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

[mary mary]

Banner by me:

Title: Meet the Evans’ Clan

Category: AU Mature M/L

Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with “Roswell” nor its’ constituents. I have borrowed the names of the characters simply because I like them.

Summary: Liz and Max have been married for quite some time now and have two sets of twins, the older are girls, Deana and Briana, who are the image of their mother. Next are two boys who have Max and Liz’s genes, Parker and Gerard. Then the baby of the group, Jeffery Philip, JP for short, who is the image of his daddy and little Claudia comes much later. This is where our story continues…And it’s mostly very fluffy!

Author: Ginger


A/N: This story picks up where “Lyin’ Eyes” left off so if you need some background on anything that is mentioned you can check it out with that story. I’ll try to summarize but I might forget to insert pertinent information.

*~*~*

Doctor Elizabeth (Liz) Parker Evans is a renowned micro biologist researcher turned mother and home maker and loves every minute of her job. She devotes a few hours each week to a Children’s Facility for mentally challenged children that she and her husband own and run together. Max Evans, Liz’s husband, is a famous retired baseball player and Doctor of psychology. Liz was first married to a Don Adams & that marriage had been annulled prior to marrying Max. Don had been married at the time he married Liz and then took a contract out on Liz’s life in order to inherit her estate…he was also having an affair with a Tess Harding at the same time. Tess wanted Liz safely married so she could have Max and felt the only way Max would ever come to her was if Liz was out of the picture…it was a mess…anyway that’s some background for you. It’s all in “Lyin’ Eyes” if you’re interested. It is fluffy, as is this one.

***

Chapter: 1

Liz groaned as the alarm buzzed on the night stand situated next to her ear…”Oh God, already?” she thought to herself. She felt as though she had never gotten to bed and here it was time to get up. As the sun shone in on her from the balcony off the bedroom Jack bounced up from his doggie bed next to Max’s side and looked at her with those big black eyes of his. He almost looked like he was smiling at her and, if the truth be known, he probably was.

“Okay boy…go on down and I’ll be right there.” She said to the big black lab whose tail was wagging so hard against the wall that it sounded like it was beating out a rhythm on a tom-tom.

Jack is a three year old black Labrador retriever, weighing in at well over 100 pounds, that Max had brought home as a foundling that was wondering around the baseball practice field when he was just a small puppy with feet so big he actually tripped over them when he tried to run. Jack was one of the best friends the kids had…why he chose to be her friend at 6:00 a.m. every morning was beyond her…why not pick one of the kids? Especially the last couple of weeks…God was she tired, she would surely be glad when Max got home.

So off she went, grabbing her robe from the corner of the bed and slipping her feet into her slippers. She padded on down the stairs and headed for the back door and opened it for the big black lump of friendship to go out and take care of his business and while she waited for the dog she headed to the downstairs bathroom off the laundry room and took advantage of its’ facilities. She grabbed her toothbrush that she kept in the medicine cabinet and gave her teeth a good going over while she was there. She knew it would take the dog time to sniff and mark his territory throughout the back yard so she wasn’t in any big hurry. He was the sweetest animal she thought she had ever seen but at 6:00 a.m. she wasn’t so sure about liking any animal human or otherwise.

She leaned against the wall next to the back door waiting with her eyes closed and
after awhile she heard some scratching…she knew it was time to let the beast in and give him some fresh water so he could just go out again in a few more hours and then she headed on up the back stairs to start getting the rest of the family up and ready for the day.

As she passed Max’s and her room she saw him… there he was, right up on the bed with his head on the pillow and the minute he saw Liz he started pounding his tail again, against the bed covers this time, he had managed to go up the front stair case and get there ahead of her. She couldn’t understand it? How could a dog this obedient not stay off the bed? Why that dog had to take Max’s spot on the bed in his absence was beyond her ability to reason.

Max had told her once, with a twinkle in his eye,

“Ah Liz, he’s just protecting you.” And Liz snorted indignantly as she stripped the bed again after having booted the dog off of it.

“Protecting me my ass, he’s a big baby that’s what he is! He just wants protection for himself, that’s what he wants.” And Max just laughed at her and kissed her on the tip of her nose,

”Now sweet, it’s only a pillow…let him enjoy.”

And of course she did, let him enjoy... She once suggested that they let him have one of the guest rooms with his own big bed and Max informed her that Jack was a sociable dog and needed to be among people. So he slept next to their bed right where he wanted to and she loved him, of that she was certain. She did insist that he be put out of the room during intimate times though…she just couldn’t deal with those big black eyes watching her and Max like they were the stars in some porn movie, it was just plain creepy is what it was. So Max obliged her and put the dog out of the room when they were in a romantic mood.

*

After Liz shooed the dog off the bed and got herself dressed and her hair brushed she headed for Parker and Gerard’s rooms, the six year old twins, to arouse their sleepy heads to get ready for school and then off to Briana and Deana’s rooms, the eight year olds, to get them started as well. After making sure those four were up and about she headed for four year old JP’s room, her baby, and she stood in the door watching a little miniature Max breathe in and out in a steady rhythm. If there was ever a clone born it was JP. The red hair long gone and the little body so perfectly sculpted was a sight to behold. Even his ears… no matter how hard Liz tried by keeping little stocking caps and hats on his tiny head to keep those ears tucked in they still insisted on protruding way beyond the norm of ears but that’s okay because he was one of the handsomest little boys on earth. She smiled as she went to his closet to retrieve some jeans and a shirt and headed over to his dresser to get him some clean underwear and socks. JP recently decided that he preferred showers to his mother bathing him but Liz still oversaw the daily ritual…sometime he came out of the shower with dry hair which told her that he was not doing a very good job of taking care of himself. So now that she had everything they needed, she simply went over to his bed, pulled the covers back and reached in and started tickling the youngster around his little ribs. He scooted farther under his pillow so that all that was visible was his ninja pj’s and some bare skin around his little waist but his mother’s quick fingers beat him to his destiny as they did every morning and he rolled over and gave her a sly grin just like his daddy did when he was home. Max was at the baseball camp this week so Liz was on her own. This only happened once in awhile and the camp was such a worthy cause that neither Liz nor Max begrudged the needy children the time that he was taken away from them.

“C’mon JP, into the shower baby…mommy has to start breakfast and pack lunches then when we get back from school you can help me make some beds and get things ready for when daddy comes home.”

“When’s dad coming home?” JP asked his mom through his sleep hazed state.

“Sometime this evening sweetie, so let’s get busy. Maybe we can bake him some of his favorite cookies.

“Okay, can we bake some with Hershey’s kisses too?”

“Sure we can…we’ll just stop at the market on our way home and get some. Does that sound good?”

“Yeah…can we do that before we make beds?”

“No…we can do that after we make beds now get in the shower and make sure you wash all over or we’ll have to do the bathtub…okay?”

“Okay mom, but don’t look.” Liz stifled a giggle…

“I won’t look JP but you need to hurry.”

“Okay…and mom, I know how to tie my shoes so you can go now.”

“I’ll be right down stairs JP so if you need any help just holler okay.”

“Okay. Is Liv coming today?”

“No, Liv is still on vacation. She’s visiting her daughter remember. She’ll be back next week.”

“Okay.” And with that JP was in his bathroom turning on the shower, he really liked Liv and when she was here he didn’t have to make beds…

“And JP, don’t forget to brush your teeth.” Liz added

“I won’t mom, bye.” And Liz left JP to his shower with a twinkle in her eye and giggled again as she headed for the stairway shaking her head.

Olivia had been with Max when Liz first came to Philadelphia so many years ago and Liz just couldn’t bring herself to move from the large estate and not take her with them. She was one of Liz’s dearest friends besides being her housekeeper. Olivia was also in charge of all hiring and firing of domestic help in Max and Liz’s home but Liz did make sure that her duties were not too strenuous since Olivia was getting up in years. She mostly was the overseer of the domestic duties and Liz dearly loved her.

As she passed Briana’s room the eight year old beauty asked her mom if she would braid her hair for her and Liz said sure as long as she helped pack lunches.

“Sure mom…” So Liz stepped into the youngsters room and grabbed a comb and brush and asked…

“What do you want Bree?”

“May I have a French braid down my back?”

“Whatever makes you happy ‘light of my life’.” Liz answered with a grin.

“No! Mom! I’m the air that you breathe Dee Dee is the light of your life!” And Liz really had to stifle a laugh…

“Sorry baby I forgot!”

“And Mom! JP is baby.” Briana was almost in a snit with her mother…

“Wrong sweetheart, all of you are my babies and don’t you forget it. But I will try to do better on the air that I breathe.” Now Briana was giggling along with her mother.

Soon the hair was braided and Gerard was standing in Bree’s doorway asking Liz where his favorite tee shirt was and Liz was looking at him like he had a hole in his head.

“What do you mean ‘your favorite tee shirt? I didn’t know you had a favorite tee shirt.” Liz looked at him quizzically.

Then Bree popped up with… “Oh he didn’t until Marlene told him she thought it looked good with his eyes.” And Bree gave her little brother a sneaky look before returning her attention to her mother.


With that Gerard threw a pillow at his eight year old sister and Liz stood there dumbfounded…he was six years old for God’s sake and now he had a favorite tee shirt because some Marlene told him he looked good in it. What in the …

“Gerard, who’s Marlene and which shirt does she like?”

“It’s okay mom, I’ll find a shirt.” And the young boy turned and gave his sister a dirty look and stomped off to his room.

Liz looked at Bree with questioning eyes and Bree just grinned at her mother…”she’s a new girl at school. She’s in his class and I don’t think she knows there are two of them yet…let’s see how she does with that.”

They’re just too far advanced for their ages Liz thought to herself and headed back out the door when Deana grabbed her and wanted to know if she would curl her hair…What in the hell has gotten into these kids today she thought to herself…

“Yes, but you have to help with breakfast.”

“Okay mom….not a lot of curls, just some waves okay.”

“Okay. Hey, this new girl Marlene does she have a brother?” And Deana looked up into the mirror and met her mother’s eyes and grinned…’busted’ she thought.

“Yeah, why?”

“Just wondered, there wouldn’t be more than one brother would there?”

…Liz was hoping there was.

“Yeah, they’re twins, like us.”

“Oh, that’s interesting.” Liz thought ‘I wonder how this is going to play out’. And with that she completed the wavy hair request and tried to get downstairs before someone else needed something that she hadn’t planned for this morning.

In the kitchen Liz had Deana setting the table and Briana was gathering up four bags, four apples, four packages of cookies and four snack packs while she made four sandwiches. JP was still busy trying to get his shoes tied and Gerard was digging through folded tee shirts looking for his ‘favorite’,

“Don’t you mess up that folded laundry young man.” Liz shouted and about that time Parker showed up in the kitchen in his dress slacks and a button down shirt …’he’s six for God’s sake’ Liz thought to herself and then she noticed he had combed his hair back like his dads.

“Let me guess…Marlene is a twin.” She said , looking at Parker.

“Yeah mom, how’d you know?”

“Just a guess.” Liz said. Six and eight years old…good gawd!!! What’s it going to be like in 10 years?

*~*~*

Meanwhile back in Connecticut Chief of detectives, Kyle Valenti, was reading over the released prisoner spread sheet when he came across Don Adams name. “Paroled for good behavior”. How in the hell can that be Kyle thought to himself? The man was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, bigamy and intent to inflict bodily harm. This is not right…there has to be some mistake. He immediately got on the phone and called his wife.

“Tess, Don Adams has been paroled. That damned new governor decided to release model prisoners regardless of their crimes in order to cut back expenses. This is insane. Watch the boys and call Liz.”

“Oh My God Kyle… as you said…the man’s insane, who knows what he’ll do. Should I go get the boys out of preschool or what…Oh God, poor Liz, if he heads to Philadelphia God knows what he’ll do. I’ll call her right away. And Kyle, be careful, he’s not too happy with you either. You know he blames all of us for his problems. It’s too bad Liz couldn’t find a medical reason for his insanity. I’ll call you later, be careful and I love you.”

“I love you too Tess and leave the boys in school. I’ll send a plain clothes man over there and have him stay until we feel safe. You be careful too okay?”

“Sure Kyle, I will. Bye.?”

“Goodbye.” And Kyle hung up.

*~*~*

Liz had just pulled out of her driveway with all of the kids in tow after putting Jack out in the back yard and headed to school when the phone in the study started ringing. It finally went to voice mail and Tess was beside herself…

“Liz, it’s Tess. Call me as soon as you get this message, Don Adams has been paroled and we all know he’s nuts so watch your back. Kyle has a plain clothes man watching the boys but I think you need to do something as well. Call me.” Tess was shaking all over, Liz wound up being her best friend after all of the crap she had put her and Max through and she didn’t want anything happening to her. It’s because of her I can function in a normal world Tess thought to herself. God, don’t let anything happen to her or those kids.

*~*~*[

[mary mary]

Notyourchick: thank you
Earth2Mama: I think, by the time we're through this mess everyone will be looking out for Liz's back!
Keepsmiling: Thank you 2X...I'm still working on it but figured if I posted it I might get inspired to keep working .
Dawn: So nice to hear from you ... thank you.
Eve: Dear friend...so looking forward to your feed back and thank you.

Chapter: 2

As Liz pulled out of the driveway and onto the main highway she didn’t notice the strange man running through the gates as they closed behind her and another watching vigilantly from behind the shrubs lining the brick wall.
*
After dropping the kids off at school Liz headed to the supermarket to get the supplies she needed to make M & M cookies and Hershey kisses to make JP’s favorite and then they headed on home. She parked the SUV in the garage and retrieved her purchases and her son from the vehicle and headed to the back door when she thought she saw a figure through the window. She grabbed JP’s hand and looked harder and slowly evaluated the situation and then decided everything looked clear so she headed into the house. She went straight to the kitchen to put the candy in the pantry and when she turned around she saw a vaguely familiar pair of shoulders leaning over her four year old son. She thought for a minute and then said….

“Don?”

And the man looked up from his bent over position while holding onto her son by his little shoulders. Liz was terrified but she knew she couldn’t let JP see how terrified she was, she could overcome any fear if it meant getting JP to safety. She reached into her coat pocket and fingered the keyboard of her cell phone while never breaking eye contact with the man that almost got away with taking her life. She dialed 911 and only hoped that she could distract this person while the operator on the other end realized there was an emergency.

