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“I hate to say it, but I agree with you.”
Despite them both feeling like this was pointless, they headed into the hospital room. Maria had a broken cheekbone, arm, cracked ribs, and bruises all over her body. Although they weren't visible, Jessica also knew that there were welts on the woman’s backside, back, and the backs of her thighs from being hit repeatedly with a belt.
Maria didn't turn toward them when they entered the room, nor did she open her eyes, but from the small, hitched breath and sigh, Jessica knew that the woman was awake and aware of their presence.
“Mrs. Turner, it’s Detective Spears and Detective Abram,” Jessica said, drawing a chair over to the bed and taking a seat. Adam stood on the other side of the bed so Maria couldn’t ignore them. “We know it was your husband who did this to you. You know where he’s hiding out, we need you to tell us where he is so we can arrest him.”
The woman cracked open one swollen eye, the other was swollen completely shut, but she remained stubbornly silent.
“He killed your daughter,” Adam reminded her. “Even if that’s not enough to get you to turn him in, you know he’s a danger not just to you, but to your other daughter.”
“Kinsley is all you have left,” Jessica continued. “What happens if you get her back? Are you going to let Jay near her again? Are you going to risk letting him kill her as well?”
“He’s her father,” Maria croaked through her split lips.
“That doesn’t give him the right to hurt her,” Adam said, indignant. She knew that this case was getting to him. As a single father devoted to his daughter, he hated that there were men out there who abused their children.
It was clear from the expression on her bruised and battered face that Maria Turner disagreed with them. Years of being abused and told she was worth nothing had convinced her that it was true. Jessica didn't think they were going to be able to convince the woman otherwise, at least not yet, but maybe if they approached this from a different angle they might have better luck.
“Your husband tried to murder Hayley Hood,” she told Maria.
The woman’s face remained blank for a moment, then she nodded and murmured, “The social worker.”
“That’s right. Jay Turner managed to find where Hayley lived and set her house on fire with her inside it.” She and Hayley were close in age and were quite friendly, not that Jessica had much time for friends, being a single mom with a demanding job was tough.
“She took Kinsley away from us,” Maria said.
“She did her job,” Adam corrected. “And you could have prevented Kinsley from being removed from your care. If you had backed up her story that Jay was on the roof when Leah fell to her death, he would have been arrested, and you’d still have your daughter.”
From the horrified look in her blue eyes, that idea terrified the woman.
Terror rolled off Maria in waves. It was almost palpable, filling up the room. She was too scared of what Jay would do to her if she disobeyed him. And from the injuries he had inflicted on her tonight, she had every reason to be afraid. Jay had beaten her, and so far, she hadn't done anything to him. She had stood by him, even though it had cost her both her children.
“Hayley Hood doesn’t deserve to be hurt or killed just for doing her job,” Jessica said. “She’s trying to protect Kinsley, keep her safe. Kinsley doesn’t deserve to be hurt by her father anymore. Leah didn't deserve what her father did to her. Don’t stand by and let him do the same thing to Kinsley. Maria,” she paused and waited until the other woman was looking at her, “you don’t deserve what Jay has done to you. You didn't deserve this.” She waved her hands at the woman’s injuries. “I know you loved Leah and I know that you love Kinsley. We’re asking you to do the right thing for yourself and your daughter. Honor Leah’s memory by keeping her little sister safe. The two of you deserve to be happy and safe. I know deep down inside that’s what you want for yourself and your little girl. We know you know where your husband is hiding, you were with him tonight. Please do the right thing and tell us where to find him so that no one else gets hurt.”
A single tear welled up in Maria’s good eye and wound a slow path down her black and blue cheek.
Jessica prayed that what she’d said had gotten through. That Maria would realize that she deserved better than what her husband was giving her, that she was worth something, and so was her daughter.
“I can't turn Jay in. He’s my husband, I promised to honor and obey him,” Maria said, then closed her eyes, shutting them out.
She sighed, disappointed, she’d thought she was so close to getting through to her. But with or without Maria Turner’s help, they were going to find Jay, and when they did, he would spend the rest of his life in prison.
* * * * *
8:53 P.M.
“Want some more hot chocolate?”
“Sure, thanks,” Brian said, passing his mug to Hayley, then watching her as she walked to the kitchen. Her long dark hair hung all the way to her bottom, and when she wore it loose like she was right now it swung slightly from side to side as she moved. He’d known her since she was five years old and she had never colored it, not that there was anything wrong with dying your hair, but he liked that Hayley didn't. She was natural, she was real, beautiful inside and out. A kind, compassionate, and empathetic woman. It wasn't an act. She wasn't trying to impress anyone, it was just who she was, and he loved that about her.
He liked her.
Liked liked her.
Thought that the two of them might actually make a good couple kind of liked.
In the back of his mind, there had always been an attraction there, Hayley was beautiful with her long dark hair, pale skin, and large, long-lashed blue eyes, but he’d always been afraid that the six-year age gap was too much. Seeing how she had handled what had happened last night with such calm and grace, not panicking, just doing what had to be done, and making the best of the situation in the aftermath of the fire, including being forced to live with a bodyguard, he knew that the age gap was meaningless.
