I looked down at my hands in horror. “I . . . no, Les was the one who was hurt.”
Gwen grimaced. “I think there was blood on the boxes we moved.” She looked at her own hands and wiped them off on her jade green sweater, smearing it with small streaks of blood. “You were closer to him, trying to stop the bleeding.” She gulped and looked for a moment like she was going to throw up. “I better call Ruthie,” she muttered and hurried down the hall toward her apartment.
Mariana looked at me with concern. “Are you really all right?” she asked.
“I'm not hurt but it was a shock finding him like that.”
“What happened? You said Les was hurt?”
“I don't know. Gwen seemed to think someone might have broken in. I suppose someone could have got in and thought there might be money in the office. But I don't know how you would tell if anything's missing. I think maybe the boxes fell on him.”
I realized I was shaking.
“Oh, you poor thing,” Mariana said, stepping toward me. She put a comforting arm around me and I leaned into her. Her scent was something powdery and floral, not the Chanel my mother had favored, but I was instantly reminded of the hugs my mother had given me whenever I was feeling down.
Great, I thought, anything bad happens, and I want my mommy. When am I ever going to grow up enough that this stops happening? Probably never.
"Let's get you home,” Mariana was saying, steering me toward the elevator. It was comforting having her with me. “I could make you a cup of tea. That's always helpful after you've had a shock.”
My dad opened the door when we reached my apartment. “That was a long meeting,” he started to say, and then realized I was covered in blood. “Becky, what happened? My god, are you all right?”
“There was an accident in the office,” Mariana was saying.
“I'm fine, Dad,” I said, interrupting her. I remembered my manners enough to introduce her to my father.
“I live next door,” Mariana explained. “I was going to make her some tea.”
“Oh, Mariana, thanks, but I'm okay. I just want to have a shower and go to bed. Thanks for looking after me.”
Dad put his arm around me and pulled me into the apartment, thanking her before closing the door.
I leaned against him. Even if I couldn't have my mom, I still had my daddy. That would do.
I headed for the bathroom and started the shower. I stripped my clothes off, knowing I would never wear them again. I could probably wash them and get the blood out but just thinking about it made me shudder.
Actually, everything was making me shudder. I was shaking uncontrollably. I got into the shower and scrubbed myself until my skin was red. I knew everyone tried to avoid blood because of fear of disease. But I wasn't really thinking of that.
I was pretty sure that, despite my first aid and the care of the paramedics, Les wasn't coming back.
I went to bed after that, but I kept replaying the scene in the office over in my mind. I was still wide awake when the phone beside my bed rang. I grabbed it before the sound could wake up Dad and Ben. It was Gwen.
“Oh, Rebecca. It's awful. Ruth called to tell me Les didn't make it.”
I felt tears in my eyes. “I'm so sorry. He was such a nice man. Maybe if I'd found him a bit sooner.”
“Don't even think that,” Gwen interrupted me. “You did everything you could. But that's not why I'm calling. There's a police officer here. He wants to talk to us about what happened.”
“A police officer? But wasn't it an accident?”
“Well, remember that I thought at first someone might have got into the building. I suppose Les could have found someone breaking into the office and they pushed the boxes on him to get away. Anyway, he told me they investigate any sudden deaths that aren't expected. I'm sure it's just a formality. But they should be able to tell if someone broke in. He just wants to talk to us about what we saw.”
I got dressed and went down to the main floor again. I gulped when I saw the boxes, Les's blood staining some of them.
The officer with Gwen looked young to me. He took statements from both of us.
“So you found him?” he asked me. “You were the one who made the call for the ambulance. I believe you said it was an accident?”
“That's what I thought. The office has boxes piled all over it. I thought they'd fallen on him.”
“But you thought someone might have broken in?” he said, turning to Gwen. “Is anything missing?”
“Who could tell?” she said, gesturing to the mess. “It's always complete chaos. We keep some petty cash in here but not a lot. I could check the files to see if it's still there. But Ruthie would probably know more than I do. She's the one who handles the bookkeeping. That's Ruth Jacobs, the office assistant.”
He checked his notes. “Ah, yes. We talked to her at the hospital. I have her contact information.”
“She would normally be here tomorrow at nine o'clock,” Gwen continued. “But when she phoned about Les she asked for a couple of days off. I think she's some sort of relation, but I don't know what.”
“That's okay,” the officer said. “We won't want anyone going into the office until we've finished our investigation. I'll seal it up after I leave.”
“So you do think someone broke in?” Gwen was saying. “This is a nice neighborhood, but I know there have been break-ins in the area. And sometimes homeless people get in, looking for a place to sleep.”
I thought of the woman who had warned me about the co-op the first day I came here. She had been right that bad things happened here.
“Was the lock damaged?” I asked. “Here or the front door? How would someone get in?”
“Well, Les wouldn't have locked the office door if he was working. And the front door, well, we were having trouble with the intercom, so sometimes people just buzz people in if they're expecting someone. I think Les had it fixed, but maybe it's broken again. Or people will prop it open if they're just going out for a minute. They're not supposed to, but it happens.”
“We'll look into that,” the officer was saying. “So you two were both in here tonight?”
We answered a few more questions before he left. He seemed to be asking a lot of questions for something I still hoped was an accident.