Summary
After being beaten by her husband, Janet finds him bleeding on their front room floor. With the evidence piling against her; she was holding a bloody bat and was covered in blood when the EMT's walked in, the cops accused her of murder. Frightened she runs. 
She gets a ride out of town from a truck driver named Sam, claiming her name is Jackie
Seeing the blood on her dress, he holds her at gunpoint, demanding an explanation. 
Believing her story, Sam takes Jackie to a truck stop so she can get cleaned up. Seeing a news bulletin on the TV about her being a murder suspect Sam leaves.
Jackie finds out she's been abandoned and then sees the bulletin on the TV. She runs to the bathroom grabbing hair dye and scissors on the way. The red-headed Janet/ Jackie asks another trucker for a ride only to find out he's a rapist and she's trapped in his cab.
The assassin has tied up and is torturing Beth's abusive husband, Steve. 


Joe and Jerry are sitting at their desks trying to stay awake. They've both been up for over twenty-four hours so they're finding this difficult to do. After nearly falling out of his chair, Joe decides he'd better move around. I wish we'd they'd find Janet, he thinks as he watches the morning sun peak over the Ozark mountains.  

"Want a refill, Jerr?" he asks. Jerry's head thuds against his desk; papers scatter across the floor.

"I guess that's a no for you." Joe looks at his cup again. He then feels his stomach slosh when he moves. "I think I've had my fill of this gut-wrenching crap too," he says, exhausted, he drops to his desk.

He's tried to concentrate on other police business, but his thoughts keep returning to Janet. The unusual stillness that surrounds him only adds to his inner turmoil.

"Why didn't you just listen to me, why?" He plops his head in his hands.

Seeing his Sergeant's anguish, the captain walks over to him.

"You did what you could for her, Joe. That's more than what most would do."

The sergeant glances up at him, a worrisome expression on his face. "You see what good that did, Captain." Joe recalls all the times he tossed Steve in jail only for him to be released the very next day.

"You tried to help her out of a bad situation. She's the one that kept throwing herself back in."

"I wish I would've done more for her; make her see what a low life he really is. Oh, why didn't I try harder, why?" 

"Beating yourself up over this isn't the answer."

"I just feel like this is my fault somehow, that I let her down."

"It's not, Joe, believe me, it's not."

Joe looks up at his Captain, tears forming in his hazel eyes. "Janet has been my best friend since kindergarten. She was there for me when I had my accident, and when mom passed away, but I wasn't there for her."

"I don't know what else you could've done, Joe. I really don't." He looks over at Jerry sleeping soundly at his desk and then glances at Joe's weary face. "It's been a long day, Sergeant. So why don't you go home, get some sleep."

"I really want ...." Joe begins.

"That isn't a suggestion it's an order. Take sleeping beauty with you," He points towards Jerry.

"But, Sir I ..." Seeing the look on his boss's face he stops. "Come on Jerry, let's go," He shakes his partner.

"Huh, what?" Jerry asks as he rubs the sleep from his eyes.

"Captain is ordering us to go home." He glances back at the captain.

"I'd rather stay in the bunks if that's alright with you, sir."

"As long as you promise to get a few hours of shut-eye."

"I don't think that'll be a problem." Jerry stumbles towards the back.

The captain realizes his Sergeant still hasn't budged when he turns around.

"Joe ...."

"I'm going, I'm going," he grabs his stuff off his desk.

***

This sure feels good on my sore muscles, the killer thinks, standing under the steamy water. She starts to replay the events in her mind as she watches Steve's blood circle the drain.

~~~

The light sways gently back and forth in the wind. The barn door continues to open and close behind them. Steve feels himself getting weaker as he struggles to breathe. Blood is gushing from his chest, abdomen and his severed extremities. 

"Please just kill me, I beg you, please, put me out of my misery," he mumbles as he gasps for much-needed air.

"Oh, I will, when I'm done. She notices his eyes roll to the back of his head. "Oh no, you don't, you're not going to die on me yet, you son of a bitch." She slaps him across the face. "Come on you bastard fight a little harder," she smacks him again.

He draws in a final bit of air.

"That's the way, Steve, stay with me a little longer."

He exhales; his head falls to the side.

"No," She pounds his bloody chest but he is already gone.

