After explaining what we knew, she said the same thing the other girls said. “I can’t remember anything.”
“It’s probably for the best,” I said. The whole thing was traumatic enough as it was without her recalling every detail.
“Where is the man who helped me?” she asked.
I glanced over my shoulder to find Ink talking to Flint. When I caught his attention, I gestured for him to come over. “Ariel, this is Ink. He’s the one who carried you out of the house.”
Ariel’s eyes filled with tears as she reached out for his hand. “Thank you,” she cried. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome, kiddo,” he said kindly. “I’m glad we got there in time.”
“Me, too,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry, Mom.”
“I know,” I assured her.
Her forehead wrinkled as if she were trying to concentrate. “I didn’t go to the party because I wanted to.”
“What do you mean? Did somebody force you to go?”
“No. I think I went to get something, or someone maybe,” she said, followed by a sound of frustration. “It’s right there, but it won’t come to me.”
“Don’t try to force it.”
“No, this is important. We talked about this. I agreed to stay home and follow the rules so you could work some extra night shifts. I know how it looks, but I wasn’t breaking the rules. I know I wasn’t,” she insisted. “I just can’t remember why I went anywhere.”
Suddenly, something occurred to me that I should have thought of hours before. “Where’s your car?” I asked, as if she would know.
Her eyes widened with panic. “I don’t know! What am I going to do? I don’t even know where I was.”
“We know where you were,” Ink said. “What kind of car is it? We can go by and see if it’s there.”
“I hate to ask, but if it is there, would you drive it back here? She’s not going to be able to drive any time soon, and I don’t want to leave it there, given the circumstances. I have a spare key in my purse.”
“Yeah,” Ink nodded. “Flint and I can take care of that.”
I retrieved the key from my locker and gave it to him with the details of Ariel’s car.
“Do you want us to drop it off at your house so you don’t have to worry about getting it home from the hospital?” he asked.
“Oh, I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t,” he said. “I offered.”
“In that case, yes,” I said and gave him my address. “Just park it in the driveway. And thank you.”
“No problem.”
By the time they returned to the hospital, the girls were being discharged. “Thank you doesn’t seem like enough. You saved my child from sexual assault and possible death. I will be forever grateful.”
“I was happy to help. I’m just glad we got there in time.”
“Me, too.”
As I drove away from the hospital, I wondered if I’d ever see him again.
3
PRESLEY
