Jacko


    POV


    The book was the best evidence yet. I had promised Bob I would give him a day to talk to Hank and prepare him for what wasing; it would affect his whole family, one way or another. Even his daughter needs to be questioned. This all seems so messy, and I wouldn''t say I like loose ends. This book has just added more questions than answers. Tomorrow, I will find out if Hank and Kitty are legally married or if her hand in this goes that far back. I don''t see it myself, but I have been wrong before. My phone rang, pulling me back to the present.


    ''Jackson,'' I barked into the phone, my tired voice betraying my long day. It was gettingte, and I was eager to head home and get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, and I needed to be prepared.


    ''This is Doctor Henderson. I was asked to call you and update you on the prisoner! He said hesitantly, most likely taken aback by my tone of voice.


    ''Thank you for calling; how is our prisoner doing?'' I softened my voice and almost apologized, but I thought better of it. ''He made it through the operation; he has a broken arm, leg, and lower back, head trauma; he is in critical condition and under heavy sedation. ''If he survives?'' I asked, needing to know if we could put him behind bars.


    ''He will never walk again, and because of his head injury, I would say he would most likely have brain damage and be of no use to you. It is too early to tell, but hended heavily, and I cannot see him being anything more than in a vegetated state for the rest of his life.'' ''Thank you, Doctor; sorry you have to put up with our guards, but it is for everyone''s safety.


    ''Think nothing of it; we are all here to do our part. He hung up, and I wondered if it would be better if our prisoner died; by the sounds of it, he would never be up to going to jail and would need constant medical care. He wouldn''t like living like that, after being such an active person before.


    I finished up the paperwork and was ready to dig deeper into Kitty''s life in the morning. There is more to this than what is in the book. I want Hank there when we bring her in for questioning. Yawning, I locked the book in my drawer and attempted to leave and head home. I have to get to sleep; it has been a long day.


    My phone rang again.


    ''Jackson.'' I tiredly answered, hoping I did not need to go somewhere to see a body or something; I did need to rest.


    Jacko, I had an upset FBI agent in my office today. Would you care to exin?'' Crap, I forgot to call him today and talk about Pam and my putting her on a disciplinary report.


    ''I assume you are talking about Pam?'' I tried to act dumb.


    ''Don''t y me as stupid, talk. This man is above me, even though he is in another department, just like Bob is above all of


    us.


    ''I felt she was using her position as wife to Bob in her job.


    ''If you had given the girl a chance to exin, you would have heard a better story. I am in my office. Care toe to me now?'' It was not a request but an order and one I had to obey. Ten minutester, I am at the FBI headquarters.


    ''Mr Strd is expecting you!'' and just like that, I am being shown to the boss''s office.


    When I arrived, the boss was on his phone and pointed to a chair, meaning he did not care that I could hear his conversation. By the sounds of it, he is talking to the hospital and getting an update on our prisoner. I sit in hisrge office, looking around. He is a highly decorated man with the usual trophies and pictures of achievements and awards.


    As he hung up the phone, he looked at me, and it took everything in me not to squirm; he radiated power and authority. ''You have disappointed me, Jacko. I thought better of you than that, he started, and I felt like a child being scalded by his Dad. ''What exactly are you disappointed about?'' I asked softly.


    ''Pam was trying to tell you it was her wedding day and off duty. Reporting was not on her mind, but you quickly shot her down, thinking the worst of her. I have known that girl since she was a child, helped her through losing her parents, and guided her through FBI training. I trust her; she is a top agent who can have my back in any situation. She has been the one to save a number of people and has a medal of honor. Thest thing she would do would be to use her marriage to Bob to hide behind. You have her all wrong, and from her version of events, you fell for Kitty''s fake crying!


    ''How do I know how to trust her? She has been a good cop since she was with us, but I should have been told she was undercover in my section. All my trust went out the window when I heard that.'' I growled at him.


    ''So that is why you attacked Pam? Because your ego got bruised? That makes this even worse. If you had talked to her, she would have informed you about Kitty, but she could not do that in the kitchen, in front of guests and a crying woman who was lying through her teeth! Strd was getting angry at me now, and I most likely deserved it.


    ''What about Kitty? I got the ck book from Bob; Pam was nowhere near us or had seen the book to find out about Kitty! ''You got the book? Good, Pam told me about that book about three years ago; when undercover, she had briefly seen it but could never get close enough to snatch it or take pictures of it. I am assuming you got it from the prisoner, actually. ''Yes, I did; now, can you tell me about Pam?'' I pushed; I needed to know if I owed Pam an apology.


    ''Pam was undercover working in one of the hotels. She was there for over a year and had seen Kitty taking girls there, all dressed in formal gear. When Pam met Kitty at her home, she felt she knew her from somewhere, and it was not until she was taken upstairs to the sewing room that it all fell into ce. She came to me, asking for my advice. I suggested continuing as if she did not recognize her and getting her wedding over with, and then we could address Kitty''s situation. I did not wish to spoil four people''s wedding; as it is, it was spoiled by someone else. After hended, he went to a private vi, but my men lost him after he dropped off his wife at the spa resort the next day. It seems he had already scoped out the ce he was going to shoot from, which means after he arrived at the vi he left during the night, my men were growled at for losing the man twice. Now you owe that girl an apology! He was no longer growling at me, more resigned to the fact that nothing can be changed, and it now is up to me to sort it out!'' ''I have asked Bob to talk to Hank before we bring Kitty and Margaret in for questioning!


    ''Yes, Margaret, one of the bestdies of the night in the country, does this fantastic dance of the veils at the mingo club. Peter used to enjoy being with her when he was in town. Peter loved a lot of women and rarely bedded his own wife. Cynthia got his fist more than he loved. I don''t know the deal with her marrying him; it was for easy travel in the country, having married a local. He passed a number of visa restrictions for being married to her, and that is the only thing I coulde up with for Peter, but not what benefit Cynthia got out of it.


    ''Yes, I found it strange too, and so far, none of Cynthia''s journals said anything about it!


    ''It is gettingte; go home and get some sleep, and think about Pam and how you are going to make up for your stupidity. You do not want Pam against you. You will alwayse out at the wrong end of the stick. She will always have my backing in this. I shook his hand and left; I had a lot to think about and lots of eggs on my face. Was it my ego in the way? That I wanted to see fault where there was none.