Some Day Somebody (51 page)

Heath brought the K-9 unit over and loaded Lucas inside. After convincing Carrie he’d be fine with him, he left to bring the dog to the vet.

Carrie stood watching the unit drive off then turned to gaze at the man’s face. “Tim Hardin,” she said. “I know him.” She shuddered, remembering how she’d urged Christie to check him out as potential date material.

Charlie leaned toward Sam. “Take her in the house and get her warm. Get her away from this.”

Ten minutes later, Carrie still convulsed in violent shivering, despite the mound of quilts piled on top of her.

“Babe, you’re going to be fine, now. It’s all over with,” Sam crooned.

“Then why d-do I feel so c-cold inside?” she said, through chattering teeth.

He went into her bathroom and came back with two aspirin and a glass of water. “Here, take these.” She did as she was told and lay back with a violent shiver. Sam stretched himself out alongside and held her until the trembling lessened and her breathing turned to light snores. He left the bedroom, closing the door softly behind him.

Sam spent the next hour making necessary phone calls to Carrie’s family members, children first, then Elaine. Next he called his family, then their co-workers. Exhausted, and sick at heart from telling and retelling the terrifying story, Sam walked outside for a dose of fresh air.

He stepped onto the front porch to check on Lucas. The vet had cleared the dog and sent him home, saying he’d recover from the sprain, his only injury. The Chesapeake sat there with his wrapped leg, vigilant as a great stone lion guarding the palace gates. He stared up at Sam with large, trusting, brown eyes, and thumped his tail at his approach.

“You did good, boy.” Sam reached out to scratch the beast’s head, as man and dog watched the scene on the street unfold. The department finished taking their photos, freeing the coroner’s office to leave with the body. Sam followed the flash of lights until the vehicle turned at the highway and disappeared from his sight. After a few more minutes the street cleared completely.

Sam had just taken Lucas to the back yard, when Nick walked over to meet him.

“How is she?”

“Sleeping.
I don’t think she let herself think about how dangerous this whole mess was. God almighty, he came close.” Father and son talked a few minutes more before Nick stood up to leave.

“I’ll be here, Son. I don’t want her to wake up alone, but you’re welcomed to stay and keep me company.”

Nick shook his head and stepped off the porch. “
Naw
, I’m
gonna
go on home.”

Sam went inside to lock up. He stared at the time on the microwave. Not even one a.m. He washed up in the bathroom before heading back to Carrie’s bed. Settling himself beside her, he lay on top of the quilts so that layers of fabric separated them. When the drop in temperature convinced him to get up for another blanket, a soft touch on his arm stopped him in his tracks.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she asked.

“I was just going to get an extra blanket.”

Carrie lifted the covers. “It’s warm under here.”

Sam did as he was told, snuggling up to her under the mound of quilts and bedspreads. “How you feeling, pretty girl? Better?”

“Yeah, I am. I don’t know what happened.”

“Probably a mild case of shock.
You’ve been through a lot.”

She wiped at a stray tear with the palm of her hand and nodded. “But I didn’t have to go through any of it alone. It’s meant a lot to me that you’ve been here for me.”

He leaned over and gave her a light kiss. “Glad to be of service.”

“How long have I been sleeping?”

“Not even two hours, not long enough.”

She struggled to rise from the bed. “I need to call my kids and my mom before they hear it from someone else.”

He placed a hand on shoulder. “I took care of all that. They all said to tell you how proud they are of you and how much they love you. Grant and the girls will be here tomorrow.”

“Mom?”

“She said she was glad to hear it before Kathleen
Ledoux
for a change.”

She closed her eyes in exhaustion and sighed, too emotionally drained to see the humor. Her head fell heavily against the pillow. “Is Lucas okay?”

“He’s fine. He’s as happy as a bundle of one dollar bills in a
clubful
of pole dancers. That dog is famous, fed, and fast asleep on the back porch.”

She gazed up at him. “You really do know how to take care of me, don’t you?”

His chest rumbled with laughter. “It’s a little difficult for
me
to do that when you’re doing such a fine job of taking care of yourself.” He fluffed her pillow and covered her with the extra blanket. “Try to go to sleep hon. I’ll be here.”

She woke to low voices and a sudden knock on the side of the house. Carrie cracked one eye open, sensing she’d slept later than normal. Another knock, then another, made her jerk upright in her bed and struggle to crawl out from under the mound of quilts and blankets.

