by Alex Riordan
When Jessie wrapped her in her arms, relief flooded her system and she began to cry. “Jessie…” she breathed out, her voice ragged and torn.
Jessie closed her eyes in relief as she wrapped her arms around Stephanie. “Shh, I’ve got you now, Steph. I’ve got you now.” She held the woman with one arm, and with the other she stroked her head soothingly, trying to calm her down.
At that moment, the police entered the room, guns drawn. Turning her attention to them momentarily, Jessie said, “Easy guys, he’s over there, on the floor.” She smiled darkly as she noticed Bob was still moaning on the floor, holding his arm.
As two of the officers took charge of Bob, another one came over to talk to Stephanie. “Hang on a minute,” Jessie said to the female officer. At their entrance, she had placed her body between Stephanie and the officers to give her some privacy. “Let me help her get decent, first.” The officer nodded in understanding and waited as Jessie helped Stephanie pull the robe around her once more. Then, tying the belt for her, she stroked her cheek and smiled sadly at her. “I’ll be right here,” she whispered.
The officer who questioned Stephanie was, sadly, used to dealing with rape cases. Kindly, she suggested that they remove themselves from the room as the EMT’s, which had just arrived on the scene, were working on Bob’s shoulder and broken ribs. Jessie, grateful for the suggestion, leaned over and gathered Stephanie in her arms. “Let me carry you, Steph. I don’t want you over extending yourself until we get you checked out.”
Stephanie smiled at her and nodded, grateful that Jessie made the offer. She really didn’t think her legs would hold her weight right now. But she wondered how Jessie was going to be able to carry her? Surprisingly, Jessie managed to lift her and cradle her in her arms with relative ease. Leaning into Jessie’s shoulder as she carried her out to the living room, she whispered a soft, “Thank you, Jessie.”
Smiling at the redhead, Jessie deposited her on the couch gently. An EMT came over and immediately set about cleaning up her wounds, giving her an ice pack for her lip and bandaging the gash on her head.
The officer assigned to interview Stephanie took her statement as the EMT cleaned her up. Carefully and methodically questioning her about the attack, she finished quickly.
From the other room, they could hear Bob yelling and screaming, blaming Jessie for everything. As the EMT’s carted him out on a gurney, he kept yelling. “This is all your fault, you bitch! You’ll pay for this! See what Mr. Mason thinks of his precious Jessie Drake when he finds out what you’ve been doing!”
Finally, mercifully, they wheeled him out of the room and toward a waiting ambulance. Once he was gone, Theresa threw Jessie a look of warning. Jessie, catching it, nodded. She and Theresa would need to talk before Mr. Mason found out what happened.
Clearing his throat, one of the EMT’s said to the police officer, “If you’re done, Ma’am? We really do need to transport her now.”
The police officer nodded and stepped away, allowing the men to help Stephanie onto the waiting gurney. When they were satisfied that she was comfortable and secure, they began to roll her out of the suite. She stopped them, however. “Wait,” she said quietly. “Jessie? I want you to go with me.”
“We’re not supposed to…” one of the EMT’s began to protest, but Theresa stepped in smoothly.
Pulling him aside, Theresa said, “Do you know who she is?” indicating Stephanie. At his shy nod, she went on. “Then I’m sure you can appreciate how important it is to maintain discretion with this situation. Ms. Drake is her attorney. I’m sure you can understand?” She stopped talking and smiled charmingly at him.
After a slight moment of hesitation, he nodded. “Well…okay.”
Jessie smiled and squeezed Stephanie’s hand. Leaning down, she whispered into the redhead’s ear, “Now you see why I say she runs the office.” Straightening up, she followed along behind as the EMT’s moved her to the waiting freight elevator. Jessie smiled over at Theresa, realizing that the blond had also managed to arrange this to maintain Stephanie’s privacy.
