Todd Manning, Enigma Chapter 20

Chapter 20

         Vicki had checked on Todd several times since he had arrived back from his building. He had been making phone calls repeatedly. She was getting hungry and it occurred to her he might be hungry too. “Todd, you really should eat something,” she said as she walked through the door, only to come up short when she found him asleep. She shook her head. He had looked so good that morning, that she had forgotten he had been in the hospital just 72 hrs earlier. “You poor dear, it was not a very good homecoming, I guess.”

         “If that‘s pity, I’m out of here.” Todd sat up and swung his feet to the floor.

          She hadn’t realized she had spoken aloud; he was kind of prickly whenever someone showed concern. Vicki bent over and brushed off the couch where his feet had been. “That wasn’t pity, just a statement.”

          He watched amused as she swept the invisible dirt off. “Why the concern?”

          “Todd, you just got out of the hospital and now you’re having to cope with someone after The Sun. You’re pushing yourself too hard. Now, I came in here wondering if you had thought about eating anything. Have you?”

         “Have you?” he asked in return.

         “Well, no....but...”

          “Great let’s go eat, I want to stop by the office and see if the cleaning crews been allowed in yet.” He grabbed her elbow and escorted her out of the room.

           An hour later they were standing surveying the printing room. Although the damage was apparent, overall the place was looking okay. The wall by the press was still a gaping hole, but that would be taken care of shortly. Todd also had a new shipment of paper stock set to arrive in the morning. “With luck, this paper will be back up and running by tomorrow, I’ll just have to put out a late edition." He looked around and was grateful no one had died.

          Vicki couldn’t get over the damage the small fire had done to the printing room. She stepped up and gripped Todd’s arm. “Todd, this is more than someone just disrupting your paper. This is serious.”

           Placing his hand on hers, “Vicki, it’ll be alright. I’m going to get to the bottom of this and find the one at fault.” He shushed her as she started to speak. “Look, I know he’s dangerous and I’ll work with the police as much as possible but I’m not going to let him destroy me or The Sun. Let’s get you back to The Banner, I need to go check on my employee and find out if John got anything earlier.”

        “Todd, have you talked to Blair since all this happened?”

        “No, I didn’t want to worry her. She’d be all over me to back off and let anyone but me handle the problem.”

         “And with good cause. You just got out of the hospital because you tried to handle something on your own. I don’t blame Blair for wanting you to work your way back into things slowly. Getting mixed up in whatever is going on at The Sun is no way to recuperate.”

         “Vicki, I’m fine. I need to sort out some legal issues like getting my name back, but aside from that, The Sun is my paper. I started it and named it what I did as a way to prove to the world I was my own man. For eight years, Jake was me, but the paper wasn’t solely his. Hesser and Kipling were manipulating things from the background. This stops today.”

        “Where are you going to start? You don’t have any idea who could be behind this.”

         “Actually I do, I just don’t have anything to link it to him yet. I got pretty good at finding leads when I was investigating my story down in Savannah. Give me some credit. John’s bound to have some information I can start with. After I see my man at the hospital, I’m going to check in with John. I’ll tell Blair about everything tonight.” They reached The Banner and said their goodbyes.

         Todd strolled into Llanview Hospital a short time later and went in search of his employee who was surrounded by his family. He made the choice not to intrude. Instead, he went looking for Larry Wolek.

         Larry was surprised to see Todd walking toward him. The last he had heard from Vicki, Todd was still in a coma. “You’re looking pretty good for a guy in a coma. Really, Todd, I’m glad to see you back on your feet.”

        “Uh thanks, Larry, I didn’t know you knew about it.”

         “As one of your recent doctors, I was contacted when you failed to awaken after your surgery. They were trying to find out any possible causes. I had a couple of discussion with your doctors in Savannah. But seriously you’re looking great and you can see. I guess the long rest did you good.”

        “Yeah, I suppose so. Listen, Larry, I’m trying to find out how my employee is doing. Can you tell me anything?”

          “He’s doing pretty good, Todd. He sustained some burns on his hand and his heart took quite a shot, but he’s recovering nicely. We’re just keeping him overnight to make sure there aren’t any complications.”

         “Thanks, not a very good start to the day for him. The Sun will cover his bills, I’m just sorry it happened.”

        “I would guess it wasn’t a very good start to your day either. You just got out of the hospital yourself, you really shouldn’t be under this type of strain. You should go home and call it a day. He’s going to be fine."

Todd looked at Larry. “I wish I could, but I still need to go talk to John.”  Larry was about to pipe in, and Todd stopped him. “Hey, you said I looked great, why the about-face?”

        “Because I know you, Todd, you’ll run yourself into the ground trying to find the person responsible for this accident. I know the toll the coma and injuries took on you. I’m just saying you should get back into things gradually. Remember when you tried to help Marty because she wasn’t following doctor’s orders? I just think you should follow your own advice.”

         Todd hadn’t thought about Marty in a while. Marty, sick while he and Blair were apart, in the alley, face down; he’d rescued her, later, she’d rescued him. They had come to an important understanding shortly after that.

