Chapter 10
If they didn’t bring Eliza back down soon, Bridget would wear a hole in the carpet of the ICU lobby. She couldn’t stay in the small room a minute longer, but she also didn’t feel she could leave the floor. Not after what had happened the prior night in the few minutes she was gone.
She placed a quick call to Jason’s apartment complex and figured out the minimum amount he needed to stay in his place. A quick Venmo took care of that.
Sent the money. You still owe half but it bought you time.
Only half?
Be grateful.
Right. Thanks.
Bridget sighed as she stretched her back to release the tension from sleeping in the uncomfortable recliner, but nothing worked.
All the things she should do piled up in a jumble in her mind.
There was no way she could tackle the list, let alone get on top of it.
She’d be hopelessly behind when she got back to her office, but she didn’t really care because she knew the young girl experiencing the jarring MRI needed someone to advocate for her.
Bridget just wished she felt better equipped for the role.
“You okay?” The deep voice immediately steadied her, and a part of her hated that even as she wanted to sink into the comfort Todd offered.
Instead, Bridget stilled and mentally told herself to toughen up. She couldn’t rely on anyone else, especially not someone she’d only reconnected with the day before. “Waiting for them to bring Eliza back from the MRI. You sure this is Eliza?”
“As sure as I can be right now.”
She turned to look at him and stilled. He looked as haggard as she must. She’d been avoiding mirrors all day because maybe if she didn't see the evidence, she could pretend she had more energy than she did. Dark circles bruised the skin beneath his eyes, and he looked like he’d slept even less than she had.
“I look that good, huh?”
“How do I put this?”
He cocked a grin. “It’s okay. I’m used to it.
Some cases demand a lot. This is one of them.
Have a seat?” He pointed to one of the striped couches in a corner of the waiting room away from the family that huddled in another area.
Hopelessness oozed off them, and she’d tried to give them a wide berth because she didn’t need more.
She already carried enough concern for Eliza.
“Sure. What’s up?” She moved to the couch and perched on its edge, while he collapsed onto it with a groan.
“I could rest here for a while.”
“It’s not that comfortable.”
“Maybe not, but I’m that tired.” He closed his eyes for a second, then shook his head quickly and jerked to a straighter position.
“We’re still trying to track down the accident you remembered.
So far Caleb hasn’t located it. And Ben Rice, a friend who works in hospital security, reviewed the video for me.
We identified the man who went into Eliza’s bay last night and then left, but we lost him on the floor above. ”
“Why would he go up?”
“It’s a great question. My thought is that he knew he could get lost if he did that. Then we wouldn’t know where he went, which car was his, etc., etc. It worked.” He pulled his phone out and brought up a picture on the screen. “Here’s a halfway decent image of the guy.”
She squinted at it, then looked at Todd. “This is the best one you have?”
“We don’t all have CSI’s toys.”
“It could be him.” She wished she could say with certainty, but the image was so grainy and pixelated, it was hard to know.
“Great. A could is really easy to use in court. I’ll get a warrant, no problem, on that kind of certainty.” She pulled back, and he sighed as if hearing his words. “Sorry. My filter’s gone, but that’s no excuse.”
“I understand.” And she did. They were both tired and strung out after the last twenty-four hours.
“We both need to take a step back and extend some grace.” She leaned against the couch and suddenly understood why he’d jolted upright.
The couch felt more like a hug ready to welcome her into its embrace.
She couldn’t let herself sink into it. “What do we know?”
“Not much. It’s easier to list what we think we know.”
“Then do that.” She forced her eyes back open. She could not fall asleep.
“We think our Jane Doe’s name is Eliza Brandenberg.”
“But you aren’t certain?”
“No.” He rubbed his jaw as he yawned. “We could have the principal come down from Wayne and ID her. We may need to ask her to do that to obtain positive identification since we can’t find the parents.” He typed a text. “Caleb can take care of that.”
“Or you could take a photo to send to her.” She realized he must be tired if he hadn’t thought of that. “That would save her the four-hour round-trip drive.”
“Good point.” He sent a second text. “We’ll do that after she’s back.
