The Last Hope

by C. C. Jameson

  Will this turn into something serious?

  If things sour, will it end my freshly re-kindled friendship with Luke?

  She didn’t want to think about these questions right now. All she wanted was to feel the excitement and joy that this morning had brought and to savor every minute of it.

  I’ll be spending the whole day with Luke, which is gonna be nice.

  After parking her car, they walked hand in hand to the visitors’ registration area, unaware that their idyllic day was just about to encounter its first hiccup.

  Although the prison had okayed Kate’s visit for this morning, Luke wasn’t on Kenny’s approved guest list. Therefore, he would not be allowed in. The overweight and disgruntled female corrections officer who stood behind the desk was adamant about it. Luke presented his Massachusetts State Police Crime lab ID along with a sparkling smile, but that didn’t sway the woman in making an exception. Not even this once.

  “I’m so sorry, Luke. Do you mind waiting here?” Kate asked.

  The corrections officer interrupted their conversation again with more bad news.

  “No can do,” she said. “You can’t stay here. Only approved visitors are allowed and only for a specific time.”

  “I’ll just wait in the car,” Luke said. “Do you have the keys?”

  She handed them to him and kissed him goodbye before returning her attention to the overbearing officer.

  Thirty minutes later, Kate was finally escorted to a meeting room where she waited for Kenny to show up.

  When he walked in, she couldn’t help but notice how skinny and frail he seemed compared to the other prisoners.

  He smiled at Kate. She wanted to hug him, but she knew the rules. The officer had been clear during her pre-visit brief: no touching. Kenny sat on his side of the table and greeted Kate.

  “Hi, Kenny! I’m so happy to see you. How are you doing?”

  “I’m fine. You look different. Is it your hair?”

  “No, nothing’s different with my hair,” she said. Kate was ecstatic they were making progress with the cloning theory but couldn’t share that with him. She was not sure if she should tell him about Luke. Then, she couldn’t stop herself and decided to spill the beans, at least those that pertained to her romantic life.

  “I’ve met someone.”

  Her uncle brightened up. “Ah, the glow of love. That’s what’s different about you,” he said. “Hope this one’s not a scumbag like the previous one.”

  “No, definitely not. He’s an old friend from... before.”

  “Before?” Kenny asked, squinting a little.

  “My best friend when we were kids.”

  “Ah. What’s his name?”

  “Luke O’Brien,” she said.

  “O’Brien, you say?” Kenny thought for a moment and then nodded. “Irish. I like that. Good choice. Do you know where his family’s from?”

  “I have no clue where they’re from originally.”

  “A man’s roots are what makes him who he is. If you find out where he’s from, you’ll know where he’s headed.”

  That’s deep of him to say. He probably has a lot of free time on his hands to analyze things.

  “Find out,” Kenny insisted. “Maybe we’ll go visit his roots in Ireland if I ever get out of here.” He scratched his neck and smiled.

  “Speaking of which, I think you should rephrase that to be ‘when’ you get out of here,” Kate said, grinning.

  Kenny sat straighter, his eyes connecting with hers. “What do you mean? Have you talked with George lately? Did something new come up?” His voice rose an octave in pitch.

  “Something’s come up all right, and I think it will help, but I can’t talk about it right now,” she told him. “I think we’ll be able to reopen your case. You just have to sit tight and be patient for a little while longer. I really think we’re onto something big. We should be able to prove your innocence.”

  “Sit tight and wait. That’s all I can do I guess,” he said and then once again scratched his neck and smiled.

  Kate wondered what terrified her uncle this time. “So, how are they treating you here?” she asked.

  “Oh, it’s not as bad as you’d think. I’m an old man. I keep to myself cause I don’t want any trouble. I got nothing they want. Three meals a day and a roof over my head is all I need. And no grumpy Maude that won’t get off my back.”

  Kate smiled. “Yes, I saw her the other day when I picked up your rosary. She misses you badly. I took care of your bills. Everything’s good with the house.”

