Chapter 40
They had managed to get a flight out the next morning. Kim had called Joey's school and told them that there was a family emergency in New York and that Joey would be out of school for a while. Then, she had called work to let them know the same. She was finishing up the packing while Jimmy went over to pick up Bobby. "I hope they don't get into it," she thought to herself as she zipped up the last bag. She went downstairs to feed the kids before they had to leave for the airport.
~~~~
Bobby answered the knock on his door and opened it to find Jimmy standing there. "You ready to go?" Jimmy asked him with slight irritation in his voice.
"Uh, yeah. I, uh, wasn't expecting you," Bobby said as he turned to take a last look around to make sure everything was turned off. He grabbed his bag that he'd set beside his door and locked the door as he closed it behind him.
"Yeah, I'll bet," Jimmy mumbled under his breath. "Kim's finishing up packing stuff for the kids. I swear, she's packing like we're going to be gone for months," Jimmy complained.
"Yeah, well. Kimmy always was the one to take the Boy Scout motto to heart - always be prepared," joked Bobby and the two men chuckled at Kim's expense.
They were sitting at a traffic light just down the road from Kim's house. Jimmy glanced at his watch and softly cursed. "We're gonna be late for the flight," he said, frustrated.
Bobby looked at his watch. "I know a quick check through spot at the airport. No one knows about it," he said with a smile. "I took one of the supervisors out of there with a heart attack one day. His parting words for me as I left him at the ER," Bobby explained.
"Paramedic perks," Jimmy said, trying to joke.
There was an awkward silence as the light changed and traffic started moving. "So, any more news about Melanie?" Bobby asked, trying to break the silence and tension.
"Kim talked to Catherine this morning. She's pretty messed up. We're not sure about the extent of the injuries," Jimmy reported.
They pulled into the driveway and went into the house to start moving the bags out to the car. Kim was rushing around making sure everything was locked, turned off, turned down, or whatever needed to be done. She grabbed a stack of bills off the desk. She'd have to write out bills and mail them from New York if she wanted the heat and lights to be on when they got back. Joey was keeping Charlie amused in the living room while everyone got everything settled into the car.
Kim and Bobby climbed into the car and Jimmy went back in to grab the kids and lock the door after one final look-around. "So, how was the ride over?" asked Kim, hoping to avoid any more drama for a while.
"It was okay," Bobby said, reassuring her. "We didn't kill each other," he joked.
"You know he doesn't hate you, don't you, Bobby?" Kim asked.
"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Bobby said as he watched Jimmy, Joey and Charlie make their way to the car.
"Bobby!" Kim said as she got out of the car to help Jimmy buckle Joey and Charlie in the back seat with Bobby.
Jimmy started the car and slowly backed out of the driveway and headed for the airport. The tension was pretty thick in the car. After a few moments, Bobby poked Joey in the ribs and said, "Mom, Dad? Are we there yet? Is it much further? I have to go to the bathroom."
Everyone in the car started to laugh and the tension seemed to be broken for the remainder of the trip.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Five hours later they found themselves at Mercy Hospital. Kim and Catherine were in with Melanie who was sleeping. Kim couldn't believe the amount of bruising to her face and arms. She grabbed the chart off the end of the bed and started looking through it. She grew angrier at every word. She had undergone a splenectomy and had a laceration to her liver. She roughly put the chart back in its holder and turned and walked out of the room.
She came out of Melanie's room with a look that Jimmy and Bobby had seen before and both of them said, "Uh oh," at the same time.
"Jimmy, did you get hold of Bosco yet?" she asked him. She found out from Doc that he and Faith had been the officers responding to the call.
"I left a voice mail message on his phone. He hasn't called back yet," Jimmy told her.
"Try him again. And then try Faith," she said, pacing angrily back and forth.
"So, how is she?" Bobby asked Kim.
"Not good. That bastard ruptured her spleen and lacerated her liver. What the hell did he do - throw her down a flight of stairs and run her over with a car?!" she practically screamed.
"Kim, you need to calm down," said Jimmy as he finished leaving a message at Faith's apartment that they were at the hospital with Melanie.
"Is she awake?" asked Bobby.
"She's in and out. Go in and see her Bobby. She'll be glad you're here," Kim told him, putting a hand on his arm as he walked by.
"I better go call and check on the kids," Kim said to Jimmy. She had phoned the old babysitter from her apartment building and was lucky enough to find her home. She agreed to take care of Joey and Charlie for her. The kids were exhausted and out of sorts from the trip and would have been miserable at the hospital with nothing to do. Luckily, some of Joey's friends from his old school that lived in the building were home and he was having a blast seeing them again.
"Here, Kim. Use the cell phone," Jimmy said, holding the phone out to her.
"No, I don't want it busy if Bosco or Faith calls back," she said as she left to find a payphone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bobby came out of Melanie's room and had the same angry look on his face that Kim had. "Bobby, you okay, Man?" asked Jimmy walking over to him. Bobby punched the wall in anger.
