'Colleen' stepped into a closed off phone booth and closed her eyes. She had been incredibly lucky to find one that was like the old fashioned booths that completely closed with a door and four walls. This was something she had talked with Jake about time and again. He'd always encouraged her to call and for one reason or another she'd put it off and put it off. But, the closer she got to her due date, the more often she thought about it.
Looking around, she made sure that she wasn't being watched before swiping the credit card through the reader and punching the access code. For just such things, Frank had insisted on getting her a supply of pre-paid calling cards. Frankie dialed the number and waited through the ring tones. "Yes, Good Morning. I'd like to speak with Caroline Battles please. Yes, I'll hold."
Frankie looked around patiently as the nurse put her on hold. Slowly she slid down the glass wall until she was sitting on the bench in the booth. Her back was beginning to kill her. For a man as small as he was, Jakehe certainly got her with a humongous child. Even Shay had said that with LJ she wasn't that big. Surprisingly, Frankie hadn't gained great amounts of weight elsewhere except her belly. If she got any bigger, she'd have to have a wheelbarrow to get around.
The phone picking up on the other end interrupted her thoughts.
"Hello, Ma'am?"
"Yes, I'm here." Frankie kept her voice quiet so that no one outside the booth could hear her.
"Here's Mrs. Battles for you." There was a slight shuffling and a soft click as her mother put the phone to her ear and hit the earring. "Hello?"
"M...Mother?"
"Who is this?"
"It's Francesca, Mother. I... I needed to call you."
"Oh. The nurse said somebody wanted to speak with me. If I'd known it was you, I'd have told her not to bother. What is it you want girl?"
Frankie's eyes prickled with tears. She had to be mad to suffer this. But she had to tell her mother. "I wanted to tell you that... you're going to be a grandmother."
"Got yourself knocked up did you? Can't say that I'm surprised. PLEASE tell me that you at least know who the father is."
Frankie hiccupped. "Yes, I do. I'm married to him. Is there any god damned reason that you're being particularly mean to me?"
"You got married? Oh that's right... you sent me that announcement. Is he on the right side of the law?"
"He's a Federal Agent with the Justice Department, MOTHER!" Frankie hissed. "You probably saw him at Eric's funeral."
There was dead silence for all of five seconds on the other end of the phone. "You. Will. NOT. Speak. His. Name! You killed him with your stupidity and as you might not remember, I disowned you at his funeral. I'm not going to be a grandmother, Francesca, for I don't have any children any longer."
"Mother, stop this!" Frankie had begun to cry. "He died trying to save my life! Why do you insist on blaming me for that!"
"Because you are the reason he was simple minded to begin with you silly little girl! Because of you, MY son is dead!" She slammed the phone up in Frankie's ear.
"Mother...Mother!" Frankie's sobs overtook her as she tried to hang up the phone. She leaned her head up against the opposite wall of the booth and sobbed. What did she truly expect after all? However, she got something she didn't expect in the form of a radiating pain across her stomach and the small of her back. Despite herself, Frankie hissed and jerked upright, bracing her hand against the wall.
"AAAHH!! Oh dear..." she hissed softly as another one rippled across her stomach. She breathed deeply and slowly trying to calm herself. She wasn't due for another twothree weeks yet, but the doctor had said there was room for error.
One of the passersby saw the squinched up look of pain on Frankie's face and stopped. Despite the soundproof booth, he could hear her gasp of pain. "Miss? Miss, are you alright?" He knocked on the door and tried to get it open. "Miss?!"
"I... AHH!!" She blinked slowly, and resumed the heavy Irish accent she'd kept on for the last two months. She flipped the latch and pushed the door open to face a crowd of onlookers. "I'm fine.... I just.... need.... oh dear..."
The man reached in and helped her stand up... much to Colleen's chagrin as a sharper pain hit her. "When are you due?"
"Not... no' for another three weeks yet... My... m'husband... Jace Par...Parker... police... AAHHHOOOOWMYGOD!!!" she shrieked and stumbled to her knees in the man's arms.
"Ok Mrs. Parker. Sit down and breathe, I'll call for an ambulance and see that your husband gets the word." He helped her sit down before he flipped open his cell phone. "Yes, I need an ambulance. I think we got a woman in labor here."
************
The phone rang on the desk. The shadows of the blinds from the afternoon's setting sun striped the desk with bands of yellowish orange and black. There was a woman sitting at the desk, her back to the window as the sun cast her shadow on the desk as well. A slim hand reached across the desk and picked up the cell phone. "Hello?"
"You're never going to believe who had the balls to call me this afternoon?"
"Caroline?"
"You got it. Francesca Marie called me. Told me I was going to be a grandmother."
The woman at the desk blinked, and then looked down. Slowly she got up from the desk and moved to stand in front of the window. "She said that?"
"Oh like you didn't know that already. I know damned well that you keep better tabs on her than you let on. If she sneezed you, you'd probably hand her the tissue if you were close enough."
"Caroline, stop it. What did that girl ever do to you?" The woman's voice broke a tiny bit.
