Setting Cindy down, she squeezed into the tiny space between the wall and the back of the first mausoleum. There was only about a foot of space, but Cindy easily fit. Laurie pushed Cindy ahead of her. Whispering, she said, “Cindy, I am going to help you climb up to the top of the wall, then I will follow. We will get to the other side where they can’t see us, okay?”
Cindy just nodded again, but her eyes were less panicked. Bending her knee to give Cindy something to climb on, Cindy scrambled up like she was on the jungle gym. Once she was standing on Laurie’s shoulders, Laurie grabbed Cindy’s feet and helped propel her upwards until Cindy could swing up on top of the old brick wall. The tall mausoleum hid her from the prying eyes of their pursuers.
Using the wall and the back of the brick mausoleum, Laurie began to shimmy and climb upwards herself. Fingernails tearing, knees and arms scraping, she inched up until she could grab the top of the wall with her hands. Continuing to inch her lower body up, she looked up in surprise when she felt small hands on hers pulling. Cindy and Laurie locked eyes for a second, smiling encouragement, each knowing that moment of shared trauma that binds people together.
The sirens grew closer, and she felt that surely the police must be near. Please let Tom have heard my cry about the park and cemetery. Not willing to take a chance on being found by Cindy’s crazy-ass parents, she pulled herself the rest of the way on top of the eight-foot wall. Looking down on the other side, there was a gravel slope that ran down from the wall towards the rest of the park.
Deciding that she couldn’t catch Cindy, she knew she would need to lower her down. Grabbing Cindy’s wrists, she swung her gently over the edge of the wall and leaned down as far as she could go. Fuck, that’s not that far.
“Cindy, where’d you go, girl? You hear them sirens? That there’s the police. They’re gonna come lock you up if you don’t get over here to Momma.”
Knowing there was no time to waste, Laurie whispered, “Sorry Cindy, I’ve got to drop you down.” Cindy looked at her with such trust, instinctively knowing that Laurie would protect her. Letting go of Cindy’s wrists, she watched as Cindy dropped about five feet onto the gravel, sliding down on her butt. Oh, Jesus, she didn’t even cry out! Thank you, Jesus.
Swinging herself over the edge, hanging by her hands, Laurie dropped down near where Cindy fell. Her feet hit the gravel, but her weight made the gravel shift and she went down hard on her knees and hands, hearing a cracking noise in her wrist at the same time her knee twisted at an awkward angle. Fuck! Fuck! Goddamn, fuck! Son of a bitch, fuck!
The pain was almost unbearable, but by sheer adrenaline, she stood up and grabbed Cindy’s hand again. Making their way down the gravel slope, they entered another grove of trees. Weaving through the trees for several minutes, they found a good hiding place. Laurie slid down in the bushes, pulling Cindy tightly into her body. Surely this is safe enough. Surely they can’t find us.
Minutes ticked by, and Laurie heard nothing but the wind blowing through the treetops. Her knees were stinging from scrapes and beginning to swell from the fall. Looking at her damaged wrist, she felt lightheaded as she saw the swelling and bruising. Looking Cindy over, she couldn’t see anything other than a few scrapes. Thank God. Please, Rob, come for me.
*
When Laurie last screamed, followed by silence, the crowd around Tom’s phone did not move or make a sound, not knowing what was happening. Stomach churning, Rob felt himself drop to his knees by the table. Having gone on many emergency calls to car wrecks, he kept imagining Laurie’s mangled body.
A faint sound then came through, as though she was far away, saying that she dropped the phone. Once they heard her yell out that she was near the cemetery, the police chief had the dispatcher radio for all available cars to the area. Rob, Tom, and Jake ran outside, jumping into Jake’s truck as he put the portable siren on top. As Jake drove expertly at high speeds down the road, Rob sat in the back, hands shaking in fear and anger. Jesus, be with her. Jesus, be with her.
Within eight minutes, Jake saw Laurie’s yellow bug and the white van, surrounded by police officers. Rob was out of the car running towards the bug before Tom could stop him. Jake and Tom pounded up from behind, grabbing Rob’s arms to hold him back.
