Chapter 14

"Adelinda!" Francesca gasped behind her sister.

Mr. D'Angelo grabbed his wife's arm in case she decided to take another swing at the young man who had yet to respond.

Everyone watched with bated breath to see what Keith would do. Shirley was just about to defend her son when Keith finally turned away from Anne's picture to face her family once again. An angry red hand print evident on his left cheek.

He spoke very quietly but with great conviction.

He addressed Francesca first, "I deserved that, so don't be upset."

His eyes then turned to Anne's parents, "I truly am sorry for what happened to Anne. If I could take her place, I would. Your daughter was much too good for me. I'm not asking you to forgive me, because I know that I'll never forgive myself."

With those last words, Keith turned and walked out of the church. Once again looking neither right nor left. Laurie glared at the D'Angelo's and followed quickly behind her brother. She'd heard every word he'd said and her heart was breaking.

Shirley too was dying inside for the despair that her son was feeling but knowing that the D'Angelo's could not be blamed for their feelings. She quietly said, "I am so very sorry for your loss." Then quickly followed her son and daughter out as well.

If she had looked behind her she'd have seen Mrs. D'Angelo dissolve in tears and her husband attempt to console her. Francesca whispered something to them and quickly followed the Partridges out of the church. She caught up to Shirley on the steps and hailed her, "Mrs. Partridge. Please accept my apologies for my sister's actions. She doesn't know what she's doing right now."

"Francesca, I can't blame her. She's grieving over a lost child. It's something I hope I never have to deal with, but right now my son is blaming himself for something he had no control over. What she did will just make him more sure that this is all his fault. I don't know how to help him." Shirley could not stop the tears from flowing.

They found Keith on his knees beside the family car, dry heaving. Laurie was supporting him as best she could, tears streaming down her face.

"Keith!" Shirley said as soon as she saw him on the ground.

He simply moaned and closed his eyes tighter. His cheeks were wet with the tears he had refused to allow himself to shed up until now. He'd held everything inside until Mrs. D'Angelo had confirmed his worst fears. She blamed him too.

"Just leave me alone." He said weakly after another attack of the dry heaves left him feeling so very tired.

"Mrs. Partridge, Laurie, would you give me a few minutes alone with Keith?" Francesca asked quietly.

After studying the look of sympathy on Francesca's face and realizing that she was not going to attack her son like Mrs. D'Angelo just had, Shirley nodded slowly and put her hand out to her daughter. She was at a loss on how to help her son, she only hoped that Francesca could get through to him. Laurie reluctantly moved away from Keith and took her mother's hand. They walked back to the steps of the church and watched from a distance as Francesca, in her dress and heels, sat down on the ground next to Keith who had weakly fallen against the car after Laurie's support had been removed.

"Keith, I know you probably don't want to talk to anyone right now, but there's something I need to share with you. Something you need to hear." Francesca said and waited for Keith to acknowledge her.

"What, are you going to slap me too? Because I wouldn't blame you if you did." Keith said in a voice hoarse from its recent rough treatment.

"No, Keith, I have no desire to hit you. Hug you, maybe, but not hit." Francesca let her tears fall as she remembered Anne, who had been more like a sister to her than a niece. At Keith's confused look she continued, "Anne talked to me while she was staying with me just before, well, just before she died. You see we're very close, probably because we're closer in age than I am with my own sister. She felt like she could talk to me. And though we didn't get to see each other often, she would call me all the time and we'd talk. She was a very special person, my niece."

She had paused in hope that Keith would respond to her comments. She needed to be sure he was truly listening to her. "Yes, she was special." Francesca smiled through her tears when she heard his shared opinion.

"She used to tell me that she was afraid of ending up like her mother. She wanted more out of life than being a mother and a housekeeper. Oh, don't get me wrong, Anne loved her mother dearly, but she watched my life and wanted a life that allowed her to make her own decisions. You see, Anne romanticized my lifestyle. I'm a single career woman with a partnership in a major law office. She thought that I had it all – career, independence and happiness. What she didn't see was that I was, am lonely. I put so many hours in at the office that I have no time for a personal life." Francesca smiled sadly. She quickly pulled herself back to the subject of Anne, "Do you know that Anne had every intention of running for political office some day? She wanted to do right by the world."

