Frozen Stiff (12 page)

“Is that your new grandchild?”

“Yes, and he doesn’t even have a name yet. Isn’t that awful?”

Amy didn’t think it was so awful, but nodded. “I should have asked you before when I saw you at the Walker house, but I need to have your key to their house. Do you have it with you?”

Sara turned and looked at her. “Why in heaven’s name? Don’t they trust me to clean their house anymore?”

“No, it’s not that. Really almost a formality. But we’re not sure what happened to Mr. Walker and we’re treating the house like a crime scene.”

Sara rummaged in her purse. “I need that job. Money’s really tight right now. With the economy sinking fast. The price of feed has sky rocketed, but we’re not getting any more for our milk.”

“I’m sure they’ll want you to keep cleaning. Especially when we’re done with the place.”

“I’ve always wondered about that. Do you just turn everything upside down and leave it?”

“No, we’re pretty careful, but there will be some powder residue left from lifting fingerprints. Speaking of which, we’ll need to get your prints.”

Sara looked alarmed.

“Just to eliminate them,” Amy assured her.

“Is he going to be all right?”

“It looks like it. He might lose a few phalanges, but that’s all.”

“Phalanges. I haven’t heard that word since high school health. After what he’s been through that’s not much to lose, but then Daniel Walker was always a lucky man.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just all his money, that beautiful home, his lovely wife. He’s got a lot to be envied for.”

Amy nodded toward the baby. “Sara, do you have any idea who the father is?”

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“We’re just checking all possibilities and Bonnie did clean for the Walkers a few times.”

Sara’s eyes opened wide. “You think him? Oh, my lord.”

“Just wondering.”

“Bonnie hasn’t told me who. I did ask her once, but she just turned to face the wall. I haven’t wanted to push her about it much as I want to know. In a way I really don’t care. We’ve got to deal with getting them both out of the hospital.

“Can we walk down to her room together and see what she has to say?”

“I guess so,” Sara said reluctantly.

When they came to Bonnie’s room, she was sleeping. A large girl with long, faded brown hair which fanned around her face. Her mouth was cracked and a slow steady breath came out of her. A plain girl with large hands. She had always struck Amy as a good farm girl. But now she saw, in her own quiet way, that Bonnie had a kind of beauty about her.

“Don’t wake her up, please,” Sara said.

“No. It can wait.”

6:30 pm

Nothing was open along the river in the winter—no coffee-shops, no antique stores, not even the pizza place—and it was
too cold to sit in a car and park so Meg and Curt were sprawled in her living room with their legs crossed over each other. There was no rule saying they couldn’t be alone in Meg’s room, but Meg knew from experience that either Rich or Claire were liable to knock on the door at any time and then walk in. No privacy there. They might as well sit right out in the open.

“I swear the fish was this big,” Curt held his hands out stretched wide apart. “It was three feet long if it was an inch. I wish you could have seen it. I wish I could have carried it back for you and fed the whole family with it.”

“No way,” Meg laughed at him.

“Way way,” he argued. “I could see it through the ice. Meg, it’s so cool to sit in darkness and be able to see the fish moving below you. Creepy and cool at the same time.”

“So now are you going to be an ice-fisherman, too, besides just a super-duper hero?”

“Knock it off with the superhero.”

She could tell he was getting a little exasperated with her. “Hey, I’m not the one who calls you Mega-turkey or whatever your name is.”

Curt cocked his head and stared at her. “I think I’m starting to figure out what’s going on with you. You’re jealous. I do believe you’re jealous of Andy.”

“Why would I be jealous of that turdball?”

“Because I have fun with him. Even if he is a bit of a turdball. I thought you wanted me to have some guy friends.”

Meg remembered she had suggested something like that a few months ago. “Well, yeah, but smart ones, not goonballs who just want to sit in the dark and spear fish or kill troglodytes.”

“You are so jealous.” Curt got on his knees and poked her in the side.

“No pokes,” she said. “Or I’ll have to get mad at you again.”

“You deserve a few pokes for being such a ninny.”

She pulled him toward her and he wrapped his arms around her. “What do you deserve?” she asked. “Did you find out anything from Mr. Andy about Bonnie?”

