SUSPICIONS--PART 6

By Nancy F. Thysell (The Nifty Lady)

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Van Kessler was looking into his closet and trying to decide if he had anything appropriate to wear to a funeral. His wardrobe was geared more for the casual affair. He picked out a pair of slacks that he thought might do and then looked to see if he had a plain white shirt to wear with it. Before he could do anything else there was a knock at his apartment door. He dropped the clothes on his bed and headed to the door as the knock became louder and more insistent.

"I'm coming. I'm coming," he yelled to the door. Reaching it, he pulled the door open to reveal Detective Leo Partin. The man before him was wearing polyester brown plaid slacks, a yellow shirt with a wide, brownish tie. He looked like a door to door salesman to Van. Before Van could say anything, the man addressed him.

"You Van Kessler?" Leo asked. Van looked at him suspiciously.

"Who wants to know?" he inquired. Partin flashed his credentials to Van.

"Partin. Detective Leo Partin," he responded. "Mind if I come in?"

Van shook his head and stepped back to allow Partin inside. Leo glanced around the small apartment. Nothing out of the ordinary for a single man, he noted. Nothing that set off any alarms.

"How can I help you, uh, Detective?" Van asked hesitantly while gesturing to the sofa. Leo sat down and Van seated himself across from the policeman in an old, worn armchair.

Leo made a show of pulling out his notepad and perusing it before returning his attention to Van.

"Mr. Kessler, are you acquainted with a..." he looked at his notes again, even though he didn't need them, "a Mrs. Crystal Gage and a Mrs. JoAnne DeSoto?"

Van felt a jolt of guilt shake through him but he put on a calm persona.

"Why, yes. I am," he replied placidly.

"Well, Mr. Kessler, I'm here with a friendly warning for you," Leo said as he leaned forward on the sofa.

"About what?" Van asked innocently. Leo rubbed his hands together and looked directly into Van's eyes.

"The ladies have a filed a complaint against you. Seems your attentions have been deemed inappropriate," the officer informed Van. "Now, I know you're a fireman and a complaint such as this could go in your permanent file. I don't think you want that, do you?"

"Detective Partin, are you threatening me?" Van leaned back in the armchair, weighing the information carefully.

"No. Not threatening. Maybe warning is a better word," the detective responded. "But I don't think you would want to risk your career over something like this."

The two men stared at each other for a long, hard moment. Leo Partin wanted to be sure that Van Kessler understood the implication of his statement. Van brought the fingertips of his hands together as he studied

the police officer. He realized that what this cop was telling him was indeed a warning and that he'd better play ball.

"Very well, I considered myself warned," he responded as he sat forward. "Is there anything else?"

Partin rose to his feet to take his leave. "Just one thing. If I have to come back here, it won't be a social call. Understood?"

Van nodded, his stomach turning sour. "Understood."

He showed Partin to the door and shut it tightly behind him. Van slammed his fist into the door, angrily. Shaking out the pain in his hand, he turned back into the apartment.

"Stupid bitches," he muttered as he made his way to the kitchen to make a ice pack for his fist. "No, ladies. It ain't over yet. Not by a long shot."

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The sun had set. The evening air was still hot. Chris woke with a start and sat up. The room was dark but she could still see around the room without turning on any lamps. After going to the bathroom she made her way downstairs. There was a pitcher of iced tea in the refrigerator and she poured herself a tall glass over ice cubes. She let herself out onto the patio. Peggy Sue eagerly joined her as she took in the night air. She sat down in one of the padded chairs and propped her feet up on another. Before long, all five cats had wandered in and found comfortable spots nearby. She considered going down to the barn but her ankles were so swollen that she decided not to venture that far. A slight breeze lofted over the patio, stirring the trees. She could hear the sounds of the night creatures and everything was peaceful. She heard the phone ringing and considered getting up to answer it but she just felt too relaxed to do so. She wondered if it might be Johnny and decided to go check the machine. She needed to see who all the messages were from anyway.

