Chapter 22

Momentarily stunned by the news, Rory sat on the edge of her bed and stared at the phone. Her mother’s voice calling her name brought her back to reality. After saying she was on her way, Rory threw on jeans and a sweatshirt and drove to the hospital, somehow managing to make it there without damaging property or running into anyone. She raced through the automatic doors, stopping just inside the emergency room. Her gaze swept the waiting area, finally landing on the worried face of her mother. Martin sat next to Arika, holding both of her hands and quietly talking to her.

Rory headed in their direction. “What happened?” she asked as soon as she reached them.

“Your father was in an accident. He was hit by a car,” Arika said in a trembling voice.

Rory sat down heavily on the chair on the other side of her mother. “What? Was anyone else hurt? What about his car?”

“Would you like me to explain?” Martin asked Arika. After she nodded her agreement, he continued. “Your father wasn’t driving his car. He was walking across the street when someone hit him. Or at least, that’s what we think happened. No one actually saw the accident. Luckily, someone found him lying in the street before another car could come along and make things worse.”

“Where?” was all Rory could get out.

“Downtown not far from your father’s office. We figure he was walking back after getting something to eat.”

“What are the doctors saying?”

“We’re not sure yet. They’re still working on him.” Tears glistened in her mother’s eyes. “Your father’s a fighter, though. I have faith that he’ll be okay.”

Rory hoped and prayed that would be true. “When did this happen?”

“We’re not sure,” Martin said. “He was found around midnight, but the accident could have happened before that. We’re checking some of the restaurants within walking distance to see if anyone remembers seeing him.”

“And no one noticed him lying in the middle of the street?”

“It was a quiet area of town and it was late. Plus he wasn’t actually in the middle, but closer to the sidewalk.”

They all sat quietly, waiting for someone to come out and tell them what was going on. Every time someone in scrubs came from behind the double doors, Rory’s body tensed and she sat up straighter, slumping back down in her seat when no one headed in their direction.

When she couldn’t take it anymore, Rory started pacing the floor. Ten minutes later, Arika said, “Rory, could you get me a cup of coffee? The vending machine’s in the hallway.” She reached for her purse, but Rory waved the money away.

When she reached the vending machine, Rory stared at the choices for a full minute, then leaned her head against the machine, tears trickling down her face.

Strong arms held her and gently turned her around. “Hey, hey,” Martin said in a soft voice. “Your dad’s going to be okay.”

“You don’t know that.”

“You’ve got to have faith.” He handed her a handkerchief and she wiped away her tears.

Standing next to the vending machine with Martin’s arms around her, Rory leaned against his chest, finding comfort in the up and down motion of his breathing. Finally, she said, “Do you think it’s possible that Simon’s and my father’s accidents are related?”

“I’m not ruling it out, but so far there’s no evidence that links them other than they knew each other. Do you know of some connection?”

“No. I was just wondering, that’s all.”

He studied her face for a moment. “Don’t do anything stupid. Call me if you see a car that looks like the one you saw hit Simon.”

“I will.” Rory straightened up, reluctantly leaving the comfort of his arms. “I’d better get that coffee. My mom’s probably wondering what’s taking so long.” She punched the appropriate buttons on the vending machine. Before long, they’d returned to the ER waiting room and delivered the cup of black coffee to her mother.

Rory spent the rest of the night at the hospital, only going home for a few hours sleep after the doctors declared her father out of the woods.

As soon as Rory woke up on Wednesday, she called Liz to tell her about the accident, but her friend had already heard.

“How’s he doing?” Liz asked in a concerned tone of voice.

“He’s holding his own. He’s still unconscious, but the doctors are hopeful. I’m heading back to the hospital as soon as I eat some breakfast.”

“And your mother?”

“She’s hanging in there. It’s hard to watch my mom cry. She’s usually pretty stoic.”

“How about if I take you to the hospital? We can grab a bite to eat along the way. My treat. I know the perfect place to go.”

“Sounds good. I’m too tired to drive.” Rory glanced at a nearby clock. “It’s almost eleven. I guess I can’t really call it breakfast, can I?”

“You can call it whatever you want.”

After a quick call to her mother to see how her father was doing, Rory dozed as she waited for Liz to arrive. On the drive to the restaurant, they talked about the accident.

