Oh so close to the end of this story. But not finished just yet! Thank you for all of the reviews and comments. Your theories are always so clever!
Return to Me
Chapter 21
Sprung
It was late, well past visiting hours and Jane had not re-awakened when Lisbon returned with his tea. Flashing her badge at the nurse manning the desk, she was granted a bit longer to sit in his room and hold Jane's still hand. Her coffee was awful, the usual swill that came out of a machine but until she could get to a good coffee shop, it would have to do. As Lisbon got settled, a knock on the door was soon followed by a smiling Cho, who stepped into the room and stood at the foot of the bed.
"Thanks for coming back" Teresa smiled. "Jane's been asleep for a little while."
"How's he doing now?"
"Fine, I guess. The drugs they gave him after surgery took the edge off his pain and let him sleep. I don't want to wake him until he's good and ready."
"Looks like he's going to be stuck for a while, until his ankle heals at least" Cho surmised, gazing at the cast on Jane's arm and the large elastic wrapping all around his ankle.
"Yup. Should be interesting!" Lisbon agreed, before noticing Jane stirring in his bed. She ushered Cho out of the room, as their conversation might wake Jane up, which she didn't want. Her maternal instincts were on the rise.
"Have you heard from Abbott or Calderone?"
Cho sat on a chair outside Jane's door. He'd been on his feet for hours.
"Abbott just called. He spoke with Mrs. Collins and confirmed a few details about Martin Valeriote and Robert Thomas. Looks like Thomas was definitely at the farm, most likely killed there, and the rug Valeriote was wrapped up in was from the small barn. Mrs. Collins verified that it came out of an old cabin that used to be on the farm up until a few years ago."
Lisbon remembered that Jane had said he had information about Thomas. Could be more details about what happened to him.
"Jane tried to tell me about Agent Thomas but I told him it could wait until tomorrow. By then we should have some preliminary forensic reports to read as well" Lisbon added.
"Well with Gus in custody, we can wait for the rest of the story until morning. I expect someone will have sent a signal to Fred Murdoch to lie low in Mexico, at least for now. Border authorities have been notified and the moment he tries to cross back into the States we'll nab him."
"Sounds good Cho. If we can get Murdoch to turn on his suppliers and other customers, this will turn out to be a very large bust."
"We can hope" Cho smiled, getting up again. He and Lisbon went back into the room to check on Jane, who was still sleeping soundly.
"Tell him I was here will you?" Cho asked Teresa.
"Will do. I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks for coming Cho."
"Bye."
With Cho's exit, Teresa bent over her sleeping man and kissed his cheek, causing him to mumble something unintelligible. It was late, and the race around Red Mesa was finally catching up to Lisbon. Seeing that Jane would be down for the night, she slipped out of his room and made her way back to her hotel for a much needed rest.
(ICU)
A guard stood at attention outside the ICU unit, carefully scrutinizing everyone who entered. No one was going to get near Gus unless he was a doctor, nurse or the cops. Gus was heavily sedated, a breathing tube swish swishing as oxygen was pumped into his lungs. A heavy dressing was wrapped around his thin chest and over his shoulder where the bullet had ravaged his body. While he was sedated now and harmless, it might be a different scenario when the drugs wore off and he once again started to seek out his son Ben. No blond man of a certain age would be exempt from his scrutiny. Hospital staff who would be tending to him had been informed of his mental issues and only dark haired nurses and doctors would care for him until he was safely locked up in a cell. Until he awoke, all was calm tonight.
(Lost Wells - Morning)
Abbott had stayed at the motel overnight and was packing to leave for Houston. The motel would close for a few days while Maggie, Maisie and Jillie were in Houston. Now that the FBI was pulling out of town to let the local police force wrap up the case, there weren't any new customers to worry about anyway. Perhaps when the scandal had died down more travellers would pull into the motel for a rest, but for now, it could remain closed.
