The Bone Field by Debra Bokur (top e book reader txt) 📕

could be heard in the distance. Hilo grew more distressed, running from the bedroom to the front door and back. Kali got up and called to him, leading him to her bedroom. “It’s going to be okay, fella. Stay here.” She patted his head. “Be a good boy.” She shut the door, hurrying back to Makena.

The sirens drew closer, and soon the flashing lights of the ambulance could be seen reflected in the window glass.

Makena’s eyes grew wide and frightened. “What’s happening to me?” she asked again, her voice breaking. “Why does everything hurt so much?”

“Please try to be still,” Kali answered, not knowing what else to say.

Makena began to cry. Kali reached out and took her hand. There was no resistance. Kali noted the delicate fingers—long and slender, joined to her arms by tiny wrists. When she had been much younger, Mike had called his daughter his little hummingbird. Kali remembered his face, suffused with love and pride, as he’d watched his small child happily running along a hiking path. She squeezed Makena’s hand and stood up, gazing with worry at the small, damaged hummingbird curled into the sheets.

“I’ll be right back,” she said. She made her way to the front door, switching on lights as she went. The paramedics were already on the front steps. Kali recognized them both.

“Mark, Katie—thanks for getting here so quickly.” She turned toward the bedroom. “She’s in here. I think she’s miscarrying.”

“How far along?” asked Katie.

“Best guess, second trimester, but we don’t know for sure.”

Katie nodded, and Mark led the way into Makena’s room. He halted in the doorway and spoke quietly to Kali.

“Is that . . .”

“Yes. Makena Shirai.” Kali stepped aside, allowing Mark and Katie the space they needed to get to Makena. Katie remained next to the thin, groaning figure. Mark spoke to her, checking her vital signs. As he lifted her arm to gauge her blood pressure, he saw the map of needle scars on her skin. He made a quick examination, then signaled to Kali that he’d like to speak to her privately.

“She’s hemorrhaging. We need to get her to the hospital. Is there anyone you should contact?”

“There’s just me.”

“Okay. We’re going to get her ready for transport. She’s lost a lot of blood.”

“And the baby?”

“Can’t say, but it’s not looking great.”

Kali nodded. She watched as Makena was moved to a stretcher and taken to the ambulance. Makena’s face had lost some of its terror. Instead, her skin had taken on a dull grayness, and once again Kali tried not to relay her worry. “I’m going to be right behind the ambulance, Makena,” she said. “I’ll grab a few of your things and meet you in the hospital. Please don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”

Makena’s eyes flickered. She made a small movement with her head that might have been a nod. The paramedics completed the process of safely securing her, and as the ambulance pulled away, Kali ran back to the house and up the steps. She let Hilo out of her room, and found her small travel duffel on the closet floor. Inside Makena’s room, she pulled open a drawer to find a fresh change of clothing, and was surprised to see the little polka-dot horse sitting atop a soft green infant’s outfit still attached to a plastic hanger. The price tag was still fastened to it. She didn’t know if Makena had purchased it, stolen it, or received it as a gift, but she suddenly didn’t care. The fact that it was here, tucked away and waiting, said volumes.

She located a clean shirt and a pair of faded jeans among the girl’s scant belongings, surprised once again when she saw that they were neatly folded. She found some underwear, and pulled Makena’s toothbrush from a glass on the bathroom shelf. Even after she’d packed everything, the duffel felt light and forlorn.

Kali checked that Hilo had food and water in his bowls, then slipped her feet into her faded purple slip-on shoes and hurried to the Jeep. The ambulance could no longer be seen, but she could hear the siren’s urgent notes, its energy, both alarming and comforting at the same time, reaching back to her through the cool predawn air.

* * *

The hospital waiting room was freezing. Kali sat up, cold and bleary, and stretched her neck to relieve the crick in the muscle connected to her shoulder. The bright artificial lights glared, highlighting the threadbare armrest of her chair and the worn patches on the square of carpet that partially covered the sterile linoleum floor between the row of chairs where she was seated and the identical row across from her. When it was new, she reflected, the carpet’s indiscriminate blue and beige pattern may have softened the hard edges of the room to some extent—but in its present stained and fraying state, it only offered a level of subtle despair.

She checked her phone screen for the time and any messages. It was a few minutes before six o’clock, and she was thankful it was still early enough that there were no calls to deal with.

Twenty minutes passed, and she was just about to go in search of coffee when the wide double doors on one side of the waiting area opened and a doctor entered. He was dressed in scrubs, and his glasses had been shoved up over the surgical skullcap he wore. He smiled briefly as he approached her.

“Detective Mhoe?”

She stood up, his countenance making her feel hopeful. “Yes. How is Makena?”

“Resting,” he said. “She lost quite a bit of blood, but is stable. I’m afraid there was no way to save the pregnancy.” He looked her in the eye. “She was in her second trimester. I would estimate thirty weeks. However, there was significant underdevelopment, and I’m sorry to say there were clear signs that life had ended several days ago.”

Kali looked away. She felt a sense of sadness, and wished fervently that Mike was here, so he could help