Chapter 23: Chapter 23

“I’ve found the clinic that treated Elijah that night,”

Marcel’s gaze was drawn to Macy like a magnet the instant he heard that news. This news was like a light in the dark for him and how he loves good news.

“You did?” A satisfied smile crossed his features and he went to sit down on the couch in his room. His room was spacious and as expected held a strong masculine tone.

Marcel enjoyed luxury and the proof of it was his lavishly decorated room. Everything in here was of the best quality – including his bed that felt like sleeping on clouds.

“Yes, I did,” Macy was delighted even though she didn’t show it on her face.

“Where is the clinic then?” Marcel asked, already formulating plans for his next step. He already had a clue, the next step was to fish out his opponents.

“To be precise, it’s an animal clinic,” Macy disclosed, “While the owner parades herself as a veterinarian in the morning, at night, she takes in criminals who turn away from hospitals for treatment. Our sources confirmed that she nursed Elijah to health,”

.....

At the mention of that, Marcel’s gaze narrowed as if something just hit him. His grip on the chihuahua tightened and the dog barked upon noticing the sudden change in his attitude.

“What’s the name of the clinic?” Marcel asked, to Macy’s surprise. She had expected him to ask about the owner’s profile and then instruct them on their next task. She knew Marcel enough to know he always had a plan B – Marcel was never stranded.

“Happy Animal Co.?”

Marcel groaned, rubbing his temple as if he was suddenly feeling a headache, “I should have known, that bastard is much smarter than I gave him credit for,” he muttered under his breath.

“What is it, boss?” Macy asked, confusion strewn across her face.

“The clinic is owned by a woman named Ruth,” Marcel said, causing his assistant to glance down on the report in her arm and glance up at him with an astonished gaze.

“How did you know?”

Marcel finally let go of the chihuahua, he placed the dog on the couch and stood up to face Macy who hadn’t bothered to sit down all this while.

With his hand in both of his pockets, he began to narrate, “Ruth Nickerson might be seen as a minor character in our world but only those with a death sentence go after her. Her husband had once been in the business and while he did the dirty deed, she was left in her safe bubble.

“Unfortunately, her husband was killed. During one of his missions, he was set up and shot. He couldn’t get help on time and even when he could, Nickerson deflected getting help from the hospital because of the mandatory gunshot wounds reporting act. I guess the death of her husband must have changed her because she went into saving more criminal lives,”

“So in one word, she became a martyr,” Macy said. The only reason she hasn’t heard of that woman was that the Luciano gang had their own doctors even amongst their members.

“Well, you can say that,” Marcel now had his hand on his jaw, brushing his thumb across his lips as if he was deep in thought.

“I guess we would have to set up a private meeting with her to know the identity of Elijah. Everything turned out much easier than we thought,” Macy thought so but his next comment left her stupefied.

“You shouldn’t bother,”

“What?”

“One of Ruth’s strong traits is her confidentiality ability. No matter what, you won’t be able to draw a thing out of her mouth,” Marcel told her.

“Then we invite her over, I don’t believe you won’t be able to snatch the truth from her,” Macy indirectly praised his ability.

“You don’t understand, do you?” Marcel’s brows were furrowed now, ” Ruth is a little ant that I can squash beneath my feet without a blink, however, she has too many supporters,” He turned to face her, “As much as we are a strong clan, I don’t think that I can survive the whole underworld coming at me. Moreover, I’m in no mood to create more enemies with my guns still missing – that’s enough trouble on my plate already,”

At once Macy lowered her head as a sign of submission, she had made a mistake here – and she hardly makes mistakes. Marcel’s approval is like a drug to her since she craves perfection.

“Keep an eye out on the clinic, another trail would surely pop out. With us so close to him and that he knows, Elijah would be sure to make mistakes any time soon,” Marcel figured out. People tend to make mistakes under tension and Elijah wasn’t in his best condition right now.

“Sure,” Macy acknowledged his command and bowed to him. She was just about to take her leave when her gaze fell on the profile and an Idea came to her.

“There’s something else,”

“What now?” yawned Marcel who had leaned down to pull his new friend, the chihuahua into his embrace.

“Ruth had an assistant,”

“Had?” He was quick to notice that little tense. That was Marcel, quick to notice even the smallest difference.

“According to our investigation...” Macy said while going through the papers, “She had been with Ruth until months ago, seems she quit or something. But then...” She smirked, “She was in the clinic the day Elijah was treated and might have seen his face,”

“Ruth might have a tight lip but the same can’t be said for her assistant,” Marcel saw the plan was good.

He instructed Macy,” Bring her to me. I would love to have an interesting conversation with her,”

“Of course, boss,” The smile returned to Macy’s face unlike earlier when she failed to understand him.

“You can leave now,” He ordered.

“Yes, boss,” Macy gladly took her leave.

As soon as she left, Marcel plopped down on the sofa with the dog in his arm, stroking its thick yet soft furs.

“And now, what should I name you?” He pondered.

Then suddenly, an image of a certain redhead came into his mind and Marcel smirked, “That is it, I hereby name you, Redhead,”