A/N Even though the scene breaks problem is apparently solved it's still not working for me, so once again I apologise. Tracy
Chapter Twenty-Two – A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words
The newspaper lay on the breakfast table and Matthew tried not to look at it. The article had photos of two of Dominic's beautiful girls in it, and it told him more things about Jenna than he had known before. Two of those things were that she was clever, real clever, and she liked to surf.
The beach, he hadn't been there in a long time, maybe he should go, it was a little cold for sure, but there was something enervating about it, maybe he would meet someone nice, it was a long time since he had found a friend of his own. He decided then and there to head for Venice when he had finished Dominic's business at the police station. Before that though he needed to clip the article out of the paper and put it with Jenna's things just as Dominic would do. Nadine, Nadine was there in the article too, which was a worry, but he would just buy another copy of the paper, worry solved. With a smile Matthew got the scissors out of the kitchen drawer and began to cut carefully around the article, the look on his face one of contented concentration.
Steve read through the article, headlined under 'Red Rose Killer Victim not at Peace.'
Jenna Palmerton was a straight 'A' student, valedictorian at the high school she'd attended in Santa Monica. She wanted to work with kids who were less advantaged than she was, and her dream was well on the way to coming true as she had recently started work for an international children's charity.
Her dreams and those of her parents, friends and family were shattered though, when she became the first victim of the man police have called The Red Rose Killer, a reference to the flower left in the hand of his victim.
Jenna lived her life to the full, sharing a house with her cousin and indulging in her hobbies of surfing and running. She was remembered in a service which endeavoured to be a cheerful celebration of a life cut tragically short. Her body now lies in St Katherine's Cemetery, Santa Monica, but her parents and the detective leading the case know that until her killer is caught she will never be truly at peace.
Lieutenant Steve Sloan, an experienced police officer, who has worked homicide for over twenty years, but says you never get used to the job, is in charge of Jenna's murder enquiry and the subsequent cases involving the killings of Samantha Morrison and Nadine Browton, he spoke briefly to our reporter.
"No one deserves to have their life cut short, and Jenna, Samantha and Nadine all had a right to expect to live their lives in safety. That didn't happen, and the least we can do is catch the person responsible. We have a good idea of who we are looking for in relation to these killings and we are confident of making an arrest in the not too distant future."
If anyone has any information on the murders of Jenna Palmerton, Samantha Morrison or Nadine Browton they should contact their local police station or alternatively call Lieutenant Sloan or Detective Yeager at North Hollywood, Homicide Division.
Steve wasn't sure if he actually spoke like the article was written, but if it got the job done he didn't care. The reporter that he had discussed the article with had taken a few notes and assured him that she would add just a couple of lines to get his point across. She had done that, and now he had to hope that Ron was right and it would make their killer become a little less elusive.
Dominic had watched the station in North Hollywood for a couple of days and he now knew when the mail was delivered to the station, and when the desk sergeant took it round to the various departments.
He timed his entrance so that he arrived just before the woman working the desk should be ready to take the post upstairs. He shuddered slightly and moved quickly across to where he could see there was no queue and smiled nervously.
"Hi, I … I think I need to speak with someone who handles robbery." Matthew didn't have to try to sound anxious, he was almost totally terrified, and wished he was any place than where he was. Dominic couldn't do this, he'd been seen by both cops, and if one of them happened to speak with him, well it would be all over, but they hadn't seen him, hadn't spoken to him and so there had been no arguing, he had to do it.
"I'm about to head up to homicide and robbery; I can get an officer to come speak with you if you'll give me some details first." Alison was on duty, and she put the pile of mail underneath the counter so no prying eyes could see it, and then pulled an incident report form towards her. Five minutes later she looked up and smiled.
"Ok, Mr. Little, like I said I'm going upstairs right now, so if you would just wait a minute I'll see what I can do." Alison looked at the young man in front of her, he seemed so scared that she had been slightly concerned that he might pass out cold right there in the lobby.
Matthew smiled, he knew that the next part was the bit he hated the most, but he also knew that Dominic would get real mad if he didn't do it correctly.
