IMPOSTER - PART THIRTY FOUR

PREVIOUSLY

Todd cast back into his memories - once more seeing the face of his friend and remembering cheering him on wildly as he stole base after base in their highschool baseball games - giving him a name that stuck with him all through his highschool years. They had made a pact to help each other if either one of them was ever in trouble, and now Todd knew that he needed a special kind of help. You're finally going to get a visit from me…yeah, after years…you always said you could help me. I'm coming back, Slider!

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************

John Sykes saw the headlights of a car pull up into his driveway, and he squinted out through the window to try and make out his visitors. When he saw who it was, he winced visibly - his jaw muscles clenched. I knew she would be trouble! Great! Sam Rappaport is with her! This has got to be handled well…if not, it could mean the end of any chance to have a political career.
The doorknocker banged loudly and Sykes strode over to the door - preparing himself mentally to face off with one of Llanview's most prominent citizens.
Viki Carpenter stood rigidly before him as he opened the door - her blue eyes cold and hard.
"Commissioner Sykes. I'm here to get the details of my brother's death."
Sam looked over at Viki - not exactly sure of what she would do. He had learned very quickly that she was anything but a pushover when she had a cause to pursue. This time the cause was of the most personal kind, and he knew John Sykes wouldn't know what hit him within minutes of her entering his home.
"Yes…Viki…Sam…please come in." Sykes ushered them in to his spacious, Georgian living room through two very ornately carved columns.
Viki moved through the living room as a person on a mission with Sam following behind her. She sat on the edge of a large, rich brown leather sofa and looked around.
"You must be making some good money at that Department."
Sam coughed in his surprise at her statement, and it would have ordinarily been an amusing comment, but Viki's face showed no sign of her lighter side as she critically analyzed the room.
"Yes…well, I know you have questions, Viki. I'm very sorry that I had to make that call to you earlier," Sykes said as he sat down across from them in a large wing chair.
Viki threw him of look of puzzlement and then seemed to examine him as if he had some obvious deformity as she answered back.
"Are you? I find that conflicts with everything I've heard previously, John."
Sykes shifted uncomfortably in his chair. She's something all right. She really wants to make me squirm.
He forced his eyes to look steadily back at hers and he frowned slightly. "Viki, I realize that this is difficult for you, but in no way was I pleased with the outcome of this matter. Procedures had to be followed, and…"
Viki shot up from the sofa -- her eyes white hot with anger. "Please don't!! Don't insult my intelligence, John, and give me that standard police procedures crap! My brother was past threatening anyone, and you knew that!! You'd better have an explanation that satisfies me 100% -- otherwise you can kiss your precious police commissioner title goodbye!"
Sam looked at Viki as she was squaring off with Sykes, and his heart seemed to skip a beat inside him. You're amazing.

The paramedics lifted the stretcher with Tea Manning on it while a large man looming near them watched.
"All right…what's wrong with her?" Del asked the paramedic who had examined her.
"She's going to be okay…you said she just got some bad news, right?
"Yes…her husband…he's dead."
"She's gone into shock. The doctor has been notified, but she may be out for a little while longer. Her breathing is normal but her heart rate is elevated. Her doctor is requesting that she go to emergency -- now." Del looked over at his sister's colorless face and nodded, "Okay, but I'm going with you."
Tea slumped down against the thick wood of the door feeling helpless and afraid. What am I doing here again? I haven't been here in so long. The last time I remember being here was before…before someone else came…before him…
She didn't know why but at that moment she reached up and touched her neck - finding the necklace she always wore. As the chain glided through her fingers, her thoughts located an amorphous image which was unrecognizable to her. Jumping up from the floor, she called out loudly, "Are you there? I need to ask you something!"
The same heavy voice that had spoken to her before responded. "Yes, I'm here. Go ahead."
"Have there been…has anyone come to visit me here…ever?" "Yes…once."
"Is he coming back?"
A few seconds of silence passed between them and then the voice spoke again.
"That information is not available."

