Vengeance of the Freeway Phantom

Chapter 9

The morning of the funeral came all too fast--for the entire group of CHP officers. Officer Stevenson's widow, Kathy, was trying very hard to keep her emotions in check, albeit, rather unsuccessfully. The sympathetic overtones of those who wanted her to know how very sorry they were for her loss didn't help her in her fight to keep the tears at bay. No matter how hard she tried to hold them back, the tears kept coming. Even her parents who stood beside her were of no help, no matter how much they tried to console her. They were really hurting for their daughter. They knew how much she loved her husband.

Once the funeral was over, and before the procession to the cemetery was ready, a few officers came up to Kathy, just as she and her parents were preparing to leave as they wanted to share their condolences.

Because there were so many people, family, friends and fellow officers in attendance, the procession stretched quite a distance on the highway from the funeral home. There were a number of officers not in the procession who were making sure there wasn't any traffic snafus along the route.

Once everything was taken care of at the cemetery and the whole miserable thing was over with, Jon and Ponch finally got their chance to speak with their colleague's widow, they gave their condolences trying very hard themselves to keep their own emotions in check, they knew that they had to do it for her sake.

Although both Jon and Ponch had known Jim, Ponch had been closer of the two. He was the first to speak after they hugged. "Kathy, if there's anything you need, please let me know. I just want you to know I'm here to help whenever you need it, okay?"

"Thank you, Ponch, I really do appreciate it," she told him with a weak smile.

As Jon took his turn, Ponch was already thinking that his plan had to be that he wouldn't wait for her to take that first step. He wouldn't, er couldn't do that to a friend. Expecting someone in her position to have to 'ask' for help just wasn't right. He'd give her some space for a while, time to grieve and then he'd take the initiative. That way she wouldn't ever feel obligated or beholden to him for whatever help he may give her.

Jon was forced to break through his thoughts just then as it was time for them to go, so he nudged his shoulder, "Hey, Ponch, time we got back to Central."

"Oh...y-yeah, sure," Ponch stammered.

When both officers returned to Central, Bonnie met them in the hallway. "Hi, guys!" she greeted and then added, "Uh, Joe would like to see both of you in his office. Right now, if you could."

"Okay Bonnie thanks," Jon told her.

Sergeant Getraer had also been at the funeral. He'd watched the faces of his younger officers. He knew how this whole Phantom thing was wreaking havoc with everyone. But with the death of Stevenson, emotions were running quite high. Joe knew it was hard enough just to attend the funeral along with having to keep those emotions in check, but to actually be in the procession, an actual part of the funeral more than likely really brought home the finality of it all. He felt a real need--and the captain had felt the same way--that he should talk to both Jon and Frank. Maybe see if they felt a need for talking to a grief counselor. It seemed that since the Phantom raised his ugly head, everyone became affected by the situation in one way or another.

As the two summoned officers entered Getraer's office, Ponch asked, "Joe, Bonnie said you wanted to see us?"

"Oh yeah, c'mon in, Frank...Jon. Umm, I just need to know if you two are dealing with the Stevenson situation all right. Or...or do you think you may want to talk to someone about it?" 'That's right, Joe, cut right to the chase.'

"No, I'm fine," Jon softly answered.

Ponch on the other hand came out a little more direct, "I'll deal with it after we get the creep that's doing this to us."

Joe didn't miss the anger in his voice or the fire in his dark eyes. "Frank, I know you and Jim were pretty good friends and we all know the way he died really stinks, but we have to keep our heads together on this okay? If we can't keep our judgment clear or our emotions in check at all times, we're no good to anyone out there. Look, if either of you or both of you think you need to talk to someone, do it okay. I don't want to lose any more officers to this creep because they're not focusing on what is going on around them."

Jon stood there quietly thinking over what his sergeant had just said. But it was Ponch who responded as both officers turned to leave, "Talking won't bring Jim back, Joe." And with that they left Getraer's office.

Joe had known right from the beginning that it would be a real battle to get these two to agree to the grief counseling aspect. He could have made it an order, but he felt that this wasn't something anyone should be forced to do. If their work were affected, then it would be a whole different story. They'd have no choice in the matter. But thus far, there didn't appear to be any problems. At least not that he has seen. After thinking it through, Getraer went back to the paperwork on his desk.

Since the funeral and all that went with it ate up most of the afternoon portion of the shift, what little paperwork anyone had from earlier that day was quickly taken care of. Those that were not able to attend the funeral but scheduled to cover the highways had quite a bit to deal with.

Ponch, Jon and Stephanie were all scheduled for the next two days off. Ponch had plans of leaving the city behind to go camping and hiking with a few friends. Jon, however had other plans.

As they left the building for their motors, Ponch asked him, "Hey, Jon, how 'bout coming with me tomorrow. It'd be a great stress reliever doing a bit of hiking."

"Can't, I'm taking Bear's spot tomorrow."

"Your're working on your day off? Oh, lucky you. Be careful out there man. I don't wanna come back and hear that you've become the Phantom's next victim."

"Yeah, I'll be careful. You too."

Neither of them saw the distant look on Stephanie's face. Although she felt she was a little more on the mend since she and Ponch had their little talk, the funeral tended to bring back those painful memories. Her heart really went out to Stevenson's wife.

So now the three of them headed for their respective homes.