I drove back home and brought my purchases in with me. Gloria was lying on the couch, a white cloth draped across her forehead. I set my packages down on the dining room table and walked over to her, sitting on the edge of the couch.
“How are you feeling?” I said.
Gloria opened her easy and looked up at me. She slowly shook her head and sighed. “Not so hot,” she said. “I feel dizzy and nauseous.”
“Maybe I should call your doctor,” I said.
“It’s not that bad,” Gloria said. “It’s just bad enough that I don’t feel like getting up just yet. Give me a while. It could pass soon.”
“Can I get you anything?” I said, holding her hand.
“Could you bring me a glass of 7-Up and a couple saltine crackers?” Gloria said. “I think it could help settle my stomach.”
“You want fries with that?” I said, smiling.
Gloria was in no mood for my wit, so I let it drop and hurried to the kitchen. I brought her soda and crackers to the living room and set them on the coffee table. I took the cloth from her head and helped her sit up. She bit into a cracker and took a sip of soda.
“Does that help?” I said.
She nodded softly. “Thanks, Elliott,” she said, taking another bite from the cracker and then quickly shifted her head to the side. “Did you see that?” Gloria said.
“See what?” I asked.
“That big fly,” Gloria said. “I wonder how he got in here. Would you swat that thing, Elliott, Please?”
I looked around the room and didn’t see anything but still went through the motions to placate Gloria. “He got away,” I told her. “Don’t worry, I’ll get him.”
Gloria finished her crackers and soda and then lay back down on the couch. She closed her eyes and moaned softly.
I sat next to her again and felt her forehead. It was warm and damp. I picked up the white cloth from the coffee table and hurried out to the kitchen, soaking it in cold water, wringing it out and bringing it back to Gloria. I folded it neatly and placed it back on her forehead. “Does that feel any better?” I said.
Gloria’s head nodded faintly.
“I’m calling the doctor,” I told her.
A few minutes later when I got off the phone, I sat next to Gloria again and said, “The doctor thinks it would be best if I brought you in right away for an examination. It’s just a precaution, but I think he’s right. Come on, I’ll take you in to see him.”
“But I’m not due for another two weeks,” Gloria protested.
“Come on,” I said, helping her sit up. “The doctor will take a quick look and set both of our minds at ease.”
“Oh, all right,” Gloria protested.
I parked in the emergency entrance and told Gloria to stay put while I went inside to bring her a wheelchair. I wheeled her in and stopped at the reception counter. The nurse on duty took the information from my insurance card and arranged to have Gloria wheeled into an examination room. I stayed with her while we waited for her doctor to come in.
Doctor Arthur Hoskins was a gray-haired man in his late fifties. Had it not been for the gray hair, I’d have taken him for forty or forty-one. He sat on a rolling stool and wheeled himself next to Gloria, taking her temperature, blood pressure, pulse and checking the figures against her chart.
“Her blood pressure is elevated a little,” Hoskins said, turning to me. “Has she had any other problems lately?”
“Her head was warm and sweaty just before I brought her in,” I said. “She told me she saw a large fly in the house, but I didn’t see anything.”
“There was a fly in the house,” Gloria said. “It flew right by me.” The effort of complaining made Gloria stop and lower her head. I exchanged glances with the doctor.
Doc Hoskins checked a few more details on Gloria’s chart and then looked at her. “You’re not due to deliver for another thirteen days,” he said, “but I’d like you to stay here until then so we can monitor your condition.”
“Two weeks in the hospital?” Gloria said. “I don’t feel that bad, doc.”
“It’s just a precaution,” Hoskins said. “Meanwhile, I’ll have my nurse come in and draw a blood sample from your arm. I just want to do an additional workup to see what may be causing your symptoms. It’s nothing to be alarmed at. It’s just routine.” Doc Hoskins left the room, in search of his nurse.
I held Gloria’s hand and smiled at her, trying to ease her anxiety. “I’ll feel a lot better knowing someone’s keeping an eye on you,” I said. “Once Matt comes, you’ll probably feel a lot less stress and pressure and your symptoms will just go away by themselves, you’ll see.”
“I hope so,” Gloria said. “I so sick of being tired all the time.”
After the nurse had finished drawing a vial of blood from Gloria, she sent an orderly in to wheel Gloria up to a semi-private room on the second floor. They put her to bed and let me sit with her for another half hour, while the sedative started to work. When she fell asleep I got up and left the room. I returned to the reception area and asked the nurse to call me if anything changed. I left her my cell phone number.
I stopped home briefly to retrieve my packages from the dining room table and then drove over to Dad’s house. I found him watching television in his stocking feet. He invited me to join him on the couch.
“Is this on now,” I said, pointing to the TV screen, or is it recorded?”
“It’s recorded,” Dad said, hitting the pause button on his remote. “What’s up?”
I told him about Gloria and how she had to stay in the hospital until after the delivery. I told him what the doctor had said about precautions.
“It’s not unusual for the first child,” Dad said. “You gave your mother a little trouble during your delivery, but a couple of days later, she was back home with you and she was feeling much better, so don’t you worry about a thing. They’ll take good care of her and Matt.”
