LOST AND FOUND - PART III
FROM THE PAST
Chapter 27
The slender figure dressed in black stopped midway through the backyard and looked up at the cream-colored house. All but one of the windows were dark, and only a soft muted light illuminated the nursery window. As the figure continued toward the house, ghostly-white moonlight glinted off a long, sharp blade.
The back door was not locked, as expected, and the slender shadow slipped in and quietly went up the back stairs. The nursery was right at the head; the door was slightly ajar, dim yellow lamplight spilled through the opening. When a voice spoke from inside the room the figure in black jumped, badly startled, "Come in Olivia, I've been waiting for you."
The woman tightened her grip on the knife then pushed the door open the whole way. She could see a figure seated in a rocking chair in the far corner from the door. A slender arm reached out and turned up the lamp, bringing Thea out from the shadows.
"How did you know?"
"I figured it out after Adam and the boys found that man's body and Ben spotted you in town yesterday. I thought there was very little chance that monster would give up his hold on you in death and I was right - he still has just as tight a grip on you from the grave as he did in life. Since revenge was the only reason I could think of as to why you were in town, I decided to wait for you."
Her quiet tone and calm voice had the other woman a little stunned. She had been expecting loud voices, recriminations, and physical violence - the things that had been a daily part of her life for so many years.
"Revenge is the reason why you're here, isn't it? Tell me the truth, Livvy."
Olivia went rigid with rage, "YES, DAMN IT, YES! And it's all your husband's fault." She turned to one of the cribs and was stunned to see it was empty. She frantically turned to the other two. They were also empty.
"This is just between you and me, Liv, and you won't be able to find my children in this house," Thea said, with pain in her voice.
The other woman turned to look at her, still shocked at the cribs being empty then puzzled when she saw Thea was crying.
"Look at yourself, Livvy, dear God, look at yourself," Thea said meeting the other woman's eyes. "The woman I knew, the woman who was my best friend for years never would have done something like this, and for what? To avenge a man who beat you and humiliated you? A man who taught you how to be consumed by hatred?"
"He loved me."
"Ah Livvy, that man was incapable of loving anyone but himself."
"That's not true," Olivia said and looked down at the knife in her hand.
"Yes it is. But if you are going to blame anyone in this family, blame me. So much of this is my fault."
The other woman shook her head, "Your fault?"
"Yes," Thea said as tears began flowing down her face. "I knew what he was doing to you, and I kept waiting for you to come to me, but you never did," she put a hand over her eyes, "you never came to me Liv." She dropped her hand and looked at the other woman in misery, "I should have done something, I should have interfered somehow. Dear God, what did that monster do to you?" she cried out shaking with sobs as she hung her head.
The other woman automatically started to stretch out a hand to Thea, to comfort her, and again saw the knife. She stared at it for a moment then with a heart-wrenching cry of despair she threw the knife away and dropped to her knees in front of the seated woman. Thea leaned forward to put her arms around Olivia and kept whispering words of comfort to her as the other woman let all the years of pain, fear, and humiliation out with huge sobs.
The closet door had been slightly open and now a figure pushed it open the rest of the way and silently stepped out and into the light.
"Thank you for letting me do this my way," she said to her husband and he just nodded, his throat too tight to speak.
When Olivia realized Adam was in the room she turned toward him, still on her knees, and tried to tell him she was sorry, but couldn't stop sobbing. He came forward to kneel and put his arms around her while Thea stroked her hair with a gentle hand.
When her anguish was finally spent she raised her dazed eyes to Adam's. "Liv, why didn't you come to ME?" Adam said softly.
She looked down, "What could you have done? Nobody could help me."
Adam actually smiled as he put a hand under her chin and tipped her face up until she met his gaze again. "Now, do you really think I couldn't have gotten you out of there and beyond his reach? What was the real reason?"
"I was too ashamed," she whispered, looking at him anxiously.
His jaw clenched and he closed his eyes as he shook his head. When he opened his eyes she could see that he was furious and she tried to pull away in fear. But he put his hands on her shoulders to keep her from shrinking away.
"Look at me, Liv," he said intently and she reluctantly did. The sympathy she now saw on his face made her start to cry again.
