NOTE FROM AUTHOR: I wish I could say I was just testing readers to see if they were paying attention, but ... this is the actual missing Chapter 17B, which should be read after Chapter 16 (scene with Fraser and David on beach) and Chapter 17 (Fraser and Thatcher in Consulate.) I am doubly apologetic for the confusion and disrupting the flow!
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN B
"I'm sorry, kid," Ray said, with genuine feeling.
"You're sure it's them?" Dave asked, his voice cracking. "Shouldn't I identify the b-bodies or something?"
He shook his head. "The M.E. made a positive ID."
"I don't understand!," he cried, looking back and forth between the two men across the table. "Why? Why kill Al and Brian?"
Ray and Fraser exchanged glances. In the car heading back to the station, Fraser had filled Ray in on the events on the beach, while Dave sat silently in the back with Dief. Ray had waited until they were seated in Interview Room 1 before telling his part of the story. The news of his friends' deaths was proving difficult for Dave to absorb. Ray doubted he realized how close he had come to joining them.
Fraser chose his words carefully. He and Ray had not yet had the chance to discuss the rapidly developing situation in private. "We don't know for sure," he began, slowly. Ray nodded, indicating he should continue. "However, logically, the common denominator is the maple syrup."
"Who kills somebody over maple syrup?" he asked, angrily.
He said gently, "Al and Brian nearly killed Dief and me for that very reason."
"That wasn't about the syrup! It was about not getting caught!" Dave retorted, then had the grace to look abashed at his words.
"Perhaps, it's the same for Vinnie and Joey," Fraser said, "or rather, their employers."
"Or maybe they were killed as an example for others," Ray added.
"Huh?"
"In this city, there are some people you never, ever steal from. Not even a dime," he said, then added, "The price is too high. And, they make damn sure everybody knows what that price is."
Dave gaped at him. "Y-you're talking about the M-mob."
"I'm talking about the Mob," he confirmed.
"But, it was only maple syrup!" Dave wailed. He wiped his nose on his sleeve.
"You said it yourself, Dave," Fraser began, handing his handkerchief to the boy. "Brian told Al the barrels contained whiskey. They were both surprised that they didn't." He steepled his fingers. "I believe Brian mistook barrels of contraband maple syrup for contraband whiskey, which would indicate that both were stored at the same location. Perhaps, with other commodities, equally ill-gotten." He frowned. "The loss was noticed at some point. And the back-alley disposal of the syrup came to someone's attention."
Dave was horrified as the implications sunk in. "B-but ... I helped them dispose of the maple syrup!" He swallowed hard, and looked at Fraser. "Vinnie and Joey weren't gunning for you at the beach! The Mob is after me!"
"Yes."
"Omigod!" The panic in his voice was escalating. "What am I gonna do?!"
Fraser reached over and gripped his arm tightly. "You are in police custody, Dave. No harm will come to you." He raised his eyebrows at Ray.
"Yeah," he said, unconvincingly. "You'll be fine."
Dave stared into Fraser's eyes. He held his gaze for a long moment, then released his arm. The boy nodded and took a deep breath.
"Fraser, can I see you outside?"
"Sure, Ray." He followed Ray out of Interview 1 and into the adjoining room. It had a one-way mirror which gave a view of the room they had just left.
"I don't know, Benny," he said, worriedly. "I doubt the Lieutenant will authorize protective custody. This is like the Joey Paducci situation."
"I know."
They watched through the one-way glass as Dave buried his face in his hands. His shoulders shook, but, with the mic off, there was no sound. Diefenbaker stood on his hind legs and poked his nose between his fingers. The boy wrapped his arms around the wolf and buried his face in his fur.
They turned away to give Dave his privacy. There was a knock on the door. Elaine poked her head in. She saw they were alone and entered. Her arms were full of what looked like laundry.
"The Lieutenant wants to see you, Ray." She sniffed and made a face. "We took up a collection." She handed the bundle to Fraser.
Fraser looked a question at her.
"The sweatpants are Huey's, T-shirt and socks are from Guardino, and the cardigan is the Lieutenant's. The soap and towel are mine."
Embarrassed and flustered, Fraser looked to Ray for rescue.
"Hey, don't look at me," he said, raising his hands defensively, "I didn't rush back here with all the windows open just for fun!"
Fraser sniffed himself. Apparently, close proximity with the port-o-let and the ground around it had left an impression, although he couldn't detect it. His olfactory sense seemed to have adjusted. Perhaps, in self-defense. "Is it that bad?"
