INK: Abstraction (10 page)

“Oh, come here.”
She reaches up for him and gives him a hug. “You’d look
handsome no matter what you were wearing.”

He kisses her forehead.
“I’m glad I could make you laugh.”

She smiles again, but
she’s slipping back into the darkness. She opens the sandwich
and takes a few bites.

“See Eli, wearing
that shirt can help you with the ladies,” McNab digs.

“I don’t
need help with the ladies, thank you; I have all the lady I could
ever want.” He puts his hand on Shayleigh’s leg. She
winces a bit from the pain.

“This is so good,
thank you again, McNab.” She takes another bite.

There’s a knock
on the door and Detective Glass and Todd Preston come in. I knew
they’d be here eventually to question her. I just wish they
would have given her a little more time. I’m also surprised
they didn’t send a uniform instead of the detective.

A loud crash startles
me from behind and Shayleigh is screaming. She’s frantically
scooting backward on the bed. Everything that was on her lap has
fallen to the floor while she climbs as far back as she can. That
doesn’t seem to be far enough, and she goes over the top of the
bed, knocking over medical equipment and continuing to scream. Eli
goes to her immediately and McNab’s looking around the room
trying to figure out what has her so spooked.

“Shay what’s
the matter?” Eli is asking while she’s cowered behind the
bed.

I join him to check on
her. “What is it?”

She’s crying and
trembling, while hiding behind the bed, pointing toward the door and
shaking her head. She finally looks me in the eyes and says, full of
a terror that will haunt me forever, “Glass.”

Okay, that’s it.
That son of a bitch is leaving. I turn to Todd. “Listen, she’s
been through a lot of trauma. He’s going to have to leave.”

Todd turns to Glass
with a quizzical look, then back to me. “Harry, I’m here
to check on Shay and he’s here to take her statement.”

“Well, you’ll
have to send another cop. He’s got to go.” I move them
toward the door.

“That’s
fine, Harry.” Todd agrees then turns to Glass. “Why don’t
you step outside, I’d like to stay for a few minutes and make
sure she’s okay.”

“Yeah, I’ll
send someone else?” Glass asks, trying to see her hiding behind
the bed.

“That’s
fine.” Todd’s distracted also, trying to catch a glimpse
of her.

“Okay.”
Glass watches me for a reaction. That seems a little strange to me
that he waits another ten beats before he leaves the room.

“He’s gone,
sweetie.” Eli tries to coax her out.

She peeks out from
behind the bed to confirm the words are true. There’s an
inherent terror in her eyes. Her body is shaking and she’s
crying uncontrollably. Eli climbs behind the bed and pulls her into a
hug. “I’ve got you, it’s okay. He’s gone.
Shhh.”

Todd is looking at her
with a horrified look on his face. Of course he is, look at her.
She’s a damn mess. Beaten, battered, cut and bruised. Shaking
and crying. What the hell is wrong with him bringing Glass in here?
He makes eye contact with me, his gaze filled with sympathy. “My
God,” he gasps.

“Yeah,” is
all I can say. I’m reserving my anger until I give him a chance
to talk.

“Harry, I didn’t
realize how bad it was,” Todd says, taking a step closer to me.

“It was called in
as a Goddamn ten fifty-four. You didn’t know it was this bad?”
I can't meter my voice and Shayleigh’s eyes snap to us.

The nurse comes in the
room. “What’s going on?” She sees Eli trying to
coax Shay out from behind the bed. She goes to Shay. “What’s
happening, honey?”

Shayleigh won’t
stop screaming, leaving the nurse no choice but to sedate her. Two
other nurses come into the room. One of them clears everyone out but
Eli.

We all take to the
hallway and McNab squares off with Todd. “You’re the D.A.
right?”

“Yes,” Todd
answers.

“I think you’ve
got a problem on your hands.” McNab’s eyes are full of
fire.

“What do you
mean?” I'm curious to see where he's going with this.

“Isn’t it
obvious, Harry?” He looks at us like we’re stupid.
“Glass. The second she saw him she flipped out.”

“No, you’re
mistaken. They have a rough history.” I try to put him at ease.
Glass wouldn’t do something like this.

“Who are you
exactly?” Todd asks McNab.

