McBain wasn't in any hurry to read it, but since Brody stood there, waiting, he took it and opened it.
You owe me. A promise is a promise. I lead you to that hell hole, and you promised to bring her to me. Not one to threaten, of course, but isn't it best that you keep to your promises, Detective?
"Who brought this trash?" John said, tossing it down among other papers on his desk.
"Came from the prison. Bo said to make sure you saw it. He's on his way to your office."
John sat back in his chair and pursed his lips. "I suppose he's going to want to know what I promised, and when?"
"If I know Bo, I'd say yes."
"Thanks Brody," John said, running a hand through his hair.
Brody's footsteps barely disappeared when he heard another set approaching his closed door. A light knock he recognized, and he said, "Come in."
Bo pushed the door open, and didn't say anything. Instead, he approached John's desk and stood at the edge of it. "You have something to tell me, John?"
***
"Ah, Todd, so good to see ya," Timothy said, patting his son's back. He let go of him and went toward Blair. "Bridgette. My girl." He embraced her as well.
Todd said, "You like your digs?"
"Very expensive and very charming, yes. Thank ya."
"You're welcome. Here's the trunk, I'm going to set it down here, and move it into your car later, okay?"
"Fine. Did ya look in it?"
"No. Not yet. Dad, we're going to our room, for a while, okay?" Todd said.
Timothy looked at Blair, and her eyes gave away what kind of day they'd already had. "Of course. Can we meet up for a meal later? I'd like to talk to Bridgette about one small, dark-haired lady."
Todd looked at Blair. "Yeah, sure. Keep her for a bit now, if you want, but don't get too attached."
She smiled, "I was hoping you'd say that. I'd love to talk with Dad a while," Blair said, "it's about time we discussed Dorian."
Todd said, "Well, have at it, then. Is that the right expression, Dad?"
"Yes, that's the one, Lad. What time do we have dinner together?"
"We'll be right in this building, so give me a call or something." He went to Blair and kissed her. "Just tired. Don't be too long, Babe."
"All right," she said, plopping herself gracefully on the sofa and taking a strand of hair in her fingers, she absentmindedly twisted it.
Todd left, leaving Blair and Timothy in silence for a moment. After he was gone, her body almost crumpled, and she put her face into her hand with despair. Timothy almost jumped out of his chair to go to her. "My God, Dear Bridgette, what's the trouble?"
***
"I suppose," John said. "I've still not gotten used to immediately reporting things to you, since you leave me on my own a lot. I've appreciated that trust, and I hope you don't think I was hiding it."
"No, not necessarily. Now, what is it?"
"I made a deal with Laurence. Almost a year ago now."
"I guess it won't surprise you, John, that I'm here asking why you would do that and what the outcome was?"
"It won't surprise me, no."
"Well?"
"Back when Todd and Blair's son was kidnapped, I visited Laurence for information. We thought Peter may have been held up at the old Messenger Compound. He made me promise I'd bring Todd's mother to see him."
"Todd's mother? Why would he care about that? Clearly he wanted to hurt her, or hurt Manning by hurting her?"
"No, nothing like that. Seems they were in love. When Todd was a child."
"This gets stranger all the time, John."
"Yeah, well, it gets more strange. He made me promise, and I did. He gave me Manning's house. Torture chamber, not home. Not something I'll soon forget."
Bo placed his hands on his hips so that his elbows pushed his jacket back. "Is that where Manning grew up?"
"Yes, that's where." John said, "We were able to get Peter there. But of course, you know that Barbara Manning had already shot him dead."
"I'm familiar with that part, just not the part you left out, about how you offered a deal, to a known maniac, about bringing an innocent woman to see him, in prison. And now, if he does not get his way, he could be a liability for the system, for us. What if he causes harm to others, John? In the name of this 'agreement?'"
John didn't respond. Instead, he fingered the note, and then handed it to Bo.
Bo said, "I see. We don't go around offering deals we don't intend to keep to psychopaths. He just escaped, took the Mannings hostage, killed Terra Winfield, and the list goes on. Now, he feels you owe him. And you're not concerned that you may have brought his psycho wrath down on your family or yourself?"
