Interrogation
It was just after three in the morning that the night air of the ICU was shattered by the shrill noise of alarms sounding, and then footsteps running in the direction of one of the rooms. The voices were low but anxious and then the sounds were replaced by the murmur of people doing their best to save one of their patients.
Cheryl raised her head from where she had fallen asleep and looked towards the door, Mark was gone, but she could see a piece of paper on the chair where he had been sitting. Kissing Martin's hand she stood up stiffly and, grateful for the chance to stretch her legs, moved over and picked it up.
Cheryl,
I didn't want to leave you without saying something, but even in your bent up position I figured you needed your rest. I am going to go sit with Rae in room 120 if you need me. Jesse is out of surgery now and so his dad is with him.
Be strong, my dear,
Mark.
Even in her grief Cheryl smiled and then she folded the paper up and put it into her pocket. The ICU was quiet again now, and she didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad. Martin was laying just as he had been when she'd stood up which wasn't surprising. Mark had explained things to her, and she knew that there was a large possibility that he would remain that way forever.
The piece of wood had pierced his skull, and although the operation to remove it had been a success he had lapsed into a coma, and was almost non responsive. Cheryl was trying to remain positive. She knew that Martin would be checked again in the morning, and there may be some change by then.
Mark had left Cheryl once he could see that she was asleep. The prognosis for her lover and current work partner was not good, and he had tried to explain things as kindly as possible. The grief in her eyes had stayed with him as he walked towards Rae's room, and he knew that unless there was a rapid improvement then their short relationship would be all that she and Martin would have.
Mark was surprised to see that Rae was awake when he got there, and once he had said hello he immediately checked her chart.
"Rae, you are due some medication, do you want me to get it for you?"
"No, thank you." Rae's voice was tight, and he knew that she was hurting. "Mark, Dane is gone, so Jesse must be out of surgery, I wanted to go see him, but … but I couldn't reach the buzzer, please, Mark." The tone of Rae's voice almost broke his heart, but he looked at the bandages on her hands, and shook his head.
"You ought to wait for Alex to come back on duty." He knew instantly that his argument wasn't going to work.
"No, Mark, please, what if … what if I don't have that long to go see him?" The tears stood in Rae's eyes, but she closed her lids, and Mark could see the force with which she forbade them to fall.
"Rae, your hands are held up for a reason, and it is really too soon for you to have them down on your lap. If you don't keep them as they are then you run the risk of edema. That can increase the possibilities of burn wound infection and cellulitis." Mark hadn't realised the seriousness of Rae's injuries, and he knew that the next 48 hours would be difficult for her not only with Jesse's problems but her own too. He checked her chart again as something niggled at his brain, and he was concerned to see that Alex had ordered an MRI as a high priority. "Rae, do you have pain in your neck and shoulders now?" Mark sat in the chair next to Rae's bed, and noticed that she didn't turn to face him.
"I do, but I'm trying not to think about it and it doesn't seem quite so bad right now. A lot has happened to me today, or I guess it was yesterday, I can't even begin to get it sorted out in my brain, but I'll have a couple of hours inside that open ended coffin, that should give me time to put my thoughts in order…Mark, let me see Jesse, just for a few minutes, then I promise I'll come back here, take some medication and sleep."
"You know that's blackmail, don't you?" Mark smiled at her, and was relieved to see just a little curl to her lips.
"It works for Ana, so I figured I would try it on you, sort of 'eat your greens and I'll tell you a story', for adults."
Mark chuckled as he listened to his friend and then he nodded his head. "Ok, I'm gonna put a note on your chart to say what I'm doing, and you will have half an hour out of bed, no more. If your hands or arms feel any different in any way, tingling, throbbing, whatever, you have to tell me, and we'll come back. No covering up, Rae, the consequences would be way too serious."
"I know, I promise, I'll do as you say." Rae could tell by Mark's tone and his expression that he was going against his better judgement by even allowing her to take her arms out of the slings. "You are gonna have to help me though."
