TO CATCH A THIEF (Disclaimers as before)
The drive was a tense one. Jesse was forever checking the mirrors as he drove along. He could see the Dodge Dart following him. Such an ordinary looking little car, so many potential hazards. The Dodge had been on his tail for several blocks now and seemed to be keeping pace with him. He could feel the adrenaline flowing through him and the rapid thump, thump of his heart. He thrived on the nervous excitement that came with the thrill of the chase.
Jesse was driving Maria's car about which he had many scruples a key one being was that the car was pink! It contributed nothing to his manly image. He had also left with strict instructions about the cars tendencies and a threat of what he could look forward to if the car was not returned in one piece. Maria really did love Annabel.
* * *
"If you guys need transport then you can borrow Annabel."
"Who's Annabel?" Steve asked.
"She's my car. Perhaps even the most loyal friend a girl could want! Anyway, you're free to borrow her."
"Jesse, you take Maria's car. Amanda and I will follow in one of the two hire cars we can get our hands on and Steve and Maria can follow behind.
"Sure thing. It'll be the first time since this whole thing started that I'll have had time to think." Jesse was quite excited, especially as he was to play a key role in operation 'To Catch A Thief'. Not a great name to all intents and purposes, especially as they were trying to catch a murderer, but it was the best that they could come up with on such short notice and Maria felt it would only be right and proper if the whole operation had a name.
* * *
Jesse came to an intersection and took a right. Still glancing in his mirrors his saw the Dodge go straight across. Jesse breathed out, letting go of a breath he did not know that he had been holding. He had just got his mind psyched, now he was going to have to go into neutral for a bit. He had to bide his time without turning into a nervous wreck. The feeling in his stomach reminded him of the time he had to organise the fundraiser and all the chefs were competing with one another. The tension of whether A would sabotage B and C would kill any guests felt very similar to this. He wished, as he had then, that Susan was nearby with a bottle of milk of magnesia to calm his upset stomach.
"You're on your own with this one, Travis." He thought. What he wouldn't give for just someone to be there.
Jesse turned Annabel onto the street that led to the main shopping district and drove directly past the railway interchange, acutely aware of all the crowds that were thronging on the sidewalks about him, (some with suitcases, some with rucksacks and some with regular shopping bags) and the dense population of cars that were moving slowly on their way.
As Jesse progressed, a car flashed on its indicator and pulled out into the stream of traffic behind Jesse. It was a blue Fiat, and Jesse noticed that it had a recent license plate and a sticker in the front window for the hire dealership that the gang had used. Jesse cocked his eyebrows as he took a good look at the people travelling in the car behind him.
There was a man in the driving seat and a woman to his right in the passenger side. She looked quite small.
"This is it." Thought the young doctor. "Things are starting to move."
Jesse got out his cell phone and thumbed the speed dial button that got him straight through to Mark.
"Mark, I've picked up a tail. It wasn't the Dodge. This is a blue Fiat, recent licence plates and I would like to wager a great big bumper sticker for the hire place that you used."
"O.K. Thanks, Jesse. I'll call Steve and tell him the state of play as it stands. I don't think that they'll try and drive you off the road, but keep your eyes open and your senses sharp. You know the plan?"
"Yeah. Roger that, Mark. Over and Out. Sorry, I've always wanted to say that." Mark chuckled.
"O.K. Good luck, Jess." Jesse terminated the connection and switched his attention back to driving along and checking the progress of the car behind.
"Come on Annabel. It's just you and me now. And I must be losing my marbles, I'm talking to a car. Not only am I talking to a car, I am calling it by its name, and the thing that scares me even more is that I am acknowledging that it does actually have a name. Woah, I really am nervous."
The car kept a safe distance from Annabel. It was near enough to keep a good tail on Jesse, so should he lose his nerve and panic, driving off at speed, then it would be in a position to do likewise. On the other hand it was far enough away to seem unobtrusive. Just a subtle pressure, a kind of we're here, we can see you and you're not going anywhere. Just how you'd want a guardian angel, only this was no guardian angel, it was something far more sinister and was making poor Jesse question his sanity.
