Leaving Home Chapter 10

Leaving Home
Chapter 10

It was almost 3:00 a.m. when the police and hospital were finished with us. I suggested that Charlie and Toni stay at the Plaza as my guests. After all they had done to support Jennie and me, I thought it was the least I could do. I knew my $3,000 suit, straight from a Hong Kong tailor, was ruined, but I almost cried when I saw the blood on Jennie’s jacket and dress. Once she had removed it, I phoned a bellman and asked if anything could be done. My arm was bandaged and in a sling that I thought was unnecessary. Jennie insisted that I wear it.

I had been worried about Lady. She had done what she had been trained to do: to protect Jennie and me. She was completely under control when the police arrived. One of the officers had wanted to take her to the animal shelter for rabies testing but was overridden by a dog-lover sergeant.

Instead, we took Lady to a veterinarian the following morning. He withdrew blood, assuring us that he had done this in cooperation with the police probably dozens of times. He said the testing would be done in two days, but he could tell by looking at Lady that she wasn’t rabid. Hell, I knew that. Trainer John had given us the record of her shots when we bought her.

We agreed with Charlie and Toni to meet for lunch in the Plaza’s lobby at eleven. Initially, I thought we’d all get enough sleep that way, but it didn’t work out that well for me. My arm ached, and I had to be careful when I moved. It was the only night since our first together that Jennie and I didn’t make love. Jennie cried every time she thought that she had almost lost me, and that was often that night, so we were both all the worse for wear when we finally showed up around 11:20 from the vet’s office. I suggested we walk around the block to Quality Meats. We beat the lunch crowd and had no trouble getting a table. This was where high-ranking executives took clients they wanted to impress. It wasn’t where one would typically go for lunch unless one tried to blow a hundred bucks for a simple meal.

Our guests were appalled by the prices, but Jennie and I just laughed. “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “Doug is buying it, and he can afford it. Can’t you, darling?”

“Yes, I can, so just enjoy it and order whatever you like.” There was no more discussion of the prices as we ordered. We all had appetizers, salad, and steak. Toni and Jennie had the 10-ounce filet. Charlie and I had the 24-ounce rib steak. We agreed to split two orders of parmesan waffle fries.

The meal was excellent, and the service was even better. We had a wonderful time, even when discussing last night’s adventure. Toni, like Jennie, was startled by the man’s actions.

Charlie said his daughters were amazed they had been involved in some crime. They were also curious about Jennie and me and how their parents stayed at one of New York’s premier hotels.

“Wait until they hear about our lunch,” Toni exclaimed. “I’m taking pictures of everything so they can look at them when we finally get home.”

We said goodbye to them in front of the Plaza as I paid for their cab to Penn Station. We exchanged email and phone numbers and promised to stay in touch. Jennie insisted that I go in and rest once they were gone. I didn’t argue but stopped at reception to ask if we could extend our stay.

At $5,000 a night, the answer was a definitive yes.

Jennie walked me into the bedroom and began to undress me. I reached out for her, but—to my shock—she stopped me. “I’m putting you to bed.

I know you had a difficult and miserable night. It would be best if you desperately had a nap. Come on…into the bed. We can make love later, but I’ll do everything. You’ll be lying as still as possible with your arm out to the side where it won’t be injured.”

I couldn’t stifle a chuckle. “You’ll be doing the doing? I should have that framed.”

“Be quiet and sleep a bit. I’m taking your phone, too.” She retreated to the window, drew the drapes, darkened the room, and kissed me briefly before closing the door.

I fell into a restless sleep because of the pain in my arm. Even the pain pills—Percocet--I’d received failed to knock me out. I was half in and half out when I heard my phone ring once. I guessed that Jennie had answered it or turned it off. She walked cautiously into the room a few minutes later with Lady. She saw my eyes were open, so she sat on the bed—the left side away from my outstretched arm before leaning down to hold me.

It was several seconds before I realized that Jennie was crying. “Jennie, what’s wrong?”

“I saw all that blood, and I was afraid I was going to lose you. After all the years I suffered, I finally found you.”

I cradled her head with my hand and kissed her cheek. “He cut through my sleeve and nicked an artery. Arteries always spurt blood. The doctor told me I would have been in trouble if I’d bled for an hour, but the EMTs were there in ten minutes, and the cops put a heavy bandage on my arm as soon as they got that asshole under control. He was bleeding much worse than I was. I released Jennie’s head and used my hand to pet Lady. She had her head on the bed, showing her concern for me.

“Who was on the phone?”

“That was Andrea…Charlie and Toni’s daughter. She wanted to thank us for being so nice to her mom and dad. Of course, I told her it was our pleasure.”

“It was. I like them.”

“So do I, and they stayed with us…with me the entire time you were in with the ER doctor. They didn’t have to do that. They could have gone home. I know they were concerned about their girls. Anyway, I invited them to come down and visit us after their school breaks in June. You don’t mind, do you?”

“No…I don’t mind at all. I think that’s a great idea.”

“I thought we could put the girls in the bonus room over the garage. We could buy some air beds. They’re kids, so they wouldn’t have any problem getting in and out, and they’d have more privacy up there, too.”

“That’s a good idea, especially since we’ll be changing one of the bedrooms for our baby.”

“Doug, we still have almost seven months to do that.”

“I know, but you know how I am. I’m a nerd. I plan.”

She moved up to kiss me. It was like heaven on earth. I could permanently lose myself in her kisses. She spoke again when she broke it. “I wish I could phone Amber, my friend at home, and give her all the wonderful news.”

“Why can’t you?”

“In the past, I would only call when I was due to travel the next morning. I don’t want my stepfather to find me. You don’t know him. He’d make up some phony charges—things he could prove like drugs in my room or even some burglary with a ‘witness’ who saw me do it. I can’t take the chance.”

