Part 13 Threats and Revelations
By the time Nathan reentered the Beach house he had let his anger build again. The uneasy truce that existed between the different law enforcement agencies always exacerbated him. Sometimes they behaved as if they were on different sides when ideally they all should be after the same thing, the truth.
In practice each organisation had its own agenda and its own budget to justify as well as the egos of its personnel to deal with. With each group believing that their priorities outweighed everyone else's, Nathan sometimes wondered how any multi-jurisdiction crime was solved.
Federal, State and National law enforcement could certainly be a minefield to walk through. He was thankful that he didn't have to deal with it very often.
Agent Harris' attitude and behaviour would have annoyed him at the best of times. The fact that the case involved a fellow police officer and friends of his, made him even more sensitive. So much so, that by the time he was back inside he was like a tightly wound spring just waiting for someone to trigger the release.
The fingerprint team was busy working on the door as he walked back inside. Agent Harris was talking to Agent Steele and Agent Dobbs who had rejoined them during Nathan's absence. He stalked over to them.
"Agent Harris," he said sharply not caring that he was interrupting their conversation. All three turned to look at him. "If you don't mind I'd like a word please." The words were polite, his tone wasn't.
Stephanie's eyes narrowed as she regarded him coldly, considering his request. Her consideration was only brief. Nathan was clearly in no mood to take no for an answer, besides he wasn't intimidated by her and she could not say that about many men of Nathan's age, or any age for that matter. So, unlike most of the man she met, she found him interesting. She turned to the two agents standing next to her, not bothering to finish the conversation. "Have another look round see if there is anything that we may have overlooked," she said dismissively and then turned back to Nathan.
If looks could kill Agent Harris would have had two pairs of daggers in her back, courtesy of her colleagues, at being ordered off like a pair of rookies. Fortunately she had turned her back on them, but Nathan did not miss the looks before they turned and walked away, it seemed he was not the only one who did not like agent Harris' attitude.
"I want some answers." Nathan stated abruptly. His fists were clenched tightly as he held his emotions in check.
Stephanie could see the taughtness in his muscles and the slight twitch of his jaw. She decided to see how far she could play him. "We all want answers detective," she stated
"Yes, but you already know the answers to some of the questions I have." Nathan countered "This isn't just a murder inquiry any more, innocent people are getting hurt. So why don't you tell me exactly what you are doing here." He paused for emphasis, "Why are you looking for Lieutenant Sloan?"
Stephanie smiled and made a tutting sound. "Detective, you really don't listen do you?" She regarded him a little disdainfully. "I already told you and Dr. Sloan that we think the lieutenant is with a woman that can help us with our inquiries."
"What woman? And how come your fellow NSA agents were at the station earlier talking to the lieutenant?"
"I'm afraid that that information is...."
"Confidential." Nathan finished for her sarcastically mimicking her tone. "Bull," he allowed some of his pent up anger to release. "It ceased to be confidential the second you let your goons take part in a shoot-out in a residential area without reporting it. Especially since a member of the public was nearly killed." He moved in a little closer to add weight to his coming threat. "Now either you start filling me in on just exactly what is going on, or I will personally see to it that a full report on your agents activities is handed to every government official from here to the senate and then we will see just how 'confidential' your little investigation is."
Nathan was bluffing. There was only circumstantial evidence to suggest that Dobbs and Steele had been involved in the shooting and he knew that he did not have the connections to make any real waves for agents in the NSA but he had learnt early on that the substance of a threat did not matter nearly as much as the delivery. Their effectiveness also depended on how much the person they were aimed at felt they had to lose. Nathan was banking on the fact that Stephanie had won her position politically and had ambitions to go much higher. If his assessment was correct then she would do anything to avoid waves that may affect her career.
Stephanie studied his expression. If he was bluffing, he was good. She considered how much she should tell him. She had been ordered to work with him and the brief background check that she had run on him after meeting at the murder scene suggested that he was more than competent. Perhaps he could be useful to her, possibly help find her objective.
"All right detective, I will tell you more." She said
Emma watched Steve's unmoving form. It had been over an hour now since he had crumpled to the floor and he showed no signs of coming round. She had had plenty of time to think and had occupied her mind with memories of the past. It was so much easier to think of that rather than her current situation. If only she could turn back the clock her life could have been so different.
She occupied her hands by keeping the cloth on his forehead cool and damp and his lips moist. The actions so closely mirrored the time that she had first seen him that she found images of the present and the past seamlessly blending together.
