“Fables?” Jonathon echoed. “I can see the media dubbing him the Fable Killer if that gets out.”
Matthew could too. He hated it when the media decided to give a name to a killer, it made them out to be some sort of almost fictional being. That was when people let their guards down, didn't see a threat, and started to see the killer as a character in a play rather than a real person, a real threat, and someone who hurt real people.
“Kane, did you get any forensics we can use?” Heidi asked, turning her attention to the crime scene tech.
“We have his fingerprints and DNA, we’re running them through every system we have but so far no hits,” Kane replied. “If we get anything I’ll get you guys know immediately, but there’s always the chance we won't.”
That was the thing with forensics, often times they were more helpful in proving your suspect was the one you were looking for, rather than finding you a suspect. While he would love it if the fingerprints or DNA gave them the name of Grace’s abductor, he wasn’t going to count on it.
“What we need,” Heidi said, “is a full statement from Grace Bennett.”
Jonathon stiffened. While the man had never met Grace, he’d been partners with her sister-in-law Allina for a couple of years now and had bonded with her and her family. Everyone in the precinct had spent time trying to help the Bennett family track down Grace, but Matthew was sure that Jonathon had put in more hours than the rest of them.
“I don’t think Grace’s family is going to let you near her, not yet,” Jonathon said.
“Allina, Elijah, and Allayna are all cops, and Jeremiah is a criminal psychologist. I’m sure they all know the importance of getting the victim’s statement,” Heidi said, the determination in her gaze said Grace would be interviewed, and today.
“What about the other victim?” Jonathon asked.
“We’ve talked to Barbara Lack,” Rylla replied, “but she was only taken a few days ago and doesn’t know much. She hasn’t participated in any tests, although Emmanuel told her he had lessons he wanted to teach her. Grace has spent years with this man. She’s the one who is going to give us the best information.”
None of them were unsympathetic to Grace or her family, they all knew how hard things were for all of them. Just as they also knew how important it was to talk to Grace.
She was the key to unraveling this whether they liked it or not.
“I know what you're all going through,” Rylla said softly, for a moment her green eyes lost their spark. It was only six months ago that Rylla had lost her sister and then herself been kidnapped and almost killed. Matthew had been there that day, along with Rylla’s now husband Nate. He didn't think he would ever forget the fear he’d felt ravaging his body when they weren’t sure if they’d find her alive. Although she covered it well, he knew Rylla still struggled with what had happened to her, and in an effort to forget had thrown herself into work and raising her thirteen-year-old niece Emmy, and recently turned ten-year-old nephew Mac.
“We all get it,” he assured Jonathon. “And just like it was hard for you to watch Clara give her statements, her sisters too when they were hurt, you knew it was the right thing to do. The only thing we can do. The Bennetts know that too. We’re all on the same side here. All we want is for the man who hurt Grace to be held accountable. Unfortunately, the only way to achieve that is to talk to Grace.”
Even though he said the words—and believed them one hundred percent—there was a queasy feeling in his stomach as he thought of asking Grace more questions, having to watch her answer them with a determination he wasn’t sure any of them could understand. Grace had already proven herself to be strong and a fighter, the best way for her to begin recovering from her ordeal was for everyone around her to recognize that strength.
Matthew knew from experience how much it hurt to fight for your life, and those of the people you cared about, to do whatever it took to stay alive, only to be shunned for it later. While he knew Grace’s family would never shun her, they needed to support her, however it turned out she needed that support.
Grace had done her part, she’d been strong, she’d fought hard, now it was time for someone to be there to hold her hand while she worked through it all. Was it completely wrong of him to want to be there to do just that?
His preoccupation with the woman wasn’t fading, if anything it kept growing.
He was in for heartbreak if he let himself get attached which was exactly why he never did let himself get attached. Grace was faced with the daunting task of rebuilding her life. She’d lived through a hell he could never understand, the last thing on her mind was men and relationships.
Yet he couldn’t stop feeling something for her no matter how much he tried.
Or how much he wanted to.
* * * * *
11:52 A.M.
“I know you're just trying to protect her, but have you asked her what she wants to do?”
The voice was familiar, and Grace immediately placed it as belonging to Matthew. She got a little thrill hearing it which was definitely odd because she was pretty sure she had more than enough to be worrying about right now without developing some sort of crush on one of the detectives working her case.
Maybe it was the promise of distraction that it gave.
If she thought about Matthew, she didn't have to think about Emmanuel.
Curious as to what was going on out there, instead of heading from the bathroom to the bed, she headed for the hospital room door.
“Asked me what I want to do about what?” she asked. Matthew stood in the hall along with Elijah and Jem, who were standing in front of her room like guard dogs.