Author's Note: Hi, everyone. First, some bad news. The Whitney Morgan interview with Valerie that I promised here is being put off for another chapter. I know you're on edge right now, but given the time the last chapter ended and the perceived (appropriate) date of the BIG EVENING, I had to throw in another plotline to fill in the time. As you may have noticed, I didn't put much into the Bowzer-Valerie romance, so this definitely called for that. Unfortunately, by the time I'd finished all the drama during and after the affair, I had a lot of pages on me. Given the number of pages I'd have to dedicate to the interview, this chapter would be too long (it's long enough as it is,) so putting it off another chapter was a good move, IMO.
Also, the master computer that my father chiefly works on has been dead since February 11th, so we've been sharing this laptop, which I chiefly use for this project, thus explaining the long update.
Anyway, please read and review. Hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 24
After she'd gotten off the phone with Barricade the next morning, Valerie debated whether or not to confront Big Boss. She knew his stalking was getting far enough, but she was impressed with how he and his crooks hadn't advanced on her last night since she told them off again. Perhaps she should try, and proceeded to get the phone book. She started to look up the Big Boss' headquarters, but stopped just as she got to the "B" section in the White Pages.
"What are you, nuts?" she asked herself. "You want that fat bastard thinking you are available?"
She put the phone book on top of the refrigerator and looked outside her kitchen window. Another beautifully hot, sunny day. It'd been beautiful like that practically the whole summer, and she hoped it would stay like this as it neared September. She looked through the list of callers on her phone. Surely, she still had Cindy's number. She could call her, and tell of the dating disasters she had this weekend. She looked back at the phone book; maybe call Elise, too. She was wondering something, but the answer came to her as quickly as the question.
"Oh, right, Jeremy's never really been around here so much," she said to herself. "That's why Brian and Tyler almost never called here this whole summer."
She called Cindy first. She'd never even seen the inside of her or Elise's houses, she realized. Maybe one of them could ask her over for coffee. A walk around the block? Maybe, but she could risk the Big Boss finding her on a leisurely limousine ride. She'd wanted to deal with him when it was just her.
She immediately saw Cindy appear on the screen, and she immediately said, "Valerie, hi! So, what's up? I hear you had a couple of hot dates with several of Blackbelt's colleagues last night and Friday night."
"Yeah, and last night's date was the less disastrous one, I'm afraid." Valerie tried not to cry as she told about Big Boss harassing her and Mace the whole Friday night, his actions with Nightshade at the movies, and what they, Turbo and Crusher all did at Electric Fruit.
"In the questioning process, Sundown and Highway both decided to ask me out, and they took me to the White Apple Palace," she said. "Oh, it was so lovely. They had these singers out of Atlanta, and they sang all these wonderful selections from all the great musicals. And Sundown and Highway dressed up in tuxedoes and, oh, they looked so handsome. However, the show hadn't started when just who happens to show up?"
"The stalkers from Friday night?"
"Who had just gotten out of jail, yes. Along with Buttons McBoomBoom and Dr. Badvibes. You should've heard Badvibes bragging about his latest prison break invention. Luckily, they stayed away after my dates and I told them so, and we were just in the middle of enjoying the evening, when whom should come in but my grieving ex-father-in-law and his brother, still lauding you-know-who as a fucking saint. Oh, pardon the frank language on a Sunday morning."
"It's quite all right, curse all you want," Cindy laughed. "So, what did they say?"
Valerie told about the whole tirade, Earl Boston blaming Valerie for Tom's death, and ruining Tom's business goals and reputation, and hoping Sundown and Highway would lose their badges over the killing. Henry Boston's opinions on spanking and the mentally retarded. "Thank God Highway and Sundown had the strength to tell them off, and Sundown called for the entrance man to throw them out. Other than that, it was a lovely evening, no thanks to my dates."
"Well, I'm glad you had a nice evening this time around," Cindy said. "So, what's on your agenda for today?"
"Well," Valerie said, "I was going to keep this to myself, since it was a small project, but I need to explain this to tell you about a personal project. Paul Quinette from JEWEL-FM radio had just accepted a commercial promoting their station when he and Melissa Shores were over at my house yesterday. Just before they left, they joked that I should send them a radio play for their drama show they hold every Sunday night. And I thought about it in my sleep last night, and I think I'll get started on it. Maybe bask in the sun in my backyard while I'm at it. Thank God my laptop can also run cordless."
They talked a little while longer before Valerie decided to call Elise next. She took the phone book down again, and searched through the "O" section. She found the name O'Malley, but there were at least nine of them listed. She was confused and asked herself, "God, which one is Longarm?" She looked, but couldn't find any "L" name, then, "Crap, that's right! Longarm is a code name!"
She searched again, and managed to find the listing, O'Malley, Patrick & Elise. "Bingo!" She dialed their number, but got a recording in Longarm's voice: "Hi, this is Longarm O'Malley and family. Sorry we can't come to the phone, but if you leave your name and number at the beep, we'll be happy to get back to you."
She was inwardly glad that she dialed the right house, anyway. "Elise! Elise, it's Valerie. Listen, I just called so we could converse outside of work. Anyway, when you get this message, please give me a call back. I may be outside enjoying the sun when you get in, so if you don't get me on my real phone, try me on my cell, you have the number. I'd love to hear from you. Bye." Just in time to hear the "end message" beeping.
"Must be at church," she said to herself. "I'm guessing they're a devout Irish Catholic family."
She looked out the window again, and decided to go out now, but not for a tan. She changed into a blue bikini top and a pair of white jean shorts. She went into the dining room and stared at her laptop. Suddenly, she was thinking of all the plays she'd listened to on JEWEL-FM on these nights, when she was with Rhonda and Richard, and the radio plays she'd listened to when she pregnant and alone years ago. It was enough inspiration to start one of her own just for the station. She took the laptop out with her.
