Thanks for the new comment, Nutmeg9cat! Glad you're enjoying it.

In this chapter I let Fraser take over the story-telling for a while, but it still starts with me. ~Ray K.

Chapter Twelve: Call Paul

We had a new case to work on Thursday morning, and it was the kind that resembled an older, unsolved crime. So, I was going through cold case notes in an attempt to find something that would help us in the new investigation. Some cops really find that kind of thing interesting, but to me it's usually pretty boring. I was glad when Fraser came in at lunchtime.

"Coming with us, Ray?" Ray asked me as he was getting ready to go get lunch with Fraser.

"No, I don't think so today," I said, trying to sound natural. "I've still got a lot to go through here, so I think I'll just get a sandwich and work through lunch."

I think he thought that was a little weird, but not enough to ask questions. All he said was, "Well, don't work too hard."

I nodded and waved them off.

Francesca had guessed what I was up to. She brought a cappuccino over to me and said, "He's gonna expect you to have made some progress when he gets back. You want me to work on that cold case stuff while you're on the phone?"

I smiled at her. "I'd really appreciate it. Here, I've got this up on my computer already; you sit here and I'll call from your work station."

"Okay."

We quickly swapped places and I got out my address book to make the call.

After a couple of rings, a female voice said, "Thank you for calling Vecchio fine apparel. My name is Alyssa. How may I help you?"

"I'd like to speak to Paul Vecchio, please."

"Mister Vecchio is quite busy, but I can take a message for you."

"It's important," I said. "It's about his brother, Ray."

"One moment, please."

I heard some annoying jazz music. I leaned back in my chair, letting the phone hang down away from my mouth.

I caught Franny's eye. She raised her eyebrows at me like, "Well?"

"Hold," I said.

"Hm."

It was definitely more than "one moment" before I heard a man's voice on the line.

"Paul Vecchio speaking."

Other than being a tiny bit higher pitched, it sounded a lot like Ray's voice. "Hello, Paul," I said.

Franny looked up at me and I winked at her.

"I work with your brother. I'm Detective Kowalski."

"Yes?"

I realized that I was probably worrying him with some idea that something had happened to his brother. After all, that was what happened the last time his family contacted him. I tried to explain myself quickly. "I've gotten to know your family pretty well, and they've told me it's been a long time since you've been to Chicago. Years."

There was a little pause before he said, "Yes... it has been a while. What is this about?"

"Your brother's birthday in September. I thought it would be a nice surprise if you came out for it. We'd throw him a party and you could have the chance to catch up."

"September... just how much time do you need to plan this party?"

"We just wanted to give you plenty of notice because of how busy you are."

"I see... Yes, I am very busy. I'm rarely able to get away from the business for more than a day at a time. It's not very practical..."

"Please think about it. I think it would mean the world to your family." I had a weird feeling as I was talking to him, as if this were my long-lost brother I was trying to persuade to come home.

"September..." I heard paper rustling. "What day is it again?"

"The twenty-first." He didn't have his brother's birthday memorized. Weird.

"Hm. I might be able to work something out. What number can I reach you at?"

I gave him my mobile number, knowing that other detectives might answer the phone at my desk if I wasn't there, and that I sometimes forgot to check my answering machine at home. "Please call me back, even if you can't come," I said. "I'll need to know whether or not we can count on you."

"...All right. I'll try to let you know."

"Thanks. I won't take up any more of your time." He said something in answer and I hung up.

"So," said Franny, "I'm guessing he didn't say he'd come."

"He didn't say no," I said, getting up and walking over to her.

"Hm. He didn't say no to ma's Christmas plans two years ago, either, but did he come?" she shook her head.

"Guess I should pester him if he doesn't get back to me, huh?"

"Yeah, I'd say if you haven't heard back from him by the end of June, try him again."

"'Kay, I will. You find anything here?" I gestured to the computer screen.

"I don't think so. They didn't have a more detailed description of the murder weapon. Just said it was probably some sort of serrated knife. The fingerprints they found were either eliminated or unidentified. They don't match any in our case."

I nodded. "Thanks. You've come a long way in dealing with this stuff," I told her. "I know I give you a hard time, but you're really doing well."

