CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
June 26 to July 14, 2001
On hearing that Lambourni came from New Jersey, (Brooks having filled in this information because he discovered the lawyer was the Dark Lord of Zartan, a character on the Everquest gaming network and Brooks was an Everquest player, his character being Argo the Invincible), Miss Parker and Jarod decided to see where Lambourni came from. After all, if they wanted to be the godfather of their future children, it was best to know if he were not a master criminal or something sinister.
Jarod was forever looking at things that to Miss Parker were just junk, but since their coming youngsters might enjoy a Kewpie Doll, a Roy Rogers lunchbox, and a Rolling Stones album, Miss Parker decided that they had better get them. They packed the trunk with so many souvenirs that they both agreed that they "had better enlarge the house to put all this stuff." Miss Parker bought a "Your New Baby Photo Album," a book of names, and Jarod looked for pistols and revolvers. After all, his most successful Pretends were as FBI agents and investigators.
On the way, they stopped into an old shop that specialized in mementoes of the fifties where Jarod discovered that some Pez holders were valuable. Unfortunately, he did not own a thing. Why he did not even own himself, least of all the clothes he wore and all his Pez collections now, like him, was the property of Miss Parker.
"Fifty dollars," he explained as he looked at the containers, some with the heads of famous cartoon characters, "Do you have any of mine? You could sell them and I do need a new shirt." He missed having money to buy anything he wanted. Being in bondage had more disadvantages than doing everything Miss Parker wanted under pain of torture and death.
She said ironically she was waiting until they were antiques and worth twenty million dollars a shot.
In the matter of a Dominant who no longer had the wider human range of sarcasm, he said, "Okay."
They spent the nights in the car with the windows blacked out if they could not find a motel. As for the latter, Jarod was getting rather bored with the names such as "The Pick Flamingo" or "Honeymoon Haven" or even "Cheater's." That was Zoe's style. She preferred that type of place.
Lady Angela or rather Miss Parker looked for the copycats of well-known motel chains. For instance, they spent one night in "Travelers Inn" and another night in "Motel Nine." Miss Parker insisted on privacy and closed drapes. She signed the registry as Señor D and Señora Angela, figuring that would keep the Centre goons from finding out. Her Spanish like that of Jarod's was impeccable, because her father and Raines had tried to turn her into a Pretender. However, she never really was one because of the one marker absent in her blood and it took years of studying under Centre tutors from various countries to get the accents right, years of studying while other children got to play. In one way, her life was just as isolated as Jarod's.
On the third night, they entered Motel Nine, not as famous as the other one, but presentable. "Check out time is eleven in the morning," said the clerk as he handed Jarod the key.
Miss Parker waited at the door with the suitcases until Jarod opened the door and promptly pulled the drapes. She opened her purse, taking out a small lock which she attached to the inside of the door and then sat on the bed. "The usual Jarod," she said waving her gun at him, "It's eight o'clock and we're not going anywhere until morning." .
Taking off his shirt, slacks, shoes, and socks, Jarod lay besides her, half expecting her to bring out the handcuffs, but she did not.
"I have to be careful," she said and patted her stomach.
"Yes Miss Parker."
She thought he smiled, but was uncertain.
Their lovemaking was not that wild, not because Miss Parker was Roman Catholic, but although Jarod belonged to her, she dared not do the things with him that a normal married couple would not for fear of hurting the lives growing inside of her.. She had no idea whether doing on the table, the floor, or having Jarod chained in the bathtub was because of the curse or because well, so they just made love like normal couples, that is, he was on top. .
Jarod did not want to hurt Miss Parker (he could not get used to her new name (such was the force of training and habit,.) and risk her losing the babies. Anyway, he did a lot of holding and kept asking, "Does this hurt too much." Being afraid of Miss Parker was so ingrained in his nature that he could never get rid of it. He knew she might kill him anytime, but keep inside his heart he knew she never would, but believing something deep inside and something closer to the surface that contrasted with each other were not that easy. So his mind went through conflicts. I dare not offend her or I really don't care what she thinks.
"I told you for the umpteenth time, it doesn't hurt at all. Do you think I'm going to kill you if it does?" Miss Parker looked at Jarod with her mouth open and her heart pounding. He was so handsome without his clothes.
For a few minutes his fear subsided. "This female wants me," he whispered and gently put her legs around him, making the love making a little easier.
"Kiss me," she said.
