Sequel to...Lady Donovan Phones Frank...an hour later...
Frank sat back on his sienna colored leather couch. He pulled a small table next to the couch.
He sat back, sipping the hazelnut coffee his wife enjoyed, and stared into the fire. He missed his wife, and although he knew she enjoyed her train trips, for taking the train gave her time to write, and to see the countryside, Frank wished she would take a plane occasionally.
Her parents had died in a plane crash, and she'd been waving them goodbye alongside her grandparents when she watched as the plane had trouble taking off. Once the plane was airborne, it had barely reached 200 feet when the plane suddenly nose-dived and crashed into the landing strip, exploding upon impact.
His wife had watched in horror as her mother's arm was flung towards the airport window where her daughter was watching.
The arm had bounced off the window in front of his wife's face. She'd covered her face and cowered in terror behind her grandmother.
This was the reason she took trains. Traveling internationally was difficult for her, and she usually took freighter cruises to get across the Pacific, and a combination of trains and Nova Scotian freighters to get to Europe.
It was a bulky, time consuming way of traveling to Europe: first the train to Nova Scotia. Then, a ferry or small freighter or even one of the larger fishing boats that was doing a run to Iceland. From Iceland, ferries, freight ships or passenger ships ran to Europe, notably Ireland.
The entire trip usually took around ten days, which cut into their vacation time. On the occasions when she'd had no option but to take planes, Frank had paid for a first class cabin on Virgin Atlantic, and had ordered tranquilizers. This arrangement was accepted by his wife, but only as a last resort.
She much preferred trains. She had time for herself, and time for her writing. Time to wind down.
So now Frank sat, lonely, missing his wife, and sipping her hazelnut coffee as the fire kept spitting and popping in the fireplace.
Frank was so lost in thought that he didn't hear the cell phone ringing insistently.
(Cell phone ringing...Frank starts as he finally hears the phone)
"Darling! It's been ringing for what seems like forever!"
"I'm sorry. I was wool-gathering."
"Missing me?"
"Terribly. How far are you from Malta?"
"We're just pulling in. The mountains are gorgeous. You simply must take me to our ranch."
"I promised. I don't go back on my promises."
"I know. What are you doing now?"
"Sitting on the couch in front of the fire, missing you."
"You were drinking my hazelnut coffee weren't you?"
"I wanted to share tonight with you. Since I couldn't spend tonight with you, I decided to share something that you love."
"I'm sorry. It couldn't be helped. Business..."
"Sucks." Frank finished her sentence when she trailed off.
"I know. I'm glad you miss me."
"You'll be home tomorrow."
"And you'll kiss me on the train platform."
"A kiss to remember."
"How could I ever forget your kisses? Your sensuous full mouth on mine sends shivers down my spine."
"A poet."
"You're smiling." (she is right. Frank is smiling...)
"What makes you say that?"
"I can tell by your voice."
"What kind of tones in my voice makes you think I'm smiling?"
"It's, well, I don't know. Your voice is pitched differently. I can't explain it, but the tones tell me you're smiling."
"Instinctual. Humans have instinct for tones of voice."
"How so?"
"Think about someone screaming. There's what I suppose is called a happy scream, like when someone's won something they didn't expect to win. Then there's the fear scream. Humans know a fear scream from a happy scream by the tones in the voice."
"And humans developed tone differentation as a means of survival?"
"Yes."
"Kinda like the distress call of a baby alligator."
(Frank chuckles...)
"Yes. It's like that. Any adult alligator who hears the distress call of a baby alligator will come to the aid of the youngster."
"So humans learned how to recognize fear in the tones of a scream and come to the aid of the one in distress?"
"You've got the idea."
"So that's why I said I can hear you smiling."
"That's right. And you are right, I am smiling. I'm smiling because I'm talking to you, and even though you're not here, I can hear how much you miss me."
"I do miss you. Sometimes I hate myself for hating planes."
"Don't blame yourself. All children feel safe with their parents and when something happens to their parents, the kids don't feel safe anymore. You saw your parents die, and you don't feel safe in planes."
"I still feel bad for taking so much time away from you and our children."
