And then there was light.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Elijah
Elijah pulled his baseball cap low over his eyes and stared at the hospital entrance.
The plane ride over had been quick and easy, and though Paul knew where he was going, he hadn’t tried to stop him from leaving. He’d warned him, of course, that he would be arrested if he went anywhere near Delores Stanton. But of course, Paul had no intention of either arresting his friend or following him.
Elijah hadn’t even gone home to pack, leaving with the clothes on his back and his wallet in his pocket. He’d only realised his mistake when he landed at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. He’d hired a car, a bottle green Ford, and driven directly to the hospital, where he’d parked up in the carpark for over an hour as he thought over his plan.
The problem was, he didn’t have one. There was no way that he could get into that room to see Delores without someone seeing him. He’d already had a text message from Paul letting him know that Michael Stanton was already at the hospital and was staying at a hotel nearby. If Michael saw him, it was game over. Elijah would be arrested and he’d blow his only chance of seeing Delores.
He couldn’t let that happen.
The car was hot and stuffy. Elijah reached over and cracked open the window to halfway. He reached across to the passenger side, his body low across the seats as he opened the window to allow the air to drift lazily through. When he sat back up, he saw Michael Stanton stood outside the hospital doors. His demeanour was casual and calm, he was talking on his cell phone, a smile on his face. No one would think that this man’s wife was in a coma and had almost died. Who still might die.
Elijah felt burning hot anger building up and he forced himself to look away and catch his breath for a moment before he looked back. Michael hung up and then looked surprised when his cell phone rang again. He answered with another of his charming smiles, though it fell away swiftly as the person on the other end talked.
His eyes roamed the area as he listened, and Elijah slumped lower in his seat, feeling almost like there was an arrow pointing at him. He looked up through the peak of the cap, seeing that Michael was yelling into the cell phone now, but he was facing the opposite way. Elijah let out a calming breath.
Michael hung up and looked around one final time before heading back inside the hospital. Elijah took the opportunity to start the engine on the Ford and pull out of the parking space. A plan was forming in his head on how he could get in to see Delores. But he needed to clean up and get out of his sweaty clothes first.
Heading back down the highway to a small motel he’d seen, Elijah pulled the car to a stop and got out. He thought briefly, as he walked inside, of the young kid who’d been shot at the last place Delores had stayed. Up until now, he hadn’t given it much thought, and guilt washed over Elijah in a wave. He was normally a compassionate man, always putting others ahead of himself. His job had reinforced that trait. To serve and protect. Since Delores had come into his life and turned it upside down, he’d mainly thought about himself though.
“Room for one, please,” he asked the clerk on the front desk. He was an older man with hard features and a tight smile. He nodded and tapped something on his screen.
“ID please,” he said, all business. His voice was as hard and rough as his features.
Elijah got out his wallet and handed over his ID. He nodded a thanks as the man quickly glanced at it, tapped on his computer some more and then handed it back.
The clerk reached for a key, and once again, Elijah thought about Delores and the way she had freaked out at the number six. He wished he knew what the other number had been, but wishing got you nowhere, he decided.
“Is number six free?” Elijah asked.
The other man looked across at his computer with a frown. “I’ll have to check.” His eyes moved over the screen and a second later he nodded and produced a key with a circular keyring attached to it, the number six painted on its hard surface. “Here you go.”
“Thank you,” Elijah replied as he took the key and turned to leave.
“Sick relative?” the man asked.
Elijah turned around, and it was his turn to frown in confusion.
The clerk smiled, softening his gravelly expression. “You look anxious, and the hospital’s not far from here, get a lot of people staying here that are visiting sick relatives.”
“Oh, yeah, something like that.” Elijah pursed his lips.
“Took my sister,” the clerk continued.
“I’m sorry?” Elijah frowned again.
“The cancer. Took my sister a few years back. God damn evil disease.” The man looked angry again, not at Elijah of course, but at life and the hell that it throws at you. But still, the anger was there all the same and it made Elijah anxious. “I hope whoever you’re here for is a fighter. I’m sure they’ll beat it.” The clerk nodded and looked back at his computer screen, the conversation clearly over.
Elijah mumbled his thanks and left the small office before heading to his room. He found number six with ease and was glad to see it was on the second story of the motel, meaning he had a good view of the road.
Elijah unlocked the door and walked inside. With no luggage to haul inside he closed the door behind him and sat on the edge of the bed. He stared down at the key in his hand feeling more and more frustrated by the situation.
Why would number six bother her so much? He wondered, sighing heavily. He was annoyed at himself for not realising where she was heading, because in hindsight it was obvious when you looked at it. Yet hindsight was an easy thing.
