Now Say You're Sorry

by Barbara Fournier

  “We are, or at least, I am,” she smiled looking up from her phone. “According to this, we are really close to a motel. So, there you have it. Smart, aren’t I?”

  “Hey Reese, how do you feel about pulling onto a back road somewhere tonight and sleeping in the car, or if not sleeping then…”

  “Screw you, Lake, if I’m not worth the price of a nice hotel room then you can sit yourself in the back seat and give yourself a hand, so to speak.”

  “Reese, I’m hurt,” as he gave her a gentle tap on the thigh and a big smile.

  “Is that what miss hotshot reporter Brenda used to do for you?”

  Fun time was over. Reese immediately regretted the remark, but it was too late to take it back and she was not about to apologize. It wasn’t her style. So, the conversation the rest of the way through town was kept to police business. The building where the dental office was located was very quaint. Not fancy by any means, but nice. Hometown nice.

  “Doesn’t this whole town remind you of Maine?” Clayton asked. “Well, minus the ocean and the crowds of people shopping in overpriced small shops?”

  Lake, as angry as he was with his partner, got hysterical laughing at her. “How the hell is that description like Maine in any way shape or form? Is the Dakota air too thin? Are you getting lightheaded?”

  “A little bit. Maybe I need a drink?” she chuckled.

  “Hey! That’s my tagline,” he shot back. “Find your own.”

  He leaned over to her seat and gave her a short kiss. That was much more than she could have asked for.

  “Later?” he whispered.

  “Later,” she replied. “Now let’s get in that office so I can get sick to my stomach. I hate going to the dentist. Any dentist.”

  Once inside, the receptionist checked their IDs and showed them into the office. The gentleman was not young, but knew what he was doing for sure. The name engraved on his bronze desk plaque was Dr. Cavity.

  “That’s what I call myself for the children. They get a kick out of it.”

  “Clever,” quipped Emerson. “We are here about the dental records for a child found in Cromwell.”

  “Your Medical Examiner notified me of the situation. Very sad. She was a nice child. Only one cavity the last time she was in my chair. I guess the cavity is what might give you the information you need to find this bastard.”

  Chapter 46

  Jade was such a small area that not much in the line of law enforcement was required. Even so, Lake thought it best to show up unannounced at the police barracks. This way stories couldn’t be changed before they arrived. He had the same question as his partner: Why didn’t anyone report the Cole family missing?

  “Reese, do you want to go in as a team or split up?”

  “I say a team. Two sets of eyes and ears are better than one,” she answered. “Also, it’s more intimidating when two detectives pull out shields. Don’t you agree?”

  Once they arrived at the Jade police station, the first thing they noticed was how helpful everyone seemed to be. They were very respectful of their shields. Some small-town law enforcement officers can be easily offended by other agencies coming into their world asking questions, making them feel inferior and incompetent. Not this station. While asking a few questions about the disappearance of the Cole family, one person, an older female probably nearing eighty, said that they left town on a vacation of some sort. Something they did now and then and this time they just never returned. None of them.

  “Why did no one from the school report them truant?” asked Reese.

  “The owner of the apartment they lived in just thought it was one of those cases where they skipped town, left no forwarding and no rent. Happens all the time. Not here so much, but it does happen.”

  She couldn’t remember how long ago this was and seemed to be the only original employee of the station.

  “The owner reported it, of course, but knew he was not about to file suit against these people, even if they were found. What’s the point? Would cost more in attorney fees than the price of the rent owed. They were nice people. Kept to themselves mostly, but had a son that was not quite with it.”

  “Meaning?” asked Emerson.

  “Mentally. He didn’t live at the apartment for any length of time. When he would begin to act out, his father would place him back in the mental institution. You know, to protect the other kids.”

  “And no one report them missing?” asked Lake again.

  “We didn’t know they were considered missing. When the officers went into the apartment with the owner after he filed the complaint all that was left were the original furnishings that were part of the rental. All personal items were gone. That’s why we considered it as a skipped town scenario.”

  “Thank you very much for your help, “Reese said. “One more thing. Do you happen to remember the name of the mental facility? Did Mr. Cole ever mention this facility to you?”

  “I can’t remember. I used to see him in the market occasionally. We would chat a bit, but I don’t recall him ever saying where he was placed. It couldn’t have been too far away for him to keep bringing him back and forth. Let me see if I can get you a list of the ones nearby. Can’t imagine there are many at all. This is a small town. Not just Jade, but Westin as well.”

  She printed out a list of hospitals and mental institutions within a hundred-mile radius.

  “I’m sorry I could not be more help to you detectives. I’m not getting any younger. My mind isn’t as good as it should be. I’m just grateful the Jade Police Department still allows me to work here a few days a week. If I didn’t have this, I would be sitting home waiting to die.”

  Emerson gave her a wink and flashed his magazine cover model smile.

  “Jade is lucky to have such a smart and beautiful woman on the job,” he said. “Thank you very much for all of your help.”

  “Oh my,” she blushed.

  Once outside, he turned to Reese, “Well, how was that for giving an older woman a memory she can dream about?”

