Hello, my lovely readers. This chapter is a little darker than most, and this is my nod to Halloween; so we're getting a little horror-ific! On with the show…
Ch. 14 She Vanished One Night
Davina
Just another night shift. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Davina Claire liked the night shift at New Orleans Grace Hospital better than the majority of her fellow doctors. The chaos of the day dissolved into quiet as visitors left, staff became limited and patients attempted to rest. Right now, Davina sat behind the counter of the ICU. A glowing computer screen stared back at her. She had charts to finish typing up and then she could work on studying up on procedures. It would keep her mind off her break-up with Kol which still did not seem real. But if she stayed focused on work; she would get through the night. Then she could go home and sleep, until the next shift, which would begin in less than twenty-four hours.
Davina's attention was drawn towards the sound of a gurney's wheel on the linoleum tile. The soft noise was one of the only sounds in the empty hallway. She exchanged a quick glance with the nurse on duty, who sat in front of a computer that monitored the patients' vitals. They both turned back, to watch in silence as Dr. Bennett and an officer from NOLA PD moved along either side of the gurney. Clank. Clank. Clank. Eyes finding the source of the clanking, Davina gulped. The man on the gurney had been handcuffed to the railing. Davina had never experienced being on a floor with a suspect or a prisoner.
Dr. Bennett opened a door to an open room, two doors down from the desk, and returned to the end of the gurney to push it inside the room. The officer went in behind her and let the door close behind them.
"Got to love working the holiday shifts." The nurse rolled her eyes and wrote something down on a pad of paper with a pen. It made a scritch, a scritch sound as the pen moved over the paper.
Holiday? Then Davina remembered it was Halloween. Or it would be in an hour. She shivered. When she was a kid, she liked Halloween, but as she grew up, she could not help but notice how any stories involving women being terrorized by some jackass, in a mask, with a weapon. Didn't seem so fun when you put them in that context. Although she did like chocolate.
The door opened and Dr. Bennett left the room where their new patient lay. The officer came out, too, and they moved down the hallway to confer about something Davina could not catch. Then the officer returned. He took his place outside the door and Davina tried not to stare.
The officer looked at Davina and nodded before going over to the desk. "You don't happen to have a magazine, or something, do you?"
"No. But I do have the latest Tom Clancy novel."
"That'll work. Thank you." He drummed his fingers on the desktop. Tap. Tap. Tap. Zip, went the nurse's bag as she opened it and withdrew the book. Tipping his cap, the officer went back to his post.
The nurse got up. "Well, it's time for my break. Call the kids. Make sure they didn't eat the trick-or-treaters' candy. Get a snack and a cup of joe. Dr. Claire, you need anything?"
"No. I'm fine. Thank you." Davina smiled and returned to her work.
After ten minutes, Davina felt how heavy her eyes were becoming. Yawning, she rubbed the back of her neck. Coffee. She needed coffee. Good thing there was a machine in the lobby, just around the corner.
Getting up, Davina grabbed her purse. She walked around the desk and nodded to the officer. "I'm getting a coffee. Would you like one?"
"No. Thanks. Had plenty before I got here."
"Okay." Davina headed off and down the hall. Turning the corner, she confronted her old friend, Mr. Coffee Machine. He'd gotten her through many a shift. Her eyes went down to the C3 that would offer her a hit of cappuccino. Removing two, crisp dollar bills, she slid them into the machine, and hit the buttons. They made beep, beep sounds before the machine came to life with a whir and then a cup went plop. The gentle slosh of coffee pouring into the cup and drip, drip concluded its work.
Davina bent over to push the plastic door open and slid the coffee out with care. Both her hands cupped the warm paper and she blew on the steam rising into the air as she turned back around the corner. Her eyes went up at the sound of an angry: BEEP, BEEP, BEEP. It came from the nurse's side of the desk.
