Anaheim

Without a sound and barely a movement of air, Wolf appeared inside the sterile hospital room. An unwelcome feeling of déjà vu swept over him as his mind went back to the similar room that had been Walt’s—a room from which his boss had never emerged.

With an irritated shake of his head to get rid of that horrible memory, Wolf turned his attention to the small, still person engulfed by white sheets and a labyrinth of tubes and monitors. “Catie.”

At the sound of the whispered word, Peter jerked up from his position in the chair next to her bed. “Uncle Wolf? Is that you? Oh, Wolf, it’s all my fault.”

Wolf, unable to tear his eyes away from the ashen, bandaged-covered face, felt Peter hurl himself against his body. His arms instinctively closed around the boy.

“You’re crushing me.”

The muffled words filtered through to Wolf’s brain and his arms loosened their grip. “What happened? What do you mean it’s your fault?” Knowing Peter as well as he did, sensing the boy needed to talk, he looked down into the upturned, troubled face. “How could this possibly be your fault?”

Peter waved a vague hand toward the bed. “Catie…Catie wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me. She should have gone to Disneyland with me, not those other guys. But I didn’t want to go to Disneyland any more. I…I pushed her away. She could have been out at the Ranch with us, not with Anne and her brother.”

“Slow down, Pete. No matter what, this isn’t your fault. You can’t think that way.”

Peter didn’t seem to hear Wolf. “I didn’t even tell her about that quest you gave me.”

“Can you tell me what happened? Why is she here? Like that…” Wolf again forced himself to look away from the still, pale face to focus back on Peter.

“That idiot brother of Anne, Scott, he did this. They were coming back from the Park and he was showing off what his dad’s car could do. It wasn’t even his car!”

Wolf could tell Peter was on the verge of getting too worked up again. “Slow down, buddy. Take a deep breath. So, Catie was with Anne and Scott. Then what?”

Angry, Peter shook his head. He had just heard bits and pieces from eaves-dropping on his parents and Uncle Adam and Aunt Beth. They hadn’t wanted him to hear the details. But, he did. “He…he was speeding down Harbor and the light on Lincoln turned yellow. Instead of stopping…”

“He ran the red light.” Wolf felt his stomach twist into a knot. He knew what was coming.

Peter’s eyes filled. “Yeah, he ran the light. I guess the other cars were already moving… The police said he was doing sixty when Catie got T-boned.” When Wolf drew in a shocked breath, Peter realized he needed to clarify a point. “Well, the other car hit the back tire on Catie’s side, but it was almost the same thing.” Peter had to swallow before he could tell the rest of what he knew. “The car spun around, smashing her head into the side window.” He swiped at his eyes. “That’s why she’s all bandaged up like a mummy. Her right arm got broke, too.”

Deeply affected, it took an effort to keep his voice calm for Peter’s sake. “Has she spoken to anyone? Did she come to?”

A look of confusion swept over the boy’s face. “Come to? Uncle Wolf, she…she’s in a coma.”

The steady beep, beep, beep of the heart monitor was the only sound in the room. Wolf took Peter in his arms for another hug, one that he felt he needed as much as Peter might.

“Wolf! I didn’t see you come in.” Kimberly and Lance had softly pushed open the door to Catie’s room. A wave of relief washed over them when they saw Peter in his arms. The boy had claimed sole responsibility for the accident and hadn’t listened to a thing they had said. Perhaps Wolf would be able to help. Peter had sworn he wouldn’t leave her side until she was better.

With Adam and Beth nowhere in sight, Wolf could tell them, “I came in a different way.” At their nod of understanding, he indicated Catie with a tilt of his chin. He didn’t want to let go of Peter just yet. “I heard some of the story. When did this happen? Where are Adam and Beth?”

Lance looked over his shoulder at the door. All of their movements seemed stiff and unnatural. “We sent them to the cafeteria for a break. They’ve been here since midnight. Once the kids were brought here to Anaheim Regional Hospital, it took some time to sort out who was who. The accident happened around 10:30 when the kids were on their way home.”

Kimberly had a hard time pulling her eyes away from the bed. They all have known Catie and her brother Alex practically from birth. To her, the kids were an extension of her own family. “The driver, Scott, is only seventeen. I’m not even sure he was supposed to be driving. The only saving grace, if there is one, is that the car was an older Dodge Charger. The thing was built like a tank. Anne, who was in the back seat, and Scott are pretty banged up, but…not like Catie.” Her voice cracked. “She got the brunt of it.”

