Roswell Fanatics

Carolyn: I'm happy we're all back too, I've missed all of you and like you said, friends, it just seems that we are all friends and I enjoy the weekly get-togethers. I don't log in everyday like I used to do but I do get here at least once a week. Here we are ready for another chapter of JP. I think I named this fic. wrong...

Helen: You're right, his shenanigans are something else...

Chapter: 22

After everyone made their beds and showered Liz headed off to the study to check out the lesson plan for the four older children while Max made a pot of coffee and set out the various boxes of cereal. He wasn’t in the mood for a large breakfast and he knew Liz wasn’t ready for one either. While he was busying himself with breakfast chores he heard the back door and smiled.

“Good morning Liv…God, it’s good to see you. How was your week-end?”

“Good morning Max, well you know how Sunday was since we spent most of the day together and the rest went just fine. Did you get the bathroom situation handled? That had to be one of his cutest tricks yet.” And the old friend started to giggle.

“Well, Michael talked to both boys and although Junior understood exactly what his father was talking about I’m not so sure JP did. But…he does know it upset his mother and I believe that will take care of the issue. As free as he is he doesn’t like upsetting Liz for some reason. They just seem to connect on a different level than the other four.”

“Oh Max, it’s not a connection as much as it’s a deep understanding. JP knows he can push Liz only so far and nothing pleases him more than to constantly test those limits. It’s a game to him.”

“I guess you’re right Liv…maybe I’m too close to the situation to see it but I believe you none the less. He is one funny little boy though.”

“That he is Max. Where is everyone? Do you want me to fix something besides cereal this morning? You know I’ll be only too glad to fry up some bacon and make something hardy for all of you.”

“Nah…I can handle it. Liz is in the study working on a project and I think she might have something to tell you, why don’t you just head on down there and I’ll take care of this. Just some bowls and glasses and we’re good to go.” And Max pointed to the top of the refrigerator and nodded toward the back of the house.

Olivia knew what he wanted her to do immediately and said…

“Great…I’ll just go on back then. If you need any help with anything just give me a holler.”

Max smiled at his dear friend and nodded toward her as Deana rounded the corner. Dee Dee reached up and gave Olivia a big hug good morning and then Olivia noticed the child in her old jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt and raised an eyebrow and when she caught Max’s eye he nodded to the back of the house again. And like any good friend she understood his actions Olivia headed on back to see Liz.

“Good morning Liz…Max hinted that we needed to talk.”

“Good morning Liv…yes.” And Liz stopped what she was doing and gave her friend a hug for good measure.

“We’re going to home school the kids until this situation is dealt with outside. Honest to God, there are more cars parked on this street than in the down town parking lot. People are here from all over the place. There’s one cop watching another cop who’s watching us and a PI that is watching everyone and then we have the two men living in the pool house guarding us while pretending to be gardeners and now Philip is sending another one to move in with us until it’s settled. There’s another guy that has been lurking in the bushes watching our every move and JP has been waving to the bastard every time we leave the house. I just don’t know what the hell to do about all of it. So we, I, decided I needed to have the kids with me. I just feel better about it.”

“Dear God…you mean there’s another one besides Don Adams out there?” Olivia was shocked at the news.

“Yes. It seems this one, Joey is his name, was in prison with Don and they were paroled together. We think they came here together only Don is the only one who broke into the house. Shit, isn’t there any end to this nightmare?” Liz was almost in tears again. Olivia patted her hand and wanted to know what she could do to help.

“Well, we feel you should hire some extra help for the house because I’m going to be tied up with teaching for awhile. The kids will make their beds when they get up in the morning because we don’t have to drive into school and they can use the extra time to clean up their rooms and do some chores. I know we’ve never really asked them to do much around the house but I don’t think it will hurt them to learn how to be a little self sufficient, the laundry alone is practically a full time job so you hire however many people you think you’ll need to take care of things while I’m tied up with teaching. Is that alright with you?”

“Of course it’s alright with me but why don’t we wait and see if I can’t handle it alone?”

“No Liv, you do enough around here as it is…just hire someone to pick up the slack okay.”

“Okay Liz…but remember, I offered.”

Liz smiled and her heart warmed…”I’ll remember.” And with that Olivia headed on back to the kitchen to get her hugs from everyone else and started to clean out the refrigerator.

The big week-end had left them with a mountain of leftover food but there was more that would be needed for the week and then Max was about out of pies so it was time to make a call to Connecticut and have some sent out soon. They still got their pies on a regular basis from the grocery store in Farmington and Liz still laughs at Max when they start to get low. He makes it a point to keep track of the inventory in the freezer…there’s one whole section dedicated to his pies and he knows just how many are in there at all times. Some things just never change.

In the meantime Philip had some business over at the court house and stopped in to see his old friend and asked him to keep him abreast of what was going on over at his Max’s home.

Judge Abbott happened to be in his chambers that morning since the docket was very light and Philip spoke with the judges’ secretary and asked if he could have a few words with his honor. She smiled in recognition of Philip and asked him to have a seat while she checked for him…Philip smiled and did as requested. It wasn’t a minute later that the Judges’ office door opened and the Judge followed his secretary out through the door and smiled at Philip.

