"I'm here for you, brother. We all are. Lean on us." Hawk squeezed Throttle's arm once, then let go.
"Fuck. I don't know what I'm gonna do if something happens to Kimber. I should've been there." His voice broke and he turned away.
"I understand what you're going through. I went through the same thing with Cara. It fuckin' sucks, but don't be blaming this shit on yourself. We can all say we should've done something, but we never know what would've happened or not. It seems like this motherfucker was aiming for her and would've struck another time. Sometimes shit just happens. The strength comes in how we deal with the shit when it's thrown at us."
"Yeah, you're right. It's just that I wanted to protect her. I didn't want this to have happened."
"None of us wants our women hurt, but you did your best. You're here for her now. She'll do okay. She's tough. She's got a helluva lot of fight in her. You know that."
Throttle smiled weakly. "Yeah, she's quite a woman."
"Sir, you can go back now," the round-faced woman said. Throttle rushed up to the counter. "It's room fifteen. Go through the door, turn left and it'll be at the end of the hall, to your left." She pushed a button and a loud buzzer sounded.
Throttle walked through and searched for Kimber's room. When he arrived, he saw the curtain drawn around her bed. He waited outside her room until two people exited. A blonde woman stopped and asked, "Are you here for Ms. Descourts?" He nodded. She smiled and extended her hand. "I'm Dr. Haines."
Throttle shook her hand. "Is she gonna be okay?"
"She's going to be fine. There will be a bit of recovery time, but she should be back on her feet in two to three weeks. You can see her." The doctor opened the curtain.
Kimber lay under a white blanket, her black hair a stark contrast against the pillowcase. "Babe?" Throttle approached the bed, then took her cold hand in his warm one. Her eyes fluttered open, a glassy look covering them. "You gonna get outta here fast for me?"
A smile tugged at her mouth.
"She's very groggy due to the sedatives we gave her. She is one lucky lady. The knife didn't cut any arteries, and the wound wasn't so deep. I stitched it up. I'll keep her in the hospital for a week to make sure she's free from infection. When she does go home, she'll need help cleaning and changing the bandages. Will she have help with that?" Throttle nodded. "Excellent. I'll leave you alone with her. Since she's being admitted to the hospital, we're waiting for a room so she can be transported there from the ER. It shouldn't take more than an hour. Do you have any questions?"
"No." He watched as the doctor left; then he walked over to the bed and kissed Kimber on her forehead. "You scared the fuck outta me, babe," he said in a low voice as he held her hand tight.
She looked at him, her eyes not entirely focused. "Sorry," she rasped.
"I know you got some strong drugs in you, so go ahead and sleep. I'll be here when you wake up and after that."
"Come closer," she whispered. He leaned down, his ear next to her mouth. "I love you."
Her declaration made his heart soar, and for the first time since he'd learned she was in serious danger, lightness descended on him, pushing away all the heaviness from the past twelve hours. "That's good to know because I've been in love with you for a long while." She closed her eyes, and he brushed his lips over hers as she drifted to sleep.
* * *
The room's walls were concrete and painted a steel-blue. A cheap light fixture hung down from the paneled ceiling, casting dark shadows in the corner of the windowless room. Detective McCue sat on one of the plastic chairs opposite to Dr. Redman. The Lingerie Bandit sat with his hands folded on the metal table, a cocky smile played on his lips.
McCue blew out a long breath and locked eyes with him. Instead of apprehension, the detective saw confidence in the man's brown orbs. He thinks he's going to beat this. Shaking his head, he leaned back in his chair. "You're in quite a jam, aren't you?"
Redman chuckled then leaned back, crossing his leg over his thigh. "Why do you say that?"
"You stabbed one of your students in front of me and several deputies." He took a sip of his coffee.
"I was driven to the brink of insanity by Ms. Descourts. She'd invited me to come over to help her with some problems she was having in my business class. She threw herself at me then threatened to expose me to the school's Board of Directors and to my wife. I don't know why she wanted to destroy everything I worked so hard for, but she did. I think she was in love with me and became vindictive when I spurned her." He shook his head. "I feel sorry for her."
"So you stabbed her?"
"I felt cornered. It was like she was toying with me. You know, like a cat does with a mouse. I lost it. Women can be that way. Twisting and turning men inside out. They know they have that power and they enjoy it." He placed his hands behind his head and smiled.
White rage shot through McCue but he knew he had to keep his anger at bay if he ever hoped to garner a confession on the other murders. "You sure you don't want a lawyer?"
"No reason for one. I went insane for several moments. I'm a family man with children."
"Is that right? Does your wife know about your late night strolls?"
Redman scrunched his face. "Night strolls? I don't know what you're talking about."
"The walks you take when you want to watch women undress. I'm sure it's pretty exciting."
The man's face turned bright red as his nostrils flared "I know what you're doing. You're trying to pin the break-ins and murders of that pervert the papers have named the Lingerie Bandit. I won't stand for this." He began to stand up.
"Sit down. You're not going anywhere." It was McCue's turn to smile. "You sure you don't want that lawyer?"
"No."
"Your shoe prints match the ones found at several of the crime scenes, many of the victims were either former students of yours or attended the college during the time you were employed there, and I'm more than sure your DNA is going to match the one we collected at the crime scenes." The detective's gaze never wandered from the killer's.
Redman's cocky demeanor crumbled. Looking stunned, he stared at McCue. "I don't know what to say."
"Just tell me what happened. We're going to find out. We have search warrants in our hands and are ready to execute them at your residence and place of work."
Panic spread over his face. "My wife likes an orderly house. You can't have your men tearing it apart. It'll just crush her if the house is out of order."
"You're the one controlling this. You can tell me about Deputy Manzik, and it'll make things a lot better for your family. You don't want them plastered across the breaking news, do you?"
"No," he said in a low voice.
The detective sat sipping his coffee waiting for Redman to take the lead.
"It's hard to believe this is happening. I didn't mean for any of it to go this way. I only wanted to watch the women, but it got to be that it wasn't enough." He raised his eyes searching McCue's for understanding.
Nodding his head, the detective said, "So you wanted to kick it up a bit to get the thrill back."
"Yes. I wanted so much more." He bowed his head, his shoulders slumping. "I always felt shame and disgust when I'd be home sleeping next to my wife. I'd promise myself that it would be the last time, but it never was. The urge was too strong … ."
"So if you hadn't been caught you would've continued raping and murdering women?"
"I was hoping not but I can't really answer the question … I only know that I struggled with it daily."
"And Deputy Manzik?"
"She was beautiful. I desired her when she was at the college. I'd seen her photo recently in the paper, and it reminded me how pretty she was and how much I wanted her. I took it as a sign, and I sought her out." He rested his head between his hands. "I had a lot of time with her. I filmed our time together. I'm sure your deputies will find it. It's about three hours, I think." A long pause ensued before he cleared his throat. "I'm so horribly ashamed of the despicable crimes I've committed." His voice broke and deep sobs shook his body and filled the small room.
Several hours later, Detective McCue exited the room, tape recorder in hand and nodded to the waiting deputy. "Take him to holding and start the process. I'll send the charges over." He walked out into the cool night air and breathed in deeply. Looking at the winking stars he whispered under his breath, "He'll never hurt anyone ever again, Sharon. I'm just sorry I couldn't have caught the sick sonofabitch before he killed you. Rest in peace."