Page 16 of Jase

“He told you his name?” Detective Mallory was writing on a notepad as the other came closer.

“No. The man who dropped me off—who saved me, that’s what he called him. David wasn’t happy about that. I don’t think the man was supposed to know him.”

“You’re doing great. What else can you remember?”

The room came back to me, making me shiver. “I think I was in a basement. It was…different. It wasn’t cement; it was stone. The room was voice activated. Sometimes I wasn’t shackled, but I couldn’t escape. He had…” my voice sounded so far away as I relived the last few hours of the heart-pounding nightmare. I wanted to say more, but words wouldn’t quite come.

“Take your time. What did he have?”

“Cameras.” Wetness trailed down my face, catching me off-guard. I wiped it away, blinking away the torture. “David.” Again, words got trapped. “He had people bidding to hurt me. I…I can’t really remember it very well. I kept going in and out. I—”

“Let’s try something else.” He glanced at his partner. “Did you see the man who took you?”

“Yes. He was older. Fifties, maybe? Blondish-brown hair. He was balding, but it was longer in the back and on the sides. Maybe just above his shoulders by an inch or two?”

“Perfect. What else can you tell us?”

“Mean eyes. Thin nose and lips.” My own lip trembled. My entire body was shaking. “He was tall, but not as tall as the stranger who dropped me off at the store. Not even close. The stranger looked huge when he stood from putting me on the ground. It was only a moment, and it was more his silhouette with the light behind him, but…he was so…wide and big. Not thick, just…his shoulders were wide. David was maybe the size of Detective Mallory?”

“Alright. Let’s focus on David. I want you to imagine him.”

“Okay.”

“What about his weight? Was he lean?”

My head nodded. “He was on the leaner side, but strong.Strong. I tried…I…couldn’t…” Uncontrollable gasps left me as I grabbed the railing of the bed. I was on the verge of another panic attack, and I wasn’t sure I could stop it.

“Deep breaths, Ms. Marshall. We can go back to him later. Let’s return to the man who you say saved you. Did you see anything about him, other than his silhouette?”

“No. He wore…a…mask.”

“Detectives.” A nurse walked in, heading right for me. Detective Adame lifted his hand as if in surrender.

“It’s okay. We’re done for today. You did great, Kody. You really did.”

More, I nodded, almost unable to stop as the nurse took in the large monitor not feet away. “Detectives, you’re going to stay, right? Someone will stay until you find him?”

“There’s an officer just outside your door. The hospital has excellent security. You have nothing to worry about.”

“You will find him, won’t you?”

“We’re doing everything we can. The name and description was a great start. Without a general location, it’ll be hard. You don’t remember anything about where he took you besides the room?”

The nurse cleared her throat in a stern warning, but I continued as she pushed something into my IV.

“To help you calm, Ms. Marshall.”

But I didn’t barely hear her voice. I kept going, needing to get out what I knew. “I was walking back to my apartment when he put something over my nose and mouth. I awoke, tied up, in the back of an SUV. It was older, I think. He drove for what felt like hours. I was passed out when we got there. I think I remember him giving me something on one of the stops. A needle in my arm maybe? All I know is that when I woke up, I was on a metal table. That’s when he started torturing me.”

“That’s what you told us yesterday before the surgery. That’s all for today. Why don’t you get some rest? We’re going to do our best to find the person who did this to you.”

My mouth opened to ask a million more questions, but my stomach was too busy twisting to argue. The nurse placed her hand on my shoulder, and I nodded that I was okay. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. All I could do was bob my head like a jack-in-the-box as all three of them left.

“I feel like I’m going to be sick. Oh, God. Help me. I don’t think I can…I can’t—”

Ringing sounded through the room. Hesitantly, I reached forward with a trembling hand, picking it up.

“Hello?”