My Brother's Keeper #9

John looked at Todd.  “I’ll ride with you, Todd.  I’m not letting you out of my sight tonight.  Better yet, I’ll drive.  I wouldn’t want you passing out again.  It’s a good thing you got all your money back recently, you’re going to make a mess of your car.”  Before he could stop him, Todd slapped a muddy hand on his back.

 

“Why, John, that’s right obliging of you, and here I thought you didn’t like me anymore.  Blair, did I ever tell you how John let me stay at his place for a short time?” Todd took the opportunity to then throw his arm around John’s shoulder getting even more mud on him.  “He was really understanding when I first got back into town.”  He smiled a big smile right into John's face.

Blair was finding it hard not to laugh. Todd had managed to get John pretty filthy with just a few little actions.  “No, you didn’t, I had no idea you and John got that close.  John, you should have told me.”

John scowled. “Hands off, Todd.”  He waited as Todd removed his arm.  It was because of those few days with Todd as his houseguest, that John knew how Todd liked his little jokes.   He met Todd’s eyes and answered Blair. “I couldn’t tell anyone when he contacted me, someone was trying to kill him at the time.”

Todd was satisfied.  In one little moment, he managed to remind John of the circumstances of their first meeting and he also managed to have a little fun at John’s expense.   He had accomplished what he had set out to do.  He stepped away from John and grabbed Blair’s hand.  “Shall we go, I’m ready to get into something clean. Hmm, it looks like that jacket might need cleaning, too, John.  You didn’t by chance leave any at Vicki’s when you were with Natalie, did you?“ He chuckled and kept moving toward his car.

Blair had been stunned by John’s response.  She had never been told about the attempts on Todd’s life.  Before she could ask for more of an explanation, Todd was pulling her toward the car. She looked back at John and struggled to catch up to Todd. “What did he mean someone was trying to kill you?”  

Todd ignored her at first and just unlocked the car. Damn it, Manning, you blew it.  Now you’ll have to tell her more about everything.  “Get in Blair, it’s nothing.  It’s all over.”

Blair got in and turned to him as he sat down next to her.  “Is it, Todd?  I don’t think so and neither do you.  We wouldn’t have been looking into this Victor thing if you believed it was over.”

John overhead the last comment and turned to both of them as he got into the driver’s seat.  “She’s right, Todd.  What you found there tonight means there’s a lot more going on.  I’m not sure I believe you’re in contact with Victor, but that sure as hell wasn’t him in the casket.”

Silence reigned as they all thought about what they had found.  Finally, Todd broke the silence.  “That thing in Victor’s casket was almost human.  It was years ahead of most robots.  It would take an organization with deep pockets to be able to fund research to make something like that.  If Irene wasn’t dead and her organization wasn’t already dissolved, I would have bet money she had something to do with this.  Now I’m not so sure.”

“I agree, this sound and looks like something the CIA might have a hand in, but like you said, Irene’s group has been compromised.”  John pulled into the entrance of LaBoulaie.  “We’ll see you later, Blair.”

“Absolutely not, I’m going with you to Pine Valley.  I want to know about that thing, too.  Either you wait for me or I’ll get there by myself.”

Todd knew Blair.  She would go, no matter what. “Might as well just wait, McBain.  I know Blair, once she makes up her mind, there’s no changing it.”

John nodded. “We’ll wait.” Blair left to change and John turned to Todd.  “You wouldn’t care to elaborate on these conversations with Victor, would you?  Just how long have you been talking to him?”

Todd kept his face perfectly blank.  “He contacted me shortly after his death.  But like I  just told you, I wasn’t sure it was really him.  The second time, I was sick from the bullet Irene put in me, so naturally, I questioned it again.  It was our third conversation that convinced me he was who he said he was.”

“What was it about that conversation that convinced you?”  John was watching Todd’s face for any sign that he was fabricating his story.  The fact that Todd met his eyes and didn’t avoid them said a lot.  There was a tone in his voice that indicated he was telling the truth, but John still felt Todd was keeping something from him.

“Let’s just say what he told me was proof to me he was alive.” Todd’s eyes left John’s as they picked up Blair coming back toward the car.  He couldn’t help feeling relieved when she climbed back in next to him.

