All That Sparkles (Siren Publishing Classic)

by D. Morrissey

  “Come with me,” Lenny says, grabbing my arm and jerking me back toward the catwalk.

  Suddenly, I remember hearing somewhere that your best chance of surviving a kidnapping is to escape within the first five minutes. My instincts scream at me. “FIGHT!”

  I turn and punch him in the jaw with all might. He falls back, startled, against the rail, dropping the gun. I race to grab it but, instead, I kick it with the tip of my boot, and it skitters off the ledge in front of me to join my grappler on the conveyor belt below. Fuck!

  I lose the element of surprise now, and Lenny recovers quickly. He steps toward me and slaps me so hard my ears ring. Then he slings me to the rail and wraps his hands around my throat, choking me until all I can see are little white fuzzy dots floating around on a sea of black.

  I wonder briefly if this is how I’m going to die, at the hands of little Lenny, the nice guy from the booking room at the police station. Lenny, who looked like a high school kid and was kind enough to buy me a soda pop while he was printing me. I need to say good-bye to Cal and Rachael and Misty.

  Lenny releases me abruptly and I fall to the ground, gasping and choking, and clawing at my throat. He jumps back, squatting and looking around wildly. I have no idea what’s going on, but all I can think about is air. I lay there sucking it in like a dry sponge in a fish tank.

  Ka-ping! I hear a weird noise and I look around confused. Lenny hits the ground again, looking at me with a scowl.

  I feel like we’re in some strange duel as we lay there and stare each other in the eye, holding our breath while we wait for the other to draw. I know he’s about to come after me again, and I watch him, unable to do anything about it.

  Suddenly, he starts crawling toward me on his belly and I’m sure he’s going to kill me this time. I push myself back as close to the ledge as I can.

  Ka-ping! There’s that weird noise again. Lenny stops for a second and throws his hands over his head, cursing. Then he starts crawling toward me again. I kick at him with my foot and he grabs it, trying to pull me to him.

  I scream and kick him in the face with my other boot. It knocks him for a loop but he doesn’t let go.

  He looks at me, blood flowing freely from his nose, and he stands up in a murderous rage. “You bitch!”

  I roll away from him as he charges at me, and I feel the ground disappear from beneath me. I’m falling, screaming, backward off the ledge. Ka-ping!

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  I see bright lights, lots of bright lights. They hurt my eyes. I turn my head and throw my arm up over my eyes. But someone pulls it back down again. Ow! My leg!

  “No, honey. Don’t move. Just be still.” Some nice lady rubs my hair. “You’re going to be fine. Just don’t move.” Ow. I feel a sharp stick in my arm.

  I see a man lying on the ground over there. Is that Phelps? There’s so much blood. I’m so tired. So ti…

  * * * *

  “She’s waking up.” Is that Cal’s voice? “She’s waking up! Call the nurse!”

  Cal’s here! I try to open my eyes, but they’re just too heavy. I push against them, willing them to open as I command them. I see light, a few blurry outlines, and then an excruciating pain in my head. It’s too much.

  “Ow,” I moan. And then I close my eyes again to let the blissful darkness reclaim me.

  * * * *

  I open my eyes and it’s darker now. It hurts less. But all I can see are blurs. I blink a few times to focus, and then I look around, confused, my head still hurting. Where am I? Rachael?

  Rachael sits in a chair next to me, her head lying on the bed beside me. I look around at the strange, dimly lit room and try to make sense of where I am and how I got here. My leg is in a cast and my foot is propped up on several pillows at the bottom of the bed. There’s an IV in my arm and a big whiteboard on the wall across from me with Nurse Putnam’s name written across the top. I’m in a hospital. Why am I in a hosp—

  It all comes back to me in a rush. But what happened?

  I lift my hand and it feels like it weighs a ton so I drop it back on the bed and sigh. Every inch of my body hurts. I raise my hand again and place it on Rachael’s head, stroking her hair.

  “Rachael,” I whisper.

  “What?” she mumbles grumpily, and I giggle, followed immediately by “Ow…”

  Suddenly, she wakes, popping her head up, wide-eyed, and panicked. “Ellie! You’re awake! She’s awake! Ellie!” she shouts, but there’s no one else is in the room.

