***SORRY ABOUT THE RECENT GLITCH IN CHAP. 2. IT NOW IS FIXED.***
Summary: Lennie and Ed learn about a bizarre service that provides abductions for hire and renders the experiences into art, but there's nothing they can do about it until a dead body turns up. A very strange case indeed.
This story is a semi-sequel to "A Lot of Trouble" (also posted here at FanFiction.net). It's not absolutely necessary that you read "A Lot of Trouble" first, but it might make some things more clear. Judith in this story and in the first one is Judith Sandler from the L&O episode "Survivor." There are five chapters.
Musical comedy fans may spot that I owe a great big debt and many apologies to Edmond Rostand, Tom Jones, and Harvey Schmidt.
IT DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU PAY
(Although inspired in part by actual incidents, the following story is fictional and does not depict any actual person or event.)
Chapter One
At his desk at the 27th Precinct, Det. Lennie Briscoe looked at his beeper. Judith's apartment number? The only one calling him from there would be Judith, and he knew that she went to work at the gallery that morning as usual – not to mention that she never called him at work anyway. Wondering if perhaps she was ill, he dialed the familiar number.
"Judith? What's going on? Why are you back at home?"
"There's something going on at the gallery, Lennie. I think maybe someone ought to take a look."
"Someone like who?"
"Someone like the police."
Instantly concerned, Lennie asked, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, but I sort of told them that I wasn't feeling well so that I could call you from here. And actually, I wasn't feeling great after what I saw."
"What was it?"
"Well, there's a new exhibit being mounted as we speak. I had been hearing some buzz about it. At first I didn't pay any attention because it didn't sound like anything they would need me for, but then I did get curious and went to take a look. And it's. . . Well, it's sort of hard to explain."
"Is it porn? Should we get someone from Vice to check it out?"
"No, not porn. At least I don't think so. I didn't really see very much of it, but I'll tell you, Lennie, I've been around the art world a long time, and I've never seen anything like this."
Lennie was getting a little impatient. "Like what, honey?"
"As I said, it's really difficult to describe. And I wouldn't want to prejudice anyone who's going to see it anyway. I suppose it could be that I'm overreacting."
Yeah, that's always possible, thought Lennie, although she'd been getting better and better about that. And she really did sound concerned.
"So, you want me to go take a look?"
"No, not you. They know you here, and they'll know I called you. Is there someone you could maybe send?"
"I suppose so. How about Ed? Will he do?"
"Has he ever been there with you?"
"No, not that I recall, but I'll ask him to make sure. What would he be looking for?"
"That's the thing, Lennie. They're not going to let just anyone get a look at an unopened exhibit. He'd have to do some pretending."
"I think he could do that. He's pretty good at talking his way into places. What would he have to say?"
"Okay, listen – the exhibit is being put together in the lobby on the second floor. He'll be able to see that they're arranging a whole bunch of VCRs."
"VCRs? And that's art?" Lennie's definition of art had become more expansive since he'd been dating Judith, but some of it still looked just plain crazy to him.
"It's the tapes that are going to be played in them that's being called 'art.'"
Geez, he thought, if even Judith doesn't buy it, it must be some pretty damn weird stuff.
"So, how can he get to see them?"
"That's what's going to be tricky. I figure he's going to have to pretend to be there looking at something else at first. Then maybe he can make like he's sort of curious about what they're doing. If he can get to talking to a guy named Tony who's wearing a purple silk shirt, that would be good because Tony's in charge of mounting the exhibit, and he's very high on it. He also loves when people show an interest in what he's doing."
"An exhibit of VCRs and a guy named Tony in a purple silk shirt? Judith, are you really serious?"
"I'm dead serious," she said firmly.
She sounded it.
"If he can get Tony to show him any of those tapes, that would be good, and if he can pry a brochure about the exhibit out of him, that probably would be a very good idea, too. That way you could know what you're dealing with and maybe who's behind it."
"Couldn't you get your hands on a brochure, Judith? You do work there."
"I thought about that, but they're still in the package from the printer, and Tony hasn't unwrapped it yet. I probably could get one, but if I showed an unnatural interest in this, someone might remember later. And I just don't know how to do cloak-and-dagger."
