Chapter 21
"Stop, Bri!" Jill yelled again as she arrived at the foot of the staircase. Sabrina was already nearing the top and ignored her.
Jill tripped her way up the staircase, taking the steps three at a time.
Sabrina was so close.
Jill swung her hand forward, but grabbed nothing but air. She cursed and lunged forward wildly, her arms stretched out in front of her. Her hand latched onto Sabrina's pant leg right, and her chin was immediately jerked into the top step by the momentum of Sabrina's stride, snapping her teeth shut.
Sabrina pitched forward and caught herself on her elbows, thrashing her leg in an attempt to free herself.
Jill had an iron grip on her pant leg and wasn't about to release her.
"Let him go!" Jill cried desperately, scrambling to her feet. Still clutching her friend's pant leg, she climbed over the top two steps and grabbed the back of Sabrina's shirt, pulling her away.
Sabrina tried to squirm out of her grip.
"Jill! He's going to get away! Let me go!" she shouted at her.
The two girls wrestled for a brief moment before Sabrina managed to kick Jill away. She shot her friend an apologetic look and turned towards the open door. Jill, acting quickly, scrambled to her feet and in a last ditch effort, hurled herself towards her friend in a flying tackle.
She slammed into her unsuspecting friend, catching her off guard and knocking her into the low railing that bordered the staircase. With Jill's momentum propelling them forward, the two girls flipped over the railing and plummeted the fifteen feet to the ground, landing safely in the soft sand inches from each other.
Dazed but unhurt, Sabrina lifted her head to her friend lying by her side, her expression that of outrage. Angry and irrational as her mind was, she opened her mouth to tear into Jill.
Her harsh words were interrupted by the world being torn apart from under them. The explosion rocked the ground they were laying on, sending a powerfully hot gust of sandy wind stinging their cheeks, as bits of wood and shrapnel blasted over their heads. Her anger at Jill forgotten, Sabrina quickly crawled to her and threw herself over Jill's head and shoulders, instinctively protecting her best friend.
The girls screamed in terror as flames burst sideways from the building fifteen feet above their heads. The intense heat from the blast singed their clothes and hair and sucked the oxygen out of their lungs as they flattened themselves into the hot sand, their bodies being pelted with the forcefully expelled debris. Just as the scorching heat became unbearable, it suddenly dissipated and the girl's found themselves able to breathe again. They lay panting for a few moments, eyes shut tightly as they listened to the soft thuds of remaining debris falling to the ground around them.
When the night became calm again, Sabrina lifted her head. Ash and flaming bits of wood and cloth were settling across the beach, littering the clean white sand. They had only survived because they had been directly below the explosion, she realized.
Because Jill had knocked them off of the railing.
Had they been still standing by the door, they certainly would have been blown to pieces. Sabrina suddenly felt nauseous. She slowly pulled away from Jill to let her up.
Both girls sat up slowly in numb shock, breathing heavily, in complete awe at their luck. Their ears were ringing from the deafening boom of the explosion.
Sabrina looked at Jill, shame and remorse clearly written on her face. She tried to apologize, but the words died in her throat and she looked away, unable to speak.
Fortunately, Jill didn't need words to understand what her friend was working up the strength to say. She broke out into a wide, forgiving, smile and drew Sabrina into a tight hug.
"Let's get back to Kelly. She's probably having a heart attack." Jill whispered, as they pulled apart.
Sabrina nodded and gazed back up at the shell of the burning building. "Do you think he could have sur-"
"No." Jill interrupted her, knowing what she was thinking. There was no way Moretti could have lived and the thought didn't bother her. His trial and imprisonment was not worth the life of her best friend's.
Sabrina nodded in solemn resignation and the two girls rose shakily to their feet. They walked across the beach, swinging wide of the smoldering building. The sirens they had heard earlier were much louder now, as police cars arrived on the scene. The wail of the fire truck was still off in the distance. Policemen were scattered around the area, yelling and motioning excitedly to each other as they tried to figure out what had happened.
Sabrina and Jill avoided them, wanting only to find Kelly. They quickly spotted her as they backtracked their steps.
She was still frantically pulling herself along the wooden railing. As they came into her view, she bowed her head to lean against railing and let herself slip to one knee in relief. The two girls jogged up to her and bent down to help her up.
Kelly stared at them, immense relief washing over her, weakening her limbs and burning her eyes with unformed tears. She wanted to hit Sabrina for putting herself and Jill into such a dangerous situation, but at the same time, wanted to throw her arms around both of her friends and cry. She felt torn between joy and anger, the mixture of the two powerful emotions battling for dominance. They were all she had, and for a torturous few minutes she had thought them lost. She found her voice.
"You scared me." Kelly said simply.
Jill laughed. "That's all you have to say to us?"
Kelly shook her head.
"That's all I'm going to let myself say."
She leaned into both of her friends. "Don't you ever do that again." she whispered.
"I'm sorry Kell, I don't know what got into me." Sabrina admitted. She looked at Jill and bit her lip. "Jill, I could have gotten you killed, can you please fo-"
Jill cut her off.
"Stop. We're all ok." she said. "That's what matters."
Sabrina nodded her head, unable to look her friends in the eye.
"Yeah." she said softly.
Jill leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. Sabrina gave her a faint smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. She felt horrible, the sick guilt twisting up her insides and making her sick. The realization of what her foolhardy actions could have cost hit her hard, the shame almost too much to bear.
Sensing her guilt, Jill tried to refocus their energy. Sabrina needed something else to think about.
"Kell, we need to get you to a hospital. C'mon, the cops are over there." she said, carefully pulling Kelly's arm over her shoulder again.
