Chasing Dragonflies (2 page)

“Miss Arnold,” they were interrupted by yet another foreign voice. Maddie looked around to see an older gentleman with a balding head. “I heard you were awake.”

Who was this guy? Why would he care that she was awake?

Moving to the side of her bed, he announced, “I am Doctor Goldsworthy. I have been looking after you since you arrived yesterday.”

Yesterday? So she had been here overnight already? She was trying to process so much new information all at once it seemed.

“You will be staying with us for at least a couple weeks I imagine at this stage. You have a double pneumonia and sepsis. We also believe you are malnourished, so we will be feeding you up while you are here,” he let out a humourless laugh. “Plus we are waiting on some final test results, I think you will also need a course of vitamin D injections. You are at risk of broken bones, due to your lack of sunshine over the past few years. Once we have the results, we will be able to get those started as well.”

He reached above her and fiddled with the bags of fluid that hung beside her bed. As she had a drip in each hand, she assumed they must be pumping all kinds of antibiotics into her system.

“Do you have any questions?” Doctor Goldsworthy asked, without making eye-contact.

“Yeah, when can I get out of this bed?”

Moving so she could see his face, he gave her a sad smile. “Not just yet. I think you are a little weak to be getting up. We estimate you have been lying in bed for several weeks so your muscles will need some work. Plus, we are worried about blood clots, hence we are giving you some injections to help thin your blood.

I have asked for a hospital physiotherapist to come around and see you in the next couple days, to get you up and moving again.”

Xavier stood beside her bed, nodding his head. “Thank you doctor.”

“You are one very lucky girl Miss Arnold, if it not been for Asha Harper, you probably wouldn't have survived.”

Maddie hung her head, knowing what she knew now about her parents she wondered if being dead was such a bad thing.

“
Looks like you have a
visitor.” Came the sing-song voice of the night nurse. “I told her it was still early, but she was bursting to get in here to see you.”

Maddie slowly opened her eyes, bringing her hand up to wipe away the crusty sleep that had formed there.

“What? Who? What time is it?” she asked the nurse who was smiling down at her.

“It's your sister, you must be so excited.”

Her sister? Maddie was confused, she didn't have a sister. Her world was upside down and was not making any sense. A woman's face came into view. A short dark pixie hair cut cushioned the woman's features, there was nothing familiar about her. She searched her memory trying to recall who this woman might be.

“Okay I will leave you two to chat will I? You just hit the call button if there is anything you need, okay love?” Called the nurse as she walked out the door, leaving Maddie alone with this woman who was claiming to be her sister.

“How are you Maddison?” Came the woman's voice as her face came back into view leaning over her.

“Um, hang on,” she said, fumbling around beside the bed looking for the controller to tilt her bed up. It made her feel very vulnerable laying down with someone hovering over her.

“Oh is this what you're after?” The woman asked, placing the device in Maddie's hand with a smile.

“Yeah thanks,” she managed, before pressing the button to lift the head of the bed, bringing her to a sitting position.

Now she had a better view of the woman whom she could see she was well dressed, a little too well-dressed for the time of the day. She wore a baby blue two-piece skirt and jacket with a white blouse. Metal rimmed glasses sat at the top of her nose. She wore lipstick just a few shades too bright.

“Do I know you?”

“We went to school together. I'm Belinda Evens,” she beamed back at her, like it was meant to make perfect sense. “Well Belinda Sweetman these days, although my friends all call me Lindy.”

The woman was babbling and Maddie had no clue who she was, she did not recall the name at all.

“Why are you here?”

Belinda extended her arm and put a hand to Maddie's forearm. The woman's touch felt like a sizzling burn to her skin and she wrenched her arm away.

“I wanted to see you silly,” the woman gushed. “As soon as I heard the news, I knew I couldn't stay away. It's been such a long time and I really missed you.”

Something was very wrong here. How could someone she didn't even know be standing here, professing to have missed her? Maddie eyed her suspiciously.

