I had to remind myself that we were just starting our relationship. I’d learn these things as we went along. He knew so much more about me than I knew about him. It was the basic difference in our personalities. If you knew me for five minutes, you knew everything about me. Miguel was harder to know.
All these stupid things raced through my mind as I used my hand to search for the key under the car. The orange lights above us made me feel like I was in a bad science fiction movie.
The parking lot was gritty and wet under my knees. The smell of the bay was strong, mixed with the smell of the fuel they used for the ships. I was weirdly cold, even though the night was hot and humid.
Cole and I walked back to the trunk. I was reluctant to use the key I’d found, even though I’d been willing to pry it open only a few minutes before. Part of me hoped Miguel was there. The other part of me said this could be a very bad thing.
Two black SUVs pulled up, along with a Mobile police car. The siren wasn’t on, but the blue lights on top were flashing.
“Open it,” Cole urged me. “If he’s still alive, he might need help right away.”
I nodded and popped open the trunk, holding my breath.
I could see it wasn’t empty. There was a dim trunk light that faintly illuminated the space. Something was in there, wrapped in a tarp.
I reached my hand down and rolled it over. Please don’t be dead!
It was Miguel—and Tina. Their hands and feet were duct-taped together, and there was tape on their mouths.
My heart stopped beating. I could barely breathe. I put my hand on Miguel’s chest. He was alive—unconscious, but alive.
“Get me an ambulance out here!” Patti shot back to one of her uniformed officers.
I hadn’t even noticed she was there.
“Step aside, Zoe. Let us get them out.”
– – – – – – –
They pulled Miguel and Tina carefully out of the trunk and untaped them. Neither one of them was moving. The paramedics examined them, slowly removing the tape from their mouths.
“Looks like someone hit him on the head,” the lead paramedic said. “He’s out of it, but he’ll probably be fine. They’ll want to do some tests on him at the hospital to be sure.”
“But he’ll wake up, right?” I asked.
“He should. It’s a good thing you found him out here. The heat tomorrow could’ve finished him off.”
Tina was alive, too. She’d been strangled. There were terrible bruises on her throat.
They took Miguel away on a stretcher and put him in the back of the ambulance. I watched the vehicle speed away out of the parking lot and up the street until I couldn’t see it anymore.
A second ambulance was pulling into the lot for Tina.
“Thank God!” Uncle Saul wrapped his arms around me. “What kind of person leaves someone in a trunk to die?”
“The kind that already murdered at least three other people,” Patti said. “Marsh must’ve run out of bullets or we’d probably be calling the coroner now.”
“Have you heard anything else about the Marsh sighting?” I asked her.
“No. I’ve been too busy fielding calls from dozens of people across the city who thought they’d found Miguel. I don’t know whose network that was, but I’d appreciate it if they’d call them off now.”
Delia and Uncle Saul both got on their phones right away. Ollie high-fived a small group of his friends from the homeless shelter who were in the parking lot with him.
“It’s four A.M.” Uncle Saul glanced at his watch. “I don’t think there’s much point in going to bed now. We’ll have to be up in another hour or so.”
I agreed with him, even though I yawned as I did it. “I’d like to go to the hospital until we either hear something about Miguel or we have to get the Biscuit Bowl for the race.”
Ollie and Uncle Saul agreed. Delia decided to go back with Chef Art’s security team and take a shower before she had to work.
“Don’t worry, Zoe.” Detective Helms looked exhausted in the orange light. “We’re gonna find Marsh. He’ll pay for what he’s done.”
Truly, that thought hadn’t crossed my mind. I suppose it should have, but all I could think about was being there when Miguel woke up.
Uncle Saul and Ollie jumped in the taxi with me, and Cole took off. The police would be sending a crime scene crew out to gather evidence from the Mercedes. I’d given the key to Patti so they could work on it. I wasn’t sure what they hoped to find. It was obvious what had happened. But I didn’t want to keep her from doing her job.
We got to the hospital in record time. It looked like a slow night for them. Orderlies jumped up when they saw us come through the emergency entrance and then sat back down when there was nothing to do.
I asked about Miguel at the window.
A surprisingly nice nurse told us they were still examining him. “I’ll send someone out to talk to you when they’re finished. Take a seat and have some coffee. We have some donuts, too. One of the local bakeries donates them to us.”
I couldn’t eat, but the coffee was good. The waiting room was empty except for the four of us. The seats were upholstered and comfortable. I could almost forget I was in a hospital, except for the smell of antiseptic.
I think I’d gone to sleep for a few moments, leaning my head against Uncle Saul’s shoulder, when a doctor finally came out and talked to us.
“Mr. Alexander is going to be fine. No lasting injuries from his ordeal. He’s a little dehydrated but conscious now. If you’d like to see him for a few minutes, that would be fine. Follow me.”
Cole stayed behind, even though we’d encouraged him to come, too. “I don’t know Miguel. You go. I can shake his hand later when he gets out of here.” He helped himself to another donut and sat down to watch TV.
Uncle Saul, Ollie, and I followed the doctor in blue scrubs down the hallway. He opened the door to a room, and we awkwardly went in.
There was Miguel—pale and wearing a hospital gown, his black hair mussed. There were dark circles under his eyes and a cut by his mouth. But he was smiling at us.
“I don’t know how to thank you for what you’ve done.” I had decided I would be cool. I wouldn’t get overemotional. Then his voice cracked as he was thanking us. That was it. I ran and threw myself at him, crying all over his hospital gown.
“It’s okay, Zoe.” He held my hand and smiled at me. “I’m going to be fine.”
“You didn’t look very fine in that trunk.” I sobbed. “Don’t ever do that again.”
THIRTY-THREE
Ollie laughed. “I think you look pretty good for someone who let a cop knock him out and stuff him in the trunk of his own car.”
Uncle Saul agreed. “What happened, Miguel? How did he get the drop on you?”
Miguel was a little fuzzy on the exact details, but he knew what the end result was.
“I was working at my office and looked up. There were Detective Marsh and Tina. I thought he wanted to interview us again. I got up and walked across the room to talk to him. Tina called out a warning. I glanced her way, and something hit me hard in the back of the head. I woke up here.”
“I guess he didn’t like that Tina tried to warn you, huh? That’s why she ended up in the back of the car with you. She must have a soft spot for you.” Ollie continued to joke about the incident. “What do you think Marsh hit you with?”
“I’m not sure. The police probably know.”
“You’re lucky he didn’t shoot you,” Uncle Saul said. “He must have a soft spot for you.”
“I’m not sure how much better it would’ve been to die in the trunk of my car.”
“Marsh even texted me from your phone at the party to tell me that you didn’t want to see me again,” I told him. “He pretended to be you and tried to convince me that you and Tina were together.”