Knowing he needed to pull out the big dogs where this case was concerned and knowing little to nothing about websites, he called up a friend of his that was in the military. Master Sergeant Russell Hawkins had a special security clearance and might be able to get better and faster information on the website than Greg could, especially since Greg had no jurisdiction at all in the state of Florida. He had met Rusty in the police academy. While Greg had moved to New York to be near Becca and joined the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, Rusty had ended up joining the Army instead. They had kept in touch over the years, even when Rusty had been stationed overseas.
“Hey… long time no hear, man… how’s the arm?” Rusty asked.
“Sore as hell… but some days are better than others. I have a favor that I’m hoping you can help with,” he replied.
“I’ll do what I can but I’m actually thinking about getting out of the service… I’ve had enough,” Rusty replied. “Seriously considering retirement… I have the years of service and I’m still young enough that I could do something else. That close call we had… just got me thinking.”
“If I send you a URL could you do a little digging and figure out who is hosting the website or maybe even who created and posted it?” he asked.
“Can’t your FBI boys do that?” Rusty replied.
“That’s the thing see… I’m in Florida until I get medically released for duty. I am not a desk duty kind of guy… my secretarial skills leave a lot to be desired. So I am just taking sick and vacation leave until the doc says I can go back to doing what I am good at,” he replied.
“I guess the scenery in Florida is better than New York?” Rusty laughed.
“You could say that…” he laughed as well.
“Send me the link and I will see what I can do… is this a security thing?” Rusty asked.
“No more like fraud or a scam scenario,” he replied.
“Got it… never know what you’ll run across when keeping an eye on terrorists,” Rusty implied. “I’ll let you know what I find.”
“Thanks, man… I owe you one and happy holidays,” he said before hanging up.
After getting off the phone with Rusty, Greg emailed him the link to the website and then looked around online for some holiday gift ideas for Carla. What did you get for a woman like her?
She was so kind, giving and beautiful it was hard to decide, but he needed to figure out something today because he was out of time. Maybe he should ask Meredith for help.
He punched in Meredith’s cell phone number and waited for her to answer. Then he explained his situation and lack of options for a gift as well as his shortage of time. After hearing a muffled conversation in the background he found himself on speaker phone.
“Okay… I am with Lilly and Dana and I think they might be able to help too. It should be something really special… to show her that you are a sweet, sensitive guy,” Meredith offered.
“Well I know she has a lot going on right now so sometimes the best gifts are the ones that come from the heart. How about offering to watch the boys for her while she goes to the spa or just curls up on the couch with a good book and no interruptions,” Dana suggested.
“Dinner reservations accompanied by a bottle of wine would be nice. You could even find a nice a pretty necklace and drape it around the bottle… that would be romantic,” Lilly proposed.
“I know she was pretty impressed by how supportive you were of her going back to school. I haven’t seen her so excited in a very long time. You could give her something that would just reiterate that support… like a book bag full of school supplies… paper, pens and stuff,” Meredith recommended.
They were all great ideas but which one would earn him one of Carla’s smiles that he was starting to live for?
“I got her a pair of earrings that she was looking at when we went to the mall looking for wedding stuff and a bottle of her favorite perfume, so that’s out,” Meredith said. “The boys made a booklet of chores that they can do on their own now that she can cash in at any time, and Chuck… well it’s Chuck… so he got her a gift certificate for a tattoo or piercing as a gag gift and I think he’s been painting something for her as well but he’s keeping that under wraps.”
“I think the fact that you are asking for help is a good indicator that whatever you end up getting will have been the result of some serious thought. Keep in mind that some stores close at six tonight since it’s Christmas Eve. If you get done before four this afternoon and can swing by the house, I’ll help you wrap her gift before we leave for my parent’s house since I’ve got to wrap Chuck’s gifts anyways,” Dana offered.
“You’ll do great… just go with your gut,” Lilly advised.
He thanked them all for their suggestions before hanging up and then headed out to get a gift for the last person on his list. Driving around, he sifted through the suggestions the women had given him and decided to pull at least one idea from each of them. Gift giving was never his forte but this time was even worse since, along with trying to impress Carla, he also wanted to convey his thanks for all she had done and continued to do for him. Something romantic and supportive that came from the heart… Got it.
Greg managed to get all three things he decided on for Carla and make it to Tommy and Dana’s house well before four o’clock. Carrying his bag up the sidewalk he was met at the front door by Dana, who held it open for him.
Stepping inside he found Tommy sitting on the couch playing a guitar and writing in a notebook. Tommy nodded at him and he returned the gesture while handing the shopping bag to Dana.
Looking around he found Chuck sprawled out on the living room floor on his stomach. Gretchen, was lying on Chuck’s back with her head between his shoulder blades stretched out in the same position as Chuck was in, staring up at the ceiling and talking a blue streak. Dana’s youngest daughter, Melody, was crawling across Chuck’s head and drooling while using his hair for balance. The whole scene looked horribly uncomfortable for the man, yet his expression was completely relaxed.
