At the Stroke of Madness (50 page)

L
uc searched every room of the house and still hadn’t found Maggie. Where in the world was she? Sheriff Watermeier seemed convinced Simon Shelby had taken her with him. His deputies searched the surrounding woods while the State Patrol were said to be setting up roadblocks.

Luc could still hear the ambulance’s siren as it whined up Whippoorwill Drive. One of the paramedics said it looked like the woman named Joan had been poisoned. What if Simon had poisoned Maggie?

He fidgeted, wringing his hands, then raced back up the stairs to check closets and corners he knew he had already checked. The whole time he kept thinking that she had saved him once. He couldn’t possibly let her down. He didn’t even know how long it had been since she left him in the car. Simon could have taken her hours ago.

“Luc?” Adam was in the hall between the kitchen and the stairwell. “Any sign of her?”

“No. I’ve looked everywhere.”

“Henry’s put out an APB on Simon. If he has her with him, they’ll find and stop him.”

“I just don’t have a good feeling about this.”

“She’s a tough woman. She can take care of herself.”

But as he said it Luc could tell Adam hadn’t convinced himself.

“What kind of madman does this?” Luc hated that the panic was still caught like a lump in his throat, making his voice crack. “Out back in the trees there’s a bunch of white packages of frozen meat or something. He just threw it all out there to rot. What kind of a crazy man does something like that?”

“Wait a minute.” Adam started searching again. “You say he threw out stuff from a freezer?”

“Yeah, piles of it. It was back—” But he saw it at the same time Adam did. They raced to the chest freezer in the kitchen corner, both of them hesitating and looking at each other almost as if they were as afraid to open it as they were hopeful.

L
uc searched every room of the house and still hadn’t found Maggie. Where in the world was she? Sheriff Watermeier seemed convinced Simon Shelby had taken her with him. His deputies searched the surrounding woods while the State Patrol were said to be setting up roadblocks.

Luc could still hear the ambulance’s siren as it whined up Whippoorwill Drive. One of the paramedics said it looked like the woman named Joan had been poisoned. What if Simon had poisoned Maggie?

He fidgeted, wringing his hands, then raced back up the stairs to check closets and corners he knew he had already checked. The whole time he kept thinking that she had saved him once. He couldn’t possibly let her down. He didn’t even know how long it had been since she left him in the car. Simon could have taken her hours ago.

“Luc?” Adam was in the hall between the kitchen and the stairwell. “Any sign of her?”

“No. I’ve looked everywhere.”

“Henry’s put out an APB on Simon. If he has her with him, they’ll find and stop him.”

“I just don’t have a good feeling about this.”

“She’s a tough woman. She can take care of herself.”

But as he said it Luc could tell Adam hadn’t convinced himself.

“What kind of madman does this?” Luc hated that the panic was still caught like a lump in his throat, making his voice crack. “Out back in the trees there’s a bunch of white packages of frozen meat or something. He just threw it all out there to rot. What kind of a crazy man does something like that?”

“Wait a minute.” Adam started searching again. “You say he threw out stuff from a freezer?”

“Yeah, piles of it. It was back—” But he saw it at the same time Adam did. They raced to the chest freezer in the kitchen corner, both of them hesitating and looking at each other almost as if they were as afraid to open it as they were hopeful.

O
ut of the darkness Maggie thought she heard a hum, a faint whine that wouldn’t go away. That kept getting louder, though was still in the distance. An annoying whine. Was it a voice? Was she only imagining it? Hallucinating?

She was too tired to care.

Her eyelids burned as a flash of light came at her, then was gone. Laser beams, another flash and then darkness.

“Gone.”

Yes, they were gone as quickly as they came at her.

“She’s gone.”

No, wait. It was a voice. She could barely make it out. Quiet and muffled, the words didn’t make sense as they came through a wind tunnel.

“She’s gone.”

Her muscles were stiff. Her arms frozen at her sides. There was no willing them to move. Another flash of light and this time it came with a flash of color, blue and a blur of orange.

“No pulse.”

She was too tired to ask what the voices meant. She couldn’t ask if she wanted to. She had no control of her body. It seemed gone, stolen out from under her. She couldn’t feel it or see it.

“She’s gone” came the words again, and this time that alarm in the back of her brain said, “They mean you! They’re talking about you.”

But no. She wasn’t gone. She needed to tell them.

“No pulse.”

