The officer stood in the kitchen doorway watching us, and nodded as I used a paper towel to pull open one drawer after another so I wouldn’t add my fingerprints to the scene while I looked for clean dish towels. During the search, I found a big bowl, which I filled with warm water. Grabbing one of the dish towels and submerging it in the bowl, I wrung it out and used it to clean up the blood around Rob’s wound, then held the dish towel against his abdomen for a minute to staunch the blood flow. I used a second one to dry the area, and opened one of the alcohol wipes to disinfect his injury. He sucked in his breath, but didn’t let out so much as a groan as I applied a bandage and taped it on.
I handed him a bottle of water from the refrigerator, using another paper towel on the refrigerator handle. Rob was starting to look better. I wanted him to sit quietly for a few minutes, but he would have none of it.
“Now, let me fix your arm,” he said. I started to decline the offer, but gave in when I saw the determination on his face.
My T-shirt was short-sleeved so all he had to do was push up the sleeve to expose the hole in my upper arm the bullet had left as it tore through. The bleeding had mostly stopped. He found another dishcloth and used it to clean the residue off my arm, and then wiped the wound with alcohol. He worked diligently and efficiently, no doubt the result of his training in the Marines.
When he was done, we sat at the kitchen table. It was weird, being in a monster’s house.
The officer who’d been hovering in the doorway wandered outside once he decided we weren’t going to do any harm to the crime scene.
The two of us were a mess, both covered in blood. There would be no saving our T-shirts. “You look like hell,” I said with a laugh.
“You’re not so pristine yourself,” he responded with a crooked grin. “And I’m sorry I got my blood all over you.”
I shook my head. “I’ll send you the bill.” After a moment, I said, “Should we search this place to see where he was keeping her?”
“No. It might compromise any evidence if you touch anything else. The forensics team is already going to have a fit over us coming in, let alone using stuff from the house.”
“You can’t cut me out of this.” I watched his reaction, but he didn’t seem to be persuaded. “Come on. It’s not fair. I shed blood over this case.”
He reached across the table and took my hand. “Yes, you did. And you saved my life.”
“Just call me Wonder Woman,” I said with a grin. “I’m really glad I saved you, but I still want to take a look around.”
When he accepted that I wouldn’t be dissuaded, he said, “You can watch me, but you can’t touch anything,” and pushed up from the table.
He took the lead, and I followed, careful not to disturb the scene. The cabin wasn’t large. Just a kitchen, living room, small bath and one bedroom. Rob did a cursory sweep of the living area, but there was nothing to point to a kidnapped child being held here. We left the cabin by the front door and headed around the side. I stopped to wipe the sweat off my forehead, glancing around the area.
“There!” I pointed to a weeping willow on the bank of the lake about ten yards away from the cabin, and took off at a run.
“Wait!” he called after me, but I didn’t slow up. “Don’t touch anything.”
“I won’t,” I yelled over my shoulder. When I got near the tree, I spotted a structure at the base of the trunk, partially concealed by the drooping branches of the willow. The structure had bars, and its door was standing open. It was like an animal cage.
Rob joined me and leaned in to inspect the enclosure. Then drew back as the stink hit him. The floor of the cage had splotches of excrement and other dried on substances which might have been blood or vomit or urine. God knows what that little girl had endured. I could only hope that she’d been unconscious and unaware of the filth boxed in with her.
“I think there should be plenty of her DNA to prove that’s where he was keeping her.” We both stood and stared, unable to look away as our imaginations called up images too ugly to bear.
“There was no cover, nothing to protect her from the elements. Not even a tarp. Thank God the cage was under the branches of the tree so it might have given her some relief from the heat. But they wouldn’t have protected her from rain or cold or insects.” I shuddered.
Rob rubbed a hand over his pale face. “Come on. Let’s go.”
I put my hand on his arm. “We need to find Emma.”
He looked at me and nodded. “I know. Emma is the reason we found Marilee. We owe her. But—”
The sound of the ambulance pulling into the drive interrupted him, and we headed back toward the cabin.
“Don’t worry. Our investigators will go over every inch of this property. If she’s here, we’ll find her.” He slipped his arm around my shoulders, and I leaned against him as we walked.
The EMTs loaded Rob into the ambulance and I climbed in with him.
“Will they take us to the same hospital as Marilee?” I asked.
“Yeah,” one of the EMTs answered. “We’re going to Carden General. It’s the closest and set up for trauma patients.”
I silently prayed that Marilee was going to make it. She’d been so weak, and she’d endured so much. My eyes burned as I begged God to take care of her.
Rob reached over and held my hand. Now that we were safe, my mind whirled with thoughts of him and the feelings he elicited from me. I’m not sure when it happened, but I became accepting of the idea that he was going to be in my life, even if we hadn’t talked about it. He wouldn’t want to push me and would leave it up to me where we went from here, but I knew he cared for me. And I cared for him. I squeezed his hand. He looked up at me and our eyes met and held. What we saw in each other’s eyes told us everything we needed to know.
He nodded off and slept the rest of the way to the hospital. I didn’t let go of his hand. When we arrived, I stepped out first and waited for him to be unloaded. He woke up when the EMTs jostled the gurney out of the ambulance.
