Prologue
7 1/2 years ago…
“Baker Memorial, we are coming in with a female, race unknown, approximately 130 lbs with a severe skull fracture, multiple stab wounds, exposed small intestine, through and through low caliber bullet wound in lower left thigh, and massive contusions all over her body. Rape suspected.”
“Be advised, A223,, we will have a team waiting at the doors.”
------------------
“Jesus Christ,” the doctor stated one she was out of the ambulance. “Please tell me they caught whoever did this.”
“They’ve got no idea. She was dumped in an alley. A guy walking by happened to spot her,” the paramedic answered.
The doctor could only shake his head as they rushed her to the nearest trauma room. “Get surgery and neurology down here1 We’ve got exposed brain here and someone’s going to have to sew her abdomen – we have small intestine protusion. How’s her pressure?”
------------------
“Any ID?”
“No, we didn’t find anything in her clothes, but you can check. We saved them for you,” the doctor responded.
“How’s she doing,” the officer asked.
“Not good. After six hours of surgery, she’s hanging on. She will need several more rounds, though. They really did a number on her.”
“I heard her guts were spilling out.”
The doctor scoffed. “That isn’t even the worst of it. Her brain was exposed, she had a ruptured bowel, and I would stake my reputation on the semen collected belonging to multiple individuals They tore her up.”
“Shit,” the offered said quietly. “That’s horrible. Sex crime cases are so much worse. No one should live through that shit.”
“With the brain injury, I pray that she remembers nothing about what happened to her,” the doctor said. “God, spare her that memory.”
“Amen.”
------------------
“Any word on our Jane Doe yet,” the detective asked as the doctor noted her vitals.
“No, and it isn’t going to happen anything soon. She is in a medically induced coma at this time. Her body needs time to heal and if she woke up, the pain would be intense. This is for the best.”
The detective sighed in frustration. “I just want to find out who the hell did this and find out who she is. So far, we’ve come up blank. Her fingerprints aren’t in the system, there’s no ID in any of her things and there’s a good chance she’s not even from here.”
“Well, right now we just have to wait and see. Just so you know, though, there’s a very good chance she’s going to have some form of amnesia or even worse. We have no way of knowing how much damage was done until she wakes up.”
“Well, today’s my lucky day,” the detective muttered sarcastically. “That’s just fucking great. I hope the DNA or picture turns up something.”
“Yeah, me, too. Whoever her family is must be worried out of their mind.”
“So, are you ruling out working girl?”
“Highly unlikely. Her body is fit, she hasn’t a single scar, no street drugs in her system, no needle marks, no STDs, her teeth are in excellent condition, her nails were manicured recently, she’s had her body waxed in areas,” the doctor revealed.
“So, if she’s a sex worker, she’s the most fortunate and well-tended girl in town.”
The doctor snorted, shaking his head in response.
“So, I’ve got a probable Hispanic Jane Doe, upper middle class to millionaire, unknown line of work, very little in the way of identifying marks, average in build, height, and weight. Healthy, maintains her appearance, and could easily blend in a crowd of women from Mexico on down.” He shook his head, then looked back at the woman. “I hope someone’s reported her missing; it’ll be our best chance at identifying her.”
------------------
“Are you the doctor who is caring for the comatose Jane Doe, abandoned in an alley on June 9th?”
“Yes, at least during the day shift. You are?”
“Senior agent Eric Taylor. I’m with the FBI. I believe your Jane Doe is one of our people who has been missing for two and a half weeks.”
“Of course, follow me.”
“Has anyone come to see her?”
“Just the police,” the doctor answered.
“Good. How long will she be kept asleep?”
“At least another two weeks,” the doctor informed him. “Her head injury was quite severe, and she has nearly 200 stitches all together. Lacerated liver, ruptured spleen, bruised kidneys… it’s safer to keep her out for a while to let her body heal.”
“Will she live?”
“I’d say it looks promising at this point. She’s stable and seems to be healing rather well. A bit slow at furst, but there was a lot of damage.”
“What are the chances of her remembering what happened?”
The doctor shook his head. “There’s no way of knowing until she wakes up. I do expect there will be some amnesia, but to what extent, we’ll have to wait and see.”
They entered the hospital room, currently occupied by three individuals on gurneys. The doctor lead him to the farthest one in. The woman was virtually unrecognizable. Her face, neck, and arms still bore dark bruises that were healing, though they much have been horrific when she was first found. Her dark, curly hair was unkempt, her nails chipped and split in places that destroyed the effect of the manicure. Just to be certain, he pulled the little scanner out and plugged it into his phone. He waved it above her neck.
His phone’s screen changed, pulling up her info. The agent unplugged the little scanner and tucked it back in his pocket.
“Move her into a private room now. I need your head of security. I’ve got to call my boss. She has to be protected, in case the people who attacked her find out that she survived.”
“I’m going to need some documentation,” the doctor began.
“You’ll have it within the hour,” the agents assured him, stepping out of the room, then leaving the ward.
The phone on the other side didn’t ring twice before the line was picked up.
“Found her. I need the requests to put her in a private room and we need some guys to keep an eye on her.”
“You sure?”
“The chip was still in tact. I scanned it.”
“I’ll get the forms it faxed there, then, now. I’ll call the closest office to send some people there. What name are you giving her?”
“None yet. It’s better this way for now.”
“You got it.”
------------------
“Any signs she’s waking up?”
“No, sir. Nothing’s changed.”
The agent sighed. “It’s been five months now. Why won’t she wake up?”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” the nurse replied. “Sometimes they just need more time than others.”
------------------
“Agent Taylor, you need to come to the hospital right away. Jane Doe is awake.”
“I’ll catch the next flight in. See you as soon as possible.”
“Good. Just so you know, so far, she doesn’t remember anything.”
“Nothing about what happened?”
“No, Agent Taylor. She doesn’t remember anything. Not even her own name. She seems to have kept basic knowledge and function, just nothing about herself.”
“Oh, shit,” the agent whispered, his mind going straight into methods to test and handle it himself once he began talking to her.
“It’s going to be extremely hard on her. She’s going to need a lot of support. I do advise against pushing her too hard. It if is going to come back, it will come back when the time is ready.”
“Don’t worry. We take care of our people. She’ll be well taken care of.”
“Good to know.”
