by Dale Mayer
At that the captain jerked in surprise, and she nodded. “There’s no way an injury like that happens to just one. For all you know he’s worse off than you. And it wasn’t even the championship game, so he didn’t get that win either. You both wanted it. You were both aggressive – too aggressive. That’s another problem here. You feel guilty. As if you were responsible for the whole team losing. If he hadn’t pounded you back, but also if you had taken a different play, it would have all turned out another way. And you insisted on that play, didn’t you?”
“I was so sure I could do it,” he said in a voice barely above a whisper. “So damn sure.”
“And you did make it,” she responded gently. “But you didn’t think long term. Big picture.”
He nodded. “That was the coach’s big phrase. It’s not about winning the game, it’s about taking home the trophy.”
“And he was right.” She watched and waited. Not everyone wanted to see hard truths. Good for him to listen and not take a strip off her.
The door opened to let Dean inside, a plate of donuts balanced on top of a cup of coffee. “I almost got mugged,” he muttered. “You have no idea how my life was in jeopardy out there.”
He sent a questioning glance to Tia then back at the captain. “Here’s your coffee, sir.”
The captain nodded but didn’t say anything. Instead, he drew circles on the table with his finger as if by doing so he could change history or at least go back in time and have another chance.
Tia understood. She would do the same thing if she could. She smiled at Dean and beamed at the plate. “Captain, do you want a donut?”
“No, I’ve had a couple already.”
He motioned to her to go ahead.
“Dean?” She glanced over at him to see him grinning suspiciously.
“Go ahead, Tia, all three are for you.”
She grinned and bit into the first one. “Awesome,” she mumbled. And sat back in peace and joy. Food.
*
Dean watched her enjoyment. Such a simple thing. He wanted to go and get her another half dozen donuts if it would make her that happy. He couldn’t imagine the things she’d missed growing up. Maybe she’d had a chance to enjoy many fun foods before she joined Wilhelm, but he doubted she’d had much opportunity.
She scarfed the first one and picked up the second and took a bite. He was trying to give the captain some time. He didn’t know what had happened to the big man while he’d been gone, but something obviously had changed him. He wasn’t scared, neither was he angry. He looked thoughtful. Weary almost. It worried Dean. This was not normal.
“Captain?”
The man started. And looked over at Dean. He shook his head. “I’m fine. Just a little lost.”
“I know how you feel,” Dean muttered, shooting Tia a suspicious look. “I can say that my life hasn’t been the same since Tia fell into it.”
The captain shook his head. “She’s a good woman. You are a lucky man.”
Dean shot his captain a surprised look then realized he’d called Tia honey, and neither of them had exactly hid their feelings for each other. “I am,” he said and waited as Tia polished off the second donut. She eyed the third one but sat back waiting. She turned her attention to the men.
“So, why am I here?”
The captain spoke up. “Questions. Regarding Billy and the others.”
Right. She leaned forward. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything.” And with that they got started. By the time the captain had asked her a dozen questions, he’d filled a notepad several pages thick and several other people had come to join them. Tia was on her third cup of coffee and looked to be fading quickly.
Finally, Dean put a stop to the barrage of information firing back and forth. “She needs a break.”
“She does,” Tia agreed, her voice wan and thin. “Right now would be good.” She dropped her head and rested her forehead on her crossed arms.
The captain held up his hand. Instantly the noise eased back. “Let’s leave her alone for a few moments.”
He stood up and ushered the others out of the room. He looked over at Dean. Dean shook his head. “I’ll stay here with her.”
The captain nodded and walked out, closing the door gently behind him.
Chapter 36
“I’m fine,” she mumbled from inside her folded arms. “Just tired.”
“With good reason,” he said gently. “Take it easy. We have a few moments alone. Close your eyes and sleep if you can.”
“Can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Don’t know.”
But she wouldn’t lift her head. She felt odd. Disconnected. Loose ends floated in her mind and that made no sense. She was here and doing something constructive. It’s what she wanted to do. What she wanted to have happen. Only no one was talking about Simone. No one was talking about her dead partner. They were all talking about dead kids. She didn’t want to talk dead kids. They were dead and gone and she wasn’t. She’d survived. Why the hell would she want to take a closer look at that scenario? She wouldn’t. She didn’t. She wasn’t suicidal.
But she did want this all to stop.
“Make what stop?”
She lifted her head and stared at him. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”
He shrugged. “No problem. But that’s still no answer.”
She stared at him. “I want it all to stop. I want a normal life. When I can get up in the morning and go to bed in the same bed at night, knowing it’s okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yes, knowing it’s okay. That I won’t be hauled out screaming from bed in the middle of the night for the next barrage of tests Wilhelm dreamed up. Knowing I will get three meals a day each and every day. Knowing I can walk the streets if I want and not have to run because they might have found me. It’s not a nice way to live. I never met many street people or hooked up with the underground. I was too nervous. Many reached out to me but they scared me. They might have been part of his network. And then they’d find me like they had the first time. For the last couple of years I was living in a small town with less than a thousand people. Within a day of arriving everyone knew who I was and that I had no clothes or money and was in trouble. But not one of them terrified me. As one old guy went out of his way to say, “We’re all here for a reason. Don’t worry about it, just let the trouble go away and let life be.”
