Disclaimers: I own nothing or anyone associated or affiliated with TNA. I own only the original characters. This is just a fictional story that came from my imagination.
Chapter Content & Trigger Warnings: Some violence
Chapter 16
Joe headed downstairs a few minutes later, after stopping into a guest bathroom and taking some deep breaths to calm his thudding heart. Ella just had that effect on him. He didn't want to go downstairs and meet Jeff with a flushed, heated face especially after having been with Ella in her room. So he splashed some cold water onto his skin and blotted it dry.
Once he had himself under control, he went down to the dining room and was greeted by the smell of pancakes and frying eggs coming from the kitchen. He smiled at Nina and Jeff and then noticed AJ sitting at the large dining table.
"Hey Joe," AJ greeted cautiously, giving Joe a little wave. "How's it going?"
"As good as can be expected," Joe replied, sitting down next to him. "What brings you back out here?"
"Well, I just wanted to make sure there's nothing else I can do to help a little before I get back on the road," AJ answered. "Plus, I wanted to check in on Ella before I leave too."
Joe felt a pang of jealousy and fought the urge to shove AJ's face into his plate of pancakes. Before he could act on that notion, however, Jeff spoke. "Did Ella drink the coffee?" The older man sat down at the table with his food, obviously trying to change the subject. He had apparently detected the hostility in Joe's eyes when AJ mentioned his niece.
"Yeah," Joe answered. He smiled up at Nina in thanks as she entered the room and placed a plate of pancakes and eggs before him. "The Benedryl is either not working yet, or she's fighting it."
Jeff drawled a curse. "What will it take to get her to sleep?"
Joe shook his head. "I don't know. Let's just wait and see if it finally takes effect, and we'll go from there."
"She didn't want to come down and eat a little," Nina asked, as she too sat down at the table.
Joe shook his head. "She said she wanted to take a bath and be by herself for a while."
"She's going to have to start eating too," Jeff said. "But we'll work on one thing at a time. It's more important for her to sleep at the moment."
The doorbell chimed then, and Nina got up to go answer the door.
"Anyway, I'll check on her after breakfast," Joe said, taking a bite of pancake.
"You could be worried over nothing," AJ interjected. "She may already be asleep while we're—"
He was interrupted by Nina's frantic voice and numerous footsteps hurrying for the dining room.
"Jeff," Nina rushed into the room, breathless. Her eyes were wide in fright, and tears already streamed down her face. "Detective Smith and Yandell are here," she said as the men stepped in behind her. Her panic was etched on her youthful face. "They have new information. Ella—it's not over! Fournier will be coming for her! He's not going to give up!"
Jeff and Joe shot to their feet in a matter of a second's notice. "What are you talking about," Jeff demanded, glaring at the two detectives. He held his sobbing wife and tried to comfort her as the cops began to explain the situation's turn of events.
Joe didn't stay to listen. He darted across the room and flew for the stairs in the next instant.
"Ella," he called once he reached the second story. He ran down the hall and threw open her door, suddenly frantic with the need to have her in his sights.
"No."
The room was empty.
He ran in to see if she was in the bathroom, but the bathroom's door was open.
And Ella wasn't anywhere in sight.
}i{}i{}i{}i{
Ella walked into the snowy woods as quickly as she could, determination in her eyes. In search of her parents' resting place, she hurried deeper into the forest. Jeff had explained days ago about the clearing he'd made in the center of the woods on his property. Nathan and Andrea Roberts were buried there with a beautiful memorial and joint headstone.
Ella had no way of knowing how much time she would have before Joe or Jeff realized she was missing, so she'd quickly grabbed her coat, and worked out a plan to leave the house once Joe left her bedroom. Opening the French doors, she immediately noticed snow once again floating to the ground.
Dreading the freezing temperature, but resolved to do what she had to do, she discovered the rose trellis next to her balcony. Knowing she did not have any other options, she hurriedly—but cautiously—scrambled over the balcony's railing and sidestepped her way to the trellis. Careful to not injure herself further, she managed to climb down to the ground by carefully placing her feet in the openings on the web-like framework.
