Family is Not Blood Ch. 02

"I would rather overreact now then make a mistake. I am half thinking that he had been stalking you already. I have to plan that he is monitoring your apartment. This might be something that will blow over from a hothead, but it makes no sense to take a chance."

I got home after riding around their house several times, sometimes in a car, sometimes on foot. I kept Fred aware of where I was. By 2 am, I was back home and trying to get some sleep. Cathy had little protection in this world, and the child even less. Why am I getting myself into this, with her, again? Am I stupid, or what? I came to the realization that I am stupid and I am 'or what'.

I made a few phone calls and sent out a couple of e-mails during the day asking for volunteers. I included pictures of this guy and the bar he hangs at. A friend of mine that lives in that neighborhood got back to me right away. He dropped in to talk with the bar keep, an old friend of his, and got the lowdown. The jerk's real name is Rodger Tackery, a two bit self proclaimed bad-ass that likes to impress women. Has only been at this bar for a couple of weeks. Can be charming, but all the women drop him like a hot potato after one date.

I start looking him up. He has a history as a woman abuser, drug dealing, and general violence. He has no job, has done some time and is on probation again. I figure that this guy goes through life, doesn't give a fuck about anyone and has nothing to loose. My first phone call was to Fred to alert both of them. Cathy told me her mother found a friend's place to spend the next couple of days.

I made a couple more phone calls. The one to Shelly and Marek hit the lottery. The abuse on the nanny cam would be a slap on the wrist and an order of protection, pretty damn useless, even with the probation issue. Shelly called up Duane, a friend of hers who is a Chicago cop. He works undercover sometimes and he's been on the force for 15 years.

Duane called back and said he could meet that evening after 1 AM and told them to call his wife Wendy and tell her. Shelly agreed to meet and called his wife. Then she called me back to see if I could make it. Damn funny Shelly, damn funny, can I make it?

I made my way over to their house by Midnight and waited for him to arrive. I asked her how she met Duane. Shelly answered, "His wife was a client that she referred to Marek. Marek cannot say a thing, but I guess that he helped them work things out. That is why I needed to call her."

Duane served in Iraq, and liked the excitement. He even does not mind it that much then he goes out on drug buys or stakeouts. He has been able to put a couple of really bad people away. After seeing the video of her physical abuse, he looked at me while playing the devil's advocate. "Why are you helping her? She was getting what she deserved, so why help her?"

I answered, and a little bit of it surprised me. "I've realized that family is not just about bloodlines, but about standing up for another. Little Freddie has done nothing wrong, and his mother, my ex-wife who cheated on me and had this child with another man, has been doing all she can to raise and protect her daughter. She has been acting honorably. She has been rebuilding bridges with those she has hurt."

"Everybody needs a second chance. She may get my cooperation, but maybe not more. But she has been getting my respect, which I never expected to happen. Her child deserves better in life. She has put someone else first in her life, someone who cannot protect themselves from anyone. It's not blood, but it is still family. Family transcends blood, even though I really do not want to be with her, but I will not see harm come to her."

Duane said he would see what he could do. Two sleepless days later I got a call from him. "You no longer need to sleep in your car around Fred's house. My crew did a drug buy the next day, and got an ounce of meth on his person, and pound of meth at his apartment."

"One more thing, he was collecting selfies of him, with infants, sexual pictures of him and infants. Looks like he concentrated on single mothers. When they were out and he baby sat, he took them. There is no bail for this guy. He will not be looking for you guys. Take care."

I called Cathy right away and she put me on speaker with her father. I told them the news, and I heard the voices of two people that just missed being in a car wreck by inches.

Fred thanked me and then excused himself. He wanted to put the guns away, take a shower and get some sleep, in that order. I was about to say my goodbyes when Cathy quietly asked me if we could talk. I knew that it was not the right time and said no. Her voice was crestfallen, but I suggested on Sunday afternoon when Franciszka would be down for a nap. I said that I would be by at 12:30, as Cathy had mentioned that she went down like clockwork at 1 PM.

I needed time to recover from the past several days, as well as look at the video on the laptop. I needed to think about what I was feeling about Cathy. Everything was telling me she was not the same person I knew before. I got some sleep and started viewing the files.