Chapter 28
Over the next couple of hours, Jack, Rose and Stacey were each interviewed by the police about what they knew about the attack. After they had come back from England, the NYPD had already been notified about the stabbing and had visited Jack's apartment the next day. At the time, Jack had nothing to tell them about who could possibly have done this to him but this time he knew. Rose found herself telling them everything about Cal's visit to her apartment and how she had to go to hospital to get stitches in the back of her head. Calls to the hospital confirmed that the doctor who had treated her had believed she had sustained her injuries through possible domestic abuse. After spending about thirty minutes convincing the detective that Jack hadn't hurt her, he finally started to take in her story about Cal. Luckily though, Rose's statement about Cal's visit had put further leverage to Stacey's claims about Cal being behind Jack's attack. After what seemed like hours, they were all allowed to leave and the police made their way to Cal's apartment.
"I hope this is all over now Jack." Rose sobbed into his shirt as they stood outside the police station.
"It will be. They'll arrest Cal and this will all be finished and we can finally get married." Jack smiled, kissing her hair as he held her close to him.
"Listen guys, I'm so sorry about all this." Stacey stood watching them. Finally she started to realise how much in love these two people were and guilt clouded over her for trying to come between them.
"You should be." Rose snapped, whipping her head around to face her. "If you hadn't have tried to come between us, this might never have happened."
"I know." Stacey admitted, her head dropping. "I promise though, you'll never need to worry about me again. I'll never come between you again. All I want is for Jack to be happy and I thought that I was meant to be the one to do that but I see now I was wrong. He's a million times happier with you than he ever was with me."
Rose tried to stop herself from smiling but she couldn't help herself. She looked from Stacey up to Jack who grinned down at her before kissing her forehead.
"Thanks for doing this Stacey." Jack finally said as he reached out his hand to her. Stacey looked up at him, hesitating for a second before finally stepping forward and taking it. He shook it gently before letting it go and wrapping it back around Rose. He smiled one final time before turning and guiding Rose down the long street. Stacey stood and watched them for a few seconds before finally turning and making her way home.
...
"Hello?" Jack said, reaching the phone as quickly as possible to stop the shrill ringing from waking Rose from her slumber.
"Mr Dawson?" the voice at the other end of the line said.
"Yes?"
"This is Detective Monroe." The man said, causing Jack to suddenly sit down on one of the dining room chairs. He hadn't heard from the police for a few days since they had called to tell him that they had arrested Cal.
"What can I do for you?" Jack asked nervously.
"I'm calling to let you know that Cal Hockley was released this morning without charge." The detective told him matter of factly. Jack's breath caught in his throat as he took in the news.
"He's what? Why?" he demanded.
"He's been ordered not to come within 100 yards of you or Miss Bukater. If he breaks this, call us and we will be able to arrest him again." The detective told him.
"Why have you let him go?" Jack was beginning to raise his voice now, causing Rose to slowly awaken.
"There wasn't enough evidence to hold him Mr Dawson. Apart from all your statements, we had nothing else. There was nothing at the scene to connect him to the crime. We have no record of him even leaving the country." Detective Monroe explained.
"That's impossible." Jack said. "Stacey told you she went with him."
"Yes she did, but we have only found records of her leaving New York. Nothing with Mr Hockley."
Jack felt anger build up inside him as he finally hung up the phone to the Detective. He turned to head into the kitchen when his eyes caught the figure standing in the doorway.
"He's out isn't he?" Rose asked, tears threatening to overflow.
Jack nodded slowly before lifting up a glass from the table and throwing it against the wall with all his strength. He winced as the pain of turning suddenly ripped through his stomach.
"Jack!" Rose ran to him, collapsing on the ground beside him as he fell down. "Jack, please don't do this." She begged, holding her tightly to him. She rocked back and forth whispering to him, trying to calm him down.
...
Jack had finally calmed down and had finally gone to bed later that day. He had been sleeping for hours while Rose sat on the sofa, flicking through the channels on the TV. Yawning, Rose looked up at the clock on the wall and turned off the TV realising it was almost midnight. She stood up and wandered over to the door to check it was locked before making her way through to the bedroom. She smiled as she saw Jack lying on his back with the sheets wrapped tightly around him. His eyes were firmly closed as she began to undress and climb into bed beside him. She wrapped her arm around his stomach and curled into his body, warming up quickly from the heat that was radiating from him. She kissed his chest softly before closing her eyes, allowing herself to fall asleep.
Jack awoke with a jolt sometime later. He glanced over at the clock on the nightstand, squinting his eyes and groaning as he realised it was only just gone 3am. He turned around and smiled as he saw Rose lying with her back to him. Jack leaned across her and lifted his phone from the table and checked it. He had a horrible feeling growing within his gut that something was wrong so he got up and started wandering around the apartment. After looking around, he was happy that everything was secure but he still couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. Unable to put his finger on it, he dragged himself back to bed and crawled in beside Rose, pulling her tight to him.
Around an hour later, Jack was awoken by the sound of the phone ringing. He woke up and glanced at the clock before finally picking up his phone.
"Hello?" He groaned.
"Mr Dawson?" the voice said, quickly.
"Yeah?" Jack yawned, not really paying attention.
"This is Detective Munroe."
Jack's eyes flew open and he sat up in bed. "Yes?"
"I'm afraid I have some bad news." He said.
Jack glanced over at Rose who was still sleeping peacefully beside him. "What's happened?" he whispered.
"We're sending two policemen to your house right now. We believe that you and Miss Bukater are in danger." He told him.
"What? Why? Why would we be in danger?" Jack suddenly felt his heart rate rising and he reached over and rested his hand on Rose's arm.
"We had a phone call about an hour ago. A concerned neighbour of Stacey Marshall. They heard strange noises coming from her apartment so we went over to check it out." The detective started.
"Yes...and?" Jack insisted, knowing her wasn't going to like what he was about to hear.
"We found her in her bedroom. I'm afraid she's dead Mr Dawson."
