Chapter 2

The next morning Fraser was at the Two Seven before Ray. He busied himself tidying Ray's paperwork, marvelling at his friend's uncanny ability to lose things on his desk. He counted three take-away cartons, two wristwatches and a packet of chocolate cookies that were five months past their use-by date among the finds, not to mention three Police files that Lieutenant Welsh had been looking for for several weeks. Fraser had just finished putting everything in neat piles when the door swung open and Ray walked in. "Good morning Ray," he smiled. "How is your mother?"

"Um, good, I just dropped her back at the, er, the hospital," began Ray. "Oh ya found my watch! Thanks buddy," he grinned, picking up one of the watches and fastening it around his wrist. Then he noticed the other one. "Oh, ya found my other watch!"

Fraser considered discussing Ray's complete lack of organisation and how it may be detrimental to the timely conclusion of Police work, but he thought better of it.

"I stopped by the trailer park," Ray said, his voice a little more subdued now.

"Oh dear, how bad is the damage?" asked Fraser.

"Um, bad," replied Ray, "well, I guess it could be worse. The motorhome's a write off, but I, er, I think I can salvage some of my folks' stuff, it wasn't totally burnt out."

"I will help you undertake that task," Fraser offered and Ray smiled an acknowledgement. "I understand the fire started in another trailer," continued Fraser

"Yeah," nodded Ray. "Pretty obvious which one it was too." Then he frowned. "How did ya know that?" he asked.

"I was talking with one of the other residents last night in the hospital, he gave his name only as Luke," explained Fraser, "his wife was seriously injured in the fire. It would appear that their trailer was the source of the blaze."

"Oh, er, tall guy, kinda straggly hair, er..." Ray closed his eyes as he tried to remember the man's name, "Hoffman...I think? Yeah, Luke Hoffman."

"I'm afraid I didn't ask his surname," admitted Fraser, "he was in a rather distressed state. As I understand it, his wife suffered severe burns and the effects of smoke inhalation."

"Jeez," Ray hung his head sadly. "I only talked with them a couple times, but they seemed like a really nice couple. Her name's Tammy, she works over in that steakhouse on West Washington Street. Y'know, the one with the green window frames and those, er, swinging flower things."

"Hanging baskets?" suggested Fraser and Ray nodded. Fraser did indeed know the eatery his partner was referring to.

"Are you talking about the fire?" Francesca sidled up to them, standing unnecessarily close to Fraser.

"Indeed we are," replied Fraser, clearing his throat and trying not to notice the Civilian Aid's very low cut top.

Francesca smiled up at him. "You smell nice today Frase," she said.

"Have ya got some info about the fire?" snapped Ray as Fraser's face flushed red.

"Jeez bro, what's with you this morning?" Francesca snarled at him.

"My Dad's in the hospital," replied Ray with a sneer, "kinda makes a guy grouchy, y'know."

"Oh," Francesca replied quietly. She already knew about Ray's dad of course. "Sorry." She handed him a piece of paper fresh off the printer. "Initial report from the Fire Department," she said, "it was arson. They found two empty fuel cans."

"Thank you kindly Francesca," said Fraser as she walked back to her desk. He quickly read the report. "Oh dear," he said, "it appears the fire was set underneath the trailer occupied by Luke and Tamara Hoffman, it would have taken hold very quickly. If the young woman was asleep she would have been very quickly overcome by smoke and flames. The fire also damaged six additional units, one of which was your parents' of course."

Ray sighed. "So we'd better check into Luke and his wife, see if they, er, had any enemies..."

"No you won't Detective," Lieutenant Welsh appeared from his office, "I'm giving this one to Huey and Dewey."

"What! No way," exclaimed Ray crossing to his Lieutenant, "I need this one."

"You need to take some time off to be with your folks," replied Welsh. Fraser knew Ray wasn't going to like that. He needed to be kept busy, he wasn't one for sitting around, he needed to be doing something, he needed to keep his mind occupied or he'd just worry himself stupid about his father's health.

"Sir, some freaky arsonist burnt my parent's home, I gotta work this," Ray protested.

"No Detective, this one belongs to the Duck Boys," Welsh replied gruffly, "You have other things to deal with, I don't want to see you back here until next week."

Ray was mad now, his nostrils flared with anger and it took all his self restraint not to kick his Lieutenant in the head. Instead he turned and stormed out of the squad room, with Diefenbaker running after him.

