"So what exactly happened?" DI Johnson asked
They were sitting in Doctor Myles' office talking through Erin's attack. The DIA had been phoned by a flustered nurse who told him he should come down immediately following an 'incident' concerning Erin
"I walked into the room to check on Erin and there was this man standing over her with his hand clamped across her mouth. I yelled for security but he bolted…" the doctor said running a hand through his hair
"You didn't go after him?" the doctor shook his head
"My main concern was Erin who was pretty much hysterical, she was screaming at the top of her lungs and then she was violently sick. She started choking on her vomit so we sedated her, it'll start to be wearing off right now"
The DI nodded as he took down the doctor's statement "And what did this man look like?"
"Tall, about six foot. He had blonde hair and was wearing jeans and a black leather jacket"
"Did you hear anything he said?"
Doctor Myles shook his head "He was talking quietly but he had a London accent as far as I know very similar to Erin's"
"Ok thanks. Do you mind if I check your hospital CCTV, it might have picked him out somewhere?"
"Be my guest" the doctor let him to the appropriate area, hoping that somehow they would be able to find out what this man wanted
Erin was lying in her bed still feeling drowsy when she heard someone enter the room. Her whole body tensed and she wanted to scream but she wasn't strong enough
"It's Leo" a voice came as someone sat down beside her "Just relax, you're safe"
Leo looked down at the young girl who still looked very shaken. She'd been dressed in a fresh hospital gown and she had an oxygen mask over her face to help her with her breathing. Her face was very pale and he could see the trails that the tears had made on her face
"Is he gone?" Erin croaked, her voice was hoarse from all the screaming she'd been doing
"He's gone" Leo said pouring her a glass of water and handing it to her
She slowly removed the mask and took a sip of water, instantly feeling the cool liquid soothe her throat
"Please don't go" she said sounding very young and frightened
"I'm not going anywhere" he said gently. DI Johnson had phoned him with news of Erin's attack and he'd rushed down to the hospital straight away, leaving Harry and Nikki at the lab with the promise of phoning them when he had some news "You should try and get some rest"
"I won't sleep long" she murmured and within moments she was asleep
DI Johnson frowned as he watched the CCTV; the man whom Doctor Myles has pointed out was clever. He'd not shown his face clearly to the cameras and he obviously knew where the blind spots were
"That's defiantly the man?" he asked the doctor
"That's defiantly him" Doctor Myles nodded
DI Johnson groaned "I thought of all the places in the world, she'd be safe here"
"To be fair, we weren't aware anyone was after her"
"But they are and they clearly are determined to scare Erin into silence. I dread to think of what he said to her"
"She was so scared. We had to sedate her otherwise she was going to really hurt herself"
"I understand. It's a tricky case this one. Just as soon as we think we're getting somewhere then it all goes wrong"
DI Johnson stood up and thanked the Doctor as they made their way out of the room, both men dared not to think of what that man had said. If he was anything like Erin's mother then they were sure Erin was in danger.
A couple of hours later Erin had woken up again, clearly soothed by the fact Leo had stayed by her side. As she glanced around the room she saw DI Johnson standing in the corner watching her
"I don't know anything" she said suddenly
"Erin…" the DI said gently, taking a seat on the opposite side of the bed to Leo "Who was he?"
"No" she shook her head trying to ignore the pain that shot through her temples "He'll kill me, he'll know it's me and he'll kill me"
"We can protect you"
"You said I would be safe here and hew found me. He'll always find me wherever I go" She said starting to cry
"Erin" Leo took her hand "Do you trust me?"
She looked at him and saw a pair of safe and strong eyes glancing back at her
"Yes" she sobbed
"Then you have to trust me when I say we'll make sure you're safe. If you help us and tell us who he is then we can make sure he can never come near you again"
"Really?" she looked across at DI Johnson for conformation
"Really" he said and she nodded "Erin do you know who this man is?"
"I don't know his full name but I heard my mum call him Ryan once"
"Did your mum know him?"
She nodded "He used to come over and they'd do…they'd have sex" she blurted out "And then they'd get drunk and then… and then…."
"Take your time Erin" Leo said gently
Erin swallowed and gripped his hand for support as she continued "They'd come up to my room"
"That's when you'd get hurt. Erin we found your diary under the floorboards"
She looked shocked "No one was meant to find it…."
"How long has the abuse been going on?"
Erin sniffed back tears "A long time. I cant remember when it started, I think its always been there"
Leo felt his heart break when he heard those words but he still held on tightly to Erin's hand
"Was it worse when Ryan was at your house?"
Erin nodded "He used to make up lies and tell mum that I'd been really bad. And they'd get drunk and they'd do drugs and then they'd come for me"
"Did Ryan give your mum the drugs?" Erin nodded "Was he her dealer?" she shrugged
"She said she cared about me but then she'd get drunk and Ryan would come and then she'd hurt me. I don't think she cared at all. She just used me to get what she wanted…"
"And what was that?" the DI asked gently
"She wanted the drugs. She used to flirt with Ryan and then they'd sleep together and he'd give her the drugs. But one time, she brought him into my room"
The two adults tensed at this revelation "And then what happened?"
Erin burst into fresh sobs "He hit me and told me I was bad. He said he could either beat it out of me or there was another way. He said I could make things all better if I did what he said. He used to kiss me but I pushed him off"
"How long did this go on for?" the DI said trying to stay calm
"He came every night for about a week. And he told me the same thing but I didn't want to. Mum was getting really angry and she hit me really hard, she said if I loved her then I would do it for her"
"And what did you say to that?"
"I told her that I loved her but I couldn't do it. So she punched me and broke my arm and then it got too much"
"And you agreed?" Erin nodded sadly "What did he make you do?"
"He…he made me have sex with him" Erin wailed "I didn't want to…I didn't want to but he said it would make things better"
The DI looked across at Leo and saw the same look of shock on the pathologists face as was on hid own
"It's ok Erin…" Leo soothed "You've done nothing wrong"
"What did he want today then?"
"He said that my mum was of no use to him anymore. But he said that I was and that he knew where to find me"
Erin burst into fresh tears and cried her heart out. She'd never told anyone this before and here she was pouring her heart out to people who were practically strangers. Her mother had told her that if she ever told anyone that they would be disgusted with her and they would hurt her for being bad. But these men weren't hurting her; in fact Leo was still holding her hand tightly in his one. Erin hardly dared to think it but maybe this was a sign of change. Maybe, just maybe she had someone in the cold and lonely world to rely on.