Chapter 26 – Compounding Problems

Jack hung up his hat and overcoat. He was going to pull his boots off, but something told him not to. He did undo a couple of the buttons on his serge. He went over to the stove, stoked the fire and added a few more logs. He then opened his messenger bag and pulled out the mail. He put the catalogs and Elizabeth's letter on her writing desk. He slipped a few of the wire messages back into his pocket. He knew that he needed to talk to Elizabeth about the message from her father. He took his letter from his mother and sat on the couch.

"Mail is on the desk." Jack said. "I am going to read the letter from my mother and then there is something that we need to talk about."

"Okay." Elizabeth said.

Jack opened the letter from his mother and started reading it. Elizabeth finished in the kitchen and got the shepherd's pie in the oven. She then removed her apron, went to her writing desk and grabbed the mail. She saw that there were a couple of catalogs that she had wanted, but she was more interested in the letter, a friend from teacher college that she hadn't heard from in a long time. She took her letter and joined Jack on the couch.

Jack was glad that he was able to relax while he read his mother's letter. She filled him in on happenings with his cousins and thanked him for all that he did to help Tom, but also reminded Jack that Tom was an adult and that he needed to learn to make better choices. She also let Jack know that she had heard from Rosemary and was planning on coming for her wedding. Elizabeth was also excited about her letter, she learned that her friend had gotten married. She was taking some time off from teaching while her new husband figured out where they would be living. Once they both set their letters aside, Jack pulled Elizabeth to him and kissed her, hard. When Elizabeth pulled away breathless, she looked at Jack.

"That bad of a day." She whispered.

"Worse." Jack said. "Can we just sit here before supper? I have rounds in the morning and you have school. I also have another long hard day tomorrow."

Elizabeth scooted closer to Jack and leaned on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and just held her.

"So what did you need to talk about?" Elizabeth asked.

Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out the wire message from her father and handed it to her.

"This." Jack said, handing her the message.

Elizabeth read it, sat up and looked at Jack.

"What!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "I can't believe this. We will do no such thing."

"Elizabeth." Jack said. "Calm down."

"We did nothing wrong." Elizabeth said. "We had every right to go out while we were in Hamilton. I don't care what Father is demanding. We have nothing to apologize for. I am sure that Viola is just upset that her engagement got upstaged. I don't care. At this point with the way that Father is acting, I am tempted to take over the company just to show him that he can't push me around."

"I was hoping to make things better." Jack said. "I didn't want to make it worse. I think that you need to send a letter to your mother and father that we had gone out to celebrate our one month anniversary. Also that we didn't know that there was a photographer, but we did nothing wrong and we will not hide the fact that we are married. As far as the company, we need to talk about that. Wynn is still talking to the lawyers about all of our options. Please don't do something that will affect both of us without talking to Wynn and myself."

"Okay." Elizabeth said. "I will try to get a letter out. I will not ever apologize for loving you or that we are married. If my father can't deal with our marriage, then we don't need that kind of person in our lives. I love my father, but he needs to realize that I am an adult and I am capable of making my own choices. I will also wait to see what Wynn says. Mother knows that we went out. Remember, she paid for the dress and your suit."

"I know." Jack said. "But I think that maybe if you wrote it to both, that it would go over better."

Elizabeth sat back against Jack again. He wrapped his arms back around Elizabeth and they were just enjoying being close when the timer went off. Elizabeth tried to get up, but Jack pulled her into a kiss.

"Honey." Elizabeth mumbled. "I need to get the oven before it burns."

"Okay." Jack said, kissing her again.

Jack released Elizabeth and she stood to head to the kitchen. She shut the timer off and grabbed the towel and opened the oven. She pulled the shepherd's pie out of the oven and set it on top of the stove. She let it sit for a few minutes, then set the table and sliced some bread to go with their supper. She then put everything on the table and called Jack over.

"Heavenly Father." Jack prayed. "Please be with all of us Mounties tonight as we protect the towns we have been assigned. Please be with Bill and I as we deal with this difficult situation. Please be with the Ramsey family in this time of grief. Comfort them and hold them close. Also please be with our families. Bless this food to our bodies and bless the hands that prepared it. Amen."

"Amen." Elizabeth said.

They were just a couple of bits into their meal when there was a pounding at the door. Jack jumped to see Lee there.

"Jack, come quickly." Lee said. "There is a problem at the jail."

"Coming." Jack said.

