Rage Unleashed (5 page)

Lela held herself as a thought quickly crossed her mind. “Honey you said Lee Lee is here. That means that Tami has to be at the hospital and had to have called her when she got the call about Lucian. I can’t imagine how she’s dealing with all of this. I need to go be with her. I can’t let her go through this alone.”

Nodding in understanding Luke replied, “Yes they’re both there and Tami seems to be holding up okay. She looks exhausted like she hasn’t slept since she heard about it all and I can understand why. I’ll take you up there whenever you’re ready honey. Don’t rush.”

Turning to the phone Lela said, “Della honey are still there?” “Yes.”

“I’m going to go to the hospital. I want you to stay at home. Unless you would rather go with me to view the body.”

“No, no. I can’t see him like that.”

“Okay. I will have Lee Lee come stay with you so you won’t be there alone with the girls. Is that okay with you?”

“Yes that will be fine.”

“Okay. I will call you in a few to check and make sure you’re okay. I love you. Kiss the girls. We will stop by later and make sure you’re okay.”

“Okay.”

That were the only word Della could say before the phone went dead. That was only word that she could bring herself to speak, even though nothing about the current situation was okay. And in her eyes it would never be okay again. Because on this day all of her worst nightmares came true. Not only was the love of her life taken from her. But he was murdered and the person or persons that were responsible were still free. And they had the power to come to her and snatch the little bit of security she had in this moment. They had the power to come to her and take the only family she had left.

Chapter 6

Fog of Emotions

Lela slowly got up from the couch and walked to the door with Luke close at her side. Together they got into the truck and made the drive back to Hillside Hospital. They rode in silence as the tears began to slowly fall down her face. All she could think about as she passed all the places that she had once been with her only son was that they would never see each other again and immediately the tears began to flow.

They arrived at the hospital and walked to the morgue first. She wanted to look at her son’s face and know that this nightmare that she was facing was real and not just a dream she would one day wake from. Even though she wished it was, she knew in her heart that would never happen.

They walked past the desk and right into the morgue. Heather sat at the desk and didn’t bother to stop them, she knew why they were there and that was a moment that she didn’t need to make any more difficult than it already would be. She could tell by the look on the woman’s face that she was Detective Farmouth’s wife and the mother of the deceased. She couldn’t imagine what she must be feeling so she would sit there and allow them the closure that they needed.

Slowly Luke and his wife walked to the freezer currently holding their only son and opened the door. As the detective pulled the cold slab out his hands began to shake slightly. He knew what he was going to see. But that didn’t make this any easier for him.

He would have to show his wife something she should never have had to see. He would have to watch her heart break and he would have to console her with nothing but promises that he didn’t know that he would be able to keep, because the person responsible was still out there somewhere. He would have to console her while trying to hold himself together.

He pulled the sheet back from his dead son’s face and waited for his wife’s’ response. He didn’t get the response he thought he would receive. As he uncovered LJ’s face Lela stood frozen in place and when his face was fully uncovered she immediately noticed that he was not as he was when she last saw him. She thought back on the few days before when he was sitting at her house with his fiancé and their newborn twin girls. She thought back to the look of pride he held on his face and the warm smile that lit up his eyes while holding his children in his arms. She thought about the warmth that flowed through his face showing more than just emotions but the life that was flowing through his veins, the life that was no longer present as she looked down at her son.

Unconsciously she touched his face as she always did when she saw him. And it was then that she noticed the bullet wound in his head. She touched that wound, carefully tracing around it with her index finger. Then all in one motion she pulled the cover back to fully see him. She wanted to see what these animals had done to her baby boy, her only son, the son that she had fought so long and hard for. The son that she prayed and cried for. Her only son.

She looked down at the wound in his chest where she used to lay her head as they hugged closely. She looked at the wounds in his side and his stomach and she ached for him. All at once she felt the pain that her son must have felt as these monsters ripped him from her life. She felt the pain as if it were her body that they shot so violently. Without even realizing it she was falling. She felt Luke’s arms around her but she didn’t know how she got there. She

steadied herself and walked from  the morgue without saying a word.

Luke took one more look at his son before following his wife. He touched his shoulder while saying aloud, “Don’t worry my son. Those that are responsible for this will pay. I can promise you that they will pay.”

And with those words said he covered LJ up and pushed his body back into freezer. He rushed to catch up with Lela and found her sitting on the bench by the elevator. She said nothing as she stood up as he approached. He placed his arm around her and pushed the elevator button that would take them to the ICU floor, where she would go to see her godson fighting for his life. He wondered if she would eventually say something. It wasn’t like her to not show emotion.

They exited the elevator and walked to Lucian’s room. When they walked in Luke noticed nothing had changed, he still lay there completely still, which was the opposite of the young man he knew so well. Ever since he’d known Lucian, he’d been an active, careful boy. In his adulthood those traits had been carefully preserved as he went through life with ease and confidence. Seeing him laying here with tubes assisting his breathing was no different than seeing his son in the morgue. It was an unbelievable feeling that crept over him. These young men shouldn’t be in this situation. They had done everything that they were supposed to do to make sure they were never in this type of situation. They stayed in church and hung out with the right crowd of people. They stayed active in the local youth community and worked hard in their fields of choice. Yet here they both were in the same hospital, one laying lifeless on a metal slab and one laying close to death on a bed only a floor above the man he lovingly called brother.

