Part 30 - Chapter 8 - The Showdown

"Thank God," Vanessa breathed a sigh of relief and stretched as the police let her out of her prison. "I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to get out of here. Thank you so much."

"Hi," Logan said to her with a smile. He couldn't hide how happy and relieved he was to see her alive and well. "Are you alright?"

"I'm doing better now and I'm sure I'll be doing much better once I get home and take a nice long bath."

"I don't want to keep you after all you've been through," Logan said. "But I feel I owe you an apology. I feel terrible that this has happened to you."

"Thank you, but what do you have to apologize for? It's not your fault this happened."

"This may sound strange, but in a way I feel like it is. I should have done more when you first came to the station about the threatening notes. If I had, then maybe we would have gotten to the bottom of this before you had to go through this whole ordeal."

"I'm sure you did everything you could and if there had been a connection, you would have found it. Even I never gave my ex-husband a second thought. I thought he was long gone."

"That's nice of you to say, but-"

"But nothing," Vanessa interrupted. "I hope nothing I said to you at the station made you feel that way. I know you were doing all you could. I was just upset, obviously. That's all."

"Thanks for being so nice about it. But honestly I was distracted at the time with what I thought was a bigger case and I don't think I gave your case all the attention that it needed. I've been beating myself up over it ever since. When your sisters came in to report you missing . . . well, I vowed to do everything in my power to help you and make it up to you."

"I appreciate it. Believe me, getting me out of that prison has more than made up for anything else. I'm just so glad to be out of there and glad that I don't have anything to be afraid of anymore."

"Hey, are you ok?" Blaine asked Cassie who was staring forward as the police escorted her handcuffed father out of the building and into the squad car waiting outside.

Cassie snapped out of her thoughts, the reality of what had happened was just starting to hit her. "I'm fine, it's just a shock. I can't believe it was my father doing all this. And not only was he after Vanessa, but he would have gone after Lawrence, you, and maybe even me and my sister. Where would it have ended?"

"I don't know, but we don't have to worry about that anymore. He's finally in police custody where he belongs. I don't think we'll have to worry about him anymore."

"I hope not. I was so afraid he was going to actually use that gun."

"Yeah, me too," he said looking over at Cassie as if he was suddenly seeing her in a new light. "I think he would have shot me if you hadn't stepped up to stop him. I can't believe you did that. That was really brave of you."

"It wasn't really. I know he wouldn't have shot me. As derranged as he is, I don't think he would shoot his own daughter.

"Are you sure?"

"No, not really . . . I didn't even think when it was happening, I just reacted. At the time, I wouldn't have cared if he had done it, as long as he didn't hurt you."

"Wow, I don't know what to say. All I can think is, "thanks," but that's not nearly enough."

"Then don't say anything," she said with a soft smile. "You don't need to say anything."

When Blaine looked at her with so much admiration, Cassandra's heart melted. She felt like she was in heaven and for him to look at her that way just once made everything worth it. The moment was short-lived however as an overheard comment took Blaine's attention away from her.

"Yep, he's our guy alright. The footprints match the ones at the Townsend and Burroughs places."

Blaine turned away from Cassie quickly, almost as if she hadn't been there. "Burroughs, as in Reese Burroughs?"

The police looked at each other skeptically wondering if they should tell him more or not. "Yeah."

"What happened? Reese is my - a friend of mine," he explained. "I even lived at her house for awhile. What happened?"

"Someone tampered with the gas lines at her house causing a massive leak inside the house. Luckily someone stopped by the house to look for her, found her passed out on the floor and carried her outside. It could have been fatal. The footprints we found around the house matched our guy Silas here."

"Thanks," Blaine called after the officer as he was called away on police business.

Blaine turned back to Cassie. "Do you know what this means?"

"My father had already tried to get back at Reese. That gas leak was probably meant for you too. He might have thought you still lived there."

"Yeah that's true, but it also means I was all wrong about Reese. She and James weren't together. He was saving her life. She was unconscious, she could have died, and I just automatically thought . . . How could I be so stupid?"

"You aren't stupid. From what you described, anyone could have thought what you thought."

Blaine shook his head. "This changes everything. I have to go talk to Reese and make sure she's alright. Maybe we even have a chance to get back together."

"Oh," Cassie simply said as she felt her hopes fade and Blaine, who was already thinking about about his chance with Reese, didn't seem to notice.