Chapter 37 – December 13, 1988: Part II

I open my eyes as I run to the desk, pick up the phone, and dial 911.

I look at Alex's bedroom door. Still closed.

I feel my face. No blood.

Pete’s convulsing on the floor with blood pouring from his boot. The gun lays next to him, and he’s staring at it, his arm outstretched.

I walk over to him and kick the gun out of his reach.

A calm, female voice slices through the first ring. "911. What's your address?"

"Suite 106 of King Hall at BSU."

"What's the nature of your emergency?"

"An intruder is in my dorm room and tried to shoot me in the head."

"Is the intruder still there?"

"Yes."

"Are you or anyone else injured?"

"Yeah. He is. He shot himself in the fucking foot and has a stun gun burn… I don't know, somewhere on his torso."

"Can you leave and go somewhere safe?"

"I think the situation is pretty well neutralized," I tell her. I listen to Alex crying hysterically on the baby monitor. "You record these calls, right?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"The intruder is Peter Lassio, Jr. He came here tonight to kill me and also confessed to killing Officer Daly and the six other people that Daly is suspected of killing."

"Bitch!" Pete yells as he starts regaining control of his muscles.

I sigh, "He seems to be coming to. You might want to tell your officers to hurry."

"They're on their way, ma'am."

He begins dragging himself toward me. "How could you?!"

"Take some deep breaths, Pete. I'm not going to risk kneeling to bandage your foot, so you're going to want to stay calm and hope the paramedics arrive in time."

"You shot me!"

"No, genius, you shot yourself. By the way, where did my stun gun hit you? They'll want to know that."

"I will kill you!"

I speak into the receiver. "Did you hear that?" I sound more exhausted than angry or scared. "Did you hear him threaten to kill me?"

"Yes, ma'am. Are you sure you don't need to leave the area?"

I keep my eyes on Pete. "They're asking if I need to leave. Alex is screaming for her mother, and I want nothing more than to hold her, but if you're still hellbent on shooting me with that… What is that… a .44? If you’re still determined to shoot me, I'm going to stay here and ensure you don't leave the floor."

He places his hands on the vinyl tiling, struggling to push himself up. "I–"

"Is your adrenaline so strong that you're actually going to try to stand on that foot?!" I sound like a girl irritated that her younger brother won’t stay out of her room. "Dammit, Pete, what the hell is wrong with you tonight? I don't want to shock you again, but I will. Stay down!"

Loud voices and heavy footsteps echo in the hall. "Police! Everyone stay in your rooms!" There’s a hard pounding on the door, and it opens. "Police!"

Three men, two White with guns drawn, one Black with his gun holstered, enter the room. One of them waves into the hallway. "In here!"

"Have the police arrived, ma'am?"

"Yes. Thanks. Have a good night."

She’s likely taken aback by my politeness. "Uh, yes, ma’am."

I set down the receiver as two paramedics come inside with bags of supplies.

The Black officer steps over Pete and stands close to me. "Are you hurt?"

"Not as far as I can tell."

"Tell us what happened."

"He came here to shoot me." I point at the gun. "I had a stun gun on me. He pinned me against the wall and pointed the gun at my head. I shocked him, and apparently, he shot himself in the foot. He also confessed to seven murders, including Officer Daly."

One of the White officers–the only one who has yet to holster his gun–stands over Pete. "You killed Officer Daly?"

"I want my lawyer!" Pete screams as the paramedics remove what’s left of his boot.

I hear loud, frantic footsteps down the hallway. "That's probably my hus–"

Colin tries to run into the room. "Ra'Shelle–"

One of the White officers holds up his hand, and his voice is authoritarian, bordering on hostile. "Sir, this is an active crime scene."

"That's my husband." I look at the officers. "Can he please just go in the other room and take care of our baby?"

The officers look at one another, and the last finally holsters his gun. "Yeah, okay," the one closest to Colin says, "but only to that room. Don't touch anything."

Colin steps around Pete and sprints to Alex's bedroom. "Hey, baby girl,” he soothes. “Hey, it's okay. Daddy's here. It's okay."

He begins singing very softly. "Slow down, you crazy child. You're so ambitious for a juvenile."

My lips twitch, as I click off the baby monitor.

"Where's the stun gun?" the Black officer asks.

I look around. "I don't know. I–" I turn around. "It’s on the desk." I point.

One of the officers presses on his radio. "This is officer three-two-two-four. We need a CSI unit." He looks at me. "You won’t be able to stay here for a couple of days. You have somewhere to go?"

"Yes." I point at hysterical, shrieking Pete. "Will he be okay?"

One of the White officers raises his eyebrows at me. "You care?"

"He wanted to kill me, not vice versa. There was a time when we were… friends."

"You two know one another?"

"My entire life.”

One of the paramedics talks calmly to Pete. "We need to take you to the hospital. You've fractured several bones and need surgery."

“I think he might be on drugs,” I say to the paramedic.

“What makes you think that?”

I click my tongue. “Even in our worst moments, he wouldn’t have tried to kill me. I just–” I look at Pete’s tortured face. “I just can’t accept that he could do this sober.”

The paramedic looks at his partner. "Chris, lower the stretcher." He looks back at Pete. “Did you take anything tonight? Did anyone give you anything?”

“I want my lawyer!” Pete screams again.

The paramedic shines a light in Pete’s eyes. “They’ll test him before they give him anesthesia.”

The Black officer sighs. "We need you to come down to the station and give a full statement."

"Sure." I point at the bedroom door, and the officer nods. "Colin?"

Colin opens the door; he’s holding a quiet Alex. "Yeah."

"I have to go to the station and make a statement."

"Is she under arrest?" he asks.

The Black officer shakes his head. "No, I think it's pretty clear this was self-defense. Guys?" The other officers nod. "But she needs to give us a sworn statement."

I toss my books in my backpack. "Call your dad, and then call Tom. Have your dad take you and Alex to his house and ask Tom to pick me up from the station. I'll meet you at your dad's when I'm done."

"I want to come with you," Colin says, his voice breaking.

I try to smile. "I know, but Alex needs you more."

He nods.

I place my cold hand on his arm. "Everything’s okay, Colin. I'll see you in a few hours."

We watch the paramedics lift a cursing Pete onto the stretcher and push it out of the room.

The officer gestures. "Okay. Don't step in the blood."

I peck Colin on the cheek. "I love you. You too, Alex," I whisper.

Tears slip from Colin’s eyes. "We love you too."

One of the White officers speaks, "We'll take her in. Stay here with him until he can leave, and CSI arrives."

The officer nods. "Safe travels."