“You’re just in time. I finished wrapping Chuck’s gifts so I can wrap yours up real quick before I start on my own pile.” Dana smiled at him and then led him into the kitchen. “This process goes much faster with Chuck providing entertainment for the girls otherwise I get a ‘helper’ and Tommy gets a fussy baby.”
The entire kitchen table was setup like a professional gift wrapping station. Dana set the shopping bag on the table and as she pulled each gift out of the bag she smiled at him. Getting a female stamp of approval made him feel less nervous about his choices.
“These are perfect… she’ll love it,” Dana finally said. “Let me get you a glass of tea and you can sit in the living room with the guys… though you may prefer the couch over the floor.”
A few minutes later Greg headed back into the living room, glass in hand, where he found Tommy, Chuck and the two little girls doing much the same thing as before. Chuck’s eyes were closed as though he was actually napping through the torture the baby was applying to his hair. Gretchen was in the same position on Chuck’s back but now wore a scowl on her face and had her arms crossed over her chest.
“I wanna go to the Johnson’s house with you, my Chuckie,” Gretchen complained.
“I hate it for you but it’s not going to happen,” Chuck replied. “Besides… you like Mr. and Mrs. Atkinson and you get to see Ben and Matt more than you get to see them.”
“I’m going with you,” Gretchen insisted. “And that’s final.”
“No… you’re not,” Chuck said as the baby used his hair and part of his cheek as an exercise ball to pull herself up with.
“Then I’m never playing with you again,” Gretchen said, getting angrier by the moment.
“Fine, kiss my grits then you little shit… and get off my back,” Chuck replied. “My gifts are wrapped now so I should go anyways.”
“No, Chuckie! But can I go next time then?” Gretchen begged.
“I do
n’t know… you’re being awful rudy poo right now. You didn’t even say ‘Hi’ to Mr. Sanders,” Chuck said as the baby began making humming noises while trying to put her fingers in his mouth.
“Hi, Mr. Sanders,” Gretchen said guiltily.
“Hi, Gretchen,” he said. “I got a buddy looking into that website, Chuck. He said he would call me as soon as he had something.”
“This whole thing is making me crazy because I know damn well it wasn’t me that created it,” Chuck replied.
“Language… Mister,” Gretchen admonished Chuck from where she lay on his back patting her stomach in rhythm to the tune that her dad was playing on his guitar.
Watching the young man with the two little girls, it made Greg angry that someone was using Chuck’s newfound notoriety for what had to be a scam. Most cases he investigated involved strangers that he only knew as a name on a report. The people down here were more like… friends.
They helped him out without ever expecting him to pay them back. Greg crossed his fingers that Rusty would find something for him to work with. Chuck may look like a hardened criminal but he was a good guy and didn’t deserve for someone to take advantage of him, if that was what the website was about.
Once Dana finished wrapping the gifts for him, he thanked her and then drove back to the beach house to collect his other gifts to take over to the Johnson house. Greg realized halfway to Carla’s that he no longer felt weird or like the odd man out around the group of bikers.
He had wondered why someone like Carla and even his own sister would be friends with such a rowdy group of people but he completely understood it now.
Since being wounded, these people had visited him in the hospital, brought him food, gave him advice, wrapped gifts for him and recently even invited him to come down to the motorcycle shop where the guys all worked to get him away from all the estrogen… or so Dickie had said.
After the holidays Greg might just take the man up on his offer… get to know him on a personal level… especially since it was looking like his sister might end up marrying him. He knew Dickie was a good man, had sensed it right away, and had even been rooting for him to win Becca’s affections. So it was time to really get to know him.
Perhaps having somewhere to go, even if it was only for a couple of days a week, would take his mind off the conversation he’d had with his boss. The longer the physical therapy continued on his arm, the more Greg was starting to realize that it was quite possible that it would never be one hundred percent again. Major Laskins must know that but also knew there was no way Greg would go for an administrative job like the one he held. The retirement proposition was a good one but to take it felt like admitting that such a big part of his life was over. The badge had been his wife for twenty five years… that’s a long time to be with the same woman. What would Greg do when she was gone too?
The Major had made it sound like an offer but he knew the political bullshit well enough to know if his arm, and more specifically his grip, didn’t improve soon he would be facing a choice. Being tied down to an office and a desk or taking the retirement package he’d been offered.
Quite honestly the whole situation just pissed him off… but there was no for better or worse in his marriage to law enforcement. Worse was being shot and injured… but thankfully not killed… but it was still grounds for divorce.
Becca was moving down here to Florida permanently and telecommuting with her office. When she was needed for court she would fly back to New York. In fact she was already living with Dickie and they were even taking in two little neighbor girls who were in the foster care system. That meant that even if Greg did get cleared for duty again, he would be returning home alone. He had friends on the force but most of them were already married with a family so their commonality only went so far.
