“Well if we don’t have any suspects I’m afraid there is not much we can do about it, except be hyper vigilante, keep an eye out and don’t put yourself in any unnecessary dangers, like stay out of secluded areas for example” Bob warned them and Claire gulped, trying to swallow down her nerves, to calm herself, it didn’t work well.
Her breathing had become raspy, her face pale, it was all just too much, one thing after another, after another and it was taking it’s toll on her, on all of them.
“Claire are you alright?” Chad asked her suddenly noticing how she had begun to shiver, her body rather frigid and a slight look of panic in her eyes.
“Claire can you hear me? I need you to concentrate on your breathing, I need you to slow your heart rate, otherwise you’re going to panic and you’ll have an attack" Bob spoke to her, he had seen her like this before and knew what was coming.
Claire however could barely hear him, her mind was somewhere else, it was in the woods, scanning every tree, every dark spot something might be hiding inside, needing to know what was there, what was behind everything that has been going on.
Her breath hitched, feeling like it had jammed in her throat and she gasped, long big sudden gasps, trying to get the airflow back to her lungs.
“Shit, put her head between her knees, now!” Bob shouted at Chad who for a moment was stunned at what was happening before his eyes, he had never seen Claire like this and he had no idea on how to help her.
Quickly he did as he was told, reaching out to her he slowly guided her head down, between her legs, thankfully they were facing each other so it made it easier, once he had done that he rubbed her back soothingly, hoping it would provide a calming effect.
Claire closed her eyes, pushing herself out of the dark thoughts that were taunting her, and concentrated on the feeling of Chad rubbing her back in circles.
She stopped gasping for air, tried to focus on taking in long deep slow breaths instead of sudden smells ones, it took a while but slowly her body trembles faded away, her lungs refilled with air and her heart rate slowed back to normal.
“What was that?” Chad asked Bob, worry tainted his voice and was written all over his face but he didn’t stop rubbing her back.
“It was a panic attack, caused from stress and fear, she’ll be alright but she needs to rest, it takes an awful lot out of you, can you help her to the couch? I’ll make us all something to drink" Bob explained as he got to his feet and started making his way to the cupboards for cups.
Chad slowly got to his own feet, watching Claire carefully, before taking her by the shoulders and guiding her up, she had to put a lot of effort into picking up her weight and when she finally lifted her head he saw the toll the attack had taken on her.
She was pale, her eyes swollen and tired, her whole body ached and he could see the pain on her face.
He didn’t bother letting her try to walk to the couch, her knees looked wobbly enough just to keep her standing where she was so he scooped her up bridal style and carried her over himself, her head resting on his chest.
He was careful when he placed her down, pulling his arms out from underneath her and he quickly pulled the blanket over her, all the while she watched him with tired eyes.
“I’m sorry you had to see that, I try to hide that side away, I never wanted you to witness that" she mumbled slowly out her apology and he looked at her with soft, caring eyes.
“Don’t you ever apologise for needing help, or having panic attacks, your under a lot of stress and I’ll do anything I can to help you" he told her as he reached up and stroked her cheek soothingly and affectionately.
“Here you are, a nice hot chocolate” Bob said as he placed the cup down on the table next to her head, it was small, just big enough for the lamp it held and her cup.
“Thank you" she managed to whisper out, however her body felt weighed down, like she was too tired to even attempt to pick up the cup, and Chad noticed this.
“Do you have any straws?” he asked Bob who considered the question before setting off in search of one.
“Here one is" Bob said once he found one and brought it over to Chad, handing it to him.
Chad instantly put it in the cup of hot chocolate, held the cup and put the straw to Claire’s lips, she felt embarrassed having to have someone help her like this but she sipped at the straw before pulling away slightly, to let Chad know she had enough.
Putting the cup down he looked down at her, leaning forward and placing a soft, warm kiss on her cheek for which she smiled at him slightly before closing her eyes, she was exhausted and she couldn’t stay awake any longer.
“I don’t want you staying at the house alone either, especially if your being so easily watched there, stay here for the night, I’ll get a small mattress brought over, you can sleep on that" she could hear Bob speaking to Chad but listening in on their conversation quickly became to exhausting and she slipped off into a deep sleep.
Morning came all too quick, Claire felt like she had only been asleep for a couple of minutes, but thankfully she woke to the smell of hot chocolate with mini marshmallows, it was the only thing that coaxed her off the couch.
Slowly things started to become clearer, the mattress on the floor, the fact that Chad had slept here and she remembered over hearing how Bob wanted him to stay here and not go back home where a potential stalker might still be laying in wait.
“Good morning Claire, how are you feeling this morning?” Bob asked her as he sat down across the table and sipped at his cup, it was nice to have a hot drink to wake up too, especially with how chilly it was in the mornings, the dew still on all the windows, making them too foggy to see through.
“Tired, achy, embarrassed” she admitted as she too sipped at her own drink, she looked around for Chad but could not see him.
“He ducked home to take a shower and grab some clean clothes, I’ve asked him to stay for a few nights if that’s alright with you” Bob explained after seeing how she had been looking around.
“That’s fine, just as long as the whole town doesn’t end up here” Claire smirked cheekily at him and he chuckled in response.
“Don’t worry, I’ve already considered it but they wouldn’t all fit here” he joked back.
“You two seem to be going very well together" Bob smirked at her, trying to hide it by taking a sip from his cup.
