The Second Heart (18 page)

The other nurse who had been helping them
suppressed a smile, feeling vindicated that she wasn’t the only one
who hadn’t been able to find Meredith’s records.

“Does that happen a lot?” Amelia asked.

Matt shook his head. “I really can’t explain
it. We asked our tech support guys if there’s a virus or something,
but they think that maybe her information was deleted. Trust me
when I tell you that once they figure out what happened, heads are
gonna roll.”

Rob seemed only mildly satisfied with that
response. “I just want to make sure we’re on the same page. Our
daughter is no longer in the hospital, and you have no idea where
she’s gone. Her records have been deleted from your system. Is that
right?”

Matt nodded.

“Why is no one out looking for her?”

“Your daughter is over eighteen and she’s not
a prisoner. She’s free to leave, albeit against medical advice, if
she chooses. Sorry.” After a pause he glanced at his wristwatch and
said contritely, “I am coming off of a long shift and am dead on my
feet. If there isn’t anything else…” He let the end of his sentence
go unsaid.

Amelia waved a hand at him. “Go on, then.
Thank you for your help.” She took Rob by the elbow and led him
down the hall toward the elevator. She could feel the muscles in
his arm tighten with frustration and worry. In the elevator, Amelia
dialed Meredith’s number, but it went straight to her voicemail.
Her stomach felt like it was in her throat as she tried not to
consider the worst-case scenarios.

James was waiting for them down in the lobby,
lounging in a chair by the window. There were a few other people
sitting around, but Rob and Amelia didn’t pay them much
attention.

James stood up as they approached. “Hey.”

In a lowered voice, Rob quickly explained the
situation. He concluded, “Your mom and I will go to her apartment
to look for her there, but we were hoping you’d go by the
university.”

James looked skeptical. “The university is
huge. I’d have no idea where to go.”

Tears sprang into Amelia’s eyes. “Please,
James. Just go look for her.” Rob’s arm slipped around her
shoulders protectively.

“I will, I’ll go. I’m not saying I won’t,”
James said guiltily. “I’m just saying that chances are small that
I’ll find her there.”

Rob gave him a hard look. “Okay, then if you
don’t find her there, you can call us and we’ll tell you where to
look next.”

James nodded, sobered by his mother’s tears.
“Don’t cry, Mom. We’ll find her. She’s probably asleep at home and
just forgot to charge her phone or something.”

Amelia attempted a smile, but it came out
more like a grimace. “Well, let’s get going so we can find just
that.”

They hugged and said their goodbyes, going
their own ways to look for Meredith. The car ride to Meredith’s
apartment was strained and silent. Rob tried to lighten the mood
with humor, but it fell flat. “I’m going to wring her neck when we
find her in her bed,” he said optimistically. It was obvious to
both of them that his words were for Amelia’s benefit, and neither
believed them.

Amelia offered a small, appreciative chuckle,
grateful that he was trying to cheer her up. Unfortunately, nothing
would cheer her up until she could see for herself that her
daughter was alive and well. Unable to take the silence any longer,
Amelia asked pitifully, “Why on earth would she leave before
getting that surgery? What if she’s dead in a ditch somewhere?”

Rob reached over and rested a hand on her
knee. “Our daughter isn’t dumb, sweetie. If she left, she had a
damn good reason.”

That comment made Amelia feel better than
Rob’s attempt at humor had, and she wiped the tears off of her
face, willing herself to stop crying. Rob was right. Their daughter
was smart and capable, and she was probably fine.

Amelia’s heart sank again when they pounded
on the door at Meredith’s apartment without success. Amelia had a
key for emergencies, which she used to get in. They found both
bedrooms empty, without a clue as to where the girls were. Amelia
refused to deteriorate into a weeping mess, and she told Rob as
much. In times of stress, Amelia had to keep busy to stay sane, and
she planned to do just that by looking under every rock and in
every nook and cranny until they found Meredith.

* * *

Lenny had overheard the entire conversation
that Amelia and Rob had had with their son, James. He found it very
interesting that Meredith’s hospital records had been deleted, and
he was glad that he and Nate had stuck with the story.

