"Well, well, if it isn't Doctor Travis. I should have killed you when I had the chance." He raised the gun and levelled it at Jesse's heart.
"No!" Rae screamed out, she was so terrified that she couldn't move. Levington crouched down and grabbed her roughly by the arm.
"Stand up!" He hauled her up and somehow she managed to keep her balance. "Back to the apartment, both of you." They both walked down the hall trying desperately to work out how they could get away from this mad man.
"Now, my beloved, where are your handcuffs?" he said as they entered the front room.
"Go to hell, Levington." Rae suddenly found her voice and wished she hadn't as she felt his hand pull back hard on her hair.
"I think I like this long haired look, there is so much more for me to run my fingers through!" Jesse moved towards him, fury etched on his face. Levington raised the gun once more. "Stay where you are, doctor. Now where are your handcuffs?"
"In my nightstand drawer." Rae's voice was tight and strained. Levington motioned Jesse into the bedroom ahead of them. Rae cried out as the lunatic pulled her by her long blonde tresses as they both followed in Jesse's wake. She struggled to keep up. In the bedroom, she grimaced in pain when Levington moved over to the indicated drawer without letting go of her hair. He pulled the drawer open and smiled as he saw two pairs of handcuffs lying there.
Rae felt his hand leave her hair and she saw him pick them up before she was pushed roughly over towards Jesse. "Put them on him, arms behind his back, and do them up, tightly, or I will." Rae felt her heart sink, she had thought, just for a brief moment, that maybe she would be able to leave Jesse in a position where he could free himself. Levington handed them to her and she put the cuffs around Jesse's wrists and clicked them shut. She heard his sharp intake of breath and placed her hand over his trapped ones.
"I am so sorry, Jess. Arghhh!" This time her hair was pulled back so hard she felt some of it come away in her tormentor's hands.
"Now his ankles, just the same." He jabbed the muzzle of the gun into the back of Rae's knees and her legs gave way. She found herself facing her lover's feet, and slowly and shakily she put the cuffs round them and once again did them up.
"Move away, my sweet." Levington hissed and Rae felt herself being propelled back towards the bed. "Don't move, or I will kill him, slowly and painfully. I have been following your cases, and I think the method I read about when I was catching up on the Candi Worthington case is the one I will use."
Rae shuddered, and just shook her head. He had her right where he wanted her and she knew she could do nothing about it. Without realising it her right hand began to twist at her new ring. With a roar Levington pounced on her.
"How dare you wear that, that piece of crap when you are with me." He pulled at Rae's finger and she heard it crack. Her beautiful ring was flung across the room and then she felt his hand as it was slapped across her face. Without another word Levington turned his attention back to Jesse.
"She is mine, and by the time you realise that it will be too late for you to do anything about it." He reached into the large pockets on his new jacket and pulled out a roll of brown tape. Then a piece of wadding was put on the bed next to it, and he smiled into the terrified eyes of the doctor.
Jesse watched with horror as Levington came closer and closer to him, he couldn't run, or defend himself in any way. Suddenly he felt his legs being kicked out from underneath him and he crashed to the floor.
"Jesse!" Rae cried out, as she leapt at her assailant and pulled at his hair to try and force him back away from Jesse, but it was no good, he was so much stronger than she, and he turned swiftly pushing her back against the wall, and she felt another stinging blow across the face. She sank to the ground, determined not to let him see the tears that were trying to escape and pour down her face.
Levington put the wadding into Jesse's mouth, and then he yanked off a piece of the wide tape and stuck right across it. Jesse tried to control his fear and panic as he fought for breath. He moved his head back from Levington's hands and felt the pain as he was yanked forward and then Levington forced his fist into the side of his face. "Keep still, before I change my mind about being kind to you." Levington spat the words at him and then the world went black as more tape was stuck across his eyes.
"Now, let me see, where should I put you?" Levington's voice turned Rae's blood to ice. She saw him haul Jesse up by the collar and she ran at him once again, trying to protect Jesse at all costs. Levington dropped Jesse and then swatted her away as if she was a bug and she crashed to the floor. As she lay there stunned she saw him pull a piece of chain from his jacket and thread it through the cuffs. It wouldn't meet back up and Levington growled. He clenched his fist, and rammed it into Jesse's stomach.
"No! Jesse, I'm so sorry!" Rae cried out once again, but this time she didn't have the strength to move. She was petrified for Jesse and for her baby, so all she could do was watch in horror as the chain ends were padlocked together, and then, Jesse, who was by now almost unconscious with the pain and shock of what was happening to him was hauled by his hair round and hidden down the side of the bed.
