Discoveries

Jo drove over to the beach house on Sunday morning just after ten. Mark had to be at the hospital by eleven so she had arranged with him that he would suffer the grouchy breakfast and then she would take over. She had decided to be cold and distant with him, even though she just wanted to run to him and hug and kiss him. He needed to know that she wasn't going to be walked all over any more.

She rang the bell and Mark came to let her in. "Mark, how are you today? Did you have a nice day yesterday?"

"Hi, Sweetie, I'm fine, and yes we did, once we got breakfast out of the way. You're right; he's not a morning person right now. Amanda came and brought the boys, so we spent the afternoon on the beach. I think it did him good. Anyway he's ready for you, he's looking forward to a change of scene."

Steve came up behind Jo and put his large hands over her eyes. She smiled.

"Well, now, I wonder if I can guess who these could belong to." She placed her own hands gently over the plaster and moved them away from her eyes. "My goodness, what happened to your hands?"

"CJ and Dion happened to them, what do you think?"

"I think that they look much better, an' I also think I want to be there on Tuesday when Jesse sees them!"

"Are you ready to go, Honey, only Dad will be going soon, and I would be happier if he locked up."

"Of course, come on then. The weather is supposed to be nice again, do you want me to get your trunks for you?"

"Would you mind? I didn't think about your pool. I might even be persuaded to wear my gloves."

Jo headed down the stairs, trying to make sense of Steve's change of personality. He had said more nice words to her in the last two sentences than almost the entire time since he got hurt. Men, go figure. Soon she was back with Steve and they walked out together to her car. Jo opened the door and he slid in, then she did up his seat belt for him and moved round to the drivers seat.

Rae had woken up with a start. She had no idea where she was, but she knew that something was not right. She turned and it was all she could do not to scream out as she saw Phil Levington lying beside her. Her head felt fuzzy and she knew that he had drugged her somehow. Her hands flew to her stomach. She couldn't even think about her baby without her eyes filling with tears. As she lay there she knew that her morning sickness was back with a vengeance. She had no idea where the bathroom was, but she knew she needed it. She got off the bed and tried to leave the room, but the door was locked. She slid down the wall and rested her head on her knees. Slowly the feelings passed but she stayed there because she had no intention of getting back into the same bed as that man.

Detective Chapman stood out in the sun and looked at the shallow grave in front of him. He had been out the previous afternoon, but the weather had been so hot that he had done just enough to get him by and decided to return on Sunday. So now he stood looking around and trying to decide whether there was no evidence because he should have looked for it Saturday, or there had just never been any. 

The body had been removed to Community General, but he knew that Doctor Bentley wouldn't look at it until the next morning at the earliest. There had been no identification papers on the corpse. No driver's licence, credit cards or even a house key. He crouched down by the side of the grave and peered into it. There didn't seem to have been much effort to dig down deeper than the body. Mind you if he had been digging in this dirt he wouldn't have gone very deep either. Chapman wondered who the guy had been. He shook his head. Nobody should have to die and be buried this way, with nothing to show for who he was or what he had done.

"Detective Chapman?" He heard a voice behind him and stood back up.

"Yes, that's me, what can I do for you?"

"I think I have found something." The young patrolman looked eager and excited. Chapman smiled, he remembered when he had been like that.

"Ok then, I will follow you." The two men moved over about one hundred yards from where the body had been found. Hidden under a piece of scrub bush was a handle. Chapman pulled on a pair of gloves and eased out a hand fork. It was covered with dirt and he smiled. "I guess you just found the digging implement. I'm not sure what we're going to gain from it, but I'll bag and tag it."

Ten minutes later the Detective was sitting in his air-conditioned car thanking his lucky stars for the cool air as it hit his face. He picked up his phone and called in what they'd found, then he turned his car and headed back towards the city.

Jo and Steve arrived back at her house just before lunch. They had stopped at a garden centre on the way so that Jo could buy some more plants and then they had gone straight back.

Once they had arrived Steve had headed for the kitchen to find Michael. He rapped his left cast against the doorframe and waited.

"Oh, come in, Sir, there is no need to knock." Michael looked round and saw the tall man standing in the doorway.

