Deadly Image (12 page)

Lexi breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Ace.”

They exited the vehicle and joined the group on the church lawn.

Mandy Whitman rushed to greet them. “Lexi! I’m so glad you’re here. We’ve been praying for your family. I can’t imagine what you’re going through.” She leaned in and hugged Lexi tight. “If you need anything – anything at all – don’t hesitate to ask.”

“T–thank you.”

“That goes for the rest of us too.” A plump, gray-haired woman hobbled over to them. “I’m Angie Barnett. My husband, Gil, is heading the volunteer search.”

“Please let him know I appreciate it.”

“I will. We hope you find her soon.”

Mrs. Jenkins, the elderly owner of Lil’ Gators Daycare hesitated a moment before coming to stand beside Lexi. “I’m so sorry about Anna.” She wrung her hands in agitation. “I just don’t understand how this could have happened.”

“Mrs. Jenkins, why did you tell the police I checked Anna out that day?”

The older woman looked startled. “Because you did, dear. You came by about two o’clock and said Anna wouldn’t be back the rest of the week. You paid the bill and collected her things. Don’t you remember?”

Ace studied both women for any sign of deception. Mrs. Jenkins still appeared genuinely distraught over the situation and she had never once changed her statement. Not even now, when confronted by Lexi.  It appeared Mrs. Jenkins was telling the truth. At least the truth as she knew it.

“But, Mrs. Jenkins, you know it wasn’t me who came to pick up Anna.”

Mrs. Jenkins paled. “I–I don’t understand. Of course it was you. The person who came in to sign her out looked just like you. Sounded just like you and everything. She even called Anna by her nickname. Ladybug.” Tears welled in the older woman’s eyes. “I feel like this is all my fault, but I’m not sure why. I don’t see how I could have made that kind of mistake.” The older woman’s eyes clouded for a moment. “I was a bit distracted by the delivery guy bringing my new preschool furniture, but I could have sworn it was you who picked Anna up that day. You know I would have never let her go if it wasn’t someone on the authorized list checking her out. Please forgive me, Lexi.”

Lexi touched Mrs. Jenkins arm. “I’m not blaming you. I don’t know what happened or why you thought it was me, but I know you wouldn’t have let my baby go with a stranger on purpose.”

Visibly upset, Mrs. Jenkins dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief. “We’ll keep praying for her. That’s all I know to do now.”

“Please do.” Lexi offered a tight smile. “We need all the prayers we can get.”

As Mrs. Jenkins walked off to join a group of women Ace couldn’t shake the feeling that both Mrs. Jenkins and Lexi were telling the truth. That could mean only one thing. Someone had taken great pains to make themself look like Lexi in order to snatch Anna. But why?

For the next few minutes other church members embraced Lexi and offered their support. Ace could see the tension easing out of her features as the church family took her under their wing just as he’d thought they would. Gator Bayou was full of wonderful, giving people. He’d seen evidence of it throughout the investigation. It was the type of town he’d have loved to have grown up in. A close-knit community pulling together in time of need.

With the exception of one bad seed.

A few minutes later, Pastor Hall gathered everyone together to begin the vigil.

“I don’t see Mom and Dad,” Lexi whispered as they formed a large circle.

“I’m sure they’re on their way.” Ace glanced at his watch and frowned. They’d had plenty of time to get here since she’d called them.

Pastor Hall passed out the rest of the candles and, as promised, Ace made sure Lexi could share his without anyone noticing.

Pastor Hall began the ceremony with a prayer, then lit the first candle. He passed his flame to Angie Barnett who was standing on his right. Angie passed her flame to the person standing beside her and the rest of the circle followed suit.

When it was Ace’s turn to take the flame, he felt Lexi stiffen beside him.

“Relax. I won’t let you get burned,” he whispered in her ear. He kept his hand in the middle of the candle to give her room on the bottom.

Lexi paused, then nodded as she grasped the tapered candle below his hand, her fingers brushing his ever so lightly.

