Chapter 47: Stuck at Home

Do you know how boring it can be just sitting around the house all morning? After last night’s excitement I’m confined to quarters because of my ‘injury’. What this really means is that the FBI wants to get to the bottom of the attack before I tempt the aggressors any more. 

Yep, they’re calling it an attack. It seems that the offending car was found in a remote corner of a vineyard only an hour after Ben had been laid out. It had been stolen a few days previously in a town a hundred miles away. Of course, the perpetrator left no finger prints behind. She did, however leave foot prints on the dusty road leading to the main road where they disappear when she hits the pavement.

How do we know the perpetrator’s female? The tracks were made by generic brand women’s trainers. The FBI gurus are pretty sure she weighs between 100 and 115 lbs based on impressions her footprints made in the soil. She wears a women’s size seven shoe. Her tracks went to the nearby main road where they disappeared on the asphalt. It’s assumed that a car was waiting for her there.

The local media ran the story as a hit-and-run accident with no mention of the abandoned vehicle being found.  That bit of news seems to have been kept from the reporters.

But what about Ben, you ask? Well, after I spent way too long at the urgent care center while x-rays were taken to ensure I have suffered only ‘a sprain’–by a doc bought off by the FBI–I hobbled over to the real emergency room on my new crutches while wearing one of those removable plastic foot casts. Laurie and her mother went with me. We found the waiting room packed when we arrived.  I think the whole running team was there–even a few who haven’t been working out with us this summer–along with Ben’s parents. Even Coach Arnold was there. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. There were other patients and their families the waiting room as well so it was more than a bit crowded.  Some of the kids waited outside on the lawn. Several gave me quiet hugs and enquired about my injury.

I hadn’t met Ben’s father before in either life.  He’s also a bit slender though I don’t think he’s a runner. He seemed shell shocked sitting there in the waiting room. Mrs. Harrison–on the other hand–looked like she’d like she was having the worst day of her life.

Remorse for not following my intuition was beginning to grip me again, and along with it the feeling of guilt about what happened to Ben. I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was somehow entirely my fault. I felt worse than I ever have and tears began streaming down my face. I was ashamed to approach the Harrisons. Knowing what she does, I was sure that Mrs. Harrison must hate me right then.

She saw me across the waiting room looking miserable and excused herself from her husband and came to greet me. I was afraid that she’d come hit me or scream at me or something equally as awful.  She could sense my fear and enveloped me in a hug instead and held me close for a minute, which is awkward when you’re on crutches.

“How’s your leg, sweetheart?” she asked earnestly. How could she be thinking of me at a time like this?

“Oh, Mrs. Harrison,” I whispered softly to her as we hugged. Tears were streaming down my cheeks. “I am soooo sorry. I should have skipped the run tonight. I should have quit this job earlier. It’s all my fault. It should have been me they hit, not Ben.” The tears were joined by real sobs now. “I am so sorry. I wish it had been me instead of him.”

“There, there, sweetheart,” she said in a calming quiet voice that only I could hear, “there’s plenty of blame to spread around. None of us thought they were ready to make their move, otherwise I’d have pulled you off this project earlier. I’m more to blame for this than you, but actually, the real blame lies with Mr. Rana and his crew. I now want to bring him down worse than ever.”

“How’s Ben?” I ask.

It turns out that Ben has multiple fractures in his femur, several cracked ribs, a hairline skull fracture, a bruised spleen, and a large number of abrasions and lacerations. Apparently he’d heard the warning from Helen and was attempting to leap out of the way when he was hit. He was already airborne on impact which saved his ankles and shins. Fortunately none of his injuries are life threatening. All in all, it could have been a great deal worse but he’s still going to be out of action for a long time. The doctors had Ben in surgery trying to restore the femur and sew up the lacerations when I showed up.

Aunt Jen took a seat next to Mrs. Harrison while someone made room for me to sit next to Caitlin. As I sat down Caitlin wrapped her arms around me and hugged me close. We just cried together for a few minutes.

Eventually we pulled away to talk.

“How ya’ feeling, girl friend?” she asked with concern. She obviously sees my distress.

“My ankle hurts,” I respond keeping with the story, “but not as bad as my heart. I feel so bad about Ben!”

