Rainey with a Chance of Hale (A Rainey Bell Thriller Book 6)

by R. E. Bradshaw

  “Naamah thought it would be more torture to give me only old books written in German for the first few years I was here. I lived in a truck trailer for the first year. I was only allowed out at night. Eugene gave me a German-English dictionary. Later he gave me videos of German movies. I had nothing to do but teach myself to read and speak the language.”

  “And Sarabi? Was she with you the whole time?”

  “I had just been moved into my cell when Naamah brought Sarabi to the grotto. I raised her. I fed her. I am her mother. I did everything for her, just like in the book on lion training said. Sarabi would only answer to me because neither of them spoke the only language I ever used with her.”

  “You are a brilliant young woman, Alyson Grayson. Your mother was right about you. She said you’d never give up.”

  “Gib nicht auf! Es gibt immer Hoffnung.”

  Rainey laughed. “I’m going to need a translator.”

  “Do not give up,” Alyson said. “There is always hope.”

  Rainey hugged Alyson to her side, as the flashlights grew nearer, and said, “Always, my new friend. Always.”

  19

  March 26, 2017

  Memorial Hospital

  Chapel Hill, North Carolina

  Rainey sat on a bench in the Emergency Room hallway, waiting for Danny to come back. She stared at her phone, reading the scores and watching video from the basketball games she missed.

  “The kids are great at Mom and Dad’s for another night. Mom is going to take them to The Museum of Life and Science,” Katie said, as she sat next to Rainey. “We have the day and evening to recover from our ordeal.”

  Rainey put the phone in her pocket and reached for Katie’s hand. “That’s good. Although, I’m sorry I’m missing out. I love going there with them.”

  “You’ll get plenty of chances before they lose interest in going anywhere with you,” Katie said, and then yawned.

  “You need a nap.”

  Katie put her head on Rainey’s shoulder. “Just wake me up when it’s time to go home. How much longer?”

  “There is someone from psych in there with her now. I think they should keep her for a few days, but that’s not up to me.”

  “She seemed healthy, but I know the damage is more than physical,” Katie said. “I can’t believe she kept asking if Hart, or Eugene, or whoever he really is, was alive.”

  Rainey looked over her shoulder at the door to the private trauma room used for SART exams. Alyson had been submitted to a barrage of questions from law enforcement, Emergency Room personnel, and now a psychiatrist.

  Rainey put her arm around Katie and pulled her closer, before explaining, “He was her only human contact that did not come with violence for the last nineteen years, two months, and twenty-five days. Eugene brought food and companionship. He comforted her when Ann brought nothing but pain and terror. Alyson depended on Eugene for everything from water to access to her basic human hygiene needs. He was her world, well, him and Sarabi.”

  Katie yawned through the first part of her comment. “I’m so glad that veterinarian from State College was able to dart her. Thank you for not letting them shoot her. Where are they taking her?”

  “The vet said she got in touch with the zoo and they have a quarantine area Sarabi can stay in while she is evaluated. They have to decide what the best placement options are.”

  “There you are,” Sergeant Detective Sheila Robertson approached wearing a big smile. “Danny told me you were here at the hospital.”

  Rainey started to stand, but Sheila waved her off.

  “Sit, sit.” She leaned down to give Katie and Rainey both hugs. “I am so glad you were not blown up or eaten by a lion.”

  Rainey smiled up at her old friend. “You and me both.”

  “I came by to give you the news personally. We did get a hit on the Gaskill DNA, but it isn’t Chance Hale.”

  Rainey said it before Sheila could. “It was his half-brother, Robby Hughes.”

  “Damn. You take the fun out of everything. How did you know?”

  “A crazy woman told me,” Rainey said.

  “Did she tell you that we got more hits and I’ve just solved a serial rapist case that spans—”

  “—nearly twenty years.” Rainey finished the sentence for Sheila with a grin, and then offered, “Congratulations. Are they going to prosecute?”

  “We have a few willing victims whose assaults are still within the statute of limitations. If he recovers, he’ll do it inside a state institution and not that posh care facility he’s currently in.”

  “I know those women will be pleased to know he’s drooling on himself, but they would probably rather he do that behind bars.”

  Katie joined the conversation with, “I know I would.”

