Chapter 40
Chris was only with Emily for ten minutes or so, but it felt more like ten hours as I wore a path in the tile floor outside her door. Meg put her hand on my arm, leaned up and whispered, “You’re making everyone nervous.”
I could only imagine how I looked to other people right now, pacing the floor like a man possessed, a mixture of fear, determination, and impatience written all over my face.
I couldn’t help it, I needed to talk to Emily and make sure she was okay. And make things right. To tell her how I felt, and beg her to forgive me. This time she can’t run away from me if there’s a misunderstanding.
I closed the distance to Emily’s door when I saw it open. Chris had his arm around his mom’s shoulders as he led her out. Mrs. Taylor still looked overwhelmed, but at least she wasn’t in shock anymore.
“Mrs. Taylor, I’m so sorry.” On impulse, I pulled out a pink rose and handed it to her.
“You have nothing to apologize for, Jamie. It was our fault, we left the backdoor unlocked.” I didn’t know that. Not that it changed anything, none of this was their fault. “We never thought…” her voice cracked as she fought back tears.
“It’s not your fault. Is it Jamie?” Chris asked.
I didn’t need his prompting, the responsibility was mine and I wouldn’t hide from it. “No, it isn’t.” I paused to gather the strength to tell her it was my failure for not posting someone at the back.
But Chris said, “Emily wants to see you,” and I forgot about everything else.
“I’ll check on you and Mr. Taylor in a few minutes, okay?”
“Take all the time you need with Emily.” She patted me on the arm.
I heard Meg tell Chris as I walked to her door. “John will be here as soon-” Her voice faded as I made eye contact with Emily from the doorway.
Now that she’d been cleaned up I could see the extend of her injuries. She was in bad shape; her left eye was so swollen she could barely open it and her left cheek was a nasty shade of purple. There were cuts on the left side of her swollen mouth. He’d hit her hard, and often. I clenched my teeth as any regret I might”ve had about Craig dying on scene vanished.
“Jamie?” Her voice, small and scared, broke me out of my trance.
“Emily, I’m so sorry.” I closed the distance to the right side of her bed.
She shook her head. “Not your fault.” She was lisping a little because of the swelling. And they’d probably given her a pain killer or muscle relaxant.
“If I had-”
She cut me off. “No. I didn’t think he was a threat anymore. I even told my parents I didn’t need protection anymore.” She winced a little as she reached for a tissue. I grabbed the box and held it where she could easily reach it. She wiped her eyes, flinching when she put too much pressure on the bruised one. “I was wrong. I should have let you put a camera at the back door. I should have taken the threat seriously. If I had...” She closed her eyes.
It was killing me to hear her blaming herself. None of this was her fault. She didn’t make him drink or get violent, and she couldn’t have known the lengths he’d go to to get revenge.
“Emily, stop. Please. None of this is your fault, nor is it your parent’s fault. The only person at fault is Craig.” I looked at the IV in her arm and the bruises on her face. “And me, for not insisting on better coverage.”
“It’s not your fault either. You couldn’t have known.”
“But I did. I knew better than to leave the backdoor unguarded.”
“Maybe, but you tried to tell me and I didn’t listen.”
I sighed. “Can we both stop blaming ourselves for a minute?” I was still holding the roses. “I want to apologize for-”
“I thought we weren’t blaming ourselves.” Her battered smirk let me know she was kidding.
I laughed. “That’s not why I’m apologizing.” I handed her the roses. “I came to the house earlier because I wanted to apologize for being a fool, and thinking I could stay better focused if we weren’t dating.”
She took the flowers and sniffed them. They must have tickled her nose because she sneezed, then cried out, “Ow, God, that hurt my whole body.”
“Should I call the nurse?” I still didn’t know how bad her internal injuries were.
“No. I’m okay now.” She handed the roses back to me. “They’re beautiful. Can you put them on the table for me?”
I did, then took her hands. “Emily, can you ever forgive me for being a stupid stubborn ass?”
