friends existed. He’d seen her out of this world, and now there was nothing left for him to do. When he finally closed his eyes, the image of Annie still struggling to breathe was in his head, and tears welled and rolled out from beneath his lids.
He fell asleep from exhaustion, then began dreaming that she was drowning, and woke up as she was going under. In anger, he rolled off the bed and strode into the kitchen, banging doors and looking on shelves until he found an unopened fifth of whiskey.
His hands were shaking as he opened it up, then sloshed some into a coffee cup and downed it.
“No more dreams. Do you hear me, God? No more fucking dreams!”
He carried the bottle back to the bedroom and set it down beside his bed, then turned on the TV and drank the bottle dry.
* * *
Wyrick dealt with her emotions by going back to work. She went through the emails, sending appropriate responses, and then began sifting through the ones she could handle on her own.
She had already set up an app from Bill.com to accept retainers without coming into the office, so she picked another prospective client to contact and made the call.
“Hello, this is Wanda.”
“Mrs. Carrollton, my name is Wyrick, and I’m calling on behalf of Dodge Security and Investigations in regards to your granddaughter, Katrina. Do you have time to speak with me?”
Wanda Carrollton was ecstatic. “Yes, and please call me Wanda.”
“Yes, ma’am. Charlie Dodge is unavailable at this time, but I work with him, and will be working on your case, if that’s acceptable.”
“I don’t care who’s doing it as long as someone can find my girl.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll send you an invoice via email to pay for your retainer, and then I’ll need some background. Your granddaughter’s full name, her parents’ names, last known addresses, occupations, anything you have on any of them. Even Social Security numbers, because my research is all online.”
“Oh, that’ll take a bit. Can I gather up what I have and then send it to you in an email, like I did my request?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll keep you updated as I go, and maybe we’ll get lucky. How long has it been since you lost touch with her?” Wyrick asked.
“Twenty years. She was six when my son died and her mother moved her out of state. She stayed in touch for about a year and then nothing. It was like losing my son all over again. I let life sideline my desire to find her, but I’m not getting any younger, and even if she wants nothing to do with me, I’d like to know she’s okay.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll invoice you, and then wait for you to send me the info to get started.”
“Thank you! Thank you, so much,” Wanda said.
“I can’t promise miracles,” Wyrick said. “But if it’s at all possible, I’ll find answers.”
“That’s all I need. Just answers, so I will have a little peace of mind,” Wanda said.
Wyrick hung up with a sense of purpose. Work would keep her mind off what Charlie was going through. No matter how lost he got in his grief, he was the only one who could find his way out. She wasn’t scared for him, because Charlie Dodge was a survivor, but she was so sad for his hurt.
As for Merlin, his declining health was a reality, but he was still enjoying a measure of quality with it. She had yet to fully take in what she’d been given, but it was far more than a home.
* * *
Back in Odessa, the doctor at Medical Center Hospital had been weaning Tony Dawson off sedation a little at a time, and Tony was beginning to show signs of regaining consciousness. When a nurse came out of ICU looking for Baxter and Macie to let them know, they hugged each other, crying tears of relief.
“Can we see him? Has he spoken?” Baxter asked.
The nurse shook her head. “He hasn’t said anything, but all of the signs are there that he’s becoming aware. If you’ll both follow me, I’ll take you in.”
Macie grabbed Baxter’s hand and squeezed it, suddenly anxious. They’d been warned of all kinds of complications—that he’d wake up and not know them, or maybe not know who he was—but right now, just knowing he was coming to was a step in the right direction.
They followed the nurse through the ward, but it was hard not to hurry. As soon as they