February 25 – 27, 1984

The next day, Sid left early to pick up Nick at the airport. When the two got home, it was clear Nick had picked up on the tension Sid and I were both still feeling from the day before. So, I had Sid join me in the living room and we told him what had happened to Darby. Nick seemed reasonably sympathetic but mostly unconcerned. Then Sid explained that if anyone did anything similar to Nick…

“I got it!” Nick groaned. “I’ll be sure to tell you.”

“Nick, this is important,” Sid growled.

“What is it with you grown-ups?” Nick shot back. “Every time some kid comes into the emergency room after doing something stupid, my mom gets out the big lecture about wearing my bike helmet and looking both ways before going into the street. Sheesh! I’m not stupid.”

I bit back my laughter, as did Sid. Neither of us looked at each other.

“No, you’re not,” said Sid, after swallowing. “But kids your age can get careless, which is how they end up in the emergency room. Besides, Darby’s parents and Lisa and I, we really care about him, and we thought we were watching for what happened to him. But it got by all of us. And we don’t want that to happen to you. So, we want to be extra sure that you know that if someone threatens us or your mom or somebody you care about to buy your silence, they can’t really hurt us. Or if someone tells you no one will believe you, it’s not true. We will believe you. The bottom line is that no one, but no one, should touch you sexually unless you want them to. Nor should you touch anyone else that way.”

Nick sighed deeply.

I smiled. “We’re only lecturing because we care.”

“I know,” he said, rolling his eyes.

We let the matter rest, and spent the rest of the day hanging out at the mall. Sid was clearly still feeling the effects of the day before, and instead of going out as he usually did on Saturday nights, he went to dinner with George, Nick and me. I got the feeling George wasn’t too thrilled, but he refused to say so. [Are you kidding? He was pissed to hell. – SEH]

Sunday, we went to the La Brea Tar Pits, which was a lot of fun, then I drove Sid and Nick to the airport since Sid had decided he wanted to talk to Rachel in person. He and Nick had obviously found some time alone to come to terms. I waited at the gate with them until they called the flight. Nick bounced up.

“Come on, Dad,” he said, grabbing his overnight bag. “That’s us.

I looked at Sid, who shrugged. I was not going to hear what happened until the next morning. I still don’t know what time Sid got home, but he apparently decided to make up for not going out Saturday night.

The next morning, we didn’t say much during our morning run, which we seldom do. Nor did we talk during breakfast. We both read the newspaper, silently handing off the different sections in turn. As it happens, neither of us are real communicative first thing in the morning.

The next step was a quick conference on what needed to be done that day in Sid’s office, with a look at upcoming deadlines and such. Life was pretty much back to normal.

“I’m just curious,” I said, shifting in the chair in front of Sid’s desk. “What happened with Rachel yesterday?”

Sid shrugged. “The lawyers should be working it out as we speak.” He looked at me with an odd frown. “I am acknowledging Nick, so you got what you wanted there.”

“I was more worried about Nick.”

“I know.” He sighed. “I just don’t entirely trust Rachel. I mean, I can tell that she genuinely loves Nick and he loves her, as he should. But, at the same time, I get the feeling that she sees him as an inconvenient reality. He’s all right to have around if someone else is doing most of the work and she can just do whatever she wants.”

“That’s the way she’s always had it until her mom died,” I pointed out.

“That’s the way she’s had it her entire life, I’d bet.” Sid shook off the thought. “In any case, I thought I’d better make it very clear that she can’t just foist Nick off on me whenever it’s not convenient to have him around. If we have to go on an investigation for an extended period of time, I don’t want Nick left hanging in the wind.”

“No, we don’t want that.”

“At the same time, I want to be sure that Nick gets the care he needs and that will probably mean more time with us. Which is a good thing.” He made an odd face. “It’s just trying to find a balance is all.”

I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Oh, that’s all.”

“So, that’s why the lawyers are involved. Got to get everything in writing and ironclad.”

“Yeah. That makes sense. I guess I was more curious about Nick calling you Dad yesterday.”

Sid chuckled. “Yeah, that. It was Nick’s idea. He told me that he didn’t want another parent any more than I wanted a kid.”

“Oh, dear,” I said.

“That helped, actually.” Sid looked a little smug. “As Nick pointed out, it wasn’t anything personal. It’s just the way things happened, so we might as well just deal with it. And if I was going to get all bossy and lecture him like a parent, then he should call me Dad.”

I laughed. “Okay. How are you feeling about that?”

Sid shrugged. “It was probably inevitable. And it did give me some significant leverage with Rachel.”

If there was anything to be said beyond that, it didn’t get said. At that moment, the Quickline phone rang. Sid picked it up almost immediately, listened, then gave the receiver code, then listened for some time more.

“Alright,” he finally said, scrambling for a pen and paper. “Yeah. Got it.”

He hung up.

“Well?” I asked.

“We’re not out of it.”

“What?” I yelped. “We can’t make another buy. That pegs us as agents.”

“We’re not,” Sid said. “We’re doing an evidence swap. They’re moving in on Tony and the rest of the gang tonight.”

An evidence swap was essentially a break-in where we got the more sensitive evidence out of wherever the Feds were expected to raid and substituted less sensitive evidence.

“Whew,” I said. “That’s no big deal.”

“Except that we don’t know whether we’re swapping the goods”

I looked at Sid. “I don’t understand.”

“According to some of the agents who have been keeping Wright and Tony under surveillance, they seem to be getting ready to bolt. They’ve got someone doing the swap on Wright’s office, but Tony’s already stashed his share of the goods somewhere or he’s keeping them on him.”

“That is so totally not going to be easy.”

“And they don’t know which conveyance Tony’s going to use tonight. He apparently has a plane and a boat. We’re staking out the boat. If Tony comes our way, then we get on board, give it a quick sweep, plant the goods, and get the heck off. We’ll be monitored, mostly to keep us out of everyone’s way.”

“What about Wright?”

Sid shrugged. “Don’t know. With that other team doing the swap on his office, I’m assuming someone else is watching him. We, apparently, don’t have need to know on that one.”

I got up and started pacing. “I do not want to think about all the ways this could go bad.”

“Nor do I,” grumbled Sid. “Not a lot we can do about it, though. And it could be worse.”

It could have been a lot worse, I had to concede.

Henry came by late that afternoon with extra small and strong tracking radios and to help strategize, not that there was much strategy to consider.

“I don’t understand how they expect us to come out on top if they don’t tell us anything,” I complained as Sid and I ate dinner with Henry.

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much, Lisa,” Henry said. “There’s almost always someone at the top keeping an eye on all the chess pieces.”

“Any news on that leak in your office?’ Sid asked, more casually than he felt.

“None that anyone is going to share with me,” Henry said glumly. “They’ve apparently decided that it’s someone close to me and they don’t want me acting funny around him.”

