Battle-Hardened, War Weary Ch. 08B

"Jack?" Ryan said in a soft tone of voice.

"We pepper-sprayed her face, when she wouldn't listen to us," the detective muttered. "If I knew then, what I know now..." His voice trailed off again. He glanced at Ryan. "I would've done something else." Jack sighed. Each of his callused hands rubbed the tops of his thighs. "How about I turn this longer story into a shorter and a different one, mmm?"

Ryan observed Jack Logan for a few seconds before he answered the question. He gently nodded his head a few times. He knew that this incident bothered Jack.

"I know that Sam had told you what happened when we found Kali, so I am going to tell you about the events that led up to that incident," explained Jack.

Once again, Ryan nodded his head. "Okay."

"On that day, we discovered three bodies inside of that apartment. Based off of what the medical examiner had told me, those bodies were inside of that place for three weeks..." Jack noticed Ryan's face grimace. The cop nodded his head and chuckled. "Yeah, the place smelled like roses by the time we entered the premises. The three bodies, Jackson Turner, Connie Hamilton and Wendell Marsh were all evil son-of-bitches, in my opinion."

"You won't hear me debate that," Ryan told him.

With an unnerving glint in his dark blue eyes, Jack gazed at the soon-to be-father. "Jackson Turner was Reba's boyfriend. She met him in June of 1976. At that time, Reba and Kali was living in that apartment, which was off of Merrick Boulevard and..." Jack paused. He was trying to remember the name of the street that the building was located on. "Oh shit, I can't remember," Jack mumbled. "Anyway, Jackson was the one who threw Kali into the sex slavery thing. Reba didn't know about it—

"Why not?" Ryan growled. He was irritated with Jack and with his idea that Kali's mother was an innocent victim. "He was living in her home! How could she not know that he was doing that to her?"

"Rye, she didn't know because she wasn't there. She was in the psych ward of Mary Immaculate Hospital. She was there for seven months..." Jack subtly nodded his head. "Yeah, for seven months. She was there involuntarily, of course. It was during this time that Jackson..." He grimaced. "...pimped Kali out. The day that they were killed was the day that Reba was released from the hospital. She was lucid and clear. She was on medication. She..." Jack stopped so he could sigh. His left foot tapped against the hard wood floor three times.

Ryan thought that his wife's godfather was trying to mentally brace himself, so he could tell the story. He watched the man make a tough swallow. Then he grunted before he continued speaking.

"According to Reba, she entered the apartment and found Jackson sitting on the couch. He was high off of a dose of heroin. He was nodding out and totally oblivious that Reba was there. She told me that she was shock to find Jackson there with drugs. He never done drugs in front of her. She knew that he sold drugs but she thought that he didn't use any. She said that she was going to pack up some of their things and leave the apartment. She had gone to her bedroom and she packed some of her clothes. She heard music playing in the other bedroom. It was the bedroom that Kali used. She had gone to the room to see what was going on..."

He heard Jack groan. Then he saw the older man clench his jaw. Ryan watched his hands formed into fists.

"Wendell Marsh was a john, who was a pedophile. He paid Jackson to allow him to film..."

His mouth allowed a sigh pass through. In Ryan's mind, he thought about the possible activity that occurred in that room. He felt his skin crawl and his stomach churn from the disgust that he felt. He slowly closed his eyes and sucked his bottom lip into his mouth. Both rows of teeth clamped down on the layer of flesh. His mind gradually filled with thoughts of murder and carnage.

'I heard enough,' Ryan concluded.

"Do you want me to stop?" he heard Jack ask him. Jack's voice lost its edginess. For Ryan, he believed that Jack was discreetly pleading. He thought that Jack couldn't handle talking about it anymore.

"Yeah, I get it now. I understand," Ryan said to him with a hoarse voice.

Then the room was full of silence and tension. As they sat on those bins, each man sorted through the emotions that they felt. For Ryan, he tried to adapt to the sensation of disgust and dirtiness that he felt, at the moment.

"After she killed those people, what happened to Reba and Kali?" Ryan asked. "Why didn't she leave? Why did they continue to live in that house?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I asked Reba and she told me that she didn't even know why she stayed in that apartment. After that day, she stopped taking her meds and gradually she began going through her schizophrenic symptoms. For the next three weeks, she was were slipping in and out of her psychosis. She was sick, Ryan."

