Page 72 of Captive Heart

Melody was sad about that. She couldn't imagine Daddy had any part in it and didn't want to think that the dear old man who had saved her from a life on the streets had betrayed her that way.

It was the early hours of the morning before everybody finally took their leave, and even though Melody was used to the late nights by now, she was exhausted. She could scarcely believe that all of this had happened in a single day. It seemed to have stretched on forever.

Dr Xavier popped by to check her out and dressed a few of the welts. She'd been subjected to far worse in the past, though, so in that respect, it really wasn't so bad.

Not even bothering to suppress yet another yawn, Melody allowed her eyes to droop as Micah said his goodbyes to the last people to leave and went to check the building was locked up.

She must have nodded off, because her eyes flew open with a start at Micah's steady gait and she realised he was holding her in his arms and walking toward the boudoir.

He laid her gently on the bed. Melody was already swathed in her cosy, fuzzy pyjamas, feeling warm and comforted and Micah snuggled her down under the covers, tucking her in like a child.

When he straightened, Melody gripped his forearm to stop him from moving away. "Micah? Please don't leave me," she begged without shame.

Micah detached her hand from his arm and kissed her fingers. "I'll be right back, sweetheart, I'm just going to switch off all the lights," he promised.

Melody couldn't settle. Her eyes remained wide in the muted shade of the night until he returned and climbed into the big bed with her. She immediately rolled over, using his shoulder as a pillow, and when he pulled her close and snuggled her against him, banding his strong arms around her in comfort, she finally managed to sleep.

49

It wasn't over yet. Melody wasn't sure if she’d expected it to be or not, but the following day, bleary eyed and slightly subdued, she was met with the news that the authorities still hadn't managed to trace all of the men Vinny Sutton had finally given them names for.

Guthrie was one of them.

Now Melody had to wonder just how much of a threat these people were to her. Hopefully, they'd be long gone, taking off somewhere far away while they hoped to escape detection.

The only positive thing was that no charges were going to be pursued against Micah for his actions the previous day.

Melody was truly thankful for that. She wouldn't have been able to live with herself if he'd been prosecuted for coming to her rescue.

There was still worse news to come. Andy Storer grilled her once again, this time on everything she could recall about the argument that had taken place between Vinny and Thomas on the day she'd been abducted.

Not that there was much to tell, as she explained over and over, because Daddy had locked her in her room.

"Okay, that will be enough," the detective finally sighed. "What you've told us corroborates with what we found at Thomas Sutton's house.”

"What do you mean?" Micah asked. He’d insisted on sitting with her, unwilling to let her face this alone, and Melody was more than grateful for his support.

"How can there be any evidence left after all this time? We already know it's been several years since all of this took place."

Detective Storer cleared his throat and looked away for a moment. Then, facing them again with a sigh, he said, "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but we believe we have found the decomposed body of Thomas Sutton at the house you were taken from, Melody."

Melody let out a shocked sob. "What do you mean?" she whispered shakily, reaching blindly for Micah's hand.

Andy rubbed his hand over his shaved head. "We went out first thing this morning to question Mr. Sutton, but there was no reply. What we did notice was the gardens were seriously overgrown and there seemed to be a glut of post piled up from what we could make out through the side window, bearing in mind that it’s semi-opaque glass, so we couldn't get a very good view."

Shaking his head, he continued. "However, it was enough for us to decide to take a look around the property. Detective Scott checked the windows and saw evidence of a struggle. Toppled furniture, broken objects, and from that we decided there was probable cause to execute a forced entry into the property. When we got inside, we found a corpse which the coroner has agreed is between approximately two and five years old. He has confirmed the body is that of a male, believed to be between sixty-five and seventy-five years of age. Luckily, the teeth are intact, and we’re expecting hard confirmation from his dental records very shortly."

A tear slipped down Melody's face, and Micah put his arm around her in comfort.

"So, V did hurt him, just like I thought," she sniffled.

"We believe Thomas Sutton was alive at the time of your abduction, from the position of his body and the blood smears that were evident. But Vinny Sutton certainly dealt the killing blow and Thomas died from his injuries before he could call for help. As soon as we have positive confirmation, we will be charging Vinny Sutton with either murder or manslaughter, depending on the results of the autopsy."

Melody curled into Micah's shoulder and cried. "He didn't deserve that," she said as she wept, gripping the front of Micah's shirt. "He was a good man."

Detective Storer shuffled up the papers from the table in front of him and put them into a file. "We believe Vinny discovered that Thomas had legally adopted you and lost his temper, attacking Thomas and kidnapping you in retaliation. That was the catalyst for his systematic abuse of you."

Andy stowed the files and reversed his wheelchair. It beeped a 'backing up' signal that seemed incongruous within the quiet room.

---