Grounded
CHAPTER 7

Monte walked briskly down the hall, thinking about the woman who was still lying ill in the Station's infirmary. He was hungry but he wanted to speak with Andrew, Gina's brother, as he could barely understand how it was that he was found without the missing car. He stepped into one of the consulting rooms courteously and as he had instructed, he found Andrew sitting on one of the chairs, waiting for his arrival. "Hey big guy." He called as he walked towards Andrew who looked in his direction and then looked away.

"Remember me?" Monte asked when he had taken his seat, just in front of Andrew.

"What do you want?" Andrew asked almost in a whisper.

"Wrong question; Monte replied drawing his seat closer to Andrew's and leaning forward so that he could look straight into his eyes from a shorter distance; "I am afraid we might have to lock you up this time and no one is coming for you." Monte added and stood up to leave.

"Wait; Andrew called out in a low tone with his head bowed; "I can't help it." He said lifting his head up to expose the sad expression on his face.

Monte faced him, confused and perplexed at the same, he sat down again ready to hear all he had to say.

"The police aren't always there to arrest you and throw you behind bars, you can talk to me." Monte assured him.

"It all began few years back, it felt like I had to steal to survive. I tried my best to stop, I did everything I could, but I couldn't help it. It is a hopeless situation because I will jump right back into it the moment I get out of jail." He concluded; his fingers were shaking.

Monte heaved a sigh and rested his back on the chair, he felt his troubled heart beating faster.

"what did you do with Gina's car?" he asked a bit more calmly than he had done previously, maintaining eye contact with him.

"I didn't take it, I swear." Andrew replied at the top of his lungs, beads of sweat began to form on his forehead.

"You had the keys, Andrew." Monte said, disbelief written all over his face.

"I know; he began, his voice no longer high pitched; "I got in the car and had the key inserted in the keyhole. Shortly afterwards, I got out of the car to replace a place to pee; I didn't bother going with the key or locking the car, I figured I wasn't going to be gone for long and I swear I wasn't, but I returned and couldn't replace the car anywhere." He said trying to maintain eye contact with Monte who was raising his full brows at him in total disbelief.

"I must look like a child; do you think this is kindergarten?" Monte was clearly becoming upset.

"This is why I could not come back to say that the car was stolen, I knew no one would ever believe me." Andrew added.

There was a gentle knock on the door, Monte turned to see Ken walk in with a young woman following closely behind him.

"It's true!" she exclaimed as she saw Andrew sitting on the rigid wooden chair, his wrists in cuffs before him. She took her time to scrutinize him carefully; there was gladness written on her face. Ken shared a look with Monte, trying to relay a message with his eyes.

"Good day sir; she spoke as she turned to Monte; "you must be the Police Chief, my name is Galena, Andrew's sister." She stretched out her hand for a handshake.

"Galena, I must say the resemblance is striking." He confessed referring to her resemblance to Gina as he shook hands with her.

She smiled a little and looked at Andrew again, she grinned widely this time when she caught his eyes that had been avoiding hers since she stepped into the room.

"Would you rather we go to my office?" Monte asked drawing her attention back to himself.

"No; she turned him down politely; "This is a great place and I've only come to have a brief word with you." She added. Monte nodded and pointed at a seat nearby, shifting his eyes to Ken who silently exited the room as Galena took her seat.

"I can't believe it's him." Galena began again smiling as she shifted her gaze from Andrew to Monte and back to Andrew.

"I know it is a lot to take in when your relation is in cuffs let alone your brother." Monte said trying to draw her attention.

"No, that's not it; I haven't set eyes on him in over three years; she stated as she watched Monte's eyes glow with amazement; "I know he is in custody for stealing and I am not surprised at all." She turned to look at Andrew again leaving Monte even more amazed and speechless. She smiled when she turned to look at Monte, she knew he was confused.

"You see; she began slowly as she reached into her bag and drew out some papers; "he has a rare psychological disorder, which causes an uncontrollable obsession with stealing. He steals even when he has no material or economic need for the stolen property." She explained as she watched Monte's expression change. She handed him the papers which stated Andrew's condition and other information about him.

"Here; she pointed at one of the papers as Monte read through them; "he escaped from the mental home where he used to stay three years ago and that was the last time, we saw him." She stated clearly in a very confident manner. "I'm sorry to hear this; I will arrange for his immediate release but if you don't mind, we would still need him here to help us replace Gina's stolen vehicle. You will need to restrain him in a much better way this time, we would not want to catch him stealing again." He told her, scratching his beardless chin.

"Thank you very much; accept my deepest apologies for all the troubles he must have caused you." She replied.

Monte smiled at her and excused himself politely; "I'll be right back." He told her.

"You don't seem happy to see me." Galena said to Andrew as soon as Monte left the room. "How did you know I was here?" he asked her with mixed feelings. "Well, your sister won't stop yapping about how you were arrested, she came to your rescue and then you betrayed her by stealing her vehicle." She replied with a shrug. "I didn't steal her car, I mean it." He tried to sound more believable.

"Don't stress it, I believe you." Galena said almost immediately.

"You do?" he asked as a ray of gladness lined his heart.

"Of course, you know I don't. Be glad I can take you home on grounds of your mental illness." She said looking at her painted nails.

"Home or the asylum from which I escaped?" he asked irritated.

She chuckled and winked at him; "I've missed you." She told him as the door opened and Monte walked in carrying a file and a little key for the cuffs that bind his hands.