Hurrying down the hallway, Davina forgot all about the still hot liquid in the cup. In her rush, she caused coffee to splatter her fingers. "Ow! Shit!" she cried as she made it to the computer. She could see that a flash of red accompanied the beep sound. Someone needed help. Her eyes widened at the sight of which room the alert came from. 391. The room where their newest patient lay.
Eyes moving upward, Davina felt her heart pound in her chest. The officer was no longer at the door. But she had an obligation to check on the patient, NO matter who the patient was, or what he might have done.
Davina grabbed a couple of tissues and dried her fingers, setting the cup down and then made her way toward the door. She shoved her hand into her pocket. It curled around a pen which she clicked open. She knew where to stab someone if the man tried anything stupid. She would not end being one of those helpless girls in the movies.
Fingers wrapping around the cool, metal handle of the door, she heard it click open and then she eased it open as quietly as she could. One foot moving in front of the other, she slid the curtain open and hated the scrape of metal on metal as the hooks drew over the rod. So loud. A sigh of relief left her when she saw that the man was not only asleep; the small device that went over his end of his finger had fallen off. He was in distress.
All Davina had to do was replace the device, and leave. Checking to make sure his handcuffs were still in place, Davina leaned over and picked up the device. She stood up and let out a cry when she found that not only was he awake; he was staring at her.
A slow smile appeared on the man's face. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare ya."
"It's fine." Davina forced a chuckle. "I just thought you were asleep. Um. Your monitor fell off."
"This thing?" His blue eyes went to the device and he waved it at her, his handcuffs clanging against the hard, plastic rail. "Yeah. Can't take a little nap without having it fall off." He laughed. "Don't mean to trouble a pretty, young thing such as yourself." He shot her another smile. "You must have big plans for the holiday. Get together with your friends, or some boy?"
"I'm actually planning on getting through my shift and going to sleep." Davina said, her hand went back into her pocket, tightening around the pen and she smiled.
"Yeah? Cher?" Shaking his head, the man stared at Davina. "That is a clear waste. You should be enjoying your time. None of us knows how long we have." He let out another laugh which turned into a violent cough. The handcuffs clinked as he tried to lean away from Davina and shook his head. "Could I trouble you for one more thing..." His eyes narrowed, "Dr. Claire?"
"Sure." Davina nodded.
"Could I have a glass of water?" He looked to the foot of the bed, where a plastic jug of water sat on a sliding, wooden table.
"Not a problem." Walking over to the jug, Davina kept one eye on the bed as she picked up the jug and poured out a glass of water. She picked up the hard cup and walked back over to the man in the bed. Placing it to his lips, she watched as he gulped the water down.
"You are kind, Dr. Claire. You remind me of my baby sister." Eyes darkening, the man looked downward.
Davina moved to place the empty cup back on the table. "You're welcome." She stood for a moment. "I'll be outside, if you need anything. Just hit the button." She nodded at the emergency device that lay beside him. He smiled in reply.
Davina felt better as she exited the room. She'd made it through her first encounter with a patient in handcuffs and could tell others that it wasn't nearly as scary as she thought it would be. Maybe he didn't even do what he'd been accused off. Plenty of people were wrongfully incarcerated, every day.
Sitting back in the chair, Davina pulled put her phone. It looked like she had a message on her voicemail. Punching the number, Davina felt like an idiot as it beeped and the recording told her: "You have one, unheard message." There was another beep and Davina remembered her coffee. She frowned and got up to get it. Waking over to the desk, she leaned over, and picked it up. Her eyes went to the computer. Everything was fine in room 391. Turning her back, she listened to the message and took a sip of her coffee. "Davina, it's me, Hayley. We need to talk about mom. Call m-"
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. Davina pulled the phone back from her ear, trying to see why it had begun to beep. Then she realized it was not her phone. "I need something else from you, chère." Hands full of cell phone and coffee that was no longer hot enough to be a weapon, Davina opened her mouth to scream when a hand clamped over it. She heard her phone go: Clunk. The coffee went: Splash, as a panting sound filled her ears and fingers closed over her nose, making her incapable of taking a breath. "Oh, Dr. Claire, you've got a full dance card, tonight," was the last thing Davina heard before she passed out.
