Ren - Shades of Grey Ch. 07

Ren slowed the 4WD vehicle and eased it into a park by the curb outside the police station. Turning the vehicle off he glanced at Brad, who sat in the passenger seat, then in the rear-view mirror at 'Tanaya.

"Ready to do this?" Ren asked Brad quietly.

"The lawyers are meeting us here, that right?" Brad asked.

"Yeah. But we're an hour early because I forgot Queensland doesn't have daylight savings," Ren announced.

"It would be best if we just walked in and handed ourselves in and not chance waiting around, getting recognised and arrested. We can remain quiet until the lawyers arrive," Ren continued on.

"Well let's go then," Brad said soberly.

The three got out of the vehicle and Ren handed 'Tanaya the keys. They had already made prior arrangements that if they ended up having to wait in jail until a trial 'Tanaya would take the vehicle back to the restaurant where they had been staying and leave it parked in the garage.

"You guys sure you don't want to wait for the lawyers?" 'Tanaya asked in concern.

"Ren's right. We need to hand ourselves in so we don't get arrested," Brad said flatly then led the way towards the front entrance of the building.

Inside the building they took the lift to the third floor and Ren led the way to the front desk.

"I'm here to see Senior Detective Blake," Ren said asking for the officer they had been told would be waiting to speak to them.

"Down to the end of the hall on the right and ask for him at the desk in the large squad room on the left," the officer said.

Ren headed down the hallway towards the door of the squad room. He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end and he figured it was because he was just about to turn himself in to the police. He glanced behind him to make sure Brad and 'Tanaya were following then pushed the door open and walked into the squad room to the front desk.

Feeling eyes on him he turned his head only to find himself looking into Sky's face across the room. Recognition lit her eyes and her lips parted softly, excitement shining in her eyes as she trembled. Ren turned from the desk, a smile curving his lips as he started towards her.

It was so good to see her; he had missed her so much. Missed holding her in his arms of a night, missed waking up next to her of a morning. Not knowing how she was had been like a white-hot knife in his guts, cutting, burning, tearing something vital from his body.

"Saunders! Saunders get the hell out here now! Ashton! Blake! Franks! Jacobson! Here now!" Ren heard an authoritative voice shout and he heard a rush of movement towards him.

"Holy fucking shit!" Ren heard Brad swearing behind him as a figure emerged from the doorway behind Sky and grabbed her roughly from behind.

A scream of terror burst from her as she began struggling as she was dragged backwards and eye contact was broken between them. "Let me go! Let me go! I don't want this! I don't want this! Let me go, just please let me go!" Sky screamed in terror as she reached one hand towards Ren.

The guy who held her was talking to her as she struggled against him but she didn't seem to be responding to him and he picked her up bodily to turn her towards the doorway.

"Get the fuck off her you mongrel!" Ren yelled as he saw Sky being manhandled.

Sky was sobbing almost hysterically as she turned towards Ren's voice. "Please let me go; why can't you just let me go?" she sobbed as she struggled against the arms holding her.

In that instant Ren realised that Sky was lost somewhere in her mind - somewhere where reality and memories merged into one nightmarish time.

"Sky! It's all right! I'm here to turn myself in. It'll be alright!" Ren yelled as he realised in her fear she was turning to him for protection like before.

A heavy weight hit him in the back and he found the floor rushing up to meet him as he began struggling to free himself. The urge to protect Sky stirred strongly. His arms were pulled back behind his back roughly and a knee pressed into his back between his shoulder blades cruelly.

"Get off them you bastards! Get off them!" 'Tanaya was screaming behind Ren.

He managed to lift his head momentarily; one glance showed him Sky was no longer in the room and he suddenly stopped struggling as he realised he was doing himself no favours.

"Relax, relax. Stop fighting," Someone was saying behind his head as he felt handcuffs click into place.

"Get off them! You bastards! Leave them be!" 'Tanaya was still screaming.

"Shantanaya! Stop it!" Brad yelled at her and she was instantly quieted.