Levington delivered one more kick to Jesse's back and then he raised the gun and fired at the bound form on the floor.
"NO!" Rae screamed, but she still couldn't move. She knew she could do nothing for Jesse, but her baby, she had to protect her baby. Levington turned his attention back to his beloved. He moved over to her and placing the gun behind her ear growled at her. "Stand up! We have places to go."
Rae knew that she had no choice but to do whatever he said for now. She slowly stood up and together they moved out of the apartment and down the hallway. Rae was desperately hoping that she would see someone, anyone, to try and get some help for Jesse, but as luck would have it not only did they get out of the building but into the waiting car and off into the traffic without seeing a single living soul.
Rae sat in the back of the car with Levington and his gun right next to her. She shuddered involuntarily as she felt his finger trace down her face. She was so terrified that she was barely breathing.
"Well, my darling, not quite what I would have chosen for your wedding dress, but I have a much better outfit back at my place."
"If you think I am ever going to marry you, then you are more delusional than I thought. Both parties have to be willing, and I sure as hell am not willing." She shouted at him sounding far more confident than she felt and turned away.
The woman who was driving laughed, it was a cruel and triumphant sound and Rae felt her terror escalate.
It took over half an hour by Rae's estimation for them to get to their destination. Levington hauled her back out of the car and took her into a rundown looking isolated house. Inside there was a woman sitting watching the lunchtime news, she glanced up briefly as they entered and Rae could see that she looked very much like the woman who had been driving. Suddenly she realised that she had seen one of the women before, when she and Jesse had been going out the previous day. She must have been watching for her.
"Our bedroom is this way, my darling." Phil propelled her towards the room at the back of the lounge and once they had entered it he shut the door. Hanging on the outside of a tatty closet was a cream coloured suit. It was obviously cheap and it looked as if a sneeze would start to unravel the stitching. Attached to the lapel of the jacket was a pink rose. "I suggest you get changed." His voice was threatening, but Rae just knew that she couldn't do as he asked.
"No, I will never wear that. I am not marrying you… you … bastard!" Rae tried to move out of his grip but found that she couldn't, he grabbed at her hand where he had ripped off her ring and the pain shot right through her. She felt herself being forced up against the wall and then his hands grabbed at the front of her shirt and pulled hard. Even without the ripping sound Rae knew that the shirt couldn't take that kind of punishment and soon she found herself standing before him, dressed only in her underwear.
"Put it on, now, bitch, or I will dress you myself."
Rae just nodded and moved away from him, she knew she had no real choice but to do as he said. There was no priest on earth who would marry them when she explained what had happened. Then she could get away and let someone know about Jesse. All she could think of was the gun firing down at him. It might be too late already; he could be dead by now. By the time she had finished thinking she had the cold nylon feeling suit on and she turned around. Her eyes widened in horror, as she saw what Levington was holding in his hands and she tried to move away from him. "No, no, don't, please don't." Her voice was a terrified whisper as she watched him come towards her, a silk scarf held between his fingers.
"Then smile, my darling, my Mother will be so disappointed if you don't look like any happy blushing bride should look. She has studied hard for this moment, don't spoil it for her."
"What moment? You, marrying me, never? It is Jesse that I love, I WILL NEVER MARRY YOU."
"This will be her first wedding, she studied just for this."
"Studied just for what? You don't have to study to go to a wedding." Rae didn't really know why she was making conversation with this man, but maybe it would postpone what was going to happen.
"Oh, did I forget to tell you, my mother is going to marry us, she is a priest!" Levington's grin was maniacal, and at that moment Rae knew her life was over.
Jesse tried to move into a more comfortable position, every muscle in his body either hurt or cried out in pain at being stretched the wrong way. His back was burning where he had been shot, and he knew that he had been unconscious for some time. His knees were up against his chest, and his feet and hands were joined up his back by, well he didn't know what by. He could hardly breathe and he had to concentrate not to throw up. He knew if he did he would choke on his own vomit. His eyes filled with tears, and he had to stop that too, they had nowhere to go. His whole being howled out and there was nothing his body could do to release the terror and wave after wave of pain and nausea that began to overwhelm him.
"Your mother is a priest?" Rae's voice was almost non-existent. "How could your mother be a priest?"
With an evil grin Levington began to reply. "She was ordained by the Jehovah's Church of the Old Testament over the internet. Now come on my lovely. I know it is customary in your country for the bride to be late, but here, they are expected to be on time."
