"Doctor Dead, Detective Missing."
Police revealed early today that Doctor Jesse Travis, who on Saturday announced his engagement to British Detective Reagan Yeager, had died in hospital overnight. Doctor Travis was found seriously injured in his fiancée's apartment on Monday morning. Doctor Mark Sloan, a spokesman for Community General Hospital where Doctor Travis was employed, and a personal friend of the couple, said that the whole medical community was shocked by his untimely death and the young doctor would be sorely missed. There is no word on the whereabouts of Detective Yeager, but we understand that police are treating this as a murder and kidnapping. Details of the funeral will be released to the press later today.
There was a picture of Rae and Jesse taken at the Community General fundraising ball underneath the article and a section detailing Jesse's career. Rae couldn't take her eyes off the picture of Jesse's smiling face. She couldn't believe what she was reading. She knew that Jesse had been badly hurt, but dead, Rae had worried so much about being killed herself, but she had never though of it happening to him, not while Levington had been behind bars at any rate. One tear escaped and ran down her cheek as she realised that he had finally achieved what he had set out to do.
Suddenly the paper was ripped from her hands. "That's enough, you've read it. We don't need this any more." Levington took the paper out of the room, and Rae rushed after him. She watched as the front page was ripped up in front of her and then her captor turned back to face her.
"So, my darling, there is no reason for you to even think about him anymore. You are mine, and nothing will ever part us again. Now, I would like my breakfast on the table in ten minutes. And I would suggest that you get dressed first. I think maybe the blue dress today." Phil grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her round, then he pushed her back the way she had come, and shut the bedroom door behind her.
Rae found herself alone, and she slid to the floor, overcome with the emotions that she had managed to keep inside while Levington had been in the room. She could hardly breathe, and she wrapped her arms around herself, her baby was going to be born without a father, and she knew that it didn't matter what Levington did to her now, her life was already over.
Suddenly she felt his hands on her as she was pulled roughly back to her feet. "I told you I want my breakfast now, so dressed or not dressed, the kitchen is this way."
Rae brushed at her tears, she had no idea when she would have time to grieve, but she knew that if she showed her feelings to this man he would only make her suffer more because of them. So, squaring her shoulders she headed towards the kitchen.
Mark and Amanda were both sitting in the doctor's lounge when Steve and Jo arrived, Alex was busy but he would join them later. There were some pamphlets on funeral homes and florists on the table, and it looked as if the two doctors had been looking through them for a while.
"Hey, guys, how are you doing this mornin'?" Jo held the door open for Steve to walk in.
"Hanging in there, Sweetie, how about you? Did you get some sleep?" Mark looked concerned as he watched the two of them enter the room.
"Yeah, some, Dad, but it's hard, y'know." Steve sat down, and looked at his hands. "D'you think somebody would re-plaster my hands after my x-ray this morning? Only somehow they seem real out of place right now."
Mark looked at his son with sadness. What had been such a wonderful fun activity had become something to hide; his life shouldn't be like that. With a small sigh he began to speak, even though he knew Steve wouldn't like what he had to say. "Go down and see Alex, I'm sure that he can help you, well he can x-ray them for you, but I have to warn you, I don't think he will replace your casts. No, Steve, wait." Mark could see that Steve was barely stopping himself from butting in. "You need to keep your hands encased continually. Unless there is a medical reason those casts won't come off. But why not tell Alex your problem, I think he could do with something else to think about for a while." I know I sure could. "We'll let you know what we have arranged when you're finished."
"But I've had plaster removed for x-rays before." Steve looked confused.
"I know, Son, but your hands were so badly broken that the plaster needs to be there continually. I'm sorry."
Steve took a breath, "Ok, I'll be back soon, I have a couple of other things to do, and well, I have to write the eulogy, and I can't do it by myself, and I am gonna need help, and not just with the writing…" Steve turned and left the room; it was obvious to all those who were left that he couldn't say anything more.
Jo looked over at Mark, "Should I go with him do you think?"
