Chapter 7: Hope you all enjoy this! Tracy meets Vic - and how do you think this is going to go? LOL When you get to the end of this, I'm sure you'll all agree with Tracy. :)
My house sold as of Oct. 3. Just have to move and then I'll be all settled and back to writing! Thanks so much for your patience - I promise I'll do my best not to disappoint:).Yeah, it's taking longer than I thought to get settled...
Aww, crap!
What the heck was this all about?
This crazy woman, barging in to the room, asking about Walt. She looked like some kind of homeless mess, hair all wild and tangled, wearing a man's shirt that hung down almost to her knees, some kind of dark jacket hanging open on her. Just who was she, coming in here swearing like that and why was she looking for me? Only one way to find out…
I got to my feet. Everyone in the room was looking from the crazy lady to me. I saw Ellis Maubery move to get up and I waved him back down. He was the Sheriff in this county, but this was apparently my problem, as if I didn't have enough of them already!
"Is there something I can do for you, ma'am?" I asked.
She was searching the room, looking around me, past me, wild eyes darting all over the place. Just a tiny little thing with a whole lot of attitude! There was a man behind her, holding back just a little. Looked to me like he was sporting the beginnings of what was going to be a shiner to rival mine come morning.
Was he with this woman? My guess was yes, but I don't think he wanted it to be obvious. Couldn't blame him. I moved forward and then those wild eyes focused on me, became still and full of fire. Not the romantic kind either, trust me. If looks could kill, I'd be dead before I hit the floor.
"Are you Tracy fuckin' McKay?" she growled sarcastically.
"I am…"
"Bullshit!
She dismissed me with her eyes and they latched on to someone behind me. I saw her lips curve in to the kind of smile a shark might wear just before taking a good chomp out of some unsuspecting swimmer. I just knew she was eyeing over that poor woman who'd been in the waiting room when I'd arrived here. Talk about a disaster just waiting to happen! All because my parents had to be daring when it came to naming me; thanks so much, mom and dad!
Hey! You!" she was yelling and moving forward. I stepped in front of her. Ellis was on his feet now. I saw him getting his cuffs ready. I was out of uniform, my cuffs at home.
I blocked her, trying to get her attention.
"Calm down, ma'am!"
The moment I touched her, she pushed me back, hard. I staggered a little and then everything seemed to happen at once.
Instinctively, I went to grab her. She hauled off and punched me, right in the nose! It was no love tap, either! I heard my nose crack, saw stars for a moment and all I could think was 'oh, no, not again!'
Blood started gushing down, all over my favourite shirt, but I wasn't about to take my eyes of this lunatic. The man behind her grabbed her in a bear hug and she struggled like a wild cat. Was she strung out? Hopped up on meth or something?
"Get your fuckin' hands off me, Branch!" she yelled. "Let go of me or I swear to God I'm gonna kick you so hard in the fuckin' nuts you're gonna need tweezers to take a piss!"
Really? Little woman, big mouth!
While that was going on, Ellis had moved behind her. This Branch guy apparently wasn't listening to her. He had her somewhat subdued, arms around her from behind, pinning her arms down, thank goodness, but she was sure making use of her legs! While she was struggling, something slipped from her pocket and hit the floor with a big thud. A gun! This lunatic was running around with a gun in her pocket!
"WHERE THE FUCK IS TRACY McKAY?" she screamed.
Oh, man! My nose was killing me, all I could taste was blood, but I moved forward again. When I bent down to grab the gun, blood dripped on to the floor. Just great! I stuck the weapon behind me, in the waistband of my jeans.
"I told you, I'm Tracy McKay. Sheriff Tracy McKay!" I yelled, trying to make a point and out-do her. I was definitely at the end of my patience with her.
Not sure if she even heard me. While I was speaking, so was Branch.
"Calm down, Vic!"
For a moment, she was looking at me and I was looking at her. It was a moment of mutual shock and disbelief.
This was Vic? Walt's Vic? No way, couldn't be…but while I was looking at her, I noticed the emblem on her jacket. Absaroka County Sheriff's Department. Deputy Moretti. Two and two equals the blonde Italian deputy Walt had joked about being afraid of. Walt was in love with his deputy? His much younger deputy, Vic Moretti?
"Oh, shit…"
We both said it at the same time. Sounded like something she said a lot. That wasn't the case with me, but that 'shit' just came out before I could think better of it. I was stunned, to say the least. She was – I don't know what she was, but I was beginning to understand her behaviour. I could almost forgive her for slugging me in the nose…almost. Walt had warned me about her when I'd mentioned wanting to meet her one day. "Be careful what you wish for," he'd said…and I thought he was joking! Wow!
To say the room was in chaos was the understatement of the century. That poor woman behind me, the one Vic had set her sights on, was screaming and crying. Ellis was trying his best to get his cuffs on Vic's wrist while Branch tried to stop him and hold Vic at the same time. Hospital security, a nurse and what I presumed were a couple of orderlies had just barrelled in to the room.
I heard Ellis begin to read Vic her rights. Security was pulling Branch away from her and he wasn't going quietly.
"Vic, calm down! Stop fighting!"
Ellis had her cuffed now. She didn't take her eyes off me, but she quit fighting.
"Where's Walt?" she demanded of me "WHERE THE FUCK IS WALT? WHERE IS HE?"
