Soul To Soul
by The Elusive Pen
Chapter 8
Evangeline tries to get comfortable in the chair next to the hospital bed but the pillow behind her back has slipped down too far. But fixing it is awkward with her right arm immobilized - bandaged and in a sling tied close to her body. She never knew how frustrating it could be not to have use of both arms but she’s finding out.
“Looks like you could use a little help,” comes Nora’s pleasant voice as she enters the room.
Evangeline smiles.
“Great timing,” she says. “Can you…”
Nora puts her pocketbook down on the bed and continues over to where Evangeline is sitting. She picks up the pillow, fluffs it, and places it back behind Evangeline.
“Better?”
“Much better,” she answers, settling back against the pillow. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” Nora says. “Well, let me tell you, it is so great to see you starting to get up and around again.”
“I feel better, too. It’s so good to get out of bed. But this sling is driving me crazy…”
“But you’re out of bed and in a regular room…” She sits on the edge of the bed, facing Evangeline, so happy to have her best friend back. “You’ll be going home before you know it.”
“Hope so.”
“How’s your mom?”
“Still hovering. She should be here soon.”
“And your cousin – Henry, right?”
“Right. Well…Cousin Henry was invited to leave after he got into it with John and then started in on me about our relationship…”
“Oh, no. Well, that’s hardly called for – especially now.”
“That’s what my mom told him when she suggested that he might have more pressing things to take care of back home.”
“I see. Oh, and Matthew sends his love and told me to tell you to get well soon. As a matter of fact, he’s drawing a picture for you but I’m not supposed to tell you that.”
“That’s so sweet. Thank him for me.”
“I will.”
“Everyone’s been so great. Michael stops by every night during his shift. Marcie’s been by, Antonio…”
“Well, that’s because it’s just not the same out there without you. We all miss you so much.” Her mind recalls all of the tension of the past several days. “This whole thing must’ve been so horrible for you…”
“Yeah it was…not fun…You know what? For a minute there…I thought I might actually die…”
The words send a chill through Nora.
“I’m so sorry,” she says.
Evangeline shrugs.
“It’s not necessarily all bad,” she observes. “Suddenly in that moment, everything flew into my mind – all the things I haven’t done, all the really important things, you know? John was with me and suddenly it became so important to me that he know how much I love him – how happy he’s made me.”
“Did you tell him?”
“Yeah,” she answers. “I told him...So…how is he, Nora – I mean really? I can’t get a straight answer from him.”
“And this is a surprise?”
“Not exactly,” Evangeline admits. “What’s he been up to?”
“What do you think?”
“Has he even gone home at all since this happened?”
“Not from what I’ve seen. Bo says that if he’s not out following up this lead or that lead or harassing the poor hard-working people in my office or camped out at the station, he’s here at the hospital with you. I do think that he has been going home to change clothes, though, so that’s something anyway….”
Evangeline shakes her head.
“I guess...” She sighs in frustration. “I keep telling him to take care of himself but he won’t listen.”
“Oh, come on, Evangeline. You know John. When he’s investigating a case, he digs in. And, as it happens, he almost lost someone he cares about because of this one…”
“I know, I know…”
“He was really pretty torn up, you know – while we were sitting around, waiting for you to come out of surgery…He loves you so much.”
“I uh…didn’t get a chance to tell you with my mom here and everything…John told me he loves me.”
“Did he?” Nora asks, excitedly. “Oh, good. So he finally found the right words, huh?”
“He found the right words, alright – wonderful sweet words…”
“Oh honey, I’m so happy for you – for both of you! Well, good for John. I knew he wouldn’t let you down. But you didn’t really need the words to know, did you?”
“What do you mean?”
“What do I mean? It’s written all over his face, that’s what. Surely you must have already known.”
“Well,” Evangeline begins, “I thought I knew. I mean he’s always so sweet and gentle and loving…I always told myself that he loved me but -”
“But there’s the Natalie factor…”
“Yeah, that and…something else I can’t quite put my finger on – something that’s locked deep down inside of him…But hearing the words, Nora…Nothing beats that.”
“I guess that’s true. I know how important the words are to you…”
“But I don’t want him beating himself up over this whole thing. I know he’s blaming himself for not being there and that’s just so unfair.”
