Chapter Twenty-Three

ON MONDAY, GENNA, ANABELLE, JAMES, CANDACE AND Elena managed to eat lunch together. The sun had come out and dried up much of the moisture. Many of the flowers and shrubs that had made the courtyard a nice retreat had been crushed, but spring would no doubt bring them back. Several amber, gold and red leaves adorned the paperbark maple, letting them know beyond a doubt that summer was fading fast.

Candace glanced at Anabelle. “I see you don't have Lucy with you. Did you find her father?”

“Unfortunately, no. She's with Kirstie today. My daughter plans to do some serious detective work in hopes of finding Lucy's dad.”

“You took her home with you?” James seemed surprised. Legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankles, he took a drink of his coffee.

Anabelle nodded and smiled. “With permission from Children's Services, of course. Believe it or not we have a number of lost children and adults, and they welcomed my help.”

James nodded. “I suspect it will take a few days to work through the chaos.”

“At least.” Candace examined her tuna fish sandwich before taking a bite.

“We’ll keep praying for Lucy and her dad,” James added. “And for everyone who's missing.”

Elena nodded. “We have a John Doe in ICU. Very badly injured. The police took prints, but he's apparently not in the system. We’ll have to wait until someone is able to identify him or he wakes up.”

“How old is he?” Anabelle knew she might be grasping at straws, but her intuition—or was it wishful thinking?—had zeroed in on a load of something.

“We don't have an age listed, but I think he must be around midthirties, early forties.”

“That could be about right for Lucy's dad.” Why hadn't she asked George to tell her more about his son? Because you were too caught up in the shock of George's being Lucy's grandfather. “I hate to ask,” Anabelle said, “but what's his prognosis?”

“It's touch and go.” Elena's deep brown eyes reflected her sadness.

Anabelle promised herself she’d look into any details available regarding Elena's mystery patient after lunch.

“You wanted to meet with us, Genna?” Candace's question pulled Anabelle back into their original reason for meeting. “Did we need more patients to visit Dr. Hamilton?”

“Mercy no!” Genna smiled, her joy palpable. “I just wanted to touch base with my team. I thought our Parade of Patients went extremely well yesterday, even better than Saturday. I could be reading him wrong, but I believe Drew has turned a corner.”

“He seemed genuinely happy to see them all.” Anabelle lifted her cup to her lips. “And I must admit, he hasn't complained about staying in the hospital these extra days.”

“How many patients have come through?” Elena wanted to know.

“Fifty-five so far.” Genna clasped her hands. “I have another twenty-five set up for this afternoon.”

“I only hope he takes all this to heart,” James said.

“He will. He has to.” Genna glanced at her watch and stood. “I have to get upstairs. I want to be there to greet the girls from the Quilting Guild. They’re presenting Drew with a get-well quilt.”

“I can't wait to see it.” Anabelle knew about the quilt but hadn't been able to participate in putting it together. They all said good-bye to Genna, and she left the courtyard.

“On another note,” Candace said. “You’ll be happy to know that I called the counselor this morning and set up another appointment. This time it's for Thursday afternoon.”

James chuckled. “Let's hope the weather behaves itself this time.”

Candace shook her head. “If another storm causes us to cancel this one, I’ll take it as a sign that I’m not supposed to go.”

“You will not,” Anabelle exclaimed.

Candace laughed at her bluntness. “Yes, Mother.”

“So, James,” Elena began, “did you and Fern have a chance to talk about Gideon?”

“Not yet. Gideon hasn't asked again, but I’m sure he will.”

“You must really be proud of him.” Elena picked a corn chip out of the small bag that came with her sandwich. “I couldn't believe how helpful he was after the storm.”

James nodded. “He has totally amazed me through all of this. If Fern is okay with it, I think I’ll give him a green light.”

“That sounds like a good idea, James.”

His gaze turned to Elena as he asked about Sarah.

Elena sighed. “Well, I decided you were right. I needed to see her. I went in to see her yesterday, but she’d been discharged.” She paused. “To be honest, I’m relieved.”

“So that's it?” Candace set her half-eaten sandwich down. “Aren't you going to look for her?”

“No, I don't think so. If she's serious about wanting to reconcile, she’d have come.” Elena looked around at each of them. “What? God has softened my heart toward her. But I’m not going to seek her out.” Elena lowered her head. “Maybe I am wrong, but that's where I stand right now.”

Anabelle reached over and squeezed her hand. “We don't blame you, Elena. We’re glad you at least tried to visit her again.”

Anabelle told them about her attitude toward George Talbot and discovering that Lucy belonged to him. “I felt myself softening toward him and his family. Seeing Lucy on his bed and hearing him call her Bookie Bear cut right through my resentment. Now, because of Lucy, I feel a bond with him in a way. Amazing how God works, isn't it?”

They all agreed.

James stood and picked up his tray. “Speaking of work, I’d better get back to my unit.”

“Me too. I still have some details to attend to regarding Isabel's party. Now that the storm is over and we’re getting back to normal, I am getting all excited about it. Don't forget—you are all invited.” Elena waved her arm. “I asked Dr. Hamilton and Genna to come as well. They’ll be bringing their granddaughter.”

