WELLSVILLE, OHIO - THE PLAYGROUND - THE NEXT DAY - 3:30 PM

Tim is waiting at the playground, idly tossing a ball in the air and catching it. Hearing a noise behind him, he turns around to see Bobby walking toward him and braces for a fight. Bobby looks past him and sees Kimble coming out onto the porch. With a wary look, he turns and walks hastily the other way. Tim looks around. Forgetting about Bobby, he grabs a glove and baseball cap from off the ground and runs up to meet Kimble.

“I found my old glove. I got you a hat, too,” he says enthusiastically. Kimble turns back to him and smiles. He puts on the cap and slips his hand in the glove, giving it a punch with his fist.

“Let’s play ball.”

A HALF HOUR LATER

Kimble is standing in the center of the playground. Shaking an arm sore from pitching, he says, "That's enough hitting. How about if you practice catching some grounders?"

"Sure!" says Tim with enthusiasm, throwing down the bat and running to get his glove. Kimble throws him a fast ground ball, but he doesn't lower his glove fast enough and it rolls between his legs and bounces against the fence.

As he runs to retrieve it, Kimble calls after him, "Always keep your glove close to the ground. That way, if you don't catch the ball, you at least stop it. And be ready to jump sideways, in case the ball bounces off in another direction."

Tim eagerly follows his advice, until he is cleanly catching most of the ground balls.

Kimble looks at his watch and smiles. "That's enough for today. You're doing really well."

"Thanks," says Tim, blushing slightly at the praise. "I wish I could play on the Little League team, but Grandma says it costs too much," he says resignedly.

"The important thing is to learn the basic skills. When you're old enough to play on the school team, you can worry about winning games."

"You think so?" Tim asks hopefully.

"Sure. I didn't play in Little League, either, just pick-up games at the playground. I learned the basics from my Dad."

Tim looks suddenly embarrassed. "My Dad… he’s out of town a lot. I live with my Grandma."

Sensing his discomfort, Kimble tries to distract him. "Tomorrow is Saturday. Maybe we could go up to the ball field."

"Yeah!" says Tim, his face brightening. "I get my allowance tomorrow. We can go to the Dairy Queen and get a Dilly Bar. And I can give you a tour of the town."

Smiling at the thought of a tour of the little town of Wellsville, Kimble replies "Sounds great. I'll see you in the morning."

FUGITIVE TASK FORCE HEADQUARTERS

Eve Hilliard is sitting behind the desk in her office. Sitting down in front of her, Jim Bowers shakes her hand briefly.

“Thank you for seeing me, Agent Hilliard. I realize Captain Gerard is not here this afternoon, but actually it’s you I wanted to see.”

Eve gives him a surprised look. “I wasn’t aware that Dr. Kimble had retained a new lawyer. Does this mean your client will be turning himself in?” she asks dubiously.

Bowers shakes his head. “Apparently he still feels that is not in his best interest.”

“In that case, I’m not sure how I can help you,” Eve says, rising to leave.

Bowers motions for her to sit down. “I had a conversation with Dr. Kimble’s sister-in-law, Becca Ross. She told me you had been to see her.”

“That’s true,” says Eve, puzzled. Curious as to where he is heading, she sits back down.

Relieved to have her cooperation, Bowers continues. “I understand you asked her about someone who was employed by her father, a man named Gagomiros. Can I ask you what your interest in him is?”

Eve relaxes at hearing the name. “The FBI was investigating Gagomiros in connection with a shooting last spring. Gagomiros is dead.”

Bowers’ disappointment shows on his face. “Then the investigation of Gagomiros was unrelated to the Task Force.”

Eve gets a cautious look on her face. Standing up, she walks around her desk and turns to face the window. “I didn’t say that. Actually, the shooting occurred in connection with Dr. Kimble. He apparently called the Task Force and offered to turn himself in. He said he was bringing the one-armed man, Ben Charnquist, with him. I was on leave at the time and Gagomiros showed up from headquarters to fill in for me, or so he said. When Kimble arrived in Chicago, Gerard and Gagomiros went to meet him, but Gagomiros shot Captain Gerard.” Turning to face Bowers, she continues, “No one really knows what happened after that. Gagomiros was found dead, shot by persons unknown. Kimble and Charnquist were never found, although we know Kimble was sighted in the area. Captain Gerard is only alive because he was wearing a bullet-proof vest.”

