Dani was keeping herself busy around the flat, waiting for Jamie to come home. She longed to see Jamie and missed her every second they were apart. That feeling was only intensified now with the stress they were both under. They only really felt safe when they were together.
Dani did some cleaning, as well as their laundry from the weekend. All of their clothes from the trip smelled like campfire. It was almost time for her to start on dinner so it would be ready around the time Jamie got home at 7:00. Dani looked at the clock. It was 6:15. Not much longer now. Dani turned on the TV to help distract herself and set the table. She then started getting everything together to make the tacos, but she would wait until Jamie got home to brown the meat. But mostly, she watched the second hand on the clock, willing it to go faster and bring Jamie home to her.
###
When Jamie opened her eyes, she couldn't tell where she was. She tried to move and realized she couldn't. She was confused and disoriented. Her head was pounding. She was sitting in a chair. She was in the back room of The Leafling. How did she get here? She tried to move her hands and discovered they were tied behind her back. Her feet were bound to the legs of the chair. Her mouth was gagged. Everything hurt. It all came crashing back to her and she remembered what happened. Edmund. She lifted her head up. There he was across the room from her, watching her.
"Ah, welcome back, Jamie. Good of you to join me."
Jamie tried to yell, but she couldn't with her mouth gagged. She struggled, but it was no good. She noticed with some satisfaction that Edmund's face was bloodied. She had gotten a few good hits in, at least. She felt with dismay though her own blood trickling down her face, obscuring her field of vision. She felt like the room was spinning. She blinked back tears and pushed down a wave of fear and nausea that threatened to overtake her. And she thought about Dani. Most of all, she thought about her sweet Dani. Jamie didn't even know what time it was. Had Dani even realized she was missing yet? What would she do? She hoped Dani would not come looking for her. This could only end badly.
Jamie forced herself to look up again at Edmund. He was holding something in his hands. What was it? She blinked a few more times to clear her vision. It was a gun. Not good, Jamie thought dismally. He noticed her looking at it.
"I suppose you're wondering why I haven't used this yet? Why I didn't just shoot you earlier when I had the chance? Could have saved myself some trouble. You see, I can't do that just yet. We're waiting for Danielle to get here first. I want her to be here when I do it."
Jamie's eyes grew wide. He was going to kill her. She had humiliated him and now he was going to kill her. In front of Dani. She prayed that Dani wouldn't come looking for her. Whatever was going to happen to her tonight, she didn't want Dani to have to bear witness to it.
###
Dani was tapping her fingers impatiently on the kitchen counter. It was 6:55. She had hoped that Jamie would be home early, but clearly that was not to be the case. Jamie is probably walking home right now, Dani thought, trying to make herself feel better. Dani's attention was drawn to the envelope of photos still on the counter. She wasn't sure why, but she decided to take them out and look at them again. As she spread them out on the counter, they didn't scare her now like they did the first time. The shock had worn off and she finally studied the photos. It was the first time she really had. As she looked at them, a growing sense of unease started building in Dani.
"Oh my god," Dani said aloud. "No, no, no, no… this can't be."
In every picture, Dani noticed that Jamie was the one in focus. Dani was there in most of the photos, but the images were centered around Jamie; she was the focal point. Dani's hands frantically moved the photos around, trying to confirm her theory. There were some photos of ONLY Jamie. There were no photos of only Dani. Was it possible that Edmund had never been watching Dani? How could Jamie have missed this? Because she was only thinking about me, Dani thought, as guilt tore through her.
Dani looked at the clock. 7:00. She took a deep breath. Don't freak out, she told herself, she'll be here any minute now and we can talk about this together.
Dani thought back to the other incidents that had happened. The phones calls? Only at The Leafling and home— both places Jamie would be. Dani never received one phone call at work. The message on the roof? It was meant for Jamie to find. The flowers were extremely personal to Jamie. The message— she's mine— was for Jamie only. The note in the club? That had been handed to Dani specifically and said "soon." Soon what? Soon Edmund would have her back? And, what was it Edmund said to Jamie in the alley? Not yet. He had said "not yet." He didn't want to confront Jamie yet. He was still toying with her. And, if he hadn't wanted to confront her then, it meant that he intended to another time…
Dani felt like she was emerging from a fog. She suddenly had clarity as the full picture came into view. They had missed it. It had been right in front of them this whole time and they had both missed it. Dani's heart was griped with terror as she let the inescapable truth wash over her. She was never Edmund's target. Jamie was.