  Sheila shook her head from side to side. “It just kills me that we could have had him sooner. I had a warrant for his DNA ready to be signed back in ‘98, but Tammy’s parents pushed her to back off her story. I think they were paid off. We got Robby on the drug charge, but the judge wouldn’t sign the DNA warrant without victim cooperation. I suspect he was paid off too. OB Hale was a son of a bitch.”

  Rainey chuckled, “I’ve heard that more than once this weekend.”

  The automatic doors of the ER entrance opened with a “woosh.”

  A woman, slight of build and rather short, walked in followed by Danny and another man. Rainey recognized the woman immediately. Marilyn Grayson had aged, but her resemblance to her daughter was unmistakable. She made eye contact with Rainey, which turned into a moment of realization for her.

  Katie must have felt the tension in Rainey’s muscles because she moved out of the way without being asked so that Rainey could stand.

  Marilyn Grayson sped her steps and came to stand in front of Rainey.

  “I’ve wanted to tell you something for a long time, former Agent Bell, as I was informed you had left the Bureau when I called to check on Alyson’s case four years ago. I lived on your promise the promise that you would find her for years. Then I hated you for giving me hope.” Tears ran down Marilyn’s cheeks, as she paused to gather herself, before continuing, “But you found her, and I’m so sorry I ever doubted you, that I cursed you and despised you for so long.”

  “Don’t apologize, Mrs. Grayson. If it helped you get through the bad days, I’m glad you had somewhere to put your anger.”

  Rainey fought back empathetic tears, but she could see Katie was making no effort to stop hers. As the man with Danny approached, Rainey saw that it was Alyson’s father, Allen. He didn’t have anything to say. He walked up to Rainey and hugged her so tight she thought her ribs would bust.

  When Allen released her from his grip, Marilyn asked, “Is she okay? Can we see her?”

  “A representative of the psychiatric unit is with her now. She should be out soon. I know Alyson is anxious to see you both.”

  “I can’t believe she survived all this time.” Marilyn dug in her purse for a tissue and wiped her tears away while asking Rainey, “What did he do to her? Do you know?”

  Rainey answered with cautions for Alyson’s parents. “I’m sure Agent McNally explained everything we know. There is so much we don’t know. It will be up to Alyson to speak about her captivity on her own terms, if ever. I’d advise you to listen if she wants to talk and let go of your need to know if she doesn’t share with you.”

  Allen asked, “Can we take her home?”

  “I’m not the one to ask, Mr. Grayson, but speaking from experience, Alyson needs some time to process. Going home right away might be too much stimulus at once. A few days here in the hospital would do wonders for her recovery and give you both time to get to know your daughter before you go home and face friends and family, not to mention the press and all the people who will come out of the woodwork to get a piece of this story.”

  The obvious disappointment clouded both parents’ faces.

  “I also need to caution you about your first meeting. In you
r mind, Alyson is still fourteen. She never grew up for you. She is a thirty-three-year-old woman now. Be prepared for that.” Rainey paused to smile at Marilyn. “She looks a lot like I remember you looking nearly twenty years ago.”

  Allen had other things on his mind. “And the man that did this? Is he dead?”

  “No, sir. He’s in surgery. Your daughter saved his life.”

  Allen Grayson looked like he’d been slapped. “She saved him, after what he did to her?”

  Rainey held her hands up in the surrender pose. “I understand how confusing this can all be. Alyson isn’t the only one that needs to process. You both will benefit from therapy sessions with her and individually. Please, trust me, like you did when I said we would find her. Therapy may sound trivial, but it will be the only way your family survives.”

  Marilyn nodded in agreement. “We’ll be in therapy, all of us.”

  Allen wasn’t in that headspace yet. He was still looking to punish someone. “Agent McNally said this was a family of serial murderers. Are they all accounted for now? There aren’t any more of them out running the streets where they can tear other families apart, are there?”

  Danny answered, “Robby Hughes is a drooling mess from a drug overdose, but even so, he is headed to some sort of state facility for the criminally insane, according to Sergeant Detective Sheila Robertson.” He pointed at Sheila who acknowledged the Graysons with a nod. “Eugene will face prosecution on multiple charges and will never be free again. As for Chance Hale, they’ll be taking him back to Florida Monday morning to stand trial on murder and rape charges down there. He may not have personally killed those women, but he is complicit in a felony that resulted in their deaths. Then he’ll have a date with Maine, South Carolina, Delaware, Massachusetts, and Virginia.”

