Chapter 11
Eliza Brandenberg could be Dani’s daughter?
That was a twist Bridget hadn’t foreseen. “Was your adoption open?”
Dani blinked a couple of times, then turned to Bridget.
“No. I had no idea where Eliza went. I wasn’t supposed to know the adopting family’s name, but the set of paperwork I received had a mistake in it – the attorney included the name on the release I signed.
I didn’t think much about it at the time, but it took everything in me not to look for her over the years. ”
“You didn’t?” Bridget found that hard to believe, especially when she’d seen how much Dani wondered about her daughter just the night before.
“Once or twice, but I didn’t remember the couple’s first names.
The trauma of giving her up left my memories jumbled.
I didn’t get copies of the paperwork either.
I signed and then walked away. But Brandenburg stuck in my mind because of the famous gate in Berlin.
” She gave a sad smile. “I’ve always liked history and politics. ”
Something niggled at the back of Bridget’s mind. “How do you spell Brandenberg?”
Dani gave her a funny look. “B-R-A-N-D-E-N-B-U-R-G.”
“That’s why you didn’t find them. They spell their last name B-E-R-G. Not like the gate.”
Dani frowned. “But wouldn’t Google have pulled them up anyway?”
“You would think so, but I guess not, since your searches didn’t find Eliza.
” Maybe it had been protection for both, but Bridget wasn’t sure.
“We’re still checking, but we think Eliza’s older brother died of a drug overdose a year ago.
And if this is the right family, then her parents died within the last two weeks. ”
Dani doubled over with a gasp. “My poor girl.”
“We don’t know that she’s your daughter.” Todd’s voice was low, but steady.
“I need Caleb.” Dani stood unsteadily, but Todd was already tapping on his phone.
“I’ll get him here as fast as I can.”
A nurse came out of the ICU. “Miss Ellis, the doctor would like to speak with you now.”
“Thank you.” Bridget stood and looked at Todd. “Please take care of Dani.” Concern filled her for how Dani was reacting to everything.
Todd seemed to understand because he nodded and took up an alert position next to their friend. “Caleb is on his way.” He handed her the sandwich she’d forgotten. “You still need to eat.”
“Thanks.” She wasn’t sure she could handle food, even though she knew he was right. She couldn’t do her best for Eliza or Dani if she didn’t take care of herself.
She followed the nurse through the secure doors into the ICU and back to Eliza’s room. “How did she handle the MRI?”
“It sounds like she was a trooper. She’s still largely unresponsive, but she let the tech know she didn’t like the loud noise during the MRI, which is an encouraging sign.” The woman stepped to the side as they reached the door. “I’ll let the doctor update you on what they found in the scan.”
“So they saw something?”
“He’ll be right with you. He’s reviewing the images now.”
“Thank you.” Bridget entered the room and walked to Eliza’s side. “Hi, Eliza. I heard you didn’t like the noise of the MRI. I’m not a fan either. They’re clunky and loud.”
She wasn’t certain, but it looked like the girl wrinkled her nose.
“I saw that. Glad to know you’re in there, letting me know what you think.
I wish you could tell me what happened. You’ve got us worried, but we’re working to keep you safe.
” Bridget took her hand and rubbed her fingers.
“My friends are all helping in their own ways. We’re trying to find your mom and dad now. ”
A tear trickled down her cheek.
“Oh, honey.” Bridget wiped it away. “We’ll take care of you.
Don’t worry. I promise you won’t be alone.
” She only hoped she could keep that promise.
If Eliza was Caleb and Dani’s daughter, she had a feeling it would be okay.
But proving that wouldn’t be easy. And if Dani was wrong, then the girl would end up in foster care.
Bridget would try to avoid that for Eliza, but there were no guarantees.
“Right now, we need to focus on you waking up. Can you do that for me? Then you can help us figure out what happened.”
“One of the reasons she’s struggling to wake up is pressure on her brain from bleeding.”
The voice startled Bridget, and she turned to find Dr. Lyons watching her. “Bleeding? That doesn’t sound good.”
“It isn’t. We need to take her in for surgery to relieve the pressure that’s building on her brain.”
“Surgery?” She didn’t mean to repeat everything, but that sounded horrible. “Do you need parental permission for that?”
“Ideally, yes. Have you located her family?”
“No. We believe her parents died recently in a car accident.”
The doctor frowned. “Then the courts should have appointed a guardian for her in the intervening period.”
“Yes, we’re trying to track down that information.” All of that should have happened. So why couldn’t she find the information? “When do you need to do the surgery?”
“Immediately. The longer we delay, the bigger the odds that the damage becomes permanent.” He looked from the chart to the girl. “Time is important. I can’t stress that enough.”
“When do you want to do this surgery?”
“Ideally, we would be prepping her now, but we can delay a few hours.” He crossed his arms. “I can authorize the surgery if it becomes a true emergency, but I would like to avoid that situation if possible.”
“When will we cross that bridge?”