Blair sensed Todd’s tension and looked at John. “What were you two talking about?”

“Just getting some clarification, that’s all,”  John said.

Blair had grabbed a towel on her way out and handed it to Todd.  “You better try to wipe some of that mud off yourself and your shoes before you enter Vicki’s kitchen.  If she sees you, you’re going to have a lot of explaining to do.”

Todd grimaced.  He would really have to be careful not to run into his sister.  She would come down hard on him if she found out he opened Victor’s grave.  “I didn’t think of that, I should have tried to clean up at your place, Blair.  Thanks for the towel.”

Blair leaned in closer to Todd. “Okay, tell.  What were you and John talking about?” she whispered.

Todd knew John was watching from the front seat, and pretended to go in for a kiss so he could get close to her ear. “He was grilling me about Victor.”  The closeness was too hard to resist as her fragrance wafted towards him. Before she knew it, he took advantage of the moment to plant a soft kiss on her neck.

Blair gasped softly at his caress and looked deeply into his hazel eyes.  She had wasted entirely too much time since his return.  You were a fool to ever doubt him, Blair.  He’s been giving you signals from the moment he kissed you at the premiere.  Caught up in the moment, she turned her head and met his lips with her own. She savored the softness and was just getting deeper into the kiss when she was jarred back to reality by John’s cough.

Todd met John’s eyes in the mirror and glared.  He noticed the slight smile on the detective’s face.  The bastard was getting a kick out of playing spoiler.  Todd reached and softly touched Blair’s cheek to let her know he was also disappointed the kiss had been interrupted.

Blair nodded and sat back in the seat. Her heart was still pounding from the unfinished kiss and if Bo ended up letting Todd go, she was determined to finish it later.

Todd had no trouble sneaking into Vicki’s kitchen and up to his room from the back stairs.  He took a quick shower and changed, grabbing a dry shirt and jacket for John.  He almost made it to the stairs when Vicki stopped him.

“I thought you were in for the night, but I see you’re headed back out.  I hope you’re not planning on sleeping at the office tonight.” She had noticed the extra clothing.

Todd looked a little sheepish, “Uh. no, I’m going to meet Blair.  This is just in case I get lucky.”

“Todd, don’t push her.  If you’re meant to get back together, you will.”

“Right, I’ll try and remember that.  Well, need to go.  See you, Sis.”  He headed down the stairs before Vicki had more questions.

An hour later, they rolled into the sleepy town of Pine Valley.  Bo and the coroner were already examining the remains as John, Blair, and Todd entered.  Blair noticed Natalie had stuck around, waiting for the results along with Bo.

Bo looked over as they came in. “Damn it, Manning.   Why is it the minute you show back up in town, everything gets complicated?”

Todd always loved to pull Bo’s chain. “I guess it’s a special talent of mine.  Can’t let you get too complacent, Commissioner.”  He would never like Bo, there was too much between them concerning Nora, but he had to admit Bo was a fair man.  He had listened to them when they had explained their reasons for the earlier event of the evening.  He had even taken the initiative to check it out without bringing Tea and Vicki into it.  For that, Todd grudgingly backed down from saying anything more.  “So, what’s the verdict?”

“Blair was right, there were traces of blood not destroyed by the fire.  We’re waiting to see what that analysis is.  Fingerprints were also found on the forehead and on both arms.  I sent them to Fish a minute ago, we should get word soon.”  The phone in the office went off and everyone jumped.  It was a fax coming through.  Bo reached and picked it up looking at the results.

“Don’t keep us in suspense. Whose fingerprints are on the body?”  Todd needed to know if this was the body Tea had touched.  Victor had insisted he wasn’t hurt.

“Tea’s prints were on it, but three other sets were also found.” Bo said looking up from the fax.

“Wait a minute, Bo.  There should have only been three sets of prints on that body.  Tea’s and the two EMTs. Who does the fourth set belong to?  Has Fish talked to the EMTs?” asked John.

“They’ve disappeared.  It seems they quit their jobs and left town a couple of days after Victor’s death.  The coroner is another story.   Brody is picking him up as we speak.  He’s got some explaining to do.”  Bo’s cell phone went off and he answered it.  “ Hello, Buchanan here.  Brody, did you get him?  Great, that‘s just great.” he said disgustedly.

