Chapter Two: Finding Courtney
Officer Lucky Spencer grinned over at his partner Jesse Beaudry as they stepped out of the squad car. "How do you feel about playing Ghost Busters?" he asked. They'd been sent out to an abandoned house on the outskirts of town because a group of kids reported hearing a woman's voice calling for help from inside.
"If this is just a prank," Jesse responded with irritation, "those kids are going to be in serious trouble."
Lucky laughed. "Oh come on, where's your sense of humor?" he asked. Lucky's own amusement died out as he approached the kids and saw real fear on their faces. He scanned the group but didn't recognize any of the kids as known trouble makers. "Okay," he said, "who wants to tell me what's going on here?"
One of the older boys spoke up. He was standing with his arm around the littlest kid - obviously a younger brother, but he released the kid and walked towards Lucky. "There's someone inside," he said bravely. The boy's voice was steady, but a little weak, he was clearly nervous about having called to cops.
"How about you start at the beginning," Lucky suggested. "Who are you? What are you kids doing out here so late?"
The kid swallowed nervously but answered without hesitating. "I'm Eric West," he said, "and that's my brother Jacob." He didn't name any of the others. "We snuck out; it was just supposed to be for fun. We'd heard the house was haunted and just wanted to get a look at it." He looked back at the kid he'd had his arm around. "I was mad at my brother for tagging along," he confessed, "so I dared him to go inside." His voice wavered but he continued, "I didn't think he actually would, but he did. And that's when he heard her."
"Heard who?" Lucky prompted.
"A woman, she was crying," the boy said. "He freaked out, you know. He was really upset by the time he got out of the house. We," now he glanced around at the other boys, "we didn't really believe him. I just figured that he'd imagined it, you know?" he looked up at Lucky for reassurance, but continued without waiting for a response. "So we decided to go back in, all of us. That way we could prove to him there was nothing there. Only-only there is. There is definitely someone there, but we couldn't get to her because the door was locked." Lucky could see it in the kid's eyes - he sincerely believed every word that he was saying.
He sent Jesse a wry smile over his shoulder, Ghost Busters here we come he thought, and then turned back to the kid, "Can you show us?" he asked.
Leaving Jacob with the other kids Eric started up the porch steps for the third time that evening. This time he was flanked by two police officers. He led them through the front door - that last time they had fled the house without closing it, and down the dark hallway. He stopped outside the last door on the left, but this time he didn't hear anything. "She's in there," he said confidently.
"Are you sure?" Jesse asked. "I don't hear anything."
Eric confirmed it with a nod. "Hello," Lucky called. "Is anybody there?"
They got no answer but, just as Lucky was about to read the kid the riot act for involving the police in his prank, he was startled to hear a weak moan from the other side of the door. He glanced over at Jesse. "Did you hear that?" he asked.
Jesse looked just as shocked at Lucky as he nodded in agreement. "There's somebody in there," he confirmed.
"Hello," Lucky called again. "We're here to help. Just say something so we know you're really there."
He felt Eric shuffle his feet beside him. "She was crying before and talking," the kid said. "I don't know why she stopped."
Lucky tried the door handle but found it locked as the kid had reported. "Should we break in?" he asked looking at Jesse.
When his partner just shrugged uncertainly Lucky made his decision. "If there really is someone in there, she's in trouble. I don't want to risk waiting around for a locksmith to get this door opened." At that Jesse nodded in agreement. Lucky tried the handle one more time, just to be sure, and then he sent Eric outside to wait. He drew a slim black case out of his pocket and removed a couple of silver tools from it. He sent Jesse a wry smile and admitted, "I picked up a thing or two from my father over the years." Crouching down in front of the door, it took only a minute or two for Lucky to pick the lock.
Lucky Spencer had seen a lot of awful things since joining the Port Charles Police Department, but nothing he'd seen had ever shocked him as badly as what he found when he opened that door.
