The Next Ten: Beginnings Series Books 11 - 20

by Jacqueline Druga

  “Why don’t you believe me?” Johnny grew angry.

  “Because it isn’t like Hal to do that. Hal doesn’t get mean. Hal gets, I don’t know . . . Snide. That’s it.” He moved to his desk and began to collect papers. He looked up when he heard a sarcastic snicker come from Johnny. “What?”

  “Why do you guys do that? Defend each other?”

  “We’re brothers. It’s habit. You want me to talk to Hal?”

  “No. Forget it. Maybe I was drinking too much. But in a way, it’s pretty cool that you guys are like that.”

  “Yeah.” Frank smiled. “It is.” He stacked investigation folders to take to the meeting.

  “You overlook a lot with each other. I mean, look at you and Uncle Robbie. He’s dedicating you and El. You would think after what happened between him and her when you guys were broke up, you wouldn’t want anything to do with him.”

  Frank froze. His hands paused in lifting his folders and his eyes rose. His voice was deep and any smile that was on his face was gone. “What are you talking about?”

  Johnny snickered. “Dad. Come on. You don’t have to pretend with me. I know. I didn’t see what was on the disk, but I heard.” He rattled off as if reading a list. “This fall. Dean and Ellen’s bedroom. The disk. Mystery man. Uncle Robbie.”

  Suddenly Frank began to rummage in his desk furiously.

  “Dad? What are you looking for?”

  “Where’s the fuckin disk?”

  “Pap gave it to Dean.”

  Frank, saying no more, flew out.

  Johnny grinned.

  ^^^^

  Dean screamed. It wasn’t loud, but it was a sound that resembled a shriek of shock when he saw the number of strep tests Ellen brought back. Ten percent of New Bowman’s population had a swab stuck down their throat by Ellen. Shaking his head and looking at the time, Dean knew if he wanted to get started on the embryo experiments before Joe’s mystery meeting, he’d have to invent more time. Either that or mark all of the strep tests positive and give everyone with antibiotics. Taping his finger on the counter in thought while staring at the strep tests, Dean knew that was exactly what he would do. Lifting the requisitions out of the case, Dean picked up a pen.

  “Dean,” Frank said his name as he stepped into the lab.

  “Hey, Frank.” Dean tried to write. The pen didn’t work. He shook it.

  “Where’s the disk?”

  “What disk?”

  “Dean,” Frank said his name stronger. “Turn around.”

  “I’m busy. I have over fifty strep tests to do before the meeting. What disk?”

  “The one from the camera hidden in your bedroom.”

  “I have it.” Dean tried another pen and wrote ‘positive’ on the first requisition. “Joe said it’s our bedroom and it has nothing to do with the investigation so he let me have it.”

  “So you watched it?”

  “Some of it.” Dean marked the second ‘positive’.

  “So you’re hiding the truth from me.”

  “About?”

  “Robbie being the mystery man.”

  The pen dropped from Dean’s hand and his eyes went to the wall.

  “Dean? Is my little brother the mystery man?”

  Dean took a split second to think and he turned around and faced Frank. “What are you talking about? Robbie?”

  “When everyone accused you of being with Bev, I knew you weren’t the moment you denied it because you can’t lie. Thank you. You just answered my question.” Frank walked out.

  “Frank,” Dean tried to call out. His raised hand lowered and as he went to turn around again, John Matoose walked in.

  “Dean, do you have a minute?”

  “Not really. I am very busy”

  “This won’t take long. It’s really important that I talk to you,” John said. “Please.”

  After a huff, Dean nodded. “Go on.”

  “I’ve been trying to talk to you for days about this so now I’m just gonna come right out and say it.”

  “John, I know where you going with this. This is getting out of line here . . .”

  “Dean.”

  “No,” Dean interrupted. “How many times are you going to go on and on about your baby’s paternity tests? Fine. I get the point.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  “John, I’m not a stupid man. You come in here . . .”

  “Dean, shut up.”

  Cold and quick, Dean looked up. “Fuck you.”

