Coming to Rosemont (20 page)

Alex and Maggie arrived an hour early and were
rehearsing in the locker room, going over talking points and anticipating
questions. Neither one wanted to acknowledge it, but they were both anxious and
a bit scared. The moderator was the head librarian, a good choice. He was a
distinguished-looking man in his sixties who had held that post longer than
anyone could remember and had probably shushed every person in attendance at one
time or another for talking in the Westbury Library. He would keep control of
the crowd and would make both candidates observe the time limits and stick to
the rules. The list of questions had been prepared by the local chapter of the
Daughters of the American Revolution.

Maggie was adjusting Alex’s tie for the umpteenth
time when they got the call to enter the gym. She leaned in and whispered, “You
are perfectly prepared. I believe in you completely. Just stay on message, no
matter what Isaac says or does,” she admonished sternly. They stepped through
the double doors by the stage and into the gaudy light of the gymnasium.

It took a few minutes for the crowd to realize
that the candidates were on stage and it was time to start. Maggie fought her
way to the seat that John and Marc had saved for her in the front row. The
moderator called for quiet, led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance, and
introduced both candidates. He outlined the rules of the debate and started off
by directing the first question to Isaac.

It was clear that Isaac was well prepared. Gone
was the awkward bumbler who had accepted the post of acting mayor only a few
short weeks ago. He was expensively dressed and well groomed. His style was
self-deprecating and charming.
He’s got charisma,
Maggie hated to admit.
His themes were to distance himself from Wheeler, stress his experience on the
council, and his success as a businessman. He elicited the occasional laugh and
polite applause.

Alex’s first answer was overly complicated. The
crowd grew bored and inattentive.
He’s getting lost in the minutia,
Maggie
thought. He sought out Maggie in the crowd when he finished his first answer,
which had been greeted with tepid applause. In exaggerated fashion, she mouthed
the words “too much detail
.
” He nodded his head in recognition.

As the evening progressed, Alex picked up steam.
He simplified his answers and was bolstered by the growing enthusiasm of the
crowd’s response. Isaac, in contrast, was losing ground. The initial appeal of
his mannerisms and message was growing stale.

When the last question had been answered and the
candidates shook hands to signal the end of the debate, it was apparent that
the audience favored Alex by a wide margin. He was inundated by people swarming
to the front to shake his hand. Other than a few followers in attendance, no
one bothered to approach Isaac. Maggie thought that he looked dumbstruck by
this turn of events. “He hasn’t taken Alex seriously at all,” Maggie observed
to John. “Look at him. He’s a deer in the headlights. I don’t think it ever
dawned on him until now that he could lose this election.”

Maggie and John hung back until the last
well-wisher departed. Marc was clapping Alex on the back and enthusing about
every aspect of his performance as Maggie sidled over to them. Alex smiled wide
enough to turn himself inside out. He swept her into a hug that lifted her off
her feet. John pumped his hand, “You nailed it. Well done.”

“Did you get a look at Isaac? He must feel like
he’s been run over by a steamroller. He didn’t expect this in a million years.”
Marc laughed.

“Tonight was a nice moment, I’ll have to admit. A
high point. I knew I got off to a bad start, by the way. Thanks for the
coaching,” he nodded at Maggie. “We’ll see how this turns out on Tuesday. We’re
almost there. I’m encouraged. I’ve been pretty exhausted, but this was like
pouring jet fuel on me. I’m ready to keep going.”

“Me too. Exactly how I feel,” Maggie replied.

They ambled out to the deserted parking lot,
reluctant to leave the scene of their success. “Marc and I need to stop by my
office on the way home to sign paperwork for the insurance company. It’ll only
take a minute, if you don’t mind waiting,” he said. Before Maggie could answer,
John offered to take her home, and she readily accepted.

***

They were following Marc and Alex
on the two-lane road through the woods back into town when it happened. A log
obstructed the road just as it curved to the left. If it hadn’t been such a
dark night and if they had been driving slower, they might have been able to
avoid it. As it was, they barely had time to apply the brakes before the
devastating impact. The vehicle skidded, impacted the log full on, and rolled
over twice before coming to a stop on the far side of the road.