Promising Elena they would all be there, they climbed the stairs to the second floor together. James headed toward Med/Surg, Candace to the Birthing Unit and Anabelle walked with Elena into ICU. “I’d like to have a look at your John Doe.”

Elena nodded. “Room 200.”

Anabelle watched Elena duck into the restroom, then stepped into the room. A strange sensation washed over her as she stood at his bedside. She felt strongly that God wanted her to pray for him. Lord, I’m not sure what to say, but You know what this man needs. Please let the authorities identify him and, Lord, please heal him.

Anabelle took hold of his hand. “Bill?” Had she felt a slight squeeze of his hand, or was it her own wishful thinking?

She tried again. “Bill, I have Lucy with me. She's safe.”

He squeezed her hand again. Did that mean he heard and understood, or was it just the pressure of her hand on his? Elena said he was in an induced coma which would keep him sedated and give him a chance to heal. At this point, she wouldn't let herself believe that this man was Bill Preston, but she could hope.

Back in CCU, Anabelle headed for George’s room. After reading his chart, Anabelle went to check on him and found Kirstie and Lucy snuggled in the recliner together.

Lucy was asleep so Kirstie eased out of the chair, hooked her arm through Anabelle's and tugged. “I have something to tell you. First though, thanks for telling me about Mr. Talbot last night.”

“I wanted you to be prepared when you brought Lucy in today.” Anabelle stepped clear of the door to allow one of the nurses to enter.

Kirstie nodded. A grin lit up her blue eyes. “I think we might be close to finding Lucy's dad.”

“Really?” Anabelle didn't tell her about the man in ICU since she had only her feelings to go on.

“I talked to the police. They have Bill's wallet—and some papers they found in his car. With all the craziness going on that night, they lost track of him. The keys James found were from his car. I told them about the teddy bear Seri found in the ambulance and they made the connection.”

“That's great. So is he here?”

“They think so, but they’re still trying to piece things together. Someone was supposed to follow and bring Lucy's and Bill's personal items. All we know is that Bill was brought here. The new medics told a nurse in ER that his personal effects would be arriving soon.” Kirstie shook her head. “But she never saw them.”

“Sounds like a massive case of miscommunication. Without ID he’d be classified as a John Doe.” Anabelle sighed. “If they think he's here, I may have found him. It's pure speculation and a little intuition, but I think Bill might be in ICU. Unfortunately, we really can't take Lucy in to see him.”

“What should we do?” Kirstie glanced back into the room. “Her grandfather can't go see him.”

“Not until we’re able to get him up and around.” Anabelle paused. “There's no way of really knowing for another day or two at least.”

Kirstie went back in to sit with Lucy, while Anabelle returned to work. At two, Elena showed up. “Do you have time for a break?”

“Sure.” Anabelle was more than ready. Afternoon drowsiness had her desperate for a cup of coffee.

A somber countenance told Anabelle things were not going well in ICU. “You seem down. What's wrong?”

“I have some good news and some bad news. Our John Doe has had a setback.”

“Oh no.” Anabelle settled an arm around her friend's shoulder. How was she going to tell Lucy? “You said you had some good news?”

Elena nodded. “He's not Lucy's father.”

“Oh. That's good for Lucy, but how do you know?” The two of them entered the cafeteria.

“Let's get our food and sit down. It's another crazy story.”

Once they were seated, Elena explained that the police had brought in a woman from Peoria whose husband had gone on a business trip and hadn't contacted her for several days. “His wife hadn't known that he’d been caught in the hail. His car was found off the road about a mile from Deerford. He wasn't in it but his ID was. He was found after the storm in a ditch and they didn't connect him to the car until the police notified her that they’d found the car. They brought her in to identify him. He is her husband.”

“I’m so sorry for her. I guess we’re back to square one for Lucy's dad. But we’ll have to keep praying.”

Kirstie was still in the room with Lucy and George when Anabelle came back. She stepped out of the room when Anabelle beckoned her and told her about Elena's patient. “Turns out that he isn't Bill Preston after all.”

“I’m glad they were able to ID him though. I’m sure the police will put the pieces together sooner or later.”

Kirstie reached for her cell phone when it vibrated. “It's the detective I’ve been talking to. I’ll take it out in the lobby.”

Several minutes later she came back looking thoughtful. “Detective Taylor says they have a guy down at the station they think might be Bill. They found him wandering around on the streets confused and injured.”

Anabelle hugged her. “I hope we have the right guy this time.”

“Me too. I’ll find out and call you.” Kirstie stepped back. “I’ll get Lucy and head right over.”

“Don't get her hopes up.”

“Don't worry, I won’t.” Kirstie stepped into the room and told Lucy they were going out for lunch.

Kirstie called forty-five minutes later. Lucy recognized her father immediately. “He doesn't remember anything about the accident and is being transported to the hospital for evaluation.”

Anabelle felt a huge burden slide from her shoulders. “Thanks for telling me.”

Anabelle finished up with report, then made her way to George Talbot's room eager to tell him the good news.