"In some ways, it's good you do that...spend time away from the kids. They learn to depend on themselves and that teaches them responsibility. You need time for yourself, to tend to your own hobbies, your own interests which are outside of the interests of our family. The kids will be grown up one day and if you haven't developed your own interests and hobbies over the years, you'll have a difficult time adjusting to life without the kids."
"I suppose you're right. But I'm their mother, and I feel bad about being away from them."
"You can worry. There's no harm in that. You're feeling separation anxiety and thinking you're not going to come back alive."
(a small intake of breath as she realizes Frank has hit upon something...)
"I, I sometimes think that my business trips are the last time the kids will ever see me."
"Sweetheart, I feel the same way. Every day I go to work, there's a criminal intent on taking me down."
"The kids are okay?"
"They're sleeping over at their friend's house tonight. Tomorrow's a school holiday and tomorrow night they're attending overnight shabbat services."
"I miss them as much as I miss you."
"They're fine, sweetheart. They're growing up, developing their own interests in life, discovering what they can do. It's important for the kids to develop strong relationships with other people."
"Socialization. I wasn't socialized much after my parents..." (her voice trails off...)
"Your grandparents were afraid of losing you as well as their daughter."
(Lady Donovan sniffles)
"They rarely let me out of their sight. They kept checking on me every half hour when I was in my room. If I was in a school activity, they kept calling or coming around the school to see if I was okay. That bothered me."
"Too much parental oversight tends to dislodge a child's confidence. He begins to feel that he can't do anything right, because his parents keep looking over his shoulder and supervising his every move. This is why I sent the kids over to their friend's house and over to shabbat services tomorrow night."
"Fostering independence."
"Fostering confidence in their social skills."
"Do they miss me?"
"Of course they do."
"They didn't sound like they were going to miss me when I left."
"Darling, many kids behave that way. They view a temporary parental absence as a good thing."
"A good thing?" (she is fakes being shocked)
(Frank chuckles...)
"It's not a shocking behavior. Didn't you want your grandparents to sometimes leave you alone and go off somewhere?"
"Well, yes."
"That was because you were developing your independence. All children must develop independence at one time or another."
"But the kids sounded happy about my trip."
"They were happy they were going to overnight shabbat services. I told them that just before you said you had to go on an emergency business trip."
"So they weren't happy about my trip?"
"Snookums..."
(lady donovan interrupts...)
"Snookums?!"
(Frank chuckles...)
"Sweetie, kids live for the moment. Yes, they were happy to be going to shabbat services. And yes, they were happy that you went on a trip...no, no, no. Don't start sniffling. I'll tell you why they were happy. They were happy you were going on a trip because they could spend some time alone with me. Quality time with Daddy."
(Lady Donovan blows her nose...)
"I suppose you're right. Your job makes it tough for you to get alone time with the kids. I have them so much I forget sometimes that they don't have a lot of alone time with you."
"And all kids need some face time with both their parents, and face time with each parent without the other parent around. That's how quality relationships are built with children."
"When you put it that way...I suppose I am happy the kids were happy to have me going on a business trip."
"They wanted face time with me, alone. Today and tomorrow are school holidays. The kids and I went to the park and played soccer for a while. I taught them a few beginning Krav Maga moves."
"They must have loved that!"
(Frank chuckles again...)
"You're right. They did love daddy teaching them martial arts moves. Chris wants to be a martial arts expert."
"Thought he wanted to be a doctor?"
"Kids change their minds frequently."
"Tell me. Last year he wanted to become a train engineer."
"That's because you took him and Olivia on a business trip with you. Quality time with mommy."
"I forgot about that. You didn't feel left out?"
"No. I have interests outside of this family, just as you do with your writing, and your jogging, and your girlfriends."
"You're right again. I suppose I'm just too clingy. Marriage to a psychologist can give me a lot of insight into myself."
"It's natural to feel that way, especially after losing your parents the way you did."
"What does Olivia want to be?"
"Same as always: a television reporter. She says she gets to go into everyone's home at the same time every day."
"She's sweet."
"She's like her mother. Now you're smiling."
"How can you tell?"
"By the tones in your voice."
"Where are you now?"
"Curled up on the couch, watching the fire spit and pop."
"Drinking coffee?"
"Drank coffee. Ended up drinking the entire pot."
"The large pot?"
"Yes. I made the twelve cup pot of coffee."
