First Light

by Isabel Jolie

  Mom. I called my father. His voicemail picked up. Then I settled in for the ride.

  I fastened my seatbelt. The plane jerked and rolled forward, inching away from the hangar. I scanned my texts, pausing on the most recent one.

  I’m at the ferry station. Are you here?

  Logan’s text tightened around my throat. I tapped out my response.

  At the airport. A friend took me over in a boat. About to take off. I’ll text when I land.

  After hitting send, I wondered if a flight departed at this time to Seattle. The half-truths agitated. Little white lies. When dispersed, they cast a haunting shadow.

  Chapter 16

  Logan

  * * *

  At the airport now. A friend took me over in a boat. About to take off. I’ll text when I land.

  A friend. Poppy? Gabe? They owned a boat they used to get back and forth. So did Tate and Luna.

  Robert tapped on the door. “I’m going out. Plan to sit off Timber Bridge. Look for some newbies in their rentals.”

  We were constantly pulling people over who seemed to forget a golf cart was actually a motorized vehicle and subject to the state’s driving regulations.

  “Sounds good. I won’t be in long. Stopped in to check on some things, but something’s come up. My girlfriend’s out of town, and I need to take her dog for a walk. Then I’ll be out of touch this afternoon.” I’d be gone all day on that flight with Gabe, so Nym would miss his lunchtime run.

  “You’ve got a girlfriend?” Robert smiled and settled against the frame, clearly waiting for more. That was the first time I’d uttered the word—at least the first time in many, many years. It felt a little juvenile, but mostly good feelings surfaced, maybe even pride.

  “Yeah. Her mom’s in the hospital.”

  “You know, if you need to go out of town to be with her, we can cover.”

  Yes. We were a streamlined crew, but we had to have enough coverage to carry on if someone got sick or needed to take a vacation. Our team could get by, and I hadn’t taken a vacation day since I arrived two years ago. “I’ll let you know. If things are bad, I probably will head out.”

  “What hospital?”

  “Seattle. That’s all I know.” I needed to get more information from her. When she landed, I’d ask.

  “If it’s serious, you may want to make plans to get out there. That’s a haul. Not easy to get to from here.”

  “Yeah. You’re right.” With the time difference, it was a full travel day. If things took a turn for the worst, it would be impossible for me to get there quickly. I scratched my jaw and pulled out my chair, keen to do some research on flights. That must’ve been why she hauled ass to get to the airport. She probably didn’t have many flight options.

  “Well, let me know if you need me to do anything.”

  He paused at the door, and I slowed my fingers, sensing he had something to say. “Yes?”

  “You’re always scratching that beard.”

  “Yeah?” I wasn’t sure why he cared.

  “Well, I have this great stuff you can put on your beard. It’s like a moisturizing salve. Helps with that. I’ll leave you a sample.”

  “You don’t even have a beard.” He’d sported the cleanshaven baby face for as long as I could remember. To me, he looked super young, but after hitting forty, I’d noticed all the twenty-somethings looked young.

  “Didn’t work so well for me. I was like you. Scratching all the time.”

  I turned my attention to the keyboard, and he took the hint, disappearing down the hall. I scratched my beard as the time capsule on the screen indicated the search for flights was in process. As I scratched, her words from last night came to mind—she liked it on her thighs. Nope, this beard was here to stay.

  Scrolling through flights, I discovered that almost every itinerary option included two stops. I located a single flight with one stop that departed at 8:48 a.m. and got in at 2:51 p.m. I booked it. That would give me the rest of the day to get things settled here. Find someone to take care of Nym. The possibility this was overkill given our new relationship definitely lurked in the back of my mind. But she might need me. I needed to be closer to her, just in case.

  I also knew hospital time was hard time. I’d seen that firsthand in both the military and the police force. And with my knee, I’d lived it.

  I could book a hotel room near the hospital so she and her father would have a place nearby to get showers. Ideally, across the street. Of course, I needed to know which hospital. And based on the flights I saw, she probably wouldn’t land until maybe one in the morning her time, which was more like four here. I’d be up and preparing to get to the airport by then.