  “Emerson Lake! It was a fine gesture coming from someone who’s actually a big jerk.”

  They split the list of hospitals and institutions in half and began calling them from the motel they checked into not far from the police station, near the edge of the Jade town line. The fifth place on the list appeared to hit pay dirt. They arranged to meet with a physician the next morning around 10:30am. By now they were both hungry so agreed to stop at a chain restaurant near the motel. The food was good and plenty of it, as you would expect. While having their last sips of coffee, they came up with a plan for the next day. Questions that needed to be asked and who would ask them. Once back at the motel, Reese wondered if it was a good idea to share a room with the person who liked her enough to make love to her at will, but not enough to make any kind of commitment. Not enough to even say I love you once. Was she giving in to this man too easily? Giving him free reign to take her whenever he needed her and only when he needed her?

  “Emerson,” she yelled to him in the shower, “I’m going outside for a little fresh air. Maybe take a little walk around the lot to clear my head.”

  “Okay.” he answered. “I’ll be done in here in a minute.”

  The sky was very clear with stars. It seemed like diamonds scattered over the earth and reminded her how important these little, yet beautiful, moments were. Evenings like this made her feel how much she would just love to be a stay at home soccer mom. The kind of mom that cooked dinner for her family every evening before tucking the children into bed. Reading them a story and kissing them goodnight before snuggling up to a caring husband. Suddenly, she was snapped back to reality when she noticed a man lurking in the parking lot shadows staring at her. She placed her hand on her weapon, “Is there something I can help you with?”

  She tried to make out the face with no luck.


  “I’m going to ask you one more time. Is there something I can help you with?”

  “No officer, but I might be able to help you. The guy that you and the other cop are looking for? I know the name of the hospital he was in. If you want to call that piece of garbage a hospital.”

  “Can I get your name? It would help to know whom I am speaking with. My name is Detective Reese Clayton.”

  “I know who you are. It’s a small town. I used to work for Saturn Psychiatric Center quite a few years ago as an orderly. From what I can remember, the kid you’re asking about is Timothy Cole. That kid needed more help than any of the staff at the center could give him. No matter how hard they tried. I remember his father bringing him in the first day. He fought tooth and nail to escape. Even as a kid, he threatened to kill his father for bringing him to Saturn. He was smart, though.”

  “Smart? How do you mean?”

  “He knew enough to sway the doctors into thinking he was getting better. That was after they gave him shock treatments. Barbaric, those treatments, if you ask me. His family would take him out occasionally to see if he could behave in public. The trips out of Saturn were getting longer and longer. I’m guessing he put on quite an act to convince them to let him go on vacation with them.”

  “Why do you believe he wasn’t getting better?” Reese asked.

  “I saw firsthand the terrible things he had done to a few of the other patients. He broke arms, twisted legs in ways you could not imagine. One day I walked in and found him hanging a young boy from the bars on the windows. He had made a noose from the kid’s own tee shirt. Luckily, I got to the kid in time. I reported all of this, but I never heard of anyone doing anything about him. He certainly should not have been allowed to wander around. I seriously wondered if the doctors there were experimenting on him. That’s all I could think of anyway.”

  Reese could not believe what she was hearing, or why this stranger was telling her all of this in the dark parking lot of a motel.

  “Sir, may I ask you where this place, this Saturn Center, is located?”

  “You mean where it was, Detective. It burnt to the ground. I don’t think the cause of the fire or who may have started it was ever settled. But I have a pretty good guess. Tim Cole. Most of the residents escaped the fire with help from the staff, but some did not. It was believed that Tim Cole died in the blaze, but I don’t believe that.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because, he started the fire. I saw him light the match before an explosion threw me backwards. That’s all I have for you.”

  “Please come in to speak with us. We need your help to catch this guy. We just want to talk. I promise you we are here to help. If what you are saying is true, he could be a major suspect in the death of his entire family.”

  Reese did not know Lake was listening to the whole conversation from the side entrance to the motel. When she hadn’t returned from her walk, he went to look for her. Seeing this man talking to Reese in the lot, he had drawn his weapon and listened carefully. Reese couldn’t see the man clearly, but Emerson could. His face was completely deformed. Emerson guessed it was from the blast that hit him. Reese continued to plead with the stranger, but he was frightened off.

  Trying to run after him in a dark parking lot that led to God knows where was not smart without back up. She sprinted back to the motel room and burst through the door, but Lake was nowhere to be found. As she was about to head back outside, Lake suddenly appeared in the doorway grabbing onto the shirt sleeve of a man he had in tow, hands cuffed behind his back. The man’s badly burned face startled Reese, but she quickly regained her composure.

  “Sir, I am so sorry for what happened to you at the psych center. I am equally sorry that my partner decided to chase you like a criminal. Detective, remove those cuffs immediately. Would you please tell us your name?” she asked.

  “Andrew Kelsey.”

  Chapter 47

  At Cromwell Medical Center, there was another challenge: trying to keep Kei Lien in the hospital for observation. As worn out as she was, there was no way she was going to let a doctor, or even a nurse, touch her. She was done with that part of her life.

