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CHAPTER 10
Rachel looked down into her coffee cup. "We clash all the time," she admitted. "I constantly niggle him to make him lose his temper, and he consequently loses his temper with me all the time." She smiled in reflection - "I guess you could say we are friends." And then she looked up at Patrick with honesty in her eyes, "And maybe we are even more than that!"
"I am 54 years old, and have just learned not to lose my temper with my wife," came his reply, and he smiled again. "It was my temper that caused my first marriage to break apart. I was only 21 and she was only 19 when we fell in love. She was so beautiful, a fragile child really, and I was going to get the world and lay it at her feet. But as you know, employment opportunities for immigrants weren't that great, we were struggling to live in a very cheap and run down apartment, and then she got pregnant. There we were, a couple of kids, about to have a baby!" he sighed deeply, and then looked back up at Rachel. "Then I became desperate to find steady work," he went on to say, "And I was offered a job by someone, a job that paid big money, really big money, and it was only a little outside the law. Needless to say, I was very pleased and threw myself into this work with little heed to what she wanted. I very quickly moved her out of that cheap hole, and into a beautiful house, soon I was able to buy her anything she wanted. But she didn't like the people I worked for, she was scared of them, and she became scared of me! It didn't take a lot to make me yell and scream in those days, and although I never hit her, she would cower away from me. I think we could have been happy if she had yelled back - or even hit me with something! But she would cry, and eventually she would take the baby and run back to her parents. Now I was becoming (in my own eyes at least) a big man in the 'company' and I wasn't going to lose face by having my wife leave me. So I would go and force her to come back, and the whole cycle would start over again. We would pretend to be happy for a while, I'd try to control my temper, but eventually would lose it over some stupid little thing, and start yelling, and she would take John and run away. She became terrified of me; she made John terrified of me. Mind you I was not too worried about it back then, I was focusing on becoming the biggest money spinner in town, and went about it fists and all! I certainly did not want any cry baby for a son."
He stopped talking and drew a deep breath. Rachel's deep green eyes never left his face. "Finally when she left me for about the fourth or fifth time, I decided not to chase after her," he said, "I started having affairs all over town, I was going to enjoy my freedom! Christine Landers was my secretary, and became my lover just after Noreen left for the last time. She started pushing for marriage, and by then I didn't really care one way or the other, but she persuaded me to ask for a divorce. So I went over to New Jersey one weekend to see her, and John. I knew she was living with her parents by then."
He looked down at the cooling coffee cup in his hand. "It wasn't a success," he admitted wryly. "John was probably about 16 or maybe 17 years old at the time, a tall skinny kid, all I can remember is him standing next to his mother glaring at me with defiance. She was still very beautiful, but when I asked to speak to her alone, she shrank away from me, so of course, I lost my temper and started yelling again, yelling that I wanted a divorce, that I had found someone else I wanted to marry, someone who wasn't a scared child. But she was a Catholic - and divorce was a bad word to her. She refused, and I stomped out of her parents' house in a furious temper. I think I slammed the door so hard, I broke it."
Rachel smiled in reminiscence. "John nearly broke Bailey's door by slamming it just the other day," she said softly. He grimaced a little, and went on. "Two weeks later, Noreen was killed in a car accident. Her car was run off the road, a very steep road. The police questioned me long and hard about it, they would have loved to lock me up for that or anything! But I had a water -tight alibi. It was several months later I began to think Christine was involved. By then I had started to end the relationship - but that started another whole situation.
John came to see me in my office a week after his mother's death. He was shaking with anger and hatred; he blamed me totally, called me a murderer. He would prove my guilt, he screamed at me and was causing a huge scene. So I dragged him into my office, and I.." Patrick hesitated still looking into Rachel's eyes. "I am very ashamed of myself," he said "I tried to talk to him, but he flew at me, throwing wild punches, so I beat him, a skinny 16 year old, devastated by his mother's death, and I took my belt off and beat the crap out of him. Then I packed him back to his grandparent's house, and have never seen or spoken to him since! You see, I have no doubt about how he feels towards me."
Rachel took a ragged breath. "That's really awful," she said. "I mean, the whole thing seems so sad."
