Chapter 38 The Aftermath

Chapter 38 The Aftermath
The next eighteen hours were long and arduous. First, Tessa was taken to the local hospital for a physical. She lay on the table, silently counting tiles overhead, trying not to think about being poked and prodded. A female agent remained during the exam, taking notes. One more humiliation. The questions were as cold and sterile as the small exam room. Had she been raped? Physically abused? Drugged?
She shook her head each time, then remembered the pills Dane gave her the first time.
"Did you suffer any long-term effects after taking them?" the doctor asked, scribbling on her chart.
"No."
"Is there any possibility that you were abused during the time you were drugged?"

Tessa closed her eyes, recalling that awful night in the pantry. She shook her head again. "No."
"You understand, we have to ask---to assess whether you were exposed to any sexually transmitted diseases," the doctor explained with polite frankness. "Or at risk of pregnancy."
Heat crept into her cheeks. At risk of pregnancy.
The doctor moved on to other questions, his assumption plain: She hadn't been raped, therefore she couldn't be pregnant.
Oh, but she could be. Dane didn't use protection the first time. Automatically, her mind tried calculating days. Exactly when was the last time she had her period?
Right before she was captured. Three weeks ago.....
Her cycle wasn't due to start yet.

She clung to the slight feeling of relief. She was probably safe, although it was too soon to know for sure. After the doctor finished with the exam, an older woman came into the room. She introduced herself as a psychologist and talked briefly about post-traumatic stress, recommending that Tessa consider counseling upon her return home. Tessa was grateful that the woman didn't push. The last thing she wanted to discuss was how she felt. She honestly didn't know. At this moment, she felt detached. Five minutes ago, she wanted to cry.
Barry Neilson waited for her at the hospital, ready to transport her to a nearby hotel.
"You might want to contact your family first thing," he suggested as they drove. "News of arrests will be made public later today. I can keep your name away from the press for a day, perhaps two, but that's it."
Tessa looked out the car window, watching but not seeing the scenery. Her family.
"They never knew I was missing, did they?"

Her thoughts went back to the beginning of the summer. Tessa had been eager to head west. Her father and brother had just kicked off a huge hotel expansion project. and her mother was spending the summer in Europe. Normal stuff.
"I've sent a liaison officer to speak with your father personally, to explain what happened. I'm sure your family's main concern will be that you were unharmed."
Barry's words reminded her that, because of Dane, she hadn't been hurt. If Snake had been the one to find her that night, the liaison officer would be delivering different news. Tessa shivered.
"Would you have preferred to tell them yourself?" Barry asked.
"No." The thought of answering fifty questions right now was overwhelming. Letting someone else rehash the story bought her a little more time to herself. A little more distance.

Arriving at the hotel, the first thing Tessa did was shower, and she was provided with clean clothes. The tags were still on the clothes, indicating a recent purchase. The sizes were correct. A lucky guess? Or had Dane picked them out? Told someone her size?
A meal was sent to her room, but she couldn't eat. The female agent who stayed with her was solicitous but professional, asking no questions. The questions, Tessa discovered, came later. Giving her statement took over six hours.
She gave a chronological description of her captivity, squirming when the questions turned personal. When pressed, she acknowledged her physical relationship with Dane and was grateful that the subject was dropped soon after establishing mutual consent. She didn't, however, believe it would be the last she heard on the subject. She wondered if Dane, or should she start calling him Gareth, was being questioned the same way. She wondered about his responses. Did he offer excuses for their lovemaking? Cast the blame on her?

The questions intensified, the toughest ones centering on that first night. The night she was taken. How many men had ridden up with Snake? Could she identify them if she saw them again? What exactly had been said? She told her story, hearing the words as though they were spoken by someone else.
Some of her recollections were hazy, while others were eerily detailed. Like how the red plaid shirt Snake wore that night had two patches on the left elbow, one blue, one black. How Matt Michaels had been wearing a faded green t-shirt with a beer logo. And how his blood had swirled in Technicolor beneath him, as his body convulsed. She wept as she described Matt's death, breaking down completely at the end.
By the time Barry escorted her back to her hotel room, it was evening.
" I know this hasn't been easy," he said. "Unfortunately, we'll need to go over it all again in the morning. See if you recall any other pertinent details. In the meantime, if anything comes to you, write it down, no matter how insignificant. I've seen entire cases broken on small, seemingly irrelevant facts."

Tessa nodded half-heartedly. Earlier, Barry had outlined the next steps. She would fly home tomorrow afternoon. The FBI would have additional questions, then someone from the U.S Attorney's office would contact her. After charges were pressed, there would be depositions. And ultimately, the trials. Barry had also explained that the case was federal in scope. A government agent had been murdered; a federal capital crime. The list of other federal violations was lengthy. Drug trafficking and kidnapping were only the tip of the iceberg.
Right now, the process seemed daunting. Once again, her thoughts wandered to Gareth. She hadn't seen him since leaving the compound early that morning. She wanted to talk to him, see him.
"Is Gareth staying at this hotel?" she asked
"Gareth would probably be busy most of the night," Barry responded. "Would you like Franklin to stay with you?"
Franklin was the female agent who'd been with her for most of the day. Tessa shook her head. "No, thank you."
"I'll post a guard outside your door in case you need anything." Barry removed his glasses, his own exhaustion evident by the dark circles beneath his eyes. "Look, if it's any consolation, I've known Gareth for years. He's a great guy. A great cop. Anything he did, he did for your protection or for the well-being of the other women being held. Now....it's probably for the best that he stays away."

Tessa didn't miss the subtle note of censure. Was Barry discouraging her from seeing Gareth? Or simply trying to reinforce that Gareth was doing his job. She slipped into her room, shut and locked the door, and was alone for the first time all day. Alone and free. She'd been a captive for over three weeks, and had thought of this moment thousands of times. So why wasn't she feeling any better?