by Terry Keys
“You guys have any idea who might have done such a horrible thing? I mean, they ain’t nothing but babies.”
“We have a few ideas. Thank you for taking care of my leg.”
I hobbled back to the waiting area to find Miranda and Hilary.
I reached into my pocket and took out my cell phone. I had missed calls from DeLuca and Wilcrest – my parents too.
Miranda sat with her face in her hands. I knew she must have felt as angry and as helpless as I did. I leaned over close to her and wrapped my arm around her.
“We need to talk,” I whispered into her ear.
She turned to me with a look of worry. I looked away, staring down at the floor. I didn’t even want to think about what I knew I needed to say. I nibbled on my bottom lip.
“David, what is it?”
“We need to look at getting you guys into protective custody now. I won’t survive if something happens to one of you. And it’s pretty obvious it’s open season on everyone in my life.”
I grimaced as the words left my mouth. I was expecting a fight on this, which in a lot of ways I could understand. I prided myself on my knowledge of criminals, their behavior, creating profiles. In my weakest moments, I’d allowed Stacy to fool me. I’d looked all over the world for a killer who’d been sleeping in my very own bed. I still hadn’t forgiven myself for it, and I probably never would.
To my surprise, I got no fight at all.
Miranda grabbed my hand. “Listen, you’ve never asked us to do this before. I trust you, David–with everything. If you think that would make the most sense right now, we’ll go.”
“Go where?” Hilary butted in.
Miranda and I looked at each other.
“Honey, your father thinks maybe we need to get into protective custody until this is all behind us and he catches these guys.”
“What? No. I have school, my friends. This is not happening.”
“Hilary, if your father is that concerned, maybe we should listen.”
I hated this. My relationship with Hilary was finally strengthening and now this. I didn’t want to be the bad guy, but I wasn’t going to let Miranda foot this alone either.
“Hilary, I’m pretty sure I’ve made up my mind about this. Never in my nearly twenty years of police work have I had a criminal or group of criminals attack my family the way these guys have. Outside of my brother – your uncle and we considered protective custody then too. First your mother, then Karen, and now this. To be honest, I should have made this move long before now. I need you guys off the grid so I can focus on finding these guys before they hurt more people. I haven’t even gotten the numbers from earlier today. How many people died? How many are seriously injured? How many are in critical condition? How many more are there who will be mentally scarred for life from this? I need one hundred percent of my focus to be on tracking them down and ending this ASAP. Don’t fight me on this please. There’s actually a good chance the chief calls and strongly suggests that I place you guys in protective custody as well.”
Before Hilary could protest further, a doctor approached us. We talked for about ten minutes, and between Miranda and I, we asked probably fifty questions. The good news was my baby girl hadn’t suffered any life-threatening or permanent injuries. She did have a concussion and would need to take it slow and rest for the next few days.
I turned to Hilary and Miranda. “We got lucky today. Next time we might not be so lucky. And I’ll be damned if I give them a next time.”
Chapter 23
The hospital released Karen into our custody an hour later, and we took her home. Hilary hadn’t said anything else about protective custody, but I knew it was coming. I carried Karen up to her room and tucked her in. As I stood there looking down at her, my eyes started to moisten. Before I could swipe them away, Karen’s door swung open, and I looked up to meet Miranda’s gaze.
“David, what’s wrong, honey?”
I reached out my hands, and Miranda came close enough for me to hug her.
“Everything is wrong,” I whispered, pulling away from her. “This is wrong. Look at her. Look how precious she is. I never wanted this for my wife, my kids.”
“She’s fine. Kids are tough. Two weeks from now we’ll be the only ones thinking about this.”
I gestured for Miranda to go toward the door. I took one look back, closed the door, and stepped out into the hall.
I reached into my pocket and took out my cell phone. “I’m calling Captain Wilcrest now.”
I heard the phone pick up and then Hilary’s door opened and she stepped out into the hall.
“Hello?” I heard Wilcrest say. I didn’t respond. My eyes were locked on Hilary and hers on me. Only God knew how much I hated making that call.
“Hello? David?” Wilcrest said, his voice laced with concern or agitation—I couldn’t tell which.
I covered the phone with my hand. “Hilary, I’ll come see you when Cap and I are done.”
Then I headed downstairs without giving her a chance to argue with me.
“Cap, it’s me. Sorry about that. It’s obviously been a hell of a day for everyone.”
“Hell of a day is putting it mildly. What’s on your mind, son?”
“You still handling protective custody details for the department?”
“What are you saying, David? You want to put Miranda and the girls in protective custody?”
“Yes. I mean . . . I guess. No, I need to. There have been too many close calls. It’s obvious they’re being targeted.”
“You don’t have to convince me, but the public may view it differently. They don’t have protective custody to run off to and hide. A lot of people got hurt today.”
“Wait. So are you saying I shouldn’t move them?”
“No, not at all. That’s your call. I’m saying you may have a group of people who feel a certain way about it. Today’s bombing didn’t just affect your family.”
