Jane Eyre Austen (16 page)

She texted Ben, “in the stairwell with prick” having no idea what would happen next.  She heard her heart beating in her ears, and was aware how clammy her skin had become.  Within moments she heard the door open above her head, cool air wafting down.

Gray stood looking over her head, “Jesus Jane, don’t move.”

“I’m ok.”  She held her hand up, “Help me up.”

“Jane, you’re in shock.  Don’t move.” He was insistent. 

Jane looked down; her hand was covered with blood.  “Not my blood,” she managed to whisper before shifting her weight forward to sit.

Gray bent down to help her up, “Whose blood is it?”

“Richard.”  Jane stood up slowly and looked down the stairwell.  “Is he down there?”  

Gray put his hands on her shoulders, “For God’s sake, stay put, please.  I’ll be right back.”

Jane leaned against the wall while she listened to Gray run up the steps.  He returned a few minutes later with her purse and talking on his phone.

“She’s ok, there’s a lot of blood.  Yeah, we’ve got video.  Ok.”  Gray looked at her carefully, “Can you walk?”

The adrenaline that had been coursing through her body suddenly crashed.  “I think so.”  She let her breath out slowly, trying to contain the melt down.

Gray held her by the elbow, “Come on, I’m taking you home.”  They walked down one flight of stairs and he stood by the landing door, opening it.  “We’ll take the elevator.”  He gently placed her purse over her shoulder.

Jane looked down at herself, “I, uh, I’m not presentable…”

He rolled his eyes, “Jane, please don’t argue.”  He guided her toward the elevator; she wiped the blood from her hand on her skirt and then fished through her purse for her car keys.  She held them out and he took them, watching her carefully.

“What happened?” he asked quietly.

“He was in the stairwell.”  She looked up, “Oh, the copies…” for a moment she considered going back to collect them.

He raised an eyebrow, “You are in shock.  Just relax, you don’t have to talk.”

He pulled out his phone, “Have Wilcox meet me at home.  Have Cooper make copies of the video, give the original to the police, email me one, and send one to Ben…   In shock, but ok.”

“Video?” Jane asked at the doors opened and he escorted her to the car.

“Security cameras in the stairwells.”  He unlocked the car, and then buckled her in.  He settled in to the driver’s side, pushing the seat back several inches and readjusting the mirrors.  He looked over to her, “You’re very pale.”

She nodded, “Adrenaline crash.” 

She winced as he jerked the car forward, and then he looked over, “Sorry.”

Something tickled at her brain, and she tried to wrestle with it until finally she realized, “But you took me to the stairwell to talk.”

He glanced over, “Yes.  My office doesn’t have surveillance.”  She remained puzzled, and he looked at her carefully, her face was pale, but no bruises.  She was remained rigid in the seat, but that could be due to his driving rather than bruises.  Other than the blood on her hand and sleeve and her disheveled appearance, she did seem ok.

She was watching the road, “Where are we going?”

“Home, my home.”

She looked at her watch, “But my mother, I need to be home by five.”  He slid his eyes toward her, she was not ok.  She sat up, “Oh my God, Richard, did they find Richard?”

“Relax, please.  Ben and Cooper are taking care of it.”  He rested his hand on her thigh, “Jane, is Richard hurt?”

“Yes.  I think I must have stabbed him.  It was so fast.”

His tone was deadly, “He had a knife.”

“Yes.”

He pulled out his phone and dialed, “Ben, Richard brought a knife, she stabbed him…  I don’t know.”  He looked over, “Do you want to talk to Ben?”

She reached for the phone, wincing at the sight of blood on her hand.  “Hey, thanks for sending help.”

“Janie, he’s not in the stairwell.  Stay with Gray, Patrick is with your mom; he’ll pack a bag and I’ll bring it over later.  Don’t worry about her either, Patrick is arranging her care.  I’d rather you not go home tonight, just in case.  How badly was he hurt, I mean is he going to have to go to the hospital?”

“I don’t know.  I slammed the knife in as hard as I could, but I don’t even know where I hit him, probably his side or back.”

“You left the knife in?”

“Yeah.”