Rae felt herself being moved once again into the other room. Her mind was in a whirl, but two things were very clear to her. She was about to be married to the man she feared the most in the whole world, and he knew about her throat. Her head began to spin at the realisation that he had her right where he wanted her and she felt him tighten his grip on her once again.
"See, Mama, she is so delighted to be marrying me that she has gone all giddy!"
"Ok, Son, now don't you interrupt your Mama when she is getting ready to perform."
Rae looked up and saw that Mrs Levington had a long cream robe on and purple vestments, her sister was standing by her side, and another man was also in the room now. She could see that he had a gun on his belt.
"Now, my precious let me introduce my family to you. This is my mother, her name is Bernice, or I guess I should call you the Reverend Bernice now, ma'am?" he smiled at his mother, and for the first time Rae saw him treat another human being with natural kindness, which scared her even more. "This is my mom's twin sister, Marlene, I believe you have seen her before." He laughed and touched her hair. Rae took a step back from him, and for the moment he let her be. "And this is her son Chucky. They are all so glad that I finally have the chance to marry my childhood sweetheart."
"What? I was never your childhood sweetheart. Ma'am this is wrong, I don't want to marry your son. I am engaged to somebody else, that I love very much, please, call 911 and let me go." Rae pleaded with the people in front of her, but as she finished speaking all she heard was a chorus of laughs.
"Ok, Son. Are you ready?"
"Yes, Mama, I am."
"Right, Marlene, do you have the cassette recorder with the music on it?"
The other woman just nodded and moved over to the table.
As Rae stood there next to Levington she saw Bernice pick up a book with the title Weddings, Funerals and Rites of Passage of The Jehovah's Church of the Old Testament. As she waited, Chucky moved round and began to video her.
The music began and Bernice began to speak. "Dearly beloved ……"
Thirty minutes later, to her dismay, Rae had a tawdry looking wedding ring on her swollen and painful finger. She was sat on the bed in the backroom and she was legally, if not morally, Mrs. Philip Levington.
She had tried the door and found that not surprisingly it was locked. The windows had bars on and she was now a prisoner. Her terror had been replaced by anger as she had sat there. Why hadn't Jesse or herself been told that Levington was free? She couldn't believe that there was anybody at the precinct who didn't know what had happened to them.
She heard the door unlock and her 'husband' came into the room. "Hello, my darling wife, how are you feeling? It was a beautiful service wasn't it? I have paid the priest and the wedding party has left. Now it is just us."
"There is nothing in this world that will make me agree that I am your wife. You shot the only man I want to be married to." Rae turned as she hurled the words out at him.
"Maybe not, my darling, but the rest of the world will have no doubt." He ignored her mention of Jesse and held up a marriage certificate, just out of her reach, and she could see that it looked legal to her. "Now, my darling, your lunch is outside on the table, and then, well, we'll see."
It was a quiet and peaceful Saturday afternoon at Jo's house. She knew that Mark was home so she had decided that Steve could come over the next day. She had lain in bed until almost ten and then the rest of the morning had been slow and lazy. Michael had been grocery shopping and then they had done some gardening together. There were very few chores that he would let her help with, but they both loved to garden and they enjoyed each other's company as they worked.
Mark on the other hand had not enjoyed his son's company quite so much. He had made him breakfast and taken it down to his apartment just before ten. He knew that there wasn't much that Steve could do to make the time pass quickly, so he figured an extra hour or two in bed wouldn't make much difference for once.
"Steve, Son, I have brought you some breakfast." Mark had spoken quietly as he entered the bedroom.
"You don't have to whisper, I'm already awake, you aren't that quiet when you are making breakfast y'know."
Mark bit his tongue so as not to reply. "I thought you might like some scramble eggs and toast. If you sit up I will put the tray over the bed."
Steve had sat up without another word and waited for his food. His resentment rose even further as he saw that his father had placed little soldiers of toast all around the outside of the plate, just as he had done when he was a child. He looked at his father and waited.
Mark sat on the side of the bed and moved one of the soldiers towards Steve's mouth. While he was eating it he put some of the egg onto the spoon and waited for Steve to finish his mouthful.
"I'm ready, Dad. This will take all day if I have to tell you each time." Steve's eyes were flinty, and Mark could tell that he was just holding on to his temper.
Mark placed the spoonful in Steve's mouth and tried a smile. He got no response so he picked up another soldier and as soon as Steve stopped chewing he pushed it into his son's mouth. Then he got another spoonful of egg and that moved towards Steve's mouth too. They carried on like this for a few mouthfuls before Steve felt he could stand it no more. He chewed and swallowed and then he raised a plastered hand. "Dad, if you are gonna do that every time I have a mouthful I would rather go hungry!" Steve's voice was hard and Mark looked puzzled.
