Chapter 11
[Just after lunch—Precinct]
After a couple of hour long talk with the two agents and an impromptu lunch with Henry, Jo read over the file for a new case. Perhaps it was too soon…with Donnelly's body still being downstairs and all…but her mind needed to move on so it could cope.
To their credit, the agents and the Duboises answered her questions patiently and with more than expected detail. They filled her and, at times, Henry in on the history behind the case and the players involved. They told lurid stories of crimes and murder where the authorities looked the other way….
…perhaps because some segments of the culture operated by their own rules…
I can't believe some of that stuff really happens! I can't believe that book really has that kind of effect. Magic? Yeah right…except you saw Dubois' inner creep come out and those other immortals. Kind of makes you think….
She glanced at the bouquet sitting in its tinted glass on the corner of her desk. She smiled warmly at it. It served as a reminder of Henry's constancy. Once again, in his own reserved way, he reminded her of how he was there for her. Despite all of the changes in their partnership and developing relationship, he wanted to be her rock…her anchor in the adjustment to immortality.
Leave it to Henry to have the flowers ready not to mention that lunch arranged at Le Sheik! Careful, Jo, you're starting to lose it, she noted while allowing a self-teasing note at the end. She knew her partner was the real deal.
She wanted to be his real deal too….
I'll get there, Henry. Just keep being patient. She allowed herself a warm smile.
"Hey, Jo. Glad to see you're okay. Who sent the flowers?" Hanson wondered.
"Henry gave them to me this morning when we wrapped up the Donnelly case. Sorry to scare you all last night. I chased one of the perps out of here and down the alley. The creep got away," she replied half-truthfully. To be honest, she amazed herself at how she pulled off the lie with ease. "How's everything with you?"
"I'm glad Reece checked out okay. Glad not to be doing administrative stuff, you know? Getting steam rolled by those two agents was not fun last night," Hanson admitted. "You really had us worried last night. Henry too. Guess that's why he gave you the flowers."
"Yeah it is. He took me to lunch just to let me know that. I appreciate the concern, Hanson. We've had a lot of stuff coming our way the past few months, haven't we?" she supposed. She reached for the coffee cup and took a heavy draught from it.
"It's been intense." Hanson wanted to ask more about Henry but didn't. "How's he handling it?"
"Last night? He's dealing with the death of an old friend and finishing the autopsy on him right now. It's hard but we're getting through it. Taking me to lunch was part of his way of dealing with it. I'm glad he's finally opening up," she explained.
"And Dubois? I saw his file last night. Talk about a guy with a cracker short of a box."
She shrugged. "He's more complex than you'd think. Henry and I just spent a couple of hours with him and his wife. Yeah he's intense and can be downright intimidating at times. However at others, I saw a caring husband and friend. There are reasons he has his issues, Hanson. You don't want to meet up with them."
"And you did?"
She nodded. "Two of them broke into that cell block last night. One of them was the guy I chased. I just hope I never have to deal with that stuff again." She saw Reece approaching them slowly and with a pronounced gait. "Lieutenant?"
"Good to see you back, Jo. Is the case closed?" Reece supposed.
"Other than Henry discharging Donnelly's body back to his family, it is. Ready for the next case," Jo replied while trying to skirt the issue at hand.
Reece, however, was having none of it. "Not just yet. I know David and Angela Dubois are down there. Come with me. I want a word with all of you and Dr. Morgan." She added an expectant look for good measure.
"Yeah. I'd best get to that Rickerts case," Hanson excused himself before departing from the middle of the developing crap fest.
"All right. Let's go," Jo concurred while getting up from her chair and slipping the folders into her locked file drawer. Then she followed the superior toward the morgue. Now what are we going to do? I just hope she doesn't set Dubois off!
[Morgue]
[A/N: And here comes quite an argument—brace yourselves!]
Henry checked every detail of Donnelly's body and clothing. As with the case itself, he felt he owed it to the deceased and his family to ensure that all of the details were taken care of. While not normally part of his duties, he brushed Donnelly's hair and stood back. "Alexander, you look as you should."
"I appreciate it, Dr. Morgan," Angela expressed from where she and her husband watched him at work. "He always spoke well of you. Now I know why."
"To have good friends, one must be a good friend," Henry quipped. "Your grandfather took great pains to be so, Angela. Making sure his case is taken care of is a duty I take most seriously. I can call a particular mortuary if you'd like?"
"Not unless it's Bartleby's in London," Dubois declined. "I've already made the call over there. Apparently our mutual friend took care of the financial considerations."
"Mutual friend? Forgive me, David, I do not follow," Henry queried.
