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Jesse and Jo arrived at the station house and waited by the main desk for Martin to come and get them. He looked grim as he ran quickly down the stairs, and Jesse and Jo moved closer together.
"Did you hear from Steve yet? Or Ron?" Jesse was getting frantic now, he felt completely out of the loop, he wasn't with Rae or Steve, and even though Ron had told him that what he was doing was vital he wasn't convinced.
"No, nothing more yet. Look Jesse, we have arranged for this to be done in one of the conference rooms. A lot of media people are there already, so if you are ok, we can just go and get started."
"What about Cheryl, isn't she comin'? I thought she agreed with us now, that Rae was innocent, an'… an' she would care about Eliana." Jo felt herself getting angry.
"No, she isn't coming, Jo, this has been very difficult for her. She had convinced herself that Rae was guilty, and the day that Rae shot her down when she tried to talk to Eliana really hurt her. She hasn't said anything about it since, but I have seen her pick up the photo of the little girl from Steve's desk and look at it a couple of times."
"Oh." Jo had no idea what else to say. She hadn't really thought about Cheryl's feelings in all of this, and right now she didn't have the time to do so, but once it was all over, then it would have to be sorted.
"Let's get on with it then." Jesse suddenly stood a little straighter and took a deep breath. He had realised that the quicker he finished the news conference the quicker he would be back with Rae.
The conference room was crowded when they got there. A table was set up and there were three banks of microphones on the front of it. A large screen was stretched out behind the table, and as Jesse walked round to the front of it he stopped in his tracks as a huge picture of Eliana smiled down at him. "Oh, God, Jo."
"Honey, it's all right, just sit down, an' we will compose ourselves." Jo glared at Martin as he moved past.
"Sorry, I forgot that was going to be there." He had the grace to look embarrassed.
Jo turned slightly in her seat and looked at the picture behind her. The little girl was smiling, and you could see her teeth just showing. Her hair was combed and the ringlets looked as soft and bouncy as she remembered. The picture was a blow up of one that Steve had taken just a few days before their world had collapsed again. Jo shut her eyes for a moment and tried to gather her thoughts.
The room wasn't huge, and there were about thirty chairs in it. Along the back of the seats was a row of television lights, and cameras. In front of the seats were the ridiculously large lenses of the photographers' cameras. In between were the reporters from newspapers, radio and television stations across the state, perhaps even further. Jesse could see a CNN badge on one microphone, and BBC on another. He moved his hand and searched out Jo's. She held tightly to it and looked at him. She nodded, just slightly, and he felt his courage return to him. Jesse heard Martin clear his throat, and turned to see Chief Masters enter the room and sit next to him. Jesse had thought that it would be Captain Newman who would conduct the meeting and the surprise was evident in his voice as he quietly acknowledged the man. "Chief?"
"Doctor Travis." The Chief's voice was also kept low, neither man wanting their conversation to be front-page news. "Please pass my best wishes on to your wife, and tell her that we are doing everything we can to find her child."
For a moment Jesse felt the guilt from his conversation with Steve threaten him, but he pushed it back. Worrying about Eliana and Rae was all he could cope with right now.
The Chief looked round the room for a moment and then stood up. "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for all attending this press conference. I'm sure that you recognise Doctor Travis, whose daughter is the reason we are all here. Next to him is Miss Jo Walters, and to my right is Detective Martin Robertson, who is one of the officers leading the search for Eliana Travis, who as you know, was taken from Community General Hospital yesterday. Please remember that this is an extremely traumatic time for both Doctor Travis and his companion Miss Walters, who is Miss Travis's godmother. I would ask that you are sensitive in your questioning."
Jesse wasn't sure how the journalists decided who would speak, but the barrage of noise he had expected didn't materialise, and quietly the first speaker stood up.
"Doctor Travis, have there been any positive sightings of your daughter since she was taken?"
Jesse paused, and Martin checked with his Chief, and seeing him nod began to speak. "Yes, we had one positive sighting yesterday, at a motel in Ventura, but since then, no."