  I knew she’d tell me not to come, so I pointedly didn’t mention my plans. But I asked her for the hospital name in a text. If she texted me that her mom was fine, and all was good, I could cancel a flight. Transfer it for the future. But now, if she called and said that things were bad, I had a plan lined up.

  As I left our office building, Chad flagged me down, waving his arm to catch my attention.

  “Logan. Just the man I wanted to see.”

  “Oh?” I paused on the plank board sidewalk, waiting for him to park his cart.

  “You got a minute?” Chad’s minute equaled about thirty minutes on a clock.

  “I’ve actually got to head. My girlfriend had a family emergency, and I’m heading out to be with her in the morning. I’ve got several loose ends to wrap up. Can it wait?”

  “Well, won’t take long. Can I walk with you? Where are you headed?”

  “Timber Bridge. What’s up?”

  “I heard about the folks trying to hack into our servers.”

  “Yep.” I rocked back on my heels, waiting.

  “Well, that’s a little scary, right?”

  People got scared about the damnedest things. Always blew my mind. They’d worry about someone hacking into their accounts, but then turn around and freely hand over their credit card to a waitstaff person who could walk off behind closed doors with it and easily write all the information down. That most basic level of credit card theft happened all the time. Or the gas station attendee who took the card and swiped it in a device that captured all the info—that had been one of the most successful crimes going for a while.

  “They haven’t gotten in. We haven’t seen any attempts in the last few days either. Probably just a bored kid.”

  “Bored kid, huh? Yeah, I’ve read about some of those hackers. That makes sense. So, you’re not worried about ransomware or anything like that?”

  “No. Remember when I came here, I upgraded everything.”

  “We have some high-profile residents.”

  “Yes. But, to answer your question, I’m not worried.”

  “If you’re not, I won’t be. But I still find it disconcerting.”

  “Chad, the only way to be absolutely secure is to not have an internet connection. Your phone, your laptop, that Apple Watch on your wrist, your Alexa? By having all those items connected to the Internet, your data is exposed to some level of risk. Don’t know about you, but to me, the good things from those outweigh the risks.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” He rambled down the walkway with me all the way to my cart. He slapped the top of my cart after I slid down onto the seat. “You have a good trip. Where you going?”

  “Seattle.”

  “Oh?”

  “It’s my girlfriend’s hometown.” And I need to get going.

  “When’d you get a girlfriend?”

  Even in my hurry, I couldn’t stop the grin. “Recently.”

  “Do I know her?”

  “Cali. She lives a few houses down from Gabe.”

  “Yeah, the green house, right? Nice plants on the steps.”

  “That’s her.”

  “She has Cujo for a pet.”

  I chuckled. “Yeah, that’s her.”

  “Well, good for you. Let me know when you’re back. The missus and I would love to
have you both over for dinner.”

  “I’ll let you know, Chad. I’ll have access to email when I’m gone, so if anything comes up, reach out.”

  “Will do.”

  After going over the revised schedule with Robert for the next week, I stopped off at Gabe’s. No one answered the door, so I called him.

  “Hey, where are you?” We were supposed to meet at the marina, but it was still early for him to be over there.

  “Sitting out on the beach. Getting some reading in. A few new quarterly reports I wanted to get through.”

  “You in front of your house?”

  “Yep. You here?”

  “Yeah. I’m gonna come around and find you. I have a favor to ask.”

  Chapter 17

  Cali

  * * *

  The front entrance of Sacred Heart Memorial Hospital matched any other hospital. Lots of glass, high ceilings, circular drive in the front. The location was at least thirty minutes from my parents’ home—without traffic. With traffic, I’d bet it could easily push an hour.

  Why this hospital? A framed poster near the reception desk flaunted, “Voted #1 for Transplants.” That wouldn’t be it. But maybe the cardiology department here is also top-notch?

