The Eighty-eighth Key Ch. 32

"You've never mentioned that before, Dad..."

"And I've never told you I have hemorrhoids, either. So what?"

"I'd like to go with you, that's why. That's a part of me I know nothing about."

"Are your folks still alive, Lloyd?" Frank asked.

"Goodness, no. They both passed during the war. I've got a sister in Derry, though. I'd love to see her again."

"I have an aunt? And I know nothing about her?"

"Aye, that you do, laddie," Lloyd said...only now speaking in a thick Irish brogue. "You'll no doubt be awantin' to meet her too, I reckon."

"So, when are we goin', Dad?"

"Well, she wants to come visit here. That may happen first."

"Oh."

"Anyway, I'm shipping out in a month. I'll be gone through the new year, but we can talk about it when I get back."

They arrived at the clam-shack and grabbed a table out on the wood deck overlooking the water; the tide was out and the briny shore was strong-smelling after a few hours in the sun. The last of the afternoon sun was slanting through houses and trees across the street, and a waitress clicked on patio heaters as the deck fell into shadow.

"Almost too cold for a beer," Lloyd said.

"Never thought I'd hear you say that, Dad," Harry said as their waitress walked up to the table.

"What'll it be tonight, fellas?"

"I'm starting with an Irish coffee, Stella. The boys will be taking a pitcher of Anchor Steam, if I'm not mistaken. Then let's have some fried clams. Any scallops tonight?"

"Yup, and fresh, too."

"I'll have a plate of broiled scallops then, Stella."

"Me too," Bullitt said.

"Better make it three," Harry added.

"Slaw and fries?"

"Yup," Lloyd said, just as Stella dropped her pencil. He bent to pick it up just before she did, and the sniper's round slammed into her left shoulder before the sound hit the patio, spraying Frank and Harry with blood and bits of flying bone fragments. Everyone on the patio dove for cover...

...Everyone but Bullitt...

...who sprinted from the deck, his 45 drawn...

"You carrying, son?" Lloyd asked as he cradled Stella in his arms.

"Nope. I'll get an ambulance headed this way..."

"You do that, boy," Lloyd whispered, then he turned his attention to the wounded girl. "You hang on now, you hear? Help's on the way, so you just hang on..."

He looked into her eyes, saw the stark terror lurking in her eyes, then came the fast, ragged breaths, the bloody foam from her mouth and nose...

"It's alright now, lassie," he whispered as he took the girl's hands in his own. "That warmth you're feelin'? That's God's open arms cradlin' you, cradlin' you in his love. There's nothin' to be afraid of now, lassie. You're going home now..."

She squeezed his hands once, tried to speak once more then was gone.

Lloyd Callahan held her until the paramedics arrived, and when Harry found his father he was still sitting on the patio deck, his face awash in tears, his hands shaking uncontrollably...

Frank had a patrolman drive them up to the house, and the two of them wrestled Lloyd into a hot shower before they got him into bed. Harry poured his old man a Scotch and made him drink a few sips, then he went out to the front porch.

Frank was waiting for him.

"Witnesses say it was a black Sedan de Ville, only plate information is the last three: 274."

"It's Threlkis," Harry snarled.

"This isn't over yet, Harry. Not by a long shot."

"You got my paperwork ready?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'll be in first thing in the morning."

"Could I make a suggestion?"

"Sure."

"Get your dad outta here. Ireland might be far enough away, but I doubt it."

Harry nodded, and after Bullitt left he went inside and called Didi...

© 2020 adrian leverkühn | abw | and as always, thanks for stopping by for a look around the memory warehouse...[and a last word or two on sources: I typically don't post all a story's acknowledgments until I've finished, if only because I'm not sure how many I'll need until work is finalized. Yet with current circumstances (a little virus, not to mention a certain situation in Washington, D.C. springing first to mind...) so waiting to mention sources might not be the best way to proceed. To begin, the primary source material in this case -- so far, at least -- derives from two seminal Hollywood 'cop' films: Dirty Harry and Bullitt. The first Harry film was penned by Harry Julian Fink, R.M. Fink, Dean Riesner, John Milius, Terrence Malick, and Jo Heims. Bullitt came primarily from the author of the screenplay for The Thomas Crown Affair, Alan R Trustman, with help from Harry Kleiner, as well Robert L Fish, whose short story Mute Witness formed the basis of Trustman's brilliant screenplay. Steve McQueen's grin was never trade-marked, though perhaps it should have been. John Milius (Red Dawn) penned Magnum Force, and the 'Briggs'/vigilante storyline derives from characters and plot elements originally found in that rich screenplay, as does the Captain McKay character. The Threlkis crime family storyline was first introduced in Sudden Impact, screenplay by Joseph Stinson. The Samantha Walker character derives from the Patricia Clarkson portrayal of the television reporter found in The Dead Pool, screenplay by Steve Sharon, story by Steve Sharon, Durk Pearson, and Sandy Shaw. I have to credit the Jim Parish, M.D., character first seen in the Vietnam segments to John A. Parrish, M.D., author of the most fascinating account of an American physician's tour of duty in Vietnam -- and as found in his autobiographical 12, 20, and 5: A Doctor's Year in Vietnam, a book worth noting as one of the most stirring accounts of modern warfare I've ever read (think Richard Hooker's M*A*S*H, only featuring a blazing sense of irony conjoined within a searing non-fiction narrative). Denton Cooley, M.D. founded the Texas Heart Institute, as mentioned. Many of the other figures in this story derive from characters developed within the works cited above, but keep in mind that, as always, this story is in all other respects a work of fiction woven into a pre-existing historical fabric. Using the established characters referenced above, as well as a few new characters I've managed to come up with here and there, I hoped to create something new -- perhaps a running commentary on the times we've shared? And the standard disclaimer also here applies: no one mentioned in this tale should be mistaken for persons living or dead. This was just a little walk down a road more or less imagined, and nothing more than that should be inferred, though I'd be remiss not to mention Clint Eastwood's Harry Callahan, and Steve McQueen's Frank Bullitt. Talk about the roles of a lifetime...]