Chapter 7: Aftermath

Day 25, Monday

Jack turned to one of the state troopers and asked about being driven to the hospital. Two minutes later, two cars pulled out. A deputy drove Jack to the sheriff’s office in Durham, where he picked up Sarah and told the Cosgroves what had happened. They would be able to go home, with a stop at the Tesla dealership to arrange repairs to their shot-up car. Then the deputy drove Jack and Sarah down to Duke. A second trooper followed with the Watson’s 760i; the Watsons would need to drive around once they saw to their son.

Jack and Sarah found Sophia in the emergency room waiting room. Sophia ran up to them when they came in and hugged her daughter fiercely. “I am never letting you and your brother out of my sight again!”

“How’s Johnnie?” asked Jack.

“His face is covered in blood, and he keeps asking what’s going on and what happened. It’s like he doesn’t know where he is or something,” she answered.

“He might have a concussion,” said Jack. “I once wrote a scene like that. A mild concussion can leave somebody very confused.”

“Anyway, they took him off for a CAT scan. I couldn’t go with him, and I had to sit out here,” Sophia finished. “Now they won’t let me in. They wanted proof we were related, and I left my purse somewhere. We need to get in!”

“Okay, let me see what I can do.” Jack went to the admitting desk and pulled out his wallet. “We’re the Watsons and we want to see our son.”

The nurse glanced at the proffered driver’s license and nodded. “Let me get the doctor for you. Mister Watson is being treated at the moment.”

“Please hurry.”

“It will just be a minute.”

It was closer to ten minutes before a middle-aged black man in scrubs came out; he was pointed to the Watsons. “I’m Doctor Jenson.”

“We want to see our boy,” said Jack.

“Where’s my son? I demand to see him! I want my son!” demanded Sophia.

Jenson held up his hands. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Come on in. We need to talk.” He nodded to the nurse and the door buzzed. He led the Watsons into the treatment area and into one of the bays. Johnnie was laying on an exam table naked but covered with a sheet, his face covered in bandages; some of the bandages showed blood.

“Oh, shit!” said Jack.

“I need to ask some questions. Does your son have any allergies? Any medicines he can’t take? Any medical conditions?” Jenson kept asking questions and trying to get the Watsons to focus on what he needed.

It took several minutes before he answered the questions they kept interrupting him with. “Okay, I can tell you some things. First, your son is in serious condition, but he is stable and will survive. There is no question about that. Don’t be alarmed by the blood on the bandages. Head wounds bleed dramatically, and always look worse than they really are. When he got here, we immediately moved him down to Imaging and ran a CAT scan. He has a number of injuries and we’ll be keeping him here for several days.”

“What injuries?” asked Jack.

“He has a number of blunt force trauma injuries to the left side of his face. It looks like somebody punched him or hit him with something hard...”

Sarah piped up. “I saw him hit Johnnie with a gun. He had it in his right hand! That was when Johnnie tried to keep him away from me.”

The doctor nodded in understanding. “Being pistol whipped with a gun of some sort fits the evidence.” He held his right hand up with his index finger pointed like he was carrying a gun. He slow-motioned swinging his hand at Jack. “That’s why all the damage was to the left side of your son’s face. Anyway, he’s got a broken nose, quite a few cuts and abrasions, a crushed orbital socket, and a broken jaw, along with some busted teeth. He also has a concussion, which is why he’s having a hard time remembering things about the attack. That’s very common. The CT scan didn’t show any skull fractures, cerebral bleeding, or subdural hematomas, so he’ll probably be back to normal by tomorrow. We gave him some Dilaudid for the pain and that has him a little loopy. We’re going to stabilize him for now and take care of the small stuff, but he’ll need a plastic surgeon and an oral surgeon. His jaw is going to be wired shut and he’ll probably need some new teeth. All that being said, he’s in good shape. He’s young and he’s strong. It will take some time, but he’ll be as good as new in a month or two.”

“Can we talk to him?” asked Sophia.

Jenson led the family closer to Johnnie. “You can stay for a few minutes, but when they start prepping him for surgery, you’ll need to leave.”

Sophia took her son’s right hand and began crying, though Johnnie didn’t respond. Jack nodded to the doctor and thanked him, then put an arm around his wife and held his daughter’s hand. Twenty minutes later one of the nurses came in and sent them to a recovery area. It would be a few hours before they would see him again.

A little over two hours later, a different doctor approached the Watsons in the recovery waiting room. Jack looked up from where he was sitting, with his wife and his daughter. “Mister Watson? I’m James Reston. I’m the surgeon who was working on him.”

