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Betty suggested that we have some fun with fan fiction while we are waiting for someone to realize that Medium needs to come back before 2008. I think that’s a wonderful idea. I’m posting a story starter here and the story will continue to grow as you all add a paragraph or two to it in the comments. Just make sure you read the beginning of the story through so story lines aren’t left hanging! Also, remember to stay in character as you write.
Allison sat straight up. “Joe, we overslept! Joe!” She turned to shake him awake and drew back in horror. Her startled scream may have shattered the morning stillness, but it wasn’t loud enough to wake the dead. Abe Lincoln continued to sprawl there beside her, snoring away as if he hadn’t been underground for over 140 years.
Things are really heating up and rumors are flying! Who’s in the sedan? I wouldn’t put it past Di Novi to spy on him, but there are some killers and whatnot wandering around…
Katelyn – yes, stay tuned for LOTS of twists and turns!
Allison jerked awake, then winced as she felt a crick in her neck. For a moment, she was disoriented until she felt the weight of her youngest daughter on her lap and Marie’s head o her shoulders. Shifting slightly, she craned her neck to peek at Marie’s face. She was sleeping at last, to Allison’s relief. It had taken almost two hours to get her to sleep and then she would only rest if Allison held her and rocked her in the rocking chair by her bed. Finally, she had dozed off, but every time Allison tried to lay her down, she would waken and cry fitfully. Moving gingerly so as not to disturb her, Allison softly felt her cheeks and forehead. She was still flushed and feverish, which worried Allison. She always fretted so badly when one of her girls was ill. Slowly, she stood, cradling Marie’s sleeping form in her arms and carefully put her to bed, tucking her in before turning to go to her own bed.
She almost screamed as she turned and saw Joe’s dad standing in the doorway, chewing on his ever-present cigar stub and gazing fondly at Marie.
“Dammit!” She whispered angrily, barely able to keep her voice down. “You scared me to death! You almost made me wake Marie! Do you know how long it took me to get her to sleep?’
Moving toward him, she was about to brush past him when she noticed the expression on his face. There was a sadness in his eyes, a wistful look that tugged at her heart. She paused for a moment, allowing herself to feel for him just a little.
“What is it?” She asked softly.
He continued to stare at Marie silently, sadly.
“I was such a fool.” He said finally. “I wasted so much time. Time that I could have been spending with my son, my grandkids, my wife,…
I threw it all away. And for what? Money, success. What a joke I was. I thought I was so smart and such a success, but I was the biggest fool of them all. I threw away my family for nothing.”
Allison stood silently, unsure of what to say to him. If her were alive, she could reassure him, and tell him that he still had time to change, to make things right. But he wasn’t, and nothing was ever going to change that, and nothing would ever bring back the years that he had lost with his family. Finally, she spoke softly, so as not to wake Bridget and Marie.
“What did you want?”
He stared at the girls for a moment longer,as if trying to remember every detail of that moment, then he turned to her and replied.
“Gossamer is a red herring.”
Allison stared at him in shock, certain that she hadn’t heard him right. After all that he had done, all the clues that she had dug up regarding Gossamer, now he told her that none of it mattered.
“What?!” She whispered incredulously. Suddenly remembering that the girls were sleeping just a few feet away, she stepped into the hallway and pulled the door closed. “What do you mean? What are you talking about?”
“Gossamer has nothing to do with your case, at least not with the reason for the murders.”
Allison felt a rage begin to simmer within her.
“You told me that the two victims were connected, that they were connected to Gossamer!” She fumed. “Was that all lies? What kind of game are you playing?”
“No,” he said, calmly twirling his cigar stub between his fingers. “that was all true. They are connected, as your boyfriend was planning on telling you tomorrow, and they are connected to Gossamer, but that has nothing to do with the murders.”
“What are you talking about?” She demanded. “Why would you tell me about Gossamer going bust if it had nothing to do with the case?”
Suddenly, she stopped as a thought struck her. Joe had mentioned that he had spoken to his former boss and almost business partner a couple of times since the deal fell through. Was that what this was about?
“Does this have something to do with Joe?” She said, as realization dawned on her. “What do you know?”
“Alright, if you insist, I’ll make it easy for you.” He said with a sigh. “Gossamer is going down the drain, and Joe’s old boss is looking for a fresh infusion of cash to keep the thing afloat until he can get more financing.”
“But I thought you said it was going to be a success.”
“I did, and it will be, but it’s not going to happen overnight, and they’re going to need fresh blood to keep it going until things take off.”
Puzzled, Allison frowned as she tried to make sense of this.
“Why are you telling me this? What does this have to do with the case I’m working on?”
“Well, nothing, really. But I thought you should know before he comes around with his hand out.”
A sound from her bedroom startled her, and Allison turned toward the door. She could hear Joe rolling over in bed. Turning back, she stared at the empty space where his father had been standing. Her head spinning with all sorts of questions, she headed toward her bed, hoping she could get enough sleep tonight. She had to take Marie to the doctor in the morning, in addition to the myriad of other everyday errands that she had on her to-do list. She was still struggling to figure out just how she was going to juggle everything when she drifted off to a fitful sleep.
I’m starting to wish Joe could see his father and give him some closure. The poor guy’s stuck haunting his son so he can get the family time he realized he missed out on after it was too late.
OMG! Dawn, we must have a psychic connection because that is almost exactly word for word the next chapter I was going to add!
Dr. Isabel Chevalier had been out and about early that morning establishing her new life in Phoenix and making arrangements that would signal the end of Jean-Marc Godeaux’s life. There was much to do, so she could not let the overwhelming sadness of that process overcome her. Nonetheless, her heart ached at the thought of burying yet one more person she loved dearly.
So far, she’d been very quiet about her presence in Phoenix. As far as most people knew, she was still out of the country and for right now, she liked it that way. Riding in the taxi on her way back to the hotel before her next round of errands, she grew impatient to see the traffic was backed up in the downtown area. Isabel decided to get out and walk the three or so blocks to the hotel. She didn’t mind the walk, since she could go at her own pace. Most people didn’t move fast enough for her. People were always amazed at how fast they had to move to keep up with her quick short steps.
It was a beautiful day – hot – but what else would you expect in Phoenix in early September? Isabel rather enjoyed the heat because it was dry heat and not the humidty laden air of New Orleans. There was so much she’d loved about New Orleans, but the humidity wasn’t one of them.
She wore a classic black sheath dress with classic black pumps. She opted to wear a simple strand of pearls and small pearl cluster earrings. The tan she sported was from working hard in the refugee camps in Africa, not sun bathing with the world’s beautiful people in the trendy spots in which to see and be seen. Her Grandmama always impressed on her that just because you had money, didn’t mean you had a free ride. She was raised to believe that it was her responsibility to help those who didn’t have the advantages she enjoyed.
Careful about her complexion, Isabel also wore a black hat and dark glasses to shield her face from the harsh sun. If it wasn’t for her extremely petite size and beautiful silky auburn hair, which today was pulled into a french braid, onlookers might think they’d just glimpsed Audry Hepburn if they didn’t know better.
So far this morning in addition to meeting with the funeral home, the florist, and Jean-Marc’s secretary, Isabel had been to the battered women and children’s shelter, the Child Protective Services emergency shelter, and the children’s ward of the local hospital. She’d offered her services pro bono to the shelters. After making some phone calls back at the hotel, she’d planned to go shopping for toys for the all of the children she’d seen today. It was so important for these children to have something of their own – usually many of them escaped with thier mothers in the middle of the night with only the clothes on their backs. Of course, the ones in the care of CPS were usually removed from what would be considered dangerous atmospheres and often barely had necessities to begin with. She would wrap each gift and include a personal note to each child. The mothers would not be left out. To help them get back on their feet, she would include some gift cards for them to purchase clothing. She made sure each shelter had plenty of everyday essentials such as soap, deodorant, shampoo, lotion, make-up, brushes, combs, etc. so the women could keep up their hygiene and grooming routines.
Isabel was only about a block from the hotel when she was suddenly grabbed from behind and dragged into an alley. The man was well dressed in the dark suit and sunglasses which masked his cold gray eyes. Easily over twice her size, he gripped her arm so tightly, she thought her bone might snap. “Stay out of it and stop asking questions unless you want to be the next one on a slab at the morgue,” he hissed in her ear.
“You must have mistaken me for someone else,” Isabel looked him in his eyes, although they were masked by the dark glasses, she said in her calmest voice.
This seemed to anger the man even more. Releasing her arm, placed his hand around her neck and started to squeeze as he shoved her back against the brick wall of the alley.
Remembering, her training, Isabel remained calm, and conciously slowed her breathing or attempt to breathe with his hand squeezing her neck. “Remember, when he thinks he’s beaten you, is when you strike,” the words of her trainer came to her now to help her survive. Before the attacker knew it, Isabel jumped to action, using her ellbow, knees, and four inch heels to inflict damage, break his nose, and achieve her freedom. As he lay in a heap on the alley floor, Isabel darted around the corner and sprinted to the safety of the hotel lobby.
Never, NEVER underestimate your opponent, no matter how much bigger or smaller they may be.
to be continued
Betty, I’m glad we’re on the same wavelength, because I’ve been planning to take that turn for a while now, but I’ve been so busy with my group at Yahoo that I’ve gotten behind on the episode. I’m getting caught up though, but you’ve been doing a great job.
After making it safely back to the hotel, fairly certain she inflicted a broken nose and possbily a broken foot on her attacker, Dr. Isabel Chevalier chastised herself for letting her guard down. This incident only hastened her decision to move from the Hyatt immediately to the Biltmore Luxury Condominium complex.
The Biltmore Condominiums were pretty secure. Everyone had to pass through a guarded entry, each unit featured a security system, the whole complex featured 24-hour surveillance, and an underground parking garage. It was much harder to watch the comings and goings of residents without access to the parking structure.
There were other advantages besides the extra security. The units were between 2400 and 3000 square feet each. The unit she planned on moving into at least until her house was completed, had 3 bedrooms, two of which were master suites, 3 bathrooms, travertine tile, and granite countertops, 42″ plasma televisions in each room, and a gourmet kitchen with a sub-zero refrigerator. Fortunately, the unit was fully furnished which was a huge plus since she had no furniture yet. It would be a quick and easy move. She decided to keep her hotel room for a while longer as well as a diversion. The complex also featured a world class golf course, fitness trail, fitness center, and outstanding mountain views.
She would begin the process immediately, but first she did need to pull out her concealer to hide the huge bruise on her right arm and the choke marks on her neck. She’d rather not have her near-death experience be the conversation starter today.
Next, she needed to do some power shopping for toys for the children she’d visited today. She would wrap them all today and have them delivered tomorrow. She’d be better served the rest of the day by taking the hotel limousine.
As Isabel was making these plans, she was wrestling with whether or not to call Detective Scanlon to tell him of her attacker. Should she involve the police? He could be dealt with in other ways as well. The fact was, she was charmed by the affable detective. From the first time they’d met, the way the skin around his eyes crinkled when he smiled had won her over. His face just seemed so warm and open. Not to mention the fact he was easy on the eyes and quite charming. Her grandmama would say, “Good breeding.”
Isabel smiled at her reflection in the mirror as she applied the finishing touches to the concealer. “Good as new,” she pronounced to herself as the last of the ugly bruises were hidden. There was also a stirring inside her when she thought of Detective Scanlon she hadn’t felt since before her husband’s and children’s death. She didn’t think she could possibly survive and feel anything but sadness, but somehow she did.
Amazingly soon after their deaths, she was astounded at the number of married men who offered her their, um, services. She was disgusted. As the months wore on, she’d been approached by a number of men, both married and single. She just wasn’t interested. The hurt was too great, the hole in her heart much to large. In fact, she wasn’t sure she would ever open her heart and soul to another man. She’d been so completely in love with her husband, she never imagined life without him. Her precious babies! It didn’t even seem real that this could be possible. Why was fate playing this cruel joke on her?
She walked into the police station that day, and there was Detective Lee Scanlon. Something inside Dr. Chevalier began to change that day.
to be continued…..
As Detective Lee Scanlon left the District Attorney’s office, he decided he should go see Dr. Chevalier before the evening was over and tell her in person of Diane Harding’s murder. He would rather it come from him directly than her reading it in the newspaper or hearing it in a newscast. Although they’d tried to keep the papers from printing much, there were always those gung ho reporters who didn’t care about ethics or people’s feelings, only making a name for themselves no matter what.
Since it was another hot Phoenix day in September, Scanlon decided to go home and take a quick shower and change first. It had been a long and frustrating day. Maybe a shower would help both his mind and body feel refreshed. It would be a little on the late side when he went to see her, but he didn’t want it to wait until the next day. He already felt bad that he withheld that information from her earlier. He’d received her message that she had relocated to the Biltmore Condos, unit 1104, and left a cell phone number for him to reach her if he needed to.
Scanlon, arriving at his empty apartment, began thinking back on the night he took Isabel to dinner……..
(Flashback) As they left the Hyatt for the restaurant, Scanlon confessed to Isabel that the restaurant he had in mind actually wasn’t just around the corner, but in Scottsdale. It wasn’t that far, and he assured her it was well worth the drive.
As they arrived at the Buca di Beppo Italian restaurant, Isabel could see why Lee wanted to make the drive! It was a charming restaurant that transported the diner to the Italian country side – if one didn’t know better, they would swear they were dining in Tuscany!
