Chapter 4: Terror by Night… and Day
Dillingham Residence, Georgetown
Saturday "night," 12:30 am
She'd dropped off almost immediately; the long day, and the exciting evening taking their tolls. Still, she wasn't expecting…
"Sure, Bobby. I'm surprised Amy didn't pick up the call— she must have her hands full. I only have one patient left today anyway. It's a first-time consult, so I should be done by the time you get here." She glanced over her shoulder as a man walked into her office. "Have a seat, Mr. Evans. I'll be right with you." Turning back to the phone, she continued, "Is there a problem?"
The sensation of cold steel against her neck stopped her short, and the sound of a hammerlock being pulled back froze her heart. A hand reached over her shoulder for the phone, and a quiet voice said, "No problem at all, Dr. Dillingham." …
…She endured Graham's touch dispassionately, giving him no reaction at all. She was fervently glad, however, that Graham's right hand was not visible from the camera.
He stopped abruptly in disgust and glared at her. "I'd thought you'd be much sweeter. I think I'll actually be doing Agent Leland a favor by freeing him of you."
"You don't know a thing about Agent Leland." She glared right back at him. "Let's just leave him out of this."
"You know, you remind me of the late Mrs. Graham. Such a tragedy. She too, had submission problems; too free-spirited, like yourself. Free spirits require… taming," he said, giving her another assessing look. "But those other girls, they were innocent. You caused their deaths…"
"No!" It came out with every ounce of certainty she'd gained earlier when she battled with this very thought. "I caused none of this. This is your doing, Evan, not mine."
He smiled again, and it unnerved her that none of this seemed to be affecting him at all. "So it is. And all of it is for you, dear doctor. Every step I've taken, every life snuffed out, has been for you alone. Eight lives, four cities, a trail of blood spanning your whole life…" His voice dropped to a whisper again, and his lips brushed her left cheek. "Elizabeth."
She shuddered at his use of her given name, and her loathing for him and the whole situation grew with each word he uttered next.
"That's all he ever calls you, isn't it? Your precious G-man. An elegant name, I must admit. So refined, so genteel…and so very sensual across the lips. E-liz-a-beth." He pulled back to stare deep into her eyes, and smiled as her face paled a shade or two. "Tell me, does he whisper it in your ear when you tremble beneath him? Does he gasp it in the heat of climax? Is it on his lips when—" …
…"You can't possibly think I'd give you the satisfaction of reacting at all to you. I'd rather have you beat me senseless."
"As you wish." His hand swung again, a fist this time, smashing across her jaw. Stars exploded across her vision, and a coppery taste spread over her lips and tongue. Still she made no sound, and he grabbed her chin roughly, leaning in until his lips were just a half-inch away, perpendicular to hers.
"You see, dear doctor," he hissed, his voice the travesty of a caress, "I observed quite a number of, shall we say, very interesting practices during my eight years in prison. Wonderful little scientific discoveries that I couldn't wait to try out on you. One of them involved a very new, very young inmate— a rather sought-after commodity in prison, given the lack of companionship." He leaned closer, the words imprinting on her cheek. "The discovery was this: no matter how much you loathe it, if you are not given the opportunity to escape, and if your 'benefactor' is very patient, your own body will betray you into reacting to… certain stimuli."
Her eyes widened in shock; then a deep, bone-shaking tremble took her. He felt it, and his smile grew sadistically delighted again. "It doesn't matter if you are in pain, or how much you hate me. You will gasp as the pleasure takes you, all the while hating yourself for it, and you will scream. I will take everything that you are, I will totally destroy you. You will beg me to kill you, and then you will die. It is simply a matter of time, my beautiful creature. And we have all the time in the world."
His hand slipped under her shirt again, in the back this time, running his fingers over her skin and pausing over the clasp on her bra. "All the time in the world. And your precious G-man will be too late. But your destruction will be preserved on film forever." …
… Myles slammed back against the wall and slumped to the floor, his gun spinning across the floor to just inches from her feet.
"Nooooo!" Her hands jerked against the handcuffs again, and the metal bit into her wrists, but she couldn't feel it. Felt nothing but the agonizing wrench in her heart as she willed him to move, to breathe, anything to let her know it was all a nightmare.
Evan Graham walked calmly back over to the desk and picked up the needle again. "So romantic," he sighed dramatically. "You can watch each other bleed to death." …
He walked over to the doorway, kicked Jack's now motionless body out into the tunnel, then barred the door and turned around. With a smile, he returned and nudged Myles with his foot. "Unfortunately for Agent Leland, here," he mused, "he forgot to include a blood pack with that body armor he's wearing." A flash of movement too fast for sight, a deafening roar, and she closed her eyes against the sight.
Graham returned to her side. "That's two more deaths to your name," he whispered. "Now, where were we?"….
