Worse Than Being Alone (34 page)

“
Let’s wait and see,” Jake said,
somewhat taken aback my Marian’s statements.

Sam Kelly couldn’t make out the exact words spoken
by the old woman as he climbed down the ladder, but the overall
tone seemed to be one of hysteria. He would much rather be
assessing the victim than coping with someone’s emotional
baggage.

It was that part of the job, coupled with the bad
hours and compensation, that had fueled his decision to go back to
college for a degree in computer science. Web design was his
future, as far away from death and drama as he could get. He
repeated ABC several times as he reached the bottom, so he would
remember to assess airway, breathing, and circulation, the cardinal
tenets of every EMT.

Sam approached Billy, who was lying on his back and
knelt down beside him. He completed his initial assessment and
touched the radio on his shoulder.

“
Jake, are you there?” Sam
asked.

“
Yeah, Sam, what have you got?”
Jake asked as he stared at Marian.

“
His pulse is weak and his blood
pressure is low,” Sam said. “We need to get him to the hospital
STAT.”

Before Jake could respond Marian began wailing. “Oh,
my God, you mean he’s still alive?”

Chapter Sixty-Seven

The saga in the hole continued, as Sam began
cataloging other observations. Billy was unconscious, and his
pupils were unequal, but reactive, to the small flashlight Sam
flashed in his eyes. Sam was about to continue when he had another
thought.

“
Jake,” he said as he tapped his
radio again.

“
Yeah, Sam,” Jake
responded.

“
Jake, I think we should call for
the chopper and send him SLUH,” Sam said.

“
That’s probably a good idea,”
Jake said. “I’ll call dispatch.”

“
What’s going on?” Marian
demanded. “What are you talking about?”

“
We’re going to take Billy to St.
Louis University Hospital,” Jake said. “It’s the closest Level 1
Trauma Center. It’s Billy’s best chance of survival.”

“
You mean he’d go to St. Louis?”
Marian asked. “I’m not sure I want that. I get to decide,
right?”

“
Marian, you want Billy to get the
best care, right?” Jake asked.

“
Well, sure. I’m just not sure I
want to go there,” Marian said.

“
If that was my relative, that’s
where I would go,” Jake said.

“
Well, I don’t want that,” Marian
said.

“
Ma’am, it’s my opinion that’s the
best course of action, so that’s what we’re going to
do.”

Jake contacted his base, and did his best to deal
with a very anxious Marian, who asked every few minutes if Billy
was still alive. Meanwhile, Sam ignored most of Jack’s requests for
information because all he could hear was Marian’s incessant
questions delivered in a singularly whiny voice. He decided Billy
Diamond probably jumped in the hole just to escape.

Sam started an IV, gingerly placed a collar around
Billy’s neck, and placed an air cast on Billy’s compound right
femur fracture. A fireman brought down a stretcher and helped Sam
transfer Billy onto it. With the help of the hoist from the fire
truck, Billy’s stretcher was lifted to the surface. Marian managed
to get up from the ground and run to Billy’s side, peppering Sam
with questions as he climbed up the ladder and continued to
minister to Billy.

“
Has he been conscious at all?”
Marian asked. “Has he said anything?”

“
No, he’s been unconscious the
whole time,” Sam said.

“
Is he going to make it?” she
asked anxiously.

“
I don’t know,” Sam said. “I think
he might have a head injury, and I know his leg’s broken. It’s also
possible he might have internal injuries.”

“
Is there someone I can call for
you?” Jake asked.

“
I’ll call my son, Murray,” Marian
said, as they heard the ARCH helicopter approach.

“
You’ll have to stay over there,”
Jake told Marian, as he moved her back, much to Sam’s
relief.

The blue helicopter landed in the field behind the
foundation and the door opened. The flight nurse, helmet fastened
in place, jumped out and met Sam and Jake, who were approaching
with Billy’s stretcher. Sam gave the nurse a detailed report and
then backed off. After Billy was loaded in the bay, the chopper
lifted off. Sam and Jake reluctantly joined Marian.

