CHAPTER 2

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Eddie sat down in the car and turned the engine over, then rev'ed it a few times, listening to the engine's powerful hum. Usually, that noise calmed her down. But not tonight. Every vroom of the engine just seem to increase her anger – at Natalie, at her father, at the whole damn situation. Finally, she put the car in gear and peeled out of the parking spot faster than she should have. She spent the next half-hour driving through Manhattan's crowded streets, stopping at a few parks here and there; driving to the top of a few parking garages, trying to get control of her raging thoughts. But it wasn't working. Nothing seemed to calm her down tonight. Maybe she should give her brain some help. There were plenty of liquor stores in the area, and when she'd had a beer or two at high-school parties, it had always seemed to mellow her mood. She pulled away from the curb and started driving down the street, scanning each side for liquor store that seemed likely to sell her some beers, no questions asked, no ID required.

An hour later, she had her six-pack of beer. The shopkeeper had probably overcharged her, but he hadn't asked for ID. In fact, the only question he'd asked when she asked for a pack of beers was a leering, 'Having a bad day, sweetie-pie?', accompanied by an offer to help her drink her troubles away. Ugh. What a creep. Now all she had to do was find some place she could consume her purchase. She almost laughed as a thought crossed her mind. She'd bought the beer illegally; she was only eighteen, making her a criminal. But, hey, what was one more criminal the Janko family?

As she drove aimlessly through lower Manhattan, she suddenly noticed where she was. She pulled Silver to a stop in front of the building where it had all begun. The investigation into her father's illegal activities. And also where it had all ended for her perfect life, living in a lovely house on Long Island with her mother and father; attending all the top social events and hobnobbing with the crème of society. All because of some investigator in this building had decided to look into her father's financial dealings.

Eddie got out of the car, slammed the door behind herself and walked around to the passenger side of the car. She leaned back against the car, looking up at the towering building. Somewhere on one of those floors was the office where Special Investigator Goodling of the Securities and Exchange Commission had opened a folder, wrote the name Armin Janko on the front and proceeded to utterly destroy her life. She opened the car door, pulled out a bottle of beer from the six-pack she'd bought, popped the cap off and gulped down a long pull.

As she tilted the bottle back down, she caught a glimpse of the main entrance doors. The same doors she and her mother had walked through only a few months ago, back when they still believed her father was innocent and it was all some huge misunderstanding. The same cement pillar next to them where that news photographer had been lurking, waiting to shoot the picture that had just destroyed her new life. Months of anger suddenly flared. "Screw you, Special Investigator Goodling," Eddie screamed and hurled the almost-full bottle at the building with every ounce of upper-body strength she'd developed from years of cheerleading and softball. It shattered against the column between the windows with a satisfying splatter of beer and glass.

But for some reason, it didn't make her feel any better. In fact, the beer trickling down the window suddenly looked like tears, and she found herself gasping for breath and trembling, trying to hold in the sobs. Damn him. Damn all of them. Goodling, her father, Natalie, all of them. She didn't cry in public. Eddie angrily wiped at the tears that were running down her face and pulled out a second beer. She tried to pop the cap off of that one also, but she was still shaking with anger too much to hold the bottle steady enough. Her gaze again fell on the column where Robert Smith, reporter extraordinaire (in his own mind, at least), and his photographer had hidden to ambush her and her mother all those months ago. The two 'journalists' had hounded her and her mother for weeks after that, trying to either get an interview or find some proof that Karina Janko and her daughter were co-conspirators and not innocent victims. Eddie gasped as a though crossed her mind. Is that how Natalie had found that article and the photo? Had Robert and his little pet camera jockey pulled together enough innuendo and speculation to publish something new in the local rag they worked for? Not that it really mattered how, she though; the effect was going to be the same. Her fresh start was over before it really got off the ground. Thanks to that photo, everyone at school was going to know who she really was: Edit Janko, daughter of that thief Armin.

Eddie choked back another sob as a thought hit her. If Robert Smith had published something new, all of this could have been avoided if she'd just started over somewhere else far enough away from NYC that no one would read his little newspaper. Why had she ever chosen to go college in New York? There were plenty of schools far away from the city where no one would have any idea who Armin Janko was; where no would have even cared even if they had known. That right, she recalled, she hadn't had a choice. The college savings account, one of the few Janko assets protected from seizure by the SEC, would only cover her tuition and expense at an in-state college. Out of state hadn't been a choice at all. Maybe she should have chosen a school away from the city. But this city had always been her home. The past few months had taken so much from her – her father, her mother to a large degree; their home, their friends, their community. She hadn't wanted to let Goodling and Robert Smith and his photographer take her city from her also. But now, it looked like that might be happening. Damn Special Investigator Goodling. Damn him, damn Robert Smith and his dream of winning a Pulitzer reporting on the 'mini-Madoffs', damn Mr. Photographer, damn you all! She drew back her arm to pitch the second beer bottle at the building when flashing blue lights atop a white car suddenly illuminated the night.

"Put down the bottle," a voice boomed from the car's PA system.

Eddie dropped the bottle in surprise and it broke open on the sidewalk. The police! Now she was going to jail, just like her father. She tried unsuccessfully to keep back another sob. Her new life really was over now.

