Sunday The hospital
Paul was startled awake by the ringing of the phone. Glancing around he was relieved when he noticed Steph was still napping. Without looking he could hear the baby's heart rate beeping steadily on the monitor. Changing positions in the hard chair he picked up the phone before the noise caused his wife to wake up.
"Hello?" He asked groggily.
"Oh hello." Laney said surprised. "I was expecting Steph."
"She's sleeping." Paul answered as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
"Well, just tell her I called and that I'll call her back later." She said in disappointment as she prepared to hang up.
"Laney wait." Paul whispered as he got up and crept from the room. "I was actually hoping I could talk to you."
"Why would you want to do that?" She asked confused.
"I was kind of mean to you the last time we saw each other and I was hoping I could work on fixing it." He said in a normal voice once he was outside the room.
"Kind of mean?" She asked, her voice sounding sharp through the phone line.
"Hey, I'm trying to apologize here." He protested.
"It's okay Paul. Daddy explained a lot of what's going on and I understand why you did what you did." She explained, giving in.
"Why are you being so reasonable?" He asked suspiciously. "Have I made you so mad that you won't even act normal around me anymore?"
Laney laughed. "I am acting normal. I mean I am almost 14 years old. I'm being more mature."
"Yeah, I think I'll wait until I see that in person." Paul decided as he walked down the hall towards the lobby. He paid no attention to the little old lady dressed in pink, or the colorful bag in her hands.
"Well maybe you can convince Daddy that I need to wear makeup. He's being so stubborn." She sulked.
Paul smiled as he heard the pout in her voice. "You really think I'm going to join you in your effort to become older? You have to stay a little girl forever."
"And here I thought you wanted me to forgive you." She purred in a singsong voice.
"And here I thought you were trying to act older." He teased back. He smiled at the sound of her laughter. Rounding the corner he came to a halt at the sight before him. Jayden, dressed in church clothes, was leaning against the volunteer desk.
"Hey baby girl," he said using her father's pet name for her. "We're okay right? You do forgive me for everything that I said to you."
"Yeah, I know you didn't mean it." She responded.
"You going to come see me soon?" He asked as he kept an eye on the lanky redhead.
"I'll think I'll wait until the baby's born and things calm down there. Besides I have this really big party Halloween. There are going to be some really cute boys there." She gushed.
Paul rolled his eyes. "Don't do anything that's going to cause me to come down there." He advised sternly.
Laughing she said goodbye. "Don't forget to tell Steph I called."
He clicked the phone shut and strolled towards the desk. "Nice dress."
Jayden whirled around startled. Frowning she fingered the teal skirt. "Sometimes you have to play a part to get more information. Little old ladies like the volunteer dressed like this on Sundays." She smirked at him. "Nice phone. Pink is so your color."
Paul gritted his teeth in embarrassment as he stuffed the phone in his pocket. "Laney called Steph and I answered before it woke her up." He explained. "Are you sure you aren't trying to butter up the old lady so she'll take up another of your gifts?"
"Why can't you understand?" She asked in frustration as she got in his face. "I was here yesterday when the package was delivered. I convinced her to wait and then I switched the packages when she was sleeping. You were with her when she opened the blanket and rattle set. I got them in the gift shop."
"Or maybe you did that to throw suspicion off yourself." Paul decided as he crossed his arms. "You could have timed it so that I would catch you outside with the package and you could give me your little story."
Jayden closed her eyes in disbelief. "And how was I suppose to know when you were going to be walking outside." She narrowed her eyes as she looked back at him. "I swear I think fatherhood is making you crazy and the baby isn't even here."
"You would know, you've been crazy for a while now." He answered almost sweetly.
She snarled at him. "Well at least I'm comforted by one thing in my insanity. When you son is unable to bear your tyranny any longer, which will happen, he will always be able to come to Aunt Jayden."
"Do you actually think I would allow my child to have any contact with the maniac who's trying to harm his mother?" He growled.
She smiled up at him innocently. "Better be careful. I can easily turn this around so that the police believe you to be the monster. Then you'll never get to see your son." She taunted.
Jayden was saved from Paul's anger by the arrival of the sweet-faced volunteer. "Oh honey don't you look adorable. Just come from church did you?" The old lady asked.
"Actually, yes I have. A wonderful service on the sins of the father." She improvised, shooting Paul a look. Ignoring the anger on his face she turned back to the volunteer. "You delivered a package to a friend of mine yesterday, Miss Levesque."
"Oh yes, the poor thing. She's having a hard time of it isn't she?" The eighty year old asked.
"Yes she is Miss Verisey." Jayden responded reading her nametag. "The package you delivered cheered her up so much. We wanted to thank the person who sent it but there was no name attached. Perhaps you could help us out?"
"Oh of course my dear." Miss Verisey replied. "Excuse me a minute." She said as another volunteer caught her attention.
"Very smooth lying." Paul whispered in her ear, impressed despite himself.
