Page 7 of Sebastian

Inside the room, the man lying on the bed barely looked human. There were so many bandages and wires coming off him, I couldn’t even tell it was a man. I would have to trust the hospital staff’s judgment that this was a John Doe and not a Jane Doe.

“He hasn’t woken up yet, thankfully,” Newt said as he stepped around to the head of the bed. “If he was awake, we’d have to sedate him, anyway. Almost eighty percent of his body has been burned.”

I could feel my face shutting down and my expression reverted to its neutral scowl. It was what I always did when I didn’t know how to react. This wasn’t the first time I’d seen someone injured. It wasn’t even the worst injury I’d seen, but I’d never figured out a good way to react.

What could one possibly say in the face of such tragedy?

“I’m sorry,” would never be enough.

Instead, I pressed forward and focused on my job.

“I’ll need to see his left wrist. There’s supposed to be a birthmark there. If this is the guy I’m looking for anyway.”

Newt very carefully turned the man’s wrist over, making sure not to disrupt the bandages or the IV.

I stepped over to the side of the bed, holding out my phone with the info that Damien had sent me. The man had a birthmark, but it had been partially destroyed by burns and what little remained was distorted.

Jason Dahler had given us some photos of his brother’s birthmark. It looked like a seahorse. Such a unique mark should be easily identifiable. However, the picture was from when Clay was twelve years old. The mark could have changed as he grew.

Shaking my head, I stored my phone back in my coat. “There are some similarities between the marks, but it’s not enough for me to say that this is definitely Clay Dahler.”

Newt tucked the patient’s arm back under the covers. “I’m sorry I can’t offer more help. I’d like to figure out who this man is as well. We’ve already run his DNA, but nothing came up. Once he heals more we hope to run his fingerprints through the channels but for now the burns are simply too severe to get any prints.”

I crossed my arms over my chest as I thought. Since I was already here, I wasn’t going to walk away without exploring all options.

“DNA? Is it possible to run another DNA test? This time comparing it to someone else? I was hired by a man to find his lost brother. If this John Doe is related to my client, then that would give us both our answers.”

“I’d have to ask the hospital’s administrator for permission, but it shouldn’t be a problem. Let me page them and see.”

The administrator in question turned out to be on the other side of the building, and would need to talk to me in person, which meant more waiting. This time, I was directed to a private waiting room just a few doors down. Newt came with me, and I took the opportunity to probe him for more information about the warehouse fire where the John Doe had been found.

The little nurse slash EMT was happy to talk, but unfortunately didn’t know much. He’d arrived after the John Doe had been pulled out of the building, and there was nothing interesting about the man’s injuries other than the severity of the burns. The only thing of note that he could tell me was a theory that the warehouse fire might have been set deliberately, but even that hadn’t been confirmed.

Overall, I was going to be left with nothing to show for a day of work.

I groaned and ran my fingers through my hair, feeling them catch on a few strands. My hair wasn’t particularly long, but it had just enough wave to easily tangle.

Noticing my frustration, Newt offered to get me a drink and stepped over to the little refreshment table at the side of the room. Since it was a hospital, there wouldn’t be anything stronger than juice, which was a shame. I could use a shot of whiskey or a few fingers of scotch right now.

There was no telling how long I’d have to wait for the administrator to arrive, so I claimed one of the room’s cheap plastic seats. The nearest one had its back facing the door, so I turned it around and moved it to the left side of the doorway. This was the safest position in any room, facing the door on the side of the door hinges. Anyone entering the room wouldn’t be able to see me around the body of the door, but I would be able to see them. That crucial moment of visibility could be the difference between life or death in an emergency.

I had barely sat down when Newt turned away from the refreshment table with a cup of apple juice in one hand and his phone in the other. Whatever he was looking at must have been bad news, for he swiped his thumb frantically across the screen, and with each new thing he saw his frown deepened.

Distracted as he was, he must not have noticed me move the chair. A flash of shock crossed his face as his foot made contact with my leg. Both the phone and the juice went flying and he tumbled forward into my lap.

“Sorry. So, sorry,” he muttered as he fumbled to right himself without touching me. That mostly just resulted in a lot of ineffective squirming.

I wanted to comfort him and say it was okay. I didn’t mind, and the apple juice had mostly landed on the floor, leaving only the bottom cuff of my pants wet. However, I said nothing. The sudden surprise of the full weight of another human being sitting on me had made me lock my jaw in place. All I could do was grab his shoulders and sit him upright, so he at least stopped writhing around.

“What is going on?”

An unexpected voice caused both Newt and I to freeze. A woman I’d never seen before stood in the doorway, her arms crossed and brows drawn into a deep frown behind square glasses.

Upon sight of her, Newt jumped to his feet, nearly tripping over me again.

“Miss Constella. I was just helping this visitor with, um, well, you know, the John Doe. He knows him. Or, actually, he knows the man’s brother. Maybe. We still aren’t sure. It might not be him. But, that’s what I called you about. To find out.”

So many words fell out of the cute little nurse all at once. Half of his sentences were practically indecipherable. He kept babbling until he ran out of breath, then fell silent with his face burning as bright red as his hair.

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