Chapter 7

It was time for Jeff to fly back to Florida . Since he had the meeting the next day at noon, he decided the best thing was to make the flight back that night instead of in the morning. At dinner, Grant was strangely absent from his place at the head of the table. When Ruth had gotten up to get some more corn off the stove, she had leaned over Jeff and whispered in his ear apologetically. "You know how he hates goodbyes."

Jeff nodded. He knew all about hating goodbyes, but it still irked him that Grant wasn't there. If it were his son leaving, he would make sure he was around to see him off. Determined to not let it ruin his time with the rest of the family, he decided not to think about it.

Despite Grant's absence, dinner was a pleasant time. Lucy sat next to Jeff, smiling and laughing. The boys were happy and Ruth beamed at them all with pride and contentment. After his second piece of pie, Jeff put his fork down and pushed himself away from the table. Stretching, he casually got up from his chair. "I think I'll go for a little walk."

He met Ruth's eye and she gave a nod and a knowing smile.

"Can we go with you, Dad?" Virgil asked, jumping out of his chair eagerly.

"Why don't you boys help Grandma clear the table?" Lucy suggested, as she helped John with his dessert by spearing small pieces of pie then handing the fork over to the young boy.

"Sure, Mom," Scott began collecting silverware and handed a plate to his younger brother. "Here ya go, Virg."

Jeff went out onto the front porch and jumped from the top step to the ground like he had done since he was a young kid. He walked the familiar path to the equipment barn and found the older man with a wrench grasped in oil-covered hands tinkering with a tractor engine set on a few cement blocks to keep it off the ground.

Grant was so immersed in the work that it took him a while to notice Jeff standing in the shadows. He nodded a greeting. "Son."

"Father," Jeff replied. "We missed you at dinner."

Grant set the wrench down in a nearby toolbox and selected another. "I'll eat later. I've got to get the Massey going by next week." He turned back to the engine. "You leaving tonight then?"

"Yes. I've got a meeting tomorrow."

Grant slowly turned around. He picked up a rag and wiped his hands. The two men stood there, both frozen in place with only an awkward silence between them. Not knowing what else to do, Jeff held out his hand. "Goodbye, Father."

Grant shook Jeff's hand, his grip firm and strong. "Take care of yourself, son."

"I will, sir," Jeff answered. The handshake lingered and Grant reached out his other hand and patted his son's arm.

"Be careful up there." Grant's voice faltered. "I've already lost one son. I don't want to lose another."

For the briefest of moments, Jeff could see the pain in Grant's lined face before the wall came up once again. He didn't know what to say to his father. Neither of them ever spoke of the missing member of the family, though they were both haunted by the loss. All these years later and they still walked around the subject as is it was a land mine.

Grant let go of Jeff and turned back to the engine. Without speaking, Jeff turned into the shadows and walked back to the house. There was nothing more the two men could say to each that they didn't already know. Grant retreated into his world, and soon Jeff would be heading off to his own.

Lucy was on the porch swing, waiting for him. John sat across her lap, half-asleep, with his blonde head against her shoulder. Scott and Virgil were still helping in the kitchen; the sound of their childish voices drifted through the screen door into the night.

"I'll put him to bed for you," Jeff offered, gently putting his hand on his youngest son's head.

Lucy smiled and handed the drowsy child over to him. "I'll never say no to some help. Either he's getting heavier or I'm getting weaker."

Jeff took John upstairs and put him to bed. He changed the sleeping child into his pajamas and set him in the little cot in the corner of the room. The moonlight from the window illuminated the little boy's face and Jeff reached down and kissed his forehead.

Out in the hallway, he glanced at his watch. He knew the time was running short and he should go, but leaving his family was always hard, especially now with Eric's death reminding him of his mortality. He went downstairs to the kitchen. Calling the boys over, he knelt down so he was eye-level with them.

"I want you both to help out while I'm gone. There's a lot of work to be done on a farm and you're both old enough to do your fair share. Watch Johnny for your Mother and listen to Grandpa and Grandma."