Jarod's mouth gaped open. She wants me to kiss her! This is a wonderful dream! I'll wake up back in the Centre! Shall I? For some reason, he found it unnatural. He put his right hand towards the side of her face, the palm open, desiring to stroke, but then he kissed her, and they held each other, until they both fell asleep. As he drifted into dream land, he remembered his hair catching in the machinery. Sydney had cut it off and from then on, made sure Jarod's hair was cut short. He remembered being terrified and screaming the first time Sydney took the scissors. He felt he would bleed to death from the cuts. In his dream, he saw a large pair of scissors snip off a part of his hair and blood spurted out. There was so much blood. He tried to yell, but his voice was hoarse as someone for whom speech was rather unusual.
At two o'clock, Jarod woke up in a shock, his heart pounding rapidly, dazed, and rather unsure of his surroundings. For a second, he expected to be back on the cold cement floor, freezing as usual, but then he blinked his eyes and saw the familiar motel bed with the TV set still on and the sound of cars rushing outside. Miss Parker or rather Lady Angela still slept besides him.
Why do Sapien women expect to mate when they're already pregnant? he wondered It isn't that she has that scent. He was thinking of the Dominant male's ability to catch the smell of the female, human or dominant when she was ready to mate. That must have happened to me. He analyzed his reaction the first time and the latter times.
The colors, the aroma of her perfume, the soft feel of her blouse, so enticing. And the way she walked when she wondered why Sydney and Broots took so long. Is that what love is like? I sure don't feel that way now. I feel just like holding her, but she wants it. I've been in the Centre too long. He
Suddenly Miss Parker interrupted his stream of thought. "Who's this Randall Lynch?" she asked as she nudged him and showed a newspaper clipping that fell out between the covers of the Dominant Book.
"I have no idea." He thumbed through the book, looking for reference of this unknown character. "Here under 'Presence Revealed: Randall Lynch, disobedience to Counsel Orders, and so on."
"And so on, Jarod? What and so on?"
"It gives a list of punishments for disobeying the Counsel. He impregnated several women after killing their mates. The Counsel had to retrieve the offspring."
"Oh so the little darlings don't stick a knife in Mommy."
"I suppose they want the Mommy to be the Wife of Senator."
"Still the same, he sure knew they'd take."
Jarod turned over and started towards sleep. It was ironic that he sensed Miss Parker was in the mating stage when she first got on top of him. Of course, she did not know that and he had no idea where the instinct came from. He estimated the babies would be born in September.
Miss Parker made a call in the morning to Broots who told her that on examining the Hercules Cd, there was evidence that someone altered the information. He had found the original.
"Wasn't the one I have the original?" she asked while Jarod put on his shirt. They were getting ready to check out.
"No," said Broots his voice sounding strange. Miss Parker was using a speaker phone. "It says your grandfather started the Centre. It should have been 'improved.' The real Hercules Cd took up the whole 650 mgs. I'm making a new CD with the original message. I can give you a summation if you want."
"Can you download it?" she asked and looked at Jarod. "It'd be too large for an email attachment."
He typed and ICQ popped up."
"Great," said Miss Parker. "Broots what kind of instant messenger do you have?"
"AIM."
"Do you have ICQ?"
"Debbie has."
'"Okay send them through that." She handed Jarod a ten dollar bill and told him to buy some CDrs."
She let Jarod unzip the files and make two CDs. At least, they looked like the ones they had. Jarod had purchased the same brand. When Miss Parker was busy in the washroom, he zipped up the files again. The only free adult Dominant, as far as he knew in the Centre was Lambourni so Jarod took a chance, ICQed them to him, two at a time with the name of the CDr brand the Centre used, their labels, and "because we are of the New Species, you could do something with this. Jarod."
A couple of days later, they approached the lower class neighborhood in Newark where the Lambournis came from. Many of the inhabitants had a serious weight problem from eating too much pasta or greasy foods. Few of the men were at home, most either working, some, as firefighters, truck drivers, factory workers, and other lower to middle class occupations.. Miss Parker and Jarod searched for the area where Mr. Lambourni lived. The photograph showed a three-story house, rather early twentieth century, the type an immigrant Italian family with a little money would live in at that period. Now the grandfather had two houses when he died, and naturally Mr. Lambourni, that is Antonio's father, lived in the oldest, as he still did. He spent a pleasant hour talking about Antonio's adoption and "That he was the cutest bambino we ever saw."
"And who lives in the other house?" asked Miss Parker, assuming it was the son born a short while after Antonio's adoption.
"It's not there. Antonio lived there."
"What do you mean not there?" And the man pointed to the next block which had the usual amount of houses, except for one lot. "I'd go with you but I have to take care of Paulo."
Miss Parker and Jarod followed him inside to another room where a man about two years younger than Lambourni sat in a rocking chair, moving his head up and down. "I didn't want to put him in a home. Antonio sends me money to help and he sometimes comes to, he used to, but he has his own family to look after. My daughter's a carrier, but she's a nun." And then he smiled. "But my youngster, Vincente's fine. He graduated last summer."
