Gracie Greene Mystery Box Set

by Jack Parker

Gracie and Jennifer walked up to the desk and waited for the nurse there to hang up the phone. "Has Meaghan Pruitt been brought in yet? She'd be in an ambulance."

  The nurse looked suspiciously at the two young women standing there; they looked nothing alike. "Are you relatives?" she asked crisply.

  "Yes, she's our sister," Jennifer said decisively. She intended to let a tear trickle down her cheek for effect, but her emotions got the better of her and she began sobbing.

  "No!" Gracie said. She gave the nurse her most honest smile. "She's our friend. She's been in a car wreck and they're supposed to be bringing her here." She reached out to pat Jennifer on the back.

  The nurse raised one eyebrow at the two opposite stories. "I'm sorry, girls. I can't tell you anything; it's those privacy laws you know. You'll have to wait until her parents get here."

  Jennifer nodded and started to turn away but Gracie took her arm to stop her. "I understand the rules," Gracie told the nurse. "But there's a bunch of her friends on the way here and it's gonna get real crowded and noisy real quick. We don't want to get in your way, but we're all worried about our friend. Can you at least point us to somewhere we can all wait?"

  The nurse looked beyond the girls to see the growing crowd outside the ER doors. She was tempted to alert Security, but the darker-headed girl's request was reasonable and she could see their concern. It wouldn't be good PR for the hospital to turn these young people away, and she could tell someone to keep an eye on them to make sure they didn't get too loud and rambunctious. "There's a room on the 2nd floor you can use, it's the one with the tables and vending machines. You'll have to keep the noise level down, but I'll let everyone know as they come in and I'll tell her folks you're there when they arrive."

  "Oh, my God! Has anyone called her parents?" Jennifer wailed.

  "Thank you very much," Gracie said. "If you'll give me directions there's a girl outside who can direct everyone. Jennifer, why don't you go on up and we'll be there in a minute."

  Jennifer headed for the elevators and Gracie went back outside. There were a lot of kids out there now, huddled under sheltering overhang of the building, but not saying a lot. She heard more than a few sniffles and sobs. They all looked at her as she walked out. At that moment they heard a siren in the distance and as one turned to watch its approach. Kelly took her hand in his.

  The ambulance screamed into the parking lot with its lights strobing, stopping at the Emergency Room door; the ambulance door was flung open from the inside and medical personnel ran out of the hospital to take charge. Meaghan's friends were too far away to see anything but the rounded shape of a body on the gurney as it was pushed inside. No one said a word.

  A car pulled up and Amy jumped out of it, leaving it running with the door open. "I followed the ambulance in; I don't know if she's still alive." She looked shaken to the core.

  Brittney stepped out of the throng and threw her arms around Amy. "It's all right," she said, though tears were running down her own face.

  "Take her inside, Brittney," Kelly directed. "I'll take care of her car and be right back." He got in the car and drove slowly away while Brittney and Gracie gently urged Amy inside the building.

  "Listen up!" Cheryl yelled. "We're going to the 2nd floor. Remember this is a hospital! We need to be on our best behavior; no running, pushing, shoving, or yelling. I'll stay here to let anyone else know where we are." In a quieter voice she remarked, "Jeez, I feel like a kindergarten teacher or something."

  Students started going through the revolving door two or three at a time. It was a mark of their shock that Cheryl's admonitions hadn't been necessary; no one felt like running or yelling.

  "It's chilly out here, Cheryl," Josh told her. "I've got a heavier coat, I'll stay and give directions if you want."

  "Thanks, Josh." Cheryl patted his arm and took her place in line, thinking it would be easier for him out here than dealing with the emotions upstairs.

  Gracie and Brittney walked Amy through the ER waiting room to the elevator and up to the 2nd floor; Jennifer had propped the door open with a chair in anticipation of the large number of friends who'd be coming in. They sat Amy down at the first table they came to then sat down themselves on either side of her. Jennifer was moving around the room picking up trash and straightening chairs.

  "Jennifer, get some water for Amy, please," Gracie said. "I think she's in shock. Maybe something with a little sugar would help; are there any cookies or candy bars?"

