Heart of Fire

by Carter, Dawn

  Just as Danni walked past the nurses’ station her phone vibrated. She eagerly flipped it open and read the two words. Verdicts back. Her heart raced as she ran from her spot down the stairs. She forwarded the same message to Patricia then pulled out of the parking lot.

  CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT

  For a moment she just took everything in. The subtle whispers which had first tugged her into the conscious world that was still far from her reach, but she followed it. The sound carried through the darkness as she pulled and pulled herself towards the words. They seemed to come from every direction, just as she thought she was close, they were gone. She could swear she heard Danni call to come back to her, but she could not get to her. She screamed over and over again, but she could not hear her cries. Then all went silent as she could feel soft lips against her cheek. “Danni, I’m here, hear me, I’m here,” she cried. Determined she focused on the sounds. She reached out further until they became clearer. Within moments dark turned to light, disheveled from sleep she sat up slowly. The air sparkled with such a surrealistic quality that she blinked and felt more awake than she ever had. She was alone, Danni was gone. She looked around and tried to call out, but her voice was low and weak. She managed to climb out of the bed, her legs shook underneath her but she moved forward. She reached just outside the room before she lost her balance and her legs gave way. The cries for help went unnoticed. She sat there unable to pull herself up, but she needed help, with all her strength she dragged herself towards the sound.

   

  Danni arrived at the courthouse in enough time for sentencing. She slid in and found a seat next to Stevens. The room went silent as the authority in the judges voice held everyone in place as they led the murderous killer to her seat to wait for the jury to convene and hand down her punishment. She was seated with two armed guards with her ankles shackled and locked to the floor beneath the table.

  There was an impending threat in her stare as she looked at Danni. “You're with the FBI?” she snarled the question, swiveling her eyes back and forth between her and Stevens. When Danni stared her down, she timidly crossed her arms, one over the other.

  As they waited the bailiff stepped beside Stevens and handed her a note, she read it carefully and smiled. She carefully folded the note and nodded to the officer. Picking up her cell phone she walked out of the room, and she returned a few moments later with a smile only Danni could see.

  “What’s up?”

  “She’s awake.”

  Danni wanted to run out of the courtroom, but the ending was near. Her future was waiting for her, and she could soon reclaim it. Justifying it with another more comforting approach she bent forward and whispered loud enough for the murderess to hear. “My life and happiness is just outside those doors, and you have nothing but the same punishment you gave to those poor souls,” the venomous words slithered from her tongue sending shivers down anyone who heard. Danni was satisfied when the woman did not respond, and she felt pure satisfaction when she slumped further in her seat.

  Moments later the jury door opened and the Jury of fact was filed in one at a time. Once each was seated the Judge asked his rehearsed sentence.

  “Did you come to a unanimous verdict?” his authoritative tone pressed the foreman to stand and he handed the bailiff the paper.

  He read it stoned faced, after a brief moment he handed it back to the bailiff who handed it back to the foreman who stood and waited for instruction. The audience held their breath as they waited impatiently.

  “In the count of murder in the first degree, how do you find?” The judge finally asked as he locked eyes with the defendant.

  The foreman inhaled a deep breath before he spoke. “We the Jury find the defendant guilty.”

  “In the count of premeditated murder, how do you find?” he asked but this time with his lip turned up in a half smile.

  “We the jury fined the defendant guilty.” The foreman handed the paper back to the bailiff and sat unmoved by the murderous stare from the defendant.

  Danni sat back and sighed, it was over. She acknowledged when a person spends their entire career exposing the center of a vicious character’s heart, a perceptive audience would be able to see the essence of the joy in her own heart. She was ready to celebrate, but not with her partner, not today. This time was for her and Annabel to seal the victory together.

  Just as they stood to shake hands with the prosecuting attorney, the defendant pulled and pushed against her restraints. The officer to her left attempted to restrain her, but before he could she pulled the gun from his holster. The audience screamed and pushed and shoved as they ran from the room. A few dropped to the floor as the defendant shot off a few rounds. Danni ducked and reached for her service weapon but before she could get off a shot, bullets from the doorway soared threw the air and the defendant fell back. Lopez walked across the room, his gun drawn in front of him. He looked down at the lifeless body and spat.

  “You’re no cousin of mine!” he snarled as he stood over her. An officer of the court took the gun from his hand and pushed him back.

  “There’s no pulse,” he said and took in a deep breath. “Call for an ambulance!” he finally said while applying pressure over the wound on her chest.

  Stevens look down at the woman then back to Lopez. “Don’t worry Lopez, it was a clean kill.”

  He nodded his head and walked off but not before he threw his badge on the bench.

  Danni watched with curious eyes as he walked away. She understood his shame in the part of the whole ordeal. He had sat with her and did not put two and two together.