Then, she collapsed to her knees, arms behind her, that wild blonde hair hiding her face. I heard her sobbing. I never wanted to hear anything like that ever again. Then, her head snapped back up and she pinned me with her eyes.
She tried to move her arms and a look of sheer panic, pure terror came over her.
Everything got totally out of control then. Eliis jerked her back on her feet and Vic immediately began thrashing around like a cougar caught in a net. Branch was flailing away at the security guards, trying to get to her.
"LET HER GO!" he was yelling. "Take those cuffs off her before she loses it!"
I glanced at him. I wondered who he was, how he fit in to all this. He had the same blue eyes as Walt, maybe a little brighter. Was he Walt's son? Did Walt have a son, did he have any kids? We hadn't talked about those things…
"LET ME GO, YOU PSYCHO SONOFABITCH!"
That drew my attention back to Vic. She was screaming, writhing, totally out of control. What was going on here? I expected conduct a little more becoming of a police officer from her. Yeah, I was upset, she would be more so, but this? This was nuts!
"Take those cuffs off her," Branch repeated urgently. "Let her go! You don't understand! Someone else cuffed her, beat her! Almost killed her!"
Vic's legs went out from under her again. Ellis let her go and she collapsed on the floor.
"He's dead," she wailed. "Walt's dead! You killed him you fucker! YOU KILLED HIM!"
She was looking at me, but it wasn't me she was seeing. I'd never seen anything like this!
"You two," I called out to the guards holding Branch. "Let him go."
It was obvious that he knew her. Maybe he could help her. I wanted to go to her, but maybe this time around she'd end up kicking me! There was definitely more going on here than her concern for Walt, that was for sure.
The guards glanced at Ellis. He looked to me. I nodded and Ellis passed it along to the guards. They let him go. The moment Branch was free, he went to her. Got down in front of her.
"Vic…Vic! Look at me! It's alright, it's okay! You're not there!" He looked up at Ellis.
"Get those damn cuffs off her, right now! You don't understand what you've done to her!"
"He's dead," she kept sobbing and thrashing, trying to get to her feet. Branch did his best to comfort her. The nurse stepped up then, hypo at the ready, the orderly by her side. Branch grabbed Vic and held her tightly against him, holding her head against his chest, muffling those horrible sobs, doing his best to subdue her.
"I need to get at her arm," the nurse said.
I got down on my knees with them. Hesitated, a little afraid, but Branch was holding her pretty good. He nodded at me. I pulled Vic's jacket away and down, along with the sleeve of her shirt. Over her shoulder to expose the top part of her arm. Branch kept hanging on. He didn't look so good… The nurse swept in and injected her with what I assumed was a sedative. I had a feeling it was going to take a horse tranquilizer to calm this woman down.
The sobbing died down. Became hitches. She relaxed against Branch. The sudden silence in the room felt heavy.
"Take the cuffs off her, Ellis," I said softly. I wasn't sure about it, but from what Branch had said, I thought it was clear enough that she was having some kind of flashback. Something horrible had happened to this woman and something horrible was happening to her again.
"You're not the Sheriff here, Tracy! This is my county and this woman is out of control! She was armed, is obviously dangerous and she assaulted a police officer. She punched you in the goddamned nose! You're bleeding all over the place!"
"This woman is…" What did I call her? Walt's girlfriend? Ladyfriend? She wasn't a girl and was hardly a lady from what I'd seen and heard. Walt's lover? I wiped the blood on my face with my shirt sleeve. Might as well totally ruin my shirt! Was my nose ever going to stop bleeding?
"She's Walt Longmire's deputy," was the best I could come up with.
"I don't care! This is my county and she's my prisoner!"
"She's been sedated, Ellis. She's not going anywhere. Take the cuffs off."
"We need to get her to a room," the nurse spoke up, "and you need to get your nose looked at."
I don't think anyone was paying too much attention to her, poor thing.
"She's not going anywhere, Ellis," I repeated. "I'll go with her, take responsibility for her."
"You don't know what you've done," Branch said to Ellis.
"And just who are you?" Ellis bit out, glaring.
"I'm Branch Connalley. I work with Vic. We both work for Walt. She's upset, we all are… She's…close to him. Please, just take the cuffs off. Doing that to her, it just made things worse…"
So, not Walt's son. That last name, though…it rang a big bell loud and clear in my head. No time to think about it now, though.
"Uncuff her, Ellis. She needs help."
It wasn't asking in my eyes. It was demanding. Ellis looked at me, hard.
"You're overstepping yourself here, Tracy," he said softly, warning me.
"Maybe, but you owe me one," and it was true.
Eliis and I went back a ways. I'd help him out a time or two and now I was calling in the favour. I watched him think about it; he wasn't happy at all.
"Alright," he finally gave in, but with his eyes, he was telling me this little thing between us was far from over.
Well, why not? This evening, this coming night was bad enough already and getting worse. If I was upset about Walt, just how the heck did this poor woman feel? And Branch…he really wasn't doing much better.
Ellis undid the cuffs. Vic's arms fell forward. She struggled against Branch, pushing at him with her hands.
"Let me go! LET ME GO! I have to get to Walt! I have to get back there! I have to save him!"
