Double Jeopardy chapter 7 (standard:mystery, 4108 words) [7/13] show all parts
Author: Sarah Spenser	Added: Jul 23 2005	Views/Reads: 2584/1837	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
See the aftermath as the courthouse explodes!

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

wasn't leaving without her. 

Ethan Sayers woke to the sound of metal groaning and thick black smoke.
An affable African American man in his mid-fifties with graying hair, 
blue eyes and a warm smile, Ethan had made his own way in life. He had 
worked as a custodian for Fallwood for years, images of his wife and 
children flashed in his head as he laid pinned under fallen debris. 
Just then, he heard another explosion, something came crashing down, it 
was a piece of the ceiling, and a woman. Ethan struggled to free 
himself. He cursed as the boards refused to loosen their grip. Finally, 
after several minutes, he was free. He slowly got to his feet and 
walked over to the woman. She was lying unconscious a few feet away 
from him. He shook her gently, as he lifted some debris off her. “Ma'm? 
Can you hear me?” she didn't respond, Ethan sat holding her hand, he 
watched her chest rise and fall. She was still alive, he wondered if 
she was injured. Several minutes passed before the woman began to open 
her eyes. “Ma'm? Can you hear me?” Ethan asked gently. “Who are you? 
Where am I?” she asked weakly. “I'm Ethan Sayers, I'm a custodian.” 
“I'm Allison Cassidy.” “Cassidy? Is that the same as Allison Shure the 
reporter?” she smiled at his recognition. “Yes, that's me.” “Well, nice 
to meet you! My wife and I are big fans.”” Thank you. Nice meeting you 
too. Are you hurt, Ethan?” “No, Mrs. Cassidy I'm fine.” “Oh, it's 
Allison. How long have you been down here?” “A while. I nearly fainted 
when you burst through the ceiling.” “What happened? The last thing I 
remember I was ... helping Judge Pringle.” “The courthouse exploded, 
Allison. I was putting some boxes away when I heard it. I was trapped, 
the debris started falling, and there was no way out. Then the ceiling 
fell and so did you. Are you hurt?” “I'm a little soar, but I'm not 
hurt. I'm worried about the baby though.” “You're pregnant?” “Yes, but 
the public doesn't know yet.” “I'll keep my lips zipped. Is there 
anything I can do for you?” “No, nothing I can think of.” Allison said 
smiling at him. She liked Ethan, he lifted some more debris and 
screamed for help, while Allison laid perfectly still on the floor. 

She was afraid that any sudden movement would cause her to go into
labor. She remembered what Margery had said about her stress level and 
the Brackston Hicks. But suddenly, she felt a sharp pain, she screamed 
as it tore through her. It was searing and felt like she was being 
sliced in half. “Allison? What is it?” Ethan asked concerned running to 
her side. “I'm having pain, Ethan! We've got to get out of here.” “We 
will, don't panic. I'll find a way out of here.” 

Ethan knew that time was running out, if Allison was in labor, he had to
work fast. He tried to move the debris but to no avail. He concealed 
how desperate the situation really was. He didn't want to make Allison 
nervous, or increase her stress level. The pain got worse, and Allison 
felt the urge to push. She knew this wasn't a good sign, and prayed 
that the baby didn't come yet. “Don't come now, sweetheart. You're too 
early!” she whispered frantically. She gasped as another pain tore 
through her, she wished Connor would miraculously appear and rescue 
them both. Just then, she heard a crackling sound, alarmed she called 
Ethan who was trying to lift some debris. The fire had spread rapidly, 
and was fast approaching. He could feel the heat and smell the caustic 
smoke, but kept this to himself. “Ethan, what's that?” “What?” “That 
crackling noise?” Ethan walked over to where the sound was coming from 
and found his walky talky. “It's my walky! We can use it to radio for 
help!” Ethan pressed the button and spoke loudly into the mouthpiece. 
“This is Ethan Sayers, can anyone hear me? I'm down here with Allison 
Cassidy, I think she's in labor. We need medical assistance.” He 
released the button and waited anxiously for a reply. But nothing 
happened, Allison's heart began to pound, and fingers of fear gripped 
her. Is this how Chad meant for her to die? She pushed the thought 
aside as Ethan pressed the talk button again. A few moments later, 
there was a response. “Mr. Sayers?” “Yes?” “This is Bryan Sutten from 
the police department. Where are you and Allison?” “Down in the ba ...” 
suddenly, more debris began to fall. Allison screamed as a piece of the 
ceiling came crashing down on Ethan. “No! Ethan!” he was out cold, 
Allison tried to move, but she was virtually paralyzed by the pain. 