A car (a bright orange VW Beetle) in front of Jesse came to an abrupt stop, stalling and the young doctor had to drive around it. He assumed that those chasing him would be appearing from behind, but the car started up, pulling in between the two vehicles. Jesse heard the shriek of tires coming from behind him, as his nemesis skidded round the Beetle getting its pray in sight once more. When they had achieved contact once more with their target, their pace slowed to the steady one it was before.
Jesse took them through town, driving carefully, never breaking a speed limit, never skipping a light, nor did the Fiat. Jesse's heart starting to pound again, seemed to rise into his mouth. They reached the industrial suburbs, Jesse in control all the way.
As the concrete and chrome turned to steel and cement and the steel and cement turned to trees and fields, they drove along in their small convoy.
After they had been on the road for about an hour a building came into view, a small, localised hospital that could have been a barn. Jesse drove down the driveway to the facility and carefully parked the car, relieved that he had done no damage to it. He got out and went inside.
The Fiat pulled in a minute later, parked up next to Annabel and went through the door they had just seen Jesse go through. The door led them into what appeared to be a hospital ward. As with all hospitals the place was light and airy and had that strange smell that is common to all hospitals everywhere. There could also be heard a kind of white noise, a continuous series of buzzes and beeps that were sufficient to alert a person's consciousness and yet were calming in their regularity.
The pair could see Jesse and Amanda in a room at the end of the corridor to the left. They seemed to be looking over someone in a bed there. She was considering how best to dispose of them, what was the best course of action:
The tranquil environment was shattered a few moments later by a persistent tone, a shrill one that signalled the failure of a heart on a cardiac monitor. Jocelyn's instincts as a nurse shot into action. She traced the noise of the beeping to a private room at the end of a corridor where there was a young woman on the bed. So focussed was Joss's state of mind, she did not notice that there were no other staff running to the rescue. The tone had been sounding for several minutes before Jocelyn had pinpointed the source of the noise, a time scale that worried her. The brain had been starved of oxygen, there was a chance that the patient's brain had been irreparably damaged.
She ransacked the room looking for supplies, searching through drawers and cupboards, while Clarke stood there, useless.
Too late. It's too late. No one can ever come back from this and be completely normal. I have to save her. I have to show her mercy. I have to show her love.
She found a syringe. She found a vile of morphine. She approached the woman on the gurney and ran a hand through her hair.
"It's all right. I'm here. I can help you. I'm going to help you. Nobody deserves to live like this." She soothed. She prepared the syringe and filled it up with the liquid from the phial. She prepared the sight of the injection, the vein in the neck. Death would be quick and the site was more easily accessible than anywhere else she could have tried. She began to gently push the needle into the skin, slowly, lovingly, not wanting to cause the patient any pain, slowly, slowly. She loved her job. She loved helping people. She felt a tight grip on her shoulder. She felt the force as she was flung around to face an audience of four faces: Amanda, Jesse, Steve and Mark.
Jocelyn Smart had been so focussed on her patient that she had failed to see Steve creep in, hand cuff Clarke and keep a firm grip on his shoulder as he marched him to a lockable closet just outside the room where he would be kept for safe keeping. He then returned to carry on with the job.
In her shock Smart had let go of the needle, but it remained erect in the patient's neck. Steve yanked her arms behind her and handcuffed her.
Sirens could be heard outside and heavy footsteps thundered up the corridor.
"In here." He yelled. "One perp. is down and is in the closet just outside here. Second perp. is neutralised and in here with me. I suggest you arrest them both for murder and conspiracy to commit. I also suggest that you add assault to the charge sheet."
"Yes, sir." One of the officers said. They took the suspects away, never to be found again.
Mark went up to the figure on the gurney with Jesse and Amanda hot on his heels.
