“The media is going to have a field day with this. The Fed’s are going to have to give them something to go on,” Williams rubbed his forehead, massaging his headache.
“What all does she know?” Mark asked, nodding towards Allie.
“She knows that Lucy and Nick turned out to be bad people, and they tried to hurt you both. She knows that her and Dom kept secrets from you, and everyone else. They were trying to do the right thing by the Fed’s,” Williams paused.
“She’s very bright, Mark. She has handled all of this surprisingly well. I think the hardest part for her, was letting people think that she was… well, dead,” he said poignantly.
“What do you mean by all that? Are you trying to tell me that she knew about this charade, and that she’s a part of it?” Mark was getting angry again.
“Yes, apparently so; she has signed all the paperwork and cooperated fully, just as she agreed to,” Williams carefully explained. “She was working with the F.B.I, Dad.”
“That’s ridiculous, she may be eighteen, but she’s still just a little girl. How could they take advantage of her like that?” Mark was beyond pissed. “I get that there was never any poison, and she had a sleeping pill, but what if something went wrong with the pill? Didn’t Dom say she reacted differently to that?” Mark looked sternly at Williams. “Why wasn’t I brought in on this, before my daughter? Was she recruited?”
“I don’t have the answers to that, my friend. I wish I did,” Williams said truthfully.
“Basically, the F.B.I. used my family as bait, to catch a bigger fish, didn‘t they?” Mark said frankly.
“Basically, yeah,” Williams agreed.
“I don’t understand why Allie would go along with any of this. It doesn‘t make any sense,” Mark was puzzled.
Mark was very tired and his voice was weak.
“I don’t know either, Mark. It’s all crazy to me. I’ve never seen an investigation conducted like this. I would be less than understanding as well,” Williams agreed.
“Something like this, I wouldn’t be surprised if the C.I.A was backing it… just to get the so-called, bigger fish,” Williams speculated.
“The nerve of the F.B.I. is absolutely incredible. I still can’t fully wrap my head around all that has happened. It’s going to take some time to rethink all of the events, and try to see something I didn’t see before…-” Mark’s mind was reeling from the days confusing events.
“The investigation is over, Mark. What the heck am I even talking about? There never was an investigation for us to solve. All though we damn near had this figured out in two days, didn’t we?” Williams and Mark both laughed and smiled at the notion.
“Maybe, you should just take your daughter, and go home. Give it a few days, and we’ll definitely call you and keep you updated on everything. Okay? For real this time! Just be the “grateful, doting father“, and nothing more. Get some sleep for goodness sake, you look like crap!” Williams patted his friend on the shoulder.
“Yeah, I suppose.” Mark grinned. “I don’t think I want to get involved in it anyway. All these years I’ve tried to shield Allie, to protect her from knowing the awful truth and here it all is, laid out for her to see. I never wanted for her to get involved in anything like this. I’m so thankful to God that I’ve got everything that’s important to me now. That’s all that matters,” he watched as Allie put the cell phone down.
Allie stood up and walked over to her father and Detective Williams, and hugged her father’s arm, grabbing a hold of it tightly.
“Allie, I‘m not sure if you’ve formerly met him or not, but this is Detective Williams,” Mark said. “He was your personal homicide detective,” Mark grinned.
“Hi, there, I know that you’ve helped my dad quite a bit over the last couple of days. Thank you so much… for everything. It’s so nice to meet you!” Allie smiled warmly.
“It’s very nice to meet you too, Miss Allie. The pleasure was all mine,” Williams looked into the eyes of the young girl he fought so hard to defend. “It’s not every day that a Homicide Detective… gets to meet his victim,” he said, deeply touched.
Allie grabbed his hand with both of hers and held it for a moment, shaking it, respectively.
“You’re a very strong willed young woman, to have gone through this ordeal as well as you have,” Williams applauded her. “I think I might know who you get it from.”
“Thank you Detective Williams,” Allie said sincerely.
Mark’s eyes squinted, as he thought of what she might have gone through.
