Chapter 3: Your Move

June 28, 1991, Chicago, Illinois

“Hi Ben, it’s Steve and I have Jamie Ferguson and Jack Switzer with me. We’re in Jack’s office.”

“Good,” Ben said. “Jack, what did the FBI say when they called you yesterday afternoon.”

“That they wanted Steve to come in to talk about the unions, and they implied strongly that they’d escalate if he didn’t. They weren’t foolish enough to actually come out and say it. I promised an answer by noon today.”

“OK. That’s what, an hour from now? Here’s what I suggest. Call them and tell them he’ll come in on Tuesday. That will give us enough time to push back, hard.”

“What do you plan to do?” Jack asked.

“A friend of mine in Washington will go see someone at the DOJ today. And make it clear that it’s pure harassment and they have nothing. In addition, someone in Chicago will see the Chief Judge for the District and make it clear that we won’t stand for an ex parte warrant for a fishing expedition.”

“None of which will prevent it,” Jamie said.

“No, but it’ll put the government on notice that we’re not going to take this lying down. Look, if I thought for one second they actually had something, I wouldn’t do it this way. And, honestly, if they have something, even something flimsy, it’ll come out and we’ll know exactly where we stand. Ned Jenkins has already had a quiet word with someone at the IRS in Washington.”

“They can audit me from now until the end of time and not find anything,” I protested.

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Ben said. “The IRS can ALWAYS find something. Give Ned a call and ask him. The tax code is so arcane that if you give all your documents to three different CPAs who are also tax attorneys, you’ll get back three different tax returns. Guaranteed.”

I sighed, “Now I know I was right to leave all that shit to Elyse and Bruce Grady.”

“On the plus side, given the way you handle your finances, the worst that would happen there is to pay the difference in taxes and whatever penalties apply, though Ned could probably get the penalties waived. And you might be one of the lucky few where they find a mistake in your favor. Of course, they’ll never tell you THAT! They’ll just close the audit.”

“Which is how you know!” Jamie laughed. “He’s right, Steve. You can’t beat the IRS. You of all people should know that!”

“Yeah, yeah,” I said. “This isn’t about my libertarian politics. So what about my trip?”

“Go,” Ben said. “Let them make their move if they want to. I’ll bet you a steak dinner that nothing happens.”

“Throw in two shots of Pappy van Winkle, and you’re on!” I chuckled.

Ben laughed, “Next time you’re in LA, we’ll settle up. Jamie or Jack, one of you should accompany Steve to the airport just in case.”

“Seriously?” I asked.

“I’m sure nothing is going to happen, but if they’re going to arrest you, you want your lawyer there with you.”

“Wonderful. You know I’m taking Jesse with me, right?”

“Yes. I’m assuming one of your many women will be there to see you off and can take him in hand if it comes to that.”

Everyone laughed.

“At least you didn’t call it a harem!” I chuckled.

“Only in private! I’ll give Jack a call once I hear back from everyone. I don’t have to remind you to keep your mouth shut about this, do I?”

“No, you don’t,” I confirmed.

We disconnected the call and I looked over at Jamie, “Well?”

“I’m not admitted to practice in Federal court, so I’ll defer to Jack and Ben. As for taxes, I’d say Ben is right. We’ve talked about that before.”

“Did you do everything we talked about?” Jack asked.

“You received the backup tapes and diskettes by courier, and Elyse put in a contingent order with Dell to replace all of our computers if necessary. Dell’s business continuity people were very helpful. What about Tuesday?”

“Let’s call them now and make the arrangements. Both Jamie and I will go with you.”

“Both?”

“Ben’s idea. We’re showing them that we aren’t messing around.”

“Doesn’t all of this make it look like I have something to hide?”

“The FBI will believe that you have something to hide no matter what you do. In your case, as an innocent man, you are availing yourself of every legal protection available to you.”

He picked up the phone and called the FBI office and scheduled the meeting for Tuesday morning at 10:00am. When he finished, we all shook hands and I headed back to Hyde Park.

June 29, 1991, Chicago, Illinois

“Thanks for seeing me on a Saturday, Doctor Bradford,” I said.

“Al would never forgive me if I turned down a request from you! You said you were dealing with a lot of stress?”

“How does the doctor-patient confidentiality thing work?” I asked.

“Short of you threatening to do someone harm, or telling me something that falls under the mandatory reporting laws, it’s sacrosanct. Nothing you tell me can ever be revealed. And the mandatory reporting items are all related to sex crimes or child abuse. And before I forget, I did finish my research and anything that might have happened in Ohio, while you were a minor, would be protected. But we’ll worry about that at our regular appointment when you come back from your trip. What’s up?”

