Disclaimer: White Collar and the characters borrowed for this story are the creative property of Jeff Eastin. This story was written and shared on solely for the enjoyment of other White Collar fans. No copyright infringement is intended.
Forged Friendships
Chapter 2 – A Willing Mark
The heavy wooden door to the carriage house closed with a loud crack as June pulled it shut behind her and stepped carefully onto the snow-covered walk. The small backyard glistened in the morning sunlight and the canopy of trees hung heavy with a frosty fringe. She paused a moment to take in the simple beauty of the scene thinking how lovely and peaceful the morning should have been.
However, that had all changed when she answered the early morning phone call from Elizabeth Burke. Elizabeth's tentative voice sounded drained as she gently explained to June that Neal was in critical condition at St. Vincent's Medical Center. Neal had been brutally beaten and deposited on their front doorstep, left to die in the freezing cold.
The alarming news churned in June's mind and she again sensed her own pulse pounding with the images of "her Neal" suffering. A gust of frigid December wind twisted around her legs snapping her back from her thoughts. She pulled the fur collar of her coat closer around her face and hurried up the back walk into the warmth of the manor house.
The back entry to her home was bright and inviting with the aroma of freshly made coffee and cinnamon rolls. June unbutton her coat and neatly placed it onto a hanger in the vestibule closet. The closing of the door produced what seemed like an echoing sound and she flinched in a surprised response. Turning away from the closet, she sat down on the ornately carved oak bench and pulled her boots off placing them onto the copper tray inside the back door. Through the steamed window, she could see her footprints pressed into the wet snow and she shivered at the thought of going out again. The hardwood flooring felt cold against her stocking feet and she quickened her pace as she entered the large kitchen.
It was Cassie, the housekeeper's day off but she had taken the time to make a light breakfast for June, before going to visit her sister. The house had not felt so huge and empty since June had invited Neal to stay in her guestroom. She almost expected to see his smiling face pop around the corner and greet her as he did most mornings. The aroma of coffee always drew Neal out of bed and downstairs on these cold mornings. She approached the table and slid the shopping bag from Mohan's onto the tabletop, slightly displacing the neatly ironed linens. A note leaned against the fresh vase of flowers that adorned the center of table. June picked up the tent folded card and read …
"Please call me if you hear any news about Neal. I made his favorite cinnamon rolls if he is able to eat. Tell Neal and the Burke's that they are all in my prayers – Cassie"
Tears started to well up in June's eye and her throat felt tight. There was nothing to hold the emotions back any longer. She pulled a chair out from the table and started to sob.
Dino, the small pug trotted across the kitchen floor and nudged at June's leg. She raised her head and peered down at the small animal through bleary eyes. His tongue protruded from his muzzle in a happy pant, bright eyes beckoning. The cute expression made her smile slightly and she scooped him up in her arms.
"Oh Dino, you don't understand our friend Neal is hurt." She patted the little dog and allowed her thoughts to fade to one of the first nights that Neal stayed with them…
Neal had fallen asleep on the couch in his apartment with the door slightly ajar. Dino was use to having full run of the house and had nudged the door to the apartment open. He trotted in to explore the room. Quickly finding Neal's bare toes extending over the edge of the couch, the little dog decided to lick them. Much to Dino's surprise Neal awoke shrieking and lurching from the couch. The little dog scattered from the room, his paws barely making contact with the floor or the stair steps on the way down. June heard the commotion and ran to the bottom of the stairway just in time to see a blur followed close behind by a wide-eyed, disheveled and apologetic Neal bounding down the steps. "June, I am so sorry. I don't think I stepped on him. He startled me awake. Where did he go?" June remembered laughing so hard and hugging Neal but he wouldn't laugh himself until he saw Dino peek out from under the skirt of the armchair. He immediately got down on his hands and knees and coaxed the pup out holding him close. "So sorry pup. I know you don't understand but waking up to the feeling of something wet on your feet is rarely a good thing in a super-max." He scratched under the little dog's chin. "I hope we are still friends."
