by Roslyn Woods
“You can open the door for us, Ms. Travis,” said Gonzalez, “or we can arrest you for resisting a warrant, and then we can go in anyway.”
“Well, I’ve never heard of anything so insane!” she said, but she handed her keys to the sergeant and stood inside the patio with folded arms.
“Let’s go in,” said Gonzalez after turning the key in the lock and switching on the light that was just inside the door. “We can sit in here while Wilson and the other officers check the place out.”
The other officers were already getting out of their car and approaching the porch. Wilson nodded to them and spoke to them in a low voice while they put booties on over their shoes.
“How did you get a warrant?” Estelle asked, leading Gonzalez into her living room.
“We received a tip about your gun cabinet containing handguns.”
“So? Everyone in Texas--”
“Not everyone in Texas has been informed on by a kidnapper as his accomplice.”
“A kidnapper?”
Gonzalez didn’t answer. The investigators passed through the living room and were going through the house now, walking from room to room in search of a gun cabinet while the sergeant kept watch over his suspect. It didn’t take the officers long. In five minutes’ time, Wilson returned to the living room holding a .38 revolver in a plastic bag.
“I think this is it,” he said.
“I think you’re right,” said Gonzalez, nodding to the younger officer.
“Ms. Travis,” said Wilson, “we’re arresting you for conspiracy to kidnap Michelle Hodge and for murdering Garrett Hall. You have the right to remain silent--”
“What? What?” Estelle shrieked. “You can’t arrest me! I’m the daughter of Wes Travis, and I know my rights!”
“Would you like to wave the reading of your rights Ms. Travis?” asked Gonzalez. “Because, we get really tired of saying them.”
“How dare you!” she screamed.
“If you do say anything,” Wilson continued, “it can be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have a lawyer present during any questioning—”
“Stop! Stop this now!” said Estelle.
“I’m afraid we’re not going to, Ms. Travis,” said Gonzalez. “Please don’t fight us. It will go much easier for you if you don’t.”
“If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you if you so desire,” Wilson said, finishing at last.
“Well, obviously I can afford a lawyer,” she responded, rolling her eyes. “I’m Estelle Travis!”
Chapter 46
A woman was humming, and every once in a while she would bend close to Shell and say, “You’re safe now. You’re in Seton Southwest Hospital, and you’re being taken care of. You’re going to be fine. You’re safe now.”
Shell couldn’t move at first, but the woman who hummed seemed like a loving presence. After a few minutes, she washed Shell’s face with a warm cloth and stroked her head.
“You’re safe now,” she said again.
When Shell could finally open her eyes a little, she saw that the woman hovering over her was sixtyish, and her hair and clothes were white. A lamp was on, and the walls in the room were a soft, blue-green.
“Well, there you are!” she said in a quiet, friendly voice. “I was wondering when you’d wake up.”
“What’s happening?” Shell asked softly, her voice rough.
“First, you need to drink some water if you can,” answered the nurse, pouring from a plastic pitcher into a cup and placing a straw in it. She adjusted the bed so Shell was sitting up and helped her with the cup. Shell drank it quickly and asked for more.
“Just one more for now. Then if you’re still wanting more I’ll get you some ice chips. It isn’t good to drink too much at first. And you can call me Eleanor. I’m the RN on duty tonight.”
“How did I get here?” Shell asked, noticing her wrists were wrapped in gauze.
“Your boyfriend found you, dear, and you’re safe now. The police have arrested someone, and your family is on the way. He told me to tell you, your family is on the way here.”
Shell took in the information for a minute. An IV needle had been inserted in her right hand, and a tube ran up along her arm to a pole near her.
“The IV is for fluids and nutrition, dear. You’re a little dehydrated, and your blood sugar was low, but you won’t need it long. Just another hour.”
“Who? Who told you?”
