The Treasure Seeker Read online

  The dull ache in her head was growing. Ry closed her eyes and wished she were home in her own bed where she could sleep in peace. She was on the verge of sleep again when she heard the door. She opened her eyes and saw a man in a white coat.

  “I heard that you had decided to wake up,” he said and smiled. “I doubt if you remember me. I’m Dr. Price. I’m the neurosurgeon who’s been poking around in your head.” He held out his hand as he approached the bed. His too perfect tan suggested he spent a lot of time in a tanning salon.

  Ry took his hand and instantly her head seemed to explode with color that immediately gave way to a scene of a German shepherd sitting by a tree. There was a swing next to the tree. It was one of those western types with the fake wagon wheels on either side of it. As she looked closer, she saw a rope. The dog was tied to the tree and appeared to be malnourished. She couldn’t see a food or water bowl anywhere nearby. The scene faded as quickly as it came.

  The doctor seemingly hadn’t noticed any change in her. He had released her hand and was looking at her chart. “Everything looks remarkably good.” He put the chart down and examined the bandage on her forehead. “Have you experienced any dizziness since you woke?”

  “There’s a little dizziness when I turn my head, but it’s minimal.”

  “Have you had any visual or auditory hallucinations?”

  “No.” She decided not to mention what she had experienced when she shook his hand.

  “How’s the pain level? On a scale from one to ten, if one were a hangnail and ten being unable to lift your head.”

  “I have a dull headache. I guess one or two would be right.”

  He glanced at the monitor. “Your blood pressure and heart rate are fine.”

  Ry was trying to understand what had just happened with the sudden vision of the dog. “What exactly is going on with me, Doc?” she asked.

  He stepped back and stared down at her. “How much have you been told so far?”

  “I know I was shot and I’m in San Antonio.”

  He nodded. “You were struck by a bullet fragment approximately three millimeters wide and less than half that in length. Three millimeters is slightly less than an eighth of an inch,” he explained. The fragment entered here.” He placed a finger on the right side of his forehead slightly below his hairline. “It lodged in the right frontal lobe. You were fortunate that the fragment was small. There was very little brain swelling. We were able to remove the fragment without having to make a larger opening in your skull.”

  The monitor began bleeping wildly. He reached over and lowered the volume.

  “I’m sorry. I know this all sounds frightening and it can be. But, as I said, you are doing amazingly well.”

  “How did I survive a bullet to the brain?”

  He laid the chart down. “You’re fortunate that only a small fragment of the bullet struck you. It didn’t penetrate the frontal lobe very deeply. The police think the bullet hit a tree limb before it passed through a glass jar and hit you.”

  Ry remembered the hummingbird feeder exploding just before she heard the shot. “That’s right. It was a hummingbird feeder.” She closed her eyes and let the memories roll over her. “There was a sharp gust of wind just before I heard the shot,” she said. “The cypress tree limbs were whipping and the feeder was whirling about.” She opened her eyes. She didn’t want to recall the impact of the bullet.

  He was staring at her. “That gust of wind seems to have saved your life,” he replied. “The cypress limb deflected the bullet just enough that it missed any vital areas. And when the bullet passed through the hummingbird feeder it was slowed down so it didn’t penetrate deeply.” He shook his head in amazement. “It’s truly a miracle you’re alive.”

  Too many thoughts were running through her mind. She needed time alone to sort them out and make sense of them. “When can I go home?”

  “You’ve only been awake for a few minutes and you’re already anxious to leave us.” He smiled. “You haven’t even experienced our wonderful hospital cuisine yet. I’m sorry, but at this point I can’t give you a definitive date as to when you can go home.” He picked up the chart again and flipped through it as he spoke. “Immediately after surgery you had some superficial swelling, which was to be expected. It has since gone down.” He motioned toward her face. “You have some bruising, but that will go away soon. There’s no indication of infection. Your speech and auditory functions appear normal. There are no signs of paralysis in any of your extremities.” He closed the chart. “We’re going to get you up and moving around shortly. If all continues to go well, the only physical reminder you’ll have of this will be a small scar on your forehead.” He fiddled with the monitor again. “Do you have any questions?”