“You know why I did it, don’t you Dad? Do you have any idea at all?” Allie turned towards Mark, looking at him seriously.
“I don’t actually. I have many questions Allie, but I would love to hear whatever you have to say,” Mark answered as he reached out to smooth her hair around her face.
“I did this to end it, once and for all. To me, this meant… no more hiding for either of us. I felt that it was an opportunity to expose the secrets that we have hidden for so long. It’s all over now and there’s no more wondering “What if,” Allie looked at her father very earnestly.
Mark now saw his little girl, as the strong, beautiful woman that she had become. He watched her face, and listened to how passionately she talked about what she was able to accomplish. How deeply proud and confident she was.
“I believe Dom got involved when he discovered that another agent had talked to me already. He tried to talk me out of it, but it was no use. I told him to work with me or against me. What he didn’t expect, was my own, personal vendetta, to have all of these questions answered that I have had on my mind… and in my dreams, for as long as I can remember,” Allie painfully disclosed.
“I wanted to know all of it, and I wanted to stop it from happening again.”
Mark suddenly understood her reasoning. He continued to listen carefully, not saying a word, and letting her say her peace.
“I knew it would hurt you, momentarily… but I didn’t think it would have lasted for two whole days. Something went wrong, and we couldn’t find you. I also knew there was a risk to drinking the wine with the sleeping agent. But it was my idea, and my decision to make. Please don‘t hate Dom for it,” Allie pleaded.
“Allie, I know that your eighteen now, and that you’re more than capable of making your own decisions… but there is more than a miscommunication between Dom and I. Don’t you worry about that that. I’ll deal with that on my own time,” Mark stated.
Williams stood by silently listening.
“But, what did you mean by something went wrong? You tried to contact me sooner?” Mark inquired.
“Yes! We couldn’t find you after you left Julie’s last night. You didn’t go where you were guys were supposed to or something. Not that I’m complaining, too much,” Allie smirked.
“Then this morning after Captain Haddock was “finally” briefed by the Fed’s… you disappeared again! Only Dom guessed where you might be… and then he called Detective Williams,” Allie gestured at Williams.
Marks mind was too frazzled to think all of this through. He HAD hid Julie so no one could find her… and he was with her last night.
Williams intervened.
“This brings ME to ask a question of my own… Where on earth is Julie? We found her car at the hotel she was SUPPOSED to be at… but she’s not there,” Williams looked exasperated.
Mark laughed, and said, “I guess it’s safe to bring her out of hiding now, isn‘t it? How about you give us a ride to pick up her car, and then I‘ll show you?” Mark asked.
“What are we waiting for?” Williams responded.
Mark quickly reached out and grabbed William’s arm, surprising him.
“Thank you for fighting for me. It couldn’t have been easy. I appreciate what you’ve done for me and my family. Thank you, brother, it won‘t be forgotten,” Mark said sincerely.
Williams pulled him in for a quick shoulder hug, and smacked him firmly on the back
.
“Anytime, brother, let’s go get Julie and get you guys home. You deserve it,” Williams declared.
“You’re on to something,” Mark agreed, smiling.
“You got the phone?” Mark asked Allie.
“Yeah, it’s right here,” she said, as they walked out of the restaurant.
“Why don’t you call Julie and tell her to pack up her things. Let her know we’ll be at the hotel in ten minutes,” Mark said as they walked across the parking lot.
“No, way I’m not calling her! It would freak her out big time. It would almost be better to just show her in person, so she doesn‘t think it‘s a cruel joke or something. It took me like five whole minutes just to convince Jen it wasn’t a prank call,” Allie said seriously.
“This whole thing has been a bit of a cruel joke,” Mark thought.
“Alright, I understand. Let’s go get her and take her home,” Mark decided.
“Home, like to OUR home?” Allie asked excited.
“Yeah, maybe, what do you think about that?” Mark stopped and anxiously looked at his daughter.
“It’s about time!” Allie winked and smiled.
