Chapter 69

After my meeting with Reverend Archer, I had a pretty good feel for Davenport. He was different from Archer, but only in that he didn't have any feelings for the people he supposedly served. In fact they served him. Human misery was the end product of his little business. The prolonging of it meant a steady income for him. In my opinion he was no better than the guys who smuggled in sweatshop labor from Asia. He had just found a way to turn a profit from home grown misery. He most likely got a certificate of achievement from the politicians as well.

At least Archer, for all his faults, tried to get his workers off their knees and back into society. Davenport counted on them never becoming independent. He was in fact being paid to keep them dependent on him. And worst of all, he was endangering their lives in the substandard houses where he placed them.

Since it was all hearsay and from people with an ax to grind at best, I needed to see it for myself. I had a feeling Davenport wasn't going to be all that cooperative. If I planned any slight-of-hand, I probably needed to do it before he could recognize me as me.

I dialed Lucas's cell phone. It went to message right away. My guess was that he and Gwen were somewhere playing house and he didn't want to be bothered. Since the message wasn't urgent, I didn't mind.

"Lucas when you get this give me a call. I thought you and I might take a bike ride on our new toys tomorrow afternoon. I need you to do a computer search first, if you can meet me at noon tomorrow in the office. Give me a call to confirm. If I don't hear from you today, I will just handle it. I do need to ride the bike tomorrow. Oh yeah the weatherman says bright and sunny. It will be a good day for it.

I was watching a TV show from the night before on my laptop, when the cell phone played that horrible music. "Hello," I said to the phone number I didn't recognize.

"Max, it's Jerry. Are you coming to the Club tonight?" he asked.

"Jerry, I haven't even decided where I'm going to eat tonight. Why?"

"Mosby won't answer her phone."

"Call me back in ten minutes," I said. Yes, I was concerned. I had too many friends get into shit because of me. I was always concerned when my friends did the unexpected. In Jerry's case my guess was that Mosby was just too embarrassed to speak with him.

"Mosby," I said in answer to her hello.

"Talk to Jerry, people like Jerry and me are paranoid. If you don't talk to him, he will be at your door. If that is what you want, I will just send him over."

"God no, I don't want to see him now. I'm still trying to work out how I feel about last night."

"Then take his call and tell him that. I will leave you alone tonight. I have some things I need to do anyway." I didn't really, but it sounded good.

"Hello Jerry," I said when he called. "Give Mosby a call now. She will explain. And I put your phone in my speed dial list for business calls."

"You can put it in your personal file. I found you just as amazing as Mosby." he said. I could almost see the stupid male conquest smile on his face.

"And, I found you adequate," I replied. He needs just s touch of deflation, I thought. "Anyway call her, you make a cute couple. Jerry, give her some time this is all new to her."

"Okay Max, so how are you?"

"Jerry it was Mosby's first time at the dance, not mine. But to answer your real question, you did just fine."

He laughed gently then said, "I guess that really was my question. It was my first time at the dance as well."

"Okay, tell Mosby that. Also tell her she was the reason you went to the dance. Just so she doesn't feel like a piece of meat."

I did not want to stay home alone on a Saturday night. Especially not after a Friday night like the one I just had, so I rode over to Tryon. First I called Mike; since it appeared he was on duty. I drove by the addresses that Archer had provided, with Mike following behind. It was his choice to being a separate car.

The houses were always the worst ones on the block. By the time Davenport's Family Ministry got them, they would have been rundown. Old people have to let the upkeep on their homes slip, if they want to survive. Particularly those in need of a hot meal from the Family Ministry's kitchen.

Add to that Davenport's practice of not doing any routine Maintenance and it was a recipe for continued slum housing. Each of the two halfway houses, the ministry ran, was surrounded by a six foot chain link fence. They were not supposed to be prisons, but they might easily have been mistaken for a minimum security prison. There were no guard houses, but they still looked like prisons to me.

The facility for the mentally challenged was no better. The fence was lower, but there was still a fence around it. I shook my head as I did the drive by at the runaway kid's dorm. It was a large brick house, so it looked a little better, but the yard was littered and the porch looked ready to cave in. There were three colors of shingles on the roof. It was not a happy looking place at all. Hell the Adams family was most likely their decorator of choice.

I had seen all I could from the car. I needed to get onto the grounds of the kid's dorm at least. First I needed to know, whether Julie would come willingly, or if I needed to snatch her up. It would be a different kind of rescue, if Julie resisted.

"Hey Max, I will be at the office tomorrow at noon, if that is okay" Lucas's voice said over the cell.

"That's fine and dammit I want this ring tone changed tomorrow." I said finally remembering.

"That's easy you could do that yourself." he suggested. Hanging around with Gwen had not been a positive influence for him. He was getting way to independent. I did smile at the thought though.

"Then good, it won't take you long. Note the emphasis on you." I said smiling.

"All right ring tone change tomorrow. I'll down load some for you to choose from."

"Don't bother anything but that stupid song that plays now. I think it's Barry Manilow for God's sake."

"Okay no Manilow," Lucas said. "Max are we doing something out of plumb tomorrow?"

"Hell no, it's just a little bike ride around Tryon."

"Why Tryon?" he asked.

"I thought a change of scenery would be nice."

"I have a feeling it isn't going to be nature, which we will be observing."

"Oh hell, Lucas we are going to be bird watching some of the time, I promise." 'Jailbirds, ' I thought. I overlooked telling him that part. No sense getting his hopes up, nothing might happen at all.

It was seven thirty when I stopped for a Subway Steak and Cheese sandwich on the way home. Mike came inside to order a sandwich as well. I smiled and he ignored me. I also stopped at a convenience store for chips. I wanted a bigger bag, than I would have gotten at Subway and some chili cheese dip as well. Mike stayed in his car in the back corner of the parking lot. It was his way of observing without being noticed. I thought it was foolish, but I said nothing. Besides he did that James Bond shit all the time. I was used to it.