“Yeah...” Claire replied awkwardly and thankfully Bob left it at that, she really didn’t want to talk about it right now.
“Sorry I have to take this, I’ll be right back" Bob told her when his phone started to ring and he got up and walked out, pulling out his phone from his pants pocket as he went.
Claire finished her drink, put her cup in the sink and then made her way to the bathroom, where she showered and clothed herself in fresh blue jeans, a black tank top and her blue leather jacket.
“Good morning Claire” Chad said once Claire came back out of the bathroom and saw him and Bob sitting at the table.
“Hey” she replied as she joined them, his hair was still wet and a little messy, it made him look rather sexy and his button up shirt showed off his broad shoulders and lean body, as well as his black jeans showing off his long legs.
“I have some news Claire, the test results came back for the blood on that hammer we found at Eric Sale’s garage” Bob told her and she looked up at him curiously.
“It was all clean of fingerprints except for Eric’s” he told her.
“So Eric attacked someone with his own hammer?” Claire asked for clarification but Bob shook his head.
“No, the blood and brain splatter on the hammer belonged to Eric, someone else used his hammer to blitz attack him” Bob told her and she looked at him in shock.
“Anything from the letter we found at his place?” she asked him but he just frowned before he replied.
“Same as usual, deer blood, no fingerprints, but all evidence points to Eric being another one of this kidnappers victims” Bob spoke sadly and Claire felt a pang in her chest, she hated seeing Bob in such pain, blaming himself for not finding this kidnapper.
“So what are you two going to do now?” Chad asked curiously, watching them both intently.
“What can we do? We have no evidence that leads to anything, just dead ends” Bob sighed frustrated.
“Actually I think I have something” Claire spoke with uncertainty, she wasn’t sure if it would lead to anything but it was her best idea, her only idea actually at how they could possibly move this case forward.
“And what’s that?” Bob asked, hope lighting up in his eyes and Claire instantly felt even more worried, if it didn’t amount to anything she would let Bob down even more than he already is, and she didn’t know if she could live with that.
“I want to check out the caves up in the mountains, on that trail where we found Helena’s.....” she couldn’t continue to say what she was going to, the look in Bob’s eyes was too hurtful, he had given Helena that ring they had found, and it was just a painful reminder now.
“What do you think you’ll find up in the caves?” Chad asked confused as to why she was suggesting it.
“Honestly? I have a hunch its where we might find the..... the....” she couldn’t say it, the word kept catching in her throat, her heart bleeding at the thought of the word.
“The remains” Bob finished for her and she looked at both of them with sad, tortured eyes.
“Yes, exactly” she replied, tears welling in her eyes at the thought of finding her parents bones up there, at finding Helena’s rotting corpse.
And all the questions swarming around in her mind weren’t helping any.
What happens if they go up there?
Will they find the kidnapper?
Will they find the remains of all the victims, including her parents and godmother.
What happens if they do? Will she be able to cope with the truth finally revealing itself?
So many questions, so little answers, answers she didn’t have, answers she didn’t know if she wanted answered.
“I’ll talk to the rangers, like they warned us though, the trail is very difficult, it might take a few days to organise” Bob told her and she nodded thankfully, however she wasn’t really certain exactly how much she wanted to actually do it.
“Can I volunteer to come along?” Chad asked while he reached over and took hold of one of Claire’s hands, trying to provide her comfort, he could see how nervous she was, it was written all over her face and her body was tense.
“I’m afraid I cannot allow that Chad, we don’t know what we might find, I’m afraid it’s too dangerous to let a civilian tag along” Bob replied but Chad looked instantly at Claire, as if to say ‘but she is a civilian too’ and Bob noticed this.
“I understand I’m making an exception with Claire but she has studied criminal psychology, she has more idea on what we’re getting into then I’m afraid you would, I hope you can understand” Bob explained and Chad looked disappointed but tried his best to hide it.
“I understand, just.... just promise me you’ll watch out for her” Chad asked of Bob and Claire felt touched, he had wanted to come to keep an eye on Claire, to take care of her and make sure that she will be alright, it made her feel loved.
“I promise Chad, it goes without saying, I won’t let anything bad happen to Claire” Bob swore and Claire smiled slightly at him, she knew he saw her as a daughter, and honestly he was probably the closest thing she had to a dad, besides her grandfather.
“So how long does it actually take to get to the mountains?” Claire asked curiously and Bob looked at her uncertain.
“A few days, we’ll have to camp out in the woods, still sure you want to do it?” he asked her and she gulped nervously.
“A few days? It’ll take that long?” she was now even more nervous, especially about the fact that they will have to camp out in the woods, fear of her nightmare she’d had those few nights ago reappearing in her mind, her running in fear in the woods, a terrifying monster tearing her apart.
“I’m afraid so, it’s rough out there, and we can’t risk travelling through it in the dark” Bob warned her and shivers sent up her spine at the mere thought of wandering around out there in the dead of night.
“So where do I go about getting a tent around here? Do we have any at the hardware store?” she asked Chad curiously, when she was little she remembered them having a couple there every now and again.
“Don’t need to worry about that, the rangers will provide everything we will need, I’ll discuss it with them and I’ll make sure you have your own tent for privacy” Bob told her.
“Thanks Bob, I appreciate it” Claire said, however it didn’t settle her nerves any.
“You really think their up there don’t you?” Chad asked Claire referring to the victims and she looked at him with worrisome eyes.
“I think so” she admitted, her voice waiving slightly.