Rob and Amelia were so wrapped up in their
worry that they didn’t notice when Lenny followed them outside and
then got into a car of his own. As he tailed them through the
streets of Phoenix, he called Nate and gave him an update.

On the other end of the line, Nate said, “She
keeps her social profiles pretty private, so I don’t have any idea
where else she could have gone. All I know is that she’s a vet
student at ASU.”

“Well now I know where she lives, so that’s
something. Her folks are pounding on her door as we speak.”

“Is she there?”

“Hold on.” Lenny watched from the parking lot
as Rob and Amelia went into Meredith’s apartment, coming out
disappointed a few minutes later. “Nope, they’re looking pretty
upset, too.”

“Wouldn’t you if your daughter were
missing?”

Lenny didn’t answer the question. Instead he
said, “I have a feeling that Meredith will eventually come home, so
I’m going to wait here for her.” Hanging up his phone, Lenny
settled in to wait, keeping the door to her apartment in plain
view.

Vi felt
uncomfortable as she slowly returned to consciousness. Her neck was
turned at a funny angle, and her legs felt cramped from being bent
too long. She was curled up on the loveseat at Eleanor’s house,
having fallen asleep there in the wee hours of the morning. She sat
up and rubbed her eyes, noticing that Meredith sat upright on the
couch across from her.

“Hey,” Vi said, her voice breaking. “Did you
sleep?”

Meredith looked haggard and pale, deep
shadows having taken up residence under her eyes. “No,” she said
blankly. Then, “I tried to, but I couldn’t stop thinking about
everything. My life is completely over as I know it, isn’t it?” She
looked into Vi’s eyes, hoping that she would be contradicted.

Vi felt sorry for her--growing up with
Meredith, Vi understood her friend better than most. Meredith had
always been the popular one, happy to live and have friends and fit
in. Vi would have jumped at the chance to have something that set
her apart from others, but Meredith was different. She didn’t need
or want to be special. After a long silence, Vi answered Meredith’s
question. “Yeah, I’d say so, kid.”

Vi wondered if Meredith was going to cry, and
was mildly surprised when instead she let out a large sigh and
said, “I guess I had better get used to it, then.” Meredith looked
down at her hands, lacing and unlacing her fingers together.

Remembering advice she had been given once at
the end of a serious relationship, Vi said, “It’s okay to be sad to
lose the life you thought you were going to live, you know. You
have to grieve for those disappointed expectations, because they
were a very real part of you.”

Meredith looked up Vi, startled by the
unexpected advice. “I know you think I should be happy about all
this, Vi.”

Vi hesitated as she formulated her response.
“It’s true that
I
would be happy, but that doesn’t mean
you
should be happy. We’re different from each other, and we
want different things.”

Meredith stood and came to sit next to Vi,
awkwardly wrapping her arms around Vi from the side. She leaned her
head on Vi’s shoulder. “Thanks.”

Vi returned the hug and kissed the top of
Meredith’s head. “Just promise me that when you figure out how to
use your newfound gifts you’ll remember your old buddy Vi.”

Meredith laughed and gave VI another squeeze.
Then, playfully she asked, “Aw Vi, are we having a gooey
moment?”

“Blegh, never,” Vi said back. They hugged for
another moment and then Vi asked, “What time is it? You think
Eleanor’s got any coffee around here?”

Meredith broke off the embrace and looked at
her watch. “It’s almost six. How about you see if you can get the
news on that relic--” she gestured to the TV “--while I go find us
some caffeine?”

“Deal,” Vi said brightly. She walked over to
the TV and squatted down in front of it. It had three silver knobs
along one side, and she turned the top one. The TV clicked and then
emitted a low whine as it slowly lit up. The screen was snowy and
then began to roar at her loudly. “Ack!” Vi quickly turned the
second knob, grateful to discover that it was the volume control.
The third knob changed the channel, and Vi clicked through until
she found a familiar newscaster’s face. After adjusting the volume,
she returned to the couch to watch.

