CHAPTER 35 (PART - A)


It was almost mid afternoon as Lucille stood by the windows looking out over the hilly land lost in thought. Her mother sat busy reading a book by the fire. Lucille was visiting with her parents down the lane a ways until she and Benton could compromise, when all the sudden she heard gunshots off in the distance.

“Did you hear that?” Lucille asked her mother a bit concerned.
“It must be the other neighbors shooting at birds” her mother answered listening.
“No, I don’t think so… I suddenly have a bad feeling mum” Lucille said grabbing her stomach.
“The neighbors are always doing some kind of sport, but not to worry you know, they are quite a ways down the lane” Lucille’s mother tried to put her daughter at ease.
A couple more shots went off. “No! That sounded louder this time. How close to do they shoot their guns to the house?” Lucille asked more than a bit concerned.
Lucille walked over to the window towards the neighbor’s property but saw no one off in the distance. “I see no one outside down towards the neighbor’s property mum and the children are outside!”

“Well let me phone them and find out if it really is them because that definitely sounded louder that time” her mother walked to the parlor to use the phone.
It was a few moments Lucille’s worst fears seem to come to fruition. She heard Matthew and Heidi screaming hysterically as if someone was hurting them.

“Matthew! Heidi!” Lucille didn’t hesitate running outside the front door dashing toward right side of the house.
“Mum! Mum! Aiiieee!!!” Lucille could hear her children screaming for her.
“Matthew! Heidi! Where are you?” she ran screaming trying to remain calm knowing that panicking was not going to allow her to help her children if they were indeed in some kind of trouble.

Lucille ran around the bend of the right side of her family’s estate and saw the kids screaming at a man who had been seriously wounded with three gunshot wounds.
“Eric!” Lucille screamed instantly recognizing him running to assist him.
Eric was limping badly as Lucille ran to hold him up.

“Kids! Go tell your grandmother to phone the police and the ambulance!” she yelled.
The children ran quickly back to the front door while Lucille took off her scarf wrapping Eric’s leg in an attempt to slow the bleeding. He had a wound on the shoulder as well and a grazed wound on his side.
“You’ve got to hold that wound for your shoulder!” Lucille instructed him as she could feel how weak and pale he looked.
“Lucille… I think they took Benton…” Eric wheezed.
“Who?!” she grunted trying to shoulder his weight as her clothes were getting soiled by his blood.
“I don’t know…two men dressed in police uniforms…ugh!” he gasped.
“Keep talking to me… you’re going to make it!” Lucille continued to try to keep him from slipping into unconsciousness.
Lucille’s mother came rushing outside to help Lucille bring Eric in the house to tend to his wounds the best they could until the ambulance could arrive.

“Who shot you?” Lucille asked.
“Two other men…grey haired one of them…they sounded…Russian…” Eric spoke with a labored breath.
Lucille’s mother’s face had a grave expression. The kids were crying.
“Mommy is he going to be ok?” Heidi cried.
“He’s not going to die is he mommy?” Matthew was crying too.
“Mum, take the kids and watch for the ambulance” Lucille asked her to keep the kids from seeing anymore.
“Come on Eric! Stay with me!” Lucille was trying to hold back her tears now frightened for her husband’s safety. Eric was slipping away.
“You’ve got to be strong for me Eric!” Lucille said holding his head knelt on the floor next to him.
“Lucille… if I die…please tell my wife and kids… I love them…” Eric began coughing up blood.
“No! You’re going to tell them yourself! You hear me!” the situation was beginning to overwhelm Lucille emotionally.

That moment a few medics arrived as Lucille’s mother led them in the house.
“He’s here!” Lucille’s mother pointed as two young men brought a stretcher in with a case of medical equipment tending to Eric to prevent him from losing anymore blood. Then they moved him onto a stretcher and took him away.
“Mum!” both Matthew and Heidi ran to cling to their mother.
“We need to ask you a few questions Ms.” An officer walked in with a notepad.
“I need to know what happened” the officer asked in a serious tone.
“I heard gunshots and then a few minutes later I heard my children screaming outside” Lucille answered keeping her composure for her kids and mother.
“Did your children see anything?” he said as another officer was talking to Lucille’s mother as she seemed to know him.
Matthew and Heidi looked more than a bit traumatized.

