Meet the Evans' Clan (A.U. M/L Mature) END 4/8/11

[mary mary]

Dreambeliever: Yes, he is a lovable kid isn't he?
Eve: Yes that is very true, sometime it comes out when you wish it wouldn't!
Carolyn: I know I wouldn't have been able to keep a straight face, that's for sure...and I think he's a little man because he is treated that way.
XAF RU208: Just a couple more chapters before the culprit is revealed...

*~*~*

Chapter: 31

After the family arrived home and Liz had things under control, dinner started and kids settled down Max headed to his office to make a phone call to his dad. He was really anxious to get started on this theory they’d come up with after JP’s conversation with Joey. As he passed the library he heard all of the kids talking and had to stick his nose in before moving along and there they were with their books in front of them and talking about the story Briana had read to them earlier. He just shook his head, smiled, and kept on going.

He picked up the phone just as Liz poked her head in and asked him if he had any special requests for dinner because she had just started peeling potatoes when he left the kitchen. He smiled at her and wriggled his eyebrows and she grinned...

“Besides that!” She laughed.

“No, that’s about all, but I can wait.” He smiled back.

“You bet you can…chicken fried pork chops and gravy it is. If you don’t like it you can eat around it.” And she smiled to herself as she left the office…it was one of his favorites, chicken fried pork chops… and the other. She was learning that the guards were pretty well into those pork chops as well and this made her feel pretty good... ‘it was nice that something did’ she thought as she made her way past the library and caught what was going on. JP was right…they did need new books.

She made her way back to the kitchen pantry and took out four large cookie sheets, she’d brown the pork chops and bake them done. Thirty Two pork chops took a lot of frying time so she browned them in a skillet of hot oil and transferred them to the cookie sheets lined with racks and baked them done. They were healthier that way anyway…less grease. She sure would be glad when all of this was over and she could get back to cooking normal. The men offered to help, and they did a lot for her but it was still an awfully lot of extra work for her and Olivia. The guards did their own laundry and changed their own beds but still…a lot of extra work no matter how you cut it. She liked it on casserole nights….a lot of prep but still easier than this. She got her experience working at the Crashdown and it made her appreciate what Michael went through when he won his emancipation and went to work for her dad. Bless his heart, he certainly grew into one fine man for the childhood he had to deal with. Maybe that’s why they got along so well, neither one of them had it great but at least she had the Evans’ to turn to…and she continued to peel potatoes as her thoughts kept rattling around in her brain.

***

“Hi mom…is dad home yet?” Max asked his mom and then apologized and said…

“Sorry. How are you. I should have at least acknowledged you before jumping into that.”

Diane laughed at her son…it must be important because it wasn’t like him to be so short…

“I’m fine Max and I’ll get your dad for you. Is everyone alright?”

“Yeah mom, we’re really great as a matter of fact. JP had a meeting with that Joey Sabotini this afternoon at the Jail and it was very enlightening. I need dad to help me tomorrow, or if he can’t make it maybe you can. We need to go through my files and see if we recognize any names of children that we have had to refer to other facilities…just to see if maybe we might have made an enemy.”

“My God Max, do you think this has something to do with the facility?”

“Well, we really aren’t sure but it’s something JP said to Joey that brought all of this forward. He asked Joey why Don wanted to hurt them and Joey told him that they weren’t supposed to hurt anybody, only kidnap Liz. And of course, JP being JP told Joey all about his mom and Don and then he said his mom didn’t have anything and it got us to thinking. Liz does have something…she has a brain, and a very good one and what if someone thinks she can help a child?”

“God Max, leave it to JP to find a new slant on things. Your dad just came in and I’m going to put you on speaker if that’s okay?”

“Sure…it’s okay. The more heads the better.” And Max proceeded to tell his mother and dad what he needed from them and they of course said they would both meet him at the children’s facility in the morning at 10:00.

While Max was on his office phone Liz was busy in the kitchen talking to a young mother about a pregnant cat that her children had left out of the house and they thought the poor thing was dead. Liz of course informed the woman that the cat was anything but dead and there were also six very healthy little kittens living on her patio. The woman asked if she could come over and get them and Liz informed her she could come anytime she wanted to under one condition.

“What is that Mrs. Evans?” The young woman asked…

“You can not, under any circumstances offer any cats to my children. They know the cat and kittens are visiting and they cannot stay. If this is not agreeable I will have my husband take the cats to you.”

The woman started laughing…

“Fine Mrs. Evans. I promise I will take all of the cats when I come. Can I bring my children with me?”

“Of course. We’ll be eating dinner around 6:00 so you can come over now if you want to or wait until tomorrow after 7:00.”

“We’ll come right now if that’s okay. The kids are dancing all over the place with excitement and I’m sure that Maggie, the cat, will be excited too. How many children do you have?”

“We have five and I’m sure they’ll be sad to see “Maggie” leave but trust me they’ll get over it. The four year old is going to play you but you have to promise me it won’t work. He’s a pro.”

“I promise Mrs. Evans. What’s the kitten’s name?”

“You’ve got one too, huh? He calls him “Tigger” and the kitten looks like Tigger but he can’t have him and he’s been told this many times.”

“I understand.”

And the woman hung up as Liz saw Shorty standing behind her with a bottle of water in his hands shaking his head and smiling.

“Shut up!” she said and she grinned at the man…

“You know you’ll give in.”

“No, I don’t have to…the owner of the cat has to deal with him.”

“And you think this is going to work do you?”

“Yes, because she’s a mother too and she knows…”

“But…she doesn’t know JP.”

“I’ll get Max to take him for a ride.”

“You’re a coward.”

“Not really…I don’t particularly like cats Shorty. I never have.”

“You may not like them but you certainly would never hurt them.”

“I would never hurt any animal, I don’t even like using animals in my tests but I have to sometime and it makes me positively ill. Especially when some of the technicians give the little creatures names and play with them. It’s the least rewarding part of my job. I hate it…and I don’t want a cat around.”

“They eat mice.”

“That they do, and it’s mice that I use for tests. No Shorty, no cats.”

About that time Max came in and wanted to know what was going on.

“The owner of “Maggie”, the cat, is coming over to get her and the kittens. I told her that none of the kittens could stay and I want you to take JP to the store and get something.”

“What do you need?”

“Nothing.”

“Liz…this isn’t like you. He knows the cats can’t stay, he has to accept this.”

“Then I’m going to the store to get something. You watch the pork chops and call me on my cell when she’s gone.”

“No.”

“No?!! What do you mean no? Max, I don’t want a cat.”

“And you won’t get a cat. He knows he can’t have that cat…bottom line Liz, the cat can’t stay.”

“Then you look at his face when it leaves, I don’t want to.”

“Liz, c’mere. You know it’s a game with him.”

“Not this time Max…he really likes Tigger.”

“He’s a smart little boy and he’ll be fine.”

About that time there was an alert that someone was at the gate and Max went to the camcorder screen at the back entry to check it out. When he saw an SUV with a woman and two little heads straining over the backseat he smiled and pushed in the key code to unlock and move the gate open. Liz just stood there and looked at him and Shorty went to his post on the back porch.

Liz and Max both went and stood on the front porch to greet their visitors and a small framed young woman and two children, a boy about 6 and a girl about 4 came up to meet them. She held out her hand and introduced herself.

“Hello, I’m Janet Williams and these two are John and Julie.”

John and Julie smiled at Liz and Max and said hello and then John looked up at Max and really smiled…

“You play baseball don’t you?”

“Not anymore John, but I used to. Won’t you come in.”

And so the small family made their way through the house following Liz out onto the back patio. The two little kids were thrilled to see Maggie and it was obvious the cat knew the children as well because it was out of it’s box in no time and Julie was squeezing the life out of the poor thing while John played with the kittens.

“It seems like Maggie chose wisely when she decided to give birth. She looks very well taken care of.”

And about that time JP led the Evans clan onto the patio to see what was going on. He came to an abrupt halt when he saw another young boy playing with the kittens and looked up at his mother wistfully and Liz was about to cry and then she was very surprised at her son once more today.

JP walked right over to the kittens and bent down to join John.

