Jess and Tripp grabbed Kurt from either side.
"Stop it! You’re killing him!" Jess roared.
Ellie sobbed. Kurt loved her. He truly loved her. Nothing would make him stop until she was avenged. Nothing except…
"Kurt, please," she somehow managed to say. "Please… I need you."
He froze, dropped his bloodied fists and staggered from the bed. Two strides brought him to her side. Shaking arms wrapped around her.
"I love you, Ellie. God knows, I love you." He cradled her body with her arms, rocking her gently while brushing her cheeks with his lips.
"I love you, too," she whispered.
A low whistle of surprise pulled their heads around.
"Look what we found," Jess said.
Videotapes spilled from the broken box springs. Susan stood with a female police officer and just stared off into nothing.
Tripp clapped Kurt on the shoulder. "You all right?"
Kurt nodded.
The other man gave a gentle smile. "I didn’t know she was more to you than…" He left the rest unsaid. "Kurt, why don’t you take her to the hospital? You know what has to be done. We’ll finish up here."
Kurt lifted Ellie in his arms. When she tucked her head against his shoulder, he carried her out to his car.
"What has to be done, Kurt?"
He swallowed hard. "They have to photograph you. Take evidence. Do…do a rape kit."
She shook her head. "He didn’t touch me…that way. Only Susan." She let out a small sob and clutched him tighter.
"The rest has to be done, sweetheart. Evidence."
"You, Kurt. Only you. No one else. Please."
"Only me, Ellie. No one else. I swear it."
Chapter 15
* * *
"Are you ready, honey?" Hell, Kurt didn’t know if he was ready. How could he ask Ellie that? At least they’d been given the private room in ER to take the photographs of her injuries.
"Yes."
Her voice was barely above a whisper. Despite her consent, it still took her awhile to open her hospital gown. When she did, a new wave of rage washed over Kurt. He did his best to put a lid on it, for her sake. She didn’t need anger right now. She needed understanding and support. He steadied his shaking hands as best he could, then lifted the digital camera he’d retrieved from the NCIS office.
"We’ll start from the top." He gave her what he thought was a reassuring smile.
She nodded and tilted her head to one side. "He held a knife to my throat. I hit a bump in the road and it cut me." She shifted slightly on the paper-covered examining table to give him a better view.
Kurt saw a trickle of dried blood and zoomed the focus in on the area. Press the button. Done. Take pictures of the dark, finger bruises around her upper arm. Press the button. Done. That was the easy part. The livid bite marks covering her breasts and stomach weren’t.
"Can I at least hide my nipples before you take a picture?" Her chin quivered, tears pooled in her wide eyes. The pupils were so dilated from fear and shock that the gray color was just a thin rim around the outside.
Kurt longed to tell her she didn’t have to be brave, that she could fall apart. But Ellie was a proud woman. She wanted to maintain her dignity and he wouldn’t take that from her.
"Of course, sweetheart."
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she pressed her fingers over the peaks of her breasts. Kurt snapped the pictures as quickly as possible. That bastard Parsons had broken skin—like he wanted to take a chunk out of her.
Kurt felt ill. Now he wanted to cry. Instead, he made a big show of concentrating on adjusting nonexistent camera settings so Ellie wouldn’t see his acute distress. When he was sure he was in control once more, he moved to the bites on her stomach, then to the various bruises and scrapes marring her torso, arms, legs, and face.
"Anything else?"
Ellie gave a quick nod, took a deep, steadying breath, closed her eyes and slowly parted her legs. Kurt froze. He wanted to throw up. He tore his gaze from the bites dotting her inner thighs. A single tear rolled down her cheek. He caught it on the tip of his finger, and held her in his arms.
"It’s okay, honey. It’s all over with."
She nodded and gently pulled away. "Just please finish so they can treat me and I can go home."
"And take a nice long soak in the tub?"
Ellie forced a smile that didn’t quite make her eyes. "Sure. Sounds heavenly." A leaden response.
She tucked the hospital gown over her most intimate area and let him photograph. As he did so, one question kept nagging Kurt. He had no choice.