“It’s good to see you Philip come in and Blanche, please bring in a fresh pot of coffee.”

“Yes sir, I’ll be right in.” And on that note Philip followed John Abbott into his private office and the two men sat on the large leather couch as they had in previous meetings.

“John, I’m here to bring you up to date on the occurrences going on over at Max’s home. It seems there is a police officer, two as a matter of fact, keeping surveillance on Max’s home. We have our own PI watching Officer Bradley, but apparently someone from the PD is watching Bradley as well…now here’s the kicker. There’s another parolee watching the house.”

Judge Abbott sat up a little straighter in his chair at this revelation.

“This just came to our attention over the week-end and we have two hired body guards working as gardeners living on the premises watching over Liz and the children. John, this whole situation is getting ridicuLizs, we need to do something about this and soon. My daughter in law is beside herself and has now pulled the children out of school and is home schooling them because she’s terrified something will happen to them. My son is doing his best to maintain his composure but when it comes to his wife and children these men are walking a very thin line. Max will go the limit where his family is concerned and this concerns me as much as the rest of the situation.”

Judge Abbott sat in silence, a myriad of emotion running across his face as he listened to Philip’s story and when he was finished he just sat and shook his head.

“Philip, we know about the two policemen. Ed Bradley is being watched by the department. They have no idea why he’s watching your son’s home and that is why the other plain clothes man, his partner to be exact, is watching him. Their Chief was totally taken aback when confronted with the information regarding Ed Bradley. And his partner, Carl, told my Bailiff that the Chief has him working on investigating Bradley. They are aware of another parolee but they aren’t sure if Bradley knows about him or not. We are totally aware of what Bradley has been doing but we still don’t know why. He hasn’t filled out any reports on the subject, checked in with any superiors on the subject and Philip, I don’t even want to repeat what we think is going on….” And Judge Abbott trailed off…

“You think it’s a personal thing don’t you? You think he’s stalking my daughter-in-law don’t you?” Philip was being totally upfront with the judge.

“Yes Philip, we do. Bradley’s wife has a restraining order against him for physical abuse. He has had numerous affairs and is allowed visitation rights with his son but must be accompanied by an officer of the law when he picks the boy up. He has never hurt the boy so he is permitted to take him away from the home for four hours at a time. We don’t want to play our hand too soon because, if we’re right, we want to be able to press charges and make them stick. Now, as far as this other parolee is concerned, we were…, I was, not aware of his presence until this morning but if you feel we need more men on this Philip, we can certainly take care of it.” The judge seemed a little edgy to Philip, which was totally out of character for the man.

“Nah John, I think we have enough people hanging around that house as it is. It seems that this parolee, Joe Sabotini, also poses as a doctor and visits Don Adams in his room almost everyday waiting for the man to regain consciousness. I don’t know if you should pick him up or not. There certainly are enough charges on Don Adams to put him away but so far the only thing Sabotini has done is stalk the Evans’ and impersonate a doctor. If we haul his ass in can we get a conviction on something?”

“Philip, if we haul him in don’t you think that will tip off Bradley?”

“You know what John, I think that there’s enough information on Bradley’s actions to at least bring him up on stalking charges which would definitely end his position with the PD and right now I would just like for all of this to go away. Max and Liz don’t need this nor do those five little kids. Christ, JP waves at Sabotini every morning when Liz takes the kids to school.”

“No!!! You’ve got to be kidding, he actually waves at him?

“Yes, he’s only four years old and he didn’t see anything wrong in it. Max and Liz found out this morning. The other four have noticed Bradley sitting there everyday when they come home from school but they didn’t figure anything was wrong either.”

Philip was getting frustrated as hell telling Judge Abbott about all of this.

“Philip, can you hang around here for awhile? I want to get the Chief over here so we can all sit down and discuss our options and formulate a plan.”

“Fine, I’ll just call my office and check in…let them know where I am and tell them to call my cell if they need me.”

“Good. I’ll have Blanche get us some Danish or something. I have a very light calendar today…we can just visit and catch up.”

And so Judge Abbott had his secretary call the Chief and then asked her if she could order some pastries to be delivered from the bakery down the street. Maybe they could resolve some of this before the day was over.

*

OOOOPS!

Good to be back on a regular schedule here. I really missed the RF when it was down, but did enjoy RH while we were waiting.
Matter of fact I go to RH as often as I come here.
Loved the latest on the Evans family.......it must be very tense around that household, and yet Liz and Max try not to scare the children.
They are such good parents.
Thanks for the entertainment Ginger,
Carolyn

Carolyn: I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter....I used to visit the RH quite often and I believe I have all of my stories over there, not sure. I don't have the edited version of this one over there though, maybe after it's finished I'll have Janet undo the first one and just copy this whole thing over....we'll see. Hope all is well in your part of Texas, till next time....

