ENDING OF PREVIOUS POST:

Reaching inside a pocket, Patricia pulled out a small pistol and pointed it at Shana.

Shana's eyes widened. "I don't know what's going on. If you think Drew and I are in a relationship, you're wrong. He's simply helping me with a problem. Once the problem is settled, we'll go our separate ways. Somebody could get hurt." She pointed at the gun. "You need to put that away."

"I can't do that." Patricia waved the gun. "I have a problem too. See, Drew left me penniless. It's his fault I owe people money. They want me to repay them by getting rid of you. I don't know what you did to make them angry. That's not my problem." She stumbled, again.

"I'm sure we can work something out." Shana scanned the room. "Why don't I give you something of mine? You can show it to them and tell them you took care of me."

The gun shook in Patricia's hand. "They're watching all the time. They'd know you're still alive."

"I don't think you really want to do this."

TODAY'S POST:

Chapter 28 part 3

When Patricia, again, stumbled, Shana knocked the gun from her hand. A bullet fired into the wall as it landed on the floor. Patricia fell and hit her head on the corner of the table.

Shana ran to her, knelt, and held her head. "Patricia, Patricia, Patricia." Tears welled in her eyes.

Susan ran in. "Shana, what happened?"

Oscar rushed in and ran to the women on the floor.

"She needs medical attention." Shana's eyes met Susan's, "Patricia hit her head on that," and nodded toward the table.

Oscar stared at the weapon. "Whose gun?"

"Hers. She was supposed to kill me." Shana watched Susan dial 911.

After releasing a slow breath, Oscar called Jeff and relayed the events. "They're almost home. They'll decide how to handle this and who should be called." He paused. "Ms. Kohlberg, are you hurt?"

"I'm fine."

Susan handed Shana a clean towel. "Press this against her gash. It might slow the bleeding."

"She's lost a lot of blood."

"With head wounds there's always a lot of blood."

"She's going to be okay, isn't she?" Shana continued to hold Patricia's head, putting pressure on the gash.

"She should be." Susan knelt. "But I don't understand why she's still unconscious. It wasn't that great of a fall."

"Were you wrestling over the gun?" asked Oscar.

"No, she stumbled. I knocked it from her. That's when she fell."

"Why'd she stumble?" Susan continued to lean over Patricia.

"I don't know for sure, but I think she was drunk or high. She wobbled as she paced."

Michael, Jeff, and Zachery rushed into the room. Zachery scanned the scene. "Oscar, you'd better go on vacation until Drew has time to get over this."

"Why'd you let Patricia in the house without checking with me?" Jeff's eyes met Oscar's.

"It's my fault." Shana took a deep breath. "Oscar asked, and I told him she could come in. I never suspected Patricia would be a threat."

"Did anybody know she was in town?" asked Michael.

"To be honest, the last I heard she was on vacation in Fiji." Jeff scratched his head. "I wonder why she was here."

"When she pulled the gun, she said she owed people money, and to pay off the debt, she was to kill me."

"So she bought her drugs from the Russians." Zachery raised an eyebrow.

"Or at least somebody who knew or worked for them." Jeff turned his head as EMTs entered the room.

Shana stood and let the emergency workers assist Patricia. Within minutes, Agent Allan Ryan and his partner walked in. They surveyed the crime scene and Ryan held Patricia's gun toward Shana. "Will your fingerprints be on this?"

"No, sir. I hit her hand when I knocked it from her."

"And that's when she fell?" asked his partner as he checked the table's corner. He took a picture. "This is where she hit her head, right?"

"Yes." Shana nodded.

"If you only knocked her hand, why'd she fall?"

"I don't know why for sure, but she kept stumbling. I think she was drunk or something. I tried to get her to sit but she kept pacing."

As the EMTs raised the gurney to transport Patricia, Jeff checked his ringing cell. "Ah, shit, it's Drew. He's not going to be happy."

"Put him on speaker. It may take all of us," suggested Zachery.

"Drew, you're on speaker. I've got your Dad and Zack here. How are things going in New York?" Jeff held the phone out.

"Things are fine here. Randal agreed to do things our way." Anderson paused. "My gut says things aren't going so well. What's going on?"

"Nothing we can't handle," said Michael. "I'm glad Randal's on board."

"Dad, what are you hiding from me? Is Shana all right?"

"Shana's fine." Zachery rubbed his forehead.

"What are you not telling me? Let me talk with Shana."




Characters so far:

Shana Kohlberg -- a 25 year old high school English literature teacher -- she's trying to get her family's painting back
Anderson Sharp -- often called Drew -- 31 years old -- works part-time on Wall Street -- a billionaire from Texas oil wells
Dmitry Bezrukov -- one of three Russian men in black suits
Jeff Burk -- takes care of Anderson's cars and important security details.
Helen -- Anderson's cook
Jane -- Anderson's housekeeper
Philip -- Anderson's butler -- close friend
Kyle -- Anderson's dog walker
Axel -- Anderson's lead German shepherd
Thor -- Anderson's second German shepherd
Romeo -- Anderson's third German shepherd
Aaron Kohlberg -- Shana's older brother
Ivan Kuznetsov -- formally Ivan Morozov, I accidently chose a real person, so I have changed it present day owner of the painting.
Patricia -- Anderson's ex-wife
Emily -- Anderson's five year old daughter
Isaiah Glassberg -- Anderson divorce/custody attorney.
Jeremy -- Jane's second-cousin twice removed, NYC undercover cop.
Hannah Jacobs -- Shana's cousin, the same age and best friend. Married within the past year and just had a baby, Sarah. Her husband, Paul. Sarah was just diagnosed with Tay-Sachs disease.
Joshua Colton -- Art Museum's curator
Benjamin Kohlberg -- Shana's father
Eliana Kohlberg - - Shana's mother
Maxwell Gaines -- Lawyer hired to retrieve the painting
Erich Berger -- Manager of the Dorotheum art auction house in Austria
Mary Pritchard -- The lady Anderson hired to help Hannah while she's in Boston with Sarah.
Zachery Sharp -- Anderson's younger brother
Michael Sharp -- Anderson's father
Susan Sharp --Anderson's mother
Leon Sharp - - Anderson's grandfather
Grandma Sharp - - Anderson's grandmother
Oscar - - Team Leader of the security detail
Detective Rollins - - Austin police detective