Someone said something to Marcus, but she couldn’t make out the words.
“I have to hang up now,” he said.
Dread seeped into her bones. “Can’t you stay on for a few more minutes?”
“Sorry. I’ll call back in ten minutes this time.”
“Marcus, I hear rushing water. Really close by. Do you think we’re in the water?”
“Is there water on the floor?”
She peered down. “No.”
“If you see water on the floor, call me. I have to go now.”
“It’s going to seem like forever,” she said with a moan.
“I know. But I’ll call. I promise. Before I go, I have one last question. Does your husband or anyone else you know own a truck like the one that hit you?”
“No.”
They disconnected.
It took a minute for Marcus’s last question to sink in. Wesley?
“Aren’t they here yet?” Colton asked.
“Not quite.”
“Why were you laughing?”
“The 911 man said something funny.”
“After you called him a superhero.”
She smiled over her shoulder at her son. “He’s going to help rescue us. That makes him a superhero in my mind.”
“You’re so lame, Mom.”
She laughed. “Maybe. But you still love me.”
Colton grinned. Beside him Ella stirred. “I think she’s waking up, Mom.”
Rebecca strained to see her. “Ella? Ella, honey. Time to wake up.”
Ella gave a soft moan.
“She still feels kinda cold, but she’s not wheezing so much now,” Colton said.
“Thank you, honey. You’re doing a great job taking care of Ella.”
“Ella-Bella,” he said in a sad tone.
She saw him reach out and stroke Ella’s face. Colton was a caring big brother. When he wanted to be. When she needed him to be. For all their sibling rivalry, her children loved each other, and Rebecca couldn’t ask for more than that.
She shut her eyes. Total exhaustion was setting in.
“Mom, you want some water?”
“Sure.”
He passed her a plastic bottle. She took one sip and gave it back.
She closed her eyes again. Fatigue sent her imagination into overdrive.
They were sailing along the coastline of Southern California. The boat swayed and rocked gently. Up… down… up. She could almost feel the warm wind. And the cool mist of seawater against her face.
She drifted on the sea.
Chapter Fifteen
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Shipley hovered over Marcus’s desk, his mouth curved into a furious scowl.
“I’m helping an accident victim stay calm.”
“You gave her your name and your personal information. Not very professional of you.”
Marcus clenched his fists. He’d never wanted to hit someone so badly. “You want me to be professional? Rebecca Kingston is trapped inside her car with her two children. She’s pinned behind the steering wheel, for Christ’s sake. Her son may have a broken leg and he can’t move. Her daughter is asthmatic and unconscious. And to top that off, no one has a goddamn clue where they are. Yeah, I’ll be professional. I won’t hit you. That’s how professional I’ll be.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“Back off, Pete. There’s a time to be professional and a time to be a human being.” He scowled at Shipley. “But you wouldn’t know anything about the latter, would you?” He stood up and Shipley backed away.
Leo stepped forward. “Marcus…”
“I need a coffee. I’m going to the break room.” He glared at Shipley. “Yes, I know it’s not a scheduled break. Don’t be here when I get back.”
Shipley shrugged. “This isn’t over, Taylor. You crossed a line here.”
Marcus whipped around. “No. You crossed a line when you decided to interfere with my call. We have limited resources. We’re in a Code Red situation. No EMS, no Fire, no rescue vehicles of any kind and only one squad car. Even STARS is busy, so no helicopters. The clock’s ticking. If we don’t find Rebecca, Colton and Ella soon, this won’t be a rescue operation. It’ll be a body recovery operation.”
With that he stormed off toward the break room. Leo trotted behind him, saying nothing.
Marcus grabbed a fresh mug, filled it with coffee and took a long swig before he realized he’d forgotten to add cream and sugar. He strode to the fridge and retrieved the cream. His hands were shaking so badly he slopped most of the cream on the counter.
“You need to calm down,” Leo said.
“That man is an ass. Why is he even doing this job? He doesn’t give a shit about anyone besides himself.”
“That’s not true,” someone said.
Marcus turned and saw Carol in the doorway.
“Haven’t you heard the story about his wife?” she asked.
Both Marcus and Leo shook their heads.
Carol grabbed a cloth and began cleaning the counter. After a minute she said, “Peter Shipley’s wife was killed seven years ago. Right before Christmas.”
“That doesn’t explain why he’s got such a hate-on for me.”
“Marcus,” Carol said, handing him a clean mug, “his wife was shot during a convenience store robbery. The man who killed her was looking for money. So he could buy drugs.” She gave him a piercing look.
Marcus blinked. “He was an addict.”
“Yes.”
“Well, that explains why Shipley’s hate radar is focused on Marcus,” Leo said.
“I’m surprised you didn’t know this,” Carol said.
She left the break room as quietly as she’d entered it.
“You didn’t know about Shipley’s wife?” Marcus asked Leo.
“I’d heard rumors.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
Leo shrugged. “I guess it never came up.”
“Because I was always too busy hating him back.”
“This isn’t the time to worry about Shipley. I suspect you’ll have lots of time to think about him later.” Leo motioned toward the doorway. “We should head back to our desks.”
“He’s still an ass.”
“I agree.”
“You’re frowning, Leo. How come?”
“I’ve never seen you get so worked up from a call.”
“Someone tried to kill a woman and her kids. She’s doing her best to keep calm. She can’t even hold her children right now.”
“I can’t imagine how she must feel,” Leo said.
“I can. I know exactly how she feels. Helpless. Hopeless. Alone.”
“So you did your best to help her, give her hope and make her feel less alone. There’s nothing wrong about that.”
“Tell that to Titanic.”
Leo patted Marcus’s arm. “They’ll find her in time.”
“I hope so.”
“Until then, we have some work to do.”
Marcus stepped into the hall, then stopped. “Did you try the husband’s cell phone?”
“Yeah, no answer.”
“Rebecca said they’re separated and that he went to Fort McMurray for a job.” Marcus’s brow rippled.
“What’s wrong?”
“I keep thinking about this truck, the one that hit her. It ran her off the road intentionally. Someone wanted to kill Rebecca. I can’t wrap my head around someone being so coldhearted that they’d attempt to kill a woman and her two children.”
“There are a lot of evil people out there, Marcus.”
“I know. But still… he’s willing to kill two children. That makes him a monster.”
“I know what you’re thinking.”
“Do you?”
“You’re wondering if the husband had anything to do with this.”