“Mr. Aldridge, I understand your daughter is nineteen years old, and she should be capable of making some decisions for herself.” He put up his hand to stop Daddy’s attempted interruption. “Now, it seems to me, he was at least some comfort and help to her. She was well enough to go home from the hospital anyway. And she still is wearing his ring.” He pointed to the diamond I’d been fingering nervously.
“And what about this ring, General? Where did that come from?”
“Well, I don’t know, Mr. Aldridge, but I was told he gave her a very valuable ring. It looks like a family heirloom to me.” The General gently took my hand and examined it more closely. “Beautiful!”
“Well, it may be beautiful, but I still don’t know if it was stolen. I still don’t know his intentions.”
“Mr. Aldridge, I can assure you, the ring was not stolen.”
“I’m listening.” Daddy sat back and folded his arms. Mama leaned forward in her seat, and I fixed my eyes on the General.
“Mr. Aldridge, I know this man well. He is a man of integrity, and he has been working very hard for a very long time, dealing mostly with very unsavory people. Seeing your lovely daughter today, I can imagine he was quite smitten with her. Probably, because he was nearing the end of an assignment, he let himself get a little carried away in pursuing your daughter. Unfortunately, he was called to another assignment, and perhaps felt that by giving her this ring, he would show her he did care about her—rather than just disappearing.”
I relived David’s kiss as he put the ring on my finger, and tears welled up. General Pearson offered me a tissue. Mama and Daddy were silent.
“The second reason I invited you here today: I wanted to ascertain whether this is a relationship that could possibly go forward.”
“And why would that matter to you? If you don’t mind my asking General? It seems like a very strange matter for you to be involved in.” Daddy was letting his aggravation show.
I looked General Pearson straight in the eye. “I will love David forever.”
My parents turned to me in shock.
The General smiled that sympathetic smile. “Well, Debbie, I think the feeling is mutual.”
His face became serious as he addressed my parents. “Please understand this is a confidential conversation. This information cannot be repeated – not to your friends and neighbors, not to anyone.”
Mama and Daddy agreed.
“I’m telling you this, Debbie, because I’ve had one of the most difficult days of my life, and it probably won’t get any better. But at least I hope to leave you with an appreciation of a man who I think cares for you a great deal.” He got out of his chair and stared out the window.
“Anyway…” He shook his head, turned to face me, and started over. “Sixteen men were sent to South America. Two came back alive, and frankly, we really don’t know if David will survive his wounds.”
“David!” My hand went to my mouth and my eyes filled. Mama reached over to hug me, and General Pearson fumbled for the box of tissues.
“His colleague managed to drag him through the jungle for two days, until they could be taken out of there. Clemente – the guy who carried him out – told me that it was the thought of Debbie that got David through those days. Apparently, you had a great impact on him. So, in a way, you may have saved his life.” The General had a strange look on his face. He lowered himself into his chair.
Daddy just stared at him.
Mama mopped my tears. “Was that the man we saw in the hall? That man named Eduardo? David must have told him all about how wonderful you are.”
As Mama rambled on, I realized she’d called him by his first name for the first time. He was no longer “that David Henning, that man.”
The General picked up the conversation. “Yes. Eduardo is David’s close friend – like brothers. They grew up together. David told him about Debbie. And he told him he had given her the ring. I guess Clemente – anyway – he was aware of this ring. I guess that’s why I would think it’s an heirloom.”
The General seemed genuinely concerned. “Debbie, dear, you look like you’re about to pass out. Can I get you a glass of water? Would you like to lie down?”
Mama accepted a glass of water, and I took a small sip. I began to compose myself. “I need to see David. Please.”
“If you would like to see him dear, you may,” Pearson said
I started out of my seat, and the General held up his hand. “Debbie, he’s in the ICU. There’ll be tubes and machines everywhere. And you must visit quietly. Understand?”
“Yes, General Pearson.”
“Good, I want you to be prepared. Also, Debbie, the man you met in the hospital was not David Henning.”
I fell back into the chair. “Huh?”
