“How is she?” he asked.
“From what we can tell, she should be okay physically. Bruising already started around her wrists, ankles, forehead, and neck. It’ll intensify and be pretty painful. They’ll be able to make her more comfortable at the hospital and do a full work-up. It’s nothing she won’t recover from. This, on the other hand.” He turned her left arm so her palm faced up. “It’s pretty, but it’s also permanent. It’ll probably do the most damage.”
The tattoo looked like a shadow against the night’s black backdrop.
His gaze methodically studied her body. “Any stab wounds or signs of rape?”
“No stab wounds. They’ll run a rape kit at the hospital, but there’s no obvious sign of sexual trauma.”
The EMTs hoisted Eva to a gurney. James followed as they wheeled her the short distance to the driveway.
“Can you stand with her for a second? Some asshole cop blocked our loading doors.”
James smirked. “Yeah, I’ll wait.”
“I mean. Shit. No offense, Detective.” They hurried off in search of the owner of the patrol car.
James looked down at Eva. His eyes lingered on her face. “I get to keep my promise and tell your mom we found you.” He lightly grazed the back of her hand with his fingertips.
She let out a series of small, dry coughs.
“Hey, can you hear me?”
Her eyelids barely opened.
He spoke softly. “I’m Detective James Graham. Do you know who did this to you?”
“Where’s my mom?” Her faint voice barely permeated the noise-filled air.
“She’ll meet you at the hospital as soon as they load you into the ambulance. Do you know what happened?”
“I’m so tired.”
“You should sleep. The EMTs will be back soon, and before you know it you’ll be with your mom at the hospital.” James tried to sound upbeat.
“Stay with me. I don’t want to be alone.”
“Yeah. Sure, I…I’ll ride with you. Let me go tell my partner, and I’ll be right back.” James looked around for Schilling.
“Don’t leave.” Eva reached out and loosely grabbed his hand. She winced and pulled her arm back beside her.
“Okay. You sleep. I’ll just be right over here.” He pointed to a spot about two feet away.
A soft smile brightened her face, and she let her eyelids fall shut.
James cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled. “Schilling! Schilling!”
Schilling handed an evidence bag to a member of the Crime Scene Unit and looked around. James waved his arms in the air until he got his attention.
“Graham! I was just going to come find you.”
“Eva woke up. She wants me to ride over to the hospital with her. I figured that I’d wait there until her mom arrives.”
“There are a few things you should know before you see Ms. Kostas.” Schilling positioned himself so his back faced Eva. He leaned into James and lowered his voice. “That’s the boyfriend’s house.”
“I thought she said Eva didn’t have a boyfriend.”
“Not Eva’s, the mom’s boyfriend. And there’s no body.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s clear someone was bleeding pretty heavily in that basement. Enough that they wouldn’t have made it out alive. The guy they were talking to is covered in it, and there are pools of it down there. But there’s not a body. No drag marks and only one set of footprints leading out.”
“That guy you’re talking about. The one with Eva when we got here. We need to talk to him.”
“And that’s the other thing. Thanks to Tulsa’s finest, we can’t.” Schilling threw up his hands. “He’s gone.”
Twenty
Fatigue pulsed through Alek and fed the dull ache growing behind his eyes. He lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. The extra power he carried drained him sooner than expected, compromising his ability to heal.
“Hey, you okay?” the officer asked.
“My body hurts and there is a pounding in my head. I think I might be dying.”
“Unless you’re gushing out blood or unconscious, you’re not going to get out of answering a few questions.”
Alek squinted at him. “I assure you, this is just as serious. I have to get home.”
The officer chuckled. “I would have picked something better than a headache, but nice try. We’ll get you looked at by the EMTs when they get here, but you’re not going anywhere.”
Alek forced himself to stand upright and breathe normally.
“What condition was the victim in when you found her?”
Alek glanced over to where he gently placed Eva. The police cars painted her red and blue with their flashing lights.
“How was she when you found her?” the officer asked again.
Alek turned his attention back to the man in front of him. “She was unresponsive. She must have been knocked out before I arrived.”
The officer took a breath to ask his next question but was interrupted by the blaring sirens of the approaching ambulance. “Hey! Over here!” He turned and shouted to the driver.