The Keyholder (11 page)

I’m still here,
a small but insistent voice whispered from somewhere deep inside her.

As she drank the cold, refreshing water, memories surfaced from the night before—the ride in the ambulance with Jack beside her, the probing and prodding as doctors examined her, the pierce of the IV needle and then the fuzzy wooziness that had overtaken her as whatever sedative they’d added to the solution did its work.

“There was someone else here last night, too, wasn’t there? The woman who came into the attic and someone else?” The couple had arrived just as she’d begun to drift away in the fog of whatever drug she’d been given. She could see their faces, recall their concern and attention as the man talked earnestly to the doctors while the woman sat beside Eva and held her hand, but their names wouldn’t come.

“Yeah, that was Nora and Charles,” Jack said. “They’re keyholders too and my best friends here in New York. Nora’s the one who found the soap. Charles kept Phillip distracted with a bogus repair issue while Nora waited for the cops and ambulance. They got here around two in the morning and made me go home for a while.” He looked at his watch. “They’ll probably be back soon.”

The soap.

All at once Eva was back in that room on the second floor, left alone for a few minutes by Master Phillip, her heart beating high in her throat, her hand shaking as she desperately scratched letters into the soap with a nail she’d found several days before in one of the bathroom cabinets.

What a staggering risk she’d taken. If Master Phillip had caught her, her punishment would be worse than anything she could imagine, and the chance of her ever leaving the attic again destroyed. Yet it was a risk she’d had to take, even if no one ever found the soap, or could make sense of it if they did.

“Eva.” Jack’s concerned tone pulled her back to the present. “What is it? Are you in pain?”

Eva shook her head, focusing on Jack’s face as she willed away the negative images still crowding her mind. “Not anymore.”

They both looked over at the sound of a knock on the ajar door. A tall, dark-skinned woman in peach-colored scrubs came into the room wheeling a food cart in front of her. “Morning,” she said briskly. “Breakfast.” Expertly maneuvering the movable table so it was positioned over the bed, the aide set a plastic tray in front of Eva, along with a pint of orange juice. “There’s a menu there for lunch and dinner,” she said, pointing to a piece of paper and a stub of pencil on the tray. “Just circle what you want. No restrictions.”

“Thank you,” Eva said, her mouth watering at the smell of food.

“Enjoy.” The aide flashed a grin and left the room, no doubt with many more meals to distribute.

Eva lifted the plastic dome covering the center of the tray to reveal a mound of scrambled eggs, two pieces of slightly burnt, buttered toast and two pieces of crisp bacon. In a separate compartment there was a small apple and a container of strawberry yogurt. She glanced up at Jack. “What about you? You must be hungry, too. Want some of this?”

“No, thanks,” Jack grinned, “though it does look
incredibly
appetizing.” Eva realized he was being sarcastic, though good-naturedly. She would never take such an abundance of good, hot food for granted again.

“Don’t worry, I have this,” Jack added, holding up a bakery bag, from which he pulled a slightly squashed powdered donut. “There’s plenty for you, too, if you want a donut chaser after you eat that enticing meal.” She noticed the way his eyes creased into sideways half-moons when he smiled, and found herself smiling back.

“Maybe,” she said as she watched him bite into the donut, a bit of the powdered sugar spraying down onto his green cable knit sweater, which picked up the color of his eyes. Actually the donut looked good, but her body craved protein. She tucked into the eggs, which, while cooked harder than she normally liked, tasted like heaven, as did the toast and the bacon. She ate it all, every bit, and then ate the yogurt and apple too, aware she would have a tummy ache afterward, but not caring.

Just as she was finishing, a young man in a lab coat, a stethoscope around his neck, gave a quick knock at the open door and entered. She didn’t recognize him from the night before. “Eva Sandler?” He glanced at Jack and then returned his focus to her.

“Yes,” she said, wiping her chin with her napkin.

“I’m Dr. Blanchard,” he said, his eyes on her chart. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“I’m good, thanks,” Eva said. “The breakfast was delicious.”

The doctor looked up from the chart, raising his brows in evident surprise at her reply. Then he looked again at her chart, his skeptical grin turning downward into a frown. “Oh,” he muttered. “I see.”

He sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m going to do a quick exam, okay?” He glanced at Jack. “If you’d like to wait outside?”