"Yes, there is, Michael…" Steve paused. "I have come to apologise, I am sorry for the way I treated you yesterday. It was inexcusable, and you had every right to leave. I also know that I should have told you so when you came back, instead of ignoring you like I did."

"Sir, I cannot begin to understand the restrictions you are under, but that is never an excuse to let bad manners take over." Michael held his hand out to Steve and with relief he took it awkwardly.

"Thank you." Then feeling more like a naughty child than he had since he'd been one Steve turned and left the room.

Jo was sitting in the garden, a piece of paper in front of her on the table. She was trying to work out the best way to set out her plants in the bed she had prepared the day before. As she worked a shadow was cast across the page and she looked up. "Hey, did you speak with Michael?"

"Yeah, I feel relieved, embarrassed, and scolded all in one."

"Tell me about it. He makes me feel like that regularly. But I can't imagine my life without him in it. I guess he does it because he cares."

"For you perhaps, I think he did it to me because I deserved it."

"Maybe."

"I deserved what I got from you too, I'm sorry, Jo, I just can't stand to be so dependent."

"Honey, I know that, an' I know as I am doing things that they are gonna make you mad, but they have to be done."

"I know that too. But it doesn't help." Steve could feel the helplessness taking him over again as a breeze caught Jo's paper and sent it in his direction. He could do nothing except watch as it blew past him and then he exploded once again. "See, I couldn't even get your piece of paper for you. I can't do a damn thing, and I am just not used to being like this." He saw Jo put her hand out to him but he moved out of her reach. "Just leave it, Jo, just leave me." He turned away from her and went over towards the pool and sat, with his back to her, looking at the water.

Jo sighed. The truce had lasted about a couple of hours if you included the drive over, and the fact that he had stayed in the car while she brought the plants. She walked over and picked up the piece of paper from where it had floated after the breeze had lost interest in it and returned to the table. She started to draw again, but her heart wasn't in it. She decided that she didn't want to spend all of her Sunday with Steve if he was going to be like this so she went over and sat next to him.

"This needs to be settled, an' we will do it right now. I cannot carry on like this. I love you Steve, an' I want to be able to help you, but you have to understand my position as well as your own."

"Oh, I understand my own position. I am helpless. I can't do anything for myself except eat cut up food off a grapefruit. And the chances are I have another month of this, maybe more. You know it would be much easier if Jesse had just sedated me for six weeks." Steve went to stand and move away again but Jo placed her hand on his thigh and he stayed where he was.

"Ok, maybe you should understand mine then. When you were hurt an' Rae phoned me I came back from Texas, not because I had to, but because I wanted to. My reaction was to come an' look after you, because I love you. When I found out about the staff dispute, an' the fact that Mark wouldn't be able to take the time off to help you I knew that was what I wanted to do, because I love you." She stopped talking for a minute and looked at him. He still wouldn't make eye contact with her and she knew that she wouldn't get through to him until he did so.

"I took you back to the beach house as much for me as you." This time when she stopped talking he did look at her. "I have been cosseted all my life. The only time I didn't have a butler an' a maid was when I was at the police academy, an' then in an apartment after that. When I went round the world I stayed in five star hotels, I had my washin' done for me, an' my meals put in front of me."

"I don't see your point, but I guess you will get there in the end." Steve's tone was one of undisguised boredom and Jo was sorely tempted to push him in the pool and steam off, but she managed to keep talking.

"Then when Rae phoned an' I came back, there was the chance to keep house for the man I loved. The chance to look after him because he couldn't do it himself. I imagined us spendin' time talkin' an' watchin' movies together. You don't need your hands to do those things, but you didn't seem to think I was there as company, just as an unpaid skivvy. Steve, I love you, but if you can't treat me with some respect, an' think before you snap then I will go back to Texas, an' this time I'll tell Michael to close up the house an' come with me."

"I didn't ask you to come and become my housekeeper. You offered."

"I didn't say I was your housekeeper, I said I wanted to keep house for you. You pay a housekeeper, I kept house because I wanted to, an' because I love you, an' all you do is throw everythin' that I do back in my face." Jo looked at Steve, but she could see that she wasn't close to getting him to change.

