The Game of Denial (31 page)

Evey stepped away from the car and watched it until it was out of sight. She turned back to the house and a sudden cold wind sent a shiver up her back.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

RALPH AND EVEY were chatting over lunch when the phone in the living room rang. Evey pushed away from the kitchen table and walked into the other room. "Hello," she said softly, expecting to hear from Joan.

"Mrs. Chase, this is Charmaine Carmichael. Is my mother still there?"

"No. She left early this morning."

"I've been trying to reach her, but she's not picking up."

"She should be on the interstate by now," Evey said, glancing at the clock over the fireplace mantle.

"Do you know which route she took when she left there?"

"The best route would have been Highway 58 over to the interstate. Maybe she decided to stop at Fran and Brad's because of the weather."

"I've already spoken to Fran. She hasn't shown up there."

"I'll follow the route from here and see if I can find anything." Evey disconnected and hurried to the coat closet in the living room.

"Somethin' wrong, Miz Evey?" Ralph asked from the entryway between the living room and the kitchen.

"Joan's daughter has been trying to contact her, but she doesn't answer."

"Snow's comin' down pretty good right now. I'll drive you," Ralph said.

"I've been driving in this weather all my life. I'll call if I find anything and you can call Brad."

JOAN WAS FREEZING. She couldn't remember exactly what happened, but knew she was in trouble. She couldn't stop her teeth from chattering violently and had to fight to remain awake as the frigid water lapped at her neck. If she closed her eyes they might never open again. Her leg muscles were tired and so cold she could barely feel them. She was disoriented by the sunlight glaring off the running water around her and the snow. Periodically, a rush of water filled the interior of her car and forced her closer to the top of her car. White fog rose in front of her as she breathed hard, trying to use her feet to push her body up in the seat. Her legs hurt and were trapped at an awkward angle between the steering wheel and the dash. Every time she struggled to free her legs, the car slipped deeper into the water. If the water rose much further, she wouldn't be able to keep her face above it. She felt as if small knives were stabbing at her as the water engulfed her. Suddenly a calm presence surrounded her. She turned toward the passenger side of the car and saw the most beautiful hazel eyes looking back at her.

"Martine?" she said.

A frisson of warmth moved across her cheek as the apparition stroked it and tilted Joan's head back to keep it above the water. "This is a fine mess you have gotten yourself into, my love. What are you going to do?"

Joan smiled. "Probably die if I don't get out of here," she said. "Will you stay with me? I don't want to die alone."

"I am always with you,
mon amie
."

"I miss you."

"I am sorry I could not stay longer." The vision of Martine smiled and took a deep breath. "Fran was beautiful for her wedding."

"She reminded me of you so much. I remember you walking toward me at our ceremony. You took my breath away."

"I was very afraid that day," Martine said. "Did you know that, my darling?"

"I thought my knees would buckle and leave me in a heap at your feet."

"We did a good job of acting, non?"

"I wanted you more than I ever had. You were mine and I was so lucky." Warm tears rolled down Joan's cheeks as she spoke.

"Now you have found love again. I am so happy for you."

"It doesn't mean I've ever stopped loving you, needing you. With you I was young and deeply enamored. Now that I'm older I don't want to be alone."

"Does she make you happy?"

Joan nodded. "Yes." She looked at the apparition and laughed. "But I still must need you because you're here now."

"She will be here soon, my love."

"God, please. Please don't leave me alone again," Joan begged. She felt a light breeze cross her forehead, as if Martine were stroking it. "I'm so cold, Martine."

"I will stay as long as I can, my darling. I will keep you safe."

"Promise?"

"I have never told you an untruth."

Joan felt hands grabbing at her as her head slipped beneath the water. She didn't sense Martine's presence any longer and was filled with despair. Suddenly, an object was forced into her mouth and she sucked in a deep breath, certain it would be her last. She wanted to struggle to live and her arms flailed stiffly. The pressure holding her legs released and strong hands pulled her up.

"Relax. We gotcha," a man's voice said loudly as her body floated through the passenger side window.

