Treasure Ch. 11-14

Dawn was standing by the cruiser, waiting for more information on her daughter, when the radios crackled to life again. "All units, we have a pedestrian with injuries on Cripple Creek Parkway, crossroad McKnight."

The Chief pointed to two of is officers. "Go," he said.

"Caller reports victim is teenage female and was nude," the radio continued.

"OH GOD, TREASURE," Dawn yelled. The last severe break she had, she had been found naked in the freezing weather.

"Wait, take Mrs. Olson with you," the Chief told one of the officers. She got in the back seat and the two cruisers took off into the night with sirens and lights.

"Boss, you need to see this," one of the men said.

"What's going on, Detective Briggs?"

"The crime scene isn't adding up with our first thoughts," he said. "Come on, I'll show you." They started walking down into the woods. "First off, her injuries aren't consistent with Treasure being the assailant."

"What do you mean?"

"I know Jenny is almost five foot ten, but Treasure is maybe five foot five. The bruising I saw on her neck was up at the top of the throat, just below the jaw. There were no hand prints, so I'm betting the person used a forearm instead of hands. The injuries are what I've seen in cases where a taller person is choking a shorter one. If both were standing, Treasure's arm would be pulling down, leaving the bruising near the shoulders."

He thought about it for a minute. "Jenny could have been kneeling."

"I looked, there were no dirt or snow marks on her knees. The struggle would have ground the frozen dirt and snow in."

He thought about it while his flashlight illuminated the path. "What else?"

"Treasure hit the panic button. Why would you try to kill someone then call for help?"

"I talked a few years ago with her father. When she has these episodes, it's like a switch in her brain and she's someone different. When it's over, she has no memory of what happened. Isn't it possible she had an episode, attacked her friend, then used the panic button to summon help while running away? And she ditched the tracker so she could get away?"

"I suppose so." They had arrived at the crime scene tape, two officers were monitoring it while waiting for the crime scene people.

They stayed outside as Briggs used his flashlight to point out some other problems. "There were men here, at least two," he said. "By that tree is where we found Jenny. The area is pretty trashed from the search and initial care, but those tracks heading back into the woods aren't us. I followed them, they take a different route back to the parking lot than the one we took. And one of them was bleeding." He pointed his flashlight at a spot in the crime scene area, this one about ten feet away from where Jenny was found. "There were dog tracks, too. BIG dog tracks."

The radio came to life. "Chief, the accident victim is the person of interest in the current investigation," the man said. "Ambulance is on scene, victim is being transported with next of kin to Mayo."

He was glad they were properly avoiding using names on the radio when not needed. "10-4, I'll be there in a few minutes." He looked at his detective. "You convinced me. Treat this like an attempted kidnapping until we can get statements from the victims and give me a call when crime scene techs arrive. Meanwhile, set a second boundary a hundred yards back in all directions. I don't want more evidence being trampled if there are others involved."

"You got it, Chief." Clarke turned around and followed their path back to the parking lot. This night had turned bad very quickly; if young women were being attacked in the woods, it was going to be a media sideshow.

Craig pulled to a stop outside the Emergency Room doors as Debbie jumped out, running inside while he found a parking place. By the time he met her at the reception desk, she was sobbing and just handed the clipboard full of forms to him. "She's here, but we can't see her yet," she said as he led her over to some chairs.

"She's going to be all right?"

"They wouldn't tell me, just that she is being examined now. She promised someone would be out to talk to us soon." They sat nervously as he finished the papers and walked back with the insurance card. They watched the national news feed on the television and held each other as they waited.

They saw another ambulance pull in, and behind it was a police car. Debbie's hand covered her mouth as they saw the red hair and the blood on the face of the young woman. "It's Treasure," she said as they wheeled her in. Dawn was let out of the back of the police car, and she was crying as she walked in with the young officer. The frustration and anger boiled over, and Denise almost ran over to confront her former friend. "How could you let her hurt my baby," she said as she slapped her face.

The officer stepped in front of Dawn as Craig pulled his wife back into his arms. "Getting arrested won't help our Jenny," he whispered in her ear. "I'm sorry, Dawn, about everything." He pulled her back to the chairs, looking back once to see if they were following.