"And, now, because of me, she'll never get to do any of those things." Keith reminded her.

"Well, actually, on her last visit, her idea of what she wanted for her future had changed drastically. She was no longer certain that she didn't want a husband and a family anymore. You see, she'd fallen in love with someone." Francesca smiled at Keith.

"She was in love with me?" Keith asked surprised. They'd been together for such a short time and had always known it wouldn't last very long.

"Very much. She told me that she was considering giving up her scholarship to Harvard and enrolling at a school closer to home. She wanted to be near you." Francesca revealed.

"Are you trying to make me feel worse? Because I'm not sure that's possible." Keith sighed and closed his eyes.

"Wow, for someone who sways juries and talks for a living, I'm really screwing this one up." Francesca laughed ruefully. "I'm trying to tell you that what you gave Anne was priceless. You gave her so much happiness in the last weeks of her life, more than she had ever believed possible. She had resigned herself to a life of being alone, much like mine. She was going to live her life for others, but not for herself. She had just recently figured out that a life without love is missing a very important ingredient. You gave her that gift."

"Then how can you not blame me for her death?" Keith asked.

"Keith, I worked as an assistant district attorney when I first passed the bar. I've seen all kinds of criminals and crazy people. I did my best to put as many of them behind bars as I could. Unfortunately I wasn't always successful. When I wasn't, they would inevitably break the law again and usually hurt someone innocent in the process. The first thing I had to learn was that no matter what I did, I couldn't change what they had done or were going to do. No more than you could stop what happened to Anne." Francesca watched Keith's face but saw the doubt still there.

"Keith, answer me one thing, did you know that Anne was in danger?" Francesca asked him.

"No. I would have done anything to keep her safe." Keith defended himself.

"Well then, tell me how you could have stopped what happened? If you had no idea it was going to happen, how could you have stopped it?" Francesca pointed out.

"I just should have known. I knew Juliet was different from all of my other fans. Even the most persistent and most ardent fans weren't as….well, crazy as Juliet." Keith told her.

"Keith, you can't expect to understand Juliet. She's not normal. She's mentally unbalanced. She will never do what you expect her to do. Mostly because you just cannot process information in the same way that she does." Francesca explained. "I've talked to several criminal psychologists throughout my career and many times they can't even predict what someone who is as mentally unbalanced as Juliet will do. They're getting better at it, but they're still a long ways toward understanding the psychotic mind."

"How can you not blame me?" Keith asked still surprised that someone who had loved Anne as much as Francesca had could forgive him for his part in this whole nightmare.

"Because you didn't do it. Juliet did and I know that had you known you would have done everything in your power to stop it." Francesca said with conviction.

"Alright, you can forgive me for my part in this whole thing, but tell me, how do I begin to forgive myself?" Keith asked desperation in his eyes.

"If I knew the answer to that, I'd be a very rich woman. Guilt is something we all deal with in different ways. All I know is that Anne loved you too much to have ever blamed you for this and the best thing you can do to honor her memory is to forgive yourself." Francesca said as she watched fresh tears track down the face of a struggling Keith.

Francesca felt like she could do no more. The rest would be up to Keith. She stood up, brushed off the back of her skirt and put her hand out to Keith. "Come on. I think you and your mom and sister should head home. I need to get back inside. My sister needs me right now."

Keith took her hand and stood up. He wiped his tears away and said, "When she's ready to listen, will you tell Mrs. D'Angelo how truly sorry I am?"

"Yes, Keith, I'll do that. Take care of yourself and your family. You have a long struggle ahead so long as this Juliet is on the loose. For your sake, I hope they catch her soon. Well, that's not exactly true – for my sake, I hope they catch her soon so that she can pay for what she did to my niece." Francesca finally let some of her venom toward the unknown Juliet surface.