Now, as Ella wandered through the wooded area, she realized with dread that she should make haste. A heavy drowsiness was settling over her like a dark storm cloud, and she knew it wasn't safe to be so far from home. The last thing she wanted was to finally pass out from exhaustion—which she knew was inevitable at the rate she was going—and for no one to even realize she wasn't in her room. Let alone the worry of freezing to death from the icy temperatures.
"Lord, please help me find them and say goodbye to them by myself," she prayed. "Then Joe or Uncle Jeff, or Aunt Nina can come with me to visit them from then on if they want. Just please…please, let me see them alone, just once."
She could not explain her reasoning other than the fact she had been alone with her parents when they died, with the exception of the monsters that killed them. And since they had shared the horror of that night, she needed what she said to her parents to be between only the three of them.
Feeling even sleepier, she stopped a minute to take some deep breaths, hoping the cold air would shock her lungs and help to wake her a little. She looked up and saw she'd finally reached an area where she could see through the denseness of the trees. It looked as though the clearing was just beyond them. Suspecting she had reached her destination, she weaved her way through the timber and saw the clearing was indeed the grave-site.
The graves lay side by side, decorated with several pots of poinsettias. They both shared a monumental, heart-shaped granite headstone. In the center of it, was a glassed-in portrait of her parents' wedding day. They were in each other's arms smiling blissfully into the camera.
Beneath the headstone, were the beautifully engraved words:
Goodbye to a loving mother and father, a cherished sister and brother, an amazing aunt and uncle. While their lives were short on this earth, they will never be forgotten. Loved by all who knew them, they will be dearly missed, but will live on in our hearts forever.
"Oh my God…it's perfect," Ella whispered, lightly brushing some snow off the top of the headstone. Tears burned her eyes as the surreal surroundings of the situation finally hit home. "I can't believe you're both gone…forever." She wiped tears away with her already cold fingers. "I want you to know I love you both so much. I never even got to tell you that one last time. It all happened so fast." She took a shuddering breath and wiped more tears from her eyes. "As much as I love my family and friends, and as much as I love Joe…this pain is almost more than I can bear. Knowing you died, evidently because of me…" A sob ripped from her then and echoed throughout the trees. "Why," she screamed toward the sky. "Why did they have to leave me? I need them so much!" Exhausted from her emotional outburst, she collapsed to the ground between the graves and covered her face with her hands, sobbing in earnest. "I just want them back. Please, God…let this be a nightmare. Please, give them back to me." She felt herself falling back against the tombstone and told herself she would just close her eyes for a moment. She shivered as she felt snow soaking through her jeans, and fresh falling snow clung to her face.
"Sweetheart, get out of here, now!"
Ella's head shot up.
"Mama," she whispered, gingerly climbing to her feet. Despite her shock at hearing her mother's voice, she still felt so sluggish and sleepy.
"Ella, take the note to Jeff! Leave NOW!"
Clear as a bell, she heard her father's voice next.
"Oh, God…I'm asleep…" Ella uttered, smacking at her face. Thinking her chronic nightmare had taken on a new aspect, she grabbed some snow and threw the slushy ice on her face, intending to shock herself awake. She remained where she was, with no acknowledgment of leaving her dream, and coming back to reality. "I am awake," she realized out loud. At that precise moment, her eyes fell on a card propped up against one of the baskets of poinsettias. It looked like a typical sympathy card, but she wondered why it would be left at the graves instead of being sent to her or her family. She grabbed the card and opened it up.
Her breathing became erratic as she read the boldly typed text.
Go with my employee. You wouldn't want one of your loved ones to have an unfortunate accident. Would you?
"No…" she whispered.
"Baby, another of Fournier's men is close. RUN!"
At that moment, Ella heard a loud snap not too far away from her; the sound of cracking limbs.
She did not take time to wonder how she was hearing the voices of her mother and father. She just knew she needed to heed the warning and get back to the mansion. Bolting, she shoved the card securely into her jeans pocket as she ran for home. She ducked through the trees, trying to keep the assailant from seeing her. She thought she was moving quickly and getting closer to home when she passed by her parents' graves again.
