The Summer of '78 Ch. 03

The driver did; his partner ignored Caelan's pistol and the knife slung between his shoulder blades and rushed inside. "Turn left and follow the hall; third door down!" Caelan directed.

He met the ambulances and gave them information on the situation with James and Barbara Ann, and advised them that it appeared the others were all dead, but they should check. They rushed inside, ignoring the bodies lying outside; they were obviously dead.

More members of the Sheriff's department were next, then Rangers, and finally the FBI, which had directed their search far to the south. Bedlam ruled for the rest of the evening and into the early morning, but Caelan left with the ambulances, after having called Dr. Winston, his wife's psychiatrist.

The FBI wasn't happy about not getting to interview him "sufficiently", but he warned that he and his team would lawyer up and invoke the fifth if they didn't let him go take care of his wife and friends. They reluctantly agreed that tomorrow would be soon enough for his interview, if the remainder of the security team would continue to cooperate.

As he left, Caelan turned to the Ranger standing guard at the door and observed, "I think they're just pissed because we found them and they were fifty miles away. What do you think?"

"That you're 100% right! They look pretty foolish, with all their assets, getting shown up by the husband and a private security team!"

***

Doctor Winston was chauffeured to Kingsville by Peggy's driver. She spent an hour with her patient before coming out to speak with Caelan. "She's in a catatonic stupor. I'm confident she can see, hear, and feel, but she can't move or speak. We will have to wait for the drug results to know, but I suspect this is the result of her body and mind refusing to accept what was happing, rather than the drugs. If I'm right, she could come out of it at any time."

"Ecstasy with a hallucinogenic mixed in, administered by injection, and ketamine administered nasally by syringe without a needle. The guy who did it told me. Would those cause this?"

"Mmmm, it's hard to say, but, again, in my opinion, it would be her reaction to being administered the drugs in that physical context, knowing she would soon be raped, rather than the drugs per se. Does that make sense? This is Barbara Ann fighting against being misused, not the result of a drug reaction; again, in my opinion!

Her friends are being treated for the drug reaction, and their state is quite different."

He learned from the ER doctor that James was recovering well and would suffer no lasting consequences, and that Lauren and Kara were doing equally well in their recoveries. Doctor Winston asked him to stay with Barbara Ann to provide support and comfort, and so he would be there if she came out of the stupor. The staff brought him an easy chair so he could lay beside her and keep his hand on her.

***

No change in any of the patients by dawn, so he cleaned up as best he could and drove the War Wagon to the office the Sheriff loaned to the FBI. Their questions had been well answered by the five members of his team. No mention was made of him cutting her brachial artery after Bridgette tried to stab him, or of his threat to herd the criminals together and shoot them if they didn't cooperate.

Their one concern was how he "knew' where they were being held, intimating that he had inside information he had failed to share. He defused that by explaining he trusted the FBI to thoroughly search the larger region to the south, so he and his team took the less likely area around Baffin Bay. The FBI interpreted that as dumb luck, and let him go.

He maintained the affable face as he left, but was laughing internally because his was the more logical location, based on his prior experience with Bridgette, and her lengthy record. Sometimes you can overthink things.

When he returned to the hospital, the Texas Rangers assigned to the Coastal Bend area were waiting for him. They gave him time to check on James, the girls, and his wife before taking him into a conference room provided by the hospital for another interview. They had seen through some of the smokescreen his team had thrown up, but could have cared less about their tactics in overcoming a much larger security force with what they characterized as "minimal loss of life, given the circumstances, especially since the lives lost were those of known career criminals."

They too were interested in how he figured out where they were when clues led them to the large ranch of a known drug runner. Caelan explained, citing what he knew of the ringleader and the way she exploited the wealthy people whom she caught on camera doing things they should not. The Rangers nodded, but wanted more details.

"She and Yves were the ringleaders; Hans and Ernst were just big intimidating bodies along for the ride. They were definitely doing and moving drugs, but a big chunk of their money seemed to be coming from seducing and then blackmailing rich and/or powerful people, and from making and selling particularly violent and explicit pornographic films and photographs.

