Disclaimer: I don't own Early Edition or any of its Characters, cause if I
did the show would still be running. I'm just an obsessed fan with lots,
and lots of time on her hands.
An Accident of Trust
Written By: Felicity Poole
Delivery in Bed
The morning sun was raising casting light over the sleeping city, each ray peering in through a window almost like a wake up call, but a call that was ignored by many.
"Its 6:30 Chicago and it looks like it's going to be another beautiful day partly sunny with no chances of rain in the near."SMACK!" Crumb raised his hand and looked at the illuminated clock with eyes half opened. "6:30" he groaned. "I didn't set my alarm for 6:30" turning over he pulled the covers over his head still mumbling as he settled back down into his feather pillow. The loud thump and the feel of a foreign weight on the corner of his bed brought his attention to full alert. Carefully he let his fingers grasp the top of his blankets slowly pulling them down, letting his eyes quickly appear out from underneath them. Cautiously and quite unsure he began to look up, that's when he saw it and I guess you could say heard it, for the loud "Meow" was unmistakable. The small tabby sat staring eye to eye with him, and a look of complete shock inhabit the older mans features. "How did you.How?... just git!" he shouted jumping up from his bed tossing his sheets as he did so. Not having to be told twice the cat leaped of the mattress quickly making its way to the man's recliner. Crumb stood a moment his feet planted firmly upon the cold wooden floor, as he just watched the animal. "You know what?" He announced finally "I don't even wanna know how!" taking the covers he had thrown to the floor he placed them back upon his bed. His iris's caught sight of the papers scattered on the floor and he reached down gathering them up in his hand "The Sun Times?" he commented with inquiry. Shaking his head he sighed with frustration, rolling the paper up and stuffing it under his arm he walked or more like stalked to the kitchen. Turning on the coffee maker he gave low grumbled of "I gonna need it" before turning around at the sound of a soft purr. He viewed the furry animal that now inhabited his counter space with disgust as it looked at him with complete contentment. The feline showed no sign that it had any fear for retaliation from the large man, but simply acted like he was daring him to even try. "If you really want to be here fine Stay for all I care" He huffed "I'm going to work, and don't think I'm gonna think about your miserable hide as you sit here starving cause I ain't feeding you!" Giving the feline a smug look he passed without another glance heading off into the other room. The cat sat silently watching the empty door way for several minutes before the loud excruciating sounds of the man's singing reached his vulnerable ears and he cringed. ".gee aren't I glad I joined the navy. Sound off 1,2 Sound off 3,4 Sound of 1,2,3,4.3,4!"
15 minutes later Crumb came out of the bedroom adjusting his tie stopping momentarily to look into the long mirror mounted on his wall. Seeing the cat starring at him from behind he turned around and looked at the tabby questioningly "Well what do ya think?" he asked showing off his suit. A pitiful cry escaped the animal and Crumb frowned "Well who asked you anyway!" he huffed walking over to retrieve his freshly brewed cup off of coffee. Checking nonchalantly that he still had his morning paper he then headed for the front door exiting quickly with only a "See ya fur ball" as a goodbye. The room fell silent and the yellow cat sighed as he jumped down and trotted over to the couch before him. In one swift movement he leaped, gracefully landing on the blue cushions, curling up into a tight ball and closing his eyes letting himself fall asleep in the enjoyable silence that had fallen upon the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Crumb slid out of the taxi stiffly, taking a second to pull the amount due out of his pockets and pay the cabby. He had never liked commuting, but he didn't really have a choice now did he? The wreck had done a number on his car and by the sound of things it would be a while before the body shop could get it in good running order. He read a few headlines in the sports columns with curiosity as he climbed the small set of stairs in front of his precinct. Noticing that everyone was staring at him when entered he let the paper fall to his side giving them a 'Not a word' look as he passed buy on his way to his office.