  “No, Dean, fuck you,” John argued with anger. “You have no idea how frustrating it is. My word means squat around her. I can’t suggest or say anything.” His point was proved when Dean walked away to the other counter. John didn’t give up. He followed. “Yet . . . yet, there’s a murder investigation going on and not one damn person has even thought, if Kevin was out of Beginnings, and it wasn’t you, who the hell fathered Bev’s baby?”

  The signature squeak of his tennis shoes rang out in the room and slowly Dean looked back at John in shock. “Oh my God.”

  John threw his hands up in there air. “Hello!”

  “John, do not say anything about this. You got it?” With a rush, Dean moved across the lab. “I’m mean total secrecy. You never mentioned this.”

  “I swear. Anyone else knowing is taking a chance those tests get screwed up.”

  “You got it.” Dean ran out but not far. He stuck his head back in the lab. “John, do me a favor. Find El. Tell her to get to the morgue. Now.”

  John nodded when Dean left. He’d find Ellen only after he took a second to smile. Finally, mission accomplished.

  ^^^^

  The peaceful morning in his office wouldn’t last long. In fact, to Joe, the rest of the day would be screwed following the big group meeting he had planned. That was why he hurried with his work and sneaked to his office with that piping hot cup of coffee. He was going to steal a moment of solitude. The steam from the cup rose up and with a tilted head, Joe gave an impressed look to the brew that stayed hot. Lowering his lips at the same time he lifted the cup, Joe anticipated that sip.

  Bang! The office door flew open.

  A wave of a splash ejected from Joe’s cup. “Christ, Frank.” He wiped his shirt off.

  “Did you know!” Frank nearly shouted.

  “Did I know what? Nice to see you too. How was New Bowman?”

  “Dad.” His words were strong as he stepped into the office. “Did you know that Robbie was the mystery man Ellen had the affair with?”

  “Haven’t a clue.” Joe sipped his coffee. “That’s old news Frank. It’s over and done with.”

  “Yeah, if it was someone else nut he’s my brother. My brother. If Robbie betrayed me, stabbed me in my back, and slept with Ellen, I need to know. Because I need to deal with . . .”

  “Frank,” Hal’s voice intruded.

  Frank looked back. “Hal, not now.”

  “Yes, now.” Hal walked in. “I overheard.”

  From his desk, Joe looked up. “Hal, stay out of it.”

  “No.” Hal shook his head. “I won’t.”

  “Hal,” Frank barked. “It’s none of your fuckin business.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, really.” Frank said snidely. “It’s between me and Robbie.”

  “No, Frank.” Hal stepped to him. “It’s between me and you. You can’t go after Robbie. Robbie didn’t betray you. Yes, your brother was the mystery man, but you’ve got the wrong brother. It was me. Ellen and I had a bit too much to drink. One thing led to another . . .”

  “Bull shit.” Frank snapped. “You’re lying. You’re protecting him.”

  “No.” Hal shook his head slowly. “No. I’m not. Why would I do that? If you don’t believe me, view the disk. But to save yourself the pain of seeing your brother betray you, take my word. I assure you it was me, not Robbie.”

  “Frank!” Joe sprung to a stand shouting when he saw Frank rage to Hal.

  Shirt grabbed, fist raised, Frank sna
tched Hal into him.

  Hal didn’t flinch. His eyes stayed fixed on Frank’s and he spoke calmly into the enraged face. “Go on. I deserve it but don’t expect a fight. I will not hit my brother.”

  With a hard release, Frank shoved by Hal and stormed out.

  Joe closed his eyes as he plopped down to his chair. “Christ. Here we go.”

  Hal lowered his head.

  “What are you thinking?” Joe asked.

  “Of my little brother.”

  “Your little brother made his own bed on this one. Why are you climbing in the sheets?”

  “Well, as you keep saying, when it’s brought up about the contingency note, Robbie made a mistake. Let it go.”

  “Sometimes we have to. But in this case, Robbie is the . . .” Joe’s eyes rose. “Robbie,” He said when Robbie walked in the office.

  Hal looked behind him.

  “What’s going on?” Robbie asked. “I saw Frank. Man is he pissed. And you guys . . . is everything all right?”

