by June Kramin
“Back at work? Sick of roses? I…” He thinks I’m Ellie! “Of course not. Don’t be silly.” She placed her hand on his chest. He seemed surprised by her action and took it in his hand, then brought it to his lips for a kiss and stared into her eyes.
“So the bear did the trick, huh?”
“Very much so.” She leaned into him and gave him a kiss. “Thanks for that.”
He growled low in his throat. “When do you get out of here?”
She looked over at the nurses who were busy with their charts. “How does right now sound to you?”
“Noelle. Shame on you. You want me to sneak you out of the hospital?” He took her hands and stood her up then pulled her hips towards his. She could feel his arousal and took advantage of it. Grinding gently up and down, she whispered into his ear. “Get me outta here and I promise to take care of that. Come on. I can probably go later this afternoon, anyway. I’d rather go with you than my brothers.”
“What about the guy you’ve been dating?”
“Bix? Hell, that didn’t last. I gave him a shot, but there was just no spark. You know I really wanted you and was just playing hard to get.”
“You played that part well. You sure you’re okay to go?”
“Positive.” She led him into her room and hurriedly gathered her clothes. She shoved them at his chest. “They’ll notice me with these, not you. Carry them out for me. I’ll change in your car.” He seemed to hesitate about what they were about to do. Not wanting to give him time to change his mind, Nancy leaned forward and kissed him. She lingered there for a moment forcing out gentle moans and flicking her tongue against his lips. She bit his lower lip as she pulled away. She reached down and cupped her hand at his crotch. She grinned and kissed him again. “I’ve put that off too long. Let’s hurry up and get out of here.”
The man licked his lips. “Yes. Yes you did.” He grabbed the back of her neck and brought her in for a hard kiss.
She had to push him away. “Escape first,” she said, slowly licking her bottom lip. “Fun later.”
“Where’s the bear?”
Nancy quickly made up a lie. “I had to switch rooms this morning. Not sure why. They just haven’t brought it in yet. I’d get that sweet thing myself, but I’m not supposed to carry anything yet. I’ll come back for it. I really need to get out of here. Is that okay?”
“Of course.” He pulled her in for another kiss. This time he plunged his tongue into her mouth. Nancy felt he was painting her mouth with his tongue rather than kissing her, but she didn’t care. She’d kiss anyone that would take her out of here. He was certainly cute enough; she could always teach him form later.
They made it out to the garage and into his car with no one stopping them. An ambulance had pulled up just as they were approaching the exit and everyone was preoccupied. Nancy was less than thrilled with his older model Buick, but at least it was a clean getaway.
At six o’clock, Nick and Nathan showed up at Ellie’s. “You hear anything?” Bix asked.
“Nothing. We had to go to the station and file a missing person’s report.”
He led them into the bedroom to see Ellie. “Did you talk to her at all yet, El?” Nick asked.
“I saw her for a little bit the day after surgery.” She remained emotionless and adjusted her pillow.
“And what happened? What did you say to her?”
“You are so not going to make this my fault! She didn’t go because of what I said or didn’t say. She went because she’s a damn spoiled brat and wants the town turned upside down looking for her. She’ll show up when she’s ready.”
“You can’t hate her like you pretend to, El,” Nate said. “People don’t give body parts to people they don’t like.”
“What makes you think I did it for me? I did it for Mom and Dad and you two. When I saw her I told her to stay out of my life. If she did this because of what I said then so be it. They were probably letting her go soon anyway. You know she’s already beyond what any normal person would have been in there for. It’s not like she’s in any kind of danger.”
“How do you know? Can you feel where she’s at?”
“’Feel where she’s at’? It’s not like we have E.S.P., idiot. Sometimes things just happened when we were kids and closer to each other. I’m sure it was just coincidental, that’s all. You guys always acted so freaked out over it.”
“What’s that about?” Bix asked.
“Every now and then Nancy and I shared a thought or something. It’s no big deal. It’s just a twin thing I guess.”
“I’ve seen a few documentaries on that.”
“I don’t want to talk about it, Bix.” She turned to Nick and Nate. “And you two just shut up. It was nothing. Don’t go filling his head with stories. And, no, Nate. I don’t ‘feel’ anything. We haven’t even been together in years, but I know her. She’s just off being stupid and having a grade school tantrum.”
“Well, we’re gonna go look for her. You want to come with us, Bix? Now’s your chance to learn all the back roads around here.”
Bix looked over at Ellie. “Go with them, I don’t care. Just don’t come back here with her.”
“I don’t want to leave you upset.”
“I’m not upset at you. I’m just tired of her shit. Go play with my brothers. I don’t care.”
Her brothers each went over for a kiss as well. “We’ll call you if we hear anything.”
“Don’t bother.” Ellie turned to her side.
Chapter Forty-Eight
“Hello?” Ellie answered her phone and barely managed to mumble the word. The clock read 6:12 and Ellie was considering beating whoever was on the other end of the phone. She looked next to her and saw Bix sound asleep. He hadn’t woken her up when he came in last night.
“Thank God you’re there and okay. Turn on the TV. Channel four.”