"Hey Crumb heard you crashed that ole' Toyota, so you finally decided to put it out of commission did ya" A voice rang out behind him
"Very funny Oswald" Crumb grumbled turning to eye the younger man.
"No really Crumb, you alright man? We all heard it was nasty bad one."
"I'm fine, not a scratch"
"So then you just cut yourself saving this morning?" Carter smirked
Touching the patch on his brow Zeke sighed "OK maybe a little ding, but you boys drop it alright"
"Silence is our motto" they chorused.
Crumb shook his head as he entered the small room gladly closing the door behind him. Looking up he saw Detective Paul Armstrong, and Toni Brigatti seated by his desk. "Didn't expect to see you two in here"
"We could say the same thing about you Zeke." Armstrong smiled "Haven't you ever heard of a sick day?"
"That's nonsense you have to be sick to take one of those, I'm perfectly fine"
"You sure look like it" Brigatti commented.
"Well, if it makes you feel better I don't plan on staying all day. I wanna stop by the hospital later."
"Hospital huh, are you hoping to get some information out of that passenger from the taxi?"
"Can't"
"What do you mean you can't?" Paul inquired.
"He's in a coma. I just thought I'd stop by for a visit check on him ya know. I never got to see him before I left last night"
Looking at the older Detective seriously Toni asked "You didn't know him did you"
"Of course I know him. You mean to tell me no ones told you who he was? I thought this was a police station, the biggest gossip grape vine in the world."
"Well maybe you'd like to enlighten us" Armstrong said seriously
"It was Hobson"
"Gary!" Toni exclaimed in surprise.
"Hobson was in the wreck? You've got to be kidding"
"I was at the scene. I had to check his pulse to see if he was still alive, so no I'm not kidding"
"It was that bad? What did the doctors say?"
"Yeah it was bad. He was thrown right through the windshield for heavens sake"
"Oh my God" Brigatti breathed.
"The Doc said they couldn't tell when he would wake up or if he ever would. He told me that even if Hobson awoke soon he might be paralyzed, or even suffer from brain damage he didn't know for sure." Crumb said rubbing at his temples as he lowered himself into his chair.
Toni had her hand covering her mouth as she tried to force back the tears that were threatening to fall. Armstrong stayed silent his features contorted into a look that would tell anyone that he was in a deep line of thought.
Crumb ran a hand over his head as he leaned back. "So no one has a clue where this Howard Hoffman is" he asked trying to take the subject into a different direction.
"Not yet, but we have a few leads not strong but they're all we got"
"Can I see 'em? I'd like to read over them a couple of times see if I can find anything"
"Sure, I'll get them" Brigatti whispered standing to her feet. Quickly she exited the room two sets of eyes following her.
"She's taking the news pretty hard" Crumb commented.
"We'll despite their differences I think Toni has always had a soft spot for Hobson though I think she knows it wouldn't work between them he's to unpredictable, to secretive. I wish I could figure out what he's hiding"
Marion nodded, watching quietly as Paul slowly headed for his door.
