Landmine

Chapter Twenty-one

Well, here you go folks! The final chapter!

Stay tuned for author's notes at the very end of the story!

There was tense silence throughout the room as the foreman read the verdict. "We, the jury, find the defendant, Dominic Shepard, not guilty of all charges, with the recommendation that he receive psychiatric care."

The room remained silent for a full five seconds before it burst into chaos. Judge Kent tried to regain control of the room, but it wasn't happening. Not wanting to fight it, he spoke over everyone and thanked the jury for their time and service.

Nancy sat in her seat, not even sure if she was breathing. She remained in her seat, staring unblinkingly at Dom as he smiled and shook Carson's hand. She barely even heard her name being called.

"Nancy!"

"Nancy!"

Finally she felt hands shaking her. She looked to see three pairs of eyes staring at her with concern.

"Say something, Nan," Ned pleaded.

Nancy opened her mouth, but words refused to form for her. Finally, she was able to mutter a sentence. "Tell me the jury just said he was guilty," she croaked.

Ned grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "If I told you that, I would be lying to you, Nancy."

Nancy shook her head. "No, this is a dream—a nightmare. There is no way they just found him innocent."
"I'm sorry, Nan," Frank said.

"This isn't real," Nancy said, looking at the boys, silently pleading with them. "There is no way this can be real."

Nancy tore her gaze away from them as Dom walked by and flashed a triumphant smile at her. Nancy remained her seat, her limbs refusing to work for her. She barely realized that Carson had come over to stand beside her.

"Nancy—"

All of a sudden her eyes flashed fiercely and she looked up at him. "I blame you for this," she said in a deadly calm voice. "It is because of you that monster just walked out of this room a free man."

Carson flinched. "Nancy, I—"

"Don't even begin to tell me that you are sorry," Nancy said. "This is not something that can be fixed with an apology."

She stood up. "It looks like you still have your perfect record, Dad." She grabbed her purse and stormed out of the room before anyone could say anything to her.

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Nancy was still reeling from the day's events when she walked into her empty house later that night. She leaned against the door and let out the biggest sigh she could muster. To say this was arguably the worst day of her life would be an understatement.

Not only did a killer get released today but she was pretty sure her relationship with her father was pretty much beyond repair at the moment.

Ever since she stormed out to the courtroom, she had been driving around aimlessly, not really caring where she was going. Ned and the Hardys had called her several times, and after ignoring them for the majority of the day, she finally told them to just leave her alone and let her deal. She was glad when they didn't argue.

She turned on a few lights and made her way to the kitchen. She needed a caffeine fix and she needed it desperately. She was still extremely upset from the events in the courtroom. What were the jurors possibly thinking? She wondered as she grabbed a soda from the refrigerator and took a few grateful sipped. She looked down on the counter and noticed a note from her father.

"'I figured it would be better if I stayed at the River Heights Inn tonight. Call me if you need anything,'" Nancy read aloud. Not likely, she thought as she crumbled up the paper and threw it away as the doorbell rang.

"Please just go away," she softly pleaded.

Her response was another musical note from the doorbell.

"I see you feel strongly about this," Nancy muttered as she put down her soda. She went to the door and opened it to see a man's back facing her.

"Can I help—" Her stomach lurched when he turned around to face her. She quickly tried to slam the door, but he stopped it before she succeeded. He pushed against it hard, causing her to fall to the ground. She scurried to her feet as he closed the door softly behind him and locked it.

"What are you doing here?" Nancy asked, trying to keep the fear out of her voice. But that was hard, considering she was talking to the man who had tried to kill her three times already.

Dom smiled at her cruelly. "You don't look to happy to see me."

"Should I be?" Nancy asked. She looked around for something to use as a weapon when her eyes fell on the fireplace. She ran to it and grabbed a poker, wielding it like a baseball bat.

Dom chuckled. "Do you really think that's going to help you?" he asked, amused.

"You're pretty stupid for coming here, Dom, considering you just beat a murder rap," Nancy said.

"I'm not going to let something like that stop me, Nancy," Dom said. "You should know that."
"That was some stunt you pulled during the trial," Nancy said. She gripped the poker tighter as he took a deliberate step towards her.

"How did you like that act?" Dom asked, pleased with himself. Then he shrugged. "It's too bad you aren't as gullible as that pathetic jury."

"You seemed genuinely surprised when Dean showed up," Nancy said, moving slightly to her left.

Dom followed her with his eyes. "I guess you could say I was. But I'll take care of Deanie when I'm through with you."

"What makes you think you can kill me this time?" Nancy asked. "I mean, you've already tried and failed three times."

Dom smiled at her. "I have all the time in the world, love," he said. "And you don't have anyone here that can ride to your rescue. We're all alone."
"The police are out there, watching my house," Nancy lied. She knew they weren't because she had refused to let them, even after B.D. had begged her. She just hoped Dom would believe her.

The smile remained on his face. "No, they're not. I've been watching this house myself almost all day."

Nancy swallowed hard. She was running out of ways to talk him out of this. "You're not going to get away with this, Dom. I don't know what made that jury think you were innocent, but there is no way in hell you'll be able to get off again."

Dom shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. Your dad got me off today," he said. "Who's to say he couldn't do it again?"

Nancy glared at him and he tilted his head at her. "I think we've talked long enough now, don't you agree?" He reached behind his back and pulled out a long knife.

