As Time Flies.....Chapter 3
Last time: We didn't even see Nora (What a rip! LOL!), Lindsay acted like an idiot (Okay, what else is new? LOL!) and she made an outrageous suggestion to Bo. Bo got a new case. (Actually, since I posted 2 parts at once, it's not really true that we didn't see Nora last time, but you know what I mean… we didn't see her in Chapter 2! LOL!)
Colin's House
Nora never even got to see the soup. She passed out right after taking the pills out of her mouth and stuffing them under the mattress. She was so weak from the effort she wound up sleeping for the rest of the day. Here it was morning again and she had let a whole day slip by. She couldn't help being mad at her body for betraying her like this, but she vowed that today would be the day. She waited for Dr. MacIver and watched the morning sun stream through the open windows. She thought of Matthew, and hoped he was out with Mary Ann on such a beautiful day.
"Scarlet! You're awake! I was starting to worry about you. I thought you were ready to eat yesterday, but you slept the entire day. How are you feeling?"
"If you thought I was hungry yesterday, you should try me today, Dr. MacIver." Nora's voice sounded much better today. She had really needed that rest. Nora smiled. "So when is breakfast gonna be ready?" She didn't want to alienate him like she almost did yesterday.
"I'll be right back with some soup. Let's start with that, okay? I bet you feel like you could eat a horse, but I want to take it slow. Let me give you your pain medication, then we can try the soup."
Nora rolled her eyes at his back as he went to the bureau drawer and retrieved two more pain pills. She really wished this guy would take a more holistic approach as a sense of déjà vu overcame her. She vowed she wasn't going to pass out today, at least not before she got some of that soup!
Colin gave her the pills and watched her swallow before leaving the room. As soon as he was out the door, Nora removed the decomposing pills from under her tongue and once again stuffed them under the mattress. It was a little easier today, thank God. At this rate, she thought, I can open my own pharmacy when I get out of here! She smiled to herself and waited for Colin to come back with the soup.
She didn't have to wait long. He was back in a few minutes with a bowl of chicken broth. In spite of herself, Nora was just as glad to see him as she was to see the soup. Colin began to gently spoon the warm soup into her mouth, and she thought she had never tasted anything so good. They weren't kidding when they said chicken soup was Jewish penicillin. She was about halfway through with the soup when she thought she'd try to talk to him a little. She really wanted some answers.
"This is delicious, Dr. MacIver, thanks. Can you tell me when my family will be here? I want to see them so badly." Nora looked him directly in the eye.
Colin looked uncomfortable. "I wish I could Scarlet, but I can't."
In spite of her earlier resolve to be nice, Nora had had enough. So much for being patient. "Dr. MacIver, I'm tired of being called Scarlet. My name is Nora Buchanan, and I'm also tired of getting the run-around. Why can't you tell me? Where is my family? Haven't you let them know I'm here? I want to know what's going on, and I want to know now!" Nora's eyes were blazing.
Colin could see she was serious. She was definitely getting better. He knew it would start happening this way, that as she felt better she'd be harder to control. He just hoped the pain medication would take effect soon because he was having a hard time evading her questions. He knew in his heart what he and Lindsay were doing was really sick, and he hated himself for it. He tried to change the subject. "Now that you're able to eat, Scarlet, how about I write down some of your favorite foods and see what I can do about improving the menu around here?" He brought out a yellow legal pad and a pen. "Tell me what you like."
"I'd like to see my family, that's what I'd like! What's the matter with you?" Nora was feeling exasperated. As much as she loved food, she loved her family more. She was also feeling tired from their exchange, and she realized she would have things to do before she fell asleep again. She knew he would expect her to fall asleep soon, so she pretended to be a little sleepier that she really was. She yawned.
Colin jumped at her cue. He was only too happy to leave the room, especially if she was going to keep interrogating him. "I can see you're tired, Scarlet. Wecan do the menu later. You need your rest. Sleep well." He swept her hair off her forehead and left the room.
Nora was really puzzled and worried. Colin seemed like he really cared about her, yet he evaded anything to do with her family. He wouldn't even call her by her right name. Nora desperately wanted to sleep, but she knew she must not. If she was going to get out of here, she'd have to do it on her own.
