Chapter 34

Dave left the hospital at a brisk pace, walking not running to attract less attention... and as soon as he got a decent distance away from the building he slammed a fist into the nearest wall and let a cry of anger and frustration escape... It was more than he could bear - to leave her now that she had been her old self again with him... the image of her crying as he backed out of her room was still before his eyes... As he walked further along the street, he called Dr. Greenberg on his cell. It was time to give him a detailed update of the situation.

---

Nat slumped back onto the hospital bed. She shut her eyes tightly to block out the harsh overhead light that flooded her eyes as her head sunk into the pillow. Even keeping her eyes closed was an effort for her – she was so very tired, but couldn't afford to sleep now: she had to use the time to think through all that had been said, and all that she was going to have to say, to keep the story believable. It was beginning to look like the hospital staff suspected Dave of having something to do with her injury – and to avoid any confusion she would have to be meticulous in her choice of words.

Despite trying to stay focused, she drifted off into a day-dream-like state, during which she began to talk out loud. It seemed to help her to concentrate, testing the words on her own ears first, the words she would use later to convince the nurses that it had all been a silly accident.

“He wasn't even there when it happened. He did all he could to help me. He tried to get me to come earlier but I kept saying no” …and each time she found a valid argument in Dave's favour, she nodded to herself… but slowly her ideas became confused, and she started to intertwine thoughts of her alibi for Dave with thoughts of what had really happened. Now in her confusion, she was nodding her aching head, imagining herself talking to Dave, her beautiful Dave, about what had been done to her. She hissed:

“He's sick, they are sick - he's getting his fun by hurting people – both sick and twisted!” her nodding continued “He will get what he deserves… sooner or later!” and she felt that her fists were clenching around handfuls of bedsheet on either side of her. Angry now, with this mental image of someone else vying with the one she wanted to have before her eyes, of her beloved Dave, she wanted to tell him, needed to tell her Dave, what had been happening. She was feeling feverish, her wound was throbbing painfully and she could see tiny swimming spots before her eyes, but again and again, behind these spots materialised a cruel, smiling face she had no pleasure in recognising. So now it was this ugly face that fuelled her tirade... 

“Get out of my sight! Can't you see that I will never be yours again? It's him I want, not you! You can't stand that, can you?” and so worked up was she, that this vision of Yuri would not leave her to concentrate on what she had to do for Dave, that she didn't hear the knock on the door, and the nurses enter her room. Carrying on with her venomous attack on Yuri, Nat hurled a mouthful of abuse into the air above the bed, startling the nurses who didn't dare to make a sound.

“You have got to be the sickest bastard I have ever known! In all the time I did that disgusting work for you I never met anyone as twisted as you – and it wasn't enough that you get to humiliate me, you have to draw blood this time, hm? Well it stops here, you crazy fucker – I don't want you in my life any more - do you hear me? Go play your screwed up shagging games with some other poor bitch – this one has had enough of sucking your pathetic dick – enough of waiting hours for it to maybe get hard – enough of playing your sick games… I…. pity you…. you and all your sort…. go fuck yourself and leave me... oh shit…” and with this Nat found a wave of nausea took her totally by surprise and she was retching over the side of the bed! Only when she had vomited up noisily and painfully the meager contents of her stomach, only then did she see two pairs of white shoes by the bed... Nat raised her eyes, following the white tights, the white dresses, right up to the two stern faces of the nurses… and her wide-eyed expression lasted for a few seconds before she collapsed backwards in a faint of exhaustion.

The nurses had heard enough of Nat's outburst for them to question what she had been saying in the presence of the man, of whom there seemed to be no trace now – this was in fact one of the reasons they had returned to see Nat, thinking she was bound to know where he was, because he was going to have to make a statement. The other reason was of course to see to Nat's gaping wound at last. One of the nurses started to clean up the area around the wound, which didn't produce any reaction from Nat, who was out cold.

The other nurse left the room to find assistance in order to localise Dave – more than likely the person whom Nat had been speaking about so viciously. Arriving at the front desk, she talked briefly with her receptionist colleague about the arrival of the two people – Dave and Nat – and the outburst of the taxi-driver, and the two women tried to piece together what might have happened.

