Chapter 62: You’re Bigger!

January 7, 2002, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Jesse

While Agent Jackson made his call, I called Aunt Melanie’s mobile number, but it went to voicemail. That meant she was probably in court, so I dialed her office number.

“Kassan, Spencer & Associates!”

“Good morning! My name is Jesse Block and Ms. Spencer is my dad’s attorney. I need to speak to her, please. If she’s not available, I’m supposed to ask for Mr. Kassan.”

“Both of them are in court this morning.”

“It’s fairly urgent,” I replied. “The FBI wants to ask me questions.”

“Do not say anything to them. Ms. Smith is here, would you like to speak with her?”

“She’s the one who used to be in the Navy, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then, yes, please.”

“I’ll put you through.”

A minute later, she came on the line.

“Hi, Jesse. This is Grace Smith. I understand the FBI wants to speak with you.”

“Yes. They’re at my school and basically threatened to arrest me if I didn’t go voluntarily with them.”

“Did they say what it was about?”

“No. As soon as they said they wanted to speak to me, I said I wanted a lawyer. Are you aware of all the problems we’ve had with the FBI?”

“Aware enough,” Ms. Smith replied. “Where exactly are you?”

“Right now? My school - Kenwood Academy. If they won’t wait for you to come here, if you can, then I suspect they’ll take me to the Dirksen Building.”

“I want to speak to the agent, but before I do that, have you called your dad?”

“No. He’s in Florida for a business meeting.”

“OK. Let me speak to the agent and then you can call your dad. Technically, I need him to approve me representing you, but we can do that by telephone.”

“OK. One moment,” I said, then turned to Agent Fornell. “My attorney wants to speak to you.”

I handed him the phone and waited while he spoke to Ms. Smith. When they finished, he handed the phone back to me and Ms. Smith explained what I’d already figured out from one side of the call.

“Go back to class. I’ll be there in about forty minutes. They’ll call you again after I’ve spoken in detail with the agents. They aren’t happy because of the circumstances, but their Agent in Charge instructed them to wait.”

I almost laughed, but managed not to, “OK. I’ll call my dad, then go to class.”

She acknowledged me, then I hung up and dialed my dad.

[Boca Raton, Florida] 🎤 Steve

My cell phone vibrated and I fished it from my pocket to see who was calling.

“It’s Jesse,” I said. “He’s at school, so that means it’s urgent.”

“Go ahead,” Stephanie said. “You’re bored anyway!”

I chuckled, “Elyse’s last report said ‘Money good; Elyse happy’!”

Everyone laughed and I got up and went to a room that was a study and answered.

“What’s up, Jesse?”

“Francesca appears to have run away again,” I said. “The FBI wants to talk to me.”

“Fuck,” I growled. “Let me call Melanie.”

“Already on it, Pops! She and Mr. Kassan are in court. Ms. Smith is coming to the school so they can question me. They didn’t want to wait, but their Agent in Charge told them they had to.”

“OK. I trust Grace, so that’s OK. Call me as soon as you finish your interview.”

“You need to call Grace. She said she needs your permission.”

“OK. I’ll call right now,” I agreed.

We said ‘goodbye’ and I hung up. I dialed Melanie’s office and caught Grace before she left.

“You have my permission to represent Jesse. Just draw from my retainer, please.”

“Why do they want to talk to him about a runaway in Iowa?”

“I guess he couldn’t talk.”

“Not really, no.”

“It’s his former girlfriend, and she ran away once before and showed up at the Compound.”

“Did he have anything to do with it?”

“No. As far as I’m aware, the only contact they’ve had is a letter she sent him surreptitiously.”

“OK. I’m leaving now. I’ll call you when we’re done. I’m sure Jesse will as well.”

“Thanks, Grace.”

“You’re welcome.”

We said ‘goodbye’ and I snapped the phone shut, then went back to the meeting.

“Everything OK?” Stephanie asked.

“Francesca seems to have run away again,” I replied.

“She showed up at the house?” Elyse asked.

