Jason cleared his throat and John Patton gave him a funny look.
“Something you need to tell me?”
Jason was unnerved sometimes by how the lieutenant could read his crew.
“Uh…well…actually, yes”
“Well, out with it.”
“I wasn’t supposed to be the one to tell you but clearly the circumstances have changed that.”
“Changed what? Make sense, man.”
“Detective Layne is pregnant.”
“What!”
“Detective…”
“I heard you! How long?”
“Couple months, I think.”
“No. How long has she known?”
“A few weeks, I guess.”
He was quiet for several minutes until they pulled into the station. Finally, he looked at Jason.
“Find her.”
“Yes sir.”
Chapter 13
Her abductor didn’t say another word while they drove. In just a few minutes, they turned down a quiet street into a subdivision. It took Vanessa a minute or two to figure out why the area looked familiar. It slowly dawned on her where they were. They couldn’t be more than two or three blocks from Marcie Walker’s parents house.
They pulled into the driveway of an average split level home. The color was drab beige, the windows were clean with mini blinds drawn tight. The front door was brown as were the shutters, all of which were in perfect condition. The lawn was green from consistent watering and manicured to perfection. A winding walk led from the brick mailbox up to the front door.
As they pulled into the garage, the automatic door closed and Vanessa got the distinct feeling that her life was disappearing behind that door.
He got out and came around to the passenger side. Vanessa’s wrists were raw from the zip ties but he cinched them a little tighter. She moaned but he didn’t seem to notice. He walked her to the door into the house and when he opened it, Vanessa was assaulted with the smell of filth.
Stepping inside, she realized that the outside was just a facade to hide the depravity inside. His neighbors probably thought he was great to have in the neighborhood. She could see into the kitchen and the food, half-eaten, with flies and maggots on it. Pots and dishes were piled up in and around the sink. Beer bottles were everywhere. The living room had furniture cast around it in no particular order and a TV sat near the front window.
He pointed at a kitchen chair sitting in the living room.
“Sit there.”
Vanessa moved over to the chair and sat. He grabbed a remote control and turned on the TV, flipping through the channels until he found a news report. He turned up the volume.
Police are involved in an all out manhunt for one of their own. Detective Vanessa Layne was taken in an apparent abduction outside her home this morning.
Police are asking for the public’s help in finding a black pickup truck with a white camper top. The vehicle has been identified as the one used in the abduction.
Vanessa saw a picture of herself pop up on the television screen. It was her police ID photo from when she made detective. The screen then went to a picture of her house. Rob was just going into the house when this was taken and her heart jumped into her throat when she saw him.
The picture vanished and he threw the remote onto the table. She realized that nobody on this street would suspect their neighbors truck as being the vehicle police were seeking. Not with the groomed yard and nice house. She fought to control the panic building inside her. None of her training at the academy dealt with being a hostage.
Her abductor walked over and jerked her upright. She was dragged roughly towards a door at the end of a hallway. When they reached it, he pushed it open, and shoved her in. She fell over something in the middle of the floor, landing head first against the far wall. Everything went black.
****
Jason arrived at the hospital and made his way to Stephanie Morris’s room. She was still not awake. He took a chair next to the bed and opened his files. Something in these files might help him find Vanessa. Lieutenant Patton was leading the task force on the streets and Jason still felt that what Stephanie knew could be his best chance to save his partner. He poured himself into the crime scene photos, forensic evidence and witness accounts. It was exhausting and after several hours, he dozed off.
****
“Who…who are you?”
Jason wasn’t sure, as he came awake, who was questioning him.
“Who are… you?”
Jason sat up with a start. He looked at where the voice came from. It was Stephanie.
“You’re awake.”
“Barely. Do I know you?”
“My name is Detective Jason Strong.”
Just the effort of asking a couple questions seemed to take her back into a coma.
“Miss Morris? Stephanie? Can you hear me?”
She mumbled something without opening her eyes and Jason jumped up to call a nurse. He leaned out the door and spotted a nurse at the desk.
“Nurse! She’s coming around.”
He ducked back in the room. The nurse was right behind him and checked the monitors before going over to Stephanie. While hanging directly over her, she softly spoke.
“Miss? Miss?”
The girls eyes fluttered open and Jason got an instant shot of adrenaline.
“Yes?”
“How are you feeling?”
“Tired. Where am I?”
“You’re at San Antonio General Hospital. Do you remember anything of what happened to you?”
“Not really. How did I get here?”
Jason stepped forward.
“You were shot. Do you remember that?”
The girl turned her glassy stare towards the detective.
“Who are you?”
Jason tried to remain patient.
“My name is Detective Jason Strong from San Antonio police. I am trying to catch the man that did this to you.”
The mention of the man brought her more awake and her eyes got huge. She started looking around her like she thought he might be there. Her movement caused pain to shoot through her shoulder.
“Owww. I remember now. He took me to the woods.”
“Yes. Do you remember anything else?”
At that moment, Jason heard Doctor Nance come in behind him. The nurse had notified her that Stephanie was waking up.
“That’ll be all for now, detective. Anything she tells you in her half awake state would probably not be reliable anyway. She will need several hours rest before you can question her more.”
Jason looked at the doctor and back at Stephanie, who had already closed her eyes again, and appeared to be back to sleep. Jason figured there was no point in arguing further. He gathered his files and went to call the lieutenant.
****
Vanessa slowly let her eyes creep open. Her head hurt and she was still piled up against the wall where she had fallen. She looked down at her feet and saw what she had tripped on. A mattress.
She sat up slowly, being careful not to make her head hurt any worse. She dabbed at her forehead and came away with some dried blood. She could see some matching blood on the hole in the drywall that her head had made.
Bit by bit, the cobwebs cleared, and she started to put the pieces together. She was in the house of the man they call ‘wine glass’ and she was alone. She remembered the TV saying they were looking for her and then being dragged down the hall.
Vanessa looked around, trying to get a sense of the room she was in. The lone window had a set of bars over it and was blacked out but enough light was coming in near the top to tell her it was daytime. Whether it was the same day she couldn’t tell.
She crawled across the mattress and up to the door. Putting her ear against it, she could hear the TV playing but couldn’t make out what was being said. She tried the doorknob. It was locked. She felt around for a light switch and flipped it on.