"Oh dear God," he whispered when he saw the small blonde woman handcuffed to a bed in the far corner of the room. She was pale, her eyes closed and her skin clammy, but he was relieved to see from the rise and fall of her chest that she still lived.
"Isn't that -"
Lucky heard Jesse behind him. "Courtney Matthews," he finished for him. "Yes, it is. She disappeared from town four months ago. So did her ex-husband Jasper Jax. We all assumed that they left town together."
"I guess not," Jesse answered. "Who could have done this to her?" he asked.
"I have a better question for you," Lucky said as he approached the bed and got a better look at its occupant. "Courtney was five months pregnant when she disappeared. Where's the baby?"
"Courtney," he called touching her shoulder. "Courtney, it's Lucky. You need to wake up."
Courtney stirred but didn't wake up. Even so, Lucky could hear her mumbling. "Please help me," she said and a moment later, "Please, please I want my baby."
Lucky didn't look at Jesse as he went to rummage through the closets for clean blankets in which to wrap Courtney for the trip to the hospital. "You go back to the car and call it in," he said. "I'll get her loose and then we can take her to the hospital." It only took a moment to free Courtney from her restraints; though that gave Lucky plenty of time to curse the bruising on her slim wrists. Then he lifted her from the bed, wrapping her in clean blankets and leaving the soiled sheets behind, trying hard not to notice the blood that stained them.
Tightening his grip against Courtney started to struggle and moan, unconscious fighting against something, Lucky prayed that he wasn't hurting her any further but continued on out of the house. He saw the kids watching him as he started down the stairs and cursed himself for not sending them home before bringing her out. They had all been traumatized enough by their 'ghost' seeing her in the flesh would probably give them nightmares. He sent Eric a tight smile as he came down the steps and settled her into the back of the patrol car.
Standing up he turned to Jesse. "Someone needs to make sure these kids get home," he said. The look on his face a clear indication who he thought should take on that job.
"Baby-sitting?" Jesse protested. "How about I take her to the hospital and you look after the children?" he suggested.
Lucky leveled a serious look at him. "Sure, but once you get to the hospital you'll be the one who gets to notify her family. How are you and Corinthos getting along these days?" Lucky asked, knowing that Jesse and Sonny had had a confrontation only a few days ago when Jesse had tried to execute a warrant to search one of Sonny's warehouses.
Jesse sighed. "Baby-sitting it is then," he muttered and headed back towards the boys.
Lucky followed him. In the interests of damage control he wanted to speak to the kids one last time before they went home. "Hey, guys," he called. "Everybody listen up."
Once he had everyone's attention he continued. "There are just a few things that I want to get clear before you all go home. First of all, breaking and entering is a bad idea. I don't ever want to hear of any of you breaking into a house ever again." He cast a stern eye over the group. "That said, you all probably saved a woman's life tonight and you can be proud of that. You called the police when you realized that things were beyond your abilities to handle, and that was the right thing to do. Good work, kids." He smiled at all of them, clapped Jesse on the shoulder and headed back to the car.
Settling into the driver's seat, Lucky glanced in the rearview mirror at the still form in the back of the car. "You're going to be okay, Courtney," he promised her. "Somehow, everything's going to be okay." Lucky wasn't sure whether or not he was lying, but he was going to do everything in his power to make it true. To that end he pulled out his cell phone as soon as they were back on the main road. He hit number five on his speed dial and waited for his brother to answer.
"Cassadine," Nikolas answered tersely.
Lucky didn't bother with any of the pleasantries. "Get to hospital as quickly as you can," he said.
"Lucky?" Nikolas asked. "What's going on?"
"Yeah, it's me," Lucky confirmed. "I'm on my way to GH now. I can't explain over the phone okay, just meet me there?"
"Are you hurt?" Nikolas asked, worried. "Is it Liz?"
"No," Lucky replied. "Liz and I are both fine." Lucky glanced again at Courtney's still form, but said simply, "I'll explain when you get there, okay?"