"Hank!"

"Yes, Sir?"

"Try to squeeze into this void, just for a few seconds... maybe you can reach out..." Again he didn't get to finish his sentence.

Hank did his best, frustrated, cursing his belly. He couldn't see a thing. "Chief Brown!" he shouted and reached out his arm. He felt resistance. He grabbed what he could feel and pulled his half-unconscious boss out of the gap, through the burning building and out of the door.

Faster than ever Ironside turned his wheelchair around and left with them, not a second too early: The rest of the roof collapsed.

"Ed, can you hear me?"

Out in the fresh air Brown's condition improved instantly. When he saw his frightened son he gathered all his strength and stood upright. "I'm fine, don't worry," he said, forcing himself to sound calm, and laying his soot-blackened arm around the shaking boy's shoulders.

A coughing spell proved him a liar, but Ironside and Hank respired. His jacket and shirt were in shreds and his chest and back were scratched, but all this didn't count.

The sirens of a fire truck approached. In short words Ironside explained them the situation. There was no use in saving the building, but the neighborhood would have to be protected from the fire.

On their way to headquarters Ed called Eve to tell her that he and Danny were in perfect health.

Of course he could not just go on with his work the way he looked. He didn't even want to meet his wife right now. Fortunately he always kept a clean shirt in his locker, just in case.

Ironside took his place as Chief of detectives, and nobody objected.

He wanted Hank to be checked, since he had sustained some slight burns. Eve drove him to the hospital.
Hank was considered the hero of Chief Brown's rescue, and Ironside promoted this worshipping. He didn't need to be praised, and Danny would be glad to be forgotten.

As usual Ed refused to see a doctor for having been knocked out. "It's happened before," he said dryly, and that an Aspirin would do.
He was the Chief now and could get away with everything... which was fine with Ironside, since he didn't want to alarm Eve.

Ironside instructed Jerry, who volunteered to work overtime, to start the search after a concealer. There had to be an adult behind the gang, not only because the youngsters could not sell their prey themselves, but also because Ed had most probably not been knocked out by a kid. Maybe there was a connection to the owner of the empty factory or to the wrecking company.

After Ed had cleaned up a bit and the boy had been given some orange juice – he rejected the doughnut – Ironside, Ed and Danny gathered together in Chief Brown's office.

"Danny, you've got to tell us the names of the kids who do all this havoc!" urged Ironside.

Ed signed him to stay calm, and Ironside nodded. This time Ed would have to do the questioning. He knew best how to get his son to talk.

Danny only knew the first names of two boys who had been at the children's home with him. He could not describe the others.

"It's called face blindness. It's typical for people with an autistic disorder," explained Ed.

"Tell me, Danny, why did you go with them?"

He knew that the boy would not lie to him. Aspies didn't lie.

"I can't tell," answered Danny, breaking out in tears. He buried his head in his father's clean shirt.

For quite some time Ed just held him without rushing him.

When Danny had calmed down he asked him: "Did they tell you not to fink?"

"That too." He swallowed. Then he said in a very small voice: "They threatened to burn me."

Ed was totally shaken. They had tortured Danny with his worst nightmare. How could children be so mean?!

Probably because they had been treated the same way by others...

Ironside kept his cool. "This could clear you in the eyes of the law, Danny. No judge would convict you under the circumstances. The only problem is that they will deny it. And there's hardly any prove for it."

Ed nodded his head in exasperation, then he hesitated.
"Wait – maybe there is." Thinking about it made him almost sick. "They did more than just threatening you, didn't they, Danny?"

Trembling the child nodded.

"What in blazes are you talking about?" Ironside wanted to ask, but he didn't.

Ed would explain him everything as soon as possible.

As if he wanted to distract the boy he asked: "What exactly did you do?"

"I cracked the locks. Locks are patterns too, you know. But the night you were out I just went with them because I was afraid. They didn't even need me."

Ironside knew well why they had fetched him: To have a scapegoat.

When Danny went to the bathroom Ironside threw Ed a challenging look.

The younger man sighed. "When Danny came to us he couldn't wash his hair at first. He accepted that I did it for him. I noticed some small scars in places you normally don't see, like in his armpits and on the inside of his legs. I wondered what might have caused them. Now I think I know: These are cigarette burns. Maybe Danny will be able to talk about them in private."
He shook his head. "I feel so incredibly bad for him."

Ironside remained pragmatic. "If this was the case, then he is off the hook."

Ed nodded. Thoughtfully shaking his head he added: "How unhappy must a kid be to inflict this kind of pain to another?"

"And how long will you excuse them? Until they rape or kill someone?! You are a policeman, not a flaming psychiatrist!"

In spite of his chagrin Ed had to smile. "Not all psychiatrists deserve to be called 'flaming', I suppose. But I agree with you. One day everyone has to take the responsibility for their life, no matter how bad their childhood was. Maybe I'm just too lenient because I see how close to the abyss Danny was and what a long way he still has to go."

"I have to give you credit: Sometimes it is difficult for onlookers to decide about which is that day in one's life."

