I haven't stolen them, I'm borrowing without permission, with every intention of giving them back (well, maybe!)
The day of the funeral turned out to be sunny yet cold. Doug looked around at all the faces gathered around the freshly dug grave. Mrs Hanson, of course, looking old and tired next to Captain Fuller and Briody, who of course had been at the older Thomas Hanson's funeral nine years ago, Judy and Harry stood together with thier arms around each other, Dennis stood slightly apart from the group, ashen faced. Sal Banducci stood with the others from Jump Street, with his wife Rosa and their children. He noticed Russell Buckins and his wife Louise at the back of the crowd, both with bloodshot tearful eyes. Diane Nelson and her sister were also there to pay thier repsects to the man who had helped them when they needed it most, as was Joan Poolish. Tom's bowling team were there of course, and to his surprise Jackie Garrett stood right at the back, her eyes covered with ovesized sunglasses. Doug himself stood with his partners with Clavo holding tight to his hand. He couldn't help thinking how unfair that this small group was all there was to show for his best friends all too short life and how sad that there was no one special to greive for him. He thought how much Tom had greived for Amy Pearson and how he had missed Linda McHugh, and it seemed wrong that there was nobody to feel that for him. These thoughts made him suddenly angry that Jackie had turned up.
"Doug, soy cold!" Clavo said quietly, bringing him back from his thoughts.
"Shh, gotta stay quiet buddy" Doug said kindly, squeezing the little boy's hand.
"Will Tommy be cold?" he asked innocently. Doug smiled down fondly his boy and lifted him up.
"No pal, Tommy's not cold." Clavo put his small arms tightly around his uncles neck as they listened to the priests words as they drifted across the graveyard. Doug didn't hear the words, he simply let them wash over him as his thoughts drifted away as he saw the older grave beside the fresh one. A whole family, wiped out, and so unnecessarily too. Both had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and it had permenantly altered the course of thier lives.
Judy felt sick as she stared at the coffin suspended over the grave. She hated to see it but she couldn't tear her eyes away. She just moved closer to Harry and he held her tighter. She looked at him through her tear flooded eyes and smiled, grateful for the comfort.
Harry was relieved to have Judy to concerntrate on, it gave him the opportunity to ignore his own grief for a while. He also rather selfishly liked that he had her to himself. He had decided he was flying to Vietnam the day after and was pleased to be able to have this chance to just have her close while he still could.
Fuller stayed close to Mrs Hanson, offering all the support he could and all but holding her up. As he listened to the priest talking about the unfairness and senselessness of the death of someone so young and so loved with their whole lives ahead of them all he could think of was the strange little toys and gadgets that Tom used to always have lying around. He smiled to himself as he tried to remember when these had started to disappear and where they may have disappeared to. He was wrenched back into reality however as he heard Dougs name called out and saw the younger officer making his way towards where the priest was standing.
He stood before the small crowd, nervously wringing his hands, his eyes darting first to Fuller and then to Harry, looking for reassurance.
"I've spent the past few days trying to think of the right words to say, and I still have no idea." he said apollogetically."I mean how do you sum up your best friend and brother and what he meant to us all in a few words. You can't. Especially not someone like Tom. In the end I just decided to say just what I felt. He was so many things it's hard to know where to start. Well, he was an extremely dedicated cop. Not that he always followed the rules, Captain Fuller can vouch for that. But he's always done what he belived to be the right thing, and eventhough he often thought that nothing he did made a difference, I think all of you being here today shows that's not the case. He would always be the one to help the lost cause, the one everyone gave up on, and most of the time came out better for it.
After loosing his father he's taken care of Mrs H, looking out for her, supporting her, making his incredibly wonderful freinds move her house for her, and then back again days later."
he said raising a fond yet embarassed chuckle from Margaret.
"I think it's safe to say you can be proud of the man you raised Mrs H. It's tough for a kid to have to grow up so fast and take on all that responsibiltity. But he did it and never complained. Well, so I'm told, not that I belive that for a second, after all I know him too well", he said with a smile. "I think that had a great deal to do with who he is. He regressed after meeting me though! He's the most infuriatingly perfect partner. Always so tidy and proper. Jesus, I had to shoot him in the ass to get him to even shout at me. But then he's never been one to show his feelings. Not that he's cold, far from it. Those of us who know Tom know him to be one of the most compasionate people you will ever meet.
For me, however, he's simply my best friend. The guy I trusted my life to for almost five years. Wasn't always easy, I'm not the easiest guy to have around. But whenever I needed him he's been there, forgiving me all my screw ups, even the ass shooting incident. He seemed more annoyed that I'd sharpened his pencils. What's with that Hanson?" he said doing his best to smile as he directed this remark in the direction of the coffin, trying to picture his friend standing there instead of the box. "He's always been a loyal and caring friend, anything you needed from him he'd give you if he could. He'd put his life on the line for those he cared about, literally as it turns out."He gave Harry a small comforting smile, hoping it told him he held him in no way responsible.
