on
your freedoms. Unless you consider being in a relationship as
infringing on your freedom but it didn't sound like it earlier. When
looking for a significant other, I have always looked for a partner,
and not for someone I can dominate.”
“Do you mean that? You don't
think I'm broken somehow, you don't think I'm a failure because I'm
divorced and my parents disowned me?”
“I think that you are the most
sane adult you mentioned in your story. I really wouldn't want to
have to deal with people that acted the way you described. I'd lose
my temper with them pretty quickly myself. How you stood it for
years, I don't know.”
“I didn't know any better. I've
given it lots of thought since I divorced.”
“See, you aren't damaged goods,
you just didn't know any better. Even without knowing any better you
still got yourself and your son out of that situation.”
Margaret's face saddened:
“Freddy has Jack though, when I
called him he told me I wasn't getting him back.”
“You have legal custody, yes?”
“Yes, I'm supposed to.”
“Then we can get the local
sheriff to come out with us and he'll have to hand him over.”
“Except the sheriff goes to the
same church. I somehow think he won't cooperate.”
“Well, where does he live?”
“Just over the state line, in a
small town called Turnsville.”
Greg smiled, “That's actually
good. Since he refuses to turn Jack back over to you and lives across
the state line from where Jack is supposed to live, we might be able
to get the feds involved. If it's considered kidnapping by not
returning him, then it's a federal offense. A visit from a couple of
FBI agents might change Freddy's mind for him, don't you think?”
“I couldn't do that to him.”
“I can. What's his address? I'll
have to make sure that it qualifies as a federal offense but I'm
guessing that they can dig up something and if this church is as out
there as you say, they're probably already keeping an eye on it. My
boss knows a guy in the FBI office, I can probably get him to hook me
up as a favor.”
He could see her considering it for a
moment, a very short moment:
“1818 Wagon Wheel Rd.”
“Let me make a couple of phone
calls, okay? My boss probably wasn't working today anyhow because of
the weather.”
Greg spent the next half hour on the
phone. First he was talking to his boss and then, after explaining
the situation to him, he got a number for the FBI agent.
When Greg called the FBI, he was
shuffled around a bit, but when he got to the right agents they were
more than happy to hear about the situation. In the intervening years
since Margaret had been there the church had become more extreme, and
at this point the FBI was considering putting them under watch as a
potential hate group. When Greg explained the situation, he was told
it would be taken care of and asked if would he prefer the child to
get a ride back with the FBI or would he prefer the mother to come
down with them and take custody of the child there. A quick question
to Margaret and they were scheduled to go down with a pair of FBI
agents in two days to reclaim Jack. If Freddy resisted, the FBI
agents were willing to get a warrant for him on a charge of
kidnapping. It probably wouldn't hold up in court but the warrant
alone would allow Margaret to take custody of Jack again.
Margaret was very nearly smiling when
Greg hung up the phone. She walked over to him, leaned down and gave
him a chaste peck on the lips:
“Thank you, again. I would have
done anything to get Jack back and here you go and arrange it without
asking for anything. I would have willingly given myself to you in
'that way' to get you to do what you just did. But you did it without
asking for anything and without a second thought. I don't understand
you at all. I thought I knew what people were like but you keep
insisting on acting in ways that I didn't think people acted
anymore.”
Greg was stunned from her kiss. The
scent of her filled his
your freedoms. Unless you consider being in a relationship as
infringing on your freedom but it didn't sound like it earlier. When
looking for a significant other, I have always looked for a partner,
and not for someone I can dominate.”
“Do you mean that? You don't
think I'm broken somehow, you don't think I'm a failure because I'm
divorced and my parents disowned me?”
“I think that you are the most
sane adult you mentioned in your story. I really wouldn't want to
have to deal with people that acted the way you described. I'd lose
my temper with them pretty quickly myself. How you stood it for
years, I don't know.”
“I didn't know any better. I've
given it lots of thought since I divorced.”
“See, you aren't damaged goods,
you just didn't know any better. Even without knowing any better you
still got yourself and your son out of that situation.”
Margaret's face saddened:
“Freddy has Jack though, when I
called him he told me I wasn't getting him back.”
“You have legal custody, yes?”
“Yes, I'm supposed to.”
“Then we can get the local
sheriff to come out with us and he'll have to hand him over.”
“Except the sheriff goes to the
same church. I somehow think he won't cooperate.”
“Well, where does he live?”
“Just over the state line, in a
small town called Turnsville.”
Greg smiled, “That's actually
good. Since he refuses to turn Jack back over to you and lives across
the state line from where Jack is supposed to live, we might be able
to get the feds involved. If it's considered kidnapping by not
returning him, then it's a federal offense. A visit from a couple of
FBI agents might change Freddy's mind for him, don't you think?”
“I couldn't do that to him.”
“I can. What's his address? I'll
have to make sure that it qualifies as a federal offense but I'm
guessing that they can dig up something and if this church is as out
there as you say, they're probably already keeping an eye on it. My
boss knows a guy in the FBI office, I can probably get him to hook me
up as a favor.”
He could see her considering it for a
moment, a very short moment:
“1818 Wagon Wheel Rd.”
“Let me make a couple of phone
calls, okay? My boss probably wasn't working today anyhow because of
the weather.”
Greg spent the next half hour on the
phone. First he was talking to his boss and then, after explaining
the situation to him, he got a number for the FBI agent.
When Greg called the FBI, he was
shuffled around a bit, but when he got to the right agents they were
more than happy to hear about the situation. In the intervening years
since Margaret had been there the church had become more extreme, and
at this point the FBI was considering putting them under watch as a
potential hate group. When Greg explained the situation, he was told
it would be taken care of and asked if would he prefer the child to
get a ride back with the FBI or would he prefer the mother to come
down with them and take custody of the child there. A quick question
to Margaret and they were scheduled to go down with a pair of FBI
agents in two days to reclaim Jack. If Freddy resisted, the FBI
agents were willing to get a warrant for him on a charge of
kidnapping. It probably wouldn't hold up in court but the warrant
alone would allow Margaret to take custody of Jack again.
Margaret was very nearly smiling when
Greg hung up the phone. She walked over to him, leaned down and gave
him a chaste peck on the lips:
“Thank you, again. I would have
done anything to get Jack back and here you go and arrange it without
asking for anything. I would have willingly given myself to you in
'that way' to get you to do what you just did. But you did it without
asking for anything and without a second thought. I don't understand
you at all. I thought I knew what people were like but you keep
insisting on acting in ways that I didn't think people acted
anymore.”
Greg was stunned from her kiss. The
scent of her filled his
Similar Books
