Carla sent Jenny up to Paddy's room to change the bedding. As Jenny opened the door, it surprised her to see the picture of the little girls sitting on the dresser next to pictures of her own family. Jenny had not given the picture another thought, but at that moment it occurred to her that Gideon LaMont might indeed be married. She quickly went about changing the sheets, dusting the dresser, and then picked up the picture. She walked over to the open window and looked at the two little girls in the light.
Jenny did not hear the footsteps, but sensed she was being watched. She turned and saw Gideon standing at the door. She clutched the picture tightly as Gideon walked into the room. It had been the second time he caught her in such a position.
"You sure are interested in that picture." Gideon said as he reached for the delicate frame and took it from her.
"I didn't hear you coming."
"Why, what would you have done if you had?"
"I don't know," Jenny replied. She was irritated at the question. "I didn't know you were married."
"I'm not," Gideon answered. He placed the picture back on the dresser as if it belonged there. Then he turned to Jenny with eyes that had softened. "My wife divorced me a while back."
"I didn't mean to pry."
"It's no secret. These are my little girls."
"They're pretty." Jenny said.
"Actually this picture was taken four years ago."
"Gee, then they must be..."
"It doesn't matter," Gideon quickly added. "I haven't been any kind of a father to them. It's hard in my line of work."
"Where do you live?" She paused before continuing. "When you aren't working, that is."
"Since the divorce, I don't really have a home base. Bronk gives me the use of safe houses when I'm in town. Beth won't let me take the girls to any of them because she doesn't think it's a proper environment for them to be in."
"I don't blame her," Jenny said without thinking. All she had on her mind was the flat on Bedford. If that was an example of the safe houses he used, she could understand his ex-wife's decision.
Gideon put his hand on her shoulder, and then stared into her eyes. Gideon was about to say something, but a movement at the door caused him to hesitate.
"Oh here's where you are. There's a phone call for you. Someone named Jake." Carla looked at Gideon and then at Jenny.
"Yeah, I've been waiting for his call," Gideon replied. He walked past Carla. Before leaving the room he turned and took one last look at Jenny, who was still at the window.
Once Gideon was down the stairs, Carla turned to her daughter. "Your father's a little concerned about your friend."
"There's no need to be." Jenny laughed at the idea of Gideon being considered her friend.
"Is there something you aren't telling us, Jenny?"
Jenny held the curtains aside and glanced out the window. The freshly whitewashed buildings gave an almost new appearance to the wood on the barn, but she knew the old homestead had seen better days. Times had been tough for her parents since Paddy died, and they did not need additional troubles to worry them.
"No, Ma. You can reassure Pa everything is under control."
Jenny made up her mind when Gideon got off the phone she would give him what she had. Only then, would she be able to put it all behind her and go on with her life.
Carla reached over, took her daughter in her arms, and squeezed tightly. "I'm sorry that after all this time you had to find out John was dead." They stood there for a few moments. Carla glanced around the room and was saddened by the memories it held. She wiped away the tears that fell and turned to Jenny. "Be thankful that you know."
"It's hard," Jenny fought back the tears before continuing. "He's buried someplace over there."
"Put it behind you and go on."
"I wish I could," Jenny said. So much of what she felt and who she was was buried with John.
"Your friend seems interested."
"Ma, really, you have to be kidding if you think Gideon would be interested in me."
"I see the way he looks at you when he thinks no one is watching."
Jenny walked over to the dresser, picked up the picture of Gideon's two girls and handed it to her mother. "These are his."
"Is he still married?" Carla asked. She held her breath until Jenny shook her head and then breathed a quick sigh of relief.
Jenny picked up the pile of sheets on the floor and walked past her mother, no longer wanting to talk about the man who had followed her there. She turned and took one last look at the room. The last time she had been in there was after Paddy's funeral. She remembered as a young girl all the nights they watched the stars and talked about their futures, and what it was they wanted to do with the rest of their lives. Jenny missed Paddy: most of all she missed the best friend a sister ever had.
CHAPTER 23
Finally, after numerous tries, Gideon got a hold of Langley. Although Colby was in Washington meeting with the president, Gideon left the message with Phil March. Gideon did not like passing information on to Colby through him, but did not want to impose on the Morgans any longer than was necessary. He relayed a verbal report assuring Phil that Jenny was about to give him the information they wanted and it would only be a matter of time until he was finished with the assignment and on his way back to Langley, where he would file a full report.
Gideon also got some disturbing information that troubled him. An all-points bulletin was put out on Ian Usova, but he was still at large. The Russians were up in arms and filed a formal complaint with the United Nations insisting on an apology and that all charges be dropped as if nothing happened.
Upon hearing the news, Gideon slammed the receiver down. He glanced around the room. The mid-marriage furniture sent his memory into overdrive. He thought back to summers on his grandparents' farm in Maine. They were fond memories of a time that was simple in nature. Gideon walked into the kitchen, poured himself a cup of coffee, and glanced up at the clock above the kitchen sink. It would be four hours before Jake made it up there, and now he was faced with explaining this to Jenny.
