by Tina Anne
Very quickly the room got hot and we were coughing. Pete took off his top shirt, wet it in the sink and shoved it under the door. It was a good idea, but not enough.
I took some of the toilet paper and paper towels I found in the cabinets, wet them and used them to plug the holes and gaps in the door. Pete followed suit even grabbing the rags from the storage cabinet.
I still had to figure a way out. I looked for a window. I found one. Unfortunately it was a tiny window that was way above the toilet. I stood on the toilet and tried to open the window but I couldn’t find a latch. Pete had his turn standing on the toilet and he couldn’t do it either. We needed something that could break the window. But what? Soap? Then I saw it.
I took the used feminine hygiene container off the wall and put its contents in the trash. Then I stood on the toilet and slammed the container in on the window. At first the window didn’t react. I was getting desperate. I slammed it harder and harder until the window finally broke open. I felt the cool air come in. It felt good but I couldn’t stop now. I grabbed a roll of toilet paper and tied one end to the roll’s holder. I threw the other end out the window. Then I threw several more things out the window. I figured that might alert somebody. Who, I didn’t know. But it was all we had.
Marlowe. I really wanted Marlowe to come rescue me. That was kind of dumb; I was perfectly capable of getting out of this myself. But I wanted him there. Was I in love with him? Damn. I’d have to think about that later.
Then it hit me, speaking of rescue and police, shouldn’t there be an alarm going off right now? And what about the sprinklers, why weren’t they working? Had the maniac sabotaged them somehow? Was that a clue? If it was I couldn’t tell right now. My head was beginning to spin. I started to have trouble thinking. That was bad, right? It meant the smoke was affecting me more and more.
“Sorry, Pete,” I said taking his hand. We were having a mother/son-in-law day. It had turned really bad.
“Oh, you mean you didn’t plan this?” he said. “Getting trapped in a fire with me wasn’t supposed to be part of the day?” He was trying to laugh but he was scared. Then he started to cough. We started to cough.
The smoke was getting in. We tried to throw water at the door. We wet more paper towels. And we tried to fill in the cracks in a futile attempt to keep the smoke out. That’s when we heard the sirens. They were coming. Help was coming. Someone, anyone was coming.
But as the room slowly beginning to fill with smoke. I started to think it was too late. I wet paper towels and placed them over my mouth. Then I did the same thing for Pete. I just wanted to filter the smoke as much as I could. Pete sat on the floor and began slamming his feet against the door. He was so smart. Screaming would only cause us to inhale more smoke. Banging could burn our hands. I joined him.
We heard someone yell, “Stand back.” It was a man’s voice.
We obeyed. The door flew opened. I saw what I now know was a fire fighter. At the time it just seemed like an angel sent down from heaven.
I felt an oxygen mask being placed over my face. I felt my body being lifted and carried through the store room. I looked into what I thought were familiar eyes, but I couldn’t be sure with the mask he was wearing. I watched as another fire fighter entered the room and picked Pete up.
I felt the cool, refreshing night air and saw the stars n the sky. We were outside. It was ok. We’d be ok. It was then and only then that I allowed myself to give in to the stress the day had caused. I passed out.
Chapter 15: Wait, Let Me Write That Down For You
When I finally opened my eyes I was no longer wearing the oxygen mask. Instead of the night sky I saw white clouds painted on a blue background. But I had no clue where I was. In fact, I couldn’t remember much right now. I listened to the sounds around me. I could hear a beeping noise and what seemed like some noises coming from a hall way. Then there was an announcement in the hall. Paging doctor … somebody. Doctor? Wait, was I in a hospital?
I turned my head to the left. I could see an I.V. drip. Yep, definitely a hospital. What the hell was I doing here? I had a park to run. I didn’t have time for this. I tried to sit up and my head started to spin.
A nurse ran over to me. She placed a hand on my shoulder. “Lay down, honey, you’re not ready to sit up yet,” she said.