The maitre ‘d greeted them warmly, hugging Lee and standing back to take in the beautiful woman at his side. Lee introduced her to the ecstatic maitre’d who hardily exclaimed, “Che donna bella! Dove State nascondendola? Ora questa e la donna di destra per voi – posso dirvi a proposito lo sguardo a vicenda. Sarete sposati per molti anni e fare insieme i bambini piu bei!”
Isabel replied, “Grazie molto, signore, ma siete troppo gentili.”
The maitre ‘d responded enthusiastically,
“Parlate italiano! Si, siete la donna perfetta e la donna del perfect per i rifugi!”
Isabel replied, “I’m spiacente, ma noi ha venuto a contatto di soltanto appena oggi.”
“L’amperora, si, ma io puo dire a la e piu al vostro rapporto a proposito voi sguardo in ogni altri occhi. Se ora non siete amanti, sarete, molto presto! Siete perfetti per a vicenda! Posso essere un uomo anziano, ma conosco, l’amore allineare quando lo vedo,” came the maitre ‘d’s reply.
Lee was standing there looking completely confused as Marco the maitre’d and Isabel spoke to each other in Italian. Reverting back to English, Marco said, “I have saved a special table for you and to get you started, I will bring you our Spada Chianti!”
Isabel was giggling delightedly at Lee’s confusion. After they were seated and Marco scurried off to the kitchen to shout his instructions, Lee turned to Isabel and said, “OK, do you want to tell me what that was all about? Something embarrassing about me, I presume?”
Isabel giggled as she said, “I will translate for you word for word – he said, ‘what a beautiful woman! Where have you been hiding her? Now this is the right woman for you – I can tell by the way you look at each other. You will be married for many years and make the most beautiful babies together!’ To which I replied, ‘thank you very much sir, but you are too kind. I’m sorry, but we only just met today.’”
Lee asked, “Then what did he say?”
Isabel continued, “Then he said, ‘ah, yes, but I can tell there is more to your relationship by the way you look into each other’s eyes. If you are not now lovers, you will be very soon! You are perfect for each other! I may be an old man, but I know true love when I see it.’ And of course, he was impressed that I spoke Italian. Oh, and he said, “you are the perfect woman and the perfect woman for Lee,’” she ended giggling at his embarrassment.
Lee didn’t quite know what to say. He thought only family could embarrass you like that. He sat shaking his head for a bit before Isabel teased him with, “It sounds as if you have brought someone here he did not approve of.”
Lee replied, “I’m sorry about that,” diverting his eyes and turning a nice shade of red.
The waiter arrived with their wine and wine glasses and proceeded to pour a small amount in Lee’s glass for him to sample. After sipping the wine and nodding his approval, the waiter poured each a glass and left the bottle on the table. Next he brought their menus and after a short time and a brief consultation with each other, Lee told the waiter, “The lady will have the Apple Gorgonzola Salad and I’ll have the Chicken Saltimbocca.” The waiter returned almost immediately with some bread and butter for the table. Isabel indicated she would like some, so Lee cut each a slice and added a small amount of butter.
Isabel inquired of Lee, “Lee, you are such a handsome man and a gentleman, have you ever been married? If this is too personal, you do not have to answer.”
Smiling, Lee was glad to answer her question, “No, although I did come pretty close one time,” his voice trailing off just a bit as he thought of Elena. He did his best to briefly explain the Elena relationship and his most recent brush with domestic bliss with Lynn Di Novi.
Isabel was very understanding and sympathetic as Lee gave her the abbreviated version of his near misses with matrimony. In her soft voice and accent she replied, “From what I see, I think you are what they call a ‘good catch’, yes? I imagine you have your pick of available women. From what I can tell, a woman would be lucky to be with you.”
“Thanks for that,” Lee replied. “Why don’t we change the subject? Your parents must be very proud of you and all you have achieved. Do they live in the United States?”
“Actually, my parents were murdered when I was five. I was raised mostly by my grandmama and grandpapa in France, an aunt, and Jean-Marc and his wife, Giselle. Jean-Marc worked with my parents and was very close to us. You could say he and his wife were like parents to me,” Isabel stated in a very matter-of-fact way.
Scanlon didn’t know quite what to say to someone whose life had been so touched by one tragedy after another. Now he understood also why she was affected so deeply by Jean-Marc’s death. “I’m so sorry. That must have been very difficult for you growing up. Was the person or person’s who murdered your parents punished?”
Isabel answered, “Officially? No. Unofficially? I think you could say they have been dealt with.”
Intrigued, Scanlon inquired, “What profession were your parents in?”
After a slight hesitation while she searched for just the right words, Isabel answered, “International Relations. We do not need to talk so much about me. Tell me about your parents. Are they anxious for grandchildren? They must be very proud that your are such a nice man who is one of the best detectives in the state. Yes?”
Lee explained, “Actually, my parents are dead now, too.” Uncharacteristically for him, Lee went on to explain things he rarely ever shared. “My Dad drank. He was a mean drunk. He would hit my mother. When he started to come after me and my younger sister, my Mom took us and left him. That really pissed him off. We moved around for a while while she chased jobs and tried to stay one step ahead of him. One day, I was ten and my sister was 8, while we were at school, my Dad found out where we were. He’d been on a bender for a few days. By the time my sister Lorraine and I got home from school, Mom was already dead. He’d beaten her to death. We heard a shot and found Dad in the back yard with a bullet in his head. He shot himself to death after he killed our Mom.”
Isabel interjected, “I’m so sorry, Lee. That must have been so horrible for you growing up that way,” as she reached out to touch his hand and look into his smoldering hazel eyes.
Lee continued. “After that, my sister and I went to live with my Uncle John and Aunt Lucille. I really credit him for showing me how to be a man. He had been career military. They weren’t terribly affectionate, but they were good people. He died of a heart attack a few years ago and my Aunt died from complications after sugery about a year after that. My sister and I were pretty close. Unfortunately, my sister and her unborn baby and my brother-in-law were murdered about 4 years ago.” He explained the circumstances of the murder and how due to his persistence and the help of a special friend who happened to work for the District Attorney, that the murderer was brought to justice.
Looking into his eyes and grasping both of his hands, Isabel said tenderly, “This is such a terrible thing we have in common. Isn’t it? Now I see why you are so kind to me. You have, how do they say, um, ‘walked in my shoes’, yes?”
“Unfortunately, yes I have,” Lee replied, squeezing her hands and gazing into her eyes. For at least a minute, Lee and Isabel sat longingly starring into each others eyes, acknowledgling silenty the pain and tragedy that each had in common, quietly bonding.
Lee said, “I hate to be maudlin. Why don’t we change the subject? Would you mind telling me how you met your husband? Unless that would be too hard for you to discuss.”
“No, I don’t mind. In fact, Jean-Marc introduced me to my husband Francois. You see, I have loved my husband since I was 12 years old! I knew when we first met that I was going to marry him some day. I just had to convince him! He was so handsome and just out of college. Jean-Marc brought him home one day to discuss some work. I was living with Jean-Marc and Giselle while I attended college. He was impressed that I was so smart for my age, but thought I was this scrawny little child. I pretended I needed his help with some of my homework so I could spend time with him. He was also very accomplished academically, having earned both his bachelors and masters degrees before most people finish their second year of college. He loved sports and I would go watch him and cheer for him whenever I could. I think he liked it that I had a crush on him. He agreed to be my pen pal when I travelled out of the country. I kept trying to convince him that he should date me and not those stupid girls who he was going out with. When I came back from Europe one time, my body had changed, even though I was very small in height, I looked much more like a woman, so he finally noticed me in a different way. Grandmama was very strict and did not want me to date until I was a least 16. I kept pestering Francois until he agreed to take me out for my birthday. We had such a wonderful time on that date! Jean-Marc threatened to kill him if he touched me, sexually, you know, so he was a perfect gentleman! We went on many more dates. He fell in love with me and asked my Grandmama, Grandpapa, and Jean-Marc for my hand in marriage. Our engagement lasted for one year and we married when I was 18 in a beautiful ceremony in the cathedral in New Orleans, and had another ceremony in France. We honeymooned on the French Riveria! We were so happy! I finished my training and became a doctor at the Medical Center of Louisana at New Orleans. We moved into this magnificent old home – it was about 150 years old. We renovated the whole house to its original beauty. We had such a good life! I became pregnant twice, but lost the babies only a few weeks into the pregnancies. I was so sad, but I put it in God’s hands and prayed about it. When I was 24 I became pregnant again. When I made it past the first trimester, we celebrated! We learned we were having twins! Francois was the happiest man alive! Jean-Marc and Giselle were so happy for us, too, because they had never been able to have children. The pregnancy was rather difficult and the twins were born at only 30 weeks. I prayed harder than I have ever prayed in my life for God to save my babies. We had some scares, but after being in the hospital for three months, they were healthy enough and had gained enough weight so we could bring them home. I had everything I had ever wanted in my life! We were going to try to get pregnant again. Then that terrible storm came. So many people suffered so much. So many of us lost everything, in the blink of an eye, one day we were happy and smiling, then suddenly everything we had known and loved was turned upside down and destroyed.” Sadly starring into nothingness, Isabel paused for a long time. “Now I am here,” offering a weak smile, Isabel took a deep breath and said, “Do you like the wine?”
About that time, the waiter appeared with their entrees.
to be continued…..
Katelyn, HELP! The next chapter is stuck in the spam filter yet again! HELP!
Although the restaurant was packed to capacity and noisy with conversations, glasses and dishes clanging, and the lovely violin music in the background from the trio of strolling musicians, it was as if Lee Scanlon and Isabel Chevalier were in a little bubble in which only the other one existed. For all the noise in the background, neither of them noticed anyone else in the restaurant at all – to them, it was just the two of them as the conversation between them quieted while they enjoyed their entrees and turned the conversation to polite exhanges of music, film, hobbies, etc.
Isabel hope she would keep her food down. Food was never important to Isabel Chevalier – in fact, it was more of a bother to have to stop doing something in order to eat. She had always been very active as a child and that continued into her adulthood. Physical fitness was important to her and her family. She loved all styles of dancing, but ballet was the one style she was most passionate about. When she was younger, she wanted to do both – be a prima ballerina AND a doctor, but her grandmama told her she had to choose one. Although medicine won out, she continued to dance and take classes in ballet to stay fit. If anyone could have done both, it would have been Isabel Chevalier! It showed in her body – although thin, she had very nicely defined arm and leg muscles and very little body fat.
If she had to eat, she was more of a nibbler and an eat-on-the-run kind of person. In her extensive travels, she had the opportunity to sample many different types of food. Most recently, she’d been in such poor areas that her diet had become almost exclusively vegetarian due to the lack of food and meat. She couldn’t justify eating better than the people she was helping. In fact, she would be the first one to give up her food or share what she had even when there wasn’t much to begin with. After the nightmarish ordeal she went through during Katrina and her family’s deaths, she found it increasingly difficult to keep food down. She didn’t try to make it come up, it just did. Especially after she spent so much time in third world countries and the horrors she saw inflicted on people who had so little to begin with. She started losing too much weight and had difficulty staying healthy and had become very ill. The doctors warned her if she lost any more weight, they would make her wear an N/G tube to ensure she was receiving nutrients. There was so much work to be done. She could easily work days on end without a break and often did until she collapsed. There was so much corruption in the countries there were in – many of the supplies were stolen and sold on the black market before they ever made it to the camps – either that or they had to give bribes to various government officials to ensure at least some of the supplies made it to their destinations. Then there were the rebels who wanted them dead because they didn’t like the fact they were there.
Isabel’s surgical team and the other members of her relief team would remind her to eat and would try to get her to take breaks from the work. Sleep didn’t come easy either. Too many nightmares. Finally, they convinced her it would do no one good if she died and if she continued to lose weight and work herself 24 hours a day, she would die. She could be far more beneficial to their causes by returning to the United States, getting healthy, running her foundations and keeping the money and supplies flowing.
Isabel had taken some time off and enjoyed France and seeing her Grandmama. Of course, since virtually everything she owned before Katrina had been destroyed, she needed to replinish her wardrobe so she would be ready to host and attend the endless lunches, dinners, galas, and other fundraisers someone of her stature was expected to participate in. She had to spend quite a bit of time shopping for clothing. Due to her extreme petite size, it was difficult to find clothing that fit. Paris, London, and New York were the best places for her to find clothing, or have it made especially for her. Sometimes she could fit into the double zeros, but had to have them altered to fit her tiny frame.
Reassembling her household staff and her surgical staff was now a priority. So many of the people she had worked with and who had worked for her family were now scattered all over the States. The people who she hand picked to come with her on her relief trips would be making their way to Phoenix over the next few days. Once she became an official member of the Phoenix social scene and it was announced she was living there, she would again have to be surrounded by twenty-four hour security. Isabel hoped she could enjoy just a few more days of freedom without the constant presence of a guard and driver. Some of her security team would be arriving soon as well. Funny that Jean-Marc was always the one who stressed to her the importance of security, yet who was protecting him when he was killed? How could that have happened?
Isabel was trying to keep herself busy with other thoughts, but planning a funeral for someone who’d been like a father to her since she was five was taking it’s toll. She expected her father and mother-in-law would be arriving from Switzerland sometime before the planned funeral on Friday. Her father-in-law had agreed to come out of retirement for a while to helm the businesses until they reorganized in the wake of Jean-Marc’s death. This was something Francois Levosier, II never imagined happening when he turned over the family business to his son. His son’s death and the deaths of his granddaughters hit him and his wife very hard. They’d urged Isabel to come and live with them in Switzerland, but she declined. They didn’t understand why she continued to work. She could easily afford to travel and live a life of leisure any where in the world. While she insisted on working in these God forsaken places was lost on them.
to be continued….
