The Next Ten: Beginnings Series Books 11 - 20

by Jacqueline Druga

  “Fuck,” Danny whispered and dropped to his seat. “No more questions.”

  Before Stan could, Henry sprang up. “Oh yes! He’s not an original. I can question him.”

  Grace rolled her eyes. “Go on.”

  “Todd,” Henry stated strongly. “Todd.” That ultimate question that would break down his testimony wasn’t happening. “Todd.” His head tilted and his mouth opened. “How . . . how do you know it was Andrea?” Knowing it wasn’t all that great of a question, it was good enough to stump Todd. After all, there were eighteen Beginnings women in attendance. “Maybe you were mistaken. You know, a case of mistaken identity.”

  “No, I’m sure it was Andrea.”

  “How can you be sure? There are seventeen other women in the community.”

  Todd looked very oddly at Henry. “Yes, but she’s the only black woman.”

  Danny’s gurgled, frustration-filled ‘uh’ rang out and was responded with a typical slam.

  Henry’s mouth hung open a few seconds more before the embarrassed, high toned voice emerged. “No further questions.”

  ^^^^

  Joe had so much on his mind. The Savages. The discovery of the final base. The attack the night before. But first and foremost to Joe was the trial of his wife. Danny Hoi in the previous days had dazzled. He played games with dramatics leaving the last thing on people’s mind as something that would cause doubt and doubt was all the jury needed. Danny still dazzled, but the effectiveness seemed to get lost when he had to present first, and even though lacking luster, Stan’s final arguments and questions of each witness were the last thing on the jury’s mind.

  Andrea had to be worried. She breathed heavily occasionally. Sighed. And she read more of the Bible--if that were possible--and hummed even more religious songs. But even her calm exterior didn’t hide the fact that the trial was winding down and soon her fate would be in the hands of twelve men.

  The afternoon break was always good for them as a couple. They’d go off to Hal’s, talk, spend time alone together, relax, or just sit in silence. It was what they needed. Anything to take their minds off of things during the trial day and after. Joe knew how helpful cooking, cleaning, and laundry were for going into a mind escape and that was the reason he never stopped Andrea from doing them. He could have, but that would have lessened up her personal schedule and left her more room to worry and Joe didn’t want to do that.

  ^^^^

  “You’re limping.” Ellen told Elliott in their stroll to his home during the break.

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “Dean may have to do it all over again.”

  “It’s a risk I’ll take.”

  Ellen smiled. “I told you Blue didn’t know how to do a needle biopsy. You should have let me. I wouldn’t have screwed up.

  “Risking embarrassment at this moment, it wasn’t you I was worried about.”

  “How cute.” Ellen snickered. “Anyhow speaking of that, did you hear about one of your men getting hurt this morning in the field.”

  “Who?” Elliott asked.

  “Robbie said it was Dusty Helms.”

  “What happened?”

  “He was caught masturbating and he got his penis stuck in his zipper.” Ellen stopped walking and looked behind her. “Elliott?”

  “You’re joking.” Elliott stood behind her ten feet. “Who . . . who caught him.”

  “The Savages. That’s how he discovered the other base.”

  “I thought a scout spotted them. That’s what I was told.”

  “Nope. It was Dusty. He’ll be in the clinic tonight.” Ellen saw they reached Elliott’s home. “Is it open?” She reached for the door.

  Still stunned by Ellen’s nonchalant attitude, Elliott nodded.

  “I can’t wait to see the surprise. Thanks for not making me wait until Saturday.”

  “I thought it would be a nice diversion.” Elliott closed the door. “So, you didn’t tell me. Did Jess speak to you at all this morning?”

  “Ouch. Back on that subject. No. He avoided me.”

  “I’m risking sounding pessimistic, but you stated your reasons for breaking up were you knew he’d move on shortly and you didn’t want to get attached or hurt.”

  “Yes.”

  “So, why commit to me?”

  Ellen stared in thought at Elliott. Seriousness graced her face before she answered. “Insurance money.” She breathed out, turned, and walked to the steps. “Upstairs?”