Was this woman ever going to stop fighting? Branch was doing his best, but she was only getting more agitated, if that was possible. Ellis was getting a little antsy, too. I moved forward.
"Don't you dare keep me from Walt, you fucker!" I heard her hiss.
Okay, definitely something between these two, but none of my business at the moment. I encouraged Branch to let go of her, to ease up a bit while I moved forward. I took his place, my hands on her upper arms.
"Miss Moretti…Vic? You're safe now…"
She raised her head. I dared to push the blonde tangles out of her eyes.
"Who the fuck are you?" she asked, seeming a little dazed.
"I'm Tracy…Tracy McKay…Walt asked me to call you…"
At the mention of his name, Vic's arms clutched at mine. Her eyes cleared.
"Where is he?" she asked anxiously.
"He's here…in surgery…"
Fresh tears ran down her face.
"Is he…will he…? What happened?"
"Look, you calm down. Take some deep breaths…I'm going to take you somewhere to get cleaned up and I'll tell you everything I know. Do you understand what I'm saying to you?"
"I have to get to Walt!"
"I know, I know…but right now, he's in the O.R. There's nothing you can do for him except get yourself together. Can you do that, for him?"
"Okay! Okay, okay!" She was nodding her head, sniffling back her tears. That crazy light began to fade from her eyes.
"That's good," I encouraged her. "I'm going to get this nurse to help you. Is there anything you need?"
"I need Walt!"
"I know…but he needs you. He needs you to be strong, to be calm. He needs you to get yourself cleaned up and be ready when he comes out. You can do that, right?"
She looked nervously at me, then at Branch.
"Branch? You're here? You're here for Walt, too?"
"Yes, Vic, I am," and he reached out to her. She let go of me with one hand and met his with her own.
"He'll be so happy about that. He loves you, y'know?" More tears along with a shaky smile.
"I know he does, Vic…" and Branch choked up. He quickly kissed that hand of hers that he held.
"He loves you, too….and he's going to want to see you the minute he wakes up. Go with the nurse, Vic. Get yourself together and I'll wait here. Nothing's going to happen before you get back, I promise."
"Okay…" she sniffled. She squeezed his hand. "I'm so sorry, Branch! I don't know what's wrong with me…"and she was crying again. Crying still.
"It's okay. I understand, better than anyone could. It'll be alright, Vic. I swear to you, it will all be okay. You'll make it through this…"
"You did, right?"
"Yeah, I did…and you will, too…"
"And so will Walt, right?" She sounded like she was clinging to that hope by her fingernails.
"He will…He's tough…You just need to get yourself together so you can kick his ass like you always do."
Branch smiled and Vic actually laughed, a little. A really shaky laugh, but it was better than screaming. With some kind of silent signal, Branch and I helped her to her feet. The nurse came over and put an arm around her waist.
"Come with me, honey. I'm just going to make sure you're alright. It's not going to take long, okay?"
Vic didn't protest.
"And you," the nurse indicated me, "you might want to come along so I can check out that nose of yours."
"Alright, I'll be there in a minute…"
"Just back down the hallway, second door on your right."
"Got it, thanks…"
"Take care of her," Branch added.
"I will, don't worry. She's going to be okay."
Amazingly enough, Vic let herself be led from the room. It was then that I finally decided that maybe it was safe to exhale.
"Well, that was something," I muttered.
Everyone in the room, all six of them, counting Ellis, were watching Vic being led from the room and whispering. I told them the show was over, to relax and they did, taking up their seats again. Ellis was talking to the woman Vic had set her sights on when she was looking for me.
I turned to Branch. He was wiping his eyes with his shirt sleeve.
"You okay?" I asked, looking up at him. Always looking up at someone!
"Yeah," he nodded. I could see it wasn't true, but I wasn't going to push it.
"I get that she's upset, Branch, but what was all that other stuff? You said something about her being cuffed and beaten."
"Yeah, about a year and a half ago, this crazy survivalist guy basically kidnapped her and her husband. Beat both of them, especially Vic, with a baseball bat in the head. He was kind enough to put motorcycle helmets on them first," he added sarcastically.
"He had Vic's hands cuffed behind her back, tied to a chair while he wailed on her and then he threw both of them in to some kind of bomb shelter and then dumped a body down there with them. Vic thought it was Walt. He found out about the kidnapping and was on his way to get them out. I guess there were some shots and down comes this body in a body bag. From what I heard, Vic completely lost it."
"Was this that Chance Gilbert guy?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"Walt challenged him to a duel, right?"
"Yeah…"
"And Vic? She was married back then?"
"Yeah…but not for much longer…That night changed everything for her."
"I read about some of it. Were you there?"
Branch hesitated to answer. Looked down at the floor for a moment.
"I, uh…no, I wasn't. Not until later."
He was very uncomfortable. I studied him and it was then that I heard that bell go off in my head again.
Branch Connalley. Son of the late Barlow Connalley, big land development tycoon. The man behind Walt's wife's murder. The man who shot at his only son…and Branch had shot back, seriously wounding him. He didn't die though, not then. Later. In prison. Under suspicious circumstances…
There'd been a lot of talk about Branch in the PD circles, too, even up here in Montana. Before that business with his dad, there were rumours that he'd gone off the rails. There'd been a lot of ruckus too, after that mess when Walt had somehow managed to get him reinstated with the Sheriff's department.