He smiled at her when he saw her fearful expression. "The cops took away my other one so I had to go out and buy a new toy." He looked it up and down appreciatively. "I was thinking of you when I picked it out, Nancy." He looked up at her. "Aren't you flattered?"

All of a sudden, he lunged at her, the knife raised above his head. She swung the poker at him and it hit him in the legs, causing him to cry out in pain and fall to the ground. She threw down the poker and took off in the opposite direction, pulling things down behind her, in hopes that she would trip him.

She was heading for the front door when she saw him get up and start hobbling towards her, pushing things out of his way. She bolted for the stairs, taking them two at a time and ran straight for her room. She could escape from her window and call for help.

She heard pounding footsteps behind her as she slammed the door closed and bolted it. She quickly ran to the window to get it open as he began pounding violently on the door.

"These games of yours are something left to be desired, Nancy!" he yelled.

Nancy ignored him and undid the latch to the window.

"You're only making it worse on yourself, Nancy!" he screamed. "When I'm through with you, I'm going after every single person that you love! Do you understand me?"

He started to ram the door as she pushed open the window. She glanced behind her quickly when a sudden burst of inspiration hit her. She could hide in the closet and make him think she escaped from the window!

Nancy didn't waste any more time thinking. She opened the window the rest of the way and quietly made a beeline for her closet. She had just closed the door behind her when he burst through the bedroom door. She had to will herself not to make a noise.

She heard his carpeted footsteps as he approached the window. He let out a muttered curse. "Stupid move, Nancy."

She held her breath as he hobbled away. She waited a full minute before she emerged from her hiding spot and entered the quiet hallway. She stood completely still, listening for the slightest sound to tell her where Dom might be. Hearing nothing, she tore down the stairs and raced for the door. She had just managed to turn the lock when she was grabbed from behind.

"Neat trick, Nancy," he said, coldly. "You didn't honestly think I would fall for it, did you?"

Nancy ignored him and rammed her elbow into his stomach. He grunted in pain and threw her to the ground.

"I can see you want to do this the hard way," he said, breathing heavily.

Nancy turned around and started to crawl away, but he grabbed her ankle and yanked her back towards him. She turned on her back just as he straddled her.

"Get off of me!" she screamed.

Dom chuckled, with no hint of amusement. "You messed up, Nancy," he growled as he held the knife to her throat. "I was willing to make this fast for you, but I can see you want it slowly. Don't worry—I'm always willing to change my plans to accommodate you."

Nancy swallowed hard and felt the knife dig into her throat. "If you're going to kill me, do it already," she hissed.

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" he asked, a maniacal look in his blue eyes.

He leaned closer to her stroking her face, just as the front door burst open.

"Get off of her!"

Nancy instantly recognized the voice of B.D. Hawkins.

Dom smiled as he pressed the knife deeper against her throat Nancy felt warm blood begin to trickle down the side of her neck. "You're just in time to say good-bye to our lovely friend, Lieutenant."

"Put down the knife, Shepard," B.D. warned. "I will not hesitate to shoot you."

"Let's test that theory out, shall we?" Dom asked. He held his hand on her throat as he raised the knife above his head. Just as he was bringing it down, two shots pierced through the quiet night. Dom's eyes widened, but he still wore a chilling smile as the knife dropped from his hand and he fell on top of Nancy.

B.D. didn't wasted any time pulling Dom off of Nancy. She scooted away from his as quickly as she could, her hand on her throat. "Is he dead?' she asked, anxiously.

B.D. felt for a pulse. "Unfortunately, no." He held out his hand to her and helped her off the floor. "Are you okay?" he asked, looking at her bloody neck.

Nancy nodded shakily as she looked down at Dom. "It's just a small cut," she said.

B.D. nodded and pulled out his cell phone, requesting an ambulance and backup. Nancy slowly stepped over the mess in the living room and sank down on the couch.

"Not that I'm not grateful, but what are you doing here?" she asked, looking up at him.

"I was worried about you after what happened at the courthouse, so I decided to check on you," B.D. said. "I was walking up when I heard you scream."

Nancy smiled weakly. "Thanks."

B.D smiled back at her. "Anytime."

Within ten minutes, her house was surrounded by a flurry of activity as the paramedics came to take Dom to the hospital and the officers began to gather evidence and question her.

She wasn't sure what time it was when they started to leave. She just knew that B.D. was still sitting by her when his cell phone rang. She watched him as he conversed with the person on the other end of the line.

"What is it?" she asked when he hung up.

He looked at her and let a small smile tug at his lips. "That was the hospital," he answered.

Nancy looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"Dominic Shepard was just pronounced dead."

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Author's Note: I'm just going to stand far away from my computer until you stop lashing out at me…just let me know when you are finished…

Okay, so I either made you very happy or very upset by the ending of this story. But as I always say, I'm not in it to please everyone; I'm here to entertain. You may have questions about the verdict, but I moved it in the way I felt was right for the story. I was really battling it—you can ask a few of the authors on this site to confirm that. Just so you know, Nancy and Ned are still together in this story. I'm sorry to all of you die-hard Frank/Nancy fans, but keep reading and I will make it up to you!

As always, let me know what you think of this chapter and the story as a whole!

Oh, and on another note…I am currently working on another story (and yes, it is Frank/Nancy) and the first chapter will be posted within a few days. So I hope you stick around and maybe I'll see you guys then!

Thanks again to my wonderful betas…this story would not have made it if it were not for you!