Bowers has a stunned look on his face. “But why would Gagomiros shoot Gerard?”

Eve folds her arms across her chest. “That’s the $64,000 question. It was under investigation by Internal Affairs, without much progress. At the time, I was hoping Ms. Ross could shed some light on the matter, since Gagomiros worked for her father.”

His mind leaping with possibilities but keeping his thoughts to himself, Bowers rises to leave. “Well, I appreciate your time, Agent Hilliard. I won’t keep you.”

“You’ll let us know if you hear from your client?" Eve asks.

“Will you let me know if you learn any more about Charnquist or Gagomiros?", Bowers rejoins.

“Touche." Eve answers, looking at him with respect. Holding out her hand, she says, "Good luck."

Shaking her hand, Jim says, "Off the record, Agent Hilliard, do you believe Becca's story about the kidnapping?"

"Off the record?" Eve pauses. "I don’t want to put an innocent man on death row. But until….unless you can prove Kimble is innocent, its my job to bring him in."

“Fair enough.” With a nod of respect, Bowers turns and walks out of the office. Tempted to call after him, Eve turns back to her desk and with a distracted look begins shuffling through the paperwork on it.

SECONDS LATER

Gerard walks in and heads directly for Kari’s office, storming in with an angry look on his face. Kari swings around in surprise. “OK Capt. Gerard what have I done now?”

“Agent Holmes, it’s bad enough that you had to go On The Record With Greta Van Sustern without me, but this is totally uncalled for!” He throws down a bumper sticker that reads, RUN KIMBLE RUN.

Kari starts to laugh and says, “Captain, I assure you that I had nothing to do with this. This is simply capitalism working, along with the first amendment to our Constitution.”

“Agent Holmes, you know ever since you got here you have undermined me in every way you could.”

“Really? I thought I was helping you. Aren’t I? Look at what I uncovered, Captain. Is it that you simply can’t handle the truth that maybe you overlooked something along the way and let your emotions take over, or is this all the ultimate ego/revenge trip for you? Or is it both?”

Gerard looks at Kari seething with anger and she is not the least bit intimidated. “Agent Holmes…”

“Capt. Gerard, why are you so mad at me? It can’t just be because someone printed up bumper stickers!”

“Agent Holmes, you went on a popular cable show and discussed new information and I was not there to give a counter point.”

“With all due respect, I was the only person asked to go On The Record! You knew I was asked three days before I was scheduled to appear. If it meant that much to you, why didn’t you call the producer of the show yourself and ask if you could give a counterpoint?!”

“I did, and he turned me down!”

Kari softens her tone and says, “I see. Look Capt. I’m sorry. If my presence on this task force is undermining what you believe to be your job, then why haven’t you requested to my superiors that I return to DC?”

“I tried Agent Holmes…I was denied! On all fronts!”

Kari raises her eyebrows and says, “That’s unusual. What does my boss have on you?” she asks, jokingly.

Gerard is very silent and Kari realizes she’s said the wrong thing. “I’m sorry Captain, I was making a joke. I didn’t mean anything by it. It’s just kind of unusual that my boss would refuse to take me back…but I can also see with all of the other things that have come out that they would want me to stay.”

“This is still my case Agent Holmes.” He turns to walk away.

Kari says, “None of this will bring Lenore back or change Menzies life.”

“Don’t ever mention that to me again. I should have never told you about it.”

“Capt. Gerard, you either have to face the past and deal with it or it will consume you.”

“I’m fine, Agent Holmes.”

“No, you’re not and in spite of what you think about me, I don’t hate you. In fact, I took the time to call a colleague of mine in Atlanta a few weeks ago ask him to start a very quiet and discreet investigation of Menzies.”

Gerard looks surprised and says, “You shouldn’t have done that.”

“Why? Are you afraid you might actually get some closure?”

“Did he find anything?”

