Mud Season
Chapter 18
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By late
afternoon things had settled down. The morning had been a bear, but now
everyone who needed to be in
Things were a
mess when I first got to
I could see the strain on everyone the moment I saw them: Dana and Elenora first, then the Glovers, the co-workers, and the police I was introduced to. I had to deal with the police first, but I didn’t have anything to offer other than what my father said we could provide. Just that seemed to make them relax a little. It took me until much later to realize that they had felt pretty helpless because of budget constraints, and the knowledge that there was money they could spend on their investigation gave them some relief.
Dana was
holding up, as was Elenora, but I could tell that they were both terrified that
something else might happen, and the whole town of
There was no explanation for Russell, none at all. His wallet was still in his pocket with a few dollars in it; his watch was on his wrist. He had been beaten for some very personal reason or for no reason at all, and nobody could even come up with speculation.
My duty was to take care of his family, and I dreaded facing them. At the same time I felt good that I could provide for them in material ways. I still didn’t know what to expect when Dana led me upstairs, where they were talking to the State trooper from the next apartment.
Dana led me into his kitchen, where they were seated at the table with various mugs and cups. I’d met the mister, so I walked up with my hand out. “I’m Paul, if you don’t remember. I’m really sorry about what happened. Will you introduce me?”
The man stood and said, “Oh yes. This is my wife Kait, and the little one over there is Ian. Do you have any news?”
I looked
around feeling weak and mumbled, “The last thing I heard is that there’s
hope. I don’t know how caught up you are with what’s going on.
Russell is on his way to
Mr. Glover pointed at me and said, “Paul, we can’t pay for this kind of treatment. We just have the basic Medicaid for the kids.”
I said,
“Please. It’s covered, okay? Every dime.”
I thought quickly, “When Dad bought this place he wanted it to be first class
all the way, and that includes medical, door-to-door, for the employees.
No limits, no deductibles, no co-pays; it’s all covered. We can’t have
Russ in
I sat down and waved Darius in. “Let’s talk about logistics.”
It took about
ten minutes to come up with a plan of action. We’d get a plane to come
into
Tom and I were going to Boston with the Glovers, mostly so they would be with someone familiar with the city. When I learned the Glovers didn’t have a cell phone, I had the security people arrange to have three delivered to my mother’s address.
After people started moving, I hung back with the trooper in charge and asked, “Is someone taking care of things for the woman who was shot?”
He looked at
me like he wondered about something, and then shrugged, “The boy is with her
brother’s family for now. Her parents and sister are driving over from
I stood there for a moment trying to think what I should say, and finally came up with “Thanks for giving me a minute. I just wanted to say, if that girl’s family needs help, and I mean help with anything at all – paying for the funeral, getting in touch with people, putting them up, just have them talk to my father. He’ll be back here tonight.”
I held my hand out and we shook hands, and I left saying, “Good luck with the investigation. There can’t be many people who could do something like this.”
When I left
the room, I stood still for a moment and took a deep breath, and I exhaled
slowly so it puffed out my cheeks. I’d been moving too fast, thinking too
fast, and I was exhausting myself. The Glovers had gone ahead, and Darius
was waiting to take me to the airport. I stopped downstairs and got a hug
from Elenora and another from Dana, and I think we all needed them. I
told them I’d call when we were situated in
I let that
sink in, and Dana’s words made me feel some pride. It was the first time
in my life when people counted on me for something that was actually important,
and I didn’t trip all over myself trying. What I wanted was simple
enough: the best care for Russ, and for his family to be there with him.
It was made easy by the fact that I didn’t have to stand outside with a jar
asking for donations. I don’t know the mechanics of it, but I was sure
that a large blob of cash was about to land somewhere in
Tom had gone
in to use the bathroom, and as soon as he came out we said goodbye to Dana and
hopped into the Jeep with Darius. We slowed down when we came on some
police working off the side of the road, and it was apparent that it was the
spot where Russell had been attacked. It was painfully close to his house
and I looked away, wondering about what exactly had gotten into someone’s head
to do a thing like that. When we got to the little airport in
The pilot came out to meet us, and apologized that the short notice meant there were no snacks on board, but there were some cans of beer and soda in the refrigerator. The plane was just a little Lear Jet in sleek white with gold-painted engines. We followed Mr. Glover on, and he managed pretty well using both railings. He didn’t waste any time. The inside looked a lot like a car. The seats were black leather, the carpet was dark charcoal, the ceiling and overhead parts were a lighter charcoal, and there was a lot of chrome trim.
We got the Glovers situated in the front four seats, which were two and two facing each other with small tables in-between. The rest of the seats were laid out like a car, with seats on each side facing forward.
When Ian got a glimpse of the cockpit he gasped. “Wow! Can I sit up there?”
The pilot
smiled back at him and said, “When we’re in the air I’ll come get you.
We’ll need your help finding this
In a minute,
the co-pilot came through to check our seatbelts and make sure the cabin was
secure while the pilot ran up the engines. His voice came over the
speakers saying, “Okay folks, we’re cleared for takeoff. This flight will
take about an hour. We’ll head east over
By then we were bumping out toward the runway, and once there the pilot spun the engines up to takeoff velocity, said, “Here we go,” and we hurtled down the runway and into the air.
Takeoffs always thrilled me, but I noticed Tom looked more panicked than thrilled, and when the plane leveled off and quieted down I said, “You’ve flown before. What’s wrong?”
Tom relaxed his grip on his seat and looked at me. “Nothing’s wrong. I just never flew in a closet before, that’s all.”
“You didn’t wet your pants, did you?”
Tom glared, “No, I didn’t wet my pants. I bet this thing doesn’t even have a toilet.”
“Not indoors,” I agreed. “Come on, Tom. This is a nice plane. It cost more then the sum of all my good haircuts.”