The transfer from the bed to the chair had been a painful one for Rae, and she had sat, exhausted as she was pushed along the quiet corridors. The IV stand attached to the side of her chair moving slightly as they turned the corners. Mark had tried to fix the slings to the chair, but Rae had asked him not to, she wanted to touch her husband, feel his skin against hers, and she knew she wouldn't be able to do so if the slings were in place. Finally, almost a quarter of an hour after she had begun her adventure, Rae found herself in the hallway outside Jesse's room. Suddenly she was afraid, not only of what she would see the other side of the door, but how she would react, whether she would be able to keep the tentative hold that she had on her emotions for a little longer.
"Rae, are you ok?" Mark's voice cut through her deliberations and she let them go.
"Yes, thank you." She saw him come into her eye line and then his hand as it opened the door, the wheels turned, and for a moment Rae felt completely paralysed. Jesse was lying on his back, his arm was raised as her own had been. She could see the red patch on his head where she imagined his hair must have been pulled from, and then further down the bedclothes were raised where there was a cage protecting his legs and the bed was also raised that end. He was attached to a ventilator, and the rhythmic whooshing seemed to give the room an air of calm that was nowhere near the feelings that Rae was experiencing. She could see three IV's hooked up, but worst of all was the lack of any spark, there was nothing to show that it was her Jesse. It was just a shell, and for a second she lowered her lids, trying to hear his voice, his laugh, see him in her mind's eye, vital and alive. Then she looked at him once more, and knew that without the medical expertise of the hospital and the love and devotion of his family he may never be that way again.
Rae raised her eyes and looked at her father-in-law. He seemed as stunned by it all as she was, and the smile she tentatively gave him was returned with a sigh.
"Rae, do you want me to push you nearer?"
She could tell from Mark's voice that he had already asked the question once. "Sorry, Mark, yes, please." He did as he was told, and Jesse's hand was soon next to her white covered ones, and the realisation that she couldn't even touch him was almost too much for her to bear. "Mark, please, help me, help me feel him." For a moment Mark didn't understand what she was saying, but then he looked at her and it became clear to him. He moved carefully round the back of the chair and lifted Jesse's hand and placed it just above the end of her own bandages. "Thank you, Mark."
Her friend rested his fingers gently on her hair and then with a nod in Dane's direction he moved out into the hallway, and was relieved when Jesse's dad did the same. Mark checked his watch and was surprised to see that Rae had already had over twenty minutes of her half hour. He decided to let her have five minutes uninterrupted time with her husband before he went to take her back to her own room, and as he saw her face through the window of the ICU suite he knew that whatever happened next, bringing her to see Jesse had been the right decision.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Steve stood looking at the fading stars from his veranda just after five thirty in the morning, thankful that living in Los Angeles meant he could do so without catching pneumonia. Daniel had called ahead on their way home from the hospital, and there had been not only a welcoming committee waiting for them, but hot chocolate and cookies too. Steve wasn't sure if he had been surprised that they were all still awake or not. Debs was looking very tired, and he guessed that the early stages of pregnancy were not being kind to her. She had kissed both himself and Daniel, whom she again called "that poor, poor chil'" before heading wearily up the stairs.
David had asked lots of questions about his sister, and then, once Steve had given him all the information that he had, the tall Texan had announced that he was going to spend the rest of the night at the hospital, and he would see Steve there in the morning. Michael had listened intently as David had quizzed his employer, but he had asked no questions himself.
Daniel hadn't wanted to sleep alone, and so, between them, Steve and Michael had made up the couch for him in the large master bedroom in the East wing. The hot chocolate had worked wonders to start with and Steve had slept for over five hours, which was five hours more than he had thought he would. Daniel was still fast asleep and Steve was glad that he seemed to be untroubled by nightmares. He knew that teenagers were resilient, but the boy had been through a lot in his fourteen short years, and they were supposed to be providing him with a stable home life. Still, he was happy and secure, and Steve knew that they would be able to build on what they had without too many problems. Hope, you hope. Steve corrected himself, and then stretching his arms up over his head for a moment he turned and feeling a shiver escape him he crawled back into bed for a few more minutes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Michael gave Daniel another rasher of bacon and smiled at the young man. The situation was as serious as he could remember it being, but still it didn't put a dent in the fourteen year old's appetite. Debs had come down and shown Michael how to produce the cup of plain boiled water she planned to have for breakfast. Once he had managed to quell the temptation to just use the hot tap he had done exactly as she had instructed, and it was still wrong! He now had a post-it-note on his refrigerator informing him of the correct bottled water to purchase when he did the grocery shopping later that day.
