Author's Note: Hello C.O.P.S. fans, and welcome to 2006. Hope everyone had a good holiday. Okay, so after I promised ages ago that I would bring Commissioner Highwater into the story, I finally was able to make room for her this chapter. Also, I decided to give Whitney Morgan another crucial role here, as opposed to the cameo in Chapter Eight, and I'm also planning another major role for her in the next one. You'll just have to wait to find out, but I'll leave you guessing. And to skyefire, it's great to hear you are doing well after going two more chapters without a review from you. Anyway, please read and review here.
PS: I have another OC here – Empire City Police Chief Stephen Irons (who doesn't work for Bulletproof.) Hope that's accurate.
Chapter 21
"That's a huge weight off my whole body," Valerie replied to the news of Tom's death. "Now my thoughts won't be haunted anymore, and Jeremy will be safe."
She was talking at the front desk, after being paged over the PA. Soon, she thought she heard Hardtop's voice in the background, asking to speak to her. She cringed, her disaster date two months ago coming back to her. Bulletproof said, "Listen, Valerie, I'm going to hand it over to Hardtop for a few moments. He's just informed the news. I'll put him on."
She inwardly prayed that Hardtop wouldn't ask her out again. She decided long ago that Whitney Morgan could have him. But when she saw him, she noticed his face looked somber. It definitely wasn't one to discuss anything personal. "Hardtop?" she called.
"Valerie," he said. "Listen, I just talked with Whitney Morgan, and she's bringing a camera crew over right now. She's just informed the news people back at the TV studio of the breaking story. I told her a few things about you and Tom, and your romances with Sundown and Highway and some others, and she wants to ask you a few questions."
Valerie looked interested, but was worried about her pay being docked. Suddenly, Mr. Sussex was walking by her, so she put Hardtop on hold.
"Mr. Sussex," she said, "I have the police on the phone. Tom's been gunned down by a couple of officers in the Empire City Zoo parking lot, and the news picked it up. They know about my connections, and want to ask me about them."
"But aren't you in the middle of the graphics and editing for the Escapade commercial with Matt?" he asked. "I don't think you can leave now. Can't this wait for the six o'clock news?"
"Sir, we're talking about my former husband and my new loves," Valerie responded. "I am out of Tom's shadow, and can truly begin a new life. And Jeremy's all right and safe now, thank God. Bulletproof told me." Mr. Sussex still wasn't convinced. "It's a breaking story, sir. And given my involvement, they'll want to hear my side. Besides, it was Sundown and Highway that shot Tom. I'm sure that if I expose Tom myself, it will save them from an investigation."
"But, Valerie…"
"Look, Mr. Lancer assigned this to me, and it was his idea to send me home early yesterday when he first learned about Tom being here, remember? I think he'll be pleased to hear this news. I can come right back afterwards and work through the rest of my lunch hour. It's not due until the end of the day, right?"
Suddenly, Mr. Lancer joined in the conversation. Mr. Sussex told his business partner about it, and Mr. Lancer looked just as joyous as Valerie. He said, "That's excellent news, Valerie! Of course, I won't be able to see it at noon, but I'll be delighted to watch you on TV at perhaps ten tonight. Go, and be quick. If this is the first story they'll air, you can't miss it. Just come back as soon as it's done." Valerie nodded, then told Hardtop, "I'll be there. Where's the zoo?" and jotted down directions.
Outside, she checked the time, seventeen minutes until noon. She estimated she would get to the zoo in time if she went sixty miles an hour.
The clock in Valerie's car read noon when she arrived at the zoo parking lot. She saw a TV news crew, but no ambulances. She concluded that Tom had already been taken to the morgue. She parked in the first available spot she found, and ran over to where the C.O.P.S. and news crew were. She saw Barricade still holding Jeremy, so she group-hugged them first. Then she heard two men call her name harmoniously. She saw Sundown and Highway, and threw herself into another group hug.
"Oh, sweet Jesus, thank you!" she breathed. "Now, I can live in peace without ever having to think of him."
"He ain't ever gonna be abused no more," Sundown assured her. "That there's a guarantee."
Her relief was interrupted for a bit when she felt a tap on his shoulder, and heard another woman clearing her throat. She turned and saw ace reporter Whitney Morgan, and remembered why she came in the first place.
"Ms. Morgan!" she cried. "Oh, I'm sorry to keep you waiting, I'm just so relieved that the C.O.P.S. were able to keep my son from being taken."
"That's great, but you have to get yourself ready for the camera," Whitney replied. "I want to ask about what your husband said to you. But first, I have to interview some of the C.O.P.S. for their actions."
Valerie waited with Barricade, while Whitney interviewed Bulletproof, Blackbelt and Sundown. She tried to keep herself from weeping as Sundown said, "Highway an' I had Jeremy on our minds when we shot Tom Boston, mainly his protection. He was with Barricade most of the time, but I brought that boy forward, to show his blasted father just how innocent the boy was. But he'd never listened. The next thing I knew, Bowzer an' Blitz found a gun in his pocket, an' he was poised to shoot us if we ever tried anythin' funny. An' wit my grip on Jeremy, Tom was still able to snatch him from me. We saw Jeremy was already in the truck, but we soon learned that he wasn't 'bout to get arrested quietly, so we shot him just to stop him in his tracks."
