by Caine, Candy
“I understand. You can remain in the shelter a little longer if you like.”
“I cannot remain there with my children forever.”
“I don’t think you’ll have to. I’m sure John will come to his senses and accept the decision of the Court.”
“You do not know John. You do not know what he can do.”
Marnie caught the terrified look in her eye and feared for her.
“John must accept the Court’s decree,” Marnie reassured her though she needed convincing herself.
“He is a most stubborn man.”
“He has no choice and can be arrested if he harasses you.”
“I know, but…”
“Come, I’ll walk you to your car.”
Marnie and Marishka were nearly to the car when Kalb came charging toward them. They didn’t see the gun until it was too late.
“Fucking bitches, the both of you! Well, you can rot in hell together!” he screamed and opened fire.
Chapter Eleven
Marnie saw a bright flash before feeling an excruciating pain that seared through her entire body as she was lifted off her feet and then plunged to the ground. The smell of cordite fouled the air. She tried to move, but it only worsened the pain, causing black dots to dance in front of her eyes before connecting together to blot out her entire world.
The noise grew loud again and she sensed activity around her. All she kept thinking was that she was going to die. She didn’t want to die. She didn’t want her parents to be able to say they’d told her so. Then another hot, searing pain shot through her and she lost consciousness again.
* * *
The noise of the gun going off attracted people and a passing policeman. Kalb dropped the gun and was immediately subdued as he turned to flee. A crowd had formed around the two fallen women as they waited for the EMTs to arrive. Within moments, a local news team, covering another case, materialized as more police appeared on the scene.
“I think one woman’s still alive,” a man told one of the officers.
“Those bitches got what they deserved,” Kalb spat.
One of the policemen restraining him roughly grabbed him by his throat. “Shut your damn mouth or I’ll gladly shut it for you permanently.”
The ambulance arrived and the paramedics jumped out. “This one’s gone,” one said.
The other paramedic attending the other woman yelled, “I feel a faint pulse! Let’s get her into the van on the count of three.”
The crowd watched as the two women were removed and taken away. Kalb had already been shoved into a squad car for his own safety and driven off to the jail. He wasn’t a very popular man at the moment.
* * *
“Scott, there’s a phone call for you.”
“Thanks, Jenny. I’ll take it in my office.”
Scott Langley’s office was nothing compared to Marnie’s spacious one. It was cramped and had furniture that was probably around from the early twenties when the building was built. It mattered little to him because he already had a treasure. Jenny, his secretary, was the most efficient person he could ever hope for. When he asked her to do something it was done in the least amount of time possible, and without question. She had a permanent smile on her face and though she’d never win any beauty contests and was probably old enough to be his mother, he adored her.
“Scott Langley.”
“Mr. Langley, this is Jane Edwards from County General. Do you have—?”
“Did something happen to Angel?”
“Yes. She’s in critical condition and sinking fast.”
“Oh, dear God! What has she done now?”
“The doctor will speak to you when you come down.”
“I’ll be right there.”
“Jenny!”
“Yes, Scott.” Then seeing his pale face, “What is it?”
“My stepsister…critical…County General,” he said, and was gone.
Jonathan Shaw, another ADA, saw him running and asked Jenny, “What’s up with Langley?”
“Something about his stepsister being hurt.”
“I didn’t even know he had any family.”
Scott’s mind began to race as he sped to the hospital. As much as Angel irritated him she was still his stepsister, his only family, and his responsibility. He probably could have prevented this had he tried harder. Hell, how could he condemn himself? She made things so damn difficult. He didn’t know what had happened or how serious she was. No, it was serious. The woman on the phone had said she was critical.
* * *
Marnie lay in the ambulance in a semi-conscious state going in and out of consciousness. She could hear noise around her, but could not move or feel her limbs. Yet, every time she took a breath, a terrible sharp pain ripped right through her. It felt as if her chest was on fire. She remembered Kalb’s approach. Marishka! Where was she? Was she all right? She tried to speak. It hurt too damn much.
