Fifty Recipes For Disaster

by Carla Coxwell

  “Ms. Sands, I’m Eric Parker. I understand that you found Ms. Foster like this?”

  “Yes, I came home about fifteen minutes ago. I tried to wake her. She moaned and stirred, but she hasn’t opened her eyes.”

  Deep purple bruises had already popped up around Jenny’s eyes. Her blonde hair is matted with congealed blood, but I can’t see its source. Eric pulls out a handheld radio and calls down to his partner for a gurney.

  “We’ll call ahead to the hospital and order a head CT.” He takes Jenny’s blood pressure. “Her vitals are good, but the head trauma is definitely concerning and it looks like she’s lost quite a bit of blood. Have you called her family?”

  “I’m her family.”

  “Do you know her blood type?”

  “O positive, the same as mine,” I answer, remembering from the first time Robbs put Jenny in the hospital. “If she needs blood, you can take it from me.”

  “That’s the most common blood type, so I’m sure that we have plenty on hand. But if you’d like to make a donation at the hospital’s blood bank, it would be much appreciated.”

  “Whatever she needs, I’ll do it. Do you see anything that suggests how long ago this happened?” All I can think about is the hour I wasted when I left Whole Foods. I’d been upset for selfish reasons and while I was busy sulking, my best friend had been attacked in our home.

  “Judging by how dry the blood is, I’d say at least an hour,” Eric answers. “That’s just my guess though. The ER doctors will be able to give you a more definite answer.”

  I turn to Officer Marquez. “Robbs must have been watching the apartment all day. He waited until Jenny was all alone. How could he have done that? I thought you were keeping a close eye on the building. And I know he didn’t plant cameras in here, I searched the entire apartment while I was cleaning.”

  “I’m sorry, but our resources are limited. We had officers patrolling the area, but we don’t have the man power to post full-time guards.”

  Yet another knock sounds from the living room and two paramedics walk in with a gurney.

  “Okay, Kiara,” Eric announces. “We’re going to load Jenny now and take her to the hospital. Would you like to ride with her, or follow in your own car?”

  I look back at Marquez. “Can I leave now, or do you need me to give another statement?”

  “You go on ahead with Jenny. Jones is downstairs, he’s calling your super about getting that door replaced. I’ll file the new reports and meet up with you at the hospital.”

  The paramedics gingerly place Jenny on the gurney, and she finally opens her eyes. “Kiara?” she asks softly.

  “I’m here, Jenny,” I tell her, taking her hand. “The paramedics are loading you in the ambulance. The doctors in the ER are going to take great care of you, and I’m won’t leave your side.”

  “Where’s Robbs?” she asks.

  “I’m sorry, Jenny, he got away again.”

  She’s agitated and struggles to sit up. “That’s not possible, I got him.”

  “Jenny, what do you mean you got him?” Officer Marquez delicately presses. “What can you tell us about what happened here this afternoon?”

  “I was sleeping and a loud noise woke me up. I’d brought one of Kiara’s knives in here with me. I had it under my pillow. I took it out and hid it under my blanket. I pretended to be asleep, and I heard my door open. I didn’t open my eyes until after he landed the first punch. Robbs had an evil look in his eyes, and he just kept hitting me in the head. He didn’t realize I was awake until I jumped up with the knife. I caught him off guard and stabbed him in the stomach. I know I got him, I felt the knife hit bone. That’s the last thing that I remember.”

  Not all of this blood is hers, I realize with relief.

  “You’ve done great, Jenny,” Officer Marquez tells her in a soothing voice. “You just rest now. I’ll alert the area hospitals and clinics to be on the lookout for an abdominal stab wound.”

  “Jenny, I’m Eric,” the paramedic chimes in. “These are my partners, Rocco and Sean. We’re going to get you to the hospital now. Can you tell me if anything hurts?”

  “Everything hurts,” she replies with a frown. “But my head is the worst of it.”

  “You took several hard blows. You probably have a concussion, but it’s a good sign that you’re awake and talking.”

