The Psychopath's Prisoner

Chapter 55

Paramedics rushed Cheyenne into the emergency room with Michael in tow as she slid in and out of consciousness. She had lost a large amount of blood and was in excruciating pain. When the nurses took over, they told Michael he could go no further. "Please don't leave me alone. Please," Cheyenne mumbled before she was wheeled back for surgery.

Frustrated, Michael rubbed his hand across his face as he watched the doors close him out.

"Sir," one of the nurses said, "I need to get some information from you. Please follow me."

"Can we do this later, please?"

"Sir..."

"I said I want to do this later," he snapped.

She smiled sympathetically at him and walked away.

"Michael! Michael! How is she?" Mrs. Warner rushed toward him.

"I don't know."

Raina came running up to them. "Anything? Is my sister all right? Where is she? What's going on?"

Michael put one hand up to stop her from talking. "Like I told my mom, I don't know. They just took her back."

"Let's go to the waiting room," Mrs. Warner said as she motioned with her hand.

In the waiting room, Raina sat while Michael paced back and forth. Everyone was on edge. Michael broke the silence. "Oh my God! Who would shoot her? Who? I mean, Eric is in prison for God's sake. Did he hire someone to finish the job for him?" He collapsed into a chair and buried his face in his hands.

Raina stood, went over to him, knelt in front of him. "It's not your fault." They cried together as she whispered, "It's not your fault."

"Detective," Mrs. Warner greeted as she dried her eyes with a tissue.

Michael stood. "Lawrence, who did this? Did you catch the guy?"

"I'm really sorry about Cheyenne. I'll keep her in my prayers."

"Did you catch the guy?" Michael said more emphatically.

Detective Lawrence cleared his throat and shook his head. "No. We didn't catch him, but we had him."

"Eric? Eric escaped? How could you have let that happen and why in the hell didn't you tell us that he had escaped?"

Detective Lawrence rubbed his temples. "There's more to that story."

"Really?" Michael raised his voice. "My wife is in surgery because she was shot due to police irresponsibility. So, tell me, what else? Tell me."

"Calm down, Mikey. The detective is trying to help. Just listen to him, okay?" Mrs. Warner stood beside her son with one hand on his arm. "Calm down, son."

Michael's lip began to tremble. "Okay."

"Go on, detective," Mrs. Warner encouraged with one hand gently rubbing her son's arm.

Detective Lawrence nodded and continued. "He didn't do it alone."

"What do you mean?" Raina asked.

"He had help from within. The warden and one of the guards helped him out. Eric was sly and they befriended him. They believed in his innocence and helped him with his escape. We found evidence to prove it."

"What evidence? How do you know they believed in his innocence? No one admits to something like that."

Detective Lawrence hung his head. "I can't delve into details with you. It's an ongoing investigation."