Heal Me

by Grady, D. R.

  “Yeah, like she won’t get into trouble there,” Fred muttered as TJ flounced over and plopped into the chair, managing to punch his arm in the process.

  “Ow,” he said.

  “Wuss.”

  He tickled TJ under her knee. She jumped and turned to glare at him. He smiled innocently back.

  “Children,” his mom scolded quietly. Both he and TJ turned to gaze at her with big eyes.

  They said a prayer for the food and then dug in.

  Supper proved to be a raucous, enlightening affair. Although seated apart, TJ and her dad still proved to be exceptionally entertaining, keeping all of them laughing. They fed off each other, with her mom and aunt contributing from time to time and O showed his family roots with comments of his own that only fueled the conversation. If one could call this sit-down-stand-up comedy routine a conversation.

  Everyone seemed to enjoy the evening, and they certainly didn’t run out of food. With the extras brought, there was more than enough to go round.

  When the parents finally left, TJ slanted Fred a look. “Should I expect a late night visit from you again or will you be staying in your own room tonight?” she asked, a yawn chasing her question.

  “Neither. You’ll see me in about,” he glanced at the kitchen clock, “ten to twenty minutes.”

  She grimaced but waved to O and Jenna before making her way up the staircase.

  Jenna turned to O. “Can I expect you?” she asked and looked up at him through her lashes. Fred wished a certain redhead would flirt with him like that. Of course, it’d probably set him off to laughing and that meant he’d get into major trouble, so it was just as well she didn’t flirt.

  “Yeah. I’ll be up about the same time Fred plans to arrive.”

  “Okay. Are we really in danger?”

  “I don’t know. Therefore I’m not taking chances. Have Mark and Colleen arrived home yet?”

  “No. They thought they’d be late. They both know the security code and have keys, so...” she shrugged.

  “All right. Just so Fred and I know.”

  “Yes, they do plan to come back here tonight. These functions can go into the wee hours of the night, apparently.”

  “I’m glad we’re not expected to attend those,” O said with much relief.

  She laughed. “We may yet, but I’m glad we didn’t tonight.”

  He gathered her into his arms and she kissed him, and Fred turned away.

  “I’ll see you in a few minutes,” O whispered.

  “Okay,” Jenna whispered back and both seemed reluctant to break their embrace.

  Fred sighed and headed downstairs. Maybe someday...

  Eventually Owen let go of Jenna and they made for opposite stairs. He raced down to his basement room to throw together the things he needed. He hurried because the longer he spent downstairs, the less time he had with the woman upstairs.

  He also changed into shorts and a T-shirt. The shirt he’d discard once he reached upstairs. But, just in case he ran into Coulihan or McCully, he really didn’t want to hear about his shirtless self at the precinct.

  He heard Fred on the stairs, and grabbed up his things to follow. “Be careful,” he cautioned as they entered the kitchen.

  Fred snorted. “I should be far more afraid than I am,” came his enigmatic reply.

  Owen didn’t know whether to feel sorry or pleased for him.

  Chapter 17

  TJ was just in the middle of changing her clothes when she heard a rap on the door. She had just enough time to zip into the bathroom before the door flung open to the bedroom and Fred padded in on silent feet. She couldn’t imagine how such a big man could walk so silently. Tugging her halter top down over her head, she made a few adjustments and secured the blue drawstring pants before leaving the bathroom.

  Nerdboy was already in bed, with a laptop propped on his lap.

  She picked up some folders stacked on the bedside stand and crawled in beside him. Settling back against the pillows she opened the top one and started to read. A yawn escaped which she hastily covered, but something she read in the first file made her dig through to check facts with one further down the stack.

  “Do hospitals produce drugs? Would they have the capability?” she asked Fred abruptly.

  He frowned at the screen before turning it on her. “They definitely do testing, but I’m not certain they’d actually manufacture drugs there, unless for research purposes.”

  “For research purposes, yes. That’s what Zilermaldol was. Something Dr. Zimmerman had given patients for clinical trials, but they actually made the drug there. What if this newest drug Brandan is using is an experimental drug he’s testing?”