“We’re the Watsons. How is Johnnie?”

The doctor sat down across from them. “Your son is in good condition, considering. We sewed up some of the cuts. The rest we have bandaged until we begin doing reconstructive surgery. We need to get the swelling under control before we start doing any more work.”

“I want to see him,” said Sophia.

Reston nodded. “You can see him, but we have him sedated for the time being. That’s as much to take care of the pain as it is to keep him from moving around while the swelling goes down. We also have him on an antibiotic regimen. You should go home. He’s going to be unconscious until tomorrow.”

“I want to see my son!”

Jack nodded and hugged his wife. “We’ll see him now, but then leave. I’m not sure where we’ll be, though. I think our house is now a gigantic crime scene.”

“Yeah, I heard something like that. Maybe the cops will let you back in to get some stuff and you can move into a hotel for a day or two,” commented the doctor.

“Will you be doing the surgery?” asked Jack.

“No,” said the surgeon. “I simply have him stabilized and bandaged. He’ll be needing a plastic surgeon and an oral surgeon. I’ve sent a note to some people on staff, some really good people, but they can’t start until the swelling goes down, maybe in a couple of days.”

“A plastic surgeon?” asked Sarah. She had been quiet up to that point but was very curious about what was going on.

“John’s your brother?” Sarah nodded and Reston continued. “When your brother was hit, several bones were broken. You know his nose was broken...” The surgeon touched his own nose. “ ... and his left orbital socket was crushed. That’s the bony area surrounding his left eye. Now, as far as we can tell, there wasn’t any damage to the eye itself, but the eye socket will need to be rebuilt.” He traced the bone with an index finger. “Also, his jaw is broken on the left side. That will require a separate surgery. We’ll need to wire his jaw shut for a couple of months. After that, he is probably looking at some major dental work, some implants on that side.”

“Jesus!” exclaimed the teen. “He saved my life!” Sophia began crying.

Reston finished by saying, “There’s a lot of work involved, and several surgeries. With all that being said, John is young and in good shape, and the surgeries are very standard, real bread and butter stuff. In two or three months, he’ll be as good as new.”

“Thank you, Doctor. If we could at least look in on him, we can get out of everybody’s hair,” said Jack.

“Of course.” The doctor turned them over to a nurse, who took them to their son’s recovery room.

Sophia began crying again as soon as she saw her son. Most of Johnnie’s head and face was covered in bandages, and only his right eye could be seen, although there was an opening for his mouth. He was asleep but breathing normally. She took his hand and squeezed it, but Johnnie slept on. After a few minutes, Jack led his family from the room, stopping at the nurses’ station to let them know they’d be back the next day. Then they went out and found the 760i.

From the hospital they went back to the Durham County Sheriff’s Office. After being buzzed in, they asked to see whoever was in charge of the Watson case. A sergeant asked, “Are you the Watsons?”

“Yes,” answered Jack.

“Good. Stay here. I’ll get the lieutenant. He can help.”

“And can we go home?”

“The lieutenant will be able to help.” The sergeant picked up a phone and dialed an internal extension.

A few minutes later a man in a suit came in. “I’m Lieutenant Russell Wallinger. Are you folks the Watsons?”

“I’m Jack, this is my wife, Sophia, and our daughter, Sarah. Can we go home?”

“Let’s go in my office. We need to talk.” He came around the front desk and led the family down a hallway. Once in his office, he had the Watsons sit and then went around behind his desk. “Okay, first, how is your son doing?”

“He looks terrible, but the doctors all seemed to think he was going to get better,” said Jack.

“He looks awful! He’s covered in bandages,” added Sarah.

Wallinger nodded and smiled. “That matches what the ambulance guys told me. For what it’s worth, head injuries bleed much more than wounds anywhere else. Duke’s a good hospital. If they think they can fix him up, they’re probably right. Now, about your house - you can’t move back home, not just yet. It’s a crime scene and will take a day or so to process.”

“Why?” asked Sophia. “You killed the man who attacked Johnnie.”

“I hate to say it, but just because. We need to finish processing the scene. Did Roger Drebin leave any clues about his other crimes? Did he only enter the main house, or did he go out back? We need some answers.”

“But still, Lieutenant...”, started Jack.

“There’s more to this case than just the final attack on your son. Roger Drebin, the man who was holding him hostage had already killed at least five people to get this far. There are lots of questions we need answers for. We want you all to make a statement for us, and don’t be at all surprised if the FBI tracks you down.”

Jack looked at his wife and daughter in disbelief. At least five dead? The FBI was involved? “Jesus!” he muttered.

