The Guardians Complete Series 1 Box Set: Contains Mercy, The Ferryman, Crossroads, Witchfinder, Infernum

by Wendy Saunders

  ‘Thanks Louisa I really owe you.’

  ‘Yeah well, I expect a full explanation and a spaghetti dinner in return.’

  ‘Done,’ Olivia grinned.

  ‘What’s spaghetti?’ Theo whispered.

  ‘It actually hurts me to hear you say that,’ Louisa replied dryly.

  Olivia smiled as she pulled her other sneaker out of her bag and put it on.

  ‘Ready?’ Louisa asked, picking up an empty chart tucked into a plastic holder at the foot of the bed.

  Theo and Olivia both nodded.

  ‘Just keep the weight off that ankle. We’re a bit backed up in x-ray today, so you may be here a while.’ Louisa stepped out of the cubicle speaking loudly enough for the deputy to hear her.

  Satisfied she had her attention Louisa wandered out onto the main floor, keeping her head down, and her gaze firmly fixed on the chart in her hands, studying it intently. Heading straight for the deputy she ran smack into her and they both went down in a tangle of limbs.

  ‘Oh my God, I am so sorry deputy,’ Louisa moved, effectively blocking her view of the cubicle. ‘I didn’t see you there.’

  Deputy Hanson grunted as the wind was knocked out of her. Louisa clambered over her trying to climb to her feet but merely succeeding in elbowing her in the stomach. Finally Louisa stood awkwardly as she held her hand out and helped the blonde to her feet.

  ‘Are you alright deputy?’

  ‘I’m fine,’ Helga brushed herself off as she stood.

  ‘So sorry again, Jake always said I should come with turning signals,’ she smiled brightly. ‘Anyway, what can we do for you? Are you unwell?’

  ‘No,’ Helga replied tightly, her cheeks blazed, although whether from embarrassment or indignation Louisa wasn’t entirely sure. ‘I’m here on official police business.’

  ‘Oh,’ Louisa answered innocently, ‘anything I can help with.’

  ‘That won’t be necessary Dr Linden,’ she said stiffly.

  ‘Suit yourself,’ she shrugged. ‘Can I get one of the interns to get you a coffee?’

  ‘No, thank you.’

  ‘Well, if you’ll excuse me then I have patients to attend to.’

  Helga nodded and Louisa made herself scarce, a small smile curving her lips.

  Theo and Olivia made it down to the parking garage without any other interference and before long found themselves on the road to Salem. The journey itself hadn’t taken long, being only an hour and a half drive from Mercy. They’d amused themselves by debating the finer points of Twenty Four and other TV shows Jake had introduced Theo to. When they’d finally exhausted the subject, Theo studied the police file on the original murders, and Olivia cranked up the radio, just content to be out of Mercy for a few hours. She felt like she could breathe for the first time in days.

  She’d forgotten how much she liked Salem, she smiled to herself as they crossed the city limits. It was true she didn’t visit often, as it had always been a little too close to Mercy for comfort, but she had spent some good times there promoting her books and guest speaking at the university. Despite her age she was well respected in her field.

  ‘This is it Theo.’

  Theo looked up from the file as Olivia pulled up in front of a single storey bungalow, nestled back behind a rusty wire fence. The shutters which were once a vibrant red had faded to an unpleasant dusky pink, the paint peeling away from the wood. The lawn was dry, and brown, and patchy, and needed a good tidying. Weeds choked the ancient flowerbeds and littered the gravel path. The building looked so sad and neglected that as they opened the gate and walked slowly down the path, Olivia began to wonder if anyone still actually lived there.

  Theo rung the bell and they waited patiently. A few minutes passed by and nothing. Olivia tried again and still they waited. Nothing. Theo stepped back off the stoop and looked towards the windows.

  ‘The place is in a state of disrepair, maybe she no longer lives here,’ Theo mused.

  ‘I guess,’ Olivia sighed in disappointment.

  She stepped back off the stoop to join Theo.

  ‘It was worth a try,’ Theo turned to her running his hands down her arms comfortingly.

  Suddenly the front door slowly creaked open and a little old woman stood on the other side of the screen door.