Elizabeth awoke with a scream, clutching at the bedclothes and shaking like a leaf. As soon as she realized where she was, the scream stopped, but the shaking wouldn't. She reached for the phone…
No, she thought fiercely. He's fine. It was just a dream, brought on by that horrible woman tonight. I can do this; I can do it on my own.
She got up, putting on her robe and purposely not turning on the light as she walked downstairs to the kitchen. After making herself a cup of tea, she sat down at her kitchen island and tried to stop shaking. After a few minutes, though, she realized that it wasn't working. Still stubbornly refusing to call Myles, she laid her head on her arms and cried the nightmare out.
&
Sutherland Psychiatric Clinic, MacPherson Square
Monday, November 29th
8 a.m.
"I can't believe I let that woman get to me that way."
"Liz." Daniel Sutherland folded his hands behind his graying hair and leaned back in his chair. "It's not a matter of letting someone 'get to you.' That issue of blaming yourself for Graham's other victims has been a difficult one to overcome. It only makes sense that when some ignorant person makes a comment like that, it's going to crawl back out of your psyche."
"I suppose," Elizabeth agreed reluctantly.
"May I ask you something, though?" Wise eyes looked at her through the horn-rimmed glasses. "Why didn't you call Myles when you woke up? I thought the two of you had agreed that you were in this together. He's not going to thank you for it when he finds out."
She thought back to a comment she'd made to Myles shortly after the ordeal was over: I have to be strong on my own before I can be strong with you. "I don't know, Dan," she replied. "Or maybe I do. I just felt like I needed to handle it on my own. He had to work all day yesterday, anyway, and I didn't want to distract him…" She trailed off as her partner gave her a knowing look. "I know, I know; I just hate having this haunting our lives. I thought, if I could take care of this without having to lean on him, I'd be one step closer to finally being free of Graham."
"If I recall a few of the sessions Myles joined you for, he's fought a few nightmares of his own," the older man replied. "It's not only you who needs to free yourself from Evan Graham; it's both of you."
Elizabeth sighed. "I know, Dan. It's just…"
"Difficult for you, who have been independent so much of your life, to suddenly feel that you're having to lean on someone else emotionally, no matter how deeply you may care for him and want to share every part of your life with him." The psychologist motioned her back to a chair, from where she'd been pacing in front of his desk. "That's something you've been adjusting to ever since the two of you started dating; only now, it's dealing with a severe negative experience, instead of just everyday stuff." Now Sutherland leaned forward in his chair, pinning her with his gaze. "Make up your mind, Elizabeth; either the two of you are in this together, completely, or you'd best rethink that ring on your finger and the commitment you're making."
She drew back as if he'd slapped her. Then her eyes filled with tears as she looked at the solitaire on her hand. She hadn't thought of this as part of the commitment they shared; yet this was no different than the decision she'd had to make after Myles' brush with death nearly nine months previous. Graham's nightmare really wasn't so much different from the Ebola virus that had almost separated them, only this time it was her fighting the venom. She'd stayed; and she knew that Myles would now, was now, doing the same thing for her.
Sutherland watched her face; when she looked up at him again, he nodded. "Not feeling quite so stubborn anymore, Dr. Dillingham?" he smiled.
She grinned back at him, a bit embarrassed now. "You just love ramming me back against my own walls, don't you, Dan?"
He shrugged. "Whatever gets the point to sink in. Now, why don't you grab a cup of coffee before your first patient, and clear your head. You can settle things with Myles this evening."
She nodded, and rose to go back to her own office. Then a soft sound behind her made her turn back. Dan was staring at an open section of the Washington Post, and his expression was one of slight shock and a bit of concern. "Liz?"
"What is it, Dan?" She walked over to his desk, noticing that he'd randomly opened the paper to the "Announcements" section.
His voice was hesitant. "Didn't you tell me that you and Myles had decided against announcing your engagement because you didn't want Graham getting wind of it?"
"That's right," she replied warily. "Why?"
He pointed to a spot on the page. "Because apparently someone didn't get the message."
Elizabeth looked to where he was pointing, and gasped. Leland/Dillingham read across the column, with a brief announcement below it. "Who…?"
Just then, a young man knocked on Dan's open door. "Excuse me, is there a Dr. Elizabeth Dillingham here?"
She turned. "I'm Dr. Dillingham."
"Delivery for you, ma'am." He held out a narrow white box.
She took it from him, a sick feeling starting in the pit of her stomach. Daniel Sutherland thanked the young man and gave him a dollar tip, then turned back to where Elizabeth was staring at the box, her face pale.
"May as well get it over with, Liz," he said gently. "It may not be what you think."
The look on her face said she knew he didn't believe that any more than she did. But she opened the box anyway, squaring her shoulders as she did.
