Chapter 45
It seemed that when Mike and Millie got together, things could go from boring to crazy in an instant flat, Steve realized later.
Take, for instant, the barbeque party Mike had thrown the next day. Lunkhead was home and doing well, and as far as he was concerned, that was good enough reason to have a party. Mike had later spoken quietly to him and Danny.
"Zack admitted his dad used to knock him and his mom around quite a bit," Mike said. "He seemed surprised by the way I am with Millie, so I wanted a chance to show him what family is supposed to be like."
"Looks like you're doing a pretty good job," Danny said, watching Zack give Grace a piggy back ride.
"He's a good kid. I also wanted to find out what you guys were like," Mike admitted. "Both Susie and Millie have spoken very highly of you guys, and this is my baby girl we're talking about."
"She's been a great addition to the team," Steve said. "She said you taught her how to shoot?"
"Lot of time on the gun range," Mike admitted. "Case of she was working around guys who had guns and Millie being Millie, she wanted to understand, so I taught how to shoot, how to clean, and how to properly store a gun. She wasn't too happy about having to carry a gun on the job, but accepted as part of her job. Is it true she smartmouthed the governor of Hawaii and landed this gig?"
"It's true. Seemed she didn't know who the guy was and didn't care," Steve said, grinning. "Told him that unless he had coffee to bribe her with, get out from under her feet. Next thing she knows, she's getting a call and being offered this job."
Mike laughed. "Yup. That's Babs."
"Why do you call her Babs?" Danny asked.
"You ever seen the Tiny Toons Adventures cartoon show?" Mike asked.
"Reluctantly yes, and usually with my daughter," Danny said. "Pink girly rabbit with bows and skirt and all that."
"Exactly. One day Millie wore that exact outfit, right down to the purple skirt and bows in her hair, and I took one look at her and started calling her Babs. She hated it, but it stuck," Mike said, grinning at them. "She still hates it and I still do it."
The next day:
"Dad's taking me fishing today. Seems he's heard about the mahi-mahi and wants to try his hand at one of them," Millie said, chatting with Steve as she moved around her kitchen, getting a picnic basket ready. "Any word on Zack's auntie and uncle?"
"We located his aunt. She's on the Big Island as part of a volunteer thing, but is aware of the situation and she promised to be back as soon as possible," Steve said, moving through the building on his way to Headquarters. "She wasn't too happy about Kirk's actions, but said something about God and forgiving."
"Yeah, and you know my opinion on that."
"I do. Natalie did promise to get in touch with Adam and explain things, but she doesn't think there'll be a problem. She also appreciates what you're doing for Zack."
"Ah, he's a good kid. If he can get past this b.s. with his father, he'll be a good man and I'm pretty sure he'll make a good SEAL."
"My thoughts exactly. Enjoy your fishing trip and give Lunkey a head rub for me, okay?"
"Will do. Love you."
"Love you too, Nani."
Three hours later, Steve received a picture of Mike and Millie. Both were holding up good-sized mahi-mahi fish and grinning.
Those are beautiful, Steve sent. Nicely done.
Dad says some will be for Lunkhead, but he's heard that these guys are fabulous on the grill. You're invited for supper.
Looking forward to that.
Supper, as promised, was grilled mahi-mahi, and Steve was sure Lou would be envious. He noticed Millie was starting to relax, which she needed to, and silently sent a prayer of thanks to whoever was listening that she had someone like Mike Phelps in her life.
Later, she spoke quietly to him.
"We've been doing a lot of talking," she said, enjoying the feel of his arms around her. "Told him about Moore, about the attack, everything. He's helping me deal with it."
"That's good."
"I'm never going to totally get over it, but I'm hoping I can learn to deal with it so it doesn't haunt me quite so much."
"You will. It takes time, but you will learn. You're stronger than you realize."
Two days later:
I hate that fireplace thingie. Decided I was going to tear it down and do a natural stone thing. Got a contractor hired for the putting up but gonna have some fun tearing it down with Dad. Great stress relief.
What are you going to do for the stone?
That'll be half the fun. Going to go visit those rock and stone places and get some from around the area.
Have fun.
Always. Love you.
Steve smiled as he read the last message on his phone. It looked like Millie was going to be busy for a day or two, which was what she needed.
"Just heard from Charlie," Steve said, catching up with Danny. He had been chatting with Charlie before Millie's messages had come in. "It's confirmed; Millie is Mike's niece." He started typing on the computer table, pulling up a name and a face. "Officer Keegan Phelps, Portland PD. He died in 1989; killed in the line of duty while trying to protect a civilian during a convenience store robbery."
"Hell of a way to go," Danny said.
Out of curiosity, Steve threw up Millie's file photo and compared it to Keegan's and Janice's. "Similar hair colour and facial shape to Janice, but her eyes are Keegan's," he said.
"So what happened? Did Keegan know he had a daughter? Did Janice even tell him for that matter?" Danny asked. "If he had known, would he have wanted her? Would that crazy bitch have even let him?"
"Mike might know, but he might not," Steve said, going through Keegan's file. "Pretty clean record for most of his five-year career. On the day he died, he stopped at a convenience store and interrupted a robbery in progress. He tried to protect the cashier but was shot twice by the second robber that he apparently didn't realize was there. The first shot would have been survivable, but the second shot caught him in the head and he died two days later after his family took him off life-support."
"Jeeze," Danny groaned.