As Dennis loaded his belongings into the SUV, Maisie walked Mrs. Collins over to the car, trailed by Maggie. She had stayed in her room ever since she returned from the farm. Except for Maisie checking up on her every so often, she preferred to process everything that had happened on her own, for now. She knew the Agents would want to talk to her and she was apprehensive about that, but with Maisie by her side she knew she could do it. Maisie had explained that what she told the Agents about Mr. Jane and Gus could do a lot of good, so that made it all so much easier to bear. Life had been so confusing lately, but somehow she had come through it a lot stronger, and much wiser. Maybe now Maisie wouldn't be quite so protective of her, might let her be a grown up for a change…
"Good morning Mrs. Collins. I hope you got some rest last night" Abbott said affably, seeing the old woman approach with nervousness.
"Yes, as well as I could hope for I guess" she answered politely. She liked this big man. He seemed kind and generous and so she was not afraid of him. What she was afraid of was what she would see once she got to the hospital and was allowed in to visit her husband. Would he still be her Gus, somewhere deep inside all that confusion? That's what had kept her awake last night.
"We'll drive a short distance then get onto the chopper just outside town. I hope it isn't too scary for you. The ride can be quite thrilling" Abbott said, trying to find a positive in all this misery.
Jillie took Abbott's hand as he guided her into the large vehicle. "I've always wanted to go for a ride in a helicopter. I guess it's never too late to do something new" she smiled.
"No it isn't. We'll be in Houston soon, then you can see your husband."
"Thank you Agent Abbott, for letting me come with you. For being so kind and understanding, to me, and to Gus. He's not well" she said softly.
"Yes Ma'am" was all Dennis could say to that.
"We'll follow in the car and meet you in Houston at the hospital Jillie" Maisie said as the car began to back out of the parking lot. "See you soon!"
(Houston General Hospital)
Jane had been awake since dawn, his drug induced sleep having long ago dissipated. What he needed now was a great cup of tea and something, anything, to eat. He pulled himself up into a sitting position and waited to see who would be coming through his door. Judging from the noise emanating from the hall, the day was in full swing. The sound of food carts banging down the hallway indicated the arrival of meals and he could well imagine some lukewarm beige lump in a bowl being delivered to his bedside very soon. The next person he wanted to see was Teresa, but after a 10 minute wait, the door swung open and a student nurse entered carrying a breakfast tray. While hospital food often left much to be desired, Jane hungrily lifted the tray lid and gazed at the offerings awaiting him. An apple juice, cold cereal, milk, lukewarm tea, a yoghurt and a biscuit. Hmmm… Not completely tragic. He could manage most of this until he got sprung out of there and found a decent meal somewhere else. The juice was downed with pleasure, its sweetness and coolness much appreciated. Jane was not a fan of cold cereal but his hunger forced him to consider it. Just as he was about to pour the milk into the bowl the door opened again and Teresa entered, carrying a bag of goodies much more suited to Jane's palate.
"Good morning Patrick!" she beamed, stepping up to her man to plant a kiss on his smiling lips.
"It is now" he murmured. "You saved me from all this" he said, indicating his breakfast tray with disdain.
"I thought you might like something else. How about a fresh croissant, plum jelly, a blueberry muffin with butter and Earl Grey tea?"
"Yes please!"
Lisbon moved the breakfast tray to another table and set up Jane's new meal, with enough for her as well. Taking a few minutes to savour the delicious repast, they both settled down to eat together. When the croissants were gone and Jane's muffin was being buttered by Teresa, Jane sipped his tea and smiled. Until his wrist healed, Teresa would be doing a lot more of the food prep. That would be interesting.
"Thank you for this."
"You're welcome. Any word on when you can leave?"
Jane shook his head. The doctor hadn't been in yet and he was the one to determine whether Jane could safely leave the hospital today. There was no real reason to keep him as he was not in any danger.
"I'm hoping to get out of here by noon at the latest. I'll need some help getting around though, at least until the swelling goes down in my ankle."
"For the short term you can use a wheelchair…"
"Ugh!"
"For which you should be grateful! Then when you can put some weight on your foot we'll get you a cane. It's either that or you stay cooped up in a hotel room until we finish the investigation here in Houston. You choose" Lisbon said seriously. She knew Jane's pride would take a hit if he had to be pushed around in a wheelchair, but such was life.
"Okay okay. Anything to get outta here" he smirked, biting into his blueberry muffin with relish.
"How's the arm? Hurting much?"
Jane wiped his mouth with a napkin and gazed at his heavily plastered left arm. It hurt like hell. So did his ankle. Whatever drugs they had given him last night had finally worn off.