  “Will I still be able to do everything the way I did before?” she asked.

  He rubbed his chin. “Ms. Shelton…”

  “Please call me, Ry.”

  He nodded. “Ry, you’ve had some damage to the right frontal lobe of your brain. This area of the brain is responsible for cognitive thought processes.” He stopped and held up his hand. “Please understand, I’m giving you a purely clinical evaluation of what could and I stress could, occur. This doesn’t means that any of these changes will happen to you. It simply means we will be watching for these things over the next few weeks. Do you understand that?”

  She fought to remain in control. The thought of not being back to normal for weeks made her nauseous. She kept her voice as calm as she could. “Yes. Please go on.”

  He nodded and continued, “Damage to this area could lead to changes in a person’s socialization skills, a decrease in attention span, increased risk taking or changes to a person’s sexual habits.”

  “So I might stop being a lesbian.” She couldn’t hide her smile.

  He stared at her for a long second and cleared his throat. “Well, I’m not sure about that.”

  Before he could say anything more, the door opened and a tall and very handsome woman dressed in a uniform walked in.

  As Ry glanced over at her the monitor next to the bed began its annoying wild beep.

  “Officer, if you could wait outside. I’ll only be another moment,” Dr. Price said.

  “Sorry.” The woman disappeared as quickly as she had appeared.

  He cleared his throat again. “If the sudden elevation in heart rate and blood pressure are any indicator, it appears your concerns about changing your sexual orientation won’t be an issue,” he said as he held out his hand.

  When she took it, she was again overwhelmed by an array of colors before she once more saw the dog. “Do you own a German shepherd?” she asked without thinking.

  He stopped short and stared at her. “I do.” The sense of tension seemed to fill the room. “Why do you ask?”

  Ry told herself to be quiet, but couldn’t keep from asking, “Do you know someone who has one of those big western swings with the wagon wheels on the ends?”

  His eyes narrowed slightly as he glanced from her to the machine. “Actually, I believe I do,” he said.

  “I think you should look there for your dog.”

  He frowned. “How would you know where my dog is?”

  “I don’t know. I just have a feeling.”

  “Has someone mentioned my dog to you?”

  “No. It’s just a feeling.” She wished she could take back the entire conversation.

  He stared at her for a long moment. “Rest as much as you can. I’ll stop by to see you soon.” He left her alone.

  Ry cursed herself for saying anything. Now she’d probably end up in the psych ward. She flinched when she heard a voice whisper in her ear, “Ry, you must follow your path.”

  She closed her eyes. “Granny Jeter, you never lied to me. I sure hope you know what you’re doing.”

  “Is this still a bad time?”

  Ry opened her eyes to find the woman who had stepped in earlier smiling down at her. She was wearing a Parks and Wildlife uniform
. There was a roguish twinkle in her sky-blue eyes. Ry couldn’t help but smile back. “No, I’m just having a conversation with the voices in my head.”

  The woman tilted her head slightly as she idly turned her uniform hat in her hands. “Someone once told me that talking to yourself is often times the only way to ensure an intelligent conversation.” She stepped closer and held out her hand. “I’m Nicole Matthews.”

  Ry held her breath as she shook her hand. She nearly giggled with relief when nothing happened.

  “I understand you saved my life,” Ry said.

  Nicole blew out a loud breath and ran a hand over her short black hair. “I’m glad I could help, but I sure hope I never have to do that again. In all honesty, I was scared to death. I’ve never seen so much blood.” She stopped and shifted her feet.

  “Well, Officer Matthews. Thank you saving my life.”

  “Always happy to rescue a pretty lady,” she said and smiled. “You can call me Nicole.”

  Ry cringed when the blasted cardiac monitor started bleeping like a wild being. “Sorry about the noise,” she said. “That thing is apparently broken.”

