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Natalie’s voice singinghe’s the onereplayed in my head. “Tell me about it,” I said and led the way.
The squeaky gate made sure the neighbors knew we were opening it. Doc followed me up the walk. If he had any comments to make on the condition of the yard, he kept them to himself.
After a glance for any looky-loos, I lifted the floorboard on the bottom step. “You don’t see this,” I told Doc. If it were anyone else, I’d make him turn his back while I fished the key from its hiding spot.
“See what?” he replied, but his eyes confirmed he understood what I meant.
Doc sniffed as I stuck the key in the lock, but said nothing. The tumbler clinked and the door inched open.
“Let me put this back before I forget.” I returned the key to its hiding spot. When I stood up, I noticed how pale Doc’s cheeks were. “Are you okay?”
He frowned at me. “What? Yeah, it’s just the heat.”
“If you say so.” I led the way into Wolfgang’s front foyer. “Hello? Anyone home?”
I didn’t expect an answer, but my chest felt tight as I listened, nonetheless.
The floorboards creaked as Doc joined me in the entry.
“I just need to run upstairs and shut off—” A choking sound behind me made me spin around.
Doc stood just inside the door, his eyes rolled toward the ceiling, his whole torso convulsing as he gasped for breath.
“Oh, my God!” I grabbed his arm, his muscles contracting spasmodically under my grip. “Doc?”
His shudders grew violent, his body shifting as he started to tip backward.
“Shit!” I tried to use my weight to keep him upright, but his knees gave out and we both tumbled to the floor, me on top of him. I scrambled up onto my haunches. “Doc, are you okay?”
His legs were trembling now, but his eyes made contact with mine. “Outside,” he gasped.
I didn’t waste any time. Grabbing him under the arms, I dragged him over the threshold, grunting and huffing the whole way, and out onto the porch. His shoulders had cleared the first step before I realized he was trying to tell me something.
“What?” I asked, dropping onto my butt and holding his head in my lap. “What is it? Are you okay?”
His nod was slight. His grin a ghost of its usual gusto. “S-sorry ‘bout that.”
“What happened in there? And if you try to tell me that you’re allergic to one more thing, I’ll drag you back inside and leave you.”
He closed his eyes and sighed.
My heart beat loud enough to hear down in Rapid City. “What is it? Is it terminal?” Brain tumor? Cancer? Epilepsy?
“You could say that.” His dark eyes open again. He struggled to sit up, using my shoulder for leverage.
“Christ, Doc. You’re killing me here. What is it?”
He took another deep breath and then turned to me, the intensity of his stare making me sit back a bit. “Someone died in that house.”
“How do you know about that?” Had he read about Wolfgang’s mom in the death registry?
“She just showed me.”