"And who was the one who put the bullet that killed him?" Whitney asked.
"That was me, and it was only fer Valerie," Sundown answered. "I understood very well how much Tom Boston disgraced an' frightened Valerie – we all did. An' we all knew how much he frightened Jeremy. It wasn't that we didn't reckon he deserved to live, it was more like deliverin' justice to a protective, conscious mama an' her broken child."
Next, Whitney asked Valerie about Tom's business in Empire City. Valerie said, "One of my cousins who's a proudly strict disciplinarian, she told my ex-husband about a fight we had about Jeremy, at a recent family function. Tom told me himself. The judge who finalized our divorce ordered that he stay at least a thousand feet away from me and Jeremy, because of his abusive behavior and arrogant attitude. Needless to say, I was horrified when I saw him again."
"And what exactly did he say to you?" Whitney asked.
"He used the reunion incident to accuse me of bad parenting," Valerie answered, "and said he planned to take me to court for custody. Given the abusive father he was in the past, I didn't want it to happen. If Sundown hadn't killed Tom, as Bulletproof told me, he would've taken Jeremy, and probably also murdered him."
"How was he abusive to him?"
"Well, without going into great detail, he'd shaken him every time he'd made a noise up until he was around two, then continued to spank, whip and beat him despite his damage until I left him. You do the math. If anything, I'd say this is one of few killings that are justified."
Whitney nodded, somehow convinced, then turned to the camera. "It seems that, judging by what was said here," she said boldly, "the shooting death of Thomas Boston was indeed justified, as Valerie Boston stated. Hopefully, this will persuade the authorities to not go through with any standard police investigations."
Soon, the newscast ended, and Valerie was relieved. Before she left, she hugged Jeremy, thankful he was safe. Then, she had him go off with Longarm and Brian, so she could group-hug with Sundown, Highway and Barricade. She said, "Thanks a lot, you guys. Now I can truly start over. And thank you again for all you've done."
"Hey, anything for the woman we love," Barricade replied.
When she let go, she told them, "I have to get back to work now. Barricade, why don't you take Jeremy to lunch now? He must be starving."
"Sure thing," he said. "And maybe when you're finished work, you can come over to my house? I've got some packaged roast beef thawing in the kitchen sink."
"I'd love to, but I'd have to go home and pack a bag for Jeremy."
"Oh, I haven't forgotten. Still got the tickets in a safe place at home. But I can bring Jeremy to the house around four, and we'll take care of that for you. You just worry about your overnight bag. We have a mid-morning flight, around ten-thirty."
"I guess this means I get to spend the night with you. You know I'd love to." They kissed.
"Listen, I got to get back," she said. "Mr. Lancer and Matt are waiting for me. We're still finishing editing that Escapade thing." She went to Jeremy. "Be as well-behaved as you can for Barricade, okay? I'll see you later tonight." She walked quickly back to her car and drove off. As she did, Hardtop was watching her leave.
Highway approached him. "What are you thinking about?" he asked. "How you regret what you did that night, and let a good thing get away?"
"No," Hardtop answered. "I was just wondering when she's going to trade that old station wagon in for something more modern."
"Absolutely not!" Bulletproof protested. "I refuse to put Sundown and Highway under investigation!"
Bulletproof and Police Commissioner Highwater were at C.O.P.S. headquarters that afternoon. They were arguing with Stephen Irons, chief of the Empire City Police, about Tom Boston's shooting.
"It is standard police procedure, Agent Vess," Irons argued. "We need to know if the killing was, in fact, justified, or if it was just another police brutality murder."
"Of course it was justified, Chief Irons!" Highwater insisted. "Didn't you listen to any of the testimonies? All of them had me convinced that Sheriff Calhoun and Patrolman Harlson did the right thing. I thought the words of Ms. Valerie Boston were the most powerful. From what I've heard, that man is a monster, worse than any criminal we've encountered in all our careers. And while I've never really met her or young Jeremy, I can tell you that what they went through with him had me completely disturbed!"
"Look, just because Ms. Boston is romantically linked to Calhoun and Harlson, and several other of your men," Irons said, "it doesn't mean that what they did isn't grounds for dismissal. What did Tom Boston do to deserve his fate, anyway?"
"How about torture a mentally and physically challenged child who is unable to defend himself for the first ten years of his life!" Bulletproof exploded. "And if I remember correctly, he would also do the same to Valerie whenever she tried to defend him. Domestic abuse and child abuse all in one, and it went on for too long. He had tried to take the boy away from his mother today, and as all my followers can tell you, he'd tried to get into his truck when Longarm tried to apprehend him. He would've already left by the time someone brought a taser! Do you think we had any other choice!"
"Forgive me if I sound insensitive," Irons said, "but last time I checked, laying one's hand on a special needs child was not grounds for on-the-spot execution. At the very least, it should be grounds for hard prison time if the perpetrator's found guilty."
Bulletproof and Highwater gave mixed reactions, relieved that Irons thought what Tom did was criminal, but still angry that he wouldn't let Sundown and Highway off.
"In my opinion, this is still something we should take to court," Irons said. "Perhaps we can get Ms. Boston to testify. If she and the rest of you can persuade the judge that this was, in fact, justified, maybe Calhoun and Harlson can both be acquitted. But I don't know how the victim's family will react in the end."
