Changeling

(My Hallmark Hall of Fame Christmas Story ... Enjoy!!)


Tom Kane pulled off the respirator mask and looked at the finished wooden pieces. The rich smell of cedar and spruce filled the air. This train set is going to be beautiful, he thought. He had carved the cedar wood himself and used vivid, primary colors for the carriages and cars; the red caboose had been the first piece he finished; it stood on the shelf, shiny and bright - soon the other pieces would be assembled and join it.

"Looks great, Tom. Some little boy is gonna love it ... God, the smell of that varnish reminds me of Christmas morning ..." Eldon Gunnarson stood filling the doorway, his prison guard uniform stretched tightly over a herculean frame. The young, white-blonde corrections officer smiled at the older convict.

"Jeff loves the horse you made for him. He won't go anywhere without it. By the way, if you feel up to it, Sarah and the kids would love to have you over again for dinner. Sounds good?"

Kane returned the smile.

"Thanks Eldon. I'd love to see the kids again. Is everything okay? You're not usually here until noon and it's only 11am."

"Yeah. Two Chippies rode up from Santa Monica to see you. Get cleaned up a bit and we'll head over to them."

* * *

Things had changed considerably (at least for him) with the new administration at Pleasant Valley State Prison. Tom had been absolutely floored when he was escorted to see Warden Douglas Banks soon after the man took over. He was darkly handsome and far younger than the former burglar had expected.

"Kane, I've looked over your record of convictions. All burglary - some of them pretty audacious - but never anything violent. You never used a weapon. Then all of a sudden, you're conveniently convicted of murder. I think you were framed."

Tom's jaw dropped open. Banks smiled.

"I can't do anything about your sentence, but at least I can make your stay here as pleasant - pardon the pun - as possible. I'm moving you to the minimum security area and I'm granting you full access to the facilities. Anything you'd like to work with, let me know and I'll take care of it. I'm also going to allow you some limited time - supervised, of course - outside the facility."

* * *

"Damn, I can't believe how nervous I am..." TJ Kane paced the well-appointed meeting room, his CHP uniform sinfully hugging every muscle of his powerful physique. Caesar-cut raven hair gleamed in the early afternoon light streaming through the windows and offered a counterpoint to the shining black leather of his boots and duty belt. TJ's well-developed arms strained the short sleeves of his uniform shirt and the muscles bunched and flexed beneath the tanned skin like sharks beneath the water. A gold Rolex gleamed on his wrist and shot rainbow scintillations around the room; that chronograph was the sole remnant to his former life of organized crime.

"... I haven't seen my dad in about twenty years. Emilio's brainwashing did a good job."

"Well, at least you can make up for lost time, Teej. There's still time to be with him." Phil Zeeman was seated at the conference room table. His short ebon hair framed a strong, handsome face and his cognac-brown eyes were twinkling beneath straight dark brows. His uniform was tight over slabbed pecs and muscular legs; the crotch of his breeches barely contained his massive package. He stretched out his boots, giving his partner and lover a big grin. "And I get to meet the father of the guy I'm going to spend the rest of my life with!"

A knock on the door, and Gunnarson escorted an older man into the room. Because of the placement of the doorway, TJ was temporarily out of view from the prisoner. Phil could see the family resemblance immediately - the same slate blue eyes, the shape of the face, the same thick eyelashes. The older Kane was rangy with a slight hunch to his shoulders - it was the type of stoop Phil had seen in those who had been in prison for a long time.

"Just ring me on the phone when you're done, fellas. Extension 1775. The warden's sending up lunch for the three of you." Gunnarson patted the convict on the shoulder and left.

Phil stood and walked over the the older man. He put out his hand and a 100-watt grin creased his face. "Mr. Kane, it's a real pleasure to meet you! I'm Phil Zeeman." He embraced him in a strong hug. Tom was shocked at the display of affection, but tentatively brought his arms up and around the officer. His shoulders were so broad, he could not reach around them. Kane's pulse quickened as he was surrounded by hard, smooth muscular flesh and the faint scent of vanilla. The fabric beneath his fingers was soft as silk and he noticed that the CHP patches had been embroidered onto the fabric as opposed to being sewn on.

