Tarnished Heroes
A Daniel Jackson
Stargate SG-1
Adult FanFiction Series
By
Moon Mistress
a/k/a Lisa Beth Darling

Chapter Eleven

We stood at the altar
The gypsy swore our future was right
But come the wee wee hours
Well maybe baby the gypsy lied
So when you look at me
You better look hard and look twice
Is that me baby
Or just a Brilliant Disguise?
Tonight our bed is cold
I’m lost in the darkness of our love
God have mercy on the man
Who doubts what he’s sure of
Brilliant Disguise
Bruce Springsteen

Calla and Colleen had yet to arrive at home when Daniel returned. The house was silent and Nick’s car was gone. All of the lights on the answering machine were blinking. Daniel hit the button for his box and listened to the messages, nothing important Jack had called the house before trying to reach Daniel on his cell phone. Callas’ light was blinking and though he knew he shouldn’t he hit the button and listened to the voices.

The first voice was the answering machines’ computer. “You have three unheard messages; first message 1:45 pm;”

A male voice came through the speaker. “Hi, Calla, it’s Tom Dyer. Listen I am really sorry about last night, I didn’t mean to spring Antwone on you like that. I need to talk to you about the photographs, I think there’s something wrong with them, please call me back. Again, I’m sorry. Bye.” Click

“Second unheard message 2:15pm”

Another man. British. “Hullo, Calla, Andy Hartley here, love. I was just wondering if you’ve firmed up that itinerary yet? I really want to get together with you while you’re here. Give me a ring and let me know. Talk soon. Ta.” Click.

“Third unheard message 3:23pm”

One more male voice. Deep and husky. “Hey, Prof, it’s Antwone. I hope you’re not too sore about last night I just want you to know I had nuttin’ to do with it. I thought everything was cool. Sorry.” Click.

Well obviously something transpired last night, she’d been keeping some fairy masculine company lately, and that wasn’t like Calla. Daniel knew Tom Dyer they met several times; he had the classroom down the hall from Calla and taught photography. Hartley he had yet to meet and Antwone was unknown to him though he did sound like a burly man by the tone of his voice anyway.

Sitting in the comfortable leather chair at his desk, he picked up the house phone. Andrew Hartley was hot to meet with Calla. No matter what he didn’t want her going to New York Cit alone. To that end, he had a plane. Not possessing the powers of telepathy the rest of his family did, Daniel dialed Nick’s cell phone.

“Mom?”

“No, Dad.” Daniel said.

“Hey, Dad. What’s up?” Nick waited for him to tell him his mother had come home and holy hell exploded all over the place.

“What are you doing this coming weekend?”

“Huh?”

“You heard me what are you plans for Friday thru Sunday?”

“Well, I gotta game Saturday.”

Daniel skipped over his sons’ comment as though he hadn’t even heard it. “I need you to go to New York with your mother.”

“Oh, great. I guess this means you’re leaving?” After the heavy conversation they just had, Dad was going to pack up his shit and go off world. In Nick’s opinion, Daniel really didn’t have any space to wonder why his wife took a little somethin’ here and there.

“Nick,” Daniel chided.

“Yeah, sure, I’ll go with her.” He rushed. “Don’t worry, Dad, I’ll make sure nothing happens to her.”

“What did you sa—“ The line went dead in his hand. That went well. As Daniel hung it up the front door opened. Here we go. He took a deep breath and walked out to greet his wife and daughter. “No luck?” Daniel asked with real surprise. They’d been gone since late morning and it was after five. Still they were not carrying any bags or packages and both of them looked disappointed.

“No,” Colleen grumbled. “I’m too damn tall!” She ran up the stairs.

“I got the same thing from Nick.” Daniel put his arm around Calla’s shoulders.

“Did he find a tux?”

“Eventually yes we did.” He reported happy that he had fared better than they did.

“I got the check deposited in the bank.” Calla told him with a sigh. “I’ll take her out again before we go. Who knows maybe we’ll see something in New York.” She encouraged and smiled as she looked up at him. That sweet smile disappeared as quickly as it came. “When are you going?” She let go of him and walked away to put her handbag down on the table.

“Monday.”

“And you don’t know when you’re coming back.” It wasn’t a question, no, not in the least. “No problem.” She still wasn’t looking at him.

“Nick’s going to go with you to New York.”

Wheeling around hotly to glare at him, she shouted, “I don’t need a fucking babysitter, Daniel!”