Which only added to my stress level! But I couldn’t let him know that. I explained about Katy, the BLS lawsuit, and the FBI investigation. Doctor Bradford listened, but interrupted with questions quite a few times, since he didn’t have the background that other people did. He asked about other sources of stress, and I ran through everything I could think of, though I left out two things - Fawn, and my sister.

“That’s a hell of a two-week period,” he said.

“Tell me about it!” I agreed.

“Let’s discuss your responses. First, the phone call in the middle of the night. Describe exactly what happened to the best of your recollection.”

I did, including Jessica’s quick exam afterwards.

“No dizziness? No nausea? Just weak in the knees?”

“Yes. I guess I’d say I felt the adrenaline effect, but it wasn’t as pronounced as it has been in the past.”

“With no nausea, I’d agree with you. You said you clenched the phone tightly?”

“Yes. I’m sure my knuckles went white, and I know my hand was shaking.”

“But you remained calm? All you did was sit down on the couch?”

“Sagged is probably a better term, but yes.”

“Then you dropped everything and flew to Boston?”

“Yes. Katy is a very close friend, and I have a half-ownership in the business. Either of those things would call for personal attention. Together, they meant flying out.”

“Very close? As in a lover?”

I nodded, “Yes, but she’s also more interested in girls than boys. Far more interested.”

“Ah, OK. You’ve had those kinds of impulses before. Dropping everything in a crisis.”

“Yes. And, lately, fought them off. In this case, I wasn’t manic. You can check with Jessica, if you like. I’m happy to sign whatever permission you need. It was coldly logical and calculated.”

Doctor Bradford smiled, “Which can also be a problem.”

I chuckled, “Yes, yes. We’re all crazy in our own ways. But this wasn’t me being devoid of emotion or anything. I’d say it was more like Jessica’s response to a trauma coming into the ER. Businesslike.”

“When did it really hit you?”

“When I got into bed alone in the hotel in Montpelier that first night. It was like all the energy just drained from my body. I slept eleven hours. I NEVER do that.”

“You do remember that lack of sleep exacerbates the condition you have, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, that extra sleep probably helped you stay on an even keel. Did you get depressed while you were away?”

“No, not at all,” I said.

“And did you engage in your usual manic behavior?”

I chuckled, “No. I didn’t have sex with Katy, or anyone else, for that matter!”

“Good. Now about the legal troubles. You said you were,” he consulted his notes, “I’m quoting here, ‘bummed’, about them. How so?”

“I felt like the weight of the world was on my shoulders and the world was treating me unfairly.”

Doctor Bradford laughed hard, “Did you just use your ‘F’ word?”

I laughed with him, “I guess I did.”

“Interesting. Let’s explore that. For you to say that word, it must really be affecting you deep down. Have you done anything that I should know about because of those feelings?”

I smiled, “No. Other than my usual Tuesday night with Elyse, I’ve only been with my wives. I missed the Sunday night with Abbie because I was in Vermont. And I slept alone there except the last night.”

“With Katy, but as you said, nothing happened.”

“Other than cuddling, nothing. It’s like my relationship with Bethany at this point.”

“Your friend whose husband was murdered. I remember. So no wild mood swings?”

“No. I’ve been up and down, but not like before.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Truthfully? Because every single one of my friends, lovers, and members of my family are on my case constantly about keeping my moods in check.”

“And that’s annoying you?”

“Yes,” I admitted. “Especially Jessica. She’s the worst.”

“Do you resent her behavior?”

“I suppose that’s as good a word as any.”

“We’ve discussed the importance of your family and friends helping you stay on an even keel. Why do you resent it?”

“I guess it feels like a straitjacket,” I said. “Almost constant harping. I’d say it’s caused my moods to swing MORE, rather than help at this point. It certainly adds to the stress.”

“Have you talked to her about it?”

“I’ve tried. She won’t back off.”

“When’s your next appointment with Doctor Green?”

“After I come back from Europe,” I said.

Doctor Bradford shook his head, “I don’t want you going away for two weeks with this resentment hanging over you. You’ll brood and it’s likely to cause you to misbehave. Call his service today and find some time to see him before you leave. That’s Thursday afternoon, correct?”

“Yes.”

“The three of you need to see him and you need to tell him about this.”

“I’ll make the call,” I said.

“Good. I think overall you’re doing OK. Keep to your exercise regimen while you’re in Europe, as best you can. Eat right and make sure you relax on this vacation. It’ll help you reduce the stress levels. Do you need to check in with your office while you’re gone?”

