Chapter Twenty #2
"What you probably didn't know is that you're not the first woman to have to deal with this prick.
His ex-girlfriend showed up at the station today, with mountains of evidence against him, and she's still within the statute of limitations to press charges.
If you can give a statement and have any evidence of the abuse, Carter will go away for a long-ass time. "
"A-are you serious?" Tansy's trying to hold back tears, but the moment I nod, the flood gates open.
She sobs into her hands as Calli wraps an arm around her in comfort.
It takes a few minutes for Tansy to calm down, but when she finally does, I see a fire in her eyes that hasn't been there in weeks.
"Let's get this bastard."
"Fuck yeah." I smile as Calli cheers.
"Jo-Jo, check in," Boomer's gruff voice comes through on my comms.
I can immediately tell something's wrong. "What's up?"
"You somewhere you can talk?"
"Give me a second." Turning towards a puzzled Tansy and worried Calli, I do my best to look calm. "Boomer has an update. I'm gonna go by the front door so I can hear him better. I'll only be a minute."
Calli nods. I can hear her explain to Tansy what's going on as I walk away. Before I make it to the front door, I hear Tansy say she's going to grab tea and ask Calli if she wants anything. I can see into the kitchen from here and the living room, so I'm not too worried about either woman.
"Okay, all clear."
"She's gone, Jo-Jo."
"What the fuck? What do you mean?"
"I pulled up, and there was no cop car. I didn't see an undercover car either, so I got suspicious.
When I got to the house, the front door was ajar.
I nudged it open with my foot and entered.
I found her shot in the chest and head. Her shirt was open and the words ‘traitorous whore’ were carved into her stomach below the gunshot wound. "
"Fuck. Did you call it in?"
"Not yet. Needed to warn you first. You need to be on high alert. I'm on my way to you, but it will be at least five minutes."
"We should be fine. Call Beau and get your ass here."
We sign off, and it's the first time I realize I can't see Tansy in the kitchen anymore. I signal to Calli to be quiet and to come to me.
"What's wrong?" she whispers, fear lacing her voice.
"Carter got to the ex. She's gone, and he's most likely completely unhinged at this point. I need you to find a place to hide. He could already be here. It shouldn't have taken Tansy that long to get a drink, and it's way too fucking quiet. Is there another way into the house other than this door?"
"Th-there's a door that enters the kitchen."
"Fuck." I really wish I brought my damn gun. Pulling out one of my throwing knives, I hold it in one hand and my tactical knife in the other. "Go hide. Do not come out until I get you, or Beau or Boomer get here. You understand?"
"Y-yes."
I wait until Calli's out of sight before making my way towards the kitchen. Tansy's cabinets have glass panes in them, allowing me a glimpse into the kitchen I otherwise wouldn't be able to see.
Carter is in the kitchen with Tansy, a gun to her head as she silently cries. I can't hear his words since he's whispering, but I can only imagine what delusional bullshit he's filling her head with.
"P-please, Carter. Don't do this. I haven't said anything to the cops, and I won't. I promise."
"That's what that traitorous whore said, but she fucking lied. All you women do is lie." He waves the gun carelessly through the air before he starts pacing.
Carter's definitely losing his shit, but that could work out to my advantage.
I take my chance and enter the kitchen, sending my throwing knife at his hand with the gun.
He howls in pain as he fumbles the gun, rips the throwing knife from his hand, and tosses it on the floor.
I move further into the kitchen but stop when he grabs Tansy, who was frozen to the spot, by the hair and pulls her towards him.
He's struggling to hold the gun and her, but that only makes him more unpredictable.
"Come on, Carter. Let her go. The cops know you killed your ex. There's no reason to hurt Tansy when she hasn't done anything to you."
"Fuck you, bitch. She's the whole reason we're in this mess. She's the whole reason the cops started looking into me. If she could've just been a better girlfriend, I never would've laid a hand on her. She—"
"Enough, dickhead. Tansy didn't do shit.
I did. I heard about how you were treating her but couldn't dispose of you like I wanted to, so I went to the cops.
You practically hand-fed us the case by being the piece of shit that you are.
The game is up. You're done. You're going to jail for the rest of your miserable life, and Tansy's going to have a second chance without you. "
"Fuck you. My life might be over, but I'll make damn sure nobody else will ever want her either."
Before I can get close enough, Carter grabs a bottle off the counter and throws it in Tansy's face. Her screams will haunt me for the rest of my life. Stunned, I watch in horror as her skin melts off her face.
Rage fuels me as I charge past a crippled Tansy and plunge my tactical knife into Carter's stomach.
His eyes widen in surprise. He tries to raise the gun, but I thrust the knife in further and drag it up his stomach.
Warm blood flows from his stomach faster than he can stop it.
Carter tries raising his gun again, but I knock it out of his hand as I watch the life drain from his eyes.
It doesn't take long for him to succumb to his wounds.
"Jo-Jo what the fuck is going on there? Check in."
