Chapter 14
Mary with Jane
Scarlett
Declan and his brother, who is hollering from the dungeons all day long, were estranged from their mother when their father, Massio Crossbow, took them from her at a young age. He raised them in Couldermouth with Endo and Cass while their father, Connor and Declan’s grandfather, was alive.
Once their grandpa passed away, Massio moved into a family apartment in Selnoa and grew his kingdom there. Now he’s one of the richest men in the city, living in a mansion overlooking Selnoa, and neither of the twins is speaking to him.
Why?
Because he hanged their mother by her intestines from a bridge.
If I hadn’t thought about running before, I’m in full planning mode now.
Dec’s forthcoming with information, chatty, and easygoing. He said for as long as I’m not trying to escape, he won’t have a reason to shoot me in the kneecaps. How very kind of him.
I met Mary and tried to assess her health as Endo asked, but she told me to fuck off because, she said, my lot (doctors, I believe) are as useless as a dull knife. After breakfast, she stepped outside and never returned to work.
It’s almost eight at night before Mary comes back, wearing her civilian clothes.
A man drops her off at the mansion and remains in his car. They argue, and from the sound of it, I’m guessing that’s her husband.
Married people’s arguments are easily interpreted. There’s something about the tone and the way she throws up her hands in a general way that signals capitulation. Which could be why they’re still married. One of them is willing to fold.
Dec said I’m not allowed outside, but the steps must not be considered outside, because I stand on the first one to greet Mary.
“Endo called my husband and said I have to talk to you.” Mary plops her bottom onto the steps.
Dec snickers.
Having no choice, I sit beside her. The stone is surprisingly warm under my bottom.
“Have you been to any pastry festivals?” she asks. A pastry festival is where the greatest pastry chefs display their talents.
“My mother used to take me when I was a girl. I remember saving for it in my piggy bank all year.”
“Then I take the compliment about my croissant seriously. Thank you. Are you really a doctor?” She pulls out a pipe and lights up. A cloud of cannabis engulfs us.
I smile. Mary appears to be a tough woman and a no-nonsense kind of person.
“Yes.”
“Here.” She offers me a puff. “Have some real chill.”
“No, thank you.”
She switches the mouthpiece for a fresh one and offers it to me again. “Can’t trust a pearl clutcher with my health. Smoke.”
“I really shouldn’t.” Technically, I’m off duty. This isn’t a house call, and it’s been a hell of a two days.
I take a hit from her pipe. Not a massive one so that I don’t cough up my lungs, but a small one I can hold and then exhale.
“Even the way you smoke is preppy.”
“That’s because my father believed girls should be looked at, not listened to. Like dolls.”
“I bet you earned dessert for good behavior during dinner.”
“You got that right, Ms. Mary.”
Mary smokes, eyeing me suspiciously. “You warm up to me quickly.”
“I practice good bedside manners.”
“No beds out here.”
“But we have drugs.”
Mary laughs, placing a palm over her upper belly. She passes me the pipe. I replace the mouthpiece and take another hit. Return the goodness.
Now I’m buzzing, getting ready to listen to a patient and possibly treat her while intoxicated. I could lose my medical license. But on Endo’s land, breaking rules is encouraged as long as his rules are followed.
“A real doctor. MD, not a PhD, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Where did you go to school?”
I tell her.
“You have a specialty?”
I tell that too.
Mary takes another hit. I refrain from grabbing back the pipe. Half my worries have disappeared already. If I inhale again, I’ll be worry-free, floating on a cloud. “Endo tells me you haven’t been well. Can you tell me what’s going on?”
Mary describes her problems, and based on what she’s telling me, I suspect she has indigestion and possibly a bacterial infection.
I don’t have a pen or paper, or my medical bag, for that matter, so I recite the name of the over-the-counter medicine she can take to feel better.
I recommend a common test for uncovering the bacterial infection I suspect she has.
If that’s the case, she’ll need antibiotics, which require a prescription.
“You just tell me what I need, and I’ll get it,” she says.
“But that’s not how it works. Even when I make house calls, I prescribe the medicine, and patients pick up the meds at a pharmacy. I’m not practicing now. I would prefer you see your primary.” They must have a clinic in the town.
“Dr. Kelvinston passed away late last year, and nobody good has taken his place since.”
“That was a long time ago. Where do people get treated?”
“In the city.”
“How far is the city?”
Mary checks with Dec, who nods. I guess she can tell me now. “About eighty miles out.”
I gasp. “That’s a long way to go to the clinic.”