Daniel had entered the kitchen just as Debs drained the last of her water, and he had stood, self conscious and impatient while she hugged him, smoothed down his hair and continued to describe him as a poor chil' then she had kissed him on one cheek, patted the other and retired to the morning room.
Michael and Daniel had exchanged glances and then Michael had begun to cook the breakfast that the boy was now devouring. It was just after eight in the morning, and Michael had told Daniel that Master David had called just over a half hour earlier to say that Miss Josephine had spent a quiet night, and would be re-assessed for surgery that afternoon. The decision had been made between the butler and Daniel to leave Steve where he was for as long as possible. David had said that he would stay at the hospital until he was relieved, and so for the time being Steve slept on.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Community General Hospital began to come back to life with the sun. The quiet hallways began to have staff members and patients traversing them, and in the Intermediate Care Unit Amanda watched as Ron showed signs of waking up. She pressed the buzzer and then tried to sit patiently and quietly so that she didn't scare him.
Ron moved his head and wished that he hadn't. He had the worst headache he could ever remember having, and he knew, just from the feel of the bed that he was in the hospital. As he lay there trying to work out how he had gotten where he was he became aware of the presence of someone with him, and so slowly he opened his eyes.
"Hey, you, how are you feeling?" Amanda desperately wanted to be the cool competent doctor she knew she was, but everything went out of the window, she was a worried relative, nothing more, right now.
"I have a headache." Ron, never one to use any more words that were absolutely necessary, looked at his fiancée and tried a smile. Once he realised that he could do that he began to squirm his way up the bed.
"Oh, no you don't, I have buzzed for the nurse; until she has seen you and then sent for Alex you are going nowhere, mister." Amanda knew that she sounded like a nag, but the worry she had felt was now mingled with the relief and it produced irrational anger.
Ron raised his arms in surrender. "Ok, ok. Actually I think it's a bad idea anyway, right now. I'll just close my eyes until the nurse arrives." With that Ron did as he had said he would and drifted slowly back off to sleep.
Cheryl had just got up to stretch her legs once more when a young nurse with jet black hair entered her room. She knew that she recognised her from somewhere, but for the moment her brain was too full of her own problems to even try to work it out.
"Detective Banks?" Cheryl nodded her head. "My name is Shannon Farley, we met at Steve and Jo's wedding. I need to check Detective Robertson's vital signs, but you don't have to leave."
Cheryl found that she was able to smile at the young woman in front of her, and then she stood back and watched as she gently went about her tasks, and was reassured by the way she spoke to Martin the whole time.
"Now, Detective, I need to check a few things, you will feel me, but none of it will hurt, I promise you that. If you want to stop me at any time, squeeze my hand or open your eyes, ok?" Shannon desperately wanted the young man in front of her to do just that, but she knew that realistically it wasn't a possibility, not yet at least.
Cheryl watched as Shannon, who, she remembered now, was going out with Alex Martin, took readings, checked Martin's IV's and talked quietly to him continually. Then she finished writing down the results on his chart, slid it back into the slot at the end of the bed and turned to face her patient once more. "Ok, I will be back in a couple of hours to do that again, but if you need me just buzz." Shannon smiled and then she looked at Cheryl. "Do you want to step outside for a moment?"
Cheryl looked worried, but she nodded and then the two women retired to the hallway. "What, have things changed, is he worse?" Cheryl tried to keep the panic out of her voice, but it wasn't working.
"No, no, he's not worse, but he might be able to hear us, and so I just wanted to talk to you outside." For a moment Shannon paused. "Alex will be along soon, and he'll check him over himself, and he's booked him in for an MRI this morning. Detective Banks, we know so little about head injuries, your boyfriend could just wake up, he could stay as he is, or somewhere in between. But everything will be done for him, to give him the best chance of recovery. Sometimes you will have to leave, sometimes you won't, but everything will be explained to you, I promise you that."
