AN: All right fruitbat here you go! Told you it would be up soon. dark rolling sea.
Chapter Ten
It was getting late and Mac felt like he was chasing his tale. There were no answers, anywhere. There was no trace of this guy. He had covered his tracks well. The names Mac had put in the computer all came back with records and none really stood out. He grumbled at the computer. Stella came in and plopped down in the chair. He looked at her.
"Go home, Mac," she said gently. Mac stared at her a minute then looked up at the clock. It was getting late and he was increasingly feeling the lack of sleep from the night before. He nodded. Stella smiled and got up. "Oh and I mean now, not in a few hours," she said over her shoulder as she walked out.
Mac sighed and stretched his neck. Then he gathered up his stuff and walked to the lab. Everyone else had already left. He shook his head and went home. When he got there he felt restless, unable to calm himself. He didn't like the feeling. He sat on the couch and tried to relax his mind, but nothing seemed to work. It was going to be another long night.
Eventually exhaustion took its toll and he fell asleep on his couch. His body and mind had finally given up on him and he sank deeper into a fitful sleep.
Kassie and Kolton had finally fallen asleep on the large bed. Kady was sitting perfectly still like she had seen Kolby James do at the foot of the bed. She was straining her ears to hear something, anything. She could not sleep.
Her father had come in and checked on them, obviously drunk this time. She could smell the sourness on him. It made her want to vomit. He had stared at her with distaste and it had frightened her. She didn't know what she had done wrong. The twins had started crying again and their father had thrown a glass bottle into the corner. It shattered and glass splinters cascaded all over that side of the room. All three children had flinched and cowered.
Kady then watched her father leave the room and she heard the lock click into place. She wanted to scream. She wanted to beat her hands against the door and beg to be let out. She wanted to scream until she was blue in the face for her mother. She knew none of it was worth the effort.
Shortly after he locked the door, Kady heard the outer door slam shut and then the truck roar to life. It was dark out, she could tell through the murky window. And now she sat. Listening, waiting, fearing. She didn't know what to expect, she just hoped someone showed up soon.
Robbie drove back to the city and parked the truck a couple blocks down from the house Mady was in. He didn't want the cops to see the truck. He left the truck and walked as close to the house as he could down the road then circled around the back of a neighboring house. He stuck to the shadows and was confident that the cops couldn't see him. He edged his way to the house and watched it for a while from the shadows.
He saw three people moving in the house, two adults and that bastard boy. He moved in closer and stood just outside the window to the living room of the house. He noticed Mady say something to the cop in the room and then she went down a hallway and disappeared. The boy seemed to be asleep on the couch. Robbie traced the hallway on the outside of the house and found the room Mady had gone into.
He came up to the window and stood in the shadows watching. She was his. Not anyone else's. Why couldn't she see that? He wished he had something to drink. He felt the need deep in his stomach. It ached. His nerves were edgy and one swig would be enough to calm him. He didn't have any, and he had shattered the bottle at the house when the kids wouldn't shut up.
He had the plan in his head. He would kill the cop first, then the boy, and then take Mady to the cabin. She would understand that she was meant to live with him; she would understand there is no other way.
He yanked himself from the daydream just as Mady turned towards the window. Robbie quickly spun to the side to avoid being seen. He flattened himself against the wall of the house quietly, but he was not fast enough. He had to move, and move now.
Mady screamed when she saw the shadow move from the window. She ran to the door and shouted for the cop in the living room to come quickly. Kolby James sprung from the couch and looked around, confused with sleep. Finally he gained his wits and was about to go to his mother when the cop gripped his shoulder.
"Stay here, son, I don't need two of you to worry about," he said softly.
Kolby James was burned by the comment. He would not need to be worried about. He could handle whatever was wrong. He went to move ahead anyway, ignoring the cop, when the cop pushed him hard onto the couch. Kolby James got angry, but he froze his feelings and stayed where the cop had put him.
Mady was still screaming something about a shadow and the cop went hesitantly into the room with his gun drawn. He finally got her calmed down and she explained seeing the shadow outside the window and the cop radioed out to the cars to check it out. They didn't find anything. Mady still didn't feel safe and insisted that the cops call Detective Taylor.
They told her it was late and Detective Taylor had gone home. She didn't care. She even gave them his cell number. Finally in order to calm her they dialed the cell number. Mady waited.
Mac sprang upright when his phone rang. He fumbled it off his belt and squinted to read the ID. He frowned and flipped it open. "Taylor."
"Detective Taylor, sorry to wake you. This is Officer Goodrich at the house with Ms Beale. She is real worked up and would like to speak with you."
