Last Run (21 page)

‘And you will,’ Kez said. ‘But it’s very early. Hospitals don’t like early visitors.’

‘We visit all hours.’

‘All the more reason,’ Kez persisted. ‘If we leave soon you’ll have plenty of time to see him later.’ She paused. ‘This is important to me, Cathy.’

There was no mistaking the urgency in her eyes.

‘All right,’ Cathy said.

‘Dad’s gone ahead in his own car,’ Sam told Grace on the phone, heading south again on Collins, ‘and I’ve told Terri I’m going to pick her
up and bring her to the hospital.’

‘Because you want to see Saul’s reaction to her,’ Grace said.

‘I do,’ Sam said. ‘Though we don’t know if Saul saw his attacker – or if he’ll remember even if he did.’ He paused. ‘We don’t even know if
he’ll know us.’

Grace wished she was with him, wanted badly to hold him.

‘Would you like me to call Cathy?’ she asked.

Sam had already made up his mind on that. ‘Not till we know what shape he’s in. I think we should let her have a little more time out, don’t you?’

‘I do,’ Grace said. ‘I’ll join you soon as I can.’

‘Are you OK to drive?’

‘Fine,’ Grace said. ‘If he’s awake before I get there, give him a kiss from me.’

‘You got it,’ Sam said.

Looking good so far, David was told when he got to the hospital.

Rancho Levels – an assessment tool that did not require cooperation from a patient unable to communicate, but monitored their reaction to external stimuli – were promising. Saul was
able to follow simple commands, his agitation and confusion in keeping with the traumatic situation to which he was waking to.

Still sedated, for which David was thankful.

Thankful not the word for how he felt altogether. No words could be enough for that.

He had decided to wait until Sam arrived with Terri before he went in. Sam still hadn’t told him what was going on where she was concerned, and something inside David had recoiled at the
thought of what it might be, which was why he hadn’t pushed it either with Sam or with Grace who was, he sensed, up to speed on that. Now at least he could focus on such things – had
not been entirely aware of how much he had been blotting out until Saul’s awakening.

Thank God.

The trouble between Sam and Grace was something else that had been worrying the hell out of him, and once the worst was over with Saul – God willing – he was going to get to the
bottom of that too, knock their damned-fool heads together if he had to. There was a
baby
on the way, for pity’s sake, and even if there hadn’t been, two people more crazy about
each other than Sam and Grace would be hard to find, and David would be damned if he was going to let them put that at risk.

‘Thank God,’ Sam said when David told him about the Rancho Levels.

Grace here now, too, her golden hair tousled, the shadows beneath her eyes more pronounced than they would have been if she’d had time to put on make-up. Still as lovely as ever in most
ways, especially, David thought, all swollen up with child.

Fear etched on her face, though – and not just for Saul now.

Time to fix tha
t
,
David thought again, Saul permitting.

‘Can we go in yet?’ Terri asked, her beautiful dark eyes loaded, too, with anxiety.

‘Two at a time,’ David said. ‘And we’re not to tire him.’

He and Sam went in first.

They were both overwhelmed immediately with the mightiest relief.

Saul knew them. That was plain as day, not just from the cardiac monitor beeping and showing its wavy, spiky excitement, but from the look of relief in his eyes, despite their still-sedated
fuzziness.

He
knew
them.

‘Thank God,’ David said, softly.

‘Amen,’ Sam said, and walked around the bed to the other side.

‘You’re OK, son.’ David stooped over his son, stroked his cheek, and kissed his forehead. ‘I know the doctors have already told you this, but I’m telling you, too.
Don’t be afraid. All of this is temporary. It’s going to take some time, but you’re going to be just fine.’

‘Damn straight you are,’ Sam told his brother, and took his good left hand.

And there it was, love for them both alive and clear in Saul’s eyes.

David went on talking to him, telling him a little more about what was being done to help him, just enough information, not
too
much, reassuring at every step, knowing his son was more
likely to believe him than any other doctor, because David had made it a rule not to lie to his wife or kids, had stuck to it all through Judy’s illness. So if David told Saul it was going to
be lousy for a while, but
only
for a while, after which he would be better, then it was his hope that Saul might rest just a little more comfortably than he might have otherwise.

‘OK, Dad,’ Sam said quietly, when he was done talking. ‘If you’re ready, do you think you could ask Terri to come in?’

Saul nodded urgently, his eyes avid.

‘And Grace?’ David said.

‘Just Terri for now, OK?’

More of the strangeness, David thought, but did not question him, just kissed his younger son again, told him he’d be back soon and left the room.

