Chapter 27
Sabrina jumped as the gunshot cracked through the kitchen, knocking both Jill and Gary to the floor. Her eyes darted to the window where Kelly was standing, her gun still held out in front of her, a thin wisp of smoke curling up from the tip of the barrel. It had all happened so fast, she felt like her head was spinning. Was it really over? A small part of her refused to believe it.
She looked where the two had fallen, both lying in a slowly expanding pool of blood. The pool reached and then seamlessly merged with Murph's blood creating one single lake of death. Another look back at the window and Kelly was gone.
Jill.
Sabrina forced herself to move.
She holstered her gun, rushed forward and threw herself to her knees beside Jill and Gary. Both their eyes were wide open, Gary's staring straight at her, though the neat round hole between them told her that he could no longer see. Sabrina swallowed hard and looked away. It was over, and now all that remained was assessing the damage.
Being careful not to touch or look at Gary's body, she steeled herself and placed a trembling hand on Jill's forehead. Jill's blue eyes were wide open, her pretty face spattered with Gary's blood. Sabrina felt bile rise up in her throat. There was so much blood and no way to tell who it belonged to. Jill was eerily silent and a horrible thought wrenched Sabrina's stomach. Had she been hit? Had he slit her throat on his way down?
"Jill?" Sabrina called, wiping at her face. To her relief, Jill's eyes swiveled towards her.
"Are you alright?" she asked urgently. But Jill didn't seem to hear, her vacant stare locked on some unknown point of focus directly above her. She wasn't even blinking and Sabrina's stomach gave another lurch, realizing she might be seriously injured or even dying.
"Jill?" Sabrina whispered fearfully. "Honey, can you hear me?" Jill lay still, panting, eyes still fixed on the ceiling
"Is she ok?"
Sabrina jumped, momentarily startled by Kelly bursting in through the back door. "I- I dunno, Kell. She's breathing." she answered her.
"I didn't hit her, I couldn't have." Kelly said quickly. She dropped down on her knees by Jill and Gary's other side.
Sabrina shook her head. "No." she agreed slowly, watching Kelly in wonder. It was always hard gauging what Kelly's reaction would be in any given situation, and though she certainly hadn't expected any over remorseful sorrow or guilt, she had at least expected something. Gary Moore may not have been a pillar of the community, but Kelly seemed completely unaffected by taking his life. Though she he couldn't have fathomed another way for it to happen it was still a bit shocking. Kelly loved her and only seeing the warm, funny, and gentle side of her, it was easy to forget how unemotional and ruthless her best friend could be when provoked.
Kelly's eyes suddenly caught her staring, the same dark, cold look in them. "I wasn't going to let him kill her." she said simply, sensing her friend's unsettled disposition. Sabrina nodded. "I know. Good shot." she replied, and both girls turned their focus back on Jill.
"Jill?" Kelly called. She gently patted her cheek, but Jill still didn't respond. Gary's arm was draped across her neck, lying just as they were standing before he was killed. As if just noticing him for the first time, Kelly scowled and shoved his arm off of her, like it was trash. "Let's get this bastard away from her." she growled.
Sabrina moved to help untangle them and both girls jerked back with alarmed gasps as a bloody cut revealed itself across Jill's throat. Kelly hurriedly clamped a hand over it, her eyes darting up at Sabrina in concern. Sabrina shoved her away to get a better look at the wound. The blood had been startling, but upon further inspection, she realized the cut wasn't deep.
"She's ok, Kell." Sabrina breathed. She took a slow, calming breath and patted Kelly's still tensed shoulder. "She's alright."
Kelly looked up at her. "Are you sure?" she whispered. "That looks-"
"It's not deep enough to kill her, just break the skin." Sabrina explained. The girls dragged Jill to the opposite side of the room and cradled her head in Sabrina's lap. "Jill, honey? Can you hear me?" Sabrina asked gently.
Jill finally responded with a slight nod of her head. Kelly and Sabrina heaved a sigh of relief and rolled her over onto her side. "Just lie still, honey, ok?" Sabrina said calmly, though it seemed unecessary. Jill had yet to move.
