Roswell Fanatics

Another great part.......but at my house Jack would have been in big trouble if he got into the coffee cake!
Cute, cute story about a wonderful and loving family.
Thanks Ginger,
Carolyn

Carolyn: That was a true story, my daughter-in-law was yelling "NO-NO-NO" and I was laughing my head off....the louder she got and the closer she got the faster he ate. He was one fine/fun dog. He lived 14 years....his replacement is a big liver colored lab, sweet as anything but not half the personality as "Jack" and he would never put his paws on the counter and his nose in a cake. Very well behaved, of course he was trained before he was brought home and the boys were grown and not as rambunctious as when Jack was brought home as a 3 month old puppy.

Chapter: 36

Right at noon Liz called the class to a close and none of the children were really ready to quit. Briana had finished the story about two hours before and all five of them were really getting into the open discussion and what the story was all about.

Olivia and Liz both sat and listened to them discuss back and forth, throwing out ideas and solutions to each other and they were truly impressed with how things were going. Liz didn’t even interrupt them when they got a little silly…they were just children after all, but all in all Liz couldn’t wait to share this with Max. She just knew that he was going to be very impressed with the way this had turned out. She hadn’t had this type of activity in class until she was a Freshman in high school and even that was more of a question and answer type of lesson…this truly was trying their thinking caps and she couldn’t have been happier.

By the time Max had come home the table had been set for lunch and everyone was seated and already eating soup and sandwiches as JP led the conversation and kept all of the men entertained with his antics. He truly loved the attention and made the most of it while the other four were more than glad to let him have his fun as they would much rather eat their lunch and get on with more important things like playing. Max just smiled at the group as he leaned over and kissed his wife on the top of her head before going to the kitchen sink and washing his hands. Olivia gave him a big smile as she ladled him a bowl of soup from the huge pot on the stove and Max reached over and gave her a hug as well. Both women smiled as he took his bowl to the table to join everyone else. About a half hour later Liz had the kids in the bathroom wiping hands and faces and making sure their clothes were still clean from the mornings activities and then they were off to the police station, one and all…

*

When they arrived Max told the desk sergeant who they were and they were immediately greeted by none other than the Chief himself. The desk sergeant just looked up in surprise but said nothing as the Chief led the entire family to an elevator and they all disappeared.

When they got upstairs and went toward the interrogation room the chief took JP aside and asked him if he was scared. JP looked the man right in the eye, since the chief had knelt down on one knee to be eye level with the child, and told him that he knew Joey wouldn’t hurt him. The chief nodded and for some reason, for what it was worth, he believed JP and then he explained to the rest of the family what they were going to do as Max smiled and said, very emphatically, that he would be sitting with JP during the ‘conversation’. The chief nodded and then opened the room to reveal the rest of the investigative team he had working on their case. He introduced Carl and the other three men to JP and his brothers and sisters and each child held out their little hands to the detectives and shook them as they had been taught since practically babies. All of the men were very impressed with the children and could only stand and smile...

Then the Chief explained to JP that they would be standing in this room watching him talk to Joey and he didn’t have to do this if he didn’t want to. JP said he didn’t mind and being the smart little boy that he was he said to the entire group…

“Maybe he’ll tell us why that Don guy wants to hurt us.”

“Yes JP, maybe he will.” The chief said, and knew he had made the right decision in having the child come in for an interview with the suspect.

*

Max was holding JP’s little hand as they entered the room with the table and two chairs sitting across from one Joseph Sabotini. There was a camcorder over head in the one corner and one wall had a large mirror, which of course Max knew was a two way mirror. He took JP over to the chairs across from Joey and JP crawled up onto a straight back, moved his little bottom right to the edge and folded his hands in front of him on the table while his feet dangled below. Max sat next to him in the other chair, crossed his right ankle over his left knee and draped his arm around JP’s chair in a very relaxed looking position but if you looked into the man’s eyes he was anything but. They clearly said, ‘don’t mess with me or mine’ and Joey just nodded to Max and then smiled at JP as he had done so many times before.

