A Fresh Start
Chapter Two Hundred Forty One
Jeremiah is in his office when Mr. Waterford walks in. "You wanted to see me Sir?" He says, walking up to the desk.
"I asked to see you Saturday afternoon." Jeremiah says, looking up. "Take a seat." He says, insecure about the man towering over him if he remained standing.
"I was following your orders Sir." Mr. Waterford says.
"Then you saw the confrontation with her downtown." Jeremiah replies.
"I saw you speaking with her and her husband."
"That… what do we know about her schedule?"
"She keeps to the basic routine, Sir. Her clinic opens around nine, the staff is with her most of the day. And then her husband comes home around five and they are together for the rest of the night."
"There is no time when she's alone?"
"No sir."
"You're sure about that?"
"Yes sir. Up to a couple days ago, she was alone maybe an hour and that was only occasionally."
"What changed?"
"The last couple days there has been a new man there and he's with her constantly, even at lunch."
"There has to be a time…."
"There's not Sir. Her staff is at the clinic with her along with this new guy. And then her husband comes home."
"I wonder if her husband knows she's seeing….."
"I don't think she's seeing him, Sir. He stays until her husband gets home."
"He never leaves before that, never?"
"Not since he's arrived, but he's only been there for a few days. But I don't know how long he's going to be there."
"He'll be there until this goes to trial. He's been hired to guard her."
"How do you know that, Sir?"
"Her husband suspects something, especially since the meeting at Company that you didn't attend."
"You told me not to contact her if she wasn't alone. She wasn't alone. Her husband was with her."
"Well her husband figured out that something was up and it was confirmed by that girl's mother. I should've taken care of that woman years ago."
"So what do you want to do, Sir?"
"I don't know. I have to think about this. It might be prudent to consider eliminating her husband to get Sam back in the fold."
"Sir, I'm not sure that would work."
"She almost didn't survive losing him the first time. If she lost him again, she might be pushed enough to come back. She depends on him to validate her continued resistance to what she knows to be the truth."
"Sir, I have to say that you're wrong about that."
"Excuse me, are you telling me that you know my sister better than I do."
"In this case Sir, I believe I do. She's done nothing to indicate that she depends on her husband. In fact, she's quite self-reliant and stubborn, even to him."
"She always was disrespectful of her superiors."
"Sir, I don't think her husband sees it that way. He…."
"He is not a man. He allows my sister to walk all over him with her women's ideals and liberation. My sister's place is at home with her family and I will bring her back."
"What do you want to do?"
"Continue to watch her, maybe you'll find a break to get her alone. If you do, take her and take out anyone that tries to stop you, including her husband." Jeremiah says, looking at him. His expression says especially her husband.
"Yes sir." Mr. Waterford says, nodding before he leaves.
Mr. Waterford opens the car door and gets in. Joseph looks at him. "Did I just hear him planning to kidnap his sister and harm, possibly kill her husband to keep her from testifying in the Owens case?"
"Yes sir. That's what I he said." Scott says.
Joseph reaches for his phone and dials a number and then sits back. "Hello." A man says on the other end.
"Sir, this is Agent Mueller. We have evidence against…."
"I have been trying to reach you Agent Mueller, the investigation is pulled."
"Sir, the suspect just threatened the Mayor of Springfield. How can you pull the investigation? We have plenty of evidence of criminal activity from here and…."
"The investigation is over."
"Sir…."
"You and Agent Waterford are ordered back to the Chicago office for debriefing and reassignment."
"Sir…." Joseph says as his handler hangs up the phone.
"What did he say?"
"The case has been closed. We are to report to Chicago for debriefing and reassignment but we can't do that." Joseph says, looking at his phone.
"You're going to ignore a direct order."
"I'm following the chain of command." Joseph says, as he dials a number.
"Who are you calling now?"
"I've got contacts in DC. They'll listen to the evidence and will go from there."
"They better do something because Mr. and Mrs. O'Neill may not be around to enjoy the birth of their baby."
"Not only will they not be here, but neither will the baby."
After a couple rings, another man picks up the phone. "Code!" He demands
"372466359." Joseph says.
