Nate paced back and forth in the hospital. Part of him was worried about Beth Andrews who was still in surgery and part of him was worried about Ashley alone with Michael. Nate wasn’t sure he had anything to do with the girl’s disappearances but he was sure that he didn’t want Ashley alone with him.
Twenty minutes later Nate got word that Beth Andrews was going to make it but would not be awake for questioning for some time. Nate decided his time would be better served finding out what Ashley had to tell him. Flipping open his cell phone, he dialed Ashley’s phone. She answered on the first ring, her voice a quiet whisper.
“Ashley?”
“Yes, it’s me. I have something for you.” Nate could just make out the words.
“From Kyle?” Nate asked.
“Yes, he gave me this envelope. It has a website and a key probably to a locker.”
“I need to get that from you.” Nate’s heart began to race. What Ashley held might actually be a lead. It might actually get them somewhere which was better then where they were now.
Which was nowhere.
“I can’t get it to you right now. I’m at Michael’s. I can’t leave Kyle. I can’t look this up. I have no idea where the key goes.” The words were spilling out of her now and Nate tried hard to keep up. “He’s a scared kid, Nate, I can’t leave him….”
“I’m not asking you to, Ash, but I could use that website now. It will give me a start. I’ll get the key from you in the morning. In the meantime don’t let anyone else know about it. If Michael is involved in any way I don’t want him to know anything.”
“Fine, fine. I can take care of myself. I’m exhausted. You look up the site, I’m going to sleep.”
“I’m ready, give it to me.” Ashley read off the website and Nate wrote it down. As Nate read what Ashley had given him he was sickened. “Ashley, where did Kyle get this?”
“He said his mom gave it to him. Told him to keep it.”
“That’s it? How does a kid end up with a site like this?”
“That’s what he said Nate. I believe him.”
“Fine. I’ll see you in the morning, and Ashley, don’t go out without protection.”
“I know. Goodnight, Nate.”
Nate heard silence and knew Ashley had closed her phone. “Goodnight Ashley, I love you.” Nate closed his phone too and held it to his chin. When was he going to tell her in person? For real?
Nate looked down at the small piece of newspaper he held in his hand. On it he had written the website Ashley had read to him over the phone. It could be nothing, it could be everything.
After requesting that the doctor call him with any updates on Beth’s condition and after assigning an officer to guard Beth at all times. Nate headed back to his office and booted up his computer. He typed in the address Ashley gave him and almost threw up at what he saw. “Children Fore Play” was a site fully devoted to small children in positions that small children shouldn’t be in. Flashing words invited Nate to click on them to view more kids, boys and girls alike.
Unfortunately for Nate it was something he couldn’t just ignore. On face value, it appeared to have nothing to do with the case but there had to be a reason that Kyle had this particular website. And worse, Nate had no choice but to view the entire website.
He couldn’t do this alone. He picked up the phone and called Eric.
“Walker.”
“Eric, its Nate. I need you back at the office.”
“Nate, its late Sunday night.” Nate heard fumbling. “Wait, now its Monday. Can’t this wait a few hours?”
“Eric, I swear to you, it cannot wait a few hours. I have some information and I need your expertise.”
Silence.
“Eric, now. I just spent hours at the hospital with Beth Andrews and you’ve had a chance to sleep. I need you here.”
“If you call three hours sleep then fine, I’ve slept.” More fumbling. What was the man doing? “I’m on my way.”
Nate paced, stared at the horrible images on his computer, paced again. He was sure he would have technicians on it first thing in the morning but right now he needed Eric’s eyes. Eric could find what Nate was missing, he was sure of it.
It took Eric almost two hours to show up at the office and when he did he looked like he had fallen back asleep, crawled out of bed and gotten in. Fortunately for Eric his dark bald head needed no care and all the women seemed to love his look. For the rest of him, Nate was sure Eric could get a change of clothes somewhere.
“What took you so long?” Nate asked.
“Come on man, it’s the middle of the night. What do you want from me? Besides, you look like you got some sleep yourself.”
It was true, Nate had sacked out in his chair for maybe forty-five minutes. Now he felt alert and ready to go.
“What do you need from me?” Eric asked.
“Ashley got a website, I need you to look into it.”
“Don’t know how to put it in the computer? Simple, www…”
“Yea, I got that but when I pull it up I come up with child porn.”
“Ouch. What do you want me to do about it?”
Nate handed Eric the paper he wrote down the web address on and Eric typed it into his computer. “I need you to get in without us paying for it. And I need you to figure out what the big deal is. I didn’t recognize any of the girls on this site. I want to know how this relates to our case.”
“Where did Ashley get this?”
“Kyle.”
“Our Kyle?”
“Yes.”
“District Attorney Michael Fleming’s son?”
“Yes.”
“This isn’t good Nate. Do you think Michael could be involved?”
“I’ve always thought Kyle knew more then he was saying. It would make sense that he kept quiet if he feared his dad. His mom must have known something too. She’s the one that gave Kyle the information. Maybe that’s why she was killed.”
“What about the other women?” Eric said.
“I don’t know but let’s make an attempt to find out.” Nate resumed his pacing while Eric tapped away at the computer. Nate only glanced at the computer a few times. These were images he didn’t need to see. Somehow Eric had gotten into the site without paying. Nate didn’t ask questions. It’s not a skill he wanted to add to his resume.
Nate stopped mid-pace when he heard his cell phone ring. His heart rate sped up. It was close to dawn but still too early for anyone to be calling. He checked his phone and saw Ashley’s name. This couldn’t be good. Had Michael found out already?
“Are you okay?” Nate asked before Ashley could say anything.
“Hello to you too Nate. I’m fine. I can’t sleep. I have a bad feeling.”
“We’re working on it. I promise we’ll catch whoever is behind this and make him pay.”
“No, you don’t understand. Kayla’s in trouble. Something’s wrong I can feel it,” Ashley paused as though she wanted to say more but didn’t.
“She’s being held against her will. Of course something’s wrong.” Nate was too tired to play games, even with Ashley. If she knew something she needed to tell him.
“I saw her,” Ashley whispered.
“What do you mean you saw her?”
“She was in a room. It was dark. There were two mattresses in the room. I think one of the other girls was there with her. The room had a strange greenish glow. She was huddled in the corner, her knees to her chest. I could tell she was scared but she wasn’t in as much pain as the girl with her. I don’t know if it was Julia or the other girl you mentioned, Lizzie, I think.”
“Ashley, what are you talking about? Where did you see them?”
A long pause and Nate waited, hearing only the computer keys clicking and the hum of the computers around him. They would all come to life in just over an hour but for now the place was still quiet. Then Ashley’s voice broke the silence once again, “I saw them in my dream.”
“You’re dream Ashley? Is this like your visions?”
“Kind of.”
“Ashley, you’ve been right before but what do I do with this?”
“I don’t know but we have to save her. Somehow we have to find her and get her back. She’s scared and I’m afraid she’s running out of time.”
“I know all this but where did these visions come from?” Nate didn’t make any attempt to hide the anger and frustration in his voice.
“Nate, twelve years ago I experienced pain that no mother should endure. No one should outlive her child but I did. I was there when Aidan died. I held him but it was like it wasn’t me. It was like I was standing outside myself, looking down, watching this person that was me and yet wasn’t me experience pain. Ever since I’ve been tuned in to other people’s pain and I can sense it. I can feel it. This is why I’m so good with kids. I can feel their pain and I can almost see where they’ve been, where they are now.”
“What about adults? Can you sense the pain in adults? Can you tell me about Michael? Can you tell me who killed these girls?”
Silence indicated Ashley hadn’t missed his sarcasm. Finally she spoke, “I’m not a psychic, Nate. I don’t predict the future or claim to have visions from God or otherwise. I have a connection with kids. I don’t know why. Maybe because they’re more open then adults. Maybe because they’re more vulnerable and need more protection or maybe God just gave me a gift. You’re the one who said you believe in God. You tell me.”
Nate didn’t miss her sarcasm either.
“You’re right, Ashley, I’m sorry. I just don’t know what your dream or vision or whatever can tell me. I don’t know what I can do with it. I know Kayla is scared…”
“But at least you know she’s alive.”
She had him there.
Nate held the phone to his forehead and took a deep breath. He cared for Ashley. Loved her even if he wouldn’t admit it to anyone but himself but sometimes she said and did things he couldn’t understand.
