Page 141 of Tear Me Apart

“Mom. Stop! She’ll attack you if you don’t stop. Kat, stop. Stop!”

Kat’s growling ceases but her teeth are still bared. Lauren feels a moment of pride—even a stranger’s dog recognizes how important it is to protect Mindy—but she must get the dog to calm down. She takes two steps to the left, and the dog follows with her head but doesn’t move. Her teeth glisten in the fluorescent lights.

“Mindy, sweetie, don’t fret. Mommy’s here. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Mom, what are you doing? Open the door. Let them in.”

“I need to talk to you, sweetheart.”

“Then talk! They’re calling you a murderer.”

“I am not a murderer, honey. There’s an explanation for all of this, I swear. I need to tell you the truth myself. I want you to hear it from me.”

The room phone begins to ring. Lauren glances up to see the row of furious faces at the window, and Dr. Oliver at the door. He has a key, he has it open, and then the guns step in.

Kat is not distracted by the shouting of all the cops. She has been trained for this. She doesn’t like the guns, though, backs up a few feet, growling heavily.

“Kat, Kat, come here,” Mindy calls, but the dog takes a step toward Lauren, who is caught between the weapons of three officers and the wall.

Lauren has no recourse. With an almost audible sigh, she pulls the weapon from her waistband. The gun is small, perfect for her hand, and she raises it. The calls are immediate, and the tension in the room rises.

“Don’t do it!”

“Put it down!”

“Put your hands up, set the weapon on the floor!”

But Lauren’s hand doesn’t waver. She speaks to Mindy, not losing eye contact with the cops. “I didn’t do what they’ve said, I swear to you. None of this is what it looks like. I’ve only ever wanted to protect you. You’re the only person who’s ever mattered to me. Mindy, darling, you have to know everything I’ve ever done is for you.”

“Mom, stop moving. Put the gun down.”

“I can’t do that, darling. But I want you to know you are everything to me. I love you. Everything I have ever done is because I love you so, so much.”

“Mom, please.” Mindy is crying now, and Lauren risks a glance at her only daughter.

“Honey, don’t cry. It’s all going to be okay. It’s what Vivian wanted. I swear it. You are everything, to both of us.”

“Stop moving, Mrs. Wright.”

Lauren edges closer to the bed.

“Last warning. Stop!”

“You leave, now,” Lauren says to the cops. “If you don’t shut the door, I will hurt her.”

A deeper voice now, calm and assured. “Let me talk to her.” Zack Armstrong strides to the door, looking every inch the grieving widower. “Put down the guns. Let me talk to her. Trust me,” he adds in a tone that makes the cops take notice. They lower their guns. Lauren takes a deep breath, shoulders dropping an inch, but doesn’t lower hers.

Zack steps through the door. Mindy cries out for him, but he ignores her, takes another step forward, a hand out as if he could stop a bullet if she tries to shoot.

“She loved you,” Lauren says. “Until the end. You and Mindy were her last thoughts.”

“I know she loved me. I know she loved Mindy. I know you do, too. Put the gun down, Lauren, before someone gets hurt.”

“I only wanted what was best for Mindy. Even Vivian knew this was the best way.”

He edges farther into the room, signaling with his hand for the cops to back away.

“Lauren, you don’t want things to end this way. We can all sit down together and talk, but you have to put the gun down. If you put it down, I will pull the door closed, and we’ll talk.”