[Kate Reid 01.0 - 03.0] Unbound

by Robin Mahle

  “You didn’t catch it on the news?” Marshall grabbed one of the glasses and took a large gulp.

  “No. What happened?” This case had consumed the both of them for the past several weeks and Katie hoped someone hadn’t made a critical mistake.

  “Not long after you left, Hearn came in and said Stanton was ready to meet. So, I talked to him, got a signed confession. We found out there were others. Different states, but the husband and wife had done it before.”

  “Jesus. So what now? Is the FBI taking him into custody?” Katie walked into the living room with a plate of cheese and crackers. That would serve as dinner tonight. “What about the wife?”

  “The wife’s in custody too. FBI will take it from here, but I’ve still got a ton of reports to hand over. We’re lucky to have found Olivia alive. They’ll find out the identity of the other victim soon. They hadn’t lived in that house for long; it was rented. According to Stanton, their victims were kids the couple had treated. Troubled ones. Probably kept track of them, maybe even supplied them with drugs. I don’t know.” Marshall sighed deeply, seemingly to find the strength to regain control. “So, on to happier topics.” He parked himself on the couch next to her, snatching a slice of cheese off the plate and plunking it into his mouth. “How was class?”

  His cheese-eating grin was an attempt to lighten the mood and it didn’t go unnoticed. “Good. We’re studying media coverage of crimes. Pretty fitting, wouldn’t you say?”

  She snuggled in next to him. The safe and comfortable feeling reminded her that maybe she still needed his protection. Not from some perceived outside threat, but from herself and the thoughts that gnawed away at her. Those thoughts and particularly the one so prevalent in her mind at this moment proved almost too much for her, but she would not reveal them; not until she knew for sure and that would have to wait until tomorrow.

  The room was too cold, too sterile, and Katie sat on the patient table. She was wrapped in a paper-linen gown, opened to the front. The results on the stick had shown positive a few days ago and the timing couldn’t possibly be worse. She had imagined this day would come eventually, but certainly not now. The idea had terrified her. What would happen with her job, school, and what about Marshall? Would he be ready for this?

  After the initial exam, the doctor had decided to do an ultrasound. Katie now waited on the doctor’s return and the anticipation was excruciating. She jumped down from the table and pulled her clothes back on as instructed.

  A gentle knock sounded on the door. “Katie? Are you ready?”

  “Yes.” She quickly slid her shoes back on as the doctor entered.

  “Katie, I’m afraid you have what is known as an ectopic pregnancy.” The doctor spoke routinely and wasted no time. “It’s still in the early stages and since you haven’t had any pain or bleeding associated with it as of yet, our best course is to treat with Methotrexate.”

  Katie worked hard to process what the doctor was saying. Only minutes ago, she’d thought she was going to have a baby.

  “Do you understand what I’m telling you?” the doctor asked, appearing to notice Katie’s confusion.

  She knew what an ectopic pregnancy was and that it could never be a normal pregnancy. But her mind reeled at the idea of losing a baby she was terrified to have in the first place. “I understand, but how? Why did this happen?”

  The doctor rolled her chair in closer. “I did the ultrasound because your blood work showed abnormal HCG levels. This is indicative of ectopic pregnancies. It appears that your fallopian tubes are severely damaged.” The doctor proceeded to flip through her notes. “Have you ever had any problems in the past with missed periods or pelvic pain?”

  Katie stared at the wall opposite her, where a poster of a baby inside a womb was hanging. “No,” she whispered.

  “What about any sexually transmitted diseases? Have you ever been diagnosed with Pelvic Inflammatory Disease?”

  “Um.” She blinked slowly as the questions worked their way inside her head. “No.” Katie was silent a moment longer and then turned to look at the doctor. “I was sexually assaulted as a child.”

  “I know, Katie, but I can’t say for sure that that could be a cause. It is possible you contracted an infection that went unnoticed. Or maybe…”

  “Maybe I suffered damage when it happened?” Katie began to wonder what she had done to bring on this misfortune. Was this Hendrickson’s final gift to her?