"At the first press conference we were told that Eliana was wearing pink dungarees is that still so?"
"I … I don't know." Jesse looked to Martin, feeling more helpless by the minute.
"No, no, that isn't the case any longer. We have found the original set of clothes, so we have no idea now what she is wearing." Martin spoke again, and the journalists' eyes all turned to him.
Jesse hadn't known that, and he ran his hands through his hair in desperation. As he did so he was horrified to hear the clicking of cameras as all the photographers in front of him took pictures of his agony.
"Doctor Travis, do you have anything to say to the person who has your daughter?"
Jesse looked up, and the lady who had asked the question was suddenly touched by the sadness in his eyes.
"I just want her back. She's my little girl, she's only eight months old, and she needs her mommy and daddy…" Jesse's voice began to break as he carried on talking. "Please, please, just let us have her back." Jesse couldn't speak anymore, and, past caring about the cameras in front of him he began to weep openly. This time though there were very few clicks of the shutters as he sat there, and then he felt Jo's arm go round his shoulder, and he turned his head towards her as the tears threatened to overwhelm him.
For a few minutes the room was silent as Jesse fought to get himself back under control. Finally he took a deep breath and looked at the people sitting in front of him. "I'm sorry, please carry on with your questions."
It took a moment before anybody moved, but then a man close to the front began to speak. "Do the police have any idea who may have taken the child?"
Martin thought for a moment. This was difficult, and he didn't want to give too much away and jeopardise any case they would have. "We do have a suspect yes, her name is Louise Willis the description is on the flyers you have all been given, but she is about five foot tall, brown hair, brown eyes.
"We know that the little girl was poorly when she was taken, is she in any danger from her chest infection?"
Jesse nodded his head. "It's winter, any chest infection can be nasty, and…" For a moment Jesse felt himself waver again. "She's very small because she was born too early. Her lungs weren't developed properly, and so we don't know how the infection will affect her." Jesse stopped again. He could feel the tears still there, but he didn't think that he could cope with breaking down twice.
"How do you feel about the person who has taken your daughter, Doctor Travis?"
Jesse looked up, and the tears in his eyes made them seem like ice. "I feel nothing towards her, I never have, nothing at all, but she is a nurse, how could she hurt people like this? I just want her to stop what she is doing."
There was a barrage of questions then, as the reporters realised that it seemed as if Jesse actually knew his daughter's abductor.
"Is this woman known to you?"
"Is she a nurse at Community General?"
The level of noise in the room shocked Jesse. He had been so cut off from what had been happening in the outside world, but it seemed to him that nobody in front of him knew that Willis had been at the same hospital as Rae. Jesse was so upset and confused now that he didn't think about the fact that information was only released to the press at certain times of the day, and the facts about Louise Willis were one of the reasons for this press conference, to him it was just another thing that Steve should have dealt with, and another thing that he hadn't done properly.
"What is Miss Willis's motivation in taking the child?"
"Doctor Travis, does her kidnap have anything to do with your wife?"
Jo could see that Jesse was struggling with his emotions once again and so she moved slightly in her chair, to redirect the reporters' attention towards her and then began to speak. "We can't answer these questions, all we want is to get our little angel back, an' so I am offerin' a reward to anyone who knows where she is. $10,000 for information that leads to her recovery. As Jesse said, we just want her back, safe an' sound, as soon as possible."
"Doctor Travis, does this kidnap have anything to do with your wife?" The journalist just in front of Jesse wasn't going to give up. "Does she know her daughter has been taken? She is, after all, in jail charged with murder."
Jesse stood up then and leant forward. "My wife has nothing to do with this. She is as devastated as I am about the loss of our daughter, and SHE DIDN'T KILL ANYBODY!" Jesse stood up straight, pushing his chair away from him and then he turned and almost ran from the room, he couldn't face the questions any more.
Jo followed him out, she looked over at Martin and the Chief for just a second, and then she was gone.