While he expected her to be a bit miffed but the heated anger, radiating from her was quite unexpected. Then again so was this news. It had been almost two years since he’d gone off world and Calla probably thought those days were behind her. He did too. “I didn’t say you need a babysitter, it’s just that I’d feel better if….”

“Nicholas has a big game next weekend, his baseball team is in the semi-finals for the State Championship and you know that. It’s bad enough I can’t be there he isn’t going to miss it because of me he’s going to go to it.” Calla told him and by her tone that was non-negotiable. “Besides, I don’t want Colleen left here alone.” By the look on his face, Daniel hadn’t thought about that though he probably should have. Calla just shook her head and turned away from him again. “It’s late I have to make dinner. Where’s Nicholas? Is he joining us tonight?”

“Calla talk to me.” Daniel pled.

“What is there to talk about? You’re leaving, that’s it. It’s never a subject to discuss or debate it just is what it is. I have to make dinner now.”

“Kitty, come on….”

“Please just leave me alone for a little while.” Calla walked off.

Daniel wanted to follow her but he didn’t, she’d be busy in the kitchen making dinner and avoiding him for the next hour or so. Rather than disturb her he walked out the front door and to her car. Just as Nick said there was a very small silver flask just big enough to hold three or four shots, enough to get a good buzz going but not enough to make her completely sloshed. It was empty. Next to it was a small metal pipe and an empty baggie. After using it up last night, she hadn’t had the time to refill her stock just yet. With an uneasy feeling, he put them back in the glove box and shut the door.

Once inside he went upstairs to their room while the radio blared in the kitchen. Again, his son was right, under her unmentionables tucked way back in the far left hand corner was a small gold pillbox with a hand painted lid. It looked old and he remembered her picking this at a flea market ages ago, she said she liked the floral design and for a while, it had been on the nick-knack rack in the small hall between the living room and kitchen. When it disappeared from there he didn’t know. Opening it there was a small assortment of white, green and blue pills. He wasn’t a pharmacist but he knew the green and blue pills were valium; 5 and 10 milligrams that was what accounted for the color difference. The white might be a painkiller, she liked those. The pillbox was too small. If she ordered these online, she didn’t do it five or ten pills at a time and there were only nine pills in the box. Not Calla. She’d buy them in bulk and as sporadically as possible. Somewhere around here there was a larger stash that Nick didn’t know about. Daniel knew just where it was.

The attic.

To his surprise the attic door was locked, Calla only usually locked it if she were in there painting away and didn’t want to be bothered by the outside world. Lock or no lock it was his house and he had a key. With a determination he didn’t quite understand, Daniel quietly he crept back down the stairs and to his office, he opened the center desk drawer took out the key and just as quietly made his way back to the third floor.

The key slid into the lock and the knob turned easily in his hand. It was dark up here and he flicked on the overhead lights. Immediately he opened the old hutch but there was nothing there. Nothing in the silent butler either. Once caught she usually didn’t use the same hiding place twice. But that stash was up here somewhere and he was going to find it before he left.

On her easel was a new painting she was starting work on. It was a just the background at the moment, a light gray which worked it’s way to pitch black as it went up the canvas. Daniel supposed when she was finished it was going to be some type nighttime scene. There was nothing in with her paints and brushes. The only other things up here were a stereo, busted coffee table and the ratty couch.

“Gotcha.” He said looking at the speakers. Daniel removed the front cover from one and then the other. Sure enough, she’d dug out sub-woofer on one and put a plastic bottle of pills in its place. It was the size of your average jelly jar; you know the kind we used to get that had Scooby-Doo or the Peanuts gang on them when we were kids. It was a quarter way full with an assortment of little white, blue and green pills. Daniel took it over to the old dining room table, the lid was clamped on so tight even he had trouble opening it but he did and then he dumped out the contents and counted them. 17 blue, 22 green, 15 white for a total of 54. He’d keep the final count in his head and compare it to what remained when he returned. Daniel pushed them back into the jar and jostled it around a little so that they mixed better and then put it back in the speaker and closed it up.

One thing he didn’t find was a hidden stash of alcohol or pot. Daniel looked for it, believe you me, he looked under the couch, in the cushions, under the hutch, under the silent butler, behind both of them. He even took her stack of paintings out from where they were leaning against the wall to see if there was a bottle behind them and nothing.