  I rushed my suitcase up to the information desk, patting the handle with twitchy hands. A nice woman with spectacles assisted me at the long desk in the lobby.

  “Let’s see, Dahlia Lai is in CCU.”

  “What’s CCU stand for?”

  “Cardiac Care Unit. And you’re family?”

  “I’m her daughter.”

  “Well, we allow family to visit.” She peered over her silver-rimmed glasses. “Don’t worry, dear. She’s getting excellent care.” She informed me they were limiting visitors to a maximum of two and gave instructions for locating cardiology. She also offered me a mask and explained that it was a holdover from the pandemic. I didn’t mind wearing one at all. I wanted to do everything I could to keep my mom and all the other patients safe.

  Once I arrived on the floor and checked in at the main desk at the front, they checked my temperature and directed me down one of the long halls with white square linoleum tiles. Low level beeps invaded the hush. Harsh, frigid air conditioning infiltrated my clothes. The abrasive scent of ammonia, or some similar cleaning agent, filled my nostrils. A man in scrubs and a white lab coat nodded absently as he passed. I wandered farther down the hall, following the arrows. A door on my right remained open. Inside, a wrinkled, frail person lay on a hospital bed with a thin blanket tucked around his legs.

  Several doors down, I arrived at room number 389. I peeked through the tall, narrow glass pane in the closed door. Nerves sparked, generating fear. Senseless fear.

  I pressed the stainless steel handle and pushed forward. A curtain hung fully covering the bed. Dad. A fiercely private man, he wouldn’t have it any other way. The pale green curtain waffled, and my father appeared as the heavy door slowly closed on automatic hinges behind me.

  Dad’s jet-black hair held an oily sheen. Dark circles sank below his eyes. My father had never been a large man, but he appeared smaller and frail, as if he had shrunk in height and breadth. He held out his arms, and I rested my head on his shoulder. He patted my hair, up and down, while he repeated my name, “Cecilia, Cecilia.” My heart split in two when he added, almost in disbelief, “You came.”

  “Of course I did. I’ve been trying to call you ever since Erik told me.” I pulled back and held his wrinkled hand in both of mine. “How is she?”

  “Sleeping. Do you want tea?”

  “Can I see her?”

  With a slow, stilted nod, he slid back the curtain. A faint mechanical noise reverberated as the chain on the ceiling circled through the track. My mother lay on the bed, a pale blue blanket over her. A needle poked into the back of her hand, visible beneath the clear tape holding it in place. Her chart hung on the end of the bed. On the opposite end of the bed, a monitor with numbers and graphs across the screen attracted my attention. Her oxygen showed at 96, and her heartbeat graph, at least to me, looked good. I didn’t know what I was looking at, but it wasn’t a flat line.

  “She needs surgery.” My dad’s whispered words belied his worry.

  “For what?”

  “She has two clogged arteries.”

  “But she eats so healthy. That doesn’t make sense.” Clogged arteries belonged to people who ate fried foods.

  “Her doctor will come by again in the morning. You can talk to him with me. Erik is stuck at work. He works so hard.” My father squeezed my hand, and while he sounded proud of his son, a sadness laced his words. “He is an important man. Very successful.”

  “Yes, he is.” Deep wrinkles dented my father’s slacks. His shirt sleeves were rolled about midway up his forearms. The straps to a mask hung out of a pocket on his shirt. He wasn’t wearing one in her room, and given they lived together and he probably hadn’t left her side, him wearing one didn’t feel necessary.

  “He paid for this room. When she is in a regular room, she will have a suite. He has been generous with your mother. He bought her a Cadillac last Christmas.” He sighed and patted my hand. “How are you?” He brushed his hand across my cheek and tenderly draped my hair behind my ear. He always tucked my hair behind my ear, as if he couldn’t see my face otherwise.

  “I’m good. Scared for Mom.”

  “Me too.” He shuffled over to one side of the bed and pointed for me to go to the other side. “Touch her hand. She’ll want to know you’re here.”

