Chad put his hands on the back of Elgin’s chair, his fingers brushing her shoulders as he gazed out at the fiery display.
He won’t lose any time, Camp thought sourly. Hold her hand through the funeral. Send her flowers and come by “to see how you’re doing.” Long walks in the park, quiet dinners, a friendly shoulder to cry on. She’d be lonely and vulnerable and easy prey for a smooth charmer.
Still, he sighed silently, she was young and beautiful and he didn’t want her shutting herself off and mourning him her whole life. Just a “respectable” period. And certainly not with a two-bit Romeo like Chad Comstock who’d sink to taking advantage of a woman in Elgin’s fragile state.
He squeezed her hand and she looked down at him.
“Are you are all right?” she asked anxiously, her free hand going instantly to his dressing.
With breathing so precious and difficult, he could manage only a little smile and a nod.
Elgin tried to smile back. “We’re almost there,” she told him, trying to sound cheerful. “The old ‘Monkey’s’ fairly flying. I can see the casino lights plain as day. A few more minutes and you’ll be safe in the hospital. Just hang on, Camp. Please, just hang on a little longer.”
The chill had become a gnawing cold and there didn’t seem to be enough air getting to his brain. He felt himself slipping away, the edges of his vision growing dark, Elgin’s image as if through a smudged lens.
I love you, he told her softly in his mind. You can be a royal pain in the ass sometimes, but then, so can I. I guess that’s just one of the reasons we belong together. Please don’t cry. I’m not sorry for anything except leaving you. Find someone else and be happy, love. Just remember me sometimes. Good-bye, Darling.
He looked up at her and with a last squeeze, closed his eyes, his head lolling to one side.
“Camp?” She felt his grip loosen. “Camp!”
“Elgin…” Comstock leaned down to her but she ignored him.
“Oh God,” she wailed. “Charlie! Marty!”
“What happened?” Charlie yelled, coming through the salon door followed quickly by Marty.
“I don’t know,” Comstock replied in bewilderment. “We were watching the fireworks and…”
“Charlie!” she screamed. “It’s Camp! Oh God, Charlie, do something!”
Moving her aside, he bent over Harm’s body, lifting his closed eyelids and then checking the pulse in his neck.
“Marty, how soon before we dock?”
“About another five or six minutes. I radioed ahead. There’s an ambulance standing by as soon as we land. Is he…?”
“No, but it’s going to be close. Comstock, find something to put under his feet. We need to raise his legs. Elgin, dig out some more blankets. We have to keep him warm. Marty, we need everything ‘The Monkey’s’ got.” He nodded and the rest of them scattered.
Looking out the window, Charlie could clearly see the marina now, the flashing red light of the ambulance visible among all the other bright lights.
“Stay with me, Camp,” he urged. “We’re almost home.”
What was taking so long?
Elgin glanced at the wall clock for the millionth time. A little past one. A new day. Outside, beyond the waiting room’s huge picture window, the moon had just arrived from beyond the dark ridge of mountains and had begun her leisurely stroll across the black water.
Why didn’t someone come and tell them something?
A full moon, she noted. The Moon Goddess looking for lost souls. But tonight, the lake was empty, nothing but her silver wake to mark her passing.
“Pass by, Moon Goddess, pass by,” she mumbled, the words of a childhood chant coming suddenly to her lips. “You seek those who have gone not those who remain. But know Moon Goddess that we will meet again.
“He’s mine,” Elgin told the Moon Goddess defiantly. “ And you can’t have him. I won’t give him up.”
Chad looked up from the magazine he’d been pretending to read. “Did you say something, Elgin?”
“No,” she sighed, shaking her head and dropping on the sofa beside him. “I can’t stand this waiting…this not knowing.”
Gently, he put his arm around her and pulled him to her so she could nestle against his chest. “I’m sure if anyone can find out what’s going on, it’s Marty. In the meantime, why don’t you try to close your eyes and rest?”
“I can’t. Not until I know…something.”
“All right. How ‘bout I go try and round us up some coffee then? I hear hospital coffee is guaranteed to keep you awake.”
“That would be nice. Thanks.”
He’d just stepped around the corner when Marty re-appeared.
“Oh God, Marty, what’s going on? How is he? Is he all right? What are they doing? What’s taking so long?”
“Good Heavens, Elgin,” he told her putting up his hand. “Get a hold of yourself. I can only answer one question at a time. Now come over here and sit back down.”
“Marty, tell me!”
“He’s in surgery right now. He’s lost a lot of blood and it took longer to stabilize him than they thought before they could operate. While they were getting him ready, I put in a call to an old friend, Leland Carswell. Excellent thoracic surgeon. Up here spending the Fourth making a large donation to the local economy via the casinos. He agreed to consult and the hospital graciously consented to allow him to perform the surgery.”
“How long will it take to do the operation? When will we know something?” she pressed.
“They couldn’t tell me. X-rays and tests can only tell them so much. They won’t know what they’re up against until they actually get into his chest. And there are a myriad of things that could happen once they start. You’ll just have to be patient.”
“Oh Marty, this is all my fault,” she cried. “Everything. Cissy and that homeless man and Pete Fowler and Jim and now Camp. All my fault.” Overwhelmed, Elgin dissolved into hysterical sobs, her body shaking with the force of her grief.
Marty wrapped her in his arms and let the emotions flow.
Chad arrived carrying two white Styrofoam cups. Seeing Elgin, he set the cups down and almost ran over to where they were sitting.
“What’s wrong?” he yelped. “Is it Harm? Has something happened?”
“No. He’s in surgery right now. We won’t know anything until they’re done. I’m afraid this is everything just catching up with Elgin at once. It’s been a most eventful Fourth of July.”
Comstock sighed. “You can say that again.”
“Look, Chad, it’s late. Since we won’t be returning to Spirit Cove tonight…or rather, this morning, I’ve taken the liberty of making overnight arrangements at the Crystal Pines. They’re sending a car, which will pick you up in front of the main lobby in a few minutes. They can provide you with anything you may want or need. Simply tell them to put it on my bill. Tomorrow I’ll call our friend on the coast, explain why you were detained and set up another meeting.”
“Thanks, Marty.”
“Don’t mention it. Just go along and get some sleep. See if you can find Mr. Simons. I think he went downstairs to get some privacy and contact Mr. Harm’s office.”
For several minutes after he left, Marty held Elgin as she cried. Finally, the tears subsided and the shaking stopped. Pulling out his handkerchief, he handed it to her.
“Are you quite finished?” he asked her.
Elgin nodded, wiping her eyes.
“Good. Now you can also stop all this bullshit about everything being your fault.” The unexpectedly sharp tone of his voice brought her head up in surprise.
“But…?”
“No ‘buts’ about it,” he continued firmly. “This is most assuredly not you’re fault. If we’re going to affix blame here, let’s lay it squarely where it belongs, on Jim Fisher. All of this ugliness and violence is the result, solely, of his sick, twisted delusions.”