  “That’s really hard to say.”

  “Dr. Johnson, will I be able to have children?” She had wanted a life with Marshall, a family. Now all that seemed to be in jeopardy.

  “Katie, there are lots of solutions for you to consider. IVF is likely the best answer. Your tubes, I believe, are just too damaged to try and repair. But you do have options. In the meantime, we need to address this matter urgently. We can start with an injection today and then we’ll have to check your hormone levels every few days to ensure the treatment is working. I believe this is the best course of action. If we don’t get the results we need, we can consider surgery.”

  Katie drew in a deep breath, her stinging eyes pleading to Dr. Johnson.

  “It’s okay; you’re going to be just fine.”

  The apartment was drenched in shadow, resulting from the small shafts of light that filtered around the curtains. Katie drew back the living room drapes and the bright afternoon sun shot through, filling the room with its white light. She opened the window to the sounds of the traffic below and the cool air hit her skin, making the noise tolerable. She would not return to work today, knowing that it would prove impossible to face Marshall in this moment.

  Standing fixed in the middle of the room, Katie took in her surroundings. A few pictures of Marshall and her on the beach, one of her parents, another of Marshall’s mother and brother. And the one that held the most meaning for her was the one in the silver frame, sitting on a shelf in the bookcase next to the TV. Sam. Smiling, happy, beautiful Sam.

  Katie moved toward the picture and took hold of it. Her index finger caressed the outline of Sam’s face, touched her lips. She raised up the frame and gently kissed the picture. “I miss you so much. I need you here with me now, Sam. I would have named the baby after you. Boy or girl, it wouldn’t have mattered.”

  She set the frame back in its place. The dust outline that remained was now slightly off-kilter. Overcome with yet more grief and pain, Katie cried out, shoving the contents of the shelf to the floor. The heavy law books smacked against the tile, followed by two more pictures of Marshall and Katie, their glass covers shattering on contact. The small vase that held a single dried flower Marshall had given her hit the ground last and shattered into several tiny white pieces of porcelain. She dropped to the ground amid the broken clutter. Head in hands, she sobbed.

  He did this to her. The doctor’s words mattered little; Katie knew the truth. But he was gone and there was no one to make her suffer anymore, except for her. The anger that Dr. Reyes and Marshall tried so hard to expel from Katie seemed to rush back with a vengeance. She had already lost so much and now she was losing her future.

  Katie remained seated in that spot for how many hours, she didn’t know, but it had grown late in the day. The sun had lowered in the sky and directed rays of orange and red light through the window. She needed to clean up the mess before Marshall arrived home. He couldn’t see her this way.

  Her legs were asleep and, as she stood, the tingling began. The numbness sent her off balance and her right foot landed on a shard of glass from one of the frames. “Damn it!” She hopped toward the bathroom, little droplets of blood landing on the floor, leaving a trail behind her.

  As she sat perched on the edge of the toilet, tissue pressed up against the gash in her foot, the front door opened. Her shoulders dropped, knowing that it was Marshall.

  “Kate?” His voice echoed, followed by his footsteps sounding on the floor. “Kate? What the hell happened? Are you okay?”

  “I’m in t
he bathroom. I’m fine.” She looked up to find him now standing in the doorway, his brow narrowed in confusion.

  “What happened to you? Were you trying to reach for something on one of the high bookshelves? For God’s sake.” He moved quickly to her side, gently taking hold of her foot.

  “I told you, I’m fine.” From his expression, she realized her appearance was likely telling a different story.

  “Have you been crying? You must have really hurt yourself. Do you need stitches?” He looked closer at the blood still pooling around the cut.

  “No. I don’t need stitches. Please, just give me a second to clean myself up and put a Band-Aid on this. I’ll be out in a minute.”

  She noticed the look on his face and knew the conversation wasn’t over, but at least he’d resigned to giving her a moment alone to collect her thoughts.

