by Mary Head
◊◊◊
David typed the text with trembling fingers and sent it, waiting to make sure it went through before slipping his phone back into his pocket. He crossed his arms tightly over his chest and shifted anxiously on his feet, staring intently at the FBI building across the street.
There was a damp chill in the air, but he barely noticed it. His heart pounded hard in his ears, his blood rushing through his veins, warming him and sending adrenaline throughout his body, making him alert and more than a little jittery.
This was it, it had to be. He was so close to finding Hannah, to finally bringing her home, that he could almost feel the warmth of her in his arms, could almost smell her hair and feel it soft under his chin. Once he had her back, he didn’t think he’d let her go ever again.
Soon, he told himself, glancing at his watch and then back at the building.
A moment later he noticed a small, slender figure heading towards him and he tensed, his arms tightening over his chest.
“Here,” Juliet said without preamble when she was in front of him, holding out a small slip of paper.
“Thank you, Jules,” David murmured sincerely, looking at her for a moment before he lowered his gaze to the paper. “Wheaton,” he said quietly, “that’s not far.”
“You know, it may not be him,” Juliet said, looking between his face and the paper in his hands. “It could just be a coincidence.”
David shook his head. “This is it, Jules. I can feel it,” he murmured, his eyes still on the paper.
He looked back up at Juliet. “Can you give us a twenty minute head start before you tell Chris?”
“Chris already knows. John came by this afternoon because he remembered an incident from a couple months ago with Hannah and a strange man in a hallway. He remembered what the man looked like well enough to tell a sketch artist, and we took the sketch over to the Alexandria site late this afternoon. The foreman ID’d him as Connolly, but it’s taken us this long to verify that he was working that afternoon and get his address. So you and Chris both reached the same end through different means.” She glanced away as she raised a hand to her hair, pushing one dark section behind her ear before she added, “But it’ll take tactical twenty minutes to gear up and leave.”
David frowned. “Those guys are trained to be good to go in less than five.”
“Well, today they’re slow,” she replied, meeting his gaze.
“Jules –” he began, but stopped when she shook her head.
“Just be careful, David, okay? I want to see all three of you in one piece when we get there.”
David nodded, though neither of them moved.
Juliet lowered her gaze to the ground, biting her lip as her emotions and thoughts swirled within her, chief among them her concern for David and Eli. They were going in alone, without any immediate backup, and it scared her to think of what could happen. She raised her gaze to David once more, her mouth open slightly as though she was going to speak, though she had no idea what might come out. She took a breath, and then, before she could stop herself, she gripped the front of his jacket in both hands and pulled him down to her, pressing her lips to his in a hard kiss. She thought she heard the softest noise of surprise come from him and pulled away, still gripping his jacket as she stared at the stunned look on his face.
“Be careful,” she repeated breathlessly, and then turned to hurry back into the building.
A moment later David slipped back behind the wheel of his car, and Eli, who had been waiting anxiously, turned to look at him.
“Did you get it?” he asked, and then frowned at the dazed look on the other man’s face. “What happened?”
David glanced at him and then shook his head sharply as if to clear it.
“Nothing,” he said quickly. “It’s nothing. I’ve got it,” he added, holding up the slip of paper. “It’s not far.”
He turned the key to start the car and then looked fully at Eli, his expression serious.
“This is your last chance to back out, Eli,” he said evenly. “You don’t have to go through with this.”
Eli shook his head without hesitation. “I’m with you.”
David looked at him a moment and then gave a quick nod.
“Okay then,” he murmured, a smile flickering across his face as he dropped the car into gear and pulled away from the curb.
Chapter 51
They parked three houses down on the opposite side of the street, and approached through the neighbor’s back yard. The houses in this area were small, but well spaced, and the street lights did not offer them much cover. They passed by a small storage shed, pausing very briefly to glance in the darkened windows. Eli thought he saw a small flash of light, but before he could say anything it flickered away, and he dismissed it as his imagination.
David paused beside an old tree, wide and twisted, and raised his hand to his hip, flipping open the safety strap on his weapon. Behind him, Eli did the same.
“So, how do you want to play this?” Eli whispered.
David took a slow steadying breath and replied, “Think you can get in the back door?”
Eli took a step back and peered through the darkness at the small set of steps leading up to an old aluminum screen door. “Looks flimsy enough.”
David nodded and started to move. “Good. I’ll go to the front.”
Eli’s eyes widened and he reached out, grabbing David’s shoulder to stop him. “The front?” he hissed. “He’ll know we’re here.”
David rolled his eyes. “He doesn’t know we know anything,” he replied softly. “He doesn’t know if I remember him or not. I’ll just be keeping his attention long enough for you to get in and find Han.”
Eli looked at him skeptically, but nodded a few seconds later. “You’re the boss.”
David held back a smirk, thinking there would be plenty of time for him to get back to harassing the greenie when Hannah was safe.
“Be careful,” David whispered as Eli turned and started to sneak his way to the back door.
David waited until Eli reached the wooden steps to the back door before stepping from the shadow of the tree.