Cheryl wasn't sure why, but Shannon's words brought tears to her eyes, and for a moment she had to look away. She felt the young nurse's hand on her arm, and her resolve not to cry again weakened. "Thank you, and I'm sorry."
"Don't be. You both had a traumatic experience yesterday, and you are the one who has to sit, watch and wait. That is hard on anyone, but you don't have to do it alone, I hope you know that."
"Yeah, I do." As Cheryl spoke she saw Mark and Alex coming down the hallway and she indicated to Shannon. Cheryl's heart broke a little more as she saw the love in Alex's eyes as he looked at his girlfriend, and the way it was returned to him. A part of her, which she needed to bury away deep in her soul, wondered whether she would ever have her lover gaze at her that way again.
"Cheryl, Shannon, how are you this morning?"
Shannon waited for Cheryl to answer first, moving slightly away so that she could speak with Alex.
"I'm fine, Mark, or as fine as I can be right now. I just wish …" Cheryl stopped, she couldn't find the words to express herself, but Mark seemed to understand, and he gently put his arm around her shoulders and drew her into a hug.
"Cheryl, Alex and Shannon have work to do here, let me take you for a coffee, ok?"
"No, no, I have to stay … I have to …"
"They'll page me if you're needed, I think that just for a few minutes you should concentrate on yourself." To Mark's relief she nodded slightly and he moved his arm so that he was gently supporting her back and began to walk slowly away from the young doctor and nurse who were now making their way into Martin's room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Rae had slept for the remainder of the night after Mark had taken her back to her room. She had been upset after she had seen Jesse, but he was still alive, and she had to believe that he would get better. She woke to the sound of a chair being pulled across the floor and opened her eyes with a start.
"I'm sorry, my dear, I didn't mean to frighten you."
"That's … that's ok." For a moment Rae gathered her thoughts, and then a question burst from her. "Jesse? You shouldn't be here, Dane… he's not …"
"No, no, he's still asleep, the doctor who operated on him, Doctor South came in to check on him, and they're keeping him sedated a little longer. But he seemed quite pleased with his progress; he took copious amounts of blood and then left."
Rae smiled a little bit. "I always think I must be missing a leg full when I have blood taken, but Jesse says that it isn't nearly as much as it looks in those syringe things." Rae allowed herself a small smile. "He's not out of the woods yet though, is he?"
Dane's expression grew grave. "No, he's not, but, apparently, the blood they took this morning will tell them whether the antibiotics are helping with his infection. And if they are then they will soon tell us. He's a fighter, from what I know of him." Which is precious little really. "And he loves you, Rae, and all you have given him; he won't give that up easily."
"Thank you." Rae leant back into her pillow; she was amazed at how tired she felt, gradually her eyes closed and she let herself drift back into the darkness.
It was just after lunch that the first of the casualties from the previous day was allowed to leave the hospital. Ron had suffered in silence as Alex had shone his little flashlight in his eyes, checked his blood pressure, and his wounds before declaring himself happy with his condition and discharging him on the understanding that he didn't spent more than three hours at work before heading home and not going back into work for a week.
The acceptance of the terms had been grudging, but in reality Ron knew that he wouldn't be able to cope with too long out of bed, although he was glad that Alex had understood his need to interview Don Werner. With Steve, Rae, Cheryl and Martin all out of commission, he was the only senior officer with a personal knowledge of the case.
Alex put the notes back at the end of Ron's bed and then he turned back to the man who, although he wouldn't describe as a friend, was someone he greatly admired. "Ron, I need to talk to you about one more thing."
"Sure, what's the problem?" Ron smiled at the young man. He didn't know him well, but he knew that Amanda rated his talents highly, and that both Steve and Rae were extremely fond of him.
"Ron, one of your agents died during the night." Alex knew that any sugar coating of the news would be unwelcome.
"I see, who was it?" Ron tightened his hands into fists. He had hoped that they had gotten through the operation without losing anyone.
"Jackson Manning. I'm sorry."