She crossed to the machine and pushed the play button. Two of the calls were hang ups. One was a solicitation. She erased those messages. The next one was from Van.

"Hi Chris! Missed you today. I'm working tomorrow so you can relax and enjoy the day. I'll be in touch. Love you!" There was a little laugh before he hung up.

She was tempted to erase it but figured she'd better let Johnny listen to it. Irritated by his intrusion, she skipped to the next message. It was from her mother, wondering how she was doing and asking that Chris call when she had the chance. She smiled and figured she'd call in the morning before Johnny got home, when the rates were lower. The final message was from Johnny. He was just checking up on her. She smiled as she dialed the station.

"LA County Station 51, Firefighter Lopez speaking."

"Hi Marco! It's Chris. Is Johnny available?" she asked with a smile in her voice.

"Oh, hi Chris! Yeah, he's around here some place. How are you feeling? No ill effects from your rescue?" Marco asked lightly.

"Oh! He told you about that, did he?" she chuckled with embarrassment. "I hope the Phantom isn't going to give him a hard time about it."

"Only time will tell. The Phantom is always looking for ways to 'get' his pigeon," Marco explained with his own chuckled. "Hold on, Chris. I'll go find John for you."

"Thanks Marco," she responded. She really liked Johnny's coworkers. They were all so nice, even Chet. She didn't have to wait long before she heard Johnny's voice.

"Hi sweetie!" he said as he picked up the phone.

"Hello my love!" Chris responded. "Did you call?"

"Yeah. Just thought I'd see how you were doing."

"Well, I'm a little put out with you that you took away my truck," she admitted. "What if there's an emergency?"

"Then you call the police or the fire department or me!" he replied.

"Yeah, that's easy for you to say! You're not the one out here all by herself!" Chris complained.

"Well, you could stay with JoAnne," Johnny suggested.

"I know but I like being home. The animals need me. You should have seen them when I went out on the patio a little while ago. They all were there. I think they missed me today."

"I know how they feel," Johnny agreed. Chris smiled.

"I wish you were here," she sighed plaintively.

"Me too. But I'll be home in the morning."

"Van left another message on the machine," she informed him. She could almost feel Johnny's body stiffen.

"What did he say?" Johnny asked tersely. Chris relayed the message that Van had left.

"But I didn't erase it," she told Johnny.

"Good. I think we need to keep all his messages. I'll pickup some new tapes on the way home tomorrow," Johnny apprised her.

"Okay. I love you," she told him softly.

"I love you more," he whispered back.

"I'll count the minutes until you come home," she offered. Johnny chuckled.

"If you do, you won't get much sleep. I want you to rest well tonight."

"Okay. I'll try."

"Sweet dreams, baby."

"You too. Be careful and come home in one piece," she admonished.

"I'll do my best," he promised.

It took a couple more minutes before they both hung up. Chris went to the kitchen to scrutinize the refrigerator for something to munch on. Johnny joined the guys watching the game on t.v. Both of them finally settling down to what they hoped would be a quiet evening.

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With the onset of nightfall, the outside temperature had dropped about 20 degrees, making it a pleasant evening. The kind of June evening that made one turn off the air conditioning and open the windows to let the air breeze through the house. Chris had opened the upstairs bedroom windows and breathed in the smog-free air. The ranch was close enough to the Pacific Ocean to benefit from the sea breezes as they pushed inland to create the inversion layer that plagued the city and county of Los Angeles. Chris turned from the window and turned off her bedside lamp before she laid down on the bed. It had been a busy day and it didn't take long for her to fall asleep.

Van Kessler watched the Gage's home from a discrete distance amid the trees that created a barrier between the house and the road. He sat on the ground with his back leaning against the trunk of one of the trees. He took a sip from the beer bottle he had brought with him. He took particular note of Chris in the bedroom window and smiled and let his eyes linger on her until she moved out of sight and turned off the lamp.