“Report,” Jake commanded to the police officer at the car.
“Both vehicles empty; cell phone in the floor-board of the victim’s car”
“Victim?” Rob’s yelled as his heart stopped. God, no!
Just then Mac pulled up in the fire chief’s car with Brock jumping out before the car was in park.
“What’s the status of the search?” Jake growled at the rookie cop bringing his attention back to the case.
“Well, they’re still looking for the girl and Ms. Dodd,” he answered, looking from Jake to Tom, not knowing which detective he was more intimidated by.
“Why the fuck did you call her a victim if you don’t even know where she is?” Rob asked with deadly calm as he towered over the policeman.
“Rob, back off,” Tom said as he pulled Rob back.
Just then, their radio announced that a male and female were in custody and they were coming out of the cemetery. Hearing noises raised in anger near the trees, Rob took off running with Jake, Tom, Mac, and Brock right behind.
“Get your hands off my husband you dumb-ass fuckin’ cop,” the woman was screaming. Her hair was dirty and her clothes unkempt. She continued to scream obscenities as the police officers escorted her and her husband out of the woods. “Don’t you touch me, you perv! Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doin’. I got rights. I know my rights!” she continued to scream.
Jake and Tom instantly realized she was not only delusional, she was definitely under the influence of alcohol and possibly drugs. As far as Rob could tell she was just bat-shit crazy. But he didn’t care. Stalking right up to her, towering over her and looking down, he roared, “Where are the girls?”
The woman’s mouth stopped yapping and instantly snapped shut, staring straight up into his vengeful face. Her face immediately crumpled as huge tears began to fall. “She screwed it all up. She’s messin’ up everything. She shoulda stayed with her momma and we wouldn’t be in this mess.” She continued to blubber as the cuffed man next to her finally spoke.
“Shut the hell up, woman. You’re makin’ it worse.”
The police officers continued to haul the pair back to the patrol cars, while the four men ran into the woods looking for Laurie and Cindy. They quickly came upon the other searchers and headed into the cemetery.
The men, along with the others on the search and rescue team, yelled for Laurie and Cindy.
“Where the fuck did they go?” Rob bellowed rage and frustration.
“Over here,” one of the officers called out from behind one of the mausoleums. The men raced over to see what was found. There was a piece of material wedged between some bricks of the building and a small amount of blood smeared on the bricks of the wall. Rob jumped up, grabbed the top of the wall, and with Tom’s assistance, he pulled himself up on top.
“Laurie! Laurie!” he yelled as loud as he could. Looking down, he noticed the gravel had been disturbed. “It looks like they came over here.”
*
Laurie’s protective arms stayed curled around Cindy as they sat hidden in the trees. The calls from Cindy’s parents had stopped, but she wasn’t taking a chance by coming out of hiding too early. Rocking Cindy back and forth in her arms, rubbing her hands up and down her back, she offered comfort as best as she could. “You are so brave, Cindy,” she whispered. “We’re going to be fine, you know. Remember those sirens? They’re going to come help.”
With the memory of hearing Rob’s voice on her cell phone earlier, she couldn’t help but smile. He’ll come. I know he’ll come. Shifting on the hard ground, her knee screaming in pain as she tried to straighten it, Laurie felt weary. Looking back down at her arm, she knew her wrist must be broken. Please come soon.
Cind
y sat up straight in Laurie’s arms, her face alert, her body stiffening.
“What is it?” she asked the little girl. “Did you hear something?”
Nodding quietly, Cindy turned to look up at Laurie. “I heard a man call your name,” she whispered.
“My name? Are you sure?” Laurie whispered back. Realizing that must mean their rescuers were near, she helped Cindy up and then attempted to pull herself up. The pain in her swollen knee was excruciating, but determined to get to help, she forced herself up. Cindy reached over to help her. Warmth in her heart replaced the cold fear from earlier. Taking each other’s hands, they moved through the trees slowly towards the wall they had crossed.
As she neared, she heard Rob’s voice, calling out for her.
“Rob! Rob! We’re over here!” she screamed.