I knew where Wilcrest was coming from, but I wasn’t in the mood to hear it right now.
“I’ll have them ready by 0900 tomorrow. Thanks.”
I disconnected and looked over at Miranda who had a weird scowl on her face. I walked back over to her and put my arms around her.
“Look, it’s what’s best. You guys have to get out of here before I end up losing one of you or, God forbid, all of you.”
“I know. It’s just going to be tough, really tough. And what if something happens to you while we’re away?”
“Nothing’s going to happen to me. I’m Superman, remember?” I said, managing to force out a smile.
“So when is this happening?”
I looked away, not wanting to tell Miranda that I’d already committed them to being ready the next morning.
“David?”
“Tomorrow. First thing.”
Just then both girls came out of their rooms.
Hilary gave me the look I’d been dreading.
“What’s first thing tomorrow?”
I looked at my wife and then back to my girls. I felt sick in my stomach. I hated having to send them off, but I knew it had to be done.
“Dad?”
“We decided . . . no, I decided you guys have to go into protective custody. It’s going to happen tomorrow. I won’t risk losing you. This thing has gotten too dangerous and unpredictable. I can’t protect you and keep you out of harm’s way and catch these guys.”
Karen tugged on my pants leg. “So are you coming with us, Daddy?”
I could feel tears forming in my eyes. I was sad and angry all at once. I knelt down beside her.
“No, Karen. Not this time. Daddy has to work. I have to catch them before they hurt more people. You understand, don’t you? What happened today at the softball fields . . . I can’t let that happen again.”
“But that wasn’t your fault, Daddy.”
“I know, baby girl, but I think they’re trying to hurt you to get to me. This is the best way I know to protect you.”
“Let her cool off, David,” she whispered.
I wasn’t angry at Hilary, and I wasn’t going to discipline her. I simply wanted to talk. But I heeded my wife’s sage advice and refocused on Karen instead.
“Why is Hil so mad, Daddy? You’re only trying to protect us, right?”
I scooped her up in my arms and walked toward her room. “Yes, Daddy is doing his best to protect you all. Your sister has this weird disease called teenageritis. It’s highly contagious, you know. If she breathes on you, she could pass it on to you.”
“You’re making that up, Daddy!”
I threw Karen onto her bed and started attacking her all over with tickles. She laughed hysterically, and for a moment it felt like everything in the world was perfect.
“Stop it, Daddy,” she wailed at me. I obeyed and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
“Daddy, does this mean we’re going to miss Christmas?”
“No, absolutely not. Christmas is a few weeks away still. I’ll have this thing wrapped up before you know it!” I said, winking at her. Deep down, I hoped I would be able to deliver on my promise. But I wasn’t holding my breath.
I left Karen and Miranda behind so they could begin packing for what could be a lengthy stay. I blew Miranda a kiss and shut Karen’s door behind me. I could see the sadness in Miranda’s eyes, and it hurt me to my core.
I eased down to Hilary’s room and lightly knocked on her door. I waited for a few seconds, but I didn’t get an answer. I knocked again, this time a little harder. Still no answer. I took a deep breath and opened her door.
Hil was sitting on her bed with her headphones on, an endless stream of tears spilling down her face. I grabbed a tissue from the nightstand, sat down beside her, and wiped away her tears. Much to my surprise, she didn’t turn away or swat at my hands. She didn’t move at all, for that matter. She hadn’t even acknowledged that I was in the room. I reached up and removed her headphones. Still she sat stone-faced, her eyes glued to the wall.
“Hil, listen. I know you’re angry, and I don’t blame you. Believe it or not, I was a teenager once, and if this would have happened to me, I would have been angry too. But I’d much rather you be angry at me than to be hurt or worse. These guys don’t care about anything. The only thing they understand is pain, murder, and terror. They believe everything they’re doing is justified, and you or mom or Karen—you’d just be another feather in their cap.”
Hillary took my hand and moved it away from her face. “I’m not five. I know what’s happening. It doesn’t mean I have to like it. Even if we go into protective custody they could still find us.”
“Yes, they could. But I have to do everything I can to protect you, Hilary. Christmas is right around the corner. We were supposed to finish decorating the tree this weekend. We still have Christmas shopping to do. You think I want to send you guys off? This is the best time of the year for me—for our family. You know I wouldn’t have made this decision if I felt there was any other way.”
Hilary was cold and emotionless. I knew how angry she was. “How long will we be gone?”
“A few weeks, at most. I’ve gotten some really good intel over the last few days. I’m going to catch them.”
“Dad, can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Is he really your son?”
The question caught me off guard, and I was rarely caught off guard by anyone.
“Yes, I believe so.”
“So how do you feel about hunting him, as you call it.”
“Well, he’s hurt a lot of people. He tried to hurt us all today. But if I’m being totally honest, this is hitting me in a different way than any other case I’ve worked on. Caleb hasn’t had the opportunities that you and Karen have. He’s grown up in an environment where hate was taught instead of love. He never had a chance at a normal life.”
