Vendetta
Part 5
"Did you find Jeremy?" Tom asked, fighting the effects of the sedative and painkillers he had been given. Cassy shook her head as she reentered the room.
"I went to ICCU. Fred's body had already been taken to the morgue. Jeremy wasn't there. The attending nurse said that he had left as soon as Fred was pronounced dead," Cassy said quietly.
Tom started to push the bed covers back, "I've got to find him," he groaned, fighting the pain. Fortunately, his coordination was non-existent and Cassy moved forward quickly, gently pushing him back against the pillow.
"You're not going anywhere, Thomas Ryan," she scolded. "I'll find him. Do you know where he might go?"
Tom, frustrated by the pain and his inability to act, answered through gritted teeth, "I don't know. Maybe. . ." he closed his eyes trying to push his thoughts through his drug-filled mind. "Maybe he went to Fred's house. . .or the cemetery. His mom died. . .about five years ago. He was very close to her. She's buried. . ." his mind drifted off, "she's buried," he repeated, obviously losing his ability to concentrate. Cassy reached down and placed her hand on the side of his face, feeling a slight heat rising from his cheeks.
"I think you're running a little bit of a fever," the concern was evident in her voice. "You need to get some rest, Thomas."
Tom shook his head stubbornly, "No. . .I need to find him." His words were starting to slur together.
Cassy stroked her fingers through the hair at his temple, trying to relax the man. He opened his eyes and looked up at his partner with a mournful look. She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead, "I'll find him. He'll be okay. I promise."
Tom, defeated, nodded and sank back against the pillow. Cassy smiled at him, "Get some sleep. I'll be back in the morning." His eyes closed, finally surrendering to the sedatives. The lines of worry and pain, which had so deeply etched his face, disappeared. He suddenly looked so young and helpless lying in the bed. Cassy leaned over a second time, placed another kiss on his cheek, lingering for a moment, whispering in his ear, "Love you."
Harry was disconnecting his cell phone when Cassy exited Tom's room. The guard nodded to her as she shut the door behind her. "Take good care of my partner for me," she said to the officer.
"Will do, Sergeant," he smiled.
"Cassy," Harry approached the blond cop, "Morton ran tests on the blood found at the scene. One of the samples was O negative. That doesn't match Tom, Fred or either of the John Does."
That means another one of the shooters was injured. He might have received medical treatment somewhere," Cassy said hopefully.
"Did Tom say anything more about what happened?" Harry asked, looking at the closed door of his detective's hospital room.
Cassy shook her head, "He was too concerned about Jeremy to talk about the shooting."
Harry nodded, understanding his detective's concern. "Did you find Jeremy?"
"Nope. I'm going to go to his dad's house and see if he's there. I promised Tom I would find him. . .make sure he's okay."
He certainly cares a lot about the kid, huh." Harry smiled.
"I think he has always felt responsible for taking Fred away from Jeremy. Insuring Jeremy had a future was Tom's way of making up for that loss," Cassy reasoned as she leaned back against the wall.
"I'm going to head back to the station and see what else Morton has for us. Find Jeremy and stay with him. I want Thomas recuperating, not spending time worrying about whether Jeremy is okay." Cassy nodded in agreement and watched her Captain head for the elevator.
Cassy knew she should follow, but she had an overwhelming urge to check on her partner, one more time, just to make sure he was okay. She gave a guilty look at the guard and cracked the door open, peeking into the room. Tom was just as she had left him, resting peacefully.
She glanced at the dashboard clock. It was almost 10:00. God, she was tired. She'd give anything to be in her bed. But she had promised Tom that she would find Jeremy. And Cassy wouldn't break this promise.
She pulled the Boxter into the driveway of the small house. There were no lights on inside and no vehicles in the driveway. Common sense indicated that Jeremy was not here. However, since Cassy did not have any other ideas where to look for the young man, she decided to give the dark house a try.
She rang the doorbell and as suspected, there was no answer. She tried the doorknob, expecting it to be locked, but the handle turned without any resistance. She slowly opened the door, "Jeremy? Are you here?"
There was no sound coming from within the home. Cassy pushed the door fully open and repeated, "Jeremy?"
Then suddenly she heard the whisper of a response, "Leave me alone."
"Jeremy? It's Cassy," she felt along the wall until her hand made contact with a light switch. She turned it on and found Jeremy Millen sitting alone in the dark room, staring into nothingness. "Jeremy, Tom wanted me to find you. . .make sure you were okay."
Jeremy didn't reply. Cassy decided to continue, "I'm sorry about your Dad." There was still no reply from the distraught son. Cassy moved over to the couch and sat down next to him. She could see his cheeks were glistening with the wetness of tears. "Is there anyone who can stay with you?" Jeremy ignored her. He stood suddenly, straightening to his full 6' 4" height and walked over to the mantel of the fireplace. Pictures of a man, woman and child lined the ledge. "Why wouldn't he let me get close to him?" he suddenly whispered. "He pushed me away. . .why? It was all for nothing."
"Jeremy, your father did what he thought was best under the circumstances. He was in trouble with the law and he didn't want that trouble to haunt you. The only way he thought he could keep you safe from it was to distance himself from you."
Jeremy turned towards the woman, anger flaring in his eyes, "Damn him. How come he couldn't realize that it was him that I needed. My life wasn't about some damn football career, I needed him."
Cassy dropped her head, not knowing what to say. Jeremy continued, "The last time I saw him, I came here. . .to the house. He got mad at me for coming. Said that I was risking my scholarship just by being with him. I tried to tell him that none of that mattered, but he wouldn't listen. He just kept saying that I should leave him alone."
Jeremy picked up a stack of jumbled papers lying on a bookshelf. He started to thumb through them, not paying attention to the content. A basket of newspaper clippings were next to the stack. He picked it up and glanced at the articles. Cassy saw him suddenly freeze motion and heard a gasp from his throat, "Oh no."
"What? What is it Jeremy?" she rushed forward, wanting to discover what had upset the young man.
Jeremy's hands were shaking and he suddenly dropped the basket. Cassy grabbed him from behind and he turned away from her, his shoulders shaking. He was crying. She crouched down and picked up the dropped basket. It was full of newspaper clippings about Jeremy's football career at FSU. There were candid pictures of him taken from the stands. Pictures of him on the sideline, lining up for plays, celebrating victories. Cassy closed her eyes, feeling the pressure of tears in her eyes. Fred may have pushed Jeremy away, but he clearly adored his son. He had been watching from afar every move Jeremy had made since leaving for college. And now Jeremy knew the sacrifice his father had made. . .all in the name of love.
End Part 5
To Part 6