Lean on Me (13 page)

“
Did you argue with her?”
Detective Young asked.

“
Argue?” Troy asked. “I
mentioned it to her. It was a miracle that she and the boys were
able to get away from Hector. He had them locked up tight. It took
her six months to come up with a plan to get out of the house; let
alone off the grounds. Then the boys were sick. Hermes almost died.
The boys were in a private hospital for almost a month while she
filed for divorce and termination of his parental
rights.”

“
We can’t find any record
that he fought her in the courts,” Detective Young said.

“
Dahlia planned it
perfectly,” Troy said. “She did everything the day after Hector
started a six-month, seventy-stop international press tour for his
latest book about Drones. She and the children were removed under
an emergency order. A judge terminated his parental rights in an
emergency hearing the day he was speaking at a three-day conference
to launch the tour. He was in front of cameras or on the radio for
the next six months. He couldn’t afford to protest when he was on
such a big press junket. His love for control and cruelty is second
only to his love for public attention.”

“
How did she get out of
going on the tour?” Detective Young asked. “From what we’ve been
led to believe, she was a fixture at those things.”

“
She picked a fight with
him the night before he left. He started in on the boys and she…,”
Troy gulped. “They were too bruised to go to the conference with
him. The police arrived an hour after his plane took off. He didn’t
know it was happening until he returned home to pick her up for the
next leg of the tour.”

“
And criminal proceedings?”
FBI Agent Platt asked.

“
The boys were too weak to
survive any criminal proceedings,” Troy said. “The DA was going to
file tomorrow after the divorce was final. It’s one of the reasons
we were in town today. But…”

“
Which DA?” Detective Young
asked.

“
We have that information
for you here,” Hawkins Mac Alister said. “We’ve contacted the DA at
home. You must understand, with all the press attention, there’s a
quite a bit of CYA going on. As horrible as it is that Dahlia’s no
longer living, the DA is confident that his actions saved the boys’
lives.”

“
We set up satellite
monitoring and video feeds from inside the house,” Troy said.
“Dahlia and the boys studied and practiced defensive fighting
techniques. They knew where the panic buttons and hiding places
were. They were tough and ready.”

“
If they were so ready,
what happened?” FBI Agent Pratt asked.

“
Dahlia sacrificed herself
for me and the boys,” Troy said. “You should have seen them
together. Just a month ago or yesterday morning. They were so happy
together, like peas in a pod. She loved them… and… She never
forgave herself for what happened to the them.”

“
Captain Olivas, why didn’t
you save your sons? Dahlia?” Detective Young asked.

“
I met the boys the first
time in April,” Troy said. “Dahlia and I… For years, I begged her
to stay with me. I begged her to leave him. I’m ashamed to admit, I
told her she could leave the boys with him and come away with me.
She refused every time. I always believed she chose him over
me.”

Overcome with emotion, Troy dropped his head
into his hands and took a number of deep breaths. Hawkins Mac
Alister put his hand on Troy’s shoulder.

“
We need to terminate this
interview,” Hawkins Mac Alister said.

“
No,” Troy said. “I’d
rather get through this and get back to my boys. They will be
worried about me. Worry is the worst thing for them.”

“
We’re almost done,”
Detective Young said. “We have a few more questions, then we’d like
you to walk us through the scene. It would be a big help to
us.”

“
Sure.”

“
Why did you return in
April?” Detective Young asked.

“
I needed to know once and
for all if we were on or off,” Troy said. “Dahlia met me in the
city and told me everything. I cried. We fought. But by the end of
the day, she allowed me to meet the boys and… That was kind of it.
She was the love of my life, the very center of it, and had been
for most of my life. Once I accepted this simple fact, everything
else was just details.”

“
Who paid for everything?
Dahlia started fairly intensive therapy last year,” Army CID Agent
Snypes said. “And the boys’ therapist and the house and the
lawyers… We can’t check your finances.”

“
Dahlia got hooked up with
an organization she called ‘For the Friendless,’” Troy said. “They
paid for everything, found the house, the lawyers, the therapists,
everything. Her agreement with them was that she would pay them
back when she was done and continue their work. She had already
recruited another woman who she thought needed their
help.”

“
You don’t know anything
about them?” Detective Young asked.

“
No,” Troy said. “When
Dahlia and I got together, I paid off most of her loan. I hadn’t
been paying rent for more than a year and sold a house before being
assigned in Denver. I had a decent sum of money. After our family
was together, everything came out of my salary. Dahlia kept an
active account with them to keep her options open. She was talking
to them about opening her own business. She wasn’t sure what she
wanted to do, but she liked the idea of working and owning her own
clothing shop or café.”

“
Talking to them?” FBI
Agent Pratt asked.

“
She had a burner phone
with one number programmed in it,” Troy said. “She said someone
slipped it to her at a party and told her that if she wanted help
to call the number. When she wanted or needed something, she would
leave a message on the phone. The phone number is a Google phone
number that links to another dummy phone.”

“
It’s untraceable?” FBI
Agent Pratt asked.

“
Let me say this,” Troy
said. “I’m in Military Intelligence and I couldn’t track it
down.”

“
If Dahlia needed
something?” Detective Young asked.

“
She called the number and
left a message asking for what she needed,” Troy said. “Whatever
help she’d requested – doctor, therapist, lawyer, rental agent –
would call her on that phone.”

“
Do you have the phone?”
Detective Young asked.

“
No,” Troy said. “She
either had it on her body or she hid it. I never knew where it was.
A couple times, she destroyed it and received another. I would
guess that if you find it, it will be disconnected.”

“
So that’s how she got out
of Hector’s house?” Army CID senior agent Snypes asked. “She used
this service to finance her recovery and help her plan. God, I wish
I had one of those for my little sister.”

