Chapter 4: Paper Chase
. . .
After Mac exited the house, he stood for a moment at the doorstep, thinking. He could see some other residences to his right. He thought about going ahead, into the woods, but he knew that after a 5-minute walk, he would reach the main road. He turned to his left and took the path that was barely visible. It wasn't too long before he saw some shoeprints in the mud. He crouched down and studied them for a moment. There were two sets of them. One, made by heavy boots that were either a size 10 or 11. The other shoeprints were much smaller and were placed quite randomly. Mac instantly imagined a big man dragging a small boy into the woods. He stood up and sighed. At least he chose the right direction.
He walked some more and saw a piece of material on the ground. He picked it up and took a closer look. It was red and green. Terry was wearing black, so it was probably a piece of Rick's clothing.
Mac looked around and saw another piece of red cloth on the bush to his right. Some branches of the bushes at this place were freshly broken as if someone had made their way through them. He left the path and entered into the bushes. After a while, he saw again some shoeprints on the ground. This time, it was only one set, of those smaller ones. Then he saw some shape unprinted in the mud. He turned back and estimated that he was about 50 feet away from the path. Then he looked around and something on the tree caught his attention. It was glistening in the sunlight and Mac moved closer to it. He pulled out a pocketknife and dug a bullet out of the bark, ignoring the stinging pain in his left arm, when he lifted it.
He studied the ground around the tree but he couldn't see any blood. With a little relief, he rounded the tree and saw the same small shoeprints behind it that were very close to the trunk. He checked the ground carefully, but he couldn't find any sign of what direction Rick had taken. He moved around the trees that were nearby and on one of them, he found a colorful piece of paper stuck between the furrows of the bark. He carefully checked the other trees and saw another piece of paper, matching this one he already had in his hand. He had no idea who put them there and why, but his guts were telling him he should follow them.
. . .
Although Lindsay tried her best to keep Jo occupied from playing all possible bad scenarios in her head, Jo was unable to push anxiety completely aside. When Lucy called her mom and Lindsay left the kitchen for a moment, Jo decided she couldn't take it anymore. She quickly pulled out her phone and dialed Flack's number.
''What's up, Jo?'' He answered after the first signal.
''Have you found Rick?'' She asked bluntly.
''Umm... not yet.'' Flack told her.
Jo was able to catch something strange in his voice and added, ''is everything fine?''
''Yeah, everything is fine. It was a little hot here for a moment, but now everything is under control.''
''But you haven't find Rick anywhere in the house?'' Jo asked again.
''No.'' Flack answered and then paused for a moment. ''I think I don't have any good news, Jo.'' He sighed. ''Henry Dribs said that he'd told his brother to take Rick out of the house and kill him in the woods.''
''Oh, God...'' Jo whispered as she placed her hand over her forehead and slowly brushed her hair back. She couldn't imagine telling Lily that she had lost her brother as well. ''Did he do it?'' She asked as last ray of hope rang slightly in her voice.
''We don't know that. We couldn't question him about it. He's completely hammered.''
''And where's Mac?'' Jo asked.
''He went into the woods to look for Rick.''
. . .
Mac walked through the woods. He checked all the trees once more, but he couldn't find another piece of paper. He moved back to the tree on which he found the last piece and he hoped he could find some other clue, that would indicate which direction Rick had gone. He was studying the ground as he was looking for shoeprints. Then some strange noise caught his attention. It sounded like a muffled cough. He looked around, but he couldn't see anyone. Then there was this sound again and this time Mac realized it was coming from somewhere above his head. He looked up and saw a boy sitting in a crotch of the tree, about 20 feet above the ground. The boy was looking down at Mac, covering his mouth with his hand as he was trying to stop himself from coughing. Oh thank God. Mac thought, truly relieved that the boy was still alive.
''Hey there, buddy!'' Mac called to him. ''You must be Rick, right?'' But the boy didn't answer. ''Could you please come down to me?''
''I don't think so!'' Rick yelled back.
''I'm a NYPD detective. I'm not gonna hurt you.'' Mac assured him, but Rick didn't move even a little bit. Mac unclipped the badge from his belt and showed it to him. ''See? This is my badge.''
''Throw it to me.'' Rick ordered and Mac did it without hesitation. The boy caught it dexterously and took a closer look. ''It looks real.'' He judged after a moment.
''Because it is.'' Mac assured him again. ''Will you come down now?''
Rick looked down at him and watched him carefully for a moment. Then he tossed the badge back to Mac and started to climb down the tree.
''Be careful.'' Mac warned him. He was following his every move and was ready to catch him if he was falling, but there was no need for that. Rick was moving down very ably and in no time at all, he jumped to the ground. Then he moved towards Mac and looked up at him. He had brown hair, much lighter than his sister, and dark-brown eyes that were piercing Mac right now. Suddenly he brought his hand to his mouth and started to cough violently. Mac furrowed his eyebrows.
