by Ann Mullen
“That’s it. You don’t care about me. I know your kind. Get away from me.”
Hurt by his words, she stood up and walked over to the kitchen. Her housekeeper walked over, put her arms around her friend, and said, “I told you he was nothing but trouble. What happened here was not your fault. He’s a loser… and a killer.”
“I’m not a killer!” Eric Webster screamed out. “I’ve never killed anyone in my life. All I did… was love her.”
“You kidnapped me, you psycho!” she yelled. “Look what you did to me. Look at my face. You see this?” She pointed to the bloody T-shirt that was still wrapped around her head. “I’ll probably have an awful scar the rest of my life. You almost killed me. I told you to leave me alone, and then you came after me. You forced me into your truck, and then you crashed it. I was hurt, but you didn’t care.”
“I never meant to hurt you.” His voice sounded weak.
“You tied me to a chair and left me. Is that what you do to someone you love? I don’t think so. Don’t you get it?” she asked him. “I made a mistake in a moment of weakness. I told you so, but you wouldn’t let it go. You hounded me like someone stalking its prey.”
“I never meant…” his voice trailed off… and then he was silent.
Jonathan walked over and pressed his fingers to Eric’s neck, turned back to us and said, “He’s still alive, but barely.”
In the background we could hear the endless sound of sirens. A minute later, Captain Waverly and several of his officers were on the scene. Two EMTs followed them into the room, and then after assessing the situation, motioned to others outside. Within minutes, Billy, Savannah, and Eric Webster were strapped down onto gurneys and then put in separate ambulances with the most critical in the lead.
Billy had refused to let his parents go to the hospital. He told them that his injury was nothing more than a mosquito bite, and that he’d call them as soon as he got back home. He asked Robert to make sure they got home safely, which was just his way of soliciting his brother’s help.
Sarah relented even though she didn’t like it, but after the chief told her she needed to listen to her son, she got in the car with him and left.
Captain Waverly stayed to take a statement from Helene and Geneva since they were at the scene of the crime, and he assured us that he would be in touch with us later for ours. I took that to mean that he would be at the hospital before we had a chance to get in and get out.
I was tired, hungry, and dirty. I desperately needed some rest, but nothing was going to stop me from being with my husband.
Helene and Geneva talked it over and offered not only to clean up the blood on the floor, but said they would also patch up the bullet holes with duct tape. Of course, that was after they got the kids settled down, and had let the dogs out for the night. I accepted their generosity, and told them that they made a good team. They seemed to like that.
Vera rode in the ambulance with her friend to the hospital, and after quickly kissing the kids, I jumped in and rode with Billy. Eric Webster had only the company of two EMTs for his journey.
As usual, the hospital was busy. Orders were being barked, hospital records were being passed around, and people filled the seats in the emergency room waiting area.
Billy, Savannah, and Eric were rushed through a set of doors that Vera and I weren’t allowed to pass through. I started to go off on one of my tangents, but decided against it. I told myself that I’d give them a few minutes and if nobody came out to tell us anything, I’d find a way to get in. Vera and I found a couple of chairs by the window and went over to sit down.
About fifteen minutes later, Jonathan and Robert walked into the emergency waiting room.
I jumped up and went to them. Vera followed.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” I said. “This waiting is agony. They must be really busy, because they won’t let me go back there to see Billy.”
“Have the cops shown up?” Robert asked.
“No, not yet. Why?”
“I figured they’d be here by now. You know how they are.”
“Yes, I do.”
“I’m going to nose around,” Robert said. “Why don’t you stay here with them?”
“I’ll be glad to,” Jonathan agreed. “You ladies don’t mind, do you?”
“You know better,” I said and then hooked my arm in his.
He waited for Vera to do the same, and then the three of us went back to the window and sat down.
Ten minutes later, Robert returned with a tidbit of news. He sat down in a chair facing us and said, “Eric Webster was rushed into emergency surgery. They expect him to live. Two Charlottesville Police officers have been stationed in the hallway leading to the operating rooms to make sure he doesn’t escape—not that he is physically able to.”
