Carolyn Jourdan - Nurse Phoebe 02 - The School for Mysteries (2 page)

Chapter  2

It was amazing how your life could turn on a dime, even when you least expected it. One minute you were a hopeless, penniless spinster, and the next you had a great job and were sitting on a rope net a hundred feet in the air.

Phoebe had finally decided to let go of the tree and sit with her friend. Ivy was right, the view was amazing. The women sat side-by side and listened to the bird sounds and the wind in the trees.

They huffed the evergreen resin and the earthy leaf litter and enjoyed the magical
islands in the sky
view of the Smokies. It was the special treat you got when you were above a blanket of clouds that totally concealed the lower elevations and only the tips of the tallest peaks poked through. The women gazed at what seemed to be a chain of steep, forested islands separated by a sea of playful, turbulent, white mist.

“Okay, spill,” Ivy said, “What changed? Why’d you finally agree to come up here with me.”

“You don’t understand what it’s like to age,” Phoebe said. “When you’re young, like you are now, you think it’ll go on forever. Of course you do. It’s all you’ve ever known.

“But then years pass and one day you realize that you’re not just getting older, but you’re getting
old
. You can’t see or hear as well as you used to. You’ve gotten out of shape and can’t remember when that could’ve happened. It’s so gradual you don’t notice it. You see old people all around you all your life, but it still doesn’t really enter your mind that every one of them used to be young and fresh and energetic and smiling. And before you know it, you’re looking in the mirror at sagging jowls and loose skin flapping where your triceps used to be, wondering what the heck happened.”

Ivy smiled with sympathy.

“When Sean died, it really took something out of me. It’s indescribably strange to look down into a coffin and see a body that a few days ago was your boyfriend. I wasn’t prepared for what that felt like. It was terrible.

“It took awhile, but I finally was starting to feel like myself again—and then I lost my job. That was a real blow because in this economy, at my age, I knew I might never find another one unless I’d work at a fast food place.”

Ivy leaned against Phoebe and rested her head on her friend’s shoulder.

“I felt afraid for the first time in my life. But then I reminded myself of the Duchess of Cornwall and the odds she overcame.
Gee
, talk about your long shots.”

Ivy had no idea who the Duchess of Cornwall was, but she was embarrassed to admit it, since the woman was obviously very important to Phoebe.

“Because of her,” Phoebe said, “I know I’ll always have a chance to start my life over again and create whatever kind of life want. I decided to start today by facing my fear of heights. I knew if I could climb up here, I could do anything.”

The women smiled at each other.

“What’s going on with you and Henry?” Ivy asked.

Henry and Phoebe were childhood friends who’d recently come into contact with each other again. The small community of White Oak was watching them carefully for any signs of romance.

“He’s in California right now,” Phoebe said, “fighting a wildfire. He and a bunch of other rangers volunteered and they’re out there for who knows how long. I guess until they get the fire out.”

“That’s not what I meant,” said Ivy.

Phoebe took a deep breath. “I don’t have the same kind of romantic motivation I used to have when I was younger. It may be partially hormonal. Post-menopause is
such
a relief. You don’t realize how much of your decision-making is affected by hormones until they go away.

“Then, all of a sudden, it’s like you get your brain back, except it’s not
back
because you’ve never actually had it before. It’s more like you finally notice you have a brain in the first place. It makes you feel sorry for yourself, having been brainless for your whole life up until now without ever realizing it.

“It’s not like I haven’t tried to participate in all the social norms. I’ve been dating for four decades now, that’s a bunch of guys. But from what I’ve seen romance is massively over-rated. It’s a dangerous delusion.”

Ivy poked Phoebe with her elbow. “Come on,” she said.

“What I’m trying to say is that I’ve learned from dating longer than you’ve been alive that
friendship
is real, but what’s commonly meant by the word
romance
isn’t,” Phoebe explained. “These days I’m looking for a friend, someone fun to travel with, or go to the movies or eat out with, but not a husband. I was never looking for a husband. I was always looking for a decent, reliable buddy.

“You know the first people Dante ran into on his trip to hell were a romantic couple totally wrapped up in each other. They were locked in a whirlwind together. Dante
fainted
when he saw what they were reaping as a result of their so-called
romance
.”

Phoebe knew Ivy was too young to care about things like this. She was still in thrall to youth, and that was understandable and right. But she’d asked, so Phoebe had given her something to think about.

“Enough about men,” Phoebe said. “I have some really great news. I’ve been saved! I got a job this morning. It starts tomorrow. Just one patient and a whole lot of money.”

She told Ivy about the phone call and her friend congratulated her. Then they sat in companionable silence, enjoying the view together. “You’re right,” Phoebe said. “This place really is paradise.

Chapter  3

The sound of wind rustling through the leaves was being progressively drowned out by a rhythmical thumping that was gaining volume. At first Phoebe thought it was the beating of her own heart. She wondered if it was palpitations or if she was about to have a panic attack from the height. Maybe the exertion of the climb was bringing on a heart attack. Then she realized it was a helicopter approaching. That was strange. She knew it wouldn’t be tourists because this area of the Smokies was famous for deadly wind shears. They were called
orographic lifts
, and they could be over a hundred miles an hour.

