Nolan's Journal Chapter 7
"Now that Lucy's back, Tim Bradford has disappeared. I don't mean that he's been abducted like Lopez was. As far as anyone knows, he's OK. After he finished his Metro operation, he told Grey that he was going to take some personal days. But Lucy has no idea where he is or what he's doing. To say she's unhappy about it would be putting it mildly. She came to me for help, figuring that as a guy I might have some idea what Tim is up to, but I haven't a clue.
"I've never really been able to get inside Bradford's head. As far as I understand being a TO, rookies are supposed to be taught, not tortured with picayune little tests. Celina learned to be aware of just where she was without having to run beside the shop, which is what Tim made Lucy do. And I would never allow a crime scene to be compromised just to teach Celina a lesson. It makes no sense, at least not to me.
"I suppose one thing Bradford and I have in common is troubled childhoods. I get that. But there's no reason to take it out on the world. I believe that if anything, it should make you more aware of how another human being may be suffering. But maybe that's just me. I don't have Bradford's hardcore military training. I suppose that makes a difference. I don't know how much of one, though. Bailey is a lieutenant in the guard, and she's the most empathetic person I know. Lucy's been beating her head against the wall trying to figure out what makes Tim tick since the day she became his rookie. Unfortunately, I think she may be more confused than ever.
"One person who may finally have gotten a dose of reality is Smitty. The last time Smitty decided to blast Daddy Cop into the parking lot Grey happened to be getting into his personal car. I guess he'd been having a bad day anyway. We still are having problems with shops breaking down so we don't have enough coverage on the street. Whatever put Grey on edge, the music put him over it. He hauled Smitty out of his trailer and gave him the kind of dressing down that only Grey can give. But that wasn't the end of it. He put Smitty in the field and not just anywhere. There's a park where some politicians were having a rally. He made Smitty part of the guard perimeter there, on his feet and next to a bunch of dumpsters known for containing especially stinky garbage. Apparently, the neighborhood residents use them for whatever they can't stand having on their own premises. Not only did Smitty end up with sore feet and a sore back, he complained that he'd vomited up everything he'd eaten for days. I don't doubt that was an exaggeration, but I think he'll think twice before doing anything even remotely likely to piss off Grey again. And other than when Celina forgets and hums it under her breath, I won't have to put up with that damn song anymore.
"Speaking of Celina, she rounded up a very talented group of volunteers to work at the center. At least two of them can read working drawings, and they all follow instructions very well. The basic repairs are pretty much done, and we can begin on the built-in shelves and cabinetry. We have already had some sports equipment and books donated. We need something to hold them. We'll want a well-organized pantry as well. We may be feeding some kids who don't get sufficient nutrition at home, either because their parents can't afford it or because all the available funds are going for drugs. A lot of the food will be donated, but we need to find a volunteer dietician who can help with using whatever we get to do the most good. Luna Grey told me she knows someone. If Luna can't talk someone into something, I don't think anyone can.
"It's been a day since my last entry and what happened was quite a surprise. The volunteers at the center work mostly in the evenings when they are either off from their regular jobs or off from looking for regular jobs. Celina and I go by as often as we can during our regular patrol to make sure the place is secure. When we went by this morning, we found the small window in the bathroom open. I suspect that one of the volunteers opened it for airflow. We have fans but we don't have the air conditioning running yet, and it can get pretty hot in there. Anyway, the opening wasn't big enough for an adult to get through, but we did get a visitor.
"After we checked the perimeter, Celina and I heard faint whimpers coming from inside. We thought that maybe a pregnant cat or small dog climbed in to find a place to have her puppies. What we found was a little boy, who would have fit through the window – or almost fit through the window. He was pretty scraped up. It must have hurt, but we couldn't get him to say anything.
"I would have thought he'd be more comfortable with Celina than with me. She's smaller and looks less threatening. But he shrank away from her and started to cry. So I tried talking to him softly the way I did with Henry when he was little and coming out of one of his surgeries. That comforted Henry and seemed to comfort this boy as well. He stopped crying and finally let me pick him up.
"Celina called the EMTs to come and check him out. The center is closer to another firehouse than the one Bailey works out of, so she didn't get the call. The medics said the boy looked OK but transported him to the hospital to make sure. He didn't want to let go of me, so I rode along with him while Celina followed in the shop. He didn't want to let go at the hospital either, but one of the male nurses finally seemed to get his trust enough for me to go back on patrol. Luna was at the hospital, and Celina had already filled her in on what little we knew about the boy. That didn't take long.
"I called Luna later to find out how he was doing. He still wasn't letting any women near him. Fortunately, the pediatric resident who examined him is a guy. The hospital admitted the boy for observation and a psych eval while Luna tries to figure out where he came from. There weren't any alerts for missing children fitting his description, but she and I both suspect that whoever made him so afraid of women, is not about to report his absence. I'll be going back to the hospital tomorrow to look in on him. Celina and I, mostly Celina, will be asking around the neighborhood to see if anyone has an idea who the boy might be and where he came from. For now, at least, there's not much more I can think of that we can do. I'll be telling Bailey all about the boy when she gets a break and can call me. Maybe she'll have an idea."