The night was long and his eyes were heavy, but they had been assured that Ian would be all right. The fall wasn’t that far, it was Billy and Blue landing on him that had caused most of the injuries. He was just lucky that the initial fall hadn’t snapped his neck or spine leaving permanent damage or worse. Ian would be spending some time in the hospital, serious physical therapy ahead of him, but should make a complete recovery, if he’d just wake up.
Billy was the lucky one; the bullet went cleanly through his shoulder. He’d lost quite a bit of blood. Other than a scar he’d be perfectly fine. He would probably even be released in a few days. He insisted on a bed right next to Ian. They practically had to tie him there, even with Reese trying to keep him calm.
Blue Richards came out the unluckiest of all, poor bastard. Kellen had aimed for the shoulder, but for some reason the guy moved at the last minute, maybe to run, maybe to get one last shot at Ian in, but it landed in his chest and exploded in his heart. Before the sucker was barely zipped up in the body bag, news reports had hit the wires.
No one directly involved cared to even know what was being said. All they needed to know was that their loved ones were going to be fine. For a guy with no family, there sure were a lot of people refusing to leave the hospital until they knew he was out of danger. The Shores all arrived in squads and had had no sleep at all. Saxon managed to get to there just as the armies of reporters figured out which hospital Ian was in.
Blake and Wella managed to get through the throngs and be with the family. Others came and went through the night. Ian would have been shocked and surprised at how many people in such a short time had come to love him. The people getting coffee for one another and pestering every medical looking person who walked by would have been shocked at the one or two that were there for other reasons.
By the time Kellen made it to the hospital, Ian was already in surgery. His lungs had collapsed from being made pincushions by fractured ribs. He had a broken collarbone and clavicle. The doctors informed them that the small piece of cartilage that made up his rotator cuff had pretty much gone by by. It was assumed that the shoulder damage was made from the landing of his initial fall, and the rest when Blue and Billy came tumbling after.
Billy, listed on the insurance as next of kin, was rushed off to surgery himself, so the surgeons made an emergency decision to get it all done at once. Ian’s shattered knee would need to be replaced, but for now, it was determined to let Ian decide what he wanted to do when he was able.
Ironically, the doctor’s warned them that it was the rotator cuff damage that would be the most painful and take the longest recovery time. The surgeons compared it to a man giving birth. Of course, everything depended on Ian waking up, which he didn’t seem to be too concerned about doing.
Kellen had been questioned and grilled for hours. Since his gun fired the shot that had killed Blue Richards, coupled with the fact that he was an ex-cop, he was surprised that it hadn’t taken longer. The L.A.P.D. usually went over every aspect a thousand times when one of their own was involved, just to make sure that any inkling of departmental nepotism would not rear its ugly head.
He had told his side of the story only five hundred times that night. He had just returned home from rounds for the small security firm he ran since leaving the force, and was getting ready for bed. He heard the dog barking at the French doors and looked out to see what had Ralphie in such a tizzy.
In the bright moonlight, he could see that someone had just opened the curtains to Ian Justyn’s loft bedroom, but the dog kept barking. He saw Justyn, who waved at him and then he saw a figure step out of a closet and he saw him fire. By the time he grabbed his gun from the desk drawer and got outside he could see Justyn falling over the balcony and the intruder struggling with Billy.
He assumed at that point that Ian had been shot and was running to the check for signs of life when the other two broke through the balcony railing. Kellen drew his weapon and shouted the cliché “Stop or I’ll shoot!” When he saw the intruder aim his gun again.
Before Kellen could fire the dog attacked the intruder and the man’s gun fired, he didn’t know if it was deliberate or involuntary but Billy went into the pool face down. About that time others started showing up, from where he didn’t know, but three people dived in the pool after Billy.
Kellen saw the intruder aim his gun again, this time at Ian’s head. Kellen yelled drop your weapon, but he saw the man’s finger begin to squeeze so he fired and the man went down.
The five hundredth time seem to do the trick and he was released. Kellen was glad that he was allowed to put on some pants and they hadn’t handcuffed Ralphie and grilled him in the next room. As far as the other details, all Kellen knew was that both Billy and Ian were alive and had been taken to the hospital.
Peyton Balouche and his partner, a young guy he didn’t know, had been on call. Since Balouche and Kellen had been partners when he was on the force, another officer, Gene Rooney had been brought in to do the questioning. Satisfied that it was an act of defense, Kellen was told he was free to go, but told there may be further questions once more details of the day came to light.
As he left the station, Balouche told him that he shouldn’t worry, Richards was obviously a nut case. The assumption of Richard’s intent was either robbery or rape. Kellen himself had heard Richards make comments about Ian at the party and had been privy to other comments that he had made to his security staff at Open Fields. He knew better than to ascertain his own assumptions during questioning and simply filled in as many details as he could when they asked about his relationship with the victims.
Balouche finally got around to acknowledging their history when he asked how he was doing. Kellen said fine, but was still uncomfortable with the way things had ended with Balouche, not the force. “You still see Amanda and Barbie?” Kellen could see that he hated himself for even asking.
“About once a week.” He acknowledged.
“Lezzies,” Balouche sneered. “I’ll be in touch if we need anything more.” He turned to his partner, “Come on Mitchell, we’ve got paperwork you need to do.” And was gone.
Kellen saw the young partner roll his eyes and follow the man. Kellen, shook his had, knowing that this Mitchell must be the latest in a series of partner’s for Balouche. Kellen himself had been the next in a long line, but for some odd reason they clicked and were partners for three years, before Kellen left the force.
Kellen Jackson himself had come from a long line of policemen. His Grandfather was almost legendary on the force, killed in the line of duty at age 45. His father Walter Jackson, had also been a cop, not as decorated, but might have been had he not been gunned down at 39. On Kellen’s 34th birthday he was narrowly missed by bullet in a shoot out and decided not to press the luck of his lineage and resigned. That was a little over a year ago, and the world was now a different place.
It was Amanda who suggested that Kellen look into security. He had long toyed with a system that combined video surveillance with a pc. Amanda was doing well, her romance novels selling like hotcakes, and she offered to back him. While he rousted up business he got a job with a small firm that contracted bodyguards and bouncers for local clubs.
The guys running the company spent more time snorting the profits up their noses than actually hiring and training people. Within weeks Kellen found he had a knack for it and offered the cokeheads a good price for the business. To his surprise they took him up on the offer. By the end of that year, Kellen had tripled the business and was actually turning down clients.
A few months ago, Kellen had been talking with a couple that ran a hair salon and had been robbed four times in the last six months. While there he started chatting with a sweet old lady who said her husband had past away and couple that lived in the other house on her property had moved to New Orleans.
She asked him if he knew any of his employees that might be interested in renting the house. It would make her feel safer knowing that a trained security officer lived on her property. He took her phone number and said he’d let her know if any of his people needed a place to live.
While he was enjoying his new career, his personal life left him emptier and emptier. He now only shared his bed with Ralphie. He had bought him for Amanda for Christmas, but as usual she got bored with the dog by New Year’s and Kellen ended up bonding with it.
He and Amanda were already in the process of getting a divorce. She saw no reason to stay married and Kellen suddenly found no reason to stay. They were friends, but Amanda had found what she wanted was a twenty something named Barbie, Balouche’s ex-wife, and it was time for Kellen to do the same.
That weekend he called the number the lady had given him and he found himself, Ralphie in tow, in a nice little furnished bungalow with two stories and a car port. It was all he needed.
Upon his moving into his new rental, Mrs. Elysian told him that she was having her home renovated and she hoped that the noise wouldn’t bother him. It seemed over night that the work was done, the second story wall being removed and replaced with glass windows.
Don’t get him wrong he had learned to love Ms. Elysian, but when he first got a look at the completed project, giving him ample view into her master bedroom from his he couldn’t help but think of the old adage: “People who live in glass houses should dress in the basement.”
He worked night hours, so daytime was for sleeping, playing with the dog and chatting with Miss Elizabeth, as she insisted he call her. He often joined her for afternoon tea, and she went on and on about how she would soon be leaving but for him not to worry she had seen to it that nothing changed. She was depending on him to keep the place protected even after the young man moved in.
Shortly after the renovations had been completed, she informed him that this would be their last tea together. She was urgently needed by a cousin who had taken ill in Iowa and she had sold the place but, she was sure that he and the nice young man who would be moving in by at the first of the month would get along fine. Kellen was to continue depositing his rent check into the account as always. She would call him if she needed anything. That was the last he saw of her.
Now he sat with a group of others, all new friends, bonding even tighter over a senseless tragedy. Kellen sat in a chair at the end of Ian’s bed just staring at the black and blue young man in a drugged sleep with wires monitoring his progress and blood slightly seeping from surgical wounds into fresh gauze.
Why would someone try to kill this man? Why would a bartender from Open Fields, whom he knew on a first name basis and genuinely liked hide in a closet with a pistol? If it was a robbery, he could have done that so easily anytime during the day, and gotten away with it, too many people and too many witnesses to accurately pinpoint a burglar.
He then thought about the stalker scenario. He knew Blue Richards to be straight, but the man had openly admitted that he wanted Ian sexually. But Blue literally had hours in which to force himself on Ian, and probably without company in the house. Why did the guy hide in that closet? It made absolutely no sense whatsoever, and what the hell was this Darla Hutton business? They had all heard it loud, bloody, and clear.
Tippy had returned from the commissary with a paper tray full of coffees and teas for everyone. She handed them out motherly and made sure that the room full of her children, both real and adoptive, were taken care of. She walked over to the bed and gingerly kissed Ian on the forehead and sat in the chair beside Kellen patting him on the leg.
“You doing okay, Sugar?” She asked.
“Yep.”
“You’ve had no sleep whatsoever have you?”
“Have you?”
“I stole a few minutes here and there. Why don’t you try to close your eyes for a few minutes? You know we’ll let you know if there is any change.”
“Thanks, Tippy, but I can’t just now. Too many unanswered questions in my head.”
“Still a cop in your mind, honey?”
“Guess I always will be.”
“We’ll talk about that sometime.”
Kellen smiled and squeezed her hand, holding firmly to his. He knew she wasn’t being nosey. This woman just wanted him to know that although she barely knew him, he was already part of her world and she would be there for him. It made Kellen feel good. He hadn’t felt that way in a long time.
“Oh, I have Inez looking after Ralphie.” She said he was restless, but fine. “You know he and the cat both tried to get in the ambulance with Ian?”
“He seems to have taken right to him.”
“Just like the rest of us.” She reached for a little white bag the she had brought up from the commissary. “Want half the paper?”
“Maybe later.” Kellen just slumped in the chair and stared at Ian. He started to drift off until Tippy touched his arm.
“Honey, I think you’ll want to read this.”
He opened his eyes to see the front page in his lap. The bold headline read, “Hot TV Exec in Grave Condition after Home Invasion”. Kellen sat up and brought it closer to his eyes. The article stated that Ian Justyn was fighting for his life in an undisclosed hospital after he and a friend walked in a burglary in process.
The details were picked over, neglecting the party that afternoon or that the burglar had been an attendant. It did say that the burglar was shot and killed by a neighbor, a former cop. It stated that the police had already closed the case, burglary being the reason for the scuffle, the only unanswered question being the meaning behind the burglar’s final words.
The rest of the article, continued on page four, went into details of HRT and Darla Hutton. Her career was detailed including her mysterious disappearance and the presumption that she and married co-star James Redfield had run off together to live happily, if anonymously, ever after, just like one of their movies.
It touched on almost all aspects of the now created legend, a missing diary that may or may not have ever existed and Redfield’s wife’s suicide years later. There was also the mention that David Turner, the assumed sole survivor of the trio who founded HRT had refused to declare any of them dead. Both Redfield and Hutton still had equal shares of stock and all monies over the years were still siphoned into accounts for each of them.
“Does that seem as stupid to you as it does me?” Tippy asked.
“There is no way this incident was a failed burglary attempt.” Kellen flatly said slamming the paper down. “Something else went on.”
“Sugar, I just assumed that it was, you know…” Tippy tried to explain genteelly, “…that poor man wanted to force Ian into…you know…having sex.”
Kellen looked Tippy straight in the eyes. “Tippy, it wasn’t that either. I saw Blue come out of the upstairs closet and point a gun at the back of Ian’s head. If Ian hadn’t bent down to swat at the cat, that first bullet wouldn’t have hit the glass.”
Tippy’s mouth dropped open, “Oh no, Kellen, who would want to deliberately do something like that to Ian? He doesn’t have an enemy in the world, except maybe that cow he used to live with…”
“Tippy, there is no question; Blue Richards was hiding in that closet waiting to get a clear shot. I have only two questions; why and why are the police so quick to close this case?”
“But if they have decided it was a burglary and poor Blue is dead, they aren’t gonna bother…they won’t be protecting Ian if…Kellen, sugar…?”
“That’s why Ripley is here.” Kellen assured her. “Someone will be around him twenty four seven, until we know what really happened, and I may be over reacting, but until then, let’s just make sure that Ian and all witnesses are safe.” He headed toward the door with the rest of the paper.
“Kellen, where are you going?”
“I know exactly where to go to get some answers.” And he did, straight to Peyton Balouche’s desk, where he slammed the paper down, pointed and demanded, “What is this shit, asshole?”
“Haven’t read it, but I’m sure it’s like all the other crap on the newswire and TV. Your buddy and his friend walked in on a burglar, burglar had a gun, you had a gun, bang bang burglar go bye bye.”
“Bullshit!”
Peyton looked him in the eye. “You’re right, it’s bullshit. The network is pretty powerful and they prefer this variation to the real truth to keep their golden boy out of hot water.”
“Huh?”
“Look, you know the truth as much as I do. The little nancy boys were having an orgy and someone got jealous. More than likely this Richards character, who several of the witnesses said they heard mention wanting to have sex with your buddy, has likely been stalking him.”
“Stalking?”
“His girlfriend says that he’s been talking pretty obsessively about the dude, she even told Justyn to let the guy have him and put him out of his misery. We found footprints matching the perp and semen on the grass. He’s been hiding in the bushes and playing pound the sausage from a distance for a while now…”
“Well that’s possible, but it still doesn’t explain why he claim out of that closet and aimed a gun right at Ian’s head. He intended to kill him, not screw him.”
“Don’t go blowing this out of proportion, Kel. Richards probably just decided if he couldn’t have the dude, no one could. Probably had been hiding in the closet for hours and decide to off him when he didn’t show up for a promised rendezvous.”
“That still doesn’t make sense.”
“Level with me, Kel…you been doin’ this Justyn guy, too?”
“Jealous?”
He smiled, “Maybe…the case is closed. Media thinks it was a botched burglary, network honchos get a hero instead of another scandal and they get off our backs…”
“Uh uh. There is something more to this. It’s too easy…”
“It’s open and shut. Stop trying to make an Agatha Christie out of a Darla Hutton...”
“And that’s another thing….”
“Oh please, if he’d been plugged at Lincoln Center, he’d have probably mooed Judy Garland.”
“Okay, what about the clothes? Where did he get the black clothes?”
“The ski mask belonged to Justyn, even had his widdle name in it.”
“So where are Richards’ clothes and his cell phone for that matter? He was dressed in khaki shorts and a white tank top at the party and chatted endlessly on his cell.”
“He went home and changed.”
“How’d he get there and back? His girlfriend left alone.”
“Taxi or maybe even Justyn himself.”
“Justyn left the house with Saxon Allen in her car. No taxis came by either. Between myself and the six people at the hospital we can give you times and names of everyone who came and went in that house since 4 PM on Thursday Night until the incident.”
“Richards and Justyn were about the same size, clothes may have come from the same place the ski mask did.”
“Then where are Richard’s clothes?”
“Jackson, don’t go making more out of this than it is. Everyone but you is happy. Case closed!”
Kellen turned to storm out of the office and ran into Detective Mitchell. “You the new partner?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Let me give you a piece of advice, pal, something’s not right with this picture. If you don’t want to be taken down with Balouche, you better figure it out before I do.” and Kellen stormed out.
The nightmare became the next day and that day had become another night. Jesse Shores waited as long as he could. He was alone in the waiting room and could stand it no more.
He made his way to the room, nodding at Ripley steadfast in front of the door. “Need anything?”
Ripley shook his head. “Another guard dog will be in here in an hour. I’ll get a few hours rest and be back.”
Jesse smiled. “Thank you.”
“Just doing my job.”
“It’s more than that.” Jesse touched the man on the shoulder. “Just thank you.”
Ripley nodded his head and stepped to the side allowing Jesse to push the door open and walk into the darkness. Billy was stretched out on a bed, sleeping soundly. He walked to him, hands in jacket pockets and looked down.
“They gave him a sedative to make him sleep.” Came the voice softly from the corner.
Jesse looked up. “How ‘bout you? Have you gotten any rest at all?”
“I tried.” She sighed. “But I just can’t leave him alone.”
He nodded his head and walked to where she stood, looking down at Ian, battered and swollen almost beyond recognition. He put his arm around her and she leaned in.
“He should be awake by now.” She said. “I’m afraid he’s given up. I’m afraid he can’t take it anymore.”
“He’ll make it.” Jesse said almost to convince himself. “He has to.”
Saxon Allen turned to him and looked in Jesse’s eyes in the dark. “I don’t know that if I where in his place that I wouldn’t just give up, too. There’s been too much, Jesse.”
“He’s got Ronnie now.” He put his hands on her shoulders and tried to look into her eyes. “He’s got us.”
She put her head on his chest. “I’ve seen him, Jesse. I’ve seen him when he thinks I’m not looking, one eye is full of terror and the other is full of pain. He can’t shake it.”
“I’ve seen it, too, Saxon, but there’s something you’re forgetting. When he thinks no one’s watching, when he gets that look in his eyes, the rest of him gets ready for that swift kick in the balls that comes out of nowhere. When that’s gone, that’s when we should start to worry.”
