Chapter 3

On the way back to Sally’s office, I quizzed Pat about what he saw concerning my wife. He was hesitant to tell me about her sexual encounters except to say that none of it looked consensual. His opinion was a combination of blackmail, fear and, maybe, drugs.

“Mick, I have seen some shit in my line of work, and your wife is in deep trouble. I don’t know how she got there, or why, but she is in something deep and needs help.”

“Pat, that is why I am not divorcing her ... yet. I need to know the whole story.”

“That’s the way it usually works.”

We pulled into the parking lot at Sally Hawk’s office. I got out and followed Pat to the door, where he used a key card to unlock it. We walked in and I went to the meeting room that my twins had been in, it was empty. Then I heard a hiss.

“Shhhhh.” I looked to see Jane with a finger up to her lips. “They’re asleep.”

She led me to another meeting room and there were my twins cuddled together, with a book, on a couch with a light comforter thrown over them. I sure love them.

“They have been the best kids I have ever run into. A sign of great parenting.” Sally walked in smiling.

“I hope so Sally. Their mother has been able to overcome all of the dumb stuff I have put in their gene pool. I hope it stays that way.”

“So, is the divorce off the table?”

“No.” I said thoughtfully. “But it is on hiatus. Let’s get the details on this and go from there. What can you tell me about the three people the police brought in?”

“Not much. They lawyered up and shut up. These guys are not the cheap shysters I thought they were. There is something funny going on here. When I get their names, I am going to have Pat do some deep research. Something smells funny.”

“I am going to take my twins over to my mom’s house and then I am going to go to the hospital and stay with Renee. If they did the things to Renee that the docs suspect, there is going to be hell to pay. And I do mean hell. Deep, hot, horrible hell.”

“Mick don’t do anything dumb. Now, I am not your lawyer in this matter, but I got you a good one. His name is Rodney Strong, and he is a bulldog.”

“Like you?”

“Thank you for that and yes, like me. I hate cheaters. He just hates people that hurt other people. You will like him. Listen to him. He will get you justice and keep you out of jail. I’ve rented an SUV for you with two child seats. Since you flew here, I figured you wouldn’t want to walk to your mother’s house.”

“Thanks Sally.”

I stood and shook her hand. I walked into the meeting room where my twins were and saw Jane was gently waking them.

“Daddy? Is mom here?” Jack asked sleepily.

“No baby. Don’t worry about that now. I am taking you to Grams. Your Mom is in the hospital. I need to take care of her. Tomorrow we’ll see about taking you to see her, Ok?”

“Ok.”

I picked up Jack, Pat had Jill, and we walked out to the SUV. When I got in I called my Mom and brought her sort of up to speed. When I pulled into her driveway she was out of the house before I turned off the motor.

“She got beat up and is in the hospital? Who did this? What can I do?”

I love my mom.

“Mom, I need you to watch the kids. I am going to go to the hospital and stay with Renee. I have a couple of lawyers to work with and I am going to make sure the people who did this pay. Then I will get the situation between Renee and I settled. But I may need to do a lot of work and I won’t be able to watch the kids. Keep them safe and happy.”

“Anything you need son. Help me get the kids to bed. They have been here enough to know where to go, but their mom or dad is never here to tuck them in.”

I led them to their room. Their room, it was a terrible thing to think that Renee had left them here so often that they had a room of their own. My brain was burning with anger for my wife and the people that had put my marriage and family at risk. They would pay dearly.

“I love you Jack. Sleep well. You are going to stay with Grams until I can figure out what is happening with your mom.” I kissed him on the forehead and moved to her sister.

“Jill, I love you and I am trying to make sure that your mom is safe and can come home to us. You are the quiet one, but I need you to take care of the others.” I kissed her on the forehead.

“Good night, my little loves.”

“Good night daddy.” Jack answered first.

“Daddy?”

“Yes MJ?”

“Can I say a prayer for mom?” I love my Mick Junior.

“Yes, of course. Let’s say a prayer together. Ok?”

