by Carrie Carr
Chapter Eighteen
DOCTOR BARNES STRODE into the waiting room. Six faces turned to him anxiously. Charlie was the only person missing, as he was still in conference with the two police officers. The doctor walked to where Jacob sat, flanked by his wife and Jeannie. "Mr. Cauble. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you, but I wanted to see how your granddaughter responded to the treatment before I spoke to you."
"How is she?" Anna Leigh asked, as she spared a glance at Lex and Martha, who were over by the windows. Lex looked completely lost and alone, and it broke Anna Leigh's heart.
"She's stable for now. We have her on a respirator to help her breathe, so that her heart and lungs are not overworked."
Jeannie squeezed Frank's hand. Her husband sat on the other side of her and pulled her close. "Can we see her?" she asked.
Dr. Barnes glanced over at the woman by the window. Sometimes I really hate my job. Responding to Jeannie's question, the doctor nodded. "Only for a moment, and not all at once." He turned to face Lex. "And I'm sorry, but only family members are allowed into ICU. I know it's a stupid rule, and I'll try to do something about that."
Lex nodded wearily. "I understand. Thank you for all you've done, Dr. Barnes." Martha put a sympathetic arm around her waist. "If it's okay, I'll just hang out here for a while."
"Certainly. Thank you for understanding, Ms. Walters." Dr. Barnes turned away from them and headed toward the door, then spoke loudly to the family. "If you will just follow me. She's in room 231 of ICU. Right down the hall from our supply office." He winked at Lex and led the rest of the family out of the room.
Martha looked after them in surprise. "I do believe that Dr. Barnes is human after all," she murmured to Lex.
"You've got that right." Lex smiled down on her. "I'm going to give the Caubles some time with her first, then I think Amanda is going to have a "nurse' by her side for a while." She kissed the top of Martha's head. "Why don't you and Charlie check into a nearby hotel? You look a little worn out." More like a lot worn out. I keep forgetting she's not as young as she used to be. These late hours can't be too good for her, or Charlie.
"Good idea, sweetheart. We'll book several rooms so that everyone will have a place to rest up. That means you, too." She gave Lex one of her serious looks. "And before you give me any trouble, don't bother. You're not too big for me to take over my knee."
Lex rolled her eyes. "Yes, ma'am. Just call and leave me a message at the nurses' station so I'll know where you are." She pulled the woman into a strong embrace. "Thanks for being here. I couldn't have made it without you."
The housekeeper returned the hug. "Phooey. That's what family is for. Now don't be too late, all right? You need your rest too, if you're going to be in any condition to do Amanda any good." She pulled away just as the door opened, and an exhausted looking Charlie walked into the waiting area.
"Where'd everybody go?" he asked as he looked around.
"They've gone to see Amanda." Martha moved to where he stood and rubbed his arm. "Lexie is going to wait here for them, and we're going to go get a few hotel rooms for us all."
Charlie looked over at Lex, who was leaning against the far wall with her arms crossed over her chest. "Are you sure that you don't need us to stay with you?"
Lex shook her head as she pushed away from the wall and moved over to the older couple. "I'm sure, Uncle Charlie. I really just need a little time by myself." She pulled the lawman into a strong embrace. "You take care of Martha for me, all right?" she whispered in his ear.
"You know I will." He pulled back and gazed into her eyes. "You just call if you need us, and we'll be back here in a flash."
"I promise." Lex leaned over and kissed them both. "Now go on, before y'all collapse on me." She watched with a fond smile as the couple left the room. There go the best parents anyone could ever ask for. I've certainly been lucky to have them.
AFTER LOOKING IN both directions, the tall figure slipped quietly into the empty corridor and stealthily approached the intensive care unit. Strong hands brushed down the front of the well-fitting scrubs before the desk and its attendant were broached.
The nurse seated behind the counter looked up from her paperwork and smiled at the new arrival. "You're a little early, aren't you? Shift change isn't for another forty-five minutes."
"Umm. Yeah. But I couldn't sleep, so I thought that I'd just take a look around."
