Out of the Storm (2 page)

“Who is it?” he repeated.

“Uncle Eric,
please.
Open the door.” The drawl sounded plaintive.
Uncle?
He had no nieces. Who’d be calling him that? His brother Ralph came to mind—a petty officer stationed in Norfolk. Ralph was Eric’s only family. Had a live-in girlfriend and gentle young daughter. At least she had been the only time Eric had been there. The girl had played a welcome counterpoint to Ralph. She was a sweet kid—cute and soft-spoken. He remembered her from the visit.

“
Please,
” Eric heard the voice from outside.

Eric flipped on the spotlights and opened the door. A girl stood shivering, silhouetted, like the woman in his dream. But this was no dream. And she was no angel. She looked thin and soaked through, poor kid. And unless the alcohol was playing tricks on him this
was
a grown-up version of that teenager he’d met ten years ago.

The poor girl shivered as the hood of her slicker fell back, pushed by a gust of wind, revealing short, damp hair. It was dark-brown, close cut, and clung to her head. Her right cheek showed a serious bruise. Swollen, fresh, and painful looking. Very painful. Eric understood pain.

“Hello,” she spoke in a soft drawl. “Don’t know if you ’member me. I lived with your brother Ralph. Melissa’s daughter. I’m Ashley. Ashley Jean.” She pulled her hood up, wrapping her thin body in her arms, tightening the slicker around her waist as the wind howled and the rain resumed.

“’Course I remember you, Ashley,” Eric said. And he did. She had the same pretty face. But she’d been all arms and legs at fourteen. This Ashley was tall and lean, but beneath the wet, weary clothes he could see it. She’d grown into a woman. Her pale face looked drawn and tired. “What’s going on? Why are you here?” Eric asked. Ashley looked away and stood frozen.

“Momma had an accident. Died a while back.”

“Okay.” He shook his head, still trying to grasp why she stood at his front door. “Come inside and tell me about it.”

“Things were hard before, but they took a real bad turn since then.” Ashley stood in place. Looking away, she shivered.

“Why? What happened?” Eric asked. “And for God’s sake, come in.” He grabbed her slender arm through the old slicker. She resisted.

“Last week Ralph said we should git out.” Were those tears or the rain? She brushed the moisture aside and clenched her jaw, fighting hard to control whatever emotion lurked behind her large brown eyes.

“What do you mean?” he persisted, hand still on her arm.

“We didn’t know many folks. So when he told us we should leave, I didn’t know what to do, where to go.”

“So you came here?” Eric asked in amazement.

“We had nothin’. No money. No real friends. No car.” She stared at him, her face betraying something. Eric could only guess.
Damn you, Ralph
, he cursed silently. “So, yeah. I remembered meetin’ you years ago. Know we’re not exactly close but you were so nice and everyone on Momma’s side is dead. I figured…guess I hoped maybe you’d help us.”

Eric stared at Ashley, trying to come to grips with what she’d said. None of this made sense. She looked so pale and fragile. Her hands and nails were dirty. “Come on in,” he insisted, trying to pull her into the front hall. The last thing Eric wanted was a young roommate, certainly not a female one, but he couldn’t leave her shivering in the rain. And if Ralph had thrown her out he had some sympathy.

The girl took a halting step and stopped, taking his arm off her sleeve as she looked in the direction of the detached garage. “Thanks, but…” Ashley hesitated, playing with her bottom lip.

“Jesus, Ashley. The weather’s terrible.” He studied her. She looked tentative, frightened.

“Well, you see, I…I’m not exactly alone.” She continued biting her lip and studied the steps.

The wet darkness pelted him as he leaned into it. “What do you mean—not alone?” Sobriety was making a rapid comeback
.
Adrenaline could do that.

The girl looked toward the garage, then back at him. “I can’t leave them out here. We walked a long way. From the highway.” Her words were muffled by a gust of wind. Had she said “them”?

Eric pushed past Ashley and looked toward the garage. In the lee of the building sat a frail-looking little girl and a small cocker spaniel. Both looked spent and cold. Even from his vantage point Eric could see their eyes. They looked hollow and devoid of emotion. Each wore a tattered garbage bag to shield them from the rain.

He looked at Ashley Jean, then at the child and the dog. “Jesus Christ,” he swore and ran toward them. He lifted the little girl and brought her inside. She weighed less than nothing. Eric lowered her gently onto the living room sofa.