I was surprised when she looked a little flustered, tucking her hair behind one ear. "Oh... well, it would be kind of sad if I hadn't started to pick it up by now," she said. Then she scurried off.

I told myself it was too much to hope that it was nervousness caused by attraction. I just caught her off guard. Still, I had to give myself credit for managing to compliment her without accidentally turning it into a dig.

Fraser and I found him some sheets and a mattress at the discount store that evening. A guy from the store helped me tie the mattress to the roof of my car and we drove back to the apartment with it.

"You're gonna sleep good tonight, Fraser," I said as we dropped the mattress on the bed frame. It had been tiring carrying the thing up two flights of stairs.

"Well, Ray."

"Well, what?"

"I'll sleep well."

"That's what I said."

"You said 'good.'"

"It means the same thing."

"That's a common misconception. The difference..."

"Fraser. You knew what I meant, so just let it go, huh?"

"Very well."

"Very good." I smirked at his slightly bewildered expression.

He opened the new sheets and we spread them out together. I pretended to be interested while he went on some discourse about boxing in corners and bouncing quarters to see that the bed had been made properly. Which he actually demonstrated.

"Impressive," I said dryly.

"It's really not difficult, once you know how."

As he often did, he had missed the sarcasm. It was a little sad, but endearing. "Well, it looks a little less empty in here now," I said. "Your couch and chair get here Saturday, right? I'll keep an eye out for a dresser for you."

"I thought I might look for one when I've completed my duties tomorrow. If you don't need my help, that is."

"We haven't had any big breaks in the case yet, so that'll probably work out fine."

"Were you able to speak to Paul Vecchio today?"

"Oh, yeah. He... he said he might be able to come. Didn't sound super interested, though. It kind of bugs me."

"Well, it isn't our place to pry."

"I guess not." But I felt like it was my place. I was almost part of the Vecchio family. I felt like it was me he'd been ignoring for years. If he had visited while Ray was undercover, would he even have noticed that someone had replaced his brother?

"Care to help me finish that ice cream?"

I smiled and shook my head. "No thanks. Do yourself a favor and get some groceries in here while you're out tomorrow, okay?"

"I intend to."

"Good." I gave Dief a pat on my way to the door.

The wolf sniffed my hand eagerly and then looked sullen.

"Sorry, I got nothin' for ya," I told him.

"There's no need to apologize," Fraser said with a hint of displeasure that I knew was directed at Dief. "He certainly doesn't need anything right now."

It's time to let Fraser take over and write a bit. He'll recap some of what has already happened from his point of view. But don't worry—I told him to be brief. ;)

When I first met Ray Kowalski, my focus was entirely self-centered. It wasn't until later that I realized how difficult a transition it must have been for him to go from being Stanly Raymond Kowalski to being Ray Vecchio. Reading over what he wrote about the experience has been another eye-opener. The tension between the two Rays, as well as that between Kowalski and Francesca, was a bit lost on me, I confess. What I did notice was, apparently, a smaller, less significant version of what was really going on. I attribute my failure to grasp the situation to inexperience in these types of interpersonal relationships.

Ray says I'm not being brief enough. I'll try to write more succinctly.

When Ray Vecchio returned from his stint undercover, I confess that I was once again rather self-centered. At first, I thought the three of us together would be nothing but positive. Then, when things became awkward in some areas, I worried more about where my loyalties should lie and what I could do to protect my favored status quo than I did about how my friends were feeling or how I could help them.

The first time we went to the Vecchio house after Ray Kowalski and I returned from the Yukon, I ended up riding with Ray Vecchio.

Ray suggests I use "RayK" and "RayV" to distinguish between the two and save some time. I'll try it.

As I was saying, in the car with RayV, it felt a bit like old times. I don't remember what we talked about first, but we soon got to talking about my misadventures with RayK in the Yukon. Apparently, RayV had heard conflicting stories about how we had gotten from the plane to the ground, how many mountains we had climbed, how many crevasses we had fallen down, etc. He seemed quite incredulous as I sussed out the true version for him.

He kept saying things like "Get outta here!" and "You're kidding me."

"You don't believe me?" I asked him.