“There was nothing you could do, girl,” she assured me. She didn’t know that the attack was aimed specifically at me and how close she came to being injured or killed just by being associated with me. God, I feel awful about dragging her and the rest of the team into a dangerous situation.

“The idiot was not watching where he was going,” she continued. We didn’t know yet that a woman was behind the wheel. Why do people assume bad things like this are perpetrated by men?

“I’m just glad that Helen was watching or we’d all be hurt like Ben or worse,” she observed. “I’ll be having nightmares about this for a long time.”

“Me too,” I commiserated with her. ‘Although mine will have a lot more guilt associated with them,’ I didn’t add.

It took a couple of hours, but the Harrison’s were eventually called in to consult with the lead surgeon. No one had left though I could tell from muted cell phone conversations several families tried to get their teens to come home. There was a strong sense of unity and bonding going on with the team who came to support Ben and his family.

Eventually, Mr. Harrison came out to address the group. Quietly, he thanked us all for our love and support and said that the surgery went well and that Ben was now in recovery.  He’d be unconscious for a while yet, but he was out of the woods and on his way to recovery. Mr. Harrison suggested we all go home now. I hobbled over and gave him an intense hug and told him how sorry I was for Ben. He smiled kindly at me and simply nodded his appreciation.

Lest you think I forgot about Andy and his family during this time, let me tell you–I didn’t. Andy tried calling me when I couldn’t answer the phone because the x-ray technician was doing her thing to my ankle. The message he left led me to believe that things weren’t happy at the Lang household.

“Hey, Tina,” the message said, “Dad just left. It was ugly. I couldn’t believe all the threats and shouting.” He sounded weary and sad. “He got a little physical there for a few minutes, but fortunately he backed off. He ended up taking his suitcase and going to the hotel. Call me when you get the chance.”

It occurred to me that no one had let Andy know of the accident/attack but I didn’t think it was right to call him while in the midst of the waiting room vigil. I wish the boy had his own cell phone so I could text him–I’ll have to talk to him about that.  I was, however, able to send a short email from my smart phone.

Andy, Got your phone message. I guess things went as well as expected. :(  Sorry! I was involved in an accident tonight while running. I’m OK but Ben was seriously injured. I’m at the hospital waiting to hear the outcome of his surgery. Call me in the morning. XOXOX, Tina

Not long before Ben came out of surgery, Andy showed up at the hospital looking for me. When he saw my foot in the boot and crutches next to me, he rushed over with a look of great alarm on his face.

“Tina,” he exclaimed, “I thought you said you were okay. What’s with this?” he asks while waving at my foot and crutches. “Tell me what happened.”

“Let’s go outside a minute,” I responded. I didn’t feel like making a scene in the waiting room. The place had taken on the atmosphere of a shrine with all the people waiting and praying for Ben.

After hobbling outside and finding a place to sit next to each other on the lawn, it took me ten minutes to relate the happenings of the evening–leaving out the bit that it was probably an attack and not an accident. As I did so, another wave of guilt washed over me and Brain Central tried to remind me that it really isn’t my fault but that there is something I can do about it.

Cautiously, I asked him about his parents. I could tell from his gloomy expression that both of us had difficult evenings.

“It’s over,” he said with sadness, referring to the marriage. “Mom, told him about her lawyer and gave Dad a copy of the divorce petition that she’s filing with the court in the morning. Dad refused to sign the papers so Mom made a quick phone call and a Process Server showed up to formally serve the papers. Dad was really pissed when Mom produced the papers in the first place, but I thought he was going to go ballistic when the Server showed up.”

“So what happens now?” I enquire.

“Well,” he responds, “I guess they’re legally separated now. Mom told him that when the papers are filed, there’ll automatically be restraining orders in place restricting his and her abilities to sell property or take me out of state until the process is complete. She added that if he didn’t settle down, she’d petition the court for a personal restraining order against him. This really set him off. He tried all sorts of intimidation including threatening to push her around. That’s when I was glad I was there. I’m not the most buff guy in town, but I stepped between him and Mom when he started to make a move. He got pretty abusive with me too, but when he tried to push me around, I pushed back harder. Things were escalating and Mom threatened to call the Police. Eventually he just shouted wild threats about how she’d be sorry for doing this and for turning me against him. The guy was beside himself with rage. In the end, he disappeared into his den for a while then grabbed his suitcase and a couple of boxes of clothes Mom had packed earlier and left for the hotel.”