As Nate put the phone back to his ear, Eric said, “Nate, I’ve got something. Check this out.”
“Hang on a second Ashley.” Nate took two steps to stand next to Eric and what he saw blew him away more then anything he had seen before. He put the phone back to his ear. “Ashley, you’re not going to believe this. I’m looking at your green room right now and you were right, Kayla is alive and very, very scared.”
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Chapter 32
“What are you guys up to in here?” Michael’s voice was much closer indicating he must be just beyond the door of Kyle’s room. Kyle’s eyes were big as saucers and his face was pale. Ashley was more convinced now then ever that Michael had removed him from the hospital much too soon.
“Hold that thought.” Ashley smiled at Kyle and looked towards the door as Michael stepped into the room holding a tray of food.
“Hey buddy, how are you feeling?”
“Okay.”
“I brought you your favorite, peanut butter and banana. I also brought you a coke. I know you love those.” Michael held up the tray and smiled broadly. Looking at Michael it was hard to imagine that this man could frighten anyone much less his own son.
“Thanks dad.” Kyle smiled back at his dad but Ashley could tell there was little heart in it. Michael didn’t seem to notice as he reached up over Kyle’s bed rails and placed the tray on his lap. Kyle ate like he had been starved for weeks. Ashley was at least glad to see that he had an appetite. He had to be on the mend after all.
“Hey bud, do you think you’d be up to playing a game of Clue? I bet Ashley would play with us.”
“Sure, dad. That sounds good,” Kyle said through bites of sandwich.
“Come on, I’ll help you get down.” Michael reached over the bars and carefully lifted Kyle over them and out of bed. “We’ll play in the living room. You can lie down on the couch and Ashley and I will sit on the floor. Try and move your arm some, okay?”
Kyle nodded and leaned close in to his father as Michael carried his son into the living room and laid him on the couch. Ashley followed trying to keep her heart steady as she wondered what Kyle meant and what she should do about it.
The three of them played Clue and Ashley laughed as Kyle continually made wild guesses about who could have done it. Michael, ever the prosecutor, made much more educated guesses and ended up winning most of the games. Ashley failed miserably at her attempts but she didn’t mind. She had been blessed with the gift of counsel not detective work.
As the hour got later, Kyle’s eyes began to droop and Ashley feared he would fall asleep where he was.
“I think that’s enough excitement for one night buddy, let’s get you to bed,” Michael said and carried Kyle back to his room. Ashley desperately wanted time alone with him but with Michael around it felt impossible. Kyle has something to tell her and she needed to find out what it was. The wait was killing her.
“Ashley will you come tuck me in?” Kyle’s sleepy words were a bit muffled by Michael’s shirt but she didn’t miss them.
“Absolutely buddy.” Ashley used the same endearing nickname as Michael in the hopes of not drawing any attention to her desire to be alone with Kyle.
“Don’t worry, Ashley, I can do it. His bed is so high in the air it’s hard to get to him anyway.”
“I know, but I could pray with him.” The words came out of Ashley’s mouth before she could examine what she’d said. Pray with him? Ashley hadn’t prayed in years though she might just start by asking God to give her time alone with Kyle so she could learn what information he had. As quickly as the “prayer” entered her head Michael agreed to let Ashley pray with Kyle but only after he tucked Kyle in alone.
“I haven’t had this little guy at home for a while and I’d like a few minutes with him.” Michael gave Ashley his smile again. That smile certainly could steal any spotlight. Could this man have truly done anything wrong? Maybe Kyle had an over-active imagination. No, she had seen the fear in his eyes. The plea for her not to leave him. Ashley could only hope Michael couldn’t do any further damage in the short time they would be alone.
As Ashley pondered whether it was good for the two of them to be alone and waited for her turn, her cell phone rang. She quickly pulled it out of her purse so as not to draw Michael’s attention to it. She answered before she saw it was Nate calling her.
“Where are you?” Nate asked.
“I’m at Michael’s.”
“What are you doing there?” Ashley couldn’t tell if it was anger or jealousy in Nate’s voice.
“Look, I went to see Kyle but Michael had already checked him out and brought him home. I feel like he needs me here with him.” It was more than a feeling but she wasn’t sure if she should say anything just yet. Knowing Nate he would be at Michael’s house interrogating Kyle before Ashley got a word in edge wise. And even without the information Kyle had she knew he didn’t need Nate down his throat right now.
“We have another missing girl.” Now Ashley only heard exhaustion and frustration in Nate’s voice and it wasn’t directed at her.
“What? What happened?”
“They broke in to a girl’s home and took her. Mom was here and tried to stop them. She was shot but I think she’s going to survive. The good news is that we may have another witness. We might not need Kyle’s testimony. Maybe you can even go home.”
Home. Did she want to go back to Maryland? For some reason she had no desire to leave yet. She’d been gone a week, she could at least hang around another. Kyle needed that. “Kyle knows something,” Ashley blurted out.
“What do you mean?” Nate asked.
“He asked me not to leave him alone with Michael. Nate, something’s up.”
“I’m coming over…”
“No. You’ll only make it worse. You’re busy there. Let me talk to him here and then I’ll get back to you.”
“Fine,” Nate sighed. “Fine. Talk to him and then get back to me. If he knows anything. If Michael knows anything, please let me know right away.”
“Okay, I will, I promise.” Ashley went to close her phone when she had a thought. “Nate?”
“Yea?”
“What’s the home life of the latest victim?”
“I’m not sure but it does look like the father isn’t in the picture. I don’t know where he is.”
“There’s a pattern, Nate. I can feel it. I don’t profile serial killers or even killers but all the girls seem to come from broken homes. Maybe the murderer targets girls in rough homes,” Ashley said.
“Maybe but why?”
“Maybe they have a heart of some kind and don’t want the father’s to suffer…”
“Harvey Brandt is suffering. He and his wife weren’t having any marital troubles and he was distraught over his wife’s and Daisy’s death. I’m not sure you’re theory holds up.”
“Okay, maybe not one hundred percent or maybe there were difficulties that you haven’t uncovered yet. Not everyone is upfront about their troubles.” A noise from behind Ashley made her jump.
“You okay?” Both Nate and Michael asked at the same time.
“I’m sorry, Michael, you scared me.” Ashley put the phone behind her back and turned to see Michael behind her.
“Ashley, are you okay?” It was Nate now. She knew if she didn’t say anything he would rush over and try to save her. But if Michael suspected that she was talking to Nate would he be angry?
Ashley put the phone back up to her ear. “Mom, I’ll have to call you back. I’m going to talk to Kyle now and say good night,” she paused for effect, “No, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me at all. Goodnight.” She closed the phone before Nate could say a word and prayed that he wouldn’t think of rushing over to “save” her from Michael. At this point she didn’t know if she needed saving or not.
“Kyle’s asking for you. Be brief though, I can tell he’s exhausted.”
“I noticed. I’ll be quick.”
Michael grabbed Ashley’s arm as she walked past and her heart began to pound. She tried hard to control her breathing. “Do be quick. I’d like to spend some more time with you alone.” The smile again. He probably used that on all the girls.
“Sure, that would be great.” Ashley hoped Michael didn’t notice the shakiness in her voice. Ashley once again passed Kayla’s room and sent up a quick prayer that she was okay. She wasn’t sure where that prayer came from either but in her situation she’d take all the help she could get. If God didn’t listen to her maybe He would listen on behalf of Kayla. Hadn’t enough children already died?
Ashley knocked on Kyle’s door and waited for a muffled “Come in” before entering the room.
“You still awake or did your dad put you to sleep?”
“Nah, he tries but I’m way past stories putting me to sleep.” Kyle leaned up on his good arm and looked down at Ashley. She could just make out his face in the nightlight. “Did you mean what you said?”
“What?”
“That you would pray with me?”
“Uh, sure.” Ashley pulled out the chair again and set it next to Kyle’s bed. Standing on it she was now tall enough to be even with Kyle. “Did your mom pray with you?”
“Yea, she talked about God a lot to me and Kayla. She tried to talk to dad about it but he would never listen. He went with us to church a few times but Kayla thought it was just to make him look good before an election. Otherwise he didn’t care.”
“Was there anything else different about your dad?” Ashley asked softly.