“You’re kidding,” said Sid.

“If only I were.” Henry shook his head and sighed. “I’ve been pretty much shut down for the last week or two. Haven’t heard a word about what you two have been up to, except what you’ve told me.”

I frowned. “But wouldn’t knowing who they’re suspicious of make it easier for you to dig up the proof on this person?”

“In most cases, yes,” Henry said. “But my guess is that it’s someone with an undercover persona and they don’t want to risk blowing his cover until they’re sure.”

“They don’t suspect us, do they?” I asked.

Both Sid and Henry laughed.

“No, Lisa,” Henry said. “You guys are too busy. If they suspected you, you’d have noticed by now.”

“Then do they suspect you?” I asked, feeling very afraid all of a sudden.

“He wouldn’t be monitoring us if they did,” said Sid, with a glance at Henry.

Henry chuckled. “I wouldn’t have told you as much as I have if I were a suspect.”

We finished dinner talking about other things, like the current season at the L.A. Philharmonic, some movies we’d recently seen and other stuff like that. Still, that ugly thought about Henry kept nagging at me.

Sid and I got into our break-in clothes and then we took my truck to Marina Del Rey, where Tony’s boat was. Henry was behind us somewhere. We would check the monitoring equipment closer to the harbor. At a stoplight, I got out my bug finder and checked to be sure no one was transmitting from my truck. Sid had a funny look on his face.

“What’s that about?” he asked.

“Just wanted to be sure no one is listening in at the moment,” I said.

“Why?”

The light changed to green and I put the truck in gear.

“I’m bugged about Henry,” I said, trying not to cry. “What if he is the leak?”

“I’d say it’s pretty darned unlikely.” Sid gazed forward. I could tell he was wondering, just like I was.

“I know he’s our friend,” I continued. “But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t done something terrible.”

“I know.” Sid shook his head as if trying to rid it of the thought. “I’ve known Henry a lot of years and he’s the last person I want to suspect. But it’s always possible. There are all kinds of reasons why someone goes bad in this business.” He sighed. “That being said, I don’t think he’s the leak. Usually, there’s some sign or other. If Henry were up to something, he’d be closing himself off to us, not being as open as he is. Not to mention the fact that we would have been warned off him in some way.”

I shuddered. “I sure hope not.”

“Lisa-pet, I know how hard it is to trust anybody in our business. It’s the nature of the beast. But we can’t live that way. It’s too crazy-making. Yes, I’m keeping an eye out, but I have a hard time believing that Henry James is selling us out.”

I nodded. Sid was right and I certainly had no good reason to doubt him, as he’d been in the business for over ten years by that point. I’d only been in for a year and maybe a half at that point. And I really hated suspecting Henry. He’d been a rock for me when I really needed him.

Sid patted my knee, trying to be reassuring. I appreciated it but didn’t really say anything more. We had a job to focus on and I had only so much mental space for paranoia. Well, it was possible we had a job. We wouldn’t know what was going to happen until it did. Which did not help my paranoia one little bit.

I parked the truck in the marina lot at the far end from any buildings and in the dark. A heavy drizzle left tiny drops lit by the marina lights on my windshield. The drops began getting heavier.

“Was rain in the forecast?” Sid grumbled.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I didn’t watch the news last night.”

He fiddled with his earpiece and I fiddled with mine.

“This is Big Red,” Sid announced to whomever. “We are on the air.”

“We got you, Big Red,” said a voice in my ear. It sounded like Henry’s. “Is Little Red there?”

“Little Red checking in,” I said.

“Red Four, this is Base Unit One, do you copy?” Another voice, backed by a lot of static, broke in.

“Base Unit One, I copy,” said Henry’s voice. “Red team is in place.”

“Red Team, subject is in motion.”

“Copy that, Base Unit One,” said Sid.

I glanced over at him, feeling somewhat heartened that Tony appeared to be on the move. There was no guarantee that he would leave that evening. He could have waited weeks, even months and that would mean endless nights, parked in the marina lot waiting for him.

“So, what do we have on the docket for tomorrow?” Sid asked, settling into the seat.

I shrugged. “I don’t remember, offhand. But we probably need to get some queries out to get some more work in. And I think there was something on cars that someone okayed. I don’t have the schedule with me.”

Sid glanced over at me. My memory for the status of our various writing projects was usually pretty good. But I just wasn’t up to thinking about it at that moment.

“You’re right about those queries,” Sid said. “Why don’t we do a brainstorming session?”

It was as good a way to pass the time as any, so we did. Until Base Unit One broke into our ears.

“Red Team, stand down. Subject is heading to the airport.”

Sid and I looked at each other and smiled. Tony was not going to be our problem that night and we did not mind that at all.

“We copy that, Base Unit One,” said Sid. “Subject heading to the airport. We are standing down.”

I stretched and grinned. We were not technically released but we were close. It was not to be.

“Red Team,” the Base Unit called. “Subject has changed direction and is now heading toward the marina.”

Actually, the subject changed directions a few more times after that, probably trying to ditch whatever tail he thought he had. He hadn’t figured out that he had some sort of tracking device on him.

“Red Team, go ahead and move in,” Base Unit One finally said. “We are not going to wait for the subject to make up his mind.”

Sid and I glanced at each other and swallowed. That meant we were going to have to search the boat with no idea of how much time we had to get it done, drop the lesser evidence and get off. We got out of the truck and sauntered down toward the docks as if we belonged there. We did have fake FBI ID cards, but no one challenged us.

We got to the right slip in record time. Tony’s boat was one of the smaller ones, but still big enough to make it to Catalina Island. Sid and I slid on our all over ski masks, zipped up our black sweatshirts and got our gloves on. We started our search from the top of the deck, went through the pilot’s area, and found nothing. Everything was wet from the rain, but fortunately, it had stopped for the time being, so we weren’t wet.

Then we went below to the hold area. It was a small living space with two seats along the sides of the boat. Forward, underneath the pilot’s area and into the nose of the boat was a small galley and in the back was a closet. Sid pulled up the long seats while I searched the galley. The place could have been riddled with microdots and we’d have never seen them, but you can’t really do anything about that.

“Red Team, this is Base Unit One. Subject is on the marina now. Do you copy?”

My heart froze and Sid and I looked at each other.

“Copy,” said Sid.

I held my hands out. Sid pointed at the closet. It was actually a tiny bathroom, but we managed to squeeze ourselves into it. Soon, we heard footsteps above us as two people got onto the boat. We could hear two voices arguing about something, one of which stuttered. That had to be Tony. The stuttering got louder as his steps came down below.

“…Heading N-n-north,” he was saying. “And that’s f-f-f-final!”

The steps retreated up top and soon we heard the motor start up. It was too dark to see anything, but I heard Sid cussing under his breath and I could just imagine the look of dismay on his face. My face probably looked the same way. It wasn’t a disaster. With the Coast Guard presumably on the lookout for the boat and the tracking devices aboard, it would only be a matter of time before they picked us up and figured out we were on the same side.

