Bird and began gathering items while Bird looked through the movie selection. She’d seen a lot of them, but some new releases had just come in, and a few looked intriguing.
Suddenly, the door burst open and a middle-aged woman rushed in. Her face was red with exertion and her bleached blonde hair was flattened with sweat. It was Ellen Wells, a neighbour.
“Call 911!” Ellen ordered. “A woman is lying on the road up at McLaughlin and The Grange. She’s bleeding badly, and my cell went dead!”
Roxanne, the store’s owner, calmly picked up the phone and dialed. “Who is it?” she asked as she waited.
“I don’t know her name.” Ellen was beginning to catch her breath, but she was still flustered. The other customers stopped what they were doing and listened. “She lives in the new housing development in Inglewood. I’ve seen her around.”
People started murmuring, and Roxanne held up her hand for silence. She gave the information to the 911 operator clearly, listened quietly, then put the phone back in the cradle. “They’re on their way. Here, Ellen, sit down and drink some water.” Roxanne took the excited woman by the arm and helped her into a chair. “Tell us what happened.”
Bird, Hannah and the others huddled around to hear.
“There’s blood everywhere!” Ellen started shaking. “There’s a huge gash on her head!”
Roxanne spoke soothingly. “Help is on the way, Ellen. Take your time. How did it happen?”
Ellen’s face was so flushed that Bird wondered if she was going to have a heart attack. Or explode.
The woman started talking again, making a great effort to speak slowly, but her speech got quicker and quicker as she went on.“I was driving east. On The Grange.A car was pulled over on the side of the road. Up the hill in the woods I saw a young man running away. I wondered why he was running up there — no trails. And then, when I got closer to the car, I noticed it had a flat tire. And there was a ... a person covered with blood on the ground. I stopped my car and got out. I thought she was dead, but she was alive. She opened one eye and said, ‘Help!’ On the ground beside her was a tire iron — covered in blood! I thought to myself, what if that man offered to help with the flat, then hit her on the head with the tire iron and ran away! I asked her if that was what happened, and she tried to say something but then she passed out and I drove here to call for help.”
A young woman Bird didn’t know spoke next. “It sounds like that’s exactly what happened, with the bloody tire iron and the man running away.”
“Why would anyone do such a thing?” Roxanne exclaimed. She rubbed Ellen’s shoulder as her tongue clucked empathetically.
“What is the world coming to when you can’t trust a man who offers to help change a tire?” asked an older woman who lived up the hill.
“Who was he?” questioned the older woman’s sister. “The man who ran away?”
Ellen shrugged. “I have no idea. I’m sure I’ve never seen him before.”
“How old was he?”
“Young. And fit. With longish dark hair.”
The sound of sirens stopped the conversation dead. Roxanne hurried out onto the porch and waved at the first vehicle. It was an ambulance. The driver slowed and rolled down his window. “The Grange and McLaughlin!” she shouted. He nodded and sped off, followed by a fire truck and two police cruisers.
Ellen got up from her chair and headed for the door. Roxanne stopped her. “There’s nothing more you can do, Ellen. She’ll be looked after and taken to the hospital.”
Ellen shook her off. “I found her. I need to make sure she’s all right. And I’m the only witness!” The small crowd watched as she slammed the door and disappeared into her car.
“Wow,” said Hannah.
“You can say that again,” exhaled Roxanne. “What a shock.”
Hannah nodded. “It’s lucky Ellen was passing by right then, and stopped.”
“She’s the kind of person who would stop,” said a young woman from down the road. “She brought me a casserole when George had his operation.”
“That’s Ellen for you,” agreed Roxanne.
Hannah paid for her groceries in silence. Bird had lost all interest in renting a movie. They picked up their bags and started to leave. “Thanks, Roxanne,” said Hannah absently.
“Bye, honey,” answered Roxanne. “Bye, Bird.”
“I hope they catch him soon, before he strikes again,” muttered a young woman holding a toddler.
“And lock him up where he belongs,” agreed an older one. “I won’t be able to sleep until then.”
Back in the truck, Hannah shuddered. “This is terrible.”
“Let’s go pick up Julia,” Bird said. “I’ll feel better when she’s with us.”
Hannah nodded. “Me, too. But we have to drive right by the scene of the accident. I’m not looking forward to that.”
She could see that Hannah was upset, but Bird was more curious than anything. She wanted to see for herself what was going on.
She didn’t have to wait long. Up ahead was a police barricade, set up around a small blue sedan. Bird watched while the medics rolled a loaded stretcher into the back of the ambulance. As soon as the doors were closed, the sirens began to wail. The vehicle raced off, lights flashing.
Hannah and Bird drove in silence until they reached the cozy white clapboard house where Julia had spent the night. As they pulled into the lane, Liz and Julia came running out, all flushed and excited.
“Aunt Hannah! Bird!” shouted Julia. “What’s going on? We heard all the sirens, but we didn’t want to bike down to see because you were coming.” Her blonde hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail and her pretty face was strained with worry. “What happened?”
Hannah chose her words carefully. “A woman was hit on the head. She’s gone to the hospital now. The police, ambulance and fire truck were there — that’s why there was so much noise.” Hannah turned to Liz. “Is your mom home?”
The diminutive girl shook her shiny black curls. “She’ll be b ... back around four. The neighbour’s home.”
Bird looked at her watch. It was only two o’clock. “Why not come with us?” She looked at Hannah for approval. “Julia and I are going out on the trails this afternoon and we need someone to ride Joey.”
Hannah nodded in agreement. “You’d help us out, Liz.”
Julia chimed in. “Yes! Call and ask your mom!”
Without a word Liz spun around and raced into the house. She was back in less than a minute with her riding hat plopped on her head and her chaps under her arm.
A few hours later, Bird walked down from the barn, leaving Julia and Liz cleaning the bridles. They’d had a wonderful ride through the trails along the crest of the Escarpment, and had all but forgotten the upsetting incident on The Grange. Bird breathed in the smell of freshly cut hay. Tomorrow or the next day, whenever it was dried and baled, the hay would start coming in. Cliff Jones, the farm manager, was making preparations. They’d need more than two thousand bales to feed the horses through next winter.
Sundancer whinnied as she walked past his field. Why didn’t you ride me today? You said you would.
I thought you said it was kinda hot and the grass was delicious.
True and true, but I don’t like it when you ride another horse, especially one so inferior.
A little stuck up, are we? How about I ride you after dinner?