A Fresh Start
Chapter Two Hundred Fourteen
Early Monday morning, Jeffrey walks into his office. Stace is at her desk, waiting. "Good morning, Sir." She says, handing him, his messages.
"Good morning."
"Did you get settled?" She asks, as he flips through the message.
"Yes, actually. Although I'm sure I'll find Sam upstairs this evening rearranging what I put away yesterday."
"It's a woman thing, Sir." She says, with a smile as he nods. "Would you like a cup of coffee?"
"No. Did Lizzie Spaulding's broker call Friday afternoon?" He asks.
"No sir."
"Okay." He says, turning for his office. He stops and turns back to her. "When is my first appointment?"
"Ten, sir."
"Thanks, I'll be in my office." He says, walking towards his door.
"Of course, sir."
He walks into his office, closing the door behind him before he walks over to his desk. Sitting his briefcase down, he turns his computer on as he sits down at the desk. While he's waiting for the pc to come on, he continues to flip through his message. He's just finished looking through them when Stace buzzes him. "Yes." He says, holding down his intercom.
"Sir, Mr. Wellesley is on line one."
"Thank you." He says, pushing the button for line one as he picks up the phone. "Wes." He says.
"Jeffrey, I'm sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. I was upstate for the weekend. Your message sounded urgent."
"It is. I spoke with Lizzie Spaulding last Friday and she's agreed to sell me her shares in Lewis Oil. Were you able to get the other shares?"
"Yes, as soon as we have Lizzie's shares we will have controlling interest in Lewis Oil. Do you know if Lizzie's given the order to sell?"
"She said she had instructed her broker to contact me about the sale."
"When he contacts you, give him my number."
"I was already planning on doing that. Should we contact Alex?"
"We won't do that until the sale goes through."
"Alright."
"I'll be in touch as soon as I speak with Lizzie's broker."
"I should be in the office all day."
"I'll speak to you then."
"That's fine." Jeffrey says, hanging up the phone a few seconds later. Pushing the button to buzz Stace, he waits for her to pick up.
"Yes sir." She says, holding down the intercom button.
"Stace, when Lizzie Spaulding's broker calls, give him Wes's number and ask him to call Wes."
"I will Sir."
"Thanks." Jeffrey says, releasing the line. He goes back to looking over his messages.
Sam is finishing up with a patient when a young girl is brought in to the clinic. "We need your name to be able to…." Leah says, as Sam walks up.
"What's going on?" Sam asks, looking at the woman and young girl.
"This is Ms. Owens. She's with the Laurel Falls School District."
"You came over here from Laurel Falls?" Sam asks, looking at Ms. Owens.
"It's the only way she would see a doctor.
" She brought in this young girl, but she's refusing to give her name." Leah says.
"Bring her back Leah." Sam says, looking at the girl.
"Ma'am."
"I said bring her back. I'll see them." Sam says, walking over to the door. She opens the door and motions them through.
"Thank you." Ms. Owens says, nodding to Sam as they walk through the door and Sam closes it.
"You're safe here." Sam says, motioning them into one of the exam rooms. The young girl stares at the table.
"Do you need help?" Sam asks, looking at the young girl. She shakes her head as she climbs up onto the table. Ms Owens reaches for her other hand.
"What's your name?" Sam asks. The young girl doesn't answer. "Can I see what happened?" Sam asks, reaching for the young girls arm. She shies away.
"It's okay." Ms. Owens says. "She's going to help you."
"I'll be punished again. We're not supposes…." The young girl says.
"No one is going to punish you." Sam says softly to the young girl. "Can you tell me what happened?"
"I was talking to someone I wasn't suppose to be talking to. I'm not supposes to be here. Ms. Owens said that I had to come or they would call the police. We have rules we must follow or bad things will happen to us." The young girl says, looking at both of them. "If they know that I've come to a doctor, I will be punished again."
"Where are you from?" Sam asks, looking at Ms. Owens.