Inside, there was a buzz in the air. Over her clipboard, the admitting nurse said to me, “Thank God you found that child. How did you do it?”
Suddenly the consequences of our actions dawned on me. Brindleson could say we searched without a warrant. Maybe the charges against him would be thrown out. What could we say, that a ghost told us where to go?
“It was dumb luck,” I finally responded. Rob and I needed to discuss our statements, and we needed to do it soon.
“Whatever,” she said, smiling and patting my arm. “It must have been God guiding your steps.” She nodded to someone over my shoulder and another nurse appeared and motioned me toward an empty bay. I wanted to stay with Rob, but nurses rule the ER, so I followed my nurse.
She chattered about the press in the main hospital. This would be a huge story and I expected the fallout would land on me and Rob before long.
“You’re a lucky girl,” the nurse said. “The bullet missed anything important. You’re going to be sore for a few days, but you should be back to normal before you know it.”
“That’s good to know,” I said. “What about Marilee? Do you know anything about how she’s doing?”
“Not yet, but I’ll see what I can find out. You two are heroes.”
“We’re not important. That little girl is. I just hope we were in time.”
“She was alive when she was brought in. We’ve got topnotch doctors here. She’s in good hands.”
“Can you find out about Rob, too?”
“Sure, honey.”
She ambled out of my bay. I lay on the bed reflecting on all that had happened over the course of the day. I’d finally let go of my dark thoughts about not being in time to save Marilee. For now. Rob was right. It was a good day. My attention turned to him. He’d been pale and weak, but hadn’t collapsed, despite having lost a ton of blood. Adrenalin had kept him going long past when he shouldn’t have even been able to
stand.
The nurse pulled back the curtain, a bright smile on her face. “Your boyfriend’s stable. They’ve given him a transfusion, and his doctor wants to keep him overnight, but he’s gonna be fine. And so far that little girl is hanging on. They flushed her with liquids and nutrients and her color is better. She hasn’t been awake, though, since they brought her in. But I’ve got a feeling she’s gonna pull through.” She pulled open the curtain around my bay, turning to confirm that I was free to go but should come back tomorrow to have my wound checked. She intended to bring a wheelchair for me, but I nixed that idea strongly enough that she didn’t push it.
I thanked her and picked up my backpack. I wanted to find Rob. The nurse’s words finally registered. Your boyfriend’s stable. I no longer had the inclination to fight back against my feelings. I liked that she referred to him as my boyfriend. Even if he really wasn’t.
The desk directed me to Rob’s bay where a few uniformed officers were milling around outside while a doctor and nurse were inside with him. One of the policemen noticed me, and my bandaged arm, and extended his hand.
“You must be Rob’s friend Kelly?” The other cops gathered around me when I nodded, making sure I was okay and offering bits of information they’d managed to pick up.
“Have you been in to see him?” I asked the first one, who’d introduced himself as Mickey Root.
He looked sheepish. “No one was in his room when we got to the ER so we invited ourselves in. We were only in there ten minutes or so before the doc came in and booted us out. Rob wasn’t awake while we were in there.”
“I overheard the nurse say his vitals are good and strong. The doc didn’t seem real concerned while he was in there,” said a second cop. “I’m Daniel, by the way.”
“Hi, Daniel. He was moving around while we were at the cabin. Other than looking pale and a little peaked, I wasn’t afraid he wouldn’t make it. He did bleed a ton, though.”
“Yeah, they had a couple of blood bags hanging by his bed,” Daniel said.
“The press is going to find a way to get in here,” Mickey said. “They don’t know the whole story yet, but they’ll dig until they get it. Then they’ll be gunning for you two.”
“How did you guys know where to find Marilee?” a third cop asked.
I didn’t know how to answer that and, luckily, the doctor took that moment to step out of the bay. He took in all our expectant faces and said “Things look good. I see no reason why Det. Porter won’t be back on his feet in a week or so.”
A cheer went up among the police officers. And me. I cheered right along with them. I dared to hope that everything would turn out all right.
“Are you his wife?” the doctor asked me.
All eyes turned my way.
“No. I’m his . . . friend.”
I noticed the looks passing among his visitors, but no one commented.
“Can we see him now,” Daniel asked.
“No more than two should be in there at a time, and keep the visits short. He needs to rest.”
I held back, not wanting to be hurried when I got my turn, because I planned to stay.
Chapter 27
O
T
he visitor’s lounge was on the other side of the hospital, and it was thankfully empty, allowing me to relax and let go of the day for a few minutes. I pulled my cell out of my pocket and called Melissa to check up on TJ.
“They’re fine,” Melissa said. “In fact, the boys are angling for a sleepover. Is it okay with you if TJ spends the night? I can bring him home in the morning.”
“You’re sure you’re okay to keep him overnight?”
“Yeah. Kevin’s older brother Nate used to have his friends stay over when he was Kevin’s age, so I’m an old hand at this. Not to mention that TJ keeps Kevin entertained so I don’t have to.” Melissa laughed. “Bad mom.”
“Not bad mom. You’re a lifesaver. I won’t complain about having a night to myself. Thank you so much.”
