On Ice (25 page)

“
I should certainly hope so!” Ted said. “You are, after all, my wife.”

“
Yes, dear. Being the wife of a pillar of the medical community does have its advantages. She winced as she tried to straighten up.

“
No, no. Let me help you.” Ted frowned as he adjusted her pillow.

“
Ted, I’m all right.”

“
No, you’re not. You have abrasions and contusions. Two of your ribs have hairline fractures that could snap with the slightest pressure. You might have been killed!”

“
But, I wasn’t.” Glancing at the worried faces of her daughters, Maddy said, “Terrence, why don’t you take the girls to the gift shop? I’d really like some magazines to read. Perhaps some sweets. You girls know what I like.”

Genna and Miranda eagerly dragged Terrence from the room. Maddy gave Ted a look that spoke of sadness. “I didn’t want to worry them.” A small sigh escaped her lips.

“
A little late for that. Mark could have killed you.”

“
I can’t believe he ran the risk of injuring himself.” Maddy shivered, sending a fresh spasm of pain shooting through her midsection.

Ted leaned over her, his whitened knuckles gripping the bedrail betrayed his tension. “Tell me once more exactly what happened,” he said in a calm controlled voice.

“
Oh, Ted, I’ve gone over it and over it with the police.”

“
Just once more please,” he said.

“
I went to the dentist. I was on the Southwest freeway, talking to you on my cellular phone.”

“
That much I know,” he said.

“
I heard a horn honk in the lane next to mine. I turned and saw Mark. He wanted me to see him.” Maddy’s voice sounded plaintive.

“
I’m sure he did. The sick bastard.”

“
He actually smiled, a grin really. Like an old friend who just happens to see you.” She closed her eyes, reliving the vicious attack.

“
Yes, go on,” Ted urged.

“
Then he rammed into the side of my car. He ran me off the road. I hit the concrete guardrail. End of story.”

“
And he merely drove away?”

“
I guess. I was too busy to notice.”

“
Then what?”

“
Then the police came and you came and the ambulance came. All of you were milling about and my head and ribs were screaming in pain. But nobody was interested in the car that hit me. A dark colored sedan driven by my brother-in-law.”

“
The police are searching for him even as we speak.” Ted reached for her hand.

“
I hope they catch him soon. I hope they catch him and lock him up and throw away the key. If they do, maybe Rene can come home. I’ve been so worried about her. I’ve had this feeling that something is wrong. I miss her so.”

“
My silly darling,” Ted said. “You’re the one in danger. Rene is safe and sound.”

“
No, Ted. It’s a feeling I’ve experienced before, when we were children. If one of us got hurt or sick, the other one did, too. It’s a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.” She closed her eyes. “I’m so frightened for Rene.”

“
I can’t believe you put yourself in such danger.”

Ted pressed her fingers to his lips. “He could have killed you. I couldn’t bear to lose my darling Maddy.”

“
You can’t lose me.” She laughed. “Only the good die young. Remember?”

“
Oh, yes.” Ted smiled down at her. “You’re the bad one, and Rene’s--” He let his voice trail off.

“
The good one,” she finished.

~*~

Dr. Lorelei gave the ambulance attendants Rene’s vital signs and directed them to transport her immediately. After they strapped her to a gurney and loaded her onto the ambulance, Brett climbed in to ride with her.

“
I’m so sorry about the truck,” she whispered.

“
Will you forget about the truck? Brett placed his hand on top of hers.

“
I know how much it means to you. Someone said it was your grandfather’s.” Her breath came in short gasps.

“
It was. Saved his life in a snowstorm once. He called it Old Lucky. People started calling him Lucky, too.”

“
I hope it can be repaired,” she said.

“
I just hope you can be repaired. You spun down in the gully.”

“
It was the mud. The truck slid. I couldn’t stay on the road.”

“
You’re supposed to drive slow when it’s muddy.” Brett said. “You’re lucky you weren’t killed. It must have been a pretty wild ride. Lorelei and I followed your tracks down to where you crashed.”

“
How did I get back to Father Paul’s?” Rene asked in a whisper. The pain in one side of her chest was more of a burning now.

“
I carried you. Lorelei said we had to get you out of there. You really got me worried. Rene, you don’t know how much you mean to me.” He lightly kissed her lips, then buried his face in the side of her neck, holding her gently for some moments.

“
The children!” Rene said in a breathy wheeze. “They must be frightened.” The pain in her ribs was nauseating. She couldn’t fill her lungs and spoke in short bursts.

“
Mrs. Jolly said she’d stay with them until I get there. Don’t worry about anything.”

Tears slid, unchecked down the sides of her face to trickle through her hair.

“
What’s the matter?” Brett stroked her hair. Although her head throbbed rhythmically, she felt comforted.

“
E-Everything!” she whimpered. The effort of crying caused her great pain, but she couldn’t control the sobs that wracked her body.

“
It can’t be that bad.” He stroked her scruffy hair, unstyled and growing out from her self-shearing with the folding scissors. “I thought we were getting along well. If you tell me what’s wrong, tell me and I’ll try to help.”

“
I wish I could,” she said softly. “I really wish I could.”

The ambulance slowed and turned as the wailing siren trailed off into silence. The rear doors were flung open immediately after the vehicle came to a stop. “Sir, could you step out?” a voice said. Brett backed out of her sight and a younger face appeared. “How are we doing, Ma’am?” He took her blood pressure again and shone a flashlight in her eyes. He spoke the results into a two-way radio, which barked back static at him. Rene gripped the edges as the gurney rocked its way outside and jolted as its legs were unfolded. The brief ride into the hospital was comparatively smooth.

