The Accident

by Donna M. Zadunajsky

  Moore pulled into the parking lot in front of the police station. She sat for a few minutes, looking out the windshield. Her mind was whirling on the last few years of her life. Why had she held off living all these years? What was she afraid of? Since her father died, she wished she knew where her daughter was, not to intrude in her life, but to apologize to her for giving her up. She’d done it because she thought it would be better for her baby. There was nothing wrong with wanting her to have a better life. She knew she couldn’t have provided a good life for her. What if she had kept the baby and then went off to the police academy? Her father would have helped raise her, but she didn’t even give him the choice. She’d made the decision without her father because she thought she was doing the right thing, but now, not so much. She wanted to take it all back because she was going to die without ever knowing her daughter. Without telling her that she loved her and that she thought about her every day of her life. Of course, she wasn’t certain that she was dying, but the doctor hadn’t said otherwise.

  Moore opened the door and climbed out. She walked up the walkway to the entrance of the station, which seemed like a million miles away. Each step felt heavy in her boots. She took a deep inhale and opened the door. She couldn’t handle it if someone asked her what was wrong. She’d fall apart, but she couldn’t fall apart. She had to be strong.

  Before she could sit in her comfy chair at her desk, Woods approached her. He touched her arm as if pulling her away from her desk. She looked over her shoulder at him. His face was—well, she wasn’t sure what his face was telling her. Had something happened to him?

  “What is it, Woods?”

  “I need you to come with me. I need to talk to you alone, now.”

  Before Moore could argue, he practically dragged her down the hall and into an interrogation room.

  “Have a seat,” Woods demanded, but in a soft, caring voice.

  “What’s this about? What’s wrong?”

  Woods closed the door behind him and pulled the chair out from the table and sat down. He looked over at Moore, who seemed to be looking at him with heavy-lidded eyes. Without saying a word, he opened the folder lying on the table and pushed a photo of a woman into Moore’s view.

  29

  Leah couldn’t get the image of Officer Woods’s face out of her head. The way he looked at her made her feel extremely uncomfortable. That’s why she left the station in such a hurry, practically running to her car like the building was on fire. She didn’t think that he’d hurt her, but there was just something about him that made her feel so uneasy. Why was he staring at her the way he was? She wasn’t sure, but all she knew was that it creeped her out. Going there was a mistake and she wasn’t going back and hoped that she didn’t run into him again. It was a good thing she lived in Franklin and not Edon.

  Leah grabbed her next patient file and walked into the room. The patient was an older lady, in her eighties. According to the chart, eighty-one to be exact. Leah watched as the woman’s eyes followed her through the room. A tube had been placed down her throat to help her breathe.

  “Ah, you’re awake,” Leah said. The woman tried to speak. “Don’t try and talk right now.” Leah looked over the chart again. “It seems that you were brought in yesterday evening due to a massive heart attack. If your vitals are strong, then we can remove the ventilator.”

  The lady nodded.

  “So, your name is Gilda Wards?”

  Gilda nodded.

  “Well, Gilda, it’s nice to meet you. My name is Leah and I will be the nurse taking care of you today. Can I get you a warm blanket?”

  Gilda nodded.

  “Okay, I’ll go get that now and then check your vitals.” Leah left the room, returning with a heated blanket. After placing it over Gilda’s body she scanned over the machines, writing down the numbers of Gilda’s blood pressure. Leah jumped when she heard Dr. Amal speak behind her.

  “So how’s our patient doing?”

  After gathering her composure, Leah spoke. “She seems to be coherent and her vitals look good and stronger. We should be able to remove the tube today now that she’s awake.”

  “I don’t see why not. She seems to be alert like you said. Let’s get some bloodwork done and remove that nasty thing from your throat. Do you agree, Mrs. Wards?”

  Leah was puzzled by the way Dr. Amal was talking to the patient. Usually he was an ass and rude to everyone around him. “I’ll get that done now,” Leah replied. She wanted to ask him about the brain-dead patient, but was it a good time to ask? Would he jump down her throat like the last time? He’d probably reply that it wasn’t any of her business, which it wasn’t, was it? She didn’t want to over step her boundaries again with Dr. Amal, but damn it, she couldn’t help herself.