"Oh, no," she panted from her exertion and weakly collapsed onto her bottom. "Circles…I'm going in circles." She had not been in the woods since she was a kid, and evidently lost her—at one time—impeccable sense of direction.
"It's the end of the line, girl."
Ella looked over her shoulder, fear darkening her eyes. She saw a thin, wiry man with long red hair slicked back in a ponytail. He stood merely ten feet away with what appeared to be a dart gun in his hand. She began blindly feeling along the ground beside her, praying she would find something to use as a weapon. Her hand closed over a fist-sized rock and she grasped it tightly, hiding it from the man's view.
She tried to calm herself as she thought of a plan. "What do you want with me?"
The man smiled slightly and held out some handcuffs. "We can do this the easy way or the easier way," he told her. "Either you wear these cuffs and come with me, or I shoot you full of sodium pentathol. Makes me no difference, girl."
Ella could feel the blood drain from her head. Fighting to stay conscious, she forced herself to breathe deeply. "You work for Fournier, don't you," she asked, stalling for time to think.
"ELLA!"
Ella—baby, call out to us!"
"Where are you?!"
She heard the voices of her uncle, Joe, and AJ calling for her. They sounded angry or frightened, she couldn't figure out which. Maybe both. Either way, she couldn't have been more relieved to hear them. She could also hear a couple other male voices yelling for her. She tried to bluff a triumphant smirk. "They'll have guns."
The man grinned back at her and opened up his coat, pulling out a gun of his own.
Ella did not have to fake the fear that crossed her face. But she had no intentions of going with the man, or of him hurting any of her loved ones. "I'll go with you willingly. But…"
"But what?"
"I-I've hurt my ankle. I need some help walking."
The man puffed out a sigh, obviously irritated. "Fine. I'll carry you."
Ella watched as the man walked toward her, and felt fear mount in the pit of her stomach like a chunk of lead.
Lord, please help me.
Her hand tightened around the rock till her fingers ached. As the man bent down to lift her up, she quickly brought the large stone up, and aimed it for his head. He somehow sensed her intent however, and dodged away from the blow. Still, he did not move fast enough, and she cracked the rock onto his shoulder. The man cried out in a mixture of pain and fury, reflexively firing his gun off as he fell to his knees. Luckily, it was aimed toward the sky, and posed no threat.
Ella took advantage of her adrenaline rush, and scrambled over to the man with the hopes of grabbing his gun; at the very least the tranquilizer gun. She reared back and kicked him in the ribs and then stepped down roughly on the hand that held the gun, digging the heel of her boot into his wrist deliberately. At the very audible crunching of bones, the man growled in a mixture of pain and rage.
Then he used his free arm to sweep Ella's legs out from under her. She screamed as she fell backward onto the cold ground. The man lunged on top of her and gave her a hard smack across the face with his uninjured hand. Ella grunted from the pain of the hit, but fought to keep a level head.
Drawing her fist back, she punched him in the eye. When that did not do much to faze him, she drove the heel of her hand into his nose. This did get his attention. He hastily rolled off of her, howling in pain. Heady from the success of her fight, Ella snatched the gun from him and shakily stood to her feet, pointing the firearm at him.
"Where is Fournier?"
"Ohhh," the man groaned, rising to his feet. "Now you've gone and done it."
Ella pointed the gun downward at the man's left foot and fired. A second later the man screeched and grabbed his foot.
"The next time, I aim for your knee," she said, venom thick in her voice. "Now, where is Fournier? And what exactly does he want?"
"I'll never tell you. Nothing you do to me can ever match the torture he'd put me through for telling."
Ella fired again, and the man fell to the ground holding on to his knee and sobbing. "Are you sure about that," she asked, feeling exhilarated from the amount of power she suddenly held. "I may have not been able to save my parents, but so help me, I WILL keep the rest of my family safe."
The man looked up into her face, and saw the young woman in a new light. She had pure malice etched across her pretty features as she stalked toward him. There was an icy contempt in her blue eyes despite the tears shining in them. She stared down at him and aimed the gun a bit higher than her last target.
How about I shoot your femoral artery next? You'd be dead in a couple of minutes."
"Go ahead," the man shouted, angry that he was bested by a female. A young female, at that.