"If we help you onto your feet will you remain calm and co-operate?" The voice behind Ren asked him.

"Yes," Ren replied, resigned to the fact he could not reach Sky.

"Okay, on the count of two. One, two..."

Ren was lifted by strong grips on his elbows until he could regain his feet. Steadying himself he glanced over his shoulder to see the two police officers that held his arms at his elbows. Beyond them he could see Brad prone on the floor, four officers around his large body, his hands cuffed behind his back.

"We'll take this one into interview room one," The officer to Ren's right said.

Ren found himself marched forcefully from the room to a secure room where a table had several chairs either side of it.

"Sit down," he was ordered as he was all but pushed into a chair.

Ren settled himself into the chair and waited for the next move. One officer left the room while the other moved to stand by the now closed door. Ren rolled his shoulders as he tried to ease the pain between his shoulder blades from the knee that had been planted in his back. After a few minutes the other officer returned with pen and paper and sat down opposite Ren.

"Which one are you? Renford or Stanton?" The officer asked.

"Gabriel Renford and I have a lawyer coming in to be here, so if you don't mind I will just wait until he gets here before I say anything further," Ren said evenly then asked, "How's Sky? Is she okay?"

"Sky?" The officer asked puzzled.

"Yeah, the blonde that your colleague manhandled out of the room," Ren answered tightly.

The two officers exchanged glances but didn't reply.

Ren bit back a curse and counselled himself to remain patient. Not ten minutes later the door opened and Graeme Walsh walked into the room. He moved to the table, placed his briefcase on the table and opened it before glancing towards Ren and then turning towards the officers.

"I require a moment alone with my client, thank you," Graeme said forcefully. "And kindly remove the handcuffs."

Ren was motionless while his handcuffs were removed and then he rubbed his wrists to remove the feel of the cold steel. He watched as the police left the room and then turned towards his lawyer.

"Not very smart coming here ahead of time and without legal representation," Graeme said evenly.

"Sky was here. She was very upset. I need to know she is okay now," Ren said hurriedly.

"Do you mean the young woman involved in this case?" Graeme asked.

"Yes. Can you find out how she is please?" Ren asked. "And Brad is somewhere in the station, is there someone with you to represent him?"

"Ken Burke is with Mr Stanton as we speak," Graeme hesitated a moment then turned and left the room.

After what seemed like an eternity for Ren, but in reality was only five minutes, Graeme returned and moved to his briefcase.

"Miss Janetta Wilkinson is just fine. A bit shook up after coming face to face with you but just fine I am assured by the Senior Sargent of this department," Graeme informed Ren.

"Janetta, Janetta Wilkinson," Ren repeated quietly to himself.

"To bring you up to date on my research, the other defendants in this case are pleading not guilty, so it would be best that you do the same," Graeme advised.

"Best for whom?" Ren asked, "Best for me? Or easiest for you?"

"It is the word of one young woman against ten men," Graeme replied.

"I failed her by not stepping forward in the first place. I won't compound it now by denying what happened," Ren said firmly.

"Well, if you must," Graeme said as he concealed his admiration for Ren's continued stand.

"Yes I must," Ren told him.

"Okay, I have your prepared statement here for you to read, and then we can get this straightened out," Graeme said as he passed Ren several sheets of paper with typing on them. "Do you want me to go and have a word with my colleague so Mr Stanton is informed of how you are pleading?"

"No, it is up to Brad how he pleads but I don't see him doing anything but what's right," Ren said and reached for the document.

Ren set about reading the document while Graeme went to the door and told the police officers that Ren was ready to talk and handed them each copy of the prepared statement as they entered the room.

* * * * *

It had been a long four hours and Ren was hungry and had a headache from the tension. The police seemed reluctant to accept his prepared statement at first, but after they went over it thoroughly with Graeme and himself they actually seemed quite relieved to have it.

Ren wondered how Brad was getting on. Had his statement been accepted also? Was he too sitting in a room by himself hoping to be brought a meal and cup of coffee?

