Valley of the Shadow by Tom Pawlik

Author:Tom Pawlik [Pawlik, Tom]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Christian, Suspense, Thrillers
ISBN: 9781414341798
Google: YM0umqBSMfwC
Amazon: B002DYMBKS
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2009-05-26T16:00:00+00:00

40

IT WAS SHORTLY AFTER TEN O’CLOCK Saturday morning when Conner pulled into the LaPorte County Nursing Home five miles outside of Westville, Indiana. It was a low, brown brick building designed with three wings around a central common and office area. It sat on ten rural acres surrounded by towering oak trees, now nearly void of leaves.

The parking lot was only sparsely populated, and Conner figured he had arrived before the peak visitation time. Though this far out in the country, he doubted there was ever a real peak visitation period. Besides, it was a nursing home. Conner guessed that most people—who weren’t residents, anyway—tried to spend as little time in here as possible.

The place reminded Conner of the nursing home in which his own father had spent several weeks recuperating from heart surgery five years earlier. Conner recalled his seventy-eight-year-old father steadfastly refusing to eat in the cafeteria with “all those old people.” He eventually got well enough to return home. But six months and two strokes later, he was dead.

Conner’s fingers felt cold and moist as he sat in the car, staring at the nursing home entrance. He hadn’t been completely honest with Marta and Rachel about where he was going. They’d already made plans for most of the day anyway. Still, Conner had kept his cell phone off during the drive down. And he decided to leave it off awhile longer. He was still a little embarrassed, and for some reason he felt compelled to come here alone. Part of him felt it was better not to put Marta and Rachel in danger. Although another part of him thought that was a crazy excuse. After all, what real danger could an old man in a coma be to him or his family?

With that, Conner said another prayer, gathered up his nerve, and got out of the car.

“Umm . . . you want to see Howard Bristol?” the nurse’s aide behind the sliding window repeated once Conner gave her the reason for his visit. She was young, maybe just out of high school, with long blonde hair pulled into a tight ponytail. Her plastic name badge read Julie.

“He was transferred from the Merrillville Hospice a few weeks ago,” Julie went on. Her face was serious. “I’m afraid he’s… he’s not really able to…”

Conner nodded. “Yes, I know. He had a stroke and he’s been in a coma the last several months.”

“And you’re a relative?”

Conner took a breath, resisting the urge to lie. “No. Actually, I’m just an acquaintance. I was driving through and wanted to… y’know—” he lowered his voice—“pay my respects.”

Julie nodded, looking around. There was no one else in the office. “So . . . do you just want to stop in his room and see him?”

“Yeah, just for a minute,” Conner said. “Actually . . . has Mrs. Bristol been by to see him yet?”

“Oh, she comes by pretty much every day. Usually spends a couple hours in the afternoons. That’s why they moved him here.

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