PATSY by Kenneth L. Ehrenthal (fantasy novels to read .txt) 📕

asking.  We are your kids you know.  Even though we don't see you much, you're still our dad.  I'll just say this, I like her very much, and I think she likes me.  Silence!  Mark grumbles, does that mean we have to see her again?  I hope some day you may want to see her again.  Yes sure."
Heidi thinks long and hard in the cab ride.  I don't think his kids liked me.  I suppose that is probably normal.  Here I am threatening to take their father away.  I must tell Sid and them also, that I'd never do that.  Sid sleeps very restlessly.  I had become very lonely in bed alone.  He missed her soft, form body and her soft breathing next to him.  Several times he awoke reaching for her, but of course she wasn't there.

Eight o'clock, and the phone rings.  Heidi snatches it off the table and hearing Sid's voice she melts.  "Sid, I've had the worst night I can remember."  "I didn't get much sleep my self, every time I reached for you I came up empty."  "Look, I'm taking the kids ice skating at the Waldman."  Could you meet us there?”  Do you ice skate?"  Sid, I grew up in New Hampshire, what you think.  I'll find my skates and meet you there, what time?  About eleven, is that OK?  Sure, Sid do you skate?  Hey I grew in New York, what do you think? No! Your right!  I watch and sip hot coffee. 
 
Heidi who doesn't live far from the Waldman waits for Sid and the kids to arrive.  Even though the day is "blasted" cold, she is dressed for skating.  She's wearing a fluffy pink sweater and a short woolen skirt, which show her knock out legs.  We'll the legs are Sid's opinion.  They arrive and both Mark and Ann take to the ice.  And skate as far from Heidi as they can.  Heidi skates toward the boards where Sid is sipping his coffee and smiling.  "You look like a pink snow flake", says Sid.  Come on Sid, get some skates and I'll help you skate", smiles Heidi.  Sweetheart, I am so busy with all my cases that I don't have time to spend days in the hospital and weeks on crutches," says Sid.  "I'll just watch you and of course keep my eye on Ann and Mark."  But not watching you will be very difficult."  Heidi skates away towards Ann and Mark.  "Hi guys" she says, "you both skate very well".  They nod and continue their circum -navigation around the rink.

As they leave the rink, Heidi asks Sid if he would like to go to Sunday services, at St. John, the Divine, the next day.  "Please, she says, bring the kids."  Sid being Jewish never, as a child had the "normal" Christian ritual of Sunday services. He remembers vividly that he had as a child been pulled into Saturday services by his grandfather.  His one positive about Sunday was that he knew Christian services lasted no more than maybe an hour or an hour and a half.  Jewish Saturday lasted up to five hours.  He had been to the Cathedral before to see a Johnny Winter's concert, but never for services. When he entered the building and moved out of the vestibule he was struck by the huge size and height of the room.  It was massive.  He remembered the concert there and how the central pulpit stood out and he could only see half the size since beyond that pulpit was more seating and more space.  The Cathedral as with all other Christian buildings were created to emphasize the enormity of "God's" power and the infinitesimally small power of man.  It should have been a humbling experience.  But to Sid, it only reinforced his ideas of the ego-centric nature of man.   He believed that man both created the Cathedral and "God".  That thought bought him back down to earth and the two serious cases he was working on.  Both it seem to him to revolve around egos.  Those of the police hierarchy keeping from the public what appeared to be a gang of "rouge" cops pulling off series of robberies, and  the District Attorneys office refusing to see a need to acknowledge that maybe the wrong man went to jail for the rape and murder of Margaret Alpert.  All Mark and Ann could say, as they entered the Cathedral was "Wow".  The sat down about half-way down toward the main pulpit.  Organ music was "softly" playing.  Suddenly a stark cord and shuffling toward the rear and a procession makes its way down the aisle towards the altar area at the other end of the Cathedral.  The voices of the chorus rise begin a hymn and the service starts.

All four are extremely quiet as the leave the building.  Each in their own way were trying to assimilate what they had just experienced.  The day had turned out dark and the air heavy portending an early snow.  Sid's mood, as he left, seemed to parallel the mood of the day.  He was dark and damp and relatively depressed.  Both depressed by the Church experience, his legal cases and the day.  The signals that came from his kid reinforced these feelings.  The only positive experience, to Sid, was the woman who walked with him.  Sid takes them all to a nice restaurant for Sunday brunch.  Heidi, noticing Sid's mood tries to cheer up the group.  "This repast, she says, has everything I think we can of the foods we all like".  The waitress brings both Heidi and Sid "mimosas" and the kid’s large glasses of "coke". 
 