June looked down at Dino and smiled.
Glancing across the table at the Mohan's bag, she shook her head and realized that the mornings shopping trip was silly but she had to do something to let Neal know she cared. He couldn't have flowers in ICU and she couldn't visit him since she wasn't family. So, she thought he might enjoy the comfort of a new robe from his favorite upscale men's store. He was always impeccably dressed and concerned about his appearance. She could just imagine the awkwardness for him, waking up wearing an open back gown.
The doorbell rang and Dino jumped down from June's lap, barking and twirling around in a circle. She slid the chair back and headed to the front door, Dino close at her heels. Through the etched glass should she could make out two figures. The taller one she recognized as Mr. Haversham. Opening the door, she welcomed her guests into the entryway.
"Mr. Haversham, please come in from the cold. What brings you and your companion here on such a snowy morning?"
Mozzie stepped forward sliding off his shoes and offering to take his companion's coat. "June, please allow me to introduce an old friend of Neal's and mine. This is Dr. Violet Forsyth-Nesbit."
"It is always so nice to meet another friend of Neal's. Dear, you look frozen. Please come in by the fireplace where it is warmer. "June stretched out a welcoming hand and ushered her guests into the great room. "Allow me to take your coats. It is Cassie's day off."
Mozzie nodded his head, waving the two women into the great room. "I know where they go. You don't need to wait on me."
June shooed Dino from the armchair next to glowing fireplace. "He thinks he is the master of the house. Please have a seat." June's warm smile made Violet feel a little less like an intruder.
"Mr. Haversham, you know that you and your friends are always welcome here but I honestly thought you would be at the hospital this morning with Neal."
Mozzie stopped in his tracks, his face ghosting over. "Why would you think that?"
June observed the facial expressions of her guests and realized that they hadn't gotten a call from the Burkes. "Mozzie, didn't Peter or Elizabeth call you? I was sure that you knew. Neal was severely injured last night and is at St. Vincent's. I don't have many details other than Neal was assaulted early this morning and abandoned on the Burke's doorstep. His condition required emergency surgery to stop internal bleeding and he is now in the ICU. The last time I spoke with Elizabeth, he was still unconscious."
Mozzie saw Violet's reaction in his periphery and quickly crossed the room and knelt down beside her. The woman appeared to be in shock. Her eyes locked in a stare, silently mouthing. "Neal, no not my Neal, not my Neal too." Violet sat scrunched up in the over-stuffed chair, her legs pulled up against her chest. Mozzie reached up to touch her hand but she pulled away sinking back into the corner of the chair.
Violet's frantic words were now audible. "Mozzie, this is my fault. Neal was with me last night. I asked him to help me. Glossenger knows that I involved Neal and now you. This attack was meant as a warning to me. Mozzie, please call me a cab. My being here is putting you all in danger."
June stood and slowly approached the young woman. "Absolutely not! You are not going anywhere alone."
Mozzie nodded in agreement. "June, can Violet stay here until I get back from the hospital? This is going to take a face to face with Mr. Suit. I won't trust phones for this type of conversation." June motioned for Mozzie to go as she pulled a hassock over beside Violet's chair.
June handed Violet a tissue from her pocket. At first, the offer went unnoticed, until June gentle touched the woman's shoulder brushing her fingers back through her thick straight dark hair. Violet turned her child like rounded face toward June and reached out to accept the offer. She shoved the folded tissue under tear spotted heavy glasses and dobbed at the corners of her stunning lavender blue eyes. Despite the blazing fire, the house felt incredibly cold and empty. Violet drew herself back into a ball and continued to stare off in a daze.
Several long minutes passed until June spoke, breaking the incredibly uncomfortable silence. "Neal is such a gentleman. He has been staying with me for over a year. He brought life back into this great old house. Agent Burke is so pleased with the work he is doing for the FBI. He has made a real difference in many people's lives."
Violet's shaky hand reached up to adjust her hair band and push her glasses back up on the bridge of her nose. Slowly raising her head, she tucked her hair behind her ears, and nodded in agreement, "Neal is an incredibly intelligent and talented man. It doesn't surprise me that he was doing so well."