They fled with at least two cars and a van, so they needed space. They had threatened my wife and me in prison; since they didn't go after me, I guessed they intended to destroy my wife, which destroys both of us and our kids. Kind of maximum damage with minimal effort.

A prison informant had also disclosed that Bridgette/Louise was irate that the network she had established to move drugs and enslaved people had fallen apart. I predicted she would do something to draw them back.

When I heard from the Sheriff's office that an unusual number of private planes were arriving, I presumed they were here for an event, and offering my gorgeous wife and her equally gorgeous friends to the former members of her network would reestablish Bridgette's position as procurer of fine women who can be abused at will. It would also be much easier to persuade them to put the network back together again with their perversions sated.

If we had used a plane or helicopter we would have found them sooner, but we didn't want to scare them off, so we searched for likely places using my old truck. The place needed to be hidden, but large enough to accommodate the 'party' they were hosting. Rick, was, I think, the one who saw the roofline while riding in the back of the Power Wagon."

The Rangers and FBI satisfied, Caelan turned his full attention back to his wife and James, who was coming along quite well according to his pretty nurse, who called him a "big flirt" and giggled.

Lauren and Kara had been transferred overnight to Spohn Hospital in Corpus for further treatment; he was given the name of their rehab doctor.

Dr. Winston was with Barbara Ann, so he anxiously waited to talk to the good doctor. Beverley, as she insisted he call her, was in a much improved mood. "I see something -- I'm not sure what -- that I didn't see yesterday. Come and see!"

Caelan followed her in and stood beside Barbara Ann's bed on the left, with the doctor on the right. He hated seeing her beautiful face grimacing, but remembered that she could see, hear, and process. Without prompting, he leaned into her field of vision and began telling her about the rescue. He ended with "I'm so proud of you! You are so brave and so strong! You never gave in to them, just as you said you wouldn't in your bad dreams."

He was holding her hand and felt it move. He looked down, saw her mouth was open, and then watched as her body lost its rigidity and collapsed into the bed. Beverley whooped for joy, and Caelan gave his wife a gentle hug and big smile. She smiled weakly in return, appearing exhausted, but acknowledging both of them with her eyes.

"So tired," she said quietly, "but glad to see you." With that, she closed her eyes and was asleep.

"I am so happy for her!" Beverley exclaimed. "She's a tough little thing, to endure this kind of torture twice!

Caelan, the next few days will tell us much more, but we have to achieve giving her time to heal while also stimulating her with positive images. You, her kids, her parents, her friends; depression is commonly a causal factor for stupor, or an after-effect if there was another cause, like trauma, for the onset. I'll give her a mild anti-depressant, but I believe positive stimulation is a better prescription. Not a circus, but plenty of reasons for her to feel good about being alive."

"We will happily do that, but there will also be interviews with law enforcement, as well as reporters to deal with, sooner or later."

"I've spoken with Ranger de la Cruz; he is working something out so there won't be a series of interviews. I can control when, and I'll rely on you to guide me with that.

I have another patient to see now, and she needs to sleep anyway, so why don't we both leave and check back later this afternoon.

Oh - do you want me to get her transferred to the hospital in Corpus?"

"Not today; she will rest better here, and these nurses are highly protective of her privacy and welfare. She will be a huge celebrity in Corpus, and neither she nor the hospital needs the furor she will cause. Heck, we may want to move her after mid-night when we do!"

They agreed to return in six hours.

Caelan called his boss, who had him call the CEO; Mr. Durst was in a meeting but would call back within an hour. He cruised over to the nearest service station, got a 36 ounce Dr. Pepper with a lot of ice, gassed up, and rode around thinking.

His thoughts led him to the law enforcement building, where he was greeted like a hero and ushered into a meeting between the Sheriff, Rangers, and FBI. Through carefully controlled news releases, they had managed keep his name and those of his security team out of the mainstream news. Since no one knew at this point how well connected Juan Jose was in the Columbian drug cartel, he and his compatriots were being shielded as much as possible, which he appreciated.

