be fine. I do need to get your contact information, though.”

  Cindy nodded, grateful to Martin for speaking up. She wasn’t sure she could have handled dealing with anymore that night. She gave the officer her information and a brief explanation of what had happened. He gave her his card with the address for the station on it.

  They took the criminal away and Cindy began to breathe easier.

  “Can I walk you to your room?” Martin asked.

  “Make sure I don’t get into any more trouble?” she joked.

  He nodded.

  “No, thank you. But you can walk me to the elevator after I get something else from the store.”

  “Will do.”

  It took just a minute for Cindy to buy the aspirin. Then Martin dutifully walked her to the elevator. They both got on and she noticed that his floor seemed to be the one above hers.

  “Thank you again,” she said as she got off at her floor.

  “You’re welcome.”

  She made it back into the room and realized that her parents were both already in bed asleep. She quickly got ready for bed, turned off the lights, and slid underneath the covers. The moment she closed her eyes she, too, was asleep.