"Everybody seems to think that I should be eternally grateful to them for doing all this. Every time I have to ask somebody to do something for me I feel more and more humiliated. I can't even wake up without being aware of my inadequacies. I look at you, and all I want to do is take you in my arms and kiss you and make love to you, but I can't. My Dad put soldiers around my breakfast plate, and Michael left me to get dressed on my own, and I am supposed to smile sweetly and thank everybody for their kindness and generosity. Well I'm sorry, but right now I just can't do it."

This time Jo did get up and leave the garden. Steve sat there looking at his reflection in the still waters, and he realised that at the moment they ran very deep indeed. He didn't know quite what to do next. He knew that he should apologise to Jo, but he couldn't, any more than he could apologise to his dad for snapping at him about the way he fed him. He fed me. That was the problem. Everything was being done for him and however sorry he felt for something he had said one minute; by the next something else had happened to raise his temper again.

Steve stood up and he ignored the warning protest from his ribs. He had to find some way to release his fury, before he took it out on Jo again. He couldn't keep doing that to her. He walked back towards the house. He was hot and thirsty, and that in itself was a problem. Now he would have to ask for help again. He slammed his palm against the brickwork with everything he had, knowing that the plaster would shield his hand. He was right, the cast had protected him, but he had forgotten about his ribs and as a wave of screaming pain passed through him, he was left gasping for air.  He leant his head against the doorframe, as he tried to stop his knees giving way, and suddenly she was there for him and he collapsed against her.

Jo had seen him move towards the house and she had decided to go and meet him with a smile, so that maybe they would be able to spend the rest of the day together. She didn't know what had made him hit the house, but she saw all the colour drain out of him and she knew that he was having trouble standing. As she got there Steve had looked up at her and then he had just let his body fall into her arms.

"Michael, Michael, come quickly, I need you!" Jo shouted as she caught him, and they had half carried half walked him to the lounge and rested him into the corner of the sofa. "I'll be alright now, Michael, thank you." Jo knelt by her lover and gently spoke to him. "Steve, Steve, Honey, can you hear me?"

"Yes… I can, I am… so sorry." Steve leant back into the sofa and as his breathing gradually came under his control again he moved so that his head was turned up towards the ceiling, as if the force of gravity would send the tears in his eyes backwards.

Jo had seen the way his eyes were shining and she stood up. She placed a hand behind his head and gently moved it so that he was once again looking at her. "Oh, Darlin'."

The kindness in her voice was just too much for Steve, and the tears escaped and ran down his face. He felt so many mixed emotions that he wasn't sure if they were tears of frustration, fear or resignation. "Help me, Jo. I don't want you to go…" He couldn't say anything more, and finally, all the anguish of the past week came out and once again she was there and he knew that she was the only person he would let see him this way, but more than that he knew that she would understand.

Jo didn't say anything, she just let him cry. She had a feeling that the release of all the tension would have a far greater effect on him than anything she could say or do.  As she sat with him she wondered whether her life would have been different if there had been someone like Steve with her when she had needed a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen. Then she pulled herself back to the present. She was the shoulder now, and that in itself was an enormous achievement for someone who at one point had thought she would never be able to leave her own problems behind.

Slowly Steve felt himself calming down, and he began to get his emotions under control once again. His ribs were still hurting, and he began to take some slow shallow breaths. He raised his tear-stained face towards Jo's and kissed her cheek. "Jo, I don't deserve to have you here with me, but I am so glad you are. Please, can we start today again? I don't want to be like this, and I hate myself every time I open my mouth."

"Then there is hope for you yet." Jo smiled at him. "If you couldn't see what you were doing wrong, then my bags would be packed an' my plane waitin' on the runway. Honey, I am plannin' on going nowhere until you are better. I told you that at the beginnin' an' that is still how it is. Now, I seem to remember something about you wantin' to make love to me." She smiled at him and pulled him gently to his feet then placing a hand on his arm she led him towards the stairs.

Rae had spent the entire morning trying to fend off her new husband and the feelings of nausea that threatened to overwhelm her. She knew that part of it was because she was terrified, but also she knew that he had drugged her the night before, and that terrified her even more. She had no proof of what he had done to her, but she had a very good idea. There was no way that she could tell him about the baby, she knew he would kill her, but she didn't want it to be harmed in any way.

