Attachment Strings (24 page)

“I hate it,” Chandler replied forcefully.

He waved at us as Parker and I flashed our badges to the guy in the ticket booth. He looked at us in alarm but nodded us through the gate. Mr. Bernard pushed Sean around on the platform, pointing at whatever in the distance and talking to him. Chandler held onto Alex’s elbow and flipped his phone shut.

I could see Alex swallowing hard. He tried to politely slip free of Chandler’s grip, which didn’t work. I wondered if he wanted to run away, but that would be just stupid. There wasn’t any place to run to, and anyway, I wasn’t
that
frightening.

“Jeff,” Parker hissed, “you’re intimidating the hell out of him. Even Chandler seems to be alarmed by your vicious scowl.”

Surprised, I glanced at him and slowed down. “I’m not intimidating him,” I said. Upon seeing Parker’s raised eyebrows, I added, “At least not on purpose.”

“Just don’t flip.”

I nodded, turned toward Chandler and Alex, and pasted a rather fake smile on my face. “Hey, I heard you want to show Sean the great view that is Atlantic City?”

Alex’s look of apprehension lessened. “Yeah, he wanted to do this for a long time and I thought it might cheer him up.”

“You didn’t think it could be dangerous to take him outside? Especially after Detective Chandler told you so?” I asked sharply.

Alex let out a frustrated groan and Chandler let go of his arm. Alex used his just-freed hand to tousle his own hair. It made him look ridiculously young and vulnerable. A wave of protectiveness surged through me, almost compelling me to pull him into my arms and hold him. Withstanding this urge hurt—it
really
hurt.

“I’m not going to explain myself again,” Alex snapped.

“Fine,” I snapped back. “It’s only your brother’s life at stake.”

Chandler and Parker eyed us warily. Before Alex had a chance to go on with our snapping contest, I said to Chandler, “How about you go home? Parker and I will take over.”

“Who is going to stay with them for the night?” Chandler asked.

Parker answered wryly, “We’ll draw straws. Go ahead and let dispatch know that you’re off and we’re on.”

Chandler nodded in approval and I walked closer to Alex. Standing shoulder to shoulder, I felt him vibrating with tension. The helicopter became visible as a small point at the horizon, approaching us fast. “Call Mr. Bernard back to us. He’s awfully close to the edge of the platform.”

Alex rolled his eyes at me. “Winston knows what he’s doing. He’s been pushing around people’s wheelchairs for a long time.”

“Humor me,” I said, my voice devoid of any trace of humor.

Alex scowled but called out for the bus driver after telling me, “I’m only doing it because the copter will be here really soon.”

Staying silent, I saw Mr. Bernard reacting to Alex’s call with a wave. Alex smiled as Sean thrashed around in his wheelchair, excitedly chatting to the bus driver.

“What’s going on there?” Parker asked.

“Sean is convincing Winston to race toward us,” Alex replied with a chuckle.

Obviously Sean had convinced Mr. Bernard as the old man pushed the wheelchair at a run, a big grin on his face. Sean squealed in delight while I watched them in increasing trepidation.

I gasped in shock when Mr. Bernard suddenly stumbled. He tried to stay upright but couldn’t. As he went down to the ground, he let go of the handles of the wheelchair. Sean screeched while the wheelchair spun wildly around itself, coming remarkably close to the edge of the platform. Alex erupted into motion and ran toward Sean with Parker, Chandler, and me on his heels.

Terrified dark eyes looked at us when the wheelchair tilted to the side and lost its balance. Sean’s scream as he tumbled over the edge curdled my blood.

Alex skidded to a halt at the edge of the platform. He glanced over his shoulder at me and I knew immediately what he’d do.

“No! Alex!”

He jumped.

S
OMEONE
caught my arm in a bruising grip when I slid to a halt at the edge of the platform. I watched Alex breaking the water’s surface, the waves collapsing over him immediately.

Frantically, I waited and searched the troubled water for a sign of either Sean or Alex. Nothing.