“No,” Eva blurted, though she hadn’t meant to. “I mean, can he stay?”

The doctor looked from her to Jack and back again. “Yes, certainly, if that’s what you want.” To Jack, he said, “You’re the husband?”

“No. A friend,” Jack said, gazing calmly at the doctor.

Apparently satisfied, the doctor turned back to Eva. He looked in her eyes and her ears with a penlight he pulled from his lab coat pocket. Using his body as a shield between Eva and Jack, he lifted her gown and gently palpated her abdomen. As he examined her, he said, “Your stats look good. Blood work looks good. Under the, uh, circumstances, we tested for STDs and pregnancy. Nothing was detected.”

He looked again at the chart, adding, “You were dehydrated when you came in last night. You’re malnourished, but nothing a few weeks of healthy eating shouldn’t set to rights. A few cuts and bruises.” His countenance darkened as he took in the welts, both fresh and fading, that crisscrossed her body.

“Jesus,” he whispered nearly inaudibly under his breath, and she understood he hadn’t meant to say it aloud. Clearing his throat, he said in a louder voice, “There may be a little scarring here.” He traced a long horizontal welt on the front of Eva’s right thigh, the product of a particularly brutal session with a bullwhip.

Suddenly unable to tolerate his scrutiny, Eva jerked her gown into place and pulled the sheet over herself. The doctor stood and looked down at her. “The good news is you’re young and healthy, and you should recover quickly. Nothing a few weeks of rest and TLC won’t cure.” He glanced at Jack and back at Eva. “You can go home today. I’ll get the nurse to come see you and handle the discharge papers.”

“Thank you,” Eva said. The doctor left the room and Eva leaned back against her pillow, her mind whirling. She had lost track of time while held prisoner in the attic, but had learned the date while they were admitting her to the hospital. She had been Phillip’s captive for nearly seven weeks.

When she’d gone for the Hawthorne Dungeon interview, she’d just amassed enough cash from temping to pay the slightly past due rent for the month. No doubt by now, with two months of rent owed on the furnished studio apartment, her things had been boxed and donated, her apartment re-let to someone who could pay. The doctor said she could go home, but where was home?

Jack, as if reading her mind, asked gently, “Do you have somewhere to go after you’re discharged?”

Miserably, Eva shook her head. They were both distracted by the sound of someone knocking on the door. A man and woman peered around the door. “Come in,” Eva said, recognizing Nora and Charles from the night before.

They stepped into the room, worried smiles on their faces. Nora was carrying a large bouquet of colorful flowers wrapped in green paper. Charles was holding a big box of chocolates and a teddy bear with a red satin bow around its neck. “Eva!” Nora cried, rushing to her. “How are you? You look a hundred percent better this morning.”

She held out her arms as she approached the bed. Instinctively, Eva opened her own arms, and as Nora sat beside her, the two of them embraced like long-lost sisters. Inexplicably, Eva burst into tears as Nora held and rocked her.

“Ah, don’t cry, sweetie,” she heard Charles say, his voice filled with concern.

“It’s okay, Charles,” Nora replied, and Eva realized she was also crying. “They’re tears of joy.”

Jack grabbed the box of tissues from the table by the bed and handed several to each of the still sniffling but now smiling women. “The doctor said Eva is being discharged. I was thinking she—”

Before he could finish the sentence, Nora said eagerly, “Of course you’ll come home with us, won’t you, Eva? We have a small guest bedroom”—she flashed a rueful grin in Jack’s direction—”I mean, it’s really small, right, Jack? But you’re more than welcome to stay as long as you like. Unless, that is”—she faltered a little —you have somewhere else you wanted to go? Family, maybe?”

The moment Nora made the offer, Jack realized Eva would probably want the comfort of another woman nearby after what she’d just been through. At the same time, he’d been expecting Eva would come home with him. Perhaps because he’d been the one to discover her, and because he’d been the one to accompany her to the hospital, he felt a proprietary interest, even a responsibility.

“No,” Eva said quietly. “No family.” But instead of saying she’d be happy to go home with Nora, she looked instead at Jack, a quiet pleading in her eyes, the ghost of a shy smile moving over her lips.

Encouraged by this, Jack said, “Or it might make more sense for you to come home with me.” He kept his voice gentle and calm, aware it was quite possible after her ordeal she would want nothing to do with any man, however kind and noble his intentions might be. But at his words, her face brightened perceptibly, a flash of hope lighting her eyes.

