I started to cry softly, as I let my forehead down to rest against the floor. His voice against my ear stilled my breathing.
"Fear is a terrible thing, but it can teach a useful lesson. I know what the fear you are experiencing right now feels like. I've felt it before too. You're completely helpless, and you can't stop anything at all that I might attempt from happening to you. I don't enjoy giving you this fear. It's not why I came here, but it serves a point. Two men have died so far and more are sure to follow and I don't want you to be one of them. You're a good person and a good cop, a rare combination these days. Those two men died feeling just what you are right now. Don't be the next victim to experience fear like this. Close your investigation and walk away or this could be you in the near future!"
His words ended and he let me go and got up. Shakily I sat up rubbing the soreness from my arms, acutely aware of my near naked status. I was cold and the tracks left by my tears across my skin were freezing.
Where had he gotten to? I felt a blanket drape around my shoulders and I latched onto it reflexively. His big hands slid under my shoulders and he pulled me up to my feet and moved me backward to sit me down on the edge of the bed. He stood in front of me and I couldn't bring myself to look up into his eyes, not that much could be seen in the darkened room. But I knew what he looked like from the sketch, which hadn't lied about a thing.
I saw my phone light up and he placed it back on its charging station beside my bed. "Your shotgun and bullet clips are on the kitchen table. You need better locks and you should have a chair under the door handle as an extra precaution."
He stood there for a moment longer and then I heard him sigh loudly. "You're not going to give up your investigation, are you Lisa?"
I shook my head no and he sighed again. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
I watched him go into the bathroom and I heard water run briefly and then he was back. He pushed me back onto the pillows and swung my legs into the bed and then covered me up with the sheet and coverlet. He placed a cold washcloth on my head.
"Try to get some sleep; heaven knows you're going to need it. If you need to get a hold of me you can reach me at this number." He placed a white card on top of my phone. "It's in use for one call only. So make it good!"