  “I’m awake, Rachael. What happened?”

  “Oh, El.” She starts sobbing. “You’re okay.”

  I smile. “Yes. Yes, I’m okay. But what happened?”

  “I’m not supposed to—” She sighs. “Just wait and let me get a nurse. I have to call Cal.”

  I nod and close my eyes as she disappears into the hallway. She returns a few minutes later with a nurse in tow.

  “How you doing, Hon? You okay?” Nurse Putnam asks as she sticks a thermometer in my ear.

  “My head hurts.”

  “You fell and got yourself a little concussion,” she explains. “Not to mention a fractured rib and a broken leg. I’ll get you something else for the pain. Are you thirsty?”

  I nod and she hands me a cup of ice. “Here. Just suck on a few of these real slow and I’ll see about getting you some breakfast here in a minute.”

  Breakfast? I am kind of hungry. “What time is it?”

  “It’s almost five-thirty.”

  Oh good. I haven’t been out that long.

  “Wednesday morning. You’ve been asleep for about thirty hours now,” she adds.

  What? My mouth falls open and I drool ice chip water on my chest.

  “I need to go call Misty and Aunt Jo,” Rachael reports and leans over to kiss me on the forehead.

  “What about Cal?” I remind her.

  “I called him already. He made me swear, under oath, in a court of law almost, that I would call him as soon as your eyelids fluttered. That’s the only way he would leave.”

  I smile.

  “He went to go see some guy named Everett so he could find Detective Dickhead? Anyway, that man is crazy in love with you, is all I can say.” She nods her head and Nurse Putnam nods with her.

  “You can say that again,” Nurse Putnam says as she rolls her eyes.

  I giggle, followed immediately by “Ow…”

  “I’ll go get you some pain medicine now. Be right back.” Nurse Putnam smiles at me and pats my hand.

  “I’ll be right back, too,” Rachael says, grabbing her phone and stepping into the hall to make her obligatory calls.

  I wait for Nurse Putnam to come back with my pain meds, and then I close my eyes and go back to sleep.

  “You said she was awake!” Cal sounds pissed. “Why is she asleep again then?”

  Blink. Blink. Blink. “I’m up. I’m awake. What’s wrong?”

  “Oh, thank God.” Rachael stands on the right side of my bed smiling with relief.

  Cal stands on the left side of my bed, squeezing my hand. “Oh, baby. I’m so sorry,” he whispers, leaning over and kissing my hand like it’s some kind of lost treasure. “You’re okay. It’s okay,” he says, maybe more to himself than me.

  “I’m fine, Cal. Really.” I smile. “What time is it?”

  He smiles back and reaches up to push some imaginary hair out of my face. Then he leans forward and kisses me softly. “It’s around ten thirty.”

  “Still Wednesday?” I ask, afraid that I’ve slept through another thirty straight hours.

  He laughs. “Yes. It’s still Wednesday. Jesus, El. You scared us to death.”

  I remember Caroline and I feel guilty. He tried to keep me safe and out of harm’s way, and I basically dared Danny to come after me.

  I lift my hand to his face as I study his dark, glistening eyes. My poor Cal. “It’s over now.” I nod, as much as I can without my head hurting. He nods back and smiles.

  “Tell me what hap
pened?”

  Cal looks undecided for a moment. “How much do you actually remember?”

  I wrinkle my forehead, thinking. “Lenny!” I shout. “I remember going up to check the number four tower. And Lenny was there. He tried to choke me. And I thought…well, then he stopped for some reason. But I couldn’t get up. And then he was coming toward me again to finish the job. That’s all I remember.”

  Cal smiles and nods. “Yes. It was Lenny. But Scott, er…Officer Jamison, stopped by the Quick Stop on his way home and remembered that they had your debit card. He had them give it to him so he could bring it to you. He said he was going to wait until the next day, but thought you might need it. So, he turned around and went back to the plant to drop it off. He found Phelps lying on the ground, unconscious, and he started looking for you.”

  “Is Phelps…dead?” I dread the answer.