True, he thought. Judith was honest to a fault, a god-awful actress, and couldn't play a head-game if she had a set of instructions – in other words, a woman completely outside the realm of Lennie's previous experience.
"Okay, Judith we'll check it out, and I'll give you a call back. You going to stay at home or go back to work?"
"I think I might feel better staying here until you let me know what's going on. It's just so weird."
Lennie glanced at the clock on the wall. He and Ed had been about to go talk to a crew of construction workers, but it was only mid-morning, and they'd be at the job site all day.
"Okay, I'll see if I can get him over there right now."
"Oh, and, Lennie – 'experiential art' might be a good term for him to throw around.
Lennie jotted that down right under "Tony – purple silk."
"Got it. Okay, hon, I'll call you back. Bye."
"Bye-bye, Lennie."
Lennie hung up the phone, and Ed who'd been looking at him curiously asked, "You gonna spend all morning on the phone with your sweetie? We got somewhere we're supposed to be, remember?"
"That'll keep. Meanwhile, Ed, I've volunteered you for a little mission. How's your art appreciation?"
"What the hell you talking about, Lennie?"
Briefly, Lennie explained to his partner what Judith had told him.
"Let me get this straight. . . Judith went home from work because she's scared of an exhibit of VCRs being put up by someone named Tony in a purple silk shirt. And I'm supposed to drop everything and go over there and pretend to be interested?"
"That's about it."
"You sure you're paying this woman enough attention, Lennie? Sounds to me like she's trying to get some from you."
Lennie sighed. "Judith wouldn't do that."
"Yeah, well, I guess we all know you're the one who's the expert on what Judith would and wouldn't do."
"Don't start, Ed." Months ago Lennie and Ed had had to agree to disagree about Judith. Lennie couldn't understand how Ed could so disapprove of a woman whom he had initially liked when he first met her. "Let's just do this on our way over to the site. It can't possibly take more than an hour."
"Okay, okay – whatever you say."
Just about one hour later, Lennie was sitting in a coffee shop several blocks from the gallery waiting for Ed to return. He glanced at his watch. This was taking a little longer than he had expected. He wished he knew what was going on.
Just then, Ed entered and sat down across the table from him.
"So, what'd it look like to you?"
"Like a homicide waiting to happen."
Lennie was stunned. He hadn't known what to expect but hadn't been thinking along those lines.
"So, Judith was right to be concerned?"
"Oh, I'll give her that, for sure. She was dead right. I just hope nobody gonna be dead real. Read this." And he tossed a garishly colored brochure down in front of Lennie.
He scanned it. "A Stunning New Dimension in Experiential Art," it promised. ". . .testing peoples' personal limits to the ultimate. . . " ". . .elements of surprise and danger. . ." ". . .abductions. . . " "Clients become subjects, and subjects become clients."
Bewildered, he asked, "What the hell is this crap?"
"It never says so in so many words, but Purple Silk was proud to tell me that this so-called artiste is a professional abductor."
"A what?"
"Kidnapping for hire, Lennie."
"People pay him to kidnap someone?"
"No, not someone else. They pay him get themselves kidnapped."
Lennie just looked at him. "Are you sure you and Tony maybe weren't smoking a little something, Ed?"
"I'm damn serious, Lennie. I saw a few of those tapes. Must have been what Judith had seen, and it's enough to scare anyone."
"What was on 'em?"
"The abductions. I understand there's more. Tony says that you can get an 'ordeal' as well as a kidnapping. But that costs extra."
"You saw people being kidnapped on tape?"
"Yup. Right off the streets. Sometimes it takes place in other locations, but apparently the artistic value is higher if the snatch is made in public. 'Smashing urban art,' says Tony. Smashing is right. It's pretty violent stuff, Lennie. Someone could get hurt or worse. Like I said, a homicide waiting to happen. And I don't even have any idea what might be involved in the so-called 'ordeals.' Tony was pretty coy about that. Saving it for opening night"
Lennie stared at his partner in disbelief. Thirty years on the force, and he thought he had heard it all.
Ed caught his look and said, "Yeah, yeah – I know. Seems like people are getting crazier all the time."
