Never Hug a Mugger on Quadra Island (21 page)

“Where?”

“All over. Can you move?”

“Not a lot.”

“Got to find the phone. This air bag stuff— Somewhere.”

Shane reached over and pulled the material off his side. Kyra did the same. She leaned forward, stared at the floor of the car. Something there, between gas and brake pedal. She stretched her foot as far as it could go, couldn't reach it. “I think the phone's—there. Got to get out, grab it.” She reached for the door handle, noted the smashed window, pulled at the handle— No give. She shoved at the door. Blocked. “Damn it!”

Shane said, “Maybe—I can—” He glanced at the pedal area. “Really think it's the phone?” He released his seat belt.

“Nothing else in the car I can think of.”

Shane looked at the windscreen. The rearview mirror had been knocked off. “Maybe I can—get down there.”

“You think—?”

“Let's—see.” He bit his teeth together hard. It was going to hurt. He shifted his weight onto his left buttock. His right foot edged toward the door and he gave as much of a scream as could escape through his teeth. Another shift and his elbow was on Kyra's lap. She flinched hard but beyond a small “Eeep!” said nothing. Had to get between her legs and the damn steering wheel. Now he grabbed her left jean leg below the knee and pulled himself further forward till his left ear rested on her lap, his right shoulder partially blocked by the steering wheel. He forced his shoulder by the wheel. Ooohh! New pain. He reached down, further, further— His right foot shot against the passenger door and he screamed. She held his right shoulder and he felt and appreciated the support. He reached, his finger on the brake pedal, he grasped it and pulled himself down, his head on her knees. His fingers felt the object, grabbed it. The goddamn mirror! Shit and double shit. He dropped it to the carpeting and it clanked. On carpet? Or the stem of the brake or gas pedal? He felt around with his fingers. The pain in his right leg had made his fingers sweaty. His face and whole body too. He reached out. Something else down there? Something— His index finger found the other object, no pedal stem, something loose. He brought his thumb further down. He grasped it. Felt like—felt— Maybe. Yes! “I think I've got—” He heard her breathe in and out sharply, as if she hadn't breathed in a while. He lay there, the phone grasped in his palm.

“Can you pull yourself up? I can help, I think.”

Gravity had taken him down. Up was a different matter. But she gave him a hand for leverage, another to draw him up. His head reached the steering wheel. He breathed, yanked, but his head stayed stuck. She grabbed his head by chin and forehead. His hair scraped against the wheel but there was too much of his skull to go through the opening.

Kyra let him go. “Can you punch in 911?”

“From down here?”

“Yes.”

“I can try.” He tried to flip the phone open. But his fingers were too fat, too sweaty, too weak. His sense of feel was disappearing. He tried again, the phone slipped a little, he grabbed at it. It slid from his sweaty fingers, dropping to the floor. “Shit! Shit!”

“What?”

“Dropped it.” He felt close to weeping. He clenched his teeth again. “I'll try—find it.” Again he lowered himself, groped about, his little finger touched it, knew it was the phone. He shifted his hand and held it again. “Got it! Got it.”

“Good. Great. Hold on.”

He didn't move. He breathed deeply. The pain in his right leg was sickening and he felt his stomach turn over. He didn't want to vomit, not right down here. He felt her pulling at him again. “I—I don't think—”

She relaxed her grip on him and he slumped down again. They stayed unmoving.

What the hell were they going to do. If only— Maybe— “Shane. Hold on.”

He felt her reach down to the side of his head. He heard her grunt. Her seat slid back four inches. He heard her giggle. And he blurted out a laugh. He felt her hand on his shoulder again, grasping him by the armpit, pulling. It took minutes until he could hand the phone to her. He lay sideways, his head on her lap, he heard the numbers she punched, three of them.

Kyra said, “We've been in . . . a car accident . . . Where are we? Shane, where?”

•  •  •

Linda drove the truck quickly, Alana beside her. They sped down to the village square, parked in front of the clinic, rushed inside. No one in the waiting room or behind the reception desk, but they heard voices from the back. Down the short hall to an examination room, two women standing by and a man talking with Timmy who lay on the exam table. Linda rushed past the man. “Oh Timmy, you really are okay?”