"What happened?" Mac said getting alarmed.
"She saw something out the window and now she is all worked up."
"What did she see?"
"We don't know, sir, whatever it was was gone before we got out there. The property is secure, I had the outside guys go around and check."
"I'll be right there," Mac said as he got up looking for his keys.
"Sir, there's really no need. We can handle it. She just wants to talk…"
"Not a problem, Officer Goodrich. I'll be there shortly," Mac said and then hung up as he left his apartment and headed to his car. He drove rather quickly to the safe house and went in. Mady was sitting on the couch wringing out an afghan that was draped over her shoulders. Kolby James was standing leaning against the wall, staring emotionless at the officer. Mac could see how uncomfortable the officer was.
"I can take it from here. Why don't you join the boys outside," Mac told Officer Goodrich. The officer hesitated a moment, then looked at the boy and nodded. He backed out of the house and joined the others in the car. Mac sat down next to Mady.
"Thank you," she said softly.
"For what?"
"For coming. It really rattled me. I think it was Robbie."
Kolby James pushed off the wall and walked out of the room. Mady followed him with her eyes. Mac took a deep breath. He could still feel the fatigue pulling at him and he knew it was going to be a long night. But he knew as soon as they called him that he would stay here tonight. He couldn't explain his pull to Mady Beale but it was a strong one. She was staring at him. He looked at the floor.
"You were asleep. I'm sorry."
"Don't be," Mac said quietly. She nodded. She felt the fear subsiding and pursed her lips. They sat in silence for a while, neither one knowing what to say. They were sitting close, almost too close and they could both feel the other's presence. Finally Mady yawned.
"You should try to sleep," Mac said turning so he could look at her. She looked up at him, stifled a second yawn and then nodded. She got up and headed to the room she had been in before. She stopped and turned around. Mac had been watching her. She hesitated and Mac could tell she was nervous. He looked at the ground.
"I…I'd feel better, safer…if you were back there…just till I fell asleep," she said awkwardly. Mac looked up. He studied her eyes for a moment before getting up. Mady turned and resumed her path and Mac followed. She curled up on the bed as Mac turned the lights off. He stood watching her for a moment before he sat down on the other side of the bed. She rolled over and looked up at him as their eyes adjusted to the darkness. She edged closer to him and started to cry. The fear had gotten the better of her. He slid down and pulled her closer to him.
She buried her face in his chest and he wrapped her tight in his arms. He held her as she cried again. Her tears were soaking into his shirt and he didn't care. He ran a hand through her hair and leaned his cheek against the top of her head.
Impulse took over as he tried to calm her. He spoke to her softly and told her everything would be ok. He told her he would find them, he would protect them. He kissed the top of her head. He felt the tears and the burden building in his own body and he fought to maintain control. Eventually he heard her breathing even out as she fell asleep. It wasn't much longer before he too fell asleep still with his arms around her.
Robbie came back to the window in the pre dawn hours. He stopped cold in his tracks when he saw two bodies in the room now. It was the cop that gave them the ride from the hospital. He clenched then grinded his teeth in anger, as he saw them curled together alseep. His fists worked slowly, clenching and unclenching as the anger welled up inside him. The voices in his head started to tell him that he had lost. She had someone else. She had betrayed him. He closed his eyes and fought them. They continued to tell him that he needed to kill the cop and take her back. SHE WAS HIS! Not now though he thought stifling the voices. There were too many cops around. He would wait. He would find the perfect opportunity.
Kolby James woke when the sun came up. He usually did. He got up and moved around the house making no sound. His head still ached and his arm felt like it was on fire. He took a couple deep breaths and attempted to clear his mind. He went to the couch and didn't find the detective. He went to check on his mother and found the two of them, sleeping. She was still in his embrace. Kolby James stood in the doorway and watched for a moment.
He didn't know how he felt about it. He was very protective of his mother and siblings, especially since Robbie was so abusive. Most guys her mom picked were losers. She was a magnet for them. But this one, he was different. Kolby could tell. If he admitted it to himself Kolby James actually liked the man, but he wouldn't admit that, not yet at least.
He was about to turn away when the detective stirred. He looked around groggily trying to remember where he was. Kolby James saw the way he looked down at his mother and he cocked his head to the side.
Mac woke when he felt a pair of eyes on him. When he first woke he didn't know where he was, or why he wasn't in his own home. Then his eyes fell on Mady and it all came back. The eyes were still on him. He twisted slightly so he could look at the doorway and saw Kolby James standing there with his head cocked. When Mac made eye contact the boy held it, holding everything inside. It was brief then the boy turned and went back towards the living room.
