Hazard Lights
Chapter One
Hazard Lights
It was Friday evening, and all I wanted was to get home, change into something comfortable, and have nobody ask me for anything.
I'd spent forty minutes in the supermarket, although I'd only gone in for a few things. As usual, I came out with two bags of groceries, a receipt far longer than expected, and the nagging feeling that I'd forgotten something.
I checked the dashboard clock while I waited at a red light.
7:43 p.m.
Wonderful.
With any luck, I'd be home in twenty minutes.
My phone rang.
Mom.
I answered using the button on the steering wheel.
"Yes, Mom?"
"Are you home yet?"
"No, I'm still driving."
"Why so late?"
"I went grocery shopping."
"And what happened with those clients?"
"Mom, it's Friday evening."
"Nia, I'm just asking."
"I know. I spoke to them, sent over the revised offer, and they've reviewed it. They'll make a decision next week."
"Does your father know?"
"Yes."
"Because he told me earlier that—"
"Mom."
"All right, all right. I won't bother you. What are you doing tonight?"
"Making dinner, watching something on TV, and not speaking to another human being."
"That sounds nice."
"It sounds fantastic."
"Just don't forget to call your grandmother tomorrow."
"I won't."
"And drive carefully. The roads are terrible."
"I can see that. Love you."
"Love you too, sweetheart."
I ended the call and turned up the heating.
I loved my family. I really did. But working in a family business meant the working day never quite ended. My father could remember a client on a Sunday morning. My mother might bring up an unpaid invoice halfway through dinner. I'd spent years trying to convince them that we could occasionally have a conversation that had nothing to do with work.
With very limited success.
The light turned green, and I pulled away.
It was minus four degrees outside. Sofia was covered in that miserable mixture of snow, slush, and ice that made even getting out of the car an ordeal. At least it wasn't snowing anymore.
That morning, I'd put on wide-leg jeans, a sweater, a long coat, and sneakers. Comfortable enough for work, less suitable for icy pavements. My hair was in a bun that probably looked as though I'd slept in it by now.
Not that it mattered. I wasn't planning on seeing anyone.
I'd already planned my evening: feed the cat before she reported me to some imaginary animal welfare authority, make dinner, maybe have a glass of wine, then take a hot shower.
My apartment wasn't particularly big, but it was mine. Or at least the part that didn't technically belong to the bank. I had years of mortgage payments ahead of me, and I still felt ridiculously pleased every time I unlocked my front door.
According to my cat, of course, the apartment belonged entirely to her.
Then I noticed the woman.
She was elderly and small, walking along the pavement to my right in a dark coat and a knitted hat. She had a shopping bag in one hand and was using the other to steady herself against the fence of a nearby building.
I don't know why she caught my attention. Maybe because she was moving so slowly.
Her foot slipped.
She threw out an arm, trying to catch her balance, but went down before she could find anything to hold on to.
"Shit!"
I checked my mirrors, slowed down, and pulled into an empty space beside the pavement. I switched on my hazard lights, put the car in park, and got out.
The cold hit me in the face.
"Ma'am! Are you all right?"
She was on the ground, struggling to push herself up.
"No, please, don't get up," I called as I hurried over.
I crouched beside her.
"Did you hit your head?"
"No, dear. I don't think so."
"Where does it hurt?"
"My arm. Oh, God, my arm..."
She was holding her right arm against her body. Her wrist was already starting to swell.
That didn't look good.
"Try not to move it. I'm going to call for help."
"Oh, don't do that, sweetheart. I'll be fine."
"I'm not sure we should take that chance."
"Just help me up."
"First, let's make sure you haven't hurt anything else."
She sighed heavily.
"I'm eighty-two years old, and apparently I still haven't learned to watch where I'm going."
"This ice isn't exactly helping."
That earned me a small smile.
I took off my scarf and draped it carefully around her shoulders.
"What's your name?"
"Elena."
"I'm Nia. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Elena. I wish it were under better circumstances."
"Likewise, dear."
I reached for my phone just as a car door closed behind me.
"What happened?"
A tall man was coming towards us. He wore a dark winter jacket, a black sweater, and dark jeans, and looked to be in his mid-thirties, perhaps a little older. Another man, older and dressed in a dark overcoat, followed a few steps behind. A large black car had stopped behind mine.
"She slipped on the ice," I said. "I think she may have broken her wrist."
The first man crouched on Elena's other side.
"Good evening. Can you tell me where it hurts?"
"Everywhere at this point," she said irritably. "But mostly here."
He studied her wrist without touching it.
"Did you hit your head?"