Kyle lay back on his bed and stared at his ceiling, his hands crossed across his chest. For a while she didn’t think he would say anything at all. Then he sat up again. “Will you pray with me, Miss Ashley?”
“I haven’t prayed in a long time, Kyle. Not since God took my Aidan. It’s too hard.”
“But what if He’s there and He’s listening?”
“If He was listening why would He take Aidan?”
“I don’t know but mom would say that sometimes bad things happened to people but God is always in control. We get good things and we don’t complain. We should be willing to accept the bad.”
Who was counseling who? “Those are big words for a young boy.”
“My mom was very smart. I asked her lots of questions. She said that when sin entered the world it caused bad things and bad people. We still have to trust God.”
“I’m trying, Kyle, but it’s hard.”
“I know. I miss my mom. I miss Kayla but still I want to pray. If I stop talking to God who do I have left?”
“You have me,” Ashley said.
“Okay,” Kyle said. And that was the end of the discussion on God. That was one thing Ashley loved about kids. They could move on so quickly.
“Kyle, was there something you wanted to tell me earlier?” Ashley knew she was running short on time. If Michael walked in again her chances of talking to Kyle alone would be gone.
“Yea, I wanted to give you this.” Kyle carefully contorted his body to reach underneath his mattress. He pulled out a small white envelope and handed it to Ashley.
“What is this?”
“I don’t know. My mom told me to keep it and hide it from dad.”
“Did you look at it?” Ashley asked as she took the envelope from him.
“No, I don’t want to know. Miss Ashley, he’s my dad and I love him. He does things sometimes that makes me afraid so I want you to stay with me but I don’t want to know all the bad things.”
“You’re a very smart kid. You are going to make a wonderful husband and father someday.” Ashley smiled and roughed up Kyle’s hair and then before she could think she leaned down and gave him a kiss on the top of his head. “Okay, I think it’s time for you to get some sleep. I’ll be here to see you tomorrow.”
“Are you going to stay here tonight?”
“I don’t know. That’s up to Mr. Nate and your dad.”
“I hope you do. My dad likes you. I think you’d make a good mom.” His eyes fluttered closed and Ashley bit back tears. She wanted to be a mom. She had been and she wished she still was. Holding the envelope tightly she stepped off the chair and quietly made her way out of the room.
She shut the door and then stepped into the kids bathroom to rip open the envelope she held in her hand. It was a small slip of paper with a web address on it and a tiny key. Nothing else. No explanation but Ashley knew enough to know that what she held in her hand just might break the case wide open and save the lives of two, make that three girls.
“Hold that thought.” Ashley smiled at Kyle and looked towards the door as Michael stepped into the room holding a tray of food.
“Hey buddy, how are you feeling?”
“Okay.”
“I brought you your favorite, peanut butter and banana. I also brought you a coke. I know you love those.” Michael held up the tray and smiled broadly. Looking at Michael it was hard to imagine that this man could frighten anyone much less his own son.
“Thanks dad.” Kyle smiled back at his dad but Ashley could tell there was little heart in it. Michael didn’t seem to notice as he reached up over Kyle’s bed rails and placed the tray on his lap. Kyle ate like he had been starved for weeks. Ashley was at least glad to see that he had an appetite. He had to be on the mend after all.
“Hey bud, do you think you’d be up to playing a game of Clue? I bet Ashley would play with us.”
“Sure, dad. That sounds good,” Kyle said through bites of sandwich.
“Come on, I’ll help you get down.” Michael reached over the bars and carefully lifted Kyle over them and out of bed. “We’ll play in the living room. You can lie down on the couch and Ashley and I will sit on the floor. Try and move your arm some, okay?”
Kyle nodded and leaned close in to his father as Michael carried his son into the living room and laid him on the couch. Ashley followed trying to keep her heart steady as she wondered what Kyle meant and what she should do about it.
The three of them played Clue and Ashley laughed as Kyle continually made wild guesses about who could have done it. Michael, ever the prosecutor, made much more educated guesses and ended up winning most of the games. Ashley failed miserably at her attempts but she didn’t mind. She had been blessed with the gift of counsel not detective work.
As the hour got later, Kyle’s eyes began to droop and Ashley feared he would fall asleep where he was.
“I think that’s enough excitement for one night buddy, let’s get you to bed,” Michael said and carried Kyle back to his room. Ashley desperately wanted time alone with him but with Michael around it felt impossible. Kyle has something to tell her and she needed to find out what it was. The wait was killing her.
“Ashley will you come tuck me in?” Kyle’s sleepy words were a bit muffled by Michael’s shirt but she didn’t miss them.
“Absolutely buddy.” Ashley used the same endearing nickname as Michael in the hopes of not drawing any attention to her desire to be alone with Kyle.
“Don’t worry, Ashley, I can do it. His bed is so high in the air it’s hard to get to him anyway.”
“I know, but I could pray with him.” The words came out of Ashley’s mouth before she could examine what she’d said. Pray with him? Ashley hadn’t prayed in years though she might just start by asking God to give her time alone with Kyle so she could learn what information he had. As quickly as the “prayer” entered her head Michael agreed to let Ashley pray with Kyle but only after he tucked Kyle in alone.
“I haven’t had this little guy at home for a while and I’d like a few minutes with him.” Michael gave Ashley his smile again. That smile certainly could steal any spotlight. Could this man have truly done anything wrong? Maybe Kyle had an over-active imagination. No, she had seen the fear in his eyes. The plea for her not to leave him. Ashley could only hope Michael couldn’t do any further damage in the short time they would be alone.
As Ashley pondered whether it was good for the two of them to be alone and waited for her turn, her cell phone rang. She quickly pulled it out of her purse so as not to draw Michael’s attention to it. She answered before she saw it was Nate calling her.
“Where are you?” Nate asked.
“I’m at Michael’s.”
“What are you doing there?” Ashley couldn’t tell if it was anger or jealousy in Nate’s voice.
“Look, I went to see Kyle but Michael had already checked him out and brought him home. I feel like he needs me here with him.” It was more than a feeling but she wasn’t sure if she should say anything just yet. Knowing Nate he would be at Michael’s house interrogating Kyle before Ashley got a word in edge wise. And even without the information Kyle had she knew he didn’t need Nate down his throat right now.
“We have another missing girl.” Now Ashley only heard exhaustion and frustration in Nate’s voice and it wasn’t directed at her.
“What? What happened?”
“They broke in to a girl’s home and took her. Mom was here and tried to stop them. She was shot but I think she’s going to survive. The good news is that we may have another witness. We might not need Kyle’s testimony. Maybe you can even go home.”
Home. Did she want to go back to Maryland? For some reason she had no desire to leave yet. She’d been gone a week, she could at least hang around another. Kyle needed that. “Kyle knows something,” Ashley blurted out.
“What do you mean?” Nate asked.
“He asked me not to leave him alone with Michael. Nate, something’s up.”
“I’m coming over…”
“No. You’ll only make it worse. You’re busy there. Let me talk to him here and then I’ll get back to you.”
“Fine,” Nate sighed. “Fine. Talk to him and then get back to me. If he knows anything. If Michael knows anything, please let me know right away.”
“Okay, I will, I promise.” Ashley went to close her phone when she had a thought. “Nate?”
“Yea?”
“What’s the home life of the latest victim?”
“I’m not sure but it does look like the father isn’t in the picture. I don’t know where he is.”
“There’s a pattern, Nate. I can feel it. I don’t profile serial killers or even killers but all the girls seem to come from broken homes. Maybe the murderer targets girls in rough homes,” Ashley said.
“Maybe but why?”
“Maybe they have a heart of some kind and don’t want the father’s to suffer…”
“Harvey Brandt is suffering. He and his wife weren’t having any marital troubles and he was distraught over his wife’s and Daisy’s death. I’m not sure you’re theory holds up.”
“Okay, maybe not one hundred percent or maybe there were difficulties that you haven’t uncovered yet. Not everyone is upfront about their troubles.” A noise from behind Ashley made her jump.
“You okay?” Both Nate and Michael asked at the same time.
“I’m sorry, Michael, you scared me.” Ashley put the phone behind her back and turned to see Michael behind her.
“Ashley, are you okay?” It was Nate now. She knew if she didn’t say anything he would rush over and try to save her. But if Michael suspected that she was talking to Nate would he be angry?