“Liz. I see you’ve done well for yourself considering you were the frump of the neighborhood.” The man scowled in disgust at his former wife.

Liz continued to keep eye contact with the man and brought her hands to the front of her body and without moving another muscle she signed to her son with her fingers…”Stand still.”

JP looked up at his mother and smiled, he knew what she meant and did as she said and waited. ‘who is this man?’ the little boy thought to himself.

“What do you want Don? Why are you here? You have no business in my home, when did you get out of prison?” Liz was doing her damnedest to stay calm, she knew if she remained calm that JP would also.

The dispatcher on the other end of the phone finally figured out that the person on the other end of the line was in trouble and couldn’t speak so she put a trace on the call. She soon discovered that it was coming from Max Evans home and she immediately patched the call over to the lead investigator in the Philadelphia PD who in turn listened to the conversation taking place at the Evans residence.

“I don’t know what I want yet but you are definitely going to pay for sending me to prison…I don’t know how yet but you’re going to pay Liz.” The man’s voice was agitated and his eyes became glassy as he spoke.

Liz looked at JP and back up to the man’s face in a split second. JP seemed quite relaxed with all of this so Liz signed again…’stand still.’

Don noticed Liz’s fingers moving but he thought it was all nerves and Liz continued to keep an eye on him. She was frantic with worry…he could snap JP’s neck in a split second and she was sure he had learned a few new tricks in prison as well.

“Well Don, as I recall I had nothing to do with you planning my murder, I think you did all of that by yourself. I didn’t ask to be murdered, I did nothing to cause you to want me to be murdered and I didn’t try to hire a hit man. You did all of this on your own Mr. Adams so what makes you think it was my fault? Answer me that?” Liz was doing her best to keep Don’s attention away from her son.

About that time she could hear sirens in the background and only hoped that the PD wasn’t coming here with lights and sirens blazing but it was time to make a move. She signed JP again. Thank God she hadn’t set the alarm on the front gates.

‘Kick him and run.’

JP’s eyes got really big and he signed back…”NO”

Liz was very near hysteria now and her only aim was to protect her son…

“YES! Kick and run.” And she chanced another look at her son who saw the cast iron skillet on the stove next to his mothers right hand. It was still there from breakfast and the sirens were getting closer.

Don looked out the window and Liz shouted “NOW” and JP kicked Don as hard as he could and Don let loose of the child for a split second and JP was gone in a flash. Liz grabbed the skillet and smacked that man just as hard as she could right across the top of his head, his knees buckled, he landed on the floor all limp and the blood started to squirt everywhere and Liz just stood there shaking. She kicked the kitchen throw rug that was in front of the sink over the prone body and took the cell phone out of her jacket pocket and said…

“Hello.” In a hysterical voice.

The dispatcher on the other end asked…

“Is this Mrs. Evans?”

“Yes.”

“The police are on their way are you alright?”

“I am now…and who in the hell told those idiots to come with lights and sirens blazing? They damned near got my son killed.” Liz was a raving lunatic. She had to vent at someone and the poor dispatcher was taking the brunt of it all.

“I’m sorry Mrs. Evans, they weren’t supposed to do that. Are you sure that the police came to your home that way.”

“No!!! They aren’t here yet, so I don’t know how they’re arriving.” Liz was running her hand through her hair as she spoke. “I’m sorry for yelling at you but there are sirens outside.” Liz felt awful for ranting the way she did.

“That’s alright, is this Mr. Adams still there?”

“Yes, I cold cocked him with a cast iron skillet. I may have killed him…I don’t know. I told my four year old son to kick him and then run. I need to go find him.”

“ I didn’t hear any conversation between you and a child….”

“We used sign language, baby sign language. We taught all of our children to sign, it’s something we’ve done since they were babies. You would be amazed at what babies are capable of learning and signing makes life so much easier on the entire family.” Liz was rambling and she knew it but she couldn’t help it, she was dancing from one foot to the other as she spoke to the person on the other end of the line. “That’s neither here nor there, when do you think the police will be here?” The words just kept rolling off her tongue.

“I see, soon Mrs. Evans…” And about that time Liz heard a noise outside the door and went and opened it for the police who were, as the dispatcher said, being very quiet. The officer looked at Liz, the phone in one hand and the skillet in the other and knew what had happened without even asking. He took one look at the body laying on the kitchen floor and called for an ambulance immediately and then Liz handed him the skillet that was dripping bacon grease and blood all over the place. The officer took a towel from the counter and gingerly accepted the skillet from Liz who then told the dispatcher that her crew was here and she was going up to the attic to get her son. The officer looked at the petite brunette and said…

“There’s a child here?”

“Yes.” Liz said. “He was holding him hostage.” And she pointed to the body on the floor, her face was ashen and she was shaking from head to foot.

“We didn’t hear a child’s voice on the speaker…” The officer said in a very calming tone, he could tell the woman was ready to collapse.

“I’ll tell you in just a minute.” And with that she handed her phone to the officer and headed up the stairs taking two at a time and when she returned she was holding a small boy so tightly that it looked like she might break him in two and the officer had to tell her to lighten up a little. She looked at JP’s little body and she placed him down in front of her and hugged him for dear life. The officer was just finished with his conversation to the 911 operator and placed the phone on the kitchen counter.

JP looked at his mom and smiled and signed “thanks.”

Liz smiled back and signed “You’re welcome.” And the policeman understood the silent communication between mother and child.

“Does that answer your question?” Liz asked.

“Yes ma’am. We’re sorry, we didn’t know he was deaf.”

*

Meanwhile, in the Phoenix, Arizona airport a frantic Max Evans was trying to charter a plane to Philadelphia airport. The man was so worked up with terror that he could hardly speak…there had never been a time in his life when he was this terrified, not even when Don Adams had a contract out on Liz.

*

And back at the Evans estate a calm detective listened to a near frantic Liz Evans:

“Oh, he isn’t deaf…all of our children have been taught to sign since infancy. It’s easier to communicate with a baby when they can sign until they know how to talk. But I never thought it would come in handy for something like this. I told him to kick Don and then run. And so he did. That’s when I grabbed the frying pan and let Don have it I only wish I could have hit the asshole that set him free instead.”

And the officer turned his back and smiled as he pretended to survey the situation, he didn’t want the near hysterical woman getting angry with him. He had read about the feisty young doctor who had married Philly’s star baseball player and it seems the stories were true.

Soon the ambulance arrived and when the paramedics uncovered the perpetrator’s head the investigating detective got a shocked look on his face…it was his sergeant from the marine corps. What in the hell was going on here he thought to himself as the paramedics loaded Don Adams onto the gurney and wheeled his limp body out of the Evans household. It looked like Liz had done a very good job of bringing the man down. He had a slight pulse and that was about all. He definitely had a fractured skull and he was still bleeding when they wheeled him out. Liz didn’t care if the asshole was dead. How dare he come into her home and take her child hostage, she would have none of it and they could do with her as they wished but JP was safe and that was all that mattered.

After they removed Don from the house Liz sent JP to the family room to watch cartoons while she spoke with the policeman and gave her statement and then the officer asked her if he could talk to JP and she said of course. She told the officer that she didn’t want JP to know what her relationship was to this Don Adams otherwise he would have been there throughout her statement. The officer understood and so Liz went and got JP and brought him back to the dining room where he sat and talked to the officer in charge while his mother sat and took it all in. JP conducted himself like a perfect little gentleman and Liz just sat back and allowed her son to speak without a single word from her. She was so proud of him and then the officer told JP what a big boy he was and JP smiled up at him with that crooked little grin of his father’s and said…

“I can tie my own shoes too, see?”

“I see that. You really are a big boy and thank you for your help JP.”

“You’re welcome. Mom and I are going to bake cookies for daddy this morning would you like some?”

The officer looked at Liz and smiled and told JP that he had to go home and see his own little boy but maybe someday they could have some milk and cookies together with his little boy.”

JP smiled and said…

“That will be nice, I’ll bring my dad with me okay?”

“Okay JP and take good care of your mom.”

“I will. Are you going to keep mom’s skillet? She really likes that skillet, she uses it to fry bacon in.”

“Well, JP, I think we need it for a little while but I’ll bring it back when we’re finished with it, is that okay.”

“Sure, but I’ll have to tell dad you have it though. He won’t care, maybe he’ll buy mom a new one.”

“I’m sure he will JP. I’ll see you around okay.”

“You can keep the skillet.” Liz said with a frown…

And the officer smiled at the little boy and nodded his head to Liz and found his way out as Liz did what she had been wanting to do for two hours…she grabbed her son up on her lap and hugged him for dear life. The officer looked into the dining room as he dropped something on top of the refrigerator and closed the door and smiled. This woman was terrified but you would never know it to look at her. She was very good at hiding her emotions he thought to himself as he headed down the driveway, what a woman, I wonder what the story is behind her and the sarge.? I need to check that out and as he walked out to the driveway another pair of eyes was watching very closely to what was going on inside those gates.

*~*~*

After Liz had cleaned up most of the mess in the kitchen and she and JP had baked cookies she went to her study to call Max. That’s when she saw the flashing signal for a message. She listened to Tess and called her immediately.

She filled Tess in on what had happened this morning and told her to have Kyle call off the plain clothes man. She had bashed Don’s head in with a cast iron skillet which was now on it’s way to the Philly Police department and Tess breathed a sigh of relief.

“When are you going to come to Connecticut for a visit Liz? I miss you.”

“God Tess, I don’t know. It’s really hectic with 5 kids…what one doesn’t think of the other does. And now, listen to this, two new sets of twins just started school with the four older ones this week. I’ve got two 8 year old girls needing fancy hairdo’s this morning, one boy wearing his dress clothes to school while the other is looking through laundry baskets for his favorite shirt. They’re six years old for God’s sake.”

Tess was in hysterics by the time Liz got finished with her tale of woe and then she started in on hers. There were only two, five and three year olds, and the two women talked for almost two hours. By the time Liz hung up she felt like a new person…she really needed that talk. She decided to wait until Max came home to tell him about the morning’s events but as she headed upstairs she heard the front door slam. Uh Oh, someone already told him…she could tell.

And as all of this was going on inside the house someone was still standing on the outside of the gate, hidden, taking in all of the action and wondering what his next move should be, he needed to find out where the cops took Don…that was his number one priority.

*~*~*

[mary mary]

Earth2Mama: It does sound like it doesn't it...and yes, baby sign is great as long as you don't introduce the baby to some rowdy cousins too soon. They have a tendency to destroy all the hard work of keeping quiet a way of life.
Dreambeliever: Yes he is.
Eve: Yes, kids tend to be very quick to poke fun until danger faces them. I hope I answer all of your questions as the story unfolds...let me know if don't.
Carolyn: I hope you never have to use your skillet for anything besides a frying pan...never!
Zaneri1: I''m afraid JP is one of my favorites too. It's very difficult to give the other kids equal time when he's in the picture but I'll try. As you might have guessed he's someone I know pretty well.

Chapter: 3


“LIZ!!! Where are you?” A frantic Max Evans yelled as he entered the house.

JP came running into the entry way and ran right into his daddy’s waiting arms and then he told his dad that mom ‘killed’ some man with the skillet. Max clutched his son closer to him and he almost passed out. He went weak in the knees and backed up and stood against the front door for support. Oh.Dear.God! was all he could think…

About that time Liz came into the hallway and saw the terrified look on Max’s face and she almost passed out.

“Max? What’s wrong?” She was near frantic now…

“Did you kill him? Did you kill Don Adams?”

“My God no, I bashed his head in but he’ll probably live…maybe???” Her voice trailed up as she said anxiously and then she really took a good look at her husband and then at a grinning son…

By this time she didn’t care one way or the other about Don Adams, she knew she should and she knew she would but right now the only thing that mattered was her son was safe and her husband needed to calm down or he’d have a coronary on the spot.

“Max, I don’t know what you’ve been told and I will tell you what happened but not right now. I have had one hellacious morning and I don’t want to talk about it anymore. And JP, mommy did not kill that man. I knocked him out. He will be fine… he is not dead.” Liz was pretty close to hysteria herself and JP wasn’t helping the situation.

“Well, he looked dead and you kicked the kitchen rug over him to hide the blood that was squirting all over.”

Liz narrowed her brow and looked at her son…

“JP did you run like I told you to do?”

“Well, yeah, sort of.”

“What do you mean, sort of ? How did you know I kicked the rug over him?”

“Well, I watched what you did first and then I went to the attic.”

“Oh God…” She practically wailed, she didn’t want JP to see that. “Well you know what I did wasn’t a very nice thing to do don’t you?” She really was sorry he saw that.

“Well, what that man said he was going to do wasn’t very nice either.” JP countered indignantly…well as indignant as a four year old could anyway.

“What do you mean what he said? What did he say to you?”

“He said he would hurt you if I didn’t stand still, and then you told me to stand still so I did what you said. I was glad you told me to kick him, he deserved it.” And JP hugged his Daddy harder.

“JP, you know it’s not nice to hurt people don’t you?”

“Yeah, I know, but I wanted to hurt him before he hurt you. I’m sorry mommy, I promise I won’t kick anyone unless you tell me to.” He promised as he nuzzled Max’s shoulder.

“Thank you JP, that’s a good rule.” And Liz just stood there looking at her husband holding her son and she rubbed her forehead in frustration…will this nightmare ever end?

Max just stood there and watched his wife and son go over this morning’s events and decided that he wasn’t ready to hear the rest of the story any more than Liz was ready to tell it.

“Oh, and dad! I’m going to have milk and cookies with that cop and his son and you’re invited too!” JP seemed really excited about that happening.

Max smiled down at his youngest child and his chest tightened up just a bit. To think that he could have lost both of them this morning was more than he cared to think about. He reached over and pulled his wife into the folds of his other arm, bent down and kissed the top of her head and held the two of them to him until he thought he would lose his mind or until he was sure he wouldn’t. He was so close to tears that he wanted to scream. Liz knew exactly how he felt because she was having the same feelings herself and she stayed there with the two of them until Max released her.

JP just laid his head on his daddy’s shoulder and hugged him back. It was good to have his daddy back, he felt safe now. Mommy was brave but daddy was strong. They really needed to get mommy another big skillet, he felt better with a big skillet.

“Daddy, can we go shopping?”

