Torch Scene (16 page)

CHAPTER THIRTY

“You are one lucky guy,” a tall, paper-thin nurse said to me as he finished putting salve and a bandage on my wrist.

“I don’t feel like it,” I mumbled. My body was a mass of aches and pains. I had a number of small cuts and burns on my arms, a cut on my forehead that needed stitches, a sore nose and more bruises than an overripe banana.

“If he’s sarcastic, he’s doing okay,” Willie said. She was sitting in a chair next to the examining table I was lying on, and for once, she wasn’t the one performing the medical duties.

Once I’d made it out of the fire, Willie and Cal had stayed with me until an ambulance transported me to the hospital. I’d insisted that I was fine, but since I hadn’t been steady on my feet, I’d lost the argument.

“You don’t have a concussion, so that’s a good thing,” the nurse went on. He was friendly and talkative. “Man, with everything they’re finding out about concussions.” He didn’t finish the sentence.

“Uh-huh,” I managed. After all the excitement, weariness was setting in.

“I think we’re done here,” he finally pronounced. “I’ll get your paperwork, and I think there’s a detective out there who wants to talk to you.”

“Great,” I said. I sat up slowly.

He laughed as he pulled the privacy curtain back and left our little room.

“You do know how to worry a girl,” Willie said.

I turned to her and asked the question that had been puzzling me since she appeared on Nadine’s lawn. “How did you find us?”

“After you called Cal, he told me what was going on.”

“Can’t keep his mouth shut,” I said, but with humor in my voice.

“Good thing, too.” She leaned forward in the chair. “I had a bad feeling about things, so I told him we should come down and meet you at Nadine’s house. I didn’t have to ask twice. Cal drove us there, while Ace and Deuce followed behind us.” She grinned conspiratorially. “They wanted to be our backup.”

A barely audible tap sounded on the door, and Sarah Spillman came into the room. Her eyes went from me to Willie and back.

“You’ve seen better days,” she said to me.

I nodded and the effort hurt. “I hear you want to talk to me.”

“Yes.” She glanced at Willie, who took the hint.

“I’ll be in the waiting room,” Willie said. She stood up, leaned on the bed and kissed me. Then she left.

Spillman watched it all with her usual detached demeanor.

“I’m exhausted,” I said. “Let’s get this over with, so I can go home. Or am I under arrest for breaking some law? In which case, can I have a private cell?”

She suppressed a smile. “How’d you end up at Nadine’s house?”             

I gave her an abbreviated version of events, leaving out Cal’s illegal searches and my encounters with Tony and Ray. I didn’t think she needed to know any of that.

“That’s it?” she said.

“Yeah. Should there be more?”

She stared at me to the point where I grew uncomfortable.

“What?” I asked.

“It must be nice not to have to worry about things like illegal search and entry, warrants…the law.”

“I got the bad guy.”

“Yes, you did. And you were damn lucky you didn’t die in the process.”

“I’ve heard that before.” I took in a deep breath and exhaled, my throat scratchy from inhaling all that smoke. “I just wanted to help Willie.”

Spillman glanced toward the door. “She seems nice.”

“She is.”

Silence stretched between us, interrupted by the sounds of doctors and nurses moving about on the other side of the door.

Something occurred to me and I was almost afraid to ask. “Where’s Nadine?”

“She’s okay. Quite shook up, but she’ll be fine. Her house is a total loss.”

“What a shame,” I said, with complete sincerity. She may not have had good judgment in men, but she didn’t deserve what she’d gotten.

Another knock on the door, and the nurse came in with paperwork. “Here you go,” he said. Then, “Oh, excuse me,” when he saw Spillman.

“It’s okay,” she said. “We’re finished.”

He handed me the paperwork. “You’re good to go. Take it easy for a few days.”

“I will.” I slid my behind off the table and stood up gingerly.

Spillman held the door open for me. “We’ll be in touch.”

“I can’t wait,” I said as I hobbled down the hall to the waiting room.

