The Last Straw (The Jigsaw Files #4) - Sharon Sala Page 0,92

to take credit for all that,” Floyd said. “But just between us...if it hadn’t been for your sister hiring Charlie Dodge and his partner, Jade Wyrick, to assist in the case, this could have had a whole other ending.”

Rachel nodded. “Yes, Millie told me about all of that. I’m just so grateful to still be alive.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Floyd said, then he and Mills shook hands with Millie and Ray and got down to business.

“We know this isn’t going to be easy,” Floyd said. “My partner will be recording this, so anytime you need to stop filming to take a break, just say so.”

Rachel nodded.

“I’m not going to ask you many questions. We just want to hear your story from the beginning to the last thing you remember. I also know this will be hard to do, but we need details of what he did to you to corroborate the injuries you had when you were found. Start off by stating your name and then begin your statement.”

Rachel swallowed, then reached for Millie’s hand.

Millie grabbed her and held on.

Rachel took a breath and then began, “My name is Rachel Dean. The day of my abduction, I had stayed late at Addison-Tunnell, the ad agency where I work, because I had a big presentation for a client the next day. I came home sometime around 8 p.m. The cleaning crew had been in my apartment that day and everything smelled good. I changed out of my work clothes, gathered up a load of laundry and started them to wash. The next thing I did was to heat up some soup for my supper. I was eating it as I read, when I began hearing voices in the back of my apartment. I went to investigate and found the television on in my bedroom. It wasn’t on when I’d come home, so it puzzled me. But when I went to get the remote, it wasn’t on the table by my bed where I kept it. It was across the room, beside the TV. Again, I thought it was strange, but shrugged it off. I was on my way to get the remote when I felt a sharp pain in my neck. I thought it was a bug bite...maybe a spider. I think I was raising my hand, like to feel for it, and then everything went black. I don’t remember anything until I woke up in that room.”

She shuddered and reached for her water.

Millie grabbed the cup and straw. “Here, honey. I’ve got it,” she said and held it while Rachel drank.

Rachel nodded her thanks, then picked up where she’d left off.

“I woke up on the floor, on a bare and filthy mattress, but I couldn’t stay awake. The drug, I guess. There was a light in the ceiling. It was always on. The room was concrete. It had an ancient toilet and sink. As the drug began to wear off, I saw more details. There were stains on the mattress, old, faded stains. They looked like blood. I had no sense of time, but each time I woke, I would get up and beat on the door, screaming for help. But no one came.”

She paused. Her voice was beginning to shake, and Ray was in shock, wondering how she would ever be Rachel again, when she picked up the story.

“He came when I was asleep. I woke up and he was on top of me. I recognized him instantly and tried to push him away, and when I did, he knocked me out. The next time I woke up we were both naked and he was inside me, holding a knife to my throat. He talked ugly, and dirty, getting off on my pain. He made little cuts all over me, then told me if I moved he would cut my throat. Then he said it wouldn’t matter, because he’d fucked dead women before. I don’t know how many times he raped me afterward.”

Millie bit her lip to keep from screaming.

“You’re doing great, Rachel. Do you need to take a break?” Floyd asked.

Tears were welling. She shook her head.

“He had brought me food. I ate it after he left, because I knew I had to stay strong enough to survive. It became routine for me to beat on the door and scream for help.” She felt her throat...remembering. “After a long while, the cut on my neck finally stopped bleeding, but it became sore and festered, and I was so cold. The