falling snowflakes, until Hobbs pulled off his jacket and threw it around my shoulders.
And as I looked down at this battered, bedraggled young woman who hung lifelessly in my arms, her skin like ice, her clothes ripped, I pushed her dark hair from her scratched-up cheek and gasped.
The girl I held in my arms was none other than Kerry Carver.
Chapter 13
O Christmas Tree (O Tannenbaum)
Written in 1824 by Ernst Anschutz
Hobbs handed me some hospital coffee from a dispenser he’d gone and found. It was indeed hot, but it was awful. I fought the taste of the bitter liquid as it slipped down my throat.
We sat in the Marshmallow Hollow emergency room lobby, where yet another attempt at decorating for Christmas fell flat against the pale blue walls and pictures of scenic views in town. But I had to admire their attempt to make this place a little more cheerful.
“Are you warm enough, Hal?” Hobbs asked, sliding into the gray seat next to me.
I tucked the hospital blanket around me and nodded. “I’m good. Have you seen anyone come out yet? I feel like she’s been in there for a hundred years.”
“No. But she was still alive, Hal. She was still breathing. You have to hang on to that.” He took my icy hand in his and rubbed it with his warmer one.
I thought it ironic Hobbs knew exactly how I was feeling, but I rather liked that he understood me that well, so new into our developing relationship.
“I know she was alive, but just barely. She escaped something evil, Hobbs. I know it. But what and who?”
“Realistically, it’s going to be a while before we know. While alive, she was in pretty rough shape, Hal. Who knows when the police will be able to talk to her.”
That reminded me about the taillight they’d found at Feeney’s. “Stiles told me they found a broken taillight at Feeney’s with her DNA on it, Hobbs.” That gave me hope; she was a fighter. “Just like the lipstick. Whoever killed Gable had her.” I shivered, and this time I couldn’t hide the violent shake of my body.
Hobbs wrapped his arm around my shoulders and rubbed my upper arm. “How about I take you home where you can warm up? Maybe take a hot bath and have some decent coffee?”
“No. I’m waiting here until I know she’s okay, Hobbs. I’m fine, just chilled to the bone.”
The picture of that poor girl, half-dressed and beaten bloody, made me want to curl up in the corner and sob, but I wasn’t budging until I knew someone was here for her, and I also knew she was going to be okay. If no one showed up, I’d find a way to make sure I was the face she saw when she woke.
Please, please, please let her wake up.
Hobbs didn’t try to change my mind, but he did encourage me to drink my awful coffee. “Drink up. It’ll warm you.”
The doors of the ER lobby swished open and a middle-aged woman and a man stumbled in, their faces harried, their steps quick.
When they approached the receptionist’s desk, the woman—in a gray tweed, thigh-length coat, her eyes tired and hair mussed—gripped the countertop. “We’re here for our daughter, Kerry Carver. Where is she? Can we please see her?”
The receptionist shook her head. “Not just yet, Mrs. Carver. Please have a seat, and I promise I’ll let you know the minute I know anything, okay? While you do that, can I get you something?”
Mr. Carver bristled, anxious and clearly scared and worried. “My daughter!”
Hobbs rose instantly and called his name. “Mr. Carver? I’m Hobbs Dainty, and this is Hal Valentine. Hal’s the one who helped your daughter and kept her warm until the police arrived. Why don’t you come sit with us? I’d be happy to get you both something warm to drink—or cold, if you’d prefer.”
Mrs. Carver ran toward me, her eyes tear-filled and thick with sorrow as she knelt in front of me. “How did this happen? Is she okay?”
She grabbed my hands, her pleading words tearing at my heart. I didn’t want to mislead them. Kerry had been in pretty bad shape when I was with her, but she’d had a pulse, and though her breathing was feathery and light, she was still alive.
I squeezed her cold hands and looked her in the eye. “We don’t know anything yet. She showed up in the middle of the square, and I won’t lie to you, she was in pretty