Tom Dayton is Loose Again

Chapter 3

1

Robert Ironside had been upset with the city council in the past, but nothing like he was now. He was being forced to have a man in his office he didn't believe for one second was cured. Ironside wasn't sure he ever would be. Now, he was being forced to babysit Tom Dayton. That is exactly what he considered it, babysitting, plain and simple. It was unfair to Mark. Sanger was his aide. He didn't care what the city council said. Mark was his aide, not Tom Dayton. Ironside wasn't sure what he would do with him.

He had been in situations before he didn't like, but this one was right up there. Ironside decided he wanted more information on Tom Dayton, and the place to go was to the horse's mouth. "Mark!"

Sanger came out of his room where he was studying for a test. "Yes, Chief."

"Let's go." The chief turned his chair around and headed up the ramp."I thought I was not your aide anymore," Mark said with a grin.

"To hell with the city council," Ironside growled. "Let's go."

Mark ran to catch up with his boss who was up the ramp and headed for the door."

2

Tom Dayton looked out the window. He could see the wall in the distance that surrounded the mental institution in which he was a prisoner. Fortunately, he convinced the hearing board he should be released. What he didn't like was having to work for Robert Ironside. Tom didn't like the man. He preferred working for a man, just not that man. Robert Ironside was a bully, plain and simple. Even worse than working for the cripple was the man who was responsible for tricking him into confessing he attacked that woman. It was the reason he was sitting in this room right at this very moment. Sergeant Brown was responsible for that. All because he accidentally killed Brown's fiance. He didn't mean to do it, but he did nevertheless. It was her own fault. She attacked him in the nurse's office. Just because he was going to punish the nurse for firing him. She had no right. She had it in for him from the very beginning.

Tom knew Brown held him responsible for her death. Dayton was forced to apologize to him. It had turned his stomach to have to do so. The only reason he did was his lawyer made it a condition of his release from this Godforsaken place. And, here he was again, held prisoner because of Brown. The liar made Tom believe he disliked working with a woman as much as he did. It was true, of course. He tricked him. Well, he wouldn't trick him this time.

The thought of being forced to work with Eve Whitfield was disgusting. To think he may have to take orders from her! Tom would be forced to pretend he liked her and had no problem working with her. He didn't know how he was going to pull it off, but he knew he had no choice. He would have to if he was going to fool Ironside. How long would he have to work with the detective before they would release him to live his life the way he wanted to? To get a job he wanted to work? He was going to have to work very hard at not showing his disgust for Eve Whitfield as well as Ed Brown.

He did have some practice at it. Tom couldn't stand the woman who cleaned his room. She was always so sweet to him, and he knew she was just doing it to make him angry. After all, all women did that to men whom they had power over. In the end, they always treated a man like dirt under their feet. The woman boss in the hospital did it to him. So had his sister, as well as the woman in the library. Every one of them got just what they deserved. And so would Eve Whitfield when the time came. That is how he would punish Ironside and Ed Brown, by punishing the woman cop.

3

Mark Sanger pulled the van up in front of the mental institution for the criminally insane. After they got clearance from Doctor Geisinger, Mark drove over to the building and parked in a handicapped parking spot. He would never tell the chief that the one advantage of him being in a wheelchair, Mark got to park in all the best places. He shut off the vehicle, got out and went around to the passenger side of the van where Ironside was already coming down in the lift. Mark waited until the chief wheeled off, and then stepped behind the chair to begin wheeling him into the building.

Ironside stopped one of the nurses to ask for the location of Doctor Geisinger's office. Once he was given the location, Mark wheeled him to the end of the hall and turned left. The doctor's office was the first on one their right. Mark opened the door and stepped back. Ironside placed his hands on both sides of the door frame and pulled his chair into the outer office.

As soon as the secretary saw who entered the office, she picked up the phone and press the intercom. "Doctor, Chief Ironside is here to see you. He was wondering if you have a few minutes." She listened for a moment and then hung up the intercom. Turning to Ironside, she smiled and said, "You may go right in, Chief."

Mark Sanger walked over and sat down in the closest chair. When Ironside noticed, he said, "You're coming in too, Mark. This affects you as well." Mark got up just as the door to the doctor's office opened.

"Chief, it has been a while. Come on in. I am pretty sure I know why you are here."

"Thank you for seeing me without an appointment, Tristan," the chief said.

"Nonsense. I always have time for you. Always a pleasure."

"I'm not so sure you will think so," Ironside said. He wheeled into the doctor's office. Geisinger went around his desk and sat down. Mark chose a chair beside his boss.

"You have reservations about having Tom Dayton in your office. Is that it?" the doctor asked.