"No, let him be for a while. This is what we have so far."
Steve walked down to the ER and saw Alex writing notes at the desk. The doctor turned as he heard footsteps and tried to smile at his friend.
"Hey, Steve, what can I do for you?"
"I need to have my hands x-rayed. Jesse was supposed to do it, but well…"
Alex's smile disappeared. "Of course, come with me, I can do that. Wow, what happened to your casts?"
"CJ and Dion practiced their artwork on me on Saturday. I would like them replaced, and then keep these, but Dad said that you won't be able to do that."
Alex shook his head. "Why do you want them replaced?" He smiled again as he looked at the pictures that CJ and Dion had drawn.
"I just don't feel right wearing them, what with the funeral and all."
"Oh, of course, sorry." Alex's smile fell away once again, and he began to think. "I guess I could put a fresh layer of plaster over them."
"But then I would lose the drawings, and I really want to keep these."
"Yeah, I would want to if they were mine too, they're great, come on let's go shall we?" The two men walked off together, neither of them saying very much, and in no time they arrived at the x-ray unit.
Steve sat with his hands out in front of him while Alex hid behind the screen and pressed the button to take the first of the pictures. Ten minutes later they were both looking at a set of photos of the inside of Steve's hands.
"So, what do they tell you?" Steve couldn't believe how hard his heart was beating. He was glad that he was sitting down.
"Well, I looked at your previous set of x-rays while I was waiting for these, and I saw Jesse's notes that said he was concerned they weren't beginning to heal as quickly as he would have liked."
"And… And… For God's sake, Alex, don't keep me waiting!" Steve could feel his barely contained temper struggling to get out.
"Sorry, Steve, they have started to heal. You can see on this x-ray that there are changes since the last ones were taken."
Steve looked between the two and he could see that they looked different. "Yeah, thanks, Alex. But I guess I still have to wear the casts, huh?"
"I'm afraid so. You will need them for a while yet. I know you have the pins, which you can see on the x-ray, but until the bones have healed the casts are needed. And then there will be physiotherapy for some time too. I guess Jesse told you that."
"Yeah, you know I still can't believe that it isn't him doing all this." Steve turned away, knowing he had just slighted his young friend. "I'm sorry, Alex."
"Hey, I understand, I wish he was doing it too. It's ok."
"Yeah, I know you do. Dammit, it just burns me up that this would never have happened if someone who knew about Levington and Rae had been on duty the day he escaped…What, what did I say?" Steve looked at the young doctor standing beside him, and saw a sly grin on his face.
"It burns you up, huh?"
"Yeah, why? Look, Alex, there is nothing in this business that makes me want to smile." Steve could feel his temper surging to the surface.
"Just wait here, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, but you gave me a great idea."
Steve watched Alex hurry off down the hallway. It would be nice to know what his great idea had been. He shook his head and tried to get his mind round the fact that he had to write a eulogy for his best friend. Jesse had saved his life more than once, and he hadn't had the chance to repay him. His brightly coloured hands seemed to laugh at him, and remind him of happier times when he didn't want to think about them. He let the guilt and grief build up inside him and slowly they turned to a surging rage.
"Arghhh!" He shouted and pounded his hands against the wall. Once again the pain in his ribs almost took his breath away.
"Hey, Steve, come on, keep that up and we will have to give you new casts, those ones will have to be removed while we repair the additional damage you do to yourself."
Steve turned, he hadn't realised that Alex had come back, he looked away ashamed of losing control again. "Sorry."
"You will be, you need to be careful." Alex felt strange telling his friend these things, but he knew it was up to him now.
"Ok, I said sorry, and now are you gonna tell me what your great idea was?"
Alex was holding something that looked to Steve like a pair of support stockings except that they were shaped like long gloves.
"Give me your arm," the young man said.
Steve did as he was asked and Alex slid one of the 'stockings' over the cast. When it was all the way on, he took out a pair of scissors and snipped off the ends of the fingers and the thumbs and tucked them carefully under the edges of the cast.
