Rapid Falls(36)

“Man, I was drunk as hell myself. I don’t remember much past punching Todd Carter in the face,” he said, shaking his head ruefully. “Anyway. I’m not telling Sergeant Turd any more than he needs to know.”

He slung his arm around me, and we sat in silence. All I could hear was the low rumble of the falls, the comforting current of a river completing its inevitable course. I should have known that Wade would come through for me. He would never wonder why I was asking him these questions. Wade was too honest to guess the truth.





CHAPTER THIRTEEN

July 2016

As Rick and I head to the hospital to deal with another crisis wrought by my sister, I am glad that he cannot hear what I’m thinking. On nights like this, driving on streets so empty I don’t even recognize them, I imagine terrible things. My life would be a lot easier if Anna died. I would grieve for her; maybe I would be overcome with sadness about the things I didn’t say or paralyzed by the ways I didn’t help. It is possible that in death she would become a heavier burden for me than she is now. Still, I can’t stop thinking about the relief it would bring. If she were dead, I wouldn’t have to keep driving to emergency rooms in the middle of the night when I should be in bed beside my husband. I could finally put the past behind me. While she was alive, I would never be released of the obligations that came with being Anna Piper’s sister. Or heal the damage she had inflicted on me and everyone else I loved.

“Want a coffee?” Rick asks as we pass a twenty-four-hour Starbucks.

“No thanks,” I say. “I’m still hoping we’ll get some sleep tonight.”

“Ever the optimist.”

I smile at him. I’m glad he’s here, even though I resisted his initial offer to come to the hospital, telling him I could handle it alone. My mom insisted on staying with Maggie; she said it made her feel better to know that she could take care of at least one person tonight.

I pull into the parking lot and find a spot quickly. The app on my phone recognizes the lot from last time we were here, so it’s easy to pay for parking. So much for optimism. I know now that nothing happens fast for a nonemergent suicide, so it is safe to assume that we are going to be here for a while.

“You’ve got this all figured out.” Rick laughs sadly.

“Practice makes perfect,” I say.

His mouth twists as he steps out of the car. We thread through a clutch of sick-looking smokers outside the hospital. Rick pointedly puts a hand over his mouth as we step through the sliding glass doors. Once inside I turn right and head past the intake window.

“Don’t we have to check in?” Rick asks.

I shake my head. “We’ll get more information if we go straight to the nurses’ station in Emergency.”

Rick raises his eyebrows. “Lead the way,” he says. We walk past a congregation of irritated people in the waiting room. A few have large bruises. I see a small girl burrowing her face into her mother’s chest. She has an injured arm swaddled against her body.

“God. I don’t know how ER nurses do this every day.” Rick grimaces. I wonder if he’s remembering Maggie’s tears during our last trip here.

I take his hand. “Look, if you want to go home at any time, just let me know. You can take the car, and Anna and I will catch a taxi later.”

He shakes his head. “I’m fine, Cara.”

I’m worried that this episode might finally be bad enough to convince Rick once and for all that we need to cut ties with my sister for good. During my last hospital visit with Anna, we had to listen to harrowing screams from a woman who had attempted suicide by self-immolation. Another time, I heard a guy chatting to his friend that he didn’t know why he was in a hospital, but he was pretty sure the hookers had been the ones to call the ambulance. Tonight it feels like Rick’s ultimatum is coming soon. I don’t know what I will do when he issues it, because I need to keep Anna close.

“I know you are fine. I’m glad you are here. Anna will appreciate it too,” I say. Rick looks dubious but squeezes my hand as we stop in front of a circular desk ringed with paramedics. Inside the circle, nurses wearily stare at clipboards and computer screens while sipping cardboard cups of coffee. No one gives us a second look.

“Excuse me?” Rick says. A few people glance at us, then return to their tasks without a word.

“We are here to see Anna Piper,” I say. No response.

“I suppose we will just look for her ourselves,” Rick says loudly. “Anna? Anna?”

I smile. Rick doesn’t like to be ignored. His confidence is enough to get the attention of a young woman with red hair who is sitting about a foot in front of us.

She looks up at us and sighs heavily. “What’s the name?” she asks.

“Anna Piper. Admitted by the police.” My voice drops on the last few words. Rick looks uncomfortable as well.

“Are you relatives?” she asks.

“Yes, I’m her sister.”

Her eyes move to Rick. “Is this the lawyer?” The contempt in her voice sends anger clawing up my spine. The insinuation is clear—an ambulance chaser trying to drum up business by trolling for fallen women.

“No. He’s my husband,” I snarl. “If you can’t help us, maybe I can talk to the shift supervisor?”