by Ann Mullen
“You’re absolutely right,” Cole said as he walked into the little examination area. “I’ve been a real fool, Claire. I called my doctor and he changed my medication. I realized something was wrong when your mother kicked me out of Billy and Jesse’s house. For her to do that, I knew there must be something wrong with my behavior. I realized I needed help, so I talked to my doctor and he said that sometimes certain medications can make a person agitated. It’s a side effect. Can you ever forgive me?”
“Yes, I can,” she said in between her tears.
Cole bent down on his knees and asked Claire to marry him. This time he appeared to be serious. He promised he would never hurt her again.
Claire accepted his proposal.
I, the skeptic that I am, had my reservations about the whole situation, but it wasn’t for me to decide their fate. It was up to them. If this is what my sister wanted, I would support her, against my better judgment.
We all turned to look in the direction of a commotion that was happening in the hall, and then I recognized my mother’s voice.
“Mom’s here,” I said, turning back to Claire and Cole. “I’ll go intercept her and give you two some time alone. Say what you have to say to each other, because I don’t know how long I can fend her off. It’s none of my business, but if it was me, I’d hold off on telling her the good news about the baby.” I pulled the curtain back to leave and came face-to-face with our mother. There was no putting her off now.
“What on earth happened to my daughter?” she asked as she barged in and walked over to the edge of the bed. She looked up at Cole and asked, “What are you doing here. You don’t belong here.”
“Mom, why don’t we get some of that wonderful hospital coffee? Claire and Cole need a moment alone to discuss their future.”
“What future could my daughter possible have with someone who beats up on women? Oh, no, this is not going to happen. I want you to leave right this minute. You’re no longer a part of this family. You gave up that right when you slapped my daughter. I’m going to call security.”
“Come on Mom,” I said as I grabbed her by the arm and forced her to leave. I closed the curtain and almost had to drag her away. She was mad, and I mean really mad. I’ve never seen her treat anyone like she’d just treated Cole. “You need to calm down and let me tell you something. First off, when you threw Cole out of my house, it made him realize that something was wrong with him. He talked to the doctor, the doctor changed his medication, and now maybe he’ll be getting back to his old self. You have to forgive him, Mother. He couldn’t help what the medication did to him. Give him one more chance.”
“I don’t think I can,” she replied.
“You have the kindest and most forgiving heart of anyone in the world. I know you can do this. Give him a second chance. Aren’t you the one who’s always talking about forgiveness? It’s time to put that belief into action. Give Cole another chance. I think Claire really loves him.”
“Okay, I’ll do what you ask. But if he proves to be a liar, I’m finished with him.”
“I don’t think you’ll regret your decision.”
She immediately turned around and went back to Claire. She pulled the curtain back and said, “I’m going to give you another chance Cole, but if you hurt my daughter, I’m going to tell Billy and he’ll kick your butt!” She pulled the curtain back, closing it, and then turned to me and said, “Where’s that coffee machine?”
“You are truly an amazing woman.”
“She most certainly is,” Abby said. “Hi, Minnie.” Abby stuck out her hand and shook Mom’s. “This is my sister, Isabel, and my son, Randy.”
My heart sunk at the sight of Randy. He’s a great person and I think he’d developed a fondness for Claire, and if so, he was about to get hurt.
“I’m so glad you all came,” I said as I hugged each one of them. Why don’t we go to the waiting room until they’re finished in there?” I ushered everyone out as Mom gave me one of her strange looks, yet obeyed without questioning my actions. We ran into Frank on our way, and he was carrying my purse.
“Here, take this thing,” he said, handing me the purse. “You can’t imagine the funny looks I’ve been getting!”
“Thanks, Frank. I appreciate it. You’re such a wonderful man.” I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. He blushed.
Needless to say, everyone was floored. Abby almost choked; Isabel laughed out loud; Randy stepped back with a surprised look on his face, and Mom turned to me in horror.
“Isn’t he that mean old detective who was after Billy?”
“He was just doing his job, Mom.”
“What’s happened to you since yesterday?” Mom asked me. “Have you been smoking that pot again?”
“Don’t be silly, Mom. I haven’t smoked pot in almost two days.”
Mom looked furious; Frank did that eyebrow thing; and Isabel and Randy were in a state of shock until Abby grabbed me by the arm and said to them, “She’s just jerking you guys around. Jesse would never smoke pot; she’s going to have a baby. Can’t you all tell that she’s kidding? I’m not even her mother, but I can tell. She’s a real trip. This girl is a character. I adore her!”
“I do, too,” Billy said as he came around the corner. He grabbed me up and planted a big kiss on the lips. He held onto to me and I hugged him back. I was so glad to be in his arms where I belonged!
“Where have you been? I was just about to call you.”
“I’ve been busy, but when I called the house and my mom told me what happened, I came right over. Is Claire going to be all right? I bet that was scary for both of you.”
“It sure was,” I said. “I thought I was going to flip out. Sherry Lane would’ve killed Claire if she’d had the chance. But I, with the help of a young man at the Miller Mart, stopped her. Frank had his men watching us and that’s why the cops and the ambulance got to the scene so fast.”