###
"You know, I really thought Danielle would have been here by now. Perhaps she doesn't love you the way you think she does."
Jamie just shook her head. She knew Dani would come. And that's exactly what scared her. And she was also so disappointed in herself. She should have seen this coming. She was so worried about Dani that she had overlooked the cruelest way Edmund could hurt her— by hurting Jamie. Jamie hadn't seen it, but she saw it now. The pieces clicked into place in her mind. She felt the full weight of what this night would do to Dani and it broke her. After tonight, Dani would be alone again. And Jamie felt it was her fault. She should have prevented this. Should have been smarter, stronger, something. She hadn't been enough. Would she even get to say goodbye to Dani? Had she told her enough that she loved her? That she was her whole world?
"I bet you're wondering why I'm doing all of this?" Edmund continued.
Because you're a psycho, Jamie thought.
"It's because Danielle just doesn't know what's best for her. I have to help her. You're not good for her. You poisoned her against me. Once you're gone, she'll come back to her senses and come back to me. She doesn't want you. How could she? You are nothing more than an obstacle in my way. An obstacle I intend to eliminate tonight."
Jamie really wished he would shut up.
###
Dani's mind was racing. She didn't want to jump to the worst possible conclusion, but she also just knew in her bones that something was wrong. She looked at the clock. 7:03.
"Ok, think Dani," she said to herself. "Call the Leafling."
She dialed. The line was busy. The line should not be busy. It must be off the hook. Why was it off the hook? Dani had a sinking feeling.
Dani called downstairs to the pub and spoke with Owen, her words coming out in one continuous stream. He hadn't seen Jamie all day.
She was more than officially worried. Dani couldn't stay in the flat one more minute. She had to find Jamie. She grabbed her purse and ran out the door, not even bothering to lock it behind her. She burst out onto the sidewalk and took off running full speed towards The Leafling. She didn't know if Jamie would be there, but it was the first place she was going to look. She prayed that she would run into Jamie on the sidewalk. Jamie would laugh and say she was just running late and not to worry. And Dani would hug her and be so relieved and feel so silly for thinking something was wrong. But, Dani just knew that she wouldn't pass Jamie on the sidewalk. She knew with every fiber of her being that Jamie was in trouble and needed her Poppins.
When Dani arrived at The Leafling she was out of breath. She leaned forward, resting her hands on her knees and took a couple of deep breaths. She noticed the CLOSED sign on the door. Then she peered in through the window. What she saw turned her blood to ice. There were broken flower pots everywhere. One of the shelves had fallen over. There was dirt and glass everywhere. The phone receiver was hanging down off the counter. And there was blood. There was blood on the floor. So much of it. And Dani just knew it was Jamie's.
Dani fumbled in her purse for her key to the Leafling that Jamie had given her months ago. Her hands were shaking and her whole body was trembling, causing her to drop the key on the sidewalk.
"Shit! Shit, shit, shit, shit," Dani just keep saying it until she finally got the key in and turned the lock, opening the front door.
###
Jamie heard the front door open. No, Dani! Don't come in here! Her heart sank. She felt sick with dread.
"Jamie! Jamieeeeeee! Jamie! Baby, where are you?!" Dani was calling for her. She wanted to answer, but she couldn't.
A tear rolled down Jamie's cheek and she hung her head, not wanting Edmund to see. Dani sounded terrified. It broke Jamie's heart. And she knew Dani's heart was about to be broken, too.
###
Dani was frantic. She wanted to find Jamie and she was also terrified to find Jamie. She was calling her name, but Jamie wasn't answering. Dani tried not to think about what had happened here. But she knew that someone had hurt Jamie. Rather, she knew that Edmund had hurt HER Jamie. If something happened to Jamie, she would—
"We're back here, Danielle."