Arriving at the ambulance, Theresa pulled Jessie aside as Stephanie was loaded. “Jess, I’ll take the car and meet you at the hospital. I’ll also call Mr. Mason and inform him about what’s happened. Before he gets there, we need to decide what to tell him.”
“I know,” Jessie said matter-of-factly. “He’ll flip if he thinks Stephanie and I have been sleeping together. Bob and his psycho bullshit could ruin everything.”
“We’ll work it out, Jess,” Theresa said, hugging her. “Go on, they’re ready to leave. I’ll see you there.”
Jessie thanked her and climbed aboard the ambulance. Taking a seat beside Stephanie, she was quiet during the trip, watching the redhead watch her. Stephanie was being incredibly brave about the whole thing, to Jessie’s mind. She was just waiting for the redhead to break down. Since crying when Jessie first untied her, she hadn’t shed another tear. It worried Jessie just a little, thinking she may be in shock.
Ten minutes later, the ambulance pulled into the emergency bay of Franklin County Memorial Hospital. Never leaving Stephanie’s side, Jessie followed as they took her to a private emergency room. A doctor followed them in, shutting the door behind her as the EMT’s left the room.
Addressing Stephanie, the doctor smiled kindly, putting them both at ease and said, “Ms. Winters, I’m Dr. Pierce and I’ll be taking care of you this evening.” Not waiting for a reply, she set to work, examining Stephanie’s wounds. It only took a few minutes, and she was finished. Leaning back in her chair, she smiled and said, “Well, these aren’t too worrisome. The lip will heal in a few days. I’ll give you something to keep it moist so it doesn’t keep cracking open. The wound on your head isn’t bad, either. The boys did a fine job cleaning it out. It’s already stopped bleeding, so I think some antibiotics should be all you’ll need. Now,” she hesitated, clearly not wanting to bring up the attack. “I’m afraid I’ll have to get a rape kit for you, Ms. Winters.”
Jessie watched Stephanie carefully for a reaction, but the redhead did nothing but close her eyes and take a deep breath before nodding her assent. Not wanting to interfere with something if it was important, she still didn‘t see the need for the exam. After all, Bob didn't actually rape Stephanie. Making up her mind, Jessie cleared her throat and said, “Umm, Dr. Pierce? Could I speak to you outside for a moment, please?”
“Certainly,” the doctor said, getting up and ushering Jessie out into the corridor. “What can I do for you Ms…?”
“Jessie Drake,” she answered. “I’m Ms. Winters’ attorney.”
“Ms. Drake, what can I do for you?” Dr. Pierce asked.
“Well, I was wondering if a rape kit is necessary. I mean, he didn’t actually rape her. He was still dressed when we caught him,” Jessie said, plainly not wanting Stephanie to re-live the experience.
Dr. Pierce nodded in understanding, wondering as she did, what kind of attorney dressed in jeans and a t-shirt? And, why did she need to explain this to Ms. Drake? Still, taking a deep breath, she explained as gently as she could. “Ms. Drake, please understand…Even if he didn’t actually rape her, a thorough examination could turn up DNA evidence that would otherwise be missed. As an attorney, I’d think you would want this? I promise, I’ll be as gentle as I can,” she said, patting Jessie on the hand.
Reluctantly, Jessie said, “Well…okay. If you feel it’s necessary. I do understand, it’s just…”
“Trust me, Ms. Drake. I do,” Dr. Pierce said. “Now, you go on in there and stay with her and I’ll be right back.”
Jessie nodded and returned to the room. She knew she shouldn’t question the doctor like that. She probably hadn’t come off looking very professional to Dr. Pierce. Still, Stephanie was her main concern. “Hey,” she said, walking over and taking Stephanie’s hand. “Just a little longer and we can get out of here.” When Stephanie squeezed her hand but otherwise made no response, she said, “I’m right here, Steph. I�
�m not going anywhere.”
Before the redhead could respond, Dr. Pierce returned with a nurse. As she prepared to do the exam, Stephanie pulled Jessie down to her and quietly asked, “Jessie? Would you…?”
