The Shine from a Girl in the Lake: Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles (Book 6) by Schwindt Richard

Author:Schwindt, Richard
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-09-20T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Saturday

Turning in bed, something tugged at my arm. After opening my eyes, I saw an IV line, snaking to a stand with a monitor, beside the bed. And then felt a sudden revelation of pain emanating from every corner of my body.

As my eyes focused, my brain felt dull, like I couldn’t put this together. A tall handsome woman stood over me looking down with concerned and analytic eyes. Having made her assessment, she spoke sharply over her shoulder, “Lester, go get the nurse.”

“Yes, Doctor Parker. Stat.” With a glance towards me, he left the room.

“Mom, what are you doing here?”

“My only son retrieves a body out of a lake then drives off a cliff, and you have to ask?”

“So, if you had another son, it might have reduced the urgency?”

“Possibly.” Mine might be the only mother in the world who would answer that question the way she did, and mean it. “Michael, at least you are sounding like yourself.”

“Thank you.” We sat in clinical silence for a moment. “I drove off a cliff?”

She didn’t get a chance to answer. My father was preceded into the room by a slim serious-looking man of East Indian descent. “Good morning, Mr. Kurelek. I was at the nursing station when your father came to tell us you were awake.”

“He’s a little disoriented, and I think experiencing some discomfort,” said my mom. “And it’s Dr. Kurelek.”

The doctor frowned, then spoke. “I am Dr. Patel, chief of medicine at Burnet Medical Center.” He glanced over at my mom, as if willing her to be quiet, and allow him to say his piece. “A nurse will be in right after me with medication for the pain.”

Satisfied, he continued: “Friday, mid-day, you arrived at the Emergency Department by ambulance, after your truck skidded off the edge of an embankment.

“You were unconscious, and have been in and out of consciousness since, though I think this time you are staying awake. I must say, Dr. Kurelek, considering the gravity of the fall, you have sustained relatively little injury.”

He glanced again at my mother. Both my parents were hanging on his words, though I am sure he had already informed them of the details.

“We did not find evidence of head trauma, broken bones, organ damage, or internal bleeding. You are what we Texans call a ‘tough hombre’.” My mother raised her eyebrows, and the ghost of smile passed over my father’s face. “But you have bruises; lots of them. I will be prescribing temporary medication for pain, and at least a week of rest.”

“He shouldn’t drink on this pain medication.” My mother was determined to be the second doctor here.

“No,” said Dr. Patel, curtly, before turning to me. “We will discharge you tomorrow.”

“What day is it?” I had no idea.

“It’s Saturday afternoon. Now, I would like you to get some rest, and kindly ask your parents who flew a long way, to let you recoup, and come back tomorrow.”

Knowing the day helped me recollect the last one: swimming through cold water, against the current, embracing the limp corpse of a beautiful young woman.

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