Title: Blue-eyed Angel, 2/?
Author: Goddess Evie
Date: December 23, 2011
Category: JJHR, Angst
Summary: Jonny and Jessie are definitely NOT okay after their run in with Zach Ellis and the rest of their family are doing their best to help the two.
Disclaimer: I do not own JQ. I make no money off this story. I am only using the characters for my own unique story. I also do not own "Open Door", Amy Lee and Evanescence does. I merely use them to enhance my humble writing and pay a little homage to such talented musicians.
Author's Notes: Merry Christmas! I hope you all enjoy this update. Not much goes on in these chapters, but sometimes you have to do a little house keeping in a story and that's what this chapter is. I hope it's not too boring. Also, thanks for the reviews I've received. They help me to keep writing! Now please enjoy!
Chapter 2: Lock the last open door my ghosts are gaining on me.
Jessie began the drive home sitting regularly in the passenger seat, but throughout the long drive she sank lower into the seat and turned away from Race until she had pressed herself into the corner between the door and seat. Race watched his daughter out of the corner of his eye as the frown on his face deepened. Jessie didn't make a sound or say a word during the entire ride and Race didn't press her.
Although it felt like it should be later, the sun was still shining in the late afternoon sky and Rockport citizens and tourists were everywhere enjoying the summer day; especially the teenagers who dreading the beginning of a new school year in just a week. Race sighed and glanced as his daughter as they left the outer limits of Rockport on the highway back to the compound. It should have been the same for Jessie, and Jonathon for that matter. Meeting up with friends, lounging on their private beach, spending as much time as possible with Hadji before he left for college, staying up way too late and sleeping in the next morning. Jessie would've spent all of her free time in the labs with Benton before school took up most of it.
None of that would happen now. Race wasn't even sure if either of them would be fit to attend school when it started. He and Benton were going to have to keep a very watchful eye on the two.
And of course there would be Jonny's trial. Not that Race believed for even a second that Jonny had actually murdered someone. It was ridiculous to think Jonny was at all capable of such evil. That boy had always had an aversion to taking another human life since the death of his own mother to the point where he'd begun to refuse to even touch a gun. Race had seen numerous times the look in Jonny's eyes when Race had been forced to kill someone-anyone-to protect the boy and his family. He didn't complain; he knew it was necessary, but he had a sensitivity to it that Race had always kept in mind.
Race punched the steering wheel and Jessie jumped and whimpered. Race mentally scolded himself as he soothed his daughter, keeping his hands tightly on the steering wheel and under control.
"I'm sorry, Ponchita. It's okay. I won't do that again. I promise. I'm sorry. I just…"
Race sighed. Jessie didn't relax. Race decided perhaps telling his daughter the truth would be the best thing.
"I'm frustrated with myself. I'm just as upset as you are about Jonny's arrest and indictment. And just as mad at myself about it, too. I keep asking myself what more I could've done to keep him out of police custody. Surely there was something I could do. I-" Race paused and pressed his mouth into a tight line. He watched the glittering ocean beyond the highway and wondered how the world could still look so happy and beautiful when his own personal world had suddenly become dark and ugly.
"I'm sorry."
He glanced at his daughter. She'd turned toward him a bit, watching him with the accusations still in her eyes. He knew the apology was not enough, but for the moment he didn't know how to convey his regret and penance to her.
The compound entrance moved toward them on their left. The gates swung open once Iris picked up the sensor in the car. Race turned onto the property without having to pause or wait. Jessie relaxed some and sat up a little once they entered the grounds. Race listened to the hum of the tires over the compound rode and studied the mansion as it slowly appeared over the horizon. Jessie audibly breathed in and sighed once but made no other reaction to returning home.
Race slowed as he approached the house and the garage door opened automatically just as the gates had. Race pulled smoothly into the garage and turned the car off. Neither he nor Jessie moved at first. Race looked around as if he this was the first time he'd seen the inside of the garage before settling his gaze on his daughter.
"Come on. Let's go inside."
Jessica took a deep breath and exhaled as she pulled on the door handle and rolled to her feet out of the car. Race exited on the other side and waited for Jessie to enter first, partially because he didn't want to crowd her and partially to watch how she acted. She'd lost some of her nervousness, but her eyes still flitted to the dark places and she looked over her shoulder constantly.
He followed at some distance through the mud room and into the kitchen. She paused and looked around herself and wrapped her arms around her middle. She glanced over her shoulder again and looked startled when she saw her father. Her gaze lingered on him and Race stood absolutely still while she assessed him. Apparently he passed because she looked forward again.
