CURIOSITY PART XII

LAPD Headquarters—5.32pm

Steve had Ben Holmes in an interrogation room. He left him to sweat in there for fifteen minutes and watched him from behind the one way window. As he stared solidly, his captain came up beside him. "You've done a great job so far, Sloan. I'm pleased, despite it's a personal case, how well you've been doing." Sloan nodded appreciating the compliment but his eyes never left the figure sitting on the other side of the window. Captain patted his arm and turned away, suddenly wondering if Sloan could do the job of interrogating Holmes. He looked as though he would murder the man if he got agitated. Finally though, Steve walked into the interrogation room and sat down in front of Holmes. The man stared down at his hands.

Steve leaned forward. "I haven't had much patience recently," he started off. "I have been wandering the city far and wide to find some piece of evidence. It seemed I didn't need to look far." Then he sat back and looked at the man. "Are you going to tell me where Marcus Lavoy is?"

Holmes looked at Steve like a stubborn child. "I'm not speaking to anyone until my attorney is here."

Steve laughed bitterly. "Holmes, not even your attorney can help you. The evidence is mounting up against you right this minute. You bank account is being raided, telephone calls to Lavoy being collected and that bug in Anders' phone is down in forensics. I feel that the only thing you attorney could do is watch this open-mouthed. You don't have any defense any more."

Ben Holmes sighed and sat back. From the ride to the station to sitting down in the interrogation room, he had had a lot of time to think. He had thought about what he had done and whether it was worth it…or whether it was worth still protesting his innocence. He couldn't make up a story. People knew…Anders knew. He may as well tell the whole story or a least some of it. Maybe he would get less time. After all, he was not really the criminal they were after. He looked up into Steve Sloan's eyes. "For all I know, he's back in Nevada somewhere, gambling with his friends."

Steve shook his head. "Somehow, I don't think so. Your bank account has one hundred thousand dollars in it. That's only half the amount that you were supposed to get. Marcus was going to pay you the other half when he was done, wasn't he? That means he's still somewhere here, isn't he?"

Ben Holmes fidgeted a bit. "I don't know. I haven't spoken to him in ages!"

Steve was beginning to lose his patience. "Oh come on, Holmes! You phone bill shows that you were talking to him three days ago for at least fourteen minutes. I don't know what your idea of 'ages' is but that is certainly not mine. Now am I going to get some answers or am I going to have to take some more drastic measures?" Ben didn't answer. "Lavoy is the biggest criminal this side of California. He uses people like you. Do you think that he was really going to pay you the other half of the money that easily? Such guys do not allow such things to happen and I thought you'd know that."

Still Ben Holmes didn't answer. "Do you know how many people he's killed? He just gave the word and it happened and he had no care in the world. People dropped dead when he gave the word. So many people have died because of him and why are you becoming just like him? Surely it couldn't have been all for the money and why kill for it?"

Holmes shrugged. "Some are worth the sacrifice."

Steve lost his patience and lunged at Ben Holmes, grabbing him by the collar of his expensive gray jacket. "Nothing is worth sacrificing for that. Not even someone's life. You telling me you would kill someone who you loved for a couple of thousand?" He was shaking Holmes now that the man could almost not see and passed out. Steve was beside himself with anger.

The door opened and Steve's captain came in. He dragged the lieutenant off the shaken man. "Sloan, quit it, he's not worth it," his ordered.

Steve glared at him. "He's worth every second," he cried angrily. "Every punch I could land on this face would make up for the millions that Jesse received." He so badly wanted to lift up his fist and at least give him one deck in the face to make himself feel better.

"If you want to deck someone, Sloan, it should be, Lavoy," his Captain ordered. "But Holmes is not worth it. If he cannot see the plain truth if what happened if he does not co-operate or what Lavoy could do to him then it's his problem to worry about, not yours. Leave him to Lavoy. He'll be sorted out." Steve wasn't sure what game his captain was playing but he agreed and let go of Holmes, not taking his eyes off the shaken man. Standing back, he shared a glance with his captain quickly, who had raised his eyebrows looking at the detective.

Ben Holmes straightened his tie and got his breath back. He looked at the two men. "Wh—what do you mean he'll sort me out?"

