Chapter 12 - The Plot Thickens

She squinted at the bright light in her eyes. It was like the sun was shining directly into her face. Her head felt like it had been packed with cotton and she was having trouble making sense of anything. Realization grew on her that she had been looking at the same spot on the curtain wall beside the bed for minutes before she even knew that it was there.

A dull ache in her shoulder got her attention and served to help her cut through some of the fogginess. The last thing she remembered was a sharp pain in her shoulder outside Hiram's garage. As more sensation returned to her body, she was confused when she didn't feel the gravel and concrete of the garage under her. Instead, it felt like she was lying on some kind of a cushion.

Her eyes flashed open as she took stock of where she was. The lights above her were the standard fluorescent fixtures in a drop ceiling. Turning her head, she saw a curtain that surrounded her bed. It looked to her that she might be in the hospital or a medical facility, but she couldn't tell.

A nurse seated in a chair beside the bed looked up at Mary Sue's movement and stepped to her side.

"Miss McLaughlin? How are you feeling?"

Mary Sue blinked and just looked at her. She felt like she was waking up, but the ability to put words together eluded her. The nurse could see that she was not quite coherent and smiled patiently.

"You're going to be okay," she said. "You are in the hospital and I'm just keeping an eye on you until you're all the way awake."

Mary was getting her wits and strength back quickly. She nodded her understanding and tried to speak. She managed to get out, "What happened?"

"Well, you were shot in the shoulder. I assisted Doctor Morton with your surgery and he removed what looked like a musket ball."

At Mary's surprised look, she continued, "Doctor Morton would be here to talk to you about your surgery, but he had to go into surgery on another emergency. I'm a Physician's Assistant, so I'm able to discuss everything with you when you're ready."

"Could I have something to drink?"

"Sure," the doctor picked up a cup from the table beside the bed and held a straw for her.

Once her throat wasn't quite so dry, she asked, "How long have I been here?"

"You were brought in a little less than six hours ago and we operated as quickly as we could wheel you into an operating room. You were actually very lucky. It looks like the slug missed your collar bone and the artery in your shoulder. It basically hit soft tissue and only penetrated part way. I've actually seen cowboys with worse damage." She smiled encouragingly.

"How long do you think I will need to be here?" Events seemed to be conspiring to keep her from leaving, even though certain people wanted her to go and she was willing to do so.

"Doctor Morton wants to keep you here for a while longer, but I would think could go home tomorrow. There are a couple of people who have been waiting to see you. Are you up to it?"

Mary Sue nodded with a smile. She was pretty sure that one of the people waiting to talk to her was Pat and she wanted to see him more than ever now.

She stepped through the curtain and was gone for a few minutes before she returned leading Pat and Leslie.

Mary Sue looked at them and said, "Hi. I'm glad to see you guys."

Leslie just smiled while Pat said, "The doctor told us that you were going to be okay. How do you feel?"

"My shoulder hurts some, but I don't think that the pain killer they used has worn off yet."

The Physician's Assistant hadn't left the enclosed space; she had just stepped to one side to allow Pat and Leslie to come in. She spoke up. "Doctor Morton prescribed a pain killer for you; he thought that you might need it for the next couple of days. You'll probably want to use a sling to manage the pain."

"I guess I won't be driving my car for a few days then."

"That's okay," Pat said. "I'm able to get around, so I'll be your chauffeur. Besides, I don’t plan on leaving your side." He smiled at the thought that they might be spending even more time together.

"You don't understand," Mary said, looking at him sadly. "I was going to leave town and continue following the wagon train. There have been too many things happening around me and I didn't want you to get hurt again."

Pat's expression went through several changes in a matter of moments. First his eyebrows rose in surprise and then he frowned and then he smiled.

"Well I have a few more days to show you that you don't need to run away."

"I'm afraid that you need to remain in town while I look into this anyway, Miss McLaughlin," Leslie said.

Pat didn't look too surprised by the trooper's statement, but Mary was. Leslie continued, "I've had a chance to look at the bullet that they took out of your shoulder. It's the kind of bullet that was used by antique rifles, which is why I think you are alive."

