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CHAPTER SIXTEEN: CICELY

I glance at the clock as I leave the second Jane Doe’s room. I have only an hour left before my relief arrives. Enough time to ensure the now-empty room is ready for the next patient and then do a final check of each patient. However, someone buzzes for me to let them into the ICU. I open the door and find my best friend, Lily, on the other side.

“What are you doing here?” I ask her.

“I was hoping to catch you before the end of your shift,” she says as she follows me back to my station. “Want to grab some dinner? My treat. Or I should say, Marco’s treat.”

The offer makes my stomach growl. Marco owns the best Italian restaurant in the city, possibly even in the state. The promise of pasta, cheese, and sauce has me waiting impatiently for my replacement to arrive.

“That sounds amazing,” I tell her. “But I can’t leave yet.”

“That’s okay, I can wait with you. How are things going?”

I tell her about Blue Michaelson waking up and about my new patients.

“Those poor women,” Lily says as she stands outside the door of the first Jane Doe while I check her vitals and replace her IV. “The police have no idea who they are?”

“None, but I know someone is out there missing them. These aren’t homeless women like the detective believed. These women are wealthy. You can’t see their fingernails because of the bandages, but they have manicures. They’ve also had their legs and private areas waxed. They’re both toned and in excellent shape. Each of them has gorgeous, styled hair. One has a beautiful purple tint, and the other has hair so white that it looks like snow. No way did these two women live on the streets.”

Lily glances at the woman’s hair and gasps.

“What is it?”

“I think I recognize her,” she says, moving further into the room and approaching the bed. She examines the woman more closely. She reaches out but doesn’t touch the woman’s gorgeous white hair. When I first saw the color, I assumed, like the detective, that she was older and couldn’t afford to dye her hair. But on closer inspection, I realized that her hair was likely something she wore proudly. It had none of the yellowish tints that often dulled white hair. No, her hair was pure white and glorious.

“You recognize her?” I ask Lily.

“Maybe. She reminds me of Frodo’s aunt. I’d only met her a handful of times, but she was memorable. Her hair, especially. I wouldn’t mind growing old and having my hair turn white if I could have hair like hers.”

“Frodo?” I ask. “Like The Hobbit?”

She chuckles. “Exactly. That isn’t his real name. Obviously. His real name is Cesare Castille; he’s a close friend of my brother Anthony. He looks like Elijah Wood, except he’s over six feet and even better looking. He loves fantasy and sci-fi, hence the nickname.”

“Do you think this is his aunt? Is she missing?”

Lily shrugs. “I haven’t heard that she’s missing, but I can call him and have him come here. Wait, does she have a birthmark near her ankle? In the shape of a star?”

I slowly nod as I draw the hospital socks down to reveal the mark. When I first saw the mark, I assumed it was a tattoo because it was a perfect little star. But I realized later that it was a birthmark.

Lily sucks in a breath when she sees the little mark. She places her hand over the hand lying listlessly on the bed. “Poor Beverly. I can’t believe someone would hurt her like this.”

“We should call the detective working the case,” I say. “Even if he is an asshole.”

“No cops.”

I’m not surprised by Lily’s knee-jerk reaction to the mention of cops. After all, her father is the Capo di Tutti Capi of the Chicago mafia. Her brothers are all high-ranking members. To them, the cops are either the enemy or employees. If Frodo is friends with her older brother, the Underboss, and second-in-command, he’s likely also in the mafia.

“You think the cops will try to pin the attacks on the Family?” I ask.

She shrugs. “Probably, but that’s not why we need to leave the cops out of it. If this is Beverly, someone attacked a protected member of the Family. The Family needs to know first. But we need Frodo to confirm this is his aunt. I’ll call him and ask him to come down here.”

She leaves the room and makes the call. I finish my duties before patting the comatose woman on the hand. “If you are Beverly, we’ll get your nephew here soon. You know he and the rest of the Family will care for you. You’re safe now.”

I move to the next room to check on Jane Doe II. After checking her vitals and emptying the catheter bag, I fuss with her sheets and blankets. I want to make her as comfortable as possible. Removing her socks, I rub her feet and legs to help with circulation. I notice again the artistic manicure. The artist who did the work has serious talent. They used brilliant swirls of colors to create tiny galaxies on each toe. I can’t imagine tracking down such an impressive artist would be difficult.

I return to my station just as my replacement arrives. After updating her on each patient’s status, I search for Lily.

“Frodo will be here in an hour. We have enough time to have dinner and meet him back here.”

“Sounds good. I’m starving.”

Vita Gustosa, which means Tasty Life, is a small chain of restaurants owned by Lily’s brother, Marco. The food is authentic Italian fare. My mouth waters as soon as we step inside. Everything is so delicious that I always have difficulty choosing. As images of lasagna, ravioli, and dozens of other dishes compete for attention, I follow the host to our seats. Lily waves away the menu and orders an antipasto appetizer to hold us over while I decide.

I nibble on the antipasto after giving the waiter my order for spicy sausage ravioli. Lily orders her usual lasagna.

“Do you know any manicurists who paint elaborate scenes on toes?” I ask Lily, whose eyebrows raise at my sudden question.

“What?”

I laugh. “Sorry. While you were calling Frodo, I was taking care of the other Jane Doe.” I describe the elaborate manicure and my assumption that whoever did her nails would not only be easy to identify but could help us, in turn, identify Jane Doe.

“I can ask around. I can’t imagine it would be hard to find them.”

“Did Frodo confirm that his aunt is missing?”

“He did. He said he hadn’t heard from her for several days, which is unlike her. He usually speaks with her daily. She doesn’t have any kids. Frodo’s mother was like a sister to her. They’ve always been close. Especially after his mother and father died several years ago. He’s tried calling her, but she’s not answering her phone. Before hearing from me, he planned to stop by her home to see if she was there. He’s been out of town for the past week and just returned. He’s hoping she isn’t the woman in the hospital bed, but when I told him about the birthmark, he seemed resigned. We’ll know for certain soon enough. So what’s been going on with you?”

“Where do I start?” I say with a chuckle as I share the highlights. I start by explaining how I met Min and how she came to my rescue when the men she was hunting tried to kidnap me. That story leads to explaining how I lived at the Demon Dawgs clubhouse and developed a relationship with Chrome.

“You’re dating the President of a motorcycle club? Seriously? You know they’re one percenters.”

I frown at her. “What does that mean?”

“Ninety-nine percent of the biker clubs are law-abiding social clubs. However, the remaining one percent aren’t. The Demon Dawgs wear the 1% patch, don’t they?”

I nod as I remember seeing the patch on Chrome’s kutte. On all the kuttes of the members. “What do they do?”

Lily shrugs. “I don’t know their business. My brothers aren’t going to be happy that you’re involved with them.”

“Because they’re criminals?” I ask her without attempting to hide my incredulity. Her brothers have no room to talk. I may not know what crimes they commit, but they’re the mafia. Organized crime. It’s right there in the name.

Lily snickers. “I know, very hypocritical of them, right? But no, not because they’re criminals, per se. They’re likelier to see them as rivals, maybe even enemies.”

“Oh. I hadn’t thought of that. Well, they don’t need to know, or at least don’t need to worry. I’m fairly certain Chrome and I won’t be seeing each other much longer. Once Mode wakes up from his coma, I’ll likely never see them again.”

Lily opens her mouth, then closes it. “Marco’s headed this direction. We’ll talk about this later.”