The Sense of Reckoning (29 page)

At last the pine woods were behind her and she realized she was on the edge of the hotel lawn. The shadow of a person moved in the lobby. She looked around for her guide.

The bang to her head must have been worse than she had originally thought because now she was seeing double—two figures, side by side, lean and muscular, with wavy brown hair and light gray eyes. One faint, one vivid. But then she saw that they weren’t identical but just very similar—a family resemblance. Father and son—the Loring who was her guide to the painting and the Loring who was her guide to the hotel—frozen by death at the same age.

The faint figure moved toward her, obviously concerned, and the vivid one reached out a hand to stop him.

“Dad, leave her be, she needs to get to the hotel.”

The faint one said something Ann couldn’t quite make out.

“Something bad has happened, but we can’t help, only she can,” the clearer Loring said. He turned to Ann. “Be careful of Ellen, she has a Taser. Stay as far away from her as you can. But in case she does come after you, there’s a wooden box with croquet mallets in it on the veranda, get one of those—it’s better than nothing. Go on now.”

Tasers? Croquet mallets? None of this made any sense, except that Garrick was at the hotel. Ann turned from the two figures and limped across the lawn
,
the wind slicing through her clothing as if she were naked. After what seemed like an interminable trek, she reached the veranda. She hauled herself up the steps using the handrail, but tripped on the last step and landed with a thump.

She heard a woman’s voice from the lobby call tentatively, “Loring?” Then, a moment later, in a more tremulous voice, “Garrick?”

Garrick must be in the hotel, just like Loring had said. She crossed the veranda. She had a vague memory of being told to get something from the veranda, but she didn’t need it anymore now that she had found Garrick. She fumbled open the door to the lobby and stepped in, just outside of the pool of light shed by the one illuminated lamp. A woman was standing near the elevator. Ann knew her but couldn’t remember her name.

“Who are you?” asked the woman sharply.

Forgetting why she was wearing the cap, Ann pulled it off to be polite. Her hair, loosened from its customary ponytail, fell around her shoulders, dark with drying blood. Her red sweater had torn during one of her falls and a tuft of white t-shirt poked through. She was weary and battered and she wanted nothing more than to sink into one of the chintz armchairs. She stepped toward the chairs and into the light.

The woman by the elevator shrieked. “You?!”

This was not the reception Ann had expected. She took another step forward. The woman stepped back.

“What are you doing down here?” the woman asked, her voice high and quavering
,
peering at Ann with a nearsighted squint.

“I was looking for you.” Ann remembered now—the woman’s name was Ellen, and it had been important for Ann to find her as well as Garrick.

“No, I was looking for you! You belong to me now!”

Ann didn’t know what to make of this. The feeling of relief she had felt upon reaching the hotel was slipping away. “It took me a long time to get here,” she said plaintively.

“But you’ve been here all along. Loring kept you from me.”

“No, Loring helped me get here.” Ann decided to stop trying to make sense of what Ellen said. “I’m going to sit down,” she said and started for a chair when the person she had really been looking for all along appeared behind Ellen. “Garrick!” cried Ann with relief, then put her hand to her head as the room began to spin.

Ellen spun with a shriek and looked crazily around her. “Where is he?”

“He’s right behind you,” said Ann. She started to lower herself into the chair but halted at Garrick’s voice.

“Don’t sit down!”

Ann stumbled back to her feet. “Why not?”

“Who are you talking to?” cried Ellen, fumbling in her pocket.

“Oh for God’s sake,” muttered Garrick, and Ann followed his gaze to where a barely discernible Biden Firth stood just inside the front doorway.

Ann let out a stifled scream.

Ellen whirled toward the door. “What? Who’s there?

“It’s Biden! Garrick, he’s been hurting me!” Ann limped behind the chair, putting it between her and Biden.