"What do you think?" he asked Steve.
His arm was now encased in a heavy layer of bright white spandex; Steve nodded and said, "Looks good, thanks. Now, what is it?"
As Alex worked on covering the other arm, he explained. "These are ready made compression garments for burn patients. The pressure they provide reduces scarring, but they have lots of stretch, and I thought they just might fit over your casts."
As he finished up, Alex said, "Ok, all done. Now, you can get on with your day."
Steve nodded and sighed. "Thanks, again, Alex." He knew he didn't sound sincere, and he felt bad about that.
"You ok, Steve?"
"Yeah, I'm all right, and I do appreciate this, "he said waving his rigid, newly white arms in front of himself," but I'm really not looking forward to 'getting on with my day', sorry."
Alex put a comforting hand on his shoulder and said, "It'll be ok, Steve."
Steve put one of his plastered hands over Alex's, swallowed hard, and nodded.
Rae stood, just inside the kitchen door, watching as Phil Levington ate his breakfast. She couldn't keep herself from shaking, and she wasn't sure if it was because she was cold, or scared, probably both. Because she hadn't come straight out to make the meal for him he had refused her permission to dress or come to the table and eat her own food. He had made her sit on a stool in the kitchen, and she just hadn't had the energy to say anything. Now that she had finished eating she stood there waiting for her husband to eat everything so that she could clear the table and do the washing up.
"I have finished. You may clear. Then there is a list pinned to the back of the kitchen door. I suggest that you get started on that straight away. And for goodness sake get dressed." He said the words as if it were Rae who wanted to be freezing cold and humiliated.
Rae came over and picked up the plate from the table and moved away without a word.
"What do you say?"
"Yes, Husband." Rae had no fight in her; she moved back into the kitchen and put the plate down. She went silently through to the bedroom and got dressed, pulling the blue dress on as ordered. Then she returned to the kitchen and began to methodically wash up the breakfast things. The smell of the dried food began to turn her stomach, and after a couple of minutes she knew she was going to need to use the bathroom. Trying to keep both the nausea and her feelings down she moved over to the doorway to the family room. "Please, Husband, I need to use the bathroom." She had gone to the toilet without permission the previous day, and had been beaten for her transgression; she didn't want that to happen again.
Levington stood up and moved over towards her. "When you have finished your washing up you may ask again." Rae turned away but felt his hand rough on her arm. "I beg your pardon."
"Yes, Husband." Rae moved back into the kitchen, but as soon as she did the smells began their work on her again, and this time she knew she had no time to ask, she turned and pushed past the man and into the bathroom, where she was sick once again.
Levington went and sat at the dining table watching her the whole time. Something was wrong with his love, he guessed she would feel a little sad about the doctor, but there was something else. He would observe her today, and get to the bottom of it.
Rae moved back into the kitchen and continued with her chores. She couldn't look at the figure in the other room, nor could she keep her hands from shaking as she carried on with the washing up. She knew that he would discipline her for leaving the room without permission and she guessed that the waiting was part of the punishment. As she lifted a wet plate from the water, the shaking got the better of her, and the china slipped from her fingers and smashed to the floor. In an instant Levington was there, pulling his belt from his pants as he came, and she tried to back away knowing that she was about to be beaten once again.
Rae lay in the corner of the kitchen, the dress that he had pulled from her body in a heap beside her. She had humiliated herself by begging him not to hit her again, but he had just done so even harder and then he had told her that it was for her own good, and he loved her. Her whole body and her heart ached and she was almost looking forward to the time when she would be tied to the bed once again while he went out for his run. At least then she could let her feelings back to the surface.
The details of the funeral appeared in the evening edition of the newspaper, and Levington stuck it up on the refrigerator door, where Rae saw it every time she moved in the kitchen. She knew that he planned to go to it, and she was hoping that maybe she could escape while he was gone. The paper said that it would be held the next day at two thirty pm at Westwood Memorial.