"You're going to be a bit hyper tonight."
"I'll work it off practicing Krav Maga."
"A long workout."
"It will be worth it. After the manhunt, I decided I needed to bone up on additional street skills. That old guy who blasted a hole in his trailer wall with his gun really threw me off."
"Why did he do that? I mean, blast a hole in his trailer wall? Those can't be repaired easily."
"I guess he thought he was protecting his territory. Scared off my quarry is what he did. I don't like to shoot to kill, but when he took that hostage, I had no choice."
"The small talk in the coffee shops in Seattle was about the manhunt. Some people were of the opinion the FBI used too much force."
"The FBI doesn't like to use force unless it's absolutely necessary."
"Sometimes it can't be helped."
"Not in this case. There would have been no reasoning with him."
"So it was either him or he could have killed the hostage."
"Yes. He would have shot the hostage and dumped him out of the truck, despite being surrounded."
"Would he have tried to flee again?"
"Yes. Slipping down in the seat and gunning the engine would have propelled him forward. Or, he could have put the truck into reverse and mowed down my agents."
(Lady Donovan sucks in her breath...)
"Alex and Jake were there?"
"They were."
"I suppose I thought of them as being back at the nest. He would have mowed down Alex and Jake like PR Princess Lizzie Grubman?"
"Something like that. She plowed into a group of people. Our quarry, had he chosen to flee, could have put the truck into reverse, gunned it, and plowed down my agents. Instead of just injuring a group of people, like Lizzie did, he would have killed."
"You had no choice."
"No choice. Zero option."
"He forced you into that choice."
"That he did."
"The Seattle papers said he was in for life, no chance of parole and that he'd threatened suicide."
"His escape was his way of going down on the outside. He wanted to feel the earth beneath his feet once again. He didn't want to die in prison, caged up like an animal. He wanted to die outside."
"A police assisted suicide?"
"Hmmm, yes, that's one way of putting it. He wanted to kill himself because he felt trapped in prison society. He had an antisocial personality and didn't feel remorse for killing whom he saw as an obstacle to his freedom."
"But wouldn't he see prison as a way of fostering his beliefs?"
"No. He was forced to follow prison rules, which didn't allow him the freedom to choose his own beliefs regarding others. He had to respect people from other races, and people who practiced other religions. And that irked him. He was in for life, with no chance of parole. He saw escape as a means of getting out his trapped life."
"So he felt that he had enough of a chance to get away?"
"That's right. He felt that the woods and the stream gave him an opportunity to hide, an opportunity to get away. He took that hostage as a last resort when he saw himself being surrounded."
"Did he have sympathizers who would have helped him get away?"
"We're looking for some, but yes, there exists an underground network. Once his escape hit the news, there would be other people who would have been more than willing to assist him in escaping."
"So, they would have jumped in their cars and came to his assistance?"
"Something like that. There would have been a code word used as a signal. Once he was picked up by someone in the group, he would have gone underground and the FBI would have had a tough time in locating him."
"But you're the best, honey. You would have found him."
"Not without a lot of extra manpower and a lot of time."
"But you would have found him."
"Yes, but with a lot of difficulty."
"Would he have escaped to Canada?"
(Frank hmmmmms here, stroking his chin thoughtfully...)
"Hmmm. Now that's something I didn't think of, but yes. Yes, it's possible he could have escaped to Canada."
"Canadian police work with US police."
"True. But there are a lot of places to cross the border undetected, even with the additional security cameras installed along the northern border."
"Don't the cameras feed into a central center?"
"Yes. But they can be activated easily by an animal, or by someone hurling something across the border."
"Hurling?"
"Along the border, there are several spots where the border patrol has been beefed up because there are backpacks containing marijuana which are left on the other side of the shallow ditch separating Canada from the US."
"So the people will hurl the backpacks across this ditch? Can't they make the ditch wider?"
"Possibly. And yes, the backpacks are hurled over the border, and the payment is hurled back stateside in a backpack. The people doing the business come to the border under cover of darkness and collect their respective backpacks."
"Strange way of doing business."
"Drug dealers come up with the most interesting ways of transacting their businesses."
"That's why they have you to help catch them."
"I'm FBI, not DEA."
"But you work with DEA, sometimes."