She looked down at the man and saw the youth, barely nineteen when she had first seen him. The face had matured, the skin was a little more weathered, a little less taught, a few more lines but they only served to give the face character. The jawline was still square and strong and the eyes, when they were open, had lost none of their sparkle of light sapphire blue and, perhaps most surprisingly, the face had not lost the look of innocence, of trust.
She remembered that that was what had drawn her to Steve all those years ago. Despite what had happened to him, what was happening all around him, he had not lost the ability to trust and to believe in a cause, in right and wrong. Now as he slept she could still see that in his face. She wondered if it was ever still there when he was awake or if the world had finally instilled the cynicism that she had felt even then into him too.
She had once been young and idealistic, she had trained as a nurse because she wanted to help people but she had barely managed a year at the military hospital before the pointless waste of it all had driven her to change her views. Endless streams of sick and injured young men most still in their teens, arriving to be patched up before being sent back so the enemy could get a second chance at finishing the job, had finally made her feel that far from helping she was partly responsible for perpetuating what was happening. It was soul destroying and she only saw the patients that were expected to make a full recovery. She could only imagine what it was like for those on the front line.
It made her decide that there had to be more to life than this and she had decided to take an easier path through life. It was just at that point she had met Steve and he had almost turned her around if only...
She found her thoughts drifting back to what might have been if her decision had been different, it was only a slight groan from Steve that snapped her back to the present. Hopeful that it was a sign of his returning consciousness, she spoke to him softly. "That's it Steve wake up. There's so much I still want... need to tell you."
Mark swayed slightly and the young officer who had insisted on seeing the Doctor all the way to Jesse's room moved in to steady him. Amanda also moved over to the door to help him. She was so concerned at Mark's pale appearance that the presence of the police officer did not even register.
Jesse, however, who could only lie and watch from his bed noticed immediately. "Mark? What happened? Why are the police with you?"
Mark sighed and sat down. Although shocked by what he had heard, it had only served to confirm what he had already known. It could only have been Steve who had been hurt. His son was frequently dismissive of his own hurts and ailments but he would not have willingly helped an injured woman to leave the hospital without treatment.
Mark's shock at this confirmation, however was short lived as he noticed the effect that his reactions were having on his young friend. Jesse's increased agitation was causing his blood pressure to increase and his heart rate to quicken. His body was in no condition to be dealing with this sort of stress. Mark turned to the police officer. "Thank you for your help but I think you'd better leave for the time being."
The officer nodded noting the doctors concern for his patient and turned and left.
Mark turned his full attention back to Jesse. He knew that despite his own emotions he needed to help calm him down. "Its OK Jess" he said soothingly, "Calm down and I'll explain"
"But.." Jesse started to protest.
Mark looked over at the monitors and did not like what he saw. He adopted his best professional tone. "Look take some deep breaths, calm down and I will tell you everything." He turned his gaze back to Jesse, "otherwise I'm going to have to get a nurse in here with a sedative."
Amanda looked from Mark to Jesse and back again. Although Mark had had time to come to terms with what had happened to Steve, she had not. She too began to get the feeling that her world was being torn apart piece by piece.
Despite this, she also could not fail to notice the danger signs for her other friend. Even without the monitors she would have been worried by his agitated state so soon after surgery. "Mark's right," she agreed. "You are in no condition to be getting stressed."
Jesse regarded each of his friends in turn. The curious part of him wanted to ignore their advice and insist that his questions were answered, the doctor in him knew they were both right. He did his best to relax back on the pillows and steady his breathing.
Mark realised that providing Jesse with answers to his questions may help to allay his fears providing of course, that he was not entirely truthful about those answers. "Look the police officer was just here to get your version of what happened," Mark lied. "I told him that you probably wouldn't be up to talking much yet and from what I have just seen I think I was right." He held up his hand to prevent any protests. "He said he would come back later when you had rested."
Both Mark and Amanda watched him varying their attention occasionally between him and the readout on the monitors.
Only when his blood pressure and pulse rate had settled did either of them consider discussing the situation further. Mark began with a warning, he spoke softly. "Jess you have been through major surgery less than two hours ago." He sighed, "You should be resting. If you need to talk about what happened then Amanda and I will listen but if you get stressed again I won't hesitate to call that nurse, OK?"
Jesse nodded realising the wisdom in his friend's advice. "OK," he replied. He tried his best to remain calm as he asked the question that was uppermost in his mind. "So, is what Amanda said true? Steve hasn't been seen since he brought me in here this morning?"
