Sound of Darkness

“Ragnar?” Dierdre said. “Cool Viking name. Send him on in.”

“Will do.”

Mark turned toward the door. Red gave a final whine, nudged his head against Dierdre’s hand, and quickly followed his master.

When they stepped into the hall, Ragnar was just coming out of the other room.

He and Mark had clearly worked together for a while; it seemed they could communicate silently because, as they met in the hallway, Mark said, “We didn’t get much of anything either. Except we know how he got her. He set something on the road and made her think she might have hit him with her car.”

“Same with Sally,” Ragnar said. “We’ll switch off.”

“When we leave here, we’ll let the hospital know they have our okay to let Gary and the parents in for Dierdre,” Mark said.

“Right,” Ragnar agreed. With a nod, he headed for Dierdre’s room, as Mark, Colleen, and Red moved on to speak with Sally Smithson.

Sally was sitting up in bed. Despite what she had suffered, she appeared to have good color as if just one night of freedom had restored her.

She brightened seeing Mark and Red.

“Ragnar told me you’d stop by,” she said. She reached for Red, who obligingly hurried over for a hug. Sally gave Colleen a quick smile, but her attention was on Mark. “The two of you—I don’t know how you did it. It seems everyone thought that horrible man was some pillar of the community because he was helping out with kids’ sports and...my God, the very thought terrifies me!”

“I’m so glad to see you’re doing well,” Mark told her. “And, Sally, this is Special Agent Colleen Law.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Sally said.

“I’m sorry. We’re going to ask you to go over everything again,” Colleen told her apologetically.

“It’s okay. Ragnar told me the man—Carver is his real name, I guess—is claiming I wanted to be with him? That I was with him because I like it rough? I swear to you, I don’t think it would be possible to hate anyone more. He...he drugged and abused me, and he meant to kill me!” Tears suddenly stung her eyes.

“You’re safe now,” Colleen said gently.

She nodded, looking away.

“Sally, I’m sorry,” Mark added. “But the more you tell the story, the more you might remember little details that could help.”

She shook her head, a hand on Red’s soft fur as she stared out the window. “I don’t get it. I just don’t get it. You found me in his basement. After all he did...” Her words choked off and she turned to stare at Mark. “And Ragnar told me what he said. He’s going to get a lawyer and try to make it out like I’m a horrible person, and he’s innocent, and...that I wanted to be with him! That you had no right to burst into his house because it was an illegal entry—”

“He may have a lawyer, but we have lawyers too. And I don’t think any jury will fall for anything he’s saying,” Mark assured her. He hesitated. “We heard you scream. Exigent circumstances,” he added.

“You heard me scream?” she asked.

“Red, especially,” Mark said.

They hadn’t heard her scream, Colleen thought.

But they had known she was there. And the time it takes to do things by the book might mean the difference between life and death.

“Can you talk about how it happened?” Colleen asked her.

Sally sighed. “I was on my way home. I’d met friends for dinner in DC. I...” She paused. “I had a bad breakup about a month ago. Guy I’d dated forever. We disagreed over a few things, had a fight, and the next thing I knew, he’d moved to New York. So, friends were trying to make me feel better.”

Mark was putting notes into his phone. “His name?” he asked.

“His name is Brant Pickering, but trust me Brant had nothing to do with this. I may be angry with him, but he’s a great guy. He’s a historian who writes wonderful books. So far, they’ve been on the history of DC and surrounding areas...well, I guess they’ll be on the history of New York now. I don’t hate him. I...”

“You still love him,” Colleen said softly.

Sally nodded. “But now, even if I decided I could leave my job and family, I don’t think he’d... I mean, how could anyone want me again?”

“Sally! No, no, no—horrible things were done to you. You didn’t do horrible things. You’re still you. And yes, you’re going to need therapy, and I promise we will help you find support and more, but there is nothing wrong with you at all!” Colleen assured her. “I can only try to imagine how you feel, but I do know this—you’re still you. Do not let that horrible man hold on to your mind, keeping you a prisoner for the rest of your life!”

Sally smiled at that, tears shimmering in her eyes again.

“I just feel so...”

“I believe it will be better when he’s convicted,” Mark assured her.

“Do you?” Sally whispered.

“Any man who doesn’t want you because you were victimized by a monster isn’t worthy of you,” Mark said.

That brought a real smile to her lips and she nodded slowly. “You’re right.”

“Sally, please, I know it’s hard, but we’d love to hear your story, from the beginning,” Colleen said.

“I was driving home, heading past a patch of old farmland where the houses are all kind of far apart. I stopped because there was something in the middle of the road. I thought it was an animal, hurt, maybe dying. Then I thought it was a human being, and it was! But when I went to see if he was alive, he suddenly leapt up and slammed me against the hood. I must’ve gone out like a light and I woke up chained to a bed in a dark room. And I couldn’t scream, and I couldn’t move. Then he’d come, and he’d be wearing a bizarre black cowl and mask, and he’d give me water, but there was something in the water and... Oh, God! I wish I knew more. I wish I could help more!”

“We know where the basement is and it’s been searched, and Carver has been arrested,” Mark said. “Sally, you’re going to be all right.”

“Not if he gets off,” she whispered.