One thought flashed through his mind: I’m coming, baby.
He took a wide path around the side of the house all the way to the sidewalk, and then made his way to the front door. He touched the gun on his hip, flicking the safety off and tucking the holster strap out of the way. If things went bad, he would be ready, and he wouldn’t hesitate.
Taking a slow deep breath, David raised his hand and knocked sharply on the door.
◊◊◊
Eddie’s eyes opened at the sound of someone knocking on the front door, and he frowned, waiting to see if Jackie would answer it.
A brief moment passed, and then the visitor knocked again, louder this time.
Eddie sighed and threw the covers aside, wondering idly where Jackie had gone off to. He pulled his jeans on and grabbed his gun from the drawer of his bedside table, tucking it into the back of his jeans before stepping from his bedroom and moving into the living room.
As he moved to the front door, he glanced over to check that the basement door was still closed. They rarely had visitors, and it wasn’t the sort of neighborhood where kids went door to door selling cookies and candy bars for school fundraisers. Knocks at this time of night meant only two things: cops and trouble. He peeked through the narrow window next to the door, pushing aside the small curtain just enough to catch a glimpse of who was standing on the porch.
When he saw who it was, he jerked his head back, heart pounding in his chest and anger swelling in his gut. There on his front porch stood the source of all his pain and resentment, Special Supervisory Agent David Cole.
He squeezed the door handle tightly, resisting the urge to yank it open and launch himself at Agent Cole, to push him back against the pavement and pound every last bit of rage on the other man’s face.
No, he thought. I need him to suffer like I’ve suff
ered.
Taking a deep breath, he reached back to make sure his t-shirt was pulled down, covering the gun, and then opened the door.
“Can I help you?” Eddie asked, doing his best to look cautious but not unfriendly.
David gave a quick nod and replied, “Sorry to interrupt your evening, sir, but I’m with the FBI, and I was wondering if you could answer a few questions.”
Eddie’s jaw clenched, but he leaned on the doorframe in an attempt to appear nonchalant. He didn’t know what Agent Cole was playing at, if the man honestly didn’t remember him, or if he was biding his time until backup arrived. Eddie threw a quick glance towards the street and saw only two cars, one of which belonged to the house across the street. He assumed the other was Cole’s, which meant he was here alone. Maybe one of the FBI’s best agents was even dumber than he thought.
He decided to play along.
“What the hell would the FBI want with me?”
David smiled, but it was forced and tight, the kind he was used to giving a suspect when he was pretending to be friendly. It was taking every ounce of self control he possessed not to attack Eddie Connolly. He could see the hatred in Eddie’s eyes, even in the dim glow of the porch light, and he noticed how tense the other man’s stance was, how he kept himself just inside the door, hand still on the knob, ready to push it closed at a moment’s notice.
“Oh, it’s not you we’re looking for, sir,” David answered. “I’m working on a missing person’s case, and we’re interviewing everyone in the neighborhood.”
Eddie frowned. “Someone went missing from this neighborhood?”
David shook his head. “No, but this was the area where she was last seen.”
A moment passed between them, silent and thick. Anger radiated off of both of them, and David wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep up the charade. He hoped Eli’s search was quick, that they would either find Hannah, or a clue as to her location, before his composure slipped.
Eddie gave a short laugh. “That a fact.”
“Yeah, it is,” David replied sharply, his eyes narrowing.
Eddie looked skeptically at David and started to reach back as if he were just stretching or scratching an itch. His fingers brushed the grip of his gun.
He wasn’t sure what pissed him off more, the fact that David Cole would come to his house on some desperate unofficial investigation, or that it seemed the agent didn’t remember him at all. If David didn’t remember him, didn’t remember Luke, didn’t remember how he’d destroyed Eddie’s life, then killing that bitch in the basement really would be justice. Then David Cole would never forget.
“Who’s missing?” Eddie asked.
David tensed as he watched Eddie’s movements. He assumed that Eddie would have a weapon of some kind, that he would have needed it to get Hannah to go with him.
“A young woman.”
David chanced a glance through the space between Eddie and the door, but he couldn’t see into the house.
He wanted to end this. The image of his fist hitting Eddie’s jaw flashed in his mind, and his fingers twitched with the desire to pull his weapon and leave a bleeding hole right between Eddie’s eyes.
“Haven’t seen one,” Eddie said. His lips twitched and he fought back a smile. “But maybe my brother has.”
David frowned, not remembering anything about an uncle in Luke’s file.
Eddie turned his head, looking over his shoulder into the house, and called out, “Jackie!”
Another short silence passed between them, but this time it was broken by a loud noise from inside the house, followed immediately by a shrill scream in a voice painfully familiar to David.
Chapter 52
Eli crept down the hall, staying close to the wall with his gun held low.
The kitchen had been empty, though Eli had seen a small, mostly full vial sitting on the counter, along with a syringe. There had been no label, and though he knew it could be completely innocent, something in his gut told him it wasn’t, and that this was the right place. His hands tightened around his gun as he looked at the vial, his worry for Hannah increasing, and then he continued on.
