Chapter 33: One Crisis at a Time

April 5, 1983, Chicago, Illinois

"I do! Is she OK?"

"She's been taken by uniformed officers to Overland Park Regional Medical Center for a psychiatric evaluation."

"What about Heather?"

"Are you the child's father?"

The little voice that demanded I always tell the truth was instantly overwhelmed and outshouted by some part of me that screamed, 'Say yes!'. I hesitated for a brief second, then went with my gut, knowing there was no father's name on the birth certificate.

"Yes," I fibbed. "How is she?"

"The officers didn't report any injuries. She'll be evaluated by pediatricians at the hospital. Would you tell me your full name, address, and birthdate?"

"May I ask why?"

"For the report," he said. "I also need to confirm some paperwork that was found with Miss Newton."

"Jonathan Edward Kane. My birthday is November 3, 1962. I moved on Friday, and any document would have my old address — 1441 West Estes Avenue in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. My current address is 1840 West Morse Avenue, also in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. May I ask what document?"

"A complete power of attorney, including healthcare, prepared in St. Louis, but valid here. The doctors will want to speak to you once they complete their evaluation. What's your relationship with Miss Newton? Are you married?"

"No. We were best friends growing up, then boyfriend and girlfriend in High School. After that, I'm not sure what you'd call it once I moved to Chicago."

"What do you mean?"

"We were intimate but not steady. I was with her when Heather was born, and we've talked about the future."

"When was the last time you spoke to her?"

"At the end of February."

"Why not since then?"

I knew I had to be careful how I answered so as not to make the detective suspicious or give him reason to be concerned.

"She and her parents had a serious falling out, and I kind of got caught in the middle."

"That often happens in these cases of out-of-wedlock kids. Where was she living most recently?"

"St. Louis," I replied, then gave the McGill's address.

"OK. That matches her driver's license. We found your card in her purse, along with the power of attorney and no other contact information. Do you know how to get in touch with her family?"

"I do, but Bev was adamant once she left home that she wanted no contact with them in any way, shape, or form. They actually filed a missing person's report, and the FBI and Chicago Police came to me to find out where she was, but then they didn't inform her parents because she's over eighteen and was OK. Her parents sent a private investigator to find her, and that's when she left St. Louis."

"This is starting to make more sense now."

"What happened?"

"She was staying in a local motel, and the manager was concerned because she was behaving erratically and acting paranoid. We sent two uniformed officers to check on her — what we call a welfare and safety check. She had a complete breakdown and started screaming incoherently at the officers. Because of that, they called the paramedics, and she was taken to the hospital, along with the child. Can you come get the child?"

"One way or the other, yes. How soon do I have to be there?"

"If you can't collect her by tomorrow at noon, she'll become a temporary ward of the State and go into emergency foster care. Trust me, you want to avoid that, if at all possible. It will complicate things and might result in your girlfriend losing custody of the child."

"OK. Where do I need to go?"

"The hospital is just off I-35 in Overland Park. I'd say it's a nine-hour drive from Chicago but less than two hours by plane."

"Let me figure that out, but one way or the other, I'll be there by noon."

"When you arrive at the hospital, go to Pediatrics. They'll summon a detective and social worker, and once you show them your ID, you can take your daughter."

"Thanks," I said, wondering what, exactly, I would do with an almost-year-old baby. "Could you give me your number, the number to the hospital, and the street address of the hospital, please?"

He did, and once I had read it back to him to confirm, we ended the call.

"That didn't sound good," Jack said.

"It's not. Bev is in a hospital in Overland Park, Kansas, for a psychiatric evaluation, and if I'm not there by noon tomorrow, she might lose custody of Heather."

"You aren't Heather's father, so how is that possible?" Kristy asked.

"I might have fibbed about that to the detective. The thing is, the birth certificate was modified to remove Bob Leahy's name, and Bev didn't add anyone. So unless Bev says something or the real father says something, there's no way for the police in Overland Park, Kansas, to know. The problem is, if I don't go, Heather will go into emergency foster care, and Bev could lose her, and that would ... well, I don't want to think about it."

"What are you going to do?" Jack asked.

"Call the travel agency, book a flight, and figure it out from there. It's a nine-hour drive per the detective, so that's a last resort. I also need to call Mr. Matheson and ask if it's OK to take two or three days of sick time or whatever they'll call it. And then I have the bigger problem — what the heck do I do with a nearly one-year-old baby?"

"I take it calling her mom is out of the question?" Jack asked.

"That would be the last thing Bev wanted me to do."

"Less than losing Heather?" Kristy asked.

"Good point, but I ... let me make the call to the travel agent."

It was after 6:00pm, so I couldn't call the regular number for Windy City Travel. Instead, I dialed the 800 number on the card Barney had given me.

"Round-the-Clock Travel Service, this is Kelly! How may I help you?"

