Chapter 7: Part 5

Dr. Monsubie walked into the visitor room and didn't crack a smile, his face gruff and unforgiving.



"Agent Rowland, this lady, the one you want to speak to, she hasn't spoken a word. We don't know who she is. She could very well be just someone that survived a shipwreck, not at all your girl."



"But you don't think so. You think she's been abused and is one of the women I'm looking for."



"I don't know. The ship captain who brought her in said that the raft was huge, one that is used on large boats. Her skin has been burned by the sun over many days. I doubt if she will ever look like she once did. She will need to be checked for cancer every year for the rest of her life. The damage is astounding. But that's not what you asked. I think her body has suffered terrible damage. I've not checked her for sexual assault. I'm pumping her full of antibiotics. She'll recover physically from that type of assault, but she may never recover mentally."



"I understand. Unfortunately she isn't the first victim I've worked with. I will treat her with respect and kindness. I have a few days available for questioning. I won't make her upset. I just want to find her attacker."



"Are you sure about this? I mean, could this all be just an inexperienced sailor who had an accident."



"It could be, but there are other women missing. I find it amazing that someone found this lady. If she is one of the women identified as missing then we will have a tremendous break that may very well prevent other women from being put through a horrible ordeal."



Dr. Monsubie picked up his phone. "Nurse Lanta, could you please take our guest to the woman who was found at sea."



So they were calling him a guest. They must not resent his being here too much. If he could keep it that way then maybe he could use the doctors and nurses to his advantage. Not the he would manipulate anyone negatively, but he wanted to solve this case and would use every advantage he could.



Experience taught him that he would have to push the victim. Letting her go at her own pace wouldn't work long term. He didn't have days and days for her to feel better. He needed the woman to answer his questions. A sketch of the man who had taken her was a must. Getting the details of her attacker was imperative to working up a profile. Having people to interview would make all the difference in the world.



Before this woman showed up it was total conjecture that there had been a crime. Now he had proof.



The nurse pushed the door open, Bill walked through. Two feet into the room he came to a dead stop. The woman looked horrible. Ligature marks could be made out on her wrists and neck. She's been through hell.



Her eyes opened and a hint of recognition slithered down his spine. He blinked and the resemblance, whatever there was, disappeared. He moved close to her, keeping his face blank and his voice quite.



"I know you are having trouble speaking, I just have a few questions. Maybe you could shake your head. Do you think you could do that?"



Her head nodded twice and then her gaze locked with his. She was a fighter. Hope surged through him for her. If she kept up this good attitude then maybe she would recover mentally. The doctors could help her physically.



"Do you want the nurse to stay?"



Her head moved left and then right. She wanted privacy, good sign for him, bad for her. This had to be one of the girls he was looking for.



He turned to the nurse, "Could you give us a moment."



"Sure, but tell me when you leave so we can give her some more medicine."



"Will do. I'll probably want to speak to the doctor again."



The nurse left, closing the door behind her. Bill turned back around, caught by surprise by the woman in the hospital bed. Her eyes were closed, her head tilted back, accentuating her long neck. Her eyelids opened slowly, her gaze scorching him from between the small slits of her lids. The recognition hit him in the gut. This wasn't just any woman, he knew her. But it couldn't be.



Even with the leathery skin, the bad hair and the weight loss her identity couldn't be denied. Why hadn't he seen it before? Probably because he hadn't wanted to think of her damaged this way. The doctor's words echoed through his head - "She can't speak." The songbird of songbirds, the woman with a crystal clear voice that spilled out over the airways with soothing sounds couldn't speak.



He found himself beside her, holding her hand. His emotions were on his sleeve, not hidden away like a good little FBI agent.



Bill held his breath, trying to digest the news that his idol had been so abused. Fury ripped through him, but he calmed the anger, concentrating on helping her.



She stared up at him, her eyes wide and unsure. He'd frightened her. How could he be acting so stupid?



"Amanda." The whisper of her name brought a new look to her face. The confusion fled, her eyes softened. He saw tears form. Earlier he had planned on being ruthless and pushing for information, now he couldn't.



"It's really you, Amanda?"



She nodded, her face crumbling into a tumult of emotions. He gently placed his arms around her, holding her loosely. The stupidity of becoming emotionally involved in a case ranked up there with telling your boss to shove off, but he couldn't help it. This was Amanda.



Eventually she stopped sobbing. He let her lay back against the bed, his hand still smoothing out her hair. Like any music aficionado, he loved Amanda. Not that he even knew her, but the love was there.