Meanwhile Jerry and his men had not only found some watches and other probably stolen goods in the smoking wreckage of the factory, but also several leads towards some possible culprits in the background: there was more than met the eye. There seemed to be a ring of criminals which was behind procuring, thefts and dealing in stolen goods. They used the youth gang as their henchmen. There was a connection to the former Chief McManus. Ed had stood in their way. To them, Danny must have seemed like a very convenient banana skin to disgrace the new, straight Chief of Detectives.

While Ed was absorbed in the investigation – forgetting lunch as usual – Ironside had the chance to settle back. Ed would handle things from now on, and he would do just fine.

He did some reasoning about Danny's thinking in patterns. His 'eclipse' didn't really explain every single felony the youth gang had been involved in. Some had taken place within the eclipse, a few others outside his imaginary line. Maybe the home children had not been involved in these, or for some reason they had gone further away these times.

The pattern didn't explain everything – nevertheless it had worked.

And doubtlessly this thinking helped the autistic boy to better understand a world which seemed chaotic to him and frightened him to no end.

Ironside had to think of his paradise at home in Sonoma. He was sure that all these small accidents and incidents – together with the threatening letter to his address – were no hazards.

Like a few hours earlier he squinted his eyes – just in his mind this time – and looked for a pattern. And he saw one – if he didn't include the deceased dog.

All but that incident had concerned neighbors of Benjamin Redstone's, the stock broker's. Did he want to scare off the people to make them sell their property? That way he could expand his. It really looked that way!
But what about Ellen Crawford's poor little dog? Her place was too far away from Redstone's to be considered as a possible add-on. Maybe this had been nothing but an accident after all. Accidents happened, sadly enough. The world didn't consist of patterns only. Maybe this was part of Danny's problem. He would have to learn to live with many things which didn't fit into a pattern.

Commissioner Fisette interrupted his thoughts. He was beaming with joy and friendliness – or at least he tried to look that way. Maybe he was a little embarrassed again, because he knew well that he had it pretty cushy while others did all the work...

"Mr. Ironside, I'm deeply indepted to you. You have worked miracles again. You not only saved our Chief Brown's life, but you also helped solve a complicated case. What would we have done without you? I don't know how to thank you."

"Commissioner, you could thank me by appointing a new Deputy Chief. Chief Bell had Ed and McManus as deputies. Ed Brown has to do the work of all three, working almost night and day. He needs at least one deputy!"

He didn't leave Fisette much of a choice.

From now on, Eve and Danny would – hopefully – see a little more of their husband and dad.

When Eve came back with proud, practically unscathed hero Hank Riley, Ironside went home with her and Danny.

Ed followed late in the evening, with a pounding headache, but relieved. The case was as good as solved. The remaining routine work would be done by subordinate officers.

Ironside thought that this was the life he had led himself for so many decades, and the life Ed was born for as well – and what he had trained him for himself: an intense, fulfilled life dedicated to people who needed him; a life dedicated to making the world a better place.

Yet he couldn't help teasing his old friend a little:

"Ed, you won't play basketball with the youngsters who almost killed you, will you?"

Brown uttered a short laugh which didn't sound very happy.
"My son needed a lot of courage today. I suppose we will both have to overcome our share of fears in the near future."

Part 3: Epilogue

Dear Eve

Robert told the Sonoma police about his suspicion. Now that they knew what to look for they found enough evidence against Benjamin Redstone to get him convicted. For instance he had poisoned Bruce Lambert's grapes that morning I had met him so early. When Robert confronted him with it he finally confessed to it.

Our paradise is restored – with the downside that the police know about my husband now! What will happen next time they can't solve a case on their own? Right now Robert feels as snug as a bug in a rug in his vineyard, but with him you can never be really sure...

Dear Katherine

To say thank you to Hank Riley we invited him for a little celebration, together with Suzanne and Jerry Abbey.

When Hank saw his burly frame beside my husband's in the mirror of the hallway, he turned red. It was a funny sight indeed. "Now I really have to lose some weight," he muttered, embarrassed.

Danny, who is anything but a diplomatic person, objected: "Don't! Next time you have to safe my Dad it may be by swimming!"

Together with Danny I did the final preparations for dinner, then we stepped out of the kitchen.

"Danny, will you tell our guests what we have prepared?

"No, you do!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a surprise for you. Danny would like to make his father proud."

Danny disappeared but quickly came back, a huge candle in one hand and a very long candle lighter in the other. He put the candle onto the festively set table and smiled timidly at his father.

Ed tried to look stoic, but I knew him well enough to sense that he was a least as nervous as a few days ago when his life had been in danger.

Danny became entirely focused on his task at hand. He pressed the button of the lighter – and then he lit the candle.

Author's note

Thank you, dear readers and reviewers, for your continued support!

Thank you, dear Lemonpig, for correcting... and people will notice that chapter 7 isn't yet reviewed by you ;-)

A special thanks goes to my model for "Danny", my talented, smart, beloved, wonderful, autistic son J.!