"I thought that you had been told to leave," Mary said. "I saw the other troopers leaving town."

Leslie smiled grimly and nodded. "I was out of contact with my office until after I heard that you were shot. I reported in after I was able to look at the bullet they removed from your shoulder and found that we had been recalled." She paused and glanced at the P. A. for a moment who mimed that her lips were sealed and then continued, "When I explained that I thought that there might be more going on here in town than the sheriff might be able to handle, my captain gave me clearance to stay. But I'm on my own."

Both Pat and Mary looked at her when she broke that news. "Do you think that you can handle it on your own?" Pat asked.

Leslie's smile promised many things. Its greatest message was that she wasn't concerned. "I can handle myself, I was an armorer in the Marine Corps during Desert Storm and I've been a state trooper for several years." She proceeded to ask Mary questions to find out what had happened to her from the time she had left the hospital to get clothes for Pat. She took notes of everything that Mary told her, but her face gave nothing away about anything that she heard.

When Mary described how she had planned to leave town after dropping off Pat's clothes, his shocked expression made her stop. "There were too many things happening around me," she said. Her eyes filled with tears when she said, "I didn't want to have you get hurt again because I was here."

He knelt beside the bed to bring himself down level with her and smiled at her. "It's just as well that you didn't leave. If you had, I would have had a hell of a time chasing you to bring you back." He stood and kissed her lightly on the lips.

Just the feathery touch of his lips on hers thrilled her to her toes and woke up parts of her body that ached for more attention. She leaned into him and pressed her lips against his to return his kiss with more intensity. Leslie politely coughed to remind them they weren’t alone.

Suddenly self-conscious, he pulled back to look at her. "I think we have more to discuss later." She looked into his eyes and nodded, suddenly feeling a bit shy.

Leslie was watching their exchange with an indulgent smile on her face. "Mr. Summerfield? I need to report to my captain and I'm not sure where I might need to go after that. I trust that you and Miss McLaughlin will be able to get back into town?"

Pat looked up and said, "Yes. I have a friend that will be coming out in an hour or two to get us. Will you meet us later for dinner?"

Leslie thought for a minute and shook her head. "I don't think being seen with you in public would be a good idea. I want to get you both somewhere safe and keep you out of harm's way."

"You mean like protective custody?" Pat asked.

"Yes. I wish I could keep you here in the hospital because it would provide restricted access. But it's too expensive to do that."

"That won't be a problem ma'am," Pat said. "My house was built back when there were Indian raids and it's pretty much a small fortress. I'm going to need to restock the kitchen first though."

"That sounds good. I need you to stay there until I've brought this situation to a close. There is more going on here than a mugging and a botched murder attempt. If it's possible, I would like to keep the two of you in the same location." She waved at the medical assistant and they moved away across the room.

Pat looked down at Mary Sue and twirled a non-existent handlebar moustache.

"Well now. It seems like just a little while ago that I was in bed and you were visiting me. I'll take you home with me."
He smiled when he saw Mary Sue's narrowed eyes. "Don’t give me that look. I have a guest bedroom."

Pat went on, “I asked Liz to go by the motel and get your clothes and books. When Liz gets here, you’ll be able to change into clean clothes, I'm afraid they had to cut off the clothes that you were wearing. They were a bit of a bloody mess. Then I'll take you home with me. Think of me as your personal bodyguard, you will be safe with me from now on."

Mary Sue looked up at him and smiled. She was just a bit starry-eyed at the moment.

Their mutual admiration was interrupted as the curtain around the bed was thrown open and the sheriff appeared. "Well now missy. I see that you are doing just fine, you really should have taken my advice." He stepped to the foot of the bed. "You must be made of steel to be able to be hit in the shoulder and not be on life support."

Before he could continue with his standard bombast, he himself was interrupted by Leslie's return, the physician assistant right behind her.

"There is nothing mysterious about that, Sheriff," she said, making him swing about in surprise. "I had a look at the bullet that was removed from Miss McLaughlin's shoulder and I have a pretty good idea of the type of gun that was used.

