Authors: R. E. Bradshaw
RAINEY DAYS (16 page)
“Hey there, little man,” she said, bending to rub her hand along his sleek back.
Rainey stood up and was horrified to see Katie standing outside the bathroom door. Rainey was completely naked, in front of someone, for the first time since the attack. She pulled the towel up to cover her chest. It was too late. Katie had seen the scar. Rainey could see it in her expression. Rainey stood frozen on the bathroom floor mat, unable to speak. Katie did not turn away in revulsion, as Rainey thought she would. Instead, she walked into the bathroom and right up to Rainey. Rainey still did not move, only clutched the towel closer to her breast.
A single tear flowed down Katie’s cheek as she looked into Rainey’s stricken face. She pulled the towel from Rainey’s hands and examined the scar with her eyes. Rainey remained still and watched Katie’s face, reflecting the sadness in her heart. When Katie reached out and touched the spot where the top of the Y came together, Rainey flinched and drew in a quick breath. The sensation was electrifying. Katie’s finger and eyes followed the scar down its path to her naval. When she looked back at Rainey, her cheeks were wet with tears. Then she did something so much more unexpected. She leaned over and kissed the scar between Rainey’s breasts.
Rainey had a hard time fighting the impulse to run. She was then seized with the urge to grab Katie and kiss her, to hold her against her naked body. No other thought could penetrate the want she felt. The sensation overpowered her mortification at showing the scar.
Katie raised her head again. She whispered, “I’m so sorry this happened to you.”
Rainey could not speak. She remained silent, while Katie handed her back the towel and left the bathroom without another word.
Rainey was in a daze. Freddie continued his figure eights around her legs, while Rainey just stood there, staring at her reflection in the mirror. What just happened? It was all just too much to take in. Her brain had finally overloaded and left her dumbfounded. She replayed the moment over in her mind. Rainey felt the thrill all over again, as Katie’s lips touched her skin. Her scar seemed to be burning where she had gently kissed it. It was not her imagination, it had really happened. Now she just needed to figure out what to do next. Get dressed, was what she came up with.
She finished drying off and then dressed robotically, going through each task automatically, her mind lost in Katie’s kiss. She brushed her hair and teeth, leaving her hair down to dry. She took the hairbrush and tooth brush back to the bedroom and threw them into the overnight bag. She checked herself, in the dresser mirror, and decided against the tee shirt she was wearing. She found a French blue, cap sleeve, button up and put it on. The white tee shirt she always wore, to cover her scar, stuck out at the neck. She took the blouse off, removed the tee shirt and dug around in a drawer until she found a lace trimmed, cotton and spandex camisole she used to wear. It was a complimentary blue, so when she put the blouse back on, they matched perfectly. Rainey had not taken this long to dress in years, but she had the desire to look nice, which was a new feeling since the attack. She had stopped caring what she looked like until just a few minutes ago.
When she emerged with her bag, from the rear of the cottage, she found Katie sitting on the couch. Katie was staring into space. She seemed as freaked out as Rainey was, by the whole encounter. Rainey decided the best course of action was to pretend it did not happen.
Katie heard Rainey behind her and stood up quickly. She turned to Rainey, saying, “I’m sorry, if I made you uncomfortable. I don’t know what came over me.”
Rainey was glad someone else was feeling confused, but only said, “It’s okay, really. Forget about it.”
Rainey was not about to forget about it, any time soon. From the look on her face, Rainey did not think Katie would forget it either. Rainey excused herself to feed and water Freddie, who had begun to whine and cry, prancing around her feet. She went to the kitchen and filled his bowls. She rubbed his head a few minutes while he ate. Rainey explained that Ernie would be coming by and that she might be gone for a few days. She did not know if he understood, but just in case, she told him anyway. She collected her bag and they left the cottage in silence, both women lost in their own thoughts.
