by Bobbi Holmes
“I’ve finally figured out why I talk so much.” Lily looked from her mother to Danielle. “I’ve heard you guys, making cracks about how Lily sure can talk. But you guys ain’t heard nothing yet! My mother has been talking to me non-stop since she got here. I think I have a headache. How is that possible? I don’t even have a physical head attached to me at the moment. Please Danielle, you must make her stop!”
“Have you had anything to eat since you got here?” Danielle asked Lily’s parents.
“No, we came directly from the airport. We didn’t want to leave Lily alone,” Mrs. Miller explained.
“Why don’t you go get something to eat. You’re going to need your strength. If there is any change in Lily, I promise I’ll call you. You have your cellphone with you, don’t you?”
“I could sure use something to eat,” Mr. Miller grumbled.
“Then you go dear. I’ll stay here with Danielle.”
“No Mrs. Miller. We don’t want you to get sick too. Go get something to eat,” Danielle urged.
“Well…” Mrs. Miller walked over to her daughter and brushed her fingertips over the sleeping girl’s forehead. “I suppose I should get something to eat.” She leaned over the bed and kissed Lily’s brow.
“I’ll be here when you come back,” Danielle said as the Miller’s left the room, shutting the door behind them. Danielle reached up and grabbed the privacy curtain, pulling it across the room. Should someone walk by the door and look through the window, she didn’t want them to see her talking to herself.
“I love my mother, but I swear, I am going to go insane stuck with her for six weeks,” Lily groaned when her parents left the room.
With the privacy curtain drawn, Lily and Danielle failed to see the door to the hospital room open. Stepping into the room, Joe Morelli gently shut the door behind him and looked at the curtain. He assumed the nurse was tending to Lily, so he decided to wait quietly for her to finish before he went in to see Lily.
“Why haven’t you taken your body back?”
“I was going to try last night, but then they wheeled me in for surgery and I wanted to watch. Oh, it was gross. I wish I hadn’t watched.”
“That doesn’t explain why you’re still here, like this.”
Joe started to say something, to let whoever was behind the curtain with Lily, know he was there, when he recognized the voice—it was Danielle. Instead of announcing his presence, he silently listened.
“Before I tried jumping back in, I wanted to hear my prognoses. I’m going to be hooked up to an IV three times a day for six weeks, to get rid of this infection. That means I won’t be going back to work.”
“You have to stay in the hospital that long, even if you come to?”
“No. They said if I keep progressing at this rate, once I wake up I can go home, after about a week or so. I guess they want me under observation for a little bit after I come to. But after that I can go home, which means back to my parent’s—god forbid—so I can finish my IV treatment for my leg. Mom thinks she’s going to be the one to hook me up to the IV three times a day. You have met my mother, right? If her talking doesn’t kill me her nursing will.”
“What about your apartment?”
“I suppose it’s a good thing Mom is such a Chatty Cathy. In her attempt to reach me this morning, she told me—in detail—everything she and Dad have been doing since they got news of my death. This includes cleaning out my apartment. Do you realize they went through—All. My. Stuff. I’m just grateful I didn’t have any sex toys!”
Danielle began to giggle.
“Fortunately, she wasn’t quite ready to throw my things away—thank god—so everything is boxed up and in their garage. That must thrill my father who’s always bitching about what Mom puts in there.”
“I’m kinda surprised they moved you out of your apartment so soon.”
“I can understand,” Lily said with a shrug. “I forgot to drop my rent off before I left for Palm Springs. It wasn’t that big of a deal at the time, because I intended to be back by the first. But when my landlord—and parents—thought I’d been killed in the car crash, and my rent hadn’t been paid for the month, the landlord pressured my folks to get my apartment cleaned out. I don’t think my parents minded paying for September, but Mom was a little nervous about the landlord going in there and getting rid of my stuff.”
“I’m sorry Lily.”
“I can’t really blame the landlord. But I don’t want to go live with my folks. Not even for six weeks. But what am I going to do? I don’t have a home. I don’t even have a job.”
