Perfect
Page 116
She shook her head, smiling because he was smiling.
Sending a speaking look at his wife, Matt finished meaningfully, "She has to pay up. That means the princess has to take a long, long nap with her husband today."
"Mommy has to take a nap!" Marissa chortled, clapping her hands.
"That's exactly how I feel about it," Matt said.
Standing up, Meredith reached for Marissa's hand, but her warm smile was for Matt. "A wise mommy," she told her daughter, "only makes bets that are nice to lose." The cozy atmosphere was interrupted by the arrival of Joe O'Hara, the family bodyguard/chauffeur, who regarded himself—and was treated like—a member of the family.
"Matt," he said, looking anxious, "I just saw on the television in my room that Julie Mathison, the woman Zack took as hostage, is going to give a press conference. It's starting right now."
Meredith had never met Zachary Benedict, he'd already been sent to prison by the time Matt and she got together, but she knew the two men had been fast friends. Now she took one look at Matt's grim expression as he turned the television on and said quickly, "Joe, would you take Marissa to her room for her nap?"
"Sure thing. C'mon, sweetheart," he said, and the pair walked off hand in hand, a giant of a man and a little girl who regarded him as her personal teddy bear.
Too tense to sit down, Matt shoved his hands into his pants pockets and watched in taut silence as a pretty young woman stepped up to the bank of microphones, wearing a simple white wool dress with gold buttons at the collar and cuffs, her long dark hair caught at the nape in a pleated bow. "God help him," Matt said, referring to Zack. "She looks like Snow White, which is going to make the whole damned world scream for his blood for kidnapping her."
But when the mayor of Keaton finished warning the press about the courtesy he expected them to show her and Julie Mathison began to explain what had happened to her at the hands of her captor, Matt's frown began to fade and then, slowly, it gave way to an astonished smile. Contrary to his expectations, Zack's captive was somehow managing to describe her week with him as if it had been an adventure she'd had, courtesy of a man she carefully described to the world as "extremely kind," instead of a terrifying ordeal at the hands of an escaped murderer.
When she related the truth behind her attempted escape at the rest stop and told of Zack's quick-witted method of thwarting her, she did it in a way that evoked a ripple of reluctant, admiring laughter from several members of the press. And when she solemnly described her second attempted escape on a snowmobile and Zack's effort to "rescue" her from the creek, she made him sound like the compassionate hero she clearly believed he was.
At the end of her statement, the room exploded with shouted questions from the press, and Matt tensed at the sharp edge they all had:
"Miss Mathison," a CBS reporter called out, "did Zachary Benedict at any time threaten you at gunpoint?"
"I knew he had a gun because I saw it," she replied with smiling poise, "and that was enough to convince me—at least in the beginning—that I probably shouldn't pick a fight with him or criticize his old movies."
Laughter erupted in the room punctuated by more shouted questions. "Miss Mathison! When Benedict is recaptured, will you press kidnapping charges against him?"
With a teasing smile, she shook her head and replied, "I don't think I could get a conviction. I mean, if there were women on the jury, they'd acquit him in a minute, as soon as they heard he did half the cooking and cleaning up."
"Did he rape you?"
She rolled her eyes in amused disbelief. "Now really, I've just given you a detailed account of what happened during the entire week, and I specifically said that he did not physically abuse me at any time. I certainly couldn't have said that if he'd even attempted to commit such a despicable act."
"Did he verbally abuse you?"
She nodded solemnly, but her eyes sparkled with laughter as she said, "Yes, actually, he did—"
"Would you describe the occasion?"
"Certainly," she said. "He took grave offense one evening when I deliberately left his name out of my list of favorite movie stars."
Guffaws erupted in the auditorium, but the reporter who'd asked the question didn't seem to realize she was joking. "Did he threaten you at that time?" he demanded. "What exactly did he say and how did he say it?"
"Well, he spoke to me in a very disgusted voice, and he accused me of having a peculiar obsession for short men."
