by Kris Calvert
The glare she shot me confirmed that she remembered. How could she not? It was her mantra where my love life was concerned.
“What do you want me to say?”
“I just want you to be happy for me. That’s all.”
She paused and stared at me. “I’m happy for you,” she lied.
I raised my eyebrow and gave her a wicked smile.
“See?” she continued. “I really want to hate your fucking guts and then you do something like that.”
“Like what?” I protested. “I just smiled.”
She nodded and for the first time since I’d known her she dropped her shoulders and began to cry.
“What’s this all about Micah?” I asked as I walked around my desk to be near her. “We don’t do this with each other. Our deal is we shoot each other straight. Right?”
She nodded and continued to look down as she wiped her tears and runny nose with the grace of a truck driver.
“What?” I asked again.
“It’s just…I miss you and I love you.”
“I know,” I agreed. “I love and miss you too.”
“No. I love you, love you,” she confessed.
“What?” I stood up and moved away from her as if she’d told me she was contagious.
“I can’t help it, goddammit,” she sniffed. “I do. And I never thought I felt that way about you, ya know? For years you slept with all those women. But I was the constant in your life. I was always the one you talked to. I was the consoler, the goof. I made you laugh. I was the woman in your life,” she bellowed as she tapped her clenched fist into her chest.
“Why didn’t you ever say anything?” I mumbled as I sat back down in my chair.
“I didn’t know I had to. I guess I thought it was pretty obvious. I guess men, including you, are as stupid as I’ve been led to believe.”
I laughed at her comment.
“Don’t laugh. You’re only making it worse, dammit.”
“I’m not laughing at you –”
“You are –and with good reason. I turned into one of the stupid, stupid girls that had you and can’t let you go.”
“I guess I’m still confused. It’s not like we ever had a physical relationship, Micah. I mean, you’re one of the best friends I’ve ever had. And I don’t have friends who are girls.”
“Women are funny that way. We get attached. Even when the relationship is platonic.”
I shook my head in bewilderment. For the first time in my life, I thought of Micah as a woman and not my trusty sidekick and right hand man. It was more than I wanted to know. It was more than I wanted to wrap my head around – especially today.
“What do you want me to say?” I sighed. I wanted to be mindful of her feelings, and yet at the same time I was a very happily married man who was supposed to be on his honeymoon.
“I don’t want you to say anything. I shouldn’t have told you. Now there’s gonna be this awkward as fuck thing between us.”
There was the Micah I knew.
I chuckled softly.
“I said don’t laugh, you son of a bitch,” she ordered.
“I’m not laughing,” I smiled and pointed to her. “It’s just that is the woman I treasure.”
She stood and looked away. “I need a smoke.”
“You need to quit,” I joked. “No man likes to french kiss an ashtray.”
“You’re such a bastard,” she smiled.
“Indeed,” I agreed. “But I still need you to do something for me.”
“What?”
“Be kind to my wife. She has no idea what we’ve been through together, but she respects our relationship. She knows how much you mean to me. I just want you to understand how much she means to me too.”
“Don’t you know I want you to be happy? I just didn’t know I was going to feel this way. And I guess until you got married, it still wasn’t real to me.”
“Even though we just had a baby? You can’t get more real than that, Micah.”
“Believe me,” she sighed. “I know.”
“Are we good?” I asked as I hugged her and kissed the top of her head for the first time in as many years as I’d known her.
“We’re good,” she agreed. “I’m fine.”
I nodded and walked away. “I’m leaving to go back to Shadeland this afternoon. My mom’s not doing well.”
“I know. I’m sorry. Speaking of,” Micah scowled. “I should’ve told you, but we got all tangled up in my feelings and shit.”
“What?”
“Sam called. She wants you to call her back.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, she said it wasn’t important. I mean an emergency.”
“Everything’s important right now.”
26
MAC
“Callahan,” I answered as my phone buzzed in my pocket.
“It’s Z. We’ve got a problem. Hector’s been following your family.”
“What?”
“Dax has drawn pictures of him. He called him Coco. I might be Greek, but I’m pretty damn sure Dax means El Cucuy.”
“What?”
“It’s Spanish – it means the –”
“Boogeyman,” I finished, “Is Dax okay?”
“He’s only been talking to him, but Mac, Hector has followed Samantha from Alabama to Pontchartrain and New Orleans.”
“How? And how did he get past the agents?”
“Beats the hell out of me. I’ve pulled up the surveillance tapes of Jackson House to ID him. Dax says he saw him this morning in the gardens.”
“Why has Dax been playing anywhere by himself?”
“He hasn’t, Mac. He’s been with Sam, Polly, or Adelay the entire time.”
“What about Adelay?”
“She’s clean, Mac. I can promise you. Everyone in my house is clean.”
“But my family’s not safe!” I shouted. “They’re not safe anywhere.”
“Mac, if Hector wanted to hurt Dax, he would’ve done it by now.”
“Where’s Samantha?” I barked.
“She’s right here. Hang on.”
“Mac.” Her voice trembled. I knew she was scared.