Katie gave directions to the grocery store, where she liked to shop, and they drove in almost total silence. There was some light banter about different kinds of lettuce and their nutritional value, but neither woman was as comfortable as before. They drew lots of attention entering the store, with the four black suits hot on their trail. Katie asked and of course, the guys said yes, and soon they were being followed through the aisles by two men pushing carts, while Katie filled them both. Rainey tagged along, lost in her own thoughts. Roger fell in step with her.
“How you been, Rainey?” he asked in his soft baritone.
She smiled up at him, “Pretty good until recently.”
“We’re not leaving until we catch him,” Roger reassured her.
Katie came up to them, “Do you think I should get chocolate milk, too?”
Roger shrugged, leaving Rainey to answer, “Sure, I guess.” Rainey looked at the two nearly full carts. “I do think you should leave some food on the shelves for other people.”
Katie laughed for the first time since the bathroom incident and the two women finally relaxed. Roger went to check out the front of the store. Katie and Rainey finished the shopping together, the veil between them lifted; they laughed and joked, as if they had not a care in the world. The agents put the groceries in the back of the SUV and they headed home. The pleasant mood continued until they turned onto Katie’s block.
Rainey heard Katie sigh loudly. She glanced at Katie and saw that she was staring out the window. Katie began to talk without looking at Rainey.
“Maybe it’s the stress, maybe it’s the situation we find ourselves in together, but I feel like I’ve known you my whole life… I’m not sure what’s going on here, but I don’t want to lose you as a friend, now that I’ve found you.”
Rainey’s breath caught in her throat. She pulled into the driveway and parked the car. She turned to Katie and waited for her to turn around.
When she did not, Rainey said, “Katie, turn around.”
Katie slowly turned her head and finally made eye contact with Rainey.
Rainey took a deep breath and said exactly what was on her mind, “I’m not sure what’s happening either, but I am sure of one thing. I’m not going anywhere.”
Katie reached out and squeezed Rainey’s hand. Rainey tightened her hand around Katie’s. They did not need to say anything else.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
When Rainey, file in hand, and Katie entered through the French doors with their entourage, they were met by a frantic JW.
“I was worried about you. Are you alright?” he said.
Katie looked around her at the four large men, all holding grocery bags. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Katie walked away from him and into the kitchen, instructing the men on where to set their bags. Rainey was left with JW.
He turned to her, flushed with excitement, “I got another note and a picture of you sitting in the parking lot, at the Literacy Center.”
Rainey met his excitement, “Where is it?”
“Danny has it, in the other room.” JW said, leading the way.
Danny was standing with Mackie and another young agent in the den. All the others, except for the four men loading bags of groceries into the kitchen, had moved their operation to the police station. Danny had on latex gloves and was looking at a piece of computer paper, in his hands. He looked somber when he met Rainey’s eyes.
“What does it say?” Rainey asked.
He turned so she could see the writing on the paper. She grew closer and the words came into focus.
“Can you keep fate from its path, once it has been set in motion?”
A million thoughts crowded Rainey’s brain. Whose fate, Katie’s, JW’s, her own? What game was this guy playing?
“How did you receive this?” Rainey asked JW.
“It was under the door of my office when I got there.”
Rainey questioned Mackie with her eyes. It was a natural response of an investigator to question every possible witness. She did not doubt JW; it was just so unbelievable how freely this suspect moved around, unnoticed.
“I was right behind him, when he picked it up from the floor. I didn’t let him touch the note. We waited until we got in touch with Danny,” Mackie said.
“How long have you had this? You’ve been gone for hours,” Rainey asked.
JW answered her, “I had to go to my Raleigh office first. I remembered leaving a brief on my desk, after we left this morning. We didn’t find the note until just a little while ago. We brought it straight here, as soon as I did some quick paperwork.”
Rainey’s anger and frustration needed an outlet. It found one in JW. Her anger flashed and she raised her voice, “I told you not to deviate from the plan. How can I protect you, if you won’t listen to me?” She turned to Mackie next, “How could you let him do that? Why didn’t you call me?”