Lorelei strode into the emergency room right behind her, barking orders about x-rays and blood work. Her soft southern voice took on a crisp and authoritative tone as she directed the staff to do her bidding.

Rene saw Brett standing in the hallway as she was whisked past. His worried expression haunted her after she was rolled into a brightly-lit examination room.

~*~

It had been drizzling all day. Mark cruised the block until he saw Detective Ambrose step out of the shadows. He pulled over to the curb long enough for the heavy set man to wrench the door open.

Ambrose grunted as he slammed the door. “How’s my favorite felon?”

“
Don’t call me that.” Mark’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel as he pulled back into the street.

“
You can’t afford to be touchy.” Ambrose turned up the collar of his jacket and slouched in his seat.

“
That’s why we’re having this discussion.”

“
I take it you want to avoid further legal unpleasantness?”

“
What are the charges against me?”

“
Two counts of assault with intent. One for the chauffer and one for the bitch.” The detective’s hooded eyes flicked over Mark and took in the interior of the vehicle. “You should get tinted windows.”

“
I didn’t have much to choose from,” Mark said. “Can you make the charges disappear?”

“
I can make anything or anyone disappear for the right price.”

“
What is the going rate for erasures?”

Detective Ambrose shrugged his shoulders. “It’s a big risk for me, y’know? I could go to jail for helping you out.”

“
You don’t need to give me the sales pitch. Just name your price,” Mark said.

“
Ten thousand.” Ambrose glanced at him, gauging his reaction.

Mark raised his eyebrows.

“
C’mon. You wouldn’t think twice about paying that much to some freakin’ hot shot lawyer and he might not get you off.”

Mark didn’t mention that he was a freakin’ hot shot lawyer. “No problem. I’ll pay. I want to avoid the courts. It would be very embarrassing for me to be arrested.”

“
Embarrassing? That’s just the beginning. You could be arraigned without bail. You’re a good lookin’ guy.” He laughed gruffly. “I’m sure you’d make lots of new friends in the can.”

“
Not if I can help it.”

“
I want cash,” Ambrose said.

“
I’ll give you two thousand now and the rest tomorrow night.”

The cash changed hands and Ambrose tucked it behind his badge inside the leather case clipped to his belt. Mark turned the corner and let him out at the same place he’d picked him up. The nondescript man faded into the shadows.

Mark stared after him, a feeling of disgust roiling up from his stomach. He was forced to pay for the services of a man he would normally never have to encounter. He stepped on the gas to put as much distance between himself and the odious detective as possible.

~*~

“
Are you in the witness protection program?” the young nursing assistant asked.

“
Where on earth did you get that idea?” Maddy asked.

“
We had another fellow in here who had a bodyguard right outside the door, but he was a mob informer. You don’t look like a mob informer so I thought that maybe you had witnessed a crime.” She looked hopefully at Maddy as she rolled the over-bed table into place.

“
I’m not associated with the mob. The gentleman outside the door is our chauffeur.” Maddy grimaced as the nurse aide adjusted her pillows. “My husband is just very protective.”

“
That chauffeur fellow is creeping everybody out. I mean he glares at anyone who comes near your door.”

“
He’s just doing his job,” Maddy said. “What’s for lunch? I’m actually hungry today.”

“
That’s a good sign.” The girl laughed. “Let me get your tray.” She stepped to the open doorway and selected a tray from the rolling rack. Placing it on the over-bed table she removed the cover with a flourish.

Maddy stifled a scream, but the nurse aide’s shrill cry brought Terrence through the door instantly.

“
What’s wrong?” he asked.

“
Th-there,” the girl stuttered, pointing to the tray. A single dead rose tied with a black ribbon lay across her plate.

“
How droll,” Maddy said. “He’s scraping the bottom of the barrel with these cheap attempts to intimidate me.”

Within minutes Terrence had summoned Dr. Sanders and the police. The young nurse aide had been sent, protesting, from the room, ordered to bring another tray and supervise its delivery personally.

“
I’m really not hungry now, Ted,” Maddy said. “I’m just angry.” The same rumpled police detective who took the report after Terrence’s injury entered the room.

“
Oh, great!” She glowered at him from her bed. “Detective Ambrose.”

“
Mrs. Sanders,” he nodded to her.

“
What’s wrong, Honey?” Ted looked suspiciously at the police officer.

“
That’s the detective who thinks I hit Terrence with the wrench. He’ll probably be convinced that I drove into a concrete barrier just for the fun of it.”

“
Mrs. Sanders, I have to check out all the possibilities,” the officer said in a flat voice.

“
I sincerely hope you have dispelled the idea that my wife has any involvement with these incidents other than being one of the victims.”

“
Yes, sir. I have come to that conclusion. And I appreciate you having the Chief inform me that was to be my conclusion.” He returned Ted’s glare.

“
I want to know what you’re doing to apprehend Mark Desmond!” Ted demanded. “If you’d done your job after the garage incident, my wife wouldn’t be in this hospital.”

“
Mr. Sanders--”

“
Dr. Sanders, if you please.”

“
Dr. Sanders.” Detective Ambrose sighed. “We were unable to locate Mr. Desmond. Neither he nor Mrs. Desmond and their children have been seen at their condominium since early May. Their car is in the parking garage at their condo and when we contacted Mr. Desmond’s office we were told he’d taken an extended leave of absence to travel in Europe with his family.”

“
That’s not true,” Maddy said. “Rene left him. She took the children and ran away.”

“
And why would she do that, Ma’am?”

“
Because he’s not the nice man you seem to think he is,” Maddy said.