Abandoned. John Schlarbaum
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Abandoned
A Jennifer Malone Mystery
ALSO BY JOHN SCHLARBAUM
Barry Jones’ Cold Dinner – A Steve Cassidy Mystery
When Angels Fail To Fly – A Steve Cassidy Mystery
Off The Beaten Path – A Steve Cassidy Mystery
A Memorable Murder – A Jennifer Malone Mystery
Lasting Impressions
Aging Gracefully Together – A Story of Love & Marriage
The Doctor’s Bag – A Sentimental Journey
Abandoned
A Jennifer Malone Mystery
SCANNER PUBLISHING
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Copyright 2017 By John Schlarbaum
Published in eBook format by Scanner Publishing
Converted by http://www.eBookIt.com
All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or stored in a retrievable system, without the prior written consent of the publisher is an infringement of the copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or locales is entirely coincidental.
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-2932-8
Cover photo credit:
“Chair With Three Legs” by Miguel Ángel Avi García
See more stunning photos at:
www.flickr.com/photos/miguelangelavi/
Graphic cover formatting: Jennifer Hawksworth
Acknowledgements
Finding the right balance in a novel’s storyline and its characters is a defining moment for any author. As I write the first draft my main goal is to find out how it ends. That may sound odd, but even though I have a vague idea how I’d like the story to conclude, the characters often have their own ideas. Once I’m satisfied with the second draft, it’s time to give it to a trusted group of readers with no qualms about giving me the good, the bad, and the ugly on every word, page, chapter and character.
Special thanks to these friends who read each chapter as it was written. This isn’t as exciting as it would seem, when you realize it might be a week, or two, or six before I sent out another 4-5 pages! It was a long process and I truly value your patience with me: Jessica Jarvis, Jennifer Laugher, Lori Wightman and Lori Farmer.
To Dorothy Schlarbaum, Jennifer Thorne, Tina Medford, Kevin Jarvis, Cathy Brooker, Priscilla Bernauer, Mary Stafford-Bocian, Sandra Musyj, Irene Carson and Rebecca Bornai – I am eternally grateful for your opinions and suggestions.
For allowing me to create wonderful new characters with distinct personal traits and backgrounds, I want to thank Jennifer Grant and Beth Grant. It was a pleasure to dig a little deeper into your lives and bring your characters to life!
Also, thanks to the devoted readers who pledged their support during the Kickstarter campaign to make this book a reality!
Last, but never least, my heartfelt gratitude to Lori Huver, whose unwavering support keeps me smiling each and every day!
John Schlarbaum
November 2017
Dedication
To Hudson, Owen, Kara and Luke
The next great generation of readers!
ONE
PART I
SUNDAY
“Don’t let them kill me.”
It took a moment for Luke to understand what the woman had said. “No one is going to kill you, Helga, I promise,” he replied with a genuine smile and short laugh, helping her onto the stretcher.
Once on her back, another concerned look came over Helga’s face, as if a jolt of pain had flashed through her clouded mind. “You promise?”
As a patient transporter Luke had seen this expression countless times, not only on the anxious faces of the elderly like Helga, but also children taking the ride from the hospital’s paediatric floor to the O.R. At least with the kids their equally terrified parents were present in the crammed elevator, trying to appear upbeat, although they weren’t always successful in this regard. Patients above the age of 30 and more so senior citizens, were typically by themselves when Luke arrived at their room to whisk them away, often for tests they weren’t aware had been scheduled. Most knew a surgical procedure was to be done, if for no other reason than their food and drink consumption had been cut off at midnight. The majority of the older transfers went down without any relatives or friends present, which Luke hated to see. It added pressure on him, as it meant he’d be the last non-surgical employee the patient would interact with before going under the knife.
“Yes, I promise,” Luke said as he wheeled the stretcher to the nurse’s station to pick up Helga’s medical chart.
“Helga, you’ll be back in no time with a brand new hip. How exciting,” Stephanie, the daytime nurse for room 8103, said cheerfully, bringing a mild smirk to Helga’s face. “Good luck.”
“At this stage, it’s not about luck, is it, Helga?” Luke broke in with a huge smile as he placed the chart beneath the edge of the mattress. “It’s about skill!” Before stepping to the rear of the stretcher out of her view, he briefly rested his hand on Helga’s arm and added, “We got this, right?”
Helga finally grinned widely, allowing the tension in her facial expressions to dissipate, if only for a second. “Yes. No luck is required today. We got this.”
The old woman’s use of modern terminology brought laughter to two nurses sitting at a nearby desk. “She’s such a sweetheart,” one of them said.
Luke inserted his key in a wall lock and hit the down button. “A special elevator for a special lady.”
The elevator door opened and Luke pushed the stretcher into the small space, then hit “G” on the keypad. Once they were moving, he stepped to the side wall in order to speak with Helga face to face. “I noticed on your wristband that you were born in 1928. That’s quite a while ago. Have you lived around here all this time?”
Luke had learned that during these short trips to the hospital’s various departments and wings, this question was a good one, as it immediately focused the patient on a topic they loved to talk about: themselves.
The unexpected inquiry had its desired effect.
“Oh no, I was sent to this country when I was ten,” Helga replied in a nostalgic tone. “I was born in Berlin, Germany.”
“Wow, ten years old leading up to World War II. Those must have been some crazy times,” Luke said. “I wasn’t a big history fan in school, but I’m sure your stories would give me a new appreciation of what was really going on.” The elevator came to a smooth stop as Luke inquired, “Did your family get out of Germany prior to the war?”
The