“And I’m sorry. There’s nothing worse.”
“No, there definitely isn’t.” Bill looked at Kate. “Do you have any kids?”
“Not yet,” she said.
“Sometimes I think you’re better off without them because, despite other relationships in your life, you won’t really understand what love is until you have that child. Then everything in your world flips. And, if you’re unfortunate enough to lose that child, the pain is something so incredibly horrible that it’s beyond anything you could ever imagine,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t know how I was ever supposed to move forward from it.”
“I’m so very sorry that you—that anybody—has to endure that kind of agony.” She paused, tilted her head. “Do you mind coming down to the station now and getting this over with? I know it brings up very sad and painful memories for you.”
He said, “It’s important, isn’t it?”
She nodded. “It’s not only important but we have a time element working against us.”
“You think those kids will come back and hassle somebody else?”
“It’s very possible, and that doesn’t mean they’ll kill anybody, but—”
“No, but they might kill if it was in self-preservation.”
Kate nodded. “And I think that’s quite possible. But we do need your statement, so I have something to give to the DA when I ask for a warrant.”
“Crap, you’re right.” He walked inside his apartment, picked up his laptop. “I’ll look for that email you wanted. Can I get a ride with you guys?”
She nodded. “Sure can, and we’ll even drive you home again.”
At that, he smiled. “In that case, I’m in.”
Together they trooped out to Rodney’s car.
*
The day woreon, yet Simon struggled to get anything done. He’d decided to stay home just because things were… breaking apart, for lack of a better description. But, at the same time, maybe it was him breaking apart. He felt Pamela in the background, though she hadn’t cried out or called to him. So he didn’t really feel like he should be interrupting her, as she managed her pain, and that just felt stupid too.
Did you leave somebody alone in order to suffer in silence like that? He didn’t know, but it sure didn’t seem like that was the right thing to do. But, at the same time, it was a hell of an intrusion tonottalk to her, when she obviously knew that he was there. Plus, if she’d wanted to talk to him, she could have tried. But, so far, she was avoiding all of it. And he understood. He didn’t want to get into her life if he didn’t have to. But she felt so much pain, and he hadn’t realized he was so susceptible to that.
Men always talked about a woman’s tears. And, sure, Simon hadn’t followed through with relationships with a few girlfriends for exactly the same thing. Of course, at that thought, Kate came to mind. A thought that he determinedly pushed back out again. And it was hard; it was really hard not to think about her. He also didn’t want to go outside to check on his rehab projects, only to be struck with more of these visions that made him look like such an idiot. His professional life was very important, although holing up in his apartment wasn’t exactly a smart move either.
Just then he got a phone call from Kate.
“Hey, things are looking up,” she said.
“Great. Did you find Pamela?”
“No,” she said softly. “We’re working on it though.”
“She is being held against her will,” he said.
“I get that, but something else moved forward.”
“Crap, that’s your world though, isn’t it?”
“Unfortunately it really is. I’m only one person. And just the five of us on the team are dealing with a lot.”
“Right, so it’s up to me to find this woman, huh?”
“No, I do have a little bit of information, but I don’t have a whole lot. And her husband’s not being cooperative.”
“Of course he isn’t,” he snapped. “Why would he be?” He hung up on her and sat down and determinedly contacted Pamela. “Pamela? Are you a prisoner?”