  Joe shook his head. “For you. Frank . . . Frank found out somehow that you and Ellen . . . he found out you were the mystery man.”

  “Oh, my God.” Robbie closed his eyes.

  “But . . .” Joe continued. “Hal here took the blame. He used the fact that Frank won’t view Ellen being with someone else and he said it was him not you.”

  “Hal.” Robbie’s voice cracked. “You can’t do that. I won’t let you do that. I’ll tell Frank the truth.”

  “No, you won’t,” Hal stated strongly. “Let this go. Just let him think it was me and the mystery man ordeal will finally be put to rest.”

  “But he’ll hate you,” Robbie said.

  “No, Robbie,” Hal gently responded. “He won’t hate me. He’ll hate you if he finds out the truth. Me? He’ll get mad. He’ll treat me as if I were any other man in this community that betrayed him and he will get over it. It will not affect our relationship in the long run. We aren’t that close. But you . . .” Hal stepped to him. “You and he have this bond. This thing. You really look up to him. You idolize him and Frank basks in that. If the truth comes out, things will never be that way again. Neither one of you want to lose that, so why do it?” Hal laid a hand on Robbie’s cheek. “Let it go. For me. O.K.?” When he received a half nod, Hal gave a firm squeeze and stepped back. “Dad, I’m gonna go and grab a bite to eat before the meeting. Is that O.K.?”

  “Sure,” Joe said. “You have time.” His eyes stayed on Hal until he left, then Joe let out a long breath.

  “Dad,” Robbie spoke up. “I can’t let him do this.”

  “Yes, you can. I hate to say it but Hal brought up points. The last thing I want is to see you and Frank at each other’s throats. It’ll kill you, Robbie.”

  Sadly, Robbie nodded. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t tell me. Tell Hal.” Joe lifted a pencil as if he were going to do work. “While you’re at it, you owe your brother a thank you. I don’t believe I heard that when he was here.”

  “I know.” Robbie nodded again.

  “Go.” Joe looked down to his papers.

  “I’ll be back.” Robbie rushed out.

  Hearing the door slam was Joe’s sign to drop his pencil again. He was alone in his office and he leaned far back in his chair in deep thought. It never stopped. Despite how much he thought in passing years that it would, it didn’t. No matter how old they got, they were still boys to Joe. Fighting back and forth, raging at each other, each defending and protecting Robbie, who at times, was hardly the innocent he ended up being. Only in their adulthood, they had bigger problems, bigger disputes, and bigger bodies to fight with. But Joe had to take stock in the fact that he did something right while raising his sons. The tension he felt at that moment would dissipate because things would work out . . . they always did.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Cold and clinical, both in appearance and feel, Dean whispered out an excited, ‘this is beautiful’ as he stepped into the morgue. He rolled a covered tray of surgical supplies center of the empty room. It probably would be considered inappropriate, but he whistled as he reached for a pair of gloves and ran his hand over a covered specimen container as if it were gold.

  Like a child up to something, he snickered and walked to the huge metal door. It creaked as he opened it and one lone covered body was in the freezer. “Hello, Bev.” He walked to the covered cart and began to roll her out. “I hear you have a little secret.” He shut the freezer door with his foot then brought the cart center room. “Wanna share that secret? No? Too bad.” Pulling the covers down slightly from the head, Dean gave a shudder at the sight of Bev. Her face, what was left of it, was a cold gray. Shaking his head, he covered her face back up. “Don’t need to see that. That’s not the end I’m worrying about.” He moved to her feet and lifted the sheet to uncover her nude body from the waist up.

  “Dean,” Ellen spoke as she walked in. “Taking up necrophilia?”

  “El?” Dean grinned. “This is so great!”

  “What are you doing?” Ellen asked with curiosity. “John said you needed to see me here immediately.”

  “Yep.”Dean nodded. “And no one is to know we’re here.”

  “O.K.,” she pacified him. “Why?”

  “We’re gonna help with this investigation.”

  “Joe will get mad.”

  “Joe won’t know. Think about it. John brought this up to me.” He waited to heighten anticipation. “Kevin was out on a run for a while. He’s not Bev’s baby’s father. I’m not the father. Who is?”