Jesse could feel the woman smile and pulled him close. He rubbed her back and swayed lightly. “Ronnie knows.” He said. “Jeremy says he thinks he already knew.”
“How did he take it?” She pulled back and asked.
“Just like Ian would, went right into let’s get organized mode. He wanted to come straight to the hospital but Susan talked him into waiting until the morning.”
“He’s going to stay with them?”
“Tonight.” Jess confirmed. “Tomorrow they’ll bring him here and then he’ll be with us until Ian goes home.”
“Good.” Saxon wiped both her eyes in the dark. “He needs to feel as normal as possible.”
“They were going to put him in the big guest room, but I’m going to have him bunk with me for a while. I don’t want him to ever feel like he’s alone unless he wants to be.”
Saxon released her grip on Jesse and walked over to Ian’s bed. She reached down and brushed his hair with the palm of her hand.
“Why don’t you just tell him and get it over with?” Jesse asked her.
“Tell him what?”
“That you’re I love with him, always have been and always will be.”
She whipped her head to him. “Shhhh! He may be able to hear you.”
“Just because he’s blind and stupid doesn’t mean the rest of us are.” Jesse said. He stepped to her and took her hand. He kissed it and put it over Ian’s heart. “Tell him.”
“If only I could.”
“Why not?”
She pulled her hand away. “I don’t know, terror in one eye and pain in the other?”
“Better hurry up, or you’re never gonna feel that swift kick in the balls.”
Saxon giggled. “Your Mama said something similar.” She leaned over and kissed Ian on the forehead, then took Jesse by the hand. “Come over here, let’s sit down and talk.”
Jesse allowed himself to be led over to some chairs by a window and sat down with Saxon. She released one of his hands, but not the other. “If I thought Ian were free, I’d fall all over myself draggin’ that man to the alter.”
“But…”
She smiled and looked out the window into the night. “He’s not free, not even as he would say, merely inexpensive.”
“There’s no one else.” Jesse said flatly. “I can guarantee you, there is no one else.”
“I know.” She struggled for the right words. “Ian keeps that part of himself locked up. He struggles just to be a father. All that’s happened, he thinks there’s this cloud of darkness that follows him around.”
Jesse sighed and looked over at the man in the bed hooked up to all the machines. “And with his life, damn it...”
“If he thought he loved me, or knew how I really felt about him he’d push me away so fast…”
“Just because he wouldn’t want you to get hit by the next thunderbolt from the sky.”
She smiled weakly. “And with his track record, hell with mine, how do I prove otherwise?”
“Blindside him.” Jesse squeezed her hand. “Don’t give him a choice. That’s kind of what God did with Ronnie.”
“Clare tried it, and look how that turned out.”
“I never met the woman, but from everything I’ve heard you are definitely not Clare.”
“I think Ian and I are both resigned that the way it is, is how it will always be.” Saxon squeezed Jesse’s hand right back. “But I’ll make us both a promise, if the opportunity ever presents itself for something more, I’ll go for it.”
Jesse smiled. “That’s all I ask.”
“You know, if it wouldn’t make me feel like a cradle robber I just might come after you, young man.” Saxon pinched Jesse’s chin.
“Well, Saxon, if it does anything to encourage you I’ve been known to cruise the Senior Citizen’s Home now and then.” Jesse smiled because he made her laugh. “But I know I’d always be second choice, so as much as it breaks my heart I’ve let that dream go.” He thumbed over Ian. “The comatose dude in traction is the only one for you.”
Jesse kissed Saxon’s cheek. “Now, go home. Get some rest. Come back in the morning. I’ll be here. If he even moves a finger I’ll call.”
“I can’t, Jess.” She shook her head. “I can’t leave him.”
“Then go stretch out on the couch in the waiting room.”
“I’m fine.”
Jesse bit his lip and shuffled his feet. “Saxon…” He rubbed his hands through his hair. “Saxon, I…I, uh…” He cleared his throat and struggled. “I…need a little time…alone…with him.”
“Jesse, honey…” Saxon put her hand on his cheek.
“Please…” He sighed. “Just a little time…”
“Of course.” Saxon put her arms around him. She could feel him struggling to hold it in. “I’ll go get Ripley and I a cup of coffee.” Jesse nodded his head. “I’ll be just down the hall if you need me.”
Saxon hugged the boy-man close for just a second longer and then stood. She walked over to Ian and kissed his cheek then quietly let herself out of the room.
Jesse watched her go, staring at the closed door behind her. He didn’t move from his chair for the longest moment. All he could do was sit there and stare at the man in the bed.
He finally took a deep breath and stood. It was only four or five steps to Ian’s bedside but they were the most difficult steps Jesse Shores had ever taken. He stood over the man, hands in pockets just watching him.
There was a chair in the corner near him. He pulled it as close to the bed as he possibly could. He sat down put both his arms on the bed and put his forehead on them. His mind pinged and ponged, almost outracing his heart. When Jesse had control, he put his chin on his forearms and looked again at the closed eyes of his neighbor, his friend.
“I know.” He said so softly, Jesse himself almost couldn’t hear it. “Do you?”
Jesse sat up, his hands folding as if in prayer to his mouth. “I don’t know what to do. I need you. Tell me what to do.”
He stood up, chair scooting back against the wall in a loud thud. He paced up and down the length of the bed, finally going back to chairs by the window and sitting down. He stared out into the darkness for a while and then pulled an old yellowing envelope out of his jacket pocket.
“This fell on the floor.” He looked up at Ian just as if they could have a conversation. “You remember when you where getting that little half penny to give to Saxon, the one from your Aunt Hil’s box? I found some papers there, the ones I waved at you?”
He stood and went to Ian’s bedside again. “You didn’t know what they were, but you were in a hurry so I said I’d put the box back in the closet. Don’t get all anal on me, Ian. I put it back, exactly where it goes, but when I went to turn off the lights and leave, this was laying on the floor half under the bed.”
Jesse took the only hand Ian had free. He held it carefully knowing there were clips and wires attached to it. “Blue took those papers, Ian or at least I think he did. They’re gone. I didn’t remember until after I talked to the police that I still had this one in my back pocket. I hadn’t looked at it then, but when I remembered.”
He let loose of Ian’s hand. He began to tremble as he opened the envelope and slipped out the folded yellowing paper inside. He laid it on Ian’s stomach and took his hand again.
“I don’t know what to do, Ian. I don’t know that it explains what happened or why. In fact, it only makes everything worse. How? Why? What the fuck, man?”
“I’m scared Ian.” Jess put his other hand on Ian’s heart. “Terrified, so open your eyes and talk to me. Whatever, we are in this together. I promise, cause if whatever was in the rest of those envelopes is anything like this, the world is about to get really crazy.”
“Twenty four hours and counting” she said quietly. That’s all it had taken was twenty four hours. Ella now had all the pieces together. Well, she would if she lived long enough to get this last piece with the rest of them, if she could find it.
She bashed her knee on the corner of a table in the dark. Slapping her hand over her mouth so she wouldn’t scream out loud. Frozen for a moment, she made sure no one heard her. Easing down on the couch, Ella rolled up her pant leg as best she could. There was a little blood, no real damage.
She yanked down the pant leg, and stood up. No time to loose. She had to get what she needed and get out of this rat’s nest. She started opening drawers and rifling through as quietly as she could.
“What the…?” She reached in one drawer and picked up a plastic bag. She recognized the two cell phones. She shook her head. “Ian hasn’t lost as many as he thought.” She shoved them in the oversized shoulder bag and decided she’d better be a little more detailed.
If, God forbid, she wasn’t able to blow the whistle on this, the least she could do was make it difficult for them to carry it out. She wasn’t exactly sure what they were planning, but she knew it entailed setting Ian up. At least they hadn’t gotten scared and clean this place out….yet.
She knew this was where it all ended, or at least the diversion. As she canvassed the place she marveled at how detailed they’d been. It was all ready. She couldn’t figure out what they were waiting for, probably to get their hands on as much money as they could.
Blue was just supposed to scare the poor guy out of town. He was only supposed to threaten the boy enough to make Ian scoop him up and head out of town for good. They had promised him that all they needed was Justyn gone, not dead.
The plans had changed at the last minute. That’s what Blue had called and told her. She didn’t know how they’d changed, but she was pretty sure it didn’t include Blue ending up dead. Then again, she knew these guys played rough.
She stuffed some papers in her shoulder bag, and decided to look in the closet. When she opened the door, she spotted exactly what she was looking for. She reached up and grabbed the stack of disks. “Jackpot…” she said quietly.
It was what she needed to link everyone together. It was Blue’s idea, man but he was kinky, and they thought he was dumb. Well he was, but he was smart enough to have a little insurance they didn’t know about.
Maybe Blue being dead was part of the plan. He was a talker. It’s how she pieced everything together, at least enough to start a quiet and very thorough dig.
Slipping the stack with the rest in her bag, she looked around. “Just in case….” Ella went back to the drawers in the table, yanking out an envelope. She quickly addressed it and slipped one of the discs in. “Stamps, stamps…how many stamps…”
Ella slid open drawers knowing good and well she had seen a book in there somewhere. As always it was the last drawer she looked in. She pulled out the book and put all but one of the self-adhesives on the envelope. She started to lick the seal but something in the drawer caught her eye.
She reached in the drawer. Surely that wasn’t a pile of….she stared in wonder at the pile of laminated plastic in her hands. She smiled dropping a handful in her bag. “He’ll never miss a handful will he?”
Plucking one more out and sticking in the envelope with the disk. “Or this one.” She licked the flap shut and cracked the door, peering out to make sure there was no one in the hallway.
Free and clear, Ella slipped out. She walked as softly as she could. There was no sense in drawing attention to herself. If she could just get out of the building and disappear into the alley without being seen, there was no reason for her to come out of her hiding place until this was all over.
An old woman smiled at her as they passed each other in the stairway. “Are you new in the building honey?”
Ella wanted to just ignore her, but the woman was rather large and blocking her way. “No ma’am, I was trying to find a friend, but it looks like he’s not home.”
“5D?” She asked curiously. “Don’t looked so surprised. I know everyone in this building. Haven’t seen Bruno in weeks. You want I should give him a message?”
“No.” Ella smiled. “Old girlfriend, I was going to surprise him.”
The old woman chortled. “Oh sweetheart, you’re the one in for a surprise.” She shuffled past her and laughed the rest of the way up the stairs.
Ella took a deep breath when she’d made it to the lobby doors. “Okay, girl, another hundred feet and you are home free.” She pushed open the door and strode outside.
The street was empty. It was late, that shouldn’t have surprised her. She saw the alley between the buildings out of the corner of her eye. She also spotted the mailbox, the big old fashioned metal mailbox.
Ella walked over and pulled down the lid with a heavy clunk, tossing the envelope inside. “Just in case.” She jumped at the loud sound it made when she let the lid drop.
She looked both ways. The street was still empty. Her head turned to a sound. Ella smiled. It was a stray dog. She darted into the seclusion of the alley, the dog following. She was home free, all bets hedged.
Feeling relieved she bent down to pat the dog on the head before turning the corner at the end of the alley, beginning the back street maze that would take her to complete safety.
“Good boy.” She said, giving the smelly mutt one last stroke.
Ella froze in mid-pat when a pair of feet appeared in front of her. She slowly lifted her head up.
“Ella.” The man said. “I almost didn’t recognize you.”
She stood up, slowly.
“I like the new look, though.” He smiled, the cool detached smile.
“I guess I went a little crazy with the scissors.” She said.
“Yes.” He sighed, looking almost convincingly mournful. “Terrible about poor Blue.”
She pointed back behind her. “I’ve just come from his sister. She lives a few blocks over that way.”
“Oh.” He smiled. “I was wondering what brought you all the way down here by the river. I didn’t realize Blue had family anywhere around.”
“Yes. A sister with three kids.” She started running with the lie until she saw her chance to run. “They’re going to have a hard time. Blue helped out financially as much as he could.”
“Sweet.” He took a step towards her. Ella tried not to flinch. “It’s late to be out by yourself. May I give you a lift somewhere?”
“I’m a born and bred River Rat. Thanks anyway.” Ella slid a hand deep into her purse and smiled while lying some more. “There will only be a small memorial service, Danika’s still putting together details, but I think it will be Thursday.”
“Danika?”
“Blue’s sister.” Ella nodded. “I’ll let you know. Good night…Bruno.” She walked as nonchalantly as possible past him. She almost thought he’d bought it when she felt his hand clamp on her arm. She stopped dead in her tracks.
She could feel him step closely behind her. She could feel his breath on her ear. “You’re a lying bitch.”
That was her cue. She elbowed him in the stomach and took a step backward grabbing him as he bent forward. She shifted all her weight on her other foot and tossed him easily over her head into the wall at the end of the alley, then ran like hell.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Vignette #145: Simple Complications
“I’m sorry to just leave a message like this, but I guess you heard what happened, and I just don’t think I’ll be in for a few days.” She said into the phone. “He didn’t have any family, so I’ve got to make all the arrangements. Thanks…Bye.”
She hit the end button and bit her lip. “This is a nightmare,” Was all she said out loud. She took a deep breath. She hating piling lies on top of lies, but at this point she had to buy time to save herself.
Looking around her apartment one last time, she threw the duffel bag over her shoulder. She opened her over sized purse and swept the contents of the table in, saving one envelope.
She shook it. “Please, please let this be the right place.” She prayed silently and then stuffed it into her purse with the others.
The police had already been there once. She was shocked to tears but Blue had already warned her. She begged him not to do anything stupid, but he’d gotten himself killed anyway. He was stupid enough not to know he was being used by them and her. How could she be all that surprised he’d gotten himself killed? Too bad, she really, really liked him.
It might take them awhile to make the connection, but they didn’t know for sure that she knew anything. Unfortunately, she knew all they had to do was connect one dot and she’d be next on their list. The second ‘visit’ from the cops would be her last.
Ella turned off the lights in the apartment and peered out the window to the street below. There was only one place she could go. Hopefully she could get there and stay alive long enough to do the work she was hired to do.
They’d all stumbled into this mess blindly, both sides. She was just supposed to be on the sidelines. It got out of hand. Now there were too many directions she could go with what she knew.
One direction could make her a hero. One direction could make her rich. One direction could make her another one of the corpses that seemed to be piling up. Right now, the direction she wanted to go in would avoid that last one.
She quietly slipped out of her apartment and down the hallway. Looking both ways, she tried to look like she was just strolling along just in case some one was watching. She heard the plunk go down the mail shoot.
“One piece down.” She said in her head.
Hopefully, that would go to the right place and be found in enough time for her to get out of this mess. All she had to do is get all the puzzle pieces in one place. She just had to stay alive until she got them all, until then she would look like one of the bad guys.
She wasn’t, but no one knew that. Okay, so she wasn’t an innocent bystander but sometimes it takes a few crunches to get to the gooey chocolate center. Ella was pretty sure she’d gotten to the center, and she was pretty sure that no one else knew what it was.
It was a simple complicated scam. They thought they were going to take the money and run, leaving a couple of idiots behind with dirty fingers. She’d gotten out of the business, but she’d been trained too well. She had kept quiet and watched from the sidelines and this was one of those cases that took someone from the sidelines to put the puzzle together.
Damn but she was the cat, and it looked like curiosity was going to kill her after all. She should have made the phone call earlier. That’s all she would have had to do, but no she wanted to have it all but wrapped up first. Damn her ego and pride.
The cab pulled up. She stepped out of the shadows in the street and slipped in. Handing the cabbie a fifty and a sheet of paper. “There’s another fifty if you take me to that address and say you took me somewhere else, if you have to say anything at all.”
The man smiled. “For a hundred bucks, lady, you’re a drunk dude who stiffed me.” He turned the meter off and pulled away from the curb.
Ella smiled and sat back in the seat, scrunching down to make it hard to see her from the windows. She ran down what she had to get accomplished in her head as they drove. She knew it wasn’t safe for her to be out in the open. She had no desire to end up like Bambi, Max and Blue.
Bambi and Max were clueless. Bambi had no idea she could identify Bruno. Max was just dumb enough to be seen talking to Ian. Poor Blue, he probably would have been around awhile longer, but he was a dumb pretty boy, heavy on the dumb part.
Well, he was dumb enough to fall for her and smart enough to tell her everything. He wasn’t supposed to do that, and they didn’t know he had. Ella wasn’t even sure Blue was smart enough to know she had figured out what was up. She was too good at what she did.
She was also smart enough to know that Bruno and partner weren’t about to leave a loose end. Ella knew that if nothing else, she was a loose end like Bambi, especially now that Blue had gotten himself killed. Maybe the smart thing for her do to was stay put, but she failed Sitting Duck 101.
The cab pulled up to the bus station. Ella slipped out and walked right in. It was practically empty. She told the sleepy surfer dude behind the counter she wanted a ticket for the next bus out of town. She plopped her cash down and slipped the ticket in her pocket.
Immediately walking back out the door, she strolled toward a dark corner. She pulled out her cell phone and checked to make sure there was a signal. She hit a few buttons and paced. She got voice mail.
“It’s Isabella. I’m in deep, buddy, too deep. This is big, bigger than what we thought. If you don’t hear from me in two days, come looking. I can’t say anything else, just get here. Hopefully, even if I’m dead I’ve managed to get most of the pieces piled in the right place. Just get here and help Ian figure it out.”
After powering off the phone, she sat her duffel bag on the ground and pulled out a mirror and scissors. Within minutes her dark hair was short and punky, almost back to it’s natural color. Scissors and mirror went back in her purse, the cut hairs and the bus ticket went in a paper bag she set on fire and dropped to the ground.
While she watched it burn, she stripped off the top layer of clothes and buried them in the trashcan. She stood back until the bag was pretty much ashes, smoking three cigarettes at once to mask the odor. Spreading the remains with her feet she leaned over to see if anyone was around.
