RAINEY DAYS (31 page)
Authors: R. E. Bradshaw
Rainey was starting to believe Taylor could be the guy. She said, “They almost always try to be involved in the investigation. Can he account for all the drugs in his practice?”
“That’s interesting, too. He filed a complaint with the County Sheriff’s office, way back before the bodies started floating up in Lake Johnston. Taylor said a large shipment of medications went missing. He said he had just signed for them, which was backed up by the shipping company manifest. He sat the box down, by the front desk, when a lady came in with a dog that had been hit by a car. When he came back, he said the package was no longer on the floor, where he left it. The staff didn’t see anybody come in, they were all too busy helping with the dog.”
“Convenient,” Rainey commented.
“To top it off, he claimed JW could verify his story, because he had helped the woman bring the dog into the office and stayed until after the police had come and gone.”
“Interesting, how he tied himself to JW as a witness, instead of his victim,” Rainey said. “Speaking of JW, have you talked to him?”
Danny snorted, “If you mean, have I listened to him rant and rave, yes, I’ve spoken with Mr. Wilson several times. I haven’t gotten many answers from him about Taylor, because he’s so focused on crucifying you. He’s got a hard on for you, Rainey. Watch your back.”
Rainey laughed, “I saw him just a little while ago. I don’t think he’ll be calling me out anytime soon. I simply reminded him I knew where too many of his skeletons were buried.”
“That’s the Rainey I know and love. Tell the son of bitch to stick it,” Danny said.
Rainey smiled to herself and then asked Danny, “Is that the official Bureau position?”
Danny was feeling a little cocky himself, “As far as I’m concerned JW Wilson is a non factor in this investigation. I can get as much information out of Katie, about their relationship with Taylor and the rest I can find out from other sources. I’d just as soon not have to talk to the man again, I might punch him.”
Rainey giggled, “I might shoot him in the ass, if he keeps bothering Katie.”
Danny became serious, “Don’t do that Rainey.”
Rainey laughed harder and then covered her mouth, afraid she might wake Katie. When she finally could, she said, “I was just kidding, Danny. Relax.”
“I have to go in now and take another crack at Mr. Taylor. I’ll let you know if anything breaks,” he said, in a hurry to hang up.
Rainey said, “Okay, shoot me the picture and tell Mackie where my car is before you go in. Oh, and take the picture with his shirt off, it will help.”
“Okay, Rainey, sit tight. It’s almost over.” Danny hung up.
Rainey returned to her post in the recliner. She watched Katie breath and waited as the clock ticked by the morning. Margie brought her coffee when she asked, and offered her fresh scrubs until her clothes arrived. Rainey must have looked like hell. It was the second time Margie suggested a shower. Margie promised to stay in the room, in case Katie woke up and Rainey finally caved, took the scrubs and went into the bathroom to shower. Margie even brought a hairbrush, toothbrush and toothpaste, all in a sealed plastic sanitary bag.
Rainey closed and locked the bathroom door. She took the pistol from her pants and laid it on the back of the toilet. When Rainey finally looked in the mirror, she saw that her face was the only thing clean on her body. She had washed it last night after she got sick. Her tee shirt was stained with dirt and dark spots that must have been Katie’s blood. Her pants had thick dust in places, from the farmhouse. Rainey saw Katie’s blood on her neck, where she had rested her head, when Rainey carried her out of the farmhouse. Margie was correct. Rainey needed a shower.
The hot water beating on her back felt incredibly good. She stayed longer than she intended to, after washing her hair and body, leaning on the shower wall, allowing the water to release the tension in her tight neck muscles. The fresh scrubs felt so comfortable and clean, unlike the dirty clothes, she placed in the plastic bag, marked “Personal Belongings,” she found on the back of the bathroom door. She put the pistol on top of her clothes and snapped the bag shut. Rainey brushed her teeth and hair and left her hair down for a while. Tying it back was beginning to give her a headache. She put the tie back around her wrist and exited the bathroom.
Margie smiled at her, “You look like you feel better.”
