After some looking around, he saw a busted picture frame on the floor and picked it up. It was the girl, Ellora, and her father, with his arm around her. They were both smiling. His stomach started to churn. “I hope you’re safe, sweetheart,” he declared out loud. Placing the cracked frame back on the desk, he took in the gruesome scene and cursed to himself, “What kind of fucked up situation have you gotten me involved in, Dalton?” And he was involved now. There was no way he could ignore this. He had to investigate this creeped out scene further, job be damned!
After closing the front door on his way out, he sat heavily in his car, the weight of the world weighing heavily on his shoulders. He let out a frustrated breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. Looking over to her mail lying haphazardly on his passenger-side seat, he flipped through it. Most was junk mail, but a bill from Saint Joseph's Hospital caught his attention. He quickly ripped it open. It appeared like, a week before she bought her one-way ticket, the girl had left the hospital after a week’s stay. “Hmm, I'm definitely heading over there. “I wonder if I’ll have better luck getting info now, rather than in the morning…” Dominick mused to himself, and figured he might as well give it a shot. The sooner the better. His adrenaline was in high gear from the scene inside that house, so he might as well put it to good use. “Show me what you’re running from, Ellora,” Dominick exclaimed out-loud, as he sped down 81 South.
Dominick pulled up to the emergency entrance, took the keys out of the ignition, and sat there thinking.
“I could be wrong…” He spoke his thoughts aloud, trying to make sense of the situation. “That blood could be someone else's, and she could be the cause behind it. That would explain her wanting to disappear. But, my gut is telling me that there is more behind this attack. Is Dalton behind it? Money is always a good motive, but I don't think my boss would hire a former CSI detective to investigate the whereabouts of a girl he attacked himself. Nah, he'd hire someone, I suppose. He wouldn't want to get his rich hands dirty.”
He took a deep breath and marched through the automatic doors. Once inside, he noticed a familiar face behind the reception desk. He couldn't remember her name yet, but she was what all the guys at the station would call a ‘badge bunny.’ Whenever they were interviewing a victim here, she would always hit on all the uniforms, offering up her ‘services’. This was his in!
Dominick strolled up to the desk with his best GQ gait, and when the young lady looked up, he smiled and winked at her. By the look on her ecstatic face, she remembered him, and when he was close enough, he quickly glanced at her nametag before she noticed, her own eyes busy checking him out. “Vicky, didja miss me, sweetheart?” Oh yeah, he was going to lay on the flattery pretty thick tonight.
“Oh my God, Dominick! I haven't seen you around in a long time. You're never with your guys anymore. What happened? I missed seeing that handsome face around here,” she gushed, batting her eyes at him.
“Yeah, my superior detective work landed me a gig with some rich corporate developer. I'm a private investigator now. I missed seeing that beautiful face of yours, too. In fact, I was supposed to come by in the morning to ask the day man some questions, but I thought I'd come by tonight n' ask you instead.”
“Me? Why me, Dom?”
“Just an excuse to see you again, darlin'.” He leaned on the desk and winked at her. Dominick took in her deep blush, while her eyes expressed the lust she so obviously felt. He was thrilled knowing that his game was working on her. It was good to know he still had it. He was no male model, after all, but his peak physical condition was top notch. He was pretty tall and his dominating, authoritative attitude always won over the ladies.
“Wait, how did you know I was working tonight? I switched with Eva at the last minute?”
Dominick leaned farther over the desk, stopping inches from her face, and stared deep into her eyes then dragged his gaze down to her lips. His voice lowered to a husky tone.” Vicky, what kind of detective would I be if I didn't even know when my favorite girl was working?” Shit. Nice save, he appraised himself.
Vicky took in a sharp breath, and when she let it out slowly, her voice was just above a whisper, “Ooh, Dom, what I wouldn't do...”
He noticed her then for the first time. She was on the short side, probably five-foot four, with darker blonde hair up in a high ponytail, and dark brown eyes. On top of being large-chested, she’d been graced with a tiny waist, curvy lush hips, and a tight round ass. That was why she always got so much attention from the other badges. If she hadn't always been so eager to be with any and every cop, he would definitely have asked her to dinner. She was an attractive woman.
