Chapter 2

"He said what!" Hunter pulled the car over to the side of the road in his moment of shock. "Are you sure?"

"I'm absolutely sure."

"Damn it!" He cursed. "Well, it won't happen. I can promise you that."

That's not all he said. He. . .he called. . . ." She hesitated as another shiver ran across her body.

Hunter was anxious to hear the rest. "He called what . . who?"

With a deep sigh, she let him in on the secret. "He called me Sergeant McCall. He knows who I am, Rick. I don't know who it was that took Shari, but he. . .or they know who I am."

Hunter gently put his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "I'll be staying with you tonight and until we catch them. We'll have units patrolling in front of your house. You'll be fine."

McCall didn't say anything. She just nodded her head as he put the car back on the road without letting go of her left hand. After arriving at the house Hunter was sure to be gentle in helping her from the car. She wasn't as stable on her feet as she thought and leaned into him a little more.

Once inside, Hunter made sure to check throughout the house before McCall moved any farther than the living room. "All clear. Come on and let's get those bandages on you." She limped slightly as she moved toward the sofa and sat down with his help.

"Can I have a couple of Advil first?" She winced with the pain from the throbbing headache, that had now joined the stinging of the cuts and scrapes on her body.

"Sure. I'll be right back." After stopping by the bathroom's medicine cabinet, he went to the kitchen to get her a glass of water. After she swallowed the two tablets, he went back to the kitchen to heat water for some chamomile tea, hoping it would be helpful in calming her nerves.

As the kettle warmed, McCall decided to try to wash up a little and asked Hunter to help her up from the sofa. "I need to clean off as much grime as possible before we put on any bandages."

He led her to the bathroom and shut the door for her once she was inside. Then, he told her that he'd go collect any bandages and antiseptic she might have and he remembered a first-aid kit in her laundry room and went for it.

After getting her now formerly exquisite dress off, McCall filled the sink with water and soaped up a wash cloth. In the mirror above the sink she examined her face and head for injuries; finding a bruise on her right cheek and couple of scratches along her jaw line on the same side. She checked her wrist where the man grabbed her. It was bruised, but the skin wasn't broken. She thought about how lucky she was to only have gotten a bruise, in comparison to what Shari might be going through.

The full length mirror on the back of the door reflected more injuries; such as the scraped left elbow, and she able to get a better view of the scrape across her right knee which was deeper than she thought. She realized why there was so much pain when she walked. She managed to put most of her weight on her left leg while she washed up. After calling to Hunter to bring her robe from the bedroom, she put it on and allowed him to escort her back to the sofa.

Without her having to ask, he removed the beaded hairpins which held her hair. His large hands made the task a little slower as he clumsily opened the tiny pins. After he was done, he took the large toothed comb and hairbrush from her hands and combed her hair letting it cascade softly upon her shoulders. The gesture was welcome and eased some of the tension.

"Feeling any better?" he asked as he tossed his bow tie onto the same chair as his jacket.

"A little. Maybe I should have soaked in the tub. The warm water would have taken some of the soreness away, but I just wasn't up to it."

Hunter could see that she wasn't shivering anymore; that the heaviest of the shock had worn off, but she was still slightly shaken. "You'll have all day tomorrow to soak." He gave her a sympathetic look. "And until then, maybe I can put some liniment on you to help relieve the stiffness."

She agreed that it would be a good idea as he went over the contents of the first-aid kit. It was well stocked with band-aids, a package of gauze, tape, two ace bandages and miniature bottles of various antiseptics.

"You've got quite a selection here." He said as he put the Q-tips and cotton balls back in their plastic baggies. "But it looks like I'll have to make a run to store after all, because I don't see any liniment. Here. Drink some tea while I put the antiseptic and bandages on your cuts. Before I go, I'd like to talk a little more about what happened." He was cautious not to sound like he was pressuring her. "That is, if you're up to it."

After a few minutes of gathering her thoughts, which were accompanied by the minor stinging antiseptic, DeeDee went over the same story she'd told him earlier. The same story she'd told their captain, and all the other officers with questions. She was getting frustrated that she couldn't help more. "I can't think of anything else, right now. I just know that I heard what sounded like a woman crying inside that van. Maybe she was trying to scream, but they most likely had her mouth covered with something. When that guy grabbed my wrist, I knew he was going to try to take me with them. The other guy seemed more interested in leaving the scene without me. Obviously he didn't want to risk getting caught. Luckily they only took that ugly belt buckle from me. I just hope my sketch will be enough to give us a lead."