Sam stepped away from the bed and moved over to the back wall, the best vantage point in the room from where he would be able to see Saul’s expression clearly, because the monitors
weren’t going to tell him much, would be unlikely to distinguish waves or spikes of great joy from fear.

The door opened and she came in.

The cardiac monitor beeped faster.

Hard
not
to look at it or at her, but Sam kept his eyes on his brother’s face.

‘Hello, baby.’ Terri bent to stroke his cheek, then to kiss it, then straightened up. ‘I’m so sorry, Saul – ’ her soft voice trembled a little –
‘for everything. For getting so mad and walking out. For not being with you.’

Sam watched Saul till his own eyes ached.

He saw not so much as a hint of wariness in his brother’s eyes.

Certainly no fear or anger.

Just love.

Sam felt himself begin to uncoil, then tensed up again, ready now for the next big moment, the sixty-four thousand dollar question.

He stepped closer to the bed again, opposite Terri, looked down at Saul.

‘I need to ask you something, bro.’ He kept his voice calm. ‘It’s real important.’

Saul tore his eyes from Terri, looked up at his big brother.

‘Do you know who did this to you?’ Sam asked.

The monitor beeped erratically, and the pupils in Saul’s brown eyes dilated.

‘Saul,’ Terri said, softly. ‘Baby. Do you remember?’

Urging him, encouraging him; not a trace of a threat.

Sam’s eyes flitted to Terri’s face, saw nothing but intensity.

‘Saul – ’ he took his brother’s left hand again – ‘can you squeeze my hand?’

He felt a small movement, then a weak but definite squeeze.

‘That’s fine.’ Sam waited another moment. ‘Saul, if you know who did this to you, if you remember anything at all, squeeze my hand again.’

Pressure from Saul’s fingers, and Sam’s own heart leapt, except that Saul’s eyes were filled with distress now, and so, for all Sam knew, the squeeze was just that, distress
brought on by thinking about what had happened.

‘Saul, was that a squeeze? Do you remember something?’

Saul made a sound, an awful, choking sound, and the monitors reacted accordingly, and the door opened and a doctor – name-tagged Lucy Khan – strode in, glaring at Sam and the
monitor.

‘That’s it, folks,’ she said. ‘My patient needs rest.’

‘That’s OK,’ Sam said, looked at Terri, saw she was weeping, looked back at Saul. ‘It’s going to be fine, man.’

‘This is too much, too soon,’ Dr Khan said. ‘I need you to leave.’

‘Going,’ Sam told her, heading for the door. ‘We’re going to find whoever did this, don’t you worry about it.’

‘Better believe it.’ Terri wiped her eyes, and managed a smile.

‘Out,’ Lucy Khan told them.

In the corridor, Sam went directly to David and Grace.

‘He remembers what happened.’

‘Are you sure?’ David asked.

‘I’d swear to it,’ Sam told him.

‘Can I go in now?’ Grace asked.

Sam shook his head. ‘Dr Khan kicked us out. Says he has to rest.’

‘Nice woman,’ David said. ‘Smart, too.’

‘Seems to want to take good care of Saul,’ Sam said.

‘Which is all that matters,’ Grace said.

Sam saw the way she was looking at him, saw a neediness in her eyes that he’d seldom seen there before, and shame jabbed at his conscience.

‘It’s OK,’ he said softly.

He turned around, saw that Terri had vanished.

‘She went to the restroom,’ David told him.

Sam looked at his father, saw from the wry lift of his eyebrows that he’d figured out that something was up between him and Terri.

‘I didn’t have to be a genius.’ David looked at Grace, then back at Sam. ‘And right now, you two need a moment alone.’

‘Hey, Dad,’ Sam said, quickly. ‘I haven’t forgotten your theory.’

‘My theory, Einstein’s, Wolfie Cohen’s, I don’t care – ’ David walked towards the nurses’ station – ‘so long as it helps.’

‘Theory?’ Grace enquired.

‘I’ll tell you later.’ Sam checked over his shoulder. ‘Right now I need to tell you something else.’

‘Terri?’

Sam saw the awful tension around Grace’s mouth and eyes, and knew that he, almost as much as Saul’s assailant, had put it there. He felt a sudden great urge to kiss it all away, but
knew he had to wait.

‘It wasn’t her,’ he said. ‘I can’t prove it, but I’d bet the farm.’

The relief, the release, almost floored her, and Sam saw her start to sway, reached out to catch her, but she was already recovering, pulling away – and suddenly there was something else
in those blue eyes, a spark of anger, of resentment.