"When the case calls for it, like if the drug money is being laundered."
(Lady Donovan chuckles...)
"Like when you ran Andrew into jail for transporting cocaine via his yacht in the Hamptons."
"Like that time, yes."
"We should rent a yacht one day."
"Did you want to do that? Rent a yacht? I do enjoy sailing, you know."
"Yes. I'd like that. You don't have a yacht in your trust fund do you?"
(Frank chuckles...)
"Not yet."
"But you have the ranch. I can't wait to see it."
"It's beautiful. Like you."
"You're too sweet."
"I'm just stating the truth."
"I know. I like to hear the truth."
"I'm always truthful with you. You have sharp fingernails. You'd scratch my back, deeply."
"Your Krav Maga moves should allow you to subdue me."
"I'd like to subdue you right now."
"Really? What would you do?"
"Take you down. On the bed."
"Would you have my hands over my head?"
"That I would. Best way of taking you down."
"You scamp!"
"You know you like it."
"You're right."
"Kids won't be there tomorrow night. I expect dinner, dancing and bed."
"That's a deal."
"Mortons?"
"Mortons it is. They've got a new dessert chef."
"You're all the dessert I need."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"I'll remember that." (incoherent speaking over the cell phone)
"What's that, dear?"
"Dinner call. I'm being summoned."
"What are you having?"
"Chicken cordon bleu, mixed greens and baked potato with the works."
"Morton's will be better."
"You'll be better than the dinner I'm having tonight."
"You're sweet."
"I'm your wife, I'm supposed to be sweet."
"What are you having for dessert?"
"Black forest cake."
"No coffee?"
"Amtrak doesn't exactly make the best coffee. Too thick and muddy."
"Didn't you bring the French coffee press I gave you?"
"I didn't have room to pack it."
"Tea for you, then."
"I suppose so."
"Tea is good."
"Not with milk and sugar."
(Frank chuckles again....)
"That's the way the British drink their tea. And the way my mother drank her tea."
"With milk?"
"Yes. It's good."
"I don't like it."
"That's because your palette isn't used to tea with milk."
"I'm used to Lipton."
"Lipton is not a good tea."
"I did slip some herbal tea bags into your purse."
"You did?"
"Yes, in your secret pocket."
"You know about that?"
"I do."
(Sounds of rummaging come over Frank's end of the phone...)
"You did! You did put herbal tea bags in my purse."
"Amtrak isn't the best with coffee."
"They could use a Starbucks."
"Now that would make a good business partnership."
"You're right. It would. Better choice of coffee."
(the sounds of knocking coming over Frank's end of the phone...)
"Darling, sounds like you're being summoned again."
"The Queen's duties never end, do they?"
"Never. I love you."
"I love you as well. Give my love to the kids tomorrow."
"That I will do."
"Miss you."
"Miss you too."
"I don't want to hang up."
"Neither do I."
"I'd take the phone into the dining room, but I don't want to be rude."
"Some of our conversation isn't for other ears. I'll be thinking of you."
"When you're practicing your Krav Maga moves, think of me."
"I don't want to fight you. I want to make love to you."
"Now that's the thought I will hang onto while I'm having dinner."
"That's the thought I'll hang onto while I wait for tomorrow afternoon."
"I'll expect a fireworks display."
"That I can provide."
"Miss you."
"Love you."
"Bye."
"Bye, Missus Donovan. I'm glad you said yes to my proposal."
"Bye Mister Donovan. I'm glad you asked me to be your wife."
"It's been a wild trip."
"Loved every minute of it."
"Loved you every minute of it."
"Ditto."
"Bye."
"Bye."
"Bye, love."
"Bye, love."
("last call for dinner, ma'am" Frank hears the conductor say)
"You'd better hang up. Your blood sugar will drop and then you'll get sick. And I want every minute of tomorrow evening with you."
"I'll take care. Bye love."
"Bye. Love you."
Frank clicks off the phone, for he knows his wife will get cranky if her blood sugar gets too low.
Frank stretches on the leather couch, and leans back into the leather arms. He smiles as he listens to the fire spit and pop. After a while, he gets up, and takes the coffee pot and his cup to the kitchen, placing them on the sink. He repairs to the bedroom where he changes into workout clothes, goes to the house's exercise room and begins to practice Krav Maga.
