“I’m going to start interviewing everyone I can find that might know anything at all about the poaching or any other issues. You never know where information might come from. I’m going to visit Bryan Lee’s widow and anyone else I can find related to other victims. If anyone has any information that might be helpful, I’ll find it. I still think Luke Taylor is going to be our key witness—if he recovers. Maybe that’s where you can help. Maybe you and Lin can keep visiting him. In spite of his coma, he seemed to respond to her. Maybe that’s what he needs to help him wake up. If he does regain consciousness, I want to know it right away.”
“You, will,” Neal responded, “I’ll talk to the hospital personnel when I get there and see what we can do to visit him on a regular basis. Meanwhile, you be careful too. Stay in touch, Mark.”
“I will,” the ranger said, “and thanks for helping.”
Thinking that Lin would be hungry following her ordeal and that she had only had hospital food available that day, Neal decided to take something good for dinner for the both of them. He stopped by the Asian food bar at the local Harris-Teeter and left with heaps of stir-fried chicken and veggies along with eggrolls and even a carton of egg drop soup. He arrived at the hospital just in time to observe Lin picking at her dinner tray that contained mostly items that were brown or white and largely unrecognizable. When she saw that he had brought food she pushed that aside with a thankful grin.
“After missing breakfast and having only this type of food for lunch, I can hardly wait to see what’s in that bag,” she said. Neal removed her dinner tray and carefully set out the food he’d brought for the both of them.
“This is marvelous,” Lin said digging in. “Nothing like a couple of days stuck down in a hole in the ground to give you an appetite.”
“Glad you like it,” Neal replied. “I thought you’d be ready for a real meal. How are you feeling by the way? I talked to Mark and he said you went visiting this afternoon.”
“We did. He took me up to ICU,” she brought him up to date on her visit with Sue and with Luke. “I’d really like to go back this evening, if we can get on their visitor list again. I think Luke was responding to me, even though he still wasn’t awake.”
“We’ll certainly go up there and try. I’d like to see Ted Whitley also, maybe they’d let him go up with us. I know he wants to see Sue,” Neal said.
“And Sue would love to see him too, I feel sure.” Lin replied.
“What about you? Are you still on target to get out of here tomorrow?” Neal asked.
“That’s what the doctor said this afternoon, assuming I don’t develop a fever or any other such symptoms. Probably not before late morning though—he said he’d be by here after his rounds.”
After they’d finished eating, Neal helped Lin into the wheel chair that had been left in her room following her earlier visits. They then headed back up to ICU. There was a new nurse on duty so Lin took the time to explain what she’d done earlier in the day.
“Neither Sue Gray nor Luke Taylor are likely to have any family members who will be here for visits and I’d like to be able to see both of them. Could I possibly be put on the list as a visitor? I’ll most likely be discharged tomorrow, but I will come back to see them on a regular basis as long as they’re in ICU.” The nurse looked down the list and saw that Lin had indeed been approved for visits earlier that day, and neither patient had had anyone else to come by. She decided to add Lin to the “family” list for both Sue and Luke.
Having accomplished this, Lin decided to try for more, “I happen to know that Sue Gray has another close friend who is currently a patient, Ted Whitley. I’m sure he would like to be able to visit her also. Could he be put on the list as well? He and I would visit at different times, of course.”
The nurse seemed a bit impatient with this second request. Finally she gave a grudging consent of sorts, “I guess that might be possible; however, Mr. Whitley would have to make this request himself in order for me to approve it.”
“I’ll take care of that right now,” Neal spoke up. “I’ll go down and get Ted while Ms. Hanna visits with Mr. Taylor.” He moved quickly to take Lin down to Luke’s room before the nurse could say anything more. When they got there he opened the door and wheeled Lin inside, placing her chair next to the bed. “I’ll be right back to get you, as soon as I get Ted,” He said. “If they want you to get out of here before then, they can roll you out themselves.” Then he was gone.
