Change of Address

by Rick Polad

  “Follow it, slowly and carefully.”

  We all waited for the next crackle. It seemed like ages before it came. “She’s dead, chief. Lying in the hall just outside the second room on the left. With all this blood, I have no idea how she made it this far.”

  “Okay Sanders. Check the rest of the house. Make sure nobody else is in there. Then open up the front door and let us in.” He waved to two other officers to move up and told Charlie to bring the ambulance in. He and two officers walked to the front door. He patted down Rosie. “Hands behind your back please, ma’am.”

  “Do you think we could skip the cuffs?” She held up her wounded wrist.

  “Billy, cuff her good wrist to yours and take her back to the car. I’m going in.”

  By the time Rosie got to me, the ambulance had pulled up and two medics got out. They looked like teenagers. Rosie said her wrist was just a scratch but one of the medics insisted on taking a look. The other concentrated on me.

  The medic cut my pantleg and cleaned some of the blood away. “Looks like the bullet is still in there.”

  “I figured.”

  “We’ll have you at the hospital in fifteen minutes.”

  As the medics gathered their supplies, the chief walked out of the house and back to the cars. Charlie filled him in and he told Charlie to ride with me and babysit at the hospital.

  “How about you, miss?” he asked.

  “I’m okay,” said Rosie. “But can I go with him?”

  “No, ma’am. Sorry. Doc, is he going to live?”

  The medic said sure. I’d be fine as soon as the bullet was yanked.

  “He’ll live, ma’am. You can see him after we get this straightened out. You’re going to the station.”

  The medics got a stretcher and helped me onto it. Marty was coming with me.

  The chief got on his radio and gave orders to get Doc Pritchard and an evidence tech out here. I assumed Doc was the coroner.

  As they loaded me into the ambulance, the chief walked over and said, “One quick question. Please tell me that’s not the mayor’s wife in there.”

  “That’s not a question,” I said.“ And I’d love to tell you that. But I can’t. And I’d like to keep this quiet till he is contacted.”

  “Shit. I’ll be up all night keeping this quiet. There goes my fishing trip. Haul him away, guys.”

  I stopped the medic who was closing the door. “Rosie, will you call Stosh? I’ll call Beef and tell him Marty is okay.”

  “Oh, you bet. I’ll have Stosh get someone to clean out my locker too.”

  I turned to the chief and told him my gun was by the window.

  “We’ll get it,” he said.

  The door slammed. I hadn’t thought about Rosie. I had just thought about Marty. I didn’t want to think about the wall that might fall on her for helping me. But we had been fired on first and just done what we had to do. And I didn’t think the mayor would be looking for heads to roll. He’d want this kept as quiet as possible. Marty held my hand all the way to the hospital and right up to when a nurse gave me a shot and I drifted off.

  Chapter 43

  When I came to, I was in a sunny room under a crisp white sheet, my leg hurt like hell, and the room was kind of blurry. A television hung on the wall in front of me. Beneath it were two chairs. One of the chairs was occupied by the chief. It took a minute for me to struggle through both memories and sedatives to remember where I had seen him before. Then it took another minute, as I struggled to remember his name, for me to remember that I didn’t know his name.

  I took a deep breath, winced, and said, with a voice that was mostly air, “Hi, chief.”

  “Hi, tough guy.”

  I figured by this time he knew my name, but I kinda liked tough guy even though I didn’t feel so tough. “Am I under arrest?”

  “Nope. I pulled my man out of here last night after a talk with a Lieutenant Powolski. He sends his regards.”

  I winced again. “I bet. Suppose he wants to talk to me.”

  “That’s a good bet. He said he would like to run on up here, but he was busy with something else you had stirred up.”

  “Was he blaming me or thanking me?” I glanced at the clock. I couldn’t focus well enough to see the hands.

  “Didn’t sound like either. Just telling me why he wasn’t coming. He did convince me that you were not worth paying Charlie overtime to guard. Said if I had no problem with what went down, I should send you home.”

  “And do you have a problem?”

  “Not yet. Hopefully it will stay that way and I can still catch some fish. You mind telling me what happened after you drove into my county?”