It was a local phenomenon caused by the Smokies being the first major windbreak between the Atlantic Ocean and the rest of the country. So many aircraft had crashed because of these notorious winds, authorities were extremely reluctant to send any air rescue to the area, even in the most dire emergencies. There was no point in adding to the body count.

Injured people were frequently airlifted from other areas of the National Park and taken to a hospital in Knoxville. It was much faster than an ambulance on account of the distance and the dense, slow-moving traffic that surrounded the nation’s top family vacation destination. More than nine million tourists a year visited the Park. That made for hideous traffic.

The helicopter sound was getting
very
loud. The two women couldn’t help but look up even though the dense vegetation meant they’d get a quick glimpse at most, and that only if the chopper passed directly overhead. But then suddenly, there it was.

Before Phoebe could even register what she was seeing, a large pale form flashed into her field of vision, fell toward her, and hit the net she and Ivy were sitting on with a powerful impact.

She reflexively grabbed Ivy’s arm to help keep her balance as the platform recoiled like a trampoline. The two women were able to keep their seats, but just barely. They turned together to look behind them and were astonished at the figure that lay there, splayed out. It was the body of a man, naked, lying face up, draped bonelessly across the rope netting.

Had the body blown out of a stretcher mounted on the side of the helicopter?

Had it fallen out of the helicopter itself?

Ivy was immediately on her feet. She glanced at Phoebe and said, “Did you see that? It looked almost like those guys
threw
him out the door of that helicopter!”

No, Phoebe hadn’t seen it, but her eyes weren’t that good anymore. Her focal length no longer transitioned smoothly. She needed at least four pairs of glasses to make it these days—reading, computing, driving, and sunglasses. She didn’t have any lenses for viewing low-flying aircraft.

But rather than heading toward the body, Ivy moved even farther away from it. As gracefully as an acrobat, she walked along the network of ropes until she was as far away as she could possibly get. She stood against a tree trunk, staring at the dead man in horror. She’d never seen a dead body before.

Phoebe was a bit surprised that Ivy wouldn’t try to render assistance, but fear of a body was common. Most people moved away from death or trouble. Fortunately people like doctors, soldiers, policemen, and firefighters tended to have the opposite impulse.

Phoebe looked at the body and noted that the man’s face was still a healthy pink. He hadn’t been dead long. Then the corpse coughed.

Oh God
, she thought,
he’s not quite dead. Yet.

Phoebe recognized the sound for what it was and began an awkward crawl across the net toward the man. He was vomiting while lying on his back. He was choking. She made it to the middle of the net and shoved him over onto his side so he wouldn’t drown in his own vomit.

The two men standing in the open doorway of the helicopter exchanged surprised looks and spoke to each other via their helmet microphones at the same time. One said, “What was that?” and the other, “Did you see that?”

The taller man wore a harness with a tether connected to a hook in the ceiling of the chopper. He leaned out as far as he could and scanned the forest below them.

“I saw something,” said the tall guy. “It could’ve been a person.”

“There was some sort of tree stand,” said the other man, “I couldn’t tell what it was.”

“Do you think someone saw us?” said the tall man.

“Let’s go find out.”

The shorter fellow instructed the pilot to turn around immediately and retrace his route. Both men grabbed handholds to keep from falling out the door as the chopper tilted and wheeled around.

Phoebe had no idea what condition the man was in. He had to have been injured, but his color was decent and he was still warm. She felt for a pulse. It was sky high, but that was understandable. He’d just endured a free fall without the benefit of a parachute or even a pair of boxer shorts.

“Can you hear me?” she asked in a gentle voice.

He moaned.

“You’ve had an accident,” she said, “but you’re safe now.”

His eyes fluttered open. His pupils looked good. They were even and reactive to light. She could tell he was trying to focus on her, but was having trouble. She held up two fingers and said, “Can you tell me how many fingers I’m holding up?”

His eyes closed and he didn’t respond.

When he started retching again, Phoebe steadied him, keeping him on his side. She had no way of knowing if he had any broken bones or internal injuries, but the vomiting was ominous. He might’ve damaged something in his abdomen or hurt his head.

“It’s okay now,” she lied, “Everything will be okay now. I’ve gotcha.”

The sound of the helicopter started getting louder again. It must be coming back.

The man was mumbling. Phoebe leaned close to try to hear what he was saying. His deep throated growl was hard to understand but it sounded like, “Not
them
again.”

Suddenly the chopper was overhead, and this time it stayed there for several seconds, hovering. Two men wearing helmets, black jumpsuits, and heavy black boots were standing in the open door looking down at Phoebe and her new patient. They were right out in the middle of the rope platform in plain sight. Ivy was still standing with her back against the tree trunk, which meant she was well hidden from above.

The fallen man recoiled in terror against the wind being whipped up by the helicopter blades. The men in the chopper had to be able to see that he was moving under his own power. Phoebe squinted up through the flying bits of leaves and her lashing hair and wondered if that was a good thing, or a bad thing.

The wind was buffeting the chopper. It was gusting and shoving it hard toward the ridge and into the tops of the trees. The pilot couldn’t hold their position for more than a few seconds before he was forced to move away from the wall of mountains.

But they’d seen enough. Loose ends would have to be dealt with, pronto.