Chapter 11

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Ten minutes later, Jake, Leanne and Carol knocked on Jake’s grandparent’s door. Gramma let them in.

“Gramma, do you know Leanne DeRizzo?” Jake asked.

“Of course. I’ve known Leanne forever. It’s been a long time, dear.”

“This is Carol Finch,” Jake said.

“Now, Carol is new. I’ve never had the pleasure. But this doesn’t look like a social call. Do you want to talk to David?”

“We would like to talk to both of you, Mrs. Fielding.”

“Call me Connie, Leanne. Let me get David from his study. Why don’t you take a seat in the living room? I’ll get a pot of coffee started.”

“Thanks, Connie, but none for me. I’m afraid our business is rather urgent.”

“Certainly.”

Connie walked down the hall. She returned a moment later, leading Jake’s grandfather. She made introductions all around.

“You look like people with something on your minds,” David said. “What can I do for you?”

Leanne and Jake looked at each other, neither quite sure how to proceed.

“Leanne, how do you ask your grandparents to join you in a criminal enterprise?”

“I think the best approach is to explain the circumstances. I’m sure they will see for themselves why action is necessary.”

“You’ve convinced me that something important is up,” David said. “Why don’t you just come out with it?”

“My daddy wants to make me have sex with him,” Carol said.

“How do you know that?”

“I overheard them talking, Granddad,” Jake said. “It turns out they belong to a swingers club, and they plan on taking Carol there and forcing her to have sex with him in front of the other members.”

“You heard them?”

“Yes, this morning at the Finches’ house. I don’t see how there could be any doubt.”

“He’s right, Father Fielding,” Carol said. “I didn’t know what it was, but I could tell there was something creepy going on.”

“Have you called the authorities?”

“We don’t have the kind of proof that would stand up in court, or convince CPS, Granddad. The Finches would just say I was lying or mistaken or something like that.”

“How did you get mixed up in this, Leanne?”

“I’m the supposedly responsible adult who got roped into protecting an endangered child. I’ve been lending my counsel. I believe this is the best plan given the circumstances.”

“What is your plan?”

Jake stepped in. “We think there is a good chance that Carol’s parents will give up Carol in exchange for us not going to the police.”

“It’s a plan with the virtue of simplicity. Of course, it runs off the rails if Carol’s parents refuse to go along with it. So what do you want me to do?”

“Father David,” Leanne said, “we need somewhere safe for Carol to stay while we go confront the Finches and convince them to do the right thing. We expect to do it this afternoon. If Carol were there, they would be within their rights to take her back. If they get their hands on her, we don’t know what they would do with her or where they would take her. We were hoping that you would watch her for a few hours.”

“What do you think, Connie? Are you cut out for a life of crime?”

“I don’t see why not. Carol, can you help me do some baking this afternoon? We’ll pretend we’re Thelma and Louise.”

“I don’t know how to bake,” Carol said.

“Then it’s time you learn. It’s a very useful skill.”

“So, my fellow conspirators, what is the next step?” David asked.

“I call the Finches and arrange a time to talk,” Jake said.

“Do you want to use my phone?”

“No, Granddad. I think we’ll find a payphone. They would be able to tell where the call came from with caller ID.”

“Maybe you don’t want me involved in your caper. I’m obviously not devious enough.”

“I kind of prefer it that you’re not a criminal mastermind, Granddad. We’ll come back as soon as the meeting is over.”

“Come with me, Carol,” Gramma said. “I’ve got a great gingerbread cookie recipe.”

“Thanks to you both,” Leanne said.

Carol ran over to Jake and gave him a hug.

“Thanks for taking care of me, Jake. You and Julie are my best friends.”

“I’ll do my very best,” Jake said, returning her hug.

“Mr. Finch, my name is Jake Fielding. I met you this morning.”

“Young man, I would very much like to find my daughter. Do you know where she is?”

“Not exactly, sir, but she gave me a message for you and Mrs. Finch.”

“What message? Why doesn’t she tell me herself?”

“I would be glad to explain that and give you her message. Would you and Mrs. Finch meet me over at the Denny’s by the highway?”

“I don’t see why I should go anywhere. I expect her to come home.”

“I suppose I can see your point of view, Mr. Finch. But I don’t think that you’re going to see your daughter again until you and your wife talk to me.”

