Sleep No More (28 page)

"I'm on my way, sweetie."

Maggie cried, "There's blood... I don't know what to do...."

"Whose blood?" She could barely croak out the words.

"Uh-uh-uncle Father's."

Abby felt a little rush of relief that Maggie wasn't hurt. "What happened?"

"I don't knooow." Maggie's voice was on the verge of hysteria. "He's in the kitchen."

"Can he talk?"

"He's trying to." Maggie's speech was getting thicker and more difficult to understand. "I don't know what he's saying... his mouth is bleeding."

It sounded like trying to speak to him on the phone would be useless.

"I'll be there in three minutes. But Maggie, I want you to hang up the phone and then call 911."

"I don't want to hang up--" She broke off in a sob.

"It's okay. I'm almost there. But your uncle needs a doctor. Call 911 now, Maggie."

She heard a pitiful, thin whine, but the phone disconnected.

"Father Kevin is hurt," Abby said to Jason. "I have no idea how badly."

Jason was already pushing the speed limit. The streets of Preston were deserted at midnight on Sunday. The stoplights had switched to flashers. Jason only slowed before he went through two that were flashing red.

When he swerved to the curb in front of the rectory, Abby was out before the car stopped moving. She ran up to the lighted front porch. The door was locked. She sprinted back down the steps and around the side of the house. The back door was standing open, light spilling from the kitchen into the yard.

Abby recognized the high-pitched squeal of an add-on door alarm like hers and her heart did a stutter-step.

By the time she made it to the back door, she heard Jason right behind her.

Father Kevin was in the middle of the kitchen floor, a chair from the table overturned next to him. There was a smear of blood next to his head on the floor, as if he'd landed face-first then rolled over. His left eye was purple and swollen shut and his nose looked broken.

Maggie wailed, "He wouldn't let me do it!" She was kneeling next to her uncle, trying to wipe away the blood on his face with a wet kitchen towel. Her face was red and wet with tears.

Abby went to Maggie's side and knelt. Jason shut off that damn alarm and went to Father Kevin's other side. Jason gently removed Maggie's hand from where she was trying to clean her uncle's face.

She immediately threw her arms around Abby, bloody rag and all. "I tried. He wh-wh-wouldn't let me."

"What wouldn't he let you do?" She rubbed Maggie's back to soothe her.

"Call 911." Her mouth was muffled against Abby's neck. "He knocked the phone out of my hand."

Abby saw the bloodstained cordless phone lying halfway across the room near the refrigerator. Father Kevin was obviously delirious with pain.

"It's okay... it's okay," she crooned softly. "See, I brought Dr. Coble. He'll help your uncle."

Abby watched Jason assess Father Kevin. When Jason gently examined Father Kevin's mouth, one of his front teeth appeared to be either missing or broken off at the gum line. Jason's hands moved over the priest's body, asking if various areas were in pain. Father Kevin groaned when Jason touched the man's ribs.

"Maggie, can you get some ice from the freezer?" Jason asked.

Abby shot him a look. "I'll get it." Didn't he see how upset Maggie was?

"No. I'll get it," Maggie said, releasing her death grip around Abby's neck and sniffling loudly. "It's my job."

Abby closed her eyes and let out a long breath. Jason knew exactly what Maggie needed.

Abby mouthed, "Sorry." But Jason's focus was back on the priest.

"Do you think you can sit up?" Jason asked.

Father Kevin gave a slow, shaky nod.

Jason assisted him into a sitting position, which clearly caused Father Kevin some pain.

Maggie returned with a bowl of ice.

"Maggie, put some of that ice in a clean dishtowel. Then we can hold it on your uncle's face while we drive to the hospital."

Father Kevin expressed his displeasure loudly, if not understandably.

Jason said quietly, "We have to go to the hospital." While Father Kevin continued to sound his muted protest, Jason handed the keys to Abby. "Bring the car around to the alley. It'll be shorter."

"Shouldn't we call for an ambulance?" Abby asked.

Father Kevin shook his head sluggishly, mumbling.

"We can get him there faster," Jason said. He looked at Abby, "Go. Hurry."

By the time Abby stopped the car in the alley behind the rectory, Jason and Maggie were halfway across the backyard with Father Kevin between them.

"Open the front passenger door," Jason said, huffing with exertion. "It'll be easier to get him in there."

Once they had him inside and the seat belt around him, Jason got behind the wheel. Abby and Maggie got in the back.

Father Kevin started shaking. Maggie leaned forward and tried to give him the ice-filled towel. He didn't seem to notice.

"Buckle up, girls." Jason put the car in gear and shot out of the alley.

"But he needs ice," Maggie said.

Abby made certain Maggie had her belt on and then took the ice pack from her. "I'll see what I can do."

Instead of putting on her own seat belt, Abby pressed herself against the back of the passenger seat and gently applied the ice to Father Kevin's mouth--which looked only slightly worse than his left eye.

The hospital was only ten minutes away. Jason made it in eight.

Jason returned from the coffee machine and stood in front of Abby and Maggie. They were seated side by side in a couple of wood-armed upholstered chairs in the emergency waiting room. Abby handled Maggie as well as an experienced mother. She was caring, yet not overprotective and coddling; which would only validate and fuel Maggie's fear.

At least she'd stopped asking if her uncle was going to die. Abby had nipped that right away.

But the stress was taking its toll. Maggie's teeth were starting to chatter with her trembling.

Jason handed her a cup of hot tea with plenty of sugar. "Drink some of this, Maggie. It'll make you feel better."

Maggie looked up at him as if he were Superman. "You saved Uncle Father."

"No, honey," he said. "
You
did."

