Chapter 11

Sticking to the trees and drainage ditch, Eddie searched for a way out of this immense garden. She noticed a slight depression near the stone wall that looked artificial. On closer investigation, she found a small portion of the wall had been removed and precariously supported by a plank of rotting wood. It looked like the kids had discovered their way into the asylum grounds.

"That will do nicely," Smiled Eddie

Carefully, she made her way back to Maria and Elena. She panicked at first she couldn't see Maria. She was about to call out when she felt a hand clamped over her mouth.

"It's me, Eddie. Don't make a sound state troopers," whispered Maria

Feeling Eddie nod, she removed her hand, pointed in a direction, and held up three fingers.

Beckoning Maria to follow, she returned to the hole in the stone wall. They could hear the approaching voices that seemed to be surrounding them. They appeared to be organised and knew their approximate location. Pointing to the drainage ditch, Maria nodded and carefully crept along the ditch, tightly holding onto Elena. Eddie was amazed at how calm Mini Baez was. She was a very content little lady snuggled against her mother.

"Give me Elena and crawl through. I will hand her to you and bring up the rear." Eddie whispered, pointing to the hole up ahead

Nodding, Maria carefully handed Elena over and crawled through the hole in the stone wall. It was a snug fit, but she managed to get through quickly. Passing Elena through to her mother, Eddie heard footfalls close by.

"Crap, so close," she told herself, realising they had found them.

Maria was beckoning her to come through the hole, and she knew neither woman would survive long in their current condition.

"Tell Jamie I love him, and I am so sorry. Only trust a Reagan treat everyone else as suspicious for your and Elena's safety. Now get the hell out of here with Mini Baez and kiss your partner like you have wanted to do it, Maria," Eddie quickly told her.

Grabbing a chunk of rock, she hit the rotten plank supporting the wall as hard as possible. On the third strike, she heard a satisfying crack. The rotten wood disintegrated, and the unsupported rocks tumbled, filling the hole. Eddie bolted from her position and ran away from the ditch as fast as possible, giving Maria a chance to escape with Elena.

She didn't get far before two state troopers tackled her. Not given a chance to struggle, she was pepper sprayed and quickly handcuffed. "Take her inside and strap her to the bed. I want the other two found," the Captain ordered his men.

"Good luck with that. The damn wall crushed her while she was crawling through," Snarled Eddie; she knew they wouldn't believe her but would need to split their workforce to check her story, hopefully giving Maria a chance to get far away from this hell hole.

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Wiping the falling tears, Maria was furious with Eddie; she sacrificed herself. It was all she had thought about while she hid, watching the road. She found herself shaking with anger; as she observed the road, she realised she selflessly collapsed the wall to allow her time to escape. She was more determined now to get Elena to safety and end this cabal, but she needed to rescue Eddie. She had to save her. She had risked everything to protect her. She felt a bond with Eddie. She reminded her of Danny so much.

"Just like her, you have feelings for your partner. She was right. Must be the male Reagan magnetism," she chuckled.

Observing the road she had only seen. State trooper cruisers and a few unmarked cars with the prominent grey shirts their drivers wore were a dead giveaway. They were unmarked police cars. Having No watch, she had no idea what time it was; she had no idea how long she had been laid drugged in that cell.

She had stuffed a red jacket with rubbish she found discarded by the roadside. Hiding it in the bushes on the opposite side of the road would fool people enough at a distance to think it was her hiding. She had found a sign for Garrison landing; she needed to learn the area better, but she understood it was on the east side of the Hudson, about 50 or so miles away from the city.

Maria remembered Eddie's final warning. 'Only trust a Reagan treat everyone else as suspicious for your and Elena's safety.' Her hand tightly gripped the section of scaffolding pole she had found discarded. She was waiting to blitz attack the first person to stop and investigate her stuffed red shirt.

Three passing cars had missed her, which she had thought was an apparent red shirt amongst the greenery. It was fourth time lucky when an unmarked vehicle stopped and the grey-shirted trooper. He opened his door and got out, shielding his eyes and trying to see what he noticed in the bushes.

Maria took her chance and lept into action, closed the distance, and blitz-attacked the state trooper. She rained down blows until he was unconscious. Maria was past caring if this man was not involved with this cabal. She had reached her breaking point. Relieving the unconscious trooper of his shirt and utility belt, she handcuffed him, dragged him to the rear of the car, and dumped him in the trunk.

Donning the grey Trooper shirt and campaign hat, Maria collected Elena from her hiding spot, happy she was still fast asleep. She placed Elena on her lap as she started to drive away. She was dialling a number from memory using the trooper's cell phone.

"Reagan,….."

"Shut up and listen, Daniel Reagan," Maria interrupted. " I am far from ok; I need picking up from near Garrison landing. I will text you the location soon. I had to brain a state trooper and steal his unmarked car; I don't know how long before he is missed and they trace his cell or tracker on the vehicle. I need to dump it soon. Get your ass on the road, Reagan. I am turning off this cell and removing the battery. I will contact you again soon," Maria ended the call and turned off the phone, pulling the battery.