The young nurse nodded. "I know the feeling. We've got one new patient, and her family left a little while ago. It was really close for a while, but it looks like she's going to pull through just fine." She looked down at a chart. "I expect the doctor will take her off the respirator first thing in the morning."
Lex almost collapsed in relief. "That's great. I'll just go in and check on her, if you don't mind." Her entire body was screaming for her to race into the room, regulations be damned.
"Go on. I'll cover for you." The nurse nodded at the uniformed police officer standing by the entry door to the unit, and Lex passed through into the corridor housing the patient rooms, closing the door behind her. The nurse picked up the phone and dialed an extension. "Dr. Barnes? This is Nurse Hamil in ICU. I did as you asked. Lex is in the suite now."
"Thank you, Shelly. Don't let anyone disturb her, all right? I think that she's the best medicine for our patient right now."
Lex peered through the glass wall before reaching the door. Room 231. But it's too dark to see anything. She pushed the door open slowly and walked in, allowing it to close quietly behind her. Blue eyes tracked to the bed on the other side of the room. It was tucked into the corner and was surrounded by several different machines. Oh, God.
Amanda's small body was lying deathly still on the bed. Several tubes ran between her and the machines. The only sounds in the room were the thump and hiss of the respirator and the quiet beep of the heart monitor. Her upper body was slightly elevated, and her hair was in disarray and matted to her head.
"My poor love," Lex murmured quietly as she stood next to the bed. She pulled a nearby chair closer and sat, her eyes never leaving the frail form. She reached over with a trembling hand and gently grasped the still fingers. "Oh, sweetheart. What have I done to you?" None of this would have happened if you weren't with me. How will I ever be able to look into those beautiful eyes again? Will I ever be able to look into them? Her other hand lightly brushed Amanda hair from her face. "I love you so much. Please don't leave me." She let her hand fall to the nearest shoulder and clasp it gently. Her head fell to the bed and she cried herself to sleep, never relinquishing the hold she had on her lover.
A soft pat on her shoulder made Lex bolt upright. "What?" She looked around in fear, only to be faced with the knowing smile of Dr. Barnes.
He chuckled at the way Lex was dressed. The dark green garments flattered Lex and fit her form as if they were made for her. She could easily pass as a nurse or doctor. "I'm sorry, Ms. Walters, although I do admit that you look right at home in those scrubs, we're going to have to ask you to leave." He saw the panicked look on her face and hastened to reassure her. "We need to move Miss Cauble out of ICU and into a private room."
"What time is it?" Lex asked, as she looked around, disoriented. How could I fall asleep when I was supposed to be watching her?
The doctor checked his watch. "A few minutes after seven. It seems that Miss Cauble responded well to the medication during the night, not to mention whatever specialized care she received from you."
Lex glanced over at the still form on the bed. She couldn't see any visible change in her lover from when she sat next to her last night. She still looks the same to me. "Is she going to be all right?"
"Barring any complications, yes. She should even regain consciousness before too long." Dr. Barnes patted Lex on the shoulder gently. "Why don't you go get changed? We'll have her placed in a private room within another hour or so. Nurse Hamil is pulling a double shift, so she'll be glad to let you know which room we put her in."
&
nbsp; "Thank you, Dr. Barnes. For everything." Lex shook his hand and moved back. She started for the door and then turned back to look at Amanda lying on the bed. "I'll be back in a few minutes, love," she said softly, tears filling her eyes as she left the room.
WHEN THE PHONE rang at seven a.m., Charlie feared the worst. He quickly reached over to grab the phone before it could wake Martha. "Hello?"
"Sheriff Bristol? This is Robert Campbell. I'm sorry to bother you, but late last night we found out where Matt Sterling had been holed up."
"Last night? Why wasn't I notified then?" Charlie whispered, somewhat upset. He sat up and turned on the light to find his glasses and a notepad.
Martha sat up sleepily. "What is it, honey? Is it Lexie?"
He turned to his fiancée and covered the mouthpiece on the phone. "No. It's Robert Campbell. He has some new information on the case for me."