  Rainey added, “That accounts for the known members of the Hale clan.”

  “Known members? There could be more?” It was Katie who wanted this information.

  Danny helped Rainey out by trying to assuage Katie’s concerns. “As far as we know, there are no more living Hale family members.”

  Katie was not that easy to persuade, as Rainey knew. She almost chuckled at Danny’s expression when Katie came back at him with, “That’s not very reassuring, Danny.”

  Marilyn said, “I’m with her.”

  The door to the trauma room opened, and the doctor stepped out holding her clipboard in one hand and a cell phone to her ear with the other.

  “Yes, a private room. Don’t argue with me. This is medically necessary.” She listened for a few seconds, and then said, “Thank you. We’ll be going up in about ten minutes.”

  She put her phone away and turned to the group. “Hello, I’m Dr. Neumann. Are any of you Alyson’s parents?”

  Allen and Marilyn stepped forward, saying simultaneously, “We are.”

  “I need to speak with you before you go in. We can talk in private across the hall here.”

  Alyson’s parents started following Dr. Neumann before Marilyn suddenly turned and hurried back to hug Rainey.

  “I will never be able to repay you for not giving up on Alyson. God bless you, Rainey Bell. Thank you for bringing her back to us. Thank you for rescuing her for us.”

  Rainey knew she hadn’t been the catalyst in this rescue. It was Chance’s need to get rid of Eugene and his mother that involved her again. She was just a pawn in the battle of the Hales for supremacy. Marilyn didn’t need to know all that today.

  Rainey smiled and replied, “Like Alyson said, she did a pretty good job of rescuing herself last night. That is an amazing young woman in there. You’ll be proud of the survivor she has become.”

  Marilyn made her way across the hall to join the doctor and her husband behind a closed door.

  Sheila spoke first, “Well, I’m glad you didn’t get dead, Rainey Bell. You too, Katie. McNally, the Bureau is going to miss you, but I’m happy you’ll be a permanent fixture around here.”

  “Me too,” Danny said. “Although, I am concerned about hanging with these two magnets of mayhem.”

  Katie pointed at Rainey, saying, “It’s her.”

  Rainey laughed. “Who hired the murderers to build tiny houses for the center? Are my background checks too burdensome now, little missy?”

  Katie countered with, “But I was just collateral damage. They were after you.”

  The group started moving toward the door to the parking lot.

  Rainey answered Katie, “And if you didn’t think I was so paranoid, you would have let me run checks on them before you started telling my would-be murderers where I keep my weapon. What all did you tell Ann about me?”

  Rainey heard Sheila say, “Are you sure about being neighbors?”

  Danny laughed. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

  Cathleen waited outside. She stood when she heard them coming.

  Rainey stopped debating with Katie long enough to do what she had promised back at the grotto. With all the questions from investigators, dealing with Sarabi, and getting Alyson to the hospital, she had not had time to thank Cathleen properly. She ran over to her, lifted her off the ground, spun her around, and planted a kiss on her lips.

  “I promised myself if you saved my girl here, I was going to give you a kiss. Thank you, Captain Augustine. I am forever in your debt.”

  Sheila elbowed Danny. “I’ll ask again, are you sure you want her living that close to you. You know what they say about women, they’re only straight until they’re not.”

  Cathleen winked at Rainey and said, “Don’t ask. Don’t tell, right.”

  Katie kept walking and called over her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Danny. We won’t keep her. We just need a new toaster.”

  About the Author

  Four-time Lambda Literary Award Finalist in Mystery—Rainey Nights (2012), Molly: House on Fire (2013), The Rainey Season (2014), and Relatively Rainey (2016)—and 2013 Rainbow Awards First Runner-up for Best Lesbian Novel, Out on the Panhandle, author R. E. Bradshaw began publishing in August of 2010. Before beginning a full-time writing career, she worked in professional theatre and also taught at both university and high school levels. A native of North Carolina, the setting for the majority of her novels, Bradshaw now makes her home in Oklahoma. Writing in many genres, from the fun southern romantic romps of the Adventures of Decky and Charlie series to the intensely bone-chilling Rainey Bell Thrillers, R. E. Bradshaw’s books offer something for everyone.