"Who is this animal that Mel was with?" Bobby asked Jimmy.
"His name is Tony. He's a cop," Jimmy explained to him.
"And he's not in custody?!" Bobby asked in disbelief.
"They haven't found him yet," Jimmy said. That was the information that they'd gotten from Catherine upon their arrival.
"Bobby! Jimmy! Great to see you guys," came Faith's voice from behind them. They turned to see Bosco and Faith standing there in uniform and suddenly realized that they were working. They couldn't believe that they hadn't tried the 5-5 when they were looking for them.
"What? You guys change your days off?" asked Jimmy as he reached out to shake Bosco's hand. Faith gave Bobby a hug.
"Yeah, but it's great to see you again. Sorry it's under these circumstances," said Faith as Kim came around the corner.
"Hey! I can't believe I never thought to check work for you guys," Kim said, walking over and hugging Bosco and Faith. She received a courteous but cool reception from Bosco and Faith. They only knew that she took off without telling Jimmy or anyone where she was going and she'd taken Jimmy's son with her. They were there for Jimmy during all that time, watching what it was doing to him. Faith tried to keep an open mind since she didn't know the whole story, but it was hard not to take Jimmy's side.
After an awkward moment, Faith asked, "So, how's your sister doing? She was a mess when we found her."
"Well, the doctor said she's going to recover, but it's going to take a while. He did a real number on her. Why isn't he in jail yet?" Kim asked, irritation evident in her voice.
"We haven't found him yet, Kim," Bosco answered her. "But we're still looking. Don't think that just because Tony's a cop he's gonna get away with this," he reinforced.
"Did you look at Brooke's house?" Kim asked and suddenly felt Jimmy's and Bobby's eyes on her.
"Brooke? As in my ex-wife, Brooke?" Jimmy asked.
"What are you talking about?" Bobby asked in surprise.
"Tony was stepping out on Melanie," Kim said matter-of-factly. "Had been since before the baby was born - with Brooke. Mel didn't plan on getting pregnant, but thought that maybe it would help ground Tony a little bit. When it didn't, she didn't push him. But, he wouldn't just make a clean break with her. He kept coming back and messing up her mind," Kim explained.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Jimmy asked. "I would have looked out for her better," he continued.
"I thought you knew. After all, you know Brooke. I assumed you kept in touch," Kim said.
"No. We never talked after she left," Jimmy said quietly.
"So, where's Brooke live?" Bosco asked.
They had managed to get a flight out the next morning. Kim had called Joey's school and told them that there was a family emergency in New York and that Joey would be out of school for a while. Then, she had called work to let them know the same. She was finishing up the packing while Jimmy went over to pick up Bobby. "I hope they don't get into it," she thought to herself as she zipped up the last bag. She went downstairs to feed the kids before they had to leave for the airport.
~~~~
Bobby answered the knock on his door and opened it to find Jimmy standing there. "You ready to go?" Jimmy asked him with slight irritation in his voice.
"Uh, yeah. I, uh, wasn't expecting you," Bobby said as he turned to take a last look around to make sure everything was turned off. He grabbed his bag that he'd set beside his door and locked the door as he closed it behind him.
"Yeah, I'll bet," Jimmy mumbled under his breath. "Kim's finishing up packing stuff for the kids. I swear, she's packing like we're going to be gone for months," Jimmy complained.
"Yeah, well. Kimmy always was the one to take the Boy Scout motto to heart - always be prepared," joked Bobby and the two men chuckled at Kim's expense.
They were sitting at a traffic light just down the road from Kim's house. Jimmy glanced at his watch and softly cursed. "We're gonna be late for the flight," he said, frustrated.
Bobby looked at his watch. "I know a quick check through spot at the airport. No one knows about it," he said with a smile. "I took one of the supervisors out of there with a heart attack one day. His parting words for me as I left him at the ER," Bobby explained.
"Paramedic perks," Jimmy said, trying to joke.
There was an awkward silence as the light changed and traffic started moving. "So, any more news about Melanie?" Bobby asked, trying to break the silence and tension.
"Kim talked to Catherine this morning. She's pretty messed up. We're not sure about the extent of the injuries," Jimmy reported.
They pulled into the driveway and went into the house to start moving the bags out to the car. Kim was rushing around making sure everything was locked, turned off, turned down, or whatever needed to be done. She grabbed a stack of bills off the desk. She'd have to write out bills and mail them from New York if she wanted the heat and lights to be on when they got back. Joey was keeping Charlie amused in the living room while everyone got everything settled into the car.
Kim and Bobby climbed into the car and Jimmy went back in to grab the kids and lock the door after one final look-around. "So, how was the ride over?" asked Kim, hoping to avoid any more drama for a while.
"It was okay," Bobby said, reassuring her. "We didn't kill each other," he joked.
"You know he doesn't hate you, don't you, Bobby?" Kim asked.
