Reckless

Part 6

The vibration from the recoil of Cassy's gun left her hand tingling. She squinted into the darkness and saw no movement from Slater. Closing her eyes, thankful that it was over, she redirected her attention to the second form on the floor. Knowing instinctively that it was her partner, she shouted out "I got him, Tom. It's over." She took a few tentative steps forward into the night. "Tom?"

There was no response from the prone form. Cassy felt a twinge of fear flutter in her stomach. "Tom?" she repeated. She continued her progression towards the two men, each step more rapid than the last. "Thomas?" she whispered as she broke into a full run.

Reaching her partner's side, she dropped to her knees. She felt a dampness penetrate her slacks. Closing her eyes, she prayed that it was water on the floor, but down deep she knew she was kneeling in Tom's blood.

She placed a trembling hand on the side of his face, expecting some response. There was nothing. She allowed her fingers to drift to his neck in order to seek out a pulse. She was afraid of what she wouldn't find. At first there was nothing. Cassy couldn't help a silent prayer for mercy. The prayer was answered. A soft thump finally greeted her delicate touch. A second thump followed the first, then another. But the beats were not regular.

His failure to answer her repeated attempts to gain his attention, the dampness on the floor, along with the unsteady heartbeat, told the detective all she needed to know. Her partner had been shot and he was hurt. . .bad.

She fumbled in her pocket for her phone. Hitting the direct dial number for dispatch, she notified them that an officer was down, and requested an ambulance and backup. She knew patrol cars would already be at Gwen Moore's studio. "Hold on, Thomas. Help is on the way." Silence answered her. "Please, Thomas, talk to me. Wake up." There was no response to her plea.

She glanced at the second body. It hadn't moved. Climbing back to her feet, she stepped over Tom, tightened the grip on her weapon and approached Slater with caution. Grabbing her handcuffs from their case, she fastened them on his limp wrists and then reached for the man's neck, checking for a pulse as she had done with Tom. There was nothing. Jason Slater was dead.

She couldn't help but feel an enormous amount of satisfaction knowing that the man could no longer inflict pain. At the same time, she was overwhelmed with the guilt of knowing that because of the failure to arrest him months ago, he had slaughtered another innocent child, killed Gwen Moore in cold blood and now, as his final act, shot her partner.

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She heard the heavy sound of footsteps enter the building. "Police!" was the shout from an unknown source.

Cassy stood from her position next to Tom and called out into the darkness, "Over here."

She could see deflected flashlight beams bounce off the walls of the building. "Identify yourself," a man's voice demanded.

"Sgt. St. John, Palm Beach P. D.," she answered quickly. "We need an ambulance over here, now! We have an officer down."

She made her way to the main corridor and found herself bathed in the lights from several flashlights. She held up her badge in plain view, as well as her gun, so that they could be seen by the new arrivals. "Pearce, find the lights to this place," the uniformed officer in the lead ordered.

"Where's the ambulance?" Cassy shouted. "My partner's been shot. He's in bad shape."

The officer came close enough so that Cassy could read the name of Barnett on the badge. He, in turn, examined her identification. He then looked at the woman. "Where's he at, Sergeant?"

Cassy pocketed the badge and slid the gun into the waistband of her slacks. She motioned for him to follow her down the crate-lined corridor. "Over here. The suspect who shot Sgt. Ryan is dead."

Barnett followed the petite woman to the back of the aisle. They turned left and he immediately saw two still forms lying on the ground. Cassy ignored the first and went to kneel next to her partner again. "I'm here, Tom. Help is coming." There was still no response from the injured man.

"Who's this?" Barnett asked as he turned Slater onto his back.

"His name is Jason Slater. He was wanted for killing a teenage girl a few months ago."

"Did he kill the woman over at the studio?"

Cassy nodded and then realized that the darkness of the room hid the action. Verbally she answered, "Yes. And we think he killed another young girl, Sara Barbara."