"We live in a small community north of Laurel Falls. This is Arianna. She is a student at Laurel Falls High. I was called in by one of her teachers. Arianna and her family moved into the area last summer and they keep to themselves. One of her teachers noticed that Arianna wasn't in class and when she came in today she was favoring her left arm. When she asked her what happened, she would only tell them that she was punished for talking to someone she wasn't supposed to talk to."
"Who did you talk to?" Sam asks, looking at Arianna.
"It's okay to tell her. You won't be in trouble."
"A boy in my class. One of the other kids told on me." Arianna says. "We weren't being bad. We were only talking. At lunch, he sat by me."
"It's okay." Sam says softly, calming her down. "What happened to your arm?"
"The Deacon punished me."
"What did he do? Do you know?" Sam asks, as the girl shakes her head no. They hear shouting in the front office.
"I told you I shouldn't have come. I'm going to be punished again." Arianna says, shrinking away from Sam. "He won't care…."
"I'll go see what's happening. Both of you stay here, do not leave." Sam says, looking at Ms. Owens.
"We'll stay here." She says, as Sam nods.
Opening the door, Sam walks out. "… You will give her to me."
"Sir, you will have to leave, now." Leah says, as Sam walks up.
"What's going on?"
"You're poisoning her." The man says.
"Who are you?" Sam demands, glancing at Leah.
"I want the girl that's in the back." The man demands, focusing on Sam.
"He's demanding to see the patient we have in the back room. I tried to get him to calmly tell me his name and business but he won't." Leah says.
"Sir, this is a medical clinic. You will have to leave or I will have the police called and you will be forced to leave." Sam says.
"I will not let you poison her with your filthy demon medicine." The man says, taking a step towards Sam. Sam stands her ground but nods to Leah.
Picking up the phone, she dials 911. "Yes, we need an officer at Dr. O'Neill's office. We have a man that's refusing to leave." Leah says
"You will give her to me." The man demands. "You are from the devil sent to turn her against us." He says
"Sir, this is a medical clinic. If there is someone here that you believe we're treating then they believe that they need our help. It's their right to receive medical care when they want it. And you don't have the right…."
"You will not tell me what my rights are. You are of the devil and God…."
"God gives us the right of free will and the common sense to use that will. As owner of this clinic, it is my will and my right to ask you to leave. You have refused. So we have called the police and they will be here in about five minutes. I suggest you leave before they arrive." Sam says, her eyes flashing with anger.
Frank is in the squad room when the call from Sam's office comes in. "Chief, we have a call from 911 dispatch for Dr. O'Neill's office."
"Sam, what's the problem?"
"There's a man there that's refusing to leave."
"Alright, send a squad car over there and tell them that I'm on my way." Frank says, walking out of the precinct. He walks across the quad to City Hall. Walking in to Jeffrey's office, he asks. "Is he busy?"
"No sir." Stace says, as Frank walks over to the door
Knocking once, he opens it. "Jeffrey."
"Frank, what's up?" Jeffrey asks, looking up.
"We received a 911 call from Sam office…."
"What!" Jeffrey says, standing up. "What's going on?"
"I don't know all the details, except that there's a man there and he's refusing to leave."
"Let's go." Jeffrey says, walking over to the door. "I'm leaving." He says, walking past Stace with Frank quickly following him.
"I'm not leaving until you give my disciple back to me." The man says.
"So you are the deacon?" Sam asks, looking at the man.
"Do not try to fool me with your lies? I see through Satan. I see all things. She will be cared for…."
"Like you've cared for her now." Sam asks, defiantly staring at the man.
"You will give her to me." He says, taking another step towards Sam.
"Ma'am, maybe you need to step back." Leah says, reaching for her arm.
"Mr."
"You don't need to know my name." The man says.
"I'm not going to turn my patient over to you without examining her. Her arm is injured. It will go against the oath I took." Sam says ignoring Leah and refusing to back down.
"You will not fill her with your demon medicine." The man shouts.
