What Happened Next
By Bridgid and Atonia
Another day, another God damned shooting, John thought as he drove to the scene. He had no idea what went on at this one but Miss Peeg sounded pretty shook up.
Siobhan let the ambulance crew know that they should stay back until the scene was secure. It was common practice to do so.
"Right there, John." she said, spotting the van on the road. Taking her gun from her holster, she was the first one out of the car but John was not far behind.
"Miss Peeg." John called, seeing her first. "Is everything okay? Can we approach?"
They'd gauge by her reaction as to how safe the area was but they would still be on their toes.
Miss Peeg squared her shoulders and tucked up a
stray lock of hair, "Yes, it's, it's all over now."
Glancing over at Richie she wiped a tear.
"It's not over until Toni is found," Richie called out rising from the ground a
little unsteadily.
"Toni is missing?" John queried as he glanced at Siobhan. "Tell the EMS that it’s safe to come in." He added as he moved over to Miss Peeg. He held out his hand for the gun, trusting her as he knew her to be an upstanding citizen. Siobhan helped Richie, taking a look at his hand to assess it before the ambulance pulled up.
"What exactly went on here, and who owns this van?" John asked, knowing full well the Siobhan had already requested registration information from the NSW transportation department. He was not aware of the man in the ditch yet.
"The son-of-a bitch kidnapped my wife to get me to come with him so he could blow my fucking brains out that’s what happened" Richie cried out as Siobhan was trying to get a look at his hand. He was fighting a wave of dizziness that threatened to overtake him. "Miss Peeg shot him he ain’t talkin’ now, I don’t know where she is."
Miss Peeg looked at Richie feeling wretched, "the van was driven by the man in the ditch sir, I don’t believe it belongs to him because a satellite TV man would not want to kill Mr. Roberts would he?" She looked up at John handing him the gun.
In the back of the van Toni had ceased to struggle and had lulled herself into a state of semi-consciousness. She heard the sirens from afar they didn’t matter now, nothing did. Underneath the tarp she was reaching in her mind for that black void.
"Why didn't you call us?" John asked with a growl. "Damn it, Roberts , you're a cop, you know better."
The EMS crew arrived on the scene and Siobhan let them take care of Richie. John went to check the man in the ditch and to his surprise he was still breathing. He waved the ambulance crew down as he knelt beside the man.
"Talk, where's Mrs. Roberts?"
Just as he finished the question, Siobhan joined him with the ambulance crew. The man groaned lowly but he didn't answer.
"Ride in with him, Siobhan. I'll take care of things here. See if you can get anything out of him, okay?:"
Siobhan nodded and the sheriff climbed back up to Miss Peeg and Richie.
"I'm going to have to take you in, Miss Peeg. I'm sorry but until I have the full story as to what went on, I'll have to take you in. Richie, you need to get that hand taken care of but I've got a lot of questions for you. We'll find your wife. Won't stop till we do. I promise you that."
All attention was drawn to Siobhan as she called up from the ditch.
"He said something. Sounded like he said 'van'." she said. "Check the van!"
He should have known, he should have checked. John moved to the back of the van and opened the doors. He started moving stuff around and then he found her.
"She's here! Siobhan, send a medic up here, now!" he called. "Mrs. Roberts. Toni, are
You okay?"
Toni was not okay, she was vaguely aware the tarp had been pulled from her body she could feel the cool air across her skin. Her face was wet and flushed from crying and the tape covering her mouth left her speechless. She moaned in her misery wanting to go back to that blackness where she didn’t have to think, didn’t know that Richie was dead, she didn’t want to know.
Richie tore away from the medic trying to bandage his hand and ran to the back of the van. "My God Toni, is she…?"
Miss Peeg sank back onto the rock and held her head.
She's alive!: John said as he tried to revive her. Lowering the tone of his voice he spoke to her. "Toni, its okay, honey, you're safe now."
Easing the tape from her mouth he, called for the medic again just as Richie managed to climb in.
"She's in shock but she seems okay." John tried to reassure the man but he couldn't blame him for his worry. He could now only imagine the ordeal that this family had been through and then there was the case of Miss Peeg.
John moved aside to let Richie be with his wife. Siobhan had already boarded the ambulance with the perp and John called for another unit for Toni.
Assured she was indeed alive Richie very carefully untied the ropes and pulled her to him. "Toni, oh God Toni,"
Toni brought back by the sound of John’s voice opened her eyes her mouth grimacing for another onslaught of crying and then she heard Richie’s voice her eyes frantically searching. She was in his arms, "Richie," she croaked, "I thought you were dead."
"No, no are you all right, did he hurt you?" he was trying to look her over but her arms had fastened tight around his neck.
The pain set in as the feeling came back into her arms but she wasn’t going to let Richie go, "I’m with you." She said her voice raspy. Toni couldn’t feel her legs they were numb, nothing mattered now she had Richie back.
"Yes you are darlin’, I ain’t lettin’ you go." Richie moved his hand on her back smearing blood over the rumpled scrubs she had dressed in for work earlier that morning.
Assured by the sound of the second EMS unit nearing, John stepped over to Miss Peeg and offered his hand to her.
