it.
They won’t do a damn thing.”
“Calm down,” Kate said firmly. “You didn’t give
them much to work with. Give them a chance.”
“Don’t you side with them.”
“I’m not, but I think you just came across some road crazy that thought he’d have some fun. He probably got off on terrorizing you. All we need to know is that it’s over and you’re okay.” Kate hugged Josh tightly.
She fought back tears, but they came anyway.
Kate’s embrace felt tight enough to crack his ribs. It was hard to be angry when Kate was so upset. “You’re probably right, but they didn’t have to treat me like a criminal.”
“Never mind that now, I’m just happy to see you
alive.” Gently, she rocked him while she spoke. “I have no idea how you swam to shore.”
“Neither do I. God knows. Self-preservation, I suppose,”
Josh said, the anger subsiding. The rocking
soothed his frustrations, but deep down, he wasn’t satisfied.
He was sure it was no accident. It didn’t matter
if the cops didn’t believe him.
Dr. Green returned to his patient and called it a night for Josh’s visitors. He told Josh to get some rest and ushered Kate out of the room.
CHAPTER THREE
When Dr. Green entered his room the next morning, Josh was feeling hungry, but not for hospital food.
He’d left most of the breakfast they’d brought him. It had tasted like the contents of a bedpan. He would have killed for a turkey sandwich with a side of potato salad. He looked up from the magazine.
“Hi, Doctor.”
“Hello, Mr. Michaels. I thought I’d check up on you to see how we’re doing.”
We? I don’t remember you at the bottom of the river.
I could have done with the help, he thought with good humor. “We’re doing okay.”
“Stand up for me, please. How’d you sleep?”
Josh put the magazine down and hopped out of bed.
He let Green prod and poke him. “Not bad,” he lied.
His sleep had been fitful. In his dreams, he had relived distorted versions of his attempted murder at the river. In one dream, the tailgater had been at the wheel of Josh’s car and Josh had fought for control of the vehicle.
Even at close quarters Josh was unable to see the man. In the dream, everything was distorted. The baseball cap’s bill was three times its normal size. The
man’s mirrored aviator sunglasses covered half his face.
After the fight of his life, Josh lost control to the tailgater and drove the car off the bridge with both of
them in it. In another dream, the killer simply blew the bridge out from underneath Josh as he drove across.
The bridge vaporized, engulfing him in flames as the car plunged into the river. More dreams had followed.
Each time the events had varied but the outcome was the same. He hadn’t survived. Waking at the moment of death had saved him.
Finishing his examination, the doctor asked, “How’s your stomach acting?”
“I puked around three this morning.”
“Sit down. How about now?”
“Okay, I suppose. I feel hungry.”
“That’s a good sign.” Staring at Josh like he could see through to his internal organs, the doctor thought for a moment. “I think you’re okay to go home. You seem all right, no serious physical injuries. I’ll sign you off and you can go any time you want.”
“Thanks.”
“Go home, rest up, and take a few days for yourself.
Take a holiday if you want. You’ve had a traumatic episode and it’s time to put it behind you.” With a smile, he pointed at Josh. “Doctor’s orders, okay?”
“Okay, I’ll try,” Josh said begrudgingly.
Leaving the room, the doctor said. “Don’t try. Do.” Easy for you to say, he thought. The doctor had not been there. He had not experienced what Josh had experienced.
How many times had the doctor found
himself trapped in a car at the bottom of the river?
None, that’s how many. He couldn’t forget the experience just like that, nor could he forget the demented
tailgater. He believed the driver had wanted to kill, not scare him.
As soon as Green left, Josh got out of his hospital johnny and into his own clothes from an overnight bag Kate had brought with her. He wanted out of the hospital.
The facility was a reminder of the helplessness
he’d felt in the sinking car. He was in an environment he had no control over, one where he couldn’t dictate his next move. He picked up the phone and called Kate.
Kate and Abby picked him up from the hospital and took him home. It felt good to see the familiar surroundings of his home of the last six years. It was nothing special, just a two-story, three-bedroom Cape Cod on the southwest side of Sacramento. But it was comfortable and fit him like a favorite chair.
“Here we are, honey. Home,” Kate said.
Looking from the passenger window, Josh said.
“Yeah, I sure am.”
Kate tugged at his arm and he turned to face her. She pulled him over to her and kissed him full on the mouth.
Their kiss was interrupted by laughter. They stopped and looked at the person laughing in the backseat.
“What are you laughing at, Abby?” Josh said, fighting back a grin.
“You two,” she replied.
“I wouldn’t laugh too much if I were you. I haven’t thrown away those adoption papers,” he said, raising an eyebrow.
Lightly, Kate punched him in the arm. “Stop that.”
Josh and his family clambered out of the minivan, and with a female on each arm he was led inside. They supported him as if he were a china doll that would break at any moment. He had the feeling this was going to be his treatment for the next few days. He
imagined they would be attending to his every whim. He might as well enjoy it while he could. After Kate opened the door, Abby raced ahead.
“Wiener, we’re home,” she called and disappeared
into the living room.
The three-year-old long-haired dachshund ran in
from the kitchen with his tail wagging. The dog was black and tan with a smudge over each eye giving him a permanently surprised look. Josh had bought the dog after Kate had miscarried and they knew she would never have another child. The dog was to be Abby’s substitute sibling. It was a stupid and insensitive gesture at a time when they were all looking for something to make up for the hurt, but that was forgotten now.
Wiener was part of the family. The dog came up to Josh for a moment to be stroked before he bounded off to Abby.
Kate slid her arm around Josh’s waist. “Is there anything you want?”
“I wouldn’t mind a sandwich or something. The
