Page 35 of Special Agent Anastacia

Leaving the women, he returned to Dave. “How long before the ambulance gets here?”

“I figure at the very least a half an hour, maybe longer.”

Nash hovered over their patient. “This girl is shivering, probably from shock. That old shed was dank and the ground cold.”

“Better to get those duds off her, yeah? They’re wet.”

“That’s what I was thinking.” Nash had seen plenty of victims in shock and knew the girl was close. Her pulse was low, and her coloring too pale. “Here, help me.”

Together, they pulled the damp, soiled jean-shorts off the girl, removed her ripped blouse, and then wrapped her in the thick, clean blanket they found thrown over the back of the couch. Then he washed her face and neck, hoping the warm water would bring her around. Dave lifted her head off the pillow, while Nash carefully trickled water into her open lips, thrilled when she started to drink.

Dave sputtered, “Poor girl’s been abused terribly. Beaten. Filthy. Goddamn madman did this to her. I hope he comes at me, so I get a reason to shoot the scummy putz.”

Nash grinned, thinking that many of the men he knew had a similar way of thinking about these situations, wanting to protect those less strong… less able to fight. “I get you. I mean it’s hard to see this kind of dysfunctional garbage and not want to right the wrong. But at this moment, we need to get this girl to the hospital and then focus on finding the two girls still missing.”

Nodding, his nasty expression fading, Dave grumbled, “What’s that now? You sayin’ I gotta reel it in.”

Nash grinned one-sided. “Just sayin’ I’m first.” The two smiled at each other while continuing to administer to their patient. Slowly, the female regained consciousness and began to struggle, thrashing her arms, moaning in fear.

Using his warmest tone, speaking soothingly, Nash held her hands in his big warm ones. “Hush, Beth. You’re safe now. We got you, sweetheart. The ambulance is coming to take you to the hospital.”

As if his soft words evoked magic, she calmed and sighed deeply. Then she drifted back to sleep, her hand clinging to his.

Soon, they heard the sirens in the distance and breathed a sigh of relief. They’d done their best, but their patient needed medical care they couldn’t give her.

***

Once they had Beth on the stretcher and ready to be transferred, the two EMT’s went upstairs looking for Hattie. Knocking on the bathroom door, they asked for admittance. Ana opened to them, letting the attendants see their now bathed patient wrapped in a fuzzy housecoat. She refused to leave, saying, “Take Beth. Ana tells me my husband and son are arriving tonight. Other than getting pushed around and a few slaps, I’m fine. Just hungry and tired.”

After they did a quick exam of her bruises and patched up the bleeding cuts with salves and in some cases bandages, they nodded at each other in agreement and hurried to where they’d left the stretcher downstairs with Nash and Dave.

Once they’d cleared out, Ana called downstairs for Nash. “Can Hattie get a lift please. We need to feed the poor lady and get more water into her.”

Nash ran upstairs and in seconds returned with Hattie in his arms. Ana pointed at the now empty couch and pulled the soiled blanket away first and replaced it with another she’d whipped off the bed. Meantime, Dave worked in the kitchen, arriving with a steaming cup of tea and a hot bowl of tomato soup rimmed with crackers.

He set it down on a TV tray he moved in front of Hattie. “Sorry for the slim pickings. Only thing I could find in the cupboard.”

Hattie’s sour expression expressed her chagrin. “I’m not surprised. Boris and Vlad raided the pantry and fridge of every bit of food they could find. Made me cook for them. Made me wish I had rat poison.”

Nash and Ana chuckled while Dave burst into a hearty laugh. “Glad you’re feeling better, Hattie. Eat and then tell us everything you remember about what happened here. We mean from the moment you were first taken hostage to the last time you saw the girls.”

Chapter Twenty-six

Hattie knew she slopped more soup than she sipped but for once in her lifetime of being so particular about every little thing, she didn’t care. Finally, after she finished off the last of the crackers, and the bowl sat empty, she leaned back and surveyed the other three anxiously being patient while drinking mugs of hot tea.

“Thank you for giving me time to eat and gather my thoughts. I know you’re all eager to hear what I have to say. First though, I can’t tell you how much it means to know that Hanna is with my Carly. Imagining her alone with that monster was unthinkable. You saying the girls escaped him once and could still be on the run gives me hope.”

She reached for Ana’s hand. “I’m ready now, but bear with me. I’m trying to remember everything, but it’s all a blur. Maybe if you ask me questions, I can stop my mind from wandering like a crazy person.” Her lip wobbled until she bit it under control.“Honestly, I want to give you the information you need, I just don’t know where to begin.”

Ana tightened her grip on Hattie’s hand. “I can’t imagine what horrors you’ve seen and survived. If you need to take your time, we’ll understand, okay? Best start with the first time you saw the Smirnova boys and what happened next.” It seemed natural for Ana to be the inquisitor, and Hattie was thankful the other two hung back and just listened.

Hattie nodded. “Right. Best to start at the beginning. It’s a blur of what day it was but I think probably the day after we arrived so that makes it a Monday two weeks ago. The doorbell rang and it was Beth who stood there, asking for directions. Though she wasn’t tall, she had such beautiful skin, scads of silky dark hair, and big blue eyes. I remember thinking the pretty little thing seemed nervous, and though I felt goosebumps, I couldn’t turn her away. She looked so helpless and needy.”

“What directions did she want?”

“She said she was looking for Sadie and George Whitly. Seems they bought the house her great-uncle lived in years earlier. I told her that they had ownedourhouse up to a few years ago, but we’d bought it after George passed. Unfortunately, I had no idea where they’d moved to. I wasn’t even sure they were still nearby.”

“What happened then?”

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