Later, Jack was appointed by Zoe to be Hannah's partner, which shocked the entire police station. In fact, everyone knew about Hannah's little problem. Everyone was curious why Jack was an exception. Some unscrupulous people even secretly spread rumors that Jack was a jerk.
Jack didn't care about such rumors. He was worried about Zoe avoiding him. After that night in the hospital, Zoe ignored him in public and made all kinds of excuses when contacting him privately, as if he had done something wrong to her.
In desperation, one day, Jack finally called Maureen and asked her to meet him the next night.
"So you're not going to make dinner or accompany me to training tomorrow night just to see your charming psychiatrist?" Hannah, who was driving the police car, spoke like a jealous little wife.
"Didn't Zoe say the cause of your shooting side effects has been found? Every time afterwards..."
Jack's eyes were fixed on the girl's profile. "So Zoe didn't hide anything from you, right? She told you everything."
Hannah, realizing she had let something slip, stuttered as a blush spread from her ears to her cheeks and finally to her neck. "I don't know anything. You should ask that psychiatrist. She's the mastermind."
"The mastermind? The three of you were secretly plotting behind my back. Hannah, be careful!" Jack noticed a figure suddenly appear in front of the police car from the corner of his eye and shouted a warning.
Hannah, coming to her senses, slammed on the brakes, but it happened too suddenly. Even though the patrol car was not going very fast, it still made a dull thud. The two hurriedly got out to check and found a blonde girl in a baggy men's T-shirt collapsed on the ground.
Hannah crouched down to examine the girl's forehead. Jack, standing nearby, keenly noticed something was amiss. The girl still had a half-opened erotic handcuff on her left wrist. She wore only her underwear beneath a loose men's T-shirt. Most importantly, she was barefoot, her soles pierced by small cuts from running.
Signaling Hannah to pay attention to these details, Jack picked up the intercom and began calling, "7-A-26, police car reporting suspected vehicle collision. Please send an ambulance."
While they waited for the ambulance to arrive, the girl regained consciousness, clutching Hannah's arm and sobbing, "Save Emma! Please save Emma! She can't hold on much longer."
Hannah tried to calm her panic. "We're the police. You're safe now. Tell us what happened. Who is Emma?"
"I've been kidnapped. Emma's the girl I was with. Please save her! If he finds out I've escaped, he'll kill her." The girl's emotions remained agitated, and Jack's brows furrowed.
"What's your name? Do you remember where you ran from?"
"My name is Kara Robinson. I don't know this neighborhood. I ran for about half an hour, but no one wanted to help me. I just ran like crazy. The man had guns, several guns, and I didn't dare resist. Every time I disobeyed, he beat Emma. Please help her! He'll really kill her if he finds out I ran away."
After putting the girl in the ambulance that arrived shortly after, Jack and Hannah drove the police car to Central Hospital. There, they ran into Dr. Grace, John's old classmate, the new director of Central Hospital's emergency department.
"The patient suffered a blow to the forehead, a mild concussion, and minor abrasions on her hands and feet. Aside from being emotionally unstable, she's in good condition otherwise," Grace informed them briefly after a brief greeting.
"So, can we take a quick statement from her? It shouldn't take long. We suspect she's been kidnapped. Have you done a sexual assault exam on her?" Hannah asked anxiously.
Grace shook her head. "The examination requires her guardian's consent. We've already notified her family, and they're on their way. Before that, you can have a few words with her."
Entering the ward, Jack saw a girl named Kara lying on a bed, her forehead bandaged. She had thick blond hair, a pert nose framed by large blue eyes, and a small, slightly parted mouth, revealing perfectly white teeth. She was clearly a beauty from an upper-middle-class white family. Given her plight, Jack remained silent, letting Hannah lead the questioning.
"Hello, Kara, I'm Officer Hannah, and this is my partner, Jack." Hannah smiled and stepped forward, shaking the girl's hand, her tone soothing and gentle.
Kara's mood had calmed down considerably. Though a hint of panic still lingered in her eyes, her words were clear and logical. "My kidnapper is a middle-aged, white, very strong man. He held me at gunpoint at my friend's house about two weeks ago. No one was around, and he forced me into a large plastic box in the back of his car."
The girl spoke rapidly, while Jack took notes in his notepad.
"He took me back to the basement of his house, where there was another abducted African-American girl named Emma."
"He told us that if either of us escaped, we would be killed together."
"He always carried a gun with him, and Emma and I didn't dare resist. During the day, he made me responsible for cleaning and washing clothes."
The girl burst into tears, and Hannah, heartbroken, hugged her, gently stroking her back and whispering comforting words.
"So, how did you escape?"
Jack knew they didn't have much time. The girl's family could arrive at any time and interrupt their questioning. He needed more information.
"I didn't dare resist and could only obey him as much as possible. Emma said there was a girl who had just been captured. She had gone through the same thing Emma was going through. She had disappeared before that bastard brought me here."
"So Emma told me to find a way to escape, or else what she was going through would be what I would soon experience."
"So I've been pretending to obey all his requests these days. Last night he came back to the bedroom."
"Then he slept next to me. I knew he usually sleeps until noon, so I secretly unscrewed the bed frame at dawn and escaped barefoot to avoid making any noise."
(End of this chapter)