The Boston Story
Jean's Part:
Sully had heard the loud crash as well and was now
fully awake but still a
little dizzy.
He tried to focus his eyes on the figure
racing to the door
of the abandoned cabin.
Annette was furious as Daggett pushed open the door
carrying a now crying
Katie under his arm.
"What was that?" Annette demanded.
"I knocked over a stupid pile of barrels out by the
barn," replied Daggett
as he suddenly eyed Annette's attire.
"Well looks like
I got here just in
time. What were you thinking of doing woman? Now is
neither the time nor
place for that kind of nonsense!"
"I was getting bored waiting for you to get back and
besides I had Sully
here all to myself what was I supposed to do?" she
replied.
"Patience Annette! Patience. You will get your chance
but for now see if
you can get this little girl calmed down while I hide
the horse in the
barn. I think I might have been followed," he said as
he handed Katie over
to Annette.
Katie was still a little drowsy from her sleep and
the sudden light from
the cabin made her close her eyes.
But she was still
whimpering and when she
was finally able to open up her eyes she was
frightened by the unfamiliar
face trying to console her.
"Katie, it's all right
girl. You're gonna be
just fine. It won't be long and your Mommy will come
to get you," said
Annette.
Sully was totally in focus now but had waited until
the man had left the
cabin to make his move.
Still a little uneasy on his
feet he staggered over
to where Annette was seated and made a grab for his
daughter.
"What's goin
on here?" he shouted at a very surprised Annette.
"Why's Katie here and
where's Michaela?"
Annette stood back as Katie leapt into her father's
arms, holding on as if
her life depended on it.
"It's gonna be okay Kates, Papa won't let any harm
come to you,"
a
sympathetic Sully said as he comforted his little
girl. He could see the
strange woman watching the father and daughter reunion
and a glimmer of
recognition suddenly appeared in his eyes.
"You're one of Mrs. Quinn's maid's ain't ya? I
remember you now. What is
it, money you want?"
he said.
Annette began to laugh, "Money? You think I want
money, from you?"
"Well if it ain't money then what is it?" Sully asked.
"You Sully. I want you!" she replied.
"I've wanted us
to be together from
the first time I laid eyes on you and I know you want
me too."
"You must be crazy or somethin'! What gave you the
idea I wanted you?" he
asked,
"I'm already married......" his reply broken
off by hers.
"You and that Quinn woman. Well let me tell you
something about that
family!
They are nothing but a bunch of aristocrats
you don't care about
anyone but themselves and their money.
Why I worked
hard for them and what
thanks did I ever get? Nothing. I'm still as poor as I
was when I first got
there.
But I don't care about the money anymore. I
want a home and a
family. I think it's all I've ever wanted. And I think
you and I make a
pretty good pair.
After all you and I, well we are
much more suited to each
other than you and that Boston Hussy!! Her and her
fancy clothes and
perfect manners. She swept you off your feet."
Sully started to back away from her.
"Sully, listen to me. You can't be taken in by her.
She's not a real
person. Just some woman doctor who thinks she can take
what ever she wants.
Well let me tell you, she can't take you from me now.
And I'll make sure of
that!" she shouted at him.
"Never Sully. Do you hear
me? Never!!"
Sully held on tightly to Katie and was just about to
make a dash for the
door when Daggett came back in.
"What's going on here and why's he got the girl?"
Daggett was outraged.
All
his plans and now this stupid maid had let Sully get
his hands on the
little girl.
Sully watched as the two kidnappers fought, hoping
that they would get so
involved that he might get another chance to escape
with Katie.
Brian was devastated. He felt responsible for Katie's
disappearance and
when the men all rode out of town in pursuit of the
kidnapper, he stole a
horse from Robert E. and followed after them.
"I see fresh tracks over this way," shouted Jake.
Hank, Loren, Matthew, Robert E., Jake and Andrew had
all rode out looking
for Katie.
Colleen and Michaela stayed back at the
clinic in the company of
Grace and Dorothy, all hoping and praying that not
only would they find
Katie but Sully as well.