So, this guy was no stranger to crazy business. No wonder he looked so…haunted. I wasn't going to bring any of that up with him. It seemed better to pretend I didn't know anything about it.
"So, Vic…what happened to her after?"
"Well, Walt made her go for counselling. She seemed better, has been better, mostly her old self…but I noticed these past few days at work she seemed a little off. I think with Walt being away and all, it just set something off. PTSD they say. I'm not sure if that's true, but you go through something like that," he shrugged, "I don't know if it ever really goes away…" and he trailed off. He gazed at some point just passed my shoulder.
"She's never really been away from Walt since she started working for the department. Those two were always together. No big surprise when they actually, finally got together this past New Year. I don't know, maybe I should've called Walt to let him know something was up with Vic…I wasn't sure, thought even that maybe she was pregnant, but with this accident, her being cuffed…I think she's just been reliving that nightmare…"
Again he trailed off and I knew he was reliving some of his own nightmares.
"How is Walt?" he asked suddenly.
"I honestly don't know…He wasn't good when I saw him and I haven't heard anything since."
Some not so great thoughts were going through my mind.
"Did he look – "
…and that's when Ellis came up to us.
"They just brought Sheriff Longmire's truck in. Thought maybe this young man here would like to come with me and see if there's anything in there that should be taken out."
"I, uh, yeah, sure. Sure I can do that." Branch seemed almost relieved to have something to do besides wait.
"You'll be okay with that woman, won't you, Tracy?"
"I'll be fine, Ellis, don't you worry."
"Good! Now, go get that nose looked at, okay? Come with me, 'Branch', right?"
"Yeah…Sheriff McKay? Here's my card, in case anything happens while I'm gone. My cell number's on there. Anything, okay? With Walt or Vic."
"Sure thing, Branch. I'll call, I promise."
And then they were gone.
That left me alone to go face Vic Moretti.
Alone to face a lot of things, with a great many more to think about.
Absaroka County sure did breed some bizarre criminals and some interesting folks. Some more than interesting police officers, too.
In the space of a few hours, I'd seen one dying Sheriff, a man I'd come to think was a friend, and two traumatized deputies and just how the heck was this night going to go? I never thought I'd be starting it off by getting punched in the face!
So much was up in the air and where was it all going to land in the end? I really didn't like that word, 'end'…but if Branch and Vic had seen Walt the way I had, 'the end' didn't seem so far away…
…and how was I supposed to hide that image from Vic?
Luckily for me, when I entered the room the nurse had directed me to, Vic was nowhere in sight. I expected an examination room, but no, this was an actual hospital room. There was an actual doctor in this room, an older woman, maybe early fifties. Stylish salt and pepper hair, green eyes. Thankfully, shorter than I was! She noticed the look of surprise on my face.
"Between the weather and the wrong Valentine's Day gifts, the E.R's a little full at the moment and just a tad busy. Welcome to the deluxe suite."
She motioned me to take a seat and began cleaning my face, examining my nose.
"My name's Dr. Hunter and I'll be your on-call fixer-upper this evening."
"Where's Miss Moretti?" I asked, a little thrown by the doctor's demeanor.
"In the shower at the moment."
"How is she?"
"Sedated. Calmer. Not all that co-operative, though. I admitted her for observation and innocent by-stander safety, but I'd really like to run some tests on her. She's not going for that, though. The checked-in part, well, she's here about that Wyoming Sheriff they brought in, right, so she's gonna be sticking around for a while anyway. Do you know her?"
"Just met her, actually…"
"Well, she certainly gave you a nice 'howdy', didn't she?"
"Not one I'll ever forget,"
I laughed and then grimaced as she wiggled my nose. Darn, that sure hurt! It made my eyes water.
"Well, it doesn't seem to be broken, lucky for you. What's with the black eye?"
"Uh, that happened a few days ago. In the line of duty that time around, at least."
"Well, you'll be some kind of handsome come the morning!" she snickered.
Just what I needed, a doctor with a sense of humour!
"The morning's a long way off." I wasn't laughing. "This night feels like it's going to last forever. Do you know anything about Walt Longmire, the Wyoming Sheriff?"
"So that's his name. Obviously,I heard about that, but I haven't heard much more. I know Dr. Burgess has him up in the O.R. and that's about all I know at the moment."
She wasn't laughing, either. It seemed more like she was being evasive.
"Look, that woman, Vic, she's Walt's…'significant other'. I was here with him just before they took him in for surgery. He asked me to get her and I did. She wants answers and if I don't give them to her…"
"Then this nose of yours is going to be broken for sure?"
"Probably. If there's anything you know, anything you can tell me…"
"I take it you know this Walt Longmire, too?"
While she asked, she tossed a pale green scrub top at me.
"I do. I'm the reason he was here in the first place."
That fact weighed heavy on me.
"Honestly, I don't know much."
She glanced at her watch.
"Time-wise, it really hasn't been that long since he went in. I know it probably feels like forever, but from what I heard, he had some pretty nasty injuries. Dr. Burgess is our best surgeon so I can assure you that he's in good hands."
She finished taping up my nose and gave me a pat on the shoulder. Told me to change my shirt; not good for patients to see a guy covered in blood wondering around the hospital. I complied.