Dalton Ramsey's financial bullshit took up so much of his time, it had been a while since he'd felt the warmth of a woman's body next to him. If Vicky kept looking at him the way she was, he was going take her home and fulfill all of her cop fantasies by cuffing her to his bed. That was just his need talking, though. He wouldn't want to hurt her by rejecting her in the morning.
“So, what did you want to know, Dom? I’ll try and help the best I can,” she finally asked after their lustful showdown.
“Well, you had an Ellora Belle Sutherland stay for about a week here, after coming in with injuries. She was a partner with Dalton Ramsey Claiborne, and they need her records so they can comp the bill she received.”
“Well, why didn't he come down himself to pay or fill out the necessary paperwork, for permission to obtain her records?” She lifted a suspicious eyebrow at him.
Dominick let out an obnoxious laugh and snorted. “Honey, you know the rich. They never show up in person for anything! That's why he hired me… to do all the grunt work. Luckily, it pays better than a detective’s salary. Don't worry, darlin’. I'll sign the paperwork if you need me to. I'm a lawman. You can trust me. How many times have you seen me in here saving a life, or protecting it?”
“I know, Dom. It's just that… well, she has to sign off on them, too. It’s a privacy clause.”
Shit, she's going to make me work hard for it, Dominick thought. “You see, honey,” he said, leaning in close, easily towering over her, hoping his size and authority would intimidate her enough to get the answers he wanted. “She was actually reported as missing. I'm trying to keep her and her partners safe. We believe whoever hurt her is coming after her to finish the job. She hasn’t been to her house or gotten her mail in over two weeks. If this hospital ever wants to get paid, then they should be lenient with the rules and let Dalton help. Ellora is probably too scared to surface.” Boy, was that some incredible bullshit. Dominick did a pretty good job of pulling that explanation out of his ass on the spot.
Vicky nervously bit her lip, unconsciously fidgeting with her fingers. “I did notice some strange things one night when she was here, but I didn't think to say anything.”
“What? What things? Tell me.”
Her eyes got wide, and she shook her head. “Not here. I get off in a few minutes. Do you want to go and get something to eat? I will explain there.”
Dominick tilted his head to the side, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. He gave Vicky a questioning stare. Was she just trying to get him out on a date, or was she worried about the cameras catching her handing over paperwork to him?
Vicky let out a huff of breath at his expression, and quietly explained, “I'll give you what you asked for, but not here, okay?”
“We'll take my car. I'll wait for you outside, sweetheart.” At that, Dominick walked out.
He definitely wanted to take his car; that way, he would be in control of the situation. As he sat in the car waiting, he was curious as to her statement about noticing strange things. Had Ellora said something that might give away who’d done this and why? Did she know the attacker? Did she get any visitors or a call?
“I'm going to have to call my old partner and see if Ellora or anyone else filed a report on this attack.” Out loud to himself, Dominick ticked off the list of things he’d need to accomplish.
They headed out to Dinosaur BBQ on West Willow Street. This was the only place open until one in the morning, and it was Dominick's favorite place. He led Vicky in, opening the door for her, and they were quickly seated in a booth near the back corner. It was dimly lit, and the rowdy patrons took the edge off of their first dinner out together. Professional or not, there was less pressure for polite conversation.
Vicky looked over the menu, but Dominick had no need. He already knew what he wanted. The waitress came around and asked for their order.
“What'll it be, darlin’?” Dom directed for her to go first.
“I'm not that hungry. I'll just have the small order of fried green tomatoes and a salad with the Bar B Blues house dressing, please,” Vicky ordered self-consciously.
“What would you like to drink, miss?” the waitress asked, scribbling on her note pad.
“A Coke with no ice, please.”
“And for our regular?” The waitress winked at Dominick. He was there every weekend like clockwork.
Dominick chuckled. “I'll have the Cuban pulled pork sandwich with black beans and rice, and I think I'll try your house lager tonight,” he ordered confidently.
