Chapter 27: Carla

Chapter 27: Carla

Afterward, Zoe assigned Jack to be Hannah's partner, which shocked the whole police station. Everyone knew about Hannah's quirks, and they were curious why Jack became an exception. Some malicious individuals even spread rumors that Jack was gay.

Jack didn't care about such rumors. He was more concerned about Zoe avoiding him. Since that night at the hospital, Zoe treated him as if he were invisible in public, and she only made excuses when he tried to contact her privately, as if she had done something to apologize for.

Feeling helpless, Jack finally decided to call Maureen and arranged to meet her tomorrow night.

"So, you're not making dinner or training with me tomorrow night just to meet that alluring psychotherapist of yours?" Hannah, driving the police car, spoke in a tone like that of a jealous little wife.

"Didn't Zoe tell you that the cause of your after-effects from shooting had been determined? As long as you do this after each time..."

Jack's gaze lingered on Hannah's profile. "So, Zoe didn't hide anything from you, did she? She told you everything."

Realizing that she had slipped up, Hannah's speech became a bit stuttered, and her face flushed from her ears to her cheeks, and even her neck turned red. "I don't know anything. You should ask that therapist. She's the mastermind."

"The mastermind? You three were conspiring against me behind my back, huh?" Jack's peripheral vision caught a figure suddenly appearing right in front of the police car, so he quickly raised his voice to alert Hannah.

Coming back to her senses, Hannah slammed on the brakes, but it happened too suddenly. Despite the patrol car not going fast, a dull collision sound still echoed as they got out to check. They found a blonde girl lying unconscious on the ground, wearing an oversized men's T-shirt. Her left wrist was still handcuffed with a partially opened pair of novelty handcuffs, and she had only a pair of underwear under the large shirt. Most importantly, she was barefoot with tiny cuts on her soles from running desperately on small stones.

Signaling Hannah to pay attention to these details, Jack picked up the radio and began calling, "7-A-26 police car reporting, suspected vehicle collision. Please arrange an ambulance to come."

As they waited for the ambulance, the girl had regained consciousness. She grabbed Hannah's arm and pleaded, "Save Emma, please save Emma. She can't hold on much longer."

Hannah tried to soothe her panicked emotions. "We are the police. You are safe now. Tell us what happened. Who is Emma?"

"I was kidnapped. Emma is the girl with me. Please, save her. If he finds out I escaped, he'll kill her." The girl's emotions remained agitated, and Jack frowned as he stood aside.

"What's your name? Do you remember where you ran from?"

"My name is Carla Robinson. I don't know this neighborhood. I ran for about half an hour, and no one would help me. I had to run desperately. That man has guns, several guns. I dare not resist. Every time I don't obey, he hits Emma. Please, help her. He'll really kill Emma if he finds out I escaped."

After sending the girl to the ambulance that arrived shortly after, Jack and Hannah drove the police car to the central hospital. There, they met John's old classmate, Dr. Clarice, who turned out to be the new head of the Emergency Department at the hospital.

"The patient suffered a minor concussion on her forehead, with slight abrasions on her palms and soles. Apart from her emotional instability, her condition is otherwise fine," Clarice greeted the two simply and informed them.

"So, can we take a simple statement from her? It won't take too long. We suspect she was kidnapped. Have you conducted a sexual assault examination on her?" Hannah asked eagerly.

Clarice shook her head, "The examination requires consent from her guardian. We have notified her family, and they are on their way. Before that, you can talk to her briefly."

Entering the hospital room, Jack saw the girl named Carla lying on the bed with her forehead wrapped in gauze. She had a head of thick blonde hair, bright blue eyes, a neat nose below those eyes, and a slightly open cherry mouth, revealing white and tidy teeth. She looked like a beautiful girl from a middle-to-upper-class white family.

Considering what she had been through, Jack refrained from speaking and let Hannah take the lead in questioning.

"Hello, Carla. I'm Officer Hannah, and this is my partner, Jack." Hannah smiled as she approached and shook the girl's hand, speaking in a soothing and gentle tone.

Carla's emotions were much calmer now. Though there was still some panic in her eyes, her speech became clearer and more organized. "The man who kidnapped me is a middle-aged white man, very strong. It was about two weeks ago when he held me at gunpoint in front of my friend's house. There was no one else around, and he threatened me to get into the back seat of his car, where there was a large plastic box."

The girl spoke quickly, and Jack recorded the details in his notebook.

"He took me to the basement of his house, where there was another kidnapped African-American girl named Emma."

"He told us that no matter which one of us tried to escape, he would kill both of us."

"He always carried a gun with him, and neither Emma nor I dared to resist. During the day, he demanded that I take care of cleaning and doing the laundry."

As she spoke, tears welled up in the girl's eyes, and Hannah gently embraced her, comforting her in a soft voice.

"So, how did you manage to escape?"

Jack knew they didn't have much time, as the girl's family could arrive at any moment, interrupting their questioning. He needed to gather more information.

"I didn't dare to resist and could only try to comply with him. Emma said there was another girl before her. That girl experienced what Emma was going through at that time, and she disappeared just before the jerk brought me here."

"So, Emma urged me to find a way to escape; otherwise, what she was experiencing now would be what I would soon go through."

"So, these days, I pretended to comply with all his demands. Last night, he returned to the bedroom."

"Then he slept beside me. I knew he usually slept until noon, so I secretly loosened the screws on the bed frame when it was just getting light and escaped barefoot to avoid making any noise."

This case is inspired by "The Girl Who Escaped" and seems to be based on a true story.

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Note: If you think the story is good and you are going to continue reading it; There're currently more than 25 chapters on my patreon which you can join at just 10$ and read it there, if you wish.

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