A few weeks later there was an update. “Mark Peterson has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to charges he held his family captive in a barn. He will be remanded into the custody of a state psychiatric facility. More horrific details have been uncovered, including the fact that his ex-wife has been forced to change her name and location several times over the years. She’s been granted several restraining orders against Mark Peterson, but they proved unsuccessful at deterring him. ‘This case proves that the system we have isn’t working for women trying to escape an unhinged ex,’ said a representative of a local women’s shelter. ‘We need stronger protections both from a legal standpoint and a societal one. Kate Mansfield is lucky to be alive, and so are her kids.’ Those children are currently in foster care while the investigation is ongoing. Through a lawyer, Ms. Mansfield stated that she would fight any attempt to remove her children.”
This just got worse and worse. Poor kids, they must have gone through a real emotional roller coaster during that time. Forced to leave their home in Maine, held captive in a barn by their own father, then put into foster care. What a nightmare for them.
The last mention he found was a small item in the same newspaper stating that a resolution in the Mansfield case had been reached. No details were provided beyond a brief statement from Kate’s lawyer that they were satisfied that justice had been served.
That must have been when she got the kids back. But that was nearly two months later. What had that done to the emotional wellbeing of Linette and Lloyd? They would have been nine and seven by that point, returning to a community where everyone knew what had happened to them. He could well imagine the whispers, the gossip, the sidelong glances. No wonder they’d wanted to ditch Vermont and assume new names.
Damn, was he starting to feel sympathy for the man who might have his sister?
No, not sympathy—but understanding him might help find him. Dark of Night was known for its layered villains, for always providing some kind of backstory that shed light on their heinous actions. As for himself, he didn’t know for sure whether some people were just plain “evil,” or if there was always some psychological reason for their terrible acts. In some ways, it didn’t matter. Harm was harm, a crime was a crime. In other ways, anyone interested in the complications of human nature, as he was, would think about such things.
But it was a different story when the harm was so close to home, and the person in jeopardy was someone he loved, someone he’d always protected. All he wanted was to get her back safe. He didn’t give a shit what happened to Lloyd Mansfield. Fuck that guy.
On the other bed, Tina groaned and flopped over onto her other side. “I hate you,” she muttered. “Leave us alone. I hate you, I hate you, I hate you.”
Holy shit. Had she been reading his mind in her sleep? She thrashed around again and kicked off the covers, which slid to the floor. Still asleep, she pounded her fist into one of her pillows.
Yikes. Should he wake her up before she hurt herself? Maybe she was trapped in some kind of nightmare, trying to fight her way out of it.
“Tina,” he said in a low voice. “Chen. Wake up. It’s okay.”
She twisted around again, flinging one hand over her head. It hit the headboard, making him wince. Shit, she really was going to hurt herself.
He hopped off his bed and set one knee on the edge of hers. In a louder voice this time, he said, “Tina. It’s okay. It’s just a nightmare. Wake up, Tina.”
This time, she flung a clenched fist right toward his face.
He caught her wrist just in time before she made contact. “Tina!”
She came awake with a start and stared into his eyes. “Denver? I knew you’d come.” And she flung herself into his arms.
He patted her on the back, wishing he’d put more clothes on. This could be awkward. He wanted to get naked with Tina Chen, but not like this, not when she was fighting demons in her sleep.
“You’re not Denver,” she said after a moment. She sat back on the bed and rubbed her eyes, then blinked at him. “Sorry. Got a little carried away again.”
“You were dreaming. Sounded like a rough one.”
“Yeah, tequila has that effect on me.” She brushed her hair out of her face, but the silky strands fell right back where they’d been. He wasn’t buying her nonchalant act; her hand was still shaking slightly. That dream had rattled her.
“No.” He shook his head soberly. “That sounded like more than tequila. You kept saying ‘I hate you’ over and over.”
She ran her tongue across her lips. “Well, I do. Not you. Someone else.”
He climbed off the bed and fetched her a glass of water. She drank from it eagerly, draining the whole thing.
“Well? Want to say more?” he said when she was done.
“Ugh.” She gave a shiver of disgust. “I hate that I dream about him, but it happens during certain investigations, like a trigger. Remember I mentioned our corrupt sheriff?”
“The one who targeted Chinese immigrants?”
“Yup, that one. One of his minions used to extort my father for money when I was little. He’d show up every month and ask for his cut of the store’s profits. My dad had a dry-cleaning store back then. I hung out with my dad after school when my mom was working, so I saw him a few times. Once my dad tried to tell him we didn’t have any extra that month, business was bad, and he used a bat to destroy one of our pressing machines. He stuck it between the rollers. I was so mad I ran from behind the counter and kicked him in the leg. He put me in handcuffs.”
She was relating the story as if it had happened to someone else, but he could see the pulse beating wildly in her throat.
“Handcuffs? How old were you?”
“Eight. We weren’t the only ones he preyed on like that. Everyone was scared of him, especially because he would always threaten to call immigration. Even if you have your papers, it’s scary to deal with that. Mistakes happen, some piece is missing, and all of a sudden you have to find a lawyer or risk getting deported. Anyway, he actually hauled me into the police station. My dad tried to get in the police car too but the officer closed the door on him. But I got lucky because a very kind lady cop stepped in and told him to get a grip or she was going to report him.”
