“There won’t be a case without you,” he said cheerfully. “So she won’t.”
“Great,” she said, “all the more reason to survive.” And, with that, she dove into the water, gasping at the cold, then staying under.
Chapter 28
Tuesday Evening, Dusk …
Doreen popped up to the surface, gasping for air, Snoz racing along the washed-out path, trying to find her. He fired into the water, close to where she was. Mugs came downriver after her. Doreen stared in horror as Snoz lined up for a shot at Mugs, when another shot fired out. Snoz turned, took one look, and saw other people coming. He roared in anger and headed down the riverbank route that she always took to see Nan. She was in the water, swept along in the current. She could barely see what was happening upriver, but it looked like Mack had finally arrived.
“Yay for the cavalry,” she muttered, desperate to stay on the surface while fully dressed was a challenge. In the growing darkness, the roar of the river overwhelmed her senses, as the current carried her farther down. She had no clue where Mugs was now, but, as Doreen watched, Goliath raced along the top of the fences all the way down to where the block turned to go to Nan’s. Doreen swam toward Mugs and managed to meet up with him, only his head above water. And perched on top, of course, was Thaddeus.
She wanted to laugh, and she wanted to cry, but instead she did a combination of both and ended up taking on more water than she should have and started coughing. With the dog in one hand, she caught hold of a root sticking out from the bank, and hung on for life, while she pushed Mugs and Thaddeus onto the riverbank. And saw legs racing toward her.
There was Abner, with a big branch and a rope in his hand. When he threw it toward her, she managed to grab it, but lost her grip on both branches and started going downriver again. Mugs barked, Thaddeus crowed and cawed, and she heard howling from the fence post, as Goliath sat on top at the safest and driest part and watched as she floated past.
In her mind she knew this was ridiculous. She had so many people on both sides now trying to reach out to her, but the way the high water sent her bouncing from rock to rock, she knew she would look like hamburger soon. Not to mention her arm was killing her, which was why she couldn’t grab or hold on to the branches for long.
Finally Abner threw the rope again, and she managed to grab it with her good hand. But, just as she did, a big wave ripped her away, and the rope was torn from her grip. She groaned as she floated back down the river again. She was almost to the mouth of the river, which was not the worst place to be, she thought, depending on how far out this current carried her.
She was miserable, had never been in so much pain. She was now freezing cold, in shock from the bullet burn, and felt the weight of all the clothing she wore pulling her down. She stayed above water, tried to direct herself to the shallower water near the bank, only now realizing somebody else was in the water, swimming, arms cutting through the river at a strong pace. She waited until he got closer, then realized with relief it was Mack. She tried to speak, and he just shook his head and said, “Shut up.”
“How can you be mad at me for this?” she cried out. But she was quickly flipped on her back, and he held her with her head up, in a lifeguard hold, as he moved strongly toward the far side. She heard people on both sides of the river shouting encouragement, screaming at her. Finally he dragged her onto the shore, where she was quickly picked up by several other men and carried up higher. She cried out, “Mugs! Thaddeus!”
“I’ve got them,” Mack called out, standing up, soaking wet and fully dressed, but holding Mugs, with Thaddeus, who was now squawking loudly from his shoulder.
“Big guy. Big guy.”
She groaned. “Now, if only I knew what big guy he was referring to.”
One of the paramedics said, “I thought he meant the big guy.”
“What big guy?” she asked, her teeth starting to chatter.
“He’s one of the guys who does a lot of the events in town here, and he lives over by the cemetery,” he said. “He’s a really big guy.”
“Maybe that’s it. Does he know animals?”
“Absolutely, he’s got all kinds, including birds.”
She looked at Mack triumphantly. “Do you know him?”
Mack slowly shook his head. He looked at the paramedic and asked, “Who is this guy?”
“I think his name is Jerry or something,” the guy said. “If you go to his website, which has something to do with animals for kids parties and hospitals and whatnot,” he said, “you should be able to contact him.”
At that, Mack nodded. “You take care of her,” he said. “I’ll take care of that.”
She cried out, “I need the animals.”
“And that’s just too bad,” he said, with a big fat glare. “You can’t have them in the ambulance, and you can’t have them in the hospital.”
She glared. “Look at you. You’re enjoying this.”
“What I’m enjoying,” he said, “is knowing that, at least over the next four hours, you’ll be stuck at the hospital, but you’ll be out of trouble.”
Chapter 29
Wednesday Evening, Dusk …
Four hours actually turned into twenty-four, and, only after convincing the doctor to let her convalesce at home, she contacted Nan to let her know that she would get a cab ride home. Her Nan was against the idea of Doreen leaving the hospital, but she was adamant.
“I’m not sick, so I shouldn’t be taking up a bed. My shoulder isn’t badly hurt. The bullet did go through the top of the shoulder, but it didn’t hit bone. Yes, I’m sore certainly, but I want to be at home. I don’t want to leave the animals alone.”
Finally Nan groaned. “Fine. I’ll meet you at the house.” And she hung up.
With that, Doreen turned to the receptionist at the front of the hospital and asked, “Is there a way to call for a cab?”
The woman nodded and pointed to a yellow phone on the wall. “That’s the cab company,” she said. “If you have the app for one of those ride programs, you can also call them.”
But her cell phone was at home, so the yellow cab phone it was.
Minutes later, she stood outside, trying not to shiver, trying not to look like she was in as much pain as she was. Because the last thing she wanted was for somebody to send her back inside again. Soon, a cab pulled up, and she got into the back seat, grateful, as she gave the driver her address.
All the way she worried about the cost, how long it would take her to get into the house, to grab money out of Nan’s bowl, and to bring it back. But, when she got home, she was pleasantly surprised to find that the charges were low. Thanking him profusely, telling him that she would just be another minute or two, she slowly slid out and walked up the driveway. At the door, she rapped hard to let Mugs and Goliath know she was here.
Immediately she heard barking from inside, and she smiled and pulled out her key hidden on top of the door frame, mentally noting she’d have to change that place now, pushed open the door and stepped in. She grabbed the money and walked back outside to pay the cab driver, then returned to her house.