Not Forgotten

by Camille Taylor

  Please let her be okay.

  Chapter 34

  Harry gave her a cruel smile. One that sent chills racing down her back. Natalie kept her back straight, her gaze unwavering as she tried to act more confident than she felt. She may have promised to keep him away from Hallie, but what hope did she have? She was bound and defenceless and he was sure to tire of her soon and kill her. That gives Hallie a few hours, she thought. She had read the police reports. Stab wounds in the double digits. That took time. She tried not to imagine how much that was going to hurt.

  Natalie wished she’d caught the signs earlier. If only she had remembered to follow up on the behavioural change of ‘Henry’ when she had the chance. She blamed herself. Had she been paying closer attention she should’ve been able to see what lurked beneath that forgettable exterior. If she had, tonight certainly would’ve gone different. Instead of being held captive, she could’ve wiled away the time waiting for Matt to call.

  Matt. They had come so close last night to figuring it all out. She had no doubt that given time he would get to the same conclusion she had. He was a brilliant detective. He would work her murder. She just had to figure out how to ensure there was enough evidence to lead him straight to Harry. She trusted him to see that she got justice and that Harry burned in Hell for his crimes. She only hoped it was before he got to Hallie.

  They had to protect Hallie.

  Natalie felt the cool blade tease against her arm. She froze, her breath catching in her throat making it hard for her to breathe. Tears rolled down her cheek, Natalie no longer able to hold them back.

  “I can see your fear now. You know what’s coming, don’t you? The pain. The begging. You’re going to be thankful when I cut your throat.”

  The image was sharp in her mind, just as he had planned. Years of training and patience went out the window. She could no longer be understanding and non-judgmental. She was going to die and the last thing she would see was Harry Teller, her murderer. Natalie felt the fear the other women must’ve known and felt a kinship with them. They hadn’t deserved to die, just as she didn’t.

  She lashed out. “You’re nothing but a sick demented fuck who should’ve been institutionalised at birth. I bet your mother was glad when you ended her life. You freed her from your paltry presence.”

  Abruptly, Harry moved and in a blink of an eye his knife was against her throat. She could feel the cold steel of the blade biting into her flesh and the warm trickle of blood running down from the point of the knife. She cried out, fear temporarily paralysing her.

  “Will you be as glad when I remove you from this earth?” he snarled.

  Natalie quickly assessed the situation. Her training told her to continue to anger him. To push him over the edge. He got off on fear and she was feeding him. She struggled to mask it.

  “If it means not having to deal with your pathetic life any longer, then yes. Do it, Harry. Kill me.”

  She would rather a quick death than a slow and drawn out one.

  Harry’s mouth curled in distaste. She knew the night was not going according to his plan and she smiled. She felt oddly disjointed from the world. The knowledge of death creeping closer was surreal. She felt the odd need to laugh. Hysteria—she knew the symptoms immediately.

  She didn’t fear death. The only thing she thought about was Matt. She was thankful she had the chance to meet him. She was glad she had overcome her fear and allowed him into her life. The time she had spent with him was worth every moment of pain she had ever experienced. She loved him with her entire heart and felt another tear fall, just one. The last one. A tear for Matt.

  She loved him. Why hadn’t she realised that before and why now when she was about to die did her heart decide to tell her? In a flash, she knew. Her knee came up and rammed into Harry’s groin. He cried out in pain and dropped to his knees to clutch at the family jewels. Natalie shot up off the stool. Her feet barely touched the ground before he grabbed her ankle hard. His hand, like a manacle, sent her hurtling towards the floor. Her knees and elbows connected with the wood panelling, bringing about a numb tingle in her joints as they absorbed the shock. Harry moved over her. Pain was etched on his features. There was lust in his eyes and rage emanated from his pours.

  He reached for his knife, once again moving it towards her. He raised it, preparing to plunge the blade into her body. Natalie started to shake uncontrollably. She bucked beneath him, hoping to knock him off balance.

  A sound of wood cracking had them both looking up towards the kitchen door that led to her back garden and the world spun as she was hoisted to her feet by Harry’s easy strength. As her vision cleared, her gaze found Matt standing in the ruin of her doorway. His service weapon, a Glock 23, was aimed straight at Harry. The look on his face left no doubt whether he would shoot to kill.

  Dazed, she realised her new position. She stood between Matt and Harry, acting as Harry’s shield. Her back was against his chest and his knife at her neck. Harry spoke first, his voice cold and commanding.

  “Drop it, Detective. Drop it or I drop her.”

  Matt held his hands up in surrender and dropped the gun on the floor. He kicked it away. “Let her go.”

  “No,” Harry screamed. “I’ll never let her go. She’s mine.” He turned his body to the side and faced her, she assumed so he could look into her eyes as she died.

  Natalie could feel the knife against her skin, his hand under her chin when Matt dropped to a crouch and pulled his concealed weapon from the ankle holster and shot Harry. The bullet sliced through his neck and embedded itself in the wall behind them. Natalie brought up her hands instinctively and wrapped them around her neck to protect herself, the backs of her hands taking the brunt of the cut from the blade as Harry fell to the floor. She felt the sting of the knife as it opened her flesh.

