Chapter Seven pt. one

The detectives move in...

Once Joan was satisfied that Maggie was resting peacefully in her bed, she sat on the edge of her own bed ruminating over the ordeal she had put her daughter through.  There was no doubt in her mind that she had misjudged Damian Lucelli’s character and as a result, her daughter’s life had been altered forever.    What, if anything, could be done about that now?  Maggie’s situation reverberated through her mind as she realized that she had no choice but to give full endorsement to the threats posed to her during the previous day’s telephone conversation.  The voice on the phone did not sound like that of Damian Lucelli, whose voice she was certain she’d never forget, but who ever that voice belonged to, the person behind it meant every word.

“Mrs. Vorelli, I am calling with a matter of the utmost sensitivity.  I hope you can appreciate my position.  What happened to your daughter is a great tragedy and for that you have my sincerest apologies.  However, you and your daughter will be handsomely compensated for your silence.  If an investigation is launched by the authorities, the end result will not be pleasant.”

“Who is this?” Joan asked.

“Have I made myself perfectly clear?” The voice was not cold, but firm.

“Yes.”  Joan said, with fear welled in her throat, “I understand.”

The phone went dead and Joan sat there knowing what she had to do.  She knew the police had been to the hospital inquiring about what happened to Maggie.  Why shouldn’t they?  Under any other circumstances, Joan would have been under foot of the police demanding that every possible lead be followed to find who did this to her daughter.  Given the gravity of the situation, and the threat of Maggie’s safety, she had no choice but to take Maggie home where she could keep an eye on who she spoke to and when.

* * * * *

“She was what?!” Detective Davis yelled into the receiver.  “When? Are you sure?  Yeah, ok.  Thank you.”  She slammed down the receiver and placed her head in her hand while she massaged her forehead.  She called the hospital to get a status report on Maggie Sampson’s medical condition, only to be told that she had been released from the hospital against medical advice.

Detective Stephanie Davis and her partner Detective Williams had been assigned the case of Maggie Sampson’s possible rape the week before.  She was one of two women detectives in the Special Victims Unit and handled all of her cases with assertiveness.  When she and her partner had been assigned Maggie’s case, they were asked to give it the highest priority due to the extent of injuries that had been reported by the hospital’s medical staff.  

Detective Davis had been a seasoned officer on the San Diego Police force for two months short of twelve years and worked with rigorous determination, during that time, to make detective.  She had the highest commendations of any female on the force and in the short amount of time she served in the unit was second only to her partner in arrests that resulted in convictions.  Her partner, Dale Williams, was a seasoned officer who had been on the force for seventeen years and together they made a formidable team.  

She and her partner had separate desks, that were conjoined, one across from the other.  When she slammed down the phone Williams looked up from the report that he was working on.

“What’s all the commotion?”

“You wouldn’t believe it if I told you,” she said in exasperation.

“Try me, " said Williams.

“You know that Sampson girl?  The rape victim that had to have corrective surgery…” her voice trailed.

“Yeah,” Williams stated, waiting for the bomb to drop.

“She’s been released from the hospital AMA,” she said, her anger rising with every word.

“No s**t? When?”

“This morning!  Can you believe that s**t?" She said as she shook her head in disbelief.

“Who signed her out, did they say?” Williams asked, with his full and undivided attention on his partner.

“Apparently, her mother finally made her presence known, only to demand she be released.  It just doesn't make any sense,”  Davis replied.

“Sounds like it’s time to pay a visit to the girl’s home,” Williams looked at his partner directly in the eyes as he stood up and put on his coat.

Davis didn’t skip a beat as she stood up and grabbed her keys.

“Let’s go!”

 

Reviews

[Dezaraye]

You really are building the tension as was said before me. This situation just makes me so sad and so angry ... poor Maggie. I know that if this were me, I'd be afraid to talk to the police, too, but I also know that I would tell them what I could so that they could catch the culprit and put him where he belongs.

Sorry it took me so long to get here.

[Ken Simm.]

Tension building upwards ever upwards. This is taut and very well written.