Tom sulked, “Very funny: a one-penny airplane with an outhouse. To think I was going to say something nice to you. Well I might still, but not soon.”
I settled into my seat and said, “Would you mind seeing if the Glovers are okay? I need a nap.”
I did need a
nap, and I didn’t come to until I sensed the plane dropping out of its
cruise. Everything was whisper quiet then, and I had to pop my ears a few
times, and spend a few seconds getting my bearings. The first thing I saw
was young Ian walking back from the cabin with a grin from ear to ear. I
leaned out and asked, “Did you find
He grinned even more, “Yeah. They couldn’t find it so I kept showing them. I think I’ll be a pilot.”
I smiled, “Be a good one. You better buckle up now.”
I had the idle
thought that I’d go splash some water on my face, but a glance out the window
told me it was far too late for that, and we touched down a few minutes
later. It was gloomy in
There was a van waiting for us, and we were off to my mother’s in just a few minutes. Traffic was tough due to the time of day and the rain, but I kept giving the driver go-rounds and we made it pretty quickly. One thing I didn’t have with me was the key to the house, but Mom made a record sprint to the door when I rang the bell, and we kind of squeezed in for our welcome to get out of the drizzle.
I left the Glovers in my mother’s good hands, and tugged Tom and Darius off to the side. “This is where you guys get a break. Mom will take care of things until it’s time to go, so follow me. I led them down a corridor that led past what were once rooms for the help and the cooks. There was a big kitchen in the back with stairs up to the modern kitchen on the next level, and we went through rooms to the main stairs to the third floor.
As I knew it would be, my room and the rooms on either side were open and the lights were on. There was a packed bag on my bed, and Tom claimed the suitcase on the floor as his own. The rooms weren’t big, but they each had tiny bathrooms with just shower stalls, toilets and sinks, and they adjoined through my room and a shared iron balcony in back. The furniture was fussy antiques, but the beds were modern and comfortable. We wouldn’t be there much anyhow.
I dropped my bag and said, “I’m taking a shower. If there’s any hurry-up Mom will let us know. I’m guessing, but they’ll probably want to take the Glovers to see Russ first, meet the doctors, and then go from there. They might want me to look after Ian, but Ally might want him on her lap all night. Anyhow, it takes Mom at least a half hour to say hello, so we have that long. Pick a room. I stink.”
I don’t know if I stunk or not, but I felt good after a quick shower and some toothpaste. Nerves do make me stink, and I realized that when I was pulling on clean underwear. There was the smell of fear and panic in what I’d just taken off, and my day had been pretty much the fear and panic that was the source of the odor.
I was calm
now. Not less worried, because I did fear for Russ, and I felt horrible
for the young mother who had been so callously murdered, and I worried for
With all of
that, clean clothes, a somewhat ridiculous bedroom, and a day of worry behind
me allowed me some calm. It was a fragile calm for sure, because I had no
news on Russ or on the criminal in
Right then, I had to learn the plan and how we fit into it. When Tom and Darius showed up clean and comfortable looking, we walked down to the main level where Mom and Ally were in the den. They turned when we came in and I asked, “What’s going on? Are we supposed to go to the hospital or what?”
Ally said, “Please, Paul. We’ll take Russell’s parents to see him and to sit with the medical team. It will be wonderful if you can take care of Ian tonight. He’s just too young, and this won’t be a pleasant scene. They think Russell is out of danger, but he does have very serious injuries. It will be difficult enough for the Glovers to learn what Russ will be facing in the next months. It’s certainly not suitable for a ten-year-old. Try to show him a good time in your old haunts, and we’ll slip him in to see his brother another time when he’s not surrounded by physicians.”
I said, “Okay, I don’t mind,” and patted my pocket where I usually carried money when I had some.
Ally got it and said, “Oh, there’s an envelope for you beside the toaster.” She smiled, “It just came today.”
I asked, “Where’s Ian now?”
Ally shrugged, “He’ll be down, and we’ll find you. We’re leaving shortly.”
She went out,
and I sat down, followed by Darius and Tom. “You heard. What do you
like for dinner?
Tom said, “I’ve heard of Legal Seafood.”
I rolled my eyes and said, “You need better friends. There are good seafood places around. There’s also Italian, Portuguese, Indian, Chinese, steak joints, sushi if you want to go without me. You name it, but please don’t ask me to go to a tourist trap.”
Darius looked at me, a small smile on his face. “Why don’t you just tell us where we’re going?”
“I want you to choose,” I complained, “But if you want good fish and don’t mind a short ride you won’t do better than Skipjack’s.”
Darius slapped Tom’s back and said, “Oh yeah! Skipjack’s, of course. Why didn’t we think of that?”
Ten minutes
later, with three hundred bucks in my pocket and Ian’s little hand in mine we
hailed a cab to
He was good,
too. He was a rough looking man with a trace of Irish in his accent, but
he was entertaining and, in the space of about a half hour had taken us past
the Gardens and the Common, around Government Center, past the aquarium and Faneuil Hall, down through Southie
and out to the JFK Library, and back up past Fenway
Park, the Pru and the Christian Science Center.
Along the way we’d seen a trolley tour and a Duck Boat Tour, and they both had
Ian excited. Tom was wired because the Mariners were in town and he
wondered if we could get tickets to a game, and Darius seemed interested in
everything. There was a lot more to
When we got inside, the restaurant was already busy, but we were brought to a table right away. Ian had complained that he didn’t like fish, and I promised they had other things, which I hoped was true.
The place is
an old-line
When it was time to order I asked for a half-dozen raw oysters and the fried oyster plate. Tom and Darius both ordered lobsters, and when the waitress got around to Ian I suggested fried mozzarella for an appetizer, and with a huge wink ordered a plate of oyster McNuggets. Her return wink told me she understood, and we managed some normal conversation and jokes while we waited.
