Chapter 14

Derrick gripped the wheel of the ambulance with white knuckles. He was not used to the tension and excitement of eliminating someone that had made the Christmas Darling's list.

Sure, he removed Mr. Dobbins from the realm of the living, but that was more of a gesture of appreciation to Jennifer than it was a purely balance restoring bloodletting.

Jennifer casually looked over and noticed how stiff and ridged he was, "Derrick, take in some oxygen buddy. Calm yourself. You're going to have a stroke." She was as calm, the type of calm you would have during your weekly yoga class at the local studio.

With a deep inhale, his belly pushing out touching the steering wheel, "I'm trying. Adrenaline is a hard thing to control. Do not worry about me. By the way, it wouldn't be a stroke; it'd be a heart attack." He glanced over with quick big eyes and flashed a half-assed smile.

Looking ahead, the road spotted with light and lightly coated with snow, Derrick noticed a significant problem waiting for them. The San Diego police had set a perimeter up, it just so happened to be on the exact path the duo was traveling.

With a blur of words, "Jennifer, get in the back. Get in the back now!"

She glanced over at Derrick with inquisitive eyes, "Why? What is going on? Are you gonna…”?

At that moment, Jennifer saw why she needed to get in the rear of the ambulance. By the way, she was going to say, 'Are you gonna cry?' However, this was no time for joking around. The SDPD had grown smarter and developed plans for quick response teams around Christmas time. They knew the Darling would strike; she always did.

Slowing the ambulance as much as possible without being too suspicious, Derrick barked more orders, "On the stretcher, pull the blanket over you. Grab some gauze and wrap your face with it. Lie down and when I start speaking you need to let off some subtle moans, burn victim types of moans. Clear?"

Shuffling quickly to the back of the escape ambulance, Jennifer did exactly as she was told.

She even improvised a bit, swiftly grabbing the needle to a saline drip IV hanging by the stretcher and harshly plunging it into her arm. After she wrapped her face with the gauze, nothing was visible except for two dark holes so her nose could take in some oxygen.

Four police officers stood outside of their vehicles waiting for the ambulance to approach and come to a stop for inspection. Not one of them looked pleased to be out in the chill of winter, fighting for steady footing on the snow glazed road. One officer pulled out his flashlight, twelve-inch black Maglite, and began waving it in Derrick's eyes.

Another quick glance over his shoulder, Derrick made sure Jennifer was disguised well enough to get them out of this potential life changer. Pulling the ambulance to a slow but slippery stop, two officers approached, one on each side.

Shivering from the cold, "Evening bud, where you coming from?" The officer had a thick mustache, much broader and darker than his partner's. Maybe they were having a contest or something, who knew?

Derrick motioned to the back with a quick jerk of his head, "Got a burn victim in the back, trying to get to Northern Medical. What's happening tonight boys?" He tried to bring tears to his eyes but that was not happening. His adrenaline was flowing so furiously that forming rational sentences was a tough task.

The flanking officer climbing up on the riding board, "Why no lights and sirens? No rush for this one?" The officer had a couple stripes riding his sleeves, he knew what he was doing and would not fall for any of the usual mind games.

Cupping his hand as if he were shielding the 'victim' from the bad news, "Officer, no rush on this one unfortunately. This soul is halfway to the afterlife. Just trying to send them off with a little bit of hope, you know what I mean?"

The officers looked at one another and then checked out the person laying on the stretcher, "Welp, we had an incident tonight, Christmas Darling, so we are checking everything with our new protocols in place."

Putting on his best shocked face, "Another Darling murder? How long is this monster going to get away with this? I'm tired of hearing about this Darling, to be honest with you." This was the most awkward part of the entire encounter. Knowing the Christmas Darling was not only laying in the back of the ambulance, five feet from two police officers, but also considering that he was a participant.

With nods of their heads, the officers agreed, "Once we catch this guy, we're gonna bury them under the jail, if you know what I mean." These boys were deadly serious. Derrick imagined that if they did find the Darling before anyone got to them, they might just put two bullets right in her head and say she was resisting.

The passenger side officer motioned to the roadblock that the ambulance could pass. A sense of relief filled the entire vehicle as both officers headed back to their vehicles to gain some warmth.

As Derrick slowly rolled through the opened roadblock one of the officers yelled out, "Hey! Stop! Driver! Stop!" The officer slowly ran to the driver's side and jumped up on the running board.

The other three officers drew their service weapons, preparing for anything that was coming and ensuring that whatever it was, they would be able to literally shoot it down and go home safe to their wives and girlfriends.

Derrick began to panic and briefly thought of trying to take off and flee. He would not have made it twenty feet in this rig, "Yes officer, was I going too fast or not cleared to go?" His hands were shaking worse than the shivering officer's. Sweat began to swell on his brows, even with the bitter chill slithering in from the open window.

With visible breath, the officer made an inquiry, "Don't I know you? Weren't you in the station last week? Yeah, I do remember you."

Jennifer was still playing her role as the dying patient but was very privy to the conversation. Hearing that Derrick had been to the station last week put her on edge. She slowly reached for the blade, which she had tucked under her right thigh. If this went sideways and Derrick had betrayed her, he was going to be the first one to go.

Wiping his brow and grimacing slightly, "Yep, that was me. I don't recall seeing you, but you know how it is. Some eyes capture more than others, right?"

A little chuckle came out of the officer's mouth, "Ain't that the truth. Well, your application went through and was approved based on your record with the Paramedics and lack of police record. We sent you a letter, you start the academy next week. Check your mail, congrats."

They shook hands as Derrick's mind raced knowing that Jennifer had just heard all of this and he was not able to break the news to her first. Was she going to be furious? Was she going to be receptive? He was about to find out real soon.

Waving goodbye to the officer, Derrick got rolling again. As soon as they turned the corner, he gave the all clear to Jennifer. She seemed to teleport back to her seat and glared at Derrick. Focusing on his driving, snow and all, he could feel her burning gaze.

Jennifer inflected her voice, "The academy? What is going on Derrick? You're making plans without consulting with me now?" She cracked her knuckles, the kind of crack that let other people know shit was about to get real.

Trying to ease the situation, Derrick spoke softly, "I had an idea Jennifer. I am tired of surrounding myself with sick people, drug addicts that do not want to live anymore, picking people up and knowing I cannot save them. I am tired. Plus, I figured this would put me in a position to protect the both of us as we continue on with this holiday tradition."

Not one to argue with common sense or hold someone back from something they want, "Okay, I can get onboard with that. We should have spoken about this, but I understand. I think it is a good idea. It may not be the best idea, but it has potential."

The Christmas Darling duo had dodged another bullet and gained some crucial information into how the San Diego police were preparing and proactively setting things up to try to catch the Christmas Darling.

That type of information is priceless and will certainly stay in the forefront of their minds as they attempted to identify the next lucky winner of the Christmas Darling lottery.

With number ten down, it was time to start planning for the eleventh. Let us see which horrific monster would win the prize and become the center of attention of the Christmas Darling Duo.