Catherine's Cross (35 page)

A voice on the other side of the room said, “Miss Ellington, I'm sorry about what happened to you and Seth. We got here as fast as we could. All the flights from Rome were full, and we just barely made the standby list yesterday. I'm Dr. Leslie Walker and this is my wife, Sofia.”

Jenks started to stand up, but Dr. Walker rose quickly from his chair and came to her side. “No, please don't get up. I know you're not feeling well.”

The Walkers appeared to be in their sixties. Dr. Walker was of medium height and slight build, with gray combed-back hair and blue eyes that exuded warmth. His wife, Sofia, was about the same height as Jenks, and her sandy-blonde hair was cut short in a bob. Her face had few wrinkles, but her expression showed deep concern.

“Thank you, Dr. Walker. Seth has told me so much about you. I'm pleased to meet you both as well.”

“Yes, dear, Seth has e-mailed us many times about you,” Sofia volunteered.

“I hope all of his writings were favorable.”

“Oh yes, my dear—every word of it.” She wiped a tear that was falling down her cheek. “This is tragic. His dreams of attending law school this fall. He may have to postpone his plans. I just hope that he will recover soon.”

“Yes, ma'am, I do too.”

The next morning, Jenks went to see Seth as soon as she finished breakfast. She put on her robe and walked to his room. The door was open, and she could hear the voices of Dr. Walker and his wife conferring with a nurse. She tapped lightly on the doorframe and then entered the room.

“Come in, Jenkins,” Dr. Walker said.

As she came into the room, her eyes focused on Seth. He was awake. She went to his bed and took his hand. His eyes met hers, and his lips turned up in a slight smile.

“Jenks,” he said softly.

“I'm so happy to see you awake.”

“Jenkins, I'm afraid the events of the day that he was injured are lost to him at this point. Hopefully, he'll regain his memory,” Dr. Walker said.

“Yes, sir, I hope so too.”

“I'm so sorry about what happened to Gigi,” Seth slowly said.

Jenks took his hand in hers and held it tightly. She could feel tears start to well in her eyes.

“Dr. Walker told me what happened on the afternoon I was hurt. He said that Frank Hiller ambushed us at the Fleming's Seafood building.” He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he reopened them he said, “Dr. Walker told me that Frank took the regulator out of Gigi's mouth and held her underwater until she drowned—I'm so sorry.”

“Thank you. I am too.” She leaned over Seth and hugged him.

After Jenks was released from the Beaufort Hospital, she made daily trips with her mother to visit Seth. Dr. Walker and his wife were usually in the room with him, and on each visit he was more alert. However, he was having difficulty remembering new information, and she noticed that she had to tell him some things several times.

Jenks was having trouble with her own cognitive skills; she was forgetful and still suffering from headaches. Her mother placed a phone call to Dr. Edwin Bishop, her principal in Cary, North Carolina, and explained about Jenks's condition. He was extremely worried about her and told her to get in touch with him as soon as she felt like returning to work. Jenks did not tell her mother, but she was considering not returning to Raleigh. She knew that Seth was going to need her, and she wanted to be with him.

One afternoon, when Jenks and her mother went to see Seth, Mose Lafitte was in the room. “Miss Jenkins, ma'am, how are you folks today?” he inquired.

“I'm feeling much better. Mose, this is my mother, Linda Ellington.”

“Ma'am,” he nodded with a slight bow of his head before saying, “I's glad to hear it. We been praying for you and Seth in our prayer group. We been real worried about you two.”

Seth was awake, and Mose took his hand in his. “Now, you get well now. I miss seeing you for my fish.”

“I'll be meeting you for a fresh catch in no time,” Seth responded.

“No worries, I'll just look forward to seein' you soon.”

As Mose turned to face Jenks and her mother, he grinned at them, revealing a full set of white, clean teeth.

“Mose, your teeth are beautiful,” Jenks told him admiringly.

“Miss Jenks, I decided to take some of dat reward money for helping bring dose two men to justice from de boating incident. My wife's been after me for years to do something about my teeth. She says dat dese new teeth are better for my health than de ones I had left. To tell you de truth, dese fits better.” He squeezed Seth's hand again. “I asked Mr. Jones—it was his daughter Elizabeth who was killed in de accident—to donate de reward money to my church. Dere's hungry folks in our community and de church need a new roof. I's real sorry though about dat young lady and gentleman dat was killed dat night.”