Jake and Tom had just scaled the wall beside Rob and were pulling up Brock when they heard Laurie call back. Suddenly at the edge of the trees, Laurie limped out with Cindy holding her hand. The smile on Cindy’s face was a sight the men would carry with them for a long time.
Rob lowered himself off the wall and ran toward Laurie. His love. His life. His other half.
He gathered her and Cindy up in a bear hug as she cried and clung to him. Feeling Cindy stiffen, he forced his mind back to reality, remembering she was leery of men. He immediately set them down, but not willing to stop touching Laurie, he continued to keep his arm around her. Laurie leaned down to reassure Cindy, but was greeted by a smile. She peaked around Laurie looking way up at Rob and grinned again.
“Cindy, this is Rob. You met him at the school one afternoon. He’s my boyfriend and our hero, sweetie. He’s a good guy, I promise.” Turning to Rob, she added, “And Cindy has helped me so much on this adventure.”
Rob, seeing Cindy’s shy smile, squatted down to be at her level. Sticking out his huge hand, “Hello, Cindy. It is nice to see you again, little princess.” Cindy’s smile grew. “And it sounds like you helped save Ms. Dodd, is that right?”
“Well, little lady, that makes you an honorary police-woman. We will have to get you a badge,” Tom stated softly as he and Jake approached the little girl. She looked up at them with a grin but slipped her hand back into Laurie’s. Brock jogged over and, wrapped his arms around his daughter, pulling her close.
“I…,” he choked out, not able to finish his thought.
Laurie answered back with a hug. Sometimes that is all the words that are needed.
They turned back towards the wall, walking over to where they crossed initially. The ambulances had pulled as close to the cemetery wall as they could. The firemen had ladders on either side of the wall ready for the rescue team. The men assisted Cindy and then Laurie back over the wall, Rob picking her up and carrying her as soon as he could scoop her up. Cindy allowed Tom to carry her as they made their way over to the ambulances. Jake and Tom radioed ahead to have the Carlsons meet them at the hospital. Rob insisted that Laurie go as well, and for once, she completely agreed.
Chapter 22
The hospital waiting room was packed with friends and well-wishers. Carol was hurrying between the two ER rooms, checking on both Cindy and Laurie. The Carlsons were in with Cindy, who other than a few scratches, had no injuries.
In the hard plastic chairs, Jean and Brock sat, fingers entwined. Jake had checked in with the police chief to see what the status was on Cindy’s parents. Once the pair was interrogated, they turned on each other, then turned on the uncle accused of abusing Cindy. Tom had been in with Cindy and the Carlsons to see if Cindy could provide any more information to them.
Laurie was in her ER room, her scratches and abrasions having been treated, her broken wrist in a cast, waiting to see what the doctor wanted to do about her swollen knees. Rob sat on the bed, her good hand in his as though she were his lifeline. Fatigue showed in her face, but her smile was still bright. He was leaning in for a kiss when the doctor came back in.
“Ms. Dodd, I have conferred with your rheumatologist. We think that the medications you are currently on will be fine in the long run, but once your wrist is out of the cast, you will probably need physical therapy to maintain range of motion. For now, he agreed to steroid injections in your knees to reduce the swelling. I’m ordering them up now, and the nurse will be in to administer them.” With that, he headed out of the room leaving Laurie beginning to panic.
“Rob, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t…”
Realizing that she was panicking over the injections, he held her tightly, saying, “Babe, you can do this. I’ll be right here with you.” He looked down at her stricken face as she was shaking her head from side to side.
“Laurie, you just drove like a fuckin’ race driver getting away from crazies; then you proceed to outrun those same crazy-ass people and get Cindy and yourself to safety. Baby, you can do this.”
“What can she do?” Tom asked as he and Jake walked in, noticing Laurie’s wide-eyed look of terror.
“Get a couple of steroid shots in her knees to take down the swelling. She and needles aren’t friends,” Rob answered, still holding her tightly.
“Fuck, those hurt. Remember getting those when we played college football?” Tom asked.