“How do you feel about all this?” I gently asked him. Later it occurred to me that this is not a question Chris would have asked.

Andy’s eyes got a little misty and his voice was a little choked as he replied. I just wrapped my arms around him and held him close. “It hurts, Tina, but I can see why this needs to happen now”–tears began trickling down his face–“but I wish it had never gotten to this point. Does that make any sense?”

“Yeah,” I informed him empathetically, “it does.”

“I suppose every marriage starts out with love and promise, but in some–half if you believe the statistics–something goes wrong to destroy the promise. It’s so sad when so much potential is lost,” he sadly says. “I can remember being a happy family not too many years ago. What went wrong? Did I come between them? Did they just grow apart? Did Mom’s desire to work destroy things? Why did Dad’s attitude change? I don’t have the answers. I just wish we could have made it work as a family.”

I continued to hold him as he cried out his sorrows quietly. Eventually his tears dried up and he smiled sadly at me.

“Thanks, Tina,” he said sincerely. “Thanks for being here.” Looking at my foot in the boot and my crutches laying next to us on the grass, he continued. “Here am I, feeling sorry for myself when my girlfriend is being chased down by clueless drivers and almost ends up in the hospital. That must have been really scary.”

“It was, but it’s nothing that won’t heal quickly,” I reminded him. “It doesn’t look as if your parent’s marriage will. You mustn’t worry about me.”

“Oh, but I do,” he responds with a more genuine smile, “I worry about you all the time. In fact, you’re on my mind all the time.”

“That’s not worry,” I gave him a playful jab in the ribs, “that’s hormones.”

Things got a little silly after that, but the final kiss was wonderful. We both needed the distraction. I had to fight to get my breath back before we rejoined the waiting room vigil.

The last tasks of the evening were my phone calls to my parents–both sets. Aunt Jen reminded me of my duty on the way home from the hospital. I had thought of it earlier, but wanted to delay it a bit until I knew how Ben was. Neither mother was going to be particularly happy and I didn’t want to use my Lab phone for this, even if the good guys are listening.

As expected, Mom Quinn almost went ballistic. She was ready to call the whole affair off then and there. It took a while to convince her that I was now limiting my exposure and all was well. Her reaction seemed to somehow bring back my resolve to see this investigation through. Somebody has to do something about these guys–and I feel that I need to do my part.

Anyway, when the dust settled, she was somewhat pacified, but informed me that I was to report to her quicker next time something bad happens. Let’s just hope there’s nothing more to report.

I wanted to talk with Dad, but she told me that he’s out of town on another of his business trips. He left yesterday and–as usual–nobody knows where he went or when he’ll be back.

Mom Polly already knew about the attack. Apparently Helen had called in a full report to the Major and was keeping them updated on the progress of the investigation. Polly also questioned my resolve to stay in the game. It took some time to get her to see the value of my sticking with the program.

All in all, it was a busy night. I was extremely exhausted by the time I finally slipped between the sheets of my bed.

Laurie and Aunt Jen had already left for work by the time I finally rolled out of bed this morning. When I stumbled out into the kitchen–wearing only a short cotton nightgown–I found Helen there sipping on a cup of coffee and reading the paper. She brought me up to speed on the investigation into last night’s attack while I had breakfast. She’s going to be ‘visiting’ with me all day and maybe even for the weekend.

After our chat about the current status of things I got cleaned up and dressed for the day–sans the plastic boot.

I decided a skirt would be easier to handle with the boot in place–not that I’m going to wear the boot in the privacy of our home–so I’m actually dressed nicely. Not only that but I admit that I really do like the feel of a moderately long, loose skirt on my hairless legs. It’s a feeling I’ll miss after this affair is over. Knowing that my girl time is getting short and with my copious free time today I took the time to fix up myself nicely.  I went through five or six outfits before settling on my tiered skirt and a loose sleeveless top with spaghetti straps. I also spent an inordinate amount of time working with my hair and makeup. I really want to enjoy these everyday girl tasks as much as I can in the time I have left.

After getting dressed, I wasn’t really sure of what to do with myself. Helen had brought a laptop computer with her and was working from that and on the phone all morning. I’d been left to my own devices. 