"Okay…but if you hear anything, anything at all, let me know. I have a feeling Vic's not going to be happy with 'he's in good hands'.
"You sure you don't want me to have her restrained?"
I couldn't quite tell if she was joking about this or not.
"Don't do that!"
I thought about what Branch had told me about Vic.
"I was told she might be suffering from PTSD."
I felt a little like I was saying too much, but if it helped…
"That could explain a few things," the doctor mused. "See if you can talk her in to letting me examine her because from her vitals, there's definitely a few things going on with that girl."
"I'm not really looking forward to finding myself in traction." I laughed, in spite of the situation. I was that tired.
"Should've thought about that," she snickered back and then she got a little more serious. " Don't worry about it. I have a feeling that before much longer, she's going to run out of steam anyway. I could be wrong, but we'll find out I guess."
"Isn't that attitude just a bit unprofessional?" I couldn't help but ask.
"Hey, I like my nose just the way it is, thank you very much! I managed to convince her to stay for 'observation'," and she did those air-quotes, "but she's not going anywhere until she finds out about this Walt Longmire, so that was easy, but without her consent, I can't force her to undergo testing."
"I get it. She's a bit of a handful, isn't she?"
"Just a bit…Looks like she already slugged someone before she hit you and being so damn tiny, I'd say she definitely has that 'girl-power' thing all worked out!"
"You sure do have a strange sense of humour, Dr. Hunter!"
"Hey, in this business, it's laugh or cry your eyes out and since crying really messes up my eyesight and my cognitive skills, I'd make one lousy doctor if I gave in to it, right?"
"I could see how that might be a problem."
I liked her.
"I'm Sheriff McKay, by the way."
"Well, then, Sheriff, you know all about the fine art of covering up your emotions, don't you? It's how we roll, right?"
She put her arm out, fist closed. I bumped her fist with mine, laughing, again.
"It sure is," I replied.
I was glad she reminded me of that emotional control. I needed some of that right now and I knew I was going to need even more of it before everything was said and done, especially when it came to dealing with Vic.
Dr. Hunter's pager went off.
"Duty calls," she said with a sigh as she glanced down at it.
"Should I reserve you a room, Sheriff McKay?"
"I'll be alright…I hope."
"That's the spirit!" She patted my shoulder again as she moved to the door. "I'll let you know if I hear anything, okay?"
"Thanks, Doc. I appreciate it."
"Good luck" she called as the door closed behind her.
A few moments later,the other door in the room opened and out came the nurse. Vic followed her, muttering something about being able to take a damn shower by herself. Her 'homeless' outfit was gone, replaced by a set of dark blue scrubs, her hair wrapped in a towel perched on her head.
As soon as she entered the room, she went to the closet and grabbed out that shirt she'd been draped in. She put it on and held it tight around her. Walt's shirt, obviously. It was as close to him as she could get at the moment. She also grabbed something else out of the pocket of her jacket; for a moment, my heart skipped a beat, but it calmed down when I saw what was in her hands. Of all things, it was a dreamcatcher!
She acted like she didn't know I was in the room. There were two beds; she moved to the one nearest the door. Sat on the edge of it. I was sitting in a chair close to the main door.
"I'm going to get you something to eat," the nurse was telling her. "Is there anything else you need?"
"Not unless you can tell me how Walt is."
"I'm sorry, I don't know anything about that."
"Well, then, that's all I need and you can't give it to me, so I guess I'll see ya later…"
She toyed with the dreamcatcher, adjusting it before setting it aside.
The nurse left. Vic took the towel off her head and began to rub her hair with it.
"You should've arrested me." Her voice was flat, emotionless.
So, she did know I was there.
"Hey, you were upset."
"I'd like to say that I don't usually go around punching people in the face, but that's pretty well a lie. Usually it's people I think who deserve it and you…well, you were the second person I hit tonight without provocation. I'd say I'm sorry, but would you believe me? I barely remember doing it..."
She still wasn't looking at me. She just continued to dry her hair, head down.
"It's okay, honest. Not quite what I was expecting, but then again, I wasn't expecting 'Vic' to be you, either."
She raised her head then. Pushed her hair away from her face and really looked at me. She was absolutely beautiful, almost regal, the way she was regarding me. Breathtaking in an exotic sort of way.
"This isn't the way this night was supposed to go…"
For a moment, she looked like she was going to cry again, but she didn't. I watched her take a deep breath. She held it for a moment and then let it out. My heart went out to her in that moment. That crazy hell-cat was gone and it its place was this hauntingly, and haunted, beautiful woman. So far, I'd only seen her out of control and now, I was seeing her fighting for control. She was gorgeous in her strength.
"Is there any news?" she asked, almost as though she knew I was thinking about Walt.
"Nothing."
"Can you tell me what happened?"
"I can tell you what I know."
"I'd appreciate that."
She sat back on the bed and drew her knees up. She sat Indian style; knees out, calves crossed over each other.. She picked up the dreamcatcher, absently turning it in her hands as she watched me and waited. She held me with her quiet regard. Her dark eyes seemed so deep. I couldn't tell how she was feeling, what she was thinking. She looked relaxed enough, but I didn't think that was really the case.