Late that evening, Valerie had typed fifteen pages of radio script, a comedy. She loved how her story was shaping up, a young pregnant police widow deciding to get back in the social scene, dodging criticism from family members of other fallen officers in the city. She'd been trying to make the dialogue as humorous as possible. Nothing to mirror her depressing and painful past, and she especially didn't want to think of what she went through with her many romances.
Her concentration was suddenly interrupted when she heard of the sound of small rocks being thrown at her living room window. She thought it was a troupe of bratty young boys, and ignored it. Minutes later, she kept hearing the sound repeatedly, and thought it would damage the window. She went to the front door to warn off whoever was doing it, and saw something quite unexpected.
Bowzer was standing on her front lawn with Blitz. She could see the robotic dog's metallic exterior, and hear his bark.
"Bowzer!" she exclaimed. "Bowzer, what the hell are you doing on my lawn? Was that you throwing rocks?"
Instead of answering, he walked up to her and pulled her out onto the porch. He looked like he'd been kept awake thinking about her. He kissed her like he needed to possess her, and said, "Oh, Valerie, just when I was about to scream your name, you answered!"
"God, why didn't you just ring the doorbell?" she demanded. "Those rocks almost put holes in my window. And why do you look like that, all desperate? You look like you drank a whole pot of coffee. And that impromptu kiss, how much saliva are you trying to give me?"
"Valerie, I know!" Bowzer told her. "I know what you've been up to this week."
"I was just wondering the same thing," she replied. "You haven't called since that time we took Blitz for a walk. I assumed you were busy." She thought of her radio play then, and excused herself. She saved it on her computer, but just as she was shutting it down, she saw Bowzer had walked in towards her. Before she could speak, he gave her another kiss out of desperation.
"Good Lord, what are you doing?" she cried when she broke away. "Are you crazy?"
"Crazy for you, my darling," he said. "And I've been going crazy spending my nights without you." With that, he locked the door himself, grabbed her arm, took her from the house to his car. Outside, Blitz had been yapping excitedly, and Bowzer opened the back door for her before putting Valerie in shotgun.
When they got to his house, she looked both annoyed and unimpressed at him. "Okay, Bowzer, what's up with this?" she asked. "You could have just called me and said, 'Please come over to my house, Valerie. We need to talk.'" She undid her seatbelt and stepped out.
After removing their shoes, he took her directly into the living room, and sat her down on his sofa. The desperate, needy look in his eyes frightened her a little, and he wouldn't let her speak first.
"Valerie," he said, "I don't know how much more of this I can take. First, you let Jeremy go off on Barricade's vacation. Then I had to be there as Big Boss and his gang got arrested on your date with Mace. Do you know how devastated I got when I found out you were in there with HIM! Last night, I was pounding on your door, screaming your name in the night air, disturbing the peace! Only your neighbors told me you weren't home. You should've seen me, I nearly broke down on your doorstep, crying, because I couldn't talk to you, because I thought you'd gone out with another one of my team members! And then this afternoon, as I was ending a day shift, Sundown and Highway came in to tell me that you were at the White Apple Palace with both of them last night. Both of them, Valerie! And where the hell does that leave ME!"
Valerie immediately became upset by the speech. "Why are you lamenting like this to me?" she asked.
He took her hands, holding them tighter than Valerie liked to handle. "Valerie, I'm sorry if I became too busy with my work to call you. But when you force me to spend my free nights alone because you're out with someone else…" His voice trailed off as he got choked up and began to cry. "Valerie, I get so lonely! And for the past two nights, I had to come back here to this empty house and cry, wondering what you're doing with whomever you're with! I had to wonder what I was doing wrong!"
"Bowzer, I–" she began.
"Valerie, you're all I ever think about!" He ran his fingers through her hair, then softly touched her cheeks. "I dream of the day I can touch your soft cheeks, flowing with scarlet. I've dreamt of you all through the night when I couldn't speak to you. Do you realize this?"
"Bowzer, you know I love you," she said. "I love you like I do the others."
"You tell me you love me, you show me you love me," he told her, "and yet, you're carving out your heart to give to my colleagues, and leaving me with the leftovers. This isn't fair, Valerie! You showering the others with all your attention while you leave me out in the cold. Leaving me with the short end of the stick! Do you think of me when you're with the others?" He clutched his hands onto her shoulders. "Do you think of me ever?"
Valerie couldn't answer him, just stare at his despairing face, and she was feeling uncomfortable. "Bowzer, you're scaring me," she said. "Look, I'm sorry if I've made no attempt to call you, but must you resort to these measures?"
"What other way is there?" he asked. "Valerie, that plaque I bought for you for your birthday, remember that engraved poem? There's a reason why I was the one who bought it. I read that poem, and all the lines represent all my thoughts of you. My love for you is so strong, it can knock out all the crooks of the world in one blow! You are the original Mother Earth, my starship. You are the moonshine in my life, and my world is dark without you! Can't you see that? Can't you see that your decision is right in front of your face!"
She became dismayed, and got up from the couch. "Okay, you know what, Bowzer? This 'despairing Casanova' act, it's creeping me out." She stepped around the coffee table. "If Jeremy were here in the city, and you made him come here with us just to witness this, he'd change his mind about you quick. You think he'd want to see his mother being made to love someone? Please take me home." She started for the kitchen, but he grabbed onto her arm.
Blitz, who had been standing quietly, was now growling at her feet.
"You're not leaving me!" Bowzer insisted. "I came over to your place to bring you here for a reason. I want you here with me tonight."
"Bowzer, as much as I'd love to, I have to be at work in the morning."
"Then I'll take you back in the morning, and I'll take you to your office. But I must be with you tonight. Please, Valerie? I'm sorry if I'm frightening you, but I love you more than you seem to realize." He kissed her softer, repeatedly. "Oh, Valerie, tell me what I have to do to win you. I can't deal with this anymore."