“What else did you find out?”
“That’s it… for now. If you’re not in need of medical attention, they won’t let you go back there. It seems there was a six car pile up on Interstate 64, and they need all the room they can get. They’re still bringing in the injured.”
“You didn’t…”
All of us jumped up when Dr. Bryant came out of the double doors and walked over to us.
He told us that after a quick examination, Billy was to be cleaned up, stitched up, and would be released soon. The shot had been a through-and-through, and it wasn’t expected to amount to much except a lot of pain. The doctor assured us that Billy would be fine. He’d clean up the wound, take a couple of x-rays, and then if nothing was found, he’d stitch him up, give him a prescription for antibiotics, and then turn him loose. Dr. Bryant knew he couldn’t keep Billy for long. He’d had many dealings with him before and he knew there was to be a funeral tomorrow.
“Don’t you worry,” he said to me. “I’ll have him fixed up in no time. He’ll be as good as new in an hour… maybe two. We’re really busy tonight. I’m sorry that you can’t be with him, but we need to keep everyone out. We still have people coming in from the pileup on the interstate.”
“Just fix him up, Doc. That’s all I ask.”
Dr. Bryant turned to walk away, but I called to him before he had a chance to leave. “How’s our friend, Savannah Kelley? She had a nasty gash on her forehead from a… car accident.” I looked at Vera who remained silent.
“She’s doing well. She’s being stitched up right now. She should be out soon.” Dr. Bryant smiled. “You know the drill. You might as well have a seat.”
“Thanks a lot, Doc. Where else would we go?”
The good doctor turned and walked down the hallway.
We waited for an hour before Jonathan finally said he’d had enough. “I’m going to find my brother. This is ridiculous.”
“Look around, Jonathan,” Robert said. “This place is packed. People are lined up against the wall. Many of them are just like us. They’re waiting to hear about their loved ones, too. I’m sure the doctors are doing the best they can do. Let’s give them a few more minutes.”
After waiting another twenty minutes, I said, “That’s it. I’m going to see what’s taking so long. Something bad has happened. I just know it.” I stood up and looked around as if trying to decide where to go.
Jonathan stood up and said, “You stay here, Jesse. I’ll go find out what’s going on with Billy.”
“No, I’m going with you.”
Just then, Savannah appeared. Her head was bandaged, and she was carrying some paperwork.
“I’ve been sprung,” she joked. “And I’m ready for a large slice of pizza. I’m so hungry, I could…” She looked at each one of our faces. “What is it? What’s the matter?”
“We haven’t heard anything about Billy,” I said, tears finding their way down my cheeks. “Jonathan and I are going to look for him. I have to know that he’s all right.”
“Well, then I’m not leaving,” Savannah said. “I can’t leave unless I know he’s going to be okay. You two saved my life. I owe you…”
; “You don’t owe us a thing,” I said. “But if you want to wait, have a seat.”
“I heard that Eric is going to be all right,” Savannah said as she joined us. “I talked to him for a second while they had us waiting in the hallway. He says that Wayne Avery killed those people and when you found them together, he was trying to talk some sense into him. He took the .38 from him. That’s why he had your gun. When he banged on your door, he was scared. All he wanted was to find me. He wasn’t going to hurt anyone, but it didn’t turn out that way. I think I kind of believe him.”
“I’m sure he’d say…”
“I think I might believe him, too, to some degree,” I said. “He wasn’t wearing Leatherneck boots.”
Jonathan looked at me, and said, “You might be right. Evidence says it all. But the bit about him coming to your house wielding a gun is unacceptable. Shooting my brother is unforgivable.”
“I agree. Now let’s go find my husband.”
“Follow me.”
Jonathan and I took off down the hallway.
“Where should we go?” I asked. “You know we’re not going to get far, so we’d better make every move count.”
“Hey, I know this woman,” Jonathan said, looking at a tall, dark-haired woman who had just walked out of the double doors. “She was back there. She might be able to help us out.” He walked up to her, and said, “Hi, Holly. How have you been?”
