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“Oh! Let me get that,” Kira said, rolling over to grab her phone from the bedside table. “Huh. That’s weird. I haven’t talked to her in ages. Hello?”
“Kira, it’s Mrs. Forsyth—I don’t know if you remember me, but I live next door to your parents.” Even at a low volume, Luka could hear the panic in the caller’s tone.
Kira frowned at the phone and put it on speaker for Luka to hear. “Uh, hi. Yes, I remember you. What’s going on?”
“I’m so sorry to call you like this, dear. I’ve already called the ambulance. They’re on their way. But I just thought you should know,” the woman panted.
“Know what?” Kira pressed, already sliding out of bed. “Wait… ambulance?”
“It’s your mom. It looks like she’s fallen or maybe she had some kind of episode. I just came home from my hair appointment and your mom was… well, she was just laid out on the front lawn next to that pretty turtle rock she painted,” Mrs. Forsyth revealed.
“Oh my god!” Kira gasped, turning to Luka with horror. “Is she okay? Is she there? Can I talk to her?” They heard sirens wailing in the background.
“The paramedics are arriving now; oh, they want me to get out of the way!”
“Please, can you let me talk to my mom?” Kira begged.
“I’m sorry, dear, they’re asking me questions, I’ve got to go!”
Click.
“Oh my god,” she breathed, dropping the phone like it had burned her. Luka rushed to her side, helping support her as she wobbled on her feet. She seemed on the verge of passing out.
“I’ve got you. Stay with me, Kira. Here, put these on. Your shoes are by the door. Let’s go,” said Luka, picking up her cell phone and handing her a pile of clothes to put on.
In a panicked daze, Kira got dressed and grabbed her stuff, following Luka out the door into the deceptively cheery sunshine. They jumped in Luka’s car and sped off toward Kira’s parents’ house, breaking plenty of traffic laws to get there.
All the way, Kira trembled with dread. Luka reached over to take her shaking hand. Her skin was clammy. He could feel her pulse pounding away in her wrist. Her free hand was struggling to dial the buttons to call Mrs. Forsyth back; she had tried several times since they got in the car, to no avail.
“What if she’s…” Kira trailed off, her voice cracking.
“Malyshka, don’t go there. Not unless we have to, okay?” Luka urged her. “The neighbor mentioned paramedics. That’s a good thing, right?”
Tears rolled down Kira’s cheek. Luka’s heart ached for her.
“What about my dad?” she asked, turning to him with pink-rimmed eyes. “Why didn’t she say anything about my dad?”
Luka couldn’t give her a good answer. He could only say, “I don’t know. But we’ll figure all of this out together.”
When they pulled onto the street, there was a crowd gathering around the Rudavins’ house, along with an ambulance and two squad cars. Luka tensed up until he recognized the license plates; these were cops on Sokolov payroll. He had arranged for them to keep an eye out for calls in the area surrounding their home a couple weeks ago, as a precaution.
He hadn’t expected to need it. Especially not so soon.
Luka’s car weaved slowly through the crowd, with people reluctantly scooting out of its path. He parked as close to the house as possible, then helped a distraught Kira out of the car.
She looked around in a panic, trying to find her parents in the chaos of paramedics, cops, and onlookers. The paramedics were already closing Kira’s mother up into the back of the ambulance. Kira let out a scream and let go of Luka’s hand, rushing to the ambulance.
“Please, tell me what’s going on!” she begged. “Mom! Mom, I’m here!”
“Ma’am, you need to step back so we can work. This is a crime scene.”
“That’s my mother in there! I need to know if she’s okay!” Kira shouted.
“I won’t tell you again. Get back!”
Luka rushed to her side, putting an arm around her and fixing the paramedics with a stony glare. “This is the victim’s daughter. The neighbor called us. Tell her what’s happening with her parents.Now,” he commanded.
The paramedic seemed to shrink back a little. “Okay, I don’t know anything about the other parent, but she can ride along with her mom if she’s ready to go right now,” he relented, making way for Kira.
