Authors: Paul Watkins
“Let me brief these guys for a minute and then we can talk. I want you to know you all did a great job out there today. It couldn’t have turned out any better. We’ll be out in a minute.”
Our meeting takes only a few moments and I instruct the men to reassemble in the foyer where there’s more room. The Jacksons stand off to the side with their children while Mary and Karen remain near the door to the library. Martha and Ned are farther down the hall by the kitchen door. Martha smiles and waves and then immediately returns to a rather sullen, angry look. I’m sure she has found nothing amusing in any of this. These children are part of her family as well and she would defend them with her life. I acknowledge her stern countenance with a slight nod and a smile. Looks like I’m going to get extra dessert tonight whether I want it or not.
I walk up a couple steps on the stairway to have a better view of the men. This is one happy group and the look of pride and accomplishment is evident by the looks on their faces.
“As I indicated earlier, I want to thank you all for a job well done. Tomorrow we’ll take a little time off to celebrate… you’ve earned it. You men who have come in from other shifts have had a little tougher time of it and I want you to know we appreciate the extra effort. I think things are finally under control now, so we can all knock off for today.
“This has taken a lot out of all of us. I want everyone, including the current shift, to take the rest of the day off. We’ll return to our normal rotation the day after tomorrow. Your shift leaders will brief you in that regard as soon as I finish. That meeting will take place outside. I want the house to be quiet for the remainder of the day.
“Any questions or comments?” No hands are raised and after a brief pause, “Okay, that’s it. See you in a couple of days. Thanks again.”
There’s general backslapping and good-natured shoving as the men shuffle towards the door and theirmeeting outside.
***
The conversation stops as I enter the library. A.J. is the first to speak.
“Everything under control?”
“Yeah, I think so,” I respond. “It’s been a tough day. Tougher on you guys, of course.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” A.J. replies. “I know how much this has affected you, Phil. Sheri and I have talked about it. We know this goes way beyond your assignment… you and your guys did one hell of a job.”
“Look, A.J., I want you to understand something… and this isn’t false modesty or any of that psycobabble crap… what happened today was mostly the result of the efforts of the fine people who work here. And it didn’t go beyond our assignment… it’s what we’re here for… to protect you and your family. You hired the best and you got the results you hoped for. For once you got your money’s worth… right? These people are very good at what they do… I’m a part of that team and proud of it.”
“Karen,” Sheri interrupts, “I want you to realize something. We are standing between the most modest man in the world and the biggest bullshitter in the universe. I’ll let you guess which one is which. The truth is always somewhere in between when it comes to these two. If A.J.’s talking, the truth is way, way, way over towards Phil. If Phil’s talking, the truth is way over towards A.J.”
“Hey, hold on a minute!” A.J. exclaims. “How come I get a couple of extra ‘ways’ thrown in there? You know what the problem is with you, Sheri? You haven’t figured that liar out yet. When he lies, which is most of the time, you think he’s telling the truth. When he’s telling the truth, which is seldom, you think he’s lying. He’s got you so twisted around you don’t know which end is which. That’s why, whenever I say anything, you get it so mixed up. Right, Phil? Back me up on this.”
“Right, A.J. Whatever you say, boss.”
“Now there’s a man who knows when it’s important to tell the truth,” A.J. exclaims.
Sheri looks at Karen and then at A.J. and shakes her head with a look of resignation.
“You know, A.J., I used to think I married a man of color. Now, for the first time, I realize you are probably just another white man. Your skin is brown because you are so full of crap.” A.J. leans back as though hit with a shovel. “Please excuse me, Karen, but sometimes I have to use highly technical language when dealing with my husband.”
Then brightening, “Anyway, right now I don’t want to talk about anything other than the fact that I am so grateful we have our son back safe and sound. Regardless of what Phil says, I know he is responsible for making all this come out right… and nothing A.J. says is going to change my thinking on that score.
