HAZY SHADE OF WINTER - PART ELEVEN
PREVIOUSLY
Blair put her glass down and wiped her mouth with her hand. She undressed Anton and made him comfortable on her couch before she retired to her bedroom. Téa may have decided to drop the perjury charges but Blair was going to go after Téa, like Téa went after her… and now she had the ammunition to do it.
*************************************************************************************************
January 1999 Pine Valley, NY…
Jackson Montgomery paced his office. Edmund Grey peered out the window. "First, they postpone the trial until after the holidays and now…the special prosecutor is late…" fussed Jack.
"Jack, it's only been ten minutes," said Edmund.
"Yeah – but he's going to be busy going over the case. And the case starts tomorrow!" said Jack raising his voice.
"It will work out," said Edmund.
Jack's intercom rang, "Mr. Montgomery, the special prosecutor is here."
"Send him in," said Jack, stopping his pacing, putting his hands in his pockets and smiling.
"He's a she, Mr. Montgomery," said the voice on the intercom.
Jack and Edmund exchanged glances.
The door opened and Téa walked in. She was wearing a complementary dark blue power suit and carrying her briefcase. Jack and Edmund dropped their mouths.
Téa noticed their reaction but decided to ignore it. She held out her hand to Jack, "I'm Téa Delgado, your special prosecutor."
"Ah, DA Jack Montgomery," muttered Jack shaking her hand, "And this is Edmund Grey. He works for Tempo magazine."
Edmund shook her hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Delgado." His voice was low and he tried hard not to stare.
"Sorry, I'm late. Traffic was bad and I wasn't sure where I was going," explained Téa, looking at Jack.
"Where are you coming from again?" asked Jack.
"I'm an ADA in Llantano County, Pennsylvania," answered Téa, "Ah, do you have the casework for me to review? I need to bring myself up to speed pretty quickly."
"Sure," said Jack turning around to his desk and fumbling through some papers.
"Ummm," started Téa trying to think of a polite way to say her question, "Why are you two gauking at me?"
Edmund spoke up, "I'm sorry. It's just that you look an awful like…"
"…Someone we knew…" finished Jack handing her the paperwork.
"I see. Well, do you have a quiet place where I can go over this paperwork?" asked Téa.
"You can use my office," said Jack, "Do you need anything? Coffee?"
"Sure, I could go for a cup of coffee," said Téa smiling at him. She put down her briefcase and sat down on an adjacent couch.
"Ah – there's a press conference at one with local reporters to introduce the special prosecutor to the media," explained Jack.
"Oh?" said Téa making a face.
"I hope to see you later Ms. Delgado?" asked Edmund as he walked toward the door.
"Well, I'm not going anywhere Mr. Grey," replied Téa smiling at him. He returned the smile and left. Jack got her a cup of coffee and Téa dug into her reading, reviewing brief after brief, familiarizing herself with the case.
Téa had one of the office interns pick her up a bite to eat when they went
out to lunch. However, she barely ate it. She wasn't comfortable with this
case. The evidence was circumstantial at best. Blood taken from Ryan
Lavery used to compare DNA was inconclusive since there wasn't enough of the
suspect DNA sample left on the victim's clothes. Téa stared at a picture of
Ryan Lavery and remembered when Todd had been accused of the rape upon
Barbara Graham. Falsely accused. It was a low point for Todd – nearly
ruining him. And Téa had a nagging feeling that Ryan Lavery was falsely
accused. She could still smell Todd's musty jail cell…
"…Téa, don't go… I…need…you…"
The door opened and Jackson Montgomery walked in, "So? What do you think?"
Téa decided to say the politically correct thing, "It's a case. All it needs now is to be presented to the jury."
"Do you think he did it?" asked Jack point blank.
Téa paused, "What I believe doesn't matter. My job is to convince twelve jurors beyond a reasonable doubt that Ryan Lavery is guilty."
An intern walked in, "Mr. Montgomery, we're ready to begin the press conference."
Jack lost his train of thought and escorted Téa to the pressroom. Téa noticed Edmund Grey was there and the expression on his face was particular. Jack spoke first, explaining the job of the special prosecutor and then introduced Téa. Téa kept her remarks brief.
"…I look forward to the challenge this case brings," concluded Téa. A reporter fired a question at her, "Is it true Ms. Delgado that you're married to Todd Manning?"
Edmund looked at the reporter, "What does that have to do with anything?"
Edmund was surprised. He had noticed that Ms. Delgado did not wear any rings on her fingers.
"Ah, yes, Todd Manning is my spouse," replied Téa clearly uncomfortable. "Isn't this case a conflict of interest for you since your…spouse is a convicted rapist and just recently faked a personality disorder which led to an acquittal in his own criminal trial?" asked the reporter. The room grew quiet. Edmund's heart went out to her.