A tingle zipped through his hand at her light touch. Why did he react to this woman like this? Even the lightest touch had his heart racing.

Pastor Hall gave a short sermon on faith and offered another prayer for Anna’s safe return, then the congregation lifted their voices in a hymn as they stood in the circle holding their lit candles.

Lexi joined in the song, but worry marred her features as she searched the crowd.

Ace’s cell phone rang during the next hymn. He pulled it from his shirt pocket and checked the screen.

Sheriff Dawson. He pushed the silence button before it could ring again and disturb the vigil.

Ace leaned down to whisper in her ear. “I need to take this. Will you be alright holding the candle?”

Fear widened her eyes, but Lexi nodded. As he let go, he could feel the candle tremble in her hand. Ace stepped away from the crowd to answer the phone. “Valdez.”

“There’s been an accident. The Carlisles are being transported to the hospital.” Sheriff Dawson’s voice sounded strained. “The mother is in critical condition.”

Ace hung up as the news settled cold in his bones.  He dreaded relaying the news to Lexi. Another blow to an already fragile family.

* * *

Lexi mouthed the words to the hymn as Ace hurried toward her with a grim expression. The tension in his jaw stopped her cold.

Oh Lord, had they found Anna? Was she dead?

Ace reached her, blew out her candle and grabbed her hand. “Your parents have been in an accident. We need to get to the hospital.”

A strangled cry escaped her lips before she could stop it. “Are they–?”

“I don’t know any of the details yet.” Ace guided her through the small crowd as curious stares followed them. “Emergency.” He explained tersely as they made their way to the SUV.

Silence accompanied them on the way to the hospital. Ace appeared edgy and Lexi spent most of the trip silently praying her parents were all right. If she lost them too, she knew she couldn’t go on.

Ace pulled the SUV into the parking lot of Gator Bayou Hospital. Lexi bolted toward the sliding glass doors. Ace hurried after her.

“Victoria and Peter Carlisle?” Ace asked at the front desk.

The nurse directed them to a small, enclosed waiting area on the other side of her desk. “Dr. Phillips will be with you shortly.”

Sheriff Dawson was sitting in one of the orange vinyl chairs when they arrived.

“What happened?” The strain in Ace’s voice had never been plainer.

“Best I can tell, they ran the red light right before you get into town and a dump truck plowed into the passenger side of their car from the side street. The driver of the dump truck was checked out at the scene and seemed fine. The Carlisles weren’t so lucky.” He shot Lexi a sympathetic look. “Your father was pretty banged up and your mother was unconscious when they brought her in.”

Lexi sank to the orange vinyl couch beside Sheriff Dawson with a cry. Ace joined her and took her hand. “We should know something soon.”

Seconds stretched into minutes, but to Lexi it seemed more like hours before anyone with news came into the waiting room. Finally, a man wearing a white lab coat walked in. “Peter and Victoria Carlisle?”

“Yes.” Lexi and Ace stood at the same time. “I’m their daughter. Are they okay? Can I see them?”

“I’m Dr. Phillips. Peter suffered a few minor scrapes and bruises. Possibly a concussion. We’ll keep him overnight for observation.”

Lexi swallowed hard. “And my mom?”

“Victoria hasn’t regained consciousness. She suffered a couple of broken ribs and a lacerated liver, as well as some cuts to her right arm. She’s lost a lot of blood. We’ll need to give her a transfusion.” The doctor hesitated. “She’s in surgery now, but we’re a little low on her blood type. We have enough for the surgery, but I’m waiting on word from St. Thomas to see if they can bring us an extra supply in case something happens. They’re only about thirty minutes from here.”

“I can do it.” Lexi burst out. “She’s my mother; I’m sure we’re the same blood type.”

Dr. Phillips nodded. “There’s a good chance you are, yes. However, we have to run several tests before we can use your donation, so it’s not possible for your blood to be used for the surgery. We’ll have to wait on word from St. Thomas. Hopefully, they’ll be able to send us her type in case something goes wrong. I don’t like to be this low. If there are complications after surgery she might require more transfusions, so it wouldn’t hurt for you to donate anyway, just in case. I’ll have my nurse take you to the lab shortly.”

