A Girl in Need

As always, this is not a standalone story, it is a part and if read without knowing what has happened previously won't make much sense. It is a romance, even though it takes place against a pretty grim background. People of course are people, subject to all the nuances of life, hopefully the good guys will come out happy, but it doesn't always happen that way. All characters are figments of the writer's imagination though many of the places are real. Any incidents may well have their equivalent in real life, it is hard to find something that has never happened before but again, they are figments of the imagination. Thanks again to my volunteer editor Yellow Peril, who translates my efforts into something readable.

Pat

We were at the Lake house; Jake had dropped Tommy and Anne off with Aunt Chris so they were happily playing at her place. We had picked up May, whose knowledge of decorating and cabinets was invaluable . It was a really enjoyable morning and I was becoming really comfortable with the woman who was to become my mother in law. There we were with paint samples, rug samples and cupboard patterns. May and I were having a good time, but I'm not so sure about Jake, as he was somewhat outnumbered and once in a while outvoted.

We had taken some drinks and food with us, and we stopped to eat and drink after a couple of hours. It was a little after 11 when Jake's cell phone rang. He listened for a moment, and then said, "Send two officers out to the Jacobs place to see if they can raise anybody, but tell them to use extreme caution. Let me know what they find."

I looked at Jake and just raised my eyebrows in a question.

He answered me quickly, "Jacobs has not registered at the office this morning. It could be anything or even nothing, but we have to find out. They will let me know if they find anything."

We continued with our break and talked about getting the painting done first. May was going to get the painters going when they came back from the cottage so they would be working on the house by the time we got back from Toronto. Jake and I were going to look at light fixtures while we were in Toronto.

After about half an hour, Jake's phone rang again. He listened very carefully, a really serious expression on his face. "We seized any guns he had there," Jake said. "If he has a gun, he will either have had to borrow it, or he may have had one hidden. Just stay back and I will be over there in about 10 minutes."

He looked up at us."They can't find any signs of Jacobs at the house. His truck is still there so he shouldn't be far away. I will have to go over and see what is going on as the other Corporal who should be on shift is off sick."

I went with him to his SUV where he unlocked a small box in the rear. He took out a bulletproof vest and a holstered handgun that he slid on to his belt.

I put my hand on his arm, "Jake, please take me with you. I want to see this through, and I may be able to help if I can talk to him."

"Pat, it's too dangerous. If anything were to happen to you, I would be devastated. Probably it is all nothing, but I can't take that chance."

"If I were one of your policewomen, would you stop me from going?"

"No, but the difference is that they are trained for this type of thing, and you haven't been."

"Jake, I'm a trained negotiator. You won't have to look out for me, I'll stay well back until I can do something."

"Pat, you are putting me on the spot. You will have to stay out of the way. If anything happens to you, not only will I be devastated, I will also definitely be responsible for it."

He went back into the box again and came back with a second vest. "Here, put this on and keep it on." It was the first time I had worn such a vest, and it was tight. Jake made sure it was, pulling the Velcro fastenings really tight in order to better to protect my body. We both got into the SUV, and May told us, "Be careful, both of you," and we were off. It took us about 10 minutes to get to the Jacobs place. When we arrived I could see two police cruisers and two officers waiting.

They quickly walked over to talk to Jake, telling him that they had tried banging on the doors of the house with no luck. We could see that there was a Ford truck sitting by the barn, and we all presumed it belonged to Jacobs. Jake told me to stay in the SUV and told one of the officers to stay and cover the yard while he and Tony would check the house. They went up on the porch, where they both drew their guns and went to opposite sides of the doorway. Watching Jake, I realized I was experiencing the feelings that Jenny may have felt. My nerves were screaming

Jake be careful

, but I realized that I had to keep quiet and let them do their jobs.

Jake knocked and yelled, "Police! Open up or we will come in."

There was no answer, so he reached for the doorknob, opened the door and quickly peered around the edge of the door frame and pulled his head back. He didn't seen anything to make him nervous, so he eased into the room. Tony followed him in and the minutes ticked away interminably. My nerves were just about at the point where I couldn't stand it any longer when Jake walked out on to the porch and waved the other officer and me over.