They updated him on the status of the ongoing investigation, and new investigations it had spurred. One of the most interesting was a wire transfer to an offshore account belonging to the judge who released Bridgette, Hans, and Ernst on their own recognizance. It was being explored as they spoke, but the judge had abruptly resigned and retired this morning, and had purchased plane tickets to the Caribbean Island where his account was located. The FBI was having none of that, so his travel had been curtailed.

When asked if he had any questions, comments, or requests, Caelan asked them to compare the chemicals the girls had been given with the chemicals found on the glasses and in the brownies Adrian had served them in Port Aransas, and the drugs in their system after the fiasco in Port Aransas 11 years ago. The sheriff assigned someone to that task, and then Caelan asked if they could provide him with the addresses of Adrian and Theo. He was advised they could not, but the sheriff wrote a note and an assistant left the room

Ranger de la Cruz and Special Agent Crosby, both headquartered in Corpus, would interview Barbara Ann when she was ready, and they promised to respect her privacy. They advised Caelan that Lauren and Kara were doing well, and were expected to be released on Friday. He asked for and received contact information.

Special Agent Crosby finally addressed Caelan about the rescue. "We've covered this ground before, but just to clarify for headquarters, how did you know where they were?"

"I didn't. Since everyone else was following leads in the Falfurrias area, I went over everything I knew and had heard about the ringleader, and decided to look for a place similar to those she had used before. In my mind, she was blackmailing some rich man and/or woman to allow use of their property. Rich people have ranches or bayfront property that would work; you guys were looking at ranches, so I looked around the bay.

The kicker for me was learning that several private planes had just flown in from around the country and Columbia, and I deduced that they were here for a reason. The most likely reason I came up with was Bridgette, who deals drugs and enslaves people. That requires a big house with plenty of parking, and we got lucky. The guys riding in the back of my truck saw the top of a roof over the brush, and you know the rest of the story.

Now, why do we keep coming back to this?"

"Because the bosses in DC can't believe you found them when their boys had all the toys at their disposal and drew the wrong conclusion," replied the local FBI agent, Crosby. "One more question: why did you request the three sets of drugs be compared?"

Caelan answered, "Because I want to know if Adrian Rossi is somehow connected with Louise Martin; he may not be the simple jackass we've made him out to be."

"I'm confident the FBI labs will get approval to do the analyses and comparisons, but they are pissed you didn't stay home like they told you to."

Ranger de la Cruz replied sardonically, "So if he had stayed at home, we wouldn't be having this conversation, would we? We were only about 50 miles away and the Bay was never in our discussion."

"That's true," Crosby replied with a laugh, "and that pisses them off something fierce."

"I'll tell you why I didn't stay home like a good little husband, and you can tell them! First, my team and I work in hostile environments all the time; we're used to violence, and this was our third kidnapping. In the first two, key members of the negotiating team were kidnapped; one by rebels, the other by government forces that didn't want the current government to get its hands on the kind of revenue we expected to generate. From those we learned that kidnappers already have a place to take their hostages, and it's the kind of place they feel comfortable and secure. We used that knowledge in this case.

Second, you guys were focused on the drug running connections, so we focused on the white slavery connections instead. She has been drugging, kidnapping, and using young women -- and young men, for that matter -- to make violent porn for about a decade, counting Europe and South America. After the films were made, she let her clients use them, and then sold them to the highest bidder.

Having a steady supply of helpless young women cements her drug ring, and explains the fly-ins. You went where you thought the drugs were; I went looking for a safe place to host an orgy.

Third, this was personal to her. I killed her lover and put her in prison, so she wanted to destroy my wife and my life. Therefore, it was equally personal to me.

I'm not some accountant; I frequently work in 'hostile environments', I have highly trained personnel to protect me and mine, so we decided to check the areas you weren't. If your bosses don't understand those reasons, send them down and I'll explain it in person!"

He ended the conversation with a cold smile. They nodded in return, and the FBI agent said, "So it's simple: everyone underestimated you!"