Until our communications died. There was a great crashing of static in our ears, then dead silence. Sid pulled the earpiece from his ear and shone a light on it from his pocket flashlight. He signaled me to listen from my piece, then spoke directly into the body mike he had on. I shook my head.

“Everything’s working,” he said. “They must have a signal jammer turned on.”

“On a night like tonight?” I groaned. “That’s suicide.”

“Only another reason to get off this boat as soon as we can.”

We slid out of the closet. The boat rocked as it left the harbor. I swallowed, but as the boat turned, we could see the lights of the shoreline as it passed. For whatever reason, Tony was hugging the coastline. Actually, it made sense. If he was jamming signals, he wouldn’t be able to use his radar to see where he was, not to mention being able to avoid the Coast Guard, who were more likely further out. Sid spotted something on one of the row seats and grabbed it, sliding it under his sweatshirt.

We pulled our guns, then carefully poked our heads up and looked at the helm. Tony stood next to a young man steering the boat. Tony had night vision binoculars and was busy scanning the waters to the front and sides. The younger man concentrated on what was ahead. The water was very choppy and the boat was not moving very quickly. Fortunately, it also rode fairly low to the water surface. The roar of the boat’s engine filled my ears and made it pretty easy to sneak around without attracting attention.

I found the life raft first. Sid nodded, his gun on the two men, as I got it roped, then inflated it. I had the raft roped fore and aft to the boat we were on, so Sid and I could get on without getting too much water in the raft. It wasn’t easy, but we managed it before Tony noticed. As we pushed off, we heard a yell, then the ping of gunshots. But the boat was moving too quickly and the current was already pulling us toward the beach. Sid and I started paddling for all we were worth.

It was freezing cold, miserable work. We were about a mile out from the shore, maybe less, but the current alternated between pulling in closer and pulling us out. Every minute or so, Sid would try to get a signal out. It only took four tries, and I can tell you, I was ecstatic to hear Henry’s voice in my ear.

“Big Red, Little Red, we copy,” he told us through the static. “We thought we’d lost you.”

“We’re on a life raft, rowing for shore,” Sid hollered. “We’re about a half-, three-quarter-miles out.”

“We’ve got you, Big Red, Little Red,” Base Unit One cut in. “You’re a quarter-mile north of the Santa Monica Pier. Can you see it?”

I looked to my right and saw the lights. “Yes, Base Unit One. Thanks.”

Gasping, Sid dug in with his paddle. “Subject boat is heading north, hugging the coastline. They’re moving slowly, and they have night vision binoculars.”

“Copy that.”

Gasping, we kept paddling. It felt like my arms were going to give out, but paddling was warmer than resting.

“Doing okay?” Sid gasped, as the shore inched nearer.

“I can make it. You?”

“I’m okay.”

“Big Red, Little Red, this is Red Four,” came Henry’s voice. “I have eyes on you.”

That was the best news I’d heard in some time.

We had just broken the wave line when I paused to flex my fingers. A second later, a wave caught us and flipped the raft. I didn’t think it was possible to get any colder as the wave slammed me into the sand, then threw me up to the surface. Choking, I somehow got oriented, spat out some salt water, then headed for the shore. A smaller wave helped me along and I was able to get to my feet before it pulled me back out.

I couldn’t see Sid anywhere. Panicked, I turned back toward the ocean. I was breathing so hard and coughing, I could barely stand up straight. But the sound of coughing several feet to my left energized me like nothing else. I ran in that direction as Sid ran toward me.

We fell into each other’s arms, gasping and coughing.

“I thought I’d lost you,” I gasped.

“I thought I lost you.”

He coughed, then suddenly we were kissing like we had never kissed before. We only broke apart when Henry ran up.

“There you two are!” he hollered over the surf.

He plopped warm, dry blankets over our shoulders, then all but dragged us up the sand to where his car was parked. We got into the back seat, while Henry got the engine on and the heater going. He passed back a Thermos of hot coffee. I hate coffee, but that night that hot liquid tasted better than anything I had ever tasted before.

Henry drove us straight to a covert medical facility, where doctors were waiting with heating pads and clean, dry scrubs. They put oxygen masks on us with heated air, then IV drips of warm saline. It took a bit, but we both finally stopped shaking and began to feel normal.

I fell asleep somewhere in there. When I awoke, shortly after six a.m., Sid was asleep, as well. The nurse let me go to the bathroom after taking my temperature yet again. When I got back, Henry and Sid were chatting in the curtained cubicle. It sounded like Henry was teasing Sid about something because Sid chuckled.

“I told you it was only of time,” he told Henry.

“What’s only a matter of time,” I said, parting the curtain.

Henry flushed even redder and Sid had the grace to smile at me fondly.

“Oh, Henry just thinks he has one on me,” Sid said. “Ready to go?”

The doctor told us to take it easy for a couple days. But Sid made a point of driving me to the marina to get my truck before someone had it towed.

There was good news/bad news when we got back. The good news was that the Coast Guard had picked up Tony and the younger man, who turned out to be his son. They’d also caught Wright trying to pull evidence from his office. So, the defense plant ring was completely shut down. Both Tony and Wright ratted out everyone they could. The only person they couldn’t say anything about was the leak from the FBI. As we’d guessed, this person was providing information on raids, plus checking fingerprints for federal agents and things like that. And Wright and Tony couldn’t tell the Feds who that leak was because they didn’t know. They didn’t even have a description.

And that proved to be very bad news, indeed. We spent into that coming summer chasing down leads and trying not to tell Henry anything. We’d been ordered not to and Henry said he didn’t want to know. I wish we had, though. Things ended up getting very messy, but that’s another story.

Mr. Jefferson, the man who was abusing Darby, saved everyone a lot of grief by pleading guilty and got a lot of jail time. I don’t know what happened to his family. I did try to do some research, but they went deep underground, apparently, and while I could have pressed it, I decided not to. Darby and his family got lots of counseling, which helped, but the scars would be there forever. Darby does come over every other weekend or so, and he, Frank, and Sid play music for hours together.

Nick is a regular feature. He comes almost every weekend and he and Sid are getting really close. Life went back to normal, not that there is anything normal about life around here. Which, as I think about it, is how I like it.

February 24, 1984

I was perfectly happy to be out of the investigation. It was a little frustrating that I was not going to know how things eventually fell out. Then again, there had been plenty of times when I did not “need to know,” and then did, and I would have been happier not knowing.

In any case, I was in a much better mood that morning. I sent Mae off, reassuring her that we would get to the bottom of what was bothering Darby. Then I went to my office and caught up on work, rode herd on Sid to get his work done, then got Darby focused on school work. In all, it turned out to be a particularly productive morning. So productive that Sid and Darby decided to work on music that afternoon.