  “Dr. Amal, could I please speak to you out in the hall?” Leah asked.

  Dr. Amal nodded and walked out of the room, Leah trailing behind.

  “I know you’ll say it’s none of my business, but I need to know about the brain-dead patient,” she said in a low voice. Her eyes sketched over his, waiting for him to start yelling at her.

  “You are correct. He isn’t any of your business, but if you need to know, he’s been moved to the coma ward where I should have placed him in the first place. I’m waiting on the judge to give me permission to turn off the life support.”

  Leah’s mouth gaped open, stunned by the words he’d just told her. “He’s still here? I thought… I mean I was told you stopped treating him.”

  “Yes, and it was for your own good. We have a job to do here and I need you to focus on the people that are here now and need you. Not on some man that is already dead,” Dr. Amal said. “I don’t mean to sound harsh, but there’s nothing we can do for him. He needs to be let go, as you people call it. Where I come from, we don’t allow our people to suffer. It’s always best to let them go in peace.”

  Leah nodded. “Yes, of course, you’re right. I’m sorry for wasting your time,” she replied, but all she could think about was that he was still here, and she would go see him after her shift was over.

  “Have you found his family yet?”

  Leah lowered her head. “No, not yet.”

  “This is a warning to you. Don’t do something stupid and go losing your job over this patient,” Dr. Amal said, then walked away.

  Leah stood there as Dr. Amal walked away. Would he have her fired over this? She was only trying to help the brain-dead man, but losing her job because she wanted to find the man’s family? She couldn’t lose her job; she loved working here.

  She gathered her composure and went back into the room to take Gilda’s blood and remove the tube. Although nervous about what Dr. Amal might do, Leah couldn’t hide her smile as she worked. She wanted to go see John Doe as soon as she was finished here, but should she? Even after what the doctor had said, she still wanted to find his family. She shouldn’t even consider continuing the search, but she wanted to. She needed to. Besides if it were after her shift was over, he couldn’t fire her for that, could her?

  Half an hour later, Leah removed the breathing tube and helped Gilda to sit up.

  “Thank you, dear,” Gilda croaked. “You look so much like a woman I met yesterday. Same eyes, same smile.”

  Leah smiled. She knew that the woman was just being kind. “No need to thank me, it’s my job.”

  “Rose?” Gilda muffled.

  Leah looked from Gilda to the doorway of the room. “I’m sorry, but visiting hours aren’t for another hour, if you could please come back later.”

  “Oh, well, can’t I see her since I’m here?” Rose Tucker asked.

  Leah looked beyond the door to see if anyone else was watching. “Well, I guess so, but make it short. Gilda needs to get some rest.”

  “Sure, of course,” Rose replied as she walked toward the bed. “I heard from your neighbor that you were taken to the hospital when I stopped by your place twenty minutes ago. Are you all right? What happened?” Rose asked, coming to
stand beside the bed.

  “Yes, I’m fine,” Gilda replied.

  “You had a heart attack,” Leah interrupted. “I would say you’re one lucky woman. Thank God you had that alert necklace around your neck.”

  “Oh, goodness,” replied Gilda. “I wasn’t aware that I was having a heart attack. Can’t remember much these days.”

  “Well, I agree with the nurse. Thank God you were able to get help. Where was Scott?” Rose asked but could tell she said something wrong.

  “The police came to my house yesterday and said that he was killed in an accident,” Gilda said.

  “Oh my God! Killed? How?” Rose shrieked.

  “I guess there was some kind of car accident. They didn’t say how it happened, just that he was killed on his motorcycle.”

  “Oh, dear Jesus. That is terrible,” Rose replied. “I didn’t just come here to see how you were doing. I was wondering if you or Scott had seen Adam lately. I haven’t seen him since Labor Day,” Rose said. “That was a week ago. He never stays away that long. I hope he’s okay.”

  “Well, maybe he has things to do. I’m sure he’ll call you,” Gilda said.

  “Never mind my problems. How are you feeling?”

