

Book 4

Ready Freddy

And The

Kissing Stones

Another

Ready Freddy Mystery

Ben (& Cindy) Miller

Smash Word Publishing

2011

Dedication

All of the Ready Freddy books, (1~4, so far...) are dedicated to my daughter, Audrey Jean Miller.

These characters were originally created by me in oral children's stories that I told to her as we drove back and forth from Chicago to Grampa Miller's house in Kansas and on other on road trips. In the 1970's, there weren't good radios in the cheap cars I drove, so I would tell her stories to keep her entertained. To be fair, I was entertaining my self as well.

Throughout these longer adult stories, frequent references are made back to those children's stories and the characters that were created for them as the stories continue. In 2011, as I was looking for my next writing project, I asked myself. "What would those same kids from those stories have done as adults in these new dilemmas."

To reintroduce the players in these stories, we first meet Police Sergeant Fred (Ready Freddy) MacGarn. Next, we meet Jimmy (J Dawg) Simpson. In the earlier children's stories, these two boys and some of the members of their Little League baseball team spent their non-playing moments as a crime solving detective agency.

We reintroduce Jimmy's little sister, Margaret Eloise "Peg" Simpson (whom Jimmy called Piggy Peggy.) She is remembered by all as the true brains of the outfit.

Assorted friends: Denny Jones, Jackie "Digger" Jacobi, and Delilah, "Little Teeny" Wilkins, (Peg's best friend), fill out the members of the crew of central characters who continue into the next four adventures.

Fred provided (and still does provide) the leadership. Jimmy, Denny, and Greg were the fearless followers. Peg and Teeny provided a different point of view that was often critical to the solutions.

Losses and Gains

(a teaser for this book)

The story opens in a car. The driver is going home to a funeral.

For the last three years or so, the driver, a Chicago cop, Detective Sergeant Fred MacGarn had been too busy drinking and grieving for his dead wife to bother to live. In a seriously hung over state, Fred is returning home to bury his best friend. Once there, in the small southern Illinois town of his birth, he found, in Jimmy's little sister, Peg, a long lost love that he never knew he had.

He also found a secret love that nobody knew Jimmy had. He found several of their childhood friends deeply entwined in the illegal nets of St. Louis gangsters.

Will he be able to save Peg from Jimmy's mistakes in time for her to save him back.

A huge difference, for me, is that I am co-writing these adventures with my new wife. I began reading her the beginning elements of the writing as they developed. She is so smart and funny that her ideas continue to be incorporated into the weaving of the story line as this new book develops. Be warned, these books will NOT be children's stories as the content is for adult readers. As the book has progressed, she has contributed whole scenes that fit seamlessly into the fabric we are creating. What a swell process this is becoming for our new marriage.

Book 4

The Kissing Stones

By Ben Miller

Cover art by Matthew Miller

Copyright 2011 Ben Miller

Smashwords Edition

ISBN: 978-1-4658-4085-1

Title: Ready Freddy and the Kissing Stones

Author: Ben Miller

Publisher: Smashwords, Inc. 8/24/2011

Smashwords License Statement

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Disclaimer

This is a work of fiction. All events are fictitious. All resemblance to police or regular citizens is unintentional. Resemblance to any known mob empires is accidental.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1; Thursday PM; Jimmy's Porch

Chapter 2;Fred and Jimmy Childhood Through College

Chapter 3;The Story of Jen and Fred

Chapter 4;Jimmy, The Baseball Years

Chapter 5; Wednesday PM; Called Home

Chapter 6; Thursday PM; The Visitation

Chapter 7;Peg's World Since College

Chapter 8; Thursday PM Fred and Peg's First Night

Chapter 9; Friday; Jimmy's Secret Lover

Chapter 10; Saturday AM; Jimmy's Funeral

Chapter 11; Saturday PM; After the Funeral

Chapter 12; Sunday AM & PM

Chapter 13; Monday AM; Posse Adjurnum/ Jimmy's Will

Chapter 14; Monday PM; Jimmy's House

Chapter 15; Monday PM; Jimmy's Office

Chapter 16; Monday PM; The Justice Center

Chapter 17; Monday PM; Dinner

Chapter 18; Tuesday AM On the Job

Chapter 19; Tuesday PM; The Reading of the Will

Chapter 20; Tuesday PM; Busting Digger

Chapter 21; Tuesday PM; Dinner and a Promise

Chapter 22; Tuesday PM; The Task Force Forms

Chapter 23; Wednesday AM A Trip is Postponed

Chapter 24; Wednesday PM The DT's

Chapter 25; Thursday AM; A Day in Chicago

Chapter 26; Friday AM; Way Too Exciting Breakfast

Chapter 27; Friday PM; Aftermath and Running Home
Chapter 28; Saturday AM; A Bad Apple is Identified
Chapter 29; Saturday PM; Arresting Their Own

Chapter 30; Saturday Night; Love Finally

Chapter 31; Sunday AM; Jimmy's baby

Chapter 32; Sunday PM; Peg's Prodigal Baby Returns

Chapter 33; Monday AM; No Sense Waiting

Chapter 34; Tuesday AM; Cubs vs Cards

Chapter 35; Wednesday; Getting Geared up

Chapter 36; The 2nd Thursday Three Days to Go

Chapter 37; Friday; But, First... Something about Fecal Material and Rotating Blades

Chapter 38; Still Friday; Fire

Chapter 39; Still Friday PM; Battle

Chapter 40; Friday PM; FBI 6: DEA 1

Chapter 41; Friday PM; Home

Chapter 42; Still Friday PM; Teeny's baby gets More Grandparents

Chapter 43; Saturday AM; One Day to Go

Chapter 44; Saturday PM; One Night to Go

Chapter 45; Sunday AM; Hours to Go

Chapter 46; Sunday PM; The Wedding
Chapter 1; Jimmy's Porch

Everybody hates change. But change found Detective Fred MacGarn, Chicago PD. The day change found him, he was hung over and half sick heading south on I-57. As he drove, Fred thought to himself, "Where was my early warning radar? Shouldn't there have been some kind of warning?"

What Fred didn't know was that the storm clouds of the cataclysmic changes he was about to swirl through had been building around him for years. He might have seen them if he had not been self-medicating his way through a series of tragedies. He had driven through them all day today, but, he hadn't seen them. He would probably have run. It would have only delayed the inevitability of these events, but, the Gods appear to love to watch us try to run.

Still, as the story opens, here he was in the arms of a stranger. Whoever this woman was, Freddy MacGarn knew that she should not feel this good when he held her. Yet, there he stood on his best friend's porch, feeling like a danged fool holding a beautiful woman who, for the life of him, he could not place. Her need to be held would have to be reason enough to be standing on this porch for now, holding her while she stained his crisp white shirt with tear driven mascara.

"Jimmy's dead..." she said softly, over and over.

But there he stayed, a fellow mourner. Fred could not remember how long it had been since he had held any woman like this. It had probably been at least three years since he had been as intimately entwined. Now, after another vital cog in his life circle was removed from him, he understood her pain. Her tears triggered his tears for himself and his best friend. He gave in to them as he was too shocked to do anything else but hold on tight and cry with her. Tears trickled down into her hair. 'It's only fair,' he thought wryly, "She has ruined my new shirt, after all...".

Using his carefully honed detective skills, he spent these awkward moments working out that the blond rocket that had jumped him at the top step had to be Jimmy, "J Dog", Simpson's annoying tag along little sister, Margaret Eloise Simpson. What he could see and feel of this person did not match the image that had been frozen in his mind from their shared childhood. If his mom's history of the other half of their little double family was to be believed, he had to add more surnames. She had wed and shed husbands named Garnett, Henry, and Thompson.

Earlier today, while driving down from Chicago, he remembered repeating to himself, "I just can't deal with Jimmy yet..." So, to occupy himself, he had tried to organize the faces and names in his mind that he might be meeting today.

The faces of Jimmy's parents came easily enough. He had had just seen them last winter at his mother's Christmas dinner. Peg had not made it because of some work thing. So, in his hung over muddled state, the only image of her that he could conjure up was a from a faded black and white photo of three mop heads looking out the fort windows toward Center Street. "I guess my memory's still in shock as well," he thought to himself.

Chapter 2; Fred and Jimmy

Childhood Through College

As the female stranger in his arms continued to cry, he let his mind drift farther back. As far back as he could remember, he and Jimmy Simpson had been best friends. In fact, Jimmy was the brother that he never had. At the beginning, Jimmy and Freddy had discovered each other in the Sunday morning chapel nursery at the Eddyville Methodist Church. Not that it mattered to the boys, but their parents had been of similar age at that time as well. Both families had been new to town.

When their parents had realized they lived next door to each other, their lives had gradually merged in that small town way. The moms had instantly become best friends. The dads had come in to town to drive for the new mine. So, they, as the new guys, were thrown together. The two quiet men formed a strong bond while Scouting and coaching their way to raising their boys. Cook outs and camp outs at the lake filled his weekend memories.

Side by side, the boys created a two man wrecking crew. Locked in tandem like a fine team of draft horses, they plowed through their boyhood world like the unstoppable force of nature that they were. They raced each other up the ladders and over any obstacles that dared get in their way. All that time, Piggy Peggy was always there. She was too cute to be ignored. With an unstoppable stubbornness, she squirmed her way into the center of every photograph and in on every adventure.

Fred and Jimmy had carried their competitions through their Cub Scout years. Fred made Wolf Rank first. Jimmy made Lion Rank first. Fred made Bear Rank first but Jimmy got more Arrow Points. When Fred found out that Jimmy had earned fourteen Webelos badges, Freddy worked himself into a frenzy until he had earned fifteen badges. When they both made Arrow of Light together, their dads had built them a tree house fort in the huge maple that grew between their houses.

Within a week, they had practically moved into it. Peg had pissed and moaned to their parents until she became the only girl allowed in. Little Teeny just tagged along and Jimmy caved in to her. Peg's brains and analytic skills were her coin into the gang. Even at ten years old, Teeny was just too beautiful to say no to.

Their favorite game was solving mysteries as detectives. Fred's dad made a sign right by the ladder steps nailed up the trunk. It said "The Ready Freddy Detective Agency. Jimmy (J Dawg) was his partner in anti-crime. Some of the guys from the baseball team became their crime solving gang.

At first, Peg was the receptionist. Soon, it became obvious that she might just be the real brains of the outfit. Fred continued to provide the needed leadership in their searches. Jimmy, Denny, and Digger were the mostly fearless followers. Peg learned to play the ego game early. She was smart enough to share her ideas with Fred when his friends weren't around. Fred was smart enough to listen to her as her analytical skills became clearer to him. Fred respected her brains, but, he feared her sneaky wit. Teeny was the perfect receptionist.

They never played cops and robbers exactly. Their fantasies ran to games where they were all private eyes. Peg became better and better at insinuating herself into their adventures. During their first case, "The Case of the Pop Bottle Thief," their game turned just a little too real.

Originally, Jimmy had been accused of stealing the bottles from the back alley of the candy store. Jimmy had been about to be permanently barred by the owner and his wife from the candy store for this crime. With the help of their dads and their Scout leader, they got the store owner to give Jimmy another chance. That chance included some time to solve the mystery.

So, Peg created a plan. She discussed it with Fred. They kicked the plan around. They decided to form two crime solving teams. Fred and Jimmy became team number one. Denny and Digger became were team two. The two teams took turns staked out in the alley. The second week of nothing good happening, they changed the plan. The next weekend, both teams were used to cover both ends of the alley. That day, they got lucky.

Team 1 saw some pretty big kids from across town grabbing cases of bottles and running. They called Team 2 on their walkie talkies. On their bikes, they followed the kids to an old garage. They went back to the candy store and told the owner what they saw. The owner called the police. The police went to the garage and found most of the stolen bottles. They also found a bunch of other stuff that had been stolen.

For the next two years, more mysteries came their way, with each one, Peg became more valuable. Once Peg had solved the "Ready Freddy and the Baby Snatchers Mystery," there was no denying her. Peg was a permanent member of the crime solving crew. Fred's love of police work had come from those detective adventures.

Looking around the still sobbing Peg, he saw a ball glove on the porch. It tripped another childhood memory. As time went on, sports had begun to take over their young lives. They formed a core of great players. With their dads as coaches, their skills improved rapidly. As they got better and better at sports, crime fighting faded from their primary interest and Peg faded from the center of his universe. He remained secretly the center of hers.

On Jimmy's tenth birthday, their base ball team won the first of three straight Little League titles. Like true big league champions, that first ball had been signed by all of his teammates. For the next eight years, all the way through Junior League Travel Ball and, then, though high school varsity, every pitch had been called by Fred, thrown by Jimmy, and caught by Fred.

The oddest part for Fred was that, try as he might, he could not get a clear image of Peg's high school years to come into focus. The rules about no girls in the tree house changed as the little fort became their version of a Playboy Club. Even Fred did not know that Jimmy had "special meetings" of the Play Boy Club with Teeny during those years. Fred's bedroom was on the other side of the house, so it was easy to fool them. The upper bedroom on the tree side was the guest room and nearly always empty.

Jimmy had one other firm rule. He laid down the law about Peg. Because she was three years younger than they were and Jimmy's sister, she was completely off limits as Bunny material. Fred was too caught up in the image of her as a little sister to fight him. All she knew was that Freddy always looked past her to other girls through those years. Jocks and other cheerleaders became their new gang. Jimmy, being Jimmy, broke every rule with Teeny every chance he got.

Between the dope they smoked and the beers they snuck from their dads out into that tree fort, Fred's high school memories were of lots of girls and parties, but, not of Peg. She watched him through those years from the edge of the boys' lives as footballs were being thrown from Jimmy to his favorite tight end (Fred). She watched them winning and losing basketball games. She died a little each time that she watched Fred loving and losing girls, but not her. So, after he left her behind for new college girls, she turned her heart away and tried to make her own life work.

Upon graduation from high school, Fred and Jimmy had been awarded full ride scholarships to different colleges. Fred went to Circle Campus in Chicago and Jimmy went to Indiana. Throughout the rest of their lives, they remained distant friends, but, their twin stars gradually spun away from each other into separate lives. Jimmy kept trying to live their childhood dream and Freddy lived an adult life with Jennifer.

At college, Fred played football and baseball. Jimmy's scholarship was in basketball and like Fred, he played baseball. The only time Fred saw Jimmy for sure was when Circle played Indiana in baseball games. The certainty of their relationship was that Jimmy would be throwing a high hard one at Fred's head just to say "howdy."

Fred did vaguely remember seeing Peg from time to time back in their college days. The two colleges played baseball against each other several times each season. Peg always went with the double families when they went to see Indiana play at Circle in Chicago. She sat with her family wearing IU red on the visitor's side, but she wasn't there to watch Jimmy, she was watching Fred.

After the games, Fred and Jimmy would go out to eat with them. In Fred's case, through these years, he watched Peg change from a bony colt into a pretty young woman. Fred was too shy to initiate anything other than small talk in these brief encounters. Peg, was too shy herself, mostly, it was all she cold do to breathe, much less talk, so she never got Fred to notice her.

While Fred's dad was still healthy, his parents would come too. Fred's dad had always loved Uno's pizza and all of their extended double family would take over a whole room. Even when they were together, both Fred and Peg would blow chance after chance to interact. Neither could tell what the other was thinking. Fred had the same old problem that Peg was his little sister and off limits. Peg's problem was that she had no idea how pretty she was. Fred's insecurity matched with hers perfectly to form a barrier that neither could topple.

Then, once Jen came into Fred's life, she always went out to eat with the two families as well. Jen could see what Fred could not. Jen saw how Peg felt right from day one, so she had created complicated ways of separating Fred and Peg. She had a knack for herding him away from Peg with position and intention. Jen quickly became great chums with both moms. Jen organized every room so that she and Freddy's mom, Sarah, and Jimmy's mom, Agnes, could be seated at the table together. It always worked in such a way that they could go on and on about girly crap and some how, still ensure that Fred and Peg ended up on opposite sides of the big round table and unable to speak to each other.

One very awkward moment came to mind. This last incident that jumbled its way up through his hangover happened one night at the end of his senior year. After Fred's dad's first heart attack brought the parental visits to an end, he and Jimmy had continued the habit of meeting for supper after game days at his frat house. But, the lack of parents also meant a lack of opportunity for Peg to be seen. So, his last college meeting with her had been the first time he had seen her in several years. He did hear something about her getting a scholarship to Notre Dame in computers or such. He had been on the road with the baseball team and had missed her graduation.

He somehow recalled the particulars of their last game together. It was a hot and windy afternoon. Jimmy had been fierce on the mound. Freddy's team wasn't hitting. No one could touch either his smoking curve ball or his blazing fastball. On the strength of his pitching performance, Indiana took a one run lead into the bottom of the ninth inning. Jimmy struck out the first batter. The next batter in front of Fred got on with an error. If the Indiana side could get a double play, Jimmy's record setting eighth no hitter would still be perfect.

As usual, Jimmy buzzed the first pitch under Fred's chin. Freddy got up, dusted himself off and reset himself with an evil grin on his face. Fred yelled out to the mound, "You are so predictable, Hoosier boy."

Jimmy showed him the ball. It was an old psych out trick that Freddy had been dealing with since the third grade. "Here it is... You ready, Deadwood?" Jimmy taunted. Even though they were both from Delwood, Illinois, once they became opponents, Jimmy had started calling him "Deadwood."

Fred retorted with his usual response, "Just pitch it, bitch."

Jimmy wound up and sent his best fastball toward the plate. Freddy had been watching this pitch since he was nine. He waited for the slight outside break and, with a very satisfying metallic ting of his bat, Fred planted the pitch in the seats. By the time he had made his walk off trot around the bases, the Indiana team was off the field.

Later that evening, Fred waited for Jimmy on the porch of his frat house. A huge victory party had grown around him out of the usual college spirit as people just kept coming out of the woodwork with food and booze. By the time Jimmy drove up in someone's red Bonneville, the sun was painting the sky with bright pinks and purples. Jimmy staggered up to the porch, "Whatcha doin', Dead... wood..?"

Fred looked nonchalant, "Just having some beers..? I always wondered somethin'..."

"What's that Bro..."

"Do they let you super stars drink alkeehol over there in Hoosier land?"

Jimmy laughed, "Hell...them yokels don't tell me what to do."

"Well, we got some...get on up here, brother..."

"What?!... I'm so honored...a party just for me?" He had a bottle of Jack in one hand and a pretty redhead holding the other.

"Uh, no..!... This here soiree is for our victory..."

"Victory..?"

"You know... the part where I make use of my very live metallic bat and pop your shitty ass curve ball into the seats...Oh... and then, there's the part where we beat Indiana's ass off... just sayin'..."

Several more people had piled out of the beast of a car after Jimmy. Fred remembered how much they had looked like clowns at a circus. That was, he remembered until a pretty blond girl on a tall boy's arm got out of the car. That person was about to ruin his party.

Fred had remained cool as the small mob walked up onto the darkening porch. In the darkness and in his cups, Fred didn't recognize any of them, "Plenty of room, folks... plenty of food, too..."

Jimmy came near Freddy's chair. Fred looked up at him, "Nice pitch, J Dawg. Right where I like it..." He threw him a cool one out of the bucket.

Jimmy snorted, "Funny...very funny..." as he caught the beer in one hand. He snapped open the beer, showering himself and the little red head that he had dragged across the yard. "Even a blind pig finds a mushroom some times...ya lucky bastard..." Every one laughed nervously. Jimmy had pledged the same fraternity at Indiana, so he had crashed at the Circle chapter many times over the last three years. His frat brothers were used to their banter. The rest just went along.

Fred had already consumed several adult beverages. He hadn't seen a problem with being drunk. Circle College had just played their last game of the season. He was pretty sure that no one would be drafting him, so, he probably had played his last game ever. He stood carefully and pulled Jimmy over to the rickety table under the yellow porch light. "Come on, buddy...you can drown your sorrows in some food." Fred put a dog in a bun off the grill and put some chips on his plate.

"What sorrows..."

"You know...Losing your last game."

"It's not my last game, college boy..."

"What do you mean, bro..?"

"Well... technically... I'm still a college boy too..."

"Technically..?"

"Next week... I take finals..."

"Just like me..."

"Yep... and then... I am off... to... wait for it... Rookie League!"

"You got drafted... When?"

"I was picked off a list of current seniors for a late draft..."

Freddy picked his best friend up and spun him around. He emptied his beer over Jimmy's head, "Woo hoo Jimmy's a pro..."

Jimmy poured his beer on Freddy's head as they jumped around. "Yeah, man... I just got my letter yesterday..." One of the brothers gave them two more beers. The two men touched their beers together.

Just then, Fred noticed that the other girl in the car had walked up behind Jimmy and taken a beer from another iced bucket. Like a seasoned veteran that belied her youthful face, she snapped it open and took a long drink. Fred remembered looking closely at the blond as she took that drink. This beauty was a total stranger, yet, she looked so familiar. As she drank, she watched him watch her. She then said softly, "Hi, Freddy...Long time no see..." Then, she had just blasted him with a smile.

Jimmy laughed, "Come on Fred... You look puzzled... it's my baby sister, Piggy Peggy..." Fred had just stood there like an idiot while he watched the beautiful girl punch Jimmy hard enough to nearly capsize him over the railing of the porch.

Luckily, two guys on either side of Jimmy grabbed him before he could fall. Jimmy righted himself, laughing, "Save the beer... she's gone off her rocker again... It's brother abuse I tell ya... I'll sue... I didn't get to sign my contract yet..." The redheaded girl helped Jimmy back to the table. Freddy threw him another beer. The redhead caught it like a pro as Jimmy had clearly been drinking for a while.

To cover his embarrassment at not recognizing Peg, Fred had staggered back to his chair and picked up another beer. The beautiful blond woman followed him across the porch. This set of nearly perfect legs in a short flippy skirt could not be Jimmy's little sister. She was nothing like his half remembered memories of a bony kneed, hard headed moppet that had chased him and Jimmy back and forth across their little town. This girl was clearly full grown.

"Ummm, Hi Peg. Long time no see..."

She came and sat by him on an old chair. "Well...ain't you the smooth talker..."

"What does one say to someone they haven't seen in years?"

"That's more like it... I am glad to see all that college money hasn't been wasted on you..." she said as she took another drink of her beer.

As he sat there trying to think of some smart retort, Jen came practically running out of the frat house and sat between them on the arm of his chair, looking daggers right at Peg. Even though Fred's girlfriend had been laying down upstairs in his room on the other inside of the frat house, some feminine radar tracker had gone off in her mind. In a flash, she had come out there with her armor in full protection mode. Fred sat awkwardly for a long moment while Jen studied the new girl.

Then, Jen had turned to look directly into Freddy's eyes. "Sweetie... aren't you going to introduce us..?" she said with that southern belle's velvet glove holding a switch blade voice. She then took a lady like sip from Fred's beer. The smile she had aimed at Peg was as cold as death.

"Jen...you know Jimmy..." he pointed his beer at his friend who was now seriously sucking the red head's face in the dark corner of the porch. Do you remember meeting Jimmy's little sister at Uno's a while ago... Except for that one dinner, I haven't seen her for years...Her name is Margaret Simpson."

He looked at Peg, "Peg, do you remember my girlfriend, Jennifer..."

Peg had seemed stunned that Jen had struck so quickly before she could get Fred alone. "Hey..." she said softly visibly shrinking into herself.

"So pleased to see you again..." was what Jen Had said, but, her tone was filled with malice.

Peg had taken the hint. Her chance was blown. She reached over and pulled the hand of the tall boy she had arrived with. "Freddy...this is my boyfriend, Mitchell Garnett. He goes to law school at Notre Dame."

"Hey...How's it going?" The tall boy shrugged noncommittally.

Jen had showed him her ring, "We're engaged..." Peg dragged her friend off to the other end of the porch. Jen pulled Fred inside. Fred could not, for the life of him, remember much else of that evening. When he had gone outside later to find Jimmy, the red car and all of his friends had left the party. He had then proceeded to drink himself into a blur that had faded to black. By the time Fred came to the next day and called their hotels it was too late - both Jimmy and Peg had checked out were on the road home.

Chapter 3; The Story of Jen and Fred

What Freddy did remember most about that game was that last night's game had been the boys' last game together. Fred, in fact, was done with sports forever. Both boys quickly became lost in a tornado of moving and leaving and the myriad of changes that accompany all college seniors who are headed for a collision with real life. Fred's life was dull by comparison. He followed his friend in Baseball Digest.

While Jimmy was working on his Rookie League reputation, Fred's life took a precipitous turn as well. On the night that was set up to celebrate Jen's Education Degree and Fred's degree in Criminal Science, Fred and Jen rode with Fred's parents to meet the others at Uno's to celebrate. They had both graduated with high honors. Once there, they went into a private room and found Jen's mom and Dad and another ten members of Jen's local family. For quite a while, there was loud talking and toasting the graduates.

Finally, they settled for their meal. Jen just pushed her food around. Fred whispered, "What's wrong, sugar..?"

She stood up straight and took a deep breath. She clinked her fork on her water glass, "Excuse me..."

She waited for all conversations to stop. Everyone was stunned by her bold display. She was so quiet most of the time. "I have an announcement..."

Everyone stared at her. "First, I need to tell you that Fred and I went to Wisconsin Dells last weekend and got married by the local Justice." This caused an up roar in the room. She held up her hands until they quieted down. Fred just shrugged at his parents. He had already had this fight with them over the phone.

Jen looked bravely at her mom, "Mama... we have discussed this until we were blue in the face... Fred has agreed to take the classes..." Her mother, Moira, closed her lips tightly, but, realized that she had lost a battle, but may just have won the war. Her grandbabies were going to be Catholic. The Madonna would help her. She planned her gifts of supplication.

Jen continued, "The next announcement is that I received a call from the Mother Superior." All of her family knew which nun she was talking about.

She continued, "I had visited her office last week... I updated my application to include my married name... It paid off as she called yesterday to tell me that, now that I am married, they would love to hire me as a full time teacher at The St. Mary and Joseph Academy."

This was met with great applause as they all knew that teaching jobs were hard to find and this one was especially coveted by the Elliott's who, as good Irish Catholics, had sent generations of their children to that very school.

Her parents mumbled to each other that they should have known something was up in Wisconsin. They agreed quickly that once Fred converted, they could all be properly blessed and all would be fine.

Jen then turned to her Dad, "Daddy... As you know, Freddy wants to go into the family business and be a Chicago cop..."

This was met with general applause.

She waited a moment and continued, "Well, Daddy... he's gonna need a job, now... because he's going to be a new father... I'm pregnant!"

In the uproar, Fred sat there thinking how this had not been his plan on how to tell everyone. Jen's dad and two uncles were cops in Chicago. She had agreed to go to her dad for a push, but, Fred had hoped I would be handled more subtly. Despite the blunt approach, this boisterous family seemed to make it all fit together some how. Unlike the quiet McGarn clan, Fred was learning that the whole Elliott clan must just be uproariously direct, loud, people. Here they were howling at each other all around him and his stunned parents but no one actually appeared to be angry.

As directed by his new family mentor team, Fred took the Illinois Civil Service test. Then, he took the Academy Entrance Exam. With their help, he did well on both tests. By fall, Fred was welcomed into the ranks of a rookie league of his own in the next class of the Chicago Police Academy. While he was immersed in these new studies, Jen had a miscarriage of their child.

The clans gathered around a tiny white casket with their daughter inside who was hardly bigger than his finger. Before, Jen got out of the hospital, she got a horrible infection down there. She eventually slowly recovered physically and began her job at the same Catholic elementary school that she had attended as a child. He proceeded through the Academy portion of his training without incident.

By Christmas, Fred was accepted as a full time cop trainee. With a well respected older cop as his training supervisor, Fred began riding in a squad car through a middle class Polish neighborhood on the northwest side of Chicago. Every Sunday, Jen and Fred could be found at his mother in law, Moira's, table for Sheppard's pie and stout. Jen's dad, Seamus, had made a private club out in the back of a heated garage. A big TV was surrounded by beat up chairs and old ratty couches. After the meal, if the Bears or Bulls or Cubs were playing, Fred's new uncles and cousins would begin to arrive. The me were a rowdy bunch, puffing cigars which weren't allowed in the house and drinking beers from the beat up fridge.

During the game, Seamus and his brothers, also detectives, would always include him in family discussions of cases they were working on. Fred was often able to add valuable insights that raised his stock in the family. It was good. In due time, they gave him the answers to trick questions so that he was easily able to pass the Patrolman First Class and then, six years later, the sergeant's exam.

In this quiet way, he and Jen did what they could to build a tidy little life. They got a house on the North side that was a short bus ride to Cubs Park where he and Jen had inherited two season tickets from one of her Dad's uncles.

Then they got more bad news. Scarring from the infection had made Jen unable to bear any more children. Again, they took their time and through love and family counseling, recovered. Except for the lack of children, life had been good for many years.

In 1993, Fred's father had his last and final heart attack. His mom sold their house and life again righted itself after a while. They all went on living. On a day to day basis, Fred had the job he had always wanted and the girl he had always wanted. Jen taught school and poured her heart into mothering her kindergarten children. Life seemed so good.

Three years ago, Fred's life had finally gone completely into the crapper. He remembered how it started like it was yesterday. He had come home to find Jen sitting in a dark house. He sat by her for a moment, then said, "Okay...give!"

She put her head on his shoulder. Then, he felt her tears wetting the shirt on his arm. "I went to my doctor today..."

"And..?"

"My tests came back..."

"And..?"

"She said it was breast cancer."

She and Fred's beautiful life unraveled like a cheap rug. They stumbled through a horrible year. They went from chemo session to chemo session. Then, some sadist of a surgeon took her beautiful breast off leaving her body broken and scarred. Next, radiation treatments burned the crap out of her skin. Just when her skin was almost healed, they found spots on her liver and her brain. By Christmas, the cancer had taken Jen from him and turned his rosy life into the living nightmare. Now, his job was in trouble, too.

Starting on those endless nights sitting in Jen's hospital room and in the equally endless lonely nights since she had died, Fred had gotten entirely too used to talking only to himself. This time, at least, he stayed quiet because he really didn't know what to say to her. Hell, he didn't even know what to call her.

He shook himself as her child hood name popped into his brain. He was instantly brought back to the present time. He laughed softly to himself, "I remember now. We used to call her Piggy Peggy." He said her name softly as he patted her back. She was crying so hard, she still didn't hear him.

By rote and to help with his anxiety, Fred began using his police skills to analyze his very strange situation. He estimated this strange woman's current height to be about five feet four inches. He put her weight at roughly one hundred and twenty pounds. No one would be calling her "Piggy" these days. The soft girlie parts pressed tightly against him were the ones that that all boys love. They were definitely from a full grown woman and in just the right amounts.

Today, when he and his mom had first arrived, they had slowly walked up the cracked old sidewalk to Jimmy's parents' porch. At the bottom of the steps, Fred had paused to look next door for the fort. Both the tree and the fort were gone and a privacy fence surrounded both yards. "Damn...I loved that fort," he mumbled to himself.

He didn't know why a silly thought popped into his head just then. On the day that Fred had made detective, Jimmy had sent him that stupid ball from that first Little League championship. It was now gathering dust in its plastic case on his cluttered mantle back in his empty apartment in Chicago. He hadn't been awake inside of the apartment he and Jen had shared for more than an hour in weeks.

He knew that people were clucking their tongues and talking about him. He heard about some times, but he just didn't care. In fact, back in his apartment right now, food was probably rotting in the sink. Unless his mother had come to clean and do laundry, his clothes were often worn unwashed. It didn't matter. Without Jen, his life had no meaning. Fred worked his cases, stumbling home drunk. When he would finally awaken, his pattern was to return to his desk to work in those same clothes.

Chapter 4; Jimmy, The Baseball Years

Jimmy had floated through finals week on a cloud of bliss. Using the resources of his frat brothers and papers written by the girls who idolized him, he passed enough of his exams to not screw up his brand new Physiology degree. He packed his diploma along with the contents of his rooms at the fraternity house and sent them home to his parents.

Following the instructions in his letter, he spent the first week after graduation traveling from IU to the Rookie League in Florida. He proceeded to set the Rookie League on fire. In less than a month, he was called up to Single A Pro Ball with the Birmingham Barons, the White Sox farm team in Birmingham, Alabama for a try out game. The second week of trying out for the Barons, Jimmy had thrown his first no hitter. Those rookies fared no better than college ball players had when Jimmy was on fire on the mound.