“His name is David Lambrecht.” Then the General took on a tone like he was introducing someone. “He’s from Austria – one of our top agents – a very talented, intelligent young man—for your information,” the General nodded at Daddy, “his twenty-seventh birthday is coming up in April. His family is from Salzburg, Austria. That’s where he grew up. He went to college in England. His father is a government official in Salzburg, working with the consulates there. His mother is a homemaker.”
“Austria. I suppose that explains the ring,” Mama said.
General Pearson ignored her comment on the ring. “I called David’s family, before I spoke with you. Like I said, the doctors had a tough job to do, and we weren’t sure he would even survive the surgery. So I understand they’ll be arriving here as soon as possible.”
The General was on his way out, and his secretary came to the door. “Yes, Betty.”
“Sir, the Clementes, the Dominguez family, and the Lambrechts will be arriving here early tomorrow, probably around 5:00 AM. Agent Dusseault did track down Raphael Dominguez in Malaysia. They’ll be here as soon as possible.”
“Good. Thank you, Betty.” Pearson motioned us into the hall.
***
We looked through the open door of the ICU to see the chaplain at the foot of the bed. He was reciting the Twenty-Third Psalm. Also beside the bed, the tall man with a gash on his temple, his arm drawing close to him the beautiful woman with the long black hair.
When the chaplain had finished his prayer, General Pearson called them to the door. “Mr. and Mrs. Aldridge, Debbie, this is Agent Eduardo Clemente, and his fiancée, Dr. Anita Lopez-Garcia.”
“Hi, glad to meet you.” He spoke with a slight Spanish accent, and shook my hand firmly.
“How do you do? Please call me Nita.” She took my hand and then hugged me. She was as nice as she was beautiful.
“Well!” For once, Daddy was having trouble finding words. “I – I guess Debbie should thank you for saving this young man’s life.”
Eduardo just smiled and nodded, and then he turned to me. “Hey, I’m really glad you’re here. David thinks the world of you, you know.”
Tears dropped onto my cheeks. “Thank you.”
Nita put her arm around my shoulders and escorted me into the room. “David is sleeping Debbie, but you can spend some time here with him if you like.”
My parents followed us. General Pearson spoke with Eduardo in the hall.
“David!” I bit my lip, remembering the General’s order to be quiet. He lay motionless in the hospital bed with all the tubes and machines the General had predicted. He looked peaceful, in spite of a big bandage on his left arm and numerous scuffs, scrapes and cuts everywhere else I could see. I carefully placed my hands on his left hand, and held it gently.
I silently prayed to God for his recovery. And just in case, I asked Grammy to take a special message to God to heal him. And also, please find Cat the Prayer Warrior, because I think we could use a Prayer Warrior. I hoped Grammy got all that straight. Heaven was so beautiful, I wasn’t so sure I’d be listening to people complaining from earth.
I whispered in David’s ear, “Remember, nothing can separate you from the love of God.”
&nbs
p; Eventually, Eduardo brought me a chair so I could sit by the bedside. Mama kept coaxing me to leave, afraid that I’d faint. I refused, and finally, my parents gave up and left.
Nita brought some food, but I didn’t feel like eating. “Debbie, you’ve got to keep your strength up.” She seemed to know all about me – even used the word “anorexia” – and she encouraged me like Cindy always did.
Nita was such a beautiful woman. And she was a doctor, too. “Are you a medical doctor?” I asked.
”Yes, I specialize in emergency medicine in Salzburg now. I trained in London.”
“England?” Another lame question.
She was so beautiful and so smart; I really didn’t know what to say.
“That’s right,” Nita said, “I went to university there.”
“Oh.” I recalled David went to college in England. “Did you go to school with David?”
“Yes, both Eduardo and I did. As a matter of fact, we all grew up together.”
“Oh. You grew up together?” I guess I was pretty slow. Overwhelmed, I guess.
Nita smiled. “Yes, our parents all went to university together—in England—and became close friends. So when they graduated, they eventually decided to move to Austria. We all blended into one big extended family, I guess you could say. David and Eduardo grew up like brothers.”
