Chapter 2, Part 2

Back at the Blake residence, the house phone rang.
“It’s probably Andy checking on us again,” Denise laughed. “The poor thing has the heebie-jeebies today.” She answered the phone. “Oh my god! Yes, thank you. We’ll be ready and waiting!” she turned to Anne. “Mitch shot Andy! He’s on his way to the hospital now. The police are sending a car for us to go to the hospital. They said it’s bad and he might not make it.”
“Oh, no! Honey, I’m so sorry,” Anne cried. “I’ll follow the cruiser so we have a way to get home with him. I’m sure he’ll be okay. He CAN’T die. He just can’t!”
“Let’s get moving. They should be here soon. Andy’s friend said to stay inside until the officer gets here and shows us a badge. No telling if Mitch would try to impersonate a cop.”
“Good point,” Anne agreed. “I’ve got my keys. Do you have yours?”
“Yes, I do. I’m ready.” The doorbell rang. Anne went to the door and asked who it was.
“It’s Officer Grady. Look through the window, I have my badge out.”
Once the women verified the badge and saw the cruiser’s lights flashing, they disarmed the security system, opened the door, and reset the system as they left. Anne followed the cruiser in her car, and they headed for the hospital.
The hospital wouldn’t tell Denise much more than that Andy was in surgery at the moment, and she paced the waiting room for what seemed like hours.
“Denise, please come sit down with me, you’re wearing a hole in the carpet.”
“I don’t care! I can’t stand not knowing.” She burst into tears. “He’s been so good to me, and I put his life in danger. No one is going to be safe unless I go back to Mitch. If I crawl back to him, he’ll take me back and no one else will get hurt.”
“Denise!” cried Anne. “You’re talking crazy! Mitch almost killed you! You CAN’T go back to that madman. Besides, he now has a warrant out for his arrest for the attempted murder of Andy in addition to the attempted murder of you,” Anne’s face contorted with concern. “How can you even THINK about going back to him?”
“I can’t live with the thought of anyone else getting hurt,” Denise replied. “Don’t you see? Everyone who has helped me is now in danger – that includes you. What kind of friend would I be if I allowed this to continue?”
“The kind of friend who understands that we can take care of ourselves and knew what we were getting into when we decided to help you,” Anne replied calmly. “You have to think of the baby. And yourself. He’ll kill you both if you go back to him. AND there’s no way to say he won’t still come after anyone who helped you, even if you do go back,” Anne reasoned. “You have to stick to your guns, and stay away from him.”
Denise sat down, defeated.
“You’re right of course,” she agreed reluctantly. “I have to think of my baby first. I hate that you, Andy and the Roths have put yourselves in harm’s way just to help me, but I do appreciate it more than I can possibly say.” She hugged her friend. “Honestly, how long can they expect us to wait for an update?” Denise got up and started pacing again. “Should I call Melanie and Ralph and let them know what happened?”
“Yes, you might want to. What about Shelly and Bob? You haven’t talked to them in a while and Andy is their friend, too.”
“I know, but Shelly was helping Mitch violate his Restraining Order, and I’m not convinced they’re not still helping him.”
“Good point. But definitely call Ralph and Melanie. They’ll want to know.”
“I’ll also warn them to keep their eyes and ears sharp. It’s like open season to Mitch right now,” Denise sighed. “I won’t be able to sleep knowing he’s still out there. How the hell does he keep slipping away?”
“I have no idea. Hopefully, when Andy wakes up he’ll be able to shed some light on that subject.”
“You mean IF he wakes up.” Denise started to cry again.
“No, I mean when. You have to think positive. Andy’s tough, and he has strong feelings for you. He’ll get through this.”
“Okay, I’ll try to be more positive,” Denise sniffled. “Stay here while I go make the call to Melanie and Ralph? I can’t use cell phones here. I’ll just step outside.”
“Ask one of the officers to go with you. We don’t know if Mitch is watching the hospital just waiting for a chance to get to you.”
“Okay, good point.” Denise asked one of the officers to accompany her outside while she made her phone call. She made the call brief, and the Roths promised they’d be careful and asked Denise to keep them posted on Andy’s progress. She agreed, and said she’d let them know when Andy could have visitors. As she walked back to the waiting room, she asked the officer if he had any information on what happened.
“I was one of the first on the scene. The statements from witnesses confirmed it was your husband who attacked Mr. Blake,” he began. “We have the gun and some bullets from the scene for ballistics and forensics, but we know it was Mr. Farber who pulled the trigger. We’re hoping the gun will have a history that can point us to the person who is helping him. He was seen getting into a small car, but the license plate was obscured by mud, and no one could give a description of make or model. If the gun comes back hot, we might have a lead to finding your husband.”
“So someone is helping him,” Denise sighed heavily. “That makes things a bit more complicated, doesn’t it?”
“Indeed it does,” the officer replied. “But don’t worry ma’am. We’ll find him.”
“I hope you can find him before he hurts anyone else.”
