Jenna shook her head, looking to me briefly. This girl was thirteen and had already seen more tragedy than anyone should. She took a breath, shaking slightly. “I want to go home.”
It broke my heart to hear that. Even if her aunt did take her, it would probably be a long time before she’d be able to call any place home. “I know,” I whispered.
“I can’t, can I?” she asked. I slowly shook my head towards her. I wished she could go home, I wished the whole thing had never happened to her. Jenna shook her head again. “Thank you for coming. Thank you for everything.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I’m glad I got to you in time.”
“Why did this happen, Mr. Logan? Why did it happen to me?”
Those questions echoed in my mind over and over. How was I supposed to answer them? Was there even an answer? Sure as hell not a good one. “Bad things happen, Jenna.” After those words left my mouth, I regretted them. It wasn’t the most sensitive thing I could have said.
Tears started flowing from Jenna’s eyes before she gave into sobbing. She cried, her short breaths escaping her rapidly. “What did I do to deserve this? I was always good. I never broke the rules, I never lied, I always tried my best in school.”
“It’s not your fault. Sometimes bad things happen to good people and there isn’t anything we can do but keep going.”
“I don’t wanna keep going. I just want to see my Mom again, I want to go home.” Once more, I was speechless. Words never were my strong suit, always easier to just point and shoot. Before I could say anything, Jenna looked into my eyes, as if she was hoping she wasn’t alone. “What about you? Do these things happen to you?” They did. Hell, it just had happened this morning. I nodded my head to her. “How do you keep going?” she asked.
“Well,” I said, before pausing a moment. What was I going to say? Some dribble that counselors had told me in the past? Couldn’t give her the military pep talk and tell her to suck it up. What I said next probably was the most useful advice I had given anyone, maybe even I should have listened. “Jenna, these things. We can’t look at them like they are good and bad. They just happen. We have to quit focusing on them as good and bad and just see them as things. Then we get past them.”
“It can’t be that easy.”
I shook my head towards her. “It isn’t. But nothing easy is worth doing.” She wiped her eyes, taking a deep breath. I gave her a slight smile. “Can you do something for me?” She nodded towards me, waiting to hear what I had to say. “No matter what happens, I want you to keep going. I want you to get up every morning, brush your hair, brush your teeth, go to school and give it your all. As long as you keep doing that, everything will be okay.”
Something in my words must have moved her because she smiled at me. Jenna took another deep breath with an expression of relief on her face. “Will you come visit me?”
I took a deep breath myself; I didn’t want to lie to her. I hated lying. “I would love to... But I can’t. I have to go home to Virginia, some of those things happened to me this morning.”
She leaped from her bed and wrapped her arms around my neck. “Then you can do something for me.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“No matter what, keep going.”
I wrapped my arms around her. She gave me a sense of comfort. “I will. I promise.” That advice stuck with me. I did keep going. I fought until the end.
The hours passed as I drove around aimlessly. What am I going to do? How in the hell could this happen? Those were among the many questions bouncing through my mind. Even then, I don’t think the shock of Angel’s murder had really set in. Grundy of all places. No recorded murder in years… Years and it had to be Angel? It didn’t sit well with me… Maybe it was instincts, maybe it was the fact she was my sister, but I knew something smelled like shit. Speaking of shit, I felt I was about to dive headlong into more of it. I had one matter to wrap up in Pittsburgh before I headed home… Sara.
Evening had crept up on me as I arrived at my apartment. About ten minutes passed while I sat in my car, but it felt like an eternity. I had no clue what I was going to say to her. It was pretty clear that I needed to end whatever this was we had gotten into but I didn’t want to. I probably should have. It was just after five. If I didn’t hurry I’d miss her. She worked the late shift that evening. I made my way to my door and I just stared at it. My hand quivered, reaching for the knob but not wanting to turn it or even reach for my keys if the door was locked. Suddenly the door swung open and there she was, dressed in her work clothes, jeans and a snug blue tee that said “Jack’s” on the right corner of her chest. I glanced down to see her apron clutched in her hand. She appeared to be just in shock as I was for a moment, then her brown eyes lit up with happiness as she grinned.