Despite the swollen cut lip and the purple bruises, her smile lit up her face. “I already have. I was going to call after I got home from shopping with Ashley to tell you I was being stupid.” She laughed, then clamped her jaw to bite back the pain. “I’m sorry too.”
“Forgiven.” I didn’t think she needed to apologize, but it wouldn’t get us anywhere to go around the ‘it’s not your fault loop’ again. “What a pair we make, huh?” I kissed her hand. “Too stubborn for our own good?”
She laughed as she patted the edge of the bed. I sat down as gently as I could and asked her about her injuries; grateful when she told me they were mostly superficial. Though the doctor wanted to keep her overnight for observation, because of the kicks to her head. I clenched my back teeth when I pictured him hitting and kicking her. Then I reminded myself; he’s gone; it’s over.
The only other injury of note was her bruised ribs; which I knew from experience would bother her for a while.
Emily paled as she told me about her parents injuries, then said, “Mom’s staying with Dad tonight, if the nurses let her.” I made a mental note to talk to the head nurse and arrange for it to happen.
Emily said, ”come in,” when she heard a light knock on the door.
Jack stepped inside the door and asked, “Hey Emily? How are you feeling?”
“Better now. Thanks.”
“Is everything okay?” I asked, knowing he wouldn’t have come in without a damn good reason.
“You’re not answering your messages.”
I have more important things to do. I glared at him. “And?”
“There’s an officer here to take Emily’s statement.” He turned to Emily. ”You up for it?”
“You don’t have to, we can tell them to come back.” I didn’t want her feeling pressured while she was still processing everything that had happened.
“No, I want to get it over with.” She squeezed my hand. “Can you stay with me?”
Happily. “Yeah, though they may ask me to stand off to the side.”
“That’s okay.” She told Jack, “You can tell them I’m ready. Thanks Jack.”
Her hands fluttered over her hair as she tried to tame it, then laughed. “I’m sure I look much better now that my hair is in place.”
“You’re beautiful.” I kissed her hand again and stood up as Jack opened the door and let in two Weatherford officers. I knew them both, which made it easier for me to get permission to stay. They instructed me to stand at the foot of the bed, and keep my mouth shut. I knew the drill, I’d been in their position more often than I liked. One of the hardest parts of being a police officer was questioning someone after a traumatic experience, but it had to be done.
Emily put on a brave face and answered their questions like a champ. My heart filled with pride and respect. She has no idea just how strong she is.
As I walked the officers out, I asked if they knew when they’d release the house.
“We still don’t have an answer.”
Still?Dad or Jack must have asked. “Thanks. Stay safe out there.” I shook their hands, then closed the door behind them.
Emily was asleep when I turned around. Not wanting her to wake up alone, I texted Chris and asked him to come sit with her so I could check on their parents. Two minutes later he knocked once before opening the door.
“You two okay?” He whispered when I met him near the door.
“Yeah, I think so.” I paused then asked, “We good?”
“Yeah, I think so.” He parroted with a sly grin. The jury’s still out. Chris would reserve judgement until he’d talked to Emily; as a brother myself I completely understood.
Jack, Meg, AJ, and Doug were in the waiting room down the hall, so I stopped by and thanked them, then released them for the night. Not surprisingly they said they’d stick around for a while longer. Meg handed me a coffee and a vending machine sandwich. I hadn’t even realized I was hungry until I heard my stomach growl at the sight of the cellophane wrapped food. “Thanks.”
I scoffed down half the sandwich and chugged half the bitter coffee before going to see Mr. and Mrs. Taylor. There weren’t enough words in my vocabulary to express how sorry I was, but I had to try.
I knocked on the door and heard a faint, “Come in.”
My dad was talking quietly to Mrs. Taylor while Mr. Taylor slept. I wasn’t expecting her to get up and give me a hug when I walked in, but that’s exactly what she did.