Hunter recalled the sketch she'd made of the gold belt buckle. "I tried to remember if I'd ever seen anything like it. For some reason it seems that I have, or that I've seen something with that image on it."

He thought of the black stones in the shape of a heart, the silver inlaid dagger piercing the heart and the "dripping blood" of red rubies. He could see that McCall was thinking of it too, and from her expression, it obviously wasn't a pleasant thought for her. "One more question, and I'll leave you alone. Why didn't you tell Charlie and the others about the guy saying you that were next?"

She was surprised that he hadn't asked her before now, but she knew it was coming. She sighed heavily and glanced at the bruise on her wrist and the gauze on her knee. These were a couple of reminders of why she only shared the news with him. "It's bad enough to have everyone hovering over me because I got banged up, and was almost abducted. They were asking all kinds of questions as it was, and I didn't want everyone to get all crazy over me, and lose focus on Shari."

"I can understand that."

DeeDee McCall. Always thinking of others and putting herself at the end of the list. Hunter loved that about her, but at the same time it irritated him when he felt she was neglecting herself. "I'm proud of you for doing so well tonight. I won't ever forget the thoughts I had of what might have happened if he hadn't let go of your hand."

"Well, we can only hope that his threat was an empty one. I don't want to live in hiding or have armed escorts for who knows how long."

Hunter remembered that he needed extra security. "I need to get someone to keep a watch on you and the house until those guys are caught."

"I won't argue with you. He didn't get my purse, so he doesn't have anything with my address on it. But I get the feeling that he already knows where I live."

He sensed the uneasiness in her voice. "I know you didn't want to take away from Shari, but while I'm gone to the store we really need to have someone watching out for you. It wouldn't hurt to have them watching while I'm at work too. I'll talk to Charlie about not making a huge deal about you being watched. We'll just keep it between a few of the officers."

"I won't be off from work." As soon as she finished her sentence a sharp pain shot through her injured knee. "Well, maybe I'll hang around the desk for a day or two." She smiled, slightly embarrassed.

"Why don't you just lie down here, and try to relax while I run to the store." He got a pillow from the bedroom and covered her with the light blue chenille throw. Before heading out he made a phone call to have officers patrol the area while he was gone. Since she didn't have any serious bumps on the head, he felt it safe enough to leave her alone.

Earlier he'd scanned a medical book from her bookshelf, and called her doctor, Beth to double check on signs of concussion. He was grateful that his partner didn't have a single one.

Officers McDaniel and Walters arrived ten minutes after Rick called Charlie. They rang the doorbell to announce their arrival and what positions they'd take. McDaniel chose to sit on the front end of the patrol car while Walters would walk around the four corners of the house. After making sure McCall was comfortable, Hunter poured another cup of tea for her and put the phone and remote control within reach. "Maybe I should let one of the officers go to the store. That way I won't have to be away from you at all. I should have thought of that a while ago."

"No, you go ahead. The guys are already in position. Besides, I could use a little something to eat and I don't want anything I have here. And you're the only one that knows exactly how I like my cheeseburger."

"Yeah, I guess that chicken we had earlier didn't do much for us. I guess I could use a burger myself. Do you want anything else…fries, soda, shake?"

"Um…just get me a soda without caffeine. I don't want anything to help keep me from resting tonight. I'll probably be up late enough thinking of Shari, her family and that damned belt buckle."

"You'll sleep well tonight, especially after I'm finished with you." That mischievous grin had suddenly appeared. "I'm talking about massaging you with the liniment." His innocent boy charm came along with the comment.

"Sure you were." She laughed at his sneaky insinuation.

"Well, is there anything else you need from the store?"

"I can't think of anything."

"Okay, I'll be back in a flash with food and liniment." He kissed her lightly on the lips and headed out the door.

McCall thought she must have dozed off when the phone rang, startling her. She could feel that her muscles were stiffening already as she reached for the phone. "Hello."

"Sergeant McCall?"

"Yes?" So far she hadn't recognized the voice. "Who's speaking, please?"

"You've had a rather eventful night, haven't you?"

The voice was deep, and McCall thought she detected a slight Midwestern accent.

McCall gasped. "Who are you?"

"Not so fast. I didn't appreciate that you tried to keep something that didn't belong to you." The tone was cool and aloof now.

She knew immediately that he was referring to that awful belt buckle. Still shaken by the voice, she fiercely tamped down her fear and channeled her anger and police training. "Who are you! Where is Shari! What do you want to release her unharmed!"

"Enough!" The caller barked, angry now but in control. "I will talk and you will listen."

McCall let out an un-agreeable sigh and became silent.