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The morning sun rose brightly over Southern California. Johnny and Roy changed into their civvies quickly and rushed to their vehicles. They drove in tandem on the way to Fire Department Head Quarters. They had talked it over with Captain Stanley and he had concurred with them that they should file a report with the department. It was something they really wished they didn't have to do but Van was leaving them no choice.

A little after ten, Roy and Johnny were on their ways home. The meeting had been difficult. The chief had been understanding and regretted having to take their complaints. But the task had been done and now they would leave it to the department to handle any disciplinary action. Both men felt uneasy, angry, and used by their coworker and they both hoped that this would put an end to any further advances on Van's part.

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It wasn't long before Johnny was home. He parked next to the barn and went into make sure that the horses had been tended to that morning. The horses greeted him excitedly, anticipating a ride, no doubt. He rubbed them affectionately before releasing them into the corral. They had obviously been fed and watered. Johnny appreciated having David Mason to share the responsibilities of taking care of the animals. And he still had his ace in the hole with his neighbor, Fred Grant, who could always be counted on in a pinch to help out. Satisfied with the condition of the barn and the horses, Johnny walked back to the house. He entered through the mud room and removed his boots and slipped on a pair of slippers before going into the kitchen.

"Chris? Honey? I'm home," he called as he checked the refrigerator. He frowned and turned his attention from the appliance and walked into the living room.

"Chris?" he called again. This time a bit more loudly. He crossed to the stairs and took them two at a time to get to the bedroom. The door was open as he entered the room. He found the bed still unmade and the windows open. Neither fact was like Chris. Worried, Johnny checked the entire house for some sign of his wife. Finally convinced that she wasn't in the house, he dialed Roy's number. Maybe she was with JoAnne and he was worrying for nothing. He began to feel guilty about not leaving the pickup truck for her in case of an emergency.

"Hi JoAnne! It's Johnny. Is Chris with you?" he asked anxiously.

"No. What's wrong, Johnny?" JoAnne responded worriedly.

"Uh, she's not here. I don't know where she is!"

"You don't think, I mean, what if..."

"I don't know. Oh God, I hope she's okay," Johnny moaned as he choked on the guilt that overcame him.

"What can we do?" JoAnne asked as Roy walked into the room and overhead her conversation. He came over and stood by his wife. "Look, Johnny. Roy's here now. Why don't you talk to him?" she said and passed the receiver to Roy.

"What's going on partner?"

"I hope nothing. I just got home and Chris is gone. No note or anything. I don't know where'd she'd go without the pickup."

"What about the Kim's store?" Roy asked.

"That's a possible. She could walk that far. Look, Roy? Who do you me a favor?"

"Sure partner, what is it?"

"Call HQ and find out if Van's working today. In the meantime I'll call the Kim's store and see if she's there."

"No problem. Call me as soon as you've talked to the Kim's," Roy replied and they both hung up to make their respective phone calls.

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"Hello? Mr. Kim? It's John Gage. Is my wife there by any chance? ... She isn't. ... No, no. Nothing's wrong. I was just wondering where she was. Thought she might have walked down there. ... Well, thank you. ... Yes, I will. Oh, how is Han doing? ... Oh, that's great! Glad to hear it. Give him our best. ... Yes. Bye now." Johnny slowly replaced the handset in the cradle. It suddenly occurred to him that he hadn't seen Peggy Sue. It made him wonder if Chris had taken the dog for a walk. Then he remembered that he had to call Roy back. Quickly he dialed the number and got a busy signal. He slammed the phone down and ran out onto the patio.

"Chris! Peggy Sue!" he called but received no answer. He turned and went back inside and redialed Roy's number. This time it rang and Roy answered before the second ring.

"Roy? What did you find out?" he asked quickly.

"Van working out of 110s today," he answered. Both men were relieved that Van was on duty but still, that meant he'd been at-large last night.

"I take it that Chris hasn't been to the Kim's store?" Roy surmised.

"No. They haven't seen her today. But Peggy Sue is missing too. Maybe she took her out for a walk. I sure hope so."

