Target: Mendez: An Alex Mendez Tale

by Edward Hancock II

  Temporary captain or permanent husband and father. It didn’t make much of a difference. Alex was not some burly, emotionless door fixer. He wasn’t exactly useless around the house. He could change a light bulb with the best of them. And, as he’d assured Lisa, his microwave pizza skills were second to none.

  But, in reality, Alex wasn’t a fixer. He couldn’t fix a broken car. He couldn’t fix a broken door. He couldn’t even fix a broken coffee cup – he’d found that out a couple years ago after trying to surprise Lisa by hand washing all of the dishes after dinner. Since then, he’d been banned from the task. He was, however, still allowed to take out the garbage.

  Standing at the sink, Alex opened the cabinet door below.

  “Just checking,” he sighed, though he’d already checked on the empty trash can so many times he’d actually stopped counting.

  “Missing ‘em too, are ya?”

  Alex jumped. He might have screamed just a little, but he wasn’t man enough to admit it, even to himself. He’d already emasculated himself enough this morning.

  “Hey, Aly. When’d you get in?”

  “Oh about two trash checks ago,” she laughed. “Was a long night.” She let out a huge sigh as she sat down at the kitchen table, unbuttoned the top button on her shirt and planted face down on her hands. “How’d you do this for so long?” she asked without raising her head.

  “Well, actually, I got very lucky. Danny pulled me up to homicide really quickly. I didn’t have to spend as much time in that uniform as most do.”

  “You’re lucky,” she said, raising her head.

  Alex chuckled at the slight red mark that had already formed on her forehead. “You hungry?”

  “Nah,” she said, shaking her head. “Stopped at Whataburger on my way in. No offense, Alex, but I didn’t figure you were going to have breakfast ready or anything.”

  He laughed again.

  “Well, actually, I was gonna offer to go get you something. I don’t really think you can microwave scrambled eggs.”

  Leaning back in her chair, Alyson smiled. “You’re probably right.”

  “Well, get some sleep, kid. I’m heading in.”

  “I won’t be far behind you, actually.” Lisa said, standing, stretching. “I agreed to pull a double tonight, so I’m gonna catch four hours then I’m back to it.”

  “Been there,” Alex said, grabbing his coat off a nearby kitchen chair. “Well, do me a favor? Let the pups out before you go. Leave the doggy door up, since we’re both gonna be gone. That way they can come and go as they please. Hate to see them outside in the cold for too long.”

  “Yeah, Lisa told me you got a new dog. Where is he?”

  “Actually, he and Brandy went back to bed.” Alex chuckled. “It was funny actually. You’d think Brandy at least would be accustomed to getting up with Christina, but as soon as I got out of the shower, I let them out. They both went to do their business, came back in and, without missing a beat, jumped up on my bed and went back to sleep.”

  “Well, I may lay down in your bed then. Kinda missing Josh these days.”

  “Where’s he at anyway?”

  “This week? Who knows? All I do know is that he can’t discuss it and our last phone call was, well, Mr. Crabby Patty showed up.”

  “How about Miss Crabby Patty?” Alex asked.

  “She might have come out to play with her male counterpart.” Alyson said, pursing her lips.

  “Takes two to fight, kiddo.”

  “Yeah well it only takes one to apologize.”

  “How right you are,” Alex said, walking up behind her, leaning down and hugging her. “Call him,” he whispered, grabbing her cell phone off the table and placing it in her hand.

  “What? No! Why do I have to be the—”

  “The grownup? Because men are slow learners.”

  “Lisa’s lucky.” Alyson said, turning around, hugging Alex back. “Not all men are Alex Mendez.”

  “And what a boring world that would be,” Alex said, hugging her and pulling away. “Call ya man, sister. Let him know you love him. Don’t ask him where he is, what he’s doing or what he’s thinking about. He’s somewhere, doing something, thinking about you. That’s all you need to know, think or assume. Call him. Tell him you miss him, you love him and you’re sorry you’ve been testy. You’re a rookie cop with the Longview Police Department. He’s essentially a rookie with more experience working for the FBI. Y’all both just need to chill out and come together. That’s the secret. Hold hands and walk together. Find a star and follow it, kiddo.”

