Father's Day Ch. 01

And the competition had not been all that good. The Police Boxing Matches Freestyle Division had never been divided by gender; males and females competed equally, because criminals on the street will try to hurt female and male Officers equally badly. And the women did well against the men with martial arts and the proper use of crowbars. However, this year Kalsu and Patrick ran through the field with what can only be described as 'brute force', and many females dropped out rather than risk injury if and when they would be physically overwhelmed.

Joan Laurer could not be physically overwhelmed by hardly anyone, and her own strength combined with her martial arts talents made her a formidable antagonist. But the billy sticks were too much of a defensive weapon, and a lot of physical force had to be applied to overcome an opponent. And that meant the matches were more dangerously physical than crowbars (with proper protection) had ever been.

"How's it going?" asked the aforementioned Cindy Ross as she came up to us.

"It'll be over before the end of the first round." I said. I'd observed both Joan and Daniel's tactics, and Joan was easily handling Daniel's attempts to use physical strength to overwhelm her. And barely were the words out of my mouth when Joanne sidestepped Patrick's charged and helped him over the ropes and out of the ring!

Joan went to a neutral corner as Patrick was allowed to climb back into the ring and go to the other neutral corner. But I could see that he was rattled by what the 2x Defending Champion had done to him. And more punishment was on the way. When Rudistan had them resume, Patrick charged into the attack, only to be shoved hard onto the ring floor by a vicious martial-arts move by Laurer.

"Is she angry?" Teresa asked.

"No, she's bored." Cindy replied, sensing the vibe. "She's just administering some payback for the way Patrick and Kalsu treated Lisa Burrell and Patty Colquitt--- oops, there she goes." We all looked up to see Joan use Aikido to take down Patrick, and then some other knowledge to put him into a painful judo-style hold. He refused to yield, but Rudistan ended the farce with three slaps to the floor.

Half the crowd cheered, and half were polite. I handed out the trophies for the winners and runners-up of the Boxing Division and the Freestyle Division. Then Joan and Daniel were sent to the Infirmary Room, where EMS Lieutenant Ellen Brooks examined them. My wife Laura had done that for years, but today she was too busy with State Medical College stuff...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Teresa, Cindy, and I invited Joan to lunch at the Cop Bar. We were seated in the regular back room. Cindy, Teresa, and I ordered our namesake foods: 'Don's Double Breakfast Cheeseburger', 'Cindy's Fish & Chips', and 'Teresa's Steak Caesar Salad'. Joan ordered the Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad. I ordered a bottomless basket of Griswold's Grizzly Fries for the table, as well.

"Congratulations, 3x Champ." Cindy said to Joan. "You've surpassed the Iron Crowbar and the Iron Wolf."

"And only four more to go to beat the Green Crowbar's record of six titles." I retorted.

"Thank you, ma'am, sir." Joan said. "But I don't think I'm going to enter again, unless we go back to the old ways, and we get to use crowbars. I seriously thought about dropping out, but when Kalsu almost separated Lisa Burrell's shoulder and Patrick kept hitting Patty Colquitt on the side of her head, it galvanized me to stay in and fuck them up."

"And Jerome Davis didn't give you much of a battle." I said. "My disappointment with his lack of enthusiasm cannot be overstated."

"Please don't be mad at him, sir." Joan said. "He feels the same way I do about the Matches. I think he only stayed in because he thought quitting would really disappoint you. And ditto that for nearly everyone else who stayed in and stuck it out."

"I hear you." I said. "So, changing the subject, how are things with Shane O'Brady?"

"Okay." Joan said. "We've collaborated professionally on the Garrett case over the last few weeks. Wade Garrett's business was in the Pottsville area, and Shane would love to find a dirty connection between Silvia Garrett and Matthew Willis on that sweetheart deal to sell Wade's company to Willis." (Author's note: 'Mystery At Mystery Lake', Ch. 02.)

"Any good luck on that?" Teresa asked.

"No ma'am. At least not yet." Joan said. "And their State Rep, Wilson Hammonds, has been throwing his weight around, and pressuring the Pottsville Police Chief to stop the investigation. Their Chief is not afraid of Hammonds, and asked Hammonds what he, Hammonds, is afraid the investigation might find. Between you guys and me, Shane thinks Hammonds is losing his grip, and that his political power is cratering through the floor."

