“I know how you feel, but I have an idea that might help him get back on track.”
“What is it?”
He hesitated. “I’d rather not say right now. I’d just like you to trust me.”
“I don’t know. It doesn’t seem right to send mixed signals.”
“We both know he’s not a criminal. Do you remember in the meeting when he said he wouldn’t lie? He’s just a confused kid, who loves his mom so much that he’ll even self-destruct to prove it. I’d really like a chance to talk with him—man to man—not like a kid.”
“Well, he has been asking a lot of questions about his biological father lately.”
“There ya go. See what I mean. He’s thinking about the adult world. Speaking of his dad, would it hurt you to tell him who the guy is?”
Jean looked at her bowl. The melted ice cream looked like chocolate-covered potato soup. “I don’t want to talk about him,” she said.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
“Neal Joseph Randolph.”
Stump nearly bolted to the front of the room.
The grey-haired judge looked up from his file. “Are you Mr. Randolph?”
“Yes, sir,” Stump said anxiously.
“Looks like you have a birthday next month. How old will you be?”
“Fourteen, Your Honor.”
“I see. Are your parents here?”
Stump pointed behind him. “My mom is right back there.”
“Ma’am, would you mind joining your son?”
Jean did as requested. “Well, Mr. Randolph, you’ve been charged with shoplifting alcohol. Is that correct?”
“Yes, sir. My friend almost died and I made a dumb mistake.”
“I see. It’s a good thing you weren’t near a school. That would make your problems even worse. Do you admit to or deny the charges?”
Stump nearly interrupted, “I admit it. I stole it, sir. And I’m sorry.”
Jean’s head turned. She raised her eyebrows.
“Do you understand,” the judge said to Stump’s mom, “that your son’s answer can prevent him from employing certain other legal defenses that might be available to him?”
Stump stood motionless as his mom turned toward Myles, who nodded. She turned back to the judge. “We understand.”
“You’ll both have to come before me again for sentencing. Do you realize there’s a very real chance that Neal will be sent to juvenile hall?”
She hesitated. Then, “Yes, sir, I understand,” she said through trembling lips.
“Can you be back here on Wednesday at one-thirty?”
“Yes. I’m unemployed.”
“Let the record show that we’ll hold a disposition hearing at one-thirty p.m. this Wednesday afternoon.” He gently tapped his gavel on his desk.
Chapter Sixty
Friday night, after their AA meeting, Myles and Jean went to his apartment. While he poured pink lemonade, Jean rested her hand on his upper arm. “A quiet evening on the couch will be a nice change of pace.”
He smiled. “I can’t believe I got tired of both pie and ice cream.” He slid the pitcher back into the fridge. “Before we settle in, can we talk about Stump?”
“I thought we were going to talk about my job options.”
“We can do that too, but I’ve been meaning to get to this other thing, if it’s okay.”
“Did he do something else wrong again, because if he did—”
He waved her off. “Last week when we went to the air show, we talked about family and honesty with our loved ones.”
“Oh. He and I are not always tactful, but we do seem to get the cards on the table.”
“Yeah. Well. That’s the point. He asked me to talk to you about his father.”
She pursed her lips. “That again. I just wish he’d forget about it.”
“Not likely, Jean. He’s at an age where you can’t distract him and hope he forgets the topic. He’ll just come back to it later.”
“No kidding. He’s like a boomerang.”
“He’s doing it for you. He thinks the guy might be able to kick in some money and make things better for the both of you. That’s pretty unselfish for a kid his age.”
Jean smiled. “Sometimes I forget that about him.” She sipped at her lemonade. “I’ve considered it, but I’m stuck. I can’t tell him the truth and I won’t lie to him.”
“What could possibly be so troubling? He’s already proved he can accept just about anything. He knows about unplanned pregnancies, things like that. Is the father somebody he knows?”
“No. I told him I don’t know who it is and that’s the truth.”
“Oh I see. A college prank? Did you pass out or something? It just can’t be that bad.”
