Sue

Sue

A Sequel to Zeke by

Wodke
Hawkinson

© 2013 by
Wodke
Hawkinson

All rights reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information
storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author,
except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations and
events in this work are either products of the author’s imagination or used
fictitiously.

Acknowledgements

We
would like to thank our spouses and families

for
their continued support and encouragement.

“You don’t ask people with knives in their stomachs what
would make them happy; happiness is no longer the point. It’s all about
survival; it’s all about whether you pull the knife out and bleed to death or
keep it in ...”

~Nick
Hornby

Chapter 1

The physical wounds would take a
long time to heal, the psychological wounds even longer.

Sue Cox huddled in the hospital
bed, her battered face a testament of the torture she’d experienced at the
hands of Zeke, the man she had loved. Other deeper wounds hid beneath bandages
and blankets and behind the haunted look in her swollen, bruised eyes.

She jerked in fright toward the
doorway as footsteps slowed and then stopped outside her room. Someone entered
but she couldn’t see who it was; a curtain blocked her vision. Her heart rate
accelerated and she reached for the call button. But she relaxed when private
investigator, Will Falstaff, came into sight carrying a vase overflowing with
yellow flowers and a cheery balloon bobbing on a ribbon.

He couldn’t hide his wince at the
sight of her, although he’d seen her just the day before and should have been
mentally prepared for the vision she presented. If anything, her injuries
looked worse.
More swelling, deeper bruising.
But that
was often the case with a severe beating.

Sue noticed his reaction. “It’s not
as bad as it looks.” She shot a meaningful glance in the direction of her
hovering parents.

“No, no. You seem much better
today. I can tell,” Will lied, understanding she wanted him to play down her
condition for the sake of her folks. He busied himself arranging the items he’d
brought on her bedside table.

Frank Cox stood and shook Will’s
hand. Linda, his wife, gave him a quick hug and stepped back, pressing a tissue
to her cheek to catch a tear. Tension occupied the room along with a sense of
sorrow.

Will
cleared
his throat. “Have you folks had lunch yet?”

“No,” Linda hurried to answer.
“We’re not hungry.” Her stomach growled and she looked abashed.

Will
smiled
softly. “Go ahead. I’ll sit with Sue while you go down to the cafeteria.”

He was rewarded with looks of
gratitude from Sue’s parents.

“That would be great, Will. We just
hate leaving her here alone.” Frank reached over and patted Sue’s hand,
carefully avoiding the IV. “We’ll be right back, sweetheart.”

“It’s ok, Dad. I’m not going
anywhere.”

Her joke fell flat and a look of
dismay passed over Frank’s face. The fact that she
had
gone somewhere in
the not-too-distant past was the reason she was here in this hospital room,
recovering from a brutal attack.

Sue hurried to correct her mistake.
“I just mean, go ahead and eat. I’ll be fine. Mr. Falstaff is here and there’s
an officer right outside my door. Take your time.”

Linda kissed her daughter lightly
on the temple. Turning, she took her husband’s arm, speaking over her shoulder
as Frank led her toward the door. “They have a buffet. We won’t be long.”

Once they were gone, Sue sighed
deeply. “Thank you, Mr. Falstaff. This will sound awful, but I really needed a
break from them. I mean, I’m glad they’re here, but their distress exhausts me.
It’s hard to take. They want me to talk to them, tell them everything that
happened; which I could never do. Besides, I just want to forget it all.”

Will nodded as he pulled up a chair
beside her bed. “I doubt if it will be that simple, Susan. You’ve been through
a lot. It’s most likely going to take awhile to...”

“I know, I know.” She closed her
eyes briefly. “A psychologist was in earlier. The doctors want me to set up
regular appointments with a therapist when I get home. My folks were all over
that, agreeing with him. So, I guess I’ll be talking to a shrink.”

“Maybe that’s not such a bad idea.”
Will removed his coat and leaned back.