“What did Richard say exactly?” Ben’s voice was so cold it scared her.

“I don’t remember, Ben.  Something about me being a manipulative bitch.”  She looked over at Gray, “But he knew that Gray bought the hotel.”

“Don’t leave Gray.  Do you understand me Janie?  Do not at any time be alone.” His voice was emphatic.

“I understand.”   Before she could say good bye Ben had already hung up.  She put the phone down and flicked her eyes over to Gray, “He doesn’t want me to be alone.  I think he’s going to kill Richard.”

Gray nodded, “Don’t worry about Ben.  He can take care of himself.”  He grunted, “You are not manipulative.”

She looked over at him sadly, “Not intentionally…”

“Jane, stop.  You are not manipulative.  I’ll hear no more of it.”  He squeezed her thigh and she winced.

“You are hurt! My doctor will meet us at home, unless you want to go to the hospital.”

“No, please no hospital, no doctor.”  Jane rolled her eyes, “I’m fine.  I just want a shower.”

He stared stonily ahead, finally pulling into his driveway and parking her Jetta in his garage behind his Audi.

“Just wait, I’ll come around and get you,” he said bossily.  She unbuckled ignoring him, opened her door and stood up to his glaring form.

“I’m fine.” She sighed, “Can I shower, please?”

He rolled his eyes, “It’s this way.  I’ll get you some sweats.”  He sighed, “It’s three flights of stairs, are you sure?”

She nodded, “Yes,” she leaned forward gently touching his arm, “Thank you Gray.  I’m sorry you are involved in this.”

He pulled her into a hug, “I’m sorry I didn’t realize how spiteful he is, I blame myself.”

“No, you can’t, I never thought he was capable of this.  I thought Ben was being overprotective.”  She trudged up behind him, barely noticing the first floor before beginning the stairs to the second floor. She was enveloped by creams and whites with touches of blue. He led her to his bedroom, rummaging through drawers before pulling out a t shirt and sweats and directing her to the bathroom and handing her clean towels.

“I’ll make some tea.  I’ll be downstairs in the kitchen, but call me if you need anything.”  He kissed her forehead and hugged her close once more.  It was a comforting gesture, and it helped her relax.

The bathroom was beautiful, bright hand painted tiles interspersed the plain white tiles making the room cheerful.  She showered quickly, washing her hair and trying not to notice the pink water at her feet.  There was a sensitive lump on the back of her head from when Richard attacked her with the knife. When she stepped out and dried off she could see bruises on her back imprinted from the steps.  What disturbed her was the bite mark on her shoulder, a clear impression of Richard’s teeth, and she hadn’t remembered it happening. 

She arrived downstairs with her wet hair brushed out and swimming in a pair of the softest grey sweats she had ever felt.  This floor was more colorful, although the colors were still light, reminding her of the beach.  Grey, turquoise, blue, green, light wood all blended together harmoniously.

Gray met her at the bottom of the stairs, “Dr. Wilcox is here.”  He led her through the kitchen and sitting at a table in front of a bay window was a man, probably in his thirties, dressed in khaki pants and a button down shirt, no tie.  He had black doctor’s bag beside him.

He stood up when she entered, “Steve Wilcox, Ms. Austen, how are you doing?”

“I have a few bruises but other than that I’m perfectly well.”

He gestured to a seat and took her wrist, getting her pulse.  “Bruises?  Where?”

She touched the back of her head, “I fell against the stairs, they’re on my back, and here.”

“Can you turn slightly?”  He gently examined her head and pulled her t-shirt up and ran his fingers over her spine.  He dropped the shirt, pulled out a stethoscope and had her breathe.

“Are you on any medications?”

“No sir.”

He looked at her directly, “Birth control? Allergy? Tylenol?”

“No, nothing.” She could feel her cheeks warm slightly at the mention of birth control.  She had quit taking it after graduation because first there really was no need, and second, she didn’t have medical insurance.

“I’d like to photograph your back for my files.  It’s normal procedure, evidence, the police will probably prefer to do it themselves, but I’m sure Mr. Poole won’t allow it.  Your face won’t be in the picture, it will just be your back.  Would you mind taking your shirt off?”

