“Richard?” she called out. “It’s Terri. If you can hear me, let me know. I heard about the accident and have flown all this way to see you.”
Still nothing.
Afraid he could be inside unable to get up and answer the door, she turned the handle, hoping he might have left it unlocked.
“Aiyee!” she heard a woman scream.
Terri didn’t know who was more frightened.
Through the opening in the door, which the chain guard allowed, she saw a woman probably much younger than Terri’s twenty-seven years. With long black hair and liquid-brown eyes, Terri could well understand her ex-husband’s attraction.
The woman stood there wearing Richard’s yellow robe, looking very pretty and very pregnant.
CHAPTER TWO
“BUENOS tardes.” Terri spoke first. “Habla Ingles?”
The other woman shook her head without the slightest hint of welcome in her expression.
At this point Terri had only her two years of Spanish to rely on. “Por favor, donde esta Richard?” Heavens! It had been so long since high school, she couldn’t remember if she was supposed to use Estar or Ser.
The woman responded too fast. Terri couldn’t follow.
She tried again. “Quiero hablar con Richard.”
There was another spate of unintelligible words before the woman shut the door in Terri’s face.
If Richard had been inside, Terri was positive he would have come out to see what was going on.
The fact that his lover seemed to be angry rather than in despair, led Terri to believe Richard had to be all right. In fact, the fiery woman was probably expecting him home later in the day and couldn’t believe some strange American woman had appeared at the door unannounced and unwanted.
Only jealousy could have prompted her to behave in such a rude manner. It was more than possible Richard had never told this woman about Terri. Certainly he’d never expected to see his ex-wife again. Especially not down here in Guayaquil, which was about as far from Lead, South Dakota, as you could get.
Terri hurried back to the taxi and they left for the city. En route she asked the driver to drop her off at an upscale department store near the San Lorenzo Hospital. She needed to make a few purchases.
Assuming for the moment Richard was out of danger, Terri’s thoughts converged on the stranger who’d been lying in a hospital bed since he’d been rescued. The painful desperation in his beautiful gray eyes would haunt her for a long time to come.
How frightening it must have been to wake up in an unfamiliar place, unable to talk while everyone around him thought he was someone else!
He probably had a wife who was out of her mind with grief because he was missing. Until a relative or friend came to claim him, Terri would stay with him and encourage him to get better. It was the least she could do.
An hour and a half later she rushed inside the hospital with her arms loaded. After taking the elevator, she hurried down the hall of his floor where various helpers were serving dinner to the patients who could eat.
She stopped at the nursing station long enough to be offered a tray of food for herself, then she breezed into his room with her packages.
“Hi!” she called out in a soft voice, not wanting to jar him. As he lifted his left hand in greeting, her dinner arrived. She put everything down on the floor, then reached for the tray and drew the chair next to him so she could be seated.
“I was gone a lot longer than I’d intended. First off I went to the police station and explained the situation. Then I took
a taxi to the Herrick office. I’ve been so busy I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast. Now I’m starving.
“I hope you don’t mind my eating in front of you. If the smell makes you nauseous, put up your hand and I’ll eat out in the hall.”
He made no gesture, so she had to believe it was all right.
“Earlier when you told me you knew where Richard was, I asked the receptionist at the Herrick office to give me his address. It took a little doing, but she finally complied. From there I took another taxi out to his apartment to see if he was there, and found a woman in residence. Judging by her pregnant condition, it seems Richard’s been living with her for a long time.”
More indecipherable sounds came out of the stranger.