At twelve o'clock the next day Levington sat Rae down at the table. "I want you to drink this." He held a milk shake type drink in front of her.
"No, I won't do that." Rae felt a brief flicker of defiance light her up.
"I beg your pardon, you are my wife, and you will do as I say." Levington glared at her.
"I know that it's drugged, and I have no intention of drinking it. Not any more." Rae knew that she was pushing her luck, but she didn't care. Her lover was going to be buried in less than three hours; she had nothing to live for any more. She had been given God knew what in the last few days and her baby was probably damaged too.
Levington seemed to roar as he grabbed Rae by the hair. He hauled her into the bedroom, not caring that she banged into the doorframe as she went through and then using all his strength he threw her onto the floor. She managed to get to her feet, not wanting to be in a position where he could kick out at her. "How dare you defy me?" His hand came round and sent her flying across the room. She smashed into the wall hard and fell dazed to the ground. Once again she felt herself being pulled up by the hair, but this time she was forced back against the wall, and she could feel his hands as they began to rip at her clothing.
The revolting dress was soon rags on the floor, and Rae tried in vain to move away from him. "Stay where you are, you bitch. I will teach you to behave as I expect my woman to." This time it was Levington's hand that went round Rae's throat and she forced herself to stay calm. "Oh, so you think you can resist me do you? Well, I doubt that." He whipped his foot across, taking Rae's legs from under her. As she crashed to the ground he kept his hand round her throat, and by the time her head slammed into the floor she was already unconscious.
Mark, Amanda and Alex had travelled to the cemetery in one car and Michael had driven Steve and Jo in a second one. Now they stood silently in a small group waiting for the priest. In front of them was a light oak coffin with five wreaths. There was one each from Mark, Amanda and Alex, a joint one from Steve and Jo, and they had arranged for there to be one from Rae too.
The notice in the paper the previous night had stated that a private service would be held, and that there would then be a few words spoken at the graveside. Flowers were not requested, and there was a notice saying that details for donations would be given later.
The weather was beautiful as Cheryl and Martin, as well as Captain Newman joined the five friends. As Levington watched from a small group of trees the service proceeded and he could see that the men were comforting both the women in the main group. He laughed. They were probably ex-girlfriends of the doctor too. He knew that Travis had only been using his Rae. Now that he was in the ground, maybe she would pull herself together and they could get on with their married life. He had been delighted with how she had behaved so far. Once he had gotten her out of the bedroom she had done all the chores he had asked her to, and then when he had her tied up each evening she had been very compliant in bed too. He just had to get the morning sickness sorted out. He realised what he had just thought. Morning sickness. She was pregnant. Pregnant with the dead doctor's child. How dare she?
Steve moved away from his friends, so that he could stand by the side of Jesse's coffin. He'd had Jo write down his thoughts, but as he couldn't hold the paper they had decided that speaking from the heart was probably the best way to go. Taking a deep breath he started to speak.
'Jesse Travis was my best friend, but he was more than that. He was the brother I never had, or realised I wanted until I met him. He was a happy friendly guy, who was going to become a father for the first time….'
On the verge of tears, Steve stopped talking. He never thought it would be this hard. He couldn't even think the words any more. As he turned he felt Jo's hand on his arm, and he looked towards her…
Levington's sudden rage made him forget to be cautious for a moment. Standing up he began to race back to his car.
Steve hearing a noise turned and saw a figure heading off towards the parking lot. He swallowed hard and pointed with his large white hands. "There, I'll bet that's him, get the backup units ready to go. Now! We mustn't lose him, we have no way to find her otherwise."
Cheryl was on her radio before he had finished speaking, and soon they were all rushing back to their cars. Steve climbed in next to Cheryl, and realising that it would waste time, decided against wearing a seat belt.
The first unmarked car was two vehicles behind Levington and he was watching closely. The officer was an experienced man and he had no intention of losing sight of his quarry. Ten minutes later the car screeched to a halt outside a very rundown, strange looking house, and the officer carried on driving past, alerting Detective Banks in her car to the location of the vehicle.