"Cleared, is this a secure line?"
"Yes."
"Is there an emergency?"
"I've got evidence I need to bring in on a case."
"Is it an active case?"
"It's imperative that…."
"Is it an active case?"
"No, but please listen to me. DC will want to know this. It involves one of their agents and her former partner."
"What is the nature of the evidence?"
"I have a taped conversation of this agent's brother conspiring to kidnap her and harm, possibly kill her husband to keep her from testifying in an upcoming trial."
"Follow protocol and bring in the tape."
"I can't do that. I've already contacted my handler and he's closed the case. He's refusing to hear new evidence."
"Are you saying that a senior agent has ignored evidence of crimes being committed and he hasn't reported those crimes?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying."
"Okay follow protocol 2933."
"Yes sir." Joseph says, hanging up the phone
"What did they say?"
"We're to follow 2933."
"We bring in the locals!"
"That was their orders."
"Joe, I'm curious did you make a copy…." Joseph looks at him and he shuts up.
"Come on, let's take this to SPD." Joseph says, starting his car.
Frank is finishing up some last paperwork when Agent Mueller and Agent Waterford walk into the station. "May I help you?" The desk sergeant asks.
"I need to speak with your Chief of police." Agent Mueller says.
"He's about to leave the office. Is there something one of the detectives…."
"This is a government investigation, we're operating under 2933. I have evidence I need to give to your chief. So please contact him." Joseph says. For a moment the desk Sergeant looks at him and then he slowly reaches for the phone. "Now, man." Joseph demands. Jumping the desk sergeant grabs the phone and pushes the button for Frank's desk.
"What Austin?" Frank demands after he picks up the phone.
"Sir, there are a couple of feds here that want to see you."
"Can't he come in tomorrow? I've been here for…."
"He says he's operating under 2933. Whatever that means."
"Alright, I'll be right there." Frank says, getting up as he hangs up.
"He's coming right now." The desk Sergeant says.
"Thank you." Joseph says.
A few moments later, Frank walks up. "Gentlemen." He says, looking at Joseph. "Wait, what's going on?" Frank demands, looking at the desk Sergeant.
"I told you what's going on. These gentlemen…."
"I don't know who that man is, but this man was arrested several weeks ago for disturbing the peace and threatening…."
"Agent Joseph Mueller." Joseph says, pulling out his badge. "This is my partner Agent Scott Waterford. I was arrested while being undercover. Is there some place we can talk privately?"
"You're a federal agent?" Frank says, staring at the badge. "Both of you."
"Yes." Joseph says, as Scott pulls out his badge.
"Why would….?"
"Before we get into this, is there someplace we can talk?" Joseph asks.
"Follow me." Frank says, turning around. Joseph and Scott follow him. When they reach Frank's office, he lets them in and then closes the door behind them. "Explain what is going on?"
"I am Agent Joseph Mueller and this is my partner Agent Scott Waterford. I was assigned to gather information on a religious sect based in Georgia over two years ago. It was joint taskforce between the Justice Department and the IRS. We were both placed in positions that would catch the attention of the man in charge. A man named Jeremiah Whitmere." Joseph says.
"You mean Sam O'Neill's brother!"
"Yes."
"I was sent in first to gather information on tax evasion. In the course of my investigation, I came across information that pointed to possible bribery charges of Justice Department agents out of the Atlanta field office. The Justice Department sent us in as partners to discover which agents were dirty. We were able to uncover those agents, but evidence pointed to a bigger fish and we were ordered to keep our cover." Agent Waterford says.
"I understand all that. What I don't understand is how this lead to you being arrested in Sam's office a few weeks ago and what this has to do with that case."
"My partner and I worked our way into Mr. Whitmere's confidence. He sent me to Dr. O'Neill's office once he found out that the young lady had been take there. I was ordered to bring the girl back without letting Dr. O'Neill know that her brother was in the area." Joseph says.
"But you failed on both objectives. You didn't get the girl back and Sam knows her brother's living in Laurel Falls."
"She knows because I told her. I would've gotten the girl back, but I was arrested. And I'm afraid that knocked out of favor with Sam's brother." He replies.