"I followed his career," said Patrick. "I knew when he left the university and joined the police force. I knew he did it just to get back at me! And let me tell you, there have been times when I could have cheerfully wrung his neck. He has caused me trouble; I've had raids, and tax audits and all sorts of fun things because of him. I was very glad when he changed his name. But now - I don't want him killed because of me. I've turned my life around, I'm strictly legit, and I have a wife I love very much, one who is not afraid of me. Or not afraid to yell at me if she thinks I deserve it! A wife who would like to meet her step-son one day."
Bailey came over towards them, and sat down next to Rachel. "It's all fixed," he said, "as soon as you hear from her, we are ready to roll!" Rachel clasped her hands together and turned back to Patrick. "You said you were married to Carolyn Ross?" she asked "How did this Christine Landers manage to get as far as she did within the FBI?" "I originally employed Carolyn to deal with some legal issues in the Company. Christine used her credentials, she is a very experienced and very convincing liar, and I suppose she was able to carry off her impersonation without too many problems."
At that moment, his mobile phone began to ring. He jumped to answer it, but George indicated for him to let it ring a few times, and set the tracer going. "O'Doyle," he said and then her voice came over the speaker. "Patrick you have decided to speak to me at last," she said, "I really want to see you." He looked at Rachel and she smiled and nodded at him, "Play along with her," she mouthed. "Keep her on the line as long as you can," whispered George.
"Where are you Christine?" he asked. " I'm in Atlanta - I'll come to you." "I want you to come alone," she said and gave him directions, then "Oh Patrick, you'll be so proud of me." "Why?" he asked cautiously, "What have you done?" She laughed delightedly, "Something you've wanted to do for a long time - remember now come alone, I'll be watching for you." The phone went dead. George nodded and pointed to his screen. "She's within a couple of hundred meters of this area here," he said. "The Local police think she's in an old derelict farmhouse, just off the main highway. They have got the place in their sights, but are lying low and staying out of sight." Bailey looked at the screen. "The police say they can get pretty close, but there is no vegetation immediately surrounding the house itself, so you are going to have to go in by yourself. We will wire you up, and have people all around, but it's going to be up to you to assess the situation, and tell us when to come in." Patrick nodded, and turned to Rachel. "May I call my wife?" he asked, "I'd like to talk to her for a few minutes, before we go." "Of course," she said, and indicated her office for privacy.
CHAPTER 10
Rachel looked down into her coffee cup. "We clash all the time," she admitted. "I constantly niggle him to make him lose his temper, and he consequently loses his temper with me all the time." She smiled in reflection - "I guess you could say we are friends." And then she looked up at Patrick with honesty in her eyes, "And maybe we are even more than that!"
"I am 54 years old, and have just learned not to lose my temper with my wife," came his reply, and he smiled again. "It was my temper that caused my first marriage to break apart. I was only 21 and she was only 19 when we fell in love. She was so beautiful, a fragile child really, and I was going to get the world and lay it at her feet. But as you know, employment opportunities for immigrants weren't that great, we were struggling to live in a very cheap and run down apartment, and then she got pregnant. There we were, a couple of kids, about to have a baby!" he sighed deeply, and then looked back up at Rachel. "Then I became desperate to find steady work," he went on to say, "And I was offered a job by someone, a job that paid big money, really big money, and it was only a little outside the law. Needless to say, I was very pleased and threw myself into this work with little heed to what she wanted. I very quickly moved her out of that cheap hole, and into a beautiful house, soon I was able to buy her anything she wanted. But she didn't like the people I worked for, she was scared of them, and she became scared of me! It didn't take a lot to make me yell and scream in those days, and although I never hit her, she would cower away from me. I think we could have been happy if she had yelled back - or even hit me with something! But she would cry, and eventually she would take the baby and run back to her parents. Now I was becoming (in my own eyes at least) a big man in the 'company' and I wasn't going to lose face by having my wife leave me. So I would go and force her to come back, and the whole cycle would start over again. We would pretend to be happy for a while, I'd try to control my temper, but eventually would lose it over some stupid little thing, and start yelling, and she would take John and run away. She became terrified of me; she made John terrified of me. Mind you I was not too worried about it back then, I was focusing on becoming the biggest money spinner in town, and went about it fists and all! I certainly did not want any cry baby for a son."