Lin looked Luke over carefully; it seemed to her that his color was a bit better than it had been this afternoon. At least she wanted to believe he might be improving. She reached for the young man’s hand, giving it another gentle squeeze, “Hello Luke, it’s me, Lin Hanna. I came to visit you again.” Once more, she felt an almost imperceptible movement in his hand. He seemed to be responding to her once more.
Lin chatted for awhile, talking to Luke about her own improvement and suggesting that he was going to be OK himself. She also mentioned how important it was that he wake up so that he could talk to the authorities and tell them what he knew about the ginseng poaching and any of the other crimes that might have been committed. She tried to be reassuring about his grandfather and what would happen to him. Lin also spoke to Luke once more about her not pressing any charges against him. Finally, she thought of one more thing that might motivate him.
“I need you to get better so that you can make that desk I want to give Neal for a wedding present. It’s so perfect. Just what he needs and I know he’ll love it. The thing is no one else can make it so beautifully. He’s not here right now, but he’ll be back in a few minutes so I don’t want to talk about it any more. It’s a surprise? I’m counting on you Luke. You promised you’d get this done for me—remember?” This time Lin was sure of the response she got. Luke Taylor gave her hand an unmistakable squeeze.
Just then a nurse appeared and indicated that she had to leave. Lin did so, more convinced than ever that Luke would soon wake up. She knew he had heard her.
Neal was waiting in the hallway to take her wheelchair. “I got Ted up here and got him on the list for Sue. He’s in there now for his five minutes. I tried to persuade them to let you in next, but they wouldn’t buy that—only one visitor per hour.
“That’s OK,” Lin said. “I’ll wait. Let’s go to the lounge for a bit. Let the folks at the nurse’s station know where we are so Ted can find us when he finishes his visit. We can visit with him there if he feels like it; then I’ll go in to see Sue in the next hour.”
They located a small alcove off the main family waiting room where they could have a bit of privacy. Lin was already growing sleepy again, but she was determined to stay awake long enough to spend a few moments with her friend Sue.
Ted Whitley appeared shortly. An attractive young nurse pushed him into the waiting room, “This fellow tells me you folks will get him back to his room, is that right?”
“Absolutely,” Neal responded, “and it won’t be long either.” He nodded toward Lin, “this lady is about to fall asleep sitting here, but she insists she won’t go to bed until she sees her friend—next hour.”
The young nurse could see that Lin was indeed quite tired. “Come with me,” she said, “I’ll see what I can do, but you two guys have to wait here.” She wheeled Lin back into the unit, presumably to visit with Sue.
Neal turned to Ted, “How are you feeling?”
“Couldn’t be better,” Ted grinned. “Seeing Sue was just what I needed. I think she’s got a long recovery ahead of her, but she’s going to make it, I feel sure. I’m going to continue to visit her as much as I can while she’s here. She’s some special lady.” It was clear that Sue was important to Ted.
Neal smiled, “I can’t argue with that. Lin and I have known Sue for a little more than a year, and we both count her as a close friend. How are you doing? Do you know when you might be released?”
“I’m doing very well,” Ted reported. “Actually, my ‘surgery’ was really j
ust removing pellets and huge splinters—mostly from my chest and upper arms. Apparently, none penetrated too deeply. I had no significant internal injuries. I did lose a lot of blood, but I’ve had several transfusions and those helped me feel a lot better. The downside is that I have a lot of muscle soreness. The doc says I’ll probably need some physical therapy to regain strength in my arms and upper body—mostly from muscular damage. I think he’d discharge me fairly soon if it weren’t for the fact that I live alone. If I could find some temporary help…”
Neal interrupted him, “Who is your doctor? I’d like to talk to him. I’m taking Lin home probably tomorrow, and she’s going to need some help for at least a short while. She did some further damage to her sprained ankle and has been ordered to stay off of it for a couple more days. She’s sore from bruises, but that’s all. Maybe they’d release you, if you could come stay at the house. Sue won’t be coming home for awhile yet; you could have her room, and I could help with whatever you couldn’t manage for yourself.”