Both Lee Scanlon and Isabel Chevalier were enjoying their dining experience very much at Buca di Beppo. Isabel had sampled a bite of Lee’s Chicken Saltimbocca and Isabel had offered Lee several bites of her Apple Gorgonzola Salad. In fact, when he thought about it, he realized that Isabel must have fed him half of her salad! It was just so sensual the way she offered him a bite and then fed it to him on the end of her fork, he just couldn’t refuse. He seemed to notice she didn’t actually eat a lot of her own food. She pushed it around the plate a lot and every once in a while took a bite, but he was sure he had eaten more of her salad then she did!
Isabel excused herself and headed toward the ladies’ room. As she was on her way back to the table, a man jumped up from one of the other booths and grabbed her arm. Lee was up on his feet ready to pounce, when he realized the man was the Mayor of Phoenix! “Great,” Lee thought to himself. One of the reasons he’d chosen this restaurant besides the atmosphere and excellent food was the fact it was in Flagstaff where the chance of running into someone from work was pretty slim. Apparently, not slim enough.
The Mayor pretty much made a fool of himself as he gushed over Isabel. Seems as though he had met her and her husband a couple of years ago on one of his many “fact finding” trips in New Orleans. He could smell money from miles away and never let the opportunity to solicit funds for his campaign pass. Isabel smiled politely as the mayor and his bimbo of the night made small talk with Isabel and how they were so happy she was coming to St. Jospeh’s Medical Center in Phoenix. Lee finally interrupted them so Isabel could escape. The Mayor seemed more than a little shocked that Dr. Isabel Chevalier, one of the richest women in the country, was in the company of Detective Lee Scanlon! He was even more shocked when Isabel turned to Lee and said, “Cherie, are you ready to go?” With that, Lee put his arm gently around Isabel and they left the restaurant as the Mayor stood with his mouth open.
to be continued….
Oops, sorry – I made a mistake – I should have said in “Scottsdale” not Flagstaff – it’s that old timer’s disease! Duh!
As they reached the car, Isabel thanked Lee for saving her, “Oh, that man is just insufferable! Thank you so much for pulling me away from him. He would have kept talking all night!”
“No problem,” Lee said, “That’s our mayor! Glad to be of service. I hope you enjoyed your dinner,” Lee continued as he opened the car door for Isabel and made sure she was safely inside before he closed the door and headed to the driver’s side of the car.
“It was excellent. Did you enjoy your chicken?” Isabel asked.
“It was great. I don’t know about you, but I’m stuffed. Did you have enough to eat?” Lee queried.
“Oh, yes! I am quite full. Thank you. This is a very lovely restaurant – the waiters, the food, the music, the atmoshphere. Thank you so much for bringing me here. It was just like a place I know in Tuscany. It was very nice to relax here with you,” Isabel added.
Lee couldn’t help but notice how beautiful Isabel was as the moonlight and streetlights played across her face, eyes, and hair. There were no shortage of beautiful women in his life, but Isabel was different. She wasn’t just beautiful on the outside. She had a sweetness about her. He’d noticed that even though she was grief stricken about her friend and surrogate father, she still managed to smile at most everyone she came in contact with and acknowledged them with a nod of her head or a word or two. It didn’t matter what they did, she treated each one with the same level of kindness. Even that idiot mayor.
They exchanged some more pleasantries as they drove back to Phoenix. Her intelligence was quite evident in the range of topics they discussed. He had a pretty good idea where she stood on poverty, famine, enthnic cleansing, and government corruption. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had such a stimulating conversation with a woman. Not the usual conversation on one of his dates, that was for sure. Lee felt very comfortable with Isabel and hoped she felt comfortable with him, too.
As they were driving along on the freeway back in the Phoenix City limits, there appeared to be a pretty big accident on the other side of highway with at least one car overturned and several others in various smashed states. It must have just happened as there were no emergency vehicles on the scene just yet except for one police car. “STOP! We must stop!” Isabel shouted at Lee.
“What? What’s the matter?” Lee asked.
“Please, you must stop. The accident! I must help them,” Isabel pleaded.
Not quite sure what to do, Lee put on his siren and lights and pulled over next to the guard rail and came to a stop. Isabel was quickly searching a compartment in her purse and pulled out a stethoscope – she was very particular about what type of stethoscope she used and always carried one with her along with a couple of pairs of latex gloves just in case she needed them. She also had pulled out photo ID’s on lanyards from the United Nations and Red Cross identifying her as a doctor. She threw those around her neck as she rapidly removed her emerald earrings and necklace and the large diamond ring she wore on her right hand and placed them in Lee’s glove compartment. She took her long hair and smoothed it into a pony tail and tied her hair in a knot to secure it out of her way. “Do you have a first aid kit, a flashlight, a blanket, and some flares?” She hurriedly asked as she was opening her door to get out.
“Yes, in the trunk,” Lee replied.
“Quickly, we must move quickly,” Isabel said as she ran around to the trunk. Lee opened the trunk as Isabel grabbed the first aid kit and instructed Lee to bring the flares and blanket. “Come with me,” Isabel shouted as she started running toward the mangled vehicles. Lee had never seen anyone run so fast as she propelled herself over the guard rail and in such high heels. “I will set up a triage so when the medical attendants arrive they will know who to treat first. Cut the blanket in strips, tie one strip on the door or antenna or wherever you can to indicate the most severe cases that need immediate attention. I will tell you which ones. Two stips on the less severe injured and three strips for those who can wait. Call for an air ambulance and use the flares for a landing place,” Isabel was shouting as she was quickly surveying the injured.
When they came upon the uniformed officer on the scene, Isabel shouted to him, “I am Dr. Chevalier. I am certified by the United Nations, Red Cross, and Homeland Security. I am taking charge of this site for triage. This is Dectective Scanlon, he is with me and will explain the system. Please send the medical personnel to me as soon as they arrive.” No one questioned the tiny little woman as she took command of the situation.
Sirens were now screaming in the distance and getting closer. Isabel quickly was moving from car to car and assessing who could be moved and who could not. As soon as the first ambulance was on the scene she started shouting to them what supplies she needed to start IV’s and administer life-saving care on the spot. One of the vehicles was overturned. It was smashed up pretty good and appeared to have been a minivan. Isabel pronounced the driver dead at the scene. It looked as if the other passenger was dead as well, but they were trapped by the wreckage. Isabel was the first to hear faint crying. By this time, fire trucks had also arrived and Isabel quickly summoned their help. There were two small children in the overturned vehicle. Due to the condition of the wreckage, they would have to be cut out. From what she could see by crawling part way in the wreckage, Isabel determinted the children needed care before the hour or so it might take to cut up the wreckage to get them out. None of the firemen could fit in the small opening. By this time, with many other emergency responders on the scene, Scanlon was close by. Isabel told the firemen, “I will go in, I can fit. I will need someone to hold the lights here and here,” she said motioning where she wanted the lights.”
The firemen and Lee tried to discourage her. “I can’t take that responsibility. You could get hurt and this wreckage may not be stable,” the captain said with Lee echoing his sentiments.
“If I don’t go and take care of them, it may be too late by the time they are cut out. I am taking the responsibility for myself. I don’t weigh very much, so I shouldn’t cause a shift in the weight,” Isabel said as she quickly gathered supplies to start IV’s and immediate care. “Please, I need as much light as I can get.”
Everyone held their breathe as Isabel crawled inside. They could hear the crying little ones as they started working as fast as they could to dismantle the wreckage. They could hear Isabel talking to the children and trying to sooth and reassure them. Every so often she would ask for additional supplies. About twenty minutes in, they could hear singing from the wreckage,
“Hush now little ones,
time to close your eyes,
mmmmm my sweet babies,
Momma’s gonna sing you a little lullaby,
can’t play no more today,
cause nightime’s falling,
mmmm, let the moonbeams dance your cares away when the sandman’s calling,
when your eyes open come morning,
we’ll do it all again and again and again,
Hush now little one,
I’m gonna sing you a little lullaby,
can’t play no more today cause nightime’s falling,
let the moonbeams dance your cares away when the sandman’s coming,
when your eyes open come morning
we’ll do it all again, and again, and again,
just listen to Momma’s little lullaby.”
(words and music by Don Johnson & Keith Diamond)
A hush fell over the crowd as the bystanders wept as Isabel sang softly, first in English, then in French.
She’d done everything she could to keep the children alive while the cutting continued. Finally, forty minutes after starting, the firemen were able to pull off the top of the wreckage. It took all of them working together carefully to remove the two children and get them ready for transport via air ambulance to the trauma center.
Everyone on the scene, including Lee Scanlon, was amazed at the job Isabel did in organizing the scene, setting up the triage system, and adminsitering emergency treatment to get the injured people transported to local hospitals. In all, there were six cars and the minivan involved. Two were dead at the scene, another five adults were injured seiously enough to be transported to the hospital, and the two children, one of whom appeared to be too severly injured to survive. Isabel had stayed with them and sang and held them as best she could while she struggled to stablize them. She was almost certain the one child would not survive, but she felt pretty confident the other one had been protected enough by his car seat to survive.
Her silk dress torn, dirty, and covered with varying amounts of blood, grease, and dirt, and hair bedraggled, Isabel was quite a site to behold as she stood shivering as she spoke to the police and fire captain. Lee walked over and removed his suit jacket and placed it around Isabel’s shoulders. She looked up and thanked him with a weary smile. The emergency responders and bystanders left at the scene could hardly believe this tiny little woman who was now shivering had been in control of this scene just a short time ago.
“We should go now,” Lee said to Isabel as he gently guided her toward his car.
“I will ruin your jacket,” Isabel said as she surveyed her dishelved appearance.
“Hey, it’s just a jacket. I can replace it. Besides, you’re shivering,” Lee replied.
The drive back to the hotel was mostly in silence as Isabel sat starring out the car window. When they were almost there, Isabel broke the silence as a tear escaped her eye, “I don’t think they will be able to save Jason,” the older of the two boys, she squeeked out.
“You did everything you could. No one could have done anything different,” Lee said as they pulled into the hotel driveway. “C’mon, let’s get you upstairs,” Lee said as he came around to open the door for her.
They walked up to her suite in silence. Once inside her suite, Lee said, “Can I get you anything? Are you going to be all right?”
“I need to go shower,” Isabel said as she walked silently to the other room.
Lee hoped the number of bumps and bruises on her would turn out to be more dirt than anything else as he watched her disappear into the bedroom. He poured himself a scotch as he heard the water running in the shower.
It was close to 2 AM. “What a night!” Lee thought to himself. Still amazed at Isabel’s courage and selflessness in insisting they stop and help the accident victims, Lee was now sure that Isabel Chevalier was the most incredible woman he had ever met.
As Lee waited for Isabel to emerge from the shower, he looked at her stack of reading material, and thought, “What doesn’t she read?”
In about ten minutes, Isabel, with her long hair still wet, but combed out, came out of her bedroom in a long, white, fluffy robe. Even without any make-up at all, she was still stunningly beautiful. Lee asked her if she was all right and she nodded her head. He handed her a bourban he had poured for her and said, “Here, you should drink this.” It took her a couple of tries before she finished it. She seemed to be getting some color back in her face, compared to the pale expression she had in the car.
A cell phone was ringing and Isabel dashed in the other room to answer it. After a couple of minutes, Lee heard a blood curdling, “NOOOOOOOO!” coming from the bedroom. Not sure what was happening, Lee rushed in with his gun drawn to find Isabel collapsed on the floor next to the bed, sobbing.
Lee holstered his gun and went to her asking, “What? What’s wrong?”
Isabel looked up at him, tears streaming down her face, “He died. Morgan died. After they got him to the hospital. He flatlined and they couldn’t bring him back. I should have saved him. It’s my fault. I should have saved THEM, I should have done more,” sobbing hysterically now, Lee realized these tears were the culmination of a number of things, not just the little boys from the wreck. He scooped her small body up in his arms, sat on the floor, his back propped up by the bed, and held her.
“You did everything you could. EVERYTHING. No one could have done more than you. It’s not your fault. Nobody’s death is your fault,” Lee said to Isabel over and over. He cradled her tightly in his arms as she sobbed, knowing these were the overdue tears for Jean-Marc, her husband and babies as well as the accident victims. After about an hour of sobbing, she drifted off to sleep. Lee gently held onto Isabel as he stood up and carefully placed her in the bed. He pulled the sheet over her, turned the lamp out next to the bed, pulled the door closed, leaving a six inch crack in it and layed down on the couch in the main room of the suite and went to sleep there, just in case she woke up in the night and needed him. (End of flashback)
………(Back to present) – Lee got out of his shower feeling refreshed. After remembering the event filled night they’d had dinner, Lee wasn’t looking foreward to telling Isabel about Diane Harding’s death, but, he was looking forward to spending more time with her as he looked in his closet deciding what to wear.
to be continued
Katelyn! I need your help once again – the chapter is stuck in the spam filter! Please rescue it for me!!!!!! Thanks!
