The Case of the Haunted Husband

Chapter 3

Stephane was conscious of a flickering light — a light which came and went. There was pain in her chest, the sound of some liquid gurgling.

Lights again, this time stabbing into her eyes. She raised her lids with an effort. The beam seemed to pierce her brain.

A man’s voice said, “She is alive. Her eye moved.”

She felt the thing which was beneath and on her left sway, as though waves were rocking it. A man said, “We can lift her through.”

Again she opened her eyes. This time her senses had cleared so she could see, and could understand what she saw.

She was behind the steering wheel of the big car. Her gloved left hand and her bare right hand were holding firmly to the perimeter of the wheel. The car was over on its side, balanced precariously on a steep bank. Water was running out of the radiator, off from the crankcase. The lights were off, and the motor was dead.

Someone turned the flashlight toward her again. She saw the windshield interspersed with myriad cracks, saw broken glass guttering on the seat.

There were people above her. Arms reached down through the wide window in the car. Fingers circled her wrists, were pulling her up. A man’s voice said, “Give me a hand here. This thing may catch fire. Hurry up. Can you use your legs, sister?”

She tried to struggle. Her legs seemed twisted and useless. She felt herself falling. Only the inexorable pressure on her wrists held her up. Then there were other hands under her armpits, on her body, and she was being lifted smoothly up.

Darkness again, the feeling the she was being carried... Voices, voices engaged in meaningless conversation. She could hear the sounds, and knew they were words, but they conveyed no meaning to her mind... Blood-red lights on the road... Screaming of tires... “Hurry, there has been an accident.”... “Over there... I think he is dead.”... “Right here.”... “Beg pardon, Madam, there has been an accident.”... Screaming tires... Sirens.

The darkness of oblivion.

Pain stung her into consciousness, short, sharp road jolts which came from tires hitting expansion joints on the concrete pavement at great speed. The steady sound of a siren, the clanging of a bell...

She was in traffic now. She could hear the sound of traffic signals, of horns, the rumble of streetcars. But the ambulance went right ahead, its siren clearing a right of way. Stephane could feel the short, sharp jolt of streetcar tracks, feel the sway of the big car as the driver spun the wheel first to one side then to another, avoiding obstruction as the ambulance raced through the frozen traffic.

She felt the touch of hands. A man’s voice said, “Take it easy.” She heard the sound of rollers, then she was being lifted on a stretcher. She caught the smell of ether, opened her eyes and saw the walls of a white corridor flowing past. She was on wheels... bright lights in her eyes, skilled fingers exploring her body... She felt a twinge of pain, heard a man’s voice whisper, heard the rustle of stiffly starched garments, then the jab of a hypodermic needle...

She was having difficulty with her breathing. She tried to fight something off her face, trying to get fresh air.

A nurse said, “Don’t fight. Breathe deeply...”

A long deep breath...