Ashley put the phone back up to her ear. “Mom, I’ll have to call you back. I’m going to talk to Kyle now and say good night,” she paused for effect, “No, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me at all. Goodnight.” She closed the phone before Nate could say a word and prayed that he wouldn’t think of rushing over to “save” her from Michael. At this point she didn’t know if she needed saving or not.
“Kyle’s asking for you. Be brief though, I can tell he’s exhausted.”
“I noticed. I’ll be quick.”
Michael grabbed Ashley’s arm as she walked past and her heart began to pound. She tried hard to control her breathing. “Do be quick. I’d like to spend some more time with you alone.” The smile again. He probably used that on all the girls.
“Sure, that would be great.” Ashley hoped Michael didn’t notice the shakiness in her voice. Ashley once again passed Kayla’s room and sent up a quick prayer that she was okay. She wasn’t sure where that prayer came from either but in her situation she’d take all the help she could get. If God didn’t listen to her maybe He would listen on behalf of Kayla. Hadn’t enough children already died?
Ashley knocked on Kyle’s door and waited for a muffled “Come in” before entering the room.
“You still awake or did your dad put you to sleep?”
“Nah, he tries but I’m way past stories putting me to sleep.” Kyle leaned up on his good arm and looked down at Ashley. She could just make out his face in the nightlight. “Did you mean what you said?”
“What?”
“That you would pray with me?”
“Uh, sure.” Ashley pulled out the chair again and set it next to Kyle’s bed. Standing on it she was now tall enough to be even with Kyle. “Did your mom pray with you?”
“Yea, she talked about God a lot to me and Kayla. She tried to talk to dad about it but he would never listen. He went with us to church a few times but Kayla thought it was just to make him look good before an election. Otherwise he didn’t care.”
“Was there anything else different about your dad?” Ashley asked softly.
Kyle lay back on his bed and stared at his ceiling, his hands crossed across his chest. For a while she didn’t think he would say anything at all. Then he sat up again. “Will you pray with me, Miss Ashley?”
“I haven’t prayed in a long time, Kyle. Not since God took my Aidan. It’s too hard.”
“But what if He’s there and He’s listening?”
“If He was listening why would He take Aidan?”
“I don’t know but mom would say that sometimes bad things happened to people but God is always in control. We get good things and we don’t complain. We should be willing to accept the bad.”
Who was counseling who? “Those are big words for a young boy.”
“My mom was very smart. I asked her lots of questions. She said that when sin entered the world it caused bad things and bad people. We still have to trust God.”
“I’m trying, Kyle, but it’s hard.”
“I know. I miss my mom. I miss Kayla but still I want to pray. If I stop talking to God who do I have left?”
“You have me,” Ashley said.
“Okay,” Kyle said. And that was the end of the discussion on God. That was one thing Ashley loved about kids. They could move on so quickly.
“Kyle, was there something you wanted to tell me earlier?” Ashley knew she was running short on time. If Michael walked in again her chances of talking to Kyle alone would be gone.
“Yea, I wanted to give you this.” Kyle carefully contorted his body to reach underneath his mattress. He pulled out a small white envelope and handed it to Ashley.
“What is this?”
“I don’t know. My mom told me to keep it and hide it from dad.”
“Did you look at it?” Ashley asked as she took the envelope from him.
“No, I don’t want to know. Miss Ashley, he’s my dad and I love him. He does things sometimes that makes me afraid so I want you to stay with me but I don’t want to know all the bad things.”
“You’re a very smart kid. You are going to make a wonderful husband and father someday.” Ashley smiled and roughed up Kyle’s hair and then before she could think she leaned down and gave him a kiss on the top of his head. “Okay, I think it’s time for you to get some sleep. I’ll be here to see you tomorrow.”
“Are you going to stay here tonight?”
“I don’t know. That’s up to Mr. Nate and your dad.”
“I hope you do. My dad likes you. I think you’d make a good mom.” His eyes fluttered closed and Ashley bit back tears. She wanted to be a mom. She had been and she wished she still was. Holding the envelope tightly she stepped off the chair and quietly made her way out of the room.
She shut the door and then stepped into the kids bathroom to rip open the envelope she held in her hand. It was a small slip of paper with a web address on it and a tiny key. Nothing else. No explanation but Ashley knew enough to know that what she held in her hand just might break the case wide open and save the lives of two, make that three girls.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Chapter 31
Author's Note: Please feel free to bug me - that's the idea! I need the motiviation - seriously. As for publishing - my first article should be out in the next issue of SUPERTWINS (from MOST or Mothers of SuperTwins). For fiction - I guess we'll see after the conference!
“Lizzie, you are not spending the night at Stephanie’s tonight. It’s a school night. You know the rules.” Beth Andrews sighed as she looked down at her daughter. Why was everything such a fight? She wasn’t even a teenager yet.
“Mom, that’s not fair!” Lizzie said as she slammed the door in her mother’s face.
“Lizzie, you know the rules,” Beth called through the closed door. When all she heard was loud music in return, Beth sighed and walked away. If her father hadn’t run off with some bimbo he’d be here taking care of Lizzie; helping to raise their youngest daughter. Instead he found some younger redhead and left. Their oldest son, now twenty-two, hadn’t taken it well and had been in and out of jail over the past two years. Strangely their second son had begun taking college courses at just sixteen and was now excelling in school. Seems his father’s escapades had scared him straight.
Beth left Lizzie to her music and headed back into the kitchen to finish what few dishes were in the sink. So many years ago she had it all. Three beautiful children running around their huge house on the water. Watching the children splash in the beach. The beach that was right behind their house. How many people had that? Beth had felt so blessed.
And in an instant it was gone.
But Beth knew it was over when she had found sexy underwear in the laundry. Beth had switched to the granny kind years ago. It helped to hide the stretch marks. Even after losing all her pregnancy weight and then some but the stretch marks were always there. And she knew Steve saw them. He mentioned them a number of times of the past five years. So she wasn’t surprised to find those underwear. But still she hated that she did. Before that she could live happily in denial.
She used the word happily loosely enough. It meant that when she met the girls for tea at the country club and anyone asked how she was. She could smile and say they were fine. Because they were. Even if the feeling deep down in her gut told her they weren’t.
Beth picked up Lizzie’s dinner dish that sat beside the sink. At least tonight it was by the sink and not left on the table. But again tonight most of it was still on her plate. What did that girl eat anyway?
Beth scraped off the food into the sink all the while biting back tears. How did it come to this?
The plate slipped out of her hand and landed in the sink. The loud bang made her jump. She threw the sponge down in the sink and let the tears flow while the water ran. An even louder noise out the front door made her stop in her tracks.
“Lizzie? Lizzie is that you?” Beth walked away from the sink. “Lizzie if you are sneaking out of your room you are grounded for a year! Make that two years.” Beth threw open the door to Lizzie’s room and finding her bed empty shouted, “Make that until you’re eighteen!”
“What are you yelling at mom? Good grief. I just went to the bathroom.” Lizzie glared at her mom from underneath her overly long bangs. Beth pushed the hair out of Lizzie’s face and smiled down at her twelve-year-old. She held her close and kissed her forehead. This little girl was all she had left. At least it felt like it.
“Okay, mom, gross.” Lizzie pushed her mom away but not before Beth noticed the small smile on her face and felt Lizzie’s hand on the small of her back. At least she knew her daughter loved her deep down.
Another sound outside made even Lizzie jump. “What was that mom?”
“I don’t know sweetheart. Go sit on your bed and I’ll look outside.” Beth gently let go of Lizzie and walked quietly to the door. The front room seemed strangely dark but Beth remembered turning the light on outside before locking the house up for the night.
She walked across the large living room floor grateful for the plush carpet and peered out the curtains that hung behind her suede sectional couch. Just as she suspected the light outside was dark. Did she risk things and flip it on?
No, she decided against anything including movement. Instead she sat still on the couch and waited. For what she didn’t know. It was probably a stupid cat that ran into her garbage can. After a few minutes of silence she decided that’s what it was and went back to Lizzie’s room to tell her everything was fine.
“Lizzie? I think its okay…” Her words were cut off by a muffled cry.
“Mom! Mom, help me!”
Beth threw open her daughter’s bedroom door for the second time that evening. Two men were standing over her daughter and pulling her out of the bed.