Her eyes opened in alarm and she shot Gray a plaintive look.  He coughed, “I’ll give you a moment,” and thankfully left.

She felt awkward, having a man photograph her back when she was just wearing a bra.  He took a picture of the back of her head and neck, and then noticed her shoulder.

“This bite mark, is it related to the attack.”

“Yes.” She said a little too tartly.

He hunted through his bag for a ruler and had her hold it up while he took a picture of it.  “You can put your shirt on now.”  When her head popped through the neck hole he was leaning on the table in front of her.  He had a penlight and had her follow his finger and asked other routine questions.

As he put everything back in his bag he quietly asked, “Are you sexually active?”

“No.” she whispered back.

“You should be fine, there’s no evidence of a concussion, but if you get a headache, experience sensitivity to light, please call me immediately.  Do you want something for the pain?”

“Tea and Tylenol.” She answered quietly.  “Thank you for coming, I appreciate not having to go to the police station.”

“Of course, let me know who the detective in charge is and I’ll send copies of your medical records including pictures.”  He held out his hand, “Good luck Ms. Austen.”

“Thank you Dr. Wilcox.”

Gray appeared in the doorway and held up a finger to Jane, “I’ll just show him out.”  While they left she made herself a cup of tea and settled on a stool at the kitchen island. 

“Thanks for coming Steve.”

“Any time Gray, uh,” he reached in his bag and brought out a strip of condoms, “Take these, and call me if she gets a headache or anything.”

Gray looked at the strip of condoms, “No thank you, Steve.”

“She’s not using anything Gray, and unless you’ve got a stash in there, don’t be stupid, just take them.”

Gray raised an eyebrow in warning, said nothing and closed the door.  He found her in the kitchen sipping tea.  “Can I get you anything?”

“Tylenol, please.”

He grinned, “Sure.”  He opened up a cabinet door, pulled out a bottle and gave her two pills.  “Are you hungry?”

She shook her head and regretted it, “No, just a little achy.”  She took the pills and looked at him, “so what now?  We just wait?  What about my Mom?”

“Ben’s coming by with clothes; your mother’s companion has agreed to move in for a few days.  James and Susannah are watching her right now.  You should rest.  Do you want to lie down?  Watch TV?”

“Has he found Richard yet?”

Gray walked over to her, pulling her hands toward him, “He’s at the hospital.  Ben will tell you everything when he gets here.”  She stood up and melted into him.  He gently ran his hands over her back, not wanting to touch her bruises.

The doorbell rang followed by an insistent knock she recognized as Ben’s. “Speak of the devil.”  Gray released his grasp, opened the front door and let Ben in.  She had followed him to the front door and Ben scooped her up and hugged her tightly.

“Oh, ouch, too much, stop.” She muttered and he dropped her gently.

“Sorry baby,” he kissed her cheek, “God, it’s good to see you.  Patrick is going nuts; you have to call him after I leave.”

She smiled and hugged him gently, “It’s good to see you too.  Where’s Richard?”

She stepped back and watched his face change rapidly, “You should have gone for the jugular Janie.  Fucker’s probably going to survive.”  He turned to Gray, “Did you see the video yet?”

Gray shook his head, “No, the doctor just left.”

Without being invited, Ben moved into the living room, dropped her bag by a large mahogany desk and sat down in the desk chair, pulling up the internet.  He managed to open Gray’s emails and started the video.  The video was from a camera placed on the landing, giving a view from below and above, but it was a fish eye camera.  It only lasted 27 seconds, but it captured the entire event.  She saw that she stabbed his back while he bit her shoulder.

Ben sat back, “Nice move stopping on the stairs kiddo.  You actually didn’t stab him that deeply, but when you kicked him off you, he managed to impale his kidney in the fall.  He’s in surgery now, they’re taking it out.  The police have this video and he’s officially under arrest for breaking and entering, trespassing, attempted murder, attempted kidnapping, and I got a friend who’ll come up with a bunch more before he’s out of surgery.  His career is screwed.  I’ve already “leaked” the video to YouTube and sent a link to every contact in his address book.  He’s done Janie, it’s over.”