Ashley walked toward the dog and called him. “C’mon, Rusty.” Eric watched the poor little guy stumble under his protective cover, then followed Ashley into the house.

Eric shook his head, studying the girls. Both looked like they needed a good meal and a bath.

The young woman followed Eric inside and shut the door behind them. He took her worn slicker off. It was heavy and utilitarian. Looked like Navy issue. Eric threw it over a kitchen chair and ran to the hall closet where he kept spare blankets and towels. When Eric returned Ashley knelt beside the little girl on the couch. She took the plastic bag off the child, gently putting her head on a pillow. The little girl’s teeth were chattering. The spaniel tried to shed his cover, too. When Eric pulled it off, the dog ran to the little girl and nuzzled her tiny, soiled hand.

Eric shook his head. “Did you say you walked from the highway, from Route 6?” She nodded.
Jesus! It’s three, maybe four miles from my house to the Mid-Cape Highway,
he thought as he heard the wind and the rain…

“Yes, sir. Nice lady gave us a ride for a little bit but...” Ashley shook violently. Eric wrapped her in one of the blankets. Sitting on the carpet next to the child, she took the little girl’s hand, surrounding it with her own, singing a lullaby in a soft, pleasing voice. The dog continued to hover, settling down next to the girls and wagging his tail.

“When did you eat last?” Eric asked, trying to comprehend this surreal turn of events.

No answer.

“Be right back,” Eric threw over his shoulder as he went into the kitchen to put on the tea kettle and shove some bread in the toaster. When he returned, the little girl and the spaniel were asleep. Ashley Jean lay face down sprawled on the carpet, unconscious.

Chapter Three

Eric opened the front door and let his mother-in-law in. Louise Crawford lived ten minutes away. She came as soon as he called. Lu had been his rock, the one person he could count on after Elaine’s death. Tall and striking like her daughter, Louise had the same heart-shaped face and pale-blue eyes. Only telltale age lines and the graying of her dark-brown hair hinted at her age. She looked beyond Eric into the living room where the little girl and the dog lay asleep. Ashley Jean lay motionless on the floor. Eric had covered her with a thick quilt.

He gestured toward Ashley, the little girl, and the spaniel. “They just showed up. In this damn monsoon,” he whispered. “I brought ’em inside. While I was getting them something to eat this happened.” Eric stopped and swallowed hard, looking toward the girl lying on the carpet. “When I saw Ashley—that’s the older girl—passed out like that I didn’t know what to do.” He frowned. “I checked her vitals. She’s breathing and got a pulse. Should I call 9-1-1?” He’d handled three tours in the Middle East as a Special Forces Team leader. Handled them well. A fragile young woman fainting in his living room was new territory.

“Who are they?” Elaine’s mother whispered as she tiptoed into the living room.

“They lived with my brother. The older one was his girlfriend’s daughter. Met her once. Seemed like a real nice kid but that was years ago. Not sure about the little girl. Could be a sister”—he paused as the thought took hold—“or her daughter. Ashley said my brother told them to get out last week.”

“I remember you talking about your brother but what could have happened? Why would they show up here?” Louise asked, shaking her head slowly.

“Wish I knew.” He shrugged. “I have no clue. All I know is they arrived soaked and exhausted at the front door. Couldn’t turn them away.”

“’Course you couldn’t.” She gave him a reassuring smile.

Eric frowned.

Lu bent over Ashley, checking her vital signs. “Go call,
right away
. She’s burning up, her breathing is shallow, and her pulse is weak. When the EMTs get here, you go with her.” She gestured toward Ashley. “I’ll take care of the little girl. Eric. Here. Chew some gum, honey. Take two.” She pulled a pack of Trident from her purse. It wasn’t a criticism. Louise never passed judgment. She put her hand on his cheek and smiled softly.

“Thanks.” He knew he smelled of beer. But this crisis had brought him back to reality. The mind-numbing buzz of an hour ago was a memory.

While Eric placed the emergency call, Lu took out her cell. After hanging up, she took his arm. “I called the hospital. They’re expecting you.” His mother-in-law was a senior ER nurse. She was calling in favors. The way she had the night of Elaine’s accident. Eric prayed the result would be better.