  “Tell that old bag I’m glad to be locked up here; for once she can’t bother me.”

  Kate laughed. “Sure, will do,” she said, and then improvised a little. “She also told me to give you a kiss on her behalf.”

  Kenny snarled. “You can tell that woman to keep her filthy lips away from me! At least these walls protect me from her.”

  “You love hating her,” Kate said with a laugh. “Think you may hate loving her, too?” She observed Kenny’s reaction, but it was what she’d expected from him. He mumbled something to himself, and all she got were the last few words, something that ended with “...stupid Maude.”

  Kenny asked about what was happening at work, but Kate couldn’t really go into too many details.

  “I got to hang out with detectives this week,” she said. “I really enjoyed it.”

  “Good, I’m sure you did great. You’ll make detective in no time now. You deserve it.”

  Kate smiled. If only it were that easy to make detective. But at least she was playing with the big boys, and loving every minute of it.

  They chatted about other things (weather, sports, and the food he was eating) until the security guard announced that her visit was over.

  After saying goodbye, Kate returned her visitor’s pass and headed back to the car, excited to see Luke again.

  He was sitting on the hood, streaming a video on his phone when she got there.

  “Did you miss me?” she asked, catching him off guard.

  “Tremendously.” He flashed her his crooked smile, slid off the car, wrapped his arms around her, and whispered in her ear, “You don’t want to know what I’ve been thinking about while you were in there.”

  “Tell me, please,” she said, letting him feel his way under her shirt.

  “I kept undressing you in my mind, letting my fingers reach—”

  A woman cleared her throat behind them.

  Kate turned and saw the cranky corrections officer approaching a nearby car. “Are you fucking kidding me?” she mumbled.

  “Let’s get going to Comic Con,” Luke said. “Should we change here first and then head there directly?”

  “I don’t really want to use their bathroom and come out dressed as Wonder Woman. I may get more than a throat clearing from her or whoever took the next shift.”

  “Why don’t I drive and you can change in the car?” Luke suggested.

  “And you?”

  “I’ll just change in the parking lot once we get there. Let me open the trunk to grab the costume bag.” He looked at the key ring and found the right button. “How was your uncle?”

  “Okay, I guess. Each time I see him, he seems weaker and paler. He’s lost weight, but he says he eats plenty and he’s treated well.”

  “Prison is probably tougher on him than he lets on, but he seems to be all right? Well, considering...”

  Kate nodded. “Considering he shouldn’t be there in the first place?”

  “Yeah... that, too.”

  Too?

  Kate wondered what else he was referring to, but Luke had already changed topics.

  “Are you excited? Your first Comic Con ever,” he said, enthusiasm spewing out of his mouth.

  Kate flashed him her biggest smile. She was thrilled, all right, but not about Comic Con.

  The high she was on came from playing detective for a few days and having made progress on proving Kenny’s innocence, at least potent
ially. Comic Con was just a distraction to her. The case was now in the FBI’s hands. Spending the day with Luko was just the cherry on top of the sundae, Comic Con or not.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  August 1, 2015

  Kate Murphy

  Downtown Boston

  Forty-five minutes later, they drove into the Seaport parking garage, but it was full. They roamed for another twenty minutes until they noticed a minivan pull out of a spot on a side street.

  After parallel parking, Luke switched off the engine and faced her. “You make an awesome Wonder Woman, Katie,” he said before kissing her. “Hope you’re ready for a wonderful first-time experience.”

  After Luke got out of the car, he grabbed the costume bag, traded his plaid shirt for a white one, and then layered a brown blazer on top. Since his costume was far less intricate than Kate’s he was nearly done. He stretched the rubber band from his bow tie, slid his head through it, and then tucked it under his shirt collar before reaching into the bag one last time for the two plastic pass holders and ribbons.

  “Dr. Who’s good to go,” he said.

