Rachel grabs her phone off her dash. "Katelyn is what?" she screams, but the line is dead. Rachel tries calling him back but soon discovers that she doesn't have a signal. "Damn cell phone." Grabbing her steering wheel with both hands, she pushes the pedal to the floor. She glances at her phone when she's a little farther down the road. It shows one small bar at the top of its screen. "Come on, come on." Two bars light up, three and then four. Skidding to a stop at the side of the road, Rachel redials his number. She hears it click to connect quickly followed by a long drawn out sound. Rachel anxiously glances around the roadside waiting for him to pick up. The phone rings again. "Answer me damn it," she yells, smacking the steering wheel with her free hand.

Jerry picks up at the end of the fourth ring.

"Katelyn is what?" Rachel blurts into her phone.

"Katelyn isn't our attacker, Katie is. Joe is taking her confession now."

"Katie Howard, Stan's pride and joy?" she questions, not sure she heard him right.

"Unbelievable, isn't it?"

"I never would've guessed it'd be her." 

Jerry laughs. "None of us did."

"I'll be right there."

***

Picking up the piece of paper, Joe quickly skims through her report. His large thick body is closely hovering over Katie as he makes his way down the page. He's found this intimidating tactic very useful even with some of the hardened, more seasoned criminals.

Katie anxiously watches as he continues to read. A clock ticking in the near distance and the continuous flickering of the fluorescent light adds to her nerve-wrenching experience. Please believe it. She secretly begs as she watches his strange reaction. Not being able to stand the tension a second longer Katie quickly blurts out, "T... That's what happened, I swear it is."

Joe slides into a chair in front of her."You hit him over the head because he threatened to take you out of his will?" he suspiciously questions, watching her every move. He's heard numerous motives throughout his career, money is a big one, but for some unexplained reason, her rationale just didn't sit right with him.

"No, I hit him because he said we're all psychopaths and he wished none of us had been born. He then adds that he'd much rather see his money be put to good use, than support a bunch of fruitcakes like us. I started arguing with him about how he's being unfair to my girls. He ordered me out of his house, stating he never wants to see any of us again. I was so angry, so hurt over all of the hateful things my father said, that I picked up the nearest object and hit him over the head." Grabbing a tissue out of the box, Katie dries her eyes.

"Why didn't you...."

Jerry bursts through the door. "Captain, we have a situation in the other interrogation room," he anxiously blurts out.

Joe springs up from his chair. "What is it, Jerry?"

"Katelyn Howard is going nuts."

"Is the psychiatrist still here?"

"I believe so."

"Call her and tell her what's going on, I'll see if I can calm Katelyn down."

****

After every attempt of calming her down fails, Katelyn is given a sedative and then transported to the nearest hospital for further evaluation.

Katie is processed and then placed in holding until she can be arraigned in the morning.

Since her apartment and Stan's house are still considered crime scenes, Madeline agrees to stay in a motel room for the night.

Rachel feels heavy tension lingering in the air as she and Madeline drive across town. Looking over she sees her passenger staring into the dark starless sky, a sorrowful look on her face. The poor dear has been through a lot tonight, she sadly concludes. Her old nursing instinct suddenly kicks in. I need to get her mind off things even if it's just for a minute. Rachel racks her brain, trying to think of something to say. Not knowing her very well, nothing comes to mind. Seeing trees swaying in the wind, she glances towards Madeline. "It looks like it might downpour soon."

Madeline silently stares out the window.

"Would you like to listen to some music?" Rachel asks, reaching for her radio.

She still doesn't respond. Madeline isn't trying to be rude. She is so drained both mentally and physically that she doesn't have enough energy to carry on a conversation.

"Joe and I love all of the paintings you have on display at the bowling alley. In fact, we like them so much we bought one last week. I'm planning on buying another this weekend, Joe just doesn't know it yet." Chuckling, she glances at her passenger.

Madeline continues to stare into the dark, dreary night.

"You're a very gifted artist, Madeline."

"Thank you," she says, smiling weakly.

Pulling into the motel parking lot, Rachel turns off her car. "Let me talk to the owner, see if I can get you one of his nicer rooms."

"It really doesn't...."

Rachel closes the door before she finishes.

A few minutes later, Rachel returns with a key in hand. "He assured me that this is his best room. He also said that he wants to talk to you about displaying some of your paintings in his office."

"He does?"

"Yeah, he said he won't even charge you a commission."

"I better talk to him then." Climbing out of the car, she peeks her head inside. "Thank you, Rachel."

Rachel smiles. "It's my pleasure." Rachel sees Madeline and the owner talking as she's pulling away. At least some good came from this horrid night. She pulls onto the highway.

***

Jerry decides to finish his report before he calls it a night. He notices a small inconsistency as he's typing Katie's confession. Maybe I read it wrong. He finds another questionable statement when he reads through it again. That doesn't coincide with what we saw on the tape. Maybe I'm missing something here. Pulling the tape out of his desk, he pops it into a machine. Did I see that right? He rewinds the tape and watches it again. Still not convinced, he watches it in slow motion.

"Joe needs to see this!" Jumping up from his chair, he runs to the captain's office.

"Joe, I reviewed the tape and there's something you need to see."

Joe looks up from his desk. "What is it, Jerry?"

"Come find out for yourself."

***

Today's occurrences continue to race through Madeline's mind as she tosses and turns in bed. Was Katelyn forced to sell drugs like she claims, or did she volunteer? Was she in the drug scene again? What will she do when she's released from the hospital? What will become of Katie now that she's confessed? Who will take care of the girls while she's in jail, her husband, Bill? Will he be able to work, and take care of them on his own? How will the children handle the news about their mother? What about Stan? Will he be alright? Madeline feels a cold, lonely darkness engulf her soul, she begins to cry.

"What did I do to deserve all of this, Lord? Please, please tell me what I did. Is it something I'm doing or should be doing? Please tell me, Lord, please, so I can end this family nightmare, make everything alright again. Oh, dear Lord, I'll do whatever you ask, whenever you ask if you make it all right again. Please, Lord, please for the girl's sake, I beg you, please make it alright again," she sobs into her pillow.

Hearing her phone ring, she fumbles around the nightstand trying to locate her noisy device. She feels her stomach tighten into a hard knot as she answers the call. "Hello?" she answers weakly, quickly drying her face.

"This is Melinda with Carrol Regional Hospital."

Springing off the bed, Madeline starts pacing back and forth. A sickening feeling comes over her as she walks around the room. Please let it be good news, please be good news, she silently begs. She already knew it wasn't. Holding her aching stomach, she hesitantly asks the next question. "What happened, is Stan alright?"

"Your husband had a heart attack a few minutes ago. We did everything we would but he didn't make it."

"No, not Stan, please not Stan," she bawls, collapsing on the bed.