Frank sat back on his sienna colored leather couch. He pulled a small table next to the couch.
He sat back, sipping the hazelnut coffee his wife enjoyed, and stared into the fire. He missed his wife, and although he knew she enjoyed her train trips, for taking the train gave her time to write, and to see the countryside, Frank wished she would take a plane occasionally.
Her parents had died in a plane crash, and she'd been waving them goodbye alongside her grandparents when she watched as the plane had trouble taking off. Once the plane was airborne, it had barely reached 200 feet when the plane suddenly nose-dived and crashed into the landing strip, exploding upon impact.
His wife had watched in horror as her mother's arm was flung towards the airport window where her daughter was watching.
The arm had bounced off the window in front of his wife's face. She'd covered her face and cowered in terror behind her grandmother.
This was the reason she took trains. Traveling internationally was difficult for her, and she usually took freighter cruises to get across the Pacific, and a combination of trains and Nova Scotian freighters to get to Europe.
It was a bulky, time consuming way of traveling to Europe: first the train to Nova Scotia. Then, a ferry or small freighter or even one of the larger fishing boats that was doing a run to Iceland. From Iceland, ferries, freight ships or passenger ships ran to Europe, notably Ireland.
The entire trip usually took around ten days, which cut into their vacation time. On the occasions when she'd had no option but to take planes, Frank had paid for a first class cabin on Virgin Atlantic, and had ordered tranquilizers. This arrangement was accepted by his wife, but only as a last resort.
She much preferred trains. She had time for herself, and time for her writing. Time to wind down.
So now Frank sat, lonely, missing his wife, and sipping her hazelnut coffee as the fire kept spitting and popping in the fireplace.
Frank was so lost in thought that he didn't hear the cell phone ringing insistently.
(Cell phone ringing...Frank starts as he finally hears the phone)
"Darling! It's been ringing for what seems like forever!"
"I'm sorry. I was wool-gathering."
"Missing me?"
"Terribly. How far are you from Malta?"
"We're just pulling in. The mountains are gorgeous. You simply must take me to our ranch."
"I promised. I don't go back on my promises."
"I know. What are you doing now?"
"Sitting on the couch in front of the fire, missing you."
"You were drinking my hazelnut coffee weren't you?"
"I wanted to share tonight with you. Since I couldn't spend tonight with you, I decided to share something that you love."
"I'm sorry. It couldn't be helped. Business..."
"Sucks." Frank finished her sentence when she trailed off.
"I know. I'm glad you miss me."
"You'll be home tomorrow."
"And you'll kiss me on the train platform."
"A kiss to remember."
"How could I ever forget your kisses? Your sensuous full mouth on mine sends shivers down my spine."
"A poet."
"You're smiling." (she is right. Frank is smiling...)
"What makes you say that?"
"I can tell by your voice."
"What kind of tones in my voice makes you think I'm smiling?"
"It's, well, I don't know. Your voice is pitched differently. I can't explain it, but the tones tell me you're smiling."
"Instinctual. Humans have instinct for tones of voice."
"How so?"
"Think about someone screaming. There's what I suppose is called a happy scream, like when someone's won something they didn't expect to win. Then there's the fear scream. Humans know a fear scream from a happy scream by the tones in the voice."
"And humans developed tone differentation as a means of survival?"
"Yes."
"Kinda like the distress call of a baby alligator."
(Frank chuckles...)
"Yes. It's like that. Any adult alligator who hears the distress call of a baby alligator will come to the aid of the youngster."
"So humans learned how to recognize fear in the tones of a scream and come to the aid of the one in distress?"
"You've got the idea."
"So that's why I said I can hear you smiling."
"That's right. And you are right, I am smiling. I'm smiling because I'm talking to you, and even though you're not here, I can hear how much you miss me."
"I do miss you. Sometimes I hate myself for hating planes."
"Don't blame yourself. All children feel safe with their parents and when something happens to their parents, the kids don't feel safe anymore. You saw your parents die, and you don't feel safe in planes."
"I still feel bad for taking so much time away from you and our children."
