In The Wrong Place
Chapter 18
Steve fidgeted and turned and tried to go to sleep but no matter what he tried he just couldn't sleep! He had never felt so exhausted in his whole life and his body was crying out for rest but his brain would not give in and allow him to doze off...He was getting very frustrated and eventually he opened his eyes, sighed and louder than he intended it to be he exclaimed...
"OH MAN !"
Hearing Steve's exclamation, Jeannie hurried back into the living room and over to Steve...
"Steve! What is it? Are you ok?"
"Yeah...I'm ok Jeannie...Sorry...It's just that all day today I've fallen asleep...in the car, on Mike's desk and now when I can finally sleep where I'm supposed to...I can't!"
Steve looked worn out and now on top of that he looked frustrated and fed up.
Jeannie couldn't help but feel sorry for Steve...He looked so miserable... So kneeling down again beside him she again took his hand in hers and spoke softly...
"Well, you're probably thinking too much about it..."
Steve looked at her confused..."What do you mean?"
"Well, all those other times you went asleep today you hadn't meant to...so you weren't trying to go asleep...So now that you are trying to go asleep it's much harder to...If you see what I mean?"
Steve studied Jeannie smiling..."That has a twisted sense of logic about it ...but that doesn't help me go asleep ,now does it?"
Jeannie smiled back at Steve..."I could get you some hot milk if you like?"
"No thanks...But there is one thing you could do for me..."
Jeannie eyed Steve up suspiciously...
"Oh yeah...And what would that be?"
"You could stay here and just talk to me and it might help me sleep."
"Steven Keller! Are you saying I have a boring voice that will put you to sleep?" Jeannie replied pretending to look hurt and swatting harmlessly at him...
Quickly defending himself Steve continued..."NO!...No...I'm not saying that at all...It's just that you have a soothing voice...It's easy to listen to..."
Jeannie laughed at Steve's comeback..."Ooh!...nice save Keller!" and then getting serious again she studied him and asked..."You really think that will help you sleep?
"Yeah...Come on Jeannie...Please..."
Seeing Steve's pleading puppy dog eyes...Jeannie laughed again...
"Ok...What do you want me to talk about?"
"Anything at all...college, the weather...stories about Mike in the old days..."
"Uh-huh ...You're not getting any gossip about Mike from me Keller!... but actually... there was something I wanted to ask you about?"
Steve looked at Jeannie intrigued..."Go ahead, ask!"
"Earlier on the phone, you mentioned something about "if a grey haired man came to the door I wasn't to answer it"...Who were you talking about Steve?"
Steve became slightly uneasy not wanting to alarm Jeannie unnecessarily. "You don't need to worry about that Jeannie...I was just being extra cautious that's all."
"Steve!...Don't treat me like a child!...You wouldn't have said it if you weren't concerned about something..." then thinking about it she continued..."My God! You were talking about Joe Landers...weren't you? Do you really think he'd come here?...Oh Steve!"
"Jeannie, calm down!...I'm not treating you like a child...I just don't see any point in worrying you unless there's genuinely something to be worried about!"
"Ok...fair enough...But you didn't answer my question ...Was it Joe Landers you were talking about?"
Steve looked at Jeannie trying to decide if he should answer that question or not...But then he decided that if his gut feeling was right then maybe it would be no harm if Jeannie was aware of the possibility of a move by Landers too...
"Yes...He seems to be blaming Mike for this whole mess..." Seeing horror cross Jeannie's face Steve continued quickly..."Look, there's probably nothing to be worried about and I'm sure Mike will have a unit keeping a close eye on him anyway but just be on your guard ok and don't open the door if you don't know who it is..Just until we get this whole thing cleared up anyway...Ok?"
"Ok Steve..."Jeannie answered shakily and then suddenly threw her arms around Steve and put her head on his chest..."Oh Steve,...now I'm worried..."
Steve wasn't quite expecting Jeannie to react like that and inwardly started to regret saying anything...The last thing he ever wanted to do was upset or frighten Jeannie...Putting one arm around her and stroking her hair with his other...he spoke softly to her..."Hey, hey...You don't have to worry...I'm here aren't I?...I'd never let anyone hurt you...or Mike...You know that right?... Just put it down to the ramblings of a guy who lost half his blood volume yesterday. All these pain meds must be making me a little paranoid..." Then trying to lighten the situation he continued..."Besides you do know you're supposed to be helping me get to sleep and not hugging me to death...Right?"
Jeannie laughed at this and sitting back up she smiled at Steve...
