Epilogue: Freedom?
When the police arrived after being called about gunshots heard on the first floor of the parking garage, they found a man dead in a puddle of blood and his insides pouring out his side. A man comforting a shaking woman, both stained with blood, were a few feet from the body.
Lisa blocked out most of what happened after killing Ethan. She was vaguely aware of Jackson holding her for a time then she was pulled from him into the care of a man and woman dressed in navy blue paramedic uniforms. She was examined, her many cuts cleaned and bandaged. They also took care of the gashes on her leg that had started to heal, but had opened from the fight with Ethan.
A detective began questioning her after that. She tried to recall to them as best of what happened, but when she got to talking about Jackson, she peered around not seeing him anywhere in sight.
"Where's Jackson?" she asked, but the detective didn't know who she was speaking of. "The man who was with me."
"He was taken to an unmarked car and left," the detective replied.
Lisa's face dropped. It would be a week before she was visited by Brian Desmond. Not wanting to be alone, she was staying at her father's house taking a few weeks leave from the Lux, even contemplating whether to stay on as manager there. So many bad experiences were linked to the hotel, but a small part of her didn't want to leave. It'd take a lot of difficult thought on that subject.
Her father had stepped out to run some errands, and Lisa was left to poke around the house. She was just about to get started on doing some cleaning when there was a solid knock on the door. Lisa jumped at the sound then froze in her spot by the back stairs. Her or her father weren't expecting company.
She crept to the other side of the kitchen where she could get a good view of the front door. On her way, she unconsciously grabbed a knife from the set sitting on the counter. She peeked around the wall. A tall man in a brown suit and fedora hat stood outside the door. The side pieces of glass distorted his shape, but she could see his face perfectly clear through the oval window in the middle of the door.
"Miss Reisert!" the man called. "This is Brian Desmond. I work for the League of Courage. I'm here on behalf of Jackson Rippner." After a moment, he added, "You can come out of hiding behind that wall. I'm legit."
Like saying that would make all the difference, but Lisa had a feeling that if this man was from the League of Courage then he wasn't there to hurt her. She cautiously made her way to the door, still clutching the kitchen knife.
"Is Jackson in trouble?" she asked as soon as she unlocked the door.
"So much for pleasantries," Desmond joked at her forwardness. "May I come in?"
Lisa bit her lip, but moved aside. "What happened to Jackson?" she asked, promptly.
"He's fine!" Desmond said, exasperatedly. "I come to inform you that by your statements to the police, we concluded that he was protecting you. We also spoke with Beatrice Clark, the safe house keeper you stayed with. She confirmed your statements of Rippner's protection from Ethan Ramsey. What I have come to ask is if you want the restraining order against Rippner to stay in tack."
Lisa blinked. If Jackson ever came near her again, he would be placed back in prison, but is that what she really wanted? She wasn't fearful of him anymore. She wasn't sure if what she had was trust for him, but it was something of the sorts. She hoped her decision was the right one.
"No, dismiss the restraining order."
Desmond raised a curious eyebrow. "Are you sure, Miss Reisert?"
Lisa nodded, confidently. "Yes. I don't believe Jackson would come after me again. We've worked through our problems with each other."
"That's all I needed to know." Desmond began to walk toward the door, but paused and pulled an envelope out his pocket. "Rippner told me to give this to you." He handed Lisa the sealed white envelope.
"Thank you," Lisa said absently. She barely noticed Brian Desmond leave. She stared at the envelope until she could get her fingers to move and break the seal.
Inside was a folded sheet of paper. She pulled it out, unfolding it. A small sketch of a blue glass with a light brownish substance inside was drawn at the top of the paper. Under it were three words. Lisa gasped, from fear or relief, she wasn't quite sure. The words read:
We'll talk again.