by Kathi Daley
“Is Alana’s sister with the kids?” I asked my mom, as my brothers moved farther apart, making room for Mom and me between John and Jeff.
“Yes,” Mom answered as Dad stepped into the hallway to make a call.
“How are they holding up?” I knew the answer but felt I should ask.
“They were pretty hysterical, but I managed to get them to sleep before we left. I thought Alana would be here.”
“In the chapel with her parents,” I answered. I glanced at Dad, who was pacing back and forth, talking on his phone. “Who’s Dad talking to?”
Mom folded her hands in her lap and looked off into the distance. “I don’t know. He’s been on the phone since we heard. He’s trying to find out who shot Jason.”
“You mean they don’t know?”
Mom shook her head. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “He didn’t tell anyone where he was going when he left the precinct. Someone found him in an alley and called it in. As of the last I heard, no one knew why he was anywhere near where he was found or who might have put a bullet in his chest.”
I glanced at Justin. Being five years younger than Jason, he often expressed his discontent with his role in Jason’s shadow because both worked for HPD, but I knew in some small space in his mind he was probably blaming himself. That’s what we Pope kids tended to do: blame ourselves for things that were completely out of our control. Of course I know there’s no way Justin could have known what was going on or what would happen, but, of all my brothers, he was the one who tended to be hardest on himself.
“Do you know anything at all?” I asked.
Justin shook his head. “I knew Jason had some questions regarding the body you found, but he never said a word to anyone about where he was going.”
“He called me,” I said. “Earlier, around lunchtime.”
Justin sat forward. “What did he want?”
“He asked me about Clifford Cramer. The man I found on the beach. He wanted to know if the tide was going in or out when I found him, and he asked if there was anything else in the water.”
Justin took my hand and led me out to the hallway. When we were alone he asked me to repeat everything Jason had asked and everything I’d told him. I mentioned the shiny thing in the water, as well as the plastic bags. There wasn’t a lot to tell, and that information on its own didn’t mean anything.
Justin and I were about to rejoin the others when Jimmy arrived. The three of us walked back into the waiting room together to find Alana and her parents were with the others. I’m not sure how to describe the next several hours other than to call them pure hell. Each minute that ticked by without a word as to whether Jason would live or die was more than any of us could bear. Alana was pale as a sheet and my mother looked like she was aging before my eyes. Dad was on and off the phone, as was Justin, while Jimmy and Jeff tried to keep Mom from falling apart completely and John wandered the halls, trying to find someone who could give us an update.
After a while I got tired of sitting and went out into the hallway to track down my dad. “Did you find out anything?” I asked.
Dad just shook his head. I had never seen him look so defeated.
“I spoke to Jason this afternoon. Around lunchtime.”
Dad narrowed his gaze. “What about?”
I told him what I’d told Justin about the tide and the items in the water. “I know you investigated Cramer five years ago. Does any of that mean anything to you?”
He took several deep breaths before leaning against the wall. I could see he was deep in thought. Finally, he spoke. “You said you saw plastic bags in the water?”
“There were several.”
“Were they grocery bags or watertight ones with a seal?”
“They looked heavy-duty. I didn’t actually get a close look at them, but my guess is if they were sealed they could be watertight.”
“Large or small?”
“Large. They were as big as a liner for a small home trash can.” I watched my father’s face. “Does that mean anything to you?”
“I’m not sure. What I do know is that for Jason to take off in the middle of the day and not tell anyone where he was going, it must have meant something to him. I intend to find out what it was.”
“Let me help you.” I could see Dad was about to refuse and expected as much, but instead he said, “Let’s talk about this tomorrow. For now, we should be with the family.”
******
“Here comes the doctor,” Jeff said two hours later.
We all stood up, waiting. It was hard to tell by the look on his face what sort of news he had. He wasn’t frowning, but he wasn’t smiling either. When he reached us Alana stepped forward.
“How is he?” she asked.
“Alive.”
I could see her physically relax just a bit.
“The bullet was fired from a fairly close range. Luckily, it didn’t damage any important organs before becoming lodged in his spine. We managed to extract the bullet, but your husband lost a lot of blood. At this point all we can do is wait. The next twenty-four hours will tell us a lot.”
“Can I see him?” Alana asked.
“For a minute, but only you.” The doctor looked at the rest of us. “Go home. Get some rest. Detective Pope won’t regain consciousness for quite some time.”
“You said the bullet lodged in his spine. Will he have spinal damage?” John asked.
“He may.”
“Will he be able to walk?” I asked.
“It’s too early to tell. I’m going to suggest again that you all get some rest. We should know more tomorrow.”
Justin lived on Oahu, as did I. Jeff, John, and Jimmy all went home with Mom and Dad. Alana and the kids would go to my parents’ as well because there would be a lot of people on hand to help take care of the kids. Alana’s parents weren’t in the best of health and her sister had four children of her own.
