The Shepherd of Ashburn Court Pt. 05

"Ben. Ben Shepherd."

"Are you a member of the family?"

"What? No, I'm a neighbor."

"And what is your address?"

"16 Ashburn Court."

Ben looked over at the girls. They were crying and looking at him. "Are you ok?" he asked gently and they nodded.

"Did- did you kill daddy?" Madison asked in a quiet voice.

"What?!? No, he drove away just now." Ben gasped. "Can you look after your brother?" He then realized he had no memory of how he got into the house. That troubled him until he heard the sirens. "I can hear sirens." he said to the 911 operator as he walked to the front door. He looked at the wreckage of the storm door on the driveway. Shards of glass and blood. Small white bits in the blood that looked like Chicklets. Ben looked blankly at the damage. Then he saw people on the street moving towards the house.

The police cruiser arrived first. Then a second and third. Ben told the 911 operator they were there and hung up.

"Sir, step outside please." an officer said firmly. Ben stepped down onto the driveway as the officer's partner approached.

"Just Ashley, Madison, Savannah and baby Joshua are inside. The husband just drove off moving fast." Ben said then his muscles said enough. He sank to his knees and the policeman moved closer.

"Did you do this, sir?" the officer said pointing to the damaged door.

Ben looked at the door from his new angle and it looked so foreign. He shook his head. "I don't think... I... don't remember."

The officer saw Ben was bleeding from his temple. "Sir, you've been hurt. Your head. Were you struck on your head?"

"I don't remember." he said as he touched the spot on his head. He pulled his fingers back and saw the blood. He froze looking at his fingers. Something about blood covered hands...

The ambulance arrived and the officer directed them inside. Tina rushed up the driveway to get to Ben but the cop intercepted her.

"Maam! You can't be here. Please go back to the sidewalk."

"I must go to Ben! He needs me! BEN!" she called out. She saw he was staring at the blood on his fingers. "BEN? Please! Something is wrong. I must go to him!" She pushed ineffectively at the cops arms.

The paramedics were coming out with Ashley on the gurney. Ben caught the motion and his head snapped to the right. From his angle he couldn't see Ashley's face. His mind took him back to the night Margaret Cosburn died. Her charred body wheeled out on a gurney covered by a blanket. The blood on his hands.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! MRS. COSBURN!" Ben screamed then collapsed.

"BEN!" Tina screamed.

Chapter 27

Ben woke up in a hospital bed. He looked around and didn't recognize the room. Minimal furniture, none of the usual medical machinery, not even a get well card or a vase of flowers. The walls were painted a color he couldn't even recognize. There overall impression hinted at a subtle sense of desperation in the room. Then he noticed the restraints pinning him to the bed. That was also new. He looked around and didn't see a call button for the nurse. Not that he could reach it, he realized.

"HELLO?" Ben called out.

He heard approaching footsteps. Then he heard the door unlock. His eyebrows went up again. An orderly entered the room. He read Ben's chart then nodded to Ben and left. The door locked and footsteps moved away.

Minutes later two sets of footsteps approached. Again the door unlocked and opened only this time it was the orderly and Dr. Granger. The orderly remained outside after he opened the door for the doctor.

"Oh thank god! A familiar face!" Ben exclaimed.

"Hello Ben. How are you feeling?"

"Fine. Why am I here and why am I in restraints?"

"Police orders. You had a psychotic break and evidence suggests you injured someone." The doctor stated. Ben twitched when she mentioned him hurting someone. She took note of that.

"The police found pieces of someone's teeth, a lot of them, and quite a bit of blood on the driveway. None of this was from you so it was determined that it belonged to Mr. Sturn. 'He was inside the storm door then he was on the driveway.' That's a description the police received from a Mr. Barry Walker, a neighbor who was watching with binoculars from directly across the court. Do you remember confronting Mr. Sturn?" the doctor asked.

Ben thought back to the event. "I got home and talked with Tina, is she ok?" The doctor nodded. "She told me what happened when Sturn got home. I went to see if I could tell if Ashley was alright." He frowned as something flashed by in his mind. "I rang the doorbell a few times until he showed up. I couldn't see-" Ben stopped as the old man stood before him in the dark breathing hard, fists clenched, foul breath reeking of whiskey.

"Ben!"

"Sorry... what?" Ben blinked.