Jack quickly tried to rebutton his serge. He didn't even have time to put his gun belt on before he was out the door and into Lee's car. They quickly made their way back to town. Lee stopped in front of the jail, Jack jumped out as soon as he could and was up the steps in two moves. He went into the jail to find Captain Taylor yelling with Bill and McGinty blocking his path to the cell that held Price. Jack used his mother's trick and let out a sharp whistle. Everyone immediately stopped and turned toward Jack.

"Bill," Jack said. "What the hell is going on?"

Captain Taylor started talking over Bill and Jack let out another sharp whistle.

"I asked Bill what the hell was going on." Jack said. "I will talk to you in a minute."

"I am your superior officer." Captain Taylor said. "You will not speak to me like that."

"Well." Bill said. "I am a semi-retired Sr Inspector with the Mounties, so I out rank you. Shut up!"

"I thought that you were the Sheriff." Captain Taylor huffed.

"Like I said." Bill said. "I am semi-retired. I have been serving as Sheriff while I recovered from a gunshot that I suffered in my last case."

"You can't do that." Captain Taylor said.

"Well Deputy Commissioner Delaney says differently." Bill said. "He was the one that signed my papers."

At the mention of Deputy Commissioner Delaney, Captain Taylor's demeanor changed. He glared at Jack but shut up because he realized that if it was found out what he had done to cover up for Price he would be in trouble.

"Bill." Jack said. "Please explain."

"Taylor here." Bill started. "He came in and immediately demanded Price's release. When I said that I had orders to hold him, he tried to grab the cell keys and I pushed him back. We were in a stand off when Lee walked in looking for you. When he saw the scene he turned to go get you. While Lee was getting you, McGinty and I blocked the way to the cell. We refused to let him go and he kept getting angry saying that we can't hold Price and he was taking him back to Buxton."

"Joe." Jack said. "Anything to add."

"Yes." McGinty said. "Price kept saying that they were framing him and he didn't do anything wrong. He also said that you can't do anything to him and that his father would take care of things."

"Anything else, Joe." Jack said.

McGinty walked past Taylor and toward the desk. He picked up a folder, handed it to Jack and then went back to stand by Bill. Jack quickly scanned the papers in the folder. He then turned to Lee, whispered something to him and Lee nodded.

"Joe." Jack said. "Please grab your pack and go with Lee here. You can stay at his house tonight."

McGinty turned, grabbed his things from the cell and stepped next to Jack.

"Are you sure?" McGinty said. "I can stay if you need help."

"Go." Jack said. "You have been working extra hours. Bill and I can handle this."

McGinty nodded and went with Lee. As soon as the door shut, Jack nodded to Bill and he pulled a pair of handcuffs from his back pocket. Bill grabbed Taylor's wrist and started to handcuff him when he swung at Bill. That was all he needed. Jack stepped forward and helped Bill secure him. They left him handcuffed and put him in the cell across from Price. At that point Taylor started yelling at both of them. He wanted to know why he was being arrested.

"Well to start." Bill said. "Disturbing the peace and taking a swing at a public official. There will probably be more charges later. So sit down and get comfortable, you aren't going anywhere until this is all sorted out."

"Bill." Jack said. "You got things here? I am going to finish supper with my wife and type things up at the house. I will do rounds in the morning, then come here."

"Go." Bill said. "These two will not be causing me any more problems tonight if they know what is good for them."

Jack tucked the folder in his jacket, left after grabbing a lantern and headed back to the house. He made his way through the grove and to the house. He walked in and Elizabeth came right to him.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked.

"Yes." Elizabeth said. "Lee stopped and let me know that you were fine. He also told me that you would be home when you could. I put your supper in the oven to keep it warm. Are you still hungry?"

"Yes." Jack said. "I would love to have the wonderful supper that you made. Then I have a couple of reports to type. May I please use your typewriter?"

"Yes, you may." Elizabeth said.

Elizabeth went and got Jack's food from the oven then sat it in front of him. She made herself a cup of tea and Jack took one as well. While Jack ate, he kept replaying the events that had just occurred in his head. He was upset that he hadn't anticipated Taylor's reaction. He should have stayed at the jail and been there to not let things get that far out of hand. As if Elizabeth could read Jack's mind, she took his hand in hers.

"Honey." Elizabeth said. "There was nothing that you could have done. You can't be everywhere at once. You have a right to have supper and relax sometimes. Don't blame yourself. Everything will work out. I know that there might not be much that you can talk about, but I am here if you want."