“Hi...” He said with the friendly little grin he wins everyone with…

“My name is Jeffrey Philip but they call me JP for short. The kittens all have names too, that one over there is Tigger and the rest are…” And about that time the other four children joined JP.

“My name is John and that’s my sister…I left the back door open and Maggie got out and my mom said she probably would never come home again. Thank you for taking care of her.”

“Oh, my mom did most of the work, we just played with them. My mom said we couldn’t but we did sometime…mostly we just looked at them and named them. My mom said that the mama cat wouldn’t take care of them if we touched them…but we did sometime and the mama cat still took care of them. They are lots of fun but we have a dog. He doesn’t mind being with Maggie and Maggie seems to be okay with him too. Do you have a dog?”

“Yeah we do. They get along fine.”

“What are you going to do with all of those kittens?” Liz heard this, her back stiffened and then she knew…here it comes… and she looked at Max and shook her head…Janet noticed this and for a minute she didn’t catch on and then it hit her…this kid was smooth.

“JP is it?”

And JP nodded…

“We already have the kittens promised to other people…they will be well taken care of.”

And JP looked over at his mom…he didn’t recognize that look on his mom’s face but she nodded toward him and so he told Janet,

“Well good…they’ll have a good home then and I won’t have to worry about Tigger.”

“No JP…you won’t have to worry about Tigger.”

“I think I’ll go get ready for dinner now. It was nice to meet you.” And little JP left the patio and headed for his room…Liz was going to follow and Max shook his head no.

“I’ll go up in a little bit…Okay you guys tell the kittens goodbye and let’s get all of this stuff loaded up for Mrs. Williams so she can get everyone home before dinner time.”

And Max and Liz packed up all of the cat food, kitty litter, and put the kittens in the carrying case Janet had brought with her to haul her brood home. All in all, Liz was very proud of the way JP dealt with losing Tigger and when Max came back from JP’s room he was very up beat about it all too.

“JP informed me that he liked John and felt that Tigger would be okay. He just didn’t want anything bad to happen to him. I assured him the kitten would be fine and he accepted that and went back to reading one of his library books. He said his turn is last so he has time to be prepared. I had to help him with a couple of words but he’s got a good handle on it. Be proud sweetheart. We both know he’s much older than four in that brain of his.” And Max bent over and kissed Liz on the forehead as she turned to give him a smile. She wasn’t about to tell Max that she was going to miss the kittens too but like JP she’d get over it even if she didn’t like cats.

*

[mary mary]

Eve: Yes, it seems that is always the case doesn't it?
XAF RU208: He certainly is.
Carolyn: Well, at least she'll get a break with not having all of those kittens around.


*~*~*


Chapter: 32


The next morning a little before 10:00 a.m. Philip Evans pulled into the children’s facility and parked his car in back of the large estate next to the garages. They had enlarged the parking area when they opened up the rest of the second story for more dormitories. Max was at the back door to meet his dad as he exited his vehicle and the men hugged and shook hands as they made their way back inside. Diane was already in the records room beyond the back elevator next to one of the classrooms and the two men greeted her with a great big smile as they walked in. She had already gone through quite a few file folders and was on the letter “C” of the alphabet. She indicated that there were two files that she would like Philip and Max to have a look at before they started in on another letter of the alphabet.

Max looked at the first folder and started reading.

Name: Alexander John Benson
Age: 13
Mother: Josephine P. Abbott Benson
Father: Alexander Damien Benson

That’s all the farther Max got.

“Dad, look at this!”

Philip sat next to his son, took the file and started reading.

“No…I don’t believe it. It can’t be Max. The man is a Judge for God’s sake.”

“Well dad we could be wrong but we could be right too. We’ll continue to read through these files but this one stays on top.”

“Okay Max…but my God, it’s so hard to believe. If it’s him why in the hell didn’t he just come right out and ask for help…why go to these lengths.”

“Dad, I know it seems insane, and it is…but like JP said at the meeting yesterday, what did this man want from his mom? Well, it seems we were right, he wants her brain. He’s most likely desperate to help his grandson but all he had to do was ask, just like JP said.”

Max just stood there and shook his head. The torture this man has put his family through was unbelievable. No wonder the grandson has problems, it must be inherited. Philip could only reach over and grasp his son’s shoulder in a fatherly gesture and shake his head as well. Unbelievable.

After they had gone through the entire filing system and read every file they had on not only denied children but children that had left the facility and those who were currently in the facility there was only one that stood out. Philip asked Max if he would prefer that he take it to the Chief and Max shook his head.

“I don’t know dad…why don’t we both go. Or better yet, why don’t we set up a meeting at the house or here even just in case someone sees us. We don’t want to tip our hands to any one.”

“Fine Max. You make the call and I’ll go check in with my office and see if there is anything that I need to take care of.”

“Great.”

Max walked over to his mom and kissed her on the top of the head and headed for his office. He dialed home to tell Liz what they had discovered and asked if it would be alright to bring the Chief, Carl and the other three detectives over to the house around 2:00. She of course was flabbergasted and agreeable at the same time. ‘God, this just keeps getting more bizarre by the minute’ she thought to herself.

So Max made his call…and only had to wait a couple of seconds before the chief of detectives was on the line.

“Hey Max…did you find anything?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact we did. I want to know if you and the four detectives can come over to our home this afternoon at 2:00. My father and I will both be there as well as Liz. I need my father’s advice as to how much information we can provide to you legally. This is really strange. Dad is talking to his staff as we speak and the major attorney dealing in these types of cases is located in Roswell, New Mexico so dad will be conversing with him as well. We will have it all sorted out before 2:00 p.m. though and hopefully the child in question will not have to be brought into this at all.”

“Thank you Max. I won’t ask any questions right now because I know you can’t give me any answers but I will be at your home at 2:00. Til then.”

“Yeah Chief…til then.” And the two men hung up.

When Max and Chief Dennis hung up the Chief called in Carl and the other three men. He explained to them what was going on and asked them to do a little research on their own regarding matters of this kind and to find out just how much information they needed to make an arrest and hold a conviction without breaking the client privilege rule. All four men had great ideas on the subject and Carl’s brother-in-law was an ADA. Carl asked the Chief if he could consult him and the Chief thought about if for a second before saying no. This had to be kept as quiet as possible since they weren’t quite sure who they were dealing with.

Philip came into Max’s office right as he was hanging up the phone and told Max that Jesse was looking into the legality of privileged information when it involves a crime being committed. Philip was pretty certain that Max could release the name of the judge as the major suspect behind the conspiracy to kidnap Liz without releasing the name of the child involved…they would just have to see how this played out. Maybe, after Jesse came back with his input the Chief would have some as well.

*
Jesse contacted his friend at the FBI since this was an attempted kidnapping, to ask for some advice on the subject, everything they could find out about the legalities of the problem was going to be a great big help in the end.

*

And so the two men continued on with their morning duties, Philip working via the phone and Max seeing his favorite little patient, a little victim of extreme child abuse, and when his session was over Max patted the child on the head and opened his desk drawer and gave the little boy his favorite treat, a package of snowballs. How Max discovered that little bit of information was another gift from JP.

Both boys were in the same preschool class and were becoming fast friends. The young boys parents were not responsible for the child’s abuse, it was the nanny, although the parents were guilty of child neglect but they were learning. JP actually was able to get more information from the little boy than anybody else because of their friendship with each other and therefore Max was able to help the child overcome his fear of adults and his mistrust of the world around him. The parents were learning a bitter lesson and hopefully when the child left the facility his life would be better for him.

About 1:00 p.m. Philip came into Max’s office and asked him if he was ready to head out and Max gave his dad a thumbs up as he said goodbye to a little girl who was sitting across from his desk smiling at him. Max opened a box of chocolate covered cherries and offered her one and she took it with a great big smile and left the office on a dead run.

Philip looked at his son and smiled…

“Do you give all of them a treat?”