"Zeke, tell us if you here anything new. Hobson might be a frustrating acquaintance but I still hate hearing he's in trouble I believe he's a good man." Just before turning the corner the Detective looked back at the older man "Kinda strange don't you think for a man that seems to always use the explanation of 'I'm just always in the right place at the right time' that he managed to end up in such a wrong place yesterday" with his final comment spoken Paul disappeared silently through the wooden frame.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Crumb sat scanning over the documents in front of him again and again, but like the times before he saw nothing. Howard Hoffman age 56, widower, no children, lives alone in small apartment on Fairview. His arrest record was non existent, and all the other papers included zip nothing made the man look like the type that would run. 'Did He panic?' Crumb wondered silently. Looking at the photo clipped to the top of the file the detective couldn't help but think that the face looked strangely familiar. For a man who prided himself on never forgetting a face this was a frustrating feeling to say the least. With a heavy sigh Zeke tossed the file down on his desk. The clock above his door read 12:30; he was actually surprised that the time had flown by so quickly. Glancing out his window into the main office he could see that several of the young boys in blue had already left for lunch at the local fast food, or coffee shops, the older men however sat with their steel pails each holding a different concoction that their wives had made up before they left for work in the morning. Crumb slowly stood from his desk stretching out a few of the creaks that had developed in his muscles. Moving towards the door he picked up his coat from the peg on the wall and proceeded to head out for the afternoon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The cool air of his apartment felt good. Crumb had slipped in carrying a bag of groceries in hand. Walking towards the kitchen he wasn't surprised to see a familiar furry face trot up to him with very vocal greeting "Hello to you to" he said as he walked by on his way to the kitchen. The detective slid one item after the other out of the bag his every movement obviously being followed by a set of yellow eyes. "What?" he finally asked looking at the animal. The tabby let out a cry and jumped up onto the counter cautiously walking over to the man. Arching his back he leaned against the bag a sorrowful groan emitting from his throat as he rubbed his whiskers against the paper. "Alright, alright" he said pulling a couple of cans of cat food out. "I don't even wanna know how you knew."
Licking his chops the cat let out a satisfied answer as he watched Crumb open one of the containers and place it onto a saucer from the cabinets. A few minutes later he passed by the eating cat, on his way to his recliner a TV dinner in his hand. The television flashed on with the click of the remote and he sat watching, silently eating his bachelor cuisine.
The feline stretched as he crossed the living room floor its back legs dragging momentarily behind him. Once, twice three times the animal pressed up against the man's legs receiving no comment, or any type of reaction at all. With a sigh he jumped into Crumbs lap "Hey who invited you?" he grumbled. As if ignoring the statement the cat curled up into a ball, and instead of shoeing it away the older man caught himself running his fingers through the soft orange fur "Ya know what cat" he whispered "You're not so bad after all." A soft purr began to rumble steadily and Crumb laughed leaning back in his chair letting his mind wonder back to the news. In just a while he would make the hard trip to the hospital not sure what he would find, so right now in the present he wanted to relax and prepare himself for the visit.
Continued...
An Accident of Trust
Written By: Felicity Poole
Delivery in Bed
The morning sun was raising casting light over the sleeping city, each ray peering in through a window almost like a wake up call, but a call that was ignored by many.
"Its 6:30 Chicago and it looks like it's going to be another beautiful day partly sunny with no chances of rain in the near."SMACK!" Crumb raised his hand and looked at the illuminated clock with eyes half opened. "6:30" he groaned. "I didn't set my alarm for 6:30" turning over he pulled the covers over his head still mumbling as he settled back down into his feather pillow. The loud thump and the feel of a foreign weight on the corner of his bed brought his attention to full alert. Carefully he let his fingers grasp the top of his blankets slowly pulling them down, letting his eyes quickly appear out from underneath them. Cautiously and quite unsure he began to look up, that's when he saw it and I guess you could say heard it, for the loud "Meow" was unmistakable. The small tabby sat staring eye to eye with him, and a look of complete shock inhabit the older mans features. "How did you.How?... just git!" he shouted jumping up from his bed tossing his sheets as he did so. Not having to be told twice the cat leaped of the mattress quickly making its way to the man's recliner. Crumb stood a moment his feet planted firmly upon the cold wooden floor, as he just watched the animal. "You know what?" He announced finally "I don't even wanna know how!" taking the covers he had thrown to the floor he placed them back upon his bed. His iris's caught sight of the papers scattered on the floor and he reached down gathering them up in his hand "The Sun Times?" he commented with inquiry. Shaking his head he sighed with frustration, rolling the paper up and stuffing it under his arm he walked or more like stalked to the kitchen. Turning on the coffee maker he gave low grumbled of "I gonna need it" before turning around at the sound of a soft purr. He viewed the furry animal that now inhabited his counter space with disgust as it looked at him with complete contentment. The feline showed no sign that it had any fear for retaliation from the large man, but simply acted like he was daring him to even try. "If you really want to be here fine Stay for all I care" He huffed "I'm going to work, and don't think I'm gonna think about your miserable hide as you sit here starving cause I ain't feeding you!" Giving the feline a smug look he passed without another glance heading off into the other room. The cat sat silently watching the empty door way for several minutes before the loud excruciating sounds of the man's singing reached his vulnerable ears and he cringed. ".gee aren't I glad I joined the navy. Sound off 1,2 Sound off 3,4 Sound of 1,2,3,4.3,4!"