"Do what? All I am doing is feeding you your breakfast. I can't see why you have to be so moody about it."
"Dad, you open your own mouth every time you give me a spoonful of food or a piece of toast I will not call them soldiers. I know to open my mouth."
Mark tried an embarrassed smile but it wasn't returned. Soon the breakfast had disappeared, but Mark was frightened to open his mouth at all.
"Thanks, Dad, I'll get up then." Steve slid out of bed managing to keep the feelings of pain in his ribs from showing on his face, and Mark waited. "In the drawer there is a pair of yellow gloves, if you could put them on me, and set the shower up, I can clean up." Steve's voice was tight and it was clear he didn't expect his father to reply to him.
Mark pulled the gloves on for Steve and then he went and got the shower sorted out. When he came back into the room Steve was waiting to move under the water. Mark watched as the water cascaded down his son's back and he could see that it relaxed him as he stood there. Mark's heart went out to his fiercely independent son. He couldn't imagine how he would cope if he was totally reliant on everybody else, and for such a long period of time too.
"When do you go to the hospital for your next x-rays?" Mark raised his voice to be heard over the sound of the water.
"I was going Monday, but Jesse isn't working, so I'll go Tuesday instead. Dad, could you put some shower stuff on me, please?"
Mark smiled as he put his arms into the shower and grabbed the bottle, then he lathered up his son's body gently and for a moment he was transported back to when Steve was a small boy. He finished his pleasant task and then sniffed. He decided that he really didn't like the smell.
"What is that stuff, only my hands will smell of it all day!"
"Hey, I'll have you know that cost a lot of money, but I have to admit, I don't like it either!" They smiled at each other and the animosity of the morning, for now, was over.
Jimmy Murray was a wanderer. He always had been, and he hoped he always would be. Today he was wandering around just outside the city limits, probably about two miles outside he guessed. He had begun to walk at daybreak, and after a while he had spotted some birds circling. Knowing that there might be pickings for more than the birds he had walked in that direction all morning. As he got closer he didn't only have to follow the birds, he could follow his nose as well.
Jimmy was 62 years old. He had been born in a trailer park by the beach, and he had been on the move ever since. He picked up his clothes and shoes from charity bins and garage sales. Sometime he did some garden work to raise a little cash, and he had five dollars on him right now. His trousers were burgundy at the moment, and he had a white t-shirt on. Well it used to be white. It said Black Sabbath on the front. He knew who they were; he heard them on jukeboxes in the coffee joints he frequented when he had a little spare cash.
He carried on walking, not trying to get a lift; he wanted to find out for himself what was causing the birds to circle and the smell to waft. As he finally got close enough to see what was causing the excitement he could see that there was a slight hump in the ground. Gradually Jimmy clawed at the soil and as he removed the surface dirt he began to unearth the decomposing remains of something that used to be human. Samuel Middleton had made another appearance.
Jimmy might have been a traveller and a scavenger, but he knew foul play when he saw it, and he headed back to the road as fast as he could. He stopped the first car he saw and asked them to call the police. Then he sat down at the side of the road and hoped that there had been a reward posted.
Jesse felt his panic lessen for a few minutes. He tried to move his body, but he was completely immobile. He had a raging thirst, and he felt dizzy, not only from the terror but also the blood loss he had suffered, and he knew that he was in big trouble, however soon he got free. Suddenly he felt a movement, and every muscle in his body tensed. Then the movement became a feeling and the soft fur of Kira moved across his face, he felt her press up against his body and make herself comfortable by his side. Jesse was relieved by her presence and he felt far more confident than he had when he had been completely alone.
Amanda had been working such long hours that she hadn't seen her own children, let alone her friends for almost a week. As she drove to the beach house to spend the rest of Saturday with her boys on the sand she explained to them what the problem was with Steve.
"You mean he can't do anything?" Dion's eyes were like saucers. "He can't even go to the can on his own. Eeeeewwww."
"Dion! No Honey, anything that you use your hands for he can't do right now." Amanda smiled in her rear view mirror as she saw her sons process this information. CJ looked worried.
"So how does he eat, or turn on the TV. He can't build sandcastles or play cars or anything?"
"No, Son, he can't do any of that stuff. He is a bit cross about it too. So you have to be patient with him, and not expect him to be able to play with you like he normally does, ok?"
"Yes, Mom!" both boys spoke together, and as the car returned to silence Amanda drew into Mark and Steve's driveway.