“Come stay with me.”
“With you? I can’t do that.”
“Yes you can. You can stay in the downstairs bedroom. I’ll even hire a private nurse to take care of you.”
“I can’t afford that.”
“But I can. And Walt can help. Not to mention Ian. He was only planning on moving out of the rental because he wanted to be closer to you. This way he can stay where he is. It will be the perfect solution!”
“I can’t live off you, it wouldn’t be right.”
“What are friends for, Lily, if we can’t help each other? We’re practically family.”
“It would be better than staying with my folks; that’s for sure.”
“But you have to go back into your body.”
Lily looked down at the sleeping woman. “I’m afraid. What if it hurts? It looked really painful when they opened my leg up last night.”
“Don’t be such a baby, Lily. Get in your body now!” Danielle shouted.
To Danielle’s surprise, the privacy curtain flew open and she found herself standing face to face with Joe Morelli.
“How long have you been standing there?” Danielle squeaked, a blush covering her face.
“Long enough to hear you talking to yourself.”
“I wasn’t talking to myself; I was talking to Lily. And that’s pretty rude to lurk behind the curtain like that and eavesdrop.” Danielle turned abruptly from Joe and faced the bed. The only Lily in sight was the one sleeping under the sheets. Danielle glanced around warily, looking for her out of body friend.
“How is she doing?” Joe asked, stepping up to the bed.
“They had to operate last night.”
“I heard.”
“And you didn’t tell me?” Danielle swung around angrily, facing Joe.
“I found out after you left this morning. The chief told me.”
“That idiot Stoddard could have killed her with his incompetent staff.”
“I got a call from Ian right before I left the office,” Joe said.
“Ian? I’m surprised he hasn’t called me.” Danielle frowned, looking back down at Lily.
“He wanted me to know he spoke to the paramedics that worked on Lily at the rest stop.”
“He did?” Danielle looked back at Joe.
“Lily didn’t have a tattoo. In fact, Stoddard never mentioned any tattoo when they called him to identify the body. These days it’s pretty common for young women to have tattoos, so it’s something they tend to look for when making an identification. According to the paramedic, she didn’t have one.”
“Stoddard had her tattooed.”
“That’s what it looks like. The chief is having him brought in now. I’m not a doctor, but I have a cousin who has an artificial knee, and it got an infection, just like the one Lily had. He was told the artificial knee didn’t cause the infection, it’s just where it landed. My cousin wanted to know the cause. The doctors said it could be anything, like dental work or a cut that got infected.”
“Or a recent tattoo, one done under questionable conditions?” Danielle suggested.
“That’s a possibility.”
“Stoddard Gusarov has a lot to answer for,” Danielle said angrily.
“He will answer for it,” Joe said under his breath.
Danielle stood by the side of Lily’s bed, facing the door, Joe by her side. She leaned over and whispered i
nto Lily’s ear, “You must wake up, my dear friend.”
To Joe’s surprise, Lily, who had been catatonic and still since he found her at the Gusarov Estate, began to moan, restlessly tossing her head from side to side. One of the monitors began to buzz. As the medical staff rushed into the room, Joe looked up at Danielle who calmly stepped aside, making room for the medical team. Her expression showed no signs of shock or awe at Lily’s abrupt recovery.
Fluttering her eyes open, Lily licked her lips and looked around the room. When she spied Danielle, she smiled. “I’m back,” she whispered, her voice hoarse.
“So you are!” Danielle laughed, rushing forward to take one of Lily’s hands. She gave it a reassuring squeeze.
As the medical team chattered away amongst themselves, efficiently checking Lily’s vital signs and reviewing the monitors, Lily told Danielle in a raspy whisper, “I’m holding you to your promise. You’re stuck with me you know. I’ll be one of those house guests who never leaves.”
“I’m looking forward to it!” Danielle released Lily’s hand and moved away from the bed, out of the way of the nurses who continued to flutter around their patient. Joe followed her into the hall.