“Try to remain still. We’re almost there,” a paramedic said softly, gently wiped her forehead.
She needed to find out what happened to Marishka. She needed to know if she was all right. Why couldn’t he understand that?
* * *
Scott arrived at the emergency room just as the ambulance carrying Marnie drove up. He made way for her gurney to hurtle by as the two paramedics rushed it inside and hadn’t noticed her. Walking to the front desk he identified himself and was ushered into a small cubicle where a doctor and a nurse were frantically trying to stabilize Angel.
Scott nearly gagged when he saw Angel. She looked as if she had fallen into a meat grinder headfirst. Her features were almost unrecognizable.
“Her pressure’s dropping!” one of the nurses called out to the doctor.
The doctor rushed into the small room. “You’ll have to leave now, sir.”
Scott slowly walked away toward the entrance of the cubicle as the medical team fought to stabilize Angel’s falling blood pressure.
“No pulse!” a nurse shouted as the angry whine of the ECG machine pierced Scott’s ears.
“Stand clear!” the doctor shouted.
Looking back over his shoulder, he saw Angel’s electrified body rise and fall without any change to the loud whine of the machine and feared the worst. They defibrillated her again. Still no change in the sound. All he could hear was the same loud whine of the machine. Finally, the doctor came out and shook his head when he saw Scott. “I’m afraid she’s gone.”
Tears filled Scott’s eyes as he watched the nurse draw the sheet over Angel’s face. They were for the loss of a life that had foolishly been thrown away. He turned and walked out of the cubicle and nearly ran into Frank Conway whose face was ashen.
“Did they call you about Angel, too, Frank?”
“Angel? What the hell happened to Angel? No. I was called about Marnie. I’m listed on her emergency list.”
“Marnie? What happened to Marnie?” Scott asked, his eyes widening in alarm.
“You haven’t heard?”
Scott shook his head. He could hardly speak.
“Shot with a client at the courthouse. Bad, but alive. Her parents are out of the country and couldn’t be reached,” Frank said in a strained voice.
Scott’s face had immediately drained of all color and his legs had turned to jelly. Frank put his arm out to steady him. “And Angel? What happened to her?”
Scott shook his head. “They did all that they could.”
“Excuse me, Mr. Langley?” A burly man in a cheap-looking suit approached them. He whipped out his badge and identified himself as Detective Richard Kropp.
“Yes?” Scott said, eying the man.
“I’m Frank Conway. I was the legal guardian of Angel Langley.”
The detective nodded. “So sorry for your loss. May I have a moment of your time?”
The three men walked to an alcove where they could talk.
“What happened to Angel?” Frank inquired.
“Basically, this is a
ll we got at this time. She was found in a downtown hotel known to be frequented by hookers. We suspect some John didn’t want to pay up or just lost it, beating her to a pulp. We’ll know more after the autopsy is done. Mr. Langley, did your sister have a drug problem?”
Scott nodded.
Kropp sighed. “So many kids get strung out on drugs and end up supporting the habit by selling their bodies. Here’s my card. If you can think of anything else that might help our investigation, please call. We’ll let you know when the body can be released for burial. Again, sorry for your loss.”
As they watched the detective walk away, Scott turned to Frank. “Tell me about Marnie? How bad is she?”
Frank blew out a huge sigh. “I wish I knew.”
“When did practicing law become hazardous to your health?” Scott asked bitterly.
They walked over to the triage nurse sitting behind the desk. “Is there any way we can find out the status of a patient who arrived earlier with gunshot wounds?” Frank asked.
“What’s her name?”
“Marnie Davis,” Scott said.
The nurse keyed a number into the phone and spoke into the receiver. Nodding her head, she thanked the person on the other end and placed the phone back in its cradle. She looked up. “Ms. Davis is still in surgery.”
“Thank you,” Frank said. “Oh, where can we get something to drink?”
