The Last Hope

by C. C. Jameson

  “Meh,” she said, not bothering to make eye contact.

  “Are you hungry?”

  “Meh.”

  His hand touched her shoulder. “Come on, Katie. Missing your chance to talk with Robbie today isn’t the end of the world. Let’s put something in your stomach. It’ll do you good.”

  Kate looked at him, finally understanding what he’d said. He made dinner? She couldn’t remember what she had in the fridge.

  “Did you order in?” she asked.

  “No, I cooked.”

  She smiled at him. “What did you make?”

  “Are you curious ’cause you’re scared it may be terrible?” he asked, his lips hinting at a smile.

  “I don’t have that much food left in the house. Are we having s’mores? Or jelly sandwiches?”

  He got up, reached for the towel hanging on the rack, and then stood by the tub. “Come out, and you’ll see.”

  Kate pressed the drain open with her foot then got up. She stepped over the tub and onto the makeshift bath mat, walking into the towel he was holding out for her.

  “Careful, it may be slippery.” Luke wrapped the towel around her and kissed her.

  “Dry yourself up, and come join me in the kitchen.” He was about to leave the bathroom when he looked at the sink. “I’ll put these in your washer. Where is it?”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it after I get dressed.”

  He nodded at her. “I’ll head out to grab something real quick. Will you buzz me in when I get back in a few minutes?”

  “Sure.”

  Kate’s numbness had dissipated, and Luke had been kind enough to clean up her mess... and cook. She wondered if he was any good in the kitchen, especially after what he’d said when she thought they were going to a cooking class. She dried herself up and walked out of the bathroom.

  As soon as she opened the door, a pleasant aroma greeted her nostrils.

  “Smells good! Tomatoes?” she asked.

  Luke didn’t answer.

  He must have left already.

  She walked upstairs to her bedroom to find dry clothes. She looked around and, after spending the day in a slightly uncomfortable outfit, the only appealing option was her yoga clothes, a.k.a. her pajamas. She didn’t have to dress up for Luko. If he stayed around, it was because he chose to. She felt no obligation to look pretty right now, so she headed back downstairs in her comfiest clothes, her wet hair held up in a ponytail, bath towel in hand, then started a load of laundry with all of the wet clothes and towels.

  The buzzer sounded just after she started the washer. She muffled the male voice by pushing the button to open the front door right away, and then left her apartment door ajar so Luke could let himself in.

  The delicious fragrance of the food filled the room, and Kate’s curiosity could no longer be held. She saw one pot on the stove. She picked up the lid to have a look: pasta sauce. He must have found some ground beef in her freezer somewhere. Lots of garlic, onions, tomato sauce, and green pepper? There might have been one of those left in her fridge. It smelled amazing... gourmet, even. She saw her colander in the sink, cooked pasta resting in it. She returned her attention to the stove. The heat was off, but the sauce was still piping hot. She took a spoon from the drawer and sampled it.

  “You cooked me dinner, Blondie?”

  Kate was taken aback.

  That isn’t Luke’s voice.

  She spun around.

  “Smitty? What are you doing here?”

  “Hey, was just in your ’hood, thought I’d check up on you. See how you’re doing now that your uncle’s trial is over. Haven’t seen you much at the station. The sergeant said you were helping the detectives with a case.”

  While Kate was trying to make sense of his unexpected visit, Smitty made his way to the stove and peeked in the pot.

  “Hey! Pasta sauce. My type of girl!”

  Kate didn’t know what to do, or what to say. The front buzzer gave her an excuse to walk out of the kitchen.

  “Expecting company?”

  Kate nodded her head. “Yeah, I thought you were someone else, that’s why I buzzed you in.”

  He put on a bad fake frown then lifted one of his eyebrows. “You saying you’re not happy to see the Italian Stallion here? On pasta night? Come on!”

  “Smitty, listen. I’ve got company,” she moved to her apartment door, opened it, and showed him the way out. “I’m happy that you swung by, but now’s not a good time.”