"Why did you stop just then? What did you remember?" the doctor pressed.

"Remember? Uh... I was in the driveway... then I was kneeling next to her but it wasn't-" the crumpled and broken body of the sweet old woman who loved him was curled in a fetal position on the ground behind the picnic table. She wasn't breathing!

"BEN!"

He jolted against his restraints and looked around frightened and confused. His memory had holes.

"Who is Mrs. Cosburn?" Dr. Granger asked.

Ben stared at the doctor blankly then his eyes rolled up and he was out.

She checked his pulse which was a little fast then she left.

Hannah sat with Dr. Granger and listened to the woman describe her meeting with Ben. "Damn! Something in his past really hurt him. How do we find out about this Mrs. Cosburn?"

The doctor looked grim. "I am assuming, hoping actually, that she was one of his foster parents. If she was then there may be records of what happened. I've got a call in to my contact at Child Health Services to see if I can get the records of Ben's time in the system. The police are investigating from their side."

"Can he have visitors?" Hannah asked.

Dr. Granger looked at the administrator. She knew Hannah had feelings for her patient but she trusted the woman's concerned for his well-being was stronger.

"Yes, but the restraints stay on." she said pinning Hannah with her gaze. The administrator nodded.

Ben woke up in the room again. He looked around but the doctor was no longer in the room. He went back to her questions. His mind shied away from something there. He found himself pulling at his restraints so he relaxed as best he could. Ben's head was pounding from a headache. He called out to see if the orderly could get him some pain killers.

The wait this time was much longer but when he heard footsteps he could tell there was more than one coming. The door unlocked and Hannah came in. The relief to see her face was almost physical. He smiled and tears welled up but he blinked them away and took control of his emotions.

"Hi Ben."

"Hi Hannah. I'm in your hospital? This doesn't look like your hospital." he said with a shaky voice.

"Psych ward. Oldest section in the building. It needs some updates." Hannah nodded as she looked at him with sadness in her eyes.

"Is everyone ok?" he asked.

Hannah snorted. Ben's in the hospital and he's worried about the others. "Yes, Ben. They're ok."

"Ashley? Madison? Savannah? Joshua?"

"Ashley will be going home in a day or two. She has some broken ribs, a concussion, bruises over most of her body and three broken fingers on one hand. The girls are better. Bruises only. Madison needed a new cast. Joshua wasn't hurt at all. When Ashley leaves she'll be staying with Tina at your place. That's where her daughters are now. Daphne's taking care of Joshua."

"Ashley's husband?"

"Elija Ray Sturn is in the wind. He may be badly hurt. He lost teeth, skin, and blood on the driveway but he hasn't shown up in any hospitals or walk-in-clinics. The police are hunting him. He was out on bail from attacking a prostitute-"

"-in Las Vegas. I know." Ben finished.

Hannah looked at him stunned. Ben saw the look and explained. "I didn't know who he was when I met him here. I just returned from Austin, Texas where I was doing some work for a company called Sturn Enterprises. The chief engineer told me the CEO was in Las Vegas bailing his son out of jail for assaulting a prostitute. He said the man's name was Ray Sturn. He told me the whole story about how bad this guy was. How he drove his first wife to commit suicide. How he hurt people all the time and was a mean drunk." Ben twitched but seemed unaware of it. "I got back and I thought the new neighbor's name was Eli Beaumont. I stupidly never connected the two together." Ben thought about that madman still on the loose.

"You have to do something for me." Hannah looked nervously at his restraints. "Call Tina and give her a message." She relaxed. "The code to my workshop. 1-9-7-3-#. If there's trouble she is to get everyone inside and press the red button on the wall under the flip up plastic plate. The shop doubles as a panic room. The room will seal and the police will be called. To re-open the door AFTER the police arrive she just presses the red button again for three seconds. Can you tell her that?"

"Yes. Now, how are you doing?" Hannah asked.

"There are holes in my memory. I'm just noticing. I don't know how long it's been happening. It's scary." Ben admitted.

"Dr. Granger and I have spoken with Tina and Catherine. They've indicated that you've been having moments where you seem to... go away. It's only been recent though and it seems to be combined with headaches and nightmares. When you were brought in we gave you an MRI and a battery of other tests and found nothing physical to explain these symptoms. Physically you're healthy as a horse. Dr. Granger has some ideas but she'll speak to you about that." Hannah said brushing the hair from his forehead. Ben pressed back against her fingers as best he could.

