A/N - Hey guys...I hope you continue to enjoy where this is headed...
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Chapter Eight – The Stars Danced When We Were Here
The door opened easily and Olivia was instantly taken about how tidy it was. She could still smell the cleaning products. They wondered around, taking it one floor at a time before there was just one door left. And when they opened it, Olivia knew they had hit gold. Clearly A.J's study, a desk sat directly in front of the floor to ceiling window, a typewriter in the middle, a lap top right next to that.
"Does anyone even use typewriters anymore?"
Olivia smiled softly as she ran her fingers over the worn keys.
"A.J was a romantic. She liked the way the keys sang."
"Poetic."
"Her words, not mine."
Peter stood back and frowned, his arms crossing over his chest.
"Well that's not fair."
"What?"
Olivia moved next to Peter and found a large, solid looking safe. Olivia looked around the office again, realizing for the first time that while there was the odd bits of paper here and there, there were no manuscripts, not real notes. Nothing.
"Why would A.J feel the need to hide her writing? She lived alone."
Olivia shook her head.
"She was always very protective of her writing. We need to get it open."
"Birthday?"
Olivia shook her head again.
"No. A.J liked puzzles. She would never use her birthday."
Olivia thought for a moment.
"Try seven, four, two and eight."
Peter did as he was told, smiling widely as the door clicked open. He turned to Olivia.
"How did you do that?"
"It was the last four digits for her phone number in college."
"I married a genius."
Peter pulled the door open. Inside, were stacks of papers and tapes. Olivia knelt beside Peter.
"She must have recorded her interviews."
"Sounds about right."
Together they pulled out the manuscripts, everything from work on Ted Bundy to the book that they saw today about Madeline McCaan, it was all there. It was the lower shelf that caught Olivia's attention. Inside clean folders were a collection of short stories and poetry, accompanied by letters of rejection from publishing houses.
"Peter, look."
Peter took the folder from her, skimming through the work.
"How could a woman who is making millions on her other work have her originals rejected?"
"I don't know. But listen to this."
Olivia cleared her throat.
I dream of the day I saw your eyes,
The flash, the depth and the hate
The hate was for me.
You ran through your blows
Over and over again
But the bruises mean nothing
There was hate in your eyes
The flash, the depth
The hate.
Peter sighed.
"A.J herself supports my theory."
Olivia finally saw the truth for what it was. The issue that couldn't be resolved between Mike and A.J had nothing to do with money. It had nothing to do with her getting lost in her writing and had everything to do with Mike's temper and fists.
"He hit her."
Peter nodded slightly.
"As soon as he lost his temper, I knew. Then when he went for you, I knew it for sure."
Olivia felt an odd flash of anger. She didn't know A.J as well as she once did but it didn't matter. No woman, no person should have to live through that kind of abuse alone. And A.J was alone. Her husband was beating her and God knows what else and she just took it. For six long years, she took it.
"Why didn't she tell me? I could have gotten her help."
"She was a proud woman. And I guess that pride made her not want to admit her mistake."
Olivia shook her head, unable to comprehend precisely what A.J was thinking. For years, she had seen her mother endure her step-father's abuse. For years, she and Rachel did the same. Olivia had to be the strong one. She had always considered A.J strong too.
"Liv, it doesn't make her weak."
She hated how Peter could read her mind. Perhaps it was written all over her face, the shock and disgust. Either way, she could not wrap her head around anyone tolerating being hit, being beaten by someone who claims to love you.
"I just…."
She couldn't put her thoughts into words. Perhaps it was shock, but the words wouldn't come. Peter put an arm around her shoulders, pressing a kiss to her temple.
"I know. You can ask her all you want when we find her."
"Can't I just shoot Mike? That will make me feel better."
"If it wasn't for Etta, I would let you. But I don't really feel like visiting you in prison."
"We could make it look like self-defence. He went for us once before."
Peter chuckled.
"I can't let you do that I'm afraid. This might help. Look at this."
Buried beneath all the writing and tapes was a thin document. Olivia glanced at the top, frowning.
"It's her Will."
"Yeah and if Mike is behind this, he is in for a nasty surprise. Look who she left her home and fortune too."
There, in the first paragraph, was a name the surprised her. Everything, from the home to the copyrights to her books would be left to Charles and Fiona Springs, her elderly neighbour and her beloved dog.
"He would get nothing."
Peter nodded.
"Yup. How much would that piss him off to learn that everything goes to a dog and an elderly woman?"
Peter stood with a sigh.
"Right, we need to get back to the lab and go through all this stuff. I'm interested to see what is on though tapes."
Peter offered Olivia a hand, tugging her off the floor and together, they gathered the paperwork and loaded up the truck. When they were about to leave, Olivia spotted Fiona Springs and Charles coming back up the street.
"Do you think she knows?"
Peter shook her head.
"No. I think she's just a nice old woman worrying about her neighbour."
They watched as Charles squatted, doing his business on the clean, green grass. Fiona simply smiled and waited, before tugging a plastic bag from her pocket, and cleaning up after the big dog. Olivia wasn't as good at reading people as Peter was but she could see what he saw. Fiona had no need for money she had plenty of her own if she was living in Freemantle Curve. And she seemed to love Charles. She really was just a nice old woman who held concern for her neighbour. Clearly, A.J trusted her enough to give her a key to her home.
"Give me a second. We should give her back the key."
Olivia slipped from the truck before Peter could protest, approaching Fiona and Charles. Charles gave a little chuff when he saw her, instantly striding over for a scratch.
"Thank you for your help Fiona."
Fiona shrugged as she accepted the key from Olivia.
"You are welcome. Are you sure you don't need to keep it?"
Olivia shook her head.
"If we need to come back-"
"Just come and see me. I have Bingo on Wednesdays, knitting club on Fridays and book club on Mondays The rest of the time I will be home. Oh, take this."
Fiona fished around in her pockets for a moment before handing Olivia a small piece of paper.
"It's my phone number. If you need any help, call me. A.J is a sweet girl. She took care of me when my husband, Rodney died. She didn't have too but she did. I want to help her, help you, anyway I can."
Olivia smiled softly.
"Thank you. Take my card if you think of anything else."
Fiona glanced at Charles, who was leaning against Olivia's leg again.
"He is the most important thing in her life."
She looked at Olivia again.
"She will be safe, right?"
"I hope so."
Fiona nodded slightly.
"Bad things tend to happen to good people, you ever notice that? Makes you wonder."
Fiona offered Olivia one last smile before starting towards her home, Charles trotting behind her. Olivia stood and watched them enter the large house, glad that A.J had at least one friend who was watching her back. One friend who knew the truth of her existence.