Chapter Fourteen
Stella, Danny, and Aiden all crowded in around the doctor. He looked at each one in the eyes then over their shoulders at the growing number of cops in the waiting area. Mady came up next to Stella. The doctor took a step back before he started.
"You're waiting for word on Detective Taylor?" the doctor asked.
"Yes," Stella said taking the lead. The doctor nodded.
"We've got him stabilized. He has a GSW to his right shoulder. Bullet hit him in the ball of the shoulder. It has done some damage to the muscle structure but it will be a few days before we can tell how much. When the inflammation comes down in a few days we'll run an MRI on it and see what needs to be done. Most likely he is going to need surgery to repair damage to the muscle group. For now he has regained consciousness and we are listing him in serious but stable condition."
A collective breath was released. Danny closed his eyes and nodded his head. Aiden looked down and fought the tears back. Stella thanked the doctor and took a deep breath. Mady walked away towards her son.
"Aiden fill in the guys over there, Danny what'd you get earlier?" Stella said. Aiden nodded and moved off to let the rest of the cops gathering know what was going on. Danny stepped up closer to Stella.
"Jenkins said there is a property in the Catskills. Hunting cabin or something. He's been there twice but can't remember where. Claims they only went up after dark and Robbie always drove. Says that Robbie also had more names that just Beale and he has legal ID for all of them."
"I found a couple names in doing his background check. I didn't think any were current after the Beale's adopted him. Get back to the lab and run those names. See if you can't find the property."
"On it," Danny said. He then hurried out of the hospital back to the lab. Aiden came back after letting the other cops know about Mac and stood next to Stella.
"Let's go on back and help Danny with the names. More people handling it the faster this will go," Stella said to Aiden. "Mac would want us to find those kids."
Aiden agreed and Stella told Mady they were going to go back to the lab to find the children. Mady nodded but said she would stay here. Stella nodded and left. Mady looked for the doctor. She finally spotted him and approached him.
"Can I go in and see Detective Taylor?"
"Only family is allowed…" the doctor began. He saw the crushing look in her eyes as she hurriedly averted her eyes. He looked down. "We can make an exception. Are you Mady?" Mady looked at him then.
"Yes."
"He was asking for you earlier. Go ahead," the doctor said. Mady nodded and hurried to where the doctor told her Mac was. The nurse let her in and she came up beside his bed. She put a hand to her mouth when she walked in.
His shirt had been cut away when he first came in. His right arm was being supported in a sling, the shoulder heavily covered in what was originally white gauze, now having a pink hew to it. He had an IV going into him, slowly filling him with whatever drug they were giving him. They were giving him oxygen. His eyes were closed.
She slowly approached him from the left side. She took a deep shaky breath and then she was next to him. He opened his eyes and turned his head slightly. He smiled. She smiled back.
"You're ok," he said in a hoarse whisper.
"Shh, everyone is ok," she said softly. He nodded. He was floating and he was getting frustrated that he couldn't concentrate. He looked up at her and reached out with his good arm. She took his hand. She sat down in the chair next to the bed.
"Mady," Mac began but Mady cut him off.
"Not know, Mac, get some rest."
"How's Kolby James?" he struggled to get out.
"Time will tell, we can talk about it later," she said pulling his hand up to her lips. She gently kissed it. Mac closed his eyes. Then he opened them again and looked at her.
"The other children?' he asked frantic. Mady shook her head.
"Your team is still trying to find them," she said. Mac struggled to get up then. It sent lightning bolts of pain through his body and he dropped heavily back onto the bed breathing harshly. Mady put a hand under his chin. "Mac don't. You need to rest. They'll find them."
Mac bit his lip and stared at the ceiling. He felt useless. The pain in his arm was lessening now that he stopped moving. He felt himself growing tired again. He was sick of always feeling tired. He fought to keep his eyes open. He looked up at Mady. She really was beautiful. Then his eyes betrayed him and he fell asleep again. Mady sat with him for a while, until the doctor came back and told her time was up. She reluctantly left his side.
