by Jack Parker
He looked a little more rugged than normal. He had let his beard grow out for the past couple of days. The stress of this whole chain of events had clearly taken its toll on him. He didn't say anything for awhile, and I obviously wasn't going to break the silence. I wondered for a moment if a word would ever be spoken the rest of the night, but then finally he decided to talk.
"You never expect that call." he said as if he were talking to no one in particular. "One day you are just trucking along through life and then you get that call. The one where they tell you your wife is dead."
"I'm sorry." I said automatically. I don't know why people say they are sorry when they didn't do anything. I guess it's just a way of being empathetic.
"They never found my son. When they investigated my wife's death, our son never turned up. They assumed he was kidnapped or killed somewhere else I'm sure." he continued, "I mean… I'm a cop so I know that if someone has been missing for a few weeks under those circumstances, there's a slim chance you are going to see them again."
I knew that the only reason his son never turned up was because he ran away, but he didn't need to know that. No reason to tell him and make things even worse.
"I always imagined that somehow he survived and was alive somewhere out there. And when this Vigilante case first came to us and they said it started in New York. I wondered to myself if it could be possible. And then I saw him refer to the first victim as Sharona, my wife's name, in the video. The voice was similar, but it had been nearly ten years so there was no way to be sure. I assured myself that it was all just an incredible coincidence."
"And then he called you?" I wondered.
"He called and left a voice message. I had just come home from pulling an all-nighter and saw the message on my machine. I had to make sure it matched the audio we already had, but it did. That meant my son Marty was a serial killer and he did all of those horrible things. But I still had to see him… I mean, what would you have done?"
I was able to fill in the gaps in the story with what I already had known from talking with Marty. Taylor quit his job when all of the memories of his wife's murder started resurfacing and he hoped that his son would try and contact him again. But Marty had told me he had essentially lost his nerve and never tried to get a hold of him.
"Taylor." I started to say. "I always wondered why you offered me the consultant job when you did. I didn't really have a good resume for the position. Did I just remind you of your son somehow?"
"No." he answered. "Look, I was a mess for those years right after her death. I didn't want to go back to Denver where people knew me, so I just started driving and somehow ended up here. And then one day nearly two years after it happened, I was at a drug store buying a few things. This man ran in with a gun in his hand and demanded the cashier give him all the money in the register. I was just showing up to pay and when saw the gun, my instincts kicked in. I disarmed the man and took him down."
"Wow."
"The cashier made it sound like I was some hero, but I was just doing what came naturally." he continued. "Of course, when the cops arrived they had some questions for me. And they could tell I was a cop almost instantly, so we started talking about where I used to work. By the end of the night someone had offered me a job. I had to think about it, but I knew I would be better off doing some good than hating myself for the rest of my life."
"So you took the job."
"Yeah, and it saved my life. I went from aimlessly moving from city to city to making a difference again." he said. "Then you came along. And that night when you found out it was one of your childhood friends that had tried to frame you for murder. Understandably you were devastated, and you just sat on the side of the road trying to deal with everything that had just happened. You reminded me of myself back then."
He said that becoming a detective again had saved his life, and I guess in a way my life had drastically changed after I became a consultant. I used to program video games for a living. The only person I had to deal with was my boss and I never left my house unless I had an errand to run. But now I'm out in the world solving cases that matter with real life consequences.
"Did he say anything about me?" he asked.
"Who?"
"My son."
"Nothing really… I got here just as he was dying." I lied. I didn't want to tell him that his son didn't want anything to do with him and that his plan was to confront him after so many years blaming him for what happened only to give up at the end.
"You are a horrible liar, you know." he replied.
"How do you know I'm lying?" I wondered.
"I've been doing this for far too long, and you don't have a good poker face." he said. "But also, I noticed cuff marks on this chair facing his body."
I forgot about the chair. And I forgot for a moment that Taylor used to be a great detective. Why did I think I could get away with lying? He wouldn't leave me alone until I told him what happened.
"Look, Marty was just as messed up about what happened to his mother as you were. And of course he's going to blame you for creating the rift that drove them away in the first place. But that doesn't mean it's your fault." I managed to get out.
"It is my fault. I cared more about my job than my family." he said. "But this was something I was good at, and I felt like if I left a case that was almost closed to go spend time with my wife and son, that just meant I was letting someone else down. But in the end I wasn't there for them."
"You can't blame yourself. You didn't pull the trigger." I said. Besides, I added silently, in a way Marty ended up basically becoming the same person you did. Always trying to catch the bad guy no matter what the cost.
"I was happy. I had something great, Mike, and I took it for granted." he replied dejectedly, and then he turned to me and continued. "I hope you don't repeat my mistakes. One day you'll find happiness in your life, and if you do… don't let it go. Do whatever it takes, because it doesn't come around every day."