  I did. I left out the part about being scared, but related the rest exactly as it had happened.

  He stood and tucked in his loose shirt. “Have a nice day.”

  “That’s it? I’m free to go?”

  “Yup. Your story matches with Detective Lonnigan’s. I’m happy. Right now I don’t need talk, I need fish. If I want you, I’ll call, but don’t hold your breath.”

  “Did Lieutenant Powolski explain the situation to you?”

  “Nope. After talking to more Chicago brass than I’ve seen in a Pullman car, I could tell they didn’t want to talk about the situation and if I didn’t need to know, I didn’t want to listen. Whatever brought you here is none of my concern. What happened after is, but so far it looks just like what you said. If it stays that way, we’re done talking.” He turned to go and stopped. “Oh, Powolski says you’ve got a date with the mayor tonight at eight. Same place. See ya, tough guy.”

  He walked out and that was that. My eyes could finally focus on the clock hands. It was 9:30. I was wondering if I should get up and get dressed when a woman in a white coat walked in and picked a clipboard out of a tray at the foot of my bed. I wanted to guess she was a doctor, but there was no stethoscope around her neck. She was a doctor nonetheless.

  “Good morning Mr. Manning,” she said with a smile. “I am Doctor Johnson.”

  I gave what little smile I could and returned the greeting.

  “How’s the leg?”

  “Hurts.”

  “Ah, yes. That’s the plan. Lets you know something is wrong.”

  “Wonderful. Kudos to the designer. What’s my status?”

  “They pulled a bullet out last night. Lots of tissue damage but missed the muscle and bone. So, considering, you are fine, even though it may not feel that way. A few days on crutches and you’re on your way to a complete recovery.”

  “Great. How about Detective Lonnigan?”

  “She also is fine. Abrasion on her wrist. She’s waiting out in the hall.”

  I nodded. “So I can go?”

  “Yes, sir. Stop at the desk at the end of the hall and sign out and you are a free man. Here’s a prescription for pain pills.” She handed me a slip of paper. “Don’t think you can do without them. The drugs are still wearing off. What you feel now is only going to get worse. When you’re ready, call a therapist and they’ll get you back on your feet. Good luck.” She smiled again. Well, actually her original smile just got bigger. She had a constant smile that seemed a part of her. I thought of staying awhile. She made a note on my clipboard, replaced it, and headed for the door. I noticed a pair of aluminum crutches in the corner.

  “Hey, Doc.”

  She stopped with her hand on the door handle. “Yes sir?”

  “Where’s your stethoscope?”

  With a laugh, she answered, “Run over by a gurney. It wasn’t pretty.” And she left. Ten seconds later, Rosie came in. I needed a revolving door.

  “Well, well, you’re alive.”

  “Yup. Alive and well but kicking might be a little tough. All in all, I wish I were in Philadelphia,” I said with my best W.C. Fields accent.

  She laughed, but not for long. “You’ll wish that even more when we get back. So will I.”

  I tried a deep breath and didn’t get as much air as I would have liked.
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that, Rosie. I’ll take all the heat.”

  “Thanks for the offer, but you are not a cop. We will both get heat. The difference is you can go home after.”

  “What did Stosh say?”

  “He made sure we were okay and then said to say nothing about anything. He had the chief and the mayor on the phone within ten minutes.”

  “That was it?”

  “That was it. But I’ve got a feeling the ‘in-person’ version will be a bit more in depth.”

  I sat up but it wasn’t easy. I adjusted the bed and replied. “I bet you’re right. How’s Marty?”

  Rosie pulled a chair over to the side of the bed and sat. “She’s as fine as she can be. She’s waiting in the lounge. Hasn’t said a word about last night. I think it should stay that way till we get her someone to talk to who knows what to say.”

  “I agree. God, what that little girl has been through.”

  She nodded. “Not exactly your ordinary fun childhood. But the worst should be over.”

  “Should be, at least for her.” I thought for a minute and realized for the first time what I had done. “My God, Rosie, I killed the mayor’s wife.” I felt sick.