"I'm sure this will help open their eyes, and make them see that Ms. Boston has been the victim in this case," Highwater said. She and Bulletproof could only hope, anyway.
"I'm still not going to suspend them at all, never mind without pay," Bulletproof insisted. "They're much too valuable to my team. All my people are!"
Valerie greeted Barricade at his house at around six that evening, her overnight bag in her hand. He smiled and said, "You're just in time. Dinner should be ready in just a few minutes. Your son is just starving."
"So am I," she agreed.
She found Jeremy sitting in front of the TV, a show for tweens just starting. She didn't feel like switching to the news, and she assumed he was just staring blankly at the screen, so she just clicked it off. "Sweetie?" she said. "Jeremy, I think it's almost time for dinner." She brought him off the sofa, to the dining table. It was all set, complete with wine goblets for her and Barricade, and a milkglass for Jeremy. She let go, and the boy sat in his place.
When Barricade took the roast out of the oven, Valerie stared at it and said, "That looks beautiful. And so tempting. I haven't had roast beef since my stay at the Best Western during my divorce." She stared at the potatoes in the water. "You know, I never let Jeremy eat potato skins. The last time he ate skins, he was six years old, and he couldn't digest them very well. In fact, he almost choked on them one time. And guess who had to take him to the emergency room all by herself." She rolled her eyes. "Now, I'll take the skins off before serving Jeremy, or serve mashed potatoes, like Mom always did. It would always lead to fights."
Barricade had put the microwave on for two minutes, canned peas and carrots. "I take it your husband hated you removing the skins?" he guessed.
She nodded. "He said it took the nutrition out of the potato," she explained. "Obviously, he didn't care if Jeremy choked or not. Meantime, I will even sacrifice some nutrition to make sure nothing happens to him. Since then, every time I cooked potatoes, we'd have a big shit argument about me overprotecting and coddling him."
Barricade sensed Valerie was going to cry, so he took the boiling potatoes off the heat, and held her for a few moments. "Don't worry, love," he whispered. "Tom is gone now. It's your freedom, enjoy it. You need to forget about your past."
"I know, you're right," she agreed. "It's just so hard when you've been haunted by all the years."
Yet, she stopped herself from crying, and looked at the potatoes in the pot. "I'll drain those for you. Where's your colander?" Barricade retrieved one from the drawers below the microwave, and Valerie drained them in the sink. "I'm mashing Jeremy's up and removing the skins."
When they sat down, Valerie looked out the window and said, "It's still so warm. I can't believe we're eating inside like last time. Next summer, you should look into buying an outdoor table, so we can eat outside when you just happen to barbeque. And we can even throw summer parties."
"Yeah, then maybe I'll build a deck or a gazebo," Barricade said. "Providing it's this nice again next summer, I'll look into it."
"It'd be nice to have company over more often," she commented. "Back when I lived in Indiana, we'd have fewer and fewer houseguests as Jeremy got older, until people just stopped coming over altogether." She ate some roast beef with vegetables. "Oooh, this is delicious. You know, this is probably the only carrots I'll eat, cubed and canned. This and corn and peas are the only things I'll feed Jeremy, where vegetables are concerned."
Barricade sighed. "Let me guess, another quarreling issue with your husband?"
"How'd you guess?" she sighed back. "I remember when Tom would cook green and yellow beans, beets, broccoli, cauliflower and turnip. Now don't even get me started on those; I will not touch them with a thirty-foot pole. Anyway, Jeremy would eat some, then loudly complain that he doesn't like them. That bastard would scream at him until he sent him to his room. And you wouldn't believe what he'd do to him later."
Barricade reached across to hold her hand. "Honey, we're here to celebrate your freedom. That's what this dinner is for."
"The point is that I won't even eat that shit, so how could he expect Jeremy to?" She decided to stop before she could depress herself, and immediately thought of her commercial. "We're just finishing up the editing for the Escapade commercial. Matt's staying late so he could put on the finishing touches. You should see it when we release it. It's a football game, but Matt and I used computer graphics to make the players look all liquidy. Then, when they drink, their bodies turn the same color as the sports drink. We're looking at the commercial tomorrow morning, and Mr. Lancer called the company that makes this stuff to schedule a meeting tomorrow afternoon."
"Sounds interesting," he replied. "I'm looking forward to seeing it on TV already."
Valerie asked about Barricade's afternoon, and he talked about taking Jeremy to see various kinds of fish and reptiles. "He was so mystified by it all, I could tell," he said. "Though the piranhas scared him when they showed their teeth. And he knows all about poisonous snakes, because he tried to avoid them, too, copperheads and such. Fortunately, I calmed him down, and explained that they're all behind glass, so they won't get to him. You should've seen how close he stuck to me, anyway."
Valerie laughed. "I'm not surprised," she said. "He'd sometimes have nightmares about wild animals. Once, he had a nightmare that he saw the M-G-M lion jump out of its logo, looking at him and chasing him as if Jeremy was lunch. He had the same one for a month. I think that was when I had the TV up a bit too loud." Barricade laughed along with it.
After dinner, she said, "Mmm, that was delicious. That roast was wonderful. Where did you buy it? I think maybe I'll go out an buy a few packages of it myself."
I'm sure you can get it at any supermarket in the meat section," Barricade said. "If you can't find it where you shop, I suggest you go all the way to borough of Harmsville and Matt's Meats."
