“Get up!” yelled Moira, as she flicked on the overhead light. Jack, laid out on the sofa in the dark in the middle of the day was more than Moira could stand. “The horses need water, the stables need tending to, and you need to be setting a better example for your boys. Get up.”
Jack shielded his eyes from the rude glare of light, as he listened to his mother complain. He could barely refrain from rolling his eyes. He was a grown man, being scolded by his mother. But somehow, he knew she was right.
“I guess I have ignored the horses as of late... and the Red Winter field,” Jack admitted.
“You’re damn right you have! Now go tend to them and stop wallowing in your misery. If we want to have wheat, you need to tend to that field. You aren’t doing yourself or anyone else any favors by hibernating in the den. You must stay strong. I will come get you if anyone calls.”
Jack pulled himself off of the sofa, stiff from lying there so long. With what little energy he had, he grabbed his blue cap off of the end table and moped out of the room, as Moira watched with a stern look on her face. From behind his newspaper in the next room, Angus griped at his wife.
“You shouldn’t be so hard on him. You know this is ripping him apart,” explained Angus quite reasonably.
“It’s for his own good. Besides, I got him off the couch, didn’t I?” said Moira, a smirk visible on her face. Angus rolled his eyes and went back to his newspaper.
*
DiNolfo watched as Branson pulled back the privacy curtain with a gentle tug. The curtain drew back, gliding noisily along a metallic track in the ceiling revealing a very uncomfortable looking patient bed with a teenage girl lying on top, quite still, tucked under a thin hospital blanket. The patient was lying completely still, facing the wall making it difficult for DiNolfo to tell if it was Tristan or not.
“She was brought in by an ambulance squad around 7:30 this morning. Someone found her sitting on the side of the road in Ennisford, nursing her ankle. They tried to take her in their car but when she protested, they called 911 instead. One of the EMTs said she was really agitated; apparently she had walked a long way, but she wouldn’t say from where. She has a sprained ankle, nothing serious, along with some bumps and bruises. She’ll live, but she won’t talk to any of the nurses or tell them where she’s been. She won’t even tell anyone her name. She seems frightened.”
“How did you know it was her?” DiNolfo asked logically.
“The posters. Some man, a big guy, I think his name was Fred or Frank, came in here the other day with missing flyers and asked for us to keep it posted at the nurse’s station in case she turned up. She looks just like the girl in the poster… See for yourself. “
DiNolfo walked around to the other side of the bed to get a better glimpse of the girl’s face. Dark brown frizzy curls hung past her shoulders, blue eyes peered out over dark circles, a slash across her left cheek, a scab on her lip, and a scowl that said “Leave me the hell alone.” DiNolfo had seen that very scowl on Jack Morrow’s face countless times. Immediately she knew she had found the right girl. Though her body lay there quite still, her eyes told another story. Her mind was racing as she stared off at the landscape out the window.
“Tristan?” DiNolfo asked, softly and with some skepticism in her voice.
Tristan did not respond.
“I’m sure you’re wondering who I am. I am Sergeant Jenna DiNolfo… your family and I have been looking for you for two days now…” DiNolfo explained.
“And I’ve been trying to get back for two days now,” said Tristan in a hoarse voice, sounding as if she’d been in a screaming match recently.
“Sergeant,” Branson interrupted much to DiNolfo’s dismay, “I really must insist that she rest now, and answer your questions later.”
With a sigh, DiNolfo responded, “I really must protest. The person who took her is still out there…”
“My main priority is her health.”
“Oh, yes, of course… But I must insist upon placing an officer outside of her door.”
“I really don’t see the need, we have top notch security here,” Branson claimed. DiNolfo chuckled to herself. She could clearly remember the front desk guard snoring away. The damn place could be on fire, and that bozo wouldn’t have a clue.
“It’s not that I do not trust your judgment, but until we have more information on what has happened, I need to ensure her safety.”
“And I assure you, Sergeant, my hospital is quite safe. Hospitals are among the safest places for patients to be because of our stringent security measures.”
“Then at least place one of your guards in this hallway, and tell them not to let anyone but family enter.”