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“Oh my God!” she said…and she said it several times.
“Can I take that as a yes?” He cleared his throat. “I…hope?”
Val’s eyes filled with tears and with her one good arm she clung to him with incredible strength, showering his battered faces with kisses by the dozen, saying, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” over and over again.
He steered through the deluge of kisses until he found her lips with his and then kissed her as deeply and as sweetly as he could, feeling his own tears flow and mingle with hers. He came up for air only long enough to slip the ring on her finger, and then pulled her close again.
“I love you!” they both said at the same time, speaking the words into each other’s panting mouth.
And at that moment all of the lights went out.
Chapter 26
1
“Crow! What’s happening?”
He pulled away from her, turning toward the open doorway, but all he could see through the darkness were vague forms hurrying about, sometimes colliding with one another.
“I don’t know,” he said, rising. “Power failure, maybe. ” He moved to the window and parted the heavy curtains. “Lights are on in the parking lot. ” He pulled the curtains back and faint light spilled into the room. “Must be a generator. The emergency lights should come on any second. ”
A full minute passed and the backup lights did not so much as flicker.
“That’s weird,” Crow said. He was standing by the doorway looking at the confusion in the hall. He saw the police officer assigned to guard him standing by the nurses’ station and called out, “Norris! What’s happening?”
Norris Shanks turned around and shone a flashlight beam full in his eyes. “Crow? Go back into your room. We have a power outtage. ”
“Really? Never would have guessed. ” He went out into the hall.
“Hey, Shanks,” he said, batting the flashlight gently to one side. “You sure that’s all it is? I mean…aren’t the back-?up lights on a different generator or something?”
He couldn’t read the cop’s face in the dark, but he saw Shanks stiffen for a second and then snatch the microphone from its clip on his shoulder.
“Base, this is Officer Shanks at Pinelands Hospital on guard duty with Crow and Val Guthrie. ”
“What is it, Norris?” Ginny’s bored voice answered.
“We have a total lights-?out here at the hospital. Mains and backup generator. Requesting backup. ”
“All the lights?”
“Yes,” he snapped, and Crow could hear that Shanks was actually afraid. “This may not be a technical issue. Please roll all available units. Now. ”
His tone was such that for once Ginny didn’t argue. “All units, this is Base. Officer needs assistance at Pinelands College Teaching Hospital. Hospital lights are out, repeat hospital lights—main and backup—are out. All units respond. ”
There was a flurry of voices calling in to report their whereabouts and say they were on their way.
“That ought to do it,” Shanks said, sounding relieved.
“Yeah,” agreed Crow, but he didn’t relax. Patients were coming out of their rooms and demanding answers, nurses and orderlies were still colliding into one another, a few doctors were calling out orders that apparently no one was paying attention to.
Crow turned and called to Val’s room, “I’ll be right in, baby. We’re calling for backup. ”
He started to turn back to Shanks and then paused, having not heard a reply. He took a step toward her room. “Val?”
Nothing.
Crow hurried over to the open door and peered into the gloom. Val was in bed, the sheets pulled up, turned away. Just a series of lumps in the darkness.