Allison gritted her teeth and crawled over to where Ethan was lying.
There was no way she could lift the debris off him, but she peered 
under it, he was bleeding. Frantically, she began to shove the debris 
aside. It took her several minutes, but she was finally able to move it 
enough to get a clear view of Ethan. “It's okay, Ethan, you're going to 
be fine.” Allison looked for something to stop the blood that was 
pouring from Ethan's head. But she couldn't find anything. Allison 
worried that Ethan might have a severe head injury, and talked to him 
softly as she scanned the basement for a towel or blanket. If she could 
one,  she could fashion a tourniquet. 

Ethan was still unconscious and this worried her. She wished she had
some bandages or gauze. The walky talky was lying by Ethan's side, 
shattered by the falling ceiling. Allison crawled over to the basement 
door  and desperately pressed her body against it. But they were 
trapped, blocked by the mountain of debris that used to be the 
courthouse. Suddenly, she caught site of some medical supplies. The 
courthouse always had some supplies on hand just in case of an 
emergency. As she walked over to the row of boxes, a pain shot through 
her. She screamed and dropped to her knees. For several minutes she 
breathed deeply and rocked back and forth as the pains kept coming. 
Once the wave of pain had passed, Allison slowly got to her feet again. 
She gingerly opened the box. 

Bryan tried to contact Ethan again, but it was hopeless. He put down his
radio and went to check on the status of the survivors. He was shocked 
by the damage that one man could cause. How Chad ever got passed the 
security guards with the bomb was a mystery. Bryan heard footsteps and 
saw Connor's anguished face. “Where is she, Bryan?” “I'm glad you came 
back, we just got a call from Ethan Sayers one of the custodians, he 
said that Allison's with him.” “Where are they? What's being done to 
rescue them?” “I tried to pinpoint their location, but right when he 
was about to tell me, a piece of debris fell. I haven't been able to 
get him back. It sounded like the basement.” “Is Allie all right?” 
“She's in labor.” Bryan said gravely. Connor and Bryan went over to 
Harry Winfield, the captain of the Search and Rescue team. “Captain 
Winfield, my wife's trapped in the building. Allison's pregnant and we 
think she's in labor! Another man is with her Ethan Sayers. We think 
they're in the basement. Please, Captain send someone to rescue them! 
We're running out of time!”” That's right, I lost contact with Mr. 
Sayers. It sounded like a piece of debris had fallen. I'm not sure 
whether they're unconscious, or the radio is smashed.” “Please, Captain 
help Allie! She's running out of time if she's in labor!” “All right, 
I'll have my boys get right on it.” He shouted to the men and ordered 
them to do as thorough of a search as possible. 

Allison pulled a package of bandages out of the box and wrapped one
delicately around Ethan's head wound. She also found some gauze and 
wrapped it around as well. He hadn't regained consciousness, and she 
was worried. She held his hand and talked to him, trying to repay the 
kindness he had shown her. “Ethan, you have to wake up for me. Come on, 
you can do it! You were so kind to me, you didn't have to save my life. 
I really can't explain how I feel, there aren't enough words.” She 
began to sob, the pain had become more intense, and she prayed the baby 
wouldn't come now. “Come on, Ethan wake up! Please just wake up!” 
Allison heard the building groan, and minutes later, their exit route 
was covered in debris. She screamed as a virtual torrent of debris 
reigned down. The sound was deafening, and she could feel the caustic 
smoke and searing heat of the fire begin to lick at the basement door. 

Flames leapt at the basement door, unleashing their rage on it. Allison
coughed as the smoke billowed in, the room was virtually black, and the 
fire was raging out of control. Did anyone know they were down here? 
Ethan's walky talky had been shattered by the falling debris before he 
could give Bryan their location. As much as she hoped and prayed, 
Allison knew that rescue was almost impossible. She shook as she 
realized that all escape routes were blocked. “No! I'm not going to die 
like this!” she screamed in vain. “I'm not going to let our baby and 
Ethan die!” Allison sat clutching Ethan's hand and tried frantically to 
think of a way out. 