As they were doing the dishes, Valerie stared out the window and said, "Look how beautiful it is outside. If only I'd brought my swimsuit, we'd take a dip in your Jacuzzi again. What do you say we take Jeremy out for an evening walk?"
"Sounds like a good idea," Barricade responded. "I think it would be great for him. Do you know how often he gets out when he's with your sister?"
"You mean when she's not taking him into the city?" Valerie giggled and dried out a goblet. "Well, Drew and Sheldon work some days, and Karen does work from her computer, and she also decorates other people's apartments. And keep in mind, Jeremy isn't mobile enough to play active sports. But Karen will take him out about three days a week. She once told me of a playground down our street that Jeremy likes to go to, and he sometimes sees Brian and Tyler coming to play, too. God, but I wonder where they live. Cindy and Elise have got to invite me over to their places one of these days."
He put his arm around her. "Looks like someone needs to get out now." They went to the living room for Jeremy. He was sitting in the middle of the floor, flipping through a new issue of Sports Illustrated.
"C'mon, Jeremy," Barricade said. He squatted down to the boy. "How would you like to go for a nice walk with your Mom and me?" Jeremy smiled and stumbled to get up.
Barricade, Valerie and Jeremy were holding hands, looking like a small link, as they walked down Masterland. She held her son's hand rather tightly every time they approached a stop sign. Jeremy spent the whole walk just looking around at the houses and other walkers. The lovers said nothing until they passed the first stop sign, then Barricade said, "Valerie?"
She turned to him, and he gripped her hand tighter. "Oh, Valerie, but do you know what I do when I have to sleep alone in between my shifts? I look at the empty space in my bed, and pretend it's you lying there. I go crazy in my dreams, as I embrace you constantly in my passion! I lie awake wondering where you are, and whom you're with."
"Barricade, please!" she said. "You're sounding a might bit desperate."
"I'm serious, Valerie. I can't go on any longer bearing these thoughts. And if it weren't for Jeremy accompanying me, I would be haunted with this on my trip tomorrow."
She gasped suddenly. "I can't believe this, Barricade. Are you asking me to live with you?"
"Once you make your decision. And Valerie, I want you to decide on me."
She stopped and stared at him, into his eyes. Part of her wanted to tell her that Barricade was moving too fast, that his come-ons were ruining a wonderful experience. But part of her also wanted to tell her to accept this, that he was madly, seriously in love with her, and that the competition must end as soon as possible. Soon, Barricade moved in to kiss her, but she stopped him.
"Uh, Barricade," she said, "I hate to ruin this romantic advance, but there's a child present. Can this possibly wait until we get home, and Jeremy is out of sight?"
He stopped, his heated passion suddenly cooled down. "But of course, my love." He kissed the back of her hand. "I will try to hold back feelings for the next while."
They walked down to the end of Masterland, then turned onto Saveweed Crescent. It was quiet for the rest of the walk. When they got to Oparack Street, Barricade said, "Let's turn on here."
"Ah, yes, I remember," Valerie agreed. "On our walks, this street took my sisters and me back to Masterland."
It continued to be quiet – other than Jeremy's sudden incoherent outburst on Oparack – for the rest of the walk. Barricade and Valerie now had their arms around each other, Valerie's free hand still holding Jeremy's. She smiled as she could see his house in the distance. She saw Linda Fortense sitting on the front porch with her husband and several friends as they passed her house. Valerie waved at her and called her name, but she just stared and went back to her group. She overheard her saying it was nobody when she was asked who Valerie was. She could still see Linda as she walked on Barricade's walkway. Valerie tried giving her "the finger" as she went into his house, but she didn't think Linda noticed.
Inside the house, Barricade put cartoons on for Jeremy, then set up a game of Risk for himself and Valerie in the dining room. It took them almost forty minutes to play, then afterwards, Barricade said, "I'll help Jeremy with his bath. You put this away, then get settled in the living room." Valerie nodded, and he proceeded to pick up Jeremy from the sofa, en route to the bathroom.
Barricade had to help him undress then, aware that Jeremy may splash around a bit, took his own shirt off. He tested the water; it was very warm, and only went up to Jeremy's chest. He was scrubbing the boy's chest, back and shoulders with soap as he splashed around, but had to hold his arms steady to wash them. With the depth of the water, it was nearly impossible to wash his legs and feet. So he just proceeded with his hair, shampooing and using a cup to rinse.
Just as he got Jeremy out, he heard a knock. He opened, and Valerie poked in her arm with Jeremy's pajamas. "I put this into my overnight bag, along with some jeans for him to wear tomorrow," she said. Barricade said his thanks, then dressed Jeremy quickly, and tucked him into bed. Outside the spare bedroom, the crowd control officer smirked, not bothering to put his shirt back on.
He proceeded to the living room, where he gave a Cheshire cat grin to Valerie. He turned off the TV, then pressed her down on the sofa and started making love. She put her arms around him, and let her hands rub all over his bare back. They were moaning and panting as quietly as they could. No screaming; they were worried about waking Jeremy. In the midst of the passion, Barricade unbuttoned and removed her blouse, unhooked and slid off her bra.
"Valerie," he breathed, "you know we won't be making love like this for the next week." Soon after, they fell onto the floor, crashing into the coffee table, continuing their love.