"What does he want with me? A ransom? TELL ME," Ella screamed back. Losing her temper, she drew her leg back and kicked him in the stomach. "WHY DID HE KILL MY PARENTS?"
Suddenly, Ella felt the gun fly out of her hands, and then she was lifted swiftly and smoothly into the air by a pair of strong arms. In the next instant, she came down to the ground on her feet, and was tucked securely against a large body. Her instinct to fight kicked in again and she drew back her fist, preparing to punch her newest attacker. Her fist was caught securely in a larger hand before her punch could connect, and her gaze shot upward to find Joe glaring down at her. AJ stood beside him with a look of concern on his face.
"What do you think you're doing out here," Joe growled angrily at her.
She struggled against him. "Let go of me! He knows where Fournier is!"
"Ella," Joe yelled. "Stop it!"
She found herself wanting to lash back at Joe's harsh, scolding tone, but she knew he was only angry due to her having worried him. Her eyes caught movement over Joe's and AJ's shoulders, and her gaze shifted to the attacker behind them. The man had somehow crawled over to the fallen gun, and grabbed it up, aiming the firearm toward Joe's back. Then she watched in horror as AJ dove toward the culprit, preparing to take him to the ground. "AJ—NO," she screamed. At the same moment, she realized she had to get Joe out of harm's way. She was frightened for AJ, but she had to save Joe.
Later, she would not remember how she reacted so quickly nor would she figure out how she instantly knew what to do, she was just thankful she had.
Her first reaction was to try and turn Joe so she took the bullet instead of him, but she knew his strength was too much for her to achieve such a maneuver. Instead, she hooked her leg around one of his and used his own leverage against him. With a fairly strong shove and using her leg to yank his from under him, she managed to take him to the ground just as a shot sounded off. She screamed in fear, and clung to Joe, trying to shelter him as much as possible.
Terrified she would find AJ lying motionless on the ground, she glanced over at him. But he wasn't lying down. He was yanking the attacker to his feet and shoving him hard against a tree.
"Joe… Ella… Are you all right," he demanded, not taking his eyes off the man for one second.
The shock wore off from what Ella had just done, and Joe quickly but gently nudged her off of him. Then he jumped to his feet and ran at the attacker, who then began struggling against AJ's hold. Apparently, the sight of the large, angry Samoan flying toward him was enough to make him want to drop his assignment all together.
Dazed from the past few seconds' events, Ella stood shakily to her feet and watched as Joe dragged the man away from AJ by his collar and landed a punch to his face. A stream of expletives blasted from his mouth as he attacked the man.
"Joe…" she uttered softly. She had never seen such fury on his face before. He of course always appeared angry during TNA Impact, but that was just acting. She truly believed Joe wished to kill the man.
"AJ, get Ella out of here," he said calmly. "Go find Jeff."
"N-no," Ella said. "I'm not going-"
"LEAVE!"
She jumped back from the rage in his voice but stood her ground, knowing it wasn't really her he was angry at. She watched then as Joe roared and slammed the attacker's head into a tree, knocking him out cold. Then he turned around and advanced on her. The look on his face was enough to chill her blood. She stepped backward until her back bumped into a tree trunk.
AJ looked uneasy. He knew Joe would never hurt Ella, but he didn't like the look on his friend's face either.
"Please," tears of remorse filled her eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry-"
She cried out softly as Joe pinned her gently but firmly against the tree. From a slight distance, they could hear Jeff's and the other men's voices heading their way.
"Joe…" she heard AJ say softly. "Take it easy."
"What were you thinking, coming out here by yourself," Joe demanded, ignoring AJ. Determined to get his point across to her, his black eyes burned into hers. "Do you realize what could have happened? Do you know how terrified I was when…" He halted his words, not ready to reveal the cops' news to her yet. "…W-when I couldn't find you?"
"I-I'm s-sorry, Joe," she whispered. "Please…let go of me. You're s-scaring me."
Instantly, his hold loosened. He could see her eyes glazing, threatening to take her back to New Year's Eve night. As angry as he felt, the last thing he wanted was for her to fear him.