The guest bedroom. But, once again, no stash of pot of booze. Maybe she didn’t sneak the pot, he never told her no on that one so maybe what he knew she had was all she had. The booze could very easily come from the readily available supply in their liquor cabinet downstairs. He didn’t know if that was good or bad. It was good because he thought maybe she wasn’t as far gone as he first feared and bad because he knew it meant that she could do it right under his nose and he still wasn’t paying attention. Or she wasn’t letting him as Nick might say.

Almost forty-five minutes had passed since she first came home and Doctor Jackson made his way down the stairs to the first floor. The first thing he saw was the answering machine. The little red lights weren’t blinking they were just on indicating heard messages were stored there. Daniel turned up the volume as he glanced in the kitchen to see her puttering around in there and hit the button so that her messages played. At the sound of Tom Dyer’s voice, she came out of the kitchen. “What are you doing?” She asked.

“I hit the wrong button by mistake,” he explained calmly. “What’s he talking about? What photographs? Who’s Antwone?”

Calla instantly paled and then flinched, she reached out to hit the button to stop the message but Hartley’s voice was coming through the line and Daniel would think it odd if she didn’t let him listen to the messages. After all, they had no secrets from each other now did they? When Hartley’s message ended and Antwone’s voice came through the line she just couldn’t help herself, she hit the STOP button.

“I asked you a question, what photographs? Who was that?” Daniel said again. She was looking down at the machine with her thumbnail in her mouth. He reached out and turned to her face toward him. “I said…” he stopped, her eyes were red and swollen, and her cheeks were puffy. “Have you been crying?”

“No,” she said and tried to smile, “I’ve been cutting up onions.”

Bullshit. He didn’t smell any onions. “Ki…”

“Mom! Mom!” Colleen bellowed from the top of the stairs.

“Yes, my dear.” Calla answered and went to the bottom of the stairs. “What is it?”

“Terry wants to know if I can sleep over her house tonight.”

“Yeah, that’s fine, pumpkin.” Daniel called back. “Just fine.” He looked at his wife. “Nick’s out for the night too, so how about that? We’re alone again.”

“Um.” She wasn’t hungry anymore, no not at all. In fact right now she’d like to march herself up the stairs and dig into the little gold box in her lingerie drawer.

Colleen came trotting down the stairs with a knapsack on her back. “Love you mom, love you dad. See ya tomorrow.”

“Don’t you need a ride?” Calla asked with something that sounded like hope in her voice.

“Nah, I’m gonna start walkin’ she’s gonna meet me on the way.” The last thing standing between Calla and her husband walked out the door for the night.

“Something you think you should tell me?” He asked as the door clicked shut. “Something about pictures maybe?”

Did she think she should tell him? “No.” Was her nervous reply. “So tell me, where are you going? Off to save the Universe again?” Calla turned to walk away.

“I haven’t gotten an answer to my questions yet,” he told her while following her into the kitchen. “Not an honest one anyway. You answer me and then I’ll answer you.” He stood in the doorway and watched her ignore him and pull plates from the cabinets. She brought them into the dining room and once again, he followed and stood in the doorway. When she turned to leave, he didn’t let her.

Caught like a rat in a trap there was no way out of the dining room except past him. “Tom has a project he needed help with and I helped him.” She explained in a very calm very rational voice and tried to push past him.

“A photography project?” Daniel asked holding his ground.

“Yes.”

“With Antwone? Who is he?” He felt like he was tossing out a trail of breadcrumbs for her to follow. Leading her where he wanted her to go. And he was.

“An ex-student of mine.” She looked up at him with pleading eyes, tried one more time to get into the kitchen, and failed. “He and I…” she stopped, “Tom has been asked to enter a very prestigious photography competition.” Still looking up and holding his gaze she went on. “His model canceled out at the last minute.” She stopped again.

“You volunteered to help him out and pose for him?” He was leading, she was following, and the muscles at the back of his neck began to tighten. It was clear where this was going. Calla nodded in agreement with him. “Do I have to ask?” Yes, he did. “Fine, did you an Antwone keep your clothes on?”

Calla let out a little shiver she looked away from him and wrapped her arms around her body. “No.”

“You let him touch you?” The hand that been in the door jam blocking her path was suddenly stuck to the side of her neck. “Look at me.”