15 minutes later Crumb came out of the bedroom adjusting his tie stopping momentarily to look into the long mirror mounted on his wall. Seeing the cat starring at him from behind he turned around and looked at the tabby questioningly "Well what do ya think?" he asked showing off his suit. A pitiful cry escaped the animal and Crumb frowned "Well who asked you anyway!" he huffed walking over to retrieve his freshly brewed cup off of coffee. Checking nonchalantly that he still had his morning paper he then headed for the front door exiting quickly with only a "See ya fur ball" as a goodbye. The room fell silent and the yellow cat sighed as he jumped down and trotted over to the couch before him. In one swift movement he leaped, gracefully landing on the blue cushions, curling up into a tight ball and closing his eyes letting himself fall asleep in the enjoyable silence that had fallen upon the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Crumb slid out of the taxi stiffly, taking a second to pull the amount due out of his pockets and pay the cabby. He had never liked commuting, but he didn't really have a choice now did he? The wreck had done a number on his car and by the sound of things it would be a while before the body shop could get it in good running order. He read a few headlines in the sports columns with curiosity as he climbed the small set of stairs in front of his precinct. Noticing that everyone was staring at him when entered he let the paper fall to his side giving them a 'Not a word' look as he passed buy on his way to his office.
"Hey Crumb heard you crashed that ole' Toyota, so you finally decided to put it out of commission did ya" A voice rang out behind him
"Very funny Oswald" Crumb grumbled turning to eye the younger man.
"No really Crumb, you alright man? We all heard it was nasty bad one."
"I'm fine, not a scratch"
"So then you just cut yourself saving this morning?" Carter smirked
Touching the patch on his brow Zeke sighed "OK maybe a little ding, but you boys drop it alright"
"Silence is our motto" they chorused.
Crumb shook his head as he entered the small room gladly closing the door behind him. Looking up he saw Detective Paul Armstrong, and Toni Brigatti seated by his desk. "Didn't expect to see you two in here"
"We could say the same thing about you Zeke." Armstrong smiled "Haven't you ever heard of a sick day?"
"That's nonsense you have to be sick to take one of those, I'm perfectly fine"
"You sure look like it" Brigatti commented.
"Well, if it makes you feel better I don't plan on staying all day. I wanna stop by the hospital later."
"Hospital huh, are you hoping to get some information out of that passenger from the taxi?"
"Can't"
"What do you mean you can't?" Paul inquired.
"He's in a coma. I just thought I'd stop by for a visit check on him ya know. I never got to see him before I left last night"
Looking at the older Detective seriously Toni asked "You didn't know him did you"
"Of course I know him. You mean to tell me no ones told you who he was? I thought this was a police station, the biggest gossip grape vine in the world."
"Well maybe you'd like to enlighten us" Armstrong said seriously
"It was Hobson"
"Gary!" Toni exclaimed in surprise.
"Hobson was in the wreck? You've got to be kidding"
"I was at the scene. I had to check his pulse to see if he was still alive, so no I'm not kidding"
"It was that bad? What did the doctors say?"
"Yeah it was bad. He was thrown right through the windshield for heavens sake"
"Oh my God" Brigatti breathed.
"The Doc said they couldn't tell when he would wake up or if he ever would. He told me that even if Hobson awoke soon he might be paralyzed, or even suffer from brain damage he didn't know for sure." Crumb said rubbing at his temples as he lowered himself into his chair.