"I don't know what to say," she confessed. "You surprise me by showing up at my house unannounced, then you bring me here without telling me. Mind you, it's pretty nice. But, again, you're scaring me."
"I don't want to scare you," Bowzer told her. "I don't want to hurt you. I know that's not what love is. I just want you to know that until I saw you, I felt like there was something missing in my life. And when I see less of you than the others, I feel like you don't love me."
"Bowzer, again I say, I do love you–"
"Then show me! Prove to me that you love me like you do the others. Let me hold you until my arms feel weak! Let me kiss you all over until there is no place left! Let us make passionate love until all our strength is gone!"
"For God's sake, slow down! I know you don't intend to scare me, but you are!"
He picked her up off her feet, and carried her in his arms to his bedroom. He laid her softly on his bed and unbuttoned her blouse. "Oh, baby, everyone says you have a lovely body. And with a tan like that… oh, but you are a goddess. You always have been." He removed her shorts and felt the cotton of her panties.
"Bowzer, please," Valerie started to beg.
"Valerie, it's not what you think it is," Bowzer said. "What kind of man do you think I am? There's a difference between raping a woman and making her love a man." He kissed the cleavage around her bikini top.
"Bowzer, you don't know how strong you're coming on to me," she said.
He stared at her face, and brought himself back up, removing his own shirt. "I have to come on strong," he replied. "You aren't responding, you're looking helpless. And I don't see why I should take this anymore." He ripped off the tank top he wore underneath and landed on his back upon the bedspread.
Valerie sat up and stared at Bowzer's hairy chest. She started thinking of Sundown, and thought his chest looked something similar. Still, she began to run her fingers through it, and suddenly, her fears began to diminish.
"Oh, but you like this feeling, don't you?" he asked, and grabbed her arms. "Then why don't you kiss me like you touch me? And then maybe we'll get under the covers, and be passionate like I feel for you." Soon, he put his arms around her and pushed her down towards him, his chin on the top of her head.
"Oh, Valerie, I don't think of you as a slut, but why don't you make it for me like you do the others?" he said. "If you can fall deeply in love with Mace, Sundown, Highway and Barricade, then you can fall deeply in love with me. I want to be on that level, too. And then maybe you can take me higher, and leave the others to deal with themselves. Let them find love of their own while we make it together." With that, he tossed her upon the bedspread, removed her bikini top, and began to kiss on and around both her breasts.
Valerie couldn't say anything during the lovemaking. She was thinking about why Bowzer would bring her to his house just to beg for more attention, and become sexual with her. How desperate is he? she thought. Only a Neanderthal would act this way.
He looked up at her face, concerned by her silence. "Why aren't you saying anything? Talk to me. Oh, but you've got to tell me how you feel."
"Uncomfortable," she confessed. "Look, I understand if you want more attention, but couldn't you find a better way to get your point across? Why this way? No movie, no music, no drinks, let's just fuck. This isn't how a date should go. Bowzer, please stop this!"
"I didn't bring you here for a date," he replied. He started to take the rest of his clothes off. "I brought you here for an intervention. Don't you understand, I've just got to have you, and I'm not letting you get away that easily. I'm tired of having to sit quietly by while you give the other men all your attention." Finally, he removed her panties. "And if that didn't make you change your mind, maybe this will."
He opened her legs and stuck himself into her. She screamed out at the pain, the sudden quickness of the act, but he soon silenced her through a rough kiss on her lips. He slammed his body onto hers, and screamed her name over and over, then muttered other things in a voice so low, she could barely hear between the sounds of bed springs, his moaning and panting, the constant slamming of bodies. She couldn't say anything; she felt Bowzer wasn't going to let her, and she also felt she couldn't take control.
"Oh, Valerie," he moaned. "Valerie, I love you, can you see it now? Oh, please tell me that you love me back. I need to hear it from you. I can't bear to be here alone, without you."
But she couldn't find the soul to tell him. She still couldn't comprehend the purpose of this "fake date." She knew Bowzer didn't want her just for her body. But she also knew her other lover C.O.P.S. wouldn't do this to her. What was she going to do now, she wondered.
Valerie couldn't say much to Bowzer the next morning, even when he was driving her to work. She hadn't lost the uneasy feelings of the night before. But she made herself concentrate on her work. Unfortunately, nothing was assigned to her that morning, so she kept working on her radio play, all the while watching out for something. But nothing came up. Thankfully, Elise invited her to the mall for lunch directly at noon.
"I'd love to," she said. "You will not believe what Bowzer did to me last night. Oh, but I am still recovering."
Elise looked around in the hallway. There were a slew of people going to the lunch room. In Elise's car, she said, "Let's hit the nearest McDonald's. I need a comfort meal!"
"So, what happened?" Elise asked when she pulled out of her space.
"I was working on my radio play when I heard rocks being thrown at my window," Valerie said. "I thought it was some hoodlums doing it, so I went outside to tell them to stop, when lo and behold, there was Bowzer standing on my lawn. My God, you should've seen him. It was like he was hit with a bucket of water! You should've seen how madly he was kissing me on the lawn, it was as if he was going off to fight knowing he would never come home. He said he knew about my dates with the other C.O.P.S. – he said Sundown and Highway told him about the other night."
She mentioned everything he said to her at his house. "I told him to stop with the despairing act, he was practically scaring me away. But he wouldn't let go, it was as if he wanted me to embrace the fear, to scare me into choosing him over the others."
Elise still couldn't understand the story. "Why in the hell would he do something like that?" she asked. "Just because of the time you've been spending with Mace, Sundown and Highway? Just because you sent Jeremy on Barricade's trip?" She parked in a vacant space of the first McDonald's she saw. "Why doesn't he just say to you, 'Valerie, I need to talk about the time you've been spending with my colleagues. Let's go out for coffee.' Why these dramatics?"