"I have a feelin it's gonna be a long night," said
Grace. "How about I go
get us some coffee?" she asked a weary but scared
group.
"Thanks Grace," said Dorothy. "Let me come and help
you, and Michaela," she
said as she took her friend's hand,
"It's gonna be all
right. They'll find
her Michaela. Why he couldn't have got too far and
they're sure to come
across Sully on the way."
Michaela knew Dorothy was only try to make her feel
better but nothing
could help now. She would not feel at ease until her
husband and daughter
were safely back with her.
Daggett had noticed Sully's slow movement towards the
door out of the
corner of his eye and he quickly pulled his gun from
it's holster.
"Hold it
right there!" he shouted. "You're not going anywhere.
In fact, Annette get
that rope over there and hold this gun on him while I
tie them up."
Annette did as she was told although she hated to see
Sully bound in a
tight rope. She knew that for now it was the only way
to restrain him.
Katie was not tied up but was allowed to stay on her
father's lap. They
knew she wouldn't go anywhere without him.
"Now you stay here and keep this gun on them while I
go back for Michaela,"
said Daggett as he headed out the door.
Turning back
for just a moment he
looked sternly at Annette and said, "Don't you dare
untie him or I promise
I'll kill him when I get back," and with that he
slammed the door behind
him.
Sully could see that Annette's hands were shaking and
he figured if he
could sweet talk her into undoing the ropes, he could
try to get back to
the clinic before Daggett did.
"You gonna let him tell you want you want? Ain't you
the one who just told
me how the Quinn's treated you and now you lettin some
stranger push you
around?" Sully asked.
"You keep quiet now Sully. You don't want me shooting
you in front of your
little girl now do you? Besides I'll get what I want
once he gets back with
'your wife'. That's what he wants you know? It seems
that our Mr. Daggett
has the hots for your little woman.
I daresay you
won't want her when he
gets through with her anyway so if you can be patient
my darling we will
soon have our time, together," Annette implied.
Sully was outraged. What did she mean by that? This
Daggett was after his
wife for what? What plans did he have for Michaela?
Sully felt helpless. He
knew he couldn't just sit there and do nothing but he
feared also for
Katie's life.
He could feel his muscles tighten and if
he had to would
brake through these ropes if it was the last thing he
ever did.
Minutes seemed like hours to Michaela. What was taking
them so long? Why
hadn't they come back yet? She was pacing back and
forth in the clinic.
She
had sent a protesting Colleen upstairs to rest and was
alone as Dorothy and
Grace were still at the Cafe. She had to keep her
thoughts straight in case
she was needed and decided maybe she would update some
of her patients'
files.
She had just turned her back to open the filing
cabinet when the
door to the clinic burst open and Daggett flew in.
She
turned in surprise
and recognized him immediately. "What do you want?'
she growled.
"You!," he replied.
"I beg your pardon?" answered a confused and angry
Michaela.
"I've come for you Michaela. I've got your little girl
and your husband for
that matter and now all I need to complete my plan, is
you!"
He started towards her when suddenly Colleen came down
the stairs. Michaela
was horrified and she ran to place herself between
this fiend and her
pregnant daughter.
"Get out of my clinic," she
demanded.
He could only laugh at her. She was not going to take
anything else from
him ever again and it was time she was taught a
lesson.
"What's the matter lady doctor? You scared of me?" he
taunted.
"No!" she yelled back.
Daggett loved it. He loved her feisty nature. He loved
the way she liked to
fight but most of all he loved the fire he saw in her
eyes. The same fire
he hoped one day he would see when he finally bedded
her. She was all a man
could ever want and right at this moment he really
wanted her!
"No my pretty Michaela Quinn. I won't leave until you
agree to come with
me. If you don't well I guess maybe I'll have me two
women to play with
tonight!" he boasted.
Michaela could see that he meant it and she feared for
Colleen's safety.