Chapter: 23

Back at the Evans’ home Liz was busy going over the first grade lesson for the day while the girls busied themselves doing arithmetic exercises. JP sat at the end of the table taking in all of the activity going on and was soaking it all up. Liz provided him with some blank notebook paper and a box of number 2 pencils, figuring he would break the lead as readily as not, and the young boy was as quiet as his mother told him he had to be. What Liz didn’t realize was, JP was soaking up all of the information like a little sponge. His numbers were awkward but accurate as was his letters but they were right on the money and the little boy continued to learn.

It took Liz a good 45 minutes to complete the math exercises and then she had the boys copy some problems she had put up on the dry erase board before moving on to the girls English exercises. JP had finished the problems before Liz had even completed her instructions to Parker and Gerard and was ready to listen to what his mother had to say about the English stuff she was going to discuss with the girls. Soon Parker and Gerard were listening to Liz as well and it wasn’t but 2 hours later that mother and children were all finished.

Liz gathered up the papers from the library table and started to correct them when JP got her attention…

“Mom?”

“Yes JP.”

“You didn’t take mine.” And the little one looked so disappointed that Liz didn’t have the heart to tell him that his didn’t count so she held out her hand and JP gave his mother his papers.

“Just give me a minute to look these over JP and then you can go and play…okay?”

And JP looked at his mom with his honey eyes and smiled…

“Okay.”

Liz picked up the first paper that JP handed to her and it was the math exercise, she looked it over and couldn’t believe her eyes…he had completed all of the problems and they were all correct. She then hurriedly grabbed the rest of the papers, and although his little hands needed some practice with his penmanship he was right on the money. Dear God in heaven just what is his IQ she thought. Then she asked…

“JP, what do you learn at preschool when daddy takes you?”

“We learned our numbers and we are up to L in our letters but I help Mrs. Johnson because I can do all of my letters…we learned the “Pledge of Allegiance” and we are learning to read.”

“I see…and just how do you help Mrs. Johnson?”

“Oh, I help the other kids when she’s busy with little John…big John doesn’t need so much help but little John doesn’t catch on so good so she helps him and I help the rest. Dad says it’s good that I can help out and that’s why I don’t have to go to school everyday.”

“I see. Well, honey you got everything right today so maybe tomorrow we will try something new just for you…okay?”

“Sure mommy.” And with that the little one was gone in a flash. She needed to have Max talk with Mrs. Johnson about JP’s progress…maybe he needs to be in first grade…and then she thought ‘no, that won’t be any good…Parker and Gerard might not like the fact that their four year old brother is in the same class as they are. I have to talk to Max. And with that Liz continued to check over the other children’s work before sending it off to school via the fax machine.

*

Meanwhile, back at the courthouse Philip and Judge Abbott waited for the Chief to get there while having coffee and Danish. The two men found they had a lot in common what with older children and grandchildren. They sat and exchanged stories of family and finally the bailiff knocked on the door and showed the Chief in. Blanche had gone to lunch and Dave had seen the Chief when he came into the courthouse so he went over to see how the man was doing. The Chief informed the Bailiff, Dave, that he was here to see Judge Abbott and Dave took him right in. The Judge introduced Philip to Dave, whom he had seen on numerous occasions but had never met formally, and then the Judge asked Dave if he was busy. When he found out the bailiff had nothing to do he was asked to join in on the meeting since he was the one who had contacted the Chief in the first place. Dave informed the judge he would be more than glad to participate.

Judge Abbott began…

“So Chief, it seems as though one of your officers has been ‘stalking’ Mr. Evans daughter-in-law. We are pretty certain of this now but there seems to be a lot of other activity going on over at the Evans home as well. Philip, would you like to share your information with the Chief and then perhaps the Chief would like to share some with us. Maybe we can bring an end to all of this.” It was a little unusual for a judge to be involved in situations of this sort but this was kind of unique and Philip appreciated any and all help.

And so Philip proceeded to tell the Police Chief what his office had discovered regarding the prisoner, Don Adams, as well as his partner in crime. He also informed him of Joey’s visits to the hospital dressed as a doctor and the fact that Officer Bradley served under Don Adams in the marine corp. The Chief was flabbergasted…he knew that Bradley was watching the Evans house but knew nothing of the other players. He was also shocked to find out that the Evans’ knew of Bradley’s activities and just sat there and shook his head.

“Judge Abbott, Mr. Evans…We are trying very hard to build a case against Bradley before pulling him in, that is why Carl is watching him but we had no idea that there was another man involved with the break in at the Evans’ home. Had we known that Mrs. Evans found a listening device we would have acted sooner but I don’t think we would have been able to build a solid case against Bradley at the time. We need to come up with a plan to get this situation taken care of and as soon as possible. The woman must be half out of her mind with worry.”

Then Philip spoke up…

“Well, you would have to know Liz to understand how she’s dealing. She started to home school the kids today because she doesn’t want them out of her sight but I can guarantee, if anyone tries to hurt one of them they’ll not only have to answer to my son but his wife as well and when she gets riled it isn’t pretty. It usually starts with hysterical laughter and then look out. Not many people understand the laughing but it’s what she does when she’s had enough and I think she’s about had enough.” And Philip smiled at the men sitting around the coffee table in the judge’s chambers.