Kol
Phone beeping much louder than need be, it made Kol Mikaelson reach in his pocket while glaring at the clock. He was meant to have finished his shift two hours ago, but one of the infernal interns made a mistake in a chart that Kol had to tear into them about. Now, he would be late to travel The Quarter, to see what kind of merry mayhem early festivities would bring about.
Grumbling, Kol looked at his phone's screen and did a double-take. "What the bloody hell is a Code Silver?" He glanced at Aiden who had also taken out his phone and frowned at the message.
The nurse pocketed his phone. "It means that there is someone with a weapon on the premises, or someone had been taken hostage." As if on cue, a number of beeps went off, Kol watched as another nurse hit the elevator button, to no avail. People stood outside the doors to the lobby, staring at them, helplessly. Security guards came through the stairwell. "Everyone, please, stay calm!" One of them called out.
"I have to go find Josh." Aiden took off for the stairs before being stopped by security. He showed them his badge and one of the two men led him through the doors leading to the stairs.
Kol rolled his eyes. Most likely this was a false alarm. He yawned and watched as the remaining security guard began to ask for ID. Returning to his phone, Kol scrolled through his list of contacts. Just on case it turned out to not be a false alarm, he might as well text his family. Bekah. Caroline. Then Davina's name came up. Kol inhaled and went past it. Freya. Finn. Elijah. Klaus. Mother and Father. His thumb slid back up the screen, to make sure he did not miss someone. Davina, again. Ah! Bonnie. Complete.
Kol started to place his phone back inside his lab coat when a tiny twinge went off in his brain. He tried to bury it, but it was growing with each passing second. Rolling his eyes, Kol took out his phone and punched Davina's name. The line rang, twice, and then went straight to voicemail. She'd blocked him. Well, that told him all he needed to know. He dropped his phone into his pocket and leaned against the counter.
"ID, please." The security guard stood in front of Kol who scoffed and pointed at his badge. "As in Mikael Mikaelson," he couldn't help snapping.
"Sorry, sir. I'm new, and this is procedure." Before Kol could make another snide comment, someone tapped on the lobby doors. The security guard went to them and Kol followed, just to have something to do.
The man outside wore street clothes but placed a badge to the glass. Cop. Wonderful. Kol strode off and went back to leaning.
"Have you heard from Davina?" Lucien Castle called, hurrying over to stand in front of Kol. The resident had his arms crossed over his blue scrub top.
Eyes rising, Kol smirked. "No."
"She hasn't been answering her phone. Did you try her, too?" Lucien's words were boring into Kol, who could feel himself beginning to seethe.
"Yes. As matter of fact, I did, but seeing as I have a life; I do not fall apart the moment a girl does not reply." Kol watched Lucien stare at him.
To make matters worse, Kaleb Westphal appeared. "Kol, I could use your help with something."
"I do not know where Davina is." Kol retorted as his phone let out a beep. He pulled it out. Caroline.
Klaus and I are okay.
Beep.
So are Elijah and Hayley.
Beep.
Your parents are babysitting the triplets. So, not okay, but not, not okay.
Beep
Finn and Sage at dinner.
Beep
Freya is not answering.
Beep
Hayley and Elijah are going to check on Freya.
Beep
Freya texted Klaus. She's fine. Going back to sleep. Freya. Not me.
Beep
Have you seen Josh? And Aiden?
Kol texted:
Saw A. He's going to find J.
Beep
Thanks.
-Care
As soon as Kol got done with his texting, he looked up to see that both Lucien, and Kaleb were still there. "Go! Away!" He attempted to shoo them off with a wave of his hands.
Lucien's arms dropped. "She has the night shift, you know? Which means she's here, somewhere! Don't you think we should try to find her?"