"You sound like you think that Reba was a victim too."

"I believe that she was a victim. Reba has been victimized all of her life. From May of 1977 to August of 1979, I investigated Reba. With her permission, I dug through her history and from what I've gathered, I truly believe that she is a victim."

Ryan shifted in his seat. "You sound like you are deeply invested in this family."

Jack grinned. "Is that some sort of crack towards the fact that I am dating Kali's grandmother?"

The groom chuckled and shook his head. "No, it is not a crack about your love life. Speaking of which, how did you meet—

"Keep your nose out of grown folks' business," stated Jack. He rose from his seat. He shook each leg, in an effort to get rid of the numbness in his legs. He stared down at Ryan. "We've been up here for too long. I'm sure Kali thinks that I had killed you by now," the cop joked. "Now, let's take our asses downstairs."

Kali gave each of her suspects a hard stare as they stood up and against the wall. She tried to convey an aura of authority and she wanted to intimidate each one of her uncles. She knew that she had a hard task because she was six months pregnant and she wore a floor-length wedding dress.

"Okay," she said to all of them as she paced in front of them. "Where is my husband and what did you do with him?"

Her Uncle Davis was the person who answered the question. "Baby Girl, we did nothing to your husband—

"Because Jack wouldn't allow us to do anything to him," Palmer blurted out. The other men glared at him.

Kali stopped pacing and stood in front of Palmer. "What did you mean by that?" she asked as she crossed her arms.

Her Uncle Thierry strolled up to her. He stood in front of her and gazed down at her in the same manner that a father would stared at his daughter. His hands gently clasped her arms. "Palmer that jackass," he said softly to her. Kali giggled and then smiled. "We did nothing to your husband. We let him know that you are our girl and we expect for him to understand that we will not be happy, if he doesn't treat you the right way."

Kali smirked and crossed her arms underneath her full bosom. "I highly doubt that you spoke to him with such civility, Uncle T."

Thierry gave a slight shake of his head. "Ehhh, we threatened him that we would break his spine, if he hurt you," he stated with a Cheshire grin. Both individuals laughed.

"I kinda figured that," she giggled.

Thierry gave his "niece" a gentle pat on her lower stomach. "N'inquiétez pas l'amoureux, nous a juste voulu avoir une causerie avec votre mari. He understood our intentions."

"Je sais," she said to him with a grin on her face. "On m'inquiète que personne jamais ne va l'accepter," she said softly as she gazed into her uncle's deep brown eyes.

"WELL, LOOK WHO'S HERE!"

Thierry and Kali heard Davis shout. The bride and her uncle glared at the lanky, older gentleman. He was leaning against the wall and he was pointing his right index finger to a space that was behind them. They turned in that direction. They focused on the dining room's entrance.

'Oh my God,' she spoke to herself.

With amused and wide eyes, Kali stared at the beautiful woman who stood in the doorway. The bride thought she looked poised and beautiful. Her newly arrived guest wore a peach-colored, cocktail dress that reached down to the middle of her thighs. The dress was sleeveless with a squared, neckline. On her small cute feet, she wore a pair of metallic silver sandals that were built with a four-inched stiletto heel. Her shoes made her curvy, firm legs look sensual. Her usual pixie cut hairstyle was gone and a finger-wave hairstyle was in its place. She wore minimal makeup on her face. Kali thought Katrina looked very pretty.

Kali watched her best friend stand in the doorway. She believed that Katrina look like a child who was lost and was in search of her mother. Her narrowed, dark brown eyes scanned the dining room. She appeared to be looking for someone. Kali assumed that she must've been searching for any one of her family members. The bride caught sight of the camera that was in Katrina's hands.

Then, she watched Tristan-Daniel run up to his mother. The boy wrapped his arms around his short-statured mother's shoulders for an embrace. Kali stared at the boy as he glanced at his mother's face. She saw his lips move. Then he rested his head on Katrina's left shoulder. A pair of violet eyes focused on Katrina, who was occupied with the act of staring at her son. The mother wore a smile on her face.

Kali's feet made several steps in the direction of where the mother and son stood. The mother-to-be wasn't mindful that she walked towards them. It wasn't until she saw Tristan Daniel pull away from his mother, stare at her and then approach her, was when she realized that she moved. The eight year-old boy wrapped his arms around Kali's waist and gave her a gentle hug. Automatically, her arms draped themselves over his shoulders. She gazed down at the top of her godson's head.