Jimmy's life went very well at first. His rookie league contract was purchased by the Tigers. They sent him to the Erie Tigers where he tore up the batters in Single A ball. Before mid-season, they moved him past Double A ball and right to the Triple A Toledo Mud Hens. When Jimmy's team played at Rockford, Fred and Jen went to see him pitch.

It was so exciting. Jimmy was a madman out there that night. He had come into the game as the middle reliever in the third inning and was able to finish the game. The Hens rallied and he got his first win after two losses. They were heading for Columbus, so they only got a minute to talk before Jimmy had to get on the team bus. They met in the bar of the little motel where the Mud Hens were staying.

He hugged Jen and took Fred's hand, "Living the dream, brother..."

"Yep... me too... I'm riding in a patrol car..."

"That's great... I tell you, though... I will always miss you catching for me..."

"Nah, I couldn't catch the crap you throw now... I'll just catch crooks and you let that crazy Puerto Rican catch for you... Your fastball is twenty miles an hour faster than when we were in high school... and nobody can touch your cutter... Hell you were fooling your own catcher... the pitch hit him in the chest twice and in his leg once..."

"Yeah... It's amazing... There was this coach in Sarasota, Jimmy Wells. He followed me to Birmingham, Alabama. He changed a couple of little things with the way I held the ball and with my stance. In two days, I had a big league heater. It took about another week to learn to throw strikes with it.

"Kool..."

Jimmy continued excitedly, "Then, he taught me to flip the ball so that my fingers were across the seams..."

Fred was so excited to hear Jimmy's stories, "Yeah..?"

"He taught me to fool the batters with the same arm motion. Flipping the ball made the ball dance backwards and I had a cutter that could slice pizza."

"Wow..."

"Right! I didn't even need to throw strikes with that pitch... Batters would screw themselves into the ground. They were embarrassed by how far ahead of the pitch they were..."

"I saw that... It was amazing..."

"Thanks, buddy... It means a lot coming from you..."

"Welll... it was awesome to watch..."

"The third thing he tried to teach me was his slider... "

"Jesus, Jimmy... We are so proud of you..."

"I threw thirty five hitless, scoreless innings in Rookie League... Sarasota won eleven straight games. I went to Birmingham for three weeks. There, I had an Earned Run Average of 0.8. The next thing I knew, the manager of Birmingham gets a call and I was on the next bus to Toledo..."

"Damn, Bubba... how exciting for you..."

"I almost have that new slow pitch slider down. If I get that third pitch working consistently, I'm dancing at the big dance, baby..."

He spent the rest of that season at Toledo. He was doing well in middle relief. They were learning to trust Jimmy with the close games. In September, he was called up to Detroit. He did fairly well in Detroit. Fred and Jen always went to the dreaded Sox Park when Detroit was in town just in case he got to pitch. He did pretty well. By the end of the season, he was their regular set up guy. He appeared in twenty three games had a record of five wins and four losses.

The next off season, his contract was traded back to the White Sox. The previous season, the White Sox bull pen really had stunk. The relievers were so bad that they could be smelled all the way to the North side. This created an opportunity and Jimmy had made the best of it. He had pitched well enough in Florida and to be given a serious shot right after Spring Training.

Jimmy told his mom, who told everybody else that the Hall of Fame pitcher, Wilbur Wood, had been with them in Florida that spring as part of the White Sox coaching staff. Wood spent that whole six weeks showing the young hurlers, including Jimmy, his signature knuckle ball pitch.

Jimmy loved throwing that knuckle ball. He said it was the easiest pitch to throw. Fred got so that, even watching Jimmy pitch on TV, he could tell when Jimmy was tired because Jimmy would throw more knucklers. The first year that he added the knuckle ball to his other three pitches and he became their number one set up guy.

At first, no one could touch him. Having four strike out pitches kept the batters off balance and he kept the Sox in games. Then, right after the All Star break, the middle of their line up caught on fire and they were tearing up the Central Division.

Jimmy got moved into the starting rotation and he kept winning. They made the play offs for the first time in over a decade. Jimmy won twenty two games and made the cover of Baseball Digest as a finalist for Rookie of the Year and for the Cy Young Award. He got a million dollar bonus and a a new contract. Fred got one of his first signature gloves. Most of Jimmy 's bonus went right to Delwood. He paid off his parent's mortgage so his dad could retire. He gave his sister enough money to start her geneology business. He invested in stocks and local businesses.

He went to spring training the next year as a solid starter with a newly renegotiated contract. Late in his seventh season, he threw his arm out trying for his third no hitter. The surgery seemed to work, but he was never the same. He had to sell tons of gold bling jewelry and all of his stocks trying to pretend that he was still living the dream.

His crazy life style brought women in droves. Throughout his long career, he had regularly driven his church going parents crazy by making the papers and the TV tabloid shows on the arm of one wanna be starlet after another. He was good at marrying them, but, not too good at monogamy. He blew a lot of his money on lawyers and divorces.

He spent the rest of his old bonus money rehabbing his arm during the off season months. He managed to throw well enough to get back into the minors where he bounced around a while. Then, late in what would have been his tenth season, his contract was bought by Toronto. He was still a smart pitcher and the Blue Jay bats were hot, so he won more than he lost. He had a decent curve ball and a knuckle ball, but still no heater. Once the big league batting coaches and their hitters figured out those two pitches, he struggled. The Jay's bats went cold and he started losing games.

Without a serious heater, he was eventually released. He finally went home broke and alone. He traded his business degree and big league celebrity status into a job at the local car dealership. He married two more times, but, his bird dogging life style and small town gossip mill kept his divorce lawyer in fine Corinthian leather seats for his cars.

As far as anyone could tell, he was a good business man, because, cars moved on and off the lot and the owner, now retired in Florida kept getting profit checks.

Chapter 5; Called Home

Two days ago, he had been sitting at his usual seat at the dark end of the bar across the street from the Precinct. As usual, he was drinking his lunch when his cell buzzed. He groped around for it and eventually got it open and up to his ear, "McGarn..."

The voice of his mom threw him for a second, "Freddy..."

"Uh...yeah..."

"Freddy...you awake?" He sat up straighter as he recognized her voice.

"Ma..?"

"Son...I have some terrible news..."

"What is it , Ma?"

"Jimmy Simpson's been killed. Come home, please."

"Home..?"

"To Delwood, silly... You know, where you come for Christmas dinner. The place you grew up..."

That threw him for long second, trying to shake the horror of yet another Christmas dinner with out Jen through his drunken haze. "What can I do about it?"

"Please, Freddy... Don't be a cement head... we need you... Agnes and Big Jim need you... get moving, Mister!" she hung up.

"Okay, Ma..." he said softly into the dead phone.

He immediately had gone back across the street to see his shift supervisor. Before he could even finish relating the whole sad story, the shift sergeant handed him a form, "Fill this out and go see the Cap'm...he was lookin' for ya anyways..."

His captain was meeting with their number two. They both looked up startled to see that the subject of their meeting was at the door. They abruptly stopped talking and stared at him when he knocked. "Ummm...Hey, Loot...Ummm, Cap'm... I got this problem..."

The captain saw the "Leave" form in his hand and motioned Fred in. "Is that a seven twenty one..?"

"Ummm...yeah..."

"Well... Lemme see it..."

The captain had taken a moment to read the form. He checked his green screen and said, "Your formage is in order... and you've got the time, Detective...Go! take it."

"Thank you, sir..." he mumbled, "I just need a couple of days..."

The older man looked closer at his screen, "Christ, McGarn...it says here that you've got more than two months of PTO stored up..."

Fred shrugged.

"Listen...I know this is tough. You take all the time you need, son. Two deaths this close together earns you a mental health break."

"I'll just need a couple days..."

"Bull shit, son... Some of the issues you've had scream 'burn out' to me... Look at the bright side. You get to help me with the mayor's staffing commission and you can still go bury your friend. As of today, I'm reducing you in force for twenty straight shifts..."

"You're RIFing me for a month!!!"

"Right... you'll be paid... looking at your time usage history, I can clearly see that you probably haven't taken any of your paid time off for almost two years..." ("Since your wife died..." he said to himself.) "We can't afford to buy it back from you like we have done for the two previous years. All I can offer you is your own time...so...take it! And get your shit straight while you're at it! That's an order!"

Fred went to open his mouth. The Captain held up his hand, "We're done here... Bring your 'five's' up to date and hand your cases to the your SSS for reassignment...Then, you just go home...bury your friend...see your Mom...Now!"

Fred just stood there. Without another word, the captain pointed out his office door toward Fred's cluttered desk in the bull pen.

Instead of saying anything, Fred turned and went to sit at his desk. The senior officers watched him sorting pink "five zero five" case management and resolution forms into various folders.

The two senior officers watched him work for awhile. Then, the lieutenant said softly, "That was easy enough..."

The older man scratched his head, "As you know, we were just about to call his union rep anyway. He aint been worth a shit since his wife's illness. He's been drunk on duty enough times to more than earn a RIF notice... He just beat me to it."

"DoD is hard to shake... Way better this way any how..."

"A shit load less paper work this way. A nice long vacation won't screw with his pension and he'll be out of my hair. Poor bastard...hard enough to lose a wife... Now, his best friend..."

Fred headed for his mother's house early the next day. For more than three hours, he fought his way through Chicago's rush hour traffic and finally broke through to the open highway on I-57. Ten hours of bad coffee and greasy food got him nearly home. With blind luck, he managed the poorly marked roads without getting too lost.

Denny Jones called him to talk about Jimmy. Since his mom had moved since Christmas, he asked him for directions. Actually, it was by the grace of God that he got there at all with the notes he had written in the liner of the map book. All the way down, he had laughed every time he thought about Denny's directions.

"You ready?"

"Yeah...GO!" Fred was looking at a map while Denny spoke. "Go down fifty-seven to exit 54..."

"Right...I see it..."

"Left at the bottom of the ramp..."

"You mean just like I been doing for the last forty six years..."

"Hey, smart ass... I gotta go through the steps to keep it straight..."

"Okay..."

"You know where DeYoung Airport is..?"

"You want me to go there..?"

"No...go the other way...dumb ass..."

"so... East... what road is that?"

"Yeah... east... on ummm...13..."

"How far?"

"It's a ways..."

"Denny...you dickless bastard...how far..?"

"Twenty...twenty five minutes..."

"Good...cuz this map doesn't show any names or numbers after 57..."

"Pay attention, then... When you see County Road 9, cut south to Carrier Mills..."

"My ma has moved to Carrier Mills..?"

"Nooo...just keep going...you will come to a stop and go light between a Mickey D's and the BK..."

"Which way do I turn?"

"Not there...are you mental?"

"Are you, you dumb shit? Why bring it up...Pulling teeth would be easier than getting simple directions out of you..."

" 'F' you...go to the next light and cut left on 26 towards 45..."

"Do I get on 45?"

"No!...Now pay attention... stop askin' stupid questions...stay on 26..."

"How far..?"

"Not too far...coupla minutes..."

"And then..."

"You fixin ta come to a Whippy Dip..."

"You're telling me that there's an ice cream joint out in the middle of nowhere..?"

"I didn't put it there...look, right next door is a Teeny Putt golf doo dah and some go carts... There's a little road running right between them..."

"Fascinating..."

"Man...You want me to help you with this or not..?"

"Come on Denny...I feel myself aging as we speak..."

"That little road is called Battleford Road..."

"Battle ford..?"

"yep...take it til you come to to a T...you know where you have to turn right or left..."

"Got it... which way..?"

"Hush...You'll see a bait shop and boat house on your left..."

"Go that way..?"

"Oh, hell no..."

"So...you dumb hick...go right then..?"

"Yah...Right...now on your left...you'll see the lake..."

"Left..."

"Right...after you turn right, it'll be on your left..."

"Jesus Christ on a crutch..."

Denny ignored him, "The lake's hardly more than a pond, really... just a bunch of old fogies on pontoons fishing...no decent motors allowed...no SkeeDoo's... no noise after nine..."

"Denny..."

"Well...just sayin'... It's a waste of open water..."

"Denny!!!"

"Okay... okay... When ya see the dam, cut a hard left and then, two quick rights. Every lot has one of those big butt gardening signs with their names on them by their mail boxes... its just too precious for real life..."

"Okay... thank God... It takes you longer to tell me how to get home than it will to drive it..."

All the way down the state, Fred found himself laughing at his friends brain damaged instructions. But, they worked. He even stopped at the Whippy Dip for a small cone and some coffee. Then, Fred finally found and crossed the dam and followed the little roads that meandered around the lake. He found the last two little roads that were hardly more than trails. At long last, he found his mother's big butt sign. It looked like a woman in a long skirt bent over gardening. Just past her mailbox, he pulled in by her beat up rice burner.

He loved her new place. Except for the big butt sign, it suited her. It was a tidy clap board cottage by a tiny lake. Pulling to stop, his first thought was that, in the bright sunlight, it could use a coat of paint.

Looking past her yard at the blue water of her little lake, true to Denny's description, Fred saw pontoon boats creeping over the surface with fishing poles dragging in their wake. Then, off to his left, he saw a straw hat moving among the ferns. She was keeping herself busy planting more flowers to add to the riot of color that filled every spare inch of her tiny yard.

She rose and walked stiffly up to grab him around his chest. He kissed her. "Nice yard, Ma..." he said, surveying her work over the top of her head.

"Without a job, your father, or you to fill my time, I find gardening to be good for my nerves."

"Beats drinkin..."

She pushed him away, "Speaking of that...You smell like..."

"Like I stayed up all night getting ready and then, like I've been driving for ten hours..?"

"No...I was gonna say that you smell like a dang distillery, young man..."

"You know, my darling church lady...if your gonna say dang...you might as well say damn... its an equal sin..."

"Very funny, your popeness...They teach you that in your big city church..."

"Ma... You know I haven't been to mass since Jen died..."

"That's alright... I got you dunked proper in the eighth grade... Them Chicago Catholics couldn't ruin that part of your soul..."

"Mother...that's almost indecent..."

"Is not...Now, get inside and get cleaned up before we go see the Simpson's. After we talked yesterday, I went out and bought a new shirt for you. I was afraid you'd look a fright... and you do! You left a suit here last time... I got it cleaned and pressed."

"Thanks, ma..." He went inside. A shower, a shave, and a new shirt later, he found her in her tiny kitchen. She was wearing her black pill box church lady hat and a black dress. She was fussing with stuff, taking it out of a flowery print bag that she called her Vera Walmart special and stuffing it into a black patent leather job. She finished and clicked it shut.

"Sarah Jean McGarn...Do church ladies do visitations in their bare feet now?"

Sarah jumped putting her hand across your heart, "I declare...you scared two years out of me..." She crossed to him, straightened his tie, "I thought with all the weight you've lost, you might just fit into this one...The one you came down in looks like your older brother loaned it to you..."

"I aint got no older brother..."

"All that money we spent to send you to college and you still talk just like Denny Jones..." Fred laughed as she kicked herself into a pair of black pumps and grabbed some black gloves. Fred helped her settle into the passenger seat.

Chapter 6; The Visitation

He looked up at the late afternoon sun. "Hot down here," he mumbled to no one in particular. He took his suit coat off and put it carefully across the back seat. They bumped along the dirt trails back to the Whippy Dip. He followed the high way into town. They headed across town to the old neighborhood. After a brief tour, they had pulled up and parked in front of their old house.

His mother said, "Our old place looks so pretty...Yellow is such a good color...She's done a good job fixing it up."

Fred had parked his car in a shady spot on the tree lined street. "She..?"

"Margaret..."

"Margaret..?"

"Oh, right...you called her Peg..."

"Peg...really... She bought our house...imagine that..."

"Yes...imagine that... It was lucky, really. Both our old house and Margaret came on the market at the same time. She bought it after her last divorce. Jimmy was between wives as well. So, he lived with her for a while. He did a lot of the work. It worked well for both of them. She had made a way to be able to keep an eye on her parents...You know, some children are like that."

"Nice..." Fred made a face and nodded. He helped his mother out of his car. He left his coat, "Too hot for that thing..."

His mom nodded grimly as she took his arm and stepped over the curb. He looked the street up and down once, "Well, this street hasn't changed a tick, at least..."

In the late afternoon, they crossed the sun streaked yard arm in arm and walked up the old steps carefully. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs to look at the house. His eyes roamed across Jimmy's yard and past an overgrown lilac. Fred's gaze drifted next door to his old house. He then stared a moment at the shaded porch and at the screen door. The brightness of the evening sun made the doorway look like a square black hole in the white siding.

As he reached the top step, he heard, "Freddy!" He looked up as he heard his name called out from the darkness. A pretty woman of indeterminate age had launched herself through the screen door. Before he had had a chance to think, he had found himself holding a strange, blubbering woman who knew his name. "I knew you'd come..."

He looked down at the yellow curls. He was immediately lost in the idea that she had cleverly fashioned her hair into that fancy braid work. After he worked up the nerve to speak, and just to make the certain of her identity, he took a chance, asking, "Ummm... Peg..?"

"Who...else...ya idjit..." she had choked between sobs. She punched him softly in the chest.

He pursed his lips and held her while she cried. People made tut tut noises as they went in and out of the door way. His mother patted her back and disappeared into the dark doorway. No one seemed to recognize him for a long time.

Finally, Peg wound down. Fred maneuvered her into the cool interior of the house. Just inside, Fred pushed her out and held her at arms length. "This is really kinda weird...If I didn't know better, I'd swear I was transported back to my childhood and was being mugged by your mother when she was young. You look like she did then..."

Peg blushed a little. "Still the silver tongued devil, I see..." She looked back at him more closely. "Oh... Freddy... I've ruined your shirt..."

Fred shrugged, "It aint no big thing... Shop Mart has hundreds more of them just like it..."

"Oh, you are such a big goof!" Peg grabbed his hand and dragged him as they walked around looking through the milling crowds for her parents. Fred found himself shaking hands with barely remembered local chums and making small talk. After what seemed like an eternity, they found her mother first. Fred was struck by the way she had aged since Christmas. Her mother grabbed him hard around the chest just as her daughter had moments before, "Freddy...you came."

He kissed the top of her gray braids, "Where else would I be, Auntie Ag...where else?"

His aunt held him for a while, then, she seemed to come out of her funk for a moment. "Come with me, sweetie...Big Jim has been asking for you..."

Passing his mom, Peg stopped to hug her for a long moment. Fred continued past them both while being dragged by his Aunt Agnes through a small pantry hallway into the kitchen. There, he found his uncle Jim washing dishes. "Big Jim..."she said tenderly, pulling on his arm to turn him "look who's here... look who's come home..."

Jim moved toward him, "Freddy... Freddy... you came... you came..." Fred was not a small man, but, Big Jim completely enveloped him in a hug like a great bear. In a moment, Fred realized that the older man's body was shaking. Once again, Fred found himself crying with a member of Jimmy's family. This was more crying than Fred had ever done for either of the two previous deaths.

If a shrink were watching his behavior right now, he might say that Fred was finally crying for his dad, and for both Jen and Jimmy. If Fred had cared, he might remember what the department shrink had said during mandatory counseling sessions that he had been ordered to take after a shooting last year. That guy had asked more than once about why he had never cried for his lost father nor had he ever cried his wife. That was before. He was crying now.

Peg walked up and put her arms around her dad from the back, "It's alright, Daddy... it's all right..." In this position, Fred was all too aware that she had her arms around him, as well.

After a while, the old man righted himself. He blew his nose on a wad of paper towels, "I'm sorry, Freddy..." He hung his head.

Fred pointed to the marks on his shirt front, "At least you didn't get shmutz all over my new shirt like your daughter did." They all laughed sadly.

Big Jim ran his giant paws back through his grey buzz cut. He shook himself like a giant puppy. He concentrated on Fred's face, "How was your drive, son..?"

"Oh, you know...three hours battling rush hour in town...then, easy breezy down fifty-seven... then, I got lost a couple of times on those fucking Indian trails around the lake to find ma's house... With Denny's directions, it's a wonder I made it at all... But, now that I'm here, it was not too bad."

The old man nodded. He had made that drive enough times, hauling ore out all over the Midwest.

Aunt Ag grabbed his arm. "Are you hungry, Freddy? We have tons of food." Without waiting for an answer, she dragged him back through the pantry. Every surface in the dining room was covered with food of all kinds. In a few moments, she filled a plate and steered him away. He found himself alone in the cool evening shade of the empty back porch.

This back porch had been Freddy and Jimmy's favorite spot on a rainy day. That back porch became everything from a pirate ship to a rocket ship. Not eating, Fred sat in the quiet and cried a little more. "What I really need is a drink," he said to himself. Freddy was surprised to feel a warm hand in his cold one. He felt energy pour into him. He looked up to see that the yard had gone full dark. In the silent buzzing of insects in Aunt Agnes's flower beds, Peg had found him.

"Freddy, you're shaking..."

"I need a drink, Peg."

"Well. Daddy aint had a drink since your dad's first heart attack and Mama won't have a bottle in the house."

"I know..."

She pulled him to his feet, "Come on, buddy...I don't have those rules at my house."

They ducked out the back and through a gate in the privacy fence. She led him into her kitchen. He vaguely noticed through the beginnings of his withdrawal that the kitchen had been redone completely. In a high cabinet over the fridge, she pulled out Jimmy's favorite, Jack Daniels Red Label. She poured two fingers into two water glasses. She held her glass up for a toast, "To Jimmy..."

He touched his glass to hers, "To Jimmy..." They drank.

She put her hand to his face, "Better..?"

"Yeah... I'll be able to be sociable now."

As they returned to her porch, he noticed she had a pool. "You put that in?"

"Nah, it's a pain in my ass...A pool is so much work... Denny, the guy who owned the house before me put it in... It's expensive to maintain and a bitch to keep clean."

"One of my college jobs was as a pool boy...I could come over and help you while I'm here. I have a month off..."

A sly grin crossed her face, "Oooh, my own pool boy..."

Fred snorted, "I have to say that I was strictly the cleaner... any hanky panky implied by your sleazy tone was extra, ma'am..." They laughed. Fred and Peg leaned easily on the porch railing touching shoulders like the old comrades that they were. Fred looked away from her pool.

"What happened to my fort?"

"Oh, that was very exciting. I had just moved back to town after my last and final divorce. I was sleeping on Barbie sheets in my old room next door. It had been a very dry summer, so everything was a tinder box just waiting to burn. One night, we had a huge storm. I don't know if you remember... All my life, I have loved watching the rain storms."

"Nope...never knew that one..."

"Me and Daddy were sitting on Mama's porch, rocking in the porch swing. A fabulous bolt of lightning split your old tree in half."

"Damn!"

"Yep...very exciting..."

"And they say nothin' exciting ever happens down here..."

Peg snort laughed, "Your tree house bursts into flames, catching the leaves of the tree on fire. Before we knew it, the tree is both falling and burning. A smaller piece fell into Mama's azaleas over there and the biggest piece fell against my house, well it was Denny Jones's place back then...any ways, before we could do anything, the kitchen wall is smashed in and this whole corner of the house is on fire.

"Man...what a night, huh?"

"Before we could think, there, in all his glory, was "Dickless" Denny Jones out in the rainstorm in his driveway. He was only wearing pajama pants. Daddy yelled into the house for Mama to call 9-1-1. We got busy dragging out the all the hoses we can muster. Luckily the power was still on, so we had water pressure. I aimed the back hose at the piece that was burning out in our back yard trying to save mama's azaleas. Daddy and Denny were aiming the two side hoses at his house."

"Heroic..."

"Yah...the best thing in our favor was that it started raining like a cow pissing on a rock. Between three hoses and the rain, that fire was out by the time the Volunteers got there."

"You kiss your mama with that mouth."

She leaned up against him, "Yah... and I probably could be persuaded to kiss you with it too."

"Holy crap, Peg! Where did that come from?"

"I don't know...I wish I could blame it on the liquor, but, we didn't drink that much..."

"We better head back before we're missed..."

Chapter 7; Peg's World Since College

To tell Peg's story, we are going to start back a day. Peg awoke early and simply wandered her empty house. She was tired of crying for Jimmy. It had been four days since she had learned that her brother had been stupid enough to run off on some fool's errand to Africa and get himself killed. She wandered into her son's room, idly straightening his collection of monster trucks on a shelf. His name was Jimmy also. He had been gone a week. While he was being missed horribly, she was glad that he was in Florida at Disney with his father, the scum bag, and his new fake titted step mother.

What had sent her into a frenzy of cleaning in the soft light of dawn was the phone call from her mother an hour ago. She had groggily picked up her phone, "Sissy..."

"Oh, hey, Mama..."

"I'm sorry... Did I wake ya?"

"No..." she lied, "I'm just sitting here with my coffee."

"Sarah just called..."

"Oh..?"

"She asked me if you needed a new outfit or anything..."

"How odd..."

"She wanted to make sure that you were aware that her Freddy would be here for supper."

"Why should I care..." she lied, "He's not coming here to see me..."

"Fluff and nonsense, little girl... Of course he's not..."

"Exactly..."

"I'm just saying... Me and Sarah are going to the Flip N Clip... You could go too..."

"And what... get my gray hairs touched up?"

"Your eyebrows could use a pluck..."

"Mother... what a thing to say..."

"I'm just saying... he's been a widower for three years..."

"Mother!"

"Sweetie..."

"Okay... I'll let you know..." and she hung up before she picked up a pillow off the couch and started screaming into it. When she got control of herself, Peg got some coffee and sat in her comfortable living room. The furniture wasn't new but it was adequate for her and Little Jimmy's needs. She wandered among the pieces, fluffing pillows and picking up Jimmy's toys. In a few moments, the room was ready for Jimmy to run into and destroy like a white tornado. Not today though. If Fred did end up in here for some reason, with Jimmy out of town, it should remain presentable.

Hell, she told herself, there was even money that Fred wouldn't even see it. He might just blow into town, go to Jimmy's service and scoot right back to his big city life just like he had before. She had to steel herself against the pain of losing him again. She had worked very hard, these last few years so that he never knew how she felt about him.

She had pretended that Little Jimmy was sick to get out of the last Christmas dinner at Sarah's because she just couldn't deal with her mother's match making. She told herself that the ache in her heart for Fred was more manageable when she didn't have to pretend or, worst of all, touch that man.

She looked at the last picture of Fred and Jimmy on her mantle piece. She had taken it on that porch the night that Fred hit his last homer and Jimmy got drafted. She tenderly touched Fred's very young face. She shook her head looking at the two drunken seniors in the photo. She remembered sourly how shaken she had been by her reaction to seeing him with Jennifer. Her reaction had been so strong that she had run off and married that bastard, Mitchell Garnett, that very weekend. It had helped to have Mitchell to cling to when she had been forced by her mother to attend Fred and Jennifer's shot gun wedding.

Two months later, Peg had rushed to Chicago to be at Freddy's side and to hold him as he cried for the baby daughter they lost. He had been in such shock that he had hardly known who he was holding onto. It became clear to her and she had slunk back to Mitchell when he had rushed to his wife's side when she came out of the anesthetic.

While they were at Notre Dame, her first marriage had not been so bad. They had moved into married student housing where there were parties to attend and lively discussions to distract her from the fact that Mitchell was a self-absorbed rich boy. She was also distracted by the classes she was taking. Once Mitchell was done with school and had passed his bar, they moved into a nice little ranch house and he took his place working for his Grandfather's law firm in Indianapolis.

During the first year, she was too busy decorating their new house and finishing her degree. Finally, she began to see that she had chosen badly. It became clearer and clearer that she had absorbed quite enough punishment for her stupidity. She had endured four loveless, boring years.

It had almost been a relief when she discovered that the idiot had cheated on her with one of the other associate's in his Grandfather's firm. Finally, she could leave his butt. Since he was about to run for local office, his family paid her a nice chunk of change to let the marriage be annulled quietly.

Peg had gotten a job working at the Indiana Historical Society as a genealogist. She poured her life and her considerable computer and analytical skills into this work. Soon, she had a fine reputation and many clients of her own. In the fourth year of being single, she made the mistake of falling in love with one of her clients and took her second plunge into the marital pool.

Thinking back, Peg discovered that she had no memories before Fred. Many evenings she had sat on her couch after little Jimmy had fallen asleep looking through books of photos. She once told Teeny that her oldest memory is that once when she was four, she had fallen trying to chase the boys somewhere. Jimmy had laughed at her, but, Fred had helped her up, sat her on the porch, and put a band aid on it. She used to try and scrape herself so that Fred would take care of her.

Chapter 8; Fred and Peg's First Night

Peg was suddenly aware that they might be missed back at her parents, "Yeah...we better get back..."

"I am the tiniest bit flattered, though..."

Peg was silently holding his hand as the cut back through the gardens. He tripped over something in the dark. It was a small red bicycle with training wheels. She helped him up, "Oh, I'm so sorry... I forgot it was there..."

He set the bike back on its wheels, "Nice bike...kinda small, though... how do you ride it?"

"Very funny, Big City...it's Jimmy's bike."

"Your brother..? I'm pretty sure your brother never used training wheels..."

"No, sweetie...my son... Jimmy Thompson..."

He sat heavily in a chair on her mom's back porch, "Ohhh...I didn't know..."

"It's okay... As you can see, there are a lot of Jimmy's in this household..."

"Yep..."

"Even with Big Jim being Grampa... We still had two Jimmy's left..."

"I can see that..."

"Your Mama started calling him JT...Soon, everyone was calling him that and the problem was solved..."

"Fascinating story..."

"He's with his dad for two weeks... They're at Disney... Danny, that's my ex...He offered to bring him back home when we learned about Jimmy, but, really...all the funeral business would just be too hard on him... it seemed best to leave him in Florida... You'll meet him next week..." On the way back into the dining room, Fred threw away his untouched plate of food.

Fred slowly worked his way through the crowd inside Jimmy's parents' house like a man running for mayor. Peg stayed by his side and helped him get through it. She greeted everyone by name so that Freddy could seem to remember them. Finally, he found his mother, "Ma..? You ready..?"

"Yes, baby...I'm ready..."

"Okay... me too..."

His mom patted his shirt, "Oh, look... Your shirt is a mess... I guess we gotta stop by Shop Mart on the way home..."

Peg grabbed her arm. "Oh...let me find my purse...I'll pay for it..."

"Okay...I'll come with you..." Agnes followed the other two as they headed for a back bedroom.

"What..!" He said to their disappearing backs. "There's no need... I have money... Women!" Then, he threw his hands up in defeat as he gave up. He went to hunt for Big Jim to say his good byes.

After a few minutes, his mom returned without the other two women. Sarah seemed to take forever extracting herself from the hugging crowd. They finally made it out of the house and headed for the store.

Just as they pulled up, Peg pulled up next to them. She shrugged, "I had to get outa there... People were bailing anyways... tomorrow's gonna be a long day..."

His mother gave a tired smile, "Give me your keys, Freddy..."

"What's up, Ma..?"

"Nothing... Margaret... Can you give Freddy a ride home? I'm bushed..."

"Wait a second... Did you girls work this out?"

His mom looked positively angelic, "Absolutely not, sonny boy. I'm just tired."

"Of course, Auntie Sarah...I'll take good care of our little lost boy here..."

"I can hear you... Hello... I'm right here..."

"Be a good boy, son... Don't bring any booze into my cabin..." Before he could protest further, his mother waved and drove off.

"Hey...You changed out of your dress and put on pants..."

"Now you notice...Mr. Oblivious?"

"And I get no say in this?"

"What..? You don't want to shop with me..?"

"Don't put words in my mouth... It's unsanitary..."

She laughed and took his arm, "Come on, Big City...let's buy you some decent clothes... Your mom's ashamed to be seen with you in public..."

"What?!?"

"Enough, already... Follow me!" she said in her best "mom" voice.

"Really..? Seriously..?" but he went along like he had been trained from childhood to respond to that voice.

Nattering around him like an old mother hen, Peg was ahead of him at every turn as they went up one aisle and down the next. By the time she was done with him, Fred had ended up buying himself a bunch of new clothes. Nagging nonstop about his old clothes being too big and too out dated, she talked him into buying new khakis and new jeans. Somehow, by the time he made it to the cash register, some new underwear had mysteriously appeared in his shopping cart with some sandals.

