A Degree in Murder

Chapter Twenty Five: The Lesser Evil

Eleanor tossed and turned in her bed for what seemed like an eternity. She finally sat up in her bed, rubbed her eyes and turned to the clock on her nightstand. It flashed 3:12 AM in emerald green, causing her to curse under her breath. Of all the days for insomnia to rear its ugly head, it had to be on the most important day of her life. A day which could end in one of two ways: with her sleeping in the comfort of her bed with a lifetime of nightmares or rotting in a jail cell for the rest of her life, plus or minus the nightmares. There was a third option: do nothing and leave with the guilt in her heart. She shook her head in disgust.

This is not the time to have such thoughts. No time for cold feet.

She wore her robe and slipped on her fuzzy slippers. While her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Eleanor slowly made her way to the kitchen. There was something comforting about the darkness. Moving through the world without being seen, judged or forced to do something you had no interest in doing sounded amazing. One warm glass of milk later and she was back in bed, hoping for the warm milk to work its magic. Two hours and thirty minutes later her alarm roared into life, rousing her from her slumber. Groggy and irritable, she glanced at the alarm clock on her nightstand and froze.

Shit! Have I've been hitting snooze the entire time?!

This was not how she envisioned her D-Day starting out. Eleanor took a long, deep breath and switched to work mode. This allowed her to calm down and methodically plot exactly what needed to be done. She shot out of bed and raced to the bathroom for a quick shower. While in the shower, Eleanor replayed the plan over and over in her head. It had to go off without a hitch. Eleven minutes later, she got out and changed into her gym clothes. She grabbed a duffel bag from the closet and after one long stare at her reflection in the mirror, she left the room.

In the living room Eleanor came across Debbie curled up on her dog pillow next to her favourite recliner chair. She went over, knelt beside her and gently patted her head.

"Hey girl, mommy has to go and do something. . . Something she might not come back from," She kissed her forehead with tears in her eyes, "I just want you to know that I love you more than anything and I'll make sure you're well taken care of if things go sideways." Eleanor slowly picked up her duffel bag and headed for the front door where her watery eyes met the curious gaze of Susan.

"Is everything alright, ma'am?" asked Susan with a concerned look on her face.

"Yes . . . Umm. . . I just get emotional when I see Debbie sleeping so peacefully," replied Eleanor, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Will you be returning for lunch after your session?" queried Susan, eyeing her gym attire and the duffel bag in. her hand.

Eleanor placed her hand on Susan's shoulder, squeezed it lightly and walked past her out the door. "Take care of Debbie," she said over her shoulder before hoping into the car, pulling out of the driveway and slowly drove off. She looked back at her home through the rear view mirror and let out a long sigh.

With the destination clearly mapped out in her head, she picked up the pace. Eleanor would meet up with the survivalist to go over the plan once more. Trusting a total stranger she had just met with something of this magnitude was completely insane and she knew it. His plan provided her with additional support and a greater chance of success. The ends justified the means and in her mind, there was no nobler cause on the planet Earth than to save a life. It would involve taking a life, violating the Hippocratic Oath she made. An oath all doctors made.

If the police and the military are justified by their actions, so am I.

Twenty minutes later, Eleanor pulled into the parking lot of Ridgeville Central Park when her burner phone started ringing.