by Laura Acton
“Absolutely. I’ll put a rush on it. Oh, and speaking of pie, are you planning to come up on Thanksgiving Day?” Jeff hoped the answer would be yes.
“Probably not. Spoke to Mom last week, four of Becca’s designs were selected for some big fashion show, so she and Dad are going to France to support her. Bram is also talking about having the entire team over to his house for Thanksgiving. So, I’m thinking of staying in Toronto.”
“No worries. Adam, Kyle, and Zach aren’t going to be able to come either. They are saving their leave for Christmas, hoping for another snowball war.” Jeff chuckled, recalling the blast they had last year. The best Christmas the family had since Dan was six.
Dan leaned his head on the wall behind him, exhausted. “Hey, I’m gonna go now. I need to call Miriam in supply and put in a req for a couple of new uniforms and thank the ladies who are working on my clothes.”
“Okay. Talk to you soon.”
After disconnecting, Dan contacted the friendly TRF supply clerk and explained why he needed to order uniforms. She told him they should arrive in a week. Next, he showed his appreciation to the sweet older ladies by carrying their full laundry baskets to their vehicles.
Waiting for his clothes to dry, Dan sat in a corner chair, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes. Strange encounter. Never expected to meet the mother of the little green-eyed girl from Central Bank again or have her come to my defense.
En Route to Bram’s Home – 1:40 p.m.
Hopped up on caffeine, necessary with his lack of sleep, but nothing new to him, Dan enjoyed the exhilaration of his powerful motorcycle as he rode through the streets of Toronto. After the laundry mishap, he grabbed lunch and did a little shopping. Bram’s girls were a joy in his life, and Dan wanted to bring them something special. But riding his Ducati required the gifts to be small, so he bought each one a plush toy, and all four were now shoved into his backpack.
For Leslie, now seven, he chose an elephant. She had been the most enamored with Tinker, Toka, and Tonka when he arranged for the up-close encounter at the zoo with the elephants before they moved to PAWS Sanctuary in California.
He picked a pony for Emilie. The five-year-old’s love of all things equestrian had not diminished one bit, and she often begged for a real horse. His first Christmas here, Bram told the girls some gifts came from him, which cemented his place in the little ones’ hearts. A kind gesture Dan would never forget.
Sharlie, now two and turning into a sweetheart as she learned to talk, made him act silly as he babbled with her. He selected a fluffy tri-colored border collie puppy for her, undoubtedly because Mr. Waggles was on his mind.
For Allie, the four-year-old with a pure heart that brightened even his bleakest days and who claimed him as her Prince Charming, he found the perfect stuffed animal. The fluffy rabbit somewhat resembled one Sara owned, but instead of being yellow, it was royal blue. Allie’s current favorite color.
As Dan approached the solid green light, he scanned the cross-traffic to ensure they remained stopped. He noted a sedan going the opposite direction as the vehicle entered the left turn lane. With little time to react as the driver turned, Dan hit his brakes but couldn’t stop or swerve out of the way, given the traffic in other lanes.
Metal crunched as the Ducati slammed into the front panel of the passenger side and launched Dan over the handlebars. Instinctively, his athletic and agile body curled in a protective maneuver as he flipped. His back smacked the hood of the car, and somehow, he landed on his feet on the other side … running. After a dozen or so steps, he collapsed to the ground.
Dazed, the world around him eerily silent, Dan stared up at the blue sky through his visor. He squinted as an image, which couldn’t be real, wafted before him. “Brody?”
As Brody knelt beside Dan, many of his feathers bent, crushed, and fluttering to the street, he gave thanks for Danny’s nimble body and the fact his brother wore his helmet instead of letting the wind blow in his face as he initially wanted. “Yeah, I’m here. Glad I’m not afraid to fly anymore.”
Dan blinked, and the visage of Brody disappeared as sounds returned. Shouts and sirens blared, and the face of a friend appeared again, but this time, a living one for sure.
D’Ante couldn’t believe the accident occurred right in front of his fire engine as they waited at a red light on their way back from a restaurant grease fire. Watching the motorcyclist flip, slam into the car’s hood, and amazingly land on his feet, running no less, surprised the hell out of him and his entire crew. “Hold still, sir. Help is here.” After lifting the mirrored visor, D’Ante sucked in a breath. “Jesus! Dan, oh, man. Where do you hurt?”