“Yep. JP said they like that, it makes them want to come and see me. You know dad, I don’t know what I’m going to do when he starts school next year. You have no idea how much help he is in dealing with these preschoolers. They all like him and he plays with them and knows them all personally. He tells me things on the way home that happened in preschool and he has no idea just how helpful it is to me. Even little things like the chocolate covered cherries, or the snow-balls, is a big help. They all have little things that they like and with JP’s help, unbeknownst to him, I’m able to reach them much quicker.”

“Well, you could always have another one Max.”

Max looked at his dad like he had just landed from another planet.

“Dad, do you know what Liz would do to me? You do realize we have a really strong track record of multiple births and another pregnancy could result in two just as easily as one? Not that I would mind and I doubt that Liz would either, but God dad…we have five.”

“Yes you do, and a lovely picture they make too.”

And Max just looked at his dad and shook his head. Another one…God help them and then they were off.

Philip went in to give Diane a kiss goodbye, asked her if she had stood on her head yet today and then told her they would go out for dinner tonight and Max kissed his mom on the cheek and told her good bye as well and the three parted laughing.

“So you told her about standing on her head did you?” Max chuckled

“How could I not?” Philip rebutted and the two men headed for their cars.

*

[mary mary]

Dreambeliever: Yes...a tangled web
Carolyn: I'm so sorry JP's suggestion didn't work (HInt, it didn't work for my cousin either when her grandson told her to try it!)
Eve: I am so sorry for doing that to you...I get so confused when others use just letters instead of words and now I'm doing it. I will try to do better.
XAF RU208: Hey, the kids a genius, what can I say? Now, on a serious note, thank you for replying to Eve's question.

*~*~*

Chapter: 33

When Max and Philip arrived back at the house Liz had lunch laid out for them in the kitchen since everyone else had eaten their lunch and she didn’t want the two men to be hungry during their meeting. It was only some soup and a salad with some home made bread, thanks to Olivia, but it took the edge off things for awhile.

Right at two o’clock the chief and his staff of four arrived at the front gate and Jonesy, who had front porch duty today, opened the gate for the five men and smiled when they rounded the driveway. Jonesy was getting familiar with everyone involved in this circus and was starting to feel quite at home although he couldn’t wait to be back with his wife in Roswell. He felt that it was time they started to think seriously about some additions to their household as well. He kept his wife informed of all of the kids shenanigans every night before turning in and she told him that she waited all day for his nightly report. He smiled at the Chief and his four men as they came up to the front door and Liz was right there to greet them. The chief nodded as he entered the house and the other four men followed with their hats in their hands, all stopping to wipe their feet on the welcome mat laying in front of the door. Jonesy could only smile, the place did give you that “mind your manners” feeling that you learned from your mother.

“Come on in Chief Dennis, gentlemen…please, follow me. We’re going to go into the library for some privacy. Olivia and Shorty will keep the kids away from us, I hope, and we will be able to talk in private.”

When the six adults entered the library the first thing Dennis noticed was the large dry erase board on the one wall, a large bulletin board on the other and five little stacks of books and papers at the end of the long library table. “This is the classroom” he thought to himself as he took notice of Philip and Max at a coffee maker on the far credenza with a tray of homemade pastries, plates, napkins and forks and coffee makings along with 8 large mugs and 8 glasses next to a large pitcher of water, a coffee pot full of hot water for tea and various teas to choose from. At each of the places at the table sat a closed folder…they hadn’t missed a trick.

“Come in everyone. There’s water, coffee and pastries if you would like something else while we talk I’ll call Olivia. Make yourselves at home and we will get started when you’re ready.”

Carl, being a huge man to begin with, went to the credenza and poured himself a mug of black coffee and looked at the pastries as though he was going to pass them up and, after closer inspection, changed his mind. He came back to the table with a poppy seed pastry (Kolache) on a napkin and sat his coffee mug down before taking a seat next to Liz who looked up at him with a friendly smile and he nodded and gave her a friendly smile in return. The rest of the men followed suit and soon they were all seated and ready to get down to business.

Philip started the meeting by asking the men to please keep anything that they discussed to themselves until they were absolutely certain that they were headed in the right direction. He explained that the patients name was not recorded in the report but it wouldn’t be that difficult to figure out who it was considering the circumstances surrounding the case.

And so all of the men opened their folders and Carl noticed his three partners gulp in unison…The judge was already on their radar but they didn’t want to believe it, how sad.

Philip spoke up again.

“Men, we don’t know if this is truly who we are looking for but this is the only person that we can find with even the most remote reason for these actions. If you can conduct an investigation and get enough evidence to convict then and only then will we make this public if necessary but under no circumstances are we going to bring this child into this. The child may be the reason for the man wanting Liz for whatever reason but the child is not responsible for his grandfather’s actions. We have inquired about the treatment the child is receiving and Max has assured me that he is getting the best of care so let’s not rock his boat any more than we have to. As for Judge Abbott, it has been brought to my attention by one JP Evans” and everyone of the men chuckled at the thought and Philip smiled as he continued, “that Joey found a telephone along with the money in Don’s suitcase. Has anyone tried using this telephone yet? If we find out that the judge is behind this crime I am sure that it will not be necessary to take this to court. If the man thinks this much of his grandson I don’t think he’ll take the chance of this ever getting to the public. We should at least give him a chance for a confession and not have to go to trial but go straight to sentencing. This crime also comes under the jurisdiction of the FBI, which has been brought to my attention by my New Mexico office, since it was an attempted kidnapping. I don’t really think we need to bring them into this investigation any further than my office already has but I thought you should be given a heads up on the matter since things could change for us. ”

Chief Dennis looked at Carl and Carl took the floor, so to speak, being the lead detective…

“No, we haven’t attempted to use the phone, we have left it in Joey’s possession hoping that he would get a call on it but so far nothing. As for the FBI, I think that we should keep this “in house” so to speak unless the Judge becomes difficult. I’m sure that a conviction will be in order but God only knows what the sentence will be.” Carl wondered as he finished his thoughts on the subject.

“Okay…before we do anything beyond investigation and apprehension, if the judge is the guilty party I think Philip should keep us apprised of our legal obligation to the FBI. Now, when we get back to the precinct we are going to have a meeting with Joey and see if we can use that phone to get us some information and maybe bring this thing to a head. We’ll use Joey as bait…maybe even have him ‘sneak’ back into the hospital and take a look at Don and see if he can rouse him out of his amnesia. I don’t know… I’m grasping at straws right now but we have a lot more information than we did so let’s go get set up and see if we can’t come up with a plan.”

Philip choked and Max chuckled as Liz hit him over the head with her folder and 5 police detectives all looked at them with a puzzled expression on their faces.

Max explained…

“Chief, it’s just that Liz always has to have a plan. She has had a plan since she was in diapers…her famous last words have always been ‘you’ve got to have a plan!’.”

And then they all laughed except Liz and Dennis…what’s wrong with a plan? They both thought…really!

After the men left Liz hit Max again…and he feigned pain and grabbed her up by the waist and tossed her over his shoulder and headed toward the back door as she yelled, “It’s covered Max…it’s covered!” and Max hit the button on the pool cover and kept on walking. The kids all looked up as their dad walked out the back door with their mom beating on his back and she shouted again…

“We’ll both get wet Max!” And she grabbed the belt loops on the back of his Levi’s…sometimes he just had to be reminded…

“Are you sorry?” Max yelled…

“For what?”

“For hitting me!”

“Are you sorry for making fun of me?”

“Do not answer with a question Liz.”

“Well…are you?”

“Yeah…”

“Okay, me too then.”

“Liz, you don’t sound sorry.”

“Neither do you.”

Olivia had hold of the kids and was laughing, the kids were not…they weren’t sure what was going on, their mom and dad never did this. Philip saw their expressions and said…

“That’s how they used to play with each other, it’s okay.”

And then they looked at the two adults arguing over by the pool and they watched skeptically.

Liz kind of got a glimpse of her five babies and whispered loudly to Max…

“Max…the kids think we’re serious.”

Max turned his body around and smiled as he tried to toss Liz into the pool but…she had never let go of the belt loops. Thank you Levi’s, the sturdiest seams on earth, and both parents went flying.

“Dammmmmmmn…LIZ!”

“I TOLD YOU MAX!”