What he said of course made me think of Kari. She months ago had told me she had feelings for me after having too many drinks one night. And I had just admitted I felt the same way as his son was bleeding out only moments ago it seemed like. But I never talked about Kari like that with Taylor. I wondered if he was just saying that just to say it or if he was trying to tell me something.
You should tell her how you feel.
I couldn't. She had her dream job that she was about to leave for. I would feel horrible making her choose between me and her new job. She said months ago that she had feelings for me, but maybe things have changed since then.
She's an adult, you know. Why don't you let her decide for herself? Doesn't she deserve to know before she leaves?
Even setting aside the issues with telling her I wanted to be more than just friends. Even if she said yes… I tried to imagine what things would be like, but I honestly didn't know. My life would significantly change, and I didn't know how things would turn out. And it scared me a little to not know.
It's not like you know the future anyway. You are out of a job, and any new decision would be a change in your life. So why not go all the way with it? If you are going to wade in the water anyway, you might as well jump in.
"Taylor." I asked. "What happens now? Do you just go back to the police department and un-resign?"
"You can't un-resign. It's been a few days already so I'm sure they already have a replacement lined up. I guess I'm just going to retire. It sucks a little because I've been doing this for so long, to go out like this when I feel like I have a lot left in the tank." he said.
An idea popped into my head. And I smiled a little at the thought.
"What if I can help you out with that?"
I told Taylor my plan, and he left to make a few phone calls. The last one was probably to the station. Most of the FBI was at Marty's hideout going through everything in there and simultaneously dealing with the media. It would probably take half an hour for the message to get to them, and then another ho
ur before someone was able to make it over here. I had only one phone call to make myself. So I waited outside as soon as I was done. And right on cue, a familiar car had pulled up to the side of the curb.
"Mike?" Kari got out of her car and ran up to me, and then proceeded to punch me hard in the shoulder.
"OW!" I cried out in pain. "What was that for?"
"You forgot to pick me up a few hours ago. We were supposed to hang out, remember?"
"Yeah… I'm sorry, something kind of came up."
"Yeah, something about a serial killer pointing a gun in your face… you could've gotten shot you know that?" she said. I could tell that she wasn't really mad at me, but she did mean everything she said.
"He wasn't going to shoot me unless I tried to get away."
"You didn't know that."
"How do you know?" I asked half-jokingly. "You didn't know that I didn't know!"
"Oh yeah? Well just for that you are picking me up twice tomorrow. Once for forgetting to pick me up today, and another for all of this back talk I'm hearing." she said with a huge smile on her face.
"Oh yeah?" I shot back in mock-anger. "Well… fine by me!"
We both started laughing at the fake argument we just had. Neither of us were the type to have a huge demonstrative argument in public. And even though we were joking at the end of it, it was still based on something real. It was something I wanted to address.
"But in all seriousness, I could've called before and said something came up and I didn't. I'm not the type to forget things like that, and I'm sure you assumed the worst when I didn't show up… and I'm sorry I made you worry." I apologized once again.
"I WAS worried." she agreed.
"And the truth was… I was a little mad at your announcement that you were leaving for your new job. And like I usually do when I'm angry about something instead of talking about it I run off and find something to distract myself with. But I don't to run away anymore and I-" I was interrupted by my cell phone ringing. It was Taylor from inside of the house. I decided to put him on speaker.
"Hello?" I asked.
"Hey, if you have a few minutes I need you to help me with a few things upstairs before the FBI gets here." he said.
The way his comment was worded it was like he was giving me a choice. One choice led to me telling Kari the rest of what I had to say, and the other led to me losing my nerve and not saying anything. I could either tell her how I felt and live with the uncertainty of my future or I could say nothing and go back to my old life where I was alone but comfortable with my surroundings. I glanced at Kari, and she was looking at me as if she were waiting for an answer. She couldn't possibly know what this was really about, could she?
"Sure, I'll be up there in a moment." I replied, hanging up the phone. And then I turned to Kari. "It will go a lot faster with three people, what do you say?"
"Sure, I can help."
And just like that, I had decided my future. I instantly felt a tinge of regret, but I knew that it would be like that no matter how I decided. It was one of those decisions where I might never know if I made the right choice. And by the time I did, it would be far too late to change my mind.
The two of us walked upstairs, Kari leading the way. It probably took only a few seconds to make it to the second floor, but in my mind the trip lasted an eternity. There were a few family photos of the people that were selling the house still on the wall. Of all the things I would see on my way up to help Taylor, it was a few pictures with a mother, father, and their two kids at different points in time. One of the photos was a wedding picture with just the two of them
Was Marty right? Was I just a man that was obsessed with solving puzzles? Someone who used that to distract myself from everything else in life? Maybe I was. Maybe I just spent the last week trying to find out who this 'Vigilante Killer' was because I just had to know. Maybe I'll always be like that. But this past year I proved I was capable of being friends with other people, and perhaps even more than that.
