by D. M. Wicks
I studied her then smiled. "I think I should. I can't believe that I forgot how she was. Honestly, despite the awkwardness I kind of missed her."
Setsuna laughed. "Fine, I'll give you a call the next time she visits. You can come if you can make it, but no pressure. So long as you attempt to see her at least once a month I think it would really make her happy. She is a quiet woman, Oda. It will take some time for her to warm up to you again and you to her."
"Yeah, I guess so."
That night I went to bed feeling a little better. I slept like a rock, but when morning came a sinking feeling settled in my gut as I realized what I had to do. I needed to call the Alcotts. I couldn't put it off any longer. So, after getting dressed and going through my morning ritual, I went to my room and dialed their number. His father answered.
"Hello, the Alcott residences."
"Hello, my name is Oda Ko, I'm the one working on your son’s case."
"Oh."
I continued, "I have some news regarding the case—"
He cut me off. "So soon? There is only one thing I want to hear from you. Did you catch the guy?"
I must have been silent for too long because he cursed on the other end of the line. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted you. I bet you didn't even do anything these past few days. What is your excuse, huh? Let me guess, you couldn't get your lazy ass up long enough to do some real detective work."
"Sir—"
"—Just shut your mouth for a minute! I'm talking. You have one thing to do. Just one thing. Find the bastard that killed our son and bring us some solace and you can't even do that. What the hell am I supposed to tell my wife? She's been real frail over this whole thing, you know. I took your word and made promises to her that depended on your success and you fell through."
I remembered at that moment what Declan had said to me, how I shouldn't make promises I couldn't keep, and the words of my mistake weighed heavily on my shoulders. He stopped for a moment after his rant and I took it to say what needed to be said.
"Sir, I'm sorry for my mistake. The case is being handed back over to the police. Our office is ill equipped to handle it at this time, but let me at least say this: your son is an unsung hero. His actions have saved hundreds of lives and to the people who know of them he will be remembered. I just wanted you to know that he didn't die in vain and that he was a great man with a strong belief in justice. You raised him well."
The other end was silent again. It was broken by a heavy gasp followed by a strangled sound. I waited not knowing if he would yell at me again or if he would thank me. I was expecting the former. When he came back on his voice was thick with emotion. "That's enough. That's all I need to know. I can tell his mother this and it will be enough I hope. I wanted to remember him as a good man and not the junkie. Than … thank you." Then the line went dead.
I sat down on my bed gripping the phone in my hand. Was that really enough? I guess it had to be. I lay back on my pillow and threw my arm over my eyes. What was my answer for Declan? Did I really want this kind of life? Could I handle it? I turned over on my side and closed my eyes. I needed to sleep on it. Maybe tomorrow I would have the answer. Maybe tomorrow the world would be a better place.
***
The next day I woke in a groggy daze that was cleared immediately once I looked at my alarm clock. It was twelve o'clock and I was late. By the time I made it to the bus station it was already one o'clock and I could feel the psychic waves Declan was sending my way, the ones of my immediate demise for making him wait. Better yet, he probably thought I quit. The bus had been late due to the high school kids horsing around.
I was about to open the door when I heard my partner’s voice on the other side. I couldn't make out what he was saying, but it made me pause long enough for me to remember the reason I had gone to bed early. I owed him an answer, an answer that I had yet to find. I stood frozen in front of the office door unable to enter, but too scared to turn and leave.
Declan helped me out, or maybe he didn't. Anyway, the door swung open and he nearly plowed into me. "What the hell, Oda? You just gonna stand there all day?"
"Declan, um, I was just thinking we should definitely get a welcoming mat for the door. You know, to make it more welcoming and stuff for strangers or clients."
He furrowed his eyebrows. "Okay, I'll think about it."
"Where are you going?"
"Oh, I was just going to pick up the pizza I ordered for lunch. The guy can't find the building, which is stupid because it's a fucking building right next to the road. Must be a new guy. I was going to go flag him down."
"I'll wait in the office then."
"Sure, knock yourself out. Coffee is in the pot."
I moved out of his way, letting him walk past, and I watched him walk down the stairs before turning and entering the cosy office. I made a beeline for the coffee as I had forgone it in my mad dash not to be too late. So much for that. With coffee in hand, I planted myself in the center of the couch and looked down into the milky liquid of my mug. I always took cream and sugar. I had somewhat of a sweet tooth. Declan, on the other hand, always took it black. I heard somewhere that the way a person takes their coffee says a little about their personality. I wonder if light coffee means I'm vanilla and black means bitter old asshole.