  “Kiara, where’s Chase?” Jenny asks.

  “Don’t worry about that right now,” I tell her. “I’ll call and tell him what happened once we hear what the doctors have to say.”

  “I’ll post an officer here until the apartment is secure. We’ll also need to have the tech team go through the place again, but I doubt we’ll find anything,” Officer Marquez tells us. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

  “We’re going to move you now, Jenny,” Eric warns. “Don’t worry if you start feeling a little dizzy, that’s completely normal.”

  They lift the gurney, and its wheeled legs drop to the floor. I grab my purse and Jenny’s and follow them out the door. When the elevator opens on the ground floor, we’re met by Chase.

  “Kiara, what happened?” he asks.

  “What do you think happened?” I snapped. “While you were off with your little tramp, Robbs paid another visit.”

  His face turns bright red. “Kiara, that little tramp was Madison. Paul filed an ethics report against me at the college, and she’s trying to help me out of it. We both tried to explain it to you…”

  Fuck, I forgot all about his sister. Of course that’s who he was with!

  I’m ashamed of my mistake but I don’t have time to make it right. “Chase, we’ve got to get to the hospital, I don’t have time to do this with you right now. I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions.”

  “Are you riding in the ambulance?”

  “Yes, I don’t want to leave her,” I tell him. Jenny’s eyes are closed again, and I’m not sure if she’s passed back out or if she’s trying to give Chase and me a moment of privacy.

  “I’ll follow you in my car,” he offers quickly.

  “No, he broke down our front door and completely trashed the apartment again. Officer Jones has already called the super. Can you stay here until someone puts a new door on?”

  “Whatever you need, Kiara.”

  “There’s also quite a bit of blood in Jenny’s bedroom. I don’t want her to see it when we get back. I don’t know if it can be cleaned, but could you at least find a way to cover it up?”

  “I’ll take care of everything. Please call me the moment the doctors know something. If Robbs shows his face again, I’ll put him out of his misery.”

  “Jenny stabbed him in the gut. With any luck, he’s bled out in a ditch somewhere and we’ll never have to see him again.”

  “Good for her,” Chase says, obviously impressed. “I’m sorry for the misunderstanding, Kiara.”

  “Ms. Sands, we really should be going. Would you like to follow in your own car?” Eric asks impatiently.

  “No, I’m sorry. I’m ready now.”

  They load Jenny into the ambulance; I climb in behind them and take a seat at her side.

  Jenny opens her eyes. “The moment my head stops pounding, you’re going to have to explain to me what you and Chase were just talking about.”

  “The moment your head stops pounding, I’ll do anything you want. Are you sure that you’re okay? Emotionally, I mean. Do you want me to call someone from your support group?”

  “I’ll call them myself as soon as the doctors are done with me. And yes, emotionally I’m fine. I hate to say it, but stabbing Robbs felt better than anything I’ve done in a long time.” She smiles.

  “I can only imagine. Maybe he’ll show up one last time and I can take my turn.” I smile back at her, and we ride to the hospital in silence.

  Chapter Eleven

  “So what’s the verdict, Doc?” Jenny asks Dr. Fields parts her curtain. We’ve been at the emergency room for three hours, and Jenny has had every test ima
ginable.

  “You’ve got a pretty severe concussion, but no lasting damage,” the doctor announces.

  “Thank God,” I say with a sigh of relief. “So I can take her home?”

  “Not just yet. Jenny, I’d like to admit you overnight for observation. We’ll run a new CT in the morning and if the swelling in your head has gone down, I’ll discharge you then. The pain meds will also be more effective if we administer them through your I.V. instead of orally.”

  “That sounds good to me,” Jenny quickly agrees. She’s been on a morphine drip since we arrived, and I can’t remember the last time I saw her so giddy.

  “Dr. Fields,” Jenny continues. “Have you treated anyone with a stab wound today?”

  “I can’t disclose information on my other patients,” he answers patiently. “I understand that you gave better than you got this afternoon, and I admire that. But I can’t tell you if he is here. If it makes you feel any better, if Mr. Martin were to show up here for care, I’d be legally required to call the police.”