"Do you hear that?" Sam says, as they hear police sirens in the background. "If you have any weapons on you. I suggest you leave now before they arrive. Once they get here, it's not a case of disturbing the peace. It becomes terroristic threatening and possible kidnapping."
"She is my disciple. I will provide whatever she needs. So you will give her to me!"
"I can't do that." Sam says, as to uniform police officers walk in.
"Dr. O'Neill, is there a problem?"
"Yes, this gentlemen arrived about twenty minutes ago, demanding that I give him one of my patients." Sam replies, glancing at the officer. "I have a patient in the back with an injured arm. I was about to examine her…."
"You will not fill her with your demon medicine. God will heal her."
"Did you ever consider that God's way of healing her is through me?" Sam asks sarcastically, looking at the man with anger in her eyes.
"Sir, why do you think the person you're looking for is here?" The officer asks the man. He looks at him but does not answer. "Dr. O'Neill, has he told you the name of the person he's looking for?"
"No, and as I was saying, I was about to examine my patient when he arrived."
"Did he tell you the name of the person he believes you have or what is wrong with the person he's looking for?" The officer asks, looking at Leah.
"He wouldn't tell us anything except to give her to him. We only have one patient in the back. She's a young girl about fifteen. The nurse from Laurel Falls High brought her in. She has an injured arm." Leah says, as a second officer walks into the clinic.
"Do you know the extent of the injury?" The officer asks, looking at Sam.
"I can't tell you until I examine her, but it looks severe. He referred to her as his disciple." Sam replies, as the other officer walks over to the man.
"Sir, if you will step outside." The second officer says.
"No! I will not leave without her. That woman will not fill her with her demon medicine. If she is injured, God will heal her."
"What are you afraid of? That we'll see that she's been abused. I already know that from her demeanor and the injury to her arm. Are you afraid of me because I'm a woman and I dare to be more than a servant to men?" Sam asks, as Jeffrey comes up.
"Sam." He says.
"I'm fine, J." Sam says, turning to him.
"You are of the devil!" The man yells, taking a step towards Sam.
"Officer, would you get him out of here?" Jeffrey demands, positioning himself between Sam and the man.
"I've got this J." Sam says, stepping around him.
"Sir, you must leave." The officer says, trying to turn the man towards the door. He fights back.
"No, I'm not leaving without my disciple." The man says, as the two officers force him to leave.
"What's happening?" Frank asks, as he walks up.
"I was about to examine a patient when he arrived demanding that we turn his "disciple" over to him." Sam says, her voice filled with anger.
"His disciple?"
"Yes." Sam snaps.
"Is he speaking of a patient you have?"
Sam looks at him. "I don't know, but since this is…." Sam pauses for a moment and then takes a deep breath. "He never gave a name. But I do have a young girl in the back with an injured arm. I have to get back to her." Sam says, turning to walk away.
"Sam." Jeffrey says, reaching out to her.
"I'm fine J. Let me see to my patient." Sam says, walking back into the exam room. Arianna and Ms. Owens are still sitting there. "Do you know who that was?" Sam asks Arianna quietly.
"It sounded like Joseph."
"Is he your father?" Sam asks, as Arianna shakes her head no.
"Who is he?"
"He works with the Deacon." Arianna replies.
"And who is the Deacon?"
"He is our leader." Arianna replies, looking down.
"Will you let me examine your arm?" Sam asks, walking up to her as she nods. "Can you lift your arm?" Sam asks, as Arianna shakes her head no. "Can you move it at all?"
"I can only lift my lower arm. And when I do, it hurts."
"I'm going to examine your shoulder." Sam says, reaching inside Arianna's shirt. Sam does a quick exam before she steps back. "I think your shoulder has been dislocated. I'm going to have my nurse come and we'll x-ray the shoulder to be sure. If it is dislocated, we'll give you some pain medication and muscle relaxants to ease the pain while we relocate the shoulder and then we'll have you in a sling for three weeks before you have physical therapy. But first, let's get the x-ray and confirm what happened and we'll go from there."
"Thank you, Dr. O'Neill." Ms. Owens says, as Sam nods.
