Bad Karma

by J. D. Faver

  Sky straightened her shoulders. “And I’m the new person. Tell me what’s likely to happen.”

  Lucy shrugged. “A lot of waiting. The television goes out and then we play cards. The sheriff will be trying to get all the idiots off the island. Occasionally one of them is injured before the storm hits. But mostly, we wait.”

  Sky bit her lower lip. “What if the hurricane hits the island directly? Then what?”

  Lucy smiled. “We stay snug as little bugs in our rug here. The electricity goes out and the generators kick in. We raid the cafeteria for food and play more cards.”

  Sky smiled. “Doesn’t sound so bad.”

  Ted, one of the orderlies spoke up. “There are quite a few locals who don’t evacuate. Sometimes, after a bad storm, they come here if they need shelter. You know, until the utility companies can get back in.”

  “Right,” Lucy said. “If the storm comes in here, there may be injuries. The emergency workers are at risk too. Power lines go down, gas lines get broken, lots of dangerous situations.”

  Sky was glad Cassie wasn’t around to hear that little tidbit of information.

  “It sounds like we’ll have a lot of time on our hands; but first, I’d like to make sure we have the supplies we need readily available.” She sent the two orderlies to the supply room to fill the carts in each patient area, while she and Lucy stocked the med carts.

  “Miss Sky, what do you want me to do?” Hank stood at the door looking big and ill at ease. “I made sure everything’s clean, but if there’s something you need, just let me know.”

  Sky looked up. “Thanks a lot, Hank. I know that you have medical skills and I hope we won’t have to call on you, but it’s good to know, just in case.”

  He gave her a lop-sided grin and backed out of the room.

  “What was that all about?” Lucy asked.

  “Hank was a corpsman and he has medical training and field experience. He was very helpful to me with a patient when Rick was busy. I told him that he should go to nursing or medical school.”

  “Really?” Lucy cast another glance after Hank’s retreating form. “Who’d of thought?”

  ~*~

  Zach turned on the lights. The hospital room was dark. This was because the rolling metal storm shutters had been locked down all around the building. He peered out through the tiny slits in the metal barrier. The sky was getting darker. It looked like they were in for a long night.

  He had hung their changes of clothing in the small closet, smiling when he arranged Sky’s panties alongside his boxers in one drawer of the bureau.

  He took a clean towel and spread it on top of the bureau with their commingled toiletries.

  Too bad he wasn’t married by now. Too bad he wasn’t on a honeymoon cruise with his bride, and too bad his almost-wife had seen fit to volunteer her services during the storm that had royally screwed up his plans.

  He flipped on the television to watch the news.

  Cassie came in and sat beside him on the bed, a troubled frown on her pretty face as she stared at the screen. “Look how hard the wind is blowing. Why do the reporters stand out there in the elements with their hair blowing and the wind whipping them to pieces?”

  Zach smiled at her. “I guess it makes for a more exciting story.”

  The reporter’s windblown image disappeared, replaced by a live shot of slow-moving traffic as the evacuees inched their way north.

  Cassie made a disgusted noise. “They’re barely moving. Some of the cars are stalled on the side of the road.”

  Zach nodded. “That’s why it’s a good idea to leave ahead of time and not to wait till the last minute.”

  On the television screen, the weatherman out of Brownsville stood beside a weather map showing the progression of Fiona as she made her way closer inland. Winds had picked up to an estimated one-hundred-forty miles per hour. The weatherman predicted that Fiona would make landfall somewhere between Palacios and Brownsville before noon the next day.

  Cassie sat straight up, pointing. “Oh, my God! That’s us. We’re right in the middle of that area.”

  “Relax. That doesn’t mean she’ll split the difference. Hurricanes never come in where they’re expected. It can even turn and go back out to sea.”

  “How can you sound so calm?”

  Zach gave a little twitch of his shoulders. “I’ve lived here all my life. I’ve boarded up my parent’s house and helped my brothers and sister with theirs. We’ve evacuated when it looked like there was a possibility of a direct hit, but most of the time, it comes to nothing.”

  Cassie didn’t appear to be convinced. “What about the other times?”

  He sighed. “The property damage makes insurance companies raise their rates, but most of the structures around here have been built to withstand the winds and the storm surge.”

  She gnawed at her fingernail. “That’s when the water comes.”

  Zach nodded. “That’s when the water comes.”

  Cassie bit her lip, looking so much like her older sister it tugged at his heart. She turned her wide blue eyes on him. “So, what do we do now?”

  “You can relax here, but I’m going to go stand guard over your sister. Come down when you get hungry. The cafeteria has pretty good food.”

  Cassie pulled a dark red cell phone out of her pocket, frowning again. “I can’t seem to get a signal. Do you think it’s because of the storm?”

  Zach laughed. “I think it’s because we’re in a hospital. Cell phones interfere with some of the equipment so they generally jam them.”