She concentrated on finding her exact location and driving usually to avoid unwanted attention.

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Henry opened the door to be greeted by a multitude of uniforms. "Henry Reagan, we have a warrant to search the property." Announced the NYPD assistant chief. Looking uncomfortable, he handed the warrant over.

"Thank you," he smiled as he glanced over the warrant.

Henry knew the man well. He had been one of the last promotions before he retired as police commissioner. "Where would you like to start, Assistant Chief Oswald? Might I suggest the kitchen?" Suggested Henry

The Willey old commissioner watched as they spread out around the Bay Ridge home of the Reagan family. They were searching for Eddie; Henry was amazed it had taken them this long to search the house.

"Put that back, Detective; the scope of your warrant does not cover electronics. You are here searching for Officer Edit Reagan. I know she is small but won't be hidden there." He warned the detective politely.

Returning the laptop to the desk, he did have the courtesy to look sheepish at being caught out by the former commissioner. Henry noticed a couple of NYPD detectives as he watched them search the house. They were spending more time exploring areas where it was impossible for her to be hiding. The two were here looking for something other than his granddaughter-in-law. That piqued his curiosity.

"Have you had contact with Officer Edit Reagan recently, Henry?" enquired Assistant Chief Oswald

"No,"

"Henry, please, we can take you to a precinct and make this official." Assistant Chief Oswald told his former boss.

Henry just raised an eyebrow at the nerve of the man trying to ride roughshod over the retired commissioner.

"I don't think so. You have no probable cause to take me in for questioning. I don't feel up to a trip to a precinct today unless you have a warrant for my arrest. We are done here. I want to make some more cookies. Good day, gentlemen," Henry simply dismissed the now annoying man,

"Thank you for your time Henry, Let's go," He ordered as he abruptly turned and walked out.

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Danny was driving Jack Boyle's Mercedes as fast as he dared without drawing the attention of law enforcement. A sweep of his car had found the tracer attached to his jeep. Jack was driving around New York to keep up with appearances.

'I am far from ok,'

Kept repeating in his mind, he was overjoyed to receive the short, one-sided call from Maria. It had been a difficult few days since she had been taken. She had sent a message to his cell with a location for him to pick her up.

'Capuchin Franciscan Monestry, Garrison - Pull up near entrance hidden in trees.'

He read her text message, pushing the Mercedes as fast as he dared; he made good time reaching the Franciscan monastery in just over an hour. Pulling to the side of the road, he surveyed the area, trying to find Maria and Elena.

"Jesus! Maria," moaned Danny as he jumped when his rear door was opened.

"Just drive Danny and get us the hell out of here," Ordered Maria

Without hesitating, he pulled away and started back to New York. He surveyed his partner from head to toe as she sat nursing Elena. He knew Maria needed some time before he bombarded her with questions. She was a mess, wearing a blood-covered grey state trooper shirt. Her once-white trousers were stained and covered in various natural stains. His blood boiled when he noticed the long bandages covering both wrists. He had seen his share of suicides on the job.

He could see Maria sobbing silently into her daughter's hair. Suddenly, a cold shiver descended his spine, "Eddie!"

Maria raised her head and caught Danny's eyes in the mirror. Giving up any further attempts to try and control her emotions, she just let it all out. He knew his partner and allowed her to sob until all she wanted. He scanned the road behind them, keeping a concerned eye on Maria.

Twenty minutes later, Maria sniffed, " Eddie found me….They had me heavily drugged and restrained to a hospital bed. I could hear them occasionally. One Irish voice told me they were selling Elena….." she paused and kissed her daughter's head as she shivered at the thought, " Eddie injected me with adrenaline to enable me to escape with her and Elena…..they made her snort some coke before dragging her to the asylum. She explained that the Narcan patch helped mitigate some of the effects of the cocaine, but she was still struggling. We found our way out into the Asylum grounds. She discovered a hole under the stone wall. Our escape had been realised, and the gardens were swarming with security and state troopers. I squeezed through first and took Elena from Eddie.." Maria had to stop her emotions from getting the better of her again and take two long, slow breaths.

Blinking rapidly, Maria tried to Forstall her tears. "somehow, they discovered our location and were closing in on us. She grabbed a rock and battered the rotten wooden plank, holding up the stones, causing them to tumble into the hole. She sacrificed herself for us, Danny….Why would she do that?" Maria asked, emotionally, hugging Elena tight against her chest.

"That is Eddie for you, Maria. We will get her back," he promised.

"Damn right, we are; no one tries to sell my daughter. Where are we going? They will know we will regroup back in the city?" She asked him

"Knowing we are in the city and finding us is different; my old man has somewhere.

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