“Now, what do you need to do at your home?” asked Wallinger.

“We’ve all been away for a long weekend. Is there any way we can get some fresh clothing, take a quick shower, that sort of thing?” asked Jack.

“If you can go in through the back and avoid the front rooms, I can pass the word to the guys we still have out there. We’re keeping a man stationed in the driveway to keep people away.”

“We can go in the back door and up the back steps.”

“I’m sure we’ll be out of there in two days. You can move back home Wednesday afternoon,” said the lieutenant. Jack and Sophia looked at each other and nodded. Wallinger continued, “Now, before you leave, I have some questions for you. Sarah gave us a statement when she and the Cosgroves came in. It’s not official, though, so I want her to review what she said and then sign off on it. Can we do that now?”

“Can we read it first?” asked Sophia.

“Of course. Your daughter is a minor, so we have to have you read it and sign as well.” He dug through a file on his desk and handed over several sheets of paper.

Sarah read it first, and then her parents looked it over. It was very jarring to Jack and Sophia to read their daughter’s words about Johnnie being beaten up and attacking the crazy man to let her escape. “Is this correct, Sarah?”

“Pretty much. It wasn’t like I saw all that much. I came in the door and saw this guy beating on Johnnie and he yelled for me to get out of there, so I got out of there. The next thing I know, a gun is going off and bullets are flying, and Cozzie and her mother brought me down here.”

“If that’s alright, why don’t you sign it, Miss Watson, and your parents can sign it next.” The Watsons signed the paper and then Wallinger had more questions. Where had Johnnie been staying? Where were Jack and Sophia staying over the weekend? Did they have phone numbers to verify where they had been? What was their timeline over the weekend? He promised to have something typed up for them and ready to review the next day. With that he let the Watsons leave and said he would call out to the deputy stationed at their house.

The Watsons were stopped by a uniformed deputy parked at the end of their driveway. After checking their identities, he backed his cruiser out of the way. Then he sent the Watsons up to the house. “Make sure you go in the back way, and don’t go anyplace that is taped off. There’s a photographer working the scene at the moment, so stay out of his way. You’re just going to clean up and change?”

“And grab some clothing. We’ve been told we need to stay in a motel for a few days,” said Jack.

“Just don’t take anything from the first floor.” He passed the Watsons through and then moved his patrol vehicle back into position. So far, the local media hadn’t caught on to what was going on, but that wouldn’t last.

It was very unsettling to see deputies and crime scene technicians in their home. There was blood on the front porch and the front door, and what looked like bullet damage to the door and frame. They went around to the rear and went in the back. Yellow crime scene tape kept them from going into the kitchen, so they all went upstairs. They dumped off their laundry and while Sophia and Sarah began cleaning up, Jack went down the hall to the front stairs. He went down just far enough to be able to see the living room and foyer. There was more bullet damage, and what seemed like gallons of blood sprayed around. Shaking his head, Jack went back up the stairs and down the hall to his and Sophia’s bedroom. He needed to shower and change, too.

“How bad is it?” asked Sophia.

“Bad enough. You do not want to see it. I need to call Bill Cooper about our insurance. Maybe they have somebody to do cleanup,” replied her husband. “Listen, for the next few days, I think we’d both better plan on PG-rated clothing.”

Sophia gave him a wry smile. Running around the hospital and sheriff’s office without a bra had been disconcerting. “We? Or me?” She didn’t wait for an answer but went to her dresser and pulled out underwear. Jack went past her into their bathroom.

An hour after they arrived, Jack, Sophia, and Sarah got back into the car and went back down the driveway. They were stopped by the deputy. “The lieutenant wants you to give him a call when you find a place to stay. He wants to know where you’re going to be. Do you have his number?”

“We have his card,” said Jack.

“That will do. Make sure he has your numbers, as well.” He nodded back up the driveway. “Do yourself a favor and call your insurance agent. They are going to want to see a police report of some type, and probably send out an insurance adjuster. You’ll get something out of them.” With that, he got into his cruiser and let the Watsons leave.

Jack drove into Durham and went to a nearby Marriott, where he got two adjoining rooms. They put Sarah in one and Jack and Sophia took the other. Then they went out to dinner. Later, Jack and Sophia went to bed, but nothing happened. It had been too scary a day for romance, and Sophia went to sleep in her husband’s arms, crying silently into his chest.