  “What if the star I pick isn’t the same one as his?”

  “Jump off that bridge when you come to it.” Alex said, swinging his jacket on. “I gotta go. Get some sleep and when you wake up, call your man. If you wake him up, tell him you’re sorry. You just wanted to say you love him. Start from love. Every successful relationship starts from love.”

  “I really need to be writing this down.”

  “You’re like a second daughter to me, Aly.” Alex said, walking to the door. “When all else fails, I know his uncle. If he acts too crazy, we’ll go have a Come to Jesus Meetin’ with the young man.”

  “Thank you, Daddy,” she whispered, grinning like a beloved daughter who’d just had her skinned knee bandaged.

  “Hmmm,” Alex whispered as he closed the door and started towards his car, “Maybe I’m a better fixer than I thought.” Stopping mid-stride, Alex cast his eyes toward the sky. “All the same, I’d rather leave the fixing to you.”

  “Most of the time,” Alex admitted to himself, when he closed the car door and cranked the engine. “But I am working on it.”

  Chapter 9

  Alex had started out the morning so much happier. Granted, he missed his family, but he’d had a good morning chat with Alyson. The ride in had gone so smooth that, more than once, he’d expected a tire to blow out or something. He’d even had time to stop for doughnuts – Yes, some cops actually enjoyed a good pastry in the morning. For most, it was cliché. For Alex, it was one of the small joys in life.

  But arriving to a double stack of files on his desk put a stop to the good morning mojo really quickly.

  “We need to chat,” he said, when Danny answered his phone. “What’s this mess on my desk? Wasn’t here when I left yesterday.”

  “Annual reviews. Need ‘em by the end of the week, so get busy.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me!” Alex audibly growled into the phone.

  “Chief’s orders.”

  “So, we close a big case and don’t deserve a rest? Annual reviews aren’t until the end of the year, Danny! What’s up? What’s going on?”

  “Take it up with the chief, Alex. I’m just following orders.”

  “So, we all have to sit here d—”

  “No, Alex, we don’t all have to do anything. You are to review your cases from the year, check the paperwork. Make sure everything’s in order. Complete. Separate them by those that have gone to trial, those who’ve completed proceedings and those who have yet to come to trial. Handle those first. We don’t want any issues when things get to court.”

  “When have I ever messed up in court?”

  “Alex, you have your orders. Now follow them.”

  Before he could reply, Danny hung up.

  Wow, Alex thought, resting the phone back on the cradle. What’s going on?

  Picking the phone back up, Alex dialed Kellan.

  A knock at the door drew his attention

  “Come in,” Alex said, hanging up the phone. “Hey, Kel. I was just calling you. Come in.”

  “Yeah, figured you would,” he said, softly. Entering the office, Kellan sat without being invited. His eyes were filled with something akin to sorrow, worry and urgency.

  “Something wrong? It’s not Zad is it?”

  He shook his head. “No, he’s fine. We’re all fine. I just wanted to tell you that I’m not supposed to tell you what you want to know, so don’t ask.”
>
  “Don’t ask what?”

  “Exactly.”

  “No, I’m serious, Kel. What don’t I ask you?”

  Picking a file from the top of one of the stacks, Kellan opened it, grinned.

  “Talked to Pastor Highland recently?” he asked, thumbing through the case file in his hand.

  “About once a week, Kel. Quit avoiding the issue. You know something, so what is it?

  “I could get fired for telling you.”

  “If you get fired, I’ll personally kick Danny’s butt up between his shoulders.”

  “This goes a little higher than Danny, Alex. Chief asked me – asked us – to keep you out of the loop. Danny…and me. That stack there? Bottom half is my caseload. You wouldn’t discover it quickly, I guess. But I was ordered to bring my files in here. Active and closed.”