Keith was truly grateful that her hatred was not directed toward him. She had helped him more than he deserved. Helped him to understand that, though Juliet had killed Anne because of him, he couldn't have known or stopped it. And, maybe, just maybe, if he said it enough times, he might start believing it.

xoxo

Keith hadn't said what he and Francesca had talked about, but as soon as they got home, he announced that he was going to take a nap. Shirley and Laurie had watched him walk away in shock. He hadn't willingly slept in days.

After an hour had gone by, Shirley had sent Laurie up to check on him. She'd found him sound asleep. She stayed to watch for a while to make sure he wasn't dreaming and could find nothing unusual about his breathing or sleep patterns. He was simply in a deep sleep. Probably the first deep sleep in a week.

She went down to report to her mom who had begun making dinner. "How is he?" was asked as soon as she walked through the kitchen door.

"Sleeping soundly." Laurie reported.

"Really?" Shirley asked.

"Really. I even watched for a while to make sure he wasn't just faking it or if he would have a nightmare. Nothing. He's just sleeping." Laurie said still surprised.

"Oh thank God!" Shirley thought. Maybe they'd turned a corner. As she turned back to the roast she was preparing to stick in the oven, the front door bell rang. "Would you get that before it wakes Keith?"

"Sure, Mom." Laurie said and headed out to do as her mother requested.

She opened the door to find a man in a suit. "Can I help you?" She asked.

"I'm Detective Sherman. Can I speak to your mother?" The man showed Laurie his identification and then stepped into the house once Laurie motioned him in. He was different than the one who had showed up last night to pick up all the letters that Danny had saved. They still hadn't told Keith that he'd kept them. Laurie wasn't sure she wanted to be around when Keith found out.

"I'll go get her. Have a seat." Laurie waved him toward the living room and went to get her mom.

"Mom, it's a detective. He wants to talk to you." Laurie told her mom just as she closed the door of the oven.

"Oh." She said as she smoothed down her sweater and her hair. Why was she having this nervous reaction to a police detective? It wasn't like they hadn't talked to their fair share over the last week or so. Maybe they'd caught Juliet. Maybe this was all over.

"Mom, he's waiting." Laurie reminded her as Shirley had paused to run through all of the possibilities.

Shirley smiled and nodded, "Right." Then pushed through the door to greet the man. "I'm Shirley Partridge."

"Hello, Mrs. Partridge. I recognize you from your album covers." The detective said a little embarrassed once he realized what he'd said.

"What can I do for you?" Shirley asked as she motioned him to sit back down once she'd taken a seat on the other end of the couch. Laurie had followed her back into the room and perched on the couch arm behind her mother.

"Well, actually, it's more what we can do for you. Mr. Kincaid had been working with the Chief of Police and the Mayor to make sure that you and your family are safe now that you're back home. I've been assigned to find out what type of surveillance you'd be most comfortable with." Detective Sherman explained.

"Surveillance? Just what do you mean?" Shirley asked.

"Well, we'd like to put someone in the home as well as some people around the house, but we wanted to make sure that you weren't uncomfortable with that." At Shirley's confused look he continued, "It's inevitable that this Juliet will find her way to San Pueblo in the near future and we need to make sure that you're all safe."

"Oh, I hadn't really thought about what that would mean. Yes, yes we need to decide." Shirley felt foolish for not having thought of this before now. She'd just been so concerned about Keith and the funeral that she had let it slip her mind. Well, that wasn't exactly true. She worried constantly about her family's safety from this crazy fan, but she hadn't really thought about what that would mean for all of them. Were her other children truly in danger? Was it possible that she could be standing at one of her own children's funerals just like the D'Angelo's had been earlier today?

Oh, where was Reuben? She needed his advice now more than ever. "I'd like to discuss this with our Manager before I make any decisions. Is that alright?"