"Get here now, Boomer. Call Beau and tell him we need a life flight."
"For fuck's sake, Jo."
I don't have time to worry about Boomer. "Calli, I need you."
She comes running but lets out a pained cry when she sees Tansy.
"Listen to me. I need you to focus, okay? First, switch shirts with me." She does but looks confused about it.
I wash all traces of Carter’s blood off me then search the kitchen for what I’m looking for. Understanding flashes in Calli’s eyes as I grab a towel off the counter, go to the butcher block, grab a knife that's close to my tactical knife, then motion her closer.
"Okay, this is going to be asking a lot of you, and if you can't do it, that's okay. I can't be tied to this if I want to keep helping people like I helped you. I need you to shove this knife into his stomach and follow the path of the cut I made."
Calli's face pales in horror. I don't think she's going to do it, but I watch in awe as she straightens her spine and nods. She does exactly what I asked, then sets the knife on the counter and goes to Tansy's side.
"That was perfect. I went to grab my phone out of the jeep when Carter came in through the kitchen door. He threw the acid at Tansy after threatening you both with the gun, so you grabbed the knife off the counter and defended yourself. I came inside, called Beau, and helped with Tansy, okay?”
"You went to the jeep to get your phone, Carter came through the kitchen, he threatened us then attacked Tansy, and I stabbed him in self-defense."
"Good job, babe. Keep talking to her. Beau should be here any second."
Pulling out my phone, I dial Beau and head towards the front door.
"What the fuck is going on, Jolene?"
"We need you at Tansy's house, and we need the life flight. Please tell me you're close, Beau." My voice cracks at the end, my composure slipping for the first time all evening.
"I'm coming, Joey girl. I'll be there in a minute."
"Okay. Love you, pretty boy."
"Love you too, Jolene."
Knock, knock, knock!
"Jo, open the door!" Boomer bellows from the other side.
"Boomer's here. I'm gonna hang up."
"Okay. See you in less than a minute."
I hang up and open the door for Boomer, relieved to see he has his medic pack on his shoulder, but I don't know if there's anything he can do for Tansy. "Come on. She's in the kitchen."
When we make it into the kitchen, Calli has Tansy's head in her lap as her hands hover over her friend, afraid to touch her and hurt her more.
Her face is almost unrecognizable at the moment, and I wonder if Carter shooting her would have been the kinder thing.
With one look at Boomer, I know he's thinking the same thing.
"Please help her," Calli begs as tears stream down her face.
"I'll do what I can, but she really needs to get to the hospital. Lay her on the floor," Boomer directs as he walks to the sink and turns on the cold water. He lets it run for a minute before pulling the hose over the side and gently running it over her burned face. Tansy's cries break my heart.
Before I know it, Beau is flying into the kitchen with two EMTs hot on his heels. He screeches to a halt at the sight of Tansy on the floor. Rage fills his face as he takes in the severely injured woman.
Unable to stay away a moment longer, I cross the room and bury my face in his chest.
The EMTs load Tansy on the stretcher and take her out the front door. Boomer offers to drive Calli to the hospital while I head to the station with Beau. Before we go separate directions, he lets Boomer know an officer will be coming to the hospital to get Calli's statement.
"Come on, Joey girl. Let's go give your statement then go home. There's not much more we can do tonight."
"Alright."
Once in his truck, Beau looks at me expectantly. He doesn't normally want to know what happens, but I need to tell him about tonight. I spill everything, including how I goaded Carter to try and get a reaction so I could save Tansy. I sob as I admit that I ruined her entire life tonight.
"Shh, I would've done the same thing if I had been in your shoes. This isn't your fault."
"We failed her, Beau. We didn't get to her in time. And even though I was there, he still did irreparable damage."
"You can't look at it like that, Jolene.
He had inside help. The officer who took Carter's ex home tipped him off.
That's how he got into the rental and why there wasn't an officer there when Boomer got there.
He had the drop on us because of another damn crooked cop.
We were fighting a losing battle, Joey girl.
“You've got to let this guilt go, or it will eat you alive.
Yes, things don't look great for Tansy right now, but Carter's dead and she's still alive.
We might not be able to say that if you hadn't insisted on looking into her situation and getting us involved.
Now, let's get this paperwork out of the way and go home.
We can check in with Boomer in a bit, and get an update on Tansy and Calli, then we need to sleep. Okay?"
"Okay."
"I love you, Jolene."
"I love you too, Beau."
Getting everything squared away at the station isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I don’t know if it’s because I’m with Beau, the bad guy is dead, or because they’re all worried about Tansy, but nobody even questions my events of the night.
And like Beau promised, we get an update from Boomer, then Beau takes me to get my jeep so we can head home to crash for the night.
Tonight was one of the worst of my life, but having Beau to weather this storm with is the only thing keeping the guilt and despair at bay. I don't know what I did to deserve this man, but I will forever be grateful that he loves me for me, flaws and all.