“That’s good to know. I would hate to be the cause of the apocalypse.”
“Ha, ha.” Jack finished downing his coffee and tossed the empty cup in the trash receptacle by the door before holding it open. “Let’s get some breakfast and then we’ll talk about what we’re doing today. We need to come up with a plan.”
“Okay.” I was agreeable to the suggestion because I was out of ideas.
When I stepped into the hallway, I noticed Laura stood about ten feet away, and the look she shot me when she realized I was walking out of Jack’s room overflowed with venom.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here?”
It took Jack a moment to grasp what Laura was insinuating. He glanced between her and me and then at his door before finding words. “We’re going down for breakfast. We want to divide everyone up for the day, you know, disperse the work evenly.”
“Let me guess; you’re going to spend the day with Charlie.” Laura’s tone was so icy it caused chills to cascade down my spine. “That’s on top of the time you two have already spent together.”
“Oh, it’s not what you think,” I protested hurriedly. “I was just bringing him coffee.”
Jack held up his hand to silence me. “It’s none of her business what we were doing.”
His reaction surprised me. “It’s not?”
“No.” Jack held Laura’s gaze for an extended beat, a challenge of sorts flowing between them. “We’re going downstairs for breakfast. That’s all you need to know, Laura.”
Laura slanted her eyes to me. “I believe you and I are going to need to have a talk later.”
That didn’t sound good. “I … .”
“Leave her alone,” Jack ordered, his bossy nature on full display, the hangover casting a pall over his features only moments before completely eradicated. “She hasn’t done anything to you and it’s not your business what she does with her private time. Stay out of her way.”
“Or what?” Laura folded her arms over her chest. “What happens if I don’t follow your rules, Jack?”
“You don’t want to find out.” Jack put his hand to the small of my back and prodded me in front of him. “Let’s get breakfast, Charlie. It’s going to be a long day and we need the fuel.”
I risked one more glance over my shoulder and cringed as Laura scorched me with a glare. “Okay.” I waited until I was sure we were out of Laura’s earshot to speak again. “She’ll make me pay for that. You know that, right?”
“You’ll be fine.” Jack flashed his first smile of the day. “The good news is that she thinks I’m doing stuff with you, so she probably won’t be hitting on me any longer. This is best for everybody.”
Of course he’d think that. “Or it’s simply going to cause her to double her efforts because it’s even more fun to take something from me while trying to snag you.”
Jack’s smile slipped. “Huh. I hadn’t thought of that.”
“That’s because you don’t think like a girl.”
“I consider that a compliment.”
“It won’t be a compliment when she unleashes her fury,” I pointed out. “She’ll come after me.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”
For some reason, Jack’s response made me feel light and giddy. Ugh! That was such a girl response. I hated myself for it. “What if you’re not around when she comes after me?”
“I’ll stick close. It will be fine.”
It was only after I gave it some real thought that I realized Jack sticking close would cut down on visits with Zoe. Hmm. I couldn’t help but wonder if that was on purpose.
JACK AND I WERE tasked with returning to the hospital when Hannah was told in no uncertain terms that she wouldn’t be allowed to visit Lisa Savage. In addition to that, the doctor in charge of Lisa’s case informed Hannah that her obsessive calls were starting to become intrusive. From a neutral standpoint, I understood that. Chris and Hannah took it as a personal affront, though. They insisted Jack and I take over hospital duty while they adopted another plan of attack. I had a feeling that plan involved spending the day making out – something I would never say out loud – but it was really none of my business.
“What do you think we should do?”
Jack and I sat in the Jeep and stared at the hospital, opting to remain in the parking lot until we made our decision.
“I have no idea.” Jack rubbed his forehead and leaned close enough to the vent that the freezing blast from the air conditioning hit him smack in the face. “I can’t decide if Chris assigned this to us because he didn’t want to do it himself or he really thought we might have a better shot of getting answers.”