As Max blubbered his way to the side of the pool he started laughing, “I didn’t believe you” he said.

“Apparently not.” Liz laughed as she joined him.

Shorty and Jonesy stood there shaking their heads…that water had to be pretty damned cold as Olivia showed up with two beach towels and handed them to the two soaking ‘adults’ standing there shivering.

*

Max and Liz headed straight up the back stairs to their bedroom to get showered and changed and Max looked down at himself and then at Liz.

“Look, you made him run and hide.”

“Made who run and hide?”

And Max looked to his mid-section and Liz started laughing.

“He was warned big boy.”

“Aren’t you going to bring him out of hiding?”

“Max Evans, what in the hell has gotten into you this afternoon. You’re acting like a horny teen-ager for God’s sake.”

And then Max gave her the horny teen-ager grin that he knew, even though she didn’t know he knew, she wouldn’t be able to walk away from that and he was right. She got this coy look on her face and the next thing he knew they were both in the shower and life was good again.

****

[mary mary]

Eve: I promise to try and not use letters and if I do I will define them in parentheses. I'm glad you liked the chapter.
Carolyn: Yes Liz has a plan, problem is she hasn't divulged it to me yet and that's really becoming a problem. She's got plans running all over her head and doesn't know which one to choose!
XAF RU208: Thank you, maybe we can have some more fun before this is all over. No?

*~*~*

Chapter: 34

Back at headquarters…

Chief Dennis had his four detectives along with Joey Sabotini sitting in his office discussing the telephone and how they should go about contacting the person on the other end. Finally the chief asked Joey what he thought of the situation and Joey thought for a minute and then said…

“You know, if this would have been up to me instead of Don I would have followed the instructions but since the whole plan fell on it’s ass so to speak I think my best bet, if I was so inclined, would be to drop Don out of the picture entirely. Even if he does regain his memory he’s in a world of hurt and I don’t want any part of it. So, if there’s money to be had I think I would just try the phone and see if there ever has been any calls placed, call the last number dialed and play it by ear. If someone answers, and neither of us knows who the other is, I would try to make a deal. If the person on the other end acts dumb I’d just skip town…if they want to play nice then we can come up with a plan.”

Chief Dennis, Carl and the rest of the detectives went along with Joey’s plan. They were thinking the same thing but they didn’t want Joey to incriminate himself if he wasn’t so inclined even though they did have enough information on him to send him away right along with Don. His sentence was certainly going to be a lot lighter for his cooperation that’s for sure. They also needed to see just how deeply the Governor of Connecticut was involved in this crime as well. The man just might only be guilty of helping a friend, but that in itself was something they had to check out.

They proceeded to set up recording devices in a secured area, away from prying eyes and ears, and had Joey make the call. The voice on the other end seemed to be surprised and careful.

“Hello?”

“Hello. We need to talk about Don Adams.” Joey said. He decided to be straight forward…no need to keep secrets. If the person didn’t know Don Adams or didn’t want to know Don then the game was over.

“Yes…about that, what do you want?”

Chief Dennis gave Joey the ‘thumbs up’ and Joey took it from there.

“I want to finish what Don wasn’t able to and I want to know how much we’re talking about.”

“Go to the downtown Greyhound terminal and wait. I’ll call this number and leave a locker number for you. You will pick up further instructions there. If you complete the task as set up there will be $100,000.00 deposited to an account in your name per your instructions and an additional Five thousand per month for the next 10 years. That should give you a substantial living allowance and a good start at a new life. Do you think you can handle that?” The voice on the other end of the phone asked.

“How do you know who this is?”

“I know who you are Joseph, I’m just surprised that it took you so long to contact me.”

“I just found the phone.” Joey answered.

Chief Dennis was beginning to admire Joey’s tenacity…he was playing his role quite well, even the chief believed him.

“You do know the risks are far greater now than they were when this was first initiated don’t you?” Joey continued…

“Yes Joseph, I’m aware of some of the risks since I have been in contact with a few of the people involved but I’m sure you will be able to handle it. My mistake was thinking that Don Adams was the person to do the job. I had no idea the man was deranged.”

“You should have done your homework better.” Joey answered.

“Yes Joseph, you’re right, I should have. You must be extra careful now, the police have your name and your picture so they are looking for you.”

“Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind. How soon do you want me to go the station?”

“Be there later tonight. I will have to hire a messenger to take the instructions and it will take some time.”

“Alright then, is 10:00 p.m. too early?”

“No Joseph, ten will do quite nicely. I will talk to you when the job has been completed. Thank you.”

And the two men hung up.

Chief Dennis looked at Carl and told him to get two men over to the station with cameras right now and set up surveillance on all of the lockers while the rest of them contacted Liz. The men were practically out the door before the man could finish with his instructions.

The chief then snapped the recording out of its’ case, labeled it Joey convo #1 and put it into a manila folder in his desk drawer and locked it. He then inserted a new tape into the recorder and put it in his pocket. He gave Joey a pat on the back and Carl took the man back to his private holding cell.

Chief Dennis then called Max and asked him if he could see him, his dad and Liz later and Max of course agreed after hearing what had transpired in the chiefs office. He couldn’t believe that a judge would be this easy. Of course the judge had no idea he was a suspect in anything either. As far as he knew Don Adams was still in the hospital in a coma and that was all he knew.

*

Chief Dennis and Carl headed on over to Max and Liz’s and when they arrived they only had to wait a few minutes before Philip arrived. JP was on the front porch talking to Jonesy when the unmarked vehicle pulled up and JP smiled and waved when he recognized the two men. They in turn smiled and waved back to JP who finished his conversation with Jonesy before saying anything to the two detectives.

“Hey Chief Dennis, my mom’s waiting for you in the house. How are you Carl? Did you see Joey today?”

“Hi JP. Yes we saw him and he said to tell you hello.” And the three men all smiled at the young boy.

“Good, I’ll go get Mom and Dad, come on in but Jonesy has to stay out here for a little while longer. Right Jonesy?”

“Right JP, just a little while. See you later.”

“Okay.” And JP opened the door and the two detectives looked at Jonesy to see if they should follow and Jonesy gave them a grin and nodded…”might as well follow the kid in because he won’t go anywhere until you do.”

As they entered the very unpretentious, very huge, house JP let out a yell…

“MOM…DAD…The detectives are here…”

Liz came running down the back stairs and Max came down the back hall from the library and they both arrived at the back door at the same time and then Liz gave JP a look…

“Oh. Sorry, I forgot.” Then he looked at the two men and said…

“I’m not supposed to yell in the house…” then he sort of whispered…”But it’s easier!”

And he took off. Max started laughing and held out his hand to Chief Dennis first and then to Carl.

“We have hope.” Liz said and they all laughed.

After they were seated in the library Dennis told the three Evans’ what had transpired at the police station and looked at the three waiting for some response…

“Well, what do you think?” he asked.

“I guess we have to wait to see what the instructions are first then we can decide what needs to be done. I’m not afraid of Joey nor am I afraid to be bait. I know the man won’t let anything happen to me.” Liz stated rather determinedly…

“Liz! You can’t be serious.” Max was flabbergasted.

“Yes I am. Look, it’s not like he’s a total stranger and I am certain the PD will have people posted everywhere. All we need to do is find the ‘leader of the pack’ so to speak, then it’s all over. Right? That seems pretty simple to me. Just arrest his sorry ass and let us get on with our lives.”

Chief Dennis looked at Liz and couldn’t believe his ears…using her was the last thing on his mind but the way she put it sounded so simple, he just needed to wait and see what the two Evans’ men had to say about it.

Then Philip spoke up…

“Max, she’s right. If Joey shows up with Liz according to instructions and there are a bunch of plain clothesmen following it will be over. It’s really so simple it’s almost unbelievable…we know the judge doesn’t want to hurt her.”

“No, he wants her mind then he probably wants to hurt her. He can’t leave any evidence around to point to himself for God’s sake. The man may be deranged but he isn’t stupid.”

“I’ll carry a gun!” Liz said.

“YOU WILL LIKE HELL!!!” Max yelled and then the Chief looked at Max….