“Get back woman!” One of the men looked up at her, his blue eyes looking more like ice. It was the eyes, it was all she could see over the bandana and under the hat but she didn’t miss them.
“Leave my daughter alone.” Beth lunged forward.
“I said get back!” The same man pulled a gun from his belt and pointed it at Beth. She ignored it and continued to advance towards her daughter. They were taking her daughter only if she were dead.
And when the first bullet hit her abdomen she thought, “I just might be dead.” She stumbled back, her hand on her stomach feeling the warmth of the blood that was surely leaking out. A second bullet hit her chest.
“Mom! Mom!” Lizzie was screaming.
“Get back here, Warren. She’s as good as dead. We have to get this one back to the others.”
Others? What others? Beth lay still, certain that she would be shot again if she so much as moved. How she was still conscious she had no idea. The men stepped around her as though she was not there carrying her daughter. Lizzie’s screams echoed in her ears. She wanted to get up and help her but knew she couldn’t. Knew she couldn’t help Lizzie if she were dead.
The front door slammed and Beth’s heart lurched. She had to get to her daughter. She had to get help. Slowly she moved her body. Every part of her ached. She covered both wounds with her hands and began turning slowly to find a phone. Using the wall as support she pulled herself to a standing position.
“Please God just let me make it to the phone.”
Beth forced herself to stay conscious as she shuffled for the phone in Lizzie’s room. They had fought at length as to whether or not it was needed but right now she was grateful it was there. Using the bed for support, Beth made it to the phone on the nightstand. As she dialed 9-1-1 her thoughts were on the blood that was spilling all over Lizzie’s comforter.
“9-1-1 dispatcher. Please state your emergency,” a dull-sounding woman answered the phone.
“Please help me, I’ve been shot and my daughter’s been taken.”
“Where are you ma’am?” She could hear the woman snapping and tapping, all the dullness gone from her voice.
“I’m at 1874 Broad Street in Spring Hill. Please help her. They’ve taken her. You have to get her back.”
“Who’s taken her ma’am?”
“Two men, some people…” Beth paused as pain shot through her abdomen. She couldn’t cover both wounds and talk on the phone at the same time. She had chosen to cover her abdomen figuring that she would be dead already had the chest wound been in her heart. But with the little medical knowledge she possessed she knew that the wound through her stomach could have struck any number of organs all of which could be failing at any moment.
“Ma’am, stay with me. Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not okay, I’ve been shot!” Frantic thoughts ran through Beth’s head. Her own life, Lizzie’s life, where her stupid almost ex-husband was and whether or not he’d even care. Thoughts of the other missing girls also crossed her mind. Those mothers had been shot. She had just been shot. Most of the girl’s missing were her daughters age.
“Ma’am, are you still there? The police and ambulance are on their way.”
“Send the FBI.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Send the FBI. I think it’s related to all those other girls.”
“Are you in a car, ma’am?” The woman’s voice was unsure of Beth’s accusations.
“Please trust me, send the FBI.” Beth groaned and dropped the phone. She fell sideways onto Lizzie’s bed. Darkness engulfed her.
Beth was as surprised as the paramedics around her when she woke up on the stretcher. She hadn’t even left her house. She couldn’t have been out long. An oxygen mask covered her mouth and nose and she eagerly sucked in the life giving elements.
“FBI?” Both paramedics stopped what they were doing and looked at her. “FBI?” She said again praying they would understand.
“She’s talking,” the male paramedic on her right shouted.
“She’s awake?” another male voice asked.
“Looks that way. If you want to talk to her, do it now and do it fast. She’s lost a lot of blood and we need to get her to the hospital and into surgery.” The paramedic moved away and another man took his place. This man looked extremely serious and tired. His blond hair lay haphazardly across his face. Beth knew he was the agent in charge.
“My name is Special Agent Nate Zimmerman. You can call me Nate. Can you talk?” In sharp contrast to the man who took her daughter, Nate’s blue eyes were soft and caring. She had the feeling that he wasn’t just looking for information but he was truly concerned for all involved.
“Yes.” Beth choked on the word, the oxygen making her throat dry. She carefully lifted her hand to remove the mask from her face. “They took my daughter.”
“Ms. Andrews, I’m sure you’ve heard of the girls who have gone missing. Why do you believe that what happened tonight is related?”
“The man said…” She swallowed hard, squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again. Nate was waiting patiently. “The man who took Lizzie said he wanted to get her back with the others.”
“Did he look like this?” Nate held up a head shot of a skinny man with cropped red hair. She looked at his eyes. They were brown. Couldn’t be him.
Beth shook her head. “Said the name Warren.”
“Warren?”
“Yes, one guy called the other Warren.” Beth began to cough. She felt blood in her mouth. How did that get there?
“Finish up Agent. We need to get her to the hospital now.”
“One more question. Ms. Andrews, did you see him? Would you recognize him if you saw him again?” Nate placed his arm on her shoulder.
Beth shook her head. “Only saw his eyes. They were ice blue.” Beth grabbed Nate’s arm and looked at his eyes. “Find my daughter. Find her and save her. That man was evil. You must help her.”
“Lizzie, you are not spending the night at Stephanie’s tonight. It’s a school night. You know the rules.” Beth Andrews sighed as she looked down at her daughter. Why was everything such a fight? She wasn’t even a teenager yet.
“Mom, that’s not fair!” Lizzie said as she slammed the door in her mother’s face.
“Lizzie, you know the rules,” Beth called through the closed door. When all she heard was loud music in return, Beth sighed and walked away. If her father hadn’t run off with some bimbo he’d be here taking care of Lizzie; helping to raise their youngest daughter. Instead he found some younger redhead and left. Their oldest son, now twenty-two, hadn’t taken it well and had been in and out of jail over the past two years. Strangely their second son had begun taking college courses at just sixteen and was now excelling in school. Seems his father’s escapades had scared him straight.
Beth left Lizzie to her music and headed back into the kitchen to finish what few dishes were in the sink. So many years ago she had it all. Three beautiful children running around their huge house on the water. Watching the children splash in the beach. The beach that was right behind their house. How many people had that? Beth had felt so blessed.
And in an instant it was gone.
But Beth knew it was over when she had found sexy underwear in the laundry. Beth had switched to the granny kind years ago. It helped to hide the stretch marks. Even after losing all her pregnancy weight and then some but the stretch marks were always there. And she knew Steve saw them. He mentioned them a number of times of the past five years. So she wasn’t surprised to find those underwear. But still she hated that she did. Before that she could live happily in denial.
She used the word happily loosely enough. It meant that when she met the girls for tea at the country club and anyone asked how she was. She could smile and say they were fine. Because they were. Even if the feeling deep down in her gut told her they weren’t.
Beth picked up Lizzie’s dinner dish that sat beside the sink. At least tonight it was by the sink and not left on the table. But again tonight most of it was still on her plate. What did that girl eat anyway?
Beth scraped off the food into the sink all the while biting back tears. How did it come to this?
The plate slipped out of her hand and landed in the sink. The loud bang made her jump. She threw the sponge down in the sink and let the tears flow while the water ran. An even louder noise out the front door made her stop in her tracks.
“Lizzie? Lizzie is that you?” Beth walked away from the sink. “Lizzie if you are sneaking out of your room you are grounded for a year! Make that two years.” Beth threw open the door to Lizzie’s room and finding her bed empty shouted, “Make that until you’re eighteen!”
“What are you yelling at mom? Good grief. I just went to the bathroom.” Lizzie glared at her mom from underneath her overly long bangs. Beth pushed the hair out of Lizzie’s face and smiled down at her twelve-year-old. She held her close and kissed her forehead. This little girl was all she had left. At least it felt like it.
“Okay, mom, gross.” Lizzie pushed her mom away but not before Beth noticed the small smile on her face and felt Lizzie’s hand on the small of her back. At least she knew her daughter loved her deep down.
Another sound outside made even Lizzie jump. “What was that mom?”
“I don’t know sweetheart. Go sit on your bed and I’ll look outside.” Beth gently let go of Lizzie and walked quietly to the door. The front room seemed strangely dark but Beth remembered turning the light on outside before locking the house up for the night.
She walked across the large living room floor grateful for the plush carpet and peered out the curtains that hung behind her suede sectional couch. Just as she suspected the light outside was dark. Did she risk things and flip it on?