Willie was sitting with Cal, who grinned when he saw me.

“And you wonder why I don’t want to get involved.”

“Ha ha,” I said. “Someone take me home. And if my mother calls, take a message.”

They laughed as we headed out the door.

Cal left us and went back to his place in the foothills, and Ace and Deuce drove us home. An hour later, I was tucked in bed, and Willie was beside me, her arms draped over me.

“I’m so glad you’re safe,” she murmured.

“Me, too,” I said.

She soon fell asleep. I lay awake for a bit, one thing nagging at me: who had called Nick from Stan Pommerville’s house? Both Stan and Leena seemed so sincere in their denials, so who was lying? Then the answer suddenly hit me. It made perfect sense. My brain was finally able to shut down and I fell into a deep, restful sleep.

***

She looked like Leena. Same round face, small nose, flaxen blond hair and brown eyes. She was sitting at a table by the window, staring outside as she fiddled with her coffee cup.

“Mrs. Pommerville?”

Her head tipped up and she met my gaze. “Please, have a seat.”

I pulled out a chair and sat across from her. She nervously toyed with her cup, swirling the liquid in it, then taking a perfunctory sip. I rested my hands on the table and began.

“You called Nick O’Rourke the night he was murdered.”

She wasn’t surprised. She sipped her coffee again and then set down the cup.

“Yes, I did.”

“Because Leena told you what Nick did to her,” I said.

She nodded and studied the table. “I was never particularly fond of Nick when they were dating, but I wasn’t going to interfere. Then when everything went bad with Stan’s business, I was relieved that Leena broke up with him. But I had no idea of what he’d done until she told me.” She looked up at me. “I don’t know why Leena chose that night to tell me, but she did. I was so angry at Nick, I couldn’t see straight. Leena left and I called him. Can you believe he tried to downplay what he’d done?” She shook her head in disgust. “I lit into him, and then he said someone was at the door, and he hung up. It was probably a lie just to get off the phone, but I felt better for calling – a little bit, anyway.”

The interruption was probably Ken coming to visit…and commit murder. What if Nick had kept talking to her? Would he still be alive?

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t know Leena would tell you.”

“I’m glad she did.” Her face clouded. “And I’m glad Nick’s dead. I know, that’s a terrible thing to say, but he’s done so much damage to my family.”

I didn’t say anything, because who could fault her for that?

“I need to go,” she said. She pushed away from the table and stood up. “I hope your questions are answered, but even if they’re not, I hope you’ll leave us alone.”

I watched as she worked her way between tables and then out the door. I sat for a while, feeling the aches and pains of my body. I must’ve looked a sight. Then I laughed, relieved that my mother couldn’t see me now. Talk about worrying her into an early grave. With that thought, I got up and headed for home.

THE END

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Stephen King and Dean Koontz have long been known as masters of horror. I believe you can add Renee Pawlish to that list… The plot is entrancing. It grabbed my attention from the beginning and held it to the end.

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A Spooky Blend of Biblical Intrigue and Modern Paranormal

This book is clearly written by a pro. The scenes are colored with rich description, depth of character and a cast that is reminiscent of Henry Fonda's On Golden Pond. However, there is an evil in this story that FINALLY brings the Nephilim to life and uncovers the dark secrets that scripture has keep hidden for millennium. If you enjoy reading supernatural fiction that meshes our distant past and the present, you will enjoy this most excellent book.

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Renée Pawlish is the author of The Reed Ferguson mystery series,
Nephilim Genesis of Evil
, The Noah Winter adventure series for young adults,
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, a short story collection that includes a Reed Ferguson mystery, and The
Sallie House: Exposing the Beast Within
, about a haunted house investigation in Kansas.
 

Renée loves to travel and has visited numerous countries around the world. She has also spent many summer days at her parents' cabin in the hills outside of Boulder, Colorado, which was the inspiration for the setting of Taylor Crossing in her novel
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