Nathan March Investigations - Book 1: Jaded Justice - episode 10

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episode nine

Book One
Jaded Justice

Episode Ten

With her mouth swollen, and her breathing slowed, Rachel smiled into Elliot’s face joyfully. He liked seeing her like this with her hair tussled and her eyes gleaming with love for him. He knew without a doubt that it was time to make some plans that brought them under the same roof together, on a more permanent basis.

Getting his first marriage annulled would be very easy because under the law his wife only needed to be been given ample time to challenge such an action and there was no chance that Miriam would have a mind to do so, and end up in prison. So since he’d already filed the action he now knew that after ninety days, he would be free again.

Rachel kissed his shoulder and was immediately swallowed up in a kiss that sent her mind reeling. This was the love affair that would warm her thoughts and light up her soul, as they grew into eternity side by side. Elliot didn’t bother to pretend she wasn’t the beginning and end to each day, since the first time he’d met her. False bravado wasn’t what led him to the courage to welcome her into his life.

“Have I told you that you are becoming impossible to live without,” said Elliot as Rachel’s eyes filled with joy.

“No, but you’ve showed me that every time we are together,” she responded feeling as if every prayer she’d ever uttered, had been answered by this wonderful man.

“I did something yesterday that involves you,” said Elliot.

“Tell me about it,” said Rachel as excited as a child on their birthday.

“I filed for an annulment and that means that in ninety business days, I will be free again,” said Elliot watching her reaction intensely.

“Isn’t that a dangerous thing to do, while Miriam’s still out there somewhere,” said Rachel surprising Elliot with her logical response.

“To me what’s important is moving you into my life and my home, as soon as possible,” said Elliot not sure his remarks made her happy.

“Sweetheart let’s wait until she’s in custody before we make ourselves targets for her, and her crazy boyfriend,” said Rachel looking very nervous.

“I have news for you there isn’t a chance she doesn’t already know what’s been going on between us. Our names are linked together everywhere according to my administrative assistant, and no one wishes us anything but happiness,” said Elliot.

Rachel immediately realized that she loved this man more than she feared his soon to be ex-wife, and that knowledge made her hold him tightly and say, “I know you’re right Elliot. It will be wonderful to go to sleep in your bed and wake up in your bed for the rest of my life,” said Rachel.

Elliot beamed and the breath he held inside was finally exhaled.

“Will you marry me Rachel,” he asked sincerely.

“Name the time and place and I’ll be there,” said Rachel as the two continued walking the property at her Concord home both wearing sunglasses and well-worn sweat suits to conceal their identity.

---

Enjoying a cup of coffee at the kitchen table, Felicia Nixon realized that her fiancé Tyrone Carson was getting more frustrated about the whereabouts of Mrs. Sheridan every day since she’d showed up in the kitchen, in the home on the estate he was in charge of protecting. This big and beautiful man took everything so seriously that she was afraid that like his father, he too would succumb from high blood pressure, long before his time.

She had adjusted to their new life inside the wonderful small home on the Sheridan property, with the most lush surroundings she‘s ever known. Her first classes at the University and her shift at the hospital were a perfect fit. She was on target to complete all her courses in less than three years, and then her position as a Nurse Practitioner would give her access to the best paying hospitals in New England. So if Tyrone could settle in, they’d be golden.

All she had heard so far from Tyrone were some nagging questions he had about this whole case, and the fact that the judge seemed to slip in and out from the property more often and alone, despite Tyrone’s admonitions not to take such foolish chances.

Felicia tried to make Tyrone understand that the judge was tired of being shadowed and protected to the point where he had absolutely no privacy. Even his trips to the lady he loved were being covered by two additional men, hired by Tyrone to be sure the judge wasn’t murdered.

However Tyrone assured her that if he had an ex-wife as nuts as Miriam appeared to be, and that ex-wife had a serial murderer for a boyfriend, he’d welcome any kind of protection offered.

Showered and dressed Tyrone kissed Felicia’s neck and slipped his arms around her. Suddenly his vibrating cell phone danced on the surface of the kitchen table until he picked it up. It was Evie letting him know that the judge was home safely, after slipping away from his protection once again. Tyrone said nothing except “Goodbye” realizing that he and the judge needed to talk.

A second call came in only minutes later and this time it was the judge himself. “Tell me the truth Tyrone, could you be happy in the company of the woman you love, if you knew men were outside watching your every move?” asked the judge.