She saw the bus go by and looked at her watch. Yup, that was her bus. She waited for it to load and pull away. When it left for whatever city the dude said it was headed for, Ella stepped out of the alley wearing black jeans and a matching tee instead of the khakis and blue blouse she’d arrived wearing.
Ella ran a hand through her now spiky auburn hair, instead of her identifiable black tresses and headed for the one place Blue had stumbled on that even Bruno didn’t know about. As long as she wasn’t caught, she knew she’d be safe right under everyone’s noses.
She hit the end button and bit her lip. “This is a nightmare,” Was all she said out loud. She took a deep breath. She hating piling lies on top of lies, but at this point she had to buy time to save herself.
Looking around her apartment one last time, she threw the duffel bag over her shoulder. She opened her over sized purse and swept the contents of the table in, saving one envelope.
She shook it. “Please, please let this be the right place.” She prayed silently and then stuffed it into her purse with the others.
The police had already been there once. She was shocked to tears but Blue had already warned her. She begged him not to do anything stupid, but he’d gotten himself killed anyway. He was stupid enough not to know he was being used by them and her. How could she be all that surprised he’d gotten himself killed? Too bad, she really, really liked him.
It might take them awhile to make the connection, but they didn’t know for sure that she knew anything. Unfortunately, she knew all they had to do was connect one dot and she’d be next on their list. The second ‘visit’ from the cops would be her last.
Ella turned off the lights in the apartment and peered out the window to the street below. There was only one place she could go. Hopefully she could get there and stay alive long enough to do the work she was hired to do.
They’d all stumbled into this mess blindly, both sides. She was just supposed to be on the sidelines. It got out of hand. Now there were too many directions she could go with what she knew.
One direction could make her a hero. One direction could make her rich. One direction could make her another one of the corpses that seemed to be piling up. Right now, the direction she wanted to go in would avoid that last one.
She quietly slipped out of her apartment and down the hallway. Looking both ways, she tried to look like she was just strolling along just in case some one was watching. She heard the plunk go down the mail shoot.
“One piece down.” She said in her head.
Hopefully, that would go to the right place and be found in enough time for her to get out of this mess. All she had to do is get all the puzzle pieces in one place. She just had to stay alive until she got them all, until then she would look like one of the bad guys.
She wasn’t, but no one knew that. Okay, so she wasn’t an innocent bystander but sometimes it takes a few crunches to get to the gooey chocolate center. Ella was pretty sure she’d gotten to the center, and she was pretty sure that no one else knew what it was.
It was a simple complicated scam. They thought they were going to take the money and run, leaving a couple of idiots behind with dirty fingers. She’d gotten out of the business, but she’d been trained too well. She had kept quiet and watched from the sidelines and this was one of those cases that took someone from the sidelines to put the puzzle together.
Damn but she was the cat, and it looked like curiosity was going to kill her after all. She should have made the phone call earlier. That’s all she would have had to do, but no she wanted to have it all but wrapped up first. Damn her ego and pride.
The cab pulled up. She stepped out of the shadows in the street and slipped in. Handing the cabbie a fifty and a sheet of paper. “There’s another fifty if you take me to that address and say you took me somewhere else, if you have to say anything at all.”
The man smiled. “For a hundred bucks, lady, you’re a drunk dude who stiffed me.” He turned the meter off and pulled away from the curb.
Ella smiled and sat back in the seat, scrunching down to make it hard to see her from the windows. She ran down what she had to get accomplished in her head as they drove. She knew it wasn’t safe for her to be out in the open. She had no desire to end up like Bambi, Max and Blue.
Bambi and Max were clueless. Bambi had no idea she could identify Bruno. Max was just dumb enough to be seen talking to Ian. Poor Blue, he probably would have been around awhile longer, but he was a dumb pretty boy, heavy on the dumb part.
Well, he was dumb enough to fall for her and smart enough to tell her everything. He wasn’t supposed to do that, and they didn’t know he had. Ella wasn’t even sure Blue was smart enough to know she had figured out what was up. She was too good at what she did.
She was also smart enough to know that Bruno and partner weren’t about to leave a loose end. Ella knew that if nothing else, she was a loose end like Bambi, especially now that Blue had gotten himself killed. Maybe the smart thing for her do to was stay put, but she failed Sitting Duck 101.
The cab pulled up to the bus station. Ella slipped out and walked right in. It was practically empty. She told the sleepy surfer dude behind the counter she wanted a ticket for the next bus out of town. She plopped her cash down and slipped the ticket in her pocket.
Immediately walking back out the door, she strolled toward a dark corner. She pulled out her cell phone and checked to make sure there was a signal. She hit a few buttons and paced. She got voice mail.
“It’s Isabella. I’m in deep, buddy, too deep. This is big, bigger than what we thought. If you don’t hear from me in two days, come looking. I can’t say anything else, just get here. Hopefully, even if I’m dead I’ve managed to get most of the pieces piled in the right place. Just get here and help Ian figure it out.”
After powering off the phone, she sat her duffel bag on the ground and pulled out a mirror and scissors. Within minutes her dark hair was short and punky, almost back to it’s natural color. Scissors and mirror went back in her purse, the cut hairs and the bus ticket went in a paper bag she set on fire and dropped to the ground.
While she watched it burn, she stripped off the top layer of clothes and buried them in the trashcan. She stood back until the bag was pretty much ashes, smoking three cigarettes at once to mask the odor. Spreading the remains with her feet she leaned over to see if anyone was around.
She saw the bus go by and looked at her watch. Yup, that was her bus. She waited for it to load and pull away. When it left for whatever city the dude said it was headed for, Ella stepped out of the alley wearing black jeans and a matching tee instead of the khakis and blue blouse she’d arrived wearing.
Ella ran a hand through her now spiky auburn hair, instead of her identifiable black tresses and headed for the one place Blue had stumbled on that even Bruno didn’t know about. As long as she wasn’t caught, she knew she’d be safe right under everyone’s noses.
Vignette #144: Something Odd
“Can you tell me if anything in the house is missing?” An officer asked.
Colton and Jesse looked at each other. “Maybe, Ian was pretty systematic. We could tell you if something was out of place.” Colton finally said.
“If that’s the best you can do.” The man said.
“Neither of us lived here officer, but we’ve been around enough to know about the basics.” Jesse wanted to deck the guy for his attitude alone.
“Let’s start with the first floor.” Two officers led the father and son on a meticulous search of the house. The first floor looked as always expected, nothing out of place and not a speck of dust. You couldn’t have guessed there was a party earlier that day, let alone an event that had left one dead, so far.
Colton walked past Jesse on the stairway landing. As he past, Jesse touched his father’s shoulder. “Does something look different about this painting to you?”
He stepped to the swirls of color, examining it closely. “No.”
Jesse cocked his head. “Are you sure? Something about it just looks odd to me.” He reached to touch it.
“Don’t touch anything!” The cop standing with them bellowed. Jesse snatched his hand back quickly. “You say there’s something odd about it, other than the fact that it’s ugly?”
The officer was given a dirty look in reply. “It’s not worth a fortune Detective, but its worth more donuts than you’ll eat in a year.” Jesse told him.
“I hate donuts.” The man said.
“Yeah, right.” Jesse started to move on after directing the comment toward the man’s waist.
“Wait, son.” Colton stopped him. “What’s odd about it?”
Jesse shrugged. “I don’t know. Something about the light, it just seems different.”
“Looks the same to me.” His father said.
“Could just be I’ve never noticed it with the bright lights coming from upstairs. Ian usually just has the landing lights on.”
“Now that we’ve discussed the gallery design can we move upstairs, please?” The detective moaned.
“Sorry.” Jesse looked at the man. “What did you say your name was again?”
“Balouche.” The man rolled his eyes and grunted.
“I apologize Detective Balouche, but two good friends and my brother were almost murdered in this house tonight. I thought you wanted to know every detail we could come up with.” Jesse looked him in the eyes.
“You watch too much television kid. I doubt light refraction on a really bad paint by number will tell us why a man was shot to death trying to rip the place off.”
“What if this turns out to be what he was after?” Colton asked.
Balouche looked at him. “Unless he changed the position of a light bulb, it sounds like the painting itself hasn’t been touched.”
“Fine.” Jesse stomped up the remaining stairs, Colton and Balouche closely behind.
Balouche took a step in front of them. “Do not touch anything.” He reminded. “The forensics team is still working. Don’t even step on the broken glass. Try to look around and see if you see anything missing.”
“This is the only room you know for sure the guy was in?” Colton asked.
“According to the statement from Kellen Jackson. He saw the man now identified as Blue Richards step out of the closet over there and fire at Justyn from about here. He said Justyn walked over to the glass and waved at him. He saw the perp step from the closet toward the door there then turn around, aim and fire.”
“Can we look in the closet?” Jesse asked.
The detective shrugged. “Just don’t…”
“…touch anything…got it.” Jesse said taking a precarious step toward the open closet door. He turned to his father. “Dad?”
“Something missing?” Balouche asked, hopefully.
Colton turned his head from the position he had taken behind Jesse. “Not missing, but definitely askew.”
Balouche pushed the men aside and looked in the closet, eyes scanning top to bottom. He saw a walk in closet that looked like it had just been cleaned and straightened. He turned to the men. “Blue Richards cleaned the man’s closet then tried to kill him?”
Jesse smiled. “No but it’s definitely been rifled through.” Colton nodded his head.
“You’re kidding?” Balouche said.
Colton pointed to a bureau drawer. “Detective, open that drawer.”
“Why?”
“Just open it. It will prove a point.”
He shook his head grabbed a pen out of his pocket and slowly pulled a drawer open on the chest. The contents of the drawer were perfect; every sock, every pair of underwear was folded as though still on the store shelf and fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Balouche whistled and slid the drawer shut with the pen.
Walking back to the closet, he scanned it again nodding his head. Boxes were piled neatly, but not perfectly. Clothes were hung but not even, and the shoes were matched but looked like they’d just been tossed side by side in a line.
Balouche turned to the men working in the bedroom. “Dust everything in that closet for prints.”
“Especially that.” Jesse pointed.
That got the man’s attention. “What is it?”
“A jewelry box that belonged to Ian’s Aunt.” Colton said.
“Her jewels were in there?” Balouche’s ears perked up.
Colton laughed. “Nothing expensive. She was an old black woman who raised him. She passed away. I don’t know what the man would want in there, but he definitely has gone through it.”
“I’d say it was what he was going through just before he realized Ian was home.” Jesse added.
“Why?” Balouche got out his notebook.
“Look at it.” Jesse said. “There’s stuff sticking out of it, and it’s not anywhere near where Ian kept it.”
“You’re sure?”
“I watched Ian take it down before he went out.” Jesse recalled. “He got something out of it that he wanted to give to Saxon…”
“Saxon Allen?” Balouche clarified.
“Yeah. They went bowling this evening. He told me there was something he wanted her to have.”
“And he got it out of that box?”
“Yes. He took it off the top rack there, put it on the bed, got what he wanted and I put it right back for him.” Jesse pointed to the rack above the suits. “See there’s the place where it fits exactly.”
“Have you boys taken shots of the closet?” Balouche asked one of the men. When the man confirmed. “We take this box out and examine the contents then?”
When the man nodded, Balouche put on some gloves he was handed. He carefully stepped in the closet and lifted the box taking it over to the bed and opening the lid. “Can you tell me if you notice anything missing?”
Jesse peered into the top. “He didn’t open the top. There’s a little compartment to the back. Push the back of it toward the bottom…” He instructed.
Balouche fumbled a minute, but finally a little bottom panel slid open.
“There. Ian got something wrapped in tissue paper from there. He said his Aunt Hil put it there years ago. He remembered just as he was leaving. He was excited it was still there.”
“It’s empty.” Balouche turned to him. “Must have been all that was in there.”
“No.” Jesse was sure. “I personally picked up some envelopes that were in there. I remember the look on his face. He turned to me and smiled, but Saxon was waiting on him downstairs. He went running and I put everything back for him.”
“You’re positive he put them back in this cubby hole?” Balouche asked.
“No Detective, I put the envelopes back. I shut the drawer myself and put the whole box back on the rack where it belongs.” Jesse smirked.
“Any idea what was in the envelopes?”
“No. Just that Ian was excited about finding the little gift for Saxon that was in there. He said it was something he gave to his Aunt for safe keeping years ago.”
Colton looked at his son. “Detective, do you think this could be connected with what happened in Lost Mountain?”
“Lost Mountain?” Balouche said. “What happened in Lost Mountain?”
Colton and Jesse looked at each other. “Maybe, Ian was pretty systematic. We could tell you if something was out of place.” Colton finally said.
“If that’s the best you can do.” The man said.
“Neither of us lived here officer, but we’ve been around enough to know about the basics.” Jesse wanted to deck the guy for his attitude alone.
“Let’s start with the first floor.” Two officers led the father and son on a meticulous search of the house. The first floor looked as always expected, nothing out of place and not a speck of dust. You couldn’t have guessed there was a party earlier that day, let alone an event that had left one dead, so far.
Colton walked past Jesse on the stairway landing. As he past, Jesse touched his father’s shoulder. “Does something look different about this painting to you?”
He stepped to the swirls of color, examining it closely. “No.”
Jesse cocked his head. “Are you sure? Something about it just looks odd to me.” He reached to touch it.
“Don’t touch anything!” The cop standing with them bellowed. Jesse snatched his hand back quickly. “You say there’s something odd about it, other than the fact that it’s ugly?”
The officer was given a dirty look in reply. “It’s not worth a fortune Detective, but its worth more donuts than you’ll eat in a year.” Jesse told him.
“I hate donuts.” The man said.
“Yeah, right.” Jesse started to move on after directing the comment toward the man’s waist.
“Wait, son.” Colton stopped him. “What’s odd about it?”
Jesse shrugged. “I don’t know. Something about the light, it just seems different.”
“Looks the same to me.” His father said.
“Could just be I’ve never noticed it with the bright lights coming from upstairs. Ian usually just has the landing lights on.”
“Now that we’ve discussed the gallery design can we move upstairs, please?” The detective moaned.
“Sorry.” Jesse looked at the man. “What did you say your name was again?”
“Balouche.” The man rolled his eyes and grunted.
“I apologize Detective Balouche, but two good friends and my brother were almost murdered in this house tonight. I thought you wanted to know every detail we could come up with.” Jesse looked him in the eyes.
“You watch too much television kid. I doubt light refraction on a really bad paint by number will tell us why a man was shot to death trying to rip the place off.”
“What if this turns out to be what he was after?” Colton asked.
Balouche looked at him. “Unless he changed the position of a light bulb, it sounds like the painting itself hasn’t been touched.”
“Fine.” Jesse stomped up the remaining stairs, Colton and Balouche closely behind.
Balouche took a step in front of them. “Do not touch anything.” He reminded. “The forensics team is still working. Don’t even step on the broken glass. Try to look around and see if you see anything missing.”
“This is the only room you know for sure the guy was in?” Colton asked.
“According to the statement from Kellen Jackson. He saw the man now identified as Blue Richards step out of the closet over there and fire at Justyn from about here. He said Justyn walked over to the glass and waved at him. He saw the perp step from the closet toward the door there then turn around, aim and fire.”
“Can we look in the closet?” Jesse asked.
The detective shrugged. “Just don’t…”
“…touch anything…got it.” Jesse said taking a precarious step toward the open closet door. He turned to his father. “Dad?”
“Something missing?” Balouche asked, hopefully.
Colton turned his head from the position he had taken behind Jesse. “Not missing, but definitely askew.”
Balouche pushed the men aside and looked in the closet, eyes scanning top to bottom. He saw a walk in closet that looked like it had just been cleaned and straightened. He turned to the men. “Blue Richards cleaned the man’s closet then tried to kill him?”
Jesse smiled. “No but it’s definitely been rifled through.” Colton nodded his head.
“You’re kidding?” Balouche said.
Colton pointed to a bureau drawer. “Detective, open that drawer.”
“Why?”
“Just open it. It will prove a point.”
He shook his head grabbed a pen out of his pocket and slowly pulled a drawer open on the chest. The contents of the drawer were perfect; every sock, every pair of underwear was folded as though still on the store shelf and fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Balouche whistled and slid the drawer shut with the pen.
Walking back to the closet, he scanned it again nodding his head. Boxes were piled neatly, but not perfectly. Clothes were hung but not even, and the shoes were matched but looked like they’d just been tossed side by side in a line.
Balouche turned to the men working in the bedroom. “Dust everything in that closet for prints.”
“Especially that.” Jesse pointed.
That got the man’s attention. “What is it?”
“A jewelry box that belonged to Ian’s Aunt.” Colton said.
“Her jewels were in there?” Balouche’s ears perked up.
Colton laughed. “Nothing expensive. She was an old black woman who raised him. She passed away. I don’t know what the man would want in there, but he definitely has gone through it.”
“I’d say it was what he was going through just before he realized Ian was home.” Jesse added.
“Why?” Balouche got out his notebook.
“Look at it.” Jesse said. “There’s stuff sticking out of it, and it’s not anywhere near where Ian kept it.”
“You’re sure?”
“I watched Ian take it down before he went out.” Jesse recalled. “He got something out of it that he wanted to give to Saxon…”
“Saxon Allen?” Balouche clarified.
“Yeah. They went bowling this evening. He told me there was something he wanted her to have.”
“And he got it out of that box?”
“Yes. He took it off the top rack there, put it on the bed, got what he wanted and I put it right back for him.” Jesse pointed to the rack above the suits. “See there’s the place where it fits exactly.”
“Have you boys taken shots of the closet?” Balouche asked one of the men. When the man confirmed. “We take this box out and examine the contents then?”