  “I talked to Marquez ten minutes ago, Jenny,” I chime in. “They haven’t found him yet.”

  “I don’t know if that’s good or bad,” she says after a long pause. “I wanted to stop him, but I never wanted to kill him… I’m not sure how I’ll feel if he’s found dead somewhere.”

  “Jenny, as your doctor, I can tell you that two more blows to the head would have ended your life. You saved yourself today, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of, no matter what’s happened to Robbs Martin,” Dr. Fields says softly. “I’m going to have you moved to your regular room now. I’ll check in on you in a few hours.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Fields.”

  The doctor steps back through the curtains, and Jenny turns to me.

  “So what happened with you and Chase this afternoon?”

  “Jenny, we don’t have to talk about that now. You need to rest and it was nothing important.”

  “But I’m dying to know,” she pleads. “It will make me feel better, take my mind off of things.”

  “It’s a long, stupid story. I made an assumption and basically made an ass of myself. Chase’s sister will probably never speak to me again, and if I’d just acted like a reasonable person, I would have gotten home to you a lot sooner.”

  “Kiara, don’t start blaming yourself again. I’m not upset that this happened, I finally got to defend myself. I’ve worked so hard to not be afraid of Robbs and when he was standing over me, I really wasn’t afraid of him. I was pissed off and my instincts just took over. I didn’t even know I had instincts.”

  “I’m proud of you, Jenny. I just wish that I’d been there.”

  “Which brings us back to my question, what assumption did you jump to? And what does Chase’s sister have to do with it?”

  “I saw them together at Whole Foods. They looked so relaxed and comfortable with each other, so I assumed…”

  “Oh, Kiara! You accused him of cheating on you with his sister?” Jenny stifles a laugh.

  “I did, in the middle of the grocery store. I really told him off, too, insisted that we were moving and I never wanted to see him again. They both tried to explain themselves but I didn’t give them a chance.”

  “I’m sure Madison will understand. Chase had to have told her that the apartment had been broken in to last night and that we’d all just lost our jobs. Anyone would be cranky after all of that.”

  “I hope you’re right. But she’s also read my student file and watched that video. She probably thinks that I’m a whore and Chase has lost his mind.”

  “I don’t think Chase is going anywhere, Kiara. You’ll have plenty of time to show Madison who you really are.”

  My cell phone vibrates in my pocket. I retrieve it and see Officer Delco’s number on the screen.

  “Hi, Officer Delco, thanks for calling me back,” I answer.

  “Kiara, I just got off of the phone with the Austin PD They told me what happened; are you and Jenny all right?”

  “We’re fine. Jenny has a concussion, but the doctor says that she’ll make a complete recovery.”

  “Marquez said they still haven’t found Robbs. I hope that the bastard is bleeding out somewhere. Tell Jenny that I’m proud of her.”

  “I will, that’s actually why I called you, Officer Delco. I have a question, and I don’t know any of the Austin officers well enough to ask them.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “If Robbs does die from the stab wound, what will happen to Jenny?”

  “Absolutely nothing,” he quickly assures me. “This is a clear case of self-defense. You girls have done everything you were supposed to, you have police reports going back four months. At the most, his family could file a wrongful death suit in civil court but again, with the evidence we have, the judge would throw it out.”

  “Thank you, Officer Delco.”

  “You’re more than welcome, Kiara. My niece loves all of your old furniture. Did your personal items arrive okay?”

  “Yes, thank her for me again please. The nurse is here to move Jenny to her regular room so I need to hang up. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  “Take care of yourself.”

  “What did he say?” Jenny asks nervously as she slides onto her new hospital bed.

  “It was self-defense, plain and simple. You won’t get in any trouble.”

  “He’s sure?”

  “He’s positive.”

  “Kiara, will you go to the meeting tonight and let the girls know what happened? They’d want to know, but I’m not up for talking about it anymore.”

  “Of course, whatever you want.”