  “I’m better now that this sweet nurse has taken the tube out of my throat. It was so uncomfortable. Hard to swallow.”

  Rose nodded.

  “How’s Adam?” Gilda asked. “The black police officer was asking about Adam.”

  Leah looked over at Gilda. Her friend had just told her that she hadn’t seen him in a week. Black police officer? Leah instantly thought of Officer Woods.

  “Is your mind still forgetting things?” Rose questioned. “And what black police officer?”

  “What? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t remember you telling me about Adam. Or about this black police officer you’re talking about,” Gilda protested as if angry.

  “I mentioned that I haven’t seen Adam in a week and that I’m worried. You’re the one that was talking about a black police officer.”

  Leah’s mind began to whirl. Gilda had just said her son Scott was killed and now Rose’s son Adam was missing too. Her mind went straight to the accident on the turnpike. She wasn’t sure if she should say anything, but what if he was in the accident too and Rose didn’t know? Were there still other patients in the hospital here and at Edon? Her brain was curious as usual and with her kind heart she wanted to find out more about this Adam guy.

  “Some policemen came to my house yesterday. They said Scott had been hurt. I can’t remember if they said what happened. I should call him and find out.”

  “Gilda, you just said that Scott was in an accident,” Rose said.

  “Oh, was he? Maybe I should give him a call,” Gilda replied.

  “I can call him since he’s your next of kin,” Leah interrupted. She knew that Gilda was ill and didn’t know what was really happening around her.

  “That would be so kind of you. What’s your name again, sweet girl?”

  “Leah,” she replied. She felt bad for Gilda and wondered how long her dementia had been going on.

  Leah and Rose looked at one another. “I can give you Scott’s number,” Rose said.

  Leah nodded.

  “I’ll be right back to visit with you, Gilda.”

  “No, problem. It seems that I’m not going anywhere.”

  Both Leah and Rose left the room. Leah wanted to find out more about Rose’s son Adam but didn’t want to do it in front of her patient. Leah would try calling Scott’s number, but if he didn’t answer, her next choice would be to call the police station and confirm if Scott was in the accident and killed like Gilda had just told them. She dialed Scott’s number, but it went straight to voicemail. Which meant it had been turned off or destroyed in the wreck. “Does Scott usually have his phone off? I mean with his mom not remembering things,” Leah asked.

  “Mom? No, Gilda is Scott’s grandmother. To answer your question, I’m not sure. Adam is the one to ask. They have been friends since they met in the Army nine years ago.”

  Leah nodded. “Have you tried calling your son? That was stupid, of course you have.”

  “Yes, I have, several times and it too goes straight to voicemail too.”

  Leah’s mind was spiraling with questions. Is it possible they were both in the accident? She raked her brain going back to the day of the crash. Granted, there had been at least ten or, so people involved in the accident and they had been split between the two hospitals. Then it hit her. John Doe could belong to either of them. She needed to know and if she were wrong, then at least Leah could narrow it down to who he was. Why didn’t she think of this earlier? She should’ve visited everyone from the crash. She wasn’t a detective, she was a nurse, and yes, she loved helping people. Detective work wasn’t her field, but for some reason she needed to finish what she started. Her thoughts raced through her head.

  “I hope this doesn’t sound crazy, and I’m sure you have watched the news in the past few days.”

  “What’s this about?”

  “Do you recall hearing about the accident on the Ohio Turnpike last Friday?”

  “Yes, it was such a horrible accident. All those people hurt. What does this have to do…” Rose stopped talking. “Do you think my Adam was in that accident?”

  “I’m not sure, but if you happen to have a photo of Adam, I could find out if he’s at this hospital and if not, I can check with Edon Hospital,” Leah said. She could see Rose’s eyes start to well up with tears.

  “Yes, of course.” Rose opened her purse and pulled out her wallet, handing Leah the most recent picture she had of her son.

  Leah looked down at the photo in her hand and gasped. It was her John Doe.

  30

  The dream seemed real and maybe to him it was. He was standing on sand, then gun shots filled the air. The image changed to an accident. Cars were piled up on the road.