"That's what I wanted to know," she said.
Inside, when they placed their orders and sat down, Valerie continued her story, telling about the despairing sex she and Bowzer had. "I'd never felt so dirty and used after sex in my life. He just felt so rough. Again, it felt like he was just trying to scare me into accepting his love. God, it's just like Jane Eyre come to life, and he's definitely Rochester." She bit into her cheeseburger.
"Except there's no insane wife," Elise supplied.
Valerie sighed. "Well, I don't know what to do. If Longarm had done that to you while you were dating, how would you react?"
Elise sipped some of her coffee. "I'd tell him to call me as soon as he cools off, and avoid him at every step until he does. Thankfully, he's not like that at all."
Valerie thought about it for a moment, then said, "Yeah, I think I'll send him a personal e-mail about it as soon as I get back to the office. Thanks, Elise. Although, I'm just thinking what Mom and Rhonda and Karen will think about this. They'll probably tell me that Bowzer is no good for me." She sipped some Diet Coke.
When they arrived back at the agency, Valerie immediately went online, trying to reach the headquarters website, eager to e-mail Bowzer. She knew she shouldn't be doing something so trivial, but she was still waiting for another brief assignment meeting with a client. She looked at the time, and decided to approach the bosses at five after one, when they were indeed back from lunch.
In the middle of typing her message, she sighed and said to herself, "I really wish clients would use our extension numbers, so they can assign us something directly."
Just then, she heard her phone ring. "Oh, good. Hopefully, it's a client." But when she answered, she was shocked to see Whitney Morgan on the video screen.
"Ms. Morgan?" she asked. "Do you have any business for me?"
"None in advertising, Ms. Boston," Whitney replied. "But it's about last week's shooting death of your ex-husband."
Valerie started rubbing her stomach, the very thoughts of Tom making her ill once again. "What about it? Another news segment?"
"Actually, we're just starting to put together an exposé on it for our news program, Eye on Empire City," Whitney explained. "Our goal is for you to tell us all about what kind of man Tom Boston was in your life, your experiences, your conflicts – basically, some more insight on your marriage to him, and how Bulletproof Vess' team of C.O.P.S. has been helping you get over it. Judging by what you told me at the zoo parking lot that day, it seems that you suffered greatly in that marriage. We think the entire city should know exactly what went on, including the authorities."
"Are you sure? The only people I felt comfortable talking about Tom with were my family and those C.O.P.S. whom I'm in love with. And some of the C.O.P.S. didn't even want to hear about him."
"Ms. Boston, in case nobody ever told you, Sundown and Highway, the two members of C.O.P.S. who shot your husband, may be put under investigation for it. I know you may not feel comfortable airing your dirty laundry all over the city, but perhaps this could help the authorities see that this was as justified as claimed, and maybe an investigation won't be necessary."
Valerie nodded. "All right, I'll do it. When is the special scheduled to be aired?"
"We're looking at two weeks from tomorrow," Whitney answered. "September 15th. In addition to yourself, the C.O.P.S. who are involved with you, and your family, I would also like to interview your family doctor back in your old hometown, as well as the lawyer you had in your divorce."
"All right. I should have their business cards still, so I'll call them as soon as I get home."
When she hung up, she continued with her message, typing, I honestly believe that you should keep from contacting me until you learn to control your passions and jealousies. As much as I love you, I want you to realize that what you're doing may drive me away forever. Please think about it, then call me. Yours, Valerie. She clicked on Send, then it automatically went through Spellchecker. By the time it went through, it was already one o'clock. Mr. Lancer and Mr. Sussex should've returned from lunch by now. She saved and closed her document, then stopped by Lancer's office to see the door closed, so she knocked on it. She called, "Mr. Lancer? Mr. Lancer, it's Valerie!"
Mr. Sussex stepped outside his office. "Valerie?" he said. "Mr. Lancer is just wrapping up a meeting with a new client of ours. What's the problem?"
"Ugh, I'm beginning to wish I'd waited until today for that Jewel meeting," she griped. "Sir, I have had nothing assigned to me all day, no meetings that I've been called to, nothing. I've been working diligently on that radio play that Mr. Quinette supposedly wants for his station. Normally, I'm not like this, but I had to keep myself occupied–"
"Say no more, Valerie," Mr. Sussex declared. "I had planned to assign Kim Masterson to lead this one, but since you don't have anything yet…" He knocked on his partner's door and said, "Mr. Cobberson! Sir, it's George Sussex! I already have a project manager for your airline promo!"
Valerie smiled. At least this would help keep her mind off what happened last night, she hoped.
Valerie managed to get a ride home with Cindy. She explained what Bowzer had done to her, and her friend just shook her head.
"I can't believe that," Cindy said. "It's not like a police officer to act that demeaning in his off-time. I can't even fathom Blackbelt, or even Longarm, acting like that."
"Well, I already sent him an e-mail, telling him I want to cool it with him for a bit. Hopefully, he'll realize the err of his ways, and say sorry nicely. I mean, if he ever hopes to win my love."
The first thing Valerie did when she got home was look through her book of business cards for Dr. Susan Grenoble and Janet Lisbon's cards. She found both within the first few pages and called Janet first. After two rings, she saw a young blonde woman on the screen. Her secretary. "Janet Lisbon, Attorney at Law, may I help you?"
"Yes, I'd like to speak with Ms. Lisbon, please," Valerie replied.
"She's just on her way out, hold on." Seconds later, she saw Janet.
"Hello, Janet, this is Valerie," she said.
"Valerie?" Janet replied. "How have you been this summer?"
"Doing great!" Valerie said. "As you might know, I'm project manager at Lancer and Sussex, and I'm very successful. I'd tell you my track record except we'd be talking all evening. And you're probably just on your way out, aren't you? As for Jeremy, well, I've never seen him happier. He actually had lots of fun this summer." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, the reason why I called is, have you heard about what happened with Tom?"