"Talk to him Constable," said Welsh to Fraser and he went back into his office.

Fraser was quite stunned. While he fully understood why Welsh didn't want Ray working this case and of course he was used to the Lieutenant's slightly abrupt manner at times, this was out of character. Usually Welsh had far more empathy for his Detectives. Fraser looked at Francesca who was looking a little nervous.

"He was like this all day yesterday," she said shrugging her shoulders.

Fraser was concerned now. Welsh held this Department together, if there was something troubling him then it affected everyone. He contemplated knocking on the Lieutenant's door and attempting to ask him what was wrong, but he thought better of it and instead went out after Ray.

xXx

"Where are we going Ray?" Fraser reached out a hand to stop his hat sliding right across the dashboard of the GTO as Ray flung his car round another corner at high speed.

"Well I dunno about you buddy," replied Ray, keeping his eyes on the road, "but I could murder a steak right now."

"Ray it's eleven fifteen in the morning," frowned Fraser, looking at his watch.

"Medium rare, huge pile of fries," Ray continued, "what d'ya say buddy? My shout."

Fraser knew exactly what his partner was thinking. "You're off the case Ray," he said, "so attempting to interview Tamara Hoffman's co-workers at this juncture could be seen as disobeying a direct order."

"Hey I'm just hungry Fraser," replied Ray, trying to sound innocent. "I don't, er, remember Welsh tellin' me to starve myself?"

Fraser sighed. The truth was he was just as keen as Ray to investigate the fire. Apart from what had happened to Damien Kowalski, Fraser was having difficulty shaking the image from his mind of Luke Hoffman, distraught as he waited to hear whether his wife was alive or dead. Knowing now that the fire was arson, Fraser was going to find it as difficult as Ray to let this one go. Also, he couldn't help thinking that if Lieutenant Welsh had been acting normally he wouldn't have pulled Ray from this investigation anyway. Although his parents' motorhome had been damaged in the fire, the real crime was clearly committed against the Hoffmans, so Ray wasn't really personally involved, there was no conflict of interest that could jeopardise the investigation. Fraser decided that perhaps he was a little hungry after all.

They pulled up outside the restaurant and headed for the door. The hanging baskets that Ray had mentioned earlier were in their usual place and the outside of the building had been decorated for Christmas. Fraser noticed a small pane of glass in one of the windows was broken and had been boarded up. Dief was at Fraser's heels, but as soon as they got to the door he turned and stopped his wolf. "I'm sorry, you know the health regulations, you'll have to wait here." Dief whined and tried to push past them, but Fraser put his boot in the way. "Stay," he commanded. Then he sighed at Dief's sad face. "I'll bring you something out." Dief was reasonably satisfied with this and settled himself on the ground while Ray and Fraser went inside.

"Fraser," Ray whispered, "we're just here to eat remember, so, er, don't mention we're cops." He looked his buddy up and down as soon as he'd finished that sentence and realised how difficult it was going to be to keep that particular fact quiet. Fraser was wearing his red uniform, brass buttons, pumpkin pants, the whole thing...Ray shook his head, they were just going to have to play it cool. He didn't need word getting back to Welsh that he'd been here asking questions already and Huey and Dewey would no doubt be showing up here and doing exactly the same later today.

Fraser nodded seriously. A waiter showed them to a table and took their drinks order. There was a group of five young women sitting by the window drinking coffee and an older couple studying menu, but otherwise the restaurant was empty. It was still very early for lunch though. The waiter brought their drinks and placed them on the table, then he got out his notebook and was about to ask them what they'd like to eat when Ray spoke. "Er, does Tammy Hoffman work here?" he asked casually.

"Yes," replied the waiter, slightly suspiciously, "do you know her?"

"Yeah," nodded Ray, "she lives in my parents' neighbourhood."

"Oh," the waiter said quietly and looked back towards another waiter who was cleaning a table, catching his eye briefly.

Ray glanced at Fraser, clearly this guy was acting weirdly. Ray decided to take a chance. "I heard she was in a, er, an accident or somethin' yesterday?" he said, "I was wonderin' if ya knew anythin' about it?"

"Oh no," the waiter appeared genuinely concerned. "An accident? Are you sure it was an accident? We were wondering where she was, she hasn't shown up for work today. Is she badly hurt?"

"We are unsure of her condition at this juncture," replied Fraser. "If you don't mind me asking, why would you question whether the incident in question was accidental?"