Steve smiled inwardly to himself. Now he knew what his Captain was playing at. "Well, you're in our hands now. We don't really have enough evidence to charge you with anything so we have to let you go. Now, Lavoy won't be too pleased to know you were in here with us—talking to us. He may decide you're a threat if you gave away anything and then he'll come and kill you just like he's done to all those other people."

Ben Holmes' eyes widened. But you have to keep me here then!"

Captain raised his eyebrows. "We'd only grill you more."

Holmes looked around like a trapped animal and sweat started to show in his brow. "I'd rather do that then get killed. I'll tell you what you need—any smallest detail—but you have get me protection against Lavoy."

Steve looked at him incredulously. "Like the protection you gave?" The first signs of guilt showed on his face and Steve could feel nothing but disgust for the man who was meant to help people out of situations like the one he had just got himself into. If Steve knew a big hypocrite, Ben Holmes was one. Here he was, begging to be protected against the criminal kingpin when in fact; he'd barely given a thought about the protection of Jesse and Day when he gave them away. If it had been Steve's way, he would have left the swine to suffer out onto the streets. But Steve knew his captain would allow it. "All right, spill it."

Ben Holmes sighed. "I don't actually know where Ben Holmes is." Steve let out an annoyed hiss through his teeth. "But I do know something! I do know that he wants to plan a hit on his girlfriend. He thinks that she got to close to Jesse Travis and that she could spill. He doesn't want her to be a problem so he'll eliminate her." He looked around, hoping this information was useful to them because if not, he was in for trouble and he knew it.

"All right, take him to the cells," Steve said and ran out of the room.

Community General Hospital—2.47pm

Jesse sighed and sat back looking at the ceiling of the room he was in. He still stayed in the room he was in because they thought that moving him would only result in more strain than he was already in. He let out another breath. His eyes were blank and expressionless. "Still don't feel like eating?" Amanda asked, sitting down on the chair beside him. Jesse didn't look at her but simply shook her head. "You know, you can't carry on with not eating. It's not doing yourself any good."

Jesse nodded. "I know, I know. I'm trying to tell myself to eat because I know I have to. But it all seems tasteless and every time I do, I feel like throwing it back up again." It was a few days since Steve's interrogation. Jesse, now fully awake and alert, had somewhat recovered. His bruising's were beginning to die down and the pain near his appendix and spine were diminishing. He still had not got out of bed and the first few times he tried food he ended up being sick. Jesse spent a lot of time either talking to Steve and Mark but mainly Amanda. Other times he would just sit and think.

Amanda had watched him throughout the last days. He was not the same Jesse. His blue eyes no longer gave off that mischievous glint. They were void, lacking in expression. He had not laughed at all and spoke naturally which was not like him at all. He didn't even make his own jokes or wisecracks. What used to drive Amanda round the bend before was driving her inwardly insane now. She was so unused to this type of Jesse that she wanted to cry and force him to come back. But she knew that in time, Jesse would make it back. With some help, he'd get there.

Jesse looked at Amanda. "Have they caught him?" he asked.

It was the question that he had been asking the last few days. He never said his name but always referred to Marcus as 'him' or 'he.' And all the time Amanda gave him bad news. "Sorry, Jesse, not yet. He hasn't come by to Haley's house yet so Steve hasn't caught him."

Jesse sighed with frustration, banging his hand down on the bed causing a small jolt of pain along his arm where a bruise was but he didn't let it show. "I'm fed up of this. I'm fed up of sitting in this bed and waiting for the news to come. I'm fed up of just waiting. It's all I've been doing these past two weeks." Amanda looked at him in sympathy. She didn't know what it was like sitting in that bed for hours on end, day after day, just waiting for something to come. He hadn't seen or walked anywhere in ages.

"I'm sure it's hard, Jess," she said. "But soon you'll be walking out of here and working again in ER and it will all be back to how it was with or without him." Jesse simply nodded. Amanda thought she was going to get angry with him. Not a hated anger and not even at him—just his attitude. She couldn't stand it. "What is it, Jesse? Is it the guilt that you didn't help Day? Or is you're scared of telling us what happened totally down there in the warehouse?" Jesse's eyes looked round at her. "Well?"

Jesse swallowed. "Both."

"Then talk to someone about it, Jess. You can't keep it bottled up forever. It's only going to make you feel worse."