To keep myself busy, I gathered up the laundry and started the washer. I also did some dusting and other general housework. I found myself wishing that Andy, Caitlin, or Laurie were available today but they’re all working. Helen can be fun too, but she was working also.

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I’m in the middle of making some soup and sandwiches for our lunch when the doorbell rings. Helen jumps up from the breakfast table where she’s been working and answers the door after looking through the peep hole. In the mean time I scramble to get the boot on.

“Hi, I’m Suzanne Lang,” I hear the introduction. “Is Tina available?”

Finishing with the boot, I quickly grab my crutches and hobble to the door. “Mrs. Lang, it’s good to see you.” She’s holding a small flower arrangement.

“Oh, sweetie,” she greets me. “Andy told me about your accident and I had to come over to wish you well. How are you doing?”

“Come in, Come in. Please, you’re just in time to join us for lunch.” I invite her into the living room while Helen takes the flowers into the kitchen where she works on finishing the lunch I was preparing. I choose a couch where I can get my foot up. I’m glad I’m wearing a longer loose skirt.  I enjoy arranging it around my leg.

“I can’t stay long, sweetie,” she informs me as she begs off lunch. “My, you look marvelous today.”

“Thanks. I’m so sorry to hear about your troubles,” I let her know.

She sighs and weakly smiles as she replies, “It is sad, but it’s been a long time in coming. I wish we could have made it work but I guess it wasn’t meant to be. I just filed the divorce papers before coming here. We’re now legally separated and I have a court order for him to stay away from the house except by appointment to collect his belongs. He was very threatening last night.”

We chat for a few minutes about my ‘accident’ and her divorce before she starts to look as if she wants to ask about something uncomfortable.

When Mrs. Lang is sure Helen is out of earshot she quietly asks, “Is my husband right? Are you investigating him?”

Now it’s my turn to get uncomfortable.

“Well,” how do I answer that one? “I can’t really answer that question.” Actually my answer really does.

“Are you just using Andy to get close to his father?” she looks deeply into my eyes. It feels as if she’s searching my soul.

“No,” I truthfully reply. “It is the reason I met him in the first place, but now––” Oops, did I really just admit to investigating her husband?

“You love him, don’t you?” she asks kindly.

I have to think about that one for a minute. What’s love? “I think so,” I finally admit, “I know that he does things to me that no boy ever has before.” Now that’s a true statement.

She smiles at my admission. “He’s really fallen for you as well, Tina. And you know what?  I approve. You’ve brought light and joy into his life where there was only confusion and darkness before. I was getting worried about him. My mother’s intuition tells me that you have a heart of gold and that Andy will be one lucky guy if he ends up with a woman like you.” This echoes the talk I had with Laurie’s mother not long ago, except she said that Laurie would be lucky to end up with a guy like Chris/me. There’s a trend developing here.

“I just hope that you two don’t get carried away and do something you’ll both regret,” she cautions me. “I’ve had this talk with Andy and I hope he was listening.  He’s a good kid–like you–and I trust the two of you. It’d break my heart to see your lives messed up due to a moment of ill considered passion.”

It seems a bit strange to be having this conversation with my boyfriend’s mother.

“Um,” I blush a bright red, “we’ve kinda’ had this talk too. Neither one of us is ready for the burdens that inappropriate behavior brings.”

Her smile broadens a little, “How mature. You are an amazing young woman.”

Now that I’m on her good side, maybe it’s a good time to see about having Andy come camping next week.

“Mrs. Lang,” I ask, “Has Andy mentioned anything about going camping next weekend?”

“No,” she looks puzzled. “Why?”

“I don’t think he wanted to add to your burden,” I tell her, “but some friends of my Aunt’s–the Quinns– have invited her, Laurie and me to go camping with them late next week and have said that Andy can come too. There’ll be plenty of chaperones,” I offer with a hopeful voice.

She keeps looking into my eyes as she ponders my request.

“There’s a lot going on right now,” she says more to herself than me, “but it might be a good idea for him to be out of town for a few days. I think I can get someone to cover for him in the store too. Are you talking about Amanda and Michael Quinn?”

I nod affirmatively.

“I’ve met them before,” she states. “Horace works in the same department as Michael. They seem like good people. Don’t they have a son about your age?”