Meanwhile, Nat was being awakened by the sharp sting of the needle, as her head wound was being stitched. The nurse decided to ask her once more about the wound, and Nat managed to say clearly that it was just a fall, a nasty knock in the bathroom, and that her friend had done all he could to get her to hospital, despite her saying it wasn't necessary, and ignoring the blood everywhere. Nat asked if the angry taxi driver was still around because she wanted to apologise to him and maybe offer to pay his seat-cleaning bill if he'd let her. As she finished dressing the wound, the nurse said she would look out for the taxi driver as she backed out of Nat's room. Finding her colleagues at the front desk, she told them how different Nat had been once she had woken up. It seemed very clear to the three women that Nat was covering up for her violent lover, and when she was delirious, the truth was coming out despite her, contradicting all she said when she was lucid.

The painkillers they gave her and the exhaustion had sent her into a dreamless sleep and she was very grateful for that. She didn’t know how long she had been sleeping, but when she woke up, first she didn’t recognize the room. Then the memories came back slowly and she sighed.

“Great. More complications…” she whispered and jumped a little bit, when she heard an unfamiliar voice from the door.

“What do you mean exactly, Miss?”

Nat just turned her aching head towards the door where a tall man stood in a brown suit, a police badge shining on his chest, while he pulled out a little note book from his pocket and came closer.

“I’m sorry, I was being rude. My name is detective Mark Cleaver. I came to help.”

“To help?” Nat looked still confused into his warm but determined eyes “I don’t get it.”

“We’ve got a statement from the hospital about what had happened. I mean you and your mysteriously disappeared friend coming into the hospital, without a convincing story about your wounds.”

“Wounds?” she gulped.

“Yes, wounds. Actually many wounds and bite marks. While you were passed out, the nurses examined you and took pictures of your injuries. Miss Iljics, we know that you had been assaulted in many ways and according to the stage of your injuries, I’m sure that it hadn’t started yesterday when you had this ‘bathroom accident’. Am I right?”

“They had no right… to examine me without my permission!” she whispered quickly, her blue eyes turning to cold ice-bergs.

“I’m sorry, Miss, but this is how we do things here. If there’s the suspicion of technical assault, the hospital has to warn us. So, please, try to see it from the other end. We are here to help you, to get rid off your violent boyfriend, cuz he’s doing this to you, isn’t he?”

“No! No, you don’t know anything. There’s been a mistake here! Dave never hit me or anything, he was the one who always wanted to help me! He has nothing to do with this!” she yelled out, not seeing the way out of the situation.

“So… his full name is Dave Gahan then, right? Sounds somehow familiar…” said the policeman while he wrote down the new information. Nat cursed herself for being this unwary. Now they’ll know how to find him, and if this gets to the press… Now she really started feeling herself horrified, which caught the man’s attention. “Is there something wrong, Miss?”

“I… I don’t feel too well, Mr. Cleaver…” she said and it was true, but this time it wasn’t the physical pain.

“Look, Natasha…” the detective sighed with a warmer gaze “I know that you’re lying and covering up for that bastard, but please, let us help. Don’t you want to get rid off him?”

She closed her eyes and turned her head away as the possibility hit her that she could be with Dave freely, without fear again. But they won’t believe her and Yuri’ll find his way to kill Dave or her if he found the situation too risky for himself… And Dave dying was the last thing Nat wanted. If she must die instead of him, she’ll do it, but she won’t let Dave get hurt physically. No way! His daughter and family and friends and fans need him too much! He’ll forget her with time and go on with his life.

“Please, leave me alone, I don’t want any help. I’ll be fine” she whispered with still closed eyes, a teardrop finding its way from under her eyelid.

“Is he scaring you with threats? That’s why you don’t want to speak? Natasha, we can protect you” he said once more, trying to change her mind, but she still didn’t look at him. She thought how true his words were – he just used them for the wrong person.

“No. Thank you. As I said, I’ll be fine. Just leave me alone, please. I can deal with my problems” she answered in a cold tone.