“She heard you,” Joe said in awe.
“Of course she did.” Danielle smiled and took her phone out of her pocket.
“She knows you’ve invited her to stay at Marlow House while she recovers.”
“What, did you think I was talking to myself in there?” Danielle felt giddy. Turning from Joe, she dialed Mrs. Miller.
“Is anything wrong?” Mrs. Miller asked when she answered her cellphone.
“When you’re done eating, there is someone who would like to say hello. Lily woke up.”
Joe could hear Mrs. Miller’s shout of glee coming from Danielle’s cellphone. Danielle quickly moved the phone away from her ear, trying to spare her eardrum. She laughed when she realized Mrs. Miller had hung up and was probably already on her way back to Lily’s hospital room.
Chapter Thirty
“Chocolate cake for breakfast, really Danielle?” Walt chided good-naturedly.
Shamelessly, Danielle took another bite, savoring the treat. Wearing red plaid pajama bottoms and a pink T-shirt, she sat up on her bed, leaning against a pile of pillows. She’d forgotten to take out her braid the night before, yet most of her hair had already managed to escape while she slept. Wayward curls and tendrils gently framed her face.
“And this is why…” Danielle waved her chocolate smudged fork and held up her now empty plate. “I will never lose that last fifteen pounds.”
“Thank god for chocolate cake,” Walt muttered to himself as he eyed Danielle appreciatively. He’d given up the notion that she might start wearing silk negligees to bed or trade her jeans for feminine dresses. While the flannel pajamas weren’t sexy in the traditional fashion, he could imagine himself—if he were a flesh and blood man—snuggling under the covers with a flannel clad Danielle, as a fire roared in the nearby fireplace. Perhaps they might even share a piece of chocolate cake. It had been years—no, decades, practically a century—since he had enjoyed chocolate cake or the warmth of a woman.
“You know, I could have chocolate cake every day for breakfast if I just met a man who liked to dance.” Danielle licked her fork. “Well, maybe not every day. But a couple times a week.”
“Why is that?”
“I’d be dancing off all that cake.” Danielle chuckled.
“Did Lucas like to dance?”
“Lucas? Hardly. No, Lucas would barely dance at our wedding—that should have been a red flag, I suppose.”
“Does Joe like to dance?”
“I don’t know.” Danielle shrugged and tossed her fork on the plate. “Wouldn’t want to dance with him anyway. At least not now.”
“I enjoyed dancing. Back when I could still hold a woman in my arms.”
“What kind of dancing?” Danielle asked curiously. “Ballroom…or something like the Charleston?”
“I like both.” Walt smiled. “What about you?”
“I suppose if I want to burn off chocolate cake, something that gets me moving. I think it would be fun to learn the Charleston, especially dressed in one of those cute flapper outfits with the fringed skirts!”
Walt laughed. “I’d love to see you dressed as a flapper.”
“I imagine that won’t be happening.” Danielle sighed. She set her plate on the nightstand. “Well, the cake was yummy.”
“Do you intend to feed Lily’s parents cake for breakfast?”
“They already left.” Danielle leaned back on the pillows and tossed the blanket over her feet. “They told me last night they planned to get up early and go out for breakfast before heading to the hospital. They were leaving when I was getting my cake.”
“Does Lily plan to tell them today that she intends to stay here?”
“She says she’s going to.”
“I can understand why she didn’t mention anything yesterday.”
“Yeah, it would have seemed strange if she just popped out of the coma and announced she was going to stay at Marlow House. But then, she practically did that with Joe standing there.”
Walt smiled. “You told me.”
“It was embarrassing. But I thought about it later and figured it was probably the least crazy thing he’s seen me do. It’s not like I’m the only person whose ever held a seemingly one sided conversation with a comatose patient. If he’d shown up an hour earlier he would have caught Mrs. Miller in the act.”
“True. But how many of those comatose patients suddenly wake up and remember what was being said to them?”
