She drifted in and out of sleep. Her mind began to work again, and she remembered being frightened, not by Jackson, but by something much stranger. Had her brain been so rattled by Jackson's punches that she had hallucinated? No, the fear had been quite real. Kelan had transformed into a dragon. She had seen his skin change color and grow scales. He had wings and fire had shot from his mouth. The terror was back, and she started shaking. It wasn't possible, and yet it was true. Kelan was a dragon. How could that be? She was saved by a dragon! Ridiculous!
The police would be back before much longer. Should she tell them what she had seen? Of course not. First of all, they wouldn't believe her. She would sound crazy at best. Second, she owed Kelan for saving her life, for surely Jackson would have beaten her to death. Third, and most important, she trusted Kelan. Whatever was going on, he would have an explanation that made perfect sense. He was excellent at explaining difficult concepts and him transforming into a dragon was certainly a difficult concept to comprehend.
Kelan
Kelan stiffened up when the police came his way. This was it. Either he would be tested for DNA, possibly revealing his secret, or Michelle would have exonerated him. He wouldn't be arrested for her injuries. He was certain of that. There was no evidence to proclaim him as the attacker and Michelle wouldn't lie about this the way she had about her bruises. He could trust her. But, how much had she seen? Did she actually see him transform or just see the dragon? He knew she had been awake during it, because she had been afraid of him. So, he had to conclude she had seen him transform and realized the dragon was him. Had she said anything to the police? If she had, would they believe her or think it was due to her head injury? Speculating on the situation was getting him nowhere. It just made him tense up and appear guilty of something. That wasn't a good scenario when you were about to speak to the police.
The officers asked him to follow them to a quieter spot. The waiting area was crowded and full of chatter. There were also too many curious ears and cell phones eager to record a police interrogation. They led him into an empty corridor and started their questions. "The nurse pointed you out. Are you the one who brought Miss Langtree into the hospital?"
Kelan replied, "Yes, I am. How is she?"
"The most we can say is that she's not in any danger. She's awake and aware. We won't need your DNA. She's cleared you. She says the man who beat her is named Jackson. Is that correct?” they asked.
Kelan nodded and added, "He had his hands around her neck when I arrived. They were in her backyard. I ripped him away from her, and we fought. He was ranting about her needing to tell him where the money was. He said he would beat the information out of her and I could have what was left of her. I didn't take kindly to that threat. He eventually got it through his thick skull that he couldn't get to her with me in his way. He ran. I brought her here. The house is a mess. You're sure to find plenty of evidence of his abuse inside."
"The injuries to her throat are consistent with your explanation. She was having some difficulty speaking, so we need you to fill in the blanks. Do you know Jackson's last name and can you describe him?” the police inquired.
"His name is Jackson Barker. He lived with Michelle. He's approximately five feet eleven inches tall. His head is shaved, but he has a scruffy brown beard and mustache. I think his eyes are blue. I wasn't interested in looking at them during our fight. He has piercings in his ears and his left eyebrow. The last time I saw him, he was wearing dirty jeans, a gray t-shirt, and no shoes. Oh, he also had wet his pants. I guess I scared him,” Kelan stated.
"The description sounds familiar. Didn't a drunk come to the station claiming he was attacked by a dragon? Wasn't he bald with piercings?” the female officer inquired of the male.
"He wouldn't shut up until he passed out,” the male replied. "Let me call in and find out his name. We may have charges to add to his file. We can have someone sent to Miss Langtree's house to collect evidence too. The man was nuts. A dragon, really? How drunk can you get?”
While he made the call, the female officer spoke with Kelan. "Do you know if Miss Langtree had been hurt by him before? If we understood her correctly, she said he always does when he's drunk."
Kelan hung his head. "She came to work with bruises on her face and a split lip yesterday. When I asked her about them, she said she had broken a heel on her shoe and fell flat on her face. I didn't believe her. I should have stopped her from going home. She would have been safe at Rankin World Defense."
"It's not your fault. So many battered women think that their love can change the abuser. It's never true. She and you both said he wanted money. She also told us he didn't have a job. That kind of thing can escalate an abuser's violence. Neither of you could have known this was coming. If he's the one in jail, then we didn't see it either. We thought he was funny, not evil,” the officer commented.