I tried to argue with her, but my throat hurt so bad that I could barely speak. My throat! What if I lose my voice permanently? Then where would I be? No, no, no. I needed my voice.
“Just relax. You’re throat will hurt for quite some time. You breathed in a lot of smoke. Lucky for you it didn’t kill you,” the nurse said.
I remembered now. I was trapped in a … bathroom. Of a… Of a... Of a burning building. With Pete. Oh my God, where was Pete? I tried to say his name but I couldn’t.
“Mrs. Summer, lay down. You’ve got to relax.”
I tried to say Pete’s name again but it wouldn’t come out. The nurse handed me a pen and paper.
“Write it down,” she said.
I wrote; “Pete! Where the hell is Pete?” She read it.
“No need to talk like that. The young man you were trapped with is fine. He’s younger. They tend to heal faster.”
Was she calling me old? I’m not old.
She walked over to the door, opened it and said, “Officer, she’s awake”.
A moment later the door opened. Frank, Frankie, and Marlowe all came in. They each looked very timid.
“Now, she can’t talk yet” the nurse told them. “She needs her rest. But I’ll give you a few minutes.” Then she left.
Frankie ran in and hugged me. “Oh, God, Mom. Someone tried to kill you.”
His arm hit the spot on my head where the maniac had hit me. I let out a sound that was meant to be a yell but came out more like a peep.
“Sorry, Mom,” Frankie said.
Someone tried to kill me? Oh, yea. Tried to kill me and Pete. Kind of ironic since I remember envisioning Al burning at the stake.
“How’s Pete?” I tried to say.
“What?” Frankie said.
I grabbed the tablet that the nurse had left on that little tray table thing and showed it to Frankie.
“Pete’s ok,” Frankie said. “He’s home and he’s safe. The alarm is on and there’s an officer sitting outside the apartment door. Pete insisted we stay here and wait for you to wake up.”
Frankie was sitting on the bed beside me. I used the bed’s control to put myself in to more of a sitting position. That was much better.
“How is he?” I wrote.
“He’s coughing a little. His throat hurts. But he’s alive thanks to you,” Frankie said.
“Thanks to me?” I mouthed and pointed to myself. What did I do?
“Yea.” Frankie went on, “luckily Jerome was on a platform near the top of one of the coasters and he saw the flames almost as soon as they started. He called 911 and rushed over there. The firefighters found you two because you broke that window and threw things out of it. That let them know someone was in there. The best clue was the role of toilet paper that was thrown out of the window but still attached to something.”
Marlowe spoke up, “It was actually Jerome who pulled you out of the building. He just joined the volunteer fire department, lucky for you. I think he’ll always remember his first fire.”
Lucky for me indeed. I’ll always remember his first fire too. I had to remember to make Jerome the employee of the month. Maybe even of the year.
I looked over at Frank. He was just standing there looking awkward. He hated hospitals. He even hated visiting them when the kids and grand kids were born.
“I thought you were leaving,” I tried to say to Frank but it wouldn’t come out.
Frankie handed me the tablet and I wrote it instead.
“Yea,” Frank said looking at the floor, “momentary weakness. Marlowe was just doing his job and I should have realized it.”
He gave Marlowe a sheepish look. Then he looked at m
e.
“Oh,” Frank continued, “you’re going to love this, it was Minerva who talked me into staying. She told me I was being an idiot. Even yelled at me.”
“Way to go, Minerva,” was all I could think.
I laughed at this but even laughing hurt my throat. I put my hand on my throat in an attempt to sooth it somehow.
“The smoke did some damage to your throat and lungs,” Marlowe said. “But the doctor says it’s nothing permanent. In a few days you can yell at us again.”
All three men laughed. I just smiled and shook my head.
“I need to get information from you,” Marlowe said. “The sooner the better. I need more information about what happened.”
I nodded my head in agreement. But really, I couldn’t tell him anything, my throat wouldn’t allow it yet.
That’s when Frankie handed me a notebook and a pen. “Thought this might come in handy. By the way, Della has rearranged what appointments she could. The rest I’ll tend to. The park is fine. It’s minus one building, but it’s fine.”