I sighed and took a drink. Up until this point I had been so focused on my goal of becoming a police officer that I didn't ever let myself stop and ponder if I was doing the right thing. Maybe I wasn't capable of handling what the job demanded. I should have thanked Faye for giving us the Alcott case, which wasn't our usual kind. Usually we dealt with fraud, blackmail, cheating spouses, never murder and never on that scale. I’d learned a lot. Maybe too much. No, I needed to face the reality or at least one of them.
Was anyone really ready to deal with murder or was it always a sudden shock to the system? If I continued to work with Declan I may have to see it again. I may have to tell another family that their son or daughter was dead and I wasn't able to figure out who did it or have the means to continue the search. When Declan came back in carrying his pizza I was still in deep thought.
"Do I pay you to sit on your ass and drink coffee?"
I jerked my head up to see him grinning. "No, you don't really pay me at all."
His Irish lilt sang as he said, "Well, that's a bloody lie if I ever heard one."
"Or the damn hard truth."
He laughed. "You've been hanging out with Faye too much. Her and all that talk about the truth is sticking to you like gum on the bottom of your shoe."
"You're just jealous that she pays more attention to me. You might be losing your touch."
"She is way too much of a woman for you to handle. You wouldn't last a minute with her."
"Oh, and you would?"
"If I remember correctly, I kicked her ass the last time we fought. So yeah, I could handle her."
"She let you win."
"Crock-of-shoit. I took her out. She didn't even know what to do with me."
"Maybe or maybe she wanted to distract you."
"From what?"
"Your inflated ego."
"Now you're just talking crazy."
"Or I'm making perfect sense."
He walked over and set the pizza on the coffee table between us then stared me down. I didn't back off immediately, but eventually I couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing. He grinned when we broke eye contact and dug into his food.
I took a drink. "So, do you want to hear my answer?"
He paused from eating. "Honestly, I'm surprised you're here today. I wasn't expecting you to come in at all."
"I'm not that kind of guy."
"Sure, you're full of surprises. Every time I have one expectation you do something unexpected."
I smiled. "I like to keep you on your toes, old man."
"I'm not even forty yet."
"Anything over thirty is old."
"That's just unfair, but we are getting off topic."
"Those are some ballsy words. Can you live up to them?"
"I won't know unless I try."
"I guess I need to re-evaluate my expectations again."
"One more thing."
"What?"
"I want to be promoted to partner, officially."
"Ballsy indeed. You're not even a detective yet."
"Only because I need more experience."
"Shit, what the hell? Fine. It's now Webber and Ko Detective Agency. Are you happy now?"
"I want the words on the door changed."
"Jeez, you just like making more work for me, don't you?"
"It's because we are partners."
"No, it's because you like being a pain in my ass as much as that woman does."
"Are you talking about Faye, because I'm sure the feeling is mutual?"
"I'm sure it is. Now will you let me eat in peace?"
"Go ahead, I'm not stopping you."
He grumbled and was just about to take another piece when there was a knock at the door. I stood and walked over to it. When I opened it lieutenant Dominique Faye barged in and went straight for the coffee pot.
"Why the hell are you here?" Declan said and stood still holding a slice of pizza in one hand.
"You won't believe the kind of day I've had today," she said and drank from the mug.
"Yeah, well, I don't really care."
She looked up at him and scrunched up her face in disgust. "Oh, I forgot how much of an asshole you could be."
Her face changed into one of delight when she saw the pizza on the table. "Pizza! Is it pepperoni? Actually, I'll eat just about anything right now. I'm starving." Declan sneered as she walked over and grabbed two slices before he could pull it away.
"Mine!" he said.
"What are you? Two years old?" she said.
"I bought it so I should be the one to eat it."
"Didn't your mommy ever teach you how to share?"
"No, but she taught me how to beat people up when they tried to take stuff from me."
Faye shrugged. "World of hard knocks. I like her already." Then she chomped down.
I came back over, a smile tugging at my lips, and sat down next to Faye. "What brings you here, lieutenant?"
She finished chewing before turning back to Declan. "That's how you should greet someone, Declan. You could learn a thing or two from your partner."
Declan flipped her the bird to which she smiled. "How mature."
She turned back to me. "I have a case for you two."
I frowned. "A homicide?"
She shook her head. "No, it's a blackmail case." She pulled out a USB and held it out to me. I stared at it. Did I really want this? Could I really handle this life, this path? I reached out and took it. I guess I would just have to wait and find out.
End Matter
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