"Oh, good." Martha nodded and then grasped his arm gently. "Do you want some privacy for the call?" She knew that most of the information that Charlie was given was confidential, and she didn't want to put him in an awkward position.
"No. It's all right, sweetheart. You might as well get used to it, I suppose." He leaned over and gave Martha a quick kiss. "Go ahead, Robert."
The young prosecutor sighed heavily. "I know that you're out of town on a family emergency, but it may be somehow related. After we found the residence," he paused with a chuckle, "it's actually more of a rundown duplex. Not a condo as the suspect had previously stated."
Charlie laughed. "That sounds about right. But how does finding where Sterling stayed relate to what's going on here?" He scribbled down a few notes while he waited for the younger man's answer.
"We were also able to obtain the phone records for the time he spent at the residence. It seems that Mr. Sterling received quite a few calls from a nearby hotel, as well as a couple from a Los Angeles exchange."
"Los Angeles? Were they all from the same number?" The sheriff turned slightly so that he could exchange glances with Martha.
Robert shuffled some papers. "Yeah. All the same number. It's listed as a private office line for a large corporation. We're checking into it now to try and trace it back to an individual. But I thought that I'd let you know, since one of your earlier suspects in the attempted murder was in California."
"Thanks. But I'm really hoping that it all turns out to be just a big coincidence." Charlie wrote a little more then closed his notepad. "I really do appreciate you keeping me up to date, Robert. We'll be going up to the hospital shortly, so I'll call you from there if I uncover any new developments."
"Sounds good to me. I hope everything turns out okay for your family. Let me know if there's anything that I can do for you, okay?"
Charlie looked over at Martha and smiled. My family. I think I like the sound of that. "Thank you. We're going to go find Lex this morning and try to get her to take a nap. I'm sure she spent the entire night up worrying. Let me know if you get any more information."
The prosecutor exhaled heavily. "Sure will. Talk to you later, Charlie." He hung up the phone before the sheriff could say another word.
JEANNIE WALKED INTO the hotel coffee shop where Charlie and Martha were having breakfast. The sheriff had a serious look on his face, and the housekeeper was looking down at a half-eaten plate of food. Jeannie walked up to the table and smiled. "Good morning. I hope you two slept a little better than we did last night."
Martha looked up and brightened. "Good morning. Why don't you sit with us?"
"Thanks. Everyone else should be downstairs soon, and then we can all go see Amanda. I called the hospital earlier, and she's been moved to a private room." Jeannie slid into a seat and looked up with appreciation as a waitress came over and poured her a cup of coffee. "Thanks."
"I'm sorry to hear you didn't sleep well. Were you worried about your sister?" Martha asked as she tried to focus on whatever answer Jeannie might give. She was concerned about Lex, since she had never come to the hotel during the night, and never called. I hope she's okay. It's not like my Lexie to stay gone so long without at least calling.
Jeannie shook her head. "Not exactly. Well, I mean I was worried about Amanda, but the most upsetting thing was having to call my parents and let them know what had happened. They didn't take it very well, I'm afraid."
Charlie looked at Jeannie. "You talked to your folks last night?"
"Yes." Jeannie nodded with a grim smile. "Dad complained that I waited too long before I called, and Mother complained because I called so late in the evening and woke her up." She rolled her eyes.
"Are they on their way here to see Amanda?" the sheriff asked. After the information that he had received that morning, Charlie really wanted a chance to talk to Michael Cauble. Especially after all the things that Amanda told me about him and Lex. Thinking back to the earlier phone call, he listened with only half an ear to the conversation around him. He looked back up at Amanda's sister. Jeannie looked as if she had a bad taste in her mouth.
Jeannie shook her head. "I asked them if they'd be flying in to see Mandy. Father flatly refused because he didn't want to run into Lex. Mother said that as long as my sister was involved with "that woman,' she wouldn't feel comfortable here either." She looked over at Martha sadly. "I'm sorry, Martha. I hope you realize that not everyone in my family feels the same as my parents do."
