Time moved like molasses for Winston. The days went by slowly. Hours seemed like days and days seemed like years. Sunday took forever to arrive.
He had offered to let Andy stay with him. They had created a routine and got along quite well. Winston could feel himself liking her more and more.
"Winston, let me go with you."
"Absolutely not! I told you this could be dangerous." Winston sprayed cologne on the side of his neck. He rubbed some between his wrists. He liked the woodsy scent. He thought it fit him well.
"Other people will be there," Andy pointed out. "What about them?"
"They don't know anything about this. It should be fine. Stay here and I'll call you if something happens." Winston adjusted his black tie in the mirror. It had been a long time since he wore a suit.
Andy crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you going to be armed?"
"Yeah, but I don't plan on using my gun. It's the house of God, I'd rather not pull out a gun and traumatize everyone."
"I'm worried," Andy bit down on her lip. "I don't want anything to happen to you."
That's all she had been doing for the past few days. She couldn't help, but worry about Winston. A few tips had been called into the department with sightings of Bowers and Sullivan. They all ended up as dead ends.
"I'll be back by noon. Stay here and find something to do. You're allowed to watch TV if you want to."
Andy threw her arms around Winston. He was startled by her touch. The two hadn't been physically intimate, they weren't even dating. He wrapped his arms back around her.
"Please be careful, come back home safe."
"I will. I'll see you later." He pulled away from the hug and went towards the door. Andy watched him leave in silence.
A few minutes after he left, she changed into her own church attire. She threw on a bulletproof vest. She yanked a long black dress over it. A garter on her thigh held a black handgun.
Things could go wrong at any moment. She wanted to make sure she was prepared. It was better to be safe than sorry.
_ _ _
"Mullen, stop pacing!" Winston snapped. He sat behind Pastor Baker's desk in his office. The pair had ended up at the church way before everyone else.
They wanted to be hidden. If Sullivan or Bowers were to show up, they wanted to catch them off guard. Pastor Baker would lead them back to his office. They'd be arrested and taken to prison to await their fate.
Mullen turned on his heel in front of the desk. "I can't help it, I'm nervous!" He was wearing a pair of black dress pants, a black shirt, and a blue flannel.
"How's your wife?" Winston asked.
Mullen stopped his pacing. "Why do you always ask that?"
"It usually takes your mind away from your nerves."
"She's spoken here and there. For the most part, she's the same as she was. She's eating a little bit every day. I wish she'd eat more, but it's better than her starving."
"Grant Bowers is here!" Pastor Baker popped his head into the office. "He pulled into the parking lot."
"Go out there and greet him!" Mullen shooed him away from the door. "Bring him back here, so we can arrest him." He pulled a pair of handcuffs out of his back pocket. "I've been waiting for this one."
A frown appeared on Winston's face. The whole thing seemed far too easy. Grant Bowers was a wanted man and he knew that. Yet here he was, stepping into a church. As time passed, it filled with a variety of people.
"Don't look at me like that! Cheer up Winston, once we have him, we'll be halfway there. We'll only have to track down Sullivan."
"This doesn't alarm you?" Winston asked. "It doesn't seem too easy to you?"
Mullen shrugged his shoulders."You'd be surprised how stupid some criminals are."
The door to the small office popped open. Pastor Baker entered the room backwards. "I just thought that your kids would get a hoot out of these. I know I liked them when I was their age."
Due to the angle of the desk, Bowers couldn't see Winston. When the door opened, Mullen scooted towards the back wall. Bowers didn't see them until it was too late. Pastor Baker took a step in front of the door to block his exit. He shut it behind him.
Bowers made eye contact with Winston and rolled his eyes. "I should have expected dumb and dumber to be here."
Mullen pulled the cuffs up. "Turn around and place your hands behind your back."
Bowers followed his directions. He turned around without a fuss. Winston watched his body language carefully.