They were too enamored to hear the doorbell, and barely heard anything as Linda proceeded into the house. "Barricade," she said. "Barricade, I have an emergency." She went into the living room, and screamed at what she saw. Barricade and Valerie sprawled on the floor, both topless, his body on hers. When they saw her, they screamed horribly and sat up, Valerie caressing her breasts.
"Oh, Jesus Christ!" Linda seethed, then ran out of the house before Barricade could ask what she wanted. Both were too embarrassed and ashamed to go after her.
When she got back to her house, she told her friends exactly what she saw. She excused herself, then called Kim Masterson.
"Kim?" she said. "Kim, it's Linda. Listen, I was over at Barricade's house to ask for an extra egg for baking, and you'll never guess what I saw! Him and Valerie doing it in the living room." She mentioned the toplessness, and Kim looked and sounded excited.
"Wow, I was so focused on Valerie's bad parenting, that I never realized what a whore she really was," Kim said. "Oh, this will be perfect for tomorrow."
Linda hung up, then called some other people, first Nancy Munich, then Donna Grayson, Michelle Hartman, and finally, Teresa.
The next morning, after her breakfast, Valerie gave both Barricade and Jeremy goodbye kisses, then stared at Linda's porch from her car. She never came out of her house. Valerie sighed, and quickly got in and drove off. She should remember the route Barricade took to take her to work. She just prayed none of her co-workers would see her until she got there.
When she arrived, she saw Teresa speaking with Mr. Lancer. She said, "Good morning, Mr. Lancer and Teresa." But the conversation stopped abruptly as Teresa just gave her a light glare.
"Valerie," Mr. Lancer said. "I received an e-mail from Matt. The commercial you made has been processed to DVD disc, and is ready for viewing and approval. He should be here at any moment. I'll meet you in my office in a few minutes." She nodded and headed towards Mr. Lancer's head office.
She tried to watch the video but it was too hard. She kept thinking about Linda, wondering whom she told about her and Barricade's latest love session. Teresa must have been one of them; she could tell by the looks she gave her. She just stared at the computer-based images – the most noticeable thing about the project. She smiled normally when Mr. Lancer said, "That was brilliant, you two. I'm very pleased with these efforts of yours. Whose idea was it to use computerized liquid athletes?" Matt raised his hand.
"Well, you hit the nail straight on the head," Mr. Lancer said. "This is exactly the kind of niche companies want for their sports drinks – boosts of colorful energy from their product. They're going to love it."
"Thank you," Valerie said.
Later that morning, Valerie was in her office, typing her speech for the Escapade drink when Elise knocked on her door. She entered and said, "Listen, I got a call from Kim last night about you and Barricade. She'd heard it all from Linda."
"I hope you told them both to screw off," Valerie said.
"I didn't," Elise replied, "but I did walk into Linda's office and told her what I heard. She said she walked in and found you two on the floor. I told her that she had no right to gossip about you, even if it was true. For crissake, Valerie, you are the smartest, most talented, most respectable woman in the advertising business. Obviously. And if she had any respect for Barricade, Longarm, or any of the other C.O.P.S., she'd stop saying shocking, demeaning things about their personal lives. What they do in their own homes on their off-time is their business. 'Practice what you preach to your kids,' is what I told her."
Valerie smirked. "I'm wondering what her kids would think of her acting so malicious. I hope they use that to rebel against her. What'd she say?"
"She told me, 'I've been happily married to the same man for nineteen years. And I've never dated more than one man at a time in my life.' As if that's any excuse to spread around vile rumors like that. I told her that you were just confused about who you wanted."
"That's true," Valerie agreed. "I've been seeing more of Barricade and Sundown than I have the others, but they all treat me like I'm worthy. I've never been this happy since two years into my marriage to Tom – may he roast in Hell."
"She didn't care," Elise said. "Linda's all, 'It doesn't matter. The point is she's sleeping with five men at once, all members of authority, so she qualifies as a skank with a uniform fetish.' And how dare she say that Jeremy belongs in a group home! Oooh, but I plan to take this to Mr. Sussex. He should fire Linda, and possibly Kim as well."
Valerie noticed Mr. Sussex standing at her doorway, sheets in hand. "Speaking of which…" she said. Elise turned and gasped when she saw him.
"Mr. Sussex," she said. "I know I should be working, but I'm just consoling Valerie about the latest rumor I've heard of her."
He glowered and replied, "Oh, this will be very interesting! Looks like somebody will be fired. They were warned about this." He turned to Valerie. "Valerie, there are people from 104.9 JEWEL-FM who wish to see you."
Valerie looked annoyed. "Didn't they make an appointment?" she asked. "I'm writing up a sales speech for the Escapade meeting this afternoon."
"They spoke to me yesterday about becoming new clients," he answered. "They said it's only a small project. Come with me to the conference room."
Valerie followed Mr. Sussex, all the while looking out for anyone who may pester her about the night before. But the hallways were deserted. In the conference room, there were a short, aging man, graying brown hair, in a beige suit and purple and pink-striped tie. He was with a woman in a matching violet blouse and skirt. She was much younger; her hair looked about as red as Nightshade's, and probably in the same style, too. Valerie cringed a bit, but knew it wasn't the same bitch who'd been bothering her about Mace. She'd never seen Nightshade in business attire.