Isabel Chevalier was settling into her first day in the Biltmore Condo complex. It had been a long day to say the least. Being dragged into an alley and attacked by someone threatening her life was a good way to have your day ruined. Fortunately, despite that terrifying incident, she had accomplished a lot the rest of the day, including moving herself to the new luxury condo with security. She’d debated whether or not to call Detective Lee Scanlon or the Phoenix Police to report her attack, but decided to lay low and not make any waves right now. Her make-up covered the bruises well and her new surroundings should help keep anyone else away. Besides, her own personal security team would be in town soon and if this attack was directed at her personally, the companies she owned, or the causes she supported, they could be very persuasive in discovering who was behind this. The police always had to please the public and do things in a certain way – without the police involved, certain people could “disappear” and no one would be the wiser.
Isabel looked around at the spacious condo. The furniture and accessories went well with the space. She was also glad to have received her Paris and New York shipments from her shopping trips. She was trying to stay busy so as not to think about the upcoming funeral, or the accident victims she’d tried to save. She really needed to get back on some type of eating schedule and actually try to sleep more than two hours a day. Isabel was thinking how nice it felt to be comforted by Lee Scanlon and how he stayed with her to make sure she was all right. Although she didn’t like to lose control like that, it sure felt nice to be able to let go for a change. So much was bottled up inside her because she tried so hard not to feel the loss. What a charming and nice man he was! She really couldn’t figure out any reason he’d been so nice to her and so comforting, other than the fact he was just geuninely concerned for her. It felt nice. It felt nice to let someone “in”, if only just for a little while. Lee had many nice qualities – so much like her husband whom she’d adored. They had tragedy in common which made for a certain understanding. Isabel had been numb for so long, she was actually surprised at the way Lee Scanlon made her feel.
She’d had a successful power shopping trip purchasing toys and such for the children in the various shelters and hospitals she had visited early in the morning. All of the presents and wrapping material were neatly organized in the dining room. Isabel had taken the time to write a personal note for each child and had been working on wrapping the gifts for a couple of hours. She decided to take a break for a while and took a nice, long, hot shower. After all, it was after 8:00 PM and she’d been up since about 5:30 AM. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and put on some pink yoga pants that were just a little big and revealed her taught stomach and bejewled belly button, and a white knit top with spaghetti straps that clung to her ample breasts. She was very nicely built, especially for someone with her small frame, but her breasts had gotten even bigger when she breastfed her twins. It was a little embarrassing sometimes the way men looked at her. Tonight, she was in her condo just relaxing and wrapping presents for the children in emergency shelters, CPS Custody, and the hospital that would be delivered the next day.
Thank goodness she had been able to contact Marie, Jean-Marc Godeaux’s longtime cook and housekeeper. Marie was naturally devasted at the loss of Mr. Godeaux, but was happy to be able to come to work for Isabel. Isabel Chevalier was one of the most intelligent and compassionate women anyone would ever meet, but was far from perfect. One thing that had never really caught her fancy was the kitchen. Food didn’t interest her that much in the first place. Growing up like she did focused so much on studying, no one ever really spent any time with her in the kitchen. The only thing she really knew how to work was the coffee pot! Thank goodness, Marie had come over this afternoon and stocked the refrigerator for her and cut up some fresh fruits, vegetables, and cheese. Isabel didn’t ask Marie to do this, Marie insisted on doing something – like Isabel, she preferred to stay busy right now.
to be continued…..
I actually had tears in my eyes over those little kids. These were some really good scenes.
Isabel was surprised when the guard at the front gate called to announce she had a visitor – Detective Lee Scanlon. She was just a little bit excited, too. Busily wrapping the last of the presents when the guard called, Isabel wasn’t even thinking about not having any make-up on or her casual attire. She asked the guard to direct Scanlon to her underground parking spot. She felt just a little bit giddy when she heard his knock at the door.
Although the condo was outfitted with 42″ plasma televisions in each room, Isabel has been listening to CD’s all evening. She rarely watched television. Instead, she preferred to listen to music. Just like most other aspects of her life, she had quite a broad and eccletic taste in music. As she went to answer the door, she turned down the stereo slightly that was playing the soundtrack for “Madame Butterfly.”
“Bon Jour, Allo, who is there?” Isabel inquired just to make sure there would be no more surprises before opening the door.
“Detective Scanlon,” came the expected answer.
“Detective, please won’t you come in. Would you like to join me in having a glass of champagne? I have just poured myself some, can I get you a glass as well?” Isabel smiled broadly and offered as Lee entered the darkened entry. There were some candles burning in the otherwise dark family room. If it hadn’t been so warm, Isabel would have liked to make a fire in the fireplace, but on a day the thermometer topped 95, that wasn’t a good idea, so she settled for some candles instead.
Having had a pretty long day, Lee was ready to unwind just a bit, so he answered, “Sure, that would be great.”
“Please come with me to the dining room. If you don’t mind, I was just finishing up some gift wrapping,” Isabel said as she motioned for Lee to have a seat in one of the barstools situated at the bar that was open to the kitchen on one side and the dining room on the other.
Upon seeing the neat stacks of gifts which took up a good portion of the dining room, Lee cracked, “And here I always thought Santa’s elves did all their work at the North Pole, but apparently I was wrong.”
Isabel had her back turned to Lee as she went to retrieve a champagne flute and fill a glass for Lee. Pretending to be upset, Isabel remarked, “Are you making fun of my size, Detective? Somehow I thought you were better than that!” Isabel was laughing as she turned and came into the dining room to hand Lee his glass.
Incredulously answering as he laughed, Lee started to say, “Who, me?” Suddenly his face fell as he got a good look at Isabel in the bright light of the Dining Room. He’d gotten a good look at her bruised right arm and neck. Completely serious now and starting to flush at the thought of someone, anyone, hurting her, Lee asked, “WHO DID THIS TO YOU?”
It took a minute for Isabel to grasp what he was talking about – she was always so good at covering up this type of thing, she’d completely forgotten she had just taken a shower and was completely make-up free. “Um….well….uh…, I am so clumsy….I’m not used to the furniture lay out…I ran into the…I mean…I fell,” she stuttered.
“Isabel, why are you lying to me? Those are finger marks. There’s no way you got those bruises from falling. I’m a cop, don’t lie to me,” Lee said unhappily as he barely touched her chin and turned her head to see the finger marks on her neck where she’d been choked earlier that day. “WHO DID THIS?”
“Honestly, I do not know. I was only a few blocks from the hotel this morning. Traffic was backed up so I asked the driver to let me out and I would walk the rest of the way. A block or two from the hotel, there was an alley – a man grabbed me from behind and dragged me into it and shoved me against the wall.”
“What kind of man? What did he look like? Did he try to take your purse? What did he want?” Lee asked, growing more concerned.
“It was a white man, in a grayish suit with blue stripes. His hair was black and white and gray – what do you say, um – salt and pepper – he had dark glasses – his complexion seemed rather pale, he was not tanned like you. He was about 5′10″ and 180 pounds or more, I think,” Isabel answered.
“Did he try to, I mean, did he hurt you, um, sexually?” Lee was almost afraid of the answer.
“No. He told me to stop asking questions. I told him I didn’t know what he was talking about and he started choking me…”
“How did you get away, what happened?” Lee asked with great concern and anger in his voice.
“Krav Maga,” Isabel answered.
“Excuse me?” Lee asked looking stunned.
Isabel continued, “Krav Maga – it’s an Israeli method of self-defense.”
“I’ve heard of Krav Maga, but, I mean, um, the guy had at least a foot on you and about 100 pounds. How could you possibly……”
“It is a very effective method of self defense. I believe I broke his nose and a bone or two in his foot……maybe a rib…and I ran back to the hotel, ” Isabel answered as she looked up at Lee’s intense Hazel gaze.
His mood lifted just a bit – stifling a laugh – Lee continued, “So you’re telling me, that you, all 4 feet 8 and three quarters inches of you and what, 85 or 90 pounds of you, kicked this guy’s ass? Where did you learn Krav Maga anyway?”
“What can I say? I was a good student…um….the Isaraeli Army taught me….it’s a long story,” Isabel gave her matter-of-fact answer like everyone studied with the Israeli army!
“Why didn’t you call me? Or dial 911? What were you thinking? We still don’t know who killed Jean-Marc Godeaux, or why. You could be in real danger,” Lee said more concerned now than angry with Isabel.
“I promise you, Lee, I did think about calling you right away, or the police. I do not know, but I decided since I really did not know what he was talking about, perhaps there is some unpleasant business that Jean-Marc had kept from me. Perhaps something I would not want the public to know. We have business dealings around the world – some of the business is worth millions of dollars – sometimes our competitors are not so – what is the word – ethical. Some men will do ANYTHING to make money or take money from someone else. I know it is ugly – this part of the business world I do not like. Jean-Marc would not always tell me these things. We do have some people who can deal with these things – in ways that you cannot,” Isabel confessed to Lee in all sincerity.
“When you say you have people who can “deal with these things” in a way I cannot, what exactly do you mean?” Lee questioned suspiciously.
“Lee, you are a policeman. You are a good man. You have a good soul and you are honest. I know these things about you. I cannot say anymore to you – it is better you do not know anything – you could also be in danger – I know, too, you would never compromise your principles and that is the way it should be,” Isabel said to Lee as she gently touched his right cheek with her right hand and looked compassionately into his eyes.
“Isabel,” Lee said as he took her right hand with his left hand and held it gently, “I need to do my job, and if part of that job is protecting you, I’m gonna do it. NO ONE will ever hurt you like this again if I have anything to do with it. Excuse me just a minute while I call this description in and get my guys to start looking for this guy.” Lee went ahead and called in a description and requested an APB be put out on anyone matching the description. He also ordered some of his guys to check all area hospital emergency rooms for anyone seeking treatment for a broken nose, possibly broken foot and ribs.
Having stepped into the family room while he was making the call on his cell phone, Lee came back into the dining room where Isabel had resumed wrapping the few gifts she had left to finish. Lee walked up to Isabel and took the scissors and tape from her hands and took both of her hands in his. He leaned back on the table so his height would be a little more in line with Isabel so she didn’t have to look up so much and said, “Isabel, I came here tonight to tell you something. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, but I was hoping I would have a suspect already in Jean-Marc’s death. The lady you asked me to locate for you – Diane Harding – turns out she was shot in the head just like Jean-Marc – she’s dead, too.”
to be continued…..
“Oh my God! You believe the same man or person who killed Jean-Marc also killed Diane?” Isabel asked confused.
“It certainly looks that way. At first, I had no idea there was any connection to the two until you told me that Jean-Marc was seeing Diane Harding,” Scanlon answered. “I started digging deeper. It’s complicated. With your attack today, that adds one more wrinkle.”
“Perhaps there is no connection at all to the man who attacked me today. This is possible, yes? The man who attacked me today mistook me for someone else, thought I was someone else,” Isabel offered.
In his saracastic tone, Scanlon shot back, “And that’s because there are so many smoking hot, four foot nine, red-haired women running around the streets of Phoenix, RIGHT?” As soon as the words left his lips, Scanlon thought, “Oh, Crap! Did I just say ’smoking hot’ out loud?”
to be continued….
Thank you Katelyn, that’s a nice compliment! I’m glad you enjoyed them.
Betty, slow down! I can’t keep up. I can barely finish reading a chapter before you add another one. But you’re doing a great job. Those last scenes were great and I’m really starting to like Isabel. I’ll try to jump back in and catch up.
Dawn, I’m leaving plenty for you to do, I just had to get the background and all on Isabel and Scanlon – sometimes these things just start writing themselves, too!
“The fact is, I am fine. I am here. I may have a bruise or two, but I am here. IF, and again, we do not know at this juncture who this man was who accosted me today, and IF he is connected to Jean-Marc and Ms. Harding or to their deaths in any way, he wanted me alive or he would have killed me when he had the chance,” Isabel said searching Lee’s eyes. “This is dreadful news for Ms. Harding and her family. I am so sorry this happened to her,” the earlier carefree expression fading to one of consternation, instead. After several moments of silence while Isabel turned away from Lee and paced back and forth a couple of times, Isabel asked, “Detective, what was Ms. Harding’s full name?”
Scanlon answered, “Diane Elizabeth Harding.”
“Do you have her ex-husband’s name?” Isabel inquired.
Pulling out his notebook from his jacket pocket and flipping pages, Scanlon replied, “Um, Dr. Hakim Mustaffa, shows him to be in Vancouver at the present time. One of the first people we check out when a woman is murdered is boyfriends, husbands, or exes. It appears he has been there for at least three weeks. Re-located a few months back. Travels back and forth around the Southwest.”
After a few more paces, Isabel turned to Lee and said, “Please, excuse me for just a few moments. I have forgotten an important phone call – I’m trying to adjust to the time differences from here to overseas. Please, make yourself comfortable in the parlor. I will be right back.”