Sue gave him a sad look. “Don’t you
see? The last thing I want to do is rehash what happened. It’s humiliating.”

She shifted in bed, the movement
bringing a quick grimace to her face. She reached for her glass of water and
Will scooted the tray closer so she could get it. After a sip on the straw, she
replaced the drink and lay back against her pillow. Her eyes rested on Will’s
face. “Do
you
think I need a psychiatrist?”

Will took a deep breath and let it
out slowly. “I know you want me to say you don’t, but there are times in almost
everyone’s lives when they could use counseling. Unfortunately most of us
ignore the need. But you’ve been through more than anyone deserves and your wounds
run much deeper than the surface. Sometimes it helps to talk to someone.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m ruined
anyway.”

“Ruined? What do you mean?” His
voice was gentle.

“I’m sure by now the police have
Zeke’s computer.
His camera.”
Her voice grew hoarse and
tears leaked from her eyes.
“Oh god, the pictures.
He
took lots of pictures of me.
Doing...things.”

Will rose and pulled some tissues
from the box near the bed and handed them to her. “You mean committing crimes?”

Shaking her head, she sobbed once,
and then gained some control. Her hand lay at her side, tissues crumpled in her
fingers. “No.
Other things.
Immoral
things.
Disgusting things.
Will my parents ever
see those pictures?”

“I really can’t say for sure. They
might be used as evidence if Zeke is ever found and the case goes to trial.
Then they would probably have to use the pictures. I’m just guessing since I
haven’t even seen them. But I’m pretty sure the police aren’t going to share
them with your parents or anyone else unless it becomes a necessity. After all,
you’re an adult. Your parents aren’t legally responsible for you. Another thing
you have to remember, Susan, you’re one of the casualties here, not a
criminal.”

“I don’t know about that,” Sue
lamented. “I stole some hair dye and I was with Zeke when he broke into a house
and into some vending machines for money. Plus, I was there when he did some
really horrible things.”

“As for the hair dye, that is such
a minor crime that you would basically get your hand slapped. And the two other
instances you mention, Zeke did the crimes. According to you, you were simply
with him at the time. That makes you, at the most, an accessory and neither of
those crimes was horrible. Not that they are okay, just forgivable. From what I
understand, you were more or less a hostage by the time he killed that woman in
Four Falls.
You certainly weren’t a participant. You were a victim.” His eyes held hers,
offering comfort. “You need to lighten up on yourself; you were under duress.
Don’t beg for punishment.”

“I hate being a victim. I don’t
want anyone to know what I’ve done, or what’s been done to me. But the killing
has already been on the news and it won’t be long before they mention me by
name. Everyone’s going to find out. When I go back home, I’ll have that to face.”

“People will be curious, sure. But
you can’t let them get to you. Just walk away if someone gets too nosy. Before
you know it, it’ll pass. People have short attention spans and there’s always
some new tragedy to distract them. You’ll get past this.”

Looking at her lap and fiddling
with the sheet, Sue spoke softly. “Part of me wants to see him again.”

This shocked Will. “What? Please
tell me you’re not serious.”

“I’m just so confused.” Sue raised
her head, glanced at Will and away again, and dabbed at her cheeks. “I find it
hard to understand what’s true and what isn’t. How could he love me and then
hurt me so badly?”

Will swallowed
hard,
choking back the urge to remind her Zeke had almost killed her.
Hell,
would have killed her if he’d had just a little more
time alone with her. To remind her about the woman he
had
killed. That
she’d been there when it happened. But, of course she knew that already. And
her comment made him realize she was too fragile for a direct approach;
besides, it certainly wasn’t his place to play psychotherapist. He kept his
voice calm. “There’s no point in looking for logic when you’re dealing with a
nutcase like Zeke. You won’t find it.”

“Lord, maybe I do need a shrink.”
She shifted her position to face him, groaning a little as she did so. Then,
pasting on a false smile, she changed the subject. “Tell me how you were able
to find us. How you managed to save me. Tell me everything.”

