Jail's Bait: Time Served (Book 5)

Ray and Lionel rushed forward to try and pry Marquis off of Jake, but he only tightened his fists and shrugged their efforts off.

“Marquis, NOOO!!!” Regine shrieked.

“You killed LEO!!!”  Marquis growled, his eyes reddened with bloodlust as he continued to tighten his grip- from the look in his eyes, he was not going to stop until he killed Jake-

Meanwhile Jake, his face turning a darker blue, pawed weakly at the hands strangling the life from him.  He began to spasmodically jerk and grow still…

Just then a weak voice coughed out, “Marquis, please stop!!  He’s your brother!!!”

Marquis froze, and turned around to look at the prone form on the floor.

“Marquis….” it rasped.

“Dad..?” Marquis asked, eyes wide with fear.

It seemed as though RahRah was trying to gather strength for each word spoken.  “Let your brother… go.  Owwwww…”

“Lie still,” Marquette said to RahRah, soothing his hair down.  Marcus stood nearby, the look on his face indicating that he wanted for all the world to go to RahRah and confort his lover.

Marquis stared at his father, who was still laying on his back on the cavern floor.  “Are you kidding, dad..?  He shot you.”

“And I shot my dad, remember..?  You were watching then too,” RahRah reminded him groggily.

“RahRah, you should stop talking,” Marquette warned him, wiping off his forehead; “save your strength.”

Marquis relaxed his grip, but Jake was already unconscious.  “But Dad, Jake-” he argued.

“-is my son, just like you, and he’s also your brother… help him…” and he fell silent.

Marquis looked stricken.  “Dad..?”

“He’s passed out,” Marquette replied.

Marquis looked back at Jake, who lay just underneath him.  He looked over at the group of girls surrounding Carmen and Kap, both also knocked out, but he knew deep down in his gut that they would be taken care of, along with his dad.  His eyes then fell upon the silent, dead animal laying just beyond his reach, all alone.

He crawled back over to Leo, oblivious to anyone and everyone else for the moment, and curled up beside his beloved pet who would roar no more…  he grabbed onto his fur and let out such a cry of agony, it broke everyone’s heart to hear it.  Tears streamed down his face as he buried his cheeks into Leo’s mane and sobbed from his aching loss.  It was almost too awful to bear…

Suddenly, above the sobbing came the familiar wailing sound of a siren.  “I hear an ambulance…” Regine said aloud.

Meanwhile, Angelina and the twins ringed around Carmen, who was coming to.  “Carmen, Carmen are you okay?” Angelina asked, rubbing her girlfriend on the forehead

“Aww man, I feel like I got kicked in the stomach,” Carmen groaned.

“You did,” Tyra mentioned; Danielle kicked her in the ankle to shut her up.

Meanwhile, Kap felt strong arms reaching around his waist to pull him to his feet.  Opening his eyes, he saw that it was Melo.  “Kap.. are you okay..?”

“What…?” Kap pulled away from Melo, faling back down to the cave floor.  “Melo, what are you doing?” he asked in a groan, looking at Melo as if he’d lost his mind.

“Rescuing you, of course…” Melo grinned softly.

“Get off me..!” Kap replied, kicking out at him.

“Hey Dook, can I talk to you for a moment..?” Marcus called from across the cave.

Melo looked up to see his older brother gesturing him over.  “Just a minute, Marcus-”

“NOW, Dook…” Marcus insisted.

Melo sighed.  “I’ll be back,” he smiled back at Kap, who gave him another look which made Melo believe that Kap thought he was gone insane.  He got up and went over to Marcus, who grabbed him by the scruff.

“Look, man, don’t you think you’d better get out of here?” Marcus demanded.

Melo shrugged his brother off of him.  “Kap got hurt-” he began.

“Yeah, right before he punched you in the face for raping him,” Marcus reminded him.  “At the moment you’re in the enemy camp.  Look at me.  My dude is laying on the floor after being shot, but his whole family is surrounding him; I’m just in the way for now.  Take a lesson from that, and let me get you out of here.”

Melo hesitated.  “You told me you love RahRah,” he said with a slight frown.  “How can you just up and leave?”

“I do love him,” Marcus said, “and its all I can do to keep it in and not go unleashed, but what can I do for him right now that he’s not getting right now get from his own family..?  I’m not a doctor…. But I’ll be there when he gets to the hospital.”

Melo looked over at Kap with longing, and then sighed.  “I guess I can be patient right now if you can.  We’re going to go to the hospital with everyone else, okay?”

But before anyone else could move, as if on cue the flashing lights of an ambulance lit up a section of the cave.  Ray went to the opening.  “Right this way, yall…” he waved.

In minutes four people- RahRah, Jake, Kap and Carmen- were strapped into portable gurneys and carried out of the cave, with the twins, Angelina, Marquette and Jacqueline, heading out of the cave behind the EMT’s.  “I’ll ride with the girls,” Ranell said; “see you at the hospital.”  And she was gone.  After a second’s hesitation, Marcus and Melo followed afterwards.