"The house is safe, he isn't in here. He has left some papers on the desk that I will have to look at, though. Tony, keep an eye out front; Gerry, keep an eye on the back."

----------------

Jake

Tony and I cleared the house, and there was no sign of Jacobs anywhere. On his desk in the study there were some papers that had not been there last time I had been here. After I called Pat and Gerry in to the house, I looked at the papers, handling them very gingerly. There was a copy of his will, a letter from Laura to him, and a message to me.

Ontario Provincial Police

Attention: Corporal Rogers

If I wrote to Laura, she would probably not read the letter, so I hope you will convey what I am saying to her.

As I write I am totally devastated by what has happened to me. My life as I knew it is in ruins. Those I have regarded as my children are not. My wife is about to divorce me. I have been excommunicated from my church, and I have no farm animals. The only thing that I have to look forward to is a jail sentence.

I have to ask myself, why did I do what I did? Until I did what I did with Ginny, I thought that my life was full and Godly, my family was properly subservient to God and to me as the church required, I had a productive farm, and I had the respect of my congregation. Then a demon entered my life, an obsession that I could not resist. I despoiled my own daughters to satisfy this demon. Even when my wife threatened me with disgrace, I continued. I took photographs and exchanged them with others. That demon has made my life a misery for five years.

Now I have learnt that what I thought was compliance with the church teachings was wrong. I did what my father taught me, thinking it to be right, and now I find that I was totally outside the law. My life that I thought was good lies about me in ashes. I cannot face the prospect of being incarcerated back in that hell where I was held so there is little choice left.

Laura did exactly what she threatened me with and I cannot hold that against her. I have left my will so that she can take the steps she needs. I want the farm to go to her and the girls in some small payment for what I have subjected them to. It seems so small in the face of the way that I treated them. At least they will be spared the need to testify against me and make all their suffering public.

Bernard Jacobs

Bernard was obviously planning on taking his own life, and he may already have done so, but we had to be aware of the possibility that he would try suicide by cop, making one of us kill him to protect ourselves. We had to search the premises. I told Pat to stay at the house. Tony, Gerry and I were going to search the outbuildings and surrounding area. There were a drive shed, a modern barn and an old barn that was beginning to fall apart with holes in the roof and the walls.

We searched the drive shed and the modern barn without problems, and we were extremely careful when we got to the last barn. We checked the ground floor stables without finding anything, but above us we could hear the sound of cawing as if crows were fighting. I went slowly up the stairs and peeked over at floor level. There seemed to be a cloud of ravens and crows, almost as if they were at a bird feeder, but it was still easy to distinguish the body hanging from a rope, the head twisted to the right and the face black. I couldn't help myself. I lifted my pistol and fired two shots through the roof of the barn, scaring the birds away. Jacobs had indeed taken the last step. He had apparently stood on top of the hayloft, fastened the rope loosely around his neck, and stepped off the hayloft. He had made sure that he could not get back on the loft by ensuring that he dropped below it.

There would not have been any chance anyway. Just looking at him, it was obvious that his neck was broken, and what was left of his face was so blue that it was almost black. I told Gerry and Tony to cut him down and cover him with a blanket. I would contact the Coroner and our office to advise them and have them send another supervisor to head the investigation, as I was involved in it.

I walked out the barn, only to be hit by a whirlwind as Pat grabbed me and started kissing me.

"You're safe, thank God! I was so worried when I heard the shots! Please don't ever do that to me again. All I could think was that I had just found you and then lost you. I know exactly how Jenny felt when she saw you go to work."

"Please, Pat, I have to call the office to set a lot of things up. Can we talk about this a bit later? It's all over; nothing more is going to happen. Jacobs is dead, he killed himself, and I only fired my gun to frighten the carrion eaters off. Don't go in there, it isn't a pleasant sight. You don't have to see it, so please don't, or both of us will be left with nightmares."