Scott and Virgil listened solemnly as Jeff spoke. The going-away talk was a serious event and they took their father's words to heart, especially Scott who felt that because he was the oldest, he needed to shoulder most of the responsibility.

"Do you have to go, Dad?" Virgil asked.

"Yes, but I'll be back before you know it."

Scott wasn't satisfied. "What if you die like Uncle Eric?"

"Dad won't die," scoffed Virgil, frowning as he looked up at his older brother. Scott frowned back at him. "He could too die. People die every day, don't they, Dad?"

Both boys looked to their father to settle the conflict. Jeff scratched his chin. "People die every day that's true. " Scott smiled and gave Virgil a told-you-so expression. "But," he continued. "I'm planning on coming back 'alive and kicking' as Grandma always says."

It was Virgil's turn to gloat. He made a face by hooking a finger on each corner of his mouth, and hanging his tongue out. "Blahhhhh."

Scott rolled his eyes. "Kids."

Jeff hugged Virgil and then reached for Scott but the boy stood tall and stuck out his hand. "I'm getting too old for that baby stuff. So long, Dad."

Jeff solemnly shook his son's hand, resisting the urge to smile. "So long, son."

Ruth was waiting for him, her hands twisting in her apron. She hid her worry behind a smile as she reached up and hugged her son. Her words were a soft echo of Grant's. "Be careful up there, son."

"I will, Ma." Jeff kissed his mother on the cheek before walking out of the screen door onto the porch. This was the worst part of all. Saying goodbye to his soul mate. It never got any easier but this time was worse because of everything that had happened, all the words that had been said.

Lucy was waiting for him on the porch swing. He sat next to her and took her hand. "I'm not sure what to say," he admitted, looking at his shoes.

"How about goodbye?" Lucy suggested. He could tell she was trying to be light-hearted and he was grateful.

Jeff grinned. "That's an idea."

"And then I'll tell you to come back to us and then you'll promise you will but we both know that maybe that won't happen." Lucy sighed. "We do this every time you leave so let's just say goodbye and you can call me later when you get in."

He leaned over and kissed her. "I love you, Lucy."

"Goodbye, Jeff." Her voice trembled as she said the words. In the dim twilight, he could see that a tear run down her face. She turned away, discreetly rubbing it away. Guilt stabbed at him, fighting with his sense of duty. Before he could say anything else, she got up and went into the house. The screen door slammed with its usual rusty squeak.

Jeff slowly got to his feet. This time he walked down the porch steps instead of jumping.

Yes, he hated goodbyes because it meant leaving the ones he loved.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Jeff hated waiting. He was punctual for appointments and had little patience for those who weren't. He glanced at his watch impatiently. He had to meet Brian Duncan in two hours and with the traffic around Orlando he would be hard pressed to get back to the coast on time.

Jeff stood up, his irritation not allowing him to sit, even though the expensive leather chair was comfortable. He paced the length of the office. The carpet was thick and luxurious and muffled the sound of his steps. The walls were decorated with civic awards, education credentials, and personal pictures. It was a typical lawyer's office but Max Carson was anything but typical. Everything about him was larger than life: his car, his houses, his law practice, his family, his extravagant, generous personality, even his oversized, ornate oak desk.

Max's specialty was criminal defense and he was renown as a brilliant trial lawyer. He insisted he only defended "innocent" clients caught in the wheels of the justice system, but it was a known fact in legal circles that he would defend anyone that had enough fame or fortune to make it worth his while. At the same time, he wasn't completely motivated by financial gain. The high-powered attorney took plenty of pro bono cases and gave generously to a variety of charities.

Being a close friend of General Austin, Max also served as a general attorney to many officers in the Space Agency and NASA for a nominal fee. He had requested a meeting with Jeff, as executor of Eric's estate, to go over some details of the will. Normally, Jeff would have had more patience for one of Max's late arrivals but knowing he had another appointment afterwards coupled with the lack of sleep left him on edge. So onward he paced like a soldier on watch, only pausing to look out the window or at a picture on the wall that caught his eye.