No, wait, she wanted to yell but couldn’t because she was floating off in the distance and had no command of her body. They needed to listen to her chest. They wouldn’t be able to get a pulse at her wrist. Her heartbeat had slowed down. It was a faint murmur, but it was beating. She could feel it.

“No dilation.”

Please, wait. Why couldn’t she see them? If they were looking into her eyes, why couldn’t she see? The flashes of light. That had to be what it was. Her eyes wouldn’t respond. But she was still here. How could she let them know she was still alive?

“She’s gone.”

No, no, no.
Her brain seemed to be screaming it, but it was no use. They believed she was dead. She couldn’t see beyond the black. She couldn’t make her muscles respond.

No, wait. Maybe she was dead.

Wasn’t this what dead felt like? A faint consciousness with no control over her body. No body to control.

Oh, God! Maybe they were right. Maybe she was gone. Gone forever. She felt herself slipping again. She’d close her eyes and sleep some more. Or were they already closed? She slept and woke again when she heard something. Nothing. More sleep. What felt like hours. A warm darkness slipped in tight around her. Liquid warmth ran through her veins. And she felt herself leaving again. Yes, maybe this was what it felt like. No second chances. No warnings. Gone.

Then suddenly she thought she saw…no, it couldn’t be. Through a blur of gray haze she saw her father and then she knew it was true. She really was dead.

O
ut of the darkness Maggie thought she heard a hum, a faint whine that wouldn’t go away. That kept getting louder, though was still in the distance. An annoying whine. Was it a voice? Was she only imagining it? Hallucinating?

She was too tired to care.

Her eyelids burned as a flash of light came at her, then was gone. Laser beams, another flash and then darkness.

“Gone.”

Yes, they were gone as quickly as they came at her.

“She’s gone.”

No, wait. It was a voice. She could barely make it out. Quiet and muffled, the words didn’t make sense as they came through a wind tunnel.

“She’s gone.”

Her muscles were stiff. Her arms frozen at her sides. There was no willing them to move. Another flash of light and this time it came with a flash of color, blue and a blur of orange.

“No pulse.”

She was too tired to ask what the voices meant. She couldn’t ask if she wanted to. She had no control of her body. It seemed gone, stolen out from under her. She couldn’t feel it or see it.

“She’s gone” came the words again, and this time that alarm in the back of her brain said, “They mean you! They’re talking about you.”

But no. She wasn’t gone. She needed to tell them.

“No pulse.”

No, wait, she wanted to yell but couldn’t because she was floating off in the distance and had no command of her body. They needed to listen to her chest. They wouldn’t be able to get a pulse at her wrist. Her heartbeat had slowed down. It was a faint murmur, but it was beating. She could feel it.

“No dilation.”

Please, wait. Why couldn’t she see them? If they were looking into her eyes, why couldn’t she see? The flashes of light. That had to be what it was. Her eyes wouldn’t respond. But she was still here. How could she let them know she was still alive?

“She’s gone.”

No, no, no.
Her brain seemed to be screaming it, but it was no use. They believed she was dead. She couldn’t see beyond the black. She couldn’t make her muscles respond.

No, wait. Maybe she was dead.

Wasn’t this what dead felt like? A faint consciousness with no control over her body. No body to control.

Oh, God! Maybe they were right. Maybe she was gone. Gone forever. She felt herself slipping again. She’d close her eyes and sleep some more. Or were they already closed? She slept and woke again when she heard something. Nothing. More sleep. What felt like hours. A warm darkness slipped in tight around her. Liquid warmth ran through her veins. And she felt herself leaving again. Yes, maybe this was what it felt like. No second chances. No warnings. Gone.

Then suddenly she thought she saw…no, it couldn’t be. Through a blur of gray haze she saw her father and then she knew it was true. She really was dead.

“M
aggie?”

It hurt to open her eyes. The light blinded her. The images swirled above her head. The humming of equipment filled her ears. And her mouth tasted like rubber and cotton. She tried to focus on the voice and where it was coming from. If it was real. Then she felt someone squeeze her hand.

“Maggie? You have to come back or I’ll never forgive you.”

“Gwen?” It hurt to talk, but at least she could. She tried again. “Where am I?”

“You scared us, O’Dell.”

She turned her head to look up at Tully standing on the other side of the bed. Just the slight turn made her dizzy.

“What happened? Where am I?”

“You’re at Yale-New Haven Medical Center,” Gwen told her. “You suffered a severe case of hypothermia.”

“They had to drain all your blood out of you, O’Dell, warm it up and pump it back in. So you can’t complain about being cold-blooded, okay?”