"How'd you know the size?"

"Magic... You know... that girly crap that we talk about when we go to the bathroom together..."

"Ewww... Too Much Info! If I hear any more, I would have to give up my man card..." Fred theatrically shuddered.

Peg had even bought him a Hawaiian shirt and some cargo shorts. "What's this for..?"

"Early pay for my new pool boy," she whispered in his ear.

He gave her a small pat on her butt, "You are a bad girl..."

She snuggled up to him. She spoke softly in a voice that made it hard for him to breath, "Oh, come on... I could have bought you that Speedo..."

"Now that would have been truly bad..."

"Sometimes I'm better when I'm bad..."

With an exasperated whoosh of air, Fred turned from her and grabbed his bags. Laughing like teenagers, they headed for her car. It was immediately clear that she was very familiar with all the back roads to his mom's cabin. It was as if she drove there all the time. Peg showed him the short cuts over some of the bumpiest back roads across the county.

"This path is fascinating. Do you go see my mom much?"

"Yeah," Peg looked at him, "All the time... Little Jimmy loves the lake. He calls your mom, Tanti Sarah... She bribes him with steering the boat and cookies... He bribes her with the sweetest little boy hugs this side of Memphis..."

"Really..."

"Her words...not mine..."

"Sounds like a fair trade to me."

"They are the greatest of chums..."

As they passed the Whippy Dip, Fred realized that he wanted some ice cream, but all three businesses were closed. She quickly found his mom's cabin. She turned to look at Fred, "I really am glad to see you again, Fred..."

"I...ummm... when I'm with you, I find myself a lot less sad than I thought I would be..."

"I'll try and take that as a compliment..."

"Come on... That didn't exactly come out right..."

"Really... I couldn't tell..."

"Mostly... I don't know how I feel about this..."

"This what..?"

"This very strange getting to know you thing..."

"But Fred, after Jimmy, you know me better than anyone..."

"Shoot...Peg... I feel like I don't know you at all..."

She put a very warm hand on his arm. The tingle of it filled him, "We can fix that once tomorrow's nasty business is over."

Fred opened the door, "Sure...after tomorrow..." He got out and retrieved his bags from the back seat.

"See ya tomorrow..." She drove off. Her red tail lights quickly disappeared in the winding forested trails around the lake.

Fred went inside and undressed. Even the buzzing of insects and his mom's window fan could not lull him to sleep.

Chapter 9; Jimmy's Secret Lover

For some reason, as he lay there just before falling asleep, Fred's stomach rumbled. He still hadn't eaten since lunch. He wondered if Teeny's was still open. Like the other faces that he had been dredging up all day, there were only three non-white faces that popped in. Those belonged to the Wilkins family, which immediately brought his mind to the coffee and two creams colored face of their only child and Peg's best friend, Little Teeny Wilkins. He looked at his watch.

He knew from life long experience that no businesses in this town were open this late. Teeny would already be closed up and probably out back at home in her Daddy's old trailer back on the river. Junior and Big Teeny had moved into town to a condo cabana at the senior village called Pleasant Ridge.

He made himself a peanut butter and honey sandwich and went out on the back lawn to eat it. He went to his car and poured a bit of whiskey into a can of diet soda to go with his sandwich. He sat by the lake and ate as he began to think about Peg's friend. For some reason, he remembered that Teeny's real name was Delilah Wilkins, but everyone called her Little Teeny. Her momma was still called Big Teeny.

As long as he could remember, he had never seen Peg alone when she was awake. Like Jimmy and Fred, Teeny and Peg had formed a two girl team. Way before they were allowed to run with Fred and Jim, whenever Fred saw Peg, there had always been another girl right next to her. Even though Teeny was pale skinned for an African American, to a small town white boy, she looked as dark as Peg looked pale. Teeny was a year younger than Peg.

As he sat there, he let his mind drift back to Peg. He could still smell her on his hands and on his shirt. The smell was both comforting and disturbing at the same time. He had not been attracted to anyone other than Jen for more than twenty years and now, here he was, sorting through his ancient memories. His earliest memory of Peg was when she had gotten Scarlet Fever in the first grade. Jimmy had come to live at his house for two months, so that he wouldn't get sick also.

When Peg had recovered, her heart was weak. By the time she could attend regularly, she had missed too many days of school to pass on to the next grade. The next fall, then, when she returned for her second try at first grade, she found herself for the second time in the same double desk. This time, Teeny Wilkins was the girl sitting next to her at that desk. They had instantly become best friends. During the early part of her recovery, Peg wasn't allowed out much.

Once she was deemed to be noninfectious, Teeny would come to stay over at Peg's house a lot. Like the other girls on their street, Teeny had also gotten two dolls stolen off the back porch. When Peg had solved that mystery, both of Teeny's dolls were recovered unharmed from the errant doll thieves by the Ready Freddy Detective Agency. Once Peg was a full fledged detective, Teeny became the receptionist and became the second girl allowed into the tree fort.

As light skinned as she was, Teeny was still the only African American girl in town. Her parents were pioneers of a sort. They left the prejudices of the deep south for small town life in the Ohio River Basin in Illinois. The father of this family was named Chester, but he wanted everybody to call him Junior. He had been a cook in the Army. He was honorably discharged, but came home to life of ridicule. His mother had been of mixed race. His father was white. They had never married. This was too many strikes against the young man in Alabama.

So, when Junior Wilkins had gotten back from Viet Nam, he saw no reason to stay in his home town. In order to make something of himself, he went north, leaving Alabama for good. The stigma of rejection from his rich white father's family and the dismissal of his mother's black friends caused him to move. He traveled out west. Next, he tried Florida. One spring morning, he found himself fishing in a little creek on the edge of a little town in the back woods of Illinois. In those woods was an abandoned fishing trailer.

He asked around and found the owner. The owner agreed to a reasonable rent and Junior Wilkins had his first home. Junior did odd jobs around town. He had a gift for fixing machinery. Once people found out he was both an Army veteran and good with his hands, he was accepted into a fringe existence. So, he took up residence alone in the trailer down by the same little river that would later be dammed up to make Freddy's mom's lake.

Chester was a business man and a farmer. All through the woods around his trailer, Chester had carefully planted some Viet Namese Red seeds that he had smuggled back from Nam in secret locations in the swampy woods. In St. Louis, he had procured some seeds from Jamaican Ganja plants. He planted those in other hidden spots as well. In short order, his green thumb began to pay off and he was able to buy the trailer and the wooded land around his trailer.

As time passed, he became locally famous for supplying the county with moon shine whiskey and some fine forest grown weed. Since he only sold to adults, his business was called harmless fun. The sheriff was one of his best customers and made sure he was protected and that nothing got out of hand.

After a while, he was settled in. Still, he began to get restless. Simply put, Chester Wilkins was lonely. Even though he was technically three quarters Caucasian blood, he was not free to see any of the local white women socially who saw him as a light skinned black man. He was attractive enough. He could find all kinds of girls in St. Louis to sleep with, but, they were city girls and had no interest in his country life style. He knew that he needed someone who would come out to live in the River Country.

One early fall weekend, Junior had gone down to Alabama to visit his mom. The real reason for his mother asking him down to visit was so that he could accept her choice for a wife. A product of a mixed race union herself, his mother had fixed him up with a light skinned Jamaican girl that she found for him at church. Her name was Sadantha "Big Teeny" Wilkins and she was both literally and figuratively a holy terror. Every Sunday morning, on orders from Junior's mother, she dragged him to the African Methodist AME church in the next town over. She wanted him to get Jesus and stop selling whiskey.

He chose to fool his wife instead. He loved her enough to pretend to get Jesus. His other compromise was to move his still over to Denny Jones's wooded back forty. They became partners in the hooch business. Chester knew the distillery business and Harry and Denny Jones did the deliveries. As a successful business man with cash to put in the offering plates, he and Teeny were soon elevated to a solid position in the tiny church's family. Unlike the good folk in Alabama, these people didn't care that these new recruits both had white fathers. Their money was good and their hearts were ready for the Lord.

As a normal farmer, Harry Jones had been a dismal failure. The months of care and focus needed to get a crop to market was just too much for his drunk ass to manage. That is, until he changed from corn to marijuana. Suddenly, Harry exhibited a green thumb of his own. Since marijuana pretty much grows itself, Harry showed himself to be an excellent farmer at tending to their hidden Ganja plants. Harry knew all the reprobate souls in five counties around. Using these contacts, Harry and Junior had many new moonshine and pot customers all over the area.

Big Teeny Wilkins was determined to rescue Chester's soul. She wanted him to start a legitimate business. First, he gave her enough money to start a roadside stand selling Chester's mom's recipe for barbeque brisket and ribs and chicken. Teeny added some Jamaican dishes and soon, they became known for serving the best Barbeque in Southern Illinois.

She kept pushing him to reinvest his hooch and dope profits into their legitimate business. To make his wife happy, he bought some more land, tore down the roadside stand, and built her a real Diner on the Bend Road near the new dam. The diner business was too boring for Junior. Except for starting and tending the meat and the fires in the early morning, he soon left the running of everything inside the restaurant to his wife.

Big Teeny also became famous as the creator of some of the best baked goods in the county. She was the first and only non-white Blue Ribbon Champion at Delwood's Founder's Day Free Fair. Her Jamaican sweet breads and sweet potato pie drew patrons and awards from far and wide.

To maintain order and political correctness, the Fair Board was forced to create a new category just for her. They were caught in a vise between this new champion baker and the old guard of biddies from the churches who had to keep winning for their apple and berry pies to keep the peace in their county. These new rules nearly brought an end to the whispered complaints about Big Teeny using some Jamaican voo doo witch craft out back of her diner down in the low country.

From that day on, each type of pie had its own category. A woman could submit apple or berry or what ever they wanted and still have a chance at a blue ribbon. Big Teeny was a smart enough business woman to know that she must stick to sweet potato pies to keep her restaurant from being black balled by the fine church ladies of the county.

As time passed and people got used to the new restaurant outside of town, they kept saying that the diner needed a name. Since Junior Turple already had the towing business for twenty five years called 'Junior's', Chester called their place, Teeny's. With Little Teeny currently running the place, it is still called that today.

Big Teeny was as famous for loving to laugh as she was famous for loving to watch people eat. People flocked to their diner because Big Teeny was the greatest hostess. She made people feel like they were at home. The second year that she had come north with Junior, she had a tiny little baby that they called Delilah. The new baby was so little by comparison to her huge, gregarious parents, she was quickly knick-named 'Little Teeny'. For some reason, they never had another child. Big Teeny's famous line was that if the Lord was only gone give her one baby, at least, he gave her the bestest one ever.

What nobody knew was that Little Teeny and Jimmy were going to spend their whole life trying not to turn the social mores of their little burg on its head. They both knew that even though Teeny was a hometown girl and quite light skinned, she was, just like her father, still the only African-American in the school district. The same reason that had driven her father to go all the way home to Alabama to find a mate, forced her and Jimmy to hide their feelings and, even more dangerous, their activities. Even in the seventies, there was still a color barrier in the bedroom.

Thrown together by her friendship with Peg, Teeny and Jimmy formed a friendship that, despite all their efforts, just kept growing. After much teasing, they began to get more serious. Starting in Junior High, Teeny started meeting Jimmy in the tree house in the middle of the night for some pretty serious fooling around. Only her iron will and her to-the-bone fear of her mother kept them from going all the way. Always a light sleeper, Jimmy's mother was the first to notice the interesting night time traffic. Agnes quietly pointed the two obvious love birds out to Big Jim. He waited and he watched. After a while, he knew his wife was right.

One night, when Jimmy was a junior in high school, Big Jim had come in from a night of frog hunting with the sheriff when he saw a light in the tree fort. He walked quietly closer. He heard the unmistakable sound of boy and girl laughter. As a concerned dad, Big Jim was about to climb the ladder when the trap door opened. He moved into the shadows to see Teeny climb down the ladder quickly and run into their house. Big Jim returned to his chair on the darkened back porch. After a short time, Jimmy came quietly up the back stairway.

"Evening, son..."

"Holy shit, Dad... You scared the crap out of me..."

"Sit down, son... Catch your breath..."

"I'm tired, Daddy..."

"I won't keep you long..." Jimmy sat. His dad was too quiet, but, he figured that if he maintained his cool, this would just be a stern talking to.

"Was that Miss Teeny with you this evening up in the tree fort?"

"We was just talkin'..."

"Talkin'..."

"Yes, sir... I swear..."

"Jimmy... I'm just gone to say this flat out. Girls like her..."

Jimmy immediately bristled, "Girls like what..."

"Don't be stupid, son... She, in case you haven't noticed... is a colored girl..."

"She has more white blood in her than colored... as you might have noticed..."

"Don't get me wrong...The Wilkins family are great people... Her mother and your mother are leaders of the District Women's Missionary League... Me and Junior are great buds..."

Jimmy fought with his temper. Teeny was Peg's best friend and he was rapidly becoming addicted to her coffee colored silky skin. "And..."

"Before you get your hackles up... You can't be in love with that girl..."

"But..."

"No buts, son... Coloreds and whites are fine to behave as friends..."

"Yeah..?"

"Yeah... but, neither race will allow this... this... relationship... Simply put... You and Teeny cannot seriously become mating partners."

Jimmy had stormed past him into the house. Jimmy, being Jimmy, became more determined than ever to see how far he could push just one more boundary. He just got smarter. Once he had a car, he and Teeny would steam up the windows and vow to find a way to make their love work.

Unlike the rest of her closest friends, Teeny never was good at school work. Like so many pretty girls, she built her social power base on her good looks and sweet personality. Peg and she became cheerleaders, not on skill, but because they were the prettiest girls in school. Bus rides and away games added to the opportunities for fooling around.

Also, unlike the rest of them, Teeny already had a built in career, so, no college was really needed for her. She went to the Junior College at the county seat to study Restaurant Science while all of her close circle left her as they went off to major colleges.

Her plans to move their relationship to the next level with Jimmy required several stages and much planning. On a supposed shopping trip with Peg, they had both gone to a doctor in St. Louis to get birth control pills. She told Peg that she had met someone at college and she was thinking about trying sex. Peg had the same notion, so, Teeny's story went unchallenged. Somehow over all their years together, Peg never saw what was right in front of her face between her brother and her best friend.

In October of their freshman year, Teeny executed the final stage of her plan. Her and Peg made a date for Teeny to come see her during the week. Both moms had said that they were okay with it. Teeny's weekends were too busy at the diner, so, she told her mother that she was going to see Peg at Notre Dame on a Tuesday night. At the last second, she told Peg her mother wouldn't let her go, that they would have to reschedule. She got in her shiny new car and headed for the Indiana border. She ended up in a motel with Jimmy near IU.

Her problem was that she had loved Jimmy her whole life and Jimmy only loved Jimmy. While he was regularly spending Teeny's tip money on sleazy no tell motels, he was systematically working his way through the girl's dorms and sorority houses on campus. They would spend time on the phone having torrid conversations while some drunk sophomore was giving Jimmy oral sex in his bed at the frat house.

The first time that Jimmy broke her heart came when he was signed as a professional baseball player. Her official story was that she was going down to Alabama to see her Gramma. In reality, she had secretly gone all that way to see her Jimmy pitch for money. She had gone to his hotel room to surprise him and heard the sounds of active love making through the cracked paint on the cheap door. Crying, she had turned on her heel and gone back to her Gramma's house.

She had refused to talk to him or see him for more than a year. She still went to see Peg at Notre Dame. She was the Maid of Honor at all three of her weddings. Through conversations around Peg's table, she heard that Jimmy had made the White Sox and that he was married. She would see him sometimes at Auntie Ag's table for holidays. She would position herself as far from him and his lilly-white skinned, red headed wife as possible and try to pretend that he didn't matter. The new wife and Jen had become friends and they would chatter away about their exciting life in the big city of Chicago.

Two more years passed. She had gone to help move Peg down to Indianapolis. She stayed a couple of days. Trying to act nonchalant, she pumped Peg for confirmation of some rumors that she had heard at the diner. Sitting in her new kitchen surrounded by stacked dishes and cardboard boxes, the two women were having a last cup of coffee before tackling the unpacking chores, "So... What's new with Jimmy?"

Peg confirmed one of the rumors. "So... I guess you may have heard..."

"Not really..." she lied.

"Well...it is true that Jimmy has just gotten a divorce."

Screaming inside, Teeny took a small sip of her coffee, "Imagine that..."

"Jimmy just acts like Jimmy... but I talked to Freddy..."

"What does Freddy say?"

"He says that the newspapers in Chicago gave a blistering account of the trial..."

Not wanting to push her in case it might tip her hand, Teeny said softly, "Hot pitcher... Hot topic...",

"The papers quote the wife as she came out of court..."

"That's the juicy crap those bastards love..."

"The poor jilted floozy is quoted as saying that Jimmy had cheated on her one too many times. She got tired of his fooling around."

"Jimmy being Jimmy..." Unbeknownst to her best friend, Teeny knew Jimmy better than anyone knew.

"Yeah... I guess so..."

Teeny nodded silently as Peg continued, "Her fancy divorce lawyer had really tried to take Jimmy to the cleaners."

"Really..."

"Luckily, Jimmy told me that, years ago, his finance manager had made his ex-wife sign a pre-nuptial agreement."

"Clever..."

"So... all she was allowed to take was one of the houses and one of the cars."

"Not much..."

"No... When I called him yesterday, Jimmy just laughed..."

"That's our Jimmy..."

"He said the crap she got was mortgaged to the hilt."

Not a bit sorry for the bitch who stole her Jimmy, Teeny spoke even more softly, "Bummer..."

"Even better for Jimmy, he told me that after a small cash settlement, his cash flow was intact."

"Good for him, I guess..."

"Finally, he says that the little gold digger has been forced to sell everything and pretty much walks away with nothing."

Some more years passed with Teeny sleeping alone and pining for Jimmy. Between visits and phone calls to Peg and the local newspaper touting their local hero ballplayer, she kept in touch with Jimmy's day to day life. Over the years the pain faded but the love burned on. She and Jimmy would run into each other in various places but they are barely civil. Mostly, as old lovers, they are just awkward together.

One day, when Jimmy was between wives, she got a letter with no return address. It contained an inside envelope from Jimmy. It just said, "Come... We'll talk..." In the inside envelope was an airplane ticket to Can Cun. So, she became determined to plan a great vacation using Jimmy's money.

Her mother took her aside after her dinner announcement, "So... Mexico..?"

"Mother...Please... Don't make a fuss... It's no big deal...." She figured he owed her that much.

"You are just leaving us here to run this place alone?"

"Please...Have a little perspective, Mama... You are quite capable of running the diner back for seven days without little old me..."

Her mother laughed at her joke, "I suppose, sugar..."

"Look... You'll be fine... We just hired that new young waitress, Sylvia, and that bus boy, Denny Jones, can do the heavier chores."

"Sure... But, Mexico... All by yourself... I worry..."

"It's a tour, Mama..." she lied. "I'll be fine..."

Thus, she and Jimmy began their second journey into love together.

Teeny tried very hard to keep her eyes wide open this time. As proven in the tabloids and divorce courts, Jimmy was a bone deep hound dog. But, he was her hound dog and she was tired of sleeping alone. She was equally determined to take what life was going to give her as long as she could. Thus, for the next ten years, they began an on again, off again set of short affairs. Teeny would find herself whisked off to see exotic places in the world and Jimmy got an easy lay. She was able to build her bling collection if he felt guilty enough.

She would try not to notice that, sometimes the very next week after she got back from where ever Jimmy had jetted her off to, she would see her hound dog with some starlet or another. Screaming and throwing things in her apartment, she would vow to never go again, but, then, a few months would pass and she would get restless.

Jimmy seemed to have some kind of a psychic sense of her mood. He would seem to know just when to send her a ticket or a fancy diamond tennis bracelet or both. Feeling weak and foolish, she would find herself packed and ready for another dose of her man drug.

Sometimes, just to keep her guessing, he would come to see her to feed her addiction in person. For instance, a couple of years ago, just like any ordinary Thursday night, she was hurrying through the tasks required for closing up the diner when the little bell over the door dinged. She came out of the kitchen wiping her hands on the apron that she had just pulled off, "I'm sorry... We're closed... The grill's done been turned off..."

What she saw nearly took her breath away. There, by the door, was her Jimmy leaning on the door jam in her empty restaurant. He tilted his head, staring at her, "Delilah..." was all he said. Starting back in the tree fort where they had become lovers, he always called her by her given name. His invitations to meet him were notes in her locker with a one letter message understood only by her.

Somehow, just the sound of his voice saying what he had called "her love name" made her blood boil and her heart melt at the same time. She stood and stared at the face that she had loved since she was in grade school. The muscles from his professional sportsman's life had filled his tan, V neck sweater out nicely.

She brought her short frame up stiffly to her full height. She felt vulnerable in a short skirt and bare feet. She had carefully dressed for him, knowing what he liked and also knowing that he was expected to blow through sometime today. Even with the low heeled working shoes that she had worn until a few moments ago, she still would not have come up to his shoulders.

She had been a tiny bit angry at him all day for making her wait. She demurely put her hand protectively over her heart, "What you want here, Jimmy?" she asked as if she did not know.

"My sweet, Delilah...I just could not stay away another minute..."

"Really..." She fought to keep the smile in her heart from reaching her lips. Her mind flashed back to other much younger times when he had come here at closing time like this. Nothing much had happened in those bad old days but some feverish kissing, but, this time she was sure that things would be different. She could see it in his eyes. For all she knew, he could see it hers as well.

He may have had a similar thought, remembering all those high school nights, but, he stayed by the door, slowly closing the lock. Again, he pulled the shade down over the window and clicked the switch downward to turn off the neon open sign. He stayed back, leaning again on a booth. He looked her up and down, then, smiled a knowing smile. "I missed you at supper this evening, Miss Delilah... Your parents were there, but, you were not..."

"I sent my parents out... It's a slow night and they love to eat at Miss Agnes's table. Sides... Mama was feeling poorly... I had this whole business to run by myself... I aint no skinny red headed, rich ball player's wife, ya know... I can't just close up for any old party... The care my parents need is expensive."

"Actually, your parents will probably tell you tomorrow that their condo was paid for today as a Christmas gift from my parents to your parents..."

"How..? Why..?"

"Sugar... I make millions... No sense any more of it going to some gold digging bitch's attorneys than needs be... I can always make more... Big Jim runs my trust fund... I told him to cut you'ns a check... simple!"

"Jimmy... as we both know, aint nothing simple... "

"My darling, Miss Delilah... Your Mama has known about us since you went to St. Louis for your secret stash of Pills..."

"She has not..."

"Apparently...you gave your correct phone number and they called your mama about the insurance..."

"She never said nothing to me..."

"No... She said plenty to me, don't you know..."

She giggled into her hand, "Poor baby..."

"She grabbed me at the next Thanksgiving weekend... said if I hurt you, she would tell Papa Junior and it was likely they'd never find my body..."

"What..?"

"Uhhh, Yeah... She was holding a giant meat cleaver at the time..."

"Ooooh... Was she pissed?"

"No... but, she knew we were doing it and when... She said that she liked me... so far..."

"Yikes..."

"She made it clear that if she didn't like me... or she definitely would have turned me into a girl by now..."

"So... if Mama is okay with it... what's stopping you now?"

He turned off the inside lights and strode to her. In a practiced move, he swept her up in the sudden darkness and sat her on the counter. His blue eyes burned into her hazel ones, "My darling Delilah Wilkins... All the money in the world can't buy me this..." Before she could brace herself, she was engulfed in that kiss. The one that she knew would kill her someday.

She hugged him tightly, "Jimmy... Jimmy..."

He said nothing. His practiced hands had the four large buttons of her white cotton blouse undone before she could catch one breath. In another lightning move, his cold hands were inside and behind her. In a flash, snaps were undone and two garments went up over her head and off her raised arms. She was naked to the waist. He kissed and slowly nibbled his way down her neck. His ministrations burned with a familiar fire that turned all of her cognitive brain cells off and drove all of her instinctive brain functions into over drive. He had done this to her a thousand times and each time, it was brand new.

He laid her out on the newly cleaned counter. His lips moved lower, attacking each perfectly formed breast in turn. He hadn't shaved for several days. The stubble was just long enough for the hairs to bend with the pressure of his kisses. It tickled and drove her quite mad without scratching, although Teeny was unable to care at that moment about anything. She moaned and thrashed under his carefully planned attack.

She grabbed his hair and pulled his face back to hers for some serious kissing. "I've been waiting all day for you, Mister..."

"I just hit town... You know, I had to go see Mama and Daddy... and apparently... Your Mama and Daddy as well..."

She blew out a long breath, "I guess..."

Then, she couldn't breathe again as his hands moved to her legs, caressing hot streaks up her coffee colored thighs, "Still no panty hose, I see..." he chuckled.

Somehow, she was able to talk semi-rationally while his chewing and sucking drove her over the brink of sanity, "You know that... When that smoker is open... its like the fires of Hell... at least fifty thousand f'ing degrees back there..."

She stopped and looked at his face as he laughed at their decades old joke. "Just kiss me..." He did.

Somehow, while she was drowning in that kiss, her underwear was gone. In one deft move, a tiny scrap of yellow silk floated unnoticed to the floor at their feet. He unzipped her very short skirt and it joined the panties. He kissed his way down while she cried out and thrashed. He paid very close attention to her favorite spot for him to kiss. She fisted her hands full of his blond curly hair, alternately trying to pull him closer and push him away from her deepest treasures. Ignoring her hands in his hair, Jimmy worked at his task for a short eternity until she was bucking her hips and crying God's name in vain.

She lay there spent. He watched her for a moment and then said, "I gotta say something..."

She smiled at him dreamily, "Yes, dearest..?"

"Your Daddy sure knows how to make a counter top..." He knocked on it for effect.

She kicked him in the chest and rolled off the counter. She moved about the room, collecting her clothes. "You aint funny, Mister... What if I yelled 'Rape!'?"

"Go ahead... We are two miles on a back road outside of a town that done rolled up its sidewalks two hours ago... Hell, the man you all voted for to serve and protect you, your faithful sheriff's probably home right as we speak, drinking some of your dad's fine homemade sipping whiskey..."

"Oh, you..." She bent to pull the under pants back on.

"Besides... you are the only one who came... if you know what I mean..."

"Oh, shut up... and give me your shirt..."

He pulled his sweater over his head and she disappeared into it. On her it was a longer dress than the one she had started the evening in. Jimmy sat on a bar stool in a wife beater T shirt watching her cover up her seriously fine ass with his sweater. "The brochures are right... There are good eats in this diner..."

She came at him like a tigress then, but he grabbed her face and kissed her until she was quiet again. He helped her finish closing up and they went back to his car, "We need to go for a ride."

"Where?"

"You'll see..."

They went down the river, cut across the dam, and pulled into an abandoned marina. He led her across the moonlit parking lot to a building sticking out over the lake. "What's this?"she asked.

"It's our home... our real home... The only one the world will let us have..." he said sadly.

She turned on the lights, "It's a shack."

"Now... I;m going to have Denny fix it up... You're in charge... We'll just tell him that I'm fixing it up to sell..."

"I can put in anything that I want?"

"Yep... but the outside will still have to look like a shack... Hide in plain sight, ya know..."

"Oh, Jimmy... This will be great..."

To celebrate, they went back to her air conditioned trailer for a night of serious fun. In the morning, she went to open the diner for breakfast and he headed home.

He walked slowly into the kitchen. His mom handed him a cup of coffee. "Out kind of late, aint ye..?"

"Just visiting..."

His father spoke through his newspaper, "Sheriff says your car was out all night on the Old Bend Road... You happen to see Miss Teeny while you was out visitin', Son?"

"I saw her..." The paper came down and Jimmy's mother gave first one and then the other of them a sharp look as she exited the room and clomped loudly up the stairs. She was torn, but, resolute. Teeny was a great girl, but, not for her Jimmy. She let her feet do her talking. Big Jim would handle this or else.

"Son, I thought we talked about that..."

Jimmy shook his head and sipped his cup. "Yep... we did... Twenty years ago... "

"Times aint changed that much, boyo... While I freely admit that she's one of the prettiest females ever to sit at my table... She is still a colored girl..."

"Dad... me and Teeny are just friends..."

"How do you young people say it... Friends with privileges..?"

"Well, if anything, I'm getting more privileges than she is... In two days, I'm heading for Pitching Camp and she goes right back into that diner..."

"Did you make her any promises?"

"Dad... I was drunk and she was horny... We barely spoke..."

And so it had gone for all the years that he was gone playing baseball. Only now, his car was hidden in the garage at the marina and dark curtains hid their location.

When he had returned to Delwood for good after he was finally released by the Blue Jays, Jimmy was married again. Teeny tried to be good about it, but, it hurt to see them together out in the grocery store and such. Several days, he would show up at closing time to pick her up. In minutes, they were in their love nest and she would find herself in some all too familiar compromising positions. The shame of giving in to her needs was not worse than participating in his adultery to the snooty bitch he had married.

Time after time, she swore to give this life up, by denying him access to her charms. Then, he would be holding her and all of her resolution melted in a flaming need that shut her brain down until he was done with her and she was done with him.

She knew the realities of life. Jimmy was trying to revitalize his new businesses. In small town America, he knew that from a business point of view, he needed a white wife. He needed to be seen going to church with at his parent's church. He spent his days at the car lot and evenings at the ball park that bears his name. He worked with young pitchers and catchers in workshops. He began to feel successful again.

While the rest his family never knew, Jimmy's dad wasn't fooled. He knew that Jimmy would never let Teeny go. He continued to get morning reports at the local greasy spoon with his morning coffee. Jimmy's car was regularly seen out along the Bend Road. After a while, the Sheriff and the deputies told him about the boat house activities.

To the police, Jimmy was a local hero. They could care less. They understood why he would visit the prettiest girl in the county. They had all met his bitch of a wife at local events. They had known about Teeny and Jimmy for decades. Teeny was a quiet girl who contributed to community charities and they all liked her parents. No harm no foul, they said.

Chapter 10; Jimmy's Funeral

The day of the funeral dawned bright and sunny. Fred met his mother coming out of the head. They exchanged odd smiles, "Mornin', Ma..."

"Mornin', sonny boy...How'd ya sleep?"

"You know...its odd, but, I slept better than I have in years..."

"Good to hear..."

He stopped to give her a hug and kiss the top of her head. He noticed that her braids were wet. "Did you shower already?"

"Yes, sonny...Your turn...I'll have you some eggs ready when you are done..."

"Thanks, Ma..."

"Shake a leg, sonny... We have a busy day ahead... "

"What time does the fun start?"

"We are meeting the Simpson's at the Jacobi Funeral Home at 9:30... We all wanted get it done before the day was too hot..."

"10-4... I hear and obey..." He ducked into the bathroom before she could smack him. She laughed and headed for the kitchen.

By the time he finished his morning routine, his mother had made him coffee, eggs and toast. She had even unpackaged and ironed his newest white shirt. Fred ate quickly then dressed for the funeral.

When he came out, his mother was putting on another pair of black shoes. She had a different black dress to go with the same purse, hat and gloves, "Yikes, Ma... How many funeral outfits do you have?"

"You are such a silly boy... I only have two..."

"Well... You look swell..."

"Not my intention, I assure you..."

"I don't know, Ma... Looking hot in church might be a sin..."

"Oh, you..." She cuffed him behind his head. He laughed and helped her to his car. They worked their way out of the lake area and headed for town. This time, Fred took the country road shortcuts that Peg had used last night to bring him home.

"Wow, son... How did you find this route?"

This is the way Peg brought me home last night."

"I see..." She smiled now, thinking of her plan to keep his mind on Margaret and see what developed.

"Ma... I smell hair burning... What are you thinking about now..."

She ignored him, "It pleases me to see a large crowd gathered for Jimmy on a work day."

Fred saw that people were all over the yard. Some were smoking, but most were just waiting for something to draw them into the Funeral Parlor.

He stood at the edge of the crowd. He watched his mother walk over to a group of matrons chatting under a shady spot. She flipped open a fan and began beating the air in front of her face. A murmur of general agreement by a show of head nods had to be about the heat of the day. Watching her with her friends, he was glad that Jimmy's family had selected an early start time due to the June heat wave that had seated itself over all of Southern Illinois.