"I’ll make sure the nurse does a rape kit."
"I told you he didn’t rape me. Why would I lie about something like that when it would affect us so? Kurt"—she wrapped her fingers over his arm—"I’d never lie to you about anything."
He brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them. "I’m sorry. I’m just—"
"My hero? My knight in shining armor? You did save the princess, you know." Another tear spilled down her cheek.
He wiped it away with a brush of his thumb. "Always. Forever."
Ellie grabbed his wrist and held on hard. "Who is he, Kurt? Why me?"
His released a long sigh. "Susan was blackmailing Lieutenant Lee Parsons over tapes filmed while they were having sex. Parsons was afraid his adulterous affair would surface, ruining his marriage as well as his military career. He came to see us about his options. When we started to investigate, he started following me. I think he wanted to use NCIS to flush out the blackmailer so he could get the tapes back himself."
"And Parsons thought I was Susan."
"Yes, and refused to listen to reason."
"Obviously."
He dropped a kiss to her forehead. "I’ll let the doctor in now. While she’s checking you over, I want to go upstairs and see how Vic is doing. Will you be all right while I’m gone?"
She nodded. "I hope Vic’s going to be all right." She touched his arm hesitantly. "I could also use some clothes to go home in. I presume I’ll also have to make a statement of some kind?"
Kurt nodded. "I’ll check on Vic, then run home real fast. Your statement can wait until tomorrow." He couldn’t handle hearing a detailed account of what had happened tonight. Reliving Ellie’s horror, and his own guilt at having put her in danger, was too much.
After giving her another gentle kiss on the cheek, Kurt slipped from the small room. Medical personnel swarmed all over the ER. Jess paced near the check-in counter. Military police hovered around the curtained examining areas, obviously guarding Parsons and Susan. His cousin was nowhere to be seen.
Probably tying up loose ends at the scene.
Jess motioned Kurt to the adjacent waiting area. Once there, he delivered a no-nonsense stare. "You realize you could be facing disciplinary action for what you did tonight. You could’ve killed him."
"I know," Kurt replied. "And I know I got carried away. I don’t care. Ellie is my woman. No one lays a hand on my woman." A burst of adrenaline shot through his body. Kurt knew he’d attack Parsons all over again, given the chance.
Jess merely shook his head. "Is Ellie all right?"
"Barely. And the others?"
"Parsons is coherent and blubbering like a baby. His command’s been notified. They’ve probably told the wife what went on tonight. His career is over. Charges will be drafted against him by daybreak. It doesn’t look like you broke any of his bones, although he’s banged up pretty bad. Your fists have got to be hurting after all that."
Kurt stared down. Jess was right, his knuckles were scuffed, turning a dark reddish-purple from pounding Parsons’ solid frame. They hurt. He hadn’t noticed until now. His sole focus was Ellie.
"And Susan?"
"Still in major shock. Hasn’t said a word. Just stares ahead."
"Is it an act? She is in a lot a trouble right now."
"If it’s an act, she can’t hold it forever. Your cousin’s at the crime scen
e helping us log in all the evidence. Now that these two are in the MP’s capable hands, we need to get back there ourselves."
"I have to stay with Ellie."
"You have to do your job, Kurt. If you two are going to be together, Ellie must understand that sometimes…often…your job comes first. She needs to grasp the dangers involved. If she can’t accept it, the relationship will never work."
How could Ellie understand when he himself was having such a hard time of it?
Jess sighed and looked away. "I’m going to check on Vic then see how Helen’s doing. I called Vera. She and Ellie seem to get along well. She’ll bring over some clothes, take Ellie home, and stay with her until you’ve finished at the crime scene."
A frown pulled Kurt’s eyebrows together. "I’d rather take her out to stay with Claudia…"
Jess put his hand on Kurt’s shoulder. "I understand how you feel. And there’s no doubt Zach and Claudia Taylor would wrap Ellie in comfort. But now is not the time to thrust her into the midst of strangers. Even if those strangers are your best friends. I’ll be back in ten."
Kurt watched the older man walk away, knew he was right, and hated it. He returned to ER and gave Ellie the news.