"Listen to me. You have nothing to be ashamed of, you did nothing wrong. What that man did to you was wrong. Good God, no woman deserves to be treated like that, to be forced to live that way," he said as he pulled her to him again.
Thea slipped from her chair and went down on her knees next to the two of them. She put her arms around their shoulders and kept saying, "I don't care what that man told you. You did nothing wrong, it wasn't your fault."
The three of them stayed that way until Olivia quickly succumbed to her emotional and physical exhaustion and went limp in sleep.
Adam picked her up and carried her into the bedroom next door. Thea pulled the covers back as he carefully placed her on the bed and the two quickly got her settled in.
As they left the room and started downstairs Adam put his arm around Thea and blew out a deep breath. "How did you know this would work?"
Thea sighed too, "I don't know, I just did."
"I wish you had told me back when I could have done something for her."
"I know, but I couldn't. As her doctor, I couldn't betray her confidence."
They reached the bottom of the stairs and she turned to put her arms around his waist and her head against his chest.
"Do you have to arrest her?"
"Yes I do, you know that Thea. She helped her husband escape from prison. Those charges won't just go away. At least not yet anyway."
She raised her head and looked at him closely. "What are you planning?"
He chuckled, "I'm not completely sure yet, but don't worry about Liv. We'll get her through this somehow."
"Tell me," she insisted.
"You know I don't tell anyone anything until I'm sure. There's less confusion that way."
"Then at least tell me what outcome you are planning for."
"That I can tell you. I want the charges dismissed due to coercion, and for Liv to get to keep the money she brought into the marriage. They want to confiscate it all." He shook his head, "she was a victim in this, not a co-conspirator."
"What will you do if they won't do as you ask?"
"Then they can have my badge back and I will tell them exactly what they can do with it. I will not be party to an injustice like that. I took this position with the understanding I would not tolerate any interference. I meant that then, and I mean it even more now."
Thea yawned, "So what are you going to do with her?"
"She can stay here, under house arrest. Liv won't run; she has no place to run to."
She nodded in agreement, "No, she won't run. She knows this is the safest she has been since she married that animal."
"Please, don't insult animals," Adam said smiling down at her. "Go to bed."
"Aren't you coming?"
"No, I think my time would be better spent thinking this through. Besides, I really need to be on guard tonight. I'm sure Liv won't run, but I do have to be cautious about this situation."
She pulled his head down and kissed him deeply until he pulled away. "Now stop that, I know what you're trying to do and it's not going to work."
Laughing, she hugged him tightly then moved away toward the stairs as he said, "I always know what you're up to Thea, just like I've always known you were more than just another pretty face."
Thea looked back over her shoulder as she paused partway up, "That's funny, I was just thinking the same thing about you," she said and then continued up, smiling at his pleased laughter.
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Two days later in the afternoon Adam was sitting in the swing on the front porch when three strangers, followed by Roy, came up the front walk.
Adam didn't move; he just followed them with his eyes.
The tallest addressed him, "Are you Adam Cartwright?"
"I am."
The tall man with a sharp face who was standing in the middle held out some papers. Adam stood, came forward to take them, and then returned to the swing. He looked through them briefly then raised his eyes to look at the tall man expectantly. "State your business."
He glanced at his two companions quickly then turned back to Adam, "We are here to take custody of Olivia Jackson and return her to San Francisco to stand trial."
Adam took out a narrow cigar, lit it then leaned back in the swing. "No."
"What?"
"I said, no. Olivia is not going anywhere, I refuse to release her."
The man in the middle stared back at him with his mouth open, "You can't do that!"
Adam chuckled, "Do you have any idea how many times someone has said that to me? Yes I CAN do that. You are out of your jurisdiction and in mine now. She is not going anywhere until her physician has released her and until then, she is staying right here under house arrest."
The tall man's mouth tightened, "I understand that Mrs. Jackson is a very attractive woman. Will we be forced to have you investigated due to improper behavior and abuse of your authority?"
Shaking his head, Adam snorted with laughter then said, "Did you hear that Thea?"
"Yes, I did," she growled as she opened the screen door and came out on the porch. "How dare you!" Thea stalked down the steps to stand in front of the tall man. "How dare you imply that my husband would do anything so disgusting!" she raged and astonished everyone by reaching up and slapping his face.