Fred was nervous about giving this eulogy. To give himself something to do, he decided to do some reconnaissance. He walked quickly up the three steps across the porch and slipped quietly through opened double doors into the shady central hallway. Even with a nice breeze blowing through a matching set of opened double doors at back of the central hallway, it was stuffy inside. Nothing could completely rid this place of the smells that Fred associated with death. Fred sneezed at the smell of rotting flowers and several other smells that he refused to identify.

The main floor was just two rooms and the central hallway. The parlor on the right was smaller as the back area also gave up space so that Digger could have bathrooms and his office. The parlor on the left was, by comparison, a giant room. Today, the back of that section was neatly set up in rows of matching dark wooden folding chairs.

Fred chose to go on up the central hall to a door opening into the area that would be used as the altar for the memorial service. Technically, today's service would not be a funeral because Jimmy had been cremated in Africa where he was when he was killed.

Not for the first time, Fred wondered what the hell Jimmy had been doing in Africa anyway. He wished he could ask someone what kind of business a used car salesman from southern Illinois was doing on the other side of the globe. The born and bred police side of Fred's brain had always hated unanswered questions.

Sweeping his eyes across the front of room, Fred took in the wall of flowers that the town's people had sent as their parting gifts to Jimmy. In the center of the front was an ornate walnut table. On the table were two objects set side by side. One was a pewter urn shaped like a 1890's ball glove. The second was large photo of Jimmy pitching in his White Sox uniform. It was his Baseball Digest cover art celebrating his third twenty win season. Emblazoned across the page over Jimmy's chest was his record, twenty four wins and six losses. That season, he had come in second in the voting for the Cy Young Award as the best pitcher in the American League.

For some reason, Fred remembered that the winner, Joe Deever of the Red Sox, had thrown two no hitters and won thirty games, while Jimmy had only thrown one. Fred smiled looking at the cover. Fred had seen it hanging in Jimmy's office at the car lot for years. Fred also remembered that in a frame next to the photo in his office, was the Sun-Times article describing how Jimmy had beaten Joe in Boston in the last game of the play offs to lead the White Sox to the World Series where they had been swept by Dodgers in four games.

Then, letting his eyes go farther left, Fred saw Peg. He let out a long breath. He watched her talking to some people in the corner. He spent a quiet moment, just watching her walk among the groups, touching some, kissing a cheek here and there. Just watching her like this, a serious amount of tension left his chest. He thought that she was still the prettiest girl in town. He admired the way she filled out her crisp, white blouse and long, black skirt. Her hair was perfectly braided, not a strand out of place.

After a time, she made her way near to him. "Good morning, Freddy..."

In a step, he went to her. "Hey, Peg..."

She put her hand on his arm and kissed his cheek, "You okay?"

"You know me, sister... Ready Freddy..."

She smacked his arm, "Oh, you..."

He scanned the room, "Lots of flowers..."

"People loved Jimmy..."

"Nice urn..."

"Yeah... Digger said that Jimmy had picked it out of a catalog a year ago..."

"What..?"

"According to Digger, Jimmy had already paid for a funeral plan, picked out his urn... He's to be buried at the feet of our Gramma... Right next to Mama and Daddy's plots..."

"Really..."

"This week has been a series of shocks... First, Mom was beside herself wondering how we were going to get Jimmy's body back from Johannesburg... Seems, it was going to cost thousands... There we were, trying to find and go through all of his insurance info and try to locate some of his cash when Digger called us."

"Digger..?"

"He said UPS had just delivered Jimmy's cremated remains..."

"Damn... that's weird..."

"Mom was sure Jimmy was damned by being cremated..."

"Pretty strict... but not unexpected from your Mama..."

"Well... she went straight to the pastor. He said that what was done was done... The Bible is unclear about cremation... He had just speeded up the ashes to ashes part..."

Fred smiled at that, "Practical..."

"Finally, he told her that he knew Jimmy was properly dunked and a regular church going man, so, he could be sent on his way to Jesus without shame."

"That was nice of him... I guess..."

"I tell you it was a great relief to my folks..."

"Really... not to you..."

"What do you mean?" she said softly.

"I don't know... You are always wearing the long skirts... Your hair is in braids... You dress like your momma, the church lady... I just figured..." his voice trailed off.

Peg's face was down. He thought he had hurt her in some way. "Now, I've hurt you... I'm sorry..."

Peg looked up at him. Instead of the tear stained face he was expecting, her face was red from trying to keep from laughing in the funeral parlor. She grabbed his arm and dragged him across the hall into a tiny sitting room. She shut the door and leaned against the door. She pulled him close and buried her face in his chest. The sounds being muffled by his coat were impossible to decipher. He hoped she was laughing, but he could not tell.

He patted her back and held her once again, "Peg... I'm sorry, Peg..."

In a few moments, she calmed. She looked up, taking his face in both of her hands. "You are such a dope..."

He made a face. He shrugged, "Guilty as charged, Your Honor..."

"I am not in any way, shape, or form, a church lady... This skirt happens to be my only black one... It's long because my mother bought it... and she is who she is..."

"Oh... but you had on a long skirt the other night?"

"When your mother called my mother to tell us that you guys were on your way over, Mom dragged me into a back bedroom. On the bed was the out fit that you saw me in. She had run out in the afternoon and bought it for me. She made me change right then. I had been wearing the black slacks that you saw me in at the store."

"As a mere male, it has been a life long fascination to watch the interplay among females..."

"Don't get too smug... boyo..."

"I'm just sayin'... Being the only girl in our families must be exhausting..."

"You have no idea. She said that she had to make sure I would look 'decent' when you showed up..."

"Again... simply exhausting... And the braids..?"

"Well, Big City...there is nothing religious or deeply cultural about my hairdo choice for today... I simply choose to wear my hair in braids because in the summer's heat and humidity, it just goes everywhere... "

"Still... being you continues to mystify me...It is all so exhausting..."

She ignored his taunts, "When I was young, I fought the good fight with my wild hair. I used to try gels and different hair styles. I have learned over the years, that, during the hot months, if I braid it right out of the shower, I don't have to fight it all day."

"To be honest... my reaction to tightly bound hair is slightly pathologic..."

She tilted her head to see him, "Really..? How's that?"

"Again... I feel a certain itchiness in my palms when I see well managed hair... it makes me want to mess it up... it is just too damned neat..."

Then, she did something totally unexpected. She pulled him to her with a fierceness, "Be nice to me, Sergeant MacGarn... and I just might just let you play with my hair..." She pushed him away, "but not here and not now..."

He tried humor to hide his sudden desire for her, "Ummm... I take it, then, you're busy this morning..?"

She snorted out a small laugh and punched him in the chest. "The worst part is that I have to admit that it was originally my Mom's idea to bind my hair. She kept telling me that the tidiness of braids would give me a more businesslike appearance for meetings with genealogy clients."

"She won that round, eh..?"

"It really burns my cookies that, ten years later, she still has a smug little smile on her face whenever she sees me with my hair done up 'properly' as she calls it."

She gave him a hug and a touched her lips softly to his in a kiss that stunned him. He stepped back, totally nonplussed. "That's enough laughter for now...Thanks, buddy... I needed that..." and she was out the door leaving him in shock with his lips on fire. He rubbed his lips as he walked out into the hall. Again, the smell of her on his hands was intoxicating.

As he was making his way back outside, someone touched his shoulder. He turned toward the door and saw Jackie Jacobi with his hand out. Fred extended his hand as well, "Digger... Good to see you, I guess..."

Jackie "Digger," Jacobi s name had nothing to do with the funeral business. From the earliest days of Little League, Digger had been their short stop. He got named Digger in the third grade because he could dig any ball out of anywhere near his position. Once he had the ball in his glove, he would make use of his rocket arm to turn a double play better than anyone on their team. He had always been strictly a singles hitter, but, his on base percentage was higher than anyone else on their team. His timely hits helped them win several of their titles.

His value as a hitter, and thus, his entire base ball career had ended badly in the seventh grade on a hot Saturday afternoon in Tennessee. They were all were playing in a Travel League game down there at the time. In the last inning, Digger got hit by a pitch on the side of his head by an inside high hard one.

Digger seemed to shake the trauma off and later scored on a long double. But after that, he was afraid of any inside pitch. Even a pitch that looked close made him fall over backwards. If the pitcher had any decent inside out stuff, the pitcher would aim his curve inside to sit him down, then, it would break across the plate, and he would be humiliated when the pitch was called a strike with him sitting on his butt in the sand.

After a while, even his defense in the field suffered and he was permanently benched. By their ninth grade year, while Jimmy and Fred were busy becoming famous local heroes, Digger was permanently coaching third base. These days, Fred had learned that Digger coaches his grandson's teams in the Little League.

Digger took his hand in the two handed handshake that he must have learned at funeral director school, "Freddy... so good of you to come."

"Jimmy was our best friend... Where else would I be?"

"Life has its way of getting in the way... as we both know."

"Yep... I do know that..."

"You ready for the eulogy, Buddy..?"

"Ready as I could be..."

"Good... Here's the deal... When it's your turn, Pastor will cue you... You are somewhere in the middle..."

"Right...wait for my cue..."

"Okay, then..."

"Digger... Can Jimmy afford all this? I can help with cash, you know..."

"Jimmy had purchased a funeral plan maybe five or six years ago... Also, until yesterday, he was a twenty five per cent owner of this place... now, I guess, Peg is. She doesn't know it yet, but that's supposedly what is in his will. I know that's what's in our limited partnership agreement. As far as I know, she was his beneficiary. From my conversations with Jimmy over the years, when this all shakes out, Peg is going to own at least half of that damned car lot and most of Teeny's Diner, too."

"Holy crap!"

"Yep... Jimmy fancied himself to be quite the wheeler dealer... any way... this soiree is set up way better than the cheap plan he bought... all the extras are free gratis... least I can do... Jimmy saved my bacon with some serious cash back when I needed it bad..."

"Okay...I am just sayin'..."

Digger just pursed his lips and nodded. Then somebody in a dark suit motioned toward Digger making the universal sign for phone call. "Gotta work, bubba... This is my only funeral today, so, we'll talk at the luncheon at Sarah's church... Ciao, bello..." and he moved back across the hall and ducked into his office, closing the door.

Waving, Fred turned to go outside. He nearly ran over a carbon copy of Digger. "Holy crap... You must be the Digger's son...right?"

The hand came up automatically, "That's right... Jack Jacobi... My family owns this place... That pretty brunette talking to Peg is my sister Helen... She is a director here as well..."

Fred took his hand warmly, "Well... your dad and I played ball together... we've been friends since we were kids..."

"It sure is nice to finally meet the legendary detective, Ready Freddy..."

"Nice to meet you too, Jack... You look like your Daddy at your age..."

"My dad told me about some of your adventures as kid detectives..."

"All kid adventure stories are three quarters fiction, Jack..."

"Nah... All of dad's stories were closer to ninety nine per cent fiction..." They both laughed as Fred left him and moved back outside to the relative coolness of the shade. With a smile, Fred watched his second best friend in the world, Denny Jones, clank up the sidewalk in a rumpled suit. He still walked like a man whose bones weren't completely attached to each other. Even as a kid, Denny had always looked like he was in need of six weeks on a feed lot. Denny looked a little lost and uncomfortable.

Fred waved, "Denny... Over here..."

Fred still remembered Denny as one of the faithful detectives from their childhood detective agency. Denny stuck his bony hand out. "Freddy... Good to see you..."

Freddy shook hands warmly, "Hello yourself, Denny... Hot enough for ya?"

Denny made a face, "Hot as the gates of Hell, brother... When did you get in?"

"Last night..."

"So... have you seen... uh... anyone much...

"I seen Peg a couple of times... I just met with Digger about the eulogy crap..."

"Dude... Serious bummer about Jimmy..."

They both turned to look at the sound of rapid clicking up the sidewalk, Fred smiled and opened his arms to a woman he hadn't seen in years. "Freddy!" she gushed.

For the second time in less than twenty four hours, Fred was holding a beautiful stranger. This time, he at least knew who this woman was. He was holding a tiny light skinned black woman just barely fitting into a short, low cut black dress. In the highest spiked heels imaginable, she barely came to Fred's shoulder. "Teeny..." He said.

She deposited a generous amount of ruby red lipstick on his cheek. She took a tissue out of a shiny black purse and cleaned his cheek, "Ummm, sorry, sweetie..."

Fred almost got a headache from the blast of perfume around Peg's best friend, "No problem... I seem to be getting girly shmutz all over me these last two days... I didn't know girls were so messy... "

"How come you aint been in to see me at my diner, Detective..."

"I'm sorry, sugar... I just got here last night... Then, me and Ma went to Jimmy's house for the visitation... My dance card's been kind of full..."

She put her hands on her hips and cocked them to one side, "Too full for some of this?"

"Sister... I... I just don't know what to say to that..."

"Well, you better say that you'll be in my diner for breakfast or lunch tomorrow or my momma's gone yell at you some more..."

"Yes.m... I can promise you that..."

"Mama took some of her pies over to Miss Agnes church for the wake... Daddy's brought the meat... I'll be there later... You better not disappear on us again..."

Fred sighed, putting up both hands in defense, "I'll get some... I promise..."

"Some of what... Big City?" said the velvet soft voice of Peg.

They all turned to the voice. He was speechless. Denny spoke, "Oh, hey Peg..."

Teeny carried on, "My momma's pie...he aint had none in years, poor thing... No wonder he's down to skin and bones."

Fred's head swam with the mere sight of her in full daylight. His nose filled with Peg's smell. It fogged his brain. He was overcome with the nearness for her before he even saw her. Suddenly, she was standing in their little circle, surrounded by her oldest friends. Her hand was in his and it centered him within his cloud. With her other hand, she brushed Denny's arm, "Denny...Thanks for coming..." Both men nodded their unspoken understanding of their obligation.

Then, she let go of him and he was lost for a second. "Teeny..." She and Teeny hugged hard, eyes closed. They said everything more that they needed to without a sound. Then, she pressed her hip against his and he found that he was able to stop spinning.

Denny laughed, "Hell... I'm laid off any way... and y'all are serving food after... right..?" Peg punched him playfully in the shoulder.

Fred watched his friends play. It warmed him in an old way. "Owww... You saw that vicious attack, Officer, she clearly struck me..." Denny rubbed his bony shoulder.

Fred found that he was able to fall into the old patterns as if no time had passed. "Sorry, Buddy... I didn't see a thing... That pretty blond girl there, who may or may not have just accosted your skinny ass, has just promised me I could go swimming in her cee ment pond back in my old yard... I am so torn..."

Denny stiffened, "Even a good Catholic boy such as yourself knows the Ten commandments...Don't you go lusting after my pool... I put that stinking pool in with my last bonus check that I got from those cheating bastards at the mine before they fired me... I'd still have that thang if I was workin'..."

Peg shook her head, "No way, Jose'... I done bought from the bank...fair and square...It's mine now... Lock, stock, and barrel... I'm keeping it..."

Digger came and stood on the porch of his funeral home. He made a small wave motion to Peg's mom. She took the hint and began to herd the people on her side of the yard into the parlor.

Peg saw the unspoken interchange between the funeral director and the two mothers. She knew what to do. She also began herding the people on this side of the yard inside for the funeral. She bravely began to speak, "Come on, boys, we got a... Oh, my God, I can't... I can't..." She turned and buried her face in Fred's embrace.

Looking terribly uncomfortable, Denny patted her back. "There, there, dear... We're here for you."

Fred held her tightly while she cried for the second time in two days, "Go on, you guys... I got this..." Nodding, their friends went on inside.

Peg pulled herself together after a minute, "Oh, my... I've ruined your shirt a again..."

Fred looked down, smiling, "No damage this time, sweetie... just some water..."

She smiled that beautiful smile. "Better planning... No mascara this time..." They laughed softly at their private joke.

She took his arm. Again, he was astounded at the full body tingle he felt when she touched him. He patted her hand as they turned to go up the steps of the wide veranda porch. There was quite a line up of people waiting to go in. "I can't go in yet, Freddy..."

"Come over here, darlin'..." Fred drew her off to the side of the porch. They sat on the railing and waited. Teeny looked inquisitively at them. Peg smiled sadly at her and waved her on.

Teeny took Denny's arm and they went inside. Fred and Peg smiled at each other at the contrast of Teeny's nearly perfect sashayed walk contrasted to the awkward stick man walk of Denny's. Fred watched them pass through the door and saw through the window that they were directed to chairs in the middle of the crowded seats.

Peg leaned her head on his chest, "I am so tired, Freddy... I cant wait until this shit is over."

"Just chill here with me, Peg... We'll get through this together..." He whispered even though they were still outside. In reality, Fred just couldn't let her go.

"Thank you, Freddy..."

He looked around at the porch as the last of the line of mourners made their way in and found seats. Fred noticed through the window that, like all church services, the parlor filled from the back. Now, he was determined to distract her, "I swear this place looks the same as when we buried my great grandmother here when I was ten."

Peg laughed softly. "When Digger inherited the business, Jimmy was still with the White Sox. So, he and Jimmy became partners. By selling part of the stock to Jimmy, who was doing pretty well back then, Digger got some much needed cash. Together, I guess, over a couple of years time, they put in about a quarter of a million dollars for remodeling and upgrading equipment into this place."

"Whew..." that's some change..."

Like I said, Jimmy had cash to flash and Digger was hurting."

"Okay..."

"And, they bought Harry Jones's old place from Denny for a crematorium. When Denny sold your old house to me, he moved out to his dad's old trailer. He's still out there to keep an eye on things. Denny drives some times for Digger and for Teeny's Dad."

"All under the table to keep his Unemployment checks coming, I'm sure..."

"Can't say... but, that does sound like Denny..."

"And Jimmy... Denny drove cars around for him as well..."

"Ummm... Probably... Anyway, according to Digger, who I was sort of dating at that time before Little Jimmy's dad swept me off my feet, the upgrades modernized his processes and managed to save him a huge percentage off the bottom line. So, now, Digger has been profitable for the last couple of years."

"Fascinating..."

"The really funny thing was that when it came time to remodel this building, Jackie insisted that the outside of the building be brought back to the exact specifications of the 1895 décor from when his great great grandfather built the first funeral home on this spot."

Fred shook his head and spoke softly, "Wild..."

"Wild, but true..."

Fred noticed that they were alone on the porch, "You ready to go in, yet?"

"Yeah... I guess..."

Arm in arm, both being comforted by the other's presence, Fred and Peg went slowly up the center aisle to the front row. When they got there, they found that Agnes and Big Jim were seated on the right side of the center aisle. Agnes's sister, Aunt Judy and two of Peg's cousins filled the rest of the chairs on that side.

Sarah was the only one seated on the left side of the front row. She slid over on the chairs leaving two seats for them. He sat Peg next to her mother who handed Peg some tissues out of her big black purse. Peg thanked her softly and settled her shoulder comfortably against Fred's shoulder. Fred just sat there hoping that, when the time came, he would be able to speak at all much less deliver a suitable eulogy for his best friend.

The funeral began when the speakers in the ceiling started playing a recording of Amazing Grace. When the recording was fading at the end of the tune, the pastor stood and stepped to the mike. Following his training and his experience, he intoned the Invocation calling the Lord into attendance. With deep and measured tones, he prayed for the lost, both living and dead.

After the "teaching" and two more readings by Jimmy's Aunt Judy, that Fred neither heard nor understood, the pastor motioned as Fred's cue. Moving stiffly like a man much older, Fred moved to the dais.

Tearfully, he attempted to tell the gathering how much Jimmy had meant to him. He looked across the first row and told the room how much Jimmy had meant to this odd pairing of their joined double family. Finally, he tried miserably to tell them of the gifts that Jimmy had shared with the town of Delwood. He spoke of how Jimmy's high school no hitters and state titles had put them on the state map forever. He spoke of how his seven college no hitters had put him in the Big Ten Hall of Fame and the NCAA Hall of Fame. He said that all of them hoped that his two professional no hitters would put him in line for Cooperstown. Maybe someday, a plaque of his face would join those two balls in the Hall.

In finishing, he choked through his closing praises. "None of that matters, now," he said. Sobbing could be heard all over the room. He soldiered on, "I would gladly trade all of those bits of fame and glory for just one more game of catch with my neighbor, my brother, and my best friend Jimmy." With a sob, Teeny left the room. Denny went after her, but, she was too fast.

Fred shook the preacher's hand to thank him. An unseen hundred dollar bill was left behind. He walked slowly along the front row. He hugged his aunt Agnes and then, he and Big Jim shared a strong hug and got each other's suit coat wet. Neither one noticed or would have cared if they had noticed. Next, he went to his mother and she held him while he cried a moment more. Last, he gathered Peg as they held on to each other, tears flowed down each face. Then, he sat by Peg as they continued to hold on to each other. As they sat, the pastor nodded to Digger and a song played. Everyone sat, many of them weeping, through the Closing Prayer and the final song. He took his mother's last tissue to dry his face before going outside.

Chapter 11; After the Funeral

The family had formed into a receiving line just outside the door. It seemed like the entire town paraded by for a hand shake or a hug. Teeny must have made her way back in. Fred watched her as she made her way down the line. She did not appear to have been crying, but her makeup was a mess.

He wondered why she had left. Then, he wondered why she had returned. His cop sense was tingling. He hated mysteries and here was one right in front of him. Teeny got up on tip toes and hugged him, "Great eulogy, Freddy... Jimmy would have loved it." She moved on.

"Th...thanks..."

"Gotta go help Mama at the wake," she said to Peg. "Come on, Denny... I need your help today... I'll pay you cash..."

"Best deal I've heard all day..." He clanked out after her.

"See you guys later... I have some stuff to finish up here..."Peg replied and turned to the next mourner.

After a while, the line was empty. Suddenly, Digger was at her elbow, "Peg... I'll just have my guys lock all this in... We have three days until the next funeral... We can settle up tomorrow..."

"Thanks, Digger..."

"Don't worry about anything, sugar... I will handle this stuff..."

After some discussion, Sarah and Agnes got in Big Jim's car and headed for the church. Peg rode with Fred because he had never been to the new church. A crowd was gathering in the Fellowship Hall. Following her directions, he drove around the back to a shady spot. They went into the back through the kitchen door. Fred found himself swallowed up in the huge arms of Big Teeny Wilkins. "Freddy... Freddy..."

Fred instinctively called her what he had called her all of his life. "Mama Teeny..."

She pushed him away for a second out to arms length, "You aint nothin' but skin and bones, child..."

"Well, its good to see you too... How you been?"

She replied the way she always had, "Oh, you know... a pain here... an ache there... Me and Papa Junior... We be gettin' by... We got us a nice condo up in town... It's safer for us old folks..."

"By the way... Where is the old man..."

"Tendin' the smoker out back... Hit's on a trailer hooked to Denny's pickup truck."

"Let me go say Hey... I will be right back..."

He found the old man in the shade of the church building watching the shelves of meat go up and down around and around inside the smoker... From time to time, he would spray a concoction of garlic juice and vinegar and secret spices over the racks..."

Fred peered into the smoky haze looking at Junior's master pieces. "Hey, Papa Junior..."

Junior looked at him a moment. It was easy to see by the milky deposits in Junior's eyes that his vision wasn't doing too well. "Hey back at ya, son..."

"It's me, Papa Junior... Freddy MacGarn..."

He held his hand up and Freddy slapped it for old time's sake, "Well... As I live and breathe... Deetective Sergeant MacGarn..."

"The one and only, Papa... How you doing?"

"I be fine... Cooks by smell now... Cant see nothing til I gets my cataract surgery dis fall..."

"Tastes as good as ever..."

"Well... my young friend... I am sure you aint out here to check on the progress of no barbecue... Is ya?"

"You always were a better detective than I ever was, Papa..."

Junior waddled his rather large bulk over to an ice chest in the open trunk his old sedan. His hand plunged deep into the ice filled water and pulled up two refilled pop bottles with dark liquid in them. "I made a up a special batch of sippin' sodies just for my very needy friends on a very hot, very sad day like this. You want a Coke or a Seven Up?"

"I'll take a Coke, Papa...Thanks..."

"You want a short one or a long one?"

"I better take a short one... We are in church ya know..."

"Praise God and pass the ammunition," They laughed together as Junior got him a bottle with a screw on lid and a red stripe drawn on the soggy label. A short one was a soda that was about twenty five per cent hooch and seventy five per cent Diet Cola. Fred knew that a long one was mostly hooch. They sat in some saggy camp chairs by the smoker and shared their brews.

Peg wandered out, "Here you are, you naughty boys... the party's inside..."

"I'm just setting a spell with Papa Junior..."

"Ooooh, that looks good... I am so thirsty!" She grabbed Freddy's bottle and tipped it to her lips. Fred tried to stop her but she dodged him and stepped closer to the smoker. Before he could catch her wrist, she had poured a generous amount of the home brewed liquor into her pretty mouth. In a flash, she spit the liquid into the smoker. A huge ball of flame billowed out the door. "Ahhhhh..." she howled.

The boys just laughed at her. "What in all the blue gates of Hell was that?" she choked at Freddy.

Junior put his hands up, "That's my special church hooch... Hit aint made up for no nice ladies like you, Miss Margaret..." and they laughed.

Junior said softly, "I generally will put some of the hooch on my meat, just for medicinal purposes, ya understand, as a tenderizer, but I generally uses a spray bottle. People tend to get icky when other people spits on their food."

Fred laughed, "The alcohol content of that hooch would sterilize anything that it touches... I think we are all safe enough."

When she caught her breath, Peg laughed and took a tiny sip, "Ooooh...that burns...I see why my Daddy always called it his special sippin' whiskey..." They all laughed quietly, fully aware that they were still in the parking lot of the most conservative church in the county.

Fred took his drink back, "First your Mama and then, mine are going to have my hide if you show up drunk at your brother's wake in the middle of the day." He took a generous drink of his bottle.

She took the bottle from him and gingerly took another tiny sip, "If I'm going to survive this meal, I am going to have to have more than pie and barbecue in my system..."

Junior pointed a giant finger at her, "Don't forget... we have Big Teeny's Jamaican Cole Slaw... We have a patent on that recipe," Then, he laughed a low rumbling laugh at his own joke. He and Peg clinked their bottles together and took a sip. Both of them sucked in air as they swallowed. Junior croaked, "Smooth... that was a good batch..."

Peg laughed and handed the bottle back to Fred, "Don't be long, now... Your mother is already looking for you... You don't want her out here trying this stuff..."

"Lucky for me, the whole town's in there for a free meal of the Wilkins's food... so, she'll be a time trying to find me..."

"Well...I found you didn't I..." Fred watched her walk away. 'Nope,' he said to himself, 'that is no church lady strut.' He finished his soda and hooch. He got up to leave, "Now I'm ready to face the fine people of this county..."

He and Junior slapped hands, "Thanks, Papa... We'd all be lost without you... and your medicine, of course..." He heard the low rumbling laughter behind him as he re-entered the kitchen.

Freddy made it through the kitchen. He got into a serving line and filled a plate of barbecued brisket and ribs and another of side dishes. Suddenly, for the first time in days, he was hungry as hell. He watched Little Teeny cleaning tables. Sometimes, she would stop to dry her eyes. He watched Denny cleaning and changing chafing dishes so that the food kept full and taking out trash bags as their cans would fill. He ate ravenously.

Then, he saw Teeny go off by herself in a dark hallway. He went to her with a dry paper towel. She turned to him and sobbed into his shoulder, "This is so silly... My eyes won't quit leaking..."

"Jimmy was special to all of us..."

"But, Freddy... I... I just got ta talk to somebody about this..."

"About what, sugar..?"

"Bout me and Jimmy... It wasn't like that with me and Jimmy..."

"Still..?"

She put a hand on her hip and cocked it in a familiar prefight gesture, "What do you mean...still?"

"Shoot, child... We all knew you had it bad for Jimmy... You two looked at each other like wolves after a hard winter... I seen that about as far back as when he and I were in high school and you were in junior high..."

"You knew.. about me and Jimmy...?"

"Oh, my darling Teeny... I would dare to say... that everyone but Peg knew... and it may have been that she just refused to see... Who knows..."

"Dang... Really..?"

"Really... Hell, I once found a pair of your underwear up in my tree fort..."

She slapped his upper arm, "You did not..."

"Oh, yeah, missy... I must confess here in this church before the Lord himself that I had admired this particular pair of girlie 'oh so brief undies' often on windy days..."

"Freddy... You are such a perv..."

"Maybe..."

"Maybe?"

"I am forced to point out that you... were the one went up the ladder with them on..."

"Yeah..?"

"and, uhhh... you came down that same ladder with them off..."

"I see... Well... my recollection was that we couldn't find them in the dark... Jimmy liked to wrestle..."

"I remember..."

"Why don't you just promise me that any stories of Jimmy and other girls in the fort just go with you to your grave..."

"I promise..."

"Good... This is bad enough..."

"Besides... They had to be your undies... All the girls I ever took up there... and there were a few..."

"I do not need to know this!"

"... wore white undies... both up and down the ladder..."

"Again... too much information..."

"You, my fine milk chocolate beauty... were the only possessor around here of yellow undies that I knew of..."

"Dang... Busted..."

"Jimmy tried to play it off as some out of town cheerleader, but, I didn't buy it..."

"Ever the detective..."

"I never told him what I did with them though... "

"What did you do?"

"At first, I thought I would keep them..."

"Pervert..."

"Then, finally, I snuck around and left them in Peg's room..."

""Aren't you the sneaky smart one..."

"Yep...I reckon you got them back..."

"And yes, I did, thank you... They were too small for Peg, so she returned them..."

"Baby girl... I wasn't going to rat you out..."

"Why not?"

"Anyone could see that you were head over heels for our boy..."

"The understatement of the century..."

"I just figured you'd have gotten smarter by now..."

"Never did... Never will..."

He took her in his arms, "Then, I am truly sorry for your loss as well, my darlin'..."

"Thanks, Freddy... It means a lot coming from you..."

Arm in arm, he and Teeny returned to the fellowship hall. All around them, people were leaving. Fred got some pie and a coffee. He watched the ones leaving seek out and pay their respects to Big Jim and Agnes. Teeny sent Denny out back to help her Dad get the smoker trailer ready to haul back to the diner so she could store the food.

All of the Women's Missionary League suddenly appeared as if out of thin air. Whether they belonged to this church or one of the other's they knew just what to do. In short order, the church and it's fellowship hall were returned to their pristine form for the next event or service. Men and boys, under orders from the church ladies, broke the tables and chairs down and stacked them in the appropriate storage lockers.

Big Jim and Agnes were urged to go on home without cleaning anything. After some discussion, they were persuaded to take Sarah home. Peg and Fred stayed until everything was back in order. They stopped by Peg's house so she could change clothes. She handed Fred a beer and sat him down in her air conditioned living room.

She went upstairs for a while. When she returned, Fred was asleep. She lifted his legs and turned him slowly until he was long ways on the couch. She pulled off his shoes and covered him with a quilt and left him to sleep. Now, with time, she went back upstairs and took a shower. This time she made three long sections and plaited them into a long central braid down her back. It would be a little hotter, but not anything like her mother's hair do.

From her bedroom phone, she called his mother, "Auntie Sarah... our boy fell asleep while I was changing. He's down there on my couch, snoring away... He's fine though..."

"Poor baby... I don't think he's had a full night's sleep since Jen died... Thanks for taking care of him..."

"Well... I have a plan, if you don't mind... I have some computer work to do for some clients, so, I'm just going to leave him there for a while..."

"Okay... It's my turn for the boat, so, I'm going fishing..."

"Sounds grand... You have fun... We are okay here..."

Peg went back downstairs to find that nothing had changed. She longed to touch him, but thought better of it. She quietly went into her office in the next room. She worked through the evening catching up on several projects that had been interrupted by the craziness of these past few days. When she looked up from her work, it was dark outside. She went to look at Freddy. He had not moved much. Suddenly, he woke with a start. He looked confused to find himself in a strange place in the dark.

Peg turned on the lamp by her chair, "Hello... sleepy head... have a good nap?"

Fred turned himself until he was sitting, "Dang... I aint much fun am I?"

"You are a laugh a minute, Big City... No wonder you're single..."

"Oooh... that's harsh..."

She moved to his side on the couch. "I'm sorry... It's too soon to show my nails..."

"Bad kitty..."

"I had plans to get you here and have my way with you..."

