Connection Terminated

by Edward Hancock II

  She enjoyed the game. And that’s what it was to her. A game. Oh, she was professional. But she had to test the new guy. She had to see if he was cut out for the responsibility of leading the community protectorate. How would he perform under pressure? So far, she was less than impressed.

  After listening to his voicemail, she entertained the idea of baiting him. But, she realized, calling him to chat again could probably play against her in the court of public opinion. It was a tough world. If the little guppy couldn’t swim with the big fish, it was best he find out now.

  Checking the AP feed and cruising quickly through her emails, it didn’t appear that there was anything she needed to stress. Turning to her reports, she sighed, not wanting to do anymore work. Twice, since the newscast ended, the baby had kicked. She’d have to remember to lay off the spicy foods.

  Thankfully, Dillon Bradford had agreed to finish up her reports and shut everything down for the night. He was a good kid, she thought. And eager to be the next co-anchor of the evening news. Of course, Jennifer was content to let the young intern merely do her grunt work.

  Exiting the building, she shot a half smile to the desk guard, Hank Bowie. A cold chill kissed her neck as she exited into the East Texas night. Shivering, she shoved her hands in her pockets.

  Reaching the edge of the street, she looked both ways, gauged the traffic and waddled across as quickly as a pregnant woman was able to move. Having reached safety on the other side of the street, Jennifer Greyson locked eyes with a couple of teenagers who seemed to be out for a little mischief. No time for that, she thought. Moving quickly, she entered the lower level of the parking garage. Her silver Mercury Sable was just a few spots down. Luckily, being pregnant had garnered her a temporary favor of an assigned parking spot. She knew it would not last, but she was glad that the station managers had taken pity on her.

  Removing her hand from her pocket, she reached into her purse, searching for her keys. As always, she was able to quickly retrieve them from the side pocket that contained nothing more than keys and a spare Kleenex, should she ever need one.

  Triggering the pocket flashlight on her keychain, the dark parking garage seemed to come alive. Jennifer never ceased to be amazed at the amount of illumination provided by the tiny flashlight.

  In the distance, a vending machine kicked on, startling her. A fluorescent light flickered twice. Went out.

  Searching her pocket, she found her cellphone. Flipping it open, she opened the contact list, pressing 1 to speed dial her husband. Pressing send, silence filled the air as she waited for the call to connect. Ever the worry wart, Todd had made her promise to call before she came home.

  As she reached the rear end of her Sable, Jennifer Greyson suddenly erupted into a sneezing fit. Two, three, then four sneezes.

  Sniffling, Jennifer reached into the side pocket of her purse, searching for the Kleenex.

  She was already on her hands and knees by the time she felt the blow between her shoulder blades. Her cellphone illuminated, she caught sight of it sliding under her car, flipping on its side, illuminating the underside of her vehicle. She let go an involuntary scream as her car keys went sailing into the darkness. Darkness swallowed the light, blanketing the surroundings. Looking back toward the entrance of the parking garage, Jennifer blinked painful tears away, trying to focus. Blurred eyes and darkness gave little help. Though a cloudless sky allowed a moonlit backdrop into which bent a humanesque figure.

  “Help…m-me” she said, reaching for the figure, just noticing the needle and syringe.

  She blinked, felt a single tear creeping down her face. Pain pulsed through every part of her body. Her hand felt dead. Her foot suddenly felt as if it were on fire.

  “No!” she shouted. “Help!” Fighting the pain, she screamed with everything she had. Twisting, trying to get on her hands and knees again, Jennifer felt a hand on her leg. She tried to kick with her other leg, but found it to be trapped.

  Wiggling, she kicked with her seized leg. She connected somewhere, but she wasn’t sure where.

  Her assailant cried out in pain. A gravelly cry, though not unlike a teenage boy going through puberty while battling a 3-pack a day smoking habit.

  She felt the rag over her mouth and nose. Instinctively, she inhaled deeply.

  Suddenly woozy, she fought to hold her breath.

  Kicking, she folded her hand and launched the butt of her palm toward what she thought was the man’s face. Fading, she was aware that she’d connected with the top of his head.