"Shocking news, Lucien!" Kol grinned. "We live in the twenty-first century in which the womenfolk fend for themselves. I'm sure she'll get back to you. If she wants to..."
"Kol, there's a patient with a burn. She's in the ER. I thought you might want to take a look." Kaleb stated all of this calmly while Kol stared at him.
Kol gave Lucien a long look. "Sad to say that a physical therapist knows better about how to prioritize than a surgical resident." Pushing off the desk, Kol strode towards the ER.
There was, in fact, a woman with a burn. She sat on a gurney, cloth towel wrapped around one hand. If this was a bad burn, she would regret using the towel. It would be tearing her skin off and Kol would have to remove the excess bits before the real work began.
"Good evening, miss." Kol pulled a stool up and flashed her a winning smile. "How bad is the pain?"
She shrugged. "It hurt pretty bad when it happened. Now, it stings like a mother. Sorry. Language."
Kol laughed. "I'm the head of plastics, and, trust me, I've heard much worse." He grabbed a pair of gloves. "And you might be calling me worse, by the time I get done here." He nodded at her. "Right now, I am going to tease this bit of towel off, to see what, exactly, the damage is..."
"Alright," she nodded, her face screwing up as he began to take the towel off.
A smile appeared on Kol's face. "I have good news. This is a superficial wound. Or a first-degree burn. We'll just clean it out, bandage it up, and you have Advil, at home, yes?" She nodded. "Good. I'll make sure a nurse gives you a packet before you leave. No need to have to feel this while it heals up." He patted her good hand.
"Thank you." The woman had tears in her eyes. "I grabbed a skillet, when it was still on the burner, without a glove, because I thought I saw man on my balcony." She lifted her good hand to brush away tears. "I screamed and when I turned back; he wasn't there. And I managed to do this!" She held up her hand, and shook her head. "So stupid."
"You're not stupid. A fool decided to give you a bit of a scare for the holiday."
"I called the police. Don't know if they caught him-"
"Kol!" Lucien. Again.
"What?" Kol snapped as Lucien shoved his phone in Kol's face.
"Davina! She texted me!" Lucien cried.
"Good for you," Kol muttered.
"She wrote: Harry eats liver, Pal! She'd mentioned getting a cat-"
"I have work to do!" Kol snapped at Lucien.
"There is NO Harry! It's sayin P!" Lucien took hold of Kol's lapels. "She's been taken, you fool!"
"Get your hands off me!" Kol snapped, jumping to his feet.
"You should go!" The patient advised.
"You said it's a minor injury. I can take care of it." Kaleb looked at Kol calmly.
Frowning, Kol looked at Lucien. "Fine. And, you," he pointed at Kaleb, "be careful. I will be back to check on your handiwork. You," he addressed Lucien. "Come with me." Leading thr way back to the lobby, Kol paused. A uniformed officer and the detective from before stood off to the side.
"I needed to go to the bathroom," the officer said, looking ashamed. "They told me he was out cold."
The detective ran a hand through his short, blonde hair. "Yeah. And the girl?"
"Gone. Came back. She hadn't come back from her coffee run-I thought... I thought she didn't. No one's on-duty. Walk 'round the desk. Spilled coffee on the floor. I go in his room; damned cuffs are on the floor. Lunatic's got that poor, sweet, little doc. Shit. Will, I won't be able to forgive myself something happens to her. Got a girl her age."
Will patted the officer's shoulder and Kol nodded for Lucien to go ahead of him. They made their way across the lobby while the cops talked. Kol would bet they did not look into the area he intended on searching, yet.
Kol made his way down the hall and then pushed a door with a "Closed for Construction!" sign on it. Thankfully, being under construction meant the bloody cards would not need to be used. Less fuss, and no sign of entrance. He did not need the cops under foot.
