Derek was also quiet. He knew what was going through his brother's head. The same thoughts were circling in his. They had no idea who this guy was or how to trap him.
"You left your best man down there to finish compiling the evidence," Derek finally said, breaking the silence.
"No, my best man is riding back to Atlanta with me. I left my second best man down there," Matt responded.
"Dale can handle this. He's good at his job. You shouldn't worry," Derek replied.
"Shouldn't worry," asked Matt. "Did you see what I saw in that old hospital?"
"Okay, worry was the wrong word. I'm just saying the site is in good hands. We're needed back in Atlanta to analyze the information as it comes back in. Besides, we need to keep an extra eye on Kristin," Derek said.
"I know. He could try to come after her if he thinks she can identify him. I'm actually surprised he hasn't made a move already."
"That is strange. Do you think he knows where she is," Derek asked.
"With any luck he thinks she died out in the forest. That would keep him away from her while we try to find him," Matt answered.
"As long as the press doesn't find out that Kristin is a victim that got away, she might stand a chance. He would have no idea that she is back in Atlanta. But even if she doesn't remember him, she is still in danger," Derek responded.
"You're right. We will have to keep a very close eye on her until the bastard is caught."
Matt and Derek continued to discuss the case as they finished the drive into Atlanta. They were revisiting exactly what they had seen in the abandoned hospital when they pulled into Derek's driveway.
Walking into the house, the men could smell dinner waiting for them. Both walked into the kitchen to find the girls giggling at the kitchen table.
"What's so funny," Derek asked as he walked over to kiss his wife.
Oh, nothing I'll be telling you. Just girl talk," Amber answered as she stood to receive Derek's kiss. "You can both wash up for dinner and I'll have it on the table in just a few minutes."
Derek looked up to find Kristin and Matt staring at each other. He watched for a minute as they just stared not saying anything. He grinned at his wife then grabbed his brother and pointed him to the guest bathroom so he could wash his hands.
Amber turned as the men walked out of the kitchen to find Kristin staring at the door where Matt had been.
She smiled to herself then got busy putting the food on the table.
Kristin just sat where she was. When Matt had walked into the kitchen her stomach had dropped. There was electricity between them she couldn't explain. She wasn't sure what to do about it because there was no way she was going to be pursuing a man when she couldn't even remember her own family. She assumed she wasn't married or Amber would probably have mentioned it. But still, she didn't know who she was or what she did. She had facts because Amber had given them to her, but that was not enough to try to base a relationship on. And what was she thinking anyway? A relationship? Kristin shook her head and looked around. Amber almost had the table set and the food on. She should be helping.
"Can I help you do anything," Kristin asked.
Amber smiled to herself again. She knew Kristin had been sitting there daydreaming.
"Sure," she replied. "I'll get the glasses down and you can fill them with ice for me."
Kristin wheeled over to the refrigerator as Amber reached into the cabinet and brought out four glasses.
"What else can you tell me about my life, Amber?"
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know. I just wondered if I have any family. You know, parents, siblings..." Kristin trailed off.
"I'm not sure but one of the girls at you're office will know. I think they will be coming by to visit you over the next few days and maybe one of them will be able to give you more personal information than I can. I do know you are not married and I don't think you are dating anyone."
"Why do you say that," Kristin asked.
"You have worked so hard your whole career that you don't often make time for personal time. As far as I know you have not ever really dated steadily. Maybe just a few dates here and there, but no one long term," Amber replied.
"How do you know this?" Kristin sounded slightly frustrated. She knew what she was searching for but didn't really want to come out and say it.
"Nurses talk, doctor," Amber said smiling.
Kristin laughed. "I think I've heard you say that before."
Amber stopped. "Really, you remember that?"
"Nothing specific," Kristin said. "It's more like a feeling a déjà vu."
"The day you interviewed Derek and me to see if you were willing to take us on as clients, I said that to you. I told you that I knew you were choosey about the parents you took on in your practice. I think you were a little offended by what I said and you asked me why I would say that."
"And you said nurses talk," Kristin said. "Wow that was a little weird."
"But it's a good sign. Other things will start to come back also." Amber hugged Kristin.
The men walked into the kitchen at that moment.
"Something smells wonderful," Derek said.
Amber straightened up and told Derek what had just happened.
"That's great. Don't push it, Kristin. Other things will come back to you also if you just let it," Derek told her.
"Yes, and please let us know as soon as anything about the case comes back. We need to catch this guy and try to prevent him from taking and killing other girls," Matt interjected.
Amber looked up and glared at her brother-in-law.
"What," Matt asked.
"Take it easy, Matt," Amber snapped. She just had a small victory and you're ruining it for her. She will let us know as soon as she is able if she remembers anything."
Thoroughly chastened, Matt remained silent.
Kristin felt bad seeing the look on Matt's face. She understood that he had a job to do and was just concerned.
"I promise to let you know as soon as I remember anything about that day. I don't want anyone else to go through what I must have gone through. I assure you I am doing everything I can to remember what happened to me," Kristin said quietly.
