More Than a Soldier

by Irene Onorato

  “Are you okay, Cindy?” Vargas spoke from the doorway.

  Cindy seemed to notice the detective for the first time. “Hey, Pete.” Her sad greeting held no amount of gaiety.

  Hank looked from Vargas to Cindy. “You two know each other?”

  “Pete is Eric’s partner.”

  “Was his partner. Eric got booted off the force a couple of weeks after Cindy quit.” Vargas took a step into the bedroom.

  Hank snugged his hands farther around Cindy’s waist.

  Vargas hiked his lips in half of a smile. “You two need a few minutes?”

  Hank nodded. “Please.”

  Vargas left and closed the door.

  Hank pulled Cindy into a close embrace. Cindy’s head rested on his shoulder, and warm tears bathed his neck. He stroked her back and stared over her shoulder. Eric Nolan would pay for what he’d done to Cindy. He’d pay big time.

  Chapter 24

  “Detective Vargas is right. Maybe you should let me take you to the emergency room.” Hank sat on the couch next to Cindy and took her hand. “It wouldn’t hurt to have a doctor check you out.”

  “He’s right, dear.” Mrs. Baker eased onto the cushion on Cindy’s other side and patted her thigh. “I’ll go with you if that’ll make you feel better.”

  Cindy slipped her hand from Hank’s. Her face contorted and a tear squeezed out. “I don’t want to go anywhere.”

  Officer Cravelle came from the bedroom carrying two clear plastic bags with the word evidence printed diagonally across each and showed them to Vargas. “Knife and cuffs. Smith is finishing up with a few pictures of the bedroom. I’ve got to go to the car and get another bag for the hair.”

  Muffled sobs shook Cindy, and Mrs. Baker slipped an arm around her shoulders and comforted with soothing words.

  Nothing Hank could say or do would help any more than what Mrs. B was already doing. The feeling of powerlessness didn’t bode well with him. He got up and stood by the window near Vargas. “So now what?”

  “We see what turns up with the APB and the hospital search and keep looking for Eric.”

  Hank figured as much.

  “I still say Cindy should go to the ER or at least an urgent care clinic.” Vargas showed genuine concern. “You may not have noticed, but she has a few bloody spots on the back of her shirt. She probably got her spine scraped when Eric slammed her against the bed frame.”

  Vargas motioned for Hank to follow and went over by the kitchen bar. “Did you see any blood behind Cindy’s ear or on her neck?”

  “Blood?” Hank’s shoulders tensed. “No, why?”

  “I saw a speck of red on the tip of the knife. Eric must have nicked her when he cut her hair. If that’s true, the charges against him will escalate.”

  “I’ll check it out.”

  Vargas grabbed Hank’s arm before he could walk away. “I can arrange for a female officer to meet us at the emergency room to take pictures of any visual injuries Cindy may have. And also the whack job Eric did on her hair. She’ll feel more comfortable letting a woman take the necessary shots in the privacy of an exam room.”

  “I’ll see if I can convince her to go.” Hank went back and sat on the couch.

  Cindy sat leaning forward with her arms folded atop her knees and head hanging low, giving full view of the spots Vargas said he’d seen on the back of her shirt. Hank smoothed Cindy’s hair away from her ear.

  A thin line of red, no more than a narrow scratch, ran from the area behind Cindy’s earlobe to where the ear started to curve toward her face. Jaws tightened, Hank sent a conformational nod toward Vargas. A few inches forward with the knife, and Eric may very well have cut off Cindy’s ear.

  Leaning forward, Hank matched Cindy’s stance. “Sassy?”

  She didn’t look at him. “What?”

  “I’m concerned about you, and poor Mrs. Baker is worried sick. Let me take you to the emergency room. Please?”

  Cindy sat motionless for a moment then slowly nodded and whispered, “Okay, I’ll go.”

  * * * *

  “Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of her.” The ER nurse smiled at Hank and guided Cindy and Mrs. Baker down a corridor toward the treatment area. The automatic double doors closed and blocked them from view.

  Vargas came up beside him. “She’ll be okay. Hopefully, she’s got nothing more serious than scrapes and bruises, but it’s good that you were able to persuade her to come. How bad was the cut you saw?”

