Shepherd's Watch

by Angie Counios

  The three of us take a seat by a window that looks out on the bustling city. The past few days have nearly made me forget that an entire world still buzzes outside these walls. People are heading to their office jobs, buying iced cappuccinos, and probably worrying about their taxes. The transition from cabin to hospital to hospital has taken me out of the flow of normal daily life.

  Mom and Dad stare down at their cups. After taking a couple of sips of tea, Mom looks me in the eyes. “Anthony, what happened?”

  It isn’t until Mom asks the question that I realize that the events of the past few weeks must have caught them completely off guard. I could give them the bare basics, but they deserve the truth. I start from the day Charlie showed up and don’t hold back. I tell them about the shed, skirting around my involvement with Miranda’s house, and instead tell them we found out Terry was a dealer through the arcade. I tell them about the burned book, the garbage bags, and the deer. I finish by telling them about our visit with Barry and what we know about Rebecca.

  “There was this missing photographer, Rita Dobson,” I tell them, hoping they’ll have some sympathy. “And we couldn’t stop thinking about Joanna. She had a family and a life and she was never given a choice. We felt she deserved that option.”

  Mom and Dad look at each other and lean backwards in their seats in unison. I think they’re equally upset and shocked at everything that Charlie and I went through.

  “Anthony, why do you never tell us these things beforehand?” Mom asks and I smile because we both know they’d freak out. “So many things could have happened. You could have been hurt so many times—”

  Dad interrupts, “But he wasn’t, Keya, if everything he’s telling us is the truth.” He looks at me, giving me an opportunity to confirm my story and I nod yes.

  He continues, “He tried his best to stay safe. Sounds like the shed was Charlie’s idea and the canoe was an accident, probably caused by Joanna. He even called Gekas and kept his phone on him.”

  “No, don’t let him off easy,” Mom’s determined. “He’s been stupid. He followed Charlie and made choices that got them into trouble.”

  I’m not used to the two of them disagreeing in front of me.

  “But he did it to try and save two missing women. And to help his friend.”

  Mom glares at him, but he goes on.

  “I’m not saying what he did was smart. Staying at the cabin, reading books, and playing board games is what I’d prefer for him. For both of them. But the two of them found something wrong with this world that no one else noticed or had forgotten, and they did what they believed was right.”

  Mom looks at Dad, then me, then her cup of tea. She tugs the string that dangles over the edge.

  I need to say something. “Mom, I know Charlie can be trouble, that he often does things that cause chaos. I’m not sure why he does it, but I believe he’s trying to help.”

  “But he brought that—no, you both brought that woman into our lives! She hurt Charlie and she could have hurt you—” She can’t finish without grabbing a napkin to wipe away her tears.

  “But she didn’t—”

  “No! I’m not letting you get out of this. She cut your father, she hurt Ollie, she stabbed Detective Gekas and now that poor boy is upstairs fighting for his life. You got lucky, plain and simple. That’s the only reason we’re here and not having this conversation after a funeral.”

  People are staring at us, but I don’t look away from her. She’s right. I want to tell her I understand, but I don’t know how to say it without sounding fake.

  She turns to Dad but doesn’t say anything, then lowers her head and speaks quietly. “Nevertheless, I am proud of you. You fought for what you believed was right and fought to protect your friend.” She stares at the bandage on Dad’s arm. “But I fear the cost may have been too high this time.”

  She turns to the window and the city and river it frames, taking a deep breath before looking back to me. “Let’s continue this later.” She stands and stretches, eyeing the coffee shop’s pastry counter. “Charles likes doughnuts, right?” She pulls out a ten-dollar bill. “Why don’t you go buy him a half-dozen for when he wakes up.”

  She hands me the money and when I reach for it, she pulls me close. I tower over her now, but I’m still her boy. She hugs me tightly and I hug her right back.

  chapter 117

  For the next few days, the four of us stay by Charlie’s bed, alternating shifts. I pick 6:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., Heather watches him until 6:00 a.m., then Mom waits with him until noon, and after that is Dad. Sometimes we overlap and hang out during each other’s times, playing cards or picking things up for each other, but Mom and Dad make sure we stay on schedule and get our rest.

  Each member of my family has their own way of spending time with Charlie. Dad brought in Charlie’s copy of Hemingway’s short stories and reads one or two each time. Mom refreshes the six doughnuts every day, offering the untouched box from the day before to the nurses’ station. She also plays full-length recordings of operas quietly by his bed, explaining to him what makes them great while holding his hand. Heather mostly hangs out on her phone, putting in her time without complaint, but she keeps her distance. Yet, one night when I couldn’t sleep, I went to the hospital and found her asleep, her head resting by his arm on the edge of his bed.

  When Charlie was transported to the city, Mom tracked down Charlie’s home number and called, but no one picked up, so she left a message. When nobody arrived the next day, she called again, leaving her number, telling Charlie’s mom to call. She never heard from her, but later her phone rang from two unknown numbers and when she answered, there was no one on the other end.

  “I can’t understand how someone can’t be there for their son,” Mom says on Wednesday, the fourth day since we arrived in the city. She’s watching Dad and me play a game of chess we found in the visitor’s lounge. I’ve insisted that the two of them go out for a nice meal together once Dad’s done his shift.