Ian wanted to know if we could ride a trolley and a duck boat while Tom asked if I thought we could get tickets to a Red Sox game. He was a fan, and had never been to a game in person. Darius seemed most interested in the JFK Library. I knew, and I told them, that everything was doable, but everything depended on Russ, and whatever we did we might have to leave on very short notice.
I wasn’t
trying to steer the conversation in any particular direction, but everyone with
me was new to
Darius was
asking about how easy it was to reach the various famous places, and I assured
him that
Our appetizers came along with half a dozen pan-seared scallops compliments of the chef. Darius and Tom both had clam chowder, while I had my fresh oysters and Ian munched on his mozzarella sticks. He tried a scallop not really knowing what it was, and liked it enough to take a second one.
The meals were good, and I had to slow Ian down a few times, afraid that he’d eat too fast and get sick on the fried food. He ate the same portion of oysters that I had, trying them in turn with tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, and the ketchup that was intended for his fries. Tom’s lobster was baked and stuffed, and it actually looked good. The stuffing had some golden coating that was probably panko, but it made the stuffing look edible by masking the look of congealed vomit that usually turns me off to seafood stuffing. Darius had a plain boiled lobster that he pronounced wonderful after picking it to bits.
Nobody was hungry for dessert, but there was pumpkin cheesecake on the menu so I ordered a whole one to take back to the house. That’s one of Ally’s favorite things.
I paid the bill, and when we got to the exit it was raining steadily outside. There was a canopy, but the doorman told us he could get us a cab while we waited inside, and Darius said, “Please.”
It only took a moment before a car was waiting, and the same guy brought us out under a giant umbrella. I handed him a tip and gave the driver the address as I slipped into the car. He said, “Not a good night to forget the umbrella.”
I said, “For sure. We’re here on short notice and probably forgot a lot of things. We’ll make do.”
When we got to the house and the driver saw the place he said, “I have an umbrella. Hold on, I can get you to the stoop.” He got out and came around to the side where he took us to the covered alcove one at a time. I gave him twenty bucks for a four dollar and something fare, and hoped it was the kind of tip he expected at such an address.
My mother had given me a key, so we went in and used the grand staircase to go upstairs. I felt in a bit of a hurry because I hadn’t had a call from anyone, nor had Darius. I left Tom and Ian to look at all the things on the walls and went directly up myself. There was a table at the top, and the box from AT&T was there with the phones, so I picked that up and went into the kitchen. There were no notes around, and I didn’t want to call Mom or Ally at the hospital, so I tried my father’s phone.
Thankfully, he answered. “Hi, Paul. I was hoping you’d call. Have you heard anything?”
“No. I thought you would have. Where are you?”
“We’re about
an hour from
“No problem at all. I did some things you should know about. Not a big deal really, but I might have spent some money. Want to hear it?”
Dad chuckled, “Only if you think it will surprise me.”
“Well, one thing might. I told the cop who rents the apartment that we’d help the family of the girl who was killed if they need it – you know, funeral expenses and things like that. He didn’t make it sound like they needed it, but I made the offer, and to help with the little boy if it’s necessary.”
“That’s good, Paul. I should have thought of it myself. Where are you now?”
“We’re at Mom’s. We just came back from dinner and they’re not here. They’re probably at the hospital, and I don’t want to call there until I know what it’s like.”
Dad said, “I wouldn’t either. How are the Glovers doing?”
“Holding up, I think. It was kind of rush-rush this afternoon, and the news when we got here was that Russ was stable. They headed off to the hospital when we left to eat. Ian’s here with us. That’s about all I know right now. Have you talked to Elenora?”
“Several times. They’ve closed up and are staying home with the doors locked. They’re tired like the rest of us. She said the police have been going door-to-door looking for someone who saw anything. That doesn’t seem too hopeful, but people are remembering every stranger they’ve seen around for the last ten years. They have tents over both scenes to protect anything they might have missed, and our security group is sending some people up in the morning with equipment the police don’t have. Heinrich has his own theory, but I think by now everyone does. Are you doing alright? You were kind of sucked into this.”
I said, “I was surprised into it. If it ends, I’ll tell you about Shea’s party last night.”
Dad sounded surprised, “Shea Luellen had a party?”
“Well, yeah. Why not?”
“No reason, I guess. You get some rest. You’re job is to look after the Glovers, not fight crime. The hospital has counselors, and if you see the need you get the Glovers in front of them. Otherwise make sure they eat, sleep, and get a little exercise. I have almost an hour left and I want to close my eyes. Let’s talk in the morning if nothing changes.”
I wished my
father a good nap and hung up. Then I tackled the box from
AT&T. There were three simple phones inside, which we had
requested. They were Samsung clamshells in boxes that had been opened,
and there was a sticker on each box with the phone’s number. I was a
little distressed to see 857 area codes instead of
I looked at Tom and said, “There’s a note that says the battery is charged, but make sure you show him how to check and to recharge it. The phone number’s on the box.”
Ian had the box opened and the contents all over the place already, and was thrilled to have his own phone. He had it open and turned on in a minute, the phone to his ear, and he said, “There’s no dial tone.”
I said, “No. Close the phone and I’ll show you something.” He did, and I dialed the number on the box from my own phone and his phone rang. “Open it and say hello,” I instructed. “Now you can hear me, right?”
Ian nodded and said, “Yes. What do I do now?”
I said, “If you weren’t right in front of me, we’d talk, and you close the phone to hang up. Tom’s going to show you how to put my number in your own phone book, and I’ll put your number in mine. You’ll figure it out. Tomorrow we’ll show you how to take pictures and send them to people, and you can show your parents how to do everything.” I looked at him and asked, “Do you remember where you’re sleeping?”
