by Vakey, Jenn
Harris must have known he was running low, because he started running toward the back of the building. “Thirteen… fourteen,” she said as she started after him. She knew the back entrance had been chained shut. He was trapped.
“Fifteen,” she said, now only ten feet from him. The heard a small groan before… “Sixteen.”
As the last bullet sounded, she broke into a sprint to close the gap. Before she could get him in sight, though, she heard a small thud. When she rounded the last corner, gun out in front of her, she found Harris on the ground. There was a halo of blood surrounding his head.
“Suspect down,” she said. “Self-inf…” Before she could finish, though, she saw another body on the ground.
“Dad!” she yelled as she ran toward him. “I need an ambulance now!”
She dropped down on her knees next to him. His shirt had a large ring of blood on it that seemed to only be growing larger. “No,” she said as she pushed her shaking hands down on the small hole in his chest. “You’re not going to do this to us,” she said, tears rolling down her face. “Not again.”
“It’s all right,” he said softly. He reached up and placed his hand on her cheek. “You got them.”
“No, you did,” she said. “You’re the only person who caught on to them, even after all these years. No one would even know they were out there if it weren’t for you.”
Before he could respond, Rilynne was moved out of the way by a paramedic. After looking at the wound, they slid the backboard under him and immediately rolled him out on the stretcher.
“Evans,” Wilcome called after her as she followed.
“I’m riding with him,” she said, not even looking back.
Rilynne felt her chest tightening as she climbed into the ambulance. She couldn’t seem to draw a breath. She felt like she was being smothered.
“Take the vest off,” the paramedic abruptly said. When she looked over, she saw that he was watching her struggle to catch her breath. “I’m going to need your help, and you can’t do that if you pass out on me.”
Rilynne pulled the vest quickly off, and was relieved when it alleviated much of the pressure. Her relief was short lived, though, when the monitor attached to her father started beeping loudly.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Press down here,” he said, pulling her hands over the wound. As soon as they were in place, he started to put in an IV.
Rilynne pressed firmly on his chest, but it didn’t seem to slow the bleeding. She tried to add a little more pressure, but a spurt of blood suddenly shot out toward her.
“Back,” he said the moment the IV was in. As soon as she was clear, he leaned over her father and stuck his finger into the wound. After a moment he let out quick breath. “Got it,” he said, giving her the best reassuring look he could manage.
She didn’t even know how to react. She just grabbed her father’s hand and held it tight, the tears still rolling down her cheeks.
The ride to the hospital, although no more than a few minutes, seemed to take hours. She stood back as they pulled the stretcher out, the paramedic still with his finger in her father’s chest. As soon as they were clear, she grabbed her vest and followed them in.
The trauma room seemed like one straight out of a movie. There were so many people rushing around, all Rilynne could do was stand back up against the wall and watch. Twice someone asked her to step outside, but she refused to move. It wasn’t until Matthews walked in several minutes later and physically pulled her toward the door that she agreed to leave.
“They’re going to take care of him,” he said. He reached down and pulled the vest from her hand. She hadn’t even realized she was still holding it. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s give them some space to work.”
She nodded, though she didn’t really seem to know what was going on around her. She just started walking in the direction he had pointed her in. She was in such a haze that it took her several seconds to realize the door she had come upon wasn’t going to open unless she pushed the button on the wall first. When she finally did, she walked out into the emergency room and saw Ben and her mother rushing in.
Chapter Seventeen
Rilynne had never seen Ben look as relieved as he did when he saw her walk through the door. He pushed past several people, nearly knocking a nurse over, as he rushed toward her. Just behind him was her mother, looking as if she had been crying.
She wasn’t even able to get a word out before he wrapped his arms tightly around her and lifted her off the ground
“We were listening to the radio and we heard them announce that Evans had been shot,” he said, still embracing her tightly. “We thought…”
“I’m all right,” she said when he finally put her back down. “It’s dad. I don’t know what happened. Scott Harris knew he wasn’t getting away so he opened fire. I saw dad duck behind a piece of machinery. He was fine. He must have gone around to the other side of the building, because we found him near the back when we finally cornered Harris. Dad must have tried to stop him himself. It’s bad,” she stated as the tears rolled down her already wet face.
“I’m going to go see what I can find out,” Amber said. She placed her hand gently on Rilynne’s shoulder before rushing out of sight.
“It’s really bad,” Rilynne sobbed, looking down at the blood covering her shirt and hands.
Ben seemed to have been so relieved to see her that he hadn’t noticed the state of her appearance. He cursed under his breath. “Come on,” he said as he took her by the hand and pulled her into the adjacent waiting room. “Here,” he said as he pulled his shirt off. “There’s a restroom just back there where you can get cleaned up. I’ll go find your mom and see if I can find out what’s going on. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Rilynne reached out and smoothed down his undershirt before taking the one from his hand. As she turned toward the restroom, she heard Ben hurry out of the room.
