Concerning Death

Chapter 26 - Concerning Charlotte Stein

26th June

"Here's your paper, miss Stein," The nurse says. It's been two days since I left my apartment. I walked, that is I limped, a little while away from the apartment before managing to get a cab to take me to a hospital at the other end of town. I told them my name was Charlotte Stein - no one would ever believe I would willingly use my mother's name, and Stein was the fake 11,22,33 killer. I figured that name was safe enough to use, while also being a name I could remember. I also told them I was mugged, it fit my injuries I thought, and it explained the lack of ID (I threw my wallet away, keeping on the cash that was in it). Only problem is, I can't give them my insurance without alerting John and the others to where I am.

"Thank you," I say and open the paper. The front page bears the title 'Monster under arrest, but schoolteacher still missing'. Joanna survived then. Good. I didn't want her blood on my hands.

"When can I leave?" I ask the nurse.

"I'll have a doctor come and talk to you," she tells me and smiles reassuringly. The knee might end up being what keeps me here. They did scans and all that, and it seems that without surgery I might not be able to walk properly again. She leaves me and I open the paper to study it more carefully. Most of it is about the Monster being caught, but thankfully there's no mention of any new murders or disappearance. The paper doesn't guarantee anything though. There are no guarantees at all - the 11,22,33 string was hidden for a long time, there's no guarantee that... No, it's just about trust now. Trusting that the right 1,8,11 is behind bars. Trusting that it is over. I pull up the memory of Joanna again, blood spilling from her stomach, her eyes full of fear. I am safe. I have a future again. 

But what future? What kind of life do I have now? Will I ever be able to live in my apartment again? Will I ever be able to go back to the school? To my students?

I lean my head back against the pillows. What comes next for me?

A few hours later I put my new crutches into the back seat of a cab. I still don't know what kind of life I will have, but I know what comes next. The doctor told me not to worry about the bill or insurance, it was all pro bono, and he urged me to have the surgery. As relieved as I am to not have to figure out a solution on my own, it doesn't sit right with me. In fact, it makes me furious. I can think of only one person who could have made that happen. Doctor Lucas is the only one I can imagine would be able to do this, and if Doctor Lucas is involved so is Special Agent Lucas, which would mean they know where I am. I don't know what kind of game they think they are playing, but it's gonna stop now.

I let the cab take me downtown, to the café I was dropped off at last time. I take a seat, tell the waitress I'm waiting for a friend, and stretch out my bad leg under the table. Even without putting any weight on it at all it still hurts. I close my eyes and just wait. I doubt it will take long.

I wait for half an hour, and nothing happens. The waitress comes back and asks if there's anything she can get me. I look around. They still have two available tables. I hand her a 20 and tell her to let me know if they need this table. I think she feels sorry for me, because she agrees and lets me sit undisturbed. It works. 10 minutes later a chair next to me is pulled out and someone takes a seat. I open my eyes and look at Catherine.

"How are you feeling?" she asks softly, cautiously.

"You tell me," I reply. "You guys seem to know everything." She looks down at her hands in her lap.

"It took a lot for him to ask," she points out without looking at me.

"I didn't ask him to get involved." My voice is harsh and firm. She doesn't deserve that - and yet, somehow she does, going all big brother and stalking me like this. You'd think it would have been clear to them I didn't want to be around them. She raises her head and studies my face. I know what she's thinking, and I don't want to hear it. I don't want to be reminded of how Robert said I was one of them, I don't want to be told I am turning my back on "my people". None of this was my plan, from the beginning, from before I met the team, all of it was Joanna's plan. I don't want to live the rest of my life on the square she placed me on. It is my life, and she has no more control over it. I'm done. I'm out.