"Nicolas apparently made the arrangements. Quite the guy. He definitely gets around," Dubois noted wryly. "Angie and I will make sure Grandpa Alex gets across the Pond in good order. As you said, we owe him that much."
Henry quirked an eyebrow at that latest observation. He knew that his mysterious benefactor had connections around the world. Still the latter did amaze him at times with the casual 'reach out and touch' approach to things. "He most certainly does know how to swoop in at a moment's notice, does he not?"
"Indeed he does. None of us would be alive if he didn't, Doc," Dubois concurred. His eyes turned toward the door. "Incoming, Dr. Morgan. You expecting your boss?"
"Not really. I wonder what could be the reason behind her visit?" Henry queried. Seeing Reece and Jo walk through the door, he didn't need his keen insight to tell him that the former was none too thrilled with how events had gone down. "Good afternoon, Lieutenant. What might I do for you?"
"Good afternoon, Dr. Morgan, Professor and Dr. Dubois. I trust everything is in order concerning Dr. Donnelly's remains?" Reece queried. She tried to sound pleasant and professional yet an uncharacteristic terseness in such situations colored her voice.
"It is. We were just finishing things up. All that remains is to take my grandfather's body to Kennedy and fly him to London for burial," Angela replied pleasantly. "Are you doing all right, Lieutenant?"
"Detective Hanson informed me that you tended to me while I was unconscious, Doctor. I do appreciate that. Might we step into Dr. Morgan's office however? There are some things that need to be said," Reece expressed.
"Of course," Henry concurred albeit reluctantly. He did not want any kind of standoff—be it verbal or otherwise—to occur. Still orders were orders. He motioned the couple and Jo toward his office and stepped in after them before shutting the door.
"What is this about, Lieutenant?" Angela queried anxiously. She could see her husband's mouth curling into a frown already. "We do have a plane to catch."
"Not before what needs to be addressed, Dr. Dubois." Reece cleared her throat. "Your husband needs to understand that acts of vigilantism are not to be tolerated in this jurisdiction."
Dubois shook his head and rolled his eyes at her. He snickered rather rudely. "Neither is police ineptitude but you excel at it. Spare me. Alexander Donnelly's dead because you all tied my hands back at the Cloisters. You should be dead, Lady as should my wife and Detective Martinez. My other half stopped that." He folded his arms across his chest. "This is your first taste of such stuff, isn't it? I saw your officers struggling to understand what was going on last night. You have no idea how bad it could've been."
"And you do? Mr. Dubois…." Reece retorted.
"I've been dealing with that shit since I was four years old, Lieutenant. Damn right I know! Alex isn't the first person targeted over this mess! I've lost a great deal because you damn donut-munching political lapdogs are more interested in kissing the mayor's ass than doing your damn job!" Dubois snapped at her. He started to breathe heavily and spasmed.
"Lieutenant, may I suggest we…?" Henry interceded recognizing the signs of the coming episode in the other man.
"No, Dr. Morgan, I will not take that!" Reece pressed.
"Tough…cuz tha's all yer gonna git, Toots." The Child raised his head slowly almost like a cobra sizing up its prey. "Ah saved yer punk ass las' night from Mustard Boy's creeps! An' ya whine, whine, whine! Stoopid po…lice! Jus' like when they killed Peggy! Jus' like when the big pic…ture happened! When THEY BURNED US!"
"Picture? I…." Reece struggled to understand. She reached for her revolver. "Mr. Dubois, get a hold of yourself or I'll…."
"NA' BIG BRO, STOOPID! TYPICAL COP! YA THINK YER SO GREAT CUZ A' YER BADGE AN' GUN! YER NOTHIN!" the Child bellowed right in her face.
"Henry, what?" Jo wondered.
Henry rubbed his forehead while trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Picture…picture….
Then he remembered….the tapestry….the auto-da-fe. "You? You're…."
"He gits it. Yeah tha's right. Ah'm the guy they burned in the damn thing! 'KAY? An' tha's after cops failed ta SAVE PEGGY AN' TEACHER! YA DON' KNOW NOTHIN'!" Seeing her hand reaching for the gun, his eye glowed brightly.
The pistol flew from her grasp and hit the wall across the room.
"Don' even think it, Sweets. Like Big Bro said, Gra'pa dead cuz a' ya! Nex' time Ah might let yer skank ass die! Stoopids!" The Child spat indignantly on the floor. "Mon, Miss Priss, time ta split. T'anks, Morgie, fer help 'fore." He grabbed Angela's hand and focused.
The couple and Donnelly's body disappeared in a dark flash leaving only the reek of sulfur and ozone in their wake.