"So, let's see if I have this right. . . People hire this 'artist' to kidnap them, he tapes it, and people go to watch the tapes?"
"And buy them. Let's not leave that out. Copies are for sale."
"Lunatics. We are living in a city of goddamn lunatics."
"You got that right, partner."
"Well, look, if someone gets kidnapped off the street, there's got to be a report of it, right?"
"My thinking exactly. I couldn't take notes, of course, but I wrote down what I remembered as soon as I got out of there. Look here." Ed opened his notepad and showed Lennie.
Tape 1 – 9/10
Tape 2 – 7/7 – 116th ?
Tape 3 – 5/29
"Those were the date stamps on the tape. Part of the authenticity, according to my pal Tony. I recognized a couple storefronts in the second tape – in the 116th, I think."
"Well, at least we've got a place to start tracking this down."
"And something else, Lennie. Look here." Ed pointed to some fine print on the brochure. "It says that people wanting to inquire about the artist's services can call this number."
"Good. Something else to run. Let's go back to the station and do that. The guys at the construction site will be there until quitting time. Maybe we can track something down on this 'experiential' crap real quick."
Back at the 2-7, Lennie called Judith while Ed called the 116th.
"Judith, it's me. We checked it out."
"And?"
"And maybe you better keep on 'not feeling well' for the rest of the day."
"So, I was right?"
"Ed thinks so, and after what he told me, I do, too."
"Is there anything that can be done?"
"We're not even real sure exactly what it is yet. Trying to track it down right now."
"Let me know?"
"Yeah, I'll tell you about it tonight. Meanwhile, you've got a whole day off. What are you going to do?"
"Hmmmm. . . I don't know. How does a little baking sound to you?"
"Sounds like you read my mind, doll," Lennie said smiling.
"That's getting easier and easier. See you tonight."
"Let's hope. Bye."
Ed hung up at about the same time. "Nada," he said.
"Nothing at the 116th ?"
"Not only that, but no such activity reported anywhere in the city on any of those three days."
"Could this stuff have been taped somewhere else, Ed?"
"Not likely according to the vehicle plates I saw on all three tapes. And I definitely know the location on the second one."
"Any chance these snatches could have been staged?"
"We already know that, don't we?"
"I mean officially."
"MTU! I'll get on it." Ed picked up the phone again.
"And I'll run this number on the brochure."
But they both came up dry again. The Department's Movie/TV Unit had no records of any such tapings, and the number was an unlisted cell phone.
"So, what now," asked Ed. "Just wait for opening night?"
"And if someone gets hurt in the meantime?"
"There's that."
Lennie was thinking. "You know, we could always call the number and inquire about the service. Set something up for ourselves."
"Whoa, whoa, Lennie! You're getting way ahead of where you ought to be. We do anything that even smells like undercover, and we better bring Van Buren in on it."
Lennie sighed. "I suppose you're right. Okay, let's go fill her in."
Their lieutenant, however, was conferring with some other detectives, so Lennie and Ed decided to tackle some paperwork while they cooled their heels.
Idly Lennie wondered if Judith's tip to them would do anything to get her into Ed's good graces. And then he wondered why he cared. His partner had been a real bastard about the whole thing. Not as bad as some of the others, of course, but hardly supportive. 'Supportive,' thought Lennie. Christ, I sound like a damn talk show. If I want support, I should get a truss.
Still, it bothered him that Ed had met Judith, had eaten with her, chatted amiably with her, and even told Lennie that he thought she was "great." And then, because of that scene Jack McCoy had made in the restaurant, Lennie had to tell him about Judith's past.
Ed had just stared at him. "Have you lost your mind, bro?"
"You got a problem with it, partner?"
"Yeah, right – my partner dating an ex-con? Why should I have a problem with a little thing like that?"
"And this affects you, how?" Lennie had asked him.
Actually, Ed did not have a satisfactory answer to that but hedged by pointing out that this wasn't something Lennie would be able to keep under wraps.
"So, now we're little old ladies worried about the gossip mill? Is that it?"
"Ain't gonna make our lives easy."