  “No. He’s fine. Lenny hit him in the head with a shovel, though. He’s got a few stitches and a big goose egg. But, he’s okay.”

  “Thank God.” I breathe a sigh of relief. “What happened to Lenny?”

  “He’s on the third floor. Scott saw him up there with you and he squeezed off a few rounds at him.”

  That’s what I heard. I remember the ka-ping!

  “He saved me.” I smile.

  “You scared the wits out of that guy. He couldn’t get to you and couldn’t get a good shot at Lenny. By the time Scott was able to put a round into him, you…”

  “Fell. I fell off the catwalk.” I remember everything.

  “Yes, you fell. He thought you were a goner. Well…” He glances at Rachael. “We all did.”

  “Not quite yet.” I smile.

  “She’s alive!” Misty walks in with Officer Bobby, her arms full of bags. “It’s about time!” She stands next to Rachael and leans in to give me a big, wet kiss. “I brought you all kinds of goodies. Here’s a hairbrush, some books, some candy, and here…sweetie, go put these in some water.” She pushes a big bouquet of spring flowers at Bobby.

  He smiles, takes them from her, and scampers off to do her bidding. She looks at me and winks.

  “Ain’t he just precious?” she asks, crinkling her nose.

  I giggle. “Ow…”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “Careful!” Cal shouts as he jumps out of the car and runs around to my side. “Here. Let me do it.”

  I roll my eyes. “I can do it,” I mumble.

  “I wonder if it would be easier for me to just carry you?” He stands with his hand on the car door, holding my crutches and staring at me.

  “What?” I look at him like he’s crazy. “Just help me out and give me my crutches.”

  “I should have gotten that wheelchair.” He bends down and tries to lift me out of the car. I push him back and hold up my hand for him to stop and desist.

  “You need to let me help you,” he whines.

  “You are helping me. Now give me the other crutch and go unlock the door.”

  “Okay. But just take your time. We’re not running a race here.”

  If he says that one more time, I’m going to clobber him with my crutch. I feel bad getting irritated with him. He’s been so sweet since my accident. He even drove me here in my car since I couldn’t climb up into his truck. But he has a tendency to hover and I can’t roll over without him trying to hand me a pillow or a pain pill.

  One good thing, I don’t have to worry about introducing him to my friends and family now, or whether they will like him. Apparently, he and Rachael love the same movies and TV shows, and they both have the hots for Daenerys Stormborn. Misty was content just to look at him and fan her crotch all week. Aunt Jo thinks he hung the moon, and he apparently has a fishing date with Uncle Jimmy next weekend.

  Although, we had a pretty feisty disagreement about my temporary living arrangements before everyone left the hospital last night. I thought Nurse Putnam was going to have to intervene. I wanted to simply go home, but no one else would agree. Misty and Rachael wanted me to come and stay with them, but they both work most days. So Aunt Jo wouldn’t hear of it. Aunt Jo and Uncle Jimmy wanted me to come and stay with them, but they live so far out in the country that Cal had a conniption and then pouted. Finally, he insisted that I come and stay with him, so that he could have a nurse come in and take care of me three times a week. Really? A nurse? I have a broken leg, a fractured rib, and a few cuts and scrapes. I hardly think it warrants in-home nursing care. But it won him the argument. And here I am.

  “Here.” He hovers again. “Watch out for the table.”

  “I see it.”

  “There’s the couch.”

  “Yes, I see it, too.” I hop around and stand in front of it, trying to figure out the best way to get my leg on top of it.

  “Let me hold your crutch. Careful. Yeah…there you go. Just fall back and I’ll lift your leg up for you.”

  “Cal!” He looks at me like I just bit the head off his pet parakeet and I feel like an asshole. “Thank you, baby.” I smile. “I got it now.”

  He smiles. “Okay. Here’s the remote. And I got you some Frescas and some snacks. I’ll bring them in here so you don’t have to get up.”

  I nod. “You’re very thoughtful. Thank you.” I lie down on the couch and flick on the television while he flits around the house, trying to make everything handicapped accessible. I see now why Rachael and Misty said my flitting was irritating.