"Sure, Mrs. Partridge. For now, I'll just go and sit out in my car in front of the house. You come and get me when you want to talk about this." The detective offered as he got up and walked to the door; Shirley trailing quickly behind.

Within 15 minutes, the back door banged open to admit the three youngest Partridges. "Hey, Mom, who's that in front of the house?" Danny asked while Chris and Tracy waited for her answer too.

"It's a police detective. He's waiting for Reuben to show up." Shirley explained not wanting to say any more as Chris and Tracy had been mostly shielded from everything up to now.

"Oh, well, it won't be long before dinner so he should be showing up shortly." Danny smirked at his own joke.

"Danny." Shirley smiled at her middle son who practically lived to tease Mr. Kincaid. "Go get cleaned up – all of you."

"But be quiet, your brother is sleeping." Shirley remembered to remind them as they noisily began to leave the kitchen. They quieted down considerably as they left which made Shirley smile.

"Should I go and wake Keith for dinner?" Danny asked as he came back in the kitchen after washing up.

"No, let him sleep. He hasn't had much lately. Laurie, would you go and check on him again?" Shirley asked her daughter who had been tossing the salad that would be part of their dinner.

"Sure Mom, but don't you think he should eat? He hasn't been eating much lately either." Laurie reminded her.

"I know, but sleep is probably more important right now. If he's hungry enough, he'll wake up." Shirley surmised.

"He's still out cold." Laurie reported when she came back a few minutes later.

"Good. Danny, help your sister set the table, will you?" Shirley asked.

"Me? I wouldn't know where to put the fork and spoon." Danny would say anything to get out of a chore.

"Here, I think you can figure out where the plate goes." Laurie said as she set a stack of plates in his hand and pushed him in the direction of the dining room. "Should we set a place for Reuben?"

"Yes, do. I'm sure he'll be here soon." Shirley said as she began the final preparations for their dinner.

As if on cue, the back door opened to admit Reuben. "Is that someone from the police department in front of the house?"

"Yes, it's a detective. He wanted to know if we wanted someone in the house. Really, Reuben, is that necessary?" Shirley asked concerned about what she'd have to tell Chris and Tracy.

"Possibly." Reuben hedged.

"But, in the house with us? Reuben, that's such an intrusion on our lives." Shirley pointed out.

"I've been talking to the police for several hours. Maybe they have another option to having someone inside. But right now, they have no idea where Juliet is and can only assume that she's making her way to San Pueblo as we speak. It just hit the news today that you've cancelled the rest of your tour, so by now she knows you're home."

"Right, I forgot about that." Shirley said as she continued to work. It was a good thing she could make dinner in her sleep because her mind was definitely not on her task. "Reuben, are my kids safe?"

Reuben frowned and stalled before he answered, "Shirley, I'm really not sure. I think so, but I don't want to take any chances."

"I guess I better try to explain things to Chris and Tracy over dinner." Shirley sighed not really looking forward to that task.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. They'll also have to stick close to home for a while." Reuben agreed.

Reuben helped carry a few dishes into the dining room and the family, less a sleeping Keith, settled down to dinner. Shirley ate sparingly as she struggled for the best way to explain what was happening to her two youngest. Reuben helped where he could and before dessert, they had been told the bare minimum to help keep them safe without scaring them. They tried making it a little bit like a game for them and hoped that it worked.

After dinner, Reuben and Shirley talked to Detective Sherman who was wolfing down a sandwich that Shirley had offered once she realized he hadn't had a chance to eat.

"Alright, then it's settled. We'll have a marked car parked outside at all times and at least two officers on sight at any given time. We'll also have someone behind your house as you decided against having someone inside. We're a relatively small department, but we'll get help from the state police if need be. Now, are you sure you don't want someone in the house?" Detective Sherman asked as he finished his coffee.

"No, I have to keep life as normal as possible for my children. We'll just all be extra careful." Shirley said as she offered a refill on the coffee.