Inside was a single rose; the deepest burgundy readily available. The note was short and to the point.
Ah, Galahad and his lady fair – ain't love grand?
&
Bullpen, Hoover Building
Monday, November 29th
8:00 am
"Myles!" Sam's voice penetrated the Bullpen before he even entered.
Heads popped up all over, and Levi got Sue's attention as well. Myles looked up at his brother. "What? You sound like there's a 5-alarm fire somewhere."
"There may as well be." Sam's face held a rare scowl. He glanced over to where Tara was engrossed in something on her computer. "You got a minute?"
"Sam, unless it's something that can be considered official business, I really don't at this point… can't it wait?"
Sam glanced at the board, which had several photos of jewelry on it, along with the hierarchy of the counterfeiting ring they were closing in on. "Actually, I think perhaps it can be considered official business."
Now Jack came over as well. "What's up, Sam?"
It was obvious that Sam hadn't really intended to be the center of everyone's attention, but now that he'd made his entrance, he was stuck. "Uh…" he glanced at Tara again, who had now joined the rest of the group. Sam sighed. "Okay, so much for a surprise at Christmas, but it's not an issue anymore."
He pulled a box out of his pocket, opened it and laid it on Myles' desk. Three female gasps echoed briefly at the sight of the ruby necklace and earrings.
"Wow," Lucy breathed, nudging Tara with her elbow. "You're sure he's completely spoken for?"
Tara grinned, shaking her head. "Arguing with him does no good. And yes," she added playfully, "he's spoken for."
Sam was still scowling. "Gregory's in town, helping me with the real estate deal on the DeLacy house; I showed him these this morning, and he said they're fakes! Man, you just cannot trust anyone!"
It took ten minutes to get the pertinent information out of him, amongst the ranting, but finally Sam calmed down enough to accept the coffee Tara brought over. "Sorry, Lady MarioKart," he said with a shrug, " I guess you'll just have to show me your wish list instead."
She smiled. "Why don't you simply come with me for Christmas this year? I know my family would love you, and I've got a whole gang of nephews who need a little humbling in the video game department. That would be the best present of all."
A devious grin lit up his face. "Always enjoy putting a little humility into the younger sect. But I did promise Mom and Dad I'd be at Gram's house on the Cape this year." He thought for a minute. "Hey, how about we hit both places? I've got the jet; we can do it easy!"
She stared at him. "How is it you can make the simplest ideas suddenly become the greatest-sounding adventures?"
"Years of practice, pretty lady," he grinned. "Years of practice."
Suddenly, his face crumpled in a bit of panic. "Oh, no," he said, "I just thought of something. Your opals… Liz's emeralds… are they fakes, too?"
Myles had overheard his statement, and approached them. "I don't know about the opals, but you can be pretty sure Elizabeth's set isn't. She knows her gems pretty well, and I think she'd have spotted a counterfeit."
"Here." Tara reached under the collar of her turtleneck and pulled out the opal necklace. At Sam's raised brow, she shrugged. "I wanted to wear it, but didn't want to look like I was showing off. So sue me."
"You'd lose." He retorted without hesitation, a grin stealing away his worry for a moment. He shook a finger at her. "You're not fooling me for one minute, Miss Tara. You're starting to get comfortable with the 'trappings,' as you so eloquently described them. I can spoil you undeterred now."
Myles chuckled at the pair of them and motioned to Jack, who had just called up one of the Bureau's gem experts. "Can we set my poor twin's mind at ease, here?"
"Shouldn't be a problem. Brenda's on her way up."
Five minutes later, the lady handed Tara back her necklace. "You were fortunate, Mr. Leland," she said, a slight Western twang to her voice. "Only the ruby set turned out to be counterfeit."
Sam breathed a huge sigh of relief. "You all better get these guys, pronto," he said. "I have more shopping to do before Christmas."
There were laughs all around at that, and most of the team went back to work. Sam gave Tara a quick kiss, then walked back over to his brother's desk. "Oh," he said, a bit hesitantly, "there was one other thing. I don't suppose you've seen the morning paper yet? The Post or the Globe?"
Myles shook his head. "Wasn't time this morning, and I actually don't see The Boston Globe that often. Why?"
"Uh…" The hesitation in Sam's voice made Myles look up, and Sam swallowed a bit. "I'm sorry; I should have told you Saturday night after we got back from Grand Maggie's, but I didn't think she'd really do it, I tried to explain to her, but you know Grans—"
"Sam, just tell me—"
At that moment, an aide entered the Bullpen, carrying a slim white box. "Agent Leland?" she said.
"Yes?" He looked puzzled. "What's this?"
"It just arrived downstairs for you." She placed it on his desk, then walked back out.