She bit her upper lip and rubbed her neck. Then, “Look, I didn’t want to tell you either because you’re in law enforcement. But I did something very bad. Illegal even. I’m not proud of it, and I don’t want to lose you.”
“Is that it? You can tell me anything. I promise not to tell anybody. You’re a good mother now, and that’s all that matters.”
Jean nervously sipped at her lemonade, turned the glass around and sipped at the other side. “This would be much easier if I simply got knocked up. Stump would accept that, but it’s worse. Back in Wisconsin, when I was nineteen I moved into my first apartment building. The neighbor was a single woman, a little younger than me, who already had a cute little baby boy.” Jean’s hands began to shake. She looked in Myles eyes. “This is not easy. I’m so ashamed.”
“It’s okay. Go on.”
A couple deep breaths later, “She had quite a few ‘boyfriends,’ if you know what I mean. They drank a lot and smoked marijuana. But the worst part was she ignored her baby. The little guy cried and cried, sometimes for hours without her doing anything about it. One night, after he was asleep, I heard her door close and looked through my peephole. She snuck off with two guys somewhere, probably to a bar. I was concerned so I paid attention. They came back drunk a couple hours later. I almost called the cops, but I couldn’t be sure what all happened.”
“So the little guy was Stump?”
Jean shook her head and sipped lightly at her drink. “The next day I told her if she ever had to do that again, I would watch her baby. After that, I watched him a few times before it became a pattern. I watched him nearly every night while she went out and had her fun. That’s when I found out she was pregnant again.”
“Uh-oh. I think I see where this is going.”
“She couldn’t handle one baby, Myles. How was she going to handle two?” Myles rubbed his chin, but said nothing. “We had a heart-to-heart,” Jean went on. “She told me how hard it was to be a mom. I must have scoffed because she asked me if I thought I could do any better. Without even thinking I said I could do better than she was doing. She must have hoped that was what I was going to say, because she asked me if I was just a big talker.”
“What did you say?”
“She told me I could have the new baby, if I’d make a deal with her. I was stunned that she’d even think of such a thing. It was as if she was tired of a TV program and just wanted to change the channel.”
“Did you tell her that?”
“I tried to talk her into giving it up, but she said she had to keep it—not because she’d love it, mind you—but because it would enable her to get more money from the government.” Jean ran her finger around the rim of her glass and sighed. Her eyes filled with tears. “It was either her or me. One of us was going to be its mother. If I didn’t take that baby, it was going to be neglected.”
“Wow,” Myles said standing up to get her a tissue. “No wonder you kept it quiet.”
She sniffled. “I knew I only wanted one child, but I was young, and just as naïve as she was.”
“So you agreed to take the baby?”
“I had to. She couldn’t take care of one baby; how was she going to take care of two?”
“How’d you explain it
to your family?”
“I said I was pregnant. But if I had stayed there, they would have seen that I never got bigger. Several months later, I lied again and said I was moving away.” Jean lowered her head. “I didn’t want to lie to them but I had to. They all hated me for leaving and having my baby on my own.”
“But that’s not what you really did?”
“No. I stayed in that apartment and watched my neighbor get bigger and bigger until she had the baby – my precious Neal. He lived with me in my apartment until she got all her papers in order and her first check came in. Then we really did leave. I took him to Michigan. I waited until he was walking before I went back home. That’s when my sister came up with his nickname. Nobody knew any different. Not even her. I’ve never told anybody else.”
Myles tweaked his head sideways. “What about medical records and that other woman? Didn’t she need to have the baby around to carry on her scheme?”
“I don’t know about her. I didn’t care. Didn’t tell her where I went either. I just got out of there to protect that baby, my baby, and I never looked back.”
“What about the medical records and birth certificates and the like?”
“It wasn’t a problem. I told a new doctor that I just came to the U.S. from England and didn’t have any records in this country yet.”
