Tolerance Book III

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Four: Guessing Games

Woodlands

Things had taken a decided turn for the worst for Jay who found himself cradling a broken wrist as he walked ahead of Billings through unfamiliar woodland.  Every step on uneven ground sent a ripple of excruciating pain through him but he didn't allow his discomfort to show.  Thinking back to how he sustained the cruelly inflicted injury he grimaced internally.  The sojourn in the house had come to an abrupt end when the Killer without warning had brought a hastily picked up lamp crashing down on the unsuspecting mans' arm.  The violence had been without any precursors.  That however was not enough to alleviate the Detectives' self chastisement.  He had been remiss for only a few seconds, his alertness slipping, and as a result had paid the price.  Looking back now he realized  in hindsight the older man had been waiting for such an occurrence.  The obvious goal had been to disable him, to take away his physical ability to assert control over the Killer. In acknowledging that however the green eyed man also realized the man had made an incorrect assumption.  He clearly assumed the painful injury would incapacitate the Detective to the point where he would be merely a compliant companion for whatever lay ahead and that he would not try to physically restrain the man.  In that assumption the Fugitive had made a grave mistake.  While the broken bone screamed for relief Jay knew he could overcome the pain.  He was after all well versed in all types thereof  and would put that experience to good avail.  Shifting the right wrist in it's makeshift cradle made by a tie Billings had provided he continued walking through the tall trees. The mans' prompt attention to the injury he had caused was initially a source of puzzlement. He had been eager to give first aid, even offering painkillers from a First Aid box he had located in the kitchen.  Jay had accepted the tie as support for the injured limb after the other man bad splinted and wrapped the wrist in loose bandages to accommodate swelling as if he was a conscientious Caregiver.  Jay had however refused the offered tablets from the well stocked box.  He had left his guard down once he would not do so again.  Besides the pain would keep his senses sharp.

Now an hour later the pair were out in wild terrain again. No call had precipitated the departure so  he could only assume this formed part of whatever plan the Fugitive was following.  The Detective had informed his friends Billings did not have any Accomplice despite the phone call the man had received at the airport because he was certain the Caller was not one but merely the bearer of bad news. The prompt exit from the house had solidified that reasoning.  Jay still did not know if the house was in fact owned by the Killer or not.  He had to assume however that Mouse was unaware of its' existence and therefore continue to act as if he was alone.

Break Boom

Blissfully unaware of their friends' latest hurdle Antonio, Kevin and Al had retreated to the Break Room for a short break from the endless queries they had been assigned to follow up.  In fairness to the Sheriff the man had proven to be exceedingly thorough and had gleaned several new Witnesses who might shed some light on the connection between Billings and Marsha Simmons.  That the cold hearted man may have chosen to kill her solely as a tactic to control Jay was unfortunately a reasonable assumption based on the mans' prior killings.  There did not need to be any personal relationship for Billings to decide on who would be a Victim. Although the Simmons investigation was running separate to the Billings one the Sheriff had shrewedly pointed out some details might come to light that could assist them in locating their quarry.  The mans' optimism had been validated when the Witnesses were found.  It turned out a number of people had in fact seen the Killer with the Deceased. The men had divided up phone calls as it transpired the Witnesses travelled a lot and therefore were not able to be interviewed in person.

"Well so far all I've learnt is Billings was a 'great guy'," Antonio rolled his eyes in exasperation as he readied his mug while waiting for the kettle to boil, the fact the Witnesses all called the Fugitive Jay sickened him.
"He was playing a role," Al reminded as he leant back against the counter sipping from his steaming mug.
"It's strange though  ....," Kevins' words trailed off.
"What?" the Italian-American asked as he filled his mug.
"Well Billings was playing the role of a Landlord ... how many times do you meet a friends' Landlord?"
"Usually not a lot," Al conceded, most Landlords were hands off.
"Yet we have several Witnesses who met him."
"So he was just ensuring his identity as Jay was noted," Antonio mused, "but why? He played the part of a nice guy."
"Seems odd," Al concurred, it didn't  make sense for the Killer to go out of his way to make their friend look good.
"Did we learn anything else?" Kevin wondered.
"Unfortunately Marsha Simmons was hiding from her abusive partner. Looks like he tracked her down somehow."
"Poor lady, she had her partner and Billings both wanting to harm her," Antonio sighed heavily the job had taught him life and fate could be incredibly cruel to good people.
"The witnesses I spoke to all mentioned that the Landlords' presence had not been requested," Al pointed out thoughtfully, "in fact they said Ms. Simmons had not reported any maintenance issues that needed to be resolved so she was surprised by the visits."
"Mine said the same," Antonio put in, Landlords tended in general to leave Tenants' to their own devices so Billings' actions had raised questions.
"Maybe he just wanted to flirt with danger," Kevin surmised, the Killer did seem to thrive on causing mayhem.
"It's unlikely anyone would have suspected he had sinister intentions," Antonio argued.
"Besides pretending to be a 'nice' guy wouldn't raise alarm bells," the moustached Detective stated.
"None of my Witnesses were very close to the Victim," Kevin put in with a shrug, "so they wouldn't have been on guard."
"Same with my Witnesses," Al shrugged and looked over at the Italian-American, "and I'm guessing your Witnesses are the sane."
"Yeah.  So where does that leave us?"
"Ten steps behind Billings ... again!" Kevin said disgustedly.
"We need to talk about Ruzek," Al changed the focus of attention to one more immediate.
"What do you mean?" Kevin raised  a brow in confusion.
"He's impatient ......,"
"Nothing new there!" Antonio scoffed earning a glare for the interruption.
"That goes without saying I just want to make sure he doesn't do anything rash.  This investigation has been going on a long time and he's not known for thinking rationally when he's worried."
"So we keep an eye on him," Kevin  accepted the task, no one wanted to see the impulsive Detective doing something he would regret down the line.