  “Did you buy this costume or were these things already in your closet?” she asked teasingly.

  “The bow tie and jacket? They were in my closet, but I don’t normally wear them at the same time.”

  Kate let out a light laugh. “Not normally? You sometimes do?”

  “I don’t have many blazers or ties.”

  Kate kissed him. “You’re a geek.”

  “But I’m not like the other geeks you’ll see today, I’m your geek,” he replied, kissing her back.

  He placed her pass around her neck then did the same for himself before opening the trunk. Kate took her phone out of her purse and then dropped the costume bag in the trunk.

  They had already taken a few steps toward their destination when Luke stopped. “Your cape!” he said.

  “Oh. I must have left it by the windshield.”

  “I’ll get it.”

  Luke ran back to the car and returned with the red piece of fabric. He tied the cape around Kate’s neck and closed the Velcro strap.

  “You look great, Katie.”

  “Thanks! You too, Doctor.” She looked at her phone and her outfit for a few seconds. She didn’t have any pockets, and it wasn’t as if she could just hide it in there. But she didn’t want to leave it behind either since she felt a little naked without it.

  “Would you mind keeping it in your pocket?”

  “Sure, I’ve got lots of them.” He dropped Kate’s phone in his left breast pocket. “Let’s go and meet some superheroes.”

  They arrived at the Seaport World Trade Center just after 2 p.m. The streets were filled with people in costumes, so Kate didn’t feel so out of place anymore, although she was a little self-conscious with her outfit, which basically consisted of a one-piece swimsuit with a built-in, padded, underwire push-up bra. She also wore wrist covers, a golden headband with a star on it, and leg warmers.

  Luke pulled out his phone and showed the EventBrite codes for their single day admissions, and they were allowed inside. Kate wondered how much these tickets had cost him. Based on the number of people in the conference center, Comic Con organizers probably made a fortune. Enough to pay celebrities to come in. She recognized a Lord of the Rings hobbit walking among the crowd near them.

  “So, what do you think?” Luke asked.

  “There’s a lot of people here,” she said.

  “Lots of awesome people. Would you like to have your picture taken with one of them?”

  “I don’t know. No, that’d be silly,” she said, shaking her head.

  “Hey, there’s nothing silly about this. There’s lots to do here,” he said before pulling out a folded sheet from his back pocket and handing it to Kate. “Here are our options for this afternoon.”

  Kate had a look. There were several discussion panels and Q & As being held in the amphitheater, a list of photo ops with celebrities, and other game-type events planned for the ballroom.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “So much stuff, so many people.”

  He nodded enthusiastically. “I should have warned you about this. I freaked out the first year I came. But the inner geek in me was so excited that I stayed, and I loved it. Why don’t we just walk around for now?”

  “Sure, sounds good.” Kate squeezed his hand, happy to have him with her. It wasn’t that she hated people; it was just that being surrounded by so many at once was a bit dizzying. Plus, she knew how dangerous crowds could be.

  Luke led her down a row of booths, slowing down to peek at some of the displays. She saw several comic book series she’d never heard of. Many of the artists were there, sketching and showing their work to whoever would stop and talk to them. The talent these guys displayed was surreal. The man in front of her was drawing an underwater scene in charcoal with a character that looked like Poseidon.

  Kate had never been able to draw anything better than a stick figure. Although her imagination was fruitful, she had never managed to give form to the images she saw in her head. How wonderful it would have been to simply take a picture of what she saw in her mind’s eye. It would have made her teenage years’ psychotherapy sessions much easier on her.

  “What are you thinking about?” the therapist would have asked, and she’d have pressed a button on a remote. Her mental images would have been spit out on photo paper, in all of their dark and bloody goriness. But Kate suspected that having articulated and described what she saw in her nightmares or whenever she closed her eyes had played an important part in her therapy.

