Tom Dayton is Loose Again
Chapter 5
1
Eve Whitfield led Tom Dayton out of Chief Ironside's office. They turned left and headed toward the room Dayton would be assigned to. She could feel his eyes on her. Eve was more than aware that Dayton didn't like her. It was worrisome that the city council had forced the man on the chief.
Ironside was not a doctor, although he was an excellent judge of character. He had been a cop a long time and seen all kinds of criminals. He knew the ones that were harden criminals and the ones that could be rehabilitated. The chief quite often helped those who got of of prison if he felt they would take advantage of a second chance at life. A man could go down the wrong path and end up in prison. If he learned his lesson, he deserved that second chance, and Ironside was always willing to give it to him.
Robert Ironside obviously didn't feel Tom Dayton was by any means cured. It was the reason he was having Dayton report to her. Sooner or later he expected him to crack under taking orders from a woman. When he did, Ironside wouldn't hesitate to see to it he was sent right back to the institute he was living at. He may have been able to fool the doctors; fooling Robert Ironside was another matter altogether. He was rarely fooled by anyone, and it would take someone with a lot more skills than Tom Dayton had to do it.
Eve led him to the room Mark had cleared earlier for him. She unlocked the door, opened it and said, "This is where you will be sleeping, Tom." She stepped back and indicated for him to enter.
Dayton looked around the room. There was a single bed in the corner, a desk on the opposite wall, a small dresser on the wall opposite the foot of the bed, a chair, a closet, and a bathroom. The walls were concrete with not a single picture on them. The floor was also concrete, a dark green which needed a coat of paint. Dayton walked over and looked into the closet. It wasn't more than a cubby hole. He then checked out the bathroom. One could barely walk in and back out. The sink had no room to put anything on it, and there wasn't a medicine cabinet either. The mirror over the vanity had a large crack down the middle of it. The vanity itself contained only one drawer to store personal items in. Tom noted the shower wasn't very big either. There was a bottle of shampoo and a bar of soap in the dish, with one towel on the bar next to the shower.
He couldn't believe it! Did Ironside really expect him to stay in this room? It couldn't even compare to the room at the institute. It was nothing more than a prison room as far as he was concerned. Yet, he knew he couldn't complain to Ironside. He didn't want him here in the first place; Tom knew that. Then again, he didn't want to be here anymore than Ironside wanted him. The sooner he could convince the cripple he was capable of living on his own the better. He couldn't bear to stay here very long where he wasn't wanted.
"You will be expected to keep your room neat and clean. I will be inspecting it once a week. We will be providing a flat-screen television for you. It is a twenty-two inch. It was the best we could come up with. It is high definition. You will be connected to the chief's programming.
"Remember, you must check with me before leaving the building. We must know exactly where you are at all times. You will be expected to keep us informed. You have the rest of the evening to yourself. There is an intercom on the dresser. If the chief needs you, he will call you on it. Do you have any questions, Tom?"
"Once I am settled in, can I go out for a while?" he asked her.
"I am afraid not. The chief thinks you should settle in and relax for the evening. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow," she told him.
"This is no different than being in the institute. I thought I would have more freedom when I was released."
Eve notice resentment in his tone of voice. Following the chief's instructions, she spoke to him as stern a voice as she could muster. "Is that a complaint, Mister Dayton? Would you like me to relay it to Chief Ironside?"
Dayton tried to temper the anger that was rising. Who did this bitch think she was speaking to him like that. She had no business treating him that way. Women were all alike. They were always riding him over nothing. What would she say if the situation was reversed? Would she be happy with a room that was nothing more than a prison cell. He wondered if she was going to lock the door when she left. Dayton changed the tone of his voice when he spoke to her again. "No, I am not complaining. I appreciate Chief Ironside allowing me to work and live at his office. I guess I was just expecting better accommodations."
"What's wrong with these?" Eve said, raising her voice.
She was at it again. Treating him like she was better then he. Tom chewed on the sides of his inter cheeks to help control his anger. If he displayed it he would never get out of this office, and if Ironside didn't deem him ready to live on his own, he would recommend he be returned to the institute. Tom couldn't bear that. God knows when he would ever be released if that happen, or if he would be released at all. No, he would not let the bitch get to him. "Well, I guess they will be all right until I am allowed to get a place of my own."
"Alright then, report to work at nine o'clock tomorrow morning, and don't be late." Eve flipped him the key to the room. "You will be able to lock your room when you are out. Chief Ironside has the other key." Eve turned and left."
Dayton watched her leave. He picked up his duffle bag and threw it across the room. It hit the intercom which fell to the floor. When it did, it activate the call button to Ironside.
"Yes, Mister Dayton," Ironside said over the intercom.
