Inherited Light

by Katie Mettner

“What did you find?” Tabitha whisper asked.

  “She’s not in the van, but her chair is. Whoever has her is big enough to carry her.”

  Noah stopped and shook his head. “This doesn’t make any sense. We have Xavier’s killer in custody. This can’t have anything to do with his murder.”

  Tabitha shook her head. “No, you have the wrong person. Whoever killed Xavier has Cat.”

  Noah swiveled toward her. “And you know this how?”

  “Call it a gut feeling,” she answered, not making eye contact. “Wherever they are, she’s hurt and we need to find her.”

  Noah glanced between the two of us and then shook his head. “She could be long gone in a vehicle by now. I need to put together a team and get them out here.”

  I had no plans of waiting for a team or anyone. At the back of the van I put my hand on the window, closing my eyes. “Come on, baby. Talk to me,” I whispered. I had a sharp pain in my back, and focused on it. Her back hurt, but I couldn’t get a line on where to find her. I started jogging toward the ball field, parallel with the pitcher’s mound.

  “Where are you going?” Noah called from behind me.

  Tabitha told him to be quiet and follow me. I tuned them out as I focused on homing in on her pain, and the fear, which made me feel like vomiting. The closer I got, the stronger the pain in my back became. She didn’t have her chair, which meant she wasn’t mobile, and she was in an uncomfortable position. My hand strayed to my back, as though I could ease her discomfort by massaging my own. I kept my inner eye focused on the dark place, letting my feet carry me across the field. I could hear Noah barking orders into the receiver as we ran. He told Tabitha to stay behind him in case someone started shooting. I didn’t care if someone came out with an automatic rifle, I had to find her before she gave up trying to stay alive.

  I’m coming for you, baby, I answered her inside my mind. I need more help. Tell me where you are. My steps slowed and I waited with my hands on my back, bent over at the waist. If I listened she would tell me. I waited, concentrating on her face and the feeling I relished when she was in my arms. Her fear and pain washed over me, and I focused on the anxiety of claustrophobia. I popped my head up, jogged back to Noah, and took his shoulders.

  “Tabitha said she’s somewhere dark. Does the bandshell have a crawlspace?” I asked, motioning to the hulking monolith where the Battle of the Bands is played every year.

  “There’s more than a crawlspace. It’s a storm shelter in case a storm blows up during a performance,” he answered. “Do you think she’s in there?”

  “Yeah, I can feel her hanging onto hope by humming the song we danced to last night.”

  “Danced to? Isn’t she paralyzed?” Noah asked.

  “I’ll explain later,” I promised. “We need to find her. She’s hurt and without her chair she can’t escape.”

  “Whoever put her there might still be with her. We need to wait for backup,” he insisted.

  Tabitha grabbed his arm. “I’ll wait here and direct them when they arrive. She’s in danger, you two go find her.”

  Noah handed her the radio and I gave her the bat. “Go back across the street to our cars,” Noah instructed. “Wait there for my men. They shouldn’t be more than three or four minutes out.”

  She had already taken off for the truck before he finished and he followed behind me, his gun drawn. We edged along the side of the building, and I switched places, since he had the weapon and knew where the entrance to the shelter lay. He stopped and plastered himself against the wall, pointing at a door, the sand recently disturbed. He put a finger to his lips as if to say, ‘shhhh’ and pulled the door open a hair. Too far and the road noise would give us away. Not far enough and we wouldn’t be able to hear anything. He listened for a few seconds and then closed it again, pushing me back toward the front of the bandshell. I could tell by his demeanor not to argue and when we were far enough from the door he stopped, and took my shoulders.

  “It’s a woman. She told who I can only assume to be Cat, she’s waiting for you to show up, because she knows you’ll be searching for her. Once you arrive, she plans to kill Cat in front of you, so you and her can be together.”

  My brows knit as I listened. “She’s going to kill us both?”

  He shook his head. “No, she’s going to kill Cat. Whoever is in there thinks you and she are destined to be together. This doesn’t make any sense.”

