Damn Victor, now is not the time! Todd stopped what he was doing and sat back on the couch. Go back to sleep, whatever you were doing, just leave me alone! He glanced down at Blair, who was looking at him with bewilderment. “Sorry Babe, someone just dropped in unannounced.” He mouthed the name“Victor”. “Talk about a ‘wet blanket’, you take the cake, Victor.” Todd reverted to talking aloud. It seemed more natural than carrying on a conversation just in his head.
Blair groaned, she and Todd had just been getting comfortable on the couch. It figured Victor would be the one to interrupt. Whoa, did I just think that? My god, I did. She looked at Todd and for the first time realized she believed he was talking to Victor. He wasn’t acting crazy. In fact, he was upset, just like he would have been if Victor had walked in on them.
“Hey don’t blame me, I just regained consciousness. How was I supposed to know I’d go looking for you and get an image of... Let me tell you. I could have done without it.”
“Next time, just try calling my name, before, as you say, you come looking.”
At Todd’s words, Blair suddenly began to cover up. Surely Victor didn’t see what they were doing.
“I’m just kidding, brother. I can’t see anything, any more than you can see me. Let’s just say your emotions were pretty high and it wasn’t hard to figure out what would make you feel that good. I’m guessing, deeply passionate emotions fall into the same category as intense pain.”
“You’re a riot, Victor. It’s a good thing you can’t see, I’d have to have your eyes removed otherwise, and that might ruin your homecoming to Tea. Still, I’m glad you’re alive. Do you have any idea who beat you up?”
"No, it’s like I told you, they still have me blindfolded and usually use some sort of voice modulator to disguise their voices. Hold it! I think I hear someone.”
“Todd, what’s going on?” Blair finished buttoning up her blouse and looked at Todd waiting for an answer.
He smiled sadly and lightly touched the top button. Since he was waiting for some sort of response from Victor he leaned over and gently kissed Blair, letting her know how much he regretted the interruption. When he broke the kiss, he answered her question. “It’s Victor,”
“I gathered that from your half of the conversation, but why have you stopped talking.”
“He said his captors have always talked to him with voice changers, but he thinks he might be getting a break. Blair, if he can even recognize one voice, we might have a clue who’s doing all this.”
“Even if he knows the voice, how is that going to help us find him?”
“Blair, think, if we can put a name to the voice, then we have someone to track down. In this day and age, technology is our friend and if your name is known, it’s a lot harder to hide. Hang on, I’ll try and get him to let me know what’s going on at his end.”
Blair couldn’t believe she was actually sitting there waiting for an answer from a dead man. But if Todd was right, his brother was very much alive. Tea and Jack would be overjoyed. She had to admit it was fascinating. It was like listening in on one side of a phone conversation except Todd wasn’t using a phone. “So is he saying anything else?”
“Victor, what’s going on?”
“No wonder Irene kept me instead of you, you were probably just as demanding as a baby. I think we just got a break. The guys made a mistake. They think I’m still unconscious. I can overhear two of them talking outside my room. One of them sounds French. He’s talking to some other guy. The Frenchman is saying the other guy knew what he was signing up for when he wanted to use his training in the war to help. Now the second guy is saying, he never signed up for framing a guy for murder.”
“Do you recognize either of the voices?” Todd felt a chill go down his back. Were they possibly talking about him?
“Hell no, I don’t know any Frenchmen. Wait a minute. I just heard a name. Don’t know if it means anything. I think the french guy said the name, Louis.“
Todd frowned. It couldn’t be. “Did he say, Louis or Louie?”
“Yeah, that’s it. Louie, isn’t that french for Louis?”
“Can you hear any more of the conversation?”
“No, they’re moving away. So I’m being held by some Frenchman. What the hell do the French want with that thing Irene was trying to get from you?”
“I’m not sure why you’re hearing some french guy. What concerns me is the name of the other guy. I’ve been looking for a guy named Louie since your death.” Todd found himself looking into Blair’s eyes.
“Well, Louis or Louie, whoever he is, didn’t sound too happy. Do you think my guy and your guy are one and the same? Oops, I’ve got to go, I think someone’s coming in here. You’ve got to find me.”
“Victor wait. Damn, I’ve lost him. Blair, I’m wondering now if Irene was lying to me. What if she never had Louie? What if I turned the gun over to someone who used it to set me up?”