"Yes, it was all over the news, on TV, the internet, everywhere here. I was a little surprised. And what's this business about you dating several law enforcers at the same time?"
Valerie blushed. "Yes, well, what can I say? I saw them, they saw me, and now they're all fighting for my hand. I've never felt this beautiful when I was dating Tom. Unfortunately, that's what I'm here to talk about. I've just learned that two of them might be put under investigation for Tom's death, and there's this reporter, Whitney Morgan, who wants to talk to me about my marriage on television. She also wants to interview you, too. Are you free to be in Empire City on the fifteenth of September?"
"I haven't made any appointments for that time," Janet replied, "and I'm in the middle of two cases that will be decided as late as next week. I can probably come to Empire City around the twelfth. Can you give me your e-mail address so I can let you know when I'll be available?"
Valerie gave her the addresses for both the master computer and her laptop, and said, "It'd be great if you could be here. I need to prove there was some justice in Tom's murder."
"Knowing him, indeed there was. I'll go put this in my calendar right away, then I'll contact my travel agent when I get home. Oh, and when I e-mail you, I'll also be asking for Ms. Morgan's address, so I can spell out some facts for her show. Hope to hear from you later."
Valerie hung up and called the clinic where Dr. Grenoble worked. But the receptionist who answered said, "I'm sorry, she just left for the day. Shall I have her call you tomorrow?"
She looked at Dr. Grenoble's card again. "No, I'll reach her at her home in a few minutes. This is important. Thanks, anyway. Bye."
She went downstairs to the freezer and took out two chicken pies. She put them in the oven, then called Dr. Grenoble's house. Luckily, she saw her image on the video screen.
"Hi, doctor, this is Valerie Boston calling from Empire City," she said.
"Valerie, hi," Dr. Grenoble said. "I hope you've been doing all right. How's Jeremy been?"
"I've never been better, really," Valerie answered. "Jeremy's away on a trip with one of my new boyfriends at the moment – yes, I have more than one – and since I moved into my new house, I've been leaving him with my sister, Karen, while I work. Luckily, Karen was able to have her family pediatrician take him as a new patient."
"That's excellent, Valerie," Dr. Grenoble said. "I'm so proud of you. So what's happening with you now?"
Valerie repeated everything she told Janet about Tom's shooting, and the news program she agreed to do. "Perhaps if you talk to Ms. Morgan about Jeremy's condition, and how Tom was responsible for it, maybe the officers who shot him will be able to get off for it."
"Yes, I heard about all that," Dr. Grenoble said. "It's not in my place to bring this up, but I read that the men who shot Tom Boston dead are also in love with you."
Valerie blushed again. "It happened at the spur of the moment. So, will you be able to come to Empire City on the fifteenth?"
"I'll try. I have other special needs children that see me every week. I suppose I can ask Dr. Badler to fill in for me in that time frame. He agreed to take over for me while I had my vacation time. If I can successfully arrange this, I'll send you an e-mail."
"That would be great." She gave her both her work and home e-mail addresses.
"Fabulous. So, you'll hear from me no later than the end of this week, all right?"
"I'd like that, doc."
When Valerie hung up again, she sat at the dining table and thought of who else she'd like to work with on her new project. She already asked Cindy before they left work, and she said yes. Perhaps Scott Onions. After all, he gave her the most credit for saving the Derm-Active project. And perhaps Stuart Abbott to direct the video. Matt Lynch was busy with another infomercial.
She activated her laptop and sent e-mail to Mr. Lancer and Mr. Sussex.
She seemed to have forgotten the previous night until eight o'clock that evening, when her phone rang. It was Karen calling. Valerie smiled, and picked up, her sister's image on the screen.
"Hi, Karen," she said. "What's up?"
"Just called to remind you that Jeremy's next appointment will be this Thursday, September third," Karen replied.
"That's great to hear," Valerie said, "because Barricade and Jeremy are coming home tomorrow. I told you that, didn't I? I'm expecting another call from Washington in a few minutes."
"Right." Then, another incident came to Karen's mind. "So, what's been happening with Bowzer? Ann, your next-door neighbor, called me to tell about him pounding on your door the other night. You said you were out with Sundown and Highway when we talked yesterday afternoon."
"Yes, and I made her keep that a secret when I talked with her. Meantime, you won't believe what he did to me last night." She told her the same story she told Elise and Cindy, and when she finished, Karen's mouth was hanging open, and she said, "Get the fuck out."
"I'm serious!" Valerie replied. "I kept telling him how uncomfortable and frightened he was making me, but he tried to convince me this was for our own good." She sighed. "God, I feel like such a gossip monger, telling everyone my personal romantic business."
"That's usually a sign of your lack of confidence," Karen said. "I'm calling Mom and we'll figure out a solution. But right now, I just want you to know that I no longer approve of Bowzer in your life."
"I sent him a message, saying we should cool it until he realizes the mistake he made."
"What's to realize? Nobody takes advantage of my baby sister and gets away with it. I'll surprise you." She immediately hung up, just in time for Valerie to get another call. The Sheraton in Washington, D.C. She was relieved when she answered and saw Barricade.
"Hey, sweetheart," he said. "Just calling to let you know that we have a 1:15 PM flight tomorrow. We expect to get in at around two-thirty."
"I'll definitely be at work then," she said. "Why don't you keep him at your house until I can pick him up?"
"All right," he agreed. Just then, she was able to see her son jumping in the background. Barricade turned away and smiled. "And speaking of which, someone here wants to talk to you." He went in the back, and Jeremy came to the phone.
"Hi, Mom!" he called
"Hello, sweetie," Valerie replied. "Are you having a good time with Barricade?"
"The… best,… Mom," he said. "Want to… hear… what… we… did… today?"