I hadn’t slept in my childhood room in years, but that night I wanted to be with my family. Mom had kept all our bedrooms just as they were when we moved out, so I grabbed Sandy and an overnight bag and headed in that direction. My parents had a foster child, Tommy, who had taken over the room we’d used as a den when I was growing up. It would have made sense for Mom to let him use one of our rooms because we’d all moved out, but she insisted our rooms were our rooms and always would be. In the end, I guess it worked out. Tommy was visiting a friend for the weekend, so Alana was in Jason’s old room and Kala and Kale were in Tommy’s room.
After my parents, Alana, and the kids had all gone to bed, my four brothers and I sat around the dining room table nursing beers. It had been such a long day, but I was still wound up. I could see they were as well.
“Are you sure you should have that second beer?” John, always the responsible one, asked Justin. “You need to drive home.”
Justin popped the lid. “I’ll just stay here.”
I understood where Justin was coming from. He only lived a few miles away, but tonight there was comfort in company.
“Can you all stay?” I asked my brothers.
“I took a few days of my vacation time when I heard,” John informed us. “I’ll take more if I need to.”
“I took a couple of days as well,” Jimmy answered.
“I have the next two days off anyway,” Jeff said. “After that, if things are still uncertain, I’ll take a leave for as long as I’m needed, although I hate to leave Candy alone for too long.”
I looked at Justin. He shrugged. “I might be better off on duty. You know Dad is making plans to launch his own unofficial investigation. I think it will be important for me to be at the station, where I can keep an eye on things.”
“I’m not sure Dad getting involved is the best idea,” John said. “He’s getting on in years and he isn’t a cop any longer. I’d hate for this to backfire on him and make things worse. I’m sure HPD are on it and don’t need his help.”
“He can be pretty stubborn,” Justi
n reminded John.
“I’ll talk to him,” he offered.
“Be firm,” Jimmy said.
“You need to convince Dad to let his sons handle this,” Justin added.
“Hey, what about me?” I asked.
“You aren’t a cop,” John pointed out.
“Not yet. But I can help.”
Jimmy tugged one of my pigtails like he had when I was a kid. “No need to worry your pretty little head. You stay here and help Mom with the kids while your big brothers take care of the monster who shot Jason.”
Like hell!
Chapter 5
Saturday, October 28
The next morning the family gathered for breakfast. Mom, who often used cooking as a means of stress relief, had gone all out, making SPAM, rice, eggs, and biscuits. Based on the huge platters of food, she must have gotten up really early and headed directly to the kitchen.
“It seems we should have heard something by now,” John stated as he filled his plate for the second time.
Mom gave John a meaningful glance as she nodded toward Kale and Kala. Alana didn’t want to upset them more than they already were.
“I’m sure Jason is just sleeping in,” Dad commented before getting up and heading to his office.
“Can we see Daddy today?” Kala asked.
“I think your dad has a lot of visitors already lining up to see him,” Mom replied. “How about if we make him some of his favorite cookies for when he’s feeling better?”
Both kids seemed to think that was a fine idea. Jimmy jumped in with a funny story about a fishing trip gone horribly wrong, which further distracted them while we finished our meal. Once they’d finished eating the kids were excused to go watch cartoons. As soon as they left the room, the adults began to discuss the subject on everyone’s mind. While we were all worried about Jason, the Popes were a cop family, and finding the man who had the nerve to shoot a cop and bringing him to justice was at the forefront of our minds.
My brothers all seemed to have ideas about how to proceed, but in my opinion none of them were any more relevant than the others. I was still angry that they’d decided not to include me in their theory building, but I didn’t want to start an argument, so I sat quietly and ate my food until Dad eventually returned to the table.
“I spoke to Jason’s doctor,” he informed us after retaking his seat at the head of the table. “He’s still in intensive care and hasn’t regained consciousness, but his vitals have stabilized. The doctor assured me Jason’s prognosis is a lot more promising than it seemed when he spoke to us last night.”
“That’s great,” I said. “Can we see him?”
“The only visitors they’re allowing right now are Alana, Mom, and me.” Dad looked at John. “They’re only allowing two visitors this morning, so I wondered if you could drive Alana and your mother. I have some leads I need to follow up on.”
John frowned but agreed. I wasn’t sure whether he’d gotten around to speaking to Dad about letting his sons handle things; based on this conversation, I assumed not.
John left with Mom and Alana, and Dad took off too, I assumed to follow up on the leads he’d referred to. Justin went to work, and Jimmy, Jeff, and I were assigned to stay with Kale and Kala. Jimmy and Jeff were a good distraction for the kids and spent most of the morning wrestling around like they did when they were Kale and Kala’s age. As the middle son, Jimmy had taken on the role of peacemaker between his older brothers, who tended to be serious, and his younger ones, who were still young enough to want to have some fun. Jimmy tended to be a goofball, but at times like these his playful personality was a welcome relief from the very real drama playing out in the background.
A couple of hours later Dad returned and went directly to his office. Shortly after that, John brought Mom home, although Alana decided to stay at the hospital. Mom headed into the kitchen with Kala and Kale to make cookies for their father, John joined Dad in his office, and Jimmy and Jeff went into town to meet up with Justin. Everyone was occupied, so I went upstairs to call Luke. As far as I knew, he still had no idea what had happened and I wanted him to hear it from me.
