Chapter Nineteen—Standing Together

When Jean Innocent finally regained consciousness, she found herself in a dark room without any windows. She sat up and took a few deep breaths.

" You're awake; thank God. You were so still, and I had trouble finding a pulse…I …well…I didn't know what to think."

Her eyes had finally started to adjust to the lack of light, and she was able to make out a lanky figure kneeling beside her. Surely, she was dreaming—surely this was yet another nightmare. " James? What are you doing here?"

"We were talking in the pub, remember? And you left your keys behind, so I ran out after you to give them back to you."

Everything slowly came back to her. " I was walking to my car, and then…that man…I think he must've knocked me out, cause the last thing I remember is his face. But how did you end up here?"

"I…I ran over—tried to stop him from hurting you. Got a black eye for my trouble, though he didn't exactly come out unscathed either," the sergeant trailed off, somehow to able to summon a mischievous grin despite all the uncertainty. His smile soon faded as he continued. "Eventually, the man took out a knife and held it to your throat, threatening to slit it if I didn't cooperate. Think he must've knocked me out too, cause I can't really remember much else until I woke up here a few minutes ago—wherever 'here' is."

"Why in heaven's name didn't you run?"

" I wanted to help you—had to help you, something that I wouldn't have been able to do if I'd run."

" Yes, you would've. You might have called for back-up—either an official detail from the station or an unofficial one made of some of the people in the pub. And there were no less than 3 CCTV cameras in the vicinity; you might've also attempted to get footage from them."

" I didn't think…"

" That is obvious!" Innocent shouted. "Of all idiotic things to do! You might have been killed; you may be yet for all we know. Do you have any idea what that man is capable of?"

" Do you?" She gave a noncommittal shrug. " Who is he, Jean?"

" I'm not completely sure. I was only able to get a brief glimpse at his face, and well, it was the absolute last person I was expecting to see. But…but I think it was Richard Trout," Innocent said after a long moment had passed.

" The man from your nightmare." She glanced at him, surprised that he had remembered. "I thought he was dead."

" So did I, but I suppose a man who's already weaselled his way out of a murder conviction should be able to cheat death as well."

They sat there in silence for a time until finally Hathaway spoke again. "Why?"

" Because I was young and foolish and impulsive."

" In other words, you weren't so very different from me?"

She gave him a weak smile. "I'm not impulsive anymore—that's for sure, nor am I as young as I used to be, but still so foolish…" She felt her eyes starting to moisten and looked away.

" No, you're not. Stubborn and irrational, yes, but never foolish." The conviction in his voice astounded her, and she looked back to him and found the same conviction in his eyes. " Look, I understand, if you don't want to talk about this man and whatever it is he did, but if you did want to talk…"

Another long silence. Then, suddenly, she responded.

" It was…well…it must have been about fifteen years ago, now that I think on it. I'd just made inspector…I remember that much. Anyway, my sister contacted me and asked me to look into the disappearance of a friend of hers, one Amanda Smythe."

" Is this the same Amanda Smythe whose brother just committed suicide?"

She nodded. " Though after today, I'm starting to doubt that it was suicide. As I was technically on leave at the time, it wasn't a formal inquiry."

Hathaway nodded. " That explains why it didn't show up in your records."

"Anyway, I eventually figured out that the Smythe's new neighbour Richard Trout was behind the disappearance, and I went to his house to confront him. That's when everything started to spiral out of control."

" What do you mean?"

" Well, I…I didn't have back-up. That's the first thing that they teach you in the police academy: always have back-up. But I was young and clever, and I thought I was invincible. I guess I just assumed my formidable police presence would be enough."

" And it wasn't?"

She shook her head solemnly, and tears started to run down her nose. " Not at all. He…he laughed at me, asked me what sort of game I thought I was playing… And then, he…he looked me over and said there much better games I could be playing. Before I could say another word, he was…he was on me. When I tried to fight him off, he started hitting me over and over again. Finally, he grabbed a knife and told me that—unless I wanted to end up like Amanda Smythe—I should do exactly as he said. He ordered me to strip and then pinned me down on the sofa. "

" So, he…he…" She could see that Hathaway was struggling to get the words out.

She shook her head slightly." No, James; he didn't. He got pretty damned close, but it didn't come to that. Fortunately, the Smythes had heard the commotion and had dialled 9-9-9. Harvey Malcolm and some of his copper friends happened to be at a party a block away. They arrived just…just in time."

" What happened then?"

" Amanda Smythe's body was found a few days later in a dumpster outside of Trout's place of work. When that…that monster finally went to trial, he was somehow acquitted of Amanda's murder, but he couldn't worm his way out of the sexual assault charges. So he went to prison. I believe five years was his original sentence, but there was some sort of incident with another inmate, and Trout ended up with a manslaughter conviction. The last I'd heard of him, he had committed suicide, which obviously wasn't the case."