"Don't you EVER," he enunciated, "try to shield me again. Never try to take a bullet, hit, blade—or anything else—for me, ever again. Do you understand me Ella Roberts?"
"No," she nearly shouted, sudden anger creasing her forehead. "No, I don't, Joe. I won't watch you get killed. I'd rather die myself! If you leave me, it'll be because you don't love me anymore—not due to death as long as I can help it."
"Ella," Joe started through clenched teeth. "I can't—"
"Guys," AJ cut in. "Please stop. This guy is gonna wake up soon. We need to find the cops and let them handle him."
"Cops," Ella asked. "What's going on?"
Joe glared at AJ. "Nothing. They're just here to update on your case." He did not get to hear the details of the actual reason they had paid the Jarretts a visit, but he knew it was to, indeed, update about Fournier, as well as Ella's case.
"What did they say?"
"I don't know everything yet," Joe answered curtly. "I was busy trying to find you. But they did tell us Fournier isn't going to give up on you. And I'd say their right," he snapped, gesturing to the unconscious man on the ground.
"I'm sorry," she managed a shaky whisper. "I didn't mean to scare you. I just really needed to see my parents."
"And I told you I'd take you to see them when it's safe."
"But, Joe," she cried, "You don't understand. I needed to see them by myself! Except for those monsters, I was the only one with them when they died! I needed to say goodbye to them, alone."
For an instant, Joe's expression softened. He could understand her need. But it did not change the fact that Fournier was still after her.
Ella's adrenaline rush came to a swift end as her legs nearly buckled. She caught herself and leaned against the tree behind her to keep from falling.
Joe glanced over at AJ, "Could you take her back? I need to stay with this guy and make sure he doesn't wake up and leave."
"Sure," AJ replied, moving toward Ella. "I'll find Jeff or the cops and let them know you're here."
Joe nodded.
With that, AJ stooped and lifted Ella up into his arms.
"AJ, I can walk," Ella protested, barely stifling a yawn.
"No, darlin', you can't either," the southerner drawled. "You're about to drop. And besides, that boyfriend of yours would let loose with his wrath if I let you walk all the way back to the house."
As if he'd sensed their conversation, Joe called out, "Ella, you better be resting on your bed when I get back."
AJ continued on the way back to the house, and within minutes, crossed paths with Jeff and the two detectives.
"What's happened," Jeff demanded, seeing AJ carrying his exhausted niece.
"Fournier sent someone to grab Ella," AJ answered. "Joe's keeping an eye on him back there," he motioned with his head.
The detectives hurried ahead to arrest the attacker.
"Ella—honey, are you okay," Jeff asked, turning Ella's face to his.
She nodded, "Yes, I'm fine. Just so sleepy." She rubbed underneath her eyes. "I really need some coffee."
"Get her inside, and see if Nina can fix her a cup," Jeff told AJ. "I'm going to go find Joe."
AJ nodded and continued walking for the house as Jeff headed deeper into the woods.
}i{}i{}i{}i{
Nina came downstairs to join the men in the dining room, and prepared the coffee maker to brew a fresh pot for everyone.
"How's Ella," Joe asked, sitting down at the table with his friends and the detectives. He'd grown angry at himself for directing his frustration toward her earlier.
"Ella's okay," Nina said, patting his shoulder. "She's trying to calm down right now. She was so frightened I took her another cup of decaf. Hopefully, the lack of caffeine will aid in her falling asleep."
"I'm sure I didn't help her feel calm," Joe said, shaking his head. "I need to apologize to her. God, I can't believe I treated her like that—again. I just can't handle seeing her in danger, and I guess I tend to take my frustrations out on her."
"Well, she does need to know she can't just go off wandering by herself right now," Jeff said, trying to reassure Joe. "It's not fair for her, but it's how it has to be right now. Besides," he drawled, with a slight raise of his eyebrow. "Couples argue. Ain't no way around that."
Joe felt his face burn at Jeff's words. He knew his feelings for Ella were obvious, but he wasn't used to the idea of their relationship being discussed so openly. Up till a few hours ago, only he and Ella talked about their relationship. It felt strange to hear her uncle mention it so nonchalantly. Before he could open his mouth to reply, he saw Jeff's mental gears turning, almost as if the older wrestler had something to talk about, but didn't know how to broach the subject. He didn't have a chance to question Jeff on what he was thinking before Nina changed the subject.
