The Fix-It Man

by Donald Wells

  There was also the Disposal Room, where the bodies of the murdered were placed in drums of acid, and apparently left to dissolve.

  In what passed for an office in the building, hundreds of digital recordings of every atrocity that had ever occurred within the house were found, the rapes, the murders, even the disposals of the bodies. It appeared as if every moment of every day the women spent in their cells had been captured, to be viewed by Thorne and Rainer at their leisure.

  Thorne and Rainer had used their wealth the way a wolverine uses its claws, they ripped and shredded whatever they sought to devour.

  Rainer had cut the deal of the millennium with the authorities before bringing them to the house. For all the horror he had inflicted, he was to serve only a five-year sentence under house arrest, a house in Westchester County that was a modern palace.

  However, he would never make it home.

  One of the officers that had accompanied him as he gave his tour of “The Dormitory” looked on in revulsion, as Rainer prepared to leave the scene in a limo to return to his mansion.

  The cop, a twenty-two-year-old rookie, couldn’t stomach the injustice of it all and proceeded to empty his weapon into Rainer.

  Rainer died on the scene, surrounded by twelve other officers, including Garner, who apparently had been looking elsewhere at the time of the shooting.

  Other witnesses were being sought, but little hope was given.

  I caught Garner’s eye.

  “The cop that shot Rainer, have his lawyer contact me, I’ll pay for his defense, whatever he needs.”

  Garner grinned. “Thanks John, damn stupid rookie, but hell, we all felt like doing it.”

  * * *

  By seven a.m. we had answered every question and were leaving the command center.

  Tori, Bobby and I would be flying back to Castle Ridge in a helicopter, while Felicia and Sophie were staying in the city until all the dust cleared.

  The five of us walked outside into a media firestorm. Apparently, the D.A. had been giving a press conference.

  One of the reporters spotted Felicia and shouted, “There’s the wife!”

  Immediately, a wave of cameras and microphones pointed in our direction, as reporters began bombarding Felicia with questions.

  “Mrs. Thorne, do you know where your husband went?”

  “Did you know about the murders?”

  “Do you still love him?”

  Felicia looked as if she wanted to evaporate. She had just survived the worst nightmare of her life and hadn’t slept in a day. The lights blinded her, as microphones were jammed in her face and the pounding questions continued.

  “What was it like to live with him?”

  “Did he ever try to kill you?”

  “That baby you’re carrying, is it a boy?”

  “Will you name the baby after its father?”

  “Mrs. Thorne, say something!”

  And she did.

  “My… my baby isn’t David’s. We, I… I was having an affair at the time I became pregnant.”

  “You’re saying it’s not Thorne’s, well then, whose is it?”

  Felicia reached over and took my hand.

  “Johnny is the father of my baby; it’s Johnny Faron’s.”

  Then she gazed up at me with pleading eyes and I spied the little girl within, the one who always looked up to me, who I had protected from neglect and an abusive father, and who I still loved beyond measure.

  “Is it true Mr. Faron?”

  “John, are you the father of Mrs. Thorne’s baby?”

  As I felt Tori’s eyes drilling ragged holes into the back of my skull, I gazed into a sea of cameras.

  “Yes, it’s true.” I said. “Felicia Thorne’s baby is mine.”

  47

  Tori and I sat in armchairs and looked across a glass coffee table at Felicia and Sophie, who were sitting on a blue satin sofa.

  We were in Felicia’s suite at the Hamiltonian Hotel, after finally escaping the mob of reporters that had hounded us.

  I arranged a limo for Bobby and told him I would see him back in Castle Ridge, he then looked at Felicia and smiled back at me with a grin that revealed both disappointment and envy.

  Tori had said only four words to me after my announcement.

  “Wait until we’re alone.”

  We weren’t alone, but I guess she thought the time was right to speak. She asked, “Is it true?” while looking only at Felicia.

  Felicia met her stare and answered. “No.”

  “How many weeks along are you?”

  Felicia gave Tori a number. I calculated the date in my head and blurted it out.

  “We were in Cancún that week; it was right after we signed the deal with Universal.”

  Tori gazed at me with a scathing glare that let me know I’d be best served to keep my mouth shut, and then she looked back at Felicia.

  “Just when I start to like you, you pull this shit. You’re the most selfish bitch I’ve ever met.”

  “I’m sorry Tori.” Felicia said. “But I did it for my baby.”

  Tori rose from her chair. “Lie to yourself, not to me.” She then headed for the door without a word to me.

  I followed Tori, but in the doorway, I turned and gazed back at Felicia.

  She whispered. “I’m sorry Johnny.” and then hung her head.

  * * *

  Tori and I had also taken a suite in the Hamiltonian, and she stormed into it now and threw herself into a corner of the sofa.

  I kneeled before her and took her hand.

  “I hope you can forgive me.”

  Her head shot up. “I thought you said we were in Mexico that week?”

  “We were! Honey, I’m not the father. I meant I hope you can forgive me for claiming to be the father.”

  “Why did you do it, why?”