This left Lionel, Regine and Ray grouped around the fluttering maid.  Over in the corner, Marquis still lay curled up on the floor, head bowed into Leo’s mane, arms flung around the animal’s flank in his grief.

One of the EMT’s came running back into the cave.  “Will she need to be transported to the hospital as well..?” he asked of Stella.

“Oh, no,” Regine said placatingly; “she saw the lion and fainted.”

“I thought as much,” the EMT replied, handing a packet to Regine.  “Smelling salts.  If she doesn’t come to on her own, try these.”

“Thank you,” Regine replied, and the EMT departed.

“Lets use it,” Ray said; “she’s not waking up any other way.”

Regine shrugged, and handed the packet to Ray.  Lionel knelt down and positioned Stella’s head in his lap, and Ray snapped open the packet and held it under the unconscious woman’s nose.

* * * *

A second later, Stella’s nose twitched violently.  Her eyes fluttered open and closed.

“Stella… Stella, can you hear me?” Ray asked, leaning over intently.

She groaned then, and Lionel helped her sit up. “Wha-what happened..?” she asked, clumsily brushing herself off.

“You fainted when you saw the lion coming at you,” Lionel said then.

Stella’s eyes bulged, and she put her hands to her face. “AARRRRAAAAYYYYYYY…” she started to scream uncontrollably.

Regine hauled off and- SMACK!

Stella drew back with a sharp gasp, rubbing her face.  Regine looked her in the face.  “Stella- STELLA, the lion is dead..!”

The abject fear in her face slowly turned to incredulity.  “What-what did you say?”

“He was accidentally shot,” Ray explained, pointing over to where the lion lay, held by Marquis.

She stared, and then her eyes narrowed.  “Good.”

Marquis lifted his head, and turned his eyes towards the maid; the expression on his face caused the rest of them to want to leave to cave- now.  “What did you say?” he asked with deadly calm.

“I said ‘good’.  That beast deserved to be shot..!” Stella replied with righteous indignation.  Lionel stared at Stella, his expression growing curiouser and curiouser.

Marquis gave her a condescending sneer.  “You’re just the hired help, you have no right to talk about my pet like that!  Go lick the shit off my riding boots, bitch!”

“Marquis!!” Ray admonished the tear-stricken young man.

He hesitated.  “I’m going to call Animal Control,” Marquis mumbled, kissing Leo’s mane once more, then jumping to his feet and striding out of the cave, his shirt and arms covered in lion’s blood.

After Marquis left Stella drew herself up in a protective way that seemed so dammed familiar to Lionel… “None of you have the right to tell me how to feel about that beast,” she said.  “You don’t know what I had to go through, you all protected that vile thing while I stayed in the hospital for months, years… getting my new face.  All I had in that damned bed were my nightmares about that thing coming after me again…”  She clamped her hands over her mouth then, in a move which suggested she’d said too much.

They all stared at her.  “What are you talking about..?” Ray asked, completely confused.

But a light seemed to register in Lionel’s mind.  “Wait a moment… I think I know whats going on.  Stella, your roots are showing,” he smiled mysteriously.

“Why, I d-d-ddon’t understand-” Stella began to stammer.

“Yes you do,” Lionel countered.  “The way you’ve been acting… the way you’ve insinuated yourself into the personal business of the family…  You’re always there, around the corner, Stella. No matter what we say or do, you’re lurking in the shadows, ready to pop up if we need anything…. For six months you’ve been playing the role of kitchen maid.”

Stella, eyes wide with fright, shook her head.  “I-I-Ive been in service to Crimson Crest for longer than-”

“No, you haven’t,” Lionel went on, interrupting her.  “I remember when you started; Joe made sure you were mostly his personal maid, and he gave you more personal family oriented tasks.  But there was something about you… that felt familiar to me.”

Stella looked at the floor, then at the ceiling.

“Why wont you look me in the face..?” Lionel pressed on.

“You think the maid is hiding something..?” Ray asked then.

“If I’m right, she’s no maid.  And the only other people who can really verify it are at the hospital right now,” Lionel asked.

Ray frowned.  “What’s that about her eyes..?”

“I ran a con for years and years, and the one thing that helped me win over my marks was this:  their strengths and their weakness are all in their eyes,” replied Lionel.  “If you can read what’s in the eyes…. And your eyes are telling me that you’re not just Stella the maid,” he added directly to Stella.

She glanced at him, and then seemed to come to herself. Straightening up, she smoothed down her maid’s apron.  “I’m all better now, I think I should get back to my duties at Crimson Crest,” she demurred, turning to stride off to the cave mouth.

“What’s your hurry, …Claire..?”

She stopped dead in her tracks as everyone else in the room said, “SAY  WHAT???”

Absently surprised that everyone spoke the same words, the group turned to looked at Stella, who had frozen in the act of leaving.  “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she began.  “Who are you talking to..?”

“You, Stella-or Claire, I mean,” Lionel said triumphantly, grabbing her by her wrist and spinning her around to face him.  “You KNOW I’m right- besides Lamar and Danny, I would be the only one who would recognize you for who you really were.”