"Um," the waiter hesitated, "look...you're friends of hers, right?"

"Yes," replied Ray. Fraser winced at the blatant lie. "She lives next door to my parents' place," said Ray, trying to placate his buddy with something more closely resembling the truth.

"Well, this guy keeps coming in here, just hanging around and staring at her. He only ever orders grapefruit juice and garlic bread. He's really creepy," explained the waiter.

"Yeah, she, er, she mentioned that," lied Ray. Fraser cleared his throat twice.

"We called the cops once, he was really freaking her out, but he'd gone before they got here," continued the waiter. "She told me he followed her home the other day too. I said she should call the cops again, but I don't know if she did. I should have made her call, if he's hurt her..." he stopped that train of thought right there and looked sadly out of the window.

"It would have been preferable if the Police had been alerted," agreed Fraser.

"If you see her, tell her that her job here is safe until she recovers," smiled the waiter, "she's really popular with the customers. Too popular with some I guess. Anyway, what can I get you?"

xXx

That afternoon Fraser and Ray headed back to the hospital to see Ray's father. Fraser was inclined not to leave his partner alone, he knew Ray too well and he knew that if he had the opportunity Ray would be likely to try to get involved in the investigation and if he wasn't careful he could find himself getting suspended. They'd seen Detectives Huey and Dewey arrive at the steakhouse as they were leaving, although thankfully the Duck Boys hadn't noticed them, Fraser was certain of that, but at least they were fairly sure the lead about the strange man who had been following Tammy Hoffman about would be looked into. Huey and Dewey might occasionally act like morons, but they were actually good detectives. Lieutenant Welsh would have got rid of them a long time ago otherwise.

"Hi Dad," Ray hesitated before hugging his father. "How are ya feelin'?"

Damien Kowalski was looking pale and tired, he'd suffered through round after round of tests that morning and now, as much as he was pleased that his son was here, he was ready to sleep. "I'm doing fine son," he replied, forcing a smile.

"Ya don't look fine," replied Ray. "If ya wanna rest, we can, er, come back later."

Damien smiled warmly now. There was a time when Ray would never have been able to see through him, to read his thoughts like that. They'd been like strangers for so long that they'd forgotten how to understand each other, but now after just a few short months, their relationship was getting stronger every day. Damien hoped that soon they could be as close as they had been when Ray was a boy. "No Raymond, I want you to stay," he said warmly.

"They haven't left him alone all morning," Barbara Kowalski took her husband's hand in hers, "how many needles have they stuck in you Damien?" Ray's Dad shrugged, he'd lost count hours ago. "I'm surprised you've got any blood left in you," she continued, "and then there were the scans...the doctor tried to explain it all to me, but I'm afraid I couldn't concentrate on what he was saying."

"Barbara, these people know what they're doing," Damien tried to reassure his wife, "we don't need to understand it all, we just have to let them do their jobs." He turned to his son now. "They think I have epilepsy, but there are different types apparently."

"Oh," Ray said quietly. He didn't really know anything about that, it sounded serious though.

"Don't worry about me son," Damien said as cheerfully as possible. "The doc said as long as I take these new pills they're going to give me I'll be as right as rain."

Fraser knew it wasn't going to be quite as simple as that, but for now he let Ray believe it.

"You have a terrible memory Damien," laughed Barbara, "you'll never remember to take them every day."

"But I'll always have you here to remind me," smiled Damien, reaching out and taking her hand in his. He was scared, but as long as she was here then he knew he'd be alright.

Suddenly, Ray coughed and walked out of the room. Barbara and Damien were too busy smiling lovingly at each other to really notice, but Fraser noticed and he quietly made his excuses and followed his partner. He found Ray leaning with one shoulder against the wall with one hand over his eyes. "Ray," said Fraser gently.

Ray sniffed, wiped the tears from his face with his hand and turned to face his buddy. "Jeez, I've gotta stop doin' this," he said with half a smile.

"It's quite alright," Fraser assured him.

Ray sighed. "He looks real old in there," he said quietly.

"Ray, your father has had a health scare and today hasn't been easy for him," Fraser said, "it's not unexpected that he would be exhausted at this juncture."

Ray nodded. "I guess you're right, but y'know Fraser, I think it's just kinda hit me how many years it's been..." his voice cracked, "when they, er, when they left for Arizona they weren't old...where did the time go? Why didn't I try harder, or somethin', I can't ever get those years back..."

