Where My Love Went - A Novella

Twenty-Eight : Anesthetic

Josephine

I'm not sure what Will's coach is saying, but he's mad enough that I can hear him even though Will doesn't have him on speakerphone.

"Look, Coach, I'm really sorry, but I have to go. I'm walking into the police station."

"The police station?" I'm able to catch that.

"I'll explain everything later, I swear." Will sighs. "Yes, Coach. I understand. Have a good day." He brings his phone down and shoves it in his pocket.

"What happened? He seemed mad?"

Will shakes his head. "Don't worry about it right now. This is more important." His hand lands on the small of my back as he opens the glass door to the station and guides me inside. The receptionist glances up at us and grabs the phone, letting someone know that "the dead girl and her boyfriend are here".

"Is that really necessary?" Will asks as we come up to the desk. "She has a name."

The lady shrugs and snaps her gum. "I'm not getting paid to remember people's names."

There's a buzzing sound before the metal door opens and Kevin appears. "Come on back."

Will takes my hand in his and we follow the Chief of Police into an interrogation room where a man with a laptop sits at the table in the middle of the room. "This is John. He'll be tracing the phone. I've got a handful of guys ready to go once we find our location." Kevin levels me with a glance. "Are you ready?" I hesitantly nod. "You'll be riding with me. We'll clear the place before we take you inside and let you determine if we've got the right address. Depending on what John finds, there could be multiple buildings or just one. Based on what we already know, it sounds like you were kept in a house, but we're keeping our minds open for anything."

Will pulls a chair out for me and I take a seat before he follows suit beside me.

"If we find our guy, you'll have to identify him for us."

I shake my head. "I don't know what he looks like, I've told you this."

Kevin nods. "We think you'll recognize his voice."

"How so?" Will asks, taking ahold of my hand and lacing our fingers together.

"We guess that he'll trigger memories, the same way you have." He sighs. "If that doesn't happen, then we're counting solely on interrogation to break him." Kevin pulls a piece of paper out of a folder. "We had a sketch done, with all the facts we know. We're guessing he's in his fifties, male, of course, facial hair."

I sit up and look at the sketch sitting in front of me. My eyes squint as I try to envision him. I chew on my bottom lip. "That's not what he looks like."

"Why's that?"

"You gave him a full beard." I point out. "His was shorter-trimmed. Like Will's. That's why Will triggered me one day. The way his scruff felt beneath my palms." I say quietly. "And his calloused hands on my arms..." My voice drifts off as I sit up straight.

"You didn't say that when it happened?"

I shake my head. "I didn't remember it then."

"She'd just gotten off the meds, she wasn't thinking clearly," Kevin informs us. "She's able to now." He rests his elbows on the table. "Can I ask you some questions, Josephine?"

I gulp before I nod. "April 16, 2014. What happened?"

Will huffs. "We've done this before."

"She remembers things now, Will. Things she didn't four days ago when we talked."

I squeeze Will's hand before answering the question. "I was getting ready for prom. By myself. Mom was at work, but she was gonna use her break to be there for pictures." My voice is shaky as I recall the night that's been taunting me for weeks now. "I needed more bobby pins, so I walked to get some. On my way home, I stopped at that gas station—"

"What gas station?"

"7/11." Will provides. "On the corner of Lynch. The sketchy part of that street."

I close my eyes as I try to remember. "I got my slushie and I left... and... and..." My shoulders slump. "I don't know. Everything is blacked out from there on."

Kevin stands up and rounds the table, sitting on the edge in front of us. "Josephine, did you ever think that maybe your memories aren't blacked out? You were blacked out?"

My brows furrow. "What do you mean?"

"She never drank, Kevin. I've told you this before." Will's jaw clenches.

Kevin holds up his hand. "That's not what I'm implying, son."

"Then what are you saying?"

"Let's see." He tilts his head. "A teenage girl is walking home alone when all of the sudden everything goes black."

Will sits up straighter. "Chloroform."

My brows knit together in confusion. "Anesthetic? Why?"

"To knock you out quickly. Quietly." Kevin informs me.

My breathing picks up as my heart pounds in my chest. "So, he presses a cloth to your mouth and you're putty in his hands. He drags you to a car, I'm assuming, then drives off. You could be asleep an hour, a few, maybe even a day. You wake up and you have no memory of what happened. You can't see anything due to your blindfold, you begin to panic. What does he do? Calms you."

Will snaps his fingers. "Sleeping pills."

"Low dosage. To keep you awake but not aware. You're confused, your mind is weak. He takes advantage of that and starts to tell you things that aren't true. Things like—"

"I'm sick." My voice is hoarse. "I can't see my family anymore."

"Sir." John interrupts us. "I've got it."

Kevin moves to stand behind him and looks at the computer screen. His face turns pale.

"Where is it?" Will demands.

"Huntington, Colorado. Wilma Drive."

I suck in a sharp breath at the same time that Will stands, knocking his chair backward.

"She was two blocks away from me the whole fucking time!"