  “It’s thin and shallow right where her ear attaches to her head. Almost looks like she was marked with a red, fine-point pen.”

  “So he came close to cutting off—”

  “Don’t even say it.” Hank pivoted toward Vargas. “I didn’t want to mention this in front of Cindy, but Eric Nolan paid me a surprise visit earlier today while I was at the Dunkin’ Donuts over on Castleton Avenue. He threatened to kill me if I didn’t stop seeing Cindy. Evidently, in his warped mind, he still thinks she’s his fiancée.”

  “That sounds like Eric. Arrogant, controlling, possessive.” Vargas’s gaze wandered across the expanse of the waiting room. “Let’s sit back there and talk.” He led the way to a couple of seats against the rear wall and flipped open a pocket-sized, spiral-bound pad and pen. “How long have you known Eric?”

  “Never met him before this morning, although I’d seen him once when he followed me after I’d left Cindy’s place one night. Today, he saw my Jeep in the parking lot at the donut place and stopped by to see if he could wreak a little havoc with my psyche. His threat didn’t scare me, and I told him as much. Now I’m wondering if my refusal to stay away from Cindy triggered his attack on her.”

  “A show of force to prove he’s in control?” Vargas nodded. “I wouldn’t put it past him to do something like that. Sounds like he’s been stalking her for a while. Keeping tabs on the comings and goings at her house.”

  “Seems so. He used to call and harass her, but I showed her how to block his number. As far as I know, she hasn’t heard from him since.”

  Vargas put away his pad and pen. “You said you and Cindy were friends. Looked a little more serious than that to me.” He smiled.

  “It’s complicated.” It confused even him at times.

  “I’ll bet. After her involvement with Eric, she’s probably riddled with trust issues. I don’t know what it is that women see in him, but they swoon at his feet.”

  Hank adjusted himself in the chair, turning more toward Vargas. “How much do you know about what went on between Cindy and Eric?”

  “I suspected from the beginning that he was cheating on her, but never said anything because I had no proof. After she broke up with him, I overheard Eric laughing about it with his buddies in the locker room. He thought it was a big joke that he got Cindy’s sister Belinda pregnant.”

  “A joke, eh? He told me he gave her money for an abortion. Seven hundred bucks. But I saw Belinda not long ago, and I can assure you there’s a big bun in that oven of hers.” Hank rubbed his neck. “I think, in a roundabout way, I might have let it slip to Eric that Belinda pocketed the money instead of aborting.”

  Vargas pulled out his pad, jotted a note, and put it back in his jacket pocket. “I’ll see if I can locate Belinda, give her a heads-up, and tell her to give us a call if she sees anything suspicious or gets any threats. There’s no telling what Eric’s capable of doing.”

  “Thanks. I’d feel bad if anything happened to Belinda because of me. If you wouldn’t mind, don’t say anything to Cindy about my meeting with Eric today. I’ll tell her some other time. She’s under enough stress without dealing with more.”

  “You got it.”

  “Yesterday she got a job with some downtown investment firm. Plunkett, Plinkett. Something like that. This morning, they fired her over some bogus—”

  “Plunkett Financial Services?” Vargas’s forehead scrunched to form a vertical crevice above his nose.

 
“Yeah, that’s it. You familiar with them?”

  “They. Never mind. There’s the female officer I requested. I’ve got to go talk to her a few minutes.”

  “Okay. Catch you later,” Hank said. Vargas knew more than met the eye about Plunkett’s firm. His negative facial reaction proved that. Subtle coaxing might be all that was needed to draw it out of him.

  * * * *

  Hank tuned out the monotone of the big screen TV on the waiting room wall and averted his attention from daytime commercials aimed at the geriatric crowd. One day he might need denture adhesive, adult diapers, and a bathtub with a door, but hopefully not for at least fifty years.

  A nurse came through the double doors and scanned the waiting room. “Hank Fleming?”

  “That’s me.” Hank shot out of his chair and went to her.

  “Miss Giordano’s attending physician would like to speak with you. This way, please.” She led the way to a consultation room and pushed the door open. “Have a seat. The doctor will be here shortly.”