Myles rose, walked to the kitchen and poured out his glass. “This is more serious than I thought. We’re talking big crimes here, like conspiracy. Kidnapping. Fraud. Child endangerment. And I don’t know what else a DA might dream up.”
Jean gasped. “But it wasn’t kidnapping or endangerment because the mom wanted it that way—and Stump was safer with me than he was with her.”
Myles shook his head. “I’m sure that’s what you thought at the time, but that didn’t mean it was okay to take him away. What if that mother had a change of heart? What if some other family could have given him a better situation? Did you think of those things?”
“I just wanted to protect that baby. Nobody would love him more than me, Myles. I had to keep it a secret. It’s also why I drank so much in the beginning. To hide from what I did.”
“It’s definitely conspiracy, and defrauding the government to get the financial aid.”
Jean lowered her head into her hands and wept. “Are you going to turn me in?”
Myles hesitated, then rose. “Well, I can’t just overlook it. That would be wrong and you’re always a stickler for doing the right thing.”
“Oh my God, Myles.“ she said, crying. “What are you going to do?”
“The only thing that makes sense. I’m going to blackmail you.”
“Blackmail? What do you mean? I don’t have anything I can give you.”
“Oh, yes, you do.” He walked toward his bedroom. “You stay right here.”
“Are you going to turn me in or not? I gotta know.”
“You’ll see. Just wait a minute. I’ll be right back.”
Jean shivered, her lip quivered and tears rolled down her cheeks. How could she expect a cop to keep a secret like that?
Myles returned. “Did you know that spouses can’t be forced to testify against each other?”
She looked up, tears flowing down her cheeks.
He knelt and held out an engagement ring. “I was planning on doing this anyway, but as wrong as your deed was in the law’s eyes, it was so incredibly noble and loving, it just confirms everything I’ve come to think about you. If you’ll marry me I’ll keep your secret forever.”
“What? Oh my God, Myles. That’s it? This is unbelievable. Of course I’ll marry you.”
“Good. To tell you the truth, I would have kept the secret even if you said no.”
She shook her head and grabbed the back of his hand. “How could I say no to such an incredibly understanding man?”
“And you’re a wonderful mom. Thinking back on what you did, you only had two other options and they were both lousy. If that lady had kept Stump, he’d be far worse off. If the state tried to find him a home, they would have never found anybody who’d love him any more than you do. What good would it do to stir up a hornet’s nest, now? None. He’s already got a good situation.”
She rolled up in Myles’s arms. “And now it gets even better.”
“And you don’t have to work if you don’t want to.”
Chapter Sixty-One
Mac had already dropped by the sporting goods store to pick up a spool of ultra-fine fishing line and grabbed a Gazette from the newspaper stand. Now he was at a burger joint and gathering his last-minute thoughts. On page three there was a story about some traveling salesman named Kevin Lapport who had been decapitated when his car crashed into the back of a dump truck on the interstate.
Others might scan the article and note words like “bloody,” “senseless,” and “tragic,” but Mac zeroed in on words such as “single,” “age 38,” and “no known family.”
He went outside, tossed the paper into Annie’s saddlebag and placed the most important phone call he’d made in years.
“Rachel Johnson.”
“Hi there. How’s it going?”
She sighed. “Can’t get to my work. Everybody wants to congratulate me for getting married.”
“You didn’t mention the other things, did you?”
“It’s tempting, but the baby hasn’t even moved yet, and I want to be more certain before I make any announcements.”
“What about the inheritance?”
“Same thing. Pappy wouldn’t want me to make a big deal out of it. I wish you could have met him. How ‘bout you? How’s your day going?”
“I’m glad you asked. After talking with your attorney and signing all those papers, I got to thinking about families, kids, stuff like that.” He paused. “I’ve put an ad on Craigslist to sell Annie.”
“What? Why? You love that bike.”
“A daddy-to-be shouldn’t own a dangerous motorcycle.”
“Wow! That’s very noble, but it seems awfully sudden.”
“I might get a truck or an SUV.”