"The girl already asked me that. No, I didn't."
"Can you move your legs?"
She moved them carefully.
"Yes."
"Good." He turned to me. "Have you called an ambulance?"
"I was just about to."
He took out his phone and stood. "I'll take care of it."
Something about the certainty in his voice irritated me. He sounded as though he expected everything to go exactly as planned. Still, he was making the call, and Elena needed help, so I kept quiet.
The older man came over.
"Sir, shall I get the blanket from the car?"
"Yes, Pavel. And the first-aid kit."
The stranger was already speaking to someone on the phone.
"Good evening. Sorry to bother you so late."
He listened for a moment.
"We have an elderly woman who's fallen on the ice. Possible wrist fracture. She's conscious, speaking normally, and says she hasn't hit her head."
He turned towards us.
"Mrs. Elena, can you put weight on your legs?"
"I can. Whether I want to is another question."
"Fair enough."
He went back to his call.
"We can bring her to you, provided it's safe to move her. I'd like someone to examine her as soon as possible. Yes. Give me a moment. I'll call you back."
He put his phone away and crouched beside Elena again.
"Mrs. Elena, I can arrange for you to be taken to a hospital. They'll examine you there. But we need to be sure it's safe to move you first. If nothing else hurts, we can help you up."
"Oh, I don't want to cause you any trouble."
"You're not causing any trouble."
"But I can't afford private hospitals, young man."
"Don't worry about that."
She eyed him suspiciously.
"What do you mean, don't worry?"
"I mean we'll take care of it."
He caught my expression.
"Do you have a better suggestion?"
"I'd rather we didn't move her until we know there isn't a more serious injury."
"I agree."
I hadn't expected him to agree quite so readily.
He made another call, this time asking for medical advice. He put several specific questions to Elena and relayed her answers to the person on the other end. When he'd finished, he explained that we could help her to the car, carefully, as long as she could stand without pain in her legs or hips.
Pavel was back with the blanket by then.
A few minutes later, Elena was on her feet, leaning on both of us and stubbornly refusing to admit how much her arm hurt.
"All right," the stranger said. "Let's get you somewhere warm."
"In your car?"
"Yes."
"And the girl?"
He glanced at me. "I'm sure the young lady has plans of her own."
"I'm not going anywhere without her," Elena announced.
"Excuse me?" I said.
"You found me. You're not going to leave me alone with strange men, are you?"
The stranger seemed amused by that.
"I think Mrs. Elena has made up her mind."
"Apparently."
"You're welcome to come with us. We'll bring you back to your car afterwards."
I hesitated. Getting into a car with two complete strangers wasn't exactly a sensible Friday-night plan, however polite they seemed.
But Elena was frightened. She was doing her best to hide it, and I couldn't blame her for not wanting to go alone.
"All right. I'll come."
"Thank you, sweetheart," Elena said.
"I just need to lock my car."
"Of course."
I went back for my handbag, made sure I had my phone and keys, and looked towards the bags of groceries in the trunk.
Wonderful.
So much for my quiet Friday evening.
I locked the car and returned. The stranger held the back door of the black car open while Pavel helped Elena into the seat.
"After you," he said, moving aside.
I climbed in beside her.
The car was spacious and warm, with a pleasant smell of leather. The seats were so comfortable that I almost felt guilty about my wet sneakers.
The man settled into the front passenger seat.
"Everything all right back there?"
"Yes," I said.
"Mrs. Elena?"
"I'm fine, young man. It's just my arm."
"We'll be there soon."
Pavel pulled away. Through the window, I could see my car in its parking space, the hazard lights now off.
Fifteen minutes ago, I'd been thinking about dinner. Now I was on my way to a hospital I didn't know, with an elderly woman I'd just met and two men I knew nothing about.
Elena patted my knee with her good hand.
"You're a very kind girl."
"I'm not so sure. Maybe I'm just terrible at saying no."
"That's a bad habit," the stranger remarked from the front.
"Thank you for your professional opinion."
He gave a quiet laugh.
"Aleksandar," he said, turning towards me.
"Sorry?"
"My name is Aleksandar. That way, I'm not a complete stranger anymore."
"Nia."
"I know. I heard you introduce yourself."
"Then why didn't you start with that?"
He considered it for a moment. "Good question."
I turned back to the window.
Well, at least he had a sense of humor.
We reached the hospital about fifteen minutes later.
As Pavel turned towards the entrance, I noticed two members of staff waiting outside. One had a wheelchair.
He stopped directly in front of the building. Aleksandar got out and opened the back door.
"Mrs. Elena, we're going to help you into the chair."