"For years he's been more a brother to me than my own kid brother, shorter though, and I hope in someway I've been able to pay him back somehow. Not that he didn't have his problems, but you know bowlings a sickness. We tried to get him help but..." he said comically shrugging his shoulders. A small giggle rose from the assembled group.
"Aside from that major flaw, he was one of the best people I've ever known. I'm afraid I have to ask his forgiveness know though. You see this is the last thing I'm going to be able to do for him and I'm letting him down." he said with a small smile. "I promised him I'd always keep this a secret, but some things have to be said. So Tom, I'm sorry man but in front of all these witnesses, I love you man, and I'm gonna miss you." He was trying his best to hold back the threatening tears, hoping he could finish first, and he nearly managed it. "So goodbye partner, sleep well." he said before slowly stepping down as the tear stained face of Margeret Hanson smiled up at him.
"That was a lovely speech Penhall" came the voice of Jackie Garrett.
"What are you doing here Jackie?" he said quietly and calmly.
"Saying goodbye to Tom!" she said slightly taken aback.
"Making sure he's gone more like"
"Hey! I cared about him. A lot. He ended it remember. If he hadn't have been so pigheaded and proud who knows!"
"You really think it was about you ratting him out! That just proves it would never have worked out. Sure he was angry that you betrayed his trust, he was upset Fuller was suspended as a result. But do you know what he was most hurt about?"
"What?" she asked softly.
"Tad Davies! If we had've busted him when we had planned to he wouldn't have been able to OD and he would still be here. That's why he couldn't forgive you!" He gave her one last look before walking away leaving her alone with her thoughts.
He spotted Mrs Hanson standing alone by the graves of her family. Thinking she shouldn't be alone he hurried over to her. She barely acknowledged him as he joined her, just continued staring at the graves.
"That's my entire family" she said quietly. "Tommy was the last one, there's not gonna be anymore."
Doug followed her gaze to the older of the two headstones and read the inscription.
Thomas Hanson
12th September 1940 - 14th February 1981
Beloved husband and father
"I had a miscarrage a couple of years before he was born. Tom and I were told we could never have anymore children. Tommy was my miracle, now he's gone."
"He was named after his dad? I didn't know that, he never told me".
"Well we weren't really very imaginative when it came to boys names. I was sure I was having a girl you see." She turned and smiled at him. "You did him proud Doug, thank you."
Clavo came running up from where he had been standing with Judy and Harry. "Hey you four footer!" Doug said as he lifted him onto his back. "Ready to go?" he asked Margeret.
"No. I'm going to stay here a little while. Don't worry I'll be fine, go home."
"You sure?"
"Yes, really." she smiled warmly at Clavo and said " As long as you and your Uncle Doug come and see me soon ok." Clavo smiled and nodded. Then she turned to Doug, her eyes deadly serious and said, "He's a lovely boy Doug. Think very hard about the future. The policeforce destroyed my family, don't let it hurt yours yeah?"
Doug smiled warmly at her, nodded and left her in peace. As he walked away he was met by a very tired looking Adam Fuller.
"How you holding up Doug?"
"I'm ok" he replied quietly
"Doug I've got some news about Crane." he said cautiously. He wasn't sure this was the most appropriate time to bring up the subject but he thought Doug and the others should know, and he wanted to tell Penhall first. The younger officers eyes fixed on his captain signaling for him to continue.
"The DA's office called me earlier. Cranes sentence was passed down this morning" Crane had been charged with three murders, four counts of conspiracy to murder and five counts of kidnapping and serious assault. Found guilty on all charges. All the remaining Jump Street team had been there to give evidence, not one of them able to stomach looking at the man in the dock. It had been hard on all of them to relive the past few weeks.
"He's been given another ten years for the kidnap, assault and conspiracy charges" Fuller continued.
"And the murder charge?" Doug asked coldly. Fuller looked at Doug's seemingly calm face, inhaled deeply and looked back at him, his eyes deadly serious and somber and told him straight out.
"He's getting the needle".
Doug simply nodded and said "Thanks Captain" before carrying Clavo to his waiting car, leaving Fuller watching after him.
That night Judy sat alone at the conference table in Jump Street Chapel listening to the silence. For the first time since everything had happened she had the chance to think things over and get events straight in her head. It still didn't seem real, even when she had watched the coffin been lowered into the ground it still felt like some nightmare that she was going to wake up from any minute. Now Harry was going too, and although he promised he would see them again it would never be the same. Two of the people she loved most in the world we're being taken from her. As tears once again began to threaten she was startled by the sound of footsteps running up the metal stairs outside the building. As she turned to see who was coming Harry stepped through the door. Their eyes met and they smiled warmly at each other.