  The room smelled like death and cordite. Natalie took a few steps back. Not once taking her eyes off Harry, she promptly collapsed on the floor as her legs gave out. Tears of relief and pain blurred her vision. Sobs echoed throughout the room as Matt moved toward her. His gun never wavered from the body of Harry Teller. He kicked the knife away and stared down at the body for a moment before he turned his attention towards Natalie.

  Matt knelt beside her and pulled out a small knife from his back pocket and cut the duct tape. He yanked it away from her skin, leaving it red and agitated. He put his hand under her chin and moved her head gently so he could look in her eyes.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, concern making his voice husky. She slowly nodded, then launched herself into his arms and held him tight.

  Matt hugged her back. His arms were like steel around her as if he planned to never let her out of his sight again. She could hear sirens outside, still some distance away.

  Natalie sniffled. “Thank you, thank you. I was so scared. I thought I was dead. Thank you,” she repeated, the last few words inaudible as she sobbed.

  He stroked her back, comforting her. “It’s okay. It’s all over. You’re safe. It’s okay. You’re all right.”

  She pulled away from him and looked up him through mist. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  Matt nodded. “You’re welcome.”

  She smiled at him, tears falling off her long lashes to roll down her face. Matt gently swiped them away with his thumb. In the next minute her eyes widened and Matt paled in response.

  “Oh God, Gary.” She got to her feet and on wobbly legs, moved towards the unconscious man on her kitchen floor some feet away.

  “Who’s Gary?”

  Natalie knelt beside Gary. “My stepfather.” She felt for a pulse, nodding when she found it steady. “He’s still alive.”

  “I’ll get some water.”

  Natalie glanced up at him. He didn’t sound happy about it. But then she knew he was remembering what she’d told him about the man. She watched as Matt walked over to the sink and started looking for a glass. She was glad he was here, for more than one reason. She shivered at the memory of bei
ng so close to death as she shook Gary. She tried to push it from her mind.

  “Gary? Gary?”

  Gary groaned and started to lift his head before stopping abruptly and promptly replaced his undoubtedly aching and concuss head on the floor.

  “Natalie?” He sounded dazed. “I suppose I deserved that.”

  Natalie shook her head. As much as she wished all those years ago to hurt Gary like he had hurt her, the reality was less than brilliant and certainly not as gratifying as one might’ve hoped.

  “I’m sorry. You were just at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  Matt brought back a glass filled with water and handed it to Gary. Natalie caught the dark look on his face. Her self-proclaimed protector was ready to attack should she give him the word. She felt her stomach flip. Of all the things to get mushy over, she thought.

  “Here’s some water.”

  “Thank you,” he said to Matt before turning to her. “I just came here to apologise to you for my behaviour when you were a little girl. I was an alcoholic. I know it’s not an excuse but I wanted…needed you to know that I’m sober now. Have been for five years,” he added proudly.

  “Congratulations,” she replied and meant it. Had it not been for alcohol she had always thought he would’ve been a half decent man.

  “I quit after your mother died. I finally saw myself in a mirror and realised I didn’t like the man I’d become. Look, I know I don’t deserve it but I was hoping that sometime in the future you might forgive me.”

  Natalie looked deep inside herself. “I already have, Gary.”

  It was the truth, she realised, only having admitted it to her herself at that moment. Life was about the future, not the past. Nothing good ever came from holding onto painful memories.

  “You have?” he asked, somewhat dubious but also hopeful.

  She smiled. “Yeah, I have.”

  Gary’s eyes misted. “Thank you. I’m going to be in the city for a while and I’d like for us to get together and have some lunch. When my head doesn’t feel like someone’s taken a baseball bat to it, that is.”

  Matt raised an eyebrow and glanced down at the bat, close by where she’d dropped it. She caught his gaze briefly before smiling at Gary.

  “I’d like that.”

  “Great, lunch. It’s a date,” Gary said, as the ambulance and several of Harbour Bay’s police cars pulled up outside the house, the red and blue lights streaking through her blinds.

  Natalie groaned as she realised she’d have to move. If she thought the forensics team visit had been on every one of her neighbours’ lips, she was about to go down in infamy as the worst neighbour ever after bringing a serial killer into the street followed by every member of the police force. Not that she wanted to come back to this house. She had loved it but now it was filled with bad memories and all she would be able to remember was how it had felt in those last few moments when she’d thought she was going to die.

  She shivered. She never wanted to feel that way again.

  “All clear, Darryl,” Matt yelled out to his partner, and Gary shuddered.

  The man she assumed was Darryl entered through the front door, followed closely by a woman and two men she vaguely remembered from her visit to Matt’s office. They each wore bulletproof vests over their clothes and had their guns drawn. She shivered at the knowledge of how serious the situation was. Natalie watched as the four of them stepped gingerly into her house as if they expected the entire Manson family had taken refuge inside instead of one very dead serial killer.

  She found it quite humorous. She was probably still a little hysterical but the image made her lips twitch. She glanced over at Matt. He smiled at her and for a second it seemed as if they were the only two people in the room.