“I’m McNab,
a family friend.” He offers his hand.

“Well, you are
walking a very thin line, McNab. Glass is a decorated police officer,
and regardless of her reaction, I don’t think he would be
involved in something like this.” Todd doesn’t believe it
either.

“Just how long
have you been a district attorney?” McNab asks, getting more
agitated.

“A long time,”
he answers with authority.

“Have you seen
that sort of reaction from a victim before?” McNab takes a step
closer to Todd.

“Yes, I’ve
seen it many ti—” Todd stops as though a light has gone
on in his head.

McNab gives a satisfied
nod. “Yeah. That’s the reaction of a victim who’s
seen their perpetrator.”

Todd is silent for a
moment and looks from me to McNab then stares at Shayleigh’s
door. He inhales a long breath. “That was a pretty compelling
reaction.”

“Todd, you can’t
be serious.” I have to talk him out of creating a larger
problem by going after Glass. “This guy is a lot of things, but
a kidnapper? I don’t think so.”

McNab can see that
Todd’s leaning back toward my line of thinking. “At least
look into it. Does he have a garden shed? Does he live in a remote
area? Does he have an alibi for when she was taken?”

Todd inhales another
breath. “I’m going to quietly look into it, so we can
rule him out, but I can’t imagine he’d be involved in
something like this.”

“Thank you.”
McNab’s eyes bore into Todd in a strange and uncomfortable way.
“Don't you think it would be for the best to assign another
detective to Shay Baynes’ investigations?” He doesn't
ask, he tells.

After thinking about it
for a minute Todd acquiesces. “I think I'll put another
detective on her case, it’s probably for the best.”

“Thank you,”
I say cautiously. Honestly, I’m relieved that Glass won’t
be hounding her anymore. Especially if that’s the reaction she
has to seeing him.

Todd puts his hand on
my shoulder. “I’m glad they found her.” His words
are sincere. “I’m going to go back to the station. If you
need anything let me know. And if you feel like it’s alright,
will you tell her I’m glad she’s okay?” He hangs
his head momentarily. “I’d like to see her when she’s
feeling better.”

“I’ll let
her know.” I pull Todd into a man-hug.

McNab and I go back
into the room and find Shayleigh back in the bed, her eyes closed and
relaxed. The drugs worked fast.

Glass

Fuck.
When the ten fifty-four came over the radio I thought I was in the
clear. How did that little bitch survive? If the blow to the head
didn’t kill her, I thought for sure she would drown. Goddamn
it! This would have been so much easier if she had just done the
world a favor and died.

I don’t know if
Preston suspects anything. She really lost it when she saw me. I know
she remembers. She knows I tied her back up and didn’t help
her. I have no idea how she ended up in my shed, but there’s no
way in hell I’m going to let that murderous little twat take me
down with trumped up charges.

How could I have let
her go? She would have pointed her finger straight at me and taken me
out. I’m not flushing a twenty-four-year career down the tubes
because of that little bitch.

Now I just have to
figure out who I’m going to put on this case that I can
convince she’s just a psycho. Who would cover my ass, no
questions asked? I think for a minute and it comes to me.
Filson
.
He’ll get my back and he owes me one.

Preston opens the car
door. “Thanks for waiting.”

“No problem.”
I start the car and head for the station. “She’s in
really bad shape, huh?”

“She certainly
is.” He blows out a breath.

“Did she calm
down enough for you to talk to her?” These are dangerous waters
I'm treading in.

“No, they had to
sedate her,” he answers, staring out the window.

“Sorry.” I
pause for a minute. “I was thinking we should put Filson on her
case.”

“Yeah, that’s
fine. You really need to distance yourself from her completely.”
He looks over at me for my reaction.

“No problem. I’m
more than happy to turn this one over.” I feign disinterest.

“I want to find
the bastard who did this and I want to hang him out to dry.”
His tone is angry.

“Yes sir.”
I feel like I should say something more. “She was banged up
pretty bad. I haven't seen the initial from CSI, did they find
anything to go on?”

“No, they have
her clothes, but I’m sure any evidence washed away in the
river,” he laments.

“I’m sure
Filson will be able to piece it all together after he’s able to
talk to her.”
I really fucking hope not.

