And while he was of course an insanely busy man himself, he had help. Three of his senior agents—along with their own crazy schedules—were willing to take on the duty as acting heads of their special division of the bureau when necessary. The McFadden brothers—thankfully, there were three of them, thusnot setting the responsibility on a single person all the time—were prepared to man the fort. All three had been on duty at various times when he and Angela were out in the field or away on a rare vacation and had handled their roles as acting Special Directors in Charge exceptionally well.
So, this Mother’s Day he had plans.
They weren’t flying off to Europe or anything quite so demanding of their time. They weren’t flying off anywhere.
Just for two nights and a single day, he was going to surprise her with something easy and low-key that she would love. The weather was warming up, but still so iffy. And so, they were going to spend the night before Mother’s Day at a rental he had discovered that offered something she was going to love. An indoor, heated pool with a great whirlpool as well. Corby was a teenager now, heavily into sports, with a packed calendar of his own. Victoria had reached the age, too, when she had her own phone, playdates, gymnastics class, dance . . .
But for Mother’s Day, there was no question with the kids. They wanted to be with their mother. And thus, they would finish with their Saturday activities, and he’d pick them up and then get Angela at home . . .
And it would be one “mother” of a Mother’s Day. They’d have Saturday night and then he’d asked Axel Tiger—Special Agent Axel Tiger and his “special agent” wife, Raina—to join them along with Axel’s aunt, Mary, who watched the children for them and was truly beloved in their household. Krewe members were close, working and not working.
Perfect!
And it was already time to start setting it all in motion.
He’d been working at the office that morning. Angela was home, probably working too, since she kept a second computer and tons of her research information there as well.
He called her.
“Hey. What’s up? You busy? Should I get the kids?” she asked.
“No, no, I’m on my way to do it. Just letting you know we’ll be there in a bit.”
“Sounds good. They’re so great. Before you all left this morning, they both came in to tell me not to worry. They hoped I remembered it was Mother’s Day, and we’d find something cool to do.”
“They are great kids. And we do have something cool to do.” he assured her. “See you soon.”
He checked in with Bruce McFadden and was then on his way out. He retrieved Victoria from the doorway at the gymnastics studio. She was smiling and happy and quick to inform him, “Can’t wait for water! Water, water—I mean, I had a great day, but like . . . water makes moving easier. Oh, and I’m so happy that we’re doing something so special for Mom. I made her a really cool card.”
“That’s great kid; that’s great!” he assured her.
Corby was chatting with friends at the baseball field, but he quickly walked to the car and assured Jackson that he was ready.
“Ah, man. I love Mom to pieces, and am I going to be glad—”
He broke off speaking because a few boys had run up to the car. One of them grabbed him by the arm, trying to stop him.
Corby just looked annoyed.
“Son, your friend is trying to talk to you,” Jackson said.
“That’s Cal and he’s just an asshole—whoops, sorry, Dad, I didn’t say that. I mean I did say that, but I’m sorry I said it. He spends his days figuring out ways to hassle me. He and his group of friends . . . well, I have mine, too. We’re sporty types so we hold our own, but—”
Corby broke off. The other boy had a hold of his arm.
And Cal was crying. Jackson couldn’t quite hear what the boy was saying, but he sounded desperate and urgent. The kid was about seventeen, almost six-feet tall, with dark hair and a face that would be handsome if it weren’t so contorted and tear-stained.
And finally, Corby ducked his head into the car and told Jackson, “Cal needs our help. He’s close to being hysterical and . . . Dad, could you listen to him?”
Jackson glanced back at Victoria.
“Dad,” she said with a very mature sigh, “we know what you and Mom do. If he’s in trouble, maybe you can help him”
Well, of course, if there was a hysterical kid who needed to talk, he would listen. It was probably something minor. But it was Victoria’s presumption that he must help that made him lower his head and smile before lifting it to nod to Corby.
“I’m getting out to speak with him—Cal, right?” Jackson said to Corby.
His son nodded gravely. Jackson frowned and wondered what could have happened that could make a teenager, a self-confident teenager, if not a bully at times, break down in tears like this.