--------------------

Pat

I had stood on the steps of the house with my heart in my mouth, watching Jake, Tony and Gerry move away from the building. They were all carrying drawn guns, going very carefully. They came to the last building, an older type barn that was showing its age. They entered very carefully into the ground floor stable. A few minutes elapsed and I had begun to relax a little when suddenly there were two quick shots. I screamed Jake's name and started going toward the barn. I couldn't stay away even though Jake had told me to stay well away. As I watched, one of the double doors opened and Jake stood there, all dusty with a serious look on his face. I couldn't stop myself, I ran to him, put my arms around him and rattled on about thinking he had been hurt. I can't really remember what I said, it was such a jumble and a rush.

When he told me that Jacobs had taken his own life, I suddenly thought of Laura and the girls; they would not have to give evidence, their nightmare was over. Then Jake called the office. His instructions were pretty clear to dispatch another supervisor, preferably the sergeant, with a camera, and to dispatch the coroner and body removal van.

When I asked Jake why he needed another supervisor, he replied, "I was the arresting officer in the case, and then Bernard brought me into it even more by addressing the letter to me. It would be better for another supervisor to head up the investigation. If I were to head the investigation and the press were to get hold of the details, there would be all kinds of questions."

We walked back and waited for the coroner in the house, where Jake read the other documents on the desk. He showed me Laura's letter, commenting on the hate that showed through it.

"It is no wonder that Jacobs committed suicide! There is absolutely nothing left of his life, and Laura sure did her part to make sure of it. Now we know why she gave the journal to the Elders of the Church. That provided the finishing touch to her revenge. She can hardly be blamed for hating him, but she certainly pushed it really hard. Jacobs left the farm to her and their daughters in his will so he can't have been all bad. He even knew that the girls were not his, but still made the bequest. Anyway, the case is over now, the girls will not have to give evidence, Laura is a widow and, if she sells the farm, she should have a fair amount to live on if she uses it wisely."

"There is another point, too,'" Jake continued. "Once we are done here, I will have to go tell Laura that Jacobs is dead."

"I want to go with you when you tell her. Maybe it will help her if I am there, too. It will me anyway; I can hardly believe it even yet."

"After what I saw in the barn, I don't doubt it for a minute. When I saw what the birds had done, I wanted to be sick. That's why I fired without thinking. That kind of picture is the stuff of nightmares. It is hard to think that birds would do that, but with nothing to chase them, it shouldn't surprise me; after all, they do it with other dead animals. Every part of bare skin seemed to have been attacked and he looked like something from a horror film. Any service will have to be a closed casket."

Just then Sergeant James drove in, and he had the Coroner with him. We walked out to the car, and as the Sergeant got out, he said with a grimace, "Jake, this had better be good, dragging me out here on my day off."

Jake briefed him as all three of them walked across to the barn. They were in there a few minutes while the Coroner examined Jacobs and pronounced his death, and then they came out and walked to the house where Jake showed them the letters in the study.

Jake then asked the Sergeant, "Bill, I have dealt with Laura since day one on this case. Can I go and tell her that her husband is dead? I want to take Pat with me, as she has helped Laura a lot from the beginning of this mess."

"Go ahead; I don't relish doing that myself, and I think you are absolutely right to bring Pat along with you. She should be a big help."

Jake and I then drove back into town to the Crisis Center and asked to see Laura. She came to the office, and I suppose one look at our faces was enough.

"What has happened?"

Jake broke the news. "Laura, I have just come from your farm, and I'm sorry, but I have to tell you that your husband is dead. He died sometime yesterday."

Her face fell and her eyes seemed to fill with tears for a brief moment. Then she shrugged and straightened up. Her eyes showed no emotion as she looked back to Jake.

"What killed him?"

"He appears to have killed himself by hanging himself in the barn. He left a letter for me saying that he had nothing left of his life. Even his church had deserted him, and he couldn't face any more time in prison."

"Well, there is no doubt that in the past nineteen years I have wished many times that he was dead, but I hate the thought of the ugly way that he went -- I certainly didn't wish for that. Nonetheless, I have to prepare for his funeral now. When will I be able to take possession of his body?"

