Beautiful Crime

Versions Of You

4 Versions Of You (Title by Maximo Park) 

***

February 17th 2021, 27 hours earlier:

"Please? Please, I ... I really need to use the bathroom!"

Peeing her pants seemed like the biggest humiliation. Also, wet pants in this drafty halls were a guarantee to catch a cystitis. Still being corded up like a parcel, and with her knees almost making contact with her stomach, the pressure on her bladder had been adding to Rianne's general discomfort for a while now.

After leaving her alone and without any clue as to who had taken her hostage for what had felt like hours, a young guy had suddenly walked in. He had lazily spilled some water over the puddle of vomit next to her, which, from where Rianne was standing, had done nothing to minimize the stench that still lingered in the air. But at least she now knew she hadn't just been left to rot in here.If she could just convince him to take her to whatever shitty bathroom was around here, she could check for injuries and maybe find out where exactly they were. Or at least how many others there were or what she was up against.

"No bathroom!" The man shook his head and Rianne's frustration grew.

She so needed to pee! It was slowly becoming all she could think about.

"Then... I don't know: Get me a bucket, maybe? Or you could let me go! I don't know what you want from me! Why're you keeping me here?"

Instead of giving her an answer the guy just turned around and left, making her call out after him, now fighting to keep her cool to not burst into tears over a denied bathroom-break:

"Hey! Please! Come on!"

Not being able to stretch her legs and evaluate where the pain in her lower abdomen was originating from, was pure torture. Slowly the fear of what else she would have to endure was seeping into her skin. That fear was sending an uncomfortable shiver down Rianne's back, although it could also be the cold. She had lost Jay's jacket... Jay... Did he know? Was he looking for her, yet? Was anyone looking for her?

***

26 hours earlier:

Because Voight wouldn't let him inside the interrogation room, Jay could only watch from outside. He desperately wanted to ask all those questions Adam and Hailey were currently asking and more, but he kind of understood that it wouldn't have ended well.He was clenching his jaw and fists enough just listening from the outside to the conversation they were having with Nate right now. A shadow of the past he'd thought they had dealt with and overcome.His phone vibrating in Jay's pocket interrupted his solitude on the other side of the two-way-mirror and for a second he hoped that if he pulled it out he would see Rianne's name and picture flash up. Which was stupid! Her phone was lying on his desk, because he'd been going through all the information that could be found on it for the last half hour. And of course he'd come up empty.Instead it was his brother...Jay didn't really wanna talk to Will right now, so he ignored him at first. But his phone kept on ringing, showing Will's caller ID again. Jay sighed. He knew that if he didn't take the call, his tenacious brother would just keep on calling. Was it possible that he already knew?

"Jay? What the hell man!" His brother greeted him not very friendly, when he finally picked up.

So he guessed he had already heard! Who else had, Jay wondered?It wasn't like they had put up "Missing person" signs just yet. Did he have to call Stella? What about her mum, her dad? Anyone else? No, no... they would find her in time, this wouldn't be necessary, would it? They wouldn't have to make any notifications... Or had they indeed put out the information over the news? Had Voight said anything about that? Jay was a little shocked that he couldn't remember that with certainty. It was like his memory was a little spotty.He cleared his throat to at least keep his voice steady, when his hands weren't: