Chapter 42 Waiting in the Wings
The monitors in the ICU suite beeped and shushed, and Jesse sat, his wife's hand resting in his own, and watched a storm whip at the trees just outside her window. The hospital was only one block away from the beach and, with little protection against the elements; the palm trees were bending in supplication to the wind and its power, even a majestic oak was being shaken by the weather. He had been in her room for two hours and in that time Jesse had seen the sky darken and the rain begin to fall, the change in the conditions keeping him from dwelling too long on what had happened to Rae, but he had a feeling that once night came he would have little to stop him from going over and over the conversations of the past few days and the disaster which had resulted from them.
Jesse knew that Rae wouldn't come round, however much he wanted her to, until the morning at least. Her injury was a painful one and the sedation would be kept high as she took her first steps towards recovery. Jesse also knew that the rehabilitation would begin quite quickly, something that Rae would find difficult. He hated to think of her being in pain, but he knew that for the next few weeks there would be no avoiding it.
"Jesse, can I come in?" Steve's voice broke into his thoughts and Jesse looked up from his vigil to smile at his best friend. He had wondered where Steve had been, but he hadn't wanted to leave his wife's room to find out. Amanda had gone on a hunt for him, and reported back that Steve had police business in the hospital and was dealing with that.
"Sure, I was hoping you would … I … Steve, you saved her life, thank you." Jesse let go of Rae's hand to take hold of his friend's instead.
"I did? Thank God for that, so she's gonna be ok?" The relief that Steve felt was almost overwhelming; he had wanted to come up, to check on her before, but Captain Newman had insisted that he find out the condition of Melina Edwards and send through a telephone report of what had happened. Once he had done that the Chief had called him and Steve spent twenty minutes sitting in the corner of the hospital lobby relating the entire episode again.
"There are still dangers, but yeah, I think she's gonna be fine."
"Well, you can thank Dad, I just knew it was serious, and the ambulance was going to be ten minutes. I … I didn't know if she would have that long, so I called him." Steve looked down, suddenly embarrassed by what he had done, even though he knew it had worked.
"What happened? I thought you were coming here for something to do with the Chief, how did it end up this way?" Jesse looked down at Rae, she hadn't felt that her job for the day was dangerous, had hardly really mentioned it at all and Jesse realised that they hadn't talked, about either of their jobs, not properly, for a long while.
"Yeah, we were, we interviewed Elizabeth Masters' son, about the death of his mother. It was an inconvenience in one way, having to come here, but he was the main suspect, although to be honest he wasn't really a suspect in the normal sense of the word, we just didn't have anyone else." Steve was quiet for a moment, Callum Edwards had been their only possibility, but he hadn't been glaringly obvious because first of all they hadn't known of his existence, and even when they had, the information they'd found on him hadn't led them to believe he was a serious contender for death row.
"And he shot Rae?" Jesse looked back down at his wife, the peaceful expression on her face belying the agony she had to have gone through.
"No, no, he didn't, we were right, he wasn't involved at all. But Rae thinks his wife killed Elizabeth and she tried to kill Rae as well, although I have no idea why."
"Being accused of murder might have had something to do with it!" Jesse looked into the eyes of his friend and saw only pain and confusion there.
"I don't know, we'd split up, I was with Mr. Edwards going through the paperwork which provided him with his alibi, Rae had taken his wife to make some coffee, she was a little volatile."
"A little?" Jesse was amazed and began to feel his anger rise, he knew that normally Rae would have been fine, she dealt with unpredictable situations on a daily basis, so did he, but now every fibre of his being was screaming out that they should have stayed together.
"I guess we should have stayed together, but there certainly didn't seem to be any danger, Mrs Edwards was just being kind of obnoxious is all. We separate all the time, work different parts of a case and then come back together, and this wasn't any different. Jesse, I'm sorry, something was off, not right, but I didn't feel that we were in any danger … no danger." Again Steve looked away, it was true, he evaluated all the situations he was in, and he had been glad that Rae had taken the initiative and removed Mrs Edwards before she shouted her mouth off too much but he had never imagined her to be at risk.
Jesse swallowed down his anger, now wasn't the time to vent it, and instead he carried on talking. "And Mrs Edwards, what happened to her?"
"I … I shot her. She's here, under guard, she's been charged for shooting Rae, once I know what evidence she found, I'll book her for Elizabeth Masters' murder too." Steve's couldn't keep the tiredness from his voice and Jesse looked at Steve realising, for the first time, that he was suffering too, he'd had to fire his gun in anger, which meant an enquiry, he had blood on his shirt and jeans, Rae's blood probably, and the anger he felt left him.
"Amanda will be going home soon, why don't you go with her?"
"Yeah, I probably will, you know that Jo has the girls don't you?" Steve saw the horror on his friend's face and knew before he spoke what he was going to say.
"I … I didn't even think, oh man." he couldn't continue, how could he have forgotten to make arrangements for his own children, and for a moment the realisation left him speechless.
"Jesse, you were under a lot of strain, and it's all taken care of."
"But … they're my kids, and … how could I do that?"
"Jesse, it's not a problem, and we should have told you earlier, they're safe and happy, that's all the matters in the end isn't it?"
Jesse nodded his head, he still felt awful about it, but there was nothing he could do to change what happened. "Well, if you're sure, there isn't anywhere I would rather they stay, and Eliana does adore her Unki Teve."
Steve smiled, he loved both little girls with all his heart, and he knew that the eldest Travis child was always pleased to see him. "Oh, I'm sure; in fact although she is real worried about Rae, I think that Jo was delighted to deal with it. She has Debbie staying with her, and they don't exactly get along like a house on fire."
"You know, I'd noticed that." The spark was back in Jesse's eyes for an instant, "In fact the only person who doesn't seem to notice is Debs, although that could be intentional."
"Why does everybody have a downer on this woman?" Steve shook his head, he was glad that Jesse's guilt seemed to have been assuaged, but still at a loss to understand why his normally friendly wife hated her sister-in-law. He always tried to be nice to her, but somehow, maybe because Jo didn't try, he felt he had to be even friendlier.
"Because she has a smart tongue. You think she's being nice, kind and helpful, but I have a feeling that nothing is done that isn't calculated … I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." Jesse looked back at his wife; he didn't want to overstep the mark.
"Steve, Jesse, I have to get back home, do either of you need a ride?" Amanda's voice drifted in from the hallway and they both turned to her. "How is she now, Jess?" Amanda had sat with Jesse for a while, neither of them saying very much, but she had left him alone a few times so that he could talk to Rae without her overhearing, now though she needed to get back to her children.
"She's ok … or at least she will be, thanks to Steve. Rae always said they watched each others' backs." Jesse smiled at his friend, hoping that Steve realised just how he felt.
"She would have done it for me;" Steve tried to dismiss it, she had survived, that was all that mattered to him. "Amanda, if I drive you back, then Jesse will have his car." His voice was a little brusque; he wasn't comfortable with discussing these things, not even with Jesse and Amanda.
"Ok, thanks. Jesse, Honey, did you want to go stretch your legs, get some fresh air, maybe some coffee before we leave? That way Rae won't be alone." Amanda saw Jesse nod and then felt him kiss her cheek.
"Thanks, that would be great, I might pick up a magazine or two." He looked out of the window for a moment, and saw the trees still being buffeted about by the weather. "I think I'll get my fresh air inside not out! I'll be right back." Jesse went through the door, turning as he did so to see the two of them sit down next to the bed. Amanda took Rae's hand into hers so that she would know that someone was still there for her and he realised that, whatever his worries, he still had the best friends any man could wish for.
ooo
The journey back with Amanda had seemed to go very quickly. Although both of them were worried for their friend, the conversation had been about happier things, such as the wedding in three weeks time, and the birth of Steve and Jo's baby and Amanda had watched her normally stoic companion as he smiled for miles. Once he had dropped Amanda off at her house and spent five minutes catching up with Ron though, Steve found his thoughts travelling back to what had happened that day, and by the time he got to the station to change his blood-stained clothes, sign out and pick up the forms he needed to fill in, he was so wracked with guilt that he could hardly think straight.
