28 Days(32)
“What?” Her father was stunned and sat back in the chair, his arms dropping to his sides.
“Quinten didn’t take me, Dad. Someone else did,” Saige stated.
His mouth opened and closed as though he couldn’t form the words he needed to say. Then he finally managed, “Then we need to go to his attorney, and file paperwork to get a stay in his execution.”
“I already spoke to Detective Robinson, the detective from my case.” Saige sighed. “I only remember hands. That’s it. There is still the DNA evidence that convicted him. I can’t do anything about that. That’s why I wanted to know about the photographs.” Saige grabbed her father’s hand. “I need to know if I had my memory directly after being found. Was I capable of remembering my abductor?”
Her father squeezed her hand and rubbed his forehead. “At first I thought you did remember. You were on a few different medications at the time for pain and they gave you a sedative to keep you calm and relaxed. The latter was Christina’s idea, and I agreed. I never really questioned your memory at first because you knew your stepmom and me, you recognized one of your close friends at the time when she came to see you. So when I came back into the room after taking an urgent call, your stepmom told me you’d selected the image of Quinten. I was surprised.”
“Dad, Christina asked me if I recognized anyone and I picked Quinten. No one, including the DA or the detective, asked me if I recognized my abductor. Do you know where I’m going with this? We were in a relationship, so I picked him, or I didn’t remember who he actually was, just that I thought he was familiar. How did I react when selecting that image of him?”
Her father shook his head and admitted, “That’s what I meant when I said I had an urgent phone call. Just as the detective was setting the video camera up, I got a call from the private hospital that we ended up transferring you to.” Now her father looked uncomfortable.
He knew she had hated it there, at least, the time that she remembered, but her father had left her under the care of Dr. Erikson. Creepy Erik, as one of the other patients had called him. That much she did remember from the final weeks she’d been in the hospital.
“They had a reputation of helping victims of trauma,” her father continued. “I wanted the best for you because, at the time, I wasn’t sure you were being truthful about not remembering anything. I’m ashamed of that. It took a few months but then it became apparent that there was more than the attack that you couldn’t remember. You ended up staying at the hospital too damn long for my liking. When I visited you, you’d just stare through me. The first words you spoke were just before I took you home. I had enough of listening to your doctor. I should have done that long before I did. I’ll always be sorry for that.” He looked away.
Wiping at a tear, Saige tried not to think about the hospital because, every time she did, chills raced down her spine. But that was the first time she heard her father talk about regret.
Saige let her father hold her while she cried into his shirt. She hated knowing that she chose the man she had loved as her abductor. It wasn’t just a gut feeling, she knew that she chose him for no other reason than he was familiar to her—it had nothing, whatsoever, to do with who took her.
“What went wrong, Dad? I know the police had no clue about my relationship with Quinten. I just don’t understand why it was kept quiet.” She watched her father, and he winced.
She waited for him as she held her breath in dread…terrified to know what he’d say but needing to as well.
After a few minutes of silence, he brushed the hair back from her brow and smiled. “It was a confusing time, and because he was married, Christina and I decided it best to not say anything.” He paused. “Alex told anyone who would listen that his brother was innocent. That he was being set up. No one would listen to him. In a way, I felt bad for him because he was a victim as well. His brother had done him wrong, but now his whole trial will be questioned.”
“I hope so.” Saige wiped at her tears and blew her nose on the napkin her father passed to her. “I need to remember more and we need to talk to someone who might be able to send us in the right direction.”
Her father sighed. “Saige, you and Alex aren’t the police. What you’re doing could be dangerous, especially if what you’re saying is true. Because if it is true, then your abductor is still out there.”
She jerked her head up and stared at her father as chills raced up and down her spine.
“We’ll be careful, and Alex will be around.”
“I wish you wouldn’t do this. You know that, right?”
“I know...I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry”—he kissed her forehead—“for wanting your memories back. I feel sick to my stomach that I might have pushed to have the wrong man convicted.” He tilted her face up to his. “Promise me, Saige. As soon as you have solid evidence that your abductor wasn’t Quinten, you will call me. I’ve played golf with the governor a few times.”
Saige gasped. “You mean that?”
“If it turns out that you’re right, and Quinten is innocent, then yes. But you still have to keep in mind that he was also convicted of murdering the five college girls. The girls’ DNA was on the table that you were strapped to. This isn’t just about you. It’s about those girls as well.”