CHAPTER 19
HUMBLE PIE
Julie turned off the television and tossed the remote onto the hotel bed. She sat down in the chair by the window and curled her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her knees. Perhaps she would watch the cars in the parking lot again and people watch some more. This hiding business was boring as hell.
Any other time in her life, she would have loved a whole day of doing nothing, but all she thought about was Mark and Allie. Julie couldn’t imagine ever recovering from the loss of such a sweet soul like Allies. She thought about Allie a lot that day. Julie remembered this one particular time, back when she had finally received her Masters from college. Allie had this “great idea” to surprise her and they all went to Skate World. Mark was so wobbly on his skates. Allie danced circles around him, holding on to his hands.
Julie couldn’t remember having laughed so hard before that. Nick had thought the whole thing was childish and faked a headache, so he could leave early. Remembering Nick made her stomach turn. This was still one of Julie’s favorite memories though. It always made her smile and filled her heart with complete joy. Instead of smiling now, Julie’s mouth tightened up into a frown. Tears filled up her eyes and now leaked out the corners, trickling down her face. She knew that without Allie and Mark, she would never feel that joy again.
Julie now wondered if she would ever see Mark again. She was very worried about him. So many things went through her mind. Sometimes, she would get so worked up about it, she would think about taking off and going to look for him. She even kept her bag packed and ready to go just in case. But she knew that leaving wouldn’t be a good idea. Mark didn’t want her to find him. Whatever his plan was, it didn’t seem like it would end well for anybody. All she could do now was hope and pray for some divine miracle.
So, instead, Julie sat in her chair and gazed out the window, watching the cars pull in and out from the main street. “Nice blinker buddy,” she commented.
“Yep, the person behind you is psychic; they knew exactly what you were going do,” Julie criticized out loud.
“And to think that all this time, we‘ve had it all wrong…” she thought. “Dogs hate stupid drivers and can’t communicate their disdain, so they chase and bark at them instead. Hmm,” she said sarcastically.
Julie spotted a familiar looking black, S.U.V. pulling into the parking lot. Then she saw that her car was following right behind it.
“No way, it’s Mark and Detective Williams!” Julie exclaimed. She jumped up and ran to her stuff on the bed. Shoving her sneakers quickly on to her feet, she went back to the window, looking down and around. She couldn’t see where they had gone.
“I thought for sure that was Detective Williams and Mark coming to get me,” She thought. Julie wasn’t exactly looking forward to going back to her house, but this did mean that she could start to move on with her life.
She was anxious to find out what had gone on. Most of all, she was grateful that Mark was okay and about to walk through that door. One last glance in the bathroom and she was reassured that she had everything ready to go. Maybe one more check under the bed. You never know.
“What’s taking so long? They must be checking out or something,” she thought. She stood in the center of the room, near the foot of the bed and excitedly awaited her company. There was a rapid little knock at the door.
Julie pushed the thick metal lever down and pulled the door open.
A look of disbelief and shock swept over her smiling face, as she realized who was staring back at her. Mark stepped in and quickly grabbed Julie as she began to stumble backwards.
Julie shook her head as if to say, “No”.
“Jules, it’s ok. Yes, it’s Allie…. She’s alive and well,” Mark sat her on the bed and held her, whispering in her ear. “Everything’s going to be alright.”
“I told you this was a ridiculous idea!” Allie said, concerned for Julie. “What if she has heart failure or a seizure or something?”
Allie knelt down in front of Julie and touched her leg. “Hi, Julie, It’s me. I have a lot of explaining to do, I know,” Allie stated.
Williams came into the room, and shut the door behind him. He smiled at Julie, as she looked up at him blankly.
“I don’t understand what’s going on right now,” Julie looked at Allie, but didn’t know if it was really her that was looking back. Was this a figment of her imagination?
“You see her and hear her too, right?” Julie looked from Mark to Detective Williams.
Smiling, Williams nodded his head, reassuring her that it was indeed true.
