Showdown

By Atonia, Jo and B

Travis had informed the deputy about some blood-stained clothes he'd found at his guest house. Siobhan and John delayed their trip to talk to Ahnna about her sister to pick up the evidence.  

The thought of telling Ahnna the bad news pained John. This little diversion gave him more time to think about it.  

He pulled the prowler to a stop then he grabbed an evidence bag from the trunk. John and Siobhan walked up to meet the new resident of the Glen.  

"Are you Travis McGee?" John said to the first man he encountered.

"Uh no, I'm his father, this is Travis...Travis...some people here." Bill called bringing Travis and Kyle from the guest house.

"G'day, Travis McGee, good to meet you." Travis extended his hand to John. 

"John Biebe," he took the man's hand "..and this is my deputy, Siobhan Hennessy. Nice to meet you, just wish it were under different circumstances. "Let's see what you found and where you found it."  

Travis tipped his hat to the deputy. "My maid actually found it and she's available for questions...I don't know what you'd get out of her...she's speaking in foreign tongues right now. It's some bloodstained clothing in the trash bin. I believe the clothes belong to a feller that was staying in my guest house, his name is Joe Sweeny." This was hard for Travis to even think about. His brow was furrowed as he led the way to the guest house bathroom. 

"You see this Sweeny guy around lately?" John had to ask even though he could have guessed the answer. "Only think I'll need to ask your maid is if she touched or moved the stuff from where she found it. I'll need to know about anyone who has had their hands on it. Tell me what you know about this Sweeny guy, too, Travis."  

This took a lot of the suspicion off Hando in Siobhan's mind and she was starting to feel a bit sorry for jumping to conclusions about him.

 "I only got back early this morning, I've been in Sydney. I saw Sweeny two days ago. My, uh, Dad says he saw lights here in the guest house last night but he hasn't seen him since the day I left. He'd been going off for hours on that four wheeler that's sitting out side. That's what I know to be true before I left for Sydney." Travis paused. "I don't really know that much about him, Sheriff. I met him about a year ago in a pub in Sydney. He was out of beer money and offered me half a lotto ticket for a beer. I took it and bought him a beer...we won. I kinda went my way and he went his. I ran into him again in the same pub about a week ago, I told him I'd bought a ranch...he invited himself out here.....said he had plans and was waiting on something...I have no idea what, Sheriff." He looked at Siobhan, "Not the kind of fella I normally hang out with." Travis put his hands on his hips and took a breath.

"The only people that's been in here is me, my dad and Kyle Corvin. Kyle is...well, I guess he's my bodyguard, and my maid of course. I know we didn't touch nothing."

Ever the professional, Siobhan's eyes met Travis' and she saved a thought for later. There was something more than familiar about him to her.  

"I'll bet the tracks on the four wheeler match the tracks at the scene," Siobhan stated. "We'll have to impound it for forensics, Mister McGee, but we'll see to it that i's returned. I'll give O'Brien's a call."  She gave an unconscious smile to Travis before she looked away.  

John noticed but he said nothing about it. It did bother him for some reason. "Let's just get the evidence and move on to the Meridius' property. We have to talk to Ahnna before she hears anything through the grapevine."  

If this Joe Sweeny was any kind of career criminal he was a piss poor one. He certainly didn't make much of an effort to cover his tracks. The blood on the clothes would be checked and blood typed for starters.  

"Travis, I need to ask you something else before we pack up," John added. "We found this cell phone at the scene."  

He brought the bag of evidence back to the prowler and fetched the one with the cell in it. Showing it to Travis he asked, "This look familiar?"

Travis looked at the phone and up at John, rather surprised to see Joe's phone in a plastic bag, "Yeah, that's his, I'm surprised he'd let that get away from him...took it everywhere...even to the fucking john. You found it at the scene..." Travis' throat threatened to close up.

Siobhan touched his arm. "Not your fault, so don't think that. We have to get going but we'll be back if we have more questions. O' Brian's towing will be here shortly, too. Hey, don't beat yourself up over this.." 

Travis met her eyes, his unreadable, hers soft and he smiled slightly. "I'm good at that," he said quietly and stepped back for them to get into the vehicle.

