Page 28 of Grave Danger

“Yeah, she’s almost as indestructible as her car,” Cody said, again in a far-off voice.

“What the fuck is going on?” A distinctly scratchy and crabby voice called from inside the car. “JoAnn, what the fuck have you done this time?”

A cold stone dropped in Demetrius’s gut, and he looked at Oliver to find him staring back, his eyes big and round.

“Grandma?” Oliver said in a quiet voice, as if trying to put it all together. Then, raising his voice and repeating the word over and over, Oliver turned away to push through the crowd and around the back of the Cadillac to the passenger side, Dave close behind him.

“Jesus Christ,” Cody said, voice back to full strength. “Is Eileen inside there?”

Cody took Demetrius’s hand to pull him through the crowd around the back of the car to the passenger side. Dave stood next to Oliver, both of them tugging on the handle of the front passenger door.

“Get me the fuck out of here!” Eileen shouted.

“Grandma, hold on,” Oliver called back, yanking on the front passenger door. “Are you hurt? Are you bleeding?”

“I don’t fucking know,” Eileen said. “Get me out of here and I’ll show you.”

Sheriff vehicles and a fire engine pulled up, sirens screaming, and people scattered to make way. Deputies got out and immediately began shepherding bystanders away from the accident scene. Among the deputies was, of course, Lucia Durant. Oliver’s face lit up at the sight of her, and he waved both arms over his head and called her name as she made her way to the passenger side.

“Make some room,” Lucia said as she reached them. “Step back. Let the rescue team have some room to work.”

“My grandmother is in the passenger seat, and we can’t get this door open.”

Lucia tried, but the door wouldn’t move. Through the window, Demetrius could see Eileen sitting in profile, a hand held up to her forehead as she stared straight ahead. She’d gotten quiet the last few minutes, and he worried she might be going into shock. They needed to get her and the Widow out of there and off to the hospital.

Having as much luck with the door as Oliver and Dave, Lucia tried the rear door and it opened easily. Not even a squeak from the hinges, Demetrius noticed. They really didn’t build them like that anymore.

Lucia crawled onto the backseat, talking to Eileen in a calm, steady voice. On the other side of the car, firemen were working on getting the driver’s door open, and when one of them saw what Lucia had done, he tried the driver’s side rear door and it opened easily, allowing him access from that side. A sheriff’s deputy approached and had their small group step back from the car, and they all complied, even as Oliver muttered a number of curses under his breath.

Demetrius held Cody’s hand tight, Oliver and Dave holding hands as well. All around them, people talked about the Cadillac, the damage, and their own run-ins with the Widow. She’d really done it this time. She’d never be able to drive again after this. Did she even still have a valid license?

Through the glass of the front passenger door, Demetrius saw Lucia snake her hand up from the backseat. As she reached along the bottom of the window, Lucia continued to talk quietly, reassuring Eileen. When her fingers reached the silver post of the door lock, she tugged it up, unlocking the door. A fireman standing on the outside pulled the door open and swung it wide.

“Oh, thank God,” Oliver said, wiping tears from his cheeks. “It was locked? That’s it?” He pushed past the sheriff’s deputy to stand on the other side of the car door, hands clutching the top of the frame.

Another fireman approached, and two EMTs followed, steering a wheeled gurney around the trunk. The firemen eased Eileen out of the car onto the gurney. The EMT’s carefully fitted a cervical collar around her neck, about which she complained the entire time. She groused about how the collar felt, where one of their hands had strayed, and to take it easy with any medication because she was on Medicare and didn’t have goddamn Kardashian money. Once the collar was in place, they wheeled her toward an ambulance, her craggy voice floating behind. Oliver trailed the stretcher, and Dave followed after him, delivering a quick kiss before Oliver climbed up into the ambulance after Eileen. Demetrius and Cody snaked their way through the onlookers and slipped past a deputy to approach Dave.

“Let us know how she’s doing,” Cody said, giving his brother a hug.

“I will.” Dave looked at the car and damage to the pharmacy, shaking his head. “Crazy fucking day.”

“That’s for sure.”

The two hugged again before Dave sprinted off down the street toward his car.

Once the ambulance was gone, people moved in to fill that space, and Margie came up beside Demetrius. Now that they were on the driver’s side, they were able to watch as a fireman straightened up from where he’d been leaning into the car. The fireman caught his partner’s eye and shook his head slightly.

“Oh, dear,” Margie said. “Oh my. This doesn’t look good for JoAnn.”

“We need to get these people back, please,” an older fireman shouted. “My team needs room to work. Everyone, please get back and give us room.”

They all moved back, and when Lucia walked past, Demetrius touched her arm. Lucia gave him a cool, steady look, and he raised his eyebrows as an unasked question. She shook her head and moved on.

“Oh my God,” Demetrius whispered. “She’s gone. She’s really gone. I can’t believe it.”

“Oh,” Margie said, putting a hand to her mouth. “Oh, my.” She shook her head and turned away, walking back toward the diner, hands in the pockets of her apron and her eyes on the sidewalk.

“She’s really dead?” Cody said.