“You know I am working with The Years News now and it would be great if you could give me a bit of a story, of course that's not the only reason I came though.”

“Get out!” Maddie snapped, she knew this woman was up to something.

“But Maddison,” she insisted. That should have been the first indication she had no idea who she was, no one, not even her parents called her Maddison. “I would like you to have to opportunity to tell your side of the story. You know the media has a tendency to embellish things, if you let me give your account it will be true and accurate.”

Maddie leaned over the side of her bed, closer to Belinda and lowering her voice she ground out, “I'll give you true and accurate Belinda or Lindy or whatever the hell you want to call yourself, if you don't leave my room, right now I will call security and have you charged with harassment.”

Bringing out a pen and notebook from her handbag, Belinda smiled. “So do I take it that you are angry and bitter about the years you have spent in captivity? Perhaps I could say you are not familiar with the niceties of society? Would that be an accurate summation of your attitude toward me? Do you feel this way in general Maddison?”

“Nurse!” Maddie yelled as loud as she could while reaching for her call bell.

“Oh come now, that is not a nice way to treat an old school friend.” Belinda flashed her fake smile yet again.

Maddie's blood thumped in her head and she tried to yell again, but a cough caught in her throat instead. She tried to sit up further in her bed, as pain grabbed at her chest. She could feel phlegm rising and she started to dry retch. Looking over at Belinda, she saw a terrified look flash in her eyes.

“Get... nurse,” Maddie gasped, fear creeping through her as she struggled for air.

Belinda leapt from her chair and ran for the door, within seconds two nurses rushed into the room. They immediately set to work with a suction catheter to clear her throat, then an oxygen mask on her face and she was suddenly able to breathe freely once more. Relief rushed through her as she relaxed back into bed.

Belinda hovered by the door, still with her notebook in her hand. Maddie was grateful the woman had sought help, but if she had not been there, she was sure it wouldn't have happened in the first place. Maddie shot her a look, narrowing her eyes.

“I think it would pay you, not to come back here. Write that down in your notebook. Belinda.”

“
Hello Miss Arnold. My name
is Detective Leroy and this here” he jerked his thumb to the man standing to his left, “is Senior Constable Harris.”

Maddie nodded at the two men, swallowing hard.

“I understand this will be difficult for you Miss Arnold, but we need to get as full a statement from you as possible. I understand some of the details may not be fresh in your memory, or they could be painful, we can come back to those later. Do you understand?”

Maddie nodded. She was not sure she had a grasp on the whole thing, but she knew this was coming and she was prepared to face it.

“Okay Miss Arnold, I am going to record everything you say. That way it can be transcribed exactly as you tell us.” The man Detective Leroy had referred to as Senior Constable Harris added.
      

“Yeah, that's okay, I'll try my best.”

“That's all we ask for.” The man said with a warm friendly smile.

“Okay to begin with, Miss Arnold, can you tell me where you have been for the past six years? As from the fifteenth of May in 2010?”

“Yes I believe I have been locked in the shed in the back of my parent’s property.”

“Can you tell us please Miss Arnold, how you came to be locked in the shed on your parent’s property?”

“My dad,” she whispered.

“I'm sorry Miss Arnold, could you repeat that, a little louder please?” Detective Leroy insisted. “How did you come to be locked in the shed at the back of your parent's property on the fifteenth of May in 2010?”

Maddie cleared her throat, she could feel a huge lump forming and tears sprang to her eyes. She fought to hold them back
trying to focus as she
was going to have to relive her hell.

“My father, Hugh Arnold, locked me in the shed at the back of the property.”

“Can you tell us Miss Arnold, how long you were locked in the shed at the back of Mr Arnold's property?

“All this time,” she spat out.

“Since May 201
0
? Have you not left the shed in that time Miss Arnold?”

She shook her head from side to side vehemently. “Not once.”

“I'm sorry Miss Arnold, I realise this is difficult for you. Can you tell us please what your understanding is, as to why Mr Arnold, your father, kept you locked up all these years?”