She leaned over and painfully maneuvered the pad and pen Colin had left on the night table. She was in agony. It seemed to take forever, but she managed to scrawl "help" in shaky letters. She took the little alarm clock that was on the other night table and wedged the paper in the back of the clock. Thank God Colin had left the window open since the weather was so lovely. Nora thought to herself that she had never wanted to see time fly like she did right now. She was exhausted! She took all of her remaining strength and heaved the clock right out the window. Nora was unconscious before her head was back on the pillow.
Colin's House - Downstairs
Lindsay got out of the car and slammed the door. She was pissed. She knew that in spite of being a doctor, Colin was no rocket scientist, but this took the cake. She was going to inform him that he'd better cover his tracks at the clinic or they were both going to be in trouble. Big trouble. She started up the stairs when something hit her in the face, hard. "Owww! What the hell was that?" She looked down, and saw a clock with yellow paper sticking out of the back. She opened it up and saw the barely legible word, "help". Now she was furious. Colin couldn't even keep an injured woman under control! She pounded on the door.
Colin opened the door and peeked outside. After Melanie's last visit, he certainly wasn't expecting her to return. He should have known it would be Lindsay. Just his luck. He almost laughed in her face when he saw her. "Where'd you get that shiner? And what are you doing here? I'm sure you could have gotten medical attention in Llanview." He sneered. The last thing he was in the mood for was a bruised and whiny Lindsay.
"As a matter of fact, you idiot, I just got this black eye as I walked up to your front door! It seems your patient is getting out of control." She shoved the clock and the note into his hand. "Look!"
Colin read the note and knew the situation was worse than he had imagined. Realistically, he knew it couldn't go on much longer. He hadn't been to work, and they had been calling him. He knew he'd have to check in sooner or later, but he didn't want to have to answer any questions, and he knew that they knew that Jane Doe had disappeared. He felt like he was drowning, and he unloaded on Lindsay.
"I don't know why I ever agreed to this crazy scheme! Forget the damn money! I'm gonna to give it back to you and bring Nora back to the clinic. I can't take this anymore! Melanie is going to leave me anyway, so who cares if I'm in debt? I'll raise money on my own. Sorry Lindsay, but I can't do this for another minute. I'm sick of this and I'm sick of you! Now get out!"
"Oh, I don't think so, Colin. You forget, there's more at stake here than your marriage or even your job. We could go to jail for kidnapping! Where are your brains?" Lindsay was screaming at him. She knew very well where his brains were! She was furious. She was furious at herself for agreeing to work with him. She should have just killed Nora when they had her in the morgue and been done with it already.
"All I know is, you'd better not do anything stupid! Do you hear me? Forget any crazy idea about bringing Nora back to the clinic. I just came from the Llanview police station, and the clinic knows Nora is missing. They reported it to Bo, and now he's going to try and find the missing Jane Doe patient. You really screwed up this time!" Lindsay was pacing like a lioness.
"I really screwed up? You have some nerve..." Colin was prepared to ream Lindsay for all of this being her idea, but when he thought about it, it really didn't matter. He knew Lindsay was right. He had screwed up by going along with this stupid plan. If he had been able to have Melanie upstairs the last time she was here, he might not be losing her right now. Of course, he couldn't let her go up there because she would have seen Nora. He knew he was locked in, and there was nothing he could do. He hated Lindsay at that moment more than he thought possible, but he knew she was right. He'd have to keep Nora upstairs and quiet.
"Okay, okay. I guess you're right, Lindsay. I certainly don't want to go to jail. I'll keep our secret for a little while longer, but you'd better come up with a plan to get us out of this, and fast!"
Lindsay looked relieved that he wasn't going to turn on her. "Glad you came to your senses. I've got some other things to take care of, so I'm leaving. We'll talk soon, and however hard it may be for you, don't do anything stupid!"
Lindsay slammed the door on her way out of the house. She got back into the car, screeched out of the driveway, and began the drive back to Llanview. Colin was so unbelievably stupid! Did she have to handle everything? Just her luck to have a total schmuck for a brother-in-law! She was so intent on her thoughts that she didn't see Bo driving the opposite direction, to Cherryvale. But he saw her.
To Be Continued…
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