Jesse hadn't moved very far from the doors, he was standing with his arms resting on the wall, and his head against them. Jo could see his shoulders heaving, and she rushed up to him and took him into her arms. For a moment the two friends stood together in silence, and Jo could hear Martin fielding questions in the room behind them. "Jesse, Honey, shhh, shhh." She didn't really know what to say, but she felt that she should try to get through to him. "They will find her, you have to believe that."
Jesse looked at her then, and Jo was surprised to see that his heaving shoulders weren't caused by tears, but by unrestrained fury. "How dare they suggest that this is because of Rae? It's … it's just not fair. Dammit Jo, I just feel so helpless." Jesse rammed his fist against the wall, he had so much anger trapped inside of him, all mixed up with fear, desperation, anguish, and he had no idea how to let the feelings out before they ate away at him so much that they turned him away from his normal happy-go-lucky self.
"I need to get back to Rae." Jesse turned and strode off down the hallway, and Jo, knowing that there would be no further conversation followed him.
Steve sat in his car, a map of Ventura in front of him leaning against the steering wheel and tried to work out where Louise Willis would have gone. She had no car, and he didn't think that she would stay in the area, which meant that she had either hitched a lift, taken the train or the bus. He studied the map again, and saw that the Greyhound station was closest to the motel.
"Ron, I'm gonna go check the Greyhound depot. She has to have travelled from here somehow."
"Hold on, I'll come with you." Ron had supervised the collection of all the hair from the trashcan, and the bedding with the vomit on it had been carefully wrapped up and placed in an evidence bag. The baby food jars had been dusted for prints, and they had also found a plastic wrapper, which, according to its label had been around a baby seat. He had stayed outside the car, realising that Steve would need some time to gather his thoughts together.
Steve looked over as his friend got in beside him. He handed Ron the map and started the engine. For a few minutes there was silence, but then just needing to say something, Steve began to speak, "I guess the press conference should be in full swing right about now."
"Yeah, if Jesse doesn't chicken out. He really didn't want to do it. He was afraid of what they might say about Rae, I think."
"Well, that's understandable. His whole life is coming down around him right now. Rae and Eliana are the most important things he has, he cares about them deeply and he can't help either of them. He has dealt with the press before, and never with good results, I'm not surprised he wasn't very impressed."
"Well, we'll find out when we get back. There! You need to turn there! The bus station is over there!" Ron called out as he saw the sign flashing on and off. Steve turned the wheel quickly, and with a squeal of tyres they entered the parking lot. "This is Sloan and Wagner, not Starsky and Hutch!" Ron looked at him as Steve got out of the car.
"You are showing your age."
"Yeah, well, I can remember watching Ironside in black and white with my old man, so at least I am resurrecting memories that are a little more current than that." Ron laughed in spite of himself.
"So can I, I loved that show!" Steve smiled for a moment, and then brought himself back to the matter at hand. "Come on, let's get on with this."
The two men walked into the area where the buses were lined up waiting for their passengers, the place was reasonably busy, but it was the middle of the afternoon, and both men knew that it would get much busier later on. They followed the signs and made their way to the manager's office where Steve took out his ID, and knocked on the door.
"Come."
They entered and watched as a small, round man switched off his TV set and stood up. "Gentlemen, what can I do for you?"
"Steve Sloan, LAPD, Agent Wagner, FBI. We need some information from you, and a look at your security videos." Steve could see that there was a bank of other monitors showing all areas of the bus depot lined up on one side of the room.
It took ten minutes for the man, whose name was Bert Williamson, to get the tape in the player and then with a flourish that seemed a little excessive to Steve he pressed the play button.
"We only run a limited service from here. Some stations are open twenty-four hours a day, but not us. We don't open until eight in the morning, so all the buses before that just come and go. This tape is from the camera that covers the main part of the station. What are you looking for anyway?"
"We are searching for the missing baby, Eliana Travis." Ron turned to look at the man.
"No, really? Well don't that beat it all? I was just watchin' that on the TV. The press conference y'know? That doctor, her daddy, he got up and just left the room, and then that gal, the one from Texas, by her accent, you know she offered a reward, she followed him. First time I ever felt sorry for a cop, but that young kid standin' there on his own with his boss. Oh, sorry." Bert stopped talking as he saw both men looking at him in astonishment.
