24. Chapter 24
twenty-four
“Is that Patrick?” Amanda asked Gene, who picked up his phone to check the message that came in as they were stopped at a traffic light.
Gene nodded as he put away the phone.
“Mr. Carson’s surgery went well. He’s in recovery.”
“That’s good to hear.” Amanda released a relieved breath. “I’m glad things turned out the way it did. It could’ve gone worse.”
“For sure.”
Gene started driving again as the light turned green.
After a long day spent mostly at the hospital, fueling on crappy coffee and mediocre cafeteria food, Amanda would be glad to be home. She was exhausted and couldn’t wait to snuggle in her bed.
They hadn’t left the hospital until almost eight o’clock. Even after Miss Walker had concluded there hadn’t been any child abuse happening in the Carson household, it’d still taken some time for the social worker to release the children to their mother and grandparents who had driven up from Savannah. Patrick had cleared them to leave much earlier, but Amanda had wanted to make sure Mona and Beau were in the right hands first.
“I’m still not completely clear about what happened. Miss Walker only shared enough to assure me the kids would be all right,” Amanda said. “I was with the children when Miss Walker brought Mrs. Carson in. You’d never seen a happier group to be reunited.”
“That family has gone through a lot this week. Those children are brave as hell,” Gene said. “Patrick wasn’t supposed to tell me—y’know, the whole ongoing investigation stuff—but he told me enough.”
Amanda turned to him. “Well, tell me what the hell happened? All I know so far is there was a burglary at the Carsons’ house. The parents were held hostage, while the kids ran per their father’s instructions. But why didn’t they go to the police?”
“Not a burglary.” Gene corrected. “According to Mrs. Carson’s account, her husband had been upset about something for weeks. Something to do with their car dealerships and the imported car shipments coming in at the port.
“The family was getting ready for a quick weekend camping trip when Mr. Carson’s right-hand woman suddenly showed up with a man they didn’t know.” Gene pursed his lips. “I probably shouldn’t know this woman’s name. But it’ll be in the news by morning anyhow.”
“Why? Is she important to the story?”
“She’s in the morgue,” he revealed heavily.
“Oh, god.” Amanda reeled back in shock. “I didn’t realize there’s a dead victim—”
“She wasn’t a victim. She was the instigator of the whole thing. Patrick wouldn’t say, but I think he was the one who had taken the killing shot. I could feel it. It’s weighing on him. He’s…” Gene paused, looking unsure. “Let’s just say he went through hell and back in Iraq. Taking someone’s life, even for the sake of saving someone else’s, has got to take a toll.”
Amanda agreed solemnly. “I can imagine.”
They took a moment to let the heaviness ease up before they spoke again.
“This woman, Holly D’Beech, insinuated to the parents that her associates had the children and would harm them to keep the parents compliant,” Gene continued relating the story.
“Compliant for what?”
“They were held at their home, while Holly kept going to the office. According to Mrs. Carson, it wasn’t unusual for Holly to be in charge at work while her husband was away, so nobody at work raised a red flag. But this time, she heard her husband and Holly arguing about the imported cars, that he was about to stop the incoming shipments. Holly had kept him away from the business to block him from doing that.”
Amanda frowned. “Why?”
“That’s the part I can’t wheedle out from Patrick,” Gene said. “I think that part is still under investigation.”
Amanda shook her head in disbelief. “This whole thing is beyond my imagination.”
“I know.”
Gene reached out for her hand.
“I’m just glad Mona and Beau are back with their mother and safe.”
“Patrick said he had people monitoring them until they figured out the entire case,” Gene assured her.
“I’m still confused why Mona didn’t go to the police,” Amanda wondered. “She’s smart and independent. I would think she knew the police would help.”
Gene looked thoughtful. “Remember how scared Mona was? She kept saying not to call the police, that they would hurt them. You and I thought she was talking about the parents hurting them. But she was actually talking about them, Holly and her goons, hurting their parents. Maybe somehow Holly implanted in Mona’s mind that she would hurt their parents if Mona went to the police.”
Amanda gritted her teeth in outrage.
“What a bitch! Can you imagine putting children through that? Thinking they might be responsible for their parents getting hurt or even killed?”
“I know. People constantly sadden me with their ability to wreak havoc in this world, whether in their own lives or others,” Gene said.
The expression on Gene’s face was of resignation, as if he knew it was something that would never change.
“But then I met someone like you,” he said, squeezing her hand in his. “For a while now, I forgot despite the evils in this world, good deeds and kindness are still powerful forces. If it wasn’t for you, Holly D’Beech might’ve gotten away with whatever scheme she had going. The Carsons might’ve ended up in the morgue instead of her.”
A shudder went through Amanda’s body at that possibility.
“It was your empathetic ability to read a girl’s fear in a split second that led to this happy conclusion, Amanda,” Gene said.
“Happy? A woman is dead. And their father was shot,” Amanda pointed out.
Gene gave her an understanding smile.
“You’re right. That woman’s criminal acts, unfortunately, will continue to affect everyone involved. The kids, their parents, her associates, and even Patrick. But don’t let what this woman did change you, Amanda,” Gene said.
“How could it not? I’m still shaking with anger for those kids!”
