"Fwogot – forgot", "dentwist – dentist".
Chapter Ten: Farther Than Before
It played out in an almost slow-motion-like state for both participants. Garret ran the six steps to the slide, trying to catch his falling son. Michael yelped and flailed his arms, trying to grab onto something to halt his descent. The ball rolled down the slide, with Michael tumbling after it.
When Michael reached the bottom of the slide Garret scooped him up and pushed his hair off his forehead. "Are you alright, Buddy?" he asked shakily, and Michael shook his head 'no', tears in his eyes.
"Mouth hurts," he sobbed, and Garret carried him to a bench and sat down, Michael on his lap.
"Let me see," said Garret, and Michael opened his mouth, taking short, rapid breaths. There was blood, but Garret couldn't see where it was coming from. He gently took his son's jaw in one hand and tilted his face toward the sun so he could see better. He had a split lip, his bottom front tooth looked loose, and his lower gums were bleeding. He must have hit his mouth on the way down.
"Ow," said Michael, closing his mouth. "Ice?" Garret nodded, taking Michael by the hand and leading him to the car. "We fwogot the ball!" Garret groaned.
"Get in your car seat, and I'll get the ball." Michael nodded, jumping into the car and doing up his seatbelt. Garret jogged back to the playground, grabbed the ball off the ground then walked back to the car. He waved the ball in front of Michael to prove he had gotten it, then closed the door and got into the front seat. "Come on, Buddy, let's go to Daddy's office and get you some ice for that lip, then call your Mom and tell her to make a dentist appointment." Michael made a face.
"Don't like the dentwist."
XXX
Jordan heard the door open softly, and smiled. "Back so soon? I thought you were going for a walk to the pier, not around the block!" The door closed, but Woody didn't reply. Jordan's smile widened, and she opened her eyes. "I can hear you sneaking around, Woody."
"I'm not Woody." She heard the jingle of keys hitting the counter. "But he did give me a key." Jordan's jaw dropped, and she flung herself out of the bedroom and into the living area.
"Cal?" Cal grinned and opened his arms.
"What, no hug for your boyfriend's brother?" Jordan laughed and went to him, giving him a tight hug.
"God, am I happy to see you! Where have you been? After all the stuff that happened with Albie, I expected you much sooner."
"I'm happy to see you, too," he said quietly, then pushed her away from him slightly and held her by the shoulders so they were about a foot apart. "On one condition." She frowned.
"And what's that?"
"You said 'yes', right?" Jordan laughed.
"Woody told you he proposed?"
"Told me he was going to." She nodded. "You didn't answer my question." Jordan glared at him.
"Of course I said yes!"
XXX
"You've been requested again, Dr. Macy," said Kate the moment Garret stepped off the elevator. "By the FBI. I told them today was your day off, but they insisted that I call you." She paused, then looked downward in the direction of a sniffling noise. "What's wrong with the kid?"
Michael whimpered pathetically. "He fell down the side at the park. Is there any ice around here?"Kate frowned.
"There's some in the crypt, I think." Garret nodded and took Michael by the hand, leading him in that direction. Kate matched his quick stride (Michael was practically jogging to keep up) and walked along side them. "What do you want me to tell the FBI?"
"That I can't do the pick-up, but I have complete trust that Dr. Switzer can handle it until I do the autopsy," garret grumbled, pushing open the doors.
"You just want me to pick up the body and bring it back here? What about on-site Trace?"
"There won't be any, it's a drowning victim. Anything we can get will the on the body itself, okay?" Garret opened the freezer, grabbed a plastic bag and filled it with a few ice cubes. "Here." He handed the bag of ice to Michael, who had been patiently waiting to the best of his ability (mostly by bouncing up and down on the spot).
"Fank-ooh," he said gratefully, and put the ice to his swollen lips. He was listening to the adult's conversation, intrigued.
"Alright," said Kate, "Do you want me to do the initial exam, too?" Garret nodded.
"Go ahead, just do me a favour and don't mention this case to anyway." Kate turned to go, then looked back.
"And by anyone, you mean...?"
"Don't tell Jordan."
XXX
"I'm from the ME's office," Kate announced, then crouched down beside the body, a young man in a BPD police uniform. "What've we got?"
The two agents looked at each other. "We requested Dr. Macy," said Special Agent White slowly, looking down his nose at Kate almost disapprovingly.
"Dr. Macy was unable to do the pick-up, but he told me to inform you that he has full confidence in me not to blab about this to Jordan. He will be doing the autopsy, though. Now, I repeat: What have we got?"
White sighed, but threw up his hands in defeat. "Fine. They fished him out of the river. He was DOA, though the paramedics on scene tried to resuscitate him. We were told not to touch the body, so we don't have a positive ID yet." Kate checked rigor mortis, and nodded to the agents.
"Rigor implies he died less than eight hours ago." She checked him pockets, and found a black leather wallet. She flipped it open and read the name on the police badge and driver's licence. "The vic is David Davis, age twenty-two."
Agent White looked at his partner, who closed his eyes and swore under his breath. Kate raised her eyebrows, expected an explanation.
"Do you know him?" Kate asked the Agents, who both shook their heads.
"No, nothing like that. He's next on our list of possible victims, is all." Kate's eyebrows, which had settled down again, shot up for the second time.
"'List of possible victims'?"
"People we think might be targets of this guy."
"And how did this guy make the list?" The Agents looked at each other, but Agent White kept his mouth shut. His partner answered for him.
"His father might have been involved in the murder of Emily Cavanaugh."