From The Grave

Chapter 34

Wayne was too angry to speak. His face was a mottled red and his fists were clenched so tight his nails bit into the flesh. Carl lolled on a chair across the room while his two mates leaned by the door. They weren't going to tell him about April but it had already become news before they even got back to the Grove.

His first reaction was to get his gun out of the drawer and make certain it was loaded then he slipped it under a file folder on the desk top. How could this be happening? His plan was perfect and now it was in a shambles. When his men came in and casually announced they'd 'done the doc', he froze; they didn't mention April. He wanted to kill them so badly he couldn't move.

"Do you take me for a fool? It's been on the news you- you..."

"She was comin' out of the drug soup we gave her. Before long she'd be singin' the same song as the doc." Carl sneered. He hadn't forgotten his dismissal as April's attendant just when it was getting good.

"She was being treated so that I could bring her back here you bloody idiot." Wayne grabbed the gun from under the file and pointed it at Carl.

"Hey! Whoa there!

"Hold on, Mr. Jenner!" Another of the nurses stepped forward. Wayne turned, his face a blaze of irrational fury, and he pulled the trigger.

Gretta stumbled to a halt outside the office door at the sound of the shot. From inside her jacket she pulled out her own gun and leaned toward the door. There was a confusion of yelling and the sound of things smashing and she ducked low and opened the door slowly. The first thing she saw was the foot and leg of a man on the floor, blood pooling beneath the thigh. She pushed the door further and ducked again as something crashed against the frame.

Glass and bits of wood scattered on the floor and then another shot. She dove forward, rolling onto her stomach, arms extended aiming her weapon. Wayne was standing behind his desk firing blindly around the room. Another man was slumped in the corner, blood blotching the shoulder of his shirt and a third man was ducking behind a chair and tossing whatever came to hand at Wayne.

"Drop it, Wayne!" She yelled, steadying her aim at him.

"You again!" He swung the gun toward her and fired. The bullet burrowed a swath in the carpeting beside her and she returned fire.

----------------------------

CONGA personnel swarmed over the premises, dampening the police efforts to contain the scene, as they scoured Wayne's office for the Niue stamp. Pictures were disassembled, drawers turned out and removed from the furniture; cupboards emptied and the wall safe prized open. Nothing. Gretta sat with the response team leader and discussed all the possible locations and mapped out a plan for coverage.

The police detective in charge finally enforced his authority and took Gretta to his car where she gave him a complete, detailed recounting of the event. When he thanked her and let her go, it was apparent that the CONGA legal people had been on to his superiors, crime scene or no crime scene.

Arny stood by the car as she sauntered down the drive, his face a picture of relief and annoyance.

"I'm fine, Arny, let down the drawbridge."

"You might be, but I'm not. How do you think it feels to be out here and all of a sudden hear a gun battle going on and your girl is likely in the middle of it?

"Am I really your girl, Arny?" She laughed and pinched his cheek as she slid behind the wheel. "Hop in, we'll go and explore that a little more."

"Gretta! Jesus H. Christopher! This is not funny any more... it really never was, goddamit!"

"I'm not having this conversation again, Arny. You know what I'm like and you know what I do. Get over it... or..."

"Or? Or what? Eleven years, as you so snidely pointed out, have no meaning for you?"

"Of course they do, don't be stupid." She wrenched the wheel over and they sped past a farm truck loaded with crates of doomed chickens.

"Well perhaps you could show it by being a little more considerate of my position and feelings. It isn't easy trying to keep up with a super hero." He clamped his mouth shut and turned away to stare out the window.

"It isn't easy being one... in your eyes." She pulled over to the side of the road and shut off the engine. "Just so you know, Arny, Wayne was shooting his people when I arrived and I was fortunate enough to be able to stop him.

A full search of the premises is under way but I don't think the stamp is there. I am going to continue to look for it and when I finally get it back to the people of Niue, I will seriously begin considering the feelings of my most favourite person and lover."

He turned back to face her and saw that there was a wetness around her eyes and he swallowed hard. Gretta actually showing an emotion other than those required to roam the world for CONGA? He was speechless.

Anne Powers gathered all the papers she needed to include in the file for the murdered patient, April Weston. She thought about Doctor Crest and how horribly he had died and a wave of guilt washed over her when she thought back to the men that she assumed were the police she called for. She stuffed the file into the kraft portfolio envelope along with April Weston's personal items.

An envelope slipped out of her hand to the floor and she made a nasty sound as she rolled back the chair and bent down to retrieve it. The words on the front said, personal and private and Anne looked at it, wondering what it would be. If it was some kind of legal note, maybe she should direct it to somebody. Then again, since no one has been found to claim her or her things, maybe she should open it and then make a decision. She fingered the flap and then, holding her breath, she slit the envelope open and looked inside.

-----------------------------

The call from Phati was a surprise since e-mail was free and more popular. He said we wanted to hear her voice and share a more intimate moment while he thanked her for what she had done for Niue. Gretta was happy that it all worked out well and that the government had regained ownership of their little treasure. Even Phati had profited; he was now the head of the Alofi police division since Captain Jobba Ulanni had been dismissed from the force and sentenced to a year in New Zealand's minimum security facility.

"You must come again, Miss Lawrence. I will be your personal guide to the wonders of our small but unique country."

"If I get an opportunity, Phati, or should I now say, Captain Kantui."

"That would be proper, yes. But as we are friends, you may still call me Phati."

"And I am Gretta. The very best to you in your new position and please, call or write any time; I would like to stay in touch."

"As would I. Goodbye, Gretta and thank you again."

"Got a new pen pal?"

"It never hurts to have global contacts, Arny. Things can be accomplished a lot easier when there is a network available for use. That's something you should appreciate at Cutter and Glimb."

"To change the subject a little, you mentioned something about considering the feelings of─"

"I'm taking a sabbatical."

"─your lover... a what?"

"I told Maurice and the board that I'm decommissioning myself until further notice." Arny stared at her. "The reason I gave was to take the time to consider the feelings of my lover and─"

"You liar!" He laughed and grabbed her around the waist, swinging them both about the kitchen carelessly. "Tell me this is not another joke."

They spun to a shaky halt against the sink counter and she held his face with her hands. "It is not a joke, lover. I really did take myself out of commission for a while. Long enough for you and I to take a holiday somewhere quiet and warm, a place where we can discuss the next eleven years and..."

"And isolated." He leaned forward and kissed her, then kissed her again... and again.

THE END