"That however left me open to step in. I've been working as Mr. Whitmere's muscle should we say." Scott says, as Frank looks at him.
"According to Ms. Owens, you've been Mr. Whitmere's muscle for some time."
"I did minor things for Mr. Whitmere to establish my value. That is what Ms. Owens knew about."
"So why are you here now?"
"Saturday evening I was summoned to see Mr. Whitmere. I didn't make the meeting until this evening. He had ordered me to follow his sister and try to find a way for him to be able to kidnap her before Ms. Owens goes on trial. I reported back my finding to him this evening. I was wearing a wire and the whole conversation was recorded." Scott says.
"The conversation was recorded." Frank says.
"Yes, we have the tape here." Joseph says, holding up the envelope with the tape inside. "And we have other evidence as well."
"Why are you telling the local PD about this? Why not arrest him yourself."
"We spoke with our superiors and they advised us that the investigation into Mr. Whitmere's activities was over. We are to go to Chicago for debriefing and reassignment, but we can't do that with this new evidence."
"Why not?"
"Because it directly indicates that the suspects are considering kidnapping the mayor's wife and harming, possibly killing the mayor to do it." Joseph says.
"Sam is a witness for a case that comes to trial in a few weeks." Frank says, looking at Joseph.
"We know that. Mr. Whitmere is desperate to get his sister back in "the fold". He's willing to harm or kill her husband to accomplish it." Scott says, as Frank looks at him.
"Let me hear the tape."
Pulling the tape out, Joseph hands it to Frank and then sits back. Frank put the tape in a player and then pushes play. When the tape finishes, Frank reaches for the phone. Dialing a number, he waits. "Yes." A man answers the phone.
"I'm activating a code green for the rapid response team." Frank says, hanging up the phone.
Jeffrey is in a meeting when his office door opens and two uniformed SPD officers walk in followed by Stace. "I'm sorry, Sir. I tried to…." Jeffrey holds up his hand.
"It's okay Stace, Gentlemen." He says, turning to the officers. "What's going on?"
"Sir, you've been placed in protective custody. Threats have been made towards you and your wife. Gentlemen, you will have to leave." The officers says, looking at the two gentlemen
"I'll have to reschedule." Jeffrey says, looking at the two men.
"We'll be in touch." The gentlemen reply as they stand up.
Once they leave, Jeffrey turns to the officers. "What is this threat about?"
"Chief Cooper has activated your rapid response team." The first officer says.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Officer Billy Ryan. I'm on the mayor's protection detail, Sir."
"I didn't know I had a protection detail." Jeffrey says, looking at him.
"We're only activated once a validated threat has been made on your life Chief Cooper ordered the code green three minutes ago."
"When did this threat come?"
"I'm not sure." The man says, as two officers walk into Sam's clinic.
"Everyone must not leave the building including all staff." One of the officer says, as they walk into the building. "Where is Dr. O'Neill?"
"She's with a patient." The receptionist answers.
"Which room?" The officer asks.
"Exam room one, but you can't go in there. She's with a patient." She says, getting up to follow the officer down the hall as Julien comes up.
"Who are you and why are in this office?" The officer asks, quickly realizing this man was not a part of the medical staff.
"I'm Agent Julien Palmer, officer." Julien says, looking at him.
"Where is Dr. O'Neill?" The officer demands.
"I told you she's with a patient." The receptionist says as Sam turns for the door.
"I'll be right back, Mrs. Jefferson." She says, turning to open the door.
She's totally surprised to see her receptionist, three SPD officers and Julien standing outside the door "What is going on?" She asks, quickly shutting the door to the exam room.
"Ma'am, you need to come with me." The officer says.
"Excuse me."
"Ma'am, I need to take you to your husband." The office says.
"Jeffrey, is he alright? What happened?" She demands, grabbing his arm.
"The mayor is fine right now ma'am, but we need to take you to him." The officer says, as Jeffrey walks up.
"That's not necessary." He says, walking over to Sam.
"What is going on?" She asks, turning to him.
"It's okay." He says, reaching for her hand. "Frank has put us under protective custody."