“What, Steph? Anything you want,” Jessie said in answer.
Licking her lips, Stephanie said, “Would you…sing something? It’ll help.”
Smiling sadly, Jessie nodded. “Of course. Anything in particular?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Stephanie whispered, her lower lip trembling slightly. “I just need to hear your voice.”
Jessie nodded in understanding. “Sure, Sweetheart.” Then, sitting next to her, Jessie began to sing ‘Crazy For You,’ by Madonna, softly into her ear as the doctor worked.
Once the doctor was finished with her exam, she sent the nurse out of the room. “Well, Ms. Winters, we’re all finished. I’ve sent the nurse out to bring you something to change into. There’s a shower right through that door. As soon as she returns, you can go clean up.”
Stephanie nodded. “Thank you, Dr. Pierce.”
Patting her on the arm, Dr. Pierce responded, “You’re welcome, dear.” Addressing them both, she said, “You two should go home and get some rest. Ms. Winters, I’ll have your prescriptions ready for you down at the pharmacy. Ms. Drake can pick them up for you while you get ready.”
The nurse returned then bearing a set of scrubs for Stephanie to change into and some clean towels. After the doctor left, Jessie said, “Well, I’ll go out and wait for you with Theresa. We’ll go down and pick up your prescriptions and be back here in just a few minutes.”
“Okay,” Stephanie said, squeezing her hand once again. Allowing Jessie to help her down off the exam table, she grabbed the pile of clothes and towels and headed for the shower. After watching her close the door to the bathroom, Jessie left the exam room to find Theresa.
She spotted the blond sitting in a chair talking on her cell phone. “Hey, T,” she said tiredly, walking up and taking a seat next to her.
Hanging up the phone, Theresa looked over and asked, “How’s she doing?”
Jessie shrugged. “Okay, I guess. They did a rape kit on her, Theresa. I was hoping they wouldn’t, but the doctor said it would be best in case there’s DNA evidence.”
“She’s right, Jessie. Even catching him the way we did…without DNA, it’s just our word against his,” Theresa said, matter-of-factly. She had reason to know, too. Her younger sister had been raped years before by an ex-boyfriend. It had taken DNA evidence and a surprise videotape to prove her case against him.
“I know, I just didn’t want her to go through that. It’s humiliating,” Jessie said, sniffing back a tear.
Just then, Mr. Mason came rushing into the waiting room. “Jessie, Theresa, can you tell me what happened?”
“Mr. Mason,” Jessie said, standing up.
“Sit down, Jessie. Sit down,” he said kindly, motioning for her to take a chair. “How’s Ms. Winters?”
“She’s doing okay, Sir. We caught him before he could…well, you know,” Jessie said.
He nodded in understanding. “Well, that’s good. By the way, how did you manage to catch him?” he asked.
Jessie and Theresa launched into the story, telling him everything they could. They did however, leave out the part where Jessie had been sleeping there. If he asked, they had an answer for him, but they weren’t volunteering anything if they didn’t have to.
“Well, thank goodness the two of you showed up when you did. I’ll have her things transferred to a different hotel first thing tomorrow morning,” he said, as he finished writing some notes on a legal pad.
“Actually Mr. Mason,” Theresa cut in smoothly, “I have a guest room that Ms. Winters is more than welcome to stay in, if you don’t mind?”
“Are you sure, Theresa? I wouldn’t want you to be put out?” Mr. Mason said.
“Of course I’m sure, Mr. Mason. There’s more than enough room, and Ms. Winters has become something of a friend during her stay here. I’d be honored to have her as a guest,” Theresa answered.
“Well then, if it’s okay with Ms. Winters, I guess that’s settled,” he said, happy that his lead actress was going to be taken care of. He knew there was a reason he’d entrusted her to Jessie and, by extension, Theresa. As he sat with Theresa, Jessie got up and went down to the pharmacy to pick up the redhead’s prescriptions. By the time she returned ten minutes later, Stephanie had joined them and Mr. Mason was sitting with her, talking quietly.
