Confession is Good for the Soul
By the time Jo finally pulled her horse to a halt Steve definitely needed to stretch his legs. He knew that he was going to regret this ride in the morning, hell, he was regretting it now.
"Arghhh," He couldn't stop letting out a gasp as his legs screamed at him as he jumped down off Star's back and he tried very hard not to hobble over to the large sturdy looking tree that Jo was tying Jet's reins too.
"Honey, are you all right? I guess you aren't as used to this as I am." Jo looked annoyingly fresh and as beautiful as ever. The air had given her cheeks a wonderful rosy glow, her eyes were bright, and her hair, which had been whizzed up by the wind was catching the light and looked shimmery and very inviting.
"Nothing a good chiropractor won't be able to cure." Steve grimaced, and pulled open one of the saddle bags, hoping that it was the one with the drinks in. He took out a large bottle of mineral water, and a plastic container appeared under his nose.
"There you go, darlin' you just sort yourself out for a minute, I'm gonna take the saddles off the horses an' let them have a breather too." Jo busied herself, talking softly to both horses the entire time, and Steve, grateful for the time to get himself back together, began to look around.
The glade, because there was no doubt in Steve's mind that they were in a glade, was deep set into the underbrush, and although the sun was shining down on them, he had a feeling that once it disappeared behind the trees in the early evening this particular piece of heaven would get very cold very quickly.
The grass was a deep lush green, and it felt springy under his feet. It was dry, and as he crouched down to run his fingers through it, Steve was surprised that it felt warm to his touch. He pulled up a handful and smelt it, then he moved over and held it out to his travelling companion, who sniffed it and then began to munch on it.
"Are you hungry or do you just want to sit a while?" Jo looked over at Steve, and she could see that his face was more relaxed than it had been in the last few days, and he seemed to be unwinding quickly.
"Mmm, sitting sounds nice, as long as I get to sit with you." Steve could see that she had a blanket over her arm, and he took it from her and shook it out. Once it was lying smoothly across the ground Steve pulled the edge of it until it was up against a large tree stump. There was ivy curling up and over it, but it would make a good table when they decided to eat, for now though he planned to use it as a back rest. He sat down, stretching his long legs out in front of him, and then he looked up. "Would you care to join me?"
"I thought you'd never ask." Jo smiled and sat down so that she could lean into Steve's body and rest the back of her head against his shoulder.
"This is great, and you've never shown it to anybody except David?"
"Nope, this is my special place. I always hoped that someday I would have an extraordinary person to bring here, but until today nobody ever fitted that bill. I've been comin' here since I was twelve, an' this old tree stump has heard all my problems, all my worries an' concerns, there isn't anythin' about me that it doesn't know, an' I had a feelin' that you had a few problems that maybe it could help you with."
Jo looked up at Steve, and she could see that a little of the worry had returned. "Maybe, but first of all I just want to lie here, we get so little time together, and somehow in all this beauty and peace, I want to be quiet, and hold you in my arms awhile."
"I can cope with that, I'll wake you in about a half hour." Jo smiled, she knew that he would be asleep before long; she also knew that he needed the rest, the sleep you got in the open air was wonderful, and they could talk later, maybe make a little camp fire and stay longer than she had planned. Slowly she moved herself down the rug and felt Steve do the same thing. He put his hands underneath his head and closed his eyes, and soon his breathing became deep and even, and Jo sat, the bird song and the buzzing of the bees in her ears and watched him as he slept.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The sun, as it usually did, was shining down on the Travis household at the beginning of the new morning, and inside the atmosphere was happy and relaxed as they went about their daily business. Rae had been on the internet for over an hour, and Jesse had been happily sorting out paperwork, and doing the finances. They were both careful with their money, and it never took very long to balance the check books, and settle all their bills. After that was done he had taken Eliana out into the back garden, and with a tape measure, pencil and a piece of paper he had begun to work out how he wanted to alter it, hopefully while Rae was away. Eliana was getting more mobile, and she would be playing out on the grass in the summer, and he wanted her to be safe wherever she was.
Once he had finished making a rough sketch he pushed the piece of paper into his jeans, lifted his little girl up off the grass and headed back into the kitchen. "Hey, how are you doing?"
"I think I'm on to something, but I have no idea what to do with it now I've found it." Rae's voice showed her exasperation, and Jesse could see that her right hand was held in a tight fist.
Jesse placed his hand over Rae's and felt it relax at his touch. "So, wanna tell me what it is you've found?" Jesse put Eliana down on the floor and looked at Rae's notes.
