Chapter 35

After perhaps eight shots, Patrick began yelling over the whooping and horn blasts of the car alarm, "Two shooters! Two shooters! Stay down! Stay down!" The sound of Patrick's voice caused Dex to turn his head to watch the action. As Patrick reached the trees, Randy yelled out "Gun! Gun!" again. In silhouette, Dex saw Patrick raise his gun with both hands and there were three more quick reports.

After Randy's yell and the last three shots, Jeanette screamed, which turned out to be the only sound any of the women made until it was over. Apparently hearing his wife, Patrick bellowed out "We're OK! We're OK! We're OK!" There followed twenty or thirty seconds of silence, then Randy called out "It's over! You can get up!"

The owner of the shrieking SUV must have been waiting at the door for an all clear, because he dashed out with his fob and brought a merciful end to the clamor. He stood looking in dismay at the two windows that had been taken out by Alex's stray shot.

Out at the tree line, Randy was gaping at the two bodies in front of him. "Holy Shit, L.T.! That was some shooting!"

"All those years! All that practice! I never even broke leather when I was on patrol," Patrick said in obvious disbelief.

"Well, it sure came back when you needed it," Randy said, still shaking his head.

"Makes all that work more than worth it, I'll tell you!"

"Uh, Patrick, I'm not sure if that second fucker was really going for his gun or just reaching for help," Randy said almost apologetically.

"Wouldn't have mattered! I was ready to shoot on any movement. He comes for my family, he gets no mercy." They stepped gingerly around the body for another minute, then Patrick observed "Damn! This guy's dressed like he was going to a board meeting!"

"I'll be damned! That's Alex Kolchek you just wasted. What in the Hell... ? My friend, I am afraid you and me are going to be sitting across from a lot of suits and badges for a long time on this one!"

"Just glad I don't have to do the paperwork," Patrick quipped, and they both laughed. "Say, Son, you've got some balls charging at these guys like that!"

"I hate being a sitting duck. If some guy wants to waste me, I want to make sure he's a damned fine shooter." This produced an even louder laugh from the two.

Jeanette was on her feet, but badly shaken. "H... h... how can they laugh at this?" she almost sobbed.

Dex was at her side in a flash. "Jeanette, if Patrick couldn't laugh, he would have a severe case of the shakes right now. It's a tension release. A hug from you would be another great tension release - go to him!"

The words were barely out of Dex's mouth when Elise let out a shriek. "Oh, God! Dex! No!" With that, she fainted and crumpled in a heap.

"What the..." Dex started to say as he spun back toward her. He scooped her up off the gravel and held her across both arms with her head on his shoulder.

"I think I see the problem, Buddy. You've got blood on your back," Tim told him. Dex then remembered the stinging sensation after the first gunshot. They later deduced that a bullet had hit the gravel not far behind Dex, smashing a stone and sending three shards into his back. Two of them had gone in quite deep, and produced enough blood to give Elise her scare when Dex turned away from her.

Dex told Megan which pocket he kept his keys in, and had her fish them out. Tim took them and opened the Jeep so Dex could set Elise down on the seat. He knelt on the running board beside her until she revived, then reassured her that he was all right. She went from relief that he was OK to embarrassment at her overreaction to renewed shock as she remembered what had happened.

By that time, all the players, refs and spectators from the current game were either out in the lot or looking out through the doors. Randy's earlier police training returned to him, and he and Patrick set about cordoning off the scene, including where Dex, Tim, and the women had gone to the ground, and the spot where the bullet had hit the ground behind Dex.

With action of any kind finally stopped, shock set in on all of them. Apparently, someone in the gym had called 911, because within three minutes, the first siren came screaming up the street. Before ten minutes had passed, there were five squads and a paramedic truck in the lot. The coroner's wagon took almost thirty minutes to appear.

Over his objections, the paramedics decided Dex needed attention first, and they ended up stitching one of his wounds. The women had cuts and scratches from the gravel, and there were three pairs of slacks that would have to be replaced. The elbows on a couple of nice jackets took a beating, also.

Back in cop mode, Patrick had taken off his holster, ejected the clip from his automatic, and wrapped the strap around it all. He carefully handed it to the first officer to arrive on the scene.

Over the next hour, the parking lot and adjoining street filled up, as everyone up to and including the chief put in an appearance. The FBI was not at all happy that it took a half hour for anyone to think of calling them. They made up for it with even more than their usual attitude when the three agents got there.