"Auntie Kay, my mom is here!" he announced as he stared at her eyes. "I knew that she was going to be here!" the boy said to her.

"Yeah..." Kali said as she gazed at Katrina. Then she focused on Tristan Daniel. Her right hand cupped his full cheek. "You did, sweetheart." She smiled. "You did tell us that she was going to come!"

He glanced at his godmother and smiled. His released her from his hold. He patted her stomach and gave it a kiss before he ran off. Kali watched Tristan Daniel run over to where his grandfather stood. She saw Davis welcome the boy into his arms. The boy ran into the embrace without any reservations and with a jovial smile on his face.

Kali turned away from the scene so she could focused on her best friend. She turned her head and was about to glance at the dining room's entrance, when she realized that Katrina was standing in front of her. It caused a temporary fright. She yelped while she took a few steps backwards. She eyed Katrina with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry," Katrina spoke. The shorter woman made a few steps towards her friend. Katrina touched Kali's left forearm.

Kali grabbed onto Katrina's hand and held it. She glared at her friend's face. She noticed that her best friend was staring at her. She held an expression of uncertainty on her face.

'She looks as if she is afraid that I might yell at her,' thought Kali.

They remained silent as they exchanged stares for a moment. It was Kali who made the first move. The hand that held onto Katrina's hand squeezed the smaller appendage and caused the object to release the forearm. Kali's hand then grasped onto Katrina's slender wrist. She used her strength and yanked on the smaller woman's arm. The action caused Katrina to make a few clumsy steps towards the taller woman. Kali wrapped her friend up in a tight embrace as soon as she was close enough. She felt the tiny woman's body become rigid for a second before it became relaxed. Then she felt her arms embrace her waist. A few seconds later, she felt her body erratically tremble. Then there was the sensation of sprinkling of water on the exposed flesh of her left shoulder. A strong chill gripped on Kali's back.

Kali gave Katrina's left temple a kiss. Then she brought her full lips to her left ear. "It's all right, Kit-Kat," she said into the canal. In response, she felt Katrina's grip tighten.

"I'm sorry!" sobbed Katrina.

"It's all right," the bride stated as she continued to hold on.

Katrina lifted her head off of Kali's shoulder. She glared at Kali with her tear-saturated eyes. "No, it is not all right. You don't have to forgive me, Kay! You don't have to be the martyr with me! If you're mad at me, then let me have it!"

Kali released her hold on her friend's shoulders. She placed her hands on her hips while her arms were akimbo. She gave Katrina a facial expression that conveyed skepticism. Her brown, lip gloss slathered lips formed a smirk while her brow was wrinkled. "Kit-Kat, did you just ask me to cuss your ass out?"

Katrina nodded her head. "If it will make you feel better, then yeah."

Kali slowly shook her head and then she chuckled. "I am not going to curse you out!" Kali informed her friend. "But, I do want to talk to you right now." The bride took a step back and out of Katrina's embrace. Her right hand sought after her friend's left hand. Once she gripped her hand, she walked towards the dining room's doorway. Katrina had no choice but to follow her friend. Both women walked out of the dining room.

Once they were in the corridor, Katrina asked, "Kali, where are we going?"

"We are going to talk," explained Kali.

"Now?" said a bewildered Katrina. "This can wait until another day, you know!"

"Nope, we need to talk right now."

"But we're at your wedding reception!" Katrina explained. "What about your guests?"

"They will be all right! If anybody needs something, they can ask Ryan or the wedding planner..." Kali glanced over her right shoulder at Katrina. "...she is Ryan's sister, by the way."

"What? Ryan has a sister? Since when did he have a sister?"

Kali ignored the question. She continued to lead Katrina around the first floor of the mansion. She eventually led her friend into the foyer of the large house. She began to climb the staircase that led to the second floor of the house, when Katrina asked, "Kay, where are we going?"

"We need a place to talk in private," she informed Katrina.

The two women climbed up the marble stairs. Once they landed on the second floor, Katrina observed the spacious corridor. She was amused and enthralled at the sight. Her eyes grew wide while a gasp escaped her mouth. She stared at the decorations as she walked down the corridor. 'Rich people and their money,' she said to herself. She followed her friend and she was led to another staircase that was at the end of the hallway. She chuckled when she noticed the large, taxidermy structure that was standing next to the staircase. Katrina caused her friend to halt. They stood at the base of the staircase.