He drove home to Beverly Hills without taking in any of the scenery around him, but his gaze lingered on the entranceway to Oak Place for a few seconds as he slowed down ready to turn into his own driveway.
The atmosphere as Steve unlocked his front door was apparent, and the look on his son's face as he came out to greet his dad only served to confirm it. "Hi, I hope you had a better day than Mom did, uh, apart from Rae that is." Daniel hastily finished his sentence realising how it had sounded.
"No, I didn't, what's wrong here?" Steve was aware that although it was only a little after seven o'clock the house was almost silent, the noise of two young children was absent. "Where are the girls?"
"In bed. Anneya is asleep, I just checked on her, Eliana is upset, but she got a good telling off from Mom and isn't saying a word. It's that witch, we never have trouble with them when she's not here."
"Daniel, not now, just drop it." Steve felt his temper rise again, but he didn't want to blame it on his son, none of the problems were his fault. "How was school?"
"Ok." Daniel looked away, he had tried to keep his behaviour in check, but somehow even though he had only been misbehaving for a while he was in the main line for blame when a culprit was needed.
"Just ok? That's not what I wanted to hear." Steve looked round, he had expected Jo to come and greet him by now, especially as he knew she would be worried about Rae. "Where's your mom?"
"Out in the yard somewhere. She went out there after she put the girls to sleep, that was about six-thirty."
"It's dark, why would she want to be out there in the dark? Is she ok?" Steve was instantly worried about his wife, his own problems fading slightly as he looked about him again, waiting for Daniel's reply.
"She just said she wanted to be alone, and she told Debbie, sorry, Aunty Debbie, that she didn't want any company." Daniel pulled a face as he spoke, but Steve could tell that he was concerned as well.
"I'll go find her and see you later, make sure that all your homework is done, and you can tell me what an ok day means in a while."
"Yes, Dad." Daniel knew there was no point in arguing, and apart from that he was just relieved that Steve was going to go see his mom, he had wanted to go, but hadn't known whether the no company rule included him or not. He let out a deep sigh, and suddenly felt his dad's hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, look, once you've finished your work go check the TV guide, maybe there's a game on tonight we can watch, or play a little one on one, what do you think?"
"One on one sounds great, I can kick your butt." Daniel smiled, he really did have the best dad in the world, even with the problems he had, he still thought about him. "I love you, Dad."
Steve smiled, he didn't think he would ever get over the delight he felt at hearing his son say that to him. "I love you too, but no more ok days?"
"No, no more."
The silhouette of his wife was visible on the crest of a hill that led down to a small neat rose garden. Steve cleared his throat as he got a little closer so as not to frighten Jo, and her reaction was to turn and rush into his arms. "Hey, hey, shhh, it's ok." Steve didn't know what to say, or do, and so he just whispered nothing words and gently held her until she looked up into his eyes.
"Rae?" There was no doubting the meaning of just the one word, and Steve pulled her a little closer to him as he spoke.
"She's in the ICU, she was still unconscious when I left, and she'll be on a ventilator for a few days, but they think she'll make a full recovery." He felt her sag against him, and he kissed the top of her head, feeling her hair and moving a hand up to caress it.
"Oh, thank God, I have been standin' out here, prayin', not just for her, but for Jesse, an' for those little ones, they need their momma, Eliana especially needs her momma."
"Daniel said you sent her to bed, that you shouted at her." Steve was still amazed by what he had heard; he didn't think he had ever seen Jo shout at either child.
"I know, an' I know I shouldn't have, an' I'll apologise to her in the mornin'." Jo tried to move away but Steve needed to feel her next to him and so he held her fast.
"But why? What made you lose your temper with her?"
"She wouldn't eat her dinner, played with her food, she wanted her momma, an' in the end after Debs had mentioned three times how badly behaved she was I just lost it. I should have shouted at her, not that poor chil' but I didn't." This time Jo did pull away and began to walk back towards the house. "I will go an' kiss her goodnight again; maybe she will still be awake."
Steve fell in step beside her, "I'll go and get something to eat, and then … could we talk?"
"Sure, Darlin', I won't be long." She looked at him and saw, for the first time, the pain and worry in his eyes. "I can wait with you; I don't have to go to Eliana."
"No, you go; you'll rest easier if you know she's ok. I'll go say hi to Debs and tell her that we have a couple of things we need to do. I don't want her to feel that she isn't included in things."
"Works for me, but if you insist." Jo reached the French doors first, opened them and walked into the morning room. "She'll be in the livin' room, probably watchin' TV. Maybe you could persuade her to go home. She's hard work when we don't have worries of our own." They went their separate ways then, Steve to find his sister-in-law, and Jo to make her peace with her goddaughter.
ooo
The silence all around him made the machines sound so much louder, seem far more insistent than they normally did when he was the doctor in charge. Rae lay, silent and totally still, her chest only rising and falling because of the same machines which were filling the room with their sounds.
Jesse's mind went back over everything that had happened, how he and Rae had talked, how he had finally unburdened himself to a point where he no longer felt the need to carry around the weight of guilt and fear that he couldn't remember being free of.
He thought about Don Werner, the damage that man had caused would probably haunt him in one way or another for a long time, but he knew now that it wouldn't rule his life because he wouldn't let it.
The doctor had called Rae lucky, and he knew that she had been, but so had he. Not just now, but over and over again in his life. He'd had an unhappy childhood, but he'd survived it, and he knew that it had made him the man he was, or usually was. He'd worked hard in school, enjoyed college, and medical school had been a dream come true.
Jesse remembered with a smile the day he arrived at Community General, the atmosphere had been wonderful, and Mark, Amanda and Steve had become part of his life. That time had been good; he'd had friends who wanted to be with him as much as he wanted to be with them, and he'd found contentment too. He wasn't sure that any of that counted as luck, but if it did then he knew that he'd made most of it himself, and then he'd met Rae. Life had been a little hectic ever since, but most of the time he'd enjoyed it. Twice he'd left her, and both times it had been wrong, the first time was the biggest mistake he'd made in his life, and the second, well, he'd been ill, he knew that, but even so he wished he'd never gone.
He looked at the readings on his wife's machines, they were showing what he would expect them to, and he guessed that he could relax a little, think about other things, but his mind kept going over and over the last few days, or hours. He thought about Steve, the relief on his face when he knew that his actions had saved his partner's life and the guilt that Jesse knew he felt because he'd let her be injured in the first place. Jesse had felt angry that Rae had been left with the woman who had shot her, but now, in the quiet stillness of her room, Jesse knew that it was the way things were done, if it wasn't then they wouldn't get as much accomplished as they did. He also knew that Rae wouldn't blame anyone for what had happened; she wasn't that type of person. The door opened at that moment and the doctor came in, Jesse stood up, he knew that it was time for Rae to be checked over and moving out of the way he watched someone else do what he desperately wanted to be able to do himself.
ooo
The sandwich that he'd made sat, uneaten, on the table, the mug of coffee had cooled enough to drink, but that too was untouched. Debbie, deeply engrossed in a melodrama about the Civil War had hardly turned her head to say hello, and he had retreated almost immediately.
The sound of Jo coming back down the stairs roused him from his pondering, and he tried to put a smile on his face as she came into the morning room. He knew that he had failed as he saw the worry flit across her beautiful features before she came and sat next to him.
"Honey, what is worryin' you? You said that Rae was ok, poorly, but going to be fine. I spoke to your daddy a little earlier, from what he told me you saved her life. So it can't be that which is makin' you fret so."
"I let her go; if it hadn't been for me she wouldn't have been shot. I knew something was wrong, it didn't smell quite right, and still I let her go off alone." Steve had sat at the very end of the sofa, but now he tried to move away from his wife even more.
"How do you mean you let her go? I thought she was shot at the house, did she leave?" The gap between them on the seat seemed to Jo to be like a chasm. Usually, when Steve was having problems with his emotions he wanted to be with her, to hold her, but now it was as if her nearness added to his troubles.
"She was. Jo, this case has been a minefield since the start. How we have ever gotten this far without it reaching the papers I will never know, but we have. You know the Chief is involved, but he is far more mixed up in it than anyone other than Rae or I know. I haven't even told Dad, and I know Rae hasn't told Jesse."
"But she's a good cop; if there was any danger she wouldn't have gone off with this woman, whoever she was, so she must have been happy to do what she did. She can leap in sometimes, but she isn't a fool. Did she have a record, or was she a suspect?"
"No, but."
"No buts at all. You can't watch each other every minute you are workin'. She wouldn't expect or want it an' neither would you."
"But I let her go, I ignored my instincts, and she almost died. I shouldn't have had to save her because she shouldn't have been hurt in the first place." His voice broke on the last words and Steve suddenly needed his wife, he pulled her to him and held her tight, never wanting to let go.
Jo let him hold her; she was glad of the contact, but worried too. She had been a cop herself long enough to know that instinct was sometimes the only thing which kept you alive. The fact that Steve had ignored that was going to be something that only he could deal with, but still she had to say something. "Honey, Rae is a good cop, she has instincts, too. You can't blame yourself for all of this, she certainly won't an' I think you know that." She stopped talking, knowing that nothing she said could really help, and so she silently let him hold her as he tried to come to terms with what he had done.
ooo
The night had been spent together, both downstairs, and then when Jo and Steve went to bed. She couldn't break through and make him believe that it wasn't his fault; because she knew that if she was in his position she would believe it was hers. Debbie hadn't helped the situation when she stated that it was no job for a woman anyway, and that Rae's place was with her family. For the first time Jo had seen her husband look at Debs in a slightly different light, but she hadn't had the heart to press him about it.
As the sun came in through their bedroom window Jo watched as Steve stirred slightly and moved a little closer to her. Even in his sleep he had needed her near him, and had been restless if she had strayed from his side. For a few moments his face was relaxed and at peace, but she knew the exact moment that he remembered what had happened, the exact moment when he realised again how he had let his partner down.
"I … I have to phone, Jo, I'm sorry." He apologised immediately, knowing that he wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything else until he had contacted the hospital.
"Honey, have your shower, get dressed, we haven't heard anythin' durin' the night, if there was somethin' to report you know Jesse would have been straight on. I'll go make you a coffee; you can call while you are drinkin' it." Jo sat a look of determination on her face, which, she hoped, masked the heartbreak she was feeling.
"You're right, but I need to know. I'll get dressed first though." It was a compromise, he wanted to ring right away, but he was letting his emotions get the better of him, which wasn't a good idea, and he knew that he looked flustered as he ran his hand through his hair.
"Steve, Baby, listen to me. You have to do whatever is right for you, I'm guessin' you will be going back up to interview the woman who shot Rae, you can go see her while you're there, but you have to stop blamin' yourself, it isn't gonna do you or anyone else any good."
"Oh, ok, fine, I'll just stop then. There, I feel so much better!" Steve kicked the covers off the bed and stalked towards the shower room leaving Jo to watch him go, knowing that his temper would probably get the better of him more often than not until he could find out what it was that caused Rae to get shot in the first place.
ooo
The piece of paper sat on her desk and mocked her. Cheryl had covered it up with a telephone directory, then the LA Times, she had even put it in the middle drawer of her desk, but each time she had retrieved it from its hiding place and returned it to the middle of the table.
