SUSPICIONS-PART 3

By Nancy F. Thysell (The Nifty Lady)

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Johnny and Roy stared back and forth between JoAnne and Chris, trying to comprehend what JoAnne had just told them. Chris had stopped crying but she watched Johnny's reaction carefully. He was squatted beside her as she sat in Cap's chair.

"I don't understand," Johnny was saying in exasperation. It was too unbelievable. He turned to Chris. "What JoAnne told us...Van? Van did that to you?" Johnny was finding it hard to put into words what JoAnne had told them.

"Uh-huh," Chris nodded slightly. It scared her how angry Johnny was becoming. She reached out her hand tentatively and touched his arm. He jerked involuntarily at her touch and she withdrew her hand quickly. "I'm sorry," she sobbed.

Roy nudged Johnny and his partner looked at him confused. Roy pointed to Chris with his chin and a well-rehearsed look that years of working together conveyed a silent message. Johnny realized that he was scaring Chris and he shifted into his paramedic mode to bring his own emotions under control.

"Chris, honey? Calm down. It's all right. I just need a moment to think," he said soothingly. He rose to his feet and paced the small confines of the office. He finally stopped, raked his hand through his hair and turned to Roy. "What do we do?"

"I'm not sure. It's not like we can call the police," Roy observed.

"Why not?" JoAnne wanted to know.

"Because, while what Van did to Chris was despicable, he didn't actually hurt her," Roy stated flatly.

"Didn't hurt her? He didn't hurt her!" JoAnne was incredulous and her voice raised a few octaves. "He threatened her! He touched her! What does he have to do? Rape her!"

Roy took JoAnne by the shoulders and locked his eyes with hers. "Jo! I'm looking at this from how it can be handled legally!" he told her sternly. "What I meant was that he didn't hit her, injure her or do anything that the police could classify as assault." Roy's voice dropped almost to a whisper. That was something he tended to do when he was really angry, his voice would almost become a whisper but the timber of his words was unmistakable.

"How can it not be considered assault?" Johnny demanded of his partner. His kept his right hand on Chris' shoulder but his left had curled into a fist.

"Johnny, you know as well as I do from the number of runs we've been on involving domestic violence, what Van tried didn't cross the line. He came damn close! We could call Vince Howard and talk to him about it. Maybe he could give us some guidelines? Perhaps at the very least we could take action through the department," Roy suggested. JoAnne sat down in a nearby chair as she listened to the guys discuss the action they could take. She kept a watchful eye on Chris.

Johnny tensed his body as he listened to Roy. Roy was the levelheaded member of their partnership. He had to believe that Roy knew the right thing to do. He couldn't believe that a coworker could do something like this. Especially not to his wife!

"Johnny..." Chris spoke so softly that he almost didn't hear her.

He knelt beside her.

"What is it sweetie?"

"Van said I shouldn't tell you. That he'd make things difficult for you on the job. And..." she swallowed hard as she searched Johnny's eyes.

"And?" he coaxed.

"And he implied that one of these babies is his," she concluded, warily. She couldn't bear to see the hurt in Johnny's eyes and turned her head.

"What?" Johnny asked, stunned. He wasn't sure he had heard Chris correctly. He turned her head gently with his hand so he could see her eyes. "There's no way. Is there?" He didn't want to ask but he had to know. Chris shook her head.

"I don't think so. Unless he did something without my knowledge," she fearfully admitted.

"What? When? When could he have done something?" Johnny demanded tensely.

"Back in December when you were in the hospital, Van came over to help out with the horses," she started. JoAnne looked up sharply.

"That's when he was in the shower, wasn't it?" she added. Johnny looked at JoAnne hard. This was news to him.

"Yes," Chris confirmed. She turned her attention back to Johnny, wishing she didn't have to say anything. "I was tired and I went back to the house to take a nap. I fell asleep on the bed without even undressing. When I woke up, I heard the shower running. Then I heard JoAnne arrive. I was so sleepy, I thought it was you in there. I mean, after all, who else could it be? I was heading for the bathroom to tell 'you' that we had company when JoAnne appeared at the bedroom door and Van came out of the bathroom wearing only a towel at the same time."

"What was Van doing in our shower?" Johnny asked, straining to maintain an even tone.

"He said that he didn't think Chris would mind, since the hall bath was unsupplied," JoAnne informed him. "He said that he didn't want to wake her so he just let himself in the room."