Will was concerned. Her obvious
depression and self-loathing troubled him. But he went along with her request.
Until her parents returned, Will talked about his partner, Roxie, and their
assistant, Melvin. He explained how they tracked the journey she’d taken with
Zeke and all that had gone into finding her.

“We figured out the abandoned
building factor early on, so Melvin did a lot of the research on that angle.
Roxie kept our communications fluid and I, well, I just drove like a bat out of
hell.”

“Will you tell Roxie and Melvin how
much I appreciate what they did?”

“I’ll be sure to do that,” Will
assured
her.

Sue’s parents returned carrying
leftovers in Styrofoam boxes. Will nodded at them and rose to leave. He draped
his coat over his arm. “Have the doctors said when you get to go home?”

“They think it will be a week or
so. Depends on how things go. We’re going to fly back. I’ve never flown before,
so that’ll be something.” Her tone was artificially bright.

Will squeezed her fingers. “Give my
office a call when you get home and let us know how you’re doing, ok?” His
voice was a bit husky. He’d developed an emotional attachment to this case, to
this girl, probably unavoidable.

As Will slid his arms into his
coat, Frank walked out with him. They nodded at the officer outside the door,
and stepped a few feet away.

“Any word on the
kidnapper?”
Frank asked.

Will mentally shook his head. Zeke
wasn’t a kidnapper; Sue had gone with the man willingly. But if Frank had to
think of him that way to achieve some peace of mind, Will wasn’t going to
correct him. “Far as I know, he’s long gone. You’ll need to keep checking with
the police on that, I’m not in the loop anymore. My job was technically over
when I found Sue.” He hesitated. “I do have one piece of advice, if you don’t
mind my offering it.”

“Go ahead.” Frank gave him his full
attention.

“Get a good criminal lawyer. I
think she’ll probably need one.”

“I took care of that first
thing this morning,” he told Will. “He’s confident he can keep her name out of
the news, at least for now. Said she’ll be referred to as an unidentified
witness. But if it ever goes to trial, all bets are off.”

The two men stared at the door
to Sue’s room for a moment.

“Be sure to tell Sue that. She’s
extremely worried about what folks are going to think of her.” Will squeezed
Frank’s shoulder.

“I’ll definitely do that, Will.”
Frank’s voice broke a little. “I can’t thank you enough for what you did. And
you were injured, too. How’s your leg?”

“Oh, I’ll be fine. I’m tough as a
pine knot.” Will smiled and shook Frank’s hand. “Look out for that girl of
yours.”

Tears filled Frank’s eyes. Will
pretended not to notice as he turned and shambled down the hall and out of the St.
Louis hospital.

The sky was gray with clouds that
promised rain as Will limped to the parking garage to retrieve his car. It was
a long drive home, but he looked forward to being back in Cyrus,
Maine again. He missed his office and his
home. He even missed Melvin. Mostly he missed his partner, Roxie.

Chapter 2

The flight home had been stressful
for Sue, but she did her best to hide her anxiety and discomfort. The doctors
had prescribed pain meds but Sue only pretended to take them, using them only
when the pain was too intense to handle. She was loath to ingest drugs
voluntarily after the way Zeke had forced them on her. It was easier to say
she’d taken them than try to explain her feelings to her parents. She figured
she could tough out the worst of it.

When they pulled up in front of
their house, her eyes filled with tears.
Home, finally.
She hobbled
inside on damaged feet, supported on her father’s arm. Her mother rushed ahead
to unlock the door and turn on lights. Slowly lowering herself to the sofa, Sue
held a trembling hand over the sutured knife wound in her side. She feared any
sudden movement would rip open the stitches although the doctors had assured
her she was healing well from the surgery.

“Would you rather be in your
bedroom?” Linda was nervous, unsure how to behave with the stranger her
daughter had become.