21.
Vivian "Viv" Warner was used to getting calls at all hours, so when her phone rang, she was quick to answer, not wanting to wake the stunning blond lying in bed next to her. She covered the microphone while she tipped toed into what she hoped was the bathroom. It turned out to be a spacious closet, but with the door closed, it suited her purposes just fine.
"Warner," she said into the phone, knowing this was business.
"We've got a hot one, Luitenant," one of her detectives, John Stone, said.
"Tell me about it," Viv responded while opening the door a crack hoping to sport her clothes.
She was half-dressed by the time John gave her the victims particulars.
"Greg Brant, the hedge fund guy, took on to the back of the head with his own gun."
That made Viv pause for a moment, but it came with the territory leading the detective squad at the nineteenth precinct. Her percent covered the movers and shakers who lived, breathed and were sometimes murdered on the upper east side of Manhattan.
After asking Stone the standard questions, she hung up the phone and finished getting dressed. She walked over to the bed and placed a gentle kiss on the head of the pretty blonde who'd picked her up at the bar last night.
"I'll call you," She whispered, causing Nannette to smile before rolling over and probably going back to sleep.
Out on the street, she quickly found her unmarked SUV. Due to the early hour, she turned on her flashers but left the siren off as she drove rapidly towards the scene.
By the time she made it to the block in question, the uniformed officers had the block cordoned off. She flashed her badge and ID to a fresh-faced patrol officer who motioned her to a nearby space.
She stepped onto the curb, where she was met by the lead detective Stone and his partner Elise Reyes.
Even though Elise was the junior detective, she was the one to give Viv a rundown of all that they knew so far.
"The maid, Miss Agnes Moore, got to the house just before five to prepare breakfast, when she discovered our victim laying face down on the kitchen floor.
She immediately called 911, where Stone and I got the call. The ME is in with our Vic now. His preliminary suggests the time of death was between eight and ten last night.
The Lieutenant suppressed a shudder when she realized that was about the time Nannette was shoving her tongue into Viv's mouth.
Viv followed the two detectives into the vic's home as Elyse continued to run down the facts.
"The ME says he'll have a more definitive timeline once he can get our victim to the table.
We decided to wait to interview the maid until you got here. She's waiting in the study."
Viv nodded her head as she pulled on a nitrile glove. As she walked towards the kitchen, Stone whispered, "You got two versions of that same outfit, LT."
She glanced at him before whispering back, "Left the bar with the pretty blonde last night."
"Which one?"
In answer, she held a hand above her head, indicating the taller of the two she'd flirted with the night before.
Stone, who was now married with two kids, gave her a fist bump on her un-gloved hand, causing Elyse to roll her eyes at the easy banter between the former partners.
She snapped on the other glove with a pop signaling her transformation into a veteran homicide detective.
She stepped into the kitchen then worked her way clockwise towards the body, taking notes of all she saw in the process.
In her experience, men were messy cookers, but the countertops appeared to be pristine, suggesting that the perpetrator cleaned up after themselves.
She smiled to herself, realizing that as a gay woman with two gay mom's she didn't know much about men she hadn't learned from her former partner.
She knelt over the body as she thought through the sequence of events.
She could picture her victim standing over the stove, stirring the sauce when his killer walked up behind him and pulled the trigger.
The scenario suggested a few things.
Given the marble flooring in the kitchen, she thought the killer wasn't wearing shoes. Even if Greg knew the killer, and statistics suggested that he did, he would have turned towards the other person even partially to at least acknowledge their presence.
She also figured the killer must have had intimate knowledge of where the vic kept his weapon. Most residents of the upper east side didn't leave their guns out when making dinner.
"And they turned the burner off," she belatedly realized.
She made notes of her thoughts and observations before picking up the supposed murder weapon and examining it for clues.
She knew the Springfield Arms XD to be a good weapon with a record for both accuracy and reliability. She held the 9mm to her nose and caught a strong whiff of cordite indicating the gun had been fired recently. She hit a button releasing the clip then examined the clip, which held 16 rounds.
"Plus one in the chamber," She told herself as the story in her head began to take shape.
Her vic kept a fully loaded gun, which was unusual for the rich and well to do in a neighborhood like this one. That could mean that he was afraid of someone, but that was getting ahead of herself.