"What the Hell?" Jo inquired. She rushed out into the main morgue area and stared incredulously at the empty examination table. "Where did it go?"
"He just vanished? Where did they go?" Reece demanded.
"There is no telling, I fear. Unless you'd wish to contact Scotland Yard, I'd suggest you let the matter rest, Lieutenant. Let David and Angela bury Alexander Donnelly in peace and go on with their lives," Henry proposed as respectfully as possible. "You were not in Rowenshire on that day." He bowed his head from the Memoria's burden….
[Rowenshire, MA—June 20, 1978]
Henry sprinted as hard as he could across a grassy field. He could hear a group of bloodthirsty villagers pursuing him. He needed to reach the woods and seek refuge there. Once he did so, he could use the foliage to make his way back to the village center and the rented car there.
Still he needed to make it there alive and with his secret intact…That was a big if at that point.
A rifle shot echoed through the late spring air. A bullet caromed off of a tree just to his left.
He stumbled down the hill and into the brush therein. He crawled through the cover smearing himself in mud in the process. He endured stinging mosquitoes and just evaded a few snakes trying to strike him.
"An' who art thou? Woe be thee!" A spectral image of a woman in eighteenth century clothes and long flowing hair floated in the air in front of him.
'Nough, Mistress! Bring him 'fore me. He saved the boy. Ah'll give 'im a favor! a dark voice instructed.
She spat malevolently. "Aye, Master! Come!" She floated toward the east.
Henry hobbled through the woods. Through the trees, he could see a valley with a matching patch of dead grass similar to the one he'd just escaped from. "You're dressed…from another time?"
"Aye! Mah time an'…." She turned and considered him. "Yer from tha' time too! Yer na' jus' a mortal, art thou?"
Nay. He is not, the voice grated on her and his psyches.
Henry stumbled into the field to see a large bonfire burning in its center. Circling around it, a large pack of feral half-breed coy-dogs considered him.
Two spots appeared in the flames. Welcome, Henry Morgan. You seek death? I shall give it to you!
The world erupted in a blast of heat and fire as the memory ended…..
[Modern Day, Morgue]
Jo shook him hard. "Henry? Henry! What is it?"
He forced himself out of the flashback and nearly jumped at the sight of them. "What? Sorry…I was just remembering that day in Rowenshire."
"Rowenshire? That's the village Dubois' from. Doctor, what?" Reece queried. "Are you all right?"
"Henry, it's all right," Jo assured him. "Sorry, Lieutenant." She embraced him tightly. "You saw something?"
"I did. I saw the lynch mob trying to kill him and his family as they were trying to leave. The sheriff watched it happen. I also saw what made Dubois what he is." He composed himself with great effort.
"What was it? Was it that tapestry, Henry? That stuff really isn't true," Jo denied.
"It is. I had a close call. You might recall the mention of exposure in Athol along the Quabbin Reservoir from my record?" he supposed.
"I saw it. Henry, you were attacked, badly burned and thrown in? Why did you let yourself be cited like that? Certainly somebody in the area would've dealt with it?" Reece queried.
"As a man of science, I did not believe before that point, Lieutenant. Now I do." Henry took a deep breath. "I'm afraid I'm not up to my usual self today. I'd like to take the afternoon please?"
"Of course. Jo, go with him. We can handle the cases for today and tomorrow. While it was 30 years ago, Doctor, I'll make some calls and get that case taken off of your record," Reece relented. "And once again, my sympathies for your friend."
"Thank you, Lieutenant. I most certainly appreciate that," he noted while collecting his coat. "Mind a ride?"
"A loaf of bread and some ducks need feeding, I think," Jo concurred while rubbing his arm. "Come on." She took his hand and led him from the morgue area.
Reece shook her head. She was a woman of the modern age. She considered herself a person of science, reason and above superstition. Yet she'd seen a great deal on that day which defied such logic….
…a half possessed man raving at her and nearly going nuclear in her precinct building…
…and she saw a man, Henry Morgan, reduced to a state of uncertainty and being forced to admit to the same uncertainty in himself….
"Unbelievable," she muttered. Seeing Lucas walk in, she noted, "You'll be working with Dr. Steiner this afternoon. Dr. Morgan is taking some sick time."
"Wow. The doc never takes sick time. Hope he's going to be all right. Thanks, Lieutenant," he indicated.
"You're welcome," Reece replied flatly while heading out the door. She definitely had a lot of thinking to do….
Lucas shook his head. He batted the cloying ozone odor away. "Man who let the rotten smell in here? Gross!" He went for the fan hoping to dissipate the smell.
Such was the case in the eleventh on that day as one world butted into another….