"You're under arrest for the murders of Susan and Jennifer Houghton." Mullen started reciting his Miranda rights to him.
Suspicion grew in Winston. It was easy; way too easy.
When Bowers was cuffed, Pastor Baker opened the door. Mullen grabbed onto his shoulder and led him out of the office. A patrol car had been parked at the back side of the building. He'd be immediately transferred to prison.
Winston stood back and watched. They had to walk through the crowd of people to get out the door and Winston dreaded it.
When they were out in the open, the whispers began. People stared at the trio with wide eyes. Nobody wanted to see a member of their congregation get arrested.
Detective Mullen stared straight ahead. He didn't meet anyone's eyes. He kept Bowers in front of him and put one foot in front of the other. Bowers walked with his head held high. His arrogance never staggered.
Winston kept a few feet back. His eyes darted among the crowd. He was trying to find Sullivan. If Bowers was here, Sullivan couldn't be far away.
"What's going on?" Winston caught one of the whispers. He ignored it and continued trudging along. Every nerve in his body was jutting with anticipation.
The wooden pews were spaced out evenly. Bright red carpet scuffed along the underside of Winston's work boots. One person caught his attention. He was turned away from the scene. He glanced at it over his shoulder. Winston caught his eyes.
With his drooped eyebrows and his cold dead black eyes, Winston's heart dropped. The crook of his nose and the over-exaggerated frown. He knew the face anywhere. The scruffy fake beard and the lopsided coffee-colored toupe didn't throw him off.
Mullen was continuing to walk a few feet ahead. Bowers had slowed down in front of him. It caused Mullen to slow down too. Winston's voice caught in his throat. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't make a sound.
A gun slipped out the back of Sullivan's waistband. Someone took notice and screamed. Winston snapped back into action. He fumbled for his own gun. Mullen started to turn around at the commotion.
Winston was snapped back to the tree house in the middle of the woods. Without thinking about the repercussions, Mullen turned around and saved him. He dived and tackled him to the ground. Mullen saved his life in that tree house.
There was no time to raise the gun.
There was no time to aim and shoot.
Blood roared inside Winston's ears.
His brain screamed at him to move and he did.
He took two steps before diving in front of Mullen.
Bang!
Time froze. Winston stayed hovering in midair above Mullen. His tall frame protected Mullen's shorter one. Winston couldn't feel anything.
Screams rang throughout the sanctuary. Winston collided with Mullen. They both hit the ground with a loud thud. Mullen shoved Winston off of him.
Bang!
A second gunshot went off. Sullivan had a knack for hunting. Wherever he aimed the gun, it hit it's mark. It always did, Mullen attested to it.
"Someone call an ambulance! Call an ambulance now!"
The words were murky like Winston was underwater. His body couldn't properly process Mullen's voice. He shoved a hand underneath himself to get up.
His body wouldn't cooperate. His legs wouldn't move. He tried once more to move his leg, but it wouldn't work.
Fear rippled through him. Why couldn't he move? Was he experiencing shock?
"Winston, it's going to be okay. It'll be okay, he's dead. He's dead! I shot him in the head. It's over, it's finally over, we did it."
Winston was briefly aware of Andy's presence. He glanced up to find himself thrown into a valley of green. Bright rolling hills of green. They surrounded him on all sides. Wind brushed against his cheeks. He reached out his hands to touch the tall grass. It tickled between his fingers.
He blinked and he was back in the sanctuary. He was staring into Andy's green eyes. A dull pain hit him from behind. Spots danced around his vision.
"Winston?"
Andy's eyes widened. She cupped his face softly between her hands. Tears welled up in her eyes; Winston's eyes started to close.
"Winston? Winston? Winston!"
Someone in the background was on the phone with 911.
"Is he going to die?" Andy's voice cracked. She glanced over at Mullen.
He looked back at her. Similar tears welled up in his eyes. "I don't know."
The bullet that was meant for Mullen's chest had shattered Winston's spine instead.