Second Chances: A PAVAD Duet (27 page)

She nodded, resisting the
urge to borrow trouble. To worry more than was necessary. “I’d feel
better if you did that.”

“
Consider it done. Can you
think of anyone who would want to hurt all of you?”

“
Nothing. Not all of us,
that is. Not unless it’s a case we worked on. But that can
potentially be hundreds.”

“
Then we’ll gather the
troops and start going through them. One by one if we have to. Or
better yet, we’ll talk to the profilers and see if we can narrow
the options down somewhat.”

Her boys were spread out
around the house when she unlocked the door a few hours later. Nate
was in the living room, the three youngest boys in his charge every
evening from four until she made it home from work. The older twins
were probably in their room, and Teddy was probably off somewhere
working on his latest
non-
computer project. He was still in
the midst of Ed’s five-week ban from all computers for about three
more weeks. He was struggling, but doing it.

She’d called the school
once she’d returned to her lab, and had him go home instead of
coming to the lab. Ed had agreed. Teddy didn’t need to be around to
hear what had happened to Cody. Not until Marianna had a chance to
temper the explanation to something more suitable—if such an
explanation could exist in this situation—for an
eleven-year-old.

Nate looked up, then past
Marianna’s shoulder to the man behind her. Her oldest son stood, a
look of suspicion on his face. “Director Ed, sir. We didn’t know
you were coming home with our mother.”

“
It was unexpected. How
have you been, Nate?”

The younger twins and Bobby
greeted him, James rushing up to show the just-lost tooth. Marianna
waited until Ed spoke with James, admiring the gap in the boy’s
smile.

She’d noticed it before; Ed
was really good with children. It was a quality she couldn’t help
but admire. It was so…unexpected…from someone in his position.
“Nate, we’ve got something to talk to you and Bryce and Collin
about. And Teddy, too. Will you go get them, while I get the
younger three settled in their rooms for a little
while?”

Her son stared at her for a
moment, apprehension taking hold of his face. “Sure,
Mom.”

A few minutes later
Marianna sat at the head of her dining room table, four of her
seven sons surrounding her. Ed sat at the opposite end.

Ted was visibly upset.
“Mom, what’s going on?”

“
We wanted to tell the four
of you what happened today, so that you can keep your eyes open and
be careful,” Marianna started. Her eyes met Ed’s. How was she
supposed to do this?

He must have understood
what she needed. “Agent Cody was hurt today. By someone she
probably knew.”

“
Is she…dead?” Bryce
asked.

“
No. But she is in a coma.
And she’s hurt pretty badly.” Marianna knew the boys liked
Cody—especially the older twins. They shared a love of music and
Cody had given Bryce bass guitar lessons a few times. “She has
several broken bones, and her brain has some swelling. But the
doctors are excellent where she’s at. She should be ok, but there’s
always the possibility that she won’t be. But that’s not what we’re
wanting to talk to you about.”

Nate stood and leaned
against the bar separating the dining area of the house from the
kitchen. “Go on; how does this involve us specifically?”

“
We think the person
responsible is the same one who shot Kelly Reynolds last month. And
broke into Dr. Brewster’s home.” Ed spoke directly to Nate, but
Marianna appreciated how he included all four boys in his
attention. “We think it’s all related.”

“
So?”
Collin didn’t understand; Marianna wasn’t sure she saw the
connections that clearly herself. Then again, if she did, wouldn’t
she
know
who was
responsible? “What does that mean?”

“
It means that there’s a
possibility that someone is targeting your mom.” Ed was frank about
it. Marianna half wished he’d sugar-coated a bit more. Her kids
didn’t need to be afraid. Not for her. Or themselves. Not again.
“That she and the rest of her team worked on a case in Indianapolis
that upset someone. That someone is hurting people on your mom’s
team.”

“
So this
guy could hurt my mom next?” Teddy asked, the first thing he’d said
since sitting down at the table. Was he too young for this?
They
all
were.

“
He could
try. But…
I
won’t
let him, son. I’m going to be with your mom everywhere she goes
when she’s not at work. And at work she’ll be surrounded by federal
agents. I promise you I’ll keep her safe.”

He wouldn’t let those kids
down. Ed made that vow when Teddy looked up at him with all the
faith and trust that only a well-nurtured child could expect. “But
we need you guys to help, too. I want you to keep your eyes open.
Watch for anyone around you that doesn’t seem to belong, especially
if they stare at you or try to talk to you.”

“
You think we’ll see him?”
Nate asked.

“
I don’t know what this guy
will try to do. But the fastest way to hurt your mom is through you
boys. So I think protecting you—and you protecting each other—is
the safe and sensible thing to do. On that note, I’m assigning
agents to your school, and there will be some of my people roaming
the neighborhood, and waiting outside on the street. You’ll see
them, and I’ll make sure you know who they are. But I don’t want
you to do anything to advertise that they are out there, ok? Just
to be on the safe side?”

“
And what happens if we do
see him?” Collin asked.

“
You get
your tails inside, lock the doors, and call 911. I’ve set it up
that any emergency calls from this house go straight to
my
dispatch. You call and
you’ll have thirty FBI agents on your doorstep in under four
minutes.”

“
And during those four
minutes?” Nate’s eyes bore into Ed, and something passed between
them. This son of Marianna’s was more man than not. Ed had to
respect that. “What then?”

“
You put
your younger brothers somewhere safe, and you do your damnedest to
keep you all that way. Get your ball bats, hockey sticks, whatever,
and stay with your younger brothers. Keep together so we can find
you when it’s needed. I won’t lie to you boys, someone could get
hurt. That’s why you have to stay smart and sensible. Use your
heads. And take care of each other. And remember,
my
people will be
watching over you.”

“
And our
mother,” Nate added. “Promise us
you’ll
keep her safe. We want your
word.”

“
You have it.”

And they did.

Her couch was not designed
for a man to sleep comfortably, but Ed wasn't planning on doing too
much sleeping anyway. He was hoping for merely comfortable. Instead
he studied her living room in the dim light. She'd unpacked since
the last time he'd been there. it was nice, though not overly
large. it was a home, welcoming and warm and perfect for children
to grow up in. Photos of the boys were everywhere and he had to
admire her obvious love for her children.

He'd always found women who
loved being mothers attractive, regardless of their career choices.
And Marianna Glendower did motherhood very, very well. She did most
things very, very well; he'd seen that for himself over the last
several weeks. His admiration of her had only grown.

A click came from the
kitchen and he tensed. Ed relaxed, recognizing the kid outlined in
the light of the refrigerator. "Nate? You ok?"

"Just can't sleep, sir. I
didn't mean to wake you."

"I wasn't sleeping, either.
Want to talk about things?" Ed kept his tone neutral, but inviting.
He'd dealt with many a middle-of-the-night talks with teenage
Georgia. Especially after what had happened when she was
fifteen.

"Yeah. I guess. You'd
probably have the most answers."

"You have questions about
what's going on with your mom."

"That's the truth." The boy
flopped into the chair adjacent to the couch, putting his bottled
juice on the coffee table in front of him.

"Tell me why this guy is
doing this. Why does he want to hurt my mom and Aunt Ally? They
never hurt anyone!"

"No, they haven't. And I
wish I could tell you. If I could figure out why, I could find the
guy and deal with him. Nate, I'm not going to stop until I do find
him."

"Yeah, you say that, but we
both know the good guys don't always win."

He was old enough to
understand that; Ed knew soft platitudes and empty promises
wouldn't be enough for a young man like Nate. "No, they don't. But
we have to try, have to do the best we can. And when it matters,
hold on to hope that we can win. And son, your mom matters to me. A
great deal. I can promise you that."

Nate stared at him for a
long time. Ed just waited, sensing the boy needed to wrap his head
around what were very adult concepts. Finally, Nate spoke. "I used
to think the bad guys my mom dealt with were just stupid people who
would always get caught. I never thought they'd be people who would
hurt my mom. Or that they would be so real."

"Or everywhere you turned?
Son, I've been in law enforcement for more than half my life. Bad
guys exist. I can't deny that."

"How do you do it? Doesn't
make it seem like there's more bad than good? Cody was nice, she
didn't deserve to be hurt at all."

"No, she didn't." Ed
thought for a moment. "Sometimes. If you let it, the bad will start
to overshadow the good. That's when you have to find your
grounding."

"Your what?"

"Grounding. Your center.
The something that makes your world worthwhile."

"What's yours?"

"My daughter. My grandson,
the rest of my family. My friends. They are the ones I do this job
for. To help protect them. The people I've helped through this job.
The knowledge that for those people I have made a
difference."

"Why did you join the FBI
and not the cops, or the military, or something?" Nate's tone
changed.

"Initially?" What was the
boy thinking?

"Yeah, I guess. How did you
know it's what you were supposed to do?"

He recognized the question
for what it was. A boy on the verge of manhood would have
insecurities when a parent's choices were examined. Threatened. "I
never intended this. I was in my first year of law practice,
married with a baby coming. I was expected to go into state
politics like the rest of my family--even like my wife. I hated
politics, still do and always have."

The boy snorted, and Ed was
reminded of the boy's father's occupation. "I hate them, too. So
what changed you? Made you go against your family?"

"Something happened. That's
for sure. To a classmate of mine. HIs wife and daughter were
victims because of nothing they had done. Thy were kidnapped
because of who my friend's family was. The FBI was called
in."

"And that was it? You just
joined right then?"

"No. It's not that easy. I
stayed with my friend until the end, and that meant seeing how the
agents helped his family, him. I made my decision kind of rashly,
and applied."

"Just like that? What did
your family say?"

"My family wasn't happy,
no." Where was this leading to? Was the boy possibly thinking of
joining the FBI someday? Did his mother know?

"But you did it
anyway."

"I was a man, son.
Twenty-four years old and had been making my own decisions for
quite a while. But that was it in a nutshell. When I spoke with the
agents so long ago, something clicked, Nate. Everything in me said
it was the right decision for me. Then when Georgia--my
daughter---was born I kept remembering my friend's daughter and the
repercussions for her. And I know I could do more good as an
investigator than as a politician, if I worked hard enough. Where
is this going? It sounds like something more on your mind than
what's going on with your mom."

Marianna stood in the hall,
unashamedly eavesdropping. She’d heard the depth of Nate’s turmoil
in his questions, though the words were innocuous enough on the
surface. Something
had
been bothering her oldest since the move. But what? And why
had he turned to this man now? The circumstances? Or just the
man?

“
Yeah,” Nate
said.

“
Anything I can help
with?”

“
I don’t know. I’ve been
thinking lately. For a while.”

“
About what?” Ed’s voice
was calm, encouraging, unthreatening. Something her ex had never
been. Just another difference between Ed and the boys’
father.