CHAPTER TWO
-:- TwoCents -:-
It’s been three days since Sienna was brought into the hospital and she’s still unconscious. I need to get back to the clubhouse and have a shower, something to eat, and a nap. But I really don’t want to leave her on her own as nobody has enquired where she is, except the customers at the Swap Shop.
Wings has checked the address where she lives and all is fine. Nobody has attempted to break in, or even visit. Wings has spoken to the elderly man who lives across the street and he’s going to keep his eye on the place, and will report to us if anything is amiss.
The door opens, and a nurse walks into the room, giving me that sultry look that she’s been throwing since she came on duty. “Mr. Wilson.”
“My name is TwoCents, and I don’t know what you want, but I’ve told you twice already. My wife is lying in this bed and if you think I’ll sneak around behind her back, you better think again.”
“Nurse Bellows, leave. I’ll speak to you in a short while,” Doctor Khan says as he walks into the room. He gives the nurse a look that would have even had me withering, but I can’t help but think she deserves it.
“Mr. Wilson, the latest scan shows that your wife’s brain has swollen somewhat, but not enough for us to perform surgery. I’m watching her closely and treating her with drugs to help bring the swelling down. If the swelling had been worse, we would have had to operate, but at this time I’m confident that will not be the case.
“The blow to her head was severe, and even when your wife comes around she may be unable to remember things clearly. We cannot be sure until she wakes, but once she does, I will give her another thorough examination. Do you have any questions?”
“Do you have any idea how long it will be before she wakes?” I’m asking because I don’t know how long Axel will allow me to stay at her side. He’s more amused than annoyed that I blurted out Sienna was my wife, and Mia congratulated me as though I’d just gotten married for real, but I could see the twinkle of mischief in her eye when she said it.
“No, we cannot tell, but I think once this small amount of swelling goes down, your wife will wake. We will have to see if she has any amnesia when she wakes, which is usually temporary.” Giving me a slight nod, the doctor walks out of the room and I take my seat next to the bed once more and listen to the fucking machine bleeping.
I’m not sure what it was, but something wakes me, and realizing I’ve fallen asleep with my head on the bed next to Sienna’s legs, I rub my eyes and look around. Sienna is still asleep, but I wish to God she’d wake up.
The door opens, and Stitch walks into the room, giving me a chin lift. “Go have a shower, eat and sleep, and not necessarily in that order. I will stay with Sienna until you come back. Gemmy is bringing Sienna some wash things and a clean nightie. She can’t stay in this hospital shit forever. Come on now, be a good husband.” Smirking at his own comment, but I keep quiet. He’s helping, and that’s all that matters.
“Thanks, Stitch, I will go eat and shower. I’m exhausted, but I have a lot to do before Sienna wakes. She saved my fucking life, and she doesn’t even know me. I owe her at least the help she needs at this time.” Rubbing the back of my neck, I give Sienna a last look before walking out of the room to head back to the clubhouse.
Four hours later, I wake from an exhausted nap, but drag my ass out of bed and into the shower. Cleaning my teeth, brushing my hair and oiling my beard, I look in the mirror and give myself a nod. I look okay, but around my eyes it shows the exhaustion that is still hanging on.
Downstairs I pop my head into Axel’s office and he looks up, giving me a look I’m not sure of, but he isn’t scowling, so that’s a positive I suppose. “You goin’ back to the hospital?”
Leaning on the doorframe, I reply. “Yeah, I’m going to grab something to eat first. But I want to go to Sienna’s house and check it out. See if I can find anything that would lead to a family member or something. Wings said the neighbor told him nobody ever visited Sienna, and she kept herself to herself, only giving a polite greeting when she met anyone in the street.”
“Okay. Sentry took it upon himself to open up the Swap Shop. He said someone should step up and help because everyone using the shop needs it. They are all low-income families or single parents, and it’s a great thing the shop is even available to them.” Axel looks and sounds proud of Sentry at this moment and I have to agree, it’s a decent thing he is doing.
“That’s good. I’ll check in with you later, Pres.” I don’t hang around because I want to get something to eat before I leave for Sienna’s house.
Walking into the kitchen, I hear Meat ask Star, “What did you say? You are on the pill?”
Star squints back at Meat, replying “Yes, I’m on the pill…”
Before Star continues, Meat snarls, “What was the point of me trying to knock you up then?”
Cool as hell, Star replies, “Well, I don’t want inferior swimmers creating our kids. I want the strongest, fastest and smartest swimmer to win the race.” Hands on hips giving Meat attitude, “Our kids will be awesome so you just need to keep practicing while we create the best swimmers!”
Not wanting to get involved in this shit, I give Amelia an amused grin before walking out the back door to my hog.
After grabbing a breakfast panini from the coffee house, I make my way to Sienna”s home. Parking in the house’s driveway, I place my helmet on the seat of my hog before taking the key from my back pocket, which I’d taken from her purse at the hospital.