Levington rushed into the house and slammed and locked the door. He went down to where his slut of a wife was tied to the bed. He didn't even wait to untie her; he began to pound at her face with his fists, pulling on the scarf as he did so.
Rae had been slowly coming round when she heard the door open and then be slammed shut. All of a sudden it felt as if an army was attacking her. She had no way to defend herself or her child, but suddenly she knew that it was the most important thing in the world to keep the baby safe. He or she was all she had left of Jesse, and she had to save it. She tried to cry out, but before he had left the first time, Levington must have gagged her in the same way that he had done with Jesse. She couldn't speak, and she could hardly breathe. She felt the dreaded scarf tighten around her throat, and in her terror everything became a haze of panic, confusion and pain.
"You, you are pregnant, how dare you. I will make sure that the child never sees the light of day." He pulled his fist back and aimed it at her stomach. Suddenly the air was filled with noise.
"Open up, Police."
Levington turned, and leaving Rae tied up where she was, headed back up towards the noise.
Cheryl and Steve arrived at Levington's house first, but about thirty seconds later Martin was there too. He got out of his car just in time to hear Cheryl bang on the door.
"Open up, Police."
There was no reply at first, and for a few minutes they just waited, then all of a sudden the window beside the door was shattered as bullets sprayed out of it. The three detectives hit the ground, and listened. There was no more sound, and slowly Cheryl raised her arm and tried the handle on the door. It didn't move, she nodded to Martin who pulled down on the kevlar vest he had put on before he left the cemetery, and then raising his foot he kicked at the door. It took three goes but finally the wood around the lock shattered and the door was flung open. Martin had dived over to his left as he realised he had succeeded in kicking it down, waiting for the hail of bullets that they all expected.
Levington fired again and again as the door was suddenly wide open. But at last he had no bullets left and Martin and Cheryl both moved into his line of sight.
"Drop your weapon and put your hands on your head." Cheryl barked her instructions. "Now on the floor…ON THE FLOOR!" She had no time for this man who had kidnapped her friend, and made it necessary for them all to attend Jesse's funeral.
After Levington had been taken away Cheryl had phoned through to Mark and Amanda who were waiting just out of sight. They had come round to the house, but had waited outside, not wanting to contaminate a crime scene.
Rae could hear noises, and it sounded as if there were people walking on her. She had heard the sound of gunfire, and then shouting, but she couldn't make out the words. She had tried to call out, but she could make no sound. She didn't dare to stir on the bed because she was tied in such a way that every move she made tightened the silk scarf, which was wrapped around her throat, even more. She could open her eyes, but the room was pitch black. There was no light coming in from anywhere. For a second the thought filtered into her brain that this must be what Jesse felt like, but she pushed it back before it overwhelmed her. Suddenly the whole room lit up for a brief second and then the darkness returned. Shaken and scared Rae shut her eyes and for a minute or two prayed for the life of her child.
Slowly Rae realised that the world had grown silent. She strained her ears to hear, but there were no sounds at all. She had no idea how long the noises had continued, but now she was in no doubt that, whoever had been here, had gone. She also had no idea where she was, but she was pretty sure that wherever it was, this was where she was going to die. This time the panic was so strong that she had no defense against it. Her whole body began to shake, and as a result the scarf around her neck moved and tightened which just increased the terror she was feeling. Her breath became laboured, the startling bright light flashed in her eyes again, and finally she slipped back into the darkness.
The forensic team had gone over the house with a fine-toothed comb. They had found a large number of fingerprints, and checking on a laptop computer one of the technicians had been able to confirm that some of them belonged to a Detective Reagan Susan Yeager, LAPD. That had been the only piece of positive news that they had had the entire time they were there
Levington had said nothing before he had been taken away. Steve had stood eye to eye with him and asked him where Rae was, but he had just turned his face away and remained silent. Resisting the temptation to stamp hard on his foot Steve had moved away, once again cursing his inability to either clench his fist and knock the pervert into the middle of next week, or help with the search.