Jesse took another breath and let it out, this time it came out as a shudder. He was sitting on top of the bed covers. He brought his knees up and wrapped his arms round them lightly. "I didn't want to do it at first, I swear. I thought that I would take up too much of my work time and social time. Heck, I didn't even know why Anders chose me in the first place…then I met Day. And something about him totally changed my mind and I accepted." Jesse let out a smile with a faraway look in his eyes. "Don't remember having so much fun in a while. I could look forward to going home and meeting someone to talk to, even after long shifts; muck around in the kitchen; watch football games with someone else. It was just different and great while it lasted. It was like having a roommate to hang around with again in collage."

"So we heard from the tape," Amanda said, smiling.

Jesse looked round at her with his eyebrows raised. "You heard the tape?" Then he smiled again. "Yeah, some of the things we talked about were funny. You should have heard some of the things that weren't recorded as well. Winding Anders up was usually entertainment." He sat back, putting his arms behind his head. "Then I received phone calls when Day was out on his usual stress relieving time. The guy always said he knew who I was, where I lived and that he'd come and get me. Strange thing was, I didn't feel as scared as I could be. Must have been because I wasn't thinking straight. But that night two weeks ago when they barged into my room, I was scared. Day was out and I did everything I could to get them away from me…but I couldn't."

Amanda leaned forward and put a hand on Jesse's shoulder. "Go on." She tried to urge out as much as she could from Jesse. Ever since that emotion scene the day he woke up in front of them, he had clamed up. He didn't dare speak of what had happened and every time someone did, he recoiled back in fright or fell into a strange silence. Seeing as nothing had happened to Jesse now, Amanda didn't see any problem at the moment. "No one is here but me, Jesse."

Jesse nodded, knowing that. He recounted what happened starting from when it happened, during it and when he was dumped. He talked about what Marcus did to him, remembered practically every single taunt, every hit and what with and how he had felt at the time. He told it all as if Amanda wasn't there and he was speaking to himself. He didn't even address Amanda. And as she spoke, she realized the whole horror of what had gone on in that little room in the storage warehouse.

Amanda also realized that she was the first person hearing all of this. Jesse had been too scared or shied away whenever someone else tried to get the story out of him. Now she was getting it full and hoped he could repeat it for Steve. When he had finally finished everything he needed to pour out, Jesse was clasping his hands together and fidgeting. Amanda got up and sat at the edge of the bed. "I was scared, Amanda. God, how many times have I said that word? It's the only way to describe it. I've practically run out of things to say."

"You did good, Jess," Amanda said. "No one but you knows what it's like, what you went through back there. But you should feel scared and you should also feel proud that you survived it, despite Day. Steve is out there, trying to catch Lavoy. He's not doing it just because it's his job but because it's you. He's doing it for you because he's your friend and we're all your friends."

Jesse nodded. "Well…I guess I do feel kind of better. I may try and finish some of that lunch." Amanda nodded, saying she had to go before her shift started. "Hey, Amanda, if you see Mark or Steve before me, tell them to get some food down from Barbecue Bobs because I think I'll die if I have to eat any more of this hospital food." Amanda turned round and Jesse smiled at her. This time it was a genuine smile. Amanda laughed and walked off. Shaking his head, Jesse watched her go past the window before he finished as much as he could handle of the lunch then dumped it aside.

He looked around his room for the umpteenth time. Nothing much had changed. All the machines had been taken away a few days ago. Not even the IV stand was there any more. He was working without anything, just staring at the ceiling, trying to make patterns out of the curly waves. Once in a while, he would read but it didn't seem to interest him. Jesse needed something to take his mind of everything for every time he had the chance to think. He didn't want to think—he wanted to do! Thinking ahead, he started to turn himself so he could feet out of bed. He grabbed the sheets tightly and pushed himself off, landing on his feet. For a few seconds, Jesse remained still to be sure he had balance and he wasn't tilting. Then tentatively, he took a step forward, not taking his hands off the sheets. Still, he didn't fall.

Jesse tried another step, more confidently this time and taking his hands off the sheet. As he moved forward again, he stumbled, unable to regain his balance. He started to fall and couldn't bring his foot forward in time to stop it so he toppled over, landing against the chair. He cried out in pain as the seat made contact near his appendix area. Jesse remained like that for a few minutes, breathing deeply to try and get his breath back. It was then that the door burst open and someone came in. "Jess, what are you trying to do?" a familiar voice asked kindly.