  Losing her battle with consciousness, she saw the needle again.

  “N-uh.”

  Her mouth would no longer work.

  My baby!

  Fighting to stay awake, she barely felt the tiny kick. As if connected to the baby’s willpower, she let go with a flail that lacked any power to what should have been a real kick.

  Weak, she kicked again. Even as she ventured into the darkness, she felt the cracking of a rib as her foot made contact with her assailant’s torso. The rag removed, she felt something strange. Something she’d not noticed before. A bandaged hand covering her mouth.

  “Shhhh…” he said. “Just. Sleep.”

  Fighting the effects of sudden drowsiness, she thought she sensed what was the taste of blood as she bit down.

  A scream.

  But not her’s.

  “Jenn? Baby? That you? Hello?”

  As darkness overtook her, she saw a flash of light. A clamping sound interrupted her husband’s voice.

  She slept.

  Chapter 23

  Friday, October 14

  10:53 p.m.

  A quick stop at the store had turned into quite the ordeal for Alex. He would never understand the logic behind building a gigantic megastore, complete with 35 registers, only to keep 2 cashiers on duty. The self-checkouts were a bigger annoyance than Christina’s occasional, “Dad, Dad, Daddy,” routine. Full disclosure, he actually didn’t mind the routine as much as he let on unless, of course, he was overly-tired. If nothing else, the annoyance at being delayed served to take his mind off of Jennifer Greyson, as much as was possible anyway.

  Of course, he couldn’t help but marvel at the rather large number of people filling the store at this hour. To say nothing of the colorful characters comprising this macabre crew.

  Now, in the department’s kitchen area, he replenished their dwindling supply of carbonated joy. Many police officers – both uniformed and plain-clothed – would likely benefit from Alex’s kindness in the next couple of days. He’d consider it a miracle if the supply lasted until Monday.

  Closing the door, he turned, just in time to run into a rookie uniform he recognized, albeit bittersweet.

  “Tara?”

  Tara Franks looked at him, smiled and lunged forward, hugging him.

  “Mr. Mendez! How are you?”

  “How am I?” he laughed, suddenly shocked. “Look at you. When did you get so big? Last time I saw you, you were…”

  “Tugging on my dad’s shirt sleeve, shyly hiding from the beautiful Hispanic man he was talking to,” she laughed, wrinkling her nose in that same childlike manner. “I remember.”

  Alex couldn’t help but marvel at the baby face adorning the young woman standing before him. Her hair pulled back into a ponytail, it served less toward professionalism and more toward the child-like image filling Alex’s mind.

  Her dad had been retired just a couple of years, but old Carl Franks had been one heck of an officer. Career uniform, he’d been shot twice in the line of duty, but lived to retirement age, sadly burying his beloved Maddy just a year prior to uterine cancer. Young Tara had been their pride and joy. The younger of two girls, Alex had always pictured the raven-haired, blue-eyed beauty more as a movie star, or some other celebrity occupation. Ever the princess, it came as quite the shock to Alex for Tara Franks to have followed her dad into police work. Looking at her small frame, Alex couldn’t help but envision his own little girl, all grown up, choosing
to follow in Daddy’s footsteps. Given her penchant for searching, exploring and investigating random things, Alex would not be half as surprised as he was by the prim and proper little girl that was Tara Franks growing into the rookie police officer standing before him.

  “Look at you,” Alex repeated. “Gosh, I’m sorry, I’m just—“Alex stopped, laughed again. “So, how? When did—“

  “I officially joined the force last week, actually. Graduated Academy in June. Still gotta finish my bachelor’s, but that’ll come in time. Dad didn’t tell you?”

  “No,” Alex said, suddenly embarrassed, “I, uh, your dad and I haven’t talked in a while. I’m afraid it’s just been chaotic around here, what with Danny sidelined and all. But tell him I said hi, okay? And if you need any help finding your footing around here, my door is always open.”

  Alex felt a rush of guilt as he thought of Carl Franks mourning the loss of his wife alone. She’d been considerably younger than Carl. His third wife, Alex thought. But the love of his life, no doubt. A very classy lady, Alex recalled, a perfect mixture of Betty Crocker, Betty Page and a Terminatrix.