"It's what I said about being raised that way. Sandy Breth is a Catholic, from what Steve says here, and what I heard that night, she was a devout one, at least to start with."
"Rae, she's killed what, twelve people? How can you say that she's devout?" Jesse looked horrified as he realised the total number of deaths caused so far.
"George Bannister dumped her, the very day she had been to see the priest about arranging her wedding. She didn't really know why, and she was devastated. She left LA, for where I have no idea, and neither does anybody else it seems. When she came back she found George and Joseph, well, let's just say they weren't doing what good Catholic boys do. I think, only think mind you, because I haven't met or spoken to her, that she is cleansing herself of everything that had anything to do with George and his association with her."
"Ok, maybe I can see that, homosexuality is a sin in the eyes of the church, but to kill is even more of a sin isn't it?"
"Well, I have to admit I'm not sure if they grade them, but she can go to a priest and use the sanctity of the confessional to admit to her crimes with no chance of going to jail. All he can do is suggest that she give herself up."
"But if she doesn't she's home free until somebody catches her?"
"Yeah, I think so. I need to go find myself a Catholic priest and get some information, but without Steve I'm not sure I have the authority at the moment. I know that she will attack again, I don't think she will be able to resist, and so far I have come up with four other places that should be on alert."
"Where? I thought that she was finished."
"No, Jess, that type of person is never finished. She will, I think, attack the church where the wedding was due to take place and I have a feeling that George and Joseph's home will be targeted too."
"That's just two places, where else will she go?"
"She will see danger where there is none, I think that once she is finally done, when she can't find anybody else to blame she'll attack the priests who hear her confessions."
"Priests? You mean more than one, so that's your four, yes?"
"Yes, Jesse, that's my four. Would you go back and confess again to the same priest? I wouldn't, and I don't think she will either, once she has confessed all to a priest, she may not have done so yet, I don't know, but once she has, that man's life will be in danger, along with George, if he ever comes home, Joseph, the church where her wedding was due to take place and one more, as yet unknown priest." Rae shook her head gently. "I feel like an executioner, choosing who will die and who will live."
"You need to get on to Steve, right now." Jesse reached over and picked up the handset to the phone, but Rae took it from him and put it down on the table.
"And tell him what, Jess? I have nothing definite, nothing that can tell him where Sandra Breth is, or where she'll strike next. All I have are ideas, suppositions, and he has enough of them as it is. He's off today; I won't trouble him with this until the morning."
"And if anything happens between now and then, how are you gonna feel?" Jesse looked at his wife, and he could see the uncertainty in her eyes.
"Ok, give me the phone, I will make one call, but not to Steve." Rae began to press in the buttons for the number of the station, and then as she waited she realised that she had the phone to her ear without any help from Jesse. The smile on her face was reflected in her voice as she began to speak. "Oh, hi, this is Detective Reagan Yeager; may I speak to Captain Newman please...? Yes, I'll hold." Rae put her hand over the mouthpiece. "Jesse, where's Eliana?"
Jesse wheeled round; he had let his daughter's presence slip his mind, as he did so there was an almighty crash and sudden frightened crying.
Rae almost dropped the phone in fear, and then she heard Jesse's soothing tones, and knew that nothing terrible had happened, as she began to breathe again she heard her boss's voice in her ear. "Detective Yeager, how nice to speak with you … is that your daughter I can also hear? Maybe you would like to call back, or if you are in need of assistance, a black and white could call round?"
"Ah, no, thank you, Sir, we'll be fine," Rae could hear the humour in the Captain's voice as she turned a little further in her chair. "She just discovered the saucepan cupboard, and got a little scared… Jesse, can you take her in the other room?" Rae saw him nod at her, and then the room became quiet again. "I'm sorry, Sir,"
"That's quite all right, Detective, I'm afraid Lieutenant Sloan isn't working today."
"No, I know that, Sir, which is why I asked to speak with you. I need you to either put a guard on Joseph Logan, or get him to move to a different location for a while."
"You think that this shooter will target him next?" The Captain's interest rose as he listened to his officer.
"I don't know if he will be next, Sir, but he will definitely be on her list somewhere, and in the end George too, if he ever decides to come home. Sir, can I go and see Mr. Logan?" Rae waited, her heart beating loudly for his answer.
"Do you want to wait and go with Lieutenant Sloan, or were you planning to go before that?"
"I think I need to go see him now. I know you have other officers working on this, but I have spoken with him on a number of occasions, and maybe he will open up a little to me. I can't believe that he doesn't know where George is, and we need information that only he can give us."