"Dad?" Tommy looked over to see TJ, in the same uniform, biting his lip and looking nervous. His son was as ruggedly built - though not as broad - as the other officer and the shock at seeing him was apparent to all in the room.

"TJ! What are you doing in that uniform? Christ! Don't you know what'll happen to you if you get caught impersonating a cop? What the hell is wrong with Emilio? Is he crazy?"

"Oh, he's not impersonating a policeman, Mr. Kane .... he is one ... and a damn fine officer at that!" Phil had released the other man from his embrace, but continued to smile. "We really are California Highway Patrolmen, but our Division has a very close relationship with Lucio Giambi."

"You're a cop? What about Emilio? Or Dominic Franqui? What are they saying about this?" Tom seemed stunned at the revelations being thrown at him. Confused, he looked back and forth at the two officers.

"Don Franqui retired and turned his operations over to Lucio. Emilio's .... dead, dad. I ... I had to kill him."

Kane felt lightheaded and swayed a bit on his feet. With that statement, TJ rushed over to his father and embraced him.

"Dad, dad ... there's so many things I've found out about Emilio, and you ... and me ... and how he set you up ..."

Tom felt the wetness of warm tears on his neck. The moisture trickled down his neck and past the collar of his blue workshirt. Holding his son again in his arms brought back a rush of memories and he too began to tear up.



Kane reached out with a shaky hand and sat down. "You'd better start at the beginning TJ ... this is just too much for me to take in all at once."


* * *

"Tom, that is one of the most inhumane things I've ever heard. I'm ashamed of you." Randolph Franklin looked at his lover and there was no denying the anger in his glance. The two men were snuggled against each other on the couch. The thieves had celebrated a successful caper - Tom's this time - in their usual manner: a good dinner and an even better romp between the sheets.

"Well, how do you propose I have a kid otherwise, Randy? The stork sure ain't bringing one down the chimney." Piqued, Tom Kane glanced back at his lover. He picked up the cigarette pack and tapped one out. The burglar lit it and blew smoke up towards the ceiling.

Randolph Franklin was a highly accomplished jewel thief. And filthy rich. The two had met while robbing different stores in the same building and making their escape at the same time. While Kane worked for Emilio Leone, Franklin worked for himself. For him, the thrill was of planning a caper and pulling it off. The fun part came when he fenced the goods - usually back to the owner. Or the insurance company. The one thing the two men shared was an aversion to violence - they made sure that no one was ever hurt during a heist.

"All I'm saying is that doing that to a woman is beneath you." He stroked Kane's forehead. "You could always adopt, Tom ...."

Kane pulled away from him. "It's not the same, Randy, and you know it. For all the blabber you always hear, he wouldn't be MY flesh and blood."

He pulled his lover closer and gave him a playful kiss on the tip of his nose. "Look, Myrna Braithewaite's been giving me the eye for a long time ... we get married, I knock her up, we have a baby and then I get a divorce. Easy."

Franklin cocked an eyebrow. "And what about custody? The mother usually gets the baby, you know..."

"Myrna ain't too strong in the head, you know what I mean? She's a looker - if you like dames - the lights are on, but no one's home ... And besides, I could always ask one of Emilio's boys to talk to her about leaving town."

Randolph frowned. This was a side to his lover he hadn't seen before. And he didn't like it. Not one bit.

* * *
Despite his protests, Kane went through with his plans to father a child. Myrna was radiant in a gown that she had borrowed from one of the widows in the boarding house. Being a counter-girl in Gimbels wasn't the most well-paying of jobs - but she made do and was a beautiful bride. Tom was grinning ear-to-ear at the ceremony and at the little reception being held in his apartment. He's probably figuring how long he's got to sleep with Myrna until she gets a bun in the oven ... Randy thought sourly to himself. He grabbed a drink and knocked it back in one gulp. If he didn't love Tom as much as he did, he'd leave the burglar for good.