“I think he just wanted to spend quality time with Hannah. To do that, he needed to get rid of us.”
“Quality time with Hannah, huh?” Jack smirked. “You’re probably right. I have no problem with that … other than the fact that he expects us to somehow talk to Lisa Savage even though she’s being protected from all angles.”
“Yeah.” I instinctively reached over and pushed Jack’s hair from his forehead. “How are you feeling?”
He cast me a cock-eyed look. “I’m fine. It’s just a hangover. It will be gone … well, it will be gone when it’s gone. I can somehow manage to function despite the headache.”
“I’m sure you can.” I pulled my hand away and forced my eyes to the hospital. Being in close proximity to Jack was starting to do weird things to my hormones. I couldn’t remember being this off-kilter around a man since college … and that was only because I was too stupid to know better.
I could feel Jack’s eyes on me as I stared at the large building, my mind working through possible scenarios. We needed to talk to Lisa Savage. There was no getting around that. We were operating in the dark, and the police didn’t seem keen to share information.
“What are you thinking?” Jack asked after several moments of silence.
I shrugged, noncommittal. “I don’t know.”
“No, I saw something pass through your eyes.” Jack straightened. “You had an idea. You simply can’t decide if it’s a good or bad one. I know you.”
“You barely know me,” I corrected. “You don’t know what I was thinking.”
“I do.” Jack was so self-assured it was grating. “I can recognize some of your facial expressions now. You just had an idea. You’re afraid to share it with me.”
“That’s because you’ll think it’s a bad idea.”
“You don’t know that. Try me.”
“Well ... .” I pressed my lips together and gathered my courage. If Jack thought it was a juvenile idea, so be it. It was the only idea I had and if I didn’t tell him we very well could be stuck at the hospital the entire day. “They don’t monitor candy stripers.”
“Okay.” Jack waited for me to continue.
“When I was here last night, I noticed the candy stripers have their own lounge of sorts,” I continued hurriedly. “They keep their uniforms inside. So, if I were to walk in there and pretend I belonged, I could steal a uniform. I’m the right age to pretend I’m a candy striper.”
When Jack didn’t immediately respond I forced my eyes to him and found him tapping his lip, a thoughtful expression on his face.
“Wait … you don’t think this is a terrible idea?”
Jack smiled, catching me off guard. “I don’t know if it’s the hangover talking, but I don’t hate the idea. What happens if you get caught?”
“Then I make a break for it and run into the woods. They’re not going to chase a candy striper. They don’t even question candy stripers.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I watched the candy stripers yesterday afternoon and last night. They don’t watch them. They’re almost invisible.”
“Huh.” Jack made a tsking sound with his tongue as he shook his head. “You’ve been thinking about this a little longer than you let on, haven’t you?”
I held my hands out and shrugged. “Ma
ybe. It’s our best option. You know it and I do, too.”
“I can’t go up there with you.” Jack turned serious. “This is something you’ll have to do on your own.”
“I’m fine with that.”
“And you’re not afraid?”
In truth, I liked the idea of an adrenaline rush. “I’m not afraid.”
Jack threw up his hands in defeat. “Okay. Let’s do it. Good luck … and I’ll bail you out if you get arrested.”
That was comforting. Kind of.
SNEAKING INTO THE CANDY striper lounge was easier than I thought. No one questioned me, and the room was quiet and empty. I found a rack of uniforms that looked to be for temporary volunteers and grabbed one close to my size (although a tad small), frowning in the mirror when I saw the way my boobs popped. There was no way that would be conducive to patients remaining calm.
I did my best to pretend I knew exactly where I was going and headed toward Lisa Savage’s room. I remembered its location from the night before. The hallway in front of her room was empty, and I was relieved to see that she appeared to be alone. Of course, the woman was awake and on the phone – which was simply bad luck all around – so there was no way I could approach her without looking out of sorts.