Mark laughed, “Yes. We see her and hear her as well. Allie isn’t dead Jule’s. I know it’s a shock, imagine my surprise! I thought I had lost my mind for good,” Mark said truthfully.
Julie cautiously reached out and touched Allies hand. It was warm. Nothing like when she had seen her in the hospital. She suddenly wrapped her arms around Allies neck and shoulders, squeezing her.
“It’s you!” Julie cried. “Oh my goodness, I can’t believe you’re alive! You are, you‘re really here and you’re really breathing,” Julie was slowly convinced.
“Yeah, I am!” Allie laughed. “Now that you know that I’m not a member of the undead zombie world, I should explain, or try to at least,” Allie said sounding muffled.
Julie continued to hold on to her tight, running her hand down the back of Allies head and feeling her hair. “Oh, you silly girl, you scared me senseless,” Julie wept.
Allie tried to sit next to her on the bed, as she awkwardly knelt in front of Julie. Mark slid off the bed and helped Allie get seated, considering Julie wasn’t letting go anytime soon.
“It’s okay, Julie, I’ll tell you everything that happened,” Allie couldn’t help but cry. She was so moved by the emotion that poured out of Julie. Julie loved her so much, that was very apparent. But what was more obvious, was how much pain she knew she had caused her… all of them, really. The gravity of her fake death had much more emphasis than she could have ever imagined. She knew that now. Julie had also grieved very hard, and hurt so deeply over losing her. Just like her Dad.
“I’m so sorry, Julie. I never meant to hurt anyone. You were supposed to have found out sooner … not that that really matters now,” replied Allie.
“What do you mean?” Julie sat back, letting go of Allie. Julie wiped her face on her sleeve. “I saw you Allie, you weren’t breathing. I couldn‘t believe it, you looked like you were sleeping…. But-”
Allie nodded her head as Julie made the realization. “I was,” Allie answered.
Mark got up and grabbed a tissue box from the night table and after handing one to Allie and Julie first, he placed it between them on the bed.
“Well, the cake poisoning never happened. It was staged to throw off Lucy and Nick. It
was to make Lucy think she succeeded in killing me. Dom put a sleeping pill in the wine I drank. It kept me out for quite a while and kept my breathing really shallow. There were real doctors around me, monitoring me. I was safe the whole time,” Allie explained.
“Dom, he was behind this, for sure?” Julie looked really confused now.
“Yeah, he’s an F.B.I. Informant. He was the one working with Leo Vanzetti to bust Lucy,” Allie said, knowingly.
“What?” Julie looked at Mark.
“Okay, let’s let Williams explain all that. Alright honey?” Mark said patting Allie’s shoulder.
“Oh, right,” Allie nodded.
Julie looked at Williams and raised her eyebrows, waiting to be filled in.
Silent until now, Williams tried to explain the situation more clearly.
“Uh, well. That’s about right, actually,” he loudly cleared his throat.
“It basically stems back to an ongoing investigation by the F.B.I. It was about bringing down a group of police officers who profited off of selling contact information of protected witnesses, like Mark and Allie. They’re just a couple of cops, out of at least a hundred nationwide.
Lucy, A.K.A. Christina L. Mazzo, was able to get the “new” names, addresses and phone numbers of Mark and Allie, from a cop she was married to at the time, who was only one of a handful of bad cops in his precinct. They would sell private, classified information to the highest bidder.
Once Lucy got what she wanted, she left him one day, out of the blue, completely disappearing. She moved here under an alias, and spent many years carrying out this revenge plot against Mark and used Dom to get into their lives. Nick was also a pawn, if you will. She made him think he was killing Mark, instead. As you know, the rest of their relationship besides there intimacy, involved drugs and murder for hire. But when Lucy told her brother, Leo, what she was planning on doing for him, he contacted Dom and told him everything. As it turns out, Leo’s led a legitimately reformed life behind bars and recognized his sister’s mental instability. She had hoped this insane murder plot would make him happy and proud of her in the least. Allie’s death was supposed to be a gift of sorts to him,” Williams stated.
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