Lana\u2019s cell phone rang. It was Jill.
\n\t\u201cHi, Jill. What up?\u201d
\n\t\u201cLana! So glad I caught you!\u201d
\n\t\u201cCaught me.\u201d
\n\t\u201cYes\u2026 well, we got your copy, and uh\u2026\u201d
\n\t\u201cSpit it.\u201d
\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s great, of course, but we think you should leave out the Biblical references. Our readership might be offended by that.\u201d
\nLana giggled.
\n\t\u201cOh, sure. No prob. I\u2019ll do another draft and send it to you within the hour.\u201d
\n\t\u201cThank you so much!\u201d
\n\t\u201cThank you, so much!\u201d
\nShe clambered onto the couch, surrounded by the Tory and Mea. She opened the laptop and typed out a new draft, sans Bible. She copied, pasted, and hit send. Done. Painless.<\/p>\n
She sat and petted Tory who purred. She reflected upon the fact that when Scott was away, as now, the cats were so much more present and relaxed. She wondered if, beyond merely ignoring them and tossing them off of things, he mistreated them in more blatant ways out of the range of her senses. The equally dark understanding that she herself relaxed and became more present when Scott was away followed this thought. She understood that her marriage was in trouble. She felt her love for her husband evaporating. It was if that emotion came in a container that had developed a leak. If it were a balloon, she\u2019d be throwing things overboard to keep it aloft. She\u2019d become alarmed about the loss of altitude. It was a serious problem, because she had always been on some level afraid of Scott. Early on, that might have been part of the allure. He was strong, well toned, and while not a huge man, certainly bigger than she. There was, therefore, a certain physical frisson of danger, and therefore fear, that had been an aphrodisiac at first. Now that they\u2019d been married for a while, and he\u2019d had the chance to show his true, controlling colors, she was finding him as alarming and problematic as ever, but also finding herself tense and careful, on eggshells really, when he was around. When he was gone, she could breathe and be herself. She began to ponder the possibility of leaving him. It began to seem not so much if, but when. Once the idea worked its way up from the depths to the light of day, it was just a step away from becoming an action item on her agenda.<\/p>\n
What might the action be? One thing she thought of, especially regarding things like art work, journals, books, and things he tended to try to keep from her, such as the law books, was the idea of renting a storage space where she could bit by bit begin to extricate herself. She pondered this, and shook her head. It seemed surreal that she was even thinking these things. Yet, here she was thinking them. It was Mea\u2019s turn for pets. She soon had the darling upside down and purring like a locomotive. She picked up the laptop for another article in \u201cConnections.\u201d Perhaps this time she\u2019d give them an exclusive.<\/p>\n
Julian\u2019s cell phone was ringing.
\n\t\u201cYes?\u201d
\n\t\u201cHi, Professor.\u201d
\n\t\u201cWho is this?\u201d
\n\t\u201cThis is Justin.\u201d
\nJustin was a Lit 2 student.
\n\t\u201cWhat\u2019s up, Justin?\u201d
\n\t\u201cI wanted to tell you that a few of us went over to Parkersburg and checked out the Bald Eagle airstrip.\u201d
\n\t\u201cAgainst my advice.\u201d
\n\t\u201cYeah. Well, we know you\u2019re unable to say what you really think.\u201d
\n\t\u201cThat\u2019s not quite right\u2026\u201d
\n\t\u201cWhatever.\u201d
\n\t\u201cNo, I actually was thinking it was a bad idea to put yourselves in harm\u2019s way like that.\u201d
\n\t\u201cNo harm. We got in and out, fact finding, and were undetected.\u201d
\n\t\u201cGood!\u201d
\n\t\u201cWell, do you want to know what we found?\u201d
\n\t\u201cNo. Well, OK, since you went to the trouble.\u201d
\n\t\u201cFirst of all, that airstrip. It\u2019s not on a mountaintop. It\u2019s next to the river.\u201d
\n\t\u201cI know. Google Earth.\u201d
\n\t\u201cRight. Also, there are no Babes hanging out there. The hangar was open, and there was no Cub.\u201d
\n\t\u201cDid you talk to anybody?\u201d
\n\t\u201cYeah. Steve came up with a story about wanting flying lessons.\u201d
\n\t\u201cWhom did you talk to?\u201d
\n\t\u201cI forget the guy\u2019s name. Steve might remember. He was the one doing all the talking.\u201d
\n\t\u201cWell, can you summarize the conversation.\u201d
\n\t\u201cYo. Steve said, \u2018we were looking to take flying lessons. Do you teach, dude?\u2019 So the dude says, like, no.\u2019 So Steve said, \u2018yeah, like our girls really want to go up in a plane.\u2019\u201d
\n\t\u201cAnd what did he say to that?\u201d
\n\t\u201cHe laughed. So Steve asked if his girls did too. The guy was lol at this. He said, no, his \u2018girl,\u2019 and then he said, \u2018meaning my wife,\u2019 won\u2019t go up in a small plane. He said, \u2018just the thought makes her puke.\u2019\u201d
\n\t\u201cSo.\u201d
\n\t\u201cSo, that\u2019s not Amy\u2019s field.\u201d
\n\t\u201cI think you two\u2026\u201d
\n\t\u201cJim went too.\u201d
\n\t\u201cOK, you three are lacking what I would call \u2018good judgment.\u2019\u201d
\n\t\u201cBut hey, Prof, don\u2019t you want to give us points for trying?\u201d
\n\t\u201cNo. I want you to stop trying.\u201d
\n\t\u201cSpoilsport.\u201d
\n\t\u201cBye, guys. I recommend that you study and quit snooping.\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian ended the call, and then looked at his cell phone for a moment. He scrolled through his contacts for the number of his brother, the G-man. If anybody could find out something about somebody, it would be an FBI agent. He pushed \u2018talk,\u2019 and the number was dialed. His brother picked up on the third torturous ring.