Mac slowly and softly removed himself from the bed and stood up. He took one more glance back at Mady before he left the room and went to the couch. Kolby James was sitting on it staring at nothing. Mac sat down next to him.
"Morning," Mac said. The boy seemed to ignore him and Mac looked away. He was about to get up and see if there was coffee or something in the kitchen when the boy spoke.
"There is something wrong with Robbie," the boy said softly. Mac stopped and looked down at the boy. Kolby James looked up then shook his head. "I don't mean just the liquor he drinks. There is something really wrong with him."
"What do you mean?" Mac asked coming back over and sitting down next to the boy. Kolby James looked up at Mac and studied him a moment before he continued.
"I used to tell me mom, but she thought I was making it all up. He thinks I'm a demon."
"What?"
"He told me. He thinks that I'm a demon that's attached myself to my mom. He said she was his and that he was going to unattached me from her."
"Why would he tell you that?"
"Because something is wrong with him. He was trying to make me run away. That was why he started beating on me. When I wouldn't leave he got angry and started hitting my mom and my siblings. He was trying to make me leave to save them."
"That doesn't make sense."
"I know that Robbie was adopted. And that most people don't know where he came from."
"Kolby James, do you know something we don't know?" Mac asked sitting up a little straighter. He leaned into the boy. Kolby James looked at him and pursed his lips. The strong exterior wall around his emotions was starting to come down. Mac knew it was just a matter of time now before the boy cracked.
"I don't know for sure. I…I was listening in once. If he had caught me it would have been a bad beating. He was on the phone. He was talking to someone named Clifford. He said I left all that behind and it didn't matter anymore they didn't have proof anyway. He said that the state of Nebraska never could make the charges stick."
"Why do you think it says something about where he came from?" Mac asked. Again the boy hesitated before answering. He seemed to have an internal debate with himself.
"He called Clifford his brother on the phone, but my mom always called his brother Ryan."
"Did you hear a last name?"
"No."
"This helps, Kolby James, this helps a lot," Mac said as he thought about this. It might help Stella track down the biological family. He would need to call her soon with the name. Mac was still thinking when the boy spoke again.
"You like my mom?" he asked quietly. It caught Mac off guard. He looked at the boy and thought about what he had just said. He took a deep breath and looked at his hands. He had to admit it to himself, there was something there. He looked at the boy and nodded. "You like her a lot?"
"I think so," Mac said with a small smile. Kolby James cocked his head sideways again and watched Mac intently. Mac felt a little bit nervous with the scrutiny. Finally the boy smiled a little and nodded. He then turned away from Mac.
"I never knew my dad. Robbie was the only thing in my life that resembled a father figure. But like I said, there is something wrong with him. I started to read up on things, and sometimes I think he sees delusions."
"Like a schizophrenic?"
"Yeah. Hears people, sees them, that sort of thing. One time I heard him yelling outside at someone, and when I peaked around the corner he was the only one there. Other times he tells people to shut up and they aren't talking. He usually stares at me for a while before he starts with the demon stuff. It really used to scare me when I was a kid."
"I bet."
"My mom didn't believe me. I couldn't believe when I was little. You know they teach you don't lie when you're a kid, but how do you react when you tell the truth and the adults don't believe you. They think you're lying. I stopped telling. He continued to harass and beat me."
"You're safe now," Mac said as he put a hand on the boy's shoulder. Kolby James nodded.
"I made myself safe. Up till when he did this," he said motioning to his arm and head, "he hadn't beaten me since they day I knocked the crap out of him."
"The day you told your mom and younger siblings to pack."
"Yeah. I won that day. He came after me to kill me. He was not going to quit. I put him down. I'll do it again if I have to."
Mac was almost frightened by the boy's determination and vehemence. His eyes were calm as could be when he said it and Mac was afraid the boy was telling the absolute truth. If it came down to it, the boy would kill Robbie Beale. Mac had to make sure it didn't come to that.
Mac got up then after he was sure Kolby James was done talking. He called Stella and told her about his conversation with the boy. Stella asked him where he was and he explained what happened, well most of it. Stella could tell he was holding something back but she didn't probe, yet anyway. They talked about Kolby James' idea of Robbie being a schizophrenic it made them both more uncomfortable about the children being missing.
She said she would cross reference the name Clifford in her research into Robbie Beale's past. He told her he would stay at the house a while longer then be into the lab. She said that was fine that she and Aiden could handle it for now. She told him to take care of them. He told her he would. When he hung up he wondered what she meant by that. He wondered why she had said it. He wondered why he was at the house in the first place. He was wondering a lot lately.
TBC…