“Are you okay, sweetheart?” I asked as I paced the room and ran my hands through my hair in nervous desperation.
“He’s been everywhere we’ve been, Mac – Lone Oak, King’s house and now Leo’s. We’re not safe.”
“He wants to scare us. He wants us to be afraid of him,” I muttered as I thought about Hector’s face, twisted with rage right before he pulled the trigger to shoot me a year ago.
“He’s doing a good job,” Sam sobbed. “He’s been talking to Dax. He’s been inside, outside. I don’t understand. How is this happening? We have FBI agents everywhere and this guy is talking to our son?”
“I don’t know, honey.”
“I can’t do this, Mac. It’s too much. Before it was just us, but now he’s involved the children. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost a child.”
“Calm down, sweetheart. We’re not losing anyone. I’m going to hang up and send the plane for you. I’ll meet you in Shadeland.”
“Leo’s already a step ahead of you. A plane is waiting for us now. He’s coming with us to Shadeland.”
I exhaled, thankful that Z was taking care of business. “I love you, sweetheart. Try to stay strong. We’ll be together soon,” I promised.
“There’s more, Mac. I called today, but Micah wouldn’t let me talk to you,”
“Yeah, well, that’s a whole other story…”
“What?” she asked.
“I’ll explain later. What else?” I asked as I frantically began to pull my papers together to get the hell out of D.C. as soon as possible.
“It’s Richard,” she said. “I called the family attorney today and I think maybe he’s up to something.”
“Like what?” I stopped shuffling papers.
“He’s pulled the deed on Mimi’s house and property and has asked about her
will.”
“Okay…” I paused.
“I get the house and property when Mimi passes away. But if something happens to me…”
She didn’t need to say anything more. It hit me like a ton of bricks.
“Sam,” I pleaded. “Do not leave Z’s side. Do not leave the children alone. All of you stay together and with Z. I’ll be right behind you.”
“Mac,” she sobbed. “You’re scaring me even more. Do you think Richard wants me…” She paused and I could hear her hiccup through her tears. “Dead?”
“I don’t know, sweetheart,” I lied. “But promise me you’ll stay with Z and the other agents. Nothing by yourself.”
“Okay,” she sniffed.
“Say ‘I promise, Mac’.”
“I promise,” Samantha choked out.
“I love you very much, baby, and I’ll see you at Lone Oak.”
“I love you too.”
“Remember, stay with Z. Now let me talk with him before you hang up.”
I sat down and held my head in my hand and tried to hold in what was left of my sanity. I was trained for a hellfire shit-storm. It was different when it was my own family.
“Yeah,” Z’s voice boomed on the line.
“Are you on the move?”
“Affirmative. We’re trying to get a twenty on Hector.”
“The safety of my family is in your hands.”
“I understand.”
“I’ll meet you at Shadeland. If he’s tailing us, he’ll show up soon enough. Hector wants a party and I’m gonna kick down the front door to bring it to him.”
“Agreed,” Z answered.
I hung up and immediately called Moss at Mimi’s home.
“Sir,” he barked.
“I want a twenty on Richard Peterson.”
“Be advised he’s on the premises.”
“I want him kept there. I don’t give a good goddamn what you have to do to make it happen. Don’t let him leave,” I ground out.
“Yes, sir.”
“I’m on my way to Shadeland. If you have any trouble out of him, you can let him know I’ll personally put a boot up his ass.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Who’s covering my mother and Mrs. Peterson at Autumn Valley?”
“I just got word. Your mother is out of the cardiac unit and back in her room. They each have an agent at her door and the state police are watching the grounds closely.”
“I’m on my way.”
I hung up without saying another word and shouted for Micah.
“Yes?”
“Call the pilot. I want to be wheels up in an hour.”
“Where to?”
“Home.”
The jet didn’t arrive fast enough for me and the flight path was too long. I was anxious to get to my family and everything seemed to be in slow motion.
I looked through the evidence we had on Hector and now Richard. There was no doubt in my mind they were working together.
My phone rang as I began to come to grips with that reality.
“It’s Micah,” she began. “We got the trace on the call in to Richard Peterson.”
“And?”
“Pretty sure it’s Hector. They’ve traced the originating calls from Shadeland, New Orleans and…” she paused. “Slidell?”
“Lake Pontchartrain,” I muttered. “It’s him.”
“There’s more.”
“What?”
“They’re tracking the phone right now via GPS, Mac. It’s in Shadeland, Alabama.”
“He’s there already. Where?”
“Last report was the town square. What’s that close to?”
“Autumn Valley.”
We landed and the black sedan that met me knew I was going to the nursing home. I’d put out an APB on Hector, but we had nothing.
I pulled the phone from my pocket as we drove and dialed Z.
“What’s the word?” he answered.
“I’m on the ground and on my way to Autumn Valley. We had a lock on Hector’s phone. He’s here in town. I’ve got agents out looking, but he’s pulled the battery or tossed the phone and we’ve lost him.”
