Chapter 55: Crime in the Area
Nathan rode into Union City a few hours after he had left Hope Valley that Tuesday morning. He hitched Newton to the post right outside of the headquarters building. Before he climbed the steps to enter, he took a deep breath and quietly whispered a prayer under his breath. Once he finished his prayer and slowly released his breath, he climbed the steps and opened the door. After introducing himself to the Mountie at the front counter and his purpose for being there, he was asked to sit down for a moment. The Mountie behind the counter left his post to go down the hall and a few moments later, he was followed by the superintendent.
Nathan immediately stood to his feet and saluted the superintendent. The superintendent saluted back and then shook Nathan's hand. He directed Nathan to follow him back to his office so that he could fill Nathan in on the details of his assignment. Once in the elaborate office, the superintendent gestured for Nathan to sit in the cushioned armchair as he went behind his desk and sat in his own oversized cushioned chair. He picked up a manila file folder and handed it over to Nathan and said, "This is what we have gathered on the criminals so far, and we are hoping that with your expertise in tracking, you could help assist in their apprehension sooner than later."
Nathan took the folder from his hand, nodded his head, and immediately opened up the folder and began to read. There had been a series of robberies that had occurred over the course of the last six months in the surrounding towns. What they knew was that these robberies were occurring in the middle of the night. The criminals would come into a town with their car loaded with miscellaneous tools, guns, various explosives, and suitcases for their stolen goods, entering the building by smashing the windows, and then they would blow the bank safe open. Furthermore, the criminals were known for cutting any communication wires, such as telegraph or telephone wires. They'd even cut the wires of cars parked in the streets near the bank in larger towns.It was suspected that there were four people involved in the crimes that had taken place.
Nathan sat back in deep thought after reading the file on the crimes and the criminals involved. He didn't have a good feeling in the pit of his stomach about this, and his thoughts immediately went to his daughter and the Thorntons. A feeling of dread washed over him, and everything within him wanted to get on Newton and head back home. He did love being a Mountie, but there were times, like this, when he wished his job in life were a more simple one.
"I can tell by the look on your face, Constable, that you are concerned about your involvement in this mission. I want to assure you, the plan is simply to have you review the file and give a trained, outsider perspective.", the Superintendent assured Nathan in a low, calm voice.
Nathan shook his head, took a deep breath, and then looked the superintendent in the face as he spoke. "So, what's the plan? When do you want to start working on this?", Nathan asked as he sat back and gestured toward the file on the desk.
"Why don't you take the file and study it a bit. Go check into your hotel, get some breakfast, and do whatever you may need to do. We will meet here at headquarters at 2 o'clock sharp with the others who have been involved in the investigation and brainstorm the next steps. Does that work for you, Constable?", the superintendent asked.
Nathan quickly glanced over the file once more and then closed it, meeting the superintendent's gaze. "Yes, sir." Nathan stood holding the folder as he held out his right hand to shake the superintendent's hand. As soon as he departed headquarters, he untethered Newton and walked him over to the town's livery. Once he finished getting Newton settled in, he walked over to the local inn close by. After he received his key, as he was turning to go up to his room, he saw a telephone on the far end of the counter. He thought for a moment, then turned back towards the attendant at the front desk and asked, "Would it be possible to use your telephone for a few minutes? I'd like to check in with my family if that is alright with you."
The attendant smiled back at Nathan and responded, "Of course, Constable, take as long as you need." She gestured in the direction of the telephone. Nathan tipped his hat to the attendant and thanked her as he walked to the end of the counter.
Nathan glanced up at the clock. Even though his day had already been in motion for quite awhile, it was still early enough to catch Elizabeth and Allie before they left for school that morning. After several rings, Elizabeth breathlessly answered the phone. Nathan smiled at the sound of her voice and felt a tug at his heart; he already missed her. "Hi Lizbeth! I just wanted to let you know that I arrived safely at my location. I wanted to catch you and Allie before school.", Nathan said. Elizabeth, in response, smiled from ear to ear. Allie, who was standing by the door holding Little Jack's hand, was confused at first as to who would be calling, but the minute she saw Elizabeth's smile, she knew.
"Can I say hi, after you're done, Mrs. Thornton?", Allie asked. Elizabeth nodded and then answered Nathan. "Nathan! It's so good to hear your voice! This is a treat! As much as I'd love to talk, we need to go, and I know Allie wants to say hi too. And you know, Jack will as well. Thank you for calling, my love! That means so much! Be safe! I love you!", she said.