“I don’t understand. Do you think Louie shot Victor?”
“I don’t know what to think anymore. I gave the gun to Louie. I’m still shaky on when I did that as far as time is concerned. We know he didn’t give the gun to John, maybe he gave it to the Frenchman instead.”
“So you think this Frenchman turned around and used it to kill Victor. Okay, I could see that, but we have a lot of holes to fill. Tea supposedly found Victor and he died in her arms. Todd, we have to open that burial plot.”
He knew she was right. “Are you up for some grave robbing tonight?”
“Are you serious? You can’t just go dig him up. I was thinking along the lines of going to Bo and asking his help for an exhumation order.”
“Bo’s not going to help me. I am sure Nora has him convinced I killed Victor. That cemetery has to be one of the easiest places to get in and out of unseen. Look, we’ll dig him up, check the casket, and if there’s a body there, I’ll get something like hair that we can get DNA on. On second thought, you don’t have to come, this is my mess. It might be best if you were home with the kids. If I get caught, I’ll just explain that as his brother, I have a right to make sure it was really Victor in the ground.”
“You’re not going to that cemetery without me. I’ll be your lookout. If someone starts to come at least I can give you a warning. That way you won’t get caught. Like you said, Nora would like any reason to put you back behind bars.”
****
It proved to be a miserable night, for what they had planned. Much like the night Victor died, the rain was pouring steadily as Todd and Blair arrived at the cemetery. “Todd, I can’t believe you want to do this tonight. We could be at La Boulaie sitting in front of the fire.” Blair wrapped her jacket around her tighter and pulled up the hood to hide her blonde hair. I must be crazy. I’m going to let Todd dig up Victor’s grave. Even as she thought it, she looked at Todd and knew in her heart she was going to go through with it. Todd was determined to find out who was in Victor’s casket, and when they made love earlier, Blair realized she would help him no matter what. But damn, why did it have to be pouring.
“Yeah, I can see it now. Just as you and I start to relax, Jack will come in and rip me a new one for being in the same house with you. I don’t think I’m ever going to make headway with my son until I can give him back Victor.” Todd had glanced over at her as he answered her. He couldn’t help smiling. She was beginning to look like a drowned kitten, but she was still standing next to him ready to help. He pulled her into his arms. “I’ll do this as quick as I can. You can get out of the weather if you stand closer to the Lord Mausoleum. You’ll be able to see me and anyone who might come out in this weather. By the way. I think you look great, even all wet and I promise you, I’ll find a way to warm you up when we’re finished.” He gave her a quick kiss, grabbed the shovel, and walked to Victor’s grave.
Blair looked after him, touching her lips briefly. Todd was just full of surprises lately. He had definitely become more demonstrative since his return. She wiped the rain out of her eyes, moved to the sheltered spot Todd spoke of, and watched as he began digging. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to be doing it that night. No one else would be crazy enough to be out in the rain.
Todd dug like a man possessed. He knew in his heart there was an answer waiting for him in the casket. He just had to get to it. Although the ground was softened by the rain it also made it heavier. Soon he was covered from head to toe in mud. It didn’t bother him, he just recalled lying in the woods covered in blood and dirt after he had flung himself off the bridge at his mother’s cabin. He had survived that night and a number of others, all of them with injuries. At least this time he was injury-free and it was just mud, no blood in sight. He didn’t know how long he had been shoveling but suddenly he struck something solid. He had reached the casket.
The rain had begun letting up and Blair heard the thud as Todd hit the coffin. She crept over to the grave and pulled out her flashlight. She gasped as the light hit Todd, he looked like some wildman, primitive and dangerous, covered in mud. This was the man who had survived in the wilderness when he was on the run. He had so much more strength than most people gave him credit for. That was why he survived Irene.
“Blair, shine the light down here so I can find the latch.”
She moved to the edge of the grave and shone the light as Todd scooped mud from the side of the casket. He finally cleared enough mud away from the side to reach the latches holding the lid closed. Picking up the shovel he brought the edge down hard on them.
In the silence of the cemetery, the noise was deafening and Blair jumped at the sound. She almost dropped the flashlight, her hand tightening as it started to slip free. “Are we really going to do this?”
“Blair, I have to know. Here goes.” Todd reached down and lifted the lid.
"Oh my God!" Blair screamed and dropped the flashlight.
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