Chapter Eight:
Mac pulled into the hospital parking lot and parked. He got out and went inside, turning his cell phone off as he did. He made his way up to the room where they had put Kolby James and met the guard in the hallway. They greeted each other then Mac went into the room. Kolby James had drifted off to sleep again and Mady was sitting quietly in the chair, staring at the floor. She looked up when she heard someone come in and gave a smile. Mac returned it and reached in his pocket for the list of names.
"We picked up Gerald Cooper and questioned him," Mac said. He saw the light of hope flicker in her eyes. He unfolded the sheet and handed it to her.
"What's this?"
"It's a list provided by Gerald Cooper as to Robbie's known friends and associates. I want you to check it over and see if you know any of them. Maybe someone Robbie would go to. Also Cooper mentioned property in up state New York. You know about any thing up there?"
"No. Not property. I don't think Robbie has any, but maybe it's possible. He may not have been entirely truthful with me," she said hesitantly looking up to Mac asking for his understanding. He nodded.
"What about the names? Recognize any?"
"Well yeah. I was married to him for a time. Most of these are the guys he hung with when he was getting in trouble. Couple of them stayed at the house that sort of thing. I wasn't allowed in on his…business life. I don't really know them, just who they were."
"Any stand out as to one he would go to in a time like this?"
"I don't know, Mac, I really don't. I'm so sorry," she said, her voice cracking. Mac nodded and took the list back. He stared at it as if it were going to give him the answers. Nothing happened. Mady looked back up at her son in the bed.
"Don't worry. We'll find them and we'll put Robbie away for a long time this time I promise," Mac said. Her attention came to him then and she studied his eyes. Mac let her. She took a shuttering breath and sunk deeper in the chair.
"I miss my babies."
"I know," Mac said as he squatted next to the chair.
"Kolby James will be released tomorrow morning, the doctor said. Where do we go?"
"I'll find a place. Don't you worry about it."
She only nodded. She focused her attention back on Kolby James. He was still asleep. Mac realized how tired he was, but he wouldn't let himself sleep, not while the other three children were out there with that monster. He would push it to the end to get them back.
Kady finally had Kassie settled down and Kolton was sitting in the corner with his arms around his knees. They were both scared and they both wanted their mother. Kady didn't know how to comfort them. Robbie had been in to feed them but he didn't stay long. He had left again. The house was quiet again.
She wondered if he was still here, or if he had left. She tried the door again and found it was still locked. She was desperately trying to think of a way out. Then she realized if she did get her siblings out then what? Where would they go? She didn't remember seeing any other houses on the way in. And where were they? She had never been here before.
She went over and sat down next to Kassie. They sat in silence as Kolton continued to hug his knees. She didn't know how much time had passed before they all heard the noise of someone on the other side of the door. Kady jumped up and moved to the center of the room and waited stiffly for the door to open.
It swung open hard and her father stepped through. She tried to hide the fear in her eyes but it was too much. She was trembling. She could tell he wasn't right, drunk again? Maybe high? She didn't know how to tell the difference. She just knew it was bad news for all. He scanned the room and looked at all three of them.
Finally he stepped further into the room and Kady noticed he had a bag with him. He tossed the bag on the floor and watched. Kady slowly inched forward to see what was in the bag. She kept her eyes on her father the entire time. She was almost to the bag when she saw his foot shift. She stopped instantly and braced.
"I didn't say you could see in it," he scolded deeply. He didn't swing at her but he was posed. Kady felt her body tremble a little bit more. She glanced over at Kassie then Kolton. "Where'd your mother go?"
Kady was stunned. As if she knew where her mother was. She stared at him with her mouth agape wondering what he expected from her. Kassie started to rock and Kolton got to his feet. She could see the hate in his eyes and prayed he didn't try anything stupid. Her father continued to stare at her expecting her to answer. She didn't have an answer.
"I don't know," she said in a haggard whisper. Her father took a step closer to her with anger in his eyes. She tried to scramble back but tripped over the rug edge and landed hard on her butt. She felt the vibration go up her spine and it took a second to clear the pain. By then her father was standing right over her. She looked up at him terrified and he stared down at her with those angry eyes.