"Me too. Listen, do you want me to come out to help you look for her?" Roy offered.

"Hey Pal. I appreciate it but that's not necessary. Since Van's at work, she's gotta be okay. I can't go into a panic every time I come home," Johnny tried to reason. He didn't want to sound paranoid about Chris' safety but not knowing where she was at was driving him crazy. "Look, Roy, I'm going to saddle up Stormy and go looking for her on one of the trails behind the house. She may just be out there somewhere too far from the house to hear me."

"Okay, but if I don't hear from you in two hours, I'm coming over," Roy said with determination.

"Thanks, partner. I call you as soon as I get back," Johnny responded and they hung up. He hurried to the barn and saddled the horse and headed out and down the trail.

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"Whoa! Hold up there girl!" Chris called out to the young dog as she strained at her leash. Peggy Sue was hot on the scent of something that she just had to find. She wasn't sure what it was but she was excited about locating it. She dragged Chris along as she followed the animal's trail into the brush. Chris tried to pull her to heel on the leash but Peggy Sue was too excited. Chris was already tired from their one hour walk along one of the trails in the woods behind the house. She hadn't planned on going so far but, it had been such a pretty morning that they had wandered further than she had intended. She had decided it was time to head home when Peggy Sue picked up the fascinating scent. Just then, the young dog caught sight of her prey and jerked the leash from Chris' hand as she chased after the frightened rabbit. The strength of Peggy Sue's lunge pulled Chris off balance and she fell to her knees on the ground with a thud.

"Peggy Sue!" Chris yelled angrily at the young dog as she dashed off, barking happily, into the woods. Chris sat back and rubbed her wrist that had held the leash. It was a bit tender. She rested a moment and listened to Peggy Sue's barks of pursuit and then silence when her prey obviously had eluded her.

"Peggy Sue! Come!" Chris ordered loudly. She was reward with the sound of Peggy Sue once again dashing off in search of the elusive rabbit. Chris tried to get to her feet and found that she couldn't leverage herself to get to her feet with her wrist hurting. She groaned at the thought of being stuck out in the woods. She knew that Johnny would be worried about her when he got home from work. She hadn't planned on being gone so long. She should have left him a note. Now she knew that she had to get herself to her feet somehow. But she also admitted that she was tired, so she decided that she would rest for a spell before trying to get to her feet. She laid down on the ground and stared up at the sky. The trees stretched upward around her, reaching for the blue sky. With the quiet of the woods and the beauty of the cathedral made of trees, Chris found a peaceful solace in spite of her predicament. She let her eyelids grow heavy and soon she drifted off to sleep.

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Johnny took Stormy on the path he figured Chris would have taken, if she had gone this way. The trail was fairly easy and made for a nice walk or ride. He guided his horse forward, trying not to rush, scanning both sides of the path as he rode. He had gone almost a mile when he thought he heard the sounds of a dog barking. He spurred Stormy forward toward the sound.

"Chris!" he called. The barking ceased for a moment and then resumed, heading straight for him. A couple of minutes later, Peggy Sue, broke through the underbrush and greeted her master with unabashed joy. Johnny dismounted and Peggy Sue leapt up around him.

"Down! Down, girl!" he ordered. He was happy to see her but finding her still attached to her leash made him feel uneasy. He looked at the dog who looked up at him adoringly. "Where's Chris? Can you show me where Chris is?" Johnny asked, wondering if there was a chance that the dog understood him. She pawed at his legs and whined. He rubbed her ears. "Can't help me, can you?" he commented sadly. Peggy Sue continued to look up at him with such devotion. He removed the leash from her collar and mounted Stormy.

"Come on, girl. Let's see if we can find Chris," he informed the dog. Peggy Sue danced around the horse and trotted beside Johnny as he again headed along the trail. He rode slowly, stopping to call out for Chris every now and then. He was afraid she was hurt and couldn't answer him. He prayed that she and the babies were safe.