She placed the gun and full clip back on the counter for the evidence technician to collect. She stepped over the body, clearing the pool of blood to continue her probe of the murder scene. All she found were more suspiciously clean counters and a pan holding the contents of last night's uneaten dinner.
Once she was done, she released the body to the medical examiner reminding him that she should be his first call once he completed the autopsy. They both knew that since this case was high profile, that he would need to put Greg Brant at the top of his list.
With that done, she made eye contact with her detectives and nodded her head in the direction of the study.
She let Stone and Reyes take the lead establishing the woman's movements over the past twenty-four hours. It was standard procedure, but she was not surprised when she presented a plausible albeit for the time in question.
"So tell us what was unusual about yesterday?" Viv asked, playing a hunch.
"Mr. Brant worked from home yesterday, which was very unusual. And, he seemed agitated all day yesterday."
She paused for a moment as if weighing her next words.
"I overheard a phone conversation that seemed to indicate that he'd suffered a setback at work yesterday."
"Setback?" Stone probed.
"I know that it had something to do with the Elias Clark company," the maid concluded.
Viv's mind automatically recalled a conversation she had with her sister yesterday about this very topic. Natalie was an editor for one of the big magazines at Conde Nast. It seemed that they had all been literally popping open bottles of champagne when they heard of the downfall of their rival publishing company.
"Did he own shares in Elias Clark?" Viv asked.
Agnes nodded her head before adding, "I'm not supposed to know this, but I think he was expecting good news, and when that didn't happen, he seemed depressed."
Given the available evidence, they had already ruled out suicide, so she took things in another direction.
Viv gave a nod to Stone and Reyes, indicating that they should follow up on the Elias Clark lead.
Viv felt her phone vibrate, surprised that it had taken this long. She reached into her pocket and sent the call to voicemail, not wanting to interrupt the flow of the interview.
Stone sent her a look that said, "Ignore that call at your own peril."
"I can handle her," she suggested with the look she sent back to her former partner.
"Your funeral," his face said, and that was apparently the last word on the subject as he turned back to their witness.
"What else happened yesterday?" Stone asked.
Agnes brought her hand up to her forehand before saying, "There was a visitor to the house last night who ended up leaving with Greg's twin girls."
Elise looked alarmed, but before she could reach for her radio to call it in, Viv asked, "What do you mean left with the girls."
The three detectives listened as she explained how a stranger to her came to the house and legally left with Caroline and Cassidy Brant.
"And all you know is that her name was Andy?" Viv inquired, not quite sure how the information fit into her murder investigation.
"No, but, his attorney drew up the custody agreement, so he might know.".
Agnes walked over to the desk and scrolled through, and old fashioned Rolodex then pulled one of the cards.
Reyes took the card before leaving the room.
Stone asked a few more questions trying to establish a better idea of the sequence of events.
Minutes later, Elyse came back in and pulled Viv aside.
"The attorney said that the vic called him and insisted that he drew up a new custody agreement granting custody to his former wife."
"This, Andy?" Viv questioned.
"No, get this those two are Miranda Priestly's kids."
Viv gave her a what the fuck look, but apparently, Reyes wasn't done with the surprises.
"And, the Andy in question is Andrea Sachs."
Now Viv felt like she had somehow stumbled onto the set of the latest Dark Mirror episode.
"As in the Sachs Company CEO?"
"Don't forget Billionaires," Elyse added.
This time when her phone rang, she knew better than to send this caller to voicemail a second time.
"Warner," she said.
"My office, thirty minutes," came the familiar voice down the line.
The call was disconnected before Viv had the chance to answer.
She looked at her fellow detectives before saying, "I've been summoned by her majesty."
Stone gave her, and I told you so look, while Reyes looked sorry for
her.
No one liked to be called to the principal's office.
"Let me know if you get anything else," she told the two detectives as she headed for the door.
Twenty-seven minutes later, Viv pulled in front of One Police Plaza, home of the NYPD brass.
She had no problem finding a parking spot as it was still an hour before the start of the day shift. As she reached for her door handle, her phone buzzed with an incoming text.
" Weirder and weirder," she whispered to herself as she exited her vehicle.
She took the stairs knowing how slow the elevators were in the fifty-year-old building.
She walked into the office of Chief of Detectives Johanna Warner-Polniaczek and took a seat without being asked.