One picture in particular intrigued Jeff. Three men stood together on the deck of a yacht, smiling broadly as they proudly held an enormous swordfish lengthways in front of them. He recognized two of the men, one being Max Carson, the other, General Austin, but the third man was unfamiliar. Somehow he seemed out of place next to the other two. It held Jeff's interest as he tried to figure out why. Maybe it was the impressively-detailed tattoos of dragons that covered the man's arms and chest. Perhaps it was the worn clothes and general unkempt air that contrasted strongly with the other two men . It was very much a "which-one-doesn't-belong" kind of picture and it held Jeff's interest each time he passed it .

He was studying the picture again when the door to the office opened and Max Carson bustled in, followed by his young, blonde-haired secretary. "Colonel!" he boomed, beaming at Jeff. "So sorry to keep you waiting. Got caught up in court and couldn't get away." He tossed a leather briefcase onto the desk and soon an expensive silk tie followed. "That's better," the lawyer smiled, undoing the top button of his dress shirt. He rounded the desk, took Jeff's hand and pumped it a few times before slapping him on the back. He then headed to a cabinet on the far side of the room and pulled out a crystal decanter and two glasses. "Want a drink?"

"No thank you, Max," Jeff said, his annoyance dissipating under the gale force wind of friendliness blowing from the lawyer. It was hard to be angry with someone so pleasant and obliging.

"How about some coffee?" Max suggested. "To please me. I hate to drink alone."

Jeff smiled. "Now you're talking."

Max turned to his secretary. "Would you get the Colonel a cup of coffee, please, Shannon?"

The young woman smiled at Jeff. "Of course. How do you take your coffee?"

"Black will be fine, thank you," Jeff said, smiling at her. She blushed as she left.

Max grinned. "She's a fan of yours, you know. If you weren't such an honorable fellow, I know for sure she'd give you her number and probably much more than that if you called her."

Jeff ignored the suggestive comment. There was no woman for him except Lucy and everyone knew that, including the lawyer. Max poured himself a full glass, took a drink, rolled the liquid around in his mouth, and swallowed. Satisfied, he strode over to the desk and sat down. The secretary brought Jeff his coffee, smiling again at him.

Max became all business. Opening a laptop, he slid on a pair of reading glasses, and pulled a file out of a drawer. He instantly became somber. "Bad business this whole thing with Eric." He looked over his glasses at Jeff. "Have you read his will?"

Jeff shook his head. "No. Eric redid it a few months ago, but he never gave me a copy. I do have the old one though."

"He made quite a few changes in his new will."

"Like what?" Jeff asked, curious.

"He set up a trust fund for his daughter with his pension funds, the life insurance money from NASA, and a private life insurance policy in the event of his death. It will equal around five million dollars when all is said and done with the double indemnity clauses in the insurance policies for accidental death. Plus, I plan on filing a workman's compensation case on the girl's behalf. She should come out of this set up very nicely."

Jeff nodded. "That makes sense. He wanted to make sure his wife and daughter were taken care of. He always worried about that."

"Not his wife." Max leaned back in his chair. "He left her eight dollars. One dollar for each year of their marriage." He smiled, showing a flash of white teeth under his graying moustache. "She'll probably contest it and that's her right. I'm looking forward to taking her down a notch or two in court."

"What?!" Jeff couldn't believe what he was hearing. He set down his coffee cup and leaned forward. "That doesn't make any sense. He was...they are.. were," he corrected, "happily married."

Max pursed his lips and continued to look over his glasses at him. "Are you sure about that?"

"Of course," Jeff insisted. "We were best friends. He would have told me if he and Melanie were having problems."

"Well, he didn't." Max handed him a paper. "He filed for divorce two days before the launch. In North Carolina," he added, looking very much like the cat who swallowed the canary. "Where he established residency last year...at least in legal terms...since it would be the most suitable place for his kind of divorce."

Jeff leaned back in his chair, shutting his mouth when he became aware he was gaping in amazement. "He never told me any of this."

"He would have," Max offered kindly. "He really cared about what you thought and didn't want you to know until it couldn't be helped."