“Your honor things are not safe enough for you to simply take off whenever you wish, and you know that,” said Tyrone.

“What I know is Rachel deserves to have my complete attention and affection when we are together. I’ll lose her if I can’t show her how much she means to me,” said the judge making Tyrone know he had to now back off.

“Seems to me your honor you’re spending more action with that lady, than I am with mine, and I live with mine,” said Tyrone laughing.

“Well why don’t you concentrate on that a little more, and stop worrying so much about me,” said the judge.

When Tyrone met with the guards who felt terrible for losing the judge again, they knew immediately that their assignment on the Sheridan property was over and they were right. Tyrone had acquiesced to the judge and would give him free reign especially when it came to Dr. Rachel Martin.

---

Miles away the screams coming from a realty agent who was showing a warehouse to an interested party, brought several calls into the police. Soon a phone call was placed to Detective Daniel Moynihan who was lunching with Nathan March and Mickey at the time.

“Well at least we were just about finished with lunch, before I got that call,” said the detective feeling more upset than he showed at the moment.

“That good was it?” said Mickey trying to make light of what he knew was going to be even more bad news.

“Not really Mickey. It looks like we’ve found Adrian Phelps and he won’t be assisting us with this case either because he just became victim number five,” said the detective.

“Where did they find him?” asked Nathan.

“He was in a warehouse owned by Foster Realty. It was being used as a business of some kind, for the last ninety days. Obviously that’s where the goods vandalized here in Manchester were kept, so evidently the goods are in the hands of their new owners and we have another murder,” said Moynihan.

“This murder makes no sense whatsoever Dan. The goods are dispersed and the money’s been paid, so why kill someone who can’t talk to the police or he’d go to jail himself. Fact is that if you’re a professional, Phelps is someone who might be called on to help you again someday,” said Mickey.

“Besides which they want us to believe that Godfrey’s dead remember so neither Miriam nor Larry Godfrey would draw attention like this to themselves,” said Nathan knowing that Mickey was absolutely right.

“All of this started from a simple suicide,” said Moynihan quizzically as he stood to take off for the crime scene.

“I wouldn’t blame Judge Sheridan if he fired us for all the good we‘ve done so far on this case,” said Mickey to Nathan March who looked particularly wounded by Mickey’s words as he took to the back seat of his car.

Nathan March’s senses never lied and they were flashing information to him almost too fast for him to discern coherently. He chose not to join Detective Moynihan at the warehouse in Concord, and neither did he choose to continue on to see the judge at his home. Instead he ordered Mickey to take him to Manchester’s seashore.

When he stepped out of the backseat he was barefoot his pant legs rolled up to his knees. Almost in a trance like state, he headed to the shoreline walking over the jagged stones, before he made it to the sand itself.

Mickey simply observed knowing that Nathan was lost in a special energy field where he conversed with God hoping to be redirected. The ocean was being buffed by high winds, and the spray was heavier than usual. Although his clothes clung to him because he was drenched, Nathan never blinked, and not one hair on Nathan’s head was out of place.

The small terrier dog being followed by his owner a beautiful oriental women in a red bikini with hair down to her waist, didn’t even draw a response from Nathan as he continued now nearly a mile from where he’d started.

Mickey stayed twenty paces behind him and then Nathan suddenly turned into the ocean walking up to his knees and bending as if to pick up something. From the ocean floor in front of him he brought up a flat purple stone that was as beautiful as any gem stone.

“Take us home, Mickey,” said Nathan looking into Mickey’s eyes with a torment in his own eyes that frightened his friend.

“Are you okay Nathan?” asked Mickey.

“I will be, I promise,” said Nathan.

---

Dina Perry’s menu of crown roast of pork with highly seasoned sour dough stuffing brought everyone to the dining room table including Nathan, who seemed to be back to normal. The roasted potatoes and homemade apple sauce along with Nathan’s favorite coleslaw was consumed as a light rain fell outside and the grey skies indicated rain would probably fall for the rest of the evening.

John, more than any of the others, seemed riveted in on Nathan’s mood as he passed the bottle of chilled merlot in his direction. Mickey watched as Nathan lifted his head and John smiled at him admiring this man who could put on such a show of his mental prowess, if he were less of a genuinely gifted soul.

