AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But the haunting memory of that day at the pond still held Gayle in its clutches and wouldn’t let go, like a vulture sinking its claws into carrion, devouring it piece by piece.
Pain pounded through her head when she woke up in the hospital. Machines beeped and hummed in a droning sound, and she felt odd, as if she was floating outside her body. She tried to move and opened her eyes, blinking against the bright white lights.
“Gayle? You’re awake?”
She blinked again then twisted her aching head to the side. Silas was sitting next to her, head in his hands, his shoulders shaking.
She groaned, disoriented, her mind a black hole of screams and darkness as if she was fighting her way against a river current sweeping her into a vortex. “Where am I?” Her voice sounded raw—barely there.
“The hospital,” Silas murmured as he cradled her hand in his and grasped it. “You don’t remember?”
She winced, sinking deeper into the warmth of the covers. “A blur… what happened?”
“We were at Cattail Cove with Piper. She ran onto the ice…”
The brittle sound of her daughter’s screams reverberated in her head, making her shudder. She saw her blond hair swirling around her face… they were under the water…
The pond… frozen water… ice cracking and giving away…
She tried to sit up with a gasp, but pain ricocheted through her and she collapsed back onto the bed. “You had her… we were in the car… we saved her…”
Silas made a choked sound. “I’m so sorry, Gayle... she didn’t make it.”
His words sounded as if they were in a wind tunnel. Then denial set in. “No… where is she, Silas?” This time she forced her body up, ignoring the pain as panic took root. Her eyes darted across the room. “Where is she? She has to be here.”
“I’m so sorry.” Silas’s deep moan of pain enveloped her.
Then she looked into her husband’s tear-stained face. She’d seen him with that same grave look in his eyes when he’d lost a patient before. But he had to be wrong. He had to be.
“No, you saved her,” she whispered. “You do it all the time.”
“I tried, but I couldn’t,” he whispered, his voice filled with anguish. “I did everything, Gayle, but she was under the water too long and… I couldn’t revive her.”
She shoved at the covers to get off the bed but her legs felt weak. “No, you’re lying. I have to see her! Where is she?”
Silas gripped her arms to keep her from falling into a puddle on the floor. “Honey, I had to bury her. You were in a coma. You have been for a month.”
Shock immobilized her, and she went bone still. “That can’t be true. It was near Christmas. We were getting ready for Santa…”
“Christmas has come and gone,” he said in a low voice. “I’m sorry. I had to make the decision…” He lifted her chin with his thumb. “There was no time.”
Gayle clawed at his arms.“What are you saying, Silas?”
But in her heart she already knew.
One Hundred Thirty-Nine
Cord arrived just as Ellie met the medics at the front door of the Goodings’ house and ushered them back to treat the doctor.
“The girls?”
“They’re not here,” Ellie told Cord. “The husband has been hurt, so Gayle may have driven off with them, although he didn’t think she left with them. Do a thorough search of the property and that tree farm down there. Derrick is looking for an outbuilding or tornado shelter.”
“I saw him on my way in. I’ll spread out further to look,” Cord said, his voice determined.
While he led Benji back outside and the medics worked on Silas, she searched the kitchen and desk for a calendar, planning book, or something that might indicate where Gayle Gooding might go next.
Meanwhile, Derrick examined the exterior of the house and Dr.Gooding’s car and phone.