"I believe that from the caliber of the bullet, the rifle was an antique. That means that it was not very efficient and the muzzle velocity was fairly low."

"How can you know that?" the sheriff asked. He obviously did not like having anyone tell him his business or intrude upon his territory. Before he could get his feathers ruffled any further, Leslie continued.

"During the time that Miss McLaughlin was in surgery, I canvassed the downtown area and discovered the location where the shooter was standing. I found paper and a percussion cap that were ejected from the rifle. The size of the bullet that was used tells me that we are probably looking for a Civil War Colt Revolver rifle. Those particular rifles were notorious for a great deal of blowback when they were fired and they had a tendency to burn the shooter if they weren't careful."

Sheriff Thompson looked at her in surprise. He obviously was surprised that anyone would be so familiar with firearms and ballistics, especially antique weapons.

"I don't need any help investigating crimes in my county, Missy," he blustered.

Leslie smiled thinly upset by the 'missy' statement so she calmly replied, "I don't mind helping at all Sheriff. Please don’t take it personally, I can’t speak for everyone, but no one, in my office, is directly accusing you of incompetence."

Because the crimes that have been taking place in the past week, my captain agreed that a raised law enforcement presence might be called for. As I am still investigating the arson of a historical landmark and I believe that the attack on Miss McLaughlin is related to that crime, I am within my purview to investigate it as well." She took a step closer to the sheriff, which brought her into his personal space and her knee in perfect striking position. Because of her height, she was able to look him in the eye.

"My name is Leslie Caldwell." Leslie's tone was icily firm. "You may call me Trooper Caldwell. I earned the right be called by my name and rank, not by Missy. I expect you to understand that and respect it." The look in her eye said that she would have that respect from the man or she intended to do bodily harm to certain parts of his anatomy.

While the Sheriff was not out of shape, he was not in peak condition and it was apparent that he knew it. He also was not accustomed to having people stand up to him. He exercised a great deal of wisdom of nodding quickly while Leslie kept her eyes locked on his and restraint because he did not move to cover himself.

“I’m sorry Sheriff, I didn’t hear your response.”

Totally browbeaten by this woman, he meekly answered, “Yes, Trooper Caldwell.”

Before he could turn to see who had witnessed his humiliation at the hands of a woman, the Physician's Assistant had stepped out of her corner and up to Mary's side. She made a production of taking her temperature and pulse, while she kept her face turned away from the sheriff. Her smile would not have been appreciated.

Mary Sue didn't even try to hide her smile at seeing the sheriff put in his place. She could see that Pat was enjoying himself as well. The fact that the sheriff could do nothing about it made it all the more delicious.

In an attempt to salvage some kind of control, he kept his eyes on Leslie and said, "I need to pick up the bullet that was removed from Miss McLaughlin and begin my investigation."

Leslie took much of the wind out of his sails when she said, "I quite understand Sheriff. I have already gotten pictures, its weight, and size. I have contacts with the Forensics team in Cheyenne and they are already doing some work. I'll have them send you a copy of their results when they are done."

She waited a moment for the implication that there was already official knowledge of the bullet that had gone beyond his control. She drove home the final nail when she said, "I didn't want to overstep my bounds by sending them the bullet though. I knew that you needed to see the evidence that had been collected before you sent it on for analysis." Her statement put the man on notice that any suspected corruption had been made virtually impossible.

The sheriff had a rather sour look on his face he brushed past Leslie and left the room. Walking past her was the closest he came to any kind of a display of machismo.

Once he was gone, Leslie looked back to Pat and Mary Sue. She turned to the doctor ??, "Could I speak with these two for a few minutes?"

"I'll get Miss McLaughlin's discharge papers and medication ready." She parted the curtain behind her and left them alone.

Satisfied that they had no witnesses present, Leslie stepped closer to them. "The two of you are in a bit of an interesting and dangerous position. You are both witnesses and victims. I need to tell you that my captain has concerns about an impartial investigation into all of this. He also doesn't like being told what to investigate and when, especially by politicians. It would seem you two have stepped on some very big toes around here. How about sitting down with me and giving me the full lowdown."