"He was a good agent, nice man. Thank you, Doctor." Ron knew he sounded dismissive, but that was how he felt. The whole case had sickened him from the moment he had been called in, and now he had lost one of his best men because of it. He wondered how he would tell Jackson's wife and family about his death. He knew that they would have been visited, and the news broken to them, but Jackson was his agent, and they had worked together since he had arrived in LA. He would go and visit with them, but he also knew that he wouldn't be able to tell them what he really felt about how their loved one had died. Ron watched in silence as Alex turned and left the room, and then he slowly stood up and headed for his bathroom.
Rae had been fast asleep for the rest of the morning, and well into the afternoon, when there was a knock at her door and it had taken her a few moments to re-familiarise herself with where she was and what had happened. The first thing she knew was that she was lying in an incredibly uncomfortable position, but as she tried to move into a more satisfactory pose the pain that shot through her reminded her what had happened. For a moment she had trouble catching her breath, but gradually she was able to concentrate on other things. Opening her eyes Rae came face to face with a stranger.
"Detective Yeager?"
"Yes?" Rae began to realise that she had seen the man before, that something in the recesses of her brain was nagging away.
"My name is Doctor Burns; we met when you were considering surgery for the brachial plexus injury you suffered."
Rae smiled. "I kept a pain diary for you."
"That's right. I have arranged for you to have an MRI test in about an hour, or rather Doctor Martin and I have arranged it. If you would be kind enough to tell me what happened, we can take things from there."
Gradually, as the hours passed, the patients who had been injured the day before were checked and re-assessed. Three further FBI agents were sent home, and soon the only patients remaining were Jesse, Jo and Martin in ICU and Rae who was in a private room. David had returned to Steve and Jo's house to be replaced at his sister's bedside by her husband. Dane was joined by his ex-wife as they sat, watching and waiting for their only child to respond to the treatment he was being given, and Rae, lying in the 'open ended coffin', tried to come to terms with the pain she was feeling, and her inability to be with the man she loved.
Cheryl had spent the day with Martin, returning to his side after a quick coffee and a Danish with Mark. Alex and Shannon had just been leaving the room, and she had been gratified that she had arrived back in time for her lover to have spent no time alone.
Steve had sat with Rae for a little while before going to Jo's room, but now, as the night drew in again, at her own request, she was alone. She had a lot of emotions running round in her mind and she wanted to try to sort them out.
Ron had left the hospital with Amanda who had driven him to North Hollywood police station, walked with him into the homicide squad room and waited at Steve's desk until he had finished speaking with Captain Newman. Finally, after about thirty minutes he had come back over to her.
"I'm going to interview Werner now, and then, I promise you I will come straight home."
"Oh, I know that, because in two and a half hours I will be here to collect you." Amanda smiled and Ron stared at her for a moment before he felt a grin pull at his face.
"Ok, you win; I will try to be finished by the time you get back. If not though, I reserve the right to re-call this witness tomorrow!"
Amanda laughed and touched him gently on the hand. The back of it was cut and scraped, and she wanted to kiss it better, but she knew that could wait until later.
"I'll see you soon, councillor." She stood up, pulled her t-shirt down a little and then walked out of the room. Ron watched her until she disappeared from sight, and with a sigh he pulled himself back to the moment.
Don Werner had been brought up from the holding cells where he had been since the previous day. He was, as Ron had expected, sullen and non-cooperative, and showing the signs of his encounter with Steve.
Once Ron had completed the formalities he had sat with his hands on the table in front of him and stared at the man he knew to be guilty of heinous crimes. "Why did you kidnap Josephine Sloan and Jesse Travis?"
The large policeman and his lawyer sat in silence looking at Ron, and he moved his hands into his lap so that his rising anger at the accused man's non communication didn't become too apparent.
"Detective Werner, you have been charged with four counts of murder, two of attempted murder, kidnapping, grievous bodily harm, do you have nothing to say for yourself?"
Again there was silence and so Ron carried on talking. "You have been charged with the abduction and murder of your wife Gwen Werner, Detective Neil Crosier, Dennis Harris and FBI Agent Joel Manning. You have also been charged with the abduction and attempted murder of Mrs Josephine Sloan and Doctor Jesse Travis, as well as other lesser charges. Do you have anything to say in your defence?"
For another minute Don Werner sat looking Ron square in the eye, and then gradually, as he finally realised that everything was over, was finished, he lowered his gaze and began to talk.
