A Paw-sible Theory

“It is in the nature of cats to do a certain amount of unescorted roaming.”

––Adlai Stevenson

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: The Awakening

Maggie must have taken a detour. She wasn’t at the hospital when I arrived. I found out I wasn’t heavy enough to open the automatic doors and I had to wait for someone who was. I picked two teen girls, both busy talking on their phones, confident they wouldn’t notice me slide in behind them. After that, I had to be careful, ducking behind open doors and corners.

Just as I arrived in her room, the monitors were blinking wildly, and several medical staff members hurried into the room. Alyx sat up with a jolt. I ducked behind a screen near the door, and peeked out so I could hear and see everything that happened.

Dr. Casey introduced himself to Alyx and asked her if she knew where she was, where she lived, and what year she was born. He explained that they would be doing a lot of testing to make sure everything was functioning as it should. Luckily, I went unnoticed in all the confusion,

A bit later, Alyx’s ex-husband Bob, Detective Smarts and his partner walked in and took a stand at the foot of the bed. Behind the drawn curtain, I could hear Alyx ask the nurse taking her vitals if she could have something for her headache.

“This dreadful headache is making it impossible for me to string two thoughts together; they disappear as quickly as they come. Why am I here?”

“You were hit on the head and have been in a coma for two days.”

The nurse pulled open the curtain around the bed Alyx looked confused, and for a moment, the confusion rendered her silent. She glanced to her left hand, probably to confirm that she wasn’t married to Bob anymore. Perplexed, she turned to him for an explanation, and he said he’d explain later.

Smarts stepped up to her bedside. “Are you Alyx Hille?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I’m Detective Smarts, Beachside Police, and this is my partner, Detective Albright.”

Albright nodded his acknowledgement.

“Ms. Hille, do you know why you’re here?”

She brought two fingers to her temple in a useless gesture, as it didn’t seem to ease her pain.

“Yes, the nurse told me I was hit on the head.”

“Can you tell me what you remember about Saturday morning?”

At that moment, Doctor Casey came back into the room and interceded on her behalf.

“Excuse me, Detective Smarts. I understand it’s your job to ask questions, but Ms. Hille’s not ready to be questioned, and I’ll have to ask you to do it another time.”

“All right; but can I just ask one question before we go?”

“One question and only one.”

The detective turned back to Alyx. “Did you see who hit you?”

She shook her head and shrugged. “The last thing I remember is sitting at the kitchen table, then sudden blinding pain followed by an abyss of darkness.”

“Thank you, Ms. Hille; we’ll talk again when your doctor gives his permission.”

Bob stepped back as the others left, but he didn’t go out; then he stood in the doorway for a moment as if he didn’t want whoever was out there to see him. Alyx waited for the room to empty, before she asked, “So why are you here, Bob?”

He shifted from one foot to the other. “I’m not staying long. You have other company here to see you.”

“Did something happen to Ethan? Why are you here instead of him?”

“Ethan is fine...but...Alyx, I don’t know how else to say this other than just say it. He’s not here because he’s been arrested for attempted murder.”

Her body went limp so she could barely speak. “Attempted murder of whom?”

“You.”