The Dental Genes

"Tell me who you think did it, and I'll tell you if I know him."

"Do you know a man named Tony Donato from West Chester?"

"Don't know anyone by that name. In fact I don't know anyone at all from West Chester. Did you guy's check the phone logs and stuff? How do you know it was him?"

"We couldn't find any records of phones calls to mister Donato from any where in Florida for the last month. The technique used to set the bomb was very crude but effective. Mister Donato has used the same set up several times before but we have never been able to nail him."

"What exactly are you trying to find out from me? I don't know anything about the bombing. I don't know mister Donato and I couldn't care less if Brian Whitmer was alive or dead. Brian Whitmer was the reason my wife left me and I thank him for that. No grudges on my part, honest."

"We just didn't want to leave any stones unturned. You understand I am sure. Will you be available if we need to talk to you again?"

"Most certainly. I will get in touch after I get settled in."

Four hours later I was on my way to Lisbon. The plane flight gave me a lot of time to think about the past few years. My relationship with Darcy had been going down hill for a long time. I was too dense to realize she was having an affair. To make matters worse I had raised her love child as my own. I actually loved Jenny and grew closer to her after I found out that she wasn't mine. Once I realized that Darcy was planning on getting some monetary benefit from my job and my retirement, I decided to take steps to stop it. Paitone was more than happy to suspend my employment for a few years if I agreed to take over the new European operation. The timing was perfect for the company and me. I had not counted on Brian's wife dying, but Jenny was getting close to finishing school anyhow. My new post as VP of Continental Operations came with a substantial pay increase; a great benefits package, and a reinstatement of my old retirement plan. I had a small nest egg secretly stashed away and all my affairs were in order. I felt bad about not doing more for Jenny but I could make up for that later. Ron and Rob were finishing up at Penn State and things were looking good for them. I was three months behind on the status of Darcy or Jenny but was hoping to catch up after I got settled.

The interview with the Feds went faster and easier than I thought it would. I got to thinking that this was unusual, but didn't dwell on it too much. I more or less put in the back of my mind with a silent sign of relief. It did get me wondering what had happened though.

Getting settled in my new home was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I had underlings now and they had pretty much taken care of things before my arrival. The house, or should I say, the villa, they picked out for me was spectacular. It was on a hillside with a beautiful view of the harbor. I was enrolled in language lessons twice a week and had plenty of time for private tutoring. As they say, life was good. For some reason or another I had not contacted Jenny or Darcy. In fact, no one other than the company and the twins knew where I was. Ron went to grad school at Texas A and M and Rob was now a second lieutenant in the Army, thanks to ROTC. They said Darcy was at the graduation but no one discussed the separation or divorce. They readily agreed not to let her know of my location. They did not know where she was living or what she was doing and avoided asking. Jenny had told them about everything leading up to the divorce and apparently she had not sugar coated it. They seemed a little bitter toward their mother. I was proud of all three of my children.

A year had passed and things were going well. It was early April when I got an invitation to Jenny's wedding. Unfortunately it got to me about two weeks after the date of the ceremony. A small note inside expressed her desire for me to give her away, if I got the invitation in time. I felt bad about not being there for her. It took about two hours for my assistant to get a current address and phone number for Frank and Jenny Conti in King of Prussia.

"Hi, Jenny, it's Dad."

"Dad! Dad! You got my invitation. I missed you so much."

"Hey, slow down, slow down. Everything is fine. I am just sorry that I didn't find out about the wedding till it was too late. I am really upset that I missed it."

"It was wonderful and, other than you not being there, everything went perfectly. I really wanted you to walk down the aisle with me. Frank is a great guy, dad, you will like him. He is just finishing up an electrical engineering degree from Drexel and hopefully he will be starting a new job in a couple months."

Jenny was talking a mile a minute. She seemed as excited about talking to me as she did about the wedding. I was happy for her.

"I didn't get you anything. What do you need or want?"

"I need to see you and have you meet Frank. Can you come home?"

"Not right now, but why don't you and Frank come visit with me. I have a wonderful place and plenty of room. I can arrange for tickets if you guys can figure out how to schedule it."

"OK.OK. That sounds great. Can I call you back tomorrow? Give me a number. I love you Daddy and I miss you. I can't wait to see you. I will make this work, don't worry."

Jenny's new husband was everything a father could wish for. He was good looking, apparently, hard working and ambitious. I liked him and felt that he would take good care of my daughter. Even though I knew Jenny was not mine, I loved her as my own.

Jenny was more than willing to update me on her mother. Darcy found herself estranged from Brian's family after his death. They seemed to think that somehow she was responsible for what happened to Brian. There was also some talk about her affair with Brian behind Monica's back that made her an unwelcomed family guest. Without Brian, Darcy had no way to support herself. She was now working at Zinn's Diner by the turnpike and living in a mobile home near Lancaster.

While Jenny was dressing, so we could go out for supper, I had some one-on-one time with Frank.

"Any particular plans after college, Frank?"

"Mainly a job. Jenny has agreed to relocate to whereever we have to go, so that makes it a lot easier. I'd rather find a job I like that be stuck in one I don't like, at a particular location."

"I think I can relate to that."

For ten minutes we talked about what he studied at Drexel and what type work he was looking for. Surprisingly he spoke pretty good Italian. He picked it up from his grandparents, who lived with them while he was growing up in Philly. We were planning on opening a service office in Parma and the only hold up was finding someone to man it that spoke the language. Experience wasn't as important as education and the ability to manage, in this case. I was trying to figure out how to make it work while I listened to Frank talk. Having Jenny close enough that I could see her occasionally would be great. It was good being a boss.

About that time, my beautiful Jenny joined us. We were casually chatting as we walked to the car.

"Jenny, since I could not make it to the wedding, who did you get to give you away?"

"Franks' Uncle Anthony introduced Frank and I, and he was more than happy to do it. He gave us a very nice wedding present also."

Frank sort of laughed at that. "I never expected to get a ten thousand dollar wedding gift from anyone and getting it from Uncle Anthony was a real surprise. It's not like he has a real job or anything. I am not sure where he gets his money but it sure was appreciated."

"Well I must remember to send Uncle Anthony Conti a nice letter to thank him, myself."

"Oh no. He is an uncle on my mother's side. His last name is Donato."

I glanced over at Jenny and she had a small grin on her face, like a pixie but without the tooth curl.