Hannah smiled down at Ben and leaned down to kiss his forehead but he tilted his head up intentionally this time to reach her lips. She stopped before she reached him and looked into his eyes. He looked lost and he was looking for a connection. She allowed her head to descend further until her lips were lightly brushing his. His breath caught and he gently pressed his mouth against hers. He stroked her bottom lip with his and it was Hannah's turn to gasp as tingles raced down her spine. He captured her top lip between his lips and gently nibbled his way to the corner of her mouth. Hannah was trembling and rested her hand on his powerful chest feeling it rise and fall with his breathing and the thump of his quickly beating heart.

Ben sucked at Hannah's lower lip and ran his teeth over its surface tantalizingly. Hannah wanted to pull off her tight business suit and to climb on Ben but... he needed her help more than he needed this.

She closed her eyes tight and pressed her lips against his one last time before she pulled back, escaping the almost magnetic pull of his mouth. Ben's eyes were half lidded and searched hers when she reopened them.

"You need to get better Ben. Speak with the doctor, ok? Let her in. Let her help you. Please!" Hannah gasped quietly. Ben couldn't trust his voice so he just nodded while he kept his eyes on hers. She pulled away and walked from the room not looking back. Not wanting to see the effect she'd had on his body. Stepping out the door she stumbled to a stop as she almost bumped into Dr. Granger. Her face went red as she realized the doctor had seen everything.

"Checking up on me Dr. Granger?" she asked roughly.

"Confirming my faith in you was justified." the doctor replied.

"Well?"

"It was." Granger smiled. She walked back towards her office and Hannah followed after a moment.

Once they were seated the doctor unlocked her drawer and pulled out a thick dossier. She looked at Hannah. "Ben's past. His foster care records."

"How did you get them so fast?" Hanna gasped.

"I'd like to say it was magic but the fact is they were here in the building! The original Child Welfare Office was in the basement of the hospital years ago. Now it's just records storage. My contact at Child Services got back to me and he told me that for records as old as the ones I wanted they'd be in the stored here. I went down to the basement and the filing clerk there is a savant and found Ben's records in minutes. Some of these were sealed by the court but as his doctor I'm allowed to review them for his treatment."

"Sealed by the court? Ben was in trouble with the police as a youth?"

She nodded. "I found Mrs. Cosburn. These were the sealed records. Ben was twelve when he went to live with Foster parents Walter and Margaret Cosburn. Walter was a machinist. A big man and an alcoholic. Margaret was a petite woman who was very caring and nurturing. One night Walter got drunk and beat his wife to death with his bare hands in the backyard of their house. Ben and another foster care boy named Richard Fenn arrived home late from school and the police suspect Ben fought with Walter because Ben was beaten badly. Ben may have beaten Walter with a monkey wrench as his finger prints were on it. The monkey wrench was also used to damage the home's gas meter and the barbeque. Something ignited the gas causing a massive explosion which destroyed the house and ultimately killed Walter and Richard. The police report indicated that they found Ben soaking wet and kneeling in the scorched earth of the backyard holding the burnt and broken body of Mrs. Cosburn. He must have been in the pool during the explosion but he was catatonic and couldn't recall any of the events. They took him to trial but the judge found there was insufficient evidence to prove Ben had been responsible. They simply put him back in the system without therapy and sealed the records."

Dr. Granger looked at Hannah. "He suppressed the memories. Abusive father figure. Murdered caring mother figure. Friend killed in the blast. Ben was twelve and took responsibility for all of their deaths. He stepped up and tried to save the woman but it was too late. He tried to stop the abusive man and was beaten. For his efforts they all died. Tina told us that he was staring at the 'blood on his hands' when he was in the driveway. His memories surfaced that night and he relived them."

Hannah had her hands over her mouth as she looked at the doctor in shock. The idea that a twelve year old Ben had held himself responsible for those deaths was sickening. The idea that he still blamed himself and continued to relive it was horrifying.

"Wait! So he wasn't responsible for his actions against Eli Sturn then! He was acting on the suppressed memories and post-traumatic stress." Hannah gasped.

"Is that your clinical diagnosis Hannah?" Granger smirked.