Ted tried to protest, thinking that would be too much of a burden on Neal, but finally he agreed to let Neal at least talk to his doctor to determine what level of assistance he would actually need and for how long. By that time, Lin had returned from her visit to Sue. Neal enlisted the help of an aide to return Lin to her room while he took Ted back to his.
A short while later, Neal appeared once again at Lin’s bedside. She was still awake, although fading fast. He told her about his plan to talk to Ted’s doctor about his being released to go to their house, and she agreed that would be a good idea. “ He certainly shouldn’t try to go it alone, and he could do some more research for these cases if he were at our place,” Lin added sleepily.
Neal sat down on the side of her bed and leaned over her. He brought his lips to hers and kissed her softly. The soft touch of his lips warmed and aroused her, and she returned his kiss, deeply and with longing. “I can’t wait to get home,” she murmured.
“And I can’t wait for you to be there—bruises, sprained ankle and all,” Neal teased. “I’ll be back early tomorrow. I can try to talk to Ted’s doctor while we’re waiting for you to be released.”
Chapter 31
Saturday morning dawned with more bright sunshine, but the forecast indicated this wouldn’t last. Another front would move through in the afternoon, bringing more rain and fog to the Blue Ridge. Neal arose early, eager to get back to the hospital and to get Lin home. He also planned to seek out Ted Whitley’s doctor and determine if Ted could manage at their house when he was released.
There wasn’t much to cook for breakfast at home, so Neal stopped by the Stick Boy Kitchen on his way to the hospital and bought some fresh bagels and cream cheese along with two large coffees. The smell of freshly baked bread that permeated the local shop was so enticing that he also purchased a loaf of whole grain to take home. He wasn’t sure what he would do with it, but he’d think of something.
When he arrived at the hospital he went straight up to Lin’s room with the food and the clothes she’d asked him to bring. An aide was helping Lin to bathe so he dropped off the clothes and the sack of food and left to try to locate Ted Whitley’s doctor.
He felt a bit guilty about not bringing breakfast to Ted, but he could only carry so much, he reasoned.
A tall male nurse was in the process of removing the dressings from Ted’s wounds. He explained that the doctor wanted to check on how well Ted was healing when he came in.
Ted grimaced as he acknowledged Neal’s arrival. “This is the worst part of it,” He commented. “Hurts like hell, actually. I have more pain from this procedure than from anything else.”
Neal gave him a sympathetic look, “Then I guess I should get out of the way.” He turned to the nurse. “I need to speak with Dr. Richards regarding Ted’s needs when he is ready to be released. Do you have any idea what might be a good time?”
“Give us about forty-five minutes here,” then you should be able to speak to him. Neal left Ted to his torture and went back downstairs to have breakfast with Lin.
Lin was feeling much perkier in anticipation of her anticipated discharge. The nurse had already removed her IV; she was dressed and sitting up talking on the phone, apparently to her daughter Lucy. She reassured her that she was doing well, “I’m going home today. You guys relax and enjoy the rest of your trip. We can talk again later in the weekend.”
Lin sat back in the bed as Neal organized their breakfast. She was eager to get home, but she also wanted to visit Luke and Sue again. She was restless because she needed to remain in her room to wait for the doctor to see her. “I hate hospitals,” she complained. “Everyone is always telling you what to do.”
“Then, if I were you, I’d try to avoid them in the future. You’ve had more than your fair share of hospital stays and visits during the past year or so,” the words were out before Neal fully realized how they sounded. Lin was very quiet for a few minutes before she spoke, “You make it sound as if it’s entirely my own fault I’ve been hospitalized,” she finally said, not too happily. “I suppose you also think I should avoid trying to help my friends and others who might need someone on their side.”
Neal didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t really intended his words to sound so accusatory, but he couldn’t deny that he did worry about Lin. It sometimes seemed as if their lives lurched from crisis to crisis. He had to be honest. Sometimes he felt very frustrated.