Johnny looked at Chris intently. "He didn't..." He couldn't bring himself to say it.

"I honestly don't know," she answered, feeling helpless. "I would know, wouldn't I?" Tears welled in her eyes. She felt so stupid. That couldn't happen without her knowledge, could it? She looked to Johnny for the answer. Johnny pulled her into his arms and held her, stroking her hair.

"Oh, sweetie. No. I don't think he could have done...that...without you knowing about it," he responded haltingly.

"You know, Johnny," Roy began, thoughtfully, "they've started doing a lot of testing with DNA. I've been reading about it in the journals."

"What's DNA?" Chris interjected, curious.

"It's like a genetic fingerprint. I believe it's supposed to be unique to the individual. I'm not really clear on how they check it," Roy explained.

"How does that help us?" Chris was trying to understand.

"I think I read that a DNA test could prove the paternity of a child when it is in dispute," Roy concluded.

"No! I refuse to believe that Van could have done that to Chris!" Johnny almost shouted. "He's a paramedic, damn it!"

"I find it difficult to believe either. I mean I've worked side by side with him," DeSoto commented.

"Hell, Roy, I invited him to my home. I set him up with Pam. Oh! And let's not forget what he tried on New Year's. I thought he was just drunk!" Johnny ranted. He turned to Chris, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I...I didn't know how," Chris admitted, her guilt consuming her. "I just thought he was creepy. I knew you had to work with him. I didn't want to make things difficult for you."

"Oh, sweetie," Johnny's anger melted with his understanding. Chris was trying to protect him. Him! He pulled her into his arms and held her. What other burdens was she trying to handle alone?

"So what do we do now?" JoAnne asked.

"I think we need to know how to proceed legally," Roy stated. Johnny nodded his agreement.

"Let's call Vince," he suggested but the klaxon's sounded. Both men were frustrated at having to respond to the call. Each man gave his wife a kiss. Johnny gave Chris a tender squeeze before following Roy out the door.

"I love you," he called back to Chris as he ran for the squad.

"I love you more!" she whispered back. JoAnne turned and stood by her young friend. Chris was breathing hard and fast.

"Now don't go hyperventilating on me," JoAnne cautioned Chris and was rewarded with a small smile.

"Yes 'Mom'," she responded. They both listened as the sirens faded in the distance.

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Johnny shifted uncomfortably in the passenger seat of the squad as he and Roy rushed to a 'woman down' call. He was very disturbed by all that JoAnne and Chris had told them. He was angry-angrier than he thought possible. If he had known what Van had pulled when he was in the hospital back in December, well, he would have made sure that Van Kessler was never welcomed back into his house. He couldn't believe he had placed Chris in such a venerable position. If only she had told him. They would have to have a talk about this later.

"Clear," he informed Roy as they approached a busy intersection. He needed to refocus. For now he needed to push his personal problems aside and do his job.

Roy gave his partner a quick glance after they cleared the intersection. Johnny had his "game face" on. That was good. It meant that he was able to concentrate on his job. Then again, Roy wouldn't have blamed him if he hadn't been able to. That was a lot to have to absorb in a short period of time.

As they reached the address, Roy pulled the squad to the curb. Mike Stoker stopped the engine right behind them. Captain Stanley swung down to the sidewalk, instructing the rest of the crew to hang tight until they knew what the call entailed. He grabbed a piece of equipment from Roy and followed his two paramedics into the apartment building.

Johnny knocked sharply on apartment 227. "Fire department," he called out. The door opened to reveal an anxious young woman in her mid-twenties. She had shoulder length strawberry blond hair and was wearing a crocheted vest over hip-hugger, bell-bottomed jeans.

"Thank goodness you're here. I didn't know what else to do!" she said rapidly. She opened the door to admit the men. "She's in her bedroom," she told them as she led them down the hall.

"What's her name?" Roy asked as he followed her to the room.

"Shelly. My name's Karen."

"Thank you Karen. Excuse me," Roy said as he made his way past Karen and into the immaculate bedroom. The young woman, lay deathly still on the bed, her stringy blond hair splayed on her pillow. Roy and Johnny took up positions on either side of the single bed. The young woman's appearance was disturbing. She was so thin. She looked like a skeleton with a layer of skin.

"Shelly? Can you hear me? Shelly?" Roy called to the unconscious woman. There was no response. An external rub produced only a slight response. At least that was something. The paramedics set about taking Shelly's vitals, hooking her up to the heart monitor and contacting Rampart.

