Chapter 2

Rachael watched me as I pressed the tips of my fingers to the bridge of my nose. She must have thought I was going to cut her lose because she flung herself at me, tears streaming from her eyes. "Please, you have to help her! Please! I beg you, don't leave her there! I'll do anythi..."

I placed my fingertips to her lips and cut her off. I wrapped her nude, trembling, and abused form in my arms and whispered into her hair, "You don't have to do anything to or for me; you don't have to promise me anything; I want to take nothing from you. I am going to help you and even if I have to stage a raid on the place myself to free her, we will get her back tonight if she is there. I don't know yet exactly what or how, but we will get your sister back as soon as I can arrange it."

She looked into my face for a moment searching my eyes, I think to judge the truth of my words, and then collapsed sobbing into my embrace. I stroked her hair and held her until she calmed down. "I need to make arrangements and some phone calls. I'll leave you here with Sally and the Doctor." I felt her body tense up. I tilted her face to look into mine. "Little One, I'll only be gone a few minutes and I'll be within ear shot. I promised I'd stay and I will, but I'll need some help to free your sister."

I could tell she was uneasy. I took a gown off of the stand next to the exam table and wrapped Rachel in it. After a moment she turned and we put the gown on her properly. I again tilted her face to see mine and said, "I'll be just down the hall on the phone. Sally and Maggie will be here until I get back." They both nodded. Rachel got back up on the table and smiled weakly at me.

As I exited the room I saw two Torrington Police detectives, one of which I knew, enter the hall with two uniformed officers behind them. "Hey Lou, did you escape from your monkey cage again?" The smile on his face reached his eyes as he caught sight of me and headed towards me.

"Well, Wayne Richards! I should have known you'd be here causing trouble if the mall were involved." The laughter in his eyes gave the lie to his words as he shook my hand. "Robbie let me introduce one of the best infiltration/extraction men in the world, and my good friend Wayne Richards. Wayne this is my partner Robbie Wells."

We shook hands and while his grip was firm he didn't try to intimidate me by crushing my hand.

"Pleased to meet you, call me Robbie" he said in a deep baritone voice. I smiled.

"Likewise, Wayne is fine." I looked at Lou. "Are you here about an assault at the mall?"

Lou's eyes narrowed, "Yeah, something about a girl and one of your guards being attacked.'

Shaking my head I replied, "It wasn't one of my staff it was me. The guy in that room," I pointed at the closed door, "attacked me with a Sykes-Fairborn combat knife." I held up my arm to show the dressing. "I took it away from him. He had glued a woman into one of those PVC torture suits like we saw that time in Kosovo."

I looked at Lou as his eyes went flat and could tell he remembered the incident. I nodded. "When we got her here and removed the thing we discovered that he had been raping and torturing her for more than a week and that her sister is still his captive. However she is being held in Covington."

Robbie said, "Fuck. It's got to be that bastard Winslow!" He continued to curse for several minutes. I could tell he was ex-military and based on his command of invective I was betting Navy Seals.

I looked at him and Lou spoke up "Robbie transferred into our department after quitting the Covington PD. It seems that a Judge and some of the cops down there think that having money is more important than doing their jobs."

I chuckled mirthlessly. "So I hear from one of my guys. His cousin is on the department down there. He told us not to try to get anywhere down there. He recommended we go to the Feds for help. I have a friend in the State police you know that I want to try first, though. Don might be able to point us in the right direction."

Lou grinned and said, "Tell my cousin from me to put down the donuts and nobody gets hurt." I chuckled.

Robbie spoke up, "If she is on his estate you need to go before he makes bail or talks to his lawyer. I know for a fact that three girls he took ended up dead while we were trying to question him and the only one to see him was his lawyer, Carter Burke. The minute he talks to Burke that girls sister is dead."

Sobering quickly I looked at the two men and said, "As the head of mall security I want to press charges of Attempted Murder, ADW (Assault with a Deadly Weapon), Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Menacing, Trespassing, and Disturbing the Peace. As private citizen I want to add the charge of Aggravated Menacing and Assault with Intent to Cause Grievous Bodily Injury. Those should keep him in custody up here for quite a while."

They both nodded and gave me evil grins. Lou said, "They told us he was unconscious so we can't take him until they release him but I am going to place him in custody now."

"I'm going to talk to someone and then I'll see you guys later." I hurried to catch Maggie. As I entered the room I caught her eye. "Maggie, are you the one treating the asshole next door?" At her nod I continued "I need you to sedate him and keep him from waking for at least the next four hours."

I held up a hand to stall her protests. "I just talked to a cop that worked Covington and he says if this guy wakes up and talks to his attorney before I get to Becca then she is dead. That's not a possibility, but a certainty. He knows of several other women that have already met the same fate."

She grimaced and nodded, "Ok I can give him a sedative and pain killer cocktail that will get you four to six hours but after that there will be little I can do. The charts would show what I was doing and it could cost me my medical license."

I smiled. "Four hours is all I'll need to get her out. I just need to be sure he can't ask for a lawyer for the next few hours to get her clear is all. Can you get Rachel ready to travel? Once I've got her sister out they are both in danger. I'm going to arrange a safe place but she'll need to come with us now." At her nod I went back out to make my calls.

Twenty minutes on the phone had put me in a conference call with Lt. Don Phillips of the Missouri State Police, Assistant States Attorney Melissa Granger, and U.S. District Judge W.B. Smithers (Federal Judge for the 8^th Circuit Court).

"We all know why I'm calling. I need to get to Rebecca Curtis before Mr. Winslow can regain consciousness. I've been informed by multiple reliable sources that if I don't she will be found dead within twenty four hours just like several others. I need your help Don." I was becoming agitated as time was running out.

Judge Smithers spoke up, "I know that bastard in Covington. His name is Harper. This sounds like something he'd be part of, the snake. Unfortunately young man if you go in there he'll have you arrested for burglary. I'll sign warrants but it may be too late by the time an officer can get to her."

Lou cut in, "Wayne, are you still a state reserve officer?"