Apache Heart (13 page)

             
“Black is fine.”  He pulled out the chair and sat down wearily.  “All quiet here last night?”

             
Lee nodded, “Yeah.  I’m assuming no word about Maggie?”

             
Russell took off his hat and brushed the top of his cropped hair with the flat of his hand, “No word.”  He sighed.  “You know what they say, the longer a person goes missing…the less likely you are to find them.”  He took the mug from Randi’s outstretched hand and looked at her seriously.  “We don’t intend for you to go missing, too.”

             
“How about I fry some eggs quick and make toast?” Randi said, changing the subject.  You two don’t need to start your day on an empty stomach.  Lee’s got to work a twelve hour shift, and I have a feeling, Russell, that you didn’t get much sleep last night.”  Randi pulled out a frying pan and grabbed a carton of eggs from the fridge, making it clear she was cooking breakfast whether they wanted it or not. 

             
“I won’t say no, thanks.”  Russell stared at his nephew, “What time you get off tonight?”

             
“I’m working noon to midnight.”

             
“Okay, I’ll make sure Randi is safe until then.”  Russell sipped at his coffee.

             
Randi started cracking eggs into her skillet, looking back over her shoulder, “I’ll be fine at the hospital…too many people around there for Joe to try anything.  You should focus on finding Maggie and stop worrying about me.”

             
“Elan will need to agree with that, Randi.  We can’t put more people at risk, or disrupt the hospital if Joe decides to do something crazy.”  Russell shook his head.

             
“What makes you so sure he’s coming after me?”  Randi flipped the eggs and then put more bread in the toaster.

             
Lee looked at Randi, “Dr. Bitch?”

             
“The thing that’s worrisome, Randi, is that Joe is acting increasingly erratic.  From what people saw yesterday, it wasn’t just Joe on a bender, he was really strung out.”

             
“Do you think it’s meth?  If he’s tweaking he could be paranoid or hallucinating.”  Randi had seen it more than once in the ER back in Philly.  “And really violent and aggressive.”

             
Russell rubbed his forehead, “Yeah, it’s looking like speed.”

             
The conversation was doing little for anyone’s appetite, but Randi nevertheless set plates with eggs and toast all around.  “I know you don’t feel like it, but you need to eat this so you guys aren’t tweaking from low blood sugar.”

             
Lee and Russell dutifully picked up their forks and Randi joined them as they mechanically chewed and swallowed.   When they were finished, she swept up the plates, gave them a quick rinse in the sink, and said to no one in particular, “Dishes can wait.”

             
Russell took the shotgun back from Lee and secured it in the police SUV while Lee walked Randi to the station wagon.  “Just be a doctor, today, okay?  No need to be a hero.”  His big hand caressed her face.

             
She returned the gesture, “Just be a medic today, okay?  No need to be a hero.” And they both smiled.  “You know we’ll both do what we think is necessary, but don’t take any stupid risks, and don’t let Joe get the better of your common sense.”  Lee nodded in agreement.  “Two words,” Randi continued, “Anger management.”

             
Lee glanced over to make sure Russell wasn’t paying attention, and gave Randi a gentle kiss on the lips.  “Anger management,” he confirmed.

             
When Randi and Russell got to the hospital, Lozen and Elan came to meet them. 

             
“I think we got this, Russell.  First sign of an Indian on the rampage, we’ll circle the wagons and call for help.”  They all tried to smile at Elan’s feeble attempt at humor, but Maggie was on everyone’s mind.  “Just find Maggie, I’ll make sure that nothing happens to Randi.”  He opened up his lab coat to reveal an under the arm holster and a compact Colt .38.  Russell raised an eyebrow.

             
“Don’t give me that look,” Elan said.  “I’ve got a permit for carrying concealed in Arizona.”

             
“You know that doesn’t apply on the rez, Elan.”  Russell sighed, “Desperate times, desperate measures.  I’m going to pretend I didn’t see that.”

             
Russell wasn’t the only one surprised to see Elan packing, “Elan!” Randi said sharply, “Remember the Hippocratic Oath?  Do no harm?”

             
Elan looked at her sadly, “It’s not always that easy.  Believe me, I don’t plan on shooting anyone unless it’s a matter of life and death.”

             
Lozen had stood by silently during their exchange.  “Can we please get back to the business of doctoring people?” She said a little crossly. “Come one Randi, let’s go to work.”

             
“Thanks Russell, I promise we’ll call if there’s a hint of anything weird going on—and I’ll try to keep Wyatt Earp here from shooting up the joint.”  Randi shook her head at Elan.  “I’ll be in the clinic if anybody needs me.”

             
“I’ll be checking in,” Russell said with a wave, and soon, Elan was standing alone in front of the hospital, the weight of the gun under his arm feeling terribly heavy.

             
“How was protective custody?” Lozen asked Randi as they walked down the hall.

             
“Protective custody was Lee with a sawed off shotgun.”  Randi sighed, a little wistfully.  “We kissed last night, I mean, a
real
kiss.  But that was all.  I do feel safe with him, but I think you’re right, I think I have to cross this river on my own.  I don’t know what that means yet, but I have a feeling I’ll know soon enough.”

             
“Right now, let’s go save some people from diabetes and high blood pressure,” Lozen said.  “At least we know how to tackle those problems.”

             
At 1:00, the clinic closed down for lunch, and Elan came and caught Randi.  “I’m dragging you out for lunch.”

             
Randi gave him a dubious look.  “I’m not sure how enchiladas will taste when there’s more heat sitting at the table than in the food.”

