Chapter 22
He went back to his flat to get ready for his date with Eva, happy that it was finally going to happen. He whistled while he showered and dressed in the same jeans, white t-shirt and jacket he wore when she met him in Paris. After a second look in the mirror and a run of his hand through his hair, he smiled at the reflection and walked out the door.
As he turned to step onto the street from his stairs a large man ran up from behind and grabbed a hold of him. The man spun him around and got in his face. Edward smelled whiskey strong on his breath along with tobacco and a strong bad breath odor that made Edward want to vomit.
“Are you Edward Caldwell?” The gruff voice spat at him.
He leaned back and looked at the man’s face. There was a familiarity there but he couldn’t place it. “It depends on who’s asking?”
The man growled, pulling his hand back and in slow motion Edward saw the large fist come at his face. He could have ducked or moved to the side, but he felt frozen where he stood as if he was watching it all happen from the sidelines. When the man’s fist struck him, he knew instantly that it broke his nose. The pain shot through his head as he fell to the ground.
“Ah!” Edward yelled, putting his hand over his nose. He struggled to get up as blood covered his hand. “What the hell, man! Who are you?”
Just as he stood and looked at the man, another fist slammed into the side of his jaw catching him off guard and sending him to the ground again. He decided to stay there until he could grasp what was happening.
“First my wife,” grunted the man, “then my sister?”
Edward attempted to look up at the man, until a large boot slammed into the side of him sending him onto his back. Pain seared through his side and he knew if he didn’t get away from this guy he was going to beat the hell out of him.
He coughed and grabbed his side, rolling away from the guy. “There has to be some miscommunication. I think you have the wrong person.” Edward put his hand up, telling the guy to give him a minute so he could figure out what was happening.
The big man had other plans. “Does Talita Honor ring a bell?” Another boot sent Edward rolling the other way, his face hitting the concrete sidewalk and scuffing his forehead. The name Talita repeated over and over in his head.
The cruise, Talita, yes. I thought we had something until I found out she was married. He quickly looked up at the man, his eyes growing wide.
“Yeah,” said the man. “Now you know who I am.”
“Oh, fuck! No, wait a minute!”
It was the last thing Edward was able to say. With every kick into Edward’s side and every fist in his face, thoughts of Talita being close to this guy blazed into his mind. If Talita was his wife then who was his sister?
The man proceeded to beat on Edward until everything in his world started to fade. Just before he passed out, Gracie’s face entered his mind. Gracie Honor.
Edward felt the pain surround his ribcage and throb through his face before he tried opening his eyes. He tried not to move as he mentally managed the pain and put together where he was. He cracked his eyes open enough to look around. The dimly lit room was very clean and very white. He opened his eyes further and looked around. He was in a hospital bed with a curtain partially drawn around him, the door half open and an occasional nurse or visitor walking by. He tried to take a breath but it hurt too much.
“Mr. Caldwell. You’re awake.” A pale yet plump nurse stood at the foot of his bed with a smile on her face. “That’s good news.”
“Where am I?” His tongue felt like it was pasted to the roof of his mouth.
“You are at Warneford Hospital, on the third floor, in my care. I am Nurse Tuttlebaum and I will be looking after you until the morning.”
“How long have I been here?”
“Only about an hour.” She walked to his side and looked at him with sincerity in her eyes. “How are you feeling, Mr. Caldwell?”
“Call me Eddie. Please.”
She tried to raise the head of his bed. When he winced in pain, grabbing his side, she stopped. “Not so good I see.”
“I’m okay. I just need a minute.”
“Well, Eddie.” She blushed at the informality he allowed. “If you are up to it, there is a police officer in the lobby waiting to speak with you about the incident.”
Edward nodded. He closed his eyes and put together the events that led him to this hospital.
“Edward Caldwell?” A blue suited police officer entered his room and walked up to his bedside. “I am Officer Kent with the Saint Aldates Police Department.”
“Hello.”
“Can you remember what happened to you?”
He attempted to lick his lips but the lack of saliva only succeeded in sticking his tongue to what felt like a fat lip. The nurse hurried to get him a glass of ice water. She raised the head of his bed a few inches and only allowed him a sip which seemed to dissipate before it reached his throat.
“I was leaving my flat to meet a friend for dinner.” He closed his eyes. Eva. He wondered if she was still waiting for him. “Someone jumped me when I got onto the street.” He remembered what the man said to him just before he blacked out.
First my wife, then my sister. Talita Honor. Edward shook his head. How did her husband find out about him? Sister… “Oh, God.”
“Are you okay?” asked the officer. “What can you tell me?”
His sister is Gracie? Could this really be that coincidental that I get wrapped up with two women from the same family?
“Mr. Caldwell? Do you know who did this to you?”