Sam stared at it for a moment as well, then placed a hand over it. "Myles, I don't think—"
"Sam, either spit out what you're trying to say, or let me get back to work." Myles didn't give him a chance to reply, but reached over and slid the box out from under his grasp.
Sam hurriedly pulled two sections of folded newspaper out of his back pocket. But he was too late; his twin had already opened the box.
"What the—?" A deep red rose peeked out from the folds of tissue. He pulled the card out and stared at it.
Sam watched his brother's jaw tense until it had to be causing either intense pain or certainly damage to his teeth. He smoothed the two pieces of newsprint out in front of Myles, his voice quiet.
"That's what I was trying to tell you, bro. Maggie decided to do something 'nice' for you two, since she realized she hadn't seen your engagement announced in the paper. I tried to tell her why, but she apparently didn't listen." His eyes dropped for a moment, then he looked up again. "That's from Graham, isn't it?"
&
Leland Residence, Columbia Heights
Monday, November 29th
8 pm
"I know she meant well," Elizabeth sighed as she brought two glasses of wine over to the sofa. "I just really wish she'd listened to Sam."
It had been a long afternoon; there had only been time for a brief phone call earlier, but he'd asked her to meet him at his house that evening. She was confused by his request that she bring the box from Graham with her, but she'd done as he'd asked.
The most surprising part of the evening had come when he opened the door; they'd both smiled to discover that the same thought had come to each of them. The peace roses they'd exchanged had done more to bring a bit of closure to the day than any discussion could, at least as a start. Now, with dinner finished and the kitchen clean, they settled down to talk.
Myles stretched out an arm as she snuggled next to him, pulling her close. "Unfortunately, Grandmother has her own ideas, and it takes a great deal to sway her from them, no matter how good a reason there may be. I'm glad Dan was there when the box showed up at your office, though."
"And I'm glad you weren't by yourself, either." Her eyes dropped, and her voice went very soft. "I'm so sorry that I didn't call you Saturday night. I know we promised to stay in this together; I just—"
He lifted her chin until she looked into his eyes. "Elizabeth, I'm not going to fault you for wanting to fight it on your own. I've been tempted to do the same thing several times. We've both got a lot of pride and stubbornness to overcome, at least with each other." He stroked her cheek, brushing at a stray tear wandering down her soft skin.
"But," he continued, "Dan Sutherland was dead-on when he told us that we have to overcome this together. If we don't, it could always be there between us; what's she thinking? Is this bringing back bad memories? Am I reminding him, just by being here? I don't want Evan Graham haunting us for the rest of our lives."
Elizabeth gave him a long gaze before she sighed again, resting her cheek against his chest. "I know; and I don't either. It's just not easy to bare your soul when it's already ripped up." Now she looked up at him again, placing a hand on his cheek. "But please know that my instinct to pull inside myself has nothing to do with you. I love you with all my heart, and I suppose a lot of my pulling away has more to do with not wanting to drag you down with me."
"So let me lift you up instead." In a decided move, he rose from the couch, drawing her with him, and led her over to the fireplace, where two slim white boxes rested on the hearth.
Myles knelt at the hearth, pulling back the fire screen. He turned to Elizabeth and handed her one of the boxes. "Time to put these where they belong," he said firmly.
She smiled brightly. "Absolutely." Hands joined, they tossed the boxes into the fire together. As they watched the flames consume the nightmare, she leaned against his shoulder. "You know," she said softly, "I seem to remember reading somewhere that roses produce the most purifying flame."
"Then we'll take every attempt of his to unnerve us and turn it into another step of purifying our lives from him, permanently." He stood and caught her in his arms, then reached over and took the stereo remote from the mantel. A moment later, the strains of an old ballad filled the room.
Elizabeth smiled up at him. "You're going to have me convinced that you're not really a classical music purist," she teased. "You keep pulling up all these romantic ballads from ages ago."
Myles stroked her cheeks before kissing her gently. "I feel secure that my secrets are safe with you, love." He pulled her close as the music wrapped around them:
There's a light, behind your eyes.
I see it shining, it only fades when you cry
There's a heart that beats so strong;
I feel it dying when the night time lasts too long
Now you and I have lived our century
And all I can say is what you offered to me
Please don't be scared, 'cause I've stood there, too;
Between survival and the right thing to do.
'Cause only the strong admit their fears,
And if you really need me, I'll always be here.
The parties and the lights fade to memories in the still of the night.
And you wonder in your mind if there's nothing left to show for all the time,
'Cause feeling pain is a hard way to know you're still alive,
but someday someone will make you glad you survived
Please don't be scared, 'cause I've stood there, too;
Between survival and the right thing to do.
'Cause only the strong admit their fears,
And if you really need me, I'll always be here.
(Please Don't Be Scared- Barry Manilow)