  “Um . . . yes.” Elliott shook his head quickly at her response. “I think you’ll be pleased.” He sneaked ahead of her and walked to the second bedroom. He opened the door. “For you.”

  “Me?” Ellen looked inside the nicely painted and decorated bedroom. “Elliott, this is very nice.”

  “It’s your room for when you’re here.”

  “Oh.” Ellen nodded. “And here I thought I would be sleeping in your bed . . .” Seeing the look on Elliott’s face made Ellen change her train of thought. “While you slept on the couch. Boy, am I glad to know I won’t be putting you out.”

  “Not at all. You wouldn’t be even if I didn’t have the room ready. I’m glad you like it.”

  “I do.” Ellen smiled at his naïveté. She had to. It wasn’t often that she got to experience that in a world gone bad.

  ^^^^

  Andrew’s Air Force Base

  The thick folder dropped before George as he wiped off his greasy hands and lowered to the chair. “You’re kidding me?” He raised his eyes to Col. Kirkpatrick.

  “It’s all there. I knew I’d locate it when I returned home.”

  George lifted the folder after he sat, “It’s thick.”

  “It had to but it’s all there, everything you need.”

  “Thank you,” George said to the Colonel then looked at the name ‘Allan Boyens’. “Now let’s just hope this ‘Allan’ is our Jess.” Opening the folder, George pulled out the top sheet where a photo was. “Now it’s even easier to find out.”

  ^^^^

  “Yes, I was angry when I saw the note,” Dean stated.

  “Tell us why,” Stan requested.

  “Because it was conveniently put where my wife could see it and I never requested Bev’s sonogram picture. I didn’t know she had one.”

  “Did you check the medical records on who performed it and when.”

  “Yes. The test was performed last week and it was done by . . . I’m sorry, Andrea.” His head lowered a little.

  “No further questions.”

  “Dean.” Danny immediately stood up before Stan was even seated. Hostility laced Danny’s tone toward Dean. “You didn’t ask for the picture?”

  “No.”

  “It’s your son.”

  “That is not conclusive. Until then, I am not allowing myself to get close to this baby.”

  “Asking for a picture of the baby is getting close?”

  “Absolutely,” Dean said. “It’s something I wouldn’t do.”

  “So you have no excitement over this baby’s arrival.”

  “None.”

  “And asking for the picture would be showing excitement?”

  “Yes,” Dean answered.

  “You deny being excited about this baby?”

  “Again, I’m not excited about it.”

  “Or trying to get close it?” Danny asked.

  “No,” Dean spoke, annoyed.

  “So then why did your wife bust you glowing with your hands were all over Bev’s stomach. That sounds like excitement to me., What about you, Dr. Hayes?”

  After initially thinking ‘Danny, you dick’, Dean just simply answered ‘yes.’

  ^^^^

  Really hoping her nervous stomach didn’t turn into some embarrassing projection of rip roaring gaseous expulsions, Jenny just wanted the interrogation to be over even if Danny was being so nice.

  “Todd claims you were too occupied to notice,” Danny stated.

  “Todd is a trouble maker. I don’t like him.
He’s only saying those things about me because of my relationship with Captain Slagel. He’s the one that wants the affair with Hal.”

  Joe, at that moment, really wished Frank and Robbie were there. They had missed it. The expression on Hal’s face, as everyone, including Grace, suddenly turned and looked at him.

  “And he’s jealous of Andrea,” Jenny continued. “Actually I believe he hates all women because he wanted to be one. It’s some sort of deep seeded thing. He’s a bitter, jealous, arrogant, and decrepit little man.”

  Danny’s eyes shifted, not expecting that response.

  “Mrs. Matoose,” Grace said. “Try to keep your answers to fact and off the personal level.”

  “I’m sorry, Your Honor,” Jenny apologized. “I will. But in my defense I believe it to be fact. Wait until you get to know him. He is so mean to me. He called me a bitch.”

  “That was totally out of line of him,” Grace commented.