"Don't lie to me," he barked. She just shook her head as the tears rolled down her face. It was then that she saw Kolton break from his spot and charge at their father. She tried to yell no but nothing came out as the small eight-year-old crashed into the leg of his father.
Their father stumbled and side stepped after the impact and Kolton bounced back. He yelled and charged again as his father took a step towards his sister again. But this time he was ready and he grabbed Kolton by the head as he neared and slammed him to the right, into the wall. The boy yelped in pain as his head smashed off the window sill and Kassie was crying audibly in the corner.
Kady was perfectly still on the floor, half sprawled from her spill, waiting for the worst. Her father was watching to see if Kolton would get up and try again but the boy was hunched over cradling his head crying. Kady waited.
"I find out you're lying when I find your mother, I'll punish you. You KNOW how much I hate lying," he snapped at her then he turned and left. They all heard the audible click as the lock was slid back into place.
Kady jumped up and rushed over to Kolton. She pealed back his hands and tried to calm him. She would deal with Kassie after she was done. Finally she got Kolton to let her look at his head and she saw a cut over his right eye. It looked pretty bad to her, but what did she know? She was only nine. She looked around the room for something to put over it to stop the bleeding and found a washcloth sitting in the corner. She folded it into a thick square and had Kolton hold it tightly against the wound. He did, and then he went and sat in a corner away from her and Kassie.
Kassie was still crying when Kady got to her and she wrapped her arms around her younger sister. She did her best to console her but it was tough. They were all scared, and they all knew what their father was capable of. They had all seen what he had done to Kolby James at the house. They would have to hope someone knew where to look, where to find them. They would have to hope someone would come get them, and hopefully it was soon.
Kady finally went over to the bag her father had tossed into the center of the room and opened it. She sighed in relief as there were cans of pop, a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, and a jar of grape jelly. They wouldn't be hungry tonight.
Mac stayed at the hospital for another couple hours trying to help Mady remember anything about the people on the list, or if there were more people not on the list. She came up with a few more names but informed Mac that she had tried calling them and they claimed they knew nothing. Mac let her know that sometimes people have a different story when they feel like they are going to go to jail and he would check into them again. She nodded.
Kolby James was awake again but Mac couldn't get him to engage in conversation. Mady told him it was futile to try, that when he was like this there was no reaching him. Mac was worried about that. He wanted the boy to open up. As the day went on Mac began finding a place for them to stay where they would be safe.
He checked in with Stella at the lab and found she had tracked down a few more people on the list and that they were interviewing them. She asked if Mac wanted to be a part of it and he told her he trusted her to handle it. She asked if he was ok and he replied by saying you're asking that a lot lately. She dropped the subject.
Robbie Beale stood in the living room of the cabin and thought. He didn't know where she would go but he was pretty sure that that boy of hers would be in a hospital somewhere. He grabbed the cell phone he was barrowing and jumped into Cooper's truck and headed back into the city. He would have five hours of driving to make the calls he needed to make. He started calling all the hospitals in the area asking about Kolby James Pike. On the fourth call he got a hit, there was a Kolby James Pike registered at the hospital and he was in room 3205. Queen of Mercy was his destination.
It was getting late in the night and Mac was still at the hospital. He was sitting on a second chair that had been brought into the room for them while Mady sat in the original chair. Kolby James had drifted to sleep again and Mac and Mady were quiet. She started yawning. Mac stood and walked over to her.
"You should get some sleep," he said gently. She looked up at him and nodded.
"You look like you could use some too.'
"Yeah, probably."
Mady closed her eyes and relaxed. Mac went back over to his chair and sat down. He watched as she slowly drifted into sleep and only then did he stand up to leave. He hesitated at the door and looked back on the two. He again had a hard time leaving but he needed to get to the lab and go over the transcripts of the interviews Stella had done. He drove to the lab in silence. He didn't bother with the radio. His mind was running a hundred miles per hour.
He got to his office and noticed the stack of papers on his desk and smiled when he realized they were copies of the transcripts from the interviews. Stella had known. He would have to thank her in the morning. He read through them as thoroughly as he could, looking for any kind of clue. He marked a few statements that he wanted to follow up on. At some point during his reading he drifted off to sleep.
TBC…