There was a pause.
“Marina? Oh my God, I heard about your accident. Are you okay?”
“I’m in the hospital. I’m getting better. But Carla, I need your help. I need to know about my car.”
“Your car? Honey, the insurance company towed it to our yard. It’s been sitting here for almost two weeks. Why?”
“I need you to look at it. I need you to check the brake lines.”
“The brake lines? Marina, what?”
“Please, I can’t explain right now, but I need you to look at the car and tell me if the brakes were cut.”
There was a long silence. Then Carla’s voice came back quieter, more serious.
“You think someone tampered with your car?”
“I think someone tried to kill me, and I need proof.”
“Okay. Okay, give me until tomorrow. I’ll check it myself. I’ll call you back at this number.”
“Thank you, Carla. Thank you so much.”
Stephanie took the phone back. She looked at me with something between concern and curiosity.
“Everything okay?”
I nodded. I let a single tear slide down my cheek.
“I just needed to hear a friendly voice. You’re so kind, Stephanie. Thank you.”
She patted my hand.
“Anytime, sweetie. You rest now.”
But I didn’t rest. I lay in that hospital bed staring at the ceiling tiles, counting them over and over.
Forty-eight tiles. Forty-eight chances for this to work. Forty-eight ways it could all fall apart.
The next day, Carla called back. Stephanie brought me the phone in the afternoon during the shift change, when the floor was busy and nobody was paying close attention to what the coma patient was doing.
Carla’s voice was tight, controlled.
“Marina, I checked the car. You were right. The brake line was cut. Not all the way through, but enough that it would fail under pressure. Someone knew what they were doing. This wasn’t an accident.”
“Can you document it? Take pictures?”
“I already did, and I called the police. Marina, this is attempted murder. There’s going to be an investigation.”
My heart was racing, but I kept my voice steady.
“Carla, I need you to do me a favor. I need you to not tell anyone I asked you to check the car. Not yet.”
“Why not?”
“Because the person who did this is my sister. And if she knows I know, she’ll come after me again. I need time to get evidence. I need time to protect myself.”
Carla was quiet. Then she said, “How much time?”
“A few days, maybe a week. And Carla, when the police come to you about the brake line, tell them you discovered it during a routine inspection. Don’t mention me. Can you do that?”
She sighed.
“This is dangerous, Marina.”
“I know, but it’s the only way I stay alive. Please.”
“Okay. Okay, I’ll do it. But Marina, be careful. You’re messing with someone who’s already tried to kill you once.”
“I won’t forget that. I promise.”