When the man nodded, Balouche put on some gloves he was handed. He carefully stepped in the closet and lifted the box taking it over to the bed and opening the lid. “Can you tell me if you notice anything missing?”
Jesse peered into the top. “He didn’t open the top. There’s a little compartment to the back. Push the back of it toward the bottom…” He instructed.
Balouche fumbled a minute, but finally a little bottom panel slid open.
“There. Ian got something wrapped in tissue paper from there. He said his Aunt Hil put it there years ago. He remembered just as he was leaving. He was excited it was still there.”
“It’s empty.” Balouche turned to him. “Must have been all that was in there.”
“No.” Jesse was sure. “I personally picked up some envelopes that were in there. I remember the look on his face. He turned to me and smiled, but Saxon was waiting on him downstairs. He went running and I put everything back for him.”
“You’re positive he put them back in this cubby hole?” Balouche asked.
“No Detective, I put the envelopes back. I shut the drawer myself and put the whole box back on the rack where it belongs.” Jesse smirked.
“Any idea what was in the envelopes?”
“No. Just that Ian was excited about finding the little gift for Saxon that was in there. He said it was something he gave to his Aunt for safe keeping years ago.”
Colton looked at his son. “Detective, do you think this could be connected with what happened in Lost Mountain?”
“Lost Mountain?” Balouche said. “What happened in Lost Mountain?”
Vignette #143: Smoking Guns
She wished she had brought the baseball bat after all. No one seemed to recognize her, and no one cared. It had taken her an hour just to get from the parking lot to the Emergency Room entrance.
Fortunately the one person who did recognize her was that bulldozer of a guy from “Open Fields”. He stood in front of her and pushed through to the doors. Cops were lined across the entrance arm in arm to keep the pandemonium from breaking inside.
“No one gets through.” The cop stared down the bulldozer. The bulldozer huffed. “Sorry.”
She peered around him and pulled down the dark glasses, showing off her red, bloodshot eyes. The cop recognized her. It took him a second but he put two and two together. She heard him say clearly but softly. “Let her through.”
A small opening was made. She felt herself being shoved toward it. She grabbed the bulldozer’s hand. “Him, too.”
“Just you ma’am.” The cop said.
“He’s my brother.” She lied. “We’re like his family.”
The cop took a deep breath. “Fine.”
“Thank you.” They popped through the line of cops and found themselves standing inside in ER.
“You didn’t have to do that, Ms. Allen.” The bulldozer said.
“I’d still be in the parking lot if it weren’t for you.” She said. “I know you…from…”
“Yes, ma’am. Ripley, Ripley Gunther.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I got a call from Jeremy Tyson.” He said. “He told me what happened.”
“Ronnie.” Saxon blurted out. “Have they told Ronnie?”
Ripley shook his head. “No ma’am. They won’t say anything, sticking with the plan.”
“What plan?”
“At sun up, Mr. Tyson gets the boys on a boat away from everything. As soon as they know something definite they’ll come to shore.”
“He’s been through so much.” Saxon looked around to see if she could get some information.
“They’re worried ma’am. Kellen’s downtown, they asked me to keep Mr. Justyn safe.”
“Safe?”
“Some one tried to kill him, ma’am. I’m to stay as close as possible until we know what happened.”
Saxon nodded her head. A nurse came up to them. “Miss Allen, come this way.” The duo started to follow, but the nurse stopped. “Not him.”
“He’s Ian’s bodyguard.” Saxon insisted.
The nurse looked Ripley up and down. “Not doin’ a very good job so far.”
“I was on a coffee break.” He sneered. “It won’t happen again.”
“Whatever.” She turned and headed into the ER. “Follow me.”
They were ushered through a maze of doors and hallways. Finally Saxon heard her name called.
“Tippy?” She said softly as the women embraced. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, honey, I don’t know.” She dabbed her eyes with Kleenex. “He’s alive or was before they left me alone in the ambulance and took off with him.”
Saxon grabbed Tippy’s hand. “Tippy this is Ripley. Jeremy called him, to keep an eye on things.”
“Oh thanks, honey.” Tippy took Ripley’s hand and squeezed it.
“Mr. Tyson said to tell you the boys are asleep.”
She nodded. “I just talked to Susan. She said Jeremy was trying to get hold of somebody. Glad you came.”
“Mr. Justyn is a nice man.” Ripley smiled. “I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
“Oh God…” Tippy plopped in a chair. “I don’t even want to think about that. Why would anyone do this?”
“Excuse me…” a man in scrubs holding a clipboard said. “I’m looking for Ian Justyn’s family.”
Tippy stood and grabbed Saxon’s hand. “We’re his family.”
He looked at the paperwork. “Mr. Justyn’s insurance lists a William Jarvis as next of kin.” He looked up at Ripley. “Is that you?”
“No, sir.”
“Billy Jarvis is the other…victim.” Tippy trembled as she said it. “They brought Ian first. Billy should be arriving any moment.”
“Mr. Justyn is critical, ma’am. I need his next of kin’s consent to do surgery.”
“Ian doesn’t have any family, other than a ten year old boy.” Tippy squeaked. “He’s like a son to me, does that count?”
“It has to be a blood relative.”
Ripley stepped forward. “Any of us will take responsibility.”
“That’s not the point.” The doctor said.
“I don’t care what the point is. If Ian needs surgery, do it or you will personally answer to me.” Ripley growled.
“Well, I guess I could…”
“Now!” Ripley snapped.
“Yes, sir.” The doctor stepped back. “We’ll just deal with all the paperwork later.” He was gone in an instant.
“This is an ER, surely all that is taken in to account.” Tippy said.
“It’s also California, Tippy, the sue me capitol of the world.” Saxon put her arm around the woman.
A man in a security guard came over to them “Which one of you is the hired goon?”
“Guess.” Ripley puffed out his chest.
The man jerked his head towards the desk. “Follow me.”
“I’ll be right back.” Ripley told the ladies softly.
“Tippy, what exactly happened?” Saxon had to ask.
“Oh, honey. I’m not really sure. We were sitting by the pool over at our house, having a cup of tea and all of a sudden we heard shots, and glass breaking. We ran over to Ian’s as quick as we could. Billy was floating face down in the pool, Ian was on the ground covered in blood with a dead man laying across him and Kellen was standing there with a smoking gun in his hand.”
“Kellen?” Saxon helped Tippy sit down. “Kellen Jackson did this?”
Tippy shook her head. “No. He said he saw Ian and a man fighting, and then Billy joined in. Somehow they all fell over the balcony and before Kellen could do anything the man shot Billy.”
“He shot Billy?”
“Yes.” Tippy was almost breathless. “And Kellen fired at the man before he could shoot Ian. Kellen says the man was aiming for Ian’s head at almost point blank range.”
“But why?”
“Nobody knows.”
“Billy…is Billy alright?” Saxon asked, ashamed she hadn’t asked before.
“I think he will be.” Tippy said. “Colton and Jesse helped Reese pull him from the pool. They gave him mouth to mouth and Colton said it looked like he took the bullet in the shoulder. There was so much blood…”
Ripley came over and knealed before them. “Ladies, they’ve taken Ian to surgery. Someone will be over in a moment to take you up to a private waiting room on the surgical floor.”
“Do you know how he’s doing?” They both practically asked.
He put up his hand. “All I know is that they’ve rushed him to surgery, something about broken ribs puncturing his organs. Now, Mrs. Shores…”
“Tippy,” she tried to smile. “Call me Tippy, darlin’.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Ripley nodded. “I need a list of everyone that you called or might come to the hospital. No one gets in or around either Ian or anyone in the family without my say so.”
“Okay.”
“Now here’s my cell phone number. Let me have yours so we can stay in touch.” Ripley handed her a piece of paper.
“Yes, yes of course.” She gave him the number that he programmed immediately into his phone.
“Do not talk to anyone outside the family, but me.”
“What about the doctors?” Saxon asked.
“Check the I.D. of any medical personnel first.” He pointed to his chest. “They’ll all have little badges. Make a mental note of names and faces.”
Tippy nodded and began to make a list.
Fortunately the one person who did recognize her was that bulldozer of a guy from “Open Fields”. He stood in front of her and pushed through to the doors. Cops were lined across the entrance arm in arm to keep the pandemonium from breaking inside.
“No one gets through.” The cop stared down the bulldozer. The bulldozer huffed. “Sorry.”
She peered around him and pulled down the dark glasses, showing off her red, bloodshot eyes. The cop recognized her. It took him a second but he put two and two together. She heard him say clearly but softly. “Let her through.”
A small opening was made. She felt herself being shoved toward it. She grabbed the bulldozer’s hand. “Him, too.”
“Just you ma’am.” The cop said.
“He’s my brother.” She lied. “We’re like his family.”
The cop took a deep breath. “Fine.”
“Thank you.” They popped through the line of cops and found themselves standing inside in ER.
“You didn’t have to do that, Ms. Allen.” The bulldozer said.
“I’d still be in the parking lot if it weren’t for you.” She said. “I know you…from…”
“Yes, ma’am. Ripley, Ripley Gunther.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I got a call from Jeremy Tyson.” He said. “He told me what happened.”
“Ronnie.” Saxon blurted out. “Have they told Ronnie?”
Ripley shook his head. “No ma’am. They won’t say anything, sticking with the plan.”
“What plan?”
“At sun up, Mr. Tyson gets the boys on a boat away from everything. As soon as they know something definite they’ll come to shore.”
“He’s been through so much.” Saxon looked around to see if she could get some information.
“They’re worried ma’am. Kellen’s downtown, they asked me to keep Mr. Justyn safe.”
“Safe?”
“Some one tried to kill him, ma’am. I’m to stay as close as possible until we know what happened.”
Saxon nodded her head. A nurse came up to them. “Miss Allen, come this way.” The duo started to follow, but the nurse stopped. “Not him.”
“He’s Ian’s bodyguard.” Saxon insisted.
The nurse looked Ripley up and down. “Not doin’ a very good job so far.”
“I was on a coffee break.” He sneered. “It won’t happen again.”
“Whatever.” She turned and headed into the ER. “Follow me.”
They were ushered through a maze of doors and hallways. Finally Saxon heard her name called.
“Tippy?” She said softly as the women embraced. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, honey, I don’t know.” She dabbed her eyes with Kleenex. “He’s alive or was before they left me alone in the ambulance and took off with him.”
Saxon grabbed Tippy’s hand. “Tippy this is Ripley. Jeremy called him, to keep an eye on things.”
“Oh thanks, honey.” Tippy took Ripley’s hand and squeezed it.
“Mr. Tyson said to tell you the boys are asleep.”
She nodded. “I just talked to Susan. She said Jeremy was trying to get hold of somebody. Glad you came.”
“Mr. Justyn is a nice man.” Ripley smiled. “I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
“Oh God…” Tippy plopped in a chair. “I don’t even want to think about that. Why would anyone do this?”
“Excuse me…” a man in scrubs holding a clipboard said. “I’m looking for Ian Justyn’s family.”
Tippy stood and grabbed Saxon’s hand. “We’re his family.”
He looked at the paperwork. “Mr. Justyn’s insurance lists a William Jarvis as next of kin.” He looked up at Ripley. “Is that you?”
“No, sir.”
“Billy Jarvis is the other…victim.” Tippy trembled as she said it. “They brought Ian first. Billy should be arriving any moment.”
“Mr. Justyn is critical, ma’am. I need his next of kin’s consent to do surgery.”
“Ian doesn’t have any family, other than a ten year old boy.” Tippy squeaked. “He’s like a son to me, does that count?”
“It has to be a blood relative.”
Ripley stepped forward. “Any of us will take responsibility.”
“That’s not the point.” The doctor said.
“I don’t care what the point is. If Ian needs surgery, do it or you will personally answer to me.” Ripley growled.
“Well, I guess I could…”
“Now!” Ripley snapped.
“Yes, sir.” The doctor stepped back. “We’ll just deal with all the paperwork later.” He was gone in an instant.
“This is an ER, surely all that is taken in to account.” Tippy said.
“It’s also California, Tippy, the sue me capitol of the world.” Saxon put her arm around the woman.
A man in a security guard came over to them “Which one of you is the hired goon?”
“Guess.” Ripley puffed out his chest.
The man jerked his head towards the desk. “Follow me.”
“I’ll be right back.” Ripley told the ladies softly.
“Tippy, what exactly happened?” Saxon had to ask.
“Oh, honey. I’m not really sure. We were sitting by the pool over at our house, having a cup of tea and all of a sudden we heard shots, and glass breaking. We ran over to Ian’s as quick as we could. Billy was floating face down in the pool, Ian was on the ground covered in blood with a dead man laying across him and Kellen was standing there with a smoking gun in his hand.”
“Kellen?” Saxon helped Tippy sit down. “Kellen Jackson did this?”
Tippy shook her head. “No. He said he saw Ian and a man fighting, and then Billy joined in. Somehow they all fell over the balcony and before Kellen could do anything the man shot Billy.”
“He shot Billy?”
“Yes.” Tippy was almost breathless. “And Kellen fired at the man before he could shoot Ian. Kellen says the man was aiming for Ian’s head at almost point blank range.”
“But why?”
“Nobody knows.”
“Billy…is Billy alright?” Saxon asked, ashamed she hadn’t asked before.
“I think he will be.” Tippy said. “Colton and Jesse helped Reese pull him from the pool. They gave him mouth to mouth and Colton said it looked like he took the bullet in the shoulder. There was so much blood…”
Ripley came over and knealed before them. “Ladies, they’ve taken Ian to surgery. Someone will be over in a moment to take you up to a private waiting room on the surgical floor.”
“Do you know how he’s doing?” They both practically asked.
He put up his hand. “All I know is that they’ve rushed him to surgery, something about broken ribs puncturing his organs. Now, Mrs. Shores…”
“Tippy,” she tried to smile. “Call me Tippy, darlin’.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Ripley nodded. “I need a list of everyone that you called or might come to the hospital. No one gets in or around either Ian or anyone in the family without my say so.”
“Okay.”
“Now here’s my cell phone number. Let me have yours so we can stay in touch.” Ripley handed her a piece of paper.
“Yes, yes of course.” She gave him the number that he programmed immediately into his phone.
“Do not talk to anyone outside the family, but me.”
“What about the doctors?” Saxon asked.
“Check the I.D. of any medical personnel first.” He pointed to his chest. “They’ll all have little badges. Make a mental note of names and faces.”
Tippy nodded and began to make a list.
Vignette #142: Sucker Punch
It had come in a three fisted punch. He knew he was falling and for the first time in his life he didn’t care. It had happened so fast and so unexpectedly that he was still reeling. The speed at which it all took place was the sucker punch he never saw coming.
The cold zip of a body bag drew his attention. He couldn’t help but stiffen as the men picked up the body and placed it on another gurney. He watched it wheeled around the house out of sight. He shook his head. How many more body bags would he have to watch roll out of sight?
Reese Shores put his head in his hands and begged for it all to stop. He sat shivering in the cold night air, dressed in a towel on the steps of the balcony. Ralphie, wet and smelling like a dog sat quietly beside him, watching silently as men dressed in blue, men dressed in green and white and graying figures walked all around them.
It was a nightmare. The blood and the questions. The sirens and the questions. The needles and the wires. The condemning faces and the questions. The reporters trying to cross the police tape, the neighbors shouting what happened, and the questions.
Reese stared into the now pink water of the pool. How could something so wonderful turn so quickly into such a bloody mess? Would everything he touched always have such an unhappy ending?
“Thought you might could use these.” A disembodied hand shoved a bundle of clothes under his nose.
He looked up. “Thanks, Jess.”
His brother nodded as Reese stood and pulled on the sweat pants. He started to pull the tee over his head when he noticed the writing. He held it up for his brother to read, “It’s big and I’m not afraid to use it.”
“Sorry, dude. I just grabbed something from the drawer.” He apologized.
“Jerk.” Reese mumbled and put it on anyway. He sat back down beside Ralphie as he pulled on the sneakers. “Where’s Dad?”
“He found the cat, she tried to get in the ambulance with Ian. Dad took it over to the house.”
“Ronnie…oh God.” Reese started to panic. “Some one needs to tell Ronnie. He can’t just see this on the television.”
Jesse put his arm around his brother. “Calm down, we’ve already called Susan and Jeremy. They’re gonna go ahead and take him fishing at the crack of dawn, keep him away from anything and everything until we know something for sure.”
“But what if…” Reese started to ask.
“Don’t go there, Reese.” Jesse warned. “The little guy’s been through enough. Ian will pull through. There is no way God gave his son back to him just in time for…”
“Yeah…” Reese looked at the pool water again. “Mom?”
“Went in the ambulance with Ian. Dad and I will stay here until the police finish up. Are they through with you or do you have to go down to the station, too?”
“I have to go down in the morning and sign a statement.” Reese looked back at his brother. “I don’t understand why they carted Kellen off like that.”
“Dude, he’s a former cop. He fired a gun and killed somebody.”
“It was self defense.” Reese insisted.
“But you didn’t see the shots. The only people that did can’t verify it was self-defense. He’ll be cleared but until they get it all verified they’ll keep him in custody.”
The brothers were silent, watching the spectacle that had once been peace darting all around them.
“Reese,” Jesse finally asked. “What happened?”
Reese shook his head. “All I know is one minute it was heaven and the next bodies were falling out of the sky.”
“Man…”
“Been happening way too much for me.” Reese choked back the burning in his throat. “Afghanistan…Iraq…the funeral and now this.”
“None of that was your fault.”
“I know, bro, but how many times do I have to be in the right place at the wrong time?”
“Look, everything’s gonna work out. This will all be over with soon and things will get back to normal.”
Reese looked his brother in the eye. “Jesse, things are never going to be normal again.”
Jesse punched his brother as hard as he could in the shoulder. “Dammit, Reese, don’t you do that again! Don’t you go pulling yourself into that weird little ball. I swear Reese I will beat the ever living crap outta you.”