  “But—” The nurse scurried away before he could say another word. Why would the doctor want to talk to him?

  A tall, stocky doctor entered seconds later with Vargas on his coattail. He stuck out a meaty hand and shook Hank’s. “I’m Doctor Kennard. I understand you’ve already met Detective Vargas.”

  “Yes, we’ve met. Doc, what I don’t understand is why you want to talk to me. Cindy and I aren’t related in any way.”

  “I understand your concern. We take doctor-patient confidentiality very seriously.” The doctor smiled. “When I asked permission to share Cindy’s medical information with Detective Vargas, she asked that I include you. Said it would save her from having to tell you herself. It’s not uncommon for some traumatized patients not to want to talk about their injuries.”

  That made sense, and he could imagine Cindy feeling exactly as the doctor described. “So, how is she?”

  “We took a couple of X-rays of her head and spine. Everything looks good, but I wouldn’t be surprised if her back and shoulders are sore for a few days. She might end up with a little bruising on the cheekbone where she was hit, but it should be minor.”

  “What about the cut behind her ear?” Vargas asked.

  The doctor shook his head. “Superficial. I cleaned it up and applied some antiseptic. Physically, Cindy will be fine. It’s the mental aspect of an attack like this that concerns me. Some victims tend to have significant mood swings. I recommend she not be alone for the next couple of days if at all possible.”

  “I’ll see what I can do about that.” Hank stepped forward. “Can I see her now?”

  “She’s getting dressed. Wait here and I’ll send the nurse to tell you when Cindy’s ready. Detective, if you’ll come with me, I’ve got some paperwork for you.”

  Hank closed the door after them and pulled out his phone. “Hello, Dad, you got a minute to spare? I need to talk to you.”

  * * * *

  “Here she is.” The nurse waved Hank through the open door of a small examination room and continued down the hall before he could thank her.

  Inside, Mrs. Baker looked on while Cindy sat in a chair wriggling her foot into a sneaker. The heel caved in, and so did her shoulders.

  “Hey, Sassy, let me help with that.” Hank dropped to a knee, helped Cindy into her sneakers, and tied the laces. “I called my parents and told them what happened.”

  Cindy’s empty face looked back at him. No smile. No luster in her eyes. It was as if Eric had slapped the life out of her.

  Hank cupped his hands over Cindy’s knees and held her gaze. “They asked if you’d like to get away from your apartment for a few days. A week. Or, however long it takes for you to feel comfortable about going home again. They’d love it if you’d stay with them awhile.”

  “That’s a wonderful idea. How very sweet of them.” Mrs. Baker beamed a bright smile and petted Cindy’s shoulder. “I can help pack your bags while Hank tends to Cricket. I’m sure she needs a few minutes in the yard after being cooped up in the apartment these past few hours. We can get you on the road to the Shultzes’ in no time.”

  Cindy licked her lips and trained her eyes on Hank. “I don’t want to impose on your parents.”

  “You’re not an imposition to them in the least. They want you to come. My mom knows you haven’t eaten since this morning, so she’s whipping up a meal as we speak.” Hank rose and pulled Cindy gently to her feet. “It’s up to you, of course, but I hope you’ll say you’ll go.”

  “But what about Mrs. Baker? What if Eric—”

  “Don’t worry about me.” Mrs. Baker gathered Cindy’s discharge papers from the exam table. “I called my youngest son while you were getting X-rayed. He’s coming down from Albany, spending the night, and taking me home with him in the morning. I’ll stay there a few days. So, you see, I’ll be just fine.”

  “Everything’s taken care of.” Hank hoped his smile was enough to convince her. “So, will you go?”

  “Are you sure they—”

  “I’m absolutely sure.”

  “All right, I’ll go.”

  * * * *

  Stars sparkled in the heavens and lit the way as Hank walked toward the lake beside his father. He stopped and turned. Light spilled from the kitchen window where Cindy worked at the sink. His mother passed back and forth behind her with jaws flapping in conversation. Cindy nodded and mouthed a word here and there but otherwise moved sluggishly, as if she were weighted with lead.