"Protective custody, why?" She asks, looking up.
"Apparently there was a threat made on my life." He says, as Frank, Joseph and Scott walk up.
"We have credible evidence that both of you are in danger." Frank says, as Sam turns around."
"Your brother….."
"This is about Jeremiah?" Sam asks, looking at Jeffrey.
"Yes, he's threatened to harm Jeffrey to get to you. We need to take you to a secure location…."
"Whoa, wait. I've got patients for the afternoon."
"You're under code green, Sam. First priority….." Frank says.
"…is to my patients. Jeffrey and Julien are here. What other protection will I need?"
"His orders were for me to take out anyone who stopped me." Scott says.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Agent Scott Waterford." Scott says, as Jeffrey and Sam look at him as Jeffrey moves close to Sam.
"You thought I was working for your brother. I'm…. we're both undercover." Scott says, looking at Joseph.
"Sam, we need more security than…."
"Frank I am not leaving my home. You want to post security here, that's fine, make them plain clothes so that they blend in, in plain cars on the street. Now I'm going back to my patients. Will you please take them upstairs?" She asks, looking at Jeffrey.
"I'll take them." He says, as Frank opens his mouth. "I'm not going against her Frank. And you're not about to get her to run from her brother. If you wanted to take her into protective custody, then you shouldn't've told her it was because of her brother."
"I'm going back to my patient. You want to stay Frank, that's fine. But take all of this upstairs and get rid of the uniform officers." She says, reaching for the door knob. Walking in, she closes the door before Mrs. Jefferson could see who was outside.
"Is everything alright?"
"It's fine." Sam says, as Jeffrey looks at Frank and smiles.
"Let's go upstairs." Jeffrey says, turning to leave the hallway.
Jacob sits on Julie's couch. The kids are in bed and they are alone. "Will you tell me what has you distracted?" Jacob asks, watching here.
"I'm not distracted." She says, looking at him.
"I've been here an hour. I didn't come over until the kids were in bed like you asked and you've been distant since I've been here."
"I'm sorry." She looks away. "I've got to take care of something. Can you stay here with the kids?"
"You trust me with your kids."
"Of course I trust you with my kids. The reason I don't want my kids around you yet is not because I don't trust you with them. They've been through a lot."
"You all have been through a lot."
"Yes, we have. And I still have something to take care of. I will be back as quickly as possible." She says, getting up.
He follows her into the hallway. Watching as she slips her coat on and grabs her keys and purse. "Will you at least tell me where you're going?"
"To see my Mother, I won't be long." She says, leaning up to kiss him before she opens the door and walks out, leaving him standing in the doorway watching her walk to her car.
Maggie is in the kitchen when Julie walks in. "You had to do." Julie says, as Maggie jumps.
She turns around and says. "I had to do what?"
"You had to interfere and take the kids to see him." Julie says, watching her.
"How did you find out?"
"So you're actually going to admit it. I'm a little surprised actually."
"I didn't do anything more than what needed to be done."
"You had no right to interfere."
"Nor do you have the right to keep those kids from their family because you want to punish a man that had absolutely nothing to do with Matt's death."
"He had nothing to do with it! He's the reason it happened. He was the target Matt was mistaken for. He and his precious princess wife took a child from its mother."
"No, they didn't. Their child was taken from them by Matt's half-brother Edmund. They are as much victims as you and Matt are. And you're anger will destroy the only chance your children have of having at least one connection to their father. I was not going to let that happen."
"It wasn't your decision to make."
"Of course it was. You were going to continue on just as you've always continued on. You want to hurt him because Matt was taken from you. I get that. I do, but hurting Richard, yourself and your kids for something none of you had any control over serves no purpose but to let that woman win."
"What else did you do?"
"What do you mean?"
"I know you didn't stop at taking the kids to see him. That's not you. When you do something, you're in for a penny, you're in for a buck, so what else did you do?"
"I took him the boxes you left here."
"The boxes were Maddie's stuff. The pictures and letters she wrote to Matt's father. Matt's pictures from school, our prom pictures and graduation pictures."
"No, I kept the prom and graduation pictures. But everything else I took to him."