Newspaper reports popped up. "Looks like he was posthumously awarded both the Police Star and the Medal of Valor by the Portland PD," Steve said. "Funeral service says he was cremated as per his wishes."
"Not many pallbearers needed for that one," Danny quipped. Then another newspaper report popped up, along with a picture. "Big Turnout for Meet Your Officer Day," Danny read. Then he noticed the caption for the picture. "Officer Keegan Phelps with Wilma Bryant and her grandmother, Debbie Thompson. Wait a minute. She can't be more than a year old in that picture."
Baby Millie was looking up at Keegan with wide, fascinated eyes, as he cuddled her, smiling down at her. His hat was on her head and she was beaming at him, a toothy smile on her face. Behind them, Debbie smiled at them.
"That's Millie as a baby?" Lou asked, joining them."She was a cutie," Lou said.
"What I don't get though, is how anyone could miss that," Danny said. "I mean, maybe I'm prejudiced here, but Millie is definitely Keegan's kid. I can see it in their face and in their smiles. How the heck could someone have missed that?"
"I don't know," Steve said. "Maybe because nobody was looking. Mike might have some answers. He was initially suspicious."
Another newspaper clipping popped up. It was dated the day after Keegan's file said he was murdered.
Police Officer Killed in the Line of Duty. The story went on to say how Keegan had died trying to protect a twenty year-old cashier college student when his store was hit by two armed robbers. Attached to the story was Keegan's service photo and one of him kneeling next to a little girl in a denim romper, appearing to be playing with her. There was a speculative look on his face, but his eyes were covered by his sunglasses. According to the caption, that particular photograph was one of the last known pictures taken of Keegan.
"That looks like Millie," Danny said.
"Looks like Keegan was starting to wonder," Lou said.
"Time to let Mike know," Steve said, taking out his cellphone. He sent a simple message to Mike that would tell him everything he needed to know. Congrats, Uncle.
He received a reply a moment later.
Thanks. Going to have to have a chat with Babs.
"That's going to be one fun conversation," Lou said.
Mike put his cellphone away, having just sent the last message to Steve. His suspicions were right; Millie was his niece.
"Everything okay, Dad?" Millie asked. They were about to head out to a landscape stone dealer to discuss the stone they needed for the fireplace.
"Yeah, but we need to talk, Babs," Mike said. "And there is no easy way to do this." He moved to go sit at the breakfast bar in her kitchen, thoughts swirling through his head.
"What's up?" she asked, joining him.
"Do you remember ever hearing about my older brother, Keegan?" he asked.
"I think so. He died in the line of duty years ago, right?"
"He did. It seems that, before he did, he did a little tango with your mom."
Millie blinked, trying to understand. "From what little I was able to get out of that crazy bitch the last time the subject of my parentage came up, my biological father was some guy she screwed around with while Hubby was at sea. She never did tell me his name."
"Well, his name was Keegan Ronald Phelps," Mike said.
"Are you sure?"
"I've had my suspicion for years. Steve kindly availed me of your resources and a very nice Charlie Fong."
"That was what that CODIS thing was about? Running a genetic test on us?" Millie asked.
"Yeah. Just got the results back. You're my niece."
Millie's eyebrows shot up. "Seriously?"
"Seriously." Mike sighed, remembering. "Some years back, before you were born, I remember Keegan telling me about a woman he was seeing. Said her name was Janice. Then he dumped her after finding out she was married, which went against his personal code. Never heard anything about her again after that. Fifteen years later, I see you sitting in that jail cell, and you looked at me, and I swore my heart stopped. I didn't just see you, I saw my brother's eyes."
"What happened to him? I know you said he died in the line of duty, but beyond that..." Millie struggled to sort through a rising surge of conflicting emotions and questions. Why hadn't Janice told Keegan about her? Would he have wanted her if he'd known? What was going to happen now?
"According to the reports, he had stopped at a convenience store and interrupted a robbery in progress. He was able to stop one of the robbers, but didn't see the second one. Took a shot to the shoulder, got off a shot of his own, but took a second shot to the head," Mike said, growing quiet as memories came to him.
"Oh my god," Millie moaned.
"That shot didn't kill him right away," Mike continued, "but it did render him brain-dead. He was on life-support for two days before I signed the papers to have him taken off. Hardest thing I ever had to do."
"And the bastard who hurt him?"
"That shot he got off? Caught the guy in the gut. He was arrested at the hospital. He survived the surgery and is currently doing time in the Oregon State Prison, where he'll be for the rest of his life."
"I thought Oregon had the death penalty for killing a cop."
"It does, but there are mitigating circumstances. In this case, the murder was committed while committing another crime, the killer was under the age of eighteen, and it wasn't premeditated. I wasn't too happy about that, but that's the system for you."
"So what happens now? Would he have wanted me if he'd known about me? Did he know about me?"
"First of all, Babs, I don't know if he did know about you. What I do know, though, is that he mentioned he was at the stage of his life where he wanted a family of his own. If he had known about you, you can bet your bottom dollar your mother would have had a hell of a custody fight on her hands, and both Susie and I would have helped him," Mike said. "As for what happens now, you are my daughter, and nothing will ever change that. I love you as much now as I did then, and that will never change. What does change is now you have the right to know who you are. Come home with me for a couple of days, and I'll make sure you know everything I know about Keegan."
Millie bit her lip. It was tempting. Maybe it was time she made peace with her past.
"Okay. When you head home, I'll go with you for a few days," she said. And first chance she got, she was going to HQ and looking up Keegan's file.