"That's an understatement," Ironside said gruffly. "You do realize the history between Dayton and Sergeant Brown?"

"Of course, Chief. I know Tom's entire history from the time he was born. It is my job to know all about him."

"Then why would you even allow the city council to insist he be put in my office. You should have objected."

"Why? I can't think of a better boss for him. You know his history as well as I do."

"Dayton was responsible for Ed's fiance's death. You are subjecting my sergeant to a daily reminder of what Dayton did."

"Come on, Chief, Tom didn't mean to kill her. It was an accident. She fell and hit her head on the edge of the desk."

"He did it in a fit of rage. Who knows what he would have done if those two people had not happened by at the time. He could have killed the nurse who fired him."

Doctor Geisinger shook his head. "I don't believe that. Besides, I have declared him cured. He has responded well to treatment and has been a model patient for some time now. He never missed a session, Chief. He made progress right from the very beginning. Tom has even expressed his remorse for what he did to that librarian."

"He expressed remorse for what he did to Ed's fiance too. You know how that turned out. I have a woman in my office, Tristan."

"All the more reason I want him working for you. You will be able to see how he interacts with Officer Whitfield on a daily basis. If there are any problems, you will notice them faster than anyone else. Come on, Bob. The man needs a chance to prove himself. I believe he is cured of his hatred of women. But, if I am wrong, would you rather have him in some other business under the supervision of a woman who wouldn't know how to handle him. Your Officer Whitfield is a professional police detective and so is Sergeant Brown. Now really, can you tell me of a better place he would be?"

"Yes, right here where he is now," Ironside snarled.

"I'm afraid you are going to have to deal with it. The decision has been made, and your city council agrees with me."

"Then there is no way to change your mind?" Ironside asked.

"I am afraid not. The best thing for Tom right now is you, Sergeant Brown, and officer Whitfield. I will be expecting weekly reports from you on Tom."

Ironside turned his wheelchair around and headed for the door. "Come on, Mark, let's get out of here." Mark stood up and followed his boss to the door. As they reached it, Ironside turn his chair back slightly. "Oh Tristan."

"Yes," the doctor replied.

"Don't hold your breath waiting on those weekly reports." He turned his chair back to the door Mark held open for him and wheeled out of the doctor's office.

"Back to the office?" Mark asked.

"No, I want to see Dayton." He stopped a nurse coming down the hall toward them. "Can you tell me where Tom Dayton's room is?"

"You're Chief Ironside, aren't you?" she asked, but actually knowing he was.

"That's right," Ironside replied.

"Well, I am not supposed to tell anyone where a patient's room is. You are supposed to visit in the main hall, but since Tom will be staying with you, I guess it will be all right. Just continue in the direction you are going. Take a left at the first corridor. At the end of that one, turn right. His room is the last one on the right."

"Thank you." Ironside wheeled forward, leaving the nurse to go about her business. "Did you get that Mark?"

"Yeah, I got it." He stepped behind Ironside's chair and began pushing him down the hall. "Chief, did you even stop to consider that Tom Dayton is in fact cured? After all, you know Tristan Geisinger is an excellent doctor. He's considered one of the best in his field."

Ironside reached down and halted his chair. He looked up at his young aide and friend. "Whose side are you on?"

"Since when are we taking sides. If Tom Dayton is cured, then that doctor is right. You would be the best man to serve as his boss."

"That's a funny statement coming out of a man who is about to lose his job," Ironside said, and once again began wheeling forward.

When they arrived at Dayton's room, the veteran detective stopped his chair and remain motionless. "Well, are you going to knock, or are you going to talk to him through a closed door?" Mark asked.

Ironside gave him a look that would make most people cringe and regret his question, but not Mark. He just stared right back at his boss. The chief reached up and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Dayton said. He didn't know why the people in this institution knocked on the door sometimes, and at other times, they just barged in. He sat on his bed where he'd been watching the television mounted on the wall. When the door opened, and he saw who it was, Tom stood up. "Chief Ironside, I wasn't expecting to see you until this Friday. That's when I am supposed to report to work, isn't it."

"It is," Ironside confirmed.

"Then I don't understand why you are here right now," Tom said. He wanted Ironside to get the hell out of his room. He didn't know how he was going to stand working for this insufferable bore.

"I came by to tell you that I was against having you stay at police headquarters."

Dayton interrupted him. "That's good because I really want to get a place of my own."

"You didn't let me finish. I changed my mind. Mark will get a room ready for you on the same floor. There are plenty of empty rooms which you will be comfortable in. If you are going to be my aide, you will have to be nearby." Ironside could see the disapproval on Dayton's face. Clearly, he didn't want to stay at police headquarters. How could he fool the hearing board. The chief had no problem reading the expression on his face.