“Well Mr. Evans…” The Chief said..

“Philip, you can call me Philip.”

“Great. Philip I think we have enough information to bring charges against Ed and I believe we can pick this Joey up while we’re at it…I believe we can add stalking to his profile as well.”

And with that all of the men agreed and after shaking hands and wishing each other well they all exited the office and were on their way. Judge Abbott just stood there and shook his head, he needed to get this PS thing taken care of as soon as possible…this wasn’t good at all and he went over to his desk to make a phone call.

When the Chief got outside he decided to give Carl a call to see where he was and Carl told the Chief that he was outside the Evans’ home watching Ed.

“Come on in Carl, we’re going to put an end to this and get that damned device out of the Evans’ home. They know all about it and have PI’s and the FBI working on it. If we don’t take care of this it could be a black mark on the whole damned department. Damn that man and his actions…I had no idea he was like this. None!!!”

“I know Chief. I’ll be there in about 30 minutes…it’s heavy traffic right now.”

“Fair enough, and make sure that dumb ass doesn’t see you.”

“Right you are Chief, In 30.” Carl said as he was turning around in a driveway down the block and heading on out. Steve sat there watching and wondered what the hell was going on now. ‘Oh well, we’ll find out soon enough’ he thought to himself as he continued to man his post.

*

In the meantime Max had come home from work and was talking to Liz in the kitchen when she whispered in his ear to come with her. It was easy to do since Max was nuzzling her neck as he usually did. The kids were all outside helping Smith and Jones rake leaves…they were more like playing in the leaves than raking but they were having fun.

Max followed Liz into the study and Liz showed him JP’s papers from this morning…Max took a look and raised an eyebrow at Liz and shrugged his shoulders.

“Is there something wrong with this?” he asked.

“No Max, there’s not a thing wrong with this…look at the name on the top of the paper.”

Max took a look and couldn’t see what the problem was…”What Liz? What’s wrong?”

“Max, this is Parker and Gerard’s lesson for today, JP was finished with the problems before I even had a chance to explain what I wanted done with them. Max!!! This is not normal.”

“Well it is for JP Liz. I thought you knew he was a little above the rest in the IQ department. Not that the others are slouchers but JP is just a cut above. I’ve known that for a very long time haven’t you?”

“Well yes, but not to this extent. Max, he belongs in first…maybe second grade.” Liz was beside herself.

“No sweetheart, no he doesn’t. We won’t be pushing him to be something he’s not ready for. Let him move his earth around and feel important, let him watch the discovery channel, the history channel and the news. Not very many four year old little boys can do this and understand it. That’s why the adults like him so much…they don’t have to come down to his level to converse, he talks to them on their level Liz. Let him be a little boy…the little boy we all know and love. He’ll get to second grade soon enough and we will put him in accelerated classes but we will never put him out of his age group. He may be extremely intelligent but Liz, he’s only four. Let’s keep him that way.”

“So, you’ve known about this?”

“Yes…some of it. Mrs. Johnson keeps singing his praises and keeps telling me how quickly he catches on to things and what a big help he is to the other kids but I didn’t know he was capable of doing first and third grade work. We’ll just keep this to ourselves. Okay?”

“Okay Max, but if he starts to get bored we’ll have to do something about it.”

“We will Liz…I’ll just have to expand my library. We’ll see to it that he gets kept interested and that he has every chance offered him but he will stay JP.”

“Fine…I was just so shocked when I saw his papers, which by the way he insisted that I grade for him, then I could hardly wait to talk to you. I need to go to the office supply and buy some stars or some rubber stamps or something. They need rewarded.” Liz was on a mission now.

Max smiled and pulled his little wife into a great big hug and kissed the top of her head.

“I knew you’d want to get right in there and do something big for him but we don’t have to Liz. He seems to be doing okay on his own and we will not have an overeducated snob on our hands.”

“You’re right Max…we’ll just keep things as they are. Oh, and we were finished with lessons in about three hours today. I don’t know what takes all day at school but it didn’t take all that long here and that was with two classes.”

Max kissed Liz’s head again and smiled…

“And you only had four little kids to deal with too.”

“Yeah, and they are very smart little kids too!”

And Liz giggled as Max hugged her hard and planted a proper kiss on her mouth.

“Where are they anyway?”

“Oh, they’re all outside raking leaves with Smith and Jones. I think Smith and Jones are ready to haul them all in…I’ve been watching through the back window and as fast as the leaves get raked the five of them take a running leap and fall into them giggling and laughing like they haven’t a care in the world.”

“And they don’t.”

And with that Max took Liz by the hand and headed out to the back yard to help his children have fun. He managed to grab a couple of baseball mitts and some balls on his way. A good game of catch sounded like fun before the sun went down and it was like there wasn’t another thing on earth going on except fun in the Evans’ back yard.

