A Girl in Need Ch. 08

She then busied herself setting up the percolator. We all sat at the table in the kitchen and Laura told us that she and Forbes were planning on getting married, and that Forbes would legally adopt the girls so they would be recognized as his daughters. They were going to join his farm and Laura's parents' place into one large farm. I was still wondering where I had seen him before; I was definitely going to do some checking when I got back to the office.

Laura made coffee for us all, and I brought in most of the property that we had seized under the warrant and had her sign for it. I told her about the guns that we had taken and asked if she had a Possession and Acquisition License. She told me she didn't have one, so I told her that I could not give her the weapons until she got one. She could sell them, or give them away, but not possess them without a license. She looked at Colin, "Do you have one?" he replied that he did, and she told him, "That's easy then, you can have the guns." I told him that he would have to come to the office with his license and a signed letter from Laura giving him the guns, and I would then give them to him.

She did want the photos destroyed. I told her that the laptop was in Toronto and that when the Child Porn Unit was finished with it, the hard drive would be cleaned off and it would be returned.

She talked about selling the farm and the equipment, so I told her to contact Bernard's lawyer regarding the will, as his estate would have to go through probate. I asked when the funeral was going to be, and it was set for the next day, with the family present for a short visitation followed by the service. As Bernard had been so badly marked that a viewing was out of the question, he had already been cremated and the ashes would be at the Funeral Home the next day

I arranged with Colin to meet him at the Police Station prior to the funeral, then Pat and I left them to it. Pat couldn't keep her curiosity suppressed.

"Jake, what do you think of that? We catch them in bed together and she was hardly even flustered. She sure had a well laid look about her when she let us in. It doesn't look like she misses Bernard very much. Are you going to go to the funeral to see what happens?"

"I wouldn't normally, but I'll be talking to Colin before the funeral. I want to check something before I do. Do you mind if we spend a bit of time at the office before we go home?"

"No, it's interesting watching you work; just remember that we have a brood to feed tonight, so we better be home on time. Knowing my aunt, though, and my future mother in law, I bet there will be lots of food already made."

When we got to the office, I first checked Colin against our local records and, sure enough, we had met before. During the previous winter he had been on his way to Renfrew when he skidded on ice and hit a rock face. He wasn't injured, but he wrote off his vehicle, and he obviously wasn't a stranger to the area. Maybe they had been meeting at other times. It was not really police business, but I would have a couple of questions for Colin when I saw him. I still couldn't get over Laura's lack of feeling about her husband's death; it was almost like she was operating on auto pilot. It felt similar to the way I was after Jenny's death, if the truth be told.

We went home, and sure enough Mom and Chris had really been at it. The house was gleaming, it looked a lot more like a home than I had been able to make it, and they had even put flowers in most of the downstairs rooms. Mom had made Toad in the Hole. For those who don't know what that is, it is my grandma's favourite recipe, so she taught Mom; it is a Yorkshire Pudding batter, only in a large quantity, with sausages in it. It was new to Sean and Pat, but just like me and my kids, they thought it was great. They also had cut up lots of veggies, so it wasn't all fattening. Apparently the kids had spent most of the afternoon over with Tanya's brood, so the ladies had time on their hands to get things done and went ahead and did it.

Once again, we had the fun of putting the kids to bed, both of us looking after each of them. So far so good, they were adapting to each other, and hopefully, if number four really were on the way, they would accept him or her just as easily. After a couple of glasses of wine, we went up ourselves. The first thing I noticed was that there was a new picture on the bedside table. At the family barbecue Mom had taken a photo of Pat and me with our arms round each other's waist. She had enlarged and printed it, and framed it. She had also left a number of candles around ready to be lit. Pat sent me off to shower, and when I was done, she had lit all the candles and turned off the lights. I held her close and kissed her, but when I started stroking her body with my hands, she put a finger over my mouth.

"Jake, just hold that thought, I'll be back in a few minutes."

I relaxed on the bed, and sure enough Pat wasn't long before she came into the room in that pink baby doll nightie and thong -- she was sexy as all get out. She came to me on the bed, her fresh scent driving me crazy. I slipped the nightie off her, then the thong, and slipped off my boxers as our nude bodies came together. We well and truly christened the bed that night, and fell asleep holding each other under the blanket. It was a good thing the kids didn't come in till we were up the next morning!

When I went in to work that morning, I met with Colin Forbes at the Police Station. After checking his documents and reading the letter from Laura, I turned the guns over to him. He asked if he could talk to me personally for a few minutes. I closed the office door and said, "Go right ahead, anything said is between you and me, unless I think it indicates an offence, and I'll warn you if that happens."