“I….I did…I didn’t know,” her heart beat with an icy chill as she looked up at him and went on. “I thought I would be alone.” Calla swallowed hard and the hand at her neck tightened. “I didn’t know he’d hired Antwone.” Her hand reached out to push his away but he wouldn’t let go. “Please Daniel you’re scaring me. I’m sorry. I should have told you, I should have asked your permission first. Please let go.”

Daniel didn’t let go, no that was the last thing he wanted to do in this moment. Using the hand at her neck for leverage, he pulled himself close to her. “You let him fuck you?” He whispered in her ear.

“No!” Calla cried out and dropped to her knees. “I swear, Master Daniel, no, never.”

Yeah, whatever now get out.

Thank you, now get the fuck out!

There was no effort involved on Daniel’s part, David departed on his own but he went away mumbling and grumbling his unhappiness over the situation. What the hell was he doing here lately anyway? He hadn’t an episode with his long dead brother since Calla drew him out of Daniel’s head almost seventeen years ago. Not so much as a peep had been heard from David Jackson. Why now?

Daniel’s hand, which moved from her neck to her arm as she slid down him, released its hold on her. “Get up.” He backed away from her. “I want to see these photographs.”

“No.” Calla shook her head from her place on the floor.

“If he’s not……” Daniel pursed his lips and drew in a breath, “then there shouldn’t be anything I can’t see.”

“If you wish.” She agreed and dropped her eyes. “I’ll call Tom and tell him I want to see them after all.”

“I’ll do it.” With David still tingling somewhere in the back of his head and his fists stuffed into his pockets Daniel exited the dining room. He picked up the phone in the hallway and dialed Tom’s number but only Tom’s machine picked up. “Professor Dyer this is Doctor Jackson, Calla’s husband. We got your message and we’re very anxious to see the photographs you took of her. I’d like you to stop by tonight or maybe tomorrow. Thank you.” Click. Daniel turned around to see Calla standing in the doorway of the kitchen. She looked scared and dejected. “Come here, Kitty.” He said as calmly as possible thinking he might like to dash up the stairs and have one or two of those stashed valium right now.

Sheepishly with her head and eyes down, she took small steps toward him as he’d asked. “I should have asked your permission first. I am very sorry.”

“Yes. You are correct. I should have done this.” Calla was now right in front of him and lowering herself to her knees.

The house was empty and it’d be real easy ta let ‘er espress ‘er remorse ov’a the sit-che-a-tion….“Don’t you dare.” He told her. “I’m your husband not your Master, don’t kneel to me again.”

“What shall I do?” Calla looked up at him with frightened eyes and then turned them away from him. “What will you do?”

“I just wanted to help Tom.” She said quietly. “If he had told me about Antwone I would have said no. I did say no.” Calla still quiet and shy hurried along her words. “Antwone has a new family and he needed the money Tom was paying him…..”

Through the big picture window, blue and red flashing lights were coming up the driveway. Their first thought was something happened to one of the kids. Calla forgot all about their conversation and ran to the window to see two State Police cruisers in their drive way and three State Troopers climbing out of them. “Oh, Gods, Daniel?” She turned to look at him.

“It’s ok, Calla, I’m sure the kids are fine.” No he wasn’t. “Just in case call for them. Now.”

There wasn’t a single second of hesitation on Callas’ part.

Nicholas? Nicholas?! Calla screamed inside her head as she searched out her son.

Stay there. I’ll find her. The line in her head disconnected. Colleen! Colleen!

The line in Callas’ head clicked off again as the police neared the front door. “They’re fine.” She couldn’t help it, the relief that washed over, she wrapped her arms around him and held on tight. “They’re fine.” She said again.

“Ok, you stay here. I’ll get the door.” Daniel told her and sat her on the couch before making his way to the front door. The kids are fine. The kids are fine. The kids are fine. It was the only thought making its way through his mind as the knob turned in his hand before the State Trooper could pound on it. “Good evening officer.” Daniel said lightly. “I’m Doctor Daniel Jackson, is there a problem?”

“Good evening, Doctor Jackson.” A blonde haired blue-eyed state trooper said amiably. “Does Professor Calla Jackson reside here?” He asked with a worried smile.

Daniel glanced over his shoulder at his wife who paled even further. “Yes, she does. Come in, officer.” Daniel stepped back so that the cops could enter his home. His heart was beating double time and every nasty thought imaginable was going through his mind. Including the fact that was illegal to purchase controlled substances online without a valid prescription. Were they here to arrest his wife? “Calla, these gentlemen would like to talk to you.” He said calmly as he could while guiding them into the living room.