"Can we get on? We need to find out if you have anything, because if not we have to check all the other transport stations in the area." Ron looked at Steve as he was speaking and could see that his friend had his hands in fists.
"Could you rewind it? I had trouble concentrating." Steve spat out his words and waited as the figures on the screen did their backwards dance and then the film started again. They had been watching for just over twenty minutes when Steve spoke up again. "There, look. Stop the tape." The screen went black. "No, with the picture up, you idiot."
"Oh, you mean pause it." Bert didn't seem at all bothered by the insult; he started the video up again and then pressed the pause button. A line of static immediately appeared right across the screen, effectively obliterating the person in shot.
"Damn!" Steve thumped his fist down on the table in front of him. "I need this tape. I'll give you a receipt for it."
"Sure, sure. D'you think that's her? Maybe I could have a press conference, hey, $10,000 that's what the lady said. Leadin' to her apprehension. Well, if you find her, then it came from me. $10,000. Lovely."
"Yeah, well, don't give up your day job." Steve took the receipt pad out of his inside pocket as he watched Ron eject the tape. He wrote quickly across it and signed it, and then the two men turned and left the office.
"Now where?"
"Let's try the station here first. See if they have the equipment to enhance this. As long as it isn't Ralphy. How could you be confident of your safety if you were working with someone called Ralphy?" Steve raised his eyes to the heavens and climbed back into his car. He started her up and screeched out of the parking lot. Ron looked at him as he fastened his seat belt and shook his head.
Tony had sat quietly with Rae for a while, and then he had started to talk. He had filled her in on what her friends back in London were doing, the ones that still kept in contact with him, and whom she no longer wrote to. He told her about Shani, and how they planned to get married in the summer. Then slowly he told her about John and his girlfriend. He had a feeling that it wouldn't be too long before they would be arranging a wedding for him. Rae's eyes had grown as wide as saucers as she listened to him tell her how their eighteen year old son had fallen in love and changed almost over night from a bike and car loving teenager into a happy secure young man with the woman of his dreams on his arm. When Tony asked if Rae had seen a picture of John's young lady, who was called Sophie, she had just looked at him. Remembering what Jesse had said he took it to be a no, and rummaged around in his wallet.
"There, what do you think? They make a lovely couple don't they?"
Rae had blinked, once, and then painfully raised her right hand.
"Do you want this picture?"
Tony watched as she blinked, twice this time, and he knew that he would have to get himself another copy once he got home.
They had returned to silence then, and if the situation hadn't been so dire it would have been a companionable and happy one. They were comfortable in each other's company, more so than when they had been married and when Tony gently took Rae's hand in his he felt her give it a little squeeze.
Jesse had arrived back a half hour later and found the two of them sitting quietly, hand in hand, and he had smiled at them both, albeit a little shakily.
"Jesse, how did it go?"
"I think I could have handled it better, but at least I did it, and who knows something may come out of it."
Jesse moved to the side of the bed as he spoke and looked down at the vacuum device that was draining the fluid from Rae's lung. "Honey, I want to take you down to x-ray, and then hopefully we can get you off that machine, ok?"
Rae had blinked; twice, and then shut her eyes. Slowly she felt the bed being moved and Tony let go of her hand. He moved over and indicated to Jesse.
"I know she can't talk, but she seems much calmer than I would have expected."
"She has a small amount of sedative going into her through her IV all the time. She would fight the ventilator even more than she is, if we didn't do it, and as things have turned out, it has helped her not to panic too much about Eliana… We'll be about a half hour, then we will be back. If her lung is ok again I will sedate her completely, and take her off the ventilator. I don't think I need to wean her off, she hasn't been on there very long, and if her lung has re-expanded as expected then there is no reason for her to have any problems breathing."
"Oh, ok." Tony looked a little shell shocked, and Jesse realised belatedly that he had probably gotten lost about half way through what he had been saying.
"Do you want me to go over it again?"