Smiling, and saying, “Of course,” Lee picked up his flute of champagne and strolled to the family room. “Nice digs,” he thought to himself. Surveying the leather L-shaped sofa and the 42″ plasma television, he was impressed with the decor. The furnishings and decorations had a comfortable, yet luxurious look and feel. He continued walking around taking in his surroundings. Feeling the tension mount again in his head, neck, and shoulders at the thought of the complexity of this case and how instead of more clear, the waters continued to become muddier by the minute, Lee was rubbing at his head and neck. He decided to look around the condo a little more and thought he heard Isabel raising her voice just a bit, but the conversation seemed to be in French, so wasn’t sure what was being said, but from what he could hear, she was angry. Although the kitchen and dining rooms were the only ones with full lights on, he noticed the other rooms appeared to have some type of light on, either a small lamp or a night light. Of course, the family room, or the ‘parlor’ as Isabel referred to it, had quite a few candles burning, most in front of the fireplace, but there were others set around. It smelled nice, but he thought that was the essence of Isabel. Everytime he was around her, he noticed the lovely aroma that seemed to follow her – nothing loud, but very subtle and sweet. He noticed the notes Isabel had placed at each stack of gifts and saw they were going to the women and children’s shelter, CPS, and the local children’s hospital. Naturally curious, he noticed a card that had not yet been placed in its envelope, so he picked it up and read the contents that were in very precise handwriting, “Dominic, you are a very bright boy. I know you are having a hard time right now. It is OK to be sad, but every day will get a little easier for you. You have not done anything wrong. You deserve to be safe and happy. Sometimes adults make very bad choices – we all must work hard to make good choices every day. Keep smiling and trying to make good choices for yourself everyday. Enjoy this game boy. I will be checking to make sure you are OK. Love, your friend, Isabel.” Lee was floored that Isabel would take so much time to not only wrap these gifts herself, but also to take the time to write individual notes to each recipient! Lee headed back to the family room and decided to try out the couch. Lee sat rubbing his head and neck and was surprised when Isabel spoke to him as he did not hear her bare feet on the hardwood floors.
to be continued
continued from ….hardwood floors.
Lee stood as soon as he realized Isabel had entered the room.
“Oh my. You are not feeling well, are you Lee, oh, I am sorry, Detective,” Isabel corrected herself as she spoke softly with concern.
Scanlon answered, “Please, you can call me Lee. I’m OK, just a headache creeping back from earlier today, that’s all.”
“I can see the stress in your face. I know these murders are weighing heavily on you, Lee. You are very smart and you are one of the most capable detectives they have here. You are special because you do care so very much. Let me help to relieve this stress so you will feel better,” Isabel said with concern.
Being Lee Scanlon, the first thing that flashed in his mind was something erotic. Good sense took over, so he replied, “Some days, I don’t feel so capable and this is one of them. Really, don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”
“I insist, Lee. I used to do this for my husband. Please, let me help you,” Isabel replied.
Again, erotic thoughts racing through his mind, because, after all, he was Lee Scanlon, Lee said, “No, I should go. I need to earn your trust in me and solve this case for all of us.”
“You cannot possibly do your best work filled with stress. After all, I am a doctor and I insist you sit down,” Isabel said a little more sternly as she sat on the arm of the sofa and motioned for Lee to sit in front of her. Then she got up and said, “First, take off your jacket and your shoes,” she said reaching up to remove his jacket. Isabel took his jacket and carefully hung it over the back of the desk chair so it would not wrinkle and came back and sat on the arm of the sofa again and said, “Sit here and stretch your legs out on the sofa.” She turned her legs away from the back of the sofa and gently pulled Lee back to lean against her torso, instructing him to close his eyes and try to relax. In the background, “Madame Butterlfy” continued to play. Isabel’s delicate fingers applied gentle pressure to Lee’s temples. At first he jumped a bit because her fingers were cold. Offering to go and warm them with some warm water, Lee declined saying her cold fingers actually felt good. What he didn’t say was that they felt like rose petals, so soft and refreshing.
Over the next fifteen to twenty minutes, Isabel massaged Lee’s temples, then his forehead, and continued until she’d massaged his entire scalp. As she was massaging, Isabel was gently whispering in a calming and soothing tone to Lee to relax and let all the stress leave his body, all the confusion to empty from his mind, and to let it all drain out of his body through his fingertips and toes. Next she started to massage the base of his skull where it connected to his neck and then she worked her way down his neck to his shoulders. Lee was constantly murmuring his appreciation through oohs and ahhs as she continued while intructing him to empty his mind of all these thoughts about the murders and the next time he thought about them, everything would fall into place better.
Lee had to admit, he was feeling so much better. He could literally feel everything draining out of his fingers and toes as Isabel instructed. Being Lee Scanlon, he was also turned on. Pushing the erotic thoughts aside that kept entering his mind, Lee said, “Your husband was a very lucky man.”
“Thank you, Lee. I could always tell when he was bothered by a business problem. He told me it helped to settle his mind and then the solution would become clear,” Isabel said reflectively.
Much to his chagrin, Lee’s stomach chose that time to growl!
“Oh, my goodness! I am being a terrible hostess! Please forgive me, I seem to have forgotten my manners. You are hungry – I should have offered you something to eat. I am so sorry, I do not know what to say,” Isabel said as she started to get off the arm of the sofa.
Being more than a little embarrassed at the noisy chorus of growls his stomach decided to make, Lee took the opportunity to take Isabel’s hand, first her left and then her right, and kissed the palm of each one gently and said, “I couldn’t ask for a better hostess. You have really gone above and beyond. You were right. I feel so much better.”
to be continued…..
continued from ….so much better…
Lee and Isabel exchanged long glances and sweet smiles as Lee lightly held a couple of the fingers of her right hand before letting go. Lee began to stand as Isabel turned to walk towards the kitchen. He felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
Isabel said as she was walking, “Again, I apologize for being such a bad hostess. I will put something together.” Looking at the time, Isabel said, “You poor thing, you must be starving. I’m afraid I do not cook, but Marie has left some things for me.” Lee loved the pouty little expression her full, lush looking lips made.
As Lee was following her into the kitchen, Isabel said, “Please Lee, go back and sit down and relax. You are my guest. What do you like to eat? Is there anything you cannot eat? Marie is so sweet. She knows my bad habit of nibbling, so she left me some vegetables, fruit and cheese.”
Lee continuing to follow Isabel to the kitchen, said, “I don’t expect you to wait on me. You don’t have to do this. We could go out, or call and order something. I take it you haven’t eaten either – you know you promised me you weren’t going to pass out on me anymore,” he added teasingly.
“I am afraid it is so late (it was now after 9 PM). Besides, it is my turn to repay your kindness,” Isabel said, “I have no plans to faint anymore, I promise you!”
Despite his protests of wanting to help, Isabel insisted Lee sit down at the bar while she gathered plates and food from the refrigerator. She was actually a little embarrassed that she knew very little about the kitchen and where things were kept, especially this kitchen since she’d only been there less than a day. It was an adventure for her as she collected what they would need.
Lee hadn’t asked her before, but he kept wondering what exactly was playing on the stereo, so as she was buzzing about the kitchen, he finally asked, “What is that playing on the stereo?”
“‘Madame Butterfly’. It is a ballet and an opera. You have not heard it before?” Isabel asked.
“Um, no. Ballet and opera weren’t exactly big around our house. I don’t know, I guess I always thought ballet and opera were a bit boring, Lee added.
Isabel responded, “When I was a little girl, before I knew what the story was, I thought the same thing. Once my grandmama explained the story to me, I understood how beautiful each work was and it moved me. I love ‘Swan Lake” also. I love to listen and dance to them now. I think you will find they are wonderul pieces.”
“I don’t know,” Lee threw out there.
“Let us take this to the family room and I will explain the stories to you and then you can decide if you still think they are boring,” Isabel said excitedly. “If you still think they are boring, I will not make you listen to them anymore.”
Having put together a plate for each of them with vegetables, fruit, cheeses, crackers, and some cold cuts she found, Isabel set everything up in the family room. She may not know how to cook, but she did know how to make things look pretty. Being French, of course, Isabel started to struggle to open another bottle of champagne, which Lee glady took from her and opened. Isabel came alive as she explained the story of ‘Madame Butterly’ to Lee and pointed out key parts of the story and where they related to the music. She was so animated and had such a sparkle to her eyes as she continued to explain the story of ‘Swan Lake’, stopping only briefly every once in a while to take a bite from her plate. Lee found himself genuinely interested in both stories, but was more interested in watching Isabel. She even danced the last few minutes of Swan Lake for him as she tried to explain the sheer beauty of the piece that was hard to express with mere words. He was so enthralled with her grace and beauty and the fluidity of her movement and how very gorgeous her body was. He actually found this more titillating than watching a stripper! Isabel wasn’t particularly self concious, and all this time, she’d been so preoccupied with everything else, she’d really forgotten she only had on what a lot of women sleep in – yoga pants and a knit, spaghetti strap top. Little was left to the imagination, which Lee was grateful for! He sat there thinking that Isabel was the most beautiful woman he had ever known. He really did find that he had a new appreciation for opera and ballet after the exquisite explanation Isabel had given him. As she sat down to catch her breath, nibble at another bite or two from her plate and take a sip from her glass, Lee thought to himself, “I would happily watch Isabel Chevalier read a phone book for hours on end!”
to be continued….
continued from ……hours on end….
Lee fought the urge to go to Isabel, pick her up in his arms and kiss her deeply and make love to her. He was contemplating doing just that when she excused herself and went to the kitchen where she stopped briefly at the refrigerator and away from the family room. Lee decided to follow Isabel, not sure exactly what he would do when he caught up with her, or sure where she was going. The door was open to what he assumed was the master bedroom. Mostly dark except for a couple of night lights, Lee walked toward the brighter light of the master bathroom where the door was completely open. Deciding that if she had wanted privacy, she would have closed one or both doors, maybe this was part of her seduction, Lee walked into the spacious travertine tiled master bath. His euphoria was suddenly broken as he witnessed Isabel drawing something from a vile into a syringe and injecting the substance into her abdomen. Without stopping to process what he saw and without thinking, Lee blurted out, “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?”
Startled, Isabel looked up and in the process, dropped the syringe and knocked the glass vile on the tile floor which broke into pieces. She quickly jumped down from the counter she was sitting on and said, “I am injecting my insulin.”
“Excuse me?” Scanlon said incredulously.
“Insulin. I was injecting my insulin, “Isabel repeated.
“That’s something that diabetics use,” Scanlon shot back suspicously.
“I AM a diabetic,” Isabel responded hurt at the thought he didn’t believe her. “I have been since I was a small child. I must inject myself four to six times per day because my body does not produce it’s own insulin.”
Feeling really small at that very moment, Lee looked down and noticed blood pouring from Isabel’s right foot. “Oh, crap!” Lee said, “You’re bleeding.” He immediately started toward her as Isabel, urged him to stay where he was so he wouldn’t cut himself. Not listening, Lee grabbed one towel and swept the floor to one side and quickly went to Isabel and picked her up in his arms and set her on the edge of the huge whirlpool jetted bathtub so her feet would be in the tub. Acting quickly, he pulled the large piece of glass from her foot and wrapped a smaller towel around her foot and held pressure on it to help stop the bleeding. “We should take you to the hospital,” Lee said, “That looks pretty deep and it looks like it hurts.”
“I do not want to go hospital,” Isabel said.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were diabetic?” Lee said as he asked Isabel to hold pressure on the towel and darted off toward the kitchen. Thinking quickly, Lee looked for some zip lock bags and finding some, filled one with ice and ran back to the master bathroom.
“I’ll hold this ice on the bottom of your foot, it will help to slow the bleeding,” Lee said assuredly, now taking the roll of the doctor to the patient. Lee tied another small towel around the ice bag to hold it in place as he started opening drawers and doors to find some first aid supplies.
“I do not like to tell someone I am diabetic until they know me, otherwise, I become the “DIABETIC” and not Isabel. They treat me differently, like an invalid.”
“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” Lee said as he let out a sigh. “A few years ago, I was working undercover – narcotics. I was working around a lot of really twisted people. It’s pretty hard to survive in that world if you don’t do drugs. Before I knew it, I started dabbling into drugs myself. I know it was pretty stupid. Anyway, to make a long story short, they sent me through rehab and put me into homicide. I’ve been clean for almost five years now. That was the first thing that popped into my head when I saw you with that syringe. I’m sorry I jumped to that conclusion.”
Full of compassion, Isabel looked at Lee and said, “That must have been a very difficult time for you, Cherie.”
As Lee looked into her eyes, he thought, “I am so in love with this woman,” as he fought the urge to wrap his arms around her and kiss her. “We need to take care of this foot,” he said to Isabel, hoping she hadn’t read his mind. Isabel was quite impressed as Lee proceeded to make sure the cut didn’t have any more glass in it and cleaned it with some peroxide he found. Isabel told him where to find some supplies she had in one of her suitcases that had not been unpacked. She instructed him on how to apply this glue that is often used instead of stiches. Lee did the rest carefully wrapping her foot in gauze and taping it. Lee picked her up and carried her over to the bed so he could clean up the mess in the bathroom, although Isabel protested she would take care of it. Suddenly a thought hit Isabel as she saw Lee picking up the remaining pieces of the insulin vile.
“Lee, oh my God!” Isabel exclaimed.
Immediately at her side, Lee asked, “Are you all right?”
Isabel motioned for Lee to be quiet. She started making small talk about different kinds of music as she got up and limped toward the family room.
“Isabel, stop. You shouldn’t be walking on that foot right now. Let me carry you….”Lee said as Isabel again silently motioned for Lee to be quiet.
Lee wasn’t sure what to do. Did the cut in her foot somehow affect her brain? What was going on?
