***
It was late July and Billy Meacham was sitting in his office at the Parlor City Police Department, staring vacantly ahead. Earlier, Gwen and he had dropped Woody off at the airport and sat in the parking lot holding hands until his plane disappeared into the clouds. That afternoon, Woody would report to the Marine training facility in Parris Island, South Carolina. Basic training had been cut to 8 weeks because of the war and the pressing need for more infantry soldiers.
Two weeks before his departure, an earnest Woody Meacham called a family council and his parents knew that a decision had been made. “I guess it must have been the whole experience in Parlor Harbor that opened my eyes to the real world outside of Thorndyke. I got to see how the system works and how people like Patchett can manipulate it – for good or bad.” Looking at Billy, he continued, “I started to appreciate what you go through to solve a complex case. If it hadn’t been my neck on the line, I would have enjoyed it.
“So, as I looked at my options, I knew that the only hope of controlling my own destiny was to enlist. I get to choose my training specialty after boot camp. Otherwise, as the recruiter said, ‘it’s most likely over the choppy seas to Nam for you, son.’ So, that’s what I did!”
Gwen and Billy looked on eagerly and Woody grinned. “Okay, I’m not trying to play with you. Down in Georgia, there’s an installation called Fort Gordon. They have a camp there for military police training and that’s where I go after basic. I’ll be a Marine. It’s the family tradition and I want to continue it. Heck, I could still end up in Vietnam but it’ll be on my terms. And when I get home, I just might pursue a career option in the other family tradition.”
Meacham’s eyes welled up and he felt compelled to speak. “When I made that comment up in Parlor Harbor about going to the police academy instead of Thorndyke, you knew I was joking, right? I would hate to think that light-hearted comment was anything other than acknowledgement of your insight and my admiration for the way you saw the case coming together against Rudy and his cohorts. It would bother me to --“ Gwen quickly broke in to say, “We’ve taught Woody to be his own man and do his own thinking, Billy. I am confident he didn’t feel any pressure from you. Quite the contrary, he watched up close how you handle yourself and just might want to emulate what he saw. If I were you, I’d be more concerned about when Woody returns home to Parlor City. He could be coming after your job.”
Billy Meacham could only smile. If he tried to speak, he would have choked up. He saw in a flash that life had come full circle. Woody, with one swing of the baseball bat, saved his life twelve years earlier. And then it had been his turn to save Woody. Life had become destiny for the two of them, with Gwen as the critical link, and now Woody Braun Meacham had to be free to forge his own future.
Finis
A Murder In Parlor Harbor Page 22