Max and Liz both looked at their young son questioningly…

“Sure JP, what do you need?” JP breathed a big sigh and said…

“Mom needs a new skillet to set on the stove. We need to keep the skillet on the stove forever.” Max looked at Liz and they both knew what JP needed…he needed to feel safe and the skillet was the answer.

“Get your jackets Liz, we’re going shopping.” And so the three of them headed to the mall to buy a skillet before picking up the other four children at school.

*

Don Adams was now in the prison ward of the hospital with a guard stationed outside his door and was still comatose but he was in a deep dream.

He was in the exercise yard talking to one of his cell mates as they usually did everyday during their one hour break and Joey was listening to the man go on about the frump who put him in here. Neither one of the men took into consideration that they had put themselves in this position in the first place…it was all someone else’s fault of course.

“You know Joey, if I ever get out of here I’m going to see to it that she pays.”

“Yeah man, I hear ya…You say she’s some kind of doctor?”

“Yeah, she’s married to that baseball player, Max Evans. They live in Philadelphia. Her and that blond bitch both need taken down.”

“Who’s the blond again?”

“She’s the one that talked me into marrying the frump…wanted Max Evans and for some reason she thought Liz was stopping her from getting him. She was as Looney as they come. And then they found out about the wife and kids in California and that didn’t help any…that bitch just up and left with the kids and I never saw her again but she did send a signed deposition that we were married, hell I thought she divorced me years ago. Said she couldn’t afford to get a divorce; accused me of all kind of shit. I never laid a hand on those kids, never…and the only time she got it was when she deserved it. She never could understand an order when it was given!”

“Boy, it sounds like the whole bunch of them is nuts.”

“Yeah, they were, you know, if we get out of here on the new program the governor has going maybe we could get together and find a way to get some money out of the Evans dude. I’ll bet he’d pay plenty for one of his kids or his wife even, what do you think?”

“Maybe you’re right dude…we can work on that and see what happens.”

And Don Adams continued to sleep and dream….

*


On their way to the mall Liz decided to lighten the load on Max’s shoulders and proceeded to tell him about the new kids at school and Max looked at Liz like she’d lost her mind.

“Liz, they’re only six and eight years old for God’s sake…he actually wore his dress slacks to school?”

Max’s eyes were as big as Liz had ever seen them get. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing and JP sat in the middle seat all buckled in watching a DVD while his mom and dad talked.

“Yes, his dress pants. Apparently Marlene has a twin sister, thank God they aren’t going to be fighting over the same girl in first grade, anyway this Marlene told Gerard that he looked good in a shirt that he had on, don’t know which shirt, and it is now Gerard’s favorite shirt. And both girls had to have their hair done this morning before they got dressed. This is serious Max, our children are getting ready to leave the nest.”

And Liz giggled at Max who didn’t think this was a damned bit funny. Big fancy psychologist couldn’t accept his babies having crushes…hell that’s about the age she discovered Max Evans and look where they are.

When they arrived at the mall Max, Liz and JP all headed to the “Kitchens and More Store” to check out the skillets when JP spotted this huge red cast iron piece that would take three men and a troop of boy scouts to lift and he told his mom,

“This is a good one”.

Liz looked at the sweet face looking up at her and smiled.

“JP, I don’t think it would work very well because I can’t even lift that thing. It’s too heavy.”

And then she saw the look of terror in her sons eyes and told Max…

“We can leave it on the stove until he’s over this.”

So they purchased the humongous skillet and also one that would be more to their needs as well. JP had a look of relief on his face and Max and Liz both realized that this mornings activities had really taken a toll on their sons well being. He would most likely be sharing their bed for some time to come, maybe, they would see. Then Liz had a brain storm…

“JP, do you think you would like a skillet for your room for a while. We could put it in the kitchen some day if we need another one.”

JP thought about it for a minute and then said,

“No, I think one is plenty don’t you mom? I just need a pair of big boots.”

Max and Liz both looked at each other and decided a visit to the shoe store was in order so they paid for the skillets and headed out with Max carrying the huge red skillet in his left hand and Liz with the smaller one in her right hand while JP walked between the two of them holding their other hands. They allowed their son to choose a pair of good kicking boots and then they were on their way to pick up the other four at school.

When they arrived at the school they sat and observed the four of them waiting in the pick up area with four other children of the same age. Two boys who were almost identical and two girls almost identical…and Liz and Max just sat and looked at each other.

“Do you think that this is the way it’s always going to work Max? Twins for twins?”

“I don’t know, but it is creepy isn’t it? Look at them, they all seem drawn to one another. Do you think we should send them to separate schools?”

“No, not yet, but it’s a thought. Talk about the odds of multiple births…sheeze… they’ll be having litters.” And Liz giggled.

“Okay miss scientist…enough of that already.”

The cars were moving at a steady pace to get up to the loading area and Liz decided to take this opportunity to tell Max about her conversation with Tess. Max still didn’t want to have anything to do with Tess nor Kyle either, by association, but she didn’t want to keep anything away from her husband so she sort of slid it into the conversation…

“Tess called to warn me about Don this morning but I didn’t get a chance to hear her message until the excitement was over so I called her back and she said that Kyle had a plain clothes man guarding their two so I told her that it was all over. That I took a frying pan to his skull and then we chit chatted for awhile. I know you don’t want to hear about them but I didn’t want to be hiding anything from you.”

“How can you be friends with her Liz, after what she did? It’s just not normal.”

“Max, she was sick. She still is but the medication is working. She was obsessed and now she knows this. She’s happily married to Kyle, they have two lovely little boys and they are happy. She doesn’t want to hurt me anymore, she knows that she was wrong and I’m happy for her…forgive and forget Max.”

“Can you forgive and forget Don?”

“Tess didn’t try to hurt one of my children Max. No, I can’t forgive Don…I had forgotten him until I saw him in my kitchen this morning. I quit thinking about him a long, long time ago Max and if they decide to prosecute me because I defended my child then I will go to court and tell my story…otherwise it’s forgotten. Not forgiven, but forgotten, but it’s different with Tess. She was sick Max.”

“Okay sweetheart, you forgive her and you can talk to her but I still feel the same. I prefer to keep her out of conversations and physically in Connecticut where she belongs. Okay?”

“Okay, but don’t expect me to hide things from you, even if they do bring back unpleasant memories.”

“Fair enough, you told me now let’s forget it.” Liz knew Max meant what he said and she dropped the subject of Tess.

About that time they pulled up to the loading area and four little kids hopped into the back of the SUV and promptly buckled up.

“Well Parker, you certainly look nice today…was there something special going on at school?” Max asked his little son as he settled in his seat.

“No. How was your trip?” Trying to change the subject was a good thing, how did a six year old know that Liz wondered.

“Oh, the trip was fine. How about the rest of you? Did all of you have a good day?” Max didn’t want to seem too pushy but he would certainly like to hear what they had to say for themselves.

“Yeah Dad, it was great” piped up Gerard. Deana and Briana just smiled at their father and said welcome home.

Then JP opened his big mouth and said.

“Mom killed a man with the frying pan this morning and the cops came and everything.”

Four young faces all looked at their mother in disbelief.

“JP!!! I DID NOT KILL A MAN…I hit an intruder over the head with a frying pan and the cops came and took him away.”

Now four sets of little eyes were great big sets of wide eyes and Liz just rolled her eyes at Max.

“Nuh-uh…the cops came and the ambulance guys took the man away after they took the rug off his head and looked at all the blood.”

“JP, Please!” Liz begged…

“And then I had to tell the cops about what the man did before mom hit him. Mom signed for me to stand still and I did then mom signed for me to kick him and I did and then I ran and mom hit him with the bacon skillet that was on the stove. The cops took the skillet as evvvv…evv..ev-dense!!! And then we went to the mall and bought mom a great big skillet to keep on the stove. Mom got two. You should’ve seen all the blood…mom really whacked him good!”

“JEFFREY PHILIP EVANS!!! If you don’t quit telling stories you’re not going to get to have cookies.”

“Oh yeah, me and dad are going to have milk and cookies with the cop and his boy…right dad?”

By now Liz was breathing in and out, almost hyperventilating, and Max didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The other four didn’t know who to believe and JP, well JP was on a roll.

“And then we went to the shoe store and I got big boots so’s I can kick bad people in the shins better…right dad?”

Liz looked at Max totally flabbergasted and Max just looked over at her and grinned…

“That’s right JP, great big boots.” And Max reached over and patted Liz’s hands that she had clasped together in a grip so tight it would have taken a bomb to break them apart: her knuckles had turned stark white.

Briana was the first to ask…

“Mom, is he lying?”

“Not totally.” Liz answered breathlessly. “I did hit an intruder with the frying pan and the police did come to the house and the ambulance did come and take the man away but he was hanging onto JP and I was afraid he was going to hurt him and he told JP if he didn’t stand still that he was going to hurt me so basically what JP said was the truth but I really don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want any of you to be afraid and I want JP to quit talking about it too. It was not cool, it was not fun and it is over with. Okay?” Liz was practically begging now…her voice barely audible.

Then JP piped up and said…

“Mom knew who this guy was too.” JP had the stage and he wasn’t going to give in that easily.

And suddenly Liz and Max both became very quiet. This wasn’t something they ever wanted to discuss with their children and if they did they wanted it to be a long time in the future but thanks to Don Adams they had to deal with it now.

*~*~*

[mary mary]

dreambeliever: I'm so glad you enjoyed that scene. It was meant to entertain, I hope it did.
EarthtoMama: Like I said, JP is my favorite Character to write...I get started and the words just seem to type themselves.
Carolyn: My three used to wait for their grandparents to show up to start with the stories. They knew we wouldn't say anything and it was hell sometimes trying to maintain a cool exterior when you wanted to scream at them.
Eve: You are so right and JP is going to milk this for all it's worth.
Zaneri1: I''m so glad you like him...he's fun to write.

*~*~*

Chapter: 4

“When we get home we will have a family discussion about this entire incident and then we will lay it to rest, okay? Your daddy and I will tell you all about this man later, this is the end of this discussion!”

And Liz wanted to crawl into a hole and hide forever, thank you again Don.

*
After dinner Liz and Max had the kids sit around the dining room table so they could tell them about Don Adams. It wasn’t something either of them wanted to think about but it had to be done so Liz took the floor so to speak…

“Okay guys, when I first got out of graduate school I went to work for a lab in Connecticut and I was very lonesome. I didn’t know anybody there and the security guard, Don Adams, used to walk me to my car when I had to work late. One thing led to another and eventually we became friends and then we got married.”

Five little sets of eyes all looked at their daddy and then their mommy like they had just been bull dozed. Max and Liz looked at each other and smiled and Max reached over and took Liz’s hand in his and held onto it…

“Yes, I was married to this person for 18 months. As it turned out he married me because he thought I was rich and he wanted to have me killed so he could inherit all my money…he was also married to someone else at the same time he married me and he was living with another woman as well. Anyway, I came to Philadelphia for a vacation and went to see your father, grandma and grandpa Evans. Grandpa Evans had Don Adams investigated and discovered what was going on and my marriage was annulled and Don Adams was sent to prison. The new governor of Connecticut paroled a whole bunch of prisoners to save money and Don Adams was one of them. He came looking for me because he thinks it’s my fault that he had to go to prison. He really is messed up in the head. Now do you have any questions because I would like to get them all answered now and close this subject forever. Do all of you know what annulled means?” Liz asked her little ones in a very quiet voice…

All five of the children sat there and looked at their mommy and daddy and then at each other and then Deana asked,

“Did you have any other children?”

And Liz smiled at Max…they really were too young for this, so Max answered…

“No Dee Dee, mommy only has you guys, there are no other children. Your mommy has to love somebody to have children with them and she did not love Don Adams…she was lonesome and she thought he was her friend but he wasn’t. They did not have any children. Anyone else?”

“What is annulled?” Parker asked…

“It means that it is stopped, in my case it stopped being a marriage. It is not like a divorce, it is like it never happened, it was erased, and mommy wasn’t married to that man anymore. Anyone else?”

All five shook their heads no and then JP asked…

“Do you think we will have to go to jail mom?”

“No JP, I don’t think we will have to go to jail, but if we do your daddy can bring us milk and cookies…okay?”

“Mom, you’re being silly.” Bree said…

And with that the five little Evans’ left their parents sitting in the dining room.

“What do you think? Do you think they understood?” Liz asked Max.

“They understood as well as someone their age could be expected to understand. We both know there is more to the story but it’s best left for the future. I don’t think they’re ready for it yet. Someday we’ll tell them if it comes up but in the meantime they’re good.” And Max reached over and took his wife’s hand in his again and smiled at her and said…

“Come on, let’s clean up the ev-dense before he expounds on his story some more.” And Liz smiled at her husband as best she could and followed him to the kitchen.

By 8:00 p.m. Max and Liz had scrubbed all of the blood from the walls, cabinets, appliances and floor. Max looked over at Liz, and although he knew this wasn’t a funny situation he just had to ask…

“Are you sure you didn’t kill him? That was an awfully lot of blood Liz.” He asked with a frown on his face.

Liz looked horrified and Max grabbed her to him and started to laugh…

“Honey, I’m teasing…I know head wounds are the worst kind for bleeding, please, relax. I won’t say another word.”

“Good, because I think I’ve had about all the fun I can handle for one day. Let’s get this brood to bed and call it a day, okay. Oh, I never did ask. How did you know what was going on?”

“The police department called me on my cell phone and asked me who was home. They said there was a problem at the house and they wanted to know how many people might be in danger. I told them just you and JP and then I thought I would lose my mind until I got here. I chartered a plane and was out of Arizona in 45 minutes. I know we went through hell during the series, but Liz this couldn’t compare. At least through the series I had you with me. I was terrified.”

“Oh Max, I’m so sorry. They shouldn’t have bothered you like that.”

“Bothered me, are you nuts? Liz, if anything would have happened to you I think I would have collapsed on the spot. My God, please don’t ever think like that. I live with the thought of one or all of you being in danger in the back of my mind all of the time…you know this. We both do, but to actually have it happen is a nightmare. Let’s just drop it okay. Come on, I’ll help get the kids ready for bed and maybe, if we’re lucky we can lock Jack in the bathroom for an hour or so.”

Max wriggled his eyebrows at Liz, she looked up and said “MMMM, yummy!” and as fast as she could she was calling everyone to attention before he could even put the scrub bucket away.

