Chapter 9

It seemed like forever before they heard the motor from a small boat approaching. The Sheriff turned off the light and ducked back in to the shadows. The small boat slammed into the dredge. Sara held her breath when she heard his feet hit the floor above her.

“You’re safe Sara.” The Sheriff whispered.

The man was singing, and she could hear him stumbling down the staircase. He didn’t even notice that the extra lock was missing from the door. The captain had used a pair of bolt cutters to get it off and they were concerned that he would notice but as it turned out, he had been oblivious and didn’t seem to notice.

“Wake up Sara, I brought you a drink and it’s time for some fun.” The man called out.

Sara had her back to him and didn’t turn over, so he moved toward her. It was apparent that he was drunk. That was a factor that they had not counted on. Just as he reached for Sara, the Sheriff reached for him and as promised, he never laid a hand on her. Once the Sheriff had him in handcuffs, Sara went to the door and called for Sloan who was already on his way down. Just as he reached Sara, the Sheriff turned on the light and they all realized that the kidnapper was Carlos. Sloan lunged at him and they fell to the ground.

“You son of a bitch, I should kill you.” Sloan was shouting as Sara and the sheriff pulled him off Carlos.

“It’s over, I’m safe.” Was all she could say. Sloan had no idea were all that violence had come from, but he just couldn’t stop himself. Sara stood before him, weak, and frightened and needed his love not his anger. “I am so sorry baby, I was just so scared for so long that I couldn’t stop myself.” She smiled at him and he pulled her into his arms. “You’re safe and that’s all that matters.”

A patrol boat came out and took Carlos in for questioning in his own boat. The rest went back to shore in the patrol boat. There was an ambulance waiting for Sara. Sloan was again torn. He wanted to go to the interrogation but the thought of leaving Sara was just out of the question. Warren went with the Sheriff and Sloan went with Sara. She was thoroughly examined for the police report and released. During part of that exam Sloan had to step out. He could not stand to hear what her responses were to some of their questions and when the exam became physical, he wanted to give her some privacy. Even though he had not assaulted her, they still needed to examine her, and that was humiliating to her, so he kissed her and stepped out. Once he was out in the hall, he needed to talk to Spencer.

The house phone rang twice and then Annie answered.

“Hello there beautiful, how is my favorite sister-in-law?”

“Sloan, I am your only sister-in-law.” She laughed.

“For now, but you will always be my favorite.” He told her.

“You Way men are so sweet.”

“Speaking of Way men, would Spencer be around?”

“No, sorry but you can get him on his cell.” She offered.

“Ok. Would Walt be hanging around anywhere close then?” He asked.

“He’s with Spencer. What’s going on Sloan?”

“Well I was going to ask Spencer if it would be ok for me to stop by for a few days or maybe a week? And if he said yes then we would run that by Walt.”

“Sloan! Well thank you for leaving me out of the decision making around here.” She told him.

“No, Annie I didn’t mean to do that, as a matter of fact, you are the reason we would be coming.”

“Me? And did you just say we?”

“Yes. I am at the hospital with Sara right now and it’s a long and horrible story, something close to yours. I was hoping we could come and stay a few days until her bruising is gone and maybe you could talk to her about some of this. I know it’s a lot to ask but I can’t lose her over this. She acts like she’s fine but I’m sure the worst is yet to come.”

“I get it, and you are right, if she has suffered a trauma, she will have to work through it. Sounds like she is special to you?”

“She is my Annie.”

“So how soon will you be here?”

“Are you sure this will be ok Annie?”

“Sloan, you are family and it sounds like she might be soon too?”

He laughed.

“Maybe, she has a will of her own, I don’t know if she is ready for something like that.”

“But you are?”

“When she is.”

“Sloan, I will talk to Spencer and Papa, so they are not shocked by any of this and I promise you, she will never feel a moment of embarrassment or feel out of place. I went through all of that and won’t let her. You two come along and we will be waiting. Do you want me to have Papa call you to confirm that you are welcome because you know if I have to, I will?” Annie told him in a tone that he was sure meant business.

“No Annie that is not necessary. I momentarily forgot who was in charge there.”

“Ok, but don’t let it happen again.” She joked.

“Thanks, Annie. We should be rolling in there sometime tomorrow afternoon. I want to get her as far away from these memories as I can.”

“Will she need to go back?”

“Yea. She will have to testify and that won’t be pretty, but I want her as strong as possible, before we have to deal with all of that.”

“I understand. So, what would you like for dinner tomorrow?” She asked trying to lighten the mood.

“Anything you make is always good, so surprise me.”

“See you tomorrow.”

“Thanks Annie.” And he hung up.

When the nurse came out of the room, he went back in.

They had even taken pictures of her bruises. There was little physically wrong however she was given a mild sleeping pill in case she had trouble sleeping from the trauma. Sara was proud of herself, she had been strong through the whole ordeal and she was not breaking down now that she was safe. Sloan took her back to Annie’s beach house and fixed her some tea. They sat on the deck and watched the boats go by; some of them were patrol boats, coming and going to the dredge. Sloan had offered her dinner and she had just picked at it, he didn’t push the issue. They just sat quietly until Warren appeared.

