Chapter 40
Forty
As the pain faded, Erin struggled to take a breath.
She found that not only could she breathe, she could see .
. . light. Where was she? Had she survived?
She tried to call out. She had to save Pat.
It was odd, though. It was as if she could hear her thoughts even before the words left her mouth.
The light was so bright, it should have been blinding, but it wasn’t.
And it didn’t hurt her eyes. It was then that she saw Someone standing in the middle of the light.
She couldn’t make Him out clearly, but she had to tell him about Patricia.
Before she could find a way to express herself, she heard a voice.
“I know about Patricia. She’ll be all right. Don’t worry,” He said.
“But You don’t understand. You have to find her . . .”
“When you wake up, you’ll know where she is. I have a work for you to do. I want you to tell people about Me. Use your stories to let them know how much I love them.”
“I don’t understand . . .”
She suddenly felt something wash over her. Peace and . . . joy. It was so powerful.
“You will.”
Erin could see people standing near the Being of light. It was hard to make them out, but she sensed that her parents were there. And someone else. Someone stood next to her parents, and there was a feeling of overwhelming elation emanating from . . . her. But who . . . ?
Suddenly, she was being pushed away from the light. She tried to cry out, beg to be allowed to stay, but the light faded away. She realized her eyes were closed and she forced them open. Now there was searing pain. She remembered the garrote and grasped at her neck.
“Stay still,” a man said. “We need to put a tube down your throat to help you breathe.”
She looked up into the face of a woman who was obviously concerned about her. “No,” she tried to say. Her voice was so hoarse she was afraid the woman wouldn’t be able to understand her. “Patricia . . . Patricia Long. You’ve got to save her.”
The woman looked past her and called someone’s name. She moved back, and a man with a short beard and a mustache flecked with gray looked down at her.
“I’m Detective Munoz,” he said. “Did you say you know where Patricia Long is?”
Erin forced herself to nod. Her throat hurt so much it was painful to even swallow, but she had to get the words out.
“Cry,” she choked out.
“You want to cry?”
“No. Cry, the book. She’s buried. Here. Nearby. Check the cemetery.”
The man came back into view. “I’m sorry, Detective, but she’s delirious. We’ve got to get her to the hospital.”
“No . . . no . . .”
“She’s not delirious,” another voice said. He leaned down close to her face. “I understand, Erin. I read the book. We’ll find her.”
Adrian? Erin felt the tears in her eyes. How could Adrian be here? Somehow, she knew he would save Patricia. God had sent Adrian, a man who’d read and remembered a book that had been out of print for years. It was truly a miracle. The woman, who Erin realized was an EMT, came back into view.
“I’ve got to put this tube down your throat,” she said gently. “It’s going to hurt, but your throat is swelling. If I don’t do it, you won’t be able to breathe. Do you understand?”
Erin nodded. She didn’t care if it hurt. She now had hope that Patricia would be saved.
“After we insert the tube,” the EMT continued, “we’re going to lift you up and put you on a gurney. Then we’ll get you to the hospital, okay?”
She nodded again. It was then that she looked to her left. Courtney lay near her, staring into her eyes. Erin began to cry. She was alive. All Erin wanted to do was to find a way to save her sister. She looked back at the EMT, who now had the tube in her hand.
“Please,” she croaked out, “help her first.”
The woman’s expression changed, and she looked over at the other EMT who had rolled the gurney up next to them. Then she turned her attention back to Erin.
“We’ll take care of her in just a minute,” she said gently. “Let’s get you on your way first.”
Erin wanted to argue with her, but before she could say anything, she felt the tube slide down her tender throat.
It hurt so badly, but she was more worried about Courtney than she was herself.
Once the tube was secured, they lifted her onto the gurney and then adjusted it so she was off the ground.
She was able to turn her head and look over at Courtney once again.
Her eyes were still open, but this time Erin noticed that she was lying in a large pool of blood.
Why wouldn’t they help her? Why was she lying there all alone?
Someone took her hand, and she turned her face.
Adrian. There were tears in his eyes. It was then that she realized the truth.
There would be no salvation. No chance for forgiveness. Her sister was gone.
“I’m going to make some coffee,” Noah said to Kaely. “You need to eat something, honey. Staring at the phone won’t make it ring.”
