The following morning, Janelle awoke as tired as they hoped she would. They wanted to wait until later in the afternoon to leave so that, once again, if Janelle managed to try to make a break for it, she wouldn’t have much light for long. Also, she wouldn’t be able to see where she was really going. She would be taken in a police truck and driven into a secure building where the jig would be up, and Boris would then spill the beans on her and show her the video she likely didn’t know existed of the fatal blow she delivered to his friend.
The officers and staff wouldn’t let her nap that day to keep her energy levels down. It got darker earlier at that time of year, so they decided they would take off when the second shift started at 3:00. The first shift consisted of officers Janelle had never seen before.
At 3:00 sharp, Boris entered the room with officers Cole, Walker, Byers, and Gilbert. He felt a ton of emotions tug at him. He wanted to charge the sick bitch and kick the shit out of her for shoving him the way she had, and he also felt embarrassed. But more so, he was amused at the thought of annoying her with his presence for the next few hours, and most of all, he was elated. The time had finally come. Janelle Stone was going down! Even though he thought she should be thrown away for life, 12 to 15 years was still a long time on the outside, and it would seem twice as long to someone on the inside.
“Time to finally get out of here and to the safe house where I can sleep in a real bed in the dark in a room by myself!” Janelle said gleefully.
Boris said nothing, and Janelle didn’t miss his lack of enthusiasm. Before she could focus much on it, Officer Cole said, “That’s it, my friend. To the safe house. To the safe house we go.”
“Has she got everything?” a nurse present asked.
“Yes, I have all my medications and my bag,” Janelle said, hoping to remind people that she was the patient. Then she looked at Cole and said, “How will I get refills before the month is out when I need them?”
“There will be someone checking in with you,” he assured her.
Boris continued to remain quiet, pacing around in the background and not really looking in her direction, which didn’t quite feel right to Janelle. But she had no choice but to accept it for what it was, figuring he was still pissed at her for shoving him. That was his fault, though, for obsessively getting in her face. Had he backed off when she asked him to, it never would have happened.
Janelle changed out of her hospital gown in the bathroom and got into the black sweatpants and dark gray shirt she was given. Someone had asked what her favorite colors were at the time, and she said she loved bright colors. Not wanting to give her what she wanted, they got the darkest, drabbest colors they could find, something they would later regret.
When she emerged, a nurse faced her with a wheelchair. “We know you can walk now, but it’s hospital protocol.”
“No problem,” said Janelle. “I’m pretty tired today anyway.”
Boris and Gilbert exchanged grins that Janelle couldn’t see.
When Janelle was wheeled outside the hospital entrance, the fresh air never felt so good on her face. “Wow, is that fresh air wonderful! Can’t wait till these sickos are caught, tried, and convicted so I can get back out in the real world.”
No one said a word as they waited behind the double doors of the truck they were to get into. Before she could notice this more than a second or two, one of the younger assistants who had dealt with her from time to time was walking by.
“You leaving now?”
“Yeah, they’re moving me to a safe house.”
The nurse frowned. “To a safe house?”
“Yeah.”
Behind her and out of eyeshot from Janelle, Officer Cole shook his head and put a finger across his lips.
“Oh,” the nurse said, catching the gesture. “Well, good luck to you.”
“Thanks. You too.”
Janelle sat in the wheelchair surrounded by the four officers, Boris, and a male nurse, unable to see much in between them. “What are we waiting on?” she asked.
“The driver had to make a bathroom call,” said Cole.
Janelle wished she could see the side of the truck, but being right smack behind it, she couldn’t see any writing. She was a little worried that it was a police van of some kind.
“You putting me in some kind of paddy wagon or something?”
“It’s just for show to act as a deterrent,” Cole said, hoping to reassure his charge.
“This wouldn’t draw more attention than a plain old car or pickup?”
“Nah. If anything, it would scare off anyone trying to follow you.”
The officers who were driving and sitting in the passenger seat of the truck, which couldn’t be seen from the back, announced that they were ready to go. The nurse held the wheelchair steady, and Cole helped guide her out of the chair and into the truck.
“Why don’t you go all the way to the back left,” he instructed.
Clutching her medicine bag, she made her way to the back and sat on the hard built-in bench. The idea was for Cole to sit next to her and Boris to sit directly across from her so she would have to look at him for the next three hours. The ladies would sit next to Boris, and Walker would sit next to Cole. They would make two stops at public bathrooms at gas stations, one after the first hour and then another an hour later.
Once everyone was seated, the doors were shut, and the vehicle began to move, Janelle tried not to notice how upbeat and almost excited Boris seemed. She glanced at the tiny square windows in the doors but couldn’t see through them. That was because, beforehand, they had placed a privacy window film on it so Janelle couldn’t see that they were heading back to New Mexico and not further into Texas—and a little closer to Florida, where she stated she wanted to go once her divorce was finalized.
Only no one had any idea yet where Janelle would really end up that day, including Janelle herself.
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