"I love you too, Lizbeth! Do me a favor, tonight. Look out at the moon and say goodnight, and I will do the same. And we will do that every night until we are together again. ", Nathan suggested. Elizabeth smiled and nodded her head, then realized that Nathan couldn't hear her nod. "That sounds like a wonderful plan, Nathan. Until tonight, my love!" She handed the phone over to Allie, who had walked over closer during Elizabeth's conversation. Allie grabbed the phone and said, "Hi Dad! We miss you already. Take care of yourself, and please hurry home. I love you! Jack wants to talk too, so here he is."
Allie put the phone up to Jack's ear and nudged him a little closer to the mouthpiece. "Hi Mountie Nathan! I miss you. Come back soon! I love you!", Jack said. Nathan smiled, and a tear began to glisten in his eye. "Jack, I need you to do me a big favor. Can you give your mom and Allie the biggest hug from me? And just know, when they hug you back, it'll be like me hugging you too. Can you do that for me, little man?" Jack shook his head and headed straight for his mother. He hugged her tightly around her skirt, and she looked down and caressed his blonde hair. "Mama, that's from Mountie Nathan. Now, your turn!" Elizabeth chuckled and bent down, wrapping her son in a bear hug.
While this was going on, Allie put the phone up to her ear as she listened to her father on the other end. "Allie, I love you too. Take care and be good! Talk again soon." As Allie hung up, Little Jack found his way over to her. She bent down in anticipation, and the two embraced one another and clung tightly for the longest moment. "Allie, did you feel that? Your daddy hugged both of us. He loves us!", Jack said confidently as he pulled away. Elizabeth, put her hand to her heart; her eyes were filled with tears, and she smiled at what she had just witnessed. But knowing the day must go on, she turned and walked towards the door, grabbing her basket, and said, "Ok, Allie, Little Jack, it's time to go to school. We are going to be late otherwise."
Allie stood to her feet and offered her hand once again to Jack. He put his little hand into hers, and the two of them went out the door and down the steps. As the three of them made their way to the Jack Thornton School on that cool November morning,
Nathan went to his hotel room and changed into his civilian clothes. Since he was in the city, he put on his tan slacks and matching vest along with his light plaid button-down shirt. He decided to walk down Main Street in town to see if anything stood out to him for a Christmas gift. Nathan, on the other hand, didn't take long to come up with an idea. He walked by a jewelry store, and in the window was a various display of charms for charm bracelets. One of the charms displayed was a set of measuring spoons. With the way that Allie and his mother had been sharing recipes with one another, he found this to be the perfect addition for her charm bracelet. As he looked at the charms inside the store, there was a bracelet on display with a simple heart charm with 1920 engraved on it. Nathan thought for a moment and decided to purchase that along with a special additional charm that he had found while deciding on the bracelet with the 1920 charm.
Nathan asked the jeweler as he handed him the 1920 charm, "Is there any chance that something could be engraved on the back side of this charm?" The jeweler assured Nathan that it could be done. Nathan wrote out on a piece of paper what he wanted written. The jeweler read the paper, smiled, and immediately went to work.
While he waited, Nathan looked at the engagement rings. Although they were all very beautiful, nothing was as incredible to him as the blue topaz ring that sat in the box back home in his desk drawer. He smiled to himself as he reflected on his grandfather's message once again and the beauty and symbolism behind the ring that he would give Elizabeth shortly after his return home.
The jeweler came out with an engraved charm and showed it to Nathan. Nathan grinned from ear to ear, his blue eyes shining with excitement as he nodded at the jeweler in response. The jeweler attached the 1920 charm as well as the special charm Nathan had discovered onto the bracelet and wrapped it up, and then wrapped up the measuring spoons charm separately as per Nathan's directions. After the jeweler handed Nathan his package, they shook hands, and Nathan went on his way.
He stopped at the local cafe and ordered himself a hearty breakfast, not knowing how the rest of the day would go. When he was done, Nathan made his way back to the hotel. Once there, he ordered a pot of coffee for his room and sat in the chair by the window with the investigation file in his hand.
Nathan had about three hours before the meeting at that point to review things a little more thoroughly. As he got to reading it, he found that it was necessary to take notes, so he went to his carry bag and found a pencil and paper. After five pages of notes and a pot of coffee later, Nathan glanced at the clock to realize it was nearly time for him to leave. He switched back into his Serge and headed out. He made his way back to headquarters with the file and his notes inside.
