Special Weapons and Tactics Ch. 04

"I will. And thank you for calling me. Bye."

"Goodbye John."

I was still about 10 minutes from the hospital and I wanted to think about it for a minute, but I was afraid the longer I put off calling Susan the less I would feel like calling her. I still had feelings for Susan and last week had made that clear. It also meant she could still hurt me emotionally and I hated the feeling of fear and weakness this reality engendered. Fuck it.

"Hello?" She said in a very small voice. A scared voice actually.

"Susan, I just got off the phone with Dr. Rachel. She told me pretty much what happened to you. Are you OK?" I tried to make my own voice just be neutrally friendly.

"I guess so, John. Oh honey, I'm so sorry this happened - " and I could hear her crying a little.

"Susan, you don't have anything to apologize to me for, OK? Now please stop crying and let's just get you over here. Where are you right now?"

"I'm back at my condo and the door's locked but I'm kind of scared a little."

"I'd come right over and get you but it's pretty bad right here now. Karen Rigby and another cop was shot this morning and I'm on the way to the hospital. Listen, I'm going to call Jenny and see if we can't arrange to get you over here as soon as possible. OK? You just hang in there and call me back if you need anything. Also call 911 if you think anything suspicious might be happening outside your condo. Promise me."

"I do John. I will do that and I just hate being such a bother. I'm just no good..."

"You're good enough, Susan. You're good enough to be 4 great kids' mother. And you were and are good enough to be my wife. And don't forget it, OK? Now let me call Jenny and see what we can work out. Just take care of yourself."

"OK, bye John. Thank you."

Next I called Jenny.

"John! Are you OK? Is Frenchie OK? It's all over the news!"

I guess I hadn't really thought about how me calling Jenny might seem to her right now.

I almost smiled to myself but this is always a serious matter to cops and their families.

"We're OK, Jenny. If you haven't heard, Karen Rigby and Jim Bast, a rookie patrolman, was shot this morning and is in the hospital. Frenchie and I are heading there now. The bad guys got away - so far - but this was a really special kind of armed robbery and not likely any kind of mad dog gang going to now terrorize Mobile. Don't worry about that."

"OK - but damn, I was scared for a minute. So. Your kids are OK, what's up?"

"I need a favor - kind of a big one. It's about Susan. She's ready to move in with us all now but - darn it - she was sexually assaulted or raped last night and is all shook up right now. I need to get her over here and she shouldn't be driving herself right now."

"Oh, John - that's so terrible! Do you want me to get her?"

"Yes. That would be such a blessing. I would owe you big time. If you had someone to take with you to drive her car back that would be also good but not necessary. I can do that next weekend with Frenchie, maybe."

"Gigi might be available. Carla can watch all the kids. Normally, we'd just load 'em all up and go but Susan might need some quiet or talk time just with me. I've - kind of been there myself - once."

"Ah, Jenny - I hate the thought of that. I just hope justice has been served..."

"It has, John - and maybe now some actual good might come of it, if I can help Susan even a little bit. I also hope you wouldn't think of blaming the victim in this case...right John?"

I could hear a hint of steel in Jenny's voice - and it forced me make the appropriate and correct response.

"Not one bit, Jenny. Just keep me in the loop and let me know how she is doing. You know how much I care for you don't you?"

"I think so, John - but I also know how many others' lives you impact and are involved with. It'll all work out OK as it should if we just take it one day at a time. Eh?"

"Thanks again, Jenny - I can't tell you how much this means to me. Just let me know if there is any problem at all. Here is Susan's cell phone number and please call her as soon as it's worked out."

I really did like Jenny and I had started to fantasize about her. She was not only beautiful but nice, level headed, and sane. She also seemed very tough physically and mentally. We just seemed to click - and even in the way neither of us was over-eager to just jump into bed.

Yet Susan was the mother of my children and I still felt attracted to her and protective of her as well. And possibly she still felt very sexually attracted to me - though I was certainly aware how many women in general and especially Susan could FAKE "love" so very well. Susan had just told me how she had done that very thing to Jack! I was definitely in a "trust but verify" mode with Susan and I was definitely going to check out this Sam O'Donnell asshole. OK - possible asshole.

Next I called Frenchie and hoped to get this ball rolling before I entered the Hospital.

"Hey, do you know anybody real well in the Orange County PD?"

"Sure. One of my uncles has been there for almost 20 years. What's up?"

"OK - this is kind of personal but I need some info, unofficially, on some guy named Sam O'Donnell and anything sex assault or sex malfeasance related. I think he is supposed to be some Alabama State Senator's son or something. Can you get that started on the down low?"