  Ben jolted to a sitting position, his clothes clinging to his sweat-covered body. He could still see the images in his head. He replayed the scene but didn’t know for sure if it were him or if he was watching someone else. It didn’t make sense to him. He had no idea why he was standing in a desert with buildings all around him. Would Kaitlyn know about these dreams he was having?

  He looked over his shoulder and down at the empty side of the bed. Kaitlyn wasn’t there. He heard a sound coming from the next room and grabbed his crutches. He saw Kaitlyn in the kitchen cooking. She looked so beautiful standing there. How could he not remember this or her? She turned and saw him standing in the hallway. She jumped, almost dropping the frying pan she was holding.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He stopped. Should he say anything to her? He knew it was a memory but wasn’t sure if he should wait and see if more came to him before saying anything. He didn’t want to get her hopes up that he was recalling things in his life, but he honestly didn’t know what part of his life he was remembering.

  “What is it?” she questioned.

  “It’s nothing.”

  “Okay, if you’re sure. I made us some breakfast. I have two poached eggs and jelly for your toast, just the way you like it.”

  “Since when do I eat poached eggs?” he replied in disgust.

  Kaitlyn stiffened and looked at him as she gripped the pan in her hand in terror. She swallowed. “You…you’ve always liked poached eggs,” she stuttered. “I’m sorry, I’ll make you anything you want,” she said.

  He could tell that she seemed frightened of him all of a sudden. Had he said something wrong? “Oh, I’m sorry but I really don’t like them now. Could I have two eggs over easy instead?” he asked. He watched as she studied him for a minute before replying.

  “Sure, I can do that for you,” she said, grabbing the plate and tossing the poached eggs in the trash. “I guess you hit your head pretty hard in the accident if you can’t remember what foods you used to like.” She let out a soft laugh, as she look
ed over her shoulder at him.

  He could tell she feared him, but he didn’t know why. “I’m going to use the bathroom. I’ll be right back,” he said and left.

  Kaitlyn stood without saying a word.

  Ben went back into the bedroom and closed the door once he was inside the bathroom. He leaned against the counter, peering into the mirror. Who was he? Last night they had looked through the photo album, but nothing stirred inside him. He didn’t remember a single thing. Not their wedding day or trips that they took. It was like he never existed.

  After using the bathroom, he stripped off the shirt he was wearing and tossed it in the hamper. He went over to the walnut colored dresser against the wall. He needed to change into cleaner clothes, since the pajamas that he wore to bed were now wet with sweat. He opened the top drawer and found some lingerie. He couldn’t help but smirk as he held up a thin red one-piece and imagined her, his wife, wearing it. The noise from the kitchen startled him and he dropped the lingerie on the floor. He quickly bent over and scooped it up when his eyes caught a glimpse of something taped to the bottom of the drawer. After placing the clothing back, he grabbed the envelope. He opened the unsealed flap and began to shuffle through the photos that were inside. His eyes grew wide as he looked at each picture. They were of Kaitlyn. Her body had bruises all over it. She must have stood in front of the mirror and took these, but how? Why did she have these? Was she in an accident? Should he take these to her and ask? No, he couldn’t. She’d think that he was snooping in her things. It dawned on him that she must be hiding them, but from who? Him? Did he do this to her? Oh God, did he beat her, and she was keeping these as evidence? He choked back a cry as his body quivered with fear and disgust that he did this to his own wife. No wonder at times she seemed afraid of him.

  “Ben, breakfast is ready,” Kaitlyn hollered.

  He turned, placed the photos back in the envelope and re-taped them to the bottom of the drawer. He closed the drawer and turned, looking for another dresser that had to have his things in them. He spotted another dresser against the wall by the closet and slowly with his crutches walked over to it. He opened the second drawer and saw men’s boxers. He frowned. He didn’t like boxers. He rooted through the drawer for some briefs but didn’t find any. What the hell is going on? he thought. First, he had dreams that didn’t seem familiar to him. Second, he hated poached eggs. Third, he found photos of his wife badly beaten. Fourth, he had never worn boxers in his life. It was like he was in someone else’s body or brain. None of this seemed real to him. He had thought for sure that he would remember something once he arrived home, but nothing that pertained to their life together.