"You saved me." Christine lifted her hand toward him.
His jaw clenched tighter. "I should never have left you. The son-of-a-bitch ran when he heard me coming. When I catch him, he'll wish to hell he'd never touched you."
"Whoa there." Ben spoke in his calm tone. "Let us handle this."
Charlie turned toward him, his expression making Ben retreat a step. "Don't pull the 'let the police handle this' on me. There has to be payment for what this animal did. And there will be."
Christine gaped. There'd been hints Charlie possessed a temper, but she'd never suspected anything like this cold burning rage vibrating off him, filling the room and smothering the air with the scent of fury. How could she calm him? "I'm okay, Ko`u Aloha." She struggled to say the new word and saw the flash of surprise cross his face, erasing the worst of the anger. "Please Kale."
"He hurt you, may all the gods damn him." Charlie threw his arms up to indicate the hospital room. "You think I'll let it go or stand back idle?"
Marsha glared at him, her voice hard and firm. "We'll make certain he's caught and punished according to the law. But right now we need all the information Christine can recall. You spouting off threats isn't helping her. You're angry. I'm angry too. Control it, control yourself, or Ben will arrest you for impeding an investigation and take you the hell out of here. Clear?"
Ben reached out a slow, steady hand and touched his shoulder. "She's strong; she can do this. Let her help us."
Charlie gripped the window sill until his knuckles went white against his tanned skin. "Fine."
"What else can you tell us?" Marsha turned back to Christine. "Go through it step by step."
Christine took a moment to find control too. She had to do this without emotion, couldn't let the need to comfort Charlie keep her from telling it all. "I stepped out into the yard, thinking about spring and the flower bulbs I'd planted last fall. Then I got slammed face first into the side of the house. Those moves you taught me in defense class? I tried them, and he grabbed my arm."
Marsha nodded. "Wrenched your arm behind your back when you raised it? I taught you how to control it too."
"I didn't think. I couldn't really. It happened so fast and my face hurt so badly." Christine tucked one foot under the other and shifted a bit. "I guess I panicked."
"He scared you." Ben said in his quiet, even tone.
"Scared me?" Now she got angry too. "He freaking attacked me in my own yard in broad daylight. He hit, kicked, and blasted foul words at me. He cut me and trailed a knife over my skin."
"What kind of knife?" Marsha asked. "Military, hunting, kitchen?"
"I didn't take a damn picture." Her calm made Christine angrier. "I didn't feel anything but the blade slicing my clothes and skin, so it had to have been long enough his hands didn't touch me. He laid it on my ribs, and it felt cold, sort of thick, maybe a couple of inches or so. Like those hunting knives Randy used to have."
"The ones used for skinning or gutting?" Ben questioned.
"Skinning." Christine shuddered. "He threw me on the ground. I remember the way the dirt smelled." Plus the taste of blood as it filled my mouth and made me gag. "He kicked me, I rolled on my side, and then he started cutting me. My robe, my skin. He didn't stab; he sawed at me."
"Did you smell anything besides dirt?" Marsha's fingers typed in the info.
"Cigars. I smelled cigars." She had, Christine realized with an open mouth. Charlie made some sound so she swung her gaze to his. He shook his head and gestured for her to continue.
"I need you to focus." Marsha snapped her fingers in front of her face. "Tell me about his hands. Scratchy, you said, rough. Is there anything else? Did he wear any rings? Did he have any scars? What about his body: tall, short, fat, thin?"
"His voice shouted above my head when he first grabbed me. I didn't see the body type, but he had big hands. His fingers covered all of my breasts when he pinched. He didn't mean to kill me, just leave me scared and hurt after I finally felt safe again." With you, Charlie, I finally felt safe because of you.
Marsha nodded. "All right, good. Who wants to hurt you? We already checked all Randy's family, especially his brother."
"He's in a rehab facility with full security and cameras. This couldn't have been him. Not this time," Ben added. "What about this situation at your workplace?"
She shouldn't be surprised they were aware of the case against her; these two wrote the book on being thorough. "The embezzler already got rid of me at work. Why attack me?"
Marsha shrugged. "There's no way to know yet. Anything else you can recall?"
Christine slowly shook her head and found it didn't hurt as bad. "No, not right now.
Marsha set a business card on the table. "We have new numbers and new offices. If you think of anything else, no matter how small, call us."
"I'm glad it's you and Ben. Thanks for all you do."