  Marshall pulled the door closed and Katie tended to the cut. Rising to her feet again, she stood in front of the mirror. He was right to be concerned by her appearance.

  Water splashed against her face as she tried to remove the black stains left by the mascara that had run down her cheeks. Setting the cloth down on the side of the basin, Katie placed her hand over her lower abdomen. They had talked about having children in abstract terms. She knew that now wasn’t the right time, not really, but she would’ve been happy and so would Marshall. Now, she was about to tell him that this life would end before it even got a chance to start.

  Katie reemerged from the bathroom and padded along the hallway, careful not to put too much pressure on the wound. Marshall was picking up the broken glass and placing the books back on the shelf.

  “You ready to tell me what happened?” He looked up at her, holding a large shard of glass in his hand.

  Katie bent down to take his arm and help him to his feet. “Come on; let’s sit down.”

  “You’re scaring me, Kate. What’s going on?” He tossed his head toward the pile of debris. “That wasn’t an accident, was it?”

  “I went to the doctor today.” She quickly raised her hand. “Before you say anything, just let me finish. I was late and I’m never late. So, I took a pregnancy test and it was positive.” His face was already lighting up and she dreaded to continue. “I wanted to be sure before I said anything to you, so I made an appointment.”

  “Oh my God.”

  “Please. Just wait.” Her look began to convey the nature of the results and she watched as the light in his eyes diminished and his expression shifted. “Marshall, it’s an ectopic pregnancy. The doctor had no choice but to treat it.”

  “And by treating it, you mean terminate the pregnancy?” He looked away, appearing to gather his thoughts.

  This was what she dreaded most; being the one to disappoint him. “I’m sorry,” Katie said.

  He returned his glance. “What are you talking about? You have no reason to be sorry. I’m upset that I couldn’t be there for you when you found out. I wish I had known. I would have been there for you, Kate. You know that. But, I understand these things happen and the most important thing is that you’re safe and healthy.” Marshall placed his arm around her shoulders. “You shouldn’t have had to go through this alone, sweetheart. So what do we do now?”

  “Wait. The doctor gave me an injection of something called Methotrexate. It’s supposed to end the pregnancy. I have to go back in a couple of days to make sure it’s working. If not, then I’ll have to have surgery. But the doctor said it was caught early enough that she believed the injection would work.” She decided to leave out the part about the vomiting and bleeding and all the other potential side effects the doctor had warned her about.

  Katie moved away slowly, positioning herself so that she could look squarely in his eyes. “Marshall, there’s something else I have to tell you.”

  He didn’t reply, only waited patiently for her to continue.

  “The reason this happened, according to the doctor, was because my fallopian tubes are damaged, severely damaged. It isn’t likely that I’ll be able to carry a child without the help of fertility treatments.”

  “Okay. Well, that’s not all bad news, then. We can work around it, but from the way you’re looking at me, you don’t see it the same as I do.”

  “He did this to me, Marshall. He’s the reason I can’t have kids.”

  Marshall pushed up from the couch. “Wait; hold on just a minute. This is what the doctor told you? That the damage was caused by the assault when you were young?”

  “Not exactly. She said it was possible. That maybe I’d contracted a virus as a result and it was left untreated.”

  “So you don’t know for sure that he was the reason?” Marshall reached for her hand. “Honey, this is a slippery slope and you know it. If the doctor isn’t sure, then it seems there’s no way to prove the damage resulted from what happened.”

  “Would you please stop talking about it like this is happening to someone else? For God’s sake, your baby won’t survive because of what he did to me. And now you’re stuck with damaged goods. You know how expensive IVF is? And how most of the time it doesn’t even work? Can you honestly look at me and tell me that you’re okay with that?”

  Marshall walked to the bookcase and picked up the frame that now had no glass. It was a picture of the two of them last Christmas at Katie’s parents’ house. They stood on the porch, wrapped in coats and holding coffee mugs. The steam could be seen rising to their faces and they looked happy.