An Alton police officer, Frank Tolle, climbed out of
his patrol car and approached the group. Tolle looked to be mid-60s
with a buzz cut Sam hadn’t seen on anyone in 30 years. Tolle’s
uniform shirt looked as if the buttons were going to pop off with
his next exhalation; his gut was that enormous.

“
What happened up here?” Tolle
asked.

“
It was an accident,” Marian said.
“My husband and I were just checking the foundation. Somehow, Billy
lost his balance and fell in the foundation.”

“
Were you the only ones here?”
Tolle asked.

“
Well, yes,” Marian said. “I’m
telling you, it was just an accident. There’s nothing to
investigate here.”

“
What’s your name, Ma’am?” Tolle
asked.

“
I’m Marian Diamond,” she said.
“My husband’s name is Billy. Look, I can’t answer any more of your
asinine questions. I’ve got to get to the hospital.”

“
I’m going to need some more
information,” Tolle said.

“
Then you’re going to have to come
to the hospital,” Marian said as she stomped away, climbed in her
car, and sped away.

“
Wow, she’s a peach,” Tolle said
sarcastically.

“
That’s not the word I would use,”
Jake said.

“
I’ll give my opinion,” Sam said.
“That poor bastard jumped just to get away from her.”

“
Do you think it was an accident?”
Tolle asked.

“
I don’t know,” Jake said.
“Something about her is just off. I mean, who tells you what
funeral home to take their loved one to before they even know
whether the person is dead or not?”

Chapter Sixty-Eight

Roni wanted to finish her shopping and get home
before the severe thunderstorms forecast for later materialized.
The lack of a killing frost had stalled autumn, the trees
responding by retaining most of their leaves. For the most part,
the sky was a gorgeous shade of wall to wall blue but in the
distance to the west, angry banks of clouds gathered.

Roni thought the clouds mirrored her thoughts.
Billy’s response to the information she provided seemed
inscrutable, which made Roni wonder if he didn’t believe her or
didn’t care. As she grabbed a loaf of whole-wheat bread, she could
only hope he just needed time to process everything and wouldn’t
angrily reject her.

If Billy knew about all the dead husbands, Roni
wondered why he hadn’t said something. He had just sat there in a
kind of stunned silence, taking it all in without comment. Maybe
that was the logical reaction, if he didn’t know about Marian’s
other marriages. Roni tried to imagine how she would feel if the
roles were reversed but came up empty. Lost in thought, she
realized she forgot hamburger buns and went back to the bread
aisle. She was about to head for the checkout when her cell phone
chirped.

“
Hello,” she said as she tried to
balance the phone with pushing the cart.

“
Hey, Roni,” Harley said. “Where
are you?”

“
I’m at Dierbergs,” Roni said.
“I’m almost done, so I shouldn’t be too much longer. What’s
up?”

“
How did it go with Billy?” he
asked.

“
I’m not sure,” Roni said. “He
didn’t get mad. In fact, he really didn’t say much of anything. I
think he needs some time to process everything and what it
means.”

“
Look, I just got a call from
Theresa Langone.”

“
I haven’t talked to her since
high school,” she said. “What did she want?”

“
She’s the manager of the
emergency department at St. Louis University Hospital. She wanted
you to know that Billy was just airlifted there from
Alton.”

“
Oh, my God, what happened?” she
asked.

“
She didn’t know all the details,
but apparently, Marian said that Billy accidently fell into the
foundation of the new house. Theresa said they were still
evaluating his condition.”

“
Accidently, my ass,” Roni
said.

“
I’m leaving now. I’ll pick you up
and we’ll go up there together. I don’t want you
driving.”

“
OK, I’ll call Dave while I’m
waiting,” she said. “I want this so-called accident investigated
from the get-go.”

