Read Pieces of the Puzzle Online
Authors: Robert Stanek
Pieces of the Puzzle (20 page)
Baltimore, Maryland
Friday, 28 January
The new butler brought Scott the morning edition of the
Washington Post
. Scott glanced at the front page. Pleased to see there wasn’t a word about a financial crisis in any of the headlines, he
turned back to Cynthia, smiling, a dumb grin that wouldn’t go away. He said, “How do you feel today? It’s Friday, January
28th, do you know that?”
Cynthia smiled and blinked her eyes. “I feel,” she said, her voice weak and low, but stronger than yesterday and stronger
than last Tuesday when she had looked at him and he knew she was past any danger. She patted her belly. “James and I feel.”
Scott sucked at the air and looked away. There was no baby, but he couldn’t tell her that. Not now, not yet.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
Scott gripped her hand. “There’s nothing wrong.”
“Don’t lie to me, you’re not good at it.”
Scott moved away from the bed and poured a glass of water, offered it to Cynthia. His hands were shaking. “The doctor said
the machines are going tomorrow. Isn’t that wonderful?”
“With nurses still watching over me and this—” Cynthia scratched at the IV needle in her hand.
“For a while, yes, but we’re free once the machines are gone.”
Cynthia looked at him with sincere eyes. “Scott, what aren’t they telling me? I hear whispers, the doctor won’t talk to me,
daddy won’t talk to me… You look away.”
“Drink this, rest, save your strength.” He held the cup. She drank a few sips. He told her, “Close your eyes, I’ll be here
when you awake.”
“Not yet,” she said. “I should have listened to you. I should’ve let Edward take care of everything.” Softly she added, “Me
and my big head.”
“The accident wasn’t your fault, the other guy hit you.”
“No, I slammed into the truck trying to get away from that black car.”
“Black car?”
“The one that kept passing me, stopping in the middle of the road afterward. Crazy guy, told me his name was John and that
I had to get out of the car.”
“Get out of the car?”
“Yeah, a bomb. Hah!” Cynthia nodded to the Chapstick.
He dabbed the Chapstick carefully to her lips, then kissed her gently, his resolve coming quickly. “I didn’t want to tell
you this now, but we have to go away.”
“A trip now?”
“Yes, a trip. Think of it as a trip, only we won’t be coming back for a long time, an extended vacation. Are you okay with
that?”
“My knight in shining armor,” she whispered. She held his hand for a moment then said, “I’m tired.”
“Sleep,” Scott told her.
Cynthia closed her eyes. Scott waited until she was asleep before he left the room. As soon as he was in the hall, his calm
slipped away. He slammed his fists into the wall, tried to control his anger but couldn’t. “Why?” he screamed at deaf walls.
“Why?”
The nurse rushed into the hall to see what was wrong. Scott waved her away.
“Quiet,” the nurse said as she backed away. “She needs her rest, for her sake as much as the baby’s.”
Scott’s eyes went wide. “Baby?”
The nurse looked at him like he was dimwitted. “Baby James, or so I’m told. She’s a fighter, that one, baby going to be strong
just like the mom. Don’t rightly know if it’s a boy. The other one was a boy. We know that, but this one could be a girl.
She won’t let us check, says she already knows.”
“Other one?”
“The baby she miscarried. What, he didn’t tell you it was twins? I can understand, ‘nough trauma already for everybody.”
“He?”
“The granddaddy, Mr. Simons, such a nice man.”
Scott changed his mind about letting Cynthia rest and waiting any longer. He asked the nurse, “How much is he paying you?”
Before she could answer, Scott said, “I’ll double it.”
“Double?”
Scott eyes went to the duffle bag on the floor near the foyer.
“Hell, if you’ll help pack and come with us, you can set the price.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere tropical, warm. How does that sound?”
“My Toby, what about my Toby? Can’t rightly leave ‘im behind.”
“Write him a letter. Tell him you’ll be back in a few months.”
“My Toby can’t read, Mr. Evers. Dogs don’t read.”
“Dog?”
“Rottweiler, hates everybody but me.”
“Good, we’ll bring him along. How long will it take you to pack everything you need?”
“Few minutes I reckon. Doctor said the machines could go.
Just the meds mostly.”
Smiling, Scott clapped his hands together, said, “Well, let’s get to it.”
Minutes later Scott was staring at Cynthia through the rearview mirror and nodding to the butler who was standing on the lawn
as he pulled away from the front of the house. He turned on the headlights, continued around the circle drive.
The front gate moved slowly outward and just as the car started toward the gates, Cynthia opened her eyes and looked up.
Scott, still looking at her through the rearview mirror, smiled.
“Rest,” he said, “Everything’s going to be okay now,” and then he drove away into the night.
Look for these
Scott Evers Thrillers…
The Cards in the Deck
The Pawns on the Board
The Players in the Game
Robert Stanek is the author of many previously published books, including several bestsellers. Currently, he lives in the
Pacific Northwest with his wife and children. Robert is proud to have served in the Persian Gulf War as a combat crewmember
on an electronic warfare aircraft. During the war, he flew numerous combat and combat support missions, logging over two hundred
combat flight hours. His distinguished accomplishments during the Persian Gulf War earned him nine medals, including the United
States of America’s highest flying honor, the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross.
As a boy, he dreamed of being a writer. In elementary school, he was a junior editor for the school newspaper. Although he
has written many books for professionals since 1994, his works of fiction have quickly become his most popular books. His
first novel was Keeper Martin’s Tale, which was simultaneously released in adult and children’s editions. He describes the
book as “a story of mystery, intrigue, magic, and adventure.” Many of his other works of fiction are also fantasies, set in
incredibly fantastic worlds.
Learn more at