Into the Future: A Callahan Novel

by Celya Bowers

  “No thank you. I don’t want your faux food. Did you bring the stuff for Lizzy?”

  “Yes. I did.” She took a seat. “Everything smells wonderful. Almost make me want to eat meat.”

  “Well that’s something,” Tristan said, sitting next to Lizzy.

  “I said almost, big brother.” She reached for a tortilla chip. “I told Lizzy to use that in the shower. It will also help with stress.”

  Tristan looked at his sister, Lizzy and Izzy, they talked as if the men weren’t even present. Something about planning a celebration. Tristan took the hint and headed for the kitchen. Cam followed close behind.

  “So what’s the plan? Brad called me right after he left Lizzy’s place. She definitely can’t go back to the house until this is cleared up. Izzy thinks she should stay at your place. They love their parents, but can’t stay there. They wouldn’t be able to breathe. You should see how they dote on Izzy when she’s there.”

  Tristan nodded. “I don’t want to put too much pressure on her. She’s worried about the kids. They didn’t cry or anything when she told them.” He handed Cam a bottle of beer.

  “Not even a tear?” He reached for the bottle opener and pull the tab.

  “Not a one. They were like okay and that was it. They did want to stay with Paul’s mother to comfort her.” He opened his beer.

  “That guy was piece of work,” Cam said. “To cause all that trouble at school then this happened. Man it’s a good thing Lizzy was with you. She’d be suspect number one.”

  “And I’d probably be number two. At the time he was being killed, we were at his mother’s house. It seems no one is really surprised that he’s dead.”

  Cam shook his head. “I know. Crazy. Rumor around town says it a government hit.”

  “What?”

  “Well, I was talking to Brad and he said it look like one of theirs.”

  “What?”

  “Will you stop doing that?” Cam took a swig of beer. “One shot between the eyes, could be contract. But two shots between the eyes, and one to the head, is government.”

  “But he was only shot twice.”

  “So they didn’t get to finish the job,” Cam said. “That’s why he said it looked like one of theirs.”

  Tristan shook his head, trying to wrap his head around the idea that Paul Hall was killed by a government agent. The big question was why?

  “Tristan?”

  “Oh, sorry. Just thinking. This is getting crazy. At first, it seemed like just a little home invasion by an asshole, but now the possibilities are limitless.”

  “Yeah, they are. I know you didn’t want drama in your life. I’m afraid you’re knee deep in it.”

  “That was the stupid Tristan who didn’t know any better and wasn’t in love. The in love Tristan knows it just comes with the territory.”

  “So you’re ready to deal with this?”

  “Yes. I’m ready. After all I’m the city manager. I should be able to handle one crazy situation, right?”

  “Sure,” Cam said. “And I’m ready for fatherhood.”

  They both laughed. “Hey, if Brad Callahan can settle down and have a child, you can do it too?” Tristan reminded Cam. “We could always go to him for advice.”

  “How crazy that sound?”

  Later that night, Lizzy snuggled closer to Tristan in bed. Being alone with him made all the problems of the day seem to go away. She was content lying next to him in the dark.

  “What time do we need to pick up the kids tomorrow?” He kissed her on the forehead. “Brad says the police have made a preliminary search and will allow you to get some things from the house. Unfortunately nothing from PJ’s room can be removed.”

  “I’ll have to go shopping tomorrow. I think his backpack is still in the car, thank goodness. I rather not have to explain this to the principal.”

  “I’ll bet you she already knows,” Tristan said.

  Lizzy agreed. “We can go by the house, then shop for some clothes, then we can pick up the kids.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” He pulled her in his arms. “I know these next few days are going to be crazy for you. In my official capacity as your boss, I’m demanding you take the week off.”

  She knew he was right. “You must have been reading my mind. I really want to be here for the kids this week. I’m thinking about keeping them out all week.”

  “Sounds wonderful. I’ll be with you as much as I can. I have a meeting on Tuesday, but after that I’m all yours.”