I still had one project going when three o’clock arrived and it was time for music.

“You guys go on,” I said. “I’ve just got some edits to do.”

“Come on, Aunt Lisa,” Darby said.

“You may as well join us,” Sid said with a chuckle. “You might learn something.”

“Please?” Darby asked.

I sighed and followed them into the library. They got busy at the piano and I got out my knitting. But those last few edits kept niggling at my brain, and after a bit, I realized Sid and Darby were so focused, they’d never know I was gone. So, I snuck out and went back to work.

Sometime later, Darby began screaming. I hurried to the office door in time to see Darby bolting for his room. I started after him, but Sid pulled me back. Sid’s face was ashen and he was trembling slightly.

“What’s going on?” I demanded.

“I think I know what’s going on with Darby.” Sid swallowed and faded back into the library.

“What?” I followed him.

Sid sank onto the piano bench. “He’s being abused.”

“How?”

“Sexually abused.” Sid put his hand to his mouth. “And probably by a man he once trusted.”

I sank onto a chair, trying to make sense of what Sid was saying.

“Neil?”

Sid shook his head. “He’s not afraid of Neil. But he has been afraid to be alone with me. That night I was alone with the boys, Darby spent the entire time in his room.”

“But he knows you would never hurt him,” I said.

“Maybe he doesn’t.” Sid shuddered. “We were working on his scales, and I put my hand on his back. He snapped at me not to touch him, then he noticed that you weren’t there and that’s when he came unglued. If he originally trusted the person abusing him, I can see where what I did would scare the snot out of him.”

“Yeah. It would.” I got up, my legs shaking as I did. “I’d better go talk to him.”

“Yeah.” Sid swallowed again, then looked at me. “Would you make sure he knows I’m not mad at him?”

I smiled weakly at Sid. “Yeah. I will. Thanks.”

At the door to Darby’s room, I took a deep breath, then knocked and went in. Darby was sitting on his bed, tears streaming down his face.

“I’m sorry,” he cried.

“For what?” I sat down next to him and held him. “For being afraid because somebody’s been hurting you?”

“I can’t talk about it, Aunt Lisa.” His shoulders shook. “I really can’t. He’ll hurt the girls.”

“Nobody can hurt your sisters,” I told him. “We’ll take care of them.”

“He hit Mandy Watkins with a car last year. He told me. He needed to warn somebody. And nobody’s going to believe me, anyway.”

“I believe you. And so does Sid.” I squeezed him even tighter. “And we will make sure that whoever is doing this to you can’t hurt your sisters or anyone else. Okay?” I sniffed and tried to hold back my own tears. “I will not let anybody hurt you. I promise.”

Darby nodded and cried even harder. By the time the two of us were choking on our sobs, I had half a plan formed.

“First off, Sid wants you to know that he is not mad at you. Got that?”

Shaking Darby nodded. I gave him a tissue from the bedside table and took one myself.

I took a deep breath. “The next thing we have to do is tell your parents. That’s only fair. They’ve been worried sick about you. And nobody is going to do more to help you and keep your sisters safe than they will. You know how your mom gets when somebody says something mean to you or your sisters.”

Darby was forced to laugh. Mae does have a pretty strong mama bear streak.

“All right. Let’s get you packed. We’re going to take you home and talk to your mom and dad and get everything settled so that you and your sisters are safe. Of course, it will help if you can tell us who’s doing this to you. You don’t have to do it right now. But if we know where the fire is coming from, it will be a lot easier to keep you guys safe.”

Shaking, Darby nodded.

“Now, do you want me to stay with you, or do you mind if I go tell Sid what’s up?”

“You can go,” Darby said, swallowing. “Can he come with us? I mean, I still like him. I don’t want him to think I’m mad at him. I was just scared.”

“He understands. And, yes, I’ll see if he can come.”

By the time I got back to the library, Sid had gotten over his shock and was well into his rage phase. He didn’t say anything, but his face had taken on a really grim cast.

He agreed to my plan. I called Mae while he packed an overnight bag for me. Darby came out from his room with his bag and we were on the freeway within minutes, Sid driving his car. We got to Orange County in record time.

Mae had called Neil home. The other kids surrounded us happily, then Mae insisted they all go upstairs. I nodded at Darby and he ran upstairs with his siblings.

Then we broke the news to Mae and Neil, sitting in the living room.

“Sexual abuse?” Mae gasped. “Of course. It’s obvious. Why didn’t we see it?”

“Because nobody wants to think about it happening to them,” Sid said. “Besides, from what I’ve read, these predators make it pretty hard to suspect them.”

“Do you know who it is?” Neil asked.

I shook my head. “Darby hasn’t said. He’s been pretty invested in protecting his sisters. That’s how the monster got his cooperation and probably his silence. He threatened Janey and Ellen and was darned convincing. I think Darby’s still processing that we’ve figured out what’s going on.”

“Well, he’s going to tell me right now,” Mae snapped and started to get up.

“Wait!” hissed Neil, holding her back.

Mae sank back on the couch and burst into tears. “My brave little man. Carrying all this around so that his sisters wouldn’t get hurt.” Then all of a sudden, her rage exploded. “I’m going to kill whoever did this to him. I swear to God, I will!”

Both Sid and Neil had to hold her down.

“Mae, you don’t want to mess up the court case,” Sid told her.

Mae sank back again, shaking.

“Look, Mae,” I said. “We’re all upset and really angry. But let’s try and get a grip on it so that we can take care of Darby. Okay?”

Still crying, Mae nodded. “I should have known.”

“You had no way of knowing,” I growled. “So feeling guilty is not going to help either.”

“Mom?” Darby called from the top of the stairs. “Can we talk?”

“Yes, darling!”

Darby flew down the stairs and into his mother’s arms. Neil wrapped his arms around them as they all cried. I saw Sid blinking back tears and I found the last tissues in my purse and held them ready, even as I mopped up my own tears.

A few minutes later, Darby pulled back and looked at all of us.

“It’s Mr. Jefferson,” he said quietly. “He told me he’d hurt Ellen and Janey if I didn’t do what he wanted. He touched me and made me touch him. On his, you know.”

It was as if a heavy pall of suppressed rage fell on all of us, except Darby. He, finally, looked so relieved to have let down his burden.

Mae swallowed. “Darby, you were right to tell us. If we are mad right now, we are not mad at you. You did the best you could and I’m proud of you. But I am really, really mad at Mr. Jefferson, and I can’t help feeling that way. He hurt you and I will be damned before I let him anywhere near you or anyone in this family again.”

Darby hugged his mother. We eventually got enough control to call Sister Jerilyn. She showed up within minutes and helped Mae and Neil call the police. Then she helped us tell the younger ones what had happened and what was going on.

