Waiting by Erin Dennington ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 48 Bill and Marty, his assistant, were rushing over to Davis' building when a woman darted across the road in front of them. Bill slammed on the breaks and Marty yelled out the open window, "Watch where you're going, bitch!" Fully expecting the woman to continue on her way and ignore them, they were stunned when she turned around and took a few halting steps in their direction. Her face was bruised and her clothes were dirty; her hair was an unkempt mess. "Holy shit!" Bill gasped. "That's the woman from the accident this morning!" He slammed his foot down on the brake pedal and, quickly checking the sideview mirror, swung the van over to the curb. "What are you doing?" Marty asked as Bill opened the door and stepped out, holding the door as a shield across his body. Bill motioned him to be silent and, fingering the pocket knife he always carried to open packages, he spoke to her. "Ma'am, are you ok?" Her face changed. Her eyes, which held a sparkle of fevered life, grew dead. "Ok?" she asked. "No, I'm not, but thanks for asking." She then turned around and began limping away, as if Bill and Marty and the van weren't behind her, not 500 feet away from the accident site. The cars rushed by her, splashing her coat with slushy snow, and the falling snowflakes landed on her hair without melting. Bill's heart went out to her and he immediately let go of the van door and hurried after her. When he grabbed her arm in order to turn her around, she made a hissing sound. Speaking through clenched teeth, she said, "You didn't want to do that." "What?" Bill asked, confused. "You heard me. You didn't want to do that." "Look, ma'am, I'd like to talk to you. And the police would like to talk to you as well. I'm covering the accident for tonight's broadcast and I can leave out details about you, but I need to know what was going on when it happened. There's been word of scientific evidence that was damaged in the accident but no one's speaking, no one seems to know what it was. Help me," he pleaded. "Why should I?" she asked. "There's no reason for me to do so." "Fine, I'll level with you. I heard something in that van of yours and I saw something on the other woman's face. I don't understand what's going on. Tell me, just so I know I am not going crazy." She looked down at the hand on her arm and then up at his face. "You're going to die if you pursue this. Just like everyone else. Just like me. There's nothing you can change about it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to be going." Desperate, Bill said, "If you don't talk to me, I will be forced to call the police. You are a wanted woman; a hit and run is a serious charge to ignore." She ignored him and walked away. "You leave me no choice, ma'am; I'm calling the police." Signaling over his shoulder to Marty, he grabbed his cell phone and punched in the number. Marty eased the van closer to where Davis stood and parked it. Bill watched Marty get out of the van and go into the lobby of the building in front of him, where he could see Davis waiting. 12:33 - 11.15.02 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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