Sunday morning: "Steven! Kirkland! Breakfast is ready!"

As the boys took their places at the table, Carl turned on the TV news.

"Today's top story: Grant Harrison was found dead in his suite early this morning. The former US Senator was the victim of an apparent homicide -"

"Grant's dead?" said Steven, "I wonder who killed him?"

"He's not dead!" cried Kirkland, "He's NOT!"

"Yes he is, Doofus!"

"Steven!" said Carl, "Have a little care for your brother's feelings. However badly Grant may have treated everyone else, he was unfailingly kind to Kirkland. It's quite natural for him to feel grief. We must respect that."

****

Over at the Cory Mansion, Amanda summed up the situation by saying,

"Grant's dead? Good riddance!"

The doorbell rang; Claudia answered it. "Excuse me, Miss Cory," she said, coming into the living room, "Two policeman are asking for you." It was Tibbs and his partner.

"Amanda Cory? Captain MacNamara would like you to come down to

headquarters to answer a few questions."

****

"Am I a suspect?" Amanda demanded, as she was ushered into Gabe's office.

"At this point, no one is a suspect." said Gabe, insincerely, "I'm just trying to put together a picture of what Grant's life was like, these last few years. I understand that you were married to him."

Amanda pulled a face. "Briefly." she said.

"What sort of a man was Grant?" said Gabe, holding a chair for her to sit down.

"Grant Harrison was a sick, bitter, twisted, mean son-of-a-bitch!" said Amanda, "Oh, he hid it well; when we were courting, I thought I had found the perfect man - handsome, charming, intelligent - I knew his marriage to Vicky had been a disaster, but he convinced me that it was all her fault. He kept telling me that we were this Supercouple who were going to go to the White House and change the world!"

"What happened?"

"We got married." said Amanda, "Once his ring was on my finger, Grant dropped the act. He never loved me - he just needed a wife so he could get custody of Kirkland. Suddenly, nothing I did, or said, or wore was 'suitable' for the future First Lady. He did everything he could to undermine my self-confidence - and it worked! Three months as Mrs Grant Harrison, and I was a quivering jelly fish!" She ducked her head and exaggerated her natural whine: "Graant! I'm sooorry I said something You didn't liiike! I didn't meean it! Pleeease, forgiiive me!" She straightened up, "That was the way I used to talk! Grant had a real knack for making me feel guilty and inadequate. If I hadn't found out that he was sleeping with Lorna -!"

"Lorna?" said Gabe, "Lorna Devon?"

"Yes; she was his spin doctor back then."

****

Fists pounded on the door of the cottage.

"POLICE!"

"There's no need to break the door down." said Carl, opening it.

There stood Joe Carlino, and a gaggle of uniformed officers.

"I got a warrant to search these premises." said Joe, smirking.

"Then by all means, go right ahead." said Carl, "Try not to upset my Little Ones."

It was too late for that; Michael, Franklin and Clara didn't understand who these loud strangers in blue were, or why they were tearing the house apart, but they didn't like it; they all started crying. Steven and Kirkland were not much better.

****

"Is it true that you had a affair with Grant, when he was married to Amanda Cory?" Gabe asked.

"I suppose you could call it that." Lorna said, "He took advantage of me when I was at a low point in my life; I had just been raped."

Gabe was shocked, but didn't interrupt her.

"Grant made me feel desirable again. He told me that his marriage had been a terrible mistake, that Amanda didn't understand him, and fool that I was, I thought we were falling in love. So I asked when he was going to divorce Amanda and marry me - and he laughed! I was never anything to him but an easy lay!"

Gabe muttered something that sounded like "Son of a-!"

"Yeah, well, I've done my best to forget the whole sorry mess!"

"The picture I'm getting of Grant is a lot different from the man I thought I knew." said Gabe

"Grant could put on a convincing Nice Guy act," said Lorna,"But everyone who really got to know him ended up despising him."

Joe came out of Carl's bedroom carrying a handgun in a plastic evidence bag.

"You got a license for this? he demanded.

"I've never seen it before." said Carl.

"Uh-huh!" said Joe, "Let's discuss it down at headquarters."

"As you wish."

"NO!" Steven and Kirkland flung their arms around Carl, which started the younger children crying again.

"Steven, Kirkland, I have to go with them." said Carl, "I need you to look after the Little Ones until I get back; can you do that for me?"

"Yes, Grandpa." they said, sniffling.

"Good lads!" he kissed their foreheads, then stepped away from them, and picked up the telephone.

"May I speak to Rachel, please? - Rachel, the police want me to help them with their inquiries. Could you take charge of the children? - Thank you." He hung up. "The children's grandmother will be here presently."

"Eliot, you take care of the kids until she gets here." said Joe.

"What? Why me?" Just because she was a woman didn't mean that she had any rapport with children.

"Let's go, Hutchins." Carl and the rest of the cops left, leaving Eliot on her own with five hostile and/or crying children.