"This way!" Kol entered the hallway which was lit by a series of lights left by the construction crew. Lucien followed him. The resident stopped to collect a piece of wood before they made their way, checking each room in turn and taking corners with care. Nothing so far. They went up to the second and third floors. Nothing. The fourth, still, nothing. Perhaps he had taken her somewhere else. Kol's stomach tightened. His fists balled. He was just as angry at himself as he was with Davina's kidnapper. Why hadn't he listened to Lucien? Who knew what this person was doing to Davina. Bloody holiday.
All of these thoughts were going through Kol's head when they arrived on the fifth floor. Edging his way down, he heard someone talking. And a quiet sobbing. "Oh, chère. I'm telling you not to worry your pretty, little head 'bout a thing. You, and me, we're gonna have a real nice time out on the open road."
As the man spoke, Kol looked inside the room. He saw a man in blue scrubs. He knelt before Davina. His finger drew across her cheek. "Yes, Miss Davina Claire, you, and me, we've got nothin' but nice times ahead of us. Don't we, chère?"
Kol turned to Lucien and motioned for Lucien to get on the other side of the door. Lucien, for once, obeyed his order without an argument. Closing his eyes, Kol prayed to anyone who was listening to get them out of this; then he moved to stand outside the door. "Davina!" he shouted.
"Lover boy!" The man turned with a wide grin while Davina tried to say something through her gag. "Now, I was beginning to think you'd grown cold to the likes of our girl."
"She's not our girl!" Kol snarled out.
"You're right about that, son. Girl like her. Deserves much, much better than the likes of you." Grinning, the man came to the doorway. Just as he emerged, a flash of metal shone in a light, and Kol saw he'd taken a scalpel. Lucien raised the piece of wood and was about to bring it down on the man's head when the man turned and shoved the scalpel into Lucien's middle Lucien's eyes went wide.
The wood fell to the floor as the kidnapper jerked the scalpel back out and turned to Kol. "One down," his smile froze on his lips. He turned his head to look behind him.
Davina stood. Her right hand was still trembling. Kol saw a pen sticking out of the the man's cervical spine. He reached back to pull it out. "I would not do that, if I were you. Unless you fancy permanent paralysis."
The kidnapper did not look amused, and still he moved to pull the pen out. "We can fix it, but you have to put the scalpel down," Davina said, edging around her kidnapper, to stand beside Kol.
"You would help me, chère?" he inquired with a grin.
"Yes." Davina nodded. "Kol, call for help." Kol pulled out his phone and made the call.
Freya
Freya Mikaelson yawned as she made her way across the parking lot. She'd heard there was quite a bit of excitement going on tonight. She just had no idea how much.
Going to the doors, she had to show her badge before entering the hospital. "Code's over," one security guard said to the one who made Freya show her ID.
"I know. But you heard about the cop who's in deep water 'cause he needed to take a piss." The first security guard shrugged. "I need this job, man."
Freya went up the stairs to the ICU. She found an officer and a detective standing at the end of the hallway. "Stop!" The detective held up a hand, making his way towards Freya.
"That's Freya, Will!" Vincent Griffith appeared behind the desk. He waved for Freya to come and join him.
Will nodded at Freya. "Sorry. Don't know who's who."
"That's alright, detective." Freya made her way over to sit with Vincent who seemed excited about something. "What's going on?" she asked him.
Vincent pointed at the computer screen. "I think it's him."
"You think who is what?" Freya's brows rose as she looked to the glowing screen. Window after window was open. She scanned the headlines: Local Woman Goes Missing. Teen Still Not Found. Wife. Mother. Daughter. Six months. Two Years. Family and Friends Vow to Continue Looking. "Vince, what is this?"
"Him!" Vincent nodded at the closed door of room 391. "He's the one who took my wife. And I suspect he took all of these women." He waved at the screen. Then he pulled up a picture of a young woman. "Francis May Delecroix. Disappeared 2012. Age seventeen. Remind you of anyone?"
Freya thought about that. "I suppose she looks a bit like Davina."