*~*~*

What did Liz expect? JP is her son! She is really smart herself and Max is too. So it is not unheard of that at least bone of her offspring could be a genius. As for the circus outside the house hopefully it will becoming to an end soon.


Helen

I have a niece that home schools her five children. They live in Mississippi, the public schools aren't great and they can't afford private school for all 5. I am amazed at how much the younger ones learn from the older. Little JP is off the chart though.

Maybe we'll have a break in the stalking case.......I feel sorry for the Evans clan living under that cloud.
Hope all is well with you,
Carolyn

Helen: You're so right about JP's genius IQ, of course, staying ahead of his brothers and sisters helps with his intelligence also. But his thought processes are really great...I get a kick out of him (IN real life too ) Let's see how this 3 ring circus is doing today.
Carolyn: I agree, the older kids bring out the best in the younger ones in most cases. I have a friend who home schools her daughter and I admire her tremendously. She has had some surgery on her pituitary gland and is legally blind but she keeps up with her daily routine and does quite well. She is deserving of our admiration for determination and stamina. I'm not so sure I would be that accepting of the many pitfalls she has faced...why don't we just throw a prayer her way. I don't know what made me think of it, home schooling probably, but she is a lovely woman. God bless her and all of us too. On with the show as the saying goes.

***
Chapter: 24

When Carl got back to the station it was about 3:00 p.m. He headed straight into the Chiefs office and closed the door behind him.

“Hey Chief…what’s up?” Carl knew something was in the works but he had to get it first hand before making any assumptions.

“Carl, the Evans’ are totally aware of the listening device and on the advice of their attorney and the FBI they have been told to live with the thing until this is resolved. It seems that is what they have been doing. Mrs. Evans figured it out the first day Ed started watching her. She kept running into him all over town, got suspicious, and started looking around the kitchen since that’s the only place there had been any strangers. She found it on top of her refrigerator and called her lawyer father-in-law immediately. They have armed body guards living on the premises and Mrs. Evans has started home schooling the children. The woman is a nervous wreck over this and I can’t say as I blame her one damned bit. I think we have enough to press charges on Ed and also the extra player, who I found out this afternoon, is one Joseph Sabotini who served in the Connecticut state prison with one Don Adams. It seems they planned this break-in together but Joey, as he’s called by his associates, waited outside of the gated home for his partner and was waylaid by the actions of Mrs. Evans. It seems he has also been visiting the hospital as well, dressing as a doctor and making his way into Don Adams room right past our guard. So, now that we all look like total fools I think it’s time to bring this to an end.” The Chief was on a tirade and it didn’t seem as though it was going to stop anytime soon.

Carl spoke up…

“How soon do you want us to take them down…you know that Ed will be leaving his watch soon to make his rounds at the hospital.” Carl was ready to go back to the Evans home right now but the Chief thought it would be better to have a plan rather than going out there half cocked and losing Joey in the process.

The Chief spoke up…

“Let’s get a team together and we’ll take care of it the first thing in the morning, does that sound like it’s soon enough. Who have we got out there that you trust implicitly?”

“Just about all of them chief. Do you have any reservations about any of them?”

“No, not really…pick three of the best, three that you know will have your back, and bring them in. We’ll need to case the place in order to place Joey and then we’ll just stroll up to him…As for Bradley, put the cuffs on him when he checks in in the morning.”

“Fair enough, I’ll get right on it.” And Carl left the Chiefs office.

*

In the meantime Joey had made his way across town to pay his daily visit to the prison ward at the hospital and after changing clothes in the men’s room he made his way up to the fourth floor. When he got to the nurses station he noticed a lot of activity going on down in Adams room and he figured something big must have happened. He watched as the armed guard came out of the prisoner’s room and headed to the nurses station telephone. He pretended to be reading a chart as the guard placed a call to the local precinct to inform them that the prisoner had regained consciousness and that they should probably send someone down to question him. Joey left the floor immediately and headed for the men’s room. He put the extra pair of scrubs over the pair he was wearing and waited. He needed to work fast if he was going to break Don out of here. The place would be crawling with cops before long.

*

Back at the Evans’ Bradley took off and decided to head on into the office before going to the hospital and besides he needed to catch up with everyone. When he pulled into the parking lot Carl got a glimpse of him and headed back into headquarters and right back up to the Chiefs office.

The minute Bradley walked into the squad room two uniformed police officers approached him…Bradley smiled at the two men but before he knew it he was cuffed and being read his rights. He had no idea what in the hell was going on and the next thing he knew he was in an interrogation room with his partner Carl and the Chief sitting there with him.

“What the hell is going on Carl?” Bradley demanded.

Carl kept quiet and allowed the Chief to take over.

“Ed, you were told to stay away from the Evans house were you not?”

And Ed got very quiet…he knew, all of a sudden he knew. It was all over.

“Yeah, Chief I was.”