“Tommy!” she said with a sense of excitement. “I didn’t expect you to be home so soon!” Sara backed away, allowing me to enter the door. “It is a nice surprise, I’m usually already gone before I even hear from you.”
I walked in, giving a forced, slight smile. My keys clanged onto the meager kitchen table. The chair legs scuffed against the tile while I pulled it out and took a seat. “Hey.”
Sara hadn’t been around long but she was far more intuitive than I gave her credit for. Why someone as smart as her was waiting tables and serving drinks at Jack’s will never be known to me but she just looked at me, the excitement in her eyes fading into concern. Sara took a few steps towards me and crouched down a few inches from my face. “Tommy, what’s wrong?”
At first, I took a deep breath. How was I supposed to say this? Tell her that my sister had been murdered and I was going home to Virginia and it’s over? I was often cold with women when ending it, but I didn’t want to hurt this one. She was different. “Angel,” I said.
“Angel? Your sister?” Her eyes widened. I think she already knew. “What happened? Is she okay?”
I closed my eyes while I slowly shook my head. I had already said she was killed once today. Tears fought their way through my closed eyes. I couldn’t say it again, thankfully I didn’t have to. Sara wrapped her arms around me and squeezed before kissing my cheek. “I’m so sorry Tommy. I’m here for anything you need.”
“I’ve gotta go home.” Sara pulled away from me, slowly nodding her head. I felt anger swell within me. My heart raced with a ferocity I had never felt before. “I’ve got to find out who did this.”
“Oh God…” she mumbled. “Angel was killed? Murdered?” I nodded my head in a reply. Sara took a deep breath. “I’ll go with you.”
“No, you got your job, your life is here.”
She looked at me, angered by my refusal. “Tommy, I don’t have anything here. A dead-end job and parents who could care less. I know it’s crazy but you’ve made me happier than I’ve been in years. I’m going with you.”
Despite her being pissed as hell at me, that made me happy. I couldn’t let her come at first though. I needed to get Angel took care of and Shey situated, so I did something even crazier than being attached to a week-long fling. I grabbed my keys. After a few moments, my apartment key slid from the ring. I gave it to her. “I’m leaving tonight. I’ll get things took care of there and buy you a plane ticket in a few weeks. Stay here and get rid of the furniture and whatever else I leave behind.”
Sara hesitantly took the key. She glanced around the apartment in shock. Why? I don’t know, maybe she was overwhelmed with the amount of trust I put in her. “You want me to sell your stuff?”
“Sell it, give it away, it doesn’t matter. Just get rid of it.”
Sara nodded. “Alright.” She pulled the phone from her back pocket and dialed Jack’s. “Hey, it’s Sara.” She paused for a moment, listening to whoever was on the other end. “I can’t come in tonight. Tommy’s sister passed away. He’s leaving for Virginia, I’m going to help him pack.” She paused once more, probably for some half-hearted and half-assed I’m sorry for your loss garbage. “Thanks, bye.” She pu
t the phone away and looked to me. “Let’s get you packed.”
August 2nd, 2025
It was bittersweet kissing Sara bye. She had helped me pack most of my clothes, pictures, my military ribbons and medals. Anything more, I didn’t care much about. It had been a long trip but I was finally creeping close to home. I exited off I-77 and headed towards Bluefield, West Virginia. To say the trip had been rough would be an understatement. My mind was racing. Sara was back in Pittsburgh, Angel was gone, and Shey was lost… She had to be. I was full of stress, anxiety, and about every other mental affliction one could be plagued with. The radio blasted some eighty’s music. I couldn’t stand the music of today. Rapid breaths, racing heart; they were all there. I honestly hadn’t been that wound up since the last jump over Beijing. I had to do something to calm down.
