CHAPTER TWO
Teodor's Garage was closed on Wednesdays. The owner had allotted this day for the past four years to spend the day with his wife. Parts from the insides of two cars and a bike were placed neatly in a system that made sense only to the mechanic who put them there. White sneakers walked across the concrete sea stained with ripples of grease and oil. The office door opposite the garage opening was cracked open. Tootie knew Jo was there long before she heard the snoring. So it didn't surprise her to see her friend spread across a plaid couch. She looked to be the same clothes she may have worn the day before.
A stream of slob made a hot dog shaped puddle. Leaning against the wooden frame her mouth warred with disgust and humor at the thick drool. She'd made it a point to bother Jo on her off days when she couldn't use work as an excuse to ignore her friends. It was on a similar occasion of intrusion, at Jo's apartment, she discovered Jo was on leave without pay from the force. Long story short as Jo's partner had offered, the guy bumped into the wall too many times in Jo's care for the higher ups to ignore the concussion he sustained. Jo swore her to secrecy when she found out.
Tootie had taken a concerned interest in her ever since she heard about Jo's suspension. Natalie and Blair were oblivious because for once in her life Tootie had kept a secret. The department was tight lipped about the whole incident, which only made her worry. Jo wasn't offering an explanation even after three months.
The brunette used the time off to work at a family friend's garage. She knew her uncle Sal wouldn't mind the help. Teodor or his employees wouldn't ask her questions she didn't want to answer. That seemed to be the best incentive to work for the older mechanic. Glimpses of Jo before Eastland bothered the actress. Groans coming from the mechanic's direction pulled Tootie back to the present. In mid groan Jo stretched out of her sleep. Her head rolled to the left with her eyes barely open until she was startled surprise noticing her visitor. She jerked from the couch losing her balance to fall with a thud. She groaned and Tootie replied with a giggle.
"Where'd you come from?" Jo glared.
"The front door," she thumbed in the direction she came.
"Breaking and entering Tootie," the words came out as more of a whine than intended.
The actress jingled keys.
"Why?" Jo groaned from the floor. Jo had made a copy that only Tootie and she knew about. The keys were permission to intrude in Jo's life. Despite how annoying the younger woman could be, she liked the reminder that she was cared about.
The dark skinned woman leaned over her, "I called you all week."
"I thought you would take the hint when I ignored you all week."
"You don't have to go out of your way for me to know you're a jerk," Tootie countered.
Jo glared up at her youngest friend. Lifting herself up from the floor she rested her bottom back on the couch.
"O yea…" Tootie looked past Jo's sarcasm. She took it for what it was, Jo being Jo.
"I've got this reshoot for my show this afternoon. You're coming with." Jo had leaned back into the couch yawning. "It's good for you to interact with things that don't just go vroom vroom you know."
"Sometimes we mix it up around here with beep beep," she defended through her yawn.
Jo could have remained obstinate until Tootie gave up. J o knew from experience the woman wouldn't be thwarted that easily. Sighing into her hands she stood to stretch. Jo headed in the back room. It served as her home away from home. Teodor, the owner, and his wife had had a rough patch some years ago and he renovated the back to a livable space. He used it for a four months until they reconciled. Teodor offered the room's history when he offered the place to Jo after finding her behind wheel of a Buick. She appreciated the gesture remembering the way her body ached after that night. She had trouble with the pull out bed so she always ended just sleeping on the couch.
The older woman washed herself off. She sniffed the clothes she wore to make sure there wasn't an odor. The Laundromat was on her list of places to visit, fortunately the clothes she picked out today were decent enough to be seen out in public with.
A glimmer of curiosity in Tootie's eyes greeted her when she returned to the office.
"What?"
"You're not taking very good of yourself Jo."
The brunette shrugged her shoulders. Their careers didn't afford them the luxury of seeing each other as often as they use to. Other responsibilities, friends, interests took a toll on their friendship.
It was easy for the brunette to get stuck inside her own head. That was the worst place for her to be by herself. Jo knew she was tired of her own inner struggle. She didn't want anyone inside her head to see how close she was giving into the side of her Eastland had tamed.
The soap opera Dillinger's Whistle sounded like more of an old western stop shop to Jo. She sat quietly looking at the bustling set. It reminded her of the rhythmic havoc of every morning of everyday she shared one bathroom with four other women.
The show essentially centered on an apartment complex called Dillinger's Whistle. The owner was an old woman who plays matchmaker with her six tenants. Tootie played one of the victims of the owners meddling, a clothing store clerk slash night student. This episode was where she's conned into a date with the owner's nephew, who is allergic to everything.