  Olivia stepped back up to the door.

  ‘Mrs Talbot?’

  ‘Who wants to know?’ the old woman rasped.

  ‘Mrs Talbot, my name is Olivia West and this is my friend Theodore Beckett.’

  ‘West?’ Her eyes narrowed as she studied Olivia speculatively.

  ‘We were wondering if we could speak to you about your son James.’

  Her eyes moved from Olivia to Theo and back to Olivia before she pushed open the screen door with her twisted walking cane.

  ‘Better come in then,’ she said by way of invitation before turning slowly and shuffling back into the darkened room.

  She walked slowly and painfully, hunched over her cane, and dragging a wheeled cylinder of oxygen behind her. A long translucent tube ran over her oxygen tank, and hooked over her ears, and under her nose.

  She lowered herself into a well worn chair, and primly tucked her flowered dress over her knees, before taking her patchwork blanket and laying it across her legs. Taking the TV remote from the table next to her chair she lowered the volume, then absently patted her hair as if to make sure it was still in place.

  ‘Please take a seat,’ she motioned for Olivia and Theo to sit on the couch opposite her.

  ‘You look a bit like him,’ Mrs Talbot said after a moment of staring at Olivia.

  ‘Pardon?’

  ‘You’re Charlie Connell’s daughter aren’t you?’ she tilted her head curiously. ‘I’d heard the West girls always take their family name rather than their father’s.’

  ‘It's a bit of a weird family tradition,’ Olivia murmured.

  ‘You take after your mother there’s no doubting that, but you’ve got a lot of Charlie in you too.’

  ‘How did you know my father?’

  ‘He was a friend of my Jimmy.’

  ‘He knew James?’ Olivia repeated slowly.

  ‘That’s right, matter of fact my Jimmy was best man at your parent’s wedding,’ she smiled fondly in remembrance. ‘Come up through high school together, thick as thieves they were, the three of them.’

  ‘Three of them?’

  ‘Charlie, Jimmy, and Tommy,’ she chuckled lightly. ‘They met in middle school, and from that moment on they were inseparable.’

  ‘Tommy?’

  Mrs Talbot nodded her head in the direction of the fireplace, where several dusty framed pictures sat on the mantle. Olivia rose slowly and wandered over, moving a portrait of a young smiling James Talbot out of the way. Her attention was fixed on a picture of three grinning young men, with their arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders, wearing swimming trunks, and standing by an old wood cabin in front of her lake.

  They looked so young and innocent, barely more than eighteen years old. She picked the picture up, and wiped a layer of dust off with her finger. The young man to the left was unmistakably her father, and for a moment her heart clenched at the sight of the man she had once loved. Beside him stood James Talbot, and as her eyes fell on the man next to him her mouth fell open in shock.

  ‘Tommy,’ she turned back to the old lady. ‘Thomas Walcott?’

  ‘What?’ Theo said as Olivia handed him the picture, ‘Chief Walcott?’

  ‘That’s right,’ Mrs Talbot nodded, ‘went into law enforcement, though was only a deputy when my Jimmy passed.’

  ‘So,’ Olivia rubbed her temples trying to organize her thoughts, ‘James originally came from Mercy.’

  ‘That’s right, born and raised,’ she replied. ‘We moved to Salem in the spring of 1993, when his father got transferred because of his job. Jimmy was living at home at the time, because he had lost his job, so he had to move
with us. He wasn’t too pleased about that let me tell you. Your dad had already married your mom, and was busy with you. They didn’t see each other as often as they’d like but Tommy and Jimmy, they were real close, and they both took the separation hard.’

  Something in her voice when she spoke about the two men had Olivia looking back at the picture again. Although all three boys had their arms around each other’s shoulders, her dad was the only one looking directly at the camera. Jimmy, and Tommy were looking at each other.

  ‘Who took this picture?’ Olivia murmured thoughtfully.

  ‘I believe your mama did,’ Mrs Talbot said. ‘That was the summer they all turned eighteen; your mom, and dad had not long started walking out together.’

  ‘So she knew him too,’ Olivia continued to stare thoughtfully at the picture. ‘Mrs Talbot, I don’t mean to pry, and I certainly don’t want to seem insensitive, but I get the feeling there was more to Tommy and Jimmy’s relationship than just friendship.’

