Dexter at Dawn

Chapter 14

by Technomad

Unfortunately, Deb, Arya and I could not stay in Charleston any longer, trial or no trial. Deb and I had our jobs to go to, and Arya had school. She'd already missed a lot of school on account of Rita's troubles, and while the school authorities had been understanding, I saw no reason to push our luck with them.

When we told Rita about this, she burst into tears. "Oh, no!" she sobbed. "Having you here has been a lifeline...I don't know what I'll do...I'll miss you so much!" She wept uncontrollably, and although, as a monster, I do not feel empathy, I was filled with fury and sorrow. If I found out who had caused all this trouble, I promised myself that the troublemaker's death would be prolonged and very unpleasant. I felt that Harry would have understood. He'd have done anything at all to protect my adoptive mother or Deb. Or even me, although I never understood just why.

"Hey, Rita, I've been in touch with some of your co-workers," Deb said. "They say they can take it in turns to come up here, so you won't ever be all alone in the courtroom. Not that Ms. Taliaferro's a bad lawyer...but having familiar faces there will make it easier on you."

"Oh, thank you, Deborah!" Rita wept. "I never thought...I mean, I know Dexter's a hero, but...I never expected you..." And she broke down crying again. "You're all so good to me!"

Hearing her call me a "hero" made Deb roll her eyes at me when Rita wasn't looking. Unlike Rita, Deb knows what I am and what I do. She doesn't approve...she can't approve...but she understands. Kind of. She knows about Harry's Code, and she knows why Harry molded me into the monster I am today. Without his guidance, I'd be an uncontrolled monster. As things stand, I'm a very controlled, neat monster.

Arya was looking very grim. Her Dark Passenger was staring out of her eyes, and if Rita had been one whit less oblivious, she might have seen it. "A girl will be back up here whenever she can, Rita," she said. "This, a girl swears by the Seven Gods of Westeros, the Old Gods a girl grew up worshiping, the Drowned God of the Ironborn, and the Many-Faced God."

Rita was distracted from her own woes by this. I knew that it meant that Arya damn well meant what she said, but Rita had not heard her mention the gods she had worshiped in her home before. "You'll have to tell me about those gods, Arya. And I'll tell you all about our god here." Unlike me, and Deb, Rita did believe in religion, and we went along with it. For the sake of Rita's wonderful cooking, we'd have done far more.

At last they led Rita away to be locked back up, and we looked at each other helplessly. "You know, Dex," Deb said, brushing a lock of hair out of her face, "there are times I really don't have much faith in the justice system." She looked at me ruefully. "The older and more experienced I get, the more I think that Dad was exactly right."

"Right now there's nothing we can do. Come, Arya," I said to Arya, who was looking in the direction Rita had been led with a very grim expression, "we've got to get back to Miami." And with that, we headed out to get on our airplane and back to the land of "Florida Man."

Once we were back in Miami, we got back into our routine. Rita's co-workers were a pillar of strength. They took turns going up to Charleston to be there during the trial, and often brought food around in the evenings so Arya and I didn't have to cook. We made sure to invite these people over to the house. It was the least we could do.

That weekend, Cody and Astor came for their usual stint at home, and were very interested in all we could tell them about the trial. "I hope Mom gets acquitted so she can come home," Astor said. Cody, beside her, nodded silently.

"So do we, Astor, so do we," I assured him.

"A girl misses Rita," Arya said. "A girl knows what it is like to lose one's mother." Astor gave Arya a sympathetic look, and Cody came over to pat her awkwardly on the back. From Cody, this was all but unprecedented. Arya was clearly a little startled, but she did not feel threatened by Cody's gesture. "Thank you, Cody. A girl appreciates your sympathy."

Caroline Sula was due to come over, and we got ready for her, laying out some snacks and drinks. Arya and I had been treated hospitably by the Sulas, and we wanted to reciprocate. When Charlene dropped her off, Caroline embraced Arya and Astor. She might have done so with Cody, but she was perceptive enough to know that he wouldn't welcome it. Then she shook hands with me, like the well-mannered girl she was.

"It's so good to see you all again! I do want to hear about the trial. My parents are very concerened about Rita. They want to see her free and back in Miami. My mother would love to get together with her."

"I can imagine," I told her. "In the meantime, we've got snacks set out. Help yourself, and you can talk with Arya and Astor." Nothing loath, Caroline set to and built herself a tall sandwich.

Arya smiled slightly, an unusual sight. "A girl thinks that her friend is hungry."

Caroline nodded. "Mom's on a diet. I think she needs to lose weight the way the Titanic needed the iceberg, but you know what mothers are like. When they get the bit between their teeth, there's no stopping them."

I could see Astor and Cody nodding solemnly. They did know what mothers were like. Arya looked slightly puzzled at the reference, so I leaned down and murmured: "I'll explain that later, Arya." She nodded and began building herself a sandwich.