  The nurse steps out of the curtain and returns with two orderlies. “Okay, Jenny, we’re going to take you upstairs now.”

  “I’ll come with you and stay until it’s time to leave for the meeting.”

  “No, Kiara, go home and make things right with Chase.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want to leave you.”

  “I’ll be just fine, I promise. If I need anything, I’ll call you.”

  “We’re taking her to room 5138,” the nurse tells me. “That’s the fifth floor, first wing, room thirty-eight.”

  “Thank you, I’ll check in as soon as the meeting is over.”

  “I’ll see you then,” Jenny says with a yawn. They wheel her down the hallway, and I make my way through the sliding emergency room doors. I suddenly realize that I don’t have my car.

  I can’t ask Chase for any favors right now. Not until I apologize and make things right.

  I take out my phone and call for a taxi. The dispatcher promises one will arrive in five minutes, so I take a seat on a bench and wait.

  Chapter Twelve

  I wake up on a cold concrete floor with a pounding in my head. The room I’m in is dark and damp, and I have no idea how I got here.

  “Good morning,” Robbs says hoarsely. “I was wondering how long you’d be out. I’m glad you finally woke up, I was getting impatient.”

  “What did you do to me?” My eyes adjust to the dark, and I see him slumped in a nearby folding chair. I don’t need the lights on to see that Robbs is pale. The room smells like iron, and I know that he’s still bleeding from his wound.

  “The same thing I did to Jenny, I knocked you the fuck out. I don’t know if you noticed, but I changed the game up a little bit. I don’t want to kill you anymore. I want you and Jenny to both live long lives, so I have as much time as possible to make you suffer.”

  “We didn’t get that memo, Robbs,” I tell him sarcastically. “You should have left that on the marker board, maybe Jenny wouldn’t have stabbed you. How are you feeling by the way? You don’t look so good.”

  “That bitch barely left a scratch. I’ll be just fine, and I’ll make her pay for thinking she could hurt me. But first, you and I are going to have some fun.”

  He tries to get out of the chair but he loses his balance and falls to the floor.

  “You’re right, that w
as fun,” I taunt him. “What are you going to do next?” I survey the situation as he struggles on the floor. My hands are tied behind my back, but the bindings feel soft, like twisted-up fabric instead of zip ties or rope. My head hurts and the right side of my scalp feels wet, so I know there’s a good chance that I have a bleeding head wound. But my eyesight is fine, and I don’t feel dizzy or nauseated.

  There are no widows in the small room and one wall is lined with shelves of outdated medical equipment. I realize that I must be in the hospital basement.

  I was on the bench before he knocked me out. How did no one see him? And how long have I been here? Chase doesn’t know that I was on my way home, and Jenny isn’t expecting to hear from me until after tonight’s meeting. No one’s coming to help me. I wonder if he took my phone.

  I try to part my legs and realize that they’re not bound.

  That’s one point in my favor. If I can get on my feet, I can make it out that door.

  Robbs sits up and leans against the legs of the folding chair. It slides a little but he manages to pull himself to his feet. I brace myself for attack but he sits back down on the seat.

  “Barely a scratch, huh?” I ask mockingly.

  “It’s nothing I couldn’t stitch up myself. I’ll be fine in a few days. You’re going to need a little longer to recover.” He pulls a short, thin knife from his pocket. “You see, I’ve made a decision, Kiara. From now on, whatever you girls do to me, I’m going to do twice as bad to you. Don’t worry, I’ll call in an anonymous tip in time for doctors to save you. But I’m going to carve an homage to Jenny’s handiwork on both sides of your body.”

  “No, you’re not,” I tell him defiantly. “Because you can’t get out of that chair. You’re going to pass out soon. And when you do, I’m going to get out of here and call the police. Don’t worry, I’ll get the doctors here in time to save you… so you can rot in jail for the rest of your miserable goddamn life.”

  “You’re in no position to threaten me, Kiara,” he says, rising to his feet. “Maybe you’re right, maybe I am about to pass out. That just means that I need to get to work.”