“Very. Her name’s Barbara Nix. Want to hear something funny? Bowie assigned her to help Darcy investigate the Bayou Coeur case.”
Chapter 29
Mitch had instructed John to tell Mary that he would call her immediately. “Tell her she won’t recognize the number.” He disconnected from John and fumbled the phone in his haste to call his mother-in-law.
Dylan laid a hand on his shoulder in a silent gesture of support.
She could hear his mother-in-law’s phone ringing. After the second ring, he growled, “She’s gotta have the damn thing in her hand. Why doesn’t she answer it? Come on, come—”
Then Dylan heard the woman say, “Mitch? Finally.”
“Is Andrew hurt? Is he sick?”
“It’s Hank. He’s had a heart attack.”
Mitch reached for Dylan’s hand and squeezed.It’s not Andrew,he mouthed with visible relief. But he automatically switched to concern for his father-in-law. “How bad is it?”
“We don’t know yet. They’re running tests.”
“What happened?”
“He got up, had coffee. I was making breakfast. Everything was normal, then he just…” Her voice began to hitch. “He dropped to the floor. He was gasping, like choking, grabbing at his chest. I called 911. Seemed like forever, but it wasn’t long before they got here. They started an IV and carried him to the ambulance. By the time I got to the hospital—”
“How long ago was that?”
“A little over an hour. I’ve been trying to reach you.”
“I’m sorry. My phone is… Never mind all that. How’s Hank? Is he conscious?”
“Yes. He’s stable now.”
She told Mitch they’d done an EKG and had been told to expect further tests. The typical maddening hurry-up-and-wait of the ER.
“Sounds like they’re on it, Mary. That’s good.” He was looking at Dylan anxiously as he asked, “What about Andrew while this is happening? Did he see Hank in crisis, all that?”
“No, thank heaven. I hadn’t gotten him up yet. After the ambulance left, I scurried around and left Andrew with my neighbor.”
“Mrs. Gibbons? Next door?”
“I couldn’t bring him with me, Mitch,” she said.
To Dylan, her tone sounded defensive, which explained the panicked look Mitch flashed her at the mention of the neighbor. “No, no, I get it. I’ll be on my way in five minutes. In three minutes.”
“Mitch?”
“What?”
“I’m afraid.” Her voice broke altogether. “I can’t lose Hank. Not after Angela. How much more am I supposed to give up?”
Dylan had been watching Mitch and reading his swiftly changing expressions: the relief to learn that it wasn’t Andrew’s emergency, instantly replaced by worry over his father-in-law’scondition, then the guilt of not being reachable when he was most needed. Now, he seemed moved that Mary had exposed her vulnerability to him when their relationship had often been adversarial.
“I know the feeling,” he said softly. “Believe me, I do. Tell Hank I’m on my way and will be there as soon as I can. In the meantime, if you have to call me, use this number.”
After exchanging rapid goodbyes, they disconnected. Mitch took a moment to absorb it all, cupping his hand over his mouth and chin, squeezing his eyes shut. Perhaps he prayed to the God he claimed to have denounced.
But the moment was fleeting. He shot to his feet, bent down, and scooped his jeans and T-shirt off the floor where they’d been flung the night before. “Mrs.Gibbons? She’s ahundred and ten years old!Andrew will be scared. Hell,I’d be scared.”
Dylan scrambled off the bed, took him by both shoulders, and held on tightly. “Andrew will be fine. But if he’s upset when you arrive, then you need to calm down. The worst you could do is to charge in there like a wild man. He’ll take his cues from you.”