“No, not yet but the investigation is just starting. He’s not sure what to look for yet but he’ll know it when he finds it. If Menzies really did pay off the judge and the DA in the case against him regarding Lenore’s death, I seriously doubt that’s the only time he’s used his money to get out of something. Be patient Captain. We at the FBI make sure we’ve got all of the I’s dotted and the T’s crossed so that years later in a mock retrial, you don’t run the risk of new evidence showing up!”

“You know, you almost had me convinced that you cared.” He turns and walks out.

Kari says quietly to herself, “I do care, Captain. I look at you and think 'There but for the Grace of God go I' if I hadn’t gotten help!”

WELLSVILLE, OHIO - ALONG THE RIVER - SATURDAY MORNING

Kimble and Tim are walking down a brick sidewalk beside the Ohio River. They pass a well-preserved house with a sign marking it as a museum.

“This is the railroad museum,” Tim explains. “Wellsville was a railroad town once, but it’s not anymore. There’s an old caboose in the yard over there,” he says, pointing around the side of the house. “The neatest thing in the museum is some old newspaper stories about a gangster named 'Pretty Boy Floyd'. He was on the FBI's ‘Most Wanted’ list for killing four policemen in Kansas City. I guess he claimed he didn’t do it. Anyway, an FBI agent named Purvis spotted him just outside of town. He was shot and killed trying to escape."

Kimble winces at the story. "Which way is the Dairy Queen?" he asks, changing the subject.

His face brightening, Tim turns down a side alley. "It's this way. Just a few blocks up."

15 MINUTES LATER

Kimble and Tim are eating Dilly Bars as they walk up a wide divided street with structures resembling large wells running down the middle of the tree-lined center divide. “Are those the wells the town is named for?” asks Kimble.

“Nah, Grandma says they used to be fountains." Running up to one, he leaps onto the stone wall and walks around the outside, then jumps off to land on the grass inside. "This is Broadway. It used to be the main street of town.” Leaping back over the wall, he continues down the street.

Turning a corner they pass an old abandoned factory building. The windows are all boarded up, with many showing broken panes of glass. Tim points down the street. “Down there is the pottery where Grandma works.” He stops short and Kimble follows his gaze and sees Bobby coming out of a store on the sidewalk ahead. Tim suddenly grabs Kimble’s arm and pulls him into the alley beside the old factory. “Come on,” says Tim, “let me show you something.”

Leading him over to the far side of the building, he shows Kimble a window covered by several loose boards. Pushing one aside, he climbs in as Kimble follows.

“This is my secret hiding place. Sometimes when I want to get away from everybody, I come here. Nobody knows about it but me. And you,” he adds.

“Do you hide from Bobby? That wasn’t the first fight you’ve had, was it?” Kimble asks kindly.

Tim looks at him in surprise. “He tells lies about my Dad!” he says angrily, turning away.

Kimble reaches for his arm. “You know, when I was your age, my father taught me an old saying - ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.’ Maybe if you ignore Bobby, he’ll just go away.”

Tim looks at him uncertainly, and gives a noncommittal shrug.

“Thanks for showing me your hiding place. I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”

Tim flashes him a smile and,with a quick glance through the loose board, he slips back out the window, followed by Kimble.

As they reach the sidewalk, Tim looks up quickly at the sound of a car horn, waving at the driver. “That’s the principal at my school, Mr. Hollis. Come on, let’s go. The pottery is just up the street.”

Several blocks later, they come to a large factory. “This is the pottery. See the big silos in back? They’re full of clay. They have a big electric kiln inside. It gets really hot, over 2000 degrees. You can look inside if you like.” He steps aside so Kimble can look in an open window at the shelves of pottery and a man working with the clay.

Growing quiet, Tim says, “My Dad used to work here.”

“Is that what you want to do?”

Tim answers emphatically “No! I want to go to college and be a baseball player! I don’t want to spend the rest of my life in Wellsville."

Kimble looks at him with understanding, remembering his own youthful dreams of becoming a doctor. “Those are big plans. It’ll take a lot of hard work to make them come true,” he says encouragingly. “Do you still want to go to the ball field? That League game should be over by now.”

“Yeah!” Tim responds eagerly.