''You OK, buddy?'' He asked, when the coughing finally stopped.
''Yeah.'' He said quietly, breathing heavily.
''How long have you been on this tree?'' Mac asked.
''Since yesterday. One of the guys took me to the woods, but I managed to escape.''
Mac nodded. ''And those pieces of paper?'' Mac asked, showing him the one he had taken from the tree Rick was sitting on. ''Why did you put them on the trees?''
''I was trying to get out of the woods, but I got the feeling I was going in circles.'' Rick explained.
''You weren't scared that they would find you by following those pieces of paper?''
''They're really stupid, you know. They didn't even look for me.'' Rick said and Mac smiled lightly. But his smile instantly disappeared when Rick started to cough again.
''Come on. My friend is waiting for us in the house.'' Mac said. He placed his hand on Rick's shoulder, wanting to guide him. He felt that the jumper Rick was wearing was all wet. He took a closer look and saw that his jeans were wet as well.
''You're all wet.'' He murmured.
''Yeah, I fell into a ditch that was filled with rain-water.'' Rick said and started to cough again.
''Take off your jumper.'' Mac told him, unzipping his own jacket and taking it off. Rick looked at him and hesitantly did what he was told. ''Put this on.'' Mac told him, handing him his jacket and taking the wet jumper from him. Rick put on Mac's jacket and zipped it on. It was far too big for him, but at least it was dry.
''Come on, we have to hurry up.'' Mac murmured as he thought about how cold Rick had to be after spending the whole night outside, wearing wet clothes.
For a long moment they walked in the silence. Then Rick asked, ''did you catch all three of them?''
''Yes.'' Mac simply answered.
''Are they going to jail?''
''There is no doubt about it.'' Mac confirmed.
''Good.'' Rick said impudently. ''They shot my dad.'' He added, trying to sound brave, but his voice broke.
''I know. I'm really sorry about that.'' Mac told him. He glanced at the boy, who was walking by his side, staring straight ahead.
''And they hurt my mom...'' Rick said quietly. Then he stopped abruptly. Mac stopped as well and turned to face him. The boy looked up at him with his chin trembling. ''Is she dead, too?'' He asked in a shaky voice. Mac looked into his eyes and saw how tears were gathering in them. He sighed deeply. There was no easy way to tell him the truth.
''She is.'' He said and he crouched in front of him. Tears were now freely rolling down Rick's face. ''I'm really sorry for what happened to you.'' Mac added and Rick nodded slightly. As he wiped away his tears with his hand, he smudged some dirt on his cheek. Mac sighed again. He was feeling truly hopeless. He was never good in situations like this as he was not sure what he should do. He clumsily put his one arm around Rick and hugged him lightly. After a moment, the boy pulled away and looked at Mac.
''And Lily? Is she OK?'' He asked with concern.
''She's fine.'' Mac answered, being happy that he could deliver at least one good message. ''She's with my friend at the moment.''
''That's good.'' Rick said with a sniff. ''I told her to find a good place to hide in the bedroom and don't come out until I find her. She thought we were playing hide 'n seek.''
''Good job.'' Mac told him.
''I wanted to call for help, but they caught me.'' He said quietly and one more tear rolled down his cheek. ''I wasn't fast enough.'' He added sadly as he looked down.
''It wasn't your fault.'' Mac told him and placed both of his hands on boy's shoulders and made him look at him. ''There was three of them. They were bigger and stronger. You did what you could.'' Mac said clearly, but Rick didn't seem to be convinced. ''You saved your little sister.'' Mac said and swallowed hard. He didn't even want to think what could have happened if they found Lily. ''That's really something.'' Mac added and Rick nodded slightly.
''My dad always says that I have to take care of her.'' Rick said sadly.
''That's what big brothers do, right?'' Mac told him and smiled slightly as he stood up.
''Yeah.'' Rick sighed.
They started to walk again and within a couple of minutes they reached the villa. There were three police cars parked on the driveway and Flack was talking to one of the cops. When he saw Mac and Rick, he smiled widely and started to walk in their direction.
''Hey! You found him!'' He shouted happily.
''Yeah.'' Mac said and smiled slightly.
''That's really good.'' Flack said. ''Hi, I'm Don.''
''Hi.'' Rick said in a weak voice.
''Mac, if you want, you can take Rick and you can go back to the city.'' Flack told him. ''I'm going to stay here for a moment and then... Whoa!'' He suddenly exclaimed as he saw how Rick closed his eyes and lurched. He would have collapsed to the ground if Mac had not caught him.
''He's burning up.'' Mac said as he felt his forehead.
''He should get to the hospital.'' Flack told him and Mac furrowed his eyebrows.
''I'm going to take him with my car. It will be faster.''
''You sure?'' Flack asked.