A man dressed in white and green came over to stand in front of them. “Which one of you is Reese?”
“I am.” Reece stood up.
The man read his tee shirt and smirked. “Figures.”
“I’m Reese Shores. Why?”
“He’s asking for you. Won’t let us take him to the hospital without you.”
Reece’s ears weren’t sure they heard correctly, “He’s awake?”
“And won’t talk to anyone but you…follow me.”
In a moment Reese was being helped into the back of an ambulance. The man got in behind him, shut the doors and banged on the windows, “Okay, let’s go…”
Reese lost his balance as the ambulance took off, siren beginning to blare. He looked at Billy, whiter than any human being should be, gauze stuffed into a hole in his shoulder, but smiling into his eyes.
“Reese…”
“Shhh…don’t talk. You’re going to be fine. We’re all gonna be fine.” Reese grabbed Billy’s hand.
“What a weekend…” Billy coughed.
“Yeah, this is one to talk about back home.”
“Reese…”
“Shh…be quiet now, just rest…”
“We’ve given him something for the pain. He’ll be out in a second.” An attendant said.
“No, no…” Billy struggled, “I gotta know…?”
“What? Billy, what?”
Billy’s eyes started to flutter, falling into the sedative drip. He slurred but Reese understood him fully, “Who the hell is Darla Hutton?”
The cold zip of a body bag drew his attention. He couldn’t help but stiffen as the men picked up the body and placed it on another gurney. He watched it wheeled around the house out of sight. He shook his head. How many more body bags would he have to watch roll out of sight?
Reese Shores put his head in his hands and begged for it all to stop. He sat shivering in the cold night air, dressed in a towel on the steps of the balcony. Ralphie, wet and smelling like a dog sat quietly beside him, watching silently as men dressed in blue, men dressed in green and white and graying figures walked all around them.
It was a nightmare. The blood and the questions. The sirens and the questions. The needles and the wires. The condemning faces and the questions. The reporters trying to cross the police tape, the neighbors shouting what happened, and the questions.
Reese stared into the now pink water of the pool. How could something so wonderful turn so quickly into such a bloody mess? Would everything he touched always have such an unhappy ending?
“Thought you might could use these.” A disembodied hand shoved a bundle of clothes under his nose.
He looked up. “Thanks, Jess.”
His brother nodded as Reese stood and pulled on the sweat pants. He started to pull the tee over his head when he noticed the writing. He held it up for his brother to read, “It’s big and I’m not afraid to use it.”
“Sorry, dude. I just grabbed something from the drawer.” He apologized.
“Jerk.” Reese mumbled and put it on anyway. He sat back down beside Ralphie as he pulled on the sneakers. “Where’s Dad?”
“He found the cat, she tried to get in the ambulance with Ian. Dad took it over to the house.”
“Ronnie…oh God.” Reese started to panic. “Some one needs to tell Ronnie. He can’t just see this on the television.”
Jesse put his arm around his brother. “Calm down, we’ve already called Susan and Jeremy. They’re gonna go ahead and take him fishing at the crack of dawn, keep him away from anything and everything until we know something for sure.”
“But what if…” Reese started to ask.
“Don’t go there, Reese.” Jesse warned. “The little guy’s been through enough. Ian will pull through. There is no way God gave his son back to him just in time for…”
“Yeah…” Reese looked at the pool water again. “Mom?”
“Went in the ambulance with Ian. Dad and I will stay here until the police finish up. Are they through with you or do you have to go down to the station, too?”
“I have to go down in the morning and sign a statement.” Reese looked back at his brother. “I don’t understand why they carted Kellen off like that.”
“Dude, he’s a former cop. He fired a gun and killed somebody.”
“It was self defense.” Reese insisted.
“But you didn’t see the shots. The only people that did can’t verify it was self-defense. He’ll be cleared but until they get it all verified they’ll keep him in custody.”
The brothers were silent, watching the spectacle that had once been peace darting all around them.
“Reese,” Jesse finally asked. “What happened?”
Reese shook his head. “All I know is one minute it was heaven and the next bodies were falling out of the sky.”
“Man…”
“Been happening way too much for me.” Reese choked back the burning in his throat. “Afghanistan…Iraq…the funeral and now this.”
“None of that was your fault.”
“I know, bro, but how many times do I have to be in the right place at the wrong time?”
“Look, everything’s gonna work out. This will all be over with soon and things will get back to normal.”
Reese looked his brother in the eye. “Jesse, things are never going to be normal again.”
Jesse punched his brother as hard as he could in the shoulder. “Dammit, Reese, don’t you do that again! Don’t you go pulling yourself into that weird little ball. I swear Reese I will beat the ever living crap outta you.”
A man dressed in white and green came over to stand in front of them. “Which one of you is Reese?”
“I am.” Reece stood up.
The man read his tee shirt and smirked. “Figures.”
“I’m Reese Shores. Why?”
“He’s asking for you. Won’t let us take him to the hospital without you.”
Reece’s ears weren’t sure they heard correctly, “He’s awake?”
“And won’t talk to anyone but you…follow me.”
In a moment Reese was being helped into the back of an ambulance. The man got in behind him, shut the doors and banged on the windows, “Okay, let’s go…”
Reese lost his balance as the ambulance took off, siren beginning to blare. He looked at Billy, whiter than any human being should be, gauze stuffed into a hole in his shoulder, but smiling into his eyes.
“Reese…”
“Shhh…don’t talk. You’re going to be fine. We’re all gonna be fine.” Reese grabbed Billy’s hand.
“What a weekend…” Billy coughed.
“Yeah, this is one to talk about back home.”
“Reese…”
“Shh…be quiet now, just rest…”
“We’ve given him something for the pain. He’ll be out in a second.” An attendant said.
“No, no…” Billy struggled, “I gotta know…?”
“What? Billy, what?”
Billy’s eyes started to flutter, falling into the sedative drip. He slurred but Reese understood him fully, “Who the hell is Darla Hutton?”
Vignette #141: Nobody Remembers
David Turner sat stunned in his penthouse suite. The cat purred quietly in his lap as he stroked it, closing its eyes in contentment.
The old man stared at the phone. He was torn. Should he go? Should he stay? He wished he could say that it was the first time in his life that his heart was crushed and he didn’t know what to do next. He closed his eyes and prayed silently, “Please God let this be the last.”
He remembered sitting in a hospital room once before thinking that it had all come tumbling down. He remembered staring at the body in the bed and being more paralyzed than the man hooked up to all the wires and tubes. It was the end of it all, and he knew it.
But something else happened. Someone else came along with a lifeline. He feared it. He was so ready for it all to be over, no matter what the consequences. What did happen? What was it that spared him the shame and kept the ball rolling?
“Oh yes…yes.” He said out loud.
The room had very little light. It must have been about this same time of night. David was so much younger then, and so much more worried about the consequences. The accident had been bad enough, but this? How did this happen?
He looked at the once handsome man in the bed, the one now with a face stitched back together like an old quilt. They could fix most of it eventually, but he’d never be the same, look the same. They could afford the best. Things had paid off. They had the money, plenty of money. Now they just didn’t have the handsome leading man.
The man would live, but they both knew his fate. He didn’t say much; too much pain, too much in mourning for what was lost. The doctors could fix him, but who was going to fix them?
He had to tell him. David had no choice. He had to know. The man’s face was gone, and now he had to be told his wife was gone as well.
The patient moaned. It was almost as if he could read his mind. David smiled bitterly. It had always been like that. It’s what had made them the perfect team. If they could just figure out what to do next, maybe they still could be. Without her was it even possible?
David hadn’t heard the other man come in the room. He barely remembered a small light flooding the gray and then going dark again. He felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Dave?”
It took a moment for his eyes to adjust and focus. David hoped the man could see his weak smile in the dark.
“How’s he doing?” He asked.
David just nodded his head.
“Does he know?”
Turner sighed. “About her?” The following silence answered both their questions.
“I almost didn’t find him. You weren’t in your room and I knew good and well he wasn’t using his real name. Then I remembered…Ernie Newcastle.”
“What better way to hide than to use your real name, the one nobody remembers or even knew.”
“Lucille knew all the tricks.”
David whipped his head around and stared him down in the dark. “Shhh!”
“You’re right.” David felt the apologetic pat on his shoulder. “Let’s step back to your room, where we can talk without disturbing him.”
David made sure the bedclothes were snug and pulled tight before they left and walked in silence to the nicer end of the hospital.
“They’re releasing me tomorrow.” David said as they shut his door.
“You should have been released a week ago.”
“Without Lucille here to make sure I stayed…”
The man shook his head. “I don’t understand. Why would she do something like this?”
David sighed and thumped down on the bed. “Jamey and I always used to joke ‘Whose wife is crazier’. I always thought it was mine hands down, turns out it was his.”
“Are you sure that body is Lucille’s?”
“I’d give anything right now if it wasn’t. If it was my wife, I’d know that everything was under control.”
“You have no doubt?”
“There will always be doubt.” David looked up. “I had to do the I.D. There was no way to tell from the body, but the jewelry. The jewelry was hers, almost all of it.”
“All of it?”
“It was like she snapped, covered her self in every ring and necklace she ever owned, set fire to the house and then hung herself as the place burned down around her.” David looked at the floor. “It was her body, but the actions? That definitely wasn’t Lucille.”
The man sat down beside David on the bed. “And your wife?”
“Haven’t seen or heard from her, not since the phone call. Lucille said was handling it. She always took care of the messy stuff.” David stood up and walked to the window, staring out into the dark. “Somewhere out there is my lunatic wife and my baby boy.”
“Maybe once she hears about Lucille she’ll come back.”
Turner almost laughed. “Not a chance. She wasn’t nearly as crazy as we thought. She’s gone, and no one’s going to find her.”
“We’ll find her.” He stood and walked over to where his friend forlornly gazed out the window. “I promise you David, some day, some how. We’ll find her.”
David turned around to face him. “It’s too late, the game’s over. This is the end. Without Lucille, the jig is up.”
His friend nodded and walked to a chair in the corner. He started to sit, but froze. He put his fingers to his lips and stood up. “Maybe.”
“Maybe?” David scoffed. “Lucille knew it was over. She took the chicken’s way out and left Jamey and I holding the bag.”
“Of course she knew, but you know as well as I do that Lucille would never take the easy way out.” He began to pace the room. “She never did anything, anything, unless it was the means to an end.”
“End is right.” David snorted.
“No.” Herman Elysian smiled. “Every end leads to a beginning, my friend. I’ve got an idea…”
The old man stared at the phone. He was torn. Should he go? Should he stay? He wished he could say that it was the first time in his life that his heart was crushed and he didn’t know what to do next. He closed his eyes and prayed silently, “Please God let this be the last.”
He remembered sitting in a hospital room once before thinking that it had all come tumbling down. He remembered staring at the body in the bed and being more paralyzed than the man hooked up to all the wires and tubes. It was the end of it all, and he knew it.
But something else happened. Someone else came along with a lifeline. He feared it. He was so ready for it all to be over, no matter what the consequences. What did happen? What was it that spared him the shame and kept the ball rolling?
“Oh yes…yes.” He said out loud.
The room had very little light. It must have been about this same time of night. David was so much younger then, and so much more worried about the consequences. The accident had been bad enough, but this? How did this happen?
He looked at the once handsome man in the bed, the one now with a face stitched back together like an old quilt. They could fix most of it eventually, but he’d never be the same, look the same. They could afford the best. Things had paid off. They had the money, plenty of money. Now they just didn’t have the handsome leading man.
The man would live, but they both knew his fate. He didn’t say much; too much pain, too much in mourning for what was lost. The doctors could fix him, but who was going to fix them?
He had to tell him. David had no choice. He had to know. The man’s face was gone, and now he had to be told his wife was gone as well.
The patient moaned. It was almost as if he could read his mind. David smiled bitterly. It had always been like that. It’s what had made them the perfect team. If they could just figure out what to do next, maybe they still could be. Without her was it even possible?
David hadn’t heard the other man come in the room. He barely remembered a small light flooding the gray and then going dark again. He felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Dave?”
It took a moment for his eyes to adjust and focus. David hoped the man could see his weak smile in the dark.
“How’s he doing?” He asked.
David just nodded his head.
“Does he know?”
Turner sighed. “About her?” The following silence answered both their questions.
“I almost didn’t find him. You weren’t in your room and I knew good and well he wasn’t using his real name. Then I remembered…Ernie Newcastle.”
“What better way to hide than to use your real name, the one nobody remembers or even knew.”
“Lucille knew all the tricks.”
David whipped his head around and stared him down in the dark. “Shhh!”
“You’re right.” David felt the apologetic pat on his shoulder. “Let’s step back to your room, where we can talk without disturbing him.”
David made sure the bedclothes were snug and pulled tight before they left and walked in silence to the nicer end of the hospital.
“They’re releasing me tomorrow.” David said as they shut his door.
“You should have been released a week ago.”
“Without Lucille here to make sure I stayed…”
The man shook his head. “I don’t understand. Why would she do something like this?”
David sighed and thumped down on the bed. “Jamey and I always used to joke ‘Whose wife is crazier’. I always thought it was mine hands down, turns out it was his.”
“Are you sure that body is Lucille’s?”
“I’d give anything right now if it wasn’t. If it was my wife, I’d know that everything was under control.”
“You have no doubt?”
“There will always be doubt.” David looked up. “I had to do the I.D. There was no way to tell from the body, but the jewelry. The jewelry was hers, almost all of it.”
“All of it?”
“It was like she snapped, covered her self in every ring and necklace she ever owned, set fire to the house and then hung herself as the place burned down around her.” David looked at the floor. “It was her body, but the actions? That definitely wasn’t Lucille.”
The man sat down beside David on the bed. “And your wife?”
“Haven’t seen or heard from her, not since the phone call. Lucille said was handling it. She always took care of the messy stuff.” David stood up and walked to the window, staring out into the dark. “Somewhere out there is my lunatic wife and my baby boy.”
“Maybe once she hears about Lucille she’ll come back.”
Turner almost laughed. “Not a chance. She wasn’t nearly as crazy as we thought. She’s gone, and no one’s going to find her.”
“We’ll find her.” He stood and walked over to where his friend forlornly gazed out the window. “I promise you David, some day, some how. We’ll find her.”
David turned around to face him. “It’s too late, the game’s over. This is the end. Without Lucille, the jig is up.”
His friend nodded and walked to a chair in the corner. He started to sit, but froze. He put his fingers to his lips and stood up. “Maybe.”
“Maybe?” David scoffed. “Lucille knew it was over. She took the chicken’s way out and left Jamey and I holding the bag.”
“Of course she knew, but you know as well as I do that Lucille would never take the easy way out.” He began to pace the room. “She never did anything, anything, unless it was the means to an end.”
“End is right.” David snorted.
“No.” Herman Elysian smiled. “Every end leads to a beginning, my friend. I’ve got an idea…”
Friday, January 14, 2011
Chapter 27: Body Bags
Book Two: Yesterday Echoes
David Turner sat stunned in his penthouse suite. The cat purred quietly in his lap as he stroked it, closing its eyes in contentment.
The old man stared at the phone. He was torn. Should he go? Should he stay? He wished he could say that it was the first time in his life that his heart had been crushed and he just didn’t know what to do next. He closed his eyes and prayed silently to “Please God let this be the last.”
He remembered sitting in a hospital room once before thinking that it had all come tumbling down. He remembered staring at the body in the bed and being more paralyzed than the man hooked up to all the wires and tubes. It was the end of it all, and he knew it.
But something else happened. Someone else came along with a lifeline. He feared it. He was so ready for it all to be over, no matter what the consequences. What did happen? What was it that spared him the shame and kept the ball rolling?
“Oh yes…yes.” He said out loud.
The room had very little light. It must have been about this same time of night. David was so much younger then, and so much more worried about the consequences. The accident had been bad enough, but this? How did this happen?
He looked at the once handsome man in the bed, the one now with a face stitched back together like an old quilt. They could fix most of it eventually, but he’d never be the same, look the same. They could afford the best. Things had paid off. They had the money, plenty of money. Now they just didn’t have the handsome leading man. They didn't have anything anymore.
The man would live, but they both knew his fate. He didn’t say much; too much pain, too much in mourning for what was lost. The doctors could fix him, but who would to fix them?
He had to tell him. David had no choice. He had to know. The man’s face was gone, and now he had to be told his wife was gone as well.
The patient moaned. It was almost as if he could read his mind. David smiled bitterly. It had always been like that. It’s what had made them the perfect team. If they could just figure out what to do next, maybe they still could be. Without her was it even possible?
David hadn’t heard the other man come in the room. He barely remembered a small light flooding the gray and then going dark again. He felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Dave?”
It took a moment for his eyes to adjust and focus. David hoped the man could see his weak smile in the dark.
“How’s he doing?” He asked.
David just nodded his head.
“Does he know?”
Turner sighed. “About her?” The following silence answered both their questions.
“I almost didn’t find him. You weren’t in your room and I knew good and well he wasn’t using his real name. Then I remembered…Ernie Newcastle.”
“What better way to hide than to use the name nobody remembers or even knows.”
“Lucille knew all the tricks.”
David whipped his head around and stared him down in the dark. “Shhh!”
“You’re right.” David felt the apologetic pat on his shoulder. “Let’s step back to your room, where we can talk without disturbing him.”
David made sure the bedclothes were snug and pulled tight before they left and walked in silence to the nicer end of the hospital.
“They’re releasing me tomorrow.” David said as they shut his door.
“You should have been released a week ago.”
“Without Lucille here to make sure I stayed…”
The man shook his head. “I don’t understand. Why would she do something like this?”
David sighed and thumped down on the bed. “Jamey and I always used to joke about ‘Whose wife is crazier’. I always thought it was mine hands down, turns out it was his.”