SATURDAY MORNING, TWO WEEKS LATER

The school principal is walking down main street. Spotting Shirley Jackson inside the restaurant cleaning off tables, he walks inside and sits down at the counter. She walks over with a curious look, wiping the counter in front of him.

“I’m surprised to see you here on a Saturday morning, John. What can I get for you?”

“Just a cup of coffee. Cream, no sugar.” As Shirley hands him the coffee, he looks around the room. “I hear you have a new worker here.”

Shirley looks at him in surprise. “Yeah, name’s Don Anderson. He’s a real nice fella. Why do you ask?”

“Just catching up on town gossip,” Hollis says with a smile, blowing on his coffee before taking a sip. “I hear Tim Barnes has been spending a lot of time with him.”

“Yeah, Millie says Don’s been teaching him a lot of about baseball. Tim sure enjoys the attention, with his father gone and all.”

“That’s all they do? Just play ball?”

“I don’t know. They’re good friends. Why?”

Hollis shrugs his shoulders and reaches for the coffee. “No reason. Its just… a stranger in town taking up with a young boy….” At Shirley’s indignent look, he adds hastily. “I’m just worried about Tim.”

“Well, you can stop worrying! Don is a fine young man. Millie says he’s the best boarder she’s ever had. He even fixed the door knob on the bathroom for her. She’s been trying to get that lazy no-good brother-in-law of mine to do it for a year. And he’s a good worker too. Even Mike can’t find anything to complain about, and that’s saying something! He and Tim are just…”

“OK, OK. I’m convinced.” Hollis breaks her off, holding up his hands in mock self-defense.

Shirley stops abruptly, the look on her face softening. “I know you have a soft spot for Tim.”

“I’m concerned about all my students,” he protests.

“But especially Tim,” she says, reaching for a packet of jelly.

“He’s a good kid. He needs his father around. And his mother. When I see parents treat their kids like that…”

She turns back to face him. “We go back a long way, John. I know its none of my business, but maybe you and Terry should have adopted.”

Hollis stares into his coffee cup. “I wanted to, but Terry…It takes two,” he adds resignedly.

Shirley gives him a look of understanding, then changes the subject. “Don said he and Tim were going to practice this morning. Why don’t you walk over to Millie’s and meet him? You’ll like him. And it will put your mind at rest.”

“Maybe I will, Shirley.” Tossing a dollar on the counter, Hollis smiles. “You make a great character witness.”

AT THE PLAYGROUND

Tim is practicing catching ground balls and throwing them back to Kimble in a swift practiced motion.

“You’re really doing great, Tim. You’ll make a great shortstop,” says Kimble encouraging him.

“Thanks!” Tim suddenly gets a wary look on his face. “Hi, Mr. Hollis.”

Looking behind him, Kimble sees a man in his forties watching them practice.

“Hi, Tim! I haven't seen you after school much lately."

"No, sir," Tim answers.

"It looks like you've found something better to do. Would you introduce me to your friend?" he asks, looking pointedly at Kimble.

Tim hesitates. “Uh, sure. This is Mr. Anderson. This is my principal, Mr. Hollis.”

Kimble takes off his glove to shake hands. “Pleased to meet you.” He looks down at his watch.

"I think we better call it a day, Tim. I have some things to do this afternoon."

Tim reluctantly picks up his bat. “I’ll see you later, Mr. Anderson,” he mumbles. Turning back, he adds, “Grandma wants you to come for supper tonight. She’s making apple pie for dessert!”

“Sounds great. I’ll be there.” Taking off his glove, Kimble walks out onto the sidewalk, conscious of the principal watching him.

"Do you have time to talk, Mr. Anderson? "

"Well, I was heading up to the library before it closes." Kimble answers.

"I'm heading that way myself. I always like to walk along the river. How about if I join you?"

"Sure," replies Kimble, falling in beside him.

“You’re new in town, aren’t you?” Hollis asks.

Kimble nods, suddenly wary. "I just got to town about a few weeks ago.”

“So what part of the country are you from?”

Keeping his answer vague, Kimble says, “I've been living down south for awhile. I decided it was time to come back north.”

"You from around these parts, then?"

"No, over by the coast," Kimble answers vaguely.

