Over Her Dead Body (3 page)

“Now!” Amber said and both girls jumped out of the vehicle and attacked some more. Maria landed a hard kick to the man’s groin while Amber kicked hard at his left knee. “Let’s go!” Amber shouted at Maria and they darted towards the woods closest to them. A quick glance showed that they were surrounded by woods with nobody there to scream to. The girls were running through a short grassy patch and were only five feet from the woods when a loud bang echoed out. Amber looked back over her shoulder as she reached the woods. The man was still cupping one eye but had a gun out and pointed toward them. Maria had fallen down a few feet behind her.

Amber ran back and kneeled down an
d grabbed Maria by the shoulder
s helping her up. “Are you ok?” she asked her.

“Ya, I think so.” Maria said as she got up and moved with her sister into the woods. Three more shots were fired at them as they went, but two hit the ground next to them and one blew away a patch of tree to their left. The man began screaming at them. “You fucking bitch! I’m going to kill you!” But the girls kept on going into the woods.

“Amber…” Maria said in a gasp as she began to slow down.

“Come on hun, we gotta keep going. He’ll catch up with us.” Amber said.

“Amber, I’m cold. My chest feels funny…can’t breathe.” Maria slowed down to a halt and fell to her knees. She braced her hand on the ground and then she lay down face up to look at her sister. Amber glanced toward the edge of the woods. They were only about twenty feet in. The man would be here shortly. She was sure of it.

“Maria, we have to go. You have to keep moving.” Amber tried to pull her to her feet when she noticed in t
he moon
light that the front of Maria’s shirt was glistening and a dark color had spread across
it
. “Maria, what’s wrong? What is this? I don’t…” but then it dawned on her that the first gunshot didn’t hit the ground or a tree. There was a thup sound that Amber had never heard before. “Oh my God! You’ve been shot. No…no…no…this
can’t
be happening. You can’t be hurt!” Amber pulled Maria’s head up into her lap and began rocking her. “Please be ok, please. We can make it to a hospital. They can fix it…” Amber was sobbing now, hugging and rocking her sister. Crackling sounds came from the front of the woods and thud. The man was coming and had tripped. He began cussing again.

“Amber…,” Maria said through a hoarse voice.

“Ya babe. I’m here.” Amber said.

“Go.” Maria coughed and blood sprayed out of her mouth. She ran her sleeve across her mouth to dry it off. “Go on without me. He’ll kill you.”

“I’m not leaving you.” Amber declared through her tears. “He’ll have to kill us both.”

“No,” Maria said. “You can get away. I can’t. There’s no need for you to die too.”

“No. You’re not going to die!” Amber shouted through sobs.

“Do you love me?”

“Of course I do…but…”

“Then don’t let me die in vain. Find the police. Find our parents and tell them about me.” There was a long pause. “Please…”

“Ok. I will.” Amber said as she hugged her sister tight. “I love you so much!” A gunshot rung out and a piece of bark exploded nearby.

“Go.”

“But…” Another gunshot and a thud as dirt exploded near Amber’s foot.

“Go now!” Amber hugged her sister one last time and laid her gently down. Bullets were coming faster now. “By
e
sis…” Amber took one last look and darted off into the woods. Amber ran and ran until she was out of breath. She stopped and listened. The only sound she heard was the wind blowing through the trees. It was comforting somehow…until…bang! One shot rang out off in the distance from where she came. She felt her sister’s life fade away. Amber went down on the ground sobbing. She began hitting the ground again and again. “Why?” she cried. “Whyyyyyyyyy!” She yelled out into the woods. A gust of wind brushed by her and in it she could hear her sister’s voice. “Run!” it whispered as it blew on past. Amber got back up and bolted into the woods.

Chapter 2

Dr. Wimonowski was getting scrubbed up and preparing for surgery. He’d already done four tonsillectomies that morning and it was only ten o’clock. His last surgery of the day was at two so if everything went smoothly, he should be on his way home by three. John Derrington, the surgeon on
E
.
R
. duty right now had given him a recipe for steak rub and he was itching to go home and try it. “This is the best seasoning I’ve ever put on a steak,” he had said. “Rub it in, sear it on both sides and cook it to medium. It will melt in your mouth.” Dr. Wimonowski was salivating just thinking about it. A short nurse with curly blonde hair poked her head into the scrub room. She was new and Dr. Wimonowski had only spoken to her a couple of times. She looked to be about mid-twenties and had a very pleasant demeanor.

“Dr. Wimonowski,” she said, “there are a couple of detectives at the nurses’ station that want to speak with you.”

“What? What about?” Dr. Wimonowski looked perplexed.

“I don’t know. They wouldn’t say.” The nurse responded matter of factly.