Steve put the newspaper into his in tray and then he headed over to the coffee machine to get himself a hot drink. Cheryl was standing there, a far away look in her eyes and he blew just in front of her face, making her jump.
"Sloan, don't!"
"Sorry, but you were miles away." Steve smiled; he had known exactly what she was going to say.
Cheryl looked a little sheepish, "Yeah, I guess I was. It's just that Martin is being assessed today, you know ready for the long weekend ventures into real life?"
"And you would have liked to be there with him, but you came in because Rae is out, and now the room is half dead and you wish you'd mentioned it."
"Yeah, something like that, you know you're good, Sloan, ever think about being a cop?" Cheryl smiled as she spoke, and then raised her hand in acknowledgement as Alison entered the room.
"Nah, the hours are lousy. Hi, Alison, got anything for me?" Steve moved away from Cheryl, and then a frown crossed his face. "Um, you seem to have attracted a crowd."
"What?" Alison looked around, "Oh, for goodness sake." She moved back over to where her follower stood. "Mr. Little, I told you I would find someone, that doesn't mean you come up the stairs with me."
"I … I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do anything wrong, I've never been robbed before, I am finding it a little … little traumatic." Matthew looked around, his eyes darting back and forth as he did so.
Cheryl shook her head and moved across the room. "Alison, don't give it another thought, I'm free right now, I'm sure I can help Mr … Little was it?" She watched as the man, who, although not small, looked very little, nodded his head and then she indicated that he should sit in front of her desk and, picking up a fresh cup of coffee, Cheryl went to join him.
Steve smiled to himself, the guy looked like he would take all morning to tell his ex-partner what he knew, which would at least keep Cheryl's mind off of Martin. "What do you have for me, Alison? Oh, and I'll take Rae's again too."
"Not much, couple of letters. How's her little girl?" Alison smiled; she liked Rae Yeager, and was worried about her daughter, just as most of the cops in the precinct who had children were.
"Better, she regained consciousness yesterday, and so things are improving." Steve found that he couldn't control the smile that crossed his face.
"Oh, I am so glad. Give her my best when you see her. Here you go your mail and Rae's." Alison put the two small piles down, one on top of the other and then turned and made her way towards the other end of the room to deliver the rest of the post.
Steve decided that a cup of coffee was still his top priority and so he headed back towards the refreshment area, eavesdropping on Cheryl's conversation as he did so.
"I just left them outside for a minute, but when I came back, well, they weren't there any longer." The man was sitting looking at Cheryl and didn't even glance up when Steve walked by, his hands were held primly in his lap, and he was obviously very nervous.
"I see, well, I've taken down the details and I'm sure we can have our patrols keep a look out." Cheryl tried to seem interested and efficient, but she knew that a couple of suitcases left on a front step were never going to be seen again.
"What the …?"
Cheryl looked up from her note taking as she heard Steve call out from his desk. He looked … well, furious, and she excused herself for a moment and moved across to him. "Steve, are you ok?"
"What? Oh, yeah, but look, Cheryl, look at this." Steve carefully turned a photograph around by its corner so that she could see what had made him so jumpy. "That's Rae and me at Red's, the nightclub where Jenna Palmerton was last seen before she was killed. And we sure didn't ask anyone to take our picture." Steve ran his hand through his hair, he didn't like the implications of this one little bit. "He was there, watching us, taking pictures, and we had no idea… Dammit!" Steve slammed his fist down onto the table and only just resisted the temptation to clear his desk of its contents with one sweep of his arm.
"Let me get rid of Mr Little and then I'll come back, ok?" She was answered only with a curt nod, and so Cheryl went back to her own desk and began to talk. "Sir, I have all the details of what happened to you, as well as a telephone number, we'll stay in touch."
"Yes, and thank you, Detective, for your time. I … I won't keep you any longer." Matthew held his hand out and then shook Cheryl's before glancing nervously around him and leaving the squad room.
Rae had watched as Alex took bloods from her daughter, as well as checking the catheter that was draining her waste. He said very little to her while he was working but he kept up a quiet conversation with Anneya the entire time. It was difficult for her to gauge his reactions as he had his back to her, and so Rae just listened hoping that things were still getting better.