  She took my hand. “You killed a crazy, dangerous woman who was shooting at us and probably would have killed Marty and herself if given the chance. You did what you had to do. Never think otherwise.”

  I knew that was true but it didn’t help much. “I can imagine the headlines in the papers: ‘Ex-Police Chief’s Son Kills Mayor’s Wife’.” I rubbed my forehead with the hand that wasn’t being held by Rosie.

  “I don’t think you’ll see that headline, Spencer.”

  “Why not?”

  “There was nothing in the paper here this morning. I don’t know how, but I think this will be buried. There were a lot of telephone calls made last night. A lot of important people didn’t get much sleep.”

  “But she’s dead. People are going to want to know why she isn’t showing up at parties.”

  “Yeah. There will have to be something, but I don’t think our names will pop up. Remember, the mayor has a story he doesn’t exactly want told. I’m not fond of covering up the truth, but how would the truth serve the common good?”

  “Seems like a big thing to cover up.”

  “I agree. But bigger things have been covered up and with bigger people involved.”

  “Whew. Politics. You can have it.”

  “I don’t want it. I just want to do my job.”

  I squeezed her hand. “I hope you still have one, Rosie.”

  “Me too. But I think it will be all right. Bottom line is we did what anyone else would have done. We got the bad guy and saved the kid. Hard to argue with the results. The most we will get is heat over the procedure. And I can handle that. Well, are you up to getting dressed? You have an appointment with the Mayor at eight.”

  “I heard. Sure. Let’s go.”

  “Oh. Got something for you.” She reached in her pocket and pulled out the remains of a bullet. “We got lucky, Spencer. The gods were on our side.”

  I took it and rolled it between my fingers. We did get lucky. It could just as easily have been in my heart, or Rosie’s. I laid it on the table.

  “Give me time to get dressed and we’ll hit the road. Where’s my car?”

  “Right outside. Marty and I will be in the lounge.” She draped my clothes on the bed. “And Spencer?”

  “Yes, ma’am?”

  “If you ever change your mind about the force, I’d be proud to ride with you.”

  “Thanks, Rosie. Same here.” I gave her a kiss on the cheek.

  Rosie left and I slowly got out of bed. Pulling my pants on was tough, but I struggled through it. I stopped in the bathroom, washed up, and tried the crutches. Figured I didn’t need the therapist. I made a couple of slow trips across the room. Even with crutches, going was slow. Hobbling over to the table, I looked at the bullet. After a minute, I picked it up and dropped it in my pocket. I stopped at the desk and, after signing out, headed for the lounge. Ten minutes later, we were on our way home.

  Rosie drove. I stretched out as much as I could in the back seat and, for the first time, wished I had a bigger car.

  Chapter 44

  Tuesday night I nervously entered a room full of stone-faced people at the mayor’s house that included Stosh, Chief Ranek, Captain Daniels, and the mayor. I expected to be raked over the coals. I wasn’t. At the most I was debriefed. I was also told to take a vacation and forget about what happened and what the outfall would be. It didn’t last more than an hour. The mayor asked to talk with me alone. Stosh said he’d wait outside. I figured that would be when the ax fell. It didn’t.

  Jeffrey looked and sounded very sad. He simply wanted to assure me that I had acted responsibly and to thank me for my discretion in the matter. He emphasized that if anything ever came out and I was questioned I was to tell the truth. He also wanted me to help him set up a trust fund for Marty. He wanted to remain anonymous, but he wanted to at least provide for her college education and would like to start sending monthly checks. He asked me to work that out with Beef. The money could be used however Beef and I decided. I could make up any story I wanted. We parted with him promising to call if he ever needed help and me wishing him luck. He would need it if he was ever going to forget this unhappy chain of events in his life. I knew he never would.