All three of the men stepped back as she put her fists on her hips and glared at them.
"That's enough Theadora, get back up here," Adam said quietly, but firmly and she reluctantly did so.
"I guess we will just have to talk to her doctor about her physical condition."
Adam came to lean on the railing, "Did I forget to mention that Thea is not only my wife, she is Olivia's doctor?"
The three men glanced at each other again in surprise before the one in the middle spoke again. "Well, then we will get another doctor to examine her."
"Did you hear that Matt?" Adam asked, thoroughly enjoying himself now.
Matt came through the screen door nodding his head. "I heard and I concur with my colleague's opinion. So considering I am the only other physician in town gentlemen, I believe that point is now moot."
The man on the left spoke up, "Mebbe we should jest go on in and take her."
"I don't think that would be a very good idea," Adam laughed, and then whistled.
Nate, Mike, John, and Joe came out onto the porch and formed a line in front of the door. All four stood there with their arms folded and glared at the men on the sidewalk.
Adam was about to speak again when Ben and Hoss came around the left corner of the house dragging a man with them by the upper arms. When they reached the group on the sidewalk they let go and he crumpled to the ground with a groan. Hoss went up the steps to join the line while his father explained.
"We caught him trying to break in through the back door," he said to his son, and as he started up the steps Charlie and Wes came around the right corner of the house, dragging another man with them.
Everyone on the porch started laughing as Wes and Charlie dumped him on the ground by his companions. Wes looked up at Adam, "This one was trying to get in through a window," he said as they, too, climbed the steps and joined the line.
Adam motioned for his friends and family to quiet down then came to the top step to address the men on the sidewalk.
"Gentlemen, I believe now would be the perfect time to retreat gracefully. And when you get back to San Francisco you can tell your boss to keep his nose out of my jurisdiction. And if you don't leave immediately you will all get a close-up look at our facilities."
"On what charges!"
"To start with trespassing, conspiracy, attempted breaking and entering...I'm sure I can come up with a few more if you give me the time to think about it hard enough."
The tall man was furious, but had no choice so he motioned for his companions to help the two on the ground up. He stalked down the sidewalk, kicked the gate open then stomped away. The others followed him slowly.
When they were out of sight Adam leaned against the pillar supporting the porch roof and looked at Roy who was still standing there.
"And as for you," he said with a serious expression looking at the Sheriff, "I can't thank you enough for warning us when they hit town and delaying them so we could be ready."
Roy smiled as everyone else laughed. "Anytime Adam. I didn't like the looks of them anyway."
Ben, Hoss, and Joe came down the steps as the group dispersed. "Come on, Roy," Ben said as he clapped the Sheriff on the back, "let's go to the Sage Brush. I'm buying," he said and the four men went through the gate then closed it carefully behind them.
Thea took Adam by the hand and tugged him over to the swing. They sat down and he put one arm around her as they started to move.
"Now what?" she asked.
"Well, now I go to San Francisco and talk to a few people."
"Oh," she said. "You told them to tell their boss to keep his nose out of your jurisdiction. Who's their boss?"
"The prosecuting attorney. He was planning on using this case as publicity to further his political career."
"How did you know?"
"A friend sent me a telegram."
"Who?"
Adam chuckled. "Bob. He heard them talking about it; you'd be surprised at what a bartender hears. People treat them as though they aren't even there."
"Oh," Thea said again as the twins burst through the screen door and threw themselves onto the swing; Annalise on Adam's side and Alexander on Thea's side.
The four of them swung for a while and watched the shadows lengthen. There was a definite cold bite to the air now and when Thea shivered Adam said, "Well, I guess this mild weather is going to be over now. I think I smell snow coming."
The children looked wide-eyed at their father and Thea started to laugh when they saw a few snowflakes waft through the air then melt as soon as they settled on the ground.
"Pa!" Alexander said, "Did you make it snow?"
Adam laughed as he stood and picked him up while Thea scooped up Annalise. "No, I can't make it snow Alexander, that was just a coincidence."
"Oh," the boy said, disappointed, then put his arms around his father's neck and hugged him tightly. "That's ok Pa, we love you anyway," he said and then was puzzled as to why his parents were laughing so hard at him as they went into the warm house and firmly shut the door against the coming cold.