“Soon. Have you documented all your efforts to find her parents?”
“Yes. We’ve done nothing else since she was brought in.” Bridget swallowed as she could tell he didn’t want the whole tale of how many steps they’d followed so far. “The police and I are in close contact. I’ll contact my supervisor to see if she’s prepared to consent.”
“That would be good. I can do it if we can prove that reasonable steps have been taken to find the parents.”
Her head pounded from a combination of hitting it when the man threw her last night, plus the pressure of the timeline to find someone who could consent to care. “Let me relay this information to the detective and my supervisor. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
Doctor Lyons tapped on the chart. “It’s important that we document all the steps you’ve taken.
We need to be clear that we tried to find her family before we undertake brain surgery without consent.
” He pulled up an image, then pointed at an area on it.
“This is where the pressure is building. We need to release it before it compresses this area to the point of causing permanent harm. We can monitor her for a few hours. But if we do a second scan and the area has spread, I won’t have a choice. ”
“Understood. Thank you.” She reached down and squeezed Eliza’s hand. “We’ll find your family, sweetheart.” There was a slight pressure in response. “I think she just squeezed back.”
The doctor frowned. “That’s doubtful, but if she did, that’s a good sign.” He came over and took her place. “Squeeze my hand if you can.” He waited a moment. “I don’t feel anything. Doesn’t mean you didn’t, but it could have been involuntary or all she could manage right now. We’ll keep trying.”
“Then I’d better get back to work.” Bridget looked at Eliza, noting how white she looked against the sheets. There was no way she could let Dani see her. Even if she was allowed to come back to the ICU, this wasn’t the way to get a first impression of the girl who might be her daughter.
Caleb stepped off the elevator in a rush and hurried over to Todd. “Where’s Dani?”
Todd stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “She stepped into the bathroom. She’s really latched onto the idea that this girl is your daughter, Caleb. I’m concerned that she’s not seeing reality. She’s going to miss what’s happening because she’s so determined this is your daughter.”
“She could be.” Desperation laced Caleb’s words.
“Maybe.” Todd wouldn’t deny it was possible, but the odds stacked against them. “But there’s also a strong chance that this is a random girl with a similar name.”
“Brandenberg? Really? Todd, you know better than that.”
“Maybe. But I don’t want you to get your hopes up only to be disappointed.” He’d seen too many people destroyed by unrealistic hopes that they couldn’t manage. “Be careful, okay?”
Caleb nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll stay moderate for her. But I can’t promise that I won’t let you see my hopes and fears.”
“Fair enough.” Todd let a moment of silence settle between them. “You need to understand that something is wrong. She’s been unconscious since I brought her in. She’s not going to suddenly wake up and tell you everything that’s happened.” If she did, that would be the best-case scenario.
“Got it.” Caleb’s shoulders slumped as he watched Todd. “What do you want me to do?”
“Help me figure out where her family is. Then we’ll be able to determine if she’s your daughter. If she is, you can deal with that then. Either way, we’ll need her family to approve her medical procedures.” He needed to tell Caleb the rest of the story. “Bridget thinks her parents died.”
Caleb blinked, then shook his head as if the words would make more sense. “Why would she think that?”
“The name is unusual, and she remembers a couple with that name being involved in a fatal accident.”
“That should be easy to confirm.”
“Yes. But I haven’t confirmed it.”
“Something isn’t making sense.”
“A lot of things aren’t.” Todd couldn’t shake the sense that a lot of things didn't add up. “There’s a whole layer to this story we’re missing.”
“How do we change that?”
“Keep digging. If the principal is right, then there’s a reason the family left town six months ago.” He rocked back and forth as he thought through the scenarios again. “We need to figure out what changed.”
“I’ll reach out again. My buddy up there will have to help now.”
Todd didn’t like the desperate edge to Caleb’s words. “Remember, we don’t know who Eliza is. That might not have been her backpack.”
“You saw the picture on the ID. And you’ve seen her. Do they match?” Caleb dared him to lie.
“I would match them.” Todd matched Caleb’s intensity. “I hope she is your daughter.”
“Thanks.” Caleb shook his head. “I’ll focus. I promise. No case has ever mattered more to me.”
Todd doubted that. “I seem to remember a certain stalker and the woman who’s now your wife.”
“Okay, you’ve got me on that. That was bad. After that one, this is the most important one I’ve faced.” He pulled out his phone but then headed toward the bathroom. “I think I’ll check on Dani before I place that call.”
“Makes sense.” Todd knew Caleb had to want to make sure his wife was okay.
There was no way Dani was fine. She’d convinced herself this was her daughter. Todd didn’t see how that was possible. She was pinning her hopes on this moment being a new beginning. If it was, it would be the start of a hard season, especially if anything he suspected was accurate.
It was time to go see what the doctor had to say about Eliza and her care. Maybe then he could focus on figuring out what had happened and why she lay alone in that bed.
Something was very wrong, and he was determined to figure out what.