“Then what in the hell is a surveillance device doing in their kitchen and why in the hell have you been sitting outside of their home watching every move they’ve made since the break-in. That is stalking Ed and the Evans’ are pressing charges.” Then the Chief read Ed his rights again before continuing, just to make sure that it had been done and done right.

“There will be a hearing tomorrow and you will probably be released on your own recognizance but if you go anywhere near that part of town your life as you know it will be over. You are also suspended pending an investigation by internal affairs at which time we will make a decision regarding your career as a policeman. Do you understand all of this Ed? I’m only asking because I think someone knocked you over the head as well as that Don Adams. I spent the better part of this afternoon with Philip Evans, Attorney at Law, and Judge John Abbott who happens to know Philip Evans, father-in-law to one Liz Evans. Does that name ring a bell?”

“Yeah Chief I understand.” And with that Carl led Ed out of the interrogation room and headed for the lock-up. The Chief just stood there and shook his head. What a damned waste was all he could think at the time.

*

Back at the estate Max and Liz were playing ball with the kids and Smith and Jones even joined in as well as the new body guard assigned to the house, they call him Shorty. He’s not really short but he has short legs so, hence the nick name. Everyone was having a great time when Liz heard the phone in the house. She took off on a dead run and when she finally got to the kitchen she heard the answering machine just as she picked up the phone as it was ready to record.

“Hello…” was her breathless greeting…

“Hello. Is this Mrs. Evans?”

“Yes, it is. May I ask who’s calling?”

“Of course Mrs. Evans. This is the Chief of the Philadelphia Police Department. I wanted to let you know personally that our officer Bradley has been taken into custody pending a hearing tomorrow and should he ever bother you again I want you to personally call me and let me know. I will leave a message with our dispatcher that she should patch you into my office at any time. I am so sorry for your trouble and Mr. Carl Self will be by tomorrow to pick up the surveillance device from you. If you will go and get it I will tell you how to turn it off, but before you pick it up make sure you use a plastic bag of some sort and try not to leave nor erase any fingerprints.” The Chief was doing everything he could to make Liz comfortable with this entire situation and only hoped it was working.

“Fine Chief, but have you done anything about the other lurker out there?” And Liz started walking over to the refrigerator to retrieve the bug.

Not yet Mrs. Evans. We were going to take care of both of the them tomorrow morning but Ed showed up at the office this afternoon and we stopped him right here. So tomorrow we will be coming over with four men to pick up Joseph Sabotini and to get the device. Do you have it yet?”

“Yes, I’ve got it right here. So you are aware of this Joey fellow as well?”

“Yes we are. I sat in on a meeting with your father-in-law this afternoon and we discussed the entire situation. We were aware of Ed Bradley’s actions but we were totally surprised at the introduction of Joey as you call him. He was not on our radar at all but we will pick him up tomorrow. Please keep the children out of the back yard until we tell you it is safe. We don’t expect anything to go wrong but you never know. No matter how well prepared you are there is always the unknown.”

“Yes there is. Now how do I turn this puppy off?”

“Please try not to touch it Mrs. Evans. Make sure to pick it up by the ends, try not to leave any finger prints on it and keep it in the plastic bag.” Then the Chief walked Liz through the process of switching off the listening device and Liz carefully placed the plastic bag she was holding into another plastic sandwich bag and sat it down by the telephone. She was very accustomed to handling sensitive material and when she was sure all was secure she then bid the Chief goodbye and went out and gathered everyone up and told them what had just transpired and that the police would be by in the morning to arrest Joey. Max reached over and gave her a hug and she smiled at him and told him she was going to go in and start dinner. Olivia had put a nice roast in the oven earlier and she was going to finish it up and start setting the table. She then asked Smith and Jones to join them in the house for dinner this evening. She didn’t think there would be any big events taking place outside until morning and the men said that sounded very nice and headed to the pool house to shower.

*~*~*

In the meantime, Joey was keeping a very close eye on the comings and goings from the fourth floor elevator. There weren’t anymore doctors in the corridor and the nurse’s station seemed very quiet…so, when the guard headed to the men’s room Joey made his move and made it into Adams room as fast as he could. He found a tool on the bedside table and quickly un-cuffed Don, stripped out of his spare scrubs and got Don dressed in nothing flat. The green hat covered his bandages and Joey had the man in the elevator and on the first floor in no time flat. By the time the guard got back and took his seat outside of Adams room he was none the wiser that the man was gone.

*~*~*

Why is it when one problem is solved.......another one pops up?
I still can imagine the tension that the Evans clan is enduring.

Hope you are doing well Ginger. It has been 2 weeks since Bob had the hip replacement and his recovery is amazing. Guess after 2 spinal surgeries, this seems very simple.
Take care,
Carolyn

It is good that the bad cop is out of their hair. But I see more trouble coming for them now!




Helen

Carolyn: LOL, you know the old saying, no rest for the wicked. Liz and Max must be wicked....in a pig's eye as the say...not my Max and Liz anyway.
Helen: Welllll, they'll deal with it I'm sure, just like we all do.