Contemplating his strange luck, and realizing he didn’t actually hurt, Dan grinned. “Hi, D’Ante. I don’t.” He tried to sit, but a hand on his shoulder kept him down.
“Stay still. That might be adrenaline talking.” D’Ante shouted to his rescue man, “Duke, bring a spine board.”
Lowering his lashes, not wanting to interact with Duke, Dan fought the urge to punch the man for the sole reason the fireman was dating the woman he loved. Not a rational motivation to hit someone, but jealousy liked to rear its ugly head, and Dan hoped he wouldn’t ever act on his desire.
“Dan! Hey, no blacking out on me. Open your eyes.” D’Ante wished Duke would hurry up. Jarmal would be upset to find out Dan had been hurt again due to an inattentive driver.
Opening, Dan sighed. “No need for a board. I’m okay.” He didn’t clarify that only applied to his physical condition. Mentally he was FINE with capital letters. “How’s my bike?”
Sitting back on his heels, D’Ante grimaced. “Totaled, dude.”
“Aw crap. I liked that ride.” Dan moved to sit again and pushed against the restraining hand, forcing himself upward despite his friend’s effort. “Not injured. Nothing broken. Damn good thing I wore my helmet.” He loosened the strap and tugged it off. “Just need a moment to get my bearing.”
“You aren’t lying to avoid going to the hospital, are you? Your back took a hard hit.” He learned things about Dan from Jarmal, who knew him much better from their time in Kandahar, and also from all the times Dan came into their restaurant and enjoyed a meal.
Dan reached to his shoulder strap of his pack as a soft chuckle emitted. “Think I can thank an elephant, horse, dog, and bunny for my lack of injuries. They padded my back.”
“You’re not making much sense. Might be a concussion. Lay back down, dude.” D’Ante tried to make Dan recline as Duke approached with the gear.
“Makes perfect sense. Not concussed. My backpack contains stuffed animals for Bram’s daughters. Was on my way to his house. Oh crap, I’m gonna be late. I need to call him, or he’ll worry.”
Duke knelt and quipped, “Dan, we gotta stop meeting like this. At least Blue isn’t required to dig you out of a cave this time.”
The desire to pop the guy in the nose caused Dan to clench his fist, but rational behavior won as he retorted, infusing humor in his tone, but meaning every last word he spoke, “Well, I would rather see his face than yours.”
Duke chuckled, liking Lexa’s teammate. Though his first encounter with her team had been disconcerting, they believed he stalked her. Since then, he had gotten to know them better and realized they were a great bunch of guys. Duke also appreciated how they protected Lexa. At the request of his captain, he began assessing Dan.
Frazzled, tears in her eyes, the driver of the sedan trembled as she clung to her twelve-year-old son and gave her statement to the officer. “I didn’t see him. The sunlight reflecting off the glass building blocked him from my sight. Oh, please, tell me he isn’t dead.” A sob eked out, and she pulled her boy closer.
“Mom, he’s sitting up. You didn’t kill anyone.” Maddox tried to calm his mother down.
Madeleine turned in the direction of the man she hit, afraid to look before now. She wiped away her tears to clear her blurry vision. She inhaled sharply as she met the gaze of a golden blond man
with sapphire eyes she would NEVER forget. Him! Her knees went weak, and her son’s grasp is the only thing that kept her from crashing to the asphalt.
“Mom!” Maddox cried.
“Ma’am?” the constable said before turning to the fire captain and calling out, “A little help over here. I think she’s going into shock.”
Duke shifted at the request for help. Dan said, “Go. I’m alright.” D’Ante nodded at Duke, and the rescue man of his team trotted over to the distraught woman as another officer approached their position.
Rising, D’Ante told the patrolman, “Constable Broderick claims to be okay and is rejecting transport to the local ER for assessment.”
Constable Marwan Al-Abbas, who responded to the laundromat incident, peered down at Dan. “Man, twice in one day. If you didn’t have bad luck, you wouldn’t have any luck at all.”
