Music City (29 page)

Carol’s reaction was much as Rob had predicted, she was so excited to see Alex. Alex was a little disappointed to hear that their sons, B
obby and Brandon, were away at college. They were always great kids and he had really liked them. The evening was filled with laughter, lots of conversation and good memories. Alex was happy he had turned off of the interstate. The talk eventually turned to Alex, and what he was doing with his life now. He left out the part about Jessica, but filled them in on much of his life in the past ten years. He told them about the novels he had written, and about living much of the last ten years inside of a bottle, and how the death of a friend had brought him out of his drunken stupor and brought Derek into his life.

He told them about Derek, and how important Derek had become to him, something Alex had not acknowledged to himself, until he told Rob and Carol about it. He told them about moving to Nashville, hiring Tracy, and how much of a help he
was to them and the business itself. Then he talked about Shelly, and much of the tribulations she had faced in the last months, his relationship and mixed feelings about her.

Rob and Carol were enthralled the entire time Alex talked. Alex realized he had not talked that much to anyone in years, not Derek, not to anyone. It felt so good to be with people who knew him before, when he was powerful, at the top of his game and have them treat him the same now as they did then. It felt like he was ‘home’ for the first time in a very long time.

Carol insisted he spend the night with them. The next day was Rob’s regular day off of work, and Alex was looking forward to spending more time with them. He called Derek before he turned in for the night, and let him know he was spending time with some old friends and he had decided he was just going to drive back to Nashville. By the time he drove to Cincinnati, he was a hop, skip and a jump from Nashville anyway. He thought he might stop in Louisville for a day and check in with Ross Skinner from the FBI as well.

Alex enjoyed the day and another night with Rob and Carol, before he headed to Cincinnati to meet with Lester and Phyllis Wilson, the couple who had taken in and raised Harry and Seth Taylor. Before he left, Rob and Carol made plans to visit Nashville in a couple of weeks for a weekend, and for Alex to return to Wilmington for Thanksgiving, with them and their boys. Alex thought, as he drove down the interstate, that it was nice to look forward to Thanksgiving once again.

Alex arrived at the Wilson home about an hour after leaving Rob and Carol. He did not realize how close he was to Cincinnati, not being from the area. The Wilsons lived in a very nice suburb on the east side of Cincinnati and warmly welcomed Alex into their home. He found that they had tried on several occasions to adopt Harry and Seth, but had not been able to and they had struggled with the boys almost the entire time.

Lester worked for Kroger, and
was transferred from the Columbus office to the headquarters in Cincinnati several years ago. Though the Wilsons had offered to take the boys to Cincinnati with them, they adamantly refused to go. Phyllis said, she couldn’t remember the last time she had actually seen the boys. Since the Wilsons stopped handing them money, and bailing them out of jail, it seemed Harry and Seth had little use for them. Alex had already explained that Maye Taylor had passed away, and he was on a mission for one of the other siblings to find the children who were sent to live with other families.

The Wilsons knew of one of the little girls, but not the other. Phyllis said that, early on, they had kept in touch with the family who took Mandy. Their names were David and Nancy Graff, but the
Graff’s had moved a couple of times and they simply lost touch. Phyllis did have the last known address for them and it was in Louisville.

Phyllis shared with Alex all that she could remember. The
Graff’s had adopted Mandy when she was four, and had chosen not to use Mandy as her first name, but had changed it to her middle name, Elizabeth, Liza for short. Phyllis said they had called her Liza almost from the first time they saw her. Nancy Graff had loathed the name Mandy and refused to use it. She apologized for not having any other information for Alex to use. He thanked them both emphatically and skipped a little on his way out to the SUV. It was something, certainly more than Alex had when he arrived at the Wilson home. He had names and a last known address to go by now, anyway. That trip to Ross Skinner and the Louisville office was definitely on the list of things to do now.

Ross Skinner had suggested that he and Alex meet for drinks at four and then have dinner at Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse. Alex agreed, but upon arrival, he ordered his coke with nothing but ice. He enjoyed relaxing with Skinner much as he had enjoyed being with Rob and Carol. After Alex explained what he was doing, Ross Skinner offered to help Alex in any way that he could.

Ross still wanted Alex back full-time with the FBI and he admitted that he hoped using the FBI’s vast resources would convince Alex that was where he needed to be. Ross knew there was a huge need in the Cleveland office and that Alex would be perfect there. He wasn’t going to tell Alex just yet, but he hoped that soon enough, he would be able to broach the subject with him.

After enjoying dinner, Alex and Ross made plans to meet at the FBI offices the following morning, at seven
. Alex checked into his room at the Galt House and slept soundly.

When he rose the following morning, he had missed a call from Shelly. She was wondering how things were going and when he might be back. He was glad Shelly was thinking about him. She was a good friend, and Alex had come to realize over the past several days, that friend was probably all she was going to be. Shelly was a beautiful woman, without a doubt, but her lifestyle and his just would not mesh well in that kind of relationship. He felt bad, because he
was the one to initiate the idea in the first place.

***

Alex arrived at the Louisville Division of the FBI on time. He felt like a tennis ball was stuck in his throat when he looked up at the brick and mortar building, the American Flag billowing proudly in the breeze. There were few cars in the parking lot; most people at this hour, were still enjoying the comfort of their homes, sipping coffee.

Alex had always risen before the sun, showered, dressed and sipped his coffee in a travel mug, while driving to the office. Looking at the letters on top of the building that proclaimed to the world that this was an important place, he felt the knot move from his throat to his stomach. If he was honest with himself, he did miss it, all of it. Doing the private investigative work had only made him miss it more.