  “Not a good time for what?” Luko said, appearing in her doorframe, a baguette and wine bottle in hand.

  Kate sighed. Awkward.

  “Hey, lab guy! What are you doing here?” Smitty asked, a confused look on his face.

  Smitty had been with the Boston PD for at least a decade. It made sense that he would have encountered Luke a few times throughout the course of his duties.

  “Hey,” Luke said, nodding his head at Smitty, then sending an inquisitive look at Kate. “Got us some bread and wine. Didn’t know there would be three of us for dinner.”

  “Smitty was just leaving.”

  “Was I?” he asked, disappointment dripping from his face. “I’d love to stay. Smells good.”

  “Sorry, Smitty,” Kate said. “Now’s not a good time at all. I’ll call you, okay?”

  Smitty looked at Kate then Luke before walking out of her apartment without saying anything else.

  Kate closed the door and returned to the kitchen in silence.

  Luke didn’t say a word either.

  Kate had nothing to be ashamed of, but she didn’t dare look at Luke right now. She was afraid of how he would react, especially after how he’d behaved after Robbie’s call. She busied herself by dishing out the food Luke had cooked.

  She finally broke the silence when handing him his plate. “TV?”

  “Sure,” he said. “Are you going to look me in the eyes and tell me what’s going on?”

  Fuck, is he really that jealous?

  She met his icy stare.

  “Smitty’s a friend. That’s it,” Kate said. “He’s been helping me out. He dug out some archives for me to help with my uncle’s case, so he just popped by to see how I was doing.”

  “Are you sleeping with him?”

  “What?!” Kate couldn’t believe he’d just asked her that.

  Luke flattened his mouth. “From where I stand, it sounds like you’ve used him, and me, to get to your means. You begged me to help at the lab. Maybe you begged him to help you, too? I slept with you, who’s to know if you’ve slept with him, as well? Maybe that’s how you get your way in this world. Maybe that’s how you intend on making detective.”

  Kate stood still for a minute, her head fighting against her bleeding heart.

  What the fuck is wrong with him? How did he reach these conclusions based on what he saw? And he said I had trust issues before? What the heck do you call that, Mr. Jealousy Freak?

  “I can’t believe you,” she finally said. “Don’t you know me better than that? Luko, I... I can’t even look at you right now.”

  Kate got up, took a few steps away from him before turning around once more. “That’s what you think of me? You think I whore my way around?”

  She stormed into the bathroom, tears running down her cheeks, her flesh hot with anger.

  A couple of minutes later, a rapping sound echoed from the other side of the door.

  “Katie, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean any of what I just said.” Luke’s quiet voice was overflowing with remorse. A silent minute went by before he continued. “I have trust issues. You don’t know, but... a few months ago, I ended a relationship with a woman named Jasmina. I was with her for almost five years. Then, one day, at a conference in Philly, I ran into not one, but two of my colleagues who, after a few too many drinks, confessed they’d slept with her during our relationship. You’re not her. I have no right to judge or doubt you. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for earlier at Comic Con, and I’m sorry for just no
w. You don’t deserve this. I can let myself out if you don’t want to see my face anymore.”

  Kate stopped her silent sobbing and glanced around the room. Hard to believe the two of them had made love in this shower this very morning!

  How did the day go from blissful to awful?

  “Katie, are you okay? Talk to me,” Luke begged.

  She kept silent, pondering her options. This was her Luko. That Jasmina woman certainly sounded like she’d hurt him bad. That would be enough to turn anyone into a jealous freak. It wasn’t like he’d hit her. All he did was spurt out words he didn’t mean, probably out of fear of being cheated on again.

  “Katie, I’m worried. Could you say something? Anything?”

  And it wasn’t like it took him days to apologize. He’d made up for his harsh words in just a few minutes.

  “I’m fine,” she finally said, a bristle in her voice.