"In some ways, it's good you do that...spend time away from the kids. They learn to depend on themselves and that teaches them responsibility. You need time for yourself, to tend to your own hobbies, your own interests which are outside of the interests of our family. The kids will be grown up one day and if you haven't developed your own interests and hobbies over the years, you'll have a difficult time adjusting to life without the kids."
"I suppose you're right. But I'm their mother, and I feel bad about being away from them."
"You can worry. There's no harm in that. You're feeling separation anxiety and thinking you're not going to come back alive."
(a small intake of breath as she realizes Frank has hit upon something...)
"I, I sometimes think that my business trips are the last time the kids will ever see me."
"Sweetheart, I feel the same way. Every day I go to work, there's a criminal intent on taking me down."
"The kids are okay?"
"They're sleeping over at their friend's house tonight. Tomorrow's a school holiday and tomorrow night they're attending overnight shabbat services."
"I miss them as much as I miss you."
"They're fine, sweetheart. They're growing up, developing their own interests in life, discovering what they can do. It's important for the kids to develop strong relationships with other people."
"Socialization. I wasn't socialized much after my parents..." (her voice trails off...)
"Your grandparents were afraid of losing you as well as their daughter."
(Lady Donovan sniffles)
"They rarely let me out of their sight. They kept checking on me every half hour when I was in my room. If I was in a school activity, they kept calling or coming around the school to see if I was okay. That bothered me."
"Too much parental oversight tends to dislodge a child's confidence. He begins to feel that he can't do anything right, because his parents keep looking over his shoulder and supervising his every move. This is why I sent the kids over to their friend's house and over to shabbat services tomorrow night."
"Fostering independence."
"Fostering confidence in their social skills."
"Do they miss me?"
"Of course they do."
"They didn't sound like they were going to miss me when I left."
"Darling, many kids behave that way. They view a temporary parental absence as a good thing."
"A good thing?" (she is fakes being shocked)
(Frank chuckles...)
"It's not a shocking behavior. Didn't you want your grandparents to sometimes leave you alone and go off somewhere?"
"Well, yes."
"That was because you were developing your independence. All children must develop independence at one time or another."
"But the kids sounded happy about my trip."
"They were happy they were going to overnight shabbat services. I told them that just before you said you had to go on an emergency business trip."
"So they weren't happy about my trip?"
"Snookums..."
(lady donovan interrupts...)
"Snookums?!"
(Frank chuckles...)
"Sweetie, kids live for the moment. Yes, they were happy to be going to shabbat services. And yes, they were happy that you went on a trip...no, no, no. Don't start sniffling. I'll tell you why they were happy. They were happy you were going on a trip because they could spend some time alone with me. Quality time with Daddy."
(Lady Donovan blows her nose...)
"I suppose you're right. Your job makes it tough for you to get alone time with the kids. I have them so much I forget sometimes that they don't have a lot of alone time with you."
"And all kids need some face time with both their parents, and face time with each parent without the other parent around. That's how quality relationships are built with children."
"When you put it that way...I suppose I am happy the kids were happy to have me going on a business trip."
"They wanted face time with me, alone. Today and tomorrow are school holidays. The kids and I went to the park and played soccer for a while. I taught them a few beginning Krav Maga moves."
"They must have loved that!"
(Frank chuckles again...)
"You're right. They did love daddy teaching them martial arts moves. Chris wants to be a martial arts expert."
"Thought he wanted to be a doctor?"
"Kids change their minds frequently."
"Tell me. Last year he wanted to become a train engineer."
"That's because you took him and Olivia on a business trip with you. Quality time with mommy."
"I forgot about that. You didn't feel left out?"
"No. I have interests outside of this family, just as you do with your writing, and your jogging, and your girlfriends."
"You're right again. I suppose I'm just too clingy. Marriage to a psychologist can give me a lot of insight into myself."
"It's natural to feel that way, especially after losing your parents the way you did."
"What does Olivia want to be?"
"Same as always: a television reporter. She says she gets to go into everyone's home at the same time every day."
"She's sweet."
"She's like her mother. Now you're smiling."
"How can you tell?"
"By the tones in your voice."
"Where are you now?"
"Curled up on the couch, watching the fire spit and pop."
"Drinking coffee?"
"Drank coffee. Ended up drinking the entire pot."
"The large pot?"
"Yes. I made the twelve cup pot of coffee."
"You're going to be a bit hyper tonight."