“Are you sure that body is Lucille’s?”
“I’d give anything right now if it wasn’t. If it was my wife, I’d know that everything was under control.”
“You have no doubt?”
“There will always be doubt.” David looked up. “They made me identify her. There was no way to tell from the body, but the jewelry. The jewelry was hers, almost all of it.”
“All of it?”
“It was like she snapped, covered her self in every ring and necklace she ever owned, set fire to the house and then hung herself as the place burned down around her.” David looked at the floor. “It was her body, but the actions? That definitely wasn’t Lucille.”
The man sat down beside David on the bed. “And your wife?”
“Haven’t seen or heard from her, not since the phone call. Lucille said she was handling it. She always took care of the messy stuff.” David stood up and walked to the window, staring out into the dark. “Somewhere out there is my lunatic wife and my baby boy.”
“Maybe once she hears about Lucille she’ll come back.”
Turner almost laughed. “Not a chance. She wasn’t nearly as crazy as we thought. She’s gone, and no one’s going to find her.”
“We’ll find her.” He stood and walked over to where he’s friend forlornly gazed out the window. “I promise you David, some day, some how. We’ll find her.”
David turned around to face him. “It’s too late, the game’s over. This is the end. Without Lucille, the jig is up.”
His friend nodded and walked to a chair in the corner. He started to sit, but froze. He put his fingers to his lips and stood up. “Maybe.”
“Maybe?” David scoffed. “Lucille knew it was over. She took the chicken’s way out and left Jamey and I holding the bag.”
“Of course she knew, but you know as well as I do that Lucille would never take the easy way out.” He began to pace the room. “She never did anything, anything, unless it was the means to an end.”
“End is right.” David snorted.
“No.” Herman Elysian smiled. “Every end leads to a beginning, my friend. I’ve got an idea…”
It had come in a three fisted punch. He knew he was falling and for the first time in his life he didn’t care. It had happened so fast and so unexpectedly he was still reeling. The speed at which it all took place was the sucker punch he never saw coming.
The cold zip of a body bag drew his attention. He couldn’t help but stiffen up as the men picked up the body and placed it on another gurney. He watched it wheeled around the house out of sight. He shook his head. How many more body bags would he have to watch roll out of sight?
Reese Shores put his head in his hands and begged for it all to stop. He sat shivering in the cold night air, dressed in a towel on the steps of the balcony. Ralphie, wet and smelling like a dog sat quietly beside him, watching silently as men dressed in blue, men dressed in green and white and graying figures walked all around them.
It was a nightmare. The blood and the questions. The sirens and the questions. The needles and the wires. The condemning faces and the questions. The reporters trying to cross the police tape, the neighbors shouting what happened, and the questions.
Reese stared into the now pink water of the pool. How could something so wonderful turn so quickly into such a bloody mess? Would everything he touched always have such an unhappy ending?
“Thought you might could use these.” A disembodied hand shoved a bundle of clothes under his nose.
He looked up. “Thanks, Jess.”
His brother nodded as Reese stood and pulled on the sweat pants. He started to pull the tee over his head when he noticed the writing. He held it up for his brother to read, “It’s big and I’m not afraid to use it.”
“Sorry, dude. I just grabbed something from the drawer.” He apologized.
“Jerk.” Reese mumbled and put it on anyway. He sat back down beside Ralphie as he pulled on the sneakers. “Where’s Dad?”
“He found the cat, she tried to get in the ambulance with Ian. Dad took it over to the house.”
“Ronnie…oh God.” Reese started to panic. “Some one needs to tell Ronnie. He can’t just see this on the television.”
Jesse put his arm around his brother. “Calm down, we’ve already called Susan and Jeremy. They’re gonna go ahead and take him fishing at the crack of dawn, keep him away from anything and everything until we know something for sure.”
“But what if…” Reese started to ask.
“Don’t go there, Reese.” Jesse warned. “The little guy’s been through enough. Ian will pull through. There is no way God gave his son back to him just in time for…”
“Yeah…” Reese looked at the pool water again. “Mom?”
“Went in the ambulance with Ian. Dad and I will stay here until the police finish up. Are they through with you or do you have to go down to the station, too?”
“I have to go down in the morning and sign a statement.” Reese looked back at his brother. “I don’t understand why they carted Kellen off like that.”
“Dude, he’s a former cop. He fired a gun and killed somebody.”
“It was self defense.” Reese insisted.
“But you didn’t see the shots. The only one’s that did can’t verify it was self-defense. He’ll be cleared but until they get it all verified they’ll keep him in custody.”
The brothers were silent, watching the spectacle that had once been peace darting all around them.
“Reese?” Jesse finally asked. “What happened?”
Reese shook his head. “All I know is one minute it was heaven and the next bodies were falling out of the sky.”
“Man…”
“Been happening way too much for me.” Reese choked back the burning in his throat. “Afghanistan…Iraq…the funeral and now this.”
“None of that was your fault.”
“I know, bro, but how many times do I have to be in the right place at the wrong time?”
“Look, everything’s gonna work out. This will all be over with soon and things will get back to normal.”
Reese looked his brother in the eye. “Jesse, things are never going to be normal again.”
Jesse punched his brother as hard as he could in the shoulder. “Dammit, Reese, don’t you do that again! Don’t you go pulling yourself into that weird little ball. I swear Reese I will beat the ever living crap outta you.”
A man dressed in white and green came over to stand in front of them. “Which one of you is Reese?”
“I am.” Reese stood up.
The man read his tee shirt and smirked. “Figures.”
“I’m Reese Shores. Why?”
“He’s asking for you. Won’t let us take him to the hospital without you.”
Reece’s ears weren’t sure they heard correctly, “He’s awake?”
“And won’t talk to anyone but you…follow me.”
In a moment Reese was being helped into the back of an ambulance. The man got in behind him,shut the doors and banged on the windows, “Okay, let’s go…”
Reese lost his balance as the ambulance took off, siren beginning to blare. He looked at Billy, whiter than any human being should be, gauze stuffed into a hole in his shoulder, but smiling into his eyes.
“Reese…”
“Shhh…don’t talk. You’re going to be fine. We’re all gonna be fine.” Reese grabbed Billy’s hand.
“What a weekend…” Billy coughed.
“Yeah, this is one to talk about back home.”
“Reese…”
“Shh…be quiet now, just rest…”
“We’ve given him something for the pain. He’ll be out in a second.” An attendant said.
“No, no…” Billy struggled, “I gotta know…?”
“What? Billy, what?”
Billy’s eyes started to flutter, falling into the sedative drip. He slurred but Reese understood him fully, “Who the hell is Darla Hutton?”
She wished she had brought the baseball bat after all. No one seemed to recognize her, and no one cared. It had taken her an hour to just get from the parking lot to the Emergency Room entrance itself.
Fortunately the one person who did recognize her was that bulldozer of a guy from “Open Fields”. He stood in front of her and pushed through to the doors. Cops were lined across the entrance arm in arm to keep the pandemonium from breaking inside.
“No one gets through.” The cop stared down the bulldozer. The bulldozer huffed. “Sorry.”
She peered around him and pulled down the dark glasses, showing off her red, bloodshot eyes. The cop recognized her. It took him a second but he put two and two together. She heard him say clearly but softly. “Let her through.”
A small opening was made. She felt herself being shoved toward it. She grabbed the bulldozer’s hand. “Him, too.”
“Just you ma’am.” The cop said.
“He’s my brother.” She lied. “We’re like his family.”
The cop took a deep breath. “Fine.”
“Thank you.” They popped through the line of cops and found themselves standing inside in ER.
“You didn’t have to do that, Ms. Allen.” The bulldozer said.
“I’d still be in the parking lot if it weren’t for you.” She said. “I know you…from…”
“Yes, ma’am. Ripley, Ripley Gunther.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I got a call from Jeremy Tyson.” He said. “He told me what happened.”
“Ronnie.” Saxon blurted out. “Have they told Ronnie?”
Ripley shook his head. “No ma’am. They won’t say anything, sticking with the plan.”
“What plan?”
“At sun up, Mr. Tyson gets the boys on a boat away from everything. As soon as they know something definite they’ll come to shore.”
“He’s been through so much.” Saxon looked around to see if she could get some information.
“They’re worried ma’am. Kellen’s downtown, they asked me to keep Mr. Justyn safe.”
“Safe?”
“Some one tried to kill him, ma’am. I’m to stay as close as possible until we know what happened.”
Saxon nodded her head. A nurse came up to them. “Miss Allen, come this way.” The duo started to follow, but the nurse stopped. “Not him.”
“He’s Ian’s bodyguard.” Saxon insisted.
The nurse looked Ripley up and down. “Not doin’ a very good job so far.”
“I was on a coffee break.” He sneared. “It won’t happen again.”
“Whatever.” She turned and headed into the ER. “Follow me.”
They were ushered through a maze of doors and hallways. Finally Saxon heard her name called.
“Tippy?” She said softly as the women embraced. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, honey, I don’t know.” She dabbed her eyes with Kleenex. “He’s alive or was before they left me alone in the ambulance and took off with him.”
Saxon grabbed Tippy’s hand. “Tippy this is Ripley. Jeremy called him, to keep an eye on things.”
“Oh thanks, honey.” Tippy took Ripley’s hand and squeezed it.
“Mr. Tyson said to tell you the boys are asleep.”
She nodded. “I just talked to Susan. She said Jeremy was trying to get hold of somebody. Glad you came.”
“Mr. Justyn is a nice man.” Ripley smiled. “I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
“Oh God…” Tippy plopped in a chair. “I don’t even want to think about that. Why would anyone do this?”
“Excuse me…” a man in scrubs holding a clipboard said. “I’m looking for Ian Justyn’s family.”
Tippy stood and grabbed Saxon’s hand. “We’re his family.”
He looked at the paperwork. “Mr. Justyn’s insurance lists a William Jarvis as next of kin.” He looked up at Ripley. “Is that you?”
“No, sir.”
“Billy Jarvis is the other…victim.” Tippy trembled as she said it. “They brought Ian first. Billy should be arriving any moment.”
“Mr. Justyn is critical, ma’am. I need his next of kin’s consent to do surgery.”
“Ian doesn’t have any family, other than a ten year old son.” Tippy squeaked. “He’s like a son to me, does that count?”
“It has to be a blood relative.”
Ripley stepped forward. “Any of us will take responsibility.”
“That’s not the point.” The doctor said.
“I don’t care what the point is. If Ian needs surgery, do it or you will personally answer to me.” Ripley growled.
“Well, I guess I could…”
“Now!” Ripley snapped.
“Yes, sir.” The doctor stepped back. “We’ll just deal with all the paperwork later.” He was gone in an instant.
“This is an ER, surely all that is taken in to account.” Tippy said.
“It’s also California, Tippy, the sue me capitol of the world.” Saxon put her arm around the woman.
A man in a security guard came over to them “Which one of you is the hired goon?”
“Guess.” Ripley puffed out his chest.
The man jerked his head towards the desk. “Follow me.”
“I’ll be right back.” Ripley told the ladies softly.
“Tippy, what exactly happened?” Saxon had to ask.
“Oh, honey. I’m not really sure. We were sitting by the pool over at our house, having a cup of tea and all of a sudden we heard shots, and glass breaking. We ran over to Ian’s as quick as we could. Billy was floating face down in the pool, Ian was covered in blood with a dead man laying across him and Kellen was standing there with a gun in his hand.”
“Kellen?” Saxon helped Tippy sit down. “Kellen Jackson did this?”
Tippy shook her head. “No. He said he saw Ian and a man fighting, and then Billy joined in, and somehow they all fell over the balcony and before Kellen could do anything the man shot Billy.”
“He shot Billy?”
“Yes.” Tippy was almost breathless. “And Kellen fired at the man before he could shoot Ian. Kellen says the man was aiming for Ian’s head at almost point blank range.”
“But why?”
“Nobody knows.”
“Billy…is Billy alright?” Saxon asked, ashamed she hadn’t asked before.
“I think he will be.” Tippy said. “Colton and Jesse helped Reese pull him from the pool. They gave him mouth to mouth and Colton said it looked like he took the bullet in the shoulder. There was so much blood…”
Ripley came over and knealed before them. “Ladies, they’ve taken Ian to surgery. Someone will be over in a moment to take you up to a private waiting room on the surgical floor.”
“Do you know how he’s doing?” They both practically asked.
He put up his hand. “All I know is that they’ve rushed him to surgery, something about broken ribs puncturing his organs. Now, Mrs. Shores….”
“Tippy,” she tried to smile. “Call me Tippy, darlin’.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Ripley nodded. “I need a list of everyone that you called or might come to the hospital. No one gets in or around either Ian or anyone in the family without my say so.”
“Okay.”
“Now here’s my cell phone number. Let me have yours so we can stay in touch.” Ripley handed her a piece of paper.
“Yes, yes of course.” She gave him the number that he programmed immediately into his phone.
“Do not talk to anyone outside the family, but me.”
“What about the doctors?” Saxon asked.
“Check their I.D. of any medical personnel first.” He pointed to his chest. “They’ll all have little badges. Make a mental note of names and faces.”
Tippy nodded and began to make a list.
“Can you tell me if anything in the house is missing?” An officer asked.
Colton and Jesse looked at each other. “Maybe, Ian was pretty systematic. We could tell you if something was out of place.” Colton finally said.
“If that’s the best you can do.” The man said.
“Neither of us lived here officer, but we’ve been around enough to know about the basics.” Jesse wanted to deck the guy for his attitude alone.
“Let’s start with the first floor.” Two officers led the father and son on a meticulous search of the house. The first floor looked as always expected, nothing out of place and not a speck of dust. You couldn’t have guessed there was a party earlier that day, let alone an event that left one dead so far.
Colton walked past Jesse on the stairway landing. As he past, Jesse touched his father’s shoulder. “Does something look different about this painting to you?”
He stepped to the swirls of color, examining it closely. “No.”
Jesse cocked his head. “Are you sure? Something about it just looks odd to me.” He reached to touch it.
“Don’t touch anything!” The cop standing with them bellowed. Jesse snatched his hand back quickly. “You say there’s something odd about it, other than the fact that it’s ugly?”
The officer was given a dirty look in reply. “It’s not worth a fortune Detective, but its worth more donuts than you’ll eat in a year.” Jesse told him.
“I hate donuts.” The man said.
“Yeah, right.” Jesse started to move on after directing the comment toward the man’s waist.
“Wait, son.” Colton stopped him. “What’s odd about it?”
Jesse shrugged. “I don’t know. Something about the light, it just seems different.”
“Looks the same to me.” His father said.
“Could just be I’ve never noticed it with the bright lights coming from upstairs. Ian usually just has the landing lights on.”
“Now that we’ve discussed the gallery display can we move upstairs, please?” The detective moaned.
“Sorry.” Jesse looked at the man. “What did you say your name was again?”
“Balouche.” The man rolled his eyes and grunted.
“I apologize Detective Balouche, but two good friends and my brother were almost murdered in this house tonight. I thought you wanted to know every detail we could come up with.” Jesse looked him in the eyes.
“You watch too much television kid. I doubt light refraction on a really bad paint by number will tell us why a man was shot to death trying to rip the place off.”
“What if this turns out to be what he was after?” Colton asked.
Balouche looked at him. “Unless he changed the position of a light bulb, it sounds like the painting itself hasn’t been touched.”
“Fine.” Jesse stomped up the remaining stairs, Colton and Balouche closely behind.
Balouche took a step in front of them. “Do not touch anything.” He reminded. “The forensics team is still working. Don’t even step on the broken glass. Try to just look around and see if anything's missing.”
“This is the only room you know for sure the guy was in?” Colton asked.
“According to the statement from Kellen Jackson. He saw the man now identified as Blue Richards step out of the closet over there and fire at Justyn from about here. He said Justyn walked over to the glass and waved at him. He saw the perp step from the closet toward the door there, then turn around aim and fire.”
“Can we look in the closet?” Jesse asked.
The detective shrugged. “Just don’t…”
“…touch anything…got it.” Jesse said taking a precarious step toward the open closet door. He turned to his father. “Dad?”
“Something missing?” Balouche asked, hopefully.
Colton turned his head from the position he had taken behind Jesse. “Not missing, but definitely askew.”
Balouche pushed the men aside and looked in the closet, eyes scanning top to bottom. He saw a walk in closet that looked like it had just been cleaned and straightened. He turned to the men. “Blue Richards cleaned the man’s closet then tried to kill him?”
Jesse smiled. “No but it’s definitely been rifled through.” Colton nodded his head.
“You’re kidding?” Balouche said.
Colton pointed to a bureau drawer. “Detective, open that drawer.”
“Why?”
“Just open it. It will prove a point.”
He shook his head, grabbed a pen out of his pocket and slowly pulled a drawer open in the chest. The contents of the drawer were perfect; every sock, every pair of underwear was folded as though still on the store shelf and fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Balouche whistled and slid the drawer shut with the pen.
Walking back to the closet, he scanned it again nodding his head. Boxes were piled neatly, but not perfectly. Clothes were hung but not even, and the shoes were matched but looked like they’d just been tossed side by side in a line.
Balouche turned to the men working in the bedroom. “Dust everything in that closet for prints, and I mean everything.”
“Especially that.” Jesse pointed.
He got the man’s attention. “What is it?”
“A jewelry box that belonged to Ian’s Aunt.” Colton said.
“Her jewels were in there?” Balouche’s ears perked up.
Colton laughed. “Nothing expensive. She was an old black woman who raised him. She passed away. I don’t know what the man would want in there, but he definitely went through it.”
“I’d say it was what he was going through just before he realized Ian was home.” Jesse added.
“Why?” Balouche got out his notebook.