"Why don't you tell me when you get home tomorrow?" she suggested. "I want to hear everything. And Jeremy, I'm going to be at work when you arrive here tomorrow, so you'll be going to Barricade's place for the afternoon."
"Okay," he agreed. "So,… did… you… have… any… fun… while… we… were… gone?"
"Oh, I had a wonderful time. On Friday, Mace took me to the movies, and to a club for dancing. And Saturday night, Sundown and Highway took me to the White Apple Palace to hear some classic songs from all the really old musicals. We were all dressed up and everything. It was a lovely affair." She decided not to tell him about the harassment from Big Boss, the confrontation from her ex-in-laws, or what Bowzer did to her at his house. Jeremy was having so much fun, she saw. Hearing anything bad could spoil it for him.
"I really think that, if you want me to break it off with Bowzer for good," Valerie suggested, "you should only return these pink silk flowers he gave me."
She had Polly, Rhonda and Karen over two evenings later, while Jeremy was out with his friends. They had Bowzer's pink bouquet, her birthday plaque, and the "doggy bank" he gave Jeremy, all out on the coffee table. All three of them had suggested that all the gifts be returned, but Valerie wanted to keep the plaque and the bank.
"Valerie," Karen said, "the only way to get someone out of your life for good is to return all the things he bought for you."
"Oh, but we can't return this plaque," Valerie insisted in a pleading voice. "It's much too nice a gift to return. Look how personal it is, with my name on it, and this lovely poetry." She gave it to her mother. "If I can no longer think of Bowzer when I look at it, I can at least think of Barricade, or Sundown, or somebody else."
Karen and Rhonda looked it over, and Rhonda said, "Well, I suppose this can stay." She pointed at the "doggy bank." "But that is the tackiest gift Jeremy could ever receive, and it should definitely go back."
"I don't know, Rhonda," Valerie said. "I think it looks kind of neat."
"Neat?" Karen repeated. "Val, are you on crack? Now, we were too polite to say anything then, but it's obvious Bowzer was only thinking of himself when he gave Jeremy that. Look at it, it's useless."
"Really, you're not going to give him a chance to use it?"
"Valerie, it shows that Bowzer doesn't understand very much about him, or his condition," Polly said. "Just what could Jeremy possibly do to earn money of his own? You kept telling me his Math marks on his report cards. He wouldn't understand the value of a dollar. And do you know what he did when I showed up for Christmas and his birthday with a check or paper money? He just stared at it as if to say, 'What's this, Grandma?' I know it's a new thing, and Jeremy just got it, but I know he would never use it. It would just sit in his bedroom, collecting dust."
"Besides, I don't think Jeremy will want it anymore once he hears what that man did to you," Rhonda added. "You never told him, did you?"
"Certainly not," Valerie said. "Stuff like that is a little too adult for him to hear. And it would only make him upset, confused, or both."
"I'll find some kid-friendly ways to tell him," Karen promised. "And I know the perfect way to confront him. After the doctor's appointment tomorrow, I'll stop by C.O.P.S. headquarters, throw all this shit in his face, then let him have it! He'll learn that there are proper ways to treat a lady."
Valerie sighed. "All right. The ugly 'doggy bank' goes back too."
"I knew you'd see it our way," Rhonda grinned. "And, Karen, make him refund the money for that, and give it to you. You look for something more useful for him."
Karen kept her promise the next day. When she and Jeremy left the doctor's office, she drove as fast as the speed limits allowed to C.O.P.S. headquarters. Jeremy didn't say anything; he was too confused when his aunt told him, "Bowzer took your Mom to his house Sunday night, then said some things to force her to love him, and did some naughty stuff to her afterwards. Your Mom said he was pretty scary to her."
She found a vacant space closest to the entrance, and took Jeremy inside, along with a bag of the rejected gifts. She looked around for Bowzer, but couldn't see him anywhere, so she went directly to Bulletproof's office. She was still so angry, she banged on the door instead of knocking.
"Enter!" came Bulletproof's annoyed voice.
His expression immediately changed to surprise when he noticed Karen's vengeance. "Karen!" he cried. He suddenly remembered her, when she came to remind everyone of Valerie's birthday. "Uh, you shouldn't have knocked so hard on the door. What do you want?"
"I'm looking for Bowzer!" she spat. "Have you seen him?"
"I sent him out on assignment twenty minutes ago," Bulletproof replied. "There was report of a suspicious drug smuggling ring that he was just called to minutes ago. He should be back. Shall I tell him you and Jeremy were here?"
"No, I'll wait!" She started for the door, then suddenly turned back. "Ooh, that bastard! Did he ever tell you what he did to Valerie this Sunday night? She told me two-and-a-half days ago, and I'm still seething over it!" She sent Jeremy out and closed the door, sat down in a chair across from Bulletproof, revealed every grisly thing Valerie told her.
"Sir, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that what Bowzer did constituted as rape," she said. "If he loved her as much as he told Valerie, he wouldn't have pushed her like he did. He would've slowed down when she told him to. The mere fact that he wouldn't let her go home when she wanted to told me that he's way too controlling! And all this because he thought she was giving all her attention to the other guys! Excuse me, but I'm not going to allow my little sister to get involved with someone who gets jealous like that. Why, that incident is only the beginning of what'll happen in his long-term plans around her. Next thing you know, he won't let her talk to me or Rhonda, or even our mother. He'll be hard on Jeremy like Tom was! He'll–"
"All right, Karen!" Bulletproof interrupted. "Calm down! I'm sure Bowzer has a pretty good explanation for you. In fact, he should be back by now. Why don't you check?"
"Thanks," she said. "And just so you know, I won't be bringing him back in here. I want to confront him on my own."
She'd just stepped away from the door, when she spied Bowzer walking to his desk from afar. She angrily screamed his name, then, "There you are!"
She had startled all the C.O.P.S. present, but Mainframe, Longarm and Bullseye were the ones who restrained her as soon as she started to charge at the K-9 officer.
