Righteous Obsession (42 page)

“She never mentioned a note from you when I spoke with
her last night.”

“Well, I did write one and I left it with the officer
at the front desk.”

“I’ll ask Detective Wickersham about it when I speak
to her later.  Getting back to your call, surely you must have realized it would
alert your son to his imminent arrest and panic him into flight?”

“Detective, do you have children?”

“Yes.”

“If you found out one of your children had done
something wrong before your fellow officers did, wouldn’t you take the chance
to urge him to turn himself in rather than watch him be arrested?”

“Put that way, yes I would.”

“Then you can understand how I felt when I saw that
composite!”  He sighed.  “I guess I was hoping when my wife when faced with
indisputable proof of Dave’s guilt would shock her enough to join me in urging
Dave to give himself up.  It’s obvious to me now how far she’s drifted from
reality.”

“Do you know where your son is?”

“I’m certain he’s in Rome.  I checked our joint
checking account this morning and there’s over a thousand dollars missing from
it.  It was drawn out two days ago and I’m sure Kate used it to buy Dave a
plane ticket to Rome.”

“Why do you think your son tried to kill Debbie
Simpson and Colin?”

“Cait told you Colin is my eldest son?”

“Yes. I can see a resemblance between the two of you.”

“Have you met Colin?”

Madison nodded.  “Yes, I talked with him in the course
of my investigation into Miss Simpson’s attempted murder.  His name came up as
a possible suspect.”

“I have no doubt it was Dave who supplied it.  I think
he tried to kill the Simpson girl because he believed she’d slept with Colin
and I think he tried to kill Colin because he thought I’d love Colin more than
him.”  Jeff sighed again.  “When Dave was born Kate and I were so proud of
him.  He was our only child for six years and we lavished all our attention on
him.  Maybe, that was our mistake.  Maybe, we should have been stricter with
him.”

“I wouldn’t be too quick to assume something you or
your wife did or didn’t do caused this.”

“Maybe not,” Jeff conceded, but sounded unconvinced. 
“Are you going to arrest me?”

“No.  It was probably the wrong decision to call your
son, but you haven’t broken the law.”

Jeff looked visibly relieved.  “What will happen to
Dave when he’s arrested?”

“I can’t say for sure, but he’s facing very serious
charges that carry a heavy sentence.”

“Will you please let me know immediately if you have
any news about Dave?”

“Yes, if you’ll do the same for me.”

“I will,” Jeff promised.

Madison returned to his office and called Wickersham
immediately.  “I’ve gotten back the report on the clothes we took from Father
Michaels’ home and the lab found hair and fiber samples from Debbie Simpson on
a shirt and pants of his.”

“That’s good news!  Have you talked to Jeff Michaels
yet?”

“Yes.”  He detailed his conversation with Jeff.  “He
claims in this note he wrote he told you about himself, Colin, and where Father
Michaels had fled. He said he left it at the front desk.”

“I never got it. Please hold on and I’ll check with
the front desk.”  Wickersham was back in a few minutes.  “The officer at the
desk does remember a man fitting Michaels’ description.  She said he did leave
a note for me, but thinks it might have accidentally gotten tossed, during an
incident involving twenty or so teenagers later that day.”

“Then you believe he told me the truth?”

“Well, we still have only his word for what was in
that note,” Wickersham said pointedly.  “What’s your opinion of him?”

“He strikes me as a straightforward and honest
person.”

“I take it you don’t intend to press any charges?”

“No.  I don’t see that he did anything wrong except
possibly using bad judgment.  Given the same set of circumstances, I might have
done the same thing.”

“Sounds like he got to you,” she commented.

“No, but I can understand where he’s coming from.”

“Well, I’m afraid I can’t share your sympathetic
feelings.  No matter why he called his son, it alerted him to the fact that he
was going to be arrested and caused him to flee.  Michaels anguish is nothing
compared to what the Matthews family is going through at the thought of this
attempted murderer running loose and threatening their lives!”