It was Nathan’s subtlety in all his actions that made it all seem so natural that no one picked up on the fact that for him events from the past, present or future often coalesced to point him in the right direction. Of course what he saw wasn’t always to his liking and that was where his spiritual maturity allowed him to remain calm, in the midst of a painful revelation.

“Nathan you’ll be happy to know that the guesthouse you‘ve loaned us for these last few weeks is in perfect condition once again thanks to the more domestic talents of the PTA. I thought you’d want to know that, as I suspect our work here is coming to an end very soon,” said John.

“Don’t say such things John,” said George Lopez. “I am not sure that anyone’s cooking is every going to satisfy me again after Dina’s culinary magic,” he added.

“Sam here has gotten some great cooking lessons, so you guys shouldn’t miss me much,” said Dina smiling at the handsome faces she’d come to enjoy each night.

“I hope it won’t throw a kink in any of your plans, if I decide that a more intense investigation with an eye on getting our hands on either Miriam or Larry Godfrey will be starting immediately,” said Nathan.

Mickey kept his eyes down so that no one would know how surprised he was at this news. It wasn’t like Nathan not to share such important changes in strategy without discussing them with Mickey beforehand. He knew Nathan had the right to send an investigation in any direction he saw fit, but keeping him in the dark was something he never expected Nathan to do, even in dire circumstances like these.

“Our focus is off the judge and onto those two and their apprehension. Mickey and I learned from Detective Moynihan that the fallout from five murders, all connected to a town the size of Manchester is having the effect of a tidal wave in what has always been a beautiful place to live,” said Nathan.

“I need the three of you to brainstorm like you’ve never brainstormed before. Start from the beginning and if you feel the need for any more expenditures to try something new, Mickey will see to it that you have them. I am certain that from today on things are going to get far more dangerous for each of us. The perpetrators of these crimes want to stay free. Anyone standing in their way will get hurt if they make any mistakes,” said Nathan.

“Mickey and I will be available to you twenty-four seven, as we head in another direction that I’m hoping will compliment all your efforts. So let’s make this meal a hearty one because we are all going to be very busy for the next little while, I promise you,” said Nathan looking more relaxed as he began to enjoy his dinner.

---

At the twenty-four hour clinic in a seedier part of Concord, a burn patient was being attended by the clinic’s emergency physician.

“I can promise you that this topical ointment I’ve applied contains a painkiller and it along with the pills I’ve prescribed for you Mrs. Mason, should help the healing considerably. You did exactly the right thing by applying an antibiotic immediately after your cooking accident.

“However you will need to change the bandages on your face and stomach twice a day, and make an appointment with your own physician when you get home. I earnestly believe because you acted so swiftly you’re healing will be complete without scarring,” said the female emergency room doctor to a very solemn Miriam Sheridan.

---

“Are you feeling better honey,” said Larry Godfrey as he handed her pills to her with a glass of water after filling her prescriptions.

“It’s stopped hurting so much, and the doctor said thanks to your handy work with that antibiotic, I shouldn’t scar, said Miriam. She looked exhausted and more like a child than a woman as she lay tucked under a soft white blanket in the bed in their Sheraton Airport hotel room.

“It’s my fault Larry I should have listened to you when you said going after Elliot would be dangerous. I always did screw things up?” said Miriam.

“Let’s not forget how many mistakes I’ve made. Put it behind you Miriam. What we need to do now is get out of the country. With the kind of money we have access to, that’ll be no problem I promise,” said Larry.

“At least Phelps came through for us and all that waiting paid off,” said Miriam.

“Well he made a tiny sum himself, so everyone made out in that deal, except Mason,” said Larry looking contrite.

“You had to do that Larry, it really was a matter of you or him. With that kid it was always a case of his reach, exceeding his grasp. The one I feel sorry for is his wife, but whether or not she knows it, she is also much better without him,” said Miriam.

“It’s ten o’clock let’s check out the local news,’ Larry suggested as he grabbed the remote and clicked the television on.

Neither Miriam nor Larry moved or breathed for the next ninety seconds as the death of Adrian Phelps was being reported. The whole grand larceny scheme was being revealed to the public including the names of all the parties involved. When both their pictures hit the screen even though they were dated, each knew how urgent getting out of the country had now become.

“That’s my passport picture they’re using and that’s your old arrest photo. They’ve got us don’t they Larry,” said Miriam sounding almost relieved.

“Not yet, but they will if we don’t stay calm and cool,” said Larry.

