The Other Path Chapter 91
A line of cars with lights and sirens rushes out on the runway in front of a jet attempting to take off. As the pilot brings the plane to a halt, a swarm of armed men and women with POLICE on their jackets approach the aircraft. A man with a bullhorn announces that he has a warrant for the arrest of Gomer Richland and demands the stairs be lowered.
Richland stares around a curtain almost covering a window of his Gulfstream V. Pulling his cellphone from his pocket, he calls the private line of the senior partner of the law firm he keeps on retainer. "Get your ass to the city. Now!" Assured that his attorney is on the way, he presses the button for the intercom to the cockpit. "Let the f***ing cops in."
Anything interesting happen today?" Rick asks, handing Kate a tumbler of juice.
"I found my backup for my interrogation work, Detective Layla Medina. She's great. She'll do a terrific job."
"Hmm, I don't recall meeting a Layla Medina. Is she new at the 12th?"
"No, but she's from Robbery. I don't know if she'd even been in the homicide bullpen before today. Gates gave me one of those looks over her glasses, but she signed onto my choice."
"Well, congratulations for getting that settled. Anything else?"
"Like a body dropping? No."
"Well, someone dropped. I heard Jenny went down right in the middle of Bloomingdales."
Kate feels her throat tighten. "Yeah. Espo told me. But she's fine. Who told you?"
"Ryan. He called to talk to another man with a pregnant wife. He was tired of everyone telling him to calm down. So, I didn't try to tell him that. I just sent him a bottle of Blanton's Special. But what I'm wondering is why you didn't say anything. Jenny's thankfully minor incident was still something worthy of mention. I asked you straight out what happened today and you still kept it to yourself. I thought with the baby and everything I could finally count on you being straight with me."
"I'm sorry, Babe. I just didn't want you worrying any more than you already are about me and the baby."
Kate reaches toward Rick's face but he catches her hand. "I'll tell you what really worries me, Kate, that you're still keeping things from me. If you tell me everything's all right, how do I know I can trust you?"
"Because you have my promise that you can. That's all I can give you, Babe."
Rick pulls Kate against his body. "Then I guess I'll have to accept it. Wow! Was that a kick?"
Kate's eyes widen. "I don't know. I've never felt one before. Oh! There it is again. Rick, there really is a baby in there."
"Kate, you've known that for months."
"But this, this makes it real. It's amazing!"
Rick presses his lips to the top of Kate's head. "You're amazing. You're both amazing. And we're all going to be amazing together."
As Cronut barks his agreement, a ding sounds from the pocket of Kate's generously cut slacks. Slowly she pulls out her cell to check the screen. "A joint force from the city, the state, and the FBI just pulled Gomer Richland from a private jet. It was taking off for a flight to the Maldives. Cyrus is charging him with human trafficking and flight to avoid prosecution."
"Gomer Richland the mega-bucks industrialist?"
"Uh-huh."
"Did one of the girls mention him to you?"
"I doubt they would have known his name, or who he is."
"Yeah, he's not known for talking to the media."
"No, but, I'm betting he was on video."
Rick's eyebrows ripple. "The recordings from the purple pleasure palace. You know, I've been trying to figure out who the puppet master behind Hitman Hitch is, so I could use him as the model for the powerbroker in my book. Richland may just be the one." Rick rubs his hands together. "All right, then! First, we make sure mother and child have adequate nutritional support. Then I start some serious digging into Gomer Richland. And I'm guessing all sorts of nasty creepy crawlies emerge from under his rocks."
"Where are you going?" Hitch asks as his wife's chauffeur fills a cart with her matching designer luggage.
"Home," Lee Ju Fleming declares.
Hitch waves around Ju's sumptuously furnished room. "You are home."
"Home is with a man of power and discernment. You have no more power and your discernment is clearly in question. I'm going back to my father in China."
"Ju, you can't leave now!" Hitch pleads. "The people of this state still love me. I'll make a comeback. But I need your help."
"You'll not be making any comeback," Ju asserts. "My father is pulling his investments. And when Richland was arrested, that DA, Cyrus, made sure his assets were frozen. He can't help you either. You're finished, Hitchcock. And I'm not staying to be humiliated with you." Ju nods to her driver. "Let's go."
Mouth gaping into what passes for a chin, Hitch watches as his wife strides out of their home. Damn! The house is in her name. He'd better gather up whatever he can before she pulls that out from under him too.
"Everything's looking good, Kate," Dr. Drake assures her patient as she regards the ultrasound image. "And I can tell the baby's gender. Do you want to know?"
Kate looks up questioningly at Rick, who's standing as close as Drake will let him get. "Do you want to know?"
"Are you kidding, Kate?" Rick exclaims. "You're asking the original Mr. Curious. And perhaps it's the cop in you, but I've never known you to enjoy surprises."
"The baby's not about to pull a gun on me, Babe."
"From what the moms I met up with at my baby-parent excursions with Alexis little told me, boys do come equipped with a water pistol, or a rainbow maker, depending on how upbeat Mommy was in describing it. And we boy-types do enjoy – never mind. But, it's your passenger, so it's your decision."
"You're not planning on throwing one of those crazy gender reveal parties are you?" Kate demands.
"After one of those started a wildfire in California? Alexis would have my head. But knowing would help the attendees to your baby shower make reasonable choices – if you want a baby shower."
"I think Lanie will kill me if I don't have one."
"So have you made your decision?" Dr. Drake interjects.
"Yes," Kate responds. "I want to, we want to know."
Drake takes a thorough look at the screen. "It's a girl."
Rick grins. "For now, at least, this old dog won't have to learn any new tricks."
Four Months Later
Cronut trots toward the entrance to the loft as the buzzer sounds unceasingly. Rick follows the dog and opens the door. "Paula, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
Paula Haas barges past Rick and the pup's welcoming gaze. "Are you kidding me, Ricky? You sent me a book like nothing you've ever written before. It's not even Black Pawn's genre. What am I supposed to do with it?"
"You're my agent. You're supposed to sell it," Rick retorts. "No selling, no commission, no more Ferragamos."
"I don't know, Ricky. The mainline publishers are getting conservative right now, and the book's going to poke some hornets' nests."
"That's the whole idea, Paula. I want to portray the true villains in our society. These aren't the guys Derrick Storm would take out or Nikki Heat would collar. Their actions affect almost everyone every day. And I believe there are loads of readers out there who would never pick up a political exposé by some investigative reporter. But they'd read a novel about ordinary human beings getting ripped off by people they don't even dream have their hands in their pockets. Still, if you're not willing to push the book, I'll find someone who will."
"All right, Ricky," Paula concedes. "I'll give it a shot. But if I wear down my Zanottis, you'll owe me another pair."
"I'll buy you two."