  He straightened. “We need to get you both to the hospital.”

  Natalie glanced down at her hands. They were bloody and stung painfully. Matt motioned for a paramedic with his finger before reaching down and helping Gary to his feet. Together they started their way towards the approaching paramedic.

  Matt grabbed hold of Natalie’s arm. “See you soon, okay?”

  She nodded and looked up into his eyes. They were full of pain. She could see him warring with indecision. She knew that he wanted to go with her but his duty was first to his job and the case.

  “I know. It’s okay,” she said. “I’ll be all right. Go do whatever it is you do. I’ll see you later.”

  He stared at her for a long moment before reluctantly turning away and joining the other detectives in her kitchen for debriefing. Natalie blinked back tears and tried to be strong. She was hanging on by a thread. But she knew he had a job to do and accepted that. At least logically. Emotionally she was a wreck.

  Natalie turned her back to Matt. Her dependency on him didn’t surprise her but it did worry her. She wasn’t used to needing people. Natalie made herself take a step then another. Soon, she was out in her front yard. Red and blue lights flashed brightly and a young uniformed cop was cordoning off her house with crime scene tape. It was something out of a nightmare. She heard her name and saw the waiting ambulance, Gary already tucked safely inside. Her entire body numb, Natalie started towards it.

  Chapter 35

  Matt watched Natalie’s dead gaze drift about his house as if seeing it for the first time. He wished she would say something, anything, to let him know she was going be okay. Since picking her up from the hospital she had been quiet and it was scaring the crap out of him. He had carried the conversation, barely pausing to take a breath, afraid of the silence he knew would follow.

  Matt understood that whatever she had experienced with Harry hadn’t been pleasant. It would’ve been terrifying. He cursed himself for not figuring it out sooner. It had almost been too late. Harry had had the knife against her throat. The image would never leave him.

  He wanted to share her pain, her horror and fear. He wanted to hold her and help her to heal, if only she’d let him. She had almost lost her life. He would never forgive himself for that. He was the one who had drawn her into this nightmare and he wondered if she blamed him. Why not? He blamed himself. He could feel her pulling away from him and desperately tried to bridge the gap.

  He had explained in the car ride home that she would be required to make a formal statement about the previous night’s events and that he had requested they wait until tomorrow. After all, what did it matter? Harry was dead. Her statement was merely a formality and would be used in his review by Internal Affairs to prove the use of deadly force was warranted and necessary.

  He wasn’t concerned. Again, it was merely a formality. If there had been any issues in him discharging his weapon, Alec Harris would’ve already suspended him. He would’ve been relieved of his badge and firearm until a decision was made.

  Natalie sat perched on the edge of his couch, her bandaged hands in her lap. Thankfully the cuts were shallow and would not cause permanent damage. They would heal in a couple of weeks. If only mental trauma was as easy.

  She was pale and looked so lost. It broke his heart. He longed to go to her but was unsure if she wanted him to. She had made no action that told him so, or otherwise. From the moment he had shepherded her out of the hospital and into his car, she had made no sign that she was even aware of his presence.

  Matt hated this. He hated feeling so damn useless. She had to be drowning in thoughts and emotion. Her house, her once safe haven, had been taken from her and now he had brought her here, a place she barely knew. He only wanted what was best for her, and he wanted to be close enough so that he could keep an eye on her for his own peace of mind. Almost losing her had made him realise just how important she was to him.

  Matt wondered if he should’ve taken her to a hotel. Perhaps she would be more comfortable in a neutral place. He glanced over at the suitcase by his front door where he’d dumped it before going to pick Natalie up from the hospital. He had filled it with clothes and toiletries from her house. As it was now a crime sc
ene, she wouldn’t be able to enter it for some time. Not that he thought she’d ever want to again. At least not for a while with the memories so fresh in her mind.

  Had he made a big mistake? He watched Natalie stare silently at the wall of his living room. Had he been presumptuous to think she would want to stay with him?

  “I’ll take you to a hotel,” he blurted out.

  Natalie turned to face him. “Why?” she asked, her voice as fragile as she looked. “Can’t I stay here with you?”

  Matt let out a deep breath and felt some of the tension leave his body.

  “Of course you can. I just thought you’d be more comfortable in a hotel.”

  She shook her head and glanced down at her bandaged hands.

  “No. I want to stay here.”

  “Okay. Can I get you anything?”

  A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth but it seemed the effort was too much for her and it slipped back into a frown.

  “I’m fine, really, Matt. I’m just tired.”

  He cursed himself for not following her to the hospital. He should’ve handed the case over to Darryl. Except he knew he couldn’t have. He was point and it was his job to finish up the case and complete the necessary paperwork, including his statement. Still, all that didn’t matter when it came to Natalie. Last night must’ve been awful for her and he wondered if she had gotten any sleep or if nightmares had kept her awake. He moved closer to her but stood far enough away that he didn’t crowd her.

  “Did they give you anything to help you sleep?”

  Natalie nodded. “Yeah, but I don’t want to take it. I’m afraid if I do I won’t be able to wake up. That if I dream I will be trapped.”