A.J. and I were completely devastated this morning when everything started happening. Phil took charge and all of a sudden so many things were happening I couldn’t keep track of it all. And they had thought about so many things ahead of time. I couldn’t believe it… they had actually planned for a kidnapping. They knew everything they were going to do… and I’m sure I don’t know the half of it.”
A brief silence ensues and I decide this a good time to bring everyone up to date.
“Okay, Sheri, thanks for your kind comments, but let’s not get carried away. But before we have a drink, I would like to add a few things and then I think we can drop the subject for the evening. I think you should know that this business is not quite over. Bear told me there are two more men involved.” I look directly at A.J. “Your former manager, Monte, and some other mutt he hired to help him out. both are still on the loose. There were no signs of them when we found Bear and the other man with little Jeff, but Bear confirmed they were in on it from the beginning. It stands to reason… Bear would never start a deal like this on his own.”
A.J. sits quietly while I offer this information.
“I should have known that bastard, Monte, was behind this,” A.J. observes. “Hell, all I’ve been thinking about was getting Jeff-Jeff back. When you found him I thought it was over. I never thought about how it all got started.”
He stands and walks to the fireplace.
“What now… is there anything we should do?”
“I’m not sure,” I reply. “The next move, if there is one, is up to them. In the meantime, I think they’ll be using all their energy to stay away from the police.”
The room grows quiet as each person pursues his or her own thoughts. Sheri is the first to break the silence.
“I think we all could use that drink now.”
There’s a general muttering of agreement in response.
Walking to the bar, Karen touches my arm and asks, “Are you okay? All this talk has been about everyone else, how about you? You must have had a pretty tough day, too.”
I am still struck by her beauty as I look at her. She invokes a strange emotional tug of war whenever I see her. I know it can never work for us, but something in me says I should not give up… followed immediately by cold reason. Life with Karen would always be crazy. There would always be issues I didn’t understand, problems I didn’t know existed, and incredible highs separating the confusion and the lows that would follow each collision. I cannot and will not live my life on an emotional roller coaster. I won’t do it for Karen or anyone else. It’s simply not worth it. In the meantime I guess I want to remain friends. Just because we don’t seem to be able to get along as lovers is no reason not to have a friendship.
I pat her lightly on the shoulder and smile.
“Karen, this is my job. It would have been a tough day had it turned out differently. But everything worked out okay. Hell it’s better than okay… everything’s great, so it has been a fine day for me. As I said earlier, I’m just sorry it had to happen at all. Kids are my soft spot… these kids in particular.”
Catching a part of our conversation, A.J. and Sheri move closer.
A.J. directs his comments to Karen, “Sheri and I have decided to take Phil on a trip for an extended vacation. Maybe we’ll go to Florida and spend a little time on the beach… look around a bit. With enoughtime in the sun we might get him to pass for a member of the family.”
Sheri punctuates this with a solid smack to the back of A.J.’s head. It’s obvious, with the right kind of reward system he might come up with fewer good ideas like this in the future. The telephone rings. I’m close, so I’m the answer man. It’s Jennifer.
“Jennifer’s on the way over,” I inform the group. “She probably heard about all the commotion on the radio or TV.”
“Oh good!” Sheri exclaims. “I’m glad she’s coming here. This way she won’t worry. We can tell her everything.”
It seems like only a few moments pass before Jennifer arrives. She walks in the door and goes immediately to Sheri.
“I heard about little Jeff on the car radio and I came directly here. They said everything is okay. Is it really?”
Sheri smiles and nods her head as tears again well in her eyes.
“Everything is fine, Jennifer, but I really appreciate you being here. We’ve had quite a day.”
Jennifer looks at Karen and then focuses again on Sheri. She displays absolutely no reaction to Karen’s presence.
“They said one of the men who did it was killed. How did that happen?”
Sheri’s eyes grow wide. “I don’t know anything about that.” She turns to me. “A man was killed? There was shooting?”
“I was going to tell you later,” I respond. “There just wasn’t a good time to do it and I didn’t want you to worry needlessly. It happened after we sent Jeff-Jeff home. He was the one who hurt little Jeff… he got a little frisky and then managed to die for his trouble, occupational hazard. Those things can happen when you go into his line of work. I wouldn’t spend too much time worrying about it.”