  “But why?”

  “Protection, Alex.” Shame covered Kellan’s face with the admission.

  “Protection from whom?”

  Standing, Kellan turned, took a step toward the door, rubbed his bald head, stepped behind the chair in which he’d just been sitting.

  “Chief wants you glued to your chair until we find Calloway. One of those other things I am not supposed to tell you? I’m your protection detail. Me, Todd Jameson, Craig Joplin and Al Tolbert. We’re to watch your every move until we find Calloway.”

  “Calloway? Derrick Calloway? Why? You don’t honestly think he—” He slammed his fist into the desk. “I can’t believe I missed it! There’s no way I shouldn’t have seen this!”

  Alex stood, grabbed his coat.

  “Alex, you can’t go anywhere.”

  “I can still go to lunch, can’t I? I’m a Lieutenant in the Longview Police Force. You really going to tell me I can’t go to lunch?”

  “At 9:30?”

  “Breakfast then. Whatever.”

  “Sit down, Alex.”

  “Kellan, in case you forgot, I outrank you.”

  “Not today,” he said, stepping in front of Alex as he moved toward the door. “Today, I’m Chief Steelman.”

  “You gonna get your hand off my shirt?” Alex asked.

  “Where are you going?” Kellan asked, his eyes wild, teeth gritted.

  Pulling his shirt from Kellan’s grip, Alex put his coat on.

  “You have two choices. Try and stop me or come along for the ride.”

  He grunted, sighed as Alex grabbed the doorknob.

  “Well?”

  Growling softly, Kellan walked toward the door.

  “Fired, I tell you. I’m going to be fired.”

  “Well, then, let’s break a few more rules first. Make it at least worth their while to fire us.”

  Chapter 10

  “No, Alex!” Kellan said, when they pulled into the Medical Examiner’s parking lot. “Absolutely not!” As Alex switched the car off, Kellan seized his wrist.

  “Look, Kel,” Alex said, shaking loose, prying Kellan’s fingers from his wrist. “I am going to check with Tabby with or without you. But with you, it’d go a lot smoother.” Opening his door, Alex looked back, “Well? Ya comin’?”

  “Fired.” Kellan whispered, as he opened his door. He grunted as he stood, stumbled for a moment, steadied himself on the car, slamming the door shut in the process.

  “A little louder, Kel.” Alex said, turning toward him. “I don’t think Escalante heard you.”

  “Sorry,” he said, clearing his throat, brushing himself off.

  “You okay?”

  “Fine,” he said, twisting his shoe as if it had come off, doing a poor job of the charade.

  “I ain’t gonna ask again,” Alex said, more insistent.

  “Good,” Kellan said, “Then I won’t have to repeat my answer.”

  “It’s your hip isn’t it?” When Kellan didn’t look at him, Alex continued. “Look, when I fell 40 feet from that scaffold, I thought it was the end of me too, bud. It takes time to heal. You—”

  “I am okay,” Kellan whispered. “Just not healing as fast as I want.”

  “Well, we ain’t as young as we used to be, dude.”

  Kellan laughed.

  “Better with age, Alex. I just get better with age.”

  When they approached the automatic doors, they opened with a loud thoosh! A soft whistle and warm gust of air proved that the heater was on in this part of the building and working just fine. A young woman they did not recognize occupied the reception desk.

  “Tabby in?” Alex asked, showing his badge to the young lady.

  “Yes sir,” she replied. Her voice had a distinctly Midwestern sound. “I’ll buzz you in.”

  As they walked toward the inner hallway, a slight buzzing followed by a clicking noise offered a soft echo in the cavernous lobby area. Alex opened the door, walked into the hallway followed by Kellan. Near the end of the corridor, to the right, they saw the light on in Autopsy room A. Rooms B and C, to the left, were dark.