  Although the bloody visions were few and far between now, Kate still woke up in a sweat from time to time. She kept dreaming of drowning in a pool surrounded by people. No matter how loudly she yelled, no matter how much she waved her arms in the air, nobody saw her. She could always recognize a few faces in the crowd: her mom, her dad, her uncle, her ex-husband, some people from work. She’d watch them walk away, one at a time. The crowd around her would dissipate until no one was left, and then she’d lose all of her strength and sink to the bottom of the pool.

  But Kate wasn’t afraid of water. In fact, when she first explained this regular nightmare to her therapist, he’d suggested she take swimming lessons. So, Kenny had paid to enroll her in classes at a nearby YMCA where she learned to swim. She wasn’t the most graceful swimmer, but she could remain afloat and go from point A to point B and wasn’t afraid of drowning. Even after successfully passing her swimming lessons, she kept having that dream.

  The therapist had said something about abandonment issues, but who could blame her for that? She’d lost everything as a child. The love of her parents, her baby brother, her innocence. And now, even Kenny had been taken away from her. She knew she couldn’t rely on anyone. Anyone but herself. If anything happened, then she’d blame herself for it. There was no point in blaming the universe or anyone else.

  We are who we choose to be. We are responsible for our own lives.

  Kate felt Luke’s hand pulling her aside.

  “What’s wrong? You’ve been staring at this guy for a few minutes. You haven’t even answered his question.”

  Kate gazed at Luke, puzzled. “Sorry.” She then turned to the artist. “I like your art. You’re very gifted. Beautiful.”

  Kate walked away from the artist, embarrassed. Luke followed her.

  “Are you all right?” he asked again.

  She tried to shake herself out of it. “Yes, my mind was somewhere else.”

  “Oh, look at him!” Luke pulled her toward a man dressed as Wolverine from the X-Men movies.

  Luke nearly bounced in excitement. “He looks just like the original comic book version. Can you take a picture of me next to him?” he asked, handing her his phone.

  Kate nodded and took a couple of shots. Luke seemed like a kid again.

  “Thanks,” Luke said to the Wolverine man and again to Kate when she returned his phone. He looked at the
pictures she took then kissed her.

  They walked by a few more booths, then one drawing caught her gaze: A bunch of men were running, seemingly scared and angry, and large letters spelled out the word “CLONE” across the cover. She stared at it, and the man behind the table started speaking to her.

  “This is a sci-fi story, completely original. It’ll soon be turned into a TV show, as well.”

  Cloning, a sci-fi concept? If only that were the case.

  “What is it about? The storyline?” Kate asked.

  “It’s about Dr. Taylor. He’s enjoying his life just fine until an identical, bloodied version of himself arrives at his front door and tells him that he’s one of his many clones and that all of them are after his pregnant wife and unborn child.”

  Kate nodded without thinking. “Pretty neat,” she said, walking away as her thoughts started on a downward spiral.

  What would be worse? Knowing that you have clones or having them and not knowing? Having an army of them, or just the one? Having your clones wanting to kill those you love, or having them commit crimes on your behalf and ruining your life? How does the Colony work anyway? Do they make multiple clones of a person or just the one?

  She thought about calling Agent Lack or Dr. Dobbins to find out if they’d gotten more out of Robert, but realized this was not the place or time. They’d told her they’d call her if they needed her.

  She saw Luke across the aisle. She went back to him and circled his waist with her arms. He turned to face her, wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and then kissed the top of her head. She wondered if he’d be in her drowning dream one day. If he’d reach down to help her, or if he’d ignore her like the rest and walk away.

  Who knows?

  But right now, she didn’t feel lonely with Luke at her side.

  After two hours of wandering around, Kate was genuinely enjoying herself. Comic Con was a good distraction and an excellent place for people-watching and celebrity-spotting.

  Kate and Luke turned into the next aisle, and they both gawked when they saw the naked blue woman from X-Men, wearing nothing but blue paint. Kate remembered she changed shape in the movie, but she didn’t recall her character’s name, let alone her actress’s name.