Mark hesitated before answering. He had already decided not to tell Jesse about the beach house until he was much stronger. Mark knew that he would be upset. Jesse spent a lot of time there with him and Steve and treated the place as a home from home. The last thing he needed was to be worrying about that on top of everything that had happened to him. The question now was whether or not to lie to him about Steve, keeping the truth from him at least until he was feeling stronger.
This presented a dilemma. Jesse had asked a direct question and Mark could not just avoid it or brush it off. He had also seen Mark's reaction to the news that Steve had been shot and that would be difficult to explain with anything but the truth. So what and how much to tell him? Mark had to decide quickly as Jesse watched him expectantly waiting for an answer.
"Yes, he left me a note telling me not to worry. He said that he had some personal problems to sort out and that he could be gone a couple of days." Mark combined the content of the note with what Steve had told both him and captain Newman earlier, attempting to phrase it so that it put the most positive spin on the circumstances surrounding Steve's disappearance. "I'm sure that Steve can't be too badly injured or he would have stayed for treatment but you know what Steve's like when he thinks a bullet wound is only a scratch." He smiled at the thought of trying to get Steve to sit still to get cuts and abrasions treated properly.
Amanda and Jesse both smiled too at their shared memories. "So you think he's OK?" Jesse asked a little more hopefully.
Mark continued his smile, pushing his inner worries deep inside as he attempted to reassure his injured friend. "I'm sure that he's fine or he wouldn't have left the hospital. He's had enough of my lectures over the years about getting injuries treated properly to risk leaving here if there was anything seriously wrong." Mark wished that he believed what he was telling Jesse but he had far too much evidence to the contrary.
Amanda realising what Mark was trying to do added her own reassurance. "Mark's right, Steve wouldn't dare. Could you imagine the length of the lecture if he did that?"
Jesse grinned, "No, but I wouldn't mind being a fly on the wall for that one."
Jesse's expression became more serious, the conversation reminding him of his discussion with Steve back at his apartment. He had promised Steve that he would not tell anyone, particularly Mark, about his visit that morning but under the circumstances maybe he should fill Mark in on what little he knew. After all he did not know much..
"Jesse?" Mark said questioningly. Jesse's eyes had glazed over as he stared off toward the far wall without even seeing it, lost in thought, "Are you OK? Would you like us to leave so that you can get some rest?"
Jesse shook himself back to the present. "I'm fine I was just thinking I should really tell you everything that happened this morning." He paused not sure how the old doctor would take his next comment. "Although Steve asked me not to," he hesitated, watching Mark's reaction before continuing "but under the circumstances..."
Amanda, noted the hesitation and completed the thought for him. "Under the circumstances I'm sure he will understand."
So Jesse described events as well as he could, from when he opened his door to Steve, up until the point where they all left the apartment together. Amanda had heard the rest.
Both Mark and Amanda sat in silence and listened. As Jesse described Steve's condition when he had arrived at his apartment, it only served to deepen Mark's concern about the health of his son. He remembered his disheveled appearance in the ER earlier and kicked himself for not insisting that Steve let him check him over, but deep down he realised that there was little he could have done, Steve had been determined to leave.
Jesse's revelations also only increased the mystery surrounding his son's behaviour. It was clear that Steve was trying to help or protect this woman he was with and, like his father, Steve could always be relied upon to help people who were in trouble, but the lengths Steve was going to suggested that Steve knew this person very well and if that were the case why had none of the rest of them heard of her?
By the time Jesse got to the end of his description it was clear that he was fighting to keep his eyes open. There was just one piece of information that Mark felt he needed to know that Jesse had not mentioned in his account. "Thanks Jess," he said. "You should get some rest now. There's just one thing I'd like to know. Did Steve mention the surname of the woman he was with?"
Jesse focused on the memory. "Yes, he introduced us. It was... Fielding, Emma Fielding."
So Agent Harris had been right. Steve was with Mrs. Emma Fielding but where else had Mark heard that name? Why did he get the feeling that he should recognise it?
"Get some sleep now. You need it," Mark said unnecessarily, Jesse's eyes had already begun to drift shut.
Fortunately neither of them had been looking at Amanda when Jesse supplied the name of Steve's companion. If they had they would have seen the shock register before she had chance to cover it for Jesse's sake. Mark may not have recognised the name straight away but Amanda did. Steve was with the wife of the man she had autopsied that morning and the only suspect for the brutal murder was Mrs. Emma Fielding!