“If that’s what you want, it’s fine with me. I always thought it was a little too dangerous anyway.”
“I still have one more thing I want to do, before I let her go. I was hoping that you’d help me get a few pictures of me and her. Might want to look back someday.”
“Pictures? Sure.”
“If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to meet after work, at that viewing platform I told you about, at the Punchbowl. Then you can snap a few of me and Annie with the sunset and panorama behind us – and I can get some of you too, before you start swelling up. You know, capture this phase of our lives.”
“Tonight?”
“It shouldn’t be crowded and I thought you said you don’t have any after-school activities today.”
“I’ll have to stop by the house and change clothes first. Can we go to dinner after that?”
Mac chuckled. “That’s the least I could do. Do you remember how to get there?”
“Yeah, it’s up that canyon about forty-five minutes from here.”
“Great. I’ll bring the digital. Let’s say four-thirty. There’ll be lots of orange sky by then.”
“Should be lovely.”
After the call Mac took a final look in Annie’s saddlebags for tools and supplies. Satisfied that he had everything he needed, he mounted his two-wheeled helper and headed for the Devil’s Punchbowl.
There was only one piece to the strategy that still made Mac nervous. It was one of those perspective issues. While he still harbored doubts as to Miranda’s ability to handle Rachel on her own, she had so much self-confidence he had to reluctantly trust her and instead remained focused on his alibi.
As he and Annie neared the park entrance, Mac took a gander in his rearview mirror. Nobody was back there for at least a half-mile. Ahead, a gradual hill hosted some gentle curves that seemed to have been placed there solely for his and Annie’s amusement. Just before enteri
ng the canyon the speed limit dropped to forty and a yellow sign announced an S-shaped curve. Annie loved those little challenges. She dug down into third gear.
Mac and Annie made their way through the initial stages of the canyon where the walls grew taller and the midday sun cast intermittent shadows across the slithering road as if a child were overhead, playing with a light switch.
Ten minutes in, just after the halfway point, they had ascended to the top rim of the canyon. The view was astounding. Mac nodded his approval. “Nobody up here,” he said to Annie.
“Looks like all the homework paid off,” he thought he heard her say. He and Annie danced gracefully over the remaining hills and around the final few bends until they pulled into the small parking area near the platform. Mac dropped the kickstand, jiggled it into place and turned off the engine. No traffic for the moment. He opened Annie’s saddlebag and grabbed what he needed.
A groomed trail led him to the platform, where he went to the back corner that jutted out a full two feet beyond the canyon ledge. Even though he’d thought about this moment countless times, he leaned over the rail and confirmed his previous findings. They were at least fifteen stories above ground. Satisfied, he reached in his pocket for the eight-foot stretch of one-inch nylon strap he’d gotten from a hardware store. He tied one end to the bottom of the corner post and the other end to the bottom edge of the adjoining fence section and dropped the slack over the edge.
The bad-ass screwdriver that he got from Miranda’s garage loosened, but didn’t remove, the huge screws that attached the fence section to its upright posts. His eyes glimpsed movement off to the side. He grinned. Below, a pair of red-tailed hawks were playing in the updraft.
He reached in his pocket for the spool of transparent fishing line he’d picked up earlier. He wound a couple of loops around both the post in the corner and the upper part of the fence section. Then he did the same thing on the other end of the section. With the post and fence section barely held together, he took one of several yellow pencils from his pocket and broke it in half. He removed the lowest screw from the post and replaced it with a piece of the pencil. Slowly he replaced the remaining screws, one by one, being certain to continually test the strength of his makeshift pencil plugs against the weight of the aluminum section. Then he set the screws by one of the side posts on the ground. With the weight of the fencing held up by pencil plugs and the whole section attached to the upright posts with fine fishing line, he nodded. “Oughta be good enough for a few hours,” he said into the mild breeze. He moved swiftly back down the path to the parking lot and within a half-hour, he and Annie had eased their way out of the canyon.