I heaved a sigh of relief, since I intended to spend the night in Rob’s room.
Next, I texted Jen. Have you got a minute?
She responded immediately with Sure. What do you need?
I’m calling you.
“What’s going on?” she asked as soon as she picked up.
“I don’t know where to begin. First, I guess I should tell you I’m at the hospital.”
“Are you all right? Is TJ all right?”
“TJ’s staying at Kevin’s tonight. Rob’s in the ER and I’m staying here with him.”
“Which one? I’m coming over.”
“You may want to reconsider. We’re at Carden and it’s more than an hour out of Marysville.”
“I don’t care. I’ll make Jason come with me. Save us a seat.”
Her ability to lighten the mood made me laugh. “Okay. I could use the company.”
“I forgot to ask. Is Rob okay? What happened?”
“He will be. I’ll tell you everything when you get here.”
“Okay, but maybe you could give me a tiny little hint?”
“Maybe I’ll give you one if you bring me a blanket. It’s freezing in here.”
“Hospitals usually are. I’ll take care of it. Now. The hint?”
“Check the news. I’m sure it’s all over the TV.”
“Ooh. I can’t wait!”
I settled back on the marginally comfortable waiting room couch and closed my eyes, and must have fallen asleep because I woke with a start to someone calling my name. I rubbed my eyes and tried to focus on the man in blue standing in front of me.
“I thought you should know Rob’s been moved to his own room, up on two,” Mickey said. “Sorry if we made you feel left out. We’ve all been in to see him, so if you want a turn, you can have him to yourself now.”
“I appreciate it,” I said. “How long was I out?”
“Only an hour or so. At least that’s how long it’s been since we last saw you.”
“Thanks, Mickey,” I said, standing and stretching. “How did he seem?”
“He’s still pretty out of it. He came around for a few minutes, and smiled, but then was out again.”
“He’s been through a lot today. He probably needs to rest as much as he can.”
“I could say that about you, too.”
“I’m sure I look ghastly,” I said ruefully.
“Not at all. But I know you were with Rob and you got shot, too. Given all that, you look like Miss America to us.”
“Thanks. Nice to know I won’t scare him when I go in there.”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure he’ll be happy to see you. You mean a lot to him.”
I looked at him, feeling a heat that I hoped didn’t show on my face. “I do?”
He cleared his throat. “I mean, uh, I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you.”
I glanced at him, but he didn’t meet my gaze as he walked with me to the second floor.
The other guys were standing around outside Rob’s room and smiled when we walked up, every face alight with relief that Rob was going to recover.
“He’s all yours,” Daniel said.
He positioned one of the chairs next to the bed for me, then nodded and left me alone with Rob.
I settled into the chair and picked up Rob’s hand. He didn’t wake up, and I didn’t know if he’d been sedated or was just asleep. I held his hand and thought about holding his hand. I looked at our hands together and I felt peaceful. Almost like I believed Tom would approve.
How close we’d come. Not just to being too late to save Marilee, but how close Brindleson had come to killing Rob. I started to shake at the thought of it. Losing this man would have destroyed me. I couldn’t bear to lose him, too. I looked at Rob lying there, eyes closed, and thought about curling up next to him.
He opened his eyes, startling me out of my reverie. He looked at me and smiled a tight smile. “Thank God you’
re all right,” he said, his voice groggy.
“Thank God you’re all right. I was starting to get worried.”
He tried to laugh, and grimaced in pain. “I shouldn’t do that for a while.”
“I won’t say anything funny for two weeks,” I deadpanned, pretending to scowl.
He chuckled softly. “Don’t make any promises you can’t keep.” He tried to shift, causing another spasm of pain, before he settled back into his original position.
“Aren’t they giving you pain meds?” I asked, hating that he was still suffering.
“Yeah. Otherwise it would be a lot worse.”
“Maybe they should up the dose,” I kidded.
“Is there any news on Marilee?” Rob asked, searching my face.
“I think she’s holding on. They were trying to get liquids and nutrients in her. That should make her stronger. But I haven’t heard anything concrete.”
“You’re holding my hand,” he said, his eyes searching mine.
“Yes, I am. Is that okay with you?”
“It’s more than okay.”
Squeezing his hand, I felt a yearning that had been missing from my life for a long time. I was in jeopardy of losing it, and closed my eyes until I could gain control of my emotions.
I cleared my throat and changed the subject. “Rob, we need to get our stories straight about how we found Marilee.”
“Oh, yeah. You have a point. It’s gonna be tough coming up with something that sounds plausible.”
“I’ve been thinking. I talked to Brindleson about finding a house on a lake. What if we were exploring Clarion Lake and just happened on that dirt road leading to his cabin. When we walked up to it, we saw him carrying something heavy that was moving. Then he started shooting.”
“It’s shaky,” he said, “but it could work if we stick to it.”
“Okay then. One problem down.”
“We have more?”
“I’ve been warned that the press is going to be all over us. I’m surprised they haven’t found us yet.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we have to,” he said. “I can’t wait to get out of here. Did the doctor say when I can leave?”
Under the Willows Page 14