By the time Nathan reentered the Beach house he had let his anger build again. The uneasy truce that existed between the different law enforcement agencies always exacerbated him. Sometimes they behaved as if they were on different sides when ideally they all should be after the same thing, the truth.
In practice each organisation had its own agenda and its own budget to justify as well as the egos of its personnel to deal with. With each group believing that their priorities outweighed everyone else's, Nathan sometimes wondered how any multi-jurisdiction crime was solved.
Federal, State and National law enforcement could certainly be a minefield to walk through. He was thankful that he didn't have to deal with it very often.
Agent Harris' attitude and behaviour would have annoyed him at the best of times. The fact that the case involved a fellow police officer and friends of his, made him even more sensitive. So much so, that by the time he was back inside he was like a tightly wound spring just waiting for someone to trigger the release.
The fingerprint team was busy working on the door as he walked back inside. Agent Harris was talking to Agent Steele and Agent Dobbs who had rejoined them during Nathan's absence. He stalked over to them.
"Agent Harris," he said sharply not caring that he was interrupting their conversation. All three turned to look at him. "If you don't mind I'd like a word please." The words were polite, his tone wasn't.
Stephanie's eyes narrowed as she regarded him coldly, considering his request. Her consideration was only brief. Nathan was clearly in no mood to take no for an answer, besides he wasn't intimidated by her and she could not say that about many men of Nathan's age, or any age for that matter. So, unlike most of the man she met, she found him interesting. She turned to the two agents standing next to her, not bothering to finish the conversation. "Have another look round see if there is anything that we may have overlooked," she said dismissively and then turned back to Nathan.
If looks could kill Agent Harris would have had two pairs of daggers in her back, courtesy of her colleagues, at being ordered off like a pair of rookies. Fortunately she had turned her back on them, but Nathan did not miss the looks before they turned and walked away, it seemed he was not the only one who did not like agent Harris' attitude.
"I want some answers." Nathan stated abruptly. His fists were clenched tightly as he held his emotions in check.
Stephanie could see the taughtness in his muscles and the slight twitch of his jaw. She decided to see how far she could play him. "We all want answers detective," she stated
"Yes, but you already know the answers to some of the questions I have." Nathan countered "This isn't just a murder inquiry any more, innocent people are getting hurt. So why don't you tell me exactly what you are doing here." He paused for emphasis, "Why are you looking for Lieutenant Sloan?"
Stephanie smiled and made a tutting sound. "Detective, you really don't listen do you?" She regarded him a little disdainfully. "I already told you and Dr. Sloan that we think the lieutenant is with a woman that can help us with our inquiries."
"What woman? And how come your fellow NSA agents were at the station earlier talking to the lieutenant?"
"I'm afraid that that information is...."
"Confidential." Nathan finished for her sarcastically mimicking her tone. "Bull," he allowed some of his pent up anger to release. "It ceased to be confidential the second you let your goons take part in a shoot-out in a residential area without reporting it. Especially since a member of the public was nearly killed." He moved in a little closer to add weight to his coming threat. "Now either you start filling me in on just exactly what is going on, or I will personally see to it that a full report on your agents activities is handed to every government official from here to the senate and then we will see just how 'confidential' your little investigation is."
Nathan was bluffing. There was only circumstantial evidence to suggest that Dobbs and Steele had been involved in the shooting and he knew that he did not have the connections to make any real waves for agents in the NSA but he had learnt early on that the substance of a threat did not matter nearly as much as the delivery. Their effectiveness also depended on how much the person they were aimed at felt they had to lose. Nathan was banking on the fact that Stephanie had won her position politically and had ambitions to go much higher. If his assessment was correct then she would do anything to avoid waves that may affect her career.
Stephanie studied his expression. If he was bluffing, he was good. She considered how much she should tell him. She had been ordered to work with him and the brief background check that she had run on him after meeting at the murder scene suggested that he was more than competent. Perhaps he could be useful to her, possibly help find her objective.
"All right detective, I will tell you more." She said
Emma watched Steve's unmoving form. It had been over an hour now since he had crumpled to the floor and he showed no signs of coming round. She had had plenty of time to think and had occupied her mind with memories of the past. It was so much easier to think of that rather than her current situation. If only she could turn back the clock her life could have been so different.
She occupied her hands by keeping the cloth on his forehead cool and damp and his lips moist. The actions so closely mirrored the time that she had first seen him that she found images of the present and the past seamlessly blending together.