Isabel kept chattering away about music and put some new CDs into the stereo and cranked up the sound. She stopped at the desk and picked up a pen and some paper. She closed the drapes and shades where she could. Lee kept trying to take things away from her and she kept pushing him away frantically chattering about nothing. Finally, Isabel motioned for Lee to join her in front of the fireplace motioning for him to come close to her. Lee kept trying to get her to get off of her foot, until he finally managed to get her to sit down on the floor. The music was awfully loud to be in a romantic mood, but Isabel kept motioning for Lee to come closer. Finally, they locked in an embrace. Lee thought to himself, “this is the strangest way any woman has ever come on to me before.”
Isabel came toward him as if to kiss him, but then put her mouth right by his ear and whispered to him in a barely audible tone, “When you picked up the vile, I remembered something. You must not repeat this. You must not say anything out loud – someone may be listening. Today’s bugs and listening devices are much more sophisticated than the ones you see on TV. Trust me.” In a louder tone, Isabel said a few things that would convince someone listening in they were about to get busy.
Lee kept going along with this, wondering if she slipped a cog, but deciding she seemed completely rational, kept listening.
Isabel continued in her hushed tone directly in Scanlon’s ear, “I think I know who Diane’s ex is – he has used these aliases,” as Scanlon strained to hear what was being said, Isabel wrote on the piece of paper these two names, ‘Dr. Mustaffa Carroll’ and ‘Dr. Tariq Abdul Hakim’. After making sure he had seen the two names, Isabel placed the piece of paper in one of the flames of the candles burning around the fireplace and let it catch fire. She threw it into the fireplace and watched it to make sure there was nothing left of it as it burned to oblivion.
Continuing as if someone were watching the two of them, Isabel continued her charade by going in for a deep and long kiss after which she pushed Lee down and rolled on top of him, again whipering in his ear, “You must never say where you got this information. We will both be in danger. I will deny we ever spoke of this and you must also if you are ever asked.”
Rolling them on their sides, Lee planted his own deep and long kiss on Isabel this time, partly because he liked it, and partly because he thought he should continue the charade for at least a while, and whispered in her ear,”I don’t understand. What are you talking about?”
“About four years ago, I met this man, I did not recall he was Diane’s ex until you picked up that vile. I remembered this doctor who had some medical businesses. He wanted to take over some smaller companies, and Diane helped him. That is how they met. They married after a very brief courtship,” Isabel whispered with an occasional “baby, baby, and oohs and ahhs” thrown in for good measure. “After the companies merged, he came to my husband’s investment firm looking for some capital to help them with some research funding for some new drugs. I was in Afghanistan doing humanitarian work. Terrible things were happening because of the war and the fighting. This doctor was helping with the torture of prisoners and the drugs they were trying to develop had something to do with torture. As soon as this information got to my husband, he cancelled the deal.” Rolling over once again to change position, Lee and Isabel once again found themselves enmeshed in a deep, long kiss that kept getting longer and longer and harder and harder to pull away from.
Lee said, “OK,” after uttering some other more meaningful, “oh baby, oh baby”.
Isabel continued in her barely audible whisper, “When Diane found out the true nature of her husband, she left him. He is dangerous and the people he works with are dangerous. You have no idea how dangerous these people are. If anyone knew I was telling you any of this, we would both be killed.(kissing between whispers) I believe the Russian mob was trying to set up a heroin smuggling operation through this area using the doctor to do it for the influx of cash, with a connection to Vancouver. (longer kissing break between whispers) The code name for this network was ‘Gossamer’,” Isabel finished.
“I knew the cards for ‘Gossamer’ had to be a red herring to throw us off! I remember hearing about the beginnings of this network when I was working undecover!” Lee whispered back.
“Someone wants the people who were associated with the doctor killed,” Isabel whispered back. “Please, my darling,” Isabel slipped and said out loud, “You must be careful. You cannot tell anyone until we know who to trust. These people are diabolical. I may already be marked for death. I could not bear it if anything happend to you because of me. Please, please, promise me you will not pursue this any longer,” Isabel pleaded with tears in her eyes.
Lee picked up Isabel, turned the stereo down to a reasonable level and carried her to the bedroom where they made love, again, and again, and again.
to be continued…..
continued from …..again, and again, and again…
Sleep didn’t come easy for Isabel Chevalier Levosier. Especially since Katrina and the devastation and tragedies it inflicted. The first time the nightmare woke her this night, she was surprised when she looked at the clock and it was 2:45 AM – she’d actually slept for almost three hours with Lee’s arms wrapped around her! She was glad she didn’t wake him with one of her screams. Isabel quietly slipped out of Lee’s arms, found her long white silk robe, and went to the kitchen where she opened a bottle of wine and poured herself a glass. Going back to the bedroom, she went to the french doors that led out to a large deck with an unobstructed view of the mountains. Isabel walked out on the deck and stood admiring the beautiful Arizona night sky. It was a clear night and rather quiet at this early hour. A gentle breeze blew her hair and robe just a bit. It felt nice. Isabel reflected on the night thus far as she stood admiring the view and sipping her wine. Her emotions were mixed. It was quite a shock to realize she knew Diane Harding all along. She’d forgotten that Diane never took one of her husband’s last names. Something kept nagging at her about Diane, but she just couldn’t put her finger on it until Lee had given her Diane’s middle name and then the name of her ex-husband. Dr. Hakim Mustaffa’s name sent cold shivers up her spine. Then the broken vile sparked memories. Surely Jean-Marc was not really romantically involved with her – perhaps she had misunderstood the communication she’d gotten from him. Security would have to be stepped up right away – daily bug scans would have to be done. Then there was Lee! It never occured to Isabel that she would ever be attracted to another man in that way again. She’d been in love with Francois since she was 12 years old. He was the only man she ever slept with in her life. She loved him with her whole heart and soul and never imagined being with another man. He was completely in love with her and their daughters. Then Katrina came and ripped them apart.
Only days ago she met Detective Lee Scanlon! Tall, handsome, sure of himself, and so caring and polite. She saw something in his eyes – the same thing she’d seen in Francois’ eyes all those years ago. It touched her deeply. How stupid she was not to have taken the necessary security precautions already to secure the condo from bugs and surveillance devices! At first, she thought she could remain detached when she kissed Lee to make the charade more convincing if she was being watched and listened to. No one would think it odd for a single man and woman to find each other attractive and make love. The way he kissed her and touched her was so sweet and soft and sensitive! She felt herself wanting him and couldn’t stop herself from responding to him. She actually felt completely alive again! Isabel couldn’t help feeling guilty – was she betraying Francois? Could she finally let go of Francois after two years? Could she allow herself to be loved by this man? Even when she thought that one day if she made love to another man, it would make her feel so good – she actually felt whole again and it surprised her! She looked up at the stars and spoke to Francois as she often did at night when she was alone. “Francois, is this what you want for me? Do you want me to move on now? What should I do Francois? Am I supposed to say ‘goodbye’ to you now?”
It didn’t take long for Lee to notice Isabel was no longer beside him as he reached for her and found an empty spot in the bed. He’d never been a big cuddler, but for some reason this night he didn’t feel comfortable unless he had Isabel in his arms. He sat up and looked around the room. Noticing the french doors were open, Lee found his boxers and pulled them on and looked out on the deck to see Isabel. “My God!” Lee thought to himself as he saw her standing there in the moonlight. He could easily see the outline of her body through her sheer white robe backlit by the moonlight. He was aroused at the mere thought of that body and how he’d explored every inch of it only a short time before. “Being with her was incredible!” He thought to himself. Although he’d never had a shortage of sex partners, it was different with Isabel. He’d never actually felt completely fulfilled before, but now – it was amazing! It was like he was a puzzle that was missing a piece, and Isabel was that missing piece – he finally felt complete! All these years, he had heard people say that when you met the right person, you would KNOW that they were IT. That never rang true, until tonight. He thought of Allison and Joe and what they shared and thought, “NOW I get it.”
Lee walked out on the deck and gently wrapped his arms around Isabel. “You are quite the enigma, Mrs. Levosier,” he whispered in her ear. She responded by leaning into him as he placed baby kisses on her head, neck, and shoulders. “I thought I heard you talking to someone. Who were you talking to?” Lee asked.
Isabel turned to face Lee, looked up into his eyes and said, “I was saying goodbye to Francois.”
Lee leaned down to kiss her passionately. Isabel responded by jumping up into his arms and wrapped her legs around his torso and her left arm around his neck as she still held her wine glass in her right hand. After a very long kiss, Isabel asked Lee seductively, “Do you want some wine?”
Lee responded, “MMMMmmm, yes.”
Isabel dipped her left index finger into her wine glass and then traced Lee’s lips with it to give him just a taste of the wine. Lee responded by licking and sucking her finger, then her hand, and down her arm to her chest. Boxers and robe falling on the floor as he carried her back inside to the bed, they spent another 45 minutes making love before they drifted off to sleep.
to be continued
I think I’ll have to get the fan back out of storage! Things are really heating up.
continued from ……drifted off to sleep.
About an hour later, Isabel awoke again in a cold sweat as she often did from the nightmares that haunted her sleep. Although it felt so good to be in Lee’s arms, she slipped out of his embrace and found her robe again, and quietly left the room.
Isabel went to the desk in the family room, where she made a few phone calls. Then opening her lap top she started sending directives on what she wanted to accomplish that day. She decided she would buy the condo complex. It was a good investment and as the owner, she could do whatever needed to be done security wise. Besides, she would need places for her trusted surgical team and household staff to stay when they arrived in Phoenix until more permanent arrangements could be made. The complex had only recently been completed, and wasn’t up for sale, but that didn’t matter. She found if you offered someone enough money, they would sell pretty much anything. She was also a smart business woman and would have everything to do with the property and owners pulled and have her people looking everything over before 10 AM – it was 5 AM now, so that gave them five hours to make it happen.
Once again, Lee stirred in the bed and realized Isabel was missing. Again, pulling on his boxers, noticing the french doors were closed and locked, left the bedroom in search of Isabel. Finding her at the desk, he inquired, “Baby, what are you doing, it’s only 5 AM? You should be sleeping. WE should be sleeping.”
“I’ll have time to sleep when I am dead, Cherie,” Isabel answered. “I should not have been so stupid when it came to security. I am making arrangements to rectify this now.”
“C’mon, baby, come back to bed with me,” Lee said as he began running his hands up and down her body and inside her robe.
Being completely distracted and barely able to finish her last email, Isabel said, “How can I say ‘no’ to you my darling?” As soon as she hit the ’send’ button, Lee picked her up and carried her back to the bedroom where they made love again. This time when he fell back to sleep as he held Isabel in his arms, Lee started to have pleasant dreams.
(Dream) Lee and Joe Dubois were in Lee’s back yard at a house near where the Joe and Allison and their girls lived. The grill was fired up and Lee and Joe each had on their “King of the Grill” aprons. Steaks, burgers, and hot dogs were cooking on the grill. Bridgette and Marie were laughing and playing with Lee’s three sons, Lee, Jr, 3, Manuel, 2, and Frank 1. Isabel and Allison sat in a glider in the shade, each nursing a baby. Isabel was nursing newborn Bella, and Allison was nursing six month old Joe, Jr. Ariel was sitting with her boyfriend who Lee thought looked a lot like a kid headed for trouble. Everyone was happy and laughing. Lee was thinking how great his life was now – ever since meeting Isabel, Lee’s life had really come together. He walked over to the glider to plant a kiss on his newborn daughter’s head. She was the spitting image of her mother and obviously the most beautiful baby ever to be born in Phoenix. Lee then lifted his head up to plant a kiss on his wife’s beautiful, full, lips……
The ringing of his cell phone caused Lee to be abruplty wakend as his head shot up off the pillow and an audible, “ahhh!” escaped his lips as he opened his eyes and looked around the room. It took him a few seconds to focus and for it to sink in he was in Isabel’s bedroom. The cell phone kept ringing as he realized a pleasant sensation. Isabel was playing with his chest hair and kissing his chest. Smiling at that, he reached his left hand over to the nightstand to reach his cell phone. Rubbing his eyes with his right hand, he answered, “Scanlon.”
“Lee, it’s Allison,” came the familiar voice on the other end of the phone.
Isabel’s head disappeared under the sheet. Not yet fully awake, and completely distracted, Lee heard Allison say, “Lee, are you there?”
“Mmmm, yeah. I’m here, what time is it?” he managed to get out.
“It’s 7 AM, Lee. Look, I’m going to take Marie to the urgent care clinic this morning after I drop Ariel and Bridgette off at school. We should be back home by 11 AM, I need to discuss something with you. Do you think you could come by my house then?” Hearing some “mmm’s and ahh’s” but no answer, Allison inquired again, “Lee, is everything all right?”
“Mmmmm, uh-huh. Terrific, 11 AM, right?” Lee said as he hung up his phone.
Allison chuckled to herself as she heard the click.
Lee was feeling pretty lucky this morning. In fact, he was on the top of the world! After making love again after speaking with Allison and again in the shower a little later, Isabel and Lee were finally getting dressed about 9 AM. Fortunately for Lee, Isabel had some brand new razors. So what if the shaving cream was pink? It was still shaving cream.
Isabel chose a silk charmeuse peacock blue scoop neck sleeveless dress that fit her like a glove. She asked Lee to zip her up and he complied after planting baby kisses up and down her spine.
Lee had on his dark blue suit pants and his light blue shirt. He rolled up his sleeves as he usually did when he didn’t put on his jacket right away. He thought he would surprise Isabel while she fussed with her long hair, by making an omelete – providing he could find the right ingredients in the refrigerator. He told Isabel he would get the coffee started as he left the bedroom. “Coffee?” Isabel thought. “I wonder if I have any?”