Two police officer, a tall rotund man and a woman about her size, stepped out of the car and walked toward Eddie. "Miss, are you okay? What's going on here?" the female officer asked.

"'m fine," Eddie choked out as she tried to get control of herself. She swallowed hard several times. "He…" Another sob interrupted her explanation.

"Shh. It's okay. Why don't you come have a seat over here." The officer guided her over to the side of their car and helped her sit back against the hood. "Now, tell me what happened. Did someone hurt you?"

Eddie wiped away more tears and then clenched her hands into fists at her side. "No. It's not that," she finally choked out. "It's… Special Investigator Goodling. He ruined my life, and sent my father to prison, and now everyone at school is going to know, and all I wanted was a new start like my mother, and now that's all ruined too and I'm just so effing angry at everyone." And now she was babbling like an idiot, and, damn it, the tears just wouldn't stop.

==BB==BB==

"You didn't say effing," Jamie interrupted. "I've heard you. You curse like a drunken sailor when you get riled up."

"Edie Ivanovic didn't," Eddie teased back. "But, yeah, I said the F word. I'm trying to keep it clean for you, Mr. Boy Scout. And if you want to keep interrupting, maybe I won't tell you the rest of the story."

"Okay. Shutting up. Please, continue."

"So, I'm blubbering to Officer Collins, and the other guy – Officer Mowery – is doing something with the radio. Running the plate, I guess. And then he asked me one question… "

==BB==BB==

"Miss, what's your name?" Officer Mowery asked.

Eddie sniffled. "Edie Ivanovic." It wasn't really a lie, she told herself. That was the name on her student ID, and she planned to change it on her driver's license next time it renewed.

"Funny, because the car's registered to an Edit Janko."

"It's pronounced 'Eh-deet', not 'Ed-it,' and it's only registered under that name because I haven't had time to get my name changed yet," Eddie snapped at the officer as her emotions quickly swung back to anger.

"So you're Edit Janko?" the officer asked. "You got any ID?"

Eddie dug through her purse and pulled out her driver license. "See? Edit Janko, daughter of the financial scam artist extraordinaire and convicted criminal Armin Janko, and I guess a criminal now also."

"Well, that's something we'll have to figure out," the officer said as he looked over the license he'd taken from her. "Collins, come over here for a minute," he summoned his partner, and the two moved to the front of the car and began talking quietly.

Eddie glanced at the officers. What were they doing? She thought about running, but Officer Mowery still had her license, and just how would that work out well for her in the end, anyway?

A few minutes later, Mowery walked back over to her. "So, Collins and I have some more to discuss, and we're going to do it over dinner. You're joining us."

"Are you arresting me?" Eddie asked.

"Nah, not yet. If we arrest you, we got to do a lotta paperwork before meal break, and I'm hungry now."

"Mowery," Collins protested.

"Okay, we need to get some more info before we decide anything, and we think we'll get it easier over our dinner." Officer Mowery told her. "There's a diner just down the street that has some of the best burgers in the borough, and don't even get me started on their chocolate pie…"

"Please. Don't get Lee started on that pie. We'll be hearing about that pie for hours if you do," Collins teased. "Can we trust you to follow us over there?"

"Okay," Eddie agreed. Coffee and pie at the diner sounded better than a trip to the nearest lockup. And besides, Officer Mowery still had her license.

It had been a short trip to the diner, and the waitress had quickly taken their orders – a turkey club for Officer Collins, and the half-pound deluxe burger with bacon and extra cheese for Mowery, with a slice of pie for afterward. Eddie had ordered a coffee for herself. And while they waited for the food, the two officers had pulled the entire story out of her. How her father had scammed so many people, the SEC investigation, her father's guilty plea that had avoided a trial but led to a sentence of six to eight years, the subsequent dismantling of her entire life as various Janko family assets were seized by the SEC; the assorted news stories in every paper from the Serbian community paper, to the local New York papers, all the way up to a short write-up in the New York Times; how as the facts came out in each news story and in each court filing or hearing, more and more of the few friends they had left – the few her father hadn't scammed – had deserted them; how she and her mother had found themselves unwelcome at the country club, the Serbian social clubs, the nice restaurants, their church, her school – places the Janko name had been respected only a few months before; the petition for divorce filed by her mother; her mother's new life under her maiden name, a new life that seemed to exclude her; how she had tried to make that same new life for herself as Edie Ivanovic. And how it had all completely fallen apart only a few hours ago when her roommate had found that newspaper article and photo…

"There was a 'where-are-they-now' story in the Post this morning. Your father's name was mentioned," Officer Collins confirmed Eddie's suspicions about what had happened.

"Robert Smith strikes again," Eddie grumbled. "And now, I'm going to have to start over again, somewhere else, where no one knows about my father."

"Or you could stay and be yourself. Edit, Eddie, Armin Janko's daughter," Officer Mowery argued.

"But everybody hates the Janko family," Eddie protested. "I told you about how all our friends abandoned us."

"They hate what the newspapers tell them about the Janko family. You could show them they're wrong, that what your father did doesn't make you a bad person; that you haven't done anything wrong."

