When they arrived at his house, Jim showed her the extra bedroom and the bath. "I'll set up the coffee pot and whoever gets up first can turn it on," he said before leaving her in her new room. Jim trudged down the hall to his room, closed the door, stripped down to his boxers and fell into bed. He was tired but sleep wouldn't come as he laid there thinking about her being just down the hall. "Dammit," he growled into his pillow as he changed positions, trying to find a comfortable position. Problem was, the more he thought about her, the less comfortable he became, in a very physical way. Why did she have to still be so beautiful? His mind surveyed every facet of her face and compared how she looked now to how she had looked thirty years ago and he couldn't see much difference. Sure, she was older but her beauty hadn't suffered from it. With a sigh he wondered what she was thinking about him…if she was thinking about him at all.
Sarcastically he chuckled to himself. "She's thinking that instead of looking like a bastard you're looking like an old bastard now. He ran his hand over his head, he could no longer claim there was enough hair to run his hand through; and what he did have left was mostly gray. His face had filled out, giving it a rounder shape and even giving him a jowly look at times. And although he considered himself to be in pretty good shape, his body was still…old. He didn't need to look in the mirror to see that one; he could feel it. So why would she care anything about him now, he asked himself. Hell, why did he care about her after….everything.
But as he lay there he realized he did care…too much considering what she had put him through. But still, he couldn't shake it so he spent the rest of the night tossing and turning in a state somewhere between awake and asleep and woke up the next morning with more than his usual problem. As he lay there waiting for things to settle down, he couldn't help taunting himself. "You jackass…"
He managed to get through morning coffee with her without letting on about his previous night's dilemma…or the morning one. She was quiet and seemed introspective, which was new for her, Jim thought. Still, he was relieved that she was largely ignoring him because it gave him time to find some equilibrium. He needed to focus on Ellie and how to help her, he thought as he sipped his coffee. Couldn't let himself get distracted by whatever the hell it was he was feeling about Nancy.
Jim had hoped to be able to make his next inquiry without Nancy along. But of course, she insisted on going with him. So mid morning found the two of them standing on the porch to a very large house, waiting for the owner to answer the door. The short wait gave Jim plenty of time to become more anxious.
"Captain Brass?" the sultry voice said in surprise when the door opened.
"La…Dr. Kessler," Jim smiled, trying to sound friendlier than he felt.
There was a tiny shift in her facial expression, one from apprehension to curiosity. "It's been a long time," she said evenly.
"Yeah, I think they wrote a song about that," he quipped nervously.
Heather Kessler's face softened a little more. She read his anxiety and yet he was here. He needed something from her and was squeamish about asking. And the woman who was with him; there was tension there…between them. "Perhaps you are right," she said as she stepped back to open the door wider. "Won't you come in? We can sit in the parlor. Would you like some tea?" Her voice was pleasant and her demeanor void of the usual uneasiness she displayed around him.
"None for me," he said, "but thanks." He glanced at Nancy who looked between him and the strange woman they were visiting. "Um, no thank you," she finally said.
"This is Nancy," Jim said to introduce her to Heather. Both women noticed the lack of a last name but remained quiet about it. "She's here from Jersey and we found her daughter who hadn't been heard from for a long time. But the circumstances are …off and I'm wondering if you'd have a few minutes to maybe help us with it."
Heather slid into a chair near her sofa and motioned for them to sit. "The girl was missing?"
"Yes," Nancy spoke up. "It had been over a year since I'd heard from her. And everything seemed fine but then… well, someone from Jersey said he'd heard that she was in Vegas and so I came out to find her. Jimmy and I…" she glanced at him nervously, "we knew each other in Jersey so he's helping me."
Heather smiled when Nancy called him Jimmy. There was a connection between the two that made him uncomfortable and if Heather was reading the woman correctly, she was uncomfortable as well, in a completely different way. "So Jimmy," she said, emphasizing the diminutive of his name, "you are here because you think I can help?"
"Yeah, I do," he said, totally ignoring her little jab and turning anguished eyes on her. "We found Ellie last night. She was working the streets and met this john. We've been told she's been with him a couple of weeks now."
"And you think I would know something about this…john? I'm not a prostitute, Captain Brass; and I don't know any."
Realizing he'd inadvertently offended her…again," Jim scrambled to back pedal. "No…no I …that's not what I meant. It's just…well, you've made a study of certain behaviors…in your career," he said as smoothly as he could manage. "And last night, I saw a mark on Ellie…on her neck going from her hairline down under the color of her robe. It looked like a whip mark but it wasn't at an angle that I've seen before in…well, S&M cases. I just…I don't know, maybe they were engaging in that behavior and it was an errant stroke or…" he shrugged, "maybe it is something else. I just…look, we're grasping at straws here trying to find a way to get her away from this guy. He seems to have some sort of weird hold over her. She's afraid of him but it is more than that… I thought maybe you might have an idea about what's going on between them."
Heather studied him closely and then turned her attention to Nancy. The woman was watching him, calculating his body language and seemed almost fearful…of him or…for him. But she had gone to him for help… And then something clicked and Heather understood. Turning her gaze back to Jim, she tilted her head slightly, looking at him in a new way. "Ellie is your daughter, isn't she?"
Nancy gasped softly. Jim shifted in his seat uncomfortably and then glared at Heather. But seeing that she wasn't looking to use this to taunt him, he relaxed. Realizing that she would understand what it was like having a child that was lost to you, he nodded. "Yeah, she is. But she hasn't had anything to do with me in years. I'd heard she was in Vegas but when I looked for her, I couldn't find her so I figured she'd moved on. But then last night… Heather, she's in trouble; I can feel it in my gut. But I don't know how to help her and she won't help herself."
"The whip mark along her neckline is unusual but it could have been accidental. Still that's an odd place…usually the whip is applied to fleshier parts of the back. So my guess is that he isn't using S&M in the usual sense. Now whether he is using the whip as a means to punish and control her, I am uncertain. But if she seemed frightened then you need to get her out of there before you attempt to talk to her. And even then, she might not be forthcoming."
"We tried to get her to come with us last night," Nancy said sadly. "She wouldn't."
"Was the man present?" Heather asked.
"Yeah, he was in the background at first but when we didn't leave, he came to the door," Jim answered.
"She won't leave if he is there. You must get to her when he is absent."
"Yeah, like I didn't know that already," Jim said with an eye roll.
"You're worried that she won't go with you…because it is you," Heather said thoughtfully.
""Well…yeah. She and I didn't exactly part on good terms last time."
Heather looked away momentarily. And then she sighed. "I know how difficult it can be…having a daughter who is in a precarious situation and won't let you help her."
Realizing how his situation was causing pain for her, Jim cleared his throat. "Heather, look…this isn't the same. Your daughter…she thought she was in love and got herself into a bad situation that eventually led her to an even worse one. Ellie….she…she went looking for trouble. I don't want my daughter's screw ups to cause you more pain than you've already had. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come here with this…" He stood up to leave.
"No, wait… you tried to help me once…perhaps even twice…in your typically brusque way. And I appreciated that. And I felt your… sympathy with Zoe's case. I want to help you if I can. Perhaps helping will ease some of my own pain…"
Jim sat back down looking at her sympathetically. He hoped she could help for all their sakes.
So I'm willing to bet most of you knew who he was going to see in this one. I have a hard time writing Heather; I hope I captured her reasonalbly well. Love to hear from you!
Back to the keyboard...