The inspiration to call Marty had hit Dex as they were working on his back, and she and Nichole arrived almost together. Marty huddled with both Patrick and Randy, and was retained to represent both of them temporarily. No one had yet commandeered cell phones, so Dex called the house to give them a brief rundown, then he called Carl.

Marty heard that no one had eaten, and went to the nearest fast food and brought back several bags which were emptied in record time.

The bugging of Craig's home and office was not legal, nor was the tracking beacon in his car. Because of Megan's legitimate residency, the house wasn't much of an issue. The existence of the other electronics was best not revealed, however. The knowledge of Craig's hidden assets the team had gained was certainly not to be divulged to the authorities.

Carl was adamant that Megan should spend the night in the house as if she lived there. He also wanted to be there himself to retrieve any important documents that would help with appropriating the assets. He was certain there would be a warrant to search the house by morning. The idea of returning to the house did not go over well with Megan until her parents and Tim all agreed to stay with her.

It was a foregone conclusion that Patrick would be very, very late getting home. For some reason, the Police chose to classify Randy as a combatant, as well, and he also had to stay. The others were allowed to go after an hour and a half, with appointments for interviews the next day. Even the people who were inside at the time had been forced to remain until identification and statements were completed.

Tim brought Megan and Jeanette back to Dex's to get what they needed for the night. Jeanette optimistically took Patrick's things, too. Morgan spent a few minutes talking quietly with Elise, and Elise could be heard ordering her to go with her mother. Obviously concerned about her friend, Morgan was even more worried about her mother, and hurriedly packed a few things.

When the Shaughnessy women had left with Tim, only Dex, Elise, Sandra, Eric, Kendra, and Harv were left in the house. Harv had come over for protection when Dex and Patrick had both gone off to the game, or at least that was the cover story.

Elise was obviously very troubled. Morgan had been her caregiver so far, but she was not there. Dex, more than a little shaky himself, knew he had to provide the strength for her. He took her hand and led her toward her room, but halfway down the hall, she stopped him. Lip quivering and unable to look him in the face, she asked "Dex, is that invitation still good?"

"Invitation?"

"To sleep in your bed?"

"Absolutely! But are you ready?"

"I don't know! But if you want me, I'm not spending another night away from where I want to be. Especially not tonight. Wait for me just a minute." In a remarkably short time, Elise came out in her robe and took Dex's hand.

In Dex's room, Elise was very tense, but she also seemed relieved. She used the bathroom first, and when Dex came out, she was under the covers. When he slid in to join her, he was rudely reminded of his wounds. It did not seem likely he would enjoy his usual face-up sleeping position that night. Turning on his side to face her, he said "Elise, there are so many things I want to say to you, I hardly know where to start."

"That was going to be my line, Dex."

"First of all, it was incredibly brave the way you tackled Megan. You moved even faster than I could." Elise was silent for a long time. Dex did not know if she was embarrassed by the compliment, or what the problem was. Eventually, she spoke softly.

"My first year with the County, I had been working with one abused young mother for weeks. I tried again and again to get her to leave, but she couldn't do it. I pled with her to call 911 if things got bad again. She didn't. Her husband shot and killed her and the baby."

"About a year ago, I got a woman out and helped her find a lawyer, get an order for support, and everything. Despite all of my pleading, she went back. He shot her to death. I think that's when I started going downhill."

"Dex, I don't know if you can understand this, but I couldn't let it happen again. If it was me that died instead, that would be better. I couldn't live with another of my women dying like that."

Understand it? He had lived it! She had played back to him his own thoughts as he lunged to cover Megan! He was too stunned to breath. His whole life, smart people had told him that he was not the only one who suffered from guilt and fear; that his guilt was unreasonable, irrational. No matter what they said, he had felt isolated, forced to deal with it by himself.

In a few sentences, everything changed. No illusion of isolation could exist any longer. He was not alone. He had seen a picture of his own soul in that of the woman he loved. Yes, loved. The last possible doubt had been swept away.

Elise lay on her back. Dex leaned over and kissed her very softly on her lips. "I love you, Elise!"

"Oh, Dex! Do you mean that? I... I couldn't stand it if you didn't!"

"Yes, Elise, I mean it. I think I have loved you for a long time, but never let myself think about it or admit it."

"Y... you know I love you, Dex. With all my heart. I had lost any hope that you felt the same way. Wh... why tonight?"

"What you just told me," Dex answered. "Those were my exact thoughts as I tried to cover Megan. I would rather die myself because I couldn't stand the guilt if she did. Ever since my mother died, I have felt guilt - I should have been able to stop it. I was supposed to be protecting her, and I couldn't."