“Downstairs in the cafeteria. We also have soda machines in all of our waiting rooms.”
After thanking her, again, Frank guided Scott in the direction of the elevator. “Come on, there’s no reason to hang around here. Let’s get something to drink and we’ll talk.”
They found their way down to the busy cafeteria. On a quick glance, Scott noticed doctors, nurses and technicians, women feeding their children, men reading newspapers with their sandwiches. So many different people, so many stories. How many of them were waiting to hear about their loved ones, he wondered?
Scott grabbed a bottle of water and followed Frank over to the coffee urn where he filled a large Styrofoam cup and filled it. They found an empty table in the corner of the cafeteria.
The chairs were small and rigid. Every so often to find some comfort, Frank shifted his bulk.
“Before you start beating yourself up, Scott, I know you tried your damnedest to get Angel clean.”
Scott clenched his jaw. “If only I knew where she’d been.”
“And what good would that have done?”
Scott hung his head. “I couldn’t recognize her. Her face had been pulverized and looked like raw chop meat. How could a person do that to another human being? And that was all that was visible to me. God only knows what else he did to her.”
“Terrible way to go.”
“I begged her to go into rehab!” Scott slammed his hand on the table nearly upsetting their drinks. Heads close by turned in their direction.
“Sorry,” Scott muttered.
Frank nodded gravely. “No need to be, son.” Frank stood. “Look, I’m going upstairs to see if there’s any news about Marnie.”
Scott thoughts rushed to Marnie. Knowing that she might be fighting for her life chilled him. What if she lost that battle? He felt a sudden hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach. “Do they know who shot her,” he asked.
“The husband of her client. Marnie had been worried he might be violent. Now I wish I’d taken her concerns more seriously.” Frank said, angrily.
“Don’t second guess yourself. What happened today is far from the norm.”
“I still want to kick myself, Scott.”
“Did they get the guy?”
“Apprehended him as he tried to flee.”
“I’d like a shot at prosecuting that scumbag,” Scott said his eyes as hard as stones.
“I wonder if the wife survived? I didn’t see them wheel her in,” Frank mused.
As they were about to leave the cafeteria, Frank’s attention was distracted by the news on one of the televisions sets in the room suspended from the ceiling. “Scott, wait a minute. There seems to be some coverage on Marnie’s shooting.”
Both men walked closer to the television so they could hear what the news reporter was saying.
“…Did not survive the heinous attack. The other woman, her lawyer, Marnie Davis, is in critical condition. The perpetrator, John Kalb, the dead woman’s husband, is in custody. In other news…”
“There’s your answer,” Scott said, crushing his empty bottle. “I really want to prosecute the case.”
“Beware of the desire for revenge. It can cloud your judgment.”
Scott wrapped his arms around himself as if he’d become suddenly chilled. “I hate all this infernal waiting.”
“It’s always the worst part,” Frank admitted. “Want to head back?”
“I guess.”
Frank couldn’t but help notice Scott’s reaction to Marnie’s shooting. Perhaps he still truly cared about her. It was time to ask what had happened between them. Meddling be damned.
The waiting room was half-filled with people. Two small boys were chasing each other, ignoring the reprimand of their mother. Frank led Scott toward the back corner where there were two seats together, not too far from a sleeping elderly woman.
Frank finally gave in to his curiosity and asked, “What happened between you and Marnie? I really thought you two had hit it off.”
Scott raked his hands through his hair. “We did. I was supposed to have dinner with her. At the last minute, Angel arrived on my doorstep really messed up. I’d told Marnie I’d meet her at the restaurant, but lost track of the time. When Marnie called from the restaurant and heard Angel carrying on in the background, it queered everything.”
“That’s a bad break.”
“Yes, it was, but Marnie wouldn’t listen to a word of explanation. She wouldn’t even take my calls.”
“Sounds like her. Our girl tends to be stubborn at times and has more than a healthy dose of righteous anger for others who stray,” Frank said, but with affection. “Things might still work out between you, two yet.”