Tom was a bit thrown off. He stumbled with his words. "Ah, I just . . .just wanted to . . . ah, see if you needed anything before I retire for the night."
"Didn't Eve tell you that you had the night off?" Ironside growled.
"Well, yes, she did, but I thought I . . . "
"Then you have the night off," Ironside snarled.
"Yes, sir. Thank you sir." Ironside abruptly broke the connection. Angry, Tom complained aloud, "So that is how it is going to be. I am going to be treated like a prisoner, not an employee." He wondered if there was anyone he could complain to. Ironside had to have a boss, didn't he? Tom thought for a moment. Yes! Commissioner Randall was his boss. He could make an appointment and tell him what was going on. Then again, if he did that, it would probably only make things worse.
Dayton paced the room he was assigned to. Looking around, it looked more like a prison room than a bedroom. He needed to get out. He couldn't breathe. Dayton was worried he might start to hyperventilate, despite the fact he never had before. He checked the pocket of his jacket for the key Whitfield had given him. He didn't give a damn whether he was suppose to stay in tonight. He wasn't in the institute any longer. Ironside couldn't tell him what to do on his own time. He had no business telling him he had to report to him when he went out. Dayton left his room and headed for the elevator. He pressed the button. When the elevator arrived on his floor, the door opened. Tom got on and pressed the button for the garage floor. The doors closed and he rode it down. He would show Ironside. No one told him what to do on his own time.
2
Eve Whitfield arrived back in Ironside's office. She sat down beside the chief. "Well, I did what you told me to do, Chief. Are you sure this is the tactic you want to take with him?"
Ironside looked at her with his steely blue eyes. She almost looked away, but she wouldn't do it. One always looked Robert Ironside in the eye if you wanted him to respect you. "What would you suggest, that we coddle him? Eve, I don't believe for a minute Tom Dayton is cured, but if I am wrong, he will be able to take whatever we dish out. If he isn't, the facade will falter. I have to know, Eve. If he is cured, then I will do everything I can to help him get settled back into society. For now, we have to test him."
Ed Brown was sitting at the table listening to the exchange between Eve and the chief. He knew exactly how he felt about it. "The facade will fall. He's not cured."
"You don't know that, Ed. You're not a doctor. I understand he caused the death of a woman you loved, but don't let it cloud your judgement," Eve said.
"It didn't cloud my judgement the last time, and it won't this time either. He's not cured; the chief will prove it."
Ironside turned his head toward the sound of the elevator in the hall. "Ed! Make sure that isn't Dayton."
Brown took off out of the office on the run.
The elevator doors open. Tom Dayton stepped out, but before the doors closed again, he stepped back in and allowed the doors to closed. It occurred to him Ironside had punched a code into the elevator to get it to open. He didn't know that code. If he left the building, he wouldn't be able to get back in. Damn, Ironside! He was going to make sure he was held prisoner in the building. How was this any different than living in the institute. He simply had no freedom. Tom pushed the button for Ironside's floor. The elevator responded and began the slow climb up. When the doors opened, he ran directly into Sergeant Brown.
"Going somewhere, Tom?" Ed said.
"No, of course not," he said in the mild tone he used to convince people he was in total control of himself. "I was looking for a pop machine. Only this elevator seems to only go to the garage. How do I go done to the police lobby to find a pop machine?"
Ed said nothing for a moment, trying to determine if Dayton was being straight with him. He didn't trust the mild manner demeanor he displayed. He saw it before and it was . . . what did the chief call it? A facade. Dayton had fooled a lot of people with it. Not once but twice, as this was the second time he'd been released from the institute.
"You don't need to go to the lobby. There's a machine on this floor down the hall."
Tom could tell Brown didn't believe him. Well, it didn't matter to him whether he did or not. He didn't leave the building, so there wasn't anything they could get him on. But, he would leave the building eventually. He would find out what the code to the elevator was so he could get out of this hell-hole for a while."
Deciding to throw Dayton off a bit, Brown smiled. "I guess this all has to be a bit hard on you. A new place with a bunch of new rules. Believe me, Tom, if you follow Chief Ironside's rules and prove yourself to him, you'll be out of here in no time. He just was saying upstairs, when that happens, he will do everything he can to help you re-adjust to society. We are not the enemy, Tom. We are just trying to help you."
"Thank you," Tom said. Brown was the last one he expected to be nice to him. "Well, I'll be on my way." He headed back to his room.
"Tom, I thought you wanted to find a pop machine," Brown called behind him.
Dayton stopped. He looked back at Brown. "I guess I'll just save my money. They didn't give me much when I left, but I would like to know where the machine is."
"Down the hall from the room you are staying in. I am surprised you didn't see it," Brown said.
"Oh, I guess I figured there wouldn't be one on this floor. I mean, all that is really up here is Chief Ironside's office."