Innocent was trembling now and looked far younger and far more vulnerable than Hathaway ever seen her. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "And now, John is dead, and it's all my fault," she sobbed, burying her head in her crossed arms, so he wouldn't see the tears falling and think less of her for them.

He gaped at her." You're not telling me that you blame yourself?"

Jean lifted her head gently." Why not? Assuming Trout is the killer, he only murdered my husband to hurt me. If I hadn't stuck my nose where it didn't belong, John might still be alive."

" None of this is your fault, Jean, none of it. And by blaming yourself, you're letting that sick bastard win."

" Don't you understand, James? He already has won!" the chief superintendent shouted." My husband's dead, my sister's been hospitalized, and our chances of getting out of this unscathed aren't looking too good either!"

" Then, I guess you're not the woman I thought you were."

" What do you mean?"

" The Jean Innocent I know never lets anyone or anything make her believe that she is anything less than extraordinary." He gently placed a hand on her face and wiped away any of her remaining tears with his fingers. "And she is extraordinary—extraordinary and strong and clever and brave."

" Am I really all that?"

He nodded. " Yeah, but before you start flattering yourself, I should remind you that you're also unreasonable, stubborn,temperamental, and infuriating."

She laughed and then grew solemn again." Look, I don't know how all this is going to end, but I want you to know that it was an honour working with you."

"Ditto. My only regret is that I'll never see Lewis again."

" Maybe, you still can." He looked at her curiously, and she hesitated, knowing that he was going to hate what she was about to say but that she must say it anyway.

"Chances are that before Trout kills us, he's going to want to have 'his way' with me—finish what he started all those years ago. If and when that happens, he's probably going to separate us, and I want you to take that opportunity to run, James. Get as far away from here as you can, and don't return unless and until you've got adequate back-up. I doubt that Trout will chase after you. I'm the one he wants, and he won't want to allow me any opportunity to escape…"

" I won't do it; I can't."

" This isn't a request, sergeant," she said in her most commanding voice.

"That doesn't change anything. After all, this wouldn't be the first time I've disobeyed orders."

" Then, why should it be the last time?" Innocent pleaded. "If you won't do it for me, do it for Robbie. You know that you're like a son to him. He'll fall apart if he loses you."

" On a night we'd both rather forget, you told me that officers should stand together when they need each other. Well, whether you admit it or not, you need me now, Jean—far more than Robbie does."

" But…"

" But nothing. Lewis will understand; I'm sure he'd do the same if he were in my position. Besides, can you imagine the guilt I'd feel if I abandoned you?"

" Is that guilt any less severe than the guilt I'd feel if you stayed? I've…I've already got one death on my conscience. And you… you're far too young to die…"

" So are you."

" That may be, but damn it, James, I still can't let you throw your life away so carelessly!"

" I wouldn't be 'throwing my life away'; you're well-worth dying for. And in any case, it's not like either of us is going to go down without a fight. There's still a chance we can make it out of this alive."

They sat there in silence for a time, and then Innocent finally spoke again "James, if I were to rest my head against your shoulder, would you promise not to do anything drastic?"

" You mean like declaring my undying love? I wouldn't dream of it, and just for the record, I have no intention of kissing you either."

" That's a relief," she said as she gently placed her head on his shoulder. A moment later, he grabbed hold of her hand. She glanced up at him curiously.

" I'm sorry; I suppose that was a bit drastic. Do you want me to let go?"

" No, it's just what I need," she responded and squeezed his hand gently.

Neither of them knew for sure exactly how long they sat like that; it might have seconds, minutes, hours even, but in any case, it was still was far too short of a time. Eventually, Richard Trout entered the room. Hathaway rose to his feet and stood protectively between Innocent and Trout." If you want her, you have to go through me first."

Trout shrugged slightly. " Have it your way."

Hathaway responded by throwing a punch that the older man ducked easily. Trout threw a punch of his own that made contact this time. As the sergeant was doubling over in pain, Trout roughly pushed the other man down. Hathaway's head hit the concrete floor sharply. Though his surroundings were gradually fading, he could hear Innocent's high-heeled footsteps running towards him and her voice, frantic with worry—needing to know that he was alright.

As though any of that mattered when he had failed her.

He tried to get up—to make one final stand but found himself unable.

" I'm sorry, Jean. I tried," he attempted to say, but his lips wouldn't form the words.

The last thing James Hathaway was aware of before he lost consciousness was the maniacal laughter of Richard Trout as he dragged Jean Innocent out of the room.