  Finally, he stops flitting and kneels down beside me. He kisses me softly, as if my lips are fractured, too. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  “Me, too.” I smile at him and he lights up.

  “I thought I’d go grab us some take-out tonight and we could sit here and watch old movies again.”

  Oh goody. More television. I nod. “Or…” I get an ingenious idea. “We could go upstairs…” I kiss him. “And take our clothes off…” I kiss him again. “And you could show me…” Big smack. “Some of that exceptional roguery of yours.” I smile and trail my finger down his chest toward his waist.

  He takes my offending hand in his and he kisses it. Then he gives me a chaste kiss on the lips. “El. You have a concussion and a fractured rib, not to mention a broken leg. Baby, you need to rest.”

  “Cal. I’ve been in the hospital for almost a week resting. My concussion is gone and my rib is fine as long as you don’t punch me in it.” I don’t mention my leg. I have a cast that goes midway up my thigh. Working around it is definitely going to be tricky. But it’s possible.

  I sigh. “Fine. Chinese Food and Saving Private Ryan.”

  He smiles. “Chicken Lo Mein and gory war movies it is!”

  He gets up and slides all my paraphernalia to the end of the table so it’s within my reaching distance. “But first, I need to go do a little work.”

  I do feel guilty about keeping him from his work. He’s spent all his time with me at the hospital this week working from his cell phone and laptop in my room.

  “It’s fine, Cal. Go do what you need to do. I’m all right here.” I smile.

  “Good.” His big brown eyes, sparkle. “We got a tip.”

  “A tip?”

  “Apparently, someone called in a sighting. Logan’s in Cabot.”

  “Really?” I sit up, interested now. “Where? Are they going to pick him up?”

  “I don’t have all the details yet. Tony just texted me. But I’m about to find out!” His eyes grow distant and he sets his jaw. I know he’s thinking about what he would like to do to Logan when he catches him.

  “Still nothing out of Lenny?” I ask, trying to bring him back from whatever murderous fantasy that has him enthralled.

  “Not a word. He wants a deal.”

  “Maybe it’s worth it?”

  “No, it’s not.” Cal shakes his head. “I want him to serve every minute, every hour of every day I can get him. We’ll find him. He can’t hide forever. And I don’t need Lenny’s testimony to put Logan away.”

  “Well, go find out if your
tip pays off. Hopefully they can pick him up tonight.”

  “We’re close, baby. Really close. He’s feeling the heat.” He punches the air like a prize fighter as he walks toward his office.

  After watching a couple of hours of daytime talk show drivel, I decide I’d much rather read. Shit! All my books are at home. And I’ve already finished the ones that Misty brought me. I devoured them before I ever left the hospital.

  “We found him!” Cal shouts as he races down the hall. “He’s staying at a house over on Old Stagecoach Road. I knew he couldn’t stay hidden for long.”

  “Oh! That’s wonderful!” I sit up, smiling, wishing I could get up and turn a couple of cartwheels. “Are they going to pick him up?”

  “Yes. Well, I’m on my way to meet them now. I want to be there when we pick him up.” The look on his face scares me.

  “Cal. Just be careful, please. Do you have to go?”

  He walks over to the couch and I try to stand up. My cast bangs against the coffee table as I rock back and forth. “Well, forget it,” I say finally.

  Cal laughs and bends down to kiss me. “Just stay there. I’ll be fine, I promise. I’ll call you as soon as we have him. And then I’ll go pick up our food and we can celebrate when I get home.”

  “Celebrate?” I grin as dark, salacious thoughts dance naked through my head.

  “Well…maybe. We’ll see how you’re doing tonight.” He smiles.

  Woo-hoo! I’m gettin’ me some tonight! My mood brightens immediately.

  “For now, just sit there and watch television until I get back. You need me to get anything for you before I leave?” He feels around in his pockets for his keys.

  “No. I think you’ve already moved most of the house down here. But thank you.”

  He half listens, already so excited he doesn’t seem to be able to focus on much else. He leans forward and kisses me on the forehead. “Be a good girl. I’ll be back before you know it.”

  “Bye!” I call after him as he closes the door. I hear his truck start up and drive away. I sigh, bored.