Silent Scream (11 page)

Sam reached back, unfastened the lock, and drew it apart.  “Yeah?”

“Heater, please.”

“Okay.”  He flipped a knob on the dash, and warm air toasted their feet.  “Is that better?”

Gabriel watched Maddie and watched her hands stop moving as she leaned back against the seat.  “Much, thanks.”

He felt the car slowly turn to the left and realized they had left the highwaybehind.  In about two minutes, they would be at the station.

“You seem to be at the right place at the right time,” Maddie said, turning toward him, staring hard at him.  “What were you doing out by my house?”  Her back had stiffened into a hard line.

Frowning, Gabriel shifted in his seat.  “Long story.”

“I want to know.”

Although Gabriel stared at her, he could feel his brother’s gaze lingering on him via the rear-view mirror.  Turning to meet his gaze, Gabriel could have sworn he saw an imperceptible shake to silence him.  But he also knew Maddie deserved some answers.  “I drove out here yesterday and found another piece of evidence.  When I asked the police about it, they didn’t seem to want to give me any answers.  So I went looking for them myself.”

The jacket slipped off the shoulder of Maddie’s broken arm, and she reached to put it back on.  “What was it?”

“A ring.” 
Just the basics, Gabriel.  Don’t give her enough to frighten her.

“Why does this case matter so much to you?  You don’t know me.”

“Because my sister was attacked ten years ago.”  His voice cracked and he turned to face the window, preferring the blinding white snow to Maddie’s eyes–a brown pool that reflected pain he couldn’t shake.  The car decelerated, and Gabriel looked up at the rear-view mirror to find his brother staring at him, hurt beyond disguise lining those dark brown eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she said.  “I know how she–”

“She died at the hands of someone just as vile as the man who raped you.”  The car slowed and turned into the police station parking lot.  “I can’t help Jessie—God, I wish I could.  But that doesn’t mean I can just sit back and watch the guy take you apart and do nothing.”  Sam slowly pulled into a space, and Gabriel threw open the door and jumped out before slamming it shut.

Chapter Eleven

“Did you have to tell her about Jessie?” Sam demanded as they stood outside the station with snowflakes landing on their clothing and hair.  Gabriel had helped Maddie inside, half-carrying her so as not to further aggravate her ankle just before his brother had literally dragged him back outside.  Sam shoved the keys into his jacket pocket.

“Yes, I did,” Gabriel snapped, leaning against the car.  “Maddie’s jumping at ghosts right now, and she has a good reason–somebody wants to kill her.  I don’t want her to think I’m some psycho who’s obsessed with her.”

“And why would she think that?  You saved her life, for God’s sake.”

“Because until I told her about Jessie, she thought I didn’t have a reason for doing any of this.  Now she knows why.”  He pulled out his wallet and flipped through a few business cards until he came to the one he sought.  He grabbed his cell and punched in the number.  “Hey, Tammy, how are you?  This is Gabriel Martin.”  He waited for her reply and peered at his brother’s face, at the red deepening across his cheeks just before he brushed past Gabriel and stalked inside.

“There’s a woman I’m working with who might need counseling.  I believe you’ve seen her before.”  He paused, wanting to say, Maybe you could even counsel my brother while you’re at it–you know, the guy you fell in love with a long time ago who was too stupid to say what he really felt.  “Her name is Maddie Gilcrest.”  He nodded.  “Yeah, she went to retrieve some belongings from her house and found it had been broken into.  The perps were still inside.”  He looked at his watch.  “Twenty minutes ago.  We just got back to the police station so she could give her statement.”  Another pause.  “Yeah, I’m sure we’ll be here for a few.  I’d appreciate it.”  He flipped the phone shut.

He bounded up the steps to the station entrance and stamped his feet, trying to dump the snow from his boots.  As he stepped into the hallway, his boots squeaked against the linoleum, and he gritted his teeth.  He closed the door and raked his fingers through his hair, trying to pat away the snowflakes that had fallen there.  He walked to the desk, carrying Maddie’s sock and shoe.

“Can I help you?” a cop said, staring intently.

“I’m with the woman in there,” he pointed at Maddie through a glassed office wall.  “She twisted her ankle, and I wanted to get some ice for her.”

