Wednesday, 11:00 p.m.
Luke had given up all hope of talking to Carole. He looked at the clock for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last ten minutes. In the hope that she’d finally turned on her cell phone, he dialed her number again. No luck. “Where are you, Carole? Where are you?”
Maybe Aurora had heard from her. He called Aurora’s house and left a message on the answering machine for her to call him no matter what time she got in.
“Calm down,” he said aloud. “It won’t do you any good to fall apart. Carole’s probably with a client, forgot to turn on her cell. She’s done that lots of times. So have I. Calm down, fix yourself something to eat.” But why would she be with a client this late?
Hungry, he took a frozen chicken dinner from the freezer, rolled the lid back the proper amount, and stuck it in the microwave. When the timer sounded, he put it on a plate, opened a cold Bud Lite, dropped into his easy chair and turned on the TV to Channel 10.
The weatherman talked about the drought and how it looked as though there’d be no break anytime soon. The sportscaster discussed Virginia Tech’s chances of beating UVA in the next football game. Luke took his last bite the same time the anchorman interrupted with a late-breaking story.
All chewing stopped when the announcer said, “We’ve just received word that a search party found and rescued two women from Smith Mountain. We don’t know their condition or how they came to be on the mountain at night, but we do know the identity of one of the women. Her name is Aurora Harris, a resident at Smith Mountain Lake. The identity of the other woman, who is en route to Lynchburg General Hospital, is being held until relatives can be contacted. We don’t know her condition at this time.”
Luke choked on his food, spit it on his plate. His heart raced as though he were running a marathon. His hand shook.
“Carole. The other woman must be Carole. Oh, God, help her please.” He dialed Aurora’s house again, left another frantic message.
He called the emergency room, asked if Carole had been admitted. “I’m sorry, sir. I can’t give out that information.”
Luke knew he had to drive to Lynchburg and see for himself. He’d go nuts if he just sat and waited. He grabbed his coat and keys, and hurried to his car. Once again, he forgot his cell phone.