Throw a Double for Spite

by Cherie Mitchell

  “Are you still having a text love affair with that wrong number?”

  “Jack? Yes we’re still in touch. He’s sweet and thoughtful. I like hearing from him. I wouldn’t call it a love affair though. There’s no point in trying to make it into anything more than it is. Megan reckons he’s a deranged weirdo texting me from his basement.”

  “You do have to be careful.”

  “I don’t have a bad feeling about him. Despite what you think, I don’t hate all men.” She couldn’t resist a jab.

  Briar mimicked pulling back a bow, sending a make believe arrow arching up into the night sky. “Pee-ow. So do you think you’ll meet him one day? In person, I mean.”

  “He has asked me out for a coffee but I haven’t said yes yet. I think I’m still a bit hung up on what happened with that horrible Steve.”

  “I can understand that, but if you don’t take a chance you’ll never know.”

  They had reached the restaurant, with its bright lights and spicy, drool-inducing scent of curry. Several couples were visible through the large windows, sitting at the tables and enjoying metal bowls of various sauce-covered meats accompanied by baskets of naan bread and tiny pots of spicy condiments. Couples, couples everywhere. Riley felt a sharp pang of loneliness, as if one of Briar’s imaginary arrows had just pierced through the wall of her chest.

  Briar wrenched open the door, chattering happily. “They make the best samosas. Try them and tell me if you’ve ever tasted better.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Riley was about to pop out of the office to buy a salad or a sandwich for lunch when a text from Jack arrived. She logged out of her computer screen and picked up her bag, warmed by the thought of a flirty backwards and forwards conversation with him to occupy her lunch hour. She opened the message as she walked through the reception area and stopped, rereading the words she hadn’t expected to see.

  ‘Riley, I was involved in an accident. I’m at the local hospital. I’ve been here since yesterday afternoon.’

  Her phone vibrated with another text and she hurriedly clicked into it.

  ‘I haven’t had any visitors. Seeing you would make everything so much better.’

  Riley looked up, aware now that Lucy was staring at her from behind the front desk. She gave her a terse smile and walked outside to stand near the dumpsters. Colin’s mess of spent cigarette butts littered the ground and she stepped sideways, back towards the door to avoid standing on them. What was she supposed to do with a request like that? Surely Jack had other friends or family that he could call upon?

  Another message flickered onto the screen. ‘Pretty please?’

  As if conscious of the fact that she was wavering, Jack quickly followed the last message with another one. ‘Ward 4, Room 16.’

  She poised her fingers above the keyboard, thinking again of Briar’s impulsiveness after the accident with the stray dog. Her friend wouldn’t hesitate if she received a call for help. When was the last time she did something on a whim? Anyway, what harm could it do to visit him? The hospital was probably the safest place in the city for a first meeting with a stranger, especially if Jack was injured and confined to a bed. This could be the proof Briar needed that she did like men and that she was prepared to throw caution to the wind for the sake of a male. Her fingers flew as she typed in her reply. ‘Leaving work now. See you soon.’

  She jumped as Colin pulled the office door open behind her. He glanced at her before shoving his cigarette pack into his pocket and striding across to his car. Riley’s phone beeped with another text as she unlocked her own car door.

  ‘You’re an angel sent from heaven. Can’t wait to see your beautiful face.’

  ***

  Riley’s pulse raced with excitement as she left her car in the parking lot at St Augusta’s Hospital and walked across to the main entrance. She felt brazen and reckless for daring to pull herself out of her comfort zone, for racing to Jack’s side in his hour of need. And who knew? This romantic beginning could be the start of something wonderful. Stranger things had happened. I do like men.

  The woman behind the front desk, her face and manner oozing barely restrained boredom, pointed her towards the elevators when she asked for directions to Ward 4. “Second floor, turn left when you exit and walk to the end of the corridor. It’s the door on the right at the end.”

  Riley peered at her reflection in the shiny metal walls of the elevator, fussing with her hair and straightening her clothes. Would he be disappointed when he saw her? She’d built a picture in her mind of Jack resembling a famous actor and he must have created his own image of her. Can’t wait to see your beautiful face. Would she meet his expectations or would reality ruin everything? Now anxious that she’d done the right thing by agreeing to come, she didn’t step out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened. What would she do if his disappointment showed on his face before he managed to hide it? It suddenly felt excruciatingly important that he should like her, that he should think her worthy of the multitude of compliments that he’d been paying her over the course of the past few weeks.

  A nurse in rubber-soled shoes bustled through the open doors and pushed one of the buttons on the panel. She looked impatiently over her shoulder at Riley, who was still hesitating before leaving. “Are you getting out here or are you going to another floor?”

  “No, I’m getting out here.” Riley walked out, turned left as instructed and started down the corridor. The controlled low noise and medicinal odors of the hospital accompanied her to the end, where the door on the right bore the sign she was seeking. Ward 4. She pushed open the swing doors and paced past the rooms, checking the sign above each door as she passed. Room 1, Room 2, Room 3. She quickened her step, now eager to reach Room 16 and finally meet Jack. Some of the patients in the rooms, all middle-aged or elderly men, looked curiously back at her as she passed each of their doors. Room 15... nearly there. She reached the last door and stopped, confused now. She took a step back to check the sign on the previous room. Room 15, which meant this door should be the entrance to Room 16. Instead, she was looking at a laminated sign printed with the words ‘Laundry Supplies’. There were no further doors in the corridor.