  Amy just sat where they'd put her, staring straight ahead. Gracie noted that she wasn't crying, but then she herself hadn't felt like she'd had time for this tragedy to soak in and move her to tears. Brittney was holding Amy's hand and saying things like "It'll be okay" and "Just relax", talking to her almost as if Amy were a child. Gracie tried to help take Amy's coat off, but Amy made no move to help and Gracie had to do all the work. She vaguely registered the sounds of a vending machine spitting out a selection and a minute later Jennifer walked up with a bottle of water and a package of Oreo's. Amy looked at them like she didn't know what they were.

  While Brittney continued to say meaningless soothing things Gracie opened the bottle and put Amy's hand around it. "Take a drink, Amy. It's just water, it'll make you feel better."

  Amy obeyed like a robot and seemed to come to her senses a little with the first drink. She took several more while Gracie opened the package of cookies and pushed them across to Brittney who let go of Amy's hand and put a cookie into it. Amy ate the cookie and took another drink to wash it down.

  "Thanks," Amy said, and picked up another cookie.

  Their friends had been coming in, quietly staking out tables and buying drinks and snacks. It gave them something to do with their hands. They talked softly amongst themselves, impressed with the need not to disrupt hospital patients or staff and frightened at even being there. Most of them had dealt with the death of someone they knew but it had been a grandparent or auntie, not someone their own age. Though they had no idea how badly Meaghan was injured, they all feared the worst. And none of them knew how to handle their fear.

  Kelly came in last and closed the door behind him. He walked up to the table where Amy was sitting and dropped two purses in the middle of the table; his attitude said he was glad to be rid of them. "I found both of these in your car, Amy. I guess one is Meaghan's?"

  Amy seemed to have recovered somewhat; she reached out to take her purse and drop it on the floor beside her chair. "Uh, yeah. The paramedics were gonna leave it in her car so I took it with me. Thanks for bringing them in."

  "Amy," Jennifer began hesitantly. "Did, uh, did the paramedics call Meaghan's parents?"

  Amy looked confused for a second, then grabbed at the other purse and began digging through it. "I didn't even think about that!" she said, agitated now. "They just asked me what her first name was, so they could talk to her. But she was unconscious….I think. Anyway, she didn't say anything. I called you while they were getting her into the ambulance, but it never occurred to me that I should call her folks." She'd found Meaghan's cell phone and was poking at its unfamiliar buttons.

  Brittney tried to take the phone from Amy saying, "Here, let me do that."

  Amy pulled the phone away from Brittney. "I'll do it! It's all my fault, I should be the one to tell them what I did." She pushed another button, frowned and muttered, "Damn it, that's not the right one."

  Kelly, standing behind her, reached over her shoulder and took the phone before she realized what happened. As she turned around in the chair to see what had happened he made a big show of pushing the phone into his jeans pocket. "I don't know about the rest of you, but that is one phone call I don't want to make. Brittney, why don't you take Meaghan's wallet down to the nurse in the Emergency Room. She can call Meaghan's parents, she's probably had to do that before and she'll know better what to say."

  Brittney nodded and began looking through Meaghan's purse. "They'll need her drivers' license for identification, and she might have an i
nsurance card in there too." She found the wallet and stood up. She hesitated a moment and then said, "This is so scary." Then she straightened her shoulders and walked out.

  Kelly sat down in the chair Brittney had vacated and everyone stared at each other for a minute, no on knowing quite what to say. Finally Gracie spoke quietly. "What did you mean, Amy? When you said it was all your fault."

  Amy broke down in tears, sobbing loudly. "It is my fault," she said, sniffling. "I hit her car and pushed her off the road!"

  "Amy, you didn't do it on purpose," Jennifer said.

  "But I did it, all the same!" Amy insisted.

  Gracie handed her a tissue from the box thoughtfully provided on the table and Amy blew her nose. Then she dropped her head into her hands and began crying again. "I wish I'd never tried to take that shortcut."

  "What shortcut?" Kelly asked. "Didn't you take the Interstate?"