“Yes, I do,” Rainey, said, going over to put the bag by the recliner, “Thank you for suggesting the shower. I really needed one. I hadn’t noticed how dirty I was.”
“You were focused on Katie,” Margie said.
Rainey looked at the sleeping Katie, “I guess I was.”
What Margie said next, surprised Rainey. She looked at Katie and back at Rainey and said, “My granddaughter is gay. I can only hope she finds a love like the one you two have for each other. You were all Katie talked about this morning when we were alone.”
Rainey did not know what to say. She had not thought about being a lesbian role model. Rainey could not tell Margie she had known Katie less than a week. She at last said, “Katie is a special person. I do hope your granddaughter finds someone like her.”
Margie smiled at Rainey, saying, “I wouldn’t mind if she found someone like you, a woman who carries a gun. I’d feel like she was safer and you’re a special kind of person yourself, and pretty, I might add.”
“Thank you, Margie. That is nice of you to say,” Rainey said, feeling her cheeks blush.
“Well, I’ll leave you two alone now. I’ll bring you fresh coffee, the next time I come in. There’s water and ice in the pitcher there, if you get thirsty. If you need anything, just push the call button.”
Again, Rainey was alone with Katie. She sat in the recliner and turned the TV on. She watched the news channel, with the volume turned off. Rainey was not surprised to see her name go by on the news ticker at the bottom of the screen. They even showed an old FBI photo, from a very early field office assignment, years ago. She was much younger then and smiling. Then the image of her grim face appeared, pushing by the reporter and being accosted by JW.
Rainey was glad the volume was off, so she did not have to listen to the two analysts discussing her case. Pictures of Katie, from the school web page, and a few of her in public settings, standing with JW, faded in and out on the screen. Then JW’s official State Representative photo zoomed in and stayed on the screen, while the analysts seemed to be discussing his political career.
Rainey turned the TV to an episode of The Andy Griffith show. She did not need volume. She knew them all by heart. Rainey thought to herself how nice it would be if they all lived in Mayberry, where the worst criminal was Otis, the drunk. Nevertheless, Rainey did not live in Mayberry, with the kind sheriff and goofy deputy. She looked at Katie’s brutalized body and wished it so with all her heart.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Mackie arrived two hours later with Rainey’s clothes and laptop. The lab was finished with Rainey’s car, so Junior drove it to the hospital. Mackie gave her the keys and told her where it was parked. Mackie had updated Ernie, who was presently shopping for all the things Rainey would need, when she brought Katie home from the hospital. She remembered taking care of Rainey and knew what it would take to care for Katie. Ernie had the code and was going over to change the sheets and clean up the cottage. She needed to do something and that was all she could really do at the time.
“Ernie said your mother called,” Mackie told Rainey, while they stood outside Katie’s door.
“What did Ernie tell her?”
Mackie laughed, “No comment.”
Rainey laughed, too. Drawing looks from the nurses in the hallway. They quieted down, well as much as possible for Mackie, whose bass voice seemed to rumble down the hall.
“Thank you, for doing all this,” Rainey said.
“I was glad to get out of here. I stopped by the house to check in with Thelma,” he said.
Thelma was Mackie’s wife. A long suffering woman, who was used to Mackie vanishing for days, and let him do it with no argument from her. Thelma knew she could not tie Mackie down. Their marriage was a happy one, for the most part, and they had recently celebrated their thirty-five year anniversary.
“How is Thelma?” Rainey asked, being polite. She was not expecting the long story that came next.
Mackie answered, “She’s overloaded with tomatoes from the garden right now. They are everywhere in the house. I went to take a shower and had to take the tomatoes out of the tub first. I’m serious; there are hundreds of tomatoes in that house. She’s canning as fast as she can, but she can’t keep up. She sent a bag with me to leave at the cottage. She said to tell you her prayer group has you and Katie on their list.”
A nurse passing them in the hall said, “Bring some tomatoes up here, we’ll help her get rid of them.” She laughed and walked away.
“Thank Thelma for me,” Rainey said, “the next time you talk to her.”
