Phantom Scars (23 page)

Chapter 44 – Buried Treasure

Jessup and I came running. Jessup ran his detector over the same area and looked up at Tyson, his eyes excited. "It's here, or something big is." They both pulled out their poles, and I grabbed my shovel. I watched as the poles went down nearly four feet and then clanked on something solid. They did it a few times, and then Tyson and I started shoveling. Jessup pulled a camp shovel out from under his trench coat and started digging along with us.

We started to hear something. It was just a mumble at first, but it got clearer as we worked.

"That's it, baby, whip that cream! Do it good, or I'll hold you under and make you whip it that way!" we heard a man yell. "Good girl, that's it. Look at what you're doing to me. Now you've got to take care of this."

Jessup was digging frantically, and then we realized we were just going to hit some sort of metal roof, so Jessup picked up his detector to find the edge, and then he got back to digging. Tyson and I saw what he was doing and dug with him frantically.

"You’re going to suck it, baby, or I'll fuck you until you bleed! How do you want it? You want it in your mouth or your pussy?" we heard him taunt.

We hit the edge of something metal, and Jessup racked his shovel against it hard, alerting them to our presence.

"What the hell?" we heard Chester yell.

"That's it, suet, we're coming for you!" Jessup yelled down to him.

"Help, please, oh god. Help me!" we heard Vivien scream.

"Shut up, bitch!" Then we heard a loud smack.

We heard something metallic squeak from further away. Tyson jumped up and ran full speed, and we heard a loud grunt, as he jumped into some bushes. We heard a gun go off and ran to see if Tyson was okay. Chester was shoving Tyson's body off of him, when I drew my gun on him. Jessup whacked him in the head with the shovel, knocking him out and taking his gun. He looked around and saw the faint light of something down in a hole.

"Go get her!" I yelled. I didn't want to take my eyes off this guy. I pulled out my phone. "We've got them!" I shouted. "Agent Green has been shot!"

We could hear shouts of rejoicing all around us echoing, but my heart sank, when Jessup pulled a naked Vivien out of the hole. She was limp. "She was under water or milk or something. He knocked her out."

"Mouth to mouth," I shouted "Do mouth to mouth on her!"

Jessup pulled off his coat and laid her down on it, and then he leaned over her. My eyes kept darting between Chester and Vivien, hoping she would show some sign of life.

We heard sirens coming and the crunch of rock under the police cars and ambulance's tires, as they were coming fast through the brush.

"Over here!" I shouted.

Then I heard coughing and gagging, and it was the most beautiful sound I could hear. Vivien was alive.

"That's it, honey, get it out. You're safe now, sweetheart. I’ll never let anyone hurt you again," Jessup cooed to her, as he wrapped her naked form in his trench coat. She curled up in his arms sobbing, and he just held her and rocked her until we saw the other FBI agents come running.

"We’ve got him from here," they said pulling their guns on Chester. The medics ran to Tyson and started working on him fast.

"Where’s Agent Falkner?" one of the men asked.

"Agent Green cuffed him to a tree a ways off," I said nodding in the direction. "He went crazy, refusing to search and ranting about letting this guy get away, so he could make a name for himself when he found him. He pulled a gun on Green, and when we heard what was going on, Jessup and I intervened. Agent Green then started backtracking on the area Falkner had covered, and that's when we found the bunker."

The guy looked like he wasn't sure if he believed us. It wasn't a secret that Jessup was a bit off, but that didn't matter right now.

The medics came to look at Vivien, but she was clinging to Jessup for dear life. He carried her over to the ambulance and climbed in with her. Maybe he would get a date with her after all.

They found Agent Falkner, and I decided I would head back to avoid facing that bastard again, but I was stopped. "Your stories don't match. Agent Falkner said he found the guy, and you guys jumped him to steal the glory."

"That's not what happened!"

"Well, with Green out for now, I'm afraid we're going to have to take you into custody along with your partner."

"That's bull crap. We didn't jump him. Next thing you know, he'll say we're the ones who shot Green!"

The man frowned. I guess that was why we were getting taken in. They thought we were the ones who had shot Green. "Can't you test us for gunpowder residue? I can tell you right now neither of us shot anyone. Green was helping us, and when he heard Chester getting away, he went after him. Chester shot Green, who was working with us!"

The guy looked over at his buddy, and one of them walked back over to the car they were driving and pulled a kit out from the backseat. "Give me your hands," he said sternly, and I let out a sigh of relief, as I held them out for him to swab. He nodded to the other agent. "He's clean. I'll go check the other guy," he said, taking his kit with him to the ambulance, where they were still checking out Vivien.