Her voice was calm. "Okay. I’ll see you when you’re done."
No tears. No hysterics. No pleading. No accusations of desertion. Kurt’s heart swelled with love. He was almost through the door when she called him back.
"What, honey?" He returned to her side and tenderly brushed one errant wave of dark brown hair away from her pale face.
Ellie curled her fingers in his shirt, pulled him to her, and kissed him gently on the lips. Then she butted her forehead to his. "Be safe. And remember, I love you."
And I’m supposed to go back to work now? "I love you, too. And don’t worry, someone will go over to the Lost Oasis and drive your little bug back to your place."
"That’s the least of my concerns."
Kurt didn’t ask what her biggest concern was. He knew…it was getting this all behind them. She might not have been raped, but the physical assault would leave emotional scars for a long time to come.
He passed Vera on his way out. She’d brought an armful of her own clothes for Ellie—long, silky dresses that wouldn’t irritate wounds or bind sore muscles.
She touched his cheek lightly with her warm hand. "Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of your lady for you." He nodded, but her reassurance and final pat to his arm didn’t ease his guilty conscience.
* * *
Ellie tugged her hospital gown closed once the nurse finished dabbing antiseptic on the last of her wounds. Other than the tetanus shot, she could have tended her own injuries. But she was evidence and evidence had to be catalogued. It made her feel like a piece of meat, no matter how gentle Kurt had tried to be. But all things considered, she would hate to have endured what Susan had.
"How’s Petty Officer Bolotnik?" she asked.
The nurse tossed the cotton swab into the trash. "Still in shock apparently. She hasn’t said a word. Just stares off into space. They’re talking about transferring her down to Balboa to the psychiatric ward."
"I suppose that’s one way to get out of being court-martialed." Ellie couldn’t believe she’d spoken her thoughts out loud. More surprising was that she didn’t care.
"What about the others? Vic Brownell and the man who did all this—Parsons."
"Agent Brownell is upstairs and in stable condition despite the severity of his injuries. Lieutenant Parsons was treated and taken into custody. I doubt he’ll be bothering anyone again."
"May I see Petty Officer Bolotnik?"
For the first time since she’d started treating Ellie, the nurse really looked at her. "I suppose it wouldn’t hurt. We have her in the check-in area. It was the only private room left. I’ll just leave you to put on the clothes your friend brought while I get those prescriptions for you."
Ellie waited until the woman left, then slipped on the dark green velour dress Vera had delivered. It cradled her in warmth and comfort. Almost as good as being in Kurt’s arms. Almost.
She’d struggled with herself when he’d told her he had to go to work. One part of her wanted the opportunity to fall apart in privacy; the other part wanted to hold him close and never let him go. It was the torment in his eyes that let her release him without a murmur of dissent. He couldn’t worry about her. He had to know it was all right. He wouldn’t go unless he knew she truly didn’t mind. A small smile curved the corner of her bruised mouth, despite her turbulent emotions.
Who wouldn’t love a guy like that?
After slipping her feet into fleece-lined moccasins, Ellie shuffled to the front room. Her feet were sliced from the mad race down the road. It hurt to walk. Hell, her whole body was starting to hurt. None of this would have happened if it weren’t for Susan’s underhanded scheming.
She shoved open the heavy check-in area door, ready to give Susan a piece of her mind. The sight of her former friend sitting there, blue eyes wide and unblinking changed her mind. Ellie left the door open and walked to her side.
"Susan?" The woman flinched when Ellie touched her shoulder. "It’s okay. You’re safe." She smoothed back a dirty lock of Susan’s short blonde hair. "Why? Why would you do such a thing? Surely you knew you’d get caught someday. You had to know you’d run into a man who’d want to get even."
But any answer remained locked in Susan’s troubled mind.
Ellie sighed. "I’m sure someone will call your parents soon. You know your mom will be here as soon as she can."
"Mama?"
"Yes." Ellie nodded, but Susan did not see.
"Mama?" She paused and repeated the word over and over again in a distant, plaintive voice.
Fighting tears, Ellie slipped away. She signed for her prescription of valium. That, Motrin, and bacitracin were what she had to get her through this. It would take a hell of a lot more for Susan.