"Oh Randy, I'm the happiest girl in the world!" Myrna Kane threw her arms around the jewel thief.

Poor kid. "Myrna, you deserve every happiness ... if I can ever do anything for you, don't hesitate to call me." He gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. "I've got to go ... take care. Remember what I said."

* * *

(Fourteen months pass)

It didn't take long for Myrna to get pregnant, and nearly nine months to the day of their wedding, Thomas Kane Junior was born. TJ (as he was soon always called) was a beautiful baby, as handsome as his mother was lovely; he had the same slate blue eyes as his father and a thick mop of fine black hair. TJ was a very curious, yet quiet baby; Tom loved nothing more than spending hours holding his son in his arms. Kane's son could spend hours playing with his father's pocket watch and would laugh delightedly when he got the timepiece to chime.

Even before the baby was born, Kane's interest in his wife waned; while she was glad he did much of the household chores, as well as tending to TJ at night, she missed the intimacy the two had shared. The marriage soon began to deteriorate and Myrna developed suspicions that her husband's inattentions were due to his having an affair. After all, she thought, his incredible good looks plus his confident attitude would be a magnet for any woman.

Events came to a head one evening when TJ's mother returned from work early to their apartment. She took off her hat and was about to call out when she heard something that made her stop dead in her tracks.

"God, how I've missed fucking you ..." Tom's voice drifted in from the bedroom. TJ was in his crib in the living room. He had pulled himself up and gave his mother a happy toothless grin.

"Having to screw a dame was a chore, you know that?"

"You're in my blood, Tom ..." Randy's voice was thick with after-sex languor. "I still can't forgive you for using Myrna the way you did to get a child, but I just can't get enough of you. Or your cock. And speaking of your lovely wife, when is she expected home?"

Myrna was in shock.

"About an hour... why?"

Randy's voice took on a darkly erotic edge. "That gives me enough time to pound you senseless, take a hot shower and get dressed for the opera ... I hear that Mrs. Astor is on vacation here and has some rather beautiful new jewelry for me to steal ..."

Tears burned down Myrna's cheeks. Her suspicions that Tom was being unfaithful were true, but she had never expected his infidelity to be with his best friend. Not with another man. She quietly opened the door and left the apartment to plot her revenge.

* * *

Tom entered the boarding house and brushed the snow from the shoulders of his coat. He then took off his hat and shook it out. The day had been bitterly cold and the evening's chill was even more biting. As he headed towards the stairs, Mrs. Reynolds - the elderly landlady - opened her door.

"Mr. Kane?"

"Hiya, Mrs. R. - what's up?" Kane gave the widow a wink and a grin.

She wrung her hands. "Mr. Kane, I didn't know who to call ... Myrna left with a suitcase this afternoon, but she didn't have TJ with her ... I thought I heard a baby crying earlier. Is everything all-"

Before she could finish, Tom was bounding up the stairs. He flung open his door and stood in mute shock.

Every window was wide open and a sub-zero wind whistled through the tiny apartment. TJ was seated in his high chair with only a thin cotton shirt protecting him from the freezing temperatures; he was nearly blue with cold. As the door crashed open, he raised his little head and looked at his father and whimpered. Then his head lolled forward and he passed out.

"TJ!" Tom screamed. He rushed to his son and held him in his arms. He was cold. So cold. He grabbed an afghan from the sofa and wrapped it around the little body. Kane nearly bowled down the elderly woman as he ran out with the bundle in his arms.

* * *

"I'm not pulling any punches here, Mr. Kane - your son is in very serious condition."

The young doctor sat next to the burglar in the emergency room of the hospital. Tom was sick with anguish and worry.

"Severe hypothermia and it looks like the beginnings of pneumonia. He's also got some frostbite. What in God's name happened to him?"

"His damn mother ran away and left him in the apartment alone with all the windows open. I'll kill that bitch when I find her!"

"Well, if she was trying to kill him, she nearly succeeded. It was lucky you came home when you did or ..."

"Or what, doc?"