Mackie looked ashamed. He lowered his eyes, when he said, “My cell phone battery died. The charger is in my truck. We were in JW’s car.”
Rainey realized Danny was looking at her. He was studying her reaction and the look on his face said, he thought Rainey might be losing it. She had to calm down. She took several deep breaths, before she spoke again.
“I’m sorry, you didn’t deserve that,” she said, trying to appear much calmer than she really was.
Danny put the note in a plastic evidence bag and handed it to the other agent. He picked up a picture from the table. He turned it so Rainey could see. It had been shot during daylight, but the overcast sky gave the atmosphere in the picture an ominous look. The suspect had printed it in black and white creating a kind of Hitchcock feel to the image. The picture showed Rainey’s car in the foreground, the tinted windows shielding Rainey from view. The storefront of the Literacy Center appeared in the background. Rainey knew that was Katie’s blurred image behind the glass, only because she remembered her standing there, just like that
Danny asked her, “Do you remember about what time this picture could have been taken?”
“It could have been any time after five and before sunset yesterday. He had to have had some kind of long-range lens, because I know I would have seen him. He had to be in one of the tall buildings, on the next block, to have gotten this angle.”
Danny was listening intently to her. He added to her thought process, “This guy has got to be loaded. Lenses like that don’t come cheap. We know he set up a phony bank account in China and paid cash for a house and a car.”
Rainey kept going, “The way this guy moves around unnoticed, I’d bet you he knows JW. He has to run in that social structure. The real money in this town sticks together. It’s a tight circle.”
Danny turned to JW, “I’d like to speak to you in private, get a statement from you, if that’s alright?”
JW responded, “Sure, whatever you need to catch this guy. I’m tired of him terrorizing my family… and Rainey, of course.”
Danny picked up another evidence bag, placing the picture inside. He handed it off and picked up a yellow legal pad from the table.
“Your living room will do fine,” Danny said, and indicated for JW to lead the way.
Rainey was still holding the file she retrieved from the safe. She turned to the other agent, “I guess I should give these to you. It’s the original of the other notes and pictures. I’m sorry. I don’t remember your name.”
“It’s Eric ma’am. I’m just an intern. I was only with the BAU a month before you went on leave.”
The intern went to do something with the evidence. Mackie went outside. Rainey suspected he was going to charge his phone, in his truck. Suddenly Rainey felt very old and tired. She sat down on the couch and closed her eyes. Her head fell back against the cushion. She must have fallen asleep, because she awoke to Danny gently shaking her shoulder and saying her name softly.
“I hated to wake you. You’ve been out for two hours,” he said.
Rainey rubbed her eyes. They were burning and scratchy from lack of rest. She blinked several times, before she was able to focus and her head cleared of the fog of sleep. She had not had a nightmare, but the sleep left her feeling heavy and drugged.
“What time is it?” she said, groggily.
Danny checked his watch. “It’s almost four. I need to talk to you and Mr. and Mrs. Wilson.”
Rainey stood up on still sleepy legs. She wobbled a bit before she caught her balance. She followed Danny to the kitchen, where JW and Katie sat at the kitchen table. Two guys in suits stood by the French doors. Rainey found a chair and plopped down on it. She rubbed her eyes again, making them worse. She needed eye drops in the worst way.
She asked the room, “Does anybody have any eye drops?”
Katie stood up, “There’s some in the downstairs bathroom. I’ll get it.”
Katie hurried out of the room. JW was focused on what he was writing on a legal pad. Danny brought Rainey a cup of coffee. Rainey took a sip. He had added cream and sugar, just as she liked it. Working stakeouts together so many times, he had learned how she liked her coffee, and could probably order a deli sandwich for her, with just the right toppings. Katie returned with the eye drops. Rainey put the drops in and felt the fire burning under her lids. She waited a minute and then added more drops, this time the burning was not as bad and she actually started feeling some relief.
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