The first segment was about the previous
night’s haboob, detailing the strength of the storm and the
resulting damage around the valley. The coverage was similar to
other stories she had seen in the past in the aftermath of the dust
storms, so Vi was mildly bored as she waited for them to move on to
the next story.

Meredith returned to the living room with two
Diet Cokes in hand. “There’s no coffee, and all the tea is decaf,”
she explained.

Vi took the proffered soda, muttering, “Vile
witch. Who doesn’t keep coffee in their house?”

Meredith shrugged and flopped down onto the
couch next to Vi, opening her soda with a pop and a hiss. “I’d find
that sound more welcome if it weren’t fifty degrees in here,”
Meredith observed.

“No coffee and no heater. The woman is pure
evil.”

The news program concluded its story about
the storm damage and returned to the anchors, who took turns
relaying the news. “Unfortunately, we have to report that several
windstorms and tornadoes also ravaged other parts of the country
overnight. The worst hit area seems to be the small town of South
Grove, Missouri. About half of the structures in the municipality
have been destroyed, and currently there are three confirmed deaths
along with dozens of others still missing. These events, combined
with the other recent weather and seismological activity, have
Washington taking note. The President has promised additional
funding for research into explaining these worldwide changes,
hoping that we will soon be able to predict any patterns going
forward.”

Vi leaned forward and rested her elbows on
her knees. “It’s weird that we know why this is happening but no
one else does. It seems like such a waste, since we know that this
isn’t going to go on forever.”

“I know what you mean.”

The newscast changed to a shot of the
hospital where they had been just the night before. They watched
with rapt attention, since they knew the story would probably
pertain to them. They were not disappointed. The reporter didn’t
have much information, and didn’t seem to know that Meredith had
snuck out of the hospital without undergoing surgery.

“I guess they didn’t get wind of the other
patient, huh?” Vi commented, making conversation.

Meredith frowned. “No, I guess not.” She dug
into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone, turning the screen
on. “I need to call my parents.”

“What about what Eleanor said? About
hiding?”

“I know, I know. But they’re my
parents
, Vi.” Meredith looked at Vi earnestly, hoping for
reassurance.

Vi didn’t give her any. “Exactly. They’re the
first place the protégé is going to look for you.”

“What if the protégé looks for me, gets mad
when I’m not there, and hurts them? I have to at least warn them.”
Meredith’s hands were shaking with the strength of her emotion. She
dialed her parents’ number, but the call wouldn’t go through. She
still didn’t have any service.

“Wanna try mine?” Vi pulled her phone out of
her own pocket and looked down at the screen. Her face bunched up
with confusion. “I don’t have service, either. Something is up.”
She pressed several buttons on her phone and then opened up the
side of the phone. “My SIM card is gone!”

“What?” Meredith quickly checked her own
phone, finding the same. The SIM card was what allowed the phone to
connect to the cellular network and make phone calls. “How did that
happen?” Meredith asked incredulously.

“Someone must have taken them when we weren’t
really paying attention,” Vi said, disgusted with herself.
“Stupid!”

“Do you think it was Eleanor?” Meredith
mouthed the words, worried that their hostess could be listening
from the bedroom.

Vi leaned close to Meredith and spoke in a
low whisper. “We already know she’s hiding something. Can we really
trust her?”

“I don’t think she wants to hurt me… but I
also think she’s got an agenda for me, and I’m not sure that I
would like it. So right now, the only person I really trust is
you.”

“Do you think we should leave?”

“Well, if she doesn’t know where I’ve gone,
she can’t tell anyone else, either.”

Vi agreed wholeheartedly. She leaned over and
immediately began shoving her feet into her boots, lacing them up
mercilessly in her haste. Then she stood up abruptly, shoving her
cell phone in her pocket and donning the jacket that she had thrown
over the back of the sofa.

They left the TV on, by unspoken agreement,
hoping that the noise would let Eleanor think they were still
there. Slowly and quietly they walked over and eased open the front
door. A blast of cold air hit them in the face, and goosebumps
immediately sprouted on Meredith’s bare arms. Meredith glanced back
at the coat that Eleanor had left in the dining area, debating
whether she should take it.