“I can’t imagine how.” Scott said.
“Perhaps you have too little faith, son.”
The wait soon became excruciating to both men. As the hours passed, they exhausted every topic they could think of and then some.
“How’s the job, Scott? Ready to switch sides yet?”
Scott chuckled. “No, though you wish. Actually I rather like the Old Man. He’s fair and rewards those who work hard. Who knows how far I can go?”
A flash of green caught Scott’s eye and he nearly jumped out of his seat. “I think a doctor is heading towards us.”
“Don’t get your hopes up. There are others in this room also waiting for news.”
“No. He’s definitely coming towards us.”
“Mr. Conway?” The tall, grey-haired doctor asked.
“I’m Frank Conway.” Frank stood.
“I’m Dr. Reisner. We’ve got Ms. Davis stabilized and have stopped the internal bleeding. She had three bullets pumped into her. Luckily the damage they did wasn’t as acute as we first thought. She’s a very lucky woman. Seems that her briefcase may have slowed down and deflected the bullets. She’s in recovery and should be in her room within the hour. I’ll let you peek in on her then. Tomorrow will be a better day for a visit.”
Frank nodded. Relief had spread across his face. He’d grown quite fond of his young protégé and her loss would have been felt by him as well as the firm.
Scott fell back into his chair. As he let his breath out slowly, he silently thanked God.
* * *
Later on when Scott was alone in his apartment nursing a Scotch on the rocks, he thought about Marnie. Earlier at the hospital when the doctor approached him and Frank, the blood had pounded so hard in Scott’s head it had nearly drowned out what the man had to say. The fear that Marnie would be snatched away before he’d had the chance to try to win her was strong enough to disrup
t his breathing. Perhaps the saying about not knowing how much you care about someone until you lose them summed it up.
He realized now how much Marnie meant to him. Stubborn, willful, and opinionated or not, he was going to make her listen and hear him out. He was going to get a second chance with her.
Chapter Twelve
When Marnie finally opened her eyes the following afternoon, she had no idea where she was at first. The leering face of John Kalb flashed in the back of her mind and slowly she began to recall being shot. She found herself hooked up to an IV and monitors. Then she remembered. What had happened to Marishka? Was she okay? She needed to know how she was and tried to move. Pain shot through her like a hot javelin. Her loud groan alerted Frank and Scott who had been sitting there in her hospital room waiting for her to regain consciousness.
“Marnie, it’s Frank. It’s good to see you awake.”
“Marishka? What happened to Marishka?” Marnie’s dry, cracked voice was hardly more than a whisper.
Frank shook his head. “I’m so sorry, Marnie.”
Silent tears slid down Marnie’s cheeks. Scott came around the other side of her bed and gently wiped her tears with a tissue.
“Scott?”
He brushed her hair from her forehead and bent to kiss it. “Hi, lady. You had us all worried. Now that I know you’re going to be okay, I’ve got to and take care of my stepsister’s funeral, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Marnie may have been loaded up with a great deal of painkillers, but she noticed the concern and fear in his eyes. That had to mean something. But what confounded her more was his mention of a stepsister and her funeral.
“So sorry, Scott. Was she sick?”
“I’ll tell you all about it the next time I see you,” he said. “Right now I’ve got to run and you need to rest.”
Marnie watched him go. Why hadn’t he mentioned he had a stepsister when they traded stories about their families? But her vision began to blur and her thoughts became hazy.
Frank noticed. “Get some rest. We’ll talk more later.”
Marnie was already asleep.
* * *
The next few days were hectic ones for both Frank and Scott. They tried to stop by the hospital every day to visit with Marnie. Frank, aside from the cases he had to tend to, was on pins and needles waiting at any time for his oldest daughter, Alison, to give birth to his grandchild. His wife was driving him crazy with her nervousness. You’d think she’d have gotten used to this by now.
