Page 12 of Saving Meadow

I was going out of my mind not knowing what’d scared her bad enough to drive to the FBI office listed on my business card. She didn’t even know if I was there.

“I saw it,” she cried.

“Saw what?” I walked her a few more feet to the closest desk and sat her down in the chair. I knelt in front of her and asked again, “Did someone hurt you?”

“No. I’m not hurt.” Thank God. “I saw the news. Is that why you came to see me? You think he did that too?”

Fuck.

Goddamned news media.

There was only so much I could tell her, but I had to be honest.

“Yes. That’s why we came to see you.”

“Ohmygod! Is he going to do that to me? She didn’t have a face left. The news said she didn’t have a face! Nick! He’s gonna do that to me.”

Christ Almighty.

“Hell no!” Meadow blinked and brought her gorgeous green eyes to mine, more tears spilling out of the corners. “No one is going to hurt you. We’re not sure if your case is related, there are a few details that we haven’t disclosed to the public that are different.”

“I would’ve looked like that girl if the waitress hadn’t heard me screaming when she went out back to throw away the trash. I know it.”

I’d read Meadow’s file, and I wouldn’t tell her, but I agreed. The waitress had saved her life. Unfortunately, or fortunately for the waitress, she was smart and didn’t run in the alley to help Meadow. She’d stood by the back door and yelled into the bar for the kitchen staff to come and help her. She was right to not rush out by herself, but the person who hurt Meadow got away unseen.

“We don’t know that, and we don’t know if they’re related.”

“I was attacked on the seventh,” she sobbed.

I knew she was. The team and I firmly believed that Meadow Holiday was supposed to be victim number one.

I waited for her to slowly come back to herself and asked, “There were eleven victims who were attacked on the seventh, and I’m not accusing you of anything but did you not hear about the murders on the news?”

“No. After the… you know… I checked out. Emotionally, I mean. I could barely function through the day at work; I’d been moved from my position in sales to a file clerk. I was in the back of the office alone all day. No one spoke to me because they were all afraid I’d have a break down or something, and I had this huge scar on my face. No one wants to see that. It’s gross. So, they put me where no one would have to look at me. When I got home, I’d either sit and try and remember what happened or I’d go online to my survivor message board. Sometimes I’d read, but I never watched TV. I still don’t. The news is scary; TV is full of violence, and truthfully once you’ve lived it, you don’t want to watch it. Besides, whenever I see the beautiful actresses, it just reminds me of everything I’m not.”

I closed my eyes and shook my head; there was so much I wanted to say, none of it appropriate for me to say to a victim. Who had allowed this beautiful woman to suffer alone in silence? No one stood by her to pull her up and dust her off and remind her of her worth. It was a damn shame.

“First, you are beautiful.” I stopped to touch the side of her face, a feather-light trace of her scar. I shouldn’t have said that, and I really should not be touching her. But fuck it – in for a penny, in for a pound. “This doesn’t make you any less so. You are strong, and I don’t care how long it took you, you did it. You pulled yourself together and survived. I’m sorry this is happening, but I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

Another line I shouldn’t have crossed. Never promise something you can’t deliver. We’ve yet to catch the offender - fourteen dead women, and still nothing.

“I’ll talk to that Dr. Mandy, sorry I forgot her last name, if you think it will help.”

So fucking brave. She reminded me of my Aunt Reagan in that regard. When I was eleven and first went to live with my Uncle Nolan, Reagan had been kidnapped and held on an abandoned oil rig. The man that took her was using the rig as a makeshift hospital to harvest black market organs. Before my uncle could get to her, one of Reagan’s kidneys was removed and sold. My aunt pushed through her pain to make sure everyone around her was okay. My family tried to shield me from as much of the details as they could, but that experience was a defining moment in my life. Right before my eyes, I watched as my family came together to rally around my aunt. Family was everything.

I didn’t think Meadow had that, yet she was still strong, willing to try and remember to help someone else.

“Mandy Brown. I want you to take some time and think about it. Don’t make a knee-jerk decision because of what you saw on the news. Hypnosis doesn’t always work, but if it does, you will remember things that your mind has buried.”

“It wasn’t only the news. I’ve been thinking about it the last few days. I was going to call you; I was working up the nerve. When I saw the news, I panicked. I’m sorry I came here, but I couldn’t think of anything else to do.”

“I’m glad you did. I told you if you needed anything to call,” I reminded her.

“Yeah, but when you said that, I don’t think you meant from the parking lot in a middle of a psychotic break.”

“Red, I’ve seen psychotic breaks, and that wasn’t one. When I told you to call me, I meant from anywhere, anytime. You did the right thing. Let me get you something to drink, and I’ll see where Mandy is and introduce you. Sorry, we don’t have Sam’s vanilla coffee here. You’re stuck with water, bureau coffee, or I’m sure I can find you a soda if you’d like one.”

Her pretty, creamy skin tinted pink and she smiled. “How’d you know I like vanilla coffee?”