Mary shrugs. “It’s what we do. Dr. Kel was one of us. Grew up here. Until my granddaughter graduates, we won’t have a doctor we can trust.”
“I’m sure we can bribe a doctor with attractive offers and bonuses.
” I can call a few friends. See if anyone is interested.
The location isn’t ideal for a doctor looking for a big-shot career, but if someone is looking for something quiet and remote, maybe extra dangerous and involving an organized criminal unit, they won’t mind.
“Endo tried that, and three of them came. But all three were undercover cops.” She jerks her head. “Dec, here, had to take care of them.”
“Mary,” Dec says in a way I interpret as a warning.
Take care of them? I hope she’s not saying what I think she’s saying.
“Last one departed not too long ago.” Mary gets up with a groan. “Here.” She offers me her phone. “Write down what I need, would you?”
I type her a list of meds and dosages. Once done, my finger hovers over the numbers. An emergency dial is just a single red button I could press and hold.
Mary snatches back the phone. She pierces me with a glare. “Endo’s father was a ruthless man, but compared to his sons, he was a cupcake. Don’t let the charm fool you. Endo means what he says he’ll do with you, but I hope it doesn’t come to that. It would be a shame if my husband had to bury you.”
I gulp.
Mary departs, leaving me wondering what Endo told her he’d do with me. Nothing good, I suppose, since it would require a burial. Fortunately, smoking makes it sound better than it should.
A man wearing a black kimono-type uniform arrives on a bicycle. He parks it and climbs the steps, heading straight for me.
“You must be Scarlett,” he says and offers me his hand while smiling widely, warmly. “I’m Philip, the head chef for the estate. My husband, Marquis, told me all about you.”
We shake hands. I’m pretty sure we’re having a conversation, but it feels surreal because his words aren’t making much sense, and the way his mouth moves is quite fascinating. He has a nice mustache.
“Scarlett?” someone asks.
“Hm?” I turn to find nobody behind me.
“Over here,” the same voice says.
I turn again but once more find nobody there. Oh boy. “I’m hearing voices,” I announce.
Two obsidian SUVs pull up. About a dozen men and a woman rush out of them. Some of their clothes are bloody, and they’re dragging two people with hoods over their heads. Endo steps out from the front passenger seat and unbuttons his filthy shirt, which was crisp and clean this morning.
He shrugs it off and uses it to wipe the blood from his neck and cheek. His eyes find mine, and I look toward the river. Lots of men guard the forest, but not too many of them guard the river. I could dive in and swim away. I’m a pretty good swimmer, and with the current, I could get away.
Endo steps in front of me and looks me up and down. Eyebrows drawn, he says, “Call in a meeting.”
“Will do,” Dec answers while I salute.
“Oops,” I say. “Thought you were talking to me.”
The shirt mopped up the blood over his cheek and neck, which tells me that is not his blood. The implications of that make me dizzy. Endo steps closer. He smells like blood and violence. I lean in and sniff him, and my nipples tighten. I want to climb him like a warm tree.
I have enough sense left in me not to do that. Barely.
“What are you doing outside?” he asks me.
“I was… I am…” I shrug. “Things.”
“Declan?”
“She slipped out while I was in the bathroom.”
Lie. We walked out together. “Mary called me.”
“Did she let you examine her?”
“No, but we chatted for a while. She needs to see someone. Meanwhile, I prescribed her some meds I think will work.”
“Is it something serious?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Good.” Endo tilts his head. “Are you high?”
“No,” I lie.
“You’re high. Dec, you let her smoke?”
Declan’s on the phone. He hangs up and says, “Mary made her do it.”
“We bonded,” I say.
Endo shakes his head. “She’s not supposed to enjoy her captivity. When she calls her daddy tomorrow, she’s supposed to say how I treat her horribly and she wants to go home.”
“I’ll say that regardless.”
Endo sighs. “Get back in the house.”
I spin around, but my leg lags behind me, so I trip over my own foot and fall forward. Dec’s there to catch me. As soon as I’m upright, he pushes me away and lifts his hands in surrender.
I’m really dizzy now.
“What was Mary smoking?” Endo asks.
Dec tells him, but I can’t make out what he said because Endo picks me up and carries me. “For fuck’s sake, Dec.”
“Sorry. Didn’t know she can’t hang.”
“She’s a bloody princess. I bet it’s her first time.”
“You are incorrect.” My body’s so completely relaxed. “This is wonderful. I can see why Mary smokes. It heals all ills. Oh wow, those cupcakes on the ceiling are so nice.”