75- Suffocating Panic

Quayleigh couldn't have been happier as it neared the end of the day. She was exhausted before she had even started her shift, thanks to events earlier that day, and after having eaten dinner with Garren, the remaining hours had been a slog. There had been the odd customer pass through, every now and again, but when no one was around, she had taken a bad habit of staring at the clock, counting the seconds as they ticked by.

She still wasn't happy that Tau had let Kyffin in on the truth, but having left the decision up to him, she wanted to accept his choice, believing he had a good reason for it. And at this point in the day, she was looking forward to going home and finding out what it was.

Quayleigh was semi-lost in thought, imagining going home to a nice, quiet apartment, the warmth and comfort of her bed, and snuggling up with Tau after giving Uru a good, solid bunch of chin scritches, when the chime of the door announced an arrival. Snapping out of her daydream, she turned her attention to the entry, where much to her surprise, Tau was walking towards her, with Yechiel and Hakan following behind.

"Hey," she remarked offering a small wave as Tau arrived at the counter, even as her gut began to twist with a sense of despair.

Saying nothing, he took her hands and leaned over pressing his brow to hers.

"Ah, what's going on?" she asked as he leaned back, finding his behavior troublesome, adding to the already worrying sense within.

"They need to speak to you," Tau replied, his face holding a mix of sadness and anger.

"We're sorry to have to bother you at work, Quayleigh, but I'm afraid this couldn't wait," Mazurka said as he pulled the photos from his pocket and spread them out on the counter.

Quayleigh pulled her hand from Tau's and glanced over the pictures, her worry shifting to a cold, unpleasant shiver, that raced down her spine. Picking up one of the photos, she examined it more closely. Her fingers quivering as the dread began to creep into the back of her throat.

"Where…" she swallowed, suddenly finding it difficult to speak, her mouth feeling dry and tacky. "Where… did you get these?" Her voice cracked unpleasantly as she tried again.

"Do you recognize where these were taken?" Mazurka questioned, his dismissive attitude being one of a detective, over that of a friend.

"My room. This is my room upstairs, but how? Where did you get these Yechiel?" She found it impossible to keep her voice low, wanting only for him to give her a proper answer.

"I'm sorry to inform you, but these are screenshots from a video that we found on an evidence hard drive," he replied in a business-like manner. "Can you tell me when these were taken?"

"I… um…" she stuttered, the constriction of her throat making it difficult to speak. Shaking her head, she quivered as she turned her attention to Tau, whose eyes mirrored her own expression.

"My dear, I'm here with you," he spoke quietly to her.

"I know this is a lot to process, but please, try to answer the question," Mazurka said causing her to look back to him, and then once again down at the pictures on the counter.

She swallowed again, desperate to alleviate the dryness of her throat and mouth as her nerves began to unravel, and her eyes began to water. She found it difficult to focus, to breath, or even think as she rubbed at her brow, on the verge of bursting into tears, given the dreaded thoughts that were rolling around in her head.

"I don't know," her words came out muttered, her tongue sticking to the inside of her mouth.

Setting his hand upon her wrist, Tau gave it a soft squeeze. She welcomed the strength of his grip, and the calming effect it had on her. Taking in a deep breath to steady herself, she shook her head and wiped the tears from her eye, before examining the photos more thoroughly, in as much of an analytical way as she could muster.

"That's my old bedspread. Garren bought me a new one for my 19th birthday. So, this is sometime before October. It was still warm out, the window is open. There's no reflection of the swallow in the mirror from the decal in the corner. You can only see it when the windows closed."

"How long have you been at your current residence?"

"A year next month. But what the hell is this, Yechiel? What video? From what hard drive?"

Mazurka closed his eyes as he gathered the pictures and put them away.

"Answer me, dammit! I have a right to know!" She slammed her fists down onto the countertop.

"You told me that you didn't want to know his name," he replied as he looked at her, and a sudden sharp pain raged across her chest.

"Three? Three did this? How?" she questioned as her breaths became sharp and ragged.

"We believe he managed to install a hidden camera in your room. These were from only one of the videos he had saved."