"Hey."
"You all packed and ready to go?"
"Almost. You ok?" Harry said walking up and hugging her.
"Not really. Everyone's leaving."
"You ever need anything you call me right. I'll be on the nexr flight over."
"Right back at you. I still can't belive you're not going to be here tomorrow."
"Judy, please. It's something I've gotta do."
"Do you want us to come to the airport with you?"
"No. I'd rather just go. Anyway, it's not like you're not gonna see me again. I'm quitting the force, I'm not quitting you guys."
"You just take care of yourself Harry and be happy."
"I'll do my best" he said smiling."You felt you should be here too huh?"
"It seemed appropriate. We have so many good memories here." she answered looking around
"Yeah we do" he said running his hand over the surface of the old table and smiling when he found the scratch marks made by Blowfish's guinea pig the time they had tried to race him. "Won alot of money here too" he said with a wink.
"You hustled them Harry admit it!"
"Never!"
"She's right Iok!" came Dougs voice as he joined them along with Blowfish, who he had found hanging around in the parking lot. "No one has beginners luck for three years!"
"I had to close my football pools cos you bankrupted me!" Sal said with mock disgust.
"Gambling's illeagal guys, you're all under arrest!"
"Come on Captain! Let us go. First offense and all!"
"That won't wash this time Penhall" Fuller said with a grin.
Judy sat watching the four men and thinking of one valentines day years ago when she had walked into the chapel after escaping a disasterous date and stumbled upon the rest of her team playing various incarnations of poker. She looked up at the others and her face brightened as she said, "Hey, lets have one last game, all of us together."
Doug, Blowfish and Harry all grinned at her, mischief in their tired eyes.
"Can't think of a better way to say goodbye to Tommy!" came Bookers voice as he entered the room. Doug walked over and offered Dennis his hand. They smiled at each other as they walked back to the table and took thier seats. Fuller felt a twinge of sadness as he looked at the faces surrounding him, painfully aware of one of the groups absense.
As they played and talked happily together, they turned to talking fondly of old times and swapping stories. Booker was shocked and amused to hear Penhall's story of the time they had been forced to help the FBI protect a kid in the witness protection programme.
"So we're crouched behind Hoff's car right. Guns being brandished everywhere you turn, cos you know, mob hitmen. Anyway Hanson and Iokage come running up wanting to know where Jake was. Before you know it he's shooting at us and jumping into a balck and white. He's not stopping for anyone, not us, not the Feds, he's just afer Frank Hartman. So Tom runs back to his car opens the trunk and pulls out this huge shotgun. I didn't even know he had anything like that. So this guy is driving his car straight at us, Tom shoots his tyres out with the shotgun and the car does this massive backflip, shoots over our heads and ends up spinning on it's roof about 30 feet away. Tom just shoulders the gun, looks at me, shrugs his shoulders and says 'That's the way Jake would've done it."
"Tom Hanson did that?" Booker said in awe. "I wish id've known that sooner. We'd have been best buddies."
"Knew right there and then there was some reason I liked the guy" Doug said with a smile.
"Hell we loved him!" Harry added. "Although I never thought I could love a bowler"
"I never thought I could love someone who said slamerino!" Doug said, raising a laugh from everyone around the table.
"Always a perfect gentleman though" Judy said winking at Doug "And you owe me $20.Full House!" she said and she spread her cards out on the table. This was followed by numerous groans as the rest threw their own cards down in disgust.
"Hey don't let that chiorboy exterior fool you. I could tell you things about Tom Hanson that would shock and appal!" he replied.
"Like what!" Harry asked, disbeliving but no less intrigued. "Five card draw, sevens and jacks are wild."
"I'm in! Well, when me and Dorothy got back together the last time she was making me jump through hoops, you know, prove I loved her and all. Anyway, she had this friend that was a little down, depressed and stuff, and she wanted me to fix her up with someone and go on a double date. Well who else was I gonna ask? Hanson would never have said no, well he always said no but we both knew he caved everytime. So Tom reluctantly agrees and we meet them at this restatuant after we finished here." Doug smiled, a hint of sadness in his hazel eyes.
So we walk into the restaraunt, it was one of these ridiculously upscale places that make you feel totally out of your depth. Anyway, we walk in and Dorothy is standing there with the biggest woman you will ever see. I mean she was huge, twice the size of Tom, she could have passed for a Russian shot putter. I'm talking a mountIan here. So Tom takes one look and spins round to march out of the place.
"Hey, where you going. You can't leave me here!"
"I can't believe I let you talk me into this!"
"She's not that bad!"
"Not that bad! Doug, you've set me up on a date with Godzilla!"