Fraser studied his friend for a moment, he really felt his pain. Fraser had never had the chance to rebuild a relationship with his own father and then it was too late...well, almost too late. If he wasn't careful, sometimes the remorse he felt would overwhelm him. "One thing I've learnt Ray, is that regrets about the past are...unhealthy," he said solemnly. "You can't change what's already happened, all you can do is live for the present and look to the future."

Ray nodded, he knew his buddy was right. "So this epilepsy, it's...I mean it's not..." he couldn't get his words out again and he hung his head in resignation.

"The condition can be controlled quite successfully with medication," Fraser explained, trying to allay some of his fears, "although it may take some trial and error to discover the most suitable combination for you father." He waited for Ray to take in that information. "Perhaps I should take Dief for a walk while you spend some time with your parents?" he suggested.

"OK," Ray stood up straight now and took a deep breath. He knew Fraser was right, he had to do this by himself. He and his Dad had been getting on great recently and now his Dad was facing this new challenge, Ray could finally be the supportive and loving son he'd always wanted to be. "Thanks buddy," he said, slapping Fraser affectionately on the back.

The two of them headed back towards Damien's room, but before they got there a nurse walked round the corner. "Melissa?" Fraser immediately recognised her.

The nurse looked up at the sound of his voice and was surprised to see them. "Oh, hi," she said. "Actually I saw the name Kowalski on our files, I was hoping it was a coincidence."

"It's my Dad," said Ray, "but he's OK. I didn't know you were a nurse."

"You didn't ask," replied Melissa with a smile.

Ray looked a little sheepish. "Er, yeah, sorry about last night."

Melissa laughed. "It's fine, I should have realised what your parents were trying to do. Your Dad talks about you all the time you know."

"He does?" Ray was kind of shocked. "I guess ya heard about the fire?"

"Yes," she replied, then her face fell. "Oh my god, your Dad wasn't hurt in the fire was he?"

"No," said Ray, "not exactly, but the motorhome looks like a, er, barbecue or somethin'."

"We have a patient in the burns unit now," said Melissa, then she spoke more quietly, "I probably shouldn't be discussing her with you."

"Tamara Hoffman," said Fraser, "she and her husband occupied the trailer adjacent to the Kowalski's. I understand that she is very seriously injured."

Melissa nodded. "I'd better go," she said. "I'm working down there this afternoon actually, but tomorrow I have a shift up here so I'll probably see your Dad then."

Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, Constable Turnbull came running along the corridor. "Ah Constable Fraser, there you are," he said, a little out of breath, relief evident in his voice.

"Good heavens Turnbull," exclaimed Fraser, "whatever's the matter?"

"Inspector Thatcher requires your presence immediately," explained Turnbull, panting as he spoke, "I tried telephoning Detective Vecchio's cellular telephone, but it appears to be switched off, so I called Miss Vecchio who advised that you would most likely be here."

"So, er, ya ran all the way here from the Consulate?" asked Ray in disbelief.

"Yes I did," nodded Turnbull. Then he noticed Melissa who had been about to leave, but for some reason couldn't tear herself away from the scene. "I'm so terribly sorry Miss," said Turnbull, humbly as he quickly removed his hat. "I apologise if I was interrupting any important nursing business."

Mel couldn't help but giggle. This other Mountie was even more old-fashioned than Fraser, but she found that kind of cute.

"This is Constable Turnbull," Fraser formally introduced him.

"Melissa McIntyre...Mel," she replied, holding out her hand for him to shake, which he immediately did. Turnbull found himself blushing, holding onto her delicate fingers for a moment longer than was necessary.

"Constable, Nurse McIntyre needs to return to her duties," Fraser prompted, "and I believe you mentioned Inspector Thatcher needed to see me?"

"Oh my goodness," Turnbull became flustered, "yes, yes, she said I had to locate you urgently, it's regarding the arrangements for Christmas."

"Ah," said Fraser, "If you'll excuse me, I must return to the Consulate at once." The two Mounties left, Turnbull just briefly glancing back over his shoulder.

Ray grinned at Mel and she blushed. It was obvious to both of them that Turnbull had a bit of a crush on her. She thought he was sweet, she wasn't used to guys treating her so graciously, usually they never even looked at her, let alone said anything nice to her. She was too embarrassed to say anything about it to Ray now so she headed back to work.