Mackie said, “I will,” then asked, “Have you heard anything from Danny?”
“He sent me an email with Taylor’s picture attached. I need to look at it,” Rainey answered.
“Well, I’ll let you get to it,” Mackie said, preparing to leave. “I’ll be in the waiting room, if you need me.”
Rainey told him good-bye and took her things into Katie’s room. Katie was still sleeping, so Rainey went into the bathroom, taking her belongings bag with her. She took the pistol out of the bag and redressed this time in the jeans and two tee shirts Mackie had brought her. He knew about the undershirt she always wore to hide the scar. She tucked the pistol back in her pants and covered it, with the FBI jacket she retrieved from the bag. She was not totally ready to believe that Danny had the killer with him. He could be turned loose any minute, if he asked for a lawyer. Rainey was taking no chances. She put her hair back up and went back out to the recliner.
Rainey used the Wi-Fi signal from the hospital and got on line. She pulled up her email and found the one from Danny. She clicked on the attachment and the picture of a dark haired, blue-eyed man appeared on her screen. He was handsome and had a dazed look in his eyes. Rainey zoomed in on his face and tried to imagine it covered in leather. She stared into his eyes. It could be him, but she was not sure. She looked at his body hair, trying to recognize a pattern of growth, anything that might spark a memory. Rainey simply had not seen enough of her attacker’s face to make a positive identification. It was a dead end.
“What are you looking at?” Katie was talking to her.
Rainey set the laptop aside, closing the lid so Katie could not see the picture of Taylor.
“Hey sweetheart, you had a long nap,” Rainey said, standing up and going to the side of the bed. “How do you feel?”
Katie touched her face. “I think the pain meds are wearing off.”
“I’ll call the nurse,” Rainey said, reaching for the call button.
“Wait,” Katie said, stopping her. “What day is it?”
Rainey let go of the call button. “It’s Tuesday afternoon.”
“Did someone call my school and tell them I wouldn’t be there?” Katie asked.
“I think they knew, Katie. You were taken from the school Monday night,” Rainey reminded her.
Katie thought for a second, trying to remember. “I forgot about that. Why can’t I remember?”
Katie was growing agitated again. Rainey said to her calmly, “Katie, the drugs you were given can cause amnesia for the time just before, during, and after you have been injected. Don’t try to remember. It will come to you slowly or not at all. Pray for not at all, you don’t want to remember what happened to you, take it from one who knows.”
Katie was not affected by Rainey’s suggestion that she not try to remember, she said, “It’s so frustrating.”
Rainey tried again to make her understand, “Katie, please concentrate on getting well. You need to not waste your energy trying to remember something that will probably always be a black hole for you.”
Katie looked at Rainey, “Is that what happened to you? You don’t remember.”
Rainey saw that Katie was trying to come to grips with the fact that she may never remember the man who attacked her. Rainey spoke softly, “I don’t remember very much at all and I was given a whole lot lower dosage than you received. I’ve come to terms with not remembering, because the parts I do remember are bad enough. I don’t want you to remember. Do you understand that I’m trying to help you?”
Katie accepted what Rainey was saying finally, “I understand. You’re trying to protect me.”
Rainey squeezed Katie’s hand and said, “I don’t want you to hurt anymore than you already are. I want you to get well and come live with me for the rest of my life.”
Katie smiled, letting the memory issues go for the moment, “Why Rainey Bell, are you asking me to marry you?”
Rainey laughed at herself, “I know it’s crazy, we haven’t known each other very long, but I can’t think about a day without you in it. I’ve completely lost my mind over you, so yes, if you’ll have me, I’ll spend every moment making you happy. We’ll eventually forget about all this, and I would like to live happily ever after with you.”
Katie teased Rainey, “Well, that’s a lot to process and I probably shouldn’t make life changing decisions, in the condition I’m in.”
Rainey was not deterred, “I’ll wait. I’ll wait as long as it takes. You’ve stolen my heart.”
“Do you think you could steal my clothes from the house, so I don’t have to see JW ever again, except when we go to court to end this sham marriage,” Katie said.
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