“Frank? You’re on a first name basis with this guy?”
“He’s not so bad after all, Billy.” I winked at Frank. “He just needed a friend like me to bring the best out in him.”
“That does it,” Frank said. “You’ve embarrassed me enough for one day. It was bad enough that I carried your purse into the hospital and had all those people stare at me, but I have to draw the line somewhere. I’m finished. I’ll be at the front desk if anyone needs me. I still have a job to do.”
“Excuse me,” I said to the others and then ran after the detective. When I caught up with him, I managed to get him to stop and listen to me. “I’m sorry, Frank. I didn’t realize I was being such a brat. Will you forgive me if I promise to be better?”
“You’re such a liar.”
“I can’t help myself.”
He smiled and leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. “If you tell a soul I did that, I’ll tell them you have mental problems and that you live in a fantasy world.”
“It’s a deal.”
He shook his head as he walked away.
As I went back down the hall and turned the corner, Mom was telling Billy about Cole and Claire.
“It seems that Cole has been cured of his woman-beating days over night, and he’s back with Claire. He said his medicine made him do it.”
“It can happen,” Abby said to Mom. “The doctors had me on this hormone pill once, and it turned me into a real… well, let’s just say I wasn’t a very nice person while I was taking it, but after I stopped, I went back to my old self.”
“Yeah, and I don’t know which was worse—Abby on pills, or Abby off pills.” Isabel looked at us and laughed.
I wasn’t paying much attention to their banter; instead, I was watching Randy. The dejected look on his face when he found out about Claire and Cole tore at my heart, but I had to put Claire first. She was flattered by Randy, but it was Cole she wanted.
“Mom, you promised you’d give Cole a chance to make up for his bad behavior,” I said. “How can you do that if you’re going to have s
uch a negative attitude?”
“I don’t know. I just can’t believe he’s telling the truth. People don’t change over night. It seems to me that you were the one who said that once a man hits a woman, it doesn’t stop there. Have you changed your mind about that?”
“I’ve discovered that sometimes when a person does something that’s so out of character, there has to be a reason. Cole has never been the kind of man to hit a woman. Billy told me that a while back. After listening to Cole, I believe the medication he was taking changed his personality. I say we stand back, keep our eyes open and give him another chance. Claire’s going to, so we might as well get on the bandwagon unless we want to alienate her.”
“Jesse does have a point,” Billy agreed.
Frank walked up to the group with a distressed look on his face. “We have a real problem,” he said. “Sherry Lane is out of surgery, but she’s in a coma. They don’t expect her to live.”
CHAPTER 21
We were all surprised at Frank’s statement. I don’t think anyone of us who had come in contact with, or knew of her, cared whether or not she lived. She had proven to be a killer and was a menace and a danger to society. She deserved what she got.
“I’m afraid I’m not going to lose any sleep over her. She killed two people and would’ve killed my sister if I hadn’t run her off the road.”
“You didn’t tell me you ran her off the road,” Frank said, surprised.
“How did you think I stopped her… by using harsh language?”
“I thought she ran off the road because she lost control of the car. The roads were bad and I just assumed…”
“I bumped her in the rear end a couple of times and then she lost control of the car. I had to do something to stop her, Frank. I couldn’t get in front of her to slow her down, so I did the next best thing—I bumped her in the rear end. She abducted Claire and was going to kill her. The woman was crazy with jealousy over Claire. She wanted my sister out of Carl’s life and when she couldn’t have that, she became filled with rage. Carl told Claire that Sherry had threatened to harm her and the kids more that once. She said she would cut off his wife’s finger and mail it to him at work if he didn’t stay away from Claire. Now what kind of person does that? She’s sick in the head and she got what she deserved. What would you have done, Frank, if you were in my shoes?”
“I would’ve done the same thing, but I’m a cop. I was after a suspect in two homicides. You ran a woman off the road. I just hope this doesn’t come back to haunt you. If she dies as a direct result of being deliberately run off the road by you, there’s a chance they could charge you with homicide, whether it was intentional or accidental.”
“So it’s okay for you to do it because you have a badge, but it’s not okay for me? Bring it on! I can handle it. I refuse to be intimidated for saving my sister’s life. I call it justifiable.”
Abby walked over to me, put her hand on my shoulder and said, “I told you she was strong, Frank. I admire a person who isn’t afraid to stand up for what’s right, even if it means that person might get into trouble. If the cops try to arrest you, Jesse, they’ll have to contend with me. Frank’s just flexing his muscle. He knows they’re not going to arrest you for doing their job. All he has to do is say it was a terrible accident, that it couldn’t be avoided. He wants you to be beholden to him.”
“That’s not true, Jesse.” He looked at Abby with disgust. “There you go again, Abby, sticking your nose in where it doesn’t belong,” Frank said. “Jesse doesn’t need your help.”
“I do owe Frank,” I said to Abby. “He was right there when we needed him.”
“I’m impressed, Frank,” Abby said. “I think Jesse has made a positive impact on you. You’re not such a jerk anymore.”
“Thanks, Abby,” Frank responded, snidely. “You just don’t know how much it means to me to have your approval on anything.”