"My name is Jonathan Kane, and I'm a client of Windy City Travel. I'm in Chicago, and I need to be in Overland Park, Kansas, no later than 10:00am tomorrow."

"One moment while I check flights."

I heard the telltale click-clack of keys to a computer terminal, then papers shuffling, then more key sounds before she spoke again.

"I'm afraid you can't make the last flight tonight, which departs in about thirty minutes unless you're at or near the airport, in which case you should go to the counter and see an agent."

"I'm at home, at least thirty minutes away."

"The first flight in the morning to Kansas City, which is the airport that serves Overland Park, is on TWA, departing 7:25am and arriving 10:04am."

"Book that, please. Charge it to my Amex on file if you can do that."

"For security purposes, I'll need you to give me the number, sir."

I read her the numbers and the expiration date, and she repeated them back.

"OK, Sir. What return do you want?"

"You can do open-ended, right?"

"Yes. This is already a full-fare ticket as it's last minute. It's fully refundable, there are no charges to change, and you'll just need to call Windy City or the airline to book the specific return flight."

"Perfect. Do that."

After twenty seconds of clicks and clacks, she spoke again.

"The ticket is booked. You can collect it at the check-in desk at O'Hare. Please be there no later than 6:30am. You'll need to show a photo ID and the credit card you just used. Do you need a hotel or a car ... sorry, you're not twenty-one, so there's no chance you can rent a car."

"Let me worry about the hotel when I get there, and I'll take a cab from the airport to the hospital."

"OK. Is there anything else I can help you with?'

"No. And thank you!"

"You're welcome, Sir! Have a nice trip!"

"Thanks."

We ended the call, and I went up to my room to get my address book so I could call Mr. Matheson. I used the extension in my room and dialed his home number. His wife answered and called him to the phone.

"Kane? What's wrong?"

It made sense for him to ask that, as there was no good reason for me to call him at home unless something was seriously wrong. I quickly explained the situation and asked for time off.

"Normally, emergency time off is limited to family, but I'll make an exception, given the strange circumstances. Don't you have Hawks tickets for tomorrow night?"

I had completely forgotten about that, despite having discussed it with Violet when I'd seen her the previous night. But right now, Bev and Heather have to be priorities.

"I'll have Jack Clinton bring them to the office tomorrow, and someone else can use them," I said. "I have two allocated for the second round if they make it."

"OK. Have him bring them to me. Call me tomorrow and let me know how long you think you'll be gone."

"I will. Thank you very much."

"Just keep earning, and you'll be treated like a king."

And like a jester, if I didn't. We said 'goodbye' and I hung up, grabbed the envelope with the Hawks tickets, then went downstairs to the kitchen, where Jack and Kristy were just finishing the dishes.

"Two problems out of the way," I said. "Jack, I need to give you the Hawks tickets I have for tomorrow night's playoff game to give to Murray Matheson."

I handed him the envelope.

"Sure," he replied. "No problem."

"I also need to call Violet and let her know, then I need to figure out what to do about Heather."

"I think you might have to call her parents," Kristy suggested.

"Only as a last resort," I said, picking up the phone.

I dialed Violet's number and explained what had happened.

"You have to go," she said. "I hate missing the game, but you can't let Heather go into foster care!"

"That's what I was thinking," I said, and then a possible solution hit me.

I was reluctant to ask, but with no other options, I had to take the risk.

"Violet, you know a lot about taking care of toddlers, right?"

"Obviously, or I'd be a pretty bad daycare worker!"

"I know zero about them, and I have nobody else to ask for help. Would you come to Kansas City with me?"

"What?!" she gasped. "Me?!"

"I know it's a lot to ask, but I need to find someone who can help me, and you know why I can't call Bev's parents."

"Uhm, where would we sleep?"

"I need to take this one crisis at a time," I said. "I can call the travel agent to book a hotel and get two rooms."

"I don't know," Violet said. "I've never been anywhere except Chicago, and I've never flown or stayed in a hotel."

"I wouldn't ask if it weren't an emergency. Think about what will happen if I meet with the police and family services and I can't even change a diaper or know how to feed Heather or anything?"

"You'll be with me the whole time?"

"I promise, though they might not let you see Bev. Heck, they might not let me see Bev. And we'd be in separate hotel rooms, of course, but next door to each other."

"I, uhm ... yes. I'll go."

"OK. I'm going to call for a second ticket. I'll need to pick you up at about 5:15am tomorrow morning. Don't forget to call in to work."

"I won't. I was going to share some good news tomorrow, but I'll tell you now — I was offered the clerk's job at the plumbing company, and I'm going to take it."

"That's great! I'll see you tomorrow at 5:15am and call you tonight if there are any problems."

"OK."

We said 'goodbye', and I hung up.

"Sounds as if you resolved that," Kristy said.

