October 30th
Chapter Three
Mary Margaret watched the construction crew go back into the basement to start work again on the renovations after receiving the go-ahead order from city hall to proceed. It made sense. After all, the skeletons had already been removed, and the forensic team had finished collecting any possible evidence, so there really was no reason to keep the construction people away from the site.
She turned her attention away from them as the last man went downstairs and back to more important matters, such as Peter and Jody. They'd both dragged themselves into work this morning, though it looked like this was the last place they wanted to be. Both were still pale and listless, and Mary Margaret wondered if they'd even gotten any sleep after looking into their bloodshot eyes. Each of them wore several layers of clothing.
When Mary Margaret asked Jody why, she said she was still chilled from the day before, and there seemed to be very little she could do to completely eliminate the pervading cold she felt. Physically, Jody and Peter looked much better than they had the day before, but their emotional state was another story altogether. They had an almost haunted cast to their eyes as they struggled to make it through the day, even when they kept busy.
Mary Margaret tapped her fingernails on her desk as she remembered how strangely the night shift had acted when she came in that morning and how they'd torn out of the place once the first of the day shift started rolling in. Memories of her own experience in the bathroom the day before made her shiver and she wondered what other bizarre experiences were out there unspoken.
Within the hour, life started to resume its normal hustle-and-bustle, probably thanks to some high-octane coffee Blake had made. Peter was even pestering Blake to help him on a case he was trying to finish up. Mary Margaret winked at Jody when she caught Jody's eye. Jody smiled in return, then went back to the report she was working on.
Captain Simms emerged from her office and stopped beside Mary Margaret's desk. "Good to see everyone has recovered from yesterday, despite the nasty weather outside," Simms said.
Strenlich joined them as Simms asked, "Any sign of when this storm system will pass? I really don't want to brave the elements again in just a few minutes."
"Not that I've heard, Captain," Strenlich said, shaking his head before adding, "It's supposed to pour all day. If it keeps going like this, we'll be rowing to work soon."
Simms grunted and said, "Now, that's a wonderful image. I have to leave for the mayor's task force meeting at city hall in a few minutes. I'd prefer not to be stranded there."
Mary Margaret smiled. "Hopefully, you won't need to commandeer a passing rowboat to get back here."
"I've got my fishing boat, Captain," Frank volunteered. "I'll come get you if you get stuck," Frank said as he gave Simms a sympathetic smile.
Simms smiled. "That's very reassuring."
She turned and motioned to him. "Come with me, Frank, while I gather my things to leave. There's a couple matters I want you to take care of for me while I'm gone."
They were just moving back towards her office when the power went off again.
"Damn it!" Strenlich cursed loudly.
Mary Margaret heard Blake chuckle at Strenlich's reaction, then Strenlich went on to say, "It's probably something those damned construction workers did!"
"Okay, everybody hold tight," Blake said. "I've got a flashlight right here. Don't want any scraped knees from running into office furniture."
The group of cops waited patiently, apparently trusting in Blake's dependable track record of coming through for them in a pinch, though Mary Margaret was a little alarmed that the emergency lighting hadn't automatically kicked on when it should have. She heard the metallic rasp of a drawer opening and then a switch being activated.
She fully expected to have some light in the seconds that followed, but she still stood in complete darkness.
"Now, that's strange," Blake muttered. "There's new batteries in that thing."
"Never fear, Skalany is here," Mary Margaret said as she flicked on a cigarette lighter.
Everyone breathed a little easier with the appearance of that tiny flame of light – everyone except Jody and Peter. They were both uncharacteristically silent. What was more, they had moved to each other's side in the darkness without saying a word to anyone.
Mary Margaret stared at Jody, more than a little puzzled, since Jody had been beside her only moments beforehand. What was more, Jody was now standing in Peter's arms and when Mary Margaret looked at them more closely, they were both crying.
Skalany stepped closer to them. She stopped when she felt a familiar chill to the air and knew something was up. "Ah, not again... " she muttered as her worried gaze caught the captain's eye.
Simms was already moving towards Peter and Jody. Mary Margaret caught up to Simms and together they approached the two of them very slowly, neither one of them wanting to startle Peter or Jody. Mary Margaret heard Strenlich come up behind her and glanced back to see Blake was also moving into position to provide backup if needed.
"Peter? Jody? Are you two all right?" Simms asked gently. They were almost to them and Mary Margaret could see by their expressions they weren't crying from sadness or fear, but more from joy.
Peter was hugging Jody as he cradled her head under his chin and ran his fingers through her hair. He was whispering words of comfort and love into Jody's ear. The tenderness in his movements caused Mary Margaret to pause for a moment.
Aside from being out of character, there was something very different about Peter and Jody – something almost tangible, yet elusive to identify at the same time.
It was as if they were watching another couple who happened to have Jody and Peter's appearances. That thought added to the chill in her bones. When Jody looked up at Peter through tear-filled eyes, there was something so innocent and open in her expression.
Simms didn't seem to have any tolerance for the strange interactions. She shook her head slightly and got back to business at hand. "Detectives, your attention please," she said forcefully.
Peter, with Jody still in his embrace, raised his head slightly and looked at the captain as if seeing her for the first time. He smiled broadly and spoke with a strong southern accent. "I found her at last, madam. I found Abigail. Finally, she's with me again and all is right with the world once more."
And with his words, he rocked Jody more tightly in his arms.
The captain seemed unfazed by the bizarre happenings. She stepped closer and said, "Peter? That's Jody Powell you are holding."
Peter shook his head. "No, this fair maiden is dear Abigail. Meaning no disrespect, madam, my given name is Joseph. Hallelujah, Abigail, we are together again! By the grace of the good Lord above, we are together again!"
