Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
“She’s inside with my mom and dad. I’ll take you to her,” the kid says. Quickly, I jump over the fence and hit the ground running.
“Thank you,” I gasp. Tori is lying on their couch, unconscious. A woman is on her knees with a bowl of water and a rag in her hand, cleaning Tori’s face. “Thank you for saving her.” I nod my head to the man who’s on the phone with the dispatcher.
“Tori,” I take the woman’s place when she rises to her feet.
Tori’s unconscious but she’s breathing… and she’s alive.
My hands cup her face, my thumbs tracing her eyes, nose, lips…
everywhere, checking her for wounds, bruising.
Confirming she is my Tori. Tears obscure my vision as I examine her.
My heart beats me into a frenzy of tears and raging emotions I cannot begin to decipher.
Still, my throat aches with each second Tori remains unresponsive, driving my relief further and further away.
“Tori, baby. I’m here. I love you baby. Please come back to me.
” I cry into her ear. I need to hear her voice.
Need to feel her soft, warm touch reassuring me that everything is going to be okay…
because right now it’s not. She’s not. I hold her in my arms as I wait for the paramedics to be rerouted to the neighbor’s house.
“Baby. Please don’t leave me. Please. I can’t live this life without you. ”
The paramedics rush in with Cage in tow. I move out of their way letting them do their job. They move in a blur. Checking her eyes, timing her pulse and blood pressure, and asking a million questions a mile a minute.
When they’re strapping her to a gurney, Cage pulls me aside to talk to me. “I’ve had Maribel taken to the hospital with two police officers to escort her.”
“She can’t get away with this, Cage.”
“With her in this psychotic episode… I can charge her, but whoever represents her will plead insanity and if the hospital agrees… I don’t know if they’ll convict her.” Cage voices his concern.
I close my eyes, take a deep breath and rub my hands over my face until they meet in front of me like a prayer. “Then I’ll kill her myself.”
Cage just nods and steps away then turns back to say something.
“I called Evelyn,” he says, referring to Jordie’s sister.
“It was her night off but since it’s Tori, she’s coming in.
I also called Jordie, he and Caroline will meet you there.
I have to stay behind to gather evidence and whatnot.
I’ll call you in the mornin’. Don’t forget to call your mother-in-law. ”
“Yup.” He pats me on the shoulder and hands me my keys. then walks away. “Cage?” I call out before he reaches his car door. I run towards him. “I recorded her. Recorded her sayin’ she killed Cal.”
“Send it to me. I’ll review it as soon as I can. Mention it to Evelyn, she may want to hear it too.” He climbs into his sedan.
“Will do.”
***
“Aaron,” Evelyn wakes me. I won’t leave Tori’s side, and in the time I’ve been waiting for any news, I fell asleep in the armchair. Evelyn’s hand pats my shoulder as I come to.
“Tori?”
“She’s still out,” Evelyn's mouth curves into a small smile. She waits until I’m no longer slumped in my chair. I lean forward and rub the pain in my neck. “I got her labs back,” she starts.
“Oh. So, what, um… what do they say?” I rub the corner of my eye before resting my elbows on Tori’s bed.
“She has a severe concussion. However, there’s no brain swelling. No brain bleed, which are all good things. We’re gonna keep her under observation for a few days.” She walks over to Tori’s bedside and takes note of Tori’s vitals. “She should be waking up soon.”
“What does it all mean? As far as recovery is concerned?” I ask.
“We’ll know more once she’s awake, which can be any moment now.
From what the neighbors told the paramedics…
she did gain consciousness for a few minutes while she was in their care.
” She rounds the bed and perches on the edge, making herself comfortable.
“I’m sure she’s going to be fine. This is just her body starting to recover. Especially with the baby.”
“Baby?”
“She’s… oh, you didn’t know.” Evelyn’s eyes grow wider. “Um yeah, she’s pregnant. Congratulations.”
“Is it… Is the baby okay?” I stutter as I wrap my mind around the news.
“It’s fine. She’s still in the early stages of the pregnancy and the only injury she sustained was…
her head. This is her third pregnancy, and she’s had no complications with the previous two...
I’m sure she’ll be just fine.” I blow out the breath I’ve been holding in since she said baby.
“I’ll call her OB/GYN, tomorrow. Dr. Rhodes, right? ”
“Yeah, she delivered both Addy and Vinny.”
“Okay. I’ll give her a call and hopefully she’ll come by later today.” She nods in question and waits for me to return the nod before she huffs. She stands and straightens her white coat. “Well, I-”
“What about Maribel?” I stop her from exiting.
“I’m not a psychiatrist. I’ve called the only psychiatrist in town; he’s in his Houston clinic today.
So, he’ll be here tomorrow afternoon. Depending on whether he agrees with my observations,” she narrows her eyes on me.
“She’ll be sent to Houston and placed in a psychiatric institution where they’ll run more tests.
From there she’ll either be declared criminally insane or not. ”
“Based on your professional observation, what is the likelihood of her being declared insane?” I rise from my seat and shove my hands into my pocket. My mind spins, recalling Cage's words.
“It’s more likely than not. But one thing is certain,” she pauses and raises her brow in suggestion. “Once she leaves here, she’ll be out of our hands. Do you understand?”
“Understood. May I ask… what has she said to you?” I inch closer to her. “More importantly, do you believe what you’ve heard?”
“I… I, honestly, don’t know,” she shakes her head. “Something triggered her psychotic meltdown. There are so many questions left unanswered and may never get them. If she remains in this state.”
“I know. That’s my fear.” I turn to face out the window.
“My opinion… unprofessional and off the record. Just two fellow Vultures.” She comes to stand beside me and stares out into the dark parking lot. “No matter who she is or whether she’s telling the truth. She shouldn’t leave this hospital alive.”
“She won’t. I promise you that.” I growl my agreement. Lightning brightens up the sky, as ominous as the hardening stone around my heart…with Tori’s name tattooed right in its center.
“Good.”
“No one threatens my wife. Tori is the only person I am committed to.”
“Where did the third persona come from? I wonder,” Evelyn asks curiously, her eyes meeting mine.
“Third persona? What do you mean?”
“Maribel, Tori, and Onyx.” She clarifies, listing them on her fingers before crossing her arms over her chest. “I took two psych courses… that’s the extent of my knowledge… and this feels like a case of Dissociative Identity Disorder.”
“What’s that?”
“Multiple personalities. She’s warped her mind into believing she is Tori. But then turns into the Onyx person and somehow admits the truth.” Evelyn steps away from the widow and paces in front of Tori’s bed.
“Onyx is the name of Tori’s,” I pause to think about how to word it. “Tori and I role-play sometimes and that’s the name she used the last time. Tori’s been open about our sex life to Maribel and she must have told her.”
“So, then why is-” she scrunches nose up in thought. “You know what?” She throws her arms up. “She’s freakin’ crazy. I don’t know enough to diagnose her and I’m not going to. Whether she killed Cal… Cage is the only one who can determine that.” She shrugs, letting out an exasperated breath.
“She’s got two cops in the room and two guarding the door. Whatever you’re planning, you should wait for Cage.” She places her hand on my bicep. “For now, focus on Tori. She’s gonna need you.”