A FEW MILES west of Danville on state highway 58 a state trooper waved Evey's Suburban to a halt. She rolled the window down as a trooper approached the vehicle.

"The road's closed, ma'am. You'll have to turn around."

"What happened?" Evey asked.

"Car in the river," the trooper said.

"A white Lexus?"

"Hard to tell. Divers are looking for the driver's body now," he said. "Doesn't look good though." He shook his head. "I'll block traffic so you can turn around. There's a turn-off that will take you to Danville a few miles back."

"No, no, no," Evey said. She pulled the Suburban to the shoulder of the road and jumped out, running down the bank before the trooper could stop her. She stepped into the freezing water and a jolt of cold hit her body. No one could survive long in water this cold, she thought, wading in until the water was mid-thigh. A hand stopped her and she jerked away. "I have to find her!" she screamed.

A man dragged her back to shore and held her. "Divers are already out there, lady! They don't need to be recovering another body."

Another body? Her legs failed her and she landed heavily on the muddy bank. All she could do was watch as a rescue diver dove into the frothy, surging water. Tears streaked down her cheeks when the diver came up alone. She buried her head in her hands and sobbed. Joan was dead.

"They're up!" a voice cried out.

Evey looked toward the car and wiped at her eyes. A diver was guiding a limp body out a broken window, protecting the victim's head. Evey's feet slid in the mud as she tried to stand. Joan looked impossibly blue and wasn't moving. Paramedics descended on her the moment they approached the bank, helping to drag the lifeless body onto solid ground. A paramedic tilted Joan's head back and placed a mask over her nose and mouth while a second paramedic began chest compressions. Every few compressions, the man at her head squeezed a bag, pushing air into her lungs. It seemed to go on forever, but suddenly Joan gagged and vomited up water and muddy debris. A paramedic rolled her onto her side while the second encased her now violently shaking body in a blanket. Evey raced to Joan's side, sliding down in the mud to hold her. She pulled the wet blanket off and replaced it with a dry one, which was immediately inundated with water from Joan's clothing and hair. Evey wrapped her arms around Joan and held her as tightly as she could to provide body warmth.

"Joan, honey, can you hear me? Please talk to me. Please."

"C...c...cold," Joan stammered.

A paramedic moved Evey to get to Joan, but Joan clung to Evey's hand. Evey went to Joan's other side and rubbed her arm to restore the circulation.

"Where are you hurt, ma'am?" the paramedic asked as he touched her forehead and pressed a stethoscope against her chest.

"L...leg. S...s...so c...c...cold," Joan answered, taking large gulps of air.

A backboard appeared, seemingly from nowhere, and the two paramedics lifted Joan onto it, tightened straps across her body, and carried it up the bank to a waiting ambulance.

Evey stood where Joan could see her as one paramedic rubbed her arm to start an IV, while the other wrote down her vitals. Evey reached out and touched Joan's frigid ankle and curled her fingers around it. A paramedic took her temperature every few minutes and frowned at the readings, which he relayed to the nearest hospital.

"Excuse me, ma'am," a paramedic said as he began closing the rear doors of the county ambulance. "You should go to the hospital and get checked out as well."

"What hospital?" she asked, reluctantly released her grip on Joan's leg.

"Danville Memorial," he answered and swung the doors shut as soon as Evey was clear. Lights pulsed through the evening and a siren wailed to life as the ambulance hurriedly left the area.

A chill stabbed at Evey's body. She was still shivering as she tightened the blanket around her and made her way back to the Suburban. She looked back at the partially submerged car and blinked hard when she saw a beautiful woman with auburn hair looking back at her. The woman's image shimmered and began to fade away. Take care of her, a voice said.

"I will," Evey said as the image disappeared. She ran to the driver's side and flipped on the heater. For now it only blew cool air against her, but was still warmer than she felt. After she pulled onto the road to follow the ambulance, she grabbed her cell from the dash board and pressed a number.

EVEY PARKED THE Suburban near the emergency room and rushed inside. The nurse at the reception desk looked at her with alarm.

"Are you all right, ma'am?" she asked.