  She fumbled for her phone, scrolling through the texts to recheck the message from Jack. Ward 4, Room 16. Perhaps he’d mis-keyed the number? It was entirely possible, especially if he was injured or drowsy from his medication.

  A grey-haired nurse walked out of Room 13 carrying a bedpan with a flimsy square of paper towel hiding the contents. She looked at Riley questioningly. “Can I help you?”

  “Uh... I’m looking for a friend. Jack.” She didn’t know his last name! “Just... Jack. He was involved in an accident yesterday and he asked me to come and see him. He gave me the name of this ward but I think he’s given me the wrong room number.”

  The nurse shook her head, already turning away. “This is an Oncology Ward, dear. We have male cancer patients in here, not accident patients. You might want to check at the front desk to find out where you’re supposed to be.”

  Riley walked slowly back to the elevators, trying to make sense of what the nurse had just told her. Perhaps Jack had mis-typed the ward number rather than the room number? Yes, that would be a valid explanation. She would ask the woman at the front desk. She didn’t need his last name – how many patients named Jack could they have admitted yesterday as the result of an accident?

  However, it seemed that no one with the first name Jack had been admitted yesterday, either as the result of an accident or otherwise, and the receptionist was adamant about that as she checked her computer. “We have a Jack in the Children’s Ward but that’s all. Jack is the boy’s surname and he was admitted on Monday.”

  “No, I’m looking for an adult by that name and I’m positive it’s his first name. Thanks anyway.” Perplexed, Riley pulled out her phone again and typed in a message for Jack. ‘I’m here at the hospital but I can’t find you. Did you give me the correct ward and roo
m number?’

  She turned her back on the inquisitive eyes of the receptionist while she waited for Jack’s reply. The phone remained frustratingly silent in her hand. The automatic entrance doors rattled open to admit a young husband pushing his heavily pregnant wife in a wheelchair and Riley slipped outside before the doors closed again. There was still no message from Jack. She hit the Call icon and held the phone to her ear, waiting for him to pick up and explain the misunderstanding.

  The phone rang only once before cutting off and diverting to a generic, tinned Please Leave A Message voicemail. Riley ended the call and dropped the phone back into her handbag, annoyed now. She had wasted her lunch break driving over town on what had amounted to be nothing more than a wild goose chase. She stalked back to collect her car, furious with herself for giving into the demands of someone whom she knew so little about. So much for the supposed benefits of acting on impulse.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “Have you heard from him since then?”

  “Nothing. Not a solitary message and it’s been two days since I went to the hospital. I’ve texted him several times and tried calling his number again, but it always goes straight to voicemail. He doesn’t even have a personalized voicemail – it’s one of those recorded ones from the phone company.”

  “Do you think it was an act all along?”

  “I honestly don’t know what to think.” Riley pulled a face at Megan from the other side of the rack of clothes. “Maybe you were right about him skinning cats in his basement.”

  “I hope not.” Megan pulled a top on its hanger from the rack and held it up against her. “What do you think of this one?”

  “Not bad, but I liked the blue one better.”

  “I think I’ll leave it. It’s not as if I need any more clothes. Do you want to go and get a drink somewhere or are you heading home?” Megan came out from behind the clothes rack and walked with Riley out of the store. They’d eaten at Burger Town earlier and Riley wasn’t yet ready to go back to her silent apartment.

  “Let’s get a drink. A glass of wine might help me sleep.”

  Megan looked at her keenly as they walked down to a nearby bar. “Have you been having trouble sleeping?”

  “I was awake for a while last night, thinking about Bill mostly.”

  “It must be upsetting for you. When does he start his treatment?”

  “On Monday. He’s very upbeat about it all.”

  “And how did Morgan take the news?”

  “You know what Morgan is like – she holds her cards close to her chest. She shows the world her poker face and for all I know, she could be screaming inside. She let her guard down a bit when I was at her house for Samantha’s birthday, but most of the time she’s composed and in control of her emotions.”

  “Do you think that has anything to do with Bill’s desertion?”

  “No, she’s always been like that. Even as a little kid, she was very reserved and not liable to give much away. I don’t think Bill’s departure had much on an impact on her, at least not one that she revealed to me. She was deeply involved with Kevin at the time though, and transfixed on her own budding romance.”

  “What about your mother?”

  “You know that Ruth has only ever been focused on herself. I think the marriage break up annoyed her because it disrupted her life, rather than devastating her in any meaningful way.”

  The women sat at a booth table after ordering their drinks and Megan continued where she’d left off. “When I asked about Ruth, I meant how did she take the news of Bill’s ill-health? She obviously loved him once. Isn’t she concerned?”

  “She said, and these are her words not mine, that it serves him right for dipping his dangler into every nook and cranny that sashays past.”

