All day, Maddie had been watching Josh take calls and act like nothing was wrong. He had seemed okay, so Maddie had finally found it within herself to leave him be, but now she knew that she had been wrong. Josh was a mess. They were sitting in the break room, relaxing while Maddie waited for Chimney to pick her up for their date later that evening, and Josh was sobbing into his hands. So far, Maddie had been able to get him to tell her that his last call had been from a young man that was beaten by an angry spouse, and she knew that that was the reason he was sobbing. He was reliving his own nightmare. He had muttered something about needing help, but Maddie hadn't been able to make it out through Josh's hands covering his face. His pain was hurting her- he wasn't just a mentor or colleague, but a friend.
"Josh," said Maddie softly after prying his hands away from his face. "You need to tell the police the truth. It's the only way you'll start to heal."
"I can't..." Josh said for the thousandth time.
"You can," Maddie replied gently, but adamantly.
"It's too hard."
"Yes, it is hard, I'm not going to lie. How do you think I felt having to tell that detective and Sergeant Grant, then having to tell it to Buck and Chimney, and you and Sue? What about when I had to tell two different therapists? That was the hardest thing I ever did, harder even than leaving Doug and running away from everything I knew. I had to bite the bullet and do it, and you know what? I'm glad I did it. I got it out in the open, and I dealt with it. I don't have nightmares anymore." Maddie gave her friend a smile. "You don't have to do it alone, Josh. I'll come with you. I'll tell Chimney to pick me up from the station instead of here, and we can go there together."
"Why do you care so much?" Josh asked after a moment.
"You are my friend, Josh. You've been there for me through everything, now it's my turn to help you. Will you let me help you?"
"Everyone is going to know..."
"Only if you tell them. The only person that needs to know the truth is the officer that takes your statement."
"And if it goes to court?"
"It won't, but if it does, we can request a closed courtroom. Just the jury, judge and lawyers. And me, of course."
"Why did I ever think that I could find love online?"
"Because you are a human being, Josh. Millions of people go online to search for a partner. Most people find that person, but not after dozens of misses. You'll find someone, but maybe, next time, we can ask Sergeant Grant to do a background check first?"
Josh smiled a little. "That sounds like a good idea." He sighed after a moment. "Fine, I'll talk to the police, but I want you with me, okay?"
"To keep you from running at the last second?" grinned Maddie as she pulled Josh up to follow her out of the break room.
"Mr Russo, you can come through," said the officer that had visited him at the hospital.
Maddie stood, taking Josh's hand when he hesitated. She gave him a encouraging smile. "We're doing this together, remember? I'll be right there if you need support."
Josh sighed and nodded. He allowed Maddie to lead him down a short corridor behind the officer and into an interview room.
"I understand that you wanted to make changes to your statement, Mr Russo?" asked the officer as they all sat down around a small table.
"Yes," answered Josh. "I wasn't completely honest when I gave the statement."
"That's okay. What did you want to change?"
"It's not so much a change... I told you everything that happened. That was all true. I didn't tell you anything about the people that attacked me."
"You said that you didn't know them."
"I didn't know one of them, he came along from somewhere I didn't see. But the first one- the one that brought to the back of the cemetery- I knew him. Or, I thought I did, anyway."
"What was his name?"
Josh shrugged. "I was calling him Greg, but I don't know if it's his real name. I tried to find his profile on the dating site I used, but it was gone."
"He was your date?" asked the officer. Her tone of voice held no ridicule, just understanding.
"Yes."
The officer made a note. "What site was this?"
"LoveLine."
"Would you be willing to look at the description you initially gave us and make any necessary changes?"
"Sure," said Josh, feeling like he had nothing left to lose.
The officer nodded. "I'll be right back. There's water and coffee on the bench if you want any."
"Did you give them a proper description?" Maddie asked as they waited.
"I think so. I don't really remember what I gave them. I just remember wanting to get it over with."
"You need to give them his description this time, okay? You're doing great, by the way."
Josh smiled. "Thanks, Maddie. I'll kill you for making me do this later, but thank you."
"You are very welcome," Maddie said with a cheeky grin as the officer returned.
"Okay, Mr Russo, this is the description you gave us of the two men." She handed over two pieces of paper. "Check them. Take as much time as you need."
Josh glanced through the two papers. He placed one on the table in front of the officer, then slowly read through the second page. "This is the one. The description sounds correct to me. I remember him pretty well, but it was quite dark, so I won't say that I'm one hundred percent sure. I just want to add one thing, though."
"Of course."
"He had a few freckles on his nose. You couldn't see them in the dark, but while he was kicking me, the movie screen flashed brighter and lit his face for a few seconds. The freckles were pretty obvious when the light hit them."
"Alright. I'll add that in. Anything else?"
Josh shook his head. "No."
"Actually," said Maddie, "if these men are caught, would this be likely to go to a trial?"
"Maybe not," said the officer. "It will depend on the two men and what they tell us, but Mr Russo's account of his attack is pretty detailed, and there's enough there to convict them both."
"Good," said Josh. "I really just want to put this all behind me so I can move on now."
"That's fair enough. I would suggest seeing a counselor in the near future, but you can rest easy now. I won't let these men get away with anything."
"Thank you," said Josh. He and Maddie stood up.
"I can't thank you enough," he added to Maddie as they left the station a few minutes later. "I wouldn't have been able to do this without you."
"I'm always here, Josh. Always," said Maddie as she found Chimney's car and climbed in, waving goodbye.