It wasn’t until she looked in the mirror that she realized how horrific she really looked. The front of her purple shirt was saturated in blood and her hands were almost completely covered. There was also a bloody handprint on her cheek where her father had touched her. She numbly watched as the water running through her fingers turned red before reaching the base of the sink.
When she finished cleaning off, she dropped her shirt in the trash and walked out to find Ben leaning against the wall.
“What’s going on?” she asked. The look on his face left her with an overwhelming sense of dread. “Were you able to find anything out?”
“Your mom is talking to the doctors right now. They have him stable for the time being, and are prepping him for surgery,” he explained, taking her face in his hands. “Dr. Carnes heard he’s your father and is insisting on doing the surgery himself. He’s in good hands.”
Rilynne nodded quickly as she fought back the tears. “Someone should call Elise,” she said after letting out a long breath. “She really should be here.”
“Lori is trying to find her right now,” he said. “Your father had her in hiding, so it may take her a little while.
She nodded again and buried her face in his chest. This was her fault. She should have never allowed her father to be part of the attempt to capture Harris.
As if reading her mind, Ben pushed her back and looked deep into her eyes and said, “This isn’t your fault. Even if you had forbid him from being there, he would have gone anyway. Part of you knows that. You can’t blame yourself for this.”
As hard as she tried, she was unable to keep the tears back any longer. Ben pulled her back in and held her tight as she let out a deep sob. Her head was reeling and her body ached. It took all of the strength she could muster just to keep from toppling over. She was sure if Ben hadn’t been bracing her, she wouldn’t be able to do it at all.
“Come on,” he said when her tears finally dried up ten minutes later. “Let’s go find your mom.”
He took her by
the hand and led her through the packed hallways. When they walked into the surgical waiting room minutes later, they found the entire homicide unit sitting around her mother. Everyone looked up at Rilynne and offered caring and supportive smiles, but no one seemed to know what to say.
“I swear, I’ve spent more time in surgical waiting rooms over the last several months that most people do in a lifetime,” she mumbled as she took the seat next to Amber. She remembered the last time all too well. She had to wait for nearly two hours just to find out Ben’s fate after he had been shot. At least this time she wasn’t alone.
Aside from the occasional murmur, everyone sat in silence until Dr. Carnes walked in an hour and a half later. Rilynne knew what he was going to say even before he opened his mouth. His eyes betrayed him.
“Detective Evans,” he said as he offered her a gentle nod. He turned to her mother and said, “Mrs. Evans.” He let out a quick breath as he pulled his surgical cap off and held it tightly in both hands. “When the bullet entered his chest, it nicked his heart. Although we were able to repair the damage, Mr. Evans’ blood loss was too great. He went into cardiac arrest and we were unable to get him back. I’m very sorry.”
Rilynne dropped back into her seat and didn’t hear another word spoken. She hadn’t even noticed Dr. Carnes had left until her mother grabbed her hand several minutes later. “There’s some paperwork I have to take care of,” she said. “It may be a while if you want to go. I can take a cab back to your place when I’m done.”
“I’ll take care of the paperwork,” Ben offered before Rilynne even had a chance to react. “You two should both go home.”
Amber reached out and grabbed Ben’s hand, giving him an appreciative smile.
“I’ll take you home,” Matthews said, stepping up beside them.
Ben stood and offered his hand to Rilynne. When she took it, he gently pulled her onto her feet. “Thank you,” she said, wrapping her arms around his waist. When his arms closed in around her, the tears started to build again. She pulled back and gave him a quick kiss before walking out of the room, not stopping until she found herself standing on the curb outside.
Her mother and partner joined her several minutes later.
No one spoke a word as they made the fifteen-minute drive back to her house. When they pulled into the driveway, Amber offered him her thanks and climbed out. Rilynne didn’t budge.
“I’m sorry,” he said as he looked over at her. “Is there anything I can do?”
Rilynne stared down at her hands, still stained in several spots, and shook her head.
“I never did get to tell you how thankful I am for everything you did,” she said after a few minutes of silence. “Even with all of the evidence pointing toward me, you risked your career to help me and try to prove my innocence. You will never know just how much that meant to me.”
“You would have done the same for me,” he stated simply.
She turned toward him and smiled. “Yes, I would,” she said honestly.
“Just don’t tell Katy,” he added as she pushed the door open. “She loves you, but she would kill me if she knew what I did.”
Rilynne laughed and nodded. He was probably correct. After saying one last thank you, she shut the door and watched him drive away.
Amber was already sitting on the couch when she walked in.
“I need some fresh air,” Rilynne said. “I won’t be long.” Her mother just nodded as Rilynne walked into her room to change. After pulling on her shorts and a clean shirt, she walked quietly through the house and out the back door.
Rilynne hadn’t even made it a full step out of her back gate before she broke into a run. The warm air felt cool against her still tear soaked cheeks. She let her mind drift as her feet carried her through the dark trees, not caring where she would end up. She pushed everything racing through her head aside, along with the pain that was emanating from thigh. It wasn’t until she felt a wet sensation running down her leg that she finally stopped.