"Now that would have been good kitty..."

"Rowr..."

"Before these metaphors get too out of hand, I got to say that mostly... they trigger some serious insecurities..."

"But I thought you and Jimmy were the hound dawgs of the river basin... feared and admired in three states..."

"Wow... I have exactly two things to say about that old chestnut...the first thing I want to say is that it was more like six states at its peak... The second thing is that I have not exercised those muscles in years... I don't know if they even work..."

"Cool your jets there, Big City... It has been a while for me as well..."

"Whew... You were scaring me there a second..."

"I'm willing to work on a few things first..." she said.

"I have a few issues myself..."

"Okay... let's try just one easy one." She replied.

"Okay... when the hell did you become so beautiful..."

"Wh...Whaaaat!?!"

"I aint saying you weren't pretty... but, Jesus... All of my memories of you were of this bony assed filly of a girl... All I have seen since I got here is... is... this..." He spread his hands to indicate her total self.

"Still a silver tongued devil I see..."

"Give me a break... I grew up in your house... You were like my little sister... I wasn't supposed to look at you like that..."

Suddenly she was feeling terribly uncomfortable, she squirmed under the heat of his gaze, "Like what..?"

"I don't know... Like the beautiful woman sitting next to me now..."

Now, Peg was suddenly struck dumb, "Oh, Freddie..."

"I can't help it... Your smell drives me insane... It stays on my hands and my shirt until I think I might explode..."

"My hand lotion... it's just Avon crap... Your mother buys it from one of her cronies at cards..."

"I don't care... I am possessed by it..."

"Possessed..?"

"And then, there's your touch... Your touch sets me on fire..."

"Now you are being silly..."

"I just want to know one thing... How can this be..?"

"What?"

"How can you own me so quickly..? I feel like we just met..."

"But..."

"I know... I know..., but that is how it feels to me... It is like we only just met yesterday on your dad's porch... I am overwhelmed by a beautiful blond woman..."

She took his face in her hands and stared into his sleepy eyes, "You big dope... We have known each other since we were in diapers..."

"Now that's just kinky..."

"Get serious, boyo... I'm trying to answer your questions..."

"Like you could..."

"I could if you would focus..."

Fred tried to look serious, "I am so focused, little girl... I just might internally combust..."

"Okay... that's the first thing I want you to focus on... I am not a little girl... I am a full grown woman who has loved you since I was that child that you remember..."

"Loved..?"

She bit her lower lip out and nodded, "Pretty sad, huh?"

"I don't know... kind of a shocking revelation..."

"I'm a little surprised that I said it out loud myself... I don't think I have ever told any one... and, of course, I had to pick you to tell first..."

"Okay... I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that we need to table this discussion for a day when we aren't burying your brother or drinking Papa Junior's hooch..."

"Truce..?"

"Truce... I'm starving..."

"Sorry... I just looked before I came in here... the cupboard is bare..."

"We can't go to Teeny's... I'm barbecued out..."

"Me too... Hey... the Whippy Dip is probably open since it's a Saturday..."

"Okay by me..."

They hurried out to her car. She drove like a mad woman until they reached the ice cream stand. They quickly ate a couple of hot dogs and sodas. Then, they each got a Whippy Dip swirly cone. Next, they strolled across the street to the Mini Putt Golf course to enjoy the warm summer evening.

Fred led her to a bench where they sat and put their feet on the fence . Shoulder to shoulder, they ate their cones comfortably in the dark. They were captivated by the drama enfolding before them of high school daters try to compete at a pseudo sport without pissing each other off and ruining their dates.

Peg pointed out each time some chicky doo would blow an easy shot and giggle so that her boyfriend could win, "Men are so delicate..."

"Really..."

"Sure... I could make you cry so easy..."

"Could not..."

"Already did, Big City..."

"And just when exactly did that ever happen..."

"What about the time I hit that homer and ruined your no-hitter at the church picnic..."

"A: I was ten...and B: that was an error... and C: I didn't cry..."

"An error...I don't remember no stinking error..."

"Remember it any way that you wish to... as you rewrite our history, little girl..."

"I'm just sayin..."

"No... I'm just sayin' that, as I remember it, Denny Jones had it in his glove, dropped it and the uncoordinated bastard booted that ball into the woods at the church camp where we were playing and we didn't find the ball for twenty minutes... Even you could have crawled home in that amount of time... It was an unearned run... I still had a no hitter... Any way, the game was called due to loss of ball..."

"How convenient..."

"Just sayin..."

"What ever!!!"

"Hey... I am willing to bet that you suck at golf, too... Don't you, Big City..."

A slow grin covered his face, "Why... I do declare that the computer geek from Small Town, USA has just challenged my manly golf prowess..."

Peg put on her best southern belle voice, "Why, yes..." she purred, " I believe I have..."

Fred stood and pulled her to her feet, "Come on, then... I accept your feeble attempt at a challenge... I return your challenge to this duel..."

"A duel, ehhh?"

"Yep... No holds barred... cut throat miniature golf..."

Peg brushed some dust off her jeans, "What are the stakes..."

"Stakes..."

"Don't play dumb with me, Big City..? What do I get when I whip Yo citified ass off?"

"As if..."

"I could do it..."

"Proof is on the links, woman..." Fred paid for the balls and they chose their putters. For the first time, Fred noticed that she was lining up left handed.

"You're a goofy footer?"

"A what..?"

"A Southie..? You know, left handed..."

"I know I'm left handed... I have been all my life..."

"Wow... so much to learn..."

"Quit stallin'... What are the stakes..."

"I'll ruminate on it a moment..."

"You mean like cows do with their cud?"

"You are sooo NOT funny..."

She stopped and put her hand on one hip, "Come on, Fred...what's my prize... What do I get..?"

"Okay...let's agree to make it interesting... I am so easily bored, after all..."

She swung her putter at him. He ducked. She sidled up to him and whispered in his ear, "Am I boring ya now, Big City..." Her warm breath on his neck made him shiver.

To cover his response to her aggression, he pushed her to arms length, but he didn't let her go. It was as if she were glued to his hands by the electric current flowing between them. He tried to speak, but it was guttural with emotion, "I am thinking... and you are cheating, darlin'... There are children present..."

She broke the connection. She was as surprised as he was that they could generate that much of a spark. She walked back to her ball on trembling knees. To belie her distress, she acted tough, "Ahhh...They got to learn some time."

"Okay... I have your answer..."

"Bout time...What is it?"

"When I...whip your...truly fine forty five year... old... ass... off... I get to kiss you where ever I want..."

The directness of his terms threw her for a second. "Ummmm... first, this is a truly fine forty TWO year old ass, Siiirrr..." Then, she looked more closely at him. The cat eating a canary grin on his face made her realize he was trying to mess with her again. She played it up, "Ooooh... how ever... I might be tempted to throw the match just to see if you have the nerve to collect, Big City..."

Just as she was addressing her ball to shoot, he began again. "The boys all say that you're pretty easy..."

She tried to remain focused, but she blew her shot. "Damn you!!!" She whirled to put her face in his face, "Boys...what boys..?"

"What about Dickless Denny Jones, for one?"

"I'll kill him... one kiss... that's all he ever got... I was fifteen..."

"You have a kid..."

"Getting that kid was not easy... I had to work like hell to get him... I had to work even harder to keep him..." She found that she was shaking with fury.

Fred nearly fell over laughing, "See... you are easy... I made you blow your shot... that was easy."

She laughed then and looked in his eyes. In a flash, she lost all of her anger. She punched him and reset to shoot. "You cheated... I get a Mulligan... You went too far..."

"Cheater..."

She shot a better shot, then, she stood up again, "If I win..."

"In the unlikely event..."

"Fine... When I win... You will have to clean all of the green scum out of my pool...and... I get to watch..."

"What... you don't trust me..."

She ignored him, "And you have to wear that Speedo..."

"Will you be wearing a string bikini in true cougar fashion..?"

"Cougar..?"

"Oh, hell yeah... It fits.."

"Cougars track younger men, Big City... In case you forgot... You are older than me..."

"But, I'm still young at heart..." He did admit that for the first time in years, with her, he felt kind of like a kid again.

"You are just trying to weasel out of our deal..."

"What deal...I'm ahead by one stroke..."

"Not after I sink this birdie..."

"As if..."

"Right...You know... If you do a good job cleaning that crap out of my pool, I might just invite you over for a special swimming event."

"What racing against a six year old?"

"Very funny... Jimmy stays with his dad every other weekend..."

"Not bad... I haven't swum in years... and I am no longer cougar bait as you pointed out..."

"Oh... this event you might like... I'll go easy on you due to your advancing years."

And so it went. Hole after hole, they battled. As they were finishing the thirteenth hole, she noticed that they had the whole place to themselves. "Look, Big City...The ice cream joint is dark."

Fred looked around for the first time in an hour, "Yeah... and the mini-cars are all covered."

The old man running the place came over, "I'm very sorry folks... Its closing time... I gotta lock up..."

Peg just looked at him, "Really, Stuffy... How much money have I spent here since your dad bought this place...?"

"I know Miss Margaret...but Dad aint well and I gotta take him his supper..."

Fred stepped up close, "Look, ummm, Stuffy is it?"

"Yassuh..."

"You know us...Look..." Fred showed him his police ID , "We'll lock up..."

"Awww...I don't know..."

He slipped him a twenty. "Here's something for your trouble... just show me how to turn off the lights and you can go."

"Gee thanks, Mr. MacGarn... I still remember when you caught Jimmy's pass to get to Regionals...Damn shame about him..."

"For sure..."

"Look...don't worry about nothin'...them lights stay on all night anyways... Just pull the chain through and close the lock... You two kids have fun..."

Now, with no one anywhere around them, the trash talk hit new lows. Every shot was kidded over. Inappropriate and even disgusting noises came from which ever wasn't shooting as the other was trying to concentrate. The lead changed back and forth as one or the other of them would blow a shot. As expected, it came down to the last hole. Fred got in with a three. Peg lined up for her first shot.

"Careful now..."

"Shut your pie hole, Big City...Just watch the small town girl take you apart..."

He said, "Careful, cutie...You might blow your chance to get kissed..."

"Ohhh...I'll recover..." With a gentle tap, she sent the ball through the rotating blades of the windmill and into the final cup." She jumped in the air, "I win... I win!!!"

"Well...I'm kinda busy tomorrow, but I'll be by one day this week for that cleaning..."

"You bet your ass you will..."

They followed the old man's directions and locked up the gate. They got in her car and headed for the lake. They passed the bait shop and noticed that, surprisingly, it was still open. "Hey, sailor... Buy a girl a beer?"

"Your wish is my command..."

They walked into the smoky room. A couple of old farts were sitting in lawn chairs around an unlit cast iron stove. The only light was from several strategically placed neon beer signs. Fred looked at the three old farts watching a Cubs game on TV, "This aint much of a bait shop."

The middle old fart pokes the one on his left, "Sure it is, sonny... We're the bait..." All three of them cackle with laughter. Laughing, Fred took a six pack of cold Lite beers out of a glass front cooler. She picked out some chips and dips. "Girl food..."

He grabbed some smoked meats and another bag of chips. She looked at him. He shrugged, "Boy food..."

She laughed and met him at the cash register. He paid for everything and they went back out into the darkness. The three old farts began cackling again as they passed. Fred high five'd the one on the end "Looks like you don't need any bait today, sonny..." Laughter followed them out into the warm night.

They crossed the dam and followed the tiny roads back to his mom's cabin. It was dark. The only sound was the buzz of a window fan on her swamp cooler. They went around back. His mom had access to a little dock. A pontoon boat was tied up there. On the rear deck, there was a cooler and a three sided couch built in against the railing. They went aboard and moved aft to a galley area. Peg opened the chips and dips and Fred opened two beers and put the rest in the galley fridge. The inside light came on when he opened the door.

"There must be an electric hookup to the dock here..."

"Kool...they got TV..?"

He chuckled, "Don't see one..."

She sat and ate chips for a while, sipping her beer between bites. Fred ate a meat stick and then, went to sit beside her. "Suddenly, I'm starving..." he said.

"Me too..."

They quietly ate through the first bag of chips and part of another, washing it down with gulps of beer. When the dip was gone, they took new beers and moved to the aft railing. Peg lay along the side and Fred lay with his head right next to hers along the back. They lay holding hands and talked of life and laughed at old stories far into the early morning.

The next morning, Sarah woke and bathed and dressed. Then, she looked in Fred's room to see if he wanted breakfast. Fred's bed was still made from yesterday. In fact, it looked like it had not been slept in. His suitcase was still on it. Concerned, she went to the door to look out front. She saw her own car and Fred's car in her drive way. She walked out back. She heard snoring coming from the boat that she owned with three other couples.

She walked out to find her son and Peg asleep in the aft galley of their boat. Isn't that sweet, she thought. There they are holding hands. Maybe they can heal each other and make a good life. God willing, she prayed.

With a start, Fred sat up. "Ma..."

"Morning, sonny boy..."

"Ummm... Nothin' uhhh, happened here...We were talking and fell asleep, I guess..."

"You've had it rough, son...I get it..."

Peg sat up, "Morning, Auntie Sarah..."

"Margaret...You kids clean this up and I'll make some breakfast... Eggs okay..?"

They looked sheepishly at each other and nodded. Sarah smiled sweetly. This part of her plan was going quite well. She went inside. Fred and Peg bumped into each other trying to get at the mess they had made. Peg poured the remains of their beers into the lake. Fred was astounded at how little alcohol he had consumed since he had gotten home. In fact, this was the first morning in memory that his first act was not to find a drink.

Sarah watched them out of the kitchen window while the eggs were finishing and the toast was down. Peg leaned into Fred. They hugged each other, "How are you this morning..?" she said quietly.

"I woke up and realized you had a death grip on my hand..."

"Ummm... Sorry?"

"Don't be... I truly hate waking up alone... Thanks for not bailing on me..."

"I guarantee that it was no sacrifice for me, old friend..."

Hand in hand, they hauled their trash up to his mom's house. She held the lid and he pitched their trash into the dumpster.

Chapter 12; Sunday Morning

Sarah looked benignly at the two people eating at her table. When they were almost done eating, she asked, "What are your plans for today?"

Fred understood instantly, "What time's church, Ma..?"

"Just like always, Gathering will be at Ten forty five...you have almost two hours..."

"Okay... Peg..?"

"Sure...I'd love to go."

"Okay...you take my car... I'll ride with Ma and we can hook up at the church. Okay?"

"Sounds right to me..."

Sarah prodded further, "Any plans for after church?"

Peg shrugged, "While Big City here was sleeping yesterday, I got all caught up on my current projects. So, I got nothing planned."

"Me neither... I'm off my job for a month... I got nothing either, Ma..."

"Well... it is too bad JT... that is what I call Little Jimmy to keep it all straight... any way, it is too bad he's not here because it's my weekend for the boat..."

"So... fishing..?"

"You used to love to fish!"

"Daddy used to love to fish and I did whatever he wanted..."

She looked crushed, "Okay... It's just that I traded for this weekend..."

"Ma... before you get into full guilt tripper mode... I think I might like to give fishing a try... Peg?"

"I love fishing... I'm in..."

"Do you need swim wear, sweetie..?"

"Are you kidding... I keep a swim suit out here for me and JT... sometimes we have to make emergency trips out here..."

Sarah and Fred laughed, "Good..."

He walked her out to his car. She got in and dropped the windows to let out the morning heat. He leaned in on his elbows, "Sorry, chica..."

"Don't be an idiot... she's been kidnapping me and Jimmy, bribing us with boat rides and Saturday night sleepovers with S' Mores at her fire ring and then, getting us to go with her to church for years... She's a master at it..." Fred laughed as drove off. Fred took a shower and put on a new golf shirt and his new Khaki pants.

When Fred and Sarah made it to church, he was greeted as the returning prodigal. His hand was shaken and his neck was hugged just like always. He smiled to watch his mom working her way through the Narthex crowd hugging other women and kissing babies like a woman running for office. He stayed by the door to wait for Peg.

Finally, he saw her car pull into the parking lot. He watched as she walked toward him along the sunlit sidewalk. When he saw Peg, he was dumbfounded. She was dressed in a summery light green dress with tiny blue flowers on it. The skirt flipped from side to side as he she walked toward him. As she saw him in the door, she smiled and hurried in.

He smiled and leaned close to whisper in her ear, "Unfair... You are causing me to have impure thoughts right here in my mother's church..."

She threw her head back and laughed like a school girl..."Good..." And she walked that fabulous walk into the church with Fred following her like a love struck puppy.

He said to himself that if he had to waste a perfectly good Sunday morning, at least he had Peg to sit by. He told her so and she jabbed him with her elbow. His mother, not knowing what was going on, jabbed him on the other side just because. She gave him a stern look. He couldn't really concentrate on anything but the warmth of Peg's thigh through her cotton dress pressed against his leg in the hard pew. For once, it didn't matter whether the preacher was too windy or too boring. What seemed like a short time later, they all shook the preacher and his wife's hands as they left the coolness of the chapel and exited out into the blazing noon heat.

"Ma... Peg and me will meet you at the lake... We are going to go get my car..."

At Peg's place, she went inside to change. Fred followed her shyly inside. Once inside, she shocked him by asking him t unzip.

Once she was undone, she shocked him again by lifting the dress over her head right there in her living room. "Is this the bikini you were talking about, Big City?" she asked with a sly grin. It was a pale green to match the dress.

Fred stuttered a moment, "Uh... Ummm..."

"Cat got your tongue?"

Fred looked at her a moment, "Let me get this straight... You wore your swimming suit to church..."

"Oh, hell no... I wore this for you... Okay... I had to sit through church to show it to you..."

"I 'm pretty sure that the church has a rule about that..."

"Whatever... I wear a one piece around your mother... She would have a cow if she thought..."

"Well... I have certainly lost all ability for thought..."

She went up the stairs to change, "My work here is done..." Fred turned on the TV to see if there was a game.

After a while, Peg came back down stairs wearing a very modest, flowery one piece bathing suit with terry cloth cover up and flip flops. She turned off the TV, grabbed his hand, and dragged him back outside, "Come on, Big City... Your Mama's waiting..."

He laughed, "Probably timing us..."

She jumped in her car, "Race ya..." and she sped off.

"Cheater!" He called after her and took off down her street, but she was nowhere in sight.

By the time he made it to his mom's cabin, she was lounging on the little front porch with an icy cold lemonade making a water ring on the plastic arm of her lawn chair, "Took ya long enough..."

He had to just stare at her a moment until he could speak. Her face was passive, but she had what card sharks would call a 'tell' about her tension. She seemed unable to stop her top foot from wiggling. He took a deep breath and spoke softly to keep from kissing her right there. "Yeah, well... You probably have a cheater's special route to this place..."

"Ahhh, yes... I taught you everything you know about these back roads... Just not everything that I know..." and she laughed.

While waiting for Fred to arrive, Sarah and Peg had packed some sandwiches and assorted picnic supplies. Fred had stopped at the bait shop for more chips and dips and beer. When he got to the cabin, he changed into trunks and a huge T shirt. On the back deck, his mom handed him an old floppy hat, "It was your Dad's... I thought you might like to have it."

Fred nodded and adjusted it to his head like he had seen his Dad do a thousand times, "Alright, then," he repeated his dad's old pre-fishing ritual, "let's go drown some worms..."

His mother smiled sadly to see her son looking so much like his father. Peg and Fred took ends of the cooler and two manned it aboard the boat. Sarah followed them. Once they had it all stowed, she handed the motor key to Peg, "Here, sweetie... I fished yesterday... I'm all fished out... You two go on ahead..." She untied the bow hitch and threw the rope onto the boat.

"Ma...What are you trying to pull here..?"

"Sonny...don't take that tone with me..." She untied the stern hitch and pitched it to him.

Peg started the motor and they edged away from the dock. He looked at her and she shrugged. "When she gets like this, it's just best to go along..." Fred put his head down and then, nodded. Sarah waved and went back up to her cabin. She was smiling to herself at her cleverness. She got them seen together in church and now, they were out there alone where chemistry had to take over.

Peg took them around a bend and then around another. In few moments, she had them parked in the shade of a high cliff, anchored in a quiet cove nearly hidden by surrounding trees. She flourished her hand to their spot, "How do you like it?"

Fred laughed, "What do we do here... Watch submarine races?"

She dropped the side tarp on the lake side plunging the galley into deeper shade, "Silly... submarines stopped coming down this way when they put in the dam..."

"What a shame... I miss those races..."

She handed him a beer and a sandwich, "Really..."

He took a big gulp and said, "Really..."

They ate in silence a moment. When his sandwich was gone, he sat back on his chair and looked at her. In a moment, she got nervous. "What are you thinking... You are driving me crazy..."

"Good... You have been driving me crazy for three days..."

"Really? What else... I can see that there is more..."

"Okay... It's just too bad you wore the old lady suit... I might consider swimming with you if you wore the other one..."

"Oh... I brought the other one... Sarah was just too happy while we were waiting for you as we were packing up... I thought she might be planning something clever..."

"Hard to out fox you..."

"I have years of experience dealing with my own mother..."

"Right..." he laughed and opened another beer.

She took it from him and took a long pull, "My mother... makes your mother... look like an amateur..."

She gave him back his beer, "I'm going in the wheel house for a second... Be prepared to be dazzled... Now... Don't you peek!"

Fred went aft to the seats they had slept on the night before and sat looking out over the quiet lake. No boats were visible. "What's the deal?" he hollered.

"Deal?"

"There's no one out here..."

"Oh, yeah... we probably have the whole lake to ourselves... The local fishing establishment says that the fish don't bite when its sunny and hot... They are too deep trying to keep cool..."

"So... You knew this..."

"Uh, yeah..."

"And you dragged me out here knowing that I wouldn't catch any fish..."

"Ummm... not really... We never really tried... We just always pick this time to come out here..."

"Okay... You like peace and quiet..."

"Well... that's not exactly all... This is going to become our spot..."

"Our spot?"

Just then, she walked out wearing the green bikini, "Sure... This will be our special place... Everybody needs one..."

"I see... that little suit will help..."

"Any way...Your mother hates fish... She hates cleaning them... She hates cooking them... She likes the peace and quiet of having the lake all to herself... and when no men are along we can get an all over tan..."

Fred put his hands to his eyes, "Oh...ohhh... wait just a second... That is an image I may need professional counseling to process fully..."

"You big baby..." She dropped one shoulder strap down, "See... no tan lines..."

"Very interesting... on you!... Nice bikini, by the way..."

"I know its not red like you hoped, but, it's the only one I own..."

"Ohhh, darling... This is quite satisfactory..."

"Good..." and she turned from him and made a perfect shallow water dive into their little hidden cove.

Fred ripped off his hat and shirt and dove in after her. He came up sputtering, "Jesus Christ!" he howled. He found himself standing on a large rock in about four feet of water.

She swam over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his hips. Her skin was hot against his freezing skin. Immediately, his teeth began to chatter. She laughed at him, "What's up, Big City?"

"My darling...If you ever want something to be up... You had best get the necessary equipment... My necessary equipment out of this ice water..."

She pushed away from him and swam away, "See how you are...just a big baby..."

"Guilty as charged," he pulled himself up the ladder onto the boat. She reached up to him as he reached back and pulled her out, "You do have some parts I don't want frozen off..." He pulled her to him in the sun on the aft deck.

His kiss was so soft, so perfect that she was completely taken by surprise. Once she recovered from the shock, she fisted her hands in his hair, pulling him into the kiss she had been waiting more than thirty years for. Neither of them were disappointed by the result. They stood and held to each other, both thoroughly enjoying the feel of their lips joined perfectly. They broke the kiss together and stepped away.

"Whooo... that was almost worth the wait."

Fred picked up his warm beer. He took a drink and handed the rest to Peg. "I agree... That was great..."

She smiled softly, "Looks like you are the easy one, Big City..."

Fred just whoofed out a laugh, "Right..."

"My call is that it seems like all it takes for you is a couple of scraps of material..."

"Uhhh...Damned tiny scraps of material..."

"What ever!!! It still seems that you are way easier than me..."

"Maybe so... but I still got the kiss I wanted..."

"Right... What a sacrifice for me..."

He opened a bag of chips, made a small pile on his plate and offered the bag to Peg,"It just might be that there was an even trade..."

She came and sat on his lap, "It is not even yet...You got to kiss me but I haven't kissed you yet..." So, she did. She slipped her tongue just inside his mouth, teasing his tongue. He was all too aware that her truly fine, nearly naked breasts were crushed against his naked chest. He decided that the best thing for him to do was just hold on and enjoy it, so he did. When she was done, he looked deeply into her eyes, "So..." he said softly, "We're not here to fish...?"

She stood in mock horror, "What?"

"You and my mother had some secret plan for you to get me alone out here..."

"Is that a complaint, Big City?"

He thought a moment. He sat there long enough until she punched him, "Answer the question, Mister!"

"I would have to be the biggest fool in the state to complain."

"Really..?"

"Let me see... what would I have to complain about..?"

"Do tell..."

"I have food..."

"Check..."

"I have beer..."

"Cold beer..."

"And I have one of the hottest cougars in six states... sitting on my lap...practically nekkid..."

"I have met the legal minimum, Sir..."

"Just barely..."

"Again with the complaints..."

"You misunderstand me... I am having the best day that I have had in years..."

She wiggled on his lap, "Now, that's more like it..."

Suddenly, Fred looked hopelessly sad, "Oh, my... You have to get up now..."

"Really..?"

"I'm sorry..."

She got up with a shocked look on her face, "What the..."

Fred walked away to the farthest corner of the deck. He turned away. She went to him, taking his face in her warm hands. He was ice cold again, "Freddy, dearest... What is going on?"

"I don't know," he croaked and put his head on her shoulder.

She moved them to the aft seating and sat him down with her. She held him as he cried, patting his back, "Go on, sweetie...Let it out..."

They sat there a while until his sobbing calmed. When it was over, he went into the galley and blew his nose on a napkin, wadded it into a ball and threw it into the trash bag that was hanging on a fore castle hook. He looked at her. He was bereft. "I'm not that much fun as a date, am I?"

"Don't be so hard on yourself..."

"Okay... that stuff I said this morning about going slower..."

"How slow..."

"Right now...we are moving way too fast... it seems to be an avalanche..."

She plopped her wet butt onto the seat next to him, "Really..?"

He took her hand in his, "Peg... I'm still married..."

Now, she set her mouth in a grim line. After a moment, she said, "Seriously... If you want to brush me off, don't make stuff up...You buried her more than three years ago."

He tried to hold her, "Peg...You have to try to under stand... Its not that simple..."

She shook him off and hugged herself, "Enlighten me..."

"One day, seven years ago... I'm a new detective sergeant with my world by the ass... and my wife, the only person I ever loved, is told she has cancer..."

"Oh, Freddie... how awful..."

"Not just cancer but, some horrible kind that they couldn't do anything about but to make her sicker..."

"I kind of forgot..."

"Here's the rub, baby girl... I cannot forget..."

"So... now what?"

"I guess I need some more time..."

"How much more time?"

"Let me tell you something that may make you feel better..."

"Careful..."

"My life, for the last several years, has been a series of gray days... Suddenly, two days ago, on your mother's porch, I was engulfed in color... All your colors... Blonds and Baby blue eyes... the color of the sky on a clear day...It's like being a blind man getting some kind of miracle cure..."

"Oh, Freddie... What a lovely thing to say..."

"But, it's not all good... the light hurts, Peg... Like coming out of a dark tunnel into a bright light... It hurts... I need to adjust... Please help me some more..."

"O... Okay... I think..."

"Peg... You need to know who you are helping..."

She started to talk and he held up his hand. "I have become a stinking drunk... I'm on RIF because I got busted for drinking at work... Nothing mattered..." He threw his beer out into the lake, "And, you... You've been wasting your time waiting for a drunk..."

"Right... are you drunk now?"

He looked at her shocked, he had just realized where she was going, "No..."

"You're not much of a drunk... I have seen you take exactly one shot at my house... You shared one of Junior Wilkin's totties with me after the funeral..." She walked over and opened the fridge, "See... we've bought twelve beers and, two days later, six are still here...AND you threw one of them into the lake... For a drunk... You don't drink much..."

He sat there thinking about what she had said and tears began running down his face. She wiped them off with her hand and kissed him softly, "What if... the more you cry... for your Dad... or for Jen... or for Jimmy... or for yourself... The less you drink..."

"I shot a guy last year on the job..."

"Freddie, how horrible..."

"Well... he was scum... he needed to die... The Cop House shrink was concerned about the reports of my drinking... yadda yadda..."

"Freddie..."

"It's a side issue... He was very concerned that I had not cried for Jen... or my father... I just kept drinking..."

"And, now?"

"This morning was the first morning that I can remember not seeking a drink as my first thing to do..."

"Interesting..."

"All I remember thinking was that someone, then I realized it was you, was holding my hand..."

"Uh... You didn't pull it loose..."

"No... I held on for dear life... I truly felt my life for the first time in years..."

"Okay... but you need to know that you talk like that and it makes me want to jump you right here..."

"Now that I've said it, I just might let you..."

"Let me?"

"But, I won't..."

"Let Me!!!"

"Listen very carefully... I have loved you all my life..."

"Now, that's more like it..."

"AS a SISTER! I have always admired your brains and wit..."

"Not to mention, my very fine forty two year old ass..."

"Now, that's the part that scares me to death...

"The Big City Policeman is scared of little old me?"

"Look!... This whole new relationship thing is going to take some getting used to... a heart can't stand going from frozen in ice to ninety thousand beats a second too quickly..."

"Whew... You do turn a girl's head with your flattery..."

"Can we try an easy no tongue kiss again... I just need to taste your beauty one more time before we go in..."

"Okay, cowboy, but no guarantees on the ease of the ride..."

"Please Peg, be gentle..." and she was. They joined in a precious, healing full body kiss that took both of their breaths away.

She stared into his eyes, "If you promise to kiss me like that fairly regularly... I promise to give you a LITTLE more time to get used to the idea that you and me are going to try this adult love thing on for real..."

So, he kissed her again. When they were breathless, he said, "Now what?"

"Big City... You can drown some worms if you want, I'm gonna work on my tan..."

"A decent or indecent tan?"

"Your preference... It's your mama's boat... I'm the guest..."

"Like I said before, darlin'...this old ticker can only stand so much..."

She gave a big, slow sigh, "Okay... we'll do it your way..." She took a book out of her beach bag and stretched out on the bow deck. Enough time passed for Fred to set up two fishing rods and cast them out into the reeds and undergrowth on the shore side of the boat. "Hey, Ahab?"

"Yes, dear?"

"A little help with the baby oil over here..."

"Really?"

"You aint a scared of little old me are ya, Big City..."

"Oh, yeah... My mama warned about cougars and other predators in these waters..."

"I'll show you my tattoo..."

"It is not possible for that itty bitty swim suit to have concealed enough skin to hide a tattoo anywhere on your external body....

She turned on her side and leaned on one elbow, "Is that so?"

He came and stood over her, totally dazzled by the barely concealed woman in front of him. To try to maintain some last vestige of decorum, He took the sun tan lotion bottle and poured some in his hand. He rubbed his hands together. She lay back down, offering up her back for oiling. He continued, "I am a trained detective. That's how we really got to know each other, remember?"

"As I remember it, you were a nine year old boy, not a trained anything..."

"I solved the Great Pop Bottle Mystery didn't I?"

"Funny... my photographic, nearly perfect memory recalls that I was the genius who solved that caper... You just followed my directions..."

"That is a bald faced reinvention of history if I ever heard one..."

She turned over to face him. She looked in his eyes, "Do this side, now!"

"Yes, Your Majesty...Right away, Your Highness" But, he was not sorry. He applied more oil to his hands and began stroking her legs and abdomen.

"You, Sir... are hired... Screw the Chicago PD... I'll double whatever they are paying you..."

"Eighty seven thousand..."

"Okay... maybe not double the cash, but, the fringe benefits that I'm offering..."

"Really... Do tell..."

"I'll just show you..." She leaned up and kissed him, not slowly, not gently, not taking into account all of his discussions from the previous hour. He did not seem to mind. Fred actually participated in the fulfillment of the promises of a kiss such as this. They separated slowly. Both blew out a long breath.

Fred stood and bowed, "Will that be all, Your Grace?"