She had known that Mallard and Fox were high class accountants, that the clientele they serviced probably had more money than they knew what to do with, and she had known that Josephine Sloan came into that category too. The fact that the two things might be linked though hadn't occurred to her, but now, with the names staring up at her she knew that she had no choice but to question her ex-partner and his wife about the murder of a man she was already beginning to realise didn't have as many scruples as his friend and partner Mr. Mallard.
Marmaduke Fox had provided her with the possibility of an extended visit into a world that she had very little understanding of. Cheryl earnt the maximum amount for a detective of her experience and seniority, she had an accountant, most people did, but she had a feeling that her salary probably wouldn't have paid Mr. Fox's fees, let alone been deemed worth working on.
A couple of the other names on the list had been known to Cheryl, shady sprang to mind, and she had planned to interview them first, but she didn't want to be accused of favouritism, of ignoring the cop in favour of the villain, and so on her way to Bel Air to interview a octogenarian called Billy Maiden, Cheryl was going to drop in, unannounced, on Jo Sloan.
Grabbing her jacket of the back of her chair she straightened up, picked up her empty cup and, looking at the disgusting stain inside it, consigned it to the waste basket. She had a huge supply of mugs at home; she would just replace it with one from there. As Cheryl went out onto the hallway next to the squad room she watched Steve climbing the stairs towards her. He looked terrible, haggard; he seemed to have aged overnight. Not knowing what else to do she reached out and touched his arm as he passed her.
"Hey, Steve, what's up?" There was compassion in her voice, and she knew that her partner recognised it, but she saw the shutters go up, and also knew that she wouldn't get an honest answer from him.
"Nothing, didn't sleep well, nothing else." Steve found that he couldn't look her in the eye, Cheryl knew him too well, would realise that he was lying, and he had no intention of explaining, not to her, nor anyone else.
"Well, maybe a peaceful day would be a good thing. Think we'll get one?" Cheryl watched for a response, but there was none, and so she carried on talking. "How's Rae?"
"I called Jesse this morning, she had a quiet night, but she's still on the ventilator, sedated, so I guess she had no choice in the matter." His tone was abrupt, and Cheryl, realising that she should back off just nodded her head.
"And Jo?"
"Good, she has a pre-natal this afternoon, I think she's gonna make it last as long as possible, Debbie is staying."
"Ohhh that must be fun. I have to run, I'll see you later." Cheryl shook her head, she sympathised with Jo. Debbie Gardiner, that was the woman's name, she was a gold digger, charming, smooth, but a gold digger all the same. She watched Steve go on into the squad room and then she carried on down the stairs and out into the sunshine.
ooo
The doorbell rang and Debbie looked pointedly down at her magazine. "Guess I'll go get that then." Jo knew that she didn't want her sister-in-law answering her door anyway, but it was the manner in which she refused that made her blood boil.
The shape that Jo could see through the glass was recognisable and she smiled as she opened the door. "Well, hi, Cheryl, I'm sorry but you've missed Steve, he's already gone to work."
"Actually it was you I needed to speak with. Jo, this is official."
"Oh." Jo didn't know what else to say and so she indicated with her hand that Cheryl should come into the house. "We can go talk in the library."
"Ok, just lead the way." Cheryl felt uncomfortable, she didn't like interviewing friends and colleagues, and it didn't happen very often. She wondered whether she should have waited for Steve, but the fact that she had found that Jo was listed separately as well as with her husband meant that she would have had to interview them one at a time anyway.
"It's a little chilly in here; we don't use this very much." Jo opened the doors onto the beautiful mahogany lined room and smiled. "But I love it; it's sort of trapped in time somehow."
"It is lovely, did you choose the décor?" Cheryl looked around appreciatively. She had been to Steve's home before, but hadn't been into this room. It showed, far more than the parts she had seen, just how lavish the house was.