“Matthew? Heidi? You’ve got to tell the officer what you saw…” she said getting on her knees looking at both of them.
Heidi and Matthew were still crying some but nodded in response.
“Did you see who shot Eric?” she asked quietly.
Both Heidi and Matthew only nodded no in response as the officer observed taking notes on his notepad.
“When did you see the victim?” the officer asked.
“It was barely thirty seconds when I was out with my children when I heard them screaming about forty minutes ago” Lucille explained.
“So you know the victim?” the officer continued.
“Yes, he’s my husband’s co-worker” Lucille answered.
“Where’s your husband?” the officer asked with a hint of suspicion.
“He told me that two officers took him” Lucille said anxiously hoping the officer would have some explanation.
“Is that so? What’s your husband’s name?” he narrowed his eyes.
“Benton Hadley” Lucille said almost inaudibly.
“Eh! Biggs, did we have any order to take in a Benton Hadley from the revised list this morning?” the officer shouted.
“Um…no I don’t remember seeing that name,” the other officer shouted back in the other room with Lucille’s mother.
“So…that’s what happened to the other two…” the officer nodded as if he suddenly made a connection.

“What do you mean the other two?” Lucille almost demanded.
“Two of our officers went out on a call and were ambushed by four men. They took their uniforms and were both wounded but will survive” the officer shook his head.
“…but why would they come after my husband?” Lucille asked rhetorically.
“I’m sorry mam, that I don’t know the answer to that” the officer shrugged.
Shortly afterwards the officers had obtained all the information they thought they were going to get.
“If any of you can think of anything else or if you need anything don’t hesitate to call” both of the officers bid them farewell.

Lucille and her mother cleaned the bloodied floor and changed out of their bloodied clothes. Heidi clutched her doll as Matthew sat quietly staring at the fireplace in the parlor.
“What a mess” Lucille thought as she began to realize the aftermath of the incident.
Her mother made tea for them and hot cocoa for the kids.
“Heidi, Matthew, here’s some cocoa for being so brave” Lucille’s mother said setting the tray down on a coffee table in the parlor for them. Matthew and Heidi sat at the table quietly sipping the cocoa but still both of them disturbed.
“What’s Benton gotten his self into now?” Lucille’s mother asked.

“I don’t think this has to do with anything he did mum” Lucille said deep in thought while sipping her tea. Lucille appeared distraught deep in thought trying to think of anything that would have triggered such a tragic event. Lucille knew her husband had done some questionable things in the past but nothing that warranted murder or abduction.

“We can only sit and wait dear, there’s not much we can do but hope Eric and Benton will be ok” Lucille’s mother nodded.

The more Lucille thought about what happened, the more sick she felt at her stomach she as they just sat around, but what could she do? Lucille began to become more irritated just sitting around doing nothing until she stood up and grabbed her purple trench coat and her purple head scarf.

“Dear where are you going?” Lucille’s mother asked with concern.
“I’m sorry mum, I need to ask you a favor” Lucille shook her head as she ran upstairs to her fathers study.
“What are you doing Lucille?” her mother asked following her into the main foyer.
Lucille came back down five minutes later with something in one of her coat pockets.
“What did you get?” her mother asked now really concerned.
“I’m sorry mum, I can’t just sit here. I got to go check on the house and I need to do my own investigating or I’m going to be sick” Lucille explained quickly grabbing the keys to the car.

“Lucille! You can’t just go out alone like that! It’s dangerous!” her mother gasped.
“Mum! My husband is somewhere out there, alive hopefully, and I can’t wait knowing that Benton is somewhere out there suffering without doing anything” she nodded.
“You’re a lady Lucille! You can’t just go gallivanting out there!” her mother disagreed with her thinking.
Lucille reached in her pocket showing her father’s revolver.
“Lucille!” her mother said shocked by her daughter’s sudden determination.
“Mum, please watch my kids” she pleaded.
“Mommy! Mommy!” Matthew and Heidi ran to her.
“I promise I will be back, but you have to be good for your grandmother, mommy is going to find daddy ok?” she knelt down hugging them both.
“Please be careful mum” Heidi begged.
“Can we come with you? We’ll protect you from the bad men” Matthew said bravely.
Lucille smiled at the sudden bravery her son displayed like his father. “Sorry Matthew but you need to protect your sister and your grandmother” she winked at her mom.

“Ok mum please come back soon” Heidi almost started to cry again.
“Lucille! I hope you know what you’re doing…” Lucille’s mother nodded in disapproval.
“I hope so too… now let me leave before dad arrives” Lucille said hugging her mother and dashing to the car and speeding up the driveway toward the house.

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