The police arrived and had to question Darby alone. They almost had to hold both Mae and me back again. At least, they’d found a social worker to bring with them. But Darby did pretty well, apparently. Two of the detectives left. The social worker stayed behind to talk to the other kids. Sister Jerilyn told us it was probably a relief for Darby to finally be able to talk about what had happened.

Then the phone started ringing with neighbors calling to let us know that there were all these police cars at the Jefferson place and asking if we knew what was going on. Sid took over the phone and told everyone he didn’t know. A while later, things really got buzzing as people began hearing about Mr. Jefferson’s stash of child pornography. The neighbors started suspecting that it wasn’t just a coincidence that Mae’s sister and their friend were visiting at that moment. Sid didn’t tell them anything.

We found out later that evening that at least a couple more kids had come forward, one a college junior. There was plenty of shock and dismay going around, too.

“You know,” I sighed as Sid and I finally drove home that night. “The person I really feel sorry for is Mrs. Jefferson. And her kids. There’s no way they can continue to live here. And I’ll be they didn’t even know what was going on.”

Sid chuckled. “Lisa, you’d find a way to feel sorry for Adolf Hitler.”

“Well, who wouldn’t? I mean, anyone carrying that much hate around is seriously hurting.” I sat back and thought. “Kind of like Tony.”

“You’re buying his story all of a sudden?”

I frowned. “Not entirely. I mean, I think he’s playing more stupid than he is. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he really did have a son who needs an operation.”

“Well, we’re out of that one. So, it doesn’t matter, does it?”

“No, I guess it doesn’t.”

And, no, duh, we weren’t out of it. But we wouldn’t find that out for another couple days. In the meantime, Sid had one more hurdle to get over.

February 22 – 23, 1984

The next morning, I managed to keep a straight face when Sid told me that he’d called Rachel the night before and had agreed to have Nick down for the coming weekend. [Not by half, kiddo. You pulled a smirk for the ages – SEH]

Shortly after that, we got a call from the Dragon directly, asking us to set up a meeting for the next night. She explicitly told us not to set it up as a sting. Just to make the purchase quietly and try to get a look at the other side’s big boss. So, I made the calls, then got worried because Dragon had also insisted that both Sid and I go together. Since I wanted to call Mae, anyway, I went ahead and asked if she’d mind watching Darby while Sid and I went on our separate appointments. Mae agreed to come late that afternoon, then spend the night.

The rest of the day passed quietly. Sid wanted to go out that night, so I talked George into coming over and watching a movie with Darby and me. Darby went to bed after the movie. George and I were going to watch another, but we got caught up in a little necking. Finally, George got up, flushing a deep red.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Uh, yeah,” he said. “I just…” He laughed guiltily. “It’s nothing. I guess it’s time for me to get home. Are we going out on Saturday?”

“Unless something comes up,” I said, following him through the front of the house. “You know how that goes. Nick’s supposed to be here. Maybe we can take the boys out to a movie.”

“Sure.” George didn’t look all that enthused about the idea.

“Well, if you don’t want to,” I said.

“No. If you want to, we’ll do it,” he replied.

I kissed him good night and went to bed.

Mae and I had a good chat when she arrived the next day. I told her about my suspicion that Darby felt that he had a good reason for keeping his problem a secret.

“That seems to make more sense than anything,” she said. “But how do we get it out of him? It’s clearly not something that he should be carrying around.”

“I know.” I sighed and chose my next words very carefully. I did not want Mae trying to pry my secrets out of me. “But I have no idea what to do next. Maybe Sister Jerilyn would have an idea. It is her area of expertise.”

“You know, you’re right,” Mae said. “I should have thought of that.”

“Maybe not,” I said.

Sid stepped in to say that he was leaving, and Mae, Darby and I all ate dinner together shortly after. Then I went off to my meeting.

Sid had parked his car at the gym, and I met him there. We both played some racquetball, then showered. I got on my wig and makeup. Sid met me in the parking lot and we took my truck. The meeting was in Century City, so we parked the truck under the Shubert Theater, then walked to the garage at the Century Plaza Hotel. Sid had put on a fedora and held it on in the brisk wind. As we approached the garage, he pulled the hat down low over his face. We’d gotten there somewhat early, certain that the people we were meeting had gotten there early, too.

I spotted Tony standing nervously near a pillar, deep in the middle of the ground floor. I looked at Sid. He nodded and we moved into a shadowed recess closer to the entrance.

“Tony?” I called. “I can see you, but I’d really rather we met over here.”

“I- I- I was told to meet you at this pillar,” he whined looking for us.

“And what makes you think we’re that stupid?” I said. “We’ll meet where we’ve both got clear sight lines and a fast way out.”

“I w-w-w-was hoping you t-t-trusted me,” Tony said, slowly coming near the entrance. He couldn’t quite see us, but it was interesting that he wasn’t looking around for other bad guys.

As he neared the entrance, I slid out of the shadows. He was trembling.

“I hate this,” he said sniffing. “I only d-d-d-did it so that my son could have an operation. He n-needed it t-t-to save his life, b-b-b-but the insurance wouldn’t c-cover it. They said it was experimental. We c-couldn’t afford it otherwise.”

My heart melted, but fortunately, I didn’t let down my guard. Tony may have been an amateur, but he was being handled by some established professionals.

“Is your b-b-b-boss here?” Tony asked.

“I am,” said Sid, stepping out of the shadows behind me. “And I don’t like doing business with rank amateurs who have the Feds on their backsides every five minutes. It’s almost not worth doing business with you. You’re just lucky that my client wants what you have so badly.”

“The F-F-Feds aren’t m-m-m-my fault,” Tony whined.

“I don’t give a crap,” Sid growled. “I’m not going to risk my backside because you’re an idiot. Now, what have you got that’s worth so damn much?”

“Uh, uh, full g-guidance systems specs. Your c-c-c-client will know what we’ve got c-cooking for the next t-t-t-ten, no, t-twenty years.” Tony swallowed.

I rolled my eyes for effect.

“Federal agents,” barked a voice at the far end of the garage. “We’ve got you covered!”

Tony ducked and hid behind a car as Sid and I slid into the shadows and crept our way through the bushes planted next to the garage. There didn’t seem to be any agents behind us, and there were only two men advancing toward us. One held a rifle and was sweeping the area. The other had his revolver out, with his arms braced.

Sid and I soon hit a wall but spotted a door into the hotel. We hurried inside, then walked through the lobby. Sid stashed his fedora in a trash bin along the way. We put on our most casual faces and smiles then had the doorman at the entrance summon a cab for us. Fortunately, the cab took the long way around to the Shubert. Sid paid the driver, then we headed out across the plaza in front of the theater. We waited just long enough for the show inside to end, then blended in with the crowd.

