I finally opened my eyes. I saw other eyes. Damon and Janelle were staring down at me. They seemed amused that I could be sleeping at a time like this.
“Is that the TV, kids? All that awful racket I hear?”
“No, Daddy,” said Damon. “TV's not on.”
“No, Daddy,” repeated Janelle. “It's better than TV. ”
I propped my head up on an elbow. “Well, are you two having a loud party with your friends outside? That it? Is that what I hear out my bedroom window?” Serious headshaking came from the two of them. Damon finally smiled, but my little girl remained serious and a little afraid.
“No, Daddy. We aren't havin' a party,” Damon said.
“Hmmm. Don't tell me the newspeople and the TV reporters are here again. They were here just a few hours ago. Just last night.”
Damon stood there with his hands on top of his head. He does that when he's excited or nervous.
“Yes, Daddy, it's the 'porters again.”
“Piss me off,” I muttered to myself.
“Piss me off, too,” Damon said with a scowl. He partially understood what was going on.
A very public lynching! Mine.
The damn reporters again, the newsies. I rolled over and looked up at the ceiling. I needed to paint again, I saw. It never stops when you own.
It was now a media “fact” that I had blown the exchange for Maggie Rose Dunne. Someone, maybe the Federal Bureau, maybe George Pittman, had hung me out to dry. Somebody had also leaked the false insider information that my psychological evaluations of Soneji had dictated actions in Miami.
A national magazine ran the headline D.C. Cop Lost Maggie Rose! Thomas Dunne had said in a TV interview that he held me personally responsible for failing to carry out the release of his daughter in Florida.
Since then, I'd been the subject of several stories and editorials. Not one of them was particularly positiveor close to being factual.
If I had screwed up the ransom exchange in any way, I would have taken the criticism. I can take heat okay. But I hadn't screwed up. I'd put my life on the line in Florida.
More than ever, I needed to know why Gary Soneji had picked me for the exchange in Florida. Why had I been a part of his plans? Why had I been chosen? Until I found that out, there was no way I was coming off the kidnapping. It didn't matter what The Jefe said, thought, or did to me.
“Damon, you march right outside to the front porch,” I told my little boy. “Tell the reporters to beat it. Tell them to take a hike. Tell them to hit the road, Jack. Okay?”
“Yeah. Take a hike, Ike!” Damon said.
I grinned at Damon, who understood I was making the best of the situation. He smiled back. Janelle finally grinned, and she took Damon's hand. I was getting up. They sensed that ACTION was coming. It sure was.
I moseyed outside to the front porch. I was going to ,,peak to the newspeople.
I didn't bother to put on my shoes. Or shirt. I thought of the immortal words of Tarzan-Aaeeyaayaayaa!
“How are you folks this fine winter morning?” I asked, standing there in some baggy chinos. “Anybody need more coffee or sweet rolls?”
“Detective Cross, Katherine Rose and Thomas Dunne are blaming you for the mistakes made in Florida. Mr. Dunne released another statement last night.” Someone gave me the morning news-free of charge, too. Yes, I was still the scapegoat of the week.
“I can understand the Dunnes' disappointment at the results in Florida,” I said in an even tone. “Just drop your coffee containers anywhere on the lawn, like you've been doing. I'll pick up later.”
“Then you agree you made a mistake,” someone said. “Handing over the ransom money without seeing Maggie Rose first?”
“No. I don't agree at all. I had no choice down in Florida and South Carolina. The only choice I had was not to gq.with the contact man at all. See, when you're handcuffed, and the other guy has the gun, you're at a serious disadvantage. When your backup gets there late, that's another problem - ”
It was as if they didn't hear a word I'd said. “Detective, our sources say it was your decision to pay the ransom in the first place,” someone suggested.
“Why do you come here and camp out on my lawn?” I said to that bullshit. “Why do you come here and scare my family? Disrupt this neighborhood? I don't care what you print about me, but I will tell you this: you don't have a clue as to what the hell is going on. You could be endangering the Dunne girl.”
“Is Maggie Rose Dunne alive?” someone shouted.
I turned away and went back inside the house. That would teach them, right. Now they understood all about respecting people's privacy.
“Hey, Peanut Butter Man. Wuz up?”
A crowd of a different sort recognized me a little later that morning. Men and women were lined up three deep on 12th Street in front of St. Anthony's Church. They were hungry and cold, and none of them had Nikons or Leicas hung around their necks.
“Hey, Peanut Butter Man, I seen you on the TV. You a movie star now?” I heard someone call out. “Hell, yeah. Can't you tell?”
