Gravity Rising (The Parallel Multiverse Book 2) Read online

  With the help of the constables, the med tech shifted Maggie’s limp form to a stretcher. The two constables picked her up and began working their way down the stairs.

  Larry sat on the floor in the corner with his arms wrapped around himself. Mrs. Willow bent over to him.

  “Come, Mr. Berthold, we must get to the hospital.”

  “But, I don’t have transportation.”

  Mrs. Willow’s normal manner returned. “Don’t be a fool. Go wake up Mr. Sylvester!”

  He scrambled to his feet and ran up the stairs. He was out of breath when he got to Seb’s door, but he pounded on it.

  “Seb! Seb, wake up!” he yelled.

  In a few moments, a bleary-eyed Sebastian Sylvester opened the door. “Larry! It’s three in the morning.”

  “Maggie’s been hurt. I need you to take me to the hospital.”

  Seb stared at him. “Hurt?”

  “She fell down the stairs. Come on man, I need you.”

  Seb shook himself awake. Give me a minute to get some clothes on. The floor shivered, and Larry turned to see Mrs. Willow advancing down the hall with her heavy footfalls.

  “Tell Mr. Sylvester we do not have all night, Lawrence. And you should go get your coat.”

  Moments later they hustled down the stairs, seemingly propelled by Mrs. Willow. The night was quiet and a few flakes of snow drifted about. Mrs. Willow climbed in the front seat of Seb’s car next to him, leaving Larry to scramble into the back.

  Seb looked over at her as he powered up the car. “Where is your coat, Mrs. Willow?”

  “I shall be fine,” she replied in a tone that invited no further questions. “You know where the hospital is located, Mr. Sylvester?”

  “Of course.”

  Seb had to rock the car a couple of times to back it out of the drifts. Once on the street, he accelerated quickly, but carefully.

  “I just don’t understand what happened,” Larry said. “I should have walked her to her flat.”

  “What did happen?” Seb asked.

  “I discovered her at the bottom of the stairs,” Mrs. Willow said, “and called the emergency services.”

  After a quick ride to the hospital, Larry opened the car door before Seb had completely halted. Mrs. Willow spoke with her whip-crack command voice.

  “Mr. Berthold, you will be pleased to wait just a moment. We do not want you to fall and injure yourself as well.”

  Larry forced himself to keep from running. In truth, the parking lot was very slippery. The desk clerk directed them to a waiting room. As usual, people in waiting rooms had nothing to do but fret. Larry sat in a plastic chair and stared at the floor. Seb tried to start a conversation several times but subsided after Larry’s single syllable responses tailed off.

  Finally, a short, dark man in a white coat stepped into the room. “I am Dr. Ithruchandri,” he said in his Indian accented voice. “I am the neuro physician for Ms. Bosstic.”

  Larry sprung out of his chair and moved quickly over to the doctor. “How is she?”

  The little doctor shook his head. “She is not well at all. There is little we can do for her. She has severe brain damage.”

  “What is going to happen?” Larry asked.

  “She is stable for now,” Ithruchandri said. “But, she requires surgery, and we are not equipped for that. Without treatment, she will eventually die. I’m sorry, but I have found it is not helpful to offer false hope.”

  Larry choked and moved back over to his chair. He sat down and allowed the wracking sobs to roll over him, like breakers at the beach. Maggie had been a part of his life since first grade, and he couldn’t imagine the world without her.

  He felt Mrs. Willow’s arm around him, and he looked up.

  “You must call Mr. Winkleman, Mr. Berthold. Perhaps there is treatment for her in Indianapolis.”

  “But, how can we get her to Indianapolis?” he sobbed.

  “In Mr. Winkleman’s aircraft, of course. Now, you must pull yourself together. Margaret’s life depends upon you.”

  “You’re right, of course.”

  He pulled out his phone and selected Arthur Winkleman’s number. He heard the buzz of the ring from the other end of the connection, and someone answered quickly.

  “Mr. Winkleman’s residence. Faversham speaking.”