"Hello Vivian, I hear you caught a live one this morning," Jo said to her Lieutenant.
Viv nodded her head in agreement then spent the next several minutes, bringing her mom up to speed on all she knew about the Greg Brant case and the direction they are going.
"Do you think Andy is a suspect?" Jo asked.
"So far, we have no evidence pointing in that direction Chief, but you know the protocol she had contact with the victim in the last hours of his life, so we can't rule her out."
"I agree," Jo said
"There one other thing. The maid says he was seeing someone on the side."
Jo raised an eyebrow before saying, "And you think Andy may have been sleeping with our victim."
"I can't rule that out either," Viv responded.
Jo gave her daughter a look causing her to say, "OK, I will admit that it seems highly unlikely."
"Come on, let's go take a ride," Jo said, retrieving her badge and weapon out of her top drawer.
Viv gave her mom and odd look but knew better than to argue.
As they exit Jo's office, they are greeted by the old man himself, NYPD Commissioner Benard Williams. Bennie greets his former trainee then turns his attention to Viv, saying, "What's happening with the Brant investigation."
Viv gives the Commissioner the short version of events.
When she's done, Bennie turns to Jo and asks, "Who's this one doing."
Viv gives her mom and her "uncle" Bennie both a skeptical look.
Jo ignores her daughter's look as she responds, "She got good instincts, and the clearance rate for her squad is highest in the city."
"Well, you keep on her Jo," He said, giving Viv and affectionate grin.
Viv smiles back, glad that the rest of the squad is not here to witness her being ribbed by both the Commissioner and the Chief. They actually would be quite shocked since only a select few actually knew that she was Jo's daughter. By the time she joined the department, Jo Polniaczek was already a legend. She'd wanted to avoid any hint of favoritism, which is why she'd chosen to drop the polish part of her surname.
"You two are like brother and sister," she shot back at the two superior officers.
Instead of taking it as an insult, they both beamed at each other then at her.
Accepting defeat, Viv said she would keep the Commissioner informed before practically dragging her mom towards the stairs.
Down on the street, they get into Viv's unmarked as Jo said, "Head up to Carnegie Hill."
As Viv pulled onto the street, she reached for the switch to activate her strobes. Before she could, she felt a slap on the back of her hand.
"What," Viv whined, looking at her mom.
"Did you not hear me say we're going to Carnegie Hill."
"And," she responded, not seeing the problem.
When Jo looked at her watch, it finally occurred to Viv how early it still was.
"Now who's the politician," Viv said reviving an old argument between her parents.
"If you repeat this to your mother, I'll deny it, but when you are married to someone for thirty years, they rub off on you."
Viv was quiet for a moment, wondering and not for the first time if she would ever find a love like her parents found in each other.
Andy woke up to find that she was no longer in bed alone. She looked down and was surprised to see that it was Cassidy lying next to her. She felt movement on her other side and realized that she'd located the other twin. She managed to extricate herself from the bed without waking the girls. It had been a long night getting the girls settled in to of her guest room down the hall. Luckily Anna had been available to do some emergency shopping providing everything two teenage girls needed to exist.
Unfortunately, by the time they'd gotten home, it was too late to call Miranda, but both girls were mollified by her promise that they would call first thing after breakfast the next day.
Once she'd gotten them unpacked, they all piled into Andy's bed because the girls had lots of questions. They'd stayed up late while she did her best to assure the girl's everything was going to be OK and that they would be seeing their mother soon.
She was a little surprised at how easily the girls accepted that she and their mother were a couple and that she would be a big part of their lives moving forward. They liked her house and were thrilled when she told them that they would eventually be able to decorate their rooms as they saw fit.
Only after she answered every one of the girls' questions, was she able to get them into their beds. That had not lasted as both redheads had migrated into her bed at some point in the night. It didn't bother her; in fact, she was pleased that they saw her as a source of comfort.
"Besides, at least it wasn't all of Miranda's girls," Andy laughed to herself, thinking about the oldest of her new stepdaughters.
Despite her joke, she cared for Emily and was glad that she and Miranda were safe in Genovia.
After completing her morning routine and getting dressed, she made her way to the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator door and was relieved to see a large selection of items that might appeal to her two charges. She decided to take the same approach as when she first met Miranda, so she made a full selection of items, including both pancakes and French toast.