Jenny dropped the pile of sheets down the bathroom chute, and then walked downstairs in search of Gideon. She glanced out the front door. The sun was bright and the air cool as her mother busied herself tending to late blooms. She then heard noise coming from the kitchen.
Gideon turned as Jenny walked through the door. "Want a cup?" he asked raising the pot.
"Sure."
Jenny walked over to the table, sat down, and then glanced up at Gideon. She could not get over how easily Gideon fit into the farm environment. She watched as he walked over to the table with two cups in hand. He set the one in front of her, then took the chair across from her and sat down.
"What did your friend want?" Jenny asked.
"He's not actually a friend. A business acquaintance, you might say. I asked him to come up here."
"Gideon, you didn't. How am I going to explain it to my parents?"
"I can't be expected to watch you night and day. Besides, I now have your parents to protect."
Jenny got up from the table and walked over to the overnight bag on the floor next to the door. She picked it up and set it on the counter. Quickly she opened the flap. Once she pulled out the envelope, she tossed it at Gideon.
"Now you can tell him not to come."
"It's too late. He's probably on his way."
"Well when he gets here, he can just turn around."
Gideon stared at Jenny. "You mean you've been carrying this around with you?"
"No. I kept it in Benjamin's studio. Last night before I decided to leave, I picked it up," Jenny said. She found it difficult to look into his dark eyes. She stood there for a moment not knowing what more to say.
Gideon opened the envelope and dumped the contents onto the table. As he unfolded the map he looked up at her. "Shit, you know what you have here?"
"Not really. And I don't care to know either."
"It's a topogr
aphical map of the area around Camp David," was all Gideon said. He studied the map and then put it down. Gideon picked up the other papers. He had a puzzled look on his face as he tried to comprehend what it all meant.
"You don't understand it either?" Jenny asked, then walked across the room and looked over Gideon's shoulder.
"It doesn't make sense."
"Join the club."
Gideon stared at the cryptic message on the piece of paper. "I know this is coded." He turned and looked up at Jenny. "Was there anything else?"
"Oh yeah," she said, then walked to the counter and reached into the side pocket of her purse. Jenny handed Gideon the two envelopes.
Gideon took them from her and looked inside one, raising his eyebrows. A smirk crossed his face as he glanced up at Jenny. "Did you forget this on purpose?"
"If I were going to spend it, I would have done it already."
Gideon set them on the table, and then picked up the map, staring at it for what seemed like forever.
Jenny finally broke the long silence. "I don't understand the writing at the bottom of the map."
Gideon looked down, and then shook his head. "When did you get this?" he asked.
Jenny thought for a moment. "Tuesday, right after I was at the hospital," she said.
"Are you sure?" he asked. Because if it was true what he was thinking, then there was definitely a leak at the agency and, worse yet, they could expect company later.
"Yeah, I'm sure."
"Damn," Gideon said laying the map on the table.
Jenny sat down. "Would you take me back to New York?"
Gideon stammered for a moment. "How about tomorrow morning. I'm not sure what time Jake will get here. And I doubt he will be happy with me if we turn around and leave tonight."
"Gideon, I wish you would have cleared this with me first. How am I going to explain this to my parents?" Jenny walked over to the table and sat down while avoiding looking at Gideon.
"It would have been a lot easier if you would have come clean in the beginning."
"What was I to do?" Jenny turned and looked into Gideon's eyes. "Delaney told me not to trust anyone. And in comes Gideon LaMont on his white stallion to save the world. How was I to know you were one of the good guys?"
"You didn't even give me a chance."
"All I wanted was the truth about John."
Jenny stared at Gideon from across the table. His jaw muscles tensed as he turned away.
"It's difficult."
"You know, Gideon, I've read all of John's letters over and over in my mind, and he never once mentioned a Gideon LaMont."
Jenny just stared at Gideon. Part of her not being able to trust Gideon had to do with that little fact.
"I didn't work for the army," Gideon whispered as if not wanting the world to hear.
"Whose side were you on?"
He turned away. "They called it Clandestine Operations. It's a nice word for spying in enemy territory."
"What has that to do with John and his unit?"
"They were approached with a special mission. It meant cutting their tour."
Jenny gasped. She remembered John saying he hoped to get an early discharge, but she never understood what he meant. She wondered if all her letters about missing him and loving him so much made him vulnerable to the mission Gideon offered.
"How could you?" Jenny asked glaring at Gideon.
"They knew the risk."
"Did any of them make it back?" Jenny asked, but when Gideon did not answer, she turned on him and yelled. "Why?"
"An early end to the war."
"Crap!" Jenny slammed her fist on the table and Gideon jumped, and then she continued. "They were already at the peace table, how could your mission bring an earlier end?"
"We wanted proof that the Russians were arming the Viet Cong. Pictures of arms depots and stuff like that."
"Did you get it?" Jenny asked.
"No."
"How many of the men returned alive?" Jenny asked.
"Only myself," then Gideon quickly added. "Delaney and Jimmy made it out, but they sold their souls to the devil to do it."