  “I couldn’t throw her to the wolves, I just couldn’t.”

  “This is forever, do you understand that? By claiming to be her baby’s father you and she will be linked together forever. There will be custody agreements, birthdays, visitation, schooling, you’ve just insured that Felicia stays in our lives forever, but maybe that’s what you’ve wanted all along.”

  “What are you saying? It’s not as if we planned this. The press was all over her and she panicked and named me as the father, and then I… backed her up.”

  “She’s free now, and we’re not married yet. Is there something you want to say to me?”

  “Yes.” I kissed her. “I love you. And right now, I’m praying to God that you still want to be my wife. Honey I’m sorry, I know it’s all one big goddamn mess, but we can work through it. Please? I love you.”

  Tori sighed in frustration and I felt her exasperation.

  “Oh John, that woman is never going to leave you alone.”

  “I want to protect Felicia’s baby, but not at any price, not if it costs me you. If this is too much to ask, I’ll deny paternity. I’ll do whatever you want. What would you like me to do?”

  Tori grew silent for long moments before she spoke again.

  “Take responsibility for being the baby’s father, but let me handle the legal aspects. I’ll draft an agreement, one which outlines your responsibilities, yet severely limits your involvement.”

  “You don’t want me to be a part of the baby’s life?”

  “I don’t want its mother to be a part of your life. This agreement will protect the baby from Thorne’s disgrace, but it will also expunge Felicia from our lives. Do you think she’ll sign it?”

  “Yes, her main motivation is to protect her child. I really don’t believe this was a ploy to get back into my life. Draft it any way you want, and honey, thank you so much for understanding.”

  Tori stood up and yawned.

  “We’ll talk more about it later, right now I need some sleep.”

  In the bedroom doorway, she turned and looked back at me.

  “Aren’t you coming?”

  I glanced down a
t the sofa. “I thought I might be sleeping on the couch for a while.”

  Tori walked back over and took me by the hand.

  “Let Felicia have all the fantasies she wants. You’re my man, you’re going to be the father of my children and you’re sleeping in my bed.”

  “It sounds like I’ll be the one living the fantasy.”

  “You’re damn right!”

  48

  At three o’clock that afternoon, I left Tori sleeping and went by the hospital to see Bill. To my surprise, he had a visitor.

  “Hello Sophie, fancy meeting you here.”

  “John, I was so worried about Captain Healy last night. When I saw him fall to the ground I thought David had killed him.”

  “Yeah, it scared the hell out of me too.”

  Sophie rose from her seat by the bed. “I’ll let you two talk; goodbye Captain Healy.”

  Bill grabbed her hand before she could walk away.

  “Call me Bill.”

  Sophie smiled down at him. “All right, Bill, and get better,”

  She walked past me, but then came back and kissed me on the cheek.

  “That’s for protecting my niece, and my grandniece.”

  “The baby’s a girl?”

  “Felicia took one of those new home tests that tell you the sex, you know, blue for a boy, pink for a girl. It’s a girl.”

  “I’m glad; Felicia’s always wanted a daughter.”

  Sophie sent Bill a smile and then walked off down the hall.

  Bill nodded at the door. “You know, that’s a damn good-looking woman.”

  “Of course she is; she looks too much like Felicia not to be.”

  I took the chair that Sophie had vacated and asked Bill how he was doing.

  “They’re letting me go home tomorrow. My question to you is, how is Tori doing?”

  “She knows I’m not really the baby’s father, but she’s willing to let me claim I am for the baby’s sake.”

  “I saw you on TV this morning. You do realize that was a live press conference?”

  “I know, what did you think when you saw it?”

  “The truth? I was disappointed in you.”

  “And now?”

  “I’m proud of you John. Sophie explained that you were only looking out for Felicia, and you’re saving that baby from a lifetime of shame.”

  “It’s all a fucking mess, but what else could I do?”

  “Nothing, you love Felicia.”

  “Enough about me, what’s the news on Thorne?”

  “He’s disappeared. Garner says that Thorne divested himself of most of his holdings over the last few weeks, took a big hit to do it so fast too, still, he’s probably got about twenty million stashed away.”

  “What about the estate?”

  “Demolished, looks like Sophie and Felicia will be living in hotels for a while.”

  “Do you need anything while I’m here? Food? Magazines?”

  He opened the drawer on the side table, it was filled with magazines and candy bars. “Sophie came bearing gifts.”

  “Have you given my job offer any more thought?”

  “Yes, and I accept boss. I’ve already given the department notice.”

  We talked a while longer and then I got up to leave.

  “Take care.”

  “Will do,” Bill said, and then his phone rang. As he answered it, I waved goodbye and left the room.

  I was ten feet from the door when he called me back. I came back in and he held up his index finger, telling me to wait while he finished his call. As he talked, I heard him use the words “fugitive” and “presumed dead.”

  The call ended and Bill had a cheerless look on his face.

  “Was that about Thorne? Did they get him?”

  “No, that was one of my men, Doug Johnson, seems the Canadian Mounties stumbled upon a murder suspect.”

  “Who?”