"We need the information don't we?" She whispered back angrily. She plastered a sweet smile on her face as the little old lady came back.
"Sorry about that. Now where were we?" She asked distracted.
"The package you brought to my friend yesterday." Jayden prompted. She tried to hide her impatience as the old lady struggled to remember.
"Oh yes, the one that sweet faced boy brought." She smiled in triumph.
Paul pushed his way forward. "What boy?" He demanded.
Miss Verisey blinked up at him. "Oh hello, can I help you?"
Jayden stepped on his foot before he could shout his anger. "This is Miss Levesque's husband. He's very anxious to thank the person who brought the package."
"Oh aren't you sweet." She crooned. "I bet you're anxious for that baby to get here."
Paul struggled to smile at her. "As long as he's healthy I'll be happy." He continued at a nudge from Jayden. "Could you tell me about this boy who brought the package?"
"Oh him. He's in here all the time because of his job. He always takes a shine to one or two of the patients and brings them little gifts." She smiled. "In fact I just delivered another gift from him just a little while ago."
"What?" Paul asked as his heart stopped.
"Well honey, I was sure you say me in the hallway. I passed right by you going into your wife's room. She was asleep so I placed it on the table."
She started in surprise as Paul took off running. "We'll be right back." Jayden threw over her shoulder as she raced after him.
Arena office, Detroit
Smirking in triumph Adam walked toward the office Vince was using while at the arena. He was confident he was going to be praised for his work and offered the title shot he rightfully deserved. Excited he barely resisted the urge to rub his hands together.
Opening the door he sauntered in, yelping in surprise when the big black chair turned around to revel Dave. "Where's Vince?" He demanded angrily.
"Vince didn't request this meeting. I did." The big man answered calmly.
"This is bull." Adam decided as he whipped around to leave. His flight was stopped as Shawn and mark stepped up to block the doorway.
"You know, you really aren't as smart as you look." Dave commented as he leaned back in the big chair. "Anybody in the business will tell you that it isn't wise to alienate the people you work with."
Adam turned around slowly so that he was facing the older man. "I'm not one of your strays. I don't give a shit about you liking me."
"Now see, I told you he was untrained in certain aspects." Shawn commented as they moved in closer.
Mark nodded. "As part of the older generation I believe it's out civic duty to educate him." He remarked as he shoved the younger man into a chair.
Adam growled but resisted the urge to come up swinging.
"You made a mistake last night, one that could be detrimental to your career." Dave began conversationally.
"How is what I did any different from what your precious Randy's been doing?" Adam asked his expression turning into a sneer.
"What Randy, Shelton, and everyone else who plays the occasional prank, does are harmless and funny. You however set out to deliberately harm someone emotionally, hoping that I would then harm Randy physically." Dave explained leaning forward as he placed his hands on the desk.
"So?" Adam asked belligerently. "What are you going to do? Beat me up?"
"Oh I think we can figure out something much more satisfying." Shawn decided as he moved to lean up against the side of the desk.
"Being such an arrogant snot you didn't think this through." Mark started. "You didn't think who we are."
"Far as I can see you'll are a bunch of old guys past your prime." The younger man taunted, smiling savagely.
"Us old guys are very well connected. Vince is a very personal friend of mine. He adores my daughter. And he pays close attention to any suggests I make." Mark informed him in an unruffled voice.
Shawn buffed his nails on his shirt. "I've had some of the best storylines this company has produced in the last decade. As a result I am one of the head people in the story writing department." He grinned at the look on the younger man's face. "Little known fact. Truth is if I wanted you kissing someone's ass I could make it happen." He waited a minute. "Literally."
Dave stood up and leaned over the desk drawing Adams attention to him. "Perhaps you didn't know, but as I am the best friend of Vince's son-in-law, I am the godfather to his soon to be grandchild. How much influence do you think I have with the family?"
"Face it man, you picked the wrong family to mess with. We can do anything we want with you." Mark growled in his ear.
Adam bit his lip as he hurriedly tried to come up with a solution. He could feel sweat soaking his shirt, the cold precipitation pulling at the base of his spine. "What do you want from me?" He asked hoarsely.
"I want this to stop." Dave demanded. "No more snide remarks, no more threats, fights, pranks, whatever. You leave my family alone."
Adam shook his head in denial. "You can't expect me to just lay there and take what their dishing out." He protested.
"First of all, they only responded to what you started. As long as you don't provoke them they won't bother you." Dave stated.
"And everything's wiped clean? There will be no repercussions from what happened last night?" Adam demanded.
"Everything stays in this room, until the next time you screw up." Mark explained.
"Let us know what you decide." Shawn said as he gave the younger man's chair a kick. Walking across the room he held the door open for his friends.
Dave leaned down to growl in Adams ear. "Just for your information, my kid had nothing to do with the stunt that was pulled on you."
Hospital
"This has got to stop." Paul demeaned as he shut his wife's door.