It might not be conclusive if she’s changed a lot in the last six months, but I think it’ll work.
” He shifted against the seat. “Then I want to talk to the busboy. Figure out if he’s the kid who got my attention last night. Why was he in the alley?”
“Throwing out the trash.”
“Sure, but why not call the police?”
“He knew you were the police?”
“Maybe, but I don’t think so. I’m not a uniformed officer. And I hadn’t made it into Rosie’s to get my food. He grabbed me before I went in.”
Bridget couldn’t explain why that would happen.
“You’ve got me. It's a mystery.” She thought a moment.
“We think we know who her parents are and that they died recently. But that also means we don’t know where she’s been since.
” She really didn’t like the idea that this young girl had been on her own somewhere for a week or two.
“That’s the key. Where has she been? If her family moved to Waverly, we should be able to find her house.”
“It’s not a big town.”
“Exactly.”
He had to get some rest or a high-octane caffeine fix.
He made a few notes on his phone. The list of questions kept growing, but he knew that at some point, the direction would shift, and the answers would begin to overtake the questions.
It was a matter of when that realignment happened.
His job right now was to make sure he had a handle on the questions and where they were taking him.
The spiderweb of growing questions could spin out of control if he didn’t carefully contain them.
The challenge came from controlling his fatigue, so he didn’t lose a thread.
Footsteps sounded down the hall, but he didn’t turn to look since the halls were constantly filled with activity in the hospital.
“What can’t you find?” Dani Jamison’s voice cut through Todd’s brain fog.
He was slipping if he hadn’t noticed her come up. “Hey, Dani. What are you doing here?”
She held up a bag of food. “Brought sustenance for you two. Caleb mentioned you’d come back to the hospital.”
“What else did he tell you?”
“Nothing.” She didn’t even look a little guilty as she stood there. “So you know her name, Todd?”
“Has Caleb shared information out of turn?” He’d throttle his partner if he had.
“No. You know he doesn’t do that. Drives me crazy sometimes, but the man is a vault when it comes to keeping information from me.” She sighed but held up a bag from Runza. “The food is getting cold, but maybe I should trade it for information.”
The aroma of fries and Runzas made his stomach growl, and he almost snatched the bag from her hand. “You’re a saint and a tease.”
She stared at him. “I can help if you let me. Research is my middle name.”
“You know I can’t.”
“But I can.” Bridget reached for the bag.
“Thanks for this.” She reached in and pulled out the Swiss cheese and mushroom Runza before handing the bag and the rest of its contents to him.
“We think we know who Jane Doe is but we now have more questions than answers. It’s odd how getting a name has only created more questions. ”
“What’s the name?”
“Don’t.” Todd growled the word, but Bridget ignored him.
“Eliza Brandenberg.”
Dani swayed and Todd jumped up to grab her, the bag spilling at his feet. “You okay, Jamison?”
Her face had drained of color, and she looked unsteady. She didn’t fight off his hand, a very un-Dani action. She was the queen of independence, only leaning into Caleb. “Did you say Eliza Brandenberg?”
He had to lean in to hear her words. “Yes.”
“I need to sit.”
Bridget scooted over on the couch, and Dani sank next to her. Todd picked up the bag and set it on the side table, thoughts of eating the food abandoned as he considered texting Caleb. He reached for his phone, but Dani shook her head.
“I’ll be all right, promise.”
“This isn’t like you, Dani.” Caleb really should know if something more was going on.
She gave him a small smile. “I’ll let him know.” She sighed as she twisted her hands together in her lap. “Right now, I need to know everything you can tell me about Eliza.”
Bridget frowned at her. “Why?”
“Because the family that adopted my daughter thirteen years ago had the same last name, I think. And I called my daughter Eliza. I don’t know that they kept that name, but the odds seem very small that there would be another Eliza Brandenberg in this part of Nebraska, don’t you think?”
Bridget met his gaze above Dani’s bent head.
This certainly complicated things. How was Todd supposed to tell his partner that Caleb’s wife thought Jane Doe was their long-lost daughter?