Vincent nodded. "Eva and Davina don't look alike other than having long dark hair. But look at these women."
"Similar hair color." Freya glanced at Vincent.
"Serial killers used less than that to choose their victims. He's also attracted to women who would have been born the same year as his sister, or within the decade. It all means something to him. It's also ritual."
"What do you want to do?" Freya did not like where this seemed to be going.
"I want to have a little chat with Mr. Delecroix."
"Vince..." But he was already on his feet, headed towards the door.
"Hey!" The officer called.
"Vince!" Will called.
"He needs his vitals checked," Vincent said, hands held up.
Freya got up and went to Vincent's side. "I'll be with him, the whole time."
Will, let them have a look. "Five minutes."
"All I need." Vincent pushed the door open. "If Will had been on the case, they might have found Eva..." He said no more as the door closed behind Freya.
They made their way over to the bed where Delecroix laid on his back. A pen stood in the back of his neck. "Come to give me more pain medications, doctors?" Delecroix drawled with a grin. "Ah, look, another pretty doc." He eyed Freya who glared back.
"Actually, no, Mr. Delecroix, we are not here to give you meds. I wanted to ask you a question." Vincent grabbed a chair and pulled it up to the bedside.
Delecroix grinned. "Got nowhere to be, chère. Go right ahead and ask away."
Hand going into his pocket, Vincent pulled out his phone and swept his thumb over the screen. He pulled up a picture of a smiling woman and then turned it holding it close to Delecroix's face. "You ever seen this woman?"
A smile appeared on Delecroix's face. "Will I get this pen out of my neck if I answer?"
Vincent nodded and Delecroix stared at the picture. His eyes closed. "Hmm. I do not believe I do know her. Although she is lovely."
Letting out a mirthless chuckle, Vincent's hands shook as he tapped his feet on the floor shaking his head. "Try again."
"You a cop, too, Doc?"
"No. Just a man looking for answers." Placing the phone closer to Delecroix, Vincent leaned over. "Her name was Eva. She was going to the local market. She never got there. Never came home."
"Eva?" Delecroix said her name slowly. "Eva."
There was another pause. Wish I could help ya, but I just do not recall."
Slowly, Vincent got to his feet and his hand went to the pen. "Would you like to try again?"
"Vincent..." Freya could not allow Vincent to ruin his career over this monster. "We should leave-"
"Look at her!" Vincent snarled, still gripping the pen, "or, so help me God; I will send you straight to hell."
Delecroix rolled towards Freya. "She was pretty. Like that one, there. All legs. And, boy, she knew how to strut on them. Hair down her back. The biggest smile on her face. She wanted to help with my boy. I couldn't find him. 'Please, ma'am. Must be around here somewhere... And she was a fighter, too. She licked me all black and blue." He laughed, his tongue going out to kick his lips. "Dug her nails in 'til I bled-like the boy I got with your little knives. Yes! I was bleeding something horrible by the time I got her settled in the car. Could barely drive. Eyes blurring from the tears and the pain. But she was worth it. Such nice, soft skin." He rubbed his cheek on the pillow and growled.
Now, Delecroix's eyes went to Vincent. "You the husband? Yes. You are. She died with your name on her lips. Still hear her in my dreams: Vin-cent!"
Not sure how this would end, Freya moved closer to Vincent but he let go of the pen before she got there. He took several steps backwards.
"Gonna kill me, aren't ya?" Delecroix called to Vincent. "Come on, now! Don't get wimpy on me! You want to know what else I did to Eva? Huh!"
"Enough!" Freya snapped.
"They're gonna patch me up, and you're never gonna find her, you know!" Delecroix called. "I'll be out by year's end!"
"Shut up before I finish it!" Freya hissed and then she turned, following Vincent out. They went down the hall and sat on the floor. Freya sat beside him and wrapped her arms around him. The nightmare had an end, she hoped.
Thank you for reading, faving, following, and reviewing.
Happy Halloween!
Be safe,
-J