Johnny came to a stop at the top of a small rise and called out again. Chris stirred from her slumber. Had she heard Johnny call her name. She opened her eyes and remembered where she was and sat up. She heard Johnny call her name again.

"Johnny?" she yelled back, turning in the direction of the trail. It didn't sound as if he was far away.

"Chris? Where are you?"

"I"m over here!"

Peggy Sue bolted in the direction of Chris' voice and Johnny followed the dog as she ran into the woods. It took barely a minute for them to reach Chris. She smile helplessly up at Johnny as he reigned in the horse and slid to the ground. He rushed to her side.

"Chris! Sweetie! Are you hurt?" he asked worriedly, looking her over. Chris placed her good hand on his arm.

"I'm okay. I may have strained my wrist though when Peggy Sue pulled free," she informed him. He checked her wrist. It appeared a bit bruised and swollen but Johnny didn't detect any major injury. "I couldn't get back on my feet," she admitted next. "I was just resting up to try and figure out how the three of us were going to get back up," she joked. Johnny wasn't smiling.

"Chris! You could have really hurt yourself or the babies!" he scolded.

"Johnny, I didn't think a little walk would be dangerous," she looked over a Peggy Sue and pointed at the dog. "It's her fault! She yanked the leash out of my hands. And, she wouldn't come back when I called for her!" Chris explained. Johnny just shook his head. Peggy Sue squeezed in between the two, fully expecting to be showered with hugs, kisses and word of praise. Johnny grabbed her, petting her roughly and scolding her lightly.

"Bad dog! Well, Miss Peggy Sue, I guess it's time for obedience school for you!" he proclaimed. He was finally allowing the relief he felt show in his face. He let go of Peggy Sue and pushed her aside so he could put his arms around Chris. "I was so worried. Please. Please, don't ever go off like this and not let me know where you are going. I was so afraid that maybe Van had done something."

Chris held on tightly to him. "Oh, Johnny, I'm so sorry. I hadn't planned to be gone so long. I thought I'd be home before you got home from work. It was such a beautiful morning. I just felt like taking a walk. Can you forgive me?"

"I forgive you as long as you promise not to scare me like this again!"

"I promise. Let's make it a rule between us that we always leave a note for the other as to where we're going and when we plan to be back. Okay?" Chris proposed.

"I think that's a good idea. It'll keep us both from worrying too much," Johnny agreed. "You ready to go home?"

Chris nodded her head. "Yeah, I think we'd like to get back to the house," she admitted. Johnny stood up and helped Chris rise, albeit awkwardly, to her feet. She rubbed the tender area of her back. The two babies were definitely growing and her abdomen was enlarging. Her poor feet were swollen accordingly. Johnny put one arm around Chris for support and reached for Stormy's reigns with his other. Together, they headed back to the trail and headed home. Johnny wished that there was someway to get Chris onto Stormy's back but that didn't seem feasible out in the woods, so they all walked.

As soon as they reach the ranch, Johnny quickly took care of Stormy as Chris continued on the to house. He found her resting in the recliner with her feet propped up on the footrest.

"I think I overdid it this morning," Chris apologized as Johnny handed her a tall glass of iced tea. She sipped the refreshing liquid.

"Yes, I think you did. What has Dr. Goyne said about how much exercise is safe for you?" he asked her in concern.

"Well, she said I could walk. Just not to over do it. I guess I wasn't sure how much would be over doing it. I guess I know now," she conceded ruefully.

The mantle clock chimed and Johnny realized that he needed to call Roy.

"I've gotta let Roy know I've found you," he explained as he picked up the phone. "I called him when I couldn't find you so he and JoAnne are probably worried sick by now."

"Oh dear. I never meant to cause so much trouble."

"You're no trouble, sweetie. We all love you so of course we're gonna worry about you. Hi Roy! I found her. ... Yeah, she'd gone for a walk in the woods. ... What? Hold on a sec," Johnny said as Chris punched him. He placed his hand over the mouthpiece. "What?"