Race cautiously moved to lean against one of the counters. Had it been just this morning that he'd stood here with Jonny while the young man convinced him to let he and Jessie leave the compound to spend time together, just the two of them? Race didn't regret saying yes to any request as much as he did now as he watched his daughter, Jonny's shirt way too big on her and hanging half to her knees, rediscovering her home with new eyes. If he could just once in his life have prophetic vision, he'd wish for it during that conversation.
Jessie walked out of the kitchen and Race didn't follow. If she wanted to be alone, he would allow her that, and if she wanted company, he would let her come to him on her own. Besides, he needed to call Estella and fill her in on what had happened and perhaps suggest she come spend some time in Maine. Race couldn't think of a time when Jessie needed to have both her parents more.
Jessie appeared in the doorway again. She checked the hall behind her from whence she'd just come then leaned in the entrance. Her gaze swept along the tiled floor but stopped short of her father. She turned out of his sight then only a moment later returned once more.
"I don't-" she began with frustration. Her hands twisted the hem of Jonny's shirt and she worked her jaw in direct imitation of her father. "I'm so mad at you but I can't be alone. I can't-" Jessie rubbed at her eyes and twisted to lean her head against the wall.
"Whatever you need me to do Jessie, just tell me."
Jessie worked her mouth for a moment but couldn't decide what to tell her father so she closed her eyes tightly and shook her head back and forth. Race waited patiently for her to be able to articulate what she needed. At least she could speak, even if she didn't know what to say most the time, which was marginally better than the condition Jonny was in.
"I need a shower," she muttered and slid out of sight again.
Race crossed the kitchen to watch her leave, but didn't follow any further. By the way she moved as she reached the stairs and jogged up them, Race could tell she didn't want him to. He stood watching her even after she had disappeared down the hall towards her room and asking himself how he was ever going to help his daughter. Mad men and megalomaniacs he could handle. They required deliberate and direct actions he could take. This was wholly out of his understanding.
Once he heard the shower running, Race trudged into Benton's personal study and activated the video call option after locking the door. The last thing he needed was for Jessie to come looking for him as he was retelling what had happened to her.
Luckily, Estella was not currently entrenched somewhere in a South American jungle where getting in direct contact took much effort and the right timing. Having recently completed a dig, she had moved her base of operations to the University who'd contracted her to classify and identify the artifacts she'd spent months digging up. Race dialed the number Estella had forwarded to him and listened to the distant ringing from the other end of the line. In only two rings somebody picked up and answered in Spanish. Race answered in kind.
"I need to speak with Dr. Velasquez. Please tell her Roger is calling."
"Dr. Velasquez is currently busy in the artifact room. May I take a message and have her call you back?"
"You may go personally find Dr. Velasquez and tell her Roger is calling. This is a family emergency and I need to speak with her immediately."
The words "family emergency" must have been enough to convince the young man to retrieve Estella because he assured Race he'd only be a moment before Race heard the phone being set down. He waited for close to ten minutes before he heard the sounds of the receiver being handled again and then a series of clicks. A moment later Estella appeared on the screen wearing an anxious expression.
"Roger, what's wrong? Is Jessie okay?"
"Not exactly," Race responded.
He looked at his ex-wife for a moment before he launched into the story, starting from the very beginning: that moment when Jonny had called the hotel room in LA requesting him on the phone. He told every detail without censor and unlike he would've with anybody else, he didn't cling to his stoic façade. Estella listened in silence, though Race rambled through everything so quickly she couldn't have gotten a word in edge wise had she wanted to. By the time he finished Estella's face had gone pale white and she didn't appear to breathing.
"And Jessie and Jonny are…" Estella couldn't finish her question.
Race shook his head. "Jessie needs you, Stell. She's stuck in a house full of men after what happened and I'm at a total loss. Please say you can come."
Estella nodded absently. "It'll take me a day or two to make the arrangements, but I'll be there as soon as I can."
Race sighed in relief.
"Where's Jessie now?"
Race blinked and looked around as he listened to the silence of the mansion. He glanced at the nearest clock to find he'd been on the phone with Estella for an hour.
"I better go check on her."
"Have her call me back. I'll be waiting here in my office."
Race left the office and looked up and down the hallway. The mansion remained quiet, but with the state Jessie was in right now and Benton and the boys still at the police station, that didn't surprise Race. He tuned in to his hearing and detected running water. What could Jessie be doing? She'd gone to shower an hour ago.
Race followed the sound of the water up the stairs and down the hall to his left towards the kids' rooms. The sound of the running water grew louder and he pinpointed it coming from the bathroom. Was Jessie still in the shower?
