Tuesday's Child (7 page)

Dane looked at her. “You know her?”

Nate nodded. “Yeah, I do. She’s a friend of Adeline’s, and she comes to the self-defense class. Her name’s Rachel Stevens.” He shook his head and touched his nose ruefully. “Guess I really am a lousy self-defense teacher.”

“Why do you say that?”

“One of my pupils breaks my nose and blacks my eye and another ends up half dead.”

Dane put a hand on Nate’s arm. “You and I both know self-defense only goes so far. She survived. That’s what matters. Had it not been for what you taught her, she might not have survived at all. Now go and get Adeline so we can talk to Rachel before they throw us out.”

****

Adeline walked close to Nate into the ED, Ben on the leash beside her. Ever since Nate had picked her up, she’d felt sick. Why hadn’t she known it was Rachel? Then she realized she hadn’t seen the girl’s face this time. She’d
been
her, somehow. Seen and experienced the attack from another view point.

Nate held himself stiffly. He was taking this personally.

“It’s not your fault, Nate.”

“Then whose fault is it?”

Adeline grasped Nate’s arm and stood in front of him. The darkness in his eyes, and the whole aura that surrounded him showed a depth of emotion she’d never seen in a man before. She was filled with an insane urge to hug him. He cared about these women and wanted to put things right before anyone else got hurt. “Nate, you didn’t hurt her. The man with the ponytail did.”

“Ponytail?” Something flickered in his eyes. “What ponytail? You never mentioned it before.”

“I, I’m sorry. I thought I had. I hadn’t seen anything of him until this time. His eyes and his hair brushing my, no her face. It was long, dark and greasy and tied back in a ponytail.”

“No, you didn’t mention it.” He turned away for a moment, his posture stiffening yet further until he was as tight as a drum. Was he angry with her for not saying anything? Or was it frustration because he hadn’t caught the killer? Then he looked back at her, regaining his composure. “Is there anything else you remember?”

“No.”

He jerked his head in response. “I need to interview her, and I need you to translate what she says. We don’t have long before the nurse will kick us out to let her rest.”

“Sure.” Guilt for not telling him immediately about the attacker’s ponytail churned her stomach as Adeline plodded after Nate to the cubicle where Rachel lay. He seemed to believe in her visions more than she did. What if this detail wasn’t correct, just an image she’d created from some TV drama or an overactive imagination? Despite him calling her a witness, she really hadn’t
seen
anything. At least nothing that would stand up in court.

A uniformed officer stood outside the curtain with Dane.

Dane came over to meet them. “For now she’ll have a guard, just in case he decides to try again.” He smiled at Adeline. “Thanks for coming.”

“Welcome.” She followed them into the cubicle and looked at Rachel. She stifled a gasp and moved over to the bed.
Why her? She’s so badly hurt.

Ben sat by her feet as Adeline gently touched Rachel’s arm, managing a smile as her friend’s eyes jerked open. “Hey,” she signed. “How are you?”

Rachel’s swollen eyes filled with tears. “You shouldn’t be here,” she signed. “I’m ashamed.”

“Don’t be. None of this is your fault. You didn’t ask him to hurt you.”

“I should have fought him off.” Rachel’s hands moved rapidly. “I should have remembered what Nate showed me. I froze.”

Nate tapped Adeline on her arm. “What’s she saying?”

Adeline signed as she spoke, so Rachel could follow the conversation. “She feels ashamed. She couldn’t do what you taught her and fight him off.”

“Tell her she didn’t do too badly. She survived.”

Adeline signed his words to Rachel and verbalized her response. “I shouldn’t have. He didn’t want me to survive.”

“Can she describe him for us?”

Rachel looked away as Adeline signed. Adeline tapped her arm. “I know it’s hard, but you are the only one who’s seen him up close, Rachel. They can catch him now; punish him for what he did to you and the others.”

Rachel took a deep breath. “Tall,” she signed. “About six foot. Dark eyes. Strong, very strong. His hair was black and tied back—it brushed my face. There was this smell…” She paused, rubbing her throat. “I couldn’t breathe.”

“What smell?” Adeline asked.

“Garlic. Not just his breath—all of him.”

Nate touched Adeline’s arm “Ask her if he said anything.”