The door of the room opened and Ren turned wary eyes towards it. Graeme entered carrying two steaming cups followed by the officer that had introduced himself as Blake. One cup was placed in front of Ren and he reached for it thankfully, the aroma of coffee thick in his senses.

"We will be holding you over night and you will be up in front of a judge first thing tomorrow morning," Blake said. "I'll tell you right now that the statements you and your friend have given us have helped immensely. A meal will be delivered for you shortly and once you finish that you will be taken to a cell that you'll have to share with your friend for the night."

"Fair enough," Ren commented.

"There is one thing though," Graeme said. "The brother of the victim wants to come and talk to you."

"Why?" Ren asked and sipped his coffee.

"I think he wants to ask a few questions and get some information to pass on to her counsellor to enable her to get the help she needs," Blake answered.

"What do you say?" Ren asked Graeme.

"Talk to him if you are so inclined. I can stay and offer advice," Graeme said quietly.

Ren studied his coffee cup for a few moments as he pondered the situation. Finally he raised his head and met Blake's gaze," Okay, I'll talk to him for a few minutes."

Ren seemingly turned his attention back to his coffee but he was aware of Blake leaving the room presumably to contact Sky's brother.

"No, Janetta. I must remember her name is Janetta. Janetta Wilkinson." Ren told himself as he took a mouthful of coffee. He was surprised when the door to the room opened a mere few minutes later and a man who had a strong resemblance to Janetta followed Blake into the room.

"I'm told you're the one who bought Janey her ticket home." Janetta's brother Robby said tightly.

"Yeah," Ren agreed quietly.

"How long where you aware that she was there against her will before you did something about it?" Robby demanded angrily.

"Don't answer that," Graeme was quick to advise.

Robby turned his attention to Graeme for a few seconds before turning his gaze back to the handsome man sitting at the table.

"How long did you stand by and watch my sister suffer?" Robby demanded.

"Rob! Calm down." Blake said even as Graeme spoke.

"Don't answer that Mr Renford! I must insist you leave at once Mr Wilkinson!" Graeme said forcefully.

"I didn't just stand by and watch her suffer. I did as much as I could to try to protect her without giving the guy she was with any excuse to take his temper out on her," Ren said in a low voice.

"Mr Renford will not be answering any more questions!" Graeme said tightly with a hard glare for Ren.

"You can't tell me she acted like she wanted to be with that guy from the first time you saw them together!" Robby growled angrily as he moved to stare down at Ren.

Blake moved to get between Robby and the desk but Robby shouldered him aside easily.

"I didn't see past the bruise on her face!" Ren snarled as he stood up to stand toe to toe with Robby.

"That is enough! I must insist you leave now Mr Wilkinson!" Graeme declared forcefully and then turned to Blake, "I must insist that he be removed!"

"Come on Rob. It's best if you leave," Blake said as he took hold of Robby's upper arm.

Robby held eye contact with Ren for a few moments longer; he had seen the faint shadow of regret flicker in the other man's eyes before anger had taken over. Robby allowed himself to be ushered to the door. He paused just before leaving the room and looked back over his shoulder at the man who stood by the table where he had left him then headed from the room.

Ren sat back down and rubbed his hands tiredly over his face before turning his attention to what Graeme was saying.

"I must strongly advise you not to say anything else," Graeme was saying calmly.

"Yeah, yeah, okay. Is there any chance of seeing if that meal I was promised is close to coming?" Ren asked, "Would you have a smoke by any chance?"

"I'll go see about the food and while I'm at it I'll see if I can get you that smoke," Graeme said and headed for the door.

* * * * *

Robby was fuming as he paced the squad room just down the hall from where the two men where being held after questioning. He regretted loosing control of his temper but the thought of his sister at the mercy of a man like the man he had been talking to had driven all thoughts of caution out of his head. He glanced at Blake where he was talking on a phone then he glanced back along the hallway to the rooms where the other man was being held. The sound of footsteps caught his attention and he turned his head to watch the lawyer of the blonde guy heading towards Blake.

