Nothing Ordinary, M J Marlow [ebook and pdf reader .TXT] 📗

Taylor told the man as he got out his phone. He made the call and told them he would remain at the hospital until they arrived. “Why does he hate her so much?” “She said no,” James said simply, “and then she married me.” “The man has to be insane,” Taylor remarked. “Normal people don’t go nuts when they’re rejected.” “Normal people don’t try to abduct a bride from the church on the morning of their wedding, either,” James replied. “Or send disturbing little ‘gifts’ to the new wife. I knew I should have reported him, but Annie asked me not to.” He touched her cheek and frowned. “She’s burning up!” He hit the call button and the nurse checked her temperature. He saw her frown and then run to find the doctor. “What’s going on, Doc?” James demanded as he and Taylor were shoved out of the room. The door was closed in his face and he sank down on a chair in the hall. “She can’t die, Charles!” They waited as the doctor and nurse worked and then rose as Carey stepped out. He looked at James and assured him Annie would be fine. An orderly moved past them with a gurney and James was not at all convinced the man was right. “She had the type of miscarriage we call a ‘septic abortion’, James,” he told the worried man. “She was developing an infection due to some tissue that remained behind. We’ll do a D&C and clean it out, put her on an antibiotic, and she should be fine.” He laid his hand on James’ shoulder. “I know it’s been rough, James, but she will recover. You can have other babies.” James nodded and watched as the orderly took Annie to surgery. He and Taylor followed as far as they were allowed to go. James was pacing as his father arrived. The federal agents were just behind him. “Doc says she’ll be fine once they finish with this procedure,” James told his father. “It was McManus, Dad. He underwent plastic surgery and took over Cartwright’s life so he could get close to her.” Jeffrey and Clark arrived at the house and heard the sound of struggles. They ran inside and saw a man running out the back and the cadets both sporting several bruises. Karl was shrieking in Norma’s arms in the corner of the kitchen. Jeffrey stayed with them, murmuring softly to the woman as he removed the knife in her hand, as Clark ran after the man. He didn’t see McManus as he came up behind him and took him out. “I was hoping you’d be Jeffrey Owens,” McManus frowned as he looked down at the fallen agent, “that would have been poetic justice.” He hefted him up over his shoulder. “You’ll do. She won’t ever suspect you.” He carried Clark to his car and shoved him in the trunk. When they got to the doctor’s office, Clark was strapped to the table before he woke up. He saw the man he thought of as Cartwright seated nearby, smiling at him coldly. The man had a tape recorder in his hand. “Say a few words for me, Agent Clark,” he said calmly. “If I’m going to be you, I need to have your voice.” “Go to hell, you sadistic bastard,” Clark snapped at him. He tried to pull at the straps. “You’ve kidnapped a federal agent! You’re going to pay for this.” “You’re not being kidnapped,” McManus laughed. “You’re being given a unique opportunity to become someone completely new.” He patted the man on the cheek. “You should feel honored,” he laughed as his prisoner cursed him. “Thank you for your life, Agent Nicholas Clark! I’ll take good care of it for you.” He stepped away and the nurse gave Clark an injection. McManus watched as the man was given his face. Clark’s voice chords were cut to keep him for telling anyone what happened to him. Then McManus went under the knife and was given Clark’s face. As he recovered, Clark would be taken on the run, leading the authorities on a merry chase while the real McManus had time to heal. 26 How many funerals do I have to attend before this nightmare is over, Annie wondered as she stood between James and Jeffrey at the graveside of their lost son a week later. James had named him Barnabas Weber Owens when he had the lost child buried as she recuperated in the hospital. She felt so empty and so angry. McManus had disappeared and Sheridan was not talking to the investigators who had shown up on his doorstep the morning after the attack. She pulled her collar closer as the wind picked up and knew they were on the verge of a thunderstorm as her hair prickled up. She saw the dark clouds forming off to the west and a sense of foreboding filled her. She looked at the grave and knelt down to lay the roses on the grass. “You should have had a chance to live, little one,” she said softly. “The man who murdered you is going to pay, darling boy. We aren’t going to stop until we find him.” “Annie,” James’ voice broke through her pain and reminded her she had other men in her life who still needed her. “It’s time to go home.” She took the hand he held out to her and they got in the back of the sedan. Jeffrey took the wheel and drove them home. Annie went to the nursery and held Karl in her lap. James brought her some tea and she looked up at him. The pain in her eyes broke his heart. He set the cup aside and held her and their son to his chest. “Find him, James,” she finally spoke. “Before he hurts someone else we love.” He turned away from the speaker and smiled. He had her exactly where he wanted her now. The moment she was in the house without her husband