"You fucking piece-of-shit bastard!" Karen screamed. "I know what you did to my sister! My little sister! How dare you come on to her like a beast!"
"Please, Karen!" Longarm cried. "Let's just sit down and talk about this."
They all went to Bowzer's desk, and gave Karen a chair, told her to sit. She kept her arms tightly folded, to keep from attacking him.
"Now," Bullseye said, "exactly what did Bowzer that made you so upset?"
"Oh, good question," Karen replied, "and I'll keep the answer short and sweet." She pointed at Bowzer. "On Sunday night, that man decided to pop over and scare Valerie into going over to his place–"
"I know what I did, Karen!" Bowzer interrupted. "And I know it was wrong! But I wasn't getting my fair share of her love, did she not tell you that! Why should Mace, Barricade, Highway and Sundown get all the fun with her in between her work, and I have to be left out?"
"First of all, you weren't making enough time for her!" she barked. "Do you honestly think Valerie is going to sit by the phone all the time, waiting for you to call and ask if she wants to do something? Do you think she has nothing better to do than stay home every night, thinking you may come over? Listen, buster, it's your fault if you've gotten to busy with your work to even call her from your desk phone! And as busy as Valerie may get sometimes, she can still make time for herself and her romances. You don't seem to love her all that much if you can't make time for her!"
His colleagues could see that he was about to cry. "I do love her. She may not realize, but she's all I ever think about! She's all I ever dream about! I know seeing is believing, but–"
"But nothing!" Karen spat. "It's bad enough that you let your little beast partner rip my nephew's flesh off! But to kidnap my sister from her own home, keep her at your house against her will, then force her to have sex so rough that you actually hurt her, is deplorable!"
"I'm sorry, all right!" Bowzer screamed, then started to cry. "Valerie already sent me e-mail, saying she wants to give our love a break. And I can't even handle this. I've sent her replies, begging for another chance, but she won't answer me!"
"Well, I'll settle this for her!" Karen said. "I don't want you to see her anymore! Neither do Mom and Rhonda. Just before they left last night, I asked if they'd like to accompany me here, to help me confront you. They said no; they're too ashamed to even want to look at you! That's what they told me! So this little fling of yours with her is over, understand?"
She retrieved the pink bouquet he'd given Valerie and put it on his desk. "You can damn well find someone else to give that to!" She then pulled out the bank he'd given Jeremy. "And another thing, what the hell were you thinking giving Jeremy a bank? Do you really think he'd be able to handle money? Do you know nothing about his condition? I'll have you know that Jeremy has never gotten an allowance – ever!"
Now Bowzer was insulted. "Well, Jeremy seemed to like it," he said. "He didn't say anything, he just smiled out of thanks."
"He was confused!" Karen shouted. "Mind you, everyone else was too polite to say anything then, but I could certainly tell Jeremy didn't know what to think of it. For one thing, Jeremy is too unstable and accident-prone to do many chores, and will never be able to do odd jobs when he gets older. Why, we won't let him even go near a lawn mower! So what do you think Jeremy can possibly do to earn money to put in this bank? Not only that, but this is also the ugliest thing I've ever seen!"
"Karen, you're being unreasonable!" Bowzer protested.
"I am not!" she insisted. "You obviously don't love Valerie as much as you claim if you fail to take some time out for her, resort to fearful force when you do, and don't think of her son enough to pick a useful gift for him. Find someone else to give your heart to! Stay away from Valerie!"
She took Jeremy and left the headquarters right away. Bowzer just sat still for a few minutes, then put his eyes on his arms to cry.
The next afternoon, after her meeting for her latest project, Valerie went back to her office to check her e-mail. She received the new mail she'd been expecting, from Janet Lisbon and Dr. Susan Grenoble, about their visit to Empire City. Both stated that they were flying in Friday night, on the eleventh, and while Janet said she planned to make hotel reservations, Dr. Grenoble said she had a sister she planned to stay with.
Janet's e-mail had that same reminder about Whitney Morgan: Please reply with Ms. Morgan's address as soon as you receive this, so I can give her the proper information she'll need for questioning about Tom Boston's parenting skills.
Valerie went online for the TV studio's website. She located Whitney's profile in the news section. She dragged her mouse to highlight and copy her e-mail address, and quickly replied to Janet. But before she could send it, she noticed she also had Dr. Grenoble's message open. She highlighted and copied her address and added it to Janet's in the To line.
It was Tuesday morning, the first official day of school in Empire City. The sky was clear, and the weather was starting to cool as they were getting into fall. But it might have been a dark overcast with thundershowers where Bowzer was concerned. He had forced himself out of bed, as he did every morning since being told to stay away from Valerie. He had forced himself to focus on his police work, to avoid trouble with Bulletproof. He was starting to wonder when his next night shift would be. He could no longer stand having to lie awake during the lonely nights, wondering what might have been if he acted different.
He'd been feeling a wide array of unhappy emotions; anger, depression, sadness, hurt. Regret over what he did to Valerie to make things this way. He was desperate to talk to her again. But she wouldn't pick up or return his messages when he called her at home. At half past noon that Tuesday, he called the Lancer and Sussex agency. Thank God Bulletproof kept it on the list of vendors.
"I need to speak with Valerie Boston, please?" he said.
"She just came in," said the receptionist filling in for Teresa, then he saw Valerie on the screen. "Hello?"
"Valerie!" he begged. "Valerie, I regret everything I did to you last weekend. I can't tell you how sorry I am. Oh, but I wish I could have you back. Every day, I have to force myself to move along when I'm working, but when I'm at home, I'm dragging myself." He began to sniffle. "Valerie, my days have been dark without you."
"Bowzer, that's so sweet," she said, "but I'm not the person you should be apologizing to now. You already apologized to me enough. It's my family that told me to leave you because of this."