“That’s an odd saying.”
She nodded. “I finally realized they’d all ended up in that part of the world because, like me, they were on the run and had run out of luck. They were going to stop and make a stand. That’s how the town was born. By those on the move – for whatever reason – and they came to the end of the road. That became the town.”
“Nice.” He grinned at the thought. “A whole town of you guys.”
“No, not like me.” She shook her head. “But a whole town that accepted me. That was worth its weight in gold. I rented the back room over a restaurant and worked below. I didn’t have any job skills, people skills or life skills but I was learning.” She took a deep breath and tried to wrap up her thoughts that had started this. “But it never became normal. There was always the sense that someone was going to come after me. That someone was always watching me.”
“And there might have been someone. But that doesn’t mean it was evil. It could have been Stefan.”
She leaned back in her hair. “Why would he? He didn’t know me then?”
“I wouldn’t count on that.” Dean studied the table in front of him. “Look, my history with Stefan is different. He saved my boy and for that I will do anything for him. Anything. Yet, I also know he is very connected to others like him. Like you.”
She nodded. “I know.”
“He also keeps in touch with upcoming psychics. Young ones who haven’t developed. Ones in trouble. Some from all around the world. And he knows a lot as to who is out there and what they are all doing
in terms of their abilities.”
She desperately liked the idea of a big brother looking over her from afar.
“He comes from heart. You know that.”
She nodded and drew an aimless design on the table in front of her. “I want to know that.”
“Then believe in it. If he did know and didn’t help then there was a reason for it. You have to learn to trust and to do that you have to start somewhere. Let it be with him.”
“I trust you.”
He smiled. “Do you?”
She nodded.
“Nice. I’m very happy to hear that.” He reached across and clasped her hands in his. “And I trust you.”
She grinned and some of the rigidness eased out of her shoulders. “That’s nice. I’d never hurt you. Or anyone.” The smile wiped off her face. “Except I’d hurt them.”
That wiped the smile off his face. “You have to stand in line.”
A yawn escaped. “You know real food would be good. Those donuts have long worn off. And I thought there was a clothing store on the way here. Do you think we can stop on the way home?”
“No stopping required. I have a bag of clothes for you. You can try them on at the hotel.”
At the word hotel, her inside deflated. “Right. We’re at the hotel. Not home.”
“Do you have a home?” he asked her gently. “Can you go back to the town you stayed at for years?”
She shook her head. “No. I left there. I had stayed at Simone’s overnight but then set out to meet Stefan, and the rest is history.” Closing her eyes she dropped her head on her forearms again. God, she had no place to go. No job, no place to sleep and no food. She hated this. After years of instability, it seemed a far-fetched dream now to have a regular life again, but she really wanted one.
“I have to find a job,” she muttered.
“Where?”
“Anywhere.” She snorted but with her head still flat it sounded more like a sneeze. “In my situation it really doesn’t matter. The world revolves around money and I don’t have much.”
“Do you have a bank account?”
She shook her head. “No one in Land’s Edge did either.”
“Cash system?”
“And barter system.”
“Sometimes that works better.”
“Yeah, Codger used to drive the truck and he’d pick up the supplies and deliver them to everyone. He’d get his meals at the restaurant and sleep in Betty’s B&B. It worked,” she said.
“But you won’t go back?”
“No, that time of my life is over. I stayed long enough to heal, to get stronger. They actually told me it was time for me to move on. That I couldn’t keep hiding there. They wanted something else for me.”
She raised her head. “Instead, this is all so much worse.” Except for having Dean in her life.
“Well, no running away this time. You’re welcome to stay with me as long as you need.”
“Ha, you have a son and a mother staying there.”
“Mom has her own house close by. It’s just Jeremy and me. And you’re welcome there with us.” His tone of voice was firm, no hesitation, and his chocolate eyes were warm and caring.
“Thank you. That helps. But you don’t have yet another room so it’s hardly convenient to sleep on your couch long term. Still, it’s a nice gesture.”
“It’s more than nice, it’s real. We’ll figure it out. Now, are you ready to leave?”
She reared back. “What? We can leave? I would have left a long time ago.” She pushed her chair back. “Let’s go.”
He stood up and waited until she walked around the table toward him. “You’re okay this time? You won’t go invisible?”
She took a quick assessment. “No, I feel fine.”
“Good. I have to grab a few things from my desk. Then we’ll grab some dinner.” He opened the door and they walked out. This end of the hallway was still quiet and calm. The other end was noisy and full of people. As they neared the crowded aisles, she whispered, “Is it always like this?”
“Hell, it’s often way worse.” He led the way to the far end and pulled up at a desk that appeared to have been used more as a table than anything. “Hey guys, like what the hell?”