June sighed with relief that the young woman was snapping out of her catatonic state. "Dear, how did you meet Neal?"
She raised her eyes and looked out from under heavy blunt cut bangs, to meet June's soft gaze. "It is a rather long story."
June leaned forward with her hands folded loosely in her lap, "I have plenty of time."
"I'm not sure if Neal would want me to share this … I don't want to cause him any more problems. "
June leaned close and whispered, "My Byron was a felon too. I don't think your adventure with Neal will shock me."
Violet wiped the palm her hands down the front of her pant leg and twisted back in the overstuffed chair that almost swallowed her diminutive frame. "It was 12 years ago; I was finishing up my Post Doctorial studies and working for Materials Analysis Testing Technologies in their sample lab. My job was to run demo tests for potential buyers of lab equipment. Neal was cold calling companies; trying to swing free analysis testing services for his art restoration company. I answered his call and within 20 minutes, had agreed to provide him with a complete series of free tests. He was a real charmer even over the phone. "
Tilting her head toward June, she slid one leg down away from her chest. "I was so naive, an easy and willing mark. Before the end of the summer, I had given Neal over 20,000 dollars worth of free analysis testing and hired his company to restore my family's large fresco painting. He and his partner Bryan moved into my house and enjoyed the good life while working at their leisure on the restoration."
June nodded as she listened attentively to the story. Violet was opening up to June in ways she never felt comfortable before. She was so afraid of losing Neal and she needed to talk … really talk.
"June, my doctoral studies involved the development of chemical coatings for art restoration. I had a patent pending on a special coating that would make it difficult, if not impossible to detect repairs to original oil paintings. Neal had completed his research long before calling the lab that employed me. He had his eye on obtaining my formulation and process for making this coating, long before I fielded his call at the lab."
Turning in the chair, she looked at the glowing fire, again drawing he leg back up to her chest. "By the time Neal was working on getting my formulation, I knew I was his mark but I didn't care. I had lost my Dad and with that, loss had inherited a fortune. The money meant nothing to me without someone to share my life. I was all alone and loved the idea of having these two bad boys living under my roof. We had huge parties at the estate and I was living on the edge. At age 30, I was experiencing a reckless youth that I had passed over as a young teen for serious university studies. I fell in love with Bryan and we started to plan a wedding."
The conversation was beginning to get a more than a little uncomfortable for Violet and she hesitated twisting at the ring on her left index finger. "Neal came to me one evening and expressed his concern. The con man had unwittingly become my confidant. He told me that Bryan was more in love with my money than with me. He held me in his arms and begged me not to go forward with the wedding. I told him I couldn't bear to be alone and that I didn't care if they both had been using me. That night, Neal dissolved his partnership in a huge blow up with Bryan, packed his things and left. The next morning, I found my original lab notebook propped against the wall inside my bedroom door. "
Violet wiped tears from her glassy eyes as she relived the memory, her voice now wavered as she spoke. "Bryan and I married but it was short lived. Within 6 weeks, Bryan got involved in a partnership with Marcus Glossenger. Glossenger wanted my formula and Bryan agreed to sell it to him. Neither of the men were chemists and Bryan unknowingly sold him a copy of a bogus formulation. Neal had slipped him a copy of a failed formulation that wouldn't polymerize properly. Later, I found out that Glossenger was furious that the coating ruined several of his forgeries. Bryan was on his way to meet with Glossenger when he was in a horrible car accident that claimed his life."
June gasped, "Oh, you poor dear. She took Violet's shaking hand. Is he the man that attacked Neal?"
"I believe so, he contacted me a month ago. He needs me produce a batch of my coating and then falsify authentication documents for him. He threatened to have my Uncle killed if I didn't comply.
I arranged to install the FBI's new test instrument myself so I could meet with Neal without raising suspicion. I just couldn't let well enough alone. I had to take him out last night for his birthday. If Neal dies, it will be my fault."