“What happened, Bo?” Todd had an uneasy feeling they were about to get some more bad news.  Bo sounded pissed.

“Hold on, Brody.” Bo met Todd’s eyes and then he looked at the others waiting patiently. “The coroner’s dead.  Witnesses said he was on his way to his car when another vehicle lost control in the rain, hit him and drove away.  They said it was dark and it was during the time the rain started pouring, visibility was pretty bad.  Brody wasn’t able to get much information on the car.”

John interjected. “Does Brody have a time for the incident?”

“I know what you’re thinking, John.  Brody, when did this take place?  I see.  Okay, do what you have to.  Block off the scene, I don’t think it was an accident..  I’m sending Natalie back with her crew.  She should be there within the hour.  We need to try and find that vehicle as soon as possible.”

Todd said what was on everyone’s mind.  “They’re tying up loose ends.  I’m betting that the security guard at the cemetery is behind it.   He alerted his bosses and now they’re getting rid of all ties back to them.”

Bo turned to Natalie.  “I know it’s late but you and your men aren’t through.  You need to get to that scene.  If we’re lucky, you might be able to find something.  Be careful. the weather is still nasty.”   He turned back to Todd.  “It definitely looks like there’s some truth to your assumptions.  I want to know how you’re in contact with Victor and I want to know now!”

“You’re not going to believe me.  Blair is still trying to.  Victor and I are communicating in here.” He pointed to his head.  Even as he said it, he knew how insane it sounded.  There wasn’t even a way to prove it.

“Todd, enough of your bull.  I want the truth!”

“That is the truth.  I don’t know how it happened or why, but shortly after I was put in jail, Victor started talking to me in my head.  He seemed to think we were able to communicate because we’re identical twins.”  Todd could see the skepticism written on Bo’s and John’s face.  “I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.”

Blair, took his hand.  “Bo, I believe him.   It is far-fetched, but stranger things have happened.  I was present this afternoon when Todd had a conversation with Victor.  It’s not just the communication aspect.  Todd feels things when Victor is being hurt and visa versa.  In the middle of a conversation with me, Todd doubled over in pain.  He told me someone was beating the crap out of Victor.”

Todd jumped back in. “Bo, when you found me on the bathroom floor, I had just been shocked. At the same time somewhere else, Victor was strapped in a chair being electrocuted. It was just like the one Irene used on me.  John, if you were at the compound, you know about the chair.”

John remembered the chair.  Irene had used it on Baker.  “There is such a chair, Bo.  If we didn’t have that so-called body, I would be more skeptical, but Todd got his information somewhere.  I have to give him the benefit of the doubt.”

Bo couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Todd had John fooled too. He had clearly lost it.  Bo was trying to figure out if Todd was angling for an insanity plea, when all of them were startled by the phone in the office ringing again.  Another fax was coming through. He picked it up, read it and handed it to John. “We’ve got a match on the fourth set of prints.  They belong to Tomas Delgado.”

My Brother's Keeper #8

         Natalie’s stomach lurched when she looked down into the casket that was supposed to hold her Uncle Victor. She had been expecting a terrible smell and signs of decay, but nothing prepared her for the truth. She turned to her Uncle Todd. “Did you do that?”

         “I’ll tell you the same thing I just told Bo. That’s what we just found. Blair and I are just as dumbfounded as you guys. I don’t know who put that in there, but they had a reason and I think whoever it was, has Victor.”

         “Why on earth would someone want Victor’s dead body?”

         Blair looked at Natalie. “Oh come on, don’t you see it. Victor isn’t dead. Someone has him, just like they had Todd all those years.”

         “Blair, there was an autopsy.” replied Natalie.

         “Oh yeah, and they found a 9-millimeter bullet in him. Isn’t it obvious, somebody paid off the coroner and some EMT’s. I think this so-called animatronic Victor lookalike is what died in Tea’s arms. Granted this thing is light years ahead of those things we see at Disney. It looks so real, but I’m betting when Bo takes this thing to Pine Valley, they’re going to find Tea’s fingerprints on it and traces of O-negative blood. I think someone went to a lot of trouble to make it look like Todd might have had something to do with his brother’s murder.”