Race knocked lightly on the door and waited, but got no answer. He knocked a little louder and still no answer.
"Jess? Are you okay in there?"
When Jessie didn't respond, he rapped and called out to her again, but all was silent behind the door except for the water running. Race deliberated for a moment before he reached for the door handle. He twisted it slowly and found it locked. With a quick command to IRIS the look clicked and Race pushed the door open a crack. No steam came out to meet him and the bathroom was empty. Jessie's clothes were strewn on the floor but the towels hadn't been touched. There was no silhouette behind the curtain.
With trepidation Race stepped into the bathroom and called for Jessie so she would know he was there. This time he heard a response, though not one he liked. A whimper came from behind the shower curtain and Race frowned.
"Jessie, it's me. Please let me know you're okay."
This time he heard not a whimper, but sobbing. Race grabbed the curtain and gently pulled it aside. At first he thought the tub was empty, but then he looked down. Jessie lay curled up on the floor of the tub, her red hair streaming in the water, sobbing uncontrollably. Race reached for the faucet and was shocked to find that the jet of water from the shower head was icy cold. He shut the water off quickly and grabbed both towels from the rack, which he laid over his daughter.
Jessie didn't move nor did she stop crying though it was obvious now that she was shivering. Though Race was hesitant to add to her distress, he knew he couldn't leave her like this and hope she came out on her own. As gently as he could, Race pulled his daughter from the tub. She fought him but he didn't give up until she was lying on the bathroom rug instead of in the shower.
Race sat down against the tub and stayed with Jessie until she stilled both her shivering and her crying. Jessie rubbed at her face with one of the towels and peeked at her father. He could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't happy with him, but he would bear it. He would have to.
"Are you okay now?"
She continued to look at him but didn't answer his question.
"What were you doing?"
"Trying to get clean."
Race almost sobbed for his daughter at that answer. He had to look away from her for a moment.
"Why don't you get dressed? I called your mom. She wants to talk to you."
Jessie sat up, adjusting the towels and scooting away from Race as she rose.
"You told her?"
"She needed to know, Jess. She's worried about you. She's going to come for a visit."
Jess looked Race directly in the eyes for the first time since he'd found her sitting on that front step next to Jonny. It didn't last long, but it gave Race hope.
"Go get dressed," he urged gently. "She's waiting to hear from you."
Jessie nodded and rose to her feet as she clutched the towels around her. She wobbled a little but caught herself and Race flinched with the desire to reach out and steady her and the knowledge that he had to give her space until she was ready; a decision only she could make.
He took a moment to pick up her discarded clothing for her and realized that Jonny's shirt was missing. Why she would want to hold onto it, he didn't know, but he wasn't going to press her about it.
Jessie's door was cracked open as Race passed her room and he called to her, "I'm going to get your mother on the phone. She'll be waiting to speak with you."
Benton stood next to Hadji as they watched Jonny through the two-way mirror sitting silently with the psychologist who was trying again to get him to talk. Dougan used every tactic he could to keep Jonny in the interrogation room and out of the holding cells for as long as possible, though he kept warning his ruses could run out at any moment. Benton had tried to convince Dougan to let him and Hadji see Jonny, but Dougan had admitted that even letting him into the room the first time had been against protocol and he couldn't risk a second time.
"You'll be able to see him when we move him to the holding cells," Dougan assured. "Visits are only half an hour, but it'll give you a chance to be close to him for a little while."
"What happened?" Hadji asked, pulling Benton from his thoughts.
Benton had been expecting and dreading that question from his son. He was surprised it had taken Hadji so long to ask it. Benton looked at Hadji as he tried to figure out how to explain what happened when he himself wasn't completely sure.
"Jessie's stalker..." Benton began.
"Zachary Ellis," Hadji filled in. He said the name like a question.
"Yes. He managed to grab Jessie from the park and isolate her."
"He kept his promises in those letters," Hadji's statement came out as fact and his tone of voice belied his anger and disgust.
"Yes. He was apparently in the process of doing that when Jonny found them. They fought and now Zach is dead."
Hadji said nothing, but Benton could detect the minute changes in his usually calm face to guess what his son was thinking.
"Dougan and Race both think Jonny killed Zach."
"He would not have killed Zach. Not on purpose. He would have stopped Zach at all costs to save Jessie short of killing him. If Zach is dead it is because of an accident and not because of any intentions they assume Jonny may have had."
Hadji was not known for outbursts, even in the most stressful of situations so Benton stared at his son for a moment before he could respond.