“Just a minute.”  He disappeared from behind the desk and two minutes later returned with a small sandwich bag full of ice.  “This enough?”

“Perfect.  Thanks.”  He took the bag and walked down the corridor to the office where Maddie sat, staring at the floor.

“Is this the first time you’ve returned to the house since the attack?” the officer asked, scribbling on a lined sheet of paper.

“Yes.”

“Excuse me,” Gabriel said to the cop and then stepped toward Maddie as he offered the bag.  “Here’s some ice.”

Maddie reached out, her fingers trembling as she took it and pressed it against her ankle.  “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”  He pointed back to the hallway.  “I’m going to step outside with my brother.  Call if you need something.”

Maddie nodded and closed her eyes as she continued to hold the bag against her ankle.  Her long brown hair spilled down her legs, almost touching the floor.

Gabriel went back to the front desk, “You seen Sam Martin, a cop from Owens?”

The cop nodded.  “Down the hall and to your left. He’s in the room next door to interrogations.”

Gabriel tapped on the desk.  “Thanks a lot.”  Striding down the hallway, he passed three or four other cops before he saw his brother in the hallway.  “What’s happening?”

Sam nodded toward the room where Gabriel saw a one-way mirror adjoining the next room where a male teenage thug in black leather sat at a table, leaning back on two of the four chair legs.  “They’re questioning one of the hoodlums from Maddie’s house.  In a few minutes, they’ll bring her this way to see if she recognizes either of them.  I don’t think they had anything to do with what happened to Maddie, at least not that first time.”

“That first time?  What do you mean?  You make it sound like it could happen again.”

Sam pulled off his hat and scratched his head.  “The rapist threatened to kill her.”  He looked at the kid in leather, and Sam frowned at the stony expression on his face.  “A threat isn’t that uncommon and a lot of times can be an empty expression.  In this case, being that there is a tie to the law enforcement community, there’s quite a bit of reason to believe that threat could be made good.  The perp has a helluva lot to hide.”

Gabriel felt his back stiffen, and he tried to relax, but the words wouldn’t let him.  “Did you hear anything new about the ring?”

“No,” Sam said, leaning against the doorway.  “There hasn’t been a word,” He lifted off his hat, scratched his forehead, and put it back.  “Which means one of two things: either they are keeping a tight lid on it, or that ring never made it to the evidence room.”

“Do you think those kids were looking for the ring?  That the perp might have hired them to find it?”

Tapping his foot, Sam shook his head.  “Maybe.  But why would they search her home?  I thought she hadn’t been there since the assault.”

“She hasn’t.  But that doesn’t mean the perp knew it.”   Gabriel gritted his teeth.  “So what happens now?”

“We wait.”

Although Gabriel opened his mouth to argue, another cop approached, leading Maddie as she limped slowly behind the officer, carefully placing her foot to minimize the pain as she used the wall to brace herself. Yolanda brought up the rear, walking closely behind Maddie.  Gabriel stepped forward as Maddie approached, barely resisting the urge to reach out and take her arm.  “Do you need some help?”

“I’m managing,” she said, pausing long enough for Sam and him to clear away from the doorway before she stepped inside and hobbled to a chair next to a table.

Not by much
, Gabriel thought.

“This is a one-way mirror,” the cop said, pointing to the glass.  “Although you can see through it, nobody on the other side can see you.  So you can relax.  Do you recognize the guy in black?” one of the cops asked her, gazing at the teenage boy.

Maddie squinted, scrutinizing his features before she finally shook her head.  “No.  I’ve never seen him before.”

“You sure?”  The cop turned from the mirror to face her.”

“Positive.”  She folded her arm across her chest and latched onto the cast while leaning forward in her chair until she perched on the front half.  Crossing her legs, she let the wounded foot dangle.

 “Okay.”  He knocked on the glass three times and resumed leaning.  “They’ll take him away and bring out the other guy we found fleeing from your home.  Maybe you’ll recognize this one.”

Maddie watched as one officer jerked the teenager by his arm and led him from the room.  Looking down, she placed the bag of ice on her ankle and waited.  She closed her eyes and tried not to think about anything, wishing she could forget about all of this.

“What about this one?  Do you recognize him?” The cop asked, touching her shoulder.

