“He was here last night. I heard the dogs again, and a car slammed shut. I don’t know how he got into it. I’ve been keeping it locked. Come to think of it, he didn’t get in. My brother found a tracking device on the underside. He’s a devil. But I know somebody who might know where he is.”
“Yeah? Where’s that?”
I held the phone away from my ear and studied it. How would I know if Evan could listen in? A wireless phone is not secure.
“I said might know. I don’t know if she really does. She might just be in love with him, the stupid twit. I can say that,” I explained, “because I was there once myself. And look where it led to.”
“Do you have that device?” he asked.
“Right here. I’d take it to the station but I’m still afraid to drive my car. Are you working today? I could try to get up my nerve.”
“Don’t take a chance if you’re worried. I’ll come by in a while.”
I did want to get to the hospital, but this was more important. This might actually accomplish something, if it helped convict Evan. If they ever found him. I thought how neat it would be if a tracking device could be made to work in reverse. Maybe Ben would know a way.
Neater still if Evan confessed to shooting Hank. But that was unlikely. Psychopaths don’t do remorse, and they are inveterate liars. Even if cornered, Evan would go right on lying. Why hadn’t anyone, in all those years at Lakeside, picked up on his psychopathology?
Maybe they did and there was nothing they could do about it. As far as I knew, it’s not curable.
And then there was the football thing, which supposedly brought glory to the school. People could get their values all twisted about that.
While waiting for Rick, I went over my notes from Lakeside. My mind was on Hank more than Paula. If Hank was off the ventilator for even that short time, there must be hope. But then, Paula had breathed on her own for five years without regaining consciousness.
There had to be hope. I had to get to the hospital.
A black unmarked car turned in at the driveway. At least it wasn’t yellow. Rick got out of it.
I invited him in, but he declined. He wore his uniform and had to get back to the station. He shook hands with my parents. He wanted to see Ben, but Ben had gone off somewhere, probably with Cree.
Rick took the device and studied it, holding it in his bare hands. It was already covered with everyone’s smudgy fingerprints. Except Evan’s, if Evan was smart. Which he was, unfortunately.
I said, “Maybe he’ll pick you up and follow you to the station.”
“He’d probably catch on before he got there,” Rick said.
“I don’t see how he can drive around in that bright yellow car and not be found.”
“What makes you think he’s still driving a bright yellow car?”
I hadn’t thought of that. “I hate him.”
“Just stay alert. And keep your doors locked.”
“I can’t live like this!”
“Easy, easy,” Rick advised. Sure, he could say that. Glyn, too. “Keep cool. Don’t let him get to you. Sooner or later he’ll screw up and then we’ll have him.”
“It had better be sooner, before I have a breakdown.”
“That’s not keeping cool,” he said, and left.
“Okay,” I told my folks, “I’m heading out. If anything happens to me, here’s Falco’s number.” I wrote it down, both his cell phone and the station. By then I had memorized them both.
Rhoda smiled. “He gave us his card. But thanks anyway.”
Rick was becoming almost a member of the family. I wondered what sort of family he really had. I thought about it all the way into Southbridge and forgot to worry about the brakes. Or anything else. Both Daddy and Ben had inspected the car. It was lucky that some family members were interested enough in cars to know something about them. I had never cared in the slightest, but you can’t always count on some knowledgeable person being available. For my own preservation, I had better learn more than Evan knew.
I drove through Southbridge and onto the highway toward the hospital. What if Hank’s family was there? It was Saturday, a day off for a lot of people. I was surprised I had never run into them, although I did see his mother that time. I didn’t know if she saw me, or gave me any thought at all. Even if I explained that Hank and I were working on a story, it was obvious that Hank wasn’t participating much.
How could Evan do a thing like that? He’d been nasty to me, but not lethal.
Except when he cut my brake line. He knew about the steep hill. He knew I’d have to go down it to get to school or almost anywhere. Maybe he thought it would only frighten me. Just try going down that hill with no brakes, Evan Steffers. What an asshole.