"Sorry, but it's true, right?" Hannah pushed.

"Yes, that would be my diagnosis as well." she agreed.

"So the restraints-"

"-remain in place to protect him from himself. Ben needs to be treated for his suppressed memories first." the doctor insisted. Hannah paused then nodded. She left the doctor's office and walked back to her own. She had call to make for Ben.

Chapter 28

Ashley carefully went up the stairs leaning heavily on Trish's shoulder. For all Trish's slimness she was solid muscle and Ashley took comfort in the firmness of her grasp around her waist. Two more steps and she was inside the door Tina held open for her. Madison and Savannah were inside with tears in their eyes. Guilt played over their faces as they looked at the woman they'd witness their father beat unconscious the day before.

Ashley reached out and the two girls were against her, crying and telling her how sorry they were. She shushed them, then kissed the top of their heads, telling them they weren't to blame for her beating and she hadn't expected them to fight off their father who was so much bigger than them. Their hugs were hurting her ribs and Tina caught her wincing so she stepped in and suggested the girls go turn down the sheets on Ashley's bed and prop up the pillows so she'd be comfortable. The two immediately disappeared down the hallway. Ashley said a silent thank you to Tina who smiled and nodded.

Trish and Tina each took an arm and helped Ashley down the hall into the first guest bedroom. They set her on the edge and the girls helped her lean back comfortably. The pain left Ashley's features as she relaxed. "Ahhh, that's so much better!" she sighed and the girls beamed big smiles at her. "How is Joshua?" the mother asked.

"Daphne, Lisa, and Lori are taking excellent care of both Joshua and Christopher who have become inseparable friends." Tina smiled.

The last crease on her brow relaxed and Ashley closed her eyes.

"We'll let you get some sleep and we'll look in on you in a couple of hours. If you need anything please call. We're right outside and will come running." Tina said gesturing for the teens to leave the room with her. They walked out into the living room and took seats.

Trish leaned forward to speak quietly. "Did you want to do another trial run for the panic room?"

Tina looked at the two young women and shook her head. "They are ready. Thank you so much Trish!"

The redhead looked uncomfortable. "It's the least I can do. Well, if I'm not needed I'm gonna head home, get changed and go for a run. I have my cell so call me if you need me."

Tina rose and walked Trish to the door. They hugged and Trish jogged home.

Tina locked up and went back to the living room. The girls were on the tablet chatting with Miriam and Jane Wilson, Beth's daughter, who Miriam introduced the previous evening.

She smiled at the healing power of friends.

Dr. Granger left her office and made her way towards Ben's room. Now that she knew what to look for she could begin the healing process with Ben. She intended to use hypnotherapy to regress him back to the date of the original event and identify the triggers which made the memories resurface. Once she had that she was going to take Ben back to the date and have him watch the events as an observer so he could describe what happened that day. She'd be able to show him how he wasn't responsible for the actions of Walter.

When she got to the ward Hector wasn't at his post. The orderly should have been at his station. Then she saw the streak of blood across the control panel of the desk. There was more blood on the floor and coming from under the closet door. She grabbed up the phone and dialed.

"Security." a man answered.

"This is Dr. Granger in the Psych ward. We have an emergency situation. I need a security team and send a medical team as well." She opened the closet door and stifled a scream. Hector's dead eyes stared back at her from the crumpled body on the floor. "Call the police! Hector's been murdered!" She looked away and looked across the screens at the patients. Her eyes locked on the screen showing Ben's room. There was a man leaning over Ben's body. He was beating on his chest. NO! HE WAS STABBING HIM!

The man with the knife suddenly began to scream and Dr. Granger heard him all the way down the hall. A high pitched squeal of agony. He was trying to get away from Ben's hand which had a firm grip on his groin. Finally he managed to tug away and he fell to the floor retching his stomach contents out. He managed to stagger to his feet holding his groin. Dr. Granger thought he was going to start stabbing Ben again so she leaned out in the hall and yelled.

"Security and Police are on their way! Put your weapon down and lie on the floor!" she growled with her loudest most authoritative voice. On the screen the man's head whipped towards the door then he went back to the bed and slashed Ben across the face. Dr. Granger screamed and the man ran out the door and up the hallway towards the security station. She locked herself in and stared into the maddened eyes of Eli Sturn as he ran past to get to the exit.