  Outside, Stosh was leaning against his unmarked car. He told me to get in. He didn’t help with my crutches. I expected a tongue-lashing. He suggested a beer at the Blue Note. I didn’t refuse. On the way there, we talked. Or rather he talked. He was mostly concerned about my involving Rosie. When I pointed out that she had volunteered to come along, he said it was a good thing she did because I had needed help. He suggested maybe Mrs. Grey wouldn’t be dead if I had gone through official channels. As I started to protest, he stopped me. He had spent several hours with Rosie and, unofficially, he said I had done a good job under the circumstances. He didn’t come right out and say it, but he did hint that I had been able to move faster on suspicion than he would have been able to in his official capacity and maybe that had saved Marty’s life. He also pointed out that, besides finding Marty’s father, I had helped to wrap up a drug ring and solved a murder and that he was proud of me. He reminded me that there was always a spot on the force if I wanted it. I asked how much I would have to change my style. He said quite a bit. I reminded him that following rules and regulations wasn’t exactly my style. He said he noticed.

  We closed the Blue Note at one a.m. after a few beers and filling the boys in on the events at the track. Ronny was dead and twelve others were in custody, everybody accusing everybody else trying to save their own necks. I thanked Jesse for his help. Stosh quickly changed the subject.

  On the way back to the car, Stosh suggested I head north for a few weeks. Said I looked tired. I said it sounded like a good idea. He said I might have more fun if I took a friend. I agreed.

  Chapter 45

  Wednesday morning I filled my prescription and took a few pills. I couldn’t tell much difference. It probably would have helped if I had gone to bed instead of out on the town. I headed for Beef’s and ordered a big breakfast.

  It was almost ten so the place was empty except for a few regular coffee drinkers. Beef sat with me in a booth and I filled him in on all he needed to know. I had struggled over the father issue and finally decided to tell him I had found who the father was but that he was dead and the family was willing to provide support for Marty if it was kept quiet. I certainly didn’t want Marty, or anyone else, knowing that Ronny was her father. I told Beef that I had located an attorney of the father’s family. They didn’t want any publicity, and in return for anonymity they would provide a trust fund for Marty’s college and a monthly check. Beef insisted that if I knew who the attorney was he could find who the father was. I convinced him that it was more to Marty’s benefit to have the trust fund than the name of the father, and
that this way, he could be Marty’s father. He finally agreed.

  I drove around the block to my office, called Aunt Rose, collapsed on the bed, and slept till two. When I woke up, I called that friend and invited her to Door County for as long as she wanted to stay. She was thrilled. I said I’d pick her up Thursday morning at nine and asked her to meet me in front cuz I was having a little trouble getting around.

  Thursday morning I pulled up five minutes early and she was waiting with one suitcase. She gave me a big hug and told me to switch seats. She’d drive. I offered to help with the suitcase, but she gave me a scowl and told me to “get real”. Liberated women. Whose idea was that? She pulled away from the curb with me giving directions.

  On the way, I told the whole story. She already knew quite a bit. After swearing her to secrecy, I started with Elizabeth going to work for the mayor and falling in love and ending with me waking up in a hospital room in Algoma. There was a lot of head shaking and wondering why people do the things they do. We didn’t have the answers.

  We talked about the case all the way to the bridge at Sturgeon Bay where the talk then turned to the scenery. Less than an hour later, we rounded the bend in Ephraim and headed up the hill to the inn. She parked the car in front facing the harbor and stared with her mouth open. Multi-colored sailboats speckled the harbor and green turtle-backed islands dotted Green Bay in the distance.

  “Spencer, this is gorgeous.”

  “It is that. There’s more. You get settled and we’ll take a drive.”

  “It can’t be better than this, Spencer.”

  We got out and she retrieved her suitcase. Before she could set it on the ground, Aunt Rose was running to meet us. Her gray hair was pulled back in a bun and her flowered apron was blowing in the breeze that always blew in off the harbor. Her face looked a bit tired, but there was that sparkle in her eyes that had been there for as long as I could remember.

  “Spencer, what in the world happened to you?” I struggled with my bags. “Leave those be. I’ll have one of the boys get them. And this must be Maxine.” She held out her arms and gave her a hug. “Spencer has told me so much about you.” Aunt Rose linked her arm through Maxine’s and led her away. “I don’t know why you would want to give up an exciting life in the big city, but you are a blessing to me dear. I could sure use help with this place. And good help is so hard to find. It doesn’t pay a lot but, if you want to stay, we can work out some kind of benefits. I’ll show you to your room and then give you a tour.”