"Leslie, I am taking Mary home with me, I am one hell of a cook you are welcome to join us for diner where we can talk in private.”

"It's important that you exercise caution for the next day or two. Once I have enough evidence, we'll have justification to bring in a team and no amount of political pressure will force us to leave."

Pat and Mary were speechless at her revelation and exchanged glances. "Are we safe being in public?" Pat asked.

"Yes, you should be as long as you keep your public appearances to a minimum and only during daylight don’t establish any patterns. But I would prefer that you stay indoors and away from windows. The sheriff knows that I'm looking around in an official capacity and I suspect that whoever is responsible for these crimes will keep a low profile as a result."

With that, Leslie bid them goodbye so that she could take care of making her reports and continue her investigation. The physician assistant came back in with the discharge orders the doctor had left. While she and Mary went over her medication and instructions, Pat went to call Liz for a ride.

They had already agreed that Mary Sue would probably be safest borrowing a room in Pat's house, even though it might not look quite proper. Mary was sure that everyone in town would know that she was Pat's roommate within an hour after her luggage was carried into the house. She resigned herself to accepting the narrowed glances from those who might disapprove and just explain that she was staying in Pat's house for safety.

They made a brief stop on the way through town to allow Pat to pick up Mary's Volkswagen at Hiram's. Pat had to pull Hiram back from going over to Liz's car to check on Mary Sue. He had been panicked when he had actually witnessed the shot impacting her shoulder as he came out of the garage. Pat had to explain that she needed some time to settle down, just like he was sure Hiram did. Pat assured him that Mary appreciated everything that he had done to help her.

Once they reached the house, Liz helped Pat get Mary Sue's luggage moved into the house. Mary Sue wasn't allowed to move anything other than herself and found herself installed in an armchair. The rest of the work was done in a matter of minutes and Liz was off to get Pat's groceries.

When Liz arrived, she brought in Mary's suitcase to allow her to change clothes. Mary resigned herself to doing without a bra for a day or two, she might have to resort to Band-Aids though. Strangely Liz remained behind closing the curtain. She offered to help but it still made Mary a bit uncomfortable. Liz did button up the blouse she had brought, even if her hands did seem to linger on her breasts more than seemed necessary. The skirt was a little more of a challenge but she zipped it in front before she pulled it around to look presentable.

She was fortunate to have Liz helping her finish up. It was a bit embarrassing to need help to even pull up her socks and Liz seemed to enjoy running her hands up her calves. It felt nice, but she didn't think that she should be enjoying a woman's hands on her legs quite as much. Even with the dull pain in her shoulder, the feathery touches that Liz was torturing her with were waking her breasts and crotch. She was glad that Pat wasn't present for this.

She looked down at where Liz was kneeling and said with a mock scowl, "You are so evil." She was rewarded with a teasing smile in return, but Liz didn't seem to have her heart in it. She finally took mercy upon Mary Sue after helping her with her shoes and sat down on the bed beside her.

"Sorry. I just couldn't resist teasing. Do you think that you'll be okay?"

"I think so. The damage to my shoulder was like being stabbed more than anything. I just have to be careful of the stitches they put in and I'll be fine. I just won't be lifting anything for a while. Or even drive a car."

Pat came in at that point. He'd heard her last statement and said, "That's okay. My head is okay, so I'll be your taxi driver." Mary Sue gave him a warm smile.

"Would you like something to drink?"

"Yes, please. I guess that I have to stick with water though. These discharge orders say that I'm not allowed to have alcohol while I'm taking the pain killers. Never mind that the booze would be a painkiller too." She smiled as she waved the sheaf of papers she had been given.

"I'm afraid that it would have to be water anyway. Liz will be back in an hour, but the kitchen is pretty bare right now."

Mary smiled a bit lop-sided as Pat took a seat across from her.

"We're a fine pair. You have a dent in your head and I've got a hole in my shoulder."

"I don't know about that," Pat replied. "We could be so much worse. I could be in the hospital with a skull fracture and that bullet could have hit you somewhere much worse."