With a nervous stomach, Calla stood up to greet the authority that walked into her home. The ones with the guns on their belts. “Officers.” She shook their hands with a sweaty palm. “May I assist you somehow?” Calla asked and then motioned toward the furniture. “Please sit down. May I get you a cup of coffee?”

“No, ma’am.” The big burly blonde state trooper said and said in one of the chairs by the unlit fireplace. “I’m State Trooper Eric Johnson.” He smiled and flashed his credentials at her. “This is State Trooper Mike Dickerson.” The man introduced the smaller older man who’d walked in with him. The other trooper remained outside. State Trooper Dickerson smiled and tipped his hat to her. “Do you know a Professor Thomas Dyer?” State Trooper Johnson asked and removed a small notebook from his pocket.

“Yes.” She said. “Tom has the room next to mine.”

“According to your schedule you had a class last night, Professor Jackson, from…” he looked down at his notes. “8:30 until 11:30?”

“Yes, my part-timers.” Calla said with a light smile and seated herself on the couch. She looked up at Daniel and reached for him. Without a word, he sat next to her. Casting aside whatever confrontation was still coming between them for the moment and he didn’t hesitate to present a United Front to the State Troopers. “We let out a little early I guess. I’m taking my honors class to New York City on Friday and won’t see that class for two weeks.” She explained. “Has something happened to Tom?”

“I’m sorry to inform you of this but Professor Dyer was found dead in his dark room at the university earlier today.”

“Oh my Gods!” She exclaimed and covered her mouth. “That’s not possible,” she said quickly, “we just listened to a message he left today….on the answering machine.”

“Yes we did.” Daniel agreed.

“May I listen to it, Doctor Jackson?” State Trooper Dickerson asked.

“Sure.” Daniel stood up and led him into the small hall where the answering machine was. He pushed the button and Tom’s message played he shut it off when it was done.

“What else is on the tape?” The State Trooper asked with his normal official suspicion.

“A message from an art dealer and a student both for my wife.” Daniel explained but didn’t offer to let the cop listen to them. “What happened to Professor Dyer?”

“Do you mind if I take this with me?” State Trooper Dickerson asked as he pointed to the answering machine.

“For what purpose?”

“We’ll make a copy of the recording and time stamp for the record.” State Trooper Dickerson took his own little note book out of his pocket. “Professor Nancy Pelky found Professor Dyer at 3:43 this afternoon. This tells us he was alive until at least 1:45 provided the machine isn’t in error about the time the recording was made.”

There was little choice in the situation. “Of course, take it.” Daniel unplugged the machine and handed it over to the cop. “Anything to help.” The cop dropped a time frame and Daniel wasn’t about to let it slip by him. “In case you’re interested, I spent the day taking my son looking for a tuxedo for the senior prom and my wife spent it taking our daughter shopping for a gown.”

“Is that right?” Dickerson asked and scratched the information on his notepad.

“Yes.”

“Watch a lot of cop shows, do ya?”

“Some.” Daniel agreed.

“So then you know I’m going to ask you if anyone can back that up.”

“Several people, I’m sure.” Daniel said easily. “This news is really very shocking. How did he die?”

The State Trooper took the machine and walked back into the living room without giving Daniel an answer. “This might help.” He said to Johnson.

“Good.” Johnson said to Dickerson. “So the last time you actually saw Dyer was what…eight o’clock?”

“Around there, yes.” Calla said dreamily. “No, wait” she said quickly. “He came into my room after class; he was very excited about something he was working on.” The half-lie slipped out easily and convincingly. “That was about 11:20 or so, we talked a few minutes and then he left. So I guess I saw him last around 11:30 last night.” She clarified. “Will you please tell me what’s happened to Tom?”

“There’s no official coroner’s report yet, you understand ma’am.” State Trooper Johnson prefaced. “But it appears that his neck was broken and he was found with his head in a tub of silver nitrate.”

“Oh no.” She cried. “Poor Tom.” Calla started to cry. Daniel put his arm around her and she buried her face in his shoulder. “This is terrible.”

“It’s ok, honey.” He reassured her. “Shh.” Daniel kissed the top of her head while she clung to him. “Is there anything else we can do for you, Officers?”