She threw her book at him. He caught it before it flew over board. He tossed it back, straightened his father's floppy hat and returned to casting his lines. He dropped another line off the side into the darkest part of the shade and sat there watching his lines with his beer. Peg read a while, turning over from time to time. Fred snuck looks at her when he thought she wasn't watching him.

"You should sit out here in the sun with me, Big City. The reflected light off your lilly white legs is probably blinding all of the fish in the area."

"I'm good here in the shade with my beer. The cougars can see me better if I'm pasty white." He took another drink of his beer.

She walked past him and knocked off his hat, "I'm burning up..." She handed him her swim suit top and dove out away from his lines.

"You are a brave woman... Crazy, but, brave..." He watched her swim. With graceful long strokes she glided through the water out of their little hidden cove and into the larger bend in the lake. With a shriek, she turned and swam like a mad woman back toward the boat.

Fred jumped up. He began reeling in all three lines as she drew near so that she wouldn't accidentally get caught by a hook. He was reeling up the last one when she arrived at the side ladder, "What the hell is going on, Peg?"

"Give me my top?"

"Excuse me?"

"I need my swim suit top, you idiot!"

Then he saw the other boat rounding the bend. He smiled broadly, "Let me understand the question... you wish to cover your fine, forty two year old breasts?"

"You... you wouldn't..."

Fred is intently watching the boat slide quietly past. The two old people on board waved, so, Fred waved. Then, he turned back to Peg, "Wouldn't what, dear?"

"Leave me out here naked to freeze..."

Peg was not looking at the other boat, but, Fred saw it pass out of sight around some trees. Because the motor was still echoing among the trees, Peg was unable to tell that they were alone again. "Will the witness please state for the record, the condition of her sartorial display on entering said lake..."

"What???"

"Now, really Miss Thompson...or is it Mrs. Thompson... No matter... Did you or did you not remove said garment of your own free will and volition to drive this judge crazy just before making a beautiful, though semi nekkid, racing dive in to the lake... hmmmm?"

"Freddy... Please," she begged, "The Fry's are coming..."

"The Fry's... What Fry's?" and just then, she turned to look behind her seeing that they were alone again in their hidden cove.

She splashed him, "Oh, you..."

Laughing, Fred pulled her out again and brought her to him. "You are shivering." He picked up a towel and began to rub her vigorously all over. Then, he gave her the bikini top out of the cargo pocket of his shorts. In a flash, she had it arranged and retied.

Fred smiled at her, "There... just like magic... all better..."

She stuck her tongue out at him and went into the wheel house. Inside the tiny cabin, she clunked around in some cabinets. She came out with a blanket. She wrapped it around herself and got back onto his lap. He laughed, "Now, who is the wuss?"

"Shut up and hold me... My lips are blue... Certain parts of me that I hope you come to cherish in the not too distant future are in serious jeopardy of freezing right off.... "

"Oh, all right..." So, he did... They sat there quietly in the dappled sun light under the spreading trees overhead and dozed. When they awoke, the sun was painting the western trees with a fiery glow. Peg put on her terry cloth cover up and fired up the motor while Fred weighed the anchor and stowed the lines.

They motored as quickly as they could back to the dock. She adroitly maneuvered the pontoon boat so that it slid sideways into the soft buffers on the dock edge. Sarah was waiting. Fred tossed her the bow line and then the stern line. Like the able bodied sea woman that she was, she had the boat secured in a quick second.

Fred was impressed by the obvious skill of both women, "Sweet work, girls... I hope you'll teach me to do that someday..."

Sarah patted his cheek, "Stick around, sonny... Anything is possible..."

"Okay... kool... I just might..."

His mother smiled, "Practice makes perfect, sonny... Your Daddy and I co-owned this boat before we decided to build this cabin." Then, she got a bit wistful, "I wish he had lived to see it... Hell, there's lots of days, I wish he was still here..." Fred hugged her.

The three of them worked quickly in the waning evening light to make the boat ship shape for the next user. When Sarah was satisfied, they made rotating trips back to the cabin's back porch/shed combination, carrying the necessities back inside. Soon the dock looked like it did before they started their adventures.

When Fred was up by the cabin, stowing gear in Sarah's shed, Sarah whispered to Peg, "How was your day?"

"It was fine... We talked... a LOT..."

"Really... Do tell..."

Peg hugged Sarah, "No thanks... There is simply too much to process... We can talk tomorrow, maybe."

"Ohhh..., You are going to make me wait?"

"Look... I promise I will tell you most of what happened today..."

Fred walked up then and said, "I'm not telling you anything that happened..." They all laughed. Sarah noted that it might have been the first time that she had seen Fred's laughter make it all the way to his eyes in years.

Sarah Laughed, "All right, you two... Just be that way..." She crooked her arms into the young people's arms and steered them into her cabin, "Hope you are hungry... I went to KFC and got a small feast bucket and sides... Come on inside... Wash up and I'll get set up..."

Looking at each other, they realized that they were hungry. Both shrugged their assent. They went into the little cabin. Fred noticed that the windows were closed and the central air conditioning unit was humming away. It was such a relief.

Fred dove for the door, "Dibs on first shower!"

Sarah spoke without stopping her search for plates, "Freeze, Mister!"

Fred responded to that tone the way he had since he could walk. Peg slipped by him and closed the bath room door in his face laughing, "Nah, nah, na na nah..."

Fred spoke quietly into the door, "Fine I'll just tell Ma about you swimming nekkid..."

The door opened a crack, "Just try it, Big City... She won't believe you... That woman has seen me in church..." and the door slammed and was quickly locked.

Fred turned and went to help set the table, chuckling to himself. "What's so funny?"

"That woman makes me crazy..." Sarah just smiled. Her plan was working. Neither was acting the least bit guilty. Nothing untoward had happened but, they were getting to know each other. The chemistry was working. They just needed time.

After her shower, Peg came out in her church dress. Fred was struck by his need to know what was under it. To escape his own desires, Fred quickly got into a much colder shower than he had taken that morning. He washed off the sweat of a good day on the lake. He shaved carefully and dressed in the clean shorts and a Bulls Tee Shirt that Sarah had laid out for him.

He went into the dining room. Peg looked up from some deep conversation with his mother. "Say, Big City... You clean up nice..."

His mother smiled, "And you smell nice, too..."

Fred laughed, "Come on, Ma... Don't tease me... You promised me chicken."

"Hold your horses, Mister..." The bucket and side dish containers were opened, The microwave dinged as the gravy was done heating up. They shared a meal of food and jokes and laughter. Sarah was in heaven. Peg and Fred only had eyes for each other.

After the meal, they watched the end of a Cubs game. After that, Fred walked Peg out to her car. If Sarah had noticed that she had come in wearing a different swim suit than when she had left this morning, she never let on. They kissed a long, sweet kiss and she drove off. Fred went into the cabin, "Pretty clever, Ma..."

"Whatever do you mean?"

"Oh, I don't know... Maybe your last second abandonment of the plan was just too clever."

"I don't think I like your tone, young man."

"Ahhh...The best defense is offense, ehhh?"

"As usual, I have no idea what you are talking about... Good Night, Sir!"

"Nite, Ma..." Fred was surprised that even though they had napped, he was exhausted. Fred, in his constant inebriation, had never really been aware that he had neither eaten nor slept properly since Jen's death. He had just wandered through the blackness of his existence. He stripped down to his underwear in the cool cabin and fell into a deep, restful sleep.

Chapter 13; Monday Morning

Fred woke to sunlight on his face. He looked at the clock. It was five minutes before seven, "Plenty of time..."

He showered and pulled on his Dockers and a Polo shirt. He walked out to the kitchen. His mom was reading her paper with an empty cup of coffee in front of her. "Morning, Ma." He kissed the top of her head.

"Sonny, boy... You got plans for today?"

"I promised to have breakfast at Teeny's Diner with Greg Hansen."

"The Sheriff?"

"Yes'm... I seen him at church yesterday... We have to do some paper work that we have to do..."

"Yeah?"

"Well... the rule is called posse adjurnum... PA, for short..."

"Fancy title..."

"Yep... The rule is simple... It says that if a visiting police officer (like me) enters a jurisdiction with his gun and badge (Greg's county.) Said officer (me) must pro forma (not necessarily in writing) advise the local authorities (Greg) that I am in said jurisdiction and that my gun and badge are at his disposal."

"Okay... sounds official enough..."

"Nah, Greg just wants a free breakfast at Teeny's."

"Okay, sonny... See you later, then..."

"You got my cell number?"

"Of course..."

"What you doing this fine morning?"

"I have Bible Study at the church over in Eddyville. And...Yes... I have my cellular phone with me and it is charged."

"Good... Is it on?"

"On?" She poked around in her purse and came out with the phone. It was powered off.

He took it from her, held the power button until the screen sang its way to life, and hung it by the clip from the strap of her purse, Ma..." he said in an exasperated tone. "Look... We'll touch base later to see about supper. I think Miss Peg and I are having lunch." He left then.

Sarah waited until he was gone to do her happy dance. Her baby was healing. He was eating. He was sleeping. But, most of all, he wasn't drinking. In their younger days, her own beloved husband had enjoyed a beer or two when boating. She did not count that as drinking.

Ever since Jen had passed on, she had watched as her baby, Freddy, drank himself stupid. And now, Jimmy was gone, too. While Jimmy's death was surely a shame, the rest of this trip home was a God send. She finished dressing and set off for her Bible study group. She had much to share. Her prayers had been heard and she was glad.

When Freddy got to Teeny's, three cruisers and Greg's SUV were already there. Fred slipped his shield out of the door holder and onto his belt so it could be seen. He took his Glock Nine service pistol and its holster out and clipped it on his belt at the middle of his back. He pulled his shirt out to cover it and went in. Taking a quick scan of the scene as he was trained to do, he noticed that the Sheriff was sitting with a cup of coffee at his right elbow. There was a small pile of forms on the table. He was looking through them and talking softly to his men while they ate.

He went into the kitchen to say hey with Papa Junior who was busy getting his fire just right. Denny was clanking around with his odd walk, laying tray after tray of meats into the shelves of the smoker. Little Teeny was spraying each tray as Fred had seen her father do many times.

"Hey, sugar..."

"Hey, Little Teeny..." She blew him an air kiss and returned to the business of starting her day just the way her parents had taught her.

He stood in the kitchen and watched his old friend through the pass through windoe. If Greg had seen him, he gave no notice as he went about his meeting with his crew. Fred reckoned that they were having their usual morning meeting. He understood that it was good to do this in various restaurants all over the county to show the flag and bolster early business.

Greg was several years younger than Fred. He had grown up as a tough South East side kid from Mayor Daley's old Irish ward. Following the example of his father and several generations before him, Greg had gone right out of high school into CPD's Police Academy. He and Fred had competed all through school and graduated first and second in their class. They had been assigned to the same precinct.

Fred and he had walked beats together and became best friends. After Freddy got transferred to the Far North side, they had still gotten together to watch sports and bitch about the life they loved at various cop bars. They had gotten their Detective shields in the same ceremony. Fred had been a groom's man at Greg and Phyllis's wedding.

When Greg and Phyllis split up, Greg and he had been commiserating at a cop bar. Fred had mentioned that his mom had heard at church that the county Sheriff was looking for a guy to handle a new Investigator position. It was called the Special Under Sheriff, a kind of detective rank created by the state. Before a week was out, Greg had applied and was interviewing for that job. In a month, Fred's mom told him that some guy named Greg Hansen was the new Under Sheriff and he had joined her church. Fred was glad that Greg had made good use of an opportunity to get out of the memory filled haunts of Chi Town and away from daily contact with his ex-wife.

The three younger officers had nearly finished their meals. Fred slid into the booth with them, exchanging nods, one cop to another. He took his old friend's hand. "Greg... I'm not buying four breakfasts. I agreed to buy yours."

Just then, Big Teeny strutted up and put a cup in front of him, "Your money aint no good here, Officer... All policemen eat here for free... Freddy, don't you remember..?"

"Mama Teeny... Giving away food aint no way to run a business..."

"Hush, boy... Sheriff, You ready to eat, yet?"

"Yes, Mama..."

"Well, all right, then... Deetective?"

"I'll have..."

"Hesh up... You in my home now, boy... You'll eat what Mama Teeny brings ya..."

"Yes, Mama..." She strutted off, the Empress of all that she surveyed. The table broke into laughter. They had each had that discussion with that fearsome woman. The men took this moment as their cue to slide out of the big round booth and head for their cars. Each left a five dollar tip under their plates.

Greg Hansen sat back and looked at Freddy, "Long time no see, Fred."

"Long time, G..." Fred took a drink of coffee, "You been down here, what...ten years now?"

"Closer to twelve... I was the Under Sheriff for the first six years or more, doing special investigations and I've been Sheriff now almost six... so... I'd have to say closer to twelve..."

"Wow... Time flies when you're having fun..."

Greg laughed softly and looked around, "Yeah... Party, party, party... That's all we small town sheriffs do..."

"Ya want to get the paperwork out of the way before Mama gets back with our food?"

"Yeah... That'll be good..." He took the top sheet off of his stack. It was a PA form, partially filled out. "I had Jeanie, our office everything plus dispatch, make out a new one using the data from your last visit. Anything new that should be on here?"

"You got me at Ma's cabin?"

"Yeah, we changed that... Your old address seems to be currently occupied by a Margaret Thompson..."

Fred smiled, "The wheels of bureaucracy grind slow, huh... Ma aint been there in maybe eight years..."

"Ahhh... The old Sheriff just rubber stamped all of his old forms... It has taken me and Jeannie a while to clean up his really crappy filing, and I use the term loosely, system." And they laughed.

"Ahhh.. the pleasures of the life of a Chief..."

"Aint that the truth...Gun?"

"Here..."Fred took his pistol and holster and laid it on the table.

Greg looked at it and back at his form, "Still packing the Glock, I see..."

"Yep...she fires clean and I hit most of what I aim at..."

Greg laughed at the old cop joke from their younger days. The desk sergeant in their first precinct used to always say that he could hit most of what he aimed at and that he had hardly ever shot a rookie. Greg took another drink of coffee as he read farther down the page, "Is your drop piece still your old POS?"

Fred laughed at the 'piece of shit' reference to his ankle gun as he re-holstered his Glock. It was the name that all the guys on the job in Chicago used for their Police Officer Special. That gun was the first one issued to every cadet upon entering the Academy. They were required to be Marks man proficient with the Remington 38 Special and with the Remington Over Under shotgun that was in a door holster in every CPD cruiser. SWAT guys had to be bomb and semi-automatic trained, but not the rank and file, "Never could let it go... For nostalgic reasons, you know..."

"Yeah... mine's still in my bed side table in case Phyllis shows up so I can kill myself..." Fred laughed at another old cop joke.

"Well... Mine is out there in the trunk... I hardly ever have to use two guns staying out at ma's cabin with the old folks at the lake."

Greg laughed, "That gun saved my life more than once..."

"For true... My brother..." He put his Glock back in the small of his back, "Once the suits got their heads out of their asses and let us try to match the fire power on the streets, I found that fifteen shots in rapid succession from this baby would scatter most of the street scum that I ran into."

"What you doing on the job these days?"

"After you left, I did Arson for a while... These days, I'm a virtual cop, computer chasing white collar scum and fraud..."

"Ewwww... Computers..."

"Tell me about it..."

"How long are you staying in town?"

"I'm down here for at least a couple of weeks... Not sure..."

"Okay... It'll be good seeing you in church..." Greg sat back, the official portion of the interview over, "I was sorry to hear about Jen... She was a great gal..."

"Thanks, Buddy... She was the greatest..."

Just then, Little Teeny and Big Teeny came over with their food. Greg just smiled. Fred laughed out loud, "Mama, you have brought us enough food for a small village in Asia..."

"I been worrying about your skinny butt something powerful ever since I seen you Saturday... I told you then that you weren't nothing but skin and bones... Now, you hesh up and eat... Don't you be disrespecting my food..."

"No, Mama... I'll be good..." They all laughed. Little Teeny sat down by Fred and waited until her mother had drifted off to talk to some other patrons.

"Freddy... I just got a call from Jimmy's lawyer... It seems that I got to go to the reading of the will tomorrow... What could that mean?"

Fred took her little hand in his big one. "Silly girl... He has provided something for his best girl... Right, Sheriff?"

Greg looked sadly at Teeny, "It is no surprise to me, Miz Wilkins... I know that you and Jimmy were very close."

Her face wrinkled. She looked at him intently, "What makes you think that, Sheriff?"

"Your Mama has been feeding cops since day one so that they would pay special attention to your property."

"Yeah... She said it was safer for all of us..."

"Right... Well... For longer than I have lived here, there are stacks of late night cruiser reports of Jimmy's various cars being seen parked out here on the Bend Road. Two and two makes four most days... It wasn't any of my department's business what two consenting adults do with their free time..."

She looked sheepishly at him, "We weren't doing nothing bad, Sheriff... I have loved Jimmy since I was a child..."

Greg talked between mouthfuls of ham, potatoes and eggs. "I understand that, Miz Teeny... I really do... Jimmy was a fine fellow, as far as I knew, and I know you pretty well..."

"Yes, he was... No, to be fair and true... He could really be an asshole... But, I loved him and a heart aint got no good sense..."

The Sheriff shrugged his giant shoulders in assent, "I aint saying nothing was wrong with nothing... But, I hear everything... I am the Sheriff, after all... This is not going to be public knowledge... The Deputies over the years have respected your family's right to privacy... and they all loved Jimmy... They all got good deals on cars from him... Nuff said, Miss... "

"Yep, I voted for you because I know that you are a righteous man..." Teeny slid out of the booth and returned to the kitchen.

"I do try..." He began working his large frame out of the booth, "As much as I love you people and your food, I have a county to protect and serve..."

They laughed. Greg pointed at Fred, "Don't be a stranger... Come over to Golconda to the Pope County Justice Center and I'll show around my new offices and the equipment that we got from DC with some nice Patriot Act money..."

"Then, you can buy me lunch... You probably eat free every where... You are as bad as a priest..."

"Watch your tongue, boy... Phyllis got our old church in the divorce... I'm a devout Methodist, now..."

"See ya, Sheriff..." He passed Peg walking in. Greg tipped his hat and went out to his SUV.

Jen walked over to Fred's table she slid in beside him. She offered her lips for a kiss, "Good morning, sweetie... How'd you sleep?"

"Like a baby... You?"

"Pretty well... That cold water exhausted me..."

"Only one of the hazards of swimming nekkid..."

She struck his arm playfully, "Shut up, boy... People will hear you!"

"Just one of those great ideas that didn't work..."

"I showed you my tattoo... I told you I would..."

"Damn! I was so shocked by your nekkid-idity that I missed it!"

Peg huffedout a sigh, "You!!!" She took a piece of his toast and put some eggs on it and began eating his breakfast, "Suddenly, I am starved..."

"I couldn't possibly have eaten it all anyway... Mama Teeny's trying to fatten me up." They laughed as she finished all the food on the table.

Peg went over to the counter and poured them two cups of fresh coffee. She returned to their table, "Just like home..."

They laughed and talked about nothing. The diner was empty now as it was between meals. The Wilkins family left them alone. The two Teenys just smiled and pointed at the one occupied booth when the two women would pass each other getting ready for their lunch crowd.

Finally, Fred asked, "I am both delighted and surprised to see you...What is up?"

"Oh...I called your Mama. She told me you were here, so I came here to find you..."

He kissed her, "I aint complaining... I needed my morning kiss to go with my very sweet good night kiss..."

Her face lit up and she kissed him again, "Whatever I can do to make your day, Big City..."

"Doing fine... Doing fine..." They laughed.

Then, she got serious, "Actually... I have a request..."

"Come on, Sweetie... whatever you want... I serve and protect... I got my PA form filled out with the Sheriff now..."

"Okay...Good!... Jimmy's lawyer called me this morning... I have to find Jimmy's official will..."

"Okay..."

"I reckon that I must go to his house to look for it..."

"Okay..."

"Freddy... I just can't go there by myself..."

He put his arms around her, "I'm your boy..."

He hid a twenty dollar bill under the plate. They went to say their goodbyes. They kissed and hugged the Wilkins women as they left.

Big Teeny smiled after them. She said, "They are the cutest couple ever... We may be catering another wedding soon..." The two women slapped high fives.

Chapter 14; Jimmy's House

Fred followed Peg to her house. She got out of her car and walked toward him. She was wearing a light blue cotton blouse and a dark blue pleated skirt. She wore medium heels that turned her calf nicely. "I just love to watch you walk..."

She leaned into his window and kissed him softly, "Flattery will get you everywhere, Sir..."

She walked around the car and slipped into his front seat. Her skirt slid up revealing a lot of leg. Fred smiled. "Nice..."

She pushed her skirt down, "Oh, you..."

"My Daddy always said that it pays to advertise."

She put on her seat belt, "Is that a complaint, Big City?"

"Oh,... Hell no... I will only complain if you get that cottage cheesy stuff under the skin of those beautiful thighs..."

"Do you mean Cellulite?"

"Is that what you girls call it?"

She snorted a laugh, "You cannot be that stupid..."

"Oh, sure I can... Just watch me."

He followed her directions to Jimmy's house. It was an ordinary looking ranch in need of some repair. "Nice dump", he said softly.

"Yeah... Jimmy's been living here alone since his last divorce. Since Jimmy didn't have much, the last ex-wife hadn't signed a prenuptial agreement. The last Mrs. James Simpson took their house and Jimmy bought this one. I've never been in it."

They pulled into Jimmy's driveway. Peg was looking across the poorly kept yard with a concerned look on her face.

What is it, Peg?"

"Jimmy's door is wide open... I know that Digger and I were here Saturday. There's no way that we left his front door wide open like that..."

"Here's my phone... Call 911..." He pulled his Glock 9 out of the door holster that had been especially built into his car and popped the clip in. He pulled the top slide back to chamber a round.

He leaned close to Peg who appeared to be in total shock, "Tell them who you are... Tell them where you are... Tell them my name... Tell them Officer Fred MacGarn is going in to reconnoiter..."

She sat there holding the cellular phone like it was the first one she had ever seen, "Fred??? What..?"

"Do it! Do it now!"

"Where are you going? Don't leave me..."

"Stay here... I'm going in to the house to look around..."

He grabbed her and gave her a little shake, "Peg... can you make the call or shall I..?"

"I'm sorry..." She dialed the three numbers. When police dispatch was connected, she began saying all of the things he had told her to say.

Once he was sure that the call was made, he reiterated, "Stay inside the car..."

"Fred!!!" She cried as a loud crashing sound came from inside the dwelling.

He ignored her as he quickly headed toward Jimmy's house. He automatically walked sideways and low holding his trusty pistol high in standard search mode. It felt good in his hand. He prayed a little prayer, just like he always did, that he wouldn't have to use it. He moved forward as quietly as he could and pushed the door further open. "Police!" he called and moved low and sideways through a small foyer.

He checked each of the corners of the crappy living room, as if you would call a beat up wing back chair and a small TV sitting on a box, a living room. "Still living the dream, I see..." he said to Jimmy's ghost.

He kept moving forward in automatic search mode. He found himself in an office area. It had clearly recently been tossed. Holes had actually been knocked in some of the walls. A twelve pound steel head hammer was lying by the farthest hole.

Then, he heard the scrambling and the clunking of heavy boots running to get out the back door. Fred noticed that three out of four screws had been removed from an air conditioning vent as he ran past it to chase whoever had just run out the back. Fred saw a beat up pickup truck hauling ass out of the alley. It had too much gray primer on it to say whether it was originally red or orange. It was old enough to not be identified easily as a Ford or a Chevy.

As he walked back around the house to his car, the sirens could be heard at various distances. Peg rushed to him, "Are you crazy..? What do you mean going in there like that?"

"I'm a cop, sugar... That's what we do... Settle down..." He held her and she held him tightly as the cruisers started pulling in. They drove into the grass to make room for all the vehicles they knew were coming... All three cruisers and the Sheriff's command vehicle had rogered the call from dispatch...

The first deputy on the scene came up to them. "Who called this in?"

Peg raised her hand, "Me..."

He wrote in a notebook. "Name?"

Peg hesitated. Fred jumped in, "Margaret Thompson..."

"I can speak for myself..."

The deputy turned to Fred, "The caller ID said the phone belonged to Detective Sergeant MacGarn... Is that right?"

"Right... She used my phone..."

"Check..." Now, all three deputies were standing in half circle in front of them listening to the interview. Fred spoke loudly enough that all of them could hear. The first on scene officer continued to write in his notebook. Fred spoke slowly, and in short bursts, so the officer could keep catching up.

"We pulled up about one minute before the dispatch... I gave my cell phone to Peg... While she was talking to dispatch, I drew my weapon... I proceeded through the open front door... I had cleared the living room... I proceeded to the next room, probably a dining room, but, it appears to have been set up as the owner's office... when I entered this space, I noticed that the room had been recently ransacked... Then, I heard the sound of someone running out the back door... I proceeded to give chase... I never saw the man... I saw a pickup which may or may not have been the get away vehicle... It was red and orange and gray primer... I came out here to check on Peg when you all came pouring in."

Just then, Greg drove in. He walked up. The deputy handed him his notebook. The Sheriff read the whole report and handed it back, "Fred... Did you discharge your weapon?"

Fred just handed the pistol to him. Greg smelled it and handed it back. "Did you say the prayer?"

"Just like every other time, G..."

Greg nodded as he handed him two surgical gloves, "Buddy... I'm deputizing you right now... I called your Captain on the way over here... I told him that we had money in our budget to exercise your posse adjurnum voucher... He okayed it... Said it would help his budget to get you off his books..."

He's a peach..."

"So, my friend... I'm afraid your vacation is on hold..." They both put on their plastic gloves.

He gave a fake British navel salute, "Aye, aye, Cap'm..."

"When this is over...I will deactivate your PA... Your Captain says your vacation days will restart... You'll still have 21 of your 22 days left..."

"Interesting... ground up in the wheels of government again..." Greg laughed.

He looked at his own men, "This man and I go back to our first day on CPD. He is a police sergeant... So, he outranks all of you... Just like me, he has twenty seven years on the job... Got it?"

"Yes, Sir..." The deputies answered as one voice.

"Well, people... Shall we go in and take a look?"

The three deputies formed up and drew their weapons. The Sheriff just stopped and looked at his men, "Put them away, Gentlemen... The sergeant has already done the first check of the premises... We are pretty sure the bad guys have run away..."

The men looked a little embarrassed. They holstered their weapons. Without speaking a word, the sheriff used hand signals to send a two man team around the outside of the house to check the garage and back yard areas. The remaining four went in. Peg followed them in to the house. Greg sent Fred and another officer as another two man team to the right out of the foyer and into the living room. First one and then, the other called, "Clear..."

That team then went down a back hall and cleared the rooms back there, calling out to each other as each room was inspected. The sheriff and Peg went into the office. Fred looked at Peg. She answered his unasked question, "Down that hallway are two bedrooms and a bath, sweetie..." He nodded assent and thanks.

When Fred made his way through the kitchen and back to the dining room/ office, he found the Sheriff beginning to inspect the damage in the office area. Greg was aiming a powerful flashlight at one the holes. Greg looked up at Fred, "There goes the resale value..."

Fred snorted, "Now, it really is a fixer upper..." Peg punched him.

"Excuse me, Miz Thompson..." the deputy that had been paired with Fred moved in to the room. He had had gone outside to the SUV. He was now carrying a large orange tool box.

The Sheriff turned to the deputy, "Thanks, Handy..."

Then, Peg recognized the young man as Eddie Handy. She had babysat him throughout his childhood, "Hi, Eddie... My, aren't you handsome in your uniform..."

The young man turned a shade of pink and smiled, "Thank you, Miss Margaret... I got my star as soon as I graduated from Pope County JuCo... I have been on this job for three months now..." and then, he refocused on his boss and their shared tasks.

As they watched the sheriff start dusting for prints, Fred took a moment to look at the young man closely, "Handy...?"

"Yes, Sir..."

"Let me guess... Carl's your Dad?"

"Yes, Sir..."

"You look just like he did when we were your age."

He stuck out his hand, "My name's Ed, Sir... I'm sorry..."

"Sorry for what, Son?"

"I forgot my manners this morning... He told me to say Hey if I seen you..."

"Give my old friend my regards... Is he still selling lumber over in Eddyville?"

"Yep... He and Grampa still got that old place... It's hardware store too... My sister Angie..."

"Angel..? I aint seen her since you were both in diapers..."

"Well, she's got one in diapers of her own, now..."

The Sheriff cut in, "Miz Thompson... I need you to have a seat in the living room, please..."

Peg nodded, "Sure, Sheriff... I have to make a call anyway..."

Fred went on with his thought to Ed Handy as he watched her flip open his phone, "Well... looking at this mess... I reckon me and Miss Margaret are going to be seeing your Dad real soon... She already has a house... My old house... She'll probably want to sell this one..."

He pointed out the window, "That deputy there, Jeremy Foxx... He's fixing to get hitched... He may want a fixer upper that he can get for a good price..."

"Stay tuned, little brother... Maybe you can hook us up whenever this mess is sorted out..."

The outside team of deputies came in to report that they had cleared the grounds without finding anything worth reporting."

"Okay, Boys... You two need to get back on patrol... Jeremy, I heard on my radio coming in that Miss Tansy out on Franklin Road said that someone has been stealing her watermelons again..."

"Yes, Sir... I'll go take another look... Probably raccoons though... Who the hell wants unripe melons..."

As he turned to go, the Sheriff called after him, "Remember to call my wife at dispatch so she can update you on the way..." The man nodded his assent and headed out.

The other deputy looked at the Sheriff for orders. Greg said, "Tim... I want you to head over to Golconda... It probably aint good for all of us to be this concentrated..."

"Yes, Sir."

"While you are going into town, take a ride along the north side of Riverside Park... Make sure the skateboarders are behaving... Not annoying the old folks trying to feed the birds... Or annoying any tourists too much..."

"10-4, Sheriff... I'm gone..."

The Sheriff called out to him, "Remember to call Jeannie to change your 10-10 status to 10-7..."

Fred smiled at the exchange, "Wow... 10 codes..."

"They are all young... They love 10 codes..."

Watching Greg work, the last deputy whispered, "Hell, a real 10-44..."

"What is that?"

"Ummm... It's a B and E..."

"Right...go on..."

"Anyway... this caper is more excitement than we have had around here in months..."

Greg spoke without looking at them, "Shut the hell up, Handy... If you're interested in staying here, make yourself useful..." He was dusting black powder onto the handle of a ten pound sledge.

"Yes, Sir..."

"Grab a roll of pick up tape and gather these fingerprints off this hammer that I just extruded..."

The young officer's face lit up like a sunrise. He searched the tool box and snatched a roll of clear tape and some white cards. Fred and Peg watched as the Sheriff talked the younger man through the evidence gathering process. Of course, Ed Handy had studied forensics at the Junior College's Criminal Science Course, but, these fingerprints were real and suddenly, for the first time in his young life, these fingerprints were precious evidence. His excitement energized the room.

Fred took a small digital camera out of the tool box. He moved over to some footprints tracked in the chalk powder from the holes, "Want me to shoot these tracks, G?"

"Good eye, Sergeant... Please do." He returned to his brush and carbon powder. Peg watched her friends work. Her admiration for Fred was even greater watching him do the work that he had been born to do. She loved to watch him moving around the room, shooting photos from different angles. Suddenly, he stopped and shot several quick photos using the flash mode.

"G... Lookie here... There are two sets of foot prints here in this dust..."

The Sheriff carefully moved around the desk so as not to disturb evidence. He looked at the waffled prints in the dust, "Real good eye, Freddy... Thanks..."

And so, they worked through the morning hours. Using Fred's phone, Peg had called Robby Sarducci, Jimmy's lawyer. "The sexy voice on the phone said, "Oh, hi, Peg... It's Janet... How are you holding up, Dear?" Janet had been a classmate of Peg's. She had gone to University of Kentucky to become a paralegal and had worked for Robbie's Dad since then.

"I'm doing all right, Janet... Freddy is here and he is helping quite a bit."

"Oh, that's good..."

"Is Robbie in?"

"No, sugar... He's at the lake house."

"Dang..."

"But," she quickly added, "He had told me to buzz him if you or Fred called... I'll call him right now and he'll get right back to you..."