  “I don’t know. Who?”

  “El, don’t you get it?” Dean said with sick enthusiasm. “There’s another party involved here. A silent party. Bev was carrying his child. Why isn’t he speaking up? I think there’s a reason he’s being so quiet.”

  “Oh, my God.” Ellen’s eyes widened.

  “Yep. He doesn’t want to be found out. Why?”

  “He doesn’t want to get blamed for the murder?”

  “Or . . .” Dean held up a finger. “What if . . . he too is part of the Society?”

  Ellen scoffed. “Dean. Another Society insider? Please.”

  “It’s feasible.”

  “It’s not probable.”

  “Why are we arguing? Let’s just find out what Joe and Frank aren’t even thinking about.” Dean reached for the tray. “When we run paternity tests and get the results, we’ll let them know who the father is and they can leave us alone and we won’t have to go . . .”

  “. . . to any more stupid meetings.” Ellen smiled. “Brilliant.”

  “I thought so. Wanna assist?”

  “Absolutely. But . . . Dean? How are you going to determine the paternity?”

  “El, we have DNA on almost every man in Beginnings. We’ll run a match. It may take time. We may have to do it manually, you know, so no one sees us do it in the Clinic lab.”

  “No.” Ellen shook her head. “That’s not what I mean. The amniotic fluid won’t be there.”

  “But the fetus will.”

  “So you’re removing the baby? Good thinking. However . . . What if Joe and Frank come to look at the body? I think they’ll know if they see a big incision in her stomach.”

  “You have a point. Good thing I brought the right instrument, just in case.” He rolled the tray to the foot of the cart and grasped Bev’s ankles and widened her legs.

  Ellen screamed.

  “What?” Dean said in shock.

  “Don’t you dare put your hand there.” Ellen scolded.

  “I have to go up inside to remove the uterus. It’s the only way for them not to know visually.”

  “But you are not going down there.”

  ,“El.” Dean laughed. “She’s dead.”

  “I don’t care.”

  “Well then, we only have one more option.” Dean smiled and handed Ellen the rubber gloves.

  Squeamishly, Ellen walked between Bev’s legs. She cringed and held out her hand. “Speculum.”r />
  ^^^^

  “For as long as I live . . .” Dean said as they hurried into the cryo-lab. “ . . . It will be a vision I will never forget.”

  “Drop it,” Ellen commanded.

  “I never thought I’d see the day when I’d witness someone do a postmortem vaginal hysterectomy with their eyes closed.” He set the covered specimen container on the lab counter.

  “It wasn’t easy.”

  “It was a sight to see.” Dean shook his head. “But we got it. I’m proud of you. You did well.”

  “She was frozen, Dean. It brought back bad memories of reaching into a Thanksgiving turkey . . . and speaking of which, wait until I tell you about Frank reading Shakespeare.”

  “Frank read Shakespeare?” Dean laughed and uncovered the container exposing the uterus encased in fluid. “Whoa. Definitely five months along.”

  A sense of sadness hit Ellen and she actually felt her stomach flutter. “Dean?”

  He picked it up in her voice. “What’s wrong?”

  “I feel bad. There was a baby in there, a child who died. I don’t know if I can do this.”

  “El.” He laid his hand over hers. “If you don’t want to, you don’t have to. I will.”

  “Good. Because, I just don’t know if I can look at the baby, that’s all.” She lowered her head and when she did, she caught glimpse of her watch. “Shit. Joe’s meeting.”

  “Damn it.” Dean covered the case. “We’ll lock this away and finish up later.”

  “In the other back room, away from Frank.”

  “I’ll be right back.” Hurriedly, because he didn’t want to get chastised by Joe for tardiness, Dean swept up the specimen case and carried it to the back until they returned.

  ^^^^

  “What was his reaction?” John Matoose asked Jess outside of warehouse five.

  “Get this. Delayed,” Jess said.

  “You think you were just looking for a good reaction or did he really hesitate.”

  “Oh, he hesitated,” Jess nodded. “You think you’re theory is right?”

  “You mean about Hal setting up Johnny to see what he does?” John shrugged. “I don’t know now. Why would Hal even suspect him?”