Forty minutes later, Roni and Harley walked through
the sliding doors into St. Louis University Hospital, the best
level 1 trauma center in the area. Roni asked to see her high
school friend, Theresa Langone. A tall, thin, gray-haired woman
approached the desk and smiled at Roni.

“
Hey, Roni,” Theresa said as she
came around the desk and hugged Roni.

“
It’s been a long time,” Roni
said.

“
Hi, Harley,” Theresa said. “You
haven’t aged a bit. No cracks about my prematurely gray hair. Look,
Billy’s in surgery. He presented with a TBI and internal bleeding,
probably spleen, but we weren’t really sure. He’s
critical.”

“
What did the head CT show?” Roni
asked.

“
No evidence of a subdural but
there is some bleeding,” Theresa said. “They may have to release
some of the pressure if they can stop the internal bleeding. I wish
I had better news.”

“
Has he been awake at all?” Roni
asked.

“
No, he’s been unconscious the
whole time,” Theresa said.

“
Is Marian here?” Harley
asked.

“
Yeah, that’s not your mom,
right?” Theresa asked. “I mean, I remember your mom from high
school.”

“
No, that’s Billy’s second wife,”
Roni said. “Did she say anything?”

“
About what exactly?” Theresa
asked.

“
About what happened?” Roni
asked.

“
She just keeps saying it was an
accident,” Theresa said.

“
I’m sure I’m going to sound
paranoid,” Roni said. “Here’s the deal. I don’t think this was an
accident. I think she pushed him so I don’t want her to be alone
with him, OK?”

“
OK,” Theresa said tentatively, as
a nurse at the desk waved at her.

“
Phone call, Theresa,” the nurse
said. “It’s the OR about Mr. Diamond.”

Chapter Sixty-Nine

Dave Meyer pulled onto Alton Heights Road and just
kept going until he saw the police cars, always the easy way to
find the crime scene. As part of the major case squad, he was never
the first one at the scene. A lot of times, it was days or even
weeks before the request was made for the squad’s involvement.

This time would be different, Dave thought as he
parked his unmarked car behind the Alton P.D. cruiser. He had
called a contact, John Wood, a detective with the Alton P.D. and
requested John meet him at the scene. As Dave climbed out of his
car, John Wood pulled up in his unmarked. They stepped in front of
both cars and shook hands.

“
Thanks for meeting me, John,”
Dave said.

“
You sounded kind of mysterious on
the phone,” John said. “What’s this about?”

“
I know this probably looks like
an accident,” Dave said. “And, honestly, it might have been, but
I’ve been helping my sister’s friend look at the victim’s wife for
possible involvement in her previous husbands’ deaths.”

“
How many are we talking about?”
John asked.

“
Billy is her sixth husband,” Dave
said. “Only one other guy survived.”

“
Did they have accidents, too?”
John asked.

“
No, we suspect some type of
poison,” Dave said. “The problem is we don’t have any real proof at
this point. They were all cremated.”

“
So, you think she just got
impatient?”

“
Maybe,” Dave said. “I’m worried
she found out we were poking around and just cut to the
chase.”

“
Well, let’s take a look at the
scene,” John said. “The first officer on the scene is still here. I
asked him to secure the scene, but he said the paramedics and
fireman had trampled over everything.”

They walked beyond the cars, their attention drawn
to the foundation walls and the lone cop who approached from the
farthest wall.

“
I’m Sgt. Frank Tolle,” he said as
he extended his hand to Dave and John Wood.

“
Frank, this is Dave Meyer with
Major Case,” John said.

“
Nice to meet you, Frank,” Dave
said. “We heard you were the first on the scene. Is that
right?”

“
That’s true,” Frank said. “I was
delayed because I was on the other side of town. This scene is
totally contaminated. The paramedics and fireman trampled over
everything trying to get the victim out of the
foundation.”

The trio walked near the edge of the foundation and
studied the multiple sets of footprints that littered the area.

“
The way the wife described it,
they were walking over there,” Tolle said as he pointed. “She said
she was walking and turned around and the victim had fallen in the
hole.”