         “You can’t be serious. This is a joke. Uncle Bo, John, surely you don’t think that‘s what happened.” Natalie looked at her Uncle and her ex-fiance. They weren’t laughing. She glanced over at her Uncle Todd. He had his eyes closed and his face skyward as the rain began to fall heavily again. This night was crazy and his behavior was even more off the wall than she remembered.

         Bo reacted as the rain began to fill the casket. “Natalie, get your team and remove that body, pronto. I also want the casket taken and checked out. You heard Blair, all of it goes to the Pine Valley Coroner’s office. John, see if you can track down the EMT’s that worked the night of Victor’s death. Blair and Todd, we’re not finished, but I suggest you go home and get cleaned up. I’ll let you know what we find out. If I find any evidence you two planted this thing, Addie will be babysitting for quite a while.”

         “I swear we didn’t do this Bo.” Blair turned to Todd. “Todd, are you alright?” He had gotten really still.

         Todd hadn’t been able to resist turning his muddy face to the sky and letting the rain wash him clean. Suddenly he was standing on the dock soaking wet. The rain was washing down his face and he relished it. All those months in a sterile room. He reached into his pocket and drew it out. Blair was right. He didn’t want to go to jail. He looked at the gun in his hand.

          Bo’s attention went to Todd as Blair ask him her question. Todd seemed unaware of it and instead had let go of her and was just staring off into space. They all watched baffled as Todd reached into an imaginary pocket and drew out an invisible object only he could see.

           Blair tried again to get his focus. “Todd, what is it?” Now she was scared. It was as if she wasn’t there.

John’s eyes narrowed as he realized that Todd thought he was holding a gun. Was Todd reliving Victor’s death? Maybe now they would find out what occurred.

Todd lifted the gun, intent on throwing it into the water.

“Hold it right, there.”

Todd swung his arm around and aimed the gun. Then stopped as he recognized the man. “Louie?” Suddenly the scene in front of his eyes shifted and Todd was staring at Victor, his gun pointed at him. The gun went off, and Todd saw red appear on the front of Victor’s shirt and then everything went black.

John was surprised to hear Louie’s name. What had caused Todd to remember the vet at that particular moment? John was about to question him when he suddenly folded to the ground.

“Todd!” Blair immediately dropped to the ground beside him, trying to bring him around.

John joined her. He felt for a pulse and it was good and strong. “I think he just fainted.”

Bo walked over. “That’s the second time in the last couple of weeks. Or has he had spells we don’t know about Blair?”

“This is the first time for me. What do you mean the second?” She looked up at Bo.

“I found him passed out on the floor in the bathroom at the courthouse a couple of weeks ago. He said he got dizzy and put it down to his injury from Irene. Look, he’s coming around.”

Todd felt the rain hitting his face and slowly opened his eyes to see three faces looking down at him. “What happened?”

“You tell us.” Bo got down next to John. “This has happened before. What do you remember?”

Todd knew Bo was referring to the time when he felt Victor being shocked, but nothing like that had happened this time. “The last thing I remember was trying to get some of the mud off my face in this rain.  I closed my eyes and found myself thinking about how good it felt to not be in the compound.” Even as he said it he suddenly recalled seeing Louie in the rain. “Louie!” He sat up abruptly looked around, hoping to spot the guy again.

“He’s not here, Todd,” John said.

“But he was right there...” He stopped and looked at Blair and she shook her head “no.”

“Todd, I don’t like this.  Are you sure you’re alright?” Blair knew why Todd had Louie on his mind, but his collapse alarmed her. “Why didn’t you tell me about the episode in the Courthouse?”

“It was nothing, Blair.   It was like I told Bo, I leaned over to tie my shoe and I guess I fainted. You know I was still recovering from the gunshot wound Irene gave me.”

“That might explain that time, but not tonight. A few minutes ago you were somewhere else. If I didn’t know better I’d say you were having some sort of flashback. What were you seeing, Todd?” Bo asked.