"Let's not go there, Mr. Kane. We have to think about your son now. He's going to require intensive care and some of the medications we'll need aren't cheap."

Tears welled in Kane's eyes and trickled down his cheeks. "I got cash, Doc. Whatever you need, you'll get. Just get him well again."

* * *

"Where the fuck is Kane? And more than that, where the fuck is the money he's been holding, Frank?" Emilio Leone fumed.

Frank Valentine rubbed his chin. "I'm not sure, boss. He hasn't been home. The apartment's neat as a pin, though. The money ain't there. We looked. The landlady hasn't seen him. I think something's up with the dame he married. She wasn't the neatest housekeeper in the world. We're keeping an eye on the place."

Leone grunted. Valentine was Emilio's brother-in-law and his chief lieutenant. The crime boss admired the way the other man handled the day-to-day operations of his criminal empire - whereas Leone would scream and rant, his brother-in-law handled things quietly, efficiently and with aplomb. When he mentioned this during one of his many tirades, Valentine gave his shoulders a near-Gallic shrug. "Different strokes for different folks, boss. You beat the shit out of someone; I just need to wrap my hand lightly around their throat. Stuff gets done one way or the other."

"I want my money, Frank. Get it and get Kane."

"Sure thing, Emilio. I'm on it." His lieutenant slipped on the camel hair overcoat, pulled the fedora onto his head and headed out of the crime boss' mansion.

* * *

"Oh ... the nurses told me they are gonna miss you so much, TJ ... you were such a good little patient they just wanted to eat you up! After your medicine, we'll eat and then I'm gonna give you a nice warm bath, and wrap you up ... just like a little cuddleb..."

"Hello Tom - it's been a while ... and Jesus Christ, you look like SHIT."

Tom Kane had opened the door to his apartment with TJ in his arms. He froze when he saw Frank Valentine sitting on his couch; long legs elegantly crossed and dapper in a dark blue pinstripe suit. Leone's right hand - "The Angel of Death" as he was called - was devastatingly handsome with thick brown hair pomaded back from a strong face and a small moustache over full lips. Along with him, was his driver, Sammy. The young thug was built like a bull and just about as bright.

Valentine stood up. "Emilio's pretty angry at you, bub. Where's the money from the Donovan heist? And where the hell have you been?" Valentine had barely recognized the burglar. He was haggard and looked like he had aged a decade over only a few months.

"TJ's been real sick, Frank. He's been in the hospital for six weeks. I've been sleeping there with him when I ain't been working."

"Working?"

"Yeah, I got a job in a coffee shop around the corner from St. Mary's. I wait tables, wash dishes, fix things ... I wanted to be close by in case the baby needed me."

"What about Myrna? Where's she been during all of this?"

Kane's face hardened. "The dame left me and TJ. I don't know where she went. Probably back to her sister in Chicago."

Valentine's face had originally been flinty, but had softened as Kane's tale of woe unspun. "You got the money here, Tom? Emilio needs to start laundering it."

A look of fear flitted across the other man's face. "Yeah, I do. But ..."

Frank cut him off. "Go get it. Let me hold the baby." He held out his arms. Tom hesitated but Sammy stepped up behind him. The sense of menace was heavy in the air. Kane handed the infant over to the other man and hurried into the bedroom.

He smiled at TJ. "Hey, sport ... you got your daddy's eyes, you know that?" He kissed the little boy and held him close. The baby nestled into his shoulder and gurgled happily. He jiggled him as he walked around.

Valentine called into the other room. "You've got a beautiful boy, Tom ... I hate to say it, but he's a helluva lot cuter than my nephews. And better behaved. They cry a blue streak all the time."

"Thanks, Frank." came the muffled reply. Kane emerged carrying a damp oilcloth satchel. Valentine nodded to his driver to take the bag.

"Sammy, take this down to the car and warm the Packard up. Tom's coming back with us to see Don Leone." The driver reached for his coat.

"Leave it." The thug gave him a hurt look.

"But boss, it's cold outside..."