“No. But the FBI is looking for her and wants to talk to Jesse.”

“And your son lawyered up, didn’t he?” Liz asked with a smirk.

“Of course he did! Grace Smith, one of Melanie’s associates, is going to represent Jesse while the FBI interviews him. Anyway, it’s not a big deal, so we can get back to our regularly scheduled boring financial planning meeting!”

Everyone laughed, and Elyse began speaking.

[Chicago, Illinois] 🎤 Jesse

It was nearly an hour before I was called back to the office, and Ms. Smith and I went to a dean’s office so we could have some privacy.

“When’s the last time you heard from your girlfriend?” she asked.

“Ex-girlfriend,” I replied. “Because her mom is insane - she divorced and moved twice to try to keep Francesca and me apart.”

“We don’t have a lot of time, but can you give me an outline, please?”

I gave her a two-minute description of my relationship with Francesca from the time I was three months old until Francesca ran away and came to Chicago.

“How old is she?”

“Sixteen. My birthday is next month. She’s about three months older than I am.”

“OK. You know anything you tell me is privileged, right?”

I nodded, “Yes. Unless I make a credible threat against a specific individual or tell you I’m going to commit a felony.”

“Were you and Francesca intimate?”

“I usually refuse to answer that question,” I replied. “But the answer is ‘yes’. If the FBI asks, I’ll tell them they can ask Francesca and whatever she says is the truth.”

“I doubt they’ll ask that question. Remember, wait for me to say it’s OK to answer, and then give the shortest possible answer, as clearly as you’re able. If you’re unsure, say so. If you don’t know, say so. If you don’t want to answer because you think it might cause you problems, say you need to speak to me privately. You obviously know what it means to ‘take the Fifth’, but don’t say that unless we speak first.”

“Why?”

“Because it will piss them off, and they’ll look for ANYTHING you’ve said to try to pressure you by threatening to charge you with either lying or obstructing justice.”

“That’s bullshit!” I protested.

“Yes, of course it is, but it’s also true. Ready?”

“Yes. The plods won’t know what hit them!”

Grace laughed, “You’ve watched English television?”

“Yes, but also from Doctor Jon, our friend from England who stayed with us.”

“Ready to go?”

“Yes.”

Grace went to the door and invited the two FBI agents into the room.

“Have you had any contact with Francesca Corday recently?” Agent Jackson asked.

Ms. Smith nodded so I answered.

“I received a postcard from her back in October that she had a friend send to me. She called me from a friend’s house in June of last year. Before that, it was when she came to Chicago in February of last year.”

“When she ran away?”

“Yes.”

“What happened then?”

“Agent Jackson,” Ms. Smith said, “all of that is in the report filed at the time. My client has nothing more to say about that incident and stands by his prior statements.”

He frowned, “What’s your relationship with Francesca?” he asked.

“None,” I replied. “She was my girlfriend until her mom said she couldn’t see me, and then moved to Naperville and then to Iowa.”

“Why was that?” he asked.

“You’ll need to ask Ms. Corday that question,” Ms. Smith interjected. “My client can’t possibly know what Ms. Corday was thinking and elects not to speculate.”

He sighed, “OK. Have you seen her since February, 2001?”

“No.”

“Have you communicated with her in any way since that postcard you referred to?”

“No.”

“Do you have any idea of her current whereabouts? Or with whom she might be?”

“No.”

“And none of your friends have communicated with her on your behalf?”

I looked to Ms. Smith who shook her head, then asked the agent to step outside.

“Is it possible someone spoke to her on your behalf?” Ms. Smith asked once the door was closed and we were in private.

“Possible? Sure. But I didn’t ask anyone to do that, and I can’t imagine who would do it without talking to me.”

“OK. Then you tell the agent that to your knowledge, that did not happen.”

I nodded and she brought the agents back in.

“To my knowledge, no,” I said.

“Is there anyone else who she might have contacted?”

“Again, to my knowledge, no.”

“Who were her friends here, besides you?”

“Libby, Cynthia, and Kelly, but I can’t imagine she would call one of them instead of me.”

