One Fine Day You’re Gonna Die

“Okay, I’ll pass that along to Nova, but Lakeshore’s huge. Where would they even begin?”

“We have codes to alert staff. Code black indicates a personal threat-a hostage situation-a threat of injury or attack. The police will know.”

“Good. But, Robin, I have to tell you. I don’t think Gabe took Kali there. Hospitals are noisy places, and I didn’t pick up any background noise on Gabe’s end of the call.”

“That’s not right,” Robin says. “There was that bell sound. You noticed it, but I didn’t at first. I think it was just one of those noises I was so used to hearing that it barely registered.”

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and hear it again,” I say. “We’re going back on the air now. Robin, give Gabe whatever it takes to keep him on the line. Listen for that sound. Try to identify it. It’s the only hope we have.”

She doesn’t move. She seems frozen.

“Are you all right?” I ask.

Robin Harris runs her fingers through her shining auburn hair.

“I’m fine,” she says. “I just hate that Gabe is being allowed to control the situation.”

I’m dumbfounded.

“This isn’t about control,” I say. “This is about finding your daughter. If you gave me your daughter’s class picture, I couldn’t pick her out. All I know about Kali is that she has pajamas that she believes are magic and she knows how to sing ‘You Are My Sunshine.’ She’s a stranger to me, but there is nothing I wouldn’t do to keep Gabe Ireland on the line because as long as he’s talking to me, he’s not telling your daughter that the injection he’s about to give her won’t hurt a bit.”

Robin Harris stares at me, absorbing what I’ve just said. Then she extends her hands palms up in a gesture of helplessness.

“I don’t know how to do this.”

I shake my head.

“You are the proverbial riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma,” I say. “Dr. Harris, I don’t get you. How difficult can it be to make Gabe believe that you love your daughter? That your life will be destroyed if anything happens to her? That a six-year-old child deserves to live?”

She turns, so that once again, I’m confronted with her perfect and distant profile. I’m not a guy who feels he needs to make a point by pounding the table, but tonight, confronted by the lack of comprehension on Dr. Robin Harris’s lovely face, I pound the desk.

“Just say the damn words, Robin.”

“I can’t beg.”

Disgust rises in my throat.

“Then fake it,” I say. “Because we’re back on the air.”

CHAPTER TEN

The music fades, and I flip on my microphone.

“My name is Charlie Dowhanuik, and this is ‘The World According to Charlie D.’ If you’ve been listening, you know that we have a situation here, so for a while, we’re just going to keep our focus on Gabe and Kali. You know what that means. No phone calls. No emails. No texting. No nothing-unless you’re sure you can help. So, Gabe, how’s it going?”

“Fine. Kali and I are playing Candy Land. Kali just drew a snowflake card. That means she’s earned a visit to Queen Frostine’s iceberg.”

I’m hoping if I keep it light, I can gain some traction.

“So for those of us who’ve never been to Queen Frostine’s iceberg, is that good or bad?” I ask.

Gabe laughs softly.

“Why don’t I let you talk to the expert? Kali, my friend Charlie wants to hear about how we play Candy Land. Can you help him out?”

“Sure.” Kali’s voice has the sweet fizz of soda pop. “Hi, Charlie,” she says. “So what do you want to know?”

“I need to know pretty much everything.” My words to Kali seem to form themselves. “I think tonight I need to find Candy Land again,” I say, and the raw yearning in my voice shakes me.

As she explains the game, Kali’s voice has the breathless cadences of the schoolyard.

“It’s a board game, and it’s kind of baby. It’s for kids who can’t read, and Gabe taught me to read when I was five. Anyway, it’s still fun. I’ll read you the box. It says that Candy Land is ‘a sweet little game for sweet little folks.’ Gabe and I each have a little gingerbread person, and we take our person down the rainbow path, through the Peppermint Stick forest. The first one of us who reaches the Candy Castle wins.”

Robin’s jaw is tight. Staying in control is taking its toll.

“Tell her to run.”

I shake my head and cover the mike with my hand.

“Gabe has the hypodermic, Robin.”

“Tell her…tell her I love her.” Behind Kali’s small voice we hear the bell again. “There’s that sound,” Robin says. “Where have I heard it?”

“Turn on your mike,” I say. “Keep Kali talking. If you hear the bell again, you might be able to identify it.”

“That sounds like fun, Kali,” I say.

“It is fun,” Kali says. “I’m caught in the Molasses Swamp now-you’re stuck in there until…”

“Until you draw the red card,” Robin says. She’s close to tears.

“I didn’t think you’d remember the rules,” Gabe says. He seems genuinely moved.

“I remember a lot, Gabe.” Robin’s voice is, as Gabe described it, full of music.

Through the talkback, Nova’s voice is tense but excited.

“Dr. Harris is doing exactly what she needs to do. Tell her to ramp it up. If she can make Gabe believe they have a future together, we can save Kali.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

I flick off my mike and touch Robin’s arm. “My producer thinks that you’re getting through to Gabe. Keep going.”

She nods.

“Gabe, remember the first time we took Kali tobogganing on that big hill over by the ravine? All she wanted to do was race down the hill, but you were worried she’d get hurt. You made her listen to your tobogganing safety rules five times.”

Gabe laughs softly at the memory.

“Finally she got bored, leapt onto her sled and just pushed off. When she hit that bump and sailed through the air, I thought my heart would stop.

“We jumped onto our toboggan and soared after her.” Robin looks to me for approval, and I give her what I hope is an encouraging grin. It does the trick. She carries on. “You and I were such idiots, Gabe. Of course, we hit the same bump Kali did. She was fine, but we nearly broke our backs.”

“Kali was wearing that cap she loved,” Gabe says. “The one with the bunny ears. She shook her finger at us and said, ‘When you were telling me all that stuff about being careful, weren’t you listening?’”