As they entered the room they noticed that Tami and Lee Lee weren’t there. They didn’t have to wait long to find out why. Lee Lee

walked in shortly afterward carrying a cup of water and graham crackers with peanut butter. Tami followed, still wiping her hands with the paper towel she used after washing her hands. Seeing Lela they immediately went to her and they all embraced lovingly. To Tami, Lela was like her sister, her best friend for over thirty years. To Lee Lee, Lela was another mother. And she knew that if she was here then she had already been told what happened and had already been down to view LJ. They could tell from the look in her eyes that she was fighting to control her emotions, the same emotions that she usually let flow so freely. This was a situation that none of them were prepared for and none of them knew how they should be feeling or how they should respond. They all had the same thoughts about what had happened and for most of them wondered what really happened and who was responsible; all except for Lelone.

Yes, she wondered why it happened. Yes, she wondered why they had to be placed in this situation. But she wasn’t feeling the loss quite yet, she was feeling rage toward the act that caused this. She wasn’t wondering who was responsible because she knew and they would soon know just how much rage she felt. But now was not the time. She had waited around knowing that LJ’s parents would be there soon to sit with her mother as they always had. Lela was always there when they needed her, as if it were her personal duty to do so. She came and never faltered on anything that they may have needed. And even in this situation it was no different. Here she was holding in her tears so that she could try to be strong for Tami and Lelone in their time of need. Here she was standing with them as her son lay dead just one floor below.

As they hugged each other Luke went and got more chairs from the waiting room so that they all would be able to sit down. Lelone refused because she wouldn’t be staying long. She had some research that she needed to do. She had only waited at the hospital long enough to see Lela and let her know that she was there for her

and that she would be there until those revenge was done. She said none of this, of course, but her presence was enough to make that known. Everyone in that room knew that Lelone standing there meant that she wouldn’t be going home anytime soon.

Lela and Tami sat side by side next to the bed, holding each other’s hand, neither wanted to break contact because they didn’t know how much more they would be able to handle separately. They sat there silently for a long while. Both thinking about their situation and all that would have to be done in the next few days, both thinking about the twins and how the whole family was coming into town to celebrate their birth. Both trying to hold onto hope that Lucian would pull through and they wouldn’t have to bury them both.

Luke stood propped against the wall watching the women sit there mirroring the same solemn expression. It hurt his heart to see them like that knowing that he could do nothing to change how they felt. He knew that Della was probably at home with the same expression on her face as she continued to try to be the best mother possible for her twin girls.

The silence was ended by the sound of his phone ringing. It was his partner, Blake, trying to figure out where he was. Luke had told no one of why he’d left the police station so abruptly. There was a case that needed their attention and it wasn’t like him to leave without giving a reason. He stepped out to take the call without disturbing everyone else.

Clearing his throat so the emotion he felt wouldn’t reveal itself he picked up, “Hello?”

“Hey man what happened to you? I thought I saw you talking to Laws and the next minute you shot out of here without saying anything. Is everything okay? Where are you?”

“Hey  Blake.  Um  sorry about that man um something important came up. I’m sitting here at Hillside Hospital in the ICU.”

ICU! What the hell? What happened? Who’s in the hospital? You know what never mind I’m on my way. I’ll see you in a few.”

The line went dead before he could tell him there was no need and that it was okay. Before he could tell him the news that he still hadn’t quite processed in his own head.

Blake arrived at the hospital in ten minutes, ten minutes faster than it should have taken him to get there. He raced there trying to match the speed of his own thoughts. What happened? Who’s in ICU? What’s their condition? Will they make it? He and Luke had been partners for over thirty years ever since he joined the police force. They made Detective at the same time and were placed on both the Crime and the SVU divisions. He looked at Luke’s family as he would his own. So hearing that someone was in ICU hit him just as hard as it would if it were someone in his own family.

When Blake entered the hospital he didn’t even bother to take the elevator. Instead he took the stairs to the ICU floor two at a time. He didn’t want to waste any time trying to get there, especially when he was already late to begin with. When he walked through the doors of the ICU he immediately noticed them in the room. He saw Luke and Lee Lee first. He knew that if Lee Lee was there then whatever had happened wasn’t good. As he got closer he saw Lela and Tami sitting next to the bed. It wasn’t until he got to the door that he saw who was lying in it; Lucian. The sight rocked him to the core. Lucian wasn’t the type to do anything that would make someone want to harm him, so seeing it without hearing about it first was odd to him. He greeted the women first with hugs and then pulled Luke out to walk with him and get some understanding of what happened.

“Luke, man, what happened? How the hell didn’t we know about this?”

Luke looked at his partner understanding all of his emotions but unable to find the words to tell him it was much worse than he thought. “I don’t know and that’s what bothers me. Lee Lee came to visit me and told me that he was here. Tami had called her to let her know that Lucian was here. Apparently he was brought here by some local fisherman that saw him being thrown into the river where they were fishing.”

“What the hell? Did they see who did it?” “No.”

“What did the doctor say?”

“Well, he has great brain activity so they think he should wake up soon which is a good thing. He has four broken ribs as well as a broken arm and leg. But the odds are good so far.”

“Oh okay. Well that’s good news at least. But I still don’t see why someone wasn’t called down here to find out what happened. It’s hospital protocol in a situation like this.”

Luke said nothing. He only nodded his head in agreement because his partner was right. Usually in cases like this the hospital would have called, except in this particular situation there were officers who were already there who probably spoke with them about it and said nothing. This made him even more curious about the cops that brought his son in but never made a statement about it.