by Bill Hopkins
Chapter 44
Tuesday Morning, continued
Before the story of Maman and Lazar could be told, Jim Bill rolled into the chapel in a wheelchair, parking next to Rosswell and Ollie. One sticker on Jim Bill's ride informed the world: THIS IS THE WAY I ROLL! Another one announced: I BRAKE FOR NURSES! A third one: ROLLER DERBY WANNABE!
"Thank you." Rosswell rose to his feet, slightly bowing. "You put your life on the line for Tina."
"Duty calls and all that happy stuff."
"Cool stickers," Ollie said. "Why are you in a wheelchair?"
Manners! I'm going to have to teach my research assistant some manners.
"Orders from headquarters. The big boys want me inspected from head to toe so they can figure out how much compensation I get for on the job injury. They'll release me either later today or tomorrow morning."
Rosswell hadn't moved. "Tina said she owes her life to you."
"Speaking of Tina, could we talk to her?"
"Sure. She gets out tomorrow."
Jim Bill rolled a few inches toward Rosswell. "Today. Right now."
Ollie said, "She had a baby yesterday!"
"Tina's told me all about what happened to her and I told her everything I did. Ask me anything. I'll tell you."
Jim Bill scratched his chin. "Now what's that rule on hearsay?"
"We're not in a courtroom."
Ollie lifted a forefinger. "May I suggest something?"
"Suggest away, my research assistant."
"Why don't you ask Tina?"
Tina stuffed a couple of pillows behind her back. "Where do you want me to start?"
That morning, she'd showered, fluffed her hair with some moves Rosswell couldn't comprehend, and put on a dab of makeup. Yesterday, Rosswell had taken it upon himself to buy her what he considered a nifty robe at Walmart. The purple thing covered with cartoonish large flowers seemed perfect to him. Tina had eyed the purchase after she came out of the delivery room. "Interesting. It's?serviceable." A vague suspicion gnawed at Rosswell that Tina hadn't complimented his taste.
Rosswell had earlier come back to the chapel to announce to Jim Bill and Ollie that Tina was ready to talk. "She said she was a cop first. That means she knows she has a duty to let you debrief her."
"I expected nothing less." Jim Bill rubbed his cheeks. Rosswell realized that the man hadn't shaved in a couple of days. He'll have a glorious beard within a week. Rosswell tried unsuccessfully to smother his jealousy.
Jonathan David Carew slept in a crib next to Tina's bed. She positioned the baby in her shadow so that his newborn eyes wouldn't be bothered by the sun shining through the window. Occasionally, Rosswell heard him scratching on the fresh sheets, his fingernails making a barely audible scritching sound.
Tina-apparently tolerating her new robe-waited for an answer to her question.
Rosswell started to answer. "Jim Bill demanded this interrogation-"
"Interview," said Jim Bill.
Tina said, "Ask me what you need to know."
Food carts rattled down the hall. Visitors and staff walked past Tina's door, jabbering, telling jokes, laughing. A loudspeaker blatted out pages for doctors who couldn't be found and complained about owners of cars who'd parked in the wrong spots. Telephones rang. Pagers buzzed.
"Wait a minute." Rosswell shut the door. "Go ahead, Jim Bill. That should cut down on the peace and quiet around here."
"What's the last thing you remember before you were kidnapped?"
"I was in Saint Luke's Hospital at Marble Hill after I'd been shot. The wound wasn't serious. I started feeling better. There was only a little pain."
Jim Bill said, "I remember Rosswell telling me he couldn't understand why you weren't released. Yes, you'd been shot, but it wasn't life threatening. The hospital's reluctance to discharge you after a couple of days was strange."
Rosswell paced around the bed, between Jim Bill in the wheelchair and Ollie, then back around again. "No doubt Nathaniel had a doctor or nurse or somebody on his payroll who also worked in the hospital." He allowed his eyes to drift shut. "That person or persons knew Tina would be a prime candidate for Nathaniel's baby farm."
"How would anyone know I was going to have a baby? Hospitals don't routinely test for pregnancy."
"Yes, they do." Rosswell's eyes popped open. "Somebody in that hospital tested every woman who could've gotten pregnant. Malpractice insurance requires it."
Ollie walked to the window, staring out at the world. Rosswell could tell that Ollie was possibly thinking about his own pregnant daughter, Mabel. Or maybe he truly cared about Tina. Or maybe both. Something was disturbing him. The thought that Tina was almost subjected to slavery. That had to top Ollie's worry list.
