Broken Love

by Ghiselle St. James

  Sullivan…kidnapped. I can’t even wrap my mind around it. A damning feeling of regret and anguish flows through my veins, causing me utter distress. Heaving breaths, I bend forward, unable to contain the rising panic.

  “Ben!” I hear Matt through the thumping of my heartbeat in my ears. I had called him a few minutes ago and barely told him of Sullivan’s kidnapping before he clicked off with an “I’ll be right there.”

  Matt pulls me up and, for the first time since we were kids, he hugs me. The security I feel from his brotherly embrace is empowering and just what I needed. I needed strength and support.

  “I’m here, buddy,” he comforts me. “I tried calling Mom but her phone went to voicemail.”

  “Matt…she was right there. I was just moments away from having her back in my arms again.” I say the words, but they sound hollow. I feel as if I am outside of myself, like all of this is a bad dream.

  “You can’t give up hope, Ben,” Matt tells me. “You have to be strong for her and keep a positive outlook on things.”

  “I feel so helpless, Matt,” I confess.

  “I would too,” he concurs.

  We both go back into the interview room where there’s been some new information, but before they give us anything, the officers ask Matt what he knows about Sullivan and he tells them all good things.

  Finally, they take Rachel and I back to one of the private rooms, leaving Matt with other officers. Sergeant Winston sits us down and sits on the desk facing us. He has a strange look on his face as he clutches a few papers in his hand.

  “Do either of you know a Ryan Baylor?” Sergeant Winston asks.

  Rachel and I stare at him in confusion. What does Ryan have to do with this? Sure Sullivan didn’t like the guy but she had been trying for Rachel’s sake. He was a great guy, I don’t see why Sergeant Winston would bring him up now…unless he knows something. This has me intrigued. Any information Ryan has to give will be good.

  “That’s my boyfriend,” Rachel answers, confusion still laced in her tone. “I don’t understand, what does he have to do with this?”

  “Did they have a good relationship?” he questions further. Odd.

  “They hardly spoke,” she responds shakily, but I see her defenses going up.

  “But they were working on it,” I finish for her. “Sullivan had an unwarranted suspicion of the guy and she was working on it for her best friend’s sake.”

  Sergeant Winston sighs heavily and the next thing he says destroys my world and annihilates Rachel.

  “She was right to be suspicious.”

  Rachel reels back as if he slapped her and my blood runs cold. No. No, no, no.

  “There were two matching signals that our tech team picked up. One was unknown – a prepay – and the other was from Ryan Baylor’s phone.”

  A strangled sob rips from Rachel’s throat. Her face is the picture of agony as she takes it all in. Her hold on my hand is deathly, but beyond her grip I feel her shaking. I turn to the Sergeant in front of me. I try to speak but my mouth is sealed shut with a rising anger that wants to claw its way out.

  That motherfucker! He’d been watching her from the beginning, waiting for the right time to unravel his evil plans and take my girl from me. He sunk his claws into her best friend and worked her for information, fucking worked me too. He had everyone fooled, but not Sullivan. Never Sullivan. We should have listened and I should have investigated. I let her down.

  I’m gonna kill him.

  “H-how do you know f-for sure?” Rachel stutters out. She doesn’t want to believe it, because then she’ll know that she had failed her best friend as well.

  “We asked the witness to identify the other person she had seen,” Sergeant Winston confirms. “From her description of the driver, we got some pictures. She chose Mr. Baylor’s and confirmed that he was the driver she had seen.”

  This confirmation makes Rachel crumble further. She releases my hand and folds herself over, screaming out her agony. I should comfort her, but I am too angry to even move right now. If I move the slightest inch, this room is going to suffer from my wrath.

  That motherfucker! That sorry motherfucker!

  After what seems like hours, Rachel finally eases up on the crying and my anger has eased a fraction. I’m surprised Sergeant Winston allowed Rachel to cry for so long.

  “Did either of you have the slightest idea of his plans?” he asks with his eyes on Rachel.

