In an enclosed community like Labinky Park rumors run rampant on a good day. But on a day like this one; with one of the owner’s escorted away in a State Police Cruiser; well before you could say “Lickin”, everyone knew a little bit of what had happened then the exaggerations were added…for flavor. It was no surprise to Nell when she went to the office to see it almost full to capacity. You couldn’t swing a size two thong without hitting someone. She was greeted with questions, concerns and generalized pandemonium. She held up her hand….and squeezed past the bodies until she spied one pair of eyes she could not ignore. Sara was standing there by the swinging door with Rita by her side. Nell ushered them through the swinging door and then turned to the crowd. “Show’s over…..we need to get back to business at hand!” she turned and shepherded Sara and Rita back to her office and closed the door. “Just a regular ole Labinky day….” Nell tried to quip as she moved to take a seat behind her desk. “How’s Jesse?” Sara asked as she took a seat. “Sara….we don’t know…. We didn’t get to see her. They are holding her on a 24 hour observation. Compliments of her dear Therapist!” Nell almost spat. Sara shook her head in confusion. “Is this about the court case…?” “Yes……and no….but to tell you the truth….I don’t think that this has anything to do with that case….I think….this Therapist…has her own agenda. Terri is still at the hospital…we couldn’t pry her away….and Petey and Taylor have headed back…to keep an eye on Terri….. Right now…all we can do is wait…. until tomorrow….they can only keep her 24 hours then re-evaluate her in the morning.” Nell explained then looked closer at Sara’s wan color. Before Nell could say anything, Sara raised her hand as if she read Nell’s mind. “Nell….I want to help!” Sara said in a determined no-nonsense voice. “I know Sara….we all do…but now….we have to wait.” Nell answered glumly. It was then that Sara whipped out her Blackberry and began to scroll through the numbers. “Nell….never underestimate the power of the network…” she winked as she punched up a number. ******************************************************************************************* They had brought Jesse to an observation room. It was a bare room with a door that had a thick window for someone to be stationed outside and look in and monitored the patient’s activity. They were closed circuit cameras mounted in the ceiling grid behind a safety screen about 10 feet off the floor. It was dank and it smelled of hospital antiseptic and urine. The tech from the ER had brought Jesse up in a wheelchair, complete with a Security escort. Once inside the room; the tech put a blanket on the edge of the mattress and stepped back outside to give report to the nurses on the Behavioral Health Unit. Jesse was alone in the room. She stood for a moment in the center of the room and took a deep slow breath. She knew she was being watched. Taking care to keep her movements slow, Jesse went to the corner of the mattress and picked up the blanket. She wrapped it around her and sat down on the least soiled portion of the mattress with her back propped up against the wall. She kept her breathing slow and even and looked around the room from her vantage point. There was no way to escape. The ceiling was too high to try to jump up to a camera, there were no outlets in the room, no pipes, nothing…except…… On the opposite wall from where she sat was a mural. It was faded from the years of abuse from the bodies that had flung against it and the thousands of times it had been cleaned with harsh chemicals; there were faint cracks in the paint. The scene was that of a window looking out onto a meandering stream as it rippled and cascaded over rocks and ledges into a deep pool. A large tree was at the edge of the stream and on one of the thick branches that arched over the stream was a rope swing. There was the figure of a small child hunched over a willow pole with a fishing line that had been cast in the water. Jesse eyes grew wider as she took in every nuance of the painting. The sunlight as it hit the water, the feel of the water as it wandered through the mural. In the lower right hand corner she could just make out the artist signature, “D. Stone”. Jesse let herself enter that painting. She was there she could feel the sun on her face, the wind in her hair. She could hear the babbling water and could hear the child’s laughter as the sound of the lure hit the water with a ‘plunk’. She sat in silence with the boy beside the stream and waited for her imprisonment to be over. Outside the nurse monitored Jesse activity. A nurse’s aide walked over to give the nurse a break. “How she doing?” the young aide asked as she took the chair to observe and record Jesse’s activity. “She is sitting, breathing and staring…it looks like it is going to be a long night!” the nurse said as she stretched her back and headed to the break room for a cup of coffee. But Jesse was free…for now…and she waited deep in this safe place for a sign to show her the way out! Click On The River To Continue To Chapter 66 Labinky Park 2008 Labinky Park Enterprises 2008 Check Out River's Designs! If you take a Pic using any of our Products we will host you on the site for the World to See! Just submit pics to www.labinky@labinkypark.com Writer's Blog Sign The Guest Book See The Slide Show See The Labinky Park Painting Come To Life By D. Stone |
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Chapter 65
