Denouement
Page 20
Callie and I spent days discussing our future and my future employment. We came to an agreement. I’d been in to the station a handful of times though I wouldn’t be cleared to return full time for another week. The first time I’d stopped in was the Friday after the injuries, to take the oral boards for my captain’s test. Bostok had spent hours tutoring me while I was at the hospital. I continued studying and crafting my answers while I was immobile at home the remainder of the week. I couldn’t have been more prepared, so I felt it was still the right time to take the test. I had Callie take me to the station and roll me into the interview in my wheelchair. I had thought it went well, but I still had another week or two of waiting to see if the job would be mine.
I took a seat on the stool, set down the box I held, and stared at the bare white wall across from me. It turned from white to cream with each rotation of the paint roller Callie held. I wiped sweat from my forehead.
“What do you think? Do you like the color?” Callie asked.
“Boy’s rooms should be blue, shouldn’t they?” I asked.
“Yeah, yeah, we’ll see. You’re so confident it’s going to be a boy.”
“It is,” I said.
“Are you going to be disappointed if it’s not?” she asked. Callie ran the roller up the wall again.
“Not a chance. It just means we’ll have to keep trying.”
She looked over her shoulder at me and smiled. “What if we have three girls in a row?”
I shrugged. “Then we’ll be due for a boy,” I said.
Callie laughed. “Where do you think we should put the crib?”
“It’s up to you,” I said.
“I was thinking we could put the crib there and maybe get a chair or something to put over there.” Callie nodded and pointed at the locations.
I smiled. “Whatever you want, dear.”
“Finally. You understand the right way to answer my questions.”
I laughed, stood, and walked to her. I kissed her on the side of the face. “I’m going to go back to unloading.”
“I feel like I should be helping.”
“Negative. Pregnant women don’t unload moving trucks,” I said.
“But one-armed, limpy men do? You should have your sling on and not be lifting boxes.”
“I’m just taking the easy stuff. I put Hank and Jones on lifting everything heavy.”
“That’s so nice of you.” Callie laughed and shook her head. “Hey, where’s Sandy?” she asked.
“She was helping my dad take some things to the shed the last I saw her. Do you need her?”
“Um, yeah. When you see her, send her in. I want to get her opinion on some paint colors.”
“Sounds good,” I said.
I walked from the bedroom, down the wood-floored hall, and into the living room. Boxes were stacked, furniture was set in various spots, rugs were rolled and leaning against the wall. Hank and Jones looked over at me.
Hank pointed at the couch they must have just set down. “Couch good there?” Hank asked.
“Perfect. I’m sure we’ll rearrange everything ten times before it finds its final spot. How are we looking out there?” I asked.
“Moving truck number one is empty. Truck number two is about halfway done,” Hank said.
“I’m going to go grab those lamps,” Jones said. He walked from the room.
Hank wiped sweat from his forehead and took a seat on the edge of the couch.
“You didn’t need to come, Hank,” I said. “We could have handled it and I know you have your hands full.”
“Nah, it’s the least I could do,” he said.
I nodded. Hank had filled me in while I was still in the hospital that there had been talks of his wife, Karen, getting transferred to Arlington. They’d just got confirmation a few weeks prior that it was in fact happening. Hank had been dealing with realtors, arranging movers, and searching for employment in that area. It sounded like he was aiming for a position at the bureau there, but I hadn’t heard anything further on it in a week or so—either way, it was going to be weird not having him around.
“Well, I appreciate you taking the time to head over, Hank. If you and Karen need a hand with anything, let Callie and I know.”
He shrugged. “I think we’re finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Karen got her starting date, I have an interview lined up, and we found a place that we like.”
“All good news,” I said. “You got an interview, huh? Bureau?”
“Yeah. We’ll see how it goes. Lots of hoops to jump through it sounds like,” he said.
I nodded. “I’ll make sure I talk you up if they call.”
“Keep it believable,” he said.
I smiled. “I’ll keep it in the realm of reality.”
“Thanks,” he said.
Jones walked back through the front door and set a pair of standing lamps down.
“Um, I’ll be back to give you guys a hand in a second,” I said. “I need to find Sandy. Callie wants her.”
“She was with your dad walking down toward the lake a minute ago,” Jones said.
“Okay. I’m going to go get her. Why don’t you guys relax for a bit. There’s plenty of beer in the fridge.”
Hank stood and stretched his back. “Yeah, I guess I could take five.”
“Thanks again for the help, guys,” I said.
“No problem. There isn’t too much stuff left. You’re going to need to buy some serious furniture to fill this place,” Hank said.