  “Sergeant, do you believe that if I’d known anything he’d still be breathing?” I grit through clenched teeth and clenched fists. My anger is hanging on by a thread.

  “Fair enough,” he nods, turning to face Rachel once more.

  Rachel starts blubbering, tears streaming down her face as she tries to answer. I wish I could smack her so she’ll get her shit together.

  “S-s-s-sergeant, I p-promise y-you,” she stammers, shaking her head. She takes a deep, stuttering breath and then another, keeping her rising panic down. She’s on the verge of a breakdown, I believe.

  Grabbing her hand, I squeeze and try to soften my eyes as I stare at her. I know she had nothing to do with this. Her rich prick of a boyfriend fooled us all.

  She nods her head shakily as she takes one more steadying breath before answering, “I promise, Sergeant, if I had had any clue whatsoever that Ryan…Mr. Baylor,” she corrects herself, curling her lip in disgust, before continuing, “had plans to kidnap my best friend, I would have killed him myself.”

  I feel her anger now and I want to smile with pride; but more than pride, I believe her chilling confession. She would kill him.

  Sergeant Winston nods and I see him clutch the papers in his hand tighter. I glimpse Sullivan’s name on it, making me wonder what other news he has for us.

  He sighs, looking straight at us and inquires, “Is there anything that you both have not told us?”

  “We’ve told you everything, Sergeant Winston,” I answer quickly, ready to hear what new information his team dug up from her cell phone. It feels like he's waving it in our faces now.

  “Is there anything we here at the precinct need to know, Miss Welles?” he asks, staring pointedly at Rachel.

  She goes white as her eyes grow wide. She stutters out a no and I see Sergeant Winston shake his head. Rachel looks scared and nervous which leads me to believe that she has been holding out on everyone.

  “If we don’t get the truth here, Miss Welles, we can’t help your friend,” he declares, fixing her with an annoyed stare.

  This is big, whatever it is that Rachel is hiding.

  “Can I talk to her for a minute, Sergeant?” I request.

  He nods in affirmation. “And talk some sense into her, will ya?”

  I nod my assent and rise, all but dragging Rachel out of the room behind me. I take her outside as I’ve had it up to here with all the secrets and the going around. “What the fuck don’t I know, Rachel?”

  “Ben,” she sighs, that harrowed look parading her features once more.

  “Stop with the secrets, Rachel!” I shout at her. “This is life or death, so if there’s anything we need to know, you better fucking say it right now,” I demand. “Isn’t Ryan enough of a scare? Is he not enough of a motivation to tell the officers everything so we can find her and get our revenge on Rick and Ryan?”

  My plea is working. I see the cogs working in her brain as she chews on her bottom lip. She sighs and opens her mouth to answer when a shout comes from down the hall.

  “Rachel!” a man calls to her and hurries toward her.

  “Marshall!” she cries and runs into his arms.

  He holds her like he is holding on to her for dear life, the way I have held on to Sullivan. He holds her with familiarity, dare I say a reverential quality. They’re in love; that much is obvious.

  I wonder if this is how friendly he is with Sullivan but shake off the notion, not wanting to cloud my mind with irrational thoughts at a time like this. Folding my arms across my chest, I await
the end of their little reunion celebration.

  “Marshall, this is Ben Hayes,” Rachel finally announces when they pull apart. “Ben this is Sullivan’s lawyer, Marshall Keyes.” We shake hands stiffly, both of us giving the other a challenging stare.

  “I’ve heard a lot about you, Mr. Hayes. You’re very popular in the business world,” Marshall says.

  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Keyes, but you can call me Ben,” I tell him.

  “In that case, you can call me Marshall.”

  We all head back into one of the private rooms of the station, where Rachel introduces Marshall to the officers and to Matt. Marshall is then updated by Sergeant Winston who then asks Marshall to give them any further information that would help in the case. This I’ve got to hear.

  “Rick and Sullivan have a very sordid past together. They dated for a while but it was very…I guess volatile would be a fitting word. He never hit her, or so she said at the time – I think he did, but that was only an opinion. Everything came to a head when he beat and raped her. She couldn’t hide the abuse anymore,” Marshall reveals.