“Was it this nerve wracking for you?” I said.
Dad nodded. “Oh yes,” he said. “I visited her every day and called in between visits. The staff at the hospital was ready to clobber me.”
“So that’s where I get my OCD from, huh?” I said.
“Must be in the genes,” Dad said. “I think I got mine from your grandpa, Matt.”
“As long as Gloria and the baby are all right,” I said.
“So what’s in the bag?” Dad said, gesturing toward my bag of electronic goodies.
“Wait ‘til you see what I bought,” I said. “These ought to take Cooper Investigations to the next level. I can hardly wait to use them. I just need a client.” I pulled out the first box with the non-infra-red camera and monitor, explaining and demonstrating what the gadget could do. When Dad saw his tiny face in the tiny monitor, he smiled, looked left and right, stuck out his tongue and then looked at the camera again.
“It can do all that in that little size?” he said. “That is amazing.”
I pulled the other two camera boxes out and explained about the night vision capabilities.
“I can already see some uses for this equipment,” Dad said. “Picture this, you have one of these mounted in a dark warehouse while you’re monitoring activities in the safety of your van outside. You can see if anyone is inside before you go in. You’ll be able to tell where someone is hiding without using a flashlight. I wish they’d had this stuff when I first started.”
“They did,” I said, “but it was ten times bigger and twenty times more expensive.” I saved the best for last and pulled the tiny helicopter out of the bag and handed it to Dad. I pointed out the platform mount beneath the copter’s body. I picked the little camera up again and stuck it on the copter’s mount and held the copter overhead, simulating flight. The images appeared on the small monitor in Dad’s hands. “Huh?” I said. “Now what kind of uses do you see for it?” I moved the copter around some more and walked about the room.
“All right,” Dad said. “Here’s how I see it bein
g used, but what I’m about to describe would only apply if there are two people in the car. Every now and then you’re on a job where you have to follow someone in your car and you lose them in traffic. They leave you behind at a red light or train crossing and by the time you can go again, your quarry is nowhere to be seen. So, while you’re driving, your partner is operating this copter, which hovers above your car. If you have to stop for a light, you send the copter ahead, hovering over the person you’re following. Your partner can have the copter pan back and forth to show you the street signs. You’ll know exactly where to go to catch up with your quarry.”
“I knew this was a worthwhile purchase,” I said. “How would you like to be the driver while I operate the copter?”
“Any time you say,” Dad said, eagerly. “What about letting potential clients know what you’re offering?”
“It’s too late to get into the newest Yellow Pages,” I said. “I was thinking about running a display ad in the L.A. Times for a couple of weeks and see what happens.”
“You could also do select mailings to companies in the area,” Dad said. “You know, let them know that you can handle discreet investigations on their behalf, etc. You never know, there just might be someone out there looking for just such a service. Let me know how it works out.”
“I will,” I said. “And thanks for your input.”
“That’s what I’m here for,” Dad said.
“Oh, and thanks for reassuring me about Gloria, too,” I said.
“I’m here for that as well,” Dad said. “Do you think it would be all right if I went up and visited her for a little while?”
“She’d like that,” I said, right before I left Dad’s house.
I drove to the classified offices of the L.A. Times and asked to speak with an advertising rep. The clerk behind the counter pressed a couple of buttons on her desk phone and a minute later a man emerged from somewhere in the back and stepped up to the counter.
“May I help you?” he said, shaking my hand.
“Do you have a couple of minutes to talk with me about some display ads?” I said.
“Certainly,” the man said. “Follow me.”
He led me to a private office and invited me to sit and then pulled out a yellow legal pad and a pencil. I told him who I was and told him a little about Cooper Investigations. I also described my new equipment and the services I could now offer above and beyond what we already offered. He made notes on his pad and when he’d finished, he held up a rough sketch and described its dimensions and how much it would cost to run. He told me he’d show me a proof before he actually ran the ad. I told him that would be fine and thanked him for his time. He assured me he could attach the proof to an email to my office. I left the classified office feeling hopeful about my new venture.
Once I got back to my office, I set up the little camera on top of the door frame outside my outer office door. I adjusted the camera so that it pointed down the hallway, toward the elevator. Back at my desk I could monitor the entire hallway and see if anyone came or went, using the elevator. I still had to marvel at the compact size and clear picture. That afternoon I watch as three people used the elevator, even though none of them came to the third floor to visit Cooper Investigations.
I checked my email every hour, hoping to see the proof for my new ad. Nothing showed up all day. I decided to close up shop for the day and visit with Gloria once more before I went home.
Gloria was still sleeping when I poked my head into her room. I was about to leave again when I ran into a nurse in the hallway.
“Can you tell me how Mrs. Cooper is doing?” I said to the nurse.
“She’s fine,” the nurse said. “She’s just resting. Just give her time once the baby comes and she’ll be back to her old self again in no time.”
“Would it be all right if I stopped in for a couple minutes to see her?” I said.
The nurse nodded. “A couple minutes will be okay,” she said. “But she really needs her rest, so don’t overdo it.”