She looked down at the man and saw the youth, barely nineteen when she had first seen him. The face had matured, the skin was a little more weathered, a little less taught, a few more lines but they only served to give the face character. The jawline was still square and strong and the eyes, when they were open, had lost none of their sparkle of light sapphire blue and, perhaps most surprisingly, the face had not lost the look of innocence, of trust.
She remembered that that was what had drawn her to Steve all those years ago. Despite what had happened to him, what was happening all around him, he had not lost the ability to trust and to believe in a cause, in right and wrong. Now as he slept she could still see that in his face. She wondered if it was ever still there when he was awake or if the world had finally instilled the cynicism that she had felt even then into him too.
She had once been young and idealistic, she had trained as a nurse because she wanted to help people but she had barely managed a year at the military hospital before the pointless waste of it all had driven her to change her views. Endless streams of sick and injured young men most still in their teens, arriving to be patched up before being sent back so the enemy could get a second chance at finishing the job, had finally made her feel that far from helping she was partly responsible for perpetuating what was happening. It was soul destroying and she only saw the patients that were expected to make a full recovery. She could only imagine what it was like for those on the front line.
It made her decide that there had to be more to life than this and she had decided to take an easier path through life. It was just at that point she had met Steve and he had almost turned her around if only...
She found her thoughts drifting back to what might have been if her decision had been different, it was only a slight groan from Steve that snapped her back to the present. Hopeful that it was a sign of his returning consciousness, she spoke to him softly. "That's it Steve wake up. There's so much I still want... need to tell you."
Mark swayed slightly and the young officer who had insisted on seeing the Doctor all the way to Jesse's room moved in to steady him. Amanda also moved over to the door to help him. She was so concerned at Mark's pale appearance that the presence of the police officer did not even register.
Jesse, however, who could only lie and watch from his bed noticed immediately. "Mark? What happened? Why are the police with you?"
Mark sighed and sat down. Although shocked by what he had heard, it had only served to confirm what he had already known. It could only have been Steve who had been hurt. His son was frequently dismissive of his own hurts and ailments but he would not have willingly helped an injured woman to leave the hospital without treatment.
Mark's shock at this confirmation, however was short lived as he noticed the effect that his reactions were having on his young friend. Jesse's increased agitation was causing his blood pressure to increase and his heart rate to quicken. His body was in no condition to be dealing with this sort of stress. Mark turned to the police officer. "Thank you for your help but I think you'd better leave for the time being."
The officer nodded noting the doctors concern for his patient and turned and left.
Mark turned his full attention back to Jesse. He knew that despite his own emotions he needed to help calm him down. "Its OK Jess" he said soothingly, "Calm down and I'll explain"
"But.." Jesse started to protest.
Mark looked over at the monitors and did not like what he saw. He adopted his best professional tone. "Look take some deep breaths, calm down and I will tell you everything." He turned his gaze back to Jesse, "otherwise I'm going to have to get a nurse in here with a sedative."
Amanda looked from Mark to Jesse and back again. Although Mark had had time to come to terms with what had happened to Steve, she had not. She too began to get the feeling that her world was being torn apart piece by piece.
Despite this, she also could not fail to notice the danger signs for her other friend. Even without the monitors she would have been worried by his agitated state so soon after surgery. "Mark's right," she agreed. "You are in no condition to be getting stressed."
Jesse regarded each of his friends in turn. The curious part of him wanted to ignore their advice and insist that his questions were answered, the doctor in him knew they were both right. He did his best to relax back on the pillows and steady his breathing.
Mark realised that providing Jesse with answers to his questions may help to allay his fears providing of course, that he was not entirely truthful about those answers. "Look the police officer was just here to get your version of what happened," Mark lied. "I told him that you probably wouldn't be up to talking much yet and from what I have just seen I think I was right." He held up his hand to prevent any protests. "He said he would come back later when you had rested."
Both Mark and Amanda watched him varying their attention occasionally between him and the readout on the monitors.
Only when his blood pressure and pulse rate had settled did either of them consider discussing the situation further. Mark began with a warning, he spoke softly. "Jess you have been through major surgery less than two hours ago." He sighed, "You should be resting. If you need to talk about what happened then Amanda and I will listen but if you get stressed again I won't hesitate to call that nurse, OK?"
Jesse nodded realising the wisdom in his friend's advice. "OK," he replied. He tried his best to remain calm as he asked the question that was uppermost in his mind. "So, is what Amanda said true? Steve hasn't been seen since he brought me in here this morning?"
