He then returned to our conversation.
"That's Ben Henderson, the assistant principal of JFK High. Remember, I told you earlier about the kid who got shot at the school. That's what he's talking about."
"Oh my, yes, I'm sorry, in all this confusion and craziness I just wanted to make sure there wasn’t another one. How is he?"
"He's critical but stable. He was just about to go into surgery when we got to the hospital."
"Are the doctors going to be able to help him?"
"We hope so, Vivienne, we really do. When we went to see him, he helped us identify the kids who bought the drugs, the ones who would know who the shooter is. We're about to go talk to their parents to try to discover their whereabouts."
"Well, I'm still with the cops now, and I've told them about my history with Simon. They said they can give me an escort home, to make sure I get there safe. You need to talk to those people, Everett. It's important that you catch the person who shot that boy. I'll be fine; the cops will help me get home safely."
"It's not so much the getting home safely part I'm that worried about," he replied. "It's the fact that this guy, since he knows where you work, may also know where you live as well."
I'd already been thinking about this fact, but now that Everett had said, it seemed, even more frightening. Maybe I wouldn't be safe at home at all. Not with Simon knowing where I was.
"Oh, uh... yeah, I guess that is a possibility. Well, well what can I do then? I can't just stay here all day, and these cops need to go, they have other cases to attend to."
"Hmm. Alright, this is what I'm gonna do. My old friend, the guy I told you about who's a, uh, doctor...I'm gonna ask him if he can be there to keep an eye on you. He and I go way back. And for the record, he's a veterinarian. Still a kind of doctor, right? An animal doctor."
His doctor friend was a veterinarian? Now I was really curious about what the whole story was with him stitching Everett up. I wanted to ask, but I didn't push him on the issue. Still, however, I couldn't help but feel a little skeptical about how a veterinarian was going to protect me from a crazed maniac like Simon.
"Um, I'm sure your friend is a decent guy, Everett, but how is a veterinarian going to be of any help against someone like Simon. I
don't know if you quite realize just how dangerous Simon is, to be honest."
"Oh no," he replied quickly. "I think I know exactly how dangerous Simon is. And that's precisely why I'm going to ask Jimmy – the veterinarian – to help out. He wasn't always just a veterinarian."
"He wasn't?"
"No. Jimmy has a military background, and he's one tough bastard. Trust me on that."
It was reassuring to hear, but it also stoked my curiosity. Even though I knew I wouldn't be getting any answers about Everett's past anytime soon, it made me wonder about all the things I had yet to learn about him.
"Alright, so how are we going to arrange this?" I asked.
"Let me just give him a call now and then I'll call you right back."
"Sure."
I hung up the call just as Lieutenant Todd approached me.
"Is everything alright, Miss Andrews? Was that your boyfriend on the phone?"
I couldn't exactly call Everett my boyfriend, but the way he was making sure I'd be protected sure felt like it. That realization suddenly made things seem a lot more real!
"Uh, yeah, it was," I replied because it was easier than trying to explain what Everett actually was...especially since I wasn't really sure myself.
"Is he going to be able to escort you home, or would you like us to do that? We're happy to help you out, but we do need an answer kinda soon."
"He's just asking a friend if he'll be able to help. He's going to call me back in a minute or two."
"Alright, we're just tying up all the loose ends around here."
He wandered off, and I waited for the phone to ring, which it did after about a minute.
"Hi, beautiful," Everett's voice sent a shiver of delight down my spine.