"There is. You are welcome to use it, but remember there are soft drinks in the chief's office we are all welcome to drink," Ed told him.
"Thanks, Sergeant. I'll remember that." Dayton went back into his room.
Brown stood there for a moment to see if Dayton was going to come out again. When he didn't reappear, Ed went back into the office.
"Well?" Ironside demanded.
He went down in the elevator, but came right back up. He claimed he was looking for a soft drink machine."
"There is one right down the hall from his room," Ironside said.
"He said he didn't see it," Ed said, sitting down.
Mark came out of his room. "Chief, I have tried to keep quiet, but . . ."
"But you just can't," Ironside said sarcastically.
"If he didn't look down the hall, he would have missed the soda pop machine. It would only be natural for him to head in the direction of the elevator."
"Possibly, but Ed said he didn't go down to the machine after it was pointed out to him," Ironside said.
"He changed his mind," Eve said. "People do it all the time. Besides Chief, you have to admit he must be intimidated with all the rules and ordering around we have been doing. He could've felt intimidated by Ed when he questioned why he didn't just go to the machine on this floor."
"What do you suggest, Officer Whitfield, that we just string him along until we can get rid of him, and then turn him loose on society without knowing whether or not he is actually cured?" Ironside asked, his voice gruff and raised.
Calmly, Eve answered her boss. "No, that is not what I am suggesting at all, Chief. What I am saying is that we should keep an open mind. We don't want him on the streets if he is not cured, but then again, we don't want to derail him if he is."
"She's got a point, Chief," Mark said.
"If he is cured, he will be able to take it," Ironside said. "We do it my way." He turn his chair around and wheeled into his bedroom.
"Well, I guess we do it the chief's way," Mark said.
"We always do," Ed remarked as he got up. "I am going home. Eve, do you want to walk out with me?"
Eve stared in the direction Chief Ironside just went. "Yes. There is no further reason to hang around here." She got up and joined Ed.
"Gee, thanks, a lot," Mark said.
Eve grinned at him. "Goodnight, Mark."
"Fat chance of that with the mood the chief is in," Sanger said.
Ed grinned at him, and as a parting shot, said over his shoulder, "Better you than us."
Mark cleared the table of coffee cups. It dawned on him, he never made dinner for the chief or himself. He walked over to the chief's room and knocked on the door. "Chief?"
"Yes," Ironside called out.
"What would you like for dinner?"
The door opened and Ironside wheeled back out. "Sandwiches will be fine. I don't think my stomach could take much more than that. And, pour me a glass of bourbon, will you, Mark?"
Sanger nodded and went into the kitchen to see what kind of meat was available to make the sandwiches with. He opened the fridge and peered inside. There was left-over chicken and ham lunch meat. He figured he better make it chicken. The chief simply wasn't fond of pressed lunch meat. He pulled the chicken out of the fridge along with mayonnaise, cheese, and lettuce. After making up a couple sandwiches for each of them, Mark pulled down a bottle of bourbon. He then took two glasses out of the cupboard and juggled all of them to the table where an awaiting Ironside seem to be deep in thought. Mark put the plates down, followed by the glasses and the bottle of bourbon.
After pouring two glasses of the chief's favorite drink, he sat down. "Chief?"
Ironside was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of Mark's voice. He looked down to see the sandwiches and bourbon. "Thanks, Mark."
"Are you sure you want to drink the bourbon if your stomach is bothering you?" Sanger asked.
Ironside looked at him. "My stomach is fine," he said gruffly.
"But you said . . . never mind," Mark said, sitting down, shaking his head.
Ironside began eating his sandwiches. He glanced over at his aide who was eating his. Taking a drink of bourbon, he set the sandwich down. "You agree with Eve, don't you?"
Mark sighed. They had already been over this. He didn't see any reason to rehash it again. The chief wasn't going to change his mind. "Look, Chief, the decision is yours. We will do whatever you decide."
Ironside lowered his eyebrows. "That is not what I asked you, Mister Sanger."
Mark set his sandwich down. "Okay, if you really want to do this again, yeah, I agree with Eve. I understand you want to make sure he is cured before he goes back into society on his own. But, do we really need to keep on him constantly. Isn't it enough that he has to take orders from Eve. That alone should reveal whether he is cured."
"Pressure, Mark. That is what will make or break him. I hope it makes him, I really do, but I am not about to turn him loose until I am sure."
"Then why are we going over this again if your mind is made up?" Sanger asked in frustration.
"Because I said so." Ironside picked up his sandwiches, balanced them on his lap and placed the glass of bourbon to the right of his leg. "I am going to watch the football game."
Mark shook his head. Sometimes, he wished he could be like Ed and Eve and leave for the night.