"Don't move, Sweetie." Mark said.
He put one hand under the patients chin and Amanda placed a second one on the chest while Jesse stepped up and gingerly removed the needle, bit by bit. Slowly, slowly, just as it had gone in.
"Clear." He said when it was done. The figure on the bed gingerly got up as the hands that were holding her down were removed.
"How are you feeling sweetie?" Amanda asked.
"I think I feel sick." Said Maria.
"You did a good job. Well done." Mark said.
"You were great. Almost as good as I was when we were trying to trap this woman who was infatuated with me. She was called Chloe and she was a nutcase." Maria looked at Jesse out of the corner of her eye. She did not quite know whether Jesse was telling the truth but decided just to nod and smile. "Are you cold, Maria. Do you know that you're shivering?"
"I think that you may be in a bit of shock, there. Just sit there a moment and get your bearings back, then we'll get you in a car and take you back."
"Did you damage Annabel?" Maria asked as she shivered.
"Annabel is absolutely fine." Jesse reassured as he draped a blanket around her shoulders.
"I don't need that." Maria protested.
"Humor me, I'm a doctor." Jesse grinned. Maria smiled in gratitude.
"Everything O.K.?" Steve asked.
"I don't think that Maria is used to this sort of excitement. She's not quite as used to living the fast life as we are." Mark grinned. "Great work everyone. Let's go pick up C.J. and Dion and tell Susan that she's safe."
"Do we have to?" Jesse grumbled.
"I want my boys back, Jesse." Amanda said.
"I meant, do we have to go and see Susan."
"Yes." Mark said very firmly. "How about, though, we go on ahead and you follow on slowly behind in Annabel with Maria. I don't think she's in any sort of state to be driving back herself. That O.K. with you?" Mark asked Jesse.
"Yes, sir." Jesse said.
"Maria?"
"Sure. Just as long as Jesse promises not to break anything."
"Scouts honor, I'll do my very best."
"Well, O.K. then." And everyone went their separate ways.
The drive was a tense one. Jesse was forever checking the mirrors as he drove along. He could see the Dodge Dart following him. Such an ordinary looking little car, so many potential hazards. The Dodge had been on his tail for several blocks now and seemed to be keeping pace with him. He could feel the adrenaline flowing through him and the rapid thump, thump of his heart. He thrived on the nervous excitement that came with the thrill of the chase.
Jesse was driving Maria's car about which he had many scruples a key one being was that the car was pink! It contributed nothing to his manly image. He had also left with strict instructions about the cars tendencies and a threat of what he could look forward to if the car was not returned in one piece. Maria really did love Annabel.
* * *
"If you guys need transport then you can borrow Annabel."
"Who's Annabel?" Steve asked.
"She's my car. Perhaps even the most loyal friend a girl could want! Anyway, you're free to borrow her."
"Jesse, you take Maria's car. Amanda and I will follow in one of the two hire cars we can get our hands on and Steve and Maria can follow behind.
"Sure thing. It'll be the first time since this whole thing started that I'll have had time to think." Jesse was quite excited, especially as he was to play a key role in operation 'To Catch A Thief'. Not a great name to all intents and purposes, especially as they were trying to catch a murderer, but it was the best that they could come up with on such short notice and Maria felt it would only be right and proper if the whole operation had a name.
* * *
Jesse came to an intersection and took a right. Still glancing in his mirrors his saw the Dodge go straight across. Jesse breathed out, letting go of a breath he did not know that he had been holding. He had just got his mind psyched, now he was going to have to go into neutral for a bit. He had to bide his time without turning into a nervous wreck. The feeling in his stomach reminded him of the time he had to organise the fundraiser and all the chefs were competing with one another. The tension of whether A would sabotage B and C would kill any guests felt very similar to this. He wished, as he had then, that Susan was nearby with a bottle of milk of magnesia to calm his upset stomach.
"You're on your own with this one, Travis." He thought. What he wouldn't give for just someone to be there.