  Just as Danni turned back a woman screamed. Danni ran in her direction and just as she neared she saw the blood. She rushed over and on the floor in between the seats Patricia lay with blood around her. Danni looked around and hollered for an ambulance. She applied pressure to the wound in the abdomen but she could not stop it. The paramedics had just arrived to transport the defendant’s dead body when the call came in. They rushed across the room and pushed Danni aside.

  Danni sat on the floor to the left covered in blood, she looked to Stevens but she stood there in horror. “Get the Mayor!” Danni pointed to Stevens.

  Just as Patricia was placed on the gurney the Mayor ran in the room. “I don’t care how much money it takes but you better save my daughter,” he cried and held her hand as they wheeled her out.

  The scuffling of reporters who overheard the statement ran after the Mayor to get a statement but he ignored their persistent questions as he never took his eyes off of Patricia.

  Danni knew that the Mayor would have a lot to answer for but that was not her problem, she needed to get to the hospital to Annabel, but when she looked down the hall and saw him helpless as the journalists tried to get an interview, she ran down the hall and pushed them away. He smiled his gratitude as she walked side by side with him. On the way to the hospital the female EMT offered her hand wipes to clean the blood, but as much as she rubbed it still seemed to stain her skin.

  She listened as the hospital was radioed ahead, a trauma team would be waiting but Danni did not believe she would make it. She had lost so much blood and the wound seemed pretty close to her major organs. She hoped she was wrong for her and the Mayors sake. She watched as they wheeled her out of the ambulance and through the doors. Burns stood helpless in the hallway as they worked on removing her clothes. Danni winced when a crash team ran in the room and had to hold him up from falling as more members of the team ran in the room.

  “I can’t lose her Pacelli,” he cried. “I just got a second chance with her and I can’t lose her...” his voice trailed as he watched them wheel her from the room.

  “We’re taking her to surgery,” a nurse said as she approached. “They need to remove the bullet and see what damage was caused, but you are welcome to wait in the waiting room.” She finished her statement she must have repeated several times in her career.

  Danni looked at the distraught look on th
e Mayors face. She was only a few floors from Annabel but she could not leave him like this. He was alone in his torment, and it was not too long ago she was in the same situation.

  “Come on Mayor, let’s go and get some coffee from the cafeteria and I will stay with you.”

  He was grateful and allowed her to lead the way. They did not talk, they just sat there as the hours passed and there was no word. He held her personal belongings that the nurse gave him and in his left hand he held the charm she wore. Danni watched as his fingers traced it, she could tell the way his lips moved that he was praying silently. She had to turn away when she would get a text from Frank and Stevens asking for an update. When she would text back that there was still no word she would not hear anything back.

  The clock on the wall struck six P.M. and there was still no news. Danni calculated that she had been in surgery for seven hours, and concluded no news right now may be good news. She had asked the Mayor several times if he would like something to eat but each time he said no. She was getting restless and needed to know something, just as she was about to get up and go ask a doctor in scrubs walked in the room.

  He extended his hand to the Mayor. “She’s in recovery sir and she is going to be just fine.” He smiled and gestured to Danni who stood and listened. “Are you the agent who applied pressure to the wound?”

  Danni nodded. “I didn’t cause more damage did I?”

  “No on the contrary, if you did not she would not have made it because it caused the material from her shirt to be forced into the wound which stopped her from bleeding out.” He smiled and put his arm around the Mayor. “I’ll take you to her if you would like.”

  “Please,” he answered and walked side by side with the doctor.

  Danni watched them disappear and as if on cue; she darted from her spot and took the first elevator to the eighth floor. As soon as she stepped off the floor the nurses started to applaud, Danni just looked at them and smiled. She assumed they were applauding for Annabel waking up so she just waved as she walked by.

  As soon as she reached the room she heard an array of different voices, when she entered, Stevens, Frank and the several agents and officers sat around talking and laughing. Danni smiled and held her disappointment in. She wanted to run to her and hold her in her arms, but now it would have to wait.

  “Having a party without me I see,” Danni joked.

  “Well since you were playing hero to the Mayor we figured it was not fair to have her sit in this room by herself all night,” Stevens said, and handed her a piece of cake.

  Frank stood up and offered Danni his seat. She shook her head no and sat on the edge of the bed. Frank took the unspoken cue and ushered everyone out of the room to give them some privacy.

  As the last one left, Danni took a deep inward breath. “Finally we are alone, how are you feeling?”

  “I feel great, I heard you had an eventful day and from what I heard a few moments ago it was your quick thinking that saved O’Sullivan’s life.”

  “News travels fast I see.” Danni arched her brows confused how they knew what she had just learned a few moments ago.

  “Oh Frank was talking regularly to the surgeons assistant, and she told him whoever the person who was the first to help was the one who actually saved her life. That woman, what did she say her name was? Oh yes Stevens, she said you was the one who helped her. So, my baby is a hero.” Annabel smiled and expectantly tapped the empty spot next to her.

  Danni obliged and scooted in next to her. “I would not call me a hero. I did what anyone else would have done.”