"No, thank you." Detective Sherman said as he stood up. "I can't thank you enough for the sandwich and coffee, but I need to get back to the station and set up the surveillance schedule. I'll wait until the squad car gets here then I'll stop back in the morning to let you know how this will work. Good night."

The detective walked out and Shirley closed the door firmly behind him locking it.

Reuben had settled in on the couch when Shirley walked upstairs to go to bed. She checked on Keith for the final time just to make sure he was still sleeping peacefully and then settled in for what would likely be a sleepless night for her.

xoxo

Upon waking from a restless night, Shirley had checked on Keith to find him still sleeping. She'd watched him for quite some time happy that he was finally sleeping, but thinking that 16 hours was long enough. However, she hated to think of waking him.

Eventually she left his room to head downstairs to make breakfast. Maybe when she was done she'd take Keith breakfast in bed.

Upstairs, Laurie had the same thought as her Mother, so before heading downstairs, she'd stopped in Keith's room. While she watched him, Keith rolled over and slowly opened his eyes to find Laurie staring at him. He jumped slightly but then absently smiled at her.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Laurie greeted him with a wide smile.

"Morning." Keith mumbled his voice still muffled with sleep.

"You slept for something life 16 hours. How do you feel?" When Keith only grunted, she continued, "Well up and at 'em. Breakfast should be ready shortly and I'm sure you're hungry."

At the answering growl from Keith's stomach, Laurie laughed happily and turned to leave. "See you in a bit."

She went downstairs and reported to her mom that Keith was awake and should be down shortly. Mother and daughter shared a happy smile.

Keith was the last Partridge downstairs and even Reuben had gotten ready for the day before Keith. He felt sluggish after having slept for so long.

"Hungry honey?" Shirley asked as he walked into the kitchen and sat down in a chair.

"Yeah." Keith said as he grabbed the newspaper and opened it up. He lost his appetite immediately. The cover story was about Anne and how she'd been killed by a deranged fan of one Keith Partridge.

Danny had gotten the paper but not bothered to look at the front page. He'd simply grabbed the business section and put the rest on the table. When Shirley walked up behind Keith to set a plate in front of him, she caught the headline herself.

"Oh, no!" She said as she read the first few lines.

"What is it?" Reuben and Laurie said at the same time.

"It appears that the press has gotten a hold of the story." Shirley said absently as she continued to read. She noticed the paper start to shake a little as Keith became either more angry or upset as he read.

When Keith finished the story he stood up and started out of the kitchen. "Where are you going?" Shirley asked.

"I don't know. Nowhere, anywhere. I just can't be here right now." Keith said not exactly knowing what he had planned.

"What does that mean?" Shirley asked concerned.

"Look, I need to get away from all of this." Keith said as he swept his hand toward the paper. "I need some time alone."

"Well, that's not going to happen." Reuben informed him.

"What does that mean?" Keith asked.

"Well, the whole family is under surveillance by the police. You can't go anywhere alone." Reuben told him what he'd missed while asleep.

"Seriously?" Keith looked at his mother for confirmation. When she nodded, he sank back in his chair.

"Try eating something." Shirley told her stunned son.

"I'm not hungry." Keith told her.

"That's not what you said a few minutes ago." Danny reminded him. "But, if you're not going to eat your pancakes, can I have 'em?"

Keith wordlessly handed him the plate as the phone rang. Shirley answered it as she set a plate in front of Reuben.

"Oh, hi Johnny….the bus still isn't done?...tomorrow?...will you get home in time for your next job?...alright, I'll talk to you later." Shirley said and then informed her family that Johnny was still stuck in Albuquerque, but should be able to start out within a day or so as the parts would finally be getting there tomorrow. One of the hazards of driving such an old relic. Johnny was a little concerned that he might not make it back in time to start his new job. It would be close.

"That's it!" Keith said when Shirley finished.

"That's what?" Shirley asked him surprised.

"I'll fly back to Albuquerque and help Johnny drive the bus back! We can get back a lot faster if there's more than one driver." Keith announced.