Ed was right about that and also right that word would spread. Lennie was pretty sure that Ed never said anything, but it could have been McCoy or Carmichael or anyone in the crowded restaurant who had overheard. And it didn't matter. Lennie had known it only would be a matter of time anyway. He expected some ribbing and probably even hostility, but he hadn't been totally prepared for the degree of the fallout.
It wasn't long before Van Buren summoned him and asked him pretty much the same question as Ed had about the whereabouts of his mind.
"But why, Lennie? What possessed you?"
He shrugged. "These things happen, Lieu."
"Eight million people in the city of New York, half of them female, and you pick an ex-con? And not just any ex-con! Oh, no – it has to be one that you yourself arrested? Things like that don't just 'happen.'"
He shrugged again. "'Who can explain it? Who can tell you why?'"
"And now you're quoting musicals at me?!?"
"Look, Lieu, she's a nice lady – a good person. And she wasn't the only one responsible for what she did. She had plenty of help – some of it from the victim himself. Now she's done her time. She's off parole. Is there any reason this can't, for Christ's sake, just stay in the past where it belongs?"
Van Buren didn't say anything for a moment but regarded him carefully.
"You've got it bad, Briscoe – haven't you?" she asked softly.
"Could be. Too soon to tell. I'm happy. That's just all I know right now."
She crossed the room and sat on the bench beside him. She propped her chin on her hand for a bit and seemed to be thinking. Finally, she said, "Okay, Lennie, I guess I have to admit that ain't none of us pure as the driven snow. So, I'm behind you on this, but you've got to know you're not going to have an easy time."
"I know that."
"I don't know if there's anything I can do to make it better, but I'll do what I can to make sure it's not worse."
"I appreciate that, Lieu."
"I hope she's worth it."
Lennie didn't put it quite that way to himself, but privately he had to admit that at that point in time he didn't exactly have a handle on where the thing with Judith was going. She was drop-dead gorgeous – great big green eyes, long brown hair, and she looked at least a decade younger than her forty-nine years. She was smart. She was talented. She was funny. She was a lot of things Lennie liked, and he also really admired the honest attitude she had taken about the recent unfortunate chapter of her life – she knew it always was going to be part of the book but was slowly learning that that was no reason not to keep turning the pages.
On the other hand, Judith did have a lot of problems. Many of them she and her shrink seemed to be resolving gradually, but she still had very little confidence in herself. And it bothered Lennie that despite her evident fondness for him, she didn't seem to be ready for more. That was a completely new experience for him. He couldn't recall ever having waited that long for any woman. Either they were interested or they weren't. Do it, or move along. He really didn't know why he was being patient except that he had a hunch that it was going to pay off. A hunch or a hope? He really didn't know which but did know that he couldn't have stood not to keep seeing her.
When everyone found out about her, Lennie tried to downplay it, but she knew that she was the cause of a lot of trouble for him and worried about it constantly. He reassured her that he could ride it out and that people soon would find something else to talk about. That turned out to be true in large part, but there were still the occasional rumblings and Ed's continuing disapproval. Usually, Lennie just ignored it.
One good thing came out of all the gossip. Lennie heard from his last two partners at the 2-7, Rey Curtis and Mike Logan. After having to play the Lost and Found Department game about his mental faculties – God, he was getting sick of that – he actually had pretty good conversations with both of them.
Rey, of course, remembered Judith's case, as he had been there, too. When Lennie refreshed him on the details – especially reminding him of that fat rich bastard Richard Peterson who had so condescendingly lectured Rey on high finace – he seemed to come around. Lennie had to smile when he imagined the huffing and puffing moral outrage mode Rey would have gone into over this the first year Lennie knew him. Mistakes of his own and his wife's serious case of MS, however, had combined to make Rey a far more tolerant individual than he ever had been. In fact, once he understood the situation, Rey even suggested that perhaps some time when Deborah was having a good day that Lennie bring Judith around to meet them. Sadly, that "good day" had not yet materialized.
Lennie sighed when Mike called. That meant that word about "Briscoe's slammer sweetie" had spread even to Staten Island. Nothing like being famous, Lennie thought. Although Mike was incredulous, he was not judgmental. Typically, he assumed that Lennie was getting some pretty hot sex out of the deal. If Mike only knew. Lennie didn't confirm or deny, but just let Mike talk. It was good to hear from him in any case.