             
Ignoring her remark, Elan continued.  “No enchiladas, I’ve already ordered take-out tacos.  We’re going to take a drive and look for Maggie.”

             
“How do you propose finding her when the tribal police and the sheriff’s department hasn’t been able to find her yet?”  Elan still managed to look handsome, Randi thought, even with lines of worry etched across his face.  “And if you know something, you should have told Russell this morning.”

             
“It’s—it’s a hunch, that’s all.”  He furrowed his brow, “Don’t be mad at me for wanting to make sure that no one else gets hurt.”

             
It was impossible for Randi to stay mad at him.  “Oh, alright.  Let’s go.  But I only have an hour.”

             
They drove by the little taqueria on the way out of town, after which Elan pointed his car toward the hills.  They came to a small grove of cottonwood trees next to a little stream.  It was like an oasis: quiet and peaceful.  Elan grabbed the bag of tacos as they got out, and they went to sit on some rocks.

             
“There’s carnitas and chicken,” Elan said. 

             
“You didn’t bring me out here to eat tacos, Elan.”  Randi said gently.  “What’s really on your mind?”

             
He gestured around him.  “Maggie and I used to come here.  This was our little get-away spot when we just had a time for lunch or a talk.  She loved it here.  She said it made it easy to forget the modern world and all its problems, that this place hadn’t changed in two hundred years.”

             
“She’s probably right about that.”  Randi nodded.  “I can understand why she would like it here.”

             
“I haven’t been entirely honest with you.”  Elan cleared his throat and swallowed.  “I am attracted to you, I really like you, but…” His voice trailed off, the thought unfinished.

             
“But you still have feelings for Maggie?”

             
“It’s more than feelings, Randi.”  After a long pause, Elan suddenly blurted, “That baby that Maggie is carrying?  That baby is mine.”

             
That was the last thing that Randi had expected, it reframed everything but the picture was askew.  Randi couldn’t make sense of what Elan was telling her.

             
“What the hell, Elan?  Does anyone else know?”

             
He shook his head, and picked up a pebble from the ground, skipping it into the stream.  “No.  Well…I guess Joe has figured it out.”

             
“That’s why the violence against Maggie escalated?”

             
Tears started to gather in Elan’s eyes, “God Randi, I feel so guilty.  Joe was out on a bender, and Maggie called me one night, and I thought maybe she would finally leave him.  I went and got her, and brought her out here, and one thing led to another.  Joe didn’t want the responsibility of a child, so she always made him wear a condom on the rare occasions he was sober enough to perform.  After all that time of being separated and everything that had happened, I just wanted to make love to Maggie, let her know she was still a beautiful woman, and let her know that I still loved her.  I wanted her to know she had other options, but she was scared of Joe, and scared that I wasn’t serious, and despite everything I tried to do to get her to leave him, she went back.” 

             
“Abused women don’t think logically, Elan, you know that.  The terror just overrides everything.”

             
Elan wiped at his tears, his voice cracking with sadness and frustration.  “I—I know.  But

hell,
Randi, I’d do anything to free her from him, whether or not she came back to me.  I messed up that night—horribly, and there is not a damn thing I can do to make that any better.  At least Lee had the guts to go take her rapist down when the law wouldn’t do it.”

             
Everyone felt responsible for Maggie being raped, Randi thought, she wished she could share Lee’s secret with Elan, to make him feel better, but she knew that was wrong.  “You had to do your job that night, you had other lives you needed to save.  You can’t feel guilty, Elan, nobody raped Maggie except that prick in Albuquerque, and no one made Maggie marry Joe.”

             
“But Joe is going to kill Maggie because she’s carrying my child.  He knows it’s not his, and I’m sure he’s figured out by now that it’s mine.”  Elan wiped at his face with the back of his hand, “And I’m so damn selfish I tried to forget everything by throwing myself at you.  I’d just given up hope that Maggie would ever leave Joe.  You have to forgive me Randi.”

             
Randi took Elan’s hand in hers and squeezed it.  “I forgive you…but you have to forgive yourself.  We’re all human.”  As she let go of Elan’s hand, Randi thought about what Elan said back in the hospital, “You said something about a hunch?  What did you mean?”

             
“I thought maybe Maggie would come here.”  Elan took out a handkerchief and wiped at his eyes and nose. 

             
“Is there any place else, any place that you used to go with Maggie where she might feel safe from Joe?”

             
“There’s a cave…close by.  We used to ride horses there. It’s a place Joe wouldn’t know about because he didn’t grow up on the rez, but it’s a little rough getting up there.”

             
  Randi stood up and dusted herself off.  “We need to go look in that cave, see if she is hiding there.  We need to know for sure.”

             
Elan drove a little further down the road as fast as he could safely, and as the pulled over, Randi could make out the beginnings of a little path through the scrub. The trail wound up through some boulders and trees, and they climbed steadily but quickly and then they heard the sound of a horse nicker softly.  Elan took off at a run, and Randi scrambled after him.

             
“Call 911!”  Elan called as he kneeled down by Maggie.   “Tell them to send an ambulance to the Painted Rock Cave.”

             
Maggie was leaning back against a rock, blood staining her clothes. She opened her eyes and whispered, “I can’t feel the baby moving.”

             
Elan stroked her head, “You’re going to be okay, you’re going to be okay,” he murmured.

             
Randi knew that the presence of blood and reduced fetal movement meant the high likelihood of a placental tear, but if an emergency c-section could be performed, there was a chance for both Maggie and the baby.