"Yeah, it hurts. Feels like someone rearranged every bone and nerve ending in there with a jackhammer. I could use a Tylenol or something."
"I'm sorry Patrick. Your arm took a beating yesterday, and it'll take a while to calm down. I'm sure the doctor will prescribe something for the pain when he releases you later today. Can you hold on for a while?"
Grimacing as he moved his heavy arm to another position on the mattress, any pretense of stoicism was dropped.
"Good. Hang on just a bit longer Patrick."
The door opened quietly and a nurse came in carrying a small cup with a pill in it.
"How are you this morning Mr. Jane? Are you in much pain?"
"Feels like a tiger chewed on my wrist. Can I have something to settle it down?" he admitted.
"Coming right up" the nurse indicated, holding up the paper cup holding his meds. "The tissue inside your arm is very inflamed right now and will need time to get back to normal. This will tide you over until the doctor writes a prescription for you. He should be in soon." She gave Patrick his pill which he washed down with his tea. Smiling at Teresa, the young nurse left quietly and Jane picked up his muffin again.
"Sounds like I will get sprung after all" Jane grinned, relaxing as the medication rolled through his body, killing the pain impulses to his brain. Five minutes later, he could feel the full effect of the medicine. "Ahhh...that's better."
Teresa finished up her breakfast and then cleared up the debris while Jane watched her with appreciation. She came back and settled in a worn leather chair beside the bed.
"So, before your surgery last night you mentioned something about Agent Thomas. What did you find out at the Collins farm?" she asked, turning on a small tape recorder to give to Cho later.
Sighing at the memory of that tense conversation, Jane recounted how Gus admitted killing Agent Thomas when he discovered the pit with someone inside.
"Agent Thomas had gone to the farm with Gus to help deliver furniture that the Collins's bought at auction. He wandered around the property while Gus went inside to get payment for him. When Gus got outside, Thomas had already put two and two together and knew he was dealing with a kidnapper at the very least. But Gus thought Thomas was there to scope out the farm."
"Why would he think that, and why would that lead him to kill Agent Thomas?" Lisbon asked.
"Gus told me that his land was worth a fortune. He had convinced himself that there was oil under his farm and that when I, Ben, took over the farm, I would be a rich man."
Teresa nodded in understanding. Gus was more deluded than she had anticipated.
"Makes sense that he would feel threatened by Thomas if he thought he was really there to case the farm for his own use. I guess we'll never know if Agent Thomas told Gus about what he'd discovered in the pit."
"No. Just snooping around was enough for him to be killed. Whether or not he accused Mr. Collins of being a kidnapper, he was an enemy just for being too nosey. Gus shot him in the back and took his body out into the desert for disposal. That was his preferred method of hiding the bodies."
"It worked for a long time."
"It did. Shooting Thomas was necessary to get rid of a nuisance, someone who would squeal to the police about Gus's doings on the farm, but usually Gus preferred to interrogate the men he took and find out if they were Ben or just an imposter. Like me, apparently."
"And of course, they were all imposters…" Teresa added, imagining the scene play out time and time again.
"As soon as it became clear to Gus that the man he had taken couldn't answer his questions about Ben, the farm, his life out there, he was dispatched with a blow to the head and an injection of drugs. He'd be dead before he was dragged to the truck" Jane continued.
"So how did you manage to survive the test Gus set up for you?"
Jane took Teresa's hand and squeezed it gratefully "You. You saved me Teresa."
Teresa looked confused. How did she influence Gus that day, at that dangerous moment?
"What did I do? I wasn't there Patrick!"
"No, thank goodness, you were far away and safe. Remember you had a visit with Maisie outside the motel that night a few days ago and she told you about the car accident that Ben and Maggie had? All the details you told me later on were what saved me. Gus grilled me on Ben's life at the farm, and I managed to fake my way through those questions, but when it came to the accident, you had given me enough information about the blue convertible, the accident, Ben and Maggie's relationship, to talk my way out of a one way trip to the bottom of that dry riverbed. So, thank you. It was you who saved my life...twice actually, counting stopping Gus from giving me an overdose."
Lisbon listened to this with a dawning awareness that her innocent conversation with Maisie had been so vitally important to Jane's survival. If she had not joined Maisie to chat that night, Jane would have died at the farm for sure. A chill ran up her spine at the thought of the randomness of it all.
