“Why don’t we both get out?” Shelley said. “We’re roommates. We’re friends. Let’s go. Let’s just stop today. I’ve got my client tonight. I’ll email him and tell him the date’s off. We’ll just quit. We’ll be real 9 to 5er’s! It’ll be you and me against the world. And then we’ll find two rich brothers who’ll dote over us and cater to our every whim for the rest of our lives. We’ll die old, fat, ugly and oblivious, having the cabana boy bring us drinks in Maui. Whatchya think?”
“You lost me at ‘fat’, babe.”
Laughing, Shelley said, “Okay, forget the fat and no way you’ll be ugly, so we’ll just be old farts sitting on a beach with the aforementioned cabana boys.”
“So, when’s the meet and greet tonight?”
“He’s picking me up in an hour.”
“Okay, then,” Harmony winked. “We better get you dressed.”
Chapter 13
Thursday, October 13
7:59 p.m.
Exiting the inner Emergency area, Alex took a deep breath. Rubbing his eyes, his hands finding their way through his hair, he blew out a refreshing detox that, in truth, was ineffectual as more than a symbolic attempt at imploring sanity to manifest within.
He scanned the room. It was quite a bit busier than when he went back. Heavy with both people and emotion. Thick with fear, loathing, questions and doubt.
Even a former Navy SEAL recruit had his limits and it was clear Josh had reached his for the moment.
Sitting beside him, Alyson held his arm and did her best to console him. Across the way, his knees almost touching Josh’s, Alex sat. He took his hand, causing Josh to momentarily pull back. Without saying a word, Alex reached for his hand again.
“It’s okay,” Alyson said, tilting her head to his opposite shoulder.
Quietly, Alex signaled for Kellan to join them. Before long, everyone gathered in a circle. Everyone except Rance Remington, who seemed lost, confused all of the sudden.
“Mr. Remington?” Alex whispered. “Will you join us?”
His face flushed just slightly. “Yeah.”
As Alex bowed his head, someone cleared his throat. Opening his eyes, Alex caught sight of Pastor Highland.
“Pastor!” he said, letting go of the hands he was holding. “I’m so happy to see you.”
“Tom called me.” Pastor Highland whispered, shaking Alex’s hand. “Been feeling a bit out of sorts, myself. Still finding my footing, which is weird for me. Alex, I hope I didn’t overstep my—“
“Certainly not, Pastor!” Alex said, “I’m very glad to see you. I guess Chief Steelman told you about Moe?”
“Heart attack, he said,” Highland confirmed.
Alex nodded.
“Sir, would you lead us in prayer?” Josh asked.
“Son, I’ll join hands, but if it is all the same to everyone, I think Alex was about to pray. You speak the words of your heart, son. I’ll pray when you’re done.”
Alex smiled. “I’m not sure what I was going to say, but I’ll think of something.”
Squeezing in, Pastor Highland found a spot between Kellan and Alyson.
The circle complete, Alex bowed his head and prayed.
“…Lord, we thank you for bringing Moe Sutton into our lives. He’s been a blessing and a gift to all of us. Father, we thank you that you have spared his life today and we ask You to let Your healing to continue to flow through Moe’s body. We ask You to strengthen Josh and the rest of Moe’s family. Comfort them, Lord, that You are in control. We thank You and praise You, Father. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”
Alex was more than a little shocked when Josh reached over and gave him a one-arm hug.
“I appreciate that,” he said.
Shaking his hand, placing another on his shoulder, Alex said, “He’s okay now. We had a little scare, but he’s okay now. I for one have had a majorly long day. He looked good though. I’m glad they let us go back and see him.”
“You heading home now?” Alyson asked.
“Yeah, I’m glad Lisa didn’t wait around, but I’m sure she’ll be waiting for a report.”
Alex rose, turned, then turned back around. Hugged Alyson. Turned to shake hands with Kellan Arthur.
“You call your mom?” Alex asked, looking at Josh.
Josh nodded. “Called everybody. Mom, my sister.”
