Moriarty's Musician

Purging the Demons, Part 6

The moment the helicopter landed, Moriarty and Sebastian were out the door, and sprinting towards the estate house. Kyle and Matt were already waiting outside. Moriarty nodded at the two men as they all entered the house. 

Jack was sitting in the entranceway, his eyes red and swollen. 

Moriarty put a hand on his shoulder. "Jack, where's Megan?"

Jack nodded. "T-T-This way." He led them to the kitchen and Moriarty's mouth set in a tight line as he looked at Meg kneeling over Sam. Her head was bent as she whispered words Moriarty couldn't hear.

"Megan?"

She didn't respond as her mouth continued to move silently. Moriarty squatted beside her as he waited, his eyes running over Sam's lifeless body, lingering on the bloody bullet hole in his chest.

Meg finished her prayer and made the sign of the cross across her chest before lifting her head. Moriarty's sharp intake of breath was enough to bring Sebastian over as they both angrily studied her face.

Moriarty reached out to her and gently turned her head. A dark scowl consumed his face as he saw the black and blue mark stretching across her cheek, her nose, obviously broken.

He could hear Jack sniffling behind him as he stood up, not letting go of Meg's hands. Sebastian also braced her as she struggled to stand. Both men helped her to a kitchen chair.

Moriarty glanced at William who was waiting in the rear of the kitchen. 

"William, come sit down."

The older man came over and sat down in the chair Moriarty had pulled out for him. Moriarty's eyes scanned his face. 

"William, did she hurt you?"

William shook his head then lowered his eyes. "No, sir."

Relief flooded over Moriarty until he turned his eyes back to Meg. He knelt beside her, gnashing his teeth as he saw her one eye had swelled almost closed. 

"Are you able to tell me what happened, Meg?"

Meg raised her eyes to his, "Jack is the hero here, James. He listened to the conversation Soo-Ling had with Annabelle, convincing her to go, and ran to tell us what she was planning. But before we could alert Sam, Soo-Ling came in and shot him as he walked through the door." 

Meg shifted in her chair and looked over at Jack. "Soo-Ling tied us all up, but Jack was somehow able to get out of his bindings, and help us. I was able to tend to Sam for a short time before he passed."

Moriarty slowly stood, walked to the counter and pulled out a small towel from the drawer. He went to the refrigerator, retrieved some ice cubes from the freezer and wrapped them in the towel. Coming back to Meg, he knelt down and gently touched her swollen face with the compress. 

"I'm so sorry I wasn't here to protect you, Meg," he said, his voice cracking.

Meg gave him a weak smile. "I'm not the one who needs protecting. Jack said Soo-Ling told Annabelle that she regularly sleeps in your room with you. We both know how Annabelle is probably feeling about you, James."