No, she decided against anything including movement. Instead she sat still on the couch and waited. For what she didn’t know. It was probably a stupid cat that ran into her garbage can. After a few minutes of silence she decided that’s what it was and went back to Lizzie’s room to tell her everything was fine.
“Lizzie? I think its okay…” Her words were cut off by a muffled cry.
“Mom! Mom, help me!”
Beth threw open her daughter’s bedroom door for the second time that evening. Two men were standing over her daughter and pulling her out of the bed.
“Get back woman!” One of the men looked up at her, his blue eyes looking more like ice. It was the eyes, it was all she could see over the bandana and under the hat but she didn’t miss them.
“Leave my daughter alone.” Beth lunged forward.
“I said get back!” The same man pulled a gun from his belt and pointed it at Beth. She ignored it and continued to advance towards her daughter. They were taking her daughter only if she were dead.
And when the first bullet hit her abdomen she thought, “I just might be dead.” She stumbled back, her hand on her stomach feeling the warmth of the blood that was surely leaking out. A second bullet hit her chest.
“Mom! Mom!” Lizzie was screaming.
“Get back here, Warren. She’s as good as dead. We have to get this one back to the others.”
Others? What others? Beth lay still, certain that she would be shot again if she so much as moved. How she was still conscious she had no idea. The men stepped around her as though she was not there carrying her daughter. Lizzie’s screams echoed in her ears. She wanted to get up and help her but knew she couldn’t. Knew she couldn’t help Lizzie if she were dead.
The front door slammed and Beth’s heart lurched. She had to get to her daughter. She had to get help. Slowly she moved her body. Every part of her ached. She covered both wounds with her hands and began turning slowly to find a phone. Using the wall as support she pulled herself to a standing position.
“Please God just let me make it to the phone.”
Beth forced herself to stay conscious as she shuffled for the phone in Lizzie’s room. They had fought at length as to whether or not it was needed but right now she was grateful it was there. Using the bed for support, Beth made it to the phone on the nightstand. As she dialed 9-1-1 her thoughts were on the blood that was spilling all over Lizzie’s comforter.
“9-1-1 dispatcher. Please state your emergency,” a dull-sounding woman answered the phone.
“Please help me, I’ve been shot and my daughter’s been taken.”
“Where are you ma’am?” She could hear the woman snapping and tapping, all the dullness gone from her voice.
“I’m at 1874 Broad Street in Spring Hill. Please help her. They’ve taken her. You have to get her back.”
“Who’s taken her ma’am?”
“Two men, some people…” Beth paused as pain shot through her abdomen. She couldn’t cover both wounds and talk on the phone at the same time. She had chosen to cover her abdomen figuring that she would be dead already had the chest wound been in her heart. But with the little medical knowledge she possessed she knew that the wound through her stomach could have struck any number of organs all of which could be failing at any moment.
“Ma’am, stay with me. Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not okay, I’ve been shot!” Frantic thoughts ran through Beth’s head. Her own life, Lizzie’s life, where her stupid almost ex-husband was and whether or not he’d even care. Thoughts of the other missing girls also crossed her mind. Those mothers had been shot. She had just been shot. Most of the girl’s missing were her daughters age.
“Ma’am, are you still there? The police and ambulance are on their way.”
“Send the FBI.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Send the FBI. I think it’s related to all those other girls.”
“Are you in a car, ma’am?” The woman’s voice was unsure of Beth’s accusations.
“Please trust me, send the FBI.” Beth groaned and dropped the phone. She fell sideways onto Lizzie’s bed. Darkness engulfed her.
Beth was as surprised as the paramedics around her when she woke up on the stretcher. She hadn’t even left her house. She couldn’t have been out long. An oxygen mask covered her mouth and nose and she eagerly sucked in the life giving elements.
“FBI?” Both paramedics stopped what they were doing and looked at her. “FBI?” She said again praying they would understand.
“She’s talking,” the male paramedic on her right shouted.
“She’s awake?” another male voice asked.
“Looks that way. If you want to talk to her, do it now and do it fast. She’s lost a lot of blood and we need to get her to the hospital and into surgery.” The paramedic moved away and another man took his place. This man looked extremely serious and tired. His blond hair lay haphazardly across his face. Beth knew he was the agent in charge.
“My name is Special Agent Nate Zimmerman. You can call me Nate. Can you talk?” In sharp contrast to the man who took her daughter, Nate’s blue eyes were soft and caring. She had the feeling that he wasn’t just looking for information but he was truly concerned for all involved.
“Yes.” Beth choked on the word, the oxygen making her throat dry. She carefully lifted her hand to remove the mask from her face. “They took my daughter.”
“Ms. Andrews, I’m sure you’ve heard of the girls who have gone missing. Why do you believe that what happened tonight is related?”
“The man said…” She swallowed hard, squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again. Nate was waiting patiently. “The man who took Lizzie said he wanted to get her back with the others.”
“Did he look like this?” Nate held up a head shot of a skinny man with cropped red hair. She looked at his eyes. They were brown. Couldn’t be him.
Beth shook her head. “Said the name Warren.”
“Warren?”
“Yes, one guy called the other Warren.” Beth began to cough. She felt blood in her mouth. How did that get there?
“Finish up Agent. We need to get her to the hospital now.”
“One more question. Ms. Andrews, did you see him? Would you recognize him if you saw him again?” Nate placed his arm on her shoulder.
Beth shook her head. “Only saw his eyes. They were ice blue.” Beth grabbed Nate’s arm and looked at his eyes. “Find my daughter. Find her and save her. That man was evil. You must help her.”
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Chapter 30
Author's Note: I apologize for the delay. I'll work harder to get chapters up more quickly next time - I know it's been a while! I'd certainly appreciate your prayers as I head to a writer's conference next month. I'm bringing the novel along so we'll see how that goes!! More details later.
Anyway, here's what you're waiting for:
Twelve hours. Ashley had been sitting around for twelve hours with nothing to do. No word on Nate or his arrest. No word on Kyle or any of the girls that were still missing. Ashley had talked to her mom twice and Trish once for an hour. They had gone over everything that Ashley missed and made sure everything was covered for an extended leave. Ashley had no idea how long it would take to resolve the case but she had no intention of leaving the case, Nate or Kyle before it was all over.
Ashley began pacing the small living room. Then she moved into the kitchen. After pacing for a few short minutes, she looked through the blinds that hung in front of the sliding back doors. Finding a patio she stepped out and was a bit surprised to find a pool beyond the patio. It looked just long enough to swim laps and just deep enough for the diving board on the end. Rocks on the side of the pool gave the whole outdoors the feeling of the pool being more like a river. Ashley was a tad disappointed that Nate hadn’t mentioned the pool. She shouldn’t have been surprised, the one way to survive the Florida heat was a pool but still if she had known she could’ve brought a bathing suit.
She sat on a chaise lounge beside the pool and put her feet up in an attempt to relax. Unfortunately her brain did not follow her body’s movements and despite the soothing water sounds she could not block out the day’s and week’s events from her mind. Something wasn’t connecting.
Kyle.
His named popped into her head and no matter what she tried she couldn’t shake it. Kyle needed her. Of this she was sure. If it were Aidan she would’ve spent every second at the hospital, she wouldn’t have left him alone. Kyle shouldn’t be alone either.
Slipping on red sandal heels to offset her blue top and dark denim pants, Ashley grabbed her bag and headed outside. She wasn’t sure if Officer Jack Williams would let her leave the house. She was sure Nate had given him strict orders not to let her go anywhere. But this was important and Jack was just going to have to understand that.
As it turned out, she need not have worried. Jack Williams was bored and quite tired of sitting in the heat in front of her house and he would be more than happy to take her to see Kyle in the hospital. Especially after Ashley logically explained how important Kyle’s well being was to the case at hand.
Settling herself in the back of the marked cruiser Ashley attempted to ignore the smell that seemed to cling to the seat as though it had moved in and no one had even attempted to kick it out. It was a strange mixture of alcohol, sweat, urine and cigarette smoke. She assumed that at many times all of those had been mixed together along with some other excrements she didn’t care to think about.
Jack attempted to make small talk on the ride to the hospital but Ashley tuned him out. She needed to focus on Kyle. She had been flopping around for more than a week with no direction. Even though she had come to talk to Kyle and had found some common ground with him it wasn’t enough. He needed her and she needed him.
