Silent Scream (8 page)

Grabbing the newspaper from the dash, he turned to the entertainment section and found the crossword puzzle.  Although most of the guys read the paper, none of them liked to work the puzzle, just him, and so he relished a few minutes spent figuring it out.

He was in the middle of trying to guess a six-letter word for
agree
that started with the letter ‘c’ when he saw the dark flash of David’s police shirt pass in front of his window.  Gabriel rolled it down.

“You said you had something.”

“Yeah.”  Gabriel nodded,  set the paper back on his dash, and dropped his pen next to it.  He opened the door and held out the ring.  “What do you make of this?”

“Where did you find it?”

“Next to where I found Maddie.  That’s why I think it might have something to do with her case.”

 “How the hell did we ever miss that?”  David leaned close and peered at it, frowning as he shook his head.  He grabbed the bag.

“I don’t know.  How is Maddie doing?”

David peered at the ring from a different angle.  “She’s pretty rattled, but she’s holding up well considering the perp threatened to kill her if she ratted.” 

Gabriel cinched his fingers into fists as tension corded his neck and shoulder muscles.  “Do you think he’s serious or just trying to keep her quiet?”

David picked up the small bag.  “Who knows?”  After he closed the zip-lock on it, he ran his finger across the crest as though familiar with it.

Gabriel’s heart rate sped up, and he shoved his hands deep into his pockets just to find something to occupy them.  “What does your gut tell you?”

“That he’s trying to keep her quiet.”  He slipped the bag into his pocket.  “If he’d really wanted to kill her, he could have done that from the start.  She was too badly hurt to put up a fight.”

An image of Maddie with her bruised face and broken arm filled Gabriel’s head.  “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“Still, better to be safe than sorry.  We’ve beefed up the patrols in the neighborhood where she’s staying.”  David glanced at the ground.  “Can you show me where you found this?”

Gabriel nodded and started walking to the patch of ground where he’d found it.  Donner whined and scratched at the window.  Gabriel shook a chiding finger at him.  “I think you’ve been more than enough help in this case.”  He headed to the fence, just a few feet from where Maddie had lain and pointed to the grass.  “Damned dog led me to it.”

“Just like he led you to her, eh?”  David knelt down and brushed his fingers across the dead grass, peering closely to see if his fingers would dredge up anything else.

“I’ll probably be out here a while.  There’s no need for you to wait on me unless there’s anything else you need to tell me.”

“Nothing I can think of,” Gabriel replied.

“Did you find anything else?” David asked.

Gabriel shook his head.  “No, that was it.  It should help with the investigation, shouldn’t it?”

“First of all,” David said, “We have to make sure this is related to the case.  It could be a coincidence.”

Frowning, Gabriel nodded, “Yeah, it could, but I don’t think so.”

“I guess we’ll just have to see how things turn out.”  He headed back toward his vehicle.  “I’ll contact you if I need anything else.  You know where to reach me in case you remember something.”

“Of course,” Gabriel replied.  He walked back to his truck, watching as the cop strode away.

* * *

Back at the station, Gabriel sat in front of his computer and looked at the pictures he’d taken.  The laptop screen tended to enhance the smallest details.  Donner lay sleeping at his feet.

“What’s that?” Ramsey asked, staring at the screen as he entered.  He pulled out a chair and sat next to Gabriel.

“Evidence, I think.”

“Evidence?”

Gabriel ran his fingers through his hair and leaned back while propping his feet on the chair across from him.  Something troubled him about the way Ramsey stared at it. “Does it look familiar?”

Shrugging, Ramsey touched the crest.  “No, it doesn’t.  But,” he added.  “It does appear to be a formal piece of jewelry, doesn’t it?”

“I thought as much.”  He pushed the keys on the laptop to enlarge the picture.  “So did David, I think.  Perhaps he even recognized the meaning of this crest.”

“What makes you think that?”

Gabriel rubbed his chin and thought about the shift of emotions in David’s eyes as he gave the ring to the cop.  “The surprised expression on his face when he saw the ring.  It was like he knew something he wasn’t about to share.”

“Maybe it had nothing to do with the ring.  Maybe it had to do with the case.”

“No, I don’t think so,” Gabriel said and shook his head.  “He was reluctant even to tie the ring to this case, even though I found it very close to where Maddie was that night.”