~~~

Oh, how I wished I'd done more to him, a lot more. At least I have the satisfaction of knowing he suffered to the end the way Beth did.

She pictures Beth in her grave; a look of horror on her face. I failed her, failed her miserably. She was the only person who was there for me, who really cared about me and I wasn't there for her. Oh, Beth, I'm so sorry. Sorry for not helping you, I'm sorry for not being there for you, for not taking care of him when I had the chance. Please forgive me. Please, please forgive me, she sobs.

***

The trucker takes out his hardened appendage as Jackie reaches for the door. Panic sets in the second she realizes she's trapped in the vile man's cab.

"Let me out, let me out." Jackie hammers on the window as hard as she can. She soon realizes no one is around to hear her.

"You'll do what you're told if you know what's good for you." He lifts his gun off the seat.

Tears run down her mangled face as images of her past come to mind. 

~~~

She first thinks about the horrid nights her foster dad crawled into her bed.

"You'll either do what I want or you'll be on the streets," he warns. Soon his sons were taking nightly turns. "That's the way, boys, ride her hard, make her earn her keep," he'd cheer from the sidelines.

This went on from the time she was six until she became pregnant at fourteen. They told Bill the baby is his and he'll go down for rape if he doesn't marry her. Thinking she's escaping a horrid situation, she went along with their plan. Only to find the scenario didn't change.

She then recalls all the nights Bill forced himself on her. "You'll give me what I want, when I want it, anyway I chose," Bill rips her clothes off her battered body and throws her on the bed.

~~~

"Come on, I don't have all day," the trucker says. He grabs a fistful of hair and shoves her face in his lap. "Don't get any funny ideas either," he warns as he presses the weapon against her head.

 I've been a victim all my life and I'm tired of it, tired of it.  She chops down on his penis as hard as she can.

"You bitch." He shoves her away.

Both Jackie and the gun fall to the floor. Scrambling after it, she twirls back around. "Either let me out or take a bullet to your brain," she stammers, her hands shake uncontrollably as she lifts the weapon in front of her.

"You don't have the guts to shoot me." He laughs. He tries to jerk the weapon from her hands. His sudden movement causes her to squeeze the trigger. A bullet ejects from his gun; brain matter spews across the interior.

Screaming, Jackie drops the weapon. Her stomach churns with fury as she stares at the repulsive mess. "Oh, God, oh God, what did I just do, what did I just do?" The gut-wrenching stench overpowers her. She spews globs of chunky vomit across the cab. "I've ... I've got to get out of here." She throws up again as she tries to escape. She scrambles over his bloody carcass out of the cab.

Hearing gunfire, the staff runs outside to see what's going on. "There she is, there's the killer." A waitress screams.

Jackie continues towards the busy freeway as puke rises in her throat. "Please, someone, please help me," she cries as she darts into oncoming traffic.

***

Joe starts to doze off when his cell rings. Maybe they found Janet. He quickly scoops up his phone.  "Hello. There's been two, murders, Captain?" Joe springs out of bed. "I'm on my way." Joe dials his partner's number. 

"Hello?" A sleepy voice replies.

"Rachel, its Joe, the captain wants us at the station." He puts the phone on speaker and then grabs clothes off his floor. I really need to clean up, he thinks as he surveys the disaster that surrounds him.

"Why," she groggily asks as she sits on the edge of her bed.

"He said that there have been two murders." Joe slips into his pants and then grabs the cleanest shirt he can find.

"Two? You don't think Janet is doing this, do you?" She asks.

"He didn't give me any details. Get dressed I'll pick you up in five and bring some of your liquid speed."

"Will do, Sergeant." She laughs. She gave Joe coffee with shots of expresso a few weeks back. It wired him so bad that he now refers to it as her liquid speed.

Characters
Steve Beth's abusive husband
Beth deceased, the assassin best friend.
Janet Smith  (Jackie) accused killer.
 
Berryvillle PD
Joe, Sergeant
Jerrry, Detective   
Rachel, Detective