“Very funny.” Gwen shot him a look.

“What, we’re not allowed to make jokes?”

“You really did have us scared, Maggie,” Gwen said, caressing her forehead with the warm palm of her hand.

“What happened?”

“Look, Maggie, you’re going to have amnesia and probably not remember everything that happened. We can go through it later when you’re stronger, okay?”

“But how long have I been gone?”

“You’ve been out of it since Thursday.”

“What day is it?”

“It’s Saturday evening, sweetie.” Gwen was still holding her hand and smoothing back her hair.

“What about Simon Shelby?”

“That she remembers. Always on duty, aren’t you, O’Dell?” Tully smiled. “Maryland State Patrol caught him last night. We’re not sure where he was headed. He actually had taken some of his specimens with him in the trunk.”

“Specimens?” Maggie asked, trying to fight through the annoying haze.

“We were right,” Tully said. “He was cutting out deformed livers, tumored brains, diseased hearts, crippled bones. Meriden’s police lab thinks they may have already matched a pair of eyes to that reporter. They’re running DNA tests on some of the other pieces. They’ll probably be able to match some of them to the bodies in the rock quarry. You should have seen his work shed, O’Dell. Shelves and shelves of jars and containers. It’s hard to tell how many victims or how long he’s been doing this. And he’s not talking. In fact, it looks like he might end up in a padded cell somewhere.”

“My guess is it started five years ago,” Gwen said, “when his mother died. I talked to a nurse at the local hospital. She remembered Simon Shelby and his mother, Sophie. This nurse told me she even felt sorry for him. The mother was constantly bringing him into the emergency room in the middle of the night. He always complained of terrible stomach cramps, but tests never showed anything out of the ordinary. His mother may have been poisoning him, just like he was poisoning Joan Begley.”

“Is she okay?” Maggie asked. “Is she alive?”

“She’s alive and she’s going to be okay,” Gwen said. “She’s up at MidState Medical Center in Meriden. It looks like Shelby was giving her low doses of arsenic. She has a long recovery ahead of her, but they think she’ll be okay.”

“I thought I died,” Maggie confessed. That much she could remember.

“So did the two men who found you,” Gwen told her, moving in closer against the bed railing. “Luc Racine told me that he was sure you were dead. They couldn’t get a pulse. Your eyes wouldn’t respond to light. But he said Professor Bonzado wouldn’t give up on you. You’re really lucky he didn’t, Maggie. Hypothermia can easily disguise itself.”

“You’re probably going to wish you died when Cunningham gets ahold of you,” Tully said, but he was smiling.

“So I guess he knows.”

“Let’s just say he sent that white flower plant.” Tully pointed to the potted plant on one side of the table. “The card says it’s a false dragonhead, commonly known as an obedient plant.”

“Are Luc and Adam here?” Maggie asked, hoping to change the subject.

“They’ll be by later. In fact, Tully, why don’t you go call them.”

Maggie thought she saw Gwen and Tully exchange a look, some secret between them.

“I’ll be right back,” Tully said, and squeezed Maggie’s shoulder. “Emma wanted you to know that she’s taking good care of Harvey.”

“Just don’t let her think she gets to keep him, Tully.”

“Yes, I know.” And he left.

“Maggie, there’s something I need to tell you.”

She braced herself and suddenly tried to move her legs. Yes, legs worked. Arms worked.

“What are you doing?” Gwen laughed. “No, you’re fine. Really. But I just thought I should warn you. Your mother is here. She’s down in the cafeteria taking a break. She’s been here since Thursday night.”

“Oh. Okay. Wow! You really were worried about me, huh?”

“The procedure for bringing someone back from severe hypothermia can kill the patient,” Gwen said, the pent-up emotion of two days revealing itself. “I’m sorry. But I was really worried. Your mother’s not the only one I called. Now, you can be upset with me all you want, but there’s someone else I called.” Gwen squeezed her hand then went to the door. “You can come in now.”

Patrick walked in, not hesitating, and came directly to the bed. But then he stood there, staring down at her.

“They’ve told you?” she asked.

“And it’s a good thing. I wonder how many more trips and how many more Diet Pepsis it would have taken you.” He smiled their father’s smile.

“It was you,” she said.

“What?”

“I thought I was dead. I thought I saw my dad…our dad. But it must have been you I saw.”

“So you’ll tell me about him sometime?”

“How much time do you have?” She smiled at him.

He sat down, taking Gwen’s chair at the bedside. “My shift doesn’t start for a couple more hours.”