Red met covertly with Honcho several miles away from the now torched
courthouse. Red had learned early on to read Honcho. Some days were 
better than others, and today he seemed to be in a jovial mood. His 
broad smile conveyed his pleasure with Red's good deed. Honcho sat back 
and sipped his coffee. He looked at Red through dark glasses which 
concealed his eyes. “Good job.” Was all he said before taking another 
sip of coffee. “Thanks, Honcho. Allison should be toast by now!” he 
said with a laugh. “If it got her out of the way, it was well worth it. 
Let's just play it safe and lay low for a while. We'll watch the news 
tonight and make sure.” Red picked up his diet coke and toasted 
Honcho's success. They were closer to having it all. “To Allison's 
demise!” they clinked glasses and Honcho's face broke into an evil 
grin. 

Connor watched as the men began furiously digging. Every time they
shoveled, more debris would fall, the building was burning from the 
inside out, and Connor shuttered as he thought of his precious Allie in 
that inferno. He grabbed a shovel and started digging as fast as he 
could. He felt like he was doing something to save her. His heart 
pounded, and his breath came in short gasps, he had to find her, he 
just had to. He knew that all this smoke and stress wasn't good for her 
or the baby. One of the men shouted and everyone put their shovels 
down. “Stop! Listen do you hear that?” everyone set their shovels down 
and listened intently. Connor heard something, a voice, Allie's voice. 

“Help! Someone please help me! Help us!” “Allison? Where are you?”
Connor shouted, everyone stood in silence as they heard her weak reply. 
“In the basement! Please hurry! The fire's spreading!” the men began to 
frantically dig, pushing piles of smoldering debris aside. Several 
minutes later, they reached the now sunken basement. The door was 
jammed. “Allison?” Connor said frantically trying to yank the door off 
it's hinges. The fire was blazing, and firemen ran with hoses and 
extinguishers in hand. Bryan took a baton and hit the door hard. The 
baton sent the smoldering wood flying through the air. Connor and two 
paramedics raced in. Allison was lying on the floor near the door. 
Ethan was a few feet away still unconscious. “Allison?” Connor tried to 
kneel next to her, but he was shoved aside by the paramedics. “Let us 
work, sir.” One of the medics tended to Allison, while the other 
assessed Ethan's condition. “Allie, I love you, sweetness. Everything's 
going to be just fine. Hang on, Allison! Is the baby all right? Is she 
conscious?” “She's in and out. Sir, let us work!” one of the medics 
snapped. They placed Allie on a back board and slowly lifted her out of 
the wreckage. Moments later, Ethan emerged. Connor kept up with the 
paramedics as they loaded Allison into the ambulance. “Connor!” she 
exclaimed when she saw him. Her face was contorted in pain, and Connor 
was scared. “Allie! Are you all right?” “I think the baby's coming!” 
Connor sat beside her and held her hand. “Everything's going to be 
fine, sweetness. You're going to be just fine.” “I'm only 16 weeks!” 
“Allie, try to relax, sweetheart. Don't panic, everything's going to be 
fine.” Throughout their ride to the hospital, Connor tried to reassure 
her, but deep down he wasn't sure how this would play out. 

At the hospital, Allison was wheeled up to Margery's floor. She looked
pale and she had inhaled a lot of smoke. While he waited, Connor's mind 
whirled with the millions of things that could go wrong. He prayed that 
Allie and the baby would be all right. He knew that the bomb was set by 
Chad, this was how he meant for her to die. He wanted her to pay with 
her life for testifying against him. Lynn, Thelma and Clint arrived to 
join him half an hour later. They hugged and tried to stop the flow of 
tears that were cascading from their eyes. Margery appeared in the 
doorway looking gravely serious. “Connor, I need to speak to you about 
Allison.” “Can't we do it here?” he asked softly. “No, in private.” 
Connor got up and followed Margery to a cubicle. “How is she?” “She's 
hemorrhaging. That means she's bleeding internally, Connor.” “Has she 
lost a lot of blood? How's the baby? What ... what does that mean? What 
do you do to stop it?” forming words was difficult, and his mind felt 
numb. His whole body was numb, shock had a way of doing that. “It's 
very serious. Allison's very weak from loss of blood, and this is 
putting stress on the baby. Connor, we might not be able to stop it. 
We're going to see if we can, but if not ...” Margery paused, not sure 
how to go on. She had done this hundreds of times over the years, but 
it never got any easier. She took a deep breath, stalling for time 
before she continued. “We may have to induce labor, Connor.” “You 
can't!” he shouted frantically, fear filled his eyes and he began to 
sob. “She's only 16 weeks!” “Connor ...” “No! I won't accept this!” 
“Connor we may not have a choice!” they were interrupted by a nurse who 
pulled the curtain back. “Mrs. Cassidy regained consciousness, she's 
asking for her husband.” The nurse said softly. “Allie was 
unconscious?” “Yes, from loss of blood, Connor. She's very weak.” “Can 
I see her?” “Only for a moment. Get in the way, and I'll have you out 
of there so fast your head will spin.” Connor got up and followed 
Margery out to the waiting room. Once he had given everyone an update, 
he headed to the fourth floor. 