  “Kei Lien, please let the them help you,” Daniel begged. “Please let these nice people check to make sure you are not hurt inside.”

  A nurse walked in and announced she was there to take Kei Lien’s vitals.

  “No.” She glared at the nurse and Daniel with eyes that could singe your soul.

  “Please, Kei Lien. She won’t hurt you. I promise.”

  Kei Lien nodded it was ok. Thank goodness temperatures were now taken by running a gadget across the forehead! She would have bit the thermometer in half.

  “She’s running a fever,” the nurse said to Daniel. “It’s not too high, but high enough to warrant concern and urgency to keep her for evaluation.”

  She turned to Kei Lien.

  “Are you willing to answer a few questions dear?” she asked. “Your friend, I’m sorry what is your name again, young man?”

  “Daniel.”

  “Daniel could stay with you if you want.”

  Kei Lien glanced over at Daniel. He gave her a nod as if to say “I’m right here. I will not let anyone hurt you again.”

  She hung her head, fear still overwhelming her, not knowing the right decision. Tears began to spill from her eyes. So tired and giving in to defeat.

  “Okay, I’ll try.”

  “When was the last time you had your menstrual cycle?” the nurse asked.

  No answer.

  “All right,” she phrased the question another way. “When was your last period? Kei Lien, sweetie, do you know what period means or menstrual cycle?”

  The nurse was very compassionate. Daniel was glad for that.

  “No,” Kei Lien whispered.

  Kei Lien just stared at the nurse and then at Daniel.

  “Nurse, would it be okay if I had a word with you in the hall? Kei Lien, I’ll be right outside the door, okay?”

  “May I ask your name?” he asked.

  “Mary Elizabeth.”

  “I just want you to be aware of what this young woman has been through. What she has endured for many years I am guessing. Her mother died giving birth to a stillborn child. Kei Lien was never allowed to go to school after that. So, this type of questioning won’t help. She has no idea what you are saying to her. She is scared and although her age and body are that of a woman, her mind is that of a child. A child that was abused by many. No one knows just how many.”

  Mary Elizabeth was furious. “Damn it! No one explained the situation to me. All they said was to go ask the standard rape victim questions. A certified sexual assault nurse examiner is supposed to administer the rape kit test. That’s not going to happen. No amount of coaxing is ever going to change this young woman’s mind. I remember all the steps involved with the rape kit from maybe eight or ten years ago when I attended the classes. Don’t even know if my certification still exists. I have not done one since. I know I could get into trouble for this, lots of trouble, for even thinking I could or should do it, but what the hell would they do, fire me? Who cares? Put me in jail? I doubt it. This may be the last good deed I do for this place before I am forced into retirement, so, screw it.”

  She apologized to Daniel. “I just came on duty. I’ve been away for a few days. I did not know this young woman’s situation. Let’s see if there is another way to approach the questioning sir. Would you be willing to stay for a while to help her with all of this?”

  “Absolutely, if that’s what she wants.”

  The nurse was no doubt older than most on the unit. Daniel surmised that she wanted to work, not had to. She was a rare breed you might say, someone who cares more about the patient than the bottom line.

  This time the nurse went over to Kei Lien’s bed fluffed her pillows and st
raightened the sheets, so they weren’t all bunched up while she was sitting in an elevated position. She then made sure Kei Lien was completely covered with the sheets and blankets and tucked in tightly. Only her arms remained out.

  “There. Now does that feel better? Are you okay? How about I get you a glass of orange juice to drink?”

  She went to a small break room down the hallway nearly in tears fumbling to get the juice. Taking a napkin to wipe the moisture from her own eyes, Mary Elizabeth returned to the room.

  Kei Lien looked over at Daniel once again, not knowing if this was a safe place. Daniel reassured her.

  “It’s fine, Kei Lien. This nice lady just wants to help you.” Daniel took a chance and finished his sentence with, “Just like your mom would if she were here.”

  The nurse and Daniel saw the slight release of Kei Lien’s fears as tears began to well up in her eyes again. She wanted her mom. Hopefully this nurse would be a substitute for a short while at least.

  “Sweetheart, can you show me where your father and the others hurt you?” the nurse asked. “Just point with your finger. I won’t touch you.”

  Kei Lien slowly picked up her hand and placed it over her vaginal area and then leaned to the side and placed her hand on her bottom. She then touched her mouth. Daniel was ready to vomit just imagining the torture she must have endured.

  The nurse moved to the edge of the bed and asked, “May I hold your hand? By the way my name is Mary Elizabeth.”

  She then placed her own hand at Kei Lien’s side on top of the blankets and waited for her to make the next important move. Kei Lien cautiously did.

  “Did my mom send you?” she whispered.

  “I don’t know, Kei Lien. But I sure do like the way that sounds. Please trust me. I need to look at places on your body to see if you are hurt badly. If you want, Daniel can stay. Or if you prefer, he can wait outside. Just tell me if I hurt you in any way and I will stop. I promise.”