getting close enough to the animal to
allow him to catch her, she swooped again and again. First running for the cover of
a bush and then under Mr. Fudge’s Oldsmobile, the cat, eyes now opened wide, realized
he was marked and any trip out into the open would bring an angry bird swooping down
and raining vengeance from the sky. Reconciled and seemingly unbothered by the hand
fate had dealt, Tom closed his eyes and ignored the female cardinal’s loud chirping.
Within moments, he had resumed his nap, this time safely tucked under the old car.
Meg suddenly saw the cat as the boy who had struck down her husband. She wasn’t going
to let him rest. Not for a moment. Shaking her head, she whispered a promise.
“Whoever you are, I’ll find you, and when I do, I’ll make you pay. I’ll make you pay!”
Bending over and molding a handful of snow into a ball, she threw it wildly in the
general direction of the cat. It hit the fat feline in the rump, sending him back
into the open, where the female cardinal resumed swooping down at the perplexed killer.
Meg smiled. Tom needed to pay for what he’d done. Everyone should pay and pay deeply
for taking a life. As soon as she found out who killed Steve, it would be her turn
to swoop unrelentingly down on an unsuspecting enemy.
9
W E DIDN ’ T EXPECT YOU BACK SO SOON !” E XCLAIMED AN OBVIOUSLY shocked John Willis as a fully uniformed Meg entered Springfield Community Hospital
through the emergency room door. The forty-three-year-old hospital administrator peered
through his black-rimmed glasses at the woman for a few seconds before adding, “Listen,
Nurse Richards, you can take as much time off as you want or need. We’ll work around
you until you’re fully ready to come back.”
“I’m fine,” Meg, her tone as flat as the plains in Kansas, informed Willis. “And I
want to be working.”
As Willis looked on, Meg signed in and began going through the checklist of things
that all nurses have to do before beginning their shifts. As she and Nurse Jan Greer
took inventory of drugs and instruments, word of Meg’s arrival quickly moved through
the two-hundred-bed hospital. Within minutes, Heather had rushed to her side.
“What are you doing here?” her coworker and best friend asked.
“The count,” Meg’s replied, not bothering to look up.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Heather whispered, “I mean, it has only been
. . .”
“Heather, I know how long it’s been, and I know that I don’t want to be at home staring
at his pictures or folding his clothes. If I’m here, at least I’ll have something
else to think about. Now, I’m checking in and I’m going to my station. Thanks for
your concern, but save it for the patients.”
“But . . .”
Meg cut Heather off with a wave of her hand coupled with a stern look. “For the last
time, I’m fine, and I’ll see you later. Oh, and please don’t come checking on me every
five minutes. I don’t need another mother. I have one that’s already driving me crazy
with her ‘sage’ advice and deep concern.”
Meg had vowed to treat this as just another day. It had to be just like any other
Monday. Thus she had taken extra care to insure she looked her best, adding layers
of makeup to cover up the dark circles, though she couldn’t do much about the redness
in her eyes. With her game face on and her emotions under control, she appeared strong
and alert. In fact, she was sure she looked normal. But that normalcy was only skin-deep.
Beneath the calm exterior was a driven woman, a woman who couldn’t wait for her first
break in order to call the district attorney and finally discover the name of her
husband’s murderer. And that was the real reason for her coming to work. Waiting had
driven her crazy all through the night. Being at work gave her something to do to
pass the time until the district attorney’s office
allow him to catch her, she swooped again and again. First running for the cover of
a bush and then under Mr. Fudge’s Oldsmobile, the cat, eyes now opened wide, realized
he was marked and any trip out into the open would bring an angry bird swooping down
and raining vengeance from the sky. Reconciled and seemingly unbothered by the hand
fate had dealt, Tom closed his eyes and ignored the female cardinal’s loud chirping.
Within moments, he had resumed his nap, this time safely tucked under the old car.
Meg suddenly saw the cat as the boy who had struck down her husband. She wasn’t going
to let him rest. Not for a moment. Shaking her head, she whispered a promise.
“Whoever you are, I’ll find you, and when I do, I’ll make you pay. I’ll make you pay!”
Bending over and molding a handful of snow into a ball, she threw it wildly in the
general direction of the cat. It hit the fat feline in the rump, sending him back
into the open, where the female cardinal resumed swooping down at the perplexed killer.
Meg smiled. Tom needed to pay for what he’d done. Everyone should pay and pay deeply
for taking a life. As soon as she found out who killed Steve, it would be her turn
to swoop unrelentingly down on an unsuspecting enemy.
9
W E DIDN ’ T EXPECT YOU BACK SO SOON !” E XCLAIMED AN OBVIOUSLY shocked John Willis as a fully uniformed Meg entered Springfield Community Hospital
through the emergency room door. The forty-three-year-old hospital administrator peered
through his black-rimmed glasses at the woman for a few seconds before adding, “Listen,
Nurse Richards, you can take as much time off as you want or need. We’ll work around
you until you’re fully ready to come back.”
“I’m fine,” Meg, her tone as flat as the plains in Kansas, informed Willis. “And I
want to be working.”
As Willis looked on, Meg signed in and began going through the checklist of things
that all nurses have to do before beginning their shifts. As she and Nurse Jan Greer
took inventory of drugs and instruments, word of Meg’s arrival quickly moved through
the two-hundred-bed hospital. Within minutes, Heather had rushed to her side.
“What are you doing here?” her coworker and best friend asked.
“The count,” Meg’s replied, not bothering to look up.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Heather whispered, “I mean, it has only been
. . .”
“Heather, I know how long it’s been, and I know that I don’t want to be at home staring
at his pictures or folding his clothes. If I’m here, at least I’ll have something
else to think about. Now, I’m checking in and I’m going to my station. Thanks for
your concern, but save it for the patients.”
“But . . .”
Meg cut Heather off with a wave of her hand coupled with a stern look. “For the last
time, I’m fine, and I’ll see you later. Oh, and please don’t come checking on me every
five minutes. I don’t need another mother. I have one that’s already driving me crazy
with her ‘sage’ advice and deep concern.”
Meg had vowed to treat this as just another day. It had to be just like any other
Monday. Thus she had taken extra care to insure she looked her best, adding layers
of makeup to cover up the dark circles, though she couldn’t do much about the redness
in her eyes. With her game face on and her emotions under control, she appeared strong
and alert. In fact, she was sure she looked normal. But that normalcy was only skin-deep.
Beneath the calm exterior was a driven woman, a woman who couldn’t wait for her first
break in order to call the district attorney and finally discover the name of her
husband’s murderer. And that was the real reason for her coming to work. Waiting had
driven her crazy all through the night. Being at work gave her something to do to
pass the time until the district attorney’s office
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