Mark hesitated before answering. He had already decided not to tell Jesse about the beach house until he was much stronger. Mark knew that he would be upset. Jesse spent a lot of time there with him and Steve and treated the place as a home from home. The last thing he needed was to be worrying about that on top of everything that had happened to him. The question now was whether or not to lie to him about Steve, keeping the truth from him at least until he was feeling stronger.
This presented a dilemma. Jesse had asked a direct question and Mark could not just avoid it or brush it off. He had also seen Mark's reaction to the news that Steve had been shot and that would be difficult to explain with anything but the truth. So what and how much to tell him? Mark had to decide quickly as Jesse watched him expectantly waiting for an answer.
"Yes, he left me a note telling me not to worry. He said that he had some personal problems to sort out and that he could be gone a couple of days." Mark combined the content of the note with what Steve had told both him and captain Newman earlier, attempting to phrase it so that it put the most positive spin on the circumstances surrounding Steve's disappearance. "I'm sure that Steve can't be too badly injured or he would have stayed for treatment but you know what Steve's like when he thinks a bullet wound is only a scratch." He smiled at the thought of trying to get Steve to sit still to get cuts and abrasions treated properly.
Amanda and Jesse both smiled too at their shared memories. "So you think he's OK?" Jesse asked a little more hopefully.
Mark continued his smile, pushing his inner worries deep inside as he attempted to reassure his injured friend. "I'm sure that he's fine or he wouldn't have left the hospital. He's had enough of my lectures over the years about getting injuries treated properly to risk leaving here if there was anything seriously wrong." Mark wished that he believed what he was telling Jesse but he had far too much evidence to the contrary.
Amanda realising what Mark was trying to do added her own reassurance. "Mark's right, Steve wouldn't dare. Could you imagine the length of the lecture if he did that?"
Jesse grinned, "No, but I wouldn't mind being a fly on the wall for that one."
Jesse's expression became more serious, the conversation reminding him of his discussion with Steve back at his apartment. He had promised Steve that he would not tell anyone, particularly Mark, about his visit that morning but under the circumstances maybe he should fill Mark in on what little he knew. After all he did not know much..
"Jesse?" Mark said questioningly. Jesse's eyes had glazed over as he stared off toward the far wall without even seeing it, lost in thought, "Are you OK? Would you like us to leave so that you can get some rest?"
Jesse shook himself back to the present. "I'm fine I was just thinking I should really tell you everything that happened this morning." He paused not sure how the old doctor would take his next comment. "Although Steve asked me not to," he hesitated, watching Mark's reaction before continuing "but under the circumstances..."
Amanda, noted the hesitation and completed the thought for him. "Under the circumstances I'm sure he will understand."
So Jesse described events as well as he could, from when he opened his door to Steve, up until the point where they all left the apartment together. Amanda had heard the rest.
Both Mark and Amanda sat in silence and listened. As Jesse described Steve's condition when he had arrived at his apartment, it only served to deepen Mark's concern about the health of his son. He remembered his disheveled appearance in the ER earlier and kicked himself for not insisting that Steve let him check him over, but deep down he realised that there was little he could have done, Steve had been determined to leave.
Jesse's revelations also only increased the mystery surrounding his son's behaviour. It was clear that Steve was trying to help or protect this woman he was with and, like his father, Steve could always be relied upon to help people who were in trouble, but the lengths Steve was going to suggested that Steve knew this person very well and if that were the case why had none of the rest of them heard of her?
By the time Jesse got to the end of his description it was clear that he was fighting to keep his eyes open. There was just one piece of information that Mark felt he needed to know that Jesse had not mentioned in his account. "Thanks Jess," he said. "You should get some rest now. There's just one thing I'd like to know. Did Steve mention the surname of the woman he was with?"
Jesse focused on the memory. "Yes, he introduced us. It was... Fielding, Emma Fielding."
So Agent Harris had been right. Steve was with Mrs. Emma Fielding but where else had Mark heard that name? Why did he get the feeling that he should recognise it?
"Get some sleep now. You need it," Mark said unnecessarily, Jesse's eyes had already begun to drift shut.
Fortunately neither of them had been looking at Amanda when Jesse supplied the name of Steve's companion. If they had they would have seen the shock register before she had chance to cover it for Jesse's sake. Mark may not have recognised the name straight away but Amanda did. Steve was with the wife of the man she had autopsied that morning and the only suspect for the brutal murder was Mrs. Emma Fielding!