“They’ll get through this in time,” Gene assured. “You showed me people can rise from trauma with grace. Most people would’ve resented it if they had to give up their lives to take care of someone else and grown bitter. But you continue to look after everyone in your community, spreading affection for anyone without question. Anyone else would’ve given up on those kids after the first obstacle, but not you. I don’t know anyone else with a bigger heart, Amanda Garner.”
Amanda’s face must’ve turned as red as the next traffic light they hit. She was just glad the interior of the car was too dark for Gene to notice it.
Gene glanced at the woman sitting in his passenger’s seat.
“You made me sound like a saint. I’m no Mother Teresa,” Amanda said. “I don’t have any kind thoughts for this Holly D’Beech.”
Gene chuckled. “You’re still human.”
“Why did she do this, though?”
“We’ll have to ask Patrick when he puts all the puzzle pieces together,” Gene said as he turned into Amanda’s driveway.
They got out of the car and headed to the porch. It had been a long day, and he could tell Amanda was exhausted. With everything that happened, he forgot she was still recovering from a head injury.
“Hey, you need to rest,” Gene advised.
“I know. I’m gonna hit the shower real quick and pass out,” Amanda promised. Loki barked from inside. “Crap.” She quickly unlocked the door, worrying about her dog barking. Loki jumped at her as usual, but zoomed right past her. “Loki! Stay!”
The dog ran to Miss Lydia’s door and scratched on it, along with a few barks. Amanda and Gene pursued the dog, and Amanda took hold of Loki’s collar to stop him. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she looked at her next-door neighbor’s window.
“That’s odd,” she said. “Miss Lydia’s unit looks awfully dark. She usually has one light on, even when she retires for the evening.”
“Maybe she forgot,” Gene suggested.
Amanda glanced at Loki, who was still trying to get to the door. She hesitated for a second before she looked through the window.
“It’s too dark. We should check on her. Maybe something happened to her. I have her key.”
“She could just be sleeping.”
“Or she could need help. Loki never behaves like this.”
Amanda’s eyes clouded with concern.
“Does Lydia have any health issues?” Gene kept his voice calm.
“She has diabetes.”
“Let’s check,” he agreed. “It’s better to apologize later than to be sorry.”
Amanda was already sticking the key into the lock but knocked before opening the door.
She opened it and felt around the wall for the light switch. Two lamps standing on end-tables in the living room lit up. The front room looked empty.
“Lydia?” Amanda called as they moved through the unit fast. “Are you in here?”
There were signs of a meal prep on the kitchen counter, but no Miss Lydia. At this point, they ran into the bedroom. Gene’s brain went through all the possible scenarios in his head and moved past Amanda.
They found Lydia on the carpet, leaning against the side of the bed, unconscious. Gene dropped to her side and barked an order.
“Call 911.”
There was a blood sugar reader on the carpet next to Lydia’s leg, but it didn’t look like she’d managed to do a reading.
“Lydia,” Gene said her name while he laid her on her back and checked her over. Her breathing was fast, and her mouth looked dry. He found an insulin pump attached to the waist of her pants. He checked on it, but the reading was off. “Her pump failed. Do you know if she has an emergency insulin shot?”
Amanda urgently pointed at the nightstand as she talked to the operator.
Gene quickly did a blood glucose test with Lydia’s reader before he looked for the insulin kit. Her blood sugar was much too high. With steady hands, he put together the solution and readied the shot.
“An ambulance is on its way,” Amanda said, her voice trembled. “Is she gonna be okay?”
“Get me a bucket, towel, or something. She may vomit after I give her the insulin,” Gene instructed.
Giving Amanda something to do would ease her worry. While she did that, Gene administered the insulin into Lydia’s stomach. Then, carefully, he turned the older lady to her side in case she vomited. Amanda came back running with a baking bowl.
“Here.”
She handed him the bowl with trembling hands, then ran into the bathroom for a towel.
The seconds seemed to tick slower as they waited for the insulin to work and for the ambulance to arrive. The paramedics arrived before Lydia came to, but she started to rouse while they wheeled her out into the ambulance.
Amanda wanted to accompany Lydia, but Gene saw how exhausted she was.
“You need to rest,” Gene told her when the ambulance left. “I’ll go to the hospital and sit with Lydia.”
“You’re tired, too,” Amanda said.
“I’m used to this. You, on the other hand, are still recovering from a head injury. You have to stop worrying about other people and let yourself heal. I’ll stay with Lydia.”
“But—”
“Amanda,” Gene cut her off. “You can’t care for other people when you don’t look after yourself. Believe me, I know.”
She didn’t look happy, but she nodded.
“I’ll call her family.”
“Do that, then go rest. I’ll update you on her condition,” Gene promised.
“Thank you. I’m so glad you were here.”
“Thank Loki.” Gene rubbed the dog’s head. “I think you earn an extra treat.”
“Absolutely.” Amanda looked at her dog with admiration. Then she turned to him to give him a kiss. “And you, too.”
Gene would take that sweet treat anytime.
“What a day, huh?”
She scoffed with an eye roll. “Tell me about it.”
“I still owe you that breakfast,” Gene said. “One of these days, I’ll take you to dine where we sit down at a table.”
Amanda chuckled. “Tables are overrated, but I’d love that.”
“Good.” He gathered her into his arms for one more kiss. “It’s finally a date.”