"Maybe," I replied. "Until Violet actually gets on the plane, it's a risk. I need a backup plan, but I need to call for Violet's ticket and book a hotel."

I pulled out the card and dialed the number and asked the person who answered to connect me to Kelly. I had to hold for two minutes, but then she came on the line. I explained the situation, she booked the second ticket and, after some discussion, two adjoining rooms at the Marriott at the airport. That accomplished, I went to tell the others what had happened.

"Is she OK?" Shelly asked.

"I have no idea and won't until I speak to a doctor, which will be in the morning. The detective didn't indicate that she was physically injured in any way."

"How long will you be gone?" Keiko asked.

"I'm not sure, but at least one night. I'll call with an update tomorrow. I need a backup plan in case Violet can't get on the plane."

"What about her friend in St. Louis?" Shelly suggested. "That is fairly close to Kansas City."

"And I should have thought of that!" I said. "Let me go call them."

I went up to my room, found the McGill's number, and dialed it. Tammy answered, and I asked to speak to her mom.

"Did you hear from Bev?" Tammy asked.

"Not directly," I replied. "I'll explain everything to your mom."

Tammy reluctantly called her mom to the phone. I had met Mrs. McGill and her husband a few times before they'd moved, so we weren't complete strangers. I quickly explained what had happened and the potential dilemma I faced. Mrs. McGill readily agreed to drive to Overland Park should Violet not be able to make the flight. She suggested calling Bev's parents, but after some discussion, she agreed that it might make things worse and might also undo my subterfuge about Heather. I promised to call her as soon as I knew anything more or if I needed her.

With the backup plan in place, I tackled the next potential problem - Heather's clothes and other things, which I suspected were in the hotel room, along with Bev's things. And that made me think of Bev's car, which would solve our transportation problems. I wondered if there was any possibility of getting those things, so I dialed the number for the detective who had called me.

"Detective Thomas, Investigations."

"Detective, this is Jonathan Kane. I've arranged a flight first thing in the morning, and I wondered if it would be possible to get some of Heather's things from Bev's hotel room, as well as the keys to her car?"

"It's not a crime scene, and the power of attorney is broad, so I'd say we can do that."

"I think it might be best if I do that before I go to the hospital," I said. "That way, I have Heather's diaper bag and clothes."

"Good thinking. Let me give you the address of the Motel 6. I'll meet you there and have the motel manager let you into the room. How are you going to get there?"

I thought about it for a second, then said, "A car service."

"OK. They'll know it, but let me give you the address just in case."

He did that, and once I repeated it back to him, I gave him my flight information, and he promised to be there at 11:00am and let me know the hospital was less than ten minutes from the motel. After I hung up, I made a third call to the after-hours number for the travel agency, changed my hotel reservations to Motel 6, and asked for a Town Car to be waiting for me at the airport. All of that accomplished, I felt I had everything in order, and made my final call of the evening.

"Hi, Mom," I said when she answered the phone.

"Jonathan? Is everything OK?"

"Not really," I replied. "I had a call from a detective with the Overland Park, Kansas Police Department to say that Bev had been taken to a local hospital for psychiatric evaluation after she began behaving erratically. I'm flying down to ensure Heather doesn't go into emergency foster care."

"But you're not her father!"

"You know that, I know that, and Bev knows that, but the police don't know that. Bob's name was removed from the birth certificate, so the police won't find out without a lengthy investigation conducted in Ohio. They don't know Bev is from there, either. They had her Missouri driver's license, my card, and some documents that gave me power of attorney."

"Did you have her draw those up?"

"No. She did that at some point in St. Louis, and I only found out about it because the detective told me. I'm flying down first thing in the morning, and my friend Violet, who works in a daycare, is coming along to help because I don't know the first thing about caring for a one-year-old. On the positive side, those documents will allow me to get Heather's things, as well as the keys to Bev's car. The police are, so far, being very coöperative. I also spoke with Mrs. McGill in St. Louis. Bev was staying with them, and if something happens that I need more help, she'll come to Overland Park."

"Did you speak to Jim and Julie?"

"No, and you cannot say anything to them. That's the LAST thing Bev would want. It might also blow apart my ability to keep Heather from emergency foster care."

"What's your plan once you get to Kansas?"

"I'm literally making this up as I go along," I replied. "The most pressing immediate concern receives my attention. I'll figure out what comes next, but right now, I have to stop the State of Kansas from taking Heather away from Bev. If that happens, Bev really will lose her mind instead of just being depressed, confused, and scared."

"You've always been level-headed, so keep that up, and realize that everything you do will impact the future, possibly in ways you haven't imagined."

"Oh, I know," I sighed. "But I owe Bev this much. And I need to speak with her before I decide anything beyond the most pressing concern. And, before you say it, yes, I know she'll be in no state to make any decisions."