“But that’s just John,” Nora points out. “I’m not sure there’s anything you can do about that. He loves you and he wants to keep you safe and when something threatens that -”
“I get a uniformed member of the LPD assigned to watch over me 24 hours a day.”
“Oh. So I take it you’ve met your new shadow.”
“Seen, heard about, and met my new shadow,” she says. “And apparently someone called the other day, asking about me – someone who hung up without leaving a name – some man.”
“Yeah. Bo told me…” she says, warily. “Listen Evangeline, you be careful, okay? John’s not known for being overprotective without a reason. I’d trust his gut any day and he’s thought from the beginning that you might still be in real danger from the men who shot you and now, with this guy calling about you and everything -”
“I know…”
“I can only handle one near miss every hundred years or so…Just do me a favor and be careful, okay?”
“I plan to be,” Evangeline tells her. “Believe me.”
Bo hangs up the phone in his office and walks out and through the squad room – over to John’s office. Through the open door, he sees seated behind the desk a John who is deep in thought, various files in manila folders strewn across the desk in front of him.
“Anything new?” he asks, popping his head in the door.
John shakes his head no, standing up from his chair.
“Pretty much what we figured. Looks like Castor just decided one day to blow the whistle on his boss Krakauer. But he must’ve started running scared all the way around because he was trying to get Evangeline to represent him that night at the Palace – just before the shooting. Apparently Castor was a key part of the D.A.’s case against Krakauer. Now that he’s dead…”
“Now that he’s dead, the case dies with him?”
“Probably. At the very least, they’re gonna have to start rebuilding it from another angle. Oh, and purely by coincidence, Castor’s place was ransacked either just before or just after he was killed.”
“Purely by coincidence,” Bo comments, stepping into the office.
“I’m sure,” John says. “Anyway, the team that went in didn’t find anything worthwhile – nothing but a few sets of fingerprints – Castor’s and maybe a couple others we’re trying to match up. But everything about Castor’s murder and Evangeline’s shooting points to Krakauer. I’m going to have to poke around – find out all about his known and unknown associates – find out which one of ‘em hired those two guys to take out Castor.”
“Well, at least Evangeline was able to identify one of the shooters.”
“Yeah – as much as she could in the middle of everything that was happening – dark hair, stocky. But when she was with the sketch artist, she remembered what she thought might be a faint scar on the left side of this guy’s face – near his mouth. That helped narrow it down. I ran it through the database and came up with some possibilities. Just have to connect the dots and tie one of ‘em back to Krakauer.”
“Well, good luck with that ‘cause I just got a call from Krakauer’s people. It seems that our request for an interview here at the station has been politely declined.”
John shrugs.
“I got no problem with going to see him,” he says. “Make it as comfortable for him as possible.”
“Colson’s office says to back off – says they don’t want us stepping on their case.”
“And are we listening to Colson’s office these days, Boss?”
Bo smiles.
“Colson runs the D.A.’s office. I run this department. Just try not to be too heavy-handed. Now, I know that’s gonna be hard what with what happened to Evangeline and everything -”
“Bo, I’m gonna find out everything there is to know about Mark Krakauer,” John insists. “I’ve already called in a few favors from a couple guys I know at The Bureau. I’m waiting for them to call me back. Before it’s over, I’m gonna have it all – including which one of his friends is responsible for what happened to Evangeline and which one of ‘em called the hospital the other day asking about her. And they’re all gonna pay for what they did to her.”
“Yeah well, like I said. Try to use a little finesse. We don’t want him squeaking by because the D.A.’s office pulled the rug out from under us by going over my head to the mayor.”
“I’ll do my best, Boss.”
“By the way,” Bo says, “you look like hell. You can’t keep running on empty, John. We’ve got a uniformed officer down at the hospital with Evangeline. Why don’t you get some rest? You’re not gonna do anybody any good if you’re too tired to think straight.”
“Can’t do that,” John tells him. “I wasn’t there and that’s when she was shot and almost killed. I’m not gonna make that same mistake again.”
“Look, I know how you feel – believe me. But if you want to protect Evangeline and catch these guys, you’re gonna have to be on top of your game.” He starts out of the office. “Think about it.”
