Chapter 29
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Mack walked into Doreen’s house later that evening, and she waved at him from where she was curled up in a chair.
He looked at her in surprise. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Yes, but something’s just off.”
He stopped and looked at her warily. “Off?”
She nodded. “Off.”
“Yeah, okay, so are we talking off case-wise or off as in you’re feeling sick or what?”
She frowned at him, then shrugged. “If I knew that, I could say more than off.”
His lips twitched, and he nodded. “Okay, I can make sense of that.”
When he held up a bag of takeout, she lit up. “Oh my, I guess I haven’t even eaten much today.”
He led the way to the kitchen and very quickly they were tucked into some Chinese food. “Is this from a different Chinese joint?” she asked.
“Nope, it’s the same one.”
“And did he make you pay?”
“Yes, he did,” he replied, with a smile, “and I was happy to pay.”
“See? That’s why I don’t want to order from him anymore. He doesn’t let me pay,” she complained.
“Yet he needs to show appreciation in whatever way he can,” he pointed out.
She muttered, “I know. I know, but I can afford to pay him now.”
“So, you need to go spend some time with him, or at least order from him, so that he knows that the two of you are good. As much as you want to pay him for what you order, it’s far more important to maintain your relationship with him, don’t you think?”
“Yes, I can see that when you put it that way,” she admitted, frowning. “Oh, and I spoke to Nick.” She quickly explained the gist of their call.
He nodded. “My brother does have a lot of expenses with everything he’s doing for you. Yet he knows your money is coming.”
She nodded. “I have no way to judge what the charges for him will look like though,” she said, “so I don’t really know how much money is coming, compared to how much he needs.”
He looked at her and said, “I sense a certain amount of anxiety over it.”
“Not really.” She frowned, then shrugged. “Okay, it’s not that I’m anxious. I’m just … uncertain. I don’t want it to be so much that I can’t pay him.”
He sat back and looked at her, without saying a word. Then he shut his eyes and scrunched up his face as his shoulders started to shake.
She frowned at him and declared, “It’s not funny.”
“Are you kidding? From my perspective, it’s hysterical.”
She groaned. “You’re about to tell me that there’s a ton of money and that I’m not to worry about money anymore, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I’m going to tell you exactly that,” he declared, with a smirk. “On the other hand, the fact that you’re legitimately worried about my brother having enough warms my heart.”
“Well, he’s done a lot for me,” she stated, “but I don’t have a clue as to what I should be paying him.”
“He’ll be tracking all that, and, when the bill comes in, it will be pretty major just because he’s been doing an awful lot of work for you already, with plenty more to be done. However, it will not bankrupt you, I promise.”
“Yeah, I told him that, if he did anything shady, he would have to deal with you. Or wait, maybe that’s what he told me.”
Mack shook his head. “I can see both of you saying it. The bottom line is that he’ll have expenses related to the process that he’ll need you to pay, but he’s also making sure you get the money that you need so you can pay it.”
She smiled at that. “Do you have a picture of the young woman who was kidnapped? Annabel?”
“No, I don’t. Why?” he asked.
“Can you get me one?”
He frowned, then shrugged. “It’s kind of an invasion of privacy, especially if she doesn’t want you to have that.”
She frowned. “And she hasn’t been charged, so there’s no mug shot.”
“No, of course not,” he muttered, watching the wheels turn in her head. “She’s the victim, remember?”
“I know. I know,” she muttered, followed by a sigh. “Anyway, one thing that may be helpful, or maybe not, but …” She went on to explain about the neighbors she had gone to see near Mike’s home. “The one in particular, she had seen these guys at a certain storage unit.”
He looked at her in surprise, then Doreen immediately grabbed her phone, pulled up a map, and explained what the woman had said.
It didn’t take them long to pinpoint which one it was. “Now that is fascinating,” Mack noted.
“Can you get a warrant to go and in and check?”
He was already texting somebody. “I sure can.”
As she waited for him to be done, she added, “I suppose if we can get him on all the stolen goods …”
“It would be a huge help,” he interjected, with another smile.
And he seemed so much happier. But, because of his text, his phone just kept going off and off and off.
Finally he stood. “And now I must get back to work.” When she stared at him in surprise, he shrugged.
“Interviews are happening.” Then he left.
She glared around her small kitchen. “It really sucks, always being left behind,” she muttered out loud to no one.
She really felt like she should get a picture of Annabel, so she phoned the hospital to see if she could come visit her.
She was informed that visiting hours were almost over, but, if she came right away, she could have a quick visit.
And, with that, she dashed outside and quickly hopped into her car. She was freezing because her quick dash outside hadn’t prepared her for the cold air that enveloped her. Once she was in the car, she didn’t waste any time getting to the hospital.
As she walked in, the nurse laughed. “I knew you would be here in record time.”
“Of course.” Doreen smiled. “And thanks for the heads-up. I hadn’t realized how late it was.” She headed toward Annabel’s room, and, when she got there, found the door was closed. Doreen looked around at the nearest nurse and asked, “Do I just knock and go in?”
“Sure. It’s still visiting hours, so she should expect people.”
“Can she also say no to visitors?”
“If she wants to, but there’s nothing on her record.”
“Okay.” She knocked on the door, and, not hearing any response, pushed it open a little bit and called out, “Hey, Annabel. It’s me.”
But she got no response. Doreen walked farther inside, noting the hospital bed was empty.
The bathroom door was open, and she glanced inside, then once again around the room, but it was 100 percent empty.
She stepped out into the hallway and found a different nurse. “Has this patient been discharged?”
She looked at her in surprise. “No, not at all.”
Doreen winced. “Do you happen to know where she is because she’s not in here?”