  Turning to the right, Alex and Kellan’s footsteps echoed through the sterile corridor. As they reached Autopsy A, Alex could see Tabby standing at the sink washing her hands. In the event of a biological issue, a red light would shine bright enough to be seen from the lobby. As the outside light wasn’t on, Alex knew it was safe to enter. He pressed the button that would trigger the automatic doors.

  “Hey Tabby,” he said, nearly drowned out by the depressurizing whish of the separating doors.

  When she turned around, Alex could tell she’d been crying. Quickly, she wiped a tear from her eye.

  “Tab?” Alex said, approaching her as if to offer a hug. He stopped when she raised her hand and shook her head.

  “I haven’t finished yet, Alex. Finished? Heck, I haven’t hardly started. God! I was—Escalante was in here three days ago. He was laughing. So excited about that baby. Alex, I—”

  They walked toward the table where Escalante’s body was laid out, his innards exposed.

  “We have a job to do, Tab,” Kellan said, eliciting a disapproving glance from Alex.

  “Last time I saw him,” Alex interjected, “he said he couldn’t wait for us to see the baby. I know Lisa was sure excited. We don’t need the whole report. What can you tell us so far?”

  Trying to compose herself, Tabby took a deep breath, wiped her eyes again. The air conditioning kicked on and a whiff of death filled Alex’s nostrils. Normally, this wouldn’t have bothered Alex, but he was instantly aware he was breathing in the stench of his brother in arms. He hadn’t had such a powerful urge to vomit since he was a rookie on the streets. Somehow – and he wasn’t sure how – he managed not to purge himself all over the Autopsy floor.

  “Mercifully, the first bullet probably killed him. I haven’t finished Whit either. I stopped because I got the same initial result from him. One shot. Same with Mrs. Whitaker. Wanted to confirm. I’ve brought in another M.E. from Dallas. She’ll be here tomorrow. Alex, I have to get this right.”

  He shushed her, hugged her close. At first, she resisted, but quickly relented to his comforting gesture. When he pulled back, he conjured the most confident, caring expression he could.

  “You’re competent. You’re experienced. You can do it. Just breathe. Do your work. If you want the other gal to watch your back, fine, but you do this, Tab. This is family. I don’t want an outsider taking care of family. I need you to do this. Escalante and Whit need you to do this.”

  “Alex, I—” she paused, “I see what Lisa is talking about,” she laughed.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” he said, genuinely confused.

  “I’ll do it, Alex. I’ll finish it. For the family. But I want her here in case I miss something. For the family.”

  “Okay, so can you confirm time of death?”

  “Both were likely killed within minutes of each other. Bullets have been extracted. You’ll need to talk to your forensics guys for that, but they both looked relatively similar to me.”

  “Kel?”

  “Yeah?”

 
; “Call Preston over at Forensics. See what they know.”

  “I doubt they’re gonna know anything yet, Alex. But it’s just next door. We can walk over there when we’re done here. Find out what they know.”

  “That’s what we need to find out,” Alex said, insistent. “Now, if you would.”

  “Well, I’m not getting any signal in here, so I’ll step outside. Be back in a sec. Don’t leave without me.”

  Alex nodded.

  “Alex, before you start,” Tabby said. Alex held up a hand to hush her.

  “Tabby, I am not going to start. I just wanted Kellan out of the way for a minute. I need to know what you’ve found when you find it. And I need you to report directly to me, you hear?”

  “But Danny said he’s lead on the case.”

  “Danny’s busy,” Alex lied. “When you find out what you find out, call me. Speak to nobody but me. I can’t explain it, but this is something that needs to be tight lipped.”

  “Understood.”

  “Forensics is next door. Kellan and I are going to leave here in a bit. When we’re done, I need you to contact them for me and tell them the same thing.”

  “But why?”

  “I can’t go into it. I’m just going to need you to trust me.”

  Tabby’s face was a wash of confusion, concern and perhaps a little doubt.

  “Tab?”