“Max, I think it’s the cleanest way to work this. So far the man hasn’t been too bright in carrying this thing out. And for a judge that’s saying something. He’s had access to so many crimes as a learning tool that I am amazed this thing wasn’t better planned. Well, maybe it was, he just chose his partner’s poorly.”

“Exactly. Why not wait and see what the damned fool puts in the envelope at the bus station and then we’ll see.”

“Fair enough. I’ll call you as soon as Joey shows up at his room. We aren’t going to use the Police Station as a meeting place because there are too many eyes so we’ll be at Joey’s room down town just in case the judge is smart enough to follow Joey or have him followed, he’ll also be wearing a wire so he can talk to us.”

“Great, we’ll be waiting to hear from you then.” And the three men left Max and Liz standing in the library as they exited the house once again.

Liz turned to Max and was ready to say something when Max looked down at her, grabbed her to him and said, very emphatically…

“NO!”… And Liz just smiled…
*~*~*

[mary mary]

Carolyn: Be assured that she won't be carrying a gun...
XAF RU208: You are most certainly right about that...wouldn't it be nice if real life was like that?

This chapter is very short because it started out as very long and needed to be sliced up a bit.

*~*~*

Chapter: 35

About 10:45 that evening Chief Dennis called Max who was already set up in the library and was on the phone with his father and Jesse, in New Mexico where it was only 8:45, for a conference call. They had all been discussing all sorts of scenarios when the Chief’s call came in…

“Hello Chief Dennis, we have our partner from our Roswell office joining us this evening, Jesse Ramirez. Jesse this is Chief Dennis Lewis, he prefers Chief Dennis, we’ve been waiting to hear from you. How did things go?”

“Well, we are here in Joey’s room…as you know three of us have been waiting here while Carl and his partner, Dwain, followed him from the bus station. The instructions are very clearly printed out but the time and how are left to Joey since Liz’s schedule has changed. It’s almost as if the judge has someone working with him because he knows all about the home schooling and this did not come from us as Philip well knows. This person is very keyed in to Liz’s whereabouts and he also knows that she doesn’t leave the house alone so we need to give him something that will make him relax and slip up. Our men did not see anyone suspicious enter the bus station but we haven’t looked at all of the tapes yet.”

“Chief, what if those instructions have been at the bus station all along?”

“That’s a thought but Max, these can’t be the same instructions that Don had. Joey got his phone call right at 10:00 p.m. telling him which locker to go to and our men were there from the time we left your house until right this minute, they just walked in. It’s a possibility, but I doubt it very much...too many things have changed.”

“Does the bus station have any surveillance cameras in and around the premises?”

“They might…most places do where money is concerned and there are ATM machines in the bus station so I would assume that someone has surveillance tapes running. Let us check it out Max and in the meantime we will go over our tapes with a fine tooth comb but I don’t think we will find anything on them. We can only hope and we do know which locker we are looking for this time. We will check in at the bus station and with the owner’s of the ATM’s as well and see what we can come up with. We’ll get back with you Max. We are taking Joey back to the station with us so you can relax.”

“Yeah, thank you chief…I’ll make sure Liz knows there’s no use in seeking out Joey tonight.” And all the men laughed…Liz walked into the library right at that time and hit Max with the towel off the top of the load of folded clothes she had in her hand. Max just shook his head at her and grinned…he knew that would piss her off, then he grabbed her and kissed the top of her head.

“Well, what did they find out?”

“Not a whole lot yet. They’re still not sure who’s behind this but we know there’s another player besides the judge, Joey and Don.”

Liz is not stupid, remember…

“And just how do you know this?” Max didn’t really want to tell her how…

“Well, the judge knows you’re home schooling the kids and he knows you don’t go anywhere alone.”

“Oh.” Was all she said.

*
After Liz had the folded towels put in the linen closet in the central hallway she started making her way into each child’s bedroom to make sure they were all tucked in and asleep like they were supposed to be. She found JP with his little arms wrapped around his kickin’ boots and had to wonder what in the world had him scared tonight…things were not that bad were they? He had to be listening in to his dad’s conversation, it’s the only logical explanation. She turned the little night light on in his bathroom and left the hallway door open just in case he needed to find her in a hurry for what ever reason and headed on over to hers and Max’s room. Jack still had sentry duty and was laying there very quietly with one eye following every move she made. She reached down and gave the dog a gentle pat on the head before going into her room and found Max missing. ‘Now What!!!’ She thought to herself and then she spied him out on the balcony looking out over the fence toward the street. She made her way to the door and followed her husband’s line of sight…

“What’s up Max?”

“I don’t know Liz…it just puzzles me no end. Come on in sweet, let’s have a nice little pow-wow, just the two of us.”

Liz looked up at Max and could see the wheels spinning…when they had a private pow-wow it was usually where no one else could possibly hear and this concerned her. What was he thinking? She followed him back into their bedroom and left the door to their sitting area slightly ajar and Max raised an eyebrow…

“JP is sleeping with his boots so he might need us during the night.”

“Mmm hmm…strange isn’t it?”

“I thought so and then I wondered if maybe he hadn’t heard your conversation in the study awhile ago. He could have gone down the back stairs to find one of us and got caught up in a conversation he shouldn’t have.”

“Hmmm, I hope not. C’mere…” And Max took hold of his wife and helped her out of her robe and into bed, he wrapped her in his arms because he needed to and then he started thinking out loud…

“Liz, Chief Dennis said that the judge knows your every move and it makes me wonder how. The only people that know your every move live in this house. The school knows we are home schooling the kids but they were asked to keep it quiet so that only leaves the people in this house. I know that Jesse trusts everyone he has sent us but does everyone that is here know everything they should? I don’t want to falsely accuse someone of doing the opposite of what they were hired to do, but damn Liz, something is not right about this. I’m sure the Chief trusts his men just as we trust ours but there’s a leak somewhere and we need to find it and quickly. I don’t want anything happening to Joey anymore than I want anything happening to the men on Jesse’s staff. God, this is a nightmare.”

Liz just laid there in her husbands arms and listened to him ramble…it was the best way for him to analyze situations and come up with answers so she stayed quiet for the time being. Her thoughts on the subject were to get hold of Jesse and have his friend at the FBI run checks on all the men in the house and also on the detectives working with the chief of detectives. She knew Carl’s full name and the one called Dwain and only knew the other two by sight but she could easily get hold of their names from Joey if she wanted to.

Then Max pulled her in tighter and suggested…

“We need Jesse to check out everyone that has body guard duty and that includes the cops.”

Liz smiled and scooted her way up a little on the pillow to face Max and looked him right in the eye…

“Have a plan do you?” She asked with a raised eyebrow and a grin.

Max grinned at her and nodded as he said…

“Yes I do…and I’m almost certain that whoever is giving out information doesn’t know he or she is giving it to the bad guys.”

“I agree…now can we go to sleep?”

“Are you sure that’s what you want to do ?”

“Well, I was a minute ago.”

“Mmmmm, can I change your mind?”

“If you think you really should I guess that can be arranged.”

“Well alrighty then…let’s just arrange it.” And that was the last word Liz heard for the next forty five minutes or so and life was good again… for a little while anyway.

*~*~*

[mary mary]

Eve: I think they are going to take your advice! As I said in my pm to you...I hope you're feeling better.
Carolyn: It shouldn't be too much longer until the real culprit shows himself...let's just hope it's civil.

*

Chapter: 36


The next morning everyone was up bright and early and doing their morning chores…JP was getting quite good at making a bed, just ask him, and Liz was downstairs preparing breakfast for everyone. Jonesy came into the kitchen to give her a hand and Bob, one of the night shift guards was just coming in from the patio area and headed on into the bathroom off the back door before helping to set the table. All of the men were becoming quite comfortable with making themselves at home and useful and Liz really appreciated their help no matter how small the gesture. Every little bit helped.

After they were all seated around the table Max slid the fact that the main character under suspicion seemed to know everything that was going on in the house and then he added quietly…

“Do any of you have any idea how one Judge John Abbott may know the comings and goings of Liz and her habits? We aren’t accusing any of you but if you can shed some light on this it surely would make the Police department’s life easier right now because they have the two perpetrators in custody but there is a brain behind this and we have a pretty good idea who he is but he seems to be one step ahead of everyone.”

