No Accounting for Murder

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Carly regained consciousness slowly, the sounds around her intensifying from whispers to full-blown shouts in rapid succession. When she opened her eyes, she blinked in surprise at Denise's worried face peering down at her. Confused, she tried to sit up, fighting against Denise's protests that she remain lying down.

She licked her dry lips and winced at the pain in her head. "What? Where am I?" Her voice came out in a hoarse croak.

"You're in the community hospital in Riverdale. You were in an accident. Someone driving by called 9-1-1. They brought you here because this is a good trauma center. That was around supper time."

Carly struggled to force her eyes to focus, but the room continued to swim around. "What time is it now?"

"It's nearly eleven o'clock at night." Denise's voice sounded close to breaking. "Oh, Carly, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault."

Carly grabbed the rails on the hospital bed, struggling to rise. "Help me sit up. I hate feeling like I'm in a casket."

She surveyed the room, taking in the typical bed with rails, the mobile bed table, and the requisite plastic-covered chair in the corner. The drapes were drawn, but Carly suspected she wasn't missing any great view. A blood pressure machine stood near the head of the bed, and Denise perched on the end of the bed, concern etched in the lines around her eyes and mouth.

"But the doctor..."

"Doctor, schmoctor. I'm fine. I think." She gingerly felt her forehead. A good-sized welt already formed there. "Did I need stitches or anything?"

"No, you were lucky. Your airbag saved you. Apparently you weren't going very fast when you hit the rock."

"Rock? For a minute there, before I crashed, it looked like an elephant."

Denise smoothed Carly's bangs back from her forehead. "That's what the paramedics said. You were asking them over and over 'why would anyone park an elephant there?'"

Carly stifled a chuckle when the ache in her head returned. "It was dark and I couldn't see it very well. It was so big." Her voice trailed off as she remembered. "What about the tan-colored car? Is that who called in?"

Denise squeezed her hand gently. "No one said anything about a car. Are you sure you saw it? Maybe you were hallucinating?"

"No way. It passed me on the crest, raced past me, and nearly hit a car coming from the other direction. When I came around that last bend I saw the same car parked in the middle of the road."

"Gosh, what did you do?" Denise's eyes were wide with alarm. "Were you scared?"

"I didn't have time to be scared. I tried to shift into a lower gear, but it wouldn't go. Then I tried to shift up to park and that didn't work either. For one brief moment, I thought about turning off the ignition. But I didn't know if I'd be able to steer." Carly rubbed her aching head. "Oh Denise, it seemed like a slow-motion movie. On one side the canyon and on the other the mountain face. I chose the mountain face, hoping it would slow me down enough so I could downshift. That's when I ran into the rock."

"Well, I sure am glad you had enough presence of mind to do that."

The door opened and a man Carly had never seen before stuck his head in. "Is it okay if I come in and ask a few questions now?"

Denise nodded. She turned to Carly. "This is Bert Myers and he's with the Riverdale County Sheriff's Department." She smiled. "He wants to ask you some questions while it's still clear in your mind. Are you up to it?"