Read Online Eleven Hours by Paullina Simons - Free Book Online Page A

broke hers and now she wants to break mine!” Then, “Give me the phone! I have to talk to Daddy too.”
    Rich took a deep breath. He heard the phone crash to the floor, followed by piercing screams. Ingrid picked up the receiver and said, “Everything is all right.”
    â€œGood,” Rich said. “Please call my mother.”
    â€œIf you want, I can stay a little later,” Ingrid said.
    â€œThanks. I don’t know how late we’ll be, though.”
    â€œIs Didi having the baby?”
    And in the background, Irene shrieked, “Mommy’s having the baby! Mommy’s having the baby!”
    Rich tensely rubbed the bridge of his nose. All he wanted to do was hang up. “No, she’s not having the baby. Just call my mom, Ingrid, please.”
    He had no stomach to call his mother himself. He had nothing to tell her, anyway. He just needed her help. His mother was going to lose it no matter what. Ingrid had never called before to ask Barbara Wood to come over and help with the children. Rich knew that talking to his mother required too much of him, and he didn’t have the patience for it. Ingrid asked again if everything was all right, and Rich said yes, sure, but had to hang up. He could barely hold himself together.
    Five minutes later the police arrived. There were two officers—Officer Charles, a man, and Officer Patterson, a woman. Patterson did not seem particularly sympathetic and Rich took an instant dislike to her. She reminded Rich of the disapproving older woman in the parking lot. Like, what’s the matter, your wife is away from you for a few hours and you panic? What about when you leave us to go on your business trips and we can’t get in touch with you? What about when you go out with the boys and say you’re coming home at midnight and it’s three and you’re still not home? Don’t worry, Officer Patterson’s casual expression read. Your wife is probably at the movies.
    Officer Charles was talking, but through the din in Rich’s head, he could barely hear him. Then he realized the din was there just so he couldn’t hear Charles speak, because Rich didn’t like what he was hearing. Something about not jumping to conclusions.
    Rich wasn’t sure if he needed to respond to that or just get in his car and go home. He said, “I thought you came to help me. If you can’t help me, then let me talk to someone who can.”
    The officers tried with little effect to be more helpful. “Could your wife have gone into labor?” said the woman officer. “Could she be in the hospital somewhere?”
    Shaking his head, Rich said, “We’re preregistered at Columbia Medical. If she was having a baby, that’s where she would go, and they have my number. Also she has it. She’s not there. I called them. And no one’s called me.”
    â€œCould she have been in an accident?” said Charles
    â€œYes, yes, she could have,” Rich said impatiently, failing despite his best wishes to talk slowly, calmly, reasonably. “No, absolutely. You’re so right. She could have been in an accident.” He paused. “But not in her own car. Because our car is parked out—” and he flung his arm for emphasis—“there.”
    Officer Charles stared at him. “Perhaps she had an accident in someone else’s car?” he said.
    â€œMaybe she met a friend and decided to spend the afternoon with him or her,” Officer Patterson suggested.
    Rich rubbed his eyes, shaking with frustration, and other things. “Oh, dear Jesus! We had a lunch date at one. She didn’t show up. She has the cell phone with her—”
    â€œMaybe it ran out of power,” said Patterson.
    â€œYou mean to tell me that my wife decided to stand me up after calling me and asking me to meet her early?” he said loudly. He may have even shouted. The officers asked him if he