  Mrs Talbot pursed her lips as she regarded Olivia and Theo appraisingly.

  ‘Please Mrs Talbot, I’m not trying to stir up trouble. I just need the truth. I need to know what happened all those years ago.’

  ‘Why? What possible good can it do now?’

  Olivia turned to Theo and he nodded.

  ‘Because they never caught the killer, and the murders have started again.’

  ‘Are you in danger?’ the old lady asked gravely.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Olivia shook her head, ‘but I’m tied to it somehow. I need to figure out what happened twenty years ago.’

  Mrs Talbot sighed.

  ‘I guess there’s no one left to protect anymore.’

  ‘Tommy and Jimmy were lovers, weren’t they?’ Olivia asked softly.

  ‘Yes, they loved each other, and Charlie, he kept their secret.’

  ‘My dad knew?’

  ‘Of course he did,’ she replied sadly. ‘He covered for them so they could be together. Stolen moments….that’s all they had…stolen moments.’

  ‘Why didn’t they just come out?’ Olivia asked. ‘Homosexuality was no longer illegal by then.’

  ‘It may have been legal, but in a small town like Mercy?’ Mrs Talbot scoffed. ‘They wouldn’t have been accepted, though I think my Jimmy would’ve have taken the chance even if it meant losing his father.’

  ‘His father?’

  Mrs Talbot shook her head.

  ‘Don’t misunderstand me, my husband was a good man, older than me, and although I learned a lot from him he came from a different generation. He would never have accepted Jimmy’s sexuality. In fact Jimmy didn’t even tell me.’

  ‘But you knew?’

  ‘A mother always knows Olivia,’ she sighed. ‘He didn’t need to say a word for me to know his heart, and after he died I found letters between him and Tommy, hidden in his room. He wanted to come clean and tell their families, even if it meant losing them, but Tommy wouldn’t. His career was important to him, and coming out as openly gay wouldn’t have helped him none.’

  ‘Mrs Talbot what happened the night Jimmy died?’

  ‘I can’t really help you with that,’ she shook her head. ‘I don’t know what happened.’

  ‘Can you just tell us whatever you remember?’

  ‘He was going to Mercy to see Tommy; they were supposed to meet that night. He didn’t tell me, but I knew. Your father was the only other person who knew Jimmy was going to be in Mercy that night.’

  Olivia sucked in a breath.

  ‘He kissed me goodbye, and told me,’ her voice cracked slightly, ‘told me he’d see me soon.’

  ‘Mrs Talbot,’ Olivia breathed in sympathy.

  ‘That was the last time I ever saw him, his father identified his body, and we had him laid to rest in Mercy cemetery.’

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ Olivia replied sincerely.

  ‘Not long after the funeral your mother was killed. Tommy came to see me, he told me what had happened and he was ranting. I’d never seen him like that before. He was convinced your father had something to do with Jimmy’s death.’

  Olivia stiffened.

  ‘What do you believe?’

  ‘Your father loved my Jimmy like a brother. I knew Charlie, I thought of him as another son. I would never have believed he would hurt Jimmy, but then again I would never have believed he would hurt your mama. He was so in love with Isabel West; he looked at her like she was pure sunlight.’ She shrugged tiredly, ‘guess you never really know someone do you?’

  ‘Mrs Talbot, why did you agree to speak with me?’ Olivia asked curiously.

  ‘Olivia, I have chronic emphysema, and now they’ve found a tumour. I’m dying. I’ve made my peace with what happened to my son; Lord knows I’ll see him soon enough.’

  The little old lady fixed her penetrating gaze on Olivia, and when she finally spoke her voice low, but sincere.

  ‘But I truly hope for your sake that your father had nothing to do with Jimmy’s death.’

  15.

  Olivia left Mrs Talbot’s house in a quiet, and introspective mood. She barely said a word on the drive back to Mercy, or when they dropped Louisa’s car back to the medical center and left the keys with the parking attendant. Theo watched her silently, waiting for her to come out of her pensive mood.