"Thank you." Jack said, squeezing her hand. "I needed to hear that, but it is still hard and you are right there is not much I can tell. I just hate that I have had to arrest not one, but two Mounties today. We are supposed to maintain law and order, but we are not above the law."

"I know." Elizabeth said. "It pains me to see you struggling with this, but I remember something Aunt Elizabeth said – we must be extra good at our job to show that we are different then those that abuse the privilege. She was talking about teachers that didn't care about her students, but I think that the same applies to your profession as well."

"You are right," Jack said. "It doesn't make this easier, but I know what you mean."

Jack finished his meal and leaned over to kiss Elizabeth.

"Thank you." Jack said.

Jack then went to Elizabeth's writing desk and started typing what had happened. He had to stop a couple of times and let his anger calm before could continue typing. While Jack was working, Elizabeth washed up the dishes from supper. She then went to the pump and refilled the water buckets. When she was done, she banked the fire in the stove in the kitchen. She walked over to where Jack was working. She opened the drawer and pulled out some stationary. She then grabbed her pen and ink. She went back to the table and started writing the letter to her mother and father. She wasn't sure what she was going to say about the pictures in the paper, so she started by letting them know about the trip home. Elizabeth took her time and worded her letter carefully. She didn't want to make things worse, but she also didn't want to give them too much information.

Finally, she addressed the issue of the pictures. She wrote about how she would not apologize for loving Jack or expressing that love. She told her parents that they had done nothing wrong and had every right to have a wonderful night out. She also told her father that if he was unwilling to change his attitude toward Jack then he had no place in their life or the life of any future grandchildren. Elizabeth also wrote that if he continued to behave in the manner that he was, that they would not be coming home for Viola's wedding. Elizabeth finished her letter and put it in an envelope and addressed it to her mother. When she was done, she saw that Jack was still sitting at the typewriter, but he wasn't typing. She wondered if he was okay. She walked over to him and moved his hair off his forehead.

"You okay." Elizabeth asked.

"Just really tired." Jack said. "It has been a long week and I have rounds in the morning."

"Are you finished?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes." Jack said. "Just thinking."

"Let's head upstairs." Elizabeth said.

Elizabeth checked the doors to make sure they were secure and turned down the lights. Jack banked the fire and joined Elizabeth at the stairs. Jack stopped and looked at the spare room before heading to their room. Jack was a little surprised when the room looked different. Elizabeth had cleaned and rearranged things after Bill had been there collecting fingerprints. Jack quickly pulled off his jacket and hung it on the chair. He then finished getting ready for bed and watched Elizabeth as she got ready. They crawled in, Jack pulled Elizabeth close and held her. As much as Jack wanted to be with his wife that night, he was so tired and knew that she probably was as well. Jack wasn't just physically tired, he was emotionally exhausted as well. He also knew that it would be worse before it got better. Jack was so exhausted that he fell asleep almost as soon as they were in each other's arms. It was the first time that Elizabeth had seen Jack fall asleep before her.

Elizabeth was worried about him and the emotional toll that all this with the other Mounties was taking on Jack. She knew that Jack had taken it really hard a few months before when he was forced to arrest Bill and then ultimately Sr Inspector Houston. Jack was a man of honor and people who were supposed to uphold law, but instead break it makes him angry. Elizabeth wished that there was more that she could do to comfort Jack, but the only thing that she knew to do was hold him and let him talk as he wanted. She made a mental note to talk to her Aunt Elizabeth about what she could do to help Jack. Elizabeth also knew that Jack was still trying to process all that he had learned about his family. They hadn't talked about it, but she knew that it was hard for Jack to hear those things. To realize he had a cousin he never knew, especially one that had also been a Mountie, was hard for Jack. Elizabeth was glad that Jack had a picture of Andy and that he knew Andy's daughters. Elizabeth also realized that those girls would always be an important part of Jack, she also knew that she needed to share stories of Andy that she had. She wondered if she wrote some of them out if Jack would like that. Elizabeth smiled at the thought.

Elizabeth laid in Jack's arms and rubbed her hand on his arm hoping to comfort him as he fell asleep. She was also tired from the travel and the work that she had done to clean the house after Bill had taken fingerprints. She didn't think about it long, because she was also tired and with Jack's arms around her and his smooth even breathing, she was quickly asleep.