  “Explain,” Fred demanded.

  “What if Brandan is making the drugs he’s using at the hospital? What if he’s doing this as an aside, wanting to make a little extra money? But he needs test subjects. So, he starts raping women, ‘experimenting’ with this wonder drug, and he’s giving it in various dosages. Carrie Snyder died, because he gave her a huge dose. Robin McKane knows she was raped, but can’t remember her attacker. Another victim has such a fuzzy memory, she thinks she was raped, but she isn’t certain. They were each given increasingly larger dosages. But, Mackenzie Martin knows she was raped and she remembers her attacker.” She shoved her hands through her hair and stared at the file. “Did she receive the lowest dosage yet? Was he scared because he killed one of his victims? The kicker is he likes the attention he’s getting from the media and the fear garnered in his victims.”

  “Okay, I’m following your logic. Give me a second here,” Fred said and typed in some commands. “This record says Brandan’s been treated for impotency, but to no avail, that’s what I’m not getting. How could he be raping a woman? You’re sure they were raped?”

  “You’d have to ask Jenna, she examined them, but yes, I believe so,” TJ answered and then her eyes went wide. Reaching out, she grasped his arm in alarm. “Fred, what if he’s not testing just one drug, but two?”

  He shut his computer with a snap and turned to her, grasping both her biceps. “Breathe,” he coached, “and run that by me again.”

  “What if he’s experimenting on the women, using a new date rape drug, but what if he got tired of other impotency drugs not working and decided to develop a new one? What if he’s using that on himself, and once he gets a formula he wants to try, he goes hunting?”

  Fred muttered something under his breath in a rather O’Maley-like manner before turning to grab his phone. He pressed a number and then said, “O, come over here for a minute.” He rubbed a warm hand up and down her goosebumped arm.

  Two seconds later, O’Maley and Jenna breezed through the door. They sidled over to the bed and O’Maley said, “Spill it, McCully.”

  “I have a theory,” she stated and then explained what she’d already run by Fred.

  She turned to Jenna, “Those women had actually been raped, correct?”

  “Yes, definitely.”

  “I’ve been wondering the same thing. How an impotent man could rape,” O’Maley said, and rubbed his jaw. “Do all impotency drugs work the same?” They all turned to stare at Jenna.

  “Those currently on the market work similarly, but if he’s experimenting, there’s no way to know how it would function,” she answered, staring at all of them in alarm.

  “Two drugs,” Fred exclaimed softly and looked at her. “I wonder if there’s a pattern now? Now we’re thinking in those terms. If he’s testing two separate drugs, and taking one of them, do we have enough of a pattern we can predict his attacks?”

  “That’s good, Fred. You and I can analyze the data tomorrow,” O’Maley said. TJ looked him over and saw he looked tired. He’d had a lot happen in the past two weeks.

  “No need,” Fred said. “I’ll get a program working on it tonight. That way we should have something in the morning.”

  “Sounds good. I think we should get some sleep. Think about this,” O’Maley said, his
eyes honing in on her. “I’ve asked the Chief for other members of the team to watch Brandan’s house. The minute the little jerk shows, we’ll have him.”

  “Is there any activity at his house at all?”

  “None. We’re getting a search warrant, though. If he doesn’t show, we’ll go in,” O’Maley said grimly.

  She nodded. And a wave of sleepiness broke over her. She set the files on the bedside stand and flattened out on the bed. Fred shut off the light as O’Maley and Jenna left. He reached out and locating her, tugged her into his arms. She was so tired and upset, she didn’t even fight him. Having those strong, protective arms enfolding her felt good.

  The next morning, Saturday, when McCully and Fred came down for breakfast, he noticed neither of them had changed, exactly like he and Jenna. He and Fred put on T-shirts with their shorts, but Jenna still wore the pants and tight tee she wore to bed and McCully wore that same drawstring pants and halter top ensemble she’d worn before. Fred appeared to be enjoying the view.