After we had all refreshed ourselves, and the mighty machine of Dexter's metabolism had refuelled itself, we went out into the back yard. Caroline and Arya squared off, going through the motions of fencing without actual blades. Arya had her equipment, but Caroline didn't have hers, so it wouldn't have been safe to do it with blades. They worked on footwork and timing, as Astor and Cody watched them solemnly.

After a while, the fencing practice stopped, and Astor, Arya and Caroline moved off for some girl-talk. Cody wasn't included, but he didn't seem to mind. I smiled at the peaceful scene. Domestic Dexter is a thing I never would have thought to see, but I found I enjoyed it. Even monsters like me can have a softer side, can't they?

Astor was showing Arya and Caroline some judo moves she'd learned when my cell phone rang. It was Deb. "Dex? We've got a murder here, and we need you."

"Right now?" I asked. "I've got Caroline over, and she's with Astor, Arya and Cody. I don't have anybody I can leave them with."

"Why don't you ask the Sulas if you can drop the kids off with them? I'm sure they'll understand. Call me back when you've got things figured out." With that, the phone went silent, and I punched in the number for the Sulas' household.

Charlene Sula answered. "Why, Mr. Morgan! So good to hear from you! I hope our Caroline's being good!"

"She's just fine, Ms. Sula," I assured her. "But I need a favor. I've got to go in to work. There's been a murder, and they need me to work my blood-spatter magic. Could I drop all three of the younger generation off at your place? I don't like leaving them here alone. I don't know how long I'll be gone."

"But of course, Mr. Morgan! We'd love to have them! Caroline's told us how well-behaved and quiet Astor and Cody are! I'm sure they'll be no trouble at all! You just bring them right over!" With that sorted out, I went out and told the kids what was going on.

"There's been a change of plans, kids. I've got to go in to work. You're going to spend the afternoon at the Sulas' place. Any objections?"

"Not from me! I want to show Astor and Arya some of my stuff!" This was Caroline. She gave Astor and Arya a big smile. "It'll be fun!"

"Okay with me," said Astor. Beside her, Cody nodded, agreeing with his big sister as he almost always did.

"A girl thinks this will be enjoyable. Do you know when you'll be able to get done, Dexter?" As always, Arya's question was cogent and to the point.

"Difficult to say. You might end up spending the whole evening there, although I hope that won't happen. Deb called me, and she wasn't too informative."

"If this is to help a girl's aunt sergeant out, a girl is more than willing. Do you think a girl should pack along an overnight bag, just in case?"

"That would be an excellent idea, Arya. Why don't all three of you pack bags? If you need them, you'll have them, and if not, no harm done." My little disciples scampered into the house and started putting together go-bags. "I'm sorry to ruin your afternoon plans, Caroline."

"Oh, I don't mind, Mr. Morgan! It'll be fun to introduce Arya...and Astor and Cody...to my neighborhood friends! Some of the girls I know have brothers Cody's age. He might decide he likes them. Having your kids over at our house will be interesting!" Caroline was far bubblier and peppier than any of my three little predators. I hoped they would rub off on her enough to keep her safe. With her looks, she'd be a prime target for every perv and sicko in Miami. I had seen enough beautiful women dead before their time, and didn't want that to happen to Caroline. While, as a monster, I do not have normal feelings, I had come to like her and wished her a long, happy life.

When the children came back out with their bags, I first called Charlene Sula to tell her we were on the way, then called Deb. "Deb? I'm leaving the children at the Sulas' place. Once I've dropped them off, I'll be right there!"

"Good!" She gave me the location, and I pulled out into the Miami traffic. We were at the Sulas' place pretty quickly, and the children piled out. When I was alone in the car, I headed over to where Deb and the others were waiting for me.

When I got there, I could see why they'd needed me. There'd been a shoot-out, apparently, and the losers' blood was all over the place. With a sigh, I got out of my car and headed over to get to work, ducking through the police lines.

Angel-no-relation was examining the site where one of the bodies had lain. "Hi, Angel. Figure out anything yet?"

"Nothing but the obvious. Two factions of a Latin gang ran into each other, and soon the bullets were flying. Gracias a Dios, no civilians were hurt, but about four bangers are either dead or soon will be. Some others were hurt. Nobody's saying nothin' about what went down, but we can piece it together. We're not talking criminal geniuses here, after all."

I got out my tool kit and began working on the blood splashes, making the horrid stuff make sense. I've my own good reasons to dislike blood, and seeing it soaking all around offended me on a fundamental level. As I've mentioned before, I do not like gangbangers, mainly because of their indiscriminate, mindless violence. While I could be called violent, I am actually quite controlled and discriminate about where and when I inflict violence, and only do so on people who're clearly both guilty and unreachable by the law.

Deb was talking to some of the witnesses. Luckily, they were Anglos, so my Spanish language expertise was unneeded. For a change, she was being patient with them, and they were responding to her. I heard one sweet old lady commenting on how such a "nice young lady" could be a cop, and smiled to myself as I worked. Deb may look like a nice young woman, but she's one of the toughest people I know. If that old lady had seen her taking down some perps, she'd have probably had a heart attack.

