The Fourth Life: Chapter 55

"Sit down, Ms. Finn."  John said, pulling her chair out for her.  She sat down, fiddling with a tissue.  Her hands were nimbly folding and refolding it, and she was looking at her fingers.  Her thoughts were on Mac, but also on herself as she wondered what he was saying about her involvement, and, in return, what she should say about him.


John McBain sat across from her.  She was not entirely immune to the deep, cornflower blue of his eyes.  She waited, and he looked over some paperwork, and then said, "Ms. Finn, why don't you tell me whatever you know about this case, preferably the involvement of your 'friend' Mr. Hennessey."


She looked back to her hands.  "I don't know what you want me to say."  He looked at her, and waited her out.  She would look at him, eventually, and he would stare back into her eyes.  Finally, she did glance up and look at him, saying, "I don't know what you want."


"I want the truth, Ms. Finn.  The truth."


She gulped slowly.  What would be in her best interest?  "The truth is, I don't know what you are referring to.  Why is he under arrest for a murder?"


John stared at her.  "You're claiming you have no idea what he is involved in?"


"No.  Who died?  You said something about an unborn child?"


"Blair Manning's.  She died."


"I see.  How?  What did Mac do?"


He was cautious with her.  "He perpetrated a shooting at the courthouse."


She feigned complete indignation, "What?"


"You were harboring him; you aren't trying to make me believe that you are unaware."


"I am.  I was.  He came to me the other day, limping with an injured foot, he said he damaged it running.  I let him stay, and nursed him back to health.  He actually got sick, because the broken skin had gotten infected.  I took care of him.  He was just getting on his feet."


"And he never told you about the shooting, or any plans to do so?"


"No, why would he do that?  He'd have to know I'd never approve."


"And you say this because..."


"Because he knows I don't want to return to jail, Mr. McBain.  He knows I don't want any part of that life."


John decided to remain cool about her and push another envelope.  "Do you know anything about Carlo's death?"


He noticed her unease.  "No, I don't."


"Nothing at all?"


"No, sir."


"I'd appreciate your staying around here for a while,"  he said, "I'll need to talk to you again."


"I know just how Mrs. Manning feels.  I lost a child, once, years back."


John suddenly remembered a conversation with Todd, in his office, about a year prior.  "A child.  This was Carlo Hesser's child."


She showed shock on her face and in her eyes.  "What do you mean?"


"You and Carlo Hesser.  Years back.  He was your lover, wasn't he?"


Her eyes brimmed with tears, "Yes."


"And he recently died, that must have been difficult for you."


She attempted to swallow her crying down, but it did not cooperate.  She sniffed, and wiped below her eyes.  "It was.  Thought he was a very cruel and sick man, something...."


John said, "Something?"


"Something drew me to him.  Lieutenant, I've said enough.  I have to go.  You'll only see me again with my lawyer present."


"You haven't been accused of anything.  Why would you need a lawyer?"


She did not answer, she just turned and began to walk out of the gray interrogation room.   John called after her, "Ms. Finn?"  She turned.  "While you're here, will you stop by the hospital and give a sample?  There's been a court order to request a DNA test for you."


"Again, I am not going to respond to you any longer without a lawyer."


"I'm sorry, I did not make myself clear.  The court order has nothing to do with either case.  It's a personal issue.  It seems someone in Llanview believes he may be your son, and wants to know the truth.  Therefore, he petitioned the court for the DNA test."


"What?"  She looked white and swayed a bit.  He stood up and supported her elbow.


"Here," he said, "sit down." She listened, and did.  He took the pitcher of water on the small table by the two-way mirror, and poured her some.  He handed it to her, saying, "It's still cold."  She drank some, and caught her breath.  He said, "Are you all right?  You can put your head between your knees, that may help."


Finally, color came back into her face.  "I don't know what to say."


"Maybe there's nothing to say."


"You said 'he.'  Who is he?"


"I don't suppose there's any reason to keep his identity a secret.  Zeus Zelenko."


She presently dropped the cup all over herself.  John scrambled to assist her, and she said, "Please, don't.  I've got it."  


He saw that her hands were trembling, and he said, "Is there something I can do?"


For a brief moment, she connected with the striking blue of his eyes, and said, "My son is alive?"


***


Todd finally worked his way out from under Blair and let her sleep more.  He wasn't sure any human being should cry as much as she had in the last year.  He quietly got up and went to the glass wall.  Looking out, he imagined them, just months before, on the roof, when he was close to jumping off the edge in fear of both what he was becoming and what he had to face.  She had been there.  She was the one who held him, in the wind, and got him to be able to say what had been done to him.  She was the one who carried his children in her body, and brought them into the world.  She was the one who had fought for her babies to live, and lost them as well.  He turned back to look at her.  She was so quiet, and so still as he watched her.  She breathed softly up and down.  His eyes watered, remembering her sobs when she lost Sommer, when she buried her, and when she told him she was the one who snuffed out Carlo.


He didn't like how he felt next.  He thought of Carlo dead, and pictured Blair pushing the pillow onto his face, and got a surge of joy raging through him, and, though he did not want to face it, he was proud of her.  He knew this was not exactly a conventional way of seeing things, but after all, he never found himself to be typical.  He loved her so much, and just wanted her pain to be over.  But he also knew, no matter what it took, he would protect her from any harm, from John McBain, and from the law, if necessary.  That was when he came up with the idea.


He quickly went to the office, and began researching how they could run off to Bali, with the family, and relocate there if needed.  He began to research the means to garner artificial identities for each of them, and then realized he would be taking Starr and Hope away from their lives, Jack out of his element at his school, Sam the same.  He would have to do something else.  He didn't like the idea of his family being on the run, but he knew it was an option, if he needed it.  He also knew he would die rather than have his children lose her, and Blair to lose them, so he told himself, in no uncertain terms, that he would take the blame for the murder, if it came to that.  But, he was determined for it not to come to that, and he was Todd Manning.