“They think we killed Phelps too,” said Miriam

“With the exception of Tom, whoever killed Phelps killed the others too and he or she is running out of victims. To tell you the truth Miriam I’m more afraid of him or her finding us, than I am of being caught by the police,” said Larry.

“You won’t leave me will you Larry,” said a very groggy Miriam.

“Never baby,” said Larry meaning it completely.

He turned off the light and lay beside her as she drifted off to sleep under the influence of her pain medication. Larry’s instincts told him that their chances of using the airline tickets to a Cayman Island in his possession already were slim, but tomorrow they would attempt it. He knew he could make it on his own for sure, but he couldn’t leave her now that he had all the money they would need to be happy for the rest of their lives.

---

Simultaneously, the people searching for them from Guilford, Vermont were also under a strain of their own.

“Mickey I know by now you must be questioning everything you thought you ever knew about me,” said Nathan as he and Mickey Stone sat side by side on the cement bench just outside the manor house as a light rain fell.

“No Nathan, not everything. You know how thin-skinned I can be boss and let’s face it I can be a control freak. That being said, I was put out when you expanded the PTA’s role even though I knew you’d have a good reason for it, “ said Mickey.

“I blindsided you Mickey and I’m sorry about that. It is taking everything I have not to be consumed in a rage that is building inside me and I am now going to rely on you to take this investigation wherever it leads,” said Nathan.

“You’re scaring me boss, I need to know what’s going on that makes you think you need to step aside here,” said Mickey.

“Forgive me, your right you do need to know. Mickey with each step of this case something kept tearing at my gut yet for some reason I kept ignoring it. At times the pictures I’d see in my head were fuzzy, the logic behind my decisions took more and more energy to formulate and I seem to lose that timing I always rely on. I even felt my ego trying to drive this case at times and my temper seemed to flare without warning, all conditions I have had control over for years now.

“The last time I felt this way was when Josephine and I were together and I knew we were coming to an end. I loved her completely and when it was over between us, it took everything not to go running back into what was the most harmful relationship I’d ever known. Even as I’m telling you all this I can feel the love I had for her still there inside me, because I can’t find the strength to exorcise it completely,” said Nathan.

“I know that feeling. You can’t let go because when you do you’re letting all those feelings, the good and the bad ones, finally die,” said Mickey as Nathan turned and studied him closer than he ever had before.

“Have you seen her since, Mickey, the woman that hurt you so?” asked Nathan.

“No I haven’t, but she’s still there, calling the shots in every other relationship I’ve begun over the years,” said Mickey.

“You never told me about her before,” said Nathan.

“She’s my past Nathan, and these days the present demands all my attention,” said Mickey.

“I hate what’s in front of me, yet it’s mine to handle,” said Nathan.

“Promise me boss that when it’s time you’ll let me help you. I mean that. You are the most decent man I’ve ever known and I‘m willing to stand beside you on the way to hell, if need be,” said Mickey.

Nathan’s pallor disappeared as his emotions seemed to right themselves with Mickey’s words. He knew that Mickey meant them for now and for always and it made a difference. Nathan knew there was fairness in every event, good or bad, that he passed through so far in his life. With every challenge came the grace to handle it, however this case taught him for once and for all, to follow his gut which from the start advised him against getting involved in it.

Earlier, when he finally let go and drifted away from himself at the seashore, he could feel the energy he needed all around him and his insight became sharp and clear once again. As soon as he reached the right conclusion he felt himself stop, drawn to something he saw on the ocean floor. When he bent down there was his talisman, the purple stone that always comforted him when he surrendered his pain and asked for healing.

Sitting on the cement bench that he now shared with Mickey he held the stone in his hand as he reflected on an event from long ago. He was a small boy in the third grade and about to begin his final spelling bee which he’d been forced into by his teacher, and which his mother and father attended with his brother. He had studied, he had even prayed and yet he was past terrified, moments before they were to call his name to join the two still left in the competition.

“You’ll be fine Nathan, I know it but why don’t you take this with you and it will bring you luck,” said his mother.

Nathan remembered the purple stone in the middle of her white gloved hand, as she put it in his hand with a hug and kiss. All the years since and he stilled believed up to this very moment that it was that stone that gave him the ability to take to the stage and win his first medal. Closing his eyes he hoped to find serenity and it came just as he accepted the truth flooding his soul. Now was the time for him to head back and apply it.