"Yeah, and you're going right into the car. You ain't gonna catch a cold ... Scram!" The other man left.

Frank continued to hold little TJ and gave him another kiss. "You said 'But' before, Tom. What happened with Myrna? Not a lot of reasons why a dame walks out like that and leaves her kid behind. Caught you in flagrante delicto with your boyfriend?"

Tom turned white as a sheet. Frank chuckled. "It takes one to know one, bud. I have to be super-discreet around Emilio. He'd put a bullet in the back of my head otherwise without a second thought. She tried to take it out on the baby?"

Kane nodded mutely. He was shocked at Frank's revelation. Almost as shocked finding the horrible note Myrna had left for him when he returned to the apartment after he brought TJ to St. Mary's:

Tom,

I came home early one night to hear you and Randy rutting in bed together. You're nothing but a filthy, perverted man - you disgust me! Now I know why you married me - you never loved me, you only wanted a baby. You took away my happiness and ruined my life - now I'm going to return the favor. I'm going to take away the only thing you ever wanted. With any luck, he'll be dead from exposure by the time you get home.

I hope you and your lover rot in Hell.

M.

Tom had burned the letter and scrubbed the apartment until his hands were raw and bloody to remove any trace of his former wife.

"Bitch. I'll see to her for that. Anything else you wanna let me know? Better me and now than Emilio and later ..."

The burglar paused. "Not all the money's in the bag, Frank. I ... I ... had to pay the doctors and buy medicine for TJ."

Kane sank to his knees and began to weep. "He nearly died, Frank. She nearly killed my baby boy! I've got some dough saved up and the money from the restaurant job... I kept track of every penny I spent ..."

A look of annoyance crossed the mobster's face. "Oh, get up Tommy - I'm not here to whack you. How much did you use?"

"Nine hundred dollars."

Valentine sighed. "I'll talk to Emilio about it. It ain't like you spent it gambling or on painted ladies. Put on Sammy's coat and let's go down to the car, okay?"

* * *
Marguerite Leone checked the osso buco one more time. Almost done. She brushed a stray lock of honey-blonde hair from her face. Emilo Leone's sister-in-law had been married to his younger brother Johnnie. There had been a falling out between the two Leones when the younger had enlisted during the war - only to be killed in a foolish car accident when he returned home from combat, leaving Marguerite a heart-broken widow. Emilio had taken her in and she kept herself busy keeping house for the crime lord. Her beautiful face was marred by sadness and she looked far older than her thirty years.

The kitchen door flew open to admit Frank Valentine, another man and an arctic gust of air. The stranger was haggard and thin; Sammy's Chesterfield hung on his spare frame. What was decidedly strange was he held a baby dressed in a blue snowsuit and a small knit cap. The man looked terrified. Valentine put down the heavy oilcloth bag he was carrying and shut the door.

Frank kissed his sister. "Hey Margie, whatever you're cooking smells great!"

He turned to the other man. "Tom, this is my sister Margie. Let me go and talk to Emilio and then we'll settle things up."

Valentine's sister could see that the other man was shaking, and not all of it from the cold. He was frightened to death.

"Margie, this is Tom Kane and little TJ. Can you get them warmed up and find something for them to eat?"

"Certainly Frank." She was transfixed by the serious slate-blue eyes of the baby held in the other man's arms.

"I'll be back in a bit." Valentine picked up the bag and headed further into the house.

* * *

Leone was examining the ledgers of the bookmaking operations on the west side when a knock on the study door interrupted him. He lost track of the numbers he was tablulating and began to curse.

"This had better be good! Come in!"

Frank opened the door. "All done, Emilio."

"You got Kane and the money?"

Valentine nodded. He didn't look happy.

"What?"

"Kane spent some of the dough..."

Emilio's face began to darken with anger. His lieutenant put up a hand.

"... on his baby. Seems the missus went around the bend and tried to kill his son. He's been sleeping at St. Mary's and working in a diner to make up the money he spent on doctors and medicines."

Anger was replaced by shock on the mobster's face. "WHAT??"