  I had to agree with him, it didn’t make any sense whatsoever. I glanced around, wondering how much longer until his team arrived. “I don’t know who it is, so I can’t make sense of it either. All I know is, the woman I love is in there. I need to get her out and to a hospital before this causes irreparable damage.”

  In seconds, two squads drove into the parking lot and parked, followed by two ambulances. No sirens blared or lights flashed as they grabbed guns and gear from the backs of the cars and ran across the road. The ambulance drivers stayed with Tabitha while the team gathered near home plate of the baseball field. Noah and I jogged to them and filled them in on what little bit of information we had.

  “I’m going to have to go in there,” I said adamantly. “If I don’t she’s going to kill Cat.”

  Noah shook his head. “Not a good idea, Lorenzo. She might shoot Cat before you’re close enough to save her.”

  I paused for a moment and took a deep breath. I centered my energy on Cat and not the fear sitting in my gut. “I’ll try to sneak in as far as I can, but if she hears me I’ll start a conversation. You said she wants us to be together. I’ll feed her whatever lies she wants to hear to get close enough to Cat. She won’t fire at Cat if I keep her distracted. Once I’m close enough, I’ll take her down.”

  “That’s your plan? You’re not a trained cop, Lorenzo.” Noah said, his teeth gritted together. He was the one who screwed up and Cat was paying the price. I didn’t care what his opinion was.

  “You’re going to get me a bulletproof vest and a gun, I’m not going in completely unprotected.”

  Noah was shaking his head adamantly and we were at a stalemate. Tabitha strode up behind him and spun him around. “Noah, stop being so damn stubborn. The only one who can go in there, with any chance of keeping Cat alive, is Lorenzo. Whoever this crazy woman is, she will shoot first and ask questions later. Take my word for it. I’ve seen how this ends.”

  Noah cocked his head and crossed his arms. The two were focused only on each other, and he finally spoke. “You’ve seen how this ends. You do know you both sound absolutely bat shit crazy, right?”

  Tabitha threw up her arms and got in his face. “You won’t think we’re so crazy when Lorenzo gets her out alive. Now, whatever he needs, get it. He’s going in, one way or the other.”

  Noah noticed me backing up toward the shelter and held his hand out, making the come here motion. He gave one nod to a cop and he handed me his vest. I stripped my shirt off and strapped it on, tugging my shirt back over the top of it. There would be no question I had a vest on, but hopefully with the shirt covering it, she wouldn’t focus on it as much. Noah pulled a gun from a holster behind his back. Before handing it over he stared at me with one brow lowered.

  “Do you know how to fire a weapon?”

  I held my hand out when I answered. “A Glock 22 is standard issue with internal safety. The gun won’t fire without full depression of the trigger. In a combat situation with a handgun, the closer you are to your target the more accurate you will be with each shot, ensuring the bullet won’t go wide and harm a bystander.”

  He flipped the gun around and put the butt of the pistol in my hand. “I would prefer if you don’t use it. Keep it hidden until you feel you have no choice. Try to end this peacefully. I know if anyone can do it, it’s you.”

  I gave him a nod and tucked the pistol into my waistband at my side. I couldn’t put it behind my back because the vest wouldn’t allow me to pull it quickly. Another cop handed me a pair of handcuffs and showed me how to work them. I put
those in the front pocket of the vest, leaving the shirt unbuttoned far enough to access it.

  “Okay, I’m ready. How should I signal you to come in?” I asked, anxious to get to Cat and end this. We’d be visiting a hospital again before we could go home and I didn’t want to delay her treatment

  “We’ll be following you into the building. If you’re opening the door, we’ll get in position and listen to how things go down. We’ll be waiting for you to yell all clear when it’s safe for us to advance. If you start shooting, we need to wait for the dust to settle before we move in, since we can’t risk being hit.”

  I nodded once. “Understood. Ready?” I asked making eye contact with the group of five guys in front of me.

  “Ready,” they said in unison.

  I led the way back to the bandshell. I took a deep breath and without thinking about it, opened the door, and stepped inside. The voices ceased instantly when the occupants sensed noise from outside.