I raised my eyebrows. “Trust me, I’ve already been informed. Okay, grab a beer. I’ll be back.”
I headed outside, walked down the front stairs, and turned left at the corner of the house. Across the football-field-sized chunk of grass, the lake calmly reflected the sun, which was setting at my back. I made my way down and saw my father and Sandy sitting on the bench at the end of the dock. I walked out, stood behind them, and placed my hands on their shoulders.
“One hell of a nice view,” my father said.
“This whole place is gorgeous, Carl,” Sandy said.
“Yeah, I think we did all right,” I said. “Cal was looking for you, Sandy. I guess she wants your opinion on some paint colors.”
“Sure, honey,” Sandy said. She stood and headed up the dock.
I took a seat next to my father.
“What do you think?” I asked.
“Dream house,” he said.
I nodded.
The reflection of the sun and sky off the water turned the surface of the lake shades of pink and purple.
“I could probably get used to a place like this,” he said.
I watched a fishing boat cross on the other side of the lake. “You know, you guys could always move down here. You could spend the weekends over here. Holidays. Whenever,” I said.
“I don’t know about moving. I think I’d miss my woods and land too much.”
“Buy some woods and land down here,” I said.
“Your sister would lose it if Sandy and I left from up there.”
I smiled. “Yeah, she would.”
“Don’t worry. I’m sure we all will be here a handful of times a year.”
“Good,” I said.
“So, have your thoughts on what you want to do changed at all?”
“No.” I let out a long breath. “My mind is made up. Captain’s desk or bust. No more day to day in the field.”
“Hard decision?” he asked.
“No. Not after what happened and seeing the way Callie looked at me when I was lying in that hospital bed.”
“So what are your options if you don’t get the captain’s slot?”
“I don’t know. We’ll see when the time comes. I’m going to stay in law enforcement doing something. There’s a couple things up for consideration.” I stretched my arms out across the back of the bench. “Right now, I’m just going to try to enjoy all of this and not worry too much.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” my fa
ther said.
I let out a breath. “Okay. I’m going to head back up and finish getting the truck unloaded.”
“I’ll join you.”
My father followed me up the dock, back toward the house.
I glanced to my right and saw a single dark-haired man in a suit, standing on the platform overlooking the lake—Faust.
Faust held up his hand in a wave.
“I’ll meet you up at the house, Dad,” I said.
He nodded and continued walking. I made a right from the dock and stepped up the stairs of the platform. Faust leaned against the railing.
“Come to help move furniture?” I asked.
He smiled. “I can probably lend a hand for a bit if you need it.”
“Nah, I think we’re fine.” I stuck my finger out at him and waved it up and down. “Plus, suit and tie isn’t exactly moving-furniture attire. What’s up?”
“One hell of a house,” he said.
“Thanks,” I said. “I’d ask how you knew where it was, or even how you knew that I moved, but what’s the point?”
Faust smirked.
“So did you just come out to shoot the shit or what?” I asked.
“I wanted to see if you had an answer to my proposal,” Faust said. “I never heard anything since we talked a few weeks ago.”
I shook my head. “I haven’t heard back about the captain’s test yet. I should know in a week or so.”
“I could use you. Like I said, you name the dollar amount that you’d need.”
“It’s kind of hard to say yes to a job when I don’t know what I’d be doing,” I said.
“It’s classified,” Faust said.
“Yeah, you’ve said that before.”
“I’ll keep you out of the field, like we talked about. You’d only report to me. Paid cash.”
I smirked and leaned against the rail at his side. “Yeah. I have to say that all sounds exceptionally iffy.”
Faust laughed. “Yeah, I guess you could say that it sounds a little off, on the surface. But the main thing is you’d be helping keep people safe on a much larger scale. I’ll let you kick it around. You give me a call and let me know.”
I nodded. “I will.”
“Good,” he said.
“It sounds like Hank got himself an interview at the bureau,” I said.
“Oh yeah?” Faust asked. “I didn’t know that was something he was interested in. Down here?”
“No. His wife is getting transferred up to Arlington.”
Faust looked as if he was in thought. “I have some friends up there. I can make a couple of calls on his behalf,” Faust said.
“I’d ask him before you did anything like that. Hank is the kind of guy that would want the position on his own merit. I’m sure he’d appreciate the offer though.”
“Understandable,” Faust said.
“So are you on the clock right now or what?” I asked.
“Nah,” he said.
I started toward the house and motioned Faust to follow. “Come on. Let’s go grab a beer.”
“Sure. What the hell.”
The End
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Table of Contents
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Table of Contents
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40