"How did John die?"
"I don't know if I can," Gideon whispered.
"I have to know," Jenny challenged.
"Jenny, John survived five months of intense fighting. He had some tough missions and he managed to keep the casualties lower than most units that saw heavy action. What can I say?"
"Tell me why he was singled out for this great opportunity of yours?"
Gideon shook his head. "John had a sixth sense. He knew who belonged in the villages and who didn't." Gideon stared up at Jenny with a peculiar sort of laugh that came from down deep.
"Keep going, I want to know it all." It scared her thinking Gideon's offer for an early discharge was the reason for all of this.
"It was on that last mission, we were in the bush for two weeks, deep in enemy territory." Gideon hesitated, but then quickly continued, "We passed through a village near the edge of some mountains we had to cross. There were old women and young children with the elder working in the field. It was eerie coming out of the jungle and having to cross the village before we could reach the cover of mountain terrain again. You felt like someone was watching all the time. It was enough to make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end." Gideon stared at Jenny. When he saw that Jenny did not grasp what he said, he quickly added. "You had to be over there to understand."
Gideon had a strange look on his face when he spoke those words. Jenny understood all too well. She remembered the letters Paddy wrote. He hated the people, the country, and worst of all the war he did not believe in. His letters were in stark contrast to John's and Jenny realized now John purposely kept his fears from her.
Gideon did not notice Jenny get up for more coffee. He was in a trancelike state. Once the memories started he could not shut them off.
"As we passed the elder, John bowed his head in respect. You could feel something was wrong, but all you could do was wait until the first round was fired so you knew who the enemy was."
It scared Jenny thinking John's love for her caused him to make a decision that in the end cost him his life. Jenny sat down at the table and stared at Gideon.
"As we passed, I noticed a young Vietnamese boy about fourteen working the fields. I just thought he was the old man's grandson. John walked up to the lad, took his hands, and bowed his head. John was different in that way, I just figured he was paying respect to the young lad as he did when he passed the elder."
Gideon was rocking on the chair. His hands were twisting around the cup on the table. He looked at the window for the longest time and then turned back to Jenny.
"After we marched down the narrow path, John whispered back to keep an eye on the boy. His men knew what he meant. We were about fifteen yards from the group, then without warning the boy pulled a gun free from his loose pants. He lay dead in the rice field before he got off a round. The women and children just stood watching. No one moved for fear we would shoot them too. The elder that John had bowed to earlier said something to John in Vietnamese. I don't know if John knew what he said. John just turned, and we walked up the mountain without another incident."
"Please stop," Jenny whispered. She did not want Gideon to go on for fear of what else he would say.
Gideon ignored her request and continued. "Later I asked John how he knew." Gideon looked up at Jenny. "You know what he said?"
"What?" she asked, knowing he would continue anyway. There was no stopping Gideon now.
"He told me they had been through the village a few other times and there were always women and children working in the fields with the elder. When he took hold of the boy's hands, he could tell he hadn't worked the land because his hands were too soft." Gideon paused for a moment and glanced at Jenny.
She did not say a word. A chill ran through her as she remembered the first time John had met her father. His comment at the time now made sense. He
had told her later her father had the hands of an honest workingman, one who worked the land.
"You were all he talked about." Gideon got up and took his mug to the sink, and then rinsed it. He glanced up at the clock on the wall, but it was not time he was looking at, but searching for the right words.
"I'm sure there must have been other things you talked about."
"I was jealous of him. You were married for such a short time, yet your love for one another was so deep and enduring." Gideon paused and held onto the counter before continuing. "Listening to him talk about you, I found myself envying him. He had you to come home to. There was no one for me. I didn't even know what you looked like."
Gideon ran his hand through his hair. It was the first time his temple did not throb. "We were captured soon after that and held for almost a month. Every night I listened to John, the noise of the mat being shoved aside, and then it sounded like a plank being yanked up. For a while I thought the Lieutenant was digging a tunnel. It was the same noise night after night. Once he pulled up the plank, there was silence." Gideon paused for a moment, took a deep breath, then walked back to the table and sat down.
"Gideon, please stop," Jenny said.
"No. You have a right to know."
"It's not important."
Gideon did not listen, he just continued. "It was two nights before they killed him. He was in the sweatbox. When the guards were finally asleep, I crept into his cell thinking I would find a tunnel. All I wanted was to escape the torture, but what I found was the picture of the sketch that hung in your apartment. I took it, Jenny," Gideon said, and then paused and looked up at her. For him a great burden had been lifted.
Gideon took out his wallet, flipping through the pictures quickly and then he handed it to Jenny. It was the picture John had taken of her sketch.
Jenny just stared up at Gideon, realizing now the reason for the way he looked at her the past week. She did not know what to say. It was an odd feeling knowing a stranger was carrying a picture around that once belonged to her husband. Almost the same feeling she had the day she found out Delaney had been using John's identity for years. Jenny wondered what else she did not know about Gideon.
The Twelfth Of Never: A suspense mystery romantic thriller Page 21