“Would you let us look at your mobile phone?”

“You’ll need his father’s permission for that,” Ms. Smith said. “And I’ll advise against it without a warrant stating specifically that you are looking for contacts or references to Francesca Corday. No fishing expeditions, Agent Jackson.”

“You know we can subpoena the records from the phone company.”

“Yes, you can. And I’m sure you will.”

“We don’t have any other questions, but we might in the future,” Agent Jackson said.

I got one of my dad’s cards from my wallet and handed it to him.

“This is my dad’s card. You’ll need to speak to him first.”

“OK. If you hear from Francesca, I want you to call us,” he said, handing me a card.

“Let me have that, Jesse,” Ms. Smith said. “If Francesca gets in touch with you or shows up at your house, call me and I’ll inform the FBI.”

I nodded and handed her the agent’s card.

“We’d like to go to your house and verify that Francesca isn’t there.”

I shook my head, “My moms will never agree, nor will my dad.”

“We actually don’t need a warrant in the case of the disappearance of a minor.”

“I would strongly suggest you not force the issue,” Ms. Smith said. “You will find yourselves on the receiving end of a complaint, and there will be no cooperation of any kind after that point. I’ll go with Jesse, as an officer of the court, and verify that Francesca is not at his house or his father’s house. If she is, I’ll call you.”

“That’s not how it’s done,” Agent Jackson replied.

“I think we should let them do that,” Agent Fornell said. “I believe Jesse is telling the truth, and the AIC was adamant that we do nothing that would cause Jesse’s dad to have any reason to complain unless we felt we were being lied to or misdirected. And it’s unlikely she could be here, as she only disappeared between 6:30am and 7:15am.”

I almost laughed, because the FBI was actually afraid of my dad.

“So she left for school but never arrived at school?” I asked.

“Correct. She got on the bus, got off at school, but never showed up for homeroom. The school was aware of her previous runaway incident and immediately notified the local police and her mother. We were called about twenty minutes before we arrived here.”

“Well, short of a Star Trek beam transporter, there’s no way to get here from Iowa in three hours. I’d check the bus.”

“Agents are checking that now.”

“I don’t see a point of searching the house, Agent Jackson. Nice try, but no chance.”

He frowned, “It’s procedure.”

“And procedure calls for you to investigate a literal impossibility? Even a light plane couldn’t get her to Chicago this quickly, assuming the airfield isn’t next to the school in Iowa, and the plane was warmed-up and ready to fly. I’m ex-Navy and I investigated enough UA sailors to know means and methods. And we’re talking a sixteen-year-old girl here, so odds are she’s on the bus. Jesse, go back to class. I’ll finish up with the agents.”

“OK,” I replied.

I left the room, pulled out my mobile phone, and dialed my dad.

[Boca Raton, Florida] 🎤 Steve

My phone buzzed and I excused myself to take the call.

“Hi, Jesse. What’s up?”

“According to the FBI, Francesca got on the school bus, got off at school, but never made it to homeroom. I guess they have some kind of alert on her, because the school immediately called her mom and the Iowa cops. The Iowa cops called the FBI.”

“You’re OK with Ms. Smith handling this?”

“Yes. She seems to have learned a bit from Melanie about dealing with the Feds!”

I chuckled, “I bet! Have you heard from Melanie?”

“No, but I’m sure Ms. Smith will fill her in.”

“What did the FBI ask?”

“Mostly about if she’d been in touch, but other than the postcard and call you know about, she hasn’t. They wanted to look at my mobile phone but Ms. Smith told them ‘no’. She said the same thing about searching at the Compound for Francesca. That’s when they revealed she only disappeared less than four hours ago.”

“She’s on the bus, I’m sure,” I said.

“That’s what I think, too. And so does Ms. Smith. If Francesca shows up I’m supposed to call Ms. Smith and she’ll call the FBI.”

“Don’t be surprised if you see a car parked outside the house.”

“A stakeout?”

“I’d expect it, actually. Look for a late-model Ford with government plates and the engine running.”