Ian nodded, “Upstairs.”
Well, that narrowed it down. There were six bedrooms on the top floor. Darius, Tom and I had three of them. I smiled at Tom, “You don’t mind, do you?” I asked, holding up all the cell phones. “Mark these Glover, Mr., Glover, Mrs., and Glover, Ian. Make sure Ian gets to sleep, and come back down for cheesecake. I’m going to start a pot of coffee.”
Tom nodded; I put the cheesecake in the refrigerator, and looked at Darius, who’d been sitting there. I asked, “Don’t you want to check in or something? I think we’re good here now. It’s time to unwind.”
Darius smiled at me, a bright and friendly smile, and I asked, “What?”
He kept
smiling, “I told you I spoke to Hector when you were coming home to
“I’m just …” I started, and Darius held up his hand.
“Let me finish that. You’re doing what most people wouldn’t. Believe me, I’ve worked with other rich families and most wouldn’t do anything special for Russell Glover in a situation like this. Oh, they’d send a big bunch of flowers to the hospital, a bigger bunch if there’s a funeral, and they’d say all kinds of nice things.” Darius shook his head and took a breath, “Nobody else that I know, or even heard of, would put their arms around a kid like Russell and own the problem, every bit of it, like you and your family have. I saw you come up with an impossible insurance policy on the spot today, and saw the relief on the Glovers’ faces when you said it, and now they’re living it.” He sat back a little and said, “You know, an exciting day for me is usually disproving threats to someone’s security, but today was somehow my best day yet. And yes,” he smiled, “I do have to check in. I’ll be in the next room; let me know when the coffee’s ready.”
I eyed Mom’s espresso maker and said, “You’ll smell it. You’ll hear it too if it explodes.” I decided on the Mr. Coffee instead, because I knew how to work that one. Mom often had exotic coffees, but there were two packages of Dunkin’ Donuts in the cabinet so I started twelve cups of that and sat back to relax.
I called Lisa and she sounded happy to hear from me. She answered with, “Please tell me you have good news.”
I sighed, “I
wish I could, but we don’t know much yet. They moved Russ to
Lisa said, “I do, but it can wait. We watched the news and there was a murder, too. It sounds like some kind of nut is loose there.”
“It’s crazy. There’s nothing to connect the shooting to the attack on Russ except that those things don’t happen there. I think everyone’s connecting them anyhow, maybe for their own sanity. If they’re not connected, then there would be two nuts out there.”
“And there could be,” Lisa said.
I sat back and said, “I don’t want to speculate. There’s a bad person there, and I think science will say if there’s two. That lady got shot for a few bucks, and Russ is all mangled for no reason at all.”
“How is Russ?” Lisa asked hesitantly.
“I don’t know;
I really don’t. I’m guessing that he’s still alive because I haven’t
heard different, and the doctor said earlier that there was hope … that he’s
stable. That’s all I know. My mother and Ally took his parents to
see him when we got here, and I haven’t heard a thing. I don’t want to
call there, either, so I’ll find out when I find out.” I took a breath
and held it, then let it out slowly. “Tell me some good news. How
is
Lisa giggled, “Are you asking about the survivors, or the people who won’t wake up until tomorrow? I think everyone had a wicked good time. I know I did!”
I said, “Tom’s here with me, you know.”
“I know, and that’s good. I’m glad he could go. I know it’s early, but why don’t you try to get some sleep?”
“I will,” I said. “Right now I’m making coffee and I’ll wait for Mom and them to get home. I’ll call later if there’s news, otherwise tomorrow, okay? I want to call Dana and tell him what’s going on here.”
Lisa said, “Understood. I know you’re under stress, so I’ll send kisses to you all night long. Love you.”
I don’t know if it came out verbally, but my thought was, “Huh?” I thought I heard Lisa say she loved me, but she’d hung up.
It made me smile though, and the coffee was ready so I got some mugs from the cabinet, put the tray of sweeteners out and some cream into a pitcher, and poured myself a cup. I called to Darius and he said, “I smell it. I’ll be right there. I retrieved the cheesecake and wondered about cutting it up when Tom appeared.
I looked my question at him and he said, “The kid’s zonked, but in my bed. It’s okay; I can sleep on a couch or something. How ‘bout some coffee?”
“Help yourself,” I said. “Cheesecake?”
“Oh yeah!”
I started cutting up the cheesecake and asked, “Are all the phones working?”
Tom was fixing his coffee and replied, “Sort of. If I can use your phone and a computer tomorrow, I can copy your book to disk and you can upload the numbers they need to their phones, and they can add whatever numbers they want.”
I slid a piece of cheesecake over to Tom and another to the place where Darius would sit, and kept one for myself. I could still hear Darius on the phone in the other room, so I took my first bite of the cheesecake and really savored the creamy sweetness. The coffee had come out nice and strong, and the combination was really satisfying.
Darius was still on the phone when I heard people coming in downstairs, so Tom and I ran down to see if they needed any help. We ended up taking their coats and hanging them up while they headed upstairs for coffee and cheesecake. I was glad I’d bought that cake because they’d had a dinner of vending machine sandwiches at the hospital.
They all looked pretty ragged, so I was surprised that they were willing to give us a detailed description of Russell’s injuries. Starting with his head, he had a moderate concussion, a broken eye socket and a fractured jawbone with some related dental damage. There was no apparent damage to his eye, and the diagnostics they’d done so far didn’t indicate any brain damage other than the concussion, which sounded like a bruise.
His collarbone was broken, his left elbow was badly broken, and he had two cracked ribs, and possibly some testicular damage. The rest consisted of multiple class two and class three contusions, abrasions, cuts and scratches, but no damage to his internal organs.