Did he really have Katie and if she went with him
could she be assured that
Katie would be safe? She had to make a decision and
fast. But what? She
could feel Colleen begin to shake and decided she had
better go with him.
Surely the men wouldn't be too far away. But all she
could do now was hope
and pray that he was telling her the truth.
Colleen had objected but Michaela assured her it was
the right thing to do
and she rode off, out of town with this man.
As the train pulled into the station the next morning,
Horace was there to
greet the passengers as they got off.
"Well howdy Ma'am. How are ya? It's been a long time,"
he said to a
familiar guest.
"I'm fine Horace but I am in a bit of a hurry right
now so please excuse
me," she said as she raced off.
Colleen had fallen asleep at her mother's desk. It had
been a long night
and she had no word from anyone. Grace and Dorothy had
brought back the
coffee and were alarmed to hear that Michaela had been
taken as well.
They
had stayed the night with Colleen and had gone back to
the Cafe to bring
her back some breakfast.
Colleen couldn't keep her
eyes open any longer and
was just going to rest her head on the desk when she
fell into a deep
sleep.
She thought she was dreaming when she heard someone
call her name.
"Colleen? Colleen? Where is your mother?" the voice
was saying and when she
opened her eyes it was no dream.
Before her stood her Aunt Rebecca. But why was she
here?
"Aunt Rebecca?" she looked up, "What are you doing
here?"
"Oh Colleen I need to see Michaela. It seems that
Mother didn't die of
natural causes. They think she was murdered. And the
strangest thing. Right
after your family left the house in Boston, two of our
staff members
mysteriously disappeared.
Annette our maid and a newly
hired handyman.
Sandi's Part:
Colleen was so taken aback by her aunt’s sudden appearance that she’d failed to notice the well-dressed man who stepped in behind Rebecca.
Her aunt gestured toward him now. "Let me introduce Simon Laurent. This is the man who alerted the family to the possibility of foul play in Mother’s death."
Grace and Dorothy had returned from the café and they edged in around the tall gray haired gentleman.
Grace set down Colleen’s breakfast tray on Michaela’s desk and Mr. Laurent nodded to all the women present in the clinic.
"I contacted Rebecca when I heard that my niece, Annette, might be employed by your family in Boston,"
Laurent explained to Colleen. "It seems that she was one of your grandmother’s maids."
He reached into a pocket of his vest and extracted a faded photograph.
"I wonder, have you ever seen her before?"
Colleen took the picture from his outstretched hand and studied it, frowning. "No, I don’t think so …."
Grace had moved around to look over Colleen’s shoulder and her eyes widened. "I have!" she exclaimed.
"That’s the woman that was waitin’ for Dr. Mike in the clinic, when she first got home from Boston."
Dorothy also craned her neck to examine the picture. "She’s right. I remember her too."
Simon Laurent shook his head and put the picture back into his pocket.
"I was afraid of that. When I checked with some of the servants at the house in Boston, they told me that Annette left the city. The cook said she was going out west."
"What is this all about, sir?" Colleen asked, impatiently. There was enough drama in her life at that moment without this stranger adding to it.
Simon Laurent sighed heavily. "I’m afraid … Miss …?"
"Mrs.…. Actually, it’s Dr.….Dr. Cook," Colleen corrected.
"Forgive me. I’m afraid, Dr. Cook, that my niece has problems. The family was preparing to commit her to an asylum when she just … vanished. Your see, my niece is quite insane."
"Oh … my!" Dorothy whispered, her hand clutching her throat.
"What … exactly … did your niece do, Mr. Laurent?" Colleen asked, cautiously.
Rebecca and Simon Laurent exchanged glances and Rebecca raised her eyebrows.
"Would you mind if I sit down?" the man asked. "I’m afraid it’s a long story."
"Of course not," Colleen said quickly, indicating a chair drawn up beside Michaela’s desk.
Laurent dropped down into it and took out a handkerchief from his trouser pocket. He wiped a film of sweat off his forehead.
"Are you feeling all right?" Colleen asked, her medical training overriding her impatience.
