Protector - Laurel Dewey [207]
Jane stared at the bottle of pills. “And so it begins,” she said to herself.
She entered Emily’s bedroom, quietly closing the door behind her. Emily lay under the covers with her back toward Jane. Jane set the bottle of pills on the dresser and started out the door when Emily spoke up. “I’m not asleep.”
Jane walked to the bed. “You’re gonna be out of it in a few minutes.”
“No, I won’t.” Emily turned around to make sure nobody else was in the room before letting two pills slide out from her pajama sleeve.
Jane smiled at Emily’s slight of hand. She sat on the bed. “You know, the nurse wants you to take those so you’ll sleep.”
Emily rolled on her side facing Jane, resting her head in her hand. “Maybe I don’t want to sleep.” A sporadic “boom-boom-bang” sound erupted outside the house. Emily turned, startled for a second. “What’s that?”
“They’re setting off fireworks in the park across the street.”
Emily rolled the little white pills between her thumb and first finger. “The nurse said these would help me forget my problems. But I think she was lying.”
“Why?”
“She looked down and to the left when she talked to me. She kept covering her mouth with her hand. But it was more than that. It was the sound of her voice when she said, ‘Here, take these and you’ll feel so much better when you wake up.’” Emily pitched the pills across the room. “I’m never gonna forget it, am I?”
“No. It’ll always be with you. Sometimes the memory will stand next to you; sometimes it’ll fall into the background. But it’ll never completely leave you. You can take all the pills and drink all the booze but it’ll always be there when you wake up.”
Emily considered Jane’s words. “Were you and A.J. good friends?”
“I didn’t really know her well enough to be her friend. Our job was to sit in the car and do night watch on the house. I went inside the house once to introduce myself. She smiled at me from across the room. She seemed like a real nice kid.”
“You tried to save her life, didn’t you? That’s how you burned your hand.”
“Yeah.”
“You know, I knew A.J. better than anybody else. We were like twins. We’d think the same thoughts. We were connected.” Emily paused. “Just like you and I?” Jane was taken aback by Emily’s statement. “And you know what I know?”
“What’s that?”
“She doesn’t hate you because you couldn’t save her.” Jane was silent. “Okay?”
“Okay,” Jane whispered.
Emily held Jane’s hand. “I’m sorry I ran away from the house. I’m sorry I trusted Heather and her mom. But more than anything, I’m really sorry that you got kicked.” Tears welled up in Emily’s eyes. “That must have hurt you a whole lot.”
Jane felt a tear stream down her cheek. “Yeah. It did.” Outside, several pop-pop-pop explosions signaled a gigantic display of color and light. A mushroom of green, blue and red quickly flared into the night sky, followed by a breathtaking gold and silver fountain of cascading fireworks.
Emily took in the glowing spectacle, then turned back to Jane. “Happy Independence Day.”
Late Monday morning, July 5, Weyler drove Jane and Emily back to Denver. Once back at Headquarters, paperwork was signed, reports were taken, and logistics were arranged for transporting Emily into the custody of her aunt and uncle in Cheyenne. Weeks earlier, the child’s possessions had been collected from her home, packed into boxes and set aside for later shipment until her situation was determined. While it broke department protocol, Jane insisted upon driving Emily to Cheyenne. To expedite matters, Mike had driven Jane’s Mustang to DH. The family was expecting Emily at their Wyoming house by 8 p.m. The last official document was signed and sealed at 6:15 p.m., prompting Jane and Emily’s frenetic exodus out of DH five minutes later.
The ninety minute drive to Cheyenne was somber and filled with few words. Emily spent most of the trip clutching her Starlight Starbright navy blue vinyl case and tiny travel bag as she stared out the window. A wide, lonely