JP was the first to talk…

“Hi Joey, they told me what your name was a while back…how are you?”

“I’m fine JP and you?”

“Oh, pretty good. Hey Joey, why did that Don Adams want to hurt us?”

Joey knew the boy would be straightforward and was more than happy to answer his question. He held only admiration for the child after watching him play in the backyard with his trucks and the other children. He had a knack for taking charge of a situation and it didn’t seem to matter how old or how young the person was with whom he was speaking.

“I don’t think he was supposed to hurt you JP, he was supposed to kidnap your mom but he changed things around.”

“Why did he do that? You know he used to be married to my mom don’t you? And then he tried to kill her.”

Joey just sat and looked at the child before him and couldn’t believe his ears. Just how much of this have they told him?

“No JP…I didn’t know all of that. Why do you think he wanted to kill her?”

Don had mentioned some things about Liz and a blond but he really hadn’t paid that much attention to his ramblings.

“Well, my mom told us all about it. You see, she was married to that Don guy while he was married to someone else and also, he was staying with another woman. He wanted my mom to die so he could in…in…” JP looked at his dad for help…

Max smiled at his son and said “inherit”.

“Oh yeah… so he could inherit my mom’s money. Mom said she didn’t have a lot but she had a big life insurance thing with the company she worked for and that Don guy wanted that. Plus she has some apartments and we stay there sometime when my mom goes to visit her old company for business. My dad likes to get his pies there too. My mom took two apartments and made one out of it so we have room to sleep. It’s fun there. So you don’t think this Don guy wanted to hurt us, just mom?”

Joey was having a tough time following all of JP’s rambling but he got the gist of most of it and then he looked at Max who seemed to be wincing occasionally. He could tell the man wasn’t at all comfortable with any of this but he allowed his son to continue. Joey looked at JP again and said…

“Well JP, as near as we can figure, Don was hired to kidnap your mom for some reason. I don’t know why but Don went to your house the day before he was supposed to and that’s how you got involved in this.”

“Oh. So I sort of saved my mom when I kicked that Don guy and mom whacked him with the bacon skillet. Did you know that mom did that? You should have seen it! She whacked him good! He hit the floor and blood squirted and mom kicked the kitchen rug over him and then I ran.”

Max could hear the chuckles coming from the other room and controlled his own little smile as he reprimanded his son before he got too carried away.

“JP, you know you were told to quit telling that story.” At least he didn’t say she killed a guy with the skillet Max thought to himself…

“Oh yeah…sorry.” JP thought for a minute and continued…”Joey, mom did hit the guy with the skillet but she didn’t kill him.” Max rolled his eyes and turned his head to the wall as he scratched behind his ear and controlled the urge to laugh…

Joey looked at Max and didn’t know what to do, he truly wanted to laugh at the boy but the situation wasn’t funny…

In the control booth there was a lot of chatter between four detectives and one highly agitated chief of detectives as he tried to contain the situation. He could hardly keep a straight face himself but the kids and their mother were taking all of this in and it wasn’t a good idea for them to be making light of this situation and then Briana, the oldest of the group looked up at the chief of detectives and said, looking very serious with those big brown eyes that mirrored her mother’s…

“This is all true you know. Mom had an awful mess to clean up after they took that man away. And then she had to sit down and tell us all about him. He has children you know. With his wife, his real wife, he has a boy and a girl. Mom said they live in California. Mom said that it probably was as far as the woman could get from him without swimming.”

Liz just reached down and patted her daughter on the head and hid her smile …this was like a circus and if it wasn’t real she would say that it was a television sit-com. The five men looked away from the young family and fixed their eyes on the window in front of them…It’s too bad they can’t share any of this with the rest of the squad the chief thought to himself…They could use a good laugh once in awhile but this was all true and since it’s all true it is therefore very sad.