Mary nodded slowly. "I guess the pain meds haven't worn off completely yet. You would think that I would be freaking out about being shot."

Pat shook his head. "No. The hospital wouldn't let you go out of their clutches if you were still loopy." He smiled warmly at her. "I think that you must have gone through the panic phase while you were still at the hospital. You don't give yourself enough credit for what you can handle."

Inside, Pat's stomach felt hollow and fluttery. The fact that Mary Sue could have been killed hadn't really struck him until he had actually voiced the possibility. The thought made him feel a bit ill.

For her part, Pat's reminder of the attack on himself brought back her original thoughts about why all of this was happening to them.''

"I'm sorry all of this has happened," she said quietly. "If I hadn't been researching the wagon train and then refused to stop, you wouldn't have been hurt and I wouldn't have been shot." Tears were beading up and preparing to start streaming down her face.

Pat was beside her in an instant, pulling her to him as best he could. "It isn't your fault. That journal was like a time bomb. It would have been found at some point and the truth would have come out. We're going to be okay and Leslie is looking into things.

"This house is over a hundred years old and walls were made to be a foot thick to insulate against the winters. The windows are our only weak point because it would take a rocket launcher to damage the walls. I don't think that anyone is going to try a firebomb through a window.

"Considering what was in that journal, I think that it's a pretty safe bet that the Kaylocks are somehow behind everything and Leslie is going to find that out."

When Mary Sue turned to look up at Pat, she found herself inches from his face. Their eyes met and neither looked away.

Pat's first kiss was a chaste kiss that just brushed against her lips. It was an invitation and a request for more. He pulled back only a little, leaving Mary hungry for more. She crossed the distance to press her lips firmly against Pat's. Tongues brushed against parted lips and danced around each other in exploration.

It was a couple of minutes before they pulled back to actually look at each other. Mary felt flushed and a bit light-headed. The smile on her face was a reflection of Pat's. The need to protect Mary's shoulder from harm meant that they couldn't do anything more than hold each other...carefully and neck.

They moved over to the sofa where there was more room. Not that they needed it though. Now that they knew that the other was safe and soon-to-be healthy again, they weren't afraid to give in some to the hormones that had been bothering them both. They were so lost in each other that they didn't notice the passage of time until the doorbell sounded.

Pat carefully disconnected himself from Mary Sue while he let Liz in with a load of groceries. He made a trip of his own to bring in the rest and started storing things away. Liz took time to sit down next to Mary to give her a hug and to check on how she was doing.

"I'm feeling okay, but the painkillers might be wearing off. My shoulder is pounding a little."

"I've some of the folks that I have rescued as part of being with the fire department. I know how much something like this could start hurting. You should think about taking something and getting some rest. That will be the best thing for you."

She patted Mary's knee and said, "I have to get down to the diner. Lieutenant Caldwell told me that she wanted to interview me yet this evening." At Liz's statement that Leslie wanted to talk to her, Mary saw the same kind of withdrawal she had observed at the hospital. She wondered if Liz was somehow concerned about talking to Leslie about something.

Pat poke his head around the corner from the kitchen as Liz started for the door. "Would you like something to eat or go in to take a nap? I just have to fix up the bed for you."

Mary Sue smiled up at him and said, "I already made the bed for you. I took care of it when I was here to get your clothes. Back when I had two good arms."

He returned her smile. "Okay. Let me get you a painkiller and I'll get you settled on the bed."

After she popped a pill, he kept an arm around her as they walked down the hall to his bedroom. The room was warm because of the afternoon sun. Pat helped her get situated on the bed without putting any stress on her arm or shoulder. Once she was comfortable, he got up to leave and Mary Sue said, "Please don’t go. I don’t want to be alone right now. Besides you did promise not to leave my side until I’m well." He smiled gently at her before going around the bed to lay down beside her. They both knew that nothing could happen, at least until Mary's shoulder was in better shape.

Her damaged shoulder was between the two of them, so Pat carefully slid up to her side and stretched his arm above her head. The last thing Mary did before she fell asleep was to snuggle closer to her man and give out a contented sigh.