Chapter 5
FIVE
Jenna climbed out of the Beast and stared at Raven’s sheriff’s department vehicle, parked in their allocated area out front of the hospital. She turned to Kane. “I hope he hasn’t been here all night.”
“I don’t think so. There isn’t that much snow on his vehicle.” Kane followed her up the steps to the entrance. “She is his patient, so he’s probably following up on the scans they did last night. He is a really good doctor.”
The smell of antiseptic surrounded Jenna as she smiled at him.
“Maybe so, but I’m sticking with Shane, even though people have questioned me about having the medical examiner delivering our baby.
I had quite a discussion with Wendy at Aunt Betty’s the other day.
She had discovered that Rowley’s wife, Sandy, had delivered her twins in the morgue and Shane had delivered their little girl as well. ”
“What did you tell her?” Kane pushed the buttons on the elevator and they walked inside.
Shrugging, she met his gaze. “A little white lie. I told her he’d been my doctor when I lived in Texas and I’d recommended him to Sandy.”
“Good enough.” Kane led the way to the secure ward and flashed his card on the entrance scanner.
The doors opened and they walked inside.
The hum of machines greeted them and nurses moved around, their rubber-soled shoes squeaking on the tile, along with people pushing carts laden with dirty dishes.
At the nurses station they asked for Ellie’s room and then made their way along the hallway and scanned their way through another locked door into the secure area.
They found Raven chatting to another doctor outside her room and waited for him to finish.
Jenna raised her eyebrows expectantly. “How is Ellie?”
“All her scans came back fine.” Raven frowned. “She does have a slight concussion. Wolfe came by last night and checked her over as well. He took swabs and collected her clothes to scan them for evidence. She looks a little worse for wear this morning, two black eyes and bruising.”
“She seemed to be lucid last night when we interviewed her.” Kane’s brow creased. “She didn’t appear to be that badly damaged.”
“I’ve seen guys injured in the field with half their brain missing and still talking as if nothing had happened.
” Raven rubbed his chin. “She was running for her life and pumped full of adrenaline. Sometimes it gives incredible clarity of mind.” He narrowed his gaze at them. “Do you have concerns about her story?”
The suspicion would not go away and Jenna nodded.
“Something about it doesn’t sit right with me and I can’t put my finger on it.
I’ll do everything I can to assist her. The abductor has her purse and phone, and that might cause a problem.
We already know they used her credit card for gas and a meal at the roadhouse last night. They could try to take her again.”
“We’ll speak to her and when she’s ready to leave the hospital maybe move her to the Her Broken Wings Foundation apartments, where she’ll be secure until we apprehend this person.
” Kane glanced at Jenna. “We can arrange for someone to drive her to work and collect her. She’ll be safe at the school during the day. ”
“If she gives her permission, you will be able to trace her credit card.” Raven leaned casually against the wall. “Whoever abducted her might not know that we’re onto them and use the credit card.”
Glad Raven was on the same wavelength as them, Jenna nodded. “You must have read my mind. I guess we’d better go in and speak to her now.” She walked along the hallway glancing at the room numbers.
“Do you know if she’s had any visitors?” Kane glanced at Raven. “I don’t recall asking if she had any relatives in town.”
“No, no visitors, and I asked her if there was anyone I could call for her last evening and she said she was all alone in the world.” Raven sighed. “She has friends from work, but that’s about it, and she didn’t want to bother them at midnight. She’s anxious to get back to work.”
Jenna nodded. “She did mention something about going home to feed her cat. We have her house keys, and her vehicle is still at the convenience store on the corner of Stanton and Pine. Do you consider that she’s fit to leave the hospital?”
“I’d release her on Sunday afternoon.” Raven rubbed the back of his neck.
“Although her injury required stitches, it was a glancing blow, because apart from the two black eyes, there doesn’t appear to be any other damage.
She had Tylenol for the headache and seems to be functioning just fine.
If she feels okay, she can go back to work on Monday. ”
“What about her cat?” Kane frowned. “She can’t leave it at home until we catch this person.”
Jenna looked at him. “She can keep it in her room at the foundation. People have had pets there before and they don’t seem to cause a problem.”
“If you give me her house keys, I’ll go and feed her cat.” Raven smiled at Jenna. “I’ll come by on Sunday afternoon and collect her. We can go by and get her vehicle. She can go home and pack a bag, grab the cat, and I’ll follow her to Her Broken Wings.”
Nodding, Jenna liked his plan. “I’ll get Rio to follow her to the school on Monday. She can give us a call when she’s leaving and we’ll send someone to follow her back to the foundation.”
“I don’t figure anyone is going to grab her off the street and we don’t have the manpower to act as personal bodyguards.
” Kane frowned. “Or in the school grounds. There’s CCTV cameras very prominent outside the foundation and trained on the teachers parking lot.
You’ll need to insist that she leaves and returns in daylight when there’s plenty of people around. ”
Jenna nodded. “Okay, but Raven stick to your plan but collect her vehicle last. If there’s anyone hanging about watching her, they might change their mind about abducting her if they see her arrive and leave in a police vehicle.
I can always ask one of the social workers at the foundation to make sure she gets to her vehicle okay and to watch out for her return.
They do the same for many of the occupants living there. ”
They came to her room and Jenna pushed inside. She smiled at Ellie sitting in bed watching TV. “How are you this morning?”
“I’m okay.” Ellie switched off the TV and looked at them as they walked to her bedside.
“Strangely, I slept well last night. I didn’t have any bad dreams and I’m not having any flashbacks.
It was a terrifying experience, but it seemed as if it were not happening to me at the time.
