Bane of His Existence
Chapter Five
After Eloise left, Rogers returned to Maggie at his desk, then pulled his chair around so that he was sitting in front of her, instead of across from her. Maggie glared at him out of the corners of her eyes, then turned and stared ahead of her without saying a word to him. So, the detective reached into his pocket with his prosthetic hand and used it to pull out his keys, then with his real hand he worked to unlock the cuffs around her wrists as a show of good faith in hope it would help her to trust him enough to talk to him.
He then spoke first saying, "I'm sorry she startled you. Eloise… that is. That's who was here just now. She's deeply concerned about you. I understand you and her were once friends some time ago. But if you really want to learn the truth of that for yourself, I can't be the one to help you, except to take you to the hospital so you can be checked out if you so choose. You're going to need to see someone more professional to help you remember what and who you might be missing in your life. Can you tell me anything about who you really are, or where you come from? Do you have a family who might be missing you?"
She laughed, then responded coldly, "Nope. I had parents. Obviously… since I'm alive in this crummy world. But they were cruel and used people to build themselves up in society. They used me. They didn't care about me or anyone else but themselves. They didn't even care about each other. Anyone who knew them though, believed otherwise. Except for me. I saw them for who they really were. If I didn't do what they told me to do, then I was punished. Beaten until I was black and blue all over. That's why I ran away and began living on the streets. I finally got up the courage to. I heard two years later that they were both killed in a tragic car accident. I should have been sad for them, but I wasn't. Let me tell you, detective. Life as a whore is a whole lot better than my life was with them. The money's great and I love having sex with men no matter who they are. My offer's still on the table."
"Like I told you, that isn't going to happen," Rogers immediately answered as he quickly stood and backed away when the woman before him reached out, then seductively began to stroke his leg until he stopped her.
"You ought to learn to go out and have some fun, detective," Maggie replied as he picked up her file from his desk, in hope that something might help him decide what to do with her. "Or is it that you've already found yourself someone who turns you on? Maybe that… Eloise woman? I saw how she looked at you. More importantly, I saw how you were looking at her. I can tell you like her even if you can't admit it."
He looked back over at her, then stated, "You're wrong. A part of me is telling me to let you go. However, the other part of me knows that if I do, you'll go right back to…"
She finished for him, "…to prostitution? I can't promise you I'll be celibate, but I can say my life will certainly be better from now on. Thanks to you. I'd like to find out what I'm missing in my life. And I'd like to find out if Eloise really is a part of it like you both claim. However, if it's all right with you, I'd like to walk into the hospital on my own. Things might be worse for me if I walk in with a cop. You can understand that, can't you?"
"I do understand," the detective responded with concern. "I'm just not so sure it's the right thing to do. You could be playing me. How can I trust you won't just run away and start this kind of life some place new? Besides, what you've done is against the law and I can't just dismiss it. You might not think you mind what you're doing to yourself, but one day you'll wake up regretting it. And it's not just you who's effected by these actions. You're destroying lives."
"Not alone I'm not," the woman coldly retorted. "If you're talking about the other men's families, they're the ones responsible for ruining their own lives and the lives of their loved ones if the husbands and fathers are found out. Fine… if you don't want to trust I won't leave here to try to put my life back on track, then give Eloise a call. Have her come back and walk with me to the hospital. You trust her, don't you?"
Rogers kept his eyes trained on her until he noticed his partner as Weaver walked through the door and noticed the stern look on his face before he walked out of the main room, then the younger detective stated, "You've made some mistakes. I need some time to consider what the right thing to do is. You'll have to remain here overnight. Maybe by morning, we'll both know what the right thing is. I'll be back shortly to see you to your cell. One of the other men here will see to it you're gotten something to eat. If you'll excuse me?"
He motioned to the officer nearby and asked him to do as he needed him to do, then walked away to find Weaver. However, as he did so, he couldn't find his partner anywhere. He wasn't in his office or the storage room Weaver kept all of his belongings separated from the rest of the officers who worked at the precinct. So, Rogers checked on Maggie one last time to make sure she was where she was meant to be and taken care of, then finally called it a night so he could return home to his apartment to contemplate on how to deal with the troubled woman awaiting his decision.
The next morning…
Maggie Dawson walked out on her own free and clear after Detective Rogers had made the decision to release her. However, before she left the station, he had given her a word of warning that he would be keeping his eyes on her to at least make sure she wouldn't continue to break the law as she has been, then gave her some money from his own pocket she would hopefully use to help her find a fresh start.
A short time after leaving the precinct, Eloise expectedly appeared before her as Maggie entered an alley down the street and the two women stared at each other for a minute, until they suddenly embraced and laughed with one another like old acquaintances upon seeing one another again after a time has passed.
Finally, the witch who helped Drizella create the dark curse that brought everyone to Hyperion Heights from the Enchanted Forest spoke saying, "Didn't I tell you our plan would work? It's good to see you again, Minerva."
Maggie smiled and answered, "It's good to see you too, Gothel. And you were right. A gentle touch is enough to awaken our sisters. I should have trusted you more than I did. I'll know from now on not to underestimate you, nor question the decision to make you our leader. But I've got to say, I had a good life while I was cursed… but Maggie? Was that really the best name you could come up with for me?"
"The name wasn't of my doing," Gothel replied as they locked arms and continued to walk together down the street. "But we can talk about that later. I've grown closer to bringing our coven back together again. You're not the only one found thanks to Detective Rogers. Soon we'll be reunited with Draya too and he's completely unaware of what he's really doing for us."
"Hook always was the fool," the other witch responded haughtily and then smiled at her sister once more as her grip on Gothel's and tightened. "But he's still as handsome as he always was. I hope he'll be a part of what's next for us?"
The younger woman answered cruelly, "He will be. We've a lot to talk about."
Maggie looked towards a man who was staring at her with lust from across the street while she walked by him and she smiled, then replied, "We do."