"No, you just do it, and I'll follow along behind." Tony smiled and then sat back down in his chair. He wasn't sure where else to go while he waited for Rae to get back.
Alex was awake in the room next to Rae's and Shannon was sitting with him once again. He had been taken off his ventilator almost as soon as he had come round, and there had been no complications. His breathing and heart rate had remained steady, and although he wasn't allowed to get out of bed or eat anything yet, he knew that he was incredibly lucky to be alive. Doctor Collins had carried out two further echocardiograms and his heart was now beating well within the upper and lower limits he had been aiming for. They, as Rae and Tony had been, were sitting in silence when there was a knock on the doorframe, and Shannon saw Jo standing next to the police guard.
"Hi, I thought I would come visitin' for a little while if that's ok with you folks."
"Jo, come in, tell me what's going on." Alex's voice was quiet and not very strong, but he knew it would get better. Every time he swallowed he could feel the tube that had been down his throat, and so he was trying not to swallow. Trouble was that made him dry mouthed and then his voice disappeared. So closing his eyes for a moment he swallowed cautiously and then opened his eyes again.
"Alex, are you all right, that looked like it was hurtin'"
"It just hurts to swallow. I'm not allowed to eat anything yet so I can't soothe it, but as soon as I can I will be on the hard candies."
Shannon looked at Jo. "How is Detective Yeager?"
"I have no idea, she isn't in her room right now, but Tony said that she had been taken down to see about removin' her ventilator, so I guess she is doin' just fine."
"And the baby, did they find the baby yet?"
"No, no they didn't. Jesse an' me, we just did a news conference, so maybe somethin' will come from that, I don't know. It was a strange experience, it felt like it should be happenin' to someone else, if y'know what I mean."
"I can't believe that I let her go, I let that woman just take her, and now she is lost to them for ever." Alex began to breath heavily as he got upset, and both Jo and Shannon moved closer to him.
"Now you stop that talk right now. She tried to kill you, an' there was nothin' you or anybody else could have done to prevent what happened. An' there is no forever in this, she will come back, an' Rae an' Jesse will be a family once again…" Jo paused for a moment before continuing. "Alex, you were tryin' to help Rae, no one could ever in a million years have predicted what would occur. You know that Rae an' Jesse won't blame you, so you need to stop blamin' yourself too."
Alex shut his eyes for a moment. He did know that Rae wouldn't blame him, she was a very forgiving person, but he wasn't, and if the little girl wasn't returned safe and well, he didn't think he would be able to live with himself.
Steve and Ron arrived at the police station in Ventura and after a few words with the station captain made their way to a room full of all sorts of electronic machinery. The officer on duty in there was called Mac and he just nodded as he listened to what Steve wanted him to do.
"Sure, no sweat. I do that all the time. Let's have your tape then." Mac had slipped the tape into one of his many video recorders and then begun the process of taking still pictures from it that didn't have a static line right across them. With all the current computer programmes it was an extremely easy and quick process and half an hour after entering the station they had what they wanted.
"Ok, back to the bus station. We need to know what Greyhound this is, where it was going, and when it got there."
"Yeah, get in the car then, I feel as if time is running out on us." Steve had already started the engine, and Ron quickly shut his door and fastened his belt.
Bert was still sitting at his desk when they returned. The bus station was now a busy and active place, there were buses pulling in at all the different waiting areas, and the queues for the rest rooms and ticket booths were long enough to make any traveller think about staying home. Steve tapped on the door once again and then they entered. Ron laid the photos on the crowded desk after disposing of two empty coffee containers and three potato chip bags.
"We need to know which bus this is, where it was going, and who travelled on it." Ron pointed at the picture in which Louise Willis could be clearly seen, a baby seat in front of her on the ground, and a bus in its bay.
"Hard to tell without the time on it."
"The time is on it. It says seven thirty eight." Ron's voice was curt as he spoke.
"That would be the bus to San Francisco, via Fresno."
"Don't you think it would be a good idea to look that up, just to be sure?" Steve looked at the man in front of him. He had no intention of going to Fresno if he didn't have to.
