Ivy sat straight up, instantly wide awake. “How bad? Did someone call an ambulance?”
“Already done. Police are on their way too. But Ivy, this wasn’t an accident. Something’s wrong with those supports.”
“I’m on my way,” Ivy said.
Ivy threw on clothes, grabbed her things, and raced to her car. Her stomach twisted as she drove. First the boundary markers, now this? Was someone trying to ruin her nature center? Her tires squealed as she pulled out of the driveway. The morning air felt thick with worry as she navigated the winding mountain roads leading to the construction site.
“Please let everyone be okay,” she whispered.
The forest blurred past her window, tall pines and thick undergrowth crowded the road. The construction site came into view, and Ivy’s heart dropped. Police and ambulance lights flashed in the morning sun. Workers huddled in worried groups around the twisted metal heap that used to be scaffolding.
Ivy hurried over to Ronald, who was talking to a police officer, looking shaken.
“Ivy!” Relief flooded his face. “You’re here!”
“What happened?” she asked, staring at the damage
Ronald pointed at the fallen scaffolding. “It just gave way when the morning crew started climbing. Marco’s on his way to the hospital with a broken leg. Bobby got lucky, just scratches.”
Ivy scanned the workers. “Was anyone else hurt?”
“That ranger who was checking your boundaries got hurt too.”
Her heart skipped. “Henry Kincaid? He was here?”
Ronald nodded. “Yeah, that’s the guy. He showed up early to check those markers. When everything collapsed, he rushed in to pull Marco out from under a beam. Cut his arm pretty bad.”
Worry fluttered in Ivy’s chest. “Where is he?”
“By the equipment trailer. Stubborn guy won’t let the paramedics near him.”
Ivy hurried toward the trailer, trying not to look as concerned as she felt. Bobby approached her, his face scratched and worried. “Dr. Bright, I need to tell you something,” he said quietly. “Before everything fell, I saw someone by the scaffolding. A woman in fancy clothes. Looked like that architect. The one who didn’t get the job.”
“Lisa Mercer?” Ivy asked, surprised.
Bobby nodded. “Pretty sure it was her. She was messing with the supports. I was going to check, but then the delivery truck showed up.”
“Thanks, Bobby. Make sure you tell the police.”
Ivy hurried toward the trailer, where she spotted Henry sitting on an overturned crate, pressing a bloody rag to his arm and scowling at a frustrated paramedic.
“I said I’m fine,” he growled. “Just a scratch.”
The paramedic threw up his hands. “Stubborn shifters,” he muttered, walking away.
Ivy approached, her eyes drawn to the torn sleeve and blood-soaked cloth. “That doesn’t look fine to me.”
Henry looked up, surprise flashing across his face before his scowl returned. “It’s nothing.”
“Pulling someone from under collapsed metal isn’t nothing,” Ivy said. She glanced around quickly and spotted the emergency supplies station near the site office trailer. She hurried over and grabbed the bright red first aid kit mounted on the wall, then returned to Henry’s side. “Let me see.”
“It’ll heal.”
“Not before it gets infected,” Ivy insisted. “Let me help.”
Something in her expression must have convinced him. He reluctantly extended his arm.
Ivy sat beside him, carefully removing the bloody rag. A deep gash ran from his wrist nearly to his elbow.