"Thanks... Really..." They broke the connection and Peg sat back to wait. Only a few minutes later, her cell phone rang in her purse. She pulled it out and saw Robbie's caller ID, "Hey, Robbie..."

"Hey, Peg."

"We went to Jimmy's house and interrupted a break in..."

"Really?"

"And now, his house is a crime scene and we won't be able to look through the house for the will..."

"Okay..."

"Freddy took a perfunctory look around and said he didn't see the big manila envelope you told me about."

"You know... I just had a thought... I was in his office when I gave him the draft of his will..."

"Did he sign it?"

"Yes... I watched him..."

"Now, that he is dead, unless somebody contests, that's his last will... You were watching him sign the notes I made of our last meeting... These were his wishes. I have the notes... We can work from them if we have to."

"We'll look in his office later, when we are done here..."

"Okay do you have the combination to his safe?"

"Yes..."

"Okay, then..."

"Thank you, Robbie... can I call you back on this number?"

"Yeah, sure... Keep me posted..." and he broke the connection.

Greg just spoke conversationally, "Jimmy's prints are on file because of the bonding process for dealing cars, so, it will be easy to eliminate his and separate prints that shouldn't be here to identify possible perpetrators..." Since the vent cover was still intact, they never thought to do more than dust it for prints.

He stood up and stretched the kinks out of his large back. "There... We are probably done here."

He put the dusting kit in its slot in the tool box, "Eddie get this evidence to the Justice Center and get it transmitted to the state. Process the photos through the shoe print identifier program. You got this?"

Ed stood a little straighter, "I got this, Sheriff!"

"Okay... Me and the Sergeant will be in at end of shift for your report... Tell Jeannie to dispatch you to the Office for all of today... that you are 10-20 to the Lab for the duration."

"10-4..." He said as he reassembled the contents of the tool box and practically ran to his cruiser. He peeled out of the driveway and barreled off to the county seat.

Greg laughed, "We surely have to love those young ones... They are so gung ho..."

Fred laughed. It was good to work with the young officers to eradicate our own burnout. "Orders for me, Chief?"

"No... You got plans for the rest of today?"

Fred looked inquiringly at Peg, "Sweetie..?"

"Robbie wants us to check the safe in Jimmy's office. We still have to find his will."

Fred looked at Greg, "It is good next step... Meet me at my office in Golconda at end of shift, we'll compare notes. You have t fill out tax forms with Jeannie, also."

He turned to Peg, "Miz Thompson..."

"Sheriff... please call me Peg..."

He looked at her sharply, "Excuse me for asking, but, you wouldn't be the victim of the knick name of Piggy Peggy... a bony little girl of story and legend, would you?"

Fred snorted out a hoot of a laugh, "Oh, God, G... Don't you dare..."

Peg stood up straight and crossed her arms over her breasts, "And If I might have suffered from this horrible title as a child..."

"It's not that bad, really...It's just that I have heard stories, well...legends really... about her... You... all of my life... I didn't even know if you were a real person... We were often quite drunk when the stories were exchanged..."

"Do tell, Sheriff..."

"Well... It all started when me and Freddy were young Academy Cadets, sitting around talking about why we had chosen the crime fighting life..."

"Sounds like boys at play, all right..."

Greg kept talking as he walked. Peg followed him out to Jimmy's kitchen. He continued as he washed the carbon powder off his hands, "Right...Me... I never had much of a choice... Generations of my ancestors were, and some still are, Chicago cops..."

"Oh, yeah... A common story, but a good one..."

"But, Fred's stories were of having some kind of a goofy detective agency run by kids and about solving local crimes with a girl who was a whiz at computers and analytic skills named Piggy Peggy... People made him tell the stories over and over... The stories were kind of sweet and kind of funny..."

"Much as I hate that name..."

"I understand..."

She put her hand on her hip and cocked it, "And, as you can easily see... It was a lie then and certainly now..."

"Yes, Ma'am... I can clearly see that."

She put her hand on his flaming cheek, "Still, I cannot help but be flattered by his faint praises..."

"Nahhh... I wasn't fooled... I always understood that you were the brains of that out fit... He never said that you were even pretty much less beautiful... Still, back in younger days, I was half in love with you myself..."

Fred snorted, "You guys want to get a room?"

Greg ignored Fred as he shook Peg's hand, "I'm sorry that your losses keep piling up, Peg. It is good to finally meet such a legendary crime fighter as yourself..."

She gave a half laugh, "I will never live down my brother's alliterations..."

"Oh, you already have... It is a good to be both pretty and smart..."

"Ohhh... Freddy's not the only silver tongued devil here..."

"Now, hold on..."

She ignored Fred, "They teach you boys smooth talking at that Police Academy up there in the Big City?"

Greg laughed, "No... I don't know about him, but, my blarney came from my Irish Grampaw on the south side of Chicago... It's genetic..."

Fred made a snorting sound. Peg ignored him as she gave Greg a hug, "That's why YOU are the Sheriff and HE is only a Sergeant..." They all laughed.

They had made it outside by now. He swung up into the SUV, "Uhhh... Don't think too badly of me.... But, I'm over you now... and my dispatcher, my new wife, Jeannie, would kill me..."

Peg laughed a little laugh, "Really?"

"Ummm, yeah... And, uh... when she came to work at the Justice Center, she made me teach her to shoot..."

"A serious woman..."

"Yes'm, she surely is... So... I am off to serve and protect..." Fred and Peg laughed.

"See ya, Miz Peg..."

Peg nodded solemnly, "Sheriff..."

The Sheriff pointed at him, "Three o'clock, Freddy... We actually have a lot to discuss."

"I'll be there, Sheriff..."

"See you, then,"

They laughed and headed for their car as the sheriff went out on his pathway.

Chapter 15; Monday PM; Jimmy's Office

Fred grabbed Peg's hand, helping her into his car, "I'm getting you out of here before the shreds of my reputation are completely blown away."

Fred's cell phone rang. Fred looked at the Caller ID, "Hey, Ma..." He switched the phone to speaker mode so Peg could listen.

"Freddy... I just talked to Mildred Gurtz. She's in quite a state. She has a police scanner. She ran all the way to the church to tell me that there was a 911 call about Jimmy's place. Were you and Peg there?"

"Ma, we are fine... Why didn't she call you?"

"Oh, she couldn't find her cell phone, so, she just ran over in her gown and slippers... Still had her hair in curlers..."

"Did the Pastor have to pray for her or anything..."

"Oh, you! Now, I got to light an extra candle for you tonight..."

"Ma, You know that I can't talk about that 911 call..."

"What? But, I'm your mother..."

"And... I am a cop..."

"That's fine for you, sonny boy... I spent fourteen hours of labor bringing you into this world, little boy..."

Peg stuffed her sweater in her mouth to keep from hooting at his mother's tirade.

"What's that noise?"

"Peg got her drink in sideways... She's coughing..."

"Poor baby..."

"Ma... I do have a great story for you to share. Looks like I'll be sticking around for a few extra weeks..."

"Really... Why?"

"Just tell all your friends that my PA has been activated. My vacation is cancelled and I am working for the local Sheriff here until we look into some stuff that I can't tell you about..."

"What does that mean? Are you telling me that there's even more stuff that you can't tell me about?"

"Right... More stuff... So, don't ask... and, neither can Peg," he looked at Peg sharply across the car, "So...don't hound her..."

"Like I would do that..."

"Right, Ma? And Auntie Agnes can't hound her either..."

"But, she's her mother... and...I might add one more tiny fact, she is Jimmy's mother..."

"Look...When this police business is all over, we will sit you all down and tell you what we are allowed to say..."

"Well... if that's the best that you can do..."

"Any way... I'm glad you called... I have a late meeting over at the Justice Center..."

"What for?"

"Ma??? I don't know...tax paperwork...Maybe to clear up the details of my duties..."

"Oh...Right!"

"So, I'll probably get supper over there..."

"Sure... I get that."

"Okay... Bye, Ma..."

"But, sonny... What do I tell Mildred?"

"Here's what you tell all your Bible Study friends... You can tell them that the Pope County Sheriff's Department (that includes me AND Peg...) are deeply involved in an ongoing police matter and no details are currently available..."

"You sound just like a big city press conference..."

"Mother...Mildred is just like the local version of CNN... Telephone...telegraph... tell Mildred..." Peggy was now laughing uncontrollably into her sweater.

"And No... we DON'T have any details... It is NOT a lie... This incident JUST happened... we have gathered fingerprints and such... They are being processed at the Justice Center... That's it for now! Got it!"

"Okay..." she said sadly.

"Wait... Ma???"

Sarah put the phone back to her ear, "What?"

"Ma, you CAN do something for the sheriff's office..."

"Really? What?" Sarah was suddenly excited.

"Get your busybody network..."

"What a terrible thing to say..."

"Mom, you women folks know everything about this county... Ask your friends... to be on the lookout for a three colored pickup... Orange and Red and primer gray... It was not a new truck... but it was in pretty bad shape..."

"Why?"

"Mother...you know I can't tell more... Okay, wait... Say this... that pickup is a vehicle of interest to the Sheriff..."

"Oh... Okay... I'll tell them... Now, I just have to get back to Bible Study..." Sarah clicked off. She immediately returned to the church parlor where fifteen women anxiously waited for all the news from Sarah's call. She took her time relating every detail, or lack of detail, as the case was, in answer to their machine gun questions.

The preacher waited quietly. He knew that today's intended lessons to be learned from Esther's search for meaning would have to wait for another day. When the request that they participate in a county wide man hunt for the owner of an orange and red and gray colored pickup was retold, the excitement hit epic proportions and any reference to Old Testament litany was forgotten.

While all this was going on, Peg had sat uncomfortably, trying not to snort laugh as she watched Fred work his mother like a trick horse. She sat quietly for a few moments.

"Penny for your thoughts?" He said softly.

Peg laughed softly and said, "A stroke of genius, Big City..."

Fred smiled at her warmly as he drove, "Well... I thought it would be simpler if I distracted her buddies with a task... And, if they find that truck, they could be helpful to us all..."

"Right... I understood that part..."

"Sherlock Holmes had his gang of street rag a muffins... I have my mother's busybody network... I figure they are better than any street team that I ever had in Chicago... Crooks around here do not stand a chance..."

Peg laughed a sweet laugh, "Between my mom and yours, them crooks won't stand a snow ball's chance in hell..."

They pulled up to a stop sign. "I want you to kiss me with that mouth." So, she did and they headed out for Jimmy's car lot on the edge of town. It occurred to Fred that it was conveniently located less than a mile from Teeny's Diner and her trailer.

When they pulled in, a cloud of dust swirled around their vehicle and settled on the nearest cars and the couple of people browsing among them. They got out and went into the glassed walled building. The sales force is there but they are ignoring customers. Peg paid no attention to them. Fred followed her as she walked boldly into Jimmy's office.

She said quietly, without looking back, "Close the door please, will you, sweetie?"

Fred closed the door against the five pairs of eyes that had tracked them from his car. When he looked back at them, they all acted as if they were busy doing something at their desks.

She walked over to a picture of Jimmy. It was a 20 x 17 blowup of his rookie year baseball card in a White Sox uniform. When she pulled the right edge forward, Fred saw that it was hinged as she swung it out. Using a combination that she had stored in her phone, she quickly opened the safe. She quickly rifled through stacks of files and drew out one large manila envelope. Freddy saw the lawyer's letter head on the envelope, "Here... This says Will on the outside..."

"Cool... Let's get some lunch and look it over..."

"I can't... Robby said... not until tomorrow..."

"Jimmy's lawyer... I remember him... Jimmy introduced us once a few years ago..."

"Okay... Any way... He is supposed to read it to us tomorrow morning... Jimmy was expected to have given it back to him two weeks ago, before he left for Africa after it was updated..."

"Whatever..."

"So... I'm hungry..."

"Again? You just ate my breakfast at Teeny's..."

"Three hours ago..."

Where do you put it..."

"I just thank my mom for a good metabolism... So... What if we go to the Whippy Dip... Get me a Root Beer float and a dog... Robby is at his cabin on the lake for the afternoon."

"Good plan... Lunch... Then I take you home, because I have to get to the Justice Center..."

"Will I see you tonight?"

"I'm thinking it is looking good for after work...Dinner?"

"I'll make you spaghetti..."

"I'll bring wine..."

"Big City... I'm more of a beer girl..."

"Actually... I am too..."

"Okay... I'll get beer when I pick up the other stuff for supper..."

"Super... I'll call you when I'm done at Justice..."

"That'll be our plan... I won't throw the pasta in the water until you call... Don't worry about the time... The longer I simmer the spaghetti sauce, the better it is..."

Chapter 16; Monday PM; The Justice Center

Fred pulled in the lot and parked his car. Automatically, he moved the Glock and its holster to the small of his back. Again, as he had done a thousand times before, he patted both back pockets to make sure that his wallet was in his right pocket and his shield was in his left. Without even thinking, Fred pulled his Detective Sergeant's gold badge and lanyard out. He drew it over his head and straightened the badge in the center of his chest. He pushed through the glass doors into the cool shade of the hallway. He looked at the building directory to get a clue as to his path.

He followed the signs to the Pope County Sheriff's office. Pushing his way into the waiting room, Fred saw a head full of blond curls looking down, working on some paperwork. Seeing the badge, her face broke into a huge smile, "Well... Detective Sergeant Fredrick MacGarn, I presume..."

"And you would be the beautiful and talented Jeannie Hansen, I presume."

"The one and only..." She opened the pass through door and waved him in, "He s in a meeting with one of the County Commissioners, but, we have some paper work to do first. Please sit here..."

Fred sat and watched her begin to process him in with a combination of paper forms and computerized data bases. She was small and pretty, very unlike his first wife, Phyllis who was tall and thin and dark. She wrote something and typed something into her computer and looked at him with a bright smile, "It is so nice to finally meet you... I have heard so many stories about the two of you over the years."

"If I can, I will clear up any fallacies that your darling husband may have created to make himself look better..."

She laughed brightly, "I will wait with bated breath for the truth to be told..."

Just then, Greg walked by with a fat balding man in too small of a polo shirt. "Nice," Fred said.

"Yes, but, he's the top vote getter in the County for the last ten years running... and he LOVES law enforcement, so, we overlook his inability to deal with his weight..."

"Dress for success, I always say..." and they laughed quietly together.

She handed him a small stack of forms. He took a breath and began filling in little boxes and signing where Jeannie told him to. As he approached writer's cramp, Greg stuck his head in, He ready, Sweetie?"

"Yeah... He is fully spindled, folded, and mutilated..."

"Kool... Come on, Freddy... We gotta talk... If I come home late one more time, my wife, the bitch, said she's gonna shoot me."

"One more dry roast and it would be justifiable homicide..." she repied.

"Hold that thought..." Fred flipped open his phone, "Sweetie... you got enough basketti for four?"

"Ummm... yeah... I'll just throw in another jar of sauce..." He put his hand over the phone, "Jeannie, can Greggy come out to play at my old house? You can come, too..."

"Ohhhh... since you asked me so nicely..."

"All right, sugar... Thanks..." He snapped the phone shut, "Okay... Jeannie, do you know where Peg Thompson lives?"

"I have GPS, Sergeant..."

"Kool... You, as my newest friend, can go there after your shift and relax and get to know my oldest friend. Me and my second oldest friend here have to have a meeting, I guess."

"Yep... That'll work... I've got a few things, then, I'll make my way over there..."

"I'll bring His Honor there and you can have him after supper..."

Greg straightened up, "Y'all done planning my evening now so we can solve some crimes?"

Jeannie laughed a tinkling laugh. She kissed him and slipped something into his hand. Greg nodded. "Freddy, give me your badge..."

"My badge?"

He slid a shiny, gold badge across the table to Fred. "As of this moment, you are my Acting Under Sheriff for Investigations. Whenever this investigation is over... You give me my badge back and I give you your badge back and you go on..."

"Makes sense..." Fred unclipped the Chicago badge from the lanyard and hooked the Pope County SD badge to it.

"All right... Just so we don't confuse the boys... I'm going to continue to call you Sergeant because even thinking of you as my Under Sheriff is too long to say and just a tiny bit creepy to deal with..."

Jeannie laughed as she got her purse and headed out. Fred called after her, "You need Peg's number?"

"Nah...It's programmed into my cell..." and the door clicked closed behind her.

Fred looked at Greg. Greg just shrugged, "The mysteries of the female species..." he said as he got up, "Let's go down to the lab and see what Eddie's managed to accomplish."

"Right..." He followed his boss down the hall. They pushed through the air flow doors into their forensics lab. Ed looked up, "Hey, Sheriff... I was just coming to find you..."

He clicked several places on his computer. Two faces flipped into view on a big electric white board, each one on its own monitor. These are the men whose prints were identified at the scene... There were two other sets. One was Jimmy's and one was Miz Thompson's. Hers were so deteriorated that they are estimated to be at least two weeks old. Jimmy's prints were all over the place. I dated them at different times."

"As we would expect..."

"Yes, Sir..."

"Okay... Good work on the ID's..."

Fred stepped closer to the screen, "Are these from AFIS?"

"Yes, kinda... I sent them to Springfield to the State Boys...They pinged me back in less than an hour with these ID's..."

The Sheriff looked at Ed, "Do you know why, Eddie..?"

"I don't understand the question, Sheriff... Why?"

"Because you did your recovery correctly, son... I watched you work... Because you went slowly, your fingerprint collections have no distortions... You took your time and collected quality data... Good Job, Son..."

Eddie almost burst out of his khaki shirt, "Thank you, Sir..."

"What's your grade, Eddie?"

"Uhhh...I'm a deputy third grade..."

"Okay... You been here how long?"

"Ummm... I was here three years as an Explorer Scout while I went to JuCo... Then, you hired me after I passed my Board... I have been on the job eight months..."

Greg nodded, "I'll leave a note for Dispatch... I talked to the County Commissioner today about you... I'm moving you up, Eddie... From now on, you are first call on all fingerprints..."

"Thank you, boss..."

"Don't screw it up..."

"No, Sir."

"What about them shoe prints?"

"Nothing back from the state yet, Sir."

"Okay... That was a long shot anyway... Who's on point for rounding up the perps?"

Eddie read from a typed out email, "Springfield has tipped St. Louis PD for the collar... The suspects hail from a gang of bikers called the West Side Ranger's from over there..."

"All right... Shift's up, Son... Go tell your momma that you have been promoted to Second Grade... Have her sew this on..." He tossed him a clear plastic bag full of a couple of single stripe chevrons... I expect you to be properly uniformed come Monday... or tomorrow, if you like..."

Eddie shook the Sheriff's hand and Fred's as he stuttered his thanks and made his escape.

Greg headed for his office. Fred followed. Greg went around his desk and took a big red plastic folder out of the bottom right hand drawer. He dropped it heavily on his desk, slid the elastic band off the outside and began looking through it.

"Fred... For the near future, even if deputies ask, we aint having this conversation..."

"Understood..."

"I am sorry to inform you that we have been investigating your friend, Jimmy for almost a year, now."

"Yikes..."

"About a year ago, the FBI office in St. Louis asked me to come to Springfield for a sit down with IBI and a couple of other county sheriffs. They were following a money trail... They call I-57 the Great White Way because of all the blow that runs up and down it. They, and now I, suspect that a two way road of cash and drugs runs up and down from Memphis and parts south to St. Louis and Chicago..."

"Damn his hide...This'll kill his Mama..."

"Well... one thing... Now that he's dead... maybe this whole thing drifts away..."

"It aint never that simple... Is it?"

"Probably not... Tomorrow morning... I want you start reading this file... Your office is my old one across the hall. Lock this file in your safe...Here's the combination... when you are not using it... it does not exist..."

"Yes, Sir..." He followed his boss across the hall to a smaller version of the Sheriff's office. The sheriff reached for an ugly print on the wall. It swung away to reveal a safe. Greg put the file in the safe. "The FBI and us have tried to raid this operation several times... They were tipped..."

"A rat..."

"Worst kind...It looks like it may be one of my deputies, Freddie..."

"G... We'll get him... I promise..."

"Thanks, buddy... I can't tell you how much you being here means to me..."

"Okay... We start tomorrow..."

"I have some meetings in the AM... Tag me when you have done your first read through... We have to meet away from here because of the mole... God... I hope it's a janitor or something... I hate busting bad cops..."

"Yeah... Me too... Come on, Buddy... Let's go see if Peg can cook."

Chapter 17; Monday PM; Dinner

They laughed and went out to Fred's car. Fred drove swiftly and smoothly to Peg's house. When they arrived, Fred pulled past Jeannie's Jeep and parked by Peg's Honda so he didn't block their guests in. The two men entered through the kitchen.

Greg kissed Jeannie who was tearing up lettuce for their salad. "Wash your hands!"

Both men reacted automatically to her tone and washed their hands in the other sink. Peg laughed as she was filling little bowls from the piles of colorful vegetables that had been cut up for garnishes. Fred moved to her for his kiss. "Hey, purty girl..."

Peg kissed him, "Hey, yourself, Under Sheriff..."

"I'm only Acting Under Sheriff..."

"For now..." and Peg exchanged a knowing look with Jeannie.

Fred looked suspiciously from Peg to Jeannie, "What is going on here?"

"What ever do you mean?" said Peg.

"You two have been conspiring about something. This seems like odd behavior from two women who have just met..."

Jeannie and Peg laughed. Peg explained, "You big dope, Jeannie and her mom are two of my genealogy clients. One of the projects I was working on when you fell asleep the other day was adding pages to Jeannie's family book to include Greg's pages...especially now... right, Greg?"

"Ummm, yeah... My Jeannie showed me those pages yesterday when she told me I was going to be a father at the ripe old age of forty one..."

"Wooo...That is great!" said Fred as he grabbed his friend's hand and pumped it. He turned to Jeannie and hugged her, "Well... you have been riding herd on those boys down at the Sheriff's department... You already have your 'Mom' voice down... It was the logical next step..."

She blushed and smiled with tears in her eyes, "I was married ten years to a miner who was killed. We never had any kids... Now, this big guy has finally made my life complete... and I am so happy..."

"Excellent..."

Greg pushed in between them, "Hey... first you make my wife cry... then, you withhold food from me... I don't know which makes me madder..."

Peg took his arm, drawing him into her dining room, "I realize that in your delicate condition, Sheriff, your blood sugar levels are critical..."

He looked at Fred, "Mockery... I get mockery?"

"You were the one who said she was the brains of the outfit... Do you still think so?"

Jeannie plopped the big bowl of salad on the table, "Sheriff... I suggest that before you say anything... you empty your mind and fill your mouth..."

"Yes, Dear..."

And so the banter went as they forged a new team of players in a game that was not of their making. After the salad, the four of them gorged on Peg's spaghetti. To end it, they had coffee and little plates of Mama Teeny's Jamaican Ginger brownies. Jeannie, who had never had them, said, "Daddy... Mama has a new permanent craving... You might as well put in a standing order for a box of these right now..."

"Okay... but Doc Budge aint a gonna like it when your behind parts are too big to fit in his office..."

"Let me get this straight... Are you saying that I am fat, Sheriff?"

"No, sugar... You are practically perfect in every way..."

"Well, all right, then..."

"I am saying that if you eat Mama Teeny's baked goods every day, you are going to be as huge as her... and, I might point out... You are shorter by a foot..."

"Waaaaaaa..." Jeannie ran out crying.

Greg shrugged, "Hormones..."

"It's a long walk to Colconda, G..."

Greg held up Jeannie's purse. "I aint as stupid as I look..."

Fred laughed, "It is a good thing..."

He took the keys out of the tiny pocket on the outside, "She aint getting far..."

"You are a brave and stupid man, boss..."

"On that darling woman's worst day, My sweet Jeannie is waaay better than Phyllis ever was... AND, she's having my baby..."

"True...and, true! Still... You better go calm her down some how..."

"We'll be fine... She's been crying like this for a month... I didn't know why until yesterday... Let me go find her... We'll just see you tomorrow at Justice..."

Just then, Jeannie burst back in, "I... I have lost my keys... I checked everywhere..."

Greg jingled them at her, then, he snatched them away before she could grab them. Jeannie hugged Peg and said, "Oh! I see HE has hidden them on me again... well... as usual, until he called me a fattie, I had a wonderful time... We must do this again before I have grown SO large that I can't fit through your doorway..."

Fred stepped up and grabbed his wife, "Ohhh, sweetie... I didn't mean it that way..."

"But you said it, Gregory..."

"Ohhh... You is for sure, in trouble now, G..."

Peg pulled Fred out into the kitchen, "You had best stay out of this, Big City..."

They peeked out into the living room. Greg and Jeannie were lip locked. Fred barged out, "All right, you two... Go get a room...Oh, wait you already have a room... a whole house, even..."

The two new parents looked sheepish, "Yeah... we best get going..." More hugs and hand shakes were exchanged and the happy family made its way home.

Fred and Peg stood in the darkness of her porch, "I need a cigarette..."

"You smoke?"

"No... Jen made me quit when she was on chemo... The smell made her nausea worse..."

"Oh..."

"I always need one when I'm nervous..."

She nudged him in the dark, "Do I make you nervous, Big City?"

"Oh, yeah... You scare the shit out of me..."

She giggled, "Well... That's certainly a new one for me, Freddie..."

"Any way... I probably need to apologize..."

"What for?"

"I sort of invited my friends to your romantic dinner..."

Peg belted out a laugh. In a moment she was bent over laughing. He stood there stunned watching her laugh. When she had calmed down a bit, she said, "A romantic dinner, Freddie... is that what you thought this was?"

"Child, I don't know what to think... I have only been here a few days... You wore a bikini to church... I saw you 9/10th nekkid in my mom's boat... You threw yourself at me when I'm trying to fish..."

She peered at him in the darkness of her porch, but shadows kept her from seeing his mood, "All dangerous behaviors, I admit..."

"You were moving fast...Scary fast..."

"And, by your tone, potentially stupid... I thought you were just going to be here for a couple of days... I didn't want you to forget me again..."

"As if I could..."

"But, you did... At least until I heard Greg's stories... I thought you had..."

"Sweetie... I was a young man coming to a big crossroad... I was a scared shitless college senior... My life was both disintegrating and forming around me without any input from me... I was sure that I was half in love with nice Irish girl named Jen..."

"Yeah... we met... she was pretty fierce whenI was around..."

"A pretty unforgettable moment for me as well..."

"I couldn't tell..."

"Well... let me tell you how I remember that day..."

"All right... Tell me..."

"What I remember is that suddenly, I saw you for the first time in years... You, this totally awesome young woman... showed up and blew me away at my frat house... Then, before I could get my tongue untied at seeing who you had grown up to be, you announce to everyone that you were going to marry some lawyer..."

"You gave every appearance of being totally mesmerized by Jen..."

"Well... I was drunk and she was a woman of great personal force..."

"She had built a golden fence around you boy..."

"After you left, I tried to find you..."

"You passed out..."

"I searched for you at your hotel the next day, but, you were already gone... Then, a week later Jen told me and my parents that she had gotten pregnant..."

"Which you participated in..."

"True enough... In what seemed like the blink of an eye, we were both married..."

"And the rest is history..."

"Not completely... I dearly loved Jen... I loved our dull little Irish cop life... I would have been very happy to go on if I had been allowed to..."

"Well... I kept trying to find someone to fill the hole in my heart that you left when you went off to college..."

"Peg!!! You were my little sister... I was astounded how much those feelings went away on your mother's porch..."

"Until I ruined it by throwing myself at you..."

"Not ruined... Let me continue... This week... as scary as you are... has put all the colors back in my rainbow...

"Oh, my gosh!"

"And you gave me back a heart beat... It was a very fast, very frightening heart beat..."

She put her arms around him and kissed him lightly, "Oh, Freddy... I had no idea..."

He looked into her eyes and spoke even softer, "You made me feel safe enough to cry... It's a gift so valuable that I will never be able to repay..."

"Oh, my stars, Freddy..." She hugged him tightly.

"The more I cry, it seems... the less I drink... so, with you, I have taken my first sober breaths in years..."

"Oh, Freddy... What does one say to professions like those?"

"And... If I told you that I might just be falling into love you..?"

"Wow," she cooed. "Okay...would I ruin it with this confession that I have to make..."

"Really..?"

"When you called to supposedly ruin my evening, I was just about to call you or, failing that, to call Jeannie to invite the Hansens to supper, also... I wanted to thank Greg for giving you a job and keeping you around for a while... I was sure that I couldn't bear losing you again..."

"I see... and I just wanted to thank him for getting me involved in Jimmy's murder..."

"Great minds think alike, I guess..."

"Peg... I'm going to kiss you now... I'm not throwing myself at you... I want to thank you for entertaining my friends on such short notice..."

"Uhhh... Freddie... They are my friends too..."

"Still... I pulled it on ya..."

"Okay... You can kiss me if you need to..." So, he did.

Then, she kissed him back and his brand new heartbeat skipped and then, tripled in speed. He held on for dear life until she let him go, "Good night, dear," and she went inside.

Fred laughed and said quietly as he walked to his car, "Be careful what you ask for, Fred, old boy...You just might get it..." He got in his car and drove home.

Peg watched him through her window. When his car disappeared down the street, she slumped onto her couch, "Oh, Thank you, Jesus! He's going to stay in town a while..."

Agnes Simpson had been drawn to the window in the dark bedroom to view the commotion before and after the Sheriff and his pretty new wife had made their boisterous exit. She watched them leave and then, she saw the kiss, "Big Jim! They're kissing!"

"Who's kissing? Agnes Simpson! Come away from that window, you old busybody!"

Suddenly, Big Jim was overcome with curiosity. He walked over to look. "Holy bones... Is that Fred?"

"Oh... Now, who's the busybody?"

"Hush your mouth, woman... Who is that?"

They watched Peg go inside. They watched Fred stand there a second and get in his car and leave. "That... They... although I shouldn't tell you lest you should call me more names..."

He squeezed her a bit as they shared the view through the darkened window, "Now... Agnes... I'm just teasing..."

"For your information, Mr. Nosey... That is our Peg and the new Under Sheriff for Pope County, Fredrick MacGarn... if you must know..."

"Freddie's a Sheriff?"

"Acting... temporarily on duty to investigate our boy's murder..."

"Really..? Actually that's good isn't it?"

"I'm quite happy about it..."

"Yeah," he brightened, "I feel better than I have for days..." He hugged his wife.

"And Eddie Handy... you know, the oldest boy of Chris's at the hardware store... He's been advanced to deputy Second Grade and assigned to forensics, now..."

Big Jim went back to his chair and picked up his paper. He spoke through it, "My... hasn't the busybody network been working overtime..."

"Oh, you! Don't even try to pretend that you don't care, so, just listen up... Myrtle heard it from Mama Teeny... Who heard it from the boy's mother herself... The Under Sheriff part, Myrtle heard when Sharon sent her daughter, Angel, all the way to the Bend Road for a Jamaican Chocolate cake with double chocolate butter crème frosting and cocoanut flakes."

"Oh... I do love that cake..."

"Shut up... You want to hear this or not..."

"Okay... I'll be good... If I can..."

"See that you do..."

"Yes, dear..."

"So... All this stuff just happened... Myrtle just happened to be there at the right moment getting a dozen donuts for tomorrows Guild meeting and she heard the whole story as it was told."

"It's good to be lucky..."

"The sad part was that she had to go all the way home to call me..."

"Why's that?" he laughed, "She lose her phone again?"

No... Mr. Smarty Pants... it was because her cell was dead and, any way...as we all know... reception is bad in the low quarter of the river country out on the Bend Road..."

"Dang, Mama... Even I am impressed by the dedication of your spies..."

"That's enough abuse out of you... I'm going to bed..."

"I'm going with you..."

"Suit yourself..."

Big Jim cut off her pathway to the stairs. He kissed her tenderly and long, "Mama... Did you teach our daughter to kiss like that..."

She slapped his arm, "Oh, shut up and come to bed, you old fool..." but she didn't let go of his hand as they put out the lights and went up the stairs. Despite her concerns about Fred's drinking, she was excited to see her Peg get a good kiss to end her day. "If anybody can solve our case... our Freddy can..."

"Yes'm..."

When Fred drove up, his mom was waiting in the dark for him. She rushed him in the dark, nearly scaring him, "Oh, Freddie... Under Sheriff of Pope County... I am so proud..."

"Geez...Ma... You scared the crap out of me!"