Mr. Glover said, after downing a bite of cheesecake, “Russ will live, but he’s gonna be one sore pup for a long time.” He smiled, yet tears suddenly spilled from his eyes. He put his elbows on the table and covered his face with his hands and wept openly. His wife leaned over and pulled him into a hug while I ran to the bathroom for a box of tissues. When I got back Ally was giving him a massage that would relax a wooden Indian, and Darius was speaking quietly. I put the tissues in reach and backed out of the room. Tom followed me.
I felt stifled and asked, “How about a little walk around?”
Tom nodded, and I got Darius’ attention. He came to us and I said, “We want to go out for some air. Is that okay?”
Darius nodded, “We have a man out there. I’ll let him know. Are you going right now?”
I nodded, and Darius said, “He’ll have to wait for backup, so go wash the cheesecake off your face before you leave, okay?”
I chuckled and
headed to the bathroom, and I did have a bit of goop in the corner of my mouth,
so I washed my hands and face and took my time drying my hands. Tom went
in when I came out, so it was several minutes more before we made our way
downstairs. I got our jackets from the closet, made sure I still had the
key, and we stepped down to the sidewalk, turned left, then right at the next
corner, and left onto Beacon Street. It was a perfect night for walking
the old parts of
Tom was quiet, and when I glanced at him he was appreciating where he was. It wasn’t far, so I asked, “Want to see where it started?”
“What started?” he asked.
“The
revolution, at least the revolution of legend. You’re actually walking
through it right now. There were hundreds of conspirators, and these are
the houses they lived in. Simplified history says it started with Paul
Revere and lanterns in the
Tom was
agreeable to that, so we started zigging and zagging our way over to the Paul
Revere house. The house, even in daylight, isn’t imposing, and is quite
small by modern standards. The front door opens immediately onto the
sidewalk without a stoop or porch of any kind. Still, the house is famed
for the man who owned it, and not for its architectural brilliance. It
was actually enlarged once after the
I told Tom,
“This house was built in 1680. It’s one of the oldest places in
town. The
Tom smiled at
the simple door to the
“A lot,” I
said. “For one, Paul Revere didn’t ride alone; a few other riders went
out by different routes in case some got arrested or even lost. This was
kind of hill country back then. And
“What’s it matter?” Tom asked.
I shrugged, “I
guess it doesn’t, really, but it dumbs people down. You get people who
mistake flag-waving for patriotism, and all this name calling they call
politics lately. There’s a group going around now wanting to fly the
Tom put his hand on my shoulder and his face close to mine and said conspiratorially, “Don’t forget the Queen. That would put the talk-heads off on a toot for ten years, so we’d have to leave it to Springsteen to make it sound good in two or three minutes.”
I
laughed. “That’s good! God Save the Queen in the
Tom snickered, “I don’t think they’re elected, but if I was appointed I wouldn’t turn it down. You get a ton of money and get invited to all the best parties, and you really don’t have to do anything.”
We were
approaching the church and I said, “Here it is – the
Tom smiled and said, “I’m getting cold.”
I said, “Let’s walk, then,” and set off at a brisk pace on a different route back home. “We can get a bus if you want. They stop at the next street.”
“I’m okay,” Tom said, and a familiar sign was coming up on the right. I’m not nuts about Starbucks, but it was right there.
“Let’s get a coffee. We can warm up inside or bring it with us.”
We turned into the shop, which was busy enough, but not really crowded. I told Tom to order what he wanted, which turned out to be one of their ten-word concoctions, and I felt like I was cheating when I asked for a regular coffee, cream on the side.
My mother’s espresso machine will make anything Starbucks can, and not half as awful, but there is nothing about their flavor combinations or their brutal treatment of coffee that turns me on, and a sip of their regular coffee didn’t taste as good as what I’d just made at home.
The warmth did feel good, though, and I stood there with Tom for a few minutes while we warmed up, and we took our coffees with us when we left. The streets had pretty much dried up, the temperature had dropped, and the magic had left the neighborhood.
The gas lamps were still on, and I was walking funny to make spooky shadows ahead of us. It was just Tom’s and mine until we were on my mother’s block, and there was suddenly a third shadow. I didn’t say anything and I didn’t panic, but I doubled my pace and tugged Tom along, and finally turned when we were at the doorstep. I turned and yelled, “Goddammit, what?” to the shadowy figure there.
He stepped into the light with his security company badge out and said, “I’m sorry, I really am. I was blocked by a crowd coming out of a restaurant back there and had to hurry to catch up. It’s my fault. I apologize.”
My heart was pounding, but I managed a grin. “You could say boo or something, you know. I mean, you’re on our side. Save the stealth for the bad guys will ya?”
He smiled, “I’ve been taught that when people I’m covering know I’m there they give me away.”
I smiled back, “I’ve been taught to not do that. What’s your name?”
“I’m Dave.”
“I’m Paul, and
this is Tom. I’m sure you know that. Is it okay if we don’t play
any more games? I had this guy in
Dave grinned, “Hector Torres? I’ve heard about him.”
I said, “Yup,
Hector. We’re going in now, and I don’t think we’ll be back out so you
can go do what you do. If you’re on our case tomorrow, just walk with us,
or whatever we do. I think I’ll be showing some
Dave smiled and nodded, and I went inside with Tom. We put our jackets away, took turns using the foyer toilet, and went up the stairs slowly so I could point out some of Mom’s art collection to Tom. I didn’t think he’d care much, but he did, and he stopped dead at the little Vermeer that I liked so much. He looked at it from a lot of angles and said, “Now, that’s good. I really like it.”
I beamed, “It’s my favorite, too. I always stop to look at it, and when you see it in the daylight it’s a whole different picture.”