"I'll work it off practicing Krav Maga."
"A long workout."
"It will be worth it. After the manhunt, I decided I needed to bone up on additional street skills. That old guy who blasted a hole in his trailer wall with his gun really threw me off."
"Why did he do that? I mean, blast a hole in his trailer wall? Those can't be repaired easily."
"I guess he thought he was protecting his territory. Scared off my quarry is what he did. I don't like to shoot to kill, but when he took that hostage, I had no choice."
"The small talk in the coffee shops in Seattle was about the manhunt. Some people were of the opinion the FBI used too much force."
"The FBI doesn't like to use force unless it's absolutely necessary."
"Sometimes it can't be helped."
"Not in this case. There would have been no reasoning with him."
"So it was either him or he could have killed the hostage."
"Yes. He would have shot the hostage and dumped him out of the truck, despite being surrounded."
"Would he have tried to flee again?"
"Yes. Slipping down in the seat and gunning the engine would have propelled him forward. Or, he could have put the truck into reverse and mowed down my agents."
(Lady Donovan sucks in her breath...)
"Alex and Jake were there?"
"They were."
"I suppose I thought of them as being back at the nest. He would have mowed down Alex and Jake like PR Princess Lizzie Grubman?"
"Something like that. She plowed into a group of people. Our quarry, had he chosen to flee, could have put the truck into reverse, gunned it, and plowed down my agents. Instead of just injuring a group of people, like Lizzie did, he would have killed."
"You had no choice."
"No choice. Zero option."
"He forced you into that choice."
"That he did."
"The Seattle papers said he was in for life, no chance of parole and that he'd threatened suicide."
"His escape was his way of going down on the outside. He wanted to feel the earth beneath his feet once again. He didn't want to die in prison, caged up like an animal. He wanted to die outside."
"A police assisted suicide?"
"Hmmm, yes, that's one way of putting it. He wanted to kill himself because he felt trapped in prison society. He had an antisocial personality and didn't feel remorse for killing whom he saw as an obstacle to his freedom."
"But wouldn't he see prison as a way of fostering his beliefs?"
"No. He was forced to follow prison rules, which didn't allow him the freedom to choose his own beliefs regarding others. He had to respect people from other races, and people who practiced other religions. And that irked him. He was in for life, with no chance of parole. He saw escape as a means of getting out his trapped life."
"So he felt that he had enough of a chance to get away?"
"That's right. He felt that the woods and the stream gave him an opportunity to hide, an opportunity to get away. He took that hostage as a last resort when he saw himself being surrounded."
"Did he have sympathizers who would have helped him get away?"
"We're looking for some, but yes, there exists an underground network. Once his escape hit the news, there would be other people who would have been more than willing to assist him in escaping."
"So, they would have jumped in their cars and came to his assistance?"
"Something like that. There would have been a code word used as a signal. Once he was picked up by someone in the group, he would have gone underground and the FBI would have had a tough time in locating him."
"But you're the best, honey. You would have found him."
"Not without a lot of extra manpower and a lot of time."
"But you would have found him."
"Yes, but with a lot of difficulty."
"Would he have escaped to Canada?"
(Frank hmmmmms here, stroking his chin thoughtfully...)
"Hmmm. Now that's something I didn't think of, but yes. Yes, it's possible he could have escaped to Canada."
"Canadian police work with US police."
"True. But there are a lot of places to cross the border undetected, even with the additional security cameras installed along the northern border."
"Don't the cameras feed into a central center?"
"Yes. But they can be activated easily by an animal, or by someone hurling something across the border."
"Hurling?"
"Along the border, there are several spots where the border patrol has been beefed up because there are backpacks containing marijuana which are left on the other side of the shallow ditch separating Canada from the US."
"So the people will hurl the backpacks across this ditch? Can't they make the ditch wider?"
"Possibly. And yes, the backpacks are hurled over the border, and the payment is hurled back stateside in a backpack. The people doing the business come to the border under cover of darkness and collect their respective backpacks."
"Strange way of doing business."
"Drug dealers come up with the most interesting ways of transacting their businesses."
"That's why they have you to help catch them."
"I'm FBI, not DEA."
"But you work with DEA, sometimes."
"When the case calls for it, like if the drug money is being laundered."