"I thought he was my friend. We did things together, went fishing, I kept my stuff in his lock up. We went up to Big Bear, him, me and Leroy."
"Leroy?" Ron interrupted, not really wanting to, but needing the connection established between this man and the guy Steve had shot as he tried to take Rae hostage.
"Leroy Raab. While we were there Crosier ate something he shouldn't and stayed at the cabin while Lee and me went shooting. When we got back he was talking on his cell, to a woman, we just laughed. He always had at least two women on the go at once, and we thought it was funny that he couldn't even go a coupla days without calling. Well, later while we were sitting outside, just hanging y'know, his phone rang again but he ignored it. Leroy picked it up and handed it to him, and he saw that the screen said Crystal and the number. He recognised the number and the name. Crystal was his girl."
The room went silent again for a while, and Ron wondered whether that was all there was. But then, almost as if he was working out all his words before he began to speak, Don mouthed sentences for a minute or two and started talking again.
"I thought he was gonna kill him right there. Leroy flew at him, called him everything you could think of and Crosier just grinned at him. He should never have done that. Lee, he knew a lot about what Crosier did. His scams, his stoolies, and he crucified him. He wanted him out of the force, and he wanted Crystal back. I told him that there was no way he should take that little tramp back, that if she'd done it once she'd do it again, and then one day he came in to work and said that Crosier had married her, he'd taken Crystal to Reno and they had come back man and wife."
Werner retreated again into his silent world and Ron took the chance to check his watch. He only had just over an hour left, and he needed to know why he had killed his own wife, as well as take Jo and Jesse and he didn't want to wait until the next day or, more likely, the next week to get his information.
"You've told me why Raab should have killed Crosier, but not why you did."
Don Werner raised his head and his eyes bore into Ron's. For a moment the FBI Agent felt threatened, but then he regained his composure and just stared back.
"He wasn't satisfied with Crystal, so took her from me, my Gwen, bit by bit. I just decided to return the favour."
Ron felt his blood run cold, and he knew that he wasn't dealing with a man but a ruthless, remorseless killer, who, if they hadn't found him would never have stopped kidnapping, mutilating and murdering those he felt had slighted him.
"And the letters, why did you send Lieutenant Sloan the letters?" Ron wondered whether Don Werner would answer him, but he needn't have worried, now that he had begun to unburden himself the large man across the table seemed unable to stop.
"He thought he was just so clever, so superior, and he just knew that his department was better than mine. He had a homicide evening at his restaurant, was I invited? Was I included? No. I went there that night, and he kicked me out! Told me that I could come another night, but all those other cops were there, all eating and drinking and enjoying themselves, he wouldn't even let me stay for a beer."
"And that's why you sent the letters, why you took his wife?"
"No! I sent him the letters because of what he did, yeah, but that tramp, I didn't even think about her until I saw that picture. I knew she was having a party, and I knew I could get to Mr. Super Cop even more by making sure the letter was found at the hotel, but that was all." Don stopped talking and a smile flashed across his face.
"I don't see what is so funny about any of this."
"Am I telling you the truth, Agent Wagner? Will you ever know the answer?"
Ron clenched his fists under the table, using the pain it caused, as the scratches on his hands stretched, to fire himself up and not succumb to the pressure this man was putting him under.
"So, if it wasn't an attack on Lieutenant Sloan, why did you kidnap his wife?"
"I came to the house you know, did you know that? I was going to leave another letter, and I saw her come out of her house and get into the car of that man, the one who is married to Yeager, the doctor!" He spat the title out with such venom that Ron was no longer in any doubt why Jesse had been so badly injured. "And I just knew that she was as big a tramp as my Gwen. Stevie was just as much a victim as I was and so I thought I would do him a favour, take her out and her lover, do him and his English partner a big favour. Maybe then they would have a little respect for me."
Ron resisted the temptation to close his eyes. This man really thought that he was helping Steve and Rae; he had no doubt that he was sincere in his demented reasoning. As he looked into the brown flint like eyes he vowed that he would give the DA every ounce of evidence he could to make sure that this man never saw anything other than the inside of a cell ever again.