"Ok, Honey. I am gonna just change this bag over, this is the stuff that's making you all better, and you know, if you keep on like this I think we might move you to intermediate care by, ooh, maybe the end of the week."
Anneya didn't seem to be at all interested in life, but Rae knew that her daughter was still critically ill. She took no notice of anything or anyone, not what Alex was doing or saying, not even giving him her attention when he crossed her eye line, but the young man carried on with his tasks, touching her gently and still chatting to her. She occasionally opened her eyes and just stared at her mother, and Rae, not wanting to break Alex's concentration, smiled and waited in the doorway until he had finished.
Finally after about fifteen minutes the young man ran his gloved finger down the cheek of his patient and then turned to Rae. "Ok, she's all yours again. There is slow but steady progress. She is a little more alert than she was, a little more responsive too, I am happy with how it is going." Alex saw the tears rush to Rae's eyes and she moved closer to him.
"Really?"
"Rae, I wouldn't say it if I didn't believe it, you know that. I can't say for definite that there won't be setbacks, but if she carries on like this for the next few days then she will be well on the road to recovery." Alex smiled and then looked back down at his little charge.
"She is so quiet, so unresponsive; I guess that's to be expected though, isn't it?"
"Yeah, I would say so. She really was very close to death, Rae, we'll just have to keep an eagle eye on her, but I would do that anyway."
"I know, and she has a doctor for a daddy, so she can't escape it." Rae smiled, she had to smile when she thought of Jesse, otherwise the emotions became too negative and she didn't think she could handle negative right now.
Captain Newman looked at the picture and then back at his Lieutenant. "Well, apart from saying that you make a cute couple, what do you want me to do?"
Steve looked at him in disgust for a moment and then began to speak. "I want you to … to …" He stopped, what did he want him to do? "I guess I should let Rae know; this has to be our guy, doesn't it?"
"Yes, Lieutenant, I would think that Detective Yeager should be alerted and yes I think he is your guy." The Captain picked up a piece of paper from the desk in front of him and Steve knew that there would be no further conversation and so he turned to leave the office.
"I can't believe that this happened, we were so careful, and Newman doesn't even want to discuss it." Steve had made sure he was out of earshot before he began to speak, but part of him wished his boss could hear him.
"Steve, even you didn't know what you wanted him to do, he doesn't have the time to be involved in every case, and let's face it, we wouldn't want him snooping around all the time would we?" Cheryl stopped walking and faced her friend.
"No, I guess not, but that doesn't make it right."
Cheryl decided that it would be a good idea to try and get back to the actual matter at hand. "I can't see anyone else sending this to you, it must be him." Cheryl had come into the Captain's office with Steve and picked up the copy of the picture which had been sitting on the desk as they'd left the room, the original, which was now filed away for safe keeping had been dusted for prints, but none had been found. "I don't suppose you saw anyone taking your photo."
"Cheryl, it was a club, people were snapping away all the time, but no one offered to take our picture, and no one made us as cops."
"Yeah, right." Cheryl laughed.
"What?" Steve turned his voice and stance both instantly defensive.
"Sloan, I hate to disillusion you, but even in a bath towel you'd look like a cop!" Cheryl winked at him as she headed back towards her desk and almost jumped out of her skin as he followed her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Don't do that!"
"Cheryl, when have you ever seen me in a bath towel?"
"Now, that would be telling." Cheryl sat down, and picked up her now cold cup of coffee, pulled a face at it and tried to head for the coffee machine, but found her way barred by the unmovable presence of her ex-partner.
"So tell then, or I stand here all day." Steve put his hands on his hips and stared down at her.
"Works for me, I don't want to do anything anyway." For a few seconds there was impasse, but then Cheryl laughed. "Ok, there was this one time, when you were still living at the beach and, well I knocked, but got no reply and I had to see you, and boy, did I see you! Just out of the hot tub and …"
"You saw me …" Steve tried to remember back to when Cheryl had done as she said, and felt, to his horror, a blush rush up his face. If Cheryl had seen him in a towel he'd been lucky, he usually wore less than that by the hot tub.
Cheryl watched her partner as he turned a delicate shade of red and took pity on him. "Steve, I've never seen you in a bath towel, but you're so obviously a cop that I just know you would still look like one."