Jonesy turned white! He looked at Max, then Liz and then around the table at the children and his fellow guards. He was the lead guard for God’s sake and he was the leak.

“Max…it’s me. I told you I talk to my wife every night and she can’t wait to get the latest on the kids. Well, she went to college with Joey Abbott, Josephine Abbott? She has lunch with her every time she comes to town. God Max, I am so sorry. I had no idea.” And Jonesy was beside himself, the man looked like he would cry any second and then JP popped up,

“It’s alright Jonesy, my dad will fix it.”

And Jonesy couldn’t control the tears that ran in a stream down his cheeks…the kid was just too much.

Then Max looked at everyone and said very quietly…

“It looks like we didn’t have enough people in our meetings with Chief Dennis and I sincerely apologize for not giving you all of the information you needed to do your jobs in a more efficient manner. I take full blame for this and JP is right. We will get it fixed. Jonesy, this is not your fault. We have discussed your wife, you told me you were telling her all about us and I was very proud of the fact that you thought enough of us to want to share our lives with her...I am so sorry. Don’t beat yourself up over this, it will be dealt with.” And then Max thought to himself…I just wish I knew how.

The rest of the men could only sit there and admire the man they were protecting. God knows they wouldn’t want to hire an army to protect their wives and children from a lunatic and then have to shoulder the responsibility for pertinent information leaving the premises that way, it was truly a wonder. Breakfast became a little more quiet after that conversation and Liz felt truly sorry for Jonesy. She knew the man was putting his life on the line everyday for them and she didn’t know how they were going to make him feel comfortable around them again…he had become a part of their family and she didn’t want that to change. They all liked him.

When Max had finished his breakfast he took his dirty dishes to the sink and walked around the table and grabbed Jonesy on the shoulder to let the man know that he understood. Then he said to all of them,

“From now on we will have our meetings in the living room with everyone present, including the kids. All of you will know exactly what is going to take place and when. There will be nothing left to chance. You kids have to know that your mother is in some kind of danger and we think we know why but we aren’t certain. I can tell all of you that we think it has something to do with the judge’s grandson. He is 13 now and is in a care facility similar to the one that we run. He was too old for our facility so we recommended him to another one and it is our belief that the judge wants Liz to see him professionally. That’s all we have come up with so far. Joey said that he and Don’s instructions were explicit, they were not to hurt Liz. They were to kidnap her and take her to a destination that only Don knows and he’s got amnesia and not talking, so we are sort of in the dark.” Max continued to tell all of the men and the kids exactly what they thought was going on and how Liz wants to use herself as bait. The kids all looked at their dad with their little faces showing all kinds of emotions…fear mostly, and Liz noted this and waited for Max to finish talking before telling the kids what she thought…

“Okay guys, it’s like this. If I go with Joey to meet this person that we think is the judge we can get this all taken care of and it will go away for good. There will be plenty of police to see to it that I’m safe and if it is the judge I know what he wants. So it won’t be a bad thing.”

“What if it isn’t the judge?” Parker wanted to know…the little thinker. Liz smiled.

“Sweetheart, if it isn’t the judge the police will still be there to take him into custody so there’s nothing to worry about. Do you think I would do this if I thought that something would happen to me. I’m too selfish to let anything happen to me, I don’t want anyone else taking care of you. You’re mine.” And she smiled at her little son.

Then the boy genius had to put his two cents in…

“Well, I still don’t know why he didn’t just ask you for your help. This seems like an awful dumb way to do things.”

“You’re right JP, it is an awful dumb way to do things but not every one thinks straight when they’re upset.”

“Okay, but you sure you’re going to be okay?”

“I’m sure JP, I’ll take a skillet.”

Everyone tried to stifle their laughter and were doing pretty good until JP said…

“Well okay, but you take the big one, Jonesy can help you carry it.”

And that did it. Grown men began to leave the table as though they were being driven with cattle prods and Max laughed…Liz just stood there and shook her head. God how she wished she never would have met that man, meaning Don, and she shivered all over. Jonesy seemed to be taking all of this in stride and then said…

“Liz, I would like to be on the guard detail when you go with Joey.”

Liz looked at him and realized the man needed this….

“Jonesy, if they let me do this you will definitely be allowed to come along. I might even be able to convince the Chief to have Joey tell the judge that there’s a new player and have you go with me. We’ll work it out.” And she smiled at the man who was feeling so down over all of this.

Max just smiled at the two of them and then Olivia came through the back door and JP ran straight to her and started filling her in on all of the excitement. Olivia had learned by now to listen to the boy because he usually had things pegged pretty accurately.

Max headed to his office to call Chief Dennis and fill him in on all of the news from his end of town and to say the chief was shocked was an understatement. Max explained that he knew Jonesy was telling his wife all about them and never gave it a thought. He told the chief it was their fault for not filling in all of the blanks for the guards to begin with and the chief agreed with him then they started discussing the possibility of Liz actually going through with the plan of being the bait. Max couldn’t see any other way out of it since the judge knew all about what was happening at the house. They couldn’t let the judges daughter know that Joey was in custody so maybe Joey could convince the judge that he needed a partner for this since the house was so well guarded and that he had a friend that he trusted to help with the abduction. The Plan was starting to come together and the Chief said he would make arrangements for the detectives to come back over for another meeting and Max told the chief to just give him a call. He would most likely be home from the Children’s Facility by two so if they wanted to come over today it was fine with him. And they rung off.

*~*~*
In the meantime Chief Dennis called Carl and the other three men into his office and explained to them what had taken place over at the Evans’ home this morning and they were all shocked and relieved, they really did trust each other but things weren’t looking all that good and regardless of how well you know someone when shit happens you tend to wonder. At least it wasn’t coming from their office and they all breathed a sigh of relief.

“I want to take Joey with us this afternoon. He needs to know the entire plan in order to make this work and I don’t think he will ever do anything to hurt Liz or those kids. For some reason the man feels very protective of little JP.” And all of the men smiled and Carl added his thoughts on the subject.

“I think he feels protective of JP because JP isn’t afraid of him and has acknowledged him since day one. I don’t think JP is afraid of anyone.”

“Oh Carl, I don’t believe that statement for a minute. JP told his mother if she’s going to go to the kidnappers that she needs to take her skillet and Max is certain that the only way Liz is going to get out of that house without JP being terrified is for Liz to take the skillet with her.”

“Why would they tell the kids about this in the first place?” Carl asked.

“Because they knew the leak had to be coming from their home and they needed everyone to know there was a problem including the kids. They all have computers and cell phones and Lord knows what they might be telling their little friends that they shouldn’t be telling. They’re smart little kids but they’re still kids.”

They all agreed and then Carl went to go get Joey from his private holding cell.

*~*~*

[mary mary]

Eve: Yes, men do talk to their wives about their work...it's part of their lives after all and it's too bad in this case that the conversations were so close to the problem...but it will work out, honest.
Carolyn: yeah, poor Jonesy had no idea that he was divulging important information but it certainly wasn't planned, that's for sure. Glad you like JP, he's a hoot that's for sure.
Dreambeliever: Welcome back, so nice to hear from you and I'm glad you like this one. It's winding down only because I'm getting tired of it but I will do a sequel some day but not for a while. I have a whole bunch of Evans' clan sagas wrapped up in my head.
*~*~*

Chapter: 37

So that afternoon Chief Dennis checked a seven passenger SUV out of the garage and had the van full of his four detectives along with Joey Sabotini and they made their way to Max and Liz’s right at 1:30. They made sure that Joey had his cell phone with him and it was decided that all plans would be made at the Evans’ home with one Bill Jones aka: Jonesy at the helm so to speak. Chief Dennis had grown to respect the man over the past couple of weeks and liked the way he handled himself with the situation and the children involved. He did some research into Jonesy’s past and found out that he was a retired Marine Lt. and not just a hired gun for the Evans’. He really was an asset to them and it was definitely not his fault for talking to his wife about his life away from home. They had been separated for quite awhile now and it was only natural that he would become closer to the subjects as time went on and would want to share his life with his wife. Max knew he was sharing information with her for God’s sake and never gave it a thought. No one would have ever thought that the world was so small as to encompass the main suspect in the case they were working on, it was positively ludicrous.