  She heard him rest against the door. “Do you want me to leave?”

  “No, it’s all right. I’m coming out.”

  A puppy-eyed Luko awaited her on the other side of the door. She wrapped her arms around him.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any of that,” he said.

  “I know you didn’t. How about some food now?”

  “Yeah, I’ll reheat your plate.”

  They sat in front of the TV and Kate flipped through the channels, hoping to find a comedy, but there weren’t any good movies on. She settled for a Friends rerun.

  A few bites into Luke’s home-cooked meal, Kate remembered that she had Parmesan cheese in the fridge.

  “Parmesan?”

  “Sure, if you have some.”

  “Coming right up,” she said, heading back to the kitchen. She opened the fridge to get the plastic cheese dispenser and got the opened wine bottle from the kitchen counter.

  “Here you go, Luko,” she said, placing the items on the table and stealing a kiss before sitting down again. “I had no idea you could cook.”

  “You assumed that I couldn’t cook because my mother lives in my house?”

  She laughed and reached for her wine glass. “Yeah, pretty much. Who would think a grown man who still lives with his mom knows how to cook?”

  “Mom moved in with me after Dad died. I lived alone before then but felt I should take care of her. I’m sure you’d do the same for your uncle, right? When he gets out of jail, if you ever feel like he’s not doing well on his own, wouldn’t you take him in?”

  Kate had to think about that.

  As much as I love my uncle, as much as I want to do everything I can to free him right now, I’m not sure I’d be able to care for him at home. Sure, for a few days or a few weeks, no problem. I’d love to. But making it a permanent living arrangement? I’d never be alone to reflect on my shit, to process stuff, to let facts sink in.

  Am I a bad person? A horribly selfish person?

  “I don’t know if I could,” she said.

  “Maybe it’s different for you. If your parents... or your baby brother...” Luke let the words trail, never finishing his sentence, and Kate was thankful for that.

  “Let’s see what else is on TV tonight,” he said, changing topics and taking the remote from her. He cycled through a few channels before settling on the 24-hour news channel.

  “Breaking news: human cloning has leaped from science-fiction to reality. Our source confirms that clones are among us, looking identical to their DNA donors. It is unclear at this time how many clones exist, and how they came to be, but we’ve received reports that at least one human clone has been discovered in the United States.”

  “Holy shit,” Kate said, bolting up. “Someone leaked it out to the media.”

  Just as she finished speaking, her phone started ringing from somewhere in the kitchen. She got up and followed the sound to find it in her purse.

  “Agent Lack here. Did you hear?”

  “Yeah, just saw it on TV. Who leaked it?”

  “That’s what I’m calling about. Was it you?” Lack asked.

  She tightened her grip on her phone. “No! Of course not.”

  “Make sure you don’t talk to the media or provide any details to anyone. This goddamn case has gone bonkers on us.”

  Kate said, “I understand. By the way, Robbie called me today. I’m assuming he was let go?”

  “Yes, we had to release him around noon, but we’ve had a couple of guys doing surveillance on him. When did he call?”

  “Late afternoon,” she told him. “I think he was at Piers Park. I got there as fast as I could, but he’d already left.”

  “That explains one of the calls he made. Did he tell you anything more?”

  “No. It sounded like he was willing to share more, though.”

  “Who knows if he’ll call again?” Lack said. “I could arrange for you to wear a wire.”

  “No point. I can relay whatever he tells me if he calls again,” she promised.

  “We’ll touch base tomorrow, or otherwise I’ll see you Monday. I’ll talk to Fuller and your district commander, make sure you can remain available to us in case he contacts you again. Call me right away if he does.”

  “Yes, sir. I will.”

  When Kate hung up, she realized Luke was on his phone, as well. “Of course. I’ll see you Monday,” she heard him say.

  “Work?”

  “FBI guy, checking that I wasn’t the leak.”

  Kate returned to the table. “I wonder who it was.”