****

Eric entered the doctor’s office and cleared his throat. The place smelled of floor wax and antiseptic. This man was tall. He carried himself with dignity, had a full head of thick gray hair and a goatee to match. The doctor showed Eric a neutral smile as he gestured toward a chair. Eric watched him. This was no medical student. His name tag said Chief of Obstetrics. He knew his business.

We had no real friends
.
Didn’t know where to go…
Ashley’s words echoed as the doctor flipped through her chart. The implication confused and angered Eric. His brother had never been a stand-up guy, but he wasn’t
that
low, was he? He wouldn’t throw these sad girls out with no money and no place to go. At least Eric hoped he wouldn’t.

“How is she?” Eric asked, working to push the suspicions about Ralph from his mind.

“She had a miscarriage.”

“A miscarriage,” Eric said in a whisper. “Jesus.”

“Generally, Ashley’s a healthy young woman,” the doctor continued. “She’s dehydrated, exhausted, and could use a good meal. That combination brought this on, but she’s a strong girl. That cut on her face is pretty nasty, though. We’ll keep her for a couple of days to make sure she’s all right. “

“A miscarriage,” Eric repeated as a torrent of thoughts flooded his mind, none of them pleasant.

The doctor nodded, closed her chart and turned, studying Eric. “What can you tell me about Ashley? Do you know her? Who the father is? We found an ID in her pocket that indicates she came from Virginia?”

As the doctor questioned him, a middle-age woman knocked and stuck her head in the office. The doctor motioned her inside. Eric didn’t recognize her. When he saw her name tag, his stomach sank. It read: Barnstable County Social Services.

Eric sat, eyeing the woman. He wasn’t sure how to describe Ashley’s relationship with Ralph. “She lived with my brother. His girlfriend’s daughter.” He shrugged. “That’s all I know. She showed up on my doorstep tonight. Had a little girl and a dog with her.” He shook his head. “Said that my brother threw them out.” He stumbled over the words, not wanting to believe them. “Look, Doc. I only met Ashley once. It was years ago, I…” Eric stopped in mid-sentence.

“I’m sorry you’re stuck in the middle of this. Lu called here. I know she was your mother-in-law and—” The doctor showed a sympathetic smile as he turned toward the woman standing next to them. “The ID we found was a Virginia driver’s license. It fell out when they undressed her. Said she’s twenty-four. Does that sound right?”

“Guess so.” Eric nodded and looked at him.

The doctor gestured toward him, then turned toward the woman. “I think this lady has some questions for you.”

A miscarriage? My God! This just keeps getting better.
Eric had a mind to jump on a plane, find Ralph, and beat the shit out of him. Except this didn’t fit Ralph’s MO. He was a schmoozer not a bully.

“Mr. Montgomery?” the woman interrupted. The doctor had left the office. Eric sat facing the social worker. She looked around, then tilted her head as she studied Eric. “I know you—by reputation. You own the South Coast Marina. I have friends who keep their boats there.” She smiled, finding his eyes. “And I know Louise was…”

The woman’s words stopped, hanging in the still, antiseptic air between them. The walls, painted institutional green, seemed to close in around them.

Eric sighed and nodded slowly. “Yes, ma’am. That’s my place. And Lu is…was my mother-in-law.”

“Sorry we have to meet like this. My name’s Rebecca Walsh.” The middle-aged woman held out her hand.

Eric shook it.

“BCSS—Barnstable County Social Services has a staff member on site at the hospital. It’s policy,” the woman explained then paused, giving Eric a charitable smile. The social worker twisted in her plastic chair. “Your wife.” The woman’s eyes focused and narrowed. “Lu’s daughter—had that hit-and-run last spring.”

Eric’s throat tightened as he felt the familiar burning in his eyes. He nodded again.

“I’m so sorry. That must have been—” She shrugged as her words died again. She nodded and passed her card across the table.

Eric said nothing. Just heard the fluorescent ballast buzzing overhead as he studied the light reflecting on the waxed tile floor.

“I’ll keep this short,” the woman promised. “The medical staff tells us that Ashley, the young woman you brought in, shows possible signs of abuse. That’s one reason they called me.” The woman did her best to maintain a neutral expression. Sadly, Eric assumed problems like this were all too commonplace. “Some evidence of old bruising, a couple of healed fractures.”