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Trail of Secrets(4)

By:Sandra Robbins


                Callie wanted to tell him there was no need for him to go to the hospital, but she knew he would never listen to her. His relationship with Dan had been forged years ago when Seth was a recruit at the Memphis Police Academy where Dan was an instructor. They’d bonded right away, and in Dan, Seth had finally found a father to replace his own who had abandoned their family. Dan also regarded Seth as the son he’d never had.

                She nodded and climbed in beside Dan’s gurney. Before they could close the door, one of the men who’d pulled her from the car ran up to the ambulance. “I found your purse in the backseat,” he said. “I thought you might need it.”

                Callie took her purse and smiled. “Thank you. I appreciate everything that all of you have done for us tonight.”

                He touched the front of his helmet in a small salute. “It’s part of the job, ma’am. I’ll be praying for you and your uncle.”

                The ambulance door closed before she had a chance to respond, to tell him how those words from a man she’d met only minutes ago had comforted her. She glanced down at her uncle lying so still on the gurney and wrapped her fingers around his big hand. One of the EMTs grabbed the rear doors to close them, and Callie glanced over her shoulder. Seth had already disappeared from view.

                Still holding his hand, she dropped down in the seat across from her uncle. When she’d arrived at the Memphis airport an hour ago, she hadn’t expected this turn of events. The memory of a roaring car and a gunshot blast flashed in her mind, and she closed her eyes and groaned.

                Then there was her brief meeting with Seth. She’d been resigned to bumping into him at Dan’s retirement party, but had hoped she could avoid any extended conversation. So much for that plan. Now he would be at the hospital, and she would have to keep him informed of her uncle’s condition.

                He’d tried to hide it, but even after two years she could feel his smoldering anger toward her. Perhaps he never would forgive her for how she’d hurt him, but she had hoped by this time he had moved on. She’d put the events of two years ago behind her, but it didn’t look like he had.

                Her uncle’s body jerked suddenly and gasping sounds came from his throat. The EMT grabbed her uncle’s hand out of her grasp and pressed his finger to the pulse. Frightened, Callie scooted away to give the attendant more room to work in the crowded ambulance.

                “What’s happening?” she cried.

                Without answering her, he turned and yelled to the driver. “We have a problem back here. Move it!”

                The ambulance surged forward, and Callie could only watch in horror as her uncle struggled to breathe. The vehicle careened into the hospital parking lot and came to a screeching halt at the emergency room bay.

                Before she could ask another question, the back doors opened, and the ambulance driver reached up to help the EMT whisk the gurney out of the ambulance. A nurse helped Callie to the ground, seated her in a wheelchair and hurried toward the entrance.

                The EMTs had the gurney inside before Callie and the nurse got to the doors. When they entered the waiting area, Callie grasped the arms of the wheelchair and choked back a sob at what she saw. Two nurses and the EMTs ran down the hallway beside her uncle’s gurney. Before she could call out to them, they made a sharp turn and disappeared into a room on their right.

                The nurse turned the wheelchair toward the exam rooms on the other side of the area. Callie sat up straight. “Where are you taking me?”

                “To an exam room,” the nurse said.