“Can’t you call Detective Munoz?” Kaely asked with tears in her eyes. “I have to know that she’s all right.”
“No, I can’t. I have no idea what he’s dealing with right now. He said he’d call when he knew something, and he will.”
“Why didn’t I see it? It was in Shannon . . . I mean, Courtney’s book. A sister killing her sister. I’m supposed to notice things like that.”
“Kaely, that’s ridiculous,” Noah said. “You had no idea Shannon was Courtney. And there’s no way you could have known. Don’t do this to yourself.”
Before Kaely could respond, the phone rang. Even though she’d been waiting for it to ring, she jumped at the sound. Noah picked up the phone.
“Yeah?” he said, his voice tight.
Kaely watched his face, hoping to see relief, something that would tell her Erin was okay. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply. Her heart sank.
“Thanks, Detective.” He listened a little longer, then said, “We’ll be there soon.
Let her know.” He disconnected the phone and turned to Kaely.
“She’s alive, honey. On her way to the hospital.
A little beat-up, but okay. Let’s get to the hospital so we can see her.
” He took Kaely’s hands. “You won’t believe this.
Adrian’s with her. He stopped Courtney before she could kill Erin. It was almost too late.”
“Adrian? How did he know where to find her?”
Noah shrugged. “I have no idea. When we get to the hospital, we’ll ask him, okay?”
“What about Courtney?”
“She died, honey,” Noah said. “I’m sure Adrian had no choice. If he hadn’t killed her, I’m pretty sure Erin wouldn’t have survived.”
Kaely wanted to feel compassion for Courtney Delaney, but she couldn’t. God forgive her, but at that moment, she was glad Courtney was dead.
Erin was tired and sore. She wanted to sleep, but she couldn’t.
At least the tube was out of her throat.
She could barely talk. Her right arm hurt, but thankfully, it wasn’t broken.
She was bruised, and her lip was cut. A nurse had given her a cup of ice.
That helped to ease her dry, painful throat.
The same nurse told her that Kaely and Noah were on their way.
For some reason, the news made her cry. She wasn’t sad.
She was relieved and couldn’t wait to see them.
She kept running the images she’d seen before she was rescued through her mind.
Was it a dream? It was so strange. What did it mean?
Earlier, a doctor had stopped by to see her.
According to him, Courtney had injected her with GHB.
It had been enough to make her pass out, but thankfully, she hadn’t died.
The doctor had explained that injecting GHB was very dangerous.
“It’s a miracle you’re alive,” he’d said.
“GHB isn’t something to fool around with.
We were lucky to find it in your tox screen.
The good news is, there won’t be any lasting effects. ”
She realized Adrian was still here. He’d been beside her ever since she got to the hospital. He was holding her hand.
“Why are you here?” she whispered to him.
“Would you believe me if I told you that God told me to come?”
Tears ran down Erin’s face as she nodded. “I would now.” She tried to take a deep breath, but it was difficult. She needed to ask a question. One she wasn’t sure she really wanted to ask, but she had to. “Did . . . did you kill my sister?”
Adrian squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “If I could have found another way, I would have taken it. I told her to stop, but she just started pulling the garotte harder. You almost didn’t make it.”
She squeezed his hand back. Erin had wanted her sister to survive, but she believed Adrian. He did what he had to do. What God had sent him to do.
“What about the police?” she asked.
“They were close, but they weren’t sure just where you were.
I called Kaely when I got to town and found out what was going on.
Then I contacted the local police, and they let me join the search.
We’d split up, everyone trying to locate you.
I just happened to find you first. I called them once I knew you were safe. ”
“Pat?”
“I don’t know, Erin, I’m sorry. I told them what to look for. But I left with you while the police were searching the cemetery. The detective—Munoz, he said he’d come to the hospital to let you know if they found her.”
Erin didn’t respond, she just nodded. She continued to hold his hand. It made her feel better.
“Is it okay if I come in?”
Erin turned her head to see a woman in an EMT’s uniform standing in the doorway.
“Weren’t you . . . ?”
“At the cemetery?” the woman said. “Yes, I was.”
Erin struggled to respond.
“I know your throat hurts,” the woman said. “You don’t need to say anything. I just need to tell you something.”
Erin nodded and waved her closer. Adrian stepped back so the woman could stand next to Erin’s bed.