JP was perfectly content to sleep in his own room although he did have his new ‘kickin’ boots by his bed and the other four seemed okay with the knowledge that mom and dad were home where they belonged and happy. It had been a hectic day but all in all everyone was happy except Jack…he was stuck in the bathroom again and the poor thing had no idea why…he had been a good boy today, he stayed in the back yard all day. He chased butterflies, barked at the squirrels and talked to the birds…he swam a couple of times when his ball rolled into the pool and he retrieved it! … There was no reason to stick him in the bathroom.

*~*~*


Tuesday


The next morning Liz’s day started out basically the same as the day before with one exception, Max was home and he decided to stay home today. He needed to feel close to everyone and Liz could understand this perfectly. It was good to have him home and when she came back upstairs with the dog the kids were all up and getting ready for the day without any help from her, although she did have hair duty again and Gerard was disappointed that his favorite shirt still wasn’t in his closet. Liz still didn’t know which shirt was the favorite shirt and to tell the truth it wasn’t uppermost on her to do list to find it. She heard JP in the shower and went to his room to get his clean clothes when she noticed that he had already chosen his wardrobe for the day and it included his new ‘big’ boots. She smiled to herself and went to her and Max’s room to make the bed where she noticed that Jack had already made himself comfortable. She figured ‘what the hell’ they’re only sheets…Max can change the bed and turned around and left the room exactly the way she found it and headed on down the back staircase. She had just started getting milk and juice out of the refrigerator when there was a knock at the back door so she set her items on the counter and looked out the window, it was the policeman from yesterday…what the hell?

Liz opened the door to the man, whom she now knew as officer Bradley, and told him to come on in. She led him into the kitchen as Jack and Max came in from the front of the house. Liz made introductions and Jack stood back and began a low growl in the back of his throat as he eyed the officer and Max and Liz were both shocked at the dogs behavior. He never acted that way with people but Max didn’t make any effort to put Jack out, the dog was not wagging his tail so Max merely made a sit sign and Jack did only after taking a stance in front of Liz before sitting. For some reason the dog thought his mistress needed protection.

Officer Bradley kept his eye on the big dog as he told Liz that they had found a gun on Don’s person when they got him to the hospital and that they had a few more questions about her and Don’s history and then things could be wrapped up. Max informed the officer that Liz and Don’s ‘history’ was all open record and he gave the policeman Kyle Valenti’s name and told him to contact the Farmington, Connecticut police department and talk to Kyle. He was sure that any information they needed could be gotten from them. Max wasn’t too sure he liked the idea of this man coming to their home at 6:45 a.m. and Jack sure as hell wasn’t too happy about it either. Bradley thanked Max for his input and assured him that things would be taken care of in a timely manner. Max smiled at the man, a smile that never met his eyes, as he led him to the back door and told him to contact Evans and Associates should he need anything else. Officer Bradley assured Max that he would do so and left the Evans household, hopefully for the last time as far as Max was concerned. “Isn’t there any end to this shit?” Max thought as he made his way back to the kitchen to help Liz.

*

By 7:45 all of the kids were loaded into the SUV and on their way to school. Max and Liz were both taking them this morning since they wanted to go over to Philip’s and have a talk with him before anymore questions arose regarding yesterdays incident. When they arrived at the Evans’ home Diane was elated to see them. She reached down and grabbed JP up in her arms and gave the little boy a huge hug before she even allowed Max and Liz into the house. Finally Max cleared his throat and his mom stepped aside and everyone got to come in…then Max hugged his mom before asking…

“Hi mom, is dad home?”

“of course honey, is anything wrong?”

And that was all JP needed,

“Mom whacked Don Adams on the head with the bacon skillet yesterday and maybe he’s dead.”

Diane got this horrified look on her face and almost dropped her grandson…she gingerly sat him down on the floor before grabbing the library table in the entry hall for support. If Max Evans ever wanted to spank a child it was now but he remained outwardly calm, looked down at his four year old son and promptly told him to “shut up” and JP did. His dad had never told him to shut up before so he figured maybe he’d better listen.

Liz was still all keyed up over the events of yesterday but when she looked at her son, her mother-in-law and then her husband she’d had all she could handle and she started laughing, hysterical laughter bounced off the hallway walls and three other people stood and looked at her in varying stages of wonderment. Then Max took her hand, held it firmly in his own, and led her to the study where he found his father... thank God. Anyone that knew Liz knew that, when things got too much for her to handle, she laughed… uncontrollably.

“Mom, Dad you need to sit down and listen for a minute and JP you need to ‘shut up’ until the grown ups have talked this out. Do you understand?”

“Yes dad.” And JP was very quiet as he scooted closer to his grandmother. For some reason he knew he’d better be quiet, that this was important, so he sat with his little feet in the big boots swinging from his place on the couch next to his grandmother who had her arm wrapped around his little shoulders.

And then Max began with his side of the story and finished up with his coming in to his own front door, then it was Liz’s turn. She left nothing out including their discussion with the children last night about her association with Don Adams.

“Well, that’s about it in a nutshell. Officer Bradley showed up about 6:45 this morning and Max told him if he needed anymore information he needed to contact Evans and Associates so we felt we needed to bring you up to speed. JP gave his side of the story to the officer yesterday as well as me and I guess that’s all there is. We don’t know Don’s condition and frankly, right now, I don’t care what it is but since this police officer’s visit this morning we’re a little concerned.”

“Diane, why don’t you go see if you can find some cookies for JP while I talk to Liz a minute.”

“Of course Philip, come on JP let’s raid the cookie jar.” And JP reluctantly went with his grandmother, he wanted to stay and help his mommy but his daddy didn’t think he should so he would go with grandma.

After the two left the room Philip looked at Liz and shook his head. Will this nightmare of a man ever end…

“Liz, I don’t think that officer came to your house strictly for information. I don’t know what his motives were but I think we should pursue this. Max isn’t always home and we need to make sure that nothing sinister is going on here… I know a couple of judges and a few officers at the PD that I think I can quietly get information from without causing any unfounded suspicions. What do you say?”

“Philip, I have been coming to you with my problems for as long as I can remember and I am putting this entire situation in your hands. If you feel you need to dig into this further go right ahead. JP has a big skillet on the stove and big boots for kicking and he seems to be satisfied that he’s safe now so let’s make sure that we all are. Go right ahead and do what you feel is best. Oh, and don’t get JP started on the whole episode, he can really tell a story.”

“Yeah,” added Max, “I especially like the part where ‘mom whacked him with the bacon skillet’ or ‘mom killed a guy with the frying pan’…how about ‘mom kicked a rug over him to hide the blood’, that part was good.” Max sat there with a twinkle in his eye…he knew this was very serious but his son was great at telling the story and his wife needed to know that she was right in what she did…

Philip looked at the two of them and said,

“My God, just how much did he see?” And Liz answered her father-in-law honestly…

“The whole thing, and it wasn’t pretty. I told him to run but he hung around to see that I was okay. Don had told him if he didn’t stand still he would hurt me.”

“Good Lord…and he’s okay with this?”

“He seems to be now that we replaced the frying pan with this humongous red cast iron skillet that I can’t even lift and we got him some big boots…’better for kickin’. His words not mine, although he won’t kick anyone unless I tell him to.” Liz wasn’t quite as pleased with JP’s story telling as his dad was.

“Well, it seems like you’re dealing with this the best you can. It’s going to be alright and I’ll make sure that we find out what officer Bradley is doing investigating at 6:45 a.m. Now let’s have some milk and cookies shall we?” And they all headed to the kitchen to join grandma and JP who was in story telling mode on a grand scale. Diane was sitting there listening and wondering just how JP was really dealing with all of this when the rest of the family entered the kitchen and proceeded to sit at the table while Philip got three more glasses from the cupboard. The milk and cookies were already on the table.

“So, you probably got the slapstick version, right?” Max asked his mom, and Diane just nodded that she did as she picked up anther cookie, and the five of them sat around the table and had milk and cookies together, each with their own thoughts, not another word was spoken.

*~*~*

[mary mary]

Thank you...
dreambeliever: You never can tell!
Earth2Mama: I think you might be right...something is up.
Carolyn: Yes, kids think differently than adults...it's too bad the subject of Don Adams had to
come up so early in their lives.
Eve: Yeah, there's something off with this officer, that's for sure!

*~*~*

Chapter: 5

As Ed Bradley entered the hospital lobby a dark haired man in a camouflage jacket and army green pants sat with his head down and appeared to be reading a magazine. Joey Sabotini kept his eye on the police officer that he recognized from the Evans estate and watched as he entered the west wing elevator. The elevator numbers lit up above the elevator cage and stopped at the fourth floor. Joey sat and continued to watch as people came and went and then made his way to the hospital guide next to the elevator. There was no fourth floor west wing listed for the public so Joey could only assume that this was the prison ward and took the elevator to the cafeteria in the basement. There he bought himself a cup of coffee and watched. Many doctors and nurses were having breaks and Joey started to come up with a plan.

***

The prison ward of the hospital wasn’t as busy as the rest of the hospital but there was still a policeman stationed outside of Don Adams room as officer Ed Bradley showed his badge to the man standing, or rather sitting, guard over the unconscious prisoner. Bradley explained that he was the arresting officer so to speak, at least he was the officer that answered the call at the Evans home and he was just there checking to see if the prisoner was able to make a statement. The guard, Pete Stokowski, informed officer Bradley that Adams had not regained consciousness as yet but the doctors were hopeful. Bradley looked at the man and nodded…

“I guess that little doctor really hit him a good one.” He said as he put his hand on the door to push it open.

“I’m not sure just what happened to the man, but I know that he really took a beating.”
The officer replied.

Bradley looked down at him as he sat in his chair and smiled…

“Well, the woman that did this to him stands about 5’2” or so and probably doesn’t weigh 110 pounds soaking wet. She is a tiny thing, I guess Don was holding her little four year old and told him he would hurt his mom if he didn’t stand still. They were in the kitchen at the time, by the back entrance to the house. The kid knows how to use sign language and his mom signed for him to kick the man and run and when the tyke did she picked up the cast iron skillet that was on the stove and bashed his head a good one. She was terrified for the little one and she held nothing back.” Bradley told the guard.

“Wow, I can only hope my wife has that kind of will power if anything like that ever happens at our house. I can’t imagine it would but you never know and that statement is not for publication.” The guard replied.

“No, I guess you can’t be too sure about life in general can you? Well, I’m going to look in on him and see if the doctors can tell me anything . Be careful now.” And Bradley went into Adams’ room to have a look for himself as the door closed behind him he whispered to the injured man…

“Hey Sarge, what in the hell happened to you? I know it’s been years but what the hell?” Ed was confused as much as surprised at finding the sarge in this place under these circumstances. He really needed some answers.

“Whatever possessed you to go and do something like this? You need to wake up out of this sleep you’re in and clear up some stuff man, I just can’t believe you would threaten a little kid like that. What in the hell were you thinking?” And Don started to stir…it was like he recognized the voice he was hearing. Bradley just stood there looking at the aging man wondering what had happened to him.

Don Adams was in another world when a voice stirred something in his unconscious state and made his mind respond to something, but only for a second and then….
Don Adams continued to dream as Detective Bradley continued to talk to him.

*~*~*

Philip stopped by Judge Abbott’s chambers on his way out of the court house the next day and found the pleasant old gentleman sitting at his desk reading a file. When he saw Philip he got up and came around to shake his friend’s hand and motioned him to the couch along the side of his office wall.

After the two exchanged pleasantries Philip brought the judge up to date on the incident at Max’s home a few days ago and then about the investigating officer showing up the next morning at 6:45 am.

To say that judge Abbott was shocked at this behavior was an understatement. No officer of the law would just show up without having a pretty good reason to do so and he told Philip as much only because he knew that Philip already knew this.

“Philip, I don’t know what to say. Did he give any reason for being there? I will definitely look into this and be assured that I will be discrete. If there is something going on here we will find out what it is and deal with it.”

“Thanks John. I didn’t want to make waves at the police dept. because I know it could cause some discomfort among the troops to think that a citizen would question their motives but if something else is going on here I would like to know and have it taken care of.” Philip knew that this warranted an investigation but if he went directly to the P D it could cause more trouble than they already had.

Judge Abbott knew Philip and had to make sure the man felt comfortable by coming to him because, if Philip wanted to make an issue of this, it could get ugly.

“Well Philip, I will definitely call you and let you know what I find out. Tell that lovely wife of yours hello for me and take care of yourself.”

“You do the same John and thanks.”

“Anytime Philip.” And the two men shook hands and Philip left the judges chambers still not feeling completely comfortable.

*

After Philip left Judge Abbott’s office the judge called in his bailiff and asked him to close the door.

“Dave, I have something for you to do that I need to keep as quiet as possible for the time being. I know you won’t be able to totally conceal your efforts but please be discrete.”

“Of course your honor, what’s this about?”

And then judge Abbott proceeded to tell the officer about the untimely visit of Officer Bradley to the Evans’ residence, unannounced, at 6:45 a.m. without an apparent reason for doing so…he told the Evans he was just checking up, lame at best if you ask me.

“Good God, what the hell was he thinking? You don’t go barging into people’s homes without a reason…a warrant, an appointment if you’re just ‘checking up’. Hell yes I’ll find out what’s going on. I know his Captain so I’ll make a call…maybe we’ll be able to have some coffee or something.”

“Great Dave, and report your findings back to me okay? I don’t want to cause the Evans’ anymore problems than they already have. I guess the four year old saw the whole thing and is dealing with it fairly well…a whole lot better than the parents are.”

“I can imagine. Consider it done your honor, I’ll get right on it.” And so officer White left the judges chambers from the side entrance and immediately took out his cell phone and called the precinct captain.

A/N: I took some literary license here with the untimely visit in order for the investigation to fit in with the rest of my story. Apparently it is okay for a policeman to come calling whenever he feels like it which doesn’t seem quite right to me unless there’s a good reason. So no bad vibes, okay?

*

When the captain answered the phone Dave White announced himself and told the captain what had entailed. The captain was flabbergasted and told White he would get back to him as soon as possible.

Dave told the captain that judge Abbott would be waiting to hear the findings from him so please let him know what the hell Bradley thought he was doing. The captain assured Dave that he would be back with him as soon as he had answers, and they had to be answers he was satisfied with. Dave thanked him and the two men hung up.

