Broken.
Scene Four.
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The sun was just rising over Knight's Ridge when Hannah made her way to her front door. She didn't even hesitate to slam it behind her as she made her way into the house. She saw Ray, the man she thought she knew, sitting at the couch.
"What the hell, Hannah Jane? You freak out on me for not coming home on time and then you disappear for the whole night? Where've you been?"
"Get out of my house." She responded resolutely.
"What?"
"I know what you did last night. How could you do that to someone?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You're lying! You're lying to me, Ray! Don't you recognize when you're caught? Or haven't you ever been caught before? God, I've been so blind to it all. The jig's up, I know what you really are. Now get out before--" she was interrupted by Sam, who sleepily appeared behind her.
"Mom? What's going on?"
"Sam, go back to your room and lock the door." His eyes opened wide, realizing his mother was serious.
"Why?"
"Just do it. Now." He hurried up the stairs, albeit a bit confused. Ray moved toward Hannah and she backed away.
"Is that really necessary, Hannah?"
"I mean it, get the hell out of my house."
"I really don't know what you're talking about," With that, there was a loud knock at the door.
"That'll be for you." Hannah said, staring Ray down. With another confused look, Ray goes to answer the door.
"Ray Cataldo?" Two uniformed police officers stood in the doorframe.
"What's the meaning of this?" Ray asked. "What's going on here?" He turned back to Hannah. She crossed her arms and looked disgusted, yet somehow satisfied.
"You're under arrest, under suspicion of the attempted manslaughter of Edward LaTekka. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you…"
As they led Ray away in handcuffs, Hannah watched from her porch, along with some neighbors out to get their morning paper. As he was placed in the backseat of the police car, he looked to her, with a sadness and shame in his eyes. That was the day Knight's Ridge realized who Ray Cataldo really was.
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On the other side of town, Nick and Owen made their way to Physical Phil's house. They looked tired, after being up all night, but the only thing keeping them up was their worry for Eddie.
"You ready for this?" Nick asked as they approached the door.
"You might want to do the talking," Owen responded, to which Nick nodded.
Inside, Phil was making his way to the couch with a cup of coffee and plate.
"Morning, guys! Pretty early for a drop by, want some eggs? There's plenty since Eddie's not here for breakfast." He said, lifting his plate to show what they'd be missing.
"Phil, we have some bad news."
"Must be bad news, you never just call me Phil." His smile disappeared and he placed his plates on the coffee table.
"What goes on?"
"It's about Eddie," Nick started, not sure how to continue. "We found him last night, he got beat up pretty badly. He's in the hospital." Phil stood in a state of surprise for a moment.
"He's going to be ok, right?"
"Yeah, well, probably. We don't know. He hasn't woken up yet. They're not really sure when that'll happen." Phil took in the information; he'd been living with Eddie for years, it was typical of him not to come home after a night at the bar, but he never expected this.
"I need to see him," was his response. He made his way to the front door, still decked out in pajamas and a robe, and went to turn the handle. Owen and Nick watched the display, as Phil's hand started to shake and he retreated.
"Yeah, that would have been too easy." He said, mostly to himself. He went back over to the couch and they all sat down.
"So do we know what happened?"
"Yeah, Sully's security camera picked it up," Owen offered. "It's all on tape."
"…And?" Owen and Nick exchanged glances of mutual anger.
"Big Cat."
"What? Are you serious?"
"Well, not so much him, as much as his cronies, but he was obviously the ringleader."
"I'll kill him." Phil responded.
"You'll have to break into Knight's Ridge Police Department to accomplish that, then." Nick said.
"They arrested him?"
"Probably by now. Hannah saw the video, called it in herself."
"So what are we talking here? Is he going to jail like, full-time?"
"Who knows, he only threw a couple punches. But if Eddie doesn't….well, we'll just see what happens." Owen responded quietly.
"Hey, I think I'm going to head back to the hospital. He shouldn't be alone, and visitor hours start in a couple hours," Nick said, standing up.
"You should get some sleep, Nicky."
"I'm too awake to sleep."
"What about your meeting this morning?"
"Damn, I forgot. I guess I'll have to reschedule."
"Maybe you should go. It'd be great to have a job waiting for Eddie when he's better." Nick smiled at Owen's optimism, knowing it'd probably be awhile before Eddie could get back to work. He checked his watch.
"Yeah, it starts in twenty minutes. I'll meet you at the hospital after?"
"Sounds like a plan. Knock 'em dead, Nick. Wait, that line doesn't really seem appropriate at the moment."
"I know what you mean."
"Good luck, Nick," Phil responded, and Nick was out the door.
"I've got to take care of something, myself." Owen said, getting up. "You going to be all right here?"
"When aren't I?" Phil said, with a half smile.
"He's going to be fine, Phil. Don't worry."
"Hard not to worry when you can't see it with your own eyes." Owen nodded sympathetically and left Phil to face his fears.
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Janet sat in Hannah's kitchen with a cup of coffee warming her hands.
"Top up?" Hannah came with the coffee pot.
"Thanks." Janet looked down at her cup, and Hannah watched her friend as she poured.
"He'll be all right, Janet."
"I know. Everyone keeps saying that and I believe it, I do. But I can't help but picture him lying in the hospital all broken up like that."
"Who's in the hospital?" Sam appeared in the kitchen, dressed for the day, after Hannah told him it was safe to come downstairs. "What's going on, mom? Where's Ray?"
"Sweetie, something bad happened. And it looks like it was Ray's fault."
"It must have been really bad if the cops took him away," he said this and Hannah was about to ask how he knew, "I watched from my window." He said before she could form the words.
"Well, Ray won't be around here anymore, Sam. I'm sorry this happened so quickly and I know it's confusing, but it's the right thing for now." Sam looked to Janet, who just wiped away a tear.
"It's Eddie, isn't it?" Sam said, realizing the severity of the situation. "He's in the hospital. And Ray put him there." Hannah exhaled, for once wishing her son wasn't as smart as he was.
"Yeah," she said quietly. Sam went over to Janet and put his hand on hers. She looked to him, connecting eyes.
"I'm really sorry, Janet."
"Thanks, Sam."
"Can I see him?" Sam looked to his mother.
"I don't think that's a good idea."
"Why not? I like Eddie, I just want to help, tell him I hope he feels better."
"That's kind of you. You can see him when he gets better, but right now you can't really talk to him."
"Oh," he looked down. "Well, will you tell him I'm thinking about him when you see him, Janet?"
"Sure, buddy. I'll tell him." She nodded and Sam left the room.
"I should go see him, visiting hours will start soon. Someone should be with him."
"I'll drive you if you want?"
"That's ok, you should talk to Sam." They hugged each other.
"Let me know if there's anything I can do," Hannah said.
"I will, thanks."
"And call as soon as he wakes up." Janet smiled, hoping she would be able to make that call sooner, rather than later.
