Chapter 32 The Vigilante #2
“We called the police already,” his wife added, holding up the quilt she must have had wrapped around Raelynn. “I’ve been trying to keep her warm.”
Thanking her, I took the blanket and tucked it around her before wrapping my arms around her back.
“You’re more than welcome to bring her inside to wait; it’s rather chilly this morning,” the man said, motioning for us to walk with him and his wife.
I weighed the options; they hadn’t hurt her while she had been with them right after it happened, and even if they wanted to now, they had to be in their late seventies.
I could easily overpower them if I needed to.
As we entered the house, the smell of mothballs hit me first, that telltale indicator of an old folks home.
Floral prints and matching wallpaper assaulted my eyes.
I tried my best not to judge them. They were old, and they were being helpful; I couldn’t exactly walk out of their house based on their choice in tacky nursing home decor.
The woman patted the couch, probably where Raelynn had been sitting before, which had a perfect view out of a bay window overlooking the front yard and the road where my Jeep was parked.
Raelynn gripped my shirt tighter as we sat on the couch.
I kept her tucked close to my side while the couple sat in armchairs on either side of the bay window.
“Try drinking some of your tea, dear, it will help your nerves, it’s lavender and chamomile.” The older woman said, nudging the teacup in her direction. Raelynn looked less inclined to take it, but thanked the woman anyway.
“I’m Lucilie,” she said, folding her wrinkled hands in her lap over her jean skirt, “that’s my husband Walter.”
I introduced myself, and Raelynn, just in case, with all the chaos, she hadn’t gotten around to giving the couple her name.
We didn’t get the chance to start much small talk as a police cruiser pulled into the driveway, two officers stepping out, one I had never met before.
That wasn’t unusual, though. The town was small, but the police department had a decently high turnover as officers went on to bigger cities that offered better pay, from what Johnson had told me over drinks one night.
A knock on the door came as Walter slowly made his way over, his age showing in his movements. He didn’t seem capable of standing up straight, his hand resting on his lower back as he stubbornly neglected the cane that was propped up against his chair.
“Come on in, officers,” he greeted, letting the two men inside the quaint little home.
“We got a call about someone being involved in a hit and run?” The first officer spoke, his dark head was void of any hair, given how young he was, it was probably by choice.
His body language was relaxed, though he kept his hands resting on his utility belt.
“I’m Officer Perdue, this is Officer Vaden. ”
“Yes,” Lucilie said, “This young woman was run off the road while she was running, we saw it happen.”
Officer Vaden, just as young as his partner, walked to stand in front of Raelynn and me, taking in her appearance, making me realize I hadn’t even taken the time to look her over physically to make sure she was ok.
She had run to me earlier and hadn’t seemed like she was suffering any major injuries.
“Are you okay, miss?” He asked, his tone not as pleasant as I would have preferred, given the circumstances. He sounded more annoyed than anything.
She nodded, sitting up and slightly away from me, “A few scrapes, but I think I’m fine, I was able to roll into the ditch.
” She shrugged the quilt off her shoulders and rolled up the sleeves of her tie-dye sweatshirt.
She had a few scrapes on both of her arms, the blood now dried, though one deep one that marred the tattoos on her left arm seemed to still be a little wet.
It wasn’t actively bleeding, so I doubted it needed stitches.
“Do you mind if I take some photos for our report?” Officer Perdue asked gently, taking a digital camera out of a pouch on his belt.
I felt her tense beside me; they had put her through the same ordeal at the clinic, taking dozens of photographs of her body. It was mandatory for all patients; they didn’t get a choice. She nodded, though, putting on a brave face and holding her arms out.
“There are a few on my legs too,” She let him take a few photos of her arms before rolling up her yoga pants, letting him take a few of her legs. Leaves and grass were still sticking out of her hair. She was lucky that a few scrapes and bruises were all she would walk away with physically.
“Can you tell us what happened?” Officer Vaden asked as his partner put the camera away.
“I was on a run this morning, and a white car came out of nowhere and started driving right at me while I was on the trail,” She pointed out the window.
“Did you see what type of car it was?” Officer Perdue asked, both of them now making notes in their notebooks.
“I did,” Walter spoke from where he leaned against the back of his now-empty armchair. “It was a white Malibu, but it didn’t have any plates. He did it right outside our house.”
“We were outside when it happened,” Lucilie clarified.
“Did you see who was driving? Or can you describe them?” Officer Perdue continued.
“No, officer. He was wearing a black ski mask. He had been sitting at the park for a while, but we never paid him any attention until he tried to hit the young lady.” Continued Lucillie.
“When did you first notice him at the park?” Officer Vaden asked.
“Probably around six thirty, he was there when I went out to get the paper,” said Walter. “People park there all the time to run along the trail.”
“Is there anything else you can add? Do you have any enemies? Anyone who might want to hurt you? Or do you think this could have been random?” Officer Perdue continued.
“Craig Grasso,” I answered, “her ex-boyfriend.” Perdue made another note in his notebook as a call came in through the radios on their shoulders.
“Has he had a history of violent behavior?” Officer Vaden asked as Perdue stepped away to talk back into the radio.
“He tried to kill me a few weeks ago and has been stalking me and my sister,” Raelynn answered confidently.
“Have you made a report about the stalking?”
“Officer Johnson took the report about that,” I said, though he wasn’t an officer with any authority over them, he had been on the force long enough to earn a decent amount of respect.
“We’ll look into it and speak with him,” He said as his partner came back into the room.
“We need to go, an accident on Riverside Drive with possible entrapment.” Said Perdue, tucking his notebook back into his breast pocket. They made sure there was no other information we could give them before departing. Sirens wailed as they pulled out of the driveway and sped toward the accident.
“Thank you all so much for taking care of her,” I said as I got Raelynn to her feet.
“If either of you needs anything else or if we can be of any assistance, please let us know,” Lucilie had written their number down on a piece of paper and handed it to Raelynn, who took it with a smile.
“Thank you, it means a lot,” She said, tucking the piece of paper in her pocket.
As we walked out of the older couple's home, I shot Dr. Stephens a text saying I had an emergency come up and that I wouldn’t be coming in.
He didn’t respond; he never did, and he likely wouldn’t care.
They’ll just reschedule my appointments for tomorrow, which means working on a Saturday, I didn’t mind since there was no way I was leaving Rae right now.
“Do you need to go to the hospital?” I asked her as I got her into the Jeep.
“No, please. No hospital, I promise I’m fine. I just want to go home and get cleaned up.” I didn’t press the matter, after the last time she went to the hospital and got slapped with a mandatory stay, I didn’t blame her for not wanting to expose herself to that experience again.
“Was Riley not with you this morning?”
“No, I was going to stop at the bakery down on the corner and get breakfast and coffee before walking home. They don’t let dogs inside, and I’m not one of those people who will tie him up outside.”
“Let's get you home. Did you call your sister?”
“Not yet, I’ll call her once I get home. I just needed you.”
A possessive beast reared its head in my chest, pride swelling in the creature as the words ‘I just needed you’ resonated within me.
Rae was safe, though I couldn’t say the same for her ex whenever we were able to locate him.
The more he tried to hurt her, the more he built my desire to end him.
Not peacefully like my victims at the clinic had been.
I wanted to see him suffer for as long as possible.