"Please don't tell him I couldn't get up out there. It's too embarrassing. Please?" Chris begged. Johnny chuckled.

"Okay. I won't tell him," he promised. Chris mouthed "Thank you" as he resumed his talk with Roy. They talked for a while longer before Johnny finally said bye and hung up. He sat on the arm of the recliner and put his arm around Chris' shoulders.

"Can I do anything for you?" he asked, solicitously.

"I guess you're off the hook until this afternoon," she informed him.

"Oh, and what's this afternoon?"

"I have an appointment with Dr. Goyne at 3:30."

"Okay. Anything else?"

"No. JoAnne and I went to the grocery store yesterday. Oh! But we do have a couple loads of laundry to do. If you'll run the loads for me, I'll fold," Chris said. Johnny kissed the top of her head.

"All right. You stay here and rest. I'll get the laundry going and then I'll fix us some lunch. Okay?"

"Uh, you're not planning on fixing hot dogs are you?" Chris asked suspiciously. Johnny feigned injured feelings.

"What? You don't like my hot dogs?"

"No. No! I'm just not in the mood for hot dogs, I guess," she responded.

"So what are you in the mood for then?"

Chris pondered for a moment trying to pinpoint exactly what she did want. Suddenly it hit her.

"I want a steak with lots of grilled onions and a baked potato smothered with sour cream and butter and chives and..."

"Loaded in other words," Johnny finished for her.

"Yeah! Oh! And a tossed salad with lots of stuff in it," she finished.

"Do we have the fixings for that kind of a meal here?" he wanted to know. Chris was embarrassed to realize they didn't. She shook her head.

"Well, then I guess we're going out to lunch," Johnny conceded. "You go a head and rest up and I'll take care of the chores around here. If we leave around one, then by the time we finish with lunch, we can head straight over for your appointment. Sound okay to you?"

"Sounds great. Thank you sweetheart." She reached up and pulled Johnny's face to hers and they kissed. It was gentle at first but quickly turned passionate. Johnny finally drew away.

"Mrs. Gage! You're putting ideas in my head that's going to make it hard for me to behave myself," he scolded gently. Chris giggled. He removed himself reluctantly from the chair and smiled down at her. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to have found her. She rounded out his life and made it whole. He stared at her a moment.

"I sure do love you, you know that?" he asked softly. Chris smiled into his eyes.

"I know. I love you too." She held his hand and squeezed it gently. "Now go get to work. I'm getting hungry!" she teased. Johnny laughed.

"Yes ma'am," he replied and hurried off to do the chores. Chris snuggled down into the recliner and turned the t.v. on with the remote. She remember "Let's Make A Deal" coming on but she was asleep before the first contestant was selected. As Johnny passed through the living room with a load of laundry, he stopped and turned the set off before continuing to the basement.

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Approximately at that same time, a oil refinery fire had erupted. Numerous stations had been called out to fight the blaze, including Station 110. Van Kessler had been assigned to 110s that day as a firefighter. Their station was part of the second alarm to the conflagration. The battle was slow and tedious as the valiant men fought to bring it under control.

The captain from Station 127 was in charge until the battalion chief arrived. Van and his partner for the day, John "Smokey" Roberts, were assigned to pull a two and a half inch hose on the south side of the structure. Within a short time, teams of firemen had the blaze surrounded but the nature of the fuel made getting control difficult. As Van and Smokey worked their area, there was an explosion and a fireball shot out. Before either man could react, they were engulfed with fire. Immediately other firefighter rushed to the aid, hosing them down to extinguished their burning turnouts.

Paramedics Craig Brice and Bob Bellingham took charge of the injured men. Both men sustained life threatening burns to their bodies. Rampart directed them to switch over to UCLA's Burn Center and within minutes, both firefighters were being airlifted to the hospital. It was a grim reminder of how dangerous their duties were to the firemen still at the scene. They renewed their determination to bring the fire under control and silently prayed for the survival of their fallen coworkers and prayed that no one else joined them.

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END PART 6--TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 7

"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.