“All right, one Ape Hanger and a coke, coming right up.”
With their orders out of the way, Dominick focused his attention on Vicky. He wanted to see what she knew. “So, Ellora Belle Sutherland was admitted to the hospital. What injuries did she sustain?”
Vicky let out a breath, and Dominick noticed that she carried a lot of tension in her shoulders. “She was treated for a pretty bad laceration wound to her back. It started at her upper right shoulder and went down her back to her left hip. It took a lot of stitches to close her up, and she lost a lot of blood.”
Well, that would explain the dried blood all over her house, Dominick concluded. “She drove herself there?” He really wanted to look over the interior of her car. There might still be physical evidence that had been left behind, which could lead him to where she was hiding.
“No, she was brought in by an ambulance. She was in and out of consciousness.”
Where the hell was her car, he wondered, confusion still apparent on his face. Deciding to move on to the next question, he asked, “Did she tell anyone at the hospital what happened?”
“The staff called the police, and a few of your friends came in to speak to her. I'm not sure what she told them, though,” Vicky stated.
“Oh, that's good. I can give them a call and see if there’s a report I can look over. What are the strange things you mentioned before?” Dominick was curious about this uttered statement.
Vicky took a few moments to collect her thoughts, then started. “Well, the night before she left, I was working my rounds. It was insane there. We had a bunch of gunshot victims from the West side of Syracuse come in from some kind of fight. I didn't think about it at the time, but I did notice that there was a tall man slowly walking down the hallway toward Ellora’s room. The man had a doctor’s white coat on, a stethoscope and gloves… you know, the normal uniform. I only noticed him because, in a sea of rushing doctors, nurses and emergency personnel, he was the only one striding calmly down the hall without a care in the world.” Vicky shuttered at the memory.
“A while later, Ellora’s heart rate monitor alarm sounded off at the nurse’s station. Her heart rate had spiked so high, it scared everyone. I was the first to rush down the hall toward her room, and that same man or doctor… whoever he was, came out of the room right before I got there. His head was turned away from me, so I couldn’t see his face. When I walked into her room, she was ashen grey. Her eyes were wide and frantic with fear. She was sweating and hyperventilating.” Vicky continued to shake as she retold the story she obviously couldn’t forget from that night. That man had left a lasting impression on her, and Dominick was glad she’d told him. This may not have been the best of leads, but it was something.
“Holy shit.” Dominick leaned forward, listening intently to her story, his knuckles whitened from clenching his fists. “Who was it?”
“That's the thing. I never found out. She told me she just woke up from a nightmare. Later on that night, Eva, another nurse working with me, said that a man claiming to be a cop demanded all her files and past medical records. When she refused to hand them over, he threatened her and left quickly. Well, I photocopied everything without letting anyone know, because that man from the hallway gave me a strange feeling. Sure enough, the next day, everything about Ellora Sutherland we had on file was wiped out, and Ellora Had left before my shift.”
“Son of a bitch! At what time did she check out?” Dominick questioned anxiously.
“She never did. She wasn't scheduled to leave for three more days. Her doctor wanted to make sure she wasn't going to develop an infection. They wanted to instruct her on how to dress and clean the wounds properly before she was discharged. She disappeared from her room without a word to anyone.” Vicky twisted the thick cloth napkin in her hand over and over. That encounter obviously weighed heavily on her mind since it happened. She looked relieved to finally recount the odd events.
Just then, the waitress came around with their food. “Enjoy, guys. Holler if you need anything else.”
With rattled nerves, Dominick dug into his meal with purpose instead of pleasure. He was on edge and hardly tasted the food, which was a shame because he knew it was amazing.
Vicky moved her food around her plate with her fork for a while, then reached into her deep canvas bag and took out a white envelope. “Here are her copied files. It's not all of the stuff that was wiped out, but at least it's something, I guess.” She handed it to him across the table, with a look in her eye that said she wished she could’ve done more.