"Oh," said Jarod as he looked at the youngest son's picture. That face was familiar. "He works for one of the crime families."
"Does the father know about this?" whispered Miss Parker.
"I doubt it. Antonio probably knows but he's not telling, besides he's not blood, not that it matters."
e
Wisely, Jarod and Miss Parker left. They knew why the lawyer did not come home. There was no home to come home to. It was nothing more than charred timbers. Jarod decided this was time for him to pretend to be an insurance investigator concentrating on suspicious fires.
Miss Parker agreed to go along with this in a manner that spelled "Haven't I been done this road before?" She waited by the car while Jarod went to talk to the officer who specialized in arson.
The police officer said that as far as he knew, Mr. Lambourni had no trouble with his insurance and everyone liked him. He thought if someone burned it, Lambourni would only get enough for the land it stood on and as this was a lower middle class neighborhood, there would not be many buyers. "It happened back in late June of 2000."
"A year ago?" asked Jarod.
"Right after the social workers came and took his kids. Seems a shame, first the neighbor says she saw someone grabbing Lambourni just as he went to the side door. Can't see anything from the front there. Now the Child Protective Services grabs the kids before calling the mother."
"Lambourni's married?"
The officer told Jarod to wait and went to this car. "He is. Wife works in the Twin Towers. She was in Mexico at the time they snatched the kids."
So whoever burned down Lambourni's house knew when he would be away. Jarod knew this was the Centre's doing and the so called Child Protective Service workers were in reality Centre employees. He, however, had to ask if the mob had anything to do with it. .
The officer said no. The mob did not want to oppose the local police. Why, some of their sons and daughters joined the police force. Of course, the dads did not like it, but that was life. You started out committing crimes and your kids joined the FBI because they found that crime did not really pay. "It's a closed Market here. When you're too old to care for your house, you sell it to a relative or someone from the Old Country. Most of the people look at you sideways unless you know an Uncle Luigi or speak Italian."
It was going to turn into a Cold File, as all the leads got nowhere. He checked his notepad.
"Did those social workers have anything to do with the arson?" Jarod asked and put his hand over is mouth to prevent a yawn.
"No. Social workers? They'd be fired for that. Two days after they grab the kids? You really should get some sleep"
"Yes." He yawned. "Oh Mr. Lambourni got his kids back."
"Good. Anyway nice seeing you Mr. Morris."
Jarod walked back to Miss Parker. "He didn't do it."
"When did it happen?"
"You said Broots told you the Centre grabbed Lambourni around the time Mr. Parker went back to the Centre. Two days later, his house burns down after the goons grabbed his kids."
"The Centre did it to prevent Mr. Lambourni from returning home." She looked at Jarod. "I think we'd better hurry back. I've got something to say to Raines, excuse me while I vomit, after we visit Cox."
"Cox? Ah yes he might know of your little brother, if that is who he really is."
"What are you saying Jarod?"
"I checked the medical records. Brigitte was sterile and Mr. Parker, you said, could not do anything, so is the little brother, another like Frederick or like Ethan or Gemini?" Jarod put the laptop in the case and zipped it up while Miss Parker shoved her toilet essentials in the small side of her bag. "That's everything."
"Good, I'll pay the manager, you start the car."
On the way back, Miss Parker wondered what would happen if the Centre was no more.
"What'll you do?" he asked, reading her mood, "You have to be careful. You can't run a nursery school and you certainly aren't your mother."
"Why Jarod?" She bent over and glared at him. "Don't you think I like children? What do you think, I've been having morning sickness? Just for my health?"
"It's like this. I've always been excellent at going after criminals. Only I can only fill in temporary before they start seeing there is no Jarod Morris or Benson or whatever at the bureau." He adjusted the rear view mirror. "Before I couldn't take the state examination for a license and still can't unless you co-sign and then they'll wonder why. I just read up in it. The Centre had several books showing the qualifications for licensed investigators and the names of various schools and universities that offered the courses."
"I can say you are a recent immigrant and waiting your papers, but as you say, they'll investigate and my past would be against me. So in what situation would it be preferable?"
"Murder for hire?" he asked in a dry voice.
"And being rather specific about who we kill. Child abusers for one. Taking out my gun and taking aim." She took out her gun from her purse and pretended to pull the trigger.
Suddenly Jarod stopped the car so fast that Miss Parker would almost hit the windshield if she had not on her seat belt. "That's it. We go after child abusers, runaway parents, those who beat up their spouses. Deadbeats. We specialize in that. You've been hurt by Raines. You said he tried something, so the authorities will take your word as veracity. Miss Parker, we've both got the skills, all we need is a name."