Now she sat at the table with a very limp looking salad in front of her. It had hard-boiled eggs on it, and she couldn't stand them at any time, but now, they were turning her stomach, and she knew that she was going to have to leave the room. "I have to be excused." She rushed to the bathroom and was very sick in the toilet. She could see that there was no privacy even here, and as she straightened up a few moments later Levington was right behind her.

"Why are you sick? What's the matter with you?"

"You mean apart from the fact that you kidnapped and assaulted me, beat up Jesse, and then married and drugged me? Oh, there is nothing the matter with me, you moron! Arghhh!" She felt him pull her up by her long hair and drag her back into the other room. As she went through the bathroom door she was banged against the frame. Rae tried to protect herself and then she fell to the ground as he let go of her. "Stop it. Why are you doing this to me?"

"Because I can! You are my wife now, my property, and I can do anything I like to you. Now eat your lunch."

She began to shake her head, but she saw him raise his foot ready to kick her and so she quickly got to her knees. "Yes, ok, just don't hurt me any more, please."

It seemed to be the right thing to say, because immediately Levington's mood changed. He moved over and guided her to the table and watched her eat. She just couldn't face the eggs, so she pretended she was full. As she drank the orange juice on the table she realised that she was beginning to feel slightly dizzy again. But she didn't say anything, she couldn't say anything. She felt him take her by the arm and lead her into the bedroom.

Jesse had no idea how much time had passed since he had last been aware of his situation. The pain in his back was a throbbing fire now and he tried to remember what had happened to him. He knew that he was in trouble but he didn't know why, but if he waited here long enough Rae would come home and find him. That thought made him feel a little better and then the darkness claimed him again.

The alarm at Martin's house went off at two thirty on Monday morning. He groaned and turned over to silence it. The walls weren't very thick in these apartment buildings, and he didn't think his neighbours would appreciate being woken up this early. He sleepily got out of bed and pulled on the jeans and thick jumper he had laid out the night before. Then he headed for the kitchen and made himself a very strong, very black, coffee. He turned the radio on just in time to hear the weather lady begin her report. 'The large area of high pressure is finally moving off to the east now.  That's what has been making the days so hot and the nights so cool lately.  And a band of cloud working its way in is the leading edge of a cold front.  We'll probably get some showers out of that, and depending on how much moisture the area of low pressure behind it picks up off the Pacific, we might even see some pretty severe storms.  Tune in at ten, get your boards ready, and find out what the new weather pattern means for the surf report."

He got into his car and drove to the pick up point he had arranged with Larry. Then they headed off together for Coldwater Canyon. "I am so glad I got to work days. Since when has three thirty been days?" Martin was not feeling very talkative, but somehow sitting next to a silent Larry was worse.

"Yeah well, by the time you have finished this it will be about lunchtime, and the afternoon will be all yours. Then you won't have to do this again Tuesday, but you will Wednesday."

"Oh, right, and how come you know all this and I don't?"

"Because this is how I started. Now you are working for me. This is my patch. Just 'cos the boss said you could do it, doesn't mean you're in charge of anything, you still report to me. Understand?"

"Yeah, I understand, Sir!" Martin knew he was pushing it by being sarcastic, but for some reason he wanted to antagonise this man right now.

"Here we are, you need to turn off down here, and the parking lot is at the end of this road. Don't go too far or you will end up in the canyon."

They drove the rest of the way in silence, but as they entered the parking lot, Larry cried out. "Hey, what are they doing with our truck?" In front of them was a white truck. Next to the truck was a motorbike, and the biker was kneeling down by the front wheel.

"Hey, get away from my truck!" Larry was out of the car almost before Martin had stopped. He rushed up to the man and hauled at his black leather jacket.

"Hey, man, leave the jacket alone. I just dropped my keys under here somewhere."

It was obvious to both Martin and Larry that the guy half under the truck had been drinking. His words were slurring together, and the thought of him on a bike was worrying.

Martin got on his hands and knees and looked under the truck. He could see something lying there, but in the dark it was hard to make out what it was. He ran his hand under the vehicle and his fingers landed on the cold metal of a bunch of keys.

"Here you go, buddy, but if I were you I wouldn't get on that bike until you have slept off some of that booze." Martin handed over the keys.