"It's all right," she told the officer. "She blames me, and maybe she's right." Dawn was barely holding on; she had arrived at the accident scene with the ambulance, and the sight of her broken and bleeding girl was too much. She had called her Mom on the way here, and she was being brought over as well.

The waiting room started to fill up as they waited for news; Jenny's grandparents showed up with their other daughter, and a pair of detectives showed up. They took Dawn into a room and took her statement, and then returned her to the room. Everyone looked up when a Doctor came into the room, and the receptionist pointed to Jenny's parents, who stood up as he walked. "She's going to recover, and she's asking for you," he said.

"Thank God," Debbie said as they followed him to the doors.

"She can't talk yet since her throat is swollen from being choked. We are taking her in for a CAT scan as soon as it opens up, but she wanted to see you first."

One of the detectives followed them. "I need to ask her a few questions if she's awake," The doctor nodded, then led them back into one of the trauma rooms.

Debbie rushed to her daughter's side. Jenny was sitting up in the bed, with a oxygen tube in her nose and ice packs around her neck. Her eyes opened wide and she started to cry as she hugged her Mom. "Baby I love you," she sobbed. Craig went to the other side of the bed, holding her hand as he leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Are you all right," Mom asked. Jenny nodded, and Debbie stood up, her hand gripping Jenny's still. She looked at her daughter; her eyes were bloodshot, she could see bruises on her throat and a bump on her temple. "You're going to recover and I'll make sure Treasure never hurts anyone again," she said.

Jenny's eyes got wide and she shook her head. She pointed at the detective and beckoned him to come closer. "Miss Jenny, we need you to tell us what happened," he said.

"Here, you can use this," the nurse said, handing her a small white board and a dry erase marker.

"Where is Rea," she wrote.

"She's here, she was found in the road a few miles from where you were found," the Detective said.

"They took her she tried to save me."

"Who took her," the Detective asked.

"Two men & big black wolf hybrid. Grabbed me choked me."

He wrote down the information. "Can you describe either of the men?"

"Didn't see guy behind me. Big, 6-6 ish, barrel chest, strong arms." He wrote it down and she erased it. "Guy 2 White 6' 200 lbs sandy blond hair to shoulders."

"Any identifying marks? Clothing?"

"Black coat, ski cap, jeans."

The detective wrote it all down. "If I get a sketch artist down here, could you help her with it?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Dark, scared." She erased it. "Is Rea ok? Did they rape her?"

"I don't know. She's alive, my partner is in with her now." She started crying, along with her Mom, who now realized Treasure was just as much a victim as her daughter was. She owed Dawn an apology.

"He said they would kill me unless she cooperated." She showed them the board, then erased it. "She gave up & they still did this." She touched her throat. The nurse handed her some ice water, letting her sip it to soothe her throat. She started writing again. "Find the bastards," she wrote.

"We'll do everything we can," the detective promised.

Another nurse came in the room with a gurney. "Radiology has an opening for her, we've got to go," she said. The two disconnected her IV, then scooted her over onto the gurney. "The doctor is keeping her overnight for observation," the new nurse said. "When she is done with the scan, we'll move her to a room and come get you."

"Thank you,"

They returned to the waiting room, where Dawn and her Mom were being consoled by friends. She knelt in front of Dawn, tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Dawn, Treasure didn't hurt Jenny, she tried to save her," she said. "She gave herself up for her and they still tried to kill my baby."

Dawn opened her arms and pulled her in; she couldn't hold a grudge against her friend, not with the history her daughter had. "She's... she's going into surgery," she told her. "Broken left arm, collarbone, they've got to wire her mouth shut because her jaw is broken. Oh God..." They hugged each other for a few moments as the crowd tried to give them a little privacy.

The second detective came out of the ER, and they went to a corner to talk. The first showed his notes from the interview with Jenny. "She was wearing gloves, so no DNA under her nails. I've got nothing else," he said.

"That matches what Treasure was able to give me," he said. "Walking, the dog stopped them, and they backed into two guys. Your first guy had short hair, graying on the sides, wearing a black leather jacket. She said she might be able to identify the two, but they had to take her into surgery."