"Lennie? Yo? You trippin,' man?" asked Ed, bringing Lennie back to the present. "Hague and Keller just came out of Van Buren's office. Let's go grab her."
"Let me see if I understand this. . . ," said Van Buren a few minutes later. "You're working a tip on a case that isn't a case and might not be our case in the first place even if it was a case?"
"Look, I know how it sounds, Lieu," said Lennie, "but it's something very weird."
"'Very weird' is not a crime, gentleman."
"What I saw on those tapes looked like a crime to me, and I think I would know," Ed pointed out.
"But you can't find any evidence that these incidents even occurred?"
"Um, not so far, no," Lennie conceded.
The lieutenant looked at the brochure again. "I'll admit that this sounds like some very dicey stuff, but it would appear that our hands are tied."
"So, we just wait for someone to get hurt? Is that it?" asked Ed.
"No, what you do is pay a visit to our favorite ADA and lay it out for her. Let her tell you if any laws are being broken. Hell, maybe she can put an injunction or restraining order or something on them that will stop this nonsense. Paying to get kidnapped? I swear, people nowadays have just too much time on their hands."
"Okay, we'll get right over there."
"And, guys, try not to forget about the case that is a case – you know, that one you're supposed to be working on."
Downtown, Lennie and Ed found Abbie Carmichael in her office. Jack McCoy was in there with her going over a file.
"Good afternoon, Counselors," said Lennie.
"What brings you guys down here today?" asked Abbie.
"Our lieutenant sent us to get a little legal advice. Tell 'em what you saw at the gallery, Ed."
Once again Ed described what he had seen that morning and gave them the brochure. They studied it and looked uneasily at each other.
"This sure isn't something I like the looks of, Jack."
"But is it illegal?" Jack asked. "How'd you two turn this up anyway?"
Ed looked at Lennie, and let him answer.
"Judith tipped us to it. It's the gallery where she works."
McCoy looked away from him and didn't say anything.
"Judith?" Abbie asked. "Your, um. . . You mean, the woman I met?"
"Yes," said Lennie, not wanting to get into it. "Look, Abbie, didn't you tell me once that no one can consent to being assaulted in this state?"
"Technically, that's true – but try and enforce it," said McCoy. "We'd have to shut down every public and private BDSM club in the city and then start on the bedrooms. And then the perverts would be screaming that we should go after football players and boxers. It would be a nightmare."
Lennie seemed to recall having pointed out practically the same thing to Carmichael once, but he let that go.
"But, look, man," Ed protested. "It's not only the kidnapee, or whatever you want to call it, but someone else could get hurt. What I saw on those tapes is that these thugs come out of nowhere, grab the target, and he fights back. It could spill over easy. A woman on the sidewalk was almost knocked down on one of the tapes."
"What'd she do?" asked Abbie curiously.
"Looked to me like she regained her balance and just kept walking – mighty fast."
"Typical," she said. "New Yorkers. I bet she never reported it."
"Apparently not," said Lennie. "We couldn't find any record that any of this ever happened."
"All right," sighed McCoy. "Abbie, check the books. If you find out anything relevant, then go have a chat with this Tony. I think that's all we can do right now."
"You need anything more from us?" asked Ed.
"Not at present, but we'll let you know. Thanks for bringing this to our attention, gentleman."
As they were leaving, Jack called out, "Oh, and, Lennie, thank Miss Sandler as well."
Well, thought Lennie, a breakthrough. And then he wondered again why he cared.
The interviews at the construction site went well enough but took much longer than expected by the time the two detectives had tramped all over the lot dodging cranes and cement mixers, the latter over which they had to shout themselves hoarse in order to be heard.
Lennie had been more tired, but he was plenty tired enough by the time he made it to Judith's at around six-thirty. He could smell freshly baked bread even before he got his key in the lock, and that helped – a lot.
Judith was running water at the sink in the kitchen and didn't hear him come in. He resisted the impulse to go and hug her from behind. Judith was doing well – very well – but even now that they'd been intimate for several months, Lennie found it prudent to telegraph his moves. Judith's claustrophobia had much abated, but he didn't want to provoke a panic attack by taking her by surprise.