''Yeah. We'll be waiting for an ambulance here for at least 20 minutes.'' Mac said as he moved to his car. Flack held the door open for him as he laid Rick down on the back seat. Then Mac circled the car hastily, got into it and drove off.
. . .
''Hi, Jo.'' Mac said and she instantly noted how sad he sounded. ''Jo, I found Rick.''
''Is he...'' Jo tried to ask, but her voice cracked. She took a deep breath and wanted to try again, but before she could, Mac cut her off.
''He's alive.''
''Oh, thank God.'' Jo released the breath she was holding.
''We're at the St Mary's hospital right now and...''
''At the hospital?'' Uneasiness started to creep up on her again. ''Mac, is something wrong?''
''I'm fine, Jo.'' Mac sighed. ''But Rick has pneumonia.''
''Oh, no...''
''One of the Dribs' brothers took him into the woods to kill him. Rick managed to escape and he spent the whole night outside, in wet clothes.''
''It was freezing last night.'' Jo noted, shaking her head.
''Yeah.''
''Is he going to be okay?'' Jo asked with concern.
''They don't know yet. If he reacts good to the meds, he should be getting better very quickly. But if he doesn't...'' Mac sighed again.
''Mac, you want me to come to you?'' Jo asked. ''I mean... to the hospital?''
''Jo, I don't think that's a good idea. Lily shouldn't see him yet. He looks really poorly and he's unconscious.'' Mac told her.
''I was thinking that Lindsay could stay with Lily for an hour or so...'' Jo glanced at Lindsay and she nodded. ''… and I could come to the hospital alone.''
''Well, if you want...'' Mac agreed with hesitation.
''I do.'' Jo assured him. ''OK, see you there.''
''Bye.'' Mac said and Jo hung up. She placed her phone down and looked at Lindsay.
''Will that be a problem for you?'' Jo asked her.
''Not at all.'' Lindsay shook her head. ''Go, Jo. I think Mac needs someone right now. I mean, he won't in a million years say it out loud, or ask you to come to the hospital, but... you know him.''
Jo nodded, as she reached for her jacket. She took it off from the hanger and put it on in a hurry.
''You're right. He shouldn't be alone. He was so desperate to find the boy... He's probably devastated that even though he did find him, Rick's life is still in danger.''
''He'll be fine, Jo.'' Lindsay told her as she reassuringly squeezed her arm. Jo cast her a thankful smile. She wasn't quite sure if Lindsay meant Mac or Rick, but it didn't really matter. She hoped they both would be fine.
Jo was just about to leave but Lily cried out her name and jolted towards the door. She hugged her legs and looked up at her.
''Don't go!'' She asked in a tiny voice.
With slight difficulties Jo managed to free herself from Lily's grasp and she crouched in front of her.
''Lily, I have to go now...''
''Don't leave me!'' Lily almost sobbed and she locked her arms around Jo's neck.
''I'm not leaving you.'' Jo assured her. ''Lindsay and Lucy will stay with you.''
''Can I go with you?'' Lily asked and looked at Jo with her big eyes filled with tears.
''No.'' Jo told her. ''But I'll be back really soon.''
''You promise?''
''I promise.'' Jo said and kissed her head. ''Just go play with Lucy and you'll see – I'll be back before you even notice I'm gone.'' Jo told her with a smile.
''OK.'' Lily agreed hesitantly.
Jo stood up and looked at Lindsay. She smiled at Jo, then took Lily's hand and said, ''How about we eat those yummy parfaits Jo made for us?'' She called Lucy and the three of them went to the kitchen. Before they disappeared inside, Lily turned around and took one more look at Jo.
Jo sighed softly. She suddenly felt very unsure as she thought that the idea of Lily staying with her while waiting for a judge's decision, wasn't that good after all. Lily was getting more and more attached to Jo and it would be extremely hard for her when their time together would be over. And it will be difficult for me too. Jo thought. It was just unbelievable how quickly she had became used to Lily's presence. With every minute, she was tempted to pretend it had been like that for years and it would last for a long time in the future. But the reality was totally different. Jo shook her head as she tried to silence those thoughts at least for a moment and then she left her apartment.
. . .
Jo quietly walked into the room and she glanced at Rick who was lying in a hospital bed. She slowly moved towards him. He was put on IV fluids and on the monitor to control his breathing. She looked at his face and saw he was very pale. He indeed looked rather poorly. She sighed lightly.
Then she looked at Mac, who was sitting on the chair next to the bed. He didn't move since she entered. His head was slightly leaned forward and his eyes were closed. She smiled as she realized he was dozing. He had to be exhausted. She quickly counted in her head how many hours he had been working without getting any sleep. About 36. She slightly shook her head, as she wondered how it was possible he hadn't collapsed any sooner. Then, Jo reached out and gently touched the back of his head.