“Look at it.” Jesse said. “There’s stuff sticking out of it, and it’s not anywhere near Ian put it.”
“You’re sure?”
“I watched Ian take it down before he went out.” Jesse recalled. “He got something out of it that he wanted to give to Saxon…”
“Saxon Allen?” Balouche clarified.
“Yeah. They went bowling this evening. He told me there was something he wanted her to have.”
“And he got it out of that box?”
“Yes. He took it off the top rack there, put it on the bed, got what he wanted and I put it back for him.” Jesse pointed to the rack above the suits. “See there’s the place where it fits exactly.”
“Have you boys taken shots of the closet?” Balouche asked one of the men. When the man confirmed. “Can we take this box out and examine the contents then?”
When the man nodded, Balouche put on some gloves he was handed. He carefully stepped in the closet and lifted the box taking it over to the bed and opening the lid. “Can you tell me if you notice anything missing?”
Jesse peered into the top. “He didn’t open the top. There’s a little compartment to the back. Push the back of it toward the bottom…” He instructed.
Balouche fumbled a minute, but finally a little bottom panel slid open.
“There. Ian got something wrapped in tissue paper from there. He said his Aunt Hil put it there years ago. He remembered just as he was leaving. He was excited it was still there.”
“It’s empty.” Balouche turned to him. “Must have been all that was in there.”
“No.” Jesse was sure. “I personally picked up some envelopes that were in there. I remember the look on his face. He turned to me and smiled, but Saxon was waiting on him downstairs. He went running and I put everything back for him.”
“You’re positive he put them back in this cubby hole?” Balouche asked.
“No, detective, I’m positive I put them back and shut the drawer myself. Then I put the whole box back on the rack exactly where it goes.”
“Any idea what was in the envelopes?”
“No. Just that Ian was excited about finding the little gift for Saxon that was in there. He said it was something he gave to his Aunt for safe keeping years ago.”
Colton looked at his son. “Detective, do you think this could be connected with what happened in Lost Mountain?”
“Lost Mountain?” Balouche said. “What happened in Lost Mountain?”
“I’m sorry to just leave a message like this, but I guess you heard what happened, and I just don’t think I’ll be in for a few days.” She said into the phone. “He didn’t have any family, so I’ve got to make all the arrangements. Thanks…Bye.”
She hit the end button and bit her lip. “This is a nightmare,” Was all she said out loud. She took a deep breath. She hating piling lies on top of lies, but at this point she had to buy time to save herself.
Looking around her apartment one last time, she threw the duffle bag over her shoulder. She opened her oversized purse and swept the contents of the table in, saving one envelope.
She shook it. “Please, please let this be the right place.” And then stuffed it into her purse with the others.
The police had already been there once. She was shocked to tears but Blue had already warned her. She begged him not to do anything stupid, but he’d gotten himself killed anyway.
He was stupid enough not to know he was being used by them and her. How could she be all that surprised he’d gotten himself killed? Too bad, she really, really liked him.
It might take them awhile to make the connection, but they didn’t know for sure that she knew anything. Unfortunately, she knew all they had to do was connect one dot and she’d be next on their list. The second ‘visit’ from the cops would be her last.
Ella turned off the lights in the apartment and peered out the window to the street below. There was only one place she could go. Hopefully she could get there and stay alive long enough to do the work she was hired to do.
They’d all stumbled into this mess blindly, both sides. She was just supposed to be on the sidelines. It got out of hand. Now there were too many directions she could go with what she knew.
One direction could make her a hero. One direction could make her rich. One direction could make her another one of the corpses that seemed to be piling up. Right now, the direction she wanted to go in would avoid that last one.
She quietly slipped out of her apartment and down the hallway. Looking both ways, she tried to look like she was only strolling along just in case some one was watching. She heard the plunk go down the mail shoot.
“One piece down.” She said in her head.
Hopefully, that would go to the right place and be found in enough time for her to get out of this mess. All she had to do is get all the puzzle pieces in one place. She just had to stay alive until she got them all, until then she would look like one of the bad guys.
She wasn’t, but no one knew that. Okay, so she wasn’t an innocent bystander but sometimes it takes a few crunches to get to the gooey chocolate center. Ella was pretty sure she’d gotten to the center, and she was pretty sure that no one else knew what it was.
It was a simple complicated scam. They thought they were going to take the money and run, leaving a couple of idiots behind with dirty fingers. She’d gotten out of the business, but she’d been trained too well. She had kept quiet and watched from the sidelines and this was one of those cases that took someone from the sidelines to put the puzzle together.
Damn but she was the cat, and it looked like curiosity was going to kill her after all. She should have made the phone call earlier. That’s all she would have had to do, but no she wanted to have it all but wrapped up first. Damn her ego and pride.
The cab pulled up. She stepped out of the shadows in the street and slipped in. Handing the cabbie a fifty and a sheet of paper. “There’s another fifty if you take me to that address and say you took me somewhere else, if you have to say anything at all.”
The man smiled. “For a hundred bucks, lady, you’re a drunk dude who stiffed me.” He turned the meter off and pulled away from the curb.
Ella smiled and sat back in the seat, scrunching down to make it hard to see her from the windows. She ran down what she had to get accomplished in her head as they drove. She knew it wasn’t safe for her to be out in the open. She had no desire to end up like Bambi, Max and Blue.
Bambi and Max were clueless. Bambi had no idea she could identify Bruno. Max was just dumb enough to be seen talking to Ian. Poor Blue, he probably would have been around awhile longer, but he was a dumb pretty boy, unfortunately heavy on the dumb part.
Well, he was dumb enough to fall for her and smart enough to tell her everything. He wasn’t supposed to do that, and they didn’t know he had. Ella wasn’t even sure Blue was smart enough to know she had figured out what was up. She was too good at what she did.
She was also smart enough to know that Bruno and partner weren’t about to leave a loose end. Ella knew that if nothing else, she was a loose end like Bambi, especially now that Blue had gotten himself killed. Maybe the smart thing for her do to was stay put, but she failed Sitting Duck 101.
The cab pulled up to the bus station. Ella slipped out and walked right in. It was practically empty. She told the sleepy surfer dude behind the counter she wanted a ticket for the next bus out of town. She plopped her cash down and slipped the ticket in her pocket.
Immediately walking back out the door, she strolled toward a dark corner. She pulled out her cell phone and checked to make sure there was a signal. She hit a few buttons and paced. She got voice mail.
“It’s Isabella. I’m in deep, buddy, too deep. This is big, bigger than what we thought. If you don’t hear from me in two days, come looking. I can’t say anything else. Just get here. Hopefully, even if I’m dead I’ve managed to get most of the pieces piled in the right place. Just get here and help Ian figure it out.”
After powering off the phone, she sat her duffel bag on the ground and pulled out a mirror and scissors. Within minutes her dark hair was short and punky, almost back to it’s natural color. Scissors and mirror went back in her purse, the cut hairs and the bus ticket went in a paper bag she set on fire and dropped to the ground.
While she watched it burn, she stripped off the top layer of clothes and buried them in the trashcan. She stood back until the bag was pretty much ashes, smoking three cigarettes at once to mask the odor. Spreading the remains with her feet she leaned over to see if anyone was around.
She saw the bus go by and looked at her watch. Yup, that was her bus. She waited for it to load and pull away. When it left for whatever city the dude said it was headed for, Ella stepped out of the alley wearing black jeans and a matching tee instead of the khakis and blue blouse she’d arrived wearing.
Ella ran a hand through her now spiky auburn hair, instead of her identifiable black tresses and headed for the one place Blue had stumbled on that even Bruno didn’t know about. As long as she wasn’t caught, she knew she’d be safe right under everyone’s nose.
David Turner sat stunned in his penthouse suite. The cat purred quietly in his lap as he stroked it, closing its eyes in contentment.
The old man stared at the phone. He was torn. Should he go? Should he stay? He wished he could say that it was the first time in his life that his heart had been crushed and he just didn’t know what to do next. He closed his eyes and prayed silently to “Please God let this be the last.”
He remembered sitting in a hospital room once before thinking that it had all come tumbling down. He remembered staring at the body in the bed and being more paralyzed than the man hooked up to all the wires and tubes. It was the end of it all, and he knew it.
But something else happened. Someone else came along with a lifeline. He feared it. He was so ready for it all to be over, no matter what the consequences. What did happen? What was it that spared him the shame and kept the ball rolling?
“Oh yes…yes.” He said out loud.
The room had very little light. It must have been about this same time of night. David was so much younger then, and so much more worried about the consequences. The accident had been bad enough, but this? How did this happen?
He looked at the once handsome man in the bed, the one now with a face stitched back together like an old quilt. They could fix most of it eventually, but he’d never be the same, look the same. They could afford the best. Things had paid off. They had the money, plenty of money. Now they just didn’t have the handsome leading man. They didn't have anything anymore.
The man would live, but they both knew his fate. He didn’t say much; too much pain, too much in mourning for what was lost. The doctors could fix him, but who would to fix them?
He had to tell him. David had no choice. He had to know. The man’s face was gone, and now he had to be told his wife was gone as well.
The patient moaned. It was almost as if he could read his mind. David smiled bitterly. It had always been like that. It’s what had made them the perfect team. If they could just figure out what to do next, maybe they still could be. Without her was it even possible?
David hadn’t heard the other man come in the room. He barely remembered a small light flooding the gray and then going dark again. He felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Dave?”
It took a moment for his eyes to adjust and focus. David hoped the man could see his weak smile in the dark.
“How’s he doing?” He asked.
David just nodded his head.
“Does he know?”
Turner sighed. “About her?” The following silence answered both their questions.
“I almost didn’t find him. You weren’t in your room and I knew good and well he wasn’t using his real name. Then I remembered…Ernie Newcastle.”
“What better way to hide than to use the name nobody remembers or even knows.”
“Lucille knew all the tricks.”
David whipped his head around and stared him down in the dark. “Shhh!”
“You’re right.” David felt the apologetic pat on his shoulder. “Let’s step back to your room, where we can talk without disturbing him.”
David made sure the bedclothes were snug and pulled tight before they left and walked in silence to the nicer end of the hospital.
“They’re releasing me tomorrow.” David said as they shut his door.
“You should have been released a week ago.”
“Without Lucille here to make sure I stayed…”
The man shook his head. “I don’t understand. Why would she do something like this?”
David sighed and thumped down on the bed. “Jamey and I always used to joke about ‘Whose wife is crazier’. I always thought it was mine hands down, turns out it was his.”
“Are you sure that body is Lucille’s?”
“I’d give anything right now if it wasn’t. If it was my wife, I’d know that everything was under control.”
“You have no doubt?”
“There will always be doubt.” David looked up. “They made me identify her. There was no way to tell from the body, but the jewelry. The jewelry was hers, almost all of it.”
“All of it?”
“It was like she snapped, covered her self in every ring and necklace she ever owned, set fire to the house and then hung herself as the place burned down around her.” David looked at the floor. “It was her body, but the actions? That definitely wasn’t Lucille.”
The man sat down beside David on the bed. “And your wife?”
“Haven’t seen or heard from her, not since the phone call. Lucille said she was handling it. She always took care of the messy stuff.” David stood up and walked to the window, staring out into the dark. “Somewhere out there is my lunatic wife and my baby boy.”
“Maybe once she hears about Lucille she’ll come back.”
Turner almost laughed. “Not a chance. She wasn’t nearly as crazy as we thought. She’s gone, and no one’s going to find her.”
“We’ll find her.” He stood and walked over to where he’s friend forlornly gazed out the window. “I promise you David, some day, some how. We’ll find her.”
David turned around to face him. “It’s too late, the game’s over. This is the end. Without Lucille, the jig is up.”
His friend nodded and walked to a chair in the corner. He started to sit, but froze. He put his fingers to his lips and stood up. “Maybe.”
“Maybe?” David scoffed. “Lucille knew it was over. She took the chicken’s way out and left Jamey and I holding the bag.”
“Of course she knew, but you know as well as I do that Lucille would never take the easy way out.” He began to pace the room. “She never did anything, anything, unless it was the means to an end.”
“End is right.” David snorted.
“No.” Herman Elysian smiled. “Every end leads to a beginning, my friend. I’ve got an idea…”
It had come in a three fisted punch. He knew he was falling and for the first time in his life he didn’t care. It had happened so fast and so unexpectedly he was still reeling. The speed at which it all took place was the sucker punch he never saw coming.
The cold zip of a body bag drew his attention. He couldn’t help but stiffen up as the men picked up the body and placed it on another gurney. He watched it wheeled around the house out of sight. He shook his head. How many more body bags would he have to watch roll out of sight?
Reese Shores put his head in his hands and begged for it all to stop. He sat shivering in the cold night air, dressed in a towel on the steps of the balcony. Ralphie, wet and smelling like a dog sat quietly beside him, watching silently as men dressed in blue, men dressed in green and white and graying figures walked all around them.
It was a nightmare. The blood and the questions. The sirens and the questions. The needles and the wires. The condemning faces and the questions. The reporters trying to cross the police tape, the neighbors shouting what happened, and the questions.
Reese stared into the now pink water of the pool. How could something so wonderful turn so quickly into such a bloody mess? Would everything he touched always have such an unhappy ending?
“Thought you might could use these.” A disembodied hand shoved a bundle of clothes under his nose.
He looked up. “Thanks, Jess.”
His brother nodded as Reese stood and pulled on the sweat pants. He started to pull the tee over his head when he noticed the writing. He held it up for his brother to read, “It’s big and I’m not afraid to use it.”
“Sorry, dude. I just grabbed something from the drawer.” He apologized.
“Jerk.” Reese mumbled and put it on anyway. He sat back down beside Ralphie as he pulled on the sneakers. “Where’s Dad?”
“He found the cat, she tried to get in the ambulance with Ian. Dad took it over to the house.”
“Ronnie…oh God.” Reese started to panic. “Some one needs to tell Ronnie. He can’t just see this on the television.”
Jesse put his arm around his brother. “Calm down, we’ve already called Susan and Jeremy. They’re gonna go ahead and take him fishing at the crack of dawn, keep him away from anything and everything until we know something for sure.”
“But what if…” Reese started to ask.
“Don’t go there, Reese.” Jesse warned. “The little guy’s been through enough. Ian will pull through. There is no way God gave his son back to him just in time for…”
“Yeah…” Reese looked at the pool water again. “Mom?”
“Went in the ambulance with Ian. Dad and I will stay here until the police finish up. Are they through with you or do you have to go down to the station, too?”
“I have to go down in the morning and sign a statement.” Reese looked back at his brother. “I don’t understand why they carted Kellen off like that.”
“Dude, he’s a former cop. He fired a gun and killed somebody.”
“It was self defense.” Reese insisted.
“But you didn’t see the shots. The only one’s that did can’t verify it was self-defense. He’ll be cleared but until they get it all verified they’ll keep him in custody.”
The brothers were silent, watching the spectacle that had once been peace darting all around them.
“Reese?” Jesse finally asked. “What happened?”
Reese shook his head. “All I know is one minute it was heaven and the next bodies were falling out of the sky.”
“Man…”
“Been happening way too much for me.” Reese choked back the burning in his throat. “Afghanistan…Iraq…the funeral and now this.”
“None of that was your fault.”
“I know, bro, but how many times do I have to be in the right place at the wrong time?”
“Look, everything’s gonna work out. This will all be over with soon and things will get back to normal.”
Reese looked his brother in the eye. “Jesse, things are never going to be normal again.”
Jesse punched his brother as hard as he could in the shoulder. “Dammit, Reese, don’t you do that again! Don’t you go pulling yourself into that weird little ball. I swear Reese I will beat the ever living crap outta you.”
A man dressed in white and green came over to stand in front of them. “Which one of you is Reese?”
“I am.” Reese stood up.
The man read his tee shirt and smirked. “Figures.”
“I’m Reese Shores. Why?”
“He’s asking for you. Won’t let us take him to the hospital without you.”
Reece’s ears weren’t sure they heard correctly, “He’s awake?”
“And won’t talk to anyone but you…follow me.”
In a moment Reese was being helped into the back of an ambulance. The man got in behind him,shut the doors and banged on the windows, “Okay, let’s go…”
Reese lost his balance as the ambulance took off, siren beginning to blare. He looked at Billy, whiter than any human being should be, gauze stuffed into a hole in his shoulder, but smiling into his eyes.
“Reese…”
“Shhh…don’t talk. You’re going to be fine. We’re all gonna be fine.” Reese grabbed Billy’s hand.
“What a weekend…” Billy coughed.
“Yeah, this is one to talk about back home.”
“Reese…”
“Shh…be quiet now, just rest…”
“We’ve given him something for the pain. He’ll be out in a second.” An attendant said.
“No, no…” Billy struggled, “I gotta know…?”
“What? Billy, what?”
Billy’s eyes started to flutter, falling into the sedative drip. He slurred but Reese understood him fully, “Who the hell is Darla Hutton?”
She wished she had brought the baseball bat after all. No one seemed to recognize her, and no one cared. It had taken her an hour to just get from the parking lot to the Emergency Room entrance itself.
Fortunately the one person who did recognize her was that bulldozer of a guy from “Open Fields”. He stood in front of her and pushed through to the doors. Cops were lined across the entrance arm in arm to keep the pandemonium from breaking inside.
“No one gets through.” The cop stared down the bulldozer. The bulldozer huffed. “Sorry.”
She peered around him and pulled down the dark glasses, showing off her red, bloodshot eyes. The cop recognized her. It took him a second but he put two and two together. She heard him say clearly but softly. “Let her through.”
A small opening was made. She felt herself being shoved toward it. She grabbed the bulldozer’s hand. “Him, too.”
“Just you ma’am.” The cop said.
“He’s my brother.” She lied. “We’re like his family.”
The cop took a deep breath. “Fine.”
“Thank you.” They popped through the line of cops and found themselves standing inside in ER.