"Look, all you've gotta do is sit and make polite conversation while we eat."
"She looks like she could eat me."
"Give her a chance, she might be nice"
So he gives me that look, you know the one that makes you feel like the worlds biggest asshole?
Oh yeah, I hate that look.
Makes you feel this big?
Yeah, I've seen that one
Yeah, anyway, I was spared cos Dorothy and the mountain spots us and they start making their way over. Tom makes a last attempt to run for it, but I grab his arm and stop him.
"I hate you!"
"No you don't. That's why you're here! Hi Dorothy"
"You're late Douggie!"
"Sorry."
"Nevermind. Christine, this my Douggie."
"Hey!"
"Hello"
"And this is Tom Hanson, he works with Doug. Tom, this is Christine Linski!"
"Hi Tom"
"Yeah, nice to meet you"
You just know as soon as he heard her last name he was trying desperately not to laugh!
Russian! Figures
Always the charmer huh Dennis?
Admit it Judy, I'm irresistable!
Just let Doug carry on with his story
Thanks Captain
Anyway we make it through drinks and appitizers with no disasters. Everyones being polite and Dorothy is even having a night off from making my life hell. I start thinking this might not be so bad. Wrong. Christine mentions that she'd planned on going to see this play and Dorothy puts her evil plan into action!.
"I would love to go see that with you. How about thursday night?"
"Yeah, great!"
"Oh no I forgot. Me and Doug promised to go have dinner with my parents thursday night."
"When was this decided?"
"I told you last night Doug" and then she gets me in the shins with her evil pointy shoes. "Hey maybe Tom could go with you?"
"Er...Thursday's my bowling night. Sorry."
"I thought it was fridays!" And my other shin gets it! I knew I should have made him change his boots. "It was but they had to change it because of...er...shoe shortages"
Shoe Shortages?
I know Harry, you'd have thought he'd learned at least something from me over the years.
"Really" At this point Christine's trying to act interested. You've gotta admire the girl. I mean anyone who can fake interest in bowling deserves some credit right!
"Yeah. With all the teams playing on one night... they didn't... have enough shoes. So they split it into seperate days. We got thursday"
She bought that?
Oh yeah!
So awkward situation averted, for now. We're waiting for the main course when Christine starts flirting rather shamelessly, even if i do say so myself. And she must have been playing footsie or something cos Tom's wrigling uncomfortably in his seat. Next thing I know she winks at him and he shoots to his feet making some lame excuse like...
"Sorry, exscuse me a minute, wine goes right through me." gives us all that sheepish grin and disappears. So I'm left sat there with both of them and Dorothy keeps looking at me like she's gonna kill me and all i can do is to keep saying stuff like "I'm sure he wont be too much longer."
So after fifteen minutes there's still no sign of Tom, so Dorothy 'suggests' that I go and check on him. I get to the bathroom right, and there's no sign of Hanson. The only sign he was actually in there was the open window he'd crawled out of while I was stuck trying to entertain two very disgruntled females and the empty space in the parking lot where his car wasn't. Needless to say Dorothy wasn't impressed. I mean, how fair is that, Tom runs out on one of her best friends and I'm the one who has to walk home and spends the night on the couch!"
The sound of their laughter filled the chapel, and suddenly the whole building seemed so much wamer.
"Serves you right Doug. Poor Hanson!" Jude said laughing
"Not such a boy scout after all!" Booker said, a grin on his face.
"Hey, If you'd have seen her you'd have run too!"
Harry looked around the table at the faces of his friends, he felt truly happy for the first time in weeks, but it was tinged with sadness and regret that his friend was no longer with them and that soon he would be leaving them too. Smiling softly he raised his glass and said "To Tom!"
"Tom!" Blowfish, Judy and Fuller chimed
"To Tommy!" added Booker before Doug joined in raising his glass and saying somewhat sadly
"To Tom. And to Harry" he said smiling over at Ioki. "May you both find peace".
County Maximun Security Prison
Raymond Crane was led across the room to the cot in the centre. He was strapped down securely and he stared blankly at the ceiling as the lines were inserted into his viens. He payed no attention to the voice of the man stood beside him as he announced the sentence.
"Raymond Crane you have been found guilty of the murders of Matt Anderton, Peter McCoy, James Parry and Thomas Hanson. For these crimes you have been sentenced to be put to death by leathal injection. You may make a statement at this time."
Crane said nothing and showed no sign that he acknowledged the presence of any other person in the room. The last thing he saw before his eyes finally closed was the crack in the ceiling he had been tracing with his eyes.
In a fisrt floor appartment across the other side of the city Doug Penhall awoke in a cold sweat.
Thanks for all the amazing reviews. I've never written anything before and I didn't expect such a response. Thanks all :0) One more chapter then I'm done