"Elise, my first thought was that you were wrong to feel that way. Those other deaths weren't your fault. You shouldn't feel guilty because you couldn't stop them. Then it hit me - if you were wrong to feel that way, so was I. All these years I have been wrong. I just could not see the truth until I saw myself in you."

"Besides all the other wonderful things about you, Elise, you can understand me in a way no one else ever could, and maybe I can understand you that way, too. I think Morgan saw that right away."

Elise looked at Dex with wide, moist eyes for long moments before she spoke. "Tonight, on the ground in the parking lot, you held me. Death was very near, but I felt safer than ever in my memory. I had the overwhelming feeling I was where I belonged. Dex, hold me!"

"Will you be OK?"

"If I shake, just hold me until I stop. Don't let go!" Almost awkwardly, she turned to face Dex and pulled herself tight against him. She had put her arm around his back, touching one of his wounds, but there was no way he was going to let her know she had hurt him. Hopefully, she would read his flinch as a sign of emotion.

Dex carefully slipped his lower arm under her and hugged her tightly with both arms. Her breath became ragged, and the shakes started, but she tightened her own grip. He spoke soothingly to her, but still she quivered, and he feared she would hyper-ventilate.

Music was not one of Dex's strengths. He had better than average appreciation and recognition, but no performance skill. For some unknown reason, he started humming one of Jenny's old songs. Whether Elise could recognize the tune or not, the act itself had a rapid calming effect. Within a few phrases, her breath steadied, and after a few more, the shivering stopped. As she finally became still, the tension seemed to drain out of both of them.

When the tension and Elise's fear were gone, neither of them had anything left. Dex's humming petered out in the middle of a line, but she was not even awake to know it. This was the perfect time for a dramatic first coupling, but the shootout had ensured that it was not going to happen right then.

It was probably fitting that Dex's declaration of love was not immediately consummated with sex. The last few days of their relationship had not been centered around sexual attraction, after all. Elise's distress, Dex's concern, and Morgan's perceptivity and her self-sacrifice had been the triggers that brought them together.

There was no doubt about the sexual attraction between them. From Elise's end, it went back years. For Dex, the attraction to Elise had seemed to unfold hour by hour over the their last few days of constant togetherness. Elise, like Megan, had the tall, trim, athletic body that Dex preferred over all the others that he loved so much. Over all the years of his working partnership with Elise, he had avoided noticing all the lovely little features that now seemed to be assaulting him constantly.

Sex would most certainly happen, but it could wait. For the moment, the simple fact of being together and of sharing in common something so central to each of their psyches was more than enough. It was more than just sleep. It was shared renewal.

Some hours later, Dex awoke. They had drifted off with the reading lamp still on, and his face was inches from his love's. He lay there looking at her, his mind, now somewhat refreshed, racing back over the incredible last two weeks.

He had done it! He had rescued Megan, and now she was free. Not only free, but headed for the kind of life that had eluded her before. But he hadn't done it alone. He had not been the one to kill Megan's monster. He had not been the only one to protect her when the shooting started. Others had played key roles in her liberation, and it did not diminish his satisfaction!

The idea that a team of people had effected Megan's freedom should not have been hard for Dex to grasp. After all, in basketball, he had always been the consummate team player. With the women, however, he had always felt a unique responsibility, not shared with anyone, driven buy his guilt. His look into Elise's soul had shattered that sense of isolation and uniqueness.

When Dex thought of the six other abused women that had moved through his life since Megan's rescue, there was another revelation. Morgan had been the driving force in turning their lives around. Certainly, he had contributed in some key ways, but she was the leader of the team. He felt no loss of satisfaction over the results just because he wasn't doing it all. In fact, he felt ashamed that it had taken him so long to appreciate the need for a team effort.

Two weeks! In the clarity of the wee hours, and with the new insights into himself, he could see the events of the last two weeks chipping away at the life he had carefully constructed over the twelve years since Connie's death. He suddenly understood the concern for him that he always saw on the faces of his loved ones. He had regarded those looks with bemusement, and sometimes with irritation. Now he understood them. They were right to be concerned, and his heart swelled at the evidence of their love for him.

What had really happened in those two weeks? As he was acutely aware from her gentle breath against his face, he had found his soul mate, the true love of his life. He knew that with absolute certainty. But he knew it was even more than that. He saw the faces of Megan, Kirstin, Sandra, Carol, Teri, Kendra, and Sonja. The stream of faces didn't stop, and he saw others, as yet without names. He knew what the faces meant. He was redeeming himself, face by face, life by life,...