The Fourth Life: Chapter 49

Across town, Kathleen Finn had been nursing Mac back to health after his injury for the two weeks that passed.  While Blair was in recovery, he was in Kathleen's bedroom, being iced and medicated.  On the day of the shooting, he had come to her, without warning, limping from an ankle that had swollen beyond recognition.  He was sweaty and guilt-ridden, and after a while of evasion, she had gotten him to talk.


"You may as well tell me.  How am I going to help you, if you don't tell me what happened, Mac?"


"I thought it would help you.  Save you."


"This sounds bad."  Kathleen said, putting more ice around his ankle.


"I think...you might hate me for it.  But I have to make you understand.  The plan changed.  He was blackmailing me."


She swallowed, stopping her work with the ice, and sitting beside him.  Her original plan was to get money out of Carlo, for them to escape the states and live comfortably, while meeting his request to help him escape.  "All right, go ahead.  It's better if you just say it out, very fast."


"He blackmailed me.  It wasn't about just escaping him.  He was threatening to have you raped and killed, aside from the money and riches for us.  I wanted to take you away from here, from everything.  He upped the ante."


Interrupting him was the television, which she had absently had on when he had burst through the doorway, barely able to walk.  "We interrupt this program to give you a special news bulletin."


"I hate this," she said, "always interrupts my soaps."


They both turned their attention to the screen.  "Today, in the news, a shooting at the local courthouse leaves three in peril, including the unborn child of publisher Todd Manning.  Manning's wife, Blair Manning, was shot in the abdomen during what onlookers coined 'a blood bath' at the Carlo Hesser trial.  Also injured was Zeus Zelenko, who was testifying against Hesser in the current proceedings.  Both Zelenko and Manning are in recovery at Llanview Hospital for gunshot wounds.  The unborn child of the Mannings did not survive.  Back to your regular programming."


She lifted the remote, and silenced the tv, and turned her eyes to him.  His face was corkscrewed into a grimace.  She said, "Mac, you had better start talking.  What is all this about?"


He went on to explain to her the proceedings of the past week, stopping occasionally to insert 'I'm sorry' here and there.  He said, "Today was the day I was to carry out his plan and kill Zelenko."


"Murder.  You never said that was part of this.  I thought we were going to escape this guy to freedom and run off?  Mac?  When did murder become your kind of thing?  And now, Blair Manning has lost her child, and she and Zeus Zelenko are hanging on for dear life?  Why did you do this?"  she was frantic.


"He threatened me.  He didn't believe the money was enough of a motivator.  He wanted this Zeus character killed.  Once I saw he would kill these innocent people, I knew he would not hesitate to kill both of us.  I didn't think it mattered, just a some unknown man, a pawn in his game."


"How can that not matter? Someone's life?"


"Please, Kath. He said he'd have you raped, shredded into pieces.  Please."  She saw his mournful expression, and hugged him to her. 


"Shush, now, it's done.  We have to think fast."


Mac said, "He told me if I failed, we'd be good as dead."


"Then we are," she said, pacing.  Her hands shook, as she imagined the scene the way it must have played out, the blood, the screams, the woman losing her child..."We have to take some kind of action."


All that was before she...


He shook her out of her memory of the past.  "Look, I'm walking again."


"I see.  Looks much better."


"We have to get away, Kath.  I'm better now.  We have to get away."


"We have nothing to worry about.  Hesser's turned up dead."


"When was that?"


"About two weeks back."


"You never told me."


"You were busy getting well, I didn't want to bother you with that.  That infection you developed almost took you from me."


He knew she was right.  The past two weeks were all a big blur that he had trouble organizing in his mind.  "Zelenko.  Did he make it?"


"Yes, he's fine.  He was released home pretty quickly."


"And the woman?"


"She lost her child, but she's all right.  She was released home later."


"So, Hesser is dead?"


"As a doornail.  Someone smothered him."


"What if someone finds out the shooter was me?"


"Who would know?  The only person who ever knew about that was Hesser, and he is dead.  There's no one left, but you and me, who can ever pin that attack on you," she said.


***


Natalie said, "Patrick?  Why Patrick?"


"He disappeared while we were at the hospital, when Todd was visiting Blair before his arraignment.  One minute, Thornhart was there, being all supportive and brotherly, the next, he was gone, telling me he had some errands to run.  With everything going on, I don't even remember if he even said goodbye to Todd before that happened."


"So, that's not much to go on."


"No, but I heard him when he heard Carlo taunting Todd.  He was none too kind.  He was held, too, against his will for six years.  Not quite as long as Todd, but pretty bad.  And on top of it, the love of his life, Marty, was also kidnapped and held by Hesser."


"All that, and you do have a motive.  Opportunity?"


"Definitely.  He was in the hospital with us right before the murder, he left my sight.  When the arraignment ended, I got the call that Hesser was dead.  He could have claimed to have errands, and gone and killed him.  Means?  He's got two bear paw hands.  That is all he needed."


"All that is true.  What about Marty?  You mentioned her before."


"She'd have a motive, that's definite.  This is Patrick we're talking about, who was held against his will, not to mention her.  She saw the shooting, could have been traumatized and scared the shooter would go after Patrick, putting together Carlo and the shooting.  She wouldn't have the opportunity, though, unless she escaped from St. Anne's.  We can check that."


"Do you think she would be strong enough to snuff someone out with a pillow?  That takes a lot more strength than it seems."


"She could climb on him, kneel there with her body weight."


"I'll have to check the autopsy for more about that.  Let me check into it.  You can check with St. Anne's.  They'd know if she got out, right?"


"You'd think so."


"What about Uncle Todd?  He so had a motive.  He was brutalized so badly, John."


"Motive's there.  Obvious.  Just can't be him.  I was standing next to him, in a court of law, the entire time the murder was committed.  He would have had to hire someone.  And the truth is, Nat, I don't think with everything he's gone through, losing the baby, and almost losing Blair, I just don't see him doing it.  He could have finished him off right there in the courtroom, and he stopped himself, because of Blair."


"This is nothing against you, but to have a man love you the way he loves her.  Hmmm.  Amazing."


"Which brings me to my next point."


She sighed, "Blair."


"Blair."  


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