“Our ETA is nineteen hundred hours,” Z reported. “We’ll head straight to Lone Oak. I’ve called ahead. It’s secure.”
“I’ve got Moss watching over Peterson,” I replied. “He’s on lockdown until I can get to his ass.”
“I’ll let you know when we’re back at base.”
“Thank you, Z.”
“You’d do it for me.”
“You know I would.”
As we drove up the lane to Autumn Valley, I took a deep breath and prayed Mom was safe.
It was past six o’clock and visiting hours were over as I stopped at security and flashed my badge.
“Plenty of y’all around tonight,” the guard replied.
I nodded, thinking that was a good thing – the more agents the better.
I walked the familiar hallway, wishing so many things were different. As I wandered the C wing and approached the door to Momma’s suite, I spotted King behind the nurses’ station.
Giving him a nod, he held up a finger and quickly hung up.
“Mac, wait. Come with me,” he said as he quickly ushered me into a small room beside the nurses’ lounge, closing the door behind us.
“What’s up? I asked. “I’m anxious to see my mother.”
“Mac,” he hesitated. His face was ashen and his eyes lifeless. I knew the words that were coming next. I didn’t want to hear them. I looked away and back to his face again hoping he’d give me a different expression, but his pale and quiet tone said everything he didn’t want to. “I’m sorry.”
My ears began to ring as I sat in one of the fading leather chairs in the small room. I glanced over and saw a single box of tissues on the end table and realized this is the room where you hear the news.
“She’s gone, Mac,” said King.
My mother was dead. The room began to spin. I could see his mouth moving, I knew he was talking to me, but the buzz in my head was deafening and everything seemed in slow motion and on mute.
“She had another heart attack. We did everything we could, but we were afraid this could happen. We couldn’t revive her, Mac.”
I felt the cold leather under my hands as I shook my head. I wasn’t getting what he was saying. I knew what the words meant, but it was as if he wasn’t talking to me. It wasn’t real. He wasn’t talking to me.
“Mac?” he said again, trying to get my attention.
“I don’t understand,” I stumbled.
“There was nothing we could do.”
“What?” I asked again.
“I think you’re going into shock, Mac.”
“No. I don’t understand.”
King grabbed my shoulders. It was as if I was watching everything that was happening but no longer a part of it.
“Mac, your mother has passed away. Now, I’ve not let your agents in the room. I wanted to talk with you first.”
The words sank in. Your mother has passed away. My mother was gone. My mother was gone and I didn’t get to say goodbye. “I can see her?” I asked.
“Yes. I’ll take you to her, but I need to know you’re understanding what I’m saying.”
“My mother is dead.”
King nodded and stood. “Do you want to see her now or do you need a minute?”
“Now.”
We walked into her suite as the cardiac equipment was pushed from the room. The nurses cast their eyes to the floor as I passed them.
King silently stopped the agents before they made it to me, and I heard one of them say the word sorry.
The room was growing darker as the sun had almost set outside and one small light above her bed illuminated her frail body.
I walked to the bedside and King placed a chair behind me.
“Stay as long as you’d like. No one will bother you,” King assured me. “Would you like for me to call Samantha?”
I shook my head. “She’s on a plane with the kids. She’ll be here in an hour.”
I felt the weight of his hand on my shoulder before he turned, leaving me alone with what was left of my beautiful mother.
I touched her frail hand, now resting on her chest outside a blanket and dropped my head. With one breath I began to sob.
She was empty and somehow no longer even looked like herself. The once vibrant woman with the beautiful smile and contagious laugh was gone. And just like Dad, I’d missed saying goodbye.
27
SAMANTHA
The wheels screeched as the plane landed in the small airport outside of Montgomery. We were still thirty minutes from home and the children were already asleep.
Polly kept a close eye on them as I asked Leo question after question. I wanted to know the plan. I wanted to know everything. Where had Hector been? Where was he going? Was he still following us? Had Mac landed and where was he?
Leo did his best to comfort me, but he divulged little and by the time we hit the runway, I just wanted to get to Lone Oak and get the children into their beds. We’d been on the run for a week – a week too long.
Timms met us at the airport along with two FBI sedans. We had an escort all the way home.
As Leo’s phone rang, he looked to me and said one word, “Mac.”
My heart jumped.
“What?” Leo said softly into the phone as he turned away from me. “Of course. She’s right here. I’m so sorry, Mac.”
Leo handed me the phone over the front seat and gave me a solemn look.
“What?” I asked in a whisper as I took the phone from Leo.
“Mac?”
“Sweetheart.” His voice cracked with emotion. “It’s so good to hear your voice.”
“Mac, what is it?”
“It’s my mother, Sam.” He paused as I heard him gasp for air. “She’s dead.”
I put my hand over my mouth and closed my eyes. Trying to concentrate solely on the sound of his voice drowning everything else out.
“When?”
“Just before I got here. She had a fatal heart attack. I didn’t get to say goodbye.”
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”
He was quiet on the other end of the line. I knew from past experience there was nothing to be said in this moment. No words were consoling enough to take away the pain. He was numb. And I understood.