"Ok, Detective, I get the feeling that I won't be able to stop you. Detective Banks is back on duty today, I will get her to come by and pick you up, and then you can go see him together…"
"But, Sir…"
"That is the only way I will sanction this, Detective, is that understood?"
"Yes, Sir."
"I will inform her right away, and I expect she will leave immediately. Once you are done, I would be obliged if you would come into the station to report to me yourself… Oh, and, Detective…"
"Yes, Sir?"
"It's good to hear you so eager to return to work, although I must say I expected nothing less."
Rae could hear the smile in his voice, and it was evident again in her own as she finished the call. "Thank you, Captain; I'll see you later then." Rae put the handset back on the table and then looked at herself. "Jesse, Honey, can you come here a minute please?" The house was silent, and it was obvious that Eliana had recovered from her brush with the saucepans, although they were still lying all over the floor. With a smile Rae got up and headed off to find her family and change her clothes. Somehow she got the impression that grey jogging bottoms, a pink fleecy top and purple slippers weren't quite what today's fashionable detective was wearing.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was just over twenty minutes before Steve stirred on the rug and opened his eyes. Jo brushed his hair off his forehead and kissed the exposed skin gently. "Hey, dreamer, was that nice?"
"Mmm, it was, it's like sleeping on the beach, makes me feel refreshed, not sluggish like I do when I nap inside." Jo leant down and kissed him again, this time on the lips, and she felt his arms go round her, and he began to return her kisses. His fingers went into her hair, and as she began to explore with her tongue Jo realised that she needed this time just as much as he did.
Gradually they pulled away from each other, and Steve finished by kissing her quickly on the tip of her nose. "I guess we had better have some lunch, if we take all the food back Michael will tut at us!"
"Yeah, he will won't he? Ok, I'll be Mama, an' get the food out, there are some bottles of water in one of the saddle bags, an' I even asked for a small bottle of wine. I have no idea what it will be like now we have hurtled across the ground, but we can try it an' find out."
They quickly and quietly arranged all the picnic things on top of the tree stump that Steve had spotted earlier, and soon a feast, if not fit for a king, certainly for two lesser royals was waiting to be eaten. "Wow, when Michael fixes a picnic he certainly fixes a picnic." Steve looked at all the food, and realised just how hungry he actually was.
"He told me you had asked him to do a few things an' that I wasn't to worry everythin' was in hand. He wasn't kiddin' was he?"
The tree stump was hidden under an exciting array of fried chicken, jacket potatoes wrapped in foil, there were freshly baked rolls, butter, potato salad, coleslaw, two individual containers of salad, and then for desert, sweet pastries also in individual containers to stop them from breaking apart. Considering the speed that the two horses had covered the ground at the beginning of their ride everything was still in one piece and looked good enough to eat.
There was a set of cutlery and a plate for each of them, together with white damask napkins, and tumblers for their drinks. With a laugh Jo picked hers up and began to put food on it. Steve did the same and soon they were sitting back on the rug eating and chatting and relaxing more by the second.
"So," Steve swallowed down a mouthful of wine and then began to attack his potato. "How did you ever find this place? It's not exactly signposted now is it?"
"No, an' if it weren't for a horse called Scarlet I never would have. We lived in Texas most of the time, but we summered here. Well, were out hackin' one day an' a jack rabbit scared the wits out of her, an' she just took off. Well, I wasn't as strong as I am now, if Jet takes off with me I can normally pull him up, but I didn't have a hope of stoppin' her, an' when the hedgerow came up in front of her, she just leapt it."
"She leapt the hedge, but the ground just disappears the other side, there is no way she could have kept her feet." Steve looked horrified.
"Oh, she didn't, an' neither did I. I went straight over her head, or at least I think I did. I must have been knocked out because when I came too it was gettin' dark an' I knew that grandmamma would be sendin' out the search parties if I didn't get me back home double quick. Scarlet was standin' a little way off, an' it was clear she was injured, so I used that as my excuse for why I was so late, I saw the gap in the hedge, well, it wasn't actually a gap until I had gone through it, an' I was found as Scarlet an' me were walkin' back across that meadow we galloped today."
"Did you see a doctor; you could have had a concussion, or worse, and what about your horse, was she all right?"