Wandering the rooms, looking for evidence of any family members, I start with the kitchen. The refrigerator has all the usual notes attached to it, appointments, shopping lists, recipes, etc. There are no phone numbers on anything, though. No photographs, pictures or drawings done by kids. There’s a utility room, storage room and first floor bathroom. Nothing showing anything other than a single person”s occupancy.
Embarrassed, I look through a basket of laundry in the utility room and see only women”s clothes folded in there. A glance in the storage room doesn’t reveal a family-sized space either. I could probably stock more stuff in here if I was living alone, although what is here shows a healthy diet and lifestyle. No snacks or treats, as such, and no alcohol taking up space.
Walking back through the kitchen, I still refrain from looking inside the fridge. I’m hardly likely to find evidence of a family in it, unless she turns out to be a serial killer and keeps trophy body parts in there or the freezer.
Walking around the large living area, there are some bookshelves stocked with fiction, historical novels, and some reference books. There are a lot of National Geographic on their own shelf, also a number of photography magazines and a couple of old-style 35mm cameras.
Looking at some of the pictures on the wall with a different perspective, they could have been taken by Sienna. They are exceptional shots, but the frames suggest that they were not purchased as a complete item. They just hint that someone has framed their own work. They are a wide variety of subjects, and a lot look like they were taken in Africa, from the animals and scenery that the topics favor.
Still no family photos, though.
A quick look in the first-floor bathroom reveals nothing.
More pictures line the stairs and these are all black and white shots. Again, they look like they were taken and then mounted and framed, not store-bought. None have Sienna in them and none have any other people depicted.
At the top of the stairs, I take the door that I think leads to the main bedroom. This room is the full length of the house, including a large en-suite bathroom. It’s a very feminine room in its décor and furnishings. This is a single woman”s domain, without a doubt. Nothing in sight even hints at a male presence. I catch sight of myself in a large stand-alone mirror and wipe the grin off my face.
Quickly looking in the en-suite shows no male deodorants or shaving gear. As I leave the en-suite, I pull myself up and stop dead in my tracks. I’m supposed to be looking for evidence of family and here I am concentrating on ‘Is there a male presence?’ I think I need to refocus and get back on track.
The second bedroom is tidy and looks like a guest room.
A third smaller bedroom has been converted into a photo studio. There are photographs all over a desk and frames of varying sizes and styles on shelving on one wall. The en-suite is now a dark room and there are several photos hanging from a line. I guess the 35mm cameras are still being used.
Returning to the living area, I check the drawers for any documents that may give me some information. Other than a few legal documents relating to the Swap Shop, I find nothing. This is becoming a bit of a mystery. No vehicle paperwork, no house paperwork, insurance policies… Unless there’s a safe place somewhere in the house that I’ve missed. I don’t see there being an actual safe anywhere. Why would there be? Realizing I haven’t checked the basement, I head back to the stairs. As I walk down into the basement, the lights come on. Motion sensor, I’m thinking. That’s clever. If you have arms full of stuff, it saves struggling with switches.
Once in the basement, the walls are lined with shelves and full of kids” clothes. There’s a commercial washing machine and dryer in one corner. The place looks well organized and all the shelves are well categorized. Girl, boy, age, size, etc.
One corner, at what would be the front of the house, is a dumping ground. Old clothes, dirty and torn, are strewn around the floor and on top of, what looks like, an old washing machine.
Checking the rest of the room, I find a cupboard under the staircase. Empty, clean and painted. Still no sign of a ‘safe place’. Walking around the shelves, I do a random check to ensure nothing has been shoved between the piles of clothing.
When I reach the corner with all the old stuff, I can’t help but gag at the awful smell of the old washing machine and dirty clothes. I’m just walking away when I have a lightbulb moment. What better place to hide something than where everyone would automatically bypass. The mess in the corner is also in such contrast with the rest of the well-organized house.
Moving some of the clothes away from the corner reveals nothing but the old washing machine. It’s a top loader and as I lift the lid, the smell is enough to make you heave. The barrel is at an angle, so has obviously come off a mounting somewhere, and there are more clothes inside. Pulling the clothes out still reveals nothing. As I throw them back in, though, the barrel moves.
Tilting the barrel to its opposite side finally reveals a couple of folders. Taking them out, I head over to the corner where the decent washing machine and tumble dryer are and use them as a desktop. Pulling out a diary, what I start to read has me amazed. I think I need to take this to Specs and let him go through it. See if it matches anything that he’s been able to find out so far.
Stuffing the folders inside my kutte, I make the untidy corner look untidy once more, and then head out to my hog, making sure I lock up behind me. I need to get Specs on this case as soon as possible.
Stopping at the Swap Shop on my way back to the clubhouse, I see Sentry through the window speaking with three women who have young children with them. He looks like he’s comfortable working in the shop, so I don’t bother going inside. I can do that another day. For now, I need to get the files to Specs and get back to the hospital before Stitch reams my ass about taking too long.