I said "I'm not surprised to hear that. I've had two meetings with the Legislators on the State Constitution Advisory Board, and not even the Republicans on it have a shred of respect for Hammonds. But don't take Hammonds too lightly. If he's involved in facilitating that sweetheart deal with behind-the-scenes greasing of the rails, then his back will be against the wall and he'll be fighting for his life... which makes him dangerous."

Joan said "Can I ask all of you a question in confidence about something else I heard?" We all agreed, and Joan said "Is it true that Jack Muscone is going to retire from the FBI and take a position with the SBI?"

I literally felt my eyes almost bug out upon hearing that. "No, I haven't heard anything about that." I said, my voice connoting my surprise.

Teresa looked equally stunned as she said "I haven't either. Tanya... Deputy Chief Muscone... hasn't said a word, either, at least not to me."

We then looked at Cindy, who was carefully studying her fish and chips (which are really French fries, not potato chips) as she ate them. Seeing us staring at her, she looked up at us and said "No one has said a word to me. Nor to Carole."

"Ahhh, the truth comes out." I said. "Carole's reading Pete's mind of whatever he's overheard at home." Cindy nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Carole is going to be a great Detective one day." Joan said. "And I'm not saying that to kiss ass, sir."

"She's already a good Police Detective." I replied. "And she's going to be much greater than me... when she's the next Iron Crowbar..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

After lunch, Cindy and I diverted to the Veasley Community Center. Timmy Austin, who was now a National Master in Chess, was playing a simul against eight other players of various ages. Also there were Davie Marsden, Susie Haskins, Frieda Franklin and their mothers, as well as some Veasley Community members.

Cindy and I greeted everyone, and we both received hugs from Susie and Frieda. As Cindy spoke to the mothers, I had a few minutes conversation with old Mrs. Boddiker, my honorary TCPD Officer.

"I am very concerned." said Mrs. Boddiker. "I was at the Boddiker Hospice House the other day, and one of the nurses told me that just before the primary elections in early April, several young women went there. Most of them were black, and were nicely dressed. There were also a few white girls, that were dressed in frumpy sweaters and had very short hairstyles." (Author's note: 'Four Square', Ch. 01, for more on the Boddiker Hospice House.)

"What were they doing?" I asked.

"They were attempting to get the residents there to request absentee ballots, then to let the young women take them in a bundle to the voting center." said Mrs. Boddiker. "The nurse said it's called 'ballot harvesting'. The nurses stopped the women from doing it when several residents complained the women were trying to steal their absentee ballots."

"Did anyone call the Police?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, no." Mrs. Boddiker said. "The nurse said she was going to, and the women immediately left. Someone took down some of their car tags, and had that nice Lieutenant Rudistan run the tags. The women are all employees of the Center For Social Justice."

"That's Stacy Jacobs's organization now." I said. "They're a political group aligned closely with the local and State chapters of the Democrat Party. Oh, by the way, Lieutenant Rudistan and his wife are going to be parents sometime this month."

"Oh, that is so wonderful." said Mrs. Boddiker.

"Don!" I heard a voice call out. It was Cindy. She was waving me over as she asked "Can you come here, please?"

I said to Mrs. Boddiker "If those women appear at the Boddiker House again, have the nurses call both 9-1-1 and me personally. Excuse me one second."

I went over to where Cindy was. She'd been talking to Susie Haskins's mother, who had beaten cancer (Author's note: 'Who Watches The Watchers', Ch. 04.), and Cindy said "We were just talking about Susie's father. I think you need to hear this."

"Okay." I said as I sat down in the chair next to Susie's mom.

Mrs. Haskins said "I was just telling Cindy that something strange has been going on with Marty. That's my husband's name: Martin Haskins, and he goes by Marty." I nodded.

Mrs. Haskins: "Marty works for a computer database company called Orion, kind of like Oracle but smaller; in fact, I think the name is something of a takeoff on Oracle. Anyway, they're headquartered in Silicon Valley in California, and they have branch offices here; Alpharetta, Georgia; and Boynton Beach, Florida. Marty's job was managerial, but he also had responsibility for installing the software for mainframe systems... and not just talking your average laptop." I nodded in understanding.