On his way down the hall, he passed by two bedrooms and had quickly determined both to be empty, and was now approaching two doors right across from each other.
A loud knock sounded on the front door, startling Eli, and he froze, listening intently. There were no sounds of movement from within the house, and he carefully continued forward, peering into the room to his right. It was a darkened, sparsely furnished bathroom, and his brow furrowed as he stared around the small space. Its emptiness unnerved him. The lack of anything related to personal hygiene, except for the bar of soap on the sink and a hand towel hanging limply on the wall, seemed strange; even the shower curtain was gone.
Another loud knock sounded just as Eli shifted towards the door on his left, and he froze when he heard the sound of a door opening elsewhere in the house, followed by the dull thud of bare feet walking across the floor.
A brief fantasy of bursting into the living room and just taking Eddie out right then and there flashed through his mind, but he took a deep, steadying breath, forcing himself to stay put.
Carefully stepping backward out of sight, he listened intently until he heard the sound of the front door opening, and then Eddie’s voice, followed shortly by David’s.
Shifting forward again, he chanced a look at the front door. He could see the two men, could hear David’s voice as he asked Eddie questions. He had no idea what they could possibly be talking about, but he didn’t care, so long as David kept the other man distracted.
Casting a glance over his shoulder in the direction of the kitchen, he saw he was still unnoticed and shifted carefully over to the door on his left.
After a steadying breath, his eyes still on the men at the front door, he reached down with his free hand and twisted the knob slowly. The door creaked softly as he started to push it open and he froze, waiting to see if it had been heard. David’s voice still sounded from outside, and Eli took another breath as he eased the door open the rest of the way.
Stairs, a concrete floor, a mattress –
“Hannah,” he breathed, his heart skipping in his chest when he saw her curled on the mattress.
With one more glance at the front door, he moved onto the stairs, carefully closing the basement door behind him.
He scanned the room with both his eyes and his gun as he started slowly down the stairs, but it was small and he could see nowhere to hide. There was a single naked bulb hanging overhead, illuminating the room well enough, though shadows lingered in the corners.
As he continued down, he looked closer at the workbench against the wall to his right. It was completely bare, and the only other thing in the room. There were empty shelves on the wall and bare windows up near the ceiling, all obviously too high for Hannah to reach.
Eli reached the floor, trying to control his breathing and the racing of his heart, telling himself to finish securing the room before he went to Hannah.
A quick glance told him there was nothing under the stairs, and with no other places to hide, he finally determined the room to be empty apart from the two of them. He went to her now, holstering his gun as he kneeled down beside her.
A feeling of pity swept through him as he looked at her, accompanied by a vague sense of horror. Her eyes were closed; whether she was asleep or unconscious he wasn’t sure, but the steady rise and fall of her body told him she was alive. She was curled on her left side with her head resting on her arm, which extended above her head, and he could see the handcuff pushed up high on her arm, chaining her to the rusted heater attached to the wall. Her wrist was heavily bruised and looked swollen, and Eli frowned, wondering if it was possibly broken. Her right arm, lying protectively across her middle, was dotted with bruises, and he could see dark circles around that wrist as well.
The strap of her tank top was broken and lying over her chest. Attached to the end
of it was a small safety pin, telling Eli that the strap had been broken, fixed, and then broken again; the implications of this made him feel sick.
On the floor just beside the mattress was a plastic cup and a paper plate, the plate bearing a yellow smear of what looked like mustard, and he stared at it a moment. The presence of the plate and cup didn’t seem to fit the image of Eddie that Eli had in his mind, and his frown deepened in confusion before he turned his gaze back to Hannah.
“Hannah,” he said softly, shifting closer and reaching a hand towards her, unsure of where to touch her. There didn’t seem to be any part of her that wasn’t bruised, and he didn’t want to hurt her. He finally settled for her shoulder, giving her a gentle shake as he said her name again. She stirred, her brow creasing a little, and his heart leapt as he looked at her. He said her name once more, rubbing his hand absently down her arm, and after a minute her eyes fluttered open, her gaze slowly rising to his face.
Before he could say anything, she jumped and gasped sharply, her expression fearful as she looked at him, and he pulled his hand away from her.
“Shh,” he whispered soothingly, “it’s me – it’s Eli.” His eyebrows rose uncertainly. “Do you remember me?”
Her frown deepened as she focused on him, confusion slowly replacing her fear.
“Eli?” she murmured, and then shook her head, her eyes closing again as she moaned, “Oh, god, now I’m hallucinating.”
An absurd thrill ran through him that she did seem to remember him, and he was unable to stop the quiet laugh that escaped him as he shook his head.
“No, you’re not hallucinating. It’s me.”
She opened her eyes and looked at him, her eyebrows knitting together. After a moment, she lifted her hand, hesitating for just a moment before her fingers brushed against his cheek. She inhaled sharply, tears rising in her eyes as she placed her hand fully on his face.
“Eli,” she breathed, her tears spilling over as she stared at him, and he smiled.
“It’s me,” he repeated, resisting the urge to put his hand over hers.