Chapter Six:
Kady sat quietly in the room. She was scared. She didn't know if Kolby James had died or not. She knew she had saved his life at the time; she only hoped and prayed that someone found him before he died in their yard. She was crying again, silent tears running wildly down her face. She glanced over at the twins. She was surprised when Robbie left them all in the same room. Generally he had separated them in the past. She hadn't heard him for a while. She wasn't even sure he was in the house anymore.
After she had intervened on Kolby James' behalf he had dragged her and the twins from the house and stuffed them into a red pick up truck. They had driven for a long time, Kady wasn't sure but she thought it had been hours, before he stopped at a house in the middle of nowhere. They were in a wooded area but that was all she knew. She hadn't seen any other houses on the way in.
The twins were huddled together quivering on the only bed in the room. It was a large bed, bigger than the ones she had at the house. She walked around the room as quietly as she could, like Kolby James would do. She knew she made noise, but she was trying. Fear struck her deep as she tried to find a way out. There didn't seem to be one. She tried the door, locked. She found the window, it was locked too. She felt the glass. It felt thicker than usual. It was cloudy too like it might be safety glass. She felt like quitting. She felt like wailing, but new it wouldn't be good for the twins. She wished her big brother was there. She wished she had stayed in hiding.
The thought hurt her. She knew the only reason, if in fact he was, that Kolby James was alive was she came out of hiding. Her father was going to kill him this time, she could see that. He was drunk, or high, or maybe both and it didn't matter that her brother was only thirteen. He was going to kill him to find the others.
She was only a year older than the twins and at nine years old she was small, but they looked for her to guide them. She would be the one to find a way out; she would be the one to hold them together. She would be the one to fight back. She knew this. Without Kolby James she was in charge.
Mac and Mady got to the hospital in about fifteen minutes. Mady was a wreck again. Mac didn't have any information for her and it was driving her mad. She was suffering from a severe anxiety attack when they pulled into the bay for the ER. Mac looked over as he put the car in park.
"He's going to be ok," he said gently and put a hand on her shoulder. She nodded stiffly and sucked in a haggard breath. He got out as she left the car and hurried after her. They went to the registration desk and Mac flashed his badge. They were immediately led to the room Kolby James' was being tended too. They weren't allowed in the room yet the doctors were still working on the boy.
From what Mac could see they were stitching him up again. He took a deep breath. He checked the boy over and saw the cast had been cut from his arm. He frowned, that couldn't be a good sign. The boy was still unconscious from what he could see. Mac couldn't see what the doctor was stitching but it appeared to be on Kolby James' side. Mady was shaking as she stared through the glass window at her son. Twice now she had to endure him being in a hospital unconscious in the last fifteen hours.
Mac put his arm around her shoulders and held her close to him. He was worried she was about to faint. She was near hysterics. He could understand. She watched like a hawk as the doctors finished up on her son.
"They'll let you see him in a minute," Mac said in a whisper. She only nodded. The tears had stopped; maybe she had just run out. Finally the doctor came into the hall and saw Mady and Mac.
"Are you the parents?" the doctor asked. Mac took a step back and pulled his badge out.
"I am Detective Taylor, this is the mother Madison Beale," he said showing his badge to the doctor. The doctor ignored the badge but nodded.
"Ms. Beale your son is in serious condition. We will need to re-x-ray his arm. There was quite a bit of damage to the cast. He must have hit it on something hard and the plaster wasn't set yet. I'm afraid it may have dislodged the bones. We also needed to clean up the wound on his head. Seems when he fell into the street in front of the police car he hit his head again. It might account for his not regaining consciousness yet. And we also found a new wound on his right ribcage. It appears to be a knife wound. It was pretty deep and required twenty-nine stitches to close up."
"My god," she gasped and covered her mouth. "May I see him now?"
"Of course. I'd like to keep him a while," the doctor replied. Mady just nodded and walked away from him. Mac watched as she came up next to the boy. His attention stayed with her even as he spoke to the doctor.
"How bad is it?"
"Like I said the boy is in serious condition. That arm may need surgery. But we have to wait for his head injuries to come around. We're waiting on the portable x-ray to take pictures of his arm. The wound in his side was pretty deep. Like I said we figure it is from a knife, but we can't be certain. From the look of the cut it was gradual at first then a hard thrust sent the object deep. We're monitoring him now and hopefully he'll regain consciousness soon."
