Assault and Batter(64)

She didn’t fight alone, though.

“Run, Suzanne,” my mother commanded.

I never even gave it a single thought. At that moment, I didn’t think about the baseball bat, a gun, or even a tank.

All I could think about was helping my mother.

The blade was turned toward my mother’s neck again, and I could see that she was quickly losing the battle. If I didn’t do something, and quickly, she would be slashed with it.

I threw myself straight into the fray, grappling with the knife as Momma and I fought Lisa for control.

She was strong, though, stronger than I bargained for. Was it that edge of craziness that was powering her? Whatever it was, I could see that despite all odds, we were losing the battle. The blade dipped closer and closer, nearer to my mother’s precious skin.

I had to make a decision, and I had to do it quickly.

In an instant, I took my hands off the hilt of the blade and went straight for her throat.

She wasn’t going to kill my mother, not while I was standing by.

If nothing else, my direct attack made Lisa drop the knife in surprise and claw at my hands for a breath.

I wouldn’t let up, though.

She’d just tried to kill my mother, and in my mind, she’d forfeited all rights to my mercy. I felt her hands on mine weaken as I pressed harder and harder, doing my utmost to choke the life out of her.

Suddenly, there was a faint whisper in my ear. “Stop, Suzanne. We’ve won.”

I tried to shake her off, but she told me again in that gentle voice of hers, “Stop.”

I finally loosened my grip, and I heard Lisa gasping for breath. “Are you crazy?” she tried to shout. “You could have killed me.” Evidently I’d bruised something important in her throat, because it came out in a raspy voice.

“That was the general idea,” I said as I stood up and grabbed the knife. “Momma, do we still have that rope in the hall closet?”

“Yes, it’s still there,” she said, clearly relieved that I’d stopped in time. If she hadn’t been there, who knew? Then again, if Lisa hadn’t threatened my mother, I never would have tried to choke the life out of her.

“Get it, and tie her up. After that, I need you to give the police chief a call.”

“Shouldn’t I call him first?” Momma asked as she stood there looking down at Lisa.

“No,” I ordered. “Get the rope first, and then make the call.”

“Yes, dear,” she said as though I’d asked her to pass the pepper at the dinner table.

Once I had the rope, I knelt down low to Lisa. “If you move, I’m going to finish what I started. Do we understand each other?”

She tried to speak, but her ability to do so was nearly gone.

“Just nod yes or no,” I said. I was getting impatient with her and ready to express it again physically. What had gotten into me? I suppose it was that nobody, and I meant nobody, threatened my mother, or they were going to face the consequences.

Lisa quickly nodded, and I tied her hands and legs together, and then I secured her to our heavy couch.

This crazed killer wasn’t going anywhere.

“Now, call the chief, and I’ll call an ambulance for Frank. With any luck, they’ll be able to get to him in time.”

It was all oddly anticlimactic after Momma and I made our calls.

As we waited for the reinforcements to arrive, I said, “Thanks for stopping me.”

“I was afraid that you couldn’t even hear me,” she said. “It was honestly the most frightened I’d been all night, and that’s saying something.”

“We don’t have to go into too much detail when we talk about that part of it, do we?” In all honesty, I was a little embarrassed about how I’d behaved.

“Your secret is safe with me,” she said.

“What about her?” I asked as I looked down at Lisa.

“She can say whatever she wants to. After all, who’s going to believe her?”

When the chief got there, he rushed to Momma first. “Are you okay?” he asked her gently.

She was holding a dishtowel to her neck. “I just got a few scratches, but if it hadn’t been for Suzanne, I would have been dead.”

“That’s only fitting,” I said, “because I’m the one who got you in trouble in the first place.” I turned to the chief as I added, “I don’t know if you heard, but Lisa attacked her husband before she came over here.”

“I know,” the chief said as he nodded. “The EMTs got to Frank in time. It turns out that he’s a tough man to kill, no thanks to her.” Before he took care of Lisa, he asked me, “How about you? Are you all right, Suzanne?”