The male officer returned and announced, "It's definitely him. He's still sleeping it off. There will be some surprises for him when he wakes up. His dirty clothes are now evidence, and a squad has gone to the house to gather more. He won't wiggle out of this one. The idiot came right into the station and didn't think we would find out what he had done. I suppose he'll use the dragon thing to defend himself. Either he will say it was real and attacked them both or claim to be too crazy to know what he was doing. We've got it covered though. His blood work showed an extremely high alcohol intoxication and a mixture of street drugs. Miss Langtree's nails have been scraped for DNA, and we have both of your testimonies. He's toast."
Kelan was relieved on the one hand and panicked on the other. He didn't have to give his alien DNA, and Jackson was in jail. However, there was the fact that two people had seen him transform into a dragon. How long would it be before his secret was out? At least the police considered Jackson to be a lunatic, completely unreliable as a witness. So far, Michelle hadn't said anything either. He desperately wanted to see her. He needed to reassure himself that she was okay. He also had some explaining to do. How far could he go with the truth? Would she understand and keep his secret or run off screaming like Jackson?
The commander was going to freak. He had just admonished him to be careful with his anger. If it had been anyone other than Michelle in danger, he might have controlled himself. She seemed to bring out his protective vibe. Her beautiful face was swollen beyond recognition, and he should have been able to stop it from happening. Instead, he had pushed aside his better judgment, ignored his instincts, and let her lie about the situation. Never again would he let that happen. He might make her angry by being overprotective, but she wouldn't get hurt. He was going to have to report this to the commander at some point. Not now; he couldn't stand anymore pressure. The dragon was only napping, and it could easily be awakened. This was not a good time for an argument.
Kelan had rushed out of the office without advising anyone he was leaving. The place was most likely in an uproar since both he and Michelle were missing. He hadn't thought about his business for hours. He checked his phone. There were twenty missed calls, and his phone was full of messages. He scrolled through the calls. Most were from the office, probably trying to find out where he was. Some were from clients who would be furious about missed meetings. He listened to the messages. Each one was more anxiety-ridden than the one before it. The staff was both worried about him and angry that he wasn't answering the phone. Why hadn't he heard it ring or felt the vibration of it? Of course, some of the calls had come in while the phone was in his car. He hadn't slipped it into his pocket until after the incident with Jackson. When he had donned the jeans, he had discovered it in the floor of the car. He must have dropped it when he heard Michelle screaming. That didn't explain why he hadn't heard it since. The ringtone was turned all the way up. Kelan had to assume he was so preoccupied with Michelle that he had turned a deaf ear to anything else. He needed to check in with the office before his business imploded.
Kelan chose to call his manager. All the clients would have been transferred to him when it was discovered that neither Kelan or Michelle were available. Doug picked up on the first ring. "Kelan, is that you? Where are you? What's going on? I know you were here this morning. You left the computer on, and electronic security shows your eye print. Michelle didn't come in at all. Security shows that too. Man, everything's a mess. I've been fielding angry clients and overseas phone calls all morning. Explain yourself."
Kelan rolled his eyes upward. Doug was always overly dramatic and he really had the drama pumping today. "I would answer all your questions if you would ever shut up. Take a deep breath and listen. I won't be in today. Michelle won't be either."
"Are you crazy? You have important meetings scheduled. The investors’ money needs to be allocated to the correct places. Michelle has paperwork to send out and meetings of her own. You've got to come in. Do you expect me to handle all of this?” Doug asked.
"Stop interrupting. I said shut up and listen. Yes, I expect you to handle it all in my absence. That's what managers are for. Have your assistant help you to cancel all of my appointments for today, Michelle's too. I'll try to be back tomorrow, but you'll have to deal with Michelle's work for a few days. She's in the hospital and in bad shape. That piece of trash she lives with beat her badly. Even if she felt okay, the clients couldn't see her like this. She is definitely not okay. I'm not leaving the hospital until I see her. You're in charge for now,” Kelan explained.
"Are you serious? How bad is it? Did the police get him? What hospital? Everyone will want to know. We'll want to see her too,” Doug declared.
Kelan replied, "Her face is unrecognizable. She has a concussion, and her throat is swollen and bruised. Jackson tried to strangle her. I don't think she'll be up for a bunch of visitors anytime soon. I'll keep you updated, and you can pass the information to the others. Jackson's in jail or we would go after him. I know all of you care about her too. Keep the business alive for us, please. I've got to go."