Outside the window, a pigeon landed on the ledge. The gray bird, boasting an opulent white chest, ogled Ollie and shared a soft coo. Rosswell heard the baby utter a noise like a chuckle. The bird strutted up and down, making a clicking sound as it pecked the window a couple of times, then flew off. Rosswell stuck his head close to his son, who opened his eyes and returned a smile before he fell back to sleep.
Jim Bill rolled closer to Tina's bed. "Judge, you don't know what happened to her in Marble Hill. Let's stick to facts only. Tina, do you remember actually being kidnapped?"
"All I remember is that one night I went to sleep in a hospital bed and woke up in the back seat of a car."
"Do you know who drove you from Marble Hill to Sainte Gen?"
"Not a clue. It was night and I must've slept the whole way. I suspect someone sedated me. No one else was in the car when I awoke. I sat up and looked out. I immediately recognized the courthouse square in Sainte Gen. I was in front of the Southern Hotel."
"Was anyone around outside?"
"There were lots of people on the square milling about. It was a nice night."
"Do you know the time?"
Rosswell said, "I showed you the time stamp on her voicemail."
Jim Bill said, "Tina, did you know any of the people you saw?"
"Nobody I recognized. There was no way I could tell if any of the people were good guys or bad guys. And I was dressed in a hospital gown! I wasn't about to get out and parade around."
"Understandable."
"I guess I should've got out and run down the streets yelling bloody murder."
"Were you close to the payphone in front of the hotel?"
"Yes. I saw the payphone but I didn't have any money."
"Why didn't you call 9-1-1? You don't need money for that."
Rosswell let out a groan. "She told you. She was doped. She wasn't thinking right. All Tina could think of was me."
Tina said, "That didn't come out right."
Ollie turned from the window. "No, it didn't."
Those remarks earned Tina and Ollie a scowl from Rosswell.
A nurse-a tall woman with bad hair-came in. "There are way too many people in here. Two of you need to leave."
Rosswell's stress caused him to snap at the woman. "No one is leaving this room but you."
"I can call Security to see what they have to say about that."
Jim Bill said to her, "Step over here a moment, if you please."
The nurse strode to the wheelchair. "What is it?"
"Security is already here."
The nurse stared down at Jim Bill's badge and identification. "So it is. Then I'm not needed here." She left.
"Back to the call," Jim Bill said. "The fact is that you made a call. Where did you get the money for the payphone?"
"I tried the car's back door and it was open. Whoever had me was clearly not worried about me escaping."
"You got out of the car by the payphone. Right?"
"Right. I figured I'd better get over my embarrassment at being dressed in a hospital gown. And these kids were walking by. High school kids. I jumped out of the car and yelled, 'Give me some quarters!' Must've scared the hell out of them because I wound up with five or six dollars' worth of quarters. They thought I was a crazy street
bum who needed money."
"She's not shy." Rosswell sat next to Tina on the bed and touched her cheek. "Why do you think I love her?"
Jim Bill said, "That's when you called Rosswell."
"Yes. And before I could finish the call, somebody came up behind me and clicked the phone off. Then I was ushered back into the car."
"Who did that?" Jim Bill grasped the handles of his wheelchair. "Male? Female? Young? Old? White? Black?"
"Two guys."
"Could you recognize either of them?"
"I'm sure one of them was Nathaniel Dahlbert. I could tell by the way he was talking, with that weird voice of his. He sounds like he's out of some old monster flick. And, even at night, he was so white he glowed."
"Did Nathaniel say anything?"
"He did after they shoved me into the back seat. He and another guy got in front."
"Who was driving?"
"The other guy."
"Who was the other guy?"
"I didn't recognize him at first."
"What did Nathaniel say?"
"He said he was proud of what his boys had done."
"Did the other guy say anything?"
"He told Nathaniel to keep his mouth shut in front of me."
"What happened then?"
"Nathaniel said?and this is a direct quote, 'You're lucky you're still alive. You're not running this show. Forget that again and you're dead.' "
"Then what?"
"We left. I realized by then that if I'd jumped from the car and run down the streets yelling bloody murder that it would've been useless. Everyone on the square saw us in that car but no one did anything."
"All those people standing around and nobody did anything? Why not?"
"Because the driver was Gustave Fribeau and he turned on his lights and siren."