“Could they be more obvious?” Jesse asked, laughing.

“They don’t need to be surreptitious in this case. That said, they’ll have someone stop every bus that left the area in the right timeframe. I’m shocked at how fast they moved.”

“Would YOU want to deal with Francesca’s mom wigging out completely?”

“No! Anyway, if Francesca does show up or call you, call Grace and let her know, then call me. Have you talked to your moms?”

“No. I’ll tell them when they get home. I guarantee they think dealing with the FBI is a ‘dad thing’.”

“Of course they do! You know that if they do show up with a warrant you have to let them look through the house, but they can’t look anywhere she couldn’t hide. So they could open a closet, but not a drawer, and so on. Make sure you call Grace if they do show up with a warrant, but you can’t delay them.”

“Got it, Pops. I’m going back to class.”

“OK.”

We said ‘goodbye’ and I snapped the phone shut.

“Jesse?” Stephanie asked.

“Yes. Francesca disappeared this morning and basically, everyone thinks she’s on her way to Chicago to see Jesse. The FBI is being their usual overzealous selves, as it would be impossible for her to be in Chicago given the elapsed time. She didn’t get in touch with Jesse, but then again, she didn’t get in touch with him last time.”

“I’m sure Melanie has it under control.”

“It was Grace Smith,” I replied. “Mel and Sam were both in court this morning. She has a capital case, so that doesn’t surprise me.”

“That triple homicide?” Elyse asked.

I nodded, “Yes. She’s convinced the cops have the wrong man, but you know how THAT goes.”

“A black defendant who ‘confessed’?” Julia asked.

“Right the first time,” I replied. “He ‘fell down’ five or six times while in custody and then signed a confession.”

“That shit just HAS to stop!” Stephanie groused. “Did they take him to the secret interrogation location?”

“They hit all the items on the ‘abuse, torture, and brutality’ checklist,” I replied.

“Assholes. Anyway, shall we return to the topic at hand?”

[Chicago, Illinois] 🎤 Jesse

“What happened?” Libby asked at lunch.

“Francesca ran away again this morning,” I replied. “Well, that’s the assumption because she rode the bus to school but never made it to homeroom.”

“Did she call you?”

“No. The last I heard was that postcard I told you about.”

“This is your ex-girlfriend?” Kwame asked.

“Yeah. The one with the lunatic mom who divorced her husband and moved twice to keep me and Francesca apart.”

“They think she’s coming here?” Adi asked.

“That’s what she did last time. They’re checking all the buses between Iowa and here. I’d guess that’s where they’ll find her.”

“What is her mom’s problem?” Chenelle asked.

“She didn’t want Francesca and me to see each other. We’d been close since we were babies, and when we turned fourteen, her mom decided she had to break us up.”

“She was worried you were going to fool around?”

“So it would seem.”

“So what will you do if she shows up?” Kwame asked.

“The only thing I can do - if she shows up, I have to call my attorney so she can call the FBI. Anything else would be a felony.”

“You could actually go to jail?”

I nodded, “Both state AND federal. In Illinois, it’s illegal for anyone other than law enforcement or an authorized agency to give ANY help to a runaway, even giving them food or a drink. And not telling the FBI would be ‘obstruction of justice’ or something similar.”

“And here I thought Chenelle’s parents were overprotective!” Kwame said, shaking his head.

“We just have to be creative,” Chenelle giggled.

“How was hockey practice this morning?” Adi asked.

“Ugh,” Kwame groaned. “Don’t ask!”

“Fine,” I replied. “I don’t mind the early morning ice time.”

“That’s because you’re a goalie, and we all know they’re a bit ‘touched’!” Kwame declared.

“A bit?” I asked with a smirk. “Goalies are completely insane!”

“And Jesse fits the bill perfectly!” Libby teased.

Everyone laughed, including me. When we finished our lunches, we went to our lockers to get our books for our afternoon class. On the way to my psychology class, Angelina, the cheerleader I’d danced with at the New Year’s Eve party came up to me.