"Valerie Boston?" the man said, shaking her hand. "I'm Paul Quinette, vice-president of operations at JEWEL-FM radio. And this is Melissa Shores, our marketing director. Normally, we wouldn't come to an advertising agency for promotions towards our station, but apparently, some of this company's staff listen to our morning show in their offices, and Mr. Sussex, one woman mentioned this place when one of the deejays, Marcus, asked her where she worked. Apparently, she recommended this business for whenever we need any new promotions."
Ms. Shores added, "So, Marcus sent a memo to Mr. Quinette and myself, and over lunch last Saturday, and we decided to give to give you people a try."
"That's wonderful," Valerie said. "On behalf of Mr. Sussex, I'd like to say that we pride ourselves on exceptional advertising, and have some of the hardest workers employed and assigned to various teams. I guarantee you will be recommending us to other stations."
"Ms. Boston," Mr. Quinette said, "when I brought this idea to my wife, she was very quick to recommend you. She said you have led two very successful promotions for her company, Evie Cosmetics. As well, both Lancer and Sussex have said that you've had a string of other successful work, including a breakfast cereal advertisement that has led to bigger things. Sussex said that print ad was an individual effort."
Valerie smiled her thanks to Mr. Sussex.
Mr. Quinette explained, "Now, Ms. Boston, you may have listened to our station before, but let me explain anyway. At JEWEL-FM, we specialize in a variety of mostly light rock and pop, and easy listening. Hits from the 80's up to today. Genres include rock, both classic and modern, rhythm and blues, pop, adult pop, adult alternative and jazz. We tend to stay away from hip-hop, rap, harder punk rock and heavy metal. In this spirit, we would like you to present to us a radio commercial for our station, at least thirty seconds. You will have access to a recording studio that we use for such projects, I'll e-mail with the address. Since this is relatively small, you won't be needing an advertising team. Simply go over your radio script with Mr. Sussex, then you can advertise for auditions, then you'll be all set."
"Of course, you'll have to put our music into the commercial," Ms. Shores said. "Not whole versions of songs, though, just five-second long samplings. We'll e-mail you a list of our artists so you can get motivated in that area."
"Great," Valerie replied. "I'll give you addresses for both my laptop and home computer." She proceeded to write them both down. "Of course, I can't get started on this right away. I have a meeting for the Escapade commercial after lunch today."
"That's all right," Mr. Quinette said. "You can get started on it whenever you get a chance. "We'll be looking at next Monday as the due date."
"If I can get this done earlier, you can come over to my place," Valerie offered. She added her home address before giving it to Ms. Shores. "I'll call you when I do finish."
"Thank you." Mr. Quinette and Ms. Shores both shook her hand again.
On her way back to her office, past the coffee room, she met a crowd of staff members going for break, all of whom heard about her and Barricade, she guessed. The variety of names and comments made her suspect.
"Slut!"
"Hey, Valerie, which member of C.O.P.S. are you going to be with tonight?"
"Tramp!"
Valerie looked back at the crowd and glared. She hoped Elise would tell Mr. Sussex about the gossip soon.
When she got home, Valerie received e-mail from Melissa Shores. A list of songs that JEWEL-FM played on the air, an idea formed by Mr. Sussex, she stated. Valerie looked it over right away, and was impressed by the array of eras. Artists like Madonna, Jewel, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Celine Dion were mentioned. Rhonda and Karen's favorites from when they were young; maybe they listened to this station, too. But there were also acts she wasn't so familiar with; an all-girl rock band called Purple Rainbow, a mainstream pop-rock singer named Davina Dallas, and singer Vaneque, whom Valerie remembered from that magazine she bought. She put checkmarks behind all those artists to mention in her commercial. She knew she had a program to download music on the computer Karen got for her, complete with spy protection; she'd search for music from the younger artists there. For the more "retro" acts, she'd check her jukebox. Maybe she should also download their music, too, and burn a CD to help Mr. Sussex choose.
She went to her computer with her disc, and retrieved her radio ad script. The plot was a regular argument between mother and daughter over what radio station to listen to; mother wanted to listen to some old music, daughter wanted current Top 40 rock music. The idea was that they'd compromise with JEWEL-FM. She closed with a line for the daughter: So, Mom, you think I should crank it up when we get to my music?, then taking it back. She hoped they'd like the new slogan to go with it: It's music everyone can agree on.
She selected some older and newer songs, then call Karen on her cell phone.
"Karen," she said. "Listen, do you have a program for downloading music on your computer? I'm doing a radio commercial for JEWEL-FM 107.9, but I don't have anything to help on either my laptop or computer, and I need some songs." She dictated a list of songs she wanted.
"No problem, I can get it to you tonight," Karen said. "What's the commercial about?"
"A spat between mother and daughter over what radio station to listen to, until they compromise on Jewel. I'm thinking of putting Rhonda in with either Nicole or Sarah."
Then her phone rang, so she said, "Listen, I have to call you back. My real phone's going off." She hung up and ran to the kitchen. She saw Rhonda's name on the ID. "Rhonda, hi! I've just started talking with Karen about you."
"Valerie," Rhonda said excitedly. "Guess who has this Friday and all of next week off!"
"Rhonda, congratulations!" she replied.
"Actually, both Richard and I have the time off. Both our bosses feel we've been working so hard all summer, and all the rest of the staff has had their paid vacation time, so they didn't want to leave us out."