Mrs. Haskins: "Marty grew up here, along with his family. You remember Scrawny Haskins and his murder. Scrawny was Marty's nephew." (Author's note: 'Point Hollow', Ch. 02.)

I nodded and she continued. "Marty got the job with Orion here, but since before Susie was born he had to commute between offices. He was spending three weeks here and one week out there. But a year after Susie was born, it suddenly changed. He began literally spending half a week here, and half in Silicon Valley, unless he was traveling to visit clients. So I pretty much got used to raising Susie by myself, almost as if I were a single mom. I got a job and my own insurance, and was able to save a lot of my earnings, which really came in handy when I was diagnosed with cancer."

Mrs. Haskins: "And it was right about the time I was diagnosed that Susie's father began spending more and more of his time out West than around here. He told me that his responsibilities and travel requirements had expanded. I suggested Susie and I move to California, but he wouldn't hear of it. He said San Francisco and other places out there were getting overrun with homeless people, becoming hellholes like Wilmington, Delaware."

Mrs. Haskins: "He also said, and it made better sense, that University Hospital was a better place for my treatments than anywhere out there. But after I was finished with the treatments and rang the bell, he still insisted that Susie and I remain here, where the schools are better and crime is lower. I suggested he stay here all the time, even find another job, because he was missing Susie growing up. He refused, and we began having arguments over it, and I think that caused him to spend even less time here."

She went on: "Now it's to the point he's out there almost all the time, and I've begun contemplating divorce. He's missed the last three Father's Days, and he said he wouldn't be here for Father's Day this year, either. I really went off on him, and now he isn't taking my calls. I was talking to Cindy here, and asking if she or you could run a check on him out there."

I said "That whole thing -is- strange. And yes, I can run checks on him, and maybe even get a friendly neighborhood Federal Agent or two to check up, as well. Bu let me ask you this... you said you were contemplating divorce. Have you... have you had a Private Investigator do P.I. things and check him out?"

Mrs. Haskins said "I was considering that, but I really don't have a lot of money left after my cancer. Even with the insurance, and Teresa helping out from her Trust, I lost a lot of income when I couldn't work. And I also have to think of Susie's future. She wants to go to college, and I just don't know if I can afford it if I don't save every dime I can now."

"I understand." I said. "I'll see what I can find out about him. And don't worry about Susie... she's one of my Crowbar Crew, and I won't let her nor any of them fall through the cracks."

"I am so grateful to you... to both of you... for all you've done for Susie." Mrs. Haskins said. "Your children are so lucky to have a father like you, Don, and a mother like you, Cindy."

"You've done an amazing job yourself." I said. "Susie is a wonderful girl."

"Hear hear." Cindy said in agreement.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As we were walking back to Police Headquarters, Cindy said "I can get money from my father to pay for a P.I. to check out Martin Haskins. His whole family has been sleazy or on the edge of it, and I wouldn't be surprised if something was up with him. If Mrs. Haskins doesn't want to initiate it, I might just do it for myself."

I said "I could tell you were getting a huge Vibe about that situation. Tell you what: I'll have Mary Milton do one of her discreet inquiries, and maybe you can talk to Tim (Jenkins) and have him check it out... or maybe ask Jack Muscone to do it?"

"Sounds like a plan." Cindy replied...

Part 4 - D-Day B-Day

8:00am, Sunday, June 5th. I came down to the greatroom of The Cabin. The dogs would normally be waiting for me to take them out or let them out, but they were nowhere to be seen. I went into the kitchen to make coffee and found a pot freshly made, with some having been poured already. I got my cup with the crossed pistols insignia of the Military Police Corps on it, and poured it full of coffee.

When I got back into the main rooms, I observed what was going on. The dogs must have already been let out. Sitting on the deck in my metal mesh loveseat, their backs to the door, were my wife Laura and my daughter Tasha. The matriarch of our feline family, Tiger Mom, was lying in Tasha's lap while Smokey The Cat was watching from the deck rail.

I thought to myself that I could not remember the last time I saw Laura talking to Carole that way. Then I put that into its compartment of the mind and went to my office, leaving the door half-open so everyone could see where I was. I used the computer on my desk to check the duty logs from the night before, and was happy to see that there were no major incidents. With School out for the summer, things tended to calm down. A lot.