The minute Dave was off the phone the captain dialed Bradley’s extension and found out that he had just come in…which was becoming a habit for the veteran investigator. Ed answered the phone and the captain told him he needed him in his office immediately and Ed got up and headed that way post haste, he had no idea what the hell was going on but he sure was about to find out.

When Ed walked into the captains office the captain pulled no punches….

“Bradley, what in the hell are you doing going to people’s homes unannounced without a good reason at 6:45 a.m.? You know better than that!” Bradley was shocked to find that the Captain found out about his visit… He just needed some answers, that’s all.

“Cap. I’m sorry… I was on my way in and I had another stop on the way and I wanted to make sure everything was okay there.” Ed had a really strange look about him and the Captain didn’t believe a damned word the man was saying.

“Fine, don’t you ever pull a stunt like that again. Do you understand?” The Captain was livid.

“Yes sir, it won’t happen again…it was just a terrifying thing for the little one to have to go through, that’s all.”

“Okay, get back to work.” And Ed left the Captains office but the captain still wasn’t pleased with his story.

After Bradley left the captains office he called Dave White back and repeated Bradley’s excuse to him and Dave thanked the Captain, and then Dave said…

“Cap., do you believe him? He’s a veteran investigator and he knows better.”

“Dave, this is all we have right now…do you understand?”

“Yeah cap., I understand. I’ll tell the judge that it was just an oversight on Bradley’s part but you know damned well he’s not going to believe it and neither is Philip Evans. I know Philip from the court room captain and if this doesn’t go away Bradley is going to be in deep you know what.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ll keep an eye open Dave but in the meantime this is all we have.”

“Fair enough. Keep me posted because I have a feeling the judge is going to want more also.”

“You know I will Dave, let’s try to keep it to as few as possible okay?”

“Sure will captain, take care.” And the two men hung up.

Officer Dave White went back to the judges chambers and told him what the Captain had found out and the judge just sat and looked at Dave like he had two heads and Dave nodded. “On the Q.T. Judge…the captain isn’t happy with the explanation either and is going to look into this further but in the meantime we’re stuck with Bradley’s explanation.”

“I understand Dave. Thank you and you will keep me posted won’t you?”

“Absolutely Judge, you can count on it.”

“Thanks for the timely update.”

“You’re welcome sir and have a good afternoon.”

Dave then left the judge’s chambers through the door he entered.

After Dave left his office John Abbott called Philip Evans and when the two men finished their conversation they were both in agreement…something wasn’t right about this situation.

“John, thank you for getting back to me so quickly but I want to be up front with you. I’m going to have my office launch an investigation into this officer’s behavior as well. I’m just not comfortable leaving it up to the PD, I trust them but there are too many things they can do to cover up their actions. I just want you to be aware, I’ve known you for years and trust you will keep this confidential.”

“Philip, you know that I will and although I have the utmost respect for our PD and the Captain, who by the way is also conducting his own investigation but that’s not for publication, I am sure you will be able to find out more information faster due to the manpower situation in the PD. So know that I will keep your confidence and with all of us working on this we should be able to come up with something soon.”

“Thank you John and I will keep you in the loop. In the meantime I will inform my daughter-in-law and my son that it was nothing more than a friendly follow up. Take care and keep in touch.”

“Thank you Philip, I will let you know of anything that comes up on my end as well.” And the two men hung up.

*

On the other side of town Philip stopped by to talk to Liz and brought her up to speed on the Officer Bradley situation. They stepped into Max’s private office and spoke very low to make sure the conversation was not picked up from the kitchen.

“Liz, the story going around the police department is that officer Bradley had stopped in to see you on his way to work and I was assured that there would be no more visits from the Philadelphia PD regarding the matter. It has all been settled and Don Adams is in custody again. Hopefully the Pennsylvania penal system isn’t as tolerant as the Connecticut penal system is. Liz, you and possibly JP might have to testify at his trial but it was pretty cut and dried. Breaking and entering with intent to commit bodily harm, since a gun was found on Don’s person, as well as parole violation. That should be the last we here of the issue”

Philip hoped that Liz bought his story, he didn’t want her living in fear of yet another incident, but then again Liz was not a stupid person and could see through a lie quicker than most people could tell one.

Liz smiled at Philip and knew that her father-in-law was truly upset about the entire situation so she bit her tongue and smiled at her old friend and said thank you. Philip wasn’t sure if she was buying it or not but she was acting like it so it was the best he could do…he needed to get Jesse working on this as soon as possible.

[mary mary]

Carolyn: Thank you so much...
Dreambeliever: I hope so too!
Eve: You're Welcome and here's some more for you.
Earth2Mama: We're in the same boat since this is the first time I've ever started posting a story before it was finished...

*~*~*

chapter: 6

It was after 5:00 p.m. and Liz was in the kitchen starting dinner, she was still a nervous wreck over the entire incident and, truth be known, she also felt better with the new skillet on the stove. Max would be home soon, everyone was safe and sound and having great fun, so she relaxed a little. The boys were outside, or so she thought, when she heard the slamming of the back door. She looked up from her work at the counter only to see JP head up the back staircase and she figured he was on an important mission and didn’t give it a second thought. Soon JP came back down the stairs carrying his little back pack filled to over flowing and headed to the front door.

“JP, where are you going?”

“I’M RUNNING AWAY!!!” The child yelled…He was livid.

Liz put the paring knife on the counter and wiped her hands on the dish towel that was laying next to her and walked to the front hallway slowly…

“Well, where do you think you’ll be headed?” She asked calmly, trying very hard not to smile because JP was really angry about something.

“I don’t know yet?” He scowled as he looked down at his shoes.

“Well, do you think you have enough money to get someplace?” Liz asked her youngest who seemed to stop and think about that for a minute.

“I packed my piggy bank but I don’t know how much I have. Do I need a lot?”

“Well, I don’t know, depends on where you’re going. Let’s sit down on the steps a minute and check it out.”

“Okay.” JP was agreeable to that idea…

So mother and son sat on the second step from the landing and opened the little back pack that JP used for preschool, mom with her feet on the landing and child with his feet resting on the first step and they proceeded to look for the piggy bank in the back pack. Liz noticed that he was wearing his ‘kicking’ boots and inside the back pack he had his favorite story book, his favorite hot wheels and lo and behold, clean underwear. It was getting really tough for Liz to keep a straight face. He even had one of Max’s tee-shirts and he hadn’t needed one of those in months. She really had to stifle a laugh when that showed up, and then he pulled out his piggy bank.

“Well, shall we count it up and see what you have?” she managed to say with a straight face.

“Yup!” He replied just as serious as anyone could be.

“Let’s see…oh boy, you have a five dollar bill in here. Where did you get that?”

“Grandpa gave it to me when I helped take out the trash at his house.”

“Wow, five dollars, there must have been a lot of trash.”

“Yeah, but I just carried some of it.”

“Oh. Well let’s see…there’s some quarters in here and, oh, look…here’s a ninja badge. Do you think that you can trade that for something?”

“No, I’m hiding it from Parker…he said he could use it at school.”

“Hmmm, what do you think he could use it for?”

“I don’t know but he can’t have it. And he can keep his old baseball mitt and bat too. He said I’m too little to play catch with him and Gerard and I’m going to go somewhere where I’m not too little to play baseball…do you want to come with me?” He looked up at his mom with hope in his eyes.

“Oh, I don’t know JP…mommies don’t usually run away from home. They have too much to do. Why don’t you stay here with me for awhile and maybe when daddy gets home he can play baseball with you. Daddy doesn’t think you’re too little to play and after dinner maybe I can play too, unless you don’t want to play with a girl. What do you think?”

“Well, I don’t know…I really think I should run away. It would probably be better… that way I can find more kids my age to play with.” He looked up at his mother with the hope still in his eyes that was there a minute ago.

“Hmmm, well, if you stay home with me and wait until next year you can find lots of kids your age at school and you won’t have to spend your money, annnnd… you will be old enough to play T-ball too. What are you going to buy yourself for dinner?”

“Maybe a snickers bar, what do you think?” And he frowned at his mom in thought…

“Oh, snickers bars are good but don’t you think it would be better to have a snickers bar for dessert and eat something else for dinner?” Liz raised her eyebrows just a little in question…

“What are you fixing for dinner here?” JP asked thoughtfully,

“Buskettie.”

Liz wasn’t really planning on spaghetti but the occasion was calling for it…it was his favorite and she needed to play every card she had, she wanted it to be JP’s idea to stay home.

“Well, maybe I can wait and play ball with dad…do we have any snickers bars?”

Now he was playing his mom, but she knew that and it was okay…

“Well, if we don’t we will go buy some and you can save your money, what do you say?” Liz smiled knowingly,

“Okay, but don’t tell Parker where my badge is…I don’t want him to get it.” JP whispered, he was very serious about his ninja badge …

“It’s a secret JP so I won’t tell…now why don’t you go put all of your things away and I’ll go finish up the buskettie. Does that sound like a plan?”

This game was coming to a close and both mother and son knew it...

“Yup.” And JP started putting his little belongings back into his backpack along with his clean underwear and trudged back up the stairs to put them away.

Unbeknownst to Liz, Max had come in through the backdoor and saw her and JP sitting on the steps so he decided to eavesdrop…He couldn’t love her more if there was even a way to do it. How she managed to be so good with these kids with her upbringing never ceased to amaze him. He walked over, took a seat next to her, put his arm around her thigh and drew her in close next to him. He planted a kiss on her temple and proceeded to tell her how his mother dealt with his running away…

“She told me ‘I came into this world with nothing and I could leave with nothing’ and then she stripped me naked and sent me out the front door.”

“She did not!?!” Liz was indignant as all get out and didn’t believe him for one minute…

“Oh yes she did.” Max looked down at her very seriously, stifling the laugh he was trying so desperately to contain.

“What did you do?” Liz raised her eyes to meet her husbands in question…

“I hid in the corner of the porch and when dad came home he asked me what in the hell I thought I was doing and I told him mom threw me out. Liz, I wish you could have seen the look on his face…I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. Honest to God, he looked like he wanted to bust wide open with laughter but instead he opened the front door and yelled at mom. He told her he found a naked homeless kid on the front porch and asked her if she had room for him and mom told him if the kid knew how to behave himself to bring him on in.” and Max looked away in deep thought, as he remembered the incident as if it was yesterday…

“Max Evans, you are making that up.” Liz still didn’t believe him for a minute…

And then Max turned back toward his wife…

“No Liz, I swear to God, it’s the whole truth. I never tried to run away again…I could only imagine all my friends seeing me on the streets naked and I never tried it again.”

“I still think you made that up…come help me in the kitchen, tonight’s menu changed and I might need something from the market besides snickers.”

Max got up and gave Liz a hand to pull her up and as she stood he wrapped her in his arms and grinned…

“I love you and the story is true.”

And he gave her a proper kiss before heading to the kitchen. Liz still wasn’t sure about Max’s story but he seemed like he was telling the truth. ‘Nah, Diane would never do that…would she?’ she thought to herself.

*

Soon JP showed up in the kitchen and saw his mom and dad both working at the island and he asked his dad if he wanted to play catch with him…

“Of course I want to play catch with you buddy…do you have your mitt and a ball?” Max gave his little son a great big smile and waited for his response.

“Yup, do you need yours?” JP asked his dad and Max looked at his son and grinned. He really didn’t need his mitt but he definitely would make this a grown up game of catch and so he leaned over and kissed Liz on the nose and told her she was on her own.

She looked up into those beautiful honey eyes and grinned…

“Have fun…I’ll call you when dinner is ready, yummy Max.” And they both grinned at
each other and Max gave Liz’s fanny a little smack as he walked past to go get his mitt.

Max’s heart just swelled and he chuckled at the idea of playing catch with JP…he always put his whole heart and soul into it and it was a blast just to watch him.

(A/N: Picture of the little baseball star is taken from the “Make A Wish” campaign. I love it! It says it all.)

*~*~*

About that time Bree and Dee Dee came into the kitchen and took a look around.

“I thought we were having chicken tonight?” Briana asked her mother…

“We are, chicken cacciatore and salad with garlic bread.” Liz smiled.

“What happened to mashed potatoes and gravy?” Deana wanted to know.

“There’s been a change of plans. Are you finished with your project?”

She smiled at her daughters, they were growing into quite the young ladies and she wasn’t too sure she was ready for that.

“Yes mom, all finished and we need you to look at it and tell us what else it needs.”

Liz smiled again…they were never totally sure of themselves and so needed approval with everything… she and Max needed to help them to become more self confident, but then, a little approval never hurt anyone. She wiped her hands on the towel laying on the counter and headed to the dining room table. The girls had assembled pictures on a poster board of the civil war and used the computer to print out, in large bold letters, descriptions of the various scenes in the photographs. They had taken colored felt tip markers and made frames for each depiction and aligned everything to form a battle field. It was truly amazing for eight year olds and Liz was bursting with pride.

“Girls, it’s just beautiful. I wouldn’t change a thing. When do you need to take it to school?”

The girls were thrilled that their mom liked their work and they told her that it didn’t need to be at school until Monday. That was when all the rooms were getting ready for the open house.

“Do you think that grandma and grandpa Evans and Parker can come?”

“I’m sure they can come and they are going to be so pleased when they see the work you have done. It truly is beautiful.” And Liz hugged both of her girls and kissed them on the cheek.

“Now, let’s get this buskettie cooking so we can get to the market and buy some snickers for dessert tonight.”

“Snickers? How come?”

“It’s a bribe so’s JP won’t run away from home.”

“Oh…did he know where he was going to go?” Bree asked, it seems that nothing JP could do would surprise any of them.

“No, but he wanted to take me with him. He thinks he needs kids his own age to play with so he was going to go find some.” Liz answered nonchalantly.

“Oh…well… we’re glad all he needed was a snickers.”

“Oh no, he could have bought his own snickers…he’s staying for the spaghetti.” Liz informed.

“OH!!! That’s why we aren’t having mashed potatoes and gravy…can we have them tomorrow?” Big brown eyes looked questioningly!

“Of course. Now put your poster somewhere safe and I’ll set the table.”

“Okay.” And off they went.

Liz thought to herself…one more crisis averted at the Evans household and she was off to the kitchen once again and smiled as she went.

And someone sitting outside the estate sat in his automobile and smiled to himself.