TO BE CONTINUED...
FROM THE PAST
Chapter 27
The slender figure dressed in black stopped midway through the backyard and looked up at the cream-colored house. All but one of the windows were dark, and only a soft muted light illuminated the nursery window. As the figure continued toward the house, ghostly-white moonlight glinted off a long, sharp blade.
The back door was not locked, as expected, and the slender shadow slipped in and quietly went up the back stairs. The nursery was right at the head; the door was slightly ajar, dim yellow lamplight spilled through the opening. When a voice spoke from inside the room the figure in black jumped, badly startled, "Come in Olivia, I've been waiting for you."
The woman tightened her grip on the knife then pushed the door open the whole way. She could see a figure seated in a rocking chair in the far corner from the door. A slender arm reached out and turned up the lamp, bringing Thea out from the shadows.
"How did you know?"
"I figured it out after Adam and the boys found that man's body and Ben spotted you in town yesterday. I thought there was very little chance that monster would give up his hold on you in death and I was right - he still has just as tight a grip on you from the grave as he did in life. Since revenge was the only reason I could think of as to why you were in town, I decided to wait for you."
Her quiet tone and calm voice had the other woman a little stunned. She had been expecting loud voices, recriminations, and physical violence - the things that had been a daily part of her life for so many years.
"Revenge is the reason why you're here, isn't it? Tell me the truth, Livvy."
Olivia went rigid with rage, "YES, DAMN IT, YES! And it's all your husband's fault." She turned to one of the cribs and was stunned to see it was empty. She frantically turned to the other two. They were also empty.
"This is just between you and me, Liv, and you won't be able to find my children in this house," Thea said, with pain in her voice.
The other woman turned to look at her, still shocked at the cribs being empty then puzzled when she saw Thea was crying.
"Look at yourself, Livvy, dear God, look at yourself," Thea said meeting the other woman's eyes. "The woman I knew, the woman who was my best friend for years never would have done something like this, and for what? To avenge a man who beat you and humiliated you? A man who taught you how to be consumed by hatred?"
"He loved me."
"Ah Livvy, that man was incapable of loving anyone but himself."
"That's not true," Olivia said and looked down at the knife in her hand.
"Yes it is. But if you are going to blame anyone in this family, blame me. So much of this is my fault."
The other woman shook her head, "Your fault?"
"Yes," Thea said as tears began flowing down her face. "I knew what he was doing to you, and I kept waiting for you to come to me, but you never did," she put a hand over her eyes, "you never came to me Liv." She dropped her hand and looked at the other woman in misery, "I should have done something, I should have interfered somehow. Dear God, what did that monster do to you?" she cried out shaking with sobs as she hung her head.
The other woman automatically started to stretch out a hand to Thea, to comfort her, and again saw the knife. She stared at it for a moment then with a heart-wrenching cry of despair she threw the knife away and dropped to her knees in front of the seated woman. Thea leaned forward to put her arms around Olivia and kept whispering words of comfort to her as the other woman let all the years of pain, fear, and humiliation out with huge sobs.
The closet door had been slightly open and now a figure pushed it open the rest of the way and silently stepped out and into the light.
"Thank you for letting me do this my way," she said to her husband and he just nodded, his throat too tight to speak.
When Olivia realized Adam was in the room she turned toward him, still on her knees, and tried to tell him she was sorry, but couldn't stop sobbing. He came forward to kneel and put his arms around her while Thea stroked her hair with a gentle hand.
When her anguish was finally spent she raised her dazed eyes to Adam's. "Liv, why didn't you come to ME?" Adam said softly.
She looked down, "What could you have done? Nobody could help me."
Adam actually smiled as he put a hand under her chin and tipped her face up until she met his gaze again. "Now, do you really think I couldn't have gotten you out of there and beyond his reach? What was the real reason?"
"I was too ashamed," she whispered, looking at him anxiously.
His jaw clenched and he closed his eyes as he shook his head. When he opened his eyes she could see that he was furious and she tried to pull away in fear. But he put his hands on her shoulders to keep her from shrinking away.
"Look at me, Liv," he said intently and she reluctantly did. The sympathy she now saw on his face made her start to cry again.