Dan started to rise, and two sets of hands reached out to assist him. Once on his feet, he responded, “Beg to differ. I’m alive and unharmed. I’d call that lucky.” He watched as Duke took the woman’s blood pressure. He reached to his pocket, needing to call Bram and groaned when he spied the cracked glass. “Well, my phone didn’t make it out unscathed. Damn.”
“And your motorcycle. Do you want me to call a wrecker?” Marwan asked.
“Yeah, guess you should. Did the driver indicate why she turned?” Dan rolled his head around his neck. He would undoubtedly be experiencing sore muscles tomorrow … and loads of colorful bruises on his back.
“Reflected light. I hate the mirrored building on this corner. Been the cause of many accidents. The stupid architectural feature causes problems. One more to add to the petition to force the owners to address the issue.” Marwan excused himself to contact the towing company so they could clear the intersection as fast as possible.
“Dan, come sit on the back of our rig. You can use my cell to phone someone for a lift.” D’Ante wanted to observe Dan for several more minutes to ensure he was not hiding an injury.
“Thanks.” His first strides confirmed he would indeed be sore for a few days. He followed D’Ante to the rig and took a seat on the rear step. He placed the call to Bram to tell him he would be late, and his teammate insisted on coming to pick him up even though Dan said he could take a cab. Memories of his first Christmas on the team came back again. He could always count on Bram. The gentle giant had been kind to him and kept him from falling off the edge into oblivion.
Duke trotted over to them with an expression of amazement. “Damn, it is a small world. Do you know she knows who you are?”
“Hard not to when my face is plastered all over the news,” Dan groused.
“No, not from then. I didn’t realize you were a cop before you were in the army. She said you tried so hard to reach her son when her deranged boyfriend dangled him out the window.” Duke shook his head as he thought about what the woman shared.
Dan turned his eyes to the woman and the kid next to her. Today is filled with echoes from my past.
Madeleine met the gaze and smiled. She would never forget the man who went above and beyond, trying to save her infant. She never blamed him for the turn of events. Though, she sometimes wondered if that was because Maddox survived the drop. Regardless, he did everything in his power that day, and she was glad her boyfriend had not killed the young cop.
She clasped her son’s hand and pointed to the blond. “Maddox, if you grow up to be like Constable Broderick, I will be a proud mother.”
Maddox turned and stared. For as long as he could remember, his mom sang the praises of a blond policeman who helped her in the worst possible moment of her life.
Cervezas and Amigos
4
September 24
Bram’s Home – 5:30 p.m.
Finishing his ice-cold brew with one last slow draw, Dan leaned back in the comfortable padded patio chair. His eyes remained on the excited girls as they squealed with delight while exploring their new playset. Bram’s home became his haven, a sanctuary from the chaos in his internal and external world. He appreciated being allowed to spend time here today.
Bram exited the back door, carrying two more chilled lagers. “Brought you another one. Kellie says dinner will be ready in about thirty minutes.” He handed a bottle to Dan and took a seat on the loveseat before lifting his beer and taking a swig. “Thanks again for the help.”
Dan flashed a lopsided grin. “When you said swing set, I imagined a couple of poles and two swings, but,” his hand waved to the backyard, “not this castle. Happy to help, though. The girls appear to love their playset.”
“They do, don’t they? We got a smoking deal on it from Charlie’s Toy Shoppe. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to afford this one.” Bram sighed as he recalled the store’s owner, Mr. Thompson, a retired soldier who loved bringing smiles to kids’ faces. Charlie insisted he received a significant discount from the manufacturer for buying them at the end of the season and wanted to pass the windfall along to his customers.
Bram scanned Dan again, noting a slight wince as he set the bottle on the table. “Are you sure you’re alright?”
Turning his gaze to Bram, Dan said, “Honestly, been better. I’m a bit sore, but since we’re off that won’t pose a problem. Gonna miss my Ducati.”
“You and Loki too. I swear, Loki drooled every time he spotted your motorcycle in the parking lot, and he enjoyed riding the cycle while you were in Ottawa last year. I’m sure insurance will cover a new one.”
“Perhaps, but I might put the money into savings. Despite the military pay I received while activated, all my time away from work in the past year sort of hit my bank account. And now I must purchase several new uniforms.”