"That's better. Now, I told you you'd be next, however I might change my schedule and add you to the collection a little later than planned. But, I must tell you that others will follow. My collection will consist of women, men and even children."

Children? McCall thought fearfully. Why would he take the children?

The man with the threats continued as McCall was unable to speak. "And here's a small clue. You all have at least one thing in common. Now just keep that simple clue in mind, okay? It won't do much in the way of solving the puzzle any quicker; if you do at all, but it'll give you and your fellow officers something to rattle on about during your coffee breaks. Feel free to tell anyone you want about it, because we'll never be caught and they'll never find out who took you, held you for ransom or killed you all. Oh, and by the way, my partner tonight was one of many. There are a lot more of us than you can imagine. We could be anywhere, at anytime. In the stores while you shop, at your children's school's, your place of business and even right in your own backyard. There are many of us on my team as well as yours; with so many ways to play the game."

A game? McCall thought. What horrible game were these people playing?

"You'll be hearing from me again. And tell Sergeant Hunter and Captain Devane that I said hello and to watch their backs. Have a good night, and sweet dreams Sgt McCall."

The one sided conversation was over when she heard the guy's phone click down into its cradle. She was stunned at what the caller had said, and surprised at the audacity he had in not altering his voice. He wanted her to remember his voice. It could be helpful later, but for now it was just such a surprising and eerie reminder of what happened just hours ago.

His words – kill you all, games, collection, children - reverberated in her head like a gigantic gong. She felt angry and afraid at the same time. She shuddered and thought that she wasn't the only target who happened to be a police officer. Hunter and Charlie were on the list as well. "Who is this maniac? Why does he want to kill us?"

All of a sudden, having two officers guarding her home didn't feel as safe as it should have. One or both of them could be a part of the kidnappers circle.

It didn't take Hunter more than thirty minutes to get everything he needed. When he arrived back at McCall's, Officers McDaniel and Walters were sitting in their car listening to the radio. Hunter walked up to them and tapped on the window, Walters rolled it down. "Nothing suspicious?" he asked.

"No, everything is quiet. We'll make some extra rounds through the neighborhood tonight."

"Okay, thanks guys."

Hunter walked to the house, opened the front door, went in and saw McCall on the couch with the receiver still in her hand staring in front of her. With a thump, the bags he was carrying hit the floor. "McCall, are you okay?" he asked worried as he walked to her kneeled in front of her to look her in the eye.

Her eyes slowly focused on his. "He called," she said her voice barely above a whisper.

"The kidnapper?"

Hunter rose to his feet, carefully took the receiver out of her hand to place it back on the phone and sat down next to her, "What did he have to say?" He kept his voice low and calm.

She told him what the guy had said, every detail. "He's not the driver from the van. I think he's probably the one in charge. I know he's gonna kill Shari and there's nothing we can do. It makes me feel so useless."

Hunter draped his arm around her shoulders to comfort her but instead he felt her tense even more.

She turned to face him. "We don't know anything about these people and yet they know me – and you! Even Charlie! Why? What did we ever do to any of them? He said that we have something in common. What in the world could it be?

"Ssh," Hunter carefully but firmly pulled her to him, silencing her with a finger to her lips. "We're working on it. We'll find them. But right now, you need to stay calm and try to eat something. I'm going to look out for you and I want you to be able to look out for me. Deal?"

He watched her closely. She in turn focused on his worried gaze.

McCall let herself loosen up and nodded. "You're right. I know. It's just so unbelievable." She sighed.

"You know, our burgers are getting cold. Let's eat." Hunter got up to get the bags.

Later, by the light of the television, Hunter finished his burger while prodding his partner to eat hers. After watching her nibble her way through half of it, her eyes barely open, he gave up and scooped her up.

"Off to bed, DeeDee," he whispered in her ear, as he made his way to the bedroom. It was hard for him to suppress the rage he felt as his eyes traveled over her battered body cradled in his arms. He caught her staring up at him when he tucked the blankets around her. He was overwhelmed by the trust she placed in him and he vowed, as he did every night, to do whatever he could to protect her and keep her safe.

"Sleep," he murmured, one hand brushing her cheek, with a feather-light caress.

"I love you," she said.

The dreamy quality of her voice melted his heart.

She closed her eyes and she tried to escape the evening's horror. Sleep bore down on her almost instantly.

"I love you, too, DeeDee," Hunter said, his voice low. After listening to her even breathing, making sure she was sleeping soundly, he checked the house again and waved to McDaniel and Walters. Not wanting to disturb his partner, he chose the couch – fully dressed and ready to go in an instant, if needed.