"Actually, what I am asking is a big favour to me and Laura. Ginny wants to go to college here in Clearville next year at Clearville College. She wants to get into social work because Pat impressed her so much with the way she handled all the girls. We have arranged accommodation for her with the same family who looked after Gail and Paula. They are great people. Ginny figures that you and Pat are great people, too, and I would like to ask if the two of you would help her out if she needs it, kind of as life mentors. Let's face it, she hasn't had much of a normal life, and there is no doubt that you and Pat are probably the most grounded people she has ever come across."

"Well, as far as I am concerned, I don't have a problem with that, though by the end of the summer I will no longer be associated with the Police. However, if Pat has any misgivings about doing it, then as her husband, it will rule me out as well,"

"Her husband? Congratulations to both of you! We didn't realize that you two were an item. (That's what they call it now, don't they?)"

"We weren't until we started on this case, but events just knocked us over, they happened so fast. Anyway, she is coming to the funeral with me so we can ask her then. I don't think she will say no, but we better run it by her first. Now, how about you answering a question for me?"

"I will if I can, so go ahead."

"Almost a year ago, you were involved in an accident travelling south on the main highway from here. Had you been visiting Laura? If you want, you can tell me it's none of my business, but your answer might help to get rid of some misgivings I have."

"As you put it like that, the answer is yes, I had been visiting Laura. I have been off and on for the last six or seven years. Two or three times a year, Bernard went off to church retreats, or so they were supposed to be. Seven years ago Laura had reason to contact Bernard, but when she contacted the number of the place where the retreat was taking place, he wasn't there. When he came back, she got a chance to search the truck and she found a receipt from a hotel in North York. She called the hotel and asked for Bernard and of course they told her that Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs had checked out two days previously. She never found out who that Mrs. Jacobs was, but when she was in town on her own, she called me and told me what happened. We just decided that what was sauce for the gander was sauce for the goose, and whenever he was going away to those so called retreats, I would come up here and stay at the Bluewater Motel, Laura would join me when she could. Does that explain things for you?"

"Yes, it does, but there is just one more question that I have to ask Laura and, depending on her answer, I either drop everything and report as things are, or I may make it more detailed and leave it to somebody else to finish. I'll be seeing both of you at the funeral home later."

Shortly after that, Pat arrived at the office, and I explained Colin's request. She didn't take long to give me her answer.

"Jake, Ginny has had a hard life, and I feel I owe her for coming forward and making it possible for us to meet. Maybe we would have been introduced anyway, but the situation would not have been so emotionally charged. To me, those high emotions made you and me realize that we loved each other far more quickly than we might have otherwise. I'd love to act as her adviser, and I don't know how you feel about this, but I would love to ask Ginny and her friend Beth to act as bridesmaids for me."

"That is just fine with me. Bridesmaids are your choice, but I would love to see the kids involved too."

"They will be! Now, next question: as you will still be a member of the Police then, are you going to be in Dress Uniform? I'd love it if you were."

"For you, anything. How we get there is up to you, just as long as there is a Mr. and Mrs. John Rogers Junior at the end. That's what I care about."

"Oh, there will be, have no fears about that!"

We left then for the funeral home, where we met Laura, Colin, Ginny, Paula and Gail. Other than them, there were hardly any people there at all. Laura thanked us for coming and explained that Bernard had no family that she was aware of, and, since he was shunned, there would be no people from the church there. The only people coming in seemed to be a few that he had done business with, and they came in, talked to Laura for a few minutes, gave their commiserations and then left.

When things quieted down after a while, Laura said to me, "I hear you have more questions for me."

We moved to the back of the room. "Just a couple of quick questions. You don't have to answer, but it will help me put the case to rest. First, why didn't you tell Colin that your daughters were his children?"

"That's simple to answer, because he knew most of what Bernard was like with the beatings. If Colin had known that the girls were his, he would have done something about it. I was scared of what Bernard would do. I know that if Bernard had any idea that the girls were Colin's, he would have divorced me and tried to keep the children away from me as an unfit mother. The church would have helped him as well. I was really scared of that. His name was on the birth certificates, and that is what the courts would go on. I talked to a lawyer about it, and that is what he told me, but I didn't talk to him about the beatings, just the girl's births."

"Alright, that sounds pretty reasonable to me. Now, just a general question for my report. What are you going to do with Bernard's ashes?"