"That's wonderful, because I'll be needing you and at least one of your daughters on Friday. How would you two like to be in a radio commercial I'm producing?" She explained the concept, and Rhonda became very excited.
"You're kidding me," she said. "I have Jewel locked on my radio in both my office and car. I think Sarah will be at work that day, but Nicole may be free. Mind you, though, she'll only listen to Jewel if they play any good rock, or any cute non-cheesy boy singers. I'll ask her."
Valerie waited a few moments, listening to muffled conversation, then Rhonda returned. "She says she'd love to. Can you e-mail the scripts?"
"I have to put the music together first. I haven't filled in any artists yet. Karen's making a CD right now, and I'll be going over it with Mr. Sussex first thing tomorrow morning. I'll update the script, and send it to you via e-mail around noon tomorrow."
"Nice. So, how'd that other commercial of yours go?"
"They thought it was very interesting. The liquid people thing really wowed them. They'll give us their answer sometime tomorrow morning."
"Excellent. So, what else is happening at work?"
"Well, thanks to that bitch Mom, Linda Fortense, now I'm once again the subject of gossip." She told of her date with Barricade the night before, and Linda walking into his house without having anyone answer, and when she caught them making love. "She must've told the whole staff, because Elise came to console me, saying she told that bitch off, and most of them was glaring and commenting at me. I can't tell if Cindy was among them; she's never spoken to me. I'll have to call her later."
"So it was a mediocre day," Rhonda assumed.
"You could say that."
They talked for fifteen more minutes before Valerie decided to start dinner for herself. She retrieved a can of homemade soup. Maybe tomorrow, she'll go grocery shopping, and perhaps see about some roasts at the supermarket, she decided.
At seven in the evening, she called Karen. "I'm sorry I didn't call you back right away," she said.
"I kind of guessed you went to make your dinner after you talked with Rhonda," she responded. "Probably something quick for yourself because Jeremy's not here, right? Did he already leave for Washington?"
"Yes, but I still have yet to hear from Barricade." Then, Valerie started telling everything she told Rhonda about the rest of her day, including the Escapade meeting and the comments, which led to her story about Linda.
"Damn, that must've sucked!" Karen griped. "I hope your top brasses let that bitch have it. If I were in their position, she would no longer be working at my company."
"Mr. Sussex told me about that," Valerie said. "It was a meeting I was excluded from. I asked him why he just couldn't send a warning memo to the offenders. But he said that he got confessions from Donna, Kim and Teresa that they were spreading the gossip, too. Oh, but I could've guessed that Teresa would tell everyone if she found out! And I'm sure Donna was trying to get back at me for the Breath For Life thing. And God knows Kim hates my parenting. He said one more strike and that entire group would be out of jobs. I say at least send Linda and Teresa to etiquette school, and flush the other two bitches."
"Well, your CD should be almost ready," Karen said. "I just have two more songs in the middle of downloading. I had a little trouble with Celine Dion, the successful downloads kept making this horrible screeching noise that overtook most of the song. Your boss would give the thumbs down on that. Just have the speaker say her name either first or second out of three. Instead, I've downloaded some Shania Twain, now she was good in pop. Mention her in your commercial."
"Oh, and about that, Rhonda and Nicole have agreed to do it on Friday. I can't wait to tell Mr. Sussex."
"That's great." Then a pause as Karen was distracted. "Listen, I have to go. Bart wants me to help put the groceries away. See you later."
Valerie went back to her script, and made the adjustments Karen suggested, then shut down her laptop. She went to her main computer to check her e-mail. Same old junk mail, and no special messages from Mace, Sundown, Bowzer or Highway. "They must be still on shift," she said to herself. "Let me take a wild guess – Big Boss or a gang of drug dealers luring kids into the business. Thank God Jeremy is with Barricade. And I wonder what Blackbelt's doing now. He must be teaching the boys' martial arts class."
At twenty minutes to eight, the phone rang. She rushed to the kitchen and checked the ID. It said K. Raines. She picked up and saw Cindy on the screen. "Cindy! I was just thinking about you and your family."
"Yeah, well, I can't believe that damn sudden meeting we had this afternoon," Cindy said. "It was all about you, and the gossip and rumors that were spread about you. I can't believe I had to sit there and listen to Sussex lecture the whole staff. All this stuff about how it's hurtful and wrong to gossip about your co-workers, and that you deserve more respect than you're getting, and on and on and on. I mean, the least he could've done was have you sit up front with him. Elise was pissed about it, too."
"Aw, dammit!" Valerie moaned. "You two girls didn't deserve that at all. You never did anything, you're my friends. And neither did Matt, for all the hard work he's done with me." She sighed. "God knows if I had been there, I would've sat there feeling sorry for you. I told him he should've composed a memo warning any offenders."
"Thanks, Val," Cindy replied. "So anyway, Kim phoned me last night to tell what she heard from Linda about you. I told her, 'Listen, bitch! Barricade is one of my husband's colleagues, and Valerie is one of my very good friends, and I'll be fucked if you keep spreading this around.'"
"Yeah, and what'd she say? 'Why are you covering up for that god-awful whore of a mother?' Or something along those lines?"
"I didn't give her a chance. I hung up before she could say anything else. You think this is something I'd pass on to someone else?"
"Did you protest at the meeting?"