They rolled their eyes. "Hit the showers, kid," she said.
He glanced at the one-way glass.
"I'll keep an eye on him," she promised.
"Thank you, kindly." He exited the room, holding the bundle stiffly away from his body. Ray followed at a discreet distance. They split up, with Fraser heading downstairs to the locker room and Ray to the Lieu's office.
When Fraser returned to the squad room, redolent of lilac and lavender, he saw Ray, Guardino and Huey closeted in the Lieutenant's office with the door closed. The discussion seemed ... animated. He ducked into the canteen and returned, carrying hot tea, cold Coke, two sandwiches and a stale donut. He entered Interview 1. Dave sat at the scarred table, his head resting on his arms. Dief was next to him, his chin on the boy's leg. At Fraser's approach, Dave looked up with red-rimmed eyes.
Fraser set the drinks down, and moved the Coke in front of Dave. "I'm afraid there wasn't much left. Hugo won't restock until tomorrow." He placed the wrapped sandwiches on the table. "Tuna or liverwurst?"
He wiped his nose on his sleeve. "Thanks, but I'm not hungry."
Dief whined.
To his surprise, Fraser handed him the donut. "Just this once, mister," he said, sternly, but rubbed the wolf's head with affection. He dipped his teabag up and down in the cup, then said, conversationally, "You know, David, the Inuit believe that they have a sacred covenant with the seal. A compact, if you will, between hunter and animal." He turned a palm up. "On one hand, the seal is willing to die to nourish the hunter and his family. Through that sacrifice, the seal literally becomes a part of them. A part of the people." He turned the other palm up. "In return, the Inuit must honor that sacrifice, or the seal will be offended. If that were to happen, the seal will refuse to reproduce. Thus, leaving the Inuit to starve." He removed the teabag from his cup and tossed it in the trash.
Dave looked at him, uncertain if he was expected to respond. He grabbed the Coke and took a gulp.
Fraser went on, "In this belief system, the liver, not the heart, is considered the location of the soul. So, when a hunter kills a seal, the liver is the part of the animal that is most prized. It is reserved for the hunter first, before the other meat is shared with the group, to renew his strength, to warm his body, to restore his soul."
There was a silence while he drank his tea. To fill it, Dave said, "What's an In-oo-ot?"
"The name the Native peoples of the North call themselves," he replied. "You probably know them as the 'Eskimo.'" At Dief's grumble, he lowered his voice. "But that's a derogatory term. We shouldn't use it."
"Oh."
Fraser sipped tea. "What you did today was very brave." As Dave looked away in embarrassment, he added, "Foolhardy, but brave." He took another sip. "You saved my life. And, I'm grateful."
"Well, um ... you saved mine first, I guess." Dave reached for the liverwurst sandwich. It was gone in minutes. He was a grieving, frightened teenage boy, but he was still a teenage boy.
Fraser had just finished the other sandwich when Ray returned. He pulled him out of the room.
"You smell like Elaine," he commented drily, then added. "He OK?"
"For now."
"Tough kid."
"Yes," Fraser agreed, then looked expectantly at him.
"Well," he said, rubbing his jaw, "I've got good news and bad news."
Fraser waited.
"You're supposed to ask me for one of them," Ray prompted.
"One of what?"
"Good news or bad news." At Fraser's blank look, he explained, "That's the joke. You ask me what the good news is, then the punchline is when I tell you what the bad news is."
"Oh."
He waited. "So, go ahead ask me."
Fraser gave him a long-suffering look. "What's the ... uh ... bad- " he saw Ray's glower and amended, "no, uh, ... what's the good news, Ray?"
"The good news, Benny," he said, heartily, "is that the case is ours. The two murders and the attempted. Huey and Louie tried to hang on it to it, but the Lieutenant figures we got dibs by finding Dave before the hitmen did."
Fraser nodded.
He raised his eyebrows and waggled them at Fraser, looking expectant.
"What else, Ray?"
He rolled his eyes. "No, no. This is where you ask me what the bad news is, Benny."
"Oh. Sorry." Then, seeing that he was still expecting something, he continued, "Uh, what's the bad news, Ray?"
"The badnews, Benny, is ... that there's no protective custody for Dave." He grinned, waving his hands in a ta-da! gesture. "Get it?"
Fraser looked at him as if he had two heads. "That's not funny a'tall, Ray."