“Yes. Anything to help. When can I see my parents?”

“Victoria will be in surgery for a couple of hours, but Peter is in a room on the second floor. You can see him now. He’ll be a bit groggy from the pain medicine, but he should still be awake.”

“Thank you.” Lexi hurried from the room with Sheriff Dawson and Ace trailing her.

They took the elevator to the second floor in silence. As soon as the doors opened Lexi rushed to her father’s room. She gulped at the sight of her dad hooked up to various tubes, eyes closed and a noticeable lump on his forehead.

“Dad?”

Peter Carlisle opened his eyes. “Hi, hon. I’m sorry we didn’t make it to the vigil.” His words were thick and a bit slurred due to the meds in his IV.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better.” He visibly tensed. “What about Mom?”

“She’s in surgery. We won’t know anything for a couple of more hours.”

His features tightened. “It’s my fault. All my fault.”

“Do you remember the accident?”

Peter closed his eyes briefly. “The brakes ... didn’t work. I couldn’t … stop.” The effort to talk winded him.

“What?” Lexi glanced at Ace who had remained in the doorway to give her privacy. His pinched frown told her he’d heard.

“I pressed … the brake to slow down … for the light, but they were … out.” Peter’s breaths came in shallow bursts. It seemed to take every ounce of his strength to speak.

Worried, Lexi leaned down and kissed his cheek. “It’s okay, Dad. Rest. We’ll talk later. I’ll be right down the hall if you need me.”

Peter nodded, then closed his eyes again.

As they left the room, Ace reached for his cell phone and punched a number.

“Zach. Have the boys check the Carlisles’ car. It seems the brakes weren’t working at the time of the accident. See if it was a malfunction.”

A nurse met them halfway down the hall. “Mrs. Yates?”

“Yes.”

“Please come with me. Dr. Phillips mentioned you wanted to donate blood.”

“I do. Thank you.” Lexi followed the nurse to the lab while Ace and Sheriff Dawson went back to the waiting room.

* * *

“Coffee?” Ace handed a steaming Styrofoam cup to Lexi who was curled up in one of the orange vinyl chairs in the waiting room an hour later.

“Yes. Thank you.” Lexi took the cup from his hand. “I feel like we’ve been waiting forever for Mom to get out of surgery.”

“It shouldn’t be much longer now.” Ace settled into the chair beside her.

“You don’t have to wait here with me. I’m sure you have other things you need to be doing.”

“I don’t mind. You shouldn’t be alone right now.” She didn’t look well. Dark circles had formed beneath her eyes and the pallor of her skin worried him. “Sheriff Dawson has gone back to your house and the rest of the team can handle any new developments.”

Lexi took a sip of her coffee. “When will this nightmare end? I’m beginning to feel like Job. Everyone I love is being taken away one by one.”

Ace squared his jaw. “I’ll admit you’ve been dealt a bad hand. Try to hang in there and think positive. Your Dad is going to be fine, and there’s a good chance your mother will recover as well. She’s strong and seems to be in good hands.”

“And Anna?”

Ace forced himself not to grimace. He needed to stay positive as well. For her sake. “Don’t give up hope. Something is bound to turn up.”

“I hope so. I–”

“Mrs. Yates?”

Lexi looked up to find Dr. Phillips standing in the doorway. She set her coffee on the end table as both she and Ace rose their feet. “How is my mother?”

Dr. Phillips crossed the room holding a chart. “She came through the surgery just fine. We’ll know more after she comes out of recovery. At the moment, it looks like she’ll make it.”

“Thank God!” Relief colored Lexi’s voice. “Do you think she’ll need another transfusion? I can donate more blood if necessary.”

Dr. Phillips hesitated, then shot a glance at Ace before answering. “I’m afraid you’re not a match.”

“Really? I would have thought we’d have the same blood type.”