Toni had her hand covering her mouth as she tried to force back the tears that were threatening to fall. Armstrong stayed silent his features contorted into a look that would tell anyone that he was in a deep line of thought.
Crumb ran a hand over his head as he leaned back. "So no one has a clue where this Howard Hoffman is" he asked trying to take the subject into a different direction.
"Not yet, but we have a few leads not strong but they're all we got"
"Can I see 'em? I'd like to read over them a couple of times see if I can find anything"
"Sure, I'll get them" Brigatti whispered standing to her feet. Quickly she exited the room two sets of eyes following her.
"She's taking the news pretty hard" Crumb commented.
"We'll despite their differences I think Toni has always had a soft spot for Hobson though I think she knows it wouldn't work between them he's to unpredictable, to secretive. I wish I could figure out what he's hiding"
Marion nodded, watching quietly as Paul slowly headed for his door.
"Zeke, tell us if you here anything new. Hobson might be a frustrating acquaintance but I still hate hearing he's in trouble I believe he's a good man." Just before turning the corner the Detective looked back at the older man "Kinda strange don't you think for a man that seems to always use the explanation of 'I'm just always in the right place at the right time' that he managed to end up in such a wrong place yesterday" with his final comment spoken Paul disappeared silently through the wooden frame.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Crumb sat scanning over the documents in front of him again and again, but like the times before he saw nothing. Howard Hoffman age 56, widower, no children, lives alone in small apartment on Fairview. His arrest record was non existent, and all the other papers included zip nothing made the man look like the type that would run. 'Did He panic?' Crumb wondered silently. Looking at the photo clipped to the top of the file the detective couldn't help but think that the face looked strangely familiar. For a man who prided himself on never forgetting a face this was a frustrating feeling to say the least. With a heavy sigh Zeke tossed the file down on his desk. The clock above his door read 12:30; he was actually surprised that the time had flown by so quickly. Glancing out his window into the main office he could see that several of the young boys in blue had already left for lunch at the local fast food, or coffee shops, the older men however sat with their steel pails each holding a different concoction that their wives had made up before they left for work in the morning. Crumb slowly stood from his desk stretching out a few of the creaks that had developed in his muscles. Moving towards the door he picked up his coat from the peg on the wall and proceeded to head out for the afternoon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The cool air of his apartment felt good. Crumb had slipped in carrying a bag of groceries in hand. Walking towards the kitchen he wasn't surprised to see a familiar furry face trot up to him with very vocal greeting "Hello to you to" he said as he walked by on his way to the kitchen. The detective slid one item after the other out of the bag his every movement obviously being followed by a set of yellow eyes. "What?" he finally asked looking at the animal. The tabby let out a cry and jumped up onto the counter cautiously walking over to the man. Arching his back he leaned against the bag a sorrowful groan emitting from his throat as he rubbed his whiskers against the paper. "Alright, alright" he said pulling a couple of cans of cat food out. "I don't even wanna know how you knew."
Licking his chops the cat let out a satisfied answer as he watched Crumb open one of the containers and place it onto a saucer from the cabinets. A few minutes later he passed by the eating cat, on his way to his recliner a TV dinner in his hand. The television flashed on with the click of the remote and he sat watching, silently eating his bachelor cuisine.
The feline stretched as he crossed the living room floor its back legs dragging momentarily behind him. Once, twice three times the animal pressed up against the man's legs receiving no comment, or any type of reaction at all. With a sigh he jumped into Crumbs lap "Hey who invited you?" he grumbled. As if ignoring the statement the cat curled up into a ball, and instead of shoeing it away the older man caught himself running his fingers through the soft orange fur "Ya know what cat" he whispered "You're not so bad after all." A soft purr began to rumble steadily and Crumb laughed leaning back in his chair letting his mind wonder back to the news. In just a while he would make the hard trip to the hospital not sure what he would find, so right now in the present he wanted to relax and prepare himself for the visit.
Continued...