Jeff thought of Eric. Did he really know him at all? He would never know his motives or why he kept it all secret. Questions that would never be answered. He thought of the letter in his pocket. Reaching inside his jacket, he pulled it out and tossed it onto the desk. "Is that what this letter is all about?"

Max took the letter and scanned it quickly. "Yes, that's the private investigator I hired on his behalf."

"To do what?" Jeff wanted to know. He never suspected Eric would go to such lengths to get the upper hand in a divorce, but then he never even suspected that his friend would even get a divorce. Eric and Melanie had been together even before he and Lucy. They had seemed like the perfect couple.

"To get proof of her...ah...indiscretions."

"I don't believe it," Jeff said, frowning. "Melanie would never do anything like that."

Max smiled broadly. "You have a very idealistic view of the world, Colonel. She's not the woman you think she is."

"Then what is she?" Jeff growled. He was getting a headache and his irritability had returned courtesy of the black coffee sloshing around in his empty stomach.

"A cheat, a liar, and a child abuser." Max patted his hand on another file on his desk. "And it's all right in here. Indisputable proof."

"Is this why you wanted me to come today?" Jeff asked. "To tell me this?"

Max nodded. "As a matter of fact, yes. He made me the trustee of his daughter's trust fund and wanted you appointed as her guardian should anything happen to him. I plan on filling a petition to remove her from Melanie's custody."

"Take her away from her mother? I won't be a part of that."

Max opened the file on his desk and thumbed through the contents. Finally, he took out several pictures and slid them over to Jeff. "Tell me if this doesn't change your mind."

Jeff picked up the pictures and looked at them. His face went white, then red, and he glared at Max, outrage and disgust clearly displayed on his face. "How long has this been going on?"

"Those pictures were taken eight months ago. When Eric found out, it stopped, but now that he's gone, who's going to protect the girl? "

Jeff sighed and put his head in his hands. "Do what you have to do, Max."

"I will," Max assured. "I plan on getting temporary custody for you and Lucy, then long-term to Eric's mother."

"Eric's mother is off somewhere in Africa," Jeff said. He felt exhausted from the revelations that Max had shared and disillusioned by the people he thought he knew betraying their public images.

"Zakouma National Park in Chad to be precise. I've already been in touch with her." Max gave him a smile of encouragement as he leaned forward and interlocked his fingers together. He took off his reading glasses and put them in his pocket. "Don't look so glum, Colonel. I'll take care of all of this."

Jeff left the office feeling very tired. He hardly noticed when the attractive secretary again gave a most winning smile as he passed. He glanced at his watch. No doubt about it. He, Jeff Tracy, who was always on time was going to be late, and for once it wasn't the utmost thing on his mind.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Memorial Park really wasn't a true park at all; rather, it was a stand of trees, flowers, and plaques dedicated to the men and women who had lost their lives while serving in NASA and the Space Agency. Jeff often came there and sat on one of the benches when he needed some quiet or walked the stone paths that weaved in and out in geometric patterns. It was always calming to him and a much favored place for many others.

As he rounded one corner, he saw Brian standing in front of an open area that had been sectioned off with yellow rope and wooden stakes. The older man had his arms folded defensively and his head down. Even from a distance, Jeff could see the habitual frown on his face.

Jeff began to apologize. "I'm sorry I'm late, Brian, I..."

Brian waved the words away. "Never mind, Jeff." A glimmer of a smile threatened to appear. "Just don't make it a habit." He motioned towards the roped-off patch of ground. "This is going to be Eric's spot so any input on your part would be appreciated. We know how close you two were." He shook his head, scowling. "This should not have happened."

Jeff couldn't agree with him more. It shouldn't have happened. Eric shouldn't have a place there among the honored dead. The FLO mission should have been a success. They should both be there starting up the business. He felt a new surge of anger rising through his fatigue. Would've, should've, could've. None of it mattered now.

"Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?" Jeff asked, getting right to the point.