Joe Sweeny had a powerful thirst on him. He was sweating profusely and wiped his face with his sleeve. Sweat was pouring into the gash on his cheek and stinging. He stopped near a row of hedges and turned up the bottle. Finishing the liquor, he threw the bottle aside and sat back in the shade. It was mid-day he figured from the angle of the sun and the heat…damn it was hot! He’d been wandering for what seemed like hours on this god forsaken piece of land and still hadn't found a road. He had spotted a roof top down below him and he kept his distance. If there was a house surely there had to be a road to it, so he decided to make his way down the hillside. Probably past that field he could skirt around the house. If he could make it to the field the alcohol and heat were beginning to get to him. The weight of the bag was dragging him down but he couldn't let go of it. That was his ticket out. People would do anything for enough money and he had enough.

He thought he was hearing things at first and then he heard it again, someone was singing. He had made it to the edge of the field and stumbled down by a pile of rocks. He shook his head and wiped his eyes...it couldn't be...it wasn't possible. Reaching in his bag he pulled out a small pistol and stuck it in his belt. She must be a tough little sheila, he thought.

The wild daisies grew in a small swath along the edge of one of Maximus' fields. She'd noticed them yesterday and today was determined to gather some to take to the mill after work. Something about daisies made her happy, their sunny simplicity, the way they lifted their faces to the sky, undemanding, uncomplicated. So she sang as she gathered them, anticipating how they would look later on Alistair's table. A suddened movement near a pile of rocks caught her eye and she turned, finding herself facing an unkempt man she'd never seen before. He was looking at her strangely, as though she shouldn't be there. He wasn't one of Maximus' workers. She recognized them all by sight now. He reeked of liquor and sweat poured off him. Her body tensed and she looked quickly around, hoping to catch sight of someone she could call. No one was anywhere about.....only the man. Quietly, she took a step or two away from him, trying to decide if she should make a run for the greenhouse.

John and Siobhan had just pulled into the driveway by the greenhouse. There didn't seem to be anyone around at the moment then they heard a screech. It was Ahnna and she was running toward the building but she was not alone. In fact the man on her heels was so close to her that they appeared as one being.

John drew his gun and shouted, "Stop, now!"

You fuckin' bitch," Joe screamed into her ear,, "this won't hurt you at all...you're all ready dead, Marce." he said in her ear. He heard the shout from the lawman turned toward him and pulled Ahnna up in front of him, "she's already dead," he shouted back.

Only vaguely and as though from very far away she heard the man say Marce's name. What? How? But it was too hard to think, too hard to make sense of what the man was saying about her already being dead. The blackness was growing as her air supply was cut more and more and all she could hear was a loud roaring in her ears as though a storm had descended all around her. She sagged completely, being held up from the ground now only by the man's hands clenched around her throat.

"Let her go now!" John shouted as he moved closer. Siobhan called to stop him but he kept going. John leveled his piece at the man. "I said let her go or I'll shoot you son of a bitch. Let her go now!"

Ahnna felt herself fading, heard John's command only very, very vaguely. Her breathing was so cut off she'd gone beyond feeling the terror that had been gripping her. One face floating through her dimming brain. Alistair.

"She ain't Marce. You've got the wrong girl. I know what you did, pal. Let's end this on a more peaceful note."

Siobhan moved from behind the car door and took a wide berth to distract the man. She called to him to distract him.

"Let her go now, Sweeny or I'll shoot. I'm not kidding..."

Joe blinked his eyes, sweat pouring down his face his vision wasn't right now he was seeing double, he focused back on the Sheriff. "There ain't no peace Sheriff not for me and not for this bitch she's going with me," Joe cocked the gun  his hand wet with sweat and it slipped as he fired, "fuck."

There was no time to think. The sound of another shot rang out and Joe Sweeney dropped to the ground. John stood there for a moment before rushing to Ahnna. When he reached her, he kicked Sweeny's gun away then he kneeled down to pick Ahnna up, to cradle her. When he turned to look at Siobhan she'd already holstered her gun. The barrel of hers was cold. John had ended Sweeny's life.

Maximus came, darting out of the barn, running hard toward the Greenery. Joimus! That was his one thought. Was his wife all right? He skidded to a halt as he saw her hurrying out of the greenhouse door, her attention riveted on something she saw at the edge of the near field. Jerking his head around, he saw Sheriff Biebe standing, holding a limp Ahnna in his arms, some man lying quiet at his feet.

"John!" he called as he began running again, arriving at the same moment Joimus did. "Ahnna? Is she...?"

Biebe shook his head. He turned to Siobhan and said, "Get a bus here and call White. We’ll need him to work now."

Siobhan knew what that meant. She called Tom Young to bring the ambulance for Ahnna, to check her out then she called Bud White to the scene. He could at this point abandon the murder scene. All was pretty much solved.