Pulling into the driveway at Carla’s, he gathered up the gifts he planned to go ahead and put under their tree this evening and headed up the walkway. After knocking a couple of times, he realized that she wasn’t home. He hadn’t thought to call… actually he was just getting used to hanging around… invited or not. It was bad and he should in all reality stop it… in the words of Chuck, he was being a stalker. This place just felt… homey… not just a house with four walls and roof and that was thanks to Carla.
He put the gifts in the trunk and got back in the driver’s seat. He wasn’t sure where to go but he didn’t want to go back to the beach house and sit there alone on Christmas Eve… not this year. He also wasn’t about to call Chuck and ask where Carla was since it wasn’t really his business. His sister and Dickie were spending time with their two foster kids so that option was out too. Dana and Tommy had already left to go out of town by now.
That left Bobby and Lilly but by the time he made it across town to their neighborhood, he’d changed his mind. He didn’t want to crash their family time either, especially during the holidays.
Sometimes being single sucked. This was a family holiday and aside from Becca, who was also busy, he didn’t have one. He was out a family and potentially a job as well. Twenty five years and all he had to show for it was the ability to drive around in a not so good section of town with gifts in the trunk of his car without fear.
Finding a bar a few blocks from where Bobby and Lilly lived with Bobby’s grandmother, Edna, he pulled in and went inside for a drink. The woman working behind the bar was Lilly Jackson’s sister, Sherri Simons. Sitting down on one of the barstools he watched as Sherri approached him.
“What brings you in here?” she asked.
“It’s a holiday and I’m single,” he replied.
“Well, first one is on me as thanks for what you and Becca did for my sister. I’ve never seen her so happy… so what’ll it be?” she asked.
After ordering his first drink he sat there mulling over his job. Then his thoughts went to Carla Johnson as each song on the jukebox made him think of her. Then his mind pondered his current bachelor status, Carla Johnson, his aching shoulder, and of course, Carla Johnson again.
Sherri was a damn good bartender and kept the drinks coming until he knew he was looking at either sleeping it off in his car or calling a cab which would not do since he needed his car to take the gifts he bought to the Johnson’s house the following day… to Carla’s house.
He looked around for Sherri to close out his tab after realizing how long he’d been sitting there drinking and finally found her off in the corner behind the bar talking on the phone.
While he waited for her to finish her conversation, he watched a couple dancing and envied the man. That man wouldn’t be alone this evening… Christmas Eve… even if it was just for one night the guy wouldn’t be alone.
Greg on the other hand would definitely be alone because the woman at the end of the bar who had been watching him most of the night wasn’t his type. That woman didn’t have a man’s haircut that showcased a slender neck which begged for his kisses. She didn’t stare at his mouth and it was doubtful her touch could make him beg for more… not like Carla at all. He was way drunk. Great.
A few minutes later Sherri approached him again and gave him his tab. He pulled his wallet out with his left hand since the alcohol didn’t help the crippling effects of his gunshot wound. Handing her his credit card, he watched her set it near the register and proceed to serve every other customer at the bar before finally cashing him out. He signed the receipt she gave him and turned around in his seat to try and crawl to his car. He was met by Carla Johnson’s disapproving eyes. Shit!
Reaching around him, he watched as Sherri handed Carla his car keys. She must have pilfered them along with his credit card. As if he would really try to drive like this. Then she also handed Carla his wallet. Dropping both items in her purse like a disapproving mother, Carla again gave him a look that said more than her words ever could.
“I would have expected more out of you, Detective,” she said sarcastically. “Can you walk?”
“Yes… I don’t need you to mother m
e, Carla,” he huffed. His words even sounded slurred to his own ears.
Looking back to Sherri, who now smiled the smile of the devil, he wanted to tell her how unfairly she had treated him. She had led him down this path by supplying him with one long unending drink and now she laughed at his misfortune. And in front of Carla Johnson no less… why would she do that to him?
Before he could say anything, Sherri said, “Yes, I am a bitch but someday you will thank me for this… just not tonight.”
He turned back to Carla when he felt her attempting to pull him off the barstool using one arm around his waist. One of the wise men he was not, because this was likely the stupidest thing he’d ever done in his life. Getting drunk in New York where he would have taken a cab to the bar and would therefore have to take one back home was a whole lot different than leaving a rental car with a trunk load of gifts in the parking lot of bar on the seedy side of town… in Florida.
“I will just sleep in the car tonight… because your Christmas is in my trunk,” he said. Gifts… gifts in the trunk.
“Why didn’t you bring them by the house before you came here to drink yourself silly?” Carla asked as she guided him out the door of the bar.
“I did come home… and you weren’t there,” he said indignantly. “I mean your home.” Mental note… he was not a good drunk.
“We went over to Doug’s parents for their Christmas celebration but we were home by nine,” she replied as she guided him into the passenger seat of her car. It smelled like her in here.
She got in the driver’s seat after transferring the gifts from his car to hers. Once she’d pulled out of the parking lot she glanced over at him and said, “So is all this drinking because of your job?”
Unexpected Ride Page 8
