Sitting in the small room with the headquarters telephone in it, Gabriel rhythmically let his fingers tap the table's surface as he waited for the call to get connected to Superintendent O'Reilly. He had closed the door to the room, wanting privacy from his fellow Mounties who went about their work in the buildings' main room.
"I have Superintendent O'Reilly for you now, Constable Kinslow," came the operator's voice.
"Thank-you," Gabriel replied. There was another click and then O'Reilly's voice came through the line.
"Constable Kinslow," O'Reilly greeted. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?" the older man asked.
Having trained other Superintendent Patrick O'Reilly, Gabriel had an easy rapport with the older Mountie. He had learned a lot from the man and had shared many dinners with the man's family over the years. O'Reilly would tell anyone that Gabriel was one of the best recruits he had ever trained whenever the opportunity would arise.
"Hello, sir," Gabriel replied. "How is Anne?" he asked, the inquiry after the man's wife a typical start to most conversations with O'Reilly.
"She is doing well. More than ready for winter to be over with as her arthritis bothers her more in the cold weather."
"I'll be thankful for the cold weather to be over with myself. What is she taking for the arthritis?" Gabriel asked, thinking of the suggestion that Maggie had made to Nathan for his mother's arthritis as conventional medicine was not working. Though Amelia Grant's arthritis was in advanced stages, she had reported some relief from the tea made with a mixture of natural ingredients Maggie had learned from an Indian tribe in her travels.
O'Reilly told him what the doctor had prescribed and that it did not seem to be doing much to help. Gabriel mentioned Nurse Parsons use of herbs and natural ingredients to help treat ailments along with the more modern medical breakthroughs.
"Perhaps I will send a telegram to this Nurse Parsons and see what she recommends," O'Reilly replied. "I think Anne would be willing to try something new if there is a chance of bringing her some relief."
"Well, Maggie has learned quite a few things in her travels. Brookfield is lucky to have her," Gabriel said.
"Thanks for the suggestion," Patrick said. "Now, what was the reason you called."
O'Reilly listened patiently while Gabriel told him about Grace, the missing money and the sealed file that the private investigator had found. "This is the second time the issue of the missing money has come up for Miss Bennett. She says she did not take it and I believe her. However, Miss Bennett would like to know if there is anything in that file that could cause her issues in the future. I was hoping you might look into it for us."
"I am sure you have already considered this, Gabriel, but this Miss Bennett is prepared that what is revealed from this file may not be favorable to her."
"Yes, I have prepared her for that possibility. She would rather face that now rather than wait for someone else to dig into the file and surprise her with that."
"Very well," O'Reilly replied. "I will pull the file and see what is in it. I will give you a call in a couple of hours. In the meantime, perhaps you could do a favor for me."
"Of course, sir," Gabriel replied.
"Staff Sergeant Oakley is retiring in September. We have been considering possible replacements for his position. We would prefer his replacement be familiar with the area and though Constable Anderson should be first in line for the promotion to the position, Oakley has actually recommended otherwise citing some public relations issues."
Gabriel thought about his visit with Lillian. It was not hard to imagine him having complaints from other members of the public.
"Somehow, that does not surprise me," Gabriel admitted.
"What is your opinion of Constable Anderson?" O'Reilly asked. "This is of course completely off the record. Just talk between an old training officer and his trainee," the superintendent added, anticipating Gabriel's hesitation.
"Well, he is a good officer," Gabriel said diplomatically. "I would be grateful to have him backing me up if the situation arouse. However, his people skills could use some work. I also get the impression that he is resentful of having to take an office job, which in a way I can understand. I think if I had been forced to take the office job I was offered after getting shot, I would have been resentful as well. I was not ready then. I had things I had to prove to myself and if Constable Anderson felt that way, then I get his attitude."
"A fair assessment," O'Reilly replied. "Also about what Sergeant Oakley has said about him. As much as we would like to promote him, we also need someone with good people skills running that office. There are a lot of little towns like Brookfield that the Clearwater headquarters serves. What about you? Are you still content in Brookfield?"
"I am," Gabriel replied without hesitation. "Especially as I will be marrying Lillian Walsh in a few months."
"Miss Walsh runs the local orphanage there in Brookfield, right?"
"With her sister, yes," Gabriel confirmed.
"Moving an orphanage is not feasible. I suppose the ride to Clearwater daily would take up a lot of your time as well," O'Reilly surmised out loud.
"What are you talking about?" Gabriel asked, confused by the man's comments.
"Well, I think you would be the perfect candidate to over see the Clearwater office, Gabriel," O'Reilly replied. "You know the area. You are well respected by your fellow officers and you know how to speak to the public. The only issue I see is your reluctance of relocating though perhaps it would be possible to spend most of your time in Brookfield, and make the trip to Clearwater weekly. Would you be willing to consider that if I put your name forth to replace Sergeant Oakley?"
Gabriel hesitated in his reply. The whole prospect came as a surprise to him.
"I could not give you an answer without talking things over with Miss Walsh," Gabriel finally said. "Not to mention, I have Billy now to think about."
"But would you at least consider it if the position was offered to you?" O'Reilly asked. "It could be that someone else will be chosen for the position, even if I submit your name. They may want someone who can be in Clearwater full time, and that clearly would not work for you. However, given the area you would be supervising anyway, I think the bulk of the work could be done elsewhere if you would be willing to make the weekly trip into Clearwater. Can I at least submit your name, Gabriel?"