About the time she finished cooking the eggs and bacon, she heard a sound that could only be described as a herd of wild horses running free. Moments later, Cassidy and Caroline crashed into the kitchen, still wearing pajamas and apparently famished based upon the way they were eyeing the food.
"Pancakes," both girls exclaimed.
"Agnes never makes us pancakes," Caroline complained.
Both girls gave Andy such a joyful look that it made the woman's heart swell.
She had never really pictured herself as a mom, which was part of the reason she'd chosen to end her relationship with Sam. Despite her young friend's view of humanity, deep down, Sam could never hide her desire to have children. To see the mother and father that she'd lost reflected in the eyes of her children was something Sam deeply wanted.
She smiled at the girls as they dug into the morning's offerings. She made her own plate of food then joined the girls at the island. The scene reminded her of having dinner with the girls' mother just a few nights ago. She missed the woman and ached to reunite her with her twin girls.
She checked her watch and thought that she would all call Miranda as soon as they finished breakfast.
Life had different plans when her doorbell rang twenty minutes later. She sent the girls upstairs to get dressed; then, she used her phone to access her door cam. She was surprised to see a familiar face looking directly into the camera.
Glad she'd taken the time to dress properly, Andy went to answer the door.
She opened the door and was greeted by Jo Warner, who she knew through Jo's Wife Blair. While she had no reason to know why the woman was here, her guard instantly came up.
"Jo, to what do I owe your visit," Andy said brightly.
"Many we come in?" Jo asked.
Now that Jo had used the term we, Andy turned her attention away from Jo to the blonde-haired woman standing to her right.
"Viv?" Andy asked, suddenly seeing so much of Blair in the young woman.
"I haven't seen you since you graduated from NYU," Andy said, causing Viv to smile despite the seriousness of the situation.
Andy invited both women in then led them to her study. She closed the door behind her before offering the two women a seat and asking if they wanted anything to drink.
When mother and daughter declined, Andy sat and asked the most pertinent question, "What can I do for you, Jo."
"I need to know where you were from noon yesterday?" Jo asked.
Andy did not like the sound of the question, so she asked a question of her own, "What's this about?"
Jo sighed, knowing that Andy would be unlikely to talk without and answer to her question.
"Greg Brant was murdered last night," Jo said, choosing to ignore the indignant look coming from her subordinate.
Andy drew in a sharp breath at the news. Her first thought was about how it would affect the girls. Her second thought was to wonder why they were here, asking her about whereabouts.
"I would like to have my lawyer present before I answer any of your questions," Andy said.
Viv looked incensed, but Andy was nonplussed.
"She lives in the area so she can be here in a few minutes."
Jo nodded her head; then, Andy excused herself to make the call.
True to her word twenty minutes later, Andy returned with her attorney. Andy introduced them to Lily even though she'd met Jo and her wife on a few occasions.
"My client wants to cooperate with your investigations, but I reserve the right to tell her not to answer certain questions, and if I don't like the direction this is going, then I'm going to pull the plug."
The Chief and Lieutenant both nodded, used to hearing the legal jargon. Neither believed Andy was a suspect, but given all of the coincidences, they would be surprised if she didn't have information that they needed to know.
Jo asked the question again, hoping to establish a clear sequence of events.
"I had lunch in my office, which was usual for me," Andy began.
"I worked through the afternoon and had a meeting with my deputy around three. When I left the office a little after five, I asked my driver to take me to Greg's home.
"What was the purpose of your visit?" Viv asked.
"I wanted to see if he and I could come to an agreement ahead of an upcoming custody hearing."
Both cops looked at each other, clearly not having anticipated Andy's response.
"We know who the girls' mother is, but what I don't know is how you fit in," Viv prompted.
"My wife and I were seeking to change the custody arraignment involving her twin girls Caroline and Cassidy."
"You and Miranda Priestly," Jo said, unable to conceal the admiration in her tone.
Viv, too, looked a little shell-shocked that Andy Sachs had bagged the Ice Queen.
"My sister is going to flip," Viv thought, knowing how Natalie secretly admired her former rival.
"Miranda spent every dollar she had available to retain custody, but the judge ruled against her," Andy added.
There was a lot more Andy could say about the crooked judge that robbed the girls and Miranda of over two years together, but she knew she had to slow-walk them into the details of the vast conspiracy.
"How did your conversation with Greg go," Jo asked, getting the interview back on track.