“Well, I’m scrubbing for surgery. Tell them it will be about thirty to forty-five minutes.”

“Ok. Will do.” And with that the nurse backed out of the room.

Why the hell would detectives want to speak with me?
He
wondered
. Dr. Wimonowski just shook his head and went back to scrubbing.

After the surgery, Dr. Wimonowski came out to the nurses’ station. The petite blonde nurse was nowhere to be seen. Dr. Wimonowski looked around and spotted a brown haired man with a mustache leaning up against the south wall. He wore an older looking grey suit and a trimmed brown mustache. The man shifted and when his jacket separated, he noticed a badge attached neatly to or over his belt. Dr. Wimonowski approached the man. “Can I help you?” He asked.

“Are you…,” the man fumbled in his pocket for a notebook which he produced and scrolled over it. “Dr. uh Wimon….wimon…”

“Wimonowski.” The doctor spared him the embarrassment. “Yes, that’s me. What can I do for you uh…
D
etective…?”

“Detective James. And yes that’s my last name.”

“Ok,
D
etecti
ve James, what can I do for you?
”

The detective looked at the doctor and then around the room. “Is there a place where we can speak in private?” The detective asked.

“The uh…cafeteria will be about empty. I was heading there for some coffee. Will that suit you?”

“Yes that would do nicely.” The detective said. “My partner had to step out and was supposed to meet me back here. I’m going to make a phone call real quick and I’ll meet you in the cafeteria.” The doctor nodded and headed for the cafeteria.

The doctor had gotten his coffee, two creamers and some sugar and had sat down in a quiet spot toward the back. There were two other people nursing drinks as well. Both women and both had solemn downturned faces as if they had the weight of the world on their shoulders. Dr. Wimonowski had seen this all the time in the hospital. It usually meant they were waiting on the outcome of an important surgery. It was saddening to see. The detective approached the table with a cup of his own. He took note of the wrappers on the table. “So you’re a cream and sugar guy huh?” The detective said.

“Huh?” a pause as the doctor followed his stare. “Oh…uh ya. I have to have my cream and sugar. You?”

“Na, I like it black and strong. All that other gunk makes it too much like candy.” The detective took a seat opposite of the doctor. The detective’s brown hair was parted down the middle. His blue eyes pierced him like he was staring straight into his soul. “I’m sure you’re wondering what this is all about so I’ll just get to it.” The doctor nodded his head with a concerned expression. The detective reached into his jacket and produced a photograph which he smacked on the table in front of him. He watched the doctor’s expression for a moment which seemed to register fear or surprise. “Do you know th
is
girl?” the detective asked. The doctor squirmed in his seat looking suddenly uncomfortable.

“Well, yes. I’ve only met her once. I guess twice maybe. What’s this all about?” The doctor took a defensive tone like he’d been accused of something.

“Well, which is it Doc? Have you met her once or twice?”

“Er, well the thing is…” the doctor stuck his finger in his shirt behind his tie and stretched it outward in a circling motion as if the tie was now constricting him. “I met the girl when she was a baby
,
see.”

“Go on.” The detective took a sip of coffee.

“Well,
a little more than twenty years ago
, two babies…twins…were left on my porch.” The detective scribbled into a notebook.

“What year was that?” The detective asked.

“I can’t say for sure,” said the doctor “1990 maybe. It was in the news.” The detective scribbled some more and then gave a look that indicated for the doctor to continue. “Anyway, we called the authorities…”

“We?”

“Er..my wife and I.”

“And you’re wife’s name is?”

“Ex wife”

“And your ex wife’s name is?”

“Jane.” The doctor was looking more nervous and began fidgeting.

“So you and Jane called the authorities? Then what?”

“They sent out child protective service
s
who took them in and after the parents were never located, they went up for adoption. It is my understanding that they were both placed in homes.” The doctor looked relieved to have the attention focused on the two girls and not on his wife. He took a sip of coffee. “What’s this all about
D
etective?”

“You said you met them twice. Tell me about the second time.”

“Well, a couple of days ago two girls came to my door claiming to be the girls that were dropped off twenty
one
years ago.”

“What day was this?”

“Today’s Thursday, so Tuesday I guess.”

“What time Tuesday?”

“Well, I was just sitting down to dinner so probably about five pm.” The doctor took another sip from his cup.

“Were you expecting them?” The detective asked.

“No, they just showed up.”

“Who else was with you in the house?”

“Nobody. I live alone.”

“Was there anybody outside your home? Lawn care people, landscapers, etc?” The detective asked.

“No, I do most of that stuff myself.”

“What do you mean most?”