"Did he suffer another head trauma?"
"Hard to tell. From the looks of his earlier injuries he already had a pretty severe blow to the head. Falling could have made it worse, but it may just be residual effects. It's very early and hard to tell."
"Thank you, doctor."
"We'd like to keep him a while."
"Ok, I'll make arrangements."
The doctor walked away and Mac watched as Mady took stock of her son's injuries. He didn't know if he should go in with her or not. He didn't want to intrude. Finally he walked slowly into the room. She didn't seem to notice he was there and he made a point to not intrude. She was studying her son.
Mac looked at him with his arm in the box acting as a cast until the new x-rays could be taken, head stitched close over his left eye, the side of his chest stitched closed. He looked small on the bed. He looked defenseless. Mac felt his heart go out to the boy. He knew he had to help this family. He had to end this nightmare.
Kolby James didn't know how long he had been unconscious. His last memory was of the face coming down at him. What had happened? His mind was foggy. He couldn't seem to open his eyes. He could feel someone watching him but he couldn't move. He twitched his arm. Pain. An explosion of fire surged through his arm. A firework display of bright lights danced across the blackness of his eyelids.
He clenched his eyes tighter and gritted his teeth. This was new pain but he would not cry out. Just as he had not cried when Robbie had beaten him or the stranger had stabbed him. He would not make a sound. His head was swimming and the fog wouldn't lift. There was pain in his side. He shifted ever so slightly and felt the tug of the stitches. He winced.
Mady had moved to the chair as Mac stood motionless by the door thinking. He couldn't help but have his attention continue to wander back to Mady. He thought of how such a nightmare started and how they could continue living with it. It startled him when he looked at Mady to find her staring back at him. He gave a small smile.
"You have to be wondering how I could stay with such a man after…what he does," she said. He could hear the exhaustion in her voice and wondered when the last time she slept was.
"I've seen it before," he said quietly.
"You've also seen the end."
"Yes. Too many times."
"I met Robbie when Kolby James was almost four years old. He seemed perfect at the time. When I was around he was attentive to Kolby James. They seemed to get along, and Robbie appeared to want to help me raise him. I was young when I had Kolby James and well his father he wasn't in the picture anymore. I got pregnant with Kady after only three months with Robbie. I thought I was in love. I thought I'd finally found the family I was longing for.
"But I guess I was wrong. Kolby James first came to me about five months into the relationship I was about two months pregnant and I thought he was acting out to get attention. He claimed that Robbie was 'being mean'. He didn't say anymore than that. I told him to stop being such a baby. I can't believe I told my son that.
"A couple weeks later Kolby James came running to me crying. He said that Robbie had yelled at him and threatened to hurt him. I spoke with Robbie and he said the boy must have misunderstood. He said that he had told Kolby James to stop what he was doing or he would spank him. I believed Robbie. God I believed the wrong one. Kolby James came to me more times with more complaints. I though he was acting out, wanting my sole attention. Jealous of Robbie and jealous of the new baby coming. I thought he would grow out of it.
"Even when things started happening, injuries, bruises, cuts, a broken bone, I still ignored the signs. I thought he was being a boy. I can't believe I didn't see it. Robbie was mean to me sometimes but I…it just didn't click. Kady was year old and I was pregnant again. This time with twins. Robbie…he was drinking more. Kolby James was seven and he wouldn't talk to me. I thought only teenagers did that. But I guess it was my fault.
"I…I ignored him for so long he didn't see the point in complaining anymore. He started to be more distant, staying outside for long periods of time. Never speaking unless absolutely necessary which would make Robbie angry when he would ask Kolby James something but he wouldn't answer him. Right after the twins were born he started in on me. He would snap at stupid things. Get angry over little things. I thought he'd stop. And when he wasn't drinking it was fine. Things were fine.
"Kolby James came to me one night. He was bloody. His nose was bleeding and his eye was swollen. I started to cry. He walked straight up to me and told me to pack. No emotion nothing. Just get packed. Then he went out of the room. I followed him and found Robbie unconscious in the living room. Robbie's nose was broken and there was blood everywhere. His eye was swollen shut and there were a couple gashes on his cheek. I asked Kolby James what happened but he wouldn't tell me. He had the younger kids up already and they were packing. Kassie was crying. He picked her up.
"We left that night. The five of us. And we started running. I've moved with my children to four states and he always seems to find us. I…he won't stop will he? Kolby James was right. He won't stop until he has us or one of us is dead."