As if Eva had spoken aloud, Nora, who was also watching Eva, suddenly said, “Of course. That’s what you must do, Eva. You’re absolutely right. I didn’t realize…” Nora reached for Eva’s hand and gently clasped it, smiling at her. A look was exchanged between them that Jack couldn’t quite decipher.

“Jack does have a lot more flexibility in his schedule,” Charles added, “and you shouldn’t be left alone right now, Eva. On the other hand, if you’d rather stay with us, we can—”

“No,” Eva said, her voice firmer than before, her smile, while still shy, broader. “I’d like to go with Jack.”

“Then it’s settled,” Jack said, smiling back at her. “You’ll be the first guest in my new place.”

There was another knock at the door and they all looked in the direction of the sound. Jack was expecting the nurse with the discharge papers, but instead saw Jessica Dade.

“Hello there,” she said briskly, entering the room. The last time he’d seen her, she had been wearing a red leather dress that fit her petite but curvaceous body like a glove, but today she was wearing a charcoal gray business suit, the long jacket over a white blouse, her skirt falling just below the knee. She carried a large shopping bag in her hand.

Jessica approached the bed, her face crumpling with sympathy as she saw Eva. “Oh, dear,” she breathed. “You must be Eva. I’m Jessica, one of the keyholders.” She patted Eva’s thin arm.

Eva smiled faintly. “Hi.”

Jessica continued, “I heard what that monster did to you. Can you tell us how he got you up there without anyone knowing? I’ve been trying to puzzle that out. Are you able to talk about it?”

“I came for an interview. The sub for hire position,” Eva said. “It seemed legit at first. When he showed me the various dungeon rooms and told me to strip for the physical part of the interview, I didn’t suspect anything. Then when he pulled the knife”—Eva drew in a sudden, sharp breath, followed by a strangled sob. She put her hands to her face. “I’m sorry. I—”

“It’s too soon,” Nora, who had remained on the bed beside Eva, interrupted quickly. Gently she took Eva’s hand. “Later. We can sort all that out later.”

“Of course. Forgive me,” Jessica said brusquely. Her eyes, Jack noticed, had filled with tears, which she blinked back as she continued, “On behalf of all our members, I want you to know we are so, so sorry about what has happened to you.”

Eva looked up, managing a small smile as she looked at them all. “It’s okay. I mean, I know this wasn’t your fault. I don’t blame any of you for what happened.”

“Be that as it may,” Jessica said, “I know I speak for us all when I say we feel responsible nevertheless. As legal counsel for Hawthorne Dungeon, I plan to be with you every step of the way.” She glanced around the hospital room. “The keyholders will cover any and all expenses associated with this whole horrible affair—hospital costs, any legal costs you might incur, all of it.”

All the members had been notified the night before via a phone chain about the atrocity that had been perpetrated in their shared building. Everyone had unanimously agreed, no matter what it cost, they would do the right thing by Eva in whatever ways they could, both financially and otherwise.

“Thank you,” Eva said.

“Have the police been by?” Jessica asked Jack.

“Not yet,” he replied. “They said we could come to the station later today, as long as it’s before five. Eva is being discharged as soon as the nurse comes back with the papers.”

“I’d like to go with you when you go to make your statement, Eva, if that’s all right,” Jessica said, quickly adding, “Not that you need legal counsel. I just want to provide support. The process can be rather stressful, especially when sexual assault is involved.”

“I would appreciate that. Thank you,” Eva replied.

Nora, who was still sitting beside Eva, said, “And Jack, too, right? You’ll want Jack with you when you talk to the police?”

“Yes, please,” Eva said so fervently it made Jack feel both embarrassed and pleased. “Jack, too.”

“Have you had a chance to shower yet?” Nora continued. “Oh!” she blurted, cutting herself off. “I almost forgot.” She looked at Jessica. “Did you get the things?”

“I did.” Jessica held up the large white shopping bag. To Eva, she said, “Nora guessed you’re about a size four, is that right? I picked up a few things for you, until you can get your own clothes and toiletries.”

Tears filled Eva’s large brown eyes, and Jack had to resist a sudden impulse to wipe them away, aware the gesture was too intimate for the circumstance. “Thank you,” she said. “That’s very kind.”