Now, three hours later, it was beginning to get dark, and Steve was sitting at the dining room table, wondering where the hell Rae was. They had searched the entire house, every closet, nook and cranny and they hadn't found her. Steve knew that Levington must have another house somewhere else, and knowing that he had been followed had led them back to this one. He slammed his hand down on the table. Damn! He had been so sure that they had him, but now it looked as if the main object of the exercise was still out of their reach. They had no idea where Rae was.
In the end, four and a half hours after they started, the teams decided to call it a night and return in the morning. The house was locked up and a man was left on the door. Steve Cheryl and Martin ducked under the yellow police tape and went back to the car. Mark and Amanda had left earlier to let, Jo and Alex know what had happened. Slowly they drove away, and Cheryl turned to her former partner.
"We will find her, Steve."
"Yeah, right. We have nothing more to show us where she is now than we had this morning. I can't believe we went through all that, and we still don't know where she is."
"Look do you want me to drop you somewhere? I can run you home if you like." Cheryl looked across at her friend. His face was lined with grief and worry. She was very concerned for him.
"No, I'll come to the station with you for a while. I need to concentrate on this, I won't be able to do anything else until I know she is alive and free." Or dead, but I have to know either way. He couldn't voice his fears so for the rest of the journey Steve sat in silence.
The three detectives walked up and into the squad room. Every eye in the place was focused on them. Detective Campbell, stood up and moved across. "Did you find her?"
"No. We got Levington and he should be in the lock up downstairs. Where he can rot for all I care, but Rae wasn't there." Steve looked away. The disappointment on the other officer's face just mirrored what he felt in his heart.
Steve sat down at his desk. Cheryl brought him across a cup of coffee and held it up for him to drink from. In any other circumstance Steve would have swept it away rather than be treated this way in front of his colleagues, but he was so emotionally drained that he was past such actions. He drank some of the hot liquid down and then looked up at her. She read the unspoken message correctly and placed the cup on the table. "I'll be just across the room if you need me, Steve, but in a while I have to go interview Levington, ok?"
Steve just nodded and then he sneezed. "Atishoo, Atishoo."
"Bless you." Cheryl smiled at him.
"Thanks. Did you just get a cat? I only ever sneeze when I'm at Rae's without my tablets..." Steve stopped talking as a look of horror crossed his face.
"What, Steve are you alright?" Cheryl was instantly alarmed.
"Kira, what happened to Rae's cat?"
Cheryl relaxed. "She is the reason you sneezed. When I went over to double check the crime scene I found her in the kitchen. I took her home, and she will be fine."
"Thank you, Cheryl. She just loves that cat to death." His face reflected his pain as he realised what he had just said. "Oh, God, Cheryl."
"Hey, come on, Steve. No one is giving up, you can't either, ok?" He nodded and then he watched as Cheryl went back across the room and put his elbows on the desk and rested his head in the large palms of his hands. He tried to think. If this were someone else, someone that he didn't care so much about, what would he be doing now? He knew that bank details and rent records were being checked; in fact if he looked across the room, he knew that he would see Martin doing just that. Steve did look up. The young detective looked absolutely exhausted. He hadn't been back on active duty very long after his undercover activities. In fact Steve wasn't even sure if he had been debriefed yet. He saw Martin look up as Cheryl came back over towards him.
"Want the rest of your drink?" She lifted it up as she saw him nod and the silent words that flashed between them spanned the years that they had been together. They knew what each other was thinking, and they both knew that if something didn't break soon, then Rae was as good as dead. It was inconceivable that Levington would have left Rae in safe and comfortable surroundings, and the longer she was left alone the more desperate she was likely to become.
Rae had no idea what the time was, whether it was still the same day that she had heard all the noises or if she had been asleep for a long period of time. As she lay there she became aware of something else. She realised that wherever she was, she was completely alone. There was no noise of people. She couldn't cry out, she already knew that, but if she had been able to, she knew that nobody would hear her.