The thought of going back and resuming his conversation with the blonde guy crossed his mind but he pushed it aside knowing that it would serve no purpose to ask more questions that he wasn't even sure he wanted the answers to.

Deciding to go back to the flats and call in at Adam's place Robby headed towards the exit with swift steps.

Outside the night air was crisp and Robby wasted no time in getting to his vehicle and driving away from the police station. There was nearly no traffic and he made good time to the flats where he parked his car behind Adam's and headed up the walkway.

"Coming!" The sound of Adam's answer could be heard faintly through the door when Robby knocked briskly.

Adam opened the door to find Robby waiting agitatedly on the front step; he moved aside and let Robby into the flat.

"How's Janey?" Robby asked as he walked into the main room.

"She's awake just now. I was making her a ham sandwich," Adam said as he headed back to the table where he had the makings for sandwiches laid out.

"I'm going to talk to her." Robby announced and headed into the bedroom. He paused in the doorway as he let his eyes adjust to the gloom and then walked to the side of the bed where he could see his sister lying under the doona. "Hey Janey."

Janey shifted slightly but didn't roll over to face him, "What do you want?" her voice sounded tired and drained.

"I just came by to see how you're doing," Robby said softly.

"Turning the light on," Adam warned from the doorway.

Robby saw Janey move slightly in the dark then the light came on with its harsh glare for the first few moments.

"You going to sit up and eat this?" Adam asked Janey as he made his way to his side of the bed; he reached over and sat the plate he carried on the bed near where she lay curled up nearly in a foetal position.

"I told you, I'm not hungry," Janey protested faintly.

"And I told you you have to eat something," Adam said firmly as he sat on his side of the bed and eased the doona down off of her shoulders.

Janey rolled over to face him and sat up slowly. She glanced at her brother for an instant before reaching for half of the sandwich.

Adam watched as she slowly nibbled at the sandwich. He knew by the way she continued to eat that she was hungry.

"Would you like a drink of chocolate milk?" Adam asked softly.

Janey nodded with a slight smile and watched as he got to his feet and headed for the kitchenette.

"It looks like Adam is taking good care of you," Robby said softly.

Janey paused in her eating to slant a look at him. "What are you working up to?" she asked abruptly.

"I'm just here to make sure you're okay after this afternoon," Robby told her gently.

Janey regarded him suspiciously for a moment then resumed eating. "As you can see I'm fine. Go away, leave me alone," Janey said before reaching for another piece of sandwich.

"You two aren't arguing are you?" Adam asked as he came back into the room carrying a glass of chocolate milk.

Janey took the glass of milk and washed her food down thirstily.

"No more than usual," Robby said quietly, "I had better head back to work. Adam can I have a quick word with you before I go?" Robby asked with a pointed look towards the other room.

"Yeah, sure. You right here for a moment Janey?" Adam asked softly.

"Yes," Janey said as she lay back down.

Adam pulled the covers up until she was comfortable and then followed Robby from the room. "What did you want?"

"Those two that came in this afternoon, they both are pleading guilty and had prepared statements that back up much of Janey's statement as well as giving the exact location of a house where she was held. Forensics is headed there tonight to look for evidence that may be there," Robby said softly so as not to be overheard by his sister in the next room.

Adam whistled softly in amazement and shook his head. "It's almost too good to be true," he said in surprise.

"If they stick to their statements it should blow their mates right out of the water," Robby said.

"Or they may change their plea when they hear what the others plead," Adam said uneasily.

"Blake was saying they know what the others are pleading but are going ahead with their statements from this afternoon," Robby told him.

"What are you two talking about?" Janey asked from the doorway.

Both men turned around startled. Adam hurried to her side and Robby frowned with worry when he noticed how pale she looked.

"You two are talking about Ren and Brad aren't you?" Janey demanded as she avoided Adam's attempt to put a hand on her shoulder.