Jesse turned Annabel onto the street that led to the main shopping district and drove directly past the railway interchange, acutely aware of all the crowds that were thronging on the sidewalks about him, (some with suitcases, some with rucksacks and some with regular shopping bags) and the dense population of cars that were moving slowly on their way.
As Jesse progressed, a car flashed on its indicator and pulled out into the stream of traffic behind Jesse. It was a blue Fiat, and Jesse noticed that it had a recent license plate and a sticker in the front window for the hire dealership that the gang had used. Jesse cocked his eyebrows as he took a good look at the people travelling in the car behind him.
There was a man in the driving seat and a woman to his right in the passenger side. She looked quite small.
"This is it." Thought the young doctor. "Things are starting to move."
Jesse got out his cell phone and thumbed the speed dial button that got him straight through to Mark.
"Mark, I've picked up a tail. It wasn't the Dodge. This is a blue Fiat, recent licence plates and I would like to wager a great big bumper sticker for the hire place that you used."
"O.K. Thanks, Jesse. I'll call Steve and tell him the state of play as it stands. I don't think that they'll try and drive you off the road, but keep your eyes open and your senses sharp. You know the plan?"
"Yeah. Roger that, Mark. Over and Out. Sorry, I've always wanted to say that." Mark chuckled.
"O.K. Good luck, Jess." Jesse terminated the connection and switched his attention back to driving along and checking the progress of the car behind.
"Come on Annabel. It's just you and me now. And I must be losing my marbles, I'm talking to a car. Not only am I talking to a car, I am calling it by its name, and the thing that scares me even more is that I am acknowledging that it does actually have a name. Woah, I really am nervous."
The car kept a safe distance from Annabel. It was near enough to keep a good tail on Jesse, so should he lose his nerve and panic, driving off at speed, then it would be in a position to do likewise. On the other hand it was far enough away to seem unobtrusive. Just a subtle pressure, a kind of we're here, we can see you and you're not going anywhere. Just how you'd want a guardian angel, only this was no guardian angel, it was something far more sinister and was making poor Jesse question his sanity.
A car (a bright orange VW Beetle) in front of Jesse came to an abrupt stop, stalling and the young doctor had to drive around it. He assumed that those chasing him would be appearing from behind, but the car started up, pulling in between the two vehicles. Jesse heard the shriek of tires coming from behind him, as his nemesis skidded round the Beetle getting its pray in sight once more. When they had achieved contact once more with their target, their pace slowed to the steady one it was before.
Jesse took them through town, driving carefully, never breaking a speed limit, never skipping a light, nor did the Fiat. Jesse's heart starting to pound again, seemed to rise into his mouth. They reached the industrial suburbs, Jesse in control all the way.
As the concrete and chrome turned to steel and cement and the steel and cement turned to trees and fields, they drove along in their small convoy.
After they had been on the road for about an hour a building came into view, a small, localised hospital that could have been a barn. Jesse drove down the driveway to the facility and carefully parked the car, relieved that he had done no damage to it. He got out and went inside.
The Fiat pulled in a minute later, parked up next to Annabel and went through the door they had just seen Jesse go through. The door led them into what appeared to be a hospital ward. As with all hospitals the place was light and airy and had that strange smell that is common to all hospitals everywhere. There could also be heard a kind of white noise, a continuous series of buzzes and beeps that were sufficient to alert a person's consciousness and yet were calming in their regularity.
The pair could see Jesse and Amanda in a room at the end of the corridor to the left. They seemed to be looking over someone in a bed there. She was considering how best to dispose of them, what was the best course of action:
The tranquil environment was shattered a few moments later by a persistent tone, a shrill one that signalled the failure of a heart on a cardiac monitor. Jocelyn's instincts as a nurse shot into action. She traced the noise of the beeping to a private room at the end of a corridor where there was a young woman on the bed. So focussed was Joss's state of mind, she did not notice that there were no other staff running to the rescue. The tone had been sounding for several minutes before Jocelyn had pinpointed the source of the noise, a time scale that worried her. The brain had been starved of oxygen, there was a chance that the patient's brain had been irreparably damaged.