Then JP continued…

“Hey Joey, you said someone told Don to do this. Do you know who did that?”

“No JP. I have a telephone that was left in Don’s suitcase and an envelope with money but I don’t know who gave it to Don. I guess the guy that hired Don doesn’t want his identity known. Do you know what identity is JP?”

“Yeah, you hear that a lot on TV…it’s how you know who someone is…and it’s when someone hides their name from everyone. I guess this guy is hiding like you were huh? Why did you go back to get Don…didn’t you know they’d catch you?”

“Well, I didn’t know what else to do JP.”

“Oh…then why were you at our house every day?”

“I didn’t have anything else to do and I thought it was important if Don ever woke up from when your mom whacked him.”

“Oh. Why didn’t you just come to the door and knock. My mom would have fed you. She feeds everyone, it’s what she does.”

Max just looked down at his son and shook his head as he smiled. Yeah, she probably would have…

“So Joey, you don’t know who wants mom dead then?”

“JP, I don’t think the man wants your mom dead. I’m not sure what he wants but he clearly wanted her kidnapped. Don’s instructions were very explicit…do not hurt her. So I don’t think the man wanted her dead.”

“Oh…so he just wants something from her then. What do you think she has that he wants? Don wanted her property and insurance and she doesn’t have that anymore, just those apartments. She has us and my dad and she says that’s all she needs so if this guy wants something from my mom I’m sure she would give it to him if he just asked, unless he wanted my dad or us kids…then she’d probably whack him a good one too.”

That was it…Max couldn’t control it anymore. He reached over and picked his little son up and sat him in his lap and kissed the top of his head.

“Are you finished talking to Joey yet JP. Because I think we need to go home now. What do you think?” Max was having a really tough time controlling a laugh and God knows this wasn’t funny but his son was…God love his little heart he was funny.

“I think I’m done…how about you Joey. Do you have anything else you want to talk about?”

“No JP…but it has been really nice to meet you face to face. Maybe you could come to see me again sometime.” And Joey really meant that, he truly liked JP.

“I’d have to ask my mom Joey, but I think that would be okay. I’ll ask. You take care of yourself and I hope you figure out who this other guy is and what he wants my mom for. It’s too bad he couldn’t just ask her. She’s always doing things for people.”

“I’ll just bet she is JP. You take care of yourself.” And Joey nodded to Max as he put his son in the crook of his arm with JP wrapping his little arm around his daddy’s neck as though it was the most natural act on earth and Max walked out of the interrogation room while JP looked over his daddy’s shoulder and waved goodbye to Joey as he had done so many times before.

Max was met on the other side of the door with an entire entourage of people and when he saw the look on the Chief’s face he knew they had discovered something that they hadn’t thought of and he was glad that the meeting had been fruitful.

“What’s up Chief…you look like you’ve had an epiphany?”

“I have Max…JP said something that we haven’t even considered. This person or persons want something from Liz. My next question is what? What does Liz have that we are not aware of?”

“What? Besides a genius IQ I’ve no idea. She works in genetics, she studies special kids and sometimes adults…she analyzes problems and discovers proper meds to assist these people toward living a normal life.”

“Max…you have a special children’s facility do you not? Are there any restrictions regarding this place?” Carl asked.

“Only one really…we don’t take anyone over the age of 12. We really don’t have the room number one, and number two; after the age of twelve there are many other programs out there to help these kids. Plus, there are a couple more facilities like ours spaced out across the US that my friends are involved in and they do the same kind of work. Liz visits their facilities occasionally and, on rare occasion she uses the company’s facilities where she used to work in order to do a more in depth study when required. They are very cooperative with her and she in turn does research for them. We try not to turn any child away and if we have to we refer them to some place where we know they can be helped. We can only do so much.”

Carl thought for a moment and then asked …

“Max, would it be okay if we looked at the files of children that have been turned down in your facility, just to see if any names come up that could be connected with this in any way. We didn’t think of it until JP asked Joey what this man wanted from his mom. Maybe this ‘man’ needs Liz’s brain.”