"I'll call him now right before I come in the hospital."

"Thanks, Frenchie. I will explain it all later."

"Gigi called and said she was going to Gulf Shores with Jenny to pick up Susan. I'm guessing this may all be related?"

"Yes. Sadly - but you know..."

"Say no more, Boss. Whatever it is we'll handle it. See you in a few. Jenny and Gigi will be praying for Karen and Jim - and Susan - all the way over there. Gigi told me to tell you that whenever I saw you..."

What in the world had I ever done to deserve such good friends? Maybe they were all such nice - and good - people that one couldn't ever earn or "deserve" their friendship and even love, but could only mess it up merely by some ignorance or betrayal...This got me thinking how terrible I had felt when Susan left me before and how I had felt like I didn't deserve that kind of treatment. I had EARNED Susan's love and faithfulness for so long with my reciprocal love and faithfulness, so how could she do that to me???

But from our discussions last week Susan told me she had "loved" me from the time she was 14 years old, and I hadn't "earned" her love back then. So - what? I needed to think about this some more but I was almost to the surgery waiting room and needed to focus on Karen and Jim right now.

When I got there, there were a lot of people I didn't know, mostly civilians but also some uniforms I recognized but couldn't quite name, yet. My own boss was there and said, "Karen's still in surgery. Jim Bast didn't make it..."

That explained the ashen faces and crying of so many. Jim was only 23 years old and just a rookie. He had only been out of the Mobile Police Academy for 6 weeks, I found out later. Without knowing anything else I was wondering if it was he that had insisted on going in immediately, despite Karen arguing otherwise, and that she had gone in with him for backup. What I knew of Karen that seemed about right, but these thoughts would remain my own for now and possibly forever. Unless and until Karen recovered and it all needed hashing out. All I felt was a lot of worry and sadness right now. I had already been to too many police funerals in my own short career.

Frenchie came in and waved at me but immediately headed over to a patrolman that I had met before - Karen's fiance - just once at one of the monthly get togethers. Frenchie hugged him and I saw the tears in both their eyes. I wasn't used to praying myself. Not for quite a while. I certainly had more than a few times in Iraq and now I offered up a silent one again. 'Please spare Karen for now, and all her family this pain. And spare me too in so many ways....' I figured it couldn't hurt and didn't know what else to do right now. It was in the Doctors' and Nurses' - and God's - hands.

The hours dragged by. Finally about 7PM the surgeon came out and talked with Karen's family. She was alive but in critical condition and would be in the ICU for the foreseeable future. But she was alive and I saw a few faint smiles of relief.

Jenny had already called me and let me know that Susan was at the house and was asleep - in my bed. I didn't know how I felt about that but felt a tad small even worrying about it. I called Jenny back on her cell phone and told her the good news about Karen and that Frankie and I were headed there since Gigi was still there as well. She said they were keeping the leftovers from dinner warm for us.

I was pretty tired from the whole day's emotional stresses. My adrenaline had shot up with our entry into what we thought was a hot situation and then worrying about Karen and Jim and Susan didn't help.

I had also received another call from a St. Louis number that afternoon about 4PM. It was from a pretty good friend of mine in the DA's office. Jack Carter had served his time and been released from his minimum security prison. He was out on parole and a parole officer would - supposedly - keep tabs on him now for another 6 months. But since threats had been made to me with the logical assumption Jack had made them, it was a courtesy heads up call. Another call would have been made to Susan IF Susan had left her own contact info with the DA's office. That I did not know and I now hoped she hadn't. I would handle telling Susan this.

Maybe it didn't mean a thing and Jack had learned his lesson. Maybe.

**********

A short chapter just to set up some additional subplots.

The one kernel of real world truth in this chapter concerns the law office described. Back in 1983 I was an AOM (basically office manager) for the IBM BO in Mobile. And one of our customers was a law firm with an office building just as described here. I visited that office once with my A/R clerk on really a pretext invoice issue. The IBM Marketing Rep had told us how astounding all that artwork was. The "business" call took 10 minutes and we were then invited and allowed to look at all the artwork - including the Gettysburg battle painting. The back story we heard was exactly as described in the story - Congress commissioned it but then refused it back then but NOW wanted to buy it back. I don't actually remember the artist's name nor the lawyers/owner or even if it still exists like that today. I'm not a real art fan or expert - but I like a lot of 19th century and earlier "Masters" works - and all the paintings I saw there that day looked beautiful to me. And would be very valuable today.