"From what I know, Walt was on his way home. He was about an hour away from the border when he came around a corner and there was a snow plow coming towards him. The weather was bad, visibility pretty well nonexistent."
I had to clear my throat. Her gaze was so intense it almost made me uncomfortable.
"I'm assuming this is all from the snow plow driver's report of the incident?"
What a switch this was. One moment she'd been swearing, ranting, screaming and now, here she was, concise, coherent and…professional. I knew the sedative had something to do with it, but really, once a cop, always a cop. In the end, you always fall back on what you know. Funny, I felt like a tongue-tied schoolboy talking to her. Those eyes of hers, that face…
"Um, yes…I read the report. I talked to him myself. He's still out there if you want to talk to him."
"No, that's okay, for now. You tell me what you know. You're the one Walt was working with up here. You know him, so you tell me what happened."
I cleared my throat again. Time for me to be professional. It was hard, though. I felt…responsible for this.
"From what the driver told me, they both took evasive action but the plow clipped the back of Walt's truck. It sent him in to a spin. He managed to keep the truck upright, which in itself, was amazing, but he couldn't keep from going off the road."
Here comes the hard part. Vic raised an eyebrow as if telling me to get on with it. Funny, Walt did that, too, in the same way. I actually felt like Walt was in the room with us. I took a deep breath, wondering if I should skip over the details. I thought better of it once I looked at Vic again. She wanted to know, all of it. She needed to know! I wasn't going to be the one to keep her in the dark. There was no place worse to be…
"He hit the trees, at a pretty good speed. The driver got out of the truck and found Walt dazed but conscious. He was having some trouble breathing, though…"
Vic pressed her lips together, worried at the dreamcatcher but nodded for me to go on.
"Um…it appeared he was going in to shock. There was a tree branch…it punctured the door and Walt...it went through his leg, upper thigh…he was pinned to the seat by it. FD had to cut the branch to get him out."
Vic blinked for what seemed like a hundred times, fighting back tears. She ran a hand through her hair, pushing it back, away from her face. She gave a soft gasp, eyes going to the ceiling quickly. Then they were back on me and her lips were pressed together again. Her eyes shone with tears that she didn't let fall.
It was at that moment that the nurse came in, a cellophane wrapped sandwich on a tray with a glass of milk to go with it. Vic thanked her and dismissed her all at the same time…
"The rest of it," she insisted softly, ignoring the food, setting it aside on the bedside table.
"When I got the call that there'd been an accident, that it was Walt, I came straight here. By the time I got here, they were just taking him to the O.R. He saw me, recognized me. Asked me to call his office…to call you…"
Vic got up. Left the dreamcatcher on the bed. She began to pace, one hand on her hip, the other on her forehead as though she had a killer headache. Back and forth, faster and faster. The hand on her forehead dropped to her chest, just above where her heart would be. It wasn't a headache. It was a heartache. The tears rolled down her face, quietly. Watching her, I felt my own kind of heartache.
"You saw him?" she finally managed to get out as she stopped her pacing.
I could only nod. Yeah, I'd seen him; I was still seeing him! One minute, he'd been in my office, on his way out. Bigger than life. Happy. Smiling. Telling me to keep the faith. Telling me to be careful. It seemed like only the next moment I was here, holding his hand. Trying desperately to hear him as he struggled to get the words out, to tell me to call his office. To let Vic know…
How much was I supposed to let her know? That I'd seen the tree branch sticking out of his leg? That I'd seen the horrible bruising and swelling on his upper abdomen, working its way up his side? That I heard him screaming before I'd even seen him?
Did I tell her how his eyes had been rolling around before I grasped his hand, how they'd pierced me while he was talking to me? Did I tell her how his hand had slipped from mine once the words were out? How the light had faded from his eyes, how they'd rolled up as they took him away?
She was hunkered down in front of me, where I sat, seeing what I'd seen. She grasped one of my hands.
"What did he look like?" I heard the tears in her voice.
"Not good…"
That's all I could get out. Not the details, but the truth, anyway.
"Tell me, Tracy!"
She squeezed my hand. I'm sure she didn't even know what she was doing. She was strong.
"Vic…"
"No, I need to know!"
"He…he had some cuts on his face. The windshield got smashed. There was glass in his hair, blood on his face…"
She squeezed again. I didn't want to tell her what I'd seen, but the words came anyway.
"The tree branch was still stuck in his leg. Not bleeding much. I think it was stopping the bleeding, so they left it in. He was pale, in shock. There was a bruise, a big one, on his abdomen…"
"Dark? Swelling?"
I could only nod.
"Was he…was he in pain?"
Again, I didn't want to tell her, wanted to spare her, but she wasn't stupid. She'd seen this kind of thing before. She'd seen internal bleeding before; we both had. The words came out anyway.
"Yes," I whispered. "Yes, he was in pain…"
I had to wipe at my eyes with my free hand. I expected her to go nuts at any moment. Expected her to slug me again and I didn't even try to move. She took her hand from mine. Buried her face in both of her own small ones. With her head bowed, I saw her cry. Her shoulders heaved, up and down, but she didn't make a sound.
"I'm so sorry, Vic…"
She dropped her hands from her face; here it comes, I thought…but she was wiping at her own eyes, dashing her tears away. Trying to keep it together. Trying hard.