"Hell, no," Brian growled. "I wanted to tell you about the report we got about the LM's reactor failure." He pulled out a PDA and handed it to Jeff. "Just read the last paragraph, the rest is just industry jargon bullshit."

Jeff scrolled down and read the paragraph. "So basically they are attributing this to either human error in adjusting the reactor flow outputs, deliberate or non-deliberate human interference with the reactor's function by one of the crew," Jeff paused, struggling to control the outrage in his voice, "which basically says one of us either sabotaged or accidently broke the reactor, and last but not least, the reactor could have failed because of failures of other instrumentation or systems not manufactured by Cygnus."

Jeff handed back the PDA to Brian, a dangerous glint in his eye. "So it's all our fault or another company's. Anybody but Cygnus. Who wrote that piece of crap anyway?"

"Who do you think?" Brian snorted. "One of Cygnus' head engineers. A know-it-all smart ass by the name of Davis. But that's not the worse part."

Dark clouds were rolling in from the west and the wind began to pick up, ruffling Jeff's dark brown hair. Brian's frown deepened. "Drat. I didn't bring my umbrella. Figures the moment I set foot outside a cloud comes up."

Jeff hadn't even noticed the darkening of the sky. The day had been full of revelations that he kept turning over and over in his mind and a detail like the weather wasn't worth much consideration in light of everything else. A little rain never hurt anything anyway. He wanted to know what else Brian had to say, even though he dreaded hearing something else disillusioning. "What else can there be?"

"It's all about money," Brian grunted. "The almighty dollar."

"Isn't it always?" Jeff asked. He wasn't cynical by nature but he had seen what greed could drive a person to do.

"Did you know that Austin is getting big money kickbacks for every contract Cygnus gets with the Space Agency? He's been cashing in for years. He has a lot to lose if the reactor was defective because our design team felt it was a flawed design but he pushed it through by bribes and threats. Now he's up to the same thing with the upcoming contracts for the Moonbase. There's billions of money at stake and Cygnus wants to be the primary contractor and supplier for the project and if Austin gets his way, they will be, even though they sacrifice quality and safety to save money."

"How do you know all that that?" Jeff demanded. He trusted in General Austin's integrity and he wouldn't believe such an allegation without proof.

"It's true," Brian insisted, suspiciously he looked around before pulling out an envelope. "I've got the proof on a usb drive. Bank records, emails, phone conversations...I've been collecting it for the last couple years. You have to arm yourself if you want to survive." He handed the envelope to Jeff. "I want you to have it for safe keeping. In case something happens to me. You're the most honest person I know besides Dr. Bolden, but she's like an ostrich with her head in the sand. She sees nothing that she doesn't want to see and she doesn't want to know about any of this."

"Brian..." Jeff began shaking his head. "I've heard a lot of unbelievable things today, things that I'm still not sure I can believe but this tops it all."

"Just look at information on the drive and decide for yourself." Brian glared up at the sky as raindrops began pelting down on them. "I didn't want you going on this next mission flying blind. Not after what happened to Eric. Maybe it wasn't an accident. I don't know but I do know that they'll get rid of anyone that they consider a threat and you're just too honest to not be considered one."

The clouds opened up and the rain began to pour down. Brian turned and joined a few other people scurrying to a small pavilion near the entrance to the Memorial. He called over his shoulder to Jeff. "Just look at that drive and make up your own mind."

Jeff folded the envelope and stuffed into a pocket. He made no effort to move, liking the feeling of the rain pelting down. He wished it would wash away all of the day's conflicts. He had walked into a different world from the one that he had know the day before. It was a world of corruption, lies and betrayal. A world he knew existed but not in such close proximity.

He could hear his mother's words in his mind. Be true to yourself. She had said that to him since he was a young boy and he had lived by it. He lived without pretensions or deception and always did what he believed was right and honest. He was a Tracy, after all, wasn't he? Let the rest of the world take the path of least resistance. He wasn't going to do that. Not in his personal life or his professional life either.

Standing straighter and feeling stronger, Jeff faced the wind and the rain. He had the strength to face the storms and he was ready for whatever would come his way.