"Steve, Honey, it was a long time ago, an' yes I saw a doctor, had to stay home for a week. Scarlet had just bruised herself, an' by the time I was allowed back out so was she. The first place I came was that hedge, but this time we came down the way you an' I travelled. I couldn't believe what I had found; it was my own piece of the earth that I didn't have to share with anybody. I used to pack myself a lunch, just sandwiches an' a drink, find myself a book or two an' then Scarlet an' me would come here, make ourselves comfortable an' spend the day readin', talkin' an' just bein' together. I didn't plan on ever tellin' anybody about it, but ... well, Scarlet got colic an'… an' she died." Jo stopped talking for a minute, and she saw Steve put his plate on the rug and felt his arm go round her. His touch was all she needed and she carried on. "Grandmamma had her cremated, an' I wanted to bury her myself. She wouldn't let me do it alone, but agreed to David comin' with me, an' so I brought him here, just the once, an' we buried Scarlet, she is over there underneath that patch of violets. They grow all over the place here, but I wanted some right where she was, so I would never forget." Jo took a deep breath, she had said a lot and some of it had hurt, more than she would have believed possible after all this time.
"Honey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you sad." Steve kissed her cheek gently and made sure she was ok before picking up his plate once again.
"I know, and I guess it makes me sad because it's not just Scarlet that's gone, but Grandmamma too, an' that part of my life is over. Nothin' ever bothered me, or affected me the way it does now, I was just a teenager, or almost a teenager, who had nothin' to worry about, my whole life was my own to do with what I liked. I knew I never had to work a day if I didn't want to, I could spend my time in my little glade an' nobody would ever know, or complain, because I could fire them on the spot if they did." Jo stopped talking, she was opening her heart far more than she had ever done in her life, and she was getting a bit scared.
"No, you couldn't have done that, not even at twelve. You aren't that type of person, and your grandmamma certainly didn't bring either of you up to just spend your money and not understand its power and its potential for good and bad."
"No, you're right, an' when I was old enough to get a proper job I became a cop. Gradually as I got older, I don't know, fifteen, sixteen, I realised that I wanted to be doin' somethin' that helped others, an' in the end I decided to become a policewoman. I don't think I was ever a career officer, not like you an' Rae. I didn't have to be, I was doin' it because it was what I chose to do, but I knew that I could stop any time an' just head on into the offices of Walters Oil an' I would have a job for life."
"Jo, we don't have to talk about this, it's ok."
"No, it's not, I want to talk to you, with you, we need to clear the air, I don't know why I feel that, but I do, an' this is the best place in the whole wide world for that. But I will stop, for a little while, an' we can have our desert."
Steve watched her as she stood up and brushed herself down, then she picked up the two plates and returned to the stump. As he sat there he wondered how he was going to bring up the fact that in his mind the wedding was still most definitely not going to happen.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Joseph Logan did not look like a man whose lover had deserted him. He smiled at Rae, checked Cheryl's ID and let the two of them into his house and, remembering Rae's last visit, went to get her a slightly more solid chair from inside his dining table. Rae sat down, easing her jeans a little as she did so. She felt much more suitably dressed in the blue denims and the white shirt she had changed into.
"Detective Yeager, Detective Banks, what can I do for you?"
Rae suddenly felt incredibly angry, and she had to force herself to speak calmly. "You can tell us where Detective Bannister is, Mr. Logan."
"I'm sorry, but I can't do that." The man in front of them was sitting upright on one of the squishy sofas, and in his entirely blue outfit seemed to disappear into the leather.
"Can't or won't Mr. Logan?" Cheryl's voice was tighter than Rae's, and it was clear that she didn't believe him.
"Mr. Logan, we think that you are in danger, and need to move away from this house, we also think that many more people could lose their lives before this terrible business is over if we can't speak with George." Rae looked around the room, trying to see if there was anything to indicate that the detective had returned. They purposely hadn't phoned ahead, turning up unannounced on the doorstep, but from what Rae could see there was only evidence of one person being home. "Joseph, until we can get more information from Detective Bannister we have no way to catch Ms Breth. She attacked Lieutenant Sloan a couple of days ago, and it's clear that she's still in LA and, as she was spotted at a local gun club, we're sure that she's planning to carry out more attacks. We can give you and George police protection, but we can't guard the other people she is aiming to kill or maim until we get the details we need."
Rae stopped talking and looked across at her partner for the afternoon. Cheryl was happy to let Rae take the lead in the questioning, she knew that Rae'd had more contact with him, and as Martin was still in the hospital, she wasn't sure that her own temper could cope with this obstructive man.
"How do you know that she is going to kill again?" Joseph began to unbend just a little.
"Because I know the type of person she is. I think I can see her reasons behind the killings, and if I'm correct then there will be at least four other attacks, maybe more." Rae didn't want to give out all her information but she knew that she had to give this man a reason to, in his eyes, betray his lover.
"And you think she will come here?"
