The Children's Corner
Chapter 30
"Here it is, right where Taggart said it would be," Ryan announces, pointing to an envelope. He snaps a photo with his phone before using a gloved hand to drop his find into an evidence bag. "Let's get this to the lab. We can stop at the jewelry store on the way back to the 12th."
"All right," Esposito agrees. "And I'm going to call Beckett. She wanted to be updated on the case."
"Which means you want to brag to her about how well we made out in South Carolina."
"She's not the only one who can extract evidence in an interview," Esposito insists.
"Which we didn't do. Taggart practically dropped it in our laps. And anyway, we don't know if there are prints on the envelope that will do us any good. The lab could come up empty."
"Still, he told us about Elise Truman. We recorded it, and it's on video at the prison."
"Which means the feds will have it too," Ryan remarks. "If they go after Truman on illegal transport before we can nail her for this murder, we're up sh*t creek. So we'd better get going. I hope Osnitz is in the mood to put a rush on the prints."
Esposito starts for the door. "Yeah, me too."
Rick stretches in his desk chair, closing his eyes. He can picture his new characters: almost hyperactive Tamar, the slow-of-speech but super-sharp Cary, and the various other denizens of Platinum Heights. All of them will have lives of their own. And Tamar and Cary will have backstories that come out bit by bit as the book progresses. That will take a lot more finesse than the cascade of action scenes he writes for Storm. It will be a lot closer to portraying the continuing angst of Heat over her mother's murder. But he will be writing with more depth, building a world his readers can inhabit.
Unlike with a Storm or Heat tale, Rick found it hard to tell how all the pieces would come together when he started his outline. So he decided to let the characters tell him. And they are. Rather than serving as wish-fulfillment extensions of himself, they're guiding him in new directions.
Surprisingly, Rick's writing is going faster than with Storm or Heat, as the new voices reveal their motivations and intentions. The first two chapters flowed from his fingers without a pause except to refill his coffee mug or pee. The fresh voices in his head drive him to continue, but the numerals at the bottom of the screen urge otherwise. If he doesn't take off now, he could be late picking up Lily. Of course, Bambi will keep her safe. But the last thing Rick wants is for his younger daughter to feel she's playing second fiddle – either to her brothers or her father's laptop. The twins draw enough of their parents' attention already.
In her brightly colored sneakers, Lily bounces on the balls of her feet as her father approaches. She holds up a book. "Daddy, look what Miss Bambi found for me! It's about monkeys. One looks like Gamoee. See?"
Rick checks out the page Lily displays before catching Bambi's eye. "Is it OK if she takes that home?"
"Please," Bambi invites. "I'd never interfere with anyone being that excited about a book. And she can keep it if she likes. I found it in a box with a bunch of kitchen stuff at an estate sale. The owner told me I could have it on the house."
Rick proudly regards the enthusiastic youngster before returning his gaze to Bambi. "Thanks. I don't think we could pry it out of her fingers if we tried. But I didn't know you were into estate sales. I know Espo has a phobia about found furniture. Ryan's been teasing him about it for years."
"He does," Bambi agrees. "He's always afraid something's been nesting in it, something about bad experiences in the army. But pots and pans aren't a problem as long as I sterilize them. And books are OK. I've found some of yours. A couple even had your signature."
The corners of Rick's eyes crinkle. "I'll sign anything else you want, except a check with a lot of zeros. But I'd better get Lily home. She'll want to show her prize to her furry friends."
"There's nothing better than imaginative play," Bambi declares. "See you tomorrow Lily."
With a bye-bye wave at her teacher, Lily skips a couple of feet ahead of Rick. As a car suddenly speeds into the lot and plows into the chain-link fence surrounding the play area, he snatches her up. Grasping Lily in his arms, Rick runs to the crashed vehicle. "What the…?"
As Bambi rushes up, Rick sees the driver slumped over the steering wheel. He hands Lily to Bambi and yanks open the driver's side door. His fingers find the carotid artery in the driver's neck. "He's got a pulse. He'll be all right, Sweetheart," Rick assures his daughter, pulling out his phone. "But I'm going to call someone to help him. Do you know him?" Rick queries Bambi.
"Yes. His name is Stuart Wigman. He's the father of a child who moved on to kindergarten. But I haven't seen him in over a year."
Rick punches in 911. "At least you can identify him to the EMTs."
"I will. And you should take Lily home," Bambi advises.
"Going to do that right now. We've had two incidents in as many days. I'm starting to feel like there's a black cloud over our heads. Still, you'll let me know what the medics say?"
"Absolutely."
"I'm beginning to think we need an exorcist," Rick confides to Kate. "You and I have always been trouble magnets. In a way, that's been part of the fun. But I don't want any of that crap near our kids. Fortunately, Lily was distracted by her book today and didn't know what was happening at Burger Clown yesterday. And the boys are too young to be aware. But I'm beginning to think again about the roll of bubble wrap I used to imagine using to surround Alexis."
"She didn't need it. Alexis is a tough, resourceful young woman. And when the time comes, she'll be able to do whatever is necessary to gather evidence at crime scenes. But bad stuff happens. Sooner or later, we have to learn how to cope with it. Lily is happily instructing Gamoee and Pegin about all of Gamoee's monkey cousins. She's not psychologically traumatized."
"But if I hadn't been there to grab her, she could have been a lot worse than traumatized. That car could have hit her."
"But you were there. And she's fine."
"Still. I need to know why Wigman almost ran over my little girl. Bambi said the EMTs didn't tell her much except that they were taking him to the hospital. New York-Presbyterian would have been the closest ER. I need to go see him and find out what the hell happened."
"You want me to go with you? I just fed the boys. Cindy can watch the gang for a couple of hours."
"Yeah. I'd appreciate it. If anyone can dig out the information I need, it's Detective Kate Beckett."
"Detective-on-leave, Kate Beckett."
"The way you're staying on top of developments in the Mothership Truck Caper, I have a feeling that won't be for much longer."
"It's less than a month until the Hudson U graduation now, and we'll have Julia. So you're probably right."
"Then maybe we can limit the strange attractions to the job."