Luckily, he answered the phone. “Hey, Luke, it’s me.”
“Hey, yourself. I was going to call you.”
“You were?”
“My dad came home this morning. He still has a long road ahead of him, but at least he’s home, in his own bed.”
I let out a breath. “That’s good. I bet he’s happy to be with his family after everything he’s been through.”
Luke hesitated. “Some of them, I guess.”
I frowned at the tension in his voice. “What do you mean by that?”
“Nothing.”
“Come on, Luke. Tell me.”
He took a breath. “It’s just that I’ve been running this place since Dad went into the hospital. I’ve worked hard and have done a good job, yet the minute he gets home, he calls my two older brothers into his office. When I tried to join them he said they had ranch business to discuss and suggested I go see if Mom needed help in the kitchen.”
I cringed. “Maybe he figured you needed a break because you’d been working so hard in his absence.”
“Or,” Luke countered, “maybe he still sees me as the youngest child who let him down by not following in his footsteps the way my brothers did. I know he’s always been disappointed in me, but I thought my being here and handling things would help to change that. Now I’m starting to wonder if there’s anything I can ever do that will get him to show me the same respect he shows my brothers.”
“I’m so sorry.”
Luke let out a groan. “No, I’m sorry. My father has been through a terrible ordeal and he has a terrible ordeal ahead of him. I shouldn’t be making this about me. Maybe I really am the spoiled youngest child he thinks I am.”
“Being the youngest is hard.”
Luke’s voice softened. “I know you understand. Are you at work?”
“No, I’m at my parents’ house. Jason is in the hospital.”
There was dead silence and then Luke spoke. “God, I’m sorry. Why didn’t you stop me sooner?”
“I figured you needed to blow off some steam.”
“What happened?”
I explained.
“Is there anything I can do?” I could sense the frustration in Luke’s voice. It was the same thing I’d felt when his dad was in the hospital and I couldn’t be there to help.
“No,” I answered. “I think things are under control for now. Alana and the kids, as well as all my brothers, are staying at the house. Mom’s baking with the kids, Alana is at the hospital with Jason, my dad is working in his office, and my brothers are trying to track down whoever did this to our brother.”
“They wouldn’t let you help out,” Luke said.
“No, they wouldn’t. And yes, I’m frustrated. Although I think Dad is too. I overheard John telling him to let them handle things before he left to join the other brothers in town. Dad was a cop for over thirty years and now his sons expect him to sit on the sidelines even though it was his son who was shot while looking into a case that was his to begin with. I imagine he’s no more likely to sit around doing nothing than I am.”
“Maybe the two of you should team up,” Luke suggested.
I paused and then smiled. “You know, I suggested that to Dad last night. He didn’t say yes, but he didn’t say no either. I think he was just putting me off to avoid an argument in the hospital, but now that my brothers have sidelined him as well, maybe he’ll feel differently. I think I’ll see if he’s at all open to the idea.”
“Do I need to remind you to be careful?”
“No, you don’t. I know you worry about me when I nose around in murder cases and I promise I’ll be careful.”
“Are there any suspects at this point?”
I let out a long breath. “No. Based on what I’ve been told, no one knows why Jason was even in the alley where it appears he was shot. We all think
he had a hunch he wanted to follow up on, but it seemed he didn’t share it with anyone. Hopefully, he’ll be able to fill in some of the blanks when he regains consciousness.”
“Hang on.”
I waited while Luke shouted to someone that he’d be right down.
“My sisters just showed up, so I guess I should go. I’ll call you later,” Luke promised. “If you get any news about Jason call me. If I don’t answer leave a message.”
“I will.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
I headed to the kitchen, where my mom, Kala, and Kale were making enough food to feed an army.
“I thought you were just making cookies.”
“I have a houseful of people to feed,” Mom said. “I figured I should get ahead of the game.”
I noticed Mom looked almost happy. I was sure she was worried about Jason, but it had been a long time since she’d had all her chicks at home. Or at least almost all her chicks.
“Is Dad still in his office?” I asked as I snagged a piece of apple from the pile she was slicing for a pie.
“As far as I know. You might want to leave him alone. He’s in a foul mood. I don’t think he took kindly to your brothers leaving him behind.”
I took another piece of apple and headed down the hall. Luke had a good idea about Dad and me working together. Now all I needed to do was convince him of it. I knocked once on the door and waited.
“Come in,” Dad called.
I opened the door and stepped inside. “Do you have a minute?”
He motioned to the leather chair on the other side of his desk. “What can I do for you, sweetheart?”
I glanced at the file he’d been working on. “The Cramer case?”
Dad nodded. “I had a few ideas I wanted to follow up on.”
“I overheard part of your conversation with John.”
My dad’s lips tightened, but he didn’t respond.
“Just so you know, I think he was wrong to exclude you,” I continued. “I know you’re retired, but you have more years on the force than the J team combined. In my opinion, they’re foolish not to take that into consideration.”