Mac didn't know what to say. He went and sat down next to her when she was finished. He stared at her as she studied the floor. This was one nightmare he wanted to end. He would do everything he could to find those missing children and take down Robbie Beale personally.
"I'll stop him. I'll protect you," he said softly. She looked up at him then. They locked eyes and Mac saw the pain and suffering of a lifetime in her eyes. He thought that maybe she saw the same thing in his eyes too. Two lost souls colliding in a world of hurt and sorrow. She leaned into him and he wrapped his arms around her.
They were still like this when he noticed that the boy had shifted positions. Mady had fallen asleep in his arms and he gently laid her back against the chair. He stood up and walked over to the boy. He stood quietly watching the boy not sure if the boy was conscious or not. Suddenly the boy opened his eyes and looked at Mac. There was no emotion in the boy. It pained Mac.
"Welcome back," Mac whispered. Kolby James cocked his head sideways and stared at Mac. Then at his mother in the chair. He looked around the room and tried to place himself. "You're at Queen of Mercy hospital in the ER."
Kolby James wet his lips. He wanted to say something but he couldn't. He looked at his body and saw his arm in the box. The cast was gone. He frowned when did that happen? He looked at his other side and saw the stitches in his side. The cut had been bad. His head was still sore. But the fog had lifted. He was mentally sharp again and he thrived in the feeling.
"My mother," Kolby James whispered. Nothing more came out of his mouth. Mac turned slightly and looked back at her. She was still asleep.
"You want me to wake her?" Mac asked quietly. Kolby James just shook his head, which made it hurt and he winced. Mac only nodded. They stood quietly in the room for a while. Kolby James finally spoke.
"Why are you here?" he asked quietly.
Mac didn't have an answer for that. He looked at the boy and then the boy's mother. He didn't know why he was still there. He couldn't drag himself away. He looked around the room but he couldn't give the boy an answer. The boy seemed content anyway and nodded. He then stared at the wall.
"I'm sorry for leaving. It was…stupid," he whispered. Mac reached out and put a hand on the boy's right shoulder.
"It's ok."
"I was going to find my siblings. I was going to get them back."
"How did you plan to do that?" Mac asked his eyes full of curiosity. Kolby James studied him a moment and then dropped his eyes.
"I saw the truck in the driveway. I recognized it."
"You didn't tell me this before."
"Because I only remember last night. I saw that truck before. Another time he came for them a friend brought him in that truck. It's a red 1994 Ford. A one fifty or something. I don't remember but I know the man he came with was Gerald Cooper. He was a friend of Robbie's from New Jersey. That was the truck I know it. I was going to find Gerald Cooper."
"You want to tell me what happened?"
"Some guy mugged me, or tried to."
"What happened to your arm?"
"He came at me. I had a wave of nausea and dizziness right before and it let him sneak up on me. He put the knife against my side and wanted my money. I didn't give it to him or answer him it made him mad and he stepped closer pushing the knife more. I planted and spun, bringing my weight behind the cast. I split his head open but in the process he thrust the knife into my side. He fell and I pulled the knife out. He took off and I went to find help. Guess I didn't make it very far and….and…I think I fell."
"You did. Right into the street and into the path of an on coming police car. You're lucky they didn't run you over."
Kolby James only nodded. He chewed at his lower lip. His mind was continually on his younger siblings and he needed to find a way to get them away from Robbie. He was mentally prepared to kill the man if he had too. "Can you find Gerald Cooper?"
"We will try. I'll have the lab start looking for him as soon as they come in for the morning. Right now you need to concentrate on getting better."
They were interrupted when a nurse and tech came into the room. Mady jolted upright and looked around. Mac went to her side and told her that her son was awake and that they were going to do the x-ray on his arm now. Mady only nodded and bit at her lip. Mac squatted down next to chair and asked her about Gerald Cooper. She remembered the man but didn't know where he could find him.
Kolby James arm would not need surgery after they had studied the x-rays. His arm was re-casted and he was moved to a room upstairs in the regular hospital. They wanted to keep him for observation and Mac figured this was a safe place to keep Mady and Kolby James for a while. He made some calls and got a guard posted outside his room and then had Stella start the search for Gerald Cooper. Mac stayed at the hospital with them. He had a hard time leaving them. He didn't know why.
TBC…