  Nicole smiled at her. “I understand completely.” She shuffled her feet. “I had to come into the city to testify in court so I thought I’d stop by to see how you were doing.”

  “The doctor seems happy with my progress,” Ry said as she tried not to stare at the way Nicole’s uniform seemed to fit perfectly in all the right spots.

  “That’s good.” She spun her hat a couple of times before adding, “You probably don’t remember me but we met about a year ago.”

  Ry study Nicole’s face. She was certain she would have remembered her. “Where did we meet?”

  “It was a fundraiser. Some group was trying to raise money to fence in that old cemetery out west of town.”

  Ry frowned and tried to remember. Suddenly it came to her. “I remember the event. It was for the Old Pioneer Cemetery. My mom was on the committee.”

  Nicole nodded. “I noticed you and wanted to talk to you that night but then I saw you were with someone.” She continued to spin her hat. “So, I backed off.”

  “I was, then.”

  “Then?” Nicole’s attention sharpened.

  “She moved out.” She stopped. “Not moved out exactly. There wasn’t really anything left to move out of.”

  “I heard about your shop. It was a nice place.”

  “You’ve been to the shop?” Ry began to worry about her memory. How could she have possibly seen this woman twice and not remember her. Who could forget those eyes?

  “I stopped by once, but you weren’t there. Some other woman was working that day, short woman with a long braid.”

  “That’s Sally.”

  Nicole nodded before suddenly saying. “The doctor told me I could only stay a minute. I was wondering. Would you mind if I stopped by to see you again? I mean, if I get a chance. I never know what my hours are going to be.”

  “I’d like that,” Ry said. She liked this bold woman. Perhaps that was what made her feel a bit more daring than she normally was. “Maybe you should give me your number in case I’m released before you get back this way.”

  They stared at each other for a long moment before Nicole reached into her pocket and removed a card and a pen. She wrote on the back. “You can reach me through dispatch at the number on the front.” She handed the card to Ry. “Or you can reach me directly on my cell number.”

  “I think I prefer the direct approach,” Ry said. Her eyes never left Nicole.

  Nicole smiled that devilish smile again. “Somehow, I just thought you might.”

  “Don’t forget to send me your bill for saving my life,” Ry teased.

  Without warning, Nicole leaned down and gently kissed her lips. “There. Consider it paid in full.”

  Before Ry could catch her breath or respond, the door to the room burst open. A nurse came flying in with Ry’s parents right behind her. It took her a moment to realize the monitor sounded as though it had gone into cardiac arrest.

  “Are you okay?” the nurse asked as she began fussing over Ry. She slapped a blood pressure cuff on Ry’s arm, took a stethoscope from her pocket and began checking Ry’s heart.

  “We were just talking and it started going crazy,” Ry said. She could feel her face blazing.

  “Your pulse is a little high,” the nurse said.

  “It’s that thing,” Ry said. “It nearly scared me to death.”

  The nurse turned to the monitor. “I’ll get it replaced.”

  Nicole gave Ry a wink. “I’ll see you soon.”

  “Thanks again for saving my life,” Ry said.

  Nicole waved goodbye and left.

  After another check of the monitor, the nurse left. As soon as she was gone, Ry’s parents approached the bed.

  “What happened?” her father asked.

  Ry deeply regretted the fright she had given them. “It’s the monitor. I think it’s broken. It goes crazy every once in a while.”

  Her mom was watching her closely.

  “I’m fine,” Ry assured them. She wished her mom wouldn’t keep watching her. It felt like she was a kid again. She had never been able to hide anything from her mother. “Any leads on who shot me?” she asked to deflect her mom’s scrutiny.

  “Victor thinks it was the poacher Nat Zucker’s been complaining about,” her father said.

  She touched the bandage on her forehead. She didn’t say anything, but it didn’t make sense. Maybe her thoughts were still muddled, but she had been standing on the porch. How could anyone have possibly mistaken her for a deer? She decided not to voice her opinion. Her parents had worried enough already.