  I brushed my fingers over hers. They were cold, almost freezing.

  “Dad, she needs another blanket.”

  “The nurse says she’s fine.” A folded blanket rested on top of a storage unit against the wall. Ignoring Dad’s stare, I pulled it down and draped it over her legs, and over her arms, close to her chin.

  My father’s lips contorted. The lines around his lips flexed. He didn’t like what I had done. But he said nothing.

  My BlackBerry vibrated, and I slipped it out of my pocket. An unknown number shone on the screen.

  “Answer your brother out in the hall. I’ll stay here.”

  I nodded. As I closed the door, the curtain enclosed the bed.

  “Hey. I’m here.”

  “How is she?”

  “She’s asleep. I haven’t learned anything yet.”

  “I’ve been researching surgeons.”

  “Did you find one?”

  “Not yet. It’s in progress.”

  “Is this surgery a big deal?”

  “It’s heart surgery. She suffered a heart attack. There’s damage.”

  “Is she a transplant candidate?”

  “Her doctor hasn’t mentioned it. They wouldn’t do that unless it’s absolutely necessary. And the heart transplant list—I mean, I could hack the system, but they have so many protocols in place I don’t think she’d get the heart before someone caught on.”

  “Erik.” I closed my eyelids and my eyes burned. “You can’t… It’s unethical.” I paced, my head down.

  “I know. And right now it’s not necessary. I just want you to know I’ve thought of everything. I’m doing all I can.”

  The annoyance that had risen dissipated, and tears blurred my fatigued eyes.

  “I know. I wish you could be here.”

  “I’m closer by. If something happens, I’ll be there.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You know, your cop is on the way.”

  “What?” I’d texted him when I landed. I pulled out my iPhone and clicked to my messages, to see if I missed a return text. When I put my BlackBerry back to my ear, I picked up Erik’s ongoing conversation mid-sentence.

  “Probably not a bad guy. I got into his PD file. His presence on the island is because of a censure. But I don’t have an issue with what he did. And he’s definitely not there on behalf of NSA. I’ve figured out the connection between him and that guy. They’re old friends. He’s just your basic cop.”


  “Are you saying you’re once again okay with me dating him?”

  “I’d rather you didn’t. But it’s not my call. Obviously, there are things you can’t ever tell him. But he’s a glorified traffic cop. He’s not going to pick up on much. And I think he’ll be good for you right now. He cares about you. Enough to fly across the country.” I actually grinned in the hall. Probably the only grin on the CCU hall at that moment. “His flight gets in tomorrow afternoon. He’s planning to surprise you.”

  “Well, why did you tell me?”

  “Because we don’t like surprises.”

  “No, we don’t. But yet you put cameras in my home without telling me.” A woman about twenty feet away glanced my way, and I paced away from her. It wasn’t the time or place to have it out with my brother, but I couldn’t stop the words.

  “Cali. You knew I had a security team outfit your home.”

  “Yes. But not inside. My bedroom.” I gritted out the word.

  “You knew.”

  “No. I didn’t. There’s a glass bulb in the office. Above the front door and on the back deck. You hid the others.” How did he not see this as a wild invasion of my privacy?

  “For aesthetics. It’s the best placement.”

  I rested my head against a wall. Exhaustion overwhelmed me. Mom mattered. Not this.

  “When I get back, I want you to tell me where every single indoor camera is.”

  “Cali.” His harsh tone warned me.

  “Don’t Cali me. You had no right.”

  “It’s for your own good. And you should’ve realized.”

  “What? No.” Asshole. A nurse smiled at me as she passed me in the hall, and I forced a smile in return. “Where are you on putting this behind us?”

  “Close. I promise.”

  Chapter 18

  Logan

  * * *

  When I arrived at the front desk at the CCU, the first thing I noticed was a sign with limitations on visitors. They allowed only one family member to stay overnight. And only two visitors at a time. I should’ve thought of that. But I could still make myself useful. Surely they could use a break.