*~*~*

[mary mary]

Dreambeliever: Sometimes I do "Bam"...
Eve: No, this time I meant "smile". You'll see why!
Earth2mama: I'm a firm believer in a good "ass whopping"...sometime it was the only way to deal with a situation. It wasn't necessary very often but if nothing else worked a good whack across the behind seemed to get attention when it was needed.
Carolyn: Thanks, the "naked on the front porch" wasn't one of my prouder moments...

*~*~*

Chapter: 7

It was now Friday morning and Max was taking JP with him to the children’s facility for his usual pre-school session so Liz planned on doing some grocery shopping for the week-end and to also run a few other errands while she had some time to herself. As she dropped the twins off at school she had a funny feeling come over her… it felt as though someone was watching her.

She turned around in her seat and checked the school grounds and then her rear view mirror but she couldn’t see anyone she knew nor pinpoint any strange vehicles so she shook it off and proceeded to head on out to the market. She kept looking to her side and rear view mirrors and the eerie feeling would not leave. She figured she was still getting over Don’s visit earlier in the week and shrugged it off.

*

As she pulled into the super market parking lot she noticed officer Bradley getting out of his vehicle and heading into the store.

‘That’s strange’ she thought to herself, ‘I’ve never noticed him in this neighborhood before, I wonder what he’s doing over here?’ Philip assured her that things were on the up and up at the PD so she ignored it and went on in to do her shopping.

As she reached for her grocery cart officer Bradley was coming toward her with a box of donuts in his hand and walked right up to her…

“Good morning Mrs. Evans. Fancy meeting you here…I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop and get some donuts for the office on my way in. Isn’t it a little early for you to be out and about? How’s JP doing? not frightened or bothered is he?”

“Yes, fancy meeting you here officer Bradley. I didn’t know that you were from around this neighborhood?” Liz ignored the rest of his pleasantries…she was starting to feel a little suspicious of this person, after her past experiences it was hard not to be suspicious…she didn’t believe in ”coincidences” anymore.

“Oh, I’m not actually. We have another case we are working on in this area and I’m just heading on in to the office to report in. Are you doing okay?”

“I’m doing just fine office Bradley, now if you’ll excuse me I really have a lot to do before it’s time to pick up JP at pre-school. Have a nice day.” And Liz took off down the produce aisle before the man had a chance to detain her any longer. She didn’t know if she should tell Max or Philip about this incident or not. It seemed innocent enough but after this weeks events she just wasn’t comfortable about anything that seemed ‘coincidence’.

After Liz finished her grocery shopping she headed to the dry cleaner and picked up Max’s good suit and her dress slacks before running to the bakery for a few treats for the kids. They still got their pies from Connecticut but there were many other treats that children preferred besides their dad’s favorite pies and then she headed on home. She still had that uncomfortable feeling but she put it in the back of her mind and continued on. Too much was going on.

By the time she got home Max was home with JP so they all had lunch together and then they decided to take the entire group to the movies after they picked up the twins at school. Max had been fighting an eerie feeling all morning and took the afternoon off to be with his family, he didn’t tell Liz why he came home early though…she was skittish enough about the weeks events and she certainly didn’t need him feeding fuel to the fire.

It was decided that the new Disney movie was just the thing they all needed so Liz made some sandwiches and threw some snacks in a chest and put it in the back of the SUV and they took off for school together. It was a great idea, so they thought.

After they picked the kids up they headed to the park for a small picnic consisting of sandwiches, fruit, cookies and some flavored water before heading to the theater. They had about an hour to kill before the movie started so there was a little time for them to run off their pent up energy and to get settled down before leaving the park. All of the kids were excited and ready for some fun, the weeks activities had been weighing on them as well.

When they arrived at the theater guess who they ran into?…That’s right!... Officer Bradley and his son were there waiting in line to go in to see the same movie. Liz got a really creepy sensation up the back of her neck and she started to shiver. Max put his arm around her shoulders and gave a little squeeze to let her know he was there. She didn’t say anything to him, she just nodded, but she definitely was going to get to the bottom of this. How did he know where they would be? Liz didn’t think this was just some random ‘guess who I ran into’ act and then she began to wonder how he was aware of her every move? She definitely was going to get to the bottom of this.

After the movie they headed on home and while Max took care of Jack the kids headed to their rooms to put their things away for the week-end and Liz started to nose around the kitchen for something strange. She had no idea what she was looking for but she was certain there was something and she would recognize it when she saw it.

She looked behind all of the kitchen appliances, the decorative shelves between the dinette and the kitchen. She grabbed the step stool she kept for getting into the higher cupboards and climbed up and took a look at the shelves that were over the one large cabinet and then she spotted something on top of the refrigerator that didn’t look familiar. She moved the stool over to the refrigerator and stood on the top step… and she knew she had found it, the object that she was looking at did not belong there.

About that time Max came into the kitchen and asked her if he could help her find something and she looked down at him with a strange look on her face and said…

“No, I think I can reach it.” And she pointed to the object laying on the refrigerator and motioned with her index finger over her lips to be quiet about it.


“Oh, okay.” And Max nodded and helped Liz down and took a step up to the first step of the ladder. Liz stood back and crossed her arms over her chest, hugging herself and was on the verge of tears as she watched Max. He looked puzzled for a second and then motioned for Liz to follow him outside after folding the ladder and putting it back between the refrigerator and cabinet in it’s usual place and Liz followed right on his heels.

When they got outside Max took hold of Liz and spoke very softly in order to calm her down…he knew she was about to come unglued and he wanted her to feel safe…

“Honey, I think that’s some sort of surveillance device, we should call the police but I think maybe we need to call dad first. What made you look for this? How do you want to handle this sweetie, help me out here, something’s just not right?”

Max was very concerned and knew that the only people in the house were the cops, EMT’s and Adams and he doubted that Adams had access to this equipment and what would the EMT’s want to do this for?

“God Max, I think your dad is the better choice. I think that officer Bradley put it there. He was at the market this morning and then again at the movies and I’ve had this really creepy feeling all day, like someone has been watching me. Your dad knows policemen that he trusts, what do you think? I think if we call the P.D. then we just might alert the person who did this, don’t you agree?”

Max hugged Liz tighter and then said…

“We’ll call dad first, now you go back inside and pretend like everything is okay and I’ll take care of the phone call. Are you okay?” Liz nodded and with that Max reached down and kissed her on the forehead before letting her go.

Liz went back into the house and found Deana and JP in the kitchen arguing over what they should have for dinner and Liz just rolled her eyes and had to step in, surveillance equipment forgotten for the moment…

“What’s the problem in here? Do you two need a mediator?” She sounded a whole lot more stern than she usually did and two little pairs of eyes looked up at their mother and neither looked like they wanted to push her too far, they both knew better…

Deana spoke first, rather determinedly after getting over her mother’s attack on her and JP’s argument.

“We’re having mashed potatoes and gravy for dinner, right?” She demanded from her mother…

“Yes, we are. Why?” Liz was trying very hard to control hysteria.

“Because JP said we’re having spaghetti again and I told him we had ‘busketti’ last night so he wouldn’t run away…right?”

‘Oh God’, thought Liz….

“We had spaghetti last night and we are having mashed potatoes and gravy tonight because I promised we would and besides, we don’t eat busketti two nights in a row. We have to have something different tonight. You know that JP. You can’t always have your own way… there are other people living here as well as you and they get their turn. Now the subject is closed,” She really wanted to scream right now and these two weren’t helping.

JP looked at his sister who was ready to stick her tongue out at him when Liz caught her eye and Deana thought better of it and headed to the stairway before she really got into trouble. JP looked at his mother and said,

“Is there any busketti left from last night?” Liz just cringed…

“Yes JP but you are not going to eat it for dinner tonight. You can have it for lunch tomorrow and not one minute before.” Liz knew she spoiled all of them but sometime they had to play by the rules and JP knew what those rules were as well as the rest of them.

Then JP popped up with…

“How about breakfast? Can I have it for breakfast?” he asked with this sheepish look on his face.

Liz grinned down at her son, he had a way of making bad things go away even if it was only for a little while,

“No. Now if you don’t want to help me fix dinner I suggest you go find something to do besides trying to get your own way again. Are we clear?”

“Yes mom…and I’ll help if you want me to.” JP added with a grin.

“No, you can go help daddy. I think he’s cleaning Jack’s dishes and playing with him a little bit.” And then Liz thought about what Max really was doing and she had to back pedal quickly….

“JP, before you go out to help daddy can you get me the new frying pan out of the pantry, I don’t think I want to use this great big one tonight.”

“Oh, okay mom…the little red one?”

“Yes JP, the little red one.”

And outside, down the street, the man sat in his car and smiled. Never the wiser.

*~*~*

[mary mary]

Earth2Mama:You are certainly right about that!
Eve:You are right on track here.
Carolyn: Creepy is a good word for him.
Dreambeliever: I agree with you...stalker is a good description!

*~*~*

Chapter: 8

“Hey Dad…we have a problem here at the house. Liz has been running into this officer Bradley all over town and since Don’s break-in her instincts are in overdrive so she became suspicious and when we got home this evening she went on a search and found a surveillance mechanism on top of the refrigerator. She thinks Bradley planted it there and we don’t want to alert him by calling the PD if she’s right. Can you get in touch with one of the guys you know and help us out here.”

Philip was floored,

“What kind of surveillance device Max? My God, what in the hell is going on over there?”

“Well, it’s sitting on top of the refrigerator, it’s small and it looks like it might have a camera lens on it but I’m not really sure. We didn’t touch it and we came outside to talk about it in case it’s what we think it is. We didn’t want to alert anyone to the fact that we found it. I don’t know what the hell is going on but we’d sure like to nip it in the bud.”

“I can imagine…let me make a call and I’ll get back to you son. I’ll call your cell so you can talk outside.”

“Great dad, you know, I don’t know how Liz manages to get through a day without losing her mind. She never ceases to amaze me. I’m about ready to kick some serious ass and she just keeps on dealing…I guess we all do. It wouldn’t do any good to go off like a lunatic in front of the kids, they’re having enough problems without us adding to it. It’s a wonder JP hasn’t used his new boots on Parker as mad as Parker makes him.” And Max shook his head in wonderment.

“I know exactly what you mean Max…I wonder too. But one day I’ll just bet Parker and JP are the best of friends, JP will catch up you know.” Philip was in total agreement with Max he knew Parker agitated JP something fierce but he really believed what he said.

“I hope you’re right Dad and wait until I tell you about JP deciding to run away…this one is a real hoot…he even packed clean underwear.” And Max chuckled…

“NO! Honest to God? Did you tell Liz about your experience?”

Philip had to laugh at that, the kid is just too hilarious and he’s only four, what’s he going to be like in a few years.

“Yeah, I did but I don’t think she believed me. She said mom would never do anything like that.” And now both men were laughing…

“Well, I’ll just have to confirm that story for you son and I’ll get back to you with the other. Keep your phone on okay?”

“Will do dad and thanks.”

“Please Max, don’t thank me…I’m just glad you two are thinking this thing out rationally. I don’t think you’re in any danger, but an invasion of privacy is a crime and we’ll deal with it.”

“Okay dad, talk to you later.” And both men hung up.

About that time JP walked out onto the back patio and told his dad that mom made him come out to help him clean Jack’s dishes. Max rubbed his son’s little head and smiled…

“What did you try to get away with this time JP?” Max knew the boy had tried to con his mom out of something.

“Oh, nothing…I just wanted busketti for dinner and she said no and told me to come and help you.”

JP was very up front and nonchalant about the whole thing…anything was worth a try in JP’s book.

Max smiled again as he took the dog’s dishes over to the garden hose at the side of the house and JP followed his dad over to the outdoor faucet as they talked.


“Uh huh…didn’t we have busketti last night?” Max asked as he bent over to turn the faucet on.

“Yeah, but I thought we could have it again tonight.” JP said as he reached down and held the water bowl for his dad.

“Well, I think we should let mom decide what we have for dinner don’t you? She really does a pretty good job don’t you think?” Max asked as he washed the dog bowl out.

“Yeah, I guess, but I really like busketti.”

Max smiled as he turned the water faucet off and then he and JP walked over to the corner of the patio to fill the dog dish with Jack’s dinner…then Max looked at JP and said.

“Well JP, it’s like this” Max motioned for JP to sit in the seat next to him on the glider sitting next to the large patio table, and as they swung back and forth Max said “Jack eats the same thing everyday and he seems to be pretty healthy and it doesn’t seem to bother him but I think, personally, that I’d get pretty bored eating the same thing everyday.” And Max looked down at his son to see if he was paying attention, which JP was… “I like spaghetti too but I don’t want to eat it everyday” Max said thoughtfully, “think I would get tired of it and then I wouldn’t like it anymore and that would be terrible because spaghetti is really good. What do you think?” JP looked up at his dad with a very serious expression on his face.

“Yeah, I guess. I like mashed potatoes and gravy too, and that’s what mom is making tonight with pork chops. I wonder why she wanted her little red skillet, the big red skillet would have worked better with all of those pork chops she had out…let’s go ask her.” And JP was gone that fast. Max just shook his head and smiled. He bent down and scratched Jack under the jowls when the dog came around the house and nuzzled Max’s hand before heading over to his bowl to have his dinner.

“You know Jack, if it wasn’t for all of the weird shit going on it could be a really great evening. What do you think?” And Max left the glider and took a seat at one of the patio tables by the pool and looked up at the setting sun and smiled and added, “Yummy!” Yep, a great evening and the smile deepened, after all these years he still couldn’t get enough of her.

It was getting closer to winter and the sun was setting a lot quicker these days and there was a slight evening chill but this was one of the great things about living in Philly, the changing of the seasons… and Max remembered the fall that Liz came to see him so many years ago and he smiled. That was one of the greatest experiences of his life and winning the world series didn’t hurt either and his smile grew broader.

*~*~*

During dinner the subject of the new twins at school came up and Briana took it upon herself to start teasing her brothers about kissing Marlene and her twin sister. Both boys started to scream at their sister that they were not going to kiss girls and really got in a snit, they looked like they were going to throw their plates at the girl if she didn’t shut up. Then Deana looked over at JP and decided to put in her two cents…

“Are you going to kiss girls JP?”

Both Max and Liz held their breath, they knew if JP got pissed off anything could start flying…JP just kept on eating and answered in a very definitive voice…

“Probably… when I’m a teenager.”

