Mercy's Gift

by Cyndi Raye

  “You have been working hard these past few days. Good night, Mercy.”

  “Good night, Frank.”

  Chapter 9

  Saturday morning went by fast. Mercy worked alongside Frank as they saw one patient after another. Around one in the afternoon, Martha put a sign on the front door. She came back in and ordered the two of them to sit down. “I closed for one hour. Come to the table and eat some dinner.”

  Mercy was so hungry she ate everything on the plate. When she did look up, Frank smiled at her and she realized he had been speaking to her.

  “I’m sorry, Frank, I’m just so hungry.”

  “You have a good appetite, Mercy. That makes me happy to know you’ll stay healthy and strong. Just what a doctor’s wife needs.”

  She gave him a look. “I honestly don’t know if that is a compliment or you are teasing me.”

  He reached over and lifted her chin. “It is a compliment. I love everything about you.”

  Mercy blushed.

  “Thank you for giving me this chance to redeem myself, Mercy. I was so worried you’d reject me.”

  “There’s no need to worry, Frank. You make my head spin and my heart do triple beats. I’m helpless when it comes to you.”

  “Child in the room,” Martha interjected when Frank took her hand and began to kiss each fingertip.

  Mercy pulled her hand back, giggling. It happened every time he was in the room with her. She’d forget about anyone and everyone else. Luckily, it didn’t happen when they were seeing patients.

  Carson giggled from his seat at the table. “I think Doctor Frank was trying to eat your hand.”

  Mercy burst out in laughter. “Oh, Carson. That’s silly. I think the doctor was being funny.”

  After that, the afternoon raced past. Mercy swore everyone in town stopped by, including Doc Roberts. He was impressed with the clean office and commended Frank on a well- organized operation.

  The moment the last patient left, Martha went outside and flipped over the open sign. “We’ve had a good day. I’m glad you are not open tomorrow, Doctor Frank.”

  Mercy smiled at Frank’s new name. The townsfolk had been calling him Doctor Frank all day. Somehow it fit. “Tomorrow is Sunday and we will be getting married if the pastor agrees.”

  Frank nodded, taking off his jacket he wore while in the office. “It feels good to get that off.” The moment he hung it up on the peg by the door, someone began to knock furiously.

  Mercy ran to the door when someone shouted. “The stage coach was robbed. There is a man hurt terribly! Doctor Frank, can you come help? Doc Roberts sent me to get you.”

  Frank put his jacket back on and grabbed his black bag.

  Mercy gathered some rags in case they’d need them. “Do you want me to come with you?”

  Frank shook his head and pulled out a tin of ointment from his coat pocket. “No, Mercy. I need you to take this tin to old man Parson if you don’t mind. I’ll send the deputy along with you to be safe. Make sure to wait for him to get here.”

  Mercy and Martha cleaned up the area while waiting for the deputy. When he finally arrived, he left his gelding tied to the post on the front porch.

  “I’m here to escort you to old man Parson.”

  “I’ll be right back, Martha. Do you mind going next door to start supper? I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  Martha went next door while Mercy and the deputy went the opposite way. Mercy wasn’t paying too much attention since her mind was on the tragedy at the stage office. “Do you know what happened, Deputy Wills?”

  “There was a robbery, and they killed the stage coach driver. We don’t have much detail except the man inside was left for dead. Somehow, he drove the stage back before he slumped over in the middle of town. Sheriff and I dragged his limp body to Doc Roberts house then sent for Doctor Frank. Not sure if the man will make it. Too much blood.”

  The deputy was walking slowly. She kept wandering ahead of him, then slowing down to wait. The tall pines were casting shadows as the sun went down. She wanted to get Mr. Parson his ointment and go to Frank in case he needed her nursing skills.

  Mercy slowed again when she realized the deputy had been dragging his feet again. It was time to move him along or they’d never get back in a timely fashion. “Deputy Wills, we should try to -”

  She swung around and stopped short. The deputy was not behind her. A small sob escaped her when she saw two feet sticking out from behind the pine tree. Had he fallen? She ran to the tree only to feel a hand against her mouth, restraining her from yelling out.