Matt felt worse after that statement then he had when Amber had snapped at him.
"I'm sorry, Kristin. Amber was right. I shouldn't have said anything."
After his apology, Matt walked over to the table and sat down. Kristin, Amber, and Derek joined him. At first the dinner was quiet and strained but soon Derek broke the ice. He began telling Amber about what they had found after tracking Kristin's trail.
Kristin saw a flash of herself sitting in the stream bathing her feet.
"I remember that," she stated. All eyes turned to her. "I remember sitting in the stream. I needed to cleanse my feet. I couldn't walk on them. I don't remember why. Just the stream."
"Have you ever heard of an old hospital in Seminole County," Derek asked turning to Amber.
"I have actually. It was a major hospital at one time on the edge of a state park. I think it was called Seminole General. But another facility was built in a bigger town. It was more modern and updated and soon Seminole General was not doing enough business to continue to operate.
"The two hospitals pooled their resources and became one. The old hospital became an asylum for the insane. I don't know what happened to it after that."
"We should be able to get more information tomorrow when we get back to the office. Maybe we can find out when it was abandoned and who if anyone owns it now," Derek replied.
"Can you tell me what else you found," Kristin asked. "I need to know."
Matt and Derek looked at each other. They had already decided to limit what they would say in front of Kristin so they would not upset her.
"Derek, she needs to know. If she doesn't know everything, how can she be prepared to defend herself if the need arises
," Amber said quietly.
Kristin shot Amber a glance that said thank you.
"She's right, Matt. If I had given Amber more information, she might not have ended up in that hotel room with her stalker. We need to be as open and honest with Kristin as possible. Besides, you never know when we might say something that will trigger her memory," Derek said.
Matt began talking.
"When you first walk into the hospital there is a long corridor. At one end was what appeared to be a security office. There were several monitor's that appeared to watch the corridor, what used to be a nurses station, and the rooms where the patients would have been. One monitor was turned on. The seat in front of it was well worn as if someone had spent hours staring at the screen.
"The monitor was watching one room. The walls in the room were made of block and on one of the walls was a set of shackles bolted into the block. The shackles were made of iron and you could tell they had been used often and recently. There was still fresh blood on them. We feel sure there will be multiple donors but the most recent will be Kristin's."
Matt fell silent for a minute to let that sink in.
"Hey likes to hear them scream," Kristin said.
Matt's head snapped up.
"You said that before," he stated.
"I don't know how I know that, but I'll tell you as soon as I figure it out."
Matt nodded.
Derek picked up the conversation.
"There were no weapons of any kind to do the kind of damage that was done to Kristin and the other girls so he must have taken them with him. You could tell he tried to clean up and move as much as he could in case Kristin was found. I doubt he will know where she is as long as we can keep it out of the media, but with the FBI crawling all over his torture chamber, he will know she made it out alive."
Kristin shuddered. She was more determined than ever to remember exactly what had happened to her.
She sat pushing mash potatoes around on her plate trying to think back to where it all started. The day she was kidnapped. But it was still just a black wall. Every now and then a veil would move just a little but it was never enough to split that black wall wide open.
"I left Dale McGhee down there to collect all the samples and get them back to the lab. I assume we will have at least some information by the time we arrive at the office," Matt said.
"Dale is one of your best, Matt. That's good," Amber replied.
Matt didn't tell Amber or Kristin the men could also see where Kristin's head had been slammed into the wall. The blood had still been there even though it had been a few days.
If he were the one to find the bastard, TGT probably would not get a fair trial. Matt would kill him.
Amber could feel the tension at the table. She stood up and began clearing the dishes.
"I made an apple pie. Who wants some," she asked. All three hands went up. Amber grinned and turned to the sink. She rinsed off the dirty dishes then turned to the cabinet for some bowls. The pie was still cooling so it would be just the right temperature to melt the ice cream on top.
Placing the bowls back on the table, she tried to turn the conversation a little. "I know you both have been a little busy but I need the nursery painted this weekend if at all possible. I want to finish it before the baby arrives," she said giving her husband a look.
Derek grinned. "Hey Matt, I think my wife has some honey do's for us."
"She usually does," replied. "How come when you got married, I got a wife too?"
Amber laughed. "Because I feed you. You have to earn your keep. Besides, I know what a good painter you are. You messed up when you volunteered to paint my living room instead of letting me hire a professional."
"Yes, and I have paid for that mistake. I have painted every room in your house," Matt groaned.
"Except the nursery," Amber replied.
Kristin laughed at the banter between the two. "You painted all of this," she asked.
"I did," Matt replied.
"With help from his brother," Derek interjected.
"Don't let him fool you, Kristin. He is just trying to look good in front of his wife. I did the work while he watched. He can't paint worth a lick," Matt laughed.
"Hey, you said you wouldn't tell on me," Derek said.
"Don't think your wife didn't already know, Honey," Amber replied.
Kristin laughed again.