         “You've got a point Larry, but this is something that won’t wait for me to fully recover. I’ve got to get the person who’s doing this. I’ll try to stay out of here. That’s all I can promise. Thanks again for telling me about my guy.” Todd turned and left before Larry could say anything more.

          Strolling into the police station, he headed straight for John’s office. “Please tell me Natalie got something, John.”

          “Hello to you, too. Your case isn’t the only thing she’s working on at the moment Manning, but I’m sure she’ll bring anything she gets as soon as she can. Have a seat if you want to wait.”

          Todd studied the man in front of him. “I’m not very good at thank yous, but I’m grateful for what you did. You saved Blair and the others, and in a way, you also saved me. I understand Sid was the one who shot me? I heard he was dead.”

          John shrugged. “I’m guessing you wouldn’t have gone to the dock that day if you had thought your life was really in danger. You just wanted to talk and things backfired on you. I just didn’t trust them as much as you did. Men like Sid and his buddies, work for the people they do because they are as unscrupulous as their employers are. You forgot Sid was going to use Kym and the girls as human shields. I didn’t.”

        “You’re right, I got sidetracked trying to get the leader and messed up with his goons.”

          “Besides, I wasn’t able to stop you getting shot, I only took out the shooter. You survived because you're too stubborn to let go of your life. Blair also held onto you for dear life that day and I think you stuck around for her.”

           Todd nodded, “Yeah, I guess so.” He wanted to get off the topic so he switched gears. “How are things between you and Natalie these days? I heard you’re Liam’s father after all. I could have told you that the first time I saw that kid. Too quiet. I guess that makes us related. Who would have thought it?”

          John had to think about that for a minute. He knew Todd was Natalie’s uncle. But the blood relative part of that had never really sunk in. It definitely was a small world sometimes. He was spared thinking about that as Natalie came into the room.

          Natalie paused as she saw who was standing with John. She didn’t know he had even come back to town. “Samuel?”

          “No, it’s me, Todd. What did you find out Natalie?”
     
           “Go ahead Natalie, did we get anything concrete to work with?”

           “Okay, we got a print off the inside of the switch box and it matched with an arsonist in the system, who specializes in electrical fires.” She handed the report to John and turned to her uncle. “Todd, does Mom know you’re back in town? Was The Sun more important than letting your own sister know you’re okay?”

           Todd was shocked at the anger coming from Natalie. They had been finally coming to a place where they could be civil to each other and now this. “Whoa, I don’t know what I did to get you mad at me again.”

           “You disappeared, Mom was worried. Your own wife was driving us all crazy trying to find you.”

         “I guess you’ve been out of the loop for a while. Blair and John both found me. I even came back here long enough to testify against Hesser, but it was all hushed up because of the hit out on me. Vicki has known where I’ve been for quite a while. In fact, I had lunch with her a little over an hour ago. She was the first person I looked up since arriving back in Llanview last night.” His gaze was steady and her eyes dropped first.

         Then she turned to John, “You knew where he was and didn’t say anything. Why?”

         “His life was in danger. Bo and I felt the fewer people who knew his whereabouts the better. He was brought in for the trial in secrecy.”

           “But the trial was over almost two months ago.“ She turned back to Todd. “Why did you stay away after the trial was finished?”

          “The hit was still on and unfortunately I ran into some trouble.”

           “Well, that sounds like the Uncle Todd I know,.  Let me guess, you got in trouble with the law again.”

           Todd had no answer, he was reeling. She still thought the worst about him.

            John reached for Natalie’s arm, “Natalie, Todd was shot and almost died. He’s been in a coma for over a month.”

            Natalie was in shock, she realized she had jumped to a conclusion based on old memories of her uncle. “Oh God, I’m sorry. Mom knew?”

            John nodded.

           “But why didn’t she say something?”

          “You and Jessica were going through some rough times, your mom probably didn’t want you to worry about anything else.” John gave Todd the once over and realized he was still processing Natalie’s accusation. “Manning, can I get you something, maybe some coffee.”

        Todd shook his head. I can’t win. I should have stayed in Savannah.

       "That’s the coward’s way out. You’re Todd Manning, you’ve done enough to meet with everybody’s approval. If they can’t stand you, that’s their problem, not yours. You still have Blair and Vicki and the kids. The rest can go to hell.”

        That’s your answer to everything, the lonelier I am, the better you feel. I won’t hide so you feel good. Go away.
         Todd felt a hand on his shoulder and looked into Natalie’s eyes. “Todd, I’m sorry I jumped to that conclusion about you.”

         “You’ve had good reason in the past, don’t worry about it.” He strolled over to John’s desk. “So any chance of catching this guy who worked on the switch. I’d like to find out who hired him?”

         “We’ll try and find him, Todd. I’m not making any promises.”

          “Good, well I need to get home to Blair, she still doesn’t know about the incident today. Natalie, take care of my grand nephew.” Todd left quickly, he had to get away from Natalie, her accusation had really gotten under his skin.

          You got in trouble with the law again? Todd squared his shoulders.  Enough. The people he loved knew he had changed. The rest no longer mattered.


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