There were still voices upstairs, and we followed them to Ally’s den, which was a little less formal than most of the rooms. It was cheery during the day, with a big window that faced south, and lit at night to be a different kind of cheery: a happy space. My mother and Ally were together on a little settee, and the Glovers were side-by-side in plump armchairs. There were two padded side chairs left, so Tom and I headed toward those.
Mr. Glover stood, so I went closer to shake his hand, and he started to apologize. I said, “Please, just sit. You don’t have to apologize to me for anything. This must have been one of the worst days of your life. I think we all cried today, and we did because we’re human. Is there any news about Russ?”
My mother said, “There’s something of a schedule. They want to fix his face bone first to protect his eye, and wire the jaw at the same time so movement won’t cause further damage. They have him out on drugs and will do this scan and that scan overnight so they can operate in the morning.” She sniffed, “They make it all sound so routine and simple.”
Tom said softly, “It probably is if this is what they do all the time. What about the concussion?”
Mrs. Glover responded, “That will only heal with rest, and they said keeping him warm. They’ll know better when he can get around a little.”
I asked, “Is
there any news from
Ally looked shocked, “Oh God, yes! Go find Darius; he can give you the latest.”
I asked,
“You’re okay here?” thinking immediately that it was a dumb question.
They were in a cozy room in one of
I left pretty meekly, followed by Tommy, and found Darius in the kitchen, on the phone and making notes. When he saw us he shook his head, and I took that to mean he’d be a long time on his call. I went into the living room and took out my cell phone. I didn’t really want to call my father, expecting he was in the middle of something, so I called Dana, and pressed ‘speaker’ the second it started to ring so Tom could hear.
Dana came on, “Paul? Did you hear?”
My heart rate went up just with Dana’s tone of voice. “I heard something, not what.”
Dana’s voice
sounded way out of character, like he was both excited and frightened.
“There was another shooting. This place is crawling with police, I
think every cop from
“Okay,” he finally said. “A lady up north on 100 was taking her laundry off the line after dinner. Her kids were out playing, and she saw a guy along the wood line. He pulled up a shotgun and aimed at her kids, and she jumped in the way and it was her that got shot. It was a shotgun that killed that lady yesterday, but she was shot real close up, like ten feet. Today it was eighty or a hundred feet so the mother only got some holes in her, but now they have some idea about who did it. Not who, but it was a man, and they know about size and shape or whatever it is, and what he was wearing. I’m so freaking nervous I don’t know what to do. This is a lunatic. I mean, who would shoot at little kids? Why not just shoot in windows?”
I asked, “Is Dad there?”
“Yeah, he’s back.”
“You sound calmer already. If Dad’s there, you know people smarter than some madman with a shotgun are there too. I know it must be awful, but call Gretchen or something and take your mind off it.”
Dana was silent for a long moment, then breathed, “You’re right. Russ is okay?”
I sad, “I think Russ is a mess right now, but he will be okay. It won’t be some overnight miracle, but it sounds like he’ll heal up. Don’t expect quick.”
Dana said
dejectedly, “It’s not even
I grinned at Tom as I said, “Surprises are only surprises when you don’t expect them. I think you have enough news for a wake-up call, even if it’s not good news.”
Dana sounded a
little more cheerful when he said, “One day I’ll have a
“Bye Dana. Say hi to Gretchen.”
Dana made a noise and hung up. I looked at Tom and asked, “Did you catch that?”
“It was a cough, Paul. He coughed.”
I looked at the wall and said, “I think I’m spooked. If you’re tired, let’s find you a place to sleep.”
We walked upstairs and opened doors until we found a vacant bedroom, and Tom went to get his things. I thought about school. I wasn’t worried about missing the last few days because they were a waste to begin with, but I decided to call Ms. Warren the next day, mainly because I had her number, and tell her why Tom and I would be out, and to ask her if she could get our report cards mailed home. I wasn’t that worried about our grades, either, but one time I got a D that should have been an A and if I hadn’t chased it down right away it would have stayed with me.
This room had
a television, so I turned it on. It was a shoe commercial at first,
followed by several others including vitamins and Hyundais.
Then there was a news desk and a serious looking guy saying, “A small town in
I was too stunned to be mad about being made to wait. Another murder, and a state trooper at that? That must have just happened since I talked to Dana, so it just happened. I had to think about the question of domestic terrorism, too. I would normally think that was just TV talk to get people to tune in, but could one person create all this madness and still be walking around?
Darius stuck
his face in the door and said, “There you are. There have been more
attacks in
My head felt cloudy and I said, “What makes you so sure I’ll be able to sleep? They killed a cop? That’s what the TV said.”
Darius nodded, “Yes, an ambush. Another shot was fired through a house window just a few minutes before. Nobody was hurt there, but the officer was responding. It was a planned ambush.”
God, to say I
was nervous would be comical. I was afraid, and not for me but for the
people in
“What about my father? What about Elenora and Dana? You’re getting them out of there?”
“As we speak,” Darius said. “They were leaving the premises when I came to find you.”
“Can I call them?” I asked, taking out my phone.
Darius said, “Sure. Good idea,” as I dialed Dana.
He answered right away and in a whisper. “Hi. You heard what’s going on?”
I got tears in my eyes, “I heard enough. I hope there’s no more.”
“I know,” Dana said. “I’ve never been so scared in my life. This makes no sense.”
Still tearful, I asked, “Do you know where you’re going?”
“Yeah, we’re going to the mountain house. These guys think it’s easy to defend, and there’s already a lot of security built in.”