Chapter: 25

When Joey got Don out of the hospital and into the old jeep they had purchased in Connecticut Don looked at the man for a while and finally said…

“Who are you?”

Joey looked over at Don in disbelief. The man didn’t even recognize him…what the hell do they do now? Joey just shook his head and then said…

“You can call me Joey, but right now we need to get the hell out of this parking lot before it’s filled up with cops.” And Joey took off like a bat out of hell.

He didn’t know where to go but he figured no one knew where he was staying so he headed for the cheap motel on the outskirts of town that he had called home for the past couple of weeks before he made any major decisions. He needed to get Don some clothes or….he could take his sorry ass back to the hospital and just drop him off at the front door. He didn’t know what the hell to do about any of this, Don was the one with all of the answers, he was the one who was in contact with the brains behind this operation and now Joey was up to his ass in alligators with no way out. As far as Joey knew, nobody knew of his involvement in this plan and the plan was a major FUBAR!

*~*~*

In the meantime a lot of whispering was going on at the Philadelphia PD and a lot of plain clothes detectives were milling around each other trying to figure out what just what was going on.

Carl went into the Chiefs office and stood over the middle aged man’s desk and got his attention.

“Chief. You need to go out there and answer some questions before this thing gets so blown out of proportion that there won’t be any way back.”

The Chief looked up at Carl and then around the large man’s body so he could look through his window. He decided Carl was right. There were at least five small groups of men out there all talking amongst themselves and he supposed that they should at least know something if for no other reason
than to get some work out of them. So Carl walked out of the Chiefs office and the Chief followed him in what seemed like forever to Carl but in reality was only a couple of minutes.

“Attention.” The Chief started. “As you all know by now, Ed Bradley has been taken into custody. It has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that he has been stalking a person and the witnesses to this crime are part of an ongoing investigation of another crime. Therefore he has been taken into custody. As you are all aware, it is a crime that is difficult to prove but we do have proof and he has abused his position as a detective to assist himself in pursuing this person. There is no need for any of you to concern yourselves further with this information and it would be in the best interest of this department if you dropped all discussion of this and got back to work.”

With that the Chief turned his back to his men and headed back to his office. They were all stunned by his announcement and began to break up their small groups and started to take their places at their desks. Almost every one of them, to the man, looked at Carl, who chose to ignore them. They all knew better than to approach Carl for any more information than what had been given because Carl was just not the type to talk about anything that would be detrimental to an investigation, especially one that involved one of their own.

*

Meanwhile, back at the hospital, a night nurse headed into to Don Adams room to check on her patient only to find the room empty. She immediately ran out to the hallway and grabbed the officer on duty and literally pulled him into the room. Both people stood there looking at the empty bed in utter silence and shock…

“What in the???” John Stokowski thought to himself…the Chief is going to blow a gasket and before he got on the phone he tried to remember when he took his last break, it had to have been at least 45 minutes ago…damn!

The dispatcher’s desk was busy as all get out that evening and when she finally took John Stokowski’s call he asked to be patched into the Chief of detectives. And of course the dispatcher had to go through her usual routine. John finally broke all protocol…

“God dammit Julie, get the Chief now, we’ve got an escapee from the hospitol running around loose!”

And Julie promptly connected John to the Chief. By the time John told the Chief what had happened the Chief looked as though he might have a heart attack on the spot. His face was beet red, he was breathing heavily and the only thing he wasn’t doing that he wanted to do was yell. Instead he buzzed Carl and the detective sitting next to him, Dwain Robinson, to come into his office. Both men could hear the urgency in the Chiefs voice and they dropped everything and started to run toward their Chief.

“You two need to get over to the prison ward of the hospital and start an investigation…Don Adams has escaped and I wouldn’t be surprised if that Joe Sabotini didn’t have something to do with it. Take extra surveillance tapes with you and bring back the ones in use. Also, bring Stokowski with you. He was on duty at the time. I’ll call the Evanses. Oh, and send an unmarked over there to keep an eye on them. I know they have their own PI’s there but one more won’t hurt.”

After the two detectives left his office the Chief got back to the phone to call Max and Liz…God, how he hated doing this. He read some of Adams’ file after getting back from his meeting with the Judge and couldn’t believe the amount of grief this man has put this woman through. They really need to put an end to this….

“Hello”…it was Briana who answered the phone in the kitchen while she and Deana were helping to bring dishes in from the dining room.

“Hello. Is this the Evans’ home?” The Chief tried to sound very calm as he spoke to the youngster.

“Yes it is, my mom will be right in. She’s cleaning the stove.” Briana told the Chief, who had to smile at that remark. Imagine that! Was all he could think at the time.

“Good evening, this is Liz.”

“Hello Liz…this is Chief Lewis over at the PD.” The Chief really didn’t want to tell the woman the news he had…

“Hello Chief Lewis, I recognize your voice, is something wrong?” About that time Max came in with a load of dishes and stopped dead in his tracks. He looked at his wife and then set the plates down on the island and went over to her and held her around the waist and waited.