and brother-in-law, he would start the final act. He would give her a choice, she came to him willingly or he would continue to take away the people she cared about until she was left alone and defenseless. He continued his surveillance on the couple intermittently for the next three months. He heard the news of another pregnancy with anger. She should be having his children! He let them be for another three months and froze as he heard the voice of the man he had wanted to take in place of Clark came over the speaker. “They found him!” James looked up from feeding his son as Jeffrey ran into the kitchen. Jeffrey stopped short as he saw his brother covered in food. Pieces of bread and cut up bologna and cheese dotted his hair and his clothing. Jeffrey almost forgot why he was there as he began to laugh. His laughter died when Karl picked up a handful of pear sauce and threw it at him. “Hey, little man,” Jeffrey choked, “this is my best uniform!” He turned to his brother. “Can’t you control the little monster?” “Up!” Karl smiled and held out his arms. “Oh no,” Jeffrey shook his head. “I’m not touching you while you’re covered in whatever you’re covered in.” When Jeffrey did not move, his little face screwed up and he began to scream. “Mommy!” “You’re in trouble now, Uncle Jeffrey,” James said as he picked his son up and bounced him on his knee. He heard a door opening and turned to see Annie. She was just at the end of the third month of a third pregnancy and this one was worse than either of the others; this time she was having trouble controlling her emotions. She stood there with her hands on her hips and looked at the three males. “Did we disturb your nap, darling?” “How is it James MacArthur Owens,” she sighed as she took their son from him, “that every time you feed Karl you end up looking like you rolled in his food?” She smiled at their nine-month old son. “Did you have fun with Daddy, baby boy?” “Daddy funny!” Karl giggled. He pointed at Jeffrey and made an angry face at him. “Unca Jeffy mean!” “Mean, Jeffrey?” “I wouldn’t pick him up,” Jeffrey explained the comment as he looked wounded, “after he assaulted me with the pears.” “No,” Karl pouted. “Unca Jeffy mean!” “Go clean up, you two,” Annie sighed. “Karl needs a bath anyway.” She carried her son away and the two men decided to clean the kitchen before they cleaned themselves up. “Were we ever that bad?” Jeffrey asked as he finished mopping the floor. “I know you were,” James replied as he wiped down the counters and the high chair. “So what were you saying before the food war began?” “They found McManus,” Jeffrey told him as he put the sponge in its place. He saw James stiffen. “He is on his way to Leavenworth under armed guard.” “I need to talk to him,” James said tightly. “He’s not talking, James,” Jeffrey told him. “He hasn’t said one word since they found him.” “Where did they find him?” “In an alley reeking of alcohol,” Jeffrey answered him, “after a very nasty bar fight.” “He’ll talk to me,” James said coldly. “I’ll have to take some leave…” He was off then, leaving Jeffrey to worry about his brother. He was going off and leaving his wife and son? He shook his head. That was not going to happen. He caught James on the stairs. “I’ll go, James,” Jeffrey said simply. “Annie needs you here.” James looked prepared to debate and he got angry. “She needs you, James. Got it? Y-O-U?” “All right, Jeffrey,” James relented. “Go! Just don’t let the bastard talk his way around you. He’s got more angles than a decahedron.” Jeffrey nodded and left at once. He stopped at his room to pack an overnight bag and grab a clean shirt. He smiled briefly as he saw the pear smear before he put it in the laundry chute on his way out. He stopped in at the new commandant’s office and his father was there. “Dad?” “I guess I forgot to tell you about my change of assignment, son,” Owens smiled as he turned from the bookshelves. “I wanted to be close to my grandson so I requested the transfer after Sheridan was arrested.” He saw the overnight bag. “I take it you came here to request a leave of absence. Where are you headed?” “To talk to McManus, sir,” Jeffrey said as he caught the change of tone that told him his father was now in military mode. “He is on his way to Leavenworth.” “What will that accomplish?” Owens asked bluntly. “He confessed to his part in the murder of Major Weber and his wife, he was identified as the man who raped Anneke so that she miscarried her baby. The man is in prison where he belongs.” He could see Jeffrey was adamant though. “Three days. Higgins can take your classes until you return.” “Thank you, sir,” Jeffrey nodded. “And sir,” he said as he turned back, “welcome to Sterling Academy.” “Thank you, Captain,” Owens smiled. He watched his son go and close the door. He was on the phone a moment later. “Jeffrey is on his way to talk to McManus, Edward. Make sure Captain Lewis is there as his shadow at all times. Something about the ease of that monster’s capture is bothering me.” 27 Jeffrey got off the plane and saw the Jeep waiting for him. The driver was a very familiar long-legged brunette with a no nonsense attitude. He nodded to her when her companion asked for his identification and checked his photo against his face. The man nodded and handed it back over and held out his hand. “Captain Owens,” he said coolly. “I’m Captain Petrie.