Teresa's Christmas Miracle Ch. 02

Part 14 - A Blessed Miracle?

"And He said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."
--- The Gospel according to St. Luke 18:27 (KJV)

7:30am, Friday, December 24th. Teresa and her attorney, the formidable Agnes T. Spires, were sitting on the far side of the Main Conference Room table. On the near side were Federal Agents Darryl Green and Gary Weller... and Jack Muscone. He'd been called in by Police Chief Sean Moynahan, who was watching the feed (which was being recorded) with me and the Sheriff in the Chief's Conference Room. Also in the Chief's Conference Room were FBI Supervisory Special Agent Julius Jefferson and Special Agent Christy Cassidy.

Also in the Main Conference Room was NTSB Agent Alina Reuben. She was just older than me and Teresa at age 39. She was attractive, with long brown hair, but it was her large breasts that I noticed (of course), which she showed off by wearing a clingy dress with deep cleavage. But she otherwise appeared to be professional in her manner. I'd looked her up on my iPad, and her record with the NTSB was good. My only concern: s she had brought in a large container that I knew was a polygraph device.

Clarissa was watching the news on the television monitor in my office while Carole was doing Carole things on her iPad. They were joined by Chaplain Alberto Romano, and I would find out later that he had a very 'interesting' conversation with them, especially Carole.

"Before we begin," said NTSB Agent Gary Weller, "I want to apologize for my conduct during our previous interview. I didn't understand what I perceived to be unwarranted hostility on your part, Commander Croyle, as well as Commander Troy's. However, I have learned why you felt that way, and still do, I am sure, and I have to say that I agree with you now."

Weller: "In the past 24 hours, I have been pressured by higher-ups in the Federal Government, not the NTSB but the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security. I have reported this to my superiors in the NTSB, and also to Special Agent In Charge Muscone and the FBI's Office of Professional Standards."

Weller: "They were pressuring me to immediately suspend your pilot's license, Commander Croyle, and to make a finding, whether truthful or not, that what happened on your flight was due to your mistakes." He paused, then said "The same two FBI Agents were the ones that had me complain to the Press about Commander Troy not being at the site of the train car explosion."

"Who are those Agents?" asked Agnes T. Spires.

"I'll bet I can tell you." Teresa said. "Lindsey Black and Karl Coleman."

Weller very briefly looked surprised, then said "You're right, they were the ones. Do you have some sort of history with them?"

You must have no idea, Teresa thought to herself. But it was Jack Muscone that said out loud "Black and Coleman are part of the corrupt faction under US Attorney General Derrick B. Harland. I'm glad you reported their actions. But keep your head on a swivel, going forward."

Weller said "That's why I imposed upon Agent Reuben to come in over the Holiday, and brought her into this. I'm turning over the NTSB's portion of the investigation to her, and recusing myself from it. So if you'll excuse me..."

He got up and left the room. Chief Moynahan went and got him and brought him into the Chief's Conference Room. I stood up, went around the table, and shook his hand. "That was a great thing you just did." I told him. "I hope the Swamp Frogs won't retaliate against you. But if they do, give me a call." I handed him my card...

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

Meanwhile, the interview of Teresa Croyle commenced. Darryl Green said "I'm going to read you your rights." He did so, and Teresa said she understood the rights.

Green said "Commander, you have the right to refuse a lie detector test. And your Commander Troy is correct that they are not admissible in Court. But if you do refuse to take a polygraph test, that can and will be a consideration in our actions going forward. I am not saying that to pressure or coerce you; I'm just stating it as a fact of the current situation."

"Hook me up." Teresa said, wiggling her fingers. The Federal Agents, including Jack Muscone, looked briefly shocked. Then Agent Alina Reuben opened the kit and began attaching the electrodes to Teresa's fingers.

"State your full name, age, and occupation." she said, to get the baseline.

"Teresa Lynne Croyle, 38 years old, Town & County Police Operations Officer." Teresa replied. Agent Reuben asked her several more basic questions, including one where she was told to give a false answer.

After getting the baseline, Agent Green said "As a result of our examination of the Black Boxes and interviews of many people, several questions have arisen. First of all, why didn't you refuel the plane at the airport of origin?"