“I'm fine, Mom.” Tim looked embarrassed. “Really.”

He didn't look fine. Cuts on his hands and face. A nasty gash on the side of his neck, stitched up. The cuts had been cleaned. Why wasn't the gash bandaged?

Introductions for Alana's sake. The younger of the two women, Dr. Kellerhals, mid-thirties, trim, bright eyes, said, “Nothing's broken, Linda. A few days and he'll be healed up.”

The other woman, Janet Bragg, a nurse, said, “He's been very brave.”

Sam Mervin, one of the island's RCMP constables, smiled. “Good you got here so quickly, Linda.”

“Jaspon's on his way. Can Timmy come home?”

“After I've talked with him some more. This was a strange accident.”

“What happened?”

Bragg turned to Tim. “You want to tell her? We might as well hear it again.”

Tim explained: He'd gone for a ride because he'd been upset about Derek—not mentioning in front of a policeman about Derek and drugs, just Derek having been beaten—and he'd ended up at Bristol Greens, and had talked for a while with Jim, and then he ridden back and suddenly this van was behind him and coming on fast, and at first Tim thought the guy didn't see him so he stared hard at the windshield and could see the driver and it looked like he was a clown or something his face was full of colors and then Tim knew the guy could see him and before he could think anything else the van wiped him off the road and sent him flying into the ravine like the guy had done it on purpose and he bounced a couple of times and then lay there, air bashed out of him, scared, wondering if he'd broken anything. Wondering too if the guy was coming back to hurt him or if it really was an accident to try to find him to see if he was okay. But nobody came and after a few minutes when he was breathing more easily again he pushed himself up and then had to sit down afraid he'd fall. After a few minutes he started crawling back to the road and wondered if he could ride his bike. It seemed to take a long time, getting to the road, and when he got there he felt wiped. He looked around for his bike and saw it back down in the ravine really busted, the frame and one wheel bent. He heard a car or something coming and he stood up and balanced himself carefully and when the vehicle, it was a brown pickup, could see him he put both hands up and waved hard and it stopped. George Pete, Zeke's son, and George called his dad at Cape Mudge Village and brought Tim down to the clinic really fast, Tim trying to explain what happened. “Zeke said he was going to come by here.” George left because he had to get the truck to his father.

Linda let out a breath of air. “That's good.”

Mervin said, “You really think this van hit you on purpose?”

Tim nodded and immediately winced. The doctor said, “Head still, Tim.”

“Okay. Yes, on purpose.”

“Did you notice anything else about it?”

“Dark green, and it was flat in front, I remember that. It wasn't new.”

“Did you recognize it?”

Alana thought, Recognize? So few vans on Quadra that Tim just might?

“No. It was coming too fast. I just wanted to get out of the way.”

They heard footsteps in the reception area, a voice, “In back,” and Jason came through the door, Noel behind him. Jason, instantly at Tim's side, hugging him. Tim, wincing. Introductions for Noel's sake.

Dr. Kellerhals's phone rang. She picked it up, listened, said, “Okay. Yes, I'm already here. Good.” She closed the phone.

Jason said, “Tell me what happened, Timmy.”

Damn, why didn't his father call him Tim in public. Another repetition of the story, Tim sounding braver this time. He alone knew this was for Alana's hearing.

The doctor asked to be excused. First responders were on their way, she and Janet had to prepare the two other exam rooms. An auto accident up by April Point, they'd be here shortly. “You might want to stick around for this, Sam,” she said to Mervin.

Noel had a sudden sense of unease. “What happened, doctor?”

“Car went off the road. Couple of people, man and a woman, banged up.”

Mervin asked, “Not taking them to the hospital in Campbell River?”

“Al, he's the first responder on tonight, thinks maybe we can handle it here. Maybe some broken bones. I'll know more when they get in.”

“Did they say what kind of car?”

Kellerhals looked surprised. “No, that wouldn't concern me.”

Noel nodded.

Jason said, “Can we take Timmy home? Make room for the people coming in?”

“I'd like to keep him under observation for another hour anyway. And don't worry, we've got room. But if this keeps up—” She sighed. “Usually it's quiet here.”

Again sound from the reception area. Zeke Pete. “Timmy! You okay?”

