Nolan's Journal Chapter 4
"Lucy is in San Diego and Tim Bradford isn't happy. Actually, that's putting it mildly. He was back in his office this morning after his operation with Metro. Grey had him in the room for roll call, but he just sat there with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. I don't think anyone except Grey will dare to speak to him, not even Harper or Lopez unless they need Metro's services on an operation. Harper is liaising with her old friends at the DEA about the new drug shipments coming in, so she's unlikely to have to pull in Metro. Just as well.
"Laurence Miguel is one of the targets of Lucy's investigation. According to Wesley, he looks legit on the surface. He takes scuzzy clients, but then Wesley used to do that too. In the good old U.S. of A., everyone is supposed to be entitled to competent legal representation. Wesley's always taken that seriously, even if the reality is often far from the ideal. Laurence Miguel may feel the same way. Still, with clients connected with the cartel, he'd have to keep some pretty big secrets. That's a dangerous situation for anyone, even a lawyer as slippery as Monica Stevens.
"If Miguel isn't allied with the cartel, they could regard him as a threat, much as Wesley turned out to be a threat to Elijah Stone. So the question is: what kind of protection does Miguel have and what are the costs, moral or otherwise? That's one of the things Lucy will be trying to find out. I have no idea how, but I guess she has a plan. Whatever it is, if she's told Bradford, he doesn't approve. Still, Harper knows a lot more about dealing with the cartel and anyone attached to it than Bradford probably ever will. If she thinks Lucy is taking too much of a risk, she'll try to pull her out. Whether Lucy will agree to stop, is another question entirely. Maybe her attachment to Bradford will make her a little more careful with her life. I hope so. I'm sure he does too.
"On a happier note, Celina and I are making some progress toward a community center in her old neighborhood. We got some help from an unexpected corner – unexpected to me, anyway. Sabina, a curandera there, is a traditional healer whom Celina respects. She feels that everyone would be healthier if she only had to fight against evil spirits, not flesh and blood evildoers. So she decided to partner up with Celina and me, emphasis on Celina. Sabina started reaching out to the neighborhood to throw in with us. So we already have a line on a location, an empty storefront. Apparently, it was originally an adult bookstore, but both Sabina and the local parishioners came down on anyone who tried to patronize the place, so the owners relocated. I think they're on Hollywood Boulevard now. Anyway, they're no longer a neighborhood problem and a conversion of the store to a community center would be a bit of poetic justice.
"Of course, we'll have to jump through all sorts of hoops with the department and the city, to get the new usage approved. However, the building is still in pretty good shape. We shouldn't have too much trouble with inspectors and I can recruit help from the neighborhood for any necessary repairs. Once the location is approved, we'll have to furnish it. The bookstore owners moved out everything that wasn't nailed down. I'm surprised they left the bathroom fixtures. But we'll probably have to replace them anyway. Sabina doesn't want any spirits that might be attached to the former usage. In this case, I can see her point. Eww! I figure I can use the time I was going to spend on Simone's garage conversion and work on the new center, especially when Bailey's on duty at the firehouse.
"When Bailey had a chance to call me today, she told me about a rescue. It would have been a comedy of errors if it hadn't come so close to being tragic. A woman had set up a special dinner for her anniversary. She put food on the table and lit candles, expecting her husband to arrive any time. Apparently, he was held up by a crash on the freeway, unfortunately not unusual. He wasn't involved, just part of a long line of cars nowhere near an exit ramp.
"Anyway, while the wife was waiting for him to show up, she went into their baby's room to read to him. He's only 9 months old, so he probably didn't understand much, but she told Bailey that he loves the sound as she reads the words. So his mother was in a rocking chair in his room, holding him and reading to him. From what the mom and Bailey were able to figure out, the family dog came in the doggy door and smelled the food on the table. He grabbed the tablecloth and started pulling. The dishes and everything else came with it, including the candles. From the burn pattern, one of them fell against the drapes, which caught fire, and then the whole room started going up.
"The dog ran into the baby's room howling, and the mother shut the door against the smoke and flames. Luckily she had her cell phone with her and called 911. The room had a window, but it was too small for her to get through. She told me she was thinking of throwing her son out to at least save him when the fire department arrived. Bailey was the one who took the baby while the firefighters broke through the wall and got the mother and the dog. The house is most likely a total loss, but everyone's all right. The father arrived just after the fire department did. He took the family to his parents' place for the night while they figure out what to do. Some anniversary!
"While the other firefighters were rescuing the mother, Bailey got to hold the baby. It seems to have triggered some maternal feelings in her that were suppressed before. I can understand why she wouldn't want to have a child while she was with Jason. And she never expressed a wish to have one with me either. Bailey juggles firefighting, teaching capoeira classes, and her service with the guard. Not a whole lot of time for motherhood.
"As far as I'm concerned, Henry is enough for me, especially while I'm still building my career. And Henry could very well provide me with a grandchild or two within the next few years. That would be the fun part of parenting without the sleepless nights. But I think Bailey is rethinking the whole parenthood thing. I don't know if her feelings are temporary from holding the baby or if her biological clock has gone off big time. She's ten years younger than I am, so it's possible. Maybe she can volunteer to offer babysitting services to Lopez or Harper a few times and see if she's still as enthusiastic about having a little one full-time. Either way, we're going to have to talk about it. When Jessica and I had a talk like that, it broke us up. But Jessica wasn't my wife. Bailey and I have been through way too much together. I'm not about to let this come between us.