Finally, in my truck, we joined the crowd of cars winding their way out of the garage. Sid and I looked at each other but neither of us felt comfortable talking yet, even though we were probably safe. As we finally got out of the garage, Sid directed me to drive by the Century Plaza. I was a little surprised but did without arguing.

“There’s nothing going on,” I said.

“Exactly,” Sid said. “That’s what’s wrong. Why aren’t there vans and swarms of guys sweeping the snot out of that place? Where are the cops? This defense plant leak is a huge deal and they send only two guys to make the bust?”

I frowned as I made the left on Olympic to head back to the gym. “That’s true.”

“Those two guys in the garage weren’t Federal agents,” Sid said. “I’d stake my life on it.”

“The guys in the airport most certainly were,” I said. “Or they had really, really good IDs.”

“Then why hasn’t Tony gotten busted?” Sid asked.

“Maybe he’s not such an amateur,” I said slowly.

“As in he’s playing your game.” Sid’s eyebrow lifted. “Which means if those guys were Feds, a) they don’t believe he’s got that much going or b) they’re using him to land us. But that doesn’t make sense. They should know we’ve got a sting operation going on.”

“Or maybe they are Feds, but they’re the leaks,” I said.

“They could be,” said Sid. He closed his eyes for a moment. “Either way, I don’t think they had a bust in mind. I think they were there to take us out.”

“How comforting,” I grumbled.

Sid shrugged. “We’re out of it now. If we were for real secrets brokers, we wouldn’t be dumb enough to set up another buy with Tony. So, setting up another buy would tag us as Federal agents.”

“From your lips to God’s ear,” I said.

Friday morning, I sailed into a coffee shop not far from LAX. The place is owned and run by a code five team who mostly handle the bureaucratic side of things, like equipment and paychecks. [Like we’re going to do this for free – SEH]  Nobody knows anybody’s name, of course. But we all know each other.

The restaurant was nearly empty when I arrived. There was a lady behind the counter, about my mother’s age. I’d nicknamed her Ma. She seemed to be in charge of the operation.

Ma grinned when she saw me.

“What are you doing here?” she asked quietly as I slid onto a stool. “Your team got paid this month.”

“I know. But aren’t you guys supposed to have a package for me?” I opened a menu. “Oo. Chicken fried steak on special.”

“That. Word came this morning that normal channels for what you need are down.”

“We’ve got to have those I.D.’s and badges or we won’t be able to pull that job tonight.”

Ma nodded. “You’ve got a meeting, twelve fifteen at a Denny’s in El Segundo. Just sit at the counter and leave your purse open. Don’t look around. It’s code 2.”

I sighed and checked my watch. “How much time have I got? An hour? How fast can you sling me a chicken fried steak?”

“The way you eat, honey?” Ma laughed and scribbled on the pad. “I’ll be able to peel the potatoes and mash them.”

Okay, it doesn’t show because my mother did pound good manners into me, but I do tend to wolf my food down, and this place does a terrific chicken fried steak, with spicy gravy and real mashed potatoes.

At the Denny’s, I ordered a bowl of clam chowder. I might have eaten a second full lunch, but I knew it would be waiting for me at the house and three lunches is a bit much even for me.

I sat at the counter, right next to the cash register. Just as I started my soup, someone bumped into me. I whirled around. There was a crowd of people trying to pay for lunch or get seated. Leaving me was a tall figure with a horsey profile that I knew I’d seen before.

I turned back to my soup, wondering. I couldn’t quite put my finger on where I’d seen that face before and it was bugging me. In fact, I was so engrossed in trying to place it, that I almost walked straight into Oscar Wright as he walked up to the door to the restaurant from outside. I beat it to the restroom in a hurry, I can tell you.

Peeping outside, I saw Mr. Wright go straight to a table in the smoking section. A lone man sat there. As he looked up, I saw that it was Tony, who seemed visibly nervous.

I slipped out and hurried around back to where I’d parked my truck. As I passed some trash bins, I thought I heard the chirp of a silencer. I started to turn.

“Keep going, love,” said a male voice with a definitely British accent. “And don’t turn around. You were about to be tailed. It’s better that you don’t know what happened to him.”

I did as he asked, with my stomach churning, because while I didn’t know what exactly had happened, I had a pretty good idea. How anybody expected to hide a body in an open parking lot during the middle of lunch rush was beyond me. I later heard on the news that they found the body of a known hit-man in the trash bin there. No clue, of course, as to who had killed him, but it was considered a professional hit.

Back to Friday. I arrived home around one thirty. Conchetta had saved lunch for me, no doubt over Sid’s protests. I ate quickly in the kitchen, then went to the office.

Sid was in his, talking to the boys.

“You have played enough tricks on her as it is,” he said firmly. “There will be no more. And that means any trick or joke played on anyone. Is that clear, gentlemen?”

“Yes, sir,” they mumbled.

“Good. Now, do you understand how to do those problems?”

“Yes, sir,” they repeated.

“Then get going on them.”

The boys shuffled out of Sid’s office, then ran to the rumpus room. I peeked into Sid’s office.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Oh. Nothing.” Sid’s eyes remained glued to the computer screen. His fingers rattled across the keys.

I came the rest of the way in and closed the door. “I heard you talking to the boys. Did you get on their cases about last night?”

“No.”

“Then what were they up to?”

“Something you don’t want to know about.”

I spotted the rubber snake on his desk and grinned. “Did this have something to do with it?”

Sid finally looked up. “Yeah.”

I chuckled. “I would have had the last laugh. Snakes don’t bother me.”

Sid shook his head, then turned serious. “Well?”

I pulled a rubber-banded package from my purse. “Two I.D.’s and badges.”

“What took so long?”

I told him what had happened. “The thing that gets me, though, is I think I know who that horsey-faced fellow was. Remember last June? That pair from that case that took us to Paris? But if it is him, why is CID involved?”

“I haven’t the foggiest. Henry mentioned they were around when we went to lunch the other day, but he doesn’t know what they’re doing either. We’ve got other things to concentrate on anyway.”

“Like one break in tonight?” Sighing, I flopped into the chair in front of the desk. “I can’t say I’m looking forward to this one.”

Sid swung away from the computer and leaned back in his chair.

“Neither am I. According to the plant’s security plan, we should get there a little before eleven.”

“That means we have to leave here before ten. Do you think the boys will be asleep in time?”

“That’s going to be a problem. There’s been too much nocturnal game playing to risk leaving them alone.”

“I guess one of us should stay here, then.”

Sid snorted and shook his head. “No way in hell. We’ve got two bugs to plant and I want to go through that secured file cabinet Wright’s got in his office.”

“Sid, are you sure..?”

“Can you think of a better opportunity? With the way he’s been able to get the jump on all the operatives we’ve sent in, I’ll bet he’s feeling more than a little secure. We’ll just have to send the boys to your sister’s.”

I grimaced. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea, Sid. Darby was acting pretty funny when we dropped him off there before Disneyland.”