"Yeah, that was my reaction too. He and the baby are in the kitchen with Margie right now."

"The baby's here?"

Valentine sat down on the sofa and gave his brother-in-law a disgusted look. "Emilio, Tom's half-dead and little TJ just got out of the hospital. What did you expect me to do? Leave the kid in a cold apartment by his lonesome while you have the shit beaten out of his father for trying to save his life?"

Leone had the good sense to look ashamed. "How much did he use up?"

"Nine hundred bucks. He's made up a hundred fifteen already." He put the bag on the crime lord's desk and pulled out a small notebook from his pocket. "See for yourself. He's kept track of every penny he spent and every dime he's made up. Not a red cent spent on anything but doctors and medicines. I checked."

Emilio looked uncertain and Frank took advantage of that. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "I think we've got some special circumstances here, boss. One, he didn't run off with the dough. Two, he spent it on saving his kid's life. Three, he's trying to make up what he took. And finally, I'll make good on the money for him. Tom's a good egg - you don't find honest burglars like him any more."

The crime boss waved his hand. "Nah, forget about the money. I ain't gonna do anything to him. Dumb bastard suffered enough. I know what it feels like to lose someone..." Leone thought about his younger brother. "Let's see him."

* * *

As the crime boss and his lieutenant approached the kitchen, the two heard something that had been absent in the mansion for a very long time - the sound of a woman's laughter. The men entered the kitchen to find Marguerite holding a beautiful, dark-haired baby. The widow was radiant - Emilio could not believe how lovely she looked. Nor how young.

"Emilio, isn't he gorgeous? Look at his eyes! Have you ever seen such beautiful blue eyes?" She turned the baby in her lap. "TJ, that's Emilio. Can you say 'Emilio'?"

The baby looked up at the crime boss. He raised his eyebrows at the man in front of him and looked back at Marguerite. He turned his head back to Leone and said, 'Meemo!', giving him a grin.

In that moment, everything changed. A black thought crawled into Leone's mind and began to take root.

"Can I hold him?" Emilio asked. Shocked, Kane nodded.

Leone took the baby from his sister-in-law. Frank gave Tom a wink and thumbs up. He held TJ close to him and the baby reached out to run a tiny hand across his stubbled cheek.

"Meemo!" The baby pulled on the crime lord's ear.

"Damn, he's strong! You got a beautiful boy, Kane." Leone kissed the baby who snuggled closer into his embrace; he was confident that the course of action he was going to undertake was the right one for all involved - or ... at least for himself and Marguerite.

"Frank told me about what happened ... I'm still angry about the money, Tommy. Why the hell didn't you ask me for it? What kind of monster do you think I am?"

Kane looked stricken. "I was afraid you'd say 'no', boss. I ... I couldn't risk it. Not if it meant TJ's life."

"Well, you're gonna make the money up. And you ain't washing dishes for it, either. You're gonna be doing a lot more jobs for me."

Leone kissed TJ again as he bounced him in his arms. "That drafty rathole of yours is no good for a baby. You two are moving in here - Margie can take care of him when you're working, can't you, Margie? We got room."

Marguerite was radiant. "Oh, Emilio! I'd love to! Tom - is that all right with you? Please, please say yes!"

The burglar was at a loss for words. He looked at Frank. "He ain't gonna kill me?"

Frank looked as confused as Kane. "Obviously not." Although he didn't show it, Frank was extremely troubled by this turn of events. Emilio was never one for being magnanimous.

Kane's pocket watch chimed. " 'cuse me, boss, but it's time for TJ's medicine..." He held out his arms for his son and fished a bottle of medicine from the coat pocket. He squeezed the dropper and it filled with a dark orange liquid.

TJ took one look at the bottle and looked ready to cry. Kane held him in his arms and rocked him gently.

"You need to be brave for me... you don't want to be sick all over again, do you? C'mon, sport ... take your medicine ... take it for daddy, TJ..."

The baby opened his mouth and swallowed the bitter liquid. He made a face. Tom held him close.