When I was done, I got up, groaning at the way my back complained from hunching over for so long, and walked over to join Deb. "So, sis. How goes the battle?"

She wiped her hair out of her face. "Dex, why is it that gangbangers are such a bunch of idiots? If these morons had ignored each other, this wouldn't have happened. But they just had to start shooting, and now we've got to haul them in and hope that the State of Florida, in its well-nigh infinite wisdom, incarcerates them for a long time."

"How many fatalities were there?"

"Three for sure, and there's two more that might well not make it. They were taken to Jackson Memorial, but even they might not be able to get them stable in time." That did not sound good. As I've said, Jackson Memorial Hospital is one of the best in the world in dealing with this sort of thing, and if they were not sure they could save the bangers' lives, things looked pretty bleak for them.

"Any arrests?"

"None so far. Nobody saw nothin', just like usual." In this neighborhood, that was par for the course. People either sympathized with the gangs, or were frightened of them. I felt, myself, that gangstas in general were fair game under the Rules of Harry, but the trouble with that was that there were so many of them, and that they were difficult to target. Getting them away from their homies, and into a situation where the Dark Passenger and I could take care of business, was a difficult proposition.

After several hours' work, we were able to wrap things up. Deb asked: "Dex, how about we hit somewhere for a meal before heading home?"

That sounded like an excellent idea. I was really hungry; I'd been called out after nothing but a sandwich, and while it had been an excellent sandwich, thick and full of meats and cheeses, it had been hours and my mighty metabolism was expressing discontent. "What sounds good?"

"There's a steak joint not far away that does pretty good steaks. Angel, Camilla and I have eaten there before."

"Sounds nice. Shall we see if our dear colleagues would like to join us?" Deb approved of that idea, and I asked our co-workers if they were amenable to joining us for a nice, thick, juicy steak. They were all in favor, so we adjourned to the steak house. Soon I was tucking into a lovely medium steak, while Deb chowed down happily on a steak the way she likes them...rare as could be. I had never understood her appetite for such things, but to each their own.

Camilla, Angel and a couple of other detectives I didn't know as well were with us. Conversation flowed freely, ranging from the cases we were working on to workplace gossip...who was on the way up and who was on the skids, who was on the outs with whom...and I found myself actually enjoying their company. This was an unfamiliar sensation. Monsters...like me...do not normally get to socialize with normal people, just like we were normal. But I found that I enjoyed it.

I found out some interesting things. Sergeant Doakes was apparently not too popular with my colleagues, and had not been even before his injuries. While the others pitied his misfortunes and approved of the department's decision to keep him on-the-strength until his full pension could kick in, they disliked him personally. Apparently I wasn't the only person with whom he didn't get along.

"He's always trying to second-guess me," Angel-no-relation grumbled. "He hasn't been out in the field since he got out of the hospital, but he thinks he's still the same hot detective he was before he got hurt."

"He creeps me out," Camilla Figg said, staring down at her food like the answer to her problems was written there. "The way he looks at me while I'm working...if it weren't for his injuries, I'd make a complaint to Human Resources about him."

Listening to the others, I felt encouraged to offer my own observations. "He's had it out for me since before he was hurt," I told them. "He had some crazy idea that I was some sort of master criminal. He even followed me around off-work, hoping to catch me doing something evil."

This provoked general merriment around the table. The idea that I was what I am amused almost everybody present. I noticed Deb giving me the stink-eye, but she held her peace. She knew that Doakes had been sensing nothing but the truth...although the whole truth would have probably shocked even him, and he was a Special Forces veteran with experience in some seriously dirty doings in Central America...but she had made her peace with what I am and would never betray me.

When we were done with dinner, we all went our separate ways. I headed for the Sulas' place to pick up my three little predators, and hoped they hadn't done too much damage. While I was quite well aware that they were all almost too well-behaved to be real, I also knew that four children together could disrupt almost anything.

When I got there, I was welcomed in by Charlene Sula. "Oh, Mr. Morgan! It's good to see you! We ate a while ago, but if you're hungry..." Her sweet Southern hospitality warmed whatever it is we monsters use in place of a heart. She and her family were so nice, so good, that it made me twice as determined to ensure that the bad people out there could never be in a position to harm them. Whether through my day job with the Miami-Dade police department, or my nighttime playdates with the Dark Passenger, I did my best to keep people like the Sulas safe, happy, and ignorant of the darker realities I had to deal with.

Arya, Astor and Cody were watching TV. They were sated and sleepy, and gave no trouble when I told them it was time to come home. Once the younger generation and I were in the car, I headed out. It was late enough that the normally-insane Miami traffic was no more than mildly disturbing, and we were soon turning onto our home street. I was mildly surprised to see a police cruiser waiting for us. When we got out, we were intercepted by a uniformed officer I didn't know.

"Mr. Morgan?" When I acknowledged my identity, he went on to say: "Paul Bennett was shot earlier tonight. Can you account for your location at 9:30, sir?"