Blinding lights suddenly lit the space, causing Cassy to close her eyes in pain. Waiting for the discomfort to pass, she opened them and looked down at the man lying on the floor beside her. She had been right. She had been kneeling in Tom's blood. "Thomas?" she whispered as she tried to move him onto his back so that she could inspect the damage. His weight was too heavy for her to lift. Barnett came to her side and helped her to roll the man over.

Tom's eyes were closed. His face was pale and upon being placed on his back, his breathing became labored. Fearing the worse, she motioned for Barnett to help her move the injured man onto his side. The battle for air eased immediately. Cassy's fingers met her partner's throat to feel for his pulse a second time. The beat was faint and more rapid. She had enough medical training to know that his condition was worsening. "Where's the ambulance?" she growled impatiently.

Her hand slid to her partner's and she intertwined her fingers with his. Bringing his limp hand to her face, she brushed her lips against it, closing her eyes tightly, saying another silent prayer. "Please, Thomas, please hang on."

Barnett made his way back to the corridor. Then Cassy heard him shout out, "Over here!"

She heard the rushed sound of footsteps approaching and then sighed in relief as the blue-uniformed medics approached her position. Releasing Tom's hand, she stood and moved out of the attendants' way.

Barnett laid a gentle hand on her arm, trying to draw her attention away from the men hurriedly working over her partner's body. "What happened?"

Cassy ignored the man, her eyes never leaving Tom's prone form as the medics cut away the bloody shirt, exposing a gory black hole penetrating Tom's left side. "Sergeant, I need to know what happened here," Barnett repeated. Cassy nodded and swallowed the lump growing in her throat before answering the officer's question. "I. . .I found Slater in Gwen Moore's studio. I identified myself as a police officer. He ran. I pursued him into this building. Sgt. Ryan followed and attempted to physically detain the suspect. Slater's gun went off and. . ." Cassy's words were caught.

Barnett nodded. "I understand. I'll need your gun, Sergeant."

Cassy continued. "I shot Slater as he was trying to escape," she explained as she pulled the weapon from the waistband of her slacks and handed it to the man.

"St. John!" Harry Lipschitz voice caused the blond woman to spin around.

"Harry?" she answered, startled at his sudden appearance on the scene.

"It's Tom?" her captain asked as he approached her side. His own question was answered as soon as he saw the detective's still body on the floor. He approached the working medics and looked over their shoulders to determine for himself the extent of Tom's injuries. He couldn't help the sudden intake of breath when he saw the bloody wound on the man's side. "God, not again," he mumbled.

Turning back to Cassy, he tried to put an air of professionalism back into his voice. "Report, St. John."

Cassy swallowed and nodded. Barnett kept his pen and pad ready to take down any facts that may have been inadvertently forgotten during her first rendition.

Cassy tried to concentrate on getting the facts straight, but her concern for Tom's condition kept her sidetracked and unfocused. She couldn't help but watch the medics strapping the helpless man onto the gurney and adjusting equipment for transport. Harry, knowing of his officer's difficulty, moved in front of her. "Let's take this up at the hospital. We need to make sure everything's going to be okay."

Cassy nodded. Harry turned to one of the attendants. "How is he?"

The man frowned and shook his head. "He's unresponsive." He looked with regret at the blond woman. "It's not looking good."

Harry sighed and closed his eyes. "Damn it. He wasn't supposed to have to go through this again," he whispered.

Cassy stepped forward. "I want to ride with him. He's my partner."

The attendant looked from Harry to Cassy and then nodded. "Okay, let's go." To Harry, he said, "We're taking him to County."

The captain followed Cassy and the attendants, carrying their patient between them, to the warehouse exit. As the gurney was maneuvered out the door, Harry pulled Cassy to the side and allowed two coroner assistants to enter the large room, carrying a stretcher between them.

Cassy's eyes followed the men until the disappeared around the corner to the area where Slater's body was located. Once again, a shot of satisfaction sped through her body, but then she looked past Harry, where Tom was being loaded into the ambulance, and fear overtook her.

Pushing past her superior, she ran to the ambulance and climbed into the back. The door was slammed shut behind her and in a moment, with sirens blaring, the emergency vehicle was in route to the hospital.

End Part 6

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