“Where are the boys?” Wolf’s question earned him a blank stare. Under the high emotions and the shock, he wasn’t surprised. “Michael and Andrew? You know, short, have green eyes, brown hair. Live in your house. Make a lot of noise.”

The moment of humor helped. Lance walked over and put his hand on Peter’s head. “They’re with a sitter. This one refused to stay home.”

Wolf could tell Lance was proud of his son for wanting to be there for his friend. “I think I’ll go down to the cafeteria and see Adam and Beth.”

At his words, Peter pulled away from Wolf and silently returned to the chair by Catie’s bedside.

Alex, Adam, and Beth sat close together at one of the aluminum tables, assorted drinks forgotten in front of them. When someone approached their table, three pairs of haunted eyes looked upward. Hope flickered across their faces and then vanished. Their smile of recognition barely moved the corners of their mouths.

“Wolf. Thank you for coming.” Adam didn’t seem to know what else to say. His eyes strayed back to a paper cup filled with cold coffee.

Beth looked like she had aged ten years. The feisty, sarcastic, bubbly personality had been extinguished. “Have you…have you seen Catie?”

Wolf could only nod and held out a hand. In an abrupt move, Beth sprung from her seat to bury her head in his chest. “I’m so sorry, Beth. I don’t know what to say.”

“My little girl. That’s my little girl, Wolf.”

His arms tightened. “I know.” He looked up at Adam. “Pete said she’s in a coma?”

Adam’s head bobbed once. It seemed to be the extent of movement he was capable of. “Yeah. When her head…” He broke off, his lower lip between his teeth, and looked away. “When her head hit the window, it caused swelling in her brain.” Alex scooted over and leaned against his dad. “The doctors felt a medically-induced coma would be best to let her brain recover. They’re giving her controlled anesthetics. At least…at least she can’t feel the pain from her broken arm and all the cuts.”

“I heard Scott and Anne…” Wolf was stopped by the intense look that came over Adam.

Beth saw it, too, and went back to the table. Picking up Adam’s hand, she kissed his knuckles until the furious expression faded from his face. “We’ve talked with their parents. It’s…difficult…for all of us. They’re mortified by what happened. Scott and Anne have, gosh, I don’t know who has what. There are broken arms and legs, cuts on their faces and bodies. Maybe broken ribs, too. I don’t know. This is the first time we’ve left Catie’s room.”

“Peter seems to be taking it personally.”

A small, fond grin briefly touched Beth’s lips. “That sweet, silly boy. He hasn’t done much with the twins for almost a year now. You know that.” At Wolf’s nod, she sighed. “Well, nothing that has to do with Disneyland, anyway. We were invited to go camping with them yesterday.” Her eyes filled with tears. “Maybe we should have gone with them and none of this would have happened.”

Hearing his wife’s distress, Adam came out of his stupor. “We’ll kill ourselves with the ‘what ifs,’ Sweetheart. We can’t do that. We have to be strong, as strong as we can, for Catie.” He squeezed her shoulders. “All right? I love you. Hey!” He jerked back when Beth wiped her nose on his shirt sleeve.

“I love you, too, Adam.”

After giving the family their moment, Wolf wondered where Adam’s parents were. As close as the family was, it wasn’t like them not to be there, especially in this time of crisis. “John and Margaret?”

Adam glanced up from the mess on his sleeve. “Vacation. I called them early once we knew… something. They’ll be here later today.”

“Mom? I’m going back to Catie’s room.”

“That’s a good idea, Alex. We’ll all go.” Beth made a move to clear the table. “Maybe you and Peter can tell her a story. The nurses said we should talk to her as much as we can.”

“I’ll get that. You guys go ahead. I’ll see you a little later.” Wolf watched the family as they left the cafeteria. He needed to check in with Omah to tell her what had happened.

It was dark in the hospital room when Wolf reappeared. The clock on the wall indicated it was 3:15. Expecting it to be only an hour or so later than when he left, he pushed his confusion aside for a moment to check on Catie. There seemed to be less tubes and monitors around her bed. The extra bed that had been brought in for Beth had been removed.

A loud sniff from the window drew his attention. Outlined by hazy moonlight, Peter leaned against the windowsill, gazing upward at the night sky. After swiping his sleeve across his eyes, he looked back at the stars.

“Wishing on a star, Peter?”

Even though Wolf had spoken in a whisper, Peter spun around as if someone had shouted, “Boo!” Eyes wide, his hand clamped over his mouth to keep from yelling out. “Gosh, Uncle Wolf, don’t do that! My heart’s pounding out of my chest.”

