“I’m Mrs. Hamer.”
“Dr. Davison.” He shook her hand, which felt cold and clammy in his. “Apparently Scott was climbing the rope in the high school gymnasium, lost his grip, and fell. He was alone. No one there to spot him. He hadn’t put a mat under him either, so he landed hard. We’re trying to get him stabilized so he can be transported to a major hospital.”
Dora would have collapsed with relief had not Marilee been supporting her. “But he’s alive?”
“Oh, yes. Forgive me, I thought you knew that much. His injuries aren’t life threatening. His vitals are good. But I don’t want to minimize the extent of the damage. Both his legs are broken in several places. He’s being X-rayed now to check for internal injuries. I don’t think we’ll find any, but that’s routine when the pelvic bones are involved. There appears to be no spinal or head injury. That kind of drop, he was lucky.” He paused to let all that sink in before continuing.
“Excuse me, Mrs. Hamer, but I need to ask. Has he been taking steroids?”
“He’s been given steroids.”
“They may have contributed to his injuries, and will make his recovery harder. Steroids strengthen muscles, but not the tendons and ligaments that connect them. They actually become weaker from the additional stress placed on them. I’m afraid Scott’s in for a rough time.”
“But he’s alive.”
“Yeah, he’s alive. But we need to get him to a hospital that has a trauma unit. Unfortunately, the roads are still icy, and another patient who’s had a major blood loss got first dibs on the CareFlight.”
“Did they capture Mr. Tierney?”
“I don’t know his name,” the doctor replied to Marilee’s question. “All I know is that they captured Blue, and it was bloody. So it may be a couple hours before Scott can be transferred. In the meantime we’ll keep him as comfortable as possible and monitor him closely.”
“Can we see him?”
“As soon as he’s out of X-ray.” He hesitated, then said, “I saw him play football last season. He had a lot of talent. You may want to start preparing him for a disappointment.”
A half hour later, the nurse came to usher Dora into the ICU.
Dora extended her hand to Marilee. “Come with me.”
“I can’t,” she said, her voice husky with emotion.
“He’ll need you.”
“No, he won’t.” She smiled through her tears. “He did, but he won’t anymore. Tell him . . .” She paused, then shook her head sadly. “Never mind. I think it’s best if you don’t tell him anything.”
Dora searched the other woman’s eyes, then gave a slow nod. “You’re a remarkably unselfish person. And an incredibly brave woman.” She hugged Marilee quickly, then rushed through the double doors.
He’d been given painkillers intravenously, so he was groggy, but he knew where he was. As she approached the bed, he smiled wanly and whispered, “Hi, Mom.”
Dora clasped his hand and didn’t even try to stem her tears. “Hi.”
“My legs are fucked up really bad, aren’t they?”
“Yes. Really bad.”
Scott closed his eyes and expelled a deep sigh through a faint smile. “Thank God.”
EPILOGUE
Ms. MARTIN, MR. TIERNEY IS HERE.”
Lilly’s assistant knew who Ben Tierney was from all the media coverage of the events that had taken place in North Carolina three months ago. Although William Ritt’s capture had been the focus of the stories, there had been a lot of speculation around the Smart water-cooler about what had transpired inside that cabin for the two days that she and Tierney had been isolated.
No one on staff had had the temerity to ask, esp
ecially since there had been no further contact between her and Tierney. Until yesterday. He had called and asked for an appointment this morning.
Lilly knew that word of the upcoming meeting had spread through the offices like wildfire. This morning everyone was on red alert and vying to catch the first glimpse of him.