\n\t\u201cHello?\u201d
\n\t\u201cHey, brother.\u201d
\nLaughter, as his brother feels the joy of recognition at the voice of an infrequent but welcome caller.
\n\t\u201cJules!\u201d
\n\t\u201cChuck!\u201d
\n\t\u201cWhat\u2019s up? Not that it\u2019s not always good to hear from you.\u201d
\n\t\u201cI was wondering\u2026 I guess I\u2019m looking for your professional opinion about something.\u201d
\n\t\u201cUh-oh.\u201d
\nJulian laughed.
\n\t\u201cNo, it\u2019s not anything too serious. It\u2019s just that I\u2019ve been reading this blog. Some of the students are also reading it, and some of them think this person might be in some sort of personal trouble.\u201d
\n\t\u201cWhat sort of trouble, do they think?\u201d
\n\t\u201cThe way she writes it, it seems like she\u2019s worried that she might get hurt or something. The students, some of \u2018em, mostly women, think she might be a battered woman, or something like that.\u201d
\n\t\u201cDoes the writer say that, exactly?\u201d
\n\t\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\t\u201cThen it\u2019s just speculation.\u201d
\n\t\u201cTrue. But don\u2019t you think if someone was blogging and they had a battering husband\u2026\u201d
\n\t\u201cLet me stop you right there. If there\u2019s a batterer involved, it\u2019s likely that he knows about the blog. They usually run a tight ship with regard to outside contact. That\u2019s one. Two, if that\u2019s the crime, it\u2019s a matter for the local police, and not the Federal government.\u201d
\n\t\u201cI know that, Charlie, but\u2026 I was wondering if there\u2019s any way to find out about somebody who\u2019s name you don\u2019t know.\u201d
\n\t\u201cOf course there\u2019s a way. The Bureau can certainly investigate the shit out of anyone on the planet. But I can\u2019t help you identify a woman who has committed no crime, and is merely reported by hearsay as being in some vague domestic trouble. Is she that hot?\u201d
\nHis brother was chortling at him all the way from the Nation\u2019s Capital.
\n\t\u201cCharlie, I never could get anything past you. It\u2019s not so much that she\u2019s hot, though she puts out some heat. She\u2019s the most interesting thing that has happened across my desk lately. She blogs under the name \u201cAmy Lissa.\u201d That\u2019s a pseudonym. When I Pipl it or Spokeo it, you get nothing.\u201d
\n\t\u201cPipl and Spokeo are primitive and inaccurate.\u201d
\n\t\u201cI know. That\u2019s why I\u2019m calling you.\u201d
\n\t\u201cI\u2019m sorry Justin. I really can\u2019t do anything for you.\u201d
\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s not that you can\u2019t\u2026\u201d
\n\t\u201cIt is that I can\u2019t. The integrity of the Bureau is important to me, and should be to all Americans.\u201d
\n\t\u201cOh, Charlie! It pains me that you really believe that!\u201d
\n\t\u201cHey, bro, it\u2019s my life\u2019s work. What if I said, I can\u2019t believe you like that literary crap!\u201d
\n\t\u201cActually, I think you have said it.\u201d
\nAgain, his brother\u2019s laughter crackles in his ear.
\n\t\u201cI suppose you\u2019re right!\u201d
\n\t\u201cAh, well. Still. It\u2019s great to hear your voice.
\n\t\u201cSame here.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a few more minutes of light banter, Julian hung up. His brother was a great fellow, and he told the funniest stories about the \u201cBureau.\u201d He was, however, a true believer in truth, justice, and the American way, and unless that woman decided to blow up a Federal building, there wasn\u2019t anything on earth that would get him to investigate. <\/p>\n
Without a name, he was dead in the water.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lana\u2019s cell phone rang. It was Jill. \u201cHi, Jill. What up?\u201d \u201cLana! So glad I caught you!\u201d \u201cCaught me.\u201d \u201cYes\u2026 well, we got your copy, and uh\u2026\u201d \u201cSpit it.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s great, of course, but we think you should leave out the Biblical references. Our readership might be offended by that.\u201d Lana giggled. \u201cOh, sure. No prob. I\u2019ll do another draft and send it to you within the hour.\u201d \u201cThank you so much!\u201d \u201cThank you, so much!\u201d She clambered onto the couch, surrounded by the Tory and Mea. She opened the laptop and typed out a new draft, sans Bible. She copied, pasted, and hit send. Done. Painless. She sat and petted Tory who purred. She reflected upon the fact that when Scott was away, as now, the cats were so much more present and relaxed. She wondered if, beyond merely ignoring them and tossing them off of things, he mistreated them in more blatant ways out of the range of her senses. The equally dark understanding that she herself relaxed and became more present when Scott was away followed this thought. She understood that her marriage was in trouble. She felt her love for her husband evaporating. It was if…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chapters","comments-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ken-beck.com\/bloggers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ken-beck.com\/bloggers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ken-beck.com\/bloggers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ken-beck.com\/bloggers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ken-beck.com\/bloggers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ken-beck.com\/bloggers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ken-beck.com\/bloggers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ken-beck.com\/bloggers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ken-beck.com\/bloggers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}