“Sorry.”

Instinctively they both looked at the bed, but there was no reaction from its sleeping occupant. The steady beep, beep of the monitor remained unchanged.

“Where’ve you been, Uncle Wolf? We’ve missed you.”

Wolf felt his mouth fall open and he had to make a conscious effort to close it. Before he answered, he had to recheck the clock. “It was supposed to be just a couple of hours. I seemed to have overshot it somehow.”

“Hours? Uncle Wolf, you’ve been gone for a week.”

How’d I mess up again? I was just with Omah. Wasn’t I?I haven’t even taken Walt back into the Park. Wolf ran a hand through his black, silver-tipped hair. “A week? Well, I’ll try to figure that out later. That might explain why Catie looks better.”

“Yeah, her bruises started to heal up and they said she didn’t need life-support anymore. She’s kinda doing better, but she still hasn’t woken up.” The worried look returned to his face. “She doesn’t move or make any sounds. Shouldn’t she be up by now?”

Not knowing how to answer the questions that plagued them all, Wolf glanced back at the time and then at the darkness outside the window. He changed the subject. “Are you all taking turns staying with Catie? Is that why you’re here at this hour?” His eyes narrowed when Peter suddenly looked sheepish.

Peter’s immediate attempt to school his face into innocence failed. “Yeah, sure. It’s my turn.”

“Peter Percy Brentwood.”

There was a dramatic sigh as Peter turned away to roll his eyes. “Why don’t you believe me?”

“You’re fourteen.”

“Oh, and that means I’m a liar?”

“What I mean is that you’re only fourteen and your parents wouldn’t let you stay here overnight like this. You obviously didn’t drive here. So….”

“Okay. Fine. I rode my bike. Hey, it’s only five and a half miles from our house.” Before Wolf could say anything, Peter surged onward in a desperate effort to keep the criticism at bay. “I come almost every night to talk to Catie.” He looked back at the bed. “Aunt Beth said they were going to transfer her to the Placentia-Linda Hospital closer to their house. I…I’ve just been talking to her about my quest. I really miss her.”

Wolf shelved all the objections Peter expected to hear. He could see Peter was slowly trying to work out his feelings of guilt—undeserved as they were—by trying to help his friend. The lecture on safety could wait a bit. “So, how is the quest going? You making progress?”

“Well, I was. Then I got stuck.”

“On which clue?”

“The second one.” Peter gave a little laugh. “Yeah, I know. Lame. But I just can’t figure it out. I come here to talk to Catie about my research and what I’ve found. I thought it might, I don’t know, help her somehow because that’s what we used to do together.” His shoulders raised in a helpless shrug. “Maybe I’d figure it out if I talked about it out loud. Maybe she’d wake up and help me.”

Even in the darkness of the room, Wolf could see his eyes fill with tears. “I think that’s a good plan, Pete. But…” He smiled to himself when Peter stiffened at the word. He knew it was coming sooner or later. “But, you can’t be riding your bike in the middle of the night like that. You know it isn’t safe. I’m guessing your parents don’t know where you are, right? How do you think they’d feel if they went into your room and saw that you were gone?”

Still determined that what he was doing was all right, Peter didn’t hang his head at the mini-lecture from Wolf. “I know that, Uncle Wolf, but I have to be here. She’s my best friend.”

Wolf pulled him in for a hug. “You’re a good friend, Pete. But, if you want to come like this, let me know so I can bring you.”

Peter looked up at his face. “You mean that? Even in the middle of the night?”

“Yeah, I mean it. Catie does need you. She’s missed you, too.”

“Thanks, Uncle Wolf. So, I can stay?”

Wolf looked back at the clock. “How long have you been here?”

“Umm, since midnight.”

“Is there anything else you wanted to talk over with Catie tonight?”

Relieved he wasn’t in trouble, Peter shrugged again. “No, I don’t think so. That’s why I was staring out the window.”

“When you wish…”

“Hey, I wasn’t wishing on a star! I’m not five.”

Wolf gave him a smile. “It might not hurt. So, you ready to go?”

Peter walked back to the bed and touched Catie’s undamaged arm with the lightest of pressure. “I’ll see you soon, Catie,” he whispered. “Uncle Wolf is going to drive me home. I’ll let you know what I find out. Bye.” He turned back to Wolf. “So, where’s your car?”

“I didn’t come in my car.”

Peter broke out in a delighted grin.