Turning more in Josh’s direction, Alex continued, “Hang in there. Call me if you need me, okay?”
Nodding, Josh said, “Call me if there’s any developments on this case.”
“Baring nothing crazy tonight, meet me at the station in the morning. Oh Eight Hundred.”
Over the hospital intercom, a female voice paged two doctors to the Emergency Room. Frenzied personnel in various hospital uniforms suddenly filled the area. In seconds, Emergency and nearby areas more closely resembled a frantic beehive than a hospital waiting area.
Josh stood, grabbed a dark-haired male in navy scrubs.
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t know, sir.” The young man said, his deep voice filled with an unavoidable panic.
“I am FBI Agent Josh Sutton.” Josh’s teeth gritted. Alex noticed his grip on the man’s arm tightening just a bit. “I have an uncle back there. Moe Sutton. Now you go back there and you find out if my uncle is okay. And you get back here in 10 minutes or I will make sure you never work in this or any other hospital again. You hear?”
He nodded.
Letting the man’s arm go, Josh finished off, “And if anyone has an issue with that, you inform them that they are dealing with the United States Government!”
The man said nothing, but hurried through the emergency room doors, nervously fumbling for his security badge. As he disappeared, Kellan and Josh traded nervous looks as they watched a number of medical personnel scurrying about the innards of the emergency area.
“I think you scared him.” Kellan chuckled.
“Nah,” Josh said, turning back toward the group. “He’s military. I didn’t scare him. But he will do what he’s told. I think I put a sense of urgency in him.”
“How do you know he’s military?”
“You see that look in his eye?”
“Yeah. He looked like he was about to wet his pants.”
“No. He looked like he was memorizing the orders of his boss. The U.S. Government.”
“Technically,” Alex said, “Isn’t the president his boss?”
“President’s not here,” Josh said, “In his absence, I’m boss!”
The same female voice paged another doctor to a different floor. She immediately followed up paging a different doctor to the nursery.
Alex turned to sit back down.
“What are you doing?” Alyson asked.
“I’ll wait and make sure Moe’s okay.”
“No,” Josh said, his demeanor softening. “You go on. If anything happens, I’ll call you.”
“Hey, this place went from zero to sixty in two seconds. I think I’ll stick around a bit, just to make sure.”
No sooner had Alex finished his sentence then the young man in the Navy scrubs came back through the emergency doors.
“Sir,” he said, almost militarily so, “Your uncle is fine. We had a person code, but it was an elderly gentleman brought in around the same time as your uncle. I spoke with your uncle and he said to tell you – and I’m quoting – put your big boy britches on and get back to work.”
Laughing, Josh said, “That’s Uncle Moe alright!” He patted the young man on the back, thanked him. The young man nodded and disappeared back through the doorway, stopping only to swipe his badge over the security sensor.
“Okay,” Alex said, “I’m taking off before anything else happens.”
“See you in the morning,” Kellan offered.
“Ditto,” Josh said.
“Will do.”
Chapter 14
Thursday, October 13
10:03 p.m.
Home. No matter which way you slice it
, Glinda the good witch was right. There was no place like home. The kids in bed, Alyson at the hospital and Mother Mendez reading silently in her room as always, Alex immersed himself in his loving wife. Reclining on the couch, the ten o’clock news playing softly in the background, Alex wrapped his arms around Lisa and held her. Few words were spoken. Love doesn’t need words.
Laying against him, her head on Alex’s chest, Lisa let go a contented sigh.
“I sometimes forget how much I miss you when you’re gone,” Lisa whispered.
Alex hugged her tight, traced the lines of her back with his fingers.
“Life gets so busy,” she continued, hugging him so tight that he groaned slightly. “Mine. Mine. Mine.” Her voice disappeared behind an almost child-like excitement, not unlike Christina on Christmas Morning.
Brushing his fingers through her hair, Alex kissed Lisa on the top of the head.
“I love you, Mrs. Mendez.”
Raising her face, she kissed his chin.