Jake turned on his partner before Rob could tear him apart. “Not helpin’, Tom. You wanna shut the fuck up?”
Looking contrite, Tom mumbled, “Sorry, Laurie.”
Jake spoke up, facing Laurie and Rob. “Got some news about Cindy’s parents. It seems the uncle was the one supplyin’ the mom and dad with both drugs and their income. He paid their rent and expenses as long as he could use their place as a safe house to store his drugs. It was a win-win situation for them. Then when it came out that he was abusing Cindy and he was arrested, their money ran out. That was why they tried to deny that he did anything to her. They were desperate to keep her from testifyin’ so they were tryin’ to kidnap her back.”
Carol had come in by this time and was listening to the explanation. They all stood silent for a moment, realizing that if Laurie had not saved Cindy, she would have been back in the clutches of those vile people, possibly to never resurface again.
“Oh my god,” Laurie whispered, tears sliding down her cheeks, slumping back into Rob as though the last of the adrenaline had completely left her body.
Jake, walking over to her bed, leaned down, and kissed the top of her head, saying, “You’re a hero darlin’.”
“Sweetie, this won’t be as bad as you think. The pain meds you are on will keep these injections from hurting so badly. You want to lie down?” Carol asked.
Rob assisted her as she lay down, and Carol injected her knees as quickly as possible.
“All done, honey. You just need to stay here about another hour for observation, and then you can go home.” Carol turned just in time to see Tom slump down in a chair with his head down between his knees. “Oh, Tom honey, I forgot you hate needles!”
Laurie giggled and snuggled closer into Rob, lying beside her in the bed. The room began to fill up with visitors. The Carlsons were taking Cindy home, and they wanted to come by to show their appreciation to Laurie. Cindy climbed up into Laurie’s bed, throwing her arms around her neck. Laurie hugged back, looked into Cindy’s eyes and whispered, “Friends forever, right?” Cindy smiled and nodded, squeezing her little arms tighter.
Brock and Jean came in, and Laurie noticed his arm around Jean’s shoulders. Carol, no longer on duty by that time, was back in the room with Tom and Jake.
Laurie looked around the room. New family. New friends. Real friends. Thinking back to what Emma had told her last summer….I found it. I found my time.
*
Rob parked in front of his apartment building. Walking around to her side, he picked her up and carried her up the stairs to his door. Leaning down to unlock the door, he pushed it open but paused before entering. He looked into the grey eyes that held his soul. “You with me, babe?”
Not able to hold back her smile, she looked into the face s
he loved more than life itself. Nodding gently, she replied, “Yeah, I’m with you. I found my time, Rob. Now it’s our time.”
They kissed. Long. Slow. Soft. Full of promise. Full of love.
Epilogue
(Three years later)
Rob, standing at the open door of the firehouse, deep in training of new recruits, continually looked over his shoulder and down the street looking for a familiar yellow SUV. Seeing it coming down the road, he trotted over to the parking lot, leaving the young firefighters smiling in his wake.
Laurie had continued to drive her yellow VW bug until last year, when he finally insisted she needed something safer to drive. Seeing her pull into the fire station lot put a smile on his face. Opening her door, he leaned across her large frame to unbuckle the seat belt. Holding carefully onto his wife, he gently assisted her to the ground.
Before he could finish hugging her, Mac came barreling out of the station. “How’s the mother of my grandchild?” he boomed.
Laughing, she waddled over to Mac as he embraced her gently against his chest. Kissing her cheek, he placed one hand over her eight and a half month pregnant belly. Leaning down to her protruding stomach, Mac whispered, “Just a little bit longer, little fella, and I’ll have you out here riding on the fire truck.”
Rob came up behind Laurie, wrapping his mighty arms around her. One arm around her chest and the other across her stomach, he placed his hand where he knew he could feel his son kick.
Laurie, smiling over her shoulder, looked up into Rob’s twinkling eyes. “We’re almost there, sweetie. Just a few more weeks. I think we’ve made it.”
Pulling her tighter to his chest, “Laurie darlin’, you’re doin’ great.”
Laurie's Time (The Fairfield Series) Page 22