“Yeah, that kind of freaked him out.” Danielle grinned. She grabbed a pillow and tossed it at Walt. It flew through his body. “Out, I need to get dressed.” Danielle jumped out of the bed. Walt vanished.
Thirty minutes later when Danielle came down the stairs, the doorbell rang. Walt appeared in the foyer, standing by the parlor door. “Someone’s here,” he announced.
“I heard,” Danielle said, walking past Walt to the front door. Before opening, it she peeked out the window. “It’s Joe. Please don’t talk to me while he’s here, it’s distracting!”
“A social call?” Walt smirked.
“I seriously doubt it. He’s in his uniform.”
“Morning Danielle,” Joe greeted when Danielle answered the door.
“Morning Joe, what can I do for you?”
“Can I come in for a moment? I need to talk to you about Jimmy Borge.”
“Sure, we can go in the parlor.” Danielle opened the door wider and stepped aside for Joe to enter. Once in the parlor Danielle took a seat on the sofa while Joe sat across from her in a chair.
“Borge is cutting a deal with the DA, so you’re not going to have to testify.”
“Are you saying he’s going to get off?”
“No. It looks like he’ll be going away for a while.”
“Good.”
“So how’s Lily doing?” Joe asked.
“I haven’t talked to her this morning. Her parents left about an hour ago. They were going to stop for some breakfast, but they should be at the hospital about now.” Danielle stood up suddenly and touched her back pocket. “Would you mind if I run upstairs real quick and get my phone? I left it up there, and Mrs. Miller just has my cell number.”
“Sure, no problem.”
Danielle flashed Joe a smile and dashed from the room.
“You and Joe seem rather friendly,” Walt said as he followed Danielle up the stairs.
“He has his moments.” Danielle shrugged.
“He’s still interested in you. I can tell.”
“He thinks I’m crazy, and I’m not interested.”
* * *
Alone in the parlor, Joe stood up and stretched. Resting his hands on his hips, he looked around the room, surveying the walls. Walking toward the window, he noticed several new framed photographs sitting on a curio shelf. He picked up one of th
e pictures and looked closer. It was of Lily and Ian at the beach with Sadie.
While setting the picture down, an antique teapot on a higher shelf caught his eye. It reminded him of a teapot his grandmother owned. Reaching up, he picked it off the shelf. When he did, something inside the pot rattled around. Curious, Joe looked inside. He couldn’t see what it was, so he reached his hand inside the small opening and pulled out a gold and sapphire bracelet. Holding it in his hand, it took him a moment to realize what he was looking at. If he wasn’t mistaken, it was Isabella Strickland’s missing bracelet. If it wasn’t hers, then it was one just like it. But how could that be possible? The bracelet was supposedly one of a kind.
Joe heard Danielle coming down the stairs. He quickly shoved the bracelet back inside the teapot and returned the pot to its shelf. He was still standing by the shelf when Danielle walked back into the room.
“This is a great picture of Lily and Ian,” Joe said, turning to Danielle.
“Yeah, I love that picture.” Danielle walked to Joe and looked at the framed photograph.
“I noticed that teapot up there.” Joe pointed to the top shelf. “My grandmother had one just like it.”
“Lily picked that up at a yard sale,” Danielle explained.
“Can I look at it?” Joe asked.
“Sure.” Danielle shrugged.
Joe reached up to the shelf and brought the teapot back down. As he did, the bracelet slid from one side of the pot to the other.
“Seems to be something inside,” Joe said.
“There shouldn’t be,” Danielle said. In reply, Joe handed Danielle the pot. Curious, she tucked her hand inside and pulled out the bracelet. “What the heck?” Danielle stared at the gold and sapphire bracelet in her hand.
“I thought women kept their bracelets in a jewelry box.”
“This isn’t mine.” Danielle shook her head. “I’ve never seen it before.”
Joe studied Danielle’s face. She continued to stare at the gold and sapphire bracelet. Finally, Joe said, “I have.”