“Your boyfriend. He almost wouldn’t let the doctor take care of him, but I promised him I’d explain everything to you and tell you that you were safe every little bit, even if you were still asleep. He was very worried you’d wake up afraid.”
“My boyfriend?”
“Yes, he got a nasty bump on the head, and they’re giving him a few stitches, but he’s going to be fine. I’m glad you couldn’t see him when he came in with you because he looked worse than he really is. But don’t worry. He’s going to be fine.”
“He’s coming back?”
“Well, of course he is, as soon as the doctor finishes with his stitches and goes over his X-rays with him. He could have a mild concussion, but he’s going to be all right.”
“You’re sure he’s all right?”
“A man who carried a woman for two miles without seeming to tire? That’s what the policeman said. Yes, quite sure.”
“I still don’t understand how I ended up here.”
“Oh, honey, the way I heard it, he went hunting for you with his dog. The doggie tracked you! Then, your boyfriend had to fight someone, and then the doggie wouldn’t let that criminal move a muscle while your boyfriend carried you over all that distance to where the police and the ambulance were. Very heroic!”
“Where did you hear all this?”
“From the policeman himself. I think his name was Sergeant—”
“Gonzalez?”
“Yes! Yes, that was his name!”
“Was…anyone arrested?”
“Yes, I believe he said they’d arrested the man your boyfriend fought with.”
“Oh my God!”
“Yes, it was just amazing.”
“Can I brush my teeth?” Shell asked suddenly.
“Of course. I can help you get cleaned up, if you like, before your family arrives,” she said. “We’ll have to be careful because you may be dizzy.”
Shell got up with the nurse’s help and rolled the IV pole with her. In a few minutes she was back in her hospital bed looking almost like herself, though a bit thinner than usual.
“You look lovely, dear,” said Nurse Eleanor, standing back and tilting her head.
“No, I don’t, but I didn’t want to scare people.”
“Actually, you look like an angel to me.”
Just then there was a knock at the open door, and Margie and Donald came in. Margie was all smiles and tears, and even Donald had tears in his eyes.
The nurse smiled and quietly left the room.
“Are you okay, Shell?” Margie asked, coming close.
“I think so. I’ve just been trying to clean up. I must look awful!”
“You look beautiful to me!” said her friend, bending down to kiss her cheek and taking her right hand in her own. “I was so frightened!”
“We all were!” Donald added.
“I don’t really know what happened. I just woke up in a barn and—I don’t want to remember it right now. The nurse said Dean found me?”
“Yes. He called us from the ambulance. I called Billie and Leo, and then we went by your house to get you some clothes,” she said, holding up a paper bag. “Some officers are waiting outside with Sadie. We’re going to take her to your house in a little while.”
“Oh, Sadie!”
“Yes, Sadie tracked you,” said Donald. “All those search and rescue classes turned out to be more than just fun.”
“I feel so grateful to her—to all of you.”
“We didn’t do anything but worry,” sa
id Donald.
“You helped train Sadie, Donald. I’m going to have to call that a lot of help!”
“She’s a joy to train. We all love that dog for finding you,” he answered.
“Yes, we all love Sadie for finding you,” Margie agreed.
Shell smiled at both of them. “How’s Pierre? Still kicking?”
“Yes. More anxious than ever to be born so he can start being king around here,” Margie answered.
“Which he will be!” said Shell.
At that moment, Billie and Leo arrived, and Billie was carrying a bouquet of yellow roses.
“Hey there, sweetie,” he said, entering the room in a rush and placing the flowers on the wide windowsill. “You have no idea what I’ve been through worrying about you!”
“Yes,” added Leo, “all the pain and agony Billie went through is, I’m sure, your first concern!”
“But I have delicate nerves!” said Billie while everyone laughed. “Seriously, darling, I decided the whole thing was my fault because I insisted on having Mendoza back to look at Comanche Sky!”
“Ah!” said Shell. That was the event Jack was keeping me from!
