Chapter 71
Danny followed the signs leading
from the ER to the hospital elevators, and made his way up to the intensive care unit on the sixth floor. He introduced himself to the floor nurses and was immediately led to Maria’s room. He wasn’t surprised to see Nate Clancy waiting outside in the hallway.
“Mr. Clancy,” Danny said. “Good to see you.”
Nate rose quickly from his chair. “Detective! You’re the one it’s good to see. Thank you for finding Maria.”
“My pleasure. I’m just glad we got her in time.”
“I can’t believe it was that damn Snow Creek place. I told you I hated it there.”
Danny smiled. “Looks like you have good instincts.”
“The nurse is in with Maria now,” Nate said. “Her parents are on their way here, should be here any minute I think. They had some trouble getting a flight right away but they should be here soon. We’re going to have a New Year’s party here in the hospital.”
Nate was babbling like a man overcome with both shock and emotion. As the nurse exited Maria’s room and gave them the all clear, Danny held Nate back as he started to go back inside.
“Do you mind if I talk to Maria for a minute alone?” he asked. “I just want to clear a few things up for our investigation. I won’t tire her out, I promise.”
“No problem, no problem at all,” Nate said. “I think I’m going to run over to the cafeteria and get some coffee.”
“Sounds like a good idea.”
Danny walked into the room and stood at Maria’s bedside, ignoring the beeps of the various machines attached to her body. Maria’s body was gaunt under the blankets, but her cheeks now had the faintest hint of color.
“Ms. Treibel,” he said. “You look a hell of a lot better than the last time I saw you.”
“I’m sorry, I…”
“I’m Danny Fitzpatrick,” Danny said, holding up his hand to stop her. “I’m the cop who came to Snow Creek.”
“You saved my life.”
“Me and several others. Actually, they all saved my life, too.”
Maria swallowed, a gesture that was obviously painful. Danny took in the bruises around her neck and on her face, and felt a rush of rage.
“I heard he got away,” Maria said.
“He did. I’m sorry.”
Danny sat down gently on the side of Maria’s bed.
“Maria,” he said. “I know Aleksei told you about the other women, the ones he killed.”
Maria nodded, a look of fear crossing her face.
“Did he also tell you what he is? Did he show you anything odd about himself?”
Maria thought back to the fangs Aleksei had bared at her and his ability to whoosh across the room at speeds far beyond human capabilities. She shuddered involuntarily, causing Danny to pull her blankets closer around her frail body. Tears sprung from the corners of her eyes.
“I don’t know anything,” Maria whispered. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
Danny looked down at her, certain she was lying, but also certain it didn’t matter. There was only so much evil any person could face. If Maria needed to forget the truth about Aleksei, Danny wasn’t going to be the one to stand in her way.
He patted her arm and stood up from the bed. “Just checking to make sure we have everything covered,” he said.
Danny walked to the doorway and turned back to see Maria’s eyes were already closed, and her body moved in rhythm with sounds of the oxygen machine next to her bed.
“You take care, Maria.”
Danny saw Nate Clancy walking down the hall on his way back from the cafeteria and quickly turned the other way to avoid him. He didn’t want to do any more talking. He headed back towards the elevators and pushed the down arrow. Grateful to see an empty car when the elevator doors opened, he got inside and hit the button for the lobby. As the car descended, it dawned on him that Nate had mentioned a New Year’s party. So was it New Year’s Day? It must be. Danny knew exactly how he was going to celebrate the beginning of 2013. He couldn’t wait to get home and go to sleep.
Epilogue
Three Months Later
Danny walked up the sidewalk to his apartment on Slater Street, having just returned from his long-planned jog in Griffin Park. Tessa’s Siberian Husky Maya had accompanied him to the park and the two had spent the afternoon enjoying the first taste of spring. Danny had spent the night at Tessa’s the night before to look after Maya while Tessa and Amanda worked on Danny’s apartment. Now, Maya pulled ahead of him, anxious to get inside and find her mother. Danny was equally anxious, as he wanted to see what Maya’s mother and Amanda had done to his living room.
The two women had insisted on renovating his apartment from top to bottom and, having no interest in doing the work himself, Danny had given them carte blanche to do what they thought was best. His only requirement had been that he didn’t end up living in a “girlie” apartment. He didn’t want to see a shred of pink. Tessa had raised an eyebrow at this, wondering when she had ever given him the impression she was a fan of pink.
Amanda and Tessa had started their work yesterday afternoon and now Danny was returning home to see his new living room, the first room they were tackling. He took off Maya’s leash and let her run inside ahead of him as he checked his mailbox. Danny grabbed a stack of mail and followed the dog inside.