  I gag, almost throwing up. Hearing all this is more unsettling than I’d thought. The mere thought of someone touching her, hurting her made me sick with rage. If I didn’t want to kill this Rick guy before, boy did I want to do it now!

  I look over at Sergeant Winston who doesn’t look the least bit surprised. In fact, he’s nodding like he’s known this information all along. Was that what he wanted Rachel to tell him?

  “Are you okay, Ben?” Matt asks.

  “Yes, I’m fine. Please continue,” I order, like I’m the cop working the case.

  Marshall clears his throat and continues, “She retaliated, shooting him in the arm and running away. She reported the rape a few hours later, but she was too late. His parents had pressed charges against her and she was taken into custody. After posting bail, she took off. She’s been under the radar for a while, I guess he found her.”

  I need to know more because it still doesn’t feel like the full story. “Is that all?” I ask, before the officers can.

  “Before coming here, I found out that Rick had dropped the case against Sullivan just before he left to come to Philadelphia. The paperwork was faxed to me. I’ll be speaking with the detectives privately about this,” he reveals. I glare at him.

  Yet another thing he’s going to keep from me. I roll my eyes. “Is that all?” I ask once more.

  “In relation to Rick and her? Yes,” Marshall answers nonchalantly. He’s a lawyer; he knows exactly what I meant.

  “Is that all we need to know about Sullivan, Mr. Keyes?” I ask impatiently, back to formalities. This guy is pissing me off.

  “Everything else is irrelevant and for her to reveal to you, Mr. Hayes,” he responds in an irritated tone. “I would now like to speak to the officers alone,” he dismisses.

  “The hell you do!” I snap.

  “I’m her lawyer, Mr. Hayes. Attorney-client privileges, client’s right to privacy – all that legal stuff – remember?” he mutters smugly.

  I know he’s right but I just don’t trust him. There are things being kept from me and I don’t like it one bit. Every instinct is telling me to leave and not bother with this mess. That Sullivan’s past is way too much for me to handle. Then, a small but significant part of me is telling me – begging me – to stay, to find my sweet girl, and that’s what I will do, despite the shady secrets between Marshall and Rachel. I’ll stay, and I’ll find my girl…I’ll fight for her.

  I am outside, taking a much-needed breather with Matt while officers talk with Rachel and Marshall, the only two people who know everything that needs to be known about Sullivan. It pisses me off that they are both conspiring to keep this info from me, but I’ll be patient…for now. I just hope whatever they are telling the officers will help.

  Sullivan, a fugitive. I can’t even digest that bit of news much less believe it.

  My father’s white Maybach pulls up as Matt and I are about to go back inside. What the fuck is he doing here?

  “Did you tell him about Sullivan?” I ask Matt harshly.

  “Fuck, no, man. All I did was leave Mom a message,” he answers.

  At that moment, Mom hurries out of the luxury vehicle looking as flustered as I felt. Her face is red and damp so I know she’s been crying.

  “Ben!” She clutches me tightly to her and I feel the tears threaten again, but I inhale deeply, reeling them back. “Oh, my son, my son! I left as soon as I got Matthew’s message.”

  “Mom…” I pause, trying to hold back tears, my voice cracking with the effort.

  “I can’t believe this is happening! Kidnapped? This can’t be real. How are you coping, son?” Mom…always concerned.

  I simply shake my head as I find it hard to explain how I’m feeling. Angry? Despondent? Hopeless? Helpless? Out of it? Simply…just not coping very well. I haven’t eaten; I haven’t even stopped to drink water. If I even close my eyes for too long I feel I’ll miss out on some important clue as to where Sullivan is. Secrets are being kept from me and I don’t know if these are secrets that’ll help find her or not. Then there are times that I feel that it’s too late; that he’s already kept his promise of breaking her, or worse…

  I don’t even want to go there.

  “Is there anything I can do to help?” she asks and I sigh. I know she won’t be able to help.

  “The police are going to want to talk to you anyway, mother,” I inform her.