Lee found the coffee and got it started right away. Lee couldn’t cook a lot of things, but he was proud of himself because the things he did know how to make he did very well. As he opened the refrigerator, he noticed all of the viles of insulin. He still twinged when he thought of how he spoke to Isabel when he saw her with that syringe. He’d re-bandaged her foot pretty tightly after their shower. He was surprised she didn’t show more pain. He was even more amazed when she put on a pair of silver pumps and seemed to walk without limping. “We’re in luck!” Lee thought as he found what he needed to make a pretty decent omelette.
Lee had watched as Isabel had given herself an insulin injection again this morning. He couldn’t imagine having to do that up to six times a day.
Isabel was quite surprised at the omelette and the great cup of coffee Lee made. She even managed to eat a few bites and have some fruit between answering a number of phone calls and emails responding to her 5 AM dispatches.
to be continued
continued from …..5AM dispatches…
They left the condo finally and stopped by Lee’s office to check and see of anything had turned up on the APB before heading to Allison’s house. Lee found a note on his desk. He turned to Isabel and said, “It seems as though there were some news cameras on Monday night at the accident scene. Apparently they have some film of you and would like to do an interview and hail you as a “Good Samaratin”. There’s even a message here from the mayor’s office wanting to give you a certificate or something.”
“Oh no!” Isabel exclaimed. “I do not help people to be photographed. I only did what I needed to do. I do not want any publicity. I am sure the families of the accident victims do not need to see pictures.”
“I forgot to tell you,” Lee began, “I got a call from one of the ambulance guys. He said that two of those people you helped wouldn’t have made it to the hospital without your emergency care. Thanks to you, they are now recovering.”
“I am glad I could help them,” Isabel said. ” I only wish I could have saved everyone.”
“Isabel,” Lee said with compassion, “No one can save everyone. You did the best you could.”
“Thank you my darling,” Isabel answered, “I definitely do not want any publicity.” With that, Isabel picked up her cell phone, dialed, and said, “Jonathan?” “Dr. Chevlaier here. On Monday night I assisted some people at an accident site. Yes – Phoenix. Some reporter has pictures of me. Yes – find and destroy them. You know what to do. Goodbye.”
“Don’t you think that was pretty harsh?” Lee questioned.
“I see no justification in publicizing someone’s misfortune for my benefit. I utilize the media when I have a cause to support that will benefit from the publicity and donations that will follow. I control when that happens, not the other way around. Until I know you and others I care about will be safe, I do not want any pictures released,” Isabel replied in all seriousness. “Don’t worry, they will be compensated handsomely for thier trouble.”
“Isabel, I’m a cop. I’m a big guy. I can take care of myself,” Lee said a little cockey.
“No, Lee. not against these people,” Isabel answered as she touched his hand.
They arrived at Allison’s house and Lee rang the door bell. It took a couple of minutes before Allison came to the door holding Marie. “Hi, please come in,” Allison greeted Lee and Isabel.
“Allison, I’d like you to meet Dr. Isabel Chevalier Levosier – Isabel, this is Allison Dubois,” Lee proudly said as he and Isabel entered Allison’s comfortable home.
“Oh, my!” Allison exclaimed. “I’m afraid my house is a mess. The baby was up most of the night and we just got back from the doctor’s office.”
“You have a lovely home Mrs. Dubois, please, call me Isabel,” Isabel offered.
Lee touched Marie’s cheek and smiled at her and reached in his pocket and handed her a handful of change. “This is for you to buy yourself some candy when you’re feeling better,” Lee said.
Isabel looked at Marie and said, “Oh! What a precious girl! How old is she?”
Allison smiled as Marie struggled out of her arms now and got down, “She just had a birthday. She is four.”
Smiling, Isabel said, “She is just the age of my girls – what age my girls would be, I mean.” Isabel’s voice softened even more and trailed off as she said that, but she couldn’t help but smiling at Marie who was tugging at her hand.
Lee had his hand gently in the curve of her back and patted her a little when she said that. Allison reached out to Isabel and offered her hand, now that Marie was no longer occupying her arms. As Allison touched her hand, frightening flashes of darkness, screams, terror, and wind and water rushing hit her. She blinked her eyes to shake it off as she released Isabel’s hand.
“Are you OK?” Lee asked as he could tell Allison had one of her “things” as he called them.
“Um, yes. Uh, would you like some coffee?” Allison asked heading to her kitchen.
“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Lee answered.
“That would be lovely,” Isabel added.
Marie was tugging at Isabel’s hand, “Come and see my room,” she said.
“I would love to see your room if that is OK with your Mama,” Isabel said.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into her,” Allison said, “If you would like to – if you don’t mind – sure. We just came back from the doctor’s office and I’m afraid Marie has a strep throat. They gave her a shot.”
“Oh, you poor darling,” Isabel said gently stroking Marie’s hair.
Marie put her hands up to Isabel gesturing for her to pick her up and Isabel gladly complied. Allison showed Isabel where Marie’s room was and came back to the kitchen and poured them all a cup of coffee. After pouring some milk in Lee’s just the way he liked it, Allison started grinning from ear to ear as she looked at Lee. “Oh my gosh! Lee! You are so in love with her! When you walked in the door it was just pouring off of you! ‘I love this woman soooo much’ – I’m so happy for you!” Allison gushed to Lee as they embraced. Lee was also smiling from ear to ear. He was turning red from embarrassment, but couldn’t deny it. He was so much in love with this woman!
to be continued
Katelyn, I hope you are enjoying it! I thought it was high time we had a little romance – I have tried my hardest to keep it PG or PG 13 without loosing the intensity of the moment.
Dawn, sorry, but I waited and waited for you to add something. This part has just been writing itself. I felt Scanlon and Isabel’s story had to continue.
continued from ……in love with this woman…
Lee was grinning and looking down a bit in his embarrased look, but then he looked directly in Allison’s eyes after taking a sip of his coffee and said, “When I’m with Isabel, she just fills me up – It was like I’ve been going around a few quarts low for a while, but she fills me up completely. It feels good – it feels right. I think I understand now what you and Joe have – what the two of you share. I’ve never felt this way before. I’ve got to tell you – it feels good!”
Allison was smiling at Lee and reached across to touch his hand. “Lee, I’m so happy for you. That’s such good news! She is just stunning! She’s so small – I can’t get over it – she’s actually shorter than me! I look at her and think I really need to go on a diet. I’m so embarrassed, though. I wish you would have told me you were bringing someone else with you, I would have tried to pick up a bit more.”
“Allison, your house looks fine, really. You are perfect just the way you are, ” Lee offered assuredly.
“Where did you two meet?” Allison asked.
“Believe it or not, we met at my office,” Lee started. The Gossamer victim – Jean-Marc Godeaux – ran some of her family’s businesses – they were more to each other, though, than just business partners. Apparently, he and his late wife were like surrogate parents for her. Her own parents were murdered when she was five and the Godeaux’s helped raise her along with her Grandmother.”
“Oh, Lee, that’s so sad that her parents were murdered and now her surrogate father, too! Gossamer – there’s that word again. Not to change the subject, but I guess it really isn’t off the subject – Gossamer – it turns out that’s a ‘red herring’”, Allison said.
“I just found that out myself,” Lee said. “Have you had any more dreams? Any other information?”
“I really haven’t had any dreams about it. Sometimes Joe’s Dad drops in. He told me about Gossamer being a red herring, but what does that mean exactly?” Allison asked with a puzzled look on her face.
“Whoever is behind these murders is trying to throw us off their trail. Something else is going on here. By sending us looking into that aerospace company called ‘Gossamer’ it kept us from seeing what was really going on. I’m not entirely sure yet, but this may have international implications. It turns out that Diane Harding’s most recent ex-husband may actually be involved – his name is Dr. Hakim Mustaffa – everything shows he has been in Vancouver for at least three weeks, but, he may be using another name. Isabel was attacked by some man yesterday who dragged her into an alley by the Hyatt downtown where she was staying. She’s in danger, too, or at least it looks that way.”
“Is she all right? What did he do? Say?” Allison asked with great concern.
“She says she’s fine. He left a pretty nasty bruise on her right arm where he grabbed her and finger marks on her neck where he choked her. She managed to get away. It’s amazing what you can do with make-up. If I hadn’t seen the bruises myself, I wouldn’t be able to tell. He told her to stop asking questions. I know you said you saw Diane Harding’s murderer – I want you to talk to Isabel and see if the description of the man who attacked her is the same man who murdered Diane,” Lee said.
From Marie’s room down the hall, Lee and Allison heard Isabel singing the sweet lullaby song to Marie she had sung to the two boys that had been trapped in the overturned car.
to be continued…
Oops, next chapter is stuck in the spam filter Katelyn! Help!
continued from ……overturned car….
Allison and Lee sat drinking their coffee and discussing whether or not Allison had anything to offer on the Gossamer case. They also discussed the artist’s sketch of the man Allison saw in her dreams that killed Diane Harding. Lee was hoping Allison might remember something else from that dream, something that would provide some clue to the man’s identity or what he was doing at Diane Harding’s home. The information Isabel had confidentialy given to Scanlon was on the tip of his tongue as he weighed whether or not to share this with Allison. Realizing another fifteen minutes or so had passed since they heard Isabel softly singing a lullabye to Marie, Allison got up and poured Lee some more coffee and excused herself to go check on Marie and Isabel.
Allison walked down the hall and peeked her head into Marie and Bridgette’s room. Marie was now sound asleep in the lower bunk of the bed. Isabel was humming softly and folding and putting away some of the girl’s clean clothes from a laundry basket Allison had left in the room earlier in the day. Toys, shoes, books, and some other articles of the girls clothing was strewn about the room. A typical child’s room.
Allison walked over to Isabel and whispered to her, “I see Marie is fast asleep. Oh my gosh, I’m so embarrassed about my house, this room…”
Isabel interrupted her, also speaking in a whisper, “Allison, I could feel and the love and laughter that fills your home from the minute I walked in. You have nothing to apologize for.”
Allison, looking at the clothing Isabel held in her hands, exclaimed, “Please, put those things down. It was just such a bad night and morning with Marie having the high fever and all – I was up with Marie almost all night, so I never got a chance to put their clothes away.”
At that, Isabel looked down at her own hands, and with a shocked expression on her face, said, “Oh my! I apologize, I should never have… I, um, I actually did not even think about what I was doing…..um….I guess I just miss doing this for my own daughters….and I…um…felt so comfortable here.”
With a little chuckle, Allison added, “Don’t get me wrong, if I could get your help all the time, I’d invite you over for coffee every day. There just aren’t enough hours in the day most of the time. I’m sure you know how that is. My house must really look bad to you if you are compelled to fold and put away our clothes. I’m just so embarrassed,” still speaking in a whisper. “How did you know where their clothes belonged?” Allison questioned noticing that somehow this stranger walked in her girl’s room and seemed to know where to put Marie’s clothes and Bridgette’s.
Isabel looked stunned for a minute and then said, “I do not know. I….um….well….I put Marie in her bed and then I saw the laundry basket, and I just….knew….I cannot explain it. I am sorry for overstepping my bounds in your home, please….forgive me.”
“No, really, it’s all right,” Allison added. “You mentioned your daughters – are they staying somewhere else?”
Isabel thoughtfully put down a top and a pair of pants that she judged must be Marie’s and took a deep breath. It never did get any easier summoning the courage to discuss the death of your family. At first, she couldn’t even catch her breath, now she could still breathe, so in that respect, she guessed it did get easier. Isabel walked toward the window and gazed outside and then started slowly, “Two years ago….my family……we lived in New Orleans…..Hurricane Katrina came……my husband and our twins…..were among the over 3,000 people who….did not survive.” The urge to scream was still there each time – to wail – to cry – to curse – yet it always felt like a bizarre nightmare or an alternate universe. Had those words really come out of her mouth? HER family was – dead?
Her pain was palpable to Allison who couldn’t imagine life without Joe and the girls. Marie began stirring in bed, diverting both women’s attention. As Marie was rooting around to get more comfortable, a stuffed bear fell out from under her sheet and onto the floor next to the bed. As if by reflex, Isabel was standing closest to the bed and knelt down to pick up Marie’s bear. Kneeling next to the bed as she picked up the bear and she automatically looked in the bear’s face, Isabel’s composure was gone as a few tears escaped her eyes. Careessing the bear ever so gently as Allison knelt next to Isabel and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, Isabel managed to sqeak out, “My babies each had a bear just like this one.”
Both women stayed transfixed for a few moments longer until Allison broke the silence by saying, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”
Isabel gently placed the bear next to Marie who slept so angelically, then she stood to leave the bedroom, swiping at her tear stained face.
Allison met her in the hallway and embraced her. As she did, again, flashes of darkness, wind, thunder, water, lightening, crying, and screams flashed through her mind. Then more distubing images of two bloody bodies, and a small child with auburn hair crying and hugging and pleading with the two people to ‘please wake-up’ flashed through. Suddenly Allison realized she and Isabel were crying together and Allison found her voice and said, “I’m so sorry Isabel – so sorry. I can’t imagine what you have been through.”