“I have to accompany you to the room. Nate’s not going to be happy that you’ve left the house but he would have my head if I let you out of my sight,” Jack said as he pulled into an empty spot in the hospital parking lot.
“Fine,” Ashley said and waited for Jack to let her out of the back seat. Jack held out his hand to help her out of the car but she ignored him and headed towards the hospital. Jack struggled to keep up. Ignoring the feelings of dread and fear that threatened to smother her when she entered the elevator she punched in Kyle’s floor. In minutes she was on Kyle’s floor and headed for his room.
Ashley stopped.
“Where’s the officer that’s supposed to be outside Kyle’s door?” Ashley asked.
“I don’t know. I’ll look into it. You check on Kyle.” Jack stepped towards the nurses station and away from Ashley but she knew he still had his eye on her. Ashley stepped into the room expecting to find Kyle in great distress but instead she found nothing.
Both beds were empty and made up. Ashley checked the bathroom but found that also empty. Kyle was not in the room.
“Jack!” Ashley yelled. “Jack, he’s not here! They got him. Someone got him. Why didn’t they tell me?”
Jack and two nurses ran into the empty room. Jack caught her before she fell onto the bed and helped her stand up again.
“No, he isn’t missing, ma’am. He was discharged this morning,” One of the nurses said. But her voice sounded hollow in Ashley’s brain. Why wasn’t she told?
“Was he okay? I mean, was he well enough to be discharged?” Ashley asked.
“The doctor seemed to think so.” This from the other nurse.
“Who took him home?”
“His father. They left this morning. He has some rehabilitation ahead of him but he’s going to make a full recovery.” The first nurse again, her tag read Amy.
“Shouldn’t he do some of that in the hospital?”
“Normally, yes, but his father wanted to take care of it himself,” Amy said.
“Is he going to be okay?” Ashley demanded.
“He’ll be fine as long as his father takes him to see a therapist on a regular basis.” Ashley couldn’t tell if Amy’s disdain was for her question or the fact that Michael had removed Kyle from the hospital.
“Thank you.” Ashley ended the conversation and exited to the hallway. Jack was on her heels. Ashley marched back to the elevator, her heels clicking softly on the linoleum floors.
“Where are you going?” Jack asked when the elevator doors closed.
Ashley barely glanced at him, “We’re going to Michael’s house.”
“No, we’re not. Nate would not allow you there.”
Now Ashley turned and faced Jack head on. She felt like she was in a fight for her life but not only her life, for Kyle’s. She couldn’t put her finger on it but she knew Kyle needed it. She had let Aidan down she was not about to do the same for Kyle. “I don’t care what Nate said. This is my life and I want to see Kyle. You will take me there or I will walk myself.”
“Fine,” Jack mumbled. Neither said a word as they left the hospital and got back into Jack’s cruiser. This time Ashley chose not to ride in the back or more importantly didn’t allow Jack to put her in the back. With a sigh, Jack opened the front door and let her into the front passenger’s seat.
“I need to at least let Nate know where I’m taking you,” Jack said and flipped open his cell phone. Ashley thought about protesting but knew she was already walking on thin ice. She tuned out the conversation as Jack rode on to Michael’s house. She knew Nate wouldn’t be happy but she didn’t have time to care. Someday he would understand. Someday when he was a parent and had a child, he would understand the need to be there. She wasn’t deluding herself into thinking that Kyle was her son but he was a boy without a mother and she a mother without a son. There was a connection there and she wasn’t going to just leave him.
Jack pulled into Michael’s driveway and looked over at Ashley, “You can visit but you can’t stay. I need to get you back home. Actually, I’m switching off with another officer in an hour so he will get you back home. He may not be as nice as I about taking you places.”
“Just let Nate know I may be here a while,” Ashley said as she opened her car door.
“You do remember what happened last time you were here don’t you?” Jack raised his eyebrow at Ashley and she understood his fear. Cole had been killed here even if it wasn’t this exact location.
“I remember Jack and I’m sorry about Cole but Kyle needs me and I can’t just leave him.”
“He has his father to do that.”
“But he doesn’t have his mother.” Ashley climbed out and closed the door behind her. She didn’t expect anyone to understand but that didn’t matter. She was concerned only with Kyle.
Ashley knocked on Michael’s front door and waited for him to answer. When he opened the door her breath caught in her throat. His black hair was slightly messed up giving him a more boyish appearance. He wore a button up short-sleeved top over a blue tee. The shirt hung open and she could see how the tee underneath hugged the curves of his abdominal muscles. His dark jeans were this years shade and fit him snugly. His feet were bare. He smiled at her and small wrinkles formed around his blue eyes giving him a distinguished and casual look all at the same time.
“Ashley, I didn’t expect to see you here.” Michael stepped aside and motioned for Ashley to step in.
“I went to the hospital to visit Kyle but he wasn’t there. The nurses said that you had checked him out. I wanted to see if he was okay.”
Michael walked into the kitchen and Ashley followed. The smell of cinnamon filled the air. Michael opened the stove and peeked inside. “Almost done. I’m making cookies for Kyle. Cinnamon snicker doodles are his favorite.”
“You haven’t answered my questions. How is Kyle?”
“He’s fine, Ashley. Really he was off all the machines and recovering quite well. With all that’s gone on I’d rather he be here at home.”
“But he has no protection.”
“He has me.” Michael’s dark look kept Ashley from asking any further questions about the situation.
“May I see him?”
“He’s in his room down the hall. You are free to talk to him but please don’t upset him especially with questions about the case.”
Ashley wasn’t sure if she could consent to that so she said nothing. Instead she made her way through the family room and to the back hallway that led to all the rooms. A chill crept through her as she remembered the last time she was there.
She found Kyle in a large blue room at the very end of the hallway. The large pink room she had passed had not escaped her attention. Ashley cautiously entered Kyle’s room and scanned for him. “Kyle?”
“Up here,” a small voice said.
Ashley looked up and noticed some movement on the loft bed. He was in his bed but how did he get up there? Obviously there was a ladder but he shouldn’t be climbing in his condition.
“It’s Ashley, I wanted to see how you were doing.”
Kyle sat up and looked at her. His head came close to touching the ceiling but not quite. Glowing stars weren’t glowing in the day but she knew they would light up his room as soon as the sun went down. The remainder of the room was covered in planets painted on the wall. A telescope stood waiting in front of Kyle’s only window.
“I’m okay,” Kyle said.
“Are you sure? I thought you’d be in the hospital a few more days.”
“My dad thought it better if I came home.”
Ashley scanned the room and found a chair that she could stand on so that she could see Kyle face to face. “How do you feel about being home?”
“I don’t know. I miss Kayla a lot. Have you heard anything?”
“Not yet but when I do you’ll be the first to know.”
“Kyle, buddy, are you ready for some cookies? I made your favorite!” Michael’s voice echoed down the long hallway.
Kyle’s hands clamped down on Ashley’s arm. “Don’t leave me Ashley. No matter what my dad says please don’t leave me here alone.”
Anyway, here's what you're waiting for:
Twelve hours. Ashley had been sitting around for twelve hours with nothing to do. No word on Nate or his arrest. No word on Kyle or any of the girls that were still missing. Ashley had talked to her mom twice and Trish once for an hour. They had gone over everything that Ashley missed and made sure everything was covered for an extended leave. Ashley had no idea how long it would take to resolve the case but she had no intention of leaving the case, Nate or Kyle before it was all over.
Ashley began pacing the small living room. Then she moved into the kitchen. After pacing for a few short minutes, she looked through the blinds that hung in front of the sliding back doors. Finding a patio she stepped out and was a bit surprised to find a pool beyond the patio. It looked just long enough to swim laps and just deep enough for the diving board on the end. Rocks on the side of the pool gave the whole outdoors the feeling of the pool being more like a river. Ashley was a tad disappointed that Nate hadn’t mentioned the pool. She shouldn’t have been surprised, the one way to survive the Florida heat was a pool but still if she had known she could’ve brought a bathing suit.
She sat on a chaise lounge beside the pool and put her feet up in an attempt to relax. Unfortunately her brain did not follow her body’s movements and despite the soothing water sounds she could not block out the day’s and week’s events from her mind. Something wasn’t connecting.