"I can't believe…. No actually I can believe that you went behind my back and did this. Because you've never respected the decisions I make."
"I respect every decision you make. Richard came to me."
"What do you mean he came to you?"
"He came to me looking for you during the evening after you had lunch with him and Cassie. He came to Oakdale looking for you. He wanted to talk to you, try to convince you that he wanted nothing more than to know about his brother and his family. He was denied that, just as Matt was denied that. Baby girl, Matt loved you. I know that and I know you loved him and it killed you to lose him. It killed Cassie to lose Richard."
"She got him back. I will never get Matt back."
"No you won't, but holding onto all that anger will do nothing but harm you and your kids. Do you think they won't question why I was the one that took them to see their uncle and not their mother? Why he had to be the one to explain what happened to them, instead of their mother."
"They will understand that I was protecting them."
"You're not protecting them. You are protecting yourself."
"And who's to say that something else or someone else will not come after him again. He was a prince and president of a country."
"He's running for mayor."
"What?"
"He's running for mayor. That was what the invitation was for. He announced his campaign last night. The children were there….."
"You took them to that party, after I told you I didn't want them around him. I will not let them be hurt."
"They've already been hurt. As you've been hurt, but hiding from life will not protect them."
"I'm not hiding."
"Is that why you are a divorced woman of three kids? You're not hiding."
"I'm divorced because…."
"Because you married Marciano out of fear, fear of being alone, fear of letting yourself feel the pain of Matt's death, fear of raising your kids without him."
"He promised to be here."
"And you think he left you on purpose. He didn't. His life, your life was affected by decisions made by someone else."
"Yes, decisions made by Rich…."
"Not Richard, by the woman that wanted to kill him to hurt Cassie. You're all victims of her and you're continuing to be victims of her by refusing Matt's brother access to your life and his family." She steps closer to her. "Baby, I know how much it hurt you to loose Matt. I can imagine that it hurt Cassie just as much to believe she lost Richard. But you can't hide away."
"I'm not hiding, I'm…."
"You're hiding. You've been hiding from facing the fact that Matt will not be back. You want to tell yourself that you moved on when you married Marciano, but did you. No, you didn't otherwise you would've let him love you totally, like you let Matt love you. And that is why you are divorced now. I'm not saying that divorcing him was wrong. It was wrong to ever marry him. You need to take time to mourn Matt and you need to let Richard help you do that. And you need to let your children know the last connection to their father."
"I don't…. I'm going home." She says, turning to leave.
"Jules." She turns to look at Maggie. "I love you. Matt loved you but you have to stop running and face the fact that he's not coming back and then you have to face this life without him, and move on, truly move on, whether it be alone or it be with Dr. Westbrook."
"Jacob and I are friends."
"And where are the kids right now?" Maggie asks, watching her. "Have you considered that he more than that?" She asks, as Julie looks at her. "You never let the kids stay with Marciano. Have you thought about that?"
"I'm going home." Julie says, pulling on her coat before she grabs her purse and keys to leave.
"Think about what I said." Maggie says, watching her prepare to leave.
She opens her mouth to say something but then she simply turns and walks away, leaving Maggie to follow her to the door.
Sam finishes up with her patients shortly before five and the staff left for the day shortly after that. After locking up, and setting the alarm, she walks upstairs. She expected to find everyone waiting for her but Jeffrey is the only one there. "Where is everyone?"
"I took care of it." He says, walking up to her. "It freaked you out to see the officers demanding everyone leave so I decided to take it all off your hands. Frank is arranging protection until the trial and I'll be working from home until then too."
"J, I…. She turns and walks away. He watches her walk into the kitchen She opens the refrigerator. Reaching in, she gets a bottle of juice. He walks into kitchen. Slipping his arms around her, he pulls her back against him. She tries to resists but he insists. "It's not fair to make you a prisoner because of this feud with my brother."
"I'm not prisoner. I volunteered to stay here."
"You didn't volunteer for this." She says, turning in his arms.
"I volunteered because I love you."
"This is my fault. If I hadn't walked away from my…."