“I told you, it was raining and I...” Todd looked down at his hand. “What did I do?” he felt chilled. Had he relived the memory of shooting Victor? Had he given himself away before he could bring Victor home?

John spoke up.”You said you saw Louie. I think you were remembering your last encounter with him, the night Victor was killed.  It was a rainy night much like this one.  That must have triggered it.”

Todd nodded, “I guess, it’s never happened before.” He was telling the truth. The whole flashback thing was a little scary but the loss of time was worse. It was too reminiscent of losing time after Victor was killed. “Would you mind giving me a hand up? I’d like to get home and change.  I want to be in Pine Valley for the results on our Bogus Victor. “

“Who said you could be there?” bristled Bo.

“He’s my brother.  I know, you think I shot him.  I have a right to find out what’s going on. Someone is setting me up and I want to know why?  I also want to find Victor.”

John frowned. “You really believe he’s alive. Why? I would think you’d be happy if he stayed lost. After all, he stole your life.”

“I told you, and I told my sister and Tea.  I didn’t kill him even if he deserved it. Blair was right, I’ve been locked away from my family long enough. I won’t go back to prison. Finding him is the only way I can prove to everyone I had nothing to do with the shooting or his disappearance.”

“There’s something you’re not telling us. This was a pretty drastic way to find out if he was dead or not.” Bo gestured to the casket being lifted out of the ground. “Tell me Blair, how did Todd convince you to help him with this scheme?”

Blair looked at Todd.  She squeezed his hand, “You’ve got nothing to lose. Tell them.”

“Tell us what?  Are you finally going to come clean?  What did you do with Victor?” John asked.

Todd let go of Blair and turned, facing John directly. “How many times do I have to say this.  I didn’t shoot my brother.  He’s still alive. I just don’t know where?” He pushed his hair back off his face and moved his shoulders attempting to relieve the stress of the moment.

John was taken aback. Todd wasn’t backing down from his assertion that Victor was alive. “Okay, according to you Victor is alive. How do you know this?”

“I’d like the answer to that, too,” said Bo.

“Because he told me so.” Todd had had enough.  He was filthy and wanted to get the questioning over so he could find out more about the thing in Victor’s grave. “Look, I know this sounds crazy. That’s why Blair and I came out here.  I needed to know if I was getting crazy or if my conversations with him were real.  If he was in the grave, then I was losing it, but if he wasn’t then I could start taking him seriously.  He’s not in that grave. So that means he’s really out there somewhere and is wanting my help to find him.”

“Wait a minute.  What do you mean, your conversations with him?  Are you telling us you’ve actually talked to him? Why the hell haven’t you told us about this?” Bo was furious.  Just what were Todd and Victor trying to pull?

Todd hesitated. Now you’ve done it. The minute you tell them you’ve been talking to Victor in your head, they’re going to lock you up and throw away the key. Think quick, Manning, you’ve got to find a way to get their minds back on finding him and not on the conversations. “Look, that doesn’t matter right now. Yes, I’ve been communicating with him, but it’s not like I really believed it was him to start with.  I didn’t say anything because I wasn’t sure. Someone could have been playing a sick joke on me.  But this isn’t a joke now.  That thing in Victor’s grave is definitely not him.  So that means, the guy I’ve been talking to is probably my brother.  That’s all I know right now.”

Bo scowled. “We’re going to talk more about this. Go get cleaned up and meet us in Pine Valley. John, give Fish a call and have him check into the EMTs.  I want you to stay with Manning and Blair.  We’ve got one more puzzle.  Fish told me the groundskeeper said there were no security guards on duty here at night.”

“But Bo, wasn’t he the one that called you here?” asked Blair.

“Yeah, but he must have thought we would be here before you got the grave completely uncovered.  I think he was as surprised as us that you had opened the casket already. You said you saw him doing something with his phone right before he left. My guess is, he got instructions from someone and took off.  If you’re telling the truth about Victor, Todd, then it’s a whole new ball game.”

“It’s the truth, Bo. I swear,” replied Todd.

            “We’ll see,” Bo turned and watched as the meat wagon began to head out. “We’ll see.”

My Brother's Keeper #7

          Todd dropped the lid as Blair fainted and fell towards him.“Blair!” He managed to catch her, hugging her close.