"So, what happened to the guy out in the woods?"
Detective Smith took the opportunity to answer. "We cuffed him, read him his rights, and called a unit to come out—along with an ambulance—to take him to the hospital."
"Hospital," Nina questioned.
Smith nodded and the corners of his mouth twitched as though he were fighting a smile. "Yes. Ella managed to break his hand, a couple ribs, and his clavicle. She also shot him in the foot and knee."
"What?!"
Jeff nearly choked on a sip of his coffee.
Joe chuckled, pride evident on his face. "Wow…and I didn't even manage to break his nose?"
"We'd have gladly taken him in and booked him ourselves, but he's going to remain in the hospital for a while. Plus, we still have things we need to discuss with all of you," Detective Yandell somberly interjected. "However, we will be talking to him soon."
Jeff cleared his throat, "You said this wasn't over. What can you tell us?" He looked over at Nina then, thinking of their young daughters. "Wait…where's Jennifer and Kayla? I don't think they should hear any of this. It would scare them."
"While you were all outside, I got them some breakfast and had them to eat in the den," she answered. "I told them to eat and watch some TV while the grown-ups talk."
Jeff nodded as he rubbed a hand down his face. Joe could see the stress wearing on him and wondered how much more the older man could handle.
Detective Smith pulled a photograph out of a large envelope and showed it to the Jarretts. Joe looked over at the picture as well and saw a mug shot of a man with blond hair and light blue eyes. He appeared to be in his mid to late twenties, and had a very belligerent smirk on his face. Somehow Joe knew what the detective would say next.
"The DNA in the blood we found matched the DNA of this man. He's the one who's after Ella. And your brother-in-law was right. His name is Jacques Fournier."
"Should we know him," Nina asked, looking at her husband. "He doesn't look familiar."
"Most likely not," Detective Yandell answered. "He only had connections to the Robertses as far as our records show."
"He's French, right," Joe asked.
"Correct," Smith replied.
"Why doesn't he have even just a slight French accent then? The man I saw trying to kidnap Ella had no accent at all."
"He probably took precautions with his appearance and voice. He's very fluent in both English and French. He can completely lose his native accent if he chooses to." Detective Yandell sighed and ran a hand over his dark hair. "Mr. and Mrs. Jarrett, I'm not going to lie to you. He's a bad guy. Really bad."
"Who is he," Jeff asked. "I mean…what did he do? Why did my family get mixed up with him?"
"He wasn't always bad. Fournier was a normal guy at one time," Detective Smith began. "He had a wife and a baby on the way a few years ago. And one day while she was pregnant, his wife got into a car accident. A drunk driver hit her. And that's when Fournier lost his mind completely."
"What happened," Nina asked. "I assume his wife died."
The detective nodded, "Yes, and the unborn child too. They were going to have a little boy."
"What happened with Fournier after she died," Jeff asked, dreading the answer.
"She didn't die right away," Smith said. "She had a lot of internal bleeding and damage, so she was rushed to the hospital for surgery. A top-notch surgeon came in to perform the operations, but unfortunately the wife died in the middle of it all."
Jeff nodded, "Yes, but…What does that have to do with my sister and brother-in-law? And especially with Ella?"
Detective Smith took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. They had reached the part of the ordeal he dreaded to explain. "Mr. Jarrett…Your brother-in-law was the surgeon who operated on Fournier's wife."
"That's insane," Joe suddenly exclaimed. "Why would he take his wife and child's death out on Ella?"
"That's correct. The whole situation is insane along with Jacques Fournier. However, there's more to the situation than you're thinking," the detective said, realizing Joe had jumped the gun and thought Fournier's logic was based on revenge.
If only it was that simple, Smith thought regretfully. I have no idea how they'll handle the sick, twisted truth. "Jacques Fournier lost his mind after his wife and child died," he reminded them all. "He blamed Ella's father for her death as well as his child's."