The kids scrambled out of their beds and I knelt with them.

“Dear God. Please keep my mommy and daddy safe. We love them. Please bless Grams. Amen.”

“Good job, MJ. Now, all of you in bed and to sleep.”

I turned out the lights once they were settled and closed the door. I paused for a moment to wipe the tears from my eyes and turned to see my mom doing the same.

“They are wonderful. You and Renee have done a good job.”

“I hope we can keep doing it. Once Renee is cleared, I will find out why she did what she did and then we can move from there. I am going to head out and try to get back before the visiting hours close. If I am there by then, I can stay overnight.”

“Do you have clothes?”

“I have one change with me, but I’m not worried about that right now. Thanks for your help Mom. Good night.” I kissed her on the cheek.

Out in the car, I sat for a second gathering my thoughts and emotions. I needed to put things in order. First, make sure the kids were safe. Check. Second, make sure my wife is ok. Third, find out what happened that made her do what she did. Fourth, find out who did what to her. Fifth, kill them. Yeah, the guys who tortured my wife were going to die. In my mind, that was already a given.

I drove to the hospital and arrived with about ten minutes to go in visiting hour. I checked in at the visitor’s desk and went to Renee’s room. Officer O’Reilly had been replaced by a female officer.

“Hi. I’m Mick O’Dell, Renee’s husband. You are Officer O’Reilly’s replacement for the night?”

“The name is Wicket. Are you going to be here all night?”

“If they let me, yeah. I’ll probably sleep most of the time. I’ll see if the nurse has another chair.”

I walked out to the floor station and after introducing myself, I asked for a chair to sleep in.

“Why don’t you sleep in the other bed?”

“There’s another bed?”

“Yes, on the other side of the privacy curtain.”

“So, I can sleep in it and no one will try to catheterize me?”

I laughed. The nurse had the best poker face I have ever seen. She was as damn stoic as one could be and that scared the hell out of me. I had a sudden vision of waking up with some big male nurse shoving a hose into my dick. I shook my head and smiled weakly.

“Thanks.”

I turned and went back to the room. I thought I heard giggling behind me...

“The nurse said that there is a bed over there and I can sleep in it.”

“I know. I was wondering how long it would take you find it.”

Officer Wicket smiled at me.

I took off my shoes and socks, as well as my pants and shirt. I climbed into the bed and pulled the blanket over me and immediately fell asleep.

In the morning I woke to the sound of people bustling around the room. It was 6AM and the morning shift was on gathering the morning data. I watched as they checked Renee’s vitals. I smiled at them. When the room was mostly cleared I got out of bed and using my clothes to hide my morning wood, went into the bathroom.

After using the facility and dressing I came back out to fine that Renee was awake, just, and looked at me with a smile.

“Mick.” She said weakly.

“Renee don’t say anything right now. I’m here and the kids are safe with Grams. The divorce is on hold until I get some things settled.”

“I have to tell you...”

“No. Right now you focus on getting better and getting out of here and back to our children. Nothing is more important than that. Do you understand me? Nothing.”

She nodded and closed her eyes again. I looked over at Officer Wicket.

“Were you awake all night?”

“Yeah, third shift is my thing.” Officer Wicket smiled brightly.

“Did she sleep ok?” I asked about Renee.

“Yup. She didn’t even roll over. You on the other hand were tossing and turning like you were in an earthquake.”

“I guess I was worried. I don’t remember what I was dreaming of.”

“Well whatever you dreamed it had to do with ‘Kill them all’.”

“I’m sure I was talking about insects or rats or cockroaches.”

“Yeah, cockroaches!” She raised her eyebrows.

“I’m going to the cafeteria would you like me to bring you something?”

“Thanks, but no thanks. The staff usually orders a breakfast for the police. You go ahead.”

I asked for directions to the cafeteria and in a few minutes, I was sitting and eating a bowl of oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar. About three spoons in, my phone rang.

“Mick,” I answered.