"What? Why you…"
"Mind you, Rae looks like a cop too." Cheryl had a feeling she should start talking again pretty quickly.
"Oh, she does not." Steve was amazed now, he thought one of Rae's attributes was that she was small, a little vulnerable looking, and definitely not cop-like.
"Steve, she is supremely confident when she's working. She is always well prepared, and when her personal life doesn't intrude on her working one, or vice versa, she is in control of the situations she finds or puts herself in, and she just … looks like a cop."
Steve shook his head, he had never thought of himself as looking like a cop, and without her shoulder holster he didn't think Cheryl looked like one either, but he was beginning to realise that maybe he wasn't so good at deciding who did and didn't look that way.
"What about Ron?" Cheryl could see Steve was looking a little uncomfortable, but as soon as she spoke he grinned.
"Oh, definitely a Fed, no doubt about it!"
With a laugh Cheryl moved around him to get her coffee, speaking again and walking a little faster as she did so. "Mind you the captain was right about one thing, you did make a cute couple!"
The week passed slowly for everyone; Jo emptied five crates and then filled them back up again. She realised that without a plan there was no point in emptying or even looking at the contents of the attic. Instead of taking everything out and deciding right away what to do with it, she began to make a list of the different type of items she had inherited, hoping that somehow inspiration would strike and she would know what to do with it all.
Jesse had returned to work in the ER on a full time basis on the Wednesday, only to be instantly put on compassionate leave by Mark so that he could spend time with his child. Alex had asked him to make the regular checks that Anneya needed, and gradually he had found that this way he was able to stay in the room with Rae without the overwhelming panic that usually accompanied him on such visits.
Rae had said very little to her husband, she needed his presence in her life, but even more so she needed him to be with their little girl, and so she watched in silence as he went about his duties, and then kept her eyes averted from him as he sat, Anneya's hand in his, and tried to forget how loving and kind he had been on the other occasions when either their children or she had been ill.
Anneya had remained conscious but still for the entire week, sleeping soundly for most of the time and silently taking in the world around her for the remainder. She was getting some of her nutrients from an IV, and Rae knew that one of the things that Jesse was checking was the level of waste that the little girl was producing. She had made no move to eat or drink, and the head injury alone was bad enough, but if she became dehydrated then other problems could occur.
Finally on the Saturday, just after lunch, when Anneya had been in the same bed, in the same room for over a week, Rae could stand it no longer and as Jesse finished his checks she began to speak.
"Jesse, please, tell me what you think. How is she doing? You've been in here with me for three to four hours almost every day this week and you haven't spoken to me at all, how can you do that?"
Rae ran her hands through her hair. The need to escape the room which had become her daughter's only hope had receded as the week progressed. Now, as she looked back, Rae couldn't believe that on the Monday she had gone to the station, that she had actually sat and worked for over an hour, before Alex had called her back. Her nightly visits to the chapel had continued though and Rae had found strength and solace there.
Jesse had sat back down in his chair, leaving the chart on the bed and Rae realised that he expected her to pick it up and read it.
"Jesse, just tell me, is she getting better? Alex hasn't been up yet today, the three lots of tests have all be done by you and I don't know anything, for goodness sake, just talk to me!"
Jesse had stood up after carefully laying the little hand of his child back on the bed. "She is doing as well as can be expected, Rae. Now, if you will excuse me."
Rae had been speechless after Jesse left, and then unable to hide her grief any longer, she had pulled the blinds on the tiny room and kneeling down on the floor placed her head on the end of Anneya's bed and cried until she had no strength left to continue.
Steve had found her there at the end of his shift, fast asleep, the sheets damp underneath her and had called down for his dad to come up and sit with Anneya while Alex tried to persuade Rae to continue her sleep somewhere else.
The photo that had been received by Steve had been processed at an all night drug store just down the street from the station, and no one there could remember anything about the roll of film, or who had handed it in. The collection slip showed that cash had been paid for the pictures, and there were no discernable prints to be taken from it. Steve had decided that with everything else Rae was going through he wouldn't mention the photograph until she returned to work.