Day 26, Tuesday

The next morning Jack and Sophia found that Sarah had joined them in bed, sleeping next to her mother. It was obvious she had been crying as well. All three were very shook up by the events of the previous day. They cleaned up and left the hotel, heading towards a nearby diner before going to the hospital. It was mid-morning when they got to Johnnie’s hospital room, and they found him with his bed tilted up and watching television. He turned to face the door as his family came in.

“Jesus, it’s the Mummy!” commented Jack. His son gave him a thumbs-up and made an unintelligible murmur.

“Johnnie!” yelled Sarah. She ran up to the hospital bed and gingerly reached out to him. “Oh, God, Johnnie! I am so sorry!”

Johnnie had a pad and pen by his bed, and he reached over and grabbed it. He wrote out, ‘sorry why’.

“Because you got hit when you yelled out for me to run! You saved my life!”

Johnnie shook his head and wrote out, ‘don’t remember’.

Jack snorted and gently clapped his son’s shoulder. “Have they told you what’s going on?” Johnnie gave a waffling motion, so Jack and Sophia told him what they had been told the other day.

Johnnie shrugged and wrote, ‘laptop’ and ‘typing’. He wanted something he could type with faster and neater than his handwriting. They promised to find him something. Then they told him what they had learned about the attack.

An hour later, a doctor came by and gave them the latest, which was the same as they had heard the other afternoon. They wanted to wait another day before working further. A plastic surgeon was planning on coming in and starting on Johnnie’s face. He was planning to fix his nose and rebuild the orbital socket. An oral surgeon was also going to come in and look at the work he needed to do, but that might not be for another day or two.

Jack, Sophia, and Sarah stayed at the hospital with their son the rest of the day, even sitting quietly when he would fall asleep from the pain killers. They left only when the nurses told them that Johnnie needed to rest. They promised to come back the next morning, then took off. They went to a steak house ten minutes away, and then headed back to the Marriott. That night, however, Sophia told Sarah to stay in her room. The teen glanced over at her father, cluelessly watching the news on the television, and commented, “I can’t come in tonight if I get scared?”

“Not without asking first. Last night you needed somebody to hug. Maybe it’s my turn.”

“Okay, Mom, just don’t get too loud while you’re hugging Dad,” laughed Sarah.

Sophia blushed and closed her side of the twin doors between the adjoining rooms. Then she went into the bathroom to cleanup. It had been a long day, and she had been sweating nervously every time she talked to one of the doctors or nurses. She showered and pulled on an oversize t-shirt before heading back to the bedroom.

Jack was laying on one side of the king size bed and noticed as his wife came around the bed and began to pull down the top comforter. “Going to bed?” he asked.

“It’s been a long day,” Sophia answered.

Jack nodded. He got off the bed and helped her pull the comforter down, and then lay down on the top sheet on his side. Sophia climbed into bed and pulled up the sheet, but then pulled off her t-shirt and tossed it at the television, an event that her husband noticed. He looked at her, covered with the sheet, though with her bare shoulders showing. “Going to bed but not going to sleep?”

“Jack, I am just so scared. I need you to hold me tonight.”

Jack nodded. “I can do that. Give me a few minutes.” He went into the bathroom and cleaned up, and then pulled his briefs back on and climbed into bed with Sophia. He wasn’t surprised when she reached over and pulled his briefs off. His cock was already stiff when she tossed his briefs out of the bed and began stroking him. “This is holding?” he asked.

“Are you complaining?”

“Not really.” Jack moved closer and gently kissed Sophia on the lips, and then reached around her and pulled her against him. He began rubbing her back and her bottom, and Sophia kept playing with his cock. Then he felt her hands shifting, and one hand went between her legs as the other kept stroking his cockshaft. “Ummmmm ... that’s very nice,” he whispered.

Sophia shifted and brought up the hand that had been between her legs. She put her fingers to his lips and said, “Taste me! I need you!”

Jack moved slightly and put a hand between them. He slipped a finger between her pussy lips and found it a hot soup of pussyjuice. “Rub your clit,” he told her, and then pushed his finger into her cunt, searching for his wife’s G-spot. A loud gasp signified that he had found it.

“Oh, Jack, I need you! I need you!” whimpered Sophia. “Fuck me, fuck me!”

Jack kept fingering Sophia and added in some nipple sucking and licking, driving her crazy with need. Sophia gasped and cried out as she squirmed on the bed, kicking off the sheet and humping her bottom off the bed. Then Jack decided to end his torment and pulled his hand out. He moved into position as Sophia spread her pussylips apart and he sank into her in a single slow push. Sophia gasped and wrapped her arms and legs around him and Jack began to slowly fuck his wife in long, deep strokes.