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“Shush, it’s over now, baby. It’s over.”
Eric, still standing quietly beside them, noticed how Janie was also comforting Jenna. Her small hand was on her mother’s shoulder, and she patted in a steady rhythm. They were soothing each other. They were a team…a family. He quietly backed away through the curtain.
****
A doctor examined Janie and found no external bruises other than the ones around her throat. A more in-depth exam with a laryngoscope showed no damage to her larynx or tonsils.
“The body responds remarkably to stress,” the doctor explained. “Adrenaline can temporarily halt pain, and muscles tighten to protect our organs.”
A sigh of relief fell from Jenna’s lips, as Janie told the doctor “nothing hurt down there.”
“What about the drugs?” Jenna asked.
“She came to on her own; her heart rhythm and pulse-ox are good. She’s going to be groggy and definitely sleep like the…” The doctor caught himself before concluding the inappropriate analogy. “Just keep an eye on her.”
There was no need for any further interviews by the police since Eric and Nick positively identified Mark Chambers as Janie’s kidnapper.
In a little over two hours, she was released from the hospital. Jenna draped her jacket around her daughter, and Kyle, who had been waiting outside the cubicle, lifted his niece into his arms to carry her from the examination area.
Jenna spotted Eric standing near the door. She knew she should weep her gratitude, but she couldn’t face him. He stepped close, close enough to be heard, but not close enough to be a part of the family intimacy. “I know your friend’s husband picked her up, so I thought Nick and I should stay at your house so you aren’t alone.”
“I’d appreciate that…Kyle has to leave early in the morning.” The inside of Jenna’s mouth was like parchment and her heart thudded heavy in her chest. “I can’t thank you enough. If you hadn’t gone—”
He held up his hand to dismiss her. “Don’t. I didn’t do it for you.”
****
Officers of the New York City Transit Authority apprehended Stephen Powers at the gate of a midnight flight to Los Angeles. He was held for questioning in the abduction of Jane Marie Black. State Police nabbed Larry Belka trying to board a flight at a small airport close to Cromline. On route, he’d tossed a thumb-drive from a bridge. Police led him away from the terminal and confiscated his bag. In it was a laptop with dozens of pictures of Jenna and her daughter.
Mark Chambers, driving a rental car he’d hidden in the woods behind bungalow sixteen, was pulled over by the local police for driving erratically. He was less than a mile from where state police had set up roadblocks.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Reporters and photographers were stationed in spots around Jenna’s front yard. They sprang to attention as a limousine and police cruiser pulled onto Redbud Lane. Early morning darkness was disturbed by lights from news vans and explosions of electronic camera flashes. The glow of otherwise dark windows also illuminated the street. Jenna’s neighbors had stayed up to watch the drama.
It was Kyle, rather than Eric, who carried Janie into the safety of the house. As much as he longed to offer his daughter protection, he stepped aside while the uncle she knew and trusted carried her.
Once safely inside, Jenna rushed up the stairs to put her daughter to bed.
Kyle, Eric, and Nick shifted about the living room where few traces of the police investigation remained. As quickly as the equipment had arrived, it was whisked away. Kyle breached the silence. “Janie is sleeping with Jenna, so I’ll take her room. You guys probably aren’t used to sleeping on something the size of a cot.” He excused himself and made his way to the stairs.
Eric let his body sink onto the couch, and he rested his elbows on his knees. His hands dangled toward his feet. For the first time in hours, he acknowledged the pain that still tore at his side and groaned.
“Go get some sleep,” Nick ordered.
“I doubt if my brain will shut down any time soon. I think I’ll just sit here awhile.”
Nick nodded. For all of his bulk, his height, his Brooklyn born fight and attitude, he was a gentle giant. He patted Eric’s shoulder in a soft swipe. “That was nice work back there at the motel. You were the only one who could have saved her. Chambers knew you meant business.”
Outside, beams of light were still aimed at the house. A blending of voices created a low hum as reporters recorded their stories.
“You want me to take care of that?” Nick asked.
“Fuck it. They’ll only come back in the morning.” Eric leaned back in his seat and ran his fingers through his hair. “This was a hell of a way to meet my kid for the first time. It wasn’t what I expected when the night began.”
“The important thing is she’s safe. Now you and Jenna can work things through.”
Eric slipped his shoes from his feet and wearily stretched out on the sofa. He closed tired, bruised eyes and said to his friend, “no, it’s over between us.”