And that was the end of that argument. JP didn’t see what all the fuss was about…kissing was good as far as he was concerned…he loved his mom and dad’s kisses and grandma’s too. Max looked over at his wife and shrugged his right shoulder at her, you just never knew what that kid was going to say or do and he kept on eating…Liz just nodded and smiled. He was going to be a great man some day, if one of his siblings didn’t wring his neck first she thought and then she sighed.

*~*~*

After all the dishes were cleared off the table and the pots and pans had been soaked and put into the dishwasher Max and Liz headed on up the back stairs to check on the rest of the family to make sure they were all showered and ready for bed before heading to their own room for the night. Jack was curled up at the foot of Parker’s bed watching the youngster play a game over the internet with some unknown opponent and the dog seemed quite content to be where he was and Max looked down at Liz and grinned before addressing his son,

“Hey Parker, you think you’d like Jack to spend the night with you? He looks quite happy laying there?”

Liz jabbed Max in the ribs and giggled, she knew damn well what he was up to… Max feigned injury to his ribs and grinned at his wife.

Parker thought for a minute, never taking his eyes off the screen, and said…

“Sure dad, just bring his bed in, it’s cool.” And he continued on with his game.

Max gave Liz a wink and headed for their room and Liz shook her head and set Parker’s alarm for ten o’clock, turned down the blankets and plumped up his pillow.

“When the alarm goes off Parker, you go to bed. I’ll come in and check on you then, okay?”

“Sure mom, I should have this game wrapped up in no time and then I’ll read for awhile. I have some homework to finish up anyway.” And the boy never took his eyes off the screen and then he gave a yell of victory. “I beat him again mom.”

“Who?” Liz asked… and then she added, “What are Dick and Jane doing this year?” And Parker looked at his mom for a second like she was nuts…who’s Dick and Jane?

“Stefan from Norway. He has to get into bed now before his mom catches him or he won’t be able to come on line for a week. This is so cool. Maybe he can come and see us sometime. Okay?”

“Sure he can visit us anytime he’s in the US, but isn’t it very early in the morning in Norway? I think it’s great that you have friends all over the world Parker, but you do know that Norway is not like next door don’t you?”

“Sheeze mom, of course I know it’s far away, but his family is coming to the U.S. next summer and they will be visiting Philadelphia and I told him that maybe we could meet somewhere. Would that be okay?”

“Of course that would be okay…get his parents e-mail and I’ll send them a message and tell them that it would be great for you to meet each other. Is that okay with you?”

“Yeah mom, more than okay. I’ll tell him tomorrow when we chat. Thanks.” And with that the youngster got up off the floor and gave his mom a hug and crawled into bed. Liz could only smile. When she was 6 she didn’t have a clue about computers, e-mail or even typing for that matter. She didn’t learn to type until middle school. Then she gave it some serious thought and smiled at the advantages she and Max have provided for their children. They basically attended private school from 3 to 5 with older children and learned the alphabet and key board at an extremely young age. They really were advanced for their ages but the rest of the kids would catch up soon enough. There are only 26 letters and 10 numbers after all and she smiled.

By that time Jack’s bed was next to the child’s bed but Jack was on the bed all curled up. Liz just looked at Max and he turned around and left and when he returned he had jack’s pillow under his arm and replaced Parker’s spare pillow with Jack’s just in case the dog decided he needed to lay next to the boy.

Liz kept Max’s pillow that he used for sleeping in the linen closet off their bedroom and Max took it with him and put it away when he got up every morning…Jack had his own pillow that he laid on when he was resting or, according to Max, protecting her. And his pillow case, along with their sheets, was changed daily…the dog was just as spoiled as the kids were no doubt about it.

As Liz walked by Parker’s room after leaving Gerard’s room she noticed that Jack’s bed was empty and that the dog had made himself comfortable next to Parker.

“Parker, are you okay with the sleeping arrangements here…I can always make him move.”

“No mom, I’m okay. He keeps me warm.”

“Well alright then.” And she walked around to the little boys side of the bed and gave him a kiss on the top of his head and then patted Jack’s head as she tucked Parker in.

It looked as though Jack was happy with the new sleeping arrangements also and Liz smiled. It was almost like the dog knew he would have to sleep in the bathroom tonight if he didn’t stay here. Oh well, he probably did know…he certainly wasn’t a dumb dog, and life was good, ’OH YUMMY!!!’ and Liz smiled as she headed to her room and her waiting husband.

*~*~*

[mary mary]

Carolyn, Eve and Earth2Mama....thank you for the fb. Have been under the weather for a while so I'll keep this short.

*~*~*

Chapter: 9

The next morning the house was very quiet when Liz made her way to the back door to let Jack out for his morning ritual and then she made her way to the bathroom with a slightly peppier step than usual…Max always could make her feel better about the world around her. Not that she didn’t love her children and her life but without Max it just seemed a little bit empty, no…not a little, a whole lot. She smiled as she readied her tooth brush and pushed her hair back behind her ears to brush her teeth. She heard some rustling behind her and as she looked up into the mirror there was Max standing there watching her with a gleam in his eye…

“Morning sweetheart, how long do you think the kids will sleep today?”

And he grinned as he walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and nuzzling her neck as he pushed his lower body into her backside, taking full advantage of the action from her brushing her teeth. Liz backed into him with her fanny and gave it a good wiggle and as she got rid of the toothpaste in her mouth she smiled at his reflection in the mirror and said,

“Not long enough.”

“Damn!” Max replied and slowly moved his hands lower toward the front of her pajamas as he nuzzled her neck and started placing little kisses all around her pulse point as he pulled the waistband of her pajamas out of the way.

“Mmmm, that feels good love but do you think it’s a good idea?”

Max chose to ignore her comment and continued on his journey until he reached his destination. He found what he was looking for and Liz leaned up and braced herself on the counter of the bathroom console as Max wrapped his left arm around her waist and pulled her in closer. She allowed her husband to pleasure her in ways that only he could do and when she finally reached her climax Max whispered in her ear as he nuzzled her…”One more Liz, you can do it.” and that’s all he had to say…she was putty in his hands and he knew it. When Max was satisfied that Liz was fully satisfied he looked at her flushed reflection in the mirror and smiled at her, he knew she was still coming down from her high but he enjoyed her body so much that he couldn’t help himself sometime. She trusted him completely and it was the ultimate turn on for him.

“Well, that was nice but what about you?” Liz whispered breathlessly and sighed as she turned to face her husband and then he lifted her up onto the counter, she cupped his face in her hands, wrapped her legs around his waist and leaned in and gave him a very passionate kiss.

“You owe me sweet…I’ll put it on your account. Now, do you want me to feed Jack?” Max asked as he held his wife close.

“Sure. let him eat in the mud room, it’s raining out and it’ll make him feel loved.” Liz chuckled, leaped down off the counter and stood on her tip toes and quickly planted a kiss on Max’s cheek . “I’ll take my IOU back as soon as possible…okay?”

Max just shook his head at her and smiled wide as he washed his hands and then headed on out to the mud room to get the dogs bowls cleaned and filled and about that time he heard some noise coming from upstairs and knew that someone was up and about and he smiled as he remembered Liz’s answer to his question. Then he recognized the smell of frying bacon coming from the kitchen and knew it was time to get started with their day.

*

After breakfast was over and everyone was headed in different directions Max headed upstairs to take a shower and get dressed, his plans for a golf game postponed due to rain . He would have had a chance to talk to his dad on the golf course but now he was anxiously awaiting a phone call from him instead. It was still kind of early to expect things to be happening so he patiently waited as he started stripping Parker’s bed for Liz. He knew that she washed their sheets everyday because the dog made himself comfortable on their bed but today he would wash Parker’s because the dog slept there last night. He felt bad sometimes about the added work but he also knew that everyone loved the dog and he was definitely a great friend to all of them. Olivia would be back from her vacation on Monday and then things wouldn’t be so hectic for her and it seemed, according to JP, that all he did when Liv was gone was make beds and Max chuckled and shook his head.

Right around 9:30 Max’s cell phone rang and when he answered he told his dad to hold on a second and he headed outside to take the call.

In the meantime Liz had 5 little kids sitting around the dining room table playing a game and then she loaded up the washing machines and had all of the beds made up in nothing flat, she had a system that worked like a well oiled clock and JP got to play with his brothers and sisters today instead of making beds.

*

“What’s going on Dad? Did you find out anything?”

“Well, the policeman that I contacted isn’t sure what’s happening Max. He did say that they had an ongoing investigation in your neighborhood but it certainly didn’t involve anyone in your house. They are going to send a plain clothes man over to do some surveillance and he said to leave the device in place if it doesn’t bother you. If it is Bradley they don’t want to alert him and if it isn’t Bradley they are going to have to find out who it is. I personally think it’s Bradley, but only God knows why he would do this. How are all the kids?”

“Oh they’re great, Parker wants to make arrangements to meet with one of his online game playing buddies from Norway this coming summer so Liz is going to e-mail the kids parents and see if we can arrange something. JP wants spaghetti morning, noon and night…Deana and Briana made a beautiful poster for open house on Monday and they want all of their grandparents there and Gerard is just being quiet about the world in general. I think he’s in love.”

“Good God, in love at 6?”

“Yeah, all four of them have crushes on two sets of twins that just started to their school. Parker wears his dress clothes to school, some Marlene told Gerard he looks good in some shirt and now it’s his favorite and the girls have to have their hair done every morning. JP needs friends his own age according to him and Liz and I just sit back and watch it all happen. Deana and Briana tried to rile JP after getting Parker and Gerard in a snit over kissing girls and JP calmly told them that he would probably kiss girls when he was a teen-ager, didn’t seem to bother him at all. Knowing JP he’s probably looking forward to it. Life really is interesting dad, I wonder just how much more interesting it’s going to get?”

And Max and Philip both smiled.

“Well, you won’t be hearing from the P D personally Max, they’re going to call me but I’ll keep you informed as to what is going on. I’m going to call Jesse and start an investigation of our own and see if we can’t get whatever the hell is going on to stop. Give all of the kids a hug for me and I’ll call you soon.”

“Will do dad, and I’ll see you Monday…I guess I’d better give Jeff a call too. I’m not sure Liz has done it yet. Take care and tell mom hi, oh, and Dad…why don’t we plan on a family dinner out on Monday, before open house.”

“That sounds great Max.” And both men signed off.

After speaking with his father Max called Jeff’s cell phone and Nancy answered…

“Hi Nancy, it’s Max. Say, the kids are having open house at school on Monday and wanted everyone to come and see the displays and take part in the festivities. Do you think you and Jeff would be interested in coming?”

“Of course we would Max, what time?”

“Well, I’m not really sure but I’ll check with Liz and find out. Maybe we can all go to dinner either before or after. Let me call you back. Is Jeff okay?” Max was curious because this was Jeff’s number he dialed.

“Oh yes, he’s taking the trash out to the big bin in the back. He’s probably talking to John next door. I swear those two are worse than two old women. When he comes in I’ll know everything that happened all week long in the neighborhood.” Nancy started to laugh as did Max. He knew exactly what she was talking about. He figured it had something to do with owning that café all those years, nothing got past him.

“Okay Nancy, either Liz or I will call you back and let you know. Take care now and tell Jeff hi for me.”

“I’ll do that Max and hug the kids for me also.”

“I will Nancy, bye.” And they hung up. Max thought about the woman Nancy used to be compared to the woman she is now and could only thank God that Jeff stuck it out and went to counseling with her. She is really one sweet woman now, it’s too bad Liz still won’t let the kids be alone with her, she’s terrified she will make some remark that will destroy them. If truth be known he doubted that any one of them would take it from her or anyone else but hopefully they would never have to find out. Oh well, it’s Liz who counts when all the chips are in and Max shook his head and smiled as he went back into the house.

*~*~*

In the meantime Liz was upstairs just getting out of the shower and getting ready for the rest of the day when she heard giggles coming from the hallway. She peeked her head out of her bedroom door and noticed Deana and Briana sneaking up on JP…oh this wasn’t going to be good she thought and slowly closed her door and pretended she hadn’t seen a thing…she wondered what happened to the game they were playing, oh well, if he gets too mad she’ll know who to punish. Poor JP, he’s the one that always loses it and the other four play it to the hilt, they just loved to tease him. She’ll have to think of something for them to do today to keep them out of trouble since the game didn’t seem to last very long. Too bad there aren’t any little league games, swimming or dance lessons going on today…maybe they can take in another movie? Sometimes the start of a new school year can be a harrowing experience what with the screeching halt to all of the extra curricular activities that really do start to become a chore about this time of the year anyway but sorely missed on a rainy day. I guess there’s just no pleasing us all of the time she thought to herself.

*

Philip called Jesse immediately after his phone call to Max and filled him in on the activity going on and Jesse asked Philip to fax him all of the information he had on Officer Bradley. Philip didn’t find out very much on the guy other than his name and place of employment, i.e.: Edward Bradley, and that he was a detective with the Philadelphia Police Department. There didn’t seem to be any dirt on the guy but it was still strange that a surveillance device was sitting atop Max’s refrigerator right after the man left the house. Jesse agreed with Philip and then told Philip that he would check into a military background on the man as well.

“Great idea Jesse, I never gave that a thought. In the meantime one of the officers that I’ve seen in court on a regular basis is going to check on things for me as well. He said he knows a couple of undercover cops that would be able to see if they could find out anything without giving away any secrets. I hope we figure this out soon, I hate having Max and Liz being scrutinized like this. There’s no reason for it, they have been open and above board with everything. The cops even took a statement from JP, and although Liz said he conducted himself like a perfect little gentleman I hope they don’t get him on a witness stand, he loves the limelight and his version of the event isn’t anything we would like him to share with the world…especially the one where ‘mom whacked him with the bacon skillet’…that seems to be his favorite.”

Jesse stifled a laugh and choked out…”You’re kidding, right?”

And Philip said “I wish I was Jesse, I really wish I was…and that’s only one of many descriptions he has. It’s funny as hell when he tells us but we certainly don’t need him on a witness stand with his stories.”

“I can just imagine. Liz must be a wreck.”