"Mr. and Mrs. Roberts will be fine, Miss Peeg. Do you feel up to talking to me now?"
She admittedly shot the man who was in the ditch but as far as John was concerned, she did it in defense of Roberts. Unless her story said otherwise, he was not worried about her taking flight. He'd get the Roberts side of the story after they were both stabilized and settled.
Miss Peeg raised her head and took John’s hand rising to her feet, "yes," she said holding out her wrists for the handcuffs she thought might be coming, "I’m ready Sheriff."
He looked down at her hands then back up at her face. Smiling, John swept his hand through his hair the way he often does.
"I'm not going to handcuff you, Miss Peeg. I am not going to arrest you either, at least not yet. Yes, you allegedly killed a man but I want to know the circumstances before I make a decision."
John led her to the prowler and sat her in the front seat. He took a moment to call O'Brien to impound the van before he said anything else to her. Once he finished the call, he sat in the driver’s seat, leaving the door open.
"Got to wait here for the tow truck. I'm sorry as I can only imagine how uncomfortable you are, Miss Peeg. It won't be long before the tow gets here though, so why don't we use this time for me to find out what happened. Whose gun did I take from you and what made you shoot that man?"
Miss Peeg placed her hands in her lap, "Well sir I really should start at the beginning when Mr. Roberts told me about the contract on his life. There had been a man in the office looking for him, I can’t swear it right now but I think it may have been the man I shot. This morning Mr. Roberts was upset after he received a phone call from the clinic Mrs. Roberts hadn’t been in to work and he couldn’t get her on the phone so he is going home to check on her. He’d forgotten his keys and I ran to get them for him, when I got to the door he was gone but his car door was opened wasn’t it, so I looked out down the street and I saw him in the van didn’t I. His keys were in my hand, " she looked down at her bloodied hands, "and I went back to see if he had his gun because he’d been carrying it since he heard about the contract. I saw that he didn’t have his gun so I picked it up and put it in my purse and ran back out to his vehicle. I saw the van just going over the rise and I followed it here." It had all come out in a rush and she paused to catch her breath.
"I know I should have called you but there wasn’t time was there for a chat, I only thought to follow and see what was happening. When I got here and found the van I saw Mr. Roberts on his knees there by the ditch, oh, oh the man had a gun didn’t he pointed at Mr. Roberts, I took Mr. Roberts gun and pointed and fired. If I hadn’t, Sheriff, he would be dead and possibly Mrs. Roberts as well. I’m so dreadfully sorry about the whole thing,"
John was silent for a moment. He ran the entire story through his mind. Turning to Miss Peeg , he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"There will be an inquiry, I can't prevent it however, it’s my honest opinion that you acted out of need and not malice. Now...I understand you are going to worry about this and, Miss Peeg, I know what it feels like to kill someone even if it is justified. It's not a good feeling but you have to rectify it in your mind."
Glancing up in the rearview, he could see the wrecker approaching.
"O'Brian is here. Once he gets that van hooked up, I'll take you into Coffs to be with the Roberts if you like. Is that okay? I can come pick you up when you are ready to go home. Is there anyone you'd like to call first?"
Miss Peeg let out a long sigh, "thank you, I should like to call my niece if I may and, and if I could go into Coffs perhaps there is something I could do for them, it’s been a most stressful time, most stressful." She shook her head dislodging more hair that tumbled down beside her face. Absently she tucked it back and smiled slightly at John Biebe appreciating his reassuring manner.
Just as he reached for his cell phone it rang. Seeing that it was Siobhan, John answered it. After a short discussion he closed the phone.
"I'm sorry to inform you of this, Miss Peeg but the man you shot has passed away. There...there will have to be an investigation and I'm afraid you will be charged with manslaughter."
He hated telling her this and he hated the fact that no matter how justified the shooting was, she's have to be charged. At least he could make this as easy for her as possible. Handing the phone over to her, he looked at her then he looked down.
"I trust you won't go anywhere. Am I correct? I
mean, I'll take you in to Coffs ..And I'll come to talk to you after the post
mortem. Perhaps we could arrange a house arrest during the investigation."
"Oh dear, oh dear," Miss Peeg wiped her face with the back of her hand and remembering the blood she quickly pulled it away and looked at her hands wiping the dried blood off on her skirt as best she could while his words achieved their full effect.
"I of course will not be going anywhere sir, no of course not, manslaughter" she repeated taking the phone. "I’ve made a right mess of it haven’t I…how does one tell one’s niece?" She took a breath and pulled herself together and punched in the number. While she waited she looked at the Sheriff, such a nice man he was, "don’t worry," she said quietly to him while the phone rang in her ear, "I’m a tough old bird."
John chuckled a little. He knew she may be in for a bit of a rough spot here and he'd do what he could to make it easier on her. "If I were only ten years younger, Miss Peeg." he teased.
Waving at Colin as he hooked up the van, John started the prowler. It took thirty minutes to drive to Coffs, but Miss Peeg would make it a pleasant trip even under the pressure of the circumstances. He really liked her and he hoped for the best for her and the Roberts'. Time would tell.