Maggie and John were only seconds behind. They
heard the terrible crash before they came upon it. Maggie had her cell phone
out and was dialing 9-1-1 as John screeched to a stop next to the vehicle. He
slammed his car into park and flew out the door, shouting to Maggie to get his
flashlight out of the glove box.

Alex’s door was jammed shut but John managed to
pry the rear passenger door open. Maggie shined the flashlight into the vehicle
and fear pierced her like an ax. Blood was splattered everywhere. Both men had
been wearing seat belts and the air bags had deployed.

Alex began to moan softly. He had a large gash
over one eye and his nose was strangely angled to the right. Marc started to
come to. He began to flail agitatedly at his seat belt, and John reached over
the backseat to restrain him, telling him that he had been in an accident and
help was on the way.
Why on earth are they taking so long?
Maggie
thought.

John concentrated on keeping Marc calm. Alex never
stirred, but his breathing was regular. After what seemed like an eternity,
they heard the siren of the approaching ambulance. Maggie stepped away as the
EMTs took over. John climbed out of the backseat and joined her. They watched
in anxious silence as Marc was quickly placed on a stretcher and taken away. A
second ambulance arrived and waited, lights flashing in the otherwise still
night, while the paramedics labored to extricate Alex from the vehicle.

A police cruiser pulled up next and a uniformed
officer spoke to one of the paramedics, who pointed to Maggie and John. The
officer exchanged a few more words with the paramedic and joined them at the
side of the road. “I’m Officer Jackson. Did you see the accident?”

“No,” John replied. “We were following them and
came on the scene maybe twenty seconds afterwards. We heard the crash.”

“Which direction were you heading?”

“North. Both cars were heading north. The driver,
Alex Scanlon, is the mayoral candidate. Maggie is his campaign manager. We were
all returning home from the candidate’s debate at the gym earlier this evening.”

“Did you see any other vehicles in the vicinity?”
John shook his head.

“Any people hanging around? Watching? Anyone else
offer to help that isn’t here now?”

“No. No one.”

“Any idea where that log came from?”

“None. That’s what we were wondering. How in the
world did that log get in the middle of the road?”

Officer Jackson shook his head. They turned as the
paramedics removed Alex, now wearing a neck brace, from the vehicle.

Maggie watched as they strapped him onto a gurney.
“Can I go with him? Will they let me ride to the hospital with him?”

“I’ll find out for you,” the officer said. “At the
very least, we can find out where they’re taking him.”

The paramedics refused Maggie’s request but said
that Alex was stable and they were taking him to Westbury Memorial Hospital. As
the ambulance started its siren and sped off, Officer Jackson took down their
contact information and waved them off in the direction of the hospital.

***

Maggie scrolled through her contact
list and called, one after the other, Tonya, Sam, Beth, Pete, and Tim. By the
time they parked and got into the emergency room waiting area, they were told
that Marc was in stable condition and had been admitted for a broken collarbone
and wrist and that Alex was in X-ray. They got cups of coffee from a vending
machine, more for something to do than with any desire for coffee. They were
alternately pacing and nursing their drinks when Sam and Joan came through the
automatic doors, with Tim on their heels.

“Oh my God,” Joan cried. “I can’t believe this.
How are they?”

Maggie brought them up to speed with what little
information she had. Tonya joined them as a nurse approached the group. “We’ve
got a small private waiting room for families. I’m going to put you in there.
You’ll be more comfortable. They’ve just taken Alex to surgery.”

“What are they operating on?” John asked.

“The surgeon will talk to you as soon as she’s
done. That’s all I can tell you for now.”

“Can anyone go see Marc, the other man in the
crash? He’s been admitted. Someone should be with him,” Maggie said.

“I think that’ll be fine,” she said. “I’ll find
out what room he’s in for you.”

By the time the nurse got back to them, Pete had
arrived and they decided that he should stay with Marc. They would call him on
his cell phone as soon as they heard anything about Alex. Two and a half
endless hours later a tired-looking woman in surgical dress introduced herself
as Dr. Mertz.