"So - anybody want ice cream?"

"I knew something bad was going to happen that involved Grant," said Frankie, " but I never guessed that he'd be murdered."

"Knowing Grant, it was inevitable that someone would kill him, sooner or later." said Cass.

The telephone rang. "Hello? Oh, Hi Rachel! Yes, I just saw it on the news."

****

"Wanna bet your gun turns out to be the murder weapon?" Joe jeered. "How did it feel, puttin' two bullets into Harrison? Bang! Bang!" he pantomimed, using his finger as the gun, "One bullet in his heart, and the other right between his eyes! Very professional!"

Carl remained cool under Joe's hectoring.

"So Grant is not merely dead, he's really most sincerely dead." he said, "I doubt anyone will mourn for him, aside from young Kirkland."

Gary opened the door of the Interrogation Room. "Excuse me, Detective," he said, "Mr Hutchins' lawyer is here."

"That's right, and I demand to speak to my client!" said Cass, "Alone!"

"Cass?" Carl was surprised.

"This isn't my idea, it's Rachel's." Cass said. He looked pointedly at the door, then at Joe. "If you don't mind, Detective ?"

"I'll go see if the lab report on that gun is ready." said Joe, with a smirk.

"What a jerk!" said Cass, as the door closed. "All right, Carl, I'll see what sort of a plea bargain I can arrange for you."

"You needn't play Monty Hall on my account." said Carl, "I have no interest in making a deal."

"Carl -!"

"I'm innocent, Dear Boy!"

****

"Grandma!" The children stampeded Rachel as she arrived at the cottage.

"Thank you, Officer," said Rachel, "I'll take over from here."

"Thank YOU!" said Eliot, and made her escape.

Meanwhile, Joe had wasted no time in getting his witness down to the police station. Mrs Cavendish was looking at Carl through the two-way mirror in the Interrogation Room.

"Is that the man you saw?" Joe demanded.

"Well, the hair looks right," she said, "But - he's very thin. I thought the man I saw had a heavier build."

Joe made a little noise of impatience. "He was wearin' the coveralls over his other clothes!" he said, "That woulda bulked him out!"

"If you say so." said Mrs Cavendish doubtfully.

****

"Rachel? It's Cass."

"Yes, Cass?"

"Carl's been arrested for Grant's murder. The police found the murder weapon hidden in his room, and they have a witness who places him at the scene of the crime. Frankly, there's not much I can do, especially since Carl refuses to plea bargain."

"I know you'll do your best, Cass. Thank you."

Rachel had barely hung up the phone when the doorbell rang.

"Amanda - what are you doing here?"

"I thought you could probably use some help getting the childrens' things packed." said Amanda.

"Packed?"

"Well, surely you're going to take them home!"

"They are home." said Rachel, "These children have suffered one trauma after another: They’ve lost their parents and their grandparents in a car crash, and now their other grandfather has been arrested. All they have left of the old, happy life is this house - their home. They are not going to lose that as well!"

"So, what are you going to do - move in here for the next twenty years?"

"If necessary." said Rachel, "Hopefully, it won't come to that."

Amanda rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Mother!"

"Right now, there is something you can do for me."

"What?"

"Babysit. It's the nanny's day off, and I have to go out for a while."

****

"You have a visitor, Hutchins." said the guard, "Five minutes."

"Hello, Carl."

"Rachel! I wasn't expecting to see you." said Carl, "How are the children?"

"Very unhappy." said Rachel, "They miss you terribly."

Carl punched the bars in frustration. "If I were out of this cage -!"

"Well, if we want to get you out if it, we are going to have to figure out who framed you." said Rachel.

"You - you don't think I'm guilty?"

Rachel shook her head. "The Carl who was my enemy was much too clever a criminal to commit such a clumsy murder." she said, "And the Carl I fell in love with wouldn't murder anyone, not even Grant."

Carl looked at her blankly for a long moment.

"Carl?"

"I beg your pardon." he said at last, "What did you just say?"

Rachel smiled. "I love you!"

"Say it again!"

"I love you, Carl. I fell in love with you in New York. I just wasn't ready to admit it, even to myself."

"And like a fool, I pushed too hard!" said Carl, "I, who have always prided myself on my infinite patience!"

"Never mind all that now." said Rachel, "It's past; we need to think about the present situation."

"At this moment, all I can think about is you!" said Carl, "Come closer!"

It wasn't easy to kiss and embrace through the bars, but they managed it.

"Hey!" said the guard, "That's enough! Time's up!"

"Stone walls do not a prison make/ Nor iron bars a cage." Carl quoted, as Rachel was escorted out. "If I have freedom in my love/ And in my soul am free,/ Angels alone, who soar above,/ Enjoy such liberty!"

Note: Carl is quoting To Althea, From Prison by the Cavalier poet, Richard Lovelace.

To be continued.