"One? There are more?"

"Yes."

"Oh," she gasped and waivered, placing her hand over her mouth as she held her breath hoping to keep her stomach contents from rising any further. "How many?" she squeaked as she tried to hold it together.

"You don't need to know that Quayleigh," he replied and quickly rephrased, "You won't want to know that."

"Fuck you, I don't want to know! Answer the goddamned question! How many?" She felt her frustration raise with her anxiety and twisting nerves. Based on Mazurka's response she had a terrible feeling that she knew, but she wanted to hear him say it, to confirm her worst suspicions.

"There are hundreds of hours of video."

His words stole the breath from her lungs, her brain froze as static filled her ears; gripping onto the edge of the counter, her knees turned weak, and she sunk to the floor. There was a numbness that enveloped her, even as she knew Tau to be at her side, his position telling her that he was holding onto her, but she couldn't feel him. The motion of his lips, calling her name, but she couldn't hear him passed the intense sound of blood rushing through her veins, or the thunderous, deafening beating of her own heart in her ears. It felt as if the wind had been sucked from her lungs, and they ached and throbbed as her vision blurred from the suffocating grip her nightmares had upon her.

"Quayleigh," Tau's voice faintly garbled thought the staticky sound as he pulled her closer, the motion only registering from the little information her vision was still capable of detecting.

"Quayleigh!"

"Come on breath!"

"She's panicking. Stretch her out. Watch her head."

"Quayleigh, I'm right here."

"Quayleigh, Quayleigh! Stay with us!"

"Come on, breath for us!"

Their voices were a jumbled mess, and she felt as if she were floating, her body unsteadily being pulled in different directions. She was on the verge of unconsciousness, but she didn't mind. She was trying to will herself into oblivion. Wishing that this was all a horrifying nightmare, and she would wake up to find that she had just fallen asleep at the counter. She wanted to hear nothing, feel nothing; to just close her eyes and have it all disappear.

"I've got you." Tau's voice echoed as if it were a million miles away. The weight of his hand barely registering as she struggled to take deep breaths. "You need to breath for me. Please, my love."

Her eyes burned as tears began to seep from their corners and stream down her cheeks. Her lungs ached and demanded more, screaming and convulsing, forcing her to inhale. One forced breath after another, and the panic began to slowly subside. Her vision began to clear, and the sensations began to return. The soft and gentle warmth of Tau's body beneath her, the heat of his hand against her forehead, the scent of the laundry detergent filtering up from her sweater.

"How do I get to the owner?" Hakan's voice echoed past her.

Yechiel's faced loomed above as he answered, "Stay here. I'll go. He knows me."

"Everything's going to be okay," Tau said, spoken with sincerity, that was cut with an intense sorrow.

She wanted to shout his name, cling to him, wail and cry, scream at the top of her lungs in rage, but she couldn't even whisper or force herself to speak.

"I'm here. I'm right here. Don't try to speak, not yet. Just focus on breathing. Slow, deep, even breaths. Everything else can wait."

"Quayleigh," Kavak said as he moved around beside them, an open bottle of water in his hand. "Here, take a small sip," he told her as he set the bottle to her lips and carefully poured in a small bit.

It was only enough to wet her mouth, but it made it easier for her to breath. Reaching out she took the bottle from him and drank back a more adequate gulp of the cool liquid, before he took it back and set it onto the counter.

"Sit still and don't try to get up. I'll call for paramedics," Kavak told her as he stood up and took out his phone.

"No, it's okay," she forced herself to speak. "I'm okay."

"You are not okay," Kavak responded. "You just had a panic attack and nearly passed out. Mazurka has gone to get the owner. When the paramedics arrive, we're going to get you checked out."

"No, really, I'm fine. It's not the first time this has happened. I just need a minute."

"Are you on medication for this?"

"No, not anymore. Please, I swear, I'll be fine. Besides, you'll just be wasting their time. It's not like they can do anything for me. I will take that bottle of water though."