"Please tell me that this is not an actual stuffed zebra?" stated while she pointed at the animal.

"Yes, it is," muttered Kali.

Then she grabbed onto Katrina's left hand again and led the way up the stairs. Katrina's eyes ogled the mural that decorated the walls as her feet climbed up the stairs. "I don't know if I should be impressed or scared of that mural," she wondered.

"I used to be afraid of the paintings," stated Kali as she climbed up the stairs. "Now, I barely notice it."

The journey came to a temporary stop, when they approached a door. Kali turned the doorknob and then pushed the door open. From where she stood, Katrina saw that room was dimly lit. Her left hand was tugged on and then she was led into the bedroom. Once she passed the threshold, Kali released her hand. The petite woman strolled a few feet into room before she stopped. She viewed the bedroom. Her almond-shaped eyes bulged while her mouth dropped open as she was submerged in the throes of awe.

"Whoa," she gasped. Her feet made a few more steps. Her eyes stared at the bed and the platform that it rested on. "This room is very expensive-looking." The bedroom was filled with Kali's laughter. Katrina then noticed that her best friend disappeared. She looked around the bedroom. "Kali?"

"Yeah?" she heard her friend say.

"Where are you?" shouted Katrina.

"I am in the closet!"

Katrina walked to the bottom of the platform. She looked over in the area where the lounge section was located. She was expecting to find a closet door over there. "Okay, where in the hell is the closet located?" she shouted as she stared at the leather couch.

"The closet..." she heard Kali shout from her hiding place.

"Uh-huh," the young doctor grunted while she was distracted. Katrina's eyes moved their focus away from the couch and she scanned the big fireplace that was a few feet away.

'Oooh nice fireplace!' she thought as she stared at the opulent piece of furniture. She walked over to the fireplace. Her narrowed, almond-shaped eyes took in the appearance of the Foo Dog statues that guarded the structure. Then, her eyes focused on the façade of the fireplace.

"...by the bed..."

A large object was caught in Katrina's peripheral vision. It was standing on the fireplace's mantle. Her eyes focused on the object.

Meanwhile, Kali was inside of the dressing chamber. She was standing in the same spot that she occupied six hours ago. She was in the midst of slipping her ample body into a brown, halter-dress as she talked to her best friend. She was speaking during the process.

"...You cannot miss the room. It is—

"OH MY GOD!"

Katrina's unexpected outburst caused Kali to lose focus and then stumble. The pregnant woman fortunately regained her balance before she could fall to the floor. She glared at the doorway that led to the bedroom.

"KATRINA!" she shouted. Her voice sounded grief-stricken.

"OH MY GOD!" Katrina shouted again.

'What's wrong?' wondered Kali as she gathered the top half of her dress and then pressed it close to her breasts.

The recently-married woman waddled away from her section of the closet. 'What is she...?' Then, as if the answer was whispered into one of her ears, she thought of a good reason why her best friend screamed. She came to a halt. 'Shit, I had forgotten about that picture!' She grew embarrassed and it left her feeling hot.

The mother-to-be resumed her journey to the closet's exit. Once she reached the threshold, she stood in the doorway and peered into the bedroom. She noticed that Katrina was standing in front of the fireplace. The mother was occupied with the task of gazing at the nine-foot tall picture that was hanging above the mantle. Even though her back was facing Kali, it was obvious that Katrina's face held an expression of shock.

"Oh my God," repeated Katrina. The volume in her voice was low, but her shock was still evident in her voice. She had become quiet and she observed the picture. A full minute of silence floated by before she made another noise. She giggled. "Oh my goodness," she chuckled as she gently shook her head. "Oh my..." She stopped speaking and she sighed. She folded her slender arms with her right hand embracing her left cheek. "I see that your husband thinks very highly of his turtleneck member," the diminutive woman stated. Katrina turned her upper body slightly and glimpsed at her friend. She threw Kali a smile before she turned her attention back to the picture.

In response, Kali grinned meekly and a deep blush burst inside of her full cheeks as her full-blown embarrassment dwindled down to a twinge. Once she composed herself, she strolled up to Katrina and stood next to her friend. She gazed at the picture of the uncircumcised penis. "How do you know it's Ryan? It could be a picture of someone else."