"You walked away because that was the only option for you. Your father forced your hand. He threatened your mother and you protected her."
"For whatever that was worth, she went back to them."
"She was alone and dying." He says, turning her for the living room after taking the juice from her hand. "I see where this is going." He says, walking her towards the stairs. "So, I want you to go upstairs and I want you to draw a hot bubble bath and I want you to spend as long as you like and I want you to relax and not think about any of this. Your father made his choice. You made yours and Jeremiah made his. There's nothing that can be done about the past, so go upstairs and relax."
"Running from this…."
"You're not running. You're taking a break. A break you need." He says as they reach the bottom of the stairs.
"What are you going to do?"
"I am going to call Mel."
"Mel, why?" She asks, looking at him.
"I want to see if there's any way to get this case moved along. Go take a bath and relax. Nothing has changed."
"Everything has changed, he threatened…."
"We already knew that he was a threat to us. We were already prepared for this. So, go upstairs and take a bath. I'll talk to Mel, see what can be done to move this along and then we'll order something and we'll watch a movie and then I'll hold you all night long." He says, leaning over to kiss her. Sighing, she turns and walks upstairs. He watches her until she's out of sight and then he walks over to the phone. Picking it up, he walks over to the couch. First call he makes to Company, Buzz picks up on the second ring. "Company." He says, pouring a cup of coffee for Josh.
"Hey Buzz."
"Jeffrey, how are you doing?"
"I'm fine. I need to place an order."
"Alright." He says, reaching for his pad.
"I want an order of the chili. And then the chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, steamed vegetables and two salads."
"How's Sam?"
"She's upstairs taking a bath. Buzz could you fix that yourself."
"Sure, is something wrong?"
"Not exactly, I would feel better knowing that only you touched the food and if you can deliver that yourself that would be better too."
"Jeffrey, what's wrong? Frank was in here and he had a few of the officers with him. I overheard some of what's going on. Is Olivia…?"
"No, Olivia's not back. We just need to be careful."
"Alright, I'll fix this myself. I don't know if I can deliver it. Josh is here could he bring it to you?"
"Josh is there?"
"Yes, he stopped in to pick up dinner for him and Reva."
"It's okay if Josh brings it by." Jeffrey says.
"Alright, I'll get these ready and he'll bring yours to you."
"Thank you." Jeffrey says. They hang up a few second later.
"What's going on?" Josh asks, as Buzz hangs up.
"I'm not sure. Frank was in here about an hour ago. He had uniformed officers used as protection detail for the mayor's office and he was giving orders. I only overhead bits and pieces of the orders but it seems like someone threatened both Jeffrey and Sam."
"And that was Jeffrey on the phone?"
"Yes, he was placing an order for him and Sam. He asked that I make the food myself and then deliver it myself, but I can't because Daisy won't be in for another hour. Would you mind taking...?"
"No, not at all." Josh says.
"Let me get this fixed up and I'll make yours as well." Buzz says, turning away as Josh nods.
Jeffrey hangs up with Buzz and dials the number for Mel's office. After a few rings, her assistant answers. "Mel Boudreaux office."
"This is Jeffrey O'Neill. I need to speak to Mel."
"Let me see if she's free, Mr. Mayor." The woman says. "Do you mind holding?"
"No, that's fine." He says, sitting back.
Mel picks up the phone as soon as her assistant tells her that Jeffrey's on the line. "Jeffrey, is something wrong?"
"Everything is fine but we're under protective custody." Jeffrey says.
"You're under whose protective custody?"
"Sam's brother made the mistake of threatening to kidnap Sam and to take me out if I or anyone tried to stop them."
"Sam's brother ordered her kidnapping, why?"
"Because Sam is testifying for Ms. Owens."
"We need her testimony Jeffrey. Sam can't…"
"We're not pulling out Mel, but we… Sam needs this to be over with. It's stressing her out and that's not good for her. She feels guilty."
"Why would she feel guilty? She didn't injure that girl."
"She doesn't feel guilty about that. She feels responsible because of the trouble Jeremiah is bringing here. She's tried to keep her past in Georgia and it's not working out that way. It's part of the reason she changed her name and she moved to Nashville after the accident. Look we need to speed this up. Sam can't be stressed like this. So, has the trial date been set?"