"Help me untie her." Sabrina said quietly.
Kelly floundered for a moment and then grabbed up Gary's knife and carefully sawed through the thick ropes around Jill's wrists. Once freed, she tossed away the bits of rope and tried to rub feeling back into her friend's chafed wrists and hands.
"Jill? C'mon let's sit you up." Sabrina said gently, slipping an arm under her shoulders. With Kelly's help, the girls settled her in a sitting position, leaning against Sabrina for support.
"Jill?"Sabrina asked again.
"Wha-?" Jill whimpered pitifully. She looked around the room as if she didn't know where she was or who she was with.
Sabrina cupped her cheek in her hand to get her attention. "Jill? Can you talk to me?"
Jill looked distressed and they quickly realized she wasn't completely aware of her surroundings. "I feel sick." she whispered shakily.
"That's ok, honey." Kelly soothed. "Let's just ge- Jill?"
Before she had finished her sentence, Jill went limp and slumped over against Sabrina's chest, unconscious.
"Bri, what's wrong?" Kelly cried in alarm.
"She blacked out." Sabrina said quickly, carefully lowering Jill back into her lap. "Sometimes adrenaline will overload your system."
Accepting Sabrina's explanation but not totally understanding it, Kelly turned her attention back to Jill. Sabrina was busy trying to shake her awake, so Kelly climbed to her feet, stepped over Gary's body and began rooting noisily through the kitchen drawers. After a moment, the faucet turned on briefly and Kelly returned with a clean, damp kitchen towel to clean the blood and sweat from Jill's face and neck.
The cool water also had reviving qualities. After some encouragement, Jill moaned softly and her eyelids fluttered open, the dazed look gone from her eyes. She was alert now. "Bri? Kelly?" she whimpered.
"Yeah, Jill." Kelly whispered. "Take it easy. He's gone."
"Kris?"
Sabrina stroked her hair soothingly. "She's in the car."
Jill nodded her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Gary's lifeless body, his eyes still open, glassy and unseeing. Brian was lying close by, but she couldn't bear to turn her head that way. Sudden nausea came over her and she began to tremble violently, unable to fight off the overwhelming waves of hysteria crashing all around her.
"Oh God." she choked. She crawled up into Sabrina's lap, buried her head in her shoulder and began to cry, desperately clutching her friend as close as she could. Sabrina and Kelly shared a worried look and moved to calm her down. Jill was sobbing now, racking her entire body and soaking through Sabrina's shirt, clinging tightly as if by letting go she would undo everything her friends had done.
"It's ok, sweetheart." Sabrina murmured softly, rubbing her back. "Shhh, It's alright, sweet Jill."
"Out." Jill choked suddenly from Sabrina's shoulder. "I want to get out of here. Please, right now."
"Ok, ok." Sabrina responded. "Let's go. Can you stand up?"
Jill quickly clambered to her feet, ignoring any pain her knee and leg were giving her and began pushing against Sabrina, toward the back door.
"Hey, easy!" Sabrina cried, startled by her urgency. "This way." Jill stumbled, but continued struggling unfazed. The girls tried again to lead her towards the front door, but Jill shook her head vehemently and again pushed forward desperately, still holding Sabrina tightly, as if she was her last lifeline to sanity. "I don't want Kris to see me." she managed through her tears. "Back door. Please, Sabrina, I just want to get out of here. Please, please, please get me out."
Concerned by their friend's uncharacteristic hysterical state, Sabrina and Kelly obliged her. With Sabrina holding the damp towel over Jill's eyes to block out the nightmare inducing sight of the kitchen, the two led her around the dead men and out the back screen door. Once out into the warm afternoon sunshine of Emmitt's backyard, they lowered her onto the soft green grass and huddled close. Jill was trembling, crying, gasping for breath, but bravely trying to calm herself down. She fought hard to control her breathing and racing heart, her two friends helping her as best as they could, whispering soothing words of encouragement. After a few minutes, Jill's breathing had calmed, her adrenaline had returned to normal, and her hold on Sabrina had relaxed.