"That's my boy ... that's my best boy..." Kane continued to rock him until he dozed off. "Is there somewhere I can put him down for a bit?" he asked quietly.

"Follow me, Tom - we'll put him in the front guest room..."

Marguerite and the burglar left the kitchen. Emilio looked inordinately pleased with himself. Frank knew the crime lord was up to something but kept his own counsel.

"Frank?"

The other man turned to Leone.

"Find that bitch and have her whacked. And use local talent. I don't want her ever coming back to hurt that baby again."

* * *

Both TJ and Kane benefited from the move; the baby more so than his father. Leone had Kane working on jobs on an almost-continuous basis. TJ was left more and more in the company of Marguerite and Emilio. There were now times that the baby was confused as to whom was truly his father - the man who spent all his time with him, or the other who showed up infrequently but showered him with affection.

Valentine observed the changes in the baby's behavior but said nothing - after years of seeing his sister's torment, he could not bring himself to remind her that the child she doted on was not her own. Marguerite had bloomed again into a beautiful and vivacious woman. Her brother could not bear to see her sink down into the dismal half-life she had endured after the death of Johnnie Leone.

* * *

"Tommy, this job is very, very important. We get this information on Burke, and we're as good as gold - no one will be able to touch us!"

Frank, Tom and Emilio were plotting his next assignment. The police commissioner had been involved in some not-so-legal agreements with Paul Giambi, a former friend and now serious competition to Leone's operations.

"The documents are in a wall safe in the master bedroom on the second floor. Grab the papers and bring 'em back. We'll turn all Giambi's hard work against him!"

The burglar nodded. "OK, boss. Let me work out the details and I should be able to get the job done within two weeks."

"Hey ... it's Margie's birthday next week. You got her a present, didn't you?"

Kane looked surprised. "I completely forgot! Damn!"

"Why don't you and Frank go and pick out something nice for her? Better do it now ... you're gonna be busy!"

"Gotcha boss - thanks for the reminder." Valentine and Kane left the room.

Emilio picked up the phone on his desk and dialed a number. The phone rang several times and then a hoarse, raspy voice answered.

"Ferguson."

"Ahh, Captain! Glad I caught you before you left the station house!"

"What the fuck do you want, Leone? Why the hell are you calling me here?" The whispered voice on the other end was tight was worry.

"I'm arranging to have the Commissioner's home broken into and I thought you'd like to know. If we arrange it properly, I'll get rid of my problem, and you'll get rid of yours."

Silence. Emilio chuckled.

"I know you've been itching to become Commissioner yourself, but Burke's got an awful habit of dodging bullets, doesn't he? Particularly when it ain't one of my boys doing the aiming ... I'm sure that dame of yours would love to mix with the society muckety-mucks, too? Hmmm? Pretty good for a former chorus girl, right?"

"When?"

"I don't know yet. I'll call you."

He hung up.

* * *

"Thomas Kane, it is the finding of this court that you are guilty of charges of burglary and the shooting death of Michael Burke during commission of that act. Since these two heinous crimes were done in tandem, the felony murder rule is in effect. You are sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor."

The gavel cracked down on the bench.

Kane screamed as the guards hauled him away.

"I never killed nobody! I don't even own a gun! I found the dead guy after I rifled the safe! Damn you! Damn all of you! TJ! What's gonna happen to my baby?"

Frank Valentine stepped up. "We'll fight this thing, Tom. Don't worry about TJ. Emilio's lawyers will get you out. I swear it." Tom gave the lieutenant an anguished look as he was hustled out of the courtroom.

* * *

"Who we gonna use for the appeal, Emilio? Huckstein? Repnikov?" Valentine paced the study of the crime lord. "Something's fishy about all of this ... Tommy never packs heat. He'd rather skedaddle out than hurt somebody, let alone whack them."

"We ain't calling no one." Emilio smiled at his underling.

"Huh?"

Leone continued. "We ain't calling any other lawyer. That prick Burke is finally out of the way and Commissioner Ferguson is in our pocket. You'd be proud of me, Frank -- all it took was one little phone call."