Garrick strode toward the figure in the doorway. “I have no time to deal with a pathetic imbecile like you,” he said furiously. “Your presence here is most unwelcome. In fact, your presence anywhere is most unwelcome. As far as I can tell, you were pathetic in life and you are worse than pathetic in death. Now leave us, we have no time for you.”

Ann would have thought that it would be difficult to describe a spirit as blanching, but that is exactly what happened to Biden in the face of Garrick’s verbal onslaught. Garrick whirled and strode back to the elevator, blocking Ann’s view of Biden for a moment. When Garrick passed, the doorway was empty.

“Come here. But watch Ellen,” said Garrick, motioning Ann toward the elevator.

Ann circled to the elevator while Ellen began backing toward the stairs.

Garrick motioned to a window next to the elevator. “Behind that curtain—there’s a metal device. Get it.”

“Garrick, what’s going on?”

“I’ll explain later—do as I say.”

Ann pulled the curtain aside and lying on the ledge was a metal rod.

“Pick it up.”

Ann picked up the rod. “Garrick, I had such a hard time getting here—”

“Later. Watch out for her,” he said, gesturing toward Ellen. “Now, insert the pointed end of that device into that small hole in the elevator door.”

Ann did as she was told.

“You need to lift a latch on the other side of the door.”

Ann jiggled the metal rod around in the hole.

“No, lift it.”

Ann tried to lever the invisible latch on the other side of the door up.

“Hook the rod under the latch and
lift
it.”

“I’m trying, Garrick, just calm down.”

“It’s important, Ann. Please.”

There was a note of pleading in Garrick’s voice that she had never heard before. Just as she turned to look at him, she felt and heard a click and the elevator door slid aside, revealing not the elevator but the empty shaft. The light from the single lamp barely illuminated the bottom of the shaft, but Ann could make out a crumpled form partially covered with a black coat.

“Garrick?” Ann said tremulously.

“Ann, step aside!” said Garrick sharply and Ann stepped to the right just as Ellen stumbled past her and, arms pinwheeling, toppled into the elevator shaft. Garrick winced as Ellen landed on the crumpled form on the floor. They heard a crack and Ellen shrieked in pain.

Just then, lights from the drive swept the room and Ann and Garrick turned toward the windows. They heard the slam of car doors and steps on the patio and then the door opened and Scott was in the lobby followed by Mace
.

“Good heavens, Annie,” he said, “what happened to you?”

Chapter 45

Scott hurried across the lobby to where Ann stood, leaving Mace at the door, mouth agape. At the bottom of the elevator shaft, Ellen was struggling to a sitting position, cradling her arm. Scott peered into the shaft at Ellen and then back at Ann. “What happened?” he asked again. “Are you alright?”

“Ah, excellent,” said Garrick, “the chauffeur. Tell him to get the defibrillator. It’s in the office.”

The pounding in Ann’s head had started again. She stumbled back toward the chairs, thinking she might be sick. “Can’t you tell him yourself?”

“Ann, I think you know I can’t tell him myself,” said Garrick at the same time Scott said, “Tell who myself?” and hurried over to help lower Ann into the chair.

Ann looked toward where Garrick was standing by the elevator and Scott followed her gaze. “Don’t worry, honey, I’ll help her in a minute.”

“Scott, do you see him?”

Scott looked back again toward the door where Garrick stood. “See who, sweetie? I think you’ve hurt your head. You just sit there and I’ll call 911.” Scott reached into his pocket for his phone.

“Now, Ann. He has to get it now,” Garrick said.

Ann fought her way back to her feet. “Scott, there’s someone else in the shaft. Get the defibrillator, it’s in the ...” Her voice trailed off as Scott hurried from Ann to the open elevator door.

“The office,” said Garrick, his voice strained. “Behind the registration desk.”

Ellen, huddled in the corner of the shaft, whimpered, “My arm ...”

“We’re going to help you, ma’am,” said Scott. “Oh my God, you’re right, Annie, there’s someone else in there!”