  Who was Faversham? he wondered.

  “This is Larry Berthold. Do you know who I am?”

  “Of course, Mr. Berthold, how may I help you?”

  “Maggie has been badly hurt. The doctors here cannot treat her. I was hoping maybe we could get her to Indianapolis for treatment.”

  “That is indeed distressing news,” Faversham said. “Please hold one moment.”

  Two minutes later he heard another voice on the phone. “This is Arthur Winkleman, Lawrence. Tell me what happened.”

  “Mrs. Willow found Maggie at the bottom of the stairs. We think she fell down them when she was returning to her flat. The doctor here thinks she needs brain surgery and they aren’t equipped to handle it.”

  “I understand. I will dispatch my aircraft to you. It will be there shortly after daylight. I will contact you with the details. You will need to arrange for transportation to the airport.’

  “Right, Sir. I can do that.”

  “Very well. Now, I must contact the pilots. One other thing, Lawrence?”

  “Yes, Sir?”

  “I am pulling you and Maggie out of there. Both of you are close enough to completing your work. I am sure I can negotiate the awarding of your degrees. See if you can have someone pack Margaret’s things.”

  “Yes, Sir. Of course.” And he disconnected.

  Larry sat in a daze, and finally, Mrs. Willow tapped him on the arm. “Your patron is moving you out?”

  “Er, yes. I’m going to need someone to pack Maggie’s things. And I’ll need to take care of mine. Plus, we need to arrange for Maggie’s transportation to the airport.”

  “I will attend to arranging the transportation,” Mrs. Willow said. “I will also have someone I trust to pack up Maggie’s things.”

  “Pack up her things?” Larry asked.

  “Of course, did Mr. Winkleman not tell you he was pulling you out of here?”

  “Yes, but…”

  “Then we need to get things together. There will be no time to spare once Mr. Winkleman’s aircraft is here.”

  “But, how did you know…?

  She interrupted him again. “Then you need to get things into motion. I will wait here with the girl. You must go back to Maseeh Hall and prepare to leave Cambridge.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  Larry had drifted off to sleep in the predawn hours and snapped awake when his phone buzzed. He fumbled it out and accepted the connection.

  “Arthur Winkleman, Lawrence.”

  “Yes, Sir?”

  “Any news on Margaret?” he asked.

  “They allowed me in to see her briefly a couple of hours ago. She is stable, but they can’t say much else.”

  “Very well, Lawrence,” Winkleman said. “By this time, my aircraft should be at the airport. I have arranged for transportation to take Margaret and you to the aircraft. They are instructed to give you the codeword Arbuthnot.”

  “What?” Larry said.

  “I have asked them to give you a code word when you ask,” Winkleman repeated patiently. “I am, perhaps, being paranoid. So, please humor an old man.”

  “Uh, okay,” Larry said. “You just confused me is all.”

  “This is a difficult time. I trust that we can get Margaret safely to the hospital here in Indianapolis where she can get proper treatment.”

  “Me too, Sir. I don’t know what I would do without her.”

  “I understand,” Winkleman said. “If anything further comes up, please contact me.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  He stared at the phone and then looked up to see Mrs. Willow standing before him.

  “Was that Mr. Winkleman?” she asked.<
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  “Yes,” he said. “His aircraft should have arrived here, and he has arranged a way to get us to the airport.”

  “That is good news, then. Are you doing well?”

  “I managed a couple of hours’ sleep,” he replied, “but that’s not important. I am just so frightened for Maggie.”

  The door banged open and Seb came into the room. “Larry, your transportation is here.”

  Larry stood up and looked at Mrs. Willow. “That was quick. I suppose I’d better go talk to them.”

  “I will go inform the hospital,” Mrs. Willow said, as she turned around.

  Larry looked over at Seb. “Let’s go see them.”

  “We need to get Maggie aboard,” Seb said. “There is really no time to waste.”

  Larry looked at Seb and cocked his head. “Hold on a minute, tiger. Are the transport people waiting out there?”