He frowned. "Well, no, it's not. But, that's the way the joke works."
"Ah."
Ray shook his head dispiritedly, then moved on. "I kept the maple syrup details between me and the Lieutenant, like you said. He agreed it was IJTF business. Preliminary forensics are no help. Nothing we didn't already know. The only prints on the johnny-on-the-spot were yours."
"Vinnie wore leather gloves," Fraser confirmed.
"Apparently, there was nothing usable on the inside. Too much ... debris ... smeared on the interior surface," he gave Fraser a sidewise glance. "You're not too popular with the fingerprint guys right now."
"Understood."
"Of course, the license plate on the Caddy was stolen."
"Of course."
"We got a description of the car and the perps out on the wire, but that'll get us bupkis."
"R-ight," Fraser said, uncertainly. "And it's unlikely to produce any results, either."
Ray sighed in resignation. "We're gonna have to work backwards from the maple syrup angle, aren't we?"
"I'm afraid so," he said. "But, first ..." He looked back at the interview room.
"Yeah," Ray agreed, looking that way too. "I could park him at my house. Ma's in Florida, and we have the extra room ..."
"You can't do that, Ray. You'd be putting your family at risk." Fraser rubbed an eyebrow with his thumb. "He could stay at my apartment, with Dief, but,-"
"He'd be bored out of his gourd at your place and on the streets in an hour," Ray scoffed. "We can't investigate if we have to babysit," he said, thinking out loud. "But, the poor kid can't go home."
"He doesn't have a home to go home to, Ray. Or any family." He paused, then murmured, "Family." At Ray's quizzical look, he said, "May I use your phone?" At his nod, he walked back into the detective's room.
Ray went back in the interview room. "What do you like on your pizza? My treat."
Dief yipped excitedly.
"I didn't ask you," he said, sourly.
"Pepperoni," Dave said. "Thanks."
Ray used his cell phone to call for delivery, then sat down across from the boy. "Y'know, kid. What you did today ... going back for Fraser ... that took guts."
He shrugged, embarrassed. "It was no big deal."
"Ri- ight, no big deal," Ray said, not unkindly. "Taking on a guy with a gun with a handful of rocks."
Dave was silent. After a moment, he leaned forward and said. "He told me some story about seals and the Inwit – "
"Inuit," Ray corrected automatically.
"In-u-it," he repeated. "It made me want to eat liverwurst." He paused. "I don't even like liverwurst."
Ray who didn't know what he was talking about, nevertheless, knew exactly what he was talking about. He laughed. "He has that effect on people."
Meanwhile, Fraser had returned to the squad room. As he passed Elaine's desk, he thanked her again for the use of her soap and towel. She looked his ragbag ensemble up and down for a moment and sighed. So, it wasn't just the uniform.
"I bet you'd look good in a gunny sack," she murmured.
"Pardon?"
"I said, it's time to get down to the stacks," she covered quickly, gathering a load of files in her arms. "Shift's almost over. Tick, tock. Tick, tock ..."
Fraser watched her go, then sat at Ray's desk and dialed a number. A woman's voice answered after a couple of rings.
"Helen? It's Benton Fraser."
"Benton! How nice to hear your voice. Did you find Davey?"
"Yes. Helen, –"
"Is he alright?"
He hesitated a moment too long. In retrospect, he came to the conclusion that this was where he lost control of the conversation. "Yes –"
"What's wrong?!"
"It's a long story, Helen. May I come and see you in the morn–?"
"Is Davey in trouble?"
Ray slid into the chair opposite him. He cocked his head, trying to hear both sides of the conversation.
"He's safe for now. May I come and see –"
"For now?! Where is he?"
"He's here with me. May I come –"
"Where are you?"
"Police Station. May I-"
"Which one?"
"The 27th. May –"
"I'll be there in twenty minutes!"
"Now, Helen. It's late. Morning will –"
"Benton Fraser! If you are about to tell me that I am too old to be out at this late hour, must I remind you that I have been a Coast Guard officer's wife for longer than you have been alive and I am fully trained for a rapid response at any time of day or night?"
"Yes, ma'am. I mean, no, ma'am." Fraser said, frowning as Ray laughed at him. "I didn't mean –" He took a breath. "I don't know what I mean," he muttered, realizing he was outmatched. "All right, Helen. But, I insist that I come and pick you up." He paused, borrowing a phrase from Ray. "That's non-negotiable."