  They finished their meal and refilled their glasses. The newscaster didn’t have anything to say that they didn’t already know, but at least he didn’t know as much as they did... at least for now.

  She pulled out her phone and dialed George Hudson’s number. If the media knew about it, she might as well talk to the lawyer and see if any of that publicly available information could be used to help Kenny. She left him a message, asking if he’d have time to meet with her early this week.

  “We live in a messed up world,” Luke said.

  Kate stared blankly at the TV. “Indeed,” she said before letting out a yawn.

  “Tired?”

  “Exhausted.” She stood up, grabbed both of their plates and flatware, and then took them over to the dishwasher. The stove clock indicated it was already 9:30 p.m. She wouldn’t be able to stay up for much longer.

  “I’m going to bed,” Kate said. “Do you want to spend the night?”

  “How are you doing?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “I’ll head home then,” he said. “I need to get a good night’s sleep before tomorrow. We’re good?”

  “Yeah, Luko, we’re good. Thanks for dinner and drive safe,” she said before kissing him goodnight.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  August 2, 2015

  Kate Murphy

  Kate’s Apartment, Boston

  A large black coffee in hand, Kate turned on the TV to see if the source had leaked any more cloning information, but the young blond anchorman was covering a different story this morning.

  “Breaking news: Cardinal Francis Daugherty, Archbishop of Boston, was found dead in the Mission Church early this morning.”

  A headshot of the famed cardinal appeared above the anchorman’s left shoulder.

  “At 6 a.m., Cardinal Daugherty’s lifeless body was found by a member of his parish. Police officials have confirmed that the body was left naked on the church’s altar. The official cause of death was stabbing, but our source also reported that the body had been desecrated. No details were released as to the nature of the mutilation. No one has been arrested, but with the numerous accusations of pedophilia and child abuse lodged against the cardinal, the list of suspects could be long. More than four hundred cases have been filed to date since he took office five years ago. The cardinal presided over a diocese of more than 24,000 students, from kindergarten to high school. No official word on whether or not these cases will be dropped.”

  Shit. What is it with powerful men an
d kids? Have they all turned into pedophiles?

  Kate turned the TV off. Wanting to ignore the atrocities of the world for a while, she grabbed her copy of the latest People magazine and headed to her hammock. She’d been reading it for thirty minutes or so when her phone rang. Was Luke missing her already? She reached into her back pocket and saw that it was Kenny’s lawyer returning her call.

  “Hi, Kate. George Hudson here. How are you?”

  “Good, you?”

  “Doing much better than half the people in this world. I can’t complain. I’m grateful to live another day. I don’t know what to think of the cloning stuff they keep talking about in the news. What were you saying in your message yesterday? You think your uncle was cloned?”

  She adjusted the phone to her ear. “Yeah, long story. I can’t divulge the details, but let’s just say I know more than what they’re saying on the news, at least more than what they knew last night. I haven’t paid attention to what they’ve been saying about it today.”

  “It’s been a freak show of specialists, theorists, and whoever else can get their fifteen minutes of fame. Folks are panicking.”

  “Crazy, I know. It’s taken me a while to wrap my mind around it, but it’s true. It’s happening,” Kate said.

  “Why don’t you come over to my house for dinner tonight? Marilou is making her world-famous fried chicken. I’m sure you’ll love it. It’ll just be the three of us. My kids are out of town this weekend.”

  Kate was surprised by his offer. He was so not the typical lawyer.

  “Sure. I’d love to. Let me put you on speakerphone so I can access my contacts and type in your address.”

  She entered the information into her phone, and then repeated it out loud to make sure she had gotten it right.

  “What time should I arrive?” she asked.

  “Any time after four o’clock will be good. It looks like it’s going to be another hot one. We can relax and chill with some of Marilou’s pink lemonade. Also delicious.”

  “What can I bring?”

  “Oh, nothing at all. No need. We’ll have everything.”

  “Sounds good. I look forward to it.”

  “See you in a few hours.”