  The old dog’s tongue was hanging out, probably much like his own, because Jenna’s nightwear wasn’t any looser than his partner’s. Both women headed for the coffee machine.

  “Nightmares?” Fred asked him with a nod toward Jenna.

  “Yeah,” he answered, frowning. “She woke up in a panic around two-thirty. She claimed it was nothing, but she’s seen too much of what Brandan’s done. McCully?”

  “She lasted until three, and also claimed it was nothing, but we know better. And she didn’t move away from me all night. Sort of attached herself and didn’t unattach until she snarled something at me this morning.”

  “Which made you feel better,” O surmised for him, watching his friend run a hand over his face.

  “And how. A scared or crying TJ is a lot harder to handle than a snarling one. I’m rather fond of the snarling one,” he admitted.

  “Yeah, me to. She’s funny that way.”

  “Yeah, I also know what to do with her in the snarly mood.”

  “Right,” O said and poured them both a cup of coffee. The women had gathered at the table, sipping the fresh brew.

  Eventually they decided on breakfast.

  Fred’s program didn’t show any discernible pattern in Brandan’s rapes, so Owen decided they had to figure out a different plan. He decided to read through more files, and TJ volunteered to help, but Fred stated they had some errands to run. After breakfast, they changed clothes and drove off. That left her and Owen home alone where they ended up on the couch together. In the ensuing minutes they managed to heat the sofa up considerably. Jenna soon realized they needed to cool things off and they finally separated. She decided to find them drinks, as her heart beat way too quickly, and she realized how badly she wanted this man. With much effort she wriggled to her feet and headed for the kitchen. The discovery of iced tea in the fridge was a welcome one and she poured a glass for both of them before making her way back to the family room.

  She handed one glass to Owen and sipping from hers, sat down beside him. Reluctantly, she picked up her paperwork again, but the phone rang. Thankful for the interruption, she searched for the device. She found it on her desk in the study. Scooping it up, she answered, and recognized her mother’s voice.

  Settling in for a long chat, as her mother’s calls never ended quickly, Jenna resisted the urge to return to the family room. And a certain couch there, with a certain male occupying it. Instead, she sat in one of the chairs near the fireplace and answered her mother’s myriad questions.

  As soon as the call ended, she placed the phone on her desk to recharge and made her way back to the sofa and the man. When she entered her family room, she didn’t see him at first. But as she rounded the edge of the couch, she saw he’d stretched out and was sound asleep. Smiling, she padded to his side, appreciating the picture of him sleeping so contentedly on her sofa. She stepped back, intending to sit in a nearby chair to finish her work but he proved far too tempting. Jenna eyed the space between him and the back of the couch and made her decision.

  She carefully crawled over him and stretched out in the small space. His arm tugged her closer. She smiled again, breathing in his masculine scent, enjoying his warmth against her. She wriggled a bit, found a comfortable spot and fell asleep.

  An argument woke them.

  “I did not,” TJ protested from somewhere in the kitchen.

  “You had to,” Fred replied, also from somewhere in the kitchen.

  “Well, sorry to burst your bubble, pal, but I didn’t.”

  “Wonder what they’re fighting about,” Owen muttered into her hair and pulled her closer. He made a sighing sound and appeared to have gone back to sleep.

  She settled in to do the same but the shadows in the room changed and looking up, she saw Fred enter the room. He stopped abruptly and she heard TJ barrel into him.

  “What in the...?” she sputtered.

  “Shhh,” he cautioned and pointed to them. Jenna smiled to herself as Fred backpedaled through the kitchen door, taking TJ with him, whether she liked it or not. Jenna guessed the or not version, since she could hear TJ’s vehement, albeit quiet protests.

  “You know, Shorty, maybe we should take a nap. I mean we have worked pretty hard today,” Fred reasoned, and the sound of a hand rasping over whiskers followed his statement.

  “Take a nap? Are you nuts? We’ve got...” but her statement ended with a yawn.

  “Quit that,” Fred admonished, and Jenna heard him yawn.

