The Ruth Valley Missing (9 page)

He grabbed my hand and squeezed.
“You’re coming back, right?”

I squeezed back. “Of course. I
promise it will just be a minute.”

I headed out of the room and nodded
for Jack to follow. I made my way down the hallway, poking my head in each room
until I found one with a cabinet that looked like it might have meds. “What the
heck happened to him?”

Jack shook his head, “Not too clear.
He went out hunting alone far as I can tell. Came running out of the woods near
the church. Was screaming and nearly scared the poor Sisters in the convent to
death.”

“So they called you.”

He nodded. “Yup. I’m pretty much 911
around here.”

“Any ideas on what made those
gashes?”

“No clue. Animal maybe? Or maybe an
old hunting trap someone forgot to take down? Hard to say.”

I wasn’t terribly comfortable
treating wounds, particularly ones of unknown origin, but the options were
limited.

I pulled a few things out of the
cabinet, and headed back to Andy. We turned the corner to find Andy laying
there, his lips moving in silence.

“Andy,” I laid my hand on his, “I’m
here now, just like I promised. I’m going to give you something to relax you a
bit and help with the pain.”

He held my hand, but didn’t answer,
just continued to move his mouth.

“He’s praying,” Jack said quietly.

I slipped my hand away and filled a
syringe. “Just a tiny pinch.”

Andy winced a little, still praying.
I turned to the counter and opened a suture kit.

“You’re gonna sew him up? Shouldn’t
we just bandage him and wait for Doc Matthews?”

“He needs stitches. If Matthews
didn’t want me stitching him up, he should have dragged himself out of bed.”

Jack stayed quiet, then looked at
Andy. “Hey, did he fall asleep?”

I shook my head. “He was in no
condition to be awake for this. I sedated him. Now if you don’t mind, I need to
get to work.”

Jack nodded and pointed to the door.
“I’m going to step outside. If you need me, just yell.”

I gave him a nod as I numbed the
area around the wound and went to work suturing. There were four gashes in a
row, almost looking like a huge claw had swiped at him. The cuts themselves
were clean, no jagged edges or tears. Partway through stitching the third gash,
Andy started to move his head a little and mumble.

“Andy, are you okay? Can you feel
anything?”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, “I’m so
sorry.”

“It’s okay, Andy.”

He didn’t respond. I finished
closing the final gash and checked his vitals before tossing my gloves in the
waste can by the door and heading to the waiting area. Jack was sitting on the
couch, eyes closed.

I sat down beside him and gently
shook his arm. He jumped slightly and he blinked a few times. “How is he?”

“All his vitals are fine. He’ll
probably sleep for a while longer with the sedatives in his system.”

“Well, sun should be coming up soon.
I was thinking I might go pound on Doc Matthews door again and get him down
here.”

I shook my head. “He gets here in a
few hours anyway. May as well let someone get a full night of sleep. I can stay
here until he comes in.”

“Then I’ll stay here too.”

I yawned, “You don’t have to do
that.”

“I’m your ride home.” He gave me a sleepy
grin that kept me from insisting he go home.

“Okay.” I settled into the waiting
room couch, closing my eyes, the adrenaline of the evening wearing off. I let
my head fall to the side against Jack and drifted off.

~~~

 I opened my eyes and looked up
to see Doc Matthews standing in front of me. I nudged Jack, who sat up slowly,
casually stretching before greeting him. “Morning, Doc.”

“What’s going on here, Sheriff?”

“Had a patient last night. Couldn’t
get a hold of you, so Miss Quinn here had to help us out.”

“A patient?”

I stood up, rubbing my eyes. “Yes.
He’s back here.”

The three of us walked to the room
where Andy was resting. Matthews checked his vitals and looked over the
sutures.

“You did this?”

I nodded.

“I thought I was clear that you
wouldn’t be performing any procedures here as a volunteer. Paperwork, cleaning
up, no heroics.” He looked at Jack, then at me, his face reddening, “What is
this? Are you trying to take my job? You don’t even have the necessary
qualifications. How dare you walk in here and—”

Matthews stepped towards me but Jack
stood up, placing a hand on his hip next to his holster. Jack towered above Doc
Matthews, and spoke to me without breaking his stare from the round, red-faced,
little man. “James, why don’t you wait outside while Doc and I have a little
chat?”

Discerning from the tone of his
voice that this was not a request, I slid out of the room and a little ways
down the hall. I tried to make out what they were saying, but couldn’t hear
more than the low hum of their voices. I gave up on eavesdropping and went out
to wait in the car.

Moments later, Jack emerged. He
jumped up into the Jeep and slammed the door. Without a word, he turned the key
and we headed to the house. The ride was short and silent. As we exited the
Jeep, I spoke up.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause
any trouble.”

He shook his head. “No, don’t be
sorry. Did you see his eyes? Bloodshot. Probably passed out drunk last night,
which is why you had to be pulled in, and then has the nerve...” Jack trailed
off and shook his head, “I don’t care how long he’s been the doctor here, he
shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.”

I stood by my door thinking about
Dylan and that day I came home from the hospital. How he thought I was being
dramatic and barely showed any concern, let alone any desire to protect me from
whoever dosed my drink.  

“Thanks, Jack. You didn’t have to
stick up for me like that, but it means a lot.”

Jack stood in front of me frowning.
“Yes, I did.” He slid a piece of my messy, unwashed hair behind my ear. “You
deserve at least that. I’m sure Andy will be grateful for what you did.”

His hand lingered, and I stood
still, not wanting to move from my own doorstep. He pulled his hand away and
stepped back. “I should let you get some rest.”

“Right. Of course. You should get
some rest, too.”

Jack nodded and turned to head to
the house. I turned as well, heading inside and up to bed.

“What can I get you?”

“Grilled cheese with the tomato soup.
And a small side order of fries.”

The waitress, Doris according to her
name tag, set off to the kitchen to put my order in. I was hoping to see Emma’s
friendly face, but she was nowhere to be found when I showed up for a late
lunch. I sat twisting the paper from my drink straw and staring out the window.

“James?”

I turned my head to see Emma
standing there, her eyes red.

“Emma, what’s wrong? Sit down.”

She sat down and looked around. “I
don’t want to talk about it here.”

I looked around, seeing nothing but
the usual diner customers, but thought it was best not to question her reasons
right then. “I have food coming. I’ll get it to go.”

“No, I don’t want to spoil your
lunch. It’s not a big deal.”

“Ridiculous. You’re upset. Just give
me a sec.” I flagged Doris down on her next drink refill run. “Can you make my
order to go?”

Doris frowned, but nodded.

“See? Not a problem at all,” I said
to Emma, mimicking the face Doris just made. “Seriously, though, we’ll get the
food and go to my place, ok?

Emma forced a grateful smile.