Sabrina took the chance to pry herself away, though Jill seemed visibly upset by letting her go. She gave her another hug and leaned forward towards Kelly. "Kris is probably going nuts. Take care of her, she's in shock." she whispered discreetly in Kelly's ear.
Kelly nodded. Sabrina released Jill and raised her voice so that she could now hear. "I'm gonna go tell Kris you're ok." she said, smoothing back Jill's hair. "Paramedics will be here soon, alright?"
"Yeah." Jill murmured weakly, reluctantly letting go of her arm. "Sorry. I'm sorry. I-"
"It's ok." Sabrina cut her off. She kissed the top of her head and then stood up and hurried away. Kelly watched her jog across the lawn and out the open gate, her clothes visibly crumpled where Jill had been tightly squeezing the fabric in her hands. She turned back to friend and still trembling and needy, Jill turned her clinging to her.
Kelly settled her comfortably in her lap and stroked her hair. "Talk to me, Jill." she whispered, hoping to distract her. "Tell me about baseball, ok?"
"You hate baseball." Jill murmured back.
"No I don't. Baseball is my favorite." Kelly insisted. "Tell me about the Ram's starting lineup."
Jill smiled. "The Rams are a football team, dummy."
Kelly tilted her head in wonder. "Oh yeah. Well, then tell me about the Rams."
Jill let out a soft giggle and, until the paramedics wheeled her away, quietly rattled off random statistics and facts about her favorite players while Kelly nodded her head in false understanding.
"How is she?"
At Kris's impatient question, Kelly turned her head and watched Sabrina enter the living room from Jill's bedroom.
"Sleeping." Sabrina answered. She sank down on the couch next to Kelly and heaved a sigh. "Finally."
"Did she tell you what happened?" Kris asked.
Sabrina frowned. "No. Says she doesn't want to talk about it."
Kelly shook her head. She caught Sabrina's eyes and her friend nodded and looked away. They would both talk to Jill later, she wasn't one to bottle anything up.
"She'll feel better tomorrow when she wakes up." Sabrina answered.
"She'll be sore tomorrow when she wakes up." Kelly added bitterly. Sabrina looked at her and sighed. Though it wouldn't be immediatly obvious to anyone else, Kelly was still very much on edge, growing angrier and angrier about Jill's ordeal even though she had been safe in bed for an hour. There was no doubt in Sabrina's mind that if given the opportunity to kill Gary Moore again, Kelly wouldn't hesitate to take it. What would her friend have done if her bullet hadn't killed Gary instantly? Sabrina frowned, the thought unsettling her and forced herself to drop it. What was done was done and there was no point dwelling on it. Jill was alive, Kelly would calm down, and everything would return to normal soon.
"She'll be fine, Kell." Sabrina said wearily, patting her knee. Kelly didn't respond.
Oblivious to her friend's conversation, Kris sighed and rubbed her tired eyes. Once again, dawn was approaching without them having slept at all and it had happened so many times this week that, as ridiculous as it was, it felt normal. The past several hours had been a blur. The fear, the dread, the worry, the relief, the worry again. Would it ever end?
She remembered seeing Sabrina jogging toward the car and not seeing Kelly or Jill with her, had assumed the worst. But Sabrina had reassured her immediately, though the fact that she had been kept from running out to see her sister had been frightening. And when she saw the paramedics lead Jill out, she couldn't understand why they had. Aside from several nasty cuts and bruises and being badly shaken up, Jill was alright.
She was able to see her at the hospital, but she hadn't had much time alone with her. Jill was treated and released and from there they had all gone through a marathon of questions and interviews with the police. When they had finally been permitted to leave, her head felt like it would float away, she was so tired. Seeing that it was nearly four in the morning was a surprise, though it shouldn't have been.
And now they were back at Jill's house, Laura was at the police station, and Bosely's Thunderbird, forgotten in all the excitement, was parked on the curb.