I leaned up on my arm to look straight into her eyes. “Jennie, what do all communications rely on?”

“I don’t know.” I raised my eyebrows and tilted my head until she got it. “Oh…computers?”

“And do you know anyone who’s an expert with computers?”

“You, of course.”

“The only question is, where do you want the call to originate from? California? Texas? How about Hawaii? You can make the call on my computer, but first, I’ll route it through a server somewhere else.”

“Can we do it before we go out for dinner? Please!” I pulled her down to me, holding the one I loved—more than anything. Jennie helped me up from the bed a minute later. My injured arm was throbbing and almost useless. Once in the suite’s living room, I pulled my laptop from the safe and connected it to the internet using the Ethernet cable. The hotel had Wi-Fi, but as everyone knows, Ethernet is faster and more secure.

“I’ve done a lot of consulting work in addition to writing all those ‘Idiot’ programs, and I still do. Because of that, I have access to servers all over the world. For this, though, I think we should stay within our borders.” I pulled up a database and scrolled through several locations before stopping at Alamogordo National Laboratory. My first message was a text to my contact there that I needed to use the server for a personal text and phone call. I had an affirmative response less than a minute later.

“What’s Amber’s phone number? Is it a cell or a landline?” It was a cell, and Jennie gave it to me a second later. I typed out a brief text: “Amber, you will receive a phone call from Doug in a few minutes. It is really from me. He is using his computer for the call. Jessie.” Then I pushed SEND.

I was pleased when my laptop pinged in response to an incoming message “K.”

“Okay, Jennie, sit here and speak normally. The microphone is in the base and will pick up everything you say.”

“I never knew you could use a computer as a phone.”

“You can if you have the proper software installed. Are you ready for your call?” She nodded, and I typed in the number, pressing “SEND” when I was done. We could hear the phone ring. It was answered in the second tone.

Hello?

“Amber, I can’t believe it. How are you? It’s me, Jennie, I mean Jessie.”

I see you’re in New Mexico. How’s the weather there?

“I’m thousands of miles away. My husband is a computer whiz. That’s one of the things I wanted to tell you. I’m married to the most wonderful man.”

Damn, Jess, that’s incredible. I have news for you, too.

“Amber, I’ve changed my name to keep my whereabouts from you-know-who.”

That’s my news, Jess. I don’t think you’ll have to run anymore. Shithead’s been arrested. The State Police ran a big sting on him. Some of his deputies were involved in setting it up. They caught a man who was an undercover state cop posing as a drug dealer. He offered the Sheriff $50,000 to screw up something about the evidence and let him go free. He turned that down but did accept $100,000. One of the deputies was wearing a wire, and they got the whole thing on tape. He was arrested the next day by the State Police and was forced to resign. They have him on a bunch of other stuff, too.

“Like what, Amber?”

He had a bunch of deputies working on his reelection campaign while they were on duty, and he required all of them to donate $200 each to his campaign. Both of them are felonies involving election law. The story has been all over the news for the past week. He’s out on $500,000 bail and hoping for a plea bargain.

“Any idea when? I’d love to be there when he goes down.”

Hold on, let me check the paper.

Jennie asked me if we could go, knowing I couldn’t deny her. A few seconds later, her friend Amber was back on the phone.

Okay, Jess, I knew I saw it earlier today. He’s scheduled to appear before Judge Pepper on June 13th.

“That’s great, Amber, Pepper hates that bastard. I have other news. I’m pregnant. Doug and I are going to have a baby! Doug says we can go to Iowa, so I’ll be there when he goes down. I hope he goes to prison. It would serve him right after everything he’s done.”

The paper says he’s looking at ten years, minimum. Isn’t that great?”

“It is. I can’t wait to see the expression on his face when I show up. I guess I can tell you where I am now…New York City in a beautiful suite at the Plaza Hotel. Doug brought me here on a charter flight to buy me engagement, wedding rings, and a new wardrobe.”

Wow!

 Wow, that is right! Doug is thirty-four, and, catch this, he’s retired. He gave me two million dollars for pocket money two million! Can you believe that? He’s the most wonderful man alive, but he’s sitting right here, so I have to be careful so he doesn’t get a swelled head.” All of a sudden, Jennie shrieked.

What the hell was that, Jess?

“That was my husband squeezing my tit. It’s good that his arm is injured, or he would have gotten both of them. Doesn’t matter, though—he’ll get them both tonight.” She was still talking when I left the room to take a leak. I struggled to dress when Jennie walked up and gave me the sweetest kiss. “I love you so much, Doug. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’ll be so happy to see Amber again. She’s been such a good friend—the only one I’ve had for the past five years.”

“Let’s get ready to go out for dinner. Can you help me? My arm is bothering me.” Jennie was a big help—pulling my shirt up my arm without touching the bandage and tying my shoes. I took Lady to the park, and we grabbed a cab south of Chinatown.

I loved Chinese food, but it was the only kind of restaurant lacking in our area at home. There were several Chinese restaurants, but most of them were just terrible. I couldn’t come to New York without eating a good Chinese meal.

Our cab stopped in front of Oriental Garden, my favorite place in Chinatown. To keep things simple for Jennie, I ordered only three dishes—General Chow’s Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork, and Roast Pork Fried Rice. Knowing we’d had a huge lunch, I skipped another favorite, their barbequed spare ribs. Instead, I asked for crispy noodles and several sauces, such as spicy mustard, sweet and sour, and soy. We nibbled on them and drank our Cokes no Tsingtao beer for Jennie--until our entrée arrived. I picked up each noodle with chopsticks. Jennie tried three times before laughing and giving up, using her fingers instead.



To be continued