“You’re playing with fire, young man. I could just call the police and tell them that you have abducted my daughter.”

“Sir, what good would that do? I haven’t abducted her. I would just say I haven’t seen her since this morning and don’t know where she is. And you wouldn’t be any closer to finding Carol. Besides, you may not want to let this drag on. Carol said something about going to see her boyfriend this evening. They’re pretty sweet on each other, and you might not want them together without some adult supervision.”

“She wouldn’t dare.”

Jake remained silent. He wished he could read Mr. Finch. But he would have to be content to exploit weaknesses that he had detected that morning.

“Hello, are you still there?”

“Yes, Mr. Finch. Well, if you’re not interested then I’ll let you go. I just thought I would try to help.”

“No. I’ll meet you there. What time?”

“Both you and your wife, Mr. Finch. I won’t talk unless you’re both there.”

“Okay, goddamn it. What time?”

“It’s almost one o’clock now. How about one-thirty?”

“One-thirty. I’ll see you then. You better not be wasting my time.”

“I don’t think you need to worry about that.”

Jake hung up and looked over at Leanne who had had her ear to the telephone, listening in.

“Well done, Jake. You played him like a piano.”

“Thanks. I always feel like I’m working in the dark when I talk to someone over the phone.”

“That’s interesting to know. The next time I want to have a fair fight with you I’ll be sure to call you.”

“It’s time for me to stop telling you about my weaknesses. Let’s drive over. I’ll go ahead and get a table and wait for them to show up.”

“Okay. I’ll drop you off nearby and let you walk the rest of the way. I’ll wait there until you’re done.”

“You don’t have to do that Leanne.”

“It’s okay. It’ll give us a chance to talk while we’re waiting for your meeting.”

She drove to the parking lot of an office building a block away from the Denny’s. From there, they had a clear view of the restaurant.

“Here’s where I’ll wait. We’ve still got some time. There is something else we need to talk about.”

“Of course. You want to know how Carol fits in with Julie and me.”

“That’s the beauty of talking with you, Jake. I don’t even have to say anything.”

“You’ve been a good advisor so far. I think I could use some more of your advice. You know that I am mad about Julie. Well, Julie is very attached to Carol. They are lovers, but I think that’s because Carol needs the release, not because the sex is that important to Julie. Julie is very loyal to her. I’m not anywhere near as attached to Carol. I’m only trying to help her because Julie cares for her so much.”

“Are you trying to tell me that you and Julie and Carol are going to be a threesome?”

“I wish it was that easy. The problem is that Carol is damaged emotionally. She doesn’t really connect with people, except for Julie. For her, sex is just a physical encounter, even with Julie. But she has this tremendous sex drive. If I don’t do something, she’s going to become promiscuous starting any day now. That would hurt Julie, so I don’t want to see it happen.”

“She’s a nymphomaniac?”

“That’s as good a word as any. The only idea I’ve come up with is to establish some kind of bond between Carol and me so that she can see that relationships are better if they have an emotional side as well.”

“So you think that if you love her that you can change her?”

“In a nutshell, yes.”

“You can’t make people love you.”

Jake was unsure how much to tell her. He knew he was on the slippery slope. He trusted Leanne, but he did not want to tell her too much. Finally his desire to be open with her won out.

“I’ve heard that saying before. It happens not to be the case for me. One of the things I can do is to affect people’s emotions and motivations. I’m very careful and selective, but I have the capability to undo some of the damage that her parents have done to her. I don’t know for sure that I can heal her, but if I can’t no one can.”

“Affect people’s emotions how?”

“I’ll give you a demonstration. For a few seconds, I’m going to make you trust me completely. Then I’ll put you back to normal. Are you ready?”

“Okay. This I want to see.”

Jake bumped up her faith in him.

“Of course, I trust you, Jake. You’re very capable and responsible.”

“I was talking this morning with a leprechaun.”

“That’s fascinating.”

“I’m going to be the next starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.”

“I bet you’ll do a great job.”

“Now back to normal”

A frisson of fear raced through her as she was restored.

“Oh, God. For a few seconds, I believed you. I would have believed anything you said.” She licked her lips nervously. “Jake, you have a lot of power.”

The more Leanne thought about Jake’s demonstration, the more the implications worried her.