"No, my grandmamma still watches me when I re-decorate! All I've added in here is the rug." Jo looked down at the floor and saw Cheryl do the same. The Indian carpet which covered the middle of the floor was highly decorated and of a very good quality. It had been shipped to the house as a present for her grandmother, but Jo had chosen it because she liked it and so it had been laid, even though the old lady had never seen it. She had died before it had even been purchased.
Cheryl stood, a little ill at ease now, waiting for Jo to sit in one of the gold brocade chairs. After about thirty seconds, which seemed far longer, she suddenly realised what she was supposed to do.
"I'm sorry, please sit down, would you like a drink? Coffee, tea, soda?" Jo was embarrassed; she was also worried, and had no idea why Cheryl would want to talk with her.
"No, no, I'm fine, thanks. I just need to ask you a few questions about a man named Marmaduke Fox."
Jo looked a little confused but then she smiled. "Renny, he's my accountant. I have to admit I don't have a lot to do with him. He's been doing my accounts for quite a long time. I don't like him very much, but I sort of inherited him, or I guess he inherited me."
"Excuse me?" Cheryl wasn't sure how you inherited or were inherited by an accountant.
"My accountant was a man named Reginald Rowntree. He was quite old, a nice man, smelt of peppermint. When he died Mallard an' Fox bought his business. I think it was worth a lot of money, or the client list was, an' his family sold it. I got a letter askin' if I wanted my business to be conducted by the new company, an' to be honest I just agreed. Well, not without a little checkin', I searched through the financial magazines, asked around some, checked the Internet, I couldn't find anythin' to warn me away from them an' so I agreed."
"And what did you think of them?"
"They tried to get me involved with 'their little family' as they called it. Canny invited me to Christmas parties, summer picnics, but in the end even he realised that they were there to count my money, pay my taxes, an' leave me alone, an' that's what they have done ever since."
"So you never see them, speak to them, correspond with them?"
"Of course I do. There is always somethin' to do with money that needs sortin' out. I signed a few things over to some friends recently; I had my lawyer send the papers through on those."
"But you didn't, you didn't call or visit or write yourself about any of it?" Cheryl kept pushing. She had checked Jo's file in Marmaduke Fox's office, and mail had been going backwards and forwards regularly, at least three or four letters and records of calls a week.
"No, Gilbert deals with all of that. If I need anythin' doin' I just get in touch with him an' he takes care of it. Cheryl, why are you askin' me all this?" Jo had her hands in her lap and suddenly she realised that she was wringing them together.
"And Steve, does he use Mallard and Fox as well?" Cheryl had no intention of enlightening her, not yet at least.
"For joint business, yes he does. But he had his own accountant before we married, as far as I know he still uses him for Bob's an' personal stuff. Cheryl, am I in trouble?"
"Jo, Marmaduke Fox was murdered on Friday. You and Steve were on his client list. I am interviewing everyone who was."
"My, God. I didn't know, no one called; I didn't see it in the paper. How, who, I mean … does Steve know?" She didn't know what to say. "You don't think I … Cheryl."
"Jo, I don't know if Steve knows, it was kept out of the papers, and no, unless you have secrets that you need to tell me about, I don't think you killed him."
"Well, like I said, I haven't spoken to him in ages, I sent him a Christmas card last year, I would have sent him one this year. Do you converse regularly with your accountant?"
"No, not if I can avoid it." Cheryl smiled, there had to be a good reason for the letters and phone calls, she would check elsewhere before asking Jo about them. "Jo, thank you. I'm obliged to you for the information. If I need anything else, I'll either call or come round again." She stood up and watched as Jo did the same, and then the two of them walked out into the hallway together, Cheryl enquiring about her pregnancy as they neared the front door.
Debbie moved out of the shadows a satisfied smile on her face. Nothing had happened, no irregularities had been found, not yet, but they would be, and when they were, well she would be waiting, waiting and watching to see her fall, and take her bastard chil' and pathetic husband with her.