“So, what, are you feeling sorry for him?”
“No, I wouldn’t exactly call it that. But it’s my job to try to understand where criminals are coming from. It helps me track them. It helps me figure out what their next step might be. It’s important when I’m building profiles. When the time comes, I’ll bring him in like I would any other criminal.”
“So if you know he was screwed from the start, how can you blame him for how he turned out?”
“Well, Hil, at some point we are old enough to make choices. Regardless of our upbringing, our past experiences, our past hurts, we still have to make choices. Caleb is an adult. He knows hurting innocent people is wrong.”
“But it sounds like he’s been convinced that the things he’s doing are right, like he’s taking karma into his own hands. So does he really know what he’s doing is wrong?”
I was more than a little impressed by Hilary’s questions and kind of excited at how her mind was working. Maybe she did have a promising future in criminology.
“It’s complicated, I know. Sometimes it’s hard to understand even for me, and I’ve written books on it.”
The mood softened a tad, and I took the opportunity to wrap my arms around my oldest daughter.
We finished our talk and I turned to leave the room so Hilary could pack her bags. Before I got to the door I had one more fleeting thought I wanted to discuss with her.
“There is something else that I wanted to talk to you about,” I nervously said.
“While we are both in the talking mood. How much of what happened to Rodney is factoring in to your potential career choice?”
“It’s not potential dad – it’s who I am. It’s what you made me believe it or not. And I’m not only taking Forensic Science next year. I’ve also enrolled in Criminal Justice. Innocent people like Rodney are always the ones that get hurt.”
She stopped for a moment.
“I mean maybe he shouldn’t have been poking around Stacy’s files but. . .”
I hugged her again.
“Listen unless you are protecting yourself or someone else from immediate danger there is never an okay time to kill anyone. Regardless of how much poking around they were doing. None of this was Rodney’s fault. Only one person pulled the trigger that night–remember that.”
“Thanks for listening dad.”
I bent down and kissed her on the forehead.
“Anytime kiddo.”
I went downstairs to check the doors one last time. Before I knew it, I was standing on my front porch, gazing out into the black nothingness of the sky. I sat down and buried my face in my hands. All at once, the weight of the day’s earlier events and the prospect of sending my family off to protective custody all came crashing down on me. I wasn’t the pity party type at all, but I was struggling to keep it together. I lay back, stretching out on the hard porch floor. It felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. Like I was being crushed in every direction. The cold air seeped into my skin, and it took me a minute to remember that it was winter and I’d wandered out with no jacket. Despite how much I hated being cold, in this moment I didn’t even care. I just lay there. I don’t know how much time passed before I heard the door open behind me.
“David, honey, what are you doing out here? It’s freezing! You’re going to catch pneumonia.”
I dragged myself up from the porch and went inside.
“I’m fine. I needed to think, to clear my mind.”
Miranda draped a blanket around me. “And you felt the best way to accomplish that was to lay on the porch in near-freezing temperatures?”
I laughed at myself. “Well, if you’re going to put it that way. . .”
We went up to our room. Neither of us knew how long this would last. And while I hoped it would be over quick, there were no certainties in my line of work. I sat on the bed and pull
ed my wife down on top of me.
Chapter 24
It was eight a.m. I’d already spoken to the boys at the station about how this was going to go down. The plan was to have three blacked-out Expeditions pull into my three-car garage. Miranda and the girls would climb into one. The vehicles would leave and head to a secure garage to meet up with six other Expeditions. They would all leave the warehouse in groups of three, escorted by two additional Expeditions and heading in three different directions. Every hour, three of the trucks would split off until all nine were headed their own way. Even if Caleb and Marci were staking out the house, they wouldn’t be able to tell which of the nine Expeditions my family was in. To make it even more difficult, the move would happen under the cover of night. The escort vehicles warned local law enforcement ahead of time, so their one-hundred-mile-per-hour speed could be maintained. Anyone following one of the vehicles would stick out like a sore thumb. Secure communication had been set up, allowing me to contact them whenever I wanted or needed to. I’d been given a pager the girls could use if they needed me to phone them for any reason.
“Daddy, are you sure you can’t change your mind and come with us?” Karen asked.
“As tempting as it sounds, I can’t. Not this time. It’ll be over before you know it.”
I didn’t want to drag this out any longer than I had to.
I was still looking out of my dining room window as my parents pulled up. “We’ve got company!” I yelled out. They had showed up to say good-bye, neither taking my “no” for answer when they’d asked about it the night before.
I walked over to the door to let them in.
“Hey, son, you look . . . well, you look tired,” my dad said, offering up a hug.
I nodded without saying a word. My mother gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and headed for the girls.
My dad caught my eye and gestured for me to move his direction.
“What’s up, Dad? If you’re going to lecture me on rest—”
“No, I’ve beat that horse dead. It may not mean much, and I know she’s not all there, but your Aunt B—”
“Whatever you’re going to say, don’t. Yes, Aunt B is everything you were alluding to.”