“Yes, but I do a pretty good job of not obsessing about it. I have good people running things.”

“Tell them to ONLY bother you with something critical. The rest should wait until you return.”

“That’s how we normally operate,” I said.

“Good. I’ll see you when you get back. If you have trouble making an appointment with Doctor Green, call me or Al Barton. I’m sure that will resolve the issue.”

“Thanks, Doc,” I said.

We shook hands and I headed home. I went to my study and called to set up the appointment with Doctor Green. I checked the house calendar and saw that neither Jessica nor Kara had anything scheduled for Tuesday or Wednesday evening, and managed to get a late appointment on Wednesday that would work with Jessica’s ER rotation. I went to tell them about it.

“Why?” Kara asked.

I temporized.

“Doctor Bradford strongly recommended it because he wants to make sure I have a stress-free vacation!”

“I suppose that makes sense,” Jessica said. “What are we doing before Guys’ and Girls’ Nights?”

“Just relaxing,” I said.

I did have something important I had to do that evening, and that was talk to Fawn. I hadn’t talked to her in two weeks, and I knew she wasn’t going to be happy about that, but I was sure she’d heard about my emergency trip to Vermont one way or another, and I hoped that would mollify her. I hung out with my wives until dinner. We ate, then got the house ready for our guests. When they started arriving, there was a bit of unexpected drama.

“Jesse, Francesca is here!” I called when Carol, Stan, Frankie, and Francesca arrived.

I was met by silence. Usually he came running. I called him again. Nothing.

Abbie came into the foyer and touched my arm, beckoning me to follow her to the kitchen.

“Steve, they had a bit of a falling out yesterday,” she said.

“Oh? What happened?”

“He hugged Amber and Francesca told him not to.”

“You mean he kissed Amber?” I asked. “Jesse and I talked about that.”

“No, just a hug. Then Francesca told Amber not to hug her boyfriend. Jesse was very upset and told Francesca she wasn’t his girlfriend!”

“Trouble in paradise,” I chuckled. “She doesn’t seem upset.”

“I don’t think she believed him. But he told me today he wasn’t going to be her boyfriend if he wasn’t allowed to hug his friends.”

I nodded, “Good for him. He’s not bummed or anything?”

Abbie smirked, “Are you kidding? Kristin was right there to assume what she thinks is her rightful place! And Amber never left his side. It’s Francesca we should worry about.”

“She looked fine,” I said.

“I’m not sure she understood the implications. She’s going to find out for sure tonight. She may find herself alone, because you know all the kids will back Jesse.”

“Shit. I need to talk to Birgit,” I said.

“Let me do that. I’ll make sure she, Stephie, and Alexa are with Francesca. All I need to do is tell your Pumpkin that you want her to do that!”

I chuckled, “OK. Let me know if I need to intervene, and I’ll let Fawn know that Jesse isn’t to be mean to Francesca.”

“I think he’ll just ignore her, if yesterday was any indication.”

“You know what? I think I’ll talk to him, anyway.”

I went to find my son and had him come with me to my study. I sat in one of the wingback chairs and put him on my lap.

“Did you and Francesca have a fight?” I asked.

“She was being mean! She told me not to hug my friends!”

“So what did you do?”

“Told her she’s not my girlfriend!”

“And that’s what you want? Are you sure?”

“I want to hug my friends!” Jesse said firmly. “I didn’t kiss Amber! I just hugged her! Promise!”

“I believe you,” I said. “I’m just making sure you understand. You can’t be mean to Francesca even if you aren’t happy with her.”

“She was mean to me! And Amber! And Kristin!”

“Yes, I know. But you still need to be nice, please.”

“I don’t want to hug her! Or kiss her!”

“That’s fine. You don’t have to if you don’t want to. But treat her nicely, please. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Dad!” he sighed, sounding just like a teenager, despite only being five.

“OK. Let’s go find your brothers and sisters and get you to Fawn and Keisha.”

“OK!”

We went to find his siblings and I saw Abbie talking to Stephie, so I rounded up the rest of them and took them with me to the coach house. Fawn saw me and frowned, which didn’t surprise me. Fortunately, I had a good excuse to talk to her.

“Fawn, I need a word about Jesse and Francesca,” I said.

She followed me to the kitchen where I told her what had happened.

“Wow. They seemed permanent!”

“She pushed him too far,” I said. “Just keep an eye on them, please.”

“I will,” she said, then she glanced around furtively, “Were you avoiding me?”

“No. I’ve been really, really busy with just about every crazy thing you can think of. Did your dad mention that I went to Vermont because there was a fire at Katy’s place?”

Chapter 4 »