Jo, never one to fall head over hills for some of the trash on television, admitted the antics were amusing to watch. The story lines were over the top, but it was a popular comedy that one of her best friends starred in. That was enough for her to find time to watch it. Tootie sauntered over to Jo ignoring the call of sweets the mechanic lounged beside.
"You staking out the food table Jo?"
A brow quirked at the younger woman and then the table, followed by a lackadaisical shrug, "that sandwich over there has been giving me a look." Jo's reply may have been noncommittal but the sandwich wouldn't stand a chance against the Polniaczek appetite.
"How's my favorite costar?" a short man with sandy blonde hair came up Tootie plucking a grape in his mouth.
"Hmm tired, but ready to be sneezed on," she quipped.
His eyes immediately went to the actor practicing different sneezes. Jo followed his gaze and cringed.
"What are you doing later a bunch of us are going for lunch," he queried.
"I already have plans with this one," she pointed to Jo.
He followed her gaze smiling politely. He had seen her with Dorothy before. The actress made friends with everyone Jo looked like a light tech. It wasn't strange to see them sitting down on the job.
"Why don't you two join us then the more the merrier," he added belatedly.
Jo looked at the way he eyed Tootie. From the moment the guy sidled up to her best friend she saw a change. "No thanks," she said permitting little room to be persuaded otherwise.
"Uh… ok," he nodded towards the two of them before he left with an uncertain smile.
Tootie watched him walk away before chuckling at her friend. Jo shrugged smiling in answer.
"Miss Ramsey, you're on in five," Tootie nodded to the intern with the brown clipboard.
"You and me dinner after this?" the actress queried.
"Just keep the bad friend barbs to a minimum and I might think about letting you feed me." The younger woman grasped her friend's arm reassuringly before she left with the intern wearing the headset.
The set was called silent as the scene started with a sneezing man walking in behind the actress playing the owner. Jo had to hold in her laughter. Tootie's facial expressions alone made her a comedic genius; few people had that effortlessness depending on their lines to get them by.
Jo didn't mind the behind the scenes look. Tootie hardly did theatre anymore. Seeing her live was a treat she didn't realize she had missed until now. Jo had been missing a lot lately. Caught up in her own fantasy of being a hero she left relationships untended. The dedication she gave to the job seemed in vain. Her badge could only do so much when people like March hid behind their power when victims resign to silence. What good was the oath if scumbags found a loop hole?
Charles March a thirty five year old mathematician had the money to back any project he desired. He used his genius to make a lucrative company that created computer programs for children. On the surface with his donations to non profits he looked as normal as any rich guy making a buck. The crack in his perfect world was his weakness for little girls. Unofficially the case was to handled with kid gloves. The mathematician was accommodating despite the heinous charges. Everyone was willing to let it go after a week of no solid evidence. The only thing that nagged Jo was the little girl Sophia Rodriguez, the groundkeeper's daughter.
The first time Jo saw her she was playing outside in the back by the bushes. She spoke quietly to her doll as if divulging secrets. The brunette remembered smiling at the innocence until Sophia's gaze met hers. Jo's stomach dropped and she knew. Something had been taken from this little girl. Every time Jo made an excuse to visit the house when she knew Sophia would be there she became attentive to her mannerisms. Her interaction or rather lack of interaction with March was very curious. It was even more peculiar when a handful of the staff mentioned offhandedly how fond March was of her. From what she had seen however March never acknowledged the girl. Each story had an instant where the speaker held a sad look in their eyes. Their eyes telling more than words ever could.
Looks and hunches or woman's intuition would just get her laughed out of her Captain's office and it had. Cases with kids were always hard. In her division there were very few cases with kid's they had to deal with, but her department was known for keeping things quiet. Their Captain was a political monkey, who specialized in discretion. Unofficially they were to investigate and find nothing and go on with their day. It didn't sit well with Jo, but she followed the rules. Playing by the book was something that had been engrained in her early enough to tame undomesticated proclivities.
She pushed her thoughts to focus on the present. It was a conscious effort to separate the two whenever she hung out with friends outside her brothers in blue. The occasions where she had hung out with her friends had become too far and between. Tootie was more hands-on, which usually ended with Jo being kidnapped like today. She was grateful to feel like the old Jo at least for a few hours. Natalie had become a workaholic desperately hanging onto the dream of becoming a world famous journalist. Blair was just as dedicated and a lot more complicated to be around.
Most of her morning and the beginning of her afternoon having been claimed by her talented friend, Jo made promises she wouldn't keep to stay in touch. Tootie just took the promises in stride already plotting to kidnap Jo as her plus one for a party being hosted by the Warner's. Of course by the time Jo found out there would be no time to recover without purposefully hurting Tootie's feelings. Despite Jo's change of behavior, there were some things that didn't change, and Tootie had more than enough faith in the taming powers of the Warner heiress.