Sheri looks at me intently. “How did it happen? Did you do it?
“It happened, Sheri. There’s not much I can tell you. He was a player in a game he shouldn’t have been playing.” I pause momentarily. “If you want sorrow or contrition on my part, I’m going to disappoint you. As for details, I won’t give them to you, but I am the one who did it… and that’s all I’m going to say for the time being.”
I can tell Sheri has mixed emotions about this particular subject, but she’s wise enough to know that now is not the time to pursue it.
No matter how hard we try, no topic can occupy our minds for long before we return to the kidnapping. I tell them briefly how we located the hiding place so quickly. Everyone seems impressed that so much training and preparation went into the mere possibility that something like this might happen.
Why is it so unusual that a group charged with the responsibility for the safety and protection of this family was up to the task? It’s bad enough we allowed them to take little Jeff in the first place. The least we could do was to bring him back safely. I’m still havingtrouble with the fact that we seem to be in a constant state of warfare in this family. What the hell is going on? I’m not going to bring it up to A.J. and Sheri, of course, but it’s bothering the hell out of me.
It’s not long before A.J. begins to take credit for everything that went right today. It started with minor implications that are now growing to full-fledged claims. Basically, his logic seems to be that anyone can come up with a good idea, but it takes a great man to allow that idea to go forward… he being the great man in case anyone missed his meaning.
Well into the second drink my stomach reminds me I haven’t eaten since breakfast.
“I’m hungry,” I announce to anyone who will listen.
Jennifer seems amused by my grumpy mien.
“Why don’t we all go into the kitchen and take pot luck,” Sheri exclaims. “I’ll bet Martha has something delicious hanging around.”
“We have specials this week at some very good prices,” A.J. offers, but no one pays any attention to him. He shrugs his shoulders and looks at me. “I had to try… I’m losing my ass on this joint.”
I shake my head and pat him on the shoulder in an effort to show my concern over this near-tragic problem that has reared its ugly head in his otherwise well ordered life. I suppose he’s not the first one to think of ways to turn his home into a profit center, more power to him if he can find a way to pull it off.
Before long Sheri and Martha have a bunch of bowls and packages scattered about the table and everyone is digging in. A.J. opens another bottle of wine and for the first time since this morning the tension begins to abate.
Finished with dinner we return to the library to finish our drinks. In no time at all A.J. and Sheri start arguing about the wisdom of going to Florida within the next few weeks. Everyone here is used to the domestic battlefield but I finally have to interrupt.
“Look, you love birds,” I interject, “there are still some things I have to cover with A.J. before we end the evening. I’m not trying to break up the night, but I just want you to note it on your dance cards so there are no surprises. In the meantime, please carry on as before. This is starting to get interesting.”
Sheri stands up and moves away from the bar.
“Okay. A.J. and I are going upstairs to check the kids and count our blessings. Also, I want to check in with Mary. I’m certain she is still upset over what happened today. I want to be sure she’s all right.” She pats A.J. on the shoulder. “Come on, A.J., you should be there, too.”
“Sheri, honey, you just run along. You don’t need me for that. I’ll just stay here with Phil and … “
Without further ado, Sheri grabs him by the ear and lifts.
“Ouch! Leggo, Sheri! Shit!”
A.J. kicks the bar stool over and hops after Sheri, trying to follow his ear as closely as possible. Sheri looks back at Karen and Jennifer and shakes her head in disgust. Karen wiggles her fingers at the departing couple. Jennifer looks in my direction and winks. It’s business as usual.
“They’re really nice,” Karen says, “they have so much fun… even after today with all the trouble. Of course, I’m sure they’re so relieved.”
I can still hear A.J. protesting as he is herded up the stairs, ever the complainer, safely ensconced in his briar patch.
“Yeah, you’re right,” I agree. “It has been quite a day. Things will never be the same for them after something like this. We were lucky.”
“Sounds to me like luck had very little to do with it,” Jennifer offers.