"I love your style, Amber. I feel so comfortable in my room. I was thinking maybe you could help me decorate when I go back to my place."
"I would love to," Amber exclaimed.
Matt groaned again. "I see more painting in my future."
"Well, let's concentrate on the nursery first. I need a happy wife if we want to continue to eat meals like we just had," Derek said.
They all laughed at that statement.
After dessert, Amber asked Kristin if it was okay if Matt talked with her some while Amber was cleaning up the kitchen. Kristin agreed so Matt wheeled her to her room and placed her back in the bed. He could see she was starting to get tired so he decided to keep his questions to a minimum for tonight.
He sat down on the edge of her bed and stroked her hair back from her face. Kristin shuddered at his touch.
"Amber said you get small glimpses of things every now and then," Matt stated removing his hand from her face.
"Yes, but nothing really helpful. Like earlier, I remembered the stream but only after Derek told me what he had found. It wasn't helpful to you that I remembered that after the fact. I need to remember his face, voice, anything but what you already know."
Kristin sounded as frustrated as he felt. His heart went out to her and he really did feel bad for his earlier comments in the kitchen when she had remembered something Amber had said.
Matt took Kristin's hands into his own. He could feel the roughness from where she had crawled across the ground. He turned them over, palms up, and slowly traced some of the scratches. Kristin drew in a sharp breath. Matt didn't seem to notice. He was lost in his own thoughts.
"Kristin, I am so sorry. You have been through hell and back and all I can think about is what information you can give me," Matt said. "I promise you. I will not ask again. You need to heal and remember on your own without me pushing you." Matt was still looking at her hands. He slowly bent down and kissed each of her hands so tenderly it brought tears to her eyes.
Matt looked up. He saw the tears shimmering in her beautiful brown eyes and felt as if he could drown in their depths. He wiped away one of her tears and slowly bent to kiss her.
Kristin wasn't expecting his kiss but when his lips touched hers she felt as if she had been waiting for this moment her whole life. This is what her parents meant when they talk about the time they met. They knew instantly, they were meant for each other. As Matt slowly kissed Kristin, she knew in her heart she was meant to find him.
Panic shot through her at the thought. What if he didn't feel the same? How could she stand to know he was the man she had been looking for only to discover he didn't want or need her in his life?
Matt could feel the tension in Kristin so he deepened the kiss. He needed her to respond to him. He didn't know what it was about her that made him actually think about settling down, maybe even starting a family. He just knew he needed her in his life. So he continued to kiss. He licked her lips slowly. He heard her sigh and then felt her respond to him. Thankful she had finally opened up, Matt plunged his tongue back into her mouth and continued the kiss.
Kristin clung to Matt's arms as he ravaged her mouth. The feelings swirling inside her belly made her giddy with desire. She gripped his arms tightly hoping he wouldn't stop. By the time Matt broke off the kiss, both were panting heavily.
They sat that way for a minute, both trying to regain their composure. Matt had just let go of Kristin when Amber walked into the room.
"I need to replace Kristin's bandages and doctor her h
ands, knees, and forehead," Amber stated as she walked into the room. She pretended not to notice the tension swirling in the room between the couple on the bed.
Matt stood and walked away from the bed as Amber washed and bathed Kristin's feet. Kristin had been sick the first time she saw what had been done to her feet. She wondered if they would ever heal. The maniac had shredded the bottoms of her feet so badly it would be days before she would be able to walk again.
As Amber applied a thick salve to her feet and bandaged them up, Kristin remembered a thought she had the first time Amber had done this.
"He knows what he's doing," she stated. Both Matt and Amber looked at her.
"What do you mean," Matt asked.
"I don't know exactly but somehow I know one wrong cut or too deep of a cut on my feet would have let me bleed out, but that was not what he wanted. He has to know what he's doing. He has medical training," Kristin replied.
Amber looked at Matt. "That's the same thing Amber said when we told her what he was doing to the girls," Matt responded. "We assume he works in the medical field somehow."
"Yes, but not just anyone in the medical field. He has a precision about him. I think possibly a surgeon," Kristin said.
"Are you sure," he asked.
"Not really, it's just a feeling more than actual knowledge. Can I see what he did to the others," Kristin asked.
Matt looked really uneasy as Derek walked into the room. What's up," he asked looking around the room.
"Kristin believes her abductor may be a surgeon. She said the cuts are too well placed and surgical like. She wants to see what the rest of what he did looks like," Amber explained.
"That's a great idea," Derek said.
The glare he received from Matt said his brother was not on board with that idea.
"We agreed she needed to know and we would not have any secrets," Derek reminded Matt.
"Alright. I'll bring the files tomorrow and we can look at them after dinner," Matt agreed reluctantly.
Amber finished the bandages on Kristin's feet and continued to work on her legs. First her ankle then her badly scraped up knees. Last she applied some of the salve to her hands and put some socks over them. She had done this last night as well then let Kristin wash them this morning. She didn't put anything back on them until now so they could be exposed to the air for the day. Her hands were not as bad as the rest of her body.