"Naw, I believe you... but if you were anyone else, I'd never believe you. So, after all that," he said, parking the Riviera in front of his house, "how come you and Kowalski took off into the great unknown? That was so weird... I mean, I guess it's not so oddball for you, but Kowalski's a city guy, right?"

"Having a brush with death will often cause people to reconsider how they've lived their lives, Ray. In Ray Kowalski's case, he realized that his biggest regret was never having gone on a real adventure."

RayV gave me one of his strong expressions that I nevertheless had difficulty reading. "All that crazy junk you went through, and he still felt like he hadn't had an adventure? That is so stupid..."

"Well, there are adventures, and then there are... quests."

"And he decided on this old dead explorer dude?"

"I might have had some influence there," I admitted. I saw RayK pull up and park, but he didn't get out of his car right away. "I told him the story of Franklin one night... I wasn't even sure he had heard it because by the time I was done, he had fallen asleep..."

"Oh, gee, that's so surprising, Benny. It sounds like such a fascinating story."

I was fairly sure he was being insincere in his comments, but I chose to ignore that. "When all was said and done, we agreed to go search for him together."

"Just like that?"

"We got supplies together first and told some people where we were going..."

"Oh, sure. I'm going into the vast, uncharted North to find the grave of some guy who's been missing for over a hundred years. Don't wait up. If I'm not back in six months, send a snowmobile after me..."

"We were amply prepared." I saw RayK get Diefenbaker out of his car and go into the house with a glance in our direction. "It was Ray who eventually decided we should give up the quest. I think it disappointed him more than he lets on, but the harsh conditions were wearing on him."

"I'll bet. I hate winter camping. In America, you wait until the end of summer when the bugs aren't too bad but there's, you know, no frost on the ground in the morning, and that is when you go camping."

I knew very well that Ray hadn't been on a real camping trip in his life, unless you counted the time we were stranded in the wilderness together. "Shouldn't we go inside?" I asked.

"Eh... yeah, I guess."

We went inside and received a warm welcome from RayV's family. Dinner was the usual noisy affair typical of that household, full of joking and arguing and everything in between.

Friction arose between RayV and Francesca when he invited me to go bowling with him. Francesca seemed set on going with us, and I didn't see any reason why she shouldn't, but then RayV took me aside to explain his reasoning away from the ears of the impressionable children.

"Fraser, how many Chicago bowling alleys have you been to?"

I thought back over my years spent in the city. "One, I believe."

"Uh-huh, and did you have a pretty girl with you at the time?"

"No."

"So, you wouldn't have observed this, but guys in places like that tend to be really... how should I say this? Real scumbags when it comes to pretty young things like my sister. We wouldn't want to expose her to a crowd like that, right?"

I shook my head. "No."

"Right. So, we understand each other?"

"Yes."

"Good." He led the way back to the dining room.

I was preoccupied after that, trying to understand why bowling alleys in particular should become so corrupt, and whether there might be anything I could do about it. Francesca seemed very disappointed not to be welcome to come with us.

My thoughts were interrupted by the proposal of a toast by Mrs. Vecchio. "Safe work and good health for our boys."

I raised my glass with the others as RayV complained about being referred to as a boy. I always admired how Mrs. Vecchio cherished her children and grandchildren. I smiled at my companion as his wine glass touched my water glass, and then I made sure to connect with Francesca's as well.

I noticed that RayV seemed to freeze after the toast, and saw that he was looking down the table at his mother, who had affectionately taken RayK's wrist. I looked back at RayV.

"He's really part of the family, huh?" RayV said, looking back down at his plate.

"He seems to be. I'm sure that it wasn't at all like having you here, but it was like having another family member. Maybe a long-lost relative."

"Hm."

"They're all fond of him."

He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Sounds like he made a better Ray Vecchio than I do."

"Oh, Ray. Your family is all very fond of you, too. You must know that."

"Sure. But he got integrated in a real short time. I was born into this."

I frowned. "Are you jealous, Ray?"

"What? No. Don't be silly."

Francesca had probably heard some of our conversation, but she didn't comment on it. I had observed that she usually showed her affection for her brother in subtle, understated ways.

We'll have more for you soon. Got anything for us? ~Ray K. and B. Fraser