“Wow! That—that must be fun—to have a big family like that. And Austria must be a very pretty place to live.”
“Yes.” Nita had such a beautiful smile.
I wondered what it must have been like to have such a wonderful family and live in a foreign country. Then I thought about my best friend Cindy, and how she and her parents had taken in Glori when she had no place to go. I bet they would have adopted me if they could have. I was just too embarrassed to ask. The Bainbridge family was kind of like David’s extended family, I supposed. The Bainbridge mansion was always a center of activity. They were always the kind of people who took care of anyone who needed it. Genuinely good people. I thought Mama and Daddy mostly pretended to be genuine.
***
The man who originally escorted Nita into the building came through the door. He had changed into fatigues, and held two mugs. He had a gun holstered in his belt. “Would you like some coffee?” He held out the mugs to us.
“No thanks, Jimmy.” Nita waved it away and introduced me to Agent Jimmy Hollinger. “Jimmy’s been a great friend to David and Eduardo. They trained together.”
I took the mug to be polite, and wondered how all these men from different parts of the world worked together. Agent Jimmy Hollinger was obviously a Southerner.
“Cheers!” He raised Nita’s unclaimed cup in my direction.
Nita shook her head. “I hope Eduardo didn’t make that coffee.”
“Nah.” Jimmy grinned at her. “I made the coffee. We don’t drink Eduardo’s coffee.”
She laughed. “No one drinks Eduardo’s coffee. You’d think by now he’d have learned to make it properly.”
“No.” Jimmy winked at me and took a swig. “Trust me. Eduardo is world famous for bad coffee.” Nita’s laugh was contagious, and even I giggled.
I took a small sip. “But this is very good.” I never drank coffee, but it was fine as far as I could tell. “Where are you from?” Another lame conversation-starter.
Nita looked amused that I dwelt so much on geography. “Don’t mess with Texas,” she said to him, then smiled at me.
“Don’t mess with Texas.” Jimmy grinned again. His gaze fell on David, and his serious demeanor returned.
Nita said, “There’s been no change. And where is Eduardo anyway? He’s been gone for hours.”
He never took his eyes off David. “Fourteen guys dead, Nita. Pearson’s got to get to the bottom of it, and Eduardo’s the only one that came out of there able to talk.”
She exhaled a heavy sigh. “It’s been a very long day. I need to get some sleep. Everyone will be here in just a few hours. Debbie, can I help you to your room?”
My hands stiffened around the coffee mug. “I—I’m going to stay here with David.”
She gave Jimmy a look as she rose from her seat, and headed toward me. “Okay.” She bent over and kissed me lightly on the top of my head. “Good night.” She paused to look at David momentarily and then exchanged kisses on the cheek with Jimmy. “Good night.”
Jimmy swung her chair in my direction and took a seat. “I can show you to your room when you’re ready.”
I wasn’t going to be ready. I’d stay here with David. I took a gulp of the coffee to make sure I’d stay awake. Then I heard myself whisper, “How did this happen?”
He shook his head and turned his gaze from David to me. “We don’t really know. Something went wrong. They were attacked, and David was hit. There was an explosion, and the force of it knocked him into a muddy river. Eduardo was able to get him out, but infection set in. It took a couple days to get out of there. It’s called sepsis. They’ve got to figure out what drugs will work on the infection. Probably some weird bugs.” He put his coffee down and rubbed bloodshot eyes.
I thought Jimmy must be like David. He was obviously very strong and fit and tough and serious. But I could see there was a nice man in there somewhere.
Chapter Six
The noise blasted me awake, and I lifted my head from the edge of the bed to see Jimmy running into the room followed by several nurses. “Get her outta here!” one of them said.
Jimmy lifted me out of the seat, and I struggled so hard he had to put me down in the hallway so as not to break me. “I’ll take you to your room.”
“No!” I freed a hand and swung in an effort to get away. He grabbed me as I noticed Dr. Earle and Nita race into the room followed by more people and equipment. “David!”