"I thought I did." Teresa said. "I saw the fuel truck next to the plane, and the fuel truck people attach the hose to the plane. A few minutes later I saw them disconnecting the hose, and the fuel gauge showed over three-fourths full." She went on to say the gauge never showed empty until after she landed, the engines went out, and she tapped the gauge.

"That does match our findings." said Jack Muscone. "What happened out there is that the fuel hose didn't properly attach to the aircraft tank spout. The fuel bubbled up, which may have caused the gauge to read that there was more fuel than there really was. The fuel truck people went to get another attachment to properly connect, but did not contact the Tower like they should have."

Green didn't like Jack Muscone revealing that, but he continued: "Okay, we have the cockpit voice recordings of an exchange where you were asked if you had the nurses aboard. Both of them were still in the terminal building when you took off, and you said the nurse was aboard."

"And she was." Teresa replied.

Green: "The tower told you they were still at the airport, and asked if you wanted to land and pick them up. Why didn't you?"

Teresa said "I had a nurse on board. And as events proved, I couldn't afford to waste the time. The little boy I flew in might not have lived if I'd landed and had to take off again."

"So how do you explain that nurse?" Agent Reuben asked. "Where did she come from? Where did she go? What was her name?"

"She never told me her name." said Teresa. "We never got to talk. I was flying the plane in the increasingly bad weather, and she was tending to the kids. The first I saw of her was when she boarded the aircraft and said 'Let's go!'. And I didn't really see her get off the aircraft, nor where she went. I was told she went into the Terminal, and that she disappeared from there, but I didn't see any of that."

Agent Green said suddenly, perhaps trying to throw Teresa off her game: "Why did you disengage the autopilot?"

"I didn't disengage it." Teresa said. "It disengaged itself, and I took manual control when the alarm beeped."

"And did you re-engage it when you came out of the clouds?" Green asked.

"No, it re-engaged itself." Teresa said. "I did turn it off when I dove through the hole in the cloud cover, and found myself approaching TCA."

Muscone again cut in: "That's all true. As you likely know, the Black Box has a code that shows if the autopilot was manually disengaged or engaged, versus a system failure. You did not disengage it the first time, and did disengage it the second time."

Agent Green briefly scowled at Muscone. Then he said "Commander Croyle, did you fall asleep at any time during the flight?"

"No." Teresa said simply. Agent Reuben looked at the polygraph readout and nodded slightly.

Agent Green said "How do you explain the empty fuel tank, so empty that the engines should have died long before you landed? How do you explain the autopilot disengaging, and your plane disappearing from radar, all radar, for hours?"

"I don't." Teresa said. "I have no logical explanation for any of it. I can only tell you what happened, what I experienced, and that is what I am doing."

"That's all I have." said Agent Darryl Green. Agent Alina Reuben had no more questions, either. Teresa was disconnected from the polygraph, and she and Agnes T. Spires got up and left the room.

"Well?" Agent Green asked Agent Reuben.

"She's not lying." Alina Reuben said. "Either she is solidly beating the polygraph, or she absolutely believes what she said. And unlike the pilot of that previous flight, we have no outright contradictions between her testimony and what the data tells us. Just some totally unexplained things."

"Perhaps I can help you with that." said a voice. They looked up to see Chaplain Alberto Romano entering the room. "My apologies for barging in on you, but I have a request. I would appreciate you giving me a copy of your report, and all of the background data you've amassed about this incident."

"Why?" asked Alina Reuben.

Father Romano said "Because I believe what has happened here... is that a genuine miracle has taken place. I'm examining this case on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church..."

Part 15 - Present And Future

10:30am, Friday, December 24th. The day was technically the Police Force's Christmas off-day, since Christmas Day was on Saturday, so the building was empty but for the skeleton staff of volunteers to work. Ergo, Chief Moynahan kicked Teresa and her Aunt Clarissa out of Police Headquarters. After they left for home, he came to my office.

Chief Moynahan said "With Commander Abram now in Internal Affairs, Captain Damien

Thompson has agreed to be Acting Chief today and over the Christmas week-ennnnd. Soooo, you are not only excused, Mis-ter Crowbarrrr, and Miss Future Crowbarrr, you are required to leave and go home."

"Yes sir." I said. "Just as soon as I download this photo that Connie the Sketch Artist emailed me."

"Have a Merry Christmasss, Mister Crowbar. You tooooo, Misss Carole."

