Chapter 17 - Count Your Blessings
When Jonah returned to the hospital, his fake normal persona already in place, he found his sister distraught, walking in circles, a pensive expression on her face and lips. Expression wrinkles were clear on her forehead and around the cheeks making her look older than she was. It was almost as if she had aged twenty years in twenty minutes, a worrying sign on all accounts. He glanced at her new pants, wondering what was that all about.
"Hey... I brought you the clothes you asked for but it seems you already made other arrangements."
"I'm so glad you're back," she said, hugging him. "I think we have another situation on our hands."
"What happened? Is Mom okay?"
"Yeah... I think so. It's Gail."
"What did that bitch do this time?" He snarled.
"The ambulance that brought us here is gone. I think she kidnapped Nick."
"Nick?" He queried, confused. "Oh, you mean the paramedic guy you have a crush on?"
"I don't... Jonah, this is serious! He could be in dire straits right now!"
"I'm not doubting you but let's be reasonable about this for a moment. Why do you think she kidnapped him? Perhaps the ambulance was called to another emergency. Are you sure you're not jumping to conclusions, here?"
"Mary would have been in it if that were the case and she's not. I'm telling you, something is wrong! We've seen what Gail can do already and now she has her eyes on him, I'm sure of it!"
Jonah took three steps backward giving her some room to breathe. "Okay, hold on a second. Who's Mary?"
"Nick's co-worker, a witted lady with a terrible taste in food. We had this very enlightening conversation in the woman's bathroom just now. She saw the two of them talking and it looked like she was hitting on him. After everything that happened earlier why would she do that if not to get to me, somehow?"
"Does this have anything to with that other complicated story you still haven't told me about?"
"I think so. Nick and I... well, we've 'known' each other a long time ago, so to speak."
"Oh?"
"He's Gregory's son and if Gail discovered that, I know she'll use him as a weapon to hurt me."
Jonah's mind was blown, even more than he thought possible. "Gregory? The guy you...? Fuck, what are the odds of that?"
"I know. It's like the Universe is conspiring against us today. Everything that could go wrong, does. It's a nightmare!" Tears rolled down her eyes.
"Easy now... we'll get this sorted out."
"What needs sorting?" Another female voice joined the fray. It was Mary, risen from the cesspool of foul stenches, a pair of short shorts replacing her borrowed pants. The frantic tire marks on the ground caught her eye. "Oh..."
"Yeah, it's gone." Angela repeated.
"Well, that sucks. Did your 'friend' or whatever she is, had anything to do with this?"
"That's what we're trying to determine," Jonah replied. "I take it you're Mary. Nice to meet you, I'm..."
"Her brother. Yeah, the family resemblances are obvious. So what do you think happened here?"
"A kidnapping, that's what!" Angela sobbed.
"Are you serious? Then why the fuck haven't you called the police yet? I'm on it."
"DON'T!" the brothers shouted in unison but for different reasons. With a swift move, Jonah snatched the phone from her tired hands and tossed it into his back pocket.
"Hey, what gives?"
"Mary. This... this is a rather delicate situation, one that would become even messier with the cops involved. Gail is our problem, our thorn. We need to be the ones to deal with her before anyone else gets hurt, do you understand?" Angela retorted.
"What she said," Jonah concurred though his conditioned self was more worried with the safety of his Goddess than with anything else. "Besides, the police wouldn't believe us, anyway."
"Okay, what sort of kinky shit are you involved in?" Mary raised her voice, restless hands ready for a fight. "Nick is a sweet guy who never had trouble with anyone as far as I know and now after meeting you lot he's kidnapped?"
"We don't know what happened yet although Angela could be right," Jonah tried to calm her down though that was easier said than done. "We want to explore all possibilities first, that's all."
"It sounds like you're covering your own asses, if you ask me. I don't like people who do that at the expense of others. Nick is my friend. If anything happens to him, you two will wish you were never born."
Having dealt with troubled people for over a decade now, Angela knew her threats were anything but vain. She too wouldn't forgive herself if another innocent soul was compromised because of her poor judgment. Pulling herself together, she said:
"Jonah, give me the phone. I will try calling him again."
"Here you go."