“Jonathan,” she greeted him with a surprised look on her face. She was pushing a wheelchair carrying an elderly woman. “It’s been a while.”
“Yes, it has. You look good.”
“You do, too.” She looked over at me and smiled. “I’m Holly Dante.”
“I’m Jesse Blackhawk,” I replied.
She looked back at Jonathan and said, “I didn’t know you got married.” Before Jonathan had a chance to tell the woman that I wasn’t his wife, she introduced the woman in the wheelchair. “This is my mother, Roberta. I think you remember her. What are you doing here? Oh… that’s right. I’m so sorry about your brother.”
“Thank you,” Jonathan said. “It’s been hard on the family. Daniel was a good man.”
She seemed genuinely shocked. “I didn’t know about Daniel. Oh, my! I wasn’t talking about Daniel. I was talking about Billy.”
Jonathan’s eyes grew wide as he turned and looked at me. He turned back to the woman and asked, “What about Billy?”
“I heard them talking about him. They said they couldn’t stop the bleeding, and then his heart stopped. They couldn’t revive him. I’m so sorry. I really have to go.” She looked at us sadly and appeared quite uncomfortable. “I’m so sorry.” She quickly excused herself and hurried away.
Jonathan and I just stood there and stared at each other. I couldn’t catch my breath. I felt as if someone had their hands around my neck and was choking the life out of me. Tears filled Jonathan’s eyes as he stepped back and leaned up against the wall.
“I can’t tell my mother that she’s lost another one of her sons. I just can’t do it. Oh, Lord. Daniel is going to be buried tomorrow. This is going to kill her.”
“No, Jonathan! Billy is fine. He can’t be dead!”
“No, Jesse. He’s not fine. You heard what she said.”
The world around me ceased to exist and life came to a screeching halt. I felt as if I were going to die right there in the hallway. This can’t be happening, I told myself. I don’t believe it.
“No!” I screamed. “No! He can’t be dead!” I collapsed to the floor, crying. “Don’t leave me, Billy! Please don’t leave me. I’ll die without you!”
Jonathan bent down, grabbed me by the arm, and tried to help me stand. “Come on, Jesse. You need to sit down. Let’s go back to the waiting room, and then I’m going to find Billy even if I have to knock a few heads together to do it.”
“No! I want to see my husband! I don’t believe her. She’s lying! I know she is! My God, Jonathan! He came in with a simple through-and-through wound. What did they do to him? I want to talk to the doctor.”
“Come on, Jesse.”
“Let me go!” I looked at him and screamed, “She’s lying, Jonathan! Billy is not dead! It’s a joke! A sick, twisted joke! I’m going to find my husband!”
“No, Jesse,” Jonathan said as his tears streamed down the sides of his face. “She wouldn’t lie to me. We’ve been friends for a long time.”
As much as I wanted to believe that Billy wasn’t dead, my gut told me differently. My Billy had died and left me alone. I would never get over this. I wanted to die with him. If he was going to leave, I want to go, too. I couldn’t live this life without him. I just couldn’t.
“What’s all the commotion?” Robert asked as he approached. “I could hear her screaming all the way down the…” Robert stopped. He looked at Jonathan and then looked at me. “Oh, no… say it isn’t so.”
When I looked up and saw the tears flowing down Robert’s face, I cried harder.
“I’m going to be sick!” I mumbled.
Jonathan held onto me as he led me to a bathroom down the hall. I went in and closed the door, locking it behind me. I sat down on the floor and cried. I cried for so long, I felt as if my insides were coming apart. What was I going to do with myself? I couldn’t go on without him. Billy was my world.
Jonathan tapped on the bathroom door and said, “Are you all right, Jesse?”
I stood up, looked at myself in the mirror, and quietly said, “No, I’m not all right. I’ll never be all right again.” I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.
Savannah, Vera, Jonathan, and Robert were standing there waiting for me. All of them had tears in their eyes. It was one of the saddest moments in my entire life.