Kris looked over at Kelly and Sabrina. They looked tired. The long, stressful day had caught up with everyone and they all needed sleep. And, truthfully, this was the first night in a long time that they would be able to do it safely without fear of being attacked. Kris was more than ready to give it a try.
The girls sat quietly, the atmosphere of the room suddenly awkward. It was time for bed and who would bring it up first.
"Why don't you two crash here tonight?" Kris offered, standing up to signify much desired bedtime. "Your places are wrecked anyway."
Sabrina smiled her gratitude. "Thanks, Kris."
She leaned her head back on the couch, closed her eyes, and probably would have fallen asleep right there had Kelly not stood up and pulled her to her feet.
"C'mon, you'll be less grumpy in the morning if you sleep in a bed." she teased, producing an actual smile.
Sabrina hesitated a moment, reminded herself that Kelly was harmless, and then smiled back. The girls bid each other goodnight and then drifted sleepily toward their separate rooms.
Kris quietly crept into Jill's bedroom, changed clothes, and then carefully crawled into the bed. Though she was trying her best to be quiet, the bedsprings squeaked under her weight, and Jill let out a sleepy moan. Kris froze for a few seconds, still on her hands and knees on the bed, to make sure she hadn't woken her sister. When Jill's only further response was deep, steady, breathing, Kris relaxed and settled herself under the covers next to her, pleased with her stealth.
She always had been the sneakier of the two.
"Bri?" Jill mumbled sleepily, rolling over to face her.
Damn.
"Hey, it's me. I'm sorry I woke you up." Kris whispered guiltily, smoothing back Jill's hair. "Go back to sleep, honey, c'mon."
It had been so diffcult getting her to sleep after coming home from the hospital, despite the dose of Valium she had been given. Closing her eyes seemed frightening to her and Kris could imagine what her sister saw everytime she did. Sabrina had finally sat next to her until she drifted off into a much needed sleep that had just been disturbed. But she didn't seem fully awake and Kris hoped she would settle back down.
Instead, Jill sat up in bed and leaned back against the headboard rubbing her eyes.
Cursing herself for waking her, Kris propped herself up on her elbow and watched her with concern. "Are you ok? What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I'm fine." Jill answered.
"Oh, well go back to sleep." Kris whispered, relaxing slightly. "I didn't mean to wake you up."
Jill shook her head. "No, I'm glad you did. I wanted to talk to you."
"Tomorrow, Jill." Kris replied, pulling her sister into a lying position. Jill complied, laid her head back onto the pillow and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry I punched you." she whispered softly.
Kris chuckled. "You already apologized at the hospital." she answered. "And at the police station, and in the car, and thirty minutes ago."
Jill was still troubled. "Well, I'm sorry." she repeated. "Also, just- you know- just for everything that happened. I know I've said it before, but I'm sorry you got mixed up in all this, and I'm sorry you got hurt-"
"Jill-"
"-and I'm sorry you had to worry about me." Jill finished. She smiled weakly. "This probably wasn't on your agenda for a break from studying."
"It's ok, Jill. I'm just glad you're alive."
"Yeah." Jill answered softly. She closed her eyes again, but opened them a moment later. "What was it you were gonna tell me back at the motel?"
Kris sighed. Jill didn't appear to want to sleep. "Don't worry about it right now. I'll tell you tomorrow." she whispered, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. "You need to rest."
She closed her eyes and relaxed, assuming Jill had done the same until a light poke to her forehead made her eyes snap open in surprise. "Jill-" she started. Jill poked her again. "Jill, go to sleep." Kris sighed. "I'll tell you tomorr-"
Jill poked her again.
Kris huffed and sat up in bed. Forehead poking had been Jill's most obnoxious childhood tool for wearing her down and getting what she wanted. Fifteen years later it hadn't lost its effectiveness.
"Jill-" Kris started, rubbing her forehead in mild irritation. "I really think it should wait until- until you're...better."
Jill sat up, wincing as she did, and clicked on the bedside lamp.
"I'm ok." she said quickly. "Tell me, I don't want to have to worry. Are you in trouble or something?"
