John was out of the hospital but not back to duty yet. Sitting around his apartment, in one of those foam donuts, was driving him crazy. He decided to check the mail; hoping there'd be something interesting in it.
He saw an envelope with a Baltimore postmark but no return address. Opening it like an eager child a necklace with a saint's medal fell out into his shaking hand. In a masculine scrawl he'd never forget were these few words:
Maybe I should have given you this a long time ago, but that horseshoe up your butt seemed to work 'til now. Hope St Michael doesn't mind that you're a Jew.
Take care of yourself Munch.
Stan
Author's Note: For those who don't know Stan Bolander was John's partner in Baltimore Homicide. Stan and Detectives Kay Howard and Beau Felton were all seriously wounded on an assignment to serve an arrest warrant. Munch was with them but not wounded. When Stan learned Munch hadn't been shot, he told him "You must have been born with a horseshoe up your butt." When Stan recovered and returned to work he bought St Michael's medallions for himself and Kay and Beau but not for John. (Kay said St Michael is the patron saint of cops.)