"There will likely be a post mortem, either tomorrow or Monday, and if the Coroner is satisfied, the body will be released then. The best thing for you to do at this point is to contact a funeral director, and they will look after everything. That way you won't have to worry about getting his body, as they will take care of it for you.

I stepped in at that point to tell Laura, "Now that the danger to them is over, I can't see any reason that your younger girls shouldn't be with you. If there is room at the Center for them, they can be here with you until you can make other arrangements. I'll contact the duty worker and have her bring them over."

I checked with the Director, and she said that it was ok for the younger girls to be there, so I then contacted my office to inform them of what to do. Jake and I then left Laura and, though our hearts really didn't seem to be in it, we drove to the lake house, back to our spot on the dock.

We sat there quietly, just holding each other at the picnic table. Jake told me that he just couldn't get rid of the sight of Jacobs' body hanging there with the birds flapping around it, pecking away at everything they could find. He stretched out along the seat of the picnic table, resting his head in my lap, and spoke softly, "I can't believe what Jacobs must have gone through to do what he did. The anguish that he must have felt before he came to his final decision! After reading his letter and the one from Laura, I'm not really surprised at what he did. Nor was I surprised at Laura's reaction when we told her that he had committed suicide. There was no emotion at all, almost as if she were happy that it finished, although she did admit that she hadn't wished for him to finish quite that way. It must be terrible to realize that someone hated you that much."

Our discussion continued for a couple of hours until we were disturbed by the sound of a car driving up. A police cruiser stopped at the dock and Bill James got out and walked over to us.

"Well, I personally have no doubt that this was suicide, but the coroner pulled some strings, and the pathologist is doing the autopsy right now. I'm going to need a statement from you as to what happened while you were there. I had better warn you, too. I told the brass at Sunbury what happened, so they contacted General Headquarters. Whoever was on duty decided to bring in the SIU. Apparently they don't like the fact that the note was addressed to you, and they don't like the fact that you fired two shots."

Jake jumped to his feet in anger.

"Bill, what idiot decided that? Did you tell them that his wife wouldn't open a letter from him, and that the shots were fired to get rid of ravens that were stripping all the skin from him? You know, two shots in the air like they do at airports to get rid of birds."

Jake seemed to be in a rage, and continued with clenched fists and a snarl, "Bill, you know I was going to have to make a tough decision as to my career. Well, this news is going to make that decision easy."

I asked, "Who are the SIU?'

"They are the civilian investigators who investigate to find out whether the police have played any part in the death or injury. The office of twenty-twenty hindsight, they check into what we did, tell us what we should have done, and lay any charges they feel are justified."

"Could they charge you, Jake?"

"Who knows what they will do. They are getting a little better, but they still take a fair amount of time to let you know the issue is resolved. Basically they are going to re-investigate to see if I did something wrong. I don't have any fears that they will find anything wrong, it's just the point that, because I did something sensible and Jacobs wrote to me, my work is being questioned. All it really means is that they want to cover their ass, just in case. The fact that I have done thousands of investigations without complaint means absolutely nothing to them."

He calmed down a bit and continued, "Bill, you know that on Monday I was planning to take the computer down to the Child Porn Section. Well, that plan still holds. I won't be back till late Wednesday. I'm taking a couple days of leave after that, so if the SIU want to talk to me before then, that's too bad, they can wait. I won't talk to them without a lawyer present when they do finally question me, and that's for sure. As to where I will be and who I will be with, you have no idea. That should stop them for a while. I'll see you before I leave Monday, anyway."

The Sergeant talked a little more to Jake before getting back in his cruiser to drive back to the station, at which point Jake and I got up and went over to Aunt Chrissie's place to pick up the kids as we were going to have supper with May and John. Chris came along with us, and when we got to May's, Jake went into the office with John for a little while. I helped May by setting up the table for the eight of us. Chris and May had discussed supper during the afternoon, and Chris brought a trifle for desert. She had actually already started it the day before and finished it that afternoon.