She began stirring quickly as the rain hit her face. Opening her eyes, she saw Todd’s face close to hers and realized she was in his arms. She wrapped her arms around him and the memory came flooding back. “My God, Todd, what is that in Victor’s casket?”

“I don’t know what the hell it is, but it’s certainly not Victor.” He set Blair back on her feet. “Are you okay? I know it was a shock.”

She shuddered and hugged him tighter. “Shock doesn’t begin to cover it. Todd, we have to let Tea and Bo know. There’s no way that thing is Victor. So that means his body is missing or you truly are in contact with a very much alive Victor.” She stepped back as Todd reached to open the lid once again. This time the shock was less as they viewed the thing lying in Victor’s casket.

The shape was that of a man but no man alive. It was shriveled and melted around what appeared to be some sort of metallic skeleton. Parts of what remained of Victor’s face could be seen on one-half of the skull, but the rest was sunken and misshapen. The chest and shirt looked like it had been exposed to some sort of interior fire leaving crisp blackened edges of the skin or whatever the shell had been made of. “Todd, what could have burned or melted it that way?”

“My guess is some sort of device must have been triggered to destroy the shell, once the body was buried. This thing is burned from the inside out.”

Blair looked in shock. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Hey, I’ve watched some sci-fi movies in my time. Besides, look, obviously, there was a fire of some sort,” he gestured to the gaping hole in the chest and the other ones down the arms and legs. Todd carefully reached in and touched the contents. “This is some sort of artificial skin. The unburned portion feels like the real thing. Only an organization like Irene’s or another like hers would have the technology for something like this. They wanted us to believe Victor was dead.”

“I’ve seen enough, Todd. We should call John or Bo.” Blair felt a little squeamish as Todd peeled a piece of burnt skin away and dropped it in a small plastic baggie. Then she reached into her coat pocket for her cell phone.

“Don’t move. You’re both in a lot of trouble,” said an unfamiliar voice.

Blair looked around to see a security guard holding a gun on them. Todd stood up, pocketed the baggie, and turned to face the man.

“Look,” said Todd. “There’s a reason for this. I’ll give you a thousand dollars to walk away and tell the police you found the grave disturbed but the ones who had dug it had disappeared.” Suddenly a light flashed in Todd’s face and he held up his hand trying to make out who was holding it.

“It’s a little late for that, Manning. We’re already here.” Bo replied.

“Did you hate the guy so much you had to desecrate his grave, Todd? You almost had me convinced you didn’t kill him, but this beats all.” John moved up and stood next to Bo.

“Bo, John, it’s not what you think? We were about to call you.” Blair took off her cap as the rain had stopped and ran a hand through her hair nervously. “I know this looks bad, but Todd’s right, we had a reason for doing this.”

“I expected something like this from Todd, but Blair, I thought you were smarter,” Bo said.

“Don’t do that Bo, you don’t have the vaguest idea what this is about. Todd’s different, but not one of you is even willing to see that. He’s trying to find out what happened the night Victor supposedly died, but all of you just want to tag him as the culprit. Well, guess what? You‘re all so high and mighty. Do you think we desecrated Victor’s grave? How can you desecrate a grave if there’s no corpse?”

At that moment Todd felt he was truly back home. Blair was standing by his side defending him, the way she used to. He wanted to stop the world and just sweep her into his arms, but he realized they still had to get out of their current predicament.

John looked at Bo and back to Blair. “What do you mean there’s no corpse? Blair, I was there. I saw the body and watched the paramedics remove it from Tea’s house. You were at Victor’s service and watched the burial. The coroner said he was killed with a nine-millimeter weapon. My God, you’re standing on top of his body. Of course, there’s a corpse.”

Blair looked at Todd. “You tell them. It’s your right. Go ahead, show the oh-so-smart-police of Llanview just how dumb they really are.”

Todd smiled at her and then looked back up at Bo and John. “She’s right. We’re standing on top of something, but it isn’t Victor. I doubt it even has a name. Come forward and see what we found.” He made a big flourish and a wave of his hand as Bo and John stepped forward and looked down. ‘Ta Da! Meet the late great Podd Manning!”