"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Bobby said as he watched Jimmy, Joey and Charlie make their way to the car.
"Bobby!" Kim said as she got out of the car to help Jimmy buckle Joey and Charlie in the back seat with Bobby.
Jimmy started the car and slowly backed out of the driveway and headed for the airport. The tension was pretty thick in the car. After a few moments, Bobby poked Joey in the ribs and said, "Mom, Dad? Are we there yet? Is it much further? I have to go to the bathroom."
Everyone in the car started to laugh and the tension seemed to be broken for the remainder of the trip.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Five hours later they found themselves at Mercy Hospital. Kim and Catherine were in with Melanie who was sleeping. Kim couldn't believe the amount of bruising to her face and arms. She grabbed the chart off the end of the bed and started looking through it. She grew angrier at every word. She had undergone a splenectomy and had a laceration to her liver. She roughly put the chart back in its holder and turned and walked out of the room.
She came out of Melanie's room with a look that Jimmy and Bobby had seen before and both of them said, "Uh oh," at the same time.
"Jimmy, did you get hold of Bosco yet?" she asked him. She found out from Doc that he and Faith had been the officers responding to the call.
"I left a voice mail message on his phone. He hasn't called back yet," Jimmy told her.
"Try him again. And then try Faith," she said, pacing angrily back and forth.
"So, how is she?" Bobby asked Kim.
"Not good. That bastard ruptured her spleen and lacerated her liver. What the hell did he do - throw her down a flight of stairs and run her over with a car?!" she practically screamed.
"Kim, you need to calm down," said Jimmy as he finished leaving a message at Faith's apartment that they were at the hospital with Melanie.
"Is she awake?" asked Bobby.
"She's in and out. Go in and see her Bobby. She'll be glad you're here," Kim told him, putting a hand on his arm as he walked by.
"I better go call and check on the kids," Kim said to Jimmy. She had phoned the old babysitter from her apartment building and was lucky enough to find her home. She agreed to take care of Joey and Charlie for her. The kids were exhausted and out of sorts from the trip and would have been miserable at the hospital with nothing to do. Luckily, some of Joey's friends from his old school that lived in the building were home and he was having a blast seeing them again.
"Here, Kim. Use the cell phone," Jimmy said, holding the phone out to her.
"No, I don't want it busy if Bosco or Faith calls back," she said as she left to find a payphone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bobby came out of Melanie's room and had the same angry look on his face that Kim had. "Bobby, you okay, Man?" asked Jimmy walking over to him. Bobby punched the wall in anger.
"Who is this animal that Mel was with?" Bobby asked Jimmy.
"His name is Tony. He's a cop," Jimmy explained to him.
"And he's not in custody?!" Bobby asked in disbelief.
"They haven't found him yet," Jimmy said. That was the information that they'd gotten from Catherine upon their arrival.
"Bobby! Jimmy! Great to see you guys," came Faith's voice from behind them. They turned to see Bosco and Faith standing there in uniform and suddenly realized that they were working. They couldn't believe that they hadn't tried the 5-5 when they were looking for them.
"What? You guys change your days off?" asked Jimmy as he reached out to shake Bosco's hand. Faith gave Bobby a hug.
"Yeah, but it's great to see you again. Sorry it's under these circumstances," said Faith as Kim came around the corner.
"Hey! I can't believe I never thought to check work for you guys," Kim said, walking over and hugging Bosco and Faith. She received a courteous but cool reception from Bosco and Faith. They only knew that she took off without telling Jimmy or anyone where she was going and she'd taken Jimmy's son with her. They were there for Jimmy during all that time, watching what it was doing to him. Faith tried to keep an open mind since she didn't know the whole story, but it was hard not to take Jimmy's side.
After an awkward moment, Faith asked, "So, how's your sister doing? She was a mess when we found her."
"Well, the doctor said she's going to recover, but it's going to take a while. He did a real number on her. Why isn't he in jail yet?" Kim asked, irritation evident in her voice.
"We haven't found him yet, Kim," Bosco answered her. "But we're still looking. Don't think that just because Tony's a cop he's gonna get away with this," he reinforced.
"Did you look at Brooke's house?" Kim asked and suddenly felt Jimmy's and Bobby's eyes on her.
"Brooke? As in my ex-wife, Brooke?" Jimmy asked.
"What are you talking about?" Bobby asked in surprise.
"Tony was stepping out on Melanie," Kim said matter-of-factly. "Had been since before the baby was born - with Brooke. Mel didn't plan on getting pregnant, but thought that maybe it would help ground Tony a little bit. When it didn't, she didn't push him. But, he wouldn't just make a clean break with her. He kept coming back and messing up her mind," Kim explained.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Jimmy asked. "I would have looked out for her better," he continued.
"I thought you knew. After all, you know Brooke. I assumed you kept in touch," Kim said.
"No. We never talked after she left," Jimmy said quietly.
"So, where's Brooke live?" Bosco asked.