There was only one open door that led to a recreation room on the second floor. On the other side of the room was a sliding door that was open which led to a large deck that had been built on the back of their house. I knew that's where Taylor needed us to be, so I went outside. It was dark out, but the nearly full moon gave us enough light to see out here. It was very quiet out here, and it was dark enough to see a few stars in the sky.
"Mike, I don't see Taylor. Where do you think he went?" Kari asked.
"I'm sure he'll meet back up with us soon." I said. Of course I knew he wasn't going to be up here. I just had to wait for the final signal and everything would be ready.
"And what is that sound? It sounds like… Bon Jovi? Where is that music coming from?" she wondered.
And that was my cue to start talking.
Taylor didn't call me up here because he wanted help. I decided if I were to tell her something as important as this, that it shouldn't be done in front of some stranger's doorway. I wanted a spot with a nice view, some background music perhaps. Fortunately this family had a stereo system rigged with speakers on the deck. Ok, maybe we were in a stranger's backyard but this would be fine considering the options I had.
"That was the song we danced to at our class reunion." I stated. "Except… I didn't know how to dance at the time. Fortunately I had a good teacher to show me the ropes."
"Yeah." she answered. She was not sure where the conversation was going it sounded like.
It's one thing to think about what you want to say, but when the moment arrives and you actually have to talk… that's a whole new level of anxiety. And what makes it even tougher is that I had no clue how she would react to what I was going to say. I was so nervous. I got so nervous that I forgot what I wanted to tell her specifically. But it was too late to back out now so I just had to start talking.
"I didn't want a friend back then. I was used to living my life on my own, watching out for myself. And then you come along and suddenly we're hanging out every few nights doing things I haven't done in a long time. So I guess you grew on me pretty fast." I said.
She still gave me a blank look like she didn't know what I was talking about.
"And a few months ago when we were out late and you got drunk and said you had feelings for me. The next day you asked why I was so afraid of being in a relationship with someone. I told you that I was afraid things would end badly, because that's how life always is." I said. "Maybe it's still true. Part of me still believes that no matter how hard you try, there is never such a thing as a happy ending. But then there's another part of me that just doesn't want this to end."
I glanced up to see if she was going to respond and… nothing. I thought that she would have said something by now. Was it shock that kept her silent? Or maybe she was trying to figure out how to let me down easily. Maybe this dream job of hers was something that was bigger than anything she could possibly want here. Maybe she thought I was saying all of this just because I didn't want her to take that job. There was a gap when nothing was being said that seemed to last forever, but in reality only was a few seconds. But that few seconds was more than I could handle so I just kept rambling on and on.
"I don't know if you think that I'm just admitting all of this now because I don't want you to go. It is true that I don't want you to leave… but I'm not trying to trick you into staying here by lying to you… maybe you don't believe me, and I don't know how to get across to you that I'm not lying… all I know is that I love you and I *mmmphh*-"
She leaned over to me, took her hand and put it on the side of my face and planted a soft, deep kiss on my lips. It made my body freeze as my lips went numb with shock. My mind raced, my heart started beating faster and I found myself unable to think. So I just let it happen. I decided for once in my life I would just go with the flow and live in the moment.
In hindsight I must've looked stupid. My usual reaction to a sudden emotional change is to just stop thinking and stop moving. She probably
could've pushed me over ever so slightly and I would've fallen to the ground. If it wasn't for that reflex I don't even know how I would've reacted. I imagined that I could have jumped off that deck and fallen a dozen feet to the ground below and I still wouldn't have cared.
"Damnit I broke him." she said after almost a minute had passed since I last spoke. That joke snapped me back into reality.
"I… I… uh… well I forgot what I was going to say."
"Well, whatever it was, the answer is yes." she replied, embracing me once again in her arms.
"So… just to be clear, we're dating now?" I asked.
"Yes." she said and for once I was the one to make her burst out in a fit of laughter.
"Just making sure."
I probably should've gotten the hint from the kiss, but her confirming what it meant made me sigh with relief. I was so worried that she might say no. That she really wanted to take this job. But I guess she decided that now that I was finally okay with the two of us being together, she could just find a job here. And I made a mental note to myself that I should never giver her any reason to regret her decision.
"So I guess I'm out of a job again, aren't I?" she made the comment.
"Actually, I might be able to help you with that… if you are interested." I said.
"Ok, you have my attention."
I didn't say anything immediately, but I took at my cell phone and sent a text to Taylor telling him he could come out here. And he brought someone else to our little meeting as well. Eric and Taylor made themselves visible outside. Eric was the person I had called from my phone awhile ago.
"Kari, I don't know if you've met Eric Campos before. He owns a small private detective business and he had been helping me out the past couple of days." I said.
"Nice to meet you." Kari extended her hand so that they could formally shake hands.
"Nice to meet you as well." Eric said. "So here's the deal. A few days ago, I offered Mike a job to work with me solving cases, similar to what he was doing with former Chief Taylor over here. Having two people around to solve cases would certainly be better than just me."