Slider Paxton sat in his office with his long legs comfortably crossed on the edge of a large oak desk. Next to his legs on top of the desk, an messy array of papers were scattered haphazardly between two or three large volumes of books. Here and there in what little empty space there was, were small plastic figures of cartoon characters. A baseball cap was slung backwards on his slightly curly ash blonde hair and he wore a college tee shirt and lightly faded jeans. The light on the desk shone brightly against the dark shadows of the room's interior - highlighting the slouched shape of the man who was sitting there.
His skin was lightly bronzed, and his eyes were a deep sea blue and noticeably very alert and active. Physically Slider was still in excellent shape from years of throwing and hitting a baseball, and he secretly prided himself that he did not have to work out in some gym to stay fit. Beneath his obvious physical good looks, though, lurked a complex, intricate mind which soaked up everything it could and always came back for more.
A glance at a clock told him it was very late. He could never seem to keep track of time when he was reading, and he wasn't supposed to be reading. Stretching his arms, he twisted his lean, muscular torso in the chair and stifled a yawn. Lately he felt like he was spinning his wheels in this place. A dissatisfaction had settled in with him, and he didn't know why. Everything's cool…classes are shaping up…Tyler wants me to teach another seminar. He closed his eyes and briefly thought about the upcoming fall season. Football would be in full swing soon, but he had never been as gung- ho about it as baseball. Years ago he had played some, but it just wasn't his sport.
A small smile played on his lips as he reminisced about his youth - seeing flashes of times from his youth. There was one person who had infused the game of football with such artistry that even a die-hard baseball addict like himself could appreciate it. No one had played the game quite like his friend, Todd Manning.
They had been a real pair then. He had met Todd in middle school, and fate seemed to have played a major part in bringing them together. Their backgrounds were completely different as were their personalities. Someone…one of his friends… had introduced him to a tall, lanky boy with thick, unruly hair and eyes which he would never forget. In a way Todd reminded him at first of the classic street punk kind of teenager - sullen and standoffish. There was also an odd quality about him, which made you look twice. Most of his buddies at school who were in the very popular crowd brushed him off as "that weird kid", but this had the opposite effect on Slider. For some reason unknown to him at the time, he wanted to know more about this "weird kid".
Leaning back further in his chair, Slider allowed himself a deeper look into his past. He hadn't thought of Todd Manning in a long time. Their lives had taken different paths, but one thing was certain in his mind. Todd would forever be a memory that would haunt him. The last he had heard of him he was a publisher of a newspaper and had apparently inherited millions of dollars. Another news item about him had surfaced a few years back - one that had affected Slider more than just about anything in his life. Todd Manning had been tried for rape and convicted.
Why am I thinking about you again? Sometimes I just wanted to pretend we had never met, but you're not the kind of person anyone can really forget.

Sykes rose up in his seat as Viki stood before him in all her fury. She's upset and angry, naturally, but she could also be so damaging to my career.
"I will tell you everything, Viki…please. You have so little of the facts now. Todd's death was purely accidental."
"Purely accidental?" Viki practically snorted. "He was being chased by a helicopter, was he not? How do I know he wasn't forced off the road?"
Sykes sighed audibly and shook his head, "I didn't authorize that helicopter to be sent out again. That was strictly FBI based, and I had no control over what transpired out there."
Viki eyed him warily - sizing him up with her lips tightly pressed together. "This sounds very convenient, John - especially for you."
Her statement rankled him and for a minute his eyes narrowed like a snake ready to strike. "Your brother tried to rape his own wife and then abducted her! He wasn't an innocent victim by any means. It was his choice to elude the police when he could have turned himself in."
"Where is this report on his death?" Viki demanded - barely acknowledging anything he had just said.
"It's being written up…it will be on my desk tomorrow. I assure you, it will have all the relevant facts," he said pointedly as she stared at him - her face frozen in a rigid, unyielding state.
"Then..I'll wait to read it as well as the report from the FBI. You will send that to me as well, won't you?" she said with a sarcastic edge tacked on to her last question.
"Of course…as soon as it's available."
Seeing that Viki was leaving almost as soon as she had come, Sam got up from the sofa and prepared to walk out with her. He directed his gaze in Sykes' direction.
"We want answers, John. You owe her that!"
Sykes nodded and tried to appear pleasant as he walked with them to the door. "This is an unfortunate business all around, Viki..Sam. Your brother seemed to be headed for disaster. I'm sorry, Viki, that it had to end this way."
A chill moved over him as the face of Viki Carpenter turned toward him with eyes that seemed to fathom straight into his soul and figure out exactly what he really thought.
"You and most of this town have all wished that he was dead, so now you should rest easier."
"Viki," Sykes said almost wearily, but she had turned and walked like a queen out the door - her head held high and never looking back. Sykes watched them walk to the car and mentally kicked himself for allowing her to get to him. This isn't over yet. She's not going to make any of this easy. That report better look good…there can't be any holes in it.

Del sat in the ambulance - his large hands gently cupped around one of the lifeless hands of his sister. You look so lost...where are you? This man is not worth this! He never was. You thought so, though. You saw something in him that others couldn't see…but he used you. There's more than Todd Manning out there, Tea. Chiquita, you have to hang in there!
"For me, Tea," he whispered near her ear and then thought of something else. "For yourself."

Rubbing his eyes, Slider knew he should be heading home. He was tired. Good thing I don't have a wife yet…she'd never forgive me for these late night office visits. Wonder if you married, Todd? Slider almost grinned as he thought about what kind of woman might have married his unusual friend. She'd have to be something all right…something really special to put up with you.
A darkness wound its way into his mood, and he shivered involuntarily. I've known too much about you…it warped me some…in fact, you know how much it did. But I'm here, aren't I? And it's all because of you…
Grabbing his light jacket, he turned off the small desk lamp - pausing to look out the window at the moonlit night and immerse himself in its peacefulness. Everything would have been so simple if he had never met Todd Manning, but somehow he would have also been without something that he had needed so badly in his life. Shaking his head absently, he walked through the door, turning the lock as he went and closing it quietly behind him. Just as he was walking through the reception area, he heard something which caused him to stop dead in his tracks.

~ TO BE CONTINUED ~