"Edit, this is the kind of situation where you see who your true friends are," Officer Collins added. "The people who stick with you, like this Hailey – they're the one you want as your friends. They're the ones that see you for who you are and will stand by your side through thick and thin. The ones who judge you based on what your father did? They aren't the kind of people you need in your life."

Eddie shrugged. "I guess so…"

Any further response was cut off as the waitress arrived carrying two plates of food. "Club for you, hon," she said as she put the sandwich down in front of Officer Collins, "and the deluxe for you." She reached in front of Eddie to put the plate down in front of Officer Mowery.

Eddie longingly eyed the burger as it moved in front of her. Her tummy suddenly rumbled loudly and her mouth started watering. She watched enviously as Officer Mowery picked up the sandwich.

Officer Mowery noticed her rapt gaze. "What? You didn't get dinner?"

"I haven't had a burger in weeks," Eddie blurted out. She couldn't stop staring at Mowery's sandwich. God, that looked so good!

"NYU doesn't serve burgers?" Officer Mowery asked.

"They do," Eddie admitted, "But everyone in high school teased me about how much I ate, so I decided that Edie Ivanovic was going to be a light eater. It's been nothing but salads and grilled chicken for weeks."

Officer Mowery laughed. "Poor Eddie. 'Edie' has been starving her all this time."

"Lee, be nice. Give her your burger," Collins ordered.

"Oh, no, that's okay. I'm fine," Eddie protested even as her tummy rumbled again.

"Eddie, remember what we just said about being yourself?" Collins asked. "That includes your eating habits. Do what's right for your body, not what you think other people want you to do. You've got to feed your own metabolism."

Officer Mowery put down his burger and cut it in half. "Listen to the nutritional science major. Here. We'll go halfsies. Eddie." He put the half sandwich on a napkin and held it out to Eddie.

"Thanks." Eddie picked up the burger. God, it smelled so good. Beef. Cheese. Bacon. Did anything smell better than bacon? She took a bite. It tasted even better. "Mmmmm," she moaned.

Officer Collins snickered. "Mowery, I thought you enjoyed your food, but you don't have anything on Eddie."

"Well, this is the best burger ever!"

"It's the burger to bun ratio. They get it right." Mowery explained.

"And the cheese – it's just the right amount," Eddie added.

"Mm-hmm," Mowery agreed around a bite. "And not a veggie on it."

"I know! Who needs salad on a burger?"

"Not me, that's for sure! Every now and then, if some cook puts those tomato things on my burger, I hand them right off to my partner here. She actually likes the veggies!"

Officer Collins shook her head. "You two." She turned her attention to her healthier club sandwich, which even she had to admit looked a lot less appetizing than that burger.

A few minutes later, Mowery had finished off his half-burger. "You see, Eddie? There's an example right there about how being yourself is better."

Eddie licked the last little bit of bacon fat off her fingers. "How's that?"

"If you're yourself, you get to eat bacon cheeseburgers here," Mowery explained.

"There is that," Eddie agreed.

"You'll have more fun at college also. Mowery could tell you more – he's done a few short undercover assignments. I've only worked vice a few times…"

"She means playing a hooker," Mowery whispered to Eddie.

"Even that can be a lot of mental work, and we're only doing that for a day or two. Keeping it up for four years…" Collins shook her head. "I can't imagine how hard that would be. And you deserve to have the best college experience you can."

"But won't everyone think it's weird if I suddenly change my name?" Eddie asked.

"Most of them won't even remember by next semester. People change so much the first year at college," Collins reassured her. "Heck, you probably won't even see most of the students from your dorm after this year. You'll find roommates from your friend group; you'll start taking classes related to you major next semester; you'll get involved in sports and clubs. Those are the people you'll see the most."

"'Edie' is an art history major," Eddie confessed to the two cops. "I don't even like art that much."

"Definitely should change that, then." Mowery laughed.

"Yeah. I chose it because my mother is really into art. I hoped… maybe it would show her I was still her daughter too." Eddie swiped at a tear that snuck out unexpectedly.

"Hey, now. You ready for some of that pie also?" Mowery asked. Without waiting for a reply from Eddie, he called the waitress over and ordered a second slice of the chocolate cream pie, and a slice of the apple pie. "For Collins. She like to pretend apple pie is a health food," he teased his partner. "And Eddie? Try not to judge your mother too hard. She's adjusting to a lot of changes right now also. She probably never saw herself being single again or trying to start over after so many years with your father. Or being alone, with you leaving for college."

"I guess not," Eddie admitted.

"Took my Mama and me a few years before we had a good relationship, after my father walked out on us. But we got there. Give it a chance."

"Maybe I'll go see her tonight. That's where I told my friends I was going anyway. Assuming I'm not going to jail." Eddie looked at the desserts the waitress was bringing to their table. "But can we wait until after I finish that?"

==BB==BB==

Jamie glanced over at his partner. "So, the big break the cops gave you was letting you finish your pie before booking you?" he asked. "Must've been some pie."

"Shut up," Eddie retorted. "And, no. It was a little more than that…"

Tomorrow: A favor…