"Actually, I was going to call you or Sam. I received word today that the trial will start week after next. I know that's the week after Thanksgiving but she will be my first witness when our time comes."
"Alright, who's the judge?"
"The honorable Samuel J. Wright."
"He's fair, but he won't stand for theatrics." Jeffrey says.
"You're missing it, aren't you?"
"Missing what?" Jeffrey asks.
"Practicing law, you miss the battle and winning."
"I miss getting justice. It was never about winning." Jeffrey says, as Sam walks up. "Thank you for letting me know. I appreciate it." He says, as she sits down beside him.
"You're welcome. This really is a quick time for a trial. You know this."
"Yes and it could go either way for Ms. Owens."
"I know. I'll talk to Sam a couple days before the trial starts."
"I'll tell her. Thank you Mel."
"You're welcome. I'll talk to you soon."
They hang up and Jeffrey puts the phone down on the end table. "That was Mel."
"Yes, you didn't take that long."
"I decided on a shower instead of a bath." She says, snuggling in beside him. "I'll relax here with you. What did Mel say?"
"The date for the trial has been set."
"It has, when does it start?"
"The week after Thanksgiving, she'll want to talk to you a few days before the trial starts." He says, as someone knock on the door.
"Jeffrey, its Josh." He says, as Jeffrey gets up and Sam turns around.
Jeffrey walks over to the door and opens it. "Thanks." He says, stepping back as Josh walks in.
"Not a problem." Josh says, handing him the bag from Company. "Hi Sam." He says, looking at her.
"Hi, Josh." She says, getting up. "What's going on?" She asks.
"Josh was at Company when I called to order our dinner and since Buzz couldn't bring it to us, he asked Josh to bring it to us." Jeffrey says, stepping back to let Josh inside and closes the door behind him.
"Buzz said that Frank was in Company when officers from your protection detail, which I didn't even know you, had…."
"Neither did I. Not until today." Jeffrey says.
"He said something about threats being made against you and Sam."
"We've got it handled." Jeffrey says, walking over to the couch and sitting down beside Sam.
"What's going on?" Josh asks, looking at him.
"It's my brother."
"Your brother, I didn't know… well there's a lot I don't know. What's happening with your brother?" Josh says, sitting down opposite them.
"I had a patient a few weeks ago. She was a teenager that was brought in by her mother. The girl had a severely separated shoulder. The results of hours of pressure and pulling being placed on her shoulder, I was able to gather enough information that the girl was punished for speaking with a boy in her class. The damage done to the girls shoulder was more than her mother would've been able to do. In the process of treating the girl a man come to the clinic demanding that the girl be returned to him. I refused and Frank was called. The man was arrested as was the mother that brought the girl. The mother was arrested for not returning the girl to her father at her appointed time the night before. One thing leads to another and I volunteered to testify on behalf of the woman." Sam says, as Josh looks at her.
"I don't understand what this had to do with your brother and why he's threatening you and Jeffrey."
"The woman and girl are members of my brother's religious sect. I won't call it a church because nothing his believes resembles a church. Anyway, my brother and I have been at odds for years now, mostly due to the fact that I left…."
"You got on with your life. A life your father had no business taking from you, Jeremiah or Megan." Jeffrey says, walking over to her and sitting down beside her.
"Whether my father had the right to do what he did, isn't going to be solved. All that doesn't matter, Jeremiah will not stop until someone or something stops him."
"What can I do?" Josh asks, looking at Jeffrey. Surprised, Jeffrey looks at him. "You're my little brother. That means as my little brother and his wife." He says, looking at Sam. I'm here to protect you. So what can I do?"
"Ah, we appreciate the offer but Frank has it handled and things will settle down after the trial."
"Alright, but you'll let me and Billy know if you need us." Josh says, as Jeffrey nods. He stands up with Jeffrey following him. "Sam, if you need me or Billy just call."
She looks up. "I will, but Jeffrey and Frank have it handled." She says, as Josh nods. He turns for the door and Jeffrey shows him out.