When the chief drove up the circular driveway Smith was sitting at the front of the house today and he nodded to the group of men as they walked up the pathway to the house. It was not surprising to the chief that Smith was at the front post today due to the dire situation and the fact that Jonesy would be involved in any plans that would take place from now on. He, Smith, just wanted this to be over with. His wife was getting bigger with child by the day and he wanted to go home. Max and Liz both suggested that she come and stay with them, but like Jonesy, he felt the situation just wasn’t an ideal spot to be in and she was more comfortable in her own home anyway so she stayed in Roswell. She and Jonesy’s wife were good friends and they spent an awfully lot of time together so it wasn’t that she was ‘lonesome’ lonesome, she just wanted her husband home and Smith smiled, that’s what he wanted too.

Liz was at the front door before the men had a chance to knock and she welcomed them all into the dining room this time. The kids were busy doing home work in the library and she didn’t want to mess up their routine and JP, feeling very important, was in there practicing his letters and numbers while his brothers and sisters practiced their spelling exercises and arithmetic problems. Liz really didn’t like the idea of JP being there while they did their studies because she felt he was getting too far ahead of his age group but it was the best solution to a complicated problem right now and nobody seemed to mind but her so it was alright, she guessed.

When Joey entered the large home his heart did a flip flop. He knew people lived in homes this big but he never dreamed he would be inside of one. It was positively over- whelming but not pretentious. It had pictures of family everywhere…on walls, tables and in every room visible off the main hallway, which was huge, warm and inviting. Joey didn’t feel the least bit uncomfortable and then the dog ambled down the stairs looking like the lord of the manner. He stopped at the foot of the stairway and looked at the six men standing there with his mistress and walked right over to Joey and sniffed. Joey put his hand out, knuckles up, and allowed Jack to sniff and then patted the dog on the head and said, “Hey Jack” and the dog wagged his tail and ambled out toward the back door. Max had just walked into the hallway as the dog walked past him and he followed him to the back door and let him out and then returned and smiled at all of the men.

“Hey guys…come on in. Liz, why don’t you go get Olivia to serve up the coffee and whatever else she’s prepared for us and I’ll take everyone into the dining room.”

Liz smiled at Max and headed on out to the kitchen. She knew Max wanted to lay some ground rules without her being present but these rules would all go by the wayside when all was said and done, she knew her husband needed this and she would not interfere with his release of tension, everyone dealt with problems in their own way and this particular problem was weighing on Max very badly and she knew it. As she was headed to the kitchen Philip walked in and she gave him a great big smile and a hug and pointed to the dining room where all of the other men were congregated and that included all of the guards that weren’t on duty. God knows what that judge was up to these days and hopefully there wasn’t anymore of his men outside the property checking on them. That would be just too bizarre. She and Olivia soon returned with three trays of various pastries and cookies to go along with the various beverages that had already been set out on the buffet behind the dining room table. Jonesy pointed to the Kolache and told the men,

“You’ve got to try these nut ones, they are out of this world, I think Olivia needs to package these things up and sell them, she’d make a fortune!”

And they all laughed including Olivia. Then Liz asked her friend…

“Olivia, will you make sure the kids stay out of ear shot today? JP has a tendency to over think his role in this and it also upsets him even if he gives the appearance of handling it like a big boy. He’s already sleeping with his ‘kickin’ boots and God knows what else he’ll be doing if he gets too worried.”

“I certainly will Liz. Maybe we can read another story today, possibly one of JP’s since he’s been working so hard on it.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea. Don’t worry about anything else, just the kids today. We’ll all pitch in and do the rest…right guys?”

“Absolutely…You bet…for sure.” And they all agreed in various ways but agree they did.

“Joey, there’s nothing formal here. You help yourself to anything you see and if there’s something you don’t see that you would like just speak up and if we have it I’ll see to it that you get it, okay?”

Joey couldn’t believe these people…they were not treating him like the criminal he was and he had the most humbling feeling come over him…If he would have ever met them under different circumstances there might have been an entirely different outcome to this entire fiasco.

“Thank you Liz, but it seems you’ve got everything that anyone might want and then some. It’s very nice.” Joey didn’t know what else to say, it was overwhelming.

Then Chief Dennis started the meeting…

“Philip, is there anything we need to know regarding the legalities of this situation?”

“Dennis, the only thing that remains an issue is the child and I don’t see any reason whatsoever that his name would ever be brought into this. The Judge has hired two men to abduct Liz, his reasons are his own. We can move on that issue and never mention Alexander again.” Philip replied.

“Great. Now, Jones, or do you prefer Bill?”

“Actually, Jones is fine Chief.”

“Good, Jones it is. Have you come up with any plans for this…” and Chief Dennis grinned, “operation? I think ‘sting’ better suits the situation but operation is more professional.”

“Well yes, I’ve given it a lot of thought and the first thing we really need to do is to get the judge to agree that Joey can’t do this alone and then sell him on Joey choosing his partner. We need to make it reasonable, pricey but not too pricey. I think the man has money but we don’t want to be ridiculous and price ourselves right out of the picture. That would really complicate things so we need to agree on a figure and I think Joey would be the best one to come up with the dollar signs since that’s his expertise. Then, there’s the plan for the abduction, which won’t be a problem but we need to give the judge a reasonable plan, something that sounds well thought out and feasible. There again we need Joey’s input on this, After we have devised all of this it’s a matter of contacting the Judge, or the person on the other end of that phone over there who we think is the judge, and get all of his input. I’m sure he has a place he wants Liz delivered, God knows what he intends to do with her once she’s there but we can make sure that she’s safe whatever his intentions are.”

Then Max looked at Dennis and raised an eyebrow….

“Well, Max came up with a suggestion earlier, before all of you arrived, and I think it’s a good suggestion. He thinks we should use a “Liz” look alike police woman.” Chief Dennis looked around the table as he spoke and then his eyes settled on Liz…UH OH!

“No! That’s not a good idea! We have enough people in on this “sting” already and I will not take the chance that any of my family will be hurt anymore than they already have been. We have been a prisoner in our own home for weeks now, we have men sitting around this table that have been taken away from their families to protect us. Our children are afraid to go to sleep at night because they think that their mother is going to be hurt. This has got to end and I will not take anymore chances than we are discussing around this table…this ends now Max, NOW!”

Chief Dennis, four detectives, five of the eight guards, Joey, Philip and Max all looked at this little woman that had the determination of Patton running his fifth armored tank division glare on her face and they all knew this subject was closed…there would be no substitute going into this for her.

“Alright sweet, if that’s the way you feel then we will make sure that nothing happens to you.”

“Maxwell Evans…what in the hell is wrong with you, don’t you think that a substitute is just as important as I am? What would make the substitute more safe than me? Don’t you think they are going to give me the same protection? I don’t understand your line of thinking Max.”

“Liz, my God, you know that’s not what I meant, but an undercover cop knows how to deal with these situations better than you do. She would have training in such matters.”

“Look Max, we don’t know what the situation is going to be. Suppose there’s some kind of test presented before the final steps occur. What if the undercover cop doesn’t know the answers to pertinent questions and the thing falls apart before it’s completed. You don’t know what the hell is going to happen anymore than the rest of us do…all you can think of is my safety. Well, whoever goes into this isn’t going to be any more safe than the next guy and it’s my children that I’m thinking of here. Maybe I’ll take JP up on his plan and carry a skillet. Would that make you feel better?”

“Liz, you’re being ridiculous now.” Max was starting to lose it…he hated arguing with his wife. It wasn’t something they did very often and he just couldn’t get his mind around this…at all.

“I’m not ridiculous and you know it. You’re scared Max…but I can guarantee you that everyone around this table is fighting some kind of fear and you know that too. So, here it is, I’m going. Now get these plans made and let’s get this show on the road.”

