In the Nick of Time (92 page)

Inside the hole could be seen a small crawl area with drywall clinging loosely and waving around from a cold front. It seemed as though a set of jagged white teeth framed the area like a haunting, surreal picture before his eyes. Christmas lights hung within the thing, strewn back and forth, some of them ablaze more brightly than others, flickering just so, undoubtedly emitting an ungodly heat.

Sitting right below the tinsel and fire hazard wiring were at least nine girls, their mouths bound with electrical tape, their thin bodies covered in silken gowns and frilly dresses with layers of tulle. Pairs of expressive dark eyes screamed on their tiny bodies’ behalf, but those same tormented eyes seemed unable to shed a single tear. Colorful bows covered in soot decorated their kinky curls, though a couple sported slender, neat braids.

His throat tightened in horror, disgust, and anger he’d never felt before in his entire existence. Nick’s fingers trembled across his dry lips as he fought the urge to puke once the all too familiar scent of death settled on them, free from its hidden away coffin. He looked into their eyes, stared into them long and hard, forcing himself to acknowledge
who
sat before him, and accept that awareness, connect with their souls…
No running. Look. Look at them. Remember them. Dolls…

No.

Little warriors…

Some of them collapsed forward, others lay atop one another, bent and twisted in awkward ways, huddled together like a flesh-covered puzzle. Skin from dark brown to deep tan, they lay upon and against one another, as if the next one’s breath was only guaranteed by the young lady dying beside, beneath, or above her…

Flashes of light came and went as officers took fast photos and voices sounded through handheld radios and speakerphones, while emergency medical personnel began their tedious work. The room grew eerily silent for a moment or two, as if everyone had fallen in mourning, and in a way, they all did.

They mourned the moment before they’d seen such a thing, for no words could properly describe the horror in their midst. They mourned the innocent childhoods of the victims, for they’d never be the same…

“Some are alive, some barely… this one is dead,” one of the paramedics stated as he snapped his gloves into place.

Nick shuddered as hot, mad tears cascaded down his face. He groaned, gripped at the air, trying to hold on to something,
anything
… trying to keep it all together. But it was too late. He’d seen their souls; the connection was made. He cried on their behalf—one after the other until nine tears had crept down his face, never to be seen again…

The chill in
the room went from uncomfortable to unbearable. Taryn sat in the bright dressing room surrounded by layers of beauty. Things had finally quieted down, and she cherished a long sought after moment all to herself. The show had been an epic success, but she couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for herself as the mounting depression made her heart cave within. Her best friend was absent, null and void… gone. Twelve dozen cerise roses lay on the dresser, a gift of congratulations for a job well done. She picked them up, smiled a bit as she saw they were from Ambrose. The man hadn’t been able to make it as he was modeling in Amsterdam, but he’d sent his regards all the same. She picked up her phone, force of habit. No missed calls… no messages…as expected.

You’re never late, always on time, always there for me… And now… nothing when I needed you most! Nick, where are you?!

Her heart broke, replaying their odd prior conversations… dolls and houses…

He’s working on that case, that’s it… That’s got to be it… He wouldn’t just not show up… but no call?

She took a deep breath, pushing the negative thoughts aside, slipping into a new understanding.

This was the man she loved. His life was dangerous, and sometimes things like this would happen. But what the hell
had
happened?!

I can love him through it… I can…

But it still hurt.

She ran her fingers along her collarbone, plucked her phone up once more and dialed.

Hi, you’ve reached Nick. I can’t answer right now but leave a message and I might call you back if you’re lucky…

She disconnected the call, then heard a knock at the door.

“Yes?” she called out, not in the mood for company just yet.

“It’s me, Vicki! Come on, we’ve got to go!”

“I’ll be out in a second!”

“Okay, hurry! We’re supposed to be at Death and Company for an after party!”

“I know. I’ll speed up, and thank you for your support!” Taryn called out.

“You’re welcome, Beautiful!” the woman said, her voice trailing at the end as her shadow disappeared from the doorway.

Taking a deep breath, she spun around in her chair, scrolling her phone, reading all of the congratulations and tweets about the show. Social media was aflame with photos and video links of the show and Angelina Jolie had given them a shout out. Her lips kinked into a smirk then… the phone did a half ring before she snatched it up, jumping out of the chair.

“Nick! Where are you?! What’s going on? Where have you been?!!!” Her voice shook and she hated it; she was beside her damn self.

“Baby, I’m so sorry for missing your show. I know it was important to you… but… something happened.”

“What? Are you okay?” She paced back and forth, not liking how he sounded. She’d never heard him like that before, as if the wind had been taken right out of his sails.

“Turn on the news. I can’t really talk right now… just wanted you to know that I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you and I love you…”

“I… I love you, too.”

“I gotta go, Taryn. I’ll call you back as soon as possible, okay?”

She wanted to ask more, demand answers, but she knew now was not the time. She pulled back, complied. He needed her to love him, not argue.

“Yes, okay.”

And then he hung up.

She quickly went to her browser on her phone and sought the news coverage.