"If I hadn't asked him to come to Montana, he'd be home with you now. This would never have happened and none of us would be here."
That's how I felt, as stupid as it might sound.
"It is what it is…" and I was surprised, not only by what she'd said, but by the way she took my hand back in hers, covered it with the other one and held it gently. My puzzlement must have shown in my eyes.
"That's what Henry would say…It was an accident, Tracy. Not your fault. Not Walt's. Not the snow plow driver's, either…"
This was not what I expected at all.
"Who's Henry?" I asked. I left the debate about all this just being an accident alone for the time being.
"He's Walt's brother….but not. It's complicated."
She actually gave a tiny smile at that. She got up, went back to the bed and sat back on it, playing with the dreamcatcher again.
"Walt almost rolled that truck of his once. Flipped it on the passenger side and rode with it while it slid across a field. Wrecked the whole side of it. Ended up stuck in his seat by the seatbelt. He had to use his knife to cut himself free. When he did, he landed, hard, and had to climb out of the truck through the driver's side window. All he got out of it was some glass embedded in the back of his hand, more stitches and another scar to add to his collection."
She was smiling softly now, recalling that time. Talking about Walt seemed to have a calming effect on her.
"Do you know that at our hospital in Durant they keep extra suturing on hand just for Walt? He pretty well has his own first-aid room there. If he doesn't show up there at least once a month, they call to make sure he's alright."
"You're kidding me!"
I thought I'd have to force a smile, but it actually came pretty easy. Maybe it was just the glow in Vic's eyes as she talked about Walt that helped. She seemed to light right up.
"Well, maybe, but just a little. EVERYONE at the hospital knows him. He just passes through the door, straight to the first aid room, bleeding all over the damn place!"
"Has he ever…has he been in a situation like this before?" I asked. She shook her head, swiping at the tears again with one hand. The other hand clutched the dreamcatcher.
"Not like this….almost froze to death once. That was close…Got smacked in the side of the head with a rifle by some crazy Indian guy on horseback another time. Almost knocked him out but he hung on. Ended up killing the guy. Stabbed him when he jumped off his horse and landed on him…"
"Walt's a tough old son, isn't he?" I didn't know what else to say. She was finding it hard to hold back her tears.
"Yeah, well most times it's just another day in the life of Walt….but this time….it's all so unreal, y'know? Just driving home and this happens?"
She jumped off the bed to begin pacing again. She staggered a bit. I went to her, grabbed her to steady her and then got ready to duck. Nothing happened.
"Are you okay?" I asked, thinking what a stupid question that was, but it came out anyway. She held on to me for a moment.
"No…" and that one word, the fresh tears in her eyes, the way her voice shook, the pain and the fear in her eyes nearly undid me.
I went to take her in my arms, to hug her…and she looked at me as if to say 'what the heck are you doing, buddy?' Of course, she wouldn't have said it quite like that! Apparently, even in her grief, Vic Moretti wasn't open to being held by just anyone. Touching her was iffy, grabbing her, worse…yeah, just ask my poor nose.
I honestly didn't know what to do. I wanted to hug her, comfort her; that's the way I was made when it came to crying women. They usually seemed to take it for what it was; an act of caring and concern. This Vic, she'd sooner haul off and hit me than let me hug her; I got that, but what was I supposed to do?
The answer to that question came bursting through the door. A tall Native fellow, older, short dark hair, eyes like flint, darting around the room. Mouth in a grim line. He looked like stone. His dark eyebrows drew together when he saw me first and then he looked like thunder. Thankfully, he saw Vic in the next instant and she saw him.
"Henry!"
She practically threw herself at him. He caught her like it was nothing. She threw her arms around him and he wrapped her up tight in his. She gave in to her tears and he murmured soft words to her. His face had softened, but he kept a wary eye on me.
Was this the 'Henry' Vic had mentioned, the one who was Walt's brother but wasn't? The lack of family resemblance sure gave that away! Yeah, 'complicated' was a good way to describe all this, for sure! And to think that before all this, I thought Walt was a simple man, living a simple little life down there in Absaroka County. Was that impression ever wrong!
Vic was….I don't even know what she was. A terror, a keg of dynamite with a lit fuse. A mass of conflicting adjectives I couldn't even begin to list off. Foul-mouthed but so very beautiful. A temper like a rattlesnake, a killer right hook…and a vulnerability about her that could cancel out the rest of it. At least I hadn't been crazy enough to imagine Walt taming her, but her taming Walt? Talk about being out in left field on that one!
No way a tame man could handle a spit-fire like Vic! To be attracted to her, he must've seen something in her that spoke to him, aside from her obvious good looks. He had a fire in him. I'd seen it when we'd made the arrests in our case. Not out of control, but barely controlled. Fire seeks fire, right? Yeah, Vic hadn't tamed him. Tempered him maybe and he probably did the same for her. I honestly couldn't imagine the two of them together. Not because it was impossible, but just because it would have to be intense! I was imagining them together anyway and had to shake my head. Think about something else.