“And you didn’t want me to schedule that meeting, but I insisted,” said Billie, “so it was my fault.” He did have tears in his eyes now.
“No, Billie,” said Shell. “I don’t think it was your fault. If I’d stood my ground and insisted on what I was pretty sure was true, you’d have given in to me. It could have gone my way if I’d been stronger.”
“How could you expect yourself to be strong when you were in so much pain about our pigheaded hero?”
“Did someone say my name?” It was Dean’s voice coming from the doorway, and the little crowd parted to let him through. His head was wrapped in a wreath of gauze and white tape from just above the brow line, and the left side of his face was bruised. “I think I can answer to ‘pigheaded’ without argument,” he added.
“Yes, well, I think you may have redeemed yourself,” said Billie.
“Oh, Dean, you look awful!” said Margie, rushing to his side.
He put his arm around her. “I’m fine, Sis. I’m happy Sadie was able to save the day again.”
“Not just Sadie,” said Shell, her voice barely audible.
“Mostly Sadie, then,” said Dean. “You’re conscious. How do you feel?”
“I don’t even know. Good, I think. I was scared, but this was a nice place to wake up. How do you feel?”
“Great. Just a little sore. These bandages make it look worse than it is.”
“I’ll bet,” said Leo, exchanging disbelieving looks with Billie.
“No, really,” Dean insisted. “They always make you look worse than you are. Somehow, Shell always looks beautiful when she’s been through something awful. How do you do that?”
“The nurse washed my face and brushed my hair,” she answered.
“That explains everything, darling!” said Billie. “Your beauty is due to a washcloth and a brush! One of us should try to market this beauty secret, but only if you’ll be the model!”
Everyone was laughing, and Billie added, “Well, we know you’re tired, sweetie. We just needed to see you and tell you we love you, and we’re so very happy to have our Shell back!”
“Thanks, guys! I love you all, too,” she responded.
“When do you get to go home?” Margie asked.
“I don’t know,” she answered.
“The doc’s supposed to come check her in another hour,” said Dean, glancing at his watch. “If she thinks she’s ready, I can take her home. If not, we’ll have to wait till tomorrow.” He was giving Shell a searching look, and she was pretty sure she knew what it meant. They hadn’t spoken about anything. Were they going home together? She couldn’t feature being alone tonight, but they needed to work things out.
Everyone was nodding and saying appropriate things that were going past her as she wondered what was going on between Dean and herself. The others seemed to be saying goodbyes, and Donald turned to Dean and said,
“What about your car, man? Do you need us to run you over after it?”
“No,” Dean answered. “Gonzalez brought it to the hospital for me and waited here with us and made sure we were being properly cared for. He wanted to see how Shell was before he left. Wilson picked him up after a bit.”
“How long have we been here?” Shell wanted to know.
“Almost three hours,” Dean answered.
Glancing up at the clock on the wall, Shell could see it was 12:30. “Oh my goodness, Margie has to get some rest! She’s about to give birth! She can’t be staying up all hours like this!”
“Good idea,” said Donald. “I’ll take her now. We’ll just drop Sadie off at your house and go on home. Margie just had to see her bestie before she could even think about rest.”
In a few moments, everyone was gone but Dean. He came over to the edge of Shell’s bed and pulled a chair close to her.
“Do you have a concussion?” Shell asked.
“A very mild one. The doctor said I don’t even have to stay up till dawn or anything like that, and it’s safe to drive.”
“That’s good,” she said, and looked toward the dark window. “There’s something I need to say to you.”
“There’s a lot I need to say to you, too.”
Just then, a tall woman in a white lab coat came in, a stethoscope around her neck. She looked to be in her late fifties to Shell, and her voice was kind when she spoke. “The nurse tells me the young woman is awake,” she said, coming up to the side of the bed nearest the door and smiling in a friendly way. “I’m Doctor Schmidt. Our exam shows no damage other than the adhesive reaction on your wrists and ankles. You also have quite a bit of bruising on your wrists and hands, plus two skinned knees. You seem to be recovering nicely from the drugs you were given,” she said and paused. “Sometimes people are worried about what was done to them when they were sedated. We found no evidence of any…violation. Okay if I check your heart rate?” she asked.