  “I should say I can handle my own business, but this whole thing has got me crazy. So I’ll just say thank you for being here for me.” She kissed him on the lips. She felt so much happiness in her heart at that moment. Even with this being one of the darkest days in her life, Tristan added some sunshine to it.

  “I told you we’re a team.”

  “Then we’ll stay here.” She’d been mulling over the implications of moving into Tristan’s home with her children. She couldn’t find a downside.

  “You mean, you and kids will stay here with me?” His hands lightly caressed her body. “Lizzy, are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’m sure.”

  “Thank you, Lizzy.”

  ELEVEN

  Sunday had been the longest day in her life.

  Thank goodness, Tristan had been her life line that day. After picking up a few things from her home, including her SUV, she shopped for the kids some clothes to wear to school.

  When she arrived at Paul’s mother’s home, cars lined both sides of the street. Lizzy had thought the house would be somber, but she heard music playing, people laughing, and kids playing. It almost looked like a party.

  She entered the house with Tristan close behind. Bea introduced her to a group of older women sitting around the living room. “This is my ex-daughter-in-law, Lysette and this is her gentleman, Tristan.”

  The women looked them up and down, then nodded approvingly. “We were planning the memorial. I’m having Paul cremated when they release his body.”

  “That sounds fitting, Bea. Let me know if you need any help with anything.”

  Bea smiled. “This is my quilting circle. Also my support group. The women have been wonderful this weekend. The kids have been angels too. PJ suggested the memorial.”

  That sounded like her very mature son. Wise beyond his eight years. “It’s a wonderful idea.”

  “I hope this doesn’t change anything between us, Lizzy. I enjoy my time with the children.”

  She reached for the older woman’s hand. “Oh, no, Bea. The kids can visit you whenever you like. Just let me know.”

  “Oh thank you, dear! I was so worried that you’d cut me off since Paul is out of the picture.”

  “Has anyone called you since his death?” Lizzy had to know.

  “Only the coroner this morning. He said Paul’s body should be released on Monday. His insurance policies are in my safe deposit box. He’d placed them there when the divorce was final,” she explained. “So I’ll get them tomorrow.” Bea took a long exhausted breath. “I still can’t believe my baby is gone. He wasn’t much of man, but he was still my child.”

  Lizzy rubbed the woman’s hand affectionately. “I know, Bea. I was worried about the kids, but they were more concerned about you.”

  “Yes, they were such a help to me yesterday. It like I was telling them about someone they didn’t know. I kept telling Paul he needed to be a better father to those kids. But he was just like his daddy. Everything else was more important to him than family.” Bea wiped her eyes. “Now it’s too late.” She glanced at Tristan sitting across the room and talking to the other women. “They like your man. PJ spoke of him highly. And you know that takes some doing.”

  Lizzy nodded. PJ didn’t give his love easily. He and Tristan formed a quick and strong bond. “Yes, he attends PJ’s soccer games.”

  “I’m glad he has such a positive force in his life. I just don’t want him to forget his daddy. I know he wasn’t the best,
but he was his father.”

  “I wouldn’t do anything to smear Paul’s memory.” Paul did enough of that in life, she thought. She couldn’t erase all the time Paul lost to his son. Lizzy felt they both lost out.

  PJ and Tatum entered the room and ran straight to their mother. They both hugged her tightly and kissed her on the cheek. PJ then went over to Tristan and hugged him, before plopping his body on his lap. Tatum soon followed her brother.

  Tristan wrapped his arms around the kids and kissed both of them on the forehead. Bea sighed. “Now that’s how a man is supposed to be with his kids. I have to admire Tristan.”

  “How so?”

  Bea nodded at him. “I don’t know if I could sit in a room of white women and talk to them that easily,” she admitted. “That takes a lot of guts or a lot of love for you and those kids.”

  Lizzy watched Tristan. She supposed growing up around the Callahans would have that kind of effect on most people. The multi-race family didn’t see color and had hearts as big as Ireland.