“As a matter of fact,” Curt whispered into her neck, then gently nipped it. “I did ask him.”

Meg pushed him away so she could see his face and hear him better. “What? Tell me.”

“Beg.” He took her face in his hands, laughing at her.

“Please, my little honey pot, please.”

“All right. Since you asked so nicely. No.” Then he claimed a kiss.

Meg sputtered. “What? That’s all?”

“Yup. Andy was disgusted when I even suggested it and then went on to say that girls from the cities are much hotter.”

“How would he know?”

“I guess he hooked up with a girl whose family owns one of those big houses on the bluff this fall.”

“So he says,” Meg said. “Do you believe him?”

“Kinda. What I’m more surprised about is that he isn’t bragging about it more often. It’s not like him to keep quiet about something.”

“You’re right. Something’s weird here with Mr. Andy. I think you have more sleuthing to do,” she said as she leaned into him for a more significant kiss.

3 January: 7 am

C
laire knew the doctors started rounds early at the hospital so she decided to go straight there before work and see if she could catch Dr. Cornwall and get the scoop on Daniel Walker.

Before going outside, she looked out the kitchen window and checked the thermometer. The temperature had hit a high of zero. A slight warm-up. She piled into her full-length down coat and pulled on her hat with the ear-flaps. Then she pushed the button on her remote to start the squad car—a Christmas present from Rich. If she waited a few minutes the car might almost be warm before she started driving. It seemed to make her whole day go better if she didn’t have to start it shivering in a frigid vehicle.

Watching out for black ice on the frozen roads, Claire made it to the hospital by seven. As she was walking up to Daniel Walker’s room, she saw Dr. Cornwall turning a corner down at the end of the hall. She jogged to catch up with her.

“May I talk to you for a moment?”

“Sure, it’s actually a slow day for me.” Dr. Cornwall smiled and swept back her ponytail. “Winter doldrums I guess. No one wants to see a doctor until they pay for their Christmas presents.”

“I never thought of that. I just wanted to check on Daniel Walker. How’s he doing?”

“Well, except for the fact that he’s going to lose three toes on his left foot, quite well.”

“Does he seem with it to you?”

“Yes, surprisingly so. His mental facilities seem to be intact. Neurologically he’s sound.”

“Is he remembering what happened?”

“From what I can gather, not completely. I haven’t questioned him much about the incident. However, he knows what year it is, he knows where he is, and he doesn’t want to lose his toes. All that seems pretty normal to me.”

“How much longer will you keep him in the hospital?”

“I’d say he’ll leave in the next day or two, depending on how the amputations go.”

Somehow hearing the word, “amputation,” and realizing that the surgery was going to happen soon, put a darker spin on losing a few toes. “What will that do to him—having his toes cut off?”

“His balance might be affected. We don’t realize how much we rely on our toes to keep us from pitching forward when we walk and stand. And he’ll be in some pain. But other than that, he should be fine. While he looks awful, the rest of his frostbite patches are healing nicely. He’s lucky he’s not going to lose his nose.”

The thought of losing a nose made Claire’s stomach turn. “Yeah,” she agreed. “I’m curious. How long could he have stayed at that temperature and still been able to be resuscitated?”

“That’s hard to say.”

Claire wondered why so much was hard for a doctor to say. Maybe that was a phrase they learned in school and were taught to preface most sentences with it. “Give it your best shot.”

“There are too many variables. I’ve heard of someone being revived after being out in the cold for over a day. But that guy was at least wearing clothes. Outside like that, I wouldn’t have thought much longer than he did. Mr. Walker was about as close to dying as one can get.”

10 am

Danielle’s cellphone buzzed in her pocket. The hospital had a thing about cell phones. They freaked out if they rang so she had to put hers on vibrate. She took the phone out and read the message: “mt me B K PLZ DM.”

“Danger Man.” What a punk Andy was. She looked around the dingy waiting room. But she wouldn’t mind getting out of there. She didn’t know anyone else around this craphole little town. It would be nice to talk to someone about how weird this all was. Burger King was as good a place as any and at least she might get some regular food. The slop in the hospital cafeteria sucked.