"Thank you, sir." Carole said politely. "You toooo." I added my sentiments, and the Chief went back to his office to get his things and go home himself.

"All right, let's make like trees and leave." I said, making Carole laugh. We left the building, got into my Police SUV, and drove out.

Carole noticed that I'd turned south on Riverside Drive, and said "We're going to the Hos-pit-ul?"

"Yes." I said. And that is where I drove. As we turned into the drive that went to the E.R. and the Authorized Vehicles Only area, I saw that the stage from the Concert was gone. The front lawn of the Hospital looked as if nothing at all had happened there the night before.

"You did very well last night at the Concert." I said. "Did you have fun?"

"Yes sir." said Carole. "I'm not that good with the violin yet, but The Maestro said that playing in the orchestra is a team effort. So I played the harmony, and did what I could for the team."

"That's very good." I said. "And you have to be part of the team when you are part of the Police Force, especially if you want to become a leader, amirite?"

"Yes sir." Carole said. Another lesson given and absorbed.

I parked and we went into the Hospital. Laura texted me the room number where she was, and we headed to the part of the Hospital where the Cancer Kids and other sick kids under the Croyle Trust program were. Teresa met us in the hallway, and fell in line with us, telling me that she'd delivered her Aunt Clarissa back to the Mountain Nest.

When we went into the room, I saw Laura sitting next to the bed, talking with the patient. She was a very pretty nine-year-old girl with dirty blonde hair, and I thought that she would be a very beautiful young woman when she grew up.

"Hi guys." Laura said to us as we came in. "This is Diane Davenport. Diane, this is Teresa Croyle. She's the lady that flew you and your brother here."

"Thank you for helping us." Diane said.

"And this is my daughter Carole, she's a year younger than you." Laura said. Carole and Diane said hello to each other.

"And this is my husband, Don Troy." Laura said. Diane's young eyes lit up a little bit upon seeing me.

"You're very lucky, Doctor Laura." Diane said.

"Thank you for that." I said. "But I'm the lucky one."

"Diane, Don here is the Iron Crowbar." Teresa said. Why, I didn't know. And I was surprised when Diane's eyes opened wide.

"You're the Iron Crowbar?" Diane gasped, astonished.

"Yes, I am." I said, holding up the red crowbar for her to see. "Why are you so surprised?"

Diane said "It... it's just that when we were on the airplane, the nurse told me that I'm going to be a doctor, and I'm going to be the mother of the Iron Crowbar. But you're already born!"

I chuckled. "That's true. Let me show you something." I took out my Police iPhone and brought up a photo. It was the adaptation I'd asked Connie the Sketch Artist to make. "Do you recognize her?" I said, showing Diane the photo.

"Wowwww." Diane said. "She looks a lot like the nurse on the plane that told me that. Not totally exactly, but very close."

I showed the others the photo. Laura looked stunned. Carole just nodded. Teresa saw it and almost fainted. She grabbed me to hold herself up until she could recover her wits.

"Okay, Diane." I said. "I have to go. Laura, when are Diane's parents arriving?"

"Early next week." Laura said. "But we'll visit her tomorrow for Christmas, and she can celebrate with the other kids."

"All I want for Christmas is for my brother to get well, too." Diane said, trying to keep hope in her voice.

"The very best doctors are working to make him well." Teresa said.

Laura told Diane she'd visit later, and we all headed out of the room. I was last, and as I got to the door I turned and said to Diane: "I look forward to meeting your son, the Iron Crowbar. You get some rest now." Diane just smiled at me. I felt more than saw Carole make like an owl and whirl her head to look at me.

In the hallway, Teresa gasped "That's Amy! That's Amy in that photo! Where did you get it?"

"Yes, it is." I said. "I had Connie, our sketch artist, take a photo of Amy when she was at our house after you found her and Buddy, and age it to show her as a young woman. And yes, she was the nurse on that flight." (Author's story: 'Teresa's Christmas Story Redux' for Teresa finding Amy and Buddy.)

To say Teresa was stunned would be the understatement of the decade. In fact, she had to sit down in a chair in the nearby waiting room, and she did not speak for a long time as she went into a deep reverie...

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

Carole and I drove up to The Cabin, where Molly and her boys were, and Paulina and Tasha, as well. Carole had been absolutely silent on the drive, and I could sense that her mind was in turmoil, and that gears were turning in her head.