“Yes Mrs. Evans, it seems that Don Adams has escaped from the prison ward at the hospital and we think that Joe Sabotini was responsible for it. I have a crew going over there right now to investigate and I am sending another car to your home for surveillance. The officer will be bringing another listening device with him if that’s alright with you and he will be stationed outside, on the street. I know you have men there with you but it will make us feel better if we have someone there as well.”

Liz stood her ground and managed to remain calm. She still hadn’t relaxed from the first ordeal so, although her body stiffened a little, she managed to answer the Chief coherently…

“I understand. Yes, send the officer over and I’ll let him put his device on the refrigerator. I won’t touch the thing, just as before, but I will not release this other device to anyone but you. You can understand can’t you? I’m beginning to lose just a little bit of faith in our ‘protectors’ if you know what I mean.” She was starting to lose it a little and Max, who had no idea what was happening, decided to just let her handle it. Maybe the fact that she knew she had to stay calm might help her to do so.

“Fine Mrs. Evans, and please believe me, if I had known that any of this was going on before talking to your father-in-law none of this would have taken place.” The Chief didn’t know what else to say to the woman and Liz simply answered,

“Mmm Hmm.” And hung up on the man.

The Chief just sat there and looked at the dead receiver in his hand and couldn’t believe it…’oh well, I guess we’re finished’ he thought to himself. And then he grinned, he had to meet this woman and he made up his mind to go over with the detectives in the morning and introduce himself.

“What’s going on Liz?” Max asked with concern in his voice.

“Don escaped and they think this Joey had something to do with it. They’re sending a plain clothes officer to sit outside again and they are bringing another listening device to the house. They want to keep this one as evidence against Ed Bradley…shit Max, shit shit shit!!!”

And Max took hold of his little wife and held her for quite awhile before going into the living room to talk to all of the body guards and to inform them that the danger was back double. They all looked at the man and nodded and JP stood up and started for the stairway.

“Where are you going JP, don’t you want to know why?”

“No Dad, I need my big boots.” And the tyke was trudging up the steps as he spoke. Max watched his son go and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry so he rubbed the back of his head instead. Bless his little heart, Liz was right…they knew danger, no doubt about it.

“What’s he doing?” Jonesy asked.

“Oh, when Don Adams broke in and had him in his clutches Liz told him to kick him and run. JP did just that but when it was all over he insisted that he get a pair of big boots…better for kickin’. Those were his exact words. He’s upset and frightened but his boots will make him feel better. We may have to put a cast iron skillet by his bed but if that’s what he needs then that’s what he’ll get.” And Max smiled at the P.I. as he told him the story.

Jonesy and the other two men just looked at each other.

“Max, do you want us to stay in the house tonight and take shifts?” Max looked at the three men in his living room and smiled.

“You guys are going to have to take care of this because I know nothing about this type of thing. I’m going to try and do some maintenance work on my children to make them feel safe in their own home and then I’m going to get my wife to settle down even if it takes a bottle of gin to do it. I know she seems in control on the outside but should you see her start to laugh hysterically please come and get me. That means she’s headed for a meltdown and once she starts crying it’s all over. She is liable to do anything.”

All three men looked at Max and then they understood why he carried her away from the bar-b-que the other day.

And so the three bodyguards all headed to the pool house to discuss shifts and strategy. Jones suggested they call Jesse and get two more men on the perimeter. This was going to take 24 hour surveillance and they didn’t have much confidence in the PD so call Jesse is what they did.

After that phone call Jesse contacted Philip and brought him up to speed as well and soon as you could call in the troops they were there. Not just two but four more men were at the Evans’ home and Liz put two of them up in spare bedrooms while one got the attic and another the hide-a-bed in the basement media room. She only hoped they caught up with the two running loose in the city before anyone got hurt. Max sat a bucket of baseballs outside the upstairs balcony off of his and Liz’s room. The P.I.’s had their weapons but a 90 mph baseball didn’t feel so good either and then there was always that cast iron skillet on the stove. He had to convince himself that they were safe otherwise he would lose his mind…he not only had Liz to worry about but he had five little ones as well and this was not an easy thing to do for him. He really didn’t want to hurt anybody but if he had to he would take them down, no doubt about it. And so he and Liz headed on up the stairs as they left the body guards to their jobs. Smith was going to take the first shift on the enclosed patio, which gave him a very good view of the entire back yard. One of the new men was in the corner on the front porch sitting in the shadows and the third was sitting in the kitchen quietly surveying the back entrance of the house and all was quiet.

JP had his kicking boots on his little feet when Max and Liz went in to check on him. He was all curled up, sound asleep, feeling safe in his boots. Liz gave a wistful smile to Max and he grabbed her into him and whispered, “This is going to be alright Liz…I swear it.” And she stifled a moan and went to their room to cry silently.

*

And across town, in a cheap motel, one Joey Sabotini didn’t know what to do with the man sitting there in front of him who didn’t know who he was or anything about himself. Joey had a big decision to make and right now he felt like his only option was to just drive off and leave the man sitting there. He had to think!

*~*~*