"Damn straight! I stood up and told Linda what I told Kim. I asked whom else she told before she started calling everybody. Her husband, and all their other friends know. Then I asked her if there was anything she didn't like about Barricade. She said that she didn't know what a man like him could see in you, given the way you parent Jeremy! Oh, I wanted to jump across the tables and slap the shit out of her. Sussex overheard, and starting getting into the disciplinarian parents among the staff to leave Jeremy alone. I couldn't agree with him more! In a way, I hope they do start gossiping about you, so he does fire them!"
"Well, I talked to Karen about this. She says she would've fired them immediately." Then Valerie decided to talk about her new assignment. "Speaking of Karen, I'm expecting a CD of songs to help with my new assignment." She told about her idea, and her special casting.
"Ah, so you're going for the nepotism thing again?" Cindy said. "Well, I think the casting is fitting, considering the 'mother-daughter' theme." She laughed a little.
Suddenly, Valerie heard the doorbell. "Oh, I think that may be her," she said. "She said eight, but she was nearly done when I spoke to her. I think she's early. Listen, if I don't talk to you later, I'll see you at work tomorrow. Bye-bye." She hung up and went to the door.
She saw Karen with a CD entitled "Commercial Selections" and accepted it as Karen came inside. "Thanks, sis!" she said. "I'll put this into my briefcase."
"Not before we listen to it," Karen insisted. "I just finished this and we need to see if every song is perfect." She turned on the CD player.
"Most music played in radio commercials are just five-second samplings of the song's chorus," Valerie said. "Once Mr. Sussex gets a listen, we'll take it to a tech expert to reduce to a sampling." Karen nodded and shushed her as the first song started playing. A slow-paced guitar solo.
They listened to the opening lyrics, a female singer singing about a man hearing what he wants to hear. Valerie looked at the printed song list. It was the new Purple Rainbow song that she remembered listening to twice at work. She wondered how Nicole would react to this. Did she even like this band, she wondered.
Halfway through the second song, by Vaneque, the phone rang. Karen paused the player as Valerie went to answer the phone. The ID read G. Brainerd. "Oh, good, it's from Washington," she said to herself. "But why would Cousin Graham be calling?" She picked up and was surprised to see Barricade on the screen.
"Barricade, hi!" she grinned. "When did you get in?"
"Around quarter to noon," Barricade answered. "We checked into the Sheraton when we arrived. I'm just having drinks with your cousin Graham and his wife. We already had dinner. I tried to call you twice before, but the line was busy. Is your call waiting not working, or don't you have it?"
"I don't think I've experienced any call waiting on this phone, so I don't think I have it," Valerie replied. "I feel like I've been on this phone all evening, first Rhonda, then Karen, then Cindy. Karen's over here right now, listening to a CD of music that I'm featuring in a radio commercial, which I cast Rhonda and Nicole in." This prompted her tell about the project. She decided against telling about the Escapade commercial; she'd call him tomorrow about it. And Linda's reaction to their time together; she didn't want his good times to be spoiled by any hurtful malice. She perceived he'd be too embarrassed to ask about it, anyway.
"That's wonderful, honey," Barricade said. "I'm glad you're having a better day."
"So, I have to know, how did Jeremy behave on the plane?"
"He was all right. He was wearing some headphones, and moving his head from side to side, so I assumed he was just listening to some music. Nothing that would attract any unwanted attention." Then they overheard some muffled talk, and Barricade said, "Your cousin Graham wants to talk to you."
"All right," Valerie accepted. "So take care of yourselves, and think of me often, but don't worry about me too much. I've got lots to keep myself busy with while you're gone."
"I'll call you every night, sweetheart," he promised. "I love you. And here's Graham." Barricade left, then Graham soon appeared.
"Hey, cousin!" he said.
"Hi, Graham," Valerie said. "Just a moment, please. Karen's here as well." But Karen arrived at the phone just before she could call for her.
"So, what's new with you?" she asked.
"You're first, lady!" Graham grinned. "First, I hear that your little lovebirds ganged up and actually killed Tom. Valerie, I cannot tell how damn happy I am to hear that. Now this family is finally at peace."
"Yeah, well, I never told anyone about it, but I assume that Rhonda and Karen heard on the news. I was actually interviewed in the 'news at noon' broadcast when that broke out." She put Graham on hold, then revealed that news to Karen.
"I heard it on the six o'clock news," Karen said, "and saw you in the process. You didn't tell Ms. Morgan enough."
"It was a live five-minute segment, and the C.O.P.S. had their sides to add." Valerie returned to Graham. "Sorry about that. Anyway, so Barricade had taken Jeremy to the Empire City Zoo when that happened…"
"He told me about all that," Graham said. "But he never told me anything about what happened afterwards. He invited you over to his place where he cooked a roast, I know, he gave us the recipe."
She rolled her eyes. "It was practically a quiet evening, a game of Risk, a nice romantic walk – until he caught me off guard when he asked me and Jeremy to live with him. I'm just thinking about it right now."
Graham laughed. "What's there to think about, Valerie? He's such a wonderful houseguest, and he was telling us all about his plans for the future – all without us asking about it. I say dump the rest of the competition, and choose Barricade. You know as well as I do that he's the one."
"Uh… I don't know yet." Okay, now he's really moving too fast, she thought. She saw Graham's look, obviously pressing for more information, so she told about Linda barging in on them, and rehashed her current day.