  “Yes, and wait.” Jenny nodded. “My two new outfits, he left the seams loose. They fell apart the moment I tried them on. He blamed it on my weight problem.”

  Grace gasped.

  “Imagine that.” Jenny took a shivering breath. “Not that your honor is a big woman, but I’m sure you know the embarrassment of how I felt. I can’t help it.”

  “I know.” Grace reached down and patted Jenny on the hand. “I’m going to allow Mrs. Matoose’s personal opinion to serve as viable testimonies since it deals with the character of another witness.”

  Danny grinned. “Thanks. No more questions.”

  Stan rose from the chair. “I’d like to talk to you, Mrs. Matoose, about when you were struck with the new virus.”

  “Objection.” Danny stood up.

  “On what grounds?” Grace asked.

  “On the grounds that . . . that . . . we weren’t talking about that. He changed the testimony subject.”

  Grace stared for a moment at Danny. “For the first time in this trial for you.” She hit her gavel. “Overruled.”

  “Shit.” Danny sat down.

  Stan paced. “Mrs. Matoose, Dr. Hayes testified that you had the original strain of the virus. You were the only person in Beginnings to have it. And because this strain is so powerful, had anyone else been infected with it also, it would have taken over their Strain Two and Three as well. Is that your understanding?”

  “Yes. That was how they concluded I was infected on purpose.”

  “Since your daughter, and I am sorry for your loss. Since Caroline had Strain Two and never left your sight, Dr. Hayes concluded it was not administered by air. How did he explain, to you, you were infected?”

  “Injection or ingestion,” Jenny answered.

  “What was the incubation time frame he gave you?”

  Jenny had to think. “I believe he said if I was injected, one hour before I got symptoms. Ingested, three hours.”

  “Correct,” Stan spoke almost pleasantly to her. “Dr. Ellen Hayes believed it to be your husband that infected you. Tell us how that was dismissed.”

  “Because of the time table of incubation. I hadn’t seen John all day.”

  “Do you recall anyone injecting you with a syringe?”

  “No.” Jenny shook her head.

  “Do you recall eating any food prepared by someone other than yourself that day?”

  Jenny looked down.

  “Mrs. Matoose? Do you?”

  “Yes,” Jenny answered softly as she raised her head. “Before she fell ill, she brought me a piece of her new recipe over. It was one slice, I believe, the night before.”

  “When did you eventually eat it?”

  “It was around three hours before I started feeling ill.”

  “Why do you remember the time span?”

  “Because my day started out good. I remember eating the apple bread and everything emotionally fell apart with my husband.”

  “Who gave you the apple bread?”

  Jenny closed her eyes. Her lips moved almost as if she silently begged him not to want her to answer. She didn’t. With a quivering mouth and her face growing red, a tear rolled slowly down her cheek.

  “Mrs. Matoose. Who gave you the apple bread?”

  She sniffled and swallowed and never opened her eyes or lifted her head. “Andrea.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Beginnings, Montana

  It was going to end up being a classic case of ‘me first’ between Johnny and Bev as they waited in the secret room hidden in Johnny’s pantry.

  Anxiously breathing and biting her nails, Bev stared at the fax machine.

  Johnny, like a horse in the starter’s gate, was ready to jump and he did when the machine rang once.

  Both of them dove the short distance forward.

  “Bev.” Johnny snapped, moving her out of the way as the paper started to feed through. “My house. My fax.”

  “My father.”

  “So what” Johnny bodily blocked her as he watched the paper. “Oh, wow. Oh, wow.”

  “What? What? What?”

  “Oh, wow.” Johnny lifted the paper as it finished. “Oh wow.”

  “Johnny!”

  Johnny turned around with a shitty grin and handed the fax to Bev. It was a simple note that said, ‘call me ASAP about this’ and a picture, blurred and bad from the electronic trip, but clearly a picture of . . . Jess.