"I agree. Accidental sounds a whole lot more plausible than Jonny outright killing him, even if Zach was fulfilling his grotesque fantasies and putting Jessie in danger."
Hadji sighed and looked back at Jonny. "I agree with Jessie. This is not right. Jonny should not be in police custody."
"I hate seeing him like this as well Hadji, but Dougan and Race both assured me this is how such incidents are handled."
"So what is the next step?"
"We're waiting to get in front of a judge to see how much bail is going to be so we can post it and take Jonny home. Then I suspect a lawyer and a therapist. For Jonny and Jessie both."
"I am not sure a therapist will be much help for Jonny. He is too private in such matters."
"I know you are used to being Jonny's confidant, Hadji, and I do doubt the effectiveness a professional will be for him, but we have to try."
Hadji nodded. "I will try as well, if that is okay. If you do not think it will interfere with whatever professional he ends up visiting."
"You'll have no argument from me, Hadji. We'll all try. That way when Jonny is ready to speak he'll know he has plenty of people who are willing to listen."
Father and son fell into silence as they watched Jonny ignore the psychologist trying to communicate with him. His usually vibrant eyes were now a dull blue and wherever he looked it was obvious he was not seeing his immediate surroundings. Benton placed his hand on Hadji's shoulder and gave him a squeeze. Hadji returned the gesture with a grim look.
"I need to call out lawyers. I've put it off for too long as it is."
"I will stay here and let you know if anything changes."
Benton exited the room and pulled out his cell. He had his attorney's office on speed dial and he punched the buttons for it and put the phone to his ear. The lawyers who worked for him were experts in copyright and patent laws, not criminal suits, but Benton hoped they could point him in the right direction. He didn't know who else to call at this point.
After only a couple of rings the secretary picked up and greeted him kindly. Benton identified himself and asked to be connected with his attorney, Geoffrey Grant. Benton counted on the fact that he received priorities for being one of the office's highest paying clients. The secretary didn't support and patched him right through to Geoffrey.
"Dr. Quest!" Geoffrey answered with surprise after Benton had only been on hold for a few seconds. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you. We're still waiting to hear back on your latest patent claims."
"I'm not calling about patent claims, Mr. Grant. I have a much more pressing issue and I need some advice and a recommendation if you have one."
Mr. Grant must have picked up on the serious tone in Benton's voice because he promised to do what he could with solemnity. Benton explained the situation briefly, including only the details about Jonny's arrest and indictment and his desire to prove self-defense.
"You're going to need the best defense lawyer money can buy. I don't know much about criminal defense, but I do know getting a self-defense verdict is very difficult. The courts take these things seriously as they don't want the average civilian thinking they can go around killing people and then claim self-defense. The best defense attorney who deals in criminal law in Maine is Liam Fitzmichael. I have his number here if you'd like it."
"Please," Benton invited and listened carefully to the digits Mr. Grant read to him. His photographic memory instantly memorized the number. Benton thanked his attorney and hung up, then immediately dialed the number he'd been given.
This secretary answered just as cheerfully as the last, but Benton knew he wouldn't be put through to the person he needed to speak to as quickly. He identified himself, hoping perhaps the woman would recognize his name and give him some sort of special treatment, and asked to speak to Mr. Fitzmichael. No go. The woman informed Benton that Mr. Fitzmichael was currently in a meeting and couldn't be disturbed, but would call back as soon as he was available. When Benton tried to find out when that would be, the secretary gave him the run around. Benton left her with his number and tried to convey how important it was Mr. Fitzmichael got back to him immediately. The woman assured him once more that his call would be returned in a timely manner and ended the conversation.
Benton sighed audibly and rubbed at his beard as he pocketed his phone. A commotion behind him caught his attention and he turned around in time to see the door to the interrogation rooms open and Jonny being led through by a couple of officers. Jonny's hands were cuffed behind his back, but he didn't seem to notice. He'd locked eyes with Hadji, who stared back at his brother just as intently. Jonny craned his head around to keep from breaking eye contact with Hadji and Hadji moved to stay in his view, though another officer put out his arms to keep him back.
Hadji gasped when he and Jonny were forced to look away from each other, though Hadji didn't take his eyes off his brother. Jonny spotted Benton, but only looked at his father for a moment before turning his gaze away. The police escorted Jonny down the hall and into the booking station. Benton continued to watch the door until he sensed Hadji beside him. He turned to look at his elder son and was surprised to see such obvious distress in Hadji's face.
"Please, Dr. Quest…father, please, we must help him. This is not right. He needs our help. He needs us."
Benton drew Hadji close. "I know," he replied softly as he felt his son trembling in his arms. He didn't know what else to say.