“Yes, Chris,” I reply. “He’s Laurie’s boyfriend but he’s gone for the summer.”

“Have your Aunt call me tonight,” she says finally. “I’d like to talk with her and with Andy before making a decision. I’ll probably leave Horace out it.”

I take a few minutes to give her the details as I know them, before she starts to excuse herself. She tells me to stay put, but I struggle to get up from the couch to hobble to the door with her.

“Let’s just keep the chat about your investigating my husband between us,” she suggests. “By the way, if you find anything that can help me with the divorce, please share it with me if you can. I want to force him to give in quietly and all the evidence of wrong doing I can get will help. I know he has a pornography habit, but I could use with some documented indiscretions. I don’t plan on taking him to the cleaners or anything like that, but I don’t want to get in a big war either.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” I tell her sincerely as I give her a very genuine parting hug. I have to bite my tongue to avoid adding ‘and don’t be surprised if you get a visit from the FBI’.

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At first the afternoon wasn’t any better than the morning–boring. I do spend time pondering my visit with Mrs. Lang. It would seem that I’ve added another parent to my fan club. As Chris, I was always welcome into the homes of my friends as well but, somehow, this seems different. Women are much more intimate with each other than they are with men–I kind of like that.

After Mrs. Lang is gone, I discard the boot and crutches but keep them close at hand in case we have another unannounced visitor.

After expressing my boredom for the umpteenth time Helen takes a break from whatever she’s working on and offers to teach me some self defense techniques based on her training in hand-to-hand combat. We have to rearrange the family room furniture to do it. She shows me some things about using a knife or other handy sharp item that I didn’t know before. She also shows me how to take advantage of my opponent’s momentum and other neat tricks. I also learn how much of a pain a long skirt can be when you’re trying to move fast. When I suggest changing into athletic clothes, Helen said not to because I need to learn how to defend myself when dressed as I am.  While I find the techniques and practice fascinating, Helen seemed to find it entertaining. It’ll take a lot of time and practice to beat her. I swear the girl is a magician–every time I think I have her where I want her I end up on my back on the floor with her pulling a knockout punch. How does she do that? I guess I’m finding out.

I expect that Caitlin will show up when she gets off work in the late afternoon, so we quit in time for me to shower and get some fresh clothes on–another loose skirt of course–before she’s due to show up. The training was a lot more fun than just hanging out.

Sure enough, Caitlin must have made a bee line from work–the lingering smell of French fries is a dead giveaway when she arrives at my door.

“How’s the leg, Tina?” she asks in greeting.

“It’s been better,” I allow.

“You’ve been icing it like the doctor told you, right?” she checks on me.

“Yeah,” I respond to her while perpetuating the deception. “Helen is here and she’s been keeping me on task.”

“Well,” she announces with a huge grin, “I’m here to bust you out of prison. I bet you’re tired of hanging around here all day. We’re all skipping running practice anyway, so let’s go to my house and hang out by the pool.”

“Gee, Caitlin,” I inform her regretfully, “I really can’t. I promised to fix dinner here tonight. Andy’s coming over too. Why don’t you join us? I’m going to be barbecuing some chicken on the grill.  There’ll be plenty to go around. We’ll probably watch a movie or play games tonight.  I bet Aunt Jen will let you stay the night if you like.” 

I really can’t go anywhere today–my keepers want me to act very injured and to stay out of sight for a day or two. A phone call late this afternoon told us that they’re making real progress on the investigation but they need more time.  Following the failed attempt on my well being, Mr. Rana’s phone and email has been lit up. He’s apparently happy that I’m too injured to make it to work today but is afraid I’ll be back next week to screw up his operation. He’s putting greater pressure on Dr. Lang to finish his work and his hit team to keep me out of action. As a result of his anxiety, he’s gotten careless in his communications and thus revealed the perpetrators of last night’s attack.  The FBI folks are very pleased with the way things are going but they want me to stay out of sight for a day or two as they try to pull everything together. Eventually they’ll want me to surface and make some more waves with Dr. Lang.

Caitlin visibly brightens at the suggestion of another sleepover. “I’ll check with my mother. Andy’s not spending the night too, is he?” she asks with suspicion.