At the hospital, I waved as I passed the volunteers at the reception desk. They had security guards at night and volunteers during visiting hours. By then some of them knew me. I was such a regular. I grabbed an elevator that was starting to close and thought about applying as a volunteer myself. Then I’d have an excuse for being there every day.
Rhoda would squawk about homework. I could say it would look good on my college application.
Hey, there was an idea. I almost forgot to notice when the elevator stopped at my floor. Prying the door open, I scrambled off.
I reached the nurses’ station at the ICU, my eyes fixed on Hank’s window.
His bed was empty, stripped down to the mattress.
No! I swallowed a horrible feeling.
Abaya, the nurse, was just coming back from one of the rooms. He gave me a hesitant smile, not quite remembering who I was.
I couldn’t smile back. “Where is he?”
“He?”
I pointed to the empty bed.
“Oh. Mr. Dalbeck. He got moved,” Abaya said.
“Moved where?”
“He’s in a regular room. Third floor.”
“Did he—wake up?”
“Not yet. He’s breathing. Without the ventilator.”
“But he needed the ventilator again just a few days ago. How could they put him in a regular room when he still has trouble breathing?”
“Don’t worry about it, miss. He has a heart monitor. They’ll know if he needs help. They know what they’re doing.”
I doubted that. Nobody always knows what they’re doing. Although I was pretty sure they knew more than I did.
“Third floor? Do you know when the visiting hours are?”
“Eleven to seven. You can go there now if you want to.”
“Thank you, Mr. Abaya. You said he’s still unconscious?”
“Yes. But you can visit him.”
I was of two minds. I was glad I could get near him, talk to him. At the same time, this made him more vulnerable. He wasn’t under such close observation. What if whoever shot him decided to finish what they’d started?
I would have to let Rick know about this new development, if he didn’t already.
I found Hank’s room and peeked in cautiously, in case his family was there.
He was alone. A single room to himself. Not even a guard outside the door. Why wasn’t there a guard? What happened had been a murder attempt. I would definitely have to tell Rick.
Hank’s eyes were closed. He was breathing. Slow, deep breaths, as if he were asleep. I wished it really were sleep and not a coma. I crept close to his bed, feeling I had to tiptoe, as it was so quiet. He didn’t even have the ventilator making noise.
“Hank?” I was afraid of waking him, even though I wanted him awake. I bent over his sleeping face. I hadn’t been this close to him since just after the shooting, when I held him in my arms. He looked different. Thinner. He looked, in fact, not quite real.
I pulled a chair over next to his bed. His arms rested on top of a white cotton blanket. I took his hand and studied it. It was warm, but limp. It had no real life. Would he ever be alive again?
I felt a new surge of anger. How did they get away with this while Hank, innocent and far
more valuable, was reduced to a vegetable who could do no more than breathe?
“Hank, it’s Maddie Canfield. The new girl at The Tiger’s Roar. When you saw me there, it was my first meeting. The one where we talked about—”
I didn’t want to mention the right to die. It might make him think too much about that.
“Anyway, I was going to drive you home when—this happened. We’d just gotten into my car. I’m so sorry. But they tell me you’re doing okay. They took the breathing tube out. You’re breathing by yourself. You’re in a regular room now instead of intensive care. Even when you were in ICU I came to visit you as often as I could, but they wouldn’t let me in because I wasn’t family. Only your family could get near you. I saw your mother there. And I went to your house to get a picture of you for the paper and I met your sister.”
I looked toward the door to be sure none of his family was on its way in.
“I wrote an article about you for the paper. About what happened. That’s why I needed your picture. I’ll save copies for you.”
I folded my hand around his and looked again at the door. If anybody did come, I could say I was on the newspaper staff. Arianne already knew it.