Stella snatched her arm away.

“You’re lying,” Regine said incredulously; “this can’t be Claire… we were best friends in high school.  I would know her anywhere.”

“Not if you’d not been close since high school,” Lionel countered; “I’m sorry to say that my connection to her was closer than yours was… I was fucking her, you see.”

“Watch your mouth,” spat Stella- “I mean, that’s not nice to say about a woman,” she attempted to correct.

“Like I said,” Lionel went on, “this is Claire.  You can change your face, you can change your hair, you can even change your wardrobe… but your eyes… your eyes don’t change.  You have the same eyes that used to worship me as your Great Leader-”

“NOT ANYMORE,” she replied, raising her hand to slap his face-

Lionel grabbed her hand before it found its mark. “I’ve been slapped too many times to not see it coming,” he smirked; “and a few of them came from you, I recall.”

“You deserved it,” she cried out, yanking her hand away from him once again.  She turned to regard them all.  “Yes, its me- Claire.”

The others gasped.  Regine came up to her maid and peered into her eyes.  She gasped again.  “You… you really are Claire..?” she asked in awe.

She nodded.   “I didn’t want to hurt anyone, I just wanted to pay Joe back for all the help he gave me; he set it up so that I’d work at Crimson Crest, and paid the servants to ‘forget’ that I hadn’t been there all along.”

“That’s why he asked you to take over taking food to Trey when Smithers died,” Regine said then shrewdly, “for who better to make sure they kept their mouth shut about any of the family secrets but someone who had secrets of her own..?”

“I felt terrible about the way I had acted, and I didn’t feel like I was worthy to become a full part of this family anymore, and I accepted that,” Claire-for that is who she really was- replied.  “I just wanted to keep an eye on Lamar and make sure that my son was okay.  Staying at Crimson Crest kept me in the family loop.”  She sighed.  “Joe told me about what he was planning in the will, and even I thought he was just plain wrong for all the bombs he dropped… but I was indebted to him, he kept me alive and gave me a new face.  What could I say to stop him?”

“You knew he was going to shut up Trey in that room, for all time?” Regine accused.  “That doesn’t sound like you’re all that remorseful.”

“I will admit that it was a shock to learn about Danny’s obsession with Trey,” Claire said then, “but I would not have let him die in that room, trapped in a tomb.  I found the blueprints to that room and I saw the way to let him out, so I was going to wait until the will was read and then sneak up to free him.  Believe me or not,” she added, her chin jutted out in defiance.

“I believe you,” Regine said after a moment, “but how did you get here without anyone noticing you were released from the long-care facility..?”

“That wasn’t just me,” replied blandly.  “Ask my son and my ex-husband why they stopped keeping in touch.”

Everyone looked around uneasily.

Claire went on.  “Joe told me that they had had enough of me, and he was the only one left that gave a damn.  I was stuck in that hospital and I felt as if everyone had abandoned me, so I believed what he said.  Joe came up with the plan for me to change my name and become Stella the maid, residence: Crimson Crest, bound to serve the Hill family day and night.  This way, if Lamar or Danny came over, or if there were any family gatherings at Crimson Crest, I would be able to see them without causing any trouble.  I even got a chance to see you change for the better, Lionel,” she added with a rueful smile; “seeing you actually be a brother to Danny and an uncle to my son!….  This is what gave me some peace,” she concluded.

“Of course I know why Joe would want you kept a secret,” Regine said then, “because he would think it was funny to have you right underneath us without our knowledge.  Why would you go along with it..?”

“I just told you…”

“Right,” Regine said with a touch of skepticism.  “How much did he pay you?”

“You heard the will.  He gave me a hotel chain,” Claire replied.

But Regine shook her head.  “Joe doesn’t play fair.  Don’t make me call the lawyers…”

“Okay, OKAY!!” Claire said then; “I had to make a choice.  Joe told me that I’d lose the hotel chain if I came clean to you all about who I really was.  It’s in the written part of the will.  Joe had no need to videotape that part because we’d already had that understanding between us.”

“Now THAT’s the Claire I remember,” Regine smiled sarcastically.

“I don’t care, anyway,” Claire said then; “tell the lawyers, call them and let em know that I confessed.  It’s not as important as me getting to the hospital, now that the truth is out.”

“Is that why you’re not at the hospital waiting on news of Lamar?  Beause you thought it would be too suspect for a kitchen maid to linger around the O.R.?” Regine asked, hands folded across her chest.

“You got it,” Claire confessed.  “I figured that if there was any news, Regine, they’d call you right away, so I placed myself where I could be near you at all times, hiding in plain sight.  But the jig is up- so Lionel, Jean, will you come with me..?” She smoothed down her maid’s apron once again, her eyes sparkling with tears.

“Sure,” Regine said after a moment, patting Claire on the shoulder, “although I bet most of the Emergency Room down at Seattle Grace will already be filled up with Hill family and friends.  Let’s go.”