As soon as we got inside, Carole said "Daddy, can we take the dogs out?"

"Sure." I said. Two outstanding dogs had heard that, and were at the back door. We let them out and they scampered around the side of the house to inspect their territories and do their business. Meanwhile, Carole and I sat down on the metal mesh loveseat.

"Daddy," Carole said, "there's something I don't under-stand. Amy told Diane she'd be the mother of the Iron Crowbar, and Teresa heard Amy tell Diane that. But she didn't say that Diane would have a son. Even I did not know that. So how do you know that Diane's baby is going to be a boy?"

Oops. Bus-ted.

"Well, sometimes some things come to me, like they come to you and Cindy." I tried. "But I'm nowhere near you and her when it comes to the Power of the Vibe.

That got a reaction out of my daughter. She stood up on the seat, crossed her little arms, looked at me through her eyebrows, and said "Modesty is a human trait, Daddy! I will excuse it!"

I looked into my Carole's eyes as she glared at me. And then I began laughing. I was overcome with laughter, unable to stop for a moment. Then I tacked Carole into my lap in a hug, making her giggle.

"Yes, Fussbudget, I saw that one." I said through my laughter. "I don't know why, but I just knew it."

"Welcome to my world, Daddy!" Carole said happily. "Just don't let Mommy know."

"No worries there." I replied most very sincerely.

The dogs came back from their inspections. Carole petted Bowser while I gave Buddy skritchins. Yes, I thought to myself as we petted them, I do have the Power of the Vibe. Nowhere near as strong as Carole, but I knew that I could give Cindy a run for her money, and always had been able to. But I'd always downplayed my own abilities, keeping the Element of Surprise on my side.

And yes, I somehow knew that Amy's prediction of Diane being the mother of the Iron Crowbar would come true, and that it would be her son that would be the Iron Crowbar. Unlike Laura, I did not question it, not any of it. Not Carole's gift, Cindy's vibes, nor my own enhanced Powers of Observation and Deduction. I knew that I had not chosen to be who and what I am. It was my karma.

Part 16 - Epilogue

Three months later...

It was very late at night when the teen girl got off the bus at the City Bus Station and looked around worriedly. She was wearing an old shirt and windbreaker she'd gotten at Goodwill, and jeans that were dirty, and about to come apart.

The neighborhood was not good. She felt the eyes upon her, the eyes of pimps, thieves, rapists, and 'Boris and Natasha' couples that tricked girls into going with them... and ending up becoming the lowest form of prostitutes, streetwalkers. She was like a helpless fawn in the woods full of hungry predators, ready to be gobbled up.

One such predatory couple was approaching her from up the street when she heard a voice say "Over here!" She looked and saw a woman with a mane of red hair, a shirt with the logo of the Wrangler Circus, and blue jeans waving to her. "Come inside!" The predatory couple that had been approaching her retreated, and melted back into the world of chaos, and darkness.

She saw the sign on the building across the street: 'Harvey's House'. Over the name was an icon, a red circle on a black background, with six diamonds forming a flower petal or hexagon inside the circle. The girl did not know what that meant, but the criminals on these streets sure did: it was a sign that this place was protected by the Clan of the Iron Crowbar, and no one wanted any part of what would happen to them if they attacked that place, or any of the employees, or the girls that went inside.

The girl crossed the street and went up to the woman. She was attractive, but looked as if she'd seen a few street wars herself. She saw on the glass door under the name a motto: '...a safe place to rest'. The woman held the door for her and she went inside. She saw four desks with chairs in front of them. The smell of food wafted into her nose, and she realized that she was nearly starving, literally, having had no real food for days, and no money to buy it.

"My name is Bonnie. Here, have a seat on the sofa." Bonnie led the girl to the black leather sofa along the side wall and had her sit down, and sat down with her. "What's your name?"

"Dina." the girl said.

"Where are you from?" Bonnie asked. Seeing the girl hesitate, she said "You don't have to answer that if you don't want to."

"It's... it's just that I ran away from home to get away from my father." Dina said. "He's been messing with me, and my mother didn't believe me when I told her. I ran away once, and someone called the Police. They just took me back to the house, and my mother beat me and then left me to my father. He..." She began sobbing at the memory of what he had done to her.

"It's okay, Dina." Bonnie said. "You're safe here. We're not going to call the Police. When did you last eat?"