Chapter 42
Evelyn
Soft beeping and the touch of a caress on my hand brought me back to reality. My eyes fluttered open to greet a familiar face. Aja.
I almost wanted to smile at her before I remembered the havoc that transpired.
The machines beeped wildly as my mind ran through the last memories that I had before waking up here.
“Parker,” I choke out, my throat feeling dry and scratchy.
“Willow, you need to calm down before the doctors race in here.” She coaxes me, taking my hand in hers again, gently rubbing her thumb over my skin.
“It’s Evelyn.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry. Evelyn.” She shook her head. “The doctors are taking care of Parker, okay? I just need you to calm down and focus on taking care of yourself for a moment.”
I hear what she’s saying, but my heart doesn’t believe it. I need to see him.
“Where is he?” I choke out.
Aja gets up from the chair at my bedside and pours a cup of water, handing it to me before answering.
“He’s in surgery,” she says with a sigh.
Before I got a chance to speak, she held up her hand to stop me.
“Evelyn, I need you to listen and not freak out. I promise I will tell you everything. But please, I need you to listen and stay calm. We’re all on edge here, and I don’t want you hurting yourself. You need to recover.”
I tried to take a deep breath, and felt the aches in my body again.
Bandages covered my arms and wrapped around my middle.
There’s blood underneath my fingernails and small cuts decorating my hands.
I wasn't sure that I wanted to know what my face looked like, but curiosity made me reach up to touch my nose anyway, pulling my hand back once I touched the tender area.
“You have a lot of stitches, and some of the wounds were stapled. Your nose was broken when they brought you in, so they realigned it. You’ve been in and out of consciousness due to the concussion. I’ve been here with you most of the time, if not me, then Danny and Mr. Morales.”
Danny? Mr. Morales?
I want to ask more questions, but my concern for Parker outweighs that.
Taking a sip of the water, I murmured, “Tell me about Parker, please. I need to know how he’s doing, and then I promise, I’ll relax.” My throat felt like I swallowed glass.
Aja returned to her seat by my bedside and reached for my hands.
I felt sick the moment her hands met mine.
This is bad. This must be really bad. Tears start to gather in my eyes, and my breathing picks up.
Realizing my panic, she squeezed my hand in earnest.
“Evelyn, it’s not what you think!” She rushed out.
“Parker was shot, and his right leg was pretty torn up from the beating he took. They did the surgery to remove the bullet when you both were rushed in. He lost a lot of blood. It was scary for a while, but he pulled through. Today they’re going to go back in and repair the bone damage. ”
Hot tears rush down my face as my mind flits back to the memory of Parker lying there in his blood with his bone exposed, unconscious.
“He-he—” I couldn’t get the sentence out. I wanted to ask the question, but I was too afraid to know the answer.
I wasn’t a doctor, but even I knew that the type of damage he had to his leg would take him a while to recover. He had a job back in New York. One that required him to run in and out of burning buildings. How would he be able to do that with that type of damage?
I lay my head back and stared at the ceiling, hoping to find the courage I needed.
“I know what you’re thinking, Evelyn, and we’re all thinking it too.”
Turning my head towards her, I noticed that tears were welling up in her eyes now, too. We held hands, and we silently cried.
We both rushed to wipe our faces when a knock sounded at the door.
The sight of a familiar face did nothing to soothe the feelings that raged within me.
Danny walked in, his gaze flitting between my face and Aja’s.
He cleared his throat. “We’ve got to stop meeting like this, Evelyn.”
A small laugh bubbled from my lips through the tears.
“Yeah, let's not make this a habit,” I responded, gesturing towards the chair on the other side of the bed.
“I know this is the worst time. But I’m here coordinating with a trusted associate from the FBI, and I need to take your statement. This case is going to open up a can of worms, and I want to make sure things are done properly this time. Please tell me everything you know.”
I nodded my head in agreement.
My heart ached for Parker, but for now I would have to trust that he was in good hands.
I took another long sip of water and a deep breath.
“Okay, let's start at the very beginning…”
I spent over two hours speaking with Danny about what I knew about Charles and Sheriff Strauss, beginning with the lies that had been uncovered about our childhood, to the day Celeste was murdered, to Sheriff Strauss kidnapping me, to Charles killing Sheriff Strauss, and ultimately to Charles' demise.
I cried for most of the conversation, feeling the emotional weight of reliving each moment as if it were happening in real time.
Charles had said there were others, some who favored me and others who favored my sister.
He had all but admitted to killing the woman in Virginia and Rico.
The fact that there had been others broke my heart.
I wondered how many women had been taken from their families and their loved ones, all because of his sick obsession with Celeste.
From the little that Danny was able to uncover, Gregory Charleston Strauss loved his son.
He covered up his crimes as he wreaked havoc up and down the East Coast. He bribed, and he paid off police officers, sheriffs, district attorneys, and judges.
No matter how many times Charles “messed up,” he came through.
Every case he’d touched would be reopened and held under a microscope.
Charles didn’t love him at all. He was just using him to feed his sickness.
The look on Sheriff Strauss’ face when Charles pulled out the gun and turned it on him would stay imprinted in my mind.
After all the violence and depravity, he had never once considered that his son would turn the muzzle on him.
Toward the end of his questioning, I grew tired, my eyes fighting to focus on him, and my skin starting to itch and ache.
Noticing my fatigue, Aja told Danny that it was perhaps time to go.
He walked towards the door but stopped at the threshold. “He’s gone, Evelyn. Charles can’t hurt you anymore.”
I’d been waiting years to hear those words. When I thought the well had run dry, it turned out there were still tears left to cry. Tears of relief that no one would have to suffer at the hands of Charles again.
My eyes didn’t stay open long enough to see them both exit the room.
Sleep took me quickly, and for the first time, my dreams weren’t of that night. They were of Parker.