“I suppose. Could one of your friends help out?”

Just then the phone rang once, lighting up on my private line. I waited another minute for the next ring then picked it up.

My parents don’t know I live at Sid’s house, mostly because my sister won’t let me tell them. Okay, I’m not real thrilled either about the fit my father will have when he finds out. So if my friends call me during the day when I’m supposedly at work, they let the phone ring once, then hang up and call a minute later. Otherwise, I let the answering machine get it just in case it’s my folks calling.

This time it was Frank Lonnergan.

“I hear you’ve got a couple kids over there,” he chortled.

“I sure do. What’s up?”

“Dump them on the boss and come with Esther and me tonight. We don’t know what we’re doing yet, but it’ll be fun.”

“Oh.” I bit my lip, then inspiration hit. “Gee, Frank, I’d love to but the boss is going out. It’s been a few days and he’s crawling the walls.”

Sid glared. “I went out Wednesday and I’m fine.”

I put my finger to my lips.

“Well, we could bring the boys, I guess,” Frank was saying.

“That’s just it, I can’t. Wait, maybe you could help. With Sid going out, I’m caught between a rock and a hard spot. I’m supposed to meet some old friends of mine from school tonight. We’ve been planning this for a month. They’re coming from out of town and they’ll only be here tonight.”

“Bring them along.”

“I can’t. It’s one of those things. You know. We’ve been planning this and planning this. It’s their big night out, and it was supposed to be just the three of us. But I can’t leave Darby and Nick by themselves. You don’t think you could…”

“Babysit?” Frank was less than enthused but open.

“Oh, Frank, would you? Please?”

“What about Esther?”

“Oh, shoot. Hang on a second.” I put Frank on hold and turned to Sid. “Sid, do you still have that pirate video of the Star Wars Trilogy?”

“Sure, why?”

“I need bribes. Esther’s a sucker for those movies, and Return of the Jedi isn’t out on video yet.”

“Fine. I’ll even set out a bottle of my New Zealand wine for Frank.”

“You’re a doll.” I pushed the hold button. “Listen, Frank, if you and Esther babysit, you can watch Sid’s pirate tape of the Star Wars Trilogy and then sip that New Zealand white wine after the boys are asleep.”

“Oooo. Hard to resist. Esther’s told me about that pirate. I’ll twist her arm. What time do you need us there?”

“Time?” I asked.

Sid held up six fingers.

“How about six?” I told Frank. “Sid’s probably going to take off right after dinner, and I’m meeting my ride at the gym at six thirty.”

“See you then.”

“Don’t be late.”

“I won’t.”

Frank was, of course, late, which Sid, of course, knew he was going to be. Sid had taken off, as planned, wearing the black jacket that looks like the Members Only ones over a white shirt with his break in pants, black twill with lots of extra pockets.

I was wearing my version of the pants with a light pink turtleneck and carried a black zip front hooded sweatshirt. I grumbled at Frank, then introduced him and Esther to Darby and Nick, and went scurrying off to the corner, where my ride, Sid, was waiting for me.

“Only twenty minutes,” said Sid. “That’s not bad for Frank.”

“True. Where to now?”

We drove out to Orange County right away and killed time at a mall that was fairly close to the plant. Then we sat around in an all-night coffee shop until ten thirty.

At the plant, Sid parked his BMW off the road underneath a willow tree just outside of the gates surrounding the parking lot. He clipped on the phony badge and slid the I.D. into his wallet. I did the same and went to another entrance.

We met at Wright’s office. Sid was just finishing with the lock when I got there. I pulled a pair of black leather gloves from one of my many pockets. Sid already had his on.

“Any trouble?” he asked, opening the door.

“I got barely a first glance, let alone a second. You?”

“The same.” He replaced the lock pick he’d been using in one of his pockets and followed me into the office.

I checked the blinds. The window was blacked out, and I knew there was a light in the yard outside. Smiling, I rolled some fabric across the bottom of the door.

“Let there be light,” I said, hitting the switch on the desk lamp.

Sid chuckled, then grunted as he played with the lock on the file cabinet. He went through three pockets, looking for the right pick.

“Looks like a tough one,” I said, trying to find a good place for the bug.

Sid forced it. “Yep. But that’s the nice thing about these pants. I can bring the whole hardware store with me. On the other hand, they are still too loose.”

“Any tighter, you’ll be singing soprano. What about the window?”

“Looks good.”

Sid pulled a file and went to work. We were about halfway done when he cussed.

“What?” I hissed.

He held up a hand full of black and white photos of me with my hair under a light fedora and wearing glasses. They were grainy and full body shots, so it wouldn’t be that easy to recognize me again, but still not a good thing for an enemy to have.

“Look familiar?” he asked.

“They were checking me out.”

“Did you see anybody?”

“Plenty of people. Would you have noticed someone with a camera at the zoo?”

“Point taken.” He looked through the file. “It would appear your cover is intact. There’s a note here that their contact can’t get prints off the envelope or the cash because getting latents off paper is a special lab process that he doesn’t have access to.”

It took over an hour and a half for Sid and me to go through all the files and photograph them. On one hand, it was nerve-wracking because that was an awfully long time to be someplace we weren’t supposed to be. On the other, we did get through four drawers in record time. We cleaned up and got out of there.

We ambled through the halls to the lab where we’d seen the demo.

“Damn,” Sid muttered as we came up to the door.

“What?” I hissed.

“Cipher lock.” He pointed to the four buttons above the handle, then went through his pockets again. “I’ve got the codes. Let’s just hope they haven’t changed them since this list went out.”

Well, we got in okay and got the bug planted. Then we heard the cipher lock chirping as someone pressed in the code. We dashed to the wall next to the door, sliding on all over ski masks and closing our jackets. The guard just stuck his head in and withdrew. We let out a sigh of relief and waited a few minutes before we left.

But the guard was hanging out in the hallway, enjoying a cigarette when we came out. Thank God, we hadn’t taken off our masks. He gaped at us, then Sid rushed him and knocked him out with an elbow to the neck.

“Come on,” hissed Sid, nodding at the guard.

He lifted the guard around his chest and nodded at the feet. I picked them up. Together, we carried the guard down a couple corridors to another lab and dumped him there.

“What good is that going to do?” I hissed at Sid as we removed our masks and left the building. “He saw where we came out.”

“No, he didn’t,” replied Sid. “There are, what, three or four doors right there. By the time he saw us, we could have come from any one of them.”

We crossed the plant complex unhindered until we neared the gate. An alarm sent us into the cover of the nearest building. In the light of the guard station, we could see the guard stop an employee from leaving. A guard rail slammed down, and three other guards ran up and pulled a chain link gate across the opening in the fence.