Straightening, Maddie peered through the glass at a blond teenager dressed in jeans and a thick denim jacket. Tufts of thick blond hair poked from his head.  “No,” she finally said.  “He doesn’t look familiar, either.”  As she rose from the chair and started to leave, another tall blond cop walked in.  Maddie gasped at the familiar bluntness of his chin, the cool blue of his eyes.

“What is it?” Yolanda asked, stepping closer to Maddie. 

“Nothing.”  Maddie inhaled sharply, aware the cop in the room was staring at her.  “I want to go home,” she said, rushing toward the door.

“Is it him?” the cop asked, straightening.

“No, I told you I didn’t recognize the kid.”  She rushed toward the doorway where Gabriel and Sam stood, exchanging glances.  “Yolanda, can we go?”  She looked imploringly at her friend.

“Some things have come up, Maddie, and I’d really like to drive you myself, if that would be all right.” Sam said.

Maddie looked at Sam and Gabriel uncertainly before she finally replied.  “Yes, I would appreciate that.  Can we go now?”  She leaned over and tried to put on her shoe, but her foot and ankle were too swolled.  She shuddered and started hobbling down the hall.

“You’re only making your ankle worse.  Lean on me,” Gabriel said.

Maddie watched at his face, delving deep into his dark eyes with her blue ones, searching for something hidden.  His frown deepened, etching furrows into his forehead.  She swallowed the lump in the back of her throat before nodding and sliding her arm around his neck so he could support her.

Together, Maddie and Gabriel walked down the hall, past the desk, and out the door with Sam and Yolanda trailing behind.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this,” Yolanda said as the glass door slowly swished closed. 

“There’s a reason,” Sam said, whirling and heading back into the station as Gabriel opened the back door and assisted Maddie in sitting down.

Yolanda stopped at her own car and watched Maddie go to Sam’s.  “Maddie, you really didn’t look all that hard at those guys to see if one of them was your attacker.  If he was one of them, he could come back.”  She turned to face them.

Gabriel watched Maddie as she leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes.  Her long, dark hair cascaded down her shoulders and across her breasts.  “She won’t be unprotected,” Gabriel countered.

“What do you mean?” Yolanda asked.

Gabriel reached into his pocket for his cell phone.  “Either Sam will get somebody from his office, or I’ll stay with you guys.  I’ve got more than enough leave time.”  He glanced at her enough to realize she was completely inside the car before he closed the door.

He turned back to Yolanda.  “We’ll meet you at your house.”

Yolanda nodded, climbed in the car, and drove away.

Maddie jerked from her reclining position and stared as he sat down.  “You don’t have to do that,” she blurted out as he closed his door.  

Gabriel looked out the windshield, watching the entrance to the  station as his brother exited, sauntered down the steps, and mad his way through the parking lot until he’d reached the cruiser.  “Don’t you get it?” Gabriel said.  “I’m not doing anything because I have to.  I’m doing this because it’s important.”  He leveled his gaze at Maddie and patted her knee.  “You shouldn’t be unprotected.”

As Sam opened the driver’s door and slipped behind the wheel, Gabriel settled back into his seat and fastened his seatbelt.  “Did you get what you needed?” he asked his brother.

“You bet.”  Sam’s gaze met his in the reflection of the rear-view mirror.

“I knew you would.”  Gabriel thumbed the buttons of his cell phone.  “Hey, I know I called you just a moment ago, but we had an emergency, and right now might not be so good.  How ‘bout tomorrow?  I think I can handle things until then.”   He paused for a moment and nodded.  “Yeah, sounds good.  See you then.”

Gabriel terminated the call and thrust the cell back into his pocket.

“Sorry to interrupt your date,” Maddie said, peering out the window as they drove away.  “Perhaps I should apologize for interrupting your life yet again.  I don’t mean to be such a nuisance.”

“It wasn’t a date,” Gabriel said, “and you’re not being a nuisance.”

“I bet you say that to all the girls,” Maddie countered in a flat tone.  Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she also dabbed at her eyes, trying to blot away the tears.

“Nope.  Just the ones who charm my dog.”

As they pulled onto the main street and Yolanda gave directions, Maddie focused on the snow speckle the glass before blowing away.  And then the tears pooled so thickly in her eyes the world blurred.

“Hey, are you all right?”  Gabriel touched her shoulder, his fingers gently massaging the tangled muscles.