"Were you afraid of him at any time, Miss Mathison?"
"I was afraid of his gun during the first day." she said carefully, "but when he didn't shoot me after my attempt to pass a note to a clerk in a fast-food restaurant nor after my next two escape attempts, I realized that he wasn't going to hurt me, no matter how much I provoked him."
Again and again, Matt watched her deflect their questions and manage to begin swaying them from animosity to empathy toward her captor.
After about thirty minutes of relentless questions, the pace began to slow. A CNN reporter called out, "Miss Mathison, do you want to see Zachary Benedict captured?"
She turned her face in the direction of the reporter and said, "How could anyone possibly want to see a man who was unjustly imprisoned sent back to prison? I don't know how a jury ever convicted him of murder, but I do know that he's no more capable of that than I am. If he were capable of it, I would not be standing here now, because as I explained to all of you a few minutes ago, I repeatedly tried to jeopardize his escape. I'd also like you to remember that when he thought we'd been found by a helicopter, his first concern was for my safety, not his own. What I'd like to see happen is for this manhunt to be stopped while someone reviews his case." In a firm, courteous tone, she concluded, "If you have no more questions, ladies and gentlemen, we can end this interview and you can all go back to your homes. As Mayor Addelson explained, the town of Keaton wants to return to normal, and so do I, therefore I will not give any further interviews or answer any other questions. Our town has been delighted to have your 'tourist' money pouring into our cash registers, but if you choose to stay here, I have to warn you that you'll be wasting your time—"
"I have one more question!" a reporter from the Los Angeles Times shouted imperiously. "Are you in love with Zachary Benedict?"
She looked at him, lifted her graceful brows, and disdainfully replied, "I'd expect a question like that from the National Enquirer, but not the Los Angeles Times." Her attempt to sidestep that got her laughter, but no success this time, because a reporter from the Enquirer shouted, "Okay, Miss Mathison, we'll ask the question: Are you in love with Zachary Benedict?"
Sending a speaking look at his wife, Matt finished meaningfully, "She has to pay up. That means the princess has to take a long, long nap with her husband today."
"Mommy has to take a nap!" Marissa chortled, clapping her hands.
"That's exactly how I feel about it," Matt said.
Standing up, Meredith reached for Marissa's hand, but her warm smile was for Matt. "A wise mommy," she told her daughter, "only makes bets that are nice to lose." The cozy atmosphere was interrupted by the arrival of Joe O'Hara, the family bodyguard/chauffeur, who regarded himself—and was treated like—a member of the family.
"Matt," he said, looking anxious, "I just saw on the television in my room that Julie Mathison, the woman Zack took as hostage, is going to give a press conference. It's starting right now."
Meredith had never met Zachary Benedict, he'd already been sent to prison by the time Matt and she got together, but she knew the two men had been fast friends. Now she took one look at Matt's grim expression as he turned the television on and said quickly, "Joe, would you take Marissa to her room for her nap?"
"Sure thing. C'mon, sweetheart," he said, and the pair walked off hand in hand, a giant of a man and a little girl who regarded him as her personal teddy bear.
Too tense to sit down, Matt shoved his hands into his pants pockets and watched in taut silence as a pretty young woman stepped up to the bank of microphones, wearing a simple white wool dress with gold buttons at the collar and cuffs, her long dark hair caught at the nape in a pleated bow. "God help him," Matt said, referring to Zack. "She looks like Snow White, which is going to make the whole damned world scream for his blood for kidnapping her."
But when the mayor of Keaton finished warning the press about the courtesy he expected them to show her and Julie Mathison began to explain what had happened to her at the hands of her captor, Matt's frown began to fade and then, slowly, it gave way to an astonished smile. Contrary to his expectations, Zack's captive was somehow managing to describe her week with him as if it had been an adventure she'd had, courtesy of a man she carefully described to the world as "extremely kind," instead of a terrifying ordeal at the hands of an escaped murderer.