“Okay,” said the doctor, “everybody out except Jason and Linda and Janet. You can stay for a minute, Zeke, then you'll have to go.”

Jason called out, “Noel, you and Alana can take the truck back to the house if you want, or to the B&B.”

“Thanks.” Noel walked to the reception area, sat, took out his cell phone. Alana followed. He pressed the code for Kyra. It rang and rang. Where the hell was she? Again. Same result. Back to Tim's examination room. “I'll stick around for a while, Jase.”

Janet the nurse said, “Please wait outside.”

In the reception area he said to Alana, “I can drive you back if you want.”

She said, “I'll wait with you.”

After a minute Linda joined them. “You don't have to stay, you know.”

“I know,” said Noel, and Alana nodded in agreement. The three sat in silence. When Zeke came out, Linda got up and returned to Tim.

Zeke said to Noel, “Can't tell you how much it means to Jason, you being here.”

“We haven't done much.”

“More'n anybody else.”

Had Jason confided in Zeke about Derek's doper friends? “Wish we knew more.”

“Sometimes it's hard to know.”

Noel glanced at Alana. Earphones in again. She wasn't looking his or Zeke's way, but she seemed to be paying attention. “Right,” said Noel.

Zeke said, “It's like there's a curse on the family.”

Noel laughed nervously. “I hope
curse
is bit strong.”

Zeke sent Noel a grim smile. “Lots of bad-weather coincidence, then.”

In the distance, a wail of sirens. Dr. Kellerhals came into the reception area. “Two injured people are coming in. I have to ask you to stay well out of the way. Please sit over there.” The three of them shifted as far from the door as possible. The klaxons grew louder, till the ambulance and the screaming stopped in front of the clinic door.

Noel stood, but stayed at the far end. Jason joined them. The doctor opened the door and went outside. Through the window Noel could see the driver get out and confer with Kellerhals. Red and blue lights continued to flash. The driver pulled the back doors open and stepped inside. Noel couldn't stand it any longer, strode to the door and dashed out. Jason followed him. To the driver Noel said, “Are they okay?”

The driver, tall, wearing a T-shirt with a faded logo, said, “Who are you?”

“Someone who's worried about who you might have in there.”

“They'll be okay.”

“A woman in her thirties, a kid in his late teens?”

“Yeah. Could be. But you better—

Noel pushed by. He stepped up on the ambulance bumper. Two raised stretchers, each with a person lying there. Dr. Kellerhals was administering to the one on the right, a paramedic was calming the one on the left, a woman, crying. Noel shouted, “Kyra!”

The doctor turned to him, anger in her face. “Please get down, sir.”

“That's my partner!”

Now Jason stepped onto the overcrowded platform. “Noel, is it Shane too?”

Kellerhals turned her stare at Jason. She looked like she wanted to be hard but her body wouldn't let her. “Jason, give us room to work. Yes, it's Shane. He's in shock and we don't know what else. Please, Jason. You can talk to him in a few minutes.”

“Doctor—Kyra—is she—”

“In shock as well. Please, sir, we have some work to do here. Wait for us inside.”

Glum, Noel and Jason returned to the reception area. To Zeke, Jason said, “Could you ask Linda to come out?”

Zeke nodded and returned to Tim's room.

Linda appeared. Jason told her it was Shane and Kyra. She strode outside, held back when she heard a cry of pain, spoke to the driver, a first responder, an acquaintance. “How serious, Al?”

“They're banged up pretty good. But they'll live, both of them are tough.”

“May I talk to Shane?”

“Maybe in a bit. I think the doc figures we got to take them over to Campbell River, find out what's happened internally.”

Linda's eyes welled up. “Could I ride over with Shane? I am a nurse, you know.”

“Have to ask the doc, Linda. She's the boss.”

Noel and Jason joined Linda, and they waited. Ten minutes, fifteen.

At last Dr. Kellerhals came out and conferred with Al, the driver. Then she spoke to Noel and the Coopers. “They're both stable, and sedated. Shane has a broken leg and I don't know what else. The woman, Kyra Rachel is it?” Noel nodded. “She doesn't have any overt problems except where she got cut with window glass, but she has to be examined fully before we can release her. They're going to Campbell River. I suggest you follow in your cars.”