"Now you will think I am really terrible. Thanks to his treatment of me and the girls, I don't want to leave any formal evidence of his existence except in documents. There won't be any interment. As it was, the thing he most loved was the farm, so this afternoon we will be taking the ashes out there, spreading them in a field, and then plowing them into the ground. Even though I hated him, I will give him that much dignity, even though I don't think he deserves it. Next week, Colin and I will be married, and as soon as we can, the farm will be sold and everything else auctioned off. Clearville isn't a very happy place for me; it represents almost nineteen years of slavery and servitude, something I would like to forget but never will. Once I get away from here, I will never come back. Think badly of me if you must, but I can't be a hypocrite and pretend otherwise."

"Laura, it isn't for me to judge you or think badly of you. I can only imagine the horrors you and the girls have gone through. All I would say, and I'm sure Pat would agree with me, is talk to a doctor where you are going to live, and find a counselor that you can really relate to, to help you recover from what you have been through."

Pat interjected and said, "Laura, what Jake said is a must. If you want a happy life with Colin, you have to get rid of the leavings of your life with Bernard. You have to talk things out with someone."

After the service, which only Laura and the girls, Colin, Pat and I attended, Pat and I left. I asked Pat, "Well, can you blame her?"

"Absolutely not, she survived and you know how many don't. I wish her well with Colin, he seems the only bright light that she has ever had in her life. I told her I would like Ginny to be one of my bridesmaids, and she was so pleased. Ginny was over the moon. She will come up by bus for dress fittings, and she is back to being best friends with Beth."

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Pat

Epilogue

Well that was the story of how I met and fell for Jake Rogers. One of the worst crimes that we can imagine resulted in us meeting and marrying. We got the Lake House finished, and that is where we are living. Jake is understudying his Dad at Roger's Construction and we see our Dad home most nights, except for business trips. So far Mom has gone along as well. Now, whether that will continue when the twins are born remains to be seen. Yes, John Rogers the third and Patricia Jennifer Rogers are well on the way, on the usual Roger's timetable. Whether it was that night in Niagara Falls we will never know, but it had to be pretty close.

Before Jakes resignation took effect, I had plenty of time to realize that, while Jenny and I may have looked different, we were sisters under the skin. While I would never have said anything to Jake, I hated seeing him strap on that gun and leave the house, not knowing if I would see him come back alive. It tore at my heart to think of anything happening. Yet, all over the world, spouses do that every day, sometimes for thirty years or more. I can only say they have my greatest respect for doing so.

Oh yes, the wedding. Everything went off according to plan. The night before, I stayed at Aunt Chrissie's, and the next morning I got my hair done. I had found a dove grey floor length gown that fitted me like a glove and accentuated my breasts, eyes, hair and face. Chrissie and Sean escorted me down the aisle to where that handsome guy with the grin was waiting, all dressed up in his dress uniform. Ahead of me were Tommy as the ring bearer, Anne as my flower girl, Beth and Ginny as bridesmaids and Joan, my future sister in law, was my Matron of honour, as she volunteered first.

As the minister asked who gives this woman, Aunt Chris and Sean, speaking as one, said "We do." The ceremony was pretty much a haze for me, as every time I looked at Jake, he gave me one of those grins that make my knees turn to jelly, and when the minister said "You May Kiss the Bride," his kiss just about had me wrestling him to the floor. Now, that would have surprised the minister. After we signed the register and were leaving the church, I noticed that all the uniformed officers had left. I should suspected something was up, and as we walked out the door, there were two lines of officers, one line on each side of the pathway, with their batons in the air forming an archway for us.

We had a great reception at May's. They had even put down a dance floor and hired a local band. The caterer did a great job, including the cake. Jake and I changed there before we headed out. When I threw my bouquet, imagine my surprise when it ended up just falling into Chrissie's arms (I had always wondered about those nights out when she didn't go to May's.) Maybe there is more than meets the eye there.

Our honeymoon was five beautiful days at the cottage. Jake drove us up so that we would have a vehicle if we needed it. We went out for dinner three times, but spent most of the rest of the time in bed. We never wet a line in five days. When we got home, the kids were all packed and we went to Disneyworld for a week, and we all had a ball there. It was hot in Florida, but the kids didn't care, all they cared about was Mickey, Minnie and the rest of the Disney characters.

Now the kids are in bed, and Grandma May is having a quiet read while listening for them. Jake and I? We are heading for the dock for our quiet time. You know that bet from the first day I saw the house? I lost. Jake put a two person hammock out in the shelter, and that was the first place we christened when we moved in. We might just do it again tonight if these two I am carrying don't interrupt.

The End