“Scott, come with me,” said Ann. She limped quickly across the lobby and went around the registration desk to the door to the office. She flipped on the overhead light and steadied herself on the frame of the door, scanning the room. “I don’t even know what it looks like!” she yelled.

“In a box on the wall behind the door,” Garrick called from the lobby.

Scott eased past Ann and scanned the room. “You don’t have to yell, sweetie, I’m right here. They’re usually in a box on the wall ...”

“Behind the door,” said Ann.

Scott peered behind the door. “Ah yes, here it is.” He opened the glass case, and removed a bag about the size of a bulky briefcase. “Did you examine whoever that is? How do you know this is what he needs?”

“He told me. Hurry.” Ann started back to the elevator, followed by Scott.

“If he’s talking, we shouldn’t shock him, it would do more harm than good,” he said.

Ann reached the elevator and lowered herself to the floor of the shaft.
 

Ellen squeezed herself even more tightly into the corner. “You see him, don’t you? You’re talking to him. See, it doesn’t matter whether he’s dead or alive, he’s still with us!”

Scott also lowered himself into the shaft, which was now quite crowded. Ann tugged at the form on the floor, setting off a wave of dizziness and reigniting the pounding in her head. Scott squeezed by her and eased the body over.

“It’s Mr. Masser!”

Ann slumped against the wall of the shaft. “Scott, you need to shock him with that thing.”

“Tell him my heart has stopped,” said Garrick.

“His heart has stopped,” said Ann.

Scott felt for a pulse at the neck. “You’re right.” He quickly unbuttoned the shirt then pulled up a black t-shirt, revealing a painfully thin torso. He pulled a machine out of the case which he lay on the floor of the shaft and activated with the press of a button. He extracted two white pads that were attached to the machine with wires and, pulling a paper backing from each, attached them to the chest, one on the side of the ribcage and one on the other side of the chest near the collarbone.
 

An automated female voice intoned, “Stand clear, do not touch the patient.” For a few moments the only sound was Ellen’s fast, uneven breathing. “Shock advised. Charging. Stand clear.”
 

Scott shuffled back as best he could in the tight space. “Ma’am, can you pull your legs back a little?”

Ellen shifted her legs.

“Press the flashing shock button,” the machine said.
 

“Good heavens,” Garrick muttered from the lobby as Scott pressed the button and the body on the floor of the shaft jerked.

“Shock one delivered. It is safe to touch the patient. Begin CPR now,” said the machine.

“I don’t know how I can in this space,” said Scott. He turned toward Ellen. “Ma’am, can you stand? I need more room. Annie, can you help me get her out?” Scott grasped Ellen’s uninjured arm and tried to pull her to her feet.

Ellen let out a squawk. “It hurts!”

“Leave her,” came a croak from the form on the floor.

“Garrick!” cried Ann and turned toward where he had stood a moment before, but the lobby was empty except for Mace, who was pointing her mobile phone at them.

“Excellent! This is going to get a million views!”

Chapter 46

Ann and Scott were playing gin rummy on Ann’s wheeled hospital table the next morning when Mike burst into the room.

“Sweetie!” cried Scott. He put his cards on the table—face up—and crossed the room to hug Mike. “How did you get here so fast? Did Walt fly you up?”

“Nope—I drove.” Mike went to the bed where Ann was propped up on pillow. “How are you?”

“I’m okay, just a little banged up.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “How
did
you get here so fast?”

Mike and Scott sat down side-by-side in the guest chairs. “I did think about calling Walt but I didn’t feel like waiting around until he got the plane ready and flew down from the Adirondacks. I figured I could get here almost as fast on my own.” He turned to Scott. “Let it never be said that the Prius can’t be a high-performance car with a determined driver at the wheel. Only got one speeding ticket. ‘It's six hundred miles to Bar Harbor, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark ... and we're wearing sunglasses.’”