  “Oh, rats! I told Javier that I’d call him when we got here.”

  “You can step outside and make a quick call. The only exit still unsecured is through the Emergency Room.”

  Cassie smiled, rising to accompany him down in the elevator. “I don’t want to stay up here by myself. It’s pretty creepy.”

  ~*~

  She’s in the hospital.

  If I kill her and hide her body in some remote closet, it may take them a while to find her. That will give me the time I need to disappear.

  Then, if I can slip, unnoticed, into the long line of evacuees, maybe I’ll get by all the deputies searching for me. I’ll look like just another fisherman, waiting till the last minute to leave the island.

  And I’ll be free.

  Free of the burden of revenge. Free of the guilt gnawing my gut for letting her get away with murdering my darling Kira and my little Ben.

  The hospital is almost empty now. Only a few employees stayed behind. They won’t cause me any trouble. They’re each into their own little world.

  He felt his jaw tighten.

  The boyfriend is a problem. I never thought she’d bring him with her. And he so adores her. His eyes rarely leave her.

  He’ll notice if she suddenly disappears.

  The sister, too. Pretty little thing, and young. She’s the one who almost died in the fire.

  I didn’t set it for you. You just got in the way.

  She’s nervous; pacing, checking things out. She doesn’t want to be here. But, she’s stuck for the time being. Her attention isn’t on Sky.

  The little sister is afraid of the storm. This is all new to her. She’ll burn out her energy soon, need to rest.

  He narrowed his gaze.

  If Baby Sis has a little accident, Sky’s boyfriend might be distracted just long enough for me to take care of Skyler Danforth, once and for all.

  ~*~

  “Where did the orderlies go?” Sky asked. The supply carts were filled and in place, but the two young men seemed to have disappeared.

  Lucy looked around. “Carlos and Ted? Do you need them for something?”

  Sky shook her head. “No, I just wish they would let me know when they leave the area.”

  Lucy picked up the nearest phone. “I can page them overhead, if you like.”

  “No, that’s not necessary. The next time you see them, please tell them not to leave the area without telling m
e.”

  Lucy slipped the receiver back into its cradle. “Those guys are around somewhere. They probably got into the Administrator’s office to look at porn sights on his computer.”

  Sky smiled, hoping that she didn’t have to play mommy to the two overage boys, monitoring their whereabouts in case an emergency rolled in.

  She jumped as the metal swinging doors to the inner section of the Emergency Room crashed open. Rick Marcos slid to a stop on the highly polished floor, doing an imitation of Tom Cruise in Risky Business. “Never fear, ladies. Super Doc is here.” He was wearing a blue t-shirt with a red Superman logo on the chest “I’ll protect you from the storm.” He held aloft several changes of clothing on hangers, and a small toiletry kit tucked under his other arm.

  Startled, Sky tried to calm her frayed nerves. She grinned and pointed at his shirt. “Glad you’re here, Super Doc.”

  Lucy applauded, giving him a dimpled grin. “Yeah, we were getting bored.”

  “Where is everybody?” he asked.

  Lucy shrugged. “I think the smart money has already left town.”

  Rick spread his hands. “Is this it? Where are the guys?”

  Sky snorted. “I was just asking that same question. Lucy seems to think they’re goofing off.”

  Rick raised his brows. “That’s over.” He went to the phone and keyed into the paging system. His voice sounded metallic, but there was an irritated edge to it. “Carlos and Ted, you have five minutes to get your sorry butts to the Emergency Room, without a write-up.”

  Sky smiled at him, glad that he was taking charge.

  “If you ladies will excuse me, I’m going to put my things in a room and get settled in. Page me if you need me.” He winked and pushed out of the metal doors. Sky heard the elevator doors open a few moments later.

  Sky looked at Lucy who was already looking bored. It was going to be a long couple of days.

  “Excuse me. Can someone help me?”

  Sky and Lucy whirled around to see Chloe Solis standing in the doorway. She was carrying Lacy and looked upset.

  “Chloe! What’s the matter?” Sky rushed over to take Lacy from her. “You shouldn’t be lifting Lacy at your stage of pregnancy.”

  Chloe shook her head. “I couldn’t leave her in the car and she wouldn’t walk. My mom is in the car. I think she’s having a heart attack.”

  Lucy paged Rick and the orderlies to the ER stat and rushed outside to see if she could help.

  “Sit down here and I’ll go see about Sybil.” Sky seated Chloe and put Lacy in her arms. She grabbed a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff as she ran out toward the ambulance bay.

  Once past the metal doors, she saw Carlos sprinting down the hall towards her. “Meet me outside with a wheelchair,” she yelled.

  Sky rushed through the magnetic doors that opened when someone stepped on the rubber topped sensors. This was the only access to the hospital. Everything else had been secured.