  Exiting the kitchen area, Alex rounded the corner and headed toward his office. Passing through the hallway, Alex stopped for a moment as memories of Danny, exiting his office flooded Alex’s being.

  Taking out his phone, he pressed the first three digits of Danny’s phone number.

  “Another time,” he sighed. “I sure do miss you, Old Man.”

  “Me too, Boss.” Kellan’s voice whispered just as a hand shook Alex back to reality.

  “Hey, Kel.”

  “Hey, Buddy. Let’s go to your office. Josh Sutton is there with Cade. They want to go over this case, get on the same page before Josh calls it a night.”

  “Did you know that Carl Franks’ youngest daughter is a cop?”

  Laughing, Kellan said, “Yeah, I know. Always thought it would be his boy, Kyle. We are officially old, Alex.”

  “Yeah, but she’s still just a baby. It’s up to us to solve the crimes and show these kids how to do the job. But for what it’s worth, I feel really old, too, all of the sudden.”

  Alex paused outside his office door when his cell phone rang.

  “Mendez?”

  “Babe, it’s me.”

  Alex could hear the trembling in her voice.

  “Lisa, what’s wrong?”

  When she didn’t immediately answer, he said her name.

  “Alex, you are not going to believe this!”

  ***

  Friday, October 14

  11:21 p.m.

  Good Shepherd Memorial Hospital was awash with urgency. Every station in the area had already sent reporters to cover the attack on one of their compatriots. Two sheriff deputies were stopping everyone that entered. Another member of the sheriff’s department had called Alex on his way to the hospital. Given Jennifer Greyson’s recent reporting, Alex was being asked to sit the investigation out. A request he promptly ignored, citing an ongoing investigation and possible serial killer.

  The Texas Rangers were going to be called in. He knew it. And he knew he’d face an investigation, the likes of which he’d never experienced. He might even be accused of attacking her. At least that was the Sheriff’s insinuation. No time for that now, he told himself. He’d worry about it later.

  Walking into the hospital, Kellan Arthur following behind, he found a uniformed officer he recognized as Tate Crockett. A young, fresh-faced, Irish-looking kid, Tate and his partner Kenny Thomas had been first on the scene and discovered Jennifer unconscious.

  “We need to see her, Tate.” Alex said.

  “Sir, I’m not certain where they took her, but—“

  “They took her into delivery, I think.” Kenny Thomas said, eliciting strange looks from everyone else. “One of the doctors said something about the baby.”

  “Baby?” Kellan asked.

  “She was pregnant.” Alex confirmed, suddenly rife with sadness. “Not far enough along for…”

  As he trailed off, Tate Crockett asked an elderly lady at the information desk where they’d taken Jennifer Greyson.

  Alex couldn’t hear the reply.

  As Tate returned, he said, “She’s in a room. Room 2214. In the new tower. The baby didn’t…”

  “I figured as much,” Alex sighed.

  “Alex, maybe we should, yanno, come back another time. Like, when she’s had time to rest, grieve.”

  “I know, Kel, but we are policemen. We have a victim that was attacked. It could be related to another case. We have to try. Tate, you and Kenny follow us.”

  As he pressed the up button for the elevator, Alex’s cell phone rang again. Looking at the screen, he growled, flipped it closed, and shoved it back into his pocket.

  As the elevator door opened, he looked at Kellan and said, “Anything happens to me, call Escalante and Karen Mason. I’ll make sure Steelman makes you Captain in my absence. They’ll be your best lieutenants. Martin Escalante’s a stickler for details and Mason’s a top computer geek. Both good investigators. You should be okay. If the stuff goes down, you’ll need good support. They’ll be about your best. Whatever you do, if they sideline me, keep Janet Busby out of it. She’ll want in, but you can’t let her, because it’ll be very personal.”

  “Alex, don’t stress it.”

  “Not stressing it, Kel,” Alex lied. “Just preparing.”

  Preparing for the worst, he thought to himself.

  Chapter 24

  Friday, October 14

  11:27 p.m.