It was Edmund, his voice cold and calculating. Dani set her jaw and walked towards the back room where his voice had come from.
Her eyes found Jamie's as soon as she walked in the room and Dani felt her heart shatter into a million pieces when she saw her.
"Jamie!" She said as she started to run to her. She barely had time to register Jamie shaking her head when Edmund pointed a gun at Jamie.
"Don't come any closer to her!" He shouted. Then his voice became calm again. "Take a few steps back, Danielle, or I will shoot her right now."
Dani stepped back, feeling as though that act itself might kill her. Dani's hands ached to touch Jamie. She wanted to wrap her arms around her and kiss every hurt away. She glanced at Edmund as she stepped back, taking note of the scratch marks and bruises on his face and neck. Jamie had fought him… hard. Just picturing it made her stomach turn. Then her eyes snapped back to Jamie's and she took in the full sight of her. Half of Jamie's face was covered in blood from what looked like a serious head wound. Her breathing was labored. Her hands, legs, and mouth were all bound. Her eyes were wide with terror and tears were streaming down her face. Edmund had a gun pointed at her head. Dani couldn't imagine a worse sight in all the world. Her most important person was staring down the barrel of gun. Dani was consumed with rage. Jamie had been hurt. Really hurt. Because of her. To see her beautiful, strong, loving Jamie like this shattered her.
"Jamie, it's going to be okay," she said to her, not knowing if it was true. "I'm here now," she added gently. Dani wished she had gotten there sooner. How much time had she wasted while Jamie was suffering?
Jamie was trying to tell her something, but it all came out as mumbles and stifled screams. Oh God, Dani hated this. All she wanted was to hear Jamie's voice again.
"It's okay, don't try to talk. I understand, baby. I love you, too."
Jamie kept at it. She was trying to implore Dani to leave. But Dani wouldn't. Dani would never.
"Let her go," Dani said forcefully, turning her attention to Edmund. "I'm here now. You can have me. You can do whatever you want to me. You can kill me. I don't care. Just let her go."
Dani spoke with such resolve that it elicited a stream of muffled screams from Jamie as she thrashed against her bonds. She shook her head frantically.
"Oh, you see, I can't do that, Danielle. You don't understand now, but I'm doing this for us. You'll come to understand one day. Eventually you'll thank me for this."
"There is no us, Eddie! Just please let her go!" Dani was pleading with him now. In a quieter voice, she said, "She's hurt. Please." She spared a glance at Jamie and tried to communicate every ounce of love she had for her with her eyes. "At least let me untie her."
"Don't touch her! Stay where you are, Danielle!"
Eddie got even closer to Jamie, still keeping the gun trained on her head.
"Ok, ok," Dani said, taking a step back and putting her hands up. "What is it that you want? You know you're not getting out of this, Eddie."
"Oh, yes, I am. And so are you. We will leave here together once your little whore here is dead!" He pushed the gun into Jamie's temple. She squeezed her eyes shut. Dani balled her hands into fists, doing everything she could not to move towards Jamie and cause Edmund to pull the trigger.
"Jamie, look at me!" Dani called to her.
Jamie's frightened eyes came up to meet Dani's.
"You just keep looking at me. You're going to be okay. I won't let anything happen to you." Dani's voice was shaking, but she meant every word. She would save Jamie if it was the last thing she did.
"Eddie, I'll do whatever you want, but please don't hurt her," Dani said.
Eddie took Jamie roughly by the chin, forcing her to look at him. "See, I told you. You never had a chance."
"Take your hands off her!" Dani screamed at Eddie, enraged that he would put his hands on her. She couldn't bear the sight of him touching her in any way.
"Fine," he said, letting go. "But go ahead and say your goodbyes." He raised the gun back up to Jamie's temple.
"No! I said I would go with you!"
"She's a loose end, Danielle. And, I can't have loose ends. I need to know you are all mine. I can't let her live. You know that. It's time now."
Eddie's finger moved to the trigger.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Dani screamed.
Jamie closed her eyes. A shot rang out. Jamie screamed, but no sound came out.