As the door opened, Laura caught sight of the green sunglasses and groaned inwardly. She had hoped that Annie would answer the door so she could just get this over with. She had abandoned her earlier thoughts of prolonged torture in the light of reason. After all, Peter was with the woman and was unlikely to stand by idly while Laura had her fun.
'A bullet through the head,' she thought with glee. 'Much more efficient.'
But first she would have to deal with this other man. Always on the alert, Laura began to focus on finding an opportunity to dispose of this newest obstacle. She pasted on a smile and began relating her phony tale of woe in a soft voice, touched with just a hint of a Southern accent.
"Please, sir, could you help me. My car," she motioned toward the street, "just started to shake and make this hideous noise. I just can't imagine what could be wrong. Please, if I could just use your phone for a moment..."
As she stepped through the door and into the foyer, Kermit's jacket beeped and Laura saw her chance. When Kermit turned to answer his cell phone, she quickly pulled her gun from her purse and slammed the butt into the base of his skull. He dropped to the floor with a low grunt, imperceptible to all but the finest of hearing, and was silent.
Annie heard an odd noise out in the foyer and abruptly hung up on the rambling telemarketer, a sick feeling building in her stomach.
"Kermit?" she called out softly as she stepped from the kitchen into the living room. "Peter? Is that you, sweetie?"
She was greeted only by the slow rhythmic breathing that indicated her son had fallen asleep once more. She walked over to the couch and bent down to retrieve the blanket she was certain he had kicked off. Sure enough, her fingers met the soft fabric balled up on the floor near his feet. She shook her head, gently placed the blanket back over her sleeping child, and dropped a soft kiss onto his forehead.
That done, she proceeded into the foyer to be met by the familiar soft 'click' of a gun being cocked.
"Very sweet, Annie dear, but that's the last time you will ever touch my son. It's time to pay."
Annie stopped cold. "Where is Kermit?"
"Oh, don't worry about your friend. He's just taking a little nap on the floor next to you. Oh, and I took the opportunity to liberate his gun from him, so don't get any false hopes of salvation, my dear."
"Why are you doing this? You can't seriously believe you can get away with this?" Annie's voice had been steadily growing in volume.
"Shut up," Laura growled. "You don't want to wake Peter up. We don't want me to have to deal with another obstacle, now do we?"
Annie shuddered at the heartless implications of the question.
"Too late," Peter's voice rang out strong and steady from the other side of the hall. "Put the gun down, Mother."
Laura glanced at the empty couch and cursed herself for not keeping a better eye on his whereabouts. She then turned her eyes toward her son just as he leveled his Beretta directly at her.
*******
Capt. Karen Simms slammed down the phone, cursing. Annie Blaisdell's line was still busy. 'Damn'.
"Jody," she yelled across the bull pen, "I need you to get out to the Blaisdell house and warn them that Laura Caine had somehow disappeared from the hospital."
"Yes, Captain. You also might want to try ringing Kermit on his cell phone. I think he was headed over to see Peter."
Karen nodded at the Detective and went back into her office, slamming the door behind her. She pushed the speed dial number for Kermit's cell phone and waited, impatiently, as the phone rang over and over.
"Damn it, Kermit, where the hell are you?"
Frustration gripped her. She couldn't get in touch with Peter or Annie because their phone was busy, now she couldn't reach Kermit, and Caine didn't have a phone. She was just about to order a black and white over to Caine's apartment when the obvious struck. Picking up her phone once more, she dialed Mary Margaret Skalaney's cell phone.
"Skalaney."
"Detective Skalaney, where are you?"
The iron in her Captain's voice put Mary Margaret on alert.
"I'm at Caine's place, Captain. What's wrong."
Relieved at finally achieving contact with one of the affected parties, Capt. Simms began to explain.
*******
"Caine, we have to get over to Annie's house as soon as possible. Laura's missing from the hospital and Capt. Simms thinks she might be headed over there."
"Yes, that would be a logical assumption. I sense confusion and danger from him. He is trying to protect one someone while not doing harm to another. We must hurry," Caine urged as he gathered his coat and pouch and followed Mary Margaret to her car.
*******
Laura's aim didn't waver in the least as she turned her head to address Peter.
"Put that thing down, Peter. Is that the kind of respect this woman has taught you? Pointing a gun at your own mother?"
"Mother, please, just put the gun down."
"No. I'm sorry that it has to be this way, baby, but she has to pay. She has to be punished for taking you away from me, for stealing my place and my title. Even now you call me 'Mother' as if it is forced from you, but you call her 'Mom' just as naturally as anything."
During her speech, Laura had tightened her grip on the gun. Anger welled as she listened to her own words and her finger began to squeeze the trigger. A groan from the supposedly unconscious man on the floor caught her attention and she involuntarily turned slightly toward him just as the gun exploded. A second shot sounded almost simultaneously.
*******
Mary Margaret and Caine got out of the car and cautiously approached the house. Without warning, two gunshots shattered the evening calm.
END Part 6