Bram understood medical leave payments were about seventy-five percent of regular pay. The time Dan had been off due to being shot by Merrill and beaten by Snow would put a dent in his budget. But the comment about uniforms confused him. “Why do you need to buy more uniforms?”
A chuckle slipped out. “Today’s been filled with strange encounters.”
“Care to elaborate?” Bram wouldn’t push for details but would listen.
Comfortable with Bram, and hoping by talking about some things he might clear his head a little and be able to stuff the other crap back in the box, Dan decided to share what occurred at the laundromat and the reason he left the force twelve years ago. Bram listened to him without interruption, and he concluded, “My life is full of weird connections. Surreal, when the mother of the green-eyed girl came to my aid. And the woman who caused the crash, I didn’t recognize her, but she remembered me.”
Dan sighed, and a half-smile formed. “Some days are hard like yesterday, but the support I received today, reaffirms I make a positive difference in people’s lives.” He took another swig, enjoying the calm of his safe harbor.
His mind whirling on all Dan shared, Bram nodded. The Blue Wall of Silence baffled him too. If he had been in Dan’s position, he might’ve resigned from the police force as well. He kept the anger twisting his gut at the thought of cops not backing up Dan on a tight leash as he focused on the upbeat outcomes of today. “So, did you talk to her? The driver, I mean?”
“No. I wasn’t sure what to say. Sorry for letting your baby fall, didn’t seem appropriate, and well, nothing else came to mind. Plus, she didn’t come over, so I let it be.” Allie raced up to him, halting further conversation.
“Uncle Dan, come play,” Allie begged as she tugged on his hand.
Dan smiled and set his beer down as he stood. “Duty calls.” Allie pulled him towards the massive wooden structure with a two-story playhouse, a wavy slide, two swings, and an angled climbing wall.
Bram relaxed as Dan engaged with the girls. Kellie’s soft hand landed on his shoulder, and he glanced up to his right. “Hello, beautiful. Need any help in the kitchen?”
“Nope, everything is under control. You deserve to rest after building their castle.” Kellie shifted to sit in Bram’s lap, enjoying a quiet m
oment. “I overheard a bit of what Dan shared. I think you, Jon, and Nick should keep an eye on him while you’re on leave. He appears to be struggling.”
Bram kissed his lovely, perceptive wife. “Agreed. I’ll invite him to stay the night if that’s alright with you.”
“Absolutely. Dan is always welcome.”
Larry’s Liquors – 9:30 p.m.
“I’ll be as quick as possible.” Dan slid out of the cab and jogged into the liquor store. He declined Bram’s offer to sleep in his guest room mostly because he didn’t want to frighten the girls if he woke up screaming from a nightmare or god forbid, harmed one of them if they wandered into the room. He was not fit to remain there tonight.
During the ride home, the thoughts of what he would face upon arriving at his place made him decide to grab some beer. The two he consumed at Bram’s took the edge off but would be useless as the nightmares came back full force tonight. Though the kid lived and was now twelve, Dan figured in addition to yesterday’s deaths, Shy’s death, and Lexa dumping him, he would be reliving not only today’s motorcycle crash but also the moment the baby dropped from the window, and his failure to deal with the Barton brothers.
Their escape still haunted him, though he did realize it was not on him. Whoever was supposed to be keeping an eye on them in the secure area failed to do their job. But the result was the same. If he had neutralized them two years ago, the brothers wouldn’t have become serial robbers and murderers. Many people would still be alive if things had gone differently in Central Bank that day.
Dan grabbed a case of Molson, wanting harder alcohol, but recognizing going down that path would be stupid and might eventually ruin his life. He would indulge in a couple more beers tonight and, hopefully, be able to sleep a few hours. After paying for his purchase, he hopped back into the waiting taxi and offered his thanks.
Nick’s Home – 10:15 p.m.
As Jon returned to the kitchen table, carrying two glasses of milk, Nick finished serving pie for each of them. Tonight, Christiana had been involved with work, so he talked Nick into going to the support group. They both needed an outlet after yesterday, and Sergeant Kelly’s group was a safe place to unwind and talk about the horror they witnessed.