I felt like I was outside my body watching what was happening like in a movie. Does that mean I’m crazy?”
“A knock on the head would do that.” Raven glanced at the vital signs on the beeping machinery beside the bed.
“Everything looks okay, and no, you’re not crazy.
The sheriff has found your keys, so I’ll drop by your house and feed your cat, if that’s okay?
I figure you should stay here for another night and maybe go home tomorrow afternoon. ”
“Okay.” Ellie smiled at him. “Everything you need for Precious is in the mudroom.”
Jenna pulled up a chair and sat beside the bed. She pulled out a pen and her notebook and opened it to a clean page. “Do you have anything to add to what you told us last night? Can you remember any details of the person who abducted you?”
“Nothing I haven’t already told you.” Ellie frowned and stared at her hands.
“That’s all I’ve been doing since I arrived here.
I’ve run what happened in my head over and over again.
I closed my eyes and tried to see the parking lot again and if there was anyone there, but I don’t recall seeing anyone at all.
Although the vehicle he put me into would have been close by, I don’t recall seeing it.
It’s all very confusing as if that small chunk of my memory has been erased.
” She looked up at Jenna. “I don’t remember how they got me into the car.
I woke inside the hatch and I was bleeding.
There’ll be blood all over the seats. I remember seeing it smeared on the door as I tried to climb out. ”
“Run through that again.” Kane moved closer. “I’ve watched the CCTV footage. How did you get out of the SUV?”
“I climbed from the back into the back seats and managed to get the door open. I knew they would be close by, so I had to wait to make sure that they had their back turned in case the interior light came on when I opened the door.” Ellie gingerly touched the bandage on her head.
“The vehicle was on the opposite side of the pumps to the roadhouse, so the vehicle shielded me from sight once I was out. I ran toward an eighteen-wheeler parked opposite in the dark and ran alongside it and then headed along the back of the roadhouse until I found a door. I hammered on the door until someone opened it.”
Jenna needed something to go on, anything at all to pinpoint a suspect.
“Has anyone been hanging around lately or has anything unusual happened in your day? Have you upset anyone? Perhaps one of the parents of the children that you teach? Can you think of any reason why someone would want to kidnap you?”
“No to all of your questions.” Ellie sighed. “I believe living alone makes me more cautious than normal. I live a very quiet life and don’t upset anyone. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to kidnap me, it’s not as if I have any money for a ransom, or any family that would pay one.”
At a loss to know which way to take the investigation, Jenna folded her notebook and stood.
“As we have no idea who the perpetrator is or why they did this, I would like you to stay at the Her Broken Wings Foundation for a few days until we can be sure that you’re safe.
Hopefully this was just an isolated incident.
It’s very nice at the foundation—and modern.
You’ll be able to take your cat and we’ll make sure someone escorts you to and from your vehicle, if you want to go back to work. ”
“Okay, I’d like that, thank you.” Ellie smiled. “I’m a little afraid of going home in case they follow me.”
“There is one other problem.” Kane scratched his cheek.
“Your purse and phone are missing. We have to assume whoever abducted you has them. They’ve already used your credit card to buy gas and a meal at the roadhouse.
We’d like your permission to track your phone and any purchases on your credit card, so we can find this person.
” He took a notebook from his inside pocket and placed it on the overbed table beside her bed and maneuvered it into place.
“If you wouldn’t mind writing two notes—saying you give the sheriff’s department permission to trace your phone and, on the second note, saying you give the sheriff's department permission to trace the purchases on your credit card, and sign both of them—we’ll get to work.
I suggest you cancel your credit card without delay. I’ll also need your phone number.”
Ellie gave him the details and then wrote the notes and signed them.
She handed the book back to Kane. He smiled at her.
“Thanks.” He took a smartphone from his pocket and handed it to her.
“This is a sheriff’s department phone you can use until we find yours.
I’m sure there will be people you need to call. ”
“Thank you, but I don’t have any contacts.” Ellie frowned. “I guess I can find the number of the school on the internet and I’m sure Ms. Bell will help me. She’s the office administrator.”
Jenna stood. “That’s good to know. I believe we have enough to work with for now. Get some rest and call if you remember anything. The number is in the contacts.”
“I will. Thank you, Sheriff.”
Jenna headed out the door and paused in the hallway.
“I guess we follow this up and take precautions to make sure she’s safe.
” She pulled a woolen cap from out of her pocket and pushed it on her head.
“She seems like a very nice person, but her story doesn’t add up.
The vehicle resembles her own, no one saw her abductor, and her credit card was used to pay for gas.
I just can’t get it out of my head that she’s doing this to deflect our attention away from another crime—or she craves attention.
How she managed to do it, is a complete mystery to me—unless she had an accomplice. ”
“Maybe it’s because she’s not hysterical or acting the same way as people usually do when they’ve been kidnapped.
” Kane shrugged. “She’s almost clinical as if she was expecting it to happen to her one day.
She reacted very well to her fight-or-flee response and ran for her life.
She made rational and clear decisions when injured.
We’re used to interviewing terrified women who are losing it.
I personally can’t see any way she could get from the convenience store to the roadhouse in a blizzard with a head injury.
” He glanced at his watch. “If we ask Kalo to follow up on the phone and credit card, we can go home.”
Jenna turned to Raven. “I figure we should go with Raven to her house. We have permission to be inside. We’ll check it out and make sure no one is lurking about while he feeds the cat.”
“Sure, let’s go now and then we’ll be home for lunch with the boys.” Kane headed for the elevator. “Maybe our weekend won’t be ruined after all.”