Kelly made a face, but didn't protest as her friends helped her to the nearest police cruiser. The policeman looked at them in surprise and radioed for an ambulance. He led the girls to a secluded area, away from the chaos and noise to wait.
The three girls sat against the cool brick wall and huddled together, mentally, physically, and emotionally drained by the past few hours. There would be a great deal of explaining to do on their part.
But that could wait.
For now, the girls were more than content to sit quietly together and look out into the ocean as the calmingly repetitive waves lapped gently on the sandy beach.
A few minutes later a dark blue Ford Thunderbird arrived on the scene. Bosley had been trying to contact Sabrina and Jill for hours. He had first attributed their lack of contact to them wrapping up the case. When the girls hadn't called back after a few hours, he had become nearly beside himself with worry. Finally, unable to stand it any longer, he decided to find them.
Bosley stepped out of the car and looked around in shock, taking in the smoldering building and the hordes of police cars and firetrucks.
What had they done?
He looked around, slightly uneased by their absence. A policeman rushed by and Bosley followed him, laying a hand on his shoulder.
"What happened here?" he asked urgently.
The policeman turned to face him.
"An electrical explosion, looks like." the officer said quickly, clearly annoyed by the interruption.
Bosley's face contorted in horror.
"An explosion? When? Was anybody hurt?" he gushed.
The officer shrugged. "Doesn't look like it. Nobody owned it." He turned and walked away leaving Bosley behind.
Where were they?, he thought to himself, feeling dread churn his stomach. He scanned the area again, desperately hoping to see them.
His eyes focused on a large mass against the wall of one of the surrounding buildings. He squinted to better make it out then headed towards it.
As he got closer, he realized that it wasn't one large person as he initially thought, but three smaller people, huddling together against the wall. He sighed in relief.
There they were.
Bosley smiled and headed towards them. He stopped short in shock when he was close enough to fully take in their appearance. The girls looked like they had been dragged through hell. They were bruised, bloodied, dirty and looked ready to fall over from exhaustion. They waved to him as he approached.
Bosley knelt in front of the angels and looked between their three faces.
"Are you three alright?" he asked in concern.
Sabrina started to nod her head. In mid-nod, she changed her mind and shook it instead.
"No, Boz. We're not." she said quietly.
Bosley took a closer look at Kelly in the moonlight and felt horror rise up from the pit of his stomach. She was badly injured and was leaning against Sabrina with her eyes half closed.
"Oh my God, I'm going to call an ambulance." Bosley said, his face tight and worried.
"They already did, Boz, I'm fine." Kelly slurred, reaching out an arm to calm him. Sabrina and Jill snickered at the ridiculousness of her statement.
"I am." she insisted. "All I need to do is lie down somewhere soft for about three weeks."
Bosley smiled and reached out to smooth back her sweaty hair.
"I'm sure there's plenty of hospital beds that fit that description." he said gently. Kelly gave him a weak smile and closed her eyes, letting her head rest on Sabrina's shoulder. Though not usually one for displaying affection, right now she needed contact with her friends as a reminder that they were alive and well. She sat between them, leaning against Sabrina and absently clutching Jill's sleeve. They understood her unspoken fear and huddled close to her.
"What happened?" Bosley asked the other girls.
Jill sighed. "Oh Boz, it's a long, long, story. You'll have to wait until my book comes out."
Sabrina laughed. The four of them turned their heads as an ambulance came into view and turned in their direction, bathing them in the dancing red light of the sirens.
"Your chariot awaits." Jill whispered to Kelly, giving her a gentle pat on the head.
Bosley raised his hands to wave the ambulance down and then turned back to the girls.
"You two sure you're alright?" he asked Sabrina and Jill. Their faces were scratched and bruised as if they had been on the losing end of a fistfight. He was anxious to hear their story later.
"Yeah, Boz." Jill said, nodding slowly.
Bosley looked at all three girls in turn and sighed again in relief.
"I'm glad you girls made it." he said, glancing to the side as the paramedics parked and got out of their van.
"We are too, Boz." Kelly murmured. She moved her grip to Jill's hand and again rested her head on Sabrina's shoulder. Sabrina protectively pulled her and Jill closer.
Bosley smiled.
"Incidentally, you three look like hell." he added with a grin.
"Why, thank you!" Jill said pleasantly.
Bosley smiled at her and stood aside as two paramedics arrived and began to talk to the girls. He watched as they tended to the girl's injuries with practiced care, wrapping them in blankets and bandaging their wounds. The two men carefully lifted Kelly, who had since passed out, onto a gurney and wheeled her into the ambulance. Jill and Sabrina followed quietly, letting the two men help them inside with Kelly.
Seeing that the ambulance was ready to leave, Bosley stepped forward and called to one of the paramedics.
"Where are you taking them?"
The paramedic stopped and looked at Bosley as if he had just noticed him.
"Are you with them?" the man asked.
"Yes."
"Sinai. You can follow us there if you like. We just need to check out Jill and Sabrina before we release them. The other girl, the brunette, will have to stay over night."
"Kelly." Bosley informed him.
The man nodded his head. "Yes, Kelly. She likely has a concussion, might have some broken bones, we'll have to run a few tests on her." He stopped and cocked his head at Bosley. "Are you her father?"
"Yeah, I am." Bosley answered without hesitation.
The paramedic nodded. "Just follow us. Is there someone you can notify for the other two?" he asked.
Bosley smiled. "I'm family, I'll take care of them."
The paramedic gave him a strange look, but decided not to ask. He nodded his head and turned to jog back to the ambulance. Once inside, the vehicle blasted its sirens and rolled out into the street towards the hospital. Bosley followed in his own car.
The girls looked shell shocked and were not in the frame of mind to explain everything that happened. He'd have to call Charlie and let them fill in the blanks later.
This long night was going to get even longer.