“Well…let me go through them with my father and I’ll give you anything that we think is pertinent, I can’t go around handing out information about children with problems, it just wouldn’t be ethical.”

“I understand, how soon can we expect to hear from you?”

“Is tomorrow soon enough?”

“Tomorrow will be great Max. Just tell the receptionist who’s calling…you’ll get right through.”

“Thanks Carl. I’ll talk to you then.” And Max was off with his family in tow.

The chief looked at his men and shook his head.

“Out of the mouths of babes, literally. I would never have thought of that in a million years. Money, property, ransom…but something mom has! Never!” And he just shook his head and walked off and said…

“Someone take care of Joey. I really do think the man is harmless but he did break the law. We’ll just have to keep him incognito until the big brain is in custody, maybe we can cut him a deal for his cooperation.”

And so life went on at the PD and Max took his family home. He looked over at Liz in the front seat of the Escalade and smiled. She just shook her head and stifled a giggle; he’s just too much she thought to herself. How did she ever give birth to a child like that? So in control of himself and so confident…he is something else. The others weren’t much different but they were more subdued. Not JP…he just let it all out and then she did giggle and Max knew exactly what she was thinking.

To think a conversation between a convict and a small boy would result in a new twist in an investigation was ridiculous, but it worked. All the Chief wanted was a tape to prove Joey’s participation in all of this without causing JP to have to go to court and face attorneys. Max doubted very much that the experience would have bothered JP in the least. If Don is ever brought to trial for his part in this crime it will most likely be a different story. God, how did Liz ever get tied up with that imbecile? Max just shook his head as he continued on his drive home.

***

JP surprised everyone, the Chief, Max and especially Joey. So cute!
It will be interesting to see what develops in this case now.

Ginger, I saw on FB about your life long friend Janet. So sorry to see that, and to think you had known her all of these years and kept in touch.
Take care,
Carolyn

Carolyn: Thank you for your well wishes about Janet. I don't know what it is about all of my friends from St. Joe's but we've all kept in touch all of these years and I've made many trips back to visit all of them. We were all very close. I would also like to apologize for not updating in my usual manner but I've been pretty busy, which is really no excuse....lot's of company and more on it's way. I will try to do better. there are only 2 or 3 more chapters so then we can kiss this one good bye. I'm almost tempted to just post the random chapters I have on the sequel and call it a day. We'll see how the rest of the year goes. Enjoy.....


Chapter: 37

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 its 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 upbeat 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.

Well it is about time for you to show up again.
But I do understand about company, so enjoy everyone and get to us whenever.

Just please don't just "call it a day" with your stories. Where would I get my fluff?? Certainly not on the nightly news.

Now I am anxious to see if any of the names of the children are familiar.........
JP does put a new slant on things. Wonder what that young man will be when he grows up?? (hint, hint......story idea)
The ordeal with the cats turned out so much better than I could imagined. Liz is just like me, I would be a coward too!

It's raining here today, hate to complain because in July and August we would be looking for it. Over the weekend we were in Houston for a grandson's graduation........I've never seen so much water there, and everywhere.
Take care and enjoy your company,
Carolyn

Carolyn: I haven't forgotten about you, there are just so many hours in a day and I'm not used to having someone on my heels 24/7 wanting to know what he can do to help, what I would like to do for entertainment, I need a bigger tv ( I have 3) I need , I need, I need. My God I had a yard sale 3 years ago and cleaned and made over a 1000.00 on stuff I thought was junk and hauled off 4 loads of stuff to the Salvation Army because I refused to bring it in the house and now he's telling me I need more stuff. He was supposed to arrive on Friday and showed up on Wednesday because he didn't spend as much time with his friends as he thought he would. I wonder if they told him they had other plans? Anyway, it's nice to see him and it will be just as nice to call him .... Now I sound like an old grouch...but I've been living alone for over 15 years and pretty much to what I want to do when I want to do it. I'm an old grouch...bottom line! Anyway, here's the latest on JP and the gang and we'll see how it all goes. I did not know this thing and an A and B part but I'm pretty sure I just forgot to change something so I'll go back and make sure this is right because the numbers just aren't working ....hope the rain has stopped for while, it has here but is expected next week again. If it shows up you'll be getting some too....it takes 2 days to blow over those mountains and swing down to hit you. I'll let you know.