“Well Max. Should we make some plans?” Chief Dennis was sure this personal argument was not over but this was something that these two needed to figure out for themselves. A double would be the best way to go as far as the Chief was concerned but then again…suppose the judge and any associates he may have working with him on this know Liz’s appearance as well as their own. That could cause a problem too. Liz could be right…this wasn’t going to be as easy as they thought.

*~*~*

[mary mary]

Carolyn: yes, JP does have a way of getting involved doesn't he?
Eve: Yes, if Max is smart he'll listen to Liz a little on this one.

*~*~*


Chapter: 38

The next afternoon Chief Dennis called Max and told him they had checked all of the surveillance tapes and were working on identifying the man who put the envelope in the locker at the bus station. It looked as though it might be someone who did not know what they were involved in because they merely walked into the bus station, found an empty locker, put the envelope in it and put the key in an envelope, pasted it to the back of the first row of lockers and left. The person did not try to hide his identity in any way and seemed perfectly at ease with what he was doing.

“Whoever he is he’s clueless Max. We’re working on his identity as we speak and as soon as we know you will know. In the meantime, have you made anymore decisions at your end?”

“Not really, only that Liz and Jonesy will be doing this together with Joey. There’s no changing her mind and I have all the faith in the world that Jonesy and even Joey will do their best to take care of her. As soon as you’re ready give us a call and we’ll all be here.”

“I’ll do that Max. I think that as soon as we find out who this ‘messenger’ is we can get this show on the road. It will be to our benefit to know as much as we can about who we’re dealing with before going into this.”

“Well, I certainly agree with that Chief. Like I said, just give us a call.”

“As I said, we’ll be in touch. Take care Max.”

And the men rung off.

It wasn’t five minutes later, as Max was sitting at his desk doing some research that his phone rang again.

“Hello, Max Evans speaking.” Max wasn’t expecting any personal calls so he figured it had to be business…

“Hey Max, it’s Dennis again…we found the identity of the messenger and guess what, the man is a taxi driver for God’s sake. He’s on his way in right now. When we called the cab company he had just signed in for the night so we asked if he could pick up a fare at the police station and he was more than happy to oblige. I’m sure the man has no idea what he’s involved in but he knows damned well where he picked up that envelope, you can count on it. No one calls a cab to deliver an envelope to a bus depot.”

“God Chief, I hope you’re right. This seems just too easy, I can hardly wrap my mind around it. I’ll let Jonesy and the rest of the group know what’s happening after I call my dad. He’s not going to believe this, hell, I don’t believe this.”

“I know what you mean Max…it’s just too simple. I’ll call you back as soon as we talk to the man but I just had to let you know what was happening.”

“Thanks Dennis. Maybe I’ll wait until I hear back from you. I’ll have Jonesy and Liz sit in on the conversation as I’m sure that they will be wound up tighter than an eight day clock before too long.”

Chief Dennis laughed at Max and then they said their good-by’s and rung off.

*

On the other end of town and anxious gray haired man paced his office waiting for a special phone to ring. What would he do when he had this Dr. Parker-Evans in his fold was still troubling him. She would know what to do when she found out what he needed from her. Yes, he would wait until he was face to face with her, it wouldn’t be long now.

*

Max called Liz and Jonesy into his home office and proceeded to tell them about Chief Dennis’ call and they just sat there staring at him. This was next to impossible to fathom and they were both speechless. ‘Even JP could have done better than this’ was running through all of their minds…it can’t be this simple.

“Well, we need to get with Joey and see what he has to say about this. I’m really not into planning crimes per se’ but I do know that we all need to be in on this one.” Jonesy said.

“I agree Max…we can’t make any plans without everyone, this needs to be full-proof, I don’t want anyone getting hurt and that includes the judge, Joey, Jonesy or me and none of the cops either. I just hope the old fool is working alone. It’s too bad he couldn’t have let his daughter and her husband live their lives, make their own decisions about their child and learned to accept dinner table conversations for what they are, dinner table conversations about things going on in your lives. I still have trouble wrapping myself around this, it’s just too bizarre!” Liz was flabbergasted by the whole scenario and the more she thought about it the more riled she got.

“You’re right sweetheart, and as soon as Chief Dennis calls me back we’ll set up an appointment and get busy with plans and a phone call, just relax.” And Max, who was as uptight as his wife, tried his best to keep his cool.

*

Back at the police station Chief Dennis had Carl, Dwain and Joey in his office while the other two detectives, Steve and Wayne, on the case were in the main lobby of the police station waiting for the cab driver to make an appearance, it didn’t take long.

Steve saw the cab driver get out of his rig first and headed through the lobby doors as Wayne waited quietly and alert in case they were wrong about this man being clueless and soon Steve walked in with the driver after putting a parking pass on the vehicle that was parked in a 20 minute zone.

The three men entered the elevator together, the cabbie between the two detectives and headed up to Chief Dennis’ office where the other four men waited.

“Hello, Frank is it?”

The cabbie nodded his assent…

“Chief Dennis…” Dennis held out his hand to the cabbie…”these are my fellow officers. Frank, the reason you’re up here is the envelope you picked up yesterday and delivered to the bus depot. Do you remember where you picked it up?”

“Yeah. It was at the receptionists desk in the lobby of the court house. I had a dispatch to go over there for a fare, it turned out to be an envelope that had a hundred in it in 20’s and instructions to take the enclosed envelope to the bus depot, get a locker and put it in it, take the key and put it into one of those envelopes that have that peel and stick stuff on it and stick the envelope to the back of the first locker next to the wall. Why, is something wrong. I didn’t figure there was anything wrong with that. A lot of people don’t have time to get off work and this seemed like a really cool way of dropping off money or something for a bus passenger. Never would have thought of it myself.”

“No Frank, nothing’s wrong. Do you have any of the twenties on you. We’d be glad to trade one with you.”

“Yeah sure. The fare was seven so I kept the rest of course.”

“Of course, that’s what it was for. You may be called in to be a witness at some time in the future, we don’t know just yet how this is going to play out but is driving a cab your only form of employment?”

“Yeah, I love it, wouldn’t change for nothin’.”

“Fair enough Frank. We’ll contact you if we need any further information. Do you have a card or anything?”

“Nah…just call the dispatcher. He knows where to get hold of me.”

“Okay. And Frank. Thanks, you’ve been very helpful.”

*

After Frank left the chief’s office Carl took the 20 dollar bill down to the Forensics lab and had them run it for prints. It was going to be a long process and Carl explained that the cabbie and the chief’s prints were on the bill and they could run comparisons as they searched the data banks. The tech told Carl they’d get back to him as soon as they had anything and Carl left. Now they waited.

*

“I need to talk to Joey!”

Liz was pacing the dining room as Max and Jonesy looked on….

“Liz, what the hell do you need to talk to Joey for? He can’t tell you anything until we know who this is and what we’re going to do?”

“I know! I just need to do something.”

Max looked at Jonesy and grinned.

“Sweetheart, why don’t you bake us one of those great chocolate cakes you make? You know the one…the one with all the fudge in the middle and all that marshmallow frosting on top.”

Liz gave Max one of those ‘don’t try to bullshit me’ looks and he grinned…then Jonesy looked at Liz and smiled…

“Have I ever eaten one of those Liz? I don’t think you’ve made one of those that I know of.”

“Okay you two, you’re in cahoots here aren’t you?”

Both men looked innocent as hell and then Liz thought, maybe that would take her mind off this shit…she could make one of her white cakes with the butter cream frosting topped with chopped pistachio’s and filled with stewed apricots too. That would take up the better part of the day and everyone could enjoy some homemade desserts of a different kind other than Connecticut pies. She never said another word to the two men, she just up and left the room and headed to the kitchen.

Max looked at Jonesy and winked…

“She really does love to bake and that cake is out of this world. If we’re lucky we might just get a couple of them.”

And Jonesy grinned…

“Killed two birds with one stone man. Looks like we all lucked out on this one. She’ll have to bake a couple of both if she wants to feed all of us…should keep her busy for quite a while.”

Max chuckled right back…

“Absolutely.” And both men smiled as they left the room to attend to other matters while they waited.