I wrote Christmas Party on my notebook and showed it to Frankie.
“Not all of the decorations were in that store room. It’ll go on as planned. Oh, by the way, the fire marshal is investigating why the alarm and sprinklers didn’t go off. He’s testing all of our buildings.”
“Fine?” I wrote.
“No, no fine,” Frankie said. “And so far every other building has passed inspection.”
“As far as we can tell someone tampered with the sprinklers and the alarm in that building. This was planned. I’m not sure when it was planned, but it was planned,” Marlowe said.
“Dad, why don’t we leave the two of them alone so Marlowe can ask Mom more about what happened?”
“That’s a good idea,” Frank said. “Misty, we’ll come by later. The doctor said you might be able to come home today. If we get the word one of us will come by to pick you up.”
They both gave me a hug and left the room.
The nurse came back in. “Hun, I need you to try to eat something. You can’t go home until you’ve eaten. We need to know that you can keep food down before Dr. Smertz will release you.”
I looked at her and nodded.
“I’ve ordered a tray for you, it should be up soon. Nothing fancy, but good nutrition.”
Yea, hospital food! I can’t wait. To go home and eat real, food that is.
“Chief, I’ll give you a few more minutes to talk to Mrs. Summer, but she needs to rest soon,” she said to Marlowe. She winked at him and left.
Marlowe looked over at me. His expression told me he was angry. He walked over beside my bed and looked me in the eyes. I thought I saw tears in his eyes. I patted a spot on my bed and he sat down. He held my hand.
“I don’t know what you’ve done to me. But, I’m no longer sure I could live without you. I need you, Misty.”
I wanted to cry. I had been wondering if I was falling in love with him. I didn’t want to, but sometimes we have no choice in the matter. My heart was starting to beat faster. I didn’t respond I just squeezed his hand.
“Please, don’t ever do this to me again. Let me chase the bad guys. You run that park. OK?”
I shook my head. I was crying.
He looked at me and stroked my hair. “I love you, Misty Summer.” He leaned toward me and kissed me. It was the best kiss of my life. I felt it all the way down to my toes.
I knew at that moment. I knew that I was in love with this man. Not like I had been in love with Frank. This was different somehow. I couldn’t explain it; I just knew this was different. Somehow he and I were going to spend the rest of our lives together.
After he kissed me he slowly sat up. He just stared at me for a moment, his hand lightly touching my cheek.
“Well”, he said, “I guess I’d better get you to tell me what you remember. I have to catch the bastard who did this to you.”
I laughed a little. Way to change subjects, I thought.
“Write down what you can remember and I’ll be back later to read it and ask you about it.”
I wrote, “Please, don’t go,” in my notebook and showed it to him.
“I have to. That nurse will be back to kick me out soon. Besides I have two investigations going on now. No, three, I forgot about your break in. And two of my officers are on guard duty for you and Pete.”
He kissed me again and left. How I wanted to run after him. How I wanted him to stay.
The moment he left the nurse came in with a tray.
“Here you are. I know it’s not the gourmet food you’re used to. But it won’t irritate your throat,” she said. “And that’s what’s important right now.”
She placed the tray on the little tray table. It contained a plain chicken breast, limp broccoli, and two Jell-O cups. There was also a carton of milk and a cup of tea.
“I’ll be back to check on you in a little bit. You’re ex-husband wants to come in and sit with you, if that’s ok?”
I nodded my agreement.
“Oh, and I’ll let your clergyman know that you’re awake. He keeps trying to see you.”
Clergyman? Oh, she must mean William. It was somehow comforting knowing that he was checking up on me.
“I’ll check on you in a little bit.”
She went out the door and Frank walked in. He sat down in the chair beside my bed.
“Frankie went home to be with Pete. I decided you could use a friend here.”
I nodded and silently thanked him.
“You know,” he said, “I don’t want to upset you, Misty, but I think that maybe Frankie is more than friends with Pete.”