“We’re going ahead with the series you planned. I think it’s very timely. I hope you don’t mind. I only wish you were there with us. I’ve been doing a lot of research on Paula Welbourne, the Lakeside girl, because I’m a Lakeside girl myself. Mr. Geyer thought it was intrusive but he didn’t try to stop us. I mean, he suggested stopping but he didn’t insist.”
I decided not to mention the Evan connection. It was too complicated to explain to an unconscious person, even if he could hear me.
Very lightly I squeezed his hand. “I don’t want to wear you out so I’d better be going, but I’ll come back. I just want you to know . . .” Another quick glance at the door. “Hank, I love you.” I bent down and kissed his forehead.
Chapter Twelve
In the hospital parking lot, I gave my car a onceover before opening the door. I checked each side, and underneath as far as I could see.
Again I wished I had a car that Evan wouldn’t recognize. Maybe a paint job would do it. But even that would cost more than I could manage. And if he had such easy access to our driveway at home, he would see whatever I put there and know it was mine.
Carefully I opened the door. Nothing exploded. It might, when I turned on the engine. I put that off for another minute while I called Rick.
Voicemail again. I was tired of people’s voicemail. Maybe they got tired of mine.
I started the car, with no explosion, and headed for Southbridge.
What had I done? I had kissed Hank and told him I loved him. What if he was aware? I almost hoped he wasn’t.
But I did want to talk to him. Maybe he would think it was his mother. Aware and confused.
My phone rang. I pulled in front of a plumbing supply store to answer it.
It was Rick. I told him about Hank’s move to a regular room. “I didn’t know if you knew that or whether you still need him for anything.”
“Haven’t got much out of him so far.”
“It bothers me,” I said. “He’s in a regular room now without all those nurses keeping guard. What if—whoever shot him—”
“I know what you’re saying. They needed the bed for a more acute case. Dalbeck is, well, static.”
“But he needs so much care!”
“He’ll get it. That’s a pretty good hospital.”
I wanted the best for Hank, not just pretty good. “What about the shooter?”
“Working on it. Hey, I gotta run. Thanks for the update. I’ll be in touch.”
Didn’t he care that Hank was in danger? Maybe it wasn’t Rick’s responsibility. The hospital was in a different town, out of his jurisdiction.
A few minutes later I passed a sign welcoming me to Southbridge. I had seen it a billion times but never paid much attention. Southbridge was home. In the past I would have met Glyn at the music store, or Burger King, or Perrino’s.
The thought of Glyn gave me a sick feeling. What was up with her? Could she really be in cahoots with Evan when she knew what he was like? Would Glyn actually betray me? How could I be more betrayed than I already was?
On Grand Street I had to stop for a light. I eased my foot onto the brake, half expecting the pedal to keep going down.
The brakes held. “Damn you, Evan Steffers, for making me paranoid.” I couldn’t go through life this way. Rick said Evan would do something stupid and then they’d get him. When was that going to happen?
Maybe I could trick him into something stupid. I would think about it as soon as I got home. For now, I had to keep alert.
* * * *
Ben’s truck was gone. I couldn’t ask him for any ideas. I was sure he’d have some.
I certainly couldn’t ask Glynis. It’s over, I told myself. It’s over with Glyn. Until she could start acting normal again, about Evan.
Things have a way of changing, especially when you don’t want them to. I wanted my safe world back, where Glyn was my friend, where I was still at Lakeside and had nothing to do with Evan. Where Hank was alive and unhurt and I had never heard of him because I hadn’t had to leave Lakeside.
Did I really want Hank out of my life? If he’d never been in it, I wouldn’t know the difference, right?
And Rick. If not for Evan, I never would have met Rick. Evan would be happily playing football, while Rick happily patrolled Southbridge. As for me, I could barely remember what it was like back then.
I stayed in my car, thinking. I had forgotten to ask Daddy about a motion sensor light.
Why ask? I could do it myself. Where would I put it?
A light would only scare off Evan. It wouldn’t catch him in the act. How about a surveillance camera?
That would be expensive. I could never afford it.