"A friend was just brought in by ambulance. I need to see her as soon as possible," Evey answered quickly, her eyes darting around.

"Name?"

"Joan. Her name is Joan Carmichael." Evey was beginning to feel sick as she remembered her fear. "I have to know she's all right."

"The doctors are with her now. Unless you're a family member, you'll need to take a seat in the waiting room."

"I have to see her," Evey insisted. Her voice broke. "I need to know she's all right." She wanted to reach across the desk and slap the woman who only continued repeating hospital policy like a robot.

Their argument was interrupted by the sound of footsteps rushing into the waiting room. Tears filled Evey's eyes when she saw Brad and Fran approaching.

"Have they told you anything?" Fran asked.

"They won't let me see her."

"I'm Ms. Carmichael's daughter," Fran told the nurse, ignoring the mud Evey had transferred to her clothing.

"Do you have any identification?"

"Of course I do," Fran snapped. She kept an arm securely around Evey as she dug in her purse and extracted her wallet.

"This says Francesca Chase," the nurse said after examining the ID.

"That's because I'm a married woman!" She looked at Evey. "This is my mother-in-law, Evelyn Chase." Fran leaned slightly closer. "Joan Carmichael is my mother and, in case you want to know, my brother's name is Tucker Carmichael. He's also my attorney. I believe he's on his way here. I don't think this is worth the cost of a lawsuit because you prevented me from seeing my mother. Do you?"

"If you'll have a seat I'll make sure the doctors know you're here," the nurse finally said.

"Do you have any extra clothing my mother-in-law can change into before you have another hypothermic patient on your hands?" Fran ran her hand briskly up and down Evey's cold arm.

"I'll see what I can find."

"Thank you," Fran said. "In the meantime a blanket would be useful." She turned and slowly escorted Evey into the waiting room.

"How did you get here so quickly?" Evey asked. She was still shivering, despite the blanket Fran wrapped around her body.

"Ralph called us after you left the farm," Fran said, wrapping an arm around her mother-in-law.

"Are you okay, Mom?" Brad asked. "What the hell happened?"

A few minutes later Ralph showed up with a change of clothes for Evey and Fran helped her clean up. Fran was becoming a little impatient. She walked away to speak to the nurse at the emergency room desk. She nodded and returned to Evey's side. "The nurse will let the doctor know a family member is here. It shouldn't be much longer." She saw the look on Evey's face and wrapped an arm around her. "It's a stupid policy, but we should be able to see her soon."

A few minutes later a young man wearing blue scrubs stepped through the door leading to the treatment rooms. "Mrs. Chase?"

Fran and Evey both jumped up and rushed across the room to speak to him. "Mrs. Chase?" he asked again.

"I'm Fran Chase and this is my mother-in-law, also Mrs. Chase. Say whatever you have to in front of both of us."

"Mrs. Carmichael is your mother?"

"Yes. How is she?"

"I'm Dr. Douglas. I treated your mother when she arrived," he said, directing his remarks to only Fran. "She has a few bruises and a deep laceration on her right leg. We've stitched that up, but there's still a chance of infection from bacteria in the water. However, her body temperature is extremely low, especially for a woman her age."

Fran smiled. "I'm sure she wouldn't want to hear that last part. Will she be all right?"

"We're slowly warming her core temperature using warm IVs. I think she'll be all right in a couple of days. We gave her a pain killer and she's sleeping right now."

When Fran looked at her mother-in-law she saw the pleading look in her eyes. She turned her attention back to the doctor. "My husband and I just got into town and need to rest, but I don't want my mother to be alone in case she wakes up during the night. I'd like my mother-in-law to stay with her until we return to relieve her. My brother and sisters are flying in early tomorrow morning."

Dr. Douglas scratched his head. "I suppose it would be all right as long as she doesn't disturb the patient or get in the way."

"I won't. I just need to be there," Evey said.

"May we see her for a moment?" Fran asked.

"Of course," Douglas nodded. "Go to the nurse's station on the third floor. I'll call and let them know to expect you." He briefly shook their hands before walking away.

"Thank you," Evey said.

"I'm sure Mom would want you with her."