Page 15 of Girl Betrayed

Jake tried to hold her back, but Dana pushed past him and the surprised officer on her porch. She was down the steps and pounding sidewalk before anyone could stop her. A second police officer escorted the girl Dana would recognize anywhere. “Claire!” she shouted again.

The girl’s head didn’t move, her gaze fixed on the ground, but Dana was sure her eyes didn’t deceive her. She ran faster, calling to her intern again. “Claire! Claire!”

Still no response.

Finally reaching Claire, Dana threw her arms around her, but the girl didn’t move. It was like clutching an under-stuffed rag doll. Dana grasped Claire’s thin shoulders, holding her at arm’s length. The girl’s black hair hung in her face. Dana brushed itaway to reveal pupils so dilated that the clear blue of Claire’s irises were almost not existent—a sure sign of shock.

A tidal wave of anger crashed over Dana. “What did you do to her?” she accused the officer.

“I think it’s better if we talk inside,” the officer suggested.

12

“I don’t understand,”Dana probed when Officer Drake finished conveying his account of events.

It put Jake on edge that even Dana’s brilliant mind wasn’t comprehending Claire’s behavior. He pulled his gaze from the drained officers to study Claire again.

She sat on Dana’s antique couch, narrow shoulders slumped, shrouded in an orange chenille blanket. Claire’s damp black hair hung in front of her face. With the two officers flanking her, the scene looked like some bizarre advertisement for a horror movie.

“I don’t know what else to tell you, ma’am,” Officer Drake replied. “You know as much as we do.”

“And you expect me to believe she was like this when you found her?” Dana demanded.

“Yes,” Officer Drake replied, annoyance edging his voice now. “Like I told you, we found the suspect nearby, wandering and disoriented.”

“Suspect!” Dana interjected. “And just what is she suspected of?”

“She was acting possessed,” the younger officer replied. He’d been quiet up until that point and from the disapproving glareOfficer Drake sent his way, Jake got the feeling he’d been instructed not to offer his opinion.

Officer Drake cleared his throat and directed his attention to Dana. “Ma’am, we brought Miss Townsend to you as we were instructed to.”

“And you still haven’t told mewhoinstructed you to bring her to my address, especially if you didn’t know who she was, because according to you, she had no identification.”

Officer Drake’s lips pressed into a thin line. Jake admired Dana’s protectiveness when it came to Claire, but her line of questioning was wearing the senior officer down. Jake reached for Dana’s hand, taking control of the situation before she got herself a free ride in the squad car parked outside.

“All that matters is that Claire is safe,” Jake cut in. Ignoring the indignation in Dana’s simmering brown eyes, he stood up and extended a hand to the weary officers. “Thank you for bringing her home and for taking the incident report about the break in, but it’s been a long night. We’ll take it from here.”

The officers stood, but the younger one looked to his superior, who made no move to shake Jake’s extended hand. “We were told to wait here,” Officer Drake responded.

“Until when?” Dana asked.

“Until we got here.” Everyone in the room turned to face the duo who’d just strolled into Dana’s home like they owned the place.

“Jenks?” It was Jake’s turn to look confused. “What are you doing here?”

Officer Hartwell stood beside the FBI’s Assistant Director. Backlit by the ambient light of the foyer, they cut a menacing profile in Dana’s normally inviting home.

Hartwell nodded to the officers. “Drake, Bryant, wait for me outside.” The officers took their cue and Hartwell turned hisattention back to them. “Dr. Gray, twice in one night. Sorry to interrupt your evening again.”

“Again?” Jake questioned, garnering Hartwell’s attention.

“Agent Shepard, I wasn’t aware you’d be here.” Hartwell turned to Jenkins. “I thought we had an understanding.”

“We do,” Jenkins replied.

“This doesn’t feel like a tight circle,” Hartwell grumbled.

“It’s tight if I say it’s tight,” Jenkins snapped with finality.