I mean, it is Chicago. I’m sure the mob has dumped a body or two in the river over the years. And those poor bastards’ eternal home is about to be stained the most violent shade of emerald imaginable.
Oh, well. I guess it’s more interesting than being worm food.
Where was I?
Oh, yeah. Attending physician. Leading Chicago hospital. I rub elbows with lots of city elites, date lots of beautiful women, and even go to one of the city’s most exclusive clubs, Aces Underground, as Maddox’s guest. He comes from Chicago royalty. The Hathaways are a local political dynasty. The Kennedys of Chicago.
The O’Rourkes aren’t the Kennedys of anything, except perhaps for binge drinking and baby making, often at the same time.
I was born into nothing. Less than nothing. And I built a damned life for myself. Worked three separate jobs to get myself through medical school. Survived off ramen and Easy Mac for the years of my internship and residency to scrounge up enough money to pay off my remaining student loans.
And now I’ve made something of myself. Something that my middle-school bully could never dream of becoming.
Of course, that’s not entirely his fault, given what?—
I slam on my brakes and my car screeches to a halt.
A young woman is crossing the road in front of me, paying no mind at all to her surroundings.
I roll down the window to chastise her lack of awareness?—
Shit. I know her. Dinah Miêu. One of the nurses in my hospital.
“Dinah!” I call out. “You okay?”
She turns around, her face flushed. “Oh, gosh. Dr. O’Rourke! I didn’t realize that was you.”
“Who else would be driving this beauty?” I tap the steering wheel. “You should watch where you’re going, Di.”
She swallows. “Yes. I should. So sorry. I guess the coffee hasn’t quite kicked in yet.”
Poor Dinah. She’s been taking on a lot of extra shifts lately. One of my favorite nurses, Alissa Maravilla, just banked in all the vacation time she’d allotted over the last few years to go on some sort of romantic escape with Maddox. Yes, the same Maddox of Hathaway fame. Still crazy that the two of them met. Talk about worlds colliding.
“No worries,” I say. “Just be careful. I’ll see you upstairs.”
She nods and heads into the building.
I turn the corner and park in the hospital garage catty-corner to the front lobby.
This garage spot is great. I’m often downtown after hours. Sometimes I like to go to the theater, and every so often I snag a ticket to a black-tie gala for some charity I’ve never heard of. And then there are the clubs, Aces Underground chief among them, but there are others as well. They’re great places to pick up women. Flash your medical license and they’re putty in your hands.
I get out of my car, making sure the window is rolled back up and the doors locked. This garage has twenty-four-hour surveillance, but you can never be too careful in the city of Chicago. I walk out onto the street, into the lobby of the hospital, and take the elevator up to my ward.
I cross over to the nurses’ station where Dinah is sitting, drinking what I’m guessing is her third cup of coffee of the day. She looks up and smiles at me. “Dr. O’Rourke. So sorry again for that… I mean… I’ve just been so busy ever since Alissa up and ditched us for her little rendezvous abroad with Maddox.” She sips her coffee. “Do you know when she’ll be back?”
I raise an eyebrow. “I figured you’d know. Aren’t you her best friend?”
She sighs. “I’d like to think I am. But I’ve heard so little from her since she left.” She pulls out her phone. “Just this, a text from nearly a month ago. February the fifteenth. Hey girl, just a heads up that Maddox and I are going on a little trip. Going to be away from the hospital for a while. Lots of love!” She scrolls down. “And then, a week or so ago, after not responding to a dozen messages I sent trying to check in, she said Vacay is going great! Will let you know when I’m heading back.”
I scratch the side of my head. “That’s pretty vague for Alissa.”
Dinah nods. “Right? Like, all of this is so unlike her. Taking off last minute on a trip with a man she’s been dating for, what? Two weeks?”
“It’s unlike Maddox, too. He must really have it bad for this woman to abandon his shop for so long. It’s not like he has paid time off. He’s the boss. So every day he’s not opening the shop, he’s not making any money.”
Dinah sighs. “Yeah, but he has plenty of that Hathaway money.”
I shake my head. “His father disinherited him. Left all his money in a trust, available only to Maddox if he ditches the shop and follows in his father’s political footsteps.”