"Have something to do," Jesse answered truthfully. He felt Mark haul him to his feet slowly and hold onto him to make sure he didn't fall. Jesse felt stupid, not only of having fallen, but to be caught by Mark as well doing it. He mentally kicked himself but it showed on his face and Mark could see it. "Sorry."

"Jesse," Mark said gently, "you're in no condition to get out of bed yet. You've barely been up four days. Give it time and maybe in a few days or so, you can get back onto your feet. But for now, it's bed." Mark prodded him.

Reluctantly, but with Mark's help, Jesse made it back to his bed. He sat down, swung his legs round and settled down again. Mark could see the frustration on the younger man's face. "I just feel so…so helpless."

Mark smiled. "Now you must know how your patients feel."

Jesse gave him a sardonic look. "I'm not my own patient. I'm Pete's patient. And I'm fed up of being a patient. I want to get out and do something, even if it's sitting outside the hospital or walking around it. I know I can't go back to my job yet…I just can't stand staying in this room any longer."

"You know you can't go outside...not yet…not with Marcus still out there. Just sit tight. Maybe, when Amanda finishes her shift, we'll be able to sort something out for you—in a wheelchair though!"

Jesse's face brightened. "Thanks, Mark!"

Haley Johnson's House—5.19pm

Lieutenant Steve Sloan had just about finished all the food he brought to eat whilst waiting. There was a small chain of stored not far from Haley Johnson's house, which was enough for him and Anders to get something. They finished a small snack and carried on waiting. Anders was eating slowly. He hadn't felt hungry at all the past two weeks. Behind them, sprawled on the back seats was Steve's friend, Kyle James. He was staring up at the ceiling of the car, not wearing his uniform but his own street clothes. He lay there, simply thinking. Everything that could possibly be done, had been done.

Kyle sat up. "What time is it now?"

Steve glanced at his watch. "Twenty past five." They all groaned and stretched a bit more. "I have the horrible feeling that he's not going to come. We've been outside here for the past few days, no sign of him."

Anders let out a hiss. "He must know we know about him. He's taking his time until he thinks that it's safe. Lavoy is a clever man, he's not going to come in the middle of the day and cause a scene. He'll come at night where it's dark and witnesses 'won't be sure' of things."

Steve sighed. "I wouldn't be surprised in that limo of his." He shifted his frame in the car he was driving, waiting for something to happen. He was beginning to grow impatient now. If anything, Steve would demand to know from someone where Marcus was hiding and barge in that way. Steve had dreamt of doing that and 'accidentally' shooting or even killing Lavoy in the line of self-defense. Whether that would work in court or not he did not know but maybe he could do it for Jesse. In the end, though, Steve knew it was out of the question. He knew that someone like Lavoy would do much better behind bars. If the death sentence came then it was up to the judge. He wished it would happen. Lavoy would get everything he deserved.

"Well," Anders said, adding his pile of rubbish to the already growing one, "at least we know Jesse is better. He's awake and on the rode of recovery, or so your dad says Mark." Anders let out a small sigh. "We'll just have to see if Jesse will testify if and come the time." Steve wondered too.

He decided it wasn't a good idea to tell Anders what happened at the hospital. He had rung his father during a state of boredom and had been told in the conversation that Jesse had tried to get out of bed, only to fall and injure himself. Adding to the fact that he was still not eating much-worried Steve even more. Jesse had obviously been improving but he didn't like the story of him getting out of bed even though he knew in that situation he would do exactly the same thing. 'Poor Jesse,' he thought. 'Must be bored out of his mind.'

"Hold up," Kyle said, crawling onto his stomach and watching as a car slowly passed them. It was a three door black car with tinted windows. Even though it was dusk, they could just about see. "I think we just hit the jackpot."

Steve and Anders watched as several figures got out of the car and walked towards Haley Johnson's house. A larger man also followed who they could only guess was Lavoy. "Show time, Kyle," he said, opening his door slightly. Haley's door opened and they walked in just as Steve, Kyle and Anders got out of their car. Then from the house came a most terrifying piercing scream, enough to knock all three men still.