  Her mom began giving her a complete rundown of messages from her siblings and their families. Ry tried to concentrate, but it was useless. All she could think about was Nicole and that bold kiss. Ry’s eyes grew too heavy to keep open. She tried to fight the heaviness, but it was useless. She finally gave up.

  Chapter Twelve

  It was almost dark when she woke. Her dad was sitting in the large chair beside the bed.

  “I’m sorry I fell asleep while mom was talking,” she said.

  Her dad got up and went over to stand by the bed. “She understands you need to rest.”

  “Where is she now?”

  “She’s in the waiting room. The boys and Kate are out there. Your mom is talking to them. The hospital only allows two people to be in your room at a time,” he explained. “Your mother can be even stricter.” He smiled. “She won’t allow anyone but me in while you’re sleeping. She nearly tackled a nurse earlier.”

  “I feel bad they drove all this way,” Ry began. She wondered why Kate was still here.

  “No. No. I don’t want you to worry about anything. They knew they probably wouldn’t be able to see you today. It helps your mom to have them here.”

  Ry reached up, put her hand over the back of her father’s hand and squeezed. She knew he wouldn’t freely admit that he found comfort in having his sons nearby. “I love you, Dad.”

  “I love you too, Buttercup.”

  She grinned. “You haven’t called me that since I was a kid.”

  “It drove you crazy when I called you Buttercup,” he said and smiled. “You’d tell me Buttercup was a cow’s name and you weren’t a cow.”

  He turned his hand and clasped her hand. Ry’s head filled with color and suddenly she was seeing herself as a child.

  “You haven’t lost me, Dad. I’ve just grown up.” She didn’t know where the vision or statement had come from. Both had simply popped into her head.

  He stared at her startled for a moment before tears sprung to his eyes. He wiped his face roughly. “Victor is waiting outside to talk to you,” he said. “He’s been here practically every night since they brought you in. I promised I’d tell him as soon as you were awake and up to talking. Do you feel like talking to him?”

  “I think I’m up to it,” she agreed. �
�Why is Victor here?” she asked as an afterthought. “The shooting didn’t happen in town.”

  “He’s working with the county sheriff. He seems to think the mess that happened over there at that house, the destruction of your shop and now this are all tied together somehow. I’ll go get him.”

  Victor came in with her parents. They had seemingly forgotten the two-person at a time rule, but Ry held her tongue.

  “I’m glad to hear you’re doing better.” He gave her a slight nod and began to smooth his massive handlebar mustache. He was wearing the heavier weight dark blue uniform that the personnel in the sheriff’s department wore during cooler weather. “I’m sorry I have to bother you,” he said.

  “It’s no bother,” Ry assured him. “I’m afraid I can’t help you any. I don’t remember seeing anyone.”

  “I was hoping if you felt up to it, you could tell me what you do remember. Sometimes people see or hear things they don’t think will make a difference, but it oftentimes does.”

  Ry repeated the same story she told Kate.

  Victor nodded. “So you were hit while you were standing on the porch holding a cup of coffee and a cell phone?” Victor asked to clarify.

  “Yes. I was calling Wilma Brown to see if she’d been able to schedule an appointment with a claims adjuster.” Ry struggled to piece the events of the morning back together. “I remember a gust of wind hit me just as the hummingbird feeder exploded. I heard the shot and then…” She stopped when she heard her mom choke back a sob.

  Victor turned his hat in his hands. “I’m sorry to upset you, Doreen. I probably should have talked to Ry alone. I certainly don’t want to cause you folks anymore grief or suffering.”

  Her mom shook her head. “No, you go ahead. I’m fine.” She pasted on a smile that was clearly forced.

  They all remained silent for a long moment before her dad cleared his throat. “Doreen, I could sure use some coffee. Why don’t we run down and grab a cup while Victor’s here with Ry?”