Part 42
As he stares upon her sleeping form, the very same form belonging to the woman he was sent here to murder; for the first time in his career he is hit with an overwhelming sense of guilt and remorse. His men had done a number on her. Her beaten body, it looked so fragile, and yet somehow it still oozed with what he could only describe as an inner strength and determination that could rival some of the fiercest men on the battle field. He couldn't help but smile at her stubborn refusal to give up and give in. He admired it, and more importantly respected it… And it was one of the reasons as to why he had to come and see her in person, and say what he had to say, before making his exit. This had nothing to do with his orders, not anymore.
Evidently, it was crucial to keep her from setting off alarm bells, therefore, before waking her from her slumber, he cautiously moves closer, and strategically places one hand over her mouth, and the other against her shoulder, and then bracing her against the bed with the rest of his body, he whispers in her ear…
"Miss Pope?"
Startled, she jumps up, her fighting instinct immediately kicking in- and despite her pain and broken ribs she struggles against him…
"Please, calm down Miss Pope… Please… I promise I have not come here to hurt you…"
She tries to speak, call for help, but she is unable to do so; impeded by his hand… "I wish I could trust you not to scream… but I can't take that risk, so I will say what I have to say, you will listen… and then I will leave…"
Alarmed, however not knowing what to expect and realising her options are limited, she decides to play this scene out as careful and as sensible as possibly. And much to his surprise, that's when he suddenly feels her relax beneath him… Taking that as his cue to carry on, he does so heavily… "I was sent here Miss Pope to kill you…"
Unfortunately words such as those can only ever be interpreted as foreboding; although not his intention, regardless, it causes her earlier panic to resurface. Grimacing, she pushes against his tight restraint… however, her attempts to break free are as feeble as her attempt to scream; nothing more than a muffled moan against his hand- tired and weak… "Ssssh, ssssh…" He insists, applying more pressure, but trying his best not to aggravate her injuries any further… "Stop it…" He warns, more for her sake than his own right now… "Rest assure Miss Pope, if I came to kill you, you would already be dead…" He grits between his teeth. "Instead, I've simply come here to warn you…"
Her eyes grow wide, as the man looming over her then goes on to shockingly reveal the identity of the man who had first hired him to follow her, photograph her, and then eventually kill her.
Jerry Grant.
Because Jerry Grant wanted her relationship with his only son to be permanently buried underground- literally, as well as figuratively.
Horrified, tears of unbridled fear fill in the corners of her eyes… Sounding almost sincere, Jake tries to placate her… "Don't cry Miss Pope… now is not the time for tears, now is the time for taking revenge, where revenge is due…"
She tries to speak again, and for some reason, maybe it's the look of recognition in her eyes; against his better judgement, he lets her say her piece… A part of him wanting, in fact, needing to hear what she has to say…
"And what about you?" She asks boldly, appearing a thousand times braver than what she actually feels inside.
"What about me?" he questions, somewhat bemused. The more time spent in this woman's presence, the more and more impressive she became. And it was now more than ever, that he could really see at first hand, what the younger Grant no doubted saw in her… Her forever fighting spirit.
"When do you pay for your penance?" She challenges. "Because you sent those men to kill me, didn't you?"
"I did send them," he admits, then explains matter-of-factly… "But they were only sent to roughen you up, and to warn you to end the affair with Nature Boy, but nothing more than that… I swear…"
"Roughen?" She shakes her head, fighting back the emotions threatening to consume her… "Those men, they tried to… they tried to rape me… one almost did… whilst the other stood by and watched… Tell me, was that part of your orders too?"
"No…"
"So what precisely did you ask them to do? Just beat me up, punch me, kick me… is that it?"
"I tried to find another way around it, but Jerry Grant wanted you dead… I thought if they did enough to just scare you, and yet keep you alive, that it would be enough to satisfy Jerry… I never anticipated that they would continue to deviate from the plan in the manner in which they did… I'm sorry..."
"Why?" She interrupts him abruptly, "Why come here and tell me this now?"
"Because, despite what you think of me… I felt it was the least I owed you. I was going to simply walk away, wash my hands of it all, but I knew that Jerry would not stop there if I did… He would keep on going until he killed you. I couldn't let that play on my conscience."
"If you really wanted to do the right thing, you would stay and give a statement to the police… but yet you'd rather run…"
"I might claim to have a conscience Miss Pope, but I'm not a good guy... I'm not noble enough to condemn the rest of my life to chains and incarceration… I'm not that man…"
He pulls an envelope from behind his back; that had been tucked into the waist band of his trousers undetected until now… "Here…"
"What is it?"
"It's all the evidence you need to convict Jerry for attempt of murder, and Mrs Grant, for being an accomplice…"
"Mrs Grant? As in Fitz's wife?"
"Yes… Mellie Grant, she has been aware of the affair for quite some time, in fact it was her that alerted it to Jerry in the first instance, only at that time she had no idea that the woman her husband was sleeping with was you. However, she does know now…"
"When did she find out it was me? How long? Was it after the surveillance photos?"
"No."
"Then when?" she asks, insightful enough to know that her race was probably the straw that broke the camel's back, and pushed for a hit to be made on her life… "When did she find out that the woman her husband was leaving her for was black?"
"Yesterday… Maybe early this morning, whenever it became public knowledge…" He reveals nonchalant, completely missing the shocked expression that has taken over her face… "Jerry was determined to keep the knowledge of your heritage hidden from Mellie… Because he was worried that once he finally got rid of you, if she was to ever find out that you were black, there was strong a possibility that she would refuse to stay with Fitz and file for divorce… And if that happened then Fitz's chance of making it to office would be slim-to-none, which would defeat the purpose entirely." He explains fully, looking over at her, almost expecting a response, but instead all he is met with is confusion.
"Are you okay Miss Pope?"
"What do you mean it was made public?"
He looks at her perplexed, and then it dawns on him, she doesn't know… but how could she not know? "Miss Pope, not long after you were admitted into hospital your entire affair with Fitzgerald Grant was leaked to the press… That's how Mellie found out; that's how the entire world has found out."
"Whaaa… what?" She was both incensed and upset.
It doesn't take long for the penny to drop… "Aaaah, it seems as though your precious Fitz has been keeping you in the dark Miss Pope, although, knowing him, it was done in a bid to shield you away from stress and the scrutiny of it all... Not that it will make a huge difference, because there's no hiding from something like this…"
She says nothing, as the gravity of the situation rapidly begins to sink in.
Feeling sorry for her, he allows her to have her moment, whilst he quickly takes stock of the time; the real Dr Rosen was due to turn up at any minute, and no doubt followed closely by Fitz. It was time for him to make a move.
His unexpected movement off the bed jars her from her thoughts, immediately bringing her to her senses and full awareness… "This is not over…" she warns him, momentarily halting him in his tracks.
He shrugs indifferently. "In my line of work, it never is Miss Pope… I know my time will come, I'm certain of it, Karma always has a way of catching up with you… but just as equally, I know it won't be today…" He retorts in confidence, before finally walking to the door. "In the envelope you will find two copies of everything, one for you and one for the police… I suggest you give it to Fitz, I'm sure he'll know what to do with it."
He grabs the handle, ready to turn, but not before taking one last look at her… "Goodbye Miss Pope and good luck, with everything. I doubt we shall ever meet again."