Ross Skinner was not a betting man; but, if he were, he had played his hand perfectly. He knew getting Alex to meet him at the headquarters would move something in Alex, in one way or another. Ross was as sure as he was of his own name that what would be moved in Alex Howard was the desire to make a difference, as he once had, as he was born to do.

He had all the information Alex had requested and had gone as far as already scheduling Liza Graff for an appointment that afternoon after her workday was over. Ms. Graff had offered to come in first thing, but Ross had insisted that her business with the Louisville FBI was nothing that couldn’t keep a few more hours, so as not to disrupt her day.

Ross knew Alex would be disappointed that he would have to wait all day to see Ms. Graff, but he also had several cases working, that he knew Alex wouldn’t be able to resist. He was going to ask him, since he had some time on his hands, to take a look at them. His reasons for asking were two-fold. Alex most likely could shed light on the cases that had left some of their best people befuddled, and in doing that, Alex would get a very small taste of what he used to thrive on. Hopefully, this small seed Ross was carefully planting today could be cultivated, to use as a lure to bring Alex back where he belonged. Ross Skinner did nothing without carefully considering every possible outcome.

Ross Skinner watched Alex pull in to the parking lot, and even at the distance he was, he could tell it was having the intended effect on Alex. Alex sat in his car several minutes, before exiting and walking towards the front of the building. When Ross saw Alex exit his car, he headed for the main entrance himself.

Ross Skinner greeted Alex at the door, a gesture that surprised Alex. “Alex, great of you to come in so early.” Ross greeted.

Alex shrugged, “Not a big deal, I appreciate all of your help on this.”

Skinner smiled, a little too bright, “I was happy to do it. I have everything you asked for, and since Ms. Graff is a teacher here in Louisville, I took the liberty of calling her last evening and inviting her here.”

Alex was stunned, “Why would you do that?”

Ross shrugged, “When I saw she was a teacher, I knew you wouldn’t be able to contact her today. I didn’t want to delay your trip back to Nashville, or cause you to have to make another trip up, so I arranged for her to meet you here, after her classes are over.”

Alex was surprised, but knew Ross had something else up his sleeve, he usually did.

Ross continued, “Since you won’t be able to see Ms. Graff until later today, I thought maybe I could get you to look at some cases that have been giving my people a lot of trouble. You know, the whole fresh eye thing.”

Alex just nodded without saying a word, eyes narrowing slightly, even as his excitement level rose against his better judgment.

Ross continued, “Would you mind taking a look at them for me? I’ll even take you to lunch, my treat.”

Alex really had no choice but to say yes, but as the day wore on, and he delved into research, carefully looking over the cases Ross had asked him to, he realized how much he missed doing this every day. While being a private investigator had its own perks, it wasn’t like being a Federal Agent. Alex missed being an agent and he hadn’t even realized how much until he was testing out the waters of his old routine again.

After a late lunch, and just before Liza Graff was scheduled to arrive, Ross Skinner went in for his kill shot. He told Alex about the upcoming opening in the Cleveland office. “It’s a new position, one that we’ve never had before. They’re calling it a hybrid job. The rank is higher than Assistant Special Agent in Charge, but still answering to the Special Agent in Charge, as well as overseeing some of the duties of the Homeland Security departments in the area. If this position goes well in Cleveland, they will create a position like it in several other areas across the country. It’s a chance for you to make the job your own, you were the first person mentioned when the meeting was held and we were told about it.”

Alex sat back and took everything in. Finally, he answered, “I’ll have to think about it, Ross. This is big, and I’m not sure if it isn’t too big for me.”

Skinner knew this was the time to show compassion and feign understanding if he was going to pull this off, “I understand Alex, I told them I would talk to you about it.” He raised his hands up in front of his chest as though he were backing off, “I’ve done what I said I would, so I kept my word.”

He let his hands drop and then shrugged, “The rest is up to you. You’ve got time to think about it, the position isn’t live until January the first.” Skinner thought about it for a split second and then added with all sincerity, “You can do it, it’s not too big for you. I know that with all certainty.”

“I’ll give it some thought,” Alex promised.

The meeting with Elizabeth Graff was uneventful, she sat and listened quietly while Alex told her about Maye Taylor, Dorothy and the brothers. He told her there was a possibility that she did not belong to Maye and a simple DNA test would give her the results. Elizabeth agreed. She said, “It’s not like I know any of these people, my parents are my parents, it doesn’t really matter who I belong to biologically. Nothing will change how I feel about the parents who adopted me.”

When the DNA results came back a week later, Alex was surprised to find that Elizabeth was indeed the biological child of Maye Taylor.

Ross Skinner volunteered to call Elizabeth into his office and explain the results to her. Alex and Derek were almost afraid to try to find the last sister, Kate, not knowing if she would belong to Maye or someone else, but Elizabeth had talked to her mother and had gotten the name of the couple who had taken Kate Taylor. Ross Skinner took the name Elizabeth gave and managed to locate Kate and the people who raised her. They were, as Francine had suggested, in Bristol, Tennessee.

Shelly, as of yet, had not been told anything and it was time to do so. Derek called Vani and set up a dinner meeting with the family for that evening.

As Shelly walked around her property, she carried a basket and scissors. She was snipping blooms off to bring into the house for arrangements. She loved the smell of fresh flowers and she enjoyed the smell of her own fresh flowers the most. She breathed deeply, inhaling the fragrance of all of the blooms mixed. As she walked, she thought about Alex. She liked him, she did, and she had enjoyed their dinner, but she wasn’t so sure that he had.

She got the feeling that her public identity was a little more than he wanted to take on. She couldn’t blame him. Living in a fish bowl wasn’t always fun.