  “Do not scream.”

  Thomas Rider! Mercy was strong, but this man held her by the arm and she tried to get away. She swung a foot and almost caught him in the leg until he placed a rag over her mouth. Dizziness surged through her and her vision became blurred. He watched her with evil eyes boring into hers. With trepidation Mercy realized he had used ether to put her to sleep. She tried to get away, even attempting to bite his hand, but the cloth was held too tight.

  She heard a shuffle as if someone were coming upon them. “Put her down or your dead,” a wobbly voice called out. She knew that voice. It sounded like Mr. Parson. Her mind wanted to try to protect him, but her body began to shut down.

  Fear encased every single bone in her body until she didn’t care any longer.

  <><><>

  Frank raced down Main Street towards Doc Robert’s house. There was a flurry of activity going on with the sheriff standing on the porch holding up his hands. He was trying to calm the ever-growing crowd out front.

  “Let the doc through!” People moved over for Frank to get through when they saw him coming with his black bag. This was probably the most excitement the town of Belle got to see except for the time when the bells had gone missing.

  “Where is the patient?” he asked David.

  “In there. Doc Robert’s is working on him.”

  Frank left the crowd standing outside, refusing to answer the questions that were being thrown out there. He wasn’t able to answer anyway since he didn’t know anything. When he pushed open the door, Mabel the housekeeper was holding a bloody rag against the man’s shoulder. She looked horrified, even though he was sure she’d seen things like this before.

  Doc Robert’s looked up and nodded. “Good! Good! You’re here. Go on Mabel, let the young man take over.”

  Frank shrugged off his jacket and assessed the situation. The man was still, his breathing labored. “What happened?”

  “Not quite sure, son. Looks like he was shot at fairly close range.”

  “Is the bullet still in his shoulder?”

  Doc Robert’s shook his head. “Can’t tell until I get some of this blood cleared up.”

  The man on the table groaned. “You going to talk all night or fix me up?”

  Frank looked at Doc Roberts and grinned. The stranger had gumption. He held the cloth tighter against the open wound to try to slow the bleeding. “Going to have to look at the other side, mister. Can you turn on your side?”

  The man worked hard to move, gritting his teeth and demanding a shot of whiskey to take away the pain.

  Doc Roberts tried to reassure him. “I’ll give you something to help the pain.” He instructed Mabel to get his morphine from the locked cabinet.

  Frank was glad for the morphine. It would calm him down and give them a chance to look at the wound. He sure wasn’t going to like a finger digging in his arm.

  Twenty minutes later a small pellet clanged against the metal dish. Frank was sweating bullets himself after he dug out the culprit. It had been deep in the stranger’s flesh. He stitched up the wound and put a dressing on it, securing the shoulder with a sling. His heart rate was good. He would sleep for a while. They had given him a pretty large dose when they saw how deep the bullet was in.

  After washing up, Doc Roberts gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Go on home now, son. I’ll take care of this patient tonight.”

  “Good worki
ng with you, sir. You taught me a few things I’d never have learned in medical school.”

  The old man nodded. “There are some things you find out with time and experimentation. Those two will be your best friend some days.” Frank followed his gaze when the front door burst open.

  The sheriff came in, tipping his hat to Mabel and walking in the room to check how the stranger was. When he got a good look at the man’s face, he whistled. A huge smile covered his face. “Why, I’ll be a sonofagun!”

  “You know him?”

  “Sure do. Worked with this man many times over the years. He’s a man I can vouch for any day of the week.”

  Frank got his jacket on, ready to leave while the sheriff and Doc Roberts talked. He wanted to get back to say good night to Mercy before she went to bed. It had been a long day. The crowd had thinned out now that the townsfolk heard the news the man was going to live. Frank walked down the street, his body weary from the events of the day.

