Chapter 16 (Recalling)


    Ethan''s POV


    I woke up to the sound of footsteps on the floor outside my bedroom. I looked at the wall clock; it was


    only 5:30 am. Was Emma up already? I nced over at Sharon. She was fast asleep, exhausted and


    jetgged. I put on a T-shirt and a sweat pants and went to the second floor. I peered over the banister


    and saw Emma was already up, mopping the floors of the rooms downstairs. Her eyes caught mine as


    she mopped.


    I headed to my office to forward over a fax for Linda that she had been messaging me about in the


    Bahamas.


    The phone buzzed and I picked up.


    "Good morning Mr. Hollen. Your coffee is ready."


    "I''ll be right down."


    I must say I was impressed. I''d never been so happy for coffee in my entire life. I missed her coffee and


    I missed her too. What was I saying?


    Emma stood beside the kitchen counter looking like an angel-- so peaceful, happy and perfect. I took


    the coffee from her hands. She headed towards the living room and I found myself following her. She


    started mopping again.


    "I''ve missed your coffee," I told her, trying to gauge her reaction. She only smiled but it was the prettiest


    smile I had ever seen on a woman. She was driving me crazy. "You know, I can''t help but love your


    new look. It''s really nice." I was wondering who let in this model into my house you were so beautiful.


    "Thank you, sir."


    I saw the flush in her unique little face. She attempted to move the hair from her face but I quickly


    leaned in and parted it to her ears instead, getting lost in the soft feeling of her skin.


    "What the hell is going on here?" Sharon''s voice boomed down angrily, making me almost jump out of


    my skin.


    She was looking down at us like a hawk.


    "Good morning, honey," I said coldly as I moved towards her; but, really, I wanted to kiss those full lips


    again that were tempting me in the other room.


    Sharon hugged me and pulled me in for a kiss.


    She was not the person I had in mind but I gave her a quick peck on the cheek and went back to my


    office.


    A good friend of mine in the police force, Detective Sam, called. I had informed him about the incident


    with thediesst night and that I wished to keep it from the public, but he told me it would be difficult


    to keep such a thing private, especially if we sought legal action. He advised that what happened could


    be viewed as attempted rape with an illegal drug and that Halley and Emma would have to give an


    official police statement and be prepared for court if we wished to pursue action again the culprit or


    culprits.


    Of course I wanted the bastard behind bars. He''d pay for what he had done to her. The illegal drug in


    her drink caused her body to go into defense mode, which resulted in the high fever, her passing out, a


    near heart attack and blood to pour from her nostrils. Halley could have died. Who the hell would do


    something so awful to those girls?


    I finished my coffee. My temper had begun to rage again just thinking about Halley''s condition. I could


    kill the guy, or guys, with my bare hands if I could get to them.


    I went to Halley''s recovery room and found her sitting up in bed. It was a great sign of progress. Last


    night, she had been too weak to do much of anything.


    Her eyes twinkled when she saw me. "Hi, you''re back?" she asked.


    "Yes, Halley. I''m here."


    "Sir, I''m so sorry. Don''t be angry. I didn''t mean to cause you any *cough* trouble. I''m *cough* so--"


    "Shh," I stopped her. "It''s okay. Rest now," I hugged her to show my anger wasn''t toward her.


    I wasn''t mad about what they did; I was mad at what happened to them. After all, they were entitled to


    a half day and I was d she and Emma were bonding and socializing with each other. Emma could


    quickly learn the ropes from Halley.


    I excused myself from the room as my phone rang and took the call in the living room. Detective Sam


    wanted to know if Halley would be stable enough to give her statement. The faster they did that the


    better; the culprit could leave town at any time.  Halley was still fragile and recovering but I understood


    Sam''s point. If she couldn''t, Emma would have to fill in since she''s been there as well.


    I found Emma tidying by the pool.


    "Emma, can I talk to you for a minute?" I gestured for her toe over.


    "Yes, sir?"


    "Followingst evening''s incident, a detective friend of mine will be over to get your and Halley''s


    statements."


    "I understand."


    "Have you had breakfast yet?"


    "No."


    "Get yourself something to eat and wait for the detective to arrive."


    "Yes, sir."


    __________


    Sam arrived in a squad car apanied by three of his associates. I led them to the Halley''s room;


    Emma was by her side.


    "Halley, Emma, I''m Detective Sam of the NYPD. This here is Officer Ryan, Officer Michaels, and Officer


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    Marshall. They''re here with me to get a statement from the both of you."