"I would be honored, sir and I would at least talk the possibility over with Miss Walsh if it came up," Gabriel finally answered.
"Good," O'Reilly replied. "So, while I look into this file for you, I would appreciate it if you could pull a few personnel files kept there for me of a few officers that have been recommend for the position. The files here in Union City have not been updated in the last six months, so I would like a list of any more recent additions to the files if you don't mind."
"Of course not, sir," Gabriel replied.
O'Reilly gave him a list of four names, including Anderson for him to pull. "I will let Oakley know I have you working on a task for me," the Super Intendant. "I will also have him pull your file for me, to check for the more recent information. I will be sure the others know that you accepting the promotion will be contingent on making concessions. I would not want to marry a woman who had the responsibility of running an orphanage but I admire you for taking on that responsibility. It shows what kind of man you are."
As his cheeks were warm, Gabriel was glad the conversation was taken place over the phone.
"Thank you," Gabriel managed to get out.
The two exchanged good-byes. O'Reilly promised to call him back around two before they hung up. Hanging up with the Super Intendant, Gabriel dialed back the operator, intending to put in a request for one of his parents to call him back. He then went to retrieve Billy from Oakley's office so they could try getting in touch with his great-grandmother as Billy was in Clearwater.
Around noon, Gabriel took Billy to the nearby café for lunch. It was the first time that Billy had been handed a menu to decide what he wanted to eat. Gabriel smiled as Billy looked at the menu wide eyed.
"I can order whatever I want?" Billy asked quietly.
"Yes, just do not let your eyes get bigger than your stomach," Gabriel told him. "If you save room, I will even let you order dessert."
Billy ended up ordering a chicken pasta dish, while Gabriel ordered the fish and vegetables. After their meals, they decided to split a brownie a la mode. After lunch they returned to the regional headquarters. Gabriel escorted Billy back to Oakley's office where his sketch pad and pencils had been left.
"Actually, there is Constable Kinslow now," Oakley commented, as Gabriel stepped into the doorway. Billy was right in front of him.
Gabriel took in the other Mountie that was standing in front of Oakley's desk as the man turned toward them. The new Mountie had a thin, flat object tucked under one arm and did not look familiar to Gabriel.
"Is that, Billy?" the Mountie asked.
Gabriel instinctively put his hands on Billy's shoulders protectively. However, it was Billy who spoke up first.
"Do I know you, sir?" the boy asked, looking quizzically at the Mountie.
The visiting Mountie had observed Gabriel's protective actions toward the boy and realized that he was an unknown to his fellow Mountie. He placed a smile on his face and held out his right hand to Gabriel.
"I am Constable Michaels," the man said. Gabriel recognized the name from the information Bill had found out about Billy's past and relaxed a bit as he shook the man's hand. "I may look familiar Billy, because I am the one who brought your mother news about your father," he added looking down at the boy.
Billy nodded though he did not take a step away from Gabriel.
Letting go of Gabriel's hand, Michaels squatted down to be more on Billy's level, though he kept his distance. "I actually have something that I think is rightfully yours, Billy," the Mountie said, holding out the item he had been holding.
Not moving from Gabriel, Billy reached out for the item. It was a sketchbook, and as Billy flipped open the cover, a black and white drawing of a landscape was revealed.
"My father's sketch book," Billy breathed. "How?" he asked, looking up from the book to Constable Michaels.
Michaels smiled. "I had it with me that day I came to your house. It was in the saddle bag and should have been turned over with the rest of the things. With everything that took place that day, I forgot about it. When I discovered it later, at first I was just trying to deal with my own emotional issues from that day. I put it aside, intending to deal with it later. When I did, the force had lost track of you, Billy. Given your father's family reluctance to take you, I felt that if I turned the sketch book over to them it would end up being destroyed, so I held onto it. When Judge Avery came asking questions, I realized I had a chance to finally return it though I had to retrieve it from my parents' house, where I had stored it, or I would have just given it to the Judge. I was not sure if you were still in Brookfield, but I figured if you had moved on, Constable Kinslow could have pointed me in your direction."
Billy looked up at Gabriel. "Constable Kinslow is my guardian now," Billy replied.
"Is that right," Constable Michaels replied. "I am glad you have someone to look out for you now."
Billy nodded. "Thank you for keeping this safe and bringing it to me."
"You are welcome," Michaels told the boy, before getting to his feet. He looked to Gabriel. "I need to be on my way. I am glad I was able to catch you here. I may not be late to my next posting now."
"Thank you for taking the time to return the sketchbook to Billy," Gabriel told him.
"I was twelve when my own father was killed in the line of duty," Michaels said. "I understand the importance of having something to remember a parent by. Safe travels, home."
"Safe travels," Gabriel echoed shaking his fellow Mountie's hand.
Michaels spoke briefly with Oakley before leaving the office.
"So, Billy, how about you come sit next to me and we can look through that book together while Gabe finishes his work for the Super Intendant," Oakley suggested, purposely using the boy's address for Gabriel.
Billy looked up at Gabriel.
"Go ahead," Gabriel told Billy. "You can show me later. I do need to be ready for Super Intendant O'Reilly's phone call."
Billy nodded and then finally stepping away from Gabriel, went to Oakely's side.
"Thank-you, sir," Gabriel told Oakley before leaving the room and returning to the conference room he had been working in before lunch.