A blue truck turned in at the driveway. Ben was back. He kept his truck clean and shiny, the way I didn’t keep my car. The Chevy was so old and beat up, and I took no pride in it. That was good. If it were clean and shiny, it might attract Evan to see what more damage he could do.
It was me he wanted to damage more than the car. Damage, not kill, in spite of the brake line. He wanted to show his power.
Ben got out of the truck, locking it carefully, and came over to me. “What are you doing out here? Keeping guard?”
“I’m thinking. Rick Falco said Evan would eventually do something stupid and we’d catch him. I’m trying to think of ways to hurry it up.”
“You shouldn’t have to try very hard,” Ben said. “He is stupid.”
“Yes, but not stupid enough. So far he’s been lucky. If you get any ideas, will you let me know?”
“Maybe.” He went into the house. On weekends we were on our own with lunch. I’d forgotten about lunch in my hurry to get to the hospital.
That reminded me of kissing Hank and telling him I loved him. I cringed. I didn’t know if he had a girlfriend. I hadn’t seen evidence of one and nobody said anything. If they had, I’d have tried to interview her.
I followed Ben into the kitchen. He was putting a dish of ravioli into the microwave. He didn’t ask if I wanted any.
I decided on a cream cheese sandwich. Probably not very wholesome, but sometimes a girl needs cheering up. Glyn used to eat cottage cheese sandwiches. I didn’t want to think about Glyn.
“How about something like a nanny cam?” I said. “You know, like what people set up to catch the nanny if they think she’s abusing their kid.”
“I know what a nanny cam is.” Ben knew everything. “You’d put all that money in it and then he’d never come back. Keep trying.”
“I was hoping you’d have some ideas.”
“Why would I?” The microwave beeped. He took out his dish and leaned against the counter while it cooled. “Maybe you should stop with the confrontation. Try being nice to him and see what he does.”
“Ugh.”
�
�You might catch him by surprise.”
“It sure would.” I ran it through my mind like a high-speed film. Actually try to heal the rift? Tell him I wanted to get back together? That would throw Glyn off balance, as well as Evan. It might even be fun. Except I would choke on it, trying to pretend I wanted him back.
“How can I do that when I don’t even know where he is?”
Ben shrugged. “Put an ad in the personals. Spread it around to your friends.”
To Glyn. Pretend I didn’t suspect her of having any real interest. That would be a howl.
“How do I make him act up if he thinks we’re getting back together?”
“It didn’t take much the first time, did it? When you actually were together.”
He was right. It was Evan’s obsessive behavior that led to the split.
How did Ben figure all that out? He was hardly what you’d call a people person.
I took the sandwich to my room and texted Glyn with a lie. Thot of u 2day in music store. Miss u. Miss Evan 2. Old times.
I would leave it at that for now. It was subtle enough that he might not get suspicious. He was such an egotist he might actually believe I wanted him back.
Would Glyn try to help? Or would she want him all to herself? The only thing to do was wait and see.
On Sunday I went back to the hospital. Hank’s door was ajar. I could see people inside. It looked like his mother and somebody else. Not Arianne. I should interview Arianne. I still had their number someplace, in a binder dedicated to The Tiger’s Roar.
His visitors showed no sign of leaving. I found a small lounge with one couple in it, and sat down to watch the wall-mounted TV. It was tuned to CNN, all news and ads. The woman stared at it with nothing better to do. The man kept looking at his watch.
I felt out of place. I had no legitimate reason to be there. No real connection to Hank. I checked his room once more. The visitors were still there. They had more right than I had. I gave it up and went home.
All day I fidgeted but heard nothing from Glyn. I should have taken Ben’s advice even before he gave it. Should have thought of it myself and not been so confrontational with Evan. A gentler approach might have defused him just a little. Instead I had butted heads, had made fun of him, and belittled him. It gave me plenty of satisfaction, but with an ego like his it could backfire, and did. I would have to swallow my own ego and try to undo the damage.
The Long Sleep Page 11