While food is outstanding, the tone of the group is subdued.  Heidi mentions that she went to many churches and church services and that her own church could fit quite nicely in the Cathedral with room for a foot ball field to spare.  No one responds.  She goes on to tell about the simple services in her home church and compared with the majesty of the service that had just witnessed, her's was puny.  Ann responds with a smirk saying, "all that glitter and music for just some people to honor god.  I think that my god would be embarrassed."  "Why would that be?" asks Heidi.  With all the poor people in the world isn't all that finery and sound a real waste of money."  Sid was thinking the same thing.  Like father like daughter, thinks Sid.  "The people here, says Heidi, don't see it that way.  They believe that to honor god we should show him great respect by the ceremony and the
 
pomp."  We'll" says Ann, I still think that god really doesn't want that waste."  "We really don't know what god wants, dear, Says Heidi, we just want to honor him."  Sid says, "Then he can take it or leave it."          

   

 

                                                  
                                                 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                   Chapter 11
 
“Mr. Lowenthal, the DA's office is on line two”, calls out Margie.  He picks up the phone. "Mr. Lowenthal, this is Stephanie Trowell, assistant district attorney.  Mr. Armond asked me to give you a call.  I am the replacement for Livingston and I searched his files for the case you asked for and its not available...it's under seal, and I can't even see it."  "What" said Sid?  "Under seal...whose seal.  I don't think I can tell you that.  Goodbye."   Sid decides to go back to the DA's office. He calls and makes an appointment to see Armond, the acting head of the Felony Bureau directly. 
He is ushered into Armond's office, who is on the phone.  Armond points to a chair offering Sid a seat.  Finally off the phone he say's "Ok! Sid what can I do for you."  Sid explains his dilemma concerning the Mohammed Royster and the sealed records.  He explains that he has been asked to review the material with the goal of re-opening the case.  "I don't want to waste my time and your offices time, if there is nothing in the records to re-open."  Armond smiles "I can tell you now, that there is nothing there to help you."  "You tell me that, and while I want to believe you, I'd really like to see for myself" urges Sid.  "I don't have the authority myself to open sealed files, only the DA and Bureau chief McGinty can do that", says Armond.  "OK", says Sid, since I suppose McGinty is still away, I guess I have to see the DA."  "That's you right of course" says Armond, I'll call ahead and see when he'll see you."  "Thanks", says Sid.  After a short conversation with, the DA's secretary, Armond turns to Sid and says, "He’ll be able to see you at ten o'clock, next Thursday."  "That's over a week away", says Sid.  "The DA is a very busy man", smiles Armond.              
 
Sid gets back to his office and asks Margie to call George Hyman.  "George, I have another assignment for you", says Sid.  "I'll be right over.     
Sid explains the situation to George when he arrives, George tells Sid that is very rare, in his experience, that any case files are sealed by the DA.  As far as he knows they only seal Juvenal and "national" security cases.  "I don't think your case is national security, except for the name Mohammed."  But that's really pushing it."  "Let me nose around and see what I can find out."

 
                                                   
Chapter 12
Two days pass and George Hyman ambles into Sid" office and sits heavily down in one of his client chair and leans back.  "This is very interesting case.  It appears that once they had identified the finger prints on the bag she was carrying, the investigation ended.  It seems the caught them a Patsy.  No one else was considered, even when they found out, during the trial, that she was pregnant.  The case was the finger prints and the DNA."  "You’re kidding", says Sid.  "You mean to say that they never considered her background, who she knew who she dated, anything about her."  Yep, that's right" growled George.  From my contacts in the police, they had an open-and-shut case against the cabby.   Remember he's a Muslim and he's black.  I also found out one other interesting bit of information.  It seems that McGinty, the Bureau Chief himself took a lot of interest in the case.  He was watching over the shoulder of the Assistant DC Livingston, trying the case, all the time.  He also, by the way, ordered the case sealed after the trial.  "Okay George", said Sid.  "I want a full background check on this girl. Also, let's try to contact Mr. Lewis, in Denver, and see what he remembers."

Thursday at 10 Am, Sid enters the DA's office.  The DA smiles at Sid and pointing to a couch offers him a seat.  Sid sits down and the DA sits across from him on a chair opposite the couch.  "How can I help you" says, Henry Morgenstern, the DA.  Sid fills him in on the case.  Then he tells him about the sealed records.  The DA sits back in his chair with a frown on his face.  "Mr. Lowenthal, I give my Bureau Chief's broad latitude on their cases, and I don't interfere with the way the run their office.  If McGinty sealed the case he must have had a good reason.  You're going to see him about that?”  “I’d like to but it seems that Mr. McGinty is away on an extended vacation", says Sid, and no one seems to know when he'll be back."   "Be that as it may", says the DA, I'm sure as soon as he gets back he'll clear up the matter.  I'll personally tell him to get back to you, as soon as