Steve had been working extra hours all week, not only because Rae wasn't around but also because the Night Owl burglary case that they'd been covering had become active again with three houses in the Beverly Hills area being targeted in four days. Jo had increased the security at her own home as well as Rae and Jesse's, even going so far as to have two dogs housed in Rae's garden, until they returned, to put off any would be thieves.
Cheryl had accompanied him to the café that Sam Morrison had visited for her lunch date with Dominic in the hope that maybe someone would remember something, and they had finally found the Moroccan restaurant that Nadine, and presumably Dominic, had eaten at.
None of this activity had been able to remove the nagging worry about not only Anneya but Rae and Jesse as well, from eating away at him, and when he had found Rae so exhausted that she could sleep kneeling up he knew that something had to give with Jesse before they moved so far away from each other that no one could save their marriage.
All this fled his mind on the Sunday morning though, when he finally had the chance to sleep in.
Jo had woken before him, and not wanting to disturb him in any way she had for a while lain where she was and watched him sleep. It was an activity that she thought she would never tire of, and as his chest rose and fell she smiled and snuggled a little deeper into the warmth that surrounded him.
Gradually though Jo began to realise that she wasn't feeling all that well, and that she really didn't want to be with him any longer. Quietly she slid out of bed and plucked her satin wrap from over the foot of the bed, slipping her feet into her slippers as she did so.
The house was quiet and still, and as Jo checked the clock in the hallway she realised why. It was just after five in the morning, so she must have been awake since a little before four. Now that she was downstairs Jo wasn't really sure what to do with herself. She could go and inventory another box, she could find some really naff film on TV, or she could wrap herself up in the soft throw from the back of the sofa in the living room and forget everything and everyone for a little while.
She must have fallen fast asleep because the sun was shining in through the window and birds were singing when she felt a hand on her shoulder and a familiar voice talking to her.
"Jo, Honey, why are you asleep down here?" Steve was crouched down in front of her, a look of amused concern on his face.
"Aunty Jo, Aunty Jo, cuddle." Eliana was with Steve and she pulled at the throw, moving it from Jo's shoulders.
"What? Where, oh, sorry." As Jo tried to sit up, the light from the window hit her eyes, she winced and tried to move away from it. As she did so she realised once again that she really didn't feel at all well. "I … I felt ill, an' I didn't want to worry you none, so I came down here."
The amusement fled Steve's face and he took her hand in his. "Do you want me to get Dad? Or call 911, Jo, what's the matter?" He put his arm around her shoulder and was concerned to feel her shiver a little.
"I … I don't know, I just feel, well ill I guess. It'll pass." Jo leant into the body of her husband, suddenly very glad that he was there.
"No, Jo, I'm gonna take you in to Community General, get Dad to look you over." Steve was helping her up as he spoke, but she dragged her heels.
"Steve, I can't go in my pyjamas, an' Honey, there is no way you can go wearin' what you are wearin'." As she stood Jo felt the room swim a little around her and she collapsed back onto the sofa.
"Jo!" The panic rose up in him, there was something wrong with his wife and instantly nothing else mattered. "Stay right there, I don't care what you're wearing, just stay there." Steve rushed from the room pulling Eliana with him and calling out as he did so. "Michael, Michael, come here, please." The fear he felt was probably unrealistic, but Anneya had been fine one minute and on life-support the next, he couldn't risk that happening to Jo.
"Yes, Sir, how may I be of assistance?"
"Jo isn't feeling well, I'm gonna take her to see Dad, could you call the beach house, make sure he will be at the hospital? And … and look after Ana too."
"Of course, Sir. May I suggest that you inform Master Daniel before you leave?"
"Michael, thank you." Steve was half way up the stairs before he had finished talking.
Rae had slept in Mark's office on the Saturday for the entire afternoon and evening, and Jesse had sat with Anneya, relieved that he was on his own and guilty that he felt that way. He couldn't believe that he had told his wife that their daughter was doing as well as could be expected, but he also couldn't help feeling a little pleased that he had been able to speak to her without falling apart.
