My Brother's Keeper #10

The silence in the autopsy room, after Bo’s announcement, was deafening.  John handed the paper to Todd and Blair.  Todd grabbed the paper from Blair’s hand, his eyes reading the damning evidence.  Rage flooded through him.  He crumbled it into a small ball and threw it with all his might at the body on the table screaming.

“THE BASTARD!  He’s been lying to all of us.  Saint Tomas, Tea’s oh-so-good brother, was there.  He touched the body.  Hell, he probably placed it in the house for Tea to find.”

“Hold it, Todd, that’s a pretty big accusation,” Bo said. He wasn’t happy with the fax, but he wasn’t ready to believe the worst.
 

“Come on, Bo, how else did his fingerprints get on the body?  The man has been running around town looking to find evidence against me.  He’s determined to prove I killed Victor.”

“You need to calm down.  We’re all curious as to how his prints ended up on the body, but you need to stay out of it and let us handle it.”

“I know how you handle things.  You go after the most likely suspect, and in your book that’s me. “

Bo bristled at the suggestion and then swallowed the angry words he had been about to speak, as it suddenly struck him that Todd was right.  From the moment Todd had resurfaced, he had been waiting for the guy to do something wrong.  Bo thought back to another time he had jumped the gun and accused Todd of something.  He had ridden Todd hard over the hospital rapes and Todd had let the police force down easy when it turned out to be Powell Lord.

“You have a right to be angry, but you don’t make it easy for us, Manning.  After all, you did kill your mother.  Tomas was even going to take that rap for you.  How do you explain that?”

“Easy, he knew I had killed her in self-defense.  He played the percentages and figured I’d step forward since I was ready to let you guys take me on the dock right after it happened.  I only ran because he said he would handle it.  I had no idea he was going to plead guilty.  Besides, it made him look good in Blair’s eyes.”  It still hit him in the gut when he thought about the friendship between Blair and Tomas, especially when she knew what Tomas did to him.

Blair heard the bitterness in Todd’s voice and realized in that moment how deeply she had hurt him when she had backed Tomas in the courthouse.  She slipped a hand into his and refused to let go when he tried to pull free.  Moving close to him, she reached up and turned to his face, meeting his angry eyes.  “I’m sorry, forgive me.  I was a fool,” she whispered.

Todd’s anger fizzled as he saw the truth behind her words and the unshed tears in her eyes. “Yeah, you were.  But that’s behind us, right?” After what had occurred earlier, she’d better still be in his corner.

Blair smiled tremulously. “Right.”  She kissed him softly and then turned to Bo.  “I think Tomas owes all of us an explanation and now I want proof of his activities the night Victor supposedly died.”

Bo had to concede that because of Tomas’ connections to the CIA, the LPD had taken his word, and the word of Calmar, that he had been on assignment.  Now it was clear there was more to the story. “I can certainly agree with that.  John, you talked to Tomas after the murder. Didn’t you say his story was backed up by his handler?”

“Yes, supposedly Tomas had a meeting with him and then was delayed getting home because of a flat tire.” replied John.

 Blair began tugging on Todd’s sleeve.  She leaned close to his ear.  “Todd, Tomas’ handler is French.  It’s a man by the name of Calmar.”

Todd grinned following Blair’s thoughts.  The Frenchman Victor had talked about.  Could it be?  He put his fingers to his lips indicating Blair should be quiet and while John was occupied with Bo, he quietly led Blair out of the room.  As soon as he was certain John wasn’t following, they headed to his car where he retrieved his extra keys and they headed back to Llanview.

Blair turned to him as the car pulled away.  “What about John?”

“What about him? "

“How’s he getting back to Llanview?”

“He can ride with Bo or thumb a ride, I don’t care.  I want to get back to my office and see what I can find out about Calmar.”

“Todd, it’s just a hunch.  We still have nothing for certain.”

“Not true, Blair.  Thanks to you we found out Victor’s not in the grave and we know Tomas was near that body or thing resembling him.  You were with me when Victor was telling me the conversation he overheard.  I know you only heard my half of the conversation, but I swear to you, I never even heard or knew about this Calmar until a few minutes ago.”  He glanced over at her. “Do you believe me?”

“Yes, I do.   Finding that thing in the grave was definitely an eye-opener.  Do you think you can reach Victor?”

“I don’t know.  Even if I can’t, I can still work on finding Calmar.  This night is just getting longer.  I’m going to take you home and I’ll call you when I find out anything.”

“Oh no, you don’t, we started this evening digging up that grave.  We’re partners, remember?  I’m going back to the office with you.  I know about Calmar.  He’s the one who got me in touch with Tomas, to begin with.  You need me.” She settled her hand atop his on the gear shift and Todd’s fingers moved apart so hers could drop between.  She smiled in the dark and sat back as his fingers squeezed shut.

“Whatever you say, Blair.”   The feel of her hand entwined with his felt right.  His One True Babe was back where she belonged.

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.”

My Brother's Keeper #6

         “Please don’t tell me you’re doing what I think you’re doing.”


          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.