Peter laughed out loud, his elation spilling over into his every move. No one else moved for the next few moments as they tried to process what was happening. Mary Margaret was stunned into silence. The man who had just spoken to Simms sounded nothing like the Peter Caine Mary Margaret knew, especially with the inflections of the deep South echoing in his words.
"What the hell is going on here?"
Kermit's no-nonsense voice cut through the riveting atmosphere of the bullpen so abruptly, Mary Margaret almost dropped her flickering lighter. The interruption broke the magical interplay of the moment and just as suddenly, the lights and power came back on again. The next moment, Peter and Jody crumpled to the floor, unconscious.
As people recovered and rushed to help the oblivious detectives, no one said a word. What they had just witnessed had been too weird to consider. Kermit was unaffected by the surging emotions of those around him. He strolled up to the crowd that had gathered around Jody and Peter. He peeked around the assembled shoulders as he said dryly, "I swear, you're a few minutes late to work and you miss everything."
Mary Margaret glared at him, at least until Jody and Peter began to regain consciousness.
"Do you want me to call for paramedics, Captain?" Blake asked, his nearly spent voice, heavy with laryngitis asked of Simms.
"Yes, Blake."
"No, Blake," Peter's own hoarse voice called out, "That won't be necessary."
Simms bristled and she said, "I happen to be the captain of this precinct and I will be the one to make the orders if you please – so, yes, Blake, call them in."
"But, Captain," Peter began.
"Sit tight, Peter. The paramedics will examine both of you," she said, bringing a tensed hand to rub her mouth as she caught Kermit's eye, still a little shell-shocked by what they'd just witnessed.
Mary Margaret knew exactly how she felt as she knelt beside Jody and took Jody's icy hand in hers and tried to rub some more warmth into it. Their recent trip into the bizarre and abnormal didn't look like it was going to stop any time soon.
oOoOoOoOo
Skalany, Broderick and Blake placed dozens of emergency candles and lighters around the station house to avoid being caught helpless in another power outage – the kind of outage where even flashlights with fresh batteries failed to work. Simms meant to make sure they were ready if it happened again.
Jody was sitting at her desk. A few hours had passed and she was fiddling around with one of her Halloween decorations that she'd left on her desk the day before – back when life had seemed normal, but that felt like a lifetime ago now. She remembered a conversation she'd with Peter the previous year when she had asked him why he hated Halloween so much.
"I've had enough ghosts and demons in my life, Jody – I don't need to pretend they scare the hell out of me. They do. I've seen them firsthand and most incidents are ones I'd rather block out than celebrate."
At the time, Jody had refused to let Peter play the Grinch of Halloween. "Oh, Peter, Halloween's not just about ghosts and demons... okay, well, maybe to a certain extent, but to the majority of people, it can be great fun. The same people who love to be scared to death at a horror film. But I think Halloween is really about the child in all of us who enjoys playing make-believe every once in a while."
"Well, that may be fun for most people, but I, for one, can live without it. So please feel free to exclude me from the festivities in the future, okay?"
Jody sighed deeply, wondering if these recent incidents involving Abigail and Joseph would ruin Halloween forever for her like Peter's past encounters with ghosts and demons had done for him.
Peter got up to hand Jody a file from a recent case where they'd both had to write a follow-up report. He glanced around warily and Jody knew why. It seemed like his every interaction with her brought on unwanted and intensive attention from everyone else in the bullpen, not that she could blame them.
One glance at Peter told her he really was worried for her. His concern touched her heart. "How are you doing, partner?" Peter asked softly as he squatted beside Jody's chair in an effort to shield their conversation from the others as much as possible.
She reached forward and brushed away an errant strand of hair from his eyes, her hand lingering at his cheek as a sad, almost bittersweet feeling descended upon her.
oOoOoOoOo
Mary Margaret shivered in response to the sudden drop in temperature and turned in time to see Joseph raise his left hand and place it over Abigail's, which was still poised at his cheek. Joseph closed his eyes, as if reveling in the physical contact, then he went to a kneeling position in front of Abigail and took her hand in his, holding it close to his heart.
"'How do I love thee? Let me count the ways... '" Joseph smiled broadly as he spoke, raising his voice.
"Damn, here we go again," Mary Margaret said as she slowly moved closer to the loving couple. "Blake, notify the chief and the captain."
Abigail's expression shone with an inner light as she replied in a feigned scolding tone, "I declare, Joseph William Ashbury, you are only reciting my favorite poem so that I will prepare my prized peach cobbler for Sunday's supper dessert."
Joseph used his southern drawl for all he could get as he put out his hands with his palms up in front of the woman before him. "Alas, I must beg absolution, fair lady, for it is true. How can you ever forgive this scoundrel you love so dearly?"
Mary Margaret was distantly aware that Blake had returned with Simms and Strenlich as she watched the interactions of Joseph and Abigail, uncertain of what move she should make. It seemed to her, the gentle teasing was innocent enough. The couple was almost playful in their mutual attraction and it was quite clear the two displaced spirits were deeply in love.
A sudden movement by the couple pulled Mary Margaret's attention back to them. Jody and Peter sagged in each other's arms for a moment before glancing around in bewilderment. Jody put a hand to her temple as if she had a terrible headache. Peter did the same thing as he stood and staggered back to his desk.
Without saying another word, he laid his head on top of his desk and moaned softly, then raised up and met Mary Margaret's concerned gaze. Shaking his head despondently, he shivered, despite the multitude of layers of clothing he was wearing.
It seemed as if the transformations from Jody and Peter to Abigail and Joseph were coming with greater ease and frequency, and lasting longer each time. Mary Margaret rubbed the back of her neck and wondered just exactly what that meant for Jody and Peter. She didn't come up with any good answers.
oOoOoOoOo
Chapter 3