  Megan spat out the mouthful of wine that she’d just taken. “Riley!” She hurriedly mopped up the mess from the tabletop with the paper serviette Riley handed her. “Your mother is incorrigible.”

  “She’ll never change. She says exactly what’s on her mind and then she moves on without a backward glance. She went quiet after that though, so I think she is concerned in her own way.”

  “How’s Bill’s latest girlfriend taking the news?”

  “I don’t know and I really don’t care. I expect she’ll drop him like a hot potato if his health does take a turn for the worst during the course of his radiation treatment. His girlfriends are only in his life for what they can get from him, and that usually includes lots of dates at fancy restaurants, designer clothes, and anything else that their shallow little hearts desire.” Riley caught the eye of a man up at the bar, a dark haired lawyer-type in a charcoal grey suit. He didn’t look away when she met his gaze and she hurriedly dropped her eyes to her glass. “Don’t look now but we’re being watched. The guy up at the bar.”

  Megan pretended to look in her handbag on the bench seat beside her while surreptitiously looking at the man from under her lashes. “Do you know him?”

  “Nope. Never seen him before. Is he still looking?”

  “No. He’s watching the game now.”

  Riley took another peek at the man but he didn’t take his eyes off the baseball game that was playing on the TV above the bar. She turned back to Megan. “Hey, you were going to tell me about your date.”

  Megan frowned. “What date?”

  “When I phoned you on the way home from work the other evening you said you were at a restaurant. You said you were meeting someone for a dinner date. Come on, unleash the gossip. Give me all the details about him. I need to hear that other people still have romance in their lives when my own love life is so dismal.”

  Megan’s cheeks turned pink. “Who said it was a him?” she asked coyly.

  Riley’s jaw dropped. “Really?”

  “I’m teasing you. It was a quick dinner with a colleague from the library. There was nothing in it, I swear.”

  “I’m disappointed. I was hoping for a magical love story.”

  “You’ll have to wait a little longer for that.” Megan twirled her wine glass around by the stem. “How’s Briar?” she asked casually.

  “She’s doing ok. I popped over to see her a few nights ago – the same night you were out with your friend. Oh, and I phoned her brother at the auto yard.”

  “You did?” Megan leaned forward, eager and interested now. “How did that go?”

  “It was a strange conversation. He was very curt. He told me not to believe anything that Briar said.”

  “Why? What did you say to him?”

  “I said I was worried about her sleepwalking. I don’t know exactly what he meant when he said she was lying. I should’ve questioned him further. Maybe he meant that she didn’t have a twin but then again, I did see the photos of the two of them together. I don’t know the names of Briar’s other brothers and I don’t know how I can find out more about the family. Matt is certainly not interested in sharing anything more with me. He seemed to take an immediate dislike to me, and I was only trying to help his sister. He struck me as a very unpleasant man.”

  Megan looked thoughtful. “I might be able to help with that.”

  “Help with what?”

  “Uncovering the mystery. You know that my work at the library allows me access to records outside the general view of the public.”

  “Yes... I’m still missing your point.”

  “I can check the Births & Deaths Register. If Briar really is a twin, the births will be recorded as such. At least it’ll clear that up. I know you care about her, and I want to help you. Do you know her birth date?”

  “You could do that? She’s three years older than me. Her birthday is in November, I think. She once told me she was a Scorpio, so it must be. I don’t know the exact date.” Why didn’t she know the date of Briar’s birthday? Weren’t friends supposed to know those sorts of details about each other?

  “Of course I can do it. I might not like Briar, but I doing this for you rather than her. Let me see what I
can do as far as checking the records go. I’ll have to choose the right moment as it’s outside of my department and I don’t want anyone to start asking questions that I can’t answer.”

  “You’re a sweetheart, do you know that?”

  Megan smiled modestly, although Riley could see she was pleased with the compliment. Both women turned to watch as the lawyer-type walked close by their table. He gave Riley a knowing look before leaving the bar.

  “I think he liked the look of you,” Megan teased.

  “He was probably just hoping for a hook-up. I’m not having much luck with men lately. See what you can do about those birth records.”

  “I’ll do my best. Watch this space.” Megan lifted her glass to finish the last of her wine as Riley scooted out of her seat. “It’ll be fun to be part of solving a mystery.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Riley had changed into her pajamas and treated herself to the luxurious facemask she’d bought at the shopping mall earlier. Megan frequented an exclusive skincare shop there, where she spent large sums of money on products for her sensitive skin. Riley was inspecting her own freshly cleansed skin in the bathroom mirror, unable to decide if the facemask had done all that it had promised, when she heard her phone beep from the living room. She brushed her teeth, swishing and rinsing before wiping her mouth with her towel. She’d enjoyed her evening out with Megan. It had felt more like old times between them, and the fact that Megan had offered to help her with Briar was a step in the right direction. Perhaps one day in the not so distant future the three of them could even be friends.

  She stifled a yawn and went out to check her phone, switching off the TV on the way past. The thought of curling up in her warm bed and slipping into a dreamless sleep was entrancing. Her night out with her friend had delivered more than one benefit and she was pleasantly drowsy from the glass of wine. She grabbed her phone and checked the message as she wound her way back through the obstacle course of the dark living room.