Bert looked back at the detective through narrowed eyes. He'd been as helpful and understanding as he could when they were here earlier because a child's life was at stake, but nobody was going to tell him he didn't know his job. "I could tell you every bus that leaves here, at what time, where it's going and how long it will take it to get there. I can also tell you that the bus to San Fran that left here at 7.40 this morning never got to go any further than Fresno. The engine gave out just before the bus station. Everybody had to walk the rest of the way."
"Thank you. Now, I need to see the ticket stubs for this coach." Steve felt his heart get a little lighter. They only had to cover here to Fresno, which made life a little easier.
"We aren't open until eight. The ticket would be bought from the driver. If you paid cash there would be no record. We don't have cameras on the buses, though I guess we will soon."
"What about the Fresno station, I guess that there is no record of who got off the coach because they didn't disembark inside where they were supposed to… Damn!" Steve banged his fist on the table. "I guess we go to Fresno then, and hope for the best."
The x-rays that Rae had done showed just what Jesse had expected them to, her lung had re-expanded and even though he wouldn't be removing the vacuum device for another day or two the ventilator could be switched off once Rae was back in her room. As Jesse walked back down towards the ICU suite he saw Mr. Sholte standing waiting for him. Jesse had been holding on to Rae's left hand, and he had squeezed it tighter as he saw the lawyer. Rae couldn't move away from the pain, but he felt her tense up immediately. "Honey, I'm so sorry. He went to lift her hand to his lips so that he could kiss it, and the agony that passed across her face made him stop in his tracks. He knew that she would have a long hard time getting over the injuries to her neck and arms, even with the sedation she was under the pain was obviously unbearable for her.
By the time he had finished thinking the orderly was gently steering the bed back through the doorway. The police guard moved out of the way and in a few moments Rae was disconnected from one ventilator and back on the other one.
"Rae, Honey, I'll be just a minute, Tony is still here if you need anything ok?"
Rae had blinked, just the once, and Jesse could see the puzzlement in her eyes.
"I will take you off the machine, I promise, but first there is someone I have to see, ok?" Jesse realised that Rae hadn't seen her lawyer standing in the hallway, and until he knew what he had to say, he had no intention of letting her know he was there.
Gilbert Sholte was waiting patiently just out of earshot of Rae's room. Jesse moved over towards him and took the outstretched hand. "Mr. Sholte, what can I do for you?"
"First of all I just wanted to say how shocked and upset I was to hear what had happened to your daughter. She is a lovely child, I hope you get her back soon."
"Thank you." There wasn't really anything else that Jesse could say.
"Would it be possible to speak with your wife for a moment or two?" Mr. Sholte looked concerned as he spoke.
"As long as you aren't going to distress her, or give her more bad news yes, of course. She won't be able to answer you though, unless you count blinks. She is still on the ventilator, although she will be coming off it this evening."
"Oh, I see. I only found out this morning that she was actually in the hospital at all." Mr. Sholte managed to look extremely put out and concerned at the same time. "The news I have isn't bad, I promise you that."
"I am so sorry, we were just so concerned about her. I guess we're not used to having to call her lawyer when she gets hurt. Can you give me an idea what you have to see her about?" A couple of minutes later Mr. Sholte and Jesse who was smiling at the news he had just heard, moved towards Rae's door.
Rae was still lying flat on the bed looking up at the ceiling. Tony was there, but he hadn't wanted to change the position she was in. He stood up as the two other men came into the room, and he appeared in Rae's eye line. He saw her look at him and he was amazed at just how helpless and scared she appeared.
"Jesse…" He couldn't say anything else, he didn't want to upset or embarrass his ex-wife, but suddenly all he wanted to do was just scoop her up in his arms and hold her until everything was better again.
Jesse moved over and looked into Rae's eyes and saw the same thing Tony did. "Shhh, Honey, I'll move your bed up for you. Blink if you want me to stop, ok?"