Valentine stared at him. "What the hell did you do, Emilio?" His voice was deathly quiet.

The crime boss laughed. "Everyone's happy - well, except Kane. And he don't matter no more. Margie has a new lease on life, I fucked up Giambi's plans, and ... I've got a boy to raise as my own."

"You goddamn son of a bitch!" Valentine glared at him. "You set Tommy up!"

Emilio's face hardened. "You bet I did. He was nothing but a loser. Never would be anything else. And I got plans for TJ - you wanna see Margie the way she was again after Johnnie died? You wanna see TJ in an orphanage?"

The lieutenant turned away.

"I didn't think so. And you keep that piehole of yours shut. Unless you wanna end up like Mrs. Kane. Capisce?"

* * *
Tom Kane was shaking as his son finished the story.

"Emilio did all of that ... just to keep you for himself?"

TJ nodded. "Frank disappeared for several years and then turned up working for Paul Giambi. Emilio never forgave him; neither did I. Not until Lucio showed me the letters that he had written to me. Valentine made Paul - and Lucio - swear to him that I'd get those letters when I was old enough to understand what went on. Some of the other information I got from Randy Franklin."

"Randy! How is he?"

TJ was somber. "He passed away a year ago in Monte Carlo. He loved you till his dying breath."

Kane's eyes began to fill with unshed tears. "He was right. I did a terrible thing to Myrna. But..."

He reached out to hold his son in his arms.

"... I'dve never had you if I didn't..." The former burglar wiped the tears from his eyes.

Phil cleared his throat. "And that sort of brings us to why we're here, Mr. Kane..." He walked over to the other officer and wrapped a muscular arm around him. TJ turned his head and the two SMD officers exchanged a deep kiss.

Tom looked surprised and pleased. "Call me Tom ... I take then you two are an item??" he grinned. Like father like son. And damn good taste in men to boot! he thought.

"We've been together for three years now. Lucio is flying us and some close friends of ours up to Vancouver to get married. We're making it official."

"And I wanted you to be there with me, Dad. Warden Banks doesn't have any problem with you, umm, 'assisting' a group of CHP officers on an investigation."

Phil grinned. "And I guess you can figure out now who got Warden Banks his job here, sir?"

"Lucio?"

Zeeman nodded.

"Well boys, you've got to fill me in on the rest of your adventures on the flight! "

* * *
This storyline has been kicking around in my head for a very, very long time. However, it was one of those things - like Piaget's stages of cognitive development - that was not going to happen until it was good and ready. I could never start the story, let alone finish it.

As I was developing the character of TJ, I instinctively knew that there had to be a lot going on in his life before faking the argument with Don Leone and eventually killing the power-crazed don. At the same time, I also knew that Emilio Leone was an unmitigated bastard and always had been. Framing a man for murder to steal his child was something I could imagine this blackguard doing without a second thought.

The scene with TJ and the windows is based on an actual incident. The true story involved two women (a mother-in-law and her daughter) taking a baby out in a carriage in the dead of winter with only a thin cotton onesie. The carriage-pusher happened to be my great-grandmother. The baby was my mom. No infidelities involved - Rosalba was just one nasty piece of work.

The story began to coalesce as I was writing the plot outline for my baseball AE story. I put that shoot on hold to finish this work. I really felt that it was something that had to be done NOW.

The Tom Kane character is using the Greyland 'Zutro' mask. I knew when I got him that he was going to be a burglar, but not in what context. Then, I knew he would be TJ's father, but couldn't develop the backstory. Writer's block, I guess. This mask fits quite well, but since it's got a built-in squint, it takes a moment or two to settle onto your face and have your eyelashes adjust to the openings.

For TJ, I ordered a different name tag from Quartermaster and used the same CHP outfit as for Joshua Bateman. No duty belt this time, though - no sense in tempting fate, right? After all, if TJ and Phil were going into a prison, they would have to surrender their arms. Once again, I used the Greyland 'Artist' mask for the burglar turned cop and Dehner boots to complete the outfit.