A/N - I know it's been a couple of months since I posted, which is a little unusual for me, but RL did take over in spades!

Summer of Freedom

Chapter 7

Ed and Mike returned to their car, leaving Steve at the Shiva.

Ed was somewhat relieved that there was at least a thread of logic behind Steve's abrupt departure from the hospital. Respecting the Jewish faith, Ed also knew that Ruth's burial was, by tradition, not allowed to be a prolonged affair, and therefore, the Shiva was in full swing early on. He considered Steve a smart young man, but knew there were certain times when the homicide detective could act more with his heart than his head.

Looking over to Stone, Ed realized that behind the gruff exterior, Mike had been deeply worried about his partner and wanted nothing more than to keep him out of harm's way. It would be very similar if he or Fran found themselves in a tight spot and the Chief would then play the role of the concerned boss. Indeed, Ironside came to Mark's side after shooting and would have given the shirt off his back to help the young man.

"Dispatch, put me through to Detective Lee Lessing," Mike ordered as his booming voice shook Ed back to reality. "Yes, I'll wait."

Minutes later they were well on the road. Suddenly, Lee's voice carried through the radio. "Lessing here."

"Lee, it's Stone. What did you find out about Harper Dean?"

"Harper Dean was released from the Mississippi State Penitentiary 25 days ago. He checked in with his parole officer in Jackson, but hasn't been seen since their meeting on the 21st."

"The 21st? That was only two weeks ago. The guy doesn't waste time. Any reason to believe that he is in the Bay area?"

Lee answered, "Well, there's been an APB on him in Mississippi and they haven't found a trace. Authorities have also tried to locate his brother, Billy Ray. They believe that Harper was staying with his brother. Billy Ray had a job working on a construction site. The foreman hasn't seen hide nor hair of him for about that time. I had the local police check addresses for both Billy Ray and Harper, but they found nothing."

"Good to know, Lee. I think Steve must be right about this Harper Dean. All right, I want to see an APB go out for both Harper Dean and Billy Ray Dean. Check the rental car agencies and the hotels, especially the cheap ones. Have the men flash their pictures to every hotel registration desk in the city."

"On it, Mike," Lee responded.

Mark Sanger hung up the phone that was placed on the hospital bed table and thought quietly. "Joe's funeral is tomorrow. I have to get out of here soon. Corbie needs me."

"Was that Corbie on the phone, Mark?" Officer Fran Belding asked sweetly as she leaned forward in her chair that was next to Mark's bed.

"Yes, she's holding her own, but I can tell this has devastated her."

The petite brunette thought for a moment. "Of course, it has. I can only imagine what it must be like to lose your husband – the love of your life – and then be tasked to raise your child alone. Poor thing."

Anger welled again within Mark as he too thought about the young widow's circumstance. "After all that she's been through."

"What happened?"

Mark shook his head, but then began, "Years ago, she was brutally attacked outside of her apartment building. It was awful. So, she and Joe decided to move. Where they went wasn't the greatest neighborhood, but it was better than what they had."

"And then what?"

"Crime in their new neighborhood picked up. Joe was furious, so he started to hang with dudes who wanted peace and justice. They would do just about anything to get it, if you know what I mean. He almost got into trouble over that, but fortunately Stone and Keller were there to help out. Joe decided that vigilante justice wasn't the way to go, so he started working with 'the man'. But that wasn't until after Corbie was kidnapped and threatened. I wondered then just how much she could take."

Fran sighed. "She's in my prayers."

A look of frustration fell over Mark's face. "Maybe Keller had the right idea. He split and did what he needed to do. He took care of business. "

"Now don't you get any foolish ideas, Mark," Fran warned.

The young attorney let out a slight chuckle. "Who am I kidding? The minute I get up, I'm going to fall right over unless I get a cane or a crutch," Mark looked purposely forlorn at his friend and then gave her a sheepish grin. "C'mon, Frannie, what do you say? Go see if you can find me a crutch or something."

"Your brain needs a crutch," Fran looked rather dubiously at her friend. "Tell you what. Let me see what I can do – perhaps we can get the doc to spring you from this joint."

"Come on, Harper. Enough is enough," Billy Ray proclaimed as he handed his brother one of the burgers he purchased through the new drive-thru. "Let's go back home to Mississippi. We already got Joplin and the Professor."

"Two out of three is not what I was going for here, Billy Ray. I want that kid, too. Between those three, they ruined my life. My wife left me and I have no contact with our kids. It wasn't fair!"

"But surely someone will figure out that Joplin and the Professor knew each other. It will be just a matter of time before they make a connection."

"Maybe, maybe not. The only one who could probably say anything is that kid. You know, Billy Ray, I think our best chance of getting the kid is the day of Joplin's funeral. We play our cards right and those that sent me up will get their day of reckoning. The kid is the last one."

"He ain't a kid no more, Harper. He's a cop and his buddies will be all over watching him. They stick together."

"They ain't gonna watch him all the time and they ain't gonna watch him forever."

"What are you gettin' at?"

"I figure the little pig is going to go to Joplin's funeral. After the burial, we'll follow him until he's settled in for the evening. We'll give it some time, break in and cut him while he sleeps."

"Cut? With what?"

"This baby," Harper answered as he pulled out a Bowie knife. "They're going to be expecting some sort of shooting, but it's not going to happen. This will be nice and quiet. We'll be long gone before anyone suspects a thing."