Henry, this Cheyenne man, obviously so very close to Walt; brothers in a whole other way. There was a spark in his eyes that I couldn't miss. He was controlled, though. I felt it. And he was close to Vic, too. No one else could've held her the way he was. Branch had tried, but Vic lashed out of him. No one else, except Walt. It would take a big man to hold a woman like her and keep on holding her. I wanted to see that sight. I wanted to see the two of them together to find out if I was right about them. I thought I knew Walt. Not well, certainly, but I thought I had him figured out in the time we'd spent together. Boy, how wrong was I? I didn't know Walt at all… I wanted to be him, I admired him and I truly did care about him, but know him? No, sure didn't…but I wanted the chance to get to.
And then, there was Branch, the walking wounded. Stories in his eyes that made me curious to find out more about him and then there was Absaroka County itself! Wow! Strangely, all this kind of made me want to go see the place even more. Maybe Vic had given me a slight concussion with that punch of hers; whatever, I was getting thoughts in my head. Strange thoughts, maybe, but they were there. Depending on how this all turned out, I had some ideas of how I could help out. I'd have to call Jack, though…
These people, Henry, Walt's friend/brother, Branch, Walt's colleague and Vic, Walt's lover, I wanted to get to know them, too. I wanted them to get to know me, in better days, better times. I wanted them to think of me as someone other than the bearer of bad news, someone who might just have deserved that punch in the face, someone who was an interloper. Those better days lay ahead, right? I wanted to be sure that they did, but in all honestly, I wasn't. My last image of Walt still haunted me…
"How did you - ? Do you know what happened?"
Vic had found her voice again. She'd pulled herself away, just a little and was looking up at Henry.
"I attempted to call the house, then your cell phone. I was feeling uneasy, worried about you, about Walt. When I could not reach you, I called the station. Ruby filled me in on what had happened, where you were. I came as fast as I could, Vic…"
What a voice he had and the way he spoke! No contractions? Weird...but melodic almost.
"I don't know anything, Henry, except that it's not good! I kind of lost it when I got here. They had to…they had to sedate me…and I still don't know how he is!"
"I know that he is still in surgery, but no more than that. I am so very sorry, Vic…"
He held her again, looking over her shoulder at me.
"And you are?" he asked pointedly.
"Tracy McKay. Walt…he was here, working with me…" Please, don't look at me like that! I felt bad enough already.
"Look, I'm gonna step outside, see if I can find out anything, okay?"
I really wanted to get out of the room. It didn't feel big enough for the three of us. I didn't belong in here with them.
"Do that," Henry told me, nodding at me. "If you hear some news, anything – "
"You'll be the first one to know, trust me!"
I hightailed it out of there, went to the desk. No news. That was supposed to be good news, right? Oh, Lord, please let it be so! I wasn't going to go back to the room so I headed for the waiting room. Surprisingly, it was empty. I dropped in to a chair. How many hours had it been now? Too many!
I leaned forward, rested my elbows on my knees and put my head in my hands. I really should call Jack, but somehow, I didn't feel like I had the energy to even fish my cell phone out of my pocket. I'd do it in a minute, just one minute…I closed my eyes and Henry's dark eyes looking at me were all I could see. Did he blame me? I couldn't be sure. My nose was killing me, my head starting to ache…
I took a deep breath, let it out, opened my eyes, sat back and there was Branch. He was holding a bouquet of red and white roses that looked a little beat up.
"Any word?" he asked.
I shook my head.
"Are those for Vic?" I asked, pointing to the flowers. He could've picked some nicer looking ones.
"I guess so. I found them in Walt's truck, along with this," and he held up a silver wrapped box with a small red bow on it, about the size of a deck of cards, only deeper. That explained the flowers. The present? That just made me sad.
"A Valentine's Day present, I guess…How is Vic?"
"They admitted her for observation. Want to run some tests on her but she won't let them. Some guy named Henry's with her right now."
I just kept staring at the flowers, at the present.
"Henry's here?"
"Yup….Where's Ellis?" I asked, not particularly caring, but asking anyway.
"He should be here in a minute. Just stopped by at the station to drop off Walt's rifle. He wouldn't let met take it. Probably doesn't trust me not to use it..."
Branch was looking at the present and the flowers, the way I was. It really was sad. Almost heartbreaking in light of what had happened and where we were.
"What am I supposed to do with these things?" he asked softly. "I don't know if I should give them to Vic or not. If Walt…if he doesn't make it…"
"I don't know, Branch. I don't know what to think about anything anymore, but I do know we can't give up hope, right?"
"Not much else we can do."
Ellis came in then, a paper bag in one hand and a cardboard holder with three take-out coffee cups, balanced precariously.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"We're doing what cops do best," I told him. "We're waiting…."
"Good thing I brought coffee and donuts, then," he replied. He said it seriously enough, not even aware of what he'd done. Branch and I looked at each other. Don't think we honestly meant to, but we both grinned. We laughed, in fact.
"Good thing I've got this," and Branch produced a flask from his inside pocket after setting the flowers down on a chair. Yes, a very good thing, as I needed a coffee and a drink! We all did. Maybe even a donut, too.
Yeah, this really was one wild, crazy, nightmare of a night and just how was it all going to turn out and when were we going to know? I took a sip of my doctored coffee, held out my hand for that flask of Branch's, added a little more, took another sip. Better. I was half-tempted just to take a swallow straight from the flask, but no, not now. Not yet. Branch went ahead and did it for me, though. Didn't blame him one little bit. Waiting was always the hardest thing to do. Wondering...well, that might even be worse...
.