Kyle.
His named popped into her head and no matter what she tried she couldn’t shake it. Kyle needed her. Of this she was sure. If it were Aidan she would’ve spent every second at the hospital, she wouldn’t have left him alone. Kyle shouldn’t be alone either.
Slipping on red sandal heels to offset her blue top and dark denim pants, Ashley grabbed her bag and headed outside. She wasn’t sure if Officer Jack Williams would let her leave the house. She was sure Nate had given him strict orders not to let her go anywhere. But this was important and Jack was just going to have to understand that.
As it turned out, she need not have worried. Jack Williams was bored and quite tired of sitting in the heat in front of her house and he would be more than happy to take her to see Kyle in the hospital. Especially after Ashley logically explained how important Kyle’s well being was to the case at hand.
Settling herself in the back of the marked cruiser Ashley attempted to ignore the smell that seemed to cling to the seat as though it had moved in and no one had even attempted to kick it out. It was a strange mixture of alcohol, sweat, urine and cigarette smoke. She assumed that at many times all of those had been mixed together along with some other excrements she didn’t care to think about.
Jack attempted to make small talk on the ride to the hospital but Ashley tuned him out. She needed to focus on Kyle. She had been flopping around for more than a week with no direction. Even though she had come to talk to Kyle and had found some common ground with him it wasn’t enough. He needed her and she needed him.
“I have to accompany you to the room. Nate’s not going to be happy that you’ve left the house but he would have my head if I let you out of my sight,” Jack said as he pulled into an empty spot in the hospital parking lot.
“Fine,” Ashley said and waited for Jack to let her out of the back seat. Jack held out his hand to help her out of the car but she ignored him and headed towards the hospital. Jack struggled to keep up. Ignoring the feelings of dread and fear that threatened to smother her when she entered the elevator she punched in Kyle’s floor. In minutes she was on Kyle’s floor and headed for his room.
Ashley stopped.
“Where’s the officer that’s supposed to be outside Kyle’s door?” Ashley asked.
“I don’t know. I’ll look into it. You check on Kyle.” Jack stepped towards the nurses station and away from Ashley but she knew he still had his eye on her. Ashley stepped into the room expecting to find Kyle in great distress but instead she found nothing.
Both beds were empty and made up. Ashley checked the bathroom but found that also empty. Kyle was not in the room.
“Jack!” Ashley yelled. “Jack, he’s not here! They got him. Someone got him. Why didn’t they tell me?”
Jack and two nurses ran into the empty room. Jack caught her before she fell onto the bed and helped her stand up again.
“No, he isn’t missing, ma’am. He was discharged this morning,” One of the nurses said. But her voice sounded hollow in Ashley’s brain. Why wasn’t she told?
“Was he okay? I mean, was he well enough to be discharged?” Ashley asked.
“The doctor seemed to think so.” This from the other nurse.
“Who took him home?”
“His father. They left this morning. He has some rehabilitation ahead of him but he’s going to make a full recovery.” The first nurse again, her tag read Amy.
“Shouldn’t he do some of that in the hospital?”
“Normally, yes, but his father wanted to take care of it himself,” Amy said.
“Is he going to be okay?” Ashley demanded.
“He’ll be fine as long as his father takes him to see a therapist on a regular basis.” Ashley couldn’t tell if Amy’s disdain was for her question or the fact that Michael had removed Kyle from the hospital.
“Thank you.” Ashley ended the conversation and exited to the hallway. Jack was on her heels. Ashley marched back to the elevator, her heels clicking softly on the linoleum floors.
“Where are you going?” Jack asked when the elevator doors closed.
Ashley barely glanced at him, “We’re going to Michael’s house.”
“No, we’re not. Nate would not allow you there.”
Now Ashley turned and faced Jack head on. She felt like she was in a fight for her life but not only her life, for Kyle’s. She couldn’t put her finger on it but she knew Kyle needed it. She had let Aidan down she was not about to do the same for Kyle. “I don’t care what Nate said. This is my life and I want to see Kyle. You will take me there or I will walk myself.”
“Fine,” Jack mumbled. Neither said a word as they left the hospital and got back into Jack’s cruiser. This time Ashley chose not to ride in the back or more importantly didn’t allow Jack to put her in the back. With a sigh, Jack opened the front door and let her into the front passenger’s seat.
“I need to at least let Nate know where I’m taking you,” Jack said and flipped open his cell phone. Ashley thought about protesting but knew she was already walking on thin ice. She tuned out the conversation as Jack rode on to Michael’s house. She knew Nate wouldn’t be happy but she didn’t have time to care. Someday he would understand. Someday when he was a parent and had a child, he would understand the need to be there. She wasn’t deluding herself into thinking that Kyle was her son but he was a boy without a mother and she a mother without a son. There was a connection there and she wasn’t going to just leave him.
Jack pulled into Michael’s driveway and looked over at Ashley, “You can visit but you can’t stay. I need to get you back home. Actually, I’m switching off with another officer in an hour so he will get you back home. He may not be as nice as I about taking you places.”
“Just let Nate know I may be here a while,” Ashley said as she opened her car door.
“You do remember what happened last time you were here don’t you?” Jack raised his eyebrow at Ashley and she understood his fear. Cole had been killed here even if it wasn’t this exact location.
“I remember Jack and I’m sorry about Cole but Kyle needs me and I can’t just leave him.”
“He has his father to do that.”
“But he doesn’t have his mother.” Ashley climbed out and closed the door behind her. She didn’t expect anyone to understand but that didn’t matter. She was concerned only with Kyle.
Ashley knocked on Michael’s front door and waited for him to answer. When he opened the door her breath caught in her throat. His black hair was slightly messed up giving him a more boyish appearance. He wore a button up short-sleeved top over a blue tee. The shirt hung open and she could see how the tee underneath hugged the curves of his abdominal muscles. His dark jeans were this years shade and fit him snugly. His feet were bare. He smiled at her and small wrinkles formed around his blue eyes giving him a distinguished and casual look all at the same time.
“Ashley, I didn’t expect to see you here.” Michael stepped aside and motioned for Ashley to step in.
“I went to the hospital to visit Kyle but he wasn’t there. The nurses said that you had checked him out. I wanted to see if he was okay.”
Michael walked into the kitchen and Ashley followed. The smell of cinnamon filled the air. Michael opened the stove and peeked inside. “Almost done. I’m making cookies for Kyle. Cinnamon snicker doodles are his favorite.”
“You haven’t answered my questions. How is Kyle?”
“He’s fine, Ashley. Really he was off all the machines and recovering quite well. With all that’s gone on I’d rather he be here at home.”
“But he has no protection.”
“He has me.” Michael’s dark look kept Ashley from asking any further questions about the situation.
“May I see him?”
“He’s in his room down the hall. You are free to talk to him but please don’t upset him especially with questions about the case.”
Ashley wasn’t sure if she could consent to that so she said nothing. Instead she made her way through the family room and to the back hallway that led to all the rooms. A chill crept through her as she remembered the last time she was there.
She found Kyle in a large blue room at the very end of the hallway. The large pink room she had passed had not escaped her attention. Ashley cautiously entered Kyle’s room and scanned for him. “Kyle?”
“Up here,” a small voice said.
Ashley looked up and noticed some movement on the loft bed. He was in his bed but how did he get up there? Obviously there was a ladder but he shouldn’t be climbing in his condition.
“It’s Ashley, I wanted to see how you were doing.”
Kyle sat up and looked at her. His head came close to touching the ceiling but not quite. Glowing stars weren’t glowing in the day but she knew they would light up his room as soon as the sun went down. The remainder of the room was covered in planets painted on the wall. A telescope stood waiting in front of Kyle’s only window.
“I’m okay,” Kyle said.
“Are you sure? I thought you’d be in the hospital a few more days.”
“My dad thought it better if I came home.”
Ashley scanned the room and found a chair that she could stand on so that she could see Kyle face to face. “How do you feel about being home?”
“I don’t know. I miss Kayla a lot. Have you heard anything?”
“Not yet but when I do you’ll be the first to know.”
“Kyle, buddy, are you ready for some cookies? I made your favorite!” Michael’s voice echoed down the long hallway.
Kyle’s hands clamped down on Ashley’s arm. “Don’t leave me Ashley. No matter what my dad says please don’t leave me here alone.”
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