They still weren’t letting anyone but the cops in to see her father, but she slipped by his room as she was leaving and waved at him. He was sleeping, but at least she had tried. His face looked so terrible it gave her the heaves.

When she got down to the main floor she asked directions to the Burger King and then bundled up to go out the door. Thank goodness none of her friends could see her. Sherri had
lent her a down coat and she looked like the Michelin Man. But at least it kept her somewhat warm. Her car wasn’t too cold inside; the sun had warmed it up.

When Danielle got to the Burger King, she parked as close to the door as she could and looked at herself in the mirror. Was it even worth it to put on lipstick? She pulled her tube out and it would hardly even slide across her lips. Why was she bothering for Andy anyway? She hoped he didn’t think there was still something going on between them, if so she’d have to set him straight.

It hadn’t really worked out on any level. He was overly anxious and didn’t know how to take his time. Plus, he was way too young for her. She wanted to play around for a few more years, but then she wanted to find someone like her dad, someone who knew how to make money and, even more importantly, knew how to spend it on her.

When she walked into the joint, he was already there, waving at her from a booth. Waving at her. What was that about? She pointed at the counter and he held up a bag of food. She ordered a cheeseburger and small fries, then she splurged on a shake. She figured she needed the extra calories to keep warm. She heard you burned off lots of calories shivering.

When Danielle slid into the booth across from Andy, he ducked his head, then said, “Hey.”

“Hey, yourself, farmer,” she said. He hated it when she rubbed it in that he lived on a farm.

“Pretty cold, huh?”

“I don’t want to talk about the weather. It is what it is.” She bit into her hamburger and tasted the tang of the ketchup.

“Yeah, I guess.” Andy slurped at his soft drink. “How’s it going with your dad? How’s Sherri handling it?”

She tried not to snap at him. “He’s doing okay. Don’t even say Sherri’s name to me. She’s a bitch.”

Farm Boy laughed. “And you’re not?”

She flinched and felt herself close to slapping him, but she had to play it cool, not let him know she had her own vulnerabilities. “What’s with you? This has been really hard on me. And she doesn’t help matters at all.”

He sat back. “Well, I know you’re busy, but you could at least give me a call from time to time.”

Man, he was like a little pussy, so needy, but then that was why she had picked him out at the beach—easy to handle. That and his bod. Plus, he had amused her with his hick ways. There were so many things he didn’t know and he was just so excited to find them out. It had been kinda fun. But now he was a drag.

“Listen, I need to focus right now. Focus on my dad. Let me just get through this and I’ll give you a call.”

“What’s going to happen with your dad? Do you think he and Sherri are going to get back together again?”

“Over my dead body. What a horrible thought. I sincerely hope not. In fact, I will do everything in my power to see that that doesn’t happen.”

• • •

3 pm

“They’re gone,” Daniel said as he stared down at the foot of his bed.

Sherri sat down in the only chair in the bare room. A blond-haired nurse stood in the doorway.

“I know,” she said, looking down at the lump in the bed which was his bandaged foot.

“They took off three of my toes and part of my foot.”

“I’m sorry, Dan.”

He shrugged. “I can’t feel a thing. What’s a couple toes?” He looked up at her. “But my nose itches.”

“Don’t start scratching it now. You don’t want to get it infected.”

“Where have you been?” he asked.

“Out in the waiting room. I’m not allowed to be with you alone,” she explained to him.

“Why not?” he asked, a slight whine in his voice.

Sherri forced herself to look at him. His face looked even more awful than it had yesterday. The blisters were weeping and his nose was a dark, stormy blue. Only his eyes looked like they used to—deep brown and steady. Daniel had been a handsome man when she first met him. He had aged a bit since then—silver streaks in his remaining hair, a bit of a paunch, but not bad. But the way he looked now, he could star in a horror film.

“Because the cops think I might have tried to kill you.” Sherri figured there was no sense in keeping it a secret from him.

He gave a raw laugh that sounded like something had scraped his throat. “That’s ridiculous. Why would you want to kill me?”

“For your money.”

“Would you kill me for my money?”