 Jeff and Caitlin sat in the family room, watching the
evening news.  Dave’s face seemed to be everywhere.  No matter what channels
they turned to – ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN or CNN Headline News, they all identified
Dave as Colin’s attempted murderer.  It was also the lead story on all the
local stations.

“It won’t take them long to find us and we’ll be under
siege,” Jeff said, shutting off the television.  “I think it’d be best if you
left town for a few days, Cait.  Why don’t you go up to the lake house?  You
can invite Jemma to go with you.”  Several years earlier, he and Kathleen had
bought a lake front vacation home in northern Minnesota.

Caitlin stood in front of her father with her arms
crossed in front of her and a stubborn look on her face.  Jeff knew all too
well what that heralded.  “Daddy, I’m not a baby anymore and I don’t need to be
protected!  Either we both go or we both stay!”

“Cait, please do as I ask!  It will give me one less
thing to worry about.”

“No way, Daddy!  I’m not leaving you to face this by
yourself!”

“Okay,” Jeff conceded, holding up his hands.  He shook
his head and smiled.  “I guess Colin isn’t the only one who inherited my
stubborn streak!”

“Great!  What time are we leaving?”

“How about six-thirty?”

“Works for me.”

“You can still invite Jemma, if you like.”

“I’ll call her and see if she can go.”  Caitlin left
to call Jemma on her line while Jeff called his boss and arranged to take an
indefinite leave of absence.  Caitlin came back into the room.  “I told Jemma
we’d pick her up about six-forty-five.”

“Okay.  I’m glad she can come.”  He and Caitlin
packed, boxed up a few groceries and loaded the car.  “We’re going to need more
groceries,” She replied, taking stock.

“We can go shopping once we get to the lake,” Jeff
replied, loading his tackle box and fishing rod into the back of his SUV.  By
the time they were through with their preparations for their trip, it was nearly
eleven o’clock.  Jeff slapped himself on his forehead.  “Damn it!”

“What’s wrong, Daddy?”

“I was going to call Colin, but it’s too late now. 
He’s probably asleep and I don’t want to disturb him.  Damn it!”

“You can call him after we get up to the lake.”

“Yes, and we can both talk to him.  I’m going to
invite him and Alethea to come here and stay with us while he’s recovering.”

“That would be great if they can come, Daddy!  I can’t
wait to meet them and I know Jemma will be totally thrilled!  I hope they can
come!”

Colin sat with a frustrated look on his face.  He was
all ready to leave except for being barefoot.  He glared at his socks and
athletic shoes.  No matter how he positioned himself his wound hurt like hell!

There was a knock on the door and Peter came inside. 
“Are you ready, Son?”

“Yeah, except I can’t get my shoes on,” Colin
grumbled.

“Let me help you,” Peter said, kneeling in front of
him.

“Jesus!”  He groaned.  “I feel like I’m two years-old
again!”

Peter smiled and reminisced as he tied Colin shoes. 
“I did this for your mother when she was pregnant with you because she couldn’t
see her feet, much less bend over and touch them.”

“I know what she must’ve felt like!”  Colin got up and
tugged his T-shirt down, hoping its looseness hid the bulkiness of the bandage
covering his wound.  “What time does our plane leave?”

“Anytime we want it to.  Steve called the president of
your label and convinced him to lend us their corporate jet.  We’ll be able to
fly straight home.”

“That’s good,” Colin sighed.

There was another knock on the door and Peter answered
it to find Steve.  “Well, speak of the devil!”

“Steve, I hear I owe you some thanks!”  Colin called. 
“Dad just told me about you convincing our label to loan us their corporate
jet.”

“It didn’t take that much convincing.  They want to
see you make a full recovery as quickly as possible.”

Steve’s gruff reply didn’t fool Colin.  “Whatever,
thanks!”

“I came to warn you that there’s a mob of media people
in front of the hospital.  Somehow, they found out you’re being dismissed
today.”