A few minutes later, I pulled into the first convenience store I saw open. Not a bad idea, my baby was getting pretty hungry. The fuel price for ninety-three glared at me from the pump. One dollar and forty-five cents. The U.S. got oil really cheap, considering we had the strongest economy in the world and we won the Gulf War in a week, and took stakes in foreign oil. Our leaders were tough to deal with. America first always. I filled the car up and walked into the store. The clerk turned his head to me while he mopped the tile around the restroom entrance. He had a tired look, kind of like he hated his life. It was just after three in the morning and he had probably just finished mopping some drunk bastard’s piss.
I stood at the counter, waiting, anxious, tapping my feet and bouncing my fingers on the countertop. The guy walked behind the counter and approached me. “What do you need, man?”
This guy was covered in tattoos. Some tribal designs on one arm, a cross and some cursive names on the other… Probably his kids. He had a scruffy unattended beard and a piercing on the corner of his left eyebrow. I didn’t say anything and pointed to a pack of cigarettes along the wall behind him. Then, I grabbed a lighter that was on display. “This too.”
The guy gave a half-dazed chuckle as he tossed the smokes down on the counter and keyed them into his register. “Quittin’ not going to well for you, huh?”
“It’s been a long day.”
“I hear that, man. It’ll be five ninety-five.”
I pulled six dollars out of my pocket and tossed it down, grabbing the smokes. “Keep the change.”
“You have a good night, now.”
I nodded and walked outside, smacking the cigarette packet against my palm. The aroma of tobacco quickly hit my nose as the flip top box swung open. It had been a little more than five years since I quit. Must have been crazy to start back, but I guess I was ready to do anything to calm my nerves. The filter hung loosely between my lips. I struck the lighter and lit the cigarette. Smoke and nicotine filled my lungs. I’m not going to lie, it felt heavenly… Idiotic, but heavenly. Guess we all gotta die somehow.
With each draw, my mind calmed a bit more. Shey entered my mind. She was going to smack the hell out of me for starting back. I couldn’t help but crack a smile. If the clerk saw me, he probably thought I was an idiot while I stood at the storefront. Eventually, I finished the smoke and I was off. Traveling down Route 460, I crossed into Virginia. Wasn’t far from home now, about an hour and a half. My baby rumbled down the highway, the occasional headlights of oncoming vehicles glaring through my tinted windows. Eventually, I turned off onto “Old Route 460” in Claypoolhill. It was called “Old” because it was no longer the main way of travel into my home county. The Coalfield Expressway had opened in 2010 and gave rise to the manufacturing boom in Buchanan County and its Kentucky neighbor, Pike County.
Out of impulse, I exited off into the town of Richlands. It had been forever since I had stopped by. The orange street lights glowed brightly as I crossed the railroad tracks and turned onto Second Street. One car was in front of me. A Nissan 370Z. Nice little cars, but not my cup of tea. To the right was the Richlands ASA Agency. A few patrol cars in the lot and the dim after hour lights glowing through the windows. This definitely wasn’t Pittsburgh.
Suddenly the blaring noise of a horn rang out followed by a crash. I slammed on the brakes, stopping abruptly. A silver Ford Escape had run a stop sign and nailed the Nissan. Just what I needed, aggravation. I turned my baby’s hazard flashers on and stepped out of the vehicle to see a blonde headed woman get out.
“What’s your problem?” she screamed.
A taller, heavy set guy got out of the Escape. He looked at the Nissan then to the woman before pacing and shaking his arms like an idiot. “My problem? You were flying! What the hell is your problem?”
That woman must not have appreciated his tone. She lunged towards him. “I’ll show you what my problem is!”
She started beating him relentlessly. He kept backing away, trying to shield himself, but nothing was going to save this asshole from her. I took my time approaching the conflict, lighting another smoke on my way. I heard a menacing low growl come from the Nissan as I passed it. I looked through the window to see a freaking cat. Even it was pissed off at this asshole. I couldn’t help but laugh a bit. After a deep draw from the cigarette, I tossed it onto the street. “What seems to be the problem here?”