Chapter: 38


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 for guest parking but the family still parked in the same area as before the facility became a reality.

Max was at the back door waiting 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 when the men walked in. 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, wondering.

“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 both 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 he 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. He needed to find out just how much information they would need 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 it 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 involved a crime in the process of 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. 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 boy’s parents were not responsible for the child’s abuse, it was the nanny. Although the parents were guilty of child neglect they were learning what the difference was very quickly. 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 much better for him. In the meantime the nanny was under arrest with her trial pending.

About 1:00 p.m. Philip came into Max’s office and asked him if he was ready to head out. 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 he thought and then he and his dad were headed out to Max’s for their meeting.

Before leaving Philip went in to give Diane a kiss goodbye, asked her if she had stood on her head yet today. Then he told her they would go out for dinner tonight and Max kissed his mom on the cheek and told her goodbye 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.

*

LOL......."standing on her head"......
This case really did get bizarre.......but those files were a big help.
That is along with JP's gifts and knowledge.
Thanks for bringing this to us even with all that you have going on at your house.

Another time I must tell you about my granddaughter's wedding this past weekend. I have been truly blessed, first seeing my daughter as a grandmother and this time seeing my oldest son as father of the bride. This is a real plus for living this long!
Take care,
Carolyn

Carolyn: Hey, I know how proud you are with your children, no doubt at all. I am so happy that things went so well with both events, there's nothing like family, especially with your children. Here's the next chapter, not too many more. Had an e-mail from my brother and he made it back to Kansas alive and in one piece...thank God. Enough for all of us to get down on our knees even if we do need help getting back up. At 75 he has no business riding around the U. S. on a motorcycle but he loves it. to each his own as the saying goes.

Chapter: 39

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. She didn’t want the two men to be hungry during their meeting. It was only some soup and a salad with some homemade 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 kid’s 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 lying in front of the door. Jonesy could only smile, the place did give you that “mind your manners” feeling that you had learned from your mother.

“Come on in Chief Dennis, gentlemen” Liz smiled, “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. But under no circumstances are we going to bring this child into this. The child may be the reason for the man wanting Liz 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 every one 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, its 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 it…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. 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, 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.

****

Guess all of the folks present were surprised.......The Judge.......who would have thought?
My favorite part was Max picking up Liz heading for the pool, but he got surprised too.

It's funny about your brother, that must have been an interesting visit.
I felt that way about my oldest son dancing with his daughter, the bride, to Kung Foo Fighters. I'm surprised he isn't in traction today because I didn't know he had all of those moves.
Take care,
Carolyn

Carolyn: LOL, My sentiments exactly....when I was at my granddaughter's wedding I was dancing with my grandson and he was concerned that I would fall out of the top of my dress. I told him I was well anchored, it was a formal affair and although I wasn't strapless (at my age, never) the dress had spaghetti straps and a sheer cape type thing over it. Anyway, everything stayed in place but I was amazed at the music that was played as well. I did have fun.
I don't know if you remember the first story when Max threw Liz into the pool at the large estate, anyway, this was a get even maneuver for Liz. That was a long time ago. We're getting close to the end on this one too.


Chapter: 40

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 its 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 and that would be politically incorrect on his part, 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, dollar wise.”

“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. The men were practically out the door before the chief 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 chief’s 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 as 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 Evanses 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, and 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 clothed men 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. Joey will 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…
*~*~*