''Mac...'' She whispered, as she didn't want to startle him. He opened his eyes and looked up at her, blinking a few times. ''Hi.'' She told him with a smile and she moved her hand back, as she thought it probably would feel awkward for him.
''Hi, Jo.'' Mac answered back. His voice was slightly hoarse and it told her that he was indeed asleep.
''How is he doing?'' Jo asked as she nodded towards Rick with her head.
''Good. His breathing got better. He seems to be reacting well to the meds.'' Mac told her and stretched his stiffed neck.
''That's really great.'' Jo said and looked at the boy. Then she turned and looked at Mac again. ''And how are you?''
''I'm OK.'' Mac assured her as he knew she was worried about him. ''I'm glad we found him.''
''Yeah, you did a very good job.'' Jo told him, placing her hand on his shoulder. ''Now you need some rest.''
''I'm fine, Jo. Really.''
Jo rolled her eyes, being slightly annoyed by his stubbornness. Then she looked again at Rick and asked, ''How long will he stay here?''
''I was told that about a week.'' Mac said, then he turned to Jo and added, ''Oh, listen. I contacted the Family Court. Judge Collins has been assigned to Rick and Lily's case, but he won't take any decision before Rick is released from the hospital. Which means that Lily can stay with you a little longer...'' He hesitated slightly. ''Or you can call the social service and...''
''I think it's better for her to stay with me.'' Jo said firmly. Even despite her earlier concerns, the social service taking care of Lily was the last thing she wished for the girl.
''How is she?'' Mac asked.
''She's fine. She had fun playing with Lucy.''
''They're almost the same age.'' Mac noted. Then he looked at Rick. ''You know... She hid in the closet, because Rick told her they were playing hide 'n seek.'' He said and Jo looked at him and she was quite shocked.
''He saved her life?''
''It seems so.'' Mac nodded. Jo watched him for a moment. The way he was looking at Rick... there was something oddly unfamiliar in his gaze. He seemed amazed and fascinated by the little boy, but also somehow... proud of him?
Before Jo could put a name on it, Mac lowered his head and rubbed his face. She lightly touched his back and asked, ''when was the last time you slept?'' He glanced up at her. He looked very tired, but there were playful sparkles in his eyes.
''Five minutes ago, before you woke me up.''
''Mac...'' Jo sighed as she tried to stay serious. ''Come on, I'll take you home.'' He looked at Rick again and she caught his gaze. ''He's in safe hands. You can check on him in the morning, after you catch up on your sleep.''
Mac didn't really feel like leaving Rick alone in the hospital but Jo was right. They were taking a good care of him here. Not to mention he really felt tired and he knew Jo wouldn't give up until he agreed on being driven home.
''OK.'' He murmured as he turned around slightly and reached for his jacket. Only then Jo was able to notice the bloody stain on the sleeve of his shirt.
''You got hurt?'' She asked with furrowed eyebrows. He followed her eyes.
''It's just a scratch.''
''How did it happen?''
''The bullet grazed me...''
''You've been shot?!'' Jo asked and he smiled lightly as he thought only she was able to exclaim in a whisper.
''Technically, yes. But I barely felt it.'' He told her and she shook his head at him.
''Did you at least have it checked?''
''I did, I did.'' Mac said in a calming voice as he rose from his chair.
''Why don't I believe you?'' Jo asked and she pouted her lips.
''I have no idea.'' He told her and tried not to sound too jokingly. ''Come on, drive me home.'' He added as he held the door open for her.
. . .
She carefully slipped under the duvet, trying not to wake him up, but his sleep was shallow as always and he easily sensed her. A light, dreamy smile lingered on his lips as he sneaked his arms around her and pulled her closer as she pressed her back to his chest.
''I'm tired, Mac.'' Christine murmured.
He placed a kiss on the nape of her neck and whispered, ''I'm just glad you're back.''
''Yeah, so do I.'' She sighed.
Mac buried his face in her hair and breathed in deeply. The softness of her body against his, her warmth... just her presence was enough to make him happy. It was comforting to come back home after a hectic day and have someone to hold in his arms. He knew she was angry with him because of the amount of time he spent at work every day. It wasn't the first time and he knew she probably would be over it in the morning. And if she wasn't, he would try his best to appease her. He already knew her well enough to know what worked the best with her.
Before he drifted back to sleep, he wondered if tomorrow would be a good time to discuss something important with her. He really hoped she would share his enthusiasm about the idea he had.
. . .
A/N Thank you very much for reading, reviewing, following and favorite-ing ;) It really means a lot and encourages to work on developing this story.
Special thanks to Jess (csinyfan28) who again did a great job as a beta-reader. She's correcting my chapters, she's writing her own great stories – everything in between of million other things she's doing. Yeah, she's just that awesome :)
Don't forget to tell me what you think about this chapter! Have a great week of pre-Christmas craziness ;)