In the background, I heard Chandler talking rapidly to someone on the phone while other people streamed near us, shouting and swearing. Mr. Bernard’s distinctly hysterical voice was audible as well, but I only had eyes for the ocean below me. I counted the seconds, willing Alex to show up.

I shook off Parker’s grip, fumbled my phone and gun off, then pushed them into his hands.

“Jeff!” he said in alarm. “You can’t do this. You can’t jump from this height.”

“Watch me.”

“Jeff! This is insane! Wait for the lifeguards.”

“Parker, this is
Alex
,” I replied as if that would explain why I would jump about twenty-five feet into probably ice-cold water.

I felt Parker’s penetrating stare on me as I stripped out of my jacket and let it fall to the ground. I stepped swiftly over the edge. The free fall caused my stomach to twist and roil in fearful apprehension, but thankfully, I didn’t have much time to think about how idiotic my actions were or whether I shouldn’t have wasted these few seconds on the platform. Right before my feet struck the water, Alex’s head emerged.

The impact of hitting the water surface and being surrounded by it everywhere knocked the breath out of me. I had to clamp my mouth shut to avoid inhaling seawater. The coldness of the water caused my eyes to stay wide open. My heart beat violently against my ribcage, leaving me to wonder if I’d lose consciousness. Shoving this thought aside, I swam toward where the water seemed to be less dark, hoping the surface wasn’t too far away.

I sputtered and coughed when my head emerged from the water, only to be pushed under again by an incoming wave. Emerging for a second time, I gulped in air while I scanned my surroundings for more waves. The water pulled strongly; the cold had already numbed my toes and fingers. Treading water, I looked around, searching for Alex.

My heart wanted to burst out of sheer gratitude when I finally spotted him. He struggled to keep his head out of the water and for a moment I wondered why he had to struggle
so
hard. Maybe he was hurt?

I swam toward him in a few hard strokes when I saw the reason for his struggle. He held Sean’s wheelchair and was trying to lift his brother’s head out of the ocean. His lips moved constantly, though I couldn’t understand one single word. I grabbed part of the wheelchair and together we lifted it up so Sean’s head peeked out. He looked like a corpse, white-faced, blue-lipped, and completely still.

A sob burst out of Alex’s throat and for the first time I understood that he was repeating Sean’s name over and over again. The weight of the wheelchair pulled all of us downward. My arms had already grown numb when I said, “Alex, can you unstrap him?”

Alex didn’t react; he just kept on staring at Sean’s face. It dawned on me that Alex believed he had lost him. I couldn’t see the kid breathing and didn’t have a hand free to feel for his pulse, but I desperately hoped he still could be saved. More sharply, I shouted, “
Alex
! Can you unfasten the straps?”

Alex’s eyes focused on me. Or at least he turned his gaze toward me; there wasn’t much comprehension in his eyes, merely utter despair. Despite fearing Sean’s head would slide underneath the surface, I used one hand to clasp it around the back of Alex’s head. I slid my hand down to his neck and squeezed him deliberately hard, which at least elicited a pained hiss.

His eyes came into actual focus. More forcefully, I asked, “Can you unfasten the straps while I hold him up?”

Alex nodded but still made no move. I looked him in the eyes, prayed for strength, and let go off the wheelchair. Alex screamed and struggled to hold the wheelchair on his own.

“What are you doing?” he shouted at me.

I grabbed for the wheelchair again and helped haul Sean’s head out of the water. Sean coughed. He heaved and water spilled out of his mouth and nose but he didn’t open his eyes.

“Sean! Sean! Baby, can you hear me? Come on,
please,
baby, talk to me!” Alex’s voice broke.

I closed my eyes for a brief moment, not wanting to see the anguish on Alex’s face. When I reopened my eyes, Alex was crying. Sean stopped coughing and remained unconscious. His lips lost the blue tinge, though, so I pulled myself together. In the distance, I heard approaching sirens. “Rescue units are on their way. Come on, Alex, unfasten the damn straps!
Now
!”

He blinked. “Can’t we… tow him to the beach in his wheelie?”

“He’s too heavy in it. Come on, I’m sure I can hold him up alone for a few minutes.”