Mose shook both Jenks's and her mother's hands before taking his leave. He told Seth that he would continue to pray for him and expected to see him up soon, even if it was on a pair of crutches.

Over the next few days, several well-dressed ladies from Beaufort women's organizations came to see Seth and wish him well. Jenks remembered that Seth was the recipient of several scholarships funded by local benefactors.

She thought back to the evening that she and Seth had dined with Rory and he told her that Seth was the “darling of several women's groups” that wanted to help him with his educational goals. As she thought of Rory, tears came to her eyes.

When Jenks and her mother entered Seth's room one afternoon, Maggie Reynolds was sitting with him. She introduced herself, and Jenks remembered that she was the lady who Seth had saved from her burning automobile weeks before. “I heard about what happened to you and Detective Mason. I'm real sorry, and I hope you two get well real soon.”

Tears welled up in Maggie's eyes and she wiped them with the back of her hand as they fell down her cheeks. She looked at Seth, who was asleep, and quietly said, “When I think of what he did for me I can't control my emotions. I'm sorry for carrying on like this,” she said as her voice cracked.

“You don't need to apologize,” Jenks responded. “Seth is one of those people who will make sacrifices for others. I know.”

“He's my hero.”

“Mine too,” Jenks agreed.

Before she left, Maggie gave Jenks a card for Seth and asked her to let him know she was praying for him. Maggie looked back at Seth one final time before she left the hospital room.

Later that afternoon, Detective Campbell paid a visit to Seth with news of Frank Hiller. The Savannah, Georgia, Police Department discovered that Sterling Shipping Company had taken on a passenger on one of their cargo ships,
The Temple of the Winds
, that had disembarked in San Juan, Puerto Rico. One of the dispatchers for the company was a former Navy diver named Richard Martin. He had served with Frank Hiller in the US Navy and had arranged travel for his friend from the Port of Savannah. The police reported Martin's dismay at discovering that his friend Frank Hiller was wanted for assault and murder, and that unbeknownst to him, he had helped Frank escape justice. By the time the Savannah police had researched the shipping departures, Frank Hiller had quietly disappeared in Puerto Rico.

On the morning of Seth's seventh day in the hospital, Dr. Walker joined Jenks and her mother in Seth's hospital room. Seth had just finished breakfast, and he was watching the morning news out of Charleston.

“Do you mind if I turn down the volume on the television?” Dr. Walker inquired.

“No, sir,” Seth responded.

Once the volume was minimized, Dr. Walker said, “I've spoken with Dr. Lawrence. He's the dean of the Charleston Law School. We both started our careers together at Limestone College years ago. He has agreed to allow me to attend classes in your stead until you are able to go by yourself.”

“Dr. Walker, I don't want to inconvenience you and put you to a lot of trouble.”

“Not to worry. Please believe me, it is my pleasure and that of my wife's to see that you stay on track for your goals. Dr. Lawrence has agreed to allow me to record the classes, and of course, I'll keep detailed notes for you.”

“Dr. Walker, I can't thank you enough.”

“Son, you already have, many times over,” he said as he held Seth's hand.

Jenks watched the two of them together and noticed tears roll down Seth's cheeks. She smiled at him, and then wiped away his tears.

The day that Seth was to be released from the hospital, Jenks's mother and her friend Gregg Mikell left for Raleigh. Before they left, Linda asked Jenks to sit with her at the kitchen table. “Jenks, do you love Seth?”

“Yes, Mama, I do.”

“Are you coming back to your teaching job?”

Jenks fidgeted with a napkin on the table. “Seth needs me, and I want to be with him.”

“Does he love you?”

“Yes, he has said so.”

Linda was quiet for a moment, and then she said, “Gregg and I will continue to look after your apartment and you can discuss your job with Dr. Bishop. I'll leave that up to you when you're ready.” Tears started to well in her eyes. “You've given me a terrible fright—I lost my darling Gigi, and then you—almost.” Tears rolled down her face, and then she took her daughter in her arms. “Please be careful.”