Chapter 8
Donna and Danny followed in her car behind the ambulance, which was taking Mama Cruse to the hospital. Danny was still sobbing a bit. “I think she is going.”
Donna a bit consumed by withdrawal. “Going where?”
Danny unsure what to say just looked out the window and mumbled something inaudible. “Errrmm...”
Donna gave him a glance, “What?” then when Danny did not answer, “Danny dear, Donna is real sick too just like your Mama, but I can help take care of you and your family. But, again I need your help you know.”
Danny nodded still looking out the passenger side window. “Uhmmmnn...”
Donna shook her head.
Once they rushed Mama Cruse into the hospital and got her into an emergency-room bed, Danny used Donna's phone to call his brother. Joseph’s cell phone rang once then twice, then he picked it. He saw the phone number and it did not look familiar. “Hello?”
Danny turned away from both Mama Cruse and Donna, who were standing near the nurse, “Joe Joe, Mama is really bad. I did what you said.”
“How bad?”
Danny having never been exposed to so much in such a short a time revealed the pain and fear through the tremble of the answer. “Real bad, Joe Joe...very, very bad... Donna is here too.”
Donna hearing this turned to him and briefly frowned.
Joe looked at his cell phone for a second then pressed it back to his ear, now very concerned. Donna was there, which only complicated the situation more. “I will be there. It is going to take me a little while, please, don't go anywhere...that includes going anywhere with Donna.”
The fall evening came early and the shroud of autumn dusk quickly enveloped the campus. Trisha had been studying for midterms in the library and now she made her way down the path that led to her dormitory. She briefly thought about getting off campus housing the following year, but then her mind shifted to Joe. She looked up at the campus streetlights. They would be coming on in the next few minutes, however between the uncomfortable bridge between day and night they did not shine. It seemed they had a mind of their own, each trying to decide between light and dark, until one by one they would give in and flare bright. She loved Joe, but Joe seemed always wrapped in the deep personal pain of a family gone awry. She thought, “When you grow up abused you are damaged.” Trisha did not want to think that way, but what could she do. Was she relying on what she had been taught or what she knew? Was what she was debating the truth or just a short cut assumption her mind made like so many others? Maybe she was afraid to see the truth. Maybe she just did not want to think about it anymore. As Trisha strolled down the path, she noticed the shrubs and trees, how they cast a shadowed claim on the ground she walked. She had been debating whether or not to break it off permanently with Joe. She had been approached several times by other young gentlemen while at school and her answer was always no, now she debated on changing her mind and the answer.
Trisha in deep thought watched the overarching trees and the shadows they and the bushes made. She heard a shallow soft rustle near a tree and then the quick movement of one of those stray shadows. She stopped for a moment and looked about. Did she see a shadow just move? Trisha looked around, she was alone. She felt alone. Trisha shifted her book bag to the other shoulder and feeling uneasy quickened her pace. Again, she heard a rustle. One by one the campus street lights began to flicker on. Trisha took a deep breath and turned next to one of the big pine trees lining the path to her dormitory. In an instant, a hand grabbed her from behind, pulling her behind the tree and as the streetlights flooded the night with fire, the sound of a gunshot echoed, a bullet piercing through the back of her skull, exiting her forehead. Trisha fell broken, blood and bone everywhere. A young man not truly understanding what he had done quickly ran away into the night, avoiding the light.
Joseph entered the hospital. There a couple of police officers met him. There he was told that he should go down to the precinct for questioning on the murder of his girlfriend. In astonishment, he quickly prioritized his scattered thoughts through the fear, through the terror and hurt and told the front desk to tell his mother that he would be back later. The officers gave him a ride downtown. He was placed in a small room with a cup of coffee and told to wait. After quite some time sobbing, crying and alone, he was formally questioned. He looked at them with red shot eyes. “Listen, how could I murder my girlfriend, I was on the road rushing to see my mother die from cancer.”
Tonya was enraged. “You gave him the gun! You gave him the gun!”
David pulled the car over at a gas station. “Listen, I need to get some gas and beer. You want to calm down and let me go?”
She pushed him from her front passenger seat. “I can't believe you did this! They'll pin everything on that boy!”
David reached over to her, grabbing her shoulder hard, “You need to keep everything quiet,” pushing down, his fingers pressing into her arm, “Like I said, calm down and forget about the gun.”
Tonya wincing in pain, buckling a bit. “David…David you're hurting me!”
Donna looked at her watch. She had been sitting with Danny next to his mother for over two hours. The doctors had informed Danny that because Mrs. Cruse condition was rapidly deteriorating, they would transfer her to the intensive care unit. Two transporters came over, one saying to both Danny and Donna as they stood up, “Where here to transfer her to the ICU.”
Danny looked over to Donna. “What should I do?”
Donna peered over to Mrs. Cruse, who now was wearing an oxygen mask, was hooked up to various equipment and had an IV inserted into her arm. “Go up with them to the ICU.”
Danny pulled at one of the transporters. “Do I go with you guys?”