I gave him a “really?” look.
“Yes” he said looking shocked that I didn’t know. “I’ve often wondered if the boy was gay. Too fru fru, you know? It’s ok, though. I mean he’s still my son and I still love him. And Pete seems like a nice guy.”
I nodded. Pete was a great guy. Frankie could do much worse.
“By the way, I traced that parking sicker. It does belong to Melanie.”
“Interesting,” I thought to myself. “So they went out that night? Where did they go? To O’Malley’s bar? Or did she take him somewhere and kill him?”
“Well, you eat. It looks delicious by the way” he said with just a hint of sarcasm. “Then write down what Marlowe needs. I’ll just sit here and keep you company. If you want you can dictate and I’ll write it down for you. Oh, wait, you can’t.” Frank laughed at his own joke. He took the TV remote, and tuned the TV to some sort of sporting event.
I just mouthed “ha ha” and started to eat the rubbery chicken breast. After a moment or so I heard Frank softly snoring in the chair. I smiled at him. I had a brief flash back to when the kids were born. Frank did not leave the hospital until I did. He slept in a chair similar to the one he was in now both times. Drove the nurses’ crazy, but the man was dedicated to his family. Even when he was eighteen.
I tore my attention from memories of the past and I began to reconstruct last night. Wait was it only last night? I reached over and looked at Frank’s watch. Yep, it was only last night. Wow! So, I started to write down what I could remember from last night in my notebook.
The biggest problem was that it was all still a little blurry. For every paragraph I wrote I skipped a few lines so I could fill in the detail as I went. I wasn’t sure if I was forgetting something, but I wasn’t sure I’d gotten everything either.
My biggest frustration was that I could not describe my attacker. Man or woman? Short or tall? Skinny or fat? I could see an image in my head but it was wiggly. Kind of like TV used to get before there was cable. Too bad I couldn’t adjust the antenna or hit the side to fix the reception like we did with the TV.
Hit. Hit? Why was the word ‘hit’ making me think? The maniac had hit me in the head. That I remembered. Was that significant? Maybe. I mean they were able to sneak up behind me. On the path way. So, they must have worn rubber soled shoes.
I started a new page. Maybe I could put together a description of the maniac. I wrote rubber soled shoes on the paper. Not much of a start, but sometimes a little start is all you need.
The fire was planned, Marlowe had said. But there was no way the maniac could have had much time to plan. Pete and I didn’t go to the park until the afternoon. He had to know that we were there. And he had to know that we would be in the park after it closed. And what walkway we would use to walk back to the rear exit. And he needed to know where we would keep gasoline and where we would store the hay bales. In other words it was an employee. Someone I trusted. He had to have been either on his way home or beginning an overnight shift. Great, that really narrowed it down.
I could remember smelling something when he bent over to remove my blindfold. Not just the gas, some kind of cologne. Expensive cologne. But whether it was a man’s or a woman’s I couldn’t tell right now. The hoodie was zipped all the way up to the top, so I could not see if there was chest hair or not. In fact, I couldn’t see any hair.
Ok, what else? They weren’t real fat. The clothes fit well and nothing seemed to be hanging out. His clothing were dirty, but new looking. There were even creases in the pants. So either the clothes were new or the maniac irons. Or they just came off a hanger in the wardrobe room. Somehow the team there had a knack for folding and hanging pants in such a way that they always had a crease.
I searched my brain for more, but nothing came. Please, little grey cells, there had to be something. Poirot could do it. Why couldn’t I?
Wait; there was at least one more thing. Whoever did this to us took off his gloves to light the lighter. I saw his hands. He was Caucasian. Or at least someone with lighter skin.
The nurse entered the room again. She smiled at the sleeping Frank.
“Oh, good,” she smiled at me, “it looks like you’ve eaten everything. Maybe we can get that I.V. out and let you go home.”
I nodded at her enthusiastically. I hated IV’s. Always wanted to yank them out myself.