He stopped talking and drew a deep breath. Rachel's deep green eyes never left his face. "Finally when she left me for about the fourth or fifth time, I decided not to chase after her," he said, "I started having affairs all over town, I was going to enjoy my freedom! Christine Landers was my secretary, and became my lover just after Noreen left for the last time. She started pushing for marriage, and by then I didn't really care one way or the other, but she persuaded me to ask for a divorce. So I went over to New Jersey one weekend to see her, and John. I knew she was living with her parents by then."
He looked down at the cooling coffee cup in his hand. "It wasn't a success," he admitted wryly. "John was probably about 16 or maybe 17 years old at the time, a tall skinny kid, all I can remember is him standing next to his mother glaring at me with defiance. She was still very beautiful, but when I asked to speak to her alone, she shrank away from me, so of course, I lost my temper and started yelling again, yelling that I wanted a divorce, that I had found someone else I wanted to marry, someone who wasn't a scared child. But she was a Catholic - and divorce was a bad word to her. She refused, and I stomped out of her parents' house in a furious temper. I think I slammed the door so hard, I broke it."
Rachel smiled in reminiscence. "John nearly broke Bailey's door by slamming it just the other day," she said softly. He grimaced a little, and went on. "Two weeks later, Noreen was killed in a car accident. Her car was run off the road, a very steep road. The police questioned me long and hard about it, they would have loved to lock me up for that or anything! But I had a water -tight alibi. It was several months later I began to think Christine was involved. By then I had started to end the relationship - but that started another whole situation.
John came to see me in my office a week after his mother's death. He was shaking with anger and hatred; he blamed me totally, called me a murderer. He would prove my guilt, he screamed at me and was causing a huge scene. So I dragged him into my office, and I.." Patrick hesitated still looking into Rachel's eyes. "I am very ashamed of myself," he said "I tried to talk to him, but he flew at me, throwing wild punches, so I beat him, a skinny 16 year old, devastated by his mother's death, and I took my belt off and beat the crap out of him. Then I packed him back to his grandparent's house, and have never seen or spoken to him since! You see, I have no doubt about how he feels towards me."
Rachel took a ragged breath. "That's really awful," she said. "I mean, the whole thing seems so sad."
"I followed his career," said Patrick. "I knew when he left the university and joined the police force. I knew he did it just to get back at me! And let me tell you, there have been times when I could have cheerfully wrung his neck. He has caused me trouble; I've had raids, and tax audits and all sorts of fun things because of him. I was very glad when he changed his name. But now - I don't want him killed because of me. I've turned my life around, I'm strictly legit, and I have a wife I love very much, one who is not afraid of me. Or not afraid to yell at me if she thinks I deserve it! A wife who would like to meet her step-son one day."
Bailey came over towards them, and sat down next to Rachel. "It's all fixed," he said, "as soon as you hear from her, we are ready to roll!" Rachel clasped her hands together and turned back to Patrick. "You said you were married to Carolyn Ross?" she asked "How did this Christine Landers manage to get as far as she did within the FBI?" "I originally employed Carolyn to deal with some legal issues in the Company. Christine used her credentials, she is a very experienced and very convincing liar, and I suppose she was able to carry off her impersonation without too many problems."
At that moment, his mobile phone began to ring. He jumped to answer it, but George indicated for him to let it ring a few times, and set the tracer going. "O'Doyle," he said and then her voice came over the speaker. "Patrick you have decided to speak to me at last," she said, "I really want to see you." He looked at Rachel and she smiled and nodded at him, "Play along with her," she mouthed. "Keep her on the line as long as you can," whispered George.
"Where are you Christine?" he asked. " I'm in Atlanta - I'll come to you." "I want you to come alone," she said and gave him directions, then "Oh Patrick, you'll be so proud of me." "Why?" he asked cautiously, "What have you done?" She laughed delightedly, "Something you've wanted to do for a long time - remember now come alone, I'll be watching for you." The phone went dead. George nodded and pointed to his screen. "She's within a couple of hundred meters of this area here," he said. "The Local police think she's in an old derelict farmhouse, just off the main highway. They have got the place in their sights, but are lying low and staying out of sight." Bailey looked at the screen. "The police say they can get pretty close, but there is no vegetation immediately surrounding the house itself, so you are going to have to go in by yourself. We will wire you up, and have people all around, but it's going to be up to you to assess the situation, and tell us when to come in." Patrick nodded, and turned to Rachel. "May I call my wife?" he asked, "I'd like to talk to her for a few minutes, before we go." "Of course," she said, and indicated her office for privacy.