"Of course, Benton," she said, sweetly. "Anything you say, dear." And hung up.
Fraser stared at the receiver in his hand a moment, before returning it to its cradle.
Ray glanced at his watch. "She wants to come now?" he said. "I thought she was a little old lady in a retirement home?"
"Ray, she runs the retirement home."
Ray stood and shouldered into his coat. "Let's not keep the lady waiting." Fraser followed. They stopped to tell Dave, who was eating pizza with Elaine, that they would be back within the hour.
She said, "I'm off shift now. I'll keep him company till you get back."
Dief whined.
"And Diefenbaker, of course," she said, petting his head. Dief looked ecstatic at her caress.
Traffic was light this time of night. They made it to Helen's apartment building in fifteen minutes. She was waiting for them, and as Fraser approached her front stoop, she met him halfway. She took his arm and steered him back to the car.
Within minutes of being introduced, Ray found himself telling Helen Barrowman that, despite joining the police force in rebellion against his overbearing father, he had come to love the job and the sense of purpose it gave him, though it wearied him to witness man's inhumanity to man, day in and day out. As he braked for a red light, Ray abruptly stopped talking. He met Fraser's eyes in the rearview mirror and mouthed "HELP ME!"
Fraser, in complete sympathy, rescued him.
"Helen, we need your assistance." He told her a heavily edited version of the events of the day, including the course of David Everett's life since she last saw him. Her eyes grew wide and her hand went to her throat. When he finished, she sat silently for several minutes. Ray pulled in to the station parking lot and shut off the engine.
"Poor Davey," she murmured. "He has had so much to deal with. Too much. And now this!" Ray reached over and patted her shoulder. She squeezed his hand and took a shaky breath. "How can I help, Benton?"
"We need to send David away. Out of the city. Until it's safe for him to return." He paused. "The Chicago Police Department does not have the resources to keep David in protective custody, indefinitely."
Ray chimed in, "A day or two at the station, tops."
"Our time - that is, Ray's and mine - must be spent in solving this crime and removing the threat to Dave. Permanently."
"If we can," Ray added.
Fraser leaned forward from the back seat. "He's a good boy, Helen. He put himself in harm's way to save my life today," he said. "Granted, he took a wrong turn. But, he has been trying to get back on the right path. With a little help, I believe he will succeed."
"If he lives that long," Ray muttered.
"Yes," he agreed, "if he lives that long." He paused. "I don't know what, if anything, you can do, Helen." He met her gaze. " But, I do know that you are the only family Dave has left."
Her eyes filled. She fumbled in her purse, then accepted a tissue from Ray. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose. After a moment, she said, "Do you have a cellular telephone that I could use, Ray? It's long distance, I'm afraid."
He blinked at her. "No problem." He reached into his pocket and handed her the device.
Ten minutes later, the three of them walked into Interview Room 1. Dief was sacked out on the floor, snoring rhythmically. Dave's head was pillowed on his arms on the table. A blanket was draped over his shoulders. Elaine was sewing the Coast Guard patch back on to the torn sleeve of his jacket, and snipped the thread as she finished. They looked up as the threesome entered the room.
"Hello, David," Helen said, quietly. "Oh, my! You're so grown up!"
He stared at her, without recognition.
In a tone of ineffable tenderness, she said, "Don't you remember me, Davey?"
He blinked, then rose, slowly. The blanket fell to the floor.
"Aunt Helen?" His voice broke. "Oh! Aunt Helen!"
She held out her arms and he rushed into them. Ray, Fraser and Elaine silently left the room. Elaine said, "If you guys don't need me anymore, I'm going home." She swiped at her eyes. "I have to call my mom." They wished her good night.
"Me, too," Ray said, excusing himself. "Be right back, Benny."
Fraser stood outside the door until Helen and Dave emerged. They met up with Ray at his desk as he hung up the phone and blew his nose. Ray, Fraser and Dief drove through the night to Aurora on the outer edge of the western suburbs where they put Helen and David on the California Zephyr bound for San Francisco. George Barrowman, Jr., commander of the Coast Guard Station in Oakland, would meet the Zephyr at its terminus.
They watched the train pull away until it disappeared from sight. The rising sun was behind them. Ray clapped Fraser on the shoulder. "Is this what it feels like to be you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Never mind, Benny," he reached into his pocket for the keys. "How about some breakfast before heading back?"
Diefenbaker woofed happily.