"Honey, we're going to take care of you." Sam says, turning to Arianna as she nods. "Can you lay back and I'll send my nurse in?"
"Thank you." Ms. Owens says.
As soon as Sam walks out of the exam room, Jeffrey is waiting. "What happened?"
"She has a dislocated shoulder." Sam says, turning to Leah. "I need you to give her Carisoprodol and Tylenol 3. But make sure she's not on any other medication. I doubt she is, but make sure. And then take her back to x-ray and x-ray her left shoulder."
"Yes ma'am." Leah replies, as Sam nods, turning towards the front office. Frank is still out front. "Frank." Sam says, walking up.
"Are you alright?" Frank asks.
"I'm fine, he never touched me. But I want him charged with child abuse."
"We can't charge him with child abuse. We have not proof that's he's the one that injured the child."
"That girl's injury wasn't from a fall or sports injury. There was extreme trauma done to her shoulder. Her shoulder is dislocated, severely I'm afraid. It may require surgery, but she's definitely going to be in a sling for three weeks or more and have at least six weeks of rehab, maybe more if surgery is needed. And possibly have problems with that shoulder for the rest of her life. I don't care if he did it or not. She's been…."
"Did she tell you that man was the one that hurt her?" Jeffrey asks.
"No. She said his name was Joseph. She said he works for a man named the Deacon. He's their leader. She said she was punished because she was talking to a boy during lunch and one of the other children in her sect told on her. She told me there were rules they had to obey or bad things will happen to them if they break the rules. Speaking from personal experience, I'm sure she's had other injuries and most likely she wasn't treated for them."
"Who brought her in?" Frank asks.
"A Ms. Owens, she's the school nurse. She was called in by Arianna's teacher. She's with her now. I've sent Leah to take her some medication and x-ray her shoulder and then we have to relocate her shoulder. She'll be in a sling for three weeks or more and then several months of physical therapy depending on if she has to have surgery."
"We'll need to speak with the nurse. Do you know what caused the injury?" Frank asks.
"From what I can tell extreme amounts of pressure were placed on her shoulder as it was bring pulled."
"Could we speak with her?" Frank asks.
"I think she's able to talk, but she's scared too. And one thing I know for certain she can't be sent back home. I don't know if her parents are involved or if this was done without their knowledge, although I can't imagine letting anyone do that to my child. Give us time to work on her shoulder and get her comfortable and then you can speak with her."
"Thank you."
"Frank, get social…."
"I will." Frank says, nodding as Sam turns to leave. "She seems a little fired up." Frank says, looking at Jeffrey.
"She is fired up. This reminds her of her own childhood." Jeffrey says, turning to follow her. He catches up as she's about to go into Arianna's room. "Wait." He says, taking her arm and leading her down the hall.
"I need…."
"I want to make sure you're okay." Jeffrey says, as they step into an empty room.
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not. Your anger is barely controlled."
"I know what she went through." Sam says looking up. Her eyes still flashing with anger.
"She reminds you, of yourself."
"She was in trouble for talking to a boy, talking to a boy, J. I can see that guy standing over her, punishing her for something ever girl her age does. And she's terrified that she'll be in more trouble for being here."
"She's going to be okay. You've done what needed to be done. You've done what wasn't done for you." Jeffrey says, reaching for her.
"You didn't see her. She was scared when they arrived but she was terrified when that man showed up. I saw her face. It's the same look I saw on most of the kids I grew up with. She was terrified."
"You helped her and protected her. Frank will make sure she's placed with social services."
"She's not the only one, J. There are others." Sam says, looking up again.
"Don't get any ideas Sam. You're pregnant. Let Frank and social services handle this. You take care of this girl."
"I know there are others."
"Then Frank and social services will handle it. I love you for wanting to protect all of them, but you have others to consider." He says, reaching for her.
Sighing, she lays her head on his chest. He's still holding her when Leah knocks softly on the door. "Ma'am, I'm sorry." She says, as Jeffrey looks up.
Releasing him, Sam turns to Leah. "It's okay."
"We have the x-rays."
"I'll be right there."
"Yes ma'am." Leah says, nodding as she turns away.
"I've got to go." Sam says, turning back to Jeffrey.
"Remember…."
"I'll let Frank and social services handle it."
"I'm at City Hall if you need me."
"Okay." She leans up to kiss him. "I love you."
"I love both of you." He says, kissing her again. "And remember, you're free now."
"I'm free but what about the others." Sam asks, looking at him.
"Frank and social services will handle them."
"I've got to go."
"Go, and I'll see you tonight unless you need me." He says, as she nods.
William walks into Company for lunch. In a corner booth, Ava is sitting, looking at different brochures. "Hi, your Highness." Buzz says.
"Hello Buzz, and it's just William now. Can you bring me a Buzz burger, fries and a coke to Ava's table?"
"Sure." Buzz says, as William walks back to her.
"May I ask what you're doing?" William asks, sitting down as she looks up.
"William, hi. I'm looking over ideas for the wedding. The staff at the Beacon gave me these brochures to pick a theme for our wedding."
"Why does there have to be a theme?"
"It's part of the wedding. I've looked at all of these and I don't like any of them."
"So what do you want?"
"Well, I like Cassie's idea of having a spring wedding in the middle of winter, but none of these suit what I have in mind."
"So, what did you have in mind?" William asks, as Buzz brings his food. "Thanks." He says to Buzz. Nodding, Buzz goes over to another table to take their order.
"I was thinking that we could do a simple garden party, have arches leading the way down the aisle, covered with vines of ivy and red roses. We'll both be dressed in white, black and red. The red being for your tie and cummerbund on the tux. The reception could be causal, no formal planning. We'll have grooms cake and a wedding cake. Emma will be our flower girl and I've already asked Cassie about Will being the ring bearer. I hope you don't mind."
"No, that's fine."
"Good, we'll have spring foods on the menu, like cucumber salad and finger sandwiches, fresh fruit and sparkling cider for the champagne. Maybe Cassie could find some way to cover the carpet so that it looks and feels like grass. We could have trees with moss hanging from the limbs and white lights in them."
"It sounds fine."
"Do you like or are you just saying that?"
"I promise I not just saying that. I like the idea."
"Good, then I'll talk to her about it. What are you doing?"
"I am on my lunch break. We're working on a contract to build and sell a yacht to a man in New York. And we've wrapped up the Texas deal."
"That's good. How are the salesmen treating you?"
"They seem to like me. I haven't really had any problems, but I'm sure they're still watching me."
"You're qualified to…."
"I know I am. But they know my background at least some of it. Why aren't you at the loft?"
"I had the meeting with Cassie this morning and then I stopped to get something to eat before I went over there."
"Have you talked to your Dad?"
"No, why?"
"I was just curious."
"I'm sure he's at City Hall."
"Speaking of City Hall, do we need a license to get married?" He asks, as he finishes eating.
"That's another thing I have to do."
"Doesn't the man take care of the license?"
"I don't really know."
"Well, I will. I can stop by there on the way back to work."
"You know you should eat something more than a burger, fries and a coke."
"You'll make sure I have my veggies tonight." William says, smiling as Buzz walks up.
"Will you guys need anything else?" He asks.
"No, I've got to get back to work and I need to stop at City Hall." William says, as Buzz hands him his check. "I'll take hers too."
"Will, I can…."
"I've got this." He says, taking both checks and giving Buzz his credit card.
"Thanks." Buzz says, taking the card and checks. Returning a few moments later, William signs for them and then hand the receipt back to Buzz as Ava stands up.
"Thanks Buzz." She says.
"You're welcome. Do you want an orange smoothie?"
"No, thanks. I'll get one later." Ava says, smiling as he walks away. She follows William out of the restaurant.
"Is Emma's dance class tonight?" He asks.
"Yes."
"Then I'll see you at home." He says, leaning over to kiss her.
"I'll see you then. I love you." She says, releasing him.
"I love you too, be careful."
"You too, see you later." She says, walking over to her car. He waits till she leaves the parking lot and then he leaves.
Jeffrey is at his desk. Since the incident in Sam's office he hasn't been able to concentrate on much. About one, Richard walks into this office. "Jeffrey." He says, walking up with a file in his hand.
Jeffrey looks up and stares at him for a moment before he focuses on him. "Did we have a meeting?"
"No, I wanted to go over a company that's looking at building on the east side of town. It's mostly residential out there, but we…." Richard looks up and realizes that Jeffrey's not paying attention. "Are you okay?" He asks.
"Ummm." Jeffrey looks at him.
"I asked if you're alright. You seem distracted."
"I'm sorry. I was thinking about Sam, worrying about her actually."
"Is there something wrong, the baby?"
"The baby's fine. No, I'm worried she's going to go off and do something that's going to put both of them at risk."
"Sam wouldn't risk the baby."
"For this I think she will." Jeffrey says, standing up and walking over to the window beside his desk.
"Why?"
"She had a patient this morning, a young girl. Her arm was severely injured. A dislocated shoulder that will require weeks in a sling and possibly months in physical therapy."
"Kids get hurt. Why would you think Sam would put herself and your child at risk for this girl?"
"It's not so much the injury as the condition the girl was in when she came into the office. Sam's childhood wasn't the most pleasant. Her father was mentally and sometimes physically abusive to her. She felt alone and when her parents split, her father refused to allow her and her brother to see their mother. It took her a long time to get over that. Not only was her father mentally and physically abusive, but he was a pastor of the church that Sam grew up in. Her father had two sides, like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. And everything that was done to Sam was categorized under what God would want. The same thing was being done to this young girl that Sam saw this morning."
"How do you know about this?"
"A man showed up at the clinic demanding that Sam hand over the girl and she refused. The man refused to leave when Sam asked, so they called the police. Frank came and got me when the call came in." Jeffrey says, turning around.
"She wouldn't intentionally put herself or the baby in harms way Jeffrey. You know that."
"No, she wouldn't. But this is something I'm sure she's not going to be able to stay away from. She empathizes with the young girl and she's furious. The man that came to the clinic didn't want Sam to treat this girl. Told her she was from the devil and that God would heal the girl and that Sam wasn't going to fill this girl with "demon" medicine." Richard looks at him with and incredulous expression as Jeffrey walks over to his desk. "That only added to the anger."
"Besides the insult why do you believe that Sam would be angry enough to risk herself or the baby over what that man said? She knows it's not true."
"Her mother died from cancer within months of her leaving me in Europe. She was diagnosed with cancer and could have been saved except the church Sam was raised in refused to take her to the doctor. That's part of the reason that she became a doctor." Jeffrey says, leaning back against his desk.
"If you're that worried, then go to her."
"If I do that, I'll be in the dog house. She'll take her frustration out on me and her anger. Not that I'm scared of her, but I've been around her when she's in this mood. She's not easy to live with." Jeffrey says, as Richard smiles.
"Sounds like you are scared."
"Not scared, respectful. If she thinks I'm trying to control what she does, the man behind this group is better off than I am." Jeffrey says, as Richard laughs.
"She's got to know you're coming to her out of concern."
"It really won't matter. You can't tell Sam what to do. You sort of have to suggest something and then let her decide. Only I'm fairly certain how she will decide and that's what worries me."
"If you think what she's going to do will harm her or the baby, you have to stop her. It's your job to protect her, whether she wants to be protected or not."
"You've got it easy. Cassie doesn't do things like this."
"Oh Cassie can be just as stubborn. You didn't know her in Galveston."
"Galveston?"
"Yes, while I was prince Edmund arranged for an accident to happen on the Spaulding construction site. Cassie and I went to Galveston to find the construction crew responsible. We went in undercover…."
"You went undercover. How could you possibly pull that off?"
"Harley arranged it. Anyway, we were working in a bar where the construction crew hung out. Cassie was tending bar and I was a dishwasher."