He waited in the doorway until she shut off the tap, and then he said, "I'm here, Judith."
She gave a slight start but didn't appear to be alarmed. "Hi, you. Smell anything you like?"
"You know I do."
"Want some? I'll give you just a little slice now. Don't want to spoil your dinner."
"Yeah – like that would ever happen. Especially with your cooking."
Judith blushed as she usually did when she heard a compliment, as if she could never quite believe it was meant for her.
"Want some coffee, too? Go ahead out and sit down. I'll bring it to you. You look tired."
He didn't argue, and in a few minutes she brought him coffee and a slice of bread with a generous portion of melting butter.
"French?" he asked. "You said that's a lot more work."
"Well, it's not like I had anything much else to do today. So, what'd you find out about the exhibit?"
Briefly he told her and concluded, "In other words, not much."
"You mean that the kind of stuff I saw on those tapes can go on right on the street, and no one can do anything about it?"
"Not unless Abbie Carmichael comes up with some legal hocus-pocus or until a crime is reported. And, you – you go back to work, but please stay as far away as possible from that exhibit and anyone connected with it. Who knows but what the abductor stars of those little dramas might show up, and Ed said they looked like some pretty rough customers."
"They sure did. That's why I got worried.
"Just out of curiosity, Judith, what is it with this 'experiential' crap anyway? How does it get off calling itself 'art?'"
"There is legitimate experiential art, Lennie. Take for example at kids' exhibits in museums – how they set up things for them to touch or play with. And that play we went to in the Village, remember, where the audience became guests at a wedding. That's experiential drama."
Lennie remembered. He had protested at the time that it sounded "nutty," but he wound up having a pretty good time and even danced at the "reception."
"But no one got hurt there. It didn't even look like anyone was going to get hurt. Shouldn't a line be drawn there?"
"Well, I certainly would draw one, but apparently my employers have another take on it. So – Ed? I assume he was thrilled to go chasing after something I called about?"
"Not at first, but, like I told you, he was as concerned as you were after his little visit to the gallery."
"Well."
"Well, Ed will come around."
"So you've been saying. For months. Look, Lennie, I don't care for me – I barely know the guy, but this has to be uncomfortable for you."
"You'd be surprised how often it doesn't come up."
"Because you both just keep not talking about it."
"Judith, it's just not something for you to worry about."
"So you. . . " And Lennie's beeper sounded. She slumped in her chair and mumbled, "Great, just great."
Lennie looked at the readout. "No, it's okay. It's Julia."
She brightened. "Great! Say 'hi,' and let me know how Jake's doing. I'm going to look in on dinner."
She went to the kitchen, and he dialed his daughter's number in Glens Falls. It was so good to be calling her at home again instead of at the hospital. There's one number Lennie would like to forget, but he doubted he ever would.
"Hey, Julia! It's Dad. How's Jake doing?"
"He's great, Dad. He has his setbacks, and he gets discouraged, but he seems to perk right back up. He's one determined little kid."
"Is he still talking about taking a trip down here?"
"Don't you know it! I think it's one of the things that keeps him going."
"Well, listen, you tell him that Judith and I will be driving up there one weekend real soon."
Julia was silent for a moment. Just as Lennie was beginning to wonder if the connection had gone dead, she said, "Dad, you're not calling from your place or from work. Are you at Judith's?"
"Yeah. And, sweetheart, there's something you ought to know. I'm probably going to be moving in here."
"You're going to live with her?"
"We're talking about it."
"Is she there right now?"
"She's making dinner. Want to talk to her?"
"No. No, I don't. But I do want to talk to you."
"Julia, is something wrong?"
"Dad, we've been hearing some stuff – crazy stuff. And I have to ask you. . . Um, how did you and Judith meet? You never did say."
Oh, God, thought Lennie. Not right now.
"Well, the subject never came up, did it?"
"The subject is up now. How'd you two meet?"
Lennie glanced toward the kitchen. He sure didn't want Judith hearing this. He sighed and said, "Probably whatever you heard is essentially correct."
"That she's a murderer you arrested? You mean this is true?"