She nodded and turned to Rachel, signing Nate’s question.

“I wasn’t really paying attention!” Rachel’s hands moved irately, her face contorting. “I was too busy dying.”

“It’s important,” Dane said. “Tell her the more we know, the better chance we have of catching him before he does this to someone else.”

Adeline repeated it to Rachel and held her gaze. She watched Rachel’s response and her eyes widened. She reverted to signing only, wanting to make sure before she said anything to Nate or Dane. “Are you sure, Rach? You didn’t read his lips wrong?”

“I know what I saw. I know how easy it is to misinterpret sometimes, but he was so close it was hard to miss.” She put a hand in front of her face for a moment. “He was right here. He paused, loosened his grip…” She took a deep breath. “I know what I saw. And he spoke the truth.”

“No, he did not.”

“Yes, he did. I wish he’d killed me. I deserve nothing less. A perfect world does not need someone like me in it. Please, leave. I need to be alone now.” She turned away, tears running down her face.

Adeline turned to the two cops and signed as she spoke. “As he was strangling her, he paused. He leaned down and kissed her cheek. Then he told her she was safe now. No one would harm her ever again. He was protecting her, like all the others.”

“Protecting her by killing her?” Nate studied her, confusion filling his blue eyes. “I don’t understand. Protecting them from what?”

Adeline’s eyes filled with tears, and she looked away.

Nate moved and stood in front of her. “Protecting them from what?” he repeated.

Adeline signed slowly at him, not wanting to verbalize it.

Nate turned to Dane for a moment and then back to Adeline. “I don’t understand all this hand waving business,” he said, his hands gesticulating in frustration and annoyance. “Just say it out loud and be done with it.”

“All the plants are ones with healing properties. This man feels he’s healing his victims. He is saving them from themselves and their deformities. There, happy now?” She tugged on Ben’s leash and hurried from the cubicle, wanting out of there as soon as possible. Before her emotions got the better of her.

4

Reaching the fresh air of the main road, Adeline sank against the wall, her breath coming in gasps and tears flowing in a never ending stream down her face. Her hands moved over Ben, petting his head.

“Saving them from their deformities? Am I deformed as well, helping to defile a perfect world? I live a normal life. I dance and sing and play the piano and watch TV with the subtitles on. Dane does that so he can hear the TV over the noise of the children playing. I went to a main-stream school and was accepted by almost everyone. This is me. Adeline Monroe, a plump deaf person, who loves ice skating even if I do fall over more than stay upright. And a lot of people think I’m fine the way I am. And Rachel is fine the way she is, too. Different doesn’t mean wrong. She’s one of God’s children, just like me.”

Ben licked her hand, and she buried her face in his fur. “Yes, and you think I’m fine as well, you big softy,” she told him. He nudged her. Raising her head, she realized that Nate stood beside her. “How much did you hear?”

“I heard enough to know why he’s giving you a hug.” Nate perched on the wall next to her and handed her a tissue.

“Thanks.” Adeline wiped her face and blew her nose.

“This world is far from perfect, you know that. If it was perfect, then Jesus wouldn’t have needed to have been born and died for us.”

“I know, but maybe this creep has a point. Rachel’s whole life has been a struggle to be accepted, just like mine. And now, when she and I have made it and most people do accept us for what we are, this happens and everything gets turned on its head.”

Nate touched her hand. “You are a beautiful woman with a lot to give. Don’t ever let anyone tell you any different. And Rachel is, too.”

“But our hearing loss…”

“It makes no difference to me or Dane or Jasmine or anyone who really cares about you or Rachel.”

“Cares about me?”
Did he just include himself in that sentence or am I reading too much into this?

“Yes, cares. You have friends and family who do care, a lot. Don’t ever believe that you don’t. More importantly God cares about you. Remember first Peter chapter five verse seven.
Cast all your cares upon Him, for He careth for you
.”

“That’s one of my favorite verses.”

“Mine, too.” He held her gaze. “Right. Dane’s going to finish up here. He and a composite artist are going to get a computer generated description from Rachel and then go home. He’s using a text document to talk to her. How about you and I go back to my place and make those messy worms for Vianne?”