  “They are in the lobby. I guess they’ve already talked to the hospital people.”

  “All right. Let’s go see them.”

  Larry followed Seb down the hallway to the hospital entrance. A nurse walked up to Larry.

  “Mr. Berthold, I am so glad you were able to arrange for the transfer of your friend. Our medical care is not very good here. I think if you can get her to a good hospital, she will recover. I have heard good things about the hospital in Indianapolis.”

  “Thank you. I really appreciate your efforts,” Larry said. “I’m just glad we have a patron who is putting a lot of effort into this.”

  Two burly men with patches bearing a red cross and the logo for Clarke Transport waited in the lobby. When they saw Larry following Seb into the room, they moved in his direction.

  “Are you Larry?” one of the men asked.

  “I am.”

  “Oh, good. We will get your patient transported safely. The nurses told us they were getting him ready.”

  Larry looked at them curiously. “Was there anything else we needed to cover?”

  “No. Everything is taken care of. We can depart immediately.”

  Larry turned at the sound of rattling castors and saw the nurses rolling a gurney down the hallway. Maggie was prepared to travel. He looked back at the drivers.

  “What is the code word?”

  “What?” the other driver asked.

  “I need the code word,” Larry repeated.

  “Oh, you don’t need to worry about that. We already have our authorizations. There is little time to waste, as you know.”

  “What are you asking, Larry?” Seb asked.

  “The transport people are supposed to give me a code word before we can release Maggie.” Larry was starting to get nervous.

  “That’s crazy,” Seb said. “You know how bad Maggie is. There is no time to dick around with this.”

  “I need the codeword.”

  Seb looked over at the nurses pushing the gurney. He grabbed Larry’s arm. “Come on. We need to go.”

  Larry shook of Seb’s arm. “We are not releasing Maggie.”

  “You’re not thinking straight, Larry. Just relax and let the drivers take care of things.”

  Two more men walked into the lobby, and over to the desk. Larry and Seb clearly heard them.

  “We’re looking for Lawrence Berthold. We need to transport him and Margaret Bosstic to the airport.”

  “What is going on here?” Seb asked.

  “Funny you should ask,” Larry said. “Wait here.”

  He walked over to the desk. “I am Lawrence Berthold.”

  One of the two looked at him. “Sir, I am required to give you a code word.”

  “And what is the code word?” Larry asked.

  “Arbuthnot,” the man said.

  Larry turned to the nurse at the desk. “These are the people who are supposed to transport Maggie. I don’t know who those guys are.”

  He turned around to look, and the first two had disappeared. “Where’d they go?”

  Seb spun around in surprise. “They were here just a minute ago.” He walked quickly over to the desk. “What is going on, Larry?”

  Larry shook his head. “I do not really know. Only that those other two drivers were imposters of some sort. This is the real deal, here.”

  “Is everything all right, Mr. Berthold?” One of the nurses asked.

  “Yes. These are the people who will transport us to the airport.”

  “Very well, Sir. I will need to have you sign the release paperwork.”

  A slight figure walked into the lobby. The hood of the parka obscured the person, and a well worn middle-aged woman appeared when she pulled the parka down.

  “Are we on track?”

  “Who are you?” Larry asked.

  “This is Dr. Ethel Sims,” one of the transporters said. “She arranged for the transportation for us.”

  Dr. Sims turned to Larry. “Arthur asked me to fly out so we could start treatment immediately.” She turned to the desk. “Have you included the medical records in the release.”

  “Yes, Doctor,” the nurse immediately replied.

  “Then, there is little time to waste,” Dr. Sims said. “That is the patient there?”

  Everyone nodded.

  She turned to one of the transporters. “Go ahead and bring in the gurney we have in the truck. I think I would like to transfer the patient here, so we can place her immediately on the aircraft.” She turned to the nurse. “I assume you have an examination room nearby where we can accomplish this?”

  “Yes, Doctor.”

  Things quickly moved, now. The doctor followed the nurses and pushed Maggie’s gurney into a side room. Seb slipped over next to Larry.