  He wanted to see Mercy and hold her in his arms. They were to be married tomorrow at the church and he couldn’t wait. After tomorrow, there would be no need to say goodnight and leave her at the front door. The pastor had come to see him earlier in the day and let him know there would be a wedding right after the church service. Both Frank and Mercy had been relieved.

  He knew Mercy was nervous about their upcoming marriage. Once the ceremony was over, he was hoping to replace her concerned look with one of wonder.

  He didn’t see all the commotion when he turned the corner at first. Lamps were on in most of the houses lining the street a block up from his house. It looked like a crowd of people were gathered in a circle.

  Frank moved faster, searching the crowd for any sign of Deputy Wills, who was supposed to be patrolling the area. He explicitly heard David tell the deputy to guard the street like a soldier ready for battle.

  Instead, Frank found Deputy Wills sitting up on the ground holding his hand against his head. He swayed back and forth moaning profusely.

  He gave the deputy a hard look. “What’s going on here?”

  When Frank’s loud voice demanded an answer, the deputy shook his head and stared at Frank. His eyes widened when he realized he was sitting on the ground. He tried to get up but fell to his knees. “I was hit on the head or something. From behind. I never saw it coming.”

  “Where is Mercy?”

  “She’s gone,” a voice said a little further over. That’s when Frank looked over to find old man Parson holding a smoking pistol in his hand. He knelt down to help the old man up and make sure he was not hurt.

  “What do you mean she is gone?” Frank tensed. He looked at the mansion, which was right across the street and dark as midnight. “Did she go home?”

  The old man shook his head. “I tried to help. Except when I fired the pistol the dang thing misfired and he knocked me down. I couldn’t get up and save her.”

  “Who knocked you down?”

  Frank already knew. He closed his eyes and sent a prayer to his Lord for the first time in months. He closed his eyes and held his breath.

  “That lunatic who belongs in an asylum! He was hiding. I saw it all from my window. When I saw him waiting on Mercy and the deputy to pass by, I grabbed my gun and tried to get there, but I was too late.” Parsons was starting to shake.

  Frank turned to the small crowd watching. “Can any of you get Mr. Parson’s to Mercy’s house? He needs someone to attend to him. Martha is there and she’ll take care of him.”

  “Are you going to find Mercy? They walked towards the creek.” Parson pointed a crippled finger towards the west at a clump of tall pines.

  “Yes. I will find her. Come on, Deputy Wills. We have work to do!” Frank was already heading towards the pine trees. He knew where the river was. There was a clearing through the trees where they’d gone swimming as kids. Since it was so close to the street and the mansion, Frank figured Thomas knew about it from exploring the area.

  It was good he remembered the way. Frank stopped in his tracks when he saw Mercy lying on the bank, her eyes closed and her face pale. Rage rippled over his skin and embedded itself deep inside. He had to control it or she may get hurt.

  “You can’t just run in there and save her,” Deputy Wills said, finally catching up. He knelt on one knee beside Frank. “We’ll have to surround him and try to get her out of the way. One of us nabs the girl and the other gets the bad guy.”

  Frank stared at Deputy Wills. “I’ll get the girl. You make sure you take him down this time.”

  Deputy Wills shook his head furiously. “I plan to. I have the element of surprise on him this time.”

  “I hope so.” Frank didn’t wait a moment longer. He swept past the deputy, crawled low on his haunches from one tree to the next until he was close to the river’s edge. He watched the trees to make sure Deputy Wills was doing his job. He was. The man was sneaking through the trees like a warrior, which surprised Frank.

  The moment the deputy stood up and pointed a gun at Thomas, Frank made his move. He ran over to Mercy, picked her up and disappeared behind the first tree. He set her down, leaning in and placing a kiss on her lips. She was completely out. Her face was pale, her body motionless.

  Frank worried that she wasn’t waking up. Her heart rate was steady, though slower than normal. Then he saw the small cloth tucked in the front of her neckline. Frank pulled out the cloth, the smell of ether causing him to hold his breath. He tossed it in the river, knowing the water would dilute it.