  Later that night, Lizzy decided that she had the world’s best kids. They took the news of not going back home for a while like champs. They considered moving into Tristan’s home an adventure.

  Lizzy helped the kids put their things away, while Tristan made dinner. She knew he could cook adult meals, but wondered how he fared with a kid’s menu. As the smells of something delicious began wafting upstairs, she decided to find out.

  Tristan was pulling something out of the oven when she walked into the kitchen. “Honey, it smells wonderful.” She moved closer to inspect the dish. “I think the kids will love it.”

  “It’s chicken parmesan. I used to love that as a kid.”

  “I’m amazed.” Lizzy reached into the cabinets for some plates. She thought how organic the whole scene was to her. She placed the plates on the table, along with silverware and drink glasses. She took a step back to judge her handiwork. Everything was in place, including her. Tristan’s wrapped his strong arms around her and he kissed her on the neck.

  “Scary, isn’t it? Everything in the right place at the right time and nowhere to run. Yeah, the circumstances aren’t ideal, but that just makes the ride more fun.”

  She turned and faced him. “You knew exactly what I was thinking,” she told him. “It was never like this in my marriage.”

  “Mine either. We can’t let this scare us, just ride it out.”

  “What are you saying?” She looked at him, trying to figure out how much was Irish Blarney and how much was Tristan MacDonald.

  He chuckled. “I’m not saying that we’re getting married. We’re just enjoying each other’s company.”

  “Of course.” She hadn’t wanted to scare him, knowing that he was just as frightened of a trip down the altar as she was.

  Tuesday morning, Lizzy was finally allowed back in her home. The police were still there, but there were done searching. Tristan had a very important meeting with some of the bigwigs of the city, so he couldn’t escort her, but he did the next best thing. He had a Callahan escort her. It wasn’t Brad, but his brother, Sean.

  Sean was just as handsome as Brad, but instead of being built like a linebacker, Sean reminded her of a model. He had a slender, athletic build, but he was a man with power. Sean worked for the CIA.

  When Lizzy arrived at her home, Sean and his team was already there. She also remembered Sean from Izzy’s wedding. He was dressed in a dark suit that seemed to set off those green eyes.

  She extended her hand to him. “Hello, Sean. Thank you for coming.”

  Sean smiled as he took her hand. “Nice to see you again, Lizzy. Sorry it’s under these circumstances.” He released her hand when his cell phone buzzed. He held up a finger, asking her to wait, and didn’t wait for an answer. He took a step away from her to take his call. But not before she heard the words, “Yes, Mr. President.”

  Lizzy gasped, knowing that she was in earshot of the president of these United States. She quickly scanned the neighborhood, looking for other agents, but there were none. Calm down girl, it was just a phone call, not a visit.

  “Sorry, about that. Work,” Sean said. “Now let’s go check out this house.” He opened the door and they went inside.

  This house wasn’t her house anymore. The smell of death was very evident. It give her a chill. Initially, she had thought she’d pick up a few things from the house, but now she didn’t want to bring that energy into Tristan’s house.

  “Intel says that the only room worth checking is your son’s room. Analysis found your ex-husband fingerprints on the backdoor, your bedroom door, and the attic. Most were in your son’s room.”

  “Yes, that’s where his body was found. Can I check his room?”

  “Sure, you can.”

  They walked into the room of doom and Lizzy went straight to the video player. She ejected the disc and inspected it, but didn’t see any flaws. She wanted to play it but decided against it. If there was something on it, Sean would take it. But could she really bring trouble into Tristan’s house after he was nice enough to let her family stay with him?

  “Sean, PJ had said the disc had some kind of writing on it.”

  Sean reached for the remote to the video game and turned it on. The company logo came up on the screen. Then a spreadsheet appeared on the screen. “Hey, what’s that?” Lizzy asked.

  “Looks like your ex was keeping a second set of books.” He quickly went through the data on the disc. “Wow! This account has about ten million in it. Do you know where this account is?”