  “From what Charlie says, his mom’s pretty nonexistent in his life,” I say.

  “When you bring a child into this world, you’d think you’d be there for them,” is Mom’s response.

  Dad moves his knight. “Sometimes it’s harder than that.”

  “Well, life is hard sometimes—you deal with it,” says Mom.

  “But what if you can’t? What if holding it all together day to day is hard enough? Maybe a son in the hospital is unfathomable.”

  After I take out his pawn, Dad slides his rook, and I can only assume he’s moving in for the kill.

  Mom dismisses the possibility. “But you have to try.”

  Dad moves his knight. “And she probably is. You got two phone calls. That may have been a big step for her. Checkmate.”

  I stare at the board, unable to understand how he’s destroyed me so quickly.

  Dad looks at his watch. “Looks like we’re out of here. Can we bring you anything?”

  I shake my head.

  “Let us know if things change,” says Mom, smoothing the sheet around Charlie’s legs.

  “I will.”

  I watch them walk down the hallway, aware that much of their time spent together will be worrying about Charlie. No matter how they feel about what happened, they want him to get better.

  I pull out my phone but dump it on the nightstand. No matter how many times I think I’ll use it to pass the time, I never seem able to focus. We’ve set up a television in Charlie’s room, so I turn that on with the volume on low to distract me.

  Bzzz bzzz.

  It takes me a second to realize my phone’s ringing.

  “Hello?”

  “How’s he doing?” It’s Gekas.

  “Okay. He’s stabilized, but he still hasn’t woken up.”

  “He will. How are you?”

  “Good. And you?”<
br />
  “Healing. I wanted to let you know that the police, as well as search and rescue, used your information and they’ve located Joanna. She went back to her home in the woods.”

  When I don’t answer, Gekas continues. “She came out with them willingly, but it’s going to be a long transition for her.”

  “Is she going back to her family?”

  “Unfortunately, no. Her parents separated after she disappeared. Her mother passed away a couple of years ago and we haven’t found her dad yet.”

  So the phone number Charlie had for Denise Grassing was only another dead end in the huge rat’s nest we dug up.

  “So, she’s got no one?”

  “We’re looking for relatives.”

  I wonder what we’ve done, what world we’ve brought Tasha back into. Gekas knows what I’m thinking.

  “Anthony, she chose to come on her own. You did the right thing.”

  “Okay, Detective Gekas.”

  I must not sound convinced because she adds, “When Rebecca took her, she never had a choice. This time, it was hers alone. It’s something she was never before offered. And you gave her that opportunity.”

  “Do we know who Rebecca is?”

  “I shouldn’t really—”

  I’m sure she’s hesitating because it’s an ongoing investigation, but I’m hoping she’ll have pity on me. “Please, Detective?”

  “We feel confident that she’s the daughter of the couple you told us about.”

  “And what happened to them?”

  “It’s hard to know for sure, but we found marginal notations in one of the books on the shelf—”

  “Which book?” I don’t know why I ask, but I think it’s something Charlie will want to know.

  “A collection of essays by Emerson. The entries stop after June 1994—”

  “The big fire?”

  “We think they likely perished in it. Rebecca’s likely been living on her own since then.”

  “So you think she took Joanna because she was lonely?”

  “That’s all speculation, Anthony. We have to work with the facts we have and nothing more.”

  I think how that’s the difference between her and Charlie, who chases after every scrap of idea and crazy theory he comes up with.

  The thought of him makes me realize what could have happened if Gekas hadn’t shown up at the cabin.

  “Detective Gekas?”

  “Yes, Anthony?”

  “Thank you for coming. Thank you for everything. Also, I’m sorry you got stabbed.”

  She laughs. “Me too. You take care. And tell your friend to wake up soon.”

  She hangs up and I hold the phone for a while before finally setting it down. Whatever I thought of Gekas back when Sheri first disappeared, I now know she’s someone who’s looking out for Charlie and me.

  I go back to watching tv, switching between basketball and a stupid comedy for about an hour before I finally rise to stretch and go to the washroom.

  On my way back, I see a woman standing at Charlie’s door. She’s thin and over-tanned, wearing a short skirt and a halter top, but when I get closer, she takes off. It’s late so I don’t call out to her but instead follow her around the corner and see her go into the stairwell. By the time I open the door, she’s disappeared and I’m not going to chase around the hospital looking for her.

  I walk back to Charlie’s room.

  Maybe Dad’s right and Charlie’s mom is dealing with her son’s critical condition in the only way she can.

  chapter 118

  On Thursday, I wake up at 7:00 a.m. in the hotel room. I can’t sleep any longer. Heather hasn’t returned from her shift yet, and Mom and Dad must have gone over together.

  Instead of sitting around by myself, I pull on my shorts and head down to the treadmill for a run. I go for a half an hour at a light pace and eventually quit out of boredom. The hotel pool is next door, so I pull off my shirt and jump in. I do several laps before diving deep to the bottom to sit in the silence until my lungs feel like they’re about to explode. When I rise, my heart’s beating fast and the humid air feels heavy. I swim some more, doing a front crawl one way and a back crawl the other until I exhaust my arms. I drag myself out of the water, dry off and walk back to the room.