“The police haven’t found the car that hit your dad yet?” Liz asked. “Any leads on the driver?”

“No witnesses so we don’t know what it even looked like.”

“How can that be? People are downtown late into the night all the time.”

“There aren’t any restaurants or bars in that part of town, only offices. Everyone had gone home by that time, anyway. At least that’s what the police think. They’re not sure exactly what time the accident happened.”

Liz took her eyes off the road for a moment to glance at Rory. “What about security cameras?”

“None that they’ve found so far. I don’t think we’re going to find out what happened until he wakes up and tells us. I’m just glad someone found him when they did.”

Liz frowned. “It’s odd.”

“What is?”

“It almost seems like someone’s targeting your father’s surfing crowd. First Mindy, then Simon, now your dad.”

“I never looked at it that way before. I did wonder if Simon’s and my dad’s accidents were related, but I didn’t think about the entire crowd.”

“You’re too close to it. This all started when Ricky’s skeleton was found.” Liz frowned in thought. “There’s another possibility. That the article on VBC riled someone up enough they decided to do something about it themselves.”

Rory’s eyes opened wide. “You mean they saw the part about the police not taking action on Ricky’s murder and decided to take matters into their own hands?”

“You have to admit that it’s a possibility.”

The more Rory thought about it the angrier she became. “I’m calling Veronica to get her to take that post down. I know the damage has already been done, but still...”

She dialed the reporter’s number. As soon as the woman came on the line, Rory said, “You’ve got to take that post on VBC down. Or at least edit out the part that talks about the skeleton murder.”

“Not you too.”

“What?”

“Never mind. The answer’s no.”

“Someone ran down my father last night. Something tells me it’s not a coincidence that it happened the same day the post appeared.”

Veronica’s voice rose. “You can’t blame me for that. It’s not my problem.”

Before Rory could come up with another argument, the line went dead. She stared at her phone in disbelief. “I think she hung up on me.”

“You did what you could,” Liz said. “We’re here.”

Rory peered out the window as Liz pulled into a parking space on the street in downtown Vista Beach. “This is the area where I saw Simon’s accident.”

“I figured we could kill two birds with one stone and eat at the restaurant nearest the spot where it happened. Someone might remember something.”

“Good idea.”

Rory and Liz walked up the half dozen steps to the restaurant entrance and found they’d arrived early enough to get a table on the patio overlooking the site of Simon’s accident. Raised several feet above street level, the patio commanded a view of the sidewalk and the street beyond.

After they settled down at their table, they looked down at the spot where Simon’s car had run onto the sidewalk. All signs of the accident had been removed. The bent meter had been replaced and all the debris taken away.

“That’s where it happened,” Rory said. “Simon’s car hit the spot where that new meter is and came about halfway across the sidewalk toward this restaurant.”

“This place is always crowded. At least he managed to stop before he hit the building. I can’t imagine what the scene would have looked like if actually he ran into the patio.”

They both shuddered at the thought.

After the waiter took their order, he stared at Rory, a thoughtful expression on his face. When he returned with glasses of water, he said to her, “You were here the other day, weren’t you? You helped out when that accident happened.”

“That’s right. It wasn’t a pleasant thing to witness.”

The waiter shook his head. “It was pretty scary. I was standing right here at the edge of the patio, frozen to the spot. I was sure that car was going to hit the restaurant.”

“Did you see the car that caused the accident?” Liz asked before taking a sip of water.

“Only got a quick look at it before it sped away. White sedan, didn’t get the plates, but from what I understand someone else did. Do you know if they found the car yet?”

“Not yet,” Rory said. “Did you see who was driving?”

“Couldn’t even tell you if it was a man or a woman.”

“Nothing distinctive at all?”

He shook his head. “We all talked to the police. A bunch of us compared notes afterwards. None of us saw anything useful. I wish we had.”

Disappointed at the news, Rory nodded her head.

Before the waiter left, he said, “How’s the guy who was in the car that was hit? He all right?”

“He’s fine. Just bumps and bruises.”

“That’s one lucky dude. Your food should be up soon. Let me know if you need anything.”

After Rory and Liz finished lunch, they headed to the hospital to visit Rory’s father.