"They need to check for gunpowder, Jessup. They think we shot Agent Green."

"Damn fools!" he shouted, but he begrudgingly offered one hand at a time, so he could still hold on to Vivien.

"Thank you. Hopefully, Green will wake up and tell us what happened. Stay where we can find you," the agent warned.

"I'm staying with Ms. Vivien," Jessup snapped.

The man just nodded.

"I'll be with my wife. Please let us know how Agent Green is doing. He's a family friend of hers."

The man raised an eyebrow at me in question.

“She's originally from Kingman, Arizona. Her dad, Detective Declan, is fishing buddies with his dad," I explained.

"Detective Declan? Your wife isn't Emmaline Declan is she?" he asked.

"Emmaline Clemens now," I corrected. "Yes, it's her. Agent Green was on the case that busted up the kidnappers who were after her."

The man rubbed his face. "I remember when Detective Declan first showed up. Nothing was going to stop him from finding his little girl. That man is like a bloodhound with a jackrabbit. He was all over the place and raised so much hell, but he actually helped us shut down four other human trafficking rings. Turns out his daughter was taken by the man who headed them all up. He tracked them right to the front door of his family's place, and he would’ve taken them down, if he hadn't been blown out a second story window. I think we all cried a little that day, when he said he'd seen his daughter, but she was nowhere to be found after the explosion."

"She escaped. There were some more explosions, and she was freed and made it out. She thought they'd killed her father. We were happy to find out that was not the case."

"Well, how did you find her?"

"She stowed away on my ship. She was a tiny, skittish little thing and was terrified of being sent back to where she came from, so my captain married us. She's been with me ever since."

"Is she doing okay, has she seen her parents?" he asked.

"Yeah, they came and stayed with us for a while, once we found out that her dad was okay. She was happy to see them, and I think it did them all some good to see that she's safe and happy now."

"That's good. It's good to hear there was a happy ending to that mess. It's good that there's a happy ending here, too," he said looking over at Vivien hanging onto Jessup.

"I'm just glad it's over. It's hard to sleep when you know there's a killer out there. I'm glad you have him now." I looked over to see Chester was just coming to and was surrounded by agents and a medic. He started to thrash, trying to get away, but an officer pistol-whipped him, knocking him out again. He deserved that and a whole lot more.

I made my way home and hugged my wife, pulling her tightly into my arms and then taking her up to our apartment. I told her what had happened and promised we would go check on Agent Green the first chance we got.

"Is Vivien going to be alright?" she asked.

"Physically, I think so, but you of all people know how bad the invisible scars can be."

"I feel bad for her. She doesn't have someone like you to take care of her."

"Jessup is looking after her. She clings to him like you do me. He'll make sure she's okay."

She took in a deep breath. "That's good. It's liable to be pretty rough for her for a while, and she'll probably need Warren. I'm glad she has Jessup. God knows we all need someone sometimes."

That He did, and I was thankful to Him every day that He let me be that someone for my Emma.

Chapter 45 – Say Amen!

I finally had time alone with my girl. Our time together had been so short the last couple of days, so I was really missing her. Momma had a big celebration lunch for the whole search party, or found party as she called it. I took a couple of slices of cake and pulled my girl up the stairs to our place.

I was looking forward to just snuggling up with her. After the adrenaline high I had from catching Chester had started subsiding, I was exhausted. Emma brought over a couple of glasses of milk, and we snuggled on the couch.

"How are you feeling today?" I asked. She seemed a lot calmer, and I worried that she had needed the medicine boost Dr. Greyson had prescribed for her.

"Good, actually, Dr. Greyson and I have been working on my triggers for the past few weeks, and I was able to open the window in the restaurant office."

"Really? That's wonderful! I didn't know you were working on that." I truly was shocked, but now that I thought about it, the last several times I had found her in the office, she had been looking out the window.

"Yeah, I've also gotten a lot better with loud noises. I really had to work on that one first because of Clayton. He doesn't have a mute button. He's always so loud. Believe it or not, listening to him talking and laughing loudly in the kitchen and then the clanking of the kitchen has helped me with that. I just still can't handle strange men or angry people, though."

"Honey, I don't think there's a woman alive who likes strange men or angry people. That's definitely something you don't have to feel bad about."

She laughed lightly. "I know, but I still find it hard to leave the apartment, because I'm afraid to encounter angry people and strange men."

"That's okay, honey, after what you went through, you have every right to be afraid." I didn't want her to feel bad for her having anxiety about going out. It was understandable that she would want to hide out in a safe place.

"Dr. Greyson wants to change our session time," she said suddenly.