‘So now I’m off the hook?’ she said. ‘Now you can touch me again.’

‘Grace, I’m sorry.’

‘I understand.’ She shook her head. ‘I understood all through.’ Her attempt at a smile didn’t work. ‘Didn’t stop it hurting, though.’

‘Gracie.’ The name was loaded with regret. ‘I have to go.’

‘Oh,’ she said. ‘OK.’

‘Something I have to check into.’

‘Your dad’s theory?’ Again she tried to smile. ‘Go ahead.’

‘You’ll be all right?’ He was anxious as hell now about her.

‘I’ll be fine,’ Grace told him. ‘I’ll call Cathy about Saul.’

‘You should,’ Sam said. ‘Great to tell her something good.’

‘And then if we can’t get to see Saul, I’ll go home.’

‘Get some rest. You look tired.’

‘I am,’ she said, ‘a little.’

Sam was vacillating.

‘So go,’ Grace said.

‘I want to make sure you’re OK,’ he said. ‘And the baby.’

‘We’re both fine,’ she said.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said again.

‘Me, too,’ she said.

‘Where exactly are we going?’ Cathy asked at around seven thirty, a mess of signposts coming up ahead.

‘Wait and see,’ Kez told her.

‘Only I really don’t want to leave town today.’

The Golf turned on to the Florida Turnpike.

‘Kez, please, just tell me . . .’

‘Like I said,’ Kez broke in, ‘you’ll be back in plenty of time.’

Cathy felt irritated. ‘I’m not a little kid or a package.’

‘I know.’

‘Then please tell me where we’re headed.’

‘Naples,’ Kez said.

‘No way,’ Cathy protested. ‘Of all places.’

‘I know,’ Kez said again, laid her right hand briefly on Cathy’s knee, then brought it back to the gear shift. ‘It’s probably the last place you—’

‘It has nothing to do with that,’ Cathy cut in. ‘I don’t blame Naples for what happened to Saul, but I told you I didn’t want to leave town and I don’t
appreciate—’

‘Hey.’ Kez glanced at her. ‘It’s OK.’

‘It’s not.’

‘I mean it’s fine. If you want me to I’ll get us turned around and straight back to Miami General.’ Kez’s eyes flicked between Cathy’s face and the road
ahead. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘OK. I guess.’

‘I shouldn’t have assumed you’d be cool with being whisked away without a moment’s notice.’

‘I guess I would be cool, ordinarily.’ Cathy was regretting her overreaction.

‘It’s just this place I wanted to show you means so much to me, and we wouldn’t have to stay long. But you’re right, we can go some other time.’

Except, Cathy was painfully aware, times like this, nights like the last one,
magic
like that, only came along once in a very long while – had not, face it, ever come along for her
before.

‘Maybe if I just call home,’ she said.

‘Sure,’ Kez said easily. ‘If that helps. Or we could still turn around.’

‘No.’ Cathy pulled her cell phone out of her bag on the floor. ‘This’ll be fine.’

‘Good,’ Kez said.

Heading for Alligator Alley.

Grace sat in her car in the hospital parking lot. The air-con already blowing cool and more than welcome. Cell phone in one hand ready to use.

Her tears had startled her, like an old pal hitting on her unexpectedly, the instant she’d finished hauling herself in behind the wheel and shutting the door. She had not really allowed
herself to weep since they’d first heard the news of Saul’s attack. But now the good news about Saul, and Sam’s sharing with her his belief in Terri; his forgiveness, the relief
of it
all,
and then in the midst of that, her own flaring of resentment. All a little too much for one almost ‘geriatric’ mom-to-be in her eighth month.

The brief tear storm had shaken her up a little, but had helped, too. Steadied her enough, now that she’d wiped her eyes and taken a drink from her small on-board Evian bottle, to make the
call to Cathy.

She pressed the speed-dial key for her daughter’s mobile.

‘I’m sorry I can’t take your call,’ Cathy’s voice said.

Voicemail.

‘Sweetheart, it’s me,’ Grace said. ‘Calling with wonderful news.’ Part of her mind flashed to how great Cathy would feel hearing her words. ‘Saul’s
awake and according to the doctors, he’s doing really well all things considered.’ About to sign off, she added: ‘No point rushing over to Miami General though, because they want
him to rest, which is very frustrating for us all, but they know what they’re doing.’ The baby kicked her hard and she smiled, went quickly on. ‘Have a wonderful time, whatever
you’re doing, and say hi to Kez from us all. We love you, Cathy.’