"We should get the sketch artist out here tonight, while it's still fresh. Jenny will be up in a room in an hour or two."

"Was she raped?"

The second detective shook his head no. "The doctors examined her, there were signs of a struggle but nothing on the rape kit. She got lucky, kidnapped and naked, they must have panicked and tossed her out of their car onto the road."

"Where she almost gets hit by another car," he said. "We have some time, let's go interview the guy who found her. Maybe he remembers a car he passed. She couldn't have been on the road that long." They walked out of the room, leaving the rest behind. A news van was already pulling up, and one of the officers went out to talk to them while the parents were escorted to a conference room in the hospital.

Kidnapping, attempted rape, a naked girl found in the road... this was going to be a circus.

Ch. 12

The green Expedition stopped by the side of the road, the back passenger-side door opening just before a huge black wolf jumped in. The door closed, and the vehicle was moving again seconds later. The spot had been carefully chosen, no houses or streetlights were around, and the driver had gone past three times before he caught a break and no cars were coming either way.

There was the sound of crunching bones and moments later a naked Todd was in the back seat. "You guys are fucking idiots, you know that?" He pulled on a pair of jeans, then pulled a T-shirt and sweatshirt over his muscled chest. He crawled into the front seat and buckled up. "Head for the hotel, and don't get pulled over."

"Sorry Alpha," the younger man said from the back. "I let her slip."

"You did, and now we've got a dead friend and MY FUTURE LUNA just got hurt while running from me. How could one little shewolf get loose from a trained warrior?"

"The same way she outran an Alpha," the big driver said before realizing that was the WRONG thing to say. He muttered an apology and looked back to the road, glad he was driving because otherwise he'd be nursing a fresh wound.

The Alpha considered just killing both of these idiots, but he pushed the impulse down and thought for a minute. "With Treasure at the hospital surrounded by cops, there's no way we can get close to her and grab her tonight. She took a good hit, she'll be in there for a few days at least." He glared at his Beta as he drove. "We're going to head back to the hotel and you two bozos are going to stay out of sight. If she lives, she could identify you."

"She barely saw us, boss," the young one said. "It was dark out."

"She has a fucking WOLF, you idiot. If she didn't, you wouldn't have gotten your forearm ripped open. She can see plenty good in the dark."

The rest of the ride was quiet. He dropped the men off at the hotel, then drove off to pick up some pizza and beer. Along the way, he called the Beta he left in charge of the Pack and told him it would be a few more days before he would return with their Luna.

It was after midnight before Treasure woke up in the recovery room of the hospital. Her head, her face, her shoulder and arm... everything hurt. She tried to move but her body wouldn't respond, and she couldn't open her mouth. She started to panic, causing the machines hooked up to her to alarm and getting the attention of the nurse. "Relax, Treasure, you're in the hospital," the nurse told her. "You were in an accident and your jaw was broken. You won't be able to open it because the doctors had to wire it shut so it can heal," she said.

Rea closed her eyes, tears starting to drip down her face. She didn't remember running or getting hit by a car, she remembered nothing after she watched Jenny drop to the ground dead. She must have had another episode, but how did she get away from those men? What happened while she was out?

"Would you like some water," the nurse asked her. She went to talk but couldn't move, the pain came quickly, so she just nodded. The nurse brought the cup up, letting her have a few sips through the straw that soothed her dry throat.

A doctor stepped up to the bed, looking at her chart and her vitals, he smiled at her. He ran her through some tests, starting with her eyes and tracking his finger, all the way to wiggling her toes. "You're doing well, Treasure," he said. "We're going to move you to a room in a few minutes, and you Mom is anxious to see you." Mom! Rea couldn't imagine what she was going through now, first her husband and now her. "Would you like me to bring her back?"

Rea nodded quickly, and the doctor left and went to find her Mom. The press was camped out by the ER entrance, and he found her with a few other people in the conference room. "Mrs. Olson?"

She looked up from where she had been crying on her mother's shoulder. "Treasure? Is she all right?"