“I love you too, Mr. Mendez. Might I say, though, you need a shave.”
He didn’t exactly need a shave, but he’d been in a hurry to make the press conference that morning. Normally a stickler for time, he’d neglected to plan his morning appropriately. As a result, he’s managed to miss a spot or three. Given how rushed he was, he was just happy he’d remembered to brush his teeth.
“When confronted at the press conference, Acting Police Captain Alex Mendez had this to say to several of the female journalists in the audience.”
Jennifer Greyson’s lead jarred Alex out of his sense of contentment. Without thinking, he sat straight up, causing Lisa to lurch back, wince.
The screen filled with a news graphic of a tape recorder. Overlaying it was the transcript of a quote from the press conference. A highly edited version of what Alex had actually said.
“Last time I checked, there’s only one badge between the two of us. Safety is often compromised when some dogged story seeker puts the scoop above the personal welfare of the public they serve. I don’t want our next meeting to be over your dead body.”
“That’s not what I said!” He seemed to be willing Jennifer Greyson to hear him in her newsroom.
“What did you say?” Lisa asked.
“I gave her a bit of a lecture. Told her that she needed to put the safety of the community ahead of the story. She edited that all to heck!”
On the TV, Jennifer Greyson’s face appeared, covered in a very satisfied smile.
“I attempted to contact the station to allow Acting Captain Mendez to apologize, but he has not returned my phone calls as of this newscast. While I have often tried to keep my personal thoughts out of the stories on which I report, my dealings with Captain Mendez have not left me with a sense of calm. Not only does he threaten women. He also gives false leads and creates a needless sense of panic in the community. In this reporter’s opinion, the absence of Captain Danny Peterson at the helm has created a massive leadership deficiency.”
“I’ll kill her!”
Taking Lisa by the hand, Alex said, “Easy there, Hulkster! Let’s not run wild on this chick just yet! She’s just baiting me because she got her tail chewed. It’ll pass.”
His phone rang in his shirt pocket. He opened it and pressed talk without even looking to see who it was.
“Mendez!”
“Alex? You see Greyson’s news report?”
“Yeah, Danny. I saw it,” he chuckled. “You should have warned me about her.”
“What did you do, man? Why are you threatening people, Acting Captain?”
“Don’t start that stuff, Danny! I’m doing the best job I know how. I did not threaten her. Like any good cop would do, I advised her to leave the cop work to me and to remain vigilant. I have a hundred witnesses that will back me up, including Kellan and the chief. She edited the daylights out of that audio and I’m going to handle it.”
“Well, the mayor called me, for whatever reason, during that little fiasco of a broadcast. Apparently, Greyson is the niece of one of the city council members. Son, you’ve opened up a can of worms with that girl.”
“Well, any time you want the job back, Boss, just say the word!”
It took only a second of silence for Regret to stab Alex right in the gut.
“Sorry, Danny. I didn’t mean that like it came out.”
“I gotta go, Alex,”
“Love you, Bro.” Alex’s said, matching the deflated tone in Danny’s goodbye.
He heard the click just as Lisa chimed in, “Love you, Danny!”
Clapping his phone shut, Alex’s throat let go a graveled rumble.
“I take it Danny saw the news?”
Alex nodded.
Lisa took his hand in hers, kissed it.
“I love you, Babe.”
Squeezing her hand, Alex reaffirmed his mutual affection.
“I love you too.”
“Don’t sound so excited about it.” Lisa whispered, winking. Sliding up next to him, she grabbed his wrist and wrapped his arm around her.
“This really makes me mad.” Alex whispered, turning his head toward the dimly-lit foyer.
“Give it to God, Babe.” Lisa whispered. “Isn’t that what the Bible says? Let’s see. What was it Pastor Leonard said this Sunday? Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
“Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Alex replied.
Kissing his cheek, Lisa whispered, “See? Let go and let God. Don’t tell God how big your problems are. Tell your problems how big your God is.”
“You read that on a T-shirt?” Alex asked.