Jeffrey chokes back a laugh when Richard looks at him. "Go on."
"Right off the bat, Cassie strikes up a conversation with the crew boss. He was clearly hitting on her and I was just a little bit jealous…."
"A little bit jealous." Cassie says from the door. "I'm sorry Amelia told me you were over here and Stace's not at her desk.
"That's fine." Jeffrey says. "Stace's running some errands for me." He says, picking up his phone.
"Am I interrupting?" Cassie asks.
"No, we were just talking." Jeffrey says, as he sends a text message to Stace to ask her to stop by the florist and pick up a bouquet of roses for Sam.
"He was telling you about Galveston."
"He thinks you don't have a stubborn streak." Richard says, looking at Cassie
"I don't. I know what's right." She says, looking at him.
"Did you think it was right to flirt with Gill when he had a knife at your throat?" Richard asks.
"We're not going to argue about that, are we? What's the problem?" Cassie says, looking at Jeffrey.
"I'm worried about Sam." Jeffrey says, laying his phone down.
You're worried about Sam, why? Is it the baby?"
"No, the baby is fine. I'm worried about what she's going to do."
"What did you do?" Cassie asks, looking at him.
"I didn't do anything. She had a patient this morning that I know reminded her of her own childhood. She didn't have an easy one. And I'm worried about what she's going to do. I tried to remind her that she has more to consider now but I know her and she's going to want to do something about the situation her patient was in."
"What happened?"
"A young girl was brought into the clinic with a severely injured arm. As she was about to examine her, a man showed up and demanded that she turn the girl over to him, she refused. The police were called and the man said some nasty things about her."
"What did he say?"
"He called her the devil and that medicine was basically a demon of the devil and that God would heal the girl."
"You heard him say all that?" Cassie asks, looking at him.
"Yes."
"And why are you not in jail right now?"
"I was focused on her. I know her. I know what this is doing to her and I know what she'll want to do."
"What's that?"
"She'll want to go to this girl's home and confront her parents and anyone else she can confront. Her father was a lot like this man. Hiding behind God and religion to spout his own personal beliefs. This man endangered this child and who knows how many others and he's doing it behind the guise of religion and God."
"I don't think Sam's the only one that wants to confront someone." Richard says.
"I'm not particularly religious. But I can't stand aside and let Sam be in danger because of this. But I can understand why she wants to do something. She'll feel like she has to do something."
"Then let her do what she needs to do." Cassie says, as Jeffrey looks at her.
"What if she gets hurt? She's pregnant with my child."
"And you don't think this is part of the reason she wants to do something, for your child. She knows what she has and she's protecting it."
"Have you seen how some of these religious groups live? It's not a gathering of ladies for Ladies night at the fellowship hall in Reverend Rutledge's church. Some of them are armed as good or better than our own police force and military. Remember Waco, Ruby Ridge, all of them were fanatical groups and armed like a military militia."
"And Sam knows this too. She's not going to jeopardize you, your baby or your lives together. It's too important to her."
"I can't let her get hurt, but if I try to stop her I'm going to be the one that's hurt." Jeffrey says, looking at her and Richard.
"Have a little faith that she'll know when to take a step back. Doing this might help her heal a little more." Cassie says, as Jeffrey sighs. "She'll be alright and you'll be there if she needs you."
"Was there something you needed?" Richard asks, looking at Cassie.
"No, I was at the market picking up some things and I thought I would come by and see you. Do you need to finish your meeting?"
"It wasn't really a meeting and it can wait." Richard says, getting up.
"We can talk." Jeffrey says, looking at Richard.
"I think you need to go home." He says, picking up the file. "I'll look into this more and we'll talk about it later."
"Alright." Jeffrey says, walking around his desk as they leave. About ten minutes later, Stace returns.
"Sir." She says, stopping at his door.
"Did you get the flowers?"
"Yes." She says, handing him the flowers.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yes Sir." Stace replies, as Jeffrey turns to leave.