  “What’s going on, Larry?”

  “We are getting ready to travel, Seb.”

  “You aren’t coming back, are you?”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “I overheard Mrs. Willow giving orders for your things to be removed from your flat and delivered to the airport.”

  “You did? That’s good. I had completely forgotten about that.”

  “I wonder what those other guys were doing here,” he commented.

  “Me too,” Larry said. “With everything else going on, it makes me think that what happened to Maggie was not an accident. Those other guys disappeared pretty quickly.”

  “You think maybe they were getting ready to abduct Maggie?”

  “You tell me, Seb.”

  “This is just too weird,” Seb said. “I can’t believe the things that have happened to you and Maggie.”

  “Hopefully that will soon be in the past. Once I get settled in the Palatinate, I firmly hope that life will settle down. And if Maggie doesn’t make it, it won’t matter at all, will it?”

  “Don’t say that, Larry. Of course, Maggie is going to make it. She’s tough.”

  “She is very ill, Seb. I am frightened to death.”

  Seb put his hand on Larry’s shoulder. “She is going to make it. You have to believe that.”

  A few minutes later the nurses rolled Maggie out on the other gurney. One of the transporters turned to Larry.

  “We are ready. Do you have everything you need?”

  He looked over at the doctor and she nodded.

  “All right. Let’s go.”

  Larry turned to Seb and shook his hand. “Thanks for everything, Seb. You have been a good friend.”

  “Hey, it’s what I do. Listen, Artie Winkleman wants me in Urbana, too. If I can talk Fluffy into giving me my degree, I’ll be out there. Hopefully this summer.”

  Larry nodded and turned to follow Maggie.

  § § §

  The trip to the airport was anticlimactic. Larry was both puzzled and frightened by the bogus transport drivers, and he watched out the windows of the vehicle for any possible threat. The current transport was not a medical services vehicle, but rather a bus. Maggie’s stretcher was laid across the seats, and strapped into position. Dr. Sims stood in the aisle and checked Maggie over carefully as they bounced
over the snow-rutted streets of Boston.

  The drivers took them to the building where a fixed base operator ran his business. They drove through an open gate on to the tarmac and stopped by a sleek looking aircraft. The two men carefully untied the stretcher and carried Maggie out the back door. As the moved towards the plane, Larry heard the whine of a turbine. When he followed the stretcher bearers into the aircraft, he felt the soft brush of warm air coming from the vents in the floor. Several of the seats along one side of the cabin had been completely reclined, and Maggie’s stretcher was laid over them.

  Another man climbed aboard, this one young and swarthy.

  “I am Lucan Frederick. I am your pilot. As soon as everyone is buckled in, we can leave.”

  “I will need to remain beside the patient,” Dr. Sims said severely.

  “That is fine, Ma’am, but we ask that you buckle in during the take-off and landing. You may move around once we are in the air”

  “Very well,” she said.

  “Did our belongings get here?” Larry asked.

  “Yes, Sir. They have already been stowed.”

  Larry quickly clipped his seat belt buckle and looked over to see if he could discern how Maggie was doing. She lay completely still. The doctor’s presence reassured him. But, he was not reassured by the concern she showed. All he could think about was the terror of losing Maggie.

  A proper ambulance waited at the gate after a mercifully short flight. Arthur Winkleman’s car was also sitting at the gate, and Arthur stood outside in his elegant heavy coat and fur hat. After the ambulance techs placed Maggie in the ambulance, he spoke briefly with the doctor, then motioned Larry to his car.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  “Explain to me what happened,” Arthur said as the car began moving.

  “Mrs. Willow woke me up to tell me Maggie had been hurt. I got dressed and followed her to the stairwell, where Maggie lay.”

  “Did Mrs. Willow discover Margaret?”

  “I think so. No one else was there. She must have called the medical techs because they arrived shortly after.”

  “And what did you do then?” Winklelman asked.

  “I ran upstairs and got Seb Sylvester out of bed. He drove Mrs. Willow and me to the hospital.”