He found Tessa and Amanda standing in the middle of the room, with Maya wiggling excitedly and running in circles around their legs.
“What do you think?” Amanda asked, her hands outstretched.
Danny’s first thought was that he had entered the wrong apartment. Gone were the white walls with their chipped paint and scuff marks. Gone was the tattered brown sofa and nicked coffee table. Instead, the room was awash with gray, white, and black. A black and white rug lined the floor, and a gray sofa matched the freshly painted wall it was up against. A flat-screen TV hung on the wall across from the sofa, and two white armchairs were arranged on its side. A black coffee table decorated with white candles and a stack of books sat between them. A black glass-front cabinet lined the opposite wall next to the windows, which were now framed with long white curtains.
“It’s amazing,” Danny said.
“Masculine enough for you?” Tessa asked.
Danny chuckled and decided to test what he considered the most important part of the room, the sofa. He sat down on the gray cushions and immediately gave the couch a thumbs-up.
“It’s comfortable, that’s what I care about. And, there’s no pink.”
Maya jumped onto the sofa beside Danny and began to lick his face. He leaned back into the cushions as the dog climbed into his lap.
“Maya get down from there,” Tessa said. “You’re not a lap dog. And we don’t need you tearing up the new couch.”
“It’s fine,” Danny said, scratching the dog’s ears. “I don’t mind.”
The dog nuzzled Danny’s face and began to lick his hair.
“Alright, alright, that’s enough,” he said. “I don’t need you washing my hair.”
He pushed Maya off the couch and tried in vain to smooth his unruly hair back into place.
Amanda sat down next to him. “So you do like the room?”
“Yeah, it looks great. Love it.”
“It was fun to do.”
“For you two. For me it would have been hell.”
“Well, as soon as we get your credit card again we’ll start on the bedroom,” Tessa said.
Danny chuckled. “Let me pay for this first, okay?” He patted the couch, gesturing for Maya to come back over to him. “You know, I was thinking while Maya and I were walking, maybe I’ll get a dog.”
“Really?” Tessa asked.
“Yeah. I’ve always liked dogs. Caroline and I were going to get a dog before..” Danny paused and cleared his throat. “Before she died,” he said, forcing himself to say the words.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Amanda said. “You should go to the animal shelter. Get a rescue dog.”
“I think I’d like to get a mutt.”
“That would suit you,” Tessa said.
Danny grinned. “I think so too.” He got up from the couch and walked across the room to the TV. “Can I buy you ladies dinner after all this work you did for me?”
“That’s okay,” Amanda said. “I actually have to get going. I’m covering for my boss tonight.”
“And I need to go too. I have a date,” Tessa said.
“A date?” Danny asked. “I thought you’d sworn off men.”
“Maybe I changed my mind. And besides, it’s just dinner. And I’ll take a rain check on your offer.”
“Fair enough.”
Danny walked Tessa and Amanda to his front door. “Thanks again, ladies. I’ll let you know when I can afford your services again.”
“Don’t wait too long. That bedroom of yours is depressing as hell,” Tessa said.
Danny chuckled and closed the door behind him, giving Maya one last pet before he did. He walked back to the sofa and sunk down on it, marveling in how much the room had changed in just 24 hours. He couldn’t deny it actually felt like a home now. It was a room Caroline would have approved of.
Danny glanced at the coffee table, remembering the stack of mail he had tossed onto it when he and Maya had first returned home. He picked up the stack and leafed through it, finding the usual assortment of catalogs, bills, and credit card offers.
At the bottom of the stack, a post card caught his attention. And sent a chill down his spine.
It was a photo of a snow covered square in St. Petersburg, Russia. Danny flipped it over, noticing the postmark was several weeks old. A message was written in blue ink, with a clear and precise hand. There was no salutation.
“I was so glad to read in the Daily News Miner that you had escaped from your predicament at Snow Creek. Did you ever think more about the ending of the movie I mentioned to you?”
Danny stopped reading and looked up, searching his memory before it came to him. The Silence of the Lambs.
“Doctor Lector told Agent Starling that he wouldn’t bother her, as the world was more interesting with her in it. I understand now what he meant. I wish you well, Detective. And Katerina sends her regards.”
Danny put down the postcard, his friends and his newly decorated room now forgotten. He leaned back on the couch and looked outside as if in a fog. He stared out through the white curtains that now adorned his windows and saw large white flakes falling from the sky.
An early spring snow had started to fall.