"I don't know what to say Jane. So much hinged on that conversation…"
"Yes, it did. But you took the time to speak to Maisie and you ended up helping Maisie and me at the same time."
Gazing at Teresa, Patrick could see that this revelation had rocked her. If she had stayed inside the motel room while he and Cho went into town, none of this would have turned out so well. He needed to lighten the mood.
"How's Maggie holding up?"
"I have no idea. Abbott's flying in today with . Maisie and Maggie will follow by car. Maybe you'll get a chance to speak to Maggie while she's here in Houston. Shall I try to arrange that for you?"
"If Maggie is OK with that, then yes. We both need to discuss what we saw out there in Lost Wells if she's ever going to trust men again."
"Alright. With luck you can get over to the FBI office here in Houston before the day is finished. See Calderone and Abbott and check on the latest the investigation has turned up. Then, you need to rest" Teresa smiled.
"Yes Ma'am!" Patrick saluted. Anything to get out of this bed.
Teresa stayed until the staff needed to come in and give Jane a checkup, then she found the ICU to see how Gus was doing. Maybe by the time she got back to Patrick he would know if he could leave soon.
The ICU was bustling with activity when she arrived. Showing her badge she passed the Agent on duty and found a nurse to ask after Mr. Collins.
"He woke up a little while ago. His pain is under control but he was distressed about the breathing tube. The doctor will remove it this morning and see how Mr. Collins handles breathing on his own" the woman explained. That was all she was allowed to pass on to Agent Lisbon without the consent of the patient or his family. At least Gus was alive and getting better. In a day or two perhaps he could be interrogated safely. The case was moving along well, with the benefit of Jane as a first-hand witness to Gus's madness and his methods of killing people.
A trial, if one even happened, might be in front of a judge alone. A jury would not necessarily be needed if it was proven that Gus was incapacitated by mental illness. In that case he would most likely spend the remaining days of his life in a maximum security facility for the criminally insane. Not a happy ending for his life but a better option than the death penalty. Lisbon made her way back to the floor where Jane was being cared for. When she pushed open his door, a doctor was standing by his bed examining him.
"Oh! Sorry! I can come back!" Teresa blurted out in embarrassment. The doctor waved her inside, finished with his physical exam.
"Sorry to interrupt Doctor" Lisbon apologized again as she stepped into the room.
"It's fine, we're almost done here" the doctor said kindly.
"This is Agent Teresa Lisbon, my partner at work and in life" Jane explained succinctly, taking Lisbon by surprise. That sounded very nice!
"Agent Lisbon, pleased to meet you" the doctor said, shaking her hand. "Mr. Jane is doing very well and I think he can leave today once the paperwork is completed. We can help you make arrangements for a wheelchair until his foot is able to take some weight. Shouldn't be too long if he doesn't overdo it."
"And my arm? How long until the cast can come off and I can use it again?"
"Your arm originally had a nice simple break, but the added jostling and damage to nerves that you suffered will slow the recovery down by a couple of weeks. Give yourself a good 8 to 9 weeks for everything to knit together and heal. When you get home to Austin check in with the Fracture Clinic at your local hospital and they will let you know when the cast can come off. Then, physical therapy will get everything moving again. Sorry but it will take time."
"We've got plenty of that fortunately. Thank you doctor" Teresa smiled, happy to take her man out of there as soon as possible. Bruises covered Jane's torso and his face had a large green bruise on the side of his jaw where Gus had punched him. A scattering of stitches closed the wound on the top of his head and his ear had a large scab forming on the spot where the sharp rock from the Mesa had scored his earlobe. But it could have been so much worse. He was alive and mentally alert. Everything else was going to heal with time and care.
"A nurse will be in soon with some paperwork to sign and instructions for care, and then, you can get dressed and be on your way. Take care Mr. Jane, you too Agent Lisbon" the doctor smiled as he shook hands with both of them. Then he left to care for his other patients, leaving Jane beaming at Teresa.
"I'll let Abbott know you got sprung" she laughed, pulling out her phone. Jane reached out with his good hand and pulled her in close.
"Abbott can wait. Come here…" he said, kissing her deeply and lovingly. "And there's plenty more where that came from my dear…"