"Listen to me. You have nothing to be ashamed of, you did nothing wrong. What that man did to you was wrong. Good God, no woman deserves to be treated like that, to be forced to live that way," he said as he pulled her to him again.
Thea slipped from her chair and went down on her knees next to the two of them. She put her arms around their shoulders and kept saying, "I don't care what that man told you. You did nothing wrong, it wasn't your fault."
The three of them stayed that way until Olivia quickly succumbed to her emotional and physical exhaustion and went limp in sleep.
Adam picked her up and carried her into the bedroom next door. Thea pulled the covers back as he carefully placed her on the bed and the two quickly got her settled in.
As they left the room and started downstairs Adam put his arm around Thea and blew out a deep breath. "How did you know this would work?"
Thea sighed too, "I don't know, I just did."
"I wish you had told me back when I could have done something for her."
"I know, but I couldn't. As her doctor, I couldn't betray her confidence."
They reached the bottom of the stairs and she turned to put her arms around his waist and her head against his chest.
"Do you have to arrest her?"
"Yes I do, you know that Thea. She helped her husband escape from prison. Those charges won't just go away. At least not yet anyway."
She raised her head and looked at him closely. "What are you planning?"
He chuckled, "I'm not completely sure yet, but don't worry about Liv. We'll get her through this somehow."
"Tell me," she insisted.
"You know I don't tell anyone anything until I'm sure. There's less confusion that way."
"Then at least tell me what outcome you are planning for."
"That I can tell you. I want the charges dismissed due to coercion, and for Liv to get to keep the money she brought into the marriage. They want to confiscate it all." He shook his head, "she was a victim in this, not a co-conspirator."
"What will you do if they won't do as you ask?"
"Then they can have my badge back and I will tell them exactly what they can do with it. I will not be party to an injustice like that. I took this position with the understanding I would not tolerate any interference. I meant that then, and I mean it even more now."
Thea yawned, "So what are you going to do with her?"
"She can stay here, under house arrest. Liv won't run; she has no place to run to."
She nodded in agreement, "No, she won't run. She knows this is the safest she has been since she married that animal."
"Please, don't insult animals," Adam said smiling down at her. "Go to bed."
"Aren't you coming?"
"No, I think my time would be better spent thinking this through. Besides, I really need to be on guard tonight. I'm sure Liv won't run, but I do have to be cautious about this situation."
She pulled his head down and kissed him deeply until he pulled away. "Now stop that, I know what you're trying to do and it's not going to work."
Laughing, she hugged him tightly then moved away toward the stairs as he said, "I always know what you're up to Thea, just like I've always known you were more than just another pretty face."
Thea looked back over her shoulder as she paused partway up, "That's funny, I was just thinking the same thing about you," she said and then continued up, smiling at his pleased laughter.
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Two days later in the afternoon Adam was sitting in the swing on the front porch when three strangers, followed by Roy, came up the front walk.
Adam didn't move; he just followed them with his eyes.
The tallest addressed him, "Are you Adam Cartwright?"
"I am."
The tall man with a sharp face who was standing in the middle held out some papers. Adam stood, came forward to take them, and then returned to the swing. He looked through them briefly then raised his eyes to look at the tall man expectantly. "State your business."
He glanced at his two companions quickly then turned back to Adam, "We are here to take custody of Olivia Jackson and return her to San Francisco to stand trial."
Adam took out a narrow cigar, lit it then leaned back in the swing. "No."
"What?"
"I said, no. Olivia is not going anywhere, I refuse to release her."
The man in the middle stared back at him with his mouth open, "You can't do that!"
Adam chuckled, "Do you have any idea how many times someone has said that to me? Yes I CAN do that. You are out of your jurisdiction and in mine now. She is not going anywhere until her physician has released her and until then, she is staying right here under house arrest."
The tall man's mouth tightened, "I understand that Mrs. Jackson is a very attractive woman. Will we be forced to have you investigated due to improper behavior and abuse of your authority?"
Shaking his head, Adam snorted with laughter then said, "Did you hear that Thea?"
"Yes, I did," she growled as she opened the screen door and came out on the porch. "How dare you!" Thea stalked down the steps to stand in front of the tall man. "How dare you imply that my husband would do anything so disgusting!" she raged and astonished everyone by reaching up and slapping his face.
All three of the men stepped back as she put her fists on her hips and glared at them.