"Just make sure you don't drop me again," she muttered.
"We'll do our very best," he said, entirely serious.
The medical staff helped her into the wheelchair, carefully supporting her injured arm. One of them started asking questions before we were even inside.
I followed them through the entrance.
The hospital was new and modern, with bright corridors, a spacious reception area, and very little noise.
The receptionist stood when she saw Aleksandar.
"Good evening, sir. We've been expecting you."
"Good evening. Where's the orthopedic specialist on duty?"
"The team has already been informed. Someone will take you upstairs."
I didn't think much of it. He'd called ahead, after all.
We took the elevator to the second floor, where a wide corridor stretched ahead of us. There were no other visitors in sight.
A nurse greeted us and wheeled Elena towards an examination room.
"Nia!" Elena called.
I caught up with her.
"I'm here."
"You're not leaving, are you?"
"No. I'll wait for you."
She gave a satisfied nod.
"Good girl."
I watched the door close behind her.
"She seems to like you," Aleksandar said.
"She doesn't seem particularly convinced about you."
"I noticed."
"Don't take it personally. You're still a strange man who put her in his car."
"And you're a strange woman who did exactly the same thing."
"Yes, but apparently I look more trustworthy."
"You're probably right."
The corridor was unusually quiet. At the far end stood a man in a dark suit who didn't look like a member of the medical staff. Aleksandar nodded to him; the man opened one of the doors and stayed outside.
I was beginning to wonder what was going on.
"Excuse me, is this some kind of special department?"
"You could say that."
"There don't seem to be any other patients."
"We won't be disturbed in this section."
"Is the entire floor empty?"
"No. They've just set aside a few rooms for us."
He said it as though that were a perfectly ordinary thing to arrange.
I decided not to ask anything else for the moment.
I took off my coat, folded it over my arm, and sat in one of the armchairs along the wall. Aleksandar checked his watch, then took out his phone.
"Would you like something to drink?"
"Water would be nice, thank you."
A nurse came out of the next room, and he turned to her.
"Could we have two bottles of water and a coffee, please? And would you check whether Mrs. Elena needs anything else?"
"Of course. Right away."
While he was busy with his phone, I checked mine. I had two messages from my mother, one from my best friend, Darina, and a notification from a food delivery app I'd forgotten to disable.
I opened my conversation with Darina and typed:
You won't believe what just happened to me.
I read it back, deleted it, and tried again.
I'm at a hospital with an old lady and two strange men. I'll explain later.
Her reply came almost immediately.
WHAT????
I was about to answer when footsteps sounded along the corridor.
A man in his fifties was approaching, wearing a navy suit and a white shirt. Another man walked beside him, speaking quietly. When the first man saw us, his face broke into a broad smile.
"Aleksandar!"
Aleksandar got to his feet.
"Good evening, Doctor."
They shook hands.
"It's good to see you. A shame it's under these circumstances."
"Thank you for responding so quickly."
"Anytime. How's the woman?"
"They're examining her. Probably a wrist fracture, but I'll leave that to the doctors."
"Of course. I've spoken personally with the head of orthopedics. The team is available. If she needs surgery, we'll arrange everything."
The man's attention shifted to me.
"And this is?"
"Nia," Aleksandar said. "She was the first to stop and help."
I stood to greet him.
"Good evening."
"A pleasure to meet you. I'm Dr. Andonov."
We shook hands.
"Likewise."
"I'm the hospital director. If you need anything at all, please don't hesitate to ask."
"Thank you," I said, a little surprised.
He turned back to Aleksandar.
"We'll take care of everything. You have nothing to worry about."
"I'm counting on you."
They spoke for another minute before Dr. Andonov excused himself and went towards the examination rooms.
I stayed on my feet for a moment, then turned to Aleksandar.
He seemed perfectly at ease.
"Is something wrong?" he asked.
"No. It's just..." I stopped, trying to work out how to phrase it. "Does the hospital director usually come out to greet people personally on a Friday evening?"
"I couldn't tell you what he usually does."
"But he made an exception tonight."
"Apparently."
"Are you some kind of important person?"
He laughed at that.
"Depends on who you ask."
I sat down again.
"Fantastic answer."
He took the chair opposite me and set his phone on the low table between us.
"Do you always ask so many questions?"
"Only when people keep avoiding the answers."
"I'll keep that in mind."
The nurse had brought the drinks while we were talking. I picked up my bottle of water and took a sip.
All right, Nia.
Whoever this man was, in a few hours I'd be back at my car, heading home, and this whole strange evening would be behind me.
At least, that's what I thought at the time.
