Fallout
Chapter 13
The Journal of John Nolan
Harper was right to suspect an uptick in drug activity around the center – or at least an attempt at an uptick. I met with James, and he told me the neighborhood is pushing back. Not only are they making sure that my repairs to the lights in the playground stay intact, but the parents have also organized to keep an eye on the place 24/7—no more dirty needles in the sand.
Harper says the business owners are banding together as well. They're checking out any strange faces they see. Everyone who can is volunteering at the schools to make sure the kids are where they're supposed to be and generally keeping watch. They call in anything specific. As it turned out, one new substitute teacher was dealing. But that only lasted a few days. He's been booked. He'll probably make bail if he hasn't already. But he shouldn't pass the screening to get back into a school. Or at least I hope he won't.
We didn't get called to a fire – we got called to three. I wish people would realize that real Christmas trees need water. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt, but the Red Cross will be trying to put up some families until they find a more permanent place to go. With all the extra tourists in town, that's not an easy thing to do. Bailey was only at one of the fires. Harper did whatever talking to her was necessary, and I tried to stay out of visual range. One way or another, Bailey and I will have to work the situation through, or at least talk it through. But I still don't have a clue how. She's broken my trust, and I don't know how to come back from that.
I'd been planning to take her to the Evers' Christmas party tomorrow. That's not going to happen. I've been wondering about whether I should go at all. The decision could easily be out of my hands if I end up working overtime. But if I'm not, I think I should make a showing. The event is a celebration of life, as embodied by Angela, Wesley, and the baby's successful escape from Guatemala. My part in that is something I will always look back upon as doing some good in this world. So if there's anything to celebrate this Christmas, it should be that.
Harper won't have a date either. She doesn't dare bring James. So I guess we can hang out together. She's been asking me for parenting stories. And I have plenty of those to share right now. More of them come into my head all the time with Henry stuck halfway around the world.
Henry is still in Japan and likely to remain there. I haven't broken the news to him about Bailey yet. It's not exactly glad tidings. He and I have an online meeting set up for when I get off shift on Christmas. That's assuming that I do. I might tell him then. At the moment, I'm not counting on anything. I hate being that way. I prefer looking forward.
One thing that's still going according to plan is the repairs on the Bradford house. As it turns out, Genny is natural with construction. She's better than her brother, but I wouldn't dare mention that to Tim. I'm surprised Lucy isn't teasing him about it, but she seems to be in sympathy mode. And I think she's still hoping Tim will make peace with Tom – for Tim's sake, not his father's. Tom probably only has a day or two left, if that. Lucy's afraid that Tim will regret how his last interaction with his father went for the rest of his life. She thinks Tim's still carrying a lot of weight from his time in the service and from Isabel and that he doesn't need another burden. She's probably right.
I did get a piece of good news. Between the ethics course I took and the class I'm finishing this semester, I'll have enough credits to complete my degree. The paperwork will still have to make its way through the bureaucracy, but that will knock a year off the time it will take me to become a TO. The class I took from Bradford could pare it down a little more, but I won't hold my breath about that. The letter of reprimand in my jacket still has power.
Harper has one too. So far, with her golden ticket, it hasn't slowed her down. I was the one who got punished. But I'm wondering what will happen if Donovan gets a hold of it. Personnel records are supposed to be confidential, but desperate parents can take desperate measures. I know that better than most. If Donovan can produce that letter in court, Harper's claim of straightening out her professional life will crumble like old plaster. Of course, she can fight back by proving that her ex wanted a former escort to help raise his daughter. Unfortunately, all that mud would splash right on Lila. There's got to be a way for Nyla and Donovan to work things out. But right now, I can't figure what that would be.
"How goes the fight?" John asks as Harper drops into the seat next to him at roll call.
"Lila called me last night after Donovan fell asleep. She begged me to stop fighting with her Daddy."
"What did you say?"
"Probably the dumbest thing possible. I told her to tell that to her father. But she said she already did. He told her that he couldn't if I didn't. I don't know what to do."
"Could you get a counselor to facilitate some kind of discussion?"
"Right before Christmas? All the mental health professionals who are working are concentrating on emergencies like potential suicides. And there are too many of those."
"How about Lucy?" John wonders. "She knows more psychology than some shrinks I've met."
Harper shakes her head. "I can't see Donovan agreeing. Chen's a cop. Donovan will think she's biased."
Grey raps on the podium. "Whatever you're talking about, save it for later. You're all familiar with the rise in porch thefts. Apparently, the crews have taken it up a notch and formed a syndicate. Now they have lookouts for our patrols, so they're where we're not. At least until the emergency gift season ends, we're going to need another strategy. Some of you will be wearing civilian clothes and in unmarked shops. The plan is to keep from spooking the package snatchers until we nail them. Marked shops can bring the suspects in for processing, leaving the unmarked units out there. Harper, Nolan, Wrigley, Mendoza, you'll be spotters, one to a vehicle. Everyone else, stay alert for a call.
Also, the rise in overdoses continues. Keep your Narcan close. And the increased tourist traffic is still upping the number of accidents. Fires are also on the rise. That means additional backup for the fire department. So get on the street and make sure as much of the city as possible can have a Merry Christmas. And all of you, be careful out there.
Mary Greene would have liked to replace her old Christmas lights with the LEDs that would be cooler on her donated tree. But food went up so much that she can barely afford to make Christmas dinner for her son. Buying anything else is impossible. Even adding his unemployment insurance to her Social Security, they can barely make ends meet. So despite the closeness to the holiday, he's out looking for a new job. What a great Christmas present that would make! Rolling out the dough for his favorite cookies tires her more than it used to. She only intends to close her eyes for a few minutes. But she's too sound asleep to hear the sparks or smell the smoke when her tree catches fire.