Maggie didn't smile her trademark smile, but she did sit up a little straighter when she accepted the tea. She wrapped her hands around the warm cup and he could see there was still a little blood crusted under her fingernails. His heart ached for her. Father Kevin was all she had, and to have found him like that....

He asked, "Do you know what happened to your uncle?"

Maggie took a small sip of tea, then shook her head. "He had been in his church office. I was looking at pictures and the alarm went off. I heard a loud noise. I guess he fell in the kitchen and hurt himself."

Abby looked at Jason. He didn't believe Father Kevin had hurt himself that badly by falling in the kitchen any more than she did.

Jason lifted his chin, asking Abby to walk away with him.

"I'm going to get a drink of water," she said softly to Maggie. "It's just across the room there. I won't be out of sight."

Once they were beyond Maggie's earshot Jason said, "He did say he fell; I understood that much when they were checking him in."

"It must have been someplace other than the kitchen. Maggie said he'd been next door. Maybe he fell at the church. The steps outside his office are old and pretty steep."

"Makes more sense than tripping in the kitchen. Would also explain the open kitchen door." He glanced over at Maggie. "They said someone can go back and sit with him. I don't think it should be Maggie. And she'll be more comfortable out here with you. I'll go."

"Okay." She looked at him with the same kind of veneration and confidence that Maggie had.

He liked it, but he didn't deserve it.

"Keep us posted." She turned to go back to Maggie.

Pausing with his hand on the door that led to Emergency, he looked over his shoulder at her. She was sitting with her arm around Maggie. Her head tilted to the side, her dark hair resting on the top of Maggie's head.

Abby was the one who deserved to be adored. She did everything in her power to protect the people she cared for. Yes, she deserved to be adored... and she deserved peace. And right now he could only offer one of the above.

He forced himself to stop looking at her and opened the door into the Emergency area.

It was nearly four-thirty in the morning when Abby and Jason delivered Father Kevin and Maggie back home. They were met there by Father Kevin's housekeeper, Mrs. White, whom he'd had Abby call from the hospital. She was a widow and was willing to stay as long as she was needed. It was clear by her fussing that Father Kevin would get much closer attention here than he would have had he been admitted into the hospital. And she had a good relationship with Maggie, which made Abby feel a little less like a heel leaving her.

Maggie had made it perfectly clear as soon as they'd arrived that taking care of her uncle was
her
job. Mrs. White could cook and clean and do laundry all she wanted; Father Kevin was Maggie's.

As they drove away, Abby felt the letdown from her adrenaline rush. She stifled a yawn.

"You were right about the church steps," Jason said. They'd avoided talking about the accident while Maggie was with them. "Before they gave him that dose of Demerol, he managed to convey that he'd tripped at the top and fallen all the way down. He landed on his face on the sidewalk."

Abby cringed. "He sure looked like he'd kissed the concrete. I hope he has a quick recovery; the fundraiser is right around the corner."

"Well, with cracked ribs, he sure won't be golfing. But he should be recovered enough to attend."

"What about preparations?" Abby asked. "He always does all of that stuff himself."

"Not this year." Jason looked over at her. "This year he has a committee... me."

"Really?" She shouldn't be surprised, not with the way Jason had jumped right in and helped her during her crisis. "I had no idea you were involved with COC."

"Just the golf outing, as a participant--at least until this year. It looked like Father Kevin could use an extra set of hands."

"You've noticed, too, then... that he seems ill?"

Jason glanced at her. "Yeah, even though he insists he's fine. Has Maggie said anything to you?"

"No. Well, other than she thinks he's planning on sending her to Tidewater Manor when he can no longer take care of her."

"Seriously?"

"I think Maggie misunderstood a telephone conversation she'd been eavesdropping on. There's no way--even if he is dealing with a serious illness--that he'd send Maggie to Tidewater." She paused. "Didn't they ask him medical questions in the Emergency room?"

"Not while I was present."

"You're a doctor," Abby said. "What do you think?"

"I'm a doctor, Abby, not a psychic. I can't diagnose people by reading their auras."

She laughed. "Isn't that sort of what psychiatry is all about?"

The look he gave her could have withered a lesser woman. "Very funny."

He turned the corner at the Sunrise Bakery. The lights were on and workers were milling around behind the counter.

"I think we should try to get a few hours' sleep before we talk to Sergeant Kitterman," he said.

"Really, you've done enough. I don't expect you to hold my hand every step of the way." She didn't relish the idea of going to talk to Kitterman alone, but how long did she think Jason could ignore his own responsibilities? "Don't you have a practice to run?"

"Monday is my day off. I just have a couple of patients to check up on. So I'd like to go with you, if you don't mind. I'd like to hear what evidence they have; maybe we can piece together how all of these things are linked."

Abby tried not to think of someone out there stalking her, making threats. Were they willing to do more? Or was it at an end? If only she'd been able to remember more under hypnosis.

"I'd appreciate you coming along. I'll call you after I've talked to Kitterman and set up a time. You'll have to come and pick me up though, since the Explorer is on four flats at the moment."

"Abby, you're not sleeping at your house. It's too dangerous."

"It's almost daylight."

"Big deal. We don't know what time the guy broke in; daylight doesn't mean much when the house is as isolated as yours."

"Jason, I agreed to one night. And I proved I couldn't make it through without sleepwalking. Let's not tempt fate. I have the alarms at home. I'll even pile furniture in front of the doors if it'll make you feel better."

"Well, you
don't
have the alarms. One of them is on Brenna's door. By the time we mess around with re-installing it at your house, we'll burn valuable time when we could have been sleeping.
Besides
," he said, as if matching her argument for argument, "until we have our chat with Kitterman and have a better idea what's going on, I'm not leaving you alone."