“Please tell me this is a bad dream and that I’m going to wake up and find out it isn’t real. I’ll wake up and see Billy standing in front of me with that charming smile of his. He’ll ask me if I had a bad dream and I’ll tell him that it was a whopper, but things are all right now.”
The look on their faces said it all. My Billy was gone.
Savannah hugged me and cried right along with me. The rest of them joined in, bringing back the sad memories of when we had found out that Daniel had died.
A lot can happen in four days, I told myself as I wept.
When I looked up and saw Mom’s face at the end of the hallway, I fell apart. She rushed up to me and held me as we both cried.
“Billy died, Mama.”
“I know, honey.”
Chapter 26
Jonathan and Robert helped me back to the waiting room. I was inconsolable and Mom wasn’t in much better shape. Our tears wouldn’t stop.
“Just sit down for a minute,” Jonathan said to me. “I’m going to find the doctor.” He seemed as if he was in a daze, too. He stormed down the hall.
I held onto Mom’s hand as I sat down in the chair by the window. I couldn’t speak. I wanted to curl up in a ball and die.
“I got a call from Helene,” Mom said, her tears sliding down her cheeks. “She told me about what happened at the house. She figured that I’d want to know, and she knew you’d be too busy to call. She said you were like Rambo.” Mom laughed and cried at the same time. “She said you went running out from behind the stairs and fired your gun until it was empty.”
“A lot of good it did.”
“I didn’t know about Billy until just now.”
I looked into her sad eyes.
“When I got here, I saw Savannah, and then I heard you screaming. They all jumped up and went after you, but I couldn’t follow them. I’ve heard my baby cry many times, but never like this. I knew Billy was gone. I just had that feeling. Nobody had to tell me anything.”
I looked outside and thought about the times Billy and I had shared.
“I’ll never forget the first time I met him,” I reminisced. “He seemed so nice during the job interview, but then as I was leaving, the first thing that came to mind was that I hoped he wasn’t
a psycho. Isn’t that funny? Can you picture Billy as a psycho? That was a joke. He was so kind… and charming. And then when he took me on my first stakeout, I was so excited. I knew it could be dangerous, but I didn’t care. I was hooked. I loved being with him. I never would’ve thought that the two of us would get together, but when we did, I knew he was the one for me. And now… now… he’s gone. Oh, Mom.” I cried as she wrapped her arms around me and held me close.
“I just can’t believe he’s gone,” Mom said. “Maybe it’s a mistake. Did the doctor say what happened in there? Helene said that Billy’s wound wasn’t bad. She joked and said that he’s had worse injuries before. She told me about the time some guy shot him in the gut. Now that was bad, she said. She told me not to worry, but I had to come find out for myself.”
I closed my eyes and held onto Mom. The pain was so deep; I knew that my life would never be the same. I would be lost without Billy. I sat and cried in that chair for what seemed like an eternity. Then my heart skipped a beat when I heard the voices in the hallway coming our way. I tried to stop crying and sit up straight when Dr. Bryant and Jonathan approached us. I didn’t want to hear what the doctor had to say. All I wanted was to have my husband back, but I knew I had to listen to him tell me how my beloved husband had died and how sorry he was for my loss. I’d heard that one many times being told to someone else. Now, I was going to be the one getting the bad news.
Then I looked up and saw Billy!
I jumped up from the chair, ran up to him, and threw my arms around his broad shoulders.
“Oh, God, Billy. They said you were dead.”
Mom followed. She hugged Billy… and continued to cry.
“Easy ladies,” he said. “The old arm is a little tender.”
His coat was folded over one arm and the other arm was in a sling. Billy looked around the room and saw all the tears flowing and then looked back at me.
“Jonathan said Holly told him that I had died. He forgets that he left this woman at the altar. No wonder she lied. The opportunity to hurt him presented itself, and she took it.” Billy glanced over at Jonathan. “I’m sure she’s never forgiven you for jilting her. What woman would? And what better way to get back at you?”