“What are you going to do now?” Ramsey asked, watching as Gabriel folded the paper and shoved it back into his jeans pocket.

“Call my brother.  Perhaps he might have some idea what’s going on.”

“I’m heading home for a couple days off,” Ramsey said.  “I’ll catch up on the details when I get back.”  He walked to the door as Gabriel picked up the telephone and punched his brother’s work number.

Once a secretary greeted him, he asked to speak to Sam and waited until he heard his brother’s voice.

“Are you in the middle of anything major?” Gabriel asked.

“If you’d call a skunk infestation so big animal control can’t control it, little brother,” Sam responded.  “What can I do for you?”

“I’d like to talk to you about a police case I’m sort of involved–”

”Sort of involved with?” Sam blurted.  “In what way?  What sort of case are we talking about?”

“I’m not in trouble, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Gabriel replied.  “There’s just something that doesn’t add up with this case, and I could use your input.”

“You want to come here or meet me there?”

“I’ll drive there.  I’ve always wanted to see a skunk infestation,” he retorted.

“I only wish the city council shared your enthusiasm,” Sam finally said.  “Be here at five, and we’ll grab a burger.”

“Will do.”

Gabriel hung up the phone and wondered what his brother would say, how this case would affect him.  To Gabriel’s knowledge, his brother had never worked a case that might remind him of Jessie’s murder.  Perhaps, in fairness to Sam, he should have warned his brother, but something kept him from talking about it until he had to.

Gabriel reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys.  As he headed out the door, he shot Donner one last look.  “The messes you get me into.”  Shaking his head, he walked outside and slipped into his truck.

Chapter Eight

“I’d like to drive to my house to get some things.”  Maddie sat on the couch and waited for Yolanda to reply, but the woman simply dunked her tea bag in the steaming cup she held.  “Would that be all right?”

“Are you ready for that?”

Maddie grabbed her cup from the table and slipped the tea bag on the saucer into the steaming water.  “I don’t know.  Maybe I’ll never know.  But I’d like some of my own things.”

Yolanda took a sip and set her cup back on the saucer.  Wispy tendrils of red hair framed her face as they curled about it in loose ringlets.  “If you’d like to tell me what you want me to get, I’ll go for you.”

Maddie also took a sip and set the saucer and cup on the table.  “And are you going to be there to do that for the rest of my life?  Are you going to be able to make me feel like this never happened?”

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

Maddie touched her arm.  “I know.  “But you can’t protect me from this, can you?  While I can hide for a while, I can’t lie low forever.”

Yolanda straightened the table runner, her fingers trembling.  “When did you want to go?”

“Tomorrow afternoon.”  Maddie pushed the bangs from her eyes as she peered out the window at the late afternoon sky, the light glistening on the frosted panes.  “It’s getting pretty late today, and while I think I can handle the drive during the daylight, I’m not sure how I feel about the evening.”

A soft tap came from the front door, and Maddie’s gaze snapped to it.  The slouch immediately left her shoulders and back as she stood on trembling legs, her arms at her sides, fingers splayed apart expectantly.

“Easy, Maddie.”  Yolanda trudged from the living room to the front door.  As she slowly opened it, she saw a young blonde  woman wearing a white button-down shirt and navy twill pants standing there.  “May I help you?” she asked, searching for signs of familiarity.

“Is Maddie here?”  The woman shoved her hands in her pockets and peered intently at Yolanda.

“Yes, but she’s not having any visitors.”

”I’m Tammy Ballard, an old friend.  I’d just like to speak with her for a few minutes.”

Yolanda slowly edged the door open just wide enough so the woman could step inside.  Once Tammy had entered, Yolanda closed the door.  “She’s really not expecting company.”

“I won’t be long.”

Torn, Yolanda finally gestured to the living room.  “She’s in there.”  As Tammy headed down the hall, Yolanda followed.  Together, the two women crossed the threshold.  Although Maddie wore a puzzled expression when the other woman entered, her lips quickly twisted into a frown.

Tammy turned to Yolanda.  “Would you excuse us for just a few moments?  I’d really appreciate it.”

Yolanda planted her hands on her hips, planning to balk, but Maddie caught her eye and shook her head.  “It’s all right, Yolanda.  I’ll talk to her.”