Allison smiled when she saw Connor approach her bed. She looked weak and
he suddenly became aware of what Margery was talking about. He kissed 
her gently before sitting down beside her. Slowly, he took hold of her 
hand. As he sat, he thought of something to say, she hadn't spoken, and 
he could tell she was terrified. “I love you, my love.” She said trying 
not to cry. “I love you too, sweetness. Allie, it's going to be all 
right.” “They're Brackston Hicks, Connor! And I'm only 16 weeks!” he 
gently stroked her hair in an attempt to calm her down. “Allison, you 
need to relax and rest. They'll go away if you just rest.” “You were 
right, I never should've testified against Chad! How could I be so ... 
naïve? I did this!” she began to cry, Connor gently wiped her tears 
away and kissed her tenderly. “Allie, this is not your fault. Don't do 
that to yourself! You were trying to do the right thing.” “But I 
should've listen to you! You were right! I'm like a ... brick wall. I 
was so sure that this was the right thing to do. Look we're it got me! 
Oh, Connor ...” she began to sob harder as Connor did his best to 
comfort her. “This isn't anyone's fault, sweetness. It's Chad's fault, 
it's certainly not yours. You've done everything right. You're going to 
be a great mom.” Suddenly, all the color drained from her face. 
“Allison?” “Connor, save the baby!” a nurse rushed over and stared at 
the fetal monitor. “Dr. Ryan we need you!” she shouted, then she turned 
to Connor. He looked into Allison's eyes, they were filled with fear. 
“Mr. Cassidy, I'm going to have to ask you to leave.” Allison clutched 
his hand. “Stay with me!” she pleaded. 

“Mr. Cassidy leave now!” “I ... I can't leave her! She needs me!” he
said defiantly still holding on to Allie's hand. “Mr. Cassidy your 
wife's life is in danger not to mention your unborn child!” the nurse 
spat angrily. “Okay.” Connor finally conceded, he looked back at Allie, 
her eyes were pleading with him to stay. “Connor please stay with me! 
I've never been so scared! The baby ...” “Allie, they're kicking me 
out. I love you, Allison. Don't worry, Margery's a brilliant doctor, 
you've got the best care. You and the baby are going to be just fine.” 
“I love you too, Connor.” “Everything's going to be fine.” He said 
trying to hold back tears. “Connor, save the baby!” he took one last 
look at her and walked slowly out of the room. He hated being cut off 
from her, but he knew they had asked him to leave for a reason. As he 
made his way back to the waiting room, Connor's mind raced, what If he 
lost both of them? That was a possibility too awful to comprehend, and 
he pushed the thought aside. 

They sat for an hour or more without speaking. Everyone was lost in
their own reverie. Connor was remembering all the happy times he had 
shared with Allison. He remembered making love to her, dancing with her 
on their wedding night, making love to her in that hotel room. He 
remembered everything about her, her smile, her eyes, her voice. 
Thoughts of Allie filled his head as he sat and stared into space. She 
was a fighter, and he knew that she wouldn't give up. They all held 
hands as a source of comfort, Connor glanced at his watch and realized 
that nearly two hours had elapsed, and there was still no word. “I'm 
going to talk to a nurse.” He said exasperated, rising from his chair. 
Just then Margery appeared in the doorway looking serious. “Connor, sit 
down. I have some news about Allison.” 


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