“Oh Jamie, I can’t thank you enough for saving us.” I wasn’t expecting that either, not after she’d been so reserved in the hallway earlier. I didn’t deserve her gratitude, in fact, I was here to apologize. I looked at my dad, and he must have seen it in my eyes because he shook his head. So instead of apologizing I said, “You’re welcome Mrs. Taylor.”
She wiped a tear from her eye. “How many times must I ask you to call me Anne?”
I looked at my father, who smiled and shrugged. I was on my own. “Anne, how are you feeling? Is there anything I can get for you?”
“No, I’m just glad you’re here. Did Emily talk to the officers? Is she okay?”
“She did, she is; she was sleeping when I left. Chris is with her.”
“Good. Good.” She patted my arm.
“How is Mr. Taylor? Emily mentioned he has a minor concussion, but is he okay other than that?” That was a stupid question, a concussion in a fifty-eight year old man was serious, no matter how “minor” it was.
“A few bruises and seven stitches in his forehead. It could have been a lot worse.” She brought her hand to her mouth and exhaled sharply. I could see her fighting back her tears. “I thought the damn fool was going to get himself shot.”
I pulled her into a hug. She might not have any physical injuries but she’d been held hostage, had her life threatened, and watched her husband and daughter get beat up—that’d leave an emotional scar. She’d need just as much time to heal from her emotional wounds as they’d need for their physical ones. If not more.
She pulled away. “Your dad was just telling me SSI is going to replace our doors as soon as the police are done collecting evidence. Can you please tell him that’s not necessary?”
“No ma’am.” I was going to suggest the same thing.
She gave me a scolding look. “You don’t need to do that. You’ve already done so much for us.”
The former cop in me wanted to say something like ‘just doing our job ma’am’ but I couldn’t. This had always been more than just a job for me. A lot more.
“Mrs. Tay-Anne,” I corrected myself when she gave me the mom look. “I’m sorry I couldn’t prevent what happened tonight. I feel like I let all of you down.”
“This isn’t on you.” My dad used his no-nonsense tone. Great, it wasn’t enough that I was getting the mom-voice treatment from Mrs. Taylor, but I could sense an incoming lecture from my dad. Please don’t embarrass me in front of Emily’s mom.
“I know you feel responsible because of your feelings for Emily, but this isn’t on you. We work as a team, and we did everything we could given the circumstances. And while I don’t feel good about what happened tonight, none of us are to blame.”
“Yes, sir.” The logical part of my brain knew he was right. We’d suggested things that might have prevented what happened tonight, but Emily had declined them all with a hard no. Not that we blamed her, or her parents, for not wanting to feel like they were living under a microscope. I’m sure Chris is blaming himself too. But the only person to blame was Craig Hopper. And he’s gone now.
“Are you sure I can’t get you anything Mrs-Anne?”
“I’m good. I’m going to rest here a bit with Chris. I don’t want him to be alone when he wakes up.” Before I could respond, I was overcome with the visceral need to be at Emily’s side, to be there when she woke up.
She saw me look at the door and said, “go back to Emily,” as she sat beside her husband and held his hand.
I leaned down and gave her a peck on the cheek. “Thank you.”
I asked, “Any trouble with WPD?” As Dad walked me to the door.
“Nothing I can’t handle, son.” I nodded, comforted with the knowledge we’d be able to repair any damage we’d done to our relationship with them. “And before you suggest it, I’ve already asked Meg to schedule a crime scene clean up company for tomorrow. And Dean and Eric are watching the house, front and back.”
There might not be a threat to the Taylors anymore but crime scenes could attract all sorts of curious, and sometimes destructive, people. And thanks to us, the Taylors no longer have functioning doors.
“Thanks, Dad.” He knew me too well. Not that it was hard, I was just like him.
And damn proud of it.
Dad had also convinced the nurses to allow me and Mrs. Taylor to stay the night.
Emily and I spent it talking a little and sleeping a lot.
I never thought I would feel this way about anyone ever again, but as I watched Emily drift off to sleep in the early morning hours I realized maybe I could.