“Nick?”
“Just do it, El. Then get up and get dressed; Nathan is on his way. I’ll see you at the hospital.”
He hung up.
“Hospital?” Ellie slid out of bed, not wanting to wake Bix, then went to the closet and grabbed a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. Out in the living room, she fumbled with the remote, still getting used to all of Bix’s gadgets, and changed the TV to channel four. The female on the scene newscaster was saying, “Back to you, Bill,” then it switched to the anchor desk. Ellie noticed the reporter was standing in front of the local hospital.
What the hell was going on?
“Thanks, Cindy. The authorities are not releasing the name of the woman until her family can be notified. Last word is they have been contacted and are on their way. Sources say the victim was taken prematurely from her surgery recovery, although no further details are available. The police have been going over the hospital security cameras trying to catch a glimpse of the person or persons responsible. Now, the weather.”
Don’t be Nancy. Don’t be Nancy.
She chanted as she frantically scanned the channels. If Nick had called her, though, there was no one else it could be. Ellie finally caught the story on another channel. There was a reporter on channel seven in front of the same hospital.
“All we know at this time, Gerry, is that an unknown man and the unidentified woman somehow left the hospital without being noticed. It is unsure at this time if she was willing or not. No details have been given about the cause or extent of her injuries.”
Ellie covered her mouth, stifling her gasp.
“Are there currently any suspects?”
“None as of yet. The name given at the hotel where she was found is presumed an alias and he used cash. The clerk is being questioned for not taking a credit card and driver’s license, as is the hotel’s policy. The woman has been unconscious since the 911 call was made. Authorities are hoping for further leads when she wakes up.”
“What is her condition right now?”
“She’s stable. They were able to stop the bleeding — ”
Ell
ie had heard enough. There was a knock at her door as she pulled up her jeans. She hurried as best as she could to unlock it and let Nathan in.
He wrapped his arms around her tight. “Thank God you’re okay. You heard?”
“I just caught the tail end of two different segments. What the hell happened?”
“I don’t know. Let’s get there and find out.”
Ellie didn’t want to go back in and wake up Bix. She wanted to get to her sister. Pulling on her boots without going for socks, she hurried out the door.
They had to make their way through a few reporters at the front doors wildly snapping pictures and all shouting at once, “How is she?” and “Can you give us a statement?”
They arrived at the ER desk, where they found Nick leaning against it with his head in his arms. When Ellie tapped him he turned around and gave her a tight hug.
“They tell you anything?” Nathan asked.
“They said she’s out of critical, but she’s still guarded. Whatever happened to her busted her insides up pretty good.”
“Was she raped?” Ellie asked as she fought back tears.
He looked over at Nathan then back at Ellie. “I don’t know.”
“Fuck!” Nathan slammed his fist into the solid wood pillar. Ellie and Nick both heard the snap of bones.
“Nate!” Ellie screamed, taking his hand. “Breaking your hand isn’t going to help!”
He ran to a trashcan and threw up.
Doctor Gould, the ER doctor, allowed them in the room as he splinted up Nathan’s hand. Doctor Platt came in to talk to them about Nancy as the clips were put on the bandage.
“Come back in a couple of days. When the swelling goes down, we can cast it,” Doctor Gould said as he walked out, giving them privacy.
“How’s Nancy?”
“She’s resting comfortably. There’s no more bleeding and she’s stable. I don’t have the specifics of what happened, but I can tell you she wasn’t raped. She’d be dead. I don’t know what possessed her to sneak out.”
“She snuck out?” Ellie said.
The doctor nodded. “She has only been awake for a few moments at a time, but she said she left with the guy on her own.”
“Why?”
“She wouldn’t say. Honestly it doesn’t make any sense. It’s been over three weeks and she’s doing great. I would have okayed her release with the usual follow ups every few days like anyone else. It was her that wanted to stay. You know if it was an insurance deal they would have booted her out by now. That lawyer of hers has things paid in advance and we have the space so she keeps the bed. We have a guard posted at her room, but you three can go in for a short visit.”
In the room, Ellie stood back as each of her brothers took one of Nancy’s hands.
“We’re gonna find this bastard and kill him, Nancy,” Nick said, through gritted teeth.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Bix’s parents were back at Gramps’ house for a few days, packing things up. His mother made her way to the sitting room and gave her ex-husband coffee as he clicked away at the TV remote with his other hand. The screen showed a reporter with the local hospital as a background and a picture of a blonde woman. He was looking away, putting down the coffee and had changed the channel again.
“Wait! Go back!” Sue screamed.
With the urgency in her tone, he hastily clicked it back. The reporter said, “We’ve now identified the victim of this horrible attack as a local resident, Noelle Freeman. Her family has been notified and is here, but will give no comments yet on the details of her attack.”
Sue dropped her own coffee and ran for her phone to call Bix.
Bix ran into the ER waiting room and found them right away. “What happened?” He asked as he held Ellie tight.
“How did you know to come here?” Ellie asked.
“Mom called. The TV said it was you. I knew it had to be Nancy.”
“They said it was me?”