"Really, to when?" I asked wondering what was going on. After-dinner sessions had become our routine. I was surprised he was changing it, especially since he was basically doing it pro bono.

"Lunchtime, he wants to take a picnic down the boardwalk and eat in the cannon park. He wants me to push my limits."

"Do you think you can do that?" I worried it would be too much and end up setting her back.

She shrugged. "It'll be daylight. I'll be with a trusted man who I know would protect me."

"But…" I started. I could tell she was unsure still.

"There are still a lot of people out around lunchtime. Do you think you could come with me the first few times?" she asked with her big doe eyes.

"Sure, baby, of course I can," I said kissing her forehead. I would do whatever she needed to help her get her life back.

I decided it was time to change the subject. She looked like she was stressing out about her new get-better project. "Have you looked into the colleges and found one you like yet?"

"Um, actually, yeah, Horry-Georgetown Technical College in Conway has an accounting program. They offer online courses as well, so I would be able to do a lot of them from home. It seems to be the closest, so when I do need to take some on-campus classes, I can easily go in for them."

"Really, honey, that's great. You should apply and see if you can get into some classes this coming spring semester," I said pulling her close. We were already most of the way through November, so I was sure there weren't any classes to be taken right now.

"Okay, I'll apply, but what are we going to do for the tuition?" she asked looking a little worried.

"I told you, I have savings. We can probably swing a semester without assistance. Just apply for grant money as well. I already put in for a student loan, but I don't know how long until that comes through. Just don't worry about it, baby. We'll get it. I have it in savings like I said, so we'll be fine. I just want you to do what you want."

She nodded okay and promised to apply for the spring semester tomorrow. "So, tell me what you want to do once you get your degree."

She smiled at me. "Well, I noticed you don't have an accounting office anywhere near here, and there's that vacant office next door to the restaurant. I mean, it’s kind of big, but maybe I could split it with someone else and open a little business. I could probably make some good money around tax season, and then I could help manage your momma's books. I've always been good with numbers and used to take care of my mom’s finances before Wayne. I was the reason she still had a halfway decent credit score when they got married."

"I'm really glad to hear that. I'm crap when it comes to managing money. I just have everything set up on automatic payments coming out of one account. Speaking of which, I want to put your name on it, but the lady at the bank said I have to bring you in with your I.D. and have you sign the papers yourself. We should probably get you a new license with your new name, too. I'm sure the school will want to see it."

She looked at me worried.

"Do you think you can do that?" I asked, realizing that visiting the DMV and the bank would probably be a challenge for her.

She let out a deep breath. "Yeah, I guess it's something I have to get done before you leave, just in case I need to get something. I'll need to be able to fill my prescriptions as well."

I kissed her lips lightly. "I don't want to leave you."

"I know. Maybe I can tell Warren what I need to do, and he can help me work up to it?"

"That sounds like a good idea."

We finished the rest of our cake in silence, and I couldn't help but worry about what the spring would bring. I didn't want to leave my girl, but she seemed determined to send me off.

After we finished our cake, there was a knock on my door. Clayton stood there, bouncing on his feet. "Hey, Devin, can you come help me set up my new bed?"

"New bed?" I asked curious.

"Yeah, I got a new one, and I need a hand. You can come, too, Emma."

"Why did you get a new bed?" Emma asked. "Your old one seemed fine."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "No, well, see, I've had to sleep on my couch since the night you all came to dinner. I'm exhausted and can't wait to crash on this one. It is a pillow-top."

I noticed Clayton still had not answered Emma's question. "Clayton, what was wrong with your old bed?" I asked. I had a sneaky suspicion it had to do with the gay porn I'd left on it.

Clayton's eyes darted to Emma nervously.

"Clayton, does this have anything to do with the magazines I found under your bed?" she pushed.

His eyes widened, and he cleared his throat.

"What magazines, dear?" I asked Emma.

"You know, like the one he had tucked under your bed that we found when we got back from the ship."

My eyes widened. "Really, Clayton, you had more stuff after momma got rid of your collection?"

"That wasn't my collection!" he nearly shouted. "I don't know where Emma found all that stuff."

"Well, there was one under the sink in the bathroom I was worried would go moldy, so I hung it out to dry. The ones tucked in the couch I just pulled out and set with your other magazines. I didn't think anyone would be reading them!" she defended. "As for the stuff under your bed, how was I supposed to vacuum under it with them down there?"

Clayton was getting redder but not madder. He looked completely embarrassed and nervous.

"Look, Clayton, it's not my business what you look at, but maybe you should pick one spot to keep that stuff, so I know where to put it next time I help out. I really don't feel all that comfortable handling that stuff, and there was a lot of it spread all over."