  He tapped her cheek several times, but she was out cold. Frank didn’t have time to waste. He needed to wake her. The water wasn’t warm enough to go in yet this time of year, but he had no choice.

  As he lifted her up, he took a step in the river, it’s calm current riding across his thighs. Frank walked further in until the water was waist high. He slowly set Mercy in the water and prayed she didn’t wind up with a fever.

  He looked up to the sky again, throwing out another prayer. I don’t call on you as often as I should. I need another favor, Lord. Save her. Please. I can’t do it alone. Amen.

  That should do it, he thought. Inhaling deeply, Frank submerged her whole body and face with one quick movement. She needed a shock to wake her up. It worked. She began to spit water from her mouth.

  “Mercy!”

  “What happened? I’m so cold.” She began to shiver and he knew he had to get her warm so she didn’t wind up with a fever.

  “Thank you, God!” he said aloud. He quickly carried her out of the water just as a horse and rider burst through the trees. That sheriff had great timing.

  Sheriff Knight and two other men on horses following behind circled Deputy Will and his prisoner. The deputy had been holding a gun to the man’s back, forcing him to place his arms around the tree. Frank wondered if the deputy had planned to take him in or stand there most of the night until the prisoner got too tired and fell asleep. The thought made him laugh in spite of the horror of the night.

  Mercy moaned again, her lips starting to tremble.

  Frank announced to the others, “I need to get her back.”

  “Give her to me,” the sheriff ordered. He held out his arms while they placed her over his saddle. The sheriff ordered one of the men to give up his horse to the doctor.

  Frank followed the sheriff out of the woods and down the street. The moment they got to Mercy’s house, he slid from the horse and took her back in his arms. He got her inside and instructed Martha to gather all the warm blankets she could find.

  While Frank waited, Martha stripped Mercy of her wet clothing and wrapped warm blankets around her, tucking them in.

  Frank came back in the room, placing a chair beside the bed so he could keep an eye out for any signs of fever. He saw Martha had thought ahead to get a good warm fire going. He stirred the embers and threw in a few more pieces of wood. It wouldn’t hurt to keep the room fairly warm for her sake.

  She kept falling back to sleep. Frank was so angry that he pace
d back and forth, looking out the window. The men on horseback were taking Thomas Rider to jail. He had committed a crime and would be sent away.

  Frank didn’t care if he rotted in prison. Yet, he was a doctor and knew the man was demented. There was minimal help for him, and he honestly didn’t know if the man should be in a prison. There’d be no help for him there. He’d do his time and get out, possibly a danger to others. Or try to come back here. There was no way he’d allow that. He’d have to be evaluated by a doctor. Frank knew he had to do the right thing and get him help even if he wanted to let the man rot.

  For right now, all he cared about was the woman lying in her bed, shivering under the warm blankets. He was prepared if she ran a fever. “Mercy, you get better. Our wedding day is tomorrow.”

  Chapter 10

  The room felt overly warm. Mercy didn’t remember stirring the fire throughout the night. As a matter of fact, the last thing she remembered was that awful man holding a cloth over her mouth. She sat straight up and cried out.

  The presence she felt by her side was not that horrible man. Looking into the eyes of the man she loved, she let out a sigh and he smiled. “It’s all going to be fine now, Mercy. I’m here.”

  She rested in his arms when he placed them around her. It felt so good. “What happened? All I remember -”

  Frank placed two fingers over her mouth. “Hush, it’s all over now. Thomas Rider will never bother you again. He’s sitting in a jail cell.”

  “Thank God for that! He’s a mean, horrible man. I tried to get away. Then he put ether over my mouth and it was too late. I knew what would happen and there was nothing I could do.”

  “Mr. Parson tried to save your life. He came to your rescue with his gun but it misfired and it knocked him to the ground. He told us Thomas must’ve knocked him down, but I examined him and there are no signs that happened. He’s a good man to be so brave.”

  Tears fell from her eyes. “I must go see him before the wedding.”