Page 36 of Rescuing Sara

“He did both,” Kristopher said. “Outstanding at both of them. Since he’s so tall, he had the advantage of link when he was competing.”

“Why are telling me this?” Danni’s fingers curled around the remote to keep her from throwing it.

“Because I’ll bet you a donut we’ll find in him the pool in the downstairs gym next door,” Kristopher told her. When Danni felt her mouth fall open, he said, “Hank Patterson had it put in when he bought the building. It’ just two lanes but some BP members are champion swimmers as well. Maybe he’s in the pool working off whatever is eating him.”

“You must know him awfully well.” Danni said. “How do I get there?”

“Underground passages between the buildings,” Kristopher said. I’ll tell you about those later, but right now, I’m going to take you there. C’mon.”

Feeling like she was moving through a dream, Danni followed her new friend to take the elevator to the lowest level, then through a hallway that he told her was under the Safehouse. They reached another door and Danni recognized the unmistakable aroma of the swimming pool. They arrived at a door with a sign requesting to use the pool at one’s own risk because there was no lifeguard on duty.

And behind the door, the faint sound of splashing water. A faint light came from beneath it and Kristopher pushed it open.

“I think,” he said quietly, “you’ll know better how to handle this than I will.”

“Thanks,” Danni said and stepped inside the room.

Someone had left a trail of discarded clothing up to the pool’s edge. Danni gathered them up, then went to sit on a concrete bench against the wall to watch and wait.

A lone figure was plowing through the water with strong steady movements. First an impressive freestyle, then an incredibly powerful butterfly, followed by a rapid backstroke. The only sound was water splashing and deep, almost synchronized breathing of a powerful, champion swimmer.

After what seemed like a long time, the figure returned to the side of the pool closest to where Danni waited and rested his arms on the edge, head down. Then as if he knew he were being watched, looked up. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you.”

“Damn.” He shook his head and drops flew from his short blonde hair. “Where are my clothes?”

Danni patted the bundle beside her “Here. Did you bring a towel?”

“There’s a stack over there.” He pointed to a stand in the far corner. “Could you bring two of them please?”

“Sure.” Danni collected them, handed them down and watched Patrick apply one towel to first his hair, then his chest and arms, while concentrating on her breathing and keeping her gaze on his face and not the water beneath him.

Lord, don’t judge me too harshly for admiring what I can see of this fine specimen of man you created. And don’t let me peek. Please.

“Could you turn your back while I get out, please?”

“Sure.” Danni closed her eyes and counted to ten before returning to sit on the bench. She was grateful for it because the sight of Patrick Danton wrapped in a towel was enough to make the strongest of women swoon.

When he was seated beside her, she said, “This is about your sister, isn’t it?”

“Say what?”

“Your reaction to Mrs. Everett’s death,” Danni said softly. “You think Everett beat her, no matter what he told the police. And your description of abused women needing help in Captain Haggerty’s office was one of a man who knows or knew a woman who was abused by a male partner. A woman you loved. I’m guessing from your reluctance to talk about her, it was a sister. Am I right?”

“Damn, you sure are a cop’s daughter.” He leaned his arms on his thighs. “OK. The abbreviated version, ok?”

“Whatever you want to tell me,” she assured. “I’m not a therapist, just your friend.”

“My only sister Morgan, married an abusive man right after she graduated from college. His name was Kyle Winterhouse and he played football. Good lucking guy, wealthy, went into his family’s sports merchandizing when he graduated. I was a year older then her and joined the Army right away, so after their wedding I only saw them when I was on leave. And when good ole Kyle would ‘let’ her. As if our family wasn’t good enough anymore.”

“Classic abuser profile,” Danni said. “Keep your little woman away from her family because she belongs to you. Control freaks. Let her around her family, they may talk her into coming back.”

“Right.” Patrick’s head stayed down, and he seemed to be examining his knees. “We didn’t know about the abuse at first, but it started six months into the marriage. Morgan was proud and denied it like crazy to my parents, but they knew. When I came home from overseas and learned she was pregnant, I begged her to go home to my parents, but she still refused. It’s a damn good thing Kyle didn’t hit her while she was pregnant with Grace because I would have killed him.”

“Did Morgan ever come home with Grace?”

“Finally, when Grace was almost four years old. She filed for divorce but then Morgan was killed in a car accident. My parents immediately filed for custody, but I’d bet a year’s salary the family court judge was a friend of Kyle’s family because that bastard gave Kyle sole custody of Grace. He took her and refused to let us see her. Grandparents’ rights aren’t the best in Tennessee and that’s where my parents were living at the time. We haven’t seen Grace in six years.”

---