What's taking so long? Kim asked herself. Nearly an hour had passed since the shooting, and she and Marlena were still waiting for Shane and Roman to return. Kim glanced at Marlena, who wore the same worried expression that Kim probably had. But neither of them said anything because they did not want to frighten the children. Andrew, Sami and Eric were already scared enough.
Most of the parents and children had already left the school. Abe Carver had arrived about 15 minutes after the shooting. He told everyone huddled in the hallway that the situation was "under control" and they could leave safely. However, Marlena wanted to wait for Roman to return and Kim could not bring herself to leave until she knew that Shane was all right. Marlena had tried to talk to Abe, but had been unable to reach him through the throng of people.
Kim looked over at Andrew, who was playing tic-tac-toe with his cousins, but constantly glancing at Kim and the school door with a worried look on his face. Marlena was watching the children as well, but then turned and walked over to Kim. "Do you think we should see if one of the policemen can tell us what's going on?"
"I doubt they'd tell us anything," Kim said. That was her experience. Maybe if Abe was still around, but he had left.
"You don't think they're hurt, do you?" Marlena spoke barely in a whisper so the kids would not hear.
Kim shook her head. "I think they're okay. Abe would have said something." At least, I think he would have.
Another five minutes passed and then they were approached by a man that Kim recognized as a detective from the Salem PD. He was tall with dark, curly hair. Kim searched her mind. Brian something-or-other.
"Mrs. Donovan," he said to her.
"It's Brady," Kim responded, instinctively. She had returned to using her maiden name in Los Angeles. "I'm 'Ms. Brady.'"
"Uh, okay." Brian seemed like a nervous sort of man. "Captain Donovan asked me to make arrangements for you and your son to be taken to his house." He looked up at Marlena. "Mrs. Brady, the Commander asked for you to go there too. He said he would meet you there."
"Is he okay, Detective Scofield?" Marlena asked.
"Yes. They're both fine," he said. "Please . . . I have an officer ready to take you to Captain Donovan's."
Kim looked at Marlena. She and Roman had probably walked to the school, since their home was just a few blocks away, but Kim had driven. "I have my own car," she said.
Brian cleared his throat. "Uh . . . I have explicit instructions from Captain Donovan. He said - and I quote - 'Under no circumstances is Kimberly to drive herself and Andrew.'" Kim rolled her eyes. That sounded exactly like Shane. "Please, Ms. Brady, please do as I ask. If you give me your keys, I'll make sure your car gets to Captain Donovan's house."
"Oh, all right," Kim said. It was just like Shane to go into over-protective mode. It was one thing to take precautions, but not even allowing her to drive her car seemed like overkill. "Come on, Andrew," she said. "The nice police officers will be taking us home."
"Do we get to ride in a police car?" Andrew asked, excitement replacing his terror and worry from earlier.
"Yes, honey," Kim answered. At least someone will enjoy this. She headed for the front doors of the school with Andrew, while Marlena and the twins followed.
They arrived at Shane's house without incident and went directly to the library. While the kids played on the floor with some of Andrew's toys, Simmons brought tea for her and Marlena. They sipped from their cups, silently, as they waited for Shane and Roman.
After close to another hour, the two men finally appeared in the library doorway. Kim started to ask where they had been, but stopped short as she caught sight of Shane. His suit jacket was torn and his face was dirty, with something that looked like soot. Kim glanced at Roman, whose face also was smudged with something black.
Marlena rushed to Roman and gave him a huge hug. "I was so worried," she said. "What happened?"
"It's okay, Doc," he replied. "Everything's okay."
But from his expression and the dark look on Shane's face, Kim knew things were far from okay. "Shane?" she said.
He did not answer her, but instead walked over to the kids and crouched down beside them. "Andrew, why don't you take Sami and Eric to the garden and play out there? But don't go past the garden gates, okay?" Andrew nodded and the kids headed out the door.
Now Kim was confused. Why would Shane tell Andrew to stay inside the garden gates? The estate opened up onto a large grassy area between the garden and the lake, and Andrew regularly played beyond the gated garden. That's where the stables were. "Shane, what's going on?" she asked.
He held his index finger to his lips and walked over to the door the kids had just gone through. He glanced down the hall, apparently to make sure the kids were out of earshot, then closed the door and turned back to face her. Kim felt a chill. Shane's demeanor was starting to scare her.
"What's going on?" she repeated, her voice rising.
"Kimmie, calm down." Roman took her arm and led her to the sofa. "Why don't you sit down so we can explain?"
Kim decided against arguing, so she sat down. "Okay. . . . Explain. Was it Lawrence?"
"We don't know," Roman said. "Most likely, but we didn't get a chance to question the gunman."
"What happened to him?" Kim asked.
Roman sighed. "His car crashed and the gas tank blew up. He's dead."
"So we won't know why he was shooting at us?" Kim asked.
"The forensics team is going over the car looking for clues," Roman said. "We're waiting to hear if they turned up anything."