Damn it to hell. If people were going to gossip, couldn't they at least get the facts straight?
"The second part is true, but not the first."
"You arrested her, but she didn't murder someone?"
"Right."
"Then what'd she do?"
"Julia, honey, this isn't a good time."
"Look, I probably can go look this up in the papers if I have to, but I really don't have time, and I'd rather hear it from you anyway. Which, by the way, I should have before now. Were you ever going to tell me?"
"I hadn't thought about it."
"So, again, if she didn't murder someone, what did she do?"
Lennie moved as far away from the kitchen as he could get. "Okay, okay. She caused a man's death."
"And that's supposed to make me feel better?"
"The law makes a distinction. Look, what's the problem anyhow? If you heard that much, you must have heard that she's paid for it. Let that be the end of the story."
"So, my dad's going to move in with a woman who killed someone, and I'm not supposed to worry about it?"
"Caused. . . "
"Yeah, yeah – okay, 'caused his death.' Fine. How do you know she's not going to 'cause' someone else's death? Like maybe yours?"
"That's not going to happen. Go ahead and look up the case, and you'll see why. Besides, aren't you forgetting something? You've met her. You've spent time with her. You told me you liked her. And that's not to mention what she did for us – for Jake."
"I know all that's true, Dad. That's why I'm having such a hard time with this. When I heard, I just couldn't reconcile the whole thing.
"How'd you hear anyway?"
"A couple of our local cops were transporting a pris--. . . "
"Never mind," he said wearily. "I get the picture." And he did. Couple of Glens Falls guys on the job come into the city, get to chatting with a couple of their counterparts, mention the crazy New York cop who was up in their neck of the woods a few months back. . . It didn't take a whole lot of imagination. He supposed he should be surprised that it hadn't happened earlier.
"So, how you want to leave this, kid?"
"I don't know, Dad. I don't know what to think."
"Think about this – with Judith, what you see is what you get. What did you see?"
"I saw a lovely woman who obviously was being very good for you."
"Well, then, leave it there. Can you do that?"
"I don't know, Dad. It was just such a shock to hear it. Maybe if I'd heard it from you first. . . "
"That was my fault, but you have to admit, there's been a lot going on for you. This just didn't seem that important."
"Look, Dad, I've been. . . I've been stressed out with Jake and all."
"Sure. Sure you have."
"Maybe I am overreacting. I don't know. I'm going to have to think about this some more."
"You think about it, and I'll call you in a couple of days, okay? We can talk more then if you want to."
"Yeah, yeah – sure. That'll be good."
"And, Julia, one thing. . . Look, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't. . . "
"Tell Mom? Ha. Don't worry – that stressed, I'm not."
"Julia, you just concentrate on Jake right now. Give my love to him and Bill, okay?"
"Sure. I love you, Dad."
"Love you, too, kiddo. We'll talk soon.
"Bye, Dad."
When he hung up, he saw that Judith had begun to set the table. She didn't look at him but said, "I wasn't eavesdropping, Lennie."
"But you heard."
"You raised your voice there a couple times. It wasn't hard to figure out. She knows about me now."
"Yeah." He could see that tears weren't far from her eyes.
"I'm really sorry about that. I like her, you know. I was really hoping she could like me."
"She did. I mean, she does – I'm sure. She's just surprised."
"Oh? Like Ed was 'surprised?'"
"I'm gonna give Julia a little more credit than that. She spent quite a bit of time with you – under very trying circumstances. That's going to count for a lot."
"And what if it doesn't?"
"She's an adult. It's her problem."
"I don't want you to be cut off from your family on account of me, Lennie."
"No one's cutting anyone off, for God's sake. Judith, you're worrying too much again. Julia will sort this out, and everything will be fine."
"I hope you're right."
Lennie hoped he was right, too. He sure didn't want the two most important women in his life at odds. But Julia had a good head on her shoulders, and she was a sweet girl. He'd put money on her coming around in a short time.
"Lennie, maybe we should put off this moving in together thing."
"We'll talk about it after dinner, okay?"
They did, and he convinced her to leave things pretty much where they were before – that they would be thinking more seriously about it as the time came for him to decide about renewing his lease.
Go to Chapter Two --