“Yeah.” I
can see the wheels turning in his head. “Glass?”

“Yeah?”

“Why do you think
she reacted to you like that?” There's caution in his question.

“I don’t
know. Maybe this has all taken it's toll on her mentally.” I’m
trying not to stumble over my words. “Or maybe she's just
intimidated by me.”

“She’s
never been afraid of you before,” he presses. “Actually,
she’s never been intimidated by you.”

“Who knows what
game she’s playing.” The irritation in my tone is barely
masked.

“That didn’t
look like she was ‘playing’ anything. She was terrified.”

“I don’t
have any answers, but I’ll tell you I’m glad to be off
this case,” I state. “Now that crazy bitch can cop some
plea that she was tortured with a box cutter. You'll never get a jury
to convict her. They are all just a bunch of bleeding hearts.”

“What makes you
say box cutter?” He looks up from his phone.

“That's just what
it looked like to me. From what I could see.” Fuck, I have to
be more careful.

He dismisses the
exchange and sits quietly, texting on his phone for the rest of the
ride to station. When we arrive he gets out of the car without a
word.

“Hey Preston,”
I call over the roof of the car.

He stops and turns
around. “What.”

“I’ll
transfer my case files to Filson and brief him on everything to
date.”

“No, please just
have him come to my office. I’ll fill him in,” he answers
while walking away.

Fuck. I pull my phone
out and call him.

“Filson,”
he answers.

“Hey Filson, it’s
Glass. I need to talk to you about a case I’m transferring to
you.”

“Baynes?”

“Yeah, I thought
I could give you some background,” I offer.

“I’m on my
way to Preston’s office now. I got the call from the C.O. about
five minutes ago,” he says simply.

“Oh, um—”
He cuts me off.

“So I imagine you
want to have beers later so we can discuss how many civil rights you
violated during the investigation and how you want me to cover your
ass?” He laughs into the phone.

“The Pub at
nine-thirty?” That’s my man.

“You’re
buying.” He hangs up the phone.

Shay

“Harry,
why don’t you go home and get some rest. I’m going to
stay right here with her.” I can hear Eli speaking in a hushed
tone. Everything feels so fuzzy. That bitch and her drugs can bite
me.

“What if she
wakes up?” Dad answers him.

“Then I’ll
tell her that her old man went home so he could get some sleep.”
Eli has a smile in his voice. “You look like hell, go get some
rest.”

“You haven’t
gotten anymore sleep than I have,” Dad counters.

“I’ve got
this, Harry, go home. She’s safe and she’s not going
anywhere.”

“To be honest,
I’m also a little concerned about you,” Dad says with
worry.

“Me? Nah, I’m
fine.” Eli blows a breath out.

“I’m also a
little concerned with how tense things are getting between you and
McNab.” Dad pauses for a minute. “We need his help right
now.”

“Yeah, well I
don’t like the way things are playing out. He’s
overstepping his boundaries with Shay,” Eli says, and I swear I
can hear his chest puff out.

“I really don’t
think you have anything to be worried about from McNab. I believe him
when he says he’s only interested in her as a friend. Besides,
what kind of idiot would pursue her right now?” I’m a
little offended by Dad’s words and would like the chance to
defend myself, but I really want to hear Eli’s response.

“This kind.”
There’s melancholy in his tone. I feel Eli’s warmth leave
the side of the bed. “There’s just something not right.
He’s too smooth and
too
disinterested.”

“You’re
imagining things.” I hear Dad’s keys rattle as he takes
them out of his pocket.

“Maybe.
I just don’t trust anyone.” Eli pauses. “Which
reminds me, what’s the deal with Miranda and this
organization
you’re part of?” “I can’t really talk
about it. But you’re wise to not trust anyone, least of all me
and the organization.” What the hell is Dad talking about? What
organization? And who the hell is Miranda?

The door opens and
there’s a tick of silence, then I hear Carl’s voice.
“Eavesdropping is impolite.”

Shit, I think he just
called me out. I lay still in case he wasn’t talking to me.
“I’m talking to you, Shay.”

Shit. I roll over
slowly. “Well isn’t that the pot calling the kettle
black.” I smile at Dad. “Mornin’.”