The meeting included the superintendent and a few local constables from towns that had been affected by the bank robberies. They had a map of the area displayed on the wall and tacks marking which areas had already been robbed. Nathan listened intently to what all the men shared about the robberies and the patterns that they had noticed. He took notes as they spoke.
When the men were done sharing, the superintendent called on Nathan to share his thoughts and observations. Nathan cleared his throat, sat up in his seat, and looked around the room at the faces of the men.
"From what I have seen in the file notes and have heard from you all here, we are dealing with a group of four bank robbers. It appears that they like to hit the smaller town's banks. Their common method has been the use of explosives to gain access to the safe in the middle of the night. Therefore, the reason they have not been caught yet They've averaged a robbery every month, but it appears they have become a little bolder since the Thanksgiving holiday, the last causing some minor injury to the first person to respond to the incident and interfere with their heist. My concern is that they will continue on this streak and injure our team or civilians during the upcoming Christmas season. If that's the case, I think that we need to put all the constables in the surrounding towns on high alert. Maybe even increase our numbers in each town until these individuals are apprehended. These are the areas that I would be most concerned about at this point.", Nathan reviewed his list quickly, frowned, and handed his notes over to the others to see his written thoughts. There, among the list of towns that could possibly be affected by this group of criminals, was his very own Hope Valley. A pit had formed in his stomach as he waited for input on his observations from the group of men that he served with. He wanted nothing more than to be back home in his quiet little town with Allie, Elizabeth, and Little Jack. He stood up and walked over to the map on the wall, examining it a bit closer as he waited.
After all the men had read over his notes, there was a silence in the room for a few moments as they absorbed the information that had been read and discussed. The question was what they would do next. The superintendent cleared his throat, and Nathan turned as he began to speak. "Grant, I think that you are on the right track here with your observations. The fact that you have provided us with an idea of where they may think of possibly striking next gives us a stronger opportunity of apprehending them. I agree that these towns' constables need to be on high alert and that we should provide them with extra support from field officers.", the superintendent said with a concerned look on his face.
The other group of constables nodded their heads in agreement. Then, for the next hour, they planned out the officers that would be sent to what towns and how to best prepare these towns for possible future robberies. Once the meeting was over, the constables left the room.
"Constable Grant, can you stay for a moment longer?", the superintendent called out from his spot. Nathan turned from where he stood by the doorway and nodded his head. The superintendent gestured for Nathan to close the door, so Nathan gently shut the door and walked back over to where the superintendent sat. Nathan sat down across from him and waited for him to speak.
"Grant, I know I thought this wouldn't be much of a concern for you until I heard your thoughts and observations. I can understand that you would be concerned. Let me assure you, we will do our utmost to provide you and Hope Valley with the best support through this time.", the superintendent stressed as he looked intently at Nathan.
Nathan nodded, looked down for a moment, and swallowed hard. Then he looked back at the superintendent and responded, "I appreciate that, sir! What else do you need me to do here in town?"
The superintendent stood, walked over to Nathan, and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Grant, you have done a fine job helping us plan out what to do next. Go home to Hope Valley and take care of your town and family. Your support will follow soon after you arrive.", the superintendent said.
Nathan looked up at his superior with his blue eyes, gave a slight smile, and nodded. Then he stood and saluted the man. The superintendent, in turn, reached out his hand to Nathan and shook it as he patted his shoulder with his other hand. "Safe travels, Grant. We will be in touch.", he responded.
Nathan exited the building and walked back to the hotel. He wanted nothing more than to get Newton and head back home, but he was physically exhausted from the long day and mentally exhausted from the topic of the day. He resolved to eat a little dinner there at the hotel, go to bed, and wake up early to return home. After he ate his meal and prepared his bag for the next day's travel, he looked out the window at the moon and stopped in his tracks.
"Goodnight, Lizbeth. "I'll be home soon to protect you, Allie, and Little Jack," he said quietly. As he continued to prepare himself for bed, he looked out at the moon once more. "Lord, watch over my family and my town. Lead and guide me and the other officers on how to deal with these robbers and help us to apprehend them as soon as possible without any further injury to anyone else.", Nathan prayed quietly in the stillness of his hotel room. Then, he laid down, shut his eyes, and allowed himself to rest.