“I see. Fine, Miss Iljics, but I’ll leave my card here and whenever you change your mind, please call me, okay?” he put the card onto the nightstand and when he saw that she won’t say anything more, he walked out the door shaking his head. He’d always hated to see women in such conditions because of men, but if the victim doesn’t want their help, they can’t do much. But at least he has a name, he’ll go back to the police station and check it in the data base. Maybe he’ll be lucky…

---

When Dave hung up the phone after updating Dr. Greenberg, he cradled his aching head between his hands. He was so tired – mainly emotionally. Thousands of thoughts had been running through his head in the last few hours. He needs to act quickly. Now that Nat seems to be more like her old self, maybe he can talk her over to accept his help. She has to accept it! But another important question was bugging his mind, so he reached for his cell again and dialed Kessler.

“What’s up, Dave?” he heard immediately on the other end of the line.

“John, I think there’ll be some complications around me.”

“What do you mean?” he heard the awareness in the familiar voice right away.

“I’m in trouble, buddy. I’ll need one of our lawyers…” he said then started to describe the situation he was in right now, asking for his discretion.

---

After a few days they let Nat out of the hospital. She played the stubborn and didn’t say a word. Yuri called her and she had to tell him where she was. He threatened her again that if she involves the police, Dave’ll die. So she swallowed her tears and hissed back that she won’t say a word, he doesn’t have to worry. Later when she was in her untidy flat, he called again and said that after these complications the prize she has to pay got higher, cuz it was her fault that the police knew about her now. He said she’ll have to do whatever he wants her to do after this – and she obeyed. It didn’t matter her anymore, she just wanted Dave to be safe. She had no other emotions or wills just this. Yuri killed her in many ways and now she was just a shell without will, only worrying for Dave – this was the only one thing that bastard couldn’t take away from her. Now Yuri let her rest for a few days and she was grateful for that. She was just laying in her bed, sleeping and sometimes crying and preparing herself for the awful things she’ll have to do for those sick people. At least – when she felt herself a bit better – she cleaned up a bit from the mess in her flat.

---

Dave was staring at the glass of water in front of him as he was sitting by the table, arms folded in front of his chest.

“So Mr. Gahan, you say you didn’t hit her?”

“No, Mr. Cleaver, I never raised a hand on her” he shook his head again. They went through this at least the third time and he wasn’t going to speak either. It didn’t matter what they though of him, Nat was more important and he’ll do what she told him – or rather begged – in the telephone. She just asked him not to say anything for the police or else all of them can get hurt. And he didn’t want her to get hurt because of him. But he couldn’t be sure even now. His hands fisted from the thought that Yuri can punish her further because of her “silliness” – aka going to the hospital.

“Tell me again… you found her bleeding on the bathroom floor – accidentally of course – and didn’t call 911. Why was that?” the detective put his hands onto the table as he was standing opposite the sitting Dave.

“Because she was confused and rather aggressive because of her concussion and I didn’t want a scene so I tricked her into a cab” he sighed.

“Didn’t want a scene? I guess you didn’t want her to scream…. And you say she was aggressive… maybe you silenced her with your force?”

“This is bullshit!” he looked at him angrily, but calmed down when he felt his lawyer’s hand on his upper arm.

“Detective Cleaver, my client had already told you the facts. Assumptions won’t lead anywhere. We told you everything. Do you have evidences that he assaulted Miss Iljics?”

“Not yet” he said, his jaw-line hardening.

“You said that my client’s probe-bitemarks didn’t match any of the marks the victim had on her body. Is that correct?”

“Yes. But it just means that someone else helps him.”

“Detective” the lawyer sighed, shaking his head “These are just assumptions. You have no evidence that Mr. Gahan hurt her, ever. So I’d like to ask you to let him go, if you don’t want to bring a charge against him.”

The detective looked deep into Dave’s calm eyes and Dave could read from this stern look: he was sure he was guilty and although the detective didn’t say it, there was a threat in it, saying that he shouldn’t think that just because he was a famous man with money he can get away with this. Dave just shook his head and sighed.

“I’m not the one you’re looking for” he said to Cleaver when he and his lawyer already stood up.

“What do you mean?” Cleaver asked immediately.

“Mr. Gahan, please, don’t say another word. We can go now” his lawyer said and escorted him out of the interrogating room and outside his bodyguard joined them too.

“This’ll be tricky…” Dave murmured under his nose and sighed again. He must be careful.

To be continued...

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