Instead, I made a big show of dusting the chairs in the hallway and crouched low so I could listen through the cracked door. I should’ve felt guilty about eavesdropping, but really I didn’t. I lost all sense of guilt when I heard the first sentence.
“They’re never going to find Ethan, Mom!” Lisa sounded as if she was close to teetering over the edge, her voice shrill and cracking. “He’s gone. He’s not coming back!”
I swallowed hard as I wrapped my head around the information. Had Lisa Savage seen her husband die? Did a lycanthrope do it? Was there something else tearing through the woods and torturing people?
“Mom, I’m not being a defeatist.” Lisa turned weepy, and I had to tamp down the feelings of guilt rolling through me. This was a private moment. This woman was mourning her dead husband. I shouldn’t be intruding. “Oh, I’m not being dramatic either, Mom!” Lisa practically exploded. “I don’t know what else there is to tell you. I’ve told this story fifty times now and it’s not going to change. The forest came alive and swallowed Ethan whole! That’s it. There’s no more. He’s gone and he’s not coming back!”
19
Nineteen
Jack was waiting in the Jeep. I never did get up the courage to invade Lisa Savage’s privacy and question her about what happened. Instead, I listened to the rest of the conversation with her mother, tried my best not to cry when she burst into hysterical tears during the conversation and then hurried back to the candy striper lounge to change back into my clothes.
Jack looked concerned when I climbed into the vehicle. “Do I need to burn rubber and get out of here because the cops are coming?”
It was a lame joke, but I wanted to give him credit for the effort. “That’s not necessary. I wasn’t caught.”
“Okay.” Jack gently brushed my hair from my face to study me. “You’re pale, Charlie. I’m hungover, but you’re the one who looks sick. What happened?”
“I … .” How could I explain what I overheard? More importantly, how could I justify how I felt about what I heard?
“You’re starting to worry me.” Jack grabbed my hand and gave it a hard squeeze. “Look at me. There you go. Just tell me what happened and we’ll figure it out. Something bad clearly happened.” Jack jolted as something occurred to him. “Did Lisa Savage die? I wasn’t under the impression that her injuries were that severe.”
“She’s not dead.” I found my voice, although it was raspy. “She actually looks pretty good for a woman who was missing in the woods for several days. Maybe a little pale and bruised, but otherwise fine. I mean … well, fine physically.”
“Okay.” Jack kept his gaze even. “Then tell me what happened. Did your candy striper plan not work?”
“Oh, that worked like a charm.” I perked up a bit. I loved being right. “They had a whole rack of uniforms. I grabbed one that was close to my size – although it was a little small – and I caught four doctors staring at my boobs while heading to the sixth floor.”
Jack made a face. “Did one of them touch you? Give me a name and I’ll take care of it.”
I snorted. “They just stared. I took it as a compliment because most guys don’t stare at my rack since there’s not much to look at.”
Jack shook his head. “Your rack is fine. It’s nice. I mean … it’s fine. I … don’t look at me like that.” His cheeks flooded with color. “I don’t understand how we got turned to this topic. Get to the important stuff.”
“Did you hear that, girls?” I looked down and talked to my chest. “He doesn’t think you’re important.”
“Don’t make me start yelling,” Jack warned. “I’m very close to losing it. My patience isn’t what it normally is.”
I smirked, his reaction serving to lighten my mood. “The candy striper thing went fine. There wasn’t a cop guarding her room. We lucked out there.”
“So you got to talk to her.” Jack leaned closer, his fingers still wrapped around my wrist. “What did she say? What happened? If you tell me it was a werewolf I’ll lock you in the back and never let you out.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re getting ahead of yourself. There was no cop, but I didn’t go in her room. She was on the phone with her mother, and I didn’t want to invade her personal space. The door was cracked, so I listened in while dusting furniture.”
“Oh.” Jack straightened. “That was actually pretty smart.”
“I’m capable of having a smart thought now and then, no matter what you think.”