The doctor thought for a moment. “Well, if I get too busy or I’m not feeling well, I call Nathan’s Lawn Care. But I really haven’t had to call them for most of the year. Are you going to tell me what this is all about
D
etective?” The doctor was getting aggravated. He glanced down at his watch.

“Sorry
D
oc. This shouldn’t take too much longer. Tell me about what happened. What did the girls want? Don’t leave out any detail
s
.”

The doctor took a long sigh and leaned back. “Well, I only got to meet one of them. Amber, I believe her name was. Her sister was with her but stayed in the car. After Amber knocked, she told me something special had been dropped off at my doorstep twenty
one
years ago and I concluded that it must be her. So I invited her in.”

“What did you talk about?”

“Well, she and her sister were trying to locate their birth parents. She wanted to know if I had any ideas or if there was a note with them when they were dropped off.”

“And was there?”

“Nope. Nothing. Neither we, or the authorities were ever able to determine where the babies came from.”

“Why you?” The detective asked.

“Excuse me?” The doctor looked perplexed.

“You’re not an
O
bgyn are you?”

“No. I’m a surgeon. Ear, nose, and throat primarily.”

“So, why would someone choose you as a place to drop off babies? I would suspect they must
have
know
n
you.”

“I just assumed someone thought we had money because of my profession and the large house. They probably thought it would be a good home for their babies.”

“I see. And why didn’t you keep them?”

“I don’t know. I guess my wife and I weren’t ready to have children yet.”

The detective scribbled some more into his notebook and sat back. He took a long swig of his coffee. “When the girls left your house on Tuesday, did you see anything odd, suspicious, or out of the ordinary?”

The doctor thought for a moment. He looked up as if he were playing back the night in his mind. “No, not that I recall. Did something happen?”

“What kind of car were they driving?”

The doctor reflected again. “I don’t know what kind. Small, black. Toyota maybe.” The doctor took another sip of coffee.

The detective put his own cup down and leaned back. Now
it
was time to watch for a reaction. If there was one thing
D
etective James was good at, it was reading people. He’d asked enough questions to get a base line and read his reactions. So far he didn’t believe the doctor had been deceptive about what he had seen or heard. He was nervous and appeared
to be hiding something…but what?
The detective leaned forward and pierced him with his cold blue eyes.

“Dr. Wimonowski, Amber came in Wednesday morning and reported that she and her sister had been kidnapped. She claims that her sister was shot and killed while she managed to escape.”

The doctor’s hands began to tremble, shaking the coffee cup. He placed it down on the table. “That’s…that’s…terrible. Who would…Killed you say? What…what…why?” The doctor’s eyes were beginning to water up.

“That’s what we are trying to figure out
D
octor. Amber claims they were kidnapped from your property.”

The doctor had a look of shock on his face. “That’s impossible. I saw her out the door myself. They were both fine when they left.”

“And you saw them both drive away in their black car?”

“Yes. Er, well…” The doctor looked up trying to remember. “I guess I just walked her out the door. But she was only parked twenty feet away. She couldn’t have…I mean…my place is surrounded by a brick wall. It just doesn’t make sense.”

“Did Amber feel threatened or scared of anything or anyone?”

“No. not that I recall. She was a real sweet girl with a kind demeanor. Who would want to hurt her?”

“What about you? Have you had any threats or have any enemies that might have thought the girls were your relation?”

The doctor looked stunned by this. He thought for a moment fidgeting with his cup. He took his glasses off, pulled out a cloth and cleaned them; then replaced them above his nose. “Detective, I don’t have enemies.” The doctor adjusted his tie. “I can’t think of anyone who might want to harm me or anyone that I know.”

The detective just stared at him for a moment. The doctor held his gaze but felt like he was going to vomit. It was like the guy was looking right through him. Could he tell that he was lying? He didn’t think so. But that stare sure gave him the creeps.

“Well, I’ll let you get back to your work
D
octor. I know you are busy. If you think of anything else…” The detective reached into his inside jacket pocket and produced a card. “Please call me right away.”

“Will do.” The doctor said taking the card. “What about the other girl?”

“Amber? What about her?”

“Is she ok? I mean…she’s not in any danger is she?”

“Physically, she’s fine. Whether she is still in danger or not, we won’t know until we determine who attacked them and why.”

“She was such a nice girl. I sure hope she will be ok. The other girl…?”

“Maria.” The detective said.

“Maria. Was she robbed, violated?” the doctor asked.

“We can’t say. We haven’t been able to find the body.” The detective was still piercing the doctor with his eyes suspiciously and giving him the creeps.

“Well, if there is anything more I can do, please let me know.”

“You just give it some more thought
D
octor. You may remember something that might help us.”

“I sure will. And if I do, I’ll call you right away.” With that the doctor headed out the door and the detective headed for a refill.