“You’re
staying in
Dana said, “This is where we live, Paul. When this is over people are gonna need us here, not somewhere else. I saw what you did with the Glovers and we can do that here, too.” He was silent for a moment and came back with a calmer voice. “I used to think you were nuts, you know…I mean about the money and trying to get rid of it. Shit, I’m gonna cry. I see how you think now. It’s way too much for us, or even ten thousand usses.” He sniffed, “See? You have me making up words now. I always thought helping people with money meant buying them groceries or clothes or something, and I would still wonder about you if I thought that’s what you meant.”
I smiled, “Tell me what you think now; I want to know.”
“What I think now … well, I haven’t thought it in words really, but I think you see the money as ... as … as making people stronger. I saw you with Mr. Glover earlier when you gave him that shit about insurance, and I saw how it changed him. He went from lost to hopeful to … give me a word.”
“Empowered,” I said.
“Perfect,” Dana replied. “And Mr. Glover didn’t feel one cent richer in his pocket. He just knew he could do the best for his kid. That’s why I want to stay here, especially now. I really am scared by what’s going on, but I don’t want to run away, and I want to be here to help when it ends.”
“Doesn’t anybody have an idea who it is?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” came Dana’s answer. “They might be pointing fingers at me, but this isn’t picking apples without permission. There are drunks around, and a few people are always mad about something, but no. Whoever’s doing this is being mean, like going after the nicest people in town. I don’t know who the trooper was, but Lori never hurt anybody, and you know Russ … he’s just a real decent guy. He tried to shoot little kids, too, like he’s going after the least likely people. Nobody’s safe: nobody.”
I knew Dana was right. Whoever the bad guy was, he’d been able to move around town unnoticed and unchallenged. As long as he could get away with that, he could basically cause damage at will, or even at an unexpected opportunity.
I asked Dana, “Do you have any guesses? Could this guy come from somewhere else and know enough to get around?”
“I’m not sure what you mean. I’ll call you back. We’re at the house now.”
I hung up when he did, and pretty much stared at the floor, wondering what kind of disturbed mind was behind all this.
I’d forgotten Darius was there, and he said, “Paul?” gently.
I looked up and said, “Sorry. They just got to our house – the one on the mountain. Dana said your people said it’s easy to defend. I was just trying to think about who’s doing this. I mean there’s a reason, there has to be. Dana said cops are there from three states, and they’re all over the place, but this guy is like invisible to them. The TV said maybe domestic terrorism, but would it look like this?”
Darius shook his head. “My guess is a lone wolf: either someone with a grudge against the whole town, or someone who just snapped for some reason. Then again, it could be a one-man cult, or more than one person acting for a cult.” He looked at me and said, “I’m not a student of madness, but my guess is that this is someone who’s been out in the cold too long, like someone who never had friends and just lost a loved one, or even a job. They don’t use the word anymore, but a hundred years ago he’d be called a desperado: a lawless loner with no humanity left in him.”
I noticed the news was coming on, and turned the sound up just as Tom walked in.
What the newsmen were told had clearly been filtered to protect the victims and their families. A young woman had been murdered, a high school student attacked, a family attacked and the mother wounded, and a home fired on where the responding officer had been killed. No names were given, no ages, no conditions of the injured or information on where they were being treated. That was all good, but then the ‘experts’ came on and tried to dissect crimes they had no information on and made the usual fools of themselves.
Then they went off the deep end and interviewed a guy they called an authority on domestic terrorism and the guy, who spoke like a thug himself, went off on a tirade about this having all the earmarks of a terrorist attack, without mentioning a single specific earmark, and then speculating endlessly on why a quiet little village in Vermont should have been an obvious target. He didn’t say it, but he implied that he could have predicted this exact situation if someone had only bothered to ask him.
When they finally took a commercial break the three of us looked at each other and cracked up.
Darius asked, “That guy gets paid for this? Boy, I feel all safe now.”
Tommy and I laughed at the sheer ludicrousness of the guy. Tom pointed his finger in my face and said, “If I yell at youse, youse gotta know I’m right. You heard da man, yes? I is an authority!”
Tom’s imitation was pretty good, and we all laughed some more. And then my phone rang.
I was expecting Dana, but it was my father, who got right down to business. “Who’s with you right now, Paul?”
“Tom and Darius,” I said kind of dubiously.
“Okay, that’s fine. Wherever you are, close and lock the door, and put your phone on speaker.”
I put my finger in front of my mouth as a signal for Tommy and Darius to stay quiet, and got up to lock the door. I turned the speaker phone on and asked, “Can you hear me?”
A different voice than my father’s said, “Identify yourselves, please.”
I said, “Paul Dunn,” and Tom and Darius followed suit.
“Good. I’m
Captain Desaulniers of the Vermont State Police, in charge of the operation in
“This first part of the meeting is strictly informational. Unfortunately, we have little information to share. We did get a description of the shooter from Mrs. Lois France, who was shot today while protecting her children. It was from a distance of approximately thirty yards and is very vague, but she described a big man dressed in denim, or denim-colored clothing, with what she called a body-builder physique. She was unable to provide details as to hair or eye color, but did note that when he ran off there were no special characteristics like a limp, and she described his motion as limber.
“Next we have preliminary ballistics reports. The gun being used is a twelve gauge shotgun, most likely a single-barrel. This is the most common shotgun in use. The shells being used are commercial triple-ought buck, again the most common in use, and available anywhere from Wal-Mart to Cabela’s, and every shop in-between. There is nothing in the pellets recovered to indicate special packing or hand loading.
“We do have some thoughts on the perpetrator, and these are less than scientific. First, he seems to operate with great confidence and he strikes at will. He is either extremely familiar with the local landscape or highly trained to operate in any environment, or both. We have seventeen mobile units and thirty-five stationary personnel in a town of just under nine hundred people, and he manages to get around invisibly. We suspect that he’s on foot, but he could easily have a vehicle.”