Rae nodded her head. "Oh yeah, in fact I'm surprised that she hasn't already, I think that you haven't been attacked yet because George isn't here. That's another reason why you need to leave, with us if you want, and we can give you protection some where, but you need to tell us where George is. I know you know, and so far all you and he are guilty of is stupidity, but if you don't tell us now you will have blood on your hands, make no mistake about it." Rae knew that they Joseph and George had perverted the course of justice, but thought now wasn't the time to mention it.
Joseph nodded his head, "Let me pack, just a few things, and then I'll come with you. Once we are away from here I'll tell you where he is." With that he stood up and moved towards the other end of the room. Rae, remembering what had happened the last time indicated for Cheryl to follow him, and then she moved over and stood by the front door, so that there was no possibility of him making a swift getaway before they were ready to go with him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The sun was starting its descent when Steve suddenly realised that he could tell Jo all his worries in this place, and it would still be ok. Hard, but ok. With a deep breath he took her hand in his and she looked up at him.
"What is it, Steve? I know that somethin' is botherin' you, somethin' big, an' you need to tell me."
"Jo, it's this." Steve took out the pieces of paper he had taken off the tablet she had been writing on a few days before. "I can't marry you, Jo. Not like this."
"What? Honey, no, I don't understand, why?" Jo had tried to think of all the things she thought might be troubling Steve, but not marrying her, that had never crossed her mind. "I love you, an' I know you love me, why can't you marry me?"
"Jo, listen, you're not listening to me. I didn't say I couldn't marry you, I said I couldn't marry you like this." He held the paper up again but he could see that she was none the wiser. "Jo, there are 258 names on these pieces of paper, and all of them are gonna get an invitation to our wedding. I can't deal with that. Do you know how many people I have on my list? Fourteen, fourteen, and you have four of them on your list too. If it weren't for my dad, and close friends like Jesse and Amanda I would suggest that we elope, but if we have to have 268 people at our wedding, well, I won't be there, I'm sorry."
Jo sat there, she had no idea what to say to him, and as he got up and moved away from her she could see the ground between them as a huge gulf which was getting wider and wider with every step he took. Jo pushed her hair away from her face, and brushed at the tears that suddenly appeared on her cheeks. Most of the names on her list were just that, names, they were strangers to her too, people who had to be invited because of business deals, or contacts that went way back to when her momma and poppa had been alive. She realised that when they walked back up the aisle as man and wife, there would be about twenty people that they actually knew and the rest would be strangers.
"Honey, how would you feel about havin' a small weddin' and a big party a little later?"
Steve turned at the sound of her voice. "How small?"
"About seventeen people, plus us an' the priest. We could probably get that arranged for ooh, maybe next week an' then we could hold a big party, hire somewhere an' use it as a fund raiser for the hospital at a later date. We don't need any presents; we have everythin' we need at home." Jo's mind was working fast as she realised that she had Steve's undivided attention. "I could have Rae as my bridesmaid; you could have Jesse as your best man. David would come up an' give me away, an' we could have a honeymoon whenever you can get a week or two's vacation. I know you're real busy with your cases an' I wouldn't want to stop you from findin' your latest set of lunatics, but we would be married, an' that would be all that mattered." Jo stopped talking, she had nothing else that she could say, Steve hadn't moved since he turned round, and he still didn't. Finally Jo could stand it no longer. "Well?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It took Joseph half an hour to put some things into a holdall, make sure that everything that needed to be switched off was disconnected, then he picked up a few letters, his Filofax, and his laptop and he and Cheryl moved over to where Rae was standing.
Rae looked at what he was carrying and was pleased to see that he didn't have too much luggage. "Ok, what we'll do is take you back to the station, and get a safe house or hotel room organised for you, then we can get all the details of where George is and maybe, just maybe, we can get this case closed." Rae looked at Cheryl and she nodded. There was nothing left to organise where they were, everything now needed to be done elsewhere. "I'll arrange for a tap on your phone, in case anybody tries to contact you." I should have checked that, it might already be done, Rae filed the thoughts away and opened the door, George followed her out, and she heard Cheryl close the door behind them.
They had got halfway down the path when Cheryl heard gunshots, she saw George Logan crash to the ground in front of her as Rae pushed him out of the line of fire. Cheryl grabbed her gun and ran to the sidewalk, and was just in time to see a blue station wagon take off down the street. There was no chance to hit its tyres or take its plate so she turned and ran back towards the house, stopping in her tracks as she saw Joseph Logan lying with Rae across him, and blood leaving a deeper and deeper red stain across her shirt as she lay there.