  “Cat, are you in here? It’s me, Lorenzo,” I called. I wanted whoever had Cat to know I had found them. I hadn’t planned to forewarn them I was coming, but I had to give the police enough time and noise coverage for them to get into position. A small hallway ran in front of me and to my right, and I had to decide which way to go. I caught a flash in my side vision and Noah was motioning for me to go straight.

  “Hello? Is anyone here?” I called again, trying to keep my voice steady.

  There was a grunt and then Cat’s voice. “Lorenzo? Is that you?”

  “Cat? It’s so dark in here. What are you doing so far into the shelter?” I asked, carefully picking my way forward by the light they had clipped to my vest. It wasn’t much bigger than a pen light, but it gave off enough illumination to see the ground and anything on it. I took two more steps and was standing in a great room big enough to hold half the audience of a summer night concert. In the corner Cat lay on the ground, her face lined with pain and her forehead bleeding.

  “Lorenzo,” she squeaked, her voice weak. “Please help me.”

  It took all my concentration to keep my feet planted in the doorway until her captor turned to me, her smiling face one I recognized, only now evil filled her features in the low light of our flashlights.

  “Monica?” I asked, taking two steps forward. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  She stepped forward, her gun pointed at me. “I’ve missed you so much, baby,” she cooed.

  I took two steps back again as she approached. I didn’t want her to get too close to me and find the gun at my side.

  “I’ve waited for you to ask me out since I moved back to Little Ivywood, but you haven’t,” she whined, her lips turning down in a frown.

  “I, I didn’t know you were back in town,” I said, my gaze focused on Cat who had closed her eyes. I could see the pain had taken a toll on her and her consciousness was slipping. She would pass out in a few minutes and I didn’t know how long we had to get her to the hospital. Whatever Monica had done to her, it was slowly killing her.

  “I’ve been back for two years!” she exclaimed suddenly, as though my answer hadn’t been the right one. “I moved back because I missed you and realized I was wrong. I should have accepted your proposal.”

  I edged around to my right, trying to get in front of Cat and block her with my vest in case Monica decided to shoot.

  “You broke up with me, Monica. You told me you wanted to be adventurous and see the world, remember?”

  “I do want to see the world, but with you, not alone. I didn’t realize how much I would miss you until you were gone. I moved back and wanted to reconnect, but you never called,” she whined again.

  I shook my head. “I didn’t know you were in town. It’s only been recently I’ve been in Little Ivywood full-time again. I’ve been back and forth for school. Why didn’t you reach out to me?” I asked. It took me no time at all to see she had lost her mind, so the only thing I could do was play along, and pray Cat understood what my intention was.

  She shook her head sadly. “The guy is supposed to call the woman, Lennie. I had it all worked out, but you never called. Now I find out you have a girlfriend!” she exclaimed, the gun motioning at Cat.

  I took a deep breath and shook my head. “Cat isn’t my girlfriend. She’s a friend of my sister’s, nothing more.”

  “How come you’ve been staying with her then?” she exclaimed angrily, throwing her arms around with the gun in her hand.

  “Someone knocked her unconscious and she can’t stay alone when she’s hurt.”

  She got a smirk on her face. “Sorry I had to hit you, Lennie. I tried not to hit you too hard. She deserved it, but you didn’t. I had to get her prints on the toolbox.”

  “So, it was you,” I said as I kept moving to the right. “Did you kill Xavier, too?”

  I held my breath as I waited to hear her answer. “He had to go. I slept with him to get information about you and he wouldn’t stop bugging me. Once I found out about her,” she said, waving at Cat, “I decided to kill two birds with one stone. I want you and me to be together, and I don’t want anyone in the way!” she exclaimed.

  I held my hands up in front of me. “I get it, Monica, but you never talked to me. I feel bad you’ve waited so long for me to come to you. Had I known, we could have spent many more years together.”

  I tried not to gag at the idea of marrying her and living with her forever. It was a scary thought as I stood there staring into her crazy eyes. I wasn’t connected enough to feel her emotions, but I could plainly see she was losing patience.

  “We still can,” she said, sliding up alongside of me. “All you have to do is leave here with me.”

  “What about her?” I asked as I motioned at Cat. “We can’t leave her here.”