"Thank you for asking but I’m fine." He waved his hand in the air, dismissively.
"I always become upset when I’m forced to talk about my niece. It’s not a pleasant subject. Please, Dr. Cook, tell me something. Dr. Quinn’s husband, Mr. Sully? Is everything all right with him?"
"Actually ….no," Colleen replied, caught off guard by his question. "Sully’s disappeared."
The man’s face turned white. "I was afraid of that. The cook in Boston told me that Annette was quite … fond … of Mr. Sully. I was afraid she’d follow him here."
"Follow him?" Grace repeated, in disbelief. He nodded his head.
"About two years ago, my niece developed an obsessive interest in a married man from New York. She tricked him into meeting her and then pleaded with him to leave his wife.
When he refused, Annette broke a lamp over his head. When he regained consciousness, Annette had a gun and she threatened to kill him."
"What happened?" Colleen asked, her stomach twisting into a knot.
"The man managed to escape. He came to us and said that he would keep the law out of it if we promised to send Annette to a mental institution. We agreed, of course.
You see, it wasn’t the first episode. Annette had developed interests in other men before this gentleman, but it was the first time that she’d ever become so … violent. Before we could commit her, Annette disappeared."
The room was completely silent after Simon Laurent’s speech. Most of the women stared at him, their faces mirroring total shock.
Rebecca was the only one who seemed relatively composed. It was obvious that she’d already heard his story.
"It seems," he finally said, "that Annette grows more violent as every day passes. I only hope and pray that Mr. Sully is still alive. I suspect that Annette was the one who killed Mrs. Quinn, although I can’t understand her reasons for doing such a thing."
"What about the man?" Colleen asked, suddenly. "What about that man who abducted Ma and Katie? What do you know about him?"
"Your mother and Katie were abducted?" Rebecca gasped.
When Colleen nodded, Simon Laurent answered hastily. "The handyman disappeared from Boston at the same time as Annette. I suspect he was the man who kidnapped your mother and your sister."
"But why?" Colleen demanded.
Simon Laurent shook his head. "I’m afraid I can’t answer that. He must have some connection to Annette but I don’t know this man at all. I’d never heard of him until Rebecca mentioned him to me."
He sighed, wearily. "All I know for certain, Dr. Cook, is that your family is in grave danger."
Daggett shoved Michaela through the door of the cabin and she stumbled before regaining her balance.
The first sight she noticed was Sully and Katie.
Her husband was sitting on the floor, his back leaning against a wall and his hands tied behind him. His legs were stretched out and bound at the ankles.
Katie was sitting up his lap, her arms wound tightly around his neck. Michaela bolted across the room.
"Thank God!"
She knelt down and hugged Katie tightly. The little girl looked terrified and she wouldn’t release her strangle hold on Sully.
"Mama," she whimpered.
"It’s okay, Sweetheart," Michaela murmured, kissing the child’s forehead.
Her focus shifted from Katie to Sully.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
He nodded and Michaela reached out to gently stroke his face, her eyes looking into his.
"Don’t touch him!"
The shriek made Michaela drop her hand and spin around.
Annette was charging toward them, a murderous scowl on her features.
Katie began to sob as Annette pointed a gun directly at Michaela’s head.
"Don’t you ever touch him again!" Annette ordered. "If you do, I’ll kill you!"
"Annette!" Daggett yelled, angrily.
He took a step toward her but Annette swung the gun on him, her eyes sparking.
"Stay back! Don’t you interfere!"
Daggett stood still and watched her warily.
Michaela was staring up at the woman and making no move to pull away from Sully.
"Get away from him!" Annette screeched, once more aiming the gun at Michaela’s head.
"Michaela," Sully pleaded softly,
"do what she says."
Michaela’s expression hardened with defiance as she stared up at Annette. Their gazes locked.
"This man is my husband," Michaela stated, in a slow, deadly tone of voice.
"If anyone is going to move away from him, it will be you, not me."
As Annette Laurent’s face darkened with fury, she cocked the gun.
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