After catching her breath, Rilynne looked down to see a small stream of blood running down the outside of her right leg. She pulled her shorts up gently and found that she had pulled two of her stitches open.
“Great,” she said aloud to herself, but she continued walking forward. Just moments later, she emerged in the familiar clearing. She didn’t even know how she had found her way there. Ben had only brought her twice, and neither time she was really paying attention to where they were going.
She pulled the dangling bandage the rest of the way off and used it to wipe the blood away before she climbed atop the giant boulder. She pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them as she looked up at the infinite number of stars above.
Her mom had told her once when she was a kid that people became stars when they died. Rilynne used to tell her friends that her father was a star, looking down on her each night. Though she hadn’t thought about it in years, it was now the only thing on her mind. She searched the sky for the right star. One that looked like it had just been added to the sea around it. After half an hour of searching, she found the perfect one.
Directly centered between the only two constellations she knew, Rilynne couldn’t seem to take her eyes off of it. After several minutes, she even started talking to it.
“I’m sorry,” she said to the shining star. “If I had just run with you when you suggested it, none of this would have happened. You were my responsibility, and I never should have allowed you at the scene. I should have seen this coming.” She paused as she thought back to the look he had when he told her the plan on their way back to the station. “You did know,” she said bluntly. Suddenly, as if a strong gust of wind had picked it up, her guilt started to fade away. “You knew this was going to happen. You saw it and didn’t say anything. You went in there knowing you wouldn’t be coming out again. That’s why you ended up on the other side of the warehouse.”
Rilynne shook her head, not knowing exactly how to feel anymore. She stared up at the sky for another half hour before she heard footsteps coming from the woods behind her.
She didn’t need to turn around to know who was coming toward her. She reached up and wiped the tears off of her face before he climbed up next to her.
“How did you know where to find me?” she asked, her eyes still on the stars above.
Ben let out a sigh and pulled his knees up in front of him, casually resting his arms on them. “It was either here or out in the woods running.”
“I ran until I couldn't anymore,” she explained. “I honestly don’t even know how I ended up here. I wasn’t really trying to.”
He reached out and placed his arm around her, but didn’t say a word. Together, they sat in silence for what seemed like another hour. Rilynne was glad, because she didn’t think she was up to holding a conversation. She was happy he was there, though.
“I’m assuming you went by my house first,” she said. Her words echoed through the trees, causing a flock of birds resting in them to take flight.
She could see Ben nod through the corner of her eye. “Your mom left her bags in my car. I talked to her for a little while, and made sure she ate something. Lori and Kim are with her now.”
“Good,” she replied. “I shouldn’t have left her alone. I guess I wasn’t really thinking about it.”
“She’s fine,” he reassured her. “She’s tough, just like you.”
Rilynne grinned as a tear rolled down her cheek. She didn’t bother to wipe it away, knowing another would more than likely just replace it.
“I don’t know why I’m so upset,” she confessed. “I’ve lived my entire life without him, thinking he was already dead. It’s not like I really knew him at all.”
“He was your father. Part of you always hoped he was alive, you said it yourself. Despite any resentment you had toward him for his absence, it was like a dream come true to have him in your life again. Of course you’re going to be upset when that was taken away. Honestly, I would worry a
bout you more if you weren’t,” he stated. “He was, after all, your father.”
“I just wish I had the chance to get to know him better,” she said on a long sigh. “We really only had one day together. Most of that I spent in a state of shock. Do you know if they were able to track down my sister?” The word felt funny coming from her lips. “Part of me feels like I should be the one to tell her. On the other hand, I don’t know if that would really be the best way for us to finally meet.”
Ben said, “Matthews found her in a motel not too far from here. He picked her up and took her to the hospital so she could say her goodbyes. I told him to ask her to stay in town for a little while longer, because I knew you would want to meet her.”
“Thank you,” she said softly. Though the events of the last few days had left her questioning many things, this was one thing she was certain about. She was very eager to meet her sister. “So what did you talk about today?” she asked. “You were in the conference room with him for quite awhile before Wilcome interrupted.”
“I had to ask him something,” he stated. His laconic replied suggested there was a part of the conversation that he didn’t want to share. She didn’t care. She stared at him intently, and she could see by the mild amusement in his eyes that he knew she wouldn’t accept that as an answer. “You know, I never thought when I started looking into his case that I would actually find him. I guess I didn’t want to accept the possibility that he might actually have been out there all these years and just didn’t tell you or your mom. I had intended just to talk to your mom, but suddenly there they both were, together. It was kismet.”
She searched his face, trying to decipher just what he was trying to say. As her heart began to race, he smiled and continued.
“You are by far the craziest, most stubborn woman I’ve ever known,” he said. She laughed. “At the same time, you have one of the largest hearts I’ve ever seen. I knew from the first time we met that I loved you and I always would. Even if I have to spend the rest of my life being kidnapped and shot at, I want do it with you.” Tears rolled down her cheeks again. This time they were filled with joy. She watched him as he slid his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small black box.