"You're telling me he killed my family because Nathan couldn't save his wife and child?" Jeff's hands clenched into fists. "Why didn't he go after the drunk driver who was truly to blame?"
"The drunk driver was found dead in his apartment a week after his wife's accident."
"And the cops arrested Jacques Fournier," Joe asked, gesturing to the mug shot. "Why is he free now," he demanded incredulously.
"There wasn't any evidence to convict him with," Detective Smith replied. "The drunk driver died of food poisoning. He was found dead in his recliner with a bowl of pasta salad next to him. Upon his autopsy, Bacillus cereus—a fatal form of food poisoning—was discovered in his stomach content. Because the pasta sat on a table next to his body, it was also tested. The results showed Bacillus cereus to be rampant in the food sample. It's assumed the guy just thought he had a bad stomach bug, so he didn't get to a doctor. As for Jacques…He was initially brought in for questioning, but actually got arrested for refusing to cooperate."
"But you think he did it, don't you," Joe persisted. "Otherwise, why tell us all of this?"
The detective sighed, "Jacques Fournier is a botanist. He studies every kind of plant…algae, fungi, spores, bacteria… you get the point. Because the drunk driver died of food poisoning, there's a possibility Fournier contaminated the pasta salad. As for why I'm telling you all of this…He threatened Nathan Roberts the night his wife and baby died. When Nathan came out of the operating room to inform him of his wife and child's deaths, Fournier lost control and blurted out that Dr. Roberts would pay for killing them."
The truth hit Jeff like a slap to the face.
"H-he planned on killing Ella and Andrea in front of Nathan, didn't he," he asked, fighting off a surge of emotion.
The detective remained silent for a moment, hating to dig the knife in deeper on the grieving family.
"I'm afraid that wasn't the plan. At least not completely," Detective Yandell spoke up, giving his partner a break from the heavy discussion. "This all happened about three years ago, when Ella was only fifteen." He pulled a small cassette player from his jacket pocket. "This is a cassette that came from your family's answering machine shortly after Mrs. Fournier's death."
He punched in the 'play' button and they could all hear Ella's father giving the greeting to tell the caller to leave a message. Then a female electronic voice stated: "Thursday—March seventeenth—One—New—Message." In the next instant, a man with a thick French accent practically screamed out his message:
"You'll pay, Roberts! You'll pay dearly for what you took from me! Someday, somehow, you will return to me what you've stolen! You will give me what's rightfully mine!"
"Good God…" Joe said. "That's him. He didn't have an accent, but that's clearly the man's voice." He froze then. Something about the beginning of the tape made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
"What is it," Detective Yandell asked, seeing the young man's face darken.
"Play—play the tape again. Just the part where the woman's voice states about the new message."
Confused as to why the least important part of the tape concerned Joe, Yandell did as he asked nonetheless. Within a few seconds, they all heard the female's announcement again, and Yandell clicked the cassette player off.
"Joe, what's wrong," AJ asked, knowing his friend had discovered something no one else caught.
"March seventeenth, three years ago... Ella was fifteen. That would've been my seventeenth birthday, AJ," Joe said quietly. "That year—that very day—Ella had flown to California for my party."
"Fournier knew she wasn't home," Jeff thought out loud. "He knew Nathan and Andrea wouldn't want her to know about all of this. And he didn't want her to know either, because it would make kidnapping her a lot easier if she was clueless of the whole situation. He's been watching Ella—all of them—the whole time."
"That last sentence on the tape…" AJ interjected, "That's what Ella told us he said to Nathan the night of the murders, right?…'You will return to me what you've stolen.'"
Detective Smith sighed. "He of course didn't mean that in a literal sense. He's just sane enough to realize Nathan can't bring his wife and child back from the dead." He paused for a moment, seeing the confusion in the family's eyes. Or is it denial, he wondered.
"What did he mean then," Nina asked, dreading the answer.
"On New Year's Eve, he planned to kill your sister," he said, directing his gaze to Jeff. "As he believed Nathan killed his wife. And I'm positive he intended to kidnap Ella, and then…" he trailed off, too sick to his stomach to finish his sentence.
"And then get her pregnant," Jeff finished for him, finally realizing the horrific truth.