"Yeah, right, and what's it to you what I do?" The guy leant right into his face, and Martin was instantly reminded of the smell of a distillery he had once visited.

"Yeah, well it's your funeral." He turned from him then, he couldn't waste any time on this guy, he had things to do.

Martin and Larry watched as the biker got shakily to his feet and weaved his way back over to his bike. It took him three attempts to get the keys in the ignition, but at last the machine roared to life and in a swirl of dust he disappeared into the night.

Larry looked over at his companion. "What d'you bet we'll find him wrapped round a tree further up the road?"

"Hey, no bet, if it doesn't happen tonight, it sure will one night. Right, let's get this show on the road." Martin took the keys out of his pocket and unlocked the driver's side door. He leant over and let Larry in and then he looked at the smaller key. "You must know what this is for if you're the boss."

"Yeah, give it here." Larry took the bunch out of Martin's hand and unlocked the glove compartment on his side of the cab. Inside was an envelope. He took it out and handed it over. Then he put the keys in the ignition and smiled. "There look at that, and I managed to do it first time."

Steve groaned as he rolled slightly in the bed. Jo was fast asleep next to him, but her hand was resting on his arm. He moved over towards her, ignoring the pain from his ribs and he saw her smile in her sleep. She had been so gentle and understanding with him, and then she had brought him up here and made love to him without ever once making him feel as if she was missing anything by him not being able to touch her with his hands. He ran his tongue over his lips. Jo had told him that the things he had done to her last night had been some of the most sensual she had ever experienced. He leant over her and kissed her gently on the lips. She moved in her sleep and as she turned and snuggled into his chest and sleep began to claim him again he knew that he was the luckiest guy in the world, and hands or no hands he wouldn't trade places with anyone right at that moment. 

Mark was sitting in the doctor's lounge, a sad looking sandwich in front of him on the table, it wasn't the ideal breakfast but it would do. He was reading slowly through the paper from two days before, and his food was gradually being forgotten. Suddenly his face broke into a huge grin and he grabbed his cell phone from his pocket.

An hour later, Jo, Steve and Mark were walking down the hallway towards Rae's apartment. They knew that when Rae and Jesse were together that they normally spent their time there.

Steve was still feeling relaxed and happy. He was so thrilled for the pair of them, that he had even quit feeling silly about the balloon he had insisted be tied to his plastered finger.

Mark rang the bell and they waited. There was silence. "They must be out, what a shame. Jesse is due back to work tomorrow, so I guess they decided to go out for the day.  We will have to come back later."

"No, Dad, you still have Rae's key, why don't we go in and decorate the living area with the balloons, and the cake and everything, and then leave. It will be a nice surprise for them."

"Why, honey, you big softie, I didn't think you had it in you." Jo smiled at him and the kiss she placed on his cheek took the sting out of what she had said.

"When I propose to you, you will find out just how soft I can be." He smiled at her.

"Hey, I have a witness! I expect moonlight, roses, a string quartet an' Caribbean beaches." They looked at each other for a moment and then Mark unlocked the door.

The room was quiet and tidy as they began to decorate it. Suddenly Steve put one of his hands up. "Shhh." They all stopped what they were doing and listened intently.

Jesse had lost all sense of time, and he had no idea where he was. He knew that he had been slipping in and out of consciousness for some time, but whether it was minutes, hours or days he had no idea. He lay there trying to keep the panic from taking over once again. Sometimes he could remember why he was in this position, and right now he could think of nothing else. As he lay there letting unpleasant memories flood his mind he heard the door being unlocked. Part of him was terror struck in case it was Levington returning to kill him, but he reflected, anything would be better than this. He tried to cry out through the wadding in his mouth. He wasn't sure how much noise he was making but he prayed that it was enough.

Steve moved towards the bedroom. He thought that he had heard something. As he entered the room he spoke. "Hello?" and this time he was sure, someone was in the room. He moved further in, acutely aware of the fact that he could do nothing to protect himself, and suddenly his eyes caught on an almost unbelievable sight. "My God, Jesse. Jo, call 911, Dad I need you in here, right now!"

Mark rushed into the room and saw Steve standing helplessly at the end of Rae's bed. "What happened, what did you hear?"