“Lin…” he started to explain himself but she wasn’t ready to hear it.
“Please don’t say anything more right now,” she stammered, fighting the urge to lash out in anger herself. “I thought we’d talked about these issues, but I guess we need to talk some more. I just don’t feel up to it right now—but we will talk, I promise. Right now all I feel like saying is that I love you and your feelings are important to me.” Lin knew that if she tried to say more, she’d probably cry and that was the last thing she wanted to do.
Neal sat down on the edge of her bed and drew her close into his arms. “I love you too,” he said, “and nothing can change that. Whatever issues we might have we can work on—together—when you’re well. Right now all that matters is getting you back home.” He gently stroked her hair. Lin turned her face toward his. She looked as if she were going to kiss him and he leaned toward her. Just then the door opened and the doctor entered.
“Sorry, to interrupt,” he said brusquely as Neal quickly moved away from the bed. “but I need to check this lady over so that we can determine if she’s ready to go home.”
“I’ll leave then,” Neal said, “I need to speak to one of the doctors about another patient anyway.” He quickly exited the room as the doctor loosed Lin’s shirt and began to examine the state of her bruises.
He was grateful for the interruption really—not sure what he really should say to Lin at this point. Neal knew that he loved her, in fact he couldn’t imagine going back to his life before he met her, but he also remembered how he felt when he first learned about her disappearance, when he wondered if their life together was going to be one continuous crisis. He realized that the situation was not yet reconciled—at least not for him. He had some serious thinking to do.
Neal made his way to the surgical floor and was happy to see that the doctor was in Ted’s room. He started to wait outside but Ted called to him to come on in. It was startling to see how Ted looked with no bandages—his chest and upper arms were pock-marked with spots where pellets had hit him and there were red streaks where large splinters had raked his body. The doctor, however, seemed pleased.
“You’re healing really well,” Dr. Richards commented. He turned to Neal, “These wounds may not look good to you, but you should have seen him when he first came in. He’s very lucky that nothing penetrated very deeply. He still has some shot in a spot or two that’ll probably work it’s way out over time; however, we got most of it and, I think, all of the large splinters too.”
Neal took the opportunity to talk
to the doctor about the possibility of Ted coming to stay with them upon his release. “What kind of care is he going to need and for how long?” he asked.
“Actually, his greatest need would be some help with everyday functions such as bathing and dressing. His wounds should be tended to regularly, but we could line up home health care to do that. In about another week, I think we could dispense with the dressings. Then he can start physical therapy. Some of these muscles have been ripped up pretty good, so he’ll have to rebuild his upper body strength. I’d say, if he had help for about two weeks he should be able to manage on his own—provided he is comfortable enough and strong enough to drive by that time.” The doctor indicated that he could release Ted on Monday provided there were no other complications and he had a place to go where he wouldn’t be alone.
“He can stay with us,” Neal smiled. “I’m taking Lin home today. By Monday, she should be much better—off crutches at least. I feel sure I could help Ted, especially if he has home health care to handle the dressings.” Dr. Richards agreed and Ted, although somewhat reluctantly, consented to the plan.
“I’ll leave paperwork at the desk about all this,” Dr. Richards said. “I’ll do rounds Monday morning and he should be ready to go by noon.” The male nurse returned to bandage Ted up once more so Neal decided to take his leave. “I need to get back downstairs. Lin may be ready to go by now.”
“I know you’re both happy about that,” Ted smiled. “I’m hoping to get back up to see Sue shortly. “I think I can manage the wheelchair on my own now, provided both hands are free.”
“Not so fast,” the nurse said, “I have to hook your IVs back up now that the doctor has finished his exam,” he sensed Ted’s disappointment, “but I’ll see if I can find a volunteer to take you upstairs, maybe after lunch.”
That seemed to satisfy Ted, at least for the moment. Neal promised that he’d be back to see him the following day and then took his leave.
Fogbound: A Lin Hanna Mystery Page 40