  “No. I didn’t know a thing about this.”

  “Oh, no, I’m not accusing you. I’m just wondering if he had a particular bank he used. Don’t worry if you don’t know. I can run it through our programs and find it.”

  “I thought that kind of information was confidential,” Lizzy half-asked.

  “With the government, nothing is confidential.” He pulled his cell phone from his waist and dialed a number. “Callahan here. I need to trace an account.” He rattled off Paul’s name, last known address and social security number. He ended the call and place the phone back in his holder. “Should have the information in a few minutes.”

  “Wow, Sean! I’m so impressed,” Lizzy said. “So do you know what he was doing that would have gotten him killed?”

  “Classic falling out among thieves, I’d guess. Once I get a look at the account, I’ll know for sure. Most likely he was the fall guy. You know the one who opened the account, and would probably go to jail for this. The company was being investigated and money is missing. Not ten mil, but enough for them to fire him months ago.”

  “I feel like such a fool. Here I was giving him all sorts of chances with the kids and he was doing all this.”

  “Now Lizzy, don’t you worry about this. This is a lot deeper than you.” His phone rang. Sean hurriedly answered the phone. “Talk to me.”

  Lizzy watched him as he nodded, pulling a pad out of his jacket pocket along with a gold pen. “Okay, give me that again.” He scribbled numbers and names on a small pad. “Suspend the account and route any inquiries to the net.”

  Lizzy watched him put his phone back in its holder. “Okay, I got some information about the accounts. Some of it I can tell you, some I can’t because it’s now part of an ongoing investigation.”

  “Okay, what can you tell me?”

  “Paul wasn’t the only person on the account. There was two other people. My guess is that the disc is the key. Apparently, he was killed before he could hand it over.”

  “But why was this a government hit?”

  “Oh, you know about that?”

  “I’m a mom. I pay attention. Two shots to the head.”

  Sean sighed. “You’re worse than my wife. You know curiosity killed the cat. The hit is still a puzzler, and there’s still some dots that needed to be connected. Do you know any of his friends?”

  “Not since the divorce was final. You may check with his mother. Some G-men were wa
tching her house for several weeks. They stopped the day Paul was killed.”

  The cartwheels in Sean’s brain were working overtime. “Would this be Beatrice Hall?”

  “Yes.”

  He ushered her out of the room. “My guess is whoever interrupted him before he could retrieve the disc, killed him. Since this is a child’s room, no one thought to check the video player. My men only searched the ones not in the player.”

  “You’re hoping they come back.” It wasn’t a question. She’d watched enough murder mystery shows to know they always come back.

  “Yes. I would suggest you not come back to the house alone. They will return, once they think the heat is off.”

  Lizzy thought about his words. She just wanted the whole ordeal over and done with. She wanted her life back.

  TWELVE

  “It was a beautiful memorial,” Lizzy’s mother said as she poured coffee. Lizzy, Tristan, Cam, Izzy, and Lizzy’s father were sitting in Lizzy’s childhood home. They were spread out on the couch, love seat, and assorted chairs.

  “Yes, it was,” Lizzy said, picking up her coffee cup. “I appreciate all you guys supporting us today.” The kids were in the den watching TV and eating lunch. “His mother took it rather well.” She’d feared Bea would have caused a scene, but the older woman surprised her.

  “Oh honey, that’s what family does.” Her mother finally sat down in a chair with her cup of coffee. “Yes, we all know Paul was a piece of work, but was still the kids’ father. His past just seem to catch up with him.”

  “I can’t keep wondering why PJ’s room? Turns out he’d picked my lock on the backdoor.”

  Her mother looked at her, then at Tristan. “Do you plan on going home?”

  The more Lizzy stayed with Tristan, the less likely she wanted to go home. The kids didn’t want to go there at all. “I think I’m selling it, and finding another one. The place has too many bad memories now.”

  “Yes, that sounds like a grand idea,” her mother said. “I couldn’t imagine walking back inside that house.”