A reluctant smile covered her lips. He was still prepared to cook for her, after everything that had happened. “You invite me to dinner and then expect me to help cook it?”

His shoulders shook, and his face lit as he laughed. “Yes, because I’m mean like that and have no idea how to charm and date women properly.”

Adeline laughed. Tension left her shoulders. It was nice to know there was still humor in the world, especially at a time like this. “Then it’s a good job this isn’t a date.”

“It certainly is. And yes, I meant what I said about being friends. Come on. I even have something Ben can eat.”

Ben’s ears pricked up and Adeline smiled. “Thank you. But don’t you and Dane want to discuss the case, follow leads and so on?”

“There’s nothing more I can do tonight, but it will be full on in the morning. Maybe we could talk after dinner, once Vianne is in bed. I’d like to know a little more about you. But if you’d rather help me figure things out, then that would be good, as well.”

“Sure, we can do both.”

Nate stood and offered a hand.

Burning heat shot through her hand as he hauled her upright.

“Then let’s go. Messy worms await.”

****

Adeline sat on the bar stool in the kitchen.

Nate sure knew his way around the stove, and the meat sauce smelled heavenly.

Thank you for bringing him into my life the way You did. Even if all we ever are is friends, then my life is blessed for that.

Nate glanced at her. “What are you thinking? You have this enigmatic smile on your face.”

“Just thinking how domesticated you look in your apron. The human side of the police force.”

Nate smiled. “I try. Honestly, I never cooked much before Vianne. But you can only give a child so much junk food and frozen TV dinners. She bought me the apron a couple of Christmas’s ago when I managed to spill tomato puree down a white shirt and couldn’t get the stains out.”

A small hand tapped her foot and Adeline glanced down.

“Junk food is bad for you,” Vianne said, fondling Ben’s ears absently. “Too many chips make you fat. And give you heart disease”

“Do they?”

Vianne nodded. “So do burgers. We’re learning about it at school. I like what Uncle Nate makes. He calls them proper dinners.” She tilted her head. “Do you like toad in the hole?”

Adeline nodded. “I make that a lot. It’s my favorite. I like cauliflower cheese, too. And roast beef.”

“I love that. We don’t have it often enough. Uncle Nate works too much to do a roast. He says they take too long to make and I’d be in bed by the time it was ready.”

“Then how about on Sunday you and Uncle Nate come to my house after church for lunch. We’ll have roast beef, then.”

Vianne turned to Nate. The angle of her head precluded Adeline from reading her lips, but Nate’s response was all too clear.

“She’s a witness. I can’t…” He broke off as Vianne gesticulated wildly. “I know, but this is—”

Adeline looked away not wanting to see his excuses. So much for the two of them being friends. She had finally met a bloke who treated her like a ‘normal’ person and now this. It wasn’t fair. She looked back at him. “I can go if you’d rather not be seen consorting with a witness.”

Nate shook his head. “This is different.”

She frowned, really not seeing how, but not going to ask. She felt uncomfortable enough now as it was. “It’s no different at all. But, if you don’t want to come or you can’t because of work, I don’t have a problem with that. But perhaps Vianne could come to my place for dinner after school one night. I’ll feed her, and you can pick her up when you finish your shift.”

Vianne shot her a beaming smile. “That would be wonderful. Please, Uncle Nate?”

“All right.” He scrutinized Adeline, and she shivered under the intensity of his gaze. Her heart pounded, threatening to jump into her throat and suffocate her. How could he be so nice one minute and then cold the next? Was he so used to playing good cop-bad cop that he did it off duty, as well?

“Cool.” Vianne’s smile lit her entire face.

Nate turned his gaze to his niece. “Now go wash your hands while I dish up.”

“Yes, Uncle Nate.” She scrambled to her feet and ran from the room.

“Nate…” Adeline spoke hesitantly. “If you’d rather she didn’t come to dinner until this case is over, I don’t mind. I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize things at work for you.”

“It’s fine. How about Wednesday? I don’t finish until seven, then.”

She nodded. “Wednesday’s good.”

A smile finally crossed Nate’s face, although it never reached his eyes. “Thank you.”

“Welcome.”

Nate brought the plates over just as Vianne ran back into the room. She had yet another hat pulled down over her hair. What was with the child and hats?