  As they stood outside the medical center’s parking entrance Olivia pulled out her phone to call a cab, but Theo closed his hand over the phone, forcing her to look up into his eyes.

  ‘Let’s take a walk.’

  Sighing she nodded slowly, dropping her phone back into her pocket.

  ‘Do you want to talk about it?’

  ‘What is there to say?’ she shrugged.

  ‘How about how you feel?’

  ‘What’s the point?’ Olivia frowned, ‘it won’t change anything. I had hoped that going to see Mrs Talbot would give me some answers. All it’s done is raise more questions.’

  Theo took her hand as they began to walk down towards Main Street.

  ‘I suppose at least we know now why Chief Walcott hates me.’

  ‘Unfortunately that also makes him much more dangerous,’ Theo looked grim. ‘He is trying to work within the law at the moment, but sooner or later he is going to lose patience, and when he does…’

  ‘I know,’ Olivia slowly let out the breath she’d been holding, ‘unfortunately there is nothing I can do about it right now. You know, I can appreciate that he loved James. I can appreciate how much pain it caused him to lose the love of his life. I can even appreciate how much it hurt to think your best friend was responsible, but right now I’m having trouble feeling bad for him. I was just a kid at the time. I had nothing to do with it, and there is no solid evidence to suggest I had anything to do with the killings now, but he still won’t leave me alone.’

  ‘The sins of the father,’ Theo murmured.

  ‘You’re not kidding,’ Olivia rolled her eyes.

  He looked down and noticed her limp had become more pronounced.

  ‘Is your ankle hurting?’

  ‘Yes, I think I’ve just been on my feet too long.’

  Suddenly someone called her name, and they both looked up. Olivia’s face broke into a big smile as she let go of Theo’s hand, and hobbled forward.

  Jackson handed his new bartender another box, and turned to lock his car as Olivia approached.

  ‘Olivia,’ he smiled, ‘I thought that was you. I thought I told you not to be a stranger.’

  ‘Hello Jackson,’ she glanced up at the pub, ‘how’s things?’

  ‘Slowly getting back to normal.’ He turned to study Theo as he approached, then held out his hand. ‘Jackson Murphy.’

  ‘Theo Beckett,’ he nodded, taking Jackson’s hand warily.

  ‘So you haven’t been by...because?’ Jackson turned his attention back to Olivia.

  ‘It’s been…’ she shrugged, ‘it's complicated.’

 
‘I’ve heard,’ Jackson nodded. ‘Olivia darlin’, I hope you’re not staying away because of the town gossips. Believe me, for every moron there are at least two who are of sound mind and body. Not everyone thinks you’re out nefariously murdering the hardworking citizens of Mercy.’

  ‘If only that were true,’ she smiled.

  ‘Just because our police department seems to have its head up its own arse, Jake not included of course, doesn’t mean you should hole up at that big house by yourself.’

  ‘She’s not by herself,’ Theo replied.

  ‘I see,’ Jackson smiled. ‘Well I tell you what, why don’t the pair of you come in for dinner. Owen’s on fine form tonight, and we have an excellent steak and Guinness pie on the menu.’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Olivia eyed the pub nervously.

  ‘It’s alright Olivia,’ Theo took her hand. ‘You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but you really should walk in there with your head held high. You haven’t done anything wrong.’

  ‘That’s the way of it,’ Jackson clapped Theo companionably on the back.

  ‘Well, it is true that Jackson’s cook is a genius in the kitchen,’ Olivia smiled at Theo.

  ‘Aye, that he is,’ Jackson laughed, ‘but don’t be after telling the man himself as he’s already an ego the size of Dublin.’

  Olivia laughed.

  ‘Fine, we’ll stop by for dinner.’

  Theo looked up at the Irish pub. He’d never seen anything so colorful. The wooden exterior was painted a dark green, with burgundy panels, and golden colored arched windows. A traditional sign swung back and forth in the early evening breeze bearing the name ‘The Salted Bone.’

  Olivia tugged at his hand, throwing a small smile his way as he followed her through the door. The interior was just as warm and welcoming, with deep cherry colored wood, and brass fixtures everywhere. A hearty fire roared in the hearth taking the November chill out of the air, and giving off a cozy intimate feeling.