“You’re Alex Scanlon’s family and friends?” They
all nodded. “He’s suffered traumatic injuries to his pelvis and fractured bones
in both legs. He has three cracked ribs and a broken nose. And he suffered a
deep cut over his right eye. But none of his internal organs were compromised
and his vital signs are stable. We operated to replace his hip and inserted
pins in both of his legs. We stitched his cut and realigned his nose. The ribs
will heal on their own. He’s in recovery and hasn’t regained consciousness.
We’ll keep him heavily sedated for the next day or two. He may need additional
surgeries and will certainly require months of physical therapy, but he’s young
and healthy and we expect him to make a full recovery. He’s been very
fortunate.”

The group let out a collective sigh. “Can we see
him?” Joan asked.

“No,” the doctor replied. “He’s resting
comfortably, and we’ll keep him in ICU tonight and at least all day tomorrow.
One or two of you can see him then. He won’t be up to visits from all of you.
The most helpful thing you can do for him now is go home and get some sleep.”

The relieved and exhausted group relayed the news
to Pete and, left with no other choice, headed home to salvage as much sleep
from the remainder of the night as possible. John asked Maggie if she was
afraid to stay at Rosemont by herself. “If you want company, I’m happy to sleep
on the sofa. Tonight isn’t the romantic evening I have planned for us,” he said
with a rueful smile. Maggie assured him that was not necessary and she would be
fine, but that was a lie. She was deeply disturbed by what she had seen in that
car and by the implications for Alex and, frankly, all of them. It was obvious
to her that he would not be physically capable of serving as mayor for months,
or possibly years. And she was convinced that the sudden appearance of the log
had a sinister explanation. Like the fires.

***

Maggie dozed intermittently until
she couldn’t force herself to stay in bed any longer. She got up, tended to
Eve, quickly showered and dressed, and was back at the hospital by six thirty.
She wanted to catch the doctors on their morning rounds. Alex lay still and
flat in his shadowy room, lit only by the monitors he was hooked up to. He
looked peaceful and the lines squiggling across the monitors were all
consistent and steady. She pulled up a chair and took one of his hands. She
thought he tried to squeeze hers but couldn’t be sure.

Maggie spent the day at the hospital, talking to
doctors and nurses, and forwarding information to Marc. She called Susan, who
had been shocked and disturbed by the news. Maggie insisted she didn’t need to
take emergency leave to come out, but if she could schedule a trip over a long
weekend, that would be helpful. The doctors reduced Alex’s narcotic IV in
midafternoon, and by four o’clock he came around. He recognized Maggie, asked
about Marc, and whispered that he was in pain. The nurse restored his IV to
prior levels, and he floated back to dreamland.

Maggie, exhausted from the day of leafing through
magazines she couldn’t focus on and trying to eat food she had no appetite for,
headed home. She intended to turn on the TV and check her email. She fed Eve
and sat down for just a minute to collect her thoughts. She leaned back in the
library chair that had become her refuge since that first night at Rosemont.
The next time she looked at her watch, it was two in the morning. She fought
the urge to go right back to sleep where she was and forced herself upstairs
and into bed.

***

The next two days followed the same
routine. Alex was making steady progress and was spending longer periods awake.
He was now eating a soft diet. They had moved him out of ICU and put him on the
same floor as Marc. Alex would go to inpatient rehab for several weeks after he
left the hospital. Marc was scheduled to come home to Rosemont.

Tonya and Tim intercepted her at the hospital on
Sunday. They confirmed that Alex’s accident had been front-page,
top-of-the-hour news. Isaac’s people had wasted no time in planting the idea
that Alex would not be fit to serve as mayor given his tragic accident and
grievous injuries.

Maggie agreed that he would not be able to serve
and, although she hated the injustice of the situation, she didn’t see any
other course of action but to let them have the election. She didn’t have the
time or energy to pursue an alternative if she had seen one.

Tonya made a cryptic mention of having a plan B
and tried to elaborate, but Maggie spotted Dr. Mertz heading down the corridor
to Alex’s room. She was intent on having a word with the doctor and bid a hasty
goodbye to Tonya and Tim, tossing over her shoulder that anything they wanted
to do was fine with her. She trusted them to do the right thing.