CHAPTER FOUR - JANE DOE
By now, it had been a week since anyone had seen Grace Van Pelt. No one in the C.B.I. wanted to admit it, but the odds were getting smaller and smaller.
Rigsby was about to leave for lunch when the phone rang. A nurse at the local hospital had remembered being instructed to call the C.B.I. on any women being admitted to the hospital matching Grace's description.
Rigsby couldn't tell you a single song that played on the radio as he rushed to the hospital. Looking back, he couldn't remember driving there or checking in with the nurse's station. All he would remember is seeing her.
Unconscious, it only took a quick glance for him to know it was the woman he loved. Her porcelain skin was scratched and bruised. She seemed so small and helpless, laying in that bed. He bent down next to the bed, stroking her red hair, which was now scattered with pieces of branches and plants.
"Agent Rigsby?" the Doctor had walked into the hospital room so quietly that Rigsby hadn't even heard him.
The Doctor felt like he was pulling a band-aid off as he went down the list of Grace's conditions and complications. According to the local sheriff, she was found in the woods, wondering aimlessly. She was severely shaken up. He clothes were tattered, making her shake fiercely. She hadn't had food or water in a few days. Had the sheriff not arrived, she probably wouldn't have made it another day. She was beaten and scratched. Underneath her nails was multiple layers of dirt and skin, indicating that she had fought and clawed her way to freedom.
"She's okay, right Doc?" Rigsby asked in a quiet voice.
"She'll be fine. Once she gets some rest, she should be able to tell us everything. I'll prescribe her some medication to help with nightmares and panic attacks that are common with abduction cases. She just needs someone to take good care of her and keep her safe."
"She's got that under control." Rigsby said, finally feeling better about the whole situation.