“Please, Leanne, don’t panic. I respect you a lot and really want to be able to talk openly with you. I know that I could do a lot of mischief, but I almost never use this skill. I promise that except for just now, I’ve never done anything to you. I’ve never done anything to Julie.”

Leanne gathered up her courage and pushed her concerns to the back burner. Jake decided that was the best he could hope for.

“Back to my problem with Carol,” Jake said. “I could use brute force to stifle her libido, but I would rather just show her how to bond with people. Did you see her hug me when we left my grandparents? That’s the first time she’s ever showed me any kind of affection. I didn’t do anything to her except give her support during a trying time.”

“So your goal is a threesome?”

“I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong in having a relationship with two women at once. Frankly, if Julie and I could bring Carol into a healthy, caring threesome, I would think that was a very successful result. Can you think of anything that would work better?”

“Forgive me if I’m a little selfish on behalf of my daughter, but I would rather see you devoted to her rather than to two women.”

“That would be my first preference, too, but Julie would never be content with cutting Carol loose. I wouldn’t say this to Carol, but I’m hoping that once she has developed normal emotions, she can fall in love with some nice guy and leave Julie all to me.”

“You really want me to believe that being in a threesome is a sacrifice that you’re only reluctantly willing to make?”

“You have a wicked sense of humor, Mrs. DeRizzo. Honest, I really am crazy about Julie. But I’m not scared of getting involved with other people. I don’t think that you can only love one person. As far as I can tell, the only real problem with that kind of relationship is that it has more complications and requires a greater commitment from all concerned.”

“You’re an interesting young man, Jacob. It’s twenty-five minutes after. You better go.”

Jake got out of the car. Leanne called him back before he had walked three paces.

“Keep something in mind while you are talking to the Finches. They have plenty of money. Make sure they take care of their responsibilities to Carol.”

“Yes, ma’am. Wish me luck.”

Jake went into the restaurant and asked for a table with privacy. After some adjustment from Jake, the reluctant hostess seated Jake in a booth in a closed section thirty feet from the nearest customer.

He ordered a Coke and waited. The Finches finally arrived at one-forty. Mr. Finch was stewing in his anger. Mrs. Finch seemed unconcerned about anything except her sexual need.

Jake stood and waited for them. Mr. Finch slid onto the bench on one side. Jake took Mrs. Finch’s arm and guided her onto the bench on the other side. Jake slid in after her.

“What do you think you’re doing, young man.”

“Please, Mr. Finch, we have important things to talk about. Let me ask you a question. What do you call it when a bunch of married couples get together and swap their partners?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“I’m pretty sure that it’s going to come up in this conversation. I just want to call it by the right name.”

“It’s usually called the Lifestyle. Some people call it swinging.”

Jake pulled out a pad and a pen.

“What’s the name of the swinger’s club you belong to?”

“What concern is it of yours?”

Jake pulled the name from Mr. Finch’s mind and wrote it on the pad. Jake noted that Mrs. Finch was paying attention. Good, he thought, he could harvest information from her as well.

“Who’s in charge at your club?”

“I’m not answering your questions.”

Mr. Finch noticed that Jake had written down the name.

“How do you know that?” he asked.

“What is the age of the youngest person in attendance?” Jake asked.

Thirteen, Mrs. Finch thought.

Twelve, Mr. Finch thought.

Jake turned to Mrs. Finch.

“What’s the name of the thirteen-year-old?”

“Jessica Meehan,” she said out loud.

“Dawn, don’t tell him that stuff.”

“Do you know Jessica’s parents, Mrs. Finch?” Jake asked her.

She pictured a man lying on top of her. Jake pulled their names out of Mrs. Finch’s mind.

“Who’s the twelve-year-old, Mr. Finch.”

“Who do you think you are, asking those kinds of questions? And why are you writing those things down there?”

“I’m just noting that Tanya White seems a bit young to be engaging in sexual activities. What are her parent’s names?”

“Give me that!”

Jake pulled the pad back in plenty of time. Just at that moment, two policemen walked into the restaurant. The hostess escorted them past Jake’s table and seated them in the occupied section of the restaurant.

“Now isn’t that convenient. Do you think those officers would be interested in knowing that Bill and Jenny White are responsible for subjecting twelve-year-old Tanya to sexual encounters with adults?”