Martha patted Jeannie's arm sympathetically. "You have nothing to apologize for. I'm just sorry to hear that your parents gave you such a hard time." She shook her head. "I can't believe that they'd leave their own daughter in the hospital hundred of miles away without trying to see her. Maybe they'll feel differently about it this morning."
"I doubt it. They were pretty upset when Mandy chose Lex over them," Jeannie explained.
"Just how upset were they?" Charlie asked. "Were they angry at Amanda, or at the situation?"
Jeannie looked at the sheriff with a confused frown. "Well, they haven't disowned her or anything, so I suppose it's more the situation than anything else. Why?"
The sheriff pushed his food around on his plate some more. "Just thinking out loud, that's all." He looked over Jeannie's shoulder to the door of the restaurant. "Looks like everyone's up, now." Charlie waved at the three people standing inside the doorway.
Jacob returned the wave and escorted his wife and Frank to the table. "Good morning, everyone." He held the chair for Anna Leigh and then sat next to her.
"Good morning to you, too." Martha smiled warmly at the newcomers. "Would you like some breakfast? Charlie and I were just about to go over and check on Lexie. She never came to her room last night."
"You mean to tell me that Lex spent all night in that damned waiting room?" Frank asked incredulously. He sat next to Jeannie and put an arm around her shoulders.
The housekeeper chuckled. "No, not in the waiting room. She sneaked into Amanda's room and I'll be she stayed with her all night."
Anna Leigh laughed in delight. "That explains why Dr. Barnes told us exactly where Mandy's room was. I was wondering why he would mention a supply room."
"Me, too," Jacob agreed. "I'll be really glad if Lex was able to get in there with Mandy for the night. It could only help."
Everyone at the table agreed. Charlie stood and helped Martha to her feet. "I'm sorry to leave such fine company, but I really want to go check on Lex. I'm afraid she'll be asleep in a corner somewhere."
Martha laughed. "Knowing our Lexie, she's probably curled up somewhere near Amanda."
LEX STARED INTO the mirror and grimaced. I look like hell. No wonder Dr. Barnes chased me out of Amanda's room. Lex bent down and splashed more cold water on her face. "Martha is going to kick my butt for sure," she mumbled as she looked into the mirror again. At least my hair still looks halfway decent. I've got to remember to thank her for braiding it. She rubbed her eyes then looked down at her watch, which had been a birthday gift from her lover. She remembered the day very well. She had been awakened by light kisses acros
s her face. When she opened her eyes, she Amanda's beautiful face had been smiling down on her.
""Morning," Lex mumbled with a smile.
"Happy birthday, love." Amanda had leaned down and kissed Lex tenderly.
"Umm." Lex licked her lips as they broke apart. "Thanks. But how did you know it was my birthday?" She paused. "Martha told, didn't she?"
Amanda nodded. "She sure did. But don't be angry with her, okay? It just came up in a conversation recently." Yeah. A conversation that started, "Hey, Martha, when's Lex's birthday? I know it's sometime in November, but I don't know the exact day.' She smiled. "You should have been in the military, having your birthday land on Veteran's Day like that."
Lex rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah. I'm sure I'd have been a great soldier. I take orders so well." She tickled Amanda. "At least it's easy for me to remember--11-11-71. Guess eleven is my lucky number."
"Be thankful you weren't born right after New Year's. My mother has always whined about missing out on all the hoopla surrounding a New Year's baby," Amanda sighed. "Only a couple of hours late, but to her it was such a big deal," she laughed. "Dad complained because I wasn't born in December. He had to wait another whole year to claim me as a deduction."
"I'm sorry to hear that, sweetheart." Lex struggled up to a sitting position. "I don't really celebrate my birthday, but Martha usually makes me a cake and gives me a little something. I go along with her to make her happy." She saw a sad look cross her lover's face. "What's wrong?"
Amanda passed gentle fingertips across Lex's face. "Martha told me about your birthdays before." Amanda ran her hand through the thick dark hair. "I'm really sorry that there was never much to them. But I plan to make certain that from now on all of your birthdays are special."