"Sorry, son...I was just so excited... And... you had a big dinner with your new boss at Peg's..."

"What color were the napkins, Ma?"

"Oh, shush... How would a body know a thing like that..."

"A true busybody would know..."

"Enough, already... White probably... left over from the wake, I reckon... We went to Shop mart and bought a thousand..."

Just then, she realized that Fred had sat on the swing and was laughing uproariously. "Yikes, Ma... What color of underwear was I wearing?"

"Son... You are on thin ice here..."

Fred controlled his laughter and hugged his mother, "Come on, Ma... clearly all my detecting skills came from you... How did you find out... I wanted to tell you..."

"Well, you might be fast enough for the big city of Chicago... But you are just too slow for the news network built into this town..." Fred laughed as she continued her story, "Agnes called just as you were sitting down to your salad... She heard it from Myrtle..."

"Myrtle didn't call you first?"

"She probably tried... I was out, so, I haven't checked my message machine..."

"Oh."

"Anyways...if I could get a word in edgewise here... Myrtle was at Miss Teeny's when Angel Handy came in to get her special Jamaican Double Chocolate cake..."

"How many candles?"

"I... What?... Hush up, boy... You're wrecking my train of thought..."

Fred laughed, "Sorry, Ma..."

Anyway, she had to drive back to town before she could call anyone because her cell was dead. She said Eddie Handy was moved up to Second Grade and that you were hired as the Under Sheriff..."

"TDY, Ma... Temporary Duty Year... just a temp assignment for a special case... I get to investigate Jimmy's death..."

"That will comfort his parents... You were always the best detective we knew..."

"Except Myrtle, of course..."

"Oh, You!"

"I can't hardly hold a candle to that woman..."

His mom laughed as they walked into the house. "She is truly a force of nature..."

"Ma, while I'm working with the Sheriff, can I stay here for a month or so... Is that going to be too much, because I could get an apartment over by Justice..."

"Sonny, boy... It is a joy to have you here... You're going to be gone most days doing Under Sheriff business..."

"Okay... I am just saying..."

His mother stopped and looked at him, "Do you need uniforms?"

"Nah, since it's a TDY, I can just wear street clothes..."

"You got enough clothes?"

"I'm going to run up to Chicago to get some stuff later in the week."

"Okay..." She kissed his forehead, "Good night, Sonny..."

He enjoyed her hug for a moment, "Nite, Ma..."

Chapter 18; Tuesday AM; On the Job

Fred awoke as he always had before the alarm. He dialed Peg, "You decent?"

"Almost never..." They laughed.

"Well, I have seen you swim..."

"I rest my case..."

"Your mama called my mama... seems we crime fighters were quite the topic for the busybody network yesterday..."

Peg chuckled, "Life is dull here, most days..."

"Okay... Let's start over before things get even more out of hand..."

"Okay, Let's..."

"Good morning, Peg..."

"Good Morning, Fred... Breakfast..?"

"If we can go to Teeny's?"

"Really...cuz I cook a mean egg..."

"If I'm seen by the busybodies coming out of your house from breakfast we might as well move in together for all the crap we would get from the network..."

"Okay...See you there..."

He quietly showered and left for work about 6:45. His mom was still asleep. He took the new short cut Peg had told him about. At the Whippy Dip, he turned left instead of right and followed the other turns she had told him about. He was at Mama Teeny's in half the usual time.

He walked slowly past the five feet long tall glassed in case of cakes and pies and donuts. Little Teeny was boxing and bagging the baked goods. "Hey, Teeny..."

"Hey, Sheriff..." she said as she kept packing and ringing up her sales. Fred noticed that the case was nearly empty even though it was barely past seven. He sat at the counter, far from any other breakfast patrons.

Mama Teeny strutted up and put two both elbows on the counter. She put her chin on both palms and stared at Fred. Papa Junior came out and stood behind his wife. Fred was a little nonplussed, but, he didn't have to wait for long to find out what they wanted, "So... Mr. Under Sheriff... I heard you was smoochin' with that nice Miz Thompson on her front porch last night."

"Yep..."

Papa Junior's low rumble came out, "You fixin ta do right by her, Sheriff..."

"Yes, Papa... I am quite taken with her..."

Teeny smiled, "All right... Me and Papa Junior, we love that child..."

"Easy to do..."

Papa laughed "You two have the busybody network all a twitter..."

Peg slid up behind him, "Who's all a twitter, Mama..."

Big Teeny jumped back, "Two breakfasts coming up..." and she scurried out into the kitchen. Papa just disappeared. Fred laughed.

They kissed their quick morning kiss, "Good morning, pretty girl."

"Good morning, Fred."

Fred grabbed two cups and Peg grabbed a carafe of coffee. They made themselves to home in a high backed booth in the far corner. She poured their coffees and they slid in beside each other. He took her hand, "What time is the reading of the will, Sugar?"

"It's at Two... Can you come... Please?"

"Yeah... I'll be there... I'm sure G will agree that it's part of my investigation... Where?"

Mama and Little Teeny brought them their plates. Little Teeny answered him, "At his dad's office..."

"Teeny, I could pick you up about 1:30 and Peg, I'll get to your house about quarter til..." Both women nodded and the two Teenys went about their work.

"So... who was all a twitter?"

Fred talked softly, "Papa Junior says it's the busybody network...It seems that we were observed smooching on your porch... Mama Teeny has gotten an earful by the early donut crowd."

They ate their food, laughing and feeding each until their plates were clean. On the way out, Fred stopped and bought a dozen glazed donuts for the shop. Peg took one and kissed him goodbye. He watched her pull out. He walked to his car and headed along the river until he got to Golconda. He went along Riverside Park, but, it was too early for skate boarders.

He stopped at the local Shop Mart. He bought two small pocket notebooks and three pens. Prepared for his research, he headed for the Justice Center. Once there, he found a spot, and parked.

"Good Morning, Jeannie..." Fred laid the box of donuts on the desk inside Jeannie's window. She took one look at the donuts and ran into the bathroom. "Oooops..." he said and went into his office.

He took the thick, red plastic folder out of his safe and put it in the lower drawer of his desk. He took a smaller manila folder off the top and opened it. He began reading, making notes in his pocket notebook. Jeannie came in after a while, bringing him a large, hot cup of coffee and a donut on a napkin. "Thanks, Jeannie..."

"Ummm... sorry about that..."

"No worries, seestah... I guess you don't love Mama Teeny's donuts, huh?"

"No... after I lost my breakfast, the baby was hungry, so, I ate two of those donuts..."

Fred laughed, "Understood... How's the phone this morning?"

"Pretty quiet... The boys can handle it... Sheriff's still out... He has meetings..."

"Yeah... He warned me... I have to get up to speed on these folders..."

"Well... I'll let you get to it, then..."

"Okay..." As she quietly slipped out, he took a bite of the donut and a careful sip of the scalding drink. "MMmmmmm..." he said to himself as he returned to his work. Between bites and sips, he plowed through the short stack of files. After an hour, he stood and stretched. He scraped everything he was working on into the lower drawer and locked the desk. He went up front. He grabbed a donut on napkin and entered the lab. "Anything new, Eddie?"

"No, Sergeant... I have identified one of the shoe tracks, but, it's a common Red Ryder work boot. Ninety per cent of every construction worker in America wears this shoe. Look at this..."

Fred looked at the screen where he had blown up the toe print, "Steel toes?"

"Oh, you do deserve your rep, Sergeant... That was a hard one..."

"All smoke and mirrors, Son... Notice my fingers never left my hands while performing my tricks..." They both laughed.

"So?"

"It's just that, according to St. Louis PD records, these boots and their steel toes are a trade mark of the Rangers and particularly of one of our perps, Rico Fiettini... They call him the 'Stomper'... It's his trade mark fighting technique... I have accessed..."

"You mean hacked into, don't ya?"

"The Sheriff and I have agreed to call it 'accessed'..."

"Probably smarter..."

"Anyways... I accessed St. Louis PD's files on the Rangers... this Rico guy is one mal hombre'... He has a sheet longer than my arm... His prints were all over at Jimmy's... the second set was Paolo Cesarino... He's called the Dragon... He likes to burn stuff and people..."

"So... did they teach you 'computer accessing' at Cop School?"

"Actually... it was from Miss Margaret."

"Get off..."

"No...Really! I was about nine when she became my babysitter all summer long..."

"And?"

"Well... she was always playing on their computer... She began showing me stuff..."

"My darling Peg is a hacker?"

"I aint saying nothing more on the grounds that it may incriminate both of us..." They both laughed.

"This is excellent work, Eddie..."

"You have earned your new second grade status, with this work..."

"Thanks..."

"No problemo!"

"Again... Thanks!"

"Okay... I need good hard copy reports on the perps and photos to flash around..."

"Sergeant, I have been working for this Sheriff for more than three years... Here you go..."

"10-4... Again, superior work... I'll leave you to your hacking..." The deputy just smiled and returned to his microscope and his computer.

Fred went back to Dispatch. "Hey... Do you need a break? I can sit here and read romance novels for ya for a second..."

"Very funny, Sergeant..." But, she wasted no time hustling to her private bathroom. As the only woman in the department, she had co-opted the female rest room as her own private rest area.

When she returned looking much more refreshed, he went back to his work. He incorporated the new reports from Eddie into his notes. In a little over another hour, he had completed his first read through. Then, he spent another half an hour reading through his notes.

He made another set of notes in the second notebook to organize the time lines and getting similar incidents together for ease of use. He put the two notebooks into the briefcase that he had brought in from his car. Then, he looked through the various reports until he separated the ones he wanted. He put those reports in as well. Then he called his boss.

In three rings, he heard Greg say, "You ready, Sergeant?"

The use of his title let Fred know that Greg was with at least one deputy. Fred said nothing about their case, "Affirmative... Orders?"

"Nothing much happening out here... Me and Josh are kind of busy right this second..."

"Okay..."

"We are almost done working a two car wreck out here... just some minor body damage, no injuries..."

"Where you at, boss?"

"We are just outside the Whippy Dip."

"How much longer will you be, do you suppose?"

"We'll be another hour, probably..."

"Do you know my Mom's address?"

"Sure...Lot 14?"

"Yeah... I'm sure my mom has some bologna and some cheese in her fridge... Do you want to meet over lunch?"

"Depends... Where's your Mom?"

"Flower sale at the church... She'll be gone all day..."

"Oh, yeah... I forgot that... Jeannie wanted to get some of those... It just might be perfect,..."

Fred dialed his mom's cell. When she answered, he said, "I wanted to call you to tell you that me and Greg are going to have a meeting at your cabin... We need a real quiet place for lunch and to go over some stuff that we need kept real quiet..."

"Yeah, It's fine... Go ahead and use our cabin, Sonny?"

"Okay... Thanks..."

"No problem..."

"Yeah... Let's see how long it takes for the busybody network to spread the news that not one, but two Sheriffs were searching your home while you were away doing the Lord's work..."

"Oh, you are incorrigible..."

"Really, wanna bet?"

"Son... Betting is a sinful use of money... You know that..."

"Sorry, Ma..." He laughed as he closed his phone to the sound of her sputtering. He gathered up his files. He replaced them in the safe. He closed the door with a clunk and spun the dial. He headed out into the hallway behind Dispatch, "Jeannie... I'm going 10-7 before my eyes fall out from reading."

"Yeah..."

"Greg said to remind you about the flower sale at the church."

"That's okay... I already called your mom... She has two different flats saved... I'll get them after my shift is over..."

"Okay... I'll also be meeting your hubby at my mom's cabin. We'll be 10-8 for lunch together... I don't know his plans, but, I won't be back until after the reading of Jimmy's will. After that, it will be up to G..."

She looked up and gave him a bright smile, "10-4, Freddie..."

He looked at her closely, "You feeling alright?"

"Yeah... that puking thing is usually just once a day, then, I'm mostly fine..."

"Glad to hear that... Jen was real sick at first, too."

"Oh, you got a kid?"

"No... We lost it... Her girly parts went bad with an infection and we never got another chance..."

"I'm so sorry, Freddy... We'll see ya... Eddie is still here so he can spell me at the phones for my 10-8's... It seems that these days, I have a bladder the size of a peanut..."

Fred laughed, "Remind Eddie to eat... Forensics can over focus a boy... I'll keep you posted..." He drove his car north out of town along the river. On purpose, he drove slowly through the park. He saw some skaters congregated around a boy lying on the ground. He hit the lights and sirens built into his car. Two squawks from his claxon sent the boys, even the kid on the ground, scattering in every direction on their boards like cockroaches, laughing and hooting like the pubescent mad men that they were.

He smiled at their little victory. He was glad that they got away. He had no interest in writing a bunch of stupid tickets anyway. Just before noon, He pulled into his driveway next to Greg's SUV. Greg was sitting in the front seat. He had parked in the shady spot to finish up his paperwork on the fender bender. Fred went into the cool interior. He went straight to the fridge to get out meat and cheese and mayonnaise.

He made four sandwiches and put stuff away. Before he closed the fridge, he got two diet pops out. "Lunch is ready..." he called out as he poured some chips into a bowl.

Greg came in, "Thanks, Mom..."

Fred snorted and threw his two notebooks on the table as his boss sat down to eat. "Here's my take on the file... Eddie added some pages that he 'accessed' from St. Louis PD... We think that he has made one of the boot prints... The green one is my raw read... The blue one is my second take...plus a bit of organization... I paid more attention to the money trail..."

"Got it... Just chill, Amigo... We went to the same cop school, remember... You eat, I'll read..." Greg also read as he ate, stopping to drink from time to time. Greg's two sandwiches disappeared quickly. When those were done, Greg switched to chips, eating and drinking while he read. When he was done, he sat there with his eyes closed, occasionally throwing a few chips into his mouth and chewing slowly, lost in thought. Old memories of watching his old partner do this exercise many times over the years, Fred knew to wait. So, he passed the time, eating and drinking quietly.

Finally, Fred stirred, "That is great work, Freddie... Your usual level of superior analysis and breakdown... It's is good to see that you are even better than I remembered... I find that your money trail is as good as the IBI's and your time line makes more sense than the FBI's..."

"Thanks, Boss..."

Greg studied some more pages in the two notebooks, comparing them and thinking some more, "So... You really think Digger is in on this as well?"

"I don't know all the details, but, I can't talk myself out of the idea that my old friend is caught up in this shoulder deep vat of shit somehow...There are just too many cross references on the St. Louis wire taps..."

"You have wire taps?"

"Your forensics expert 'accessed' them for you as he was cyber tracking one, Rico something or other..."

"That boy..."

Fred pulled a page out of the brief case. He put a finger on a line that he had underlined, "Here's a comment about their hot little problem solver down at the Bend in the River."

"Dang..."

"Yeah... According to Peg, Digger has built a new crematorium on the old Jones place, which, as we both know, is the next farm over on the Bend Road from the Wilkin's place."

"Yep... You talked to Peg about this?"

"Saturday...Quite accidentally...She was distraught before the funeral... I got her talking to distract her... And, she turned out to be the tipper on my whole take on this case... She turned me on to Digger and Jimmy being partners... Digger, in a separate conversation, confirmed it..."

"Man... I'm gonna look like the smartest sheriff ever, hiring you, Freddy..."

"It was just idle chatter at the time, but, now, it's the source of me looking into this whole angle when I was breaking down your files..."

"What dumb luck..."

"As a fellow mourner and not a cop, no one would be expected to be holding their cards closed from me..."

"Obviously not..."

"Well... Me and Digger have a life time of relationship to fall back on..."

"Invaluable... That's why I'm glad you are here, RF..."

"Still... It kills me to find that the income from Jacobi's funeral parlor does not match his outflow. He put another small stack of papers in front of Greg.

"I saw that when I went through this mess... I was simply too focused on Jimmy's shenanigans to see this."

"Easy to do... But, now that Peg is 25% owner of Jacobi's... I can use her to get into his books on the down low..."

"Interesting thought... You gonna partner up with Peg?"

"Again... on the down low... If we got St. Louis gangsters involved here, I'm going to not let anyone know, except her... that she's working with us... But, she's so smart and so good with computers... I think she'll be a huge asset to us..."

"It doesn't hurt that she's as pretty as a new set of puppies..."

Fred smiled and got a little pink, "No... That's just my bonus..." They laughed.

Fred continued, "I had a crematorium case a couple of years back... From that, I checked CPD's database. I read my 505's from that case. Thank God, they made us paperless five years ago. I hate transposing all my notes into 505 support files in that stupid computer, but, now I see why I did that..."

"Computers... yuck..."

"Well... I found my notes about the amount of gas used per body..."

"And?"

"And, from those notes I was reminded about those DoH regs."

"Health?"

"Yep... My understanding of the regulation is that Digger is supposed to report to the Department of Health every time he fires that beastie up for a cremation."

"Really?"

"Yep..." He took another page out and put it in front of his boss, "You know how those state boys love to eat paper... even paperless paper... In this file, I found a report on Jacobi Corp's utility bills..."

"Man... I have missed your doggedness, Fred..."

Fred smiled and continued, "It shows his burn rate... With these Gas Company records, I tracked his usage over the last year and a half. It shows a gradually increasing rate, which is now running at almost double burning rate of pounds of gas for the amount of local deaths."

"Is the burn rate a set thing?"

"Yep... Again, according to Peg, it's a relatively new unit, so the burn rate should be accurate."

He added another sheet to the stack, "According to this report, there have been no repair calls to this facility, so a leak will be a tough sell..."

Fred looked closely at the paper and returned it to the stack. "When we ask him today, he may say that he is doing bodies for other mortuaries..."

Fred nodded his assent, "That he may..."

"But, I'm gonna want to know why he did not report extra burns to DoH?"

"Yep..."

" AND, where is he squirreling away this cash flow from the IRS..."

"Those will make interesting topics... It will be interesting..."

Fred slammed his coke can down spilling some pop on his mother's table, "Damn... I love that boy..."

"Maybe there's an explanation that we can all live with?"

"God, I hope so..."

Greg took the last drink of his pop. "Now what?"

"Uh, I'm picking up Miss Delilah Wilkins and Miss Peg. We're all going to Robbie's office for the reading of the will. I will be officially going as their friend..."

"Right... Did you see Jeannie this morning?"

"Sure... Why?"

"She was looking a little puny when I dropped her off..."

"Yeah... she took one look at the donuts I brought her and lost her breakfast..."

"You brought my wife donuts?"

"No... I brought myself donuts and she ate two of them... If you hurry, she may save you one..." He looked at his watch, "Nah... It's probably too late already... Eddie's there too, working on those shoe prints."

"Okay... Anything to report?"

"He seems to have tied one of the boots to a bad character named Rico something... he's a member of that gang we were talking about... He was the bigger guy of the two photos hooked by AFIS from the prints at the scene..."

"Eddie's a smart boy..."

"Sheriff..."

"Yes?"

"Ummm... I need you to deputize Peg and let me read her into this..."

"Really?"

"Really... She makes me look like a Third grader when she's on a computer... It helps me to talk to her and you can help me by bringing her inside the circle...

"I get that..."

"It also seems that your new forensics expert..."

"Handy?"

"Yeah, well... It seems that he learned his 'data acquisition' skills from Miss Margaret, who was his babysitter for his formative years..."

"That is scary on so many levels..."

"Yep... I am beginning to believe that I need her... It seems like I just might need her more and more each day..."

"Yep... I get that, brother... Me and Jeannie have the same deal..."

"Good..."

"Okay... Is Digger going to be at that reading?"

"Well...They were partners in at least one venture so I have to believe that he will be..."

"All right... Here's my plan... I'll show up about three-ish and we'll just have a sit down with our undertaker..."

"I'll call Little Teeny and get her to drive herself then..."

"Yeah... she won't need to be in on this part..." Fred flipped open his phone and dialed the diner. "Hey, Teeny..."

"Hey, Fred..."

"Something's come up... Turns out, the Sheriff's got me doing something after the reading... So, can you get over here on your own?"

"Sure, Freddy..."

"I'm sorry..."

"I'll get back at you some how..."

"See you later, gator..." He softened it with their childhood goodbye.

"After while crocodile..."

Fred smiled as he clicked his phone shut. He turned to his boss, "We done here?"

"I reckon..." Greg got up.

Fred put the papers back in his brief case. "Ooops... one more thing... Is tomorrow okay for me to run up to Chi Town and get some more clothes, then..."

"Yeah... ummm... actually No... I want you to wait and go up Thursday and Friday, I have a face to face with the FBI... You can do that for me... Plan to be back Monday..."

"Okay... Why?"

"It is funny how timing works sometime, though... Just this morning, a Special Agent Felicia Torrenz called me...She's new to the case and wants a face to face on our investigation... I can bill them for gas... they have authorized five meals..."

"Sure... Glad to help..."

"I'll call her and tell him who you are and that you are coming... If anyone asks, you are going to get some of your clothes and what not for your extended TDY..."

"That works for me... I can stay up at my own apartment... Gas money would be good..."

"Right... I'll phone Jeannie and she'll have your paperwork done by end of shift..."

"Okay, Boss... See you at Robbie's..."

Chapter 19; Tuesday PM; The Reading of the Will

The sheriff got into his truck and Freddy got in his car. Fred headed for Peg's house. She came out of her house as he was pulling up. She waited until they were away from the houses before she kissed him. "I've heard quite enough from my mother about you, Big City..."

She sat primly on her side of the car. Fred shook his head as he laughed and drove them to Robbie's office. "You are just mean... depriving them old bitties of the onliest bright spot in their news day..."

"Really..."

"Yeah... we have quite a responsibility here..."

"You are not funny, Mister..."

Fred laughed all the more, "Yes I am..."

"No... You are not..." Fred just kept laughing as he parked the car. He went around and helped Peg out.

Little Teeny pulled in next to them. "Hey, you guys..." she said.

"Hey..." they said together and laughed.

Teeny unwound herself from the dark interior of her car like a cat. Peg caught him watching her beautiful friend slink out of her little red car. Teeny's short, red dress showed a lot of leg.

Peg handed him a hankie out of her purse, "Here, Big City... Wipe the drool off your chin."

They walked in part way. He stopped and she stopped. He turned to Peg, "What?"

She smacked him on his butt, "You act as if you aint never seen a pretty girl before..."

"Oh, come on... I was just looking..."

"You are so busted, Big City... I seen what I seen..."

He walked in. Teeny was by the elevator fixing her lipstick in the mirror next to it. They just walked up and got in as it opened. Teeny smiled at Peg, "You aint jealous of little old me, are you, sister girl?"

"Why do you ask me that, Teeny?"

"That man there aint NEVER going to look at me the way he looks at you..."

Peg blushed, "Really?"

Teeny wiggled, straightening her dress, "Oh, I can still turn a head, but, his head is going to turn back and he'll be looking for you... And... He'll be reaching for you..."

Fred laughed. She punched him. "Oh, shut up..."

"Yes, Dear..." They all laughed.

They were shown into Robbie's dad's conference room. Big Jim and Agnes were already seated. Peg immediately went to kiss her parents. Fred shook Big Jim's hand. Agnes said to her daughter, "When is Danny unkidnapping our baby?"

"Mama... The prodigal son returns Sunday night at eight..."

"I just can't wait..."

"Me either... Luckily, these two week visits are only once a year..."

Fred smiled at the lawyer. "Nice shirt, Robbie..."

Robbie looked up from his documents. He was bare footed, wearing cargo shorts and a seriously ugly red Hawaiian shirt. "What? I'm en vacance... je sait?"

Teeny kissed his cheek, "I love it when you speak bad Francais', Robbie..."

"Whatever... Please take your seats people... I'm a busy man... I've got fish to kill..." They distributed themselves around the table.

Just then, Digger and Suzie Jacobi rushed in, "Are we late? Sorry..." They sat by Teeny.

The reading began. Robbie read from a note pad, "I'm not reading all of the boiler plate... Let's just get to the bequeathments..." Every one nodded their agreement.

Robbie began, "The first item is Jimmy's baseball memorabilia. He left it to his parents..."

"We are going to put that stuff in the town museum."

Robbie continued, "The second item is his trust fund. As always, it will be administered by his parents for as long as they wish to and then, by his sister."

Everyone nodded. This was not a surprise.

Robbie looked around, then, went on, "The probate inventory says that he owned 33% of the Wilkin's diner. A month before he died, he signed back any interest that he had possessed in the barbecue business known as 'Teeny's to Delilah Wilkins."

He handed her a copy of that document. She sputtered, "I didn't even know that he had given money to my dad. I knew that he had used trust fund money to buy their condo, but, I didn't know about any other deals between them..."

Agnes's lips pressed into a single line, but no words were spoken. Peg held her hand tightly. A single tear trickled down Agnes's face, but, she didn't break down. She was not going to let the world know what she thought about Jimmy and Delilah Wilkens.

"And... finally... I leave my three other business interests to my sister, Margaret. She'll know just what to do with them."

Peg was stunned, "Three businesses... I know about the half interest in the car lot, but..? but?"

Digger piped up, "Well...according to my limited partnership agreement, you own 25% in my parlor... I am unable to buy you out, so..." He stuck out his hand, "Put her there, partner!" Stunned, she took his hand. He shook it for both of them.

Robbie jumped in, "According to the probate inventory... Jimmy also owned the old boat house and marina at the south end of Dragon Lake... Peg, you now own that property, lock, stock, and barrel...

"Dang..."

Robbie read from his notes, "The current estimated value of this asset is about three hundred grand because of the extensive beach front exposure. Further, I estimate that the annual docking fees will probably pay your estate taxes..."

"Income?"

"Yep, capital gains may smack you around some... I'll get you an appointment with Bob Overman, our CPA... He can run the numbers for you..."

Peg mumbled, in total shock, "Okay...let me know..."

"Oh, yeah, one last thing, Jimmy's houseboat will go to Big Jim..."

"Really? Jimmy owned a boat?" said his dad.

"Yep, It's there at the pier... not much of a boat, but, I have fished off it and she's seaworthy..." He handed a digital printout to Agnes, who looked at it and handed it to her husband, "Here's a photo... But, I need that back for probate... It's a 1961 Feldspar Majorca..."

Big Jim looked surprised, "Is that good?"

"Not really... It is a thirty year old boat sorely in need of paint... It has a crappy motor, but it runs... I had it appraised... They have valued it at about $250... There won't be many taxes on a boat that old or that cheap. The old barge was there when he bought the marina. He only worked on it enough to keep it running..."

His dad began to cry softly. "I don't want this boat... I want my son back..." Agnes held him a while.

Robbie's face softened, "I know, Big Jim... I know..."

Robbie looked around, "He bequeathed you all sums of money, but, we can't seem to locate any positive balances... He seems to have cleaned his out before heading for Africa... Sorry... We are going to have to sell the car lot and the house to pay his death taxes... He was in arrears with the IRS... He had put the marina in Peg's name when he bought it, so they can't impound that... He had already filed documents to give his baseball crap... sorry, his memorabilia... to the museum, so they can't garnishee that stuff... Don't worry... His trust technically belongs to itself, so they can't take that... Not that it matters, last year's stock market crash pretty much wiped out its value, anyway..."

Robbie looked from one face to another then stood, "Th Th That's all folks... I'll be off the rest of this month... My junior associate, Skip Handley, will be contacting each of you with the appropriate documents and appointments with my father's staff members that you need to see as this moves through probate... It will be two to six months minimum for probate crap to play out... Thanks for coming. We'll see you all in church..."

Chapter 20; Tuesday PM; Busting Digger

In response to his dismissal, everyone else stood as well. Hugs and handshakes were exchanged. As people made their way out, Fred took Digger aside, "Me and Peg need to speak to you, please. Can you stay for another minute or two... Robbie... Can you stay as well..." They both shrugged and sat down where they were. Suzie sat by her husband.

"Okay, Sheriff, whatever we can do to help." Robbie said.

Just then, Greg came in. All eyes were on him as he said, "Peg... until further notice, I am deputizing you and reading you into this case... Freddy can catch you up later. That means you are part of my zero tolerance gag order. Got it? Not even your mama..."

She was still stunned, "Got it, boss..."

Greg looked at Digger, "Is Robbie your attorney of record?"

"Yes, he is..."

"Okay... then, we need for you to go and sit by him on that side of the table... Mrs. Jacobi... will you please sit by your husband..."

Robbie sat up straighter, "What's the meaning of this, Sheriff?"

Greg put a small tape recorder on the table and turned it on. "The date today is June 6th, 2010... This voice is Sheriff Greg Hansen of Pope County, Illinois... Now, I am asking each person present to please state your name to identify your voice."

"I am Robert Sarducci, attorney for Mr. Jacobi..."

"I am Jackson Jacobi..."

"I am Suzanne Marie Jacobi..."

"I am Margaret Thompson..."

"And, I am Under Sheriff Fred MacGarn... I am assigned by my captain up in Chicago to assist the Pope County Sheriff's office for the duration of this case... My main assignment is as a Sergeant in the Chicago Police Department."

Greg looked around the table, "First, I am enforcing a gag order about this meeting... Mr. Sarducci is, of course, bound by attorney client issues..."

Robbie nodded, "Of course..."

"Digger... I imagine that you are smart enough to realize that it is in your and your wife's best interests to quarantine the data that we are about to share... Not even your partners, the children..."

"By your tone, I imagine that you are probably right, Sheriff..."

Then, Greg looked at Fred, "Will you please begin, Sergeant?"

"Mr. Jacobi... First, we need to inform you that Pope County, the FBI, and the IBI are in an active investigation into the untimely death of James Edward Simpson."

Suzie gasped. Digger moaned. Robbie said, "And?"

"It has come to our attention that Mr. Jacobi may be in possession of many pertinent facts in this case... First, Mr. Jacobi needs to know that he is not a person of interest in the possible murder of Jimmy..."

Suzie breathed a sigh of relief. Robbie said, "Well... that's good..."

Without speaking, Fred placed the two pictures in front of Digger. His face turned dead white. For a long moment, it appeared that Digger might pass out. Suzie put an arm around her husband's shoulders protectively.

Fred said, "You okay, buddy?"

Greg leaned forward, "I take it from your extreme reaction that you have seen at least one of these individuals before today?"

"Yes," he croaked.

"What do you wish to share with us?"

"I don't know what their real names are, but, the dark haired guy is called, 'Stomper'... He loves to hurt people..."

"Did he ever hurt you?"

"No, he just scared the shit out of me... But, I heard the other one telling stories to one of my workers about his escapades..." Suzie squeaked, but sat still.

"And the other one?"

"He's the one that they call the Dragon... He loves to burn stuff... people... houses... cars... cars with people in them..."

"Have you witnessed any of this activity?"

Digger began to cry. Robbie jumped in, "Sheriff... Can I confer alone with my clients? We'll just go into this side room for a short meeting."

Greg shrugged, "I guess..." He turned off the recorder.

Robbie pointed to a small room off to the side. Digger and his wife scurried in. Robbie pushed a button on the edge of the table. A seriously hot woman in a slinky cobalt blue sprayed on dress came in.

"What can I get for you, Sir?"

"Becca... we need a pot of coffee and some cookies... It looks like we are going to hog this room for a while."

She smiled a dazzling smile, "Sure... I'll be right back..." She turned like a model and headed off on her task. All the men watched her fabulous New York strut as she went.

Peg punched Fred again. "What? I wasn't doin' nothin'!"

Peg just drew in a long breath and sighed out a long suffering sigh. Greg muttered, "Yeah... I'm glad Jeanie missed that one..."

Robbie's office assistant came sashaying back in pushing an elegantly carved walnut cart with the coffee and cookies. "Enjoy!" she said brightly and the men enjoyed the activity of her leaving. Peg sighed again, "What??? Are you boys in high school mode for life."

Greg replied, "I refuse to answer on the grounds..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah... Save it for court, Sheriff..."

To pass the time, they made coffee for themselves and had some cookies. After a while, Robbie and the Jacobis returned. "Okay... I am ready to represent my clients in this matter..."

Greg turned the tape machine back on, "Resuming the interview with Jackson Jacobi. Same day, same time...Now, Digger... what can you tell me about these men?"

"About six years ago, right after my daddy died, I got into some trouble cash wise.

Suzie stiffened, "Gambling... Jackie... You promised..."

He ignored her, "One Sunday, like always, I had gone out on his shitty ass boat fishing with Jimmy... we got drunk... I was bitching to him... He told me not to worry