Looking away, she chuckled, “Bumper sticker.”
“I’ll never let you go.” Alex said, wrapping his arms tightly around her.
“Sweet deal!” Lisa replied. “I’d hate to have to kill you in your sleep.”
He sighed when his phone vibrated again.
“Let’s see who else wants to chew on me today. Oh, it’s the chief.”
Placing her hand on Alex’s chest, Lisa smiled. “Love you, Babe. Remember that.”
“Mendez!” he said, nodding to her as he answered his phone.
“Hey, Alex, we have a problem.”
Behind him, Alex could hear Joey crying.
Standing up, Lisa motioned that she was heading to check on the baby. Alex waved and nodded. Blew her a kiss.
“I know, Chief.”
“You know? How’d you know? I just found out before I called you.”
“Uh, okay.” Alex raised a curious eyebrow. “What problem are you talking about?”
An uncomfortable pause was quickly shattered.
“Alex, we have another body.”
Chapter 15
Thursday, October 13
10:47 p.m.
It was an incredibly cool night, even for Fall. A shiver traveling up Alex’s spine remind him, over and over, that he’d neglected to grab a jacket. Looking around as he exited his car, he was relieved that he wasn’t the only one who’d been surprised by this unseasonably cold evening. Medical Examiner Tabitha Wagner was crouched over a blood-soaked body, which appeared to be lying amid a clump of pine and maple trees.
The chief had arrived, as had Reggie. Chief must have called him, Alex thought, noting he’d neglected to call in the rush to reach the crime scene. He watched, nostalgic, remembering when he’d first met the chief. Now, years later, he was still passing on his fatherly guidance. Careful as a kindergarten teacher showing her class how to write their name, Chief Steelman seemed to be guiding Reggie through paces he would have covered ad nauseam in academy. Perhaps out of respect, or perhaps out of a lack of attention during academy, Reggie seemed to hang on the chief’s every word, not unlike the kindergarten class might attend to the seemingly magical skill of their i
nstructor. Though more than 8 cops and at least 3 medical professionals were in the area, there was no sign of either Kellan or Josh.
“Is everybody wearing gloves?” Alex shouted to the entire group.
Behind him a floodlight came on, illuminating the wooded area.
Looking around, everyone seemed to be gesturing they had gloves on. A few shouted to the affirmative.
“Hey Tabby.” Alex said, meeting the medical examiner who’d rose to greet him. “Don’t suppose you have any spare gloves in my size?”
Smiling, she nodded.
“Porter!” she shouted to her assistant. “Bring Captain Mendez some gloves, will you? Size large.”
“Yes Ma’am!” Janelle Porter called, from the inside of the medical van.
“New kid,” Tabby said, rolling her eyes. “You’ll be lucky if she doesn’t bring you small ones.”
“Yeah, well,” Alex said, “we were all newbies once, Tab.” He motioned to Reggie.
“Speak for yourself, Alex,” she laughed. “I was born with formaldehyde in my veins.”
“You know,” Alex quipped. “I actually believe that about you.”
Janelle Porter appeared and offered the gloves to Alex.
She was a young thing. Fresh-faced. Almost baby faced. Chipmunk cheeks held huge blue eyes in place and, though her blond locks were currently pulled into a ponytail, Alex surmised that her hair was perhaps a touch past the shoulders. While not fat by any means, her teenage body was in possession of an unmistakable roundness. Standing next to the athletic redhead for whom she worked, smiling brightly, her face made up as if she was going on a date, Janelle Porter gave no indication of the morbid profession with which she was interning.
“Thank you, Miss Porter.”
“Welcome!” she said, smiling. “And I got him the right size, Aunty!” she said, nudging her boss.
Tabby coughed, “Heard that did ya?” She winked at Alex. Janelle walked back to the truck to whatever duties she was attending.
“Where’d you find that little thing?” Alex asked.
“She’s my sister’s kid.” Tabby said. “Good kid, really. Smart as a whip. She won’t be with me for long.”
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