Kris nervously rubbed her face. "No, I'm not in trouble- at least, not yet-"
"So tell me."
"Well- I, uh-" Kris stammered evasively. "I thought- I've decided to- Um-"
"Kristine!" Jill snapped sternly.
Kris stopped floundering around and turned herself to face Jill. She had been hoping for a perfect moment. Four in the morning, with Jill beaten and bruised after a traumatizing ordeal most definitely wasn't it. But inappropriate as it was, there was no putting it off.
"Ok." Kris said calmly, bracing herself for the worst. She paused for a second, half expecting yet another distraction and found herself slightly disappointed when it didn't come. Jill was looking at her expectantly so she took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.
"I'm in the police academy."
It took over two seconds for Jill's face to change expression, but when it did it rapidly went through the entire spectrum in another two.
"What?" she sputtered.
"I'm in the police academy." Kris sighed. "I have been since January."
Jill's face suddenly became unreadable. "And school?" she asked quietly.
"I dropped out." Kris admitted.
Jill pursed her lips and, not quite ready to hear her sister's opinion, Kris decided to elaborate.
"School just wasn't for me, Jill. I dropped out after last semester."
Jill remained unmoving. Sighing in exasperation, Kris grabbed her hand and kept going. As much as she had dreaded this conversation, now that she started, it was impossible to stop.
"I wasn't happy in school, I wanted to be doing something else and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to be on the force. I'm really happy in the academy, Jill, I know this is what I want to do, and I know it didn't work out for you and Kelly and Sabrina, but I think its gonna work out really well for me." Out of words, she stopped and waited anxiously for Jill to speak her mind.
Jill bit her lip, still processing, and stared thoughtfully at her little sister."Why didn't you tell me this in January?" she asked quietly.
"I wanted to, Jill-"
"But you didn't."
Kris nervously chewed her lip, unintentionally creating an almost exact mirror of her sister's uncomfortable expression. "I-I wanted to tell you, Jill. I just couldn't ever find the right time."
"January." Jill answered shortly. "That was the right time."
Kris hung her head. She had expected the conversation to go down this road, but actually going through it was much, much worse than she thought it would be.
"And the money you've been putting in my account- I- I- used it to pay for the police academy." she admitted quietly.
The two girls were silent for a few moments and Kris found herself both grateful for the time to think and anxious about the awkward silence.
She looked up at her sister. "Jill, I'm sorry. I'll pay you back."
Jill sighed. "Oh Kris, I don't care about the money. Why didn't you just tell me? Why didn't you talk it over with me first? Didn't I have the right to know what my money was paying for? And it's not even that. I've been calling you and writing you and you've been lying to me that whole time. Why, Kris?"
"Because- because, I don't know, I thought you'd be mad or disappointed or- I don't know, Jill. I'm sorry."
"Kris, why didn't you finish school, you were almost done!" Jill cried. "You're so smart, Kris, with a college education you could do so much more!"
"I don't want to do anything more!" Kris argued back. "I didn't want to be a teacher. You and mom were pushing me to go to college since I was old enough to talk, and I just did it because it would make you happy and because it was what I was supposed to do after high school - but- Jill, that isn't for me."
Jill, clearly frustrated, grabbed her sister's shoulder. "Kris, we pushed you because you were the smart one!"
"Oh Jill, you're smart too-"
"Not like you." Jill cut her off. "I don't understand why you would throw away your education for the police academy!"
Kris glared at her. "You did it. Why was it ok for you?"
Jill sighed. "I wasn't going to college. I already knew that. Mom and Pop already knew that, and do you see me in a blue uniform now?"
Kris lowered her eyes.
"No, because no one takes a woman cop seriously, Kris." she said quietly.
"Things have changed." Kris argued softly.
Jill shook her head. "In two years? Not much."
Kris sighed. "Jill, this is what I really want to do." she said. "I've thought about it so much, and I know I can make it work for me."
Jill was silent for a few seconds as she contemplated her words. Finally, she reached out and took one of her sister's hands. Kris looked their hands. Jill's wrists were rubbed raw and bruised from her kidnapping. The sight made her sick with guilt and she looked back into her eyes and tried to ignore the cuts and bruises she found there as well. This was horrible timing.
