"Catching Jane" Ch. 1

The picture was cleverly hidden inside the frame of another picture. He adjusted it so that, when he had a craving to see her, he could pull the small tab and her picture would pop out to give him the satisfaction of seeing her beautiful face.

He heard movement downstairs. He quickly adjusted his tie and, placing the picture where it usually sat, he quickly closed the door to his room and walked downstairs.

Mother was fixing breakfast as he strode into the kitchen, placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Are you going to the office today?" she asked as she ladled a little gravy onto the biscuits she had sitting in front of her. He peered out the kitchen window.

"I have to stop there later today, but this morning I'm going down to Old Man Ross' house. It seems he is having some trouble with chicken stealing."

"Oh, my," Mother said. "I do hope it isn't anyone we know."

He turned, smiling, picked up the plate of biscuits and gravy, placed a few strips of bacon on the side, and sat down at the table.

"I hope not either. I would hate to have to arrest any of our friends."

As he finished his breakfast, Mother came and sat down beside him.

"How's Jane been lately?" she asked, quietly.

He stiffened. Just slightly, though Mother caught it.

"I'm not sure, I haven't been at the hospital in a couple of weeks. I'm sure she is doing fine though."

He excused himself, gave his mother another forehead kiss, then, grabbing his hat that sat by the door, he walked quickly to his truck.

Jane was the last thing he wanted to think about right now.

___________________

"I want to know what you're gonna do about this!" screeched the old man. "Tucker Ellis, this has got to stop!"

Tucker pushed his hat back on his head. Staring at the clean cut chicken wire, he puzzled at why someone would want to steal raggedy chickens from an even more raggedy old man.

"I'm doing all that I can, Mr. Ross." he said as he gazed at the ground around the break in wire. He saw a small imprint of what looked like a point of a cowboy boot. Kneeling to look more closely, he saw that there were several, but they faded as they headed toward the woods.

"I'll continue to look into the matter Mr. Ross. If you hear anything more, be sure to let me know." With those words he turned and walked to his truck.

Old Man Ross continued to screech at his back. He nodded, waving his hand, but he really didn't hear what the man said. His mind puzzled over the last few weeks.

Why would someone start stealing chickens. There had never been that kind of problem before in Horton County. Most citizens were respectable, hard-working people who had been here most of their lives. The new people who came to Horton were elderly or had new families and came for the good school and quiet living. There were only 450 people in Horton anyway, and the nearest town was Brigton, which was about 20 miles away. The county itself had some outlying farms, a few country dwellers, but again, everyone had been here for years. Most of the county was related in some way.

The chicken stealing had started a few weeks ago at Fred Tomins place, but there had been no clues to who had done it.
After three chicken coops had been robbed, Tucker was running out of time, patience, and excuses. The boot prints in the dirt around Old Man Ross' coop were the first visible signs that chickens were being stolen by a human. Up to this point, Tucker was afraid he would have to start believing in aliens.

He passed the hospital, looked up, and nearly drove off the road. He quickly pulled the truck over, threw it into park and bolted from the cab. Standing on the sill outside of one of the windows was a hospital patient, clad in gown, walking the narrow sill that wrapped around the second floor of the hospital.

Grabbing his cell phone, he quickly dialed the memorized hospital number. Louise, the head nurse, answered the phone.

"Hello, Horton Memorial Hospital, how can I help you?"

"Louise, this is Tucker. You have a patient walking on the sill outside on the second story!"

He was breathless. If that man took one wrong step........

"Where, Tucker, where is the patient?" came Louise's calm and centered voice. He heard her directing someone in the background.

"It's right in front of the hospital. I saw him as I was driving by. Hurrry, Louise, hurry!"

He watched, helpless, as the man continued to walk the sill. He watched as an orderly lifted a window directly behind the patient. The orderly spoke to the man, but the man didn't seem to hear. He continued walking. The orderly climbed out the window and progressed, very slowly, to where the man was.

"Don't be stupid." whispered Tucker to himself. If the man fell, there was no way the orderly could help him without falling himself. He watched, helpless still, as the orderly placed a hand on the man shoulder. He apparently said something as the man stopped walking and stood still. Another orderly opened a window in front of the man, and together they coaxed him down into the open window and safety.

When the orderly had disappeared into the hospital, Tucker ran into the lobby and went directly to the stairwell. Bounding up the stairs, two at a time, he burst into the med/surg unit, nearly knocking Louise over in the process.

"What in the world was that about?" he practically shouted at her.

Gripping his arm in a gentle, but firm motion, she gave him a look of "Be quiet if you know what's good for you."

Leading him into a small conference room, she sat down behind a table, gesturing him to do the same.

"Louise," he began.

"Tucker," she said softly, "There is a something that you really need to know, but I'm not supposed to say. I could lose my job over this. You need to know that."

Tucker froze. This must be serious.

"I'm listening, Louise."

--------"End of Chapter One"---------