“What the hell are you pulling, Todd? What did you do with Victor?"

“Come on, Bozo. Do you think I switched bodies? Look around you. Do you see Victor anywhere? Take a look at the casket. It’s scorched on the inside. The thing, whatever it is, burned inside it. I had nothing to do with this. Perhaps I should be asking just what kind of coroner can’t tell a real body from a fake one.”

John stood staring down at the sight in front of him, then asked. “Todd, why did you and Blair come here tonight?” He looked into Todd’s eyes, waiting for an answer. From the moment he had met Todd, he had gotten the truth from him. Would he continue the trend?

Todd met John’s eyes. “I came because I don’t believe my brother is dead. It’s hard to explain and I’m not sure you would understand. But this, this tells me I might be right. Something is going on.”

John reached out a hand. “Come out of there, Blair.” She grabbed hold and John pulled her up to ground level. He then jump down and joined Todd. “Move aside, Todd.”

Todd let John slip past him and watched as John checked out the thing in Victor’s grave. “Well, do you see what I mean, John? Someone went to a lot of trouble to make us think Victor was dead.”

Bo knelt down, his light focused on the grotesque visage staring blankly toward the sky. He flinched at the recognizable portion of the face that identified the object as Victor Lord, Jr. His flashlight fell across the rest of the exposed body and he noted the structure. Todd was right. There was no way the coroner would ever have identified this monstrosity as being human, much less, Victor. He must have been paid off. How many other people had been in on the fraud and where was the real Victor? Bo turned round to tell the security guard he could put down the gun, but the man had disappeared. “That’s strange. Did any of you see the guard leave?”

“I did. He got this weird look on his face when John jumped in with Todd. I saw him pull out his phone and look at what was probably some sort of message and then he just melted back into the darkness.” Blair looked at Bo and saw his frown. “What? I just thought he got some message from his wife or something.”

Bo got his own phone out and call the police department. “Fish, get hold of the cemetery groundskeeper and find out who was working security tonight and get back to me. Also, send the meat wagon here, and don’t say anything to anyone else about it. Do you understand?”

Down in the grave, Todd smirked at John, “I guess old Podd here is going for a ride. What are you going to do, Bo? You can’t take it back to the Llanview morgue. They can’t be trusted.”

“We’ll take it to Pine Valley. I intend to get some answers.” Bo looked around again. it bothered him that the guard had just left without even an explanation. His phone rang and he answered. “What did you find out, Fish?” He listened and found himself getting angry. “Thanks for the info. I hear the van coming. Remember, keep this whole conversation to yourself.” He leaned over and offered his hand. “Get out of there, you two.” He hauled John up and then they helped Todd out. “You’re a mess, Todd. We’ll try and get you something else to wear. Blair, you should go home.”

“Wait a minute, I’m not letting you put Todd in jail without me.” Blair had moved to stand beside Todd, putting an arm around his waist.

“Blair, he opened a grave without permission. That’s a crime.” Bo could see she was going to be stubborn. “I’m giving you a chance to be out of this. You have kids at home.”

“I came here to help him. If you arrest Todd, you arrest me. I want to point out that Todd opened the grave of his brother. He’s a relative and has as much right as Tea to find out the truth about Victor.”

John looked at the both of them standing united in front of Bo. Something had changed between the two of them. He had thought Blair was leaning toward Tomas, but it was clear now where she had settled. She had loved Todd long before she met Tomas and it looked like she had discovered her love for him again. Something had led them to the cemetery, and after seeing what they found, it looks like they might have been right. “She has a point, Bo. We can arrest them, but a good lawyer would probably be able to make a case considering Victor is Todd’s twin. Blair’s also right about another thing. There really is no body being desecrated.” He heard movement behind him and swung his flashlight to reveal the forensic team from the department standing there. Natalie was in the front.

Natalie took in the scene. Her Uncle Bo was standing with John. Next to them stood Blair, her arm wrapped around the waist of a man covered in mud. There was a gaping hole behind them. “My God. Uncle Todd, what have you done?”

Todd grinned and put his arm around Blair. “Nothing much. I just thought I would visit my brother. It’s certainly been interesting.”