“Thank you, Vicky. I'm sure this will help in some way. I've just got to get to the bottom of this somehow, and if not for your smart thinking, I wouldn't even have this.” He waved the envelope in his hand and gave her a genuine smile, meaning what he’d said. At least he had a story to go on and a possible lead. He just had to make a trip to his old station to find out who the lead investigator was that night, and see if they’d tell him anything they may have found out.
“You didn't come down just to pay the bill, did you, Detective Antonelli?” She arched an eyebrow at him.
“Actually, darlin', I'm doing my own detective work. I'm doing more than what I was asked to do.” Dominick chuckled dryly.
“Since when have you ever?” Vicky shot back.
On the drive back to the hospital to drop Vicky back off, they were both silent, lost in their own thoughts. Dominick pulled up to where her car was and walked her to the driver’s door. “Thanks for all your help, darlin'. I might be able to locate this girl because of your quick thinking.” He wasn't sure that was true, but he might need her help again, so he threw it out there.
“I hope you find her safe, and maybe we could go out again. You know... when it doesn't involve a case.” She fidgeted with her hands nervously. Dominick entertained the idea of going out with her again. He had seen a different side to her personality tonight. But now wasn’t the right time to pursue it.
“Here's my number, just in case.” Vicky slipped him a piece of folded paper.
Plastering on a sideways grin, he kissed her forehead. “You got it, sweetheart!” With that, he hopped in his car and sped off.
While sitting at his desk in his small apartment, he looked through the contents of the envelope. Mostly, it was just medical jibber jabber but, he found more sheets with billing info on it. There were bank account numbers and credit card numbers she had used in the past for payment. Using his police credentials, Dominick set up a monitoring site. If she used her credit cards or withdrew any money from her bank account, it would notify him, which would help him determine her current location.
Exhaustion set in, and Dominick gave in to it. Kicking off his boots and stripping to his boxers, he crashed in his bed.
There was a steady high-pitched sound relentles
sly beeping in the background, which got louder as she slowly came back to consciousness. Ellora’s eyelids were still heavy from sleep, but still she tried opening them. She squinted when a bright overhead light shined painfully in her eyes. After blinking several times, they were finally able to adjust. Ellora took a ragged breath in, as she was becoming more aware of a throbbing pain in her back, her head… Everywhere seemed to hurt.
She tried lifting her hand to shield the brilliant florescent light with it. Her head ached even more with the cursed light pointing right in her face. A pinch in her arm stopped her from stretching it out all the way, something tugging it back. Turning her head lazily to the side, she saw tubes taped to her arm, delivering liquid to her veins.
With a groggy look around her, Ellora observed that she was, in fact, lying in a hospital bed. Her eyes were fully adjusted now, so she looked around the room, trying to figure out what had happened and how she wound up there. Standing quietly in the corner shadows, a tall figure in a white doctor’s coat looked over her chart. His back was to her.
Ellora pulled in a weak, shaky breath like it was her very first one. His back straightened at hearing her, and the man stopped what he had been doing and slowly turned. Ellora closed her eyes and let out the breath slowly, relieved that she was out of that house and finally safe. A heavy hand smacked down hard over her mouth... Her eyes snapped open at the abrupt assault, revealing those vicious black eyes that must’ve climbed right out of her nightmare to get to her.
His fingers dug painfully into the flesh of her cheeks. His weight crushed her as he climbed closer, stopping a mere inches from her face. Ellora’s heart hammered through her weak chest. That beeping from the machine raced, setting off some sort of an alarm. He squeezed her mouth impossibly tighter, the pressure pulsing painfully in her jaw. The other hand held a curved blade, and he skimmed it down the side of her face.
Leaning in closer, he whispered, “It doesn’t matter where you are in this world, Ellora, or how many people are around… I will always find you.” With the sharp point of the blade pressed under her chin, he painful forced her head up so that she was looking directly into his eyes. He seemed to relish watching as her fear paralyzed her. Ellora quaked helplessly in his grasp as tears streamed down her paling cheeks. “You can’t hide from me… I’ll always get to you.”
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