  The shiny black Escalade was parked in one of the ambulance slots. The passenger door stood open and Lucy was talking to Sybil, her fingers on Sybil’s pulse. Lucy stepped back when Sky neared. “She’s tachy. Her rate is one-forty.”

  Sky pushed into the open door and greeted Sybil, noting that her skin was clammy and had an ashen appearance. Sky wrapped the cuff around her arm and pumped it up, listening intently through the stethoscope.

  Carlos arrived with a wheelchair and Sky released the air from the cuff and assisted Sybil into it. Inside, Sybil was helped up onto an examining table in one of the curtained cubicles.

  Rick rushed into the exam room and took over, freeing Sky to ask Chloe a few questions.

  “I’d have thought that Rafael would have evacuated you and Lacy a long time ago.”

  Chloe stared at Sybil. She nodded absently. “I’m not supposed to be driving now. I had to wait until my mom could drive me because Raffy can’t leave now. He’s going to be so upset with me when I tell him that we’re not gone yet. Traffic was so horrible. We were just crawling along. We got about fifteen miles out of town and Mom started having chest pains. I took over and brought her right back here. There was absolutely zero traffic going south.”

  Sky reached out and took Chloe’s pulse. She smiled down at her, trying to be reassuring. “You’re pulse is a little rapid too. Probably all the excitement. “

  Chloe hugged Lacy to her. “Do you think my mom is going to be okay?”

  “Doctor Rick will get her completely checked out. Her color is better now that she’s getting some oxygen.” Sky gave Chloe’s arm a comforting squeeze.

  Chloe looked tense. Sky caught some movement in the open doorway and saw Cassie enter the room. Chloe’s face crumpled into a tearful grimace.

  “Oh, my God! Chloe? What’s going on?” Cassie rushed to her side.

  Sky was glad that Cassie was on hand to comfort Chloe. She knew they shared a special bond and she appreciated the fact that Chloe and Darla had befriended her sister.

  Rick took his stethoscope out of his ears. “The good news is that you’re not having a heart attack. But something’s going on, so we’re going to run some tests.” He gave Sybil’s shoulder a comforting pat.

  Sybil looked fearful in spite of his assurances. “I hate to be so much trouble. We really should get back on the road.”

  Rick shook his head. “I’m afraid not, Mrs. Palmer. Just try to relax because we’re all going to wait out this storm together. You and your family will be safe here with us.”

  Sky appreciated Rick’s great bedside manner. He always made his patients feel confident that he could fix whatever was wrong with them. She turned to Cassie. “Maybe you could take Chloe and Lacy to the cafeteria while we get Sybil stabilized. I think they could use some juice. Maybe you can bring something back for Sybil.”

  Cassie looked up at her, catching the serious expression. “Sure, let’s go and get some juice.” She held her arms out to Lacy and swung her up into her arms.

  Chloe turned a frightened face back to Sky. “I should really stay here and wait with my mom.”

  Sky shook her head. “You need to get some juice and relax. Think of the baby.”

  Chloe sighed and rose, using the armrests to help her to her feet. She glanced at Sybil uncertainly, and receiving a little wave from her mom, gave her a nod and accompanied Cassie out of the room.

  Sky turned back to Rick. “I’ll set up the EKG now.”

  He gave her a thumbs up and turned back to Sybil.

  She tried to shake off the anxious feeling that had plagued her since she had arrived at the hospital that day. She straightened her spine.

  Everything is going to be okay. We’re safe inside a fortress and the storm is outside. We’re safe.

  ~*~

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Incarceration

  Cassie moved slowly down the hallway, carrying Lacy in her arms. At her side, Chloe walked with her hands at the back of her waist, as though she was experiencing pain. She seemed to have lost her usual vivacity.

  Cassie was concerned, but thought perhaps her friend was overly fatigued. “How do you feel?” she asked.

  “I’m okay.” Chloe heaved a large sigh. “This whole hurricane thing has been such a huge mess. First of all, Raffy is trying to deal with a bunch of stupid surfers who won’t leave the beach. He’s hauled them in and forcibly removed a bunch of them, but others are just sitting out in the water on their boards. He and his deputies have pretty well gotten the houses evacuated and the island secured. Some of the residents are staying in the high school auditorium. It’s on higher ground and pretty solid. The deputies have barricaded the causeway.” She turned a worried face to Cassie.

  “And you’re scared because your husband is out there and a storm is coming in.”

  Chloe grimaced. “Bingo!”

  Cassie held the door open for her to enter the cafeteria. The television was tuned to the Weather Channel but the sound was turned down. They watched a wind-blown reporter standin
g by the causeway.

  Cassie tried not to let her fear show as she transferred Lacy to her other hip. “I guess he couldn’t get any closer to the beach.”

  Chloe guffawed. “Or have my husband have to shoot him if he tried to cross over the causeway.”

  Cassie addressed the woman behind the counter. “What do you have for us?”