They arrived back at the waiting room, and Anne informed them that there was still no news. Denise sat down, her nerves wracked from worry, both about Andy surviving and knowing Mitch was still at large and with an accomplice to boot. Another half hour passed before the doctor finally came to speak with them.
“The good news is that we were able to stop the bleeding and get all the wounds closed. The better news is that the bullets didn’t hit any major organs,” he began. “Mr. Blake will be fine. He needs lots of rest, and we’re admitting him for a few days to be sure the sutures hold. His knee is badly sprained, but thankfully not broken, so he’ll be in a knee immobilizer for a few weeks, but he should be able to return to work in about a week, maybe two.”
“Oh thank god!” Denise breathed. “When can we see him?”
“He’s coming out of the anesthesia now. It will take about an hour before he’s coherent enough to have visitors. We’ll send for you when he’s awake and stable enough for you to see him.”
“Thank you so much, Doctor. We can’t thank you enough for saving his life!” Denise said, on the verge of tears again. “I really thought we were going to lose him.”
“If his co-workers hadn’t sounded the alarm and called 911 when they did, we might have lost him.”
“Oh! How is his friend doing? Was he badly hurt?”
“He was shot square in the chest, but the bullet lodged in his chest just inches from a main artery. The surgeon was able to remove the bullet, and he’ll be fine.”
“That’s wonderful news! I don’t know his co-workers well, but I do know they all have families. Please tell the other surgeon how grateful we are that they saved that man’s life.”
“I will be certain to that. I promise,” the doctor replied. “Have some coffee or some snacks, and we’ll call you as soon as you can see Mr. Blake.”
“Thank you, sir, we will.”
Denise and Anne hugged each other knowing that Andy was going to fully recover. They sat anxiously awaiting the call to see him.
The phone in the waiting room finally rang, and Anne snatched it up.
“Hello?”
“Is this the party waiting to see Mr. Andrew Blake?”
“Yes, ma’am, it is.”
“You may come see him now. He’s awake and asking for you. Room 215.”
“Thank you! We’ll be right there.” Anne turned to Denise. “Let’s go, hun. He’s awake. Room 215.”
“Oh thank goodness!” Denise jumped out of her chair and headed for the door. “I’m ready.” The women headed for the elevator, hit the button for the second floor and headed to room 215. It was a private room, aside from the bathroom being shared with the neighboring room. It was stark white except for the curtain hanging around the bed, which was a pastel blue with a floral pattern. The chairs were a dull shade of beige-brown, and weren’t comfortable at all. The cushions were so worn you could feel your sits bones on the bottom of the chair the moment you sat down. But none of that mattered to Denise. What mattered was Andy’s smiling face when he saw her, and she ran to his side, grasped his hand in hers and kissed his forehead tenderly.
“Andy!” she breathed. “It is so good to see you. Are you feeling okay? Is there anything I can get you?”
“I’m fine, Denise – especially now that you’re here. Anne, it’s good to see you, too. Thanks for coming.”
“My pleasure, Andy. You’re like a brother to me now, so get used to it,” Anne giggled. “Where she goes, I go. We’re a package deal.”
“I could so make a horrible sexual comment about that, but I’ll let it go,” he laughed out loud. “Something tells me you ladies would both smack me for that one.”
“Damn right,” laughed Denise. “Neither of us swings that way, so get that idea out of your head.” She leaned down to kiss him. “I’m so glad to see you in good spirits despite the situation,” she whispered. “What a horrible night. No wonder you had a weird feeling. I honestly didn’t expect him to go after you.” Denise let out a heavy sigh. “I thought for sure he’d just follow you to get to me. I’m worried now that no one is safe. If he went after you, who’s to say he won’t go after Melanie and Ralph or Anne next?” She squeezed his hand. “I really don’t know what to expect next, and I’m scared shitless.”
"I know, Denise," Andy replied. "It's ok, though. I'm going to be fine. They'll find Mitch. I'm sure of it."
"But what if they don't? I mean who's next? I'm sure the police can't protect us all!" Denise let go of Andy's hand and paced. "I just don't know what to do! The doctors are keeping you for a few days, which means I'll be alone at your house again."
"Denise, you know I'll stay with you at Andy's, or you can come stay at my place," Anne reassured. "You know I won't leave you by yourself. But it's probably better if we stay at Andy's, since Mitch knows where I live."
"How do we even know Mitch hasn't found Andy's place?" Denise replied. "I mean tonight could have been an attempt to eliminate Andy so he could get to me more easily. I honestly think I'm safer staying here at the hospital until they release you," she turned back to Andy. "Do you think the doctor's will let me stay?"
"Given the circumstances, I have no doubt they will allow it."
"I hope you're right."
"We can find out right now," Andy said as he pushed the call button for the nurse. "That way you can relax some." The nurse entered the room, and Andy posed the question of Denise staying in his room for safety purposes.
"I will double check with the doctor, but I’m sure that won’t be a problem,” she responded.
“Thank you,” Denise said. “I really appreciate it.”
“No problem, Mrs. Farber. Sit tight. We’ll get this all situated,” the nurse said as she left the room.