Evelyn

Chapter 28

"You want me to open a bottle of wine?" Rick asks as he and Kate drag through the door of the loft.

"How about we go straight to scotch?" Kate suggests. "I could use going numb for a while."

Rick sighs, pouring three fingers of scotch into glasses. "We'll never be able to unhear the glee Evans took in his destruction, will we? That someone with that much evil running through his veins could spread it around unhindered for decades is sickening. And what's worse is he sees himself as the good guy."

"So does Ralph Johnson," Kate points out. "They're devoted to what they view as a righteous cause. That's what makes them so dangerous. But we have a handle on Evans now. We got the license plate of his truck and were able to trace his route through the traffic cams. We also confirmed that the address on his registration is accurate. We'll keep him under surveillance, and the minute we can tie him to a serious felony, we'll bring him in."

"Do you think solicitation of our faux William Jones to commit a crime will be our best chance to collar Evans?" Rick wonders.

"Probably. But Evans said he has to talk to a few people before Connors hears about his assignment. If any of those meetings, or later ones, are in person, we'll get eyes on other members of his circle. One of them might even flip on him. It may take some time, but we'll get Evans one way or another."

Rick downs a sip of his whiskey. "The sooner, the better as far as I'm concerned, but as long as we're suppressing pain, any ideas for further anesthetizing experiences, or better yet, something joyful?"

"Like what?" Kate queries.

"Sesame Street, Christmas movies, Cinderella stories, reruns of Barney the Dinosaur – your call."

Kate presses her fingers to her lower lip. "Right now, I'm more into beating the sh*t out of incredibly deserving villains."

"If kicking the sh*t out of them will do, we could go with old Chuck Norris movies, or binge his TV show."

Contemplation creases Kate's forehead. "I'm not that desperate. But how about a woman who does the kicking? Can we get the Avengers, the episodes with Diana Rigg as Mrs. Peel and Patrick MacNee as Steed?"

"Wow! That's going way back, even for me. I jumped on board with MacNee when he was the evil voice on the original Battlestar Galactica, the one from the '70s. And then it was because the ships and the Cylons were so cool, but I barely remember anything else. Wasn't that Avengers in the '60s?"

"Uh-huh," Kate confirms, "but I've seen clips. Actually, Peel and Steed were kind of like us. He was suave, charming, and well-dressed while she kicked the hell out of the bad guys."

"I resemble that remark," Rick pouts, pulling out his phone, "but let me see if the episodes are available online. Yeah, here they are. I can get them through my laptop and project them on the large monitor. You want me to make popcorn?"

"Do we have any chocolate kisses?"

"Are you asking about the candy or the action?" Rick teases.

Kate rounds her lips with the tip of her tongue. "The candy – to start with."

Rick's hairline slides backward as his eyebrows jump. "OK. I have some stowed away from when I made peanut butter blossoms last time we bribed Ryan. Creamy dark centers coming right up."

"I want an umbrella like that!" Rick declares as the credits roll. "I've always wanted a way to have my sword ready. With his brolly at hand, Steed could draw his at any time."

Kate walks her fingers up Rick's thigh. "I've never known you to have any difficulty with that."

Rick tugs Kate into his lap. "You have a point. Hmm. Perhaps that was a bad choice of words. Now, steeped as you are in your admiration for a kick-ass heroine, you're not about to use those deadly limbs on me if I sweep you up to take us to our bower of wedded bliss, are you?"

"Sweep away," Kate invites. "Mrs. Peel was waiting for her husband to reappear, but mine is right here."

Rick grins. "So I am."

Alexis yawns as she shuts off her alarm at 4 a.m. She gives a few seconds of thought to going back to sleep but dismisses the notion. She wants time to work on finding Browns who might be related to Evelyn Montgomery before she leaves for the lab.

She came up empty for Detroit and the surrounding area. It looks like Timothy and Karina only had one child. That would work to confirm that it was Mara, Evelyn Montgomery's birth mother. But Timothy Brown had to come from somewhere. Perhaps his family lived in another state before moving to Minnesota. The ties to Evelyn's profile, another generation back, would be more tenuous, but Alexis would still have sufficient data to make the connections.

A Brown with enough matching markers pops up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with a story attached. Alexis hates to admit it, but she hasn't studied a lot of black history. There isn't much of it in the regular curriculum at Marlowe Prep and she didn't choose it as an elective. Maybe, after working with Evelyn, she will. Still, she vaguely remembers hearing about the Juneteenth Massacre and brings up the article on Wikipedia. What happened was appalling, but explains a lot.

It looks like the Brown family prospered after the Civil War, eventually becoming residents of Greenwood, a wealthy black area in Tulsa. That all changed after the massacre. The family's home and business were burned to the ground. Several Browns were killed. What family members were left picked up and moved to Minnesota at the end of 1921, to start over. Alexis can guess the rest. Timothy was one of the Browns making the move. When he could, he enrolled at the University of Minnesota. He soon met Karina, and the two of them began their star-crossed romance. Alexis can't help wondering if there may still be Browns and their descendants in Minnesota. If there are, she has no profiles for them. But even without that missing piece, she has a lot more information for Evelyn.

Rubbing her eyes, and hoping for a jump-start from Rick's special dark roast, Kate checks the emails on her phone. As she's scrolling through her list, a forward from Brad Connors pops up. Evans sent Jones' probationary assignment. That was fast, almost too fast to organize a response. Jones is supposed to spark a major disturbance at a large retailer patronized mainly by the black community. He's not expected to take anyone out – thank God – just cause enough chaos to light up the internet and give right-thinking commentators some ammunition. But how the hell can her team make it look like William Jones did that?"

Martha sweeps down the stairs taking in Kate's expression. "Good morning, darling. Problem?"

Rick pops into the kitchen, bending down for a kiss. "Aside from a desperate need for coffee, what problem?"

"Connors is supposed to find a way to set off a small riot at a big box store with a bunch of African American shoppers."

Martha's eyes brighten. "Well, that is a piece of good fortune. I happen to be aware of a scene like that which was filmed for a movie not long ago. Several actors I know were in it. Unfortunately for them, it didn't make the final cut. I imagine with the right persuasion that you could borrow enough footage to fool a bunch of Nazis. I can make a few calls. You could post one of those YouTube things."

Rick plants a kiss on Martha's cheek. "Mother, you are a wonder. The haters will eat it up."

"But none of the stores will admit to having it happen on their premises," Kate objects. "Responsible news outlets will expose it as fake."

"Which will just reinforce Evans' conspiracy theory thinking," Rick argues. "He and his goons believe everyone lies, especially the mainstream media. In this case, they'll be right about a lie, but wrong about the perpetrator. Anyway, what choice do we have? We can't have Connors cause a real riot."

"You're right," Kate concedes. "Go ahead, Martha. Please make your calls."