"She just woke up and asked for you," he said. "She's going to be fine. We'll be taking her to her room soon. I'll let family talk to her for a few minutes, but you're all going to have to go home and let her rest. Visiting hours start at eight," he said.

"But she'll be fine?"

"She came through the surgery just fine, and the X-rays didn't show any brain injury. Her shoulder and face took most of the impact. Tomorrow the orthopedist can talk to you about her recovery and the therapy she's going to need. We'll be giving her some strong painkillers, she'll sleep through the night. You won't miss anything going home and getting some rest."

He walked her through the door of the Recovery Room and she started crying again as she saw her baby in the bed, a cast on her left arm and shoulder, and her face swollen and bruised. She reached for her good hand, her left hand brushing her red hair off her forehead. "Hi baby," she said softly. Treasure couldn't answer, but her eyes told her how worried she was. "Jenny is going to be fine," she said and she could see the relief immediately. "She's here, her parents too. You saved her, she told them you gave yourself up so they would stop hurting her. You set off the panic alarm and it led the police right to her, fast enough they could save her. You're my brave girl," she said as she squeezed her hand.

The nurses disconnected a few things and they were on their way out, taking an elevator to the fourteenth floor of the hospital. "We have a few things to do, and we're going to help her to the bathroom," her new nurse said. "Why don't you get the others, they can come up and say goodnight before we give her the pills. Once they take effect, she's going to sleep until morning."

Dawn kissed her daughter then walked out, while the nurses helped her get ready for bed. She was still awake when her Mom returned with Grandma, and a few minutes later the drugs took effect and she fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning as the painkillers wore off, the pain started to build again. Her Mom was in the room, but she held off on more pain pills because she needed to get this done. She'd put up with the pain if she could stop this from happening again.

In another room, a police sketch artist was working with Jenny, but Rea didn't need help. Her Mom had brought her phone, computer and some of her art supplies with her this morning, and the pencil was flying on the sketch pad as she drew the two men. She was so thankful her left side had taken the brunt of the fall, since her left hand was not nearly as good to draw with as her dominant hand. The Detective had the first drawing already, this of the man who had choked out Jenny. She was starting to work on the second man, the one she had fought with, as he walked out of her room.

He took a picture of her drawing and texted it to the Chief, then called him. "Jesus, Boss, I wish all our witnesses have her talent," he said. "She got this one done in about twenty minutes, now she's doing the other guy."

"She has talent," he said. "Do you trust her?"

"I do," he said. "She described the guy last night, but this is much better."

"OK. Get the second drawing when she's done and take it to the other victim after the sketch artist is done with her. Pick the drawing she thinks is the best representation of the attacker she saw and go with it. I want a BOLO on this immediately to update the one we sent out last night for two guys and a big dog. I'll hold a press conference and we'll get these drawings out." The Chief let out a sigh, he'd barely slept a few hours last night. "We need to catch these assholes before they get anyone else. The Mayor is already up my butt about this."

An hour later, the two drawings Treasure had done were all over the Rochester and Twin Cities news stations.

Back at the hotel, Todd rolled out of bed about ten in the morning and got dressed. He drove down the road to an IHOP, where he ordered a large breakfast and then two big breakfasts to go. He was eating his eggs when he heard something about an attempted rape, and looked up at the television on the wall behind the counter he was sitting at.

"Police in Rochester are asking for the public's help in finding two men who assaulted two women in Cripple Creek Canyon in northwest Rochester," the newscaster said. A pair of sketches was shown on the screen, and his gut clenched when he saw how well his Beta and Warrior had been captured by the artist. "The man on the left is described as being a white male in his forties, about six-foot-six and two hundred and fifty pounds, while the man on the right is a white male in his early twenties, six-foot-tall and a hundred and eighty pounds. If you have seen these men, do not approach them as they are considered dangerous. Call 911 or the Rochester Police Tip Line at 1-800-RCH-TIPS."

The sketches, though black and white, were too good. He was glad he was keeping the men under wraps and they weren't the ones who had rented the two rooms. The news moved on to other subjects, so he wolfed down the rest of his breakfast, took the two Styrofoam containers in the bag, and paid up.