  The message light on the phone is flashing. It’s Heather: he’s awake.

  I have a quick shower, get dressed, and catch a taxi over to the hospital. When I walk into the room, Mom, Dad, and Heather are sitting around Charlie, who’s munching on one of his doughnuts.

  “It’s about time you showed up,” he says.

  “Well, you know, I had to grab a coffee, then there was this cute girl I wanted to talk to—”

  “Hey, if it means you get someone’s number, then by all means, take your time.”

  I stand there awkwardly, with Mom, Dad, and Heather looking from Charlie to me, until they take the hint and get up to leave.

  Dad pats him on the shoulder. “Good to have you back.”

  He smiles, scratching his shaggier-than-normal head.

  Mom squeezes his hand. “Charles, let the nurses do their job, okay?”

  “Will do, Mrs. S.”

  Heather surprises all of us when she leans down and gives him a hug. “You’re still a shithead for what you did.”

  They file out of the room and it’s just the two of us. He looks over at me.

  “Shepherd, quit staring at me. You’re creeping me out.”

  “Thank you for saving my ass again.”

  “Anytime. But if I’d known I’d get stabbed, I might have done things a bit differently.”

  He reaches over with great effort and suffering to pull out a raspberry-filled bismark from the box before offering me the chocolate dip. I shake my head, smiling.

  He takes a big bite, savouring the taste. “Not the best, but still, it’s a doughnut, so it can’t be too bad.”

  “I think I saw your mom here the other night,” I say, “but she took off before I could talk to her.”

  “Sounds like her,” Charlie shrugs.

  “Charlie—”

  “Don’t worry about it. Besides, I think I’m growing on your family.”

  “Really? Who says they’d want you?” I joke.

  “Who wouldn’t?” he bats it right back at me.

  I shake my head, reflecting on all we’ve been through over the past year. “Be warned though, if you try to spend more time around us, Mom’s going to sit you down for tea again at some point.”

  “Cool. I could use a good lecture to keep me in line.”

  “You really would like that, wouldn’t you?”

  “What can I say? I’m a glutton for punishment.” He shifts and his face crumples in pain. “Well, maybe not totally. Can you call the nurse to give me more drugs?”

  I wave someone down from the desk and he comes over with a syringe of something. He screws it into the iv line and slowly pushes the plunger of medication down and into Charlie’s system.

  After the nurse leaves, Charlie asks, “How’s Ollie.”

  “He’ll be okay. Gekas also says hi.”

  “She survived too?”

  I nod. “She says they found Joanna at the cabin and she came back with them. Looks like we were right—”

  “I’m sorry, Shepherd. For what I did to your family. For all of it.”

  “Neither of us could’ve known.”

  “But I should have.”

  “You kept them safe.”

  “Well, I made a promise.” He takes another bite and half chews it before stopping to stare into space. “Whoa, I think the drugs are starting to work.”

  “Yup.” I take the doughnut out of his hand and set it on the side table. “Why don’t you lie down and sleep.”

  “That sounds good, S
hepherrrd,” he says, rolling the “r” of my name before pointing at me. “Tony Shepherd”—he points to himself—“Charlie Wolfe. The crime-busting duo back at it again.” He bursts into giggles, which is a terrifying sight, before falling into a stupor.

  “Charlie?”

  He doesn’t answer.

  “Charlie?”

  He jolts out of some deep haze and scrutinizes my appearance. I consider his state. This may be the only time I’ll catch him with his guard down. “What happened in your past?” I ask gently. “Who did you lose?”

  He looks at me and laughs again, smooshing his hand into my face. “Uh-uh, Mr. Shepherd. Nice try.” He props himself up, trying to focus. “That is a tale for another time. Now shut up, so I can—” He passes out immediately and I have to catch him before he falls out of bed.

  I roll him back onto his pillow, making sure he’s safe before leaning back into my own chair. I figure he’ll snooze for a while and I decide to put my feet up on the bed.

  It isn’t long before my eyes are closed too. The way things are when Charlie’s around, I figure we can both use the rest.

  Cousin Rachel watches her son doing laps in the pool from the stands. She looks up every few minutes in case he’s looking for her, but she’s distracted. On her phone is the most recent edition of the Estoria Journal. Turns out the little town got mighty exciting once she left. Thankfully no one’s found her handiwork—she’s confident they’ll never trace it back to her anyway—but the real cause of Terry’s death had been uncovered.

  According to the newspaper, two women—one of whom had been kidnapped as a child—were found living out in the woods north of the lake, right near where her company used to do their exchanges. Terry must’ve gotten lost and had a run-in with one of them, and was likely murdered to keep their location a secret. Although Cousin Rachel had suspected foul play, she certainly didn’t expect it to have been caused by a feral kidnapper.

  What really interests her has nothing to do with Terry or these two women but the attack the woman made on a local family. An off-duty officer, a Detective Gekas, who had been visiting at the time, was seriously injured, as well as an unnamed teenage boy now reported to be in critical condition.