Antonio looked at his companions marvelling, not for the first time, how lucky he was to have joined the Unit. Their bonds forged in hard and good times were unbreakable and no one would ever be left without someone sagfeguarding him.

Woodlands

Miles away Jay was still trying to gain some clue as to the Fugitives' intentions.  Walking a few feet behind him the portly man was clearly struggling traversing the rough terrain underfoot yet he did not stop their onward trek for a respite from the physical toll the journey was undoubtedly inflicting on his out of shape body.  For the young Detective the trek was undemanding.  The broken limb still announced its' presence with every jarring step but the former Sniper had retreated into mission mode, cancelling out the resulting agony with resolute determination.  He tried to conjure up possible scenarios to distract him as they walked along the rivers' edge.  Every time however he wound up dissatisfied. It was becoming painfully clear that trying to outguess the Killer on this occasion was not going to be easy.  He remained convinced however that they had correctly anticipated his intent to give up in the morgue but something, as yet unknown, had changed his plans.  Although the presence of the supposedly deadly vials intimated the opposite to surrendering the green eyed man considered a new possibility.  What if Billings had merely intended to kill himself in the morgue along with the Detective?  The older man had made it abundantly clear that he had not believed the ruse and knew he was walking into a trap. That of course raised the question of why he changed his mind. Jay frowned. He was second guessing everything now and the accompanying uncertainty had him ill at ease.  He wouldn't disclose his discomfiture however.  He'd have to bide his time, yet again.

Motel

That night found Adam in the room he was sharing with Al.  Ever since they had missed the opportunity to reconnect with the green eyed man his sense of foreboding had been ratcheting up.  The fact that he had nothing concrete upon which to attribute his escalating worry to was frustrating the Detective.  Normally his nature was to be impetuous anyway but now he found himself spiralling into uncharted territory as his imagination unhelpfully provided worst case outcomes for their missing friend. Rubbing a hand through his hair he paced up and down intermittently  in front of the single beds waiting for the mouatached man to return with snacks from the vending machine down the corridor.  The offer to acquire the treats had surprised Adam but he had distractedly accepted it.  The door opening stopped his feet and the man in question strode in with arms full of various offerings.

"What did you do?  Shoot the machine?" Adam demanded wrily as the older man hastily dropped his sweet burden on the nearest bed.
"Figure it's going to be a long night," the older man deadpanned with a shrug as he snapped up a Mars bar and walked over to the window taking a seat by the table.
"I can feel the cavities forming already," the younger man noted in mock chagrin as he eyed the bountiful delivery carefully before choosing a Twix.
"Since when did you worry about dental problems!"
"First time for everything," Adam tossed back as he sank down on the end of his bed and eyed his former Partner before becoming serious, "thanks."
"Nothing to thank me for."
"I reckon you got the short straw tonight babysitting me!"
"I figured you could use some company," Al stated frankly, he wasn't going to lie, they all knew each other too well after years of working together.
"I don't think this is going to end well," the brown haired man suddenly divulged.
"No one can blame you for being worried but .....,"
"It's not that.  Well it is .... and it isn't."
"That clears things up," Al observed with mock sarcasm.
"I mean I am worried," Adam conceded sending his companion a look of exasperation before continuing, "but there's something else.  It's like ..... a ... a  ..... remonition or something. I know Jay is going to get hurt.  Sounds ridiculous but .......,"

The veteran Detective looked over at the grave features knowing better than to summarily dismiss the words.  He wouldn't offer up false hope.  He also had another reason to accept the concern.  He too had the same foreboding sense that something bad was coming Jays' way.  Sighing  internally he hoped their instincts, for once, were leading them astray ...

tbc