“Okay.”  She nodded at Maddie.  “But if you need something, you call.”

“I will.”

Maddie waited until her friend had disappeared down the hall before gesturing Tammy to have a seat.  She grabbed her mug just to give her hands something, anything, to do to keep busy.  She peered down at the light brown liquid half filling her cup.  “Would you like something to drink?  Tea, perhaps?”

“No, thank you.”

“How did you know where I’d be, Tammy?”

“We have common friends at the hospital.”  Tammy ambled across the room and perched on the recliner next to the couch.

“Why did you come?”  Maddie took a drink and set the mug on the table.  She placed her good hand in her lap and mentally calculated just how much longer she would have to wear this cumbersome cast.  “I told you I didn’t need counseling.  That hasn’t changed.”

“Maybe I’m not here to counsel you.  Maybe I’m just here to see how an old friend is doing.  Why can’t you accept that?”

Maddie focused on her thumbnail, focusing on an uneven part that needed to be trimmed.  “I’m fine.”

“We both know better.  Nobody goes through this and walks away fine.  Nobody.”  Tammy leaned back and peered intently at Maddie, waiting.

Maddie stood and paced to the window.  “You shouldn’t have come here.  I didn’t ask you, and you don’t know how I feel.”

“Yes, I do.”

Maddie whirled.  “How can you?”

“You think you’re the only woman who’s gone through this?”

Maddie felt the color leave her cheeks, and goosebumps dotted her skin.  Had she heard right?  “What did you say?”

“I think you heard me.  There are a million reasons to go into counseling, Maddie.  Now you know mine.”

Tears pricked Maddie’s eyes, and she stumbled to the sofa, groping for the edge until she could sit.  She kept blinking, not wanting to cry again.  She didn’t want to feel ever again.  And she didn’t want to be talking to Tammy about this, but she couldn’t help herself.  It did help to know she wasn’t alone in her despair, that someone else had hurt like she had.  “When?”

“I didn’t sprain my ankle during that race in college, Maddie.  I did it the night before as I tried to escape.  I almost made it.”

Maddie leaned forward, nauseated.  Her stomach rolled, and she thought of her own attempt at flight.  “But I never heard...no one said anything about it.”

The recognizable strains of “Fur Elise” halted Tammy’s answer, and she pulled out her cell, peered at the caller ID line, and turned it off before shoving it back into her pocket.  “I didn’t tell anyone—not my parents, not the police, no one.  I simply lived with the shame and hurt because I thought I deserved it.  It was years before I could sort it out, and some days I find I’m still sorting.  I probably always will be.  That’s why I know keeping it locked away isn’t going to help.  The longer you hold it inside, the harder it will be to let go of it.”

Maddie touched her healing cheek as she felt a heated flush.  “I...I don’t like talking about it.  I don’t want to remember.”

“It’s hard,” Tammy agreed as she leaned forward and touched Maddie’s knee.  “I understand that.  I really do.  But at least when you remember it, you’re in control, not him.  He hurt you once.   Now’s the time to stop him from ever hurting you again.”

Maddie looked at the floor, trying to ignore the lump building in the back of throat, making it more and more difficult to swallow.  Tears pricked her eyes. 
I won’t cry
, she seethed. 
Not now, not ever
.  “How do you do it?”

“Do what?”  Tammy gently patted her knee.

“You’re so damned calm.”  She brushed the back of her hand across one cheek and then the other.

“Lots of time and letting go.”  Tammy leveled her gaze at Maddie.  “Make no mistake--nobody will ever hurt me like that again.  I’m a third-degree black belt.”

“But–”

”There are no ‘buts,’ Maddie.  That’s the way I have chosen to deal with this issue.”  As Tammy sat across from Maddie, the therapist rolled her shoulders, trying to erase the cramping there. “Do you blame yourself for any of this?”  Tammy waited for her answer.

Stiffening, Maddie inhaled sharply and looked away.  “I...I don’t know.”

“I think you do.  I think we both do.  The question is, why do you think it’s your fault?”

“I wasn’t careful.  I hit his truck.”

Frowning, Tammy replied, “And that gave him the right to take you apart as he pleased?  The truck is an object.  You aren’t.  It can be replaced.  You can’t.”