Fallout
Chapter 11
The Journal of John Nolan
Lucy should have been careful what she wished for. When Bradford's sister Genny showed up, Lucy couldn't wait to pump her for embarrassing stories about Tim's childhood. I suppose that was another way of punching him in the arm on the playground. But Genny started pumping Tim about, among other things, his love life.
When Tim told Genny that he wasn't single, it came as a shock to Lucy. She'd seen him flirting with Ashley. We all had. But he hadn't talked about dating her. The subject never came up until Genny was doing a ride-along with Bradford and Lucy.
I wouldn't have known about it, except that the conversation turned to putting the elder Bradford's house on the market. Tim called me to find out what they'd have to do to make it saleable, and I agreed to give him an estimate. Tom Bradford is going into hospice and won't be returning to his home. The place isn't the wreck that my house was when I bought it out of foreclosure, but it needs a lot of repairs and some renovations.
I can do some of them for the cost of materials, but with school on top of work, I can't do all of it. So Lucy is rounding up help from the division. The great thing about cops is that we have each other's backs – most of us, anyway.
Smitty played as dirty as he could with the election and was really upset when Bradford endorsed me. I think Tim might have done it because I'm helping with the house, but whatever his reason, I believe the boost helped.
And it didn't hurt that Smitty shot himself in the foot, metaphorically at least. After he gave out all those water bottles with his picture on them, the division had an epidemic of the runs. Since the problem was a localized breakout, the Health Department did some tests.
It turned out that Smitty used bottles from the recycling bin. There would have been nothing wrong with that, except he forgot to sterilize them first. He didn't seal them properly either. The tests showed E. coli contamination. It wasn't the kind that would kill anyone, but it made for a lot of miserable – and pissed off – cops.
The union didn't release the final vote tally. It just noted that I won by a large margin. So I have to pick up where I left off at the redux. That's another reason why fixing up the Bradford house will have to be a group effort.
My win was not the end of Smitty's problems. Grey put him on leave without pay for endangering the health and safety of his fellow officers. Under regulations, he'll have a union rep at his side when he answers the charges. But that will, of course, be me. I will do my best to see that he gets a fair shake, but I doubt Smitty believes that. Lucy says that people expect others to act as they would themselves. And if the roles were reversed, I suspect Smitty would throw me under the bus. I also have no idea what I can actually do to keep Grey from driving it over him.
On a more positive note, Bailey got all her care packages off to the service people abroad. But she was afraid they wouldn't get there in time. Like so many other things lately, the mail's been a mess. But when the president heard about the delay reaching the troops, he ordered the Air Force to run special flights to get the goodies to our people on time. He said he remembered sending things to his own son and didn't want anyone missing out. I'd never heard Bradford mention anything about politics before, except for endorsing me. But he was moved enough to put an article about the flights on the bulletin board. Lucy teased him about it, but she was obviously proud of him.
I'm getting closer to getting prepared for the Nolan family Christmas get-together. I've got my tree up. Henry said he and Abigail are going to come over and decorate it. According to him, she has some interesting ideas for ornaments. I'm not sure what he means by interesting, but as long as the tree doesn't catch fire, I'm not about to object to whatever she has in mind. The last thing I want is a battle over something trivial. After my father left, I had enough of those with my mother. I would love to sleep in heavenly peace this Christmas – unless Bailey has something more exciting in mind.
Jane Evers is throwing a holiday party. Apparently, that's nothing new at the Evers manse. But the guest list is. Along with her country club friends, she's inviting those of us who participated in rescuing Angela and little Jackson from South America. I haven't a clue what to wear among people who pay more for a suit than I make in a year. But Angela said not to worry about it. What I wore to her almost wedding will be fine. And I'll get to have Bailey on my arm, so any eyes will be on her anyway. That's assuming she doesn't get called out to a fire, and the division doesn't call for all hands on deck.
But speaking of families, Harper may be up against a wall. From the time I spent around her ex, Donovan, I thought he was a pretty nice guy. He adores Lila and she adores him. But you never know what's going on in someone's head. Donovan told Nyla that he's moving to San Francisco and taking Lila with him.
After all the effort Nyla put into rearranging her life to be a good parent, Donovan's announcement hit her like a ton of bricks. She wants to be in Lila's life – and not just holidays and summers. But from what I gathered. she couldn't afford the kind of kickass lawyer she needs. So Thorsen offered her his. Given the fight that attorney won for Thorsen, she may be just what Nyla needs. I hope so.
I haven't had a chance to find out what Wesley thinks about Harper's situation yet. God knows he has enough on his mind. Maybe Jane Evers' party can take the tension down a notch. Wesley and Angela can use a chance to kick back. Right now, most of us can.
Tim takes the podium in front of the roll call room. "As you know, holiday schedules are assigned on the basis of seniority. That means that the least senior people in this room, Nolan, Thorsen, and Chen, can count on working on Christmas. That will be the regular twelve-hour shift, so plan any holiday activities for the evening. I will be taking volunteers to cover the rest of the holiday schedule. So if you don't have family celebrations – or want to avoid family celebrations, see me.
"Now, through the holidays, we'll be encountering the usual complications. Watch out for an increase in DUI's. Gifts in cars also pose a temptation for thieves. And we're already seeing an uptick in porch thefts. Expect that trend to increase.
"Also, be aware that despite Elijah Stone being in custody, his designer version of Flakka is still out there. That means that you'll be running up against not only PCP-type behavior but a strong possibility of medical emergencies. And a reminder, Narcan doesn't reverse this drug's effects. If you suspect someone is displaying the symptoms, call for medical services immediately.
"Now, I would like to thank everyone who volunteered to work on my father's house. Officer Nolan informs me that the project is proceeding on schedule despite years of poor maintenance. You all are making that happen, and I want you to know how much I appreciate it. But now, get out there and keep this city and your asses safe."