  “I’m worried about her, Dad. On the way over, she sat erect, feet flat on the floorboards, with her hands folded on her lap. A few days ago she would have slid her seat back, shed her shoes, and wiggled her toes on the dashboard. I’ve even seen her shove her feet out the window and prop them on the outside mirror.”

  “Give her time, Son. She’ll bounce back, but you’re going to have to be patient. Right now she’s still reeling from the shock of what happened. Things may look brighter for her in the morning when the freshness of the event loses some of its bite.”

  “I’m sure you’re right.” A good night’s sleep where Cindy could rest in absolute safety could only do her good.

  * * * *

  “Knock, knock. You decent, Sassy?” Hank inclined his right ear toward his former bedroom door. A smile crept to his lips. Out of all the bedrooms in the house that she could have chosen to stay in, she chose his.

  “Come in.” Cindy sat with her back against the headboard with the covers pulled up to her waist. “I took one of those sedatives the ER doctor gave me. It’s only been about fifteen minutes but my eyes are getting heavy already.”

  “That’s good.” He went to her bedside. “Mind if I sit with you awhile?”

  “No, I was hoping you’d come say good night.”

  He sat and shook her red flannel sleeve. “Nice pajamas. Guess I’m not getting my favorite shirt back any time soon. Am I?” As far as he was concerned, she could keep it and wear it forever.

  “It’s so soft. So, you.” Cindy’s eyelids drooped and lifted open again. “I’ve worn it every night since you loaned it to me.”

  Her confession made him smile. “I broke it in good for you, eh?”

  Cindy’s eyes slid closed again. “Sorry, I’m getting a little cross-eyed and starting to see two of you. I think I’ve had it for today.” She scooted down under the covers.

  Hank got up, pulled the blankets to her shoulder, and turned off the bedside lamp. “Good night Sassy.”

  “Hank?” She touched his arm. “Would you stay with me? Just for a while, until I fall asleep?”

  “Sure. Scooch over and give me some room.”

  Hank lay on top of the blankets, facing her back, and wrapped an arm around her.

  “Hank?”

  “Mm-hmm?”

  She released a single, squeaky sob. “Does God hate me?”

  “No, He doesn’t hate you.” Hank hugged her tighter. “God lov
es you, Sassy. Don’t ever doubt that.”

  “I hope that’s true. Sometimes... It don’t feel...”

  Cindy’s breaths deepened, and then rattled with a tiny snore. Hank lay still a few minutes with his arm around her and pressed a soft kiss into her hair. “I love you, Sassy. Sweet dreams.”

  Quietly, Hank eased from the bed and left the room.

  Chapter 25

  Hank jolted from a deep sleep and silenced his phone’s alarm. Showered and dressed ten minutes later, he crept down the stairs and stole across the living room toward the side door.

  “Where are you sneaking off to so early?”

  “Good morning, Dad.” Hank changed course and went to the kitchen. “Detective Vargas called last night right after I’d helped Cindy go to sleep. Said he wanted to meet with me before he started his shift this morning. Off the record.”

  “Off the record? Why’s that?”

  Hank shrugged. “Guess I’ll find out soon enough. We’re meeting at Barnaby’s diner at seven. It’s roughly midway for each of us. If Cindy wakes up before I get back, tell her I had to run some errands. Now’s not the time to put anything else on her. I’ll tell her all about it when she’s feeling better. Besides, no use saying anything about this until I know more.”

  “Good idea.” Dad poured coffee into a travel mug and screwed on the lid. “Here you go. One for the road.”

  “Thanks, Dad. I’ll call Edward after I meet Vargas and fill him in on everything that’s happened. See you later.”

  * * * *

  Hank lowered his visor and drove toward the early morning sun. It had been considerate of Vargas to offer to meet in Bentley, close to Hank’s place, but he’d sounded grateful when Hank offered to split the trip. Gut instinct told him Vargas was a stand-up kind of guy. Of course, anyone with a strong dislike for Eric Nolan scored mega brownie points in Hank’s book.

  Vargas stood waiting outside Barnaby’s as Hank pulled up. Wind flapped the detective’s jacket open, momentarily unveiling a handgun tucked into a black shoulder holster and a silver shield clipped to the waistband of his jeans.