  “What on earth for?”

  “Just to say how you know her and what you know of her.”

  “But I don’t know much, Ben.”

  “I know, but I’m guessing it’s all for the purpose of information,” I answer.

  “But shouldn’t those closest to her provide that information?” Mother inquires and it’s then it strikes me.

  We all head into the precinct, me with a single-minded focus in search of Rachel. After telling Mom and Matt to stay in the waiting area, I go in search of Rachel who’s hiding out in Sergeant Winston’s office. I take in her worried features on the other side of the officer’s glass door, looking out the window and drinking a cup of coffee. They had taken Marshall in an interrogation room for further questioning and so she was alone. She looks burdened…as she should be.

  “Rachel, where are Sullivan’s parents?” I demand when I burst into the office.

  Rachel spins around and stares at me dumbstruck. “Rachel, have you even told her parents?”

  She begins to stutter, trying to come up with yet another lie to tell me.

  “Goddamn it, Rachel. Talk to me!” I demand, stalking closer to her, my anger rising, unable to keep up with all the secrecy.

  The door opens and I turn to see Marshall standing in the doorway, giving me a look that could turn a man to stone. He doesn’t know me from Adam, though, so he doesn’t know that looks – like the puny one he’s giving me – don’t make me want to shit my pants. I give him a superiorly challenging stare and I see the big, bad lawyer flinch. Pathetic.

  It’s not a noticeable flinch – he’s good at masking reactions, I give him that – but I noticed.

  Rachel looks at Marshall then at me, a hint of trepidation in her eyes. Why would she look to Marshall? For confirmation? For assistance? What the hell’s going on here?

  “We haven’t informed her parents because we don’t wish to worry them,” Marshall responds calmly, stepping in front of Rachel, as if this situation is not something to worry about. Brave boy.

  “I was talking to Rachel, and what do you mean by not wanting to worry them? Isn’t this something to be worried about?” I fume. “Wouldn’t they want to know that their daughter is missing…kidnapped?”

  I step toward him, balling my hands into fists. This “lawyer” is getting on my last nerves. Not only is he keeping secrets from me about Sullivan, he’s keeping her kidnapping a secret from her parents, the people who brought her into this world. He can’t possibly have Su
llivan’s best interest at heart…anyone’s best interest! I seriously am beginning to dislike this guy.

  “She’s estranged from them,” he answers quickly at the raising of my fists, effectively pausing me in mid action. I know Sullivan had said she left them because she was a wild child, but I had no idea it had grown to estrangement.

  Still…

  “Every parent would want to know that their child is safe and alive. They deserve to know,” I insist.

  “It’s complicated, Mr. Hayes. You wouldn’t understand,” Marshall maintains.

  “Fuck that!” I’m beginning to hate that word…complicated.

  “Ben!” Mother scolds, entering the office with Matt in tow.

  “Calm down, Ben,” Matt says, drifting closer and restraining me by the shoulder.

  My breathing kicks up a few notches – I really need to punch something. What Marshall is saying is complete bullshit, but I really am beginning to think that I may never understand unless Sullivan explains it all to me. This gives me even greater determination to find her. I have to find her.

  Sergeant Winston steps into the tension-filled room and takes my mother into an interrogation room to question her. During that time, my temper cools and I stomp outside to get some fresh air with Matt following me. He talks me down some more, encouraging me to stay strong and focused on finding Sullivan, and then we head back inside.

  Two detectives have now been assigned to the case and as soon as I step in, they usher me into another interrogation room. The room is sterile and cold, but made more so by the two men eying me suspiciously. I wonder if they’re going to be giving me the looky-loo’s the whole time or if they have news for me. Maybe they’re concerned that with my earlier pique, it’s not safe for me to be around that fuck-up lawyer of Sullivan’s.

  I think I’m about to find out why they’ve called me in here, though.

  And, boy, what a doozy it is.

  Chapter Six

  “Mr. Hayes, do you love your mother?” Detective Morelli asks as he chews his gum distractedly by the window.