Finally, after making sure that Stephanie really was all right and apologizing for Bob’s behavior, Mr. Mason left. He told all three of them to take the rest of the week off, and he promised to call to check on Stephanie every day.
Theresa left with Mr. Mason to bring the car around, and ten minutes later found them pulling out of the hospital parking lot. Stephanie and Jessie sat in the backseat of Theresa’s car. Jessie sat with one arm wrapped around Stephanie, her free hand holding both of the redhead’s. As they passed The Hilton, Stephanie began to say something, but Jessie stopped her.
“Theresa already packed a bag for you, Steph. You’re not going back there,” Jessie said.
“Where am I staying, then? And what about…my stuff?” the redhead asked quietly.
“I’ll swing by tomorrow and get the rest. The lead detective let Theresa get some things for you before she left. But…you can’t stay there, it’s a crime scene,” Jessie explained, having a hard time keeping her voice steady. “And…I don’t want you going back there. Theresa has a guest room all ready for you.”
“Why can’t I just go back to your house?” she asked, confused.
At the question, Jessie and Theresa exchanged a look through the rear view mirror. Sighing, Theresa said, “Stephanie, Bob was screaming and yelling about you and Jessie. If he makes those accusations to his lawyer, it could cause trouble. We’re taking you to my house, so we can say there was nothing going on.”
“What kind of trouble could it cause? He had no right to be jealous of my relationship with Jessie,” the redhead said, getting angry.
“You’re right. But…Bob’s lawyer could argue in court that when he found out about the relationship, it pushed him over the edge. It could be the beginning of an insanity plea. Especially if Bob has any kind of mental disorder.”
“He could do that?” She asked incredulously. “After what he did to me?”
They both nodded in unison. “Yep. But…I have a friend in the police department. I’ll call him tomorrow and find out what they find at Bob’s apartment. We’ll find out if he’s been stalking you; taking pictures and stuff like that.”
“You think he did that?” This was starting to really scare Stephanie. None of them had felt that Bob was in any way unstable. And, now that she thought about it, the whole thing reminded her eerily of her recurring nightmares.
Jessie felt her shaking and decided to change the subject. “You know what? I think we should stop talking about this tonight. It’s late and we could all use some rest.”
“You’re right, Jess,” Theresa agreed. “We’ll deal with this tomorrow. In the meantime, we’re here,” she announced, pulling into her driveway. Getting out of the car, she led them into the house.
Once they were inside and the door was locked and the alarm set, Theresa said, “Come on, Stephanie. I’ll show you the guest room.”
“You don’t have to do this, Theresa. I can get a hotel room someplace,” Stephanie protested, clearly not wanting to be a burden. She’d already put them both through so much this evening.
“Stephanie,” Theresa said, stopping and turning to look at her with concern. “You’re staying here. You’re not putting me out. You’re my friend, and I want to do this. That’s what the guest room is for, after all. Besides, there’s plenty of room, and Brian and I would be honored to have you here.”
“Well, if you’re sure?” Stephanie finally agreed. She really was exhausted and she knew she needed to rest. But fi
rst, she wanted to take another shower and get into her own clothes.
“Hey, if I can tolerate a drunken Jessie Drake puking all over my bathroom at four a.m., I can tolerate you,” Theresa said, smiling and taking her hand. Pulling her down the hall, she said, “Come on, you’re going to love the king size bed.”
Smiling at Theresa’s joking manner, Stephanie found her mood lightened just a little. Allowing the blond to lead her on a tour of the house, she was grateful when Theresa finally left her and Jessie in the guest room and headed out to the kitchen. Not sure what to do now that they were alone, Stephanie said quietly, “Jessie, I…I’d really like it if you’d stay with me? I really don’t want to be alone tonight.”