"This is what you really want to do?" Jill asked. "You want to be a cop? And all the danger that might go with it? And you won't be happy doing anything else?"
Kris nodded her head. "I really want this, Jill." she whispered.
Another period of tense silence.
"Then why didn't you just tell me?" Jill asked. There was a hint of hurt in her voice that made Kris want to cry. "When have I ever given you reason to hide something like this from me?"
Now, Kris did cry. "You haven't." she sniffed. "I'm sorry. I should have told you."
She wiped her eyes and lowered her head.
Jill watched her silently for awhile before drawing her into a tight hug.
"Kris, if this is what you really want, then I'm going to support you no matter what." she murmured in her ear.
The sudden acceptance surprised Kris and she jerked in Jill's embrace. "What?" she stammered. "You're not mad?"
Jill released her and pulled back. "No, honey. I'm not mad." she laughed. Her face grew serious. "But you should have told me. I could have helped you, given you advice-" she sighed. "No more secrets alright?"
Kris beamed. "No more secrets."
Kris smiled and pulled away, wiping her eyes. "So, are we ok?"
"Yeah." Jill answered, with a soft smile. "Just remember. Don't take any crap from the guys. You gotta stand up for yourself. Don't let anybody push you around!"
Kris nodded her head and smiled. "I won't, Jill. I promise."
Jill smiled and pulled her little sister into another warm hug. "Then congratulations Officer Munroe. I'm proud of you."
"Thanks, Jill." Kris whispered. She could feel the rough scrapes of her sister's cheeks on her own as they hugged and was immediately reminded yet again of Jill's condition.
"You need to rest now." she said quietly as the sisters pulled away. "Go to sleep."
Jill nodded her agreement. "Ok, but I want to hear all about the academy in the morning."
"Deal." Kris answered with a grin. Both girls settled down under the covers, Kris feeling better than she had in months. She gazed sympathetically at her sister and felt guilt tugging at her heart again. Jill had been through something awful and yet still found time to worry about her. Her sister was remarkable.
"Hey, Jill?" Kris whispered hesitantly.
Jill opened alert eyes and stared at her. "Yeah?" she answered back.
Kris bit her lip, wondering how to word her question. "Are you alright?" she settled on. "I mean, really alright?"
Jill shrugged. "Just some cuts and bruises. I'll be ok."
"Liar." Kris said quietly.
Jill sighed and shifted under the covers. "Are you saying I look terrible?" she joked awkwardly.
"You do look terrible." Kris shot back. "But that's not what I'm ta-."
"I know what you're talking about." Jill answered. "I'm fine, Kris. I promise."
She watched Kris's defeated face and couldn't help feeling guilty. She was the older one, it wasn't right to have her little sister worried about her well being. Ever since they were children, she had always sheltered Kris from any pain brought on by their often dysfunctional upbringing, reassured her when things went wrong. Just because they were adults now didn't mean it had to change. Kris needed her to always be strong and reassuring, the rock, the one that took anything life threw at her without batting an eyelash, and even though she certainly didn't feel very strong or brave right now, her little sister didn't need to know that.
But she was helping, whether she knew it or not. Just having someone here with her helped with the anxiety and paranoia she was feeling. Jill scooted a little closer and smiled. "Just stay with me, ok?" she asked.
Kris smiled and patted Jill's head. If this was the only way Jill would let her help, then she would do the best she could. "I will. Go to sleep."
Jill closed her eyes and within a few minutes was sleeping, though by no means was it a peaceful sleep. Her nightmares were frequent, she tossed and turned and cried out in her sleep, but her little sister was there each time to soothe her back into calml dreams. After what would be the last nightmare, Kris closed her eyes and felt herself drifting off. Her sister was finally sleeping peacefully, nestled safely beside her. Jill wouldn't let herself look weak in front of her and there was no way of her remembering this, but that was ok. She didn't need Jill to know she was there for her. As long as she always was.