As he left the building, the Sheriff called his name, shook his hand, and thanked him for the good work. Caelan pocketed the folded paper left in his palm after the handshake and nodded at the Sheriff.

***

Barbara Ann was sleeping when he checked in an hour early, but James was up and ready to talk. "One, maybe two more days, Boss. My lung is clear and holding air, but they say the inner stitches need time to heal."

"Take as much time off as you need; we've got you covered. Is everything good with your family?"

"Yes. Of course, my wife wants to know how I got hurt, but I just told her it's a broken rib."

"No, James, you need to fess up. If she can't take the dangers of your job, we need to find you another one; your marriage comes first. The company has plenty of places they can use you! Besides, she needs to know you are a hero!"

After visiting with James for most of an hour, he returned to the room to find Dr. Winston and Dr. Graham consulting outside her door.

"Caelan, we're planning to move her to Corpus Christi tomorrow. They recruited a new psychiatrist to Spohn because of his expertise in assisting patients with recovery from drug abuse, and we believe he is her best hope for a rapid recovery.

The hospital promised to keep her isolated and away from publicity of any kind. I know that was a concern, but is moving her okay with you with that understanding?"

"If that means she gets better treatment, of course. When will you move her?"

Dr. Graham replied that it would be early in the morning; perhaps around six, after she had her first medications.

Barbara Ann was stronger, but still physically, emotionally, and mentally weak. The longer Caelan stayed during a visit the better she got mentally, but after a few hours, she was too sleepy to continue. He told her he loved her and kissed her goodnight, in preparation for leaving. Strangely, she didn't respond to his kiss in her normal way; in fact, she lay still and barely pursed her lips. She did mumble that she loved him too, but with little emotion.

His drive back to Corpus Christi was spent in review and examination of their time together, and he realized, while she was verbally more responsive, she had been largely emotionless throughout the evening. Given her naturally vivacious personality, this was something for Beverley to assess and address.

It was after nine when he arrived at his in-laws house. He knew the kids would be asleep, but wanted to see them anyway. After he kissed each, he went downstairs and sat at the kitchen table with Amelia and Sean, sipping a beer and giving them an update on their daughter. They were happy she was moving to Corpus for specialized treatment, but very concerned that she was still emotionally stunted.

Because he was exhausted and wanted to be at the hospital when she arrived early tomorrow, he promised he'd provide a complete rundown tomorrow evening, and went home. He slept hard, but a dark current was running through his dreams; not unlike the dreams Barbara Ann had just before she was kidnapped.

***

He was at the hospital with a mug of coffee well before his wife arrived. They took her to her room, installed the monitoring equipment, and checked all her vitals before he was allowed to be with her. She was more alert, but her smile was wan.

Caelan was sitting beside her, holding her hand, and engaging her in conversation about their kids and her family, keeping the topics light and happy. She was more responsive and her smile improved at bit, but this was far from his happy, excitable wife.

At nine, Dr. Beverley Winston ushered Dr. Carlton Spencer into the room. His eyes were focused on the bed, and he missed Caelan sitting beside it. He, however, saw the look on the doctor's face when he spotted his new patient. It wasn't the look of a concerned doctor, but rather the look of a predator who just spotted new prey. Caelan immediately disliked him. Tall -- at least 6'3", slim, dark, and handsome in an east-coast rich-kid way, he had an air of arrogance that permeated the room.

Barbara Ann responded to him much as she had to everyone else: timidly, with minimal interest. He didn't like that lack of response, but Beverley made up for it by fawning on him.

Caelan didn't like that; he needed a strong personality to offset Dr. Smarmy, whom he did not trust from the git-go. Kind of early to reach a conclusion, but his instincts had long served him well, and they told him he was looking at trouble.

Their introduction was that of two alphas. They recognized each other, and while cordial, each knew his standing with the other. They didn't circle, like dogs or buck deer, but when they shook hands Spencer tried to squeeze hard enough to get the upper hand; Caelan smiled and squeezed harder still. Spencer winced, and the glove was thrown down.