Vera rose from her chair when Ellie entered the ER lobby. A gentle arm looped around her shoulders. "Ready to go home?"
"More than ready." She longed to wash the feel of him, the scent of him from her body. But when asked, the nurse advised that the antiseptic needed to stay on a good twelve hours, or the risk of infection would be high. The thought of an infection from the germs in Parsons’ mouth made her skin crawl. She’d leave the antiseptic on as long as it took.
Ellie rattled the bottle of valium in its white pharmacy bag.
Sleep. Sweet, dreamless sleep.
* * *
Tripp barely spared them a glance when Kurt and Jess returned to Susan’s house. He was surrounded by piles of video cassettes and binders filled with documentation.
"Glad you two made it back. There must be at least a hundred tapes here. And look at all her notes and ledgers. It’s going to take a while to sort them all out."
Kurt started his search from the opposite end of the box springs. Each video tape was dated with the last name and social security number of what he presumed was her partner listed on it in neat black print.
Tripp looked up from a pile of papers and ran a hand through his thick thatch of dark hair. "I don’t know how she managed to get this level of detail about her sexual partners." He gestured to the handful of documents in his hand. Each one was a meticulous spreadsheet describing various men and included information from their private military files.
"Not hard," Kurt answered. "Susan worked Sundays at the Naval Hospital. She made sure she had access to everyone’s medical records."
Jess nodded and picked up the storyline. "Kurt and I discussed this in the car, and we theorize Susan would target a Marine or sailor at the Lost Oasis then entice that man into having sex. Whether she used alcohol or drugs to cloud their good sense, we’ll never know." He shrugged. "She’d have sex with them, tape the encounter, then get detailed information on them through their military hospital records. Marriage status, command, whatever she needed to put the squeeze on them and their pocket book."
Tripp shook his head in disbelief, then looked up at Kurt. "How’s Ellie?"
"Badly shaken, but holding up."
"She’s a beautiful woman," Tripp said.
"Yeah, I saw you eyeballing her at the bar. Don’t do it again." Kurt gave his best tough guy scowl.
His cousin chuckled and they settled down to work. The tapes were just the start. Photographs, file cabinets filled with information on her victims, payments owed and paid, and a bulletin board where she tracked the progress on her latest targets. It was a regular home business.
Four hours later, back at NCIS with McDonald’s bags scattered over Kurt’s desk, they were finally able to evaluate the evening’s events.
Jess finished off the remains of a cup of hot coffee, then leaned back and rubbed his reddened eyes. "So what’s the connection between Bolotnik and Forton? Why did Parsons take Ellie to Forton’s hidey-house?"
"Maybe because he knew Ellie and Forton were friends, so he thought the tapes were there," Kurt said through a mouthful of Egg McMuffin. "Susan had a tape with Forton’s name on it. Pictures, too. Apparently, they were more than just friends or lovers."
Jess waved the suggestion away. "Come on, Kurt. Forton had nothing Susan wanted. He wasn’t married. He was in debt up to his neck. He’d been busted down to PFC. What could he have had that she wanted, or better yet, what could she have held over his head as blackmail material?"
"Jail." Tripp kicked his big feet up on the edge of the desk. "She must’ve found out about his involvement with the ketamine. He knew if he got caught trafficking he’d go to jail and probably do a lot of time in the federal penitentiary if he was dealing drugs on the base." He popped the last corner of his hash browns into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. "The sex tape with him in it is the first one, according to the date. Maybe she caught him with the goods at that time and was blackmailing him ever since."
Kurt thought a moment. "Perhaps his price to pay was to provide Susan with a hideaway for her to do the men."
Tripp nodded his head. "That would work for me."
Everything was beginning to make sense. The house was rented in Forton’s name. No one could track it to her. She’d go in, do her stuff, then be gone, blackmail tape in hand. Still she took a big risk. If anyone had recognized her beneath the disguise, they wouldn’t have had much trouble tracking down her real residence—like Parsons thought he did with Ellie.
JUDGING ELLIE Page 22