  “I know you blame yourself for what happened to Sam. You blame yourself for what Wilson did too.” He faced her now, holding the picture so that she could see it. “You are not damaged goods, Kate. You’re looking for another reason to keep him in your head. You think if you let him go, really let him go, that you’ll lose Sam too.”

  Katie stood up and moved toward him. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be whole again. And it doesn’t matter how much you try to protect me from the world, Marshall. You can’t protect me from myself.”

  3

  THE WAITER PLACED the check on the table. Edward looked at his date, wondering if she just might reach for the check. So far, what he knew of her, she didn’t seem the type. Lindsay remained still with a firm smile and arms folded neatly in her lap. She was no more going to reach for the tab than she would reach for his crotch later on.

  This was what Edward had come to expect from women. Superficial, egotistical, and only interested in men with money. They’d met through a mutual friend a few weeks ago. He’d held out hope for her, but this was their second date and her true self was beginning to show. The ugliness inside.

  Edward pulled his wallet out of the back pocket of his jeans. After placing his credit card inside, he pushed the black leather bill holder to the edge of the table.

  “Thank you, Eddie. That was a wonderful dinner,” Lindsay told him. Her paper-white teeth gleamed beneath the red lipstick she’d just reapplied. The smile seemed just as fake as she was.

  “You’re welcome.” He’d corrected her several times already that he preferred to be called Edward, but it seemed he’d given up on that too.

  The bill had been paid, his card returned, and Edward was about to slip out of the dark and secluded booth. Would he ask her here or wait until he walked her to the car? Would they go back to his place or hers?

  Maybe it was better to be shot down someplace more private, like a dimly lit parking lot. He proceeded to stand and extended his hand to help Lindsay. She took hold of it gently and maneuvered herself in what appeared to be the most seductive manner she could muster.

  Edward was beginning to think the night wouldn’t be a total loss. He even did his best impression of gentlemanly behavior by placing her sweater over her shoulders. The weather had turned quite cool and he didn’t need for her to be distracted by a chill as they stood outside.

  Lindsay smiled once again and led the way through the busy restaurant. The muted lights cast a bronze hue throughout the space. The trendy Japanese fusion spot had been Lindsay’
s choice. As far as San Diego restaurants went, this was one of the more pricey places to eat, and that was saying something.

  The two finally reached Edward’s car. A charcoal grey late model Nissan sedan. The guy was, after all, a student. A graduate student at UCSD, but still, if Lindsay was looking for someone with money, she was barking up the wrong tree.

  He pulled open the passenger door. “Would you like me to take you home?”

  Lindsay seemed to ponder the question for some time and Edward’s hopes were fading with each passing moment. “Um, sure.” She began to step inside the car. “Maybe you can come in for a drink?”

  Edward closed the door and, as he walked around to the driver’s side, his lips spread into a thin smile.

  Lindsay lived in a small, cottage-style rental home in Mission Valley. The 1960s two-bedroom was shared with a roommate. According to Lindsay, the roommate was away for the night.

  She fumbled with her keys for a moment, appearing to be somewhat affected by the two drinks she’d consumed at dinner. Finally, the door opened to reveal a small living room, complete with contemporary furnishings, the kind you’d find at Ikea, and a moderately-sized flat panel TV fixed to the wall above the fireplace mantel.

  There was no mistaking that this was a young woman’s home. Edward kept looking around, figuring there had to be a cat or two somewhere.

  “Why don’t you have a seat while I pour us a drink? I’ve got spiced rum.”

  Of course you do. “That’d be great, thank you.” Edward sat down on the low white sofa that was adorned with various brightly colored throws and pillows. He glanced around to find several framed photos of Lindsay and what he believed must have been her girlfriends. All were very attractive. Blond hair, dyed, of course. Tanned. The only feature distinguishing one from the other was the eyes. Lindsay had brown eyes, while her friends’ appeared to be blue. Unless they wore colored contacts. Either way, he was growing tired of the typical SoCal girl and longed to be back in Colorado. But he was determined not to go back alone.