  Tower Two of the Good Shepherd Memorial hospital was a different structure than Tower One in every way. Newly renovated, construction had begun the same month that renovations on Tower One were completed, nearly two years ago. One additional floor and a new sub-basement provided the tower with new storage and self-sustaining power supplies, separate from Tower One. Unlike Tower One, Tower Two did not have the colorful children’s ward with the polka dot walls, and rooms named for animals such as Freddy the Frog and Petey the Panda. The entire expansion project was quite the engineering marvel.

  As Alex rounded the corner, a fluorescent bulb in the ceiling flickered – just once, before increasing the illumination in the corridor.

  Pointing to the bulb, Alex nudged Kellan. “Aren’t you glad that tax dollars didn’t pay for that?”

  “No doubt!” Kellan laughed.

  Stopping at the nurse’s desk, Alex showed his badge.

  “Jennifer Greyson?” He asked, “Room 2214?”

  Saying nothing, the rather gruff-looking Nurse Craggy Pants made a head motion to Alex’s left before returning to her paperwork. Looking to the left, he noticed a sign on the wall directing them to the various rooms on this floor. Room 2214 was down the hall to the right, just around the nurse’s desk and information areas.

  Waving Kellan and the others on, he led them toward room 2214. Several doors down, he caught sight of a man standing outside the room talking on a cell phone. He stood across from a larger nurse’s station than the one he’d just left. This one manned by a staff of six nurses and medical persons in scrubs of varying color. As they drew closer, the distress in the man’s voice and on his face were obvious.

  Noticing the approaching group, the man got off the phone.

  Wiping a tear from his eye, the man fought for composure.

  “Sir, I’m Alex Mendez,” he offered, showing his badge. “This here is my associate, Lt. Kellan Arthur. These two young men are officers Tate Crockett and Kenny Thomas.”

  Extending his hand, the man said, “Greyson, Todd Greyson. Wait. Mendez? Did you say your name was Mendez?”

  “Yes, sir,” Alex confirmed. “I’m Captain Alex Mend—“

  He had no time to react. Thin and wiry, Todd Greyson’s fist was impossibly quick. While it wasn’t the hardest punch Alex had ever felt, it possessed an unexpected power radiating from somewhere deep within Mr. Greyson’s rage and pain. The sting had morphed into a violent throb as Alex regai
ned his footing. In a flash, Kellan Arthur had restrained the much smaller Todd Greyson.

  Alex blinked stars from his eyes, rubbed his throbbing jaw.

  “Not the best move assaulting a police officer, Mr. Greyson.” Kellan said, “But you really made a boo-boo striking the Captain of Homicide.”

  “You!” Todd Greyson growled, his face blood red. Eyes, suddenly awash with tears again. “You killed my child! You did this! You’re the reason she’s in there! Let me go, you jerk! I swear, I’ll kill you! Frighten my wife, will you? Think you’re such a big man? I’m not afraid of you! I will kill you if it’s the last thing I do!”

  A frightened nurse grabbed the receiver on her desk phone. She could be heard requesting security. Flashing his badge toward the nurse, Alex waved her off.

  “Calm down!” Kellan whispered, tightening his grip. “You’re in a hospital!”

  “Sir,” Alex said, rubbing his sore jaw with one hand and extending his other hand to show he was no threat. “I’m gonna need you to calm down. I know what you think. I am not going to say I know how you feel, but I know where this is coming from and I can assure you it is all a huge misunderstanding.

  Tate grabbed his cuffs, handed them to Kellan who was still struggling with the wriggling Todd Greyson.

  “That won’t be necessary, Kellan.” Alex said. “Mr. Greyson is upset about his wife. It’s understandable. I wouldn’t be very clear headed in his position either. Mr. Greyson. I’m here to help. I promise. Despite all the reports to the contrary, I’m just trying to do my job. I’m afraid your wife and I differ very greatly on the purpose and manner of our various interactions. Your wife was attacked and I just need to talk to her. Is she awake?”

  Nodding, he hung his head. Kellan noticeably relaxed his grip.

  “If Lt. Arthur lets you go, you’re not gonna throw another right cross at me are you?”

  Still looking down, he shook his head.

  Alex nodded to Kellan who released his grip.