"I know that, but I don't have anything to do with it." Jayden protested as they walked back toward the volunteer's desk.
"You were already standing there before I showed up. How do I know you hadn't sent her to Steph's room with the package." He asked as he stepped in front of her.
She gave a little scream of frustration. "Don't you ever listen? She described the person as a sweet-faced boy. Do I look like a boy?" She stepped around him. "Now why don't we go ask her his name so that we might actually stop this?"
Paul kept quiet as he trailed her up to the desk, the colorful bag hanging from his hand.
"Excuse me." She called out to a second volunteer with tightly curled blue hair. "I'm looking for Miss Verisey. Do you know where she is?"
"It's after four. Miss Verisey's son came and took her home." The dour lady answered.
"Thank you." Jayden said before turning away. "Damn." She snapped. "The one good lead we have and it goes home for the night."
"What now?" Paul asked as they walked over to a small sitting area.
"I suggest we take a look at what the monster brought this time." She said indicating the package he still held. "It's a good thing that Steph was still sleeping."
"A small amount of luck for us." Paul agreed. He eyed the package. "There aren't going to be more bugs pouring out of this thing is there?" He asked in disgust.
"How am I supposed to know?" Jayden asked in exasperation as she grabbed the package. Biting her lip she pulled open the top of the bag as wide as it would go. Hesitantly she peered inside, frowning in confusion at what she saw.
Paul looked on as she drew out a sheath of pamphlets. "What are those?"
"They appear to be advertisements on a funeral home. Look here, one of the caskets has been circled in red ink." She pointed out.
"That's it?" He asked as he took the papers from her.
Jayden nodded, having turned the bag inside out.
"I don't like this. It's too tame for him. Yesterday we get a dead rat and beetles and today we get information on a funeral home?" He asked worriedly.
"Maybe he's tired of being anonymous. Maybe he wanted to let Steph know who he was." She speculated.
Paul held the papers out in confusion. "How does this tell us who he is?" He demanded.
"Think about it. The volunteer told us that he's here a lot in relation to his job. Don't funeral homes come here to do pick up's?"
"Somehow I don't see them wheeling a dead body out the front door." Paul said sarcastically.
"It was a thought okay. I'll go to the funeral home tomorrow and see if they know anything." She answered, rubbing at her eyes, as the headache grew stronger.
"What's next?" He asked softly aggravated at the situation.
"You are going to go up and stay with your wife. For all we know he isn't done tonight. I need to go home and sort some stuff out." She answered almost absently.
Paul grabbed her arm to keep her from leaving. "I won't be left out of this investigation."
She shook him off. "So you believe I'm looking for the guy now instead of actually being the one behind it?"
He shrugged. "Either way if I'm with you I'll know what's happening."
Later at Jayden's apartment.
Jayden rubbed her head as she wandered into her office. Dropping the bag containing the pamphlets she turned on her computer and pulled up the file she wanted. She moaned when the pain in her head made the words on the screen blur.
She pulled a bottle of pills from her desk drawer and swallowed three of them dry. Closing her eyes she stumbled into her bedroom by feel and flopped down onto her bed. When the phone rang she almost screamed in pain as the sound reverberated in her head. She kept her eyes closed as she reached out blindly and jerked the cord from the wall. She could still hear the kitchen phone ringing but it was far enough away to be tolerable. Curling into a ball she dropped off into sleep.
Three hours later she pulled herself from the bed filling hung-over. Walking into the kitchen she grabbed a bottle of water and checked the answering machine.
"Jayden, you must be out. If you want to talk give me a call. I hope you're having a good day." Dave's voice came over the machine.
Biting her lip she hit the erase button. She sipped the water as she debated calling him back. She was still debating the question when she stepped into the shower. "I made a decision and I need to stick with it."
After stepping out of the refreshingly cool water she was toweling her hair dry when she heard the faint sound of the kitchen phone ringing. She cocked her head at the bedside phone before she remembered pulling the cord out of the wall. Stepping over she plugged it back in, checking the caller id before answering.
"What?" She demanded when she picked up the phone.
"What a greeting. Are you mad at me?" Randy asked on the other end of the line.
"Why would I be?" She asked sternly. "The last time I talked to you Dave was walking towards you with murder in his eye. For all I know you've been dead the last 16 hours."
"So you're saying I should have called you last night and tell you how things went." Randy observed unable to keep the laughter of his voice.
"So, what happened?" She asked exasperated.
"We talked, ironed everything out." He told her.
"No blows were exchanged?" She asked in surprise. "Did the planet stop spinning, the sun stop shining. Cause you know it has to be a miracle when two mean actually express their feelings and communicate with each other."
"Ha, ha."
"So did you find out who actually set it up?" She asked as she ran a brush through her hair.
"Yea, but I can't do anything about it." He pouted. "Apparently the elders already took care of the little problem and we are forbidden from interacting with him again."
Jayden laughed as she pictured him sulking.