Rae blinked once and then waited. Slowly Jesse moved the head of the bed, and Rae moved into a position where she could at least see everybody who was in her room. As she sat there one tear slid down her face. Jesse had no idea why she was crying, but he moved a little closer to her and gently rested his hand against her face. "Oh, Sweetheart, it will be all right, I promise you, in the end everything will come back together, it will be you, me and Eliana again, for always."
Rae was still looking very unsure and scared, but somehow now that she wasn't on her back she didn't seem as helpless.
"Honey, Mr. Sholte wants to talk to you, is that ok?"
"I'll go then." Tony turned, but Jesse moved over to him.
"No, Tony, could you stay, that's ok isn't it, Rae?" Jesse waited and as he expected Rae blinked once. "Then if it is anything that Mark needs to know you could tell him when you go home."
"Ok, if Mr. Sholte doesn't mind."
"No, not at all, if Mrs Travis is fine with it."
Rae blinked just the once and then waited. Jesse turned back towards the lawyer. "Rae blinks once for yes, twice if she really means it, and she just waits if the answer is no. If you need anything more complicated than that, I'm afraid you will have to come back in the morning."
"No, I need to talk with her now. Mrs Travis, I would have been in to see you before, had I known you were in here, I apologise for my tardiness."
Jesse looked over at Tony from behind the lawyer and raised his eyes to the heavens. Then with a forced smile he moved over so that he could be within touching distance of Rae should she need him.
"Now, to the matter at hand. I have spoken with the DA again today, and at the moment she has no problem with keeping the whole case on hold until you are well enough to attend court… Doctor Travis, please." Gilbert could see that the young man was just itching to cut in. "I have also spoken to Doctor Bentley, in fact I have just come up from your lab, wonderful place, I find it all most interesting, and I think that it will be a simple case to get Detective Yeager acquitted of all the charges against her."
"Oh, thank God." Tony felt the strength leave his legs for a moment, and he sat in the chair next to the bed.
"I thought that you and your husband would want to know straight away. As soon as you are well enough to attend court we will get a date finalised. Obviously these things are always a little fluid, and there is sure to be a slot available within a day or two of when we want it. Unfortunately though, until that time you are still a prisoner of this state, and if the police guard is removed one of the prison officers will have to be here in their place."
Jesse just nodded. He hadn't missed the presence of the prison guards at all. He was so used to going in and out of rooms with cops on the door that it was second nature to him. But the guards had been a different matter. They had been rude and uncooperative, and he knew that Alex had felt the same about them.
Rae looked at the man in front of her. She had no way to let him know how relieved she felt, somehow one blink, or even two didn't seem appropriate. She moved her left hand painfully and touched Jesse's hand.
"Rae? Do you want me to do something for you?"
Rae blinked once and then raised her right hand off the bed and made a writing movement with her fingers. Jesse looked at the little shapes Rae was slowly and painfully making and thought for a moment.
"Write, you want to write something?"
Rae blinked once at Jesse and waited, but it was Tony who spoke next.
"I have some paper and a pen, hold on." He reached into his jacket and took out a notebook and a pen. He offered Rae the pen for her left hand, but she didn't raise it off the bed.
"She won't be able to do it with her left hand, her arm is paralysed." Jesse saw the pain in Rae's eyes as he spoke.
"Oh, ok." Tony took a deep breath as he realised the ramifications of what Jesse had just said, and then he put the pen in her right hand and placed the paper underneath it. He held on to it and slowly Rae moved the pen. Because she couldn't see what she was doing very well, and wasn't used to writing with her right hand it was a slow as well as a painful process, but after about five minutes, which had included numerous stops while Rae composed herself and let the pain subside a little, she was finished. Tony took the piece of paper from her, and could see she was relaxing back against the pillows. He handed the sheet to Jesse, who looked at it and then gave it to Mr. Sholte, to whom it was addressed.
The lawyer put his glasses on his nose, and looked closely at the almost illegible letters before him. Gradually he made out four words. Thank you Mr. Sholt. He smiled at the woman in front of him and decided that now was not the time to point out that she couldn't actually spell his name. "You are very welcome, my dear."