“Planning on staying here long?” Hollis persists.

“It depends. It's a pretty town.”

“Yes, I saw Tim giving you the grand tour a few weeks ago. I hope you don't think I’m being too nosy. I guess I'm just curious. You see, I know Tim pretty well - he spends a lot of time in my office for disciplinary problems. I can usually count on giving him detention at least twice a week. Until a few weeks ago, that is." He looks meaningfully at Kimble, who avoids his gaze.

"Tim's a bright boy. He can go a long way if he just applies himself. I've been trying to get him motivated to keep out of fights since school started without much luck. It seems like you've managed to do it in a few days."

"We've just been playing ball," Kimble says with a shrug.

"It must mean a lot to Tim. It's keeping him out of detention.” Stopping to smell a rose blooming by the sidewalk, he inhales deeply. “The last rose of summer. Sweetest smell in the world.” Turning back up the street, he continues, “Let me tell you a little bit about Tim. He's had a rough life so far. His parents are divorced. He lived with his mother for a while, but she sent him back to live with his father and his grandmother."

"He told me his father was out of town a lot on business," Kimble responds.

"Well, he's out of town all right, but not on business. He’s in prison. He was in a car accident while he was driving drunk. He hit a man walking on the side of the road. The man died and Tim’s father was convicted of manslaughter.” Hollis stops to lean on a park bench beside the river. “Tim gets a hard time from some of the other kids at school about his father.”

“Kids like Bobby?”

Hollis looks at Kimble with new respect, surprised by his perception. “You’re very observant, Mr. Anderson.”

“If you know about it, why don’t you stop him?”

“Easier said than done. Let me ask you something. Have you ever known anyone so rich and powerful, they think they can do anything they want?”

Kimble gives him startled look, thinking immediately of Matthew Ross, but Hollis continues without noticing. “Bobby’s father owns the pottery. I guess you could say he owns the whole town, since its the only decent place to work. He’s not the kind of man to listen when someone criticizes his son’s behavior, and Bobby knows it. And especially when we’re talking about Tim. His father got in some drunken brawls at the pottery and was fired.”

"Oh," says Kimble in surprise.

Hollis looks at Kimble. “Some folks in town think Tim will turn out like his dad. I’m trying to help make sure he doesn’t. Like I said, Tim’s a bright boy. I’d like to see him have a better future than he’ll have here. Bottom line is, I guess I'm hoping you'll be sticking around for a while. He needs a friend." Looking past Kimble, he says, "Well, looks like we've reached the library. I have some things to do over at the school. I hope I see you around again, Mr. Anderson. I appreciate you talking to me." He shakes Kimble's hand and walks down the street.

Kimble heads up the stairs into the library. He stops briefly to look after the principal’s retreating back, then turns up the steps to push open the door.

Kimble walks toward the checkout desk and stops in alarm as he see a bulletin board behind it containing a wanted poster. A door to the right has a sign reading “Sheriff’s office.” As Kimble glances inside, the sheriff looks up at him.

Kimble turns away and retreats toward the front door when he is intercepted by a woman. “May I help you?”

Trying to mask his feelings, Kimble manages to get out “I wanted to…uh…Do you have a computer with internet access?”

“Oh, so you are here for the library. Our town is so small, we share the building with the police department, so its hard to tell why someone is here. You must be new in town. Are you interested in a library card?” she asks helpfully as she leads him away from the police office. “The computers are over here. Do you need any help?”

“No thanks,” he answers, sitting down to avert his face from the other side of the room. The librarian watches him helpfully before turning back to the checkout desk. Kimble quickly logs on to his email address. While he waits for his messages to come up, he glances nervously at the wanted posters hanging behind the desk. Looking carefully around the room, he sees an older boy staring at him intently. Averting his eyes, he quickly checks his email. He looks up again to see the boy who was watching him look quickly away. Uneasy, he logs off the computer and heads for the front door, passing Bobby coming in. Trying to control what he hopes is an unreasonable fear, Kimble heads rapidly down the street to his room at the boarding house. Inside the library, the other boy meets Bobby. After an earnest conversation, the two boys head for the bulletin board.

NEXT