  “Sure we can, someone will find her sooner or later. Once I kill her it really won’t matter when she’s found.”

  She turned to shoot Cat, but I stood in the way, so she had to shoot through me to get to her. “Move aside, Lennie. We can’t go on with life until she’s out of it.”

  She leveled her gun and I didn’t know what to do. If she shot, she would hit Cat right in the chest. Before I had a chance to raise my gun, there were two pop-pop sounds and Monica fell forward into my arms. The gun clattered to the ground as she howled in pain trying to grasp her back. I laid her down, cuffing her as she screamed about how she did this all for me.

  I leaned over so she could see my face, hers filled with rage and pain. “I didn’t ask you to do this. There is no us. Cat is my girlfriend, and I plan to marry her. Good luck in prison.”

  I turned and ran to Cat, kneeling by her as the room filled with cops. “It’s okay, honey. I’m going to keep you safe,” I promised, stroking her head. My hand felt sticky and I looked down to see it covered in blood. I swiveled my head to the left. “We need an EMT over here now!”

  She grasped my hand and squeezed it, her eyes almost closed, knowing she was safe. I could tell the pain was sending her into shock as her grasp loosened on my hand. “Did you feel me, Ren?”

  I rubbed her chest roughly to keep her awake. “You did a great job, sweetheart. I could feel your pain and Tabitha sensed you were somewhere dark. We only found you because you told us where you were. You’re so brave,” I cooed as an EMT knelt by her on the ground.

  “I’m going to give you some morphine so we can get you off this floor. Lorenzo filled us in on your back pain. Are you hurting anywhere else?” he asked and she pointed at her head. “You’re bleeding from your head. You probably cut it when you hit the tree.”

  She stared up at me, her eyes frightened. “I hit a tree? I just remember trying to avoid someone in the road. Is my van okay? Ren?”

  “Shhh,” I soothed her as the EMT started an I.V. in her arm. “Your van will be fine. Rest now. We’re going to take you to the hospital and have them check you over. We should make sure your back isn’t any worse.”

  She grimaced and shook her head a little bit. “It’s
not good, Ren. I felt it pop when she threw me over her shoulder. All I have is pain now and no sensation at all in my legs.”

  I rubbed her forehead, blood and all, and forced a brave smile to my face even though I was terrified. “I’m not going to leave you, baby. We’ll get through it together.”

  Epilogue

  I waited patiently for Cat to finish in the bathroom before I helped her to bed and showed her my surprise. After having surgery on her back a week ago, Cat has done great. When we got her to the hospital, the doctors rushed her into a room and locked Tabitha and me in the waiting room to pace. My dad and Mamá arrived along with Cinn and Foster within minutes, but the feeling of being alone was overpowering. After what seemed like forever, the doctor took a few moments to tell us Cat’s CT scan showed the disc fragment had broken off and now compressed the spinal cord. If they didn’t do surgery she would be in pain for the rest of her life, bedridden, and had the potential for a slew of other problems.

  They allowed me to see her long enough to console her, and encourage her to have the laser surgery done. She had no sooner signed the form and they were rolling her down the hallway to surgery. I trudged back to the waiting room in a stupor and Mamá wrapped me in her arms, comforting me in a way only a mamá knows how. After thirty minutes of waiting, my dad convinced me to go with him to the cafeteria to get some snacks. As we busied ourselves with a mundane task, he mentioned Cinn had told him how afraid I was to talk to him about my work situation. My initial reaction was to deny it, until he offered a heartfelt apology for making me feel like I couldn’t talk with him about my dreams and aspirations.

  While we gathered drinks and snacks, I told him I had hoped to start my own construction business, and I had sold the BMW to get the funds to buy the trailer and tools needed for start-up, but now I had to rethink things. He was confused about why until I told him about Cat’s van. It would never run again, and she didn’t have a down payment to get a loan on a specialized vehicle. I planned to use some of the money from the BMW to help her buy a new van. It was bad enough she was in surgery, but now she wouldn’t be able to get back and forth to work. Without the van, she had no independence and her independence was the most important thing to her.