"What did that girl do to me... you have a lot of nerve to ask me that. I did you a favor in taking in that little bitch and what did I get for it? I'm in a wheelchair for god's sake! And all because of her! My boy, my baby is dead, all because of her!"
"Caroline! You are so wrong! If you are going to blame someone for Eric's death, blame me. I'm the one who left her in that situation that long. I could have had her pulled out sooner but I wanted to see what she was made of and get the proof!"
"Oh you sanctimonious bitch. No wonder that man left you when he found out you were pregnant."
"That was uncalled for. I can't believe that you're being this arrogant about it. Look, yes, you did me a favor by taking Frankie in and I'm grateful to you for it. But damn it Caroline, do you have to be so hateful?"
"You didn't have to live with that girl. She was a completely disrespectful child. She was a thief and she's got a rap sheet like nobody's business."
"Yes, I know about the list of crimes. I've done some checking on her. I also know that she was given an unconditional acceptance to the FBI Academy, she's a successful Private Investigator, she's married and is a good upstanding citizen."
"Yeah, you say that now. You didn't know her as a child."
The woman shook her head and sighed softly. This was a pointless conversation. "Yes, Caroline, I know that I didn't know her as a child. I regret it every day that I didn't know her as a child. But you... you had her and yet you were so hateful to her. You literally hated her, didn't you?"
"How could I not? She was never my child."
"And I bet you reminded her of that every time you looked at
her." The woman hung up the cell
phone and dropped it onto the desk.
Slowly she rubbed her eyes. What
had she done? She'd given up her only
child to a hateful shrew of a woman who didn't love her one shred's worth of
human compassion. She hadn't even shown
the girl the least little bit of humanity short of a place to call home. At least her brother in law was decent to
the girl. He had always treated Frankie
like his own, like she was a human being.
But not her sister... "Oh
God, can You forgive me? I don't know
if Frankie could, or if I could ever forgive myself."
****
"Parker's waiting in interrogation room six," Captain George informed McKendry and Richards upon their return to IA HQ.
Brenna tossed her briefcase on the chair and straightened her shoulders. "Let him stew a few more minutes."
"What'd you find out from the prostitute?" George inquired.
"She wouldn't talk," Richards replied. "She's too afraid of what Brunell will do."
"That's an assumption. You have no proof Brunell's even involved."
"True...we have nothing."
George turned to McKendry. "Are you ready to give a final report on Brunell?"
"No,' she answered. "Cherry will talk...just give me a little time."
George sighed in irritation. "Go see to Parker. Heads up...Brunell is with him."
Brenna and Mike looked at each other in surprise. Brenna smiled. "He's letting us know he's not afraid of us. Very sure of himself."
"Let's go," Mike said, leading her by the elbow.
Upon reaching the interrogation room, they found Brunell and Parker seated at the small table engaged in a lighthearted discussion. Richards cleared his throat getting their attention. "You'll have to wait outside, Officer Brunell."
Pete smiled and patted Jace on the back. "See ya in a few, partner." He eased out of his chair and paused in the doorway long enough to bestow a sardonic smile on Brenna.
"Officer Brunell," she acknowledged.
Richards closed the door and Brunell watched as the scene that would unfold was blocked from his view.
--
"Talk freely, Jake. Cody checked this place out thoroughly. We're being watched, but not recorded," Frank informed him, sitting down opposite.
"You get anything from Cherry?" he asked, his gaze sweeping over both Frank and Shay.
"No..."
"Your call stopped us before we pressed her and put her life in danger," Frank admitted.
Jake nodded. "He's trusting me...wants me to join his operation."
"Got anything yet?" Shay asked. She watched as Jake contemplated her...something was bothering him.
"We were on our way to collect from Cherry when you two showed up...so nothing I could testify to there. I don't know where he's keeping the drugs...so nothing solid there."
"He told you about the drugs?" Frank asked. That was a good sign.
"Yes...he's working out a deal, but I don't know the details. I'm hoping he'll be more forthcoming today." Jake watched Shay watching him. She was trying to analyze him. Yeah, Shay...there are a lot of things going on that you don't know about.
Shay read it in his eyes...the anger, the dislike. It tore at her very soul. She could not hold it back any longer. "You hate me, don't you?"
Frank frowned and looked from one to the other. "What?"
"I suppose I do," Jake admitted, looking her in the eyes. "On some level."
Shay looked away as the tears began to well and blinked them back. "Okay...I supposed I can understand. A little of who we pretend to be rubs off...brands us."
"Jake?" Frank asked.
"It's just the role, Frank...the mask you have to put on. When I take it off...I can still feel its impression," Jake answered.
"Then we have a lot to work out after this is over," he insisted glancing from his friend to his wife, who was hurting beyond words.
Jake was about to answer when his phone rang. "Parker."
The Donovans watched him as he listened to the caller. Watched his face change from its normal intensity to blatant terror.
"Jake, what is it?" Shay asked worriedly.
"Fa-Frankie. She's been rushed to the hospital."
************