"Dad, I can't get to him, I can't help him, please can you get to him?"

The bed in Rae's room was only separated from the wall by a nightstand. Mark shook his head as he looked in horror at the figure lying before him. "I have no idea what his injuries are Steve, we need to wait for the paramedics. The gap is so small we could make things worse."

Jo came into the room at that moment, and seeing where they were looking lay across the bed. She let out a gasp, and then gently she began to talk. "Jesse, honey, it's Jo. Can you hear me? I'm going to move my hand down so that you can feel where I am." As she spoke Jo did just that, and her fingers touched his badly bruised face. She had no idea if he was conscious or even alive, he felt cold to her touch and he wasn't moving. She rested her hand on his neck and was relieved to feel a faint pulse. "The ambulance is on its way an' then we can get you out of here. It will be just a few more minutes. You just hold on there, I'm not going to go anywhere we will wait together. Steve is here an' Mark, you won't be on your own any more."

Jo turned her face towards Steve and Mark and they saw her begin to mouth some words. Where is Rae? She was rewarded by shrugs, and then in the distance they could hear the sound of sirens.

Steve moved over towards the bathroom door and looked inside. The room was empty. There was nowhere else she could be. Steve felt his heart sink, they had no idea where Rae was, no idea at all.

Rae woke up feeling fuzzy headed and removed from herself. She looked around her and realised that she had no idea where she was. She tried to move and found that she couldn't. "Jesse, Jesse? Honey, where are you?" She began to panic when there was no answer from anybody. "Jesse, help me, please."

There was the sound of someone on the stairs, and then the door was flung open and Philip Levington came into the room. "Be quiet. No wife of mine will utter the name of another man in my presence." His hand came down and slapped her around the face. She let out a cry and tried to move away from him but found that she was unable to. "Oh, no my love, you are just where I want you to be, and wearing just what I want you to wear."

There was something about his tone that made Rae look down at herself, she found that she had nothing on. As her vision cleared from the effects of whatever it was making her feel so ill she saw that she was tied to a bed with round posts at each corner. "What are you doing to me?" Rae looked at him, and slowly certain memories came back to her. She remembered being in another room, and this man, her husband coming towards her with something in his hand, something soft. She gasped and looked up at him.

"Let me go, please, let me go." She felt tears on her face and then her captor's body as he climbed onto the bed beside her. His hands moved over her skin, and she turned her face away so she didn't have to watch as well as feel what he was doing to her. She tried to zone her thoughts into her baby and she began to picture Jesse's face in her mind, over and over again as she kept thinking this is your daddy, this is your daddy. Levington loomed over her and suddenly he had the soft scarf in his hands again. He let it fall across her throat and her terror overwhelmed her and then she was aware of nothing else.

It seemed to Steve to take the paramedics forever to remove the furniture and get to Jesse so that they could move him safely. They'd had bolt cutters in their ambulance, a necessity they told Steve, the number of car accidents they attended. Once Jesse had been cut free from his bonds Mark had quickly but gently removed the tape on Jesse's face, and then taken the wadding from his mouth. As he did so Jesse began to regain consciousness and he knew he had to speak, he no idea who was with him, but he just had to get through to them. "Rae, he's got Rae." Jesse began to shake and Jo grabbed the duvet from the bed and covered him over with it.

"Who has got her, Jesse?" Steve looked at him with concern, he wasn't sure if Jesse even knew who they were.

"Levington, Levington came and took her. He'll kill her, Steve, we have to get her back, please." Jesse pulled himself up and grabbed at Steve's shirt. A look of agony crossing his face as he did so. "Why didn't anybody tell us he was free…? Why didn't you tell us…?  I had no chance to protect her… he'll kill her Steve, and our… baby, you know that." His words seemed to use up all his energy and he slumped down on the gurney, unconscious once more.

Steve took a breath and took a step backwards, "Baby, my God, she's pregnant? Dad, take Jesse to Community General, Jo and I will take the car, then we can go on to the precinct once we know how he is. I need to find out what is going on." He walked into the lounge as he was talking. "And let's get rid of these damn balloons."

Jo, who was walking behind him collected up all the strings she could as she passed and took them with her. Then they headed out together towards the parking lot.