Peter stood by the window.  “Yes, I can see there are
about a dozen of them surrounding the limousine.”

“I’ll have it drive around to another entrance,” Steve
decided.

“Don’t do that!”  Colin said.  “I don’t want them
thinking I have something to hide or there’s something I’m ashamed of.”

“Alright, but let me do the talking – okay?”

“On one condition.”

Steve sighed and raised his eyebrows.  “I know I’m
going to regret this.  What’s your condition?”

“I want to make one very brief statement than you can
take over, okay?”

“Do I have a choice?”

Colin grinned.  “No.”

“Alright, but keep it short,” Steve warned him.

“Agreed.”

Alethea came into the room followed by Doctor Trumbull
who said to Colin, “I’ve given Alethea instructions for you to follow at home
and a copy of your medical file for your personal physician.”  He reached
inside his lab coat and pulled out a card.  “If you have any problems or
questions, don’t hesitate to call me.  My home, cell, and office phones are on
here.”

“Thank you,” Alethea said, stowing the card in her
purse and then, impulsively, gave Doctor Trumbull a kiss on his cheek.  “Thank
you for everything you did for Colin.”

“Not at all,” He replied, appearing a bit flustered by
her gesture of thanks.

“Are we ready?”  Steve asked.

Colin shook Doctor Trumbull’s hand.  “Thanks again,
Doc, for saving my butt!”

“You take care now, Colin.”

“I will.”

Amanda, Liam, Alethea’s parents and McGregor were
waiting in the hall.  Colin, his arm around Alethea, followed Peter, Steve into
the hall. Doctor Trumbull joined them.  Amanda gave Doctor Trumbull a hug then
said, “Thank you for everything you did for our son.”

“That goes double for me!”  Peter added, shaking
Doctor Trumbull’s hand.

“You’re more than welcome.  I just did the surgery,
Colin did the rest,” he replied modestly.

Colin gave Louisa a hug and shook Beau’s hand. 
“Thanks for taking good care of my family.  I really appreciate it.”

“You take good care of yourself, Colin,” Louisa
cautioned.

They rode the elevator down to the main floor.  As
Colin approached the front entrance he could see the press, microphones in hand
and camcorders in plentiful supply, milling around the limousine.   They rushed
towards him, waving their microphones and yelling questions when they spotted
him.

“Colin, did you know it was your brother who tried to
kill you?  What was your reaction to the news?”

“Why did your brother want to kill you?”

“Where’s your real father?”

“Did you know Peter Matthews wasn’t your father?”

Colin shrank back, not so much in trying to avoid them
or their questions, but out of real fear that one of them would brush up
against his wound.

“People, please!”  Steve yelled in an attempt to get
them to quiet down so he could speak.  They quit talking and looked at him expectedly. 
“Thank you,” Steve acknowledged them and then continued, “Colin has a brief
statement he’d like to make.”  He stepped out of the way so Colin could speak.

“I’d just like to thank our fans for all their
letters, cards and calls of concern and support!  I’d especially like to thank
the fans who stood outside here day and night!  To all of you – thanks!  I
couldn’t have gotten through this without you!”

When he finished speaking, Steve stepped back in front
of him.  “I know you all have many questions for Colin, but please allow him
enough time to recover from this tragedy.  In the meantime, please direct your
questions to my office or to the publicity department of Atlantic Records. 
Thank you.”

Surrounded by his family and McGregor, Colin made it the
limousine without further difficulty.  He sighed in relief once they were on
their way.  They arrived at the airport without incident and boarded the jet. 
“Boy!  This is pretty posh!”  Peter remarked, looking around him.

“Why don’t you lie down?”  Amanda suggested to Colin.

“I’m okay, Mom,” Colin replied.  Despite his claims,
once they were in the air, he fell asleep immediately.

“Colin?” Alethea shook him very gently and called his
name softly.

He opened his eyes, blinked a couple of times then
yawned.  “Are we home yet?”