“…What’s this?” On Yahoo’s front page, one of the headlines read, ‘Dollhouse Kidnapper arrested.’ “Oh my God…” She almost dropped her phone as she sank back down onto the seat. She clicked on the link and opened the video reportage of a newscaster in front of a small, white house, and Nick’s boss, Captain O’Sullivan, speaking to the media.

That’s definitely Nick’s boss! He took me to his house for dinner one night!

“Yes, we’ve started the process…” the man stated calmly, his chest poked out and chin high. He continued to speak, each word feeling heavier and heavier, and then, he finally said…

“Thanks to the very hard, diligent work of Officer Vitale, this case is now under further investigation and the suspect has been apprehended and is in custody.”

“How many girls were in the house?! What was his motive?!” A mob of reporters approached the man, bumping into one another.

“I can’t answer any more questions at this time.” He casually held up his hand. “We will issue a press release as soon as possible but right now, our focus is on the investigation and getting medical care to the victims. Thank you, that’s all I can answer right now.” He turned his back to walk away as the original commentator gave final statements.

“Nick!” Taryn’s eyes welled up as she placed the phone down on her dresser. She clamped her hands over her mouth, stifling a cry. “Oh Nick…Oh my God.” She trembled in her seat, unable to control herself. “I’m so proud of you, honey! So
very
proud!”

…You’ve reached the mountaintop, baby… How’s the view?

Captain O’Sullivan stood
there with his hefty arms crossed over his gut, looking down at him.

“How are they?” Nick questioned.

“Well, some are better than others.” He sighed. “Two are fighting for their lives and the families have been notified. I’ve never seen anything like that in my entire life, and trust me, I’ve seen a lot.”

Nick nodded in agreement and then, they were quiet for a minute or two.

“I don’t know why they have me here. I don’t need to be here.” He looked around the hospital room in disgust. “If Taryn knew where I was right now she’d freak out. Besides, this is a waste of time. I need to be in that room talking to him.” Nick gritted his teeth, angry as hell. The captain had insisted he be checked over, and though he knew the routine, he resented the shit.

“Someone else will do the interrogation, Nick.”

“No! Please, I
need
to do this, Captain! You can’t do this, you can’t!” He sat up in the hospital bed, ready to go toe to toe with the man. He was met with a smirk, then an all out laugh.

“Calm down, I was just pulling your chain. You know you’re on the new payroll now, right?” The big guy groaned as he took a seat beside him, clasped his hands together, and leaned forward.

Nick’s brows dipped in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“You’re Homicide now… Your test scores came back, you passed, you
more
than passed. You did excellent, actually. All you have to do is sign the paperwork when we get back…”

Nick’s mouth dropped open as a sense of pride and relief washed over him.

“I’m promoting you to detective. You’ve
been
doing it.” He shrugged. “When you left the precinct today, everybody was talking. Not one person in that damn building has a bad word to say about you, Nick. While you were in Firststone, at least once a day, someone brought you up, missing you, wishing you were around. We weren’t pissed because you had a drinking problem. We were pissed because that drinking problem took you away from us. The place wasn’t the same. You’re a hell of a man, and an unbelievable officer.”

Nick looked away, suddenly feeling a bit strange. He was certain he’d be in a world of trouble for interfering in police business that was not his. Instead, he’d garnered a damn internal fan club.

“I want you to know though, you were wrong about one thing you said when you were letting me have it today.”

“What’s that?” Nick sat up a bit higher, listening intently.

“I
did
trust you, Nick. No, I didn’t know you had a drinking problem—that’s the truth.” His eyes narrowed upon him. “And quite honestly, I felt like I’d missed it, maybe even turned a blind eye subconsciously. But here are the facts: I trusted you more than
any
other guy that’s been under me to do your job, and do it right. I saw your potential, and I knew more than you think I did.”

“Then… why didn’t you let me get on homicide? I’ve been trying for years! I told you I was going to take the test, and you said it didn’t matter, that I wasn’t ready and you wouldn’t sign off on it. It really pissed me off! You saw that’s what I wanted. I made it no secret,” he asked, more confused than ever.

“I knew you’d been doing homicide behind my back, Nick. I’m not stupid.” The man looked at him sternly. “You blabbed to everyone else today, so I had to save face, be quiet, but it had nothing to do with a lack of knowledge of what the hell you were up to, nor lack of faith in your abilities. Now yeah, I didn’t realize you’d been
that
busy.” He smirked. “But I knew you’d been involved in some of those cases. As long as you didn’t get caught doing the shit you did today, nothing illegal like breaking and entering,” he said with a grimace, “I stayed out of it. That part isn’t going into the report, of course…”

“I would hope not,” Nick said with a smile. “You gave me my search warrant, thank goodness… It will all look on the up and up on paper.”

Captain O’Sullivan nodded.

“Anyway, in those other cases, you were helping, not hurting. I wasn’t going to get in the middle of that but I couldn’t co-sign the shit for obvious reasons! You weren’t supposed to be involved! At least not publicly… I didn’t let you move forward just yet because I had a personality issue with you, Nick. I knew once you took the exam you’d pass. Everyone knows it’s a hard test; less than ten percent of people who take it pass the damn thing, but I had no doubt you would. You’re smart—brilliant, some would say… Today is a perfect example of that. Anyway, that was the least of my concerns.”