“We found this in his back pocket.” Dickerson took a plastic Ziploc back from his inner coat pocket and handed it over to Calla. Inside was the release she’d signed the night before. “We also found several black and white photographs near the body. Someone torn them to shreds. Looking at you now, Professor Jackson, I can see those photographs were of you, weren’t they, ma’am?”

“Yes.” She agreed. “I had nothing to do with this is that’s what you’re thinking. I signed this release. I posed for Tom because he’d entered a prestigious photography contest. He photographed me last night.”

“How did you feel about this, Doctor Jackson?”

“Me?” Daniel asked in true shock. “To be honest officer, I only found out about the photographs about fifteen minutes ago. If you’re thinking I did this, you’re wrong.”

“You didn’t tell your husband about these photographs, Professor Jackson?” Johnson asked as he made notes.

“No, I didn’t.” Calla admitted freely. “I was so embarrassed about it that I asked Tom not to show my face in his photographs.”

“I don’t see why,” Dickerson said before speaking, “they were…stunning...when we pieced them back together.” His face reddened a little.

Calla shook and blushed at the same time, she grabbed for Daniel’s hand. “You think whoever did this….that it has something to do with the photographs he took last night?”

“We’re not sure. What's the name of the man posing with you? Obviously whoever he is, he’s not your husband.” Dickerson inquired.

“Antwone Booker.” Calla stammered. “Tom hired him for the shoot.”

“Do you know where we can find Antwone Booker?” Johnson asked.

Calla was groping, searching, and shaking her head.

Daniel looked up at Dickerson and the machine in his hand. “He left a message and his number.”

“Well, we know Professor Dyer was able to send off his entries for this contest. We also found postal receipts in his pocket.” Johnson said. “Do you know which photographs he sent off?”

“I have no idea, I haven’t seen them.” Calla told them.

“Do you have any idea why he would finish all of that off, going to the post office and everything and then return to the dark room instead of going home?”

Calla sat and thought for a moment. She couldn’t remember if Tom has classes on Saturday or not but she didn’t think so, that would be highly unusual and if he did, the police wouldn’t be asking her about it. “Unless he wanted to develop more film or do something with his photographs, no I don’t know. He didn’t have a dark room in his apartment, I know that much.” She offered. “He always used the one in his class for his own personal projects and the class’.”

“Do you know of any enemies Professor Dyer may have had? Anybody who’d wanna harm him?” Dickerson’s turn.

“No who would want to hurt Tom? He was…” she shrugged her shoulders, “he was always very nice.”

“How about you, ma’am? Do you know anyone who’d want to destroy those photographs of you?”

“No one but Tom, Antwone and I even knew about them.” She explained. “At least not so far as I’m aware.”

State Trooper Johnson rose to his feet. “Thank you for your help, Professor.” He reached out a hand and Calla shook it. “Doctor.” The hand extended to Daniel this time. “If we need you for anything else you’ll be around? You say something about going to New York?”

“My honors class and I are leaving Friday afternoon we’ll be back on Sunday.” She said quietly. “Daniel is leaving for an overseas trip on Monday.” Calla explained and looked at him.

“Ah, yes, overseas. I’m not sure when I’m coming back. Business, you know.” He offered with what he hoped was a convincing smile.

“You’ll be back on Sunday, ma’am?” Johnson asked and made notes.

“Yes. Are you going to tell me not to leave town, officer?”

“No, ma’am.” Johnson smiled at her. Looking at her, he didn’t think her physically capable of breaking Dyer’s neck. “Just be available if we need you.”

“Of course officer.” Calla agreed. “I’ll return around four o’clock on Sunday afternoon if you need me for anything.”

“We’re sorry to have brought you this news and disturbed your evening.” Dickerson said apologetically and tipped his State Trooper’s hat to both of them. “Try and have a good evening.” Reaching into his pocket, he brought out a business card. “If you think of anything please give us a call.” He handed it over to Calla. “Ma’am, do you know how many rolls of film Professor Dyer used last night?”

Calla stopped and thought about it for a moment. He had three camera, he used all of them and reloaded film twice in all of them. “Six?” She tucked her hair behind her ear. She seemed to remember him reloading the one around his neck more often. “Maybe seven or eight. I’m not sure. The negative should be in the dark room, weren’t they there?”

“There were some but like the prints they were almost destroyed.” State Trooper Johnson told her.