The months at Quantico finally kicked in. The detachment worked itself slowly through his body, allowing him to step away from the bed and stop smoothing her hair.



"Are you able to speak at all?"



She tried, valiantly at first, and then frustration took hold.



"Shhh, it's okay. I'm going to ask some questions."



She nodded her head and smoothed out the sheets. Her skin had been abused. He could see faint rope burns on her wrists, and he bet if he looked at her ankles he'd see the same thing. Later, he would need to seek out her doctor and find out how much damage she sustained.



"Did someone hurt you?"



Her eyes grew glassy and moist. She nodded.



"I'm sorry." Damn, he couldn't let his emotions rule. "So, did you know this person?"



Her eyes narrowed, then she shrugged. Not much to go on. He wished like hell she could talk. Maybe she'd get her voice back tomorrow.



"So you didn't really know the guy, but you had seen him?"



She nodded, relief shown in her eyes.



"Okay, did he take you to an island?"



A quick shake of her head gave him the answer. Who knew where this guy was. It sounded like he operated in the ocean, away from the shore because no one had known about Amanda.



"Did he keep you below deck the entire time?"



Another negative shake of her head spoke volumes to him. This guy was brazen. He probably operated in open waters where no other boaters would find him. Who ever this guy was, he probably knew if he operated in international waters it would be harder to prosecute.



The sailors had found Amanda in the open ocean. He'd looked into tides and jet streams, trying to figure out water flow, but he didn't know where her time aboard the raft began. There were factors, like storms and wind to take into account.



Amanda had closed her eyes, reminding him that she needed rest. He quietly left the room, intent on asking her doctor some questions. His phone buzzed, his personal one. Damn, Shana had the worst timing.



"Shana, what's up?"



"I'm on the plane and we just landed. Tomorrow we are going to hop over to your island and we will spend one month there. I'm not taking no for an answer."



"I'm in the middle of a case."



"No you're not. You're boss gave you the week off, and I'm in the middle of a crisis."



"Crisis?" He doubted his wife knew what a crisis was. The last problem she had dealt with involved dresses and shoes.



"Our marriage is going to change. I'm finished being the third wheel. You have too much money to waste your life with the FBI. Just think of all the things we could do."



Shana had no idea how wrong she was. Not only was her timing off with the call, she had no idea where he was in his life. He made a difference all the time. This month he had brought down two killers. He'd changed the lives of those people who were going to die at the hands of those two men.



Not more than one hundred feet away a victim lay. Not only did she deserve his time, she meant a tremendous amount to him. Maybe that's why his first reaction was to tell Shana off. He held back though. "I can't leave now. I'm in the middle of a case."



"You and your damn cases. Fine, screw you. I'm done."



Shana hung up on him. He thought for a moment and found that he didn't care. His marriage had finally fell in on itself. The rotting foundation had crumbled to pieces. Hope blossomed in his chest.



Then he kicked himself for being such a louse. How could he be the reason for their breakup? He should call her back, apologies and make a deal. But he was tired of making deals.



"Excuse me," a man in a white doctor's frock interrupted his thoughts. "Are you the FBI agent?"



"Yes, Agent Rowland."



"Thank you for coming down. Our police is small, but don't ever tell them I said so."



He nodded once, what else could he say to something like that. The resources of the US far outweighed anything the Bahamian's could throw at the problem.



"I need a report about the injuries to the patient."



"Sure, no problem. By the way, for some reason the nurse thought you knew the patient."



Bill didn't know if Amanda wanted others to know who she was. Also, the killer could be watching the hospitals, waiting for news of her being rescued. "No, I don't know her."



"Oh, okay, well then, I'll get you those files."



Bill knew he was sensitive about Amanda. He wondered if it were any other person would he reveal her name? "Can I get those reports? Also the men who brought her in, are they available."



"They're stationed about ten miles away."



"I'll need those directions." Bill turned to go back to Amanda but swung back around. "Doctor, I think we might need to put a guard on the door. I don't want this guy to coming back."



"That might stretch us a bit much."



"I understand."



Bill's heart sunk, there's no way he could keep this quite for long. Someone else would recognize her and put two and two together.



Once back in Amanda's room, Bill sunk down into the chair. Amanda, he couldn't believe it. The biggest name in great music. Even Celine Dion hailed Amanda as a music genius. Her songs were amazing.



Damn, she looked awful. Not that he read the gossip rags, but he knew Amanda had problems with her personal life. Could this be a guy she dated. He doubted it. What the hell had happened to his beloved Amanda?

Copyright Sara Thacker 2011