  “John, it was Mona, Mona Delgado.”

  49

  Tori and I were in California, on Monterey Bay.

  Her father, Bart Jameson, was giving us a tour of his home.

  Tori said her father owned at least six homes but rarely stayed in any of them, other than the one he owned in Philly.

  Bart Jameson was sixty-eight, but thanks to plastic surgery, a physical trainer and a dietician, he passed for mid-fifties.

  Accompanying us on the tour was Bart’s “aide.” She was nineteen but would probably be mistaken for twelve without her make-up.

  Tori whispered to me that Bart’s “aide” Nina, was most likely to become her father’s ninth wife.

  The home was one of a kind. Its front end was anchored to a huge edifice of rock that jutted out of the sea near the shoreline at the base of a cliff, and was then connected to land via an ornate oak bridge that led to a sweeping lawn.

  The rear of the home was supported by stilts, round columns of red metal that rose up high from the waves amid craggy rocks.

  The front of the home had two levels. The first level, the bridge level, was the main living area. As you entered the home, the living room sat before you with a grand piano and overstuffed furniture, to the right of that was the kitchen.

  Up a spiral staircase was the second level, which held the bedrooms, one master bedroom that devoured two thirds of the space and a guest room that used up the remainder.

  Past the living room and up a step was a spacious expanse of hard wood flooring. The wide room was a hundred and fifty feet in depth and looked it.

  The room was used to entertain and given the need could be filled with a massive dining table or left bare for dancing.

  Other than the rise in height, it was also partitioned off from the living room area by a glass block wall, which slid along easily on a metal track to allow access.

  In fact, most of the walls on the main level were made of glass and in whatever direction you gazed, the ocean looked back.

  It truly was a marvelous home.

  Tori’s father handed her the home’s key cards and security information and then reached out to shake my hand.

  “It’s been nice meeting you John; by the way, I’m already on the waiting list for the Faron One.”

  Faron One was the tentative name that Universal planned to call the first car powered by my engine.

  “I hope you enjoy the car when it’s finally available.” I told him. “The release date keeps getting pushed back.”

  Bart Jameson leaned over and kissed Tori on the cheek.

  “Goodbye honey, enjoy the house.”

  Bart had told Tori that he wouldn’t be able to come to the wedding, something about contract negotiations in Dubai.

  After wishing us the best of luck, Bart loaded Nina into his red convertible and then drove off without a backward glance, his dyed blond hair floating in the breeze.

  Tori sighed. “So now you’ve met my father.”

  I said, “Yes.” and we left it at that.

  We walked back inside and wandered about the home for a while, but then settled on a green, leather sectional sofa in the living room.

  “What time is your flight?” Tori asked.

  “Six p.m.” I said. Tori was staying in California to solidify the wedding arrangements while I flew back home to oversee the completion of our house. We were set to move into it after returning from our honeymoon.

  “Did you call Felicia?”

  “I did. I’m meeting her and Sophie at what’s left of the Thorne Estate, the police finally gave the okay for them to take whatever they can salvage.”

  “Tell her to have a lawyer look at it. I don’t want her signing our agreement unless she understands what it is she’s signing; I don’t want to hear any pleas of ignorance later on.”

  “I’ll make sure she understands.”

  “What about this sister of hers, Mona?”

  “Apparently, Mona may be dead. She was living on a houseboat when a fire broke out. The fire spread, there was an explosion and the boat was destroyed. The
y’re still looking for her, but they say the body may have washed out to sea, or she’s hiding somewhere, possibly injured. The Canadians only realized she was wanted when they discovered she had been living under an alias.”

  “Felicia’s relatives are a mess, a sister who’s wanted for killing her father and David Michael Thorne, a serial killer for a husband.”

  “Bill says that Thorne may have left the country; there’s been no sign of him at all.”

  Tori kissed me. “I won’t see you for a while.”

  “I’ll call you every day, and then I’ll join you back here and marry the hell out of you.”

  Tori peeked about the room. “Have you ever done it in a room with glass walls?”

  I slipped a hand beneath her blouse.

  “First time for everything,”

  * * *

  The next day, I was with Felicia at the Thorne estate, in wintry New York weather.

  The home was mostly a pile of snow-covered rubble and collapsed walls.

  We were sifting through what might have been her bedroom when she stooped down and grabbed a dented metal box. The box was gray and looked as though the fire had singed it.

  Felicia pulled a set of keys from her purse and inserted one into the lock, when the box opened, she sighed with relief.

  “What’s in there, important documents?”

  “Priceless,” She said, and then handed me the box. Inside were numerous photos of the two of us, along with letters I had written her when she had first moved away from Castle Ridge. I held up a picture, it was the one Janey took of us on my parents’ bench in Atlantic City.

  “That’s my favorite too.” Felicia said.

  I put the picture back and handed her the box.

  “Tori needs that agreement signed and returned as soon as possible.”

  “I’ll bring it with me when I come to the wedding.”

  I shook my head. “I still can’t believe she invited you.”

  “Why not? That way she gets to rub it in my face.”