That was good news to her ears. If the pictures were gone — all but three— and the negatives destroyed, she wouldn’t have to worry about them. Now that Daniel knew, it didn’t really matter anyway. “If I think of anything I’ll call you right away.” Calla and Daniel walked the State Troopers to the door and said their good nights.

Out on the porch Dickerson turned to Johnson. “I told you that was make-up.” He held out his palm for the twenty they’d bet on it.

Johnson reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet as they made their way over to the cruisers. “Coulda fooled me, man, I’da sworn those bruises on her were real.” He handed over the twenty.

It wasn’t long after that when both kids came rolling up the driveway in Nick’s hot rod as though Hell itself were hot on their heels and demanding to know what was going on and why the police had been in their home. Nicholas seemed most concerned about his mother and Colleen seemed thoroughly confused over the entire situation.

“The cops don’t seriously think either of you did it?” Nick asked as he held his mother’s hand and stared into his father’s eyes. “You didn’t know and mom wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

Oh, well, now that wasn’t exactly true. Daniel clearly remembered the image of his delicate little wife drowning Psyche in the river. “Sure she wouldn’t.”

“You still leaving, Dad?” Nick asked.

“What? When?” Colleen interjected. “Where?”

“I have to go.” Daniel explained. “It’s very important or I would get out of it.” Staring across the room at Nick Daniel was struck by just how much he not only looked like Ares but acted like him. The way his arm was draped around her so like the way Ares did it, h holding her next to him in what could be a very familial way but at a second harder glance it could be interpreted as more. Those smoldering dark eyes were just daring him to step up to the plate or cross the line.

“Whatever.” Nick returned in a snotty voice and rose from Callas’ side. “I’ll go to New York with you, mom.”

“No,” Calla looked up at her handsome son and smiled a genuine smile while speaking in a very soft voice. “Your father and I have already discussed this. You have a big game, it’s important to you and you’re going to play. I’m a big girl I can across the country all by myself if I want to.” She said lightly and smiled wider in hopes of providing more reassurance. “I’m not going to be alone the whole class is going.” She reminded all of them as she took in the worried looks on the faces around her. “Even if I was…so what? I can do this.” She told them. “The news about Tom is very distressing,” the smile faded a little. “Very upsetting but none of us had anything to do with it. We needn’t worry about that. You have a game.” She said to Nicholas. “You have to save to Universe.” She said to Daniel. “You have a prom gown to find.” She looked at Colleen. “And I have to go to New York. Everything will be fine.” Calla didn’t want to talk anymore. More than anything, she wanted to believe what she was saying to her family. “I’ve forgotten about dinner, it’s probably burnt to a crisp. We should go out.”

“Out?” Daniel asked. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. This is Life and it’s full of Change. You can’t let it get in your way.” She told them. “Aren’t you hungry?”

“Starving.” Nick grumbled.

“Yeah, me too.” Colleen agreed.

“Ok, I’m hungry.” Daniel admitted as all eyes turned to him. “Let’s go get a pizza or something.”

“Get your sweaters, let’s go.” Calla said to her children.

“Is that really why you didn’t tell me about Tom and his pictures? You were embarrassed?” Daniel asked her as the kids departed the living room in search of proper outerwear.

“Yes.” Calla reached out for his hand. “I’m not society’s image of…” she stopped and shook her head. “Who would ever want to look at such pictures?”

“Me.” Daniel said with a sad smile. “Oh, Kitty, what am I going to do with you?”

“Love me?” She asked as she looked up at him with hope.

“Forever.” Daniel hugged her tight. “I know you didn’t have anything to do with this.” He said. “I wish you’d cancel the trip and stay home.” Right now that was all he wanted. Daniel didn’t give a shit about the booze or the pot or the pills or the pictures, he just wanted her to stay home where he knew she’d be safe. Home, where she wouldn’t be alone and nothing would happen to her while he was gone. For all he cared, while she was here, she could indulge in all the vices she wanted too just as long as she was unharmed and secure at home.

“Stay home? Isn’t that supposed to be my line?” Her arms enveloped his waist. “I can’t. They’re counting on me. I love you, Daniel. I’m so sorry for what I did I hope you will forgive me. Everything will be all right, you’ll see. It’ll be just….”

“Fine.” He finished. “Yeah just fine.”

For the moment it was something to hold onto.

End of Chapter Eleven of
Tarnished Heroes
An Adult Stargate FanFiction Novel
By
Moon Mistress
Continue to
Chapter Twelve