"Well, I hadn't thought of that. You are right of course. I'll be happy to stay where ever you decide I should. I am looking forward to working with you, Chief Ironside." In truth, Tom didn't know how he was going to make it through each day.

"In the meantime, I suggest you get things packed up. We will be back on Friday to pick you up. By the way, you will be taking orders from both Sergeant Brown and Officer Whitfield."

"Yes, I expected I would. That is not a problem. I am looking forward to working with them as well." Fat chance of that, Tom thought. He wanted nothing to do with any of them. His entire time in this institution was a complete waste of his time. Unfortunately, the doctor was going to make him endure Ironside and his people. Brown he might be able to stand, but the policewoman. He wanted nothing to do with taking orders from her. Women were always against him. They found fault with everything he did, and it wasn't his fault either. They just wanted to harass him.

"You don't have a problem working for Ed Brown considering your past with him?" Ironside asked.

"Not at all. I still feel terrible about what happened. Even more so now that the doctor has helped me to see what I have done in the past. I hope Sergeant Brown can finally find it in his heart to forgive me." Tom couldn't believe he wasn't gagging over that line.

"And Officer Whitfield? You can handle working with her and following her direction?" Ironside watched Dayton closely.

Tom swallowed the saliva that was building in his throat. He couldn't let Ironside know of the contempt he held for Whitfield. He was going to be subjected to her overbearing control of him. Women bosses were all alike. They liked to let a man know they were in charge. How he hated working for a woman. None of them should ever be in a position of authority. Tom couldn't imagine why any man would ever allow it. "Why should it be a problem? I will have no problem working with, or for her, for that matter."

"Well then, we'll be back on Friday," Ironside said. He turned his chair around and headed for the door.

"Chief Ironside," Dayton called out.

Ironside turned back slightly. "Yes."

"I don't think you believe I have been cured, but I have. I will prove it to you every day."

"You do that, Mister Dayton, and we will get along just fine." He turned and left Dayton's room.

The nerve of the man. Tom had to control his temper, whether it be with Ironside, Brown or Whitfield. Controlling it was the only way he would get out of Ironside's office and be able to get a real job. One where a man was in charge, not some woman or a bully like Ironside. Tom sat back down on his bed. This wasn't going to be easy, and he knew it. All the time he spent in the mental institution only made him believe there was nothing wrong with him. It was society that was the problem. They gave women too much control. They should never, ever have control of men. Men were superior to women in every way. That is why women were called the weaker sex.

Ironside wheeled away from Tom Dayton's room. "Let's get out of here." Mark stepped behind the chief and began wheeling him toward the entrance of the mental center. Ironside said nothing further until they were in the van. "So, Mister Sanger, what do you think?"

"He seemed sincere, Chief. Why don't you give him a break? The doctor says he is cured. Why are you so hard on him? You are always giving ex-cons a break. Look what you did for me. If he is cured, then you are the best thing for him." Mark started up the vehicle, pulled away and headed for the gate. Once they were passed by the guard, Mark left the institution's grounds. It wasn't until then Ironside spoke up again. "I gave you a chance because what I saw was a young man full of anger. One that was never given a break. Anger is much different from mental problems, Mark. Tom Dayton was given a break. He was released as cured once before, and look what happened. Didn't you read his body language?"

"What body language? He said all the right things and his tone was soft-spoken," Mark said.

"He was soft-spoken and said all the right things the last time he was released. How did that work out? What I just saw was a man trying very hard not to explode."

"All right, Doctor Ironside, what makes you think you know more than Doctor Geisinger?" Mark asked.

"Listen, Mark, I have been a cop for most of my life. I have seen it all. I like to think I read people well. Some people are very good at fooling authorities. Tom Dayton is one of them. He could barely contain himself with his contempt for anything to do with me, Ed, and especially Eve. Oh, and that polite soft-spoken tone was trying to convince me to believe he has actually changed. But, the cut of his jaw, the look in his eye, the tightening of his posture when challenged regarding Ed and Eve said differently. He's running a con, Mark, and the hearing board fell for it, hook, line, and sinker."

"Chief, have you given just a thought that he might just be nervous around you? After all, you and Ed are the ones that tricked him into admitting he attacked that librarian."

"Mark, I can tell the difference between nervousness and a con. Dayton is running a con. I am being forced to deal with him. If I am right, and I am, this is going to blow up, and we are going to get the blame. It won't matter that Dayton shouldn't have been released in the first place. They are going to say we failed him. I'm telling you, it's going to hit the fan. It is only a matter of time before that soft-spoken cured Dayton blows sky-high, and we better be ready for it."