“You didn’t have to do that, Ms. Allen.” The bulldozer said.
“I’d still be in the parking lot if it weren’t for you.” She said. “I know you…from…”
“Yes, ma’am. Ripley, Ripley Gunther.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I got a call from Jeremy Tyson.” He said. “He told me what happened.”
“Ronnie.” Saxon blurted out. “Have they told Ronnie?”
Ripley shook his head. “No ma’am. They won’t say anything, sticking with the plan.”
“What plan?”
“At sun up, Mr. Tyson gets the boys on a boat away from everything. As soon as they know something definite they’ll come to shore.”
“He’s been through so much.” Saxon looked around to see if she could get some information.
“They’re worried ma’am. Kellen’s downtown, they asked me to keep Mr. Justyn safe.”
“Safe?”
“Some one tried to kill him, ma’am. I’m to stay as close as possible until we know what happened.”
Saxon nodded her head. A nurse came up to them. “Miss Allen, come this way.” The duo started to follow, but the nurse stopped. “Not him.”
“He’s Ian’s bodyguard.” Saxon insisted.
The nurse looked Ripley up and down. “Not doin’ a very good job so far.”
“I was on a coffee break.” He sneared. “It won’t happen again.”
“Whatever.” She turned and headed into the ER. “Follow me.”
They were ushered through a maze of doors and hallways. Finally Saxon heard her name called.
“Tippy?” She said softly as the women embraced. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, honey, I don’t know.” She dabbed her eyes with Kleenex. “He’s alive or was before they left me alone in the ambulance and took off with him.”
Saxon grabbed Tippy’s hand. “Tippy this is Ripley. Jeremy called him, to keep an eye on things.”
“Oh thanks, honey.” Tippy took Ripley’s hand and squeezed it.
“Mr. Tyson said to tell you the boys are asleep.”
She nodded. “I just talked to Susan. She said Jeremy was trying to get hold of somebody. Glad you came.”
“Mr. Justyn is a nice man.” Ripley smiled. “I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
“Oh God…” Tippy plopped in a chair. “I don’t even want to think about that. Why would anyone do this?”
“Excuse me…” a man in scrubs holding a clipboard said. “I’m looking for Ian Justyn’s family.”
Tippy stood and grabbed Saxon’s hand. “We’re his family.”
He looked at the paperwork. “Mr. Justyn’s insurance lists a William Jarvis as next of kin.” He looked up at Ripley. “Is that you?”
“No, sir.”
“Billy Jarvis is the other…victim.” Tippy trembled as she said it. “They brought Ian first. Billy should be arriving any moment.”
“Mr. Justyn is critical, ma’am. I need his next of kin’s consent to do surgery.”
“Ian doesn’t have any family, other than a ten year old son.” Tippy squeaked. “He’s like a son to me, does that count?”
“It has to be a blood relative.”
Ripley stepped forward. “Any of us will take responsibility.”
“That’s not the point.” The doctor said.
“I don’t care what the point is. If Ian needs surgery, do it or you will personally answer to me.” Ripley growled.
“Well, I guess I could…”
“Now!” Ripley snapped.
“Yes, sir.” The doctor stepped back. “We’ll just deal with all the paperwork later.” He was gone in an instant.
“This is an ER, surely all that is taken in to account.” Tippy said.
“It’s also California, Tippy, the sue me capitol of the world.” Saxon put her arm around the woman.
A man in a security guard came over to them “Which one of you is the hired goon?”
“Guess.” Ripley puffed out his chest.
The man jerked his head towards the desk. “Follow me.”
“I’ll be right back.” Ripley told the ladies softly.
“Tippy, what exactly happened?” Saxon had to ask.
“Oh, honey. I’m not really sure. We were sitting by the pool over at our house, having a cup of tea and all of a sudden we heard shots, and glass breaking. We ran over to Ian’s as quick as we could. Billy was floating face down in the pool, Ian was covered in blood with a dead man laying across him and Kellen was standing there with a gun in his hand.”
“Kellen?” Saxon helped Tippy sit down. “Kellen Jackson did this?”
Tippy shook her head. “No. He said he saw Ian and a man fighting, and then Billy joined in, and somehow they all fell over the balcony and before Kellen could do anything the man shot Billy.”
“He shot Billy?”
“Yes.” Tippy was almost breathless. “And Kellen fired at the man before he could shoot Ian. Kellen says the man was aiming for Ian’s head at almost point blank range.”
“But why?”
“Nobody knows.”
“Billy…is Billy alright?” Saxon asked, ashamed she hadn’t asked before.
“I think he will be.” Tippy said. “Colton and Jesse helped Reese pull him from the pool. They gave him mouth to mouth and Colton said it looked like he took the bullet in the shoulder. There was so much blood…”
Ripley came over and knealed before them. “Ladies, they’ve taken Ian to surgery. Someone will be over in a moment to take you up to a private waiting room on the surgical floor.”
“Do you know how he’s doing?” They both practically asked.
He put up his hand. “All I know is that they’ve rushed him to surgery, something about broken ribs puncturing his organs. Now, Mrs. Shores….”
“Tippy,” she tried to smile. “Call me Tippy, darlin’.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Ripley nodded. “I need a list of everyone that you called or might come to the hospital. No one gets in or around either Ian or anyone in the family without my say so.”
“Okay.”
“Now here’s my cell phone number. Let me have yours so we can stay in touch.” Ripley handed her a piece of paper.
“Yes, yes of course.” She gave him the number that he programmed immediately into his phone.
“Do not talk to anyone outside the family, but me.”
“What about the doctors?” Saxon asked.
“Check their I.D. of any medical personnel first.” He pointed to his chest. “They’ll all have little badges. Make a mental note of names and faces.”
Tippy nodded and began to make a list.
“Can you tell me if anything in the house is missing?” An officer asked.
Colton and Jesse looked at each other. “Maybe, Ian was pretty systematic. We could tell you if something was out of place.” Colton finally said.
“If that’s the best you can do.” The man said.
“Neither of us lived here officer, but we’ve been around enough to know about the basics.” Jesse wanted to deck the guy for his attitude alone.
“Let’s start with the first floor.” Two officers led the father and son on a meticulous search of the house. The first floor looked as always expected, nothing out of place and not a speck of dust. You couldn’t have guessed there was a party earlier that day, let alone an event that left one dead so far.
Colton walked past Jesse on the stairway landing. As he past, Jesse touched his father’s shoulder. “Does something look different about this painting to you?”
He stepped to the swirls of color, examining it closely. “No.”
Jesse cocked his head. “Are you sure? Something about it just looks odd to me.” He reached to touch it.
“Don’t touch anything!” The cop standing with them bellowed. Jesse snatched his hand back quickly. “You say there’s something odd about it, other than the fact that it’s ugly?”
The officer was given a dirty look in reply. “It’s not worth a fortune Detective, but its worth more donuts than you’ll eat in a year.” Jesse told him.
“I hate donuts.” The man said.
“Yeah, right.” Jesse started to move on after directing the comment toward the man’s waist.
“Wait, son.” Colton stopped him. “What’s odd about it?”
Jesse shrugged. “I don’t know. Something about the light, it just seems different.”
“Looks the same to me.” His father said.
“Could just be I’ve never noticed it with the bright lights coming from upstairs. Ian usually just has the landing lights on.”
“Now that we’ve discussed the gallery display can we move upstairs, please?” The detective moaned.
“Sorry.” Jesse looked at the man. “What did you say your name was again?”
“Balouche.” The man rolled his eyes and grunted.
“I apologize Detective Balouche, but two good friends and my brother were almost murdered in this house tonight. I thought you wanted to know every detail we could come up with.” Jesse looked him in the eyes.
“You watch too much television kid. I doubt light refraction on a really bad paint by number will tell us why a man was shot to death trying to rip the place off.”
“What if this turns out to be what he was after?” Colton asked.
Balouche looked at him. “Unless he changed the position of a light bulb, it sounds like the painting itself hasn’t been touched.”
“Fine.” Jesse stomped up the remaining stairs, Colton and Balouche closely behind.
Balouche took a step in front of them. “Do not touch anything.” He reminded. “The forensics team is still working. Don’t even step on the broken glass. Try to just look around and see if anything's missing.”
“This is the only room you know for sure the guy was in?” Colton asked.
“According to the statement from Kellen Jackson. He saw the man now identified as Blue Richards step out of the closet over there and fire at Justyn from about here. He said Justyn walked over to the glass and waved at him. He saw the perp step from the closet toward the door there, then turn around aim and fire.”
“Can we look in the closet?” Jesse asked.
The detective shrugged. “Just don’t…”
“…touch anything…got it.” Jesse said taking a precarious step toward the open closet door. He turned to his father. “Dad?”
“Something missing?” Balouche asked, hopefully.
Colton turned his head from the position he had taken behind Jesse. “Not missing, but definitely askew.”
Balouche pushed the men aside and looked in the closet, eyes scanning top to bottom. He saw a walk in closet that looked like it had just been cleaned and straightened. He turned to the men. “Blue Richards cleaned the man’s closet then tried to kill him?”
Jesse smiled. “No but it’s definitely been rifled through.” Colton nodded his head.
“You’re kidding?” Balouche said.
Colton pointed to a bureau drawer. “Detective, open that drawer.”
“Why?”
“Just open it. It will prove a point.”
He shook his head, grabbed a pen out of his pocket and slowly pulled a drawer open in the chest. The contents of the drawer were perfect; every sock, every pair of underwear was folded as though still on the store shelf and fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Balouche whistled and slid the drawer shut with the pen.
Walking back to the closet, he scanned it again nodding his head. Boxes were piled neatly, but not perfectly. Clothes were hung but not even, and the shoes were matched but looked like they’d just been tossed side by side in a line.
Balouche turned to the men working in the bedroom. “Dust everything in that closet for prints, and I mean everything.”
“Especially that.” Jesse pointed.
He got the man’s attention. “What is it?”
“A jewelry box that belonged to Ian’s Aunt.” Colton said.
“Her jewels were in there?” Balouche’s ears perked up.
Colton laughed. “Nothing expensive. She was an old black woman who raised him. She passed away. I don’t know what the man would want in there, but he definitely went through it.”
“I’d say it was what he was going through just before he realized Ian was home.” Jesse added.
“Why?” Balouche got out his notebook.
“Look at it.” Jesse said. “There’s stuff sticking out of it, and it’s not anywhere near Ian put it.”
“You’re sure?”
“I watched Ian take it down before he went out.” Jesse recalled. “He got something out of it that he wanted to give to Saxon…”
“Saxon Allen?” Balouche clarified.
“Yeah. They went bowling this evening. He told me there was something he wanted her to have.”
“And he got it out of that box?”
“Yes. He took it off the top rack there, put it on the bed, got what he wanted and I put it back for him.” Jesse pointed to the rack above the suits. “See there’s the place where it fits exactly.”
“Have you boys taken shots of the closet?” Balouche asked one of the men. When the man confirmed. “Can we take this box out and examine the contents then?”
When the man nodded, Balouche put on some gloves he was handed. He carefully stepped in the closet and lifted the box taking it over to the bed and opening the lid. “Can you tell me if you notice anything missing?”
Jesse peered into the top. “He didn’t open the top. There’s a little compartment to the back. Push the back of it toward the bottom…” He instructed.
Balouche fumbled a minute, but finally a little bottom panel slid open.
“There. Ian got something wrapped in tissue paper from there. He said his Aunt Hil put it there years ago. He remembered just as he was leaving. He was excited it was still there.”
“It’s empty.” Balouche turned to him. “Must have been all that was in there.”
“No.” Jesse was sure. “I personally picked up some envelopes that were in there. I remember the look on his face. He turned to me and smiled, but Saxon was waiting on him downstairs. He went running and I put everything back for him.”
“You’re positive he put them back in this cubby hole?” Balouche asked.
“No, detective, I’m positive I put them back and shut the drawer myself. Then I put the whole box back on the rack exactly where it goes.”
“Any idea what was in the envelopes?”
“No. Just that Ian was excited about finding the little gift for Saxon that was in there. He said it was something he gave to his Aunt for safe keeping years ago.”
Colton looked at his son. “Detective, do you think this could be connected with what happened in Lost Mountain?”
“Lost Mountain?” Balouche said. “What happened in Lost Mountain?”
“I’m sorry to just leave a message like this, but I guess you heard what happened, and I just don’t think I’ll be in for a few days.” She said into the phone. “He didn’t have any family, so I’ve got to make all the arrangements. Thanks…Bye.”
She hit the end button and bit her lip. “This is a nightmare,” Was all she said out loud. She took a deep breath. She hating piling lies on top of lies, but at this point she had to buy time to save herself.
Looking around her apartment one last time, she threw the duffle bag over her shoulder. She opened her oversized purse and swept the contents of the table in, saving one envelope.
She shook it. “Please, please let this be the right place.” And then stuffed it into her purse with the others.
The police had already been there once. She was shocked to tears but Blue had already warned her. She begged him not to do anything stupid, but he’d gotten himself killed anyway.
He was stupid enough not to know he was being used by them and her. How could she be all that surprised he’d gotten himself killed? Too bad, she really, really liked him.
It might take them awhile to make the connection, but they didn’t know for sure that she knew anything. Unfortunately, she knew all they had to do was connect one dot and she’d be next on their list. The second ‘visit’ from the cops would be her last.
Ella turned off the lights in the apartment and peered out the window to the street below. There was only one place she could go. Hopefully she could get there and stay alive long enough to do the work she was hired to do.
They’d all stumbled into this mess blindly, both sides. She was just supposed to be on the sidelines. It got out of hand. Now there were too many directions she could go with what she knew.
One direction could make her a hero. One direction could make her rich. One direction could make her another one of the corpses that seemed to be piling up. Right now, the direction she wanted to go in would avoid that last one.
She quietly slipped out of her apartment and down the hallway. Looking both ways, she tried to look like she was only strolling along just in case some one was watching. She heard the plunk go down the mail shoot.
“One piece down.” She said in her head.
Hopefully, that would go to the right place and be found in enough time for her to get out of this mess. All she had to do is get all the puzzle pieces in one place. She just had to stay alive until she got them all, until then she would look like one of the bad guys.
She wasn’t, but no one knew that. Okay, so she wasn’t an innocent bystander but sometimes it takes a few crunches to get to the gooey chocolate center. Ella was pretty sure she’d gotten to the center, and she was pretty sure that no one else knew what it was.
It was a simple complicated scam. They thought they were going to take the money and run, leaving a couple of idiots behind with dirty fingers. She’d gotten out of the business, but she’d been trained too well. She had kept quiet and watched from the sidelines and this was one of those cases that took someone from the sidelines to put the puzzle together.
Damn but she was the cat, and it looked like curiosity was going to kill her after all. She should have made the phone call earlier. That’s all she would have had to do, but no she wanted to have it all but wrapped up first. Damn her ego and pride.
The cab pulled up. She stepped out of the shadows in the street and slipped in. Handing the cabbie a fifty and a sheet of paper. “There’s another fifty if you take me to that address and say you took me somewhere else, if you have to say anything at all.”
The man smiled. “For a hundred bucks, lady, you’re a drunk dude who stiffed me.” He turned the meter off and pulled away from the curb.
Ella smiled and sat back in the seat, scrunching down to make it hard to see her from the windows. She ran down what she had to get accomplished in her head as they drove. She knew it wasn’t safe for her to be out in the open. She had no desire to end up like Bambi, Max and Blue.
Bambi and Max were clueless. Bambi had no idea she could identify Bruno. Max was just dumb enough to be seen talking to Ian. Poor Blue, he probably would have been around awhile longer, but he was a dumb pretty boy, unfortunately heavy on the dumb part.
Well, he was dumb enough to fall for her and smart enough to tell her everything. He wasn’t supposed to do that, and they didn’t know he had. Ella wasn’t even sure Blue was smart enough to know she had figured out what was up. She was too good at what she did.
She was also smart enough to know that Bruno and partner weren’t about to leave a loose end. Ella knew that if nothing else, she was a loose end like Bambi, especially now that Blue had gotten himself killed. Maybe the smart thing for her do to was stay put, but she failed Sitting Duck 101.
The cab pulled up to the bus station. Ella slipped out and walked right in. It was practically empty. She told the sleepy surfer dude behind the counter she wanted a ticket for the next bus out of town. She plopped her cash down and slipped the ticket in her pocket.
Immediately walking back out the door, she strolled toward a dark corner. She pulled out her cell phone and checked to make sure there was a signal. She hit a few buttons and paced. She got voice mail.
“It’s Isabella. I’m in deep, buddy, too deep. This is big, bigger than what we thought. If you don’t hear from me in two days, come looking. I can’t say anything else. Just get here. Hopefully, even if I’m dead I’ve managed to get most of the pieces piled in the right place. Just get here and help Ian figure it out.”
After powering off the phone, she sat her duffel bag on the ground and pulled out a mirror and scissors. Within minutes her dark hair was short and punky, almost back to it’s natural color. Scissors and mirror went back in her purse, the cut hairs and the bus ticket went in a paper bag she set on fire and dropped to the ground.
While she watched it burn, she stripped off the top layer of clothes and buried them in the trashcan. She stood back until the bag was pretty much ashes, smoking three cigarettes at once to mask the odor. Spreading the remains with her feet she leaned over to see if anyone was around.
She saw the bus go by and looked at her watch. Yup, that was her bus. She waited for it to load and pull away. When it left for whatever city the dude said it was headed for, Ella stepped out of the alley wearing black jeans and a matching tee instead of the khakis and blue blouse she’d arrived wearing.
Ella ran a hand through her now spiky auburn hair, instead of her identifiable black tresses and headed for the one place Blue had stumbled on that even Bruno didn’t know about. As long as she wasn’t caught, she knew she’d be safe right under everyone’s nose.
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