The guy stumbled back and fell to the ground before the woman delivered a particularly painful kick to his side. She turned her head towards me with a glare that could kill. “This asshole can’t drive!”
“I saw the whole thing. That we can agree on.”
The guy stumbled to his feet, his face red from repeated slaps he had taken. “Who the fuck are you? Get the hell out of here!”
This guy just rubbed me wrong at the worst time. I really wasn’t in the mood for anybody’s shit and no number of cigarettes was going to calm me down after this prick mouthed off. “I’m ASA Agent Logan.”
“You aren’t part of the ASA, I know every agent in Richlands! I hold the contract to sell all auto parts to them for repairs, so you can fuck off!”
This asshole really did it this time. I pulled out my wallet and flipped my badge out briefly… Then I swung it and decked him a good one. That wasn’t exactly ASA procedure, I mean it was just a minor traffic accident and yeah, he was a little mouthy… But I was nearing twenty-four hours with no sleep and it had been a very bad day, so fuck that guy. He grabbed his face, shaking his head in pain. It was already starting to swell. “Motherfucker, do you think it matters what agency branch I’m with? You’d do well to pay attention to where you’re going and show some damn respect!”
Flashing lights interrupted my stress relief. I’m surprised they didn’t show up sooner, considering the agency was less than one hundred feet away. A female agent stepped out of the car and shined her flashlight on each of our faces. “Richie? What’s going on here?”
The guy turned and looked at the agent, still cowering behind his hands. “This guy just assaulted me after this bitch came flying down through here and hit me!”
This guy… Richie… Was dumb enough to try and pin this on me? He was a scumbag who apparently thought he had a silver tongue. She shined her light on me again. “Sir, Is this true?”
I flipped my badge once more. “I’m Lieutenant-Commander Logan—” Before I could say anything more, she put her light away and snapped to attention, saluting. “At ease, Agent. This guy, Richie, paid no attention to oncoming traffic along the street and crashed into this lady. He then proceeded to exit his vehicle and act in a reckless manner while swearing toward this lady. I attempted to intervene, and he lunged at me as well as this Lady.” I then looked at the lady who seemed shocked at my bending of the… Ah, hell. I lied. This guy was a prick and he deserved what he got. “Right, Ma’am?” I asked.
“That… That’s right. This guy just hit me then went crazy.”
The agent looked to the Lady, then to me. She leaned her head over, moving her mouth closer to the mic of her radio. “Agent McCoy to HQ, reporting a ten seven and possible nine twenty-three. Requesting two vehicle transports. Bring
ing in the assailant for questioning.” McCoy then approached Richie, grabbing his arm and slapping cuffs on him. “You’re under arrest…”
“You can’t arrest me!” he shouted.
“You have the right to—”
“I’m not going!” Richie began struggling against McCoy’s arrest attempt.
“For fuck's sake…” she grumbled as she pulled the taser from her duty belt and fried him. Richie hit the ground like a sack full of rocks while he jerked around with fifty thousand volts flowing from the electrodes. McCoy shut the taser off and looked at me. “Sir, do you mind?”
“Not at all,” I replied as I helped her lift Richie up. We shoved him into the back of her patrol car. “Appreciate it, it probably would’ve gotten nasty if you hadn’t shown up.”
“Don’t worry about it. I was getting bored anyways. What branch agency are you from?”
“Pittsburgh, just transferred to Grundy.”
“Just transferred as in you’re on your way now?” I nodded to her. She sighed, shaking her head. “Probably over the Kennedy murder, huh?”
“That’s right.”
“I was barely fifteen, the last time a murder happened around here. Local agents probably don’t even know what to do with it. I know I wouldn’t. Makes sense they’d call in some big wig from out of here.”
“I’m not even sure if my rank will hold. I did grow up in Buchanan though. Got stationed in Pittsburgh after the war.”
She looked me up and down when I mentioned the war. McCoy looked lost in thought at first, then as if she had an epiphany. “What did you say your name was?”
A Tommy Logan Story Page 4