"I swear it wasn't mine!" Clayton freaked out. I actually pulled Emma back, surprised she wasn't scared. I was proud of her and happy that she trusted Clayton enough to know he would never hurt her.

"Clayton, please don't raise your voice to my wife. It's obvious that stuff was yours, and we're okay with that. We don't judge you for it, we all have our things we don’t share with others. I guess I was a little surprised to see that Eli doll, though," I said in a caring voice.

"That's nothing; you should’ve seen the magazines in his bedroom," Emma said. "There was some pretty graphic man-on-man stuff in there."

"What?" I asked shocked and looked at Clayton.

"It wasn't mine! I'm getting a new bed. That wasn't mine!"

"You know, Clayton, I’d love you, even if you were gay."

"I'M NOT GAY!"

"Okay," I said in a patronizing tone, letting him know I didn't really believe him. "Just know that we love you."

He slapped his hand over his face and groaned. "Never mind, I'll move the bed myself."

"No, no, I'll help. Will you be alright on your own here for a minute?" I asked Emma.

She nodded yes, and I kissed her goodbye.

We were just off the stairs and down the boardwalk a ways, when I just had to ask, "So, Clayton, what's a dick pump? Emma said she found one at your place, but neither of us could figure out what that would be for. Is that what you used to pump up the Eli doll?"

"What? HOW? OH, just, ah!" he fumbled, obviously embarrassed that I'd asked the question, as we walked past people on our way to his place.

"Are you okay, Clayton?" I asked with false concern.

He was rubbing his face. "I got rid of all that crap, and I have no clue what the heck a dick pump is, that doll was not mine. I never saw that stuff until that night at dinner..."

I saw in his face the moment the parts all clicked together. He turned to me wide-eyed and furious. "YOU!"

Thank heavens for my quick feet. I was down the boardwalk and heading back to the restaurant, howling with laughter the whole way. There was only one safe place from Clayton, and that was behind momma in the kitchen.

I came skidding in, and she almost spilled a pot of gravy. "Devin, what on earth?" she asked, but when she turned and saw Clayton's red face, she knew what I was doing.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Devin planted the porn in my apartment!"

"That's crazy!" I defended. "You know how sensitive my wife is. We were lucky her progress wasn't set back because of that crap you had."

"Crap! You're the one who bought it!" he shouted.

"Boys!" my momma chastened us, setting the gravy pot down loudly.

"He's just mad at me because I asked him why he had gay porn. That's kind of odd, don't you think? I mean, I told him we’d still love him if he was, but he insists he's not gay," I said.

My momma looked at Clayton worried.

"I had to buy a new bed because of you!" he shouted, lunging at me. Thank heavens Eli was there, because he caught him before he could hit me.

"That's enough! Clayton, you take this outside, and make sure your Sunday shirt is clean and pressed. I'm picking you up for the nine o'clock service."

"But, Ma, it wasn't my porn!" he whined.

"Really, Clayton, I found it all over your house, and you're trying to blame this on Devin?" she asked.

"Emma, actually, he thought she was the one who put it all over the place. She just took it all out of the hiding spots as she was cleaning," I added. "I think he's just trying to get out of going to church."

"Clayton!" our momma said scolding him. "You honestly think that dear little girl, who’d been so traumatized, would willingly handle such garbage? You should thank her for outing your little problem, so it can be addressed."

"But, Ma..." Clayton whined.

"No buts, you leave Devin alone. He has a wife I'm sure needs tending to. If you need help with something, take Eli. I don't want to hear about this again, that goes for both of you, understand?" she looked at us both firmly.

"Yes, Ma'am," we answered back.

"Good. Now, Eli, could you please be a dear and help Clayton with his bed, and make sure Devin gets back to his apartment in one piece?"

"Yes, Ma'am," he answered walking in between us.

Once momma was out of earshot, Clayton was glaring. "I can't believe you! I'm so getting you back! Why would you pull crap like this? What did I ever do to you?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe it was because you left your porn in my apartment for my new traumatized wife to find the first night we were stateside, knowing there was a chance momma would find it and be dragging
my
butt to church!"

"But she didn't!"

"Clayton, Emma found it. Do you remember how nervous and timid she was when you first met her? She practically ran from the thing like it was on fire, it freaked her out so bad."

He looked down at his feet. "I didn't think you’d ever bring anyone home."

"Yeah, well, you thought wrong, and my sweet scared wife was looking at me like a creep that night, and I wondered if she ever really believed me when I told her it wasn't mine. You know how Pa always said that stuff was bad for a relationship. That was not what I needed when starting out my marriage. I was lucky she did believe me."