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Authors: Mary Jane Clark
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doctor had run up and started administering CPR. She decided to stand aside and not add to the crowd that had gathered.
Thoughts of her father and his emergency preparedness kits flashed through her mind. She wondered if he had anything in them that would have helped Travis York. As it was, Piper cursed herself for changing to her small clutch tonight from her big shoulder bag, which contained the basic kit her father had made her promise to keep with her at all times. This thing was sure to make the news, and Piper knew her dad was going to grill her about what she had done to help.
Even in her state of horror, Piper couldn’t help observing that Martha Killeen was taking so many pictures of Travis as he struggled to survive. There was something gross about it. She also noticed that Phillip Brooks had risen to his feet but sat back down again when he saw Casey Walden running to the stage to be with Glenna. In the bedlam of the ballroom, while men shouted and women cried, Piper could feel her heart pounding and the heat rising in her cheeks. She had never before witnessed a man fighting for his life. She feared that Travis York had already lost his battle.
Chapter 20
H is wife had long since gone up to bed, ever aware that she had to get up very early in the morning to get to the bakery. Vin Donovan watched the Knicks game in his basement lair while having a couple of beers. When the game was over, he switched to his favorite local news station.
On the television screen, a pretty young woman bundled in a down coat stood on the sidewalk in front of an elegant old building. She held a microphone to her lips with a gloved hand.
“A fund-raising auction at the Metropolitan School for Girls here on Fifth Avenue became the scene of tragedy when actor Travis York collapsed on the stage while he acted as auctioneer. He was later pronounced dead at Lenox Hill Hospital.
“People who attended the auction were stunned and shaken as they left the school tonight, struggling to make sense of what they had witnessed.”
Video of a well-dressed couple appeared on the screen. The woman was clinging to the man’s arm. Both their facial expressions were grim.
“One minute he was standing there,” said the man, “making jokes with the audience, trying to jack up the prices, and the next minute he was coughing and gasping for air. His face was beet-red, almost purple. I could see it from the middle of the room where we were sitting. After he fell to the floor, it looked like he was having a seizure or convulsions or something. He was shaking and jerking around uncontrollably.”
Another man appeared and spoke. “I’m still not sure exactly what happened. About halfway through the auction, he coughed a little bit and then he took a drink of water. After that, all hell broke loose.”
Vin heard the reporter’s voice again. She was talking over a professional head shot of Travis York’s handsome face, which smiled from the screen.
“Travis York is known to millions as Drake Darrington on the popular soap opera A Little Rain Must Fall . He had volunteered to be the auctioneer tonight at the request of his costar Glenna Brooks, whose daughter attends the school.”
Now a woman appeared. The words marching across the bottom of the screen identified her as Jessie Terhune, School Drama Teacher.
“This is just such a horrible, senseless thing,” she said. “The man was doing a good deed. The proceeds of the auction are meant to go to the drama department. Travis York, as an actor, knew how important our program is to the girls. Before he collapsed, over a million dollars had already been raised and that is a tribute to him and will be part of his legacy.”
The reporter appeared on screen one last time. “An autopsy will be performed. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner investigates all unexpected, violent, or suspicious deaths in New York City.”
Vin lowered the volume on the TV and reached for the phone. He listened
Thoughts of her father and his emergency preparedness kits flashed through her mind. She wondered if he had anything in them that would have helped Travis York. As it was, Piper cursed herself for changing to her small clutch tonight from her big shoulder bag, which contained the basic kit her father had made her promise to keep with her at all times. This thing was sure to make the news, and Piper knew her dad was going to grill her about what she had done to help.
Even in her state of horror, Piper couldn’t help observing that Martha Killeen was taking so many pictures of Travis as he struggled to survive. There was something gross about it. She also noticed that Phillip Brooks had risen to his feet but sat back down again when he saw Casey Walden running to the stage to be with Glenna. In the bedlam of the ballroom, while men shouted and women cried, Piper could feel her heart pounding and the heat rising in her cheeks. She had never before witnessed a man fighting for his life. She feared that Travis York had already lost his battle.
Chapter 20
H is wife had long since gone up to bed, ever aware that she had to get up very early in the morning to get to the bakery. Vin Donovan watched the Knicks game in his basement lair while having a couple of beers. When the game was over, he switched to his favorite local news station.
On the television screen, a pretty young woman bundled in a down coat stood on the sidewalk in front of an elegant old building. She held a microphone to her lips with a gloved hand.
“A fund-raising auction at the Metropolitan School for Girls here on Fifth Avenue became the scene of tragedy when actor Travis York collapsed on the stage while he acted as auctioneer. He was later pronounced dead at Lenox Hill Hospital.
“People who attended the auction were stunned and shaken as they left the school tonight, struggling to make sense of what they had witnessed.”
Video of a well-dressed couple appeared on the screen. The woman was clinging to the man’s arm. Both their facial expressions were grim.
“One minute he was standing there,” said the man, “making jokes with the audience, trying to jack up the prices, and the next minute he was coughing and gasping for air. His face was beet-red, almost purple. I could see it from the middle of the room where we were sitting. After he fell to the floor, it looked like he was having a seizure or convulsions or something. He was shaking and jerking around uncontrollably.”
Another man appeared and spoke. “I’m still not sure exactly what happened. About halfway through the auction, he coughed a little bit and then he took a drink of water. After that, all hell broke loose.”
Vin heard the reporter’s voice again. She was talking over a professional head shot of Travis York’s handsome face, which smiled from the screen.
“Travis York is known to millions as Drake Darrington on the popular soap opera A Little Rain Must Fall . He had volunteered to be the auctioneer tonight at the request of his costar Glenna Brooks, whose daughter attends the school.”
Now a woman appeared. The words marching across the bottom of the screen identified her as Jessie Terhune, School Drama Teacher.
“This is just such a horrible, senseless thing,” she said. “The man was doing a good deed. The proceeds of the auction are meant to go to the drama department. Travis York, as an actor, knew how important our program is to the girls. Before he collapsed, over a million dollars had already been raised and that is a tribute to him and will be part of his legacy.”
The reporter appeared on screen one last time. “An autopsy will be performed. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner investigates all unexpected, violent, or suspicious deaths in New York City.”
Vin lowered the volume on the TV and reached for the phone. He listened
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