Téa spoke up firmly and confidently, "This case is not a conflict of interest for me. The fact my husband is a convicted...rapist...has no bearings on THIS case whatsoever. And, as far as Todd Manning's mental health is concerned, that has no bearing on my ability to prosecute THIS case – plus, it's none of your business."
"Ms. Delgado, are you aware of the fact you look uncannily like Doctor Maria Santos?" came a question.
"Who is Maria Santos?" questioned Téa obviously annoyed.
Edmund had enough. He bolted to the podium and took Téa's hand, "Let me get you out of here."
Téa nodded her head and she followed Edmund out.
Téa followed Edmund through the doors of the gothic mansion and into his living room.
Abruptly he turned around, "This is my home. It's called Wildwind."
"It's nice," said Téa looking around, "But why are we here?"
Edmund took a picture off his table and handed it to her, "This is Maria. She used to be my wife."
Téa stared at the picture and then looked at Edmund, "That's why you and DA Montgomery were staring at me."
"Yes. I'm sorry. She died in a plane crash. Her body was never found," explained Edmund as Téa handed the picture back to him.
"No, I'm sorry," said Téa softly.
"Maybe you know…something?" he asked hesitantly.
"No, again, I'm sorry. I never knew your wife," said Téa. She dug into her purse and pulled out a photo handing it to him.
"Todd?" questioned Edmund. Téa nodded her head.
"What that reporter asked? Was it true?" asked Edmund.
Téa nodded her head 'yes', "I tried to get an annulment but I couldn't bring myself to sign the papers."
Edmund handed the photo back to her, "Do you love him?"
"I…I…don't know. Yes..ah…I…do. Despite everything, I do. The DID was real, you know. He didn't fake it. He's in a clinic in Switzerland seeking therapy…" explained Téa.
"You don't wear your rings," said Edmund.
"If I could only be sure that Todd loves me… is in love with me…" said Téa. Edmund reached out to her and gave her a friendly hug.
Geneva, Switzerland…
Todd was on his knees in Susannah's office…Susannah looked on, full of anxiety.
"I'm getting stronger, Pete…"
"You're a fool Todd…you always were…believing Peter Manning loved you…believing Téa loves you…"
"She does love me…"
"She could never love a loser like you…"
"I AM NOT A LOSER. I KNOW how she feels about me and I KNOW how I feel about her…"
"She ran out on you Todd – time and time again…"
"No, Pete…you chased her away – besides I ran away this time to keep her safe from you…"
"Me? Think I'd hit her in the head with a fireplace poker?"
"I love you Todd, I do, I love you…"
"I love you anyway Todd…"
"I'll be in your fairytale forever…" "Stop it, Todd!"
"You can be awfully romantic when you want to be…"
"I want to wake up in your arms, feel the beating of your heart…"
"STOP IT TODD!"
"I promise my laughter…"]
"I love you, Téa…"
"Agghh!" yelled Todd collapsing on the floor gasping for breath. Susannah kneeled next to him. Slowly, he raised his head – his gaze meeting hers, his brow full of sweat…
"Is Pete gone?" asked Susannah.
"For now," said Todd, "But he's not entirely convinced…Téa loves me…"
"Are you convinced that she loves you?" asked Susannah.
Todd nodded his head 'yes'.
"Then maybe Téa should tell Pete how much she loves you. Maybe Pete needs to hear her voice…" said Susannah.
"No. I can't go back to Llanview. I don't want Pete hurting anyone else – especially Téa…" said Todd.
"Where is Pete now?" asked Susannah.
"I don't…know…" replied Todd. Sweat dripping onto the floor.
"Todd, you need the love of your family to finish the therapy," said Susannah, "Todd, you are stronger now than you were two months ago. You talk to your alters and recently, the only one you deal with is Pete. Your re-integration has begun but you can't do it alone."
"Téa…she's not afraid…she just stands there…her chin up…her shoulders back…"
"What, Todd?" asked Susannah trying to follow him.
"I need you, Delgado…" whispered Todd, his eyes glassy, lost in a memory.
Susannah put her hands on Todd's arm, "Todd, it's me. Susannah…"
Todd took a breath, "Susannah. Yes. Susannah, I need Téa…"
"I know you do," she replied.
"But…if…things work out between Téa and I… can I trust her… with my body?" he asked.
"That's an issue only Téa can convince you of. But, if you've trusted her once… you can trust her again…in time…" said Susannah, "You need some rest. You've had quite a day today."
Todd nodded his head.
Susannah wanted to talk to Todd more once he'd let it sink what happened here today. If Todd was growing as strong as she suspected, then a trip to Llanview to finish the re-integration was in order.
TO BE CONTINUED
