AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh God.”
I heard him exclaim on the other end of the phone. I had no idea if he loved this woman at one time or what they had between them, but I knew it couldn't be easy to know she was dead. Especially since they shared a child.
“I'm sorry I had to tell you like this,” I said, tears filling my eyes as I thought about Eli and Aubree, alone in this world now, “but, they don't have any ID or anything on her. We need to contact her next of kin. I was hoping you might –”
“She had no one,” he said. “As far as I knew. Her parents are both dead – addicts themselves. The reason we got together in the first place was that she needed a place to stay. I can give you her full name, but that's about it. Her name is – err, was – Shawna Deerborn. She's from Portland, Oregon originally. Grew up that way. But that's all I really know.”
I nodded, then realized he couldn't see me. “Thanks, Eli. That helps. I'll let the cops know and maybe they can find someone,” I said.
“Hannah?” Eli's voice came out tight.
“Yeah?”
“Take care of yourself, please,” he said.
His words took me by surprise. “Why would you –”
“It's just – well, people who get close to me, people I care about – seems like they tend to end up dead.”
“They were addicts, Eli,” I said softly. “You know I'd never –”
“I know, but – just be careful, okay?” he said. “I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to you.”
I found it hard to swallow, with the lump that had suddenly formed in my throat. I should have probably made some sort of cynical remark, but I could tell he was serious. Truth be told, I wasn't sure what I'd do if anything had happened to him either. But, I wasn't in the right frame of mind to admit that.
“Don't blame yourself, Eli,” I said. “You couldn't possible have saved Shawna. Or your mom.”
“Yeah, well –” There was shouting in the background, someone called his name. “I have to go, Hannah. Thanks for calling me and telling me about Shawna. I'm sorry you had to see that.”
“It's my job,” I replied. “I see that sort of thing all the time. I'm just sorry it was someone you knew.”
He hung up the phone, and I stared at it for a long moment before putting it back into my purse. The night was still young, and the ER needed me, so I'd have to pull myself together. I washed my hands, splashed some cool water on my face and walked out into the chaos of the Yora County Hospital once again.
Standing at the nurse's station was a familiar face in uniform. Officer Chris Abbott shot me a sympathetic smile as I joined Sarah and the others.
“Hannah, Officer Abbott was trying to find out anything we knew about the Jane Doe,” Sarah said.
“Uh yeah, about that. I have a name now,” I said. “Eli said she crashed at his place a few times about a year ago. Her name was Shawna Deerborn and she was from Portland. But, as far as he knew, she had no living relatives.”
Aside from Aubree, I thought to myself. For some reason, I hesitated and didn't mention the child. I probably should have, but it wasn't like a two-month-old baby could identify her mother's remains. Besides, I had no idea what it might mean for the little girl and my brother, and until I knew more, I didn't want any more drama to befall either of them.
“Thanks, Hannah,” Chris said, shooting me a charming smile.
I blushed and looked away. Chris had been friends with Eli back in the day, as was typical for a small town. Everyone knew everyone else. Chris grew into an attractive guy with clean-cut blonde hair and hazel eyes. His face was a little too chiseled for my liking – too many sharp angles and a chin that was a little too square – but most of the nurses found him to be the epitome of hot.
It just so happened, he also seemed to have taken a liking to me.
“Mind if we talk, alone?” Chris asked. “I have a few additional questions. Maybe you could help me with them?”
“I highly doubt it. Like I said, I only met her briefly yesterday, but sure. I can try,” I said, looking at the other nurses. “But I can't be gone long, we're short-staffed.”
“I won't keep you long, I promise,” he said.
He crossed his hand over his heart and winked at Sarah before motioning for me to follow him. We walked outside the emergency room doors and headed for a little table in the courtyard. The air had a slight chill to it, and I hugged my arms close to my body. Chris removed his jacket, like a gentleman, and handed it to me before sitting down.
“Thank you,” I said.
“Of course. I'm the reason your outside, after all,” he said. “I was just hoping you could help me with a few little details.”