"You're right...Sorry...I'd just feel better if Mike was here too...you know?"
"Don't worry...He'll be home soon..."...and with that Steve stifled a huge yawn...and rubbed his tired eyes...
Seeing how exhausted Steve was, Jeannie decided it was time to make sure he got some sleep and so she changed the subject ...
"Hey, did Mike tell you what I want to do in college next semester ?"
"Yeah...yeah he did..Architecture right?" Steve said yawning again...
"Not just architecture Steve!..Planning!...Environmental planning of whole communities..."
Steve smiled again and marvelled at the enthusiasm and passion that Jeannie displayed for things she cared about...
"Oh but Mike hates the idea..." Jeannie said slightly downhearted...
"Are you kidding me? Mikes told everyone in the Bureau what a brilliant architect his daughter is going to be...He's forever singing your praises...He's very proud of you Jeannie...Don't ever doubt that..."
Jeannie brightened up and beamed from ear to ear..."The course is really interesting Steve..." and with that Jeannie began to tell Steve in vivid detail all about it...Steve listened and marvelled at how her face lit up and how focused she was on what she wanted to do...but after a few minutes Steve's eyelids grew heavy...Jeannie's words faded and all he could hear was the soothing tone of her voice...He felt his eyelids close and felt sleep calling him.
All the while Jeannie was talking she was watching Steve closely...She saw him getting more sleepy as the minutes passed and when his eyes finally fully closed she continued talking for a couple more minutes just to make sure he was sound asleep..."Well what do you know! It actually worked! " Jeannie thought to herself and then she smiled and stared at the sleeping young man...
She thought about everything that had happened since she came home last night...She thought about everything that Steve had been through...She thought about how forgiving he had been of the man who caused all his trouble and how he had saved her from falling down the steps..And what he had said about always looking out for her and Mike..."You really are a special guy Steve Keller"...she whispered and then with a mischievous grin on her face she leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek...Then standing up she headed back to her preparations in the kitchen...As she disappeared through the kitchen door she didn't see Steve's eyes open slightly nor the huge grin that lit up his face as once more he closed his eyes and gave in to the sleep that he so desperately needed.
Steve slept soundly for the next hour and a half without incident...Jeannie had been working away in the kitchen but had glanced in regularly to check on her sleeping patient...She couldn't help but feel apprehensive about what Steve had said about Joe Landers blaming Mike on his current predicament. After all from what Steve and Mike had said Landers drinking was out of control and he had already shot Steve and was suspected of killing his longtime partner...A man like that could very easily strike again without any conscience and in that moment she prayed that Mike would be home soon...
Steve woke from a deep sleep but instead of feeling rested he felt awful...His injured side felt like it was on fire and his arm was itching like crazy again...On top of all that there was a headache building deep within his skull and he felt a cold sweat all over...He began to feel panicked...This isn't good Steve! he thought to himself...Maybe the wounds have gotten infected?...Yeah that would explain some of it...He heard Jeannie working out in the kitchen and wondered how long he had been asleep...Glancing at his watch he realized that he had only been asleep for a short time...Very carefully he swung his legs off the couch until he was sitting upright again. God, his side was burning!...He pressed his hand to his side and felt something wet..Almost afraid to look, Steve glanced down at his side and saw a bloodstain on the front of his shirt...His arm was also annoying him so pulling up his left sleeve he almost recoiled in horror when he saw that the angry red rash had spread practically up to his wrist!... Damn it! This day just keeps getting worse!...he thought. Knowing full well that he was in trouble, Steve decided that this was definitely no time to pretend that he was ok...So gathering his wits about him he called out in as close to a normal voice as he could manage without alarming the young woman in the other room.
"Jeannie!"
Hearing Steve call her name startled Jeannie who came hurrying into the living room and saw Steve sitting up on the couch...
"Steve, I thought you'd sleep longer than that!" she joked but on seeing how pained and sickly Steve was she rushed over to him ...
"Dear God Steve! You look terrible...What's wrong?"
The last thing Steve wanted was to panic Jeannie but at the same time he felt that he would have no other choice but to get some medical advice on what was happening to him...Taking another deep breath."Listen to me Jeannie...I don't want you to panic but I think we're gonna have to call the hospital...The rash on my arm has got worse and I'm going to need another clean shirt."Steve said as he lifted his hand to reveal the fresh bloodstain...