I heard pages turning, while he said, “Let’s see. The most interruption to the surroundings was done at the site where the Glover boy was beaten. That area is roughly fifteen by twenty-five feet, and it’s very irregular, which suggests there was a struggle that went on for some period of time. We hope to have technicians with better equipment tomorrow for a closer look, but basic forensics hasn’t picked up so much as a shred of cloth or even a clear footprint. We do know that the perp exited through shrubbery into the churchyard next door, but the bits of blood found on leaves belonged to Mr. Glover. At that point, the tracks disappear, and a wider search hasn’t found tracks anywhere in a two hundred yard radius. The churchyard does have a gravel parking area and several slate walks, but our perp would have had to expose himself to many potential witnesses to have used those, and everyone with a window on the area has been interviewed.”
I looked at Tom and Darius, and they seemed as spellbound as I was.
The captain
went on. “The scene at the Texaco station where the young woman was shot
last night was almost sterile. The entire lot had been resurfaced last
year, and the station owner had scrubbed and hosed it down just eighteen days
ago to remove this season’s mud. I have heard rumors of a robbery, but
that doesn’t seem to be the case. The victim wore an apron where she kept
some change, and when that was added to the money in the till, well, the owner
doesn’t think he’s out anything. They don’t do an exact accounting
because the employees are allowed to accept payments when a customer is short a
few cents. The fact that she was shot outdoors gives a good indicator of
the time of death, because she would have gone out with the lights still on to
lock the pumps after turning them off from indoors, and would have pulled
advertising displays inside before closing the place down. This puts the
shooting within minutes of
“There were two more shootings tonight, one involving the death of an officer. Investigators are still on the scene there, and I only have the opinion of the first team of responders that it appears to have been an ambush. A shot was fired into a house, and the responding officer was shot once in the head through the side window of his vehicle before the vehicle stopped. The car was found, still running and in gear up against the house when another team arrived.”
My own head
was spinning, and he went on. “Paul Dunn in
“I’m here,” I said, wondering what he would want from me, but it wasn’t special.
“You can hang up now. Feel free to tell the people with you about the events I’ve described, but the rest of this call will be a strategy session and I’m not free to share it with minors. No offense to you.”
“None taken,” I said. “Good luck.”
I clicked off and sat back heavily, and all I could think to say was, “Shit. What a mess.” I had already heard more than I wanted to, and it was creepy to know that a killer who might be able to walk on water was shooting people in my second home. It was worse because he was shooting whoever he wanted to, and nobody seemed to think he was seeking out people he knew.
I said, “I feel sick. I think I’ll go to bed.”
Tom said, “Good idea. Can I use your phone? I should call home.”
I held the phone out to him and said, “Keep an eye on the battery. Are you gonna sleep in here? I’ll get the charger.”
Tom shook his head and said, “No, they put Ian where he belongs. I’ll bring the phone back before you’re asleep; I won’t talk long.”
I said, “Fine. I hope I can sleep,” and headed out.
Darius followed me, and we said goodnight at my door. I left the door to Tom’s room open and tapped on the glass to the terrace to get Dave’s attention, and when he came to the door I said, “We’re going to bed now.” I pointed to the left, “Darius is that way. You have what you need?”
He nodded, “I picked up a thermos of coffee and a few muffins. You sleep well, and don’t worry about a thing.”
I smiled, thinking he was funny. “Yeah, like that’s possible. Take it easy, then.” I shut the door and let the curtain fall back, looked at the bed, and decided a trip to the bathroom would be a good idea. When I came out my phone was hooked up to its charger, and all I had to do was tear the formally-made bed apart so I could get in it, climb in, and turn off the light, and I think I went out with it.
+ + + + + + + +
Desperado,
why don’t you come to your senses?
You been out ridin’ fences for so long now
Oh, you’re a hard one
I know that you got your reasons
These things that are pleasin’
you
Can hurt you somehow.
“Nine-one-one. What is your emergency?”
“Hello. I think I see that guy you’re looking for … the one that’s shooting people.”
“Where are you calling from, sir?”
“What?
I’m out trying to get a fox that’s been getting our chickens.”
Don’t you draw the queen of diamonds, boy
She’ll beat you if she’s able
You know the queen of heats is always your best bet
Now it seems to me, some fine things
Have been laid upon your table
But you only want the ones that you can’t get
“Yeah,
I have a .22 long single-shot. I already told you I’m thirteen. No,
I don’t want to stay here and wait.”
Desperado, oh, you ain’t gettin’ no younger
Your pain and your hunger, they’re drivin’ you home
And freedom, oh freedom well, that’s just some people talkin’
Your prison is walking through this world all alone
“I
told you where he is. I want to go home now. Oh, Jesus, I think he
sees me. I’m outta here!”
Don’t your feet get cold in the winter time?
The sky won’t snow and the sun won’t shine
It’s hard to tell the night time from the day
You’re loosin’ all your highs and lows
Ain’t it funny how the feeling goes away?
“No, mister, no! Please don’t!”
Desperado, why don’t you come to your senses?
Come down from your fences, open the gate
It may be rainin’, but there’s a rainbow above you
You better let somebody love you, before it’s too late.
“Please!”
+ + + + + + + +
I must have screamed the last, because Dave, Tom and Darius were there by the time I came to my senses, and my mother, Ally, and all the Glovers came running into the room. All the lights were on, and I was totally confused.
Tom cradled my head when I was looking around wildly, and asked with his normal bemusement, “Bad dream? You do ‘em up good.”
He grinned and I scowled, and he asked, “What was it? Big bad monster? High Sheriff and police chasing after you? A math club in your bedroom? Oh no. No! Don’t say it! You were out of Cheez Whiz?”
I groaned, and then I giggled.
I mumbled, “I
think I was dreaming. It was about the guy in
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