“You have news.”

“Some, but we can talk about that later.” Warren answered looking at Sara.

She knew what that meant. They wouldn’t discuss any of this in front of her, but she wasn’t upset.

Sloan offered Warren a drink and he had a beer. They talked about cases, sports and even the weather until Sara declared that she was tired and wanted to turn in. Sloan waited until she went inside but then he had to know.

“What did you find out?”

“Besides the fact that this guy is scum.”

“Yea!”

“Well I don’t think he has anything to do with your ring of thieves, however; he has his own ring to worry about. Let’s just say that it was a good thing that we found her when we did.”

“No, let’s say more. Damn it Warren I need to know.”

“I know you do but there really isn’t an easy way to say any of this.” Sloan waited for him to continue. “He was pretty upset that it had all come to this. Apparently, he was in to a big-time bookie. The guy had come to threaten Carlos and had spotted Sara. Carlos had used up all his friendly warnings and the next visit he got from the bookie would have been very painful, so he made a deal. Things were happening too fast for him, so he got drunk.”

“Yea well that was obvious.”

“He said he got drunk to get over what he was doing and by getting drunk it gave him the courage to do what he was about to do.”

“Warren, just spell it out, you’re giving me a headache.”

“I’m not surprised you have a headache. I know for a fact that you haven’t slept in days. I’ve had reports all over the island that you were walking the beach and checking with anyone who would talk to you. Several people even mentioned that they caught you peeking in windows again. You do know that is against the law don’t you.”

“Yes, I know but I had to find her, I was so afraid that something bad was going to happen to her.”

They both went silent for a minute. Warren rubbed his hands over his face and then said, “He was going to sample the merchandise tonight and tomorrow he was going to deliver her to her new master.”

“What!” Sloan jumped up. “Are you serious?”

“Yep, he had sold her. He swears that he has never done this before, but don’t they all say that. He said it was her or him. Don’t worry, I called a couple of our old buddies and they are interrogating him right now. They want to know who bought her and everyone involved in the ring. Don’t worry they will get them. Sara is not the only woman they were selling, and we may have just saved some other women. Warren could see the look on Sloan’s face, and it actually scared him. If he had touched her it would be different, but she will be ok now, won’t she?”

Sloan was so completely outraged that he hadn’t notice Sara standing in the doorway but when he did, his whole world came crashing in on him. He was in love with her and probably had been since the beginning. Her perfectly chiseled face had lost all its color and her eyes were deep hollow wells of black, she had obviously heard what Warren had said. She was trembling, and he had to hold her. They could sort out his feelings later; right now, she was terrified and needed comfort. She broke down into tears as Sloan’s arms closed around her. When the trembling and crying had stopped, it was because she had fallen asleep out of sheer exhaustion. They had moved to a lounger and although it was not the most comfortable place to sleep, she did. Warren had slipped out while Sloan tried to comfort her. They could talk later, maybe over the phone, so she couldn’t hear all the gory details. Sometime later, Sloan fell asleep holding her. Just after mid night, Sloan woke and carried her in to the house and put her on the sofa. He was getting a drink when he heard her voice.

“Good morning, I think.” She said.

“It’s still very early, too early to call it morning, day break is still hours away, why don’t you try to get some more sleep?” Sloan suggested.

“I’m afraid I’ve had enough sleep in the past few days to last me a while but I’m sure you must be exhausted. What are you doing up so early?”

“Well I was just thinking about heading home and couldn’t wait anymore to start the day.”

“Heading home?” She asked, “I hope it isn’t because of me?”

“Well yes, it is. Once Warren stepped in to investigate your kidnapping, I was free to slip between the cracks and look for you under the radar. I discovered all kinds of things.” As he poured them both a big mug of coffee, he motioned for her to move back over to the sofa. When he joined her, it was with the coffee and a small bag of bakery cookies.

“So, are you going to tell me?” She asked.

“Yes, but I’m trying to build up the anticipation.”

“Ok, sorry.” She said with half a smile.

“You were right about Molly.”

“She was involved in the robberies?”

“Well yes and no. She was but didn’t know it.”

“Excuse me?”

“She was the mastermind behind a dating service.”

“What?”

“She arranged dates for some of the guest here, and some of the dates lasted all night. That is when some of the robberies would occur. One gentleman admitted that he had a date with a young lady while his wife was on a bus tour of Charleston and he thinks that was when her jewelry was stolen. Molly has been released from her contract here and the DA is checking into prosecuting her. I personally don’t think they will have any trouble with that. She approached male guests and offered them a service. I’ll be surprised if she doesn’t spend some time in a jail cell. But believe it or not she was unaware of the burglaries. We used your condo for a sting, and they arrested her when she came to negotiate the price of Rosie spending the night with me.”

“Really! You mean I’m kidnapped, and you go out and get a hooker?”

“Well I only thought it would help me relax, you know I didn’t sleep much after you were taken.”

“And you took her to my condo?”

“Well Molly said it would be better.”