Hitman's Creed - 26

 

"He just took me. I was walking home from school, sort of slow 'cause I'd had a fight with my foster mother." Mary smiled weakly. "Well that's not quite true, I wasn't going home. I went to the park. I was going to sit there and make her worry. This man came up and I didn't recognize him at first. He told me he was a cop and that my foster mom had sent him to find me. I was pissed but…" She shrugged. "You don't argue with a cop. We got to his car and no one was around and he opened the door and pushed me in and told me to be quiet or he'd kill me like he killed mama and I was scared he would 'cause then I knew it was him and he jumped in and… and…" She scrubbed away a tear from her cheek. "And then I was… he kept me…" She began to cry. Joey's mother immediately wrapped her arms around her and held her until she stopped.

Once she had, Glenn came over to kneel in front of her. "He kept you prisoner I take it."

"Yes. We traveled around," she whispered. "We would stay at motels and if he left he would tie me to the bed like a dog. He told me if I tried to escape he would find me again and that… that what he had done so far would seem like child's play." A shudder ran through her thin frame. "I knew he meant it."

Glenn nodded. "Why did you finally decide to run from him?"

She dropped her eyes to stare at his feet. "He… he forced me… He said I was legal now and his and…"

"Legal," Joey whispered under his breath as he remembered his first meeting with Glenn and their using that word. "The bastard," he said aloud, angrily.

"No question about that," his mother agreed with equal fervor. "Glenn, we need to find her a safe place to stay until we catch… the bastard."

"She can stay with me and the family," Harv said. "Julia would mother her to death but I don't think you'd mind that, would you, Mary?"

Mary lifted her eyes to look at him. "Do you mean that?"

"Yes, of course. You'd be safe enough because he wouldn't have any reason to think you were there. Besides," Harv chuckled as he glanced at Glenn, "the police chief lives two doors down from me so the neighborhood is very safe."

"Of course he does," Glenn muttered. "It probably would be the best place for her for the moment."

"Then that's settled," Joey's mother said, giving Mary a hug.

"It is, but I need to get more information from her before we disband." Glenn stood again, rubbing his knees. "I'm getting too old to kneel like that for so long."

Joey snorted softly but kept his peace. When Glenn shot him a look, he smiled back innocently. Glenn shook his head before he began quizzing Mary about the make and model of Fairburn's car, what the man looked like now, and for any other details she could give them that might help them find him. Finally satisfied that she'd told him everything she knew, he suggested that Harv take her back to his house.