"Oh, don't listen to what your mother and sisters have to tell you!" he cried. "Think for yourself, my darling. Have you been thinking of me lately?"
"I have, a bit."
"Then you can be woman enough to decide to take me back for yourself and Jeremy!"
"Bowzer, really, it's not me you should be begging for mercy. As it stands, if you really want me back, you'll have to convince Mom, Rhonda and Karen. And I think they're still pissed at you." Valerie gave him her mother's number, and he quickly jotted it down. "Good luck with her. I have this feeling you'll need it. You may be out of my life forever."
"Thank you, sweets. I love you." Bowzer hung up and dialed Polly Slamier's house. After two rings, he saw Polly's image, which he saw becoming shocked and angry.
"Bowzer!" she cried. "What the hell are you doing calling?"
"Mrs. Slamier?" he said. "I just want you to know how sorry I am about how I mistreated your daughter."
"Don't even bother!" Polly snapped. "Surely you realize Valerie is the most precious and fragile of my three daughters. She is like a flower that you trampled on, and while you never came close to Tom, what you did to her is still entirely unforgivable. You don't understand how badly you've blown it, do you? Now, if you don't stop contacting her or the family, I will see to it that your badge, guns and K-9 robot are forever revoked. Stay away from Valerie, you hear? Goodbye!" Then she hung up.
Bowzer slowly hung up his phone and began sobbing silently. Hardtop and Mainframe both saw this and went to him.
"It's all right," Hardtop said. "I know she's a very special woman, but–"
"I don't want to talk about it!" Bowzer insisted, then the other two C.O.P.S. went back to their spaces, leaving him to cry.
That Friday night, Valerie was out on another "threesome date," this time, with Mace and Barricade. They were in the middle of a "glow bowling" game, just started the fifth frame. Valerie just scored a spare, now it was Mace's turn. Smiling, she went back and talk with Barricade.
"I'm still shocked that you and Bowzer called it off," Barricade said.
"How's he taking it?" she asked.
"He's just starting to come around," he answered. "Last night, Highway and Hardtop took him out to some speed dating event, and he–" Suddenly, they were interrupted by Mace's victorious scream; he'd just scored another strike, a perfect game so far. Barricade coughed and returned to Valerie. "He met some nice women, though he didn't really get very many numbers."
"He still thinks about me, doesn't he?"
They saw Mace coming back, and he said, "Check it out, five strikes in a row. See if you can do that!"
Barricade got up for his turn, and Valerie kissed Mace as he sat down. She was dancing her seat to a rock music beat, and said, "I think I found the secret to what helps you concentrate. Your favorite music."
"Yeah, but just wait until they start playin' some crappy pop ballad," he said. "I'll be too irritated to concentrate."
They looked up to see Barricade play his second ball. He had just knocked down nine pins. He rolled, and it just missed the last pin. He sighed as he returned to the waiting area, but before Valerie took her turn, she asked, "So, is everyone looking forward to the TV interview with Whitney Morgan on Tuesday?"
"You ain't nervous, are ya?" Mace asked. "Sweetheart, youse ain't got nothin' to worry 'bout. This is yer chance to tell all of Empire City what a jerk yer ex-husband was."
"I'm absolutely positive this will be successful with a strong support system behind you," Barricade assured. He took both her hands. "You know you're right in your idealistic views. You're very lucky to have parents and siblings and some relatives who understand and share these views. And you also have a group of authorial men who love you and your son deeply, who understand your son's special needs, and who are willing to be as idealistic as you. Believe me, we can show a doubting world how a father raises a mentally challenged son properly."
"Thank you," she said. "I feel so much better." She kissed Mace for five seconds, but kissed Barricade for what seemed to be a minute. Suddenly, Valerie felt a tapping on her shoulder, then noticed Mace pointing at the score screen. She looked up and gasped. She saw the words Slow Bowler and the "waiting" time ticking off past the one-minute mark.
"Shit!" she whispered, then rushed to take a bowling ball. She rolled it down the lane quickly yet carelessly, and it leaned to the right, taking out the four right pins.
"Jesus, that conversation could've waited until after," she muttered to herself. Valerie took another ball, focused on the head pin. But just as she was about to throw, she heard the familiar shrieking of her name. The ball went out of her hands, and crashed into one of the seats behind Barricade. Valerie turned and saw a familiar-faced woman; she noticed her orangy-red hair in the colored lights that fell upon it. She was wearing a white blouse and grey pants. She was with several girlfriends, who wore similar outfits, it looked like. Valerie couldn't stop staring at the familiar woman as she went to get her ball.
"Valerie!" she said. "It's me, Nancy from work. Fancy meeting you here. Funny, but you don't look like the type to enjoy bowling."
"Well, I'm on a date, and we're hitting Electric Fruit afterwards," Valerie answered.
Nancy looked at Mace and Barricade, then at Valerie again. Valerie said, "Yes, I'm with both of them. What, it's a free country, I'm an adult, and both those guys asked me out together."
"Oh, so you share a pool with one, a Jacuzzi with the other, and now you're dating both on the same night?" Nancy asked, then grinned. "Do I see a real threesome tonight?"
Valerie threw her ball down the lane, and it hit five more pins. "That's none of your damn business, and if you tell anyone at work, I'll make sure that Lancer and Sussex fire you." She returned to Barricade, watching Mace bowl.
"One of the gossipy girls from work?" Barricade asked.
"I'm betting on it," Valerie said. "I've never heard any accusations from her, though she has called me a slut on occasion. I'm wondering if she has any kids of her own, and if she's one of those mothers. One thing I do know, she'll listen to gossip coming from anyone."
"That's another advantage of Tuesday's interview," Barricade said as he got up for his turn. "Maybe if they see how much in love you are with us, all this gossip will stop." He kissed her lightly.
"I hope so," she said. "But somehow, I doubt it."