“Goddamn morons.” Nick stormed out the door to talk to the reporters.
“You should have woken me up, babe.”
“I was in a panic to go, Bix. I’m sorry. I was going to call you a soon as we knew what was going on.”
After letting go of Ellie, he pointed to Nate’s hand. “What’s the other guy look like?”
“Oh, fourteen feet, solid oak.” Nate pointed to the pillar.
“Ouch. So what happened to Nancy?”
“No one knows for sure yet. She’s been out most of the time. They received a 911 call from a hotel room. It was dialed, but nothing was ever said. The phone was by her, but there’re not sure if she was the one who called. They dispatched a team at the call.”
Bix held Ellie closer. As they went to sit, a nurse came out to them. “Ellie? She’s up. She wants to talk to you.”
They all rushed over, but the nurse stopped the men. “She’s very weak. Please, just let Ellie in. I don’t think she’ll be up for long at all.”
Reluctantly they stayed back.
Once in the room, Ellie rushed over to Nancy’s side. “Who did this, Nance? Do you know him? Did you really leave the hospital on your own with him?”
Nancy just nodded. She spoke so soft and so raspy it was hard to understand her. “…thought I was you,” was all Ellie could make out.
“He thought you were me? Who?”
“Mmm…can’t think.” She closed her eyes. After a moment, she opened them up again and said, “Flowers.”
“He brought flowers?”
She nodded and spoke again. “Teddy bear.”
“A teddy bear? Shawn! Shawn did this?”
She nodded again.
“How did he get you out of here? Why?”
She looked Ellie square in the eye. “Thought I was you.”
“You said that. You went with him because he thought you were me? I don’t understand, Nance.”
“Tired,” was all she muttered before she closed her eyes again and drifted off to sleep.
Ellie walked out to the waiting room. Nick was back inside and filling them in on what information he gave the reporters. They looked at Ellie and stood up seeing the look on her face.
“What is it, El?” Nick asked. “She okay?”
“He thought she was me,” she said, softly.
“Who thought she was you?” Bix asked, taking her by the arm. “The guy that did this?”
She nodded as tears fell from her cheeks. “It was Shawn.”
“Biscotti guy?”
“This happened to her because he thought she was me.” She turned into Nathan, who wrapped his arms around her. “This is all my fault. You were right.” Ellie sobbed into her big brother’s chest.
“Shhhh,” he said, as he stroked her hair. “It’s not your fault some lunatic mistook her for you. What I want to know is, who the hell is this guy and why would he want to hurt you?”
“What’s his last name?” Nick asked, standing with his fists clenched and his face red.
She turned to Bix. “Go get a cop.”
“No,” Nick said, grabbing his arm. “He’s mine. Who is he, Ellie?”
“You’re not going to find him and kill him Damnit, Nick! Let the cops deal with it. Bix, please,” she pleaded as her head left her brother’s chest and her arms went around Nick’s neck. “Please, Nick. I’m not losing you over this, too.”
He took her arms in his hands and brought them down and held them in front of his chest. “Who is he, Ellie?”
Bix walked away to get an officer.
“He’s a rep for some cookies and things we sell at work. He lives in the twin cities area somewhere. I don’t know where. He always flirted with me and asked me out. I’ve turned him down nicely every time. I never would have expected him capable of…” She brought her hands to her face and cried. Bix was back with a policeman and took her shoulder. He spun her around and held her tight into his chest.
“We’re going to need to ask her some questions,” the officer said.
> “Babe? Can you?”
“I’m fine.” Ellie wiped away her tears. They sat in the chairs and she told the officer everything she could. Fred came bounding through the door just as they were finishing up. He rushed over to Ellie and gave her a fierce hug.
“The TV said it was you. Was it your sister?”
“Yes. They mixed us up.”
“Is she all right?”
“She’ll be okay. It was Shawn, Fred.”
“Shawn? The biscotti kid?”
She nodded and leaned back into Bix.
“We’d like to ask you a few questions if that’s all right,” the officer said to Fred.
“Sure.” They walked over to a small table and Fred told them what he knew. The officer walked away to call in the information and have someone get over to Shawn’s place of business. All they could do now was wait.
Chapter Fifty
An hour later there was no further response from Nancy, but the nurse assured them she was doing fine. The police officer came over and sat with them.
“This Teidelman character hasn’t worked at Bianca’s Biscotti for three months.”
“What?” Ellie shouted. “I made an order with him just before my surgery!”
“They don’t have road salesmen. The owner said they only initially make a visit and get you set up then you call, e-mail, or fax your orders. She laughed at me for suggesting they drive two hours just to get your bi-monthly two-hundred-dollar shipment.”
“I thought it was strange, too, but he was there like clockwork and I got everything right on schedule. I liked the service as well as the product. I figured they must take care of a lot of other shops along the way or something. Wait, if he didn’t work for them, how did I get my orders?”
“The owner said they were faxed in. He must have been going just to see you, but still took care of your orders to have an excuse to be there. Has your sister woken up again? It would be helpful if she could give us a make, model, or even color on his car. The security tapes haven’t shown anything so far. Maybe I can go talk to her?”