Jesse knew that ordinarily the meeting he'd had with Lauren on the Monday should have been followed up with discussions about how things would carry on from there, but Anneya had to come first, he had to be with her, unfortunately that meant he had to be with Rae too, and he had a feeling that the two things together may have put paid to any chance of his explaining himself to his wife.
Rae had come back to the small PICU suite on the Saturday evening and Jesse had gone for a sleep himself. The short nap that he had planned had turned into a deep, healing sleep and it was half past four the next morning before he made his way back to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit. Rae had been dozing in the chair when Jesse returned and for a little while they had sat in silence, not looking at each other, or even acknowledging that the other person was in the room, but suddenly Jesse had realised that he had to speak.
"Rae, please, help me." His words came out as the plea that they were, and he saw Rae look up sharply from where she had been gently stroking a finger over the back of Anneya's hand.
"Oh, Jesse, of course, I'll help you, I … I just don't know what you want me to do." Rae looked at him, the pain in her eyes a mirror of that in his own, and suddenly he wanted more than anything in the world to just reach out and touch her, but it scared him more than anything else in the world too.
"I don't know either, but I don't want you to hate me any more."
Rae swallowed hard and then slightly turned her chair so that she was facing Jesse. "I have never ever hated you, not since the day that you first introduced yourself to me. Jesse, I love you, but I don't know how to reach you… You told me you wish I'd never come here, how do I help you when you feel that way?"
Jesse closed his eyes, it was still true, but he knew it was the coward in him which was still holding on to those feelings, and he needed to get the things he had said that day, the things that had made him feel better about leaving, out of the way so he could get his life back to some sort of normality. If he'd blown his marriage then he would deal with that later, but now he just wanted to be able to talk to Rae, to hold her hand without needing to run and hide.
"Jesse?" Rae watched the face of the man she loved and she could see so much conflict, so much hurt, that in spite of herself she reached out and gently touched his hand.
"Oh, God, Rae, I'm sorry, I want to do this so much, but it is just too hard." Jesse stood up, slipping his hand out from under hers as he did so, but he didn't run, he didn't even leave the room he just moved over into the only empty corner and carefully lowered himself into it.
Steve had pulled on the first pair of jeans and top he found, spoken to Daniel, grabbed a skirt and blouse for Jo and been back downstairs just in time to see his wife making her way, a little shakily, towards him.
"Honey, put this on, and then we can go." He hadn't been at all worried about taking her in her nightwear, but he knew that she would want to be a little more properly attired, and his worry level increased even more when she shook her head.
"No, you're right, let's just go, I don't like feeling like this, Steve, I'm scared." There were tears on her cheeks, and Jo's shoulders heaved as she spoke, and then she hugged her husband tightly and Steve could feel her terror as she passed it on to him and a feeling that maybe she knew what was wrong but couldn't tell him chilled him to the bone.
"No problem, we'll just get in the car and drive." Steve tried to keep his voice positive and worry free, even though his heart was racing and he wasn't sure that he could even remember how to unlock the car let alone use it.
"Sir, Doctor Sloan left for the hospital about five minutes ago, he will meet you in the ER." Michael's face was lined with worry too, but his voice gave nothing away. "I will keep a very close eye on Master Daniel and Miss Eliana while you are away, you need not worry about them." Michael was carrying the little girl and he could see the young man standing, unsure of himself, at the top of the stairs, and suddenly Jo was aware of him too.
"Daniel, Son, I'll be fine, I promise you that."
He came rushing down the stairs then and almost knocked his parents over as he hugged them. "I … I love you, I love you both so much."
"I'll be home real soon, go on, let me take her." Steve's voice was soft and husky with emotion but it had the desired effect, the boy stepped back, and Michael placed an arm around his shoulders.
The journey to the hospital was made in silence, Steve had his blue light on his lap, and planned to use it should he hit any type of traffic, but the roads were almost deserted and they made very good time on a journey both of them knew off by heart. Steve pulled in to his regular parking space in the Doctors' lot, killed the engine, got out and rushed round to the passenger side to let Jo out. Her face was white, and he could tell that none of her fear had abated during the journey.
The throw from the back of the sofa was still around her shoulders, and Steve moved it slightly so that it continued to keep her warm, and then he guided her towards the ER department and the friendly face of his father.