"Rampart? This is Squad 51," Johnny spoke into the handset. "How do you read?"

"We read you loud and clear," Nurse Dixie McCall's calm voice responded.

"Rampart. We have a female victim. Age..."

"She's twenty-seven," Karen provided. Karen hung to the back of the room, watching anxiously.

"Age twenty-seven. Victim is extremely underweight. She's unconscious. Stand by for vitals." Johnny jotted the stats as Roy supplied them and then Johnny relayed them to the hospital. Dr. Joe Early ordered a cardiac strip and it was transmitted on lead two. The young woman was experiencing an irregular heartbeat.

"You guys need us?" Captain Stanley inquired. It appeared to him that his paramedics had everything under control. Johnny looked up from the biophone.

"No Cap. We've got it," Johnny assured him.

"Okay. I'm going to make us available then," he said and turned to leave. The ambulance attendants were just coming through the front door of the apartment. Both Roy and Johnny had trouble finding a suitable vein to start the ordered IVs.

"Man!" Johnny whispered in concern over to Roy. "There's nothing here!"

Roy pumped up the young woman's arm with the BP cuff, hoping the pressure would reveal a good vein. With a great deal of difficulty he finally got the needle into a vein and started the IV. Johnny placed the oxygen mask over the frail woman's face and adjusted the flow. Carefully they transferred her to the stretcher and the attendants whisked her down to the awaiting ambulance. Johnny gathered up their equipment and turned to Karen.

"We're taking her to Rampart Emergency. Do you want to ride in the ambulance with her?"

"No," Karen shook her head. "I'll drive myself. I need to find her purse. It's got her insurance card in there. I'm sure the hospital will need that."

"Yeah, they will." Johnny could tell how worried she was. "Look, the doctors at Rampart are the best. They'll take really good care of her."

Karen appreciated the warm, lopsided grin the handsome paramedic gave her and she smiled back at him. She couldn't help but notice the gold wedding band on his ring finger with a tinge of disappointment.

"I'll be right behind you," she finally said.

"Okay," Johnny responded and headed out. A framed photograph in the living room caught his eye and he stared at the picture. It was a picture of Van Kessler and...and...Shelly Porter! He turned and looked at Karen.

"Is your roommate's name Porter?" he asked in a slightly choked voice. Karen noticed the strange look on the paramedic's face as he pointed to the picture.

"Yes. She used to date a paramedic. That's him in the picture with her. You know him?" she asked, curious to know. Johnny nodded.

"My wife and I double-dated with Shelly and Van a few times," he said sadly. Now he knew why their victim was so thin. He also realized that he hadn't even recognized the emaciated woman. Karen came up beside Johnny and stared down at the picture.

"I never knew what she saw in him. I thought he was a real jerk. Shelly kept saying that if she was thin enough, he'd come back. She's been starving herself to death to get thin. I've been so afraid she was getting too thin. You know, like Karen Carpenter?"

Johnny nodded and realized that it was exactly what Shelly had been doing-starving herself to death. He hoped that wasn't prophetic.

"We'd better get to the hospital," he said, breaking the reverie over the photograph. Karen followed him out of the apartment. Johnny quickly stowed the equipment and jumped into the cap of the squad. He pulled away from the curb with lights and sirens, rushing to reach Rampart. He wanted Shelly to know that someone who cared about her was there.

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The drive to Rampart seemed to take forever before Johnny could back the squad into its parking space near the ER doors. He fairly flew into the building, searching for his partner and the treatment room that held Shelly Porter. He skidded to a stop in front of the base station as the door across the hall opened and Roy emerged.

"How is she? How's Shelly?" he asked anxiously of his partner. Roy looked at him with a confused look on his face over Johnny's unusual concern. He set down their equipment and half turned to look back at the door of the treatment room.

"You mean our last patient?" Roy asked.

"Yes! How is she?"

"Not good." Roy studied his partner for a long moment.

"Oh, man! I didn't even…I didn't know."

"Johnny! What has you so rattled?" Roy demanded. Johnny stared back at his partner, not sure he knew himself.

"Roy! That's Shelly Porter!" Johnny said as if that explained everything. Roy just stared back at him, not comprehending.

"I don't…" Roy started to say as Johnny racked a nervous hand through his hair.