“No. I didn’t see him.”
“He didn’t take your wallet or watch. You still have your phone.”
“Maybe something spooked him. I don’t know.”
“Mr. Caldwell, is there anyone who you can think of who might want to harm you?”
He shook his head.
The officer hesitated. He knew Edward was lying.
“Okay. I’ll let you get some rest. If you can think of anything more, or you want to tell me what really happened, I’ll leave my card here for you.”
Edward nodded, keeping his gaze on the sheets that covered him. The officer stood there hoping to hear more but turned and left the room when he realized Edward wasn’t talking. The nurse fussed over him, pulling his covers up and checking his vitals.
When Edward got his strength up he attempted to sit up and swing his legs over the side, but there were bars on the sides of the bed that prevented him from going too far.
“Oh, Eddie. No, no, no. You need to stay in bed. The doctor will be in shortly to talk to you.”
“Put these down, please.”
“No, sir. I cannot do that. You have broken ribs and a concussion. You need to lie back and rest.”
“What I need is to get out of here. If you don’t help me do that, I will end up hurting myself even worse than I am. You wouldn’t want that, now would you, Miss Tuttlebaum?” He looked up into her eyes and pleaded with her.
“But you are in bad shape. Why do you need to leave so suddenly? I will take good care of you. Are you in trouble?”
“Not yet, but if I stay here I could be. Now if you would please….” He motioned to the bars and waited for her to lower them.
“Let me at least get the doctor in here so he can talk to you.” She scurried out of the room only looking back at him once she got to the door.
Edward pressed his arm into his side as he slid himself out of the bed and onto the floor. Once he got his footing underneath him he took a breath and searched for his clothes that were sitting in a chair in a plastic bag close by. By the time the nurse had gotten back into the room, Edward was dressed. He slipped his watch on his wrist and pocketed his phone.
“Eddie, please.” She rushed to his side and tried coaxing him back to the bed. “The doctor is on his way.”
“I don’t have time for all of that.” He felt himself getting annoyed at the woman and tried pushing her away. “I just want to go. I have to meet someone.”
“Well,” she said in a huff. “If you are going to leave against the hospital’s wishes, Mr. Caldwell, you need to sign a waiver stating we are not liable….”
“Fine. Get it,” he snapped. He grabbed a pen sticking out of a front pocket on the nurse’s chest before she turned away from him and waited for her to show him the paper.
Annoyed, she walked out of the room only to reappear with a single sheet of paper on a clipboard. Without reading it, Edward signed his name and walked out of the room. The only thing on his mind was to get to Eva. He couldn’t stand the thought of standing her up twice and possibly losing her again.
He limped down the hallway with Nurse Tuttlebaum standing in the doorway of his room looking after him. When he got into the elevator he leaned against the wall and pulled his phone from his pocket. With the push of a few buttons he held it to his ear and listened to it ring until Eva’s voice told him how sorry she was that she wasn’t there and to please leave her a message. He waited until she was finished her message and when a small beep sounded he hung up his phone.
The elevator door opened on the ground floor and he tried walking as tall as he could without divulging the pain that seared through him. He walked out the front door and left in the first taxi cab he could get to.
The apartment where Eva lived looked dark, too dark for anyone to be home. He looked at his watch and realized he was almost two hours late. Where would she have gone? He thought about the restaurant he wanted to take her to? Would she have gone on her own or did she skip dinner all together and go to bed?
“Can you wait here for just a minute?”
The cab driver nodded and Edward pulled himself out of the cab. The stairs to her front door were difficult for him to accomplish and he knocked on the door more times than he should have just so he could get up the strength to make it back down the stairs without falling.
“Branca on Walton Street please.” He slid into the back seat, laying down and quickly shutting the door so he could use it to hoist himself up. “Please hurry.”
He knew it would be a long shot, but he didn’t know where else to look for her. When they arrived at the restaurant, his thoughts were correct. The maître d’ confirmed that she had been there and she just left fifteen minutes prior.
“Can I call someone for you, sir?” The man looked down at Edward’s attire and for the first time, so did Edward. His t-shirt was stained with blood and dirty from rolling around on the ground earlier that day. His hands were scuffed and one was bandaged with white gauze. He walked to a wall with a partial mirror and looked at himself.
“Christ.” He reached up and touched the swollen purple above his left eye. His lip was twice its normal size and blistered red. When he turned back toward the maître d’ he was already on the phone.
“Officer, yes. I have a customer in need of assistance.”
“It isn’t necessary,” interrupted Edward. “I have already been to the hospital. Thank you, though.” He quickly left before he drew any more attention to himself.
Walking down the street, he grabbed his phone and attempted to contact her a few more times with no luck. The next cab took him back to her house but when he saw the lights still out he gave up and went back to his flat.