    Emma nodded.


    "Emma, I''ll start with you. Can you recall exactly what happened yesterday from the time you two left


    the mansion?"


    "Yes, Detective. Yesterday, around midday, I wanted to cash in my check. I informed Halley since there


    were only the two of us here at the time. She came along with me-- we are entitled to a half day once a


    week. Mr. Luis, one of Mr. Hollen''s drivers, drove us to the bank. It took about half-an-hour then we


    went to a store and I bought a dress."


    "So you knew you were going to a party?" Sam asked as she paused.


    "No. Not at that time."


    "Okay, continue. What happened next?"


    "Afterwards, Halley took me to a hair salon to get my hair done. Then we went to the mall where I got


    some new contact lenses from a friend of hers who is an eye specialist."


    No more big sses? I thought to myself.


    "Halley said she needed a dress. We went to a store and got one. That''s when she told me we were


    going to a party. I already had on my new dress and I didn''t want to disappoint her because she was


    being nice to me for the first time. We got Luis to take us to her boyfriend''s house at Saint..."


    "Saint Street?"


    "Yes, at Saint Street. When we got there, a guy came over to us and Halley gave him a present."


    "What was it?"


    "A watch. A Rolex."


    I quickly looked at Halley. What the f...?


    "It was a knock off from Chinatown," Halley quickly added.


    I exhaled slowly.


    "Did you get his name?"


    "His name was Matt."


    "Okay. What happened after?"


    "They started dancing and I was just looking around because the party was outdoors -- the backyard. A


    guy approached me and started talking to me."


    What fucking guy?  I was ready to kill.


    "Who was he?" Sam asked what I''d wanted to know.


    "His name was Max."


    "Matt and Max the brothers?" Officer Ryan asked Sam with concern in his eyes.


    "Sounds like them," Sam replied.


    "Like who?" I asked angrily, cutting in. Sam told me to calm down and wait for Emma''s statement to be


    finished.


    "He was asking me questions like was I new in town, if I had a boyfriend, and so on, just small talk.


    Then Halley came over with a drink in a red stic cup."


    "Wait a minute. Halley gave you the drink?"


    "Yes, detective."


    "Continue."


    "I''m not a fan of alcohol. I only took a small sip so Halley would stop bugging me."


    "What was her condition at that time?"


    "She looked somewhat tipsy but I didn''t think much of it because I had never been out to a party with


    her before. She went to dance with her boyfriend again. I walked over to a tree and threw out the beer,


    that''s when I saw a pill fall out."


    "Did you pick it up?"


    "Yes, I wrapped it in a makeup wipe and put it in my purse. Then it dawned on me that it had to be


    some kind of drug. I went to find Halley. She was a mess; I could tell, then, she was high."


    "What did you do?"


    "I attempted to pull her away from dancing with Matt. I whispered to her that I thought we were being


    drugged but the music was too loud and Matt was standing close by. He pulled her away from me and


    said we weren''t going anywhere."


    "Did he threaten or assault you?"


    "No. He began to pull Halley towards the house."


    "What was Halley doing? Was she yelling?"


    "She wasughing. She was high, Detective, and Matt was her boyfriend, not a stranger, of course she


    wouldn''t yell." Emma seemed a bit on edge. I hoped she would calm down. Asking questions were just


    the routine.


    "Okay, Emma. What did you do next?"


    "I wanted to yell for help because I knew she didn''t look good. I remembered Luis was parked outside


    on the street, but he couldn''t see what was going on because the property had a tall fence. I looked


    around for the other guy, Max, because I didn''t trust him after I saw the pill. He was talking to another


    girl so I ran out of the gate and told Luis what was happening to Halley. He told me to get in the car and


    lock the doors and wait for him to get back. He came back with Halley over his shoulder."


    "What was her condition?"


    "She looked like she had been crying and she was groaning. She wasn''t moving, only groaning."


    Emma had tears in her eyes as she recounted; Halley could have died in her arms.


    "Then Luis started the car. I gave him the pill I had wrapped up and by the time we got home Halley


    had passed out. I got angry at Luis because he didn''t take Halley to the hospital. But then I saw the


    ambnce and the doctors took over the situation, and that''s about it."


    "Thank you, Emma."


    Detective Sam turned to Halley. "Halley, is everything Emma said urate?"


    She nodded.


    "Can you remember what happened when Matt pulled you into the house?"


    "No. I don''t wanna talk about it." She began to cry.