“
I wish I could tell you
who was behind it,” Troy said. “I have no idea.”

“
For the Friendless, huh?”
Detective Young shook his head.

“
Dahlia used to say,
‘Friendless people need friends.’” In that moment, Dahlia’s
beautiful face came to his mind. His entire body wrenched with the
loss of her. He looked down at his hands to keep from weeping. “I
need a break.”

“
If you don’t mind,”
Detective Young said. “We’d like you to walk us through the
scene.”

“
We don’t have a vehicle,”
Hawkins Mac Alister said.

“
Lucky you’re not
friendless,” Detective Young smiled.

F

CHAPTER EIGHT

Sunday morning

October 25 – 10 a.m. EDT

The Jefferson, Downtown Washington DC

Rebecca had been ready to hammer Elizabeth
with the truth. She had all the documents, photographs and reports
from Social Services. But Elizabeth didn’t need that kind of
intervention. She wept at the first photo of the boys’ bedroom.
Even upset, she refused to back down. She wanted to see everything.
While Rebecca held her hand, Patrick went through the photographs
of the house.

“
I never went upstairs,”
Elizabeth said through her tears. “I knew the boys were small, but
Dahlia was size 0. And I…”

Patrick started on the photos of the boys
and Dahlia. Elizabeth clutched each photo and sobbed.

“
Hector did all of this?”
Elizabeth asked. “Don’t answer that. I know he did. He used to
torture flies, mice, alley cats – whatever he could get his hands
on. I never allowed the children to have pets because he was so
cruel. I knew Dahlia was unhappy, but I thought it was because she
chose Hector over Troy. I figured she got what she deserved. But no
one deserves…”

Elizabeth held up the photo of the shackles
on the wall of Dahlia’s room.

“
He locked her in every
night,” Rebecca said. “He threatened to kill the boys if she left
her shackles.”

“
General, Rebecca, what am
I going to do? I can’t go home,” Elizabeth said. “I won’t go home.
We have no money. Mr. Jasper spent every cent of my inheritance.
When the economy crashed, he cashed out my 401K. I… I may not be
shackled, but I’m as trapped as poor Dahlia.”

Rebecca held out a disposable phone.

“
These people are called
‘For the Friendless,’” Rebecca said. “They help women in situations
like yours. The only agreement is that you must repay the money.
There’s no interest. But your repayment ensures that another woman
can get help.”

“
If you’re ready to get
help, call the number that’s programmed in the phone and leave a
message,” Patrick said. “But don’t call unless you’re ready to be
helped.”

“
Huh,” Elizabeth took the
phone and turned it over. “Dahlia had one of these. At that party,
you know, at Red Rocks? Before everything happened, Troy took
Dahlia away. When she came back, she had one of these phones and
was… different, stronger. I was going to ask her but… She gave me
one of these phones a couple months ago. I thought she was an idiot
and threw it away.”

“
I don’t know anything
about that,” Patrick looked at Rebecca. “You?”

Rebecca shook her head. Elizabeth
shivered.

“
Afraid?” Patrick
asked.

“
Terrified, General,”
Elizabeth said. “What if…?”

“
Sometimes, you have to
grit your teeth and move forward,” Patrick said.

“
Yes sir,” Elizabeth said.
“I don’t have anything. Not even a change of clothing.
But…”

“
Yes dear,” Rebecca
said.

“
I do have friends,”
Elizabeth looked from Patrick to Rebecca. “Thank you. Will Gerald
forgive me?”

“
I don’t think he has to,”
Patrick said. “He always knew what was going on.”

“
I’d like to see my
grandchildren,” Elizabeth said.

“
Troy’s with the police
this morning,” Patrick said. “With their mother dead, it’s really
up to him as to who sees the boys.”

“
Oh God, what will I say to
Troy?”

“
You’d be surprised how far
‘I’m sorry’ goes,” Rebecca said.

“
I’ve rented this room for
a week, Elizabeth,” Patrick said. “If you’d like to stay here and
get oriented, you’re welcome too.”

“
Thank you,” Elizabeth
said. “You’re in the city for a while?”

“
We’re here until the kids
leave,” Rebecca said. “Why don’t I call you later and see how you
are?”

“
I’d like that,” Elizabeth
said.

“
Should I leave these?”
Patrick asked.

“
No,” Elizabeth said. “I
won’t ever forget. Ever. Thank you.”

Patrick put the photographs and reports in
his briefcase. He and Rebecca hugged Elizabeth good-bye. They were
in the elevator when he asked:

“
What do you
think?”

“
She’ll either call Jasper
and return to her life or use the disposable phone,” Rebecca said.
“She already destroyed one phone. Who knows?”

“
I’m sorry, Becky,” Patrick
said. “I had to try.”

“
That’s what I love about
you, Paddie,” Rebecca said.

“
She might take the
chance,” Patrick said.

“
She might.”

Unable to come up with words to soothe her
doubt, Patrick gave her a curt nod.

FFFFFF

Sunday morning

October 25 – 10:00 a.m. EDT

Sheridan Circle Mansion, Washington DC

“
This is an interesting
turn of events,” Eoin McKinney said in Ulster Gaelic. The sound of
his rich Irish voice echoed off the marble.

“
Can you believe this
crap?” Cian Kelly replied in Ulster Gaelic. “They whine and whine
and whine about how they work so much while they’re here in
Washington DC. And here they are! Living like proddies on a
government contract.”

“
May I bring you something
while you wait for Mr. Rasmussen?” the butler asked.

“
I’d love some tea,” Eoin
said in Ulster Gaelic.

“
Sir?” the butler
asked.

“
He’d like some tea. I’d
like some as well,” Cian said in English. “Preferably an Irish
breakfast, a wee bit of cream, and a scone or two if you have
them.”