“Is there really going to be a problem, Frank?” I asked. “If she dies, am I going to be blamed?”
“I’ll turn in my report and everything should be all right,” he said. “Sherry Lane is a bad woman. I doubt if she’ll die. Only the good die young. Isn’t that what they say?”
“Now I have something else to worry about,” I said, upset.
“We need to talk,” Frank said as he took me by the arm and led me away. “Please excuse us, Let’s get some coffee.”
“What is it Frank?” I asked as he dropped coins into the machine.
“I wish you hadn’t told me that you ran her off the road.”
“Why? What difference would it have made?”
“If you’d just said she lost control of the car, I’d let it go at that. I wish we’d talked about this in private before you said anything in front of everyone. We could have nipped this in the bud.”
“Are you saying you’d cover for me, Frank?”
“You’re not responsible, so I don’t consider that covering for someone. It’s all in how you present your evidence. Wait a minute, you didn’t have your lawyer present, and so I should’ve never interrogated you. If you want to recant your statement, just say so.”
“I want to recant my statement.”
“When asked about how this happened, just say she ran off the road and lost control of the car. The road was icy and you had a hard time handling your car, too. Don’t give any additional information if they don’t ask for it. If they ask you if you hit her, then you have to tell the truth. As it is now, all I can say is that you were trying to catch up to them when Sherry Lane ran off the road.”
“What happens if she does recover and says that I tried to kill her?”
“She has so many charges pending; I doubt very seriously that anyone will pay attention to the ranting of a murderous, maniac. The police want her in jail and if the forensic evidence proves that she killed Ophelia Pitman and Kayla Wilkes, she might get the needle. Both women had their heads bashed in and then they were both strangled. Both were vicious, gruesome murders. They’ll go for the death penalty on this one.”
“Do you think Carl had anything to do with either one of the murders?”
“I just don’t know. I haven’t had a chance to go over the forensic reports. I’ve been too busy trying to save your butt.”
“Why are you helping me?”
“I made a mistake a long time ago in a case just like this one. I refuse to let it happen again.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No, not now, but maybe someday when I’m old and decrepit, I will.”
“I appreciate your advice, and your help.”
“Don’t ever lie to me.”
“I won’t.”
“You won’t do what?” Billy asked as he walked into the snack room. “You’d had my `ge ya long enough, detective. I haven’t seen her since yesterday morning and I want her back.” Billy put his arm around me and smiled back at Frank. He looked at me and said, “I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but I’m sure glad you’re home, Jesse, and I appreciate it that you looked after her, detective.”
“Call me, Frank,” he said to Billy. “Also, I want to apologize for being such a gung-ho cop at your house that night. I let my imagination run away from me. I’ve dealt with the worst kind of criminals on the face of this earth and it tends to make a person hard. I forget that not all people are criminals. There’re still a few good ones out there. I’ll try to keep that in mind from now on. Jesse taught me that lesson.”
“My `ge ya is a fine woman and will give me a fine warrior soon.” Billy’s pride was written all over his face. “I just need to keep her home and out of trouble until that happens. Unfortunately, she won’t listen to me.”
“I’m afraid your wife has a mind of her own and she’s stubborn.”
“Yes, she is.”
Mom and her merry band of cohorts rushed into the snack room. “That woman just came out of her coma, detective. I think they want you in there.”
As if on c
ue, we heard Frank’s name being summoned over the public address system. He was told to report to the trauma unit. He excused himself, turned and then walked out of the room. We all stood and stared at each other for a second and then we took off behind him. He was allowed through a set of double doors, but we were told that we couldn’t enter.
“I’m sorry, but this area is off-limits. You’ll have to wait in the waiting room,” the doctor said. He must have been a doctor because he had a surgical mask pulled down around his neck, and blood on the front of his hospital scrubs.
The six of us backed off, turned and then slowly headed back in the direction of Claire’s examination area.
“I guess Sarah’s watching the kids, huh?” I said to Mom.
“She said, ‘We’re family!’ and insisted on staying with the kids,” Mom replied, half-heartedly, her mind obviously somewhere else. “She has the chief. He’s there helping her.”
Abby and Isabel, each on either side of Mom, walked with her, trying to lend their support. “You daughter is going to be fine, so don’t worry, Minnie,” Abby said. “We’ll be right here beside you all the way.”
“We most certainly will,” Isabel added.
Randy, Billy and I hung back as they walked ahead of us.
“I’d say this has been a pretty rotten day all around,” Randy said. “I didn’t know there was a man in Claire’s life.” He looked at me. “I guess you think I’m crazy.”
“I think you fell in love with my sister the minute you laid eyes on her. I saw it, and so did everybody else in the room… even Claire.”
“Actually, that’s not the first time I’d seen Claire, but yesterday was the first time I’ve ever had a chance to look into her eyes up close, and it was chemistry. My heart fell right out on the floor at her feet. I’m a goner.”
“Don’t give up so easily, Randy. Her relationship with Cole is on shaky ground. I just don’t see wedding bells in their future.”
“Don’t tell me we’re back to that,” Billy said. “If Claire marries…”