John lost his cool, and raised his voice, matching Bo's, "To be honest, at the time, I was just thinking about Starr Manning, lying in a hospital bed, almost beaten to death, Sam Manning, traumatized, and Raymond Manning, missing. Missing and off with a man known to be a child rapist. And Blair out there, following the trail to get her baby back, with hothead Manning in tow. The baby that was taken from their own yard after his dog was killed by his neck being broken with Peter's bare hands."
Bo paced. "I understand all that. I do. But you'd either make good on it, or find yourself a magic way to prevent Mitch Laurence from wanting revenge if he does not get his way. And what about all the other inmates who might not trust us to follow through, now, if they hear about this? When we need info, and make deals with them? This is not going to encourage them to trust us, and that could hinder investigations."
John said, "So, you want me to bring that fragile woman, out of Mountainview, and into a visiting room with Laurence?"
"I don't know what I want you to do, John. I wish you'd thought about that before we got into this. I understand your personal feelings for Blair and for the Manning situation, but personal matters are not supposed to supersede police business. I just hope you figure this out, and handle it," Bo said, softening his voice, "before anything detrimental happens." Bo walked to the door and placed his hand on the knob. "If you need my help or support, just ask," he said, leaving.
John sat back down at his desk, and roughly pushed some papers aside. Flipping through the Rolodex on his desk, and grabbing the phone, he dialed and waited. "Dr. Ray Martino, please."
***
"Tell me, if ya can," Timothy said, handing her a tissue.
"He . . . something happened. We were at Ribsky's office. Just talking. The next thing I knew, he was grilling the guy about the Chicago Police. Something about pushing everything he'd been through under the rug. He accused the man, basically, without saying so directly. He never told me this was on his mind. He never did. It's like . . . he's bent on some kind of revenge, and on top of it, he never told me. It's like he's looking for someone to blame. He's . . . not okay."
Timothy was concerned. But for Blair's sake, he said, "It might not be that. Maybe he just . . . being here might make him feel out of control."
"No. It was like he planned it. I think he's planning on getting revenge on someone. And there's no one," she cried. "Ribsky's not guilty, and for God's sake, the person to blame is dead."
"All right, Bridgette, now," he said, putting an arm around her. She rested her head on her father-in-law's shoulder. "What did Ribsky say to this?"
"He assured Todd he wasn't even working anywhere near this area when Todd was a child. He wasn't involved in the case when Todd was fourteen."
"Hmf. The attempted murder of Peter Manning, eh?"
"Yes."
"Blair, what happened that night?"
"I don't know every detail. We used to believe it was the first time Peter tried to assault Todd sexually. But later, it was more like he couldn't take anymore of what he had been dealing with for years. It wasn't the first time, but I think it was the last. Involved a girl, Michelle, I think. He didn't remember any of it, or what came before, for years."
"Buried deep."
"Yes," she whispered, crying.
"Then, there's more, likely."
She looked at him, shocked. "What do you mean?"
"Perhaps he's just dealing with memories, some he didn't know before. Just like when he was fourteen?"
"I don't know."
"Well, ya have to consider it." She thought about it, and didn't want to humor it, because she didn't want it to be true. He interrupted her thoughts. "As I have to consider the possibility of forgiving y'ar aunt."
She looked up, "Really?"
"Yes. I've thought about it. Todd made me think of it a little bit differently of late."
"I just want to say that Dorian, though she's pesky sometimes, really means well. She's a staunch protector of me, and she's seen me going through so much. She thinks she's doing what's best. Of course, she's wrong, but she's always been wrong about Todd."
"I realize. It's just hard, to forgive her for those scenes in front of Jack when Little Ray went missing. The things she said about Todd, when ya both were facing so much."
"He's forgiven her," she said standing, "and maybe you should, too." She went to the door. "Dorian doesn't mean to hurt anyone. She always thinks she's doing the best for her family. I'm going to Todd, now, all right? Thanks for helping me pull it together."
"Sure. I'll see ya for dinner," he said.
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
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