Chapter Four: Jail

Two months later

Gordon Bombay sighed as he rested his head against a metal beam at Hennepin County Jail. The bright lights were not helping his hangover one bit. He was tired, nauseous and his head pounded like someone was putting a jackhammer to it. But he was lucid.

A small female officer passed by the cell that Bombay was in. She recognized him.

"Mr. Bombay?"

She raised an eyebrow. She had seen him here before. Normally he was having a meeting with one of his clients when he visited the local jail cell. But never had he been on the other side of the cell.

Bombay looked up at her. "Officer," Bombay started. "I'd like my phone call now."

"We'll see," Officer Browning said looking at her clip board. "We have to wait for the test results first".

Bombay stared at her. He sat down on the lower bunk. He went over a list of names of people he could call. Ducksworth? No way. Jeanie? He couldn't trust her to keep a secret. Jane? Same thing. He went over the list of friends he had. He had very few friends. So few that he could count all of them on his one hand.

Basil McRae. Don Peck. Ted Orion. James Toff.

Basil and Don were both busy with their own lives. Sure, Bombay always got the obligatory invites to a wedding or some other big event but ever since he graduated law school, he had declined all offers.

He had not seen James Toff since high school and did not know where to find him. He had called him about two years ago on a whim but the number he had was out of service

Ted Orion he had seen as recently as a year ago. He had come to Bombay for help with dealing with an insurance company who was refusing to pay the medical bills for his daughter who was in a terrible accident. Bombay had won the case and had Ted awarded a rather large settlement. Ted Orion thanked him and said if there was anything that he could do to repay the favor, he would gladly do it.

"Gordon Bombay."

The same office that had spoken to him earlier was back.

"You have five minutes to make your phone call."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a key ring with at least 15 different keys attached to it. She went through each key until she found the one that she was looking for. Hesitating for a second, she unlocked the door to the cell Bombay was in. Opening the door, she looked Bombay over trying to decide whether to have him handcuffed. She decided against it. It had been a long night for her.

"Come with me." She motioned for Bombay to follow her. "Don't try anything or you'll be in cuffs for the rest of the night."

"Yes Mam'."

Bombay followed her silently until they went into plain room with nothing but a table, a desk and a phone.

"You have five minutes."

Bombay nodded. He looked around the room. No cameras. Officer Browning stood there watching him.

"A little privacy please?"

"Un-hun." Office Browning left the room closing the door behind her.

Bombay sat down at the table and rapped his fingers against the desk. He picked up the phone and dialed Ted Orion's phone number. Bombay tapped his foot absentmindedly as the phone rang. No answer. Bombay decided to leave a voicemail.

"Hello Ted? It's Gordon Bombay. I need your help. And about five hundred dollars. I'm at 401 South 4th Avenue in Minneapolis. If you could get here as soon as possible, that would be great. Thanks."

Bombay hung up. Ted was probably at the hospital with his daughter. Bombay ran his fingers though his hair. He picked up the phone and started to call Jeanie. He would have to face Ducksworth eventually but perhaps he could give her a raise in exchange for keeping quiet about this.

Then it came to him. Tracy.

Bombay hung up the phone before it began to ring and dialed Tracy's number praying that she would pick up. She did.

"Hello Tracy?"

There was silence on the other end

"Tracy?"

After another long silence, just before Bombay was going to give up, he heard a muffle.

"What is it Gordon?"

"Tracy, I need your help. I ..."

Gordon heard her laughing. He was pissed but he didn't have a choice. It was either her or face his boss.

"I'm serious Tracy. I really need your help. I'll do anything," Bombay pleaded.

"Anything?"

"Anything. Name it."

Tracy wrestled with the idea. She had no reason to help Bombay. He was a jerk. He never cared for anyone but himself.

But he was good. Both in the courtroom and in bed. She had missed their late night escapades between the sheets. Sleeping with him was a both a high and a low. During sex, it was great.

Tracy knew she was not a strikingly beautiful woman. It wasn't that she was ugly. Some would even say she was pretty. But she was not in Bombay's league and she knew it. She liked being with a man as rich and gorgeous as Bombay. It made her feel good. After sex, once Bombay had passed out drunk, she felt horrible. Not only did she feel cheap and used but she let it happen.

'Gordon really did seem desperate on the phone', she thought to herself. "And he did say anything. '

"Okay," Tracy relented. "I'll come. Where are you?"

"I'm at I'm at 401 South 4th Avenue in Minneapolis."

"401 South 4th Avenue? Isn't that the building beside the Hennepin County Jail?" Tracy asked.

"No. It is the jail."