  ^^^^

  Purged. That was how Jenny felt, absolutely purged after speaking to Andrea and getting her forgiveness over her testimony. Jenny would have done anything not have been on that stand. Anything. And she would have done anything not to get Andrea in trouble. She only hoped the loud passing of gas she did when she stepped off the stand made everyone forget what she had said. Danny assured her it might have.

  But personally, Jenny felt she had dues to pay for turning her back, even inadvertently on a woman who had been like a mother to her. She promised herself to do three acts of kindness.

  The first one she completed with ease. She told Todd, according to Robbie’s suggestion, that since things weren’t etched in stone for her and Hal, if he wanted to pursue Hal, to go right ahead. Jenny gnawed with jealously over that but felt somewhat better. It was an act of kindness on her part.

  She took dinner over to Frank, who was a single father for the evening. She didn’t expect to have to bathe all five kids while she was there but she did. She could have considered that another act of kindness, but that was asked of her and it didn’t count.

  The third and final sent her to the Social Hall. The noisy place was filled with music and laughter which surprised her. It was Thursday, but the scouting party had arrived home triumphantly and the men seemed to gather in the Hall. Perhaps it was a means of celebration or even tension relief of a Savage war that would be over soon.

  She spotted Godrichson sitting at the bar alone. Joe, who usually perched beside him, wasn’t there. Squeezing her way through the partying men, Jenny hoped she would be heard over all the noise. Fitting in the space by Jason, Jenny apologized to Denise for bumping her into Jess then smiled pleasantly at Jason. She kept her voice raised and it still was buried beneath the noise. “Hi!”

  “Hello.”

  “I think I have some good news for you! Personal good news.”

  “Really? What?”

  Jenny leaned closer. “I was speaking to someone. She holds a high interest in you and wants to know if you’d be interesting in going out with her after this trial.”

  “A woman has interest in me?” Jason was shocked.

  “She’s very nice.”

  “Who is she?”

  “Will you go out with her?” Jenny asked.

  “Who?”

  Jenny mumbled the name.

  “I can’t hear you?” Jason tugged on his ear. “Will I go out with who!”

  “Judge Grace!”

  Silence took over the hall.

  There was no way Ellen could have been more self-conscious than at the moment she walked into the Hall and d
ead silence hit. Then, after realizing everyone stared at Jason, she moved to the bar. She paused in her stride when she saw Jess there talking to Denise.

  Knowing that she was only there to steal some of that new sweet liqueur that was being made, Ellen went behind the bar. She moved in a rush, wanting to get out of there. After saying ‘hi’ to Sam, she immediately crouched down and looked for the new stuff under the bar. She found the bottle, laid it on top then, as she stood, pulled the unused medicine bottle from her coat. She looked when she heard the giggle from Denise. “What?” Ellen asked.

  “That’s cute.”

  Ellen wiggled the bottle. “I just want a couple shots worth. Have you tried it?” She smiled. “It tastes like something in the old world we called Bailey’s. Anyhow, with it being cream day, I thought I’d go home, brew some coffee, and add a hit of this with the cream.”

  “Sounds good.” Denise lifted the booze bottle then handed it back to Ellen to pour. She looked to her left at Jess who quietly stared down at his drink. “Are you two fighting?”

  “No,” Ellen answered quickly. “So, Denise.” She carefully poured the liqueur into the small bottle. “I thought you didn’t like to go out and leave the baby alone at night.”

  “It’s Curt’s night,” Denise replied. “I figured, just because I don’t have an understanding . . . yet.” She looked at Jess. “I’m still taking the time away as if I do.”

  “Oh.” Ellen nodded and recapped both bottles. “So how is . . .”

  Jess interrupted. “Your . . . granddaughter?”

  Ellen shot a cold stare Jess’s way when she answered. “Yes, my granddaughter. How is she?”

  “Good,” Denise answered bubbly.

  “Bring her over more,” Ellen commented. “Well, I better go.” Sticking the medicine bottle in her coat, she reached for the other bottle, knocked into it, and sent it into the glass that set before Jess.

  He jumped out of the way before it spilled on his lap.

  “Sorry.” Ellen smiled, put the bottle away, and walked around the bar.