(Lady Donovan chuckles...)
"Like when you ran Andrew into jail for transporting cocaine via his yacht in the Hamptons."
"Like that time, yes."
"We should rent a yacht one day."
"Did you want to do that? Rent a yacht? I do enjoy sailing, you know."
"Yes. I'd like that. You don't have a yacht in your trust fund do you?"
(Frank chuckles...)
"Not yet."
"But you have the ranch. I can't wait to see it."
"It's beautiful. Like you."
"You're too sweet."
"I'm just stating the truth."
"I know. I like to hear the truth."
"I'm always truthful with you. You have sharp fingernails. You'd scratch my back, deeply."
"Your Krav Maga moves should allow you to subdue me."
"I'd like to subdue you right now."
"Really? What would you do?"
"Take you down. On the bed."
"Would you have my hands over my head?"
"That I would. Best way of taking you down."
"You scamp!"
"You know you like it."
"You're right."
"Kids won't be there tomorrow night. I expect dinner, dancing and bed."
"That's a deal."
"Mortons?"
"Mortons it is. They've got a new dessert chef."
"You're all the dessert I need."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"I'll remember that." (incoherent speaking over the cell phone)
"What's that, dear?"
"Dinner call. I'm being summoned."
"What are you having?"
"Chicken cordon bleu, mixed greens and baked potato with the works."
"Morton's will be better."
"You'll be better than the dinner I'm having tonight."
"You're sweet."
"I'm your wife, I'm supposed to be sweet."
"What are you having for dessert?"
"Black forest cake."
"No coffee?"
"Amtrak doesn't exactly make the best coffee. Too thick and muddy."
"Didn't you bring the French coffee press I gave you?"
"I didn't have room to pack it."
"Tea for you, then."
"I suppose so."
"Tea is good."
"Not with milk and sugar."
(Frank chuckles again....)
"That's the way the British drink their tea. And the way my mother drank her tea."
"With milk?"
"Yes. It's good."
"I don't like it."
"That's because your palette isn't used to tea with milk."
"I'm used to Lipton."
"Lipton is not a good tea."
"I did slip some herbal tea bags into your purse."
"You did?"
"Yes, in your secret pocket."
"You know about that?"
"I do."
(Sounds of rummaging come over Frank's end of the phone...)
"You did! You did put herbal tea bags in my purse."
"Amtrak isn't the best with coffee."
"They could use a Starbucks."
"Now that would make a good business partnership."
"You're right. It would. Better choice of coffee."
(the sounds of knocking coming over Frank's end of the phone...)
"Darling, sounds like you're being summoned again."
"The Queen's duties never end, do they?"
"Never. I love you."
"I love you as well. Give my love to the kids tomorrow."
"That I will do."
"Miss you."
"Miss you too."
"I don't want to hang up."
"Neither do I."
"I'd take the phone into the dining room, but I don't want to be rude."
"Some of our conversation isn't for other ears. I'll be thinking of you."
"When you're practicing your Krav Maga moves, think of me."
"I don't want to fight you. I want to make love to you."
"Now that's the thought I will hang onto while I'm having dinner."
"That's the thought I'll hang onto while I wait for tomorrow afternoon."
"I'll expect a fireworks display."
"That I can provide."
"Miss you."
"Love you."
"Bye."
"Bye, Missus Donovan. I'm glad you said yes to my proposal."
"Bye Mister Donovan. I'm glad you asked me to be your wife."
"It's been a wild trip."
"Loved every minute of it."
"Loved you every minute of it."
"Ditto."
"Bye."
"Bye."
"Bye, love."
"Bye, love."
("last call for dinner, ma'am" Frank hears the conductor say)
"You'd better hang up. Your blood sugar will drop and then you'll get sick. And I want every minute of tomorrow evening with you."
"I'll take care. Bye love."
"Bye. Love you."
Frank clicks off the phone, for he knows his wife will get cranky if her blood sugar gets too low.
Frank stretches on the leather couch, and leans back into the leather arms. He smiles as he listens to the fire spit and pop. After a while, he gets up, and takes the coffee pot and his cup to the kitchen, placing them on the sink. He repairs to the bedroom where he changes into workout clothes, goes to the house's exercise room and begins to practice Krav Maga.