Scene Six: PATAMON, THE CONCLUSION

Flint, Harry, Edison, Agents Gower and Curtis waited for hours in a small private waiting room.

"Maribella did almost die. We let them think they killed her. Leon and Dee Dee Pine took out a huge life insurance policy on Maribella and began slowly poisoning her. We got a tip and let them believe they succeeded so we could continue to collect evidence. We didn't expect Patamon would show up when he did," Gower told Harry and Edison.

"Patamon lost his mind the day we came back to pick up Maribelle and were directed to the graveyard." Harry said.

"Then who killed Dee Dee and Leon and their daughter Evelyn?" Edison was horribly confused.

"The Russian hitman, Freddie Boult. He thought he was killing Patamon, Birdie and Maribelle. The same flag that alerted us to the suspicious insurance policy was accessed by Russian hackers and they accessed Maribelle's birth certificate. Then Patamon's name on that certificate tripped another red flag and the hit man was dispatched." Gower continued.

"You saved Maribelle twice!" Harry marveled at the mess. 

"What the hell are the Russians doing monitoring our medical and insurance transactions?" Edison blurted.

"Information is power. They almost got Maribelle," Curtis replied.

"A Russian hit man named "Boult" goes home and gets hit by a "bolt" of lightning. Patamon learns that Boult and Bargus are dead so he comes back to pick up his daughter before you have time to correct the tombstone!" Harry was still trying to wrap his head around it.

"Birdie's parents died when the tidal wave hit the island resort. The whole family had gathered there to celebrate Pat and Birdie's first wedding anniversary and the birth of Mirabelle. Tell us what happened to Birdie. You said she's alive. Where is she?" Edison demanded.


“Birdie survived but was rescued by pirates who planned to sell her into the sex trade. She told us she tried to kill herself by jumping overboard but was rescued again, this time by kind fishermen who took her to the missionary on an impoverished island far from the ravaged resort. The nuns nursed Birdie’s cuts and broken bones. Birdie decided to live out the rest of her days at the mission, which she did until a photo taken by a tourist put her back on the grid. Birdie had no hope that the baby the water had ripped from her arms could have survived. She couldn’t know that Patamon’s lifeguard training kicked in and combined with a father’s love, empowered him to snatch his daughter back from the sea.” Agent Gower filled in some of the blanks.

“Edison and I were still in Hawaii. We flew to Figi to help Pat find Birdie. It was too brutal for an infant, so we flew to California and asked Dee Dee and Leon to look after Maribelle. Dee Dee had just given birth to Evelyn and promised to treat Maribelle as Evelyn’s twin while we searched for Birdie,” Harry shared his piece of the puzzle.

The waiting room door creaked and there stood Birdie and her daughter Maribelle. Agent Curtis gasped when he saw how lovely Maribelle was. Love at first sight came at an inopportune time but he couldn’t stop himself from planning what he might say to her. He would ask her to lunch when this was over. He would send her flowers. One day he would tell her that the moment he saw her he knew he would need to see her face everyday or there would be a huge hole in his heart.

An hour later a stern, elderly man in a black suit and overcoat entered the room.

“Maribelle, meet your great grandfather, Senator Gunther Thaliard,” Gower introduced them.

A nurse appeared and informed Gower he could speak to Patamon. Gower went alone. They had a very interesting conversation.

“Curtis, don’t react,” Gower said into his communication device.

Curtis kept his poker face and pushed his earpiece in deeper.

“Look at your watch, calmly tell the Senator it’s time to meet his grandson. When he is clear of the waiting room, cuff the bastard. I’m right outside. I got your back.”

On the night in question when Freddie Boult whisked Patamon from his studio in El Porto to the Bargus mansion in Manhattan Beach, Patamon did indeed witness acts of incest. August Bargus was having sex with his daughter while Senator Gunther Thaliard sodomized her. Freddie Boult was watching it on his laptop while commissioning a work of art from Patamon.

“Our country needs your country to change some outdated policies. Gunther is helping us. Everybody is happy.” Boult laughed at Patamon’s naivete.

The obscene amount of money Patamon was offered shocked him. What turned his bones to rubber was the sight of a skull on a spike in the tropical themed pool area. Most people would shrug it off as tacky décor but anyone who knew Oliver Mowbray would recognize that skull. Patamon walked past the pool to the beach. Once he reached the moonlit shore he ran like the wind to El Porto to protect his business partners Edison and Harry.

Senator Thaliard was taken out of the hospital in hand cuffs.

“I guess this explains the senator’s voting history.  God, I wouldn’t want to be Patamon,” Curtis shook his head.

“I think the Prince of El Porto is feeling better now than he has in years,” Gower patted his partner on the back.

Indeed, Patamon was hugging his wife and daughter, shedding tears of relief and joy. Flint picked a few lint balls from the sleeve of his tweed jacket and stood a little taller.

~ the end ~