Isabel spoke next, “If your husband is killed in a car accident or dies from a heart attack, you can go in their closet and smell them, touch their clothes, wrap their shirt around you and pretend they are still holding you. Or you can go in your child’s room and lay in their bed, hold the toys they held, hear their laughter, see them sleep…..(long pause)….but when a storm such as Katrina destroys everything, you have nothing left of theirs. Their life is gone – their things are gone – you start to wonder if it was even real – maybe you have gone crazy. (pause) One day you wake up and you cannot remember how exactly they looked when they were newborn or when they crawled – there is no picture album – everything is gone,” she quitely sobbed along with Allison who could feel all her pain and anguish and the thought of losing every trace of Joe and the girls fueled her tears.
Lee felt like something must be up, so when Allison didn’t come back to the kitchen right away, he decided to go look for them. As he saw them in the hall comforting each other he walked over and embraced the two of them for a few minutes without saying a word. Each woman, grateful for the safety of his strong embrace found themselves on each of his arms, quitely sobbing into his suit jacket. He gently storked each woman’s back and said over and over what someone usually says in that type of situation, “It’s OK. It’s going to be all right. Just let it out. You’re OK.”
Allison was feeling so grateful for her own family – she almost felt guilty. Isabel really wanted to believe that everything was ‘all right’, but just couldn’t reconcile her thoughts to include anything being all right when her family was dead.
Detective Lee Scanlon had long ago mastered the art of being detached at a crime scene, when interviewing a witness or a family member, or even having sex with one of the many girls who found him irresitible. It was a necessary part of his job – being able to detach yourself. “Dammit!” He thought to himself, as he had to struggle to keep his own emotions in check as he stood there with the two women in the world who meant the most to him.
As each woman seemed to calm somewhat, Scanlon thought he should say something to re-direct the mood, so he began with, “You know, nothing lifts my mood faster than looking at police sketches – whaddya say we go in the kitchen and play ‘name that perp’? It’s the hottest new game in town.”
to be continued…..
Katelyn, here we go again – stuck in the spam filter! Help!!!!!
continued from ….hottest game in town…
Allison and Isabel each looked up at Lee and gave a weak smile at his attempt to cheer them up. As they walked back to the kitchen table, Allison took the cup of coffee she had poured for Isabel earlier and said, “Let me freshen this up for you. How do you take it?”
Isabel replied, “Just some cream, please,” just as her purse started to ring. Isabel walked over to her purse and retrieved a cell phone and answered, “Levosier, yes…one moment please…” eyeing the door to the patio Isabel directed her question to Allison,”Is it all right if I take this out here?”
“Of course,” Allison answered. A that Isabel went out on the patio pulling the door closed behind her.
Isabel continued with her phone call outside,”At 1:30? I’ll be there…….I want all of the modifications in place by 6 PM…..then put as many people on it as you need…..merci, au revoir.”
While Isabel was answering her phone call, Allison refreshed Lee’s cup of coffee as well as her own. Lee looked at Allison and asked, “Are you OK?”
“I’m so OK. Oh, Lee, she’s in so much pain. My heart goes out to her. I can’t even imagine how awful that would be if anything ever happend to Joe or one of my girls – my gosh if something happened to ALL of them at one time? I honestly don’t know how I’d go on.”
Lee replied, “You would…..go on, I mean. It looked like you were… having one of your ‘things’ weren’t you?”
“I think I must have been getting some images of the storm…some really terrifying stuff…but then I saw this child…..I think it must have been Isabel as a small child…..but she was crying over two bloodied bodies….”Allison continued in an anguished voice, “she was pleading with them to wake-up.”
Lee thought for a moment and then said quietly, “I think I know what that was – she told me her parents were murdered when she was five.”
Allison sadly replied, “That must have been her I saw – she must have been there and seen her parents when they were murdered! No wonder she is in so much pain. If she and Mr. Goedeaux were more like family than business associates, I can see how that would bring all of these other memories flooding back to her now. I don’t know how she is able to try and overcome all of this sadness.”
“From what I can tell in the short time I have gotten to know her,” Lee began, “Isabel is a remarkable, intelligent, and compassionate woman.”
Isabel re-entered the house and made her apologies for the phone call. She sat at the table joining Lee and Allison and took a sip of her coffee. “This coffee is delicious. Thank you for your hospitality Allison.”
“Of course,” Allison replied with a smile and reached over to touch Isabel’s hand in a friendly gesture, “I hope I get to see more of you, perhaps we could have lunch one day.”
“Yes, I would like that, “Isabel replied with a smile.
“Would it be all right if I used your powder room to freshen up just a bit?” Isabel asked Allison as she stood up.
“Yes, of course. It’s right next to Marie’s room. Again, I apologize, it’s the girl’s shared bathroom and I haven’t yet had a chance to straighten up,” Allison offered.
Isabel replied, “Please, stop apologizing for your home. I love it here. There is so much love – it’s beautiful.” With that, Isabel took her purse and headed toward the bathroom in the hall. Lee had stood as soon as Isabel got up and motioned to Allison he was going to speak with Isabel down the hall. Lee followed Isabel into the bathroom and closed the door for some privacy.
“Isabel,” Lee said as Isabel could feel him behind her and turned to face him, “Are you OK?” Lee asked as he wrapped his arms around her in a secure embrace resting his chin in her head.
“Yes…please forgive me….I was flooded with memories that got the best of me,” Isabel said, while thinking to herself how nice it felt to be embraced by this man.
“You’ve been through hell and back – stop apologizing for it,” Lee said as he pulled back and took his left hand to tilt her chin up to face him, “You can talk to me about anything, I want you to know that. You are a strong woman. I imagine you’ve kept a lot of what you’ve been feeling inside. Maybe you need to talk about it – let some of it out – I just want you to know it’s OK for you to tell me whatever you want. You don’t have to be strong all the time – let me be your strength for a change – lean on me,” Lee said as he leaned in to kiss her cheeks where her tears had fallen earlier and saying, “Ummm, salty, that would go nicely with a margarita,” which made Isabel laugh a little. Gently embracing Isabel’s face with both of his hands and turning her face up toward him, he slowly leaned in, inch by inch, to barely brush his lips against hers, first one time, then another, and another, until the anticipation between them was electric. Next he barely pressed his wet, hot lips to hers, pulled back, pressed in again, and again, each time a little harder until they were finally engaged in a hot, wet, deep, and probing kiss during which Lee sighed an audible deep sigh of relief and satisfaction, not unlike that a person would utter after having had their first cool, refreshing drink of water on a hot day after a two mile run. Lee finally pulled away and still holding Isabel tightly to his body whispered in her ear, “What have you done to me? It’s only been a few hours since we were together, yet I feel like it’s been days and I can’t wait until I have you again.”
to be continued……
continued from ……until I have you again…
After holding their embrace for a bit longer, Lee said, “Is it time for another insulin injection? If you take up to 6 per day, it’s already been four or so hours and shouldn’t we get you something to eat? Don’t you have to stay on a sort of schedule?”
“Oh, my, yes, I should test my blood sugar first,” Isabel said as she removed her insulin kit from her handbag. “Lee, you should really rejoin Allison in the kitchen – I am afraid we are being quite rude, disappearing like this.”
“Would you show me first? I really want to watch you do this, so I know how and what to do so if I ever need to help you or know what you do I will,” Lee said in all seriousness.
“Of course, if you would like,” Isabel responded. It didn’t take long for Isabel to complete her routine of checking her blood sugar and administering herself an inuslin injection.
“You do that so fast and efficiently,” Lee said.
“You must remember, I have been doing this since I was a small child, “Isabel responded. Please, if you do not mind, I need just a minute or two to myself.”
“OK, I’ll meet you back in the kitchen,” Lee said as he planted a quick kiss on Isabel’s forehead and closed the door behind him as he went back to join Allison.
“Everything all right?” Allison questioned Lee teasingly with a huge grin on her face as he came back into the kitchen.
With a little bit of embarrassament on his face, Lee answered, “Actually, I did want to make sure Isabel was OK. She’s a diabetic, needs four to six injections of insulin a day. It was time for one and I asked her to show me how she does it – she’s pretty fast with it, even checked her blood sugar.”
“She is OK, though?” Allison asked.
“Yes, she’ll be right out – just needed a couple of minutes to herself – you know how you women are with bathroom stuff,” Lee answered.
About that time, Isabel joined them. As always, Lee stood as she entered the room. Allison refreshed their coffee cups and wished she had something to offer her guests besides coffee.
Lee smiled at his two favorite ladies and said, “I hate to bring up murder and mayhem, but I think if we are able to capture this so-called Gossamer killer, we’ll all feel better. Allison has some very unique talents and works with me and the District Attorney’s office from time to time. It just so happens that she was able to acquire some information that has led to a sketch of the man who killed Diane Harding. Isabel, you worked with the sketch artist this morning on a composite of the man who attacked you outside the Hyatt. I’ve got both sketches here,” Lee said as he pulled out the two sketches. It was obvious the sketches depicted two different men.
Both women studied the sketches. With a puzzled look on her face, Isabel studied the picture intently that Allison had helped to make and finally voiced her question out loud, “I do not quite understand. Are you saying there was a witness of some sort who saw this man coming or going from Diane Harding’s home?”
Allison looked at Lee and then at Isabel and was trying to find a way to answer the question without giving away her secret. “I…..um….it’s hard to….um” Allison stammered trying to find a way to explain that sounded logical.
Isabel studied the both of them intently, noticing the sudden tension in the air as Allison’s eyes got a little bigger as they pleaded with Lee silently to come up with some explanation that made sense.
Finally, Isabel looked at Allison and said, “Oh, I see – you have ‘the Gift’ don’t you? I have known people like you. My Grandmama has ‘the Gift’ to a certain extent and she has always told me I have it.”
Allison and Lee both seemed more than a little stunned that Isabel came up with that solution so quickly and neither was sure if they should go ahead and acknowledge that she was right. Finally, Isabel said, “Look, I know it can be difficult to live with this gift. There are many people who think this is the devil’s work or think you are crazy and do not understand. You do not have to tell me anymore. I believe you.”
to be continued…
continued from …..I believe you….
Although she did not let on as she looked at the picture, Isabel recognized the face in Allison’s sketch. She’d had a feeling about this – a premonition if you will – as soon as she’d heard of Jean-Marc’s death.
The sketch Isabel had helped to make depicted a man with sunglasses as he’d been dressed. Isabel did not get to see his eye color. Allison did not recognize the man in Isabel’s sketch. Although Isabel DID recognize the man in Allison’s sketch, she did not say anything to either Lee or Allison. Isabel excused herself to make another phone call – this time she took a different cell phone from her purse than she had used the first time and again went outside to make her call on the patio.
After the patio door had closed behind her, Lee turned to Allison and said, “Allison, I’m glad that Isabel was able to guess at how you help us because one of the reasons I brought her here today was….well….I thought….you could help her…with her situation. I don’t really know how this works with you, but you can see the pain she is in….maybe…..if you…..see…..something….that would help her.”
Allison thought about what Lee was trying to ask her and said, “You know the people who come to me just come to me – I don’t really have any control over who comes or when. There are no guarantees, just like with this case, I haven’t really had much in way of dreams to help or to make sense, but sometimes I just get pieces. Like today when I touched Isabel and I got the flashes, but maybe that is a good sign, maybe I’ll get something. I can only imagine how her whole world came crashing down and if there was anything I could do to help her I would.”
Lee continued, “I won’t say anything to her, at least not yet, because I would hate to get her hopes up and then disappoint her or put pressure on you. I do know one thing, I think all of us will sleep better and be better off as soon as this case is solved.”
Outside, Isabel punched in a series of numbers then spoke, “Yes – 443 *pause* clearance 12530 *pause* Yes. IT IS HIM. In Phoenix.” Taking a moment to put a less serious look on her face, Isabel took a deep breath and returned to Allison’s kitchen.
“Lee, I have to be at the investment offices at 1:30 PM to sign some papers,” Isabel said as she sat back down at the table. “I think you said you wanted to take another look at Jean-Marc’s office to see if anything was overlooked that might help with the case, if you have the time to do that today, you would be doing me a favor by taking me there.”
“Yes, I was going to ask you if we could do that today. I also want to take a look at his home. Even though neither was a crime scene, I’d like to take a look and since you were so close to him, perhaps you would be able to help spot something that doesn’t fit or may lead us to the murderer,” Lee offered. “Allison, thanks for meeting with us. I hope Marie will be feeling better soon. Why don’t we get out of your hair right now so you can try and catch a nap?”
“Sleep? What’s that?” Allison said with a laugh.
Allison and Isabel hugged and Lee and Allison hugged as they said their goodbyes. “Thank you again for your hospitality,” Isabel said, “I would love to have lunch with you or invite you and your family to dinner one day soon. Dubois? Is your husband a frenchman?”
“No, just in name. The only French either one of us speak is a few words we remember from a high school class,” Allison answered.
“If you would like your girls to learn French, I would be happy to teach them,” Isabel said with a smile.
“Thanks, I’m sure my oldest daughter, Ariel, would be interested,” Allison said walking Lee and Isabel out to Lee’s car.
“Oh, what a pretty name!” Isabel exclaimed. “And your other daughter’s name is?”
“Bridgette,” Allison answered.
“All very beautiful names. You must tell Marie that I share her name – Marie is my middle name,” Isabel said as Lee opened the car door for her. “Please give her a kiss for me and do not hesitate if there is anything I can do to help you. She should be feeling much better by tomorrow.”
They exchanged good byes and Lee and Isabel were on their way. After they’d driven more than a mile, Isabel turned to Lee and said, “Did you know that gray sedan has been following us?”
to be continued….