Who Hurt You

Who Hurt You
Bjorn 

“Who hurt you, Jennifer?” I asked, though, from the way her lips pressed into a thin line, and she avoided making eye contact with me, I was sure I wasn’t going to get an answer.  
I sighed when she stayed silent after a long moment. I was about to get out of the car when I heard her quiet reply “It was just an accident with some chemicals”. With that, she turned to open the car door.  
I pulled my door open and rushed over to help her out, how much could one body take? She was still healing from being kidnapped and beaten and she was already too thin; she didn’t look healthy.  
Even if she was telling the truth, what was she doing messing with chemicals in her condition? My eyebrows knitted together as I helped her inside, the fact that she didn’t resist my help was a testament to how much pain she must be in.  
She practically moaned in satisfaction when I set her down on a chair and lifter her legs onto a cushioned stool in front of her. I went to the kitchen next, there wasn’t much in the fridge, but I was able to find some leftovers to heat and made her a drink. 
I felt an overwhelming satisfaction at being able to take care of Jennifer and once she was settled, I went to Cieran to begin discussing why I had come here in the first place.  
“First of all, I want to be clear that it is up to you if you get involved with this, I know you have a lot on with helping Jennifer run the company.” I had to assume that that was why they had set up a workstation closer to her home whilst she recovered.  
“What is it you need help with?” He asked. “My Chief has pulled the funding for investigating any further into Jennifers kidnapping case. He says that they already have a suspect, it is just a case of recapturing Johnathan, so the resources are better spent on that.” I explained.  
“You have other suspicions? Have you found something?” I seemed to have caught Cieran's interest with this. “So far, progress has been slow.” I sighed “Jennifer said that Johnathan had admitted to being behind her attack at the ice hockey game and the materials we found at the scene of her kidnapping were the kind used to dispose of a body, but Johnathan has only ever been charged with non-violent crimes before now.”  
I paused, gathering my thoughts, Cieran gave a slight nod, encouraging me to go on. “It just didn’t make any sense for him to suddenly target Jennifer like that, with such vicious intent, when there was no previous relationship between them.” I continued.  
“So, what did you find?” The way he asked the question, I knew he was holding back from telling me something.  He already knows there is a connection, does that mean they were doing their own investigating? I could hardly blame anyone in this town for not trusting the police. 
“I found a connection to a small village in the Northers region. It had some weird rumours surrounding it which seems to mostly come from internet conspiracy theorists. Or so I thought, until I found this...” I brought up the article on my phone and showed it to Cieran.  
As he read, I glanced at Jennifer who had finished the food I had placed in front of her and was now sitting back with her tea in her hands, resting her eyes. A small smile tugged at my lips when I saw her looking so relaxed.  
When I turned back to Cieran, his eyes were practically bulging out of his head. “Holy fuck.” It came out as a shallow whisper. “I don’t know if any of it is true but if there is even a shred of truth then this will be a case for the Secret Intelligence Service. The problem is that I don’t have the evidence to take this to them yet.”  
Cieran shook himself, visibly and it seemed enough to bring him out of his stupor enough to speak “What can I do to help?” He asked with determination. “The author, it has been posted anonymously, and I tried to message them but have had no reply. Can you help me track them? If I could speak to them, or even the person they interviewed, to verify things then that would really help my case.”  
“Forward the article to me.” Cieran said, giving me his phone number. “Did you find anything else?” He asked after it was done. “No, nothing to do with the case. I do have a personal matter that I could do with some help on though.” I tentatively replied.  
“Detective, you helped rescue Jennifer and spent a whole evening searching for Maya with us...whatever you need, name it and we will do our best to help you.” Cieran earnestly spoke.  
“My mother contacted me last night, apparently someone has bought off all our dept and paid off all our outstanding bills.” I paused and glanced at Jennifer whose eyes were still closed but there was a tension in her body.  
“My mother was worried that someone might have bought it up so that they can use it against us.” Cieran looked a little nervous but tried to play it cool “And what do you think detective?” He asked, his voice a little higher than normal and a beat of sweat trickling down his temple.  
I almost laughed, this kid was a really bad liar, his reaction confirmed my suspicion though. “The person did it anonymously so I have no way to confirm or deny it, but I think they would have got in touch by now if that were the case. I would very much like to thank whoever did this for my family, I hope they I know just how much it means to all of us but if they do not wish to be known then I will respect that.” 
I turned towards Jennifer as I said this to make sure she heard me. “You don’t have to worry about anyone asking for the money back detective Ezekiel. It was a gift from a friend.” Connor spoke now and I smiled at the brothers completely giving the game away but still trying to act casual.  
They were definitely more of a Q than a James Bond. They were brilliant technically, but they wouldn’t last a minute under interrogation. There was something so honest and refreshing about that, especially after a career spent catching and interrogating manipulative liars and the despicably evil of the world.