“What the hell?” she cried, as her foot tangled in the sheet and sent her tumbling to the floor, only half-freed from the multiple bed coverings.

The door flew open and Sam stood there, his face a road map of concern until he saw the tangled mess hanging off the bed.
“Hey Babe.
Looks like you’re
goin
’ nowhere fast.”

“
Dammit
, Sam...” She raised one arm toward him as her head fell forward. “Help me.” It was more of a command than a request.

“Hmmm,” he said. “I will, as soon as I figure out where the quilts end and you begin.” He reached under her arms and hauled her up off the floor.

Carrie stood warily, making sure there was something solid under her feet before stepping free from the tangle. “Where’d all these blankets come from?”

“Two other beds and a futon.”

She looked up, still trying to adjust to the brightly lit room, and noticed his sunbeam of a smile. “Don’t laugh at me. I can’t take it right now.”

“I’m not laughing,” he confessed. “Even with puffy eyes, rumpled clothes, and wild hair, I
know
I’ve never loved you more than I do at this moment.”

She sniffed. “At least you didn’t say I’ve never looked better.”

“You want me to lie?”

“If you had, I’d have had to shoot you. What time is it?”

“Almost eleven.”

“Half the day’s gone,” she groaned, and froze when she heard the distinctive wall-knocking sound again. “That!” she said, pointing to a spot just beyond the exterior wall of her bedroom. “What is that knocking?”

“It’s your dog. He’s happy.”

“Wh
..what
?” She pictured that big tail of his wagging, knocking on the wall. “Oh. I get it now,” she said, stumbling to the bathroom to survey the damage to her face.

Carrie groaned at her reflection. She splashed cold water on her face, ran a brush through her hair, and started brushing her teeth. “Wait!” She stood in the doorway of the bathroom, toothbrush in hand. “What’s Lucas so happy about?”

“His kids are here. Didn’t you hear them outside with him?”

She rinsed her mouth, gave Sam a quick kiss, and rushed out, suddenly desperate to see them. As she reached the back door, she paused, picturing Toto as she’d found him, then turned and ran out the front instead.

Carrie called for her kids and they came running. She pulled them close, needing the contact of her babies, even if they weren’t babies anymore. Then she hugged each one separately as her silent tears fell. About that time, Lucas barreled through his kids to get to Carrie. She hugged the dog, praising him for his courage as he wagged that huge tail hard enough to hurt whomever it contacted. They made their way into the warmth of the house, via the front porch. Carrie stopped to wave to Sam as he stood on his own steps. He raised his hand slowly, and she blew him a kiss before closing her door.

Carrie turned to her children. “God, I’m glad to see y’all.”

Grant leaned forward on the couch. “Was it dangerous, Mom?”

She gazed at him, wondering how much he knew. “Did Sam tell you what happened?”

“Yeah.”

“Then you know that I was never in any danger.”

“Something could have gone wrong.”

“But it didn’t, and Tim Hardin isn’t a threat anymore.” She sat across from the couch where she could see all three of them. “Maybe now I can start to enjoy this place.”

Gretchen spoke first. “I can never live here, Mom.”

Her daughter’s words made her sit up straight. “
Gretch
, nobody’s asking you to make a decision now.”

“I don’t want to stay here, either,” Lauren added.

Carrie’s breath hitched as she tried to continue her line of deal making. “I’d even consider letting you both finish your school years in Gardiner. You could start your sophomore years in Kenton. And Grant, I’m still convinced this would be a better place to spend your last two years of high school.”

Grant shook his head but kept his silence.

Carrie sighed and turned to Lauren. “By next year you...”

“I don’t ever want to see this place again.”

“I don’t ever want to see this town again,” Gretchen added.

“Do you understand that
Officer
Hardin lived in Gardiner, and that he was probably the one making the phone calls?”

This time Grant spoke up. “We don’t care, Mom. Toto was killed
here
. That guy tried to get to you
here
.”

“Look, sometimes things happen that we can’t
contr
—”

“Don’t you think this place has, like, bad
mojo
or something?” Gretchen said.

Carrie stared at her daughter, felt a miniscule crack in the foundation of her brave, new, independent world.
“Bad
mojo
?”

“Toto died here. I can’t live here,” Lauren continued, tag teaming with her sister.

“We’ve had pets die in our home before. Heck, we had two die in one day, but we stayed because it was our home,” Carrie argued.