She Will Be Mine

Chapter 8: Charlie

​When I wake up the next day, I realize something. This is the second day since the woman has been taken. If the killer keeps to his plans, then she will be returned today. We have to be ready for that.
​The doctors quickly discharge me, and I run to the room where Des is being kept. She lies in the bed, and she looks so small. She is on her side, with her red hair falling over her face. She looks peaceful.
​I walk over to her bed, and without thinking, I squeeze her hand. I don't even know if she can feel it. There is a different doctor in here than the one I had. "How is she doing?" I ask her, not really wanting to know.
​ The doctor looks up at me, not realizing that anyone was in here at all. "She is doing just fine," her voice is soft and gentle. I feel safer knowing that Des is in her care.
​The chief joins me later in the morning. "We need to get a move on if we want to be there when the body is returned," he tells me. His comb over is messy today. It looks like he just woke up.
​I nod, but I'm not really listening. "Des should be there when we catch him, it's her right,"
​The chief nods. "If we can get her to wake up and tell us what happened before we go over there, then she can come. I don't want to rush her. She had one hell of a day yesterday," Murphy stands up and leaves, and I ask him for a coffee before he goes. "Sure," he mumbles, and then he is gone.
​I play with Des' hair while I wait for my coffee. It is soft and shimmery today, and I take a brush and try to smooth it out for her. I squeeze her hand and hold it, hoping she can know that I am here.
​Around 10:00, she squeezes my hand. It comes out of the blue, and I yell. The nurses and doctors rush in, and when I explain they smile. "It means she is waking up," one of them tells me. "She has a better chance already,"
​I try to get Des as comfortable as possible while I wait for her to open her eyes. I rub her hands, and I sit. The chief comes back with my coffee, but I don't want it anymore. "We have to get a move on Charlie," He tells me. "If we want to be there, we have to leave soon,"
​"Give me five more minutes," I tell him. "She is waking up," Murphy looks at me like I am crazy, but he gives me the five more minutes.
​Des squeezes my hand, and her heartrate accelerates. The nurses and doctors come running in, and begin examining her. "What's going on?" I asked one as she flew by.
​"We are only going through the standard procedure for someone coming out of a coma. We want her to be a comfortable as possible when she does awake,"
She's waking up. That's all that mattered to me. As soon as she was able to get up on her feet, we would go out and catch the mad man that started this whole thing in the first place.
I ran out to go and find the chief and replenish my coffee cup. Walking out, I nearly ran into two other PI's who came to visit her, Danny Streisand and Victor Guerra. They were the two best investigators on the team, and were often paired with the two of them on cases. They weren't the typical people, but Charlie liked them enough.
Victor was of Mexican decent, and had gone to school with Des and I. He lived on the same street as the two had in High School, and the three of them had formed a group together. They always were together, the three of them. A family man and a player, Victor always had a thing for everybody. He was a mean drunk, and a recovered alcoholic at that. Des had been the one to get him to admit his addiction, and so Victor was always trying to repay that debt.
Danny Streisand was a nice enough guy. He had gone to school with Des and I, but we never really hung out. He kept to himself when not at work, but he worked as hard as the rest of them to help others. Danny had solved many cases alongside with Des, and Charlie felt like he could trust him. Danny stood at a tall 6'0", and weighed in at 150. He was not the kind of guy you would want to cross ever, and I was proud to have worked with him in the past. Maybe if we all put our heads together we can figure this thing out, I thought to myself.
Danny had grown up in the poorer area of New York, and so going to a private school had never been an option to him. Graduating from a community college in La Bronx, he came to the squad and blew everyone out of the water. He solved three cases in his first week, and quickly became friends with Des. He often said that she was like a little sister to him, one that he never had.
"So man, how is she doing?" Victor was the first to speak. He stood at a total of 5'3", and hated being as small as he was. He was often referred to as "El Pequeño Pimiento", or little pepper, because of his fierce temper. But when he was needed, Victor could be a loyal friend.
"She's holding out alright. Waking up possibly," I gestured back towards the room where the doctors were working on her.
"I'm sorry man, that has to be rough," Danny spoke next, and his Texan accent snuck out. He had moved from Texas to New York at age 13, and he had never fully lost that giveaway. He was usually seen wearing a cowboy hat when he was off duty, with a big belt knuckle to go with it. "We are here for you too man, if you need it. We all know how important Des is to you," he smiled at me and I blushed. There had been many conversations over this topic, and it wasn't one I wanted to readdress at this very minute. I brushed it off easily enough.
"Thanks Danny boy," I turned to walk away and look for the chief, but he was talking to one of the nurses down the hall. I would wait until he was done.
"We are all pulling through it, but it hasn't been easy for anyone here. She is close to everybody," I turned towards the Chief and started heading his way down the hallway.
"I just can't wait to get my hands on the pendejo that did that to her. No woman should have to deal with that in her lifetime," Victor stomped his foot, as if to further prove his point. "It just isn't right!" Victor was getting slightly angry, and the nurses were looking his way.
"Calm down Chico," I told him jokingly.
"Don't call me Chico," Victor looked like he could punch something.
"Hey," I walked over to him. "Des is going to be fine. You have nothing to worry about,"
"Yeah, but what happens when that Pendejo decides to come back and finish what he started? Aren't you at all worried for her safety man?" Victor did have a point. We would all have to keep a better eye on Des, for her sake as well as ours. I don't think anyone could take it if something else happened to her.
Danny nodded in agreement, but something was off with him. He seemed tired or upset or something, I couldn't pinpoint it. I brushed it off and ran down to the Chief.
"Chief!" I yelled as I stopped at the coffee machine. "She's waking up!" Murphy nodded and began to walk my way.
"Let's go get our Desiree back," He patted me on the shoulder and walked towards her room, with me not far behind.