John watches Bo walk out of his office, the law enforcement professional in him pausing briefly to consider his point, which he knows is a valid one.
“I’ll try…” he mutters to himself.
Evangeline settles in bed and lays her head back, closing her eyes to the sight of the late afternoon sky outside her window as the pain medication begins to kick in. The pain from the dual incisions in her abdomen and arm is thankfully much, much less and, as a result, the dosage of her medication has been cut back – not much more than the standard run-of-the-mill over-the-counter stuff. Still every now and again, a twinge or two reminds her that she’s still on the mend – that she still needs to take things a step at a time.
Her mind starts to drift into a state that’s relaxed enough for sleep when a female voice breaks in.
“Evangeline?”
Evangeline’s eyes open. Her head turns toward the sound of the voice and she sees Natalie Vega standing in the doorway to her room.
“Natalie?” she says, surprised. “Hi…”
“Hi,” Natalie says, stepping into the room. “I was uh…just here in the hospital on an errand and…I thought I’d come by and see how you were.”
“Oh. That’s very nice of you. I’m doing much better, thank you.”
“Good,” she says, feeling some guilt for the small part she may or may not have played in what happened to Evangeline that night. “Everyone’s been worried about you.”
“Well, I appreciate that. A few people have come by to visit…Everyone’s been great,” she says.
At that moment, John comes walking through the open door, a tiny stuffed light-brown teddy bear in his hand.
“Hey -” he says, stopping short when he spots Natalie standing in front of him.
“Hi!” Evangeline cheerfully greets. She sees the teddy bear in his hand. “That for me?”
“Uh, yeah,” he answers distractedly. “Figured he could keep you company.”
“He’s cute,” Evangeline gushes as John bends to tenderly kiss her forehead. She takes the teddy bear from him with her left hand and cuddles it close to her. “Thank you. I love it!”
“You’re welcome. Got a couple of book ends with him and the other one…”
“That’s true.”
“So…Natalie…” he begins as casually as he can manage, trying hard to mask his apprehension and not wanting to upset Evangeline but fooling no one, “what are you doing here?”
Natalie is momentarily speechless, recognizing the cold steel gray flash of anger in John’s eyes.
“Oh,” Evangeline offers, trying to diffuse what she feels coming on, “Natalie just popped in to say hi.”
“Yeah,” she says. “That’s right. I just popped in to say hi – see how she’s feeling.”
“Oh,” John says. He turns to Evangeline, his hand gently brushing her cheek. “Excuse me. Natalie, can I see you outside for a minute?”
“John -” Evangeline starts.
“Everything’s alright,” he lies. “I just need to talk to Natalie for a minute. That’s all. Be right back.”
He turns and walks out of the room.
“Well,” Natalie sheepishly says, “I guess I’ll…see you later. I hope you get out of here really soon, Evangeline. I mean that.”
“Thank you, Natalie. Thanks for stopping by.”
Natalie reluctantly leaves the room, feeling like she knows what’s waiting for her out in the hall.
“What were you doing in there with Evangeline just now?” John demands almost as soon as she joins him outside of Evangeline’s room. “What were you saying to her?”
“John, take it easy,” Natalie tells him. “I was just here running an errand for my Uncle Bo and…well, I thought I’d stop in and see how she’s doing. That’s all.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“You’re telling me that you’re not here to play another one of your little games?”
“Look, I know that you blame me for keeping you from meeting Evangeline at the Palace the night she was shot and I’m sorry about that, okay? I should never have listened to Roxy and I’m really sorry about what happened to Evangeline. But…” she says, looking around, her voice taking on a quieter, more conspiratorial tone as she steps closer, “you can’t deny what’s between us.”
“Wanna bet?”
“I know you have feelings for me, John. You know it, too.”
“You don’t know anything about me,” he angrily dismisses. “Don’t push it.”
“John -”
“What’s it gonna take to get through to you?” he finally erupts. “What’s it gonna take for you to finally get it? You want me to lay it all out for you? Fine. Here it is. It will never be you, Natalie. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. For the last time, I am in love with Evangeline – not you. Now…I almost lost her…But I got another chance. We got another chance – Evangeline and me…And nothing and nobody’s ever gonna come between us again. You got that?”