“That doesn’t even come close …she was so upset that she actually broke into hysterical laughter and you have to know Liz to know what that means, it’s her last straw. Max actually told the boy to ‘shut up’ in no uncertain terms. JP did of course, until Max was out of sight then he cornered Diane and started in on her. Diane, as always, let him get away with it and there’s no sense in trying to convince her that she shouldn’t let him get away with it because she probably encouraged him if the truth be told. Anyway, I will get this information off to you as soon as we hang up and I know you will know what to do with it. Thank you Jesse, I’d do it here but I don’t want the wrong people getting wind of what’s going on.”

“I understand perfectly Philip and I’ll get right on it. I have a couple of friends from way back in my college days in the FBI and I’ll have them do some research into Bradley’s service record…where he served, who he served with and what his duties were. We’ll get to the bottom of this soon Philip and tell Diane and the rest of the family hello for me.”

“Will do Jesse and thanks again.”

“You’re welcome Philip, good bye.” And they hung up.

Philip went over to his desk and started to gather up all of the information he had gathered on Ed Bradley so far and then faxed all of it off to Jesse. He was surprised that he had ten pages of data compiled on the man but nothing that gave them any insight to the current situation, but with Judge Abbott’s help they seemed to be moving right along.

***
Back in the Philadelphia PD officer Bradley walked in just as his partner was getting ready to go to lunch and Carl, his partner, immediately wanted to know where in the hell he’d been all morning.

“Oh, you remember that case we had two weeks ago, I thought I had a lead but it was a false alarm. Why, what’s going on?” Ed asked innocently.

“Nothing big is going on Ed, but you know you need to check in once in awhile. We are partners and we do get paid to show up. I’m not getting stuck with all of the paperwork around here. I divided it in half and yours is on your desk. I’d get busy on it if I were you because the chief has asked about your whereabouts five times this morning and nobody had a clue as to where you were.”

Carl was livid and Ed could tell. He couldn’t tell him that he had the Evans’ under surveillance because there wasn’t any reason to.

“Okay Carl, I’ll get started on these files right away. Are you going out for something to eat?”

“Yeah, you want me to bring something back for you?” Carl felt a little sorry for Ed…his wife walked out on him a few months ago, she caught him with one of their single neighbors and didn’t cut him one bit of slack. I guess she had suspected him of this kind of behavior for a long time but this was the first time she had proof. It was his own damn fault but the man wasn’t eating right and he did need nourishment even if he was an asshole. At least she let him visit the kid once in awhile.

“Yeah, just a burger will do.” And Ed threw a five dollar bill over on Carl’s desk as the man grabbed his jacket.

Carl picked up the five and jammed it down into his pocket as he started walking out the side entrance of the squad room shaking his head. ‘What in the hell is he up to now’ he thought to himself.

Ed picked up a file and started reading through it before signing off on it and it just happened to be the Adams file and it peaked Ed’s interest. Detective Valenti had sent the paper work on the Connecticut trial and it was a thick one. “Attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and bigamy.” Holy shit, what happened to the man and then he started reading the case file like it was a novel, there must be something he could do to help the sarge, my God, had he lost his mind?

When Carl got into the unmarked vehicle he noticed some unfamiliar equipment laying on the seat and wondered what in the hell Ed was up to. They didn’t have anyone under surveillance and he got a weird feeling…’this is not right’ he thought to himself as he pulled out of the parking lot.

In the meantime Ed was still reading about the Connecticut case and decided he needed to know what happened to the sarge and he felt that Liz Evans was a big part of it…

*~*~*

[mary mary]

Earth2Mama: I'm really not sure what Bradley's up to yet? (I am, sorta, just not ready to share at this time.) Oh...and the bathroom scene, welllll!
Eve: I think the jury is still out on Bradley, but he just might have one or two screws loose. His purpose will show up soon.
Dreambeliever: Glad you liked the bathroom scene!!! :DWhen you've got a bunch of kids running around you have to take what you can get!
Carolyn: As I told you in our e-mails...feeling pretty good so far, thanks. As for the dogs, trust me, none of ours ever got past the family room. That was work enough, now my kids...well that's a different story.
*~*~*

Chapter: 10


Back in Roswell, New Mexico Jesse Ramirez was on the phone with an old classmate who now worked for the FBI and after having exchanged all the pleasantries that old friends usually exchange Jesse presented his problem to his friend.

“Steve, the reason I’m calling is the senior partner’s son has an unusual situation going on at his home.” And Jesse proceeded to tell his old friend about Liz’s ex breaking in and holding their son hostage after getting paroled in Connecticut. He explained how Don Adams had attempted to take a contract out on Liz and was also a bigamist among other things, by the time he was finished with his story Steve was flabbergasted.

“You mean to tell me that this man was dumb enough to break into the home of a well known athlete and his wife and threaten her and their son after just being released from prison? He doesn’t think very clearly does he? What do you need Jesse?”

Jesse was very glad to hear that Steve understood the problem and was willing to help…

“Well Steve, we need to know if there is any connection between this Donald Adams and Officer Edward Bradley who is an investigator with the Philadelphia Police Department. We can’t, for the life of us, figure out why this Officer Bradley has taken such an interest in Liz or this person…we are also certain that he is the one who has placed the surveillance equipment on Max and Liz’s refrigerator and they were advised by the investigating officer to leave it there until they could find out what was going on.”

Steve listened intently at Jesse as he conveyed all of the information he had and then, when it was his turn for some input, he said,

“Well Jesse, it sounds like they are getting some good advice but I would definitely keep Liz and the children in some kind of protective situation until this gets sorted out. God knows what the man thinks he’s doing or why. He might just be an over zealous detective or there could be something very sinister going on here.”

Jesse thought about that for a minute and then said,

“I don’t think he’s over zealous Steve. H’s been with the PD for years and a detective for almost as long as he’s been on the force. The man knows what he’s doing as far as investigating. We just can’t figure out his need for the secrecy and intrigue. Adams broke into the house, held the kid hostage, had a gun, which was a violation of his parole and threatened to hurt Liz for sending him to prison in the first place. It’s pretty cut and dry if you ask me.”

“Well, it certainly sounds like it to me as well. Why don’t you fax me all of the information you have on this officer Bradley and I’ll see what I can find out for you. How is the little one, any problems there?”

And Jesse had to laugh…

“Steve, you aren’t going to believe what this four year old is doing to his mother’s sanity. Apparently he’s known baby sign language since infancy and Liz signed for him to kick Don and run and when he did Liz took a cast iron skillet from the stove and knocked Don out. Instead of JP running like his mother told him he waited to make sure she was alright and now he’s going around telling everyone that his mother ‘whacked the man with the bacon skillet and killed him’. Liz is ready to kill the kid and his grandfather said the last thing they need is for JP to get on a witness stand and tell the world his version of the story.”

By this time Steve was laughing along with Jesse…it wasn’t funny but he could just imagine how the boys mother felt.

“God Jesse, I can just imagine how the family feels about this. We’ll do what we can from this end to see if there’s any connection between these two men and I’ll get back to you one way or the other. In the meantime you take care and if you’re ever in our neck of the woods look me up, I’d like getting together for old times sake.”

“I’ll do that Steve and should you ever have the desire to come to the alien capital of the world look me up as well….I’ll see if I can dig up a space ship or two for you.”

Both men laughed as they hung up and Jesse proceeded to go over to the fax machine and started sending page after page of data to the FBI.

In the meantime Steve Gardner went to the main computer in his office and typed in Donald R. Adams social security number and started searching for any and all information they had on the man in their data banks, especially military records which included people he had served with. It shouldn’t take very long to find out what they wanted to know.

*~*~*

It was now early Sunday morning and the kids were all dead to the world of course, it was a day to get up and go to church. Liz pulled an arm loose from her position on her husbands body and shut the alarm off, Jack raised his head up over the side of the bed to see which one of his masters was awake and then he stood and stretched his big long body out as far as he could reach before shaking off the nights sleep and headed on down the back stair case. Liz watched the animal with one eye open and tried to roll off her husbands chest only to discover that she wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Max was awake also and when she tried to release herself from her usual position Max wrapped both arms around her and nuzzled in making it impossible for Liz to move in any direction.

“Mmmm, good morning love, it’s time to get up.” She mumbled.

“Nuh uh…not yet…good morning.” Max returned the sentiment.

“Uh huh…we have to get ready to go to Mass, c’mon.” The only thing moving on her body was her mouth.

“Huh uh…we can go tonight….stay here with me for awhile. We don’t get to do this much anymore and it feels good to have you here.”

“Well, I think it feels good too, but Jack’s waiting for us and the kids ….”

That’s all she got out of her mouth because the next thing she knew Max’s mouth was on hers and it was wonderful. She hunkered down, relaxed and let her husband’s kisses drive her senseless. She forgot all about surveillance equipment, hungry dogs and happy little faces and concentrated on the man holding her in his arms. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world for her and she was in heaven. This was exactly what she needed.

*~*~*

In the meantime, across the United States, another young mother was waking up to pounding on the door of her double wide trailer. It wasn’t the worst trailer ever built nor was it the best but it was clean and well kept and her children were safe and well fed.

She worked a split shift at the local truck stop and managed to earn enough money to keep everyone fed, housed and clothed and they were happy.

She got herself out of bed and grabbed a robe from the chair in the corner of the bedroom and made her way to the living room and looked out the side window. There was a uniformed policeman standing on her porch patiently waiting for a reply to his knock. As she opened the door she looked at the officer with a confused expression, she recognized him from the truck stop and quirked an eyebrow as she spoke.

“What seems to be the problem officer?”

“I’m sorry Doris but are you married to a Donald Adams?”

Doris Adams got a sick look on her face and replied in a very monotone voice…

“In name only, why? What’s he done now?”

“Well, it seems there was an incident in Philadelphia and he was injured during the commission of a crime and is in serious condition. It is at the request of the Philadelphia P D that I inform you of his condition.”

The Connecticut Penal System had her information in their files and gave it to the Philadelphia, Pa. PD with all of the other information on the man.

Doris didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t heard anything about Don since filling out the deposition regarding their marital status 9 years ago.

“Officer, the only reason why I am still married to that man is because I can’t afford a divorce. I have been away from him for almost 11 years now and if I had the slightest interest in him or his whereabouts I wouldn’t be living here waiting tables, raising my kids and keeping my head above water. Whatever he has done is of no concern of mine. If he dies let me know…maybe then I’ll be able to obtain some help. Thanks for stopping by.”

The officer looked down at the tiny little blond who looked old beyond her years and bid her goodbye. She was a pretty little thing and then he noticed the young boy of about 13 and a cute little girl about 11 peeking around the corner of the hallway and nodded his head before turning and leaving. It’s a shame what some men do he thought to himself.

Young Don Adams listened to the conversation between his mother and the policeman and wondered why his mother never spoke of his father. He didn’t even know anything about his dad or that he was alive. ‘This is very interesting’ the young boy thought…’very interesting. There must be a good reason why mom never told me he’s still alive, wow!!! He’s in Philadelphia, that’s in Pennsylvania, right? I should write this down so I don’t forget.’ And the youngster went to his room and took out his little black diary that his mom gave him for his birthday and wrote down everything the policeman had told his mother just now and then he signed and dated it. He would need this some day.

*~*~*

In the meantime Steve Gardner contacted Jesse and gave him all the information that he could come up with on Don. It seems that Officer Bradley was in Don’s unit in the marines about 15 years ago. They served together in San Diego, never left U.S. soil and Don was discharged about 10 years ago under some undisclosed circumstances. It seems he was practically asked to leave the corps but there was no specifics. There was a complaint of spousal abuse but no charges were ever brought forth. Bradley was in his unit and served under the man but there was nothing to indicate any special friendship, of course there wouldn’t be but they did serve together.

Jesse thanked Steve and asked him to fax the info and of course Steve said he would be glad to. And as soon as Jesse had the information he immediately faxed it to Philip’s home fax number. This was, after all, a personal matter and not for publication at this time.

When Philip read the faxed message from Jesse he immediately made a copy to take over to Judge Abbott’s office in the morning and then he waited to call Max because he was sure they were all at Mass by now.

I’m sure Max was very glad his dad decided to wait with his information…he really wasn’t in the mood to be disturbed no matter what the information was. If it was good it would be just as good later and if it was bad he didn’t want to know about it anyway. And besides, nothing was as good as what was going on right now.

*~*~*

Max was in the shower when Philip’s call came through and Liz told Philip that she would have Max call him as soon as he was dressed. Philip asked about everyone and wanted to know if she had decided what to do about tomorrow evening. Liz assured him that as soon as she and Max had a chance to talk about it she would give them a call and Philip said great and they rung off.

So when Max got out of the shower Liz explained to him as he searched the closet for a shirt and some jeans that his dad needed to talk to him and that they should make a decision about tomorrow before he called him back. Max agreed and as he headed back to the bathroom he suggested that everyone drive themselves. Liz thought this was a great idea and so it was decided that they should have dinner around 6:00 p.m. tomorrow evening and then go to the open house at school in a caravan. That way the grandparents could leave when they were ready.

So Max headed downstairs to call his dad and Liz started waking up sleepy heads. They were just darling on Sunday mornings…it wasn’t that they disliked church so much as it was just a lazy day to get ready for another week. Sundays were fun days, family days…and the kids enjoyed them as much as mom and dad. They were all a little surprised that they got to sleep so late though and Liz explained that they would do something fun and then go to the evening Mass and the whole group was happy about that. JP wanted to know if they could go for ‘busketti’ of course and the rest of the group all moaned. Liz said they would put it to a vote so they all stopped their whining and started some serious discussions while Liz headed downstairs to start breakfast. After surveying the situation in the refrigerator she decided to make it a real Sunday brunch. She started cleaning out everything in the refrigerator; besides a bunch of leftovers she made French toast and scrambled eggs as well as sausages and bacon. It was a real smorgy and JP had the rest of the leftover ‘busketti’! He thought he’d died and gone to heaven.

As Liz was fixing her huge buffet Max was out on the back patio talking to his dad about the latest information and seemed to be a little taken aback about it all. He felt he needed to hire some extra security around the estate just in case this Officer Bradley was more than just a part of Adams’ unit.

As he discussed this information with his father he was being very closely watched by another set of eyes off in the distance, well hidden by the shrubbery surrounding the estate. Officer Bradley was parked down the street a ways and the only thing he heard from his vantage point was the hustle and bustle of a family getting ready for a meal none the wiser about the other set of eyes.

*~*~*