Only Time Will Tell
Part 14
Tom's limp body made contact with every stair on its way down, seeming to fall in slow motion. Both women shouted simultaneously, "Thomas!" "Tommy!"
Cassy took an instinctive step toward her partner, but then stopped when a small voice told her that the only way she could ultimately save him would be to get the gun from Janet. Fluidly changing her direction, Cassy propelled herself at Janet, one hand reaching for the weapon, pushing it into the air. Janet, startled by the sudden move, spun around quickly and squeezed off a shot. The bullet's trajectory, however, sent it harmlessly over Cassy's head. The detective's body hit the larger woman at full force, sending them both into the wall and then onto the floor. Janet lost control of the gun and it fell to the ground a few feet from the struggling women.
Cassy eyed the gun a few feet away and made a mad scramble for it. She felt immediate relief as she reached for the weapon. Her satisfaction was short lived, however, when Janet reached out and grabbed her by the leg, the woman's strong fingers digging into her calf. The larger woman pulled the smaller blond backwards, away from the gun. A surprised Cassy kicked at her with the other foot. Despite several well-placed blows to the arms, Janet hung on. Cassy abandoned her effort to get to Tom's gun and quickly skimmed the room to find hers, which was safely in her purse. . .which she had dropped near the stairs, several feet beyond Tom's prone body.
Grimacing at the pain in her leg, Cassy lunged at Janet, knocking her backward to the carpet. Janet lost her grip on Cassy and the officer threw herself on top of the murderer. Janet's hand flew to Cassy's face, nails scrapping against her cheek. Cassy let out an involuntary cry of pain, knowing that the woman had drawn blood.
Cassy, from her upper position, tried to grab Janet's wrist in an effort to subdue her, but missed. Janet's hands went to Cassy's throat and the woman began to slowly squeeze the detective's windpipe closed. Cassy's hands flew up to meet Janet's wrists, trying desperately to pull the fingers away. Janet's grip was like steel and the fingers did not budge. Cassy frantically weighed her options. Gathering her last bit of strength and all the will power she could muster, she released Janet's forearms, giving the woman free reign over her neck. Cassy saw spots forming in front of her eyes, but before she lost consciousness, she sent her palm into Janet's face, making contact with the woman's nose. Janet let out a scream of pain, her face immediately covered with blood from her broken nose. Her hands released her victim's neck and covered her own face. Cassy collapsed backward, breathing frantically. It was now a race between the two women to see who would recover first. Cassy won. Janet took a half-hearted swing at Cassy from a kneeling position. Cassy had already made it back to her feet and easily avoided the contact. She grabbed the dark-haired woman's fist in mid-air and used momentum against her. She flipped Janet onto her stomach and placed a knee into the middle of her back. Within seconds, she had Janet's hands cuffed behind her.
Janet began to mutter obscenities at Cassy, but they were ignored. Instead, Cassy's attention was diverted to her partner's unmoving body lying at the bottom of the staircase. His hands were cuffed behind his back and duct tape covered his mouth. She eyed the bloodied temple and accompanying lump which had formed just above his ear. Blood was also seeping from wounds above his right eyebrow and left cheek. She was sure that he was a mass of bruises from his fall, if he was lucky. If he wasn't. . .she didn't want to think about that.
Taking a deep breath, Cassy prepared herself for what she had to do. She knew she shouldn't move Tom, but she had to know if he was alive. Gently, she placed her shaking fingers at this throat. She felt no pulse. "Oh God, no," she pleaded, closing her eyes. And then she felt it. A faint beat. . .then another. . .and another.
She crawled to her purse and pulled out her cell phone, dialing 911 while she knelt at her partner's side. "This is Sgt. St. John, Palm Beach P.D., I have an officer down at. . ." frustration almost overwhelmed her when she drew a blank on the address. She ran to the front door and looked on the house "9322 Bayshore Drive."
Once confirmation had been received that help was on the way, Cassy crawled over to Janet, who had turned her head so that she was facing the wall. The detective flipped her over onto her back, "What's wrong with him? What did you do to him?"
Janet smiled but said nothing. "Damn it! What did you do to him?"
"Go to Hell, St. John," were the only words from the woman's lips.
Cassy abandoned her efforts and returned to Tom's side. She found her handcuff key and freed his arms, but she did not try to bring them forward for fear of doing more damage. She reached for the tape covering his mouth and gently pried it loose.
"Tom. . .Thomas. . .Can you hear me?" she whispered, bringing her lips near his ear. "Please Thomas. . .please hear me." She looked closely at his face, noticing for the first time that his lips appeared to be turning blue.
She felt the slow beat of his pulse, much slower than it had been only minutes before. Fighting her rising fear, she brought her hand to his nose and mouth. She felt no exhalations.
"Oh no. . .oh, please no," she mumbled as she quickly turned Tom onto his back, now disregarding her concern of causing further injury. She opened his mouth and inserted her fingers to make sure his airway was clear. There were no obstructions. She then began to breathe for her partner. . .her best friend.
She ignored the fact that Janet was now staring at her, grinning.
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Cassy looked out the window of the waiting room, lost in thought. How could she have been so blind? How could she have been so easily manipulated? The questions kept running through her mind, over and over again.
She glanced at the clock. Over thirty minutes had passed since the ambulance had pulled into the hospital and Tom was rushed to ER.
Her mind tumbled back to the events at the house. She had been breathing for Tom for what seemed like hours, but in fact, were only minutes. She almost collapsed in relief when she heard the sound of the sirens approaching. But she never stopped breathing for her partner. . .she never left his side. Firm hands had to finally drag her away so the paramedics could administer more efficient medical help. Instantly, one of the attendants held a breathing bag over Tom's mouth and began pumping air into his unresponsive lungs.
Two uniformed officers entered the living room behind them. One of them was Officer Zachary Patterson. He muttered to his partner, "I didn't think I'd be back here so soon."
Cassy pointed to Janet, "Get her to a hospital and then book her."
"Charge?"
"We'll start with kidnapping and attempted murder of a peace officer and go from there," Cassy growled.
The other paramedic placed a hand on Cassy's arm, "What happened?" he asked, and then returned his attention to hooking up electrodes to Tom's chest. The other, who was still operating the bag, looked at his partner with worry in his eyes. He said nothing, just shook his head.
Seeing the paramedic's glance, Cassy swallowed deeply, fighting to maintain control, "I'm. . .I'm not sure." Cassy's voice quivered, her body feeling exhausted. "He fell down the stairs. . .I think. . .I think she drugged him." Cassy pointed to Janet. The woman was still smiling, blood covering her face from the broken nose, her eyes blank, even as the two officers were reading her rights to her.
"What did you give him?" the attendant directed the question to Janet. But there was no answer. Frustrated by the smiling woman's silence he repeated the question, much harsher the second time, "Damn it. . .what did you give him?"
Cassy stood up. "She won't say. I'll see if I can find something upstairs." Cassy bounded up the stairs two at a time. Within seconds, Cassy found the empty prescription bottle and the empty bottle of whiskey lying on the floor of the bedroom. She ran down the stairs as quickly as she could, presenting the items to the paramedic. He examined the empty pill bottle and shook his head. "Okay, we know what we're dealing with now. Let's get him in."
The officers escorting Janet, led her past Tom and the two paramedics, who were heatedly working over the cop, while Cassy looked on helplessly. The woman suddenly stopped walking and looked down at the man lying motionless at her feet, "Bye Tommy. Love you," she mumbled. Zack shook his head and pushed her out the door.
End Part 14
To Part 15