  “You started it,” TJ said irritably, but Jenna heard very little resistance in her voice.

  “No, the pair on the couch started this,” Fred returned. Jenna heard a squeak and then their footsteps on the stairs. She appreciated that they tried to be quiet. And mostly succeeded.

  “Fred,” TJ hissed, but they had moved too far up the stairs for Jenna to hear what she said.

  She turned and found herself staring into a pair of light green eyes. Her heart tripped a few beats and then began that erratic, too fast rhythm again.

  Smiling, she cuddled closer. “I think they’re gone,” she whispered.

  “Thank goodness,” he whispered back and his breath warmed her ear. Then his lips dragged across that same ear and all thoughts of sleeping fled. But after he kissed her ear and nuzzled the side of her face he could reach, he fell back to sleep.

  Jenna wasn’t sure if she was relieved or mad. Not quite pouting, she stared at the opposite wall. This whole romance thing was a confusing business.

  “I really don’t think this is necessary,” TJ protested, trying unsuccessfully to drag her feet.

  Fred kept towing her along, as though she weighed nothing. “You don’t think a nap is necessary? You’re the one who started yawning downstairs,” he pointed out amicably.

  “So what? A girl can’t yawn once in a while? Maybe my brain just wasn’t getting enough oxygen.” Her attempts to stall didn’t appear very affective. He continued to plow the distance remaining between them and her bedroom door.

  “Why isn’t your brain getting enough oxygen?” He darted a very interested look at her.

  TJ clamped down on the panic rising like a demented beast. She couldn’t, wouldn’t give away the fact that he made her breathing patterns irregular.

  “Don’t know,” she mumbled and yawned again.

  “Mmmhhhmmm,” he answered, and tugged her through the door. No sooner had they entered the room than he swooped her into his arms. She yelped and desperately tried to tug her skirt down. The dratted thing had risen dangerously high up her thighs. Before she could properly lower the offending garment, he placed her on the bed and crawled in right behind her. Large arms locked securely around her waist and in what she’d come to think of as typical Fred fashion, his sinfully long eyelashes brushed against his cheeks, his breathing evened out and that quickly, the man was asleep. He forgot to take off his glasses. Muttering, she removed them for him.

  Frustration now took the place of her previous panic. Sin
ce he’d fallen asleep, she couldn’t very well wake him and demand he stop using her as a teddy bear. Because that’s certainly how she felt. He squeezed her so tightly against him she could barely breathe. Teddy bears could take that type of treatment. Indeed, were made for such handling. She, on the other hand, was not. And she already had difficulty breathing in his vicinity.

  The slamming of a door somewhere woke them again and Jenna lifted her head to squint at the clock.

  “It’s twelve-thirty,” she said and smothered a yawn behind a hand.

  “No wonder I’m hungry,” Owen replied, running a hand through his hair with one hand. His other curled her tighter. She put out a palm to brace herself and felt his heartbeat. A very strong, reassuring thump.

  “Hello, anyone home?” Mark’s voice echoed through the family room.

  “I see someone on the couch.”

  “We’re here,” Jenna said and yawned again.

  “Ah, they do live. Would you look at that,” Mark commented and Jenna heard a grin in his voice. She thought about kicking him, but she was too comfortable.

  “We brought pizza,” Colleen said, and Jenna nearly laughed at the way Owen perked up.

  “Pizza is good.” He rolled them from the couch.

  He stood and brought her along. Not a short woman, it was a nice feeling to be swept to ones feet, literally.

  “Where’re Fred and TJ?” Colleen asked.

  “Last we heard, they went upstairs to take a nap,” Jenna replied.

  “I’ll go tell them,” Colleen said and left the circle of Mark’s arm to sprint up the stairs. “Hello! Pizza downstairs for anyone who’s interested,” she bellowed and pounded on the door. She barreled into the kitchen a moment later. Right into Mark’s waiting arms. She grinned up at him and Jenna was glad for them. She wanted a commitment like they had with Owen, but didn’t know how to broach the subject. She figured maybe she’d better wait until after they caught the serial rapist.