  “Well to that woman you are a hero and you are my hero,” Annabel said and kissed her lightly. “And I love you Danielle Pacelli.”

  No other words were exchanged as they held one another. All was right in the world, the killer was dead, Patricia came through the surgery and they had one another. There was nothing left at this time to ask for.

  CHAPTER THIRTY NINE

  Stevens filled the roll of Lead Agent with ease and within months, she and Danni had solved four unsolved murders. Frank assisted from time to time, but he saw the two worked well together, and in no time they were able to finish one another’s sentences.

  Frank stepped down and retired but not before finding out who the mole in the office was. To his surprise there was no mole, the janitor business who was contracted to keep the offices cleaned had hired the defendant a year earlier. She had access to the data and information, and could easily listen to their conversations and go unnoticed. He was surprised he did not realize it earlier, but when he saw her in the courtroom he knew he had seen her somewhere before and when the department had been notified they would be getting a new cleaning crew he started to ask questions, and that was when he finally put two and two together.

  Danni sat unmoved the entire day and made calls to get leads on the new serial killer who had been targeting the gay community. They were coming up empty and it seemed that each person who was killed was targeted after leaving one of the various gay bars.

  Each murder was done execution style and when each was compared to the other there was no doubt they were related. The profiler indicated that the person had issues with either their own sexuality, or had been sexually abused or was angry with the gay community for something else. They could not narrow it down since there was never a witness to the crime. APD had started to patrol the bars at closing and made sure each person who was walking made it home safe. Danni just wanted them to watch from a distance and observe if there was anyone who seemed out of place but they had their own ideas on how to do things. She put a timeline to each murder and they seemed to occur on the second weekend of the month. She needed to find out what the time frame meant. They had one more week before the Suspect would attack again, and Danni had no idea who they were dealing with.

  Stevens pulled her weight when the papers ran the story. Men and women both called in and confessed to the murders. They were slowing down the investigation, so Stevens helped by ruling out the false leads that came across her desk. She had been on the last call for over a half an hour, when the telephone call ended. Stevens hung up and walked out of her office.

  “Hey Pacelli I just received the strangest phone call,” she announced with an uneasy feeling.

  “Oh yeah, what about?”

  “A lieutenant from St. Petersburg Florida said that they have a few cases - very similar to ours here, and the murders started about two months ago. He said he was not sure the two were connected until he read in the papers the few details we fed the papers. He called to get more details and is sure now they are connected. He wants us to join him and see if we can help,” she explained as she leaned against the doorframe of her office.

  “So we have a traveling serial killer?” She sat back and eyed the puzzled expression.

  “That’s what it looks like and I bet that’s why it’s so hard to sink our teeth into this one.”

  “When do you want to leave?” Danni asked ready to book the flight.

  ~Finish~

  ~ About the Author ~

  Originally from England, Dawn now lives in Texas with her wife and two children. Dawn finds the relaxed atmosphere a wonderful place to pursue her love of writing. When she is not working or writing, she is gardening, cooking, reading, and volunteering her time as a Paralegal for Legal Aid. Her interests in writing include poetry, short stories, novels and journalistic feature writing.

  If you have enjoyed the novella HEART OF FIRE please go back to where you purchased it and leave a review, each review helps others decide whether they may read or purchase the author’s work. We are including a few select chapters of the Dawns NEXT novel: HEART OF VENGEANCE available this spring from Shadoe Publishing, please go and check out our other great novels there at www.shadoepublishing.com:

   CHAPTER 1 

  “Are you ready to get out of here?” Jamie asked as she eyed the small room which was crowded as women in all shape and sizes, some wearing all le
ather and others casually dressed walked from one side of the room to the other looking for a piece of happiness for the night.

  “Relax and have a good time,” her roommate Chris answered never turning to face her.

  Jamie slumped on the bar stool and sighed, she used to love hanging out, and the night club used to be a happy place to have fun with her friends, but not since her and Sylvia broke up, it had become depressing and the women that frequented the club were just there in search of a one night stand. As lonely as she was, she was not sure if she could go there, she had only been with one woman, and that was over. She was not sure if and when she could move on.

  “You want to dance?” Chris faced her; concern filled her as she saw the sad look in her friends eyes.

  “Maybe later, okay?” Jamie sat unmoved and looked down at the bottle of beer in her hand.

  “You have to start living Jamie.” She smoothed her hand over Jamie’s shoulder. “There’s life after Sylvia.”

  “I know, but why does it still have to hurt so bad?”

  “Because you really loved her that’s why,” Terri interrupted when she heard where the conversation was going. “You remember how long it took for me to get over Sarah, it took me two years and it still hurts, but when you get out and start dating again, it hurts less.” Terri half smiled as she looked from Chris back to Jamie.

  “You’re right, but I don’t know how to put myself out there.”

  Chris looked at her and smiled. “Yes you do, start with the next person who asks you to dance. Don’t say no, just do it.”