She ransacked the room looking for supplies, searching through drawers and cupboards, while Clarke stood there, useless.
Too late. It's too late. No one can ever come back from this and be completely normal. I have to save her. I have to show her mercy. I have to show her love.
She found a syringe. She found a vile of morphine. She approached the woman on the gurney and ran a hand through her hair.
"It's all right. I'm here. I can help you. I'm going to help you. Nobody deserves to live like this." She soothed. She prepared the syringe and filled it up with the liquid from the phial. She prepared the sight of the injection, the vein in the neck. Death would be quick and the site was more easily accessible than anywhere else she could have tried. She began to gently push the needle into the skin, slowly, lovingly, not wanting to cause the patient any pain, slowly, slowly. She loved her job. She loved helping people. She felt a tight grip on her shoulder. She felt the force as she was flung around to face an audience of four faces: Amanda, Jesse, Steve and Mark.
Jocelyn Smart had been so focussed on her patient that she had failed to see Steve creep in, hand cuff Clarke and keep a firm grip on his shoulder as he marched him to a lockable closet just outside the room where he would be kept for safe keeping. He then returned to carry on with the job.
In her shock Smart had let go of the needle, but it remained erect in the patient's neck. Steve yanked her arms behind her and handcuffed her.
Sirens could be heard outside and heavy footsteps thundered up the corridor.
"In here." He yelled. "One perp. is down and is in the closet just outside here. Second perp. is neutralised and in here with me. I suggest you arrest them both for murder and conspiracy to commit. I also suggest that you add assault to the charge sheet."
"Yes, sir." One of the officers said. They took the suspects away, never to be found again.
Mark went up to the figure on the gurney with Jesse and Amanda hot on his heels.
"Don't move, Sweetie." Mark said.
He put one hand under the patients chin and Amanda placed a second one on the chest while Jesse stepped up and gingerly removed the needle, bit by bit. Slowly, slowly, just as it had gone in.
"Clear." He said when it was done. The figure on the bed gingerly got up as the hands that were holding her down were removed.
"How are you feeling sweetie?" Amanda asked.
"I think I feel sick." Said Maria.
"You did a good job. Well done." Mark said.
"You were great. Almost as good as I was when we were trying to trap this woman who was infatuated with me. She was called Chloe and she was a nutcase." Maria looked at Jesse out of the corner of her eye. She did not quite know whether Jesse was telling the truth but decided just to nod and smile. "Are you cold, Maria. Do you know that you're shivering?"
"I think that you may be in a bit of shock, there. Just sit there a moment and get your bearings back, then we'll get you in a car and take you back."
"Did you damage Annabel?" Maria asked as she shivered.
"Annabel is absolutely fine." Jesse reassured as he draped a blanket around her shoulders.
"I don't need that." Maria protested.
"Humor me, I'm a doctor." Jesse grinned. Maria smiled in gratitude.
"Everything O.K.?" Steve asked.
"I don't think that Maria is used to this sort of excitement. She's not quite as used to living the fast life as we are." Mark grinned. "Great work everyone. Let's go pick up C.J. and Dion and tell Susan that she's safe."
"Do we have to?" Jesse grumbled.
"I want my boys back, Jesse." Amanda said.
"I meant, do we have to go and see Susan."
"Yes." Mark said very firmly. "How about, though, we go on ahead and you follow on slowly behind in Annabel with Maria. I don't think she's in any sort of state to be driving back herself. That O.K. with you?" Mark asked Jesse.
"Yes, sir." Jesse said.
"Maria?"
"Sure. Just as long as Jesse promises not to break anything."
"Scouts honor, I'll do my very best."
"Well, O.K. then." And everyone went their separate ways.