The transporter nodded unlocking the wheel breaks of the bed. “You can for now, but then you have to leave so the doctors can treat her.”
Danny became even more nervous. “Where do I go then?”
They began to wheel Mama Cruse away. “You can wait in the lobby here, or go home until tomorrow.”
Donna began to walk away, down the hall and toward the main entrance. Danny went to go with her then stopped, “Donna?” then went to follow his mother, still looking back. She was already gone and now he felt so very alone.
Susan tried to call Trisha again, but she did not answer her phone. Susan couldn't figure out why and she was worried. It was past midnight and she was afraid for Trisha and for herself. Could something have happened to her, she thought to herself? Unable to sit put on her couch, she flicked through TV. She missed her boyfriend and the police had complicated everything. She tried to say as little as possible to them, but they kept their heat on her. Susan did not want any of it, but she got it all, shovels full she thought to herself. She tried dialing Trisha's number again and was going to leave a voicemail, but then thought better of it. “What if something happened to her,” Susan thought, “and then she left a voicemail and the police found out?” Susan closed her cell phone, placed it on an end table, went to her kitchen and found a bottle of ibuprofen. She took two and went back to her couch. She had such a headache. Susan closed her eyes, once, twice and then fell fast asleep. She awoke a few hours later. Startled she looked at the wall clock, which was illuminated by the television playing an early morning infomercial. The clock read 3:00 am. She picked up her phone and this time called Tonya.
After several rings Tonya picked up the phone, still half-asleep. “Hey?”
“I need to see you.”
Tonya rolled over in her bed, turning on the light. “Why?”
Susan wanted to talk on the phone, but she did not feel safe and seeing her seemed the best thing to do when she really did not know what to do. “I can't talk on the phone, I need to see you.”
Tonya sat up, now concerned. “Well, I can't see you and I really can't talk on the phone. Listen, Susan call me some other time, it's still early.”
Susan pleaded, “But, Tonya I...,” the phone disconnecting at the other end. Tonya had hung up. Susan called again, but this time there was no answer. There Susan sat, unsure what she could do, then deciding to go pay a visit to Tonya anyway.
Susan pulled up to the lower Greenburg sidewalk, put her car in park and hurriedly slammed the driver-side door behind her. She rushed up the street toward Tonya's apartment. It was still dark out and cold. The morning chill had begun to set in, as autumn began to work its way toward the fullness of its season. She shook a bit, partly from the cold and partly from the fear in her heart. She knocked on Tonya's door, waited and then knocked again when there was no answer. She waited for another minute or two and knocked again. Still, there was no answer. Susan sighed, brushed her hair back and headed back to her car. As Susan looked over her shoulder she could see the faint glimmer of a sunrise, red and then turning yellow bright. It was inviting to her and she felt the fear she held inside her begin to fade.
Joseph was allowed to leave the precinct. Once he was free to go, Joseph got back into his car and headed for the hospital again. Once he got there, he entered, seeing the patient registrar. “I need to see my mother.”
The registrar asked for the persons name, who he was, then she looked it up and looked up at him, “She is in ICU,” handing him a clip to wear, “Here take this and when you go to the ICU ask to see the charge nurse first. It's on the third floor, take the elevator up other there and follow the signs.”
Joseph nodded, putting on the clip, “Okay,” as he made his way to the elevator. He stepped in and pressed the third-floor button. The doors closed and when they opened, he stepped out and down the corridor. Joe found a waiting area near a set of double doors. He looked around and found his brother sitting there. Danny had his head buried in his hands. Joseph sat next to him. Danny did not seem to notice him, to Joe Danny did not seem to be crying, perhaps he was asleep. Joseph shook Danny a bit. Danny pulled his head up from his hands, “Huh,” turning to his brother, “Oh, Joe Joe,” rubbing his eyes, “Mama is doing really bad.”
Joseph looked into his brother's eyes. “You look tired Danny. I need to take you home.”
Danny shook his head. “No...Mama needs us.”
“Look,” Joseph putting his hand on Danny's shoulder, “there is nothing we can do, let me go see the nurse and then if we need to we'll go home and come back.”
“Okay, Joe Joe.”
Joe left his brother and walked through one set of double doors, then another. He went over to the charge nurse. “My mother is in here.”
She then went over to a mobile kiosk and called up a screen. “Name?”
Joe looked at the units, each one with a patient in them, all very ill. Arrayed around each bed was various equipment. It all looked like too much to Joe, too sad, each patient looked too sick. He wanted to go home, he wanted to take his mother home and he wanted to take Trisha in his arms and say he was sorry. Why was all this happening? Maybe he should have never met up again with Kevin. He was only trying to help and it seemed to all turn to dust.
The nurse looked up at him again. “Name sir, her name?”
Joseph rubbed his chin. “Betty Cruse.”
The nurse looked her up and then gave a quick glance at Joseph. “Okay, you’re her son?”