Kavak relented and handed the water back to her. She was pretty certain it was because he knew she was right. They would take her vitals, tell her to get some rest and then leave, or worst-case scenario, not like the way her vitals looked and would insist on taking her to the hospital for observation. Something, given the current unknown status of her eye, she didn't wish to have happen.

After taking another drink, she slowly sat up and with Tau's help, she stood, taking a seat on the stool while leaning against him.

"Quayleigh, what happened? Are you going to be alright?" Garren asked as he came through the door and immediately rushed to her, pushing Kavak out of the way.

His old, callused hands felt cool against her cheeks as she looked up at him and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, they shouldn't have had to bother you at this hour."

"Nonsense girl!" he exclaimed before grabbing her and hugging her tight. "Now what did you two imbeciles say to get her so upset?"

"Mr. Liebman, I'm very sorry, but we had to inform her about a situation regarding a recent discovery that concerns her during our investigation," Kavak responded.

"Is it okay with you, Quayleigh, if we speak to him about this?" Mazurka asked.

She nodded and returned to leaning against Tau.

"You must be Dylan, then?" Garren asked as he looked up at him.

"I am."

"Take Quayleigh upstairs to the living room so she can relax. She'll show you the way. You too morons can follow behind! I'll meet you up there after I'm done closing up."

The stark shift from kind and loving grandfather figure to gruff, insulting, mean old man, and back over the course of a couple of breaths, made Quayleigh internally smile. To her, only Garren would have the audacity to speak to the police as he did, and the kind elderly features allowed him to get away with it. Standing up with Tau's help, her knees wobbled as she went to take a step, causing him to reach down and lift her up.

"Through the door," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face against his shoulder.

Normally she would have hated being carried around like that, but given the situation, she wasn't about to protest, and he didn't seem remotely bothered by her weight.

Guiding him to the stairs, he carried her up to the landing and set her down on her feet, although he continued to steady her as she opened the door and led them into the living room, where she sat down on the sofa.

"Can I get you anything?" he asked as he knelt down before her.

"The blanket, from the back of the chair."

Tau nodded and retrieved the old plush blanket with the happy faces of fuzzy puppies on it and spread it over her legs.

"He doesn't know about the MET, so keep your mouths shut about it. As far as Garren knows I turned your offer down. Make me a liar to him, and you'll have more to worry about then just losing your badges."

"Understood," Mazurka replied as he lifted his hands in surrender while Tau sat down next to her.

"Now why the fuck would you tell me about this while I'm at work? Are you colossally stupid or just completely inconsiderate?" she asked, using her sleeve to wipe the tears from her face.

"Actually, we are neither," Kavak replied as he and Mazurka sat in the available chairs.

"Then you are cruel." She sneered, turning her face into the couch so they couldn't see her fury or anguish.

"I know this seems difficult to understand, but we wouldn't be here without reason," Kavak continued. "I know this is devastating for you, but there are several other women who are currently being watched and recorded in the same, and in some cases, more invasive ways, than even you. We came here to retrieve the camera he used, and we need your permission to try and find it."

"This isn't her place, it's Garren's," Tau remarked, his tone filled with the vitriol of his own disapproval of their actions. "It isn't her permission you need."

"That's partially true. While this home belongs to him, it's her belongings, we need to search through. We believe the camera is still amongst the ones you have stored here, Quayleigh. We were hoping that you could help us convince him to allow us to have access to them."

"What do you even want it for? Isn't that asshole just another rotting corpse in your morgue?" she asked with a much snider tone that she had intended, still not seeing why this couldn't have waited until a more reasonable time.

"Yes, he is, but we need to track down the rest of the cameras and our tech, Skye, she believes it will be easier to trace the remaining cameras once she knows the type he was using," Kavak clarified.

"The camera that's still here, was the only one that's labeled, and given our connection we knew it was the one we could find," Mazurka explained further as Garren came into the room.

Moving over to the couch, Garren sat down with a huff on the other side of Quayleigh who had nestled herself against Tau's side.

Crossing his arms, he looked directly Kavak and then over to Mazurka as he narrowed his eyes, and said, "Alright, you two, you have a lot of explaining to do!"