  Amy shook her head, smearing tears over her palms. She raised her head and took another tissue, wiping her face. "I thought there'd be less traffic if I took the state highway," she said as if trying to convince herself of the truth of the statement. I told her we'd get to the school before everyone else. Oh, if I hadn't done that this wouldn't have happened!"

  "You don't know that," Gracie said, patting Amy's arm. "If Meaghan was following you then you couldn't have hit her car."

  "It was dark, there weren't any lights out there. And it was raining," Amy insisted.

  "Amy, I know you're upset," Gracie said. "But you're not making any sense! Start from the beginning and tell us exactly what happened."

  Amy took a deep, shuddering breath and sat up a little straighter. "I saw the signs for the state road on the way there and like I said, I thought there'd be less traffic and I'd get home quicker. You know how it is trying to get out of a stadium with about a zillion other people all wanting out at the same time."

  "That's why we left as soon as the game was over," Kelly said. "But I can see how you'd think the less-traveled road might be faster," he hastened to add.

  "So I told Meaghan about my idea and she liked that, she said she'd follow me. But it was dark and raining and the road had lots of curves; it was kinda scary driving."

  Amy paused to sniffle as more tears threatened. Gracie just nodded for her to continue.

  "My phone rang so I pulled over to the side to answer it," Amy said. "You know how they're always going on about how talking on the phone while you're driving isn't safe."

  Everyone at the table nodded solemnly.

  "So Meaghan passed me and I said I couldn't talk right then and then I had to hurry to catch up to her." A look of horror stole over Amy's face. "But when I did I was going too fast and I couldn't see very well and I guess I misjudged the distance. I ran into her car."

  "It was an accident," Kelly told her. "It could've happened to anyone under those conditions."

  Amy was staring straight ahead, seeing not her friends but what had happened an hour ago. She spoke mechanically, saying "There was a curve to the right just ahead. I saw her brake lights go on, but the car just kept sliding. The road was wet, her car just kept going straight ahead. It flew off the road, I watched it like it was in slow motion. It hit a tree. I don't know how I got my car stopped."

  "Amy, it wasn't your fault," Gracie said. "You don't need to say anymore."

  "I ran down the bank and tried to help her. But her door was locked and I couldn't get in and she wasn't moving," Amy couldn't seem to stop talking. "I didn't know what to do, I beat on the window but she wouldn't wake up. I yelled and screamed for her to open the door."

  "And then you did the only thing you could do," Gracie said in a soothing voice. "You went back to your car and called 911. You did exactly the right thing."

  Amy nodded. "Yes, I did the only thing I could. It took them forever to get there; I didn't really know where we were so they had to look for my headlights. I called Jennifer while they were putting Meaghan in the ambulance. I didn't know what else to do."

  Jennifer stood up and threw her arms around Amy's shoulders. "It's okay, it's not your fault. Stop saying it is!"

  Shawna had been sitting at the next table and apparently overheard most of the story and she came over to add her reassurances to Amy. The rest of the kids realized that something was going on and as the account spread everyone came over to add their assurance that it was just an accident and they didn't think it was her fault.

  "Maybe it was just an accident," Amy finally agreed. "But we sure have had an awful lot of accidents, lately."

  "This will be the last of them," Gracie said with assurance. "It's time our luck changed."

  CHAPTER 39

  When the football team and cheerleaders arrived in the 2nd floor waiting room they were hoping to hear something more about Meaghan's status, but there was nothing to report. Brittney had gone down to ask the ER nurse if she could tell them anything, but the woman again cited the privacy laws and refused to say anything else. They'd all seen a face peer in the tiny window at them from time to time, staff checking up on the large group. But even with the addition of more people the room was surprisingly quiet.

  Jake spent some time talking privately with Amy, making her re-live the accident again Gracie thought. But he too apparently absolved her of guilt, ending the chat by patting her on the arm before he rejoined his teammates. She noticed that although Jake seemed concerned he hadn't apparently shed any tears; but then he was a guy.

  Time dragged on. They took up a collection and Shaun left to get pizzas. Some of the kids decided to leave after making sure someone would call them when there was news. Gracie thought about it herself, but was afraid she wouldn't be able to sleep if she did go home. She wasn't that close to Meaghan, but she was her friend and she wanted to know what had happened to her.