"That's enough Theadora, get back up here," Adam said quietly, but firmly and she reluctantly did so.
"I guess we will just have to talk to her doctor about her physical condition."
Adam came to lean on the railing, "Did I forget to mention that Thea is not only my wife, she is Olivia's doctor?"
The three men glanced at each other again in surprise before the one in the middle spoke again. "Well, then we will get another doctor to examine her."
"Did you hear that Matt?" Adam asked, thoroughly enjoying himself now.
Matt came through the screen door nodding his head. "I heard and I concur with my colleague's opinion. So considering I am the only other physician in town gentlemen, I believe that point is now moot."
The man on the left spoke up, "Mebbe we should jest go on in and take her."
"I don't think that would be a very good idea," Adam laughed, and then whistled.
Nate, Mike, John, and Joe came out onto the porch and formed a line in front of the door. All four stood there with their arms folded and glared at the men on the sidewalk.
Adam was about to speak again when Ben and Hoss came around the left corner of the house dragging a man with them by the upper arms. When they reached the group on the sidewalk they let go and he crumpled to the ground with a groan. Hoss went up the steps to join the line while his father explained.
"We caught him trying to break in through the back door," he said to his son, and as he started up the steps Charlie and Wes came around the right corner of the house, dragging another man with them.
Everyone on the porch started laughing as Wes and Charlie dumped him on the ground by his companions. Wes looked up at Adam, "This one was trying to get in through a window," he said as they, too, climbed the steps and joined the line.
Adam motioned for his friends and family to quiet down then came to the top step to address the men on the sidewalk.
"Gentlemen, I believe now would be the perfect time to retreat gracefully. And when you get back to San Francisco you can tell your boss to keep his nose out of my jurisdiction. And if you don't leave immediately you will all get a close-up look at our facilities."
"On what charges!"
"To start with trespassing, conspiracy, attempted breaking and entering...I'm sure I can come up with a few more if you give me the time to think about it hard enough."
The tall man was furious, but had no choice so he motioned for his companions to help the two on the ground up. He stalked down the sidewalk, kicked the gate open then stomped away. The others followed him slowly.
When they were out of sight Adam leaned against the pillar supporting the porch roof and looked at Roy who was still standing there.
"And as for you," he said with a serious expression looking at the Sheriff, "I can't thank you enough for warning us when they hit town and delaying them so we could be ready."
Roy smiled as everyone else laughed. "Anytime Adam. I didn't like the looks of them anyway."
Ben, Hoss, and Joe came down the steps as the group dispersed. "Come on, Roy," Ben said as he clapped the Sheriff on the back, "let's go to the Sage Brush. I'm buying," he said and the four men went through the gate then closed it carefully behind them.
Thea took Adam by the hand and tugged him over to the swing. They sat down and he put one arm around her as they started to move.
"Now what?" she asked.
"Well, now I go to San Francisco and talk to a few people."
"Oh," she said. "You told them to tell their boss to keep his nose out of your jurisdiction. Who's their boss?"
"The prosecuting attorney. He was planning on using this case as publicity to further his political career."
"How did you know?"
"A friend sent me a telegram."
"Who?"
Adam chuckled. "Bob. He heard them talking about it; you'd be surprised at what a bartender hears. People treat them as though they aren't even there."
"Oh," Thea said again as the twins burst through the screen door and threw themselves onto the swing; Annalise on Adam's side and Alexander on Thea's side.
The four of them swung for a while and watched the shadows lengthen. There was a definite cold bite to the air now and when Thea shivered Adam said, "Well, I guess this mild weather is going to be over now. I think I smell snow coming."
The children looked wide-eyed at their father and Thea started to laugh when they saw a few snowflakes waft through the air then melt as soon as they settled on the ground.
"Pa!" Alexander said, "Did you make it snow?"
Adam laughed as he stood and picked him up while Thea scooped up Annalise. "No, I can't make it snow Alexander, that was just a coincidence."
"Oh," the boy said, disappointed, then put his arms around his father's neck and hugged him tightly. "That's ok Pa, we love you anyway," he said and then was puzzled as to why his parents were laughing so hard at him as they went into the warm house and firmly shut the door against the coming cold.
TO BE CONTINUED...