“Thanks,” I said and went back into her room. I quietly walked up beside her bed and nudged her shoulder. “Gloria, it’s Elliott. Are you awake?”
Gloria’s eyes fluttered open as she focused on my face. She smiled when she recognized me. “Hello,” she said in a weak voice.
I patted her hand and kissed her forehead. “How are you feeling?” I said.
“All right, I guess,” Gloria answered. “Can I have a drink of water?”
I picked up the glass of water with the glass straw sticking out of it and held it near her mouth. She took a couple of sips and I set the glass down again.
“Thanks,” she said.
“I can’t stay long,” I told her. “The nurse said I could only visit for a couple minutes. I just wanted to see you again before I called it a night. Do you remember our conversation about the van and the surveillance plans I was talking about?”
Gloria nodded.
“Well,” I said, “I bought a couple of things that are going to really help with that end of the business and you know what? It was really inexpensive. Hopefully I’ll be able to use it all for a client by the time you come home again.”
“That’s nice,” Gloria said and closed her eyes.
I decided not to tire her with any more conversation and quietly left her there to sleep. I ate a light dinner by myself and settled in for some television before going to bed.
The next eight days held pretty much the same routine for me. I’d come in to the office, take care of business, check my emails and then go visit with Gloria. The classified ad man had sent me the proof for my new ad six days ago and I approved it. He told me it would start running in the weekend issue. Now it was Monday morning and I still had not received any calls from the ad. I decided to pay Lieutenant Eric Anderson, one of L.A.’s finest, a visit. I gave him two hours to take care of his Monday morning business before I stopped in. By ten that morning he was back in his office. I knocked and opened the door, sticking my head inside.
“Are you busy, Eric?” I said. “Or can you spare a minute or two?”
“Sure,” Eric said cheerfully. “Come on in. What’s on your mind?”
I had brought the weekend paper with me and had it folded open to my ad. I laid the paper on Eric’s desk. “I was just wondering if you caught my new ad in this weekend’s paper.”
Eric picked up the paper and studied the ad and then looked up at me. “Going high tech, I see. You get any calls on it yet?”
“Not this morning,” I said. “I was hoping you might have need for my new services.”
Eric thought about it for a moment. “I could have used you last week if I had known,” he said. “You could have set up your surveillance camera in the cafeteria. Someone’s been making off with extra dinner ware from the cardboard box. I have a feeling someone’s taking extra plastic forks and spoons. We’re running low.”
“Very funny,” I said. “That wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, but thanks for thinking of me.”
“Don’t get your pretzel in a knot,” Eric said. “I’m just having a little fun with you. I can see where your services could come in handy in some situations. I just don’t happen to have one of those situations at the moment, but I’ll certainly keep you in mind if one arises in the future.”
“Why don’t you hang onto that ad,” I said. “Then my number will be handy when that time comes.”
Eric pulled a pair of scissors from his desk drawer, cut the ad out of the paper and pinned it to his bulletin board with a push pin. He handed me back the rest of the paper. “Well,” he said, “if there’s nothing else, I have to meet with the captain, so if you will excuse me.”
“Thanks Eric,” I said, and left the building.
I drove back to the office and walked the length of the third floor hall to my office. When I got back behind my desk, I stopped the recorder and flipped out the USB connection on the monitor pad and slipped it into my laptop computer. I hit play
on my computer program and watched the tiny monitor to see if anyone had come by while I was gone. I was able to run the video in double speed and saw no one but myself returning to the office just minutes ago. I stopped the program, pulled the USB connector out and started the recording process all over again.
The cell phone vibrated in my pocket and I plucked it out, flipping it open with my thumb. “Cooper Investigations,” I said almost automatically, before realizing that I was on my personal phone. “This is Elliott.”
“Mr. Cooper,” the voice said. “This is Doctor Hoskins. Could you come by the hospital right away?”
“Is there anything wrong?” I said in a frazzled voice. “How’s Gloria doing?”
“She’s fine,” the doctor said. “I just thought you’d want to be here to welcome your son into the world, that’s all.”
“My son?” I said. “Today? Right now?”
“Unless you’d rather wait until tomorrow and visit him when he’s a day old,” the doctor said a twinge of sarcasm in his voice.
“I’m on my way,” I said and flipped the phone shut without saying goodbye to the doctor.”
I rushed back out to my van and drove as fast as I could back to the hospital. Luckily no cop stopped me because I’m sure I was at least thirty miles over the speed limit all the way there. I found a parking spot in the lot and ran toward the building. I stopped at the front desk, all out of breath.
“Gloria Cooper,” I said frantically. “We’re having a baby right now.”
The nurse checked her clipboard, found Gloria’s name and looked back at me. “Unless you’re planning on assisting with the delivery, you’ll have to wait in the lounge. Someone will come in and let you know when she’s delivered the baby. Just make yourself at home until that time, Mr. Cooper.” She pointed to a door down the hall.
I found a seat next to an end table full of magazines and started to thumb through one when I remembered Dad. I flipped open my phone and pressed Dad’s number on the speed dial feature. He answered right away.
The Complete Cooper Collection (All 97 Stories) Page 229