"Greg had his attorney draw up a new agreement giving full custody of the girls to Miranda and me," Andy offered.
Viv looked at the Chief as new lines of questions swirled around her head.
"Just like that?" Jo asked. She and Blair never had to deal with sharing custody of their children, but a lot of cops weren't that lucky. She knew her fair share of brother and sister officers who'd gone through that kind of hell. What they all had in common was that it was an incredibly slow process and that neither side was willing to back down.
"The girls are here with you now?" Viv inquired.
"Upstairs," Andy confirmed
"And Miranda, where is she?" Jo followed up.
"She and her oldest daughter are currently in a town called Arendale. It's on the Genovian coast."
The two cops gave each other a look that said they both felt that things were not adding up.
"Well, Andy, I have to say that things aren't adding up for me.
You say that there's this upcoming custody hearing, yet your wife is in Europe.
Then there's our victim's sudden change of heart just before he was murdered.
"I need you to help me out here because I just don't get it."
Viv could not help but admire her mother's interrogation skills. There was a reason she'd risen to high in the department, and if mother was right, she'd be taking Uncle Bennie's job when he retired at the end of the year. Her mom had been tight-lipped on the subject, but she trusted her mother's instincts, and Blair Warner was rarely wrong in her predictions.
Jo held her breath, hoping she was not about to here a woman she genuinely liked admit to committing a murder.
For her part, Andy was impressed with both Jo and her daughter. They'd taken what little they'd gathered and come to the right conclusion.
It was complicated.
"It's complicated," Andy said, then got up and retrieved her laptop.
"How much do you know about the Elias Clark Company?" Andy asked the question that seemed like a complete non-sequitur.
Deciding to play along, Viv answered, "My sister is a Deputy Editor at Architectural Digest. So she keeps me up on the latest news about the competition."
Andy nodded her head, glad that she didn't have to start from the very beginning. The two cops listen as Andy explained in detail the scheme to launder the Genovian funds through the media company.
"Nat always thought there was something fishy about Miranda's exit from Runway," Viv said, referring to her slightly older sister.
Jo remembered Blair saying something very similar but using much more colorful language.
"So you told Greg that you had the goods on him, and he caved," Jo offered, still feeling uneasy.
Blackmail was still a crime in this state.
"No," Andy said emphatically.
"I did tell him that I knew he was involved, but vehemently denied any involvement in the events that led to Miranda's attempted suicide.
He indicated that he participated in the plan so that he could save his business. He said that after that, things could go back to normal."
"And, you took that to mean the custody arraignment," Viv tried to clarify.
"Yes, Andy agreed."
"So what went wrong," Jo asked, suspecting that this was the crime Andy was caught up in.
"My understanding is that the funds that they intended to launder through Elias Clark were returned to their original location."
"Original location," Jo and Viv asked at the same moment.
Andy looked towards her sister and got a slight head nod. They'd agreed to the rolling disclosure strategy giving the police all the things they needed to know and none of the things they didn't.
"The money came from the Genovian treasury," Andy said, causing both cops to take in a sharp breath.
Before they could ask, Andy layed out the plot to dethrone the reigning monarch of the fifth largest economy in Europe.
"Let me get this straight, this Viscount Mabrey and the Queen own cousin Nichole Deveraux stole the money, then they planned to launder it through Elias Clark, but the money somehow magically ended up back where it started." Jo summarized.
"And you think the Genovians found out about the plot and took the money back," Viv added, making it clear that the police had jumped to the collusion Andy hoped they would.
She felt certain that Sam had covered her tracks well enough to evade scrutiny, but she and Lily thought it best not to give them a reason to look deeper in that direction.
"I can't speak to how the money was returned. What I do know is that Greg and presumably the other members of the conspiracy were expecting a positive earnings report from Elias Clark yesterday.
When that didn't happen, the price dropped precipitously, allowing me to buy the company out from under them, thus taking the way the temptation to commit further crimes," Andy said, laying on a little thick at the end.
Besides, she wanted them to know she'd brought the company upfront. She knew that if the police found out later, they would feel the need to dig deeper into all that she'd said.
So far, she had not lied to them directly, but she knew that she was walking a fine line. What they had done was with the best of intentions, however breaking the law for the greater good was still illegal.