At the lab Stella, Aiden, and Danny were all digging into the many lives of Robbie Beale. They found four aliases that he used, all with legal documentation. They finally came across a property in the name of Thomas Roberts that was located in Grahamsville New York located on the edge of the Catskill Mountains. Danny hollered.
"Stella, I think I found it!"
"Where?" she said as she came up to him.
"Grahamsville, on the outer edge of the Catskills."
"Send someone up there now. Get local PD on the property," Stella said. She called Flack. He said he'd start on his way out. Flack arranged to have a helicopter take him out to the scene. Local Police were sent in. Stella raced back to the hospital to find Mady.
Kady sat shivering on the bed. The three of them were huddled together. It was chilly in the house. They hadn't seen their father in a long time now. Mady had lost count of the hours, but the sun had risen again since they had seen him, and now it was high in the school. The peanut butter had run out already, the jar had only been about a third full.
She wondered why no one had checked on them, why her father had vanished. She had the fear that he was gone and no one knew where they were. She got up from the bed and left the twins huddled together. She went to the door and pressed her ear to it. Nothing. There was no sound. She tried the handle it was locked. She was getting extremely frightened that they would be locked in there forever.
She heard a car pull up, the gravel in the driveway crunching under the tires. She drew in a breath and went back to the bed, hugging the other two. They all stared at the door. They waited, hearing someone walking around outside. The front door was forced open and it made all of them jump. Someone was in the living room, their feet pounding against the hard wood floors. Kady could feel her heart slamming against her chest wall.
"Hello?" a strange voice yelled out. "Kids? It's the police are you here?" Kady felt the adrenaline surge and she sprang from the bed. The twins were right behind her. They ran to the door and pounded on it.
"In here!" Kady screamed. She heard more footsteps outside. Someone was coming towards them.
"Step back kids!"
They did. They all ran back to the bed. They were shaking, half with fear, half with anticipation. The door cracked then splintered as the cop hit it a couple times from the other side. Then there were three cops in the room coming at them. They all three were crying.
Stella found Mady in the hospital waiting area. She was sitting with Kolby James, who had a blank stare on his face. Mady looked up when she realized someone was next to her. She saw Stella and the look on Stella's face made her stand at once.
"You found them?" Mady asked in a whisper. Kolby James looked up.
"Yes, they are in a house in Grahamsville. All three are ok, all unharmed. They are just hungry and scared," Stella said with a smile. "We're bringing them back to the city. They'll come here to be checked out. I thought it would be easier."
"Thank you. Thank you so much," Mady said tears running down her face. She reached out and embraced Stella. Kolby James stood up and bit his lip. Stella looked at him but he looked away.
The doctor informed them that they were moving Detective Taylor to a room in the hospital where he would remain until they could determine the correct course of treatment for his shoulder. Mady and Kolby James went with him. Stella checked in on him, but he was still asleep so she said she'd come back later. She left. Mady sat in the chair in the room silently watching Mac sleep. Kolby James stood, with clenched fists, leaning against the wall, staring at the floor.
Mac's world was black, but he was sure he was awake. He tried to open his eyelids and after a little effort light came in through the cracks. He closed them again. He waited a few seconds then tried again. This time they opened. He had been moved, that much he was sure of. He shifted his head to the side and felt the tug in his shoulder. He winced. Then there was a hand on his left shoulder. He looked to the left and saw Mady.
"Welcome back," Mady said softly. Mac nodded then looked around the room. He saw the boy standing away from them against the wall. He looked back at Mady. "They found them, Mac, they're bringing my children home."
Mac nodded and smiled. He breathed a sigh of relief. He reached out with his left hand and took Mady's hand in his own. He closed his eyes for a moment to try to calm his thoughts. When he opened them again Mady was leaning over him looking down at him. He glanced over at the boy.
"Kolby James?" he said in a whisper. His voice wasn't working quite right. He swallowed. Mady reached for a cup of water with a straw in it. She put the straw in Mac's lips. He looked up at her, then took a sip and nodded. The boy shifted along the way but didn't come nearer. Mac wet his lips.