Kim looked over at Shane, who was oddly quiet. "There's more to it, though? You wouldn't have had Brian Scofield drag us here if there wasn't."
Shane and Roman exchanged glances, then Shane nodded slowly. "Kim . . . I want Andrew to stay here for awhile. He's safer here than at your parents' house. I'll arrange for tutors so, when . . . when this is over, it won't be like he missed any school."
"Wait. . . ." Kim tried to process what Shane was saying. "You're talking like you're going to keep Andrew here as a prisoner."
"It's for his own protection."
Kim stood up and began pacing around the room. "I'm not letting you take my son, Shane."
"I'm not trying to take your son," Shane shot back. "I'm trying to protect our son. That man was shooting at Andrew."
Kim froze. He can't be serious. She looked over at Marlena, who had an equally shocked expression on her face. Kim shook her head. "Andrew's just a boy. Even Lawrence isn't that much of a monster."
Roman stepped toward her, but she stepped back. "Kimmie. . . ."
"No, don't 'Kimmie' me," she snapped. "Shane just said someone tried to kill Andrew. That's crazy. He's a five-year-old."
Shane ran his hands through his hair. "Kim . . . . Who was with you the other day when that car nearly hit you?"
"Steve and Andrew," she said. "But that proves nothing. They just happened to be there."
"No, Sis." Roman shook his head.
Shane took a deep breath. "When I pushed the children to the ground, I was nearly hit by the bullets. The children were several feet away from you. The shooter wouldn't have missed by that much."
"I . . . I don't believe you," Kim said.
"We tracked the trajectory of the shots," Shane explained. He looked at Roman, who nodded, confirming what Shane was saying. "The gun was fired from a yard down the street. We saw where the shell casings landed, so we have a pretty good idea where the shot came from. Given where the slugs landed, he was aiming for a target on the patch of grass where the kids were, not where any of us were standing."
Kim found herself struggling to breathe. She started to hyperventilate, and Marlena grabbed her arm and pulled her to the sofa. No. What he's saying is crazy. Andrew's just a boy.
"Sis, what Shane's saying is true," Roman said, crouching next to her. "Our forensics guys confirmed it."
With Marlena's help, Kim managed to slow her breathing down. It was all sinking in. Lawrence Alamain was trying to kill her son. He was trying to kill Andrew. "How do we stop him?" she asked. They had spent months trying to capture Lawrence, but all they had managed was to put him away for a few months.
Something Shane had said in England flashed in her head. When he found out about Bo and the virus, he had angrily told her that Lawrence would have gone to jail for years if she had testified, but, instead, he would soon be free.
"It's my fault," Kim said, standing up and walking over to the fireplace. "If I'd testified. . . ."
"Don't say that," Shane said, stepping toward her. He looked her in the eyes. "It wouldn't have mattered. Even in prison, Lawrence still has connections."
"What do we do, Shane?" She started to shake and Shane pulled her close to him. Kim pressed her head against his chest. "He can't take our son."
"Nobody's going to hurt Andrew," Shane said. There was a certainty to his tone that was reassuring, as was being in his arms. "I'll take care of Lawrence."
"Whoa, partner," Roman said. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We don't have any evidence that Lawrence is behind this."
"Oh come on, Roman." Shane's voice rose sharply. "Who else would do something like this? Lawrence is a psychopath. I'm not going to sit by and let him hurt our son."
"I'm not saying you need to. Just let us finish our investigation and see if we come up with any evidence."
"That's not good enough," Shane said. He pulled away slightly, though he grasped Kim's arms as he looked at her. "I'm going to deal with Lawrence, okay. Remember how I took care of Cal. I'll see about getting Lawrence an adjoining cell in Alaska."
Kim smiled slightly, as she remembered how Shane had used Johnny Corelli to trick Cal into trying to escape. She needed to hear that.
"Just trust me," Shane said. He looked over at Roman as if daring him to disagree, but Roman just shrugged. Shane looked back at Kim. "For now, we need to keep Andrew safe, and he's a lot safer here than with your parents."
"And what about me?" Kim asked. "Will I need to make an appointment to see my own son?"
"No, of course not," Shane said. "You're always welcome here - whenever you want to come by."
Kim stepped away from Shane. For a moment, she thought about what he said. Then she shook her head and turned back to him. "That's not good enough. If Andrew's going to stay here, so am I - and so is Jeannie."
She could see a look of discomfort cross Shane's face. He was probably thinking about their awkward encounters at Donovan Manor, probably including the night he had came home drunk. Finally, however, Shane nodded. He knew her too well; there was no dissuading her.
"Fine," he said, even though he did not sound pleased. "If that's what it takes, so be it. Roman will arrange for a police officer to go with you while you pack up your things." He looked over at Roman, who nodded in agreement. "Meanwhile, I'm going to get cleaned up," Shane said. "And then I'm going to pay a little visit to our friend Lawrence. He stepped over a line today, and he's not going to get away with it."