Plus, she suspected that Queen Mia had ample motivation to attest to her misdirection about how the Genovian funds were repatriated.
She looked at them before saying the last piece of information that would turn the case in the right direction.
"The twins told me that their father had been dating a woman he referred to as Nikki."
Both Warner's eyes widened, making it clear that they got the inference right away.
"You think Nikki is Nichole Deveraux?" Viv asked.
Andy was quiet for a moment. She'd insisted to Lily that they keep any mention of the twins' ability to identify Nichole out of this. She'd had two reasons for this. She did not want the girls to have to testify in any trial, but more importantly, she did not want to put a target on their backs. As it stood, the two Genovian royals had proven their willingness to murder in the name of their end goal.
"It would explain the connection between the American conspirators and Genovia," Andy pointed out.
"Viv, I'd like you to interview the maid again to see if we can shed more light on the subject," Jo said to her daughter.
Then the Chief picked up Viv's recorder and switched it off.
"OK, Andy, we are going to follow the path you've laid out for us, but let me tell you what I think happened."
"I believe everything you said about how Miranda fell into your life. I also believe that you and your ex did a lot of digging into this on your own.
That you informed the Queen of Genovia, who I believe you have a business relationship with, of your findings.
That she possibly, with the help of the best hacker that either of us knows, re-stole those funds.
I won't speculate to what extent the information you provided, drove Greg to do the right thing. What I will say is that had you come to the police sooner, then maybe things would have turned out differently."
Andy had to admit she was impressed with Jo's speculation. The Chief had gotten almost everything right. She wasn't so sure that things would have been different if she'd gone the police sooner. Besides, her first priority had been to get the girls away from danger. She would like to think that Nichole wouldn't have harmed them but wasn't going to take the risk.
"My point in telling you all of this is to make myself perfectly clear. Let us handle this from now on."
Andy nodded her head, agreeing for herself while knowing that Sam would make her own choices on the matter.
Both cops stood to go when Viv said, "Don't leave town."
Before Andy could respond, Lily spoke up, "Is my client a suspect in Greg Brant's murder?"
Jo spoke up, saying, "No, she is not."
"Mrs. Sachs owns a multinational corporation and is frequently required to travel for work. If you have further questions, please contact me, and I will convey those questions to my client in a timely manner."
Lily handed both cops her business card before walking them out.
When she came back, Andy was still sitting in her chair deep in thought.
"Are you going to tell them?" Lily asked.
Andy looked up, and Lily could see the pain on her sister's face.
"With Miranda an ocean away, I'm afraid the task falls to me," Andy confirmed.
"Do you want me to stick around?" Lily asked.
"No, I would prefer them to meet their Aunt Lily under better circumstances."
Lily smiled back, liking the sound of being an Aunt to Miranda's girls. Though she doubted that Emily would be calling her auntie any time in the future.
Andy walked Lily to the door, hugged her, and thanked her for making herself available on such short notice.
"It's my job," Lily pointed out.
"We both know it's more than that," Andy said, pulling the woman into a second hug.
Lily wiped away tears, not sure why she was suddenly so emotional.
They said their goodbyes and Andy turned her mind to the task of breaking two little girl's hearts.
I got the idea for the basics of this chapter more than two months ago. So I am so happy to finally bring the Warner-Polniaczek's into the story. Expect to see more of Jo and Viv in connection, but I definitely plan to bring Blair and their other daughter Natalie or Nat into the story as well. We ended on a down note for the girls, but I have a feeling they will be reunited with their mother and older sister in the immediate future. I saw a note or two of disappointment with the last chapter moving away from the murder plot. I accept and appreciate the comments, and I felt they were constructive. What I will say is that the events of chapter 20 were needed to move the story forward. I also felt that chapter 20 needed to come before this update for the sake of continuity.
If you are a reader of my other stories, namely Untimely and The Dinner, you will know that I have been a very busy beaver of late. I have also been working on the next update to Hope the last chapter of The Dinner and a couple of side projects, some that will see the light of day and a couple that unfortunately won't. Some of my ideas are kind of out there, so I tend to keep those just for myself.
I digress, an every other week update schedule that I have been trying to keep of late seems to be working better for me, so expect that to continue for the foreseeable future. Please keep those comments going; they help me stay motivated and to make corrections in course when necessary. Happy Day after Thanksgiving to those who celebrate.