Natalie stares at him through eyes that are rapidly filling with tears, his words and the rage behind them cutting through her like a knife.
“Just stay away from her,” John insists, the tears in her eyes making him feel guilty for how he said it but not at all sorry for what he said. “Stay away from both of us.”
A tear falls from Natalie’s eye as, suddenly feeling very embarrassed, she watches him walk back into Evangeline’s hospital room, closing the door behind him – his actions demonstrating what his words said.
He wants her to stay away from them.
Both.
“Hey,” he manages as pleasantly as he can once back inside, trying to put some distance between what just happened and what he feels for the woman in his sights.
“Hey, yourself,” Evangeline answers, the teddy bear at her side on the bed – the sound of concern in her voice. “What was that all about? Why were you yelling at Natalie out there?”
“Didn’t realize I was yelling…” he says. “I’m sorry.”
“She didn’t say or do anything to upset me, if that’s what you were thinking.”
“Just blowing off steam, I guess,” he dismisses. “No worries.”
“But you’re wound so tight,” she observes. “And you’re exhausted. I could see that the minute you walked into the room and I can hear it in your voice. You probably didn’t mean to but you probably hurt her feelings. Maybe you should apologize to her…”
“Natalie’s a big girl. She’ll be okay. Trust me.”
“John -”
“Look,” he interrupts, “I just don’t want her upsetting you. I don’t want anybody upsetting you. You’ve been through enough and…well every time she comes near us, everything gets all screwed up – and I know that’s my fault so…I just needed to make it clear to her…and to you – once and for all.” He looks down at her, gently stroking her hair as he gazes down into her sensitive eyes, feeling more emotion than usual at the sight. “I’m with the woman I love right now – the only woman I want to be with…and I’ll do anything I have to do to protect her – to protect what we have…And I’m not gonna let anybody come between us again – not Natalie, not your family – nobody.”
Evangeline stares up at him, so worried about him, regretting how his outburst must have hurt Natalie.
At the same time, she can’t help feeling relieved.
John said it. She heard it for herself in his angry words to Natalie – when he told her how he felt – that Evangeline is the woman in his heart and not her.
“You don’t have to protect me, you know.”
“Well…” he begins, avoiding her eyes, “maybe I just need to right now. You ever think of that?”
She grabs onto his hand and holds it.
“Thank you,” she says softly.
He takes a deep breath and blows it back out slowly, settling himself.
He squeezes her hand in his.
“I won’t let anybody hurt you,” he tells her. “Not ever again – not if I can help it.”
There’s a knock at the door of a room in a cheap motel on the outskirts of Llanview, Pennsylvania. A thickly muscular man with short dark hair, a three-day growth of stubble on his face, and a smallish scar to the left of his mouth gets up off the twin bed in the room where he’s been dozing and walks to the door.
“Yeah?” he says, his hand on the chain lock and his voice heavy with sleep.
“It’s me - Ray,” comes the voice from outside.
The man inside slides the chain off the door and pulls it open.
“Come in,” he tells the blond-haired man.
Ray does as instructed, the dark-haired man quickly closing the door behind him. “So?”
“So,” Ray begins, plopping down on the bed, “I talked to Kubek. He’s gonna have our money tomorrow. Then we can blow this town.”
The dark-haired man shakes his head no as he walks over to peer out the window.
“Not ready to go yet.”
“Come on, Danny,” Jack says. “We’re gonna have our money. There’s nothin’ holding us here. We need to get going before the cops find us and tie us to what happened to Castro.”
He shakes his head no again.
“No,” he insists.
“You still worried about that Williamson chick from the papers?”
“She can identify me,” Danny states slowly and clearly. “She looked right in my face that night.”
“Oh man, forget about her!”
“That’s easy for you to say. She didn’t see you. I could’ve taken care of her that night if you hadn’t stopped me.”
“We had to get out of there,” Ray insists. “The cops were probably on their way.”
“Well, that’s why I’m not goin’ anywhere yet. I’m gonna finish what I started.”
“Danny -”
“I’m not going back to prison!” he interrupts angrily. “Now this Williamson babe is a loose end and I’m not going anywhere until I shut her up – once and for all!”