“Yes, sure,” said Shell.
She bent over her and listened to her heart for a few moments, then stood up straight. “How do you feel?” she asked.
“I’m fine. Tired. I think I’d like to go home.”
“Yes, well, that was my next question. Do you feel you’d rather sleep here tonight where we can look after you, or would you rather go home with your partner here and let him take care of you?”
“I want to take you home if you’re up to it,” Dean said. “But you have to say how you feel.”
It was a question that was loaded with meaning for Dean and Shell. The doctor couldn’t know what they had been through this week, but Shell only looked at the doctor. “I want to go home,” she finally said.
“Well, that’s it then!” she said. “I’ll tell your nurse and she can remove your IV and help you get dressed. Good luck to you, my dear.” She took the hand without the IV in it and squeezed it. “I’m going to suggest you take it easy for a few days. Both of you,” she added, glancing up at Dean.
“Right. We will,” said Dean, and Shell smiled her thanks to the doctor before she turned to go.
“Shell, I need to apologize,” Dean whispered, leaning close to her. “I’ve been a complete jerk. I know that, but I want to make it up to you, if you’ll let me.”
At that moment Nurse Eleanor returned to the room. “Okay, we’re going to get you ready to go. Mr. Maxwell, if you can get your car and bring it around downstairs? Just ask them downstairs what door to use for picking up a patient.”
“Okay,” he said, swallowing and looking earnestly at Shell. “I’ll see you downstairs, then.”
She only looked back at him and nodded but didn’t speak, and he stood up. Nurse Eleanor commenced removing the IV. “I understand you’re allergic to adhesive, which is why I think it’s actually a good idea you’ve decided to go home tonight. I didn’t want to leave this IV in very long because of the tape. People who re
act usually start reacting in about four hours, and look how close we are! It’s already been three hours, hasn’t it? Now, don’t worry about your wrists and ankles. The skin will heal in a few days if you use the cream the doctor is sending home with you. Apply it twice a day.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a steroid cream, dear, and it’s very effective. The itching and blisters will go away quite soon. The places that bled and the bruises will take a little longer. I imagine you’ll be wanting to shower as soon as you get home after this ordeal. Just take the gauze off and go ahead and shower. Then reapply the cream and rewrap with gauze. I’m sending a roll of it for you. That’s all there is to it. And call us if you have any questions. I’m here all night, and of course there will be people here tomorrow, too.”
“Thank you, Eleanor,” Shell said, “and thank you for telling me I was safe so I didn’t wake up afraid I was still in that awful place.”
“I’m glad if I helped a little, but you know I wouldn’t have even thought of it if your boyfriend hadn’t explained to me how important it was that you know where you were before you woke up.”
“It was still very kind of you, and thank you for telling me what he said.”
“I think you’ve got a good one there,” she answered with a smile.
There was almost no traffic as they drove home, and neither Dean nor Shell spoke for a while. Finally, Shell asked a question that had been on her mind.
“They arrested Jack?”
“Jack?”
“The man who abducted me told me to call him Jack.”
“Ah. Gonzalez told me his real name is Logan. Logan Bryant. He worked as a vet tech at Dripping Springs Animal Clinic.”
“So that’s where he got the drugs he used on me?”
“That’s what Gonzalez thought. He hadn’t questioned the guy yet. That’s just the information Wilson gave him from his brief time with him before the arrest.”
“What about Estelle? Was he working for her?”
“He told me Estelle put him up to kidnapping you. They’ve probably arrested her by now. If not, they’re waiting to get Bryant to give her up, which I think he’ll inevitably do.”