Amanda rang the bell and waited. She saw Steve coming up the stairs. The boys both waved at him, and he waved back, but he didn't open the door, instead he continued up into the lounge area.
"Why didn't Uncle Steve let us in?" Dion looked hurt. Amanda turned to tell him why and felt her pride rise as CJ put his hand on his brother's arm.
"He can't open the door… stupid!"
Amanda sighed. The pride fell, but at least he had told him.
"Hey, guys, Amanda." They all turned at the sound of Mark's voice and then walked into the house. "So, how are my two favourite young men today?"
"Fine, but poor Uncle Steve, are you helping him?"
"I am, CJ, but not all the time, when I am at work Jo comes and does things for him."
"Oh, right." Dion nodded as he listened, the boys hadn't met Jo many times, but they knew who she was.
"Come on then, who's for a game of baseball on the beach?" Steve came back into the room.
"You can't play can you, Uncle Steve?" CJ looked at his Uncle.
"Nope, but I can write the score in the sand." Steve held up his left hand and made a downward movement. "So you have to make sure you hit lots of home runs, ok?"
Soon they were all sitting on the sand. CJ and Dion had decided that cricket would be better, because there weren't enough people to man all the bases otherwise.
"Can't we call Uncle Jesse and Aunty Rae and they could play the field too?" CJ went to take his mom's cell phone out of her purse.
"No, CJ. Aunty Rae only just got out of the hospital and it would be nice for them to spend the weekend just the two of them. Ok?"
"Yes, Mom, I guess so. It will have to be cricket then. I don't know all the rules, Aunty Rae only just started to teach us, but I guess we can still let Uncle Steve score for us."
The game progressed on and off into the late afternoon. Mark had brought out some picnic foods mid afternoon, and CJ and Dion had thought it was great fun to feed Steve. They had teased him and made him laugh and he felt completely relaxed and that hadn't happened for a long time. Jo and Michael had made him more even tempered for short periods of time, but this was different, he knew that he couldn't lose his temper with the children, so when they had held food just out of his reach, or waved it about in front of his face he had been forced to smile and laugh. After a while he found that it was no longer an effort and that he was enjoying himself.
Mark and Amanda had sat a little way away and watched the scene.
"Thank you, Sweetie, for bringing the boys over. I think Steve needed someone with him where he had to mind what he said and how he acted."
"Mark, the boys adore him, you know that, I don't think it would matter what he said to them, but this will stay in their minds for a long time. It's not often that they get to tease their Uncle Steve and win."
When Steve needed to have a drink Mark and Amanda watched as the mood changed and Dion held the can of soda up to his mouth gently and steadily. After Steve had drunk his fill he had moved one of his plaster covered hands up to Dion's face and rested it there for a second. Suddenly an idea came to him.
"Hey, guys, you know what, I have two plaster casts and they have nothing written on them, how about you decorate a hand each? Lots of colours and patterns, what do you think?"
Both boys were immediately animated once again, and the three of them headed back towards the house. Steve showed the boys where the felt pens were kept and then he put both hands onto a piece of paper on the dining room table and let the boys artistic talents take over.
By the time Amanda and Mark came back up to the house a half hour later Steve's hands were looking very different indeed. Dion had coloured each finger differently, and there were stars and stripes down the thumb. Then he had drawn a sun rising from the cuff of the cast, and there were cars and tanks going across the palm and round onto the back of his hand. CJ meanwhile had turned Steve's whole hand into a beach scene, with his mom, his brother and himself as well as Steve sitting on the sand. Most of the plaster was yellow and then there were people, and seagulls and clouds on the fingers but the thumb had a moustache and a smile with a stethoscope drawn down towards the end of the cast.
"Wow, Uncle Jesse sure will be impressed when he does the x-ray on Tuesday. Did you use the permanent markers?" Amanda was delighted with what she saw.
"Yeah, I did. When these casts come off I am gonna keep them, you two are great artists. Don't forget to sign your names on them will you?" Steve smiled at the two heads, both bowed over their work and his hands. He had enjoyed himself today. Tomorrow he would make sure that Jo and he had a good time too.
Jesse slowly felt aware of his situation again. Kira had disappeared; he guessed she was looking for food. He tried to think of Rae, and of the wonderful time they had spent together at the Lake Shrine, but all he could see was Levington pulling her back by the hair and slamming her against the wall. He was so scared for her and for their baby that he had to send the thoughts to the back of his mind as the panic threatened to overwhelm him, and he felt his thoughts begin to merge again.