Maddie scoffed. “Because he loved me and didn't want me to get married and leave home.”

“Can you tell us how it came about Miss Arnold? How did he lure you to the shed in the first place?”

“He told me he wanted to show me something. He said he had been working on something for my brother out in his shed. So of course I followed him out there, I had no reason to believe anything bad was going to happen.”

“Your brother is Xavier Arnold, is that correct Miss Arnold?”

“Yes.”

“Was there something your father had made for Xavier in the shed Miss Arnold?”

“No, nothing. We got there and he unlocked the shed. He had installed a heavy metal door and it was locked with a dead-bolt, which at first I thought was odd, but as I said I had no reason to believe there was anything weird going on. He walked in first, I followed. Then he walked out and locked the door behind me.”

“What did you do then Miss Arnold?”

Maddie's mind went back to those painful first hours and days, locked away. She had not thought about it for a long time. It was by far the worst days of her imprisonment. Wracked with confusion, grief, sadness and hunger.

“I cried...I screamed,” her eyes glassed over as she relived the
first
moments of realisation. “At first I thought it was an accident and that Dad would open the door directly. When that never happened, I thought maybe it was some kind of joke.”

“Did your dad often joke around like that?” Senior Constable Harris asked.

“No, that was the thing. It was really out of character. Dad had never even grounded me.” Maddie sighed sadly. “After a little while, maybe five minutes, I started yelling out to my dad. I cried. I banged on the door, until my fists hurt.” She clenched her fists, remembering the pain that had radiated through her hands.

“Did you make any attempts to escape Miss Arnold?” Detective Leroy asked.

“Of course I did,” she snapped back. What did these men think? She wanted to be locked away?

“There was no way out. He had reinforced the damn thing, which I am sure you would already know if you have looked at it. It was completely sound proof and reinforced. Believe me I yelled loud enough for the world to hear me and I rammed those walls and that door with anything and everything I could find. I hated being in there every single damn minute.”

“I am sorry Miss Arnold, I can see this is upsetting you, but it is important for us to ask you. Did your dad sexually assault you at all during your time in captivity?”

“No. No he didn't, my dad loved me, I can't believe you would even suggest that,” she wailed.

“I think that's enough for one day.” All heads turned to see Xavier standing in the door way of Maddie's hospital room.

“Okay, you're probably right,” Detective Leroy agreed, lifting his hands and holding them up in a show of surrender. Then turned and nodded to his partner
who
switched off the recording device. “We did not mean to upset you Miss Arnold, and we appreciate your time. We will need to continue with this another day.”

Xavier moved to the side of Maddie's bed, she felt a wave of relief wash over her. She could bury those demons for another day. Once again her big brother had come to her rescue.

“Thank you Detective.” She tried to offer him a smile. She knew he was just doing his job.

Detective Leroy nodded at her, then Xavier. Then walked towards the door, with Senior Constable Harris in hot pursuit. When they reached the door, he turned back to her. A sad smile on his face.

“I really am sorry this happened to you Miss Arnold, I will be putting a recommendation forward to my superiors to look at why your case was closed.” Then he bid her farewell and left the room.

Xavier dropped his weight on the edge of her bed and reached for her hand.

“Are you okay sis?”

She really was so lucky to have him as a brother. Every time she looked at him, she could see worry in his eyes. She knew he felt guilt for not finding her sooner.

“Yeah I'm good Xave',” she sighed. “I knew this part was going to be difficult.”

“They wouldn't let me sit in here with you, I was just outside. I came in when I heard you getting upset.”

“It’s okay Xave,' really.” Maddie squeezed her brother’s hand. “The doctors have been talking about counselling. Maybe you should think about seeing someone too.”

“I'm okay. I'm just worried about you. I want to get you better and get you home.”

Maddie's eyes fell to her fingers, where they joined Xavier's. Home. Where was home, she wondered. For the past six years she had lived in a prison. A room, three metres by three metres, with a small bathroom attached. Where was she to go?

“What?” Xavier's voice broke her out of her thoughts.