The rest of the day went slowly and was not without hard work. Most of it was finishing to clean up the station of all the debris that was there as a result of the car bomb that Bill Williams had used. I would have found the idea that someone would give their child the same first name as their surname funny if it weren't for the fact that the man was responsible for the deaths of two police officers as well two others, with one of them possibly being a Federal Agent. It would have felt like laughing in a cemetery... not right.
So I did the work quietly and without complaint. Much of the lose rubble was carried out to a city dump truck, the only one Columbia Falls had, and tossed into the large bed of he vehicle. When all of it was finished, Officer Barnes, Officer Jenkins, and I looked at the devastated station.
"I can't believe something like this happened," Officer Jenkins spoke, "that some one would do something like this..."
Neither of us answered.
"I mean how far gone are we when we resort to this?" Officer Jenkins spoke, "members of the government have faced outright assassination attempts because they didn't agree with the politics of the assassin... and now racial hatred of victims of a different criminal makes people think its legitimate to commit acts of terrorism... how far gone are we?"
"We have to hope that Williams is an isolated case," Officer Barnes sighed, "we have to hope that people come to their senses and stop following such ludicrous philosophies... otherwise... we'd have an anarchy. No government... no law... no real prosperity."
"Move forward," I nodded.
Officer Jenkins sighed and looked up at the devastated station.
"How much do you think it will cost to rebuild?" Officer Jenkins wondered.
"Too much," I said grimly.
At that moment, Officer Barnes' cell-phone rang. He answered it, and I could hear Officer Howard's voice on the other end of the "line".
"Saw your press conference, Barnes," Officer Howard spoke, "You got a little political, but you did well."
"Thank you sir," Officer Barnes answered, "are you... okay, sir?"
"Busted up my ankle real good," Officer Howard answered, "I'll be on crutches and a boot for awhile, but I'll manage."
"Good to hear, sir," Officer Barnes answered.
"Yeah," Officer Howard answered, "anyway, you, your partner, and your girlfriend are to go home for the night..."
"Sir...?!"
"The night-shift will handle guarding the station and seeing what our local yahoo caused us to miss today," Officer Howard answered.
"Several night-shift officers came in to respond to the attack, sir," Officer Barnes told them.
"Overtime for them then," Officer Howard answered, "people ought to know that having law enforcement isn't cheap... and don't be ashamed Barnes. You all did well... I'm sure you did."
"Yes, sir," Officer Barnes answered and then hung up.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I eventually arrived at Bandhavgarh Cabin to find things eerily quiet. Nothing sounded like it was being cooked, there was no TV on. The only think I could manage to pick up was Molly's scent and the sound of her breathing slowly. Her breaths did not sound confident to me.
"Molly," I spoke called out, "Molly are you okay?"
"I'm up here," came her voice from our bedroom.
I slowly made my way up the stairs and found Molly seated on our bed. She didn't look well to me.
"Are you okay?" I asked again as I entered our bedroom.
"Physically? Yeah, I'm fine," Molly sighed.
That made it clear that something wasn't okay. Something was troubling her, and I was pretty sure what it was.
"You don't sound fine, Molly," I told her, "and I'd understand if you aren't. Really. Today was traumatic."
"I could have lost you, George," Molly spoke, "I could have lost you, my students... my own life. All to a lunatic."
"No one could have predicted he'd go as far as he did," I replied, "and you should know that I take the risk of being killed every day."
I sat down beside her and pulled her into a hug from the side.
"I know," Molly answered, "that doesn't change how close we came to losing each other... and... and... I'm afraid..."
I nuzzled her, trying my best to reassure her.
"The worst of it is over," I told her, "and to be honest, it could have been worse."
Molly slowly nodded. She still looked uneasy on things, but she did understand.
"Have you heard anything from Mrs. Fitzpatrick?" I asked, "or the two heroes in your class?"
"Patrick and Timothy?" Molly asked, "they're fine. Their parents called a few hours ago. They made it to Kalispell okay and all their wounds have been fully treated. They also told me that they wanted to know how I was."
"The kids love you, Molly," I nuzzled her again.
"I couldn't protect them, George," Molly said weakly, "he just barged right in and shocked me... threatened the kids..."
"You did all you could Molly," I tried to comfort her, nuzzling her again, "and as I said earlier, it could have been worse."
"I could have stopped him in the hallway," Molly argued, "I could have confronted him to defend the children... just like with the Mountain Lion..."
"The Mountain Lion was a wild animal that was smaller and weaker then you, and didn't know how to use firearms," I told her, "Bill Williams entered the school after shooting one man dead with a shotgun and then killed the secretary. And you couldn't have known he was out of ammunition for the shotgun when he left the office... and to be honest, Williams could have done far worse... yet either excitement, stupidity, or madness made his aim lousy and his focus worse. And that is primarily what saved you and your class from having fatalities."
"I still feel I could have done more," Molly answered, "what will the parents say when they learn I couldn't protect them? That I may have been the reason Williams attacked the school..."
"I will hear none of that," I said firmly, "the only one responsible for that rampage was Williams, himself. Not you. He was a lunatic who I'd bet was completely mad."
"What about the Super Intendant?" Molly asked, "You know that he won't agree with you?"
"Have you signed the union papers that you said that Mrs. Fitzpatrick wanted you to sign?" I asked.
Molly nodded.
"Then you should be fine," I answered, "he and the board can't up and fire you because he believes you're a "magnet" for trouble... he may try... and he will be frustrating... but your union will protect you."
"I hope so, George," Molly answered, "I really hope so."
"Now you said, Timothy and Patrick were okay," I returned to checking in on the aftermath of the attack, "have you heard anything from Mrs. Fitzpatrick, herself? Is she OK?"
"A friend of hers that had gone down to Kalispell to check on her," Molly answered, "she eventually called me... they had to do surgery to remove a lot of the shot that she got hit with. They're confident she'll recover, but they want her to stay in the hospital for a few days so they can observe her."
"Playing it smart," I nodded, "They kept Officer Barnes in there for a few days after Beauregard shot him."
"I want to visit her," Molly answered, "give her some flowers."
"We can easily ask Tabby or Dave to give you a ride down to Kalispell," I told her, "I'm sure they wouldn't mind."
Molly then nodded, "I got a call from her too."
"Tabby?"
"Yes," Molly sighed, "according to what she's heard from her PTA friends that are in the loop on things, the school board is to meet tomorrow night to respond to this. She was fairly certain that my "firing" will be on the Superintendent's agenda."
"And I told you, he can't do that," I answered, "not with your union there."
"I know," Molly sighed, "but it would be a good idea that we go down there. It'll concern me. It won't look good if I do not show."
I nodded.
"I want you to come with me," Molly added.
"Of course," I told her, "you can always count on me to help you if I can."
"Thank you, George."