“Almost.  We’re just waiting for clearance from the
tower so we can land.”

Amanda came over when she saw he was awake.  “How do
you feel?”  She brushed back his hair and felt his forehead.

“I feel a little tired, but otherwise, okay.”

“You can lay down the moment we get home,” Alethea
said.

When they finally exited the jet, Colin saw there was
a limousine waiting for them.  Devon, Steve’s assistant, stood by it.  She
waved at Steve and called, “Steve!”

“What’s up, Devon?”

“Page called me to warn Colin there’s a dozen or more
reporters camped out on his front lawn.  Apparently, they found out he was
coming home today.”

“Jesus!”  Colin groaned.  “I don’t want to fight my
way through them to get into my house!”

“And there’s no other way to avoid them, is there?” 
Steve asked.

“No.”

“Why don’t you come home with us,” Peter suggested. 
“Just until they give up and leave.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Alethea agreed.

“Fine with me,” Colin said, giving in without
arguing.  He felt tired and weak.

“Your mother and I are going on ahead,” Peter told
them.

“We’ll see you at the house,” Amanda called, taking
hold of her husband’s arm.

“Okay, Mom,” Liam replied.

After dropping Steve, Devon and McGregor off at
Steve’s place, they continued on to Hillsborough.  As the limousine pulled up
in front of the house, Alethea looked around carefully.  “Thank heavens,
there’s no reporters waiting here for you.”

“If they had been, one of the neighbors would have
called the police and had them run off.  Hillsborough has really strict laws,”
Colin remarked as he bent to get out of the limousine.  He winced suddenly and
clutched his side.

“What’s wrong?” Alethea asked, taking hold of his arm.

Colin grimaced and bit his lip.  “It’s really starting
to hurt, but it’s probably because I’m really tired.”

“You two go ahead and I’ll get the luggage,” Liam
said.

“Thanks, Liam,” Colin replied gratefully.

Amanda opened the front door as they came across the
lawn.  Her face puckered with worry as she looked him over carefully.  “Are you
okay, Colin?  You’re awfully pale.”

“You do look exhausted, Son.  You’d better take it
easy for the rest of the day,” Peter advised, joining Amanda in the foyer.  He
glanced out the door.  “I’ll give Liam a hand with the luggage.”

“Colin does need to lie down,” Alethea agreed,
steering him towards the stairs.

“I made up Colin’s old room for the two of you.”

“Thanks, Mom,”

“Colin?”

“Huh?”

“I know you’re exhausted, but could you call your
grandparents?  They’ve been worried sick about you and if you could talk to
them for a few minutes, I think it would reassure them greatly.”

“I can do that,” Colin replied.

“Thanks for doing this.  I really appreciate it.”

Alethea got Colin upstairs and settled in bed.  They
got interrupted briefly when Peter and Liam brought up their luggage.  Colin
called both sets of grandparents and talked to them briefly.  He assured them
he was recovering fine and promised to visit them when he felt a little
stronger.  Grandma Beth wanted to know if there was anything she could do for
him.  “You know, Grandma, the whole time I was eating hospital food, all I
could think about was your blueberry cobbler,” he confessed.  “Maybe, you could
make it when Alethea and I come over?  Great!  I’m looking forward to it.”  He
finished talking to his grandparents and gave his cell to Alethea.  He sank
back into the pillows, feeling his last ounce of strength drain out of him.

Alethea drew the comforter over him and sat down
beside him.  “So, this is your old room?  Boy!  If these walls could talk, huh?” 
She teased him.

Colin smiled.  “It’s probably a good thing they
can’t!”

“Are you still having pain?  Doctor Trumbull gave me
some medication for it, if you are.”

“It hurts some, but I can handle it.”

“Okay.  I’ll leave them right here in case you change
your mind.”  She stayed with him until he fell asleep then went downstairs into
the kitchen. She found Amanda, peering into the refrigerator and searching
through the cupboards.