“Ha, if you don’t show up for work then this table’s got to be used for something. So garbage it is. Now it’s your garbage.”
Everyone laughed.
Dean shook his head and sat down. He opened a couple of drawers, looking for something specific.
Tia stood awkwardly at the side, trying to ignore the stares. After a few moments she asked, “Can we leave soon?”
He stood up again. “Yeah, let’s go.”
“Right.” He reached out for her hand. “Let’s go.” He walked her back to the entrance, but something was bothering him. She leaned in. “What’s wrong?”
“My computer, my desk, everything is different.” He groaned. “Damn it. It took me a long time to set that up just the way I like it.” He stopped. “There’s Jones.” He high-fived his buddy. “Hey, I wondered where the hell you were today.”
“Getting clothes, remember?” Jones laughed. “The things I do for a paycheck. Remember what that is like?”
“Sure do and anxious to get back to it.” He motioned to Tia. “I’m taking her back but was hoping to catch up on anything new you might have found out?”
“Dean, we all want to know that.” The captain barreled toward them. “Nice of you to show up finally. Banker hours and all.”
Jones shook his head. “I know I was due in earlier but got stuck checking in with a weasel. Apparently the patients were moved out of the one lab and taken by ambulance to another lab.”
“We know that already.” Dean frowned down at him. “I hope you didn’t pay your weasel much for that.”
“He also saw the orderlies who worked at the lab do the driving.”
“That’s quite possible. Hell, the lab probably owned the ambulances.”
“True, except the lab was trying to empty the place in one day. Actually…” he paused for dramatic effect. “They did it in the middle of the night.”
“What? They moved everyone under the cover of night?”
“None of this makes any sense,” Tia said in bewilderment.
“It will. We just don’t know all the information yet.” The captain stood behind them, frowning. “Dean, take her back. We have a meeting in about ten minutes on the case. If you want to come back for that, then hurry up.”
Tia hated that idea, but Dean straightened up in excitement. “Or I could just wait here,” she said quietly. “Then you won’t miss the meeting…” and I won’t be left alone, but she didn’t add that. That was her problem. She’d love to lie down at the hotel and maybe nap but it wouldn’t be so easy knowing they were here discussing her. Then again, she couldn’t do anything about it.
*
Dean was torn. He really wanted to be part of the meeting.
But she was exhausted and needed a solid meal and some downtime.
“I’ll take her back,” Jones said. “And come right back.”
“I hate to ask that of you…” But he really wanted to. He needed to be a part of this. He glanced over at Tia and she was smiling at him.
“It’s fine,” she said. “You won’t be longer than an hour or two will you?”
Dean shook his head. “No, not likely.”
“So I’ll go lock myself in and have a bath, order some room service, and if you aren’t there by the time it comes, then I’ll eat yours too!” She grinned as everyone laughed.
“Yeah, but see they all think you are joking and I know you aren’t.”
Jones grinned. “Come on. I’ll drop you off. Make sure you’re all locked in until he gets in.”
She reached over and kissed Dean impulsively. In his ear, she whispered, “Enjoy.”
Feeling the color wash up his neck and the cheering going on around him, he grabbed her tight and said, “Remember, we talked about thi
s. If you’re going to do a job, do it right.” And he planted a kiss on her warm lips meant to sear her to the core. The cheers rose to a crescendo around them as he held her close. Finally, he broke the kiss and leaned back to look down at her bemused face.
“Now that’s a goodbye kiss.”
And he watched her walk out the door. Two men slapped him on the shoulders. “Damn that time off did you a world of good!”
He laughed. “You got that right.”
“So, Dean, is she like yours, or available,” came a call from the other side of the room.
He turned and glared. “Hands off, all of you. She’s spoken for.”
“Ah, but is she taken?” One of them laughed suggestively, sending the room into more catcalls. Dean was happy she wasn’t there to hear the guys.
He grinned as the jokes kept on coming. Some from the women detectives. Damn it was good to be back.
Chapter 37
Outside the sky had cleared. It was late afternoon as far as she could tell. But noisy. They were downtown, not that she knew anything about the city layout, but the streets were packed and vehicles flew by in organized madness.
“I’m parked over this way.” Jones led her to a mid-sized car, not a cop car for which she was grateful. Inside she buckled up and waited for him to start the car, tired and feeling more exhausted as each minute passed. She didn’t understand why now, but maybe it was just knowing she was getting to go home – or what passed for home in her world. Still, it was a very comfortable shelter to stay in until she knew what the next step was.
Jones drove quietly and competently and in total silence. She appreciated that.
At the hotel, he pulled up to the side street and parked. “Come on, I’ll get you up to your room.”
She stumbled on her way out. Damn she was tired. He grabbed her arm and helped her across the street. She led the way to the elevators and they moved up in silence. At the top, she fumbled for her keys. They were here somewhere then remembered it was a card system. She pulled that out and walked to the door.
Inside, everything was now clean and a freshly made bed was so appealing. “You know, maybe I’ll skip that bath and go straight to bed. I can’t believe how tired I am.”