"Chris and I double-dated with her and…" he hesitated before continuing, "…Van."

Roy looked at him, disbelief in his eyes. "You're kidding!"

"I wish I was. Chris told me that Shelly used to force herself to vomit. It was a way for her to eat what she wanted and stay thin. I told Van about it. He knew Roy. Van knew she had this problem. You know what her roommate told me?"

Roy shook his head.

"Karen said that Shelly was starving herself so that she'd be thin enough to get Van back. Can you believe she did this to herself for him?" Johnny felt his anger rising.

"Maybe we'd better tell Dr. Early about this," Roy suggested. They had just turned to the treatment door when it opened and Dr. Early exited the room.

"Hey Doc!" Johnny started to tell him about Shelly but Joe cut him off.

"Do we know who her next of kin is?" he asked quietly.

"Uh, her roommate should be here any time now," Johnny responded. "Doc?"

"I'm sorry Johnny. She's gone. Her heart just gave out on her."

"Oh man!" Johnny turned his head away as the feeling of grief and touch of guilt swept over him. He turned without another word and headed for the doctor's lounge. Roy and the doctor watched him until he disappeared.

"It's always tough to lose someone so young," Dr. Early said softly. Roy nodded.

"Johnny was acquainted with her. He and Chris had been on some double dates with her when she was dating Van Kessler," Roy explained.

"I see. That's too bad. It's even harder when it's someone you knew," he commented sadly. "Let me know when her roommate arrives. Hopefully, she'll know how to reach her family."

Roy just nodded and headed for the lounge to check on his partner. He found Johnny seated at the table, holding a cup of coffee in his hands, staring into the dark liquid.

"You okay?" he asked as he joined Johnny at the table. His partner stared over at him.

"I guess. It's so unbelievable. Man! Roy. She was only twenty-seven! What a waste! I don't know what to tell Chris."

"Tell her the truth," Roy advised. "She knew Shelly had a problem. I know she'll be sad to know she died."

"Yeah. Man! Can this day get any worse?" Frustration edged his voice.

"The only thing I think that could make it worse, would be for Van to show up," Roy remarked, somewhat tersely. Johnny looked over at his friend.

"Yeah. Right! That would be perfect, wouldn't it?" He picked up the cup and took a sip. He made a face at its bitterness. Roy shoved himself away from the table.

"I'm going to see if Shelly's roommate is here. Dr. Early needs to get some information from her," Roy said simply. He handed Johnny the handi-talkie. "Why don't you make us available?"

Johnny picked up the HT and let dispatch know they were available as Roy left the room. He got up and tossed the rest of the liquid into the sink before he washed out the cup. Too much had happened today. He struggled with his emotions which roller-coasted from anger to grief to sadness to frustration. As he thought of Chris and all she had endured at the hands of a man he had thought of as a friend and how he had treated Shelly, Johnny felt a rage swell within himself. He clenched his hands into white knuckled fists. He swore softly to himself he'd kill that S.O.B. if he ever came close to Chris again. The door opened and three staff members entered, talking and joking amongst themselves. He made a hasty retreat to find Roy.

Karen sat sobbing softly in the waiting area. Roy had his hand resting gently on her shoulder and Johnny surmised that he had told her that Shelly had died. He collected their equipment from the base station and headed down the corridor. He caught Roy's eye and motioned to him that he would be in the squad. Johnny couldn't deal with Shelly's roommate at that moment. Roy nodded and watched his partner disappear out the door.

A moment later, Dixie approached Roy and the young woman.

"Dix. This is Karen..." he hesitated, realizing he didn't even know her last name. She continued to cry, so he went on, "...she was Shelly Porter's roommate. Karen? This is Nurse McCall. She needs to get some information from you."

"I brought her...her purse," Karen choked out. Her grief threatened to overwhelm her as she held out the bag. Dixie sat beside her and gently took over from Roy.

"Thank you, Karen. I'm so sorry for your loss," Dixie began in a comforting tone. "Why don't we go somewhere a bit more private?"

Numbly, Karen rose with Dixie and she guided her down to Dr. Brackett's office. Roy watched them, sadly and then turned to rejoin Johnny in the squad. It had been a hard day. He prayed for a quiet night.
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END PART 3--TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 4

"Suspicions" ©2000 by Nancy Thysell. "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions. All rights reserved. No infringement on any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction, and any similarity to actual persons or events is purely coincidental.