Jeannie gasped when she saw his side and sitting down quickly beside him she checked his back and was even more alarmed to see a matching bloodstain on the back of his shirt...She then took his left arm and rolled up his sleeve and saw the angry red rash that had spread beyond the bandage and down towards his wrist...She studied him closely and was very concerned by what she saw...He looked very drawn and seemed to be in considerable discomfort...Feeling panic rise within her she stood up quickly.
"I'll call them right now Steve.."
Before she had a chance to go any further Steve grabbed her hand...
"Jeannie, Hold on a second...Let's just be calm ok?...I...I need some painkillers first and we need to clean the wounds and then we'll call ok?"
"Ok Steve..." Jeannie said feeling anything but calm. But she knew he was right. Better to stop the bleeding and get him comfortable first. She ran and fetched the pharmacy bag from the sideboard and some water from the kitchen...Taking out the bottle of pain meds she unscrewed the lid...
"How many do you take?"
As another bolt of pain ripped through his side Steve looked at Jeannie...
"You better give me two..."
Handing him the water and the two pills Steve swallowed then down. Then Jeannie got the first aid box again and going to Steve's hold all bag rummaged for another clean shirt...
As a sudden shiver of cold ran through him Steve called out to Jeannie...
"Jeannie! Did Mike pack any of my sweatshirts? I feel a little cold in here..."
On hearing this Jeannie stopped her search of Steve's bag and looking up at Steve noticed that he was shivering slightly...Getting a very uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach she stood up and headed back to Steve with alarm written all over her face...Seeing Jeannie hurrying back over to him startled Steve...
"What?...What's the matter?"..he asked as another shudder racked his body.
Reaching Steve she placed a hand on his forehead and could feel tears pricking at her eyes when she felt the intense heat that was emanating from it..."Oh God Steve...You've got a fever!"
Meanwhile...
All the way across town at the Bureau Mike had just finished his questioning of the suspect Frank Graves.
"Ok Frank...You can go talk to your wife for a few minutes...She's just outside"...and as Graves rushed out to his wife Mike called out to the Sergeant on duty.."Art, keep an eye on him.."
Then closing the door to the interrogation room he turned and looked at Rudy Olsen. Rudy asked...
"What do you make of it Mike?"
"Well, he corroborates the story of the two eye witnesses...It's pretty damning if you ask me?"
"It's a tough one Mike...If that's the case Joe has broken every law in the book..drunk on duty, manslaughter, obstructing justice and attempted murder...We'll have to bring him in and throw the book at him! Who do you want to send?"
Mike leaned back against the wall and sighed...
"It's a real tough one Rudy but the law is meant for everyone even police officers...I've had a unit outside Joe's place keeping an eye on him since Steve's incident...Harris and Lockner are already there...They can bring him in..."
"Ok Mike...I'll call them and give the order... Look you better head home. You look tired Mike... Go home and take care of Steve...We can handle it from here."
With that they both exited the Interrogation room...Rudy picked up the nearest phone and informed Harris and Lockner they were to bring in Landers for questioning...Art took Frank Graves off to the cells and Mike approached Helen Graves and helping her on with her coat escorted her from the Office reassuring her that it was his personal opinion that her husband was as much a victim as the deceased officer was and that everything should be resolved satisfactorily very soon...
Just then Corky came running in...
"Mike? What did Graves say?"
"He backs up the eye-witness statements...They're bringing Joe in now!"
"Can I help bring him in Mike?"
Just as Corky spoke, Mike heard the phone ringing in his office and his heart skipped a beat!...Mike was torn once more between wanting to race in and answer his phone fearing that something else had happened to Steve and wanting to help the young man who stood in front of him. Thankfully Mike saw Norm head into his office and answer the phone so turning his attention back to Corky Mike answered him..
"Now, now hold your horses will you?... After this afternoon's episode at that meeting I think you should let us handle it...You're too close to this... Now if you want to hang around and see what develops then I won't stop you but you let US handle it. Clear?"
"Ok, Mike...and thanks...you know for everything...I'm really sorry I lost it up at that meeting...I'm over that now ...honest..You can trust me Mike...I won't let you down again..."
Mike looked at the young man in front of him and smiled...He was proud of him...He had come through so much and was wiser as a result...Patting the young man on his shoulder Mike spoke...
"I know you won't Corky...Stick around ok? But just don't get in the way!...This whole thing is nearly over...You sure you're ok?"
"Yeah...I'm ok..Thanks!" and turning he left the office as Mike watched him go...
Then turning he hurried anxiously back to his office. As Mike came in the door, Haseejian handed Mike the receiver...
"Mike ,it's a Dr. Armstrong from San Francisco General...He says he needs to speak to you or Steve urgently!"...