Sid swore and put on his mask again. Sighing, I put mine on also. The building in whose shadows we were hiding extended beyond the gate by a hundred feet or so. The only problem was that the fence separating the building and complex from the parking lot had four rows of barbed wire strung along the top. It was slanted outwards towards the parking lot, which meant that once Sid and I got up the fence, we could pick our way over the wire and jump.

Which we did, right onto a small slope covered with ice plant. We dashed across the narrow road and over another chain link fence surrounding a big area under construction, which provided more cover and was actually easier to get through than to go around. We picked our way over the rubble, then scrambled over another fence. Keeping low, we followed the road leading from the parking lot to find another closed gate and more chain link fence with barbed wire on top, only this time, the wire was slanted towards us. The gate didn’t have any barbed wire, just a bright light shining on it.

Sid looked behind us. “See anybody?”

I looked. “Nope.”

“Me neither. Let’s take a good running jump. If we get over the gate quickly enough, maybe they won’t see us.”

We ran. Sid got over faster than I did. We both hit the ground running, heading away from the car until the darkness covered us. Then we doubled back and didn’t stop running until we got to the willow tree.

Sid was unlocking the passenger side of the BMW when I stopped him and pointed. The small spots of flashlights bounced along the top of the hill and were headed our way.

“We’ll never get the car out of here fast enough,” I said. “Why don’t we go someplace else and neck?”

“Hell with that.” Sid opened the door. “We can neck in the car.”

He ripped off his jacket and tossed it into the back seat. My sweatshirt landed on top of his. He was already in the passenger seat.

“Come on,” he hissed. “Get on my lap.”

“Oh, help.”

We’d hidden ourselves by necking before, but Sid was going to carry the illusion considerably further, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

“Get your butt in here!”

“Which way?”

“We’ll worry about that later. Just get in. I want to fog up the windows.”

The lights were getting closer. I took a deep breath and got in, facing the front of the car. Sid quietly shut the door. We were breathing heavily from our run and within seconds, the windows were opaque.

“Let’s see if we can get you turned around,” Sid whispered.

I lifted myself over the hand brake and gear shift. “I’m sorry, Sid, I’m really embarrassed.”

“I know,” he said gently. “But brace yourself. It’s going to get worse. Try and kneel over me, okay?”

Timidly, I swung myself into the passenger seat. My knee slid on his leg. Sid swallowed a yelp and pushed me back.

“Careful! That almost hit home.”

“Sorry.”

His hands gently guided me into place. As I knelt, I became aware that my thigh was throbbing.

“My leg,” I whispered.

“What’s wrong?”

“It hurts.” I touched it. My pants were torn and wet and sticky. “I’m bleeding.”

Sid softly cussed and grabbed my sweatshirt from the back.

“Here, hold this against it.” He looked out the window towards the lights. We could hear the voices. “Can you move okay?”

“How?”

“Rock up and down.”

I did. “It hurts, but I can do it. Oh, lord, this is embarrassing.”

“You can keep sobbing like that. Here they come.”

Sid pulled my head next to his on the window side, then covered my face with his hand. I never thought I was going to live through the next few minutes. My leg burned, I was scared to death and Sid sounded like the soundtrack from an X-rated film. Finally, someone banged on the outside of the car.

“Daddy,” I screamed, jumping up and hitting my head on the ceiling.

“No, not now!” groaned Sid.

“Alright, you kids,” growled an official voice. “We’ll be back in fifteen minutes, and you’d better be gone.”

The lights moved off, accompanied by disgruntled mutterings about horny teenagers. Sid waited a minute, then let my head up.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, looking into my eyes.

I sat up as high as I could. He slid out from underneath me and into the driver’s seat. I turned, sat down the right way and buckled my seat belt. Sid turned the key in the ignition.

We drove in silence until we reached an all-night supermarket. Sid parked underneath one of the lights in the parking lot.

“How does your leg look?” he asked.

I shifted and leaned over. “Well, it’s more than a scratch, but the bleeding’s stopped already. I must have caught it on the barbed wire.”

“You up to date on your tetanus shot?”

“Yeah. They gave me one last June when I got cut up in Paris. They’re supposed to last a long time, aren’t they?”

“I think so. I’ll call Doctor Reyes tomorrow.” He started the car again and off we went.

At the house, Sid made me stay put in the car while he went in to get rid of Frank and Esther. It took forever. When he got back, he helped me into my sewing room.

“What took so long?” I asked as I shut the door.

“George was here, waiting for you.”

“What?”

“He said he didn’t have anything else to do. I went to my room, then came back and told him you left a message on my machine that you and your friends ended up in San Diego and were staying the night. If Frank and Esther weren’t there, I think he might have kept waiting.”

I laughed. “How sweet.”

“He’s a pest,” Sid grumbled, vehemently. “And if he keeps this stuff up, he could be out and out dangerous.”

“He’s harmless.”

“Yeah, right.”

My jaw dropped, then I laughed. “You are jealous of George.”

“Oh, for crying out loud, Lisa. That is ridiculous.” He paced.

“But you are.”

“I am not.”

“Oh ho. So now the shoe is on the other foot.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“How about all the times you’ve accused me of being jealous.” I snorted. “Which I’m not.”

“I’m not either.”

“Well, it’s not like you’ve got reason to be. I’m certainly not going to go out and marry the man.”

Sid laughed bitterly. “It wouldn’t mean a damn thing to me if you did.”

“Yeah, right.”

Sid’s eyes bore into me. I swallowed and looked for something to cover myself with.

“Sid, what’s going on?”

He looked away. “I’m just wondering about tonight. In the car.”

“Oh.” I felt my face getting hot.

“I don’t know, Lisa.” He came over and softly laid his hand on my cheek. “I guess I’m just afraid that I’ve put you off sex forever, or at least for a few years.”

I smiled and shrugged. “It was embarrassing, but I have heard it before. Maybe it’s just as well.”

“Oh no. I waste too much time overcoming other peoples’ hang-ups. The last thing I want to do is give you any. Lisa, when our time comes, I want it-”

“Our what?” I interrupted.

Sid stepped back, suddenly aware of what he’d said. “Well, I…”

“Aren’t we being a little presumptive here?”

Sid opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. I looked at him, puzzled. I don’t think I’d ever seen him this lost for words.

“Are you alright?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said very softly. “Please, Lisa, just hold me.”

We held each other for some minutes, then he whispered good night and pulled away.

“Sid, I’m willing to listen.”

He nodded. “I know, and I thank you for that. Goodnight, Lisa.”

“Good night, Sid.”

I kept trying to figure out what was bugging him as I stumbled into my bedroom and got ready for bed. I knew he wasn’t happy about seeing my photo in an enemy’s file, but it wasn’t that big a deal. It just didn’t make sense.

[Of course not. But twice I had the perfect opportunity, and twice I couldn’t find the words to ask you to be my lover. I spent the rest of the night kicking myself – SEH]