He subdued me into a lonely chair in the corridor. “David! What happened? David!”
“It’s his blood pressure. His blood pressure’s too low. The infection, it’s messing up his blood pressure and his heart. They’ve got to get it under control. That’s all. Let them do their job.”
Nita
Debbie was hysterical by the time Dr. Earle and I arrived back in the hallway to explain to everyone what was going on. Earle managed to quiet her enough to be heard, and reported that the diagnosis was now septic shock, a grave condition. They were working to tweak the drug regimen, and it would still be some time before they’d be positive what drugs would work against all the invading pathogens.
For the moment, David was somewhat stable. Debbie was not. It was obvious she desperately needed sleep. Jimmy carried her to her room as she wondered aloud why we wouldn’t give him penicillin.
After an hour of cajoling, and pleading with her, I tucked Debbie into her bed and headed back down the hall to David’s room. Exhaustion overwhelmed me. The sound of Eduardo sobbing stopped me in the doorway. He and Jimmy stood at the foot of David’s bed. I knew Jimmy was trying to comfort him, but he was crying too. Eduardo and David were lifelong friends, closer than most brothers. I couldn’t begin to know all the thoughts and feelings that must have been overtaking him. I was just too tired to even try to help.
Cat couldn’t get here fast enough. The “white-haired angel” she’d predicted had shown up in the person of Debbie. But this angel seemed to have more faith in the drugs working than God. It didn’t seem too promising. But as Cat always reminded me – God’s ways are not our ways.
Debbie
I dozed a little while and then took a cool shower to wake up. Back in my wrinkled dress, I stole down the corridor to David’s room. He was still motionless, with more tubes and equipment surrounding him. I took his hand and willed him to wake up. Wheezing and beeping machines were my only answer.
As I dragged the chair close to the bed, I heard voices in the hall. It was David and Eduardo’s families. Before I could decide what to do, Dr. Earle appeared and frowned at me. “Miss Aldridge, it’s 4:45 in the morning. You need your rest. Shall I call someone to help you back to
your room?”
I slunk out the door into a mob of people speaking Spanish and English. General Pearson was trying unsuccessfully to create some order. Eduardo was wrapped in a crowd being kissed and hugged to death. I stepped backward to avoid being trampled, and almost knocked over a pretty blonde girl who had to be five or six inches shorter than me.
“Debbie.” She smiled, and her eyes riveted me. They were the deepest blue of a night sky when the moonlight is brightest. A color I’d used only recently in a painting I did for David. But mostly, her eyes were friendly, tranquil, and oddly joyful. I couldn’t quite understand those eyes. It was like we were friends for a hundred years. In the midst of the confusion I felt strangely serene.
She took my hands and looked up at me. “I’m Catherine Connors, David’s cousin, Cat. I’m so pleased to meet you at last. You do have the most beautiful hair.”
Cat the Prayer Warrior. At last she was here. She blew me away. How would she know I even existed? And who’d ever think my hair was beautiful? It was practically colorless, and so fine I could hardly do a thing with it.
Before I had time to try and understand, she introduced me to David’s parents, her aunt and uncle. Then Eduardo appeared and swept her up into an emotional hug. His eyes were wet and the pain in them plain to see. Cat was so petite, I thought he might crush her.
When all the hugs and introductions were complete, Dr. Earle updated us on David’s poor condition, and explained septic shock. He told us being a young man in top physical condition improved his chances of fighting the overwhelming infection. But things didn’t look good at the moment. Partly because he’d fallen into mucky water, and then was without specialized care for so long, the infection had messed up his lungs, as well as traveled all through his body in his blood.
David was in a coma, and was having extra strong oxygen pushed into his lungs. Also they were still doing tests to find the very best drugs to fight the infection. Once they got those drugs going though, I thought David would be fine. Dr. Earle said he could be fine with the very best drugs. They didn’t even seem worried about the gunshot wounds healing.
Killer Cupid (The Redemption Series: Book 1) Page 6