Alex looked at me, confusion and fear clearly written all over him. I had never seen him this uncertain before. Not that I had a lot of memories for comparison but Alex didn’t act rational, not at all, not even when he had to know that Sean’s life was at stake.

“
Move
!” I hollered.

He obeyed instantly. He let go of the wheelchair, which put a lot of strain on my arms. I gritted my teeth as he dove into the water, attempting to unfasten the straps on Sean’s feet. I tried not to panic when Alex stayed underwater for what seemed to be an eternity. I
knew
he was only there for less than a minute. I
knew
I should keep a more professional approach to this whole disaster.

I just couldn’t. I couldn’t slip into my normal, detached work mode, pushing emotions aside for the time being. I was already way too attached to them. Yes, to them, not only to Alex.

Alex returned to the surface, panting for air and splashing water around. In a wheezy voice, he informed me, “His legs are free; I only have to unfasten the belly strap.”

“All right. When you’ve unfastened that strap you have to hold him close. Can you do that?”

Alex nodded in fierce determination. I had no doubt about him succeeding.

When he next emerged, Alex held Sean’s body tightly pressed against his own. Sean’s head lolled on Alex’s shoulder, which sometimes put his mouth and nose dangerously close to the water.

I let go of the wheelchair. We watched it sink—fast. A big wave rolled towards us and neither of us could avoid being swamped. After coughing up a lung, I discovered Alex a few feet away from me. I swam toward him, horribly aware of the power of the water around us.

Alex’s teeth chattered and his lips had a slight blue tinge to them. He looked exhausted and scared and not even close to being able to swim to the shore with Sean in tow. I held out my hands and demanded, “Give him to me.”

Alex’s eyes widened and he clutched Sean more tightly.

“Alex, we have to get him to the shore and I think I’m in better shape than you. It’ll be quicker if I take him.”

Alex whimpered and shook his head. All the while we trod water and cooled off to the point where hypothermia became a real threat. Water sloshed around us, pushing us apart, and I wondered if I could force Alex to hand me Sean without hurting either of them.

In the end, it was a decision I didn’t have to make. Alex whispered, “Okay,” and his eyes brimmed with new tears as he carefully shifted Sean’s body over into my arms. Sean groaned and Alex froze midshift. Gently, I pulled the boy into my arms and said, “I got him. You follow us as quickly as possible, got it?”

Alex nodded, clearly exhausted. He was much too close to collapsing. Swallowing hard, I hardened my voice. “He’ll be okay. Come on, now.”

I turned on my back, cradled Sean’s head securely on my shoulder, and started the long and trying journey to the shore. We weren’t that far away from land, but the sea’s roughness made it hard to cover the distance quickly. My breath came in labored gasps after a very short time, my muscles burned from exertion, and water kept finding a way into my mouth and nose. Coughing and cursing, I plowed further on, ignoring the increasing effort I had to make to keep our heads over the waterline.

Alternatively, I glanced to the shore to make sure I was headed in the right direction and back to Alex, whose movements were turning jerkier and weaker. Several times, I saw him disappear under a wave. Each time my heart stopped beating, only to start anew in a frantic and hurtful pattern when his head broke the surface again.

I was filled with appreciation for my job, which required a certain level of fitness. I wouldn’t have been able to make it to the shore otherwise. The wind picked up in strength, pushing the waves up to high piles and making it all the more difficult to swim. The distance between Alex and me grew wider and wider. Acid bile rose up in my throat when it dawned on me that Alex wasn’t going to make it on his own.

Gathering strength, I put more force into my strokes and finally, there were other people around us, grabbing me and Sean and helping us to wade out of the water. Medics placed Sean on a rescue blanket, cut the wet clothes off him, and started an IV. He had bruises where the belly strap had held him. They would heal.

It was unbearable to think about what would have happened if he hadn’t been strapped to the chair. Most certainly he’d be dead, either from the impact of the water or from drowning because he couldn’t swim. I still couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that he hadn’t broken his neck when he hit the water and that Alex had been quick enough to dive after him and find him. Sometimes miracles
do
happen.