~~~

“You sure you don’t want anything?”

I had laid out my lunch and a bottle
of water on the coffee table, but felt awkward diving in with Emma sitting
beside me on the couch. She shook her head, so I started in on my fries. “So,
what’s going on?”

“There’s this guy that likes me.
And, honestly, I sorta really like him, too. He’s quiet and sweet and I’ve
known him forever, but my mama doesn’t approve.”

I nodded while I ate, giving her the
okay to continue.

“I was ‘sposed to meet him the other
night. I usually make somethin’ up about going to see my friend. I know I
shouldn’t lie, but it’s the only way. Well, I went to where we were gonna meet
and he never showed up.”

I patted her leg, “I’m so sorry.
Sometimes guys can be real jerks.”

“No, that’s not what I’m upset
about. Andy wouldn’t stand me up without a reason. I haven’t heard from him all
morning. I’m worried about him.”

I stopped sipping my tomato soup.
“Wait, did you say Andy?”

She nodded, sniffling.

I paused, putting down the soup and
sliding closer to her. “Emma, the good news is that Andy is going to be fine.”

“Going to be?” Her voice was high
and shaky, her already wet eyes filling with more tears.

“He was out hunting alone last
night, far as anyone can tell, and he got hurt. I only know because Jack came
by and got me in the middle of the night to help. I left him at the hospital
this morning and he was doing alright. He’ll take a little time to heal, but
really, it wasn’t that bad.”

“Oh, thank the Lord!” She threw
herself at me, wrapping me in a hug, nearly knocking me backwards. The tears
were flowing, but at least she seemed happier. “James, I can’t tell you how
relieved I am.”

She released me from the hug, then grabbed
for a French fry. “Will he be home soon?”

I shrugged, curling my legs under me
on the couch, holding half of my sandwich. “I imagine so. Doc Matthews is
taking care of him now.”

Emma leaned back in the couch,
eating another fry and shook her head with a little laugh.

“What is it?”

“Oh,” she said absently, “just poor
Andy. He finally decides to go hunting and this happens.”

“Finally?”

“Yeah, the guys have been trying to
convince him to go hunting for forever.”

I hid a puzzled look as Emma continued
eating.

“Thanks for the brownies, Miss
Quinn. And stitching me up. That’s real nice of you.” Andy wasn’t much for eye
contact, but his gratitude was sincere. He took a bite of brownie and shifted
on the couch, grimacing as he did.

“Still hurts pretty badly?”

He nodded.

“Are you taking anything for the
pain?”

He pointed to the bottle of aspirin
on the table in front of him, while taking another big bite of brownie.

“Maybe I’ll see if I can get Doc
Matthews to send something stronger over.”

“I don’t want to be any trouble,
Miss Quinn.”

“Nonsense. It’s no trouble at all.
Speaking of trouble, what happened the other night?”

Andy stopped mid-bite and stared at
me. “Nothing.”

“Well, obviously not nothing. I
didn’t spend the better part of my night fixing you up because nothing happened
to you.”

“I just—”

The knock at the door broke into his
sentence. I hopped up. “Are you expecting visitors?”

Andy shook his head, looking pale as
I opened the door.

“Jameson?”

“Hi, Father Mike, come in.”

He stepped inside, a look of concern
on his face. “I’m here to see Andy.”

“Makes sense. This is his house.” My
attempt at some light humor landed flat.

We walked into the living room and
sat down.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to come by the
hospital when I heard you were hurt, Andy. How are you feeling?”

Andy’s eyes were wide and his voice
was shaky as he answered. “I’m fine, Father. A little scraped up.”

“Hunting in those woods alone is
pretty dangerous. I’m glad that nothing worse happened.”

Andy nodded, staring at Father Mike.
Mike continued, “Has anyone from town been visiting?”

Andy’s eyes darted to me, then to
Father Mike. “Just Miss Quinn. She brought me some brownies.”

“That is awfully nice. I heard she
stitched you up, too.”

Again, a silent nod.

“Well, I can’t stay, but I am glad
to see you are doing alright. You’ll be sure to let me know if you need
anything.” Father Mike stood up and turned towards me. “Miss Quinn, I think we
should let Andy get some rest.”

I didn’t like being told it was time
to go, but I didn’t think Andy needed any drama or conflict around him, so I
stood up. “Of course. Andy, I’ll try to come by with something for the pain.
Don’t eat too many of those brownies at once.”