As I worked, I heard the pitter-patter of little de-feets coming down the stairs. A second later, Carole appeared. I saw her stop and peer through the windows of the doors leading out on deck. Then she turned and came to the door of the office and knocked on it. My kids knew that even if the door was open, they had to knock and get my permission to cross the threshold to my personal sanctuary.

"Daddy, where are the dogs?" Carole asked.

"I think they're outside." I replied.

"No sir, they're not." Carole said. "If they were, Tiger Mom and Smokey would never be on the deck like they are."

Eight years old, I thought to myself. She's eight years old and she just blew my ass away with those observations and that deduction. I said "Okay, let's go find them."

We got up and went to the greatroom. Carole went to the door to the basement and opened it. Two outstanding dogs bounded out and ran past Carole to the back door. "Daddy, they need to go out." Carole astutely observed. I'd figured that one out myself.

I went to the back door and cracked it open, and the dogs scrambled around the corner of the house and down the trail to do their business. Neither the cats nor humans sitting on the deck had had a chance to even move. Laura did look back with irritation on her face, but seeing that it was me who'd let them out, and with a matching look of irritation on my features, she just turned back to talking with Tasha...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A procession of boys came into the kitchen as Carole and I were cooking breakfast. I was rustling up a huge mess of bacon on the electric skiddle while Carole stirred milk into the grits. Ross asked "Dad, are we having Canadian bacon?"

"No, silly." Carole replied, flat deadpan. "We/re having hog bacon." That got a laugh out of Daddy and well-deserved groans out of her brothers.

Just then I heard the backdoor open, and a second later two outstanding dogs were in the kitchen, eager to locate the source of that hog-bacon smell. The boys herded the dogs back into the greatroom as Tasha came in and went to the pantry to get cat food for our Feral Felines.

As the kids set up the table for breakfast, I said to Laura "You locked the dogs in the basement?"

"I wanted Tasha to be able to pet the cats while I talked to her." my wife replied and she and I went into the kitchen to get the food and bring it out. Then, to divert me, she said "Would you like to know what I learned?"

"If it doesn't violate doctor-client privilege." I said. Then, not letting her off the hook, I added "Next time, let the dogs out and then put them back inside when they're done. We were lucky they didn't have 'accidents' this morning."

"Point taken." Laura said as Molly came downstairs to join us for breakfast...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Okay, kids, get your chores done." I said when we finished breakfast. "We've got company coming today. I'm going to sweep the deck. Care to join me, Laura?"

"Sure." Laura said. We went onto the deck, me armed with my trusty push broom. I really did sweep the deck while Laura finished her coffee and gave me her report.

"Damned if Tasha didn't figure out what I was doing from the get-go." she said. "I wonder if Carole told her I was going to talk to her in my capacity as a psychologist."

"How could Carole have known ahead of time?" I asked, admitted more snarkily than I'd intended. "Tasha probably just figured it out for herself. She's got the Michaux bloodline too, you know."

"True." Laura said. "Anyway, when Michael called her the nickname you always call her, it shocked her and made her upset. I asked her if she got upset with Grandpa Grizz or Carole called her that, and she said Carole doesn't call her that, just refers to you calling her that. And she said Grandpa Grizz asked her if he could call her that, and she said he could since he's the only grandfather she has."

"Awww." I said. "And Grandpa Grizz -did- ask. Michael didn't; he just started using the nickname for her. So what else did she say?"

Laura said "This is the tricky part. I asked Tasha because I needed to know, but I think I may be too close to Paulina to talk to her about it." She paused, then said "I asked Tasha how she would feel if her mother married Michael, and he really would be her stepdaddy. She said something that shocked me. She said Michael does want to marry Paulina, and if he does, he wants to formally adopt Tasha."

"Whaa???" I gaped. "Did either he or Paulina tell her that? Or did she overhear them talking about it?"

Laura said "That's what I asked her. She said she (air quotes) 'just knew' what Michael was thinking. She sounds just like Carole when Carole brings me something I hadn't asked for but was thinking about, or when she knows something she wasn't supposed to... like what she said to that Green Beret in Teresa's hometown."

"I thought we were moving past that." I sternly admonished my wife. "As to Tasha, she may not have Carole or Cindy's powers of the Vibe, but she may have picked up on words or bodily action cues. Tasha's a sharp cookie, just like Carole and the boys are."