  People came and went occasionally but when a middle-aged couple walked in the room grew silent and all eyes stared at them. They had to be Meaghan's parents. The woman had short mousy-brown hair, but even at this hour she wore an expensive tailored pantsuit with a large gold cross pendant. The man wore slacks and a pin-striped shirt open at the neck; with a touch of gray at his temples and stylish glasses he looked every inch the distinguished attorney. Gracie remembered that Meaghan had said he worked at lot at home and she could picture him closing up file folders and rushing here when the call had come.

  "Mr. and Mrs. Pruitt, I'm Amy." She came forward and offered her hand. Mr. Pruitt shook hands with her, but Mrs. Pruitt pulled her into a hug.

  "Yes, dear; I remember you. Call me Cynthia please," she said. Her manner was warm and friendly. "And this is my husband, Steve. Oh my goodness, I'm so comforted to see so many of Meaghan's friends here. It means so very much to us to see how many young people care for her."

  Amy looked a little nervous. "Uh, please sit wherever you'd like, and I'd be happy to get you some coffee or something to eat. We'll all do anything we can to make this a little easier for you."

  "A cup of coffee would be nice," Steve said as he led his wife to a table in one corner. "But I don't feel like eating just now."

  Cynthia sat down next to her husband and Amy joined them, while Jennifer brought two cups of coffee from the large pot on the counter; Brittney trailed her with a handful of creamer and sweetener packets, stir-sticks and napkins. "We're all so very sorry," Brittney said.

  Cynthia patted her hand and told her, "You're sweet to take care of us like this. The Lord has blessed Meaghan with good-hearted friends. Is there any of that pizza left?"

  Cody flipped open the boxes and called out, "There's three slices of Pepperoni left, and one Supreme."

  Steve shuddered slightly at the thought of eating cold pizza at this late hour but Cynthia requested the remaining piece of Supreme. "If nobody minds," she said. "I must keep up my strength."

  Cody brought the pizza to her using a paper towel for a plate.

  "Thank you, young man," Cynthia said kindly. She closed her eyes and bowed her head. "Thank you Lo
rd for this good food and for these wonderful young people. I ask you, Lord, to watch over my daughter Meaghan, and the doctors and nurses who are taking care of her. I would humbly ask that you allow her to live, but if not I am comforted to know she will be in your loving presence for all eternity. Thy will be done. In Jesus' name, Amen."

  "Amen," murmured most of the students. Many were quite sincere, though some looked distinctly uncomfortable and seemed to reply out of courtesy alone.

  "Mrs…uh, Cynthia," Amy began as the woman took a big bite of pizza. "I know this must be really hard for you, but please, could you tell us how Meaghan is?"

  Steve spoke up. "She is alive, thank God. She has some internal damage and they've taken her to surgery. The doctor believes she has a good chance of full recovery, but there are no guarantees of course."

  A loud sigh of relief echoed across the room. The girls hugged each other while the guys exchanged high-fives. Phrases such as "Oh thank goodness", "I'm so glad she's okay", and "I so wanted to hear that" could be heard among the general babble of relief.

  "Were you able to see her?" Gracie asked.

  "They allowed us to sit with her for a little while," Cynthia said. "We held her hand and talked to her."

  "You mean she was conscious?" Amy asked in surprise.

  Cynthia turned her head to give Amy an odd look. "No, dear. But I know she heard us nonetheless."

  Amy colored a bit, ducking her head in embarrassment. "I just meant that she must've been in pain, and it would, um, be a kindness if she wasn't awake through that."

  Cynthia patted Amy's arm, apparently her favorite gesture. "I agree, Amy. I would've loved to be able to hear her voice, but I wouldn't want her to suffer." She took another bite of pizza.

  Some of the students decided to leave on that note of good news, creating a background noise of coats being pulled on, backpacks and/or purses being closed, and quiet requests to be updated as well as goodbyes. Several of them paused to speak briefly with Meaghan's parents before they left.