"I want to tell you something," Mac said. He waited but the boy didn't respond. "I want to thank you for saving my life. I saw what you did."
This time the boy looked up. He cocked his head and stared at Mac. Mac saw the deep seeded pain in the boy's eyes for a brief moment before he covered it. Mac saw a blanket envelope the emotions and toss them aside. He maintained eye contact until the boy broke it.
Kolby James stared at the floor. He was absently picking at his cast with his right hand. He felt ashamed, he felt sick, and he felt alone. He licked at his lips and studied the floor. He wanted to cry again. It had felt good to release the emotion, but he didn't know how.
Mac looked up at Mady and then at Kolby James. Mady turned her attention to her son. She felt responsible. She had done this to him. She had put him in this position. She had brought this upon them all. She left Mac's side and walked over to her boy. He didn't move, just continued to pick at his cast. She reached out and grabbed him by the shoulder, pulling him into her. She wrapped her arms around him and cried. He stood stiff for the first minute. His arms draped at his sides, head hung, chin touching his chest.
Mady didn't let go. She wasn't going to let go either until he experienced some kind of emotion even if it was hatred towards her. She needed to know if her son still had feelings. She didn't want him to become a monster. Finally Kolby James felt his heart break. He felt the tears burning into his cheeks again. He put his arms around her and rested his head against her shoulder. He was sobbing silently against her. Mac watched the exchange and felt pain tug at his heart.
He wanted to get up. He wanted to go to them. His shoulder prevented it. He didn't know where this was going to go but he was willing to ride the emotions as far as they would take them. He wanted Mady and her children to be a part of his life. Finally Mady pulled back from Kolby James and looked down at him.
Kolby James looked up at her with pain ridden eyes. His face was streaked with tears and his nose was running. He wiped at his face with his shirt sleeve and looked down. He didn't know how to handle the outburst of emotion anymore. He was frightened by it. Mady put a hand gently under his chin and pulled his gaze back up.
"Are you ok?" Mady asked softly. Kolby James looked at her. His gaze then fell on Mac in the bed. His eyes then glazed over as the events of the evening replayed in his mind. He felt sick to his stomach. His knees felt weak. He wanted to vomit. He broke from her and rushed into the bathroom. He threw up in the toilet. Mady followed him in. He vomited twice more until there was nothing more to come up then he was done.
He flushed the toilet and stood up. He looked at his mother ashamed. She stepped towards him and pulled him into another hug. She held him tight.
"Never be ashamed, Kolby James, its nothing you did."
"I killed him," he whispered.
"It was self defense, baby, its ok. You saved Mac's life."
"I killed him, Mom, I shot him…I took his life, I killed him." Kolby James said. He then took a shuddering breath and wobbled on his feet. Mady kept a hold of him. She looked back over her shoulder out the door towards Mac and he motioned for her to come back into the room. Mady brought Kolby James out with her.
"Son, it's ok. It's always tough the first time you kill another person. Nothing ever prepares you for that. I'm just grateful that you saved my life," Mac said softly. The boy only nodded. Mac could tell it was going to take a lot of work to help this boy. He was ready.
Kolby James went over and sat down in a chair in the corner of the room. Mac watched him. He felt Mady take his left hand again and it brought his attention back to her. She was also looking at the boy.
"Mady?" he said tentively. She brought her attention back to Mac. He studied her eyes for a moment before continuing.
"What?" she asked feeling him study her.
"I…" he started but then didn't know what to say. He tried again, "I don't know what's going to happen, I don't know what is happening, I just know I want you to be a part of my life."
She nodded, and sat down in the chair. She looked at his hand, tangled with hers, then back to his face. He waited for her to answer. She looked over at Kolby James and then back to Mac.
"I'd like that," she said a smile coming across her lips. He smiled in return, but felt fatigue taking hold again. He nodded and then his eye lids dropped. Mady watched him drift to sleep again, still holding onto his hand. Kolby James was slipping into sleep as well.
She wouldn't sleep. Not with her other children coming. They would be there soon. She would see them. She would never let anything happen again, and she hoped Mac would be there to help her.
TBC…