He went back to the bedroom and she was just stirring.  "Todd?  What time is it?  We slept too long."


"There's no such thing when you're tired.  And you were really tired, Blair.  So was I."


"You...are you thinking I'm crazy, Todd?"


He sat by her, "No.  Who could be crazy and kill that sonofabitch?"


"I feel crazy," she said.  "I think I was crazy when I did it.  Or out of control.  I'm not sure.  It's very fuzzy.  It's so unclear to me."


"Then how do you know you did it?"


She was quiet a minute, then she said, "I can see my hands pushing down on the pillow."


"What was he doing, was he fighting you?"


"Why do you want to know that?"  She feared he was becoming a little too interested in Carlo's death.  To her, it was just stomach-turning.


"I just do.  Answer me, if you can."


"He wasn't fighting.  Not that I remember.  I just see my hands over the pillow."


"He didn't fight, or try and push you off?"


"No."


"How long did you hold the pillow?"


"I don't know, but it seemed long."


He thought.  Why didn't Hesser fight her?  He wasn't comatose.  Unless...


"Did you see the machines, Blair?"


"What machines?"


"The ones the that show his heart, and breathing and blood pressure?"


"No.  I saw nothing.  When I remember it, I feel like it's just...a foggy dream."


"You heard the flatline noise when he died?"


"Huh?"


"Did you hear the flatline alarm when he actually died?"


She stopped and thought about it, "I can't remember."


"Maybe we need to see Ray, and have him help you sort this out?"


"Todd, I don't want to.  I just want to forget it.  I'm not proud of what I did, it makes me sick to think of it.  And at the same time, I'm happy it happened, deep down.  I just wish it weren't me.  It makes me feel crazy, and you know how I fear that.  Besides, we can't tell Ray."


"No, you're right, we can't.  Then we just move forward, that's all."

"Can we?"  She propped up on her elbows.  She was so beautiful with her hair cascading behind her.  


"Nothing is going to happen to you.  You'll never be away from your children again, I promise that.  They won't lose their mother.  I'm not going to let that go down."


***


"Your son may be alive, yes.  That's why he's petitioning the court for your DNA."


"How can that be?"  She questioned herself.  The baby died.  The only baby she ever had.  He died, and she buried him.  


John said, "Did you see your baby die?"


She looked at John, and realization came over her.  "Oh my God.  No, I didn't see him.  Carlo said..."


"Carlo said he was dead and that you shouldn't see him?"


She nodded.  "What if he wasn't dead?  Where would he have gone?"


"He would have been taken somewhere and hidden, possibly.  Raised by, say, an orphanage?"  He changed direction, "Carlo was the father of your child?"


"Yes."


"Well, I can tell you that Carlo is the father of Zeus Zelenko also."


"My God.  What if Zeus is my son?"


"What if?"


"And..." her eyes became slits.  "Lieutenant, I need to see Mac, right away."


"I don't think I can do that, Ms. Finn."


"I need to see him, it's important, please?"


"It's highly irregular.  I'd be breaking the rules, a lot of them, and I don't see a motivation to do so."


"I'll promise you, you'll want to hear what I find out, just please let me see him."


Now, he was getting somewhere.  "It can be arranged."


He left her in the interrogation room, with a guard standing by, and her mind started racing.  Did Mac know Zeus was her son, or could be her son, when he shot at him in the court?  


The door opened, and John brought Mac into the room.  Mac sat opposite her, and reached for her hand.  She pulled both back.  She said, "Did you know?"


He looked at her, "Did I know what, Kath?"


"Did you know that Zeus was possibly my son?"


She stared into him.  "And if I say I didn't?  Would you believe me?"  he answered.


"I just want the truth.  Did you know Zeus could have been my son?"


"Could have been?  I suppose, yeah, if you want to go that far.  But your son was dead, years ago.  What's the likelihood of this guy was being your son?"


"You knew I had a baby with Carlo, you knew it supposedly died.  You knew Carlo was his father, and you didn't think I might be the mother?"


"All right, maybe I did think it.  Maybe it didn't matter.  You know what we were up against."


She shouted in her loudest voice, "Lieutenant McBain!"


John came back into the room, "Is there a problem here?"


"No, just please, take him away from me.  I don't want to talk to him anymore."


"Kath, please," Mac said to her, and as much as he feared what she would do next, he was heartbroken to see her drifting further away from him.


She turned her back, and John escorted him to the hallway where two guards waited to escort him back to his holding cell.  John sat across from her.  "His arraignment is in a few hours."


"I want to tell you something."


"All right.  What do you want to tell me."


"I want to tell you I won't go back to jail.  I can't.  So, I'm going to tell you everything I know, if you can give me protection from going back."


"It can be arranged.  I probably could get a person, say, community service or something similar, for aiding and abetting, if that person decided to hand over, say, a shooter, or a child murderer.  What was the Blair Manning thing about, anyway?"  He took a shot in the dark.


"He never knew," she confirmed his thoughts, "He never understood how it happened to her.  He wasn't aiming at her."  Her own guilt was pouring out of her eyes as she told him the truth, at last.


John said, "Who was he aiming for?"


"Mac was hired by Carlo.  He was aiming for Zeus Zelenko.  Zeus had information about Carlo being connected to Michael Leona.  Zeus was the one, and still is, that could connect Carlo and Todd Manning's most recent kidnapping.  And, he may be my son."  She covered her eyes.  "Mac is responsible for the shooting of Zeus, and the murder of Sommer Manning."


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