As a detective for the SBPD, Lily Penderwick had her drivers license three years before it would normally be legal. It took a whole lot of work to get that license, so Lily took great pride in the precision and of her driving. And that was why when Lily hastily slammed on the breaks in the middle of a backroad, both of her partners cried out with shock and alarm.
"Sweet Lady Justice, Penderwick!" Carlton Lassiter yelled.
"Lily!" burst Juliet O'Hara.
"Sorry, Lily said, but her focus was clearly elsewhere. One hand was unlocking the door to their police issued vehicle, while the other hand was busy grabbing her gun from the console and placing it into the holster on her shoulder. Lassiter and O'Hara seemed to see it at the same moment.
The car, a silver sedan, suspended upside down in the ditch next to the road. Lily threw open the door, and the sound of a child screaming quickly filled the air. Lassiter and O'Hara struggled for a moment to get out of the car, the special bench seat of the car making it more difficult. Nevertheless, they were just a few steps behind Lily as she ran to the ditch.
The driver's window of the sedan had been shattered, making it easier for the detective to do an initial survey of the damage. A young woman was suspended from the driver's seat, her features frozen with fear. Quickly peering to the back seat, Lily saw a screaming toddler boy, and a girl around the age of five, who was crying silently, tears running down her face.
"Little girl! Please call the police, right now! We need help!" the mother cried.
"Ma'am, I am the police," Lily explained calmly, swiftly pulling her badge out of her jacket pocket. Then she turned to her partners. "Carlton, call an ambulance. Jules, get the little boy out of there before he chokes." The two adults nodded at their junior partner, quickly doing as she had instructed. This left Lily to get to work. She did her best to keep her breathing even and her mind clear. You could only help others if you didn't have to worry about helping yourself. Lily kept a calm control over the situation, as if she'd been doing this kind of thing since the day she was born.
"Ma'am, I know this is scary, but I need you to try to remain calm, for the sake of your children and yourself. I promise we will get you out of here, but are you hurt or can I help your daughter first?"
"I'm banged up, but please make sure they're safe first!" the woman said, trembling. She took a shaky breath, squeezing her eyes closed tightly.
"Lassiter, when backup's on the way, assist the mother as quickly as possible!" Lily made sure Juliet was making progress on rescuing the little boy, then hurriedly made her way to the other side of the car. For just a moment, Lily saw Juliet and Carlton exchange a glance. They weren't used to the young teenage detective taking control like this, but it was a shade she wore well.
In the roadside ditch, Lily carefully eased open the door. She quietly cursed the second she looked inside. The little girl and the car were drenched in blood. The little girl's face was deadly pale. Her watery eyes seemed to be staring off into the distance. The only thing Lily could think of was keeping the small girl from going into shock. Or worse.
"Hi!" Lily said, trying to keep her voice as cheerful and relaxed as possible. "My name is Lily, I'm going to get you out of here, okay?" She pulled out her pocket knife, placed a hand gently on the girl's chest. She set to work on the seatbelt. "Can you tell me your name?"
A few seconds passed before the girl answered in a tearful whisper, "Rose."
"Aw, Rose and Lily, like the flowers! Do you like flowers, Rose?" Anything to keep the little girl responsive.
Finally, Lily lifted the little girl gently down into her arms. Rose whimpered in pain. "You're being so, so brave, do you wanna go see your mommy?" Careful not to trip over an debris or broken glass, Lily brought Rose around to where her mom and son were standing, the mother talking to Detective Lassiter. Detective O'Hara was on the phone, talking rapidly but in hushed tones.
"My Rosie!" the mom cried, rushing to Lily and trying to take Rose from her arms. She didn't notice the blood.
"One moment, Ma'am." Thankfully, one of her partners had laid out a blanket on the ground of the toddler. Lily gently laid out the little girl on the blanket. This revealed a deep gash running along her leg. Rose's mother let out a shaky gasp, and promptly burst into tears. Lily's jacket and hands were now covered in blood. Lily cringed for a moment, but quickly regained control. O'Hara informed her partners that since they truly were in the middle of nowhere due to their previous case, the paramedics were still ten minutes out. This caused a fresh bout of sobbing from the mother, and Lassiter's grisly self was doing his best to comfort her. For this at least, they learned that the mother's name was Oliva Emerson, and her son's name was Liam.
Lily took a deep breath. Paramedics ten minutes away, and a little girl who might not have ten minutes before blood loss and pain got the best of her. "Ok…" she said slowly. "We should get away from the vehicle in case there's any sort of gas leak. "Carlton, Jules, can you help me use this blanket to carry Rose up the hill? Ms. Emerson, please focus on getting yourself and your son back to our car safely."
Lily's partners nodded faithfully, and did just that. Ms. Emerson seemed to be favoring her shoulder, no matter how many times she told the detectives she was fine. Now that they were further away, the immediate danger in front of them was the little girl's severely injured cut was very deep and very long.
"Ms. Emerson, please keep your daughter talking. It's crucial that we keep her stimulated until the ambulance arrives in a few minutes." The still trembling mother handed off her son to Juliet, dropped to her knees and gently took her daughter's hand, whispering in her ear. Rose gave a weak smile and whispered something back.
"Perfect. O'Hara, can you please check Liam for any injuries. Lassiter, help me with this please."
Oliva watched with a combination of awe and fear. Lily peeled off her already bloodsoaked jacket, a look of grim determination on her face. She gently but firmly wrapped it around Rose's leg with Lassiters help. The little girl cried out in pain. Lassiter applied pressure to the top half of the wound, Lily to the bottom half. Olivia did her best to explain to Rose that this pain would help her feel better soon. Lily only hoped that that was the truth.
Finally, the blaring of the sirens could be heard approaching. The noise made little Liam burst out in tears again, but the sound meant that safely was going to be there soon. Lily squeezed Rose's hand one more time and offered her the biggest smile she could muster.
"Thank you so much, detectives," Oliva said. "You saved our lives today, I have no doubt."
"Of course," Lily and Juliet smiled at the same time Carlton said, "Just doing our job."
Oliva offered a watery smile towards the three of them before turning away to give a statement and be assessed for injuries.
As Juliet and Carlton saw off the ambulance, Lily held back. She blinked a few times to clear her head. She frowned at her bloodstained hands and sent up a quick prayer for that family. Thank God the three detectives had been driving on this lonely country road that morning. For maybe the first time, Lily was actually grateful for the murderer they had been chasing.
Juliet and Carlton came back and joined Lily, gazing up at the bright blue sky. Then they turned to Lily.
"Where'd you learn to be such a good cop?" Lassiter asked with a smirk. He quickly caught his mistake, blushing. "Not that you weren't a good cop before! Just you know…"
"What he means to say is that that was incredible, Lil." Juliet cut in, laughing.
Lily looked both of her partners in the eye. "Well detectives, I would say I learned from a certain pair of amazing detectives." She smiled and shrugged simply. "In other words… you."