Joseph talked with the nurse, the doctor on call and then sat briefly with his mother. She was connected to a variety of equipment, she seemed flaccid and her color was gone. She looked so very pale. Joe took her hand; it was warm, but not as warm as when she was home. Mama Cruse was sleeping and when Joe took her hand, she briefly opened her eyes, smiled and drifted back off to sleep. Joseph said a quick prayer and then left to go get Danny still waiting for him.
Danny looked up from his hands again. “She is not doing good, huh, Joe Joe?”
Joe shook his head. “No, Danny and I don't think she will be getting any better. Complicating everything is that she only has one kidney and they were factoring in all the psychotropics she had been taking.”
Danny sat a bit more upright. “She still taking her pills?”
Joe motioned for his brother to get up, which he did, a bit stiffly from sitting too long. “No, in her condition it will hinder her more than help. The biggest one they were worried about was the lithium. They needed to titrate it down so her kidney could deal with other stuff, I suppose. Right now they just got her on plain haldol which will give her some rest as well. They are giving it to her through her IV.”
Danny made a wrinkled face. “Oh, nasty stuff.”
Joseph shook his head no. “Come on Danny let's go home, there is nothing we can do right now,” then he put his arm around his brother, which was no small feat considering his size, “haldol still has its place in the world and you know what they say Danny, there is nothing new under the sun.”
Tonya got up early that morning, left David’s bed, took a shower, got dressed and made a quick cup of coffee. David had asked her where she was going and she brushed the question off. Now he asked a second time as she took a sip of her coffee in the kitchen, lighting a cigarette and taking a drag. “Where are you going, Ton?”
Tonya took another puff, exhaled and drank a final good swallow of coffee. “I need to head out, you know I do have an apartment of my own to keep up.”
David gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I thought you wanted me 24/7?”
Tonya gently pushed him away, “Hardly,” and then went to the living room to slip her shoes on and leave, “I will be back later.”
Tonya walked toward her car, which was parallel parked about two blocks from David's apartment, on Broadway this time. It was cold that morning and Tonya found herself wishing she had worn a long sleeve shirt or blouse. Down the road a bit she saw Paco in his wheelchair. She frowned and tried to avoid him, but he came wheeling up to her confidently blocking her way. Paco held out his hand. “You got a smoke?”
Tonya grabbed her pack of cigarettes and looked inside, there were only a few left. “You know you're a real pain in the ass.”
Paco smiled, “I sit all day, chica,” then holding his hand out again, “Got a smoke I see, got one for me?”
Tonya pulled a cigarette out and gave it to him. “Here, now leave me alone.”
Paco took it and placed it between his lips. “You got a light to for Paco, chica?”
Tonya looked about, there was no one on the street except Paco. She thought to her herself, why? “Here,” she pulled out a lighter, gave him a light and then, “Now can I go?”
Paco rolled his wheelchair back, “I only bother the ones, I love my friend,” brushing his long white hair back, smiling, happily puffing on his cigarette, “It's cold my friend, you should wear a sweatshirt like me.”
Tonya nodded in part irritation and in part agreement. “Yeah Pac, okay.” She walked by getting to her car, put the key into the door unlocking it and thought to herself how odd it seemed that the old man said that he cared. She did not think he ever said something like that to anyone before. The thought worried her, but she brushed it aside. She had something she desperately needed to do.
Tonya walked into the Greenburg police precinct. She walked over to the front desk and through the thick glass portal, the police officer spoke to her. “Can I help you maim?”
Tonya took a deep breath. “Yes, I know information about a murder and who did it.”
Donna pulled up to her apartment. She grabbed her purse, her phone and closed the driver-side door behind her. She glanced up at the sun and the glare caught her eyes. She winced in pain and lowered her head. She felt dizzy and had a pounding headache. Donna turned and slumped to the car, leaning on it. She rested on her head where the car door met the frame. Donna rubbed her head and her eyes and then she opened the car door again only to fall back onto the driver's seat. She opened her cell phone and looked through the numbers. She found David’s number, hesitantly called him and as soon as he answered she blerted out, “Hello, this D
avid?”
David questioned. “Who is this?”
“David, this is Omar's friend Donna, remember?”
He could hear David shuffle in the background. “Yeah, I remember. Omar had no friends. What do you want with me? I am busy.”
Donna swallowed. “You know he was my dealer. I need a hit really bad.”
“Bad for you. I don't deal direct.”
Donna almost in tears, resting on her head on the steering wheel, her hair limply falling. “Listen, I will pay you real good and do what you need. I was reliable, please, I need something.”
“You know where the pool hall is on Broadway?”
Donna nodded her head while it was still on the steering wheel. “Yeah.”
“Go over there around six.”
Donna pulled her head up, angrily, “But that is too long.”
“Hey, you want a dime you wait.”
Donna wiping some tears from her face, “Okay,” as David hung up. Donna dropped the phone and began to cry in her hands. She pulled out some tissue from the glove compartment box and wiped her nose. Donna thought to herself, why did she have to be that way? She thought maybe after this last hit she would go into a rehab, make a better life for herself. Donna thought maybe she could move away, start fresh...just one more hit and what she needed to get it, that was all she needed.