Tracy unsuccessfully tried to suck in a gasp. "Jail? What are you doing in jail?"

"Long story. I'll tell you when you get here. Listen, I'm going to need you to post my bail. Its 500 dollars. I'll pay you back tomorrow when I get to the bank," Bombay promised.

"Fine. I'll be there within an hour."

"Tracy?" Bombay paused. "Thank you."

"Okay. Yeah. Sure. See you soon."

She was not used to this Bombay. She grabbed her cheque book and bolted out of her apartment. 'What in the world would Bombay be doing in jail?' she asked herself as he hailed a cab. She would soon find out.

"Mr. Bombay. Your bail has been posted," Officer Browning said opening the door to his cell. That was just the news he was looking for. He couldn't wait to get out of this place and back into his own bed.

Gordon leaped to his feet despite the fact that he was dead tired. He was not able to sleep on the cots provided in his cell. Bombay was thankful that he had a cell to himself that night. Bombay was even more thankful that no one aside from the guards knew who he was. When Bombay was providing a urine sample, he was worried that he would have to share a cell with someone he had put away. Luckily for him, those fears were unfounded.

Bombay nodded as he left the cell. That night had been humbling to him. He gathered his personal belongs and walked out the front door where he saw Tracy waiting for him.

"Hey Babe," Gordon smiled. I'll have your 500.00 in the morning. "

Tracy looked him over. Bombay looked like a train wreck. She couldn't help but feel pity for him. She felt sorry for him. Her father was also a raging alcoholic. She wasn't able to save him but just maybe; she would be able to save Bombay from himself.

She managed to call a cab while still in the station. It was there waiting by the time Bombay was release. "Just get in the car," she ordered.

Bombay didn't protest. He got in one side and Tracy in the other. "100 3rd Avenue," Bombay mumbled his address.

The two of them remained silence until they reached Bombay's condo. Once they reached his place, she thanked the cab driver, paid him and marched Bombay up to his condo.

"I guess we're home," Bombay said and stretched. He looked at Tracy like this was the first time he had saw her.

Tracy didn't follow him into his condo. "Listen Gordon," Tracy started. "It's Tracy. Not Baby. Not Babe. Or anything along else like that. Tracy."

Gordon stared at her. "Why did you bail me out?"

Tracy laughed. It's all she could do. "I don't even have that answer for that. I guess I feel sorry for you."

"You feel sorry for me?" Gordon asked incredulously. "Why? I have a great life. In fact, I just won my 30th case today."

"Congratulations," Tracy replied unenthusiastically. "Such a great life that you'll probably end up with a DUI record for blowing a .08."

"I'll find a loop hole," Bombay said with great certainty.

"Don't you get it? Youi could have gotten into an accident. You could have hurt or even killed someone. Or yourself. Don't you care?" Tracy waited for Gordon to respond. He remained silent.

Tracy pressed on. "Don't you find it pathetic that the only person who you could find that would help you out is some college girl that you used for sex? "

"It was good. Come on, don't deny it," Bombay insisted.

"Your right," Tracy agreed. "It was good. Great actually. But you can't build a relationship just on good sex."

"Relationship?" Bombay was stunned. "What relationship? I thought it was just sex."

"It was. At the beginning. But then, after a little while, I began to want more."

"More? Tracy, I'm not ready for more. I don't know if I'll ever be ready for more. " Bombay thought to himself before he continued. He knew he owed this girl an enormous debt. But he didn't feel anything for her. "Honestly, it's been years since I loved anyone. Any type of love. Romantic. Friendship. Family. They don't exist for me."

Tracy was shocked. Bombay was opening up to her in ways she didn't know that was possible. "You never loved anyone?"

"I used to love my parents. But my Dad passed away and my mother is in a nursing home and doesn't even know who I am anymore, "Bombay said. "I haven't felt anything since then and I don't believe I ever will again."

Tracy's heart broke for Gordon. It all made sense now. The drinking. The casual sex. The obsession with work. It was just all a cover to hide all the pain.

Bombay spoke up. "But you deserve better than this. Someone who will love and cherish you. Unfortunately, that person is not me."

Tracy was speechless. "Thank you Gordon. That meant a lot to me to hear that from you, "she said sincerely. "I know you say you'll never find love again but I hope you do. Don't give up on it just yet."

"I won't," Gordon promised. He looked at his watch. He was due back in court in less than five hours. "I guess this is good bye then. I'll make this up to you. Somehow."

Gordon leaned over and gave Tracy a kiss on the check. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too. Have a good life Gordon," Tracy smiled as she left his apartment.

Please read and review. We meet some of the ducks the next chapter.