“Yes, well, let’s not get snarky.” Jack licked his lips. “What did you hear?”
“She’s an emotional wreck and seems to be all over the place.”
“I would think that’s normal for someone who has been through what she’s been through.” Jack turned pragmatic. “She’s probably still in shock. Did she mention the husband?”
I nodded. “She said some weird stuff, Jack. That’s another reason I didn’t go in and try to question her. I don’t think she’s properly addressing what happened to her. I think she’s like one of those people who believe they’ve been abducted by aliens or something.”
Jack narrowed his eyes. “Please tell me she didn’t describe a flying saucer or little green men.”
“She didn’t. She did say that the forest came alive and swallowed Ethan whole. That’s exactly how she phrased it. Then she turned hysterical and started crying. I could only hear her end of the conversation, but it sounded to me as if the mother was trying to calm her down.”
“I want to know why the mother isn’t at her daughter’s bedside,” Jack mused, releasing my wrist and leaning back in his seat. “I mean, I’m no expert on parental concern, but wouldn’t most mothers do just about anything to make sure their child wasn’t alone during a trying time like this?”
I hadn’t even thought of that. “I don’t know. I might say the mother hasn’t had time to make travel arrangements, but Lisa Savage has been missing for days. Most mothers would book the first flight to a location for a missing child, even if that child is an adult.”
“Exactly.” Jack absently stared at the hospital as he ran the conundrum through his head. “I don’t get why the mother isn’t here. She should’ve been here before her daughter was found.”
“I’m not sure how important that really is,” I said. “Maybe the mother is in another country or something. Maybe she is in town and had to run an errand and Lisa merely melted down and needed to talk to her while she was away from the room. Or, maybe it’s something else. Maybe Lisa and her mother aren’t that close.”
“I guess.” Jack didn’t look convinced. “I still find it odd. That’s something to check on later. What about Lisa herself? Did she say anything else about the camping trip and what happened to Ethan?”
“She was all over the place,” I replied. “I don’t think she’s processed what happened. Maybe whatever did happen was so terrible she made up the story about the forest swallowing him because that’s what she thinks she really saw.
“I know you don’t want to hear it, but maybe she did see an animal,” I continued. “Maybe it was a very big animal, and maybe it did some terrible things, and maybe her mind can’t comprehend it so she’s blocking it out.”
“There are all kinds of trauma. She might be blocking it out. That doesn’t mean a werewolf attacked.”
“That doesn’t mean a werewolf didn’t attack.” I refused to back down. “You’re a nonbeliever, Jack, but I know there are things out there that we can’t explain. Not everything can be pigeonholed into neat little boxes.”
“Did I say that they could?”
“No, but … you don’t want to believe. It’s simply the way you’re wired.”
“And you do want to believe,” Jack shot back. “That makes you see things that might not be there.”
“Like the Chupacabra.”
Jack let loose a weary groan. “Why must you always bring it back to that? I mean … why?”
“Because I saw it.”
“Honey, you fell down a flight of stairs and hit your head. Hard.” He didn’t realize he’d called me “honey,” and even though I kind of liked it I managed to keep my anger and irritation at the forefront of my brain. “You don’t know what you saw. You were lucky to survive at all.”
“I know what I saw.”
“Ugh.” Jack slapped his hand to his forehead. “If I agree that you might have seen the Chupacabra, do you agree to stop bringing it up every time we argue? You use it as a weapon to insinuate I don’t have faith in you, and that’s not true.”
His vehemence caught me off guard. “Oh, well, I guess I can agree to that,” I said. “I just don’t like it that you don’t believe me.”
“It’s not as if I think you’re lying. It’s that … you were hurt, and badly. I’m not even sure you know what you saw.” He held up his hands to quiet me when I opened my mouth to push things further. “I’m done with this argument. You might have seen the Chupacabra. I’m fine with that.”
The Werewolf Whoops Page 17