When she related the truth behind her attempted escape at the rest stop and told of Zack's quick-witted method of thwarting her, she did it in a way that evoked a ripple of reluctant, admiring laughter from several members of the press. And when she solemnly described her second attempted escape on a snowmobile and Zack's effort to "rescue" her from the creek, she made him sound like the compassionate hero she clearly believed he was.
At the end of her statement, the room exploded with shouted questions from the press, and Matt tensed at the sharp edge they all had:
"Miss Mathison," a CBS reporter called out, "did Zachary Benedict at any time threaten you at gunpoint?"
"I knew he had a gun because I saw it," she replied with smiling poise, "and that was enough to convince me—at least in the beginning—that I probably shouldn't pick a fight with him or criticize his old movies."
Laughter erupted in the room punctuated by more shouted questions. "Miss Mathison! When Benedict is recaptured, will you press kidnapping charges against him?"
With a teasing smile, she shook her head and replied, "I don't think I could get a conviction. I mean, if there were women on the jury, they'd acquit him in a minute, as soon as they heard he did half the cooking and cleaning up."
"Did he rape you?"
She rolled her eyes in amused disbelief. "Now really, I've just given you a detailed account of what happened during the entire week, and I specifically said that he did not physically abuse me at any time. I certainly couldn't have said that if he'd even attempted to commit such a despicable act."
"Did he verbally abuse you?"
She nodded solemnly, but her eyes sparkled with laughter as she said, "Yes, actually, he did—"
"Would you describe the occasion?"
"Certainly," she said. "He took grave offense one evening when I deliberately left his name out of my list of favorite movie stars."
Guffaws erupted in the auditorium, but the reporter who'd asked the question didn't seem to realize she was joking. "Did he threaten you at that time?" he demanded. "What exactly did he say and how did he say it?"
"Well, he spoke to me in a very disgusted voice, and he accused me of having a peculiar obsession for short men."
"Were you afraid of him at any time, Miss Mathison?"
"I was afraid of his gun during the first day." she said carefully, "but when he didn't shoot me after my attempt to pass a note to a clerk in a fast-food restaurant nor after my next two escape attempts, I realized that he wasn't going to hurt me, no matter how much I provoked him."
Again and again, Matt watched her deflect their questions and manage to begin swaying them from animosity to empathy toward her captor.
After about thirty minutes of relentless questions, the pace began to slow. A CNN reporter called out, "Miss Mathison, do you want to see Zachary Benedict captured?"
She turned her face in the direction of the reporter and said, "How could anyone possibly want to see a man who was unjustly imprisoned sent back to prison? I don't know how a jury ever convicted him of murder, but I do know that he's no more capable of that than I am. If he were capable of it, I would not be standing here now, because as I explained to all of you a few minutes ago, I repeatedly tried to jeopardize his escape. I'd also like you to remember that when he thought we'd been found by a helicopter, his first concern was for my safety, not his own. What I'd like to see happen is for this manhunt to be stopped while someone reviews his case." In a firm, courteous tone, she concluded, "If you have no more questions, ladies and gentlemen, we can end this interview and you can all go back to your homes. As Mayor Addelson explained, the town of Keaton wants to return to normal, and so do I, therefore I will not give any further interviews or answer any other questions. Our town has been delighted to have your 'tourist' money pouring into our cash registers, but if you choose to stay here, I have to warn you that you'll be wasting your time—"
"I have one more question!" a reporter from the Los Angeles Times shouted imperiously. "Are you in love with Zachary Benedict?"
She looked at him, lifted her graceful brows, and disdainfully replied, "I'd expect a question like that from the National Enquirer, but not the Los Angeles Times." Her attempt to sidestep that got her laughter, but no success this time, because a reporter from the Enquirer shouted, "Okay, Miss Mathison, we'll ask the question: Are you in love with Zachary Benedict?"