“No,” I laugh. “It’s a little early for a wedding and I’m not sharing a bed with any guy until I hear the words ‘I do’ in front of a preacher.”

“You don’t know what you’re missing, Tina,” she advises me.

“I do know that I’m missing the regret, recriminations, and messed up emotions that free loving normally brings,” I tell her.

Changing subjects, she sighs, “I suppose our shopping trip tomorrow is off as well.”

I sigh too. I was actually looking forward to helping her find some more conservative but stylish clothes. “Yeah, doctor’s orders.”

“You better get well fast, girl,” she admonishes me. “I’m in the mood for a change. It might not last, you know.”

“Hey,” I protest waving at my boot, “It’s not my fault.” Well, in a way it is, but I can’t go there. “Maybe we can do some internet shopping instead,” I suggest.

Sighing yet again, she asks, “Speaking of the accident, have you heard anything about Ben?”

“Aunt Jen called earlier,” which is actually true, “to say that he’s going to be fine. The doctors patched him together fairly well. They expect that he’ll take up to six months to fully recover so it’s going to be a long struggle for him. Today, he’s on heavy pain medications and is a bit loopy she says. His mother has apparently spent much of the day with him.”

“We should go see him,” she states.

“Not tonight,” I respond. “I’m on orders to stay put. We can probably go tomorrow when he’s not so drugged up and I’m past the initial phase on my healing.”

“I’d like to do that,” she replies earnestly.

“Me too,” I add. I’m still having guilt problems. The least I can do is to go comfort him for a little while. I’m sure my keepers will let me out tomorrow.

Calling home, Caitlin discovers that her mother has a couple of things for her to do but she can get them done in time for a later dinner. She can get rid of that French fry smell too. That’s fine with me since Andy can’t get here until seven or so either.

After Caitlin leaves for home, Helen and I start on dinner preparations.

“I need to go somewhere I can access the internet from an anonymous location,” I mention to Helen as I chop celery for the salad. “Do you think I could go to the library for an hour or so before dinner?”

“I doubt it, but maybe I have something which will help,” she responds with a conspiratory smile.

Digging through her computer bag, she produces a USB wireless broadband card. “This gives broadband access from just about anywhere. It’s about as anonymous as the library and coffee houses you’ve been using.”

My eyes must have lit up as I reach for it, “Yes! Now why didn’t I think of that?”

Helen holds it back and looks at me with a matronly scowl, “I’ll let you use this if you promise to be a good girl and not do anything inappropriate with it.”

“I’ll be a good girl,” I promise as I’m practically bouncing up and down. We both break into a fit of giggles.

It only takes minutes for me to drag out Chris’s laptop and access the Lang’s network. The only computer on is Andy’s server. All the Langs are off working and have shut down their personal computers. Checking the capture log, I find a flurry of emails between Mrs. Lang and her lawyer and sister. There’s also a new one from Dr. Lang to Mr. Rana. This was sent last evening about the time I was arriving at the hospital.

It’s not pretty.

Dr. Lang informs Mr. Rana that he’s being evicted by his wife and that she’s filing for a divorce which includes a legal separation in the interim. He’s incensed that his wife would step beyond her bounds and do such a thing. He’s mad at Andy too for backing up his mother. He also mentions that she seems to be aware of his entertainment in Washington and wants to know how that happened. He asks Mr. Rana if he can do anything to ‘take care of the situation’ or at least recommend a good divorce attorney.  This setback, he informs Mr. Rana, will only delay his report further. Whereas he was hoping to have it done by midweek next week, it’ll probably be a week later now that he has to deal this new issue. He also mentions the extended stay hotel he’ll be staying at until he can find another accommodation or his wife comes to her senses. It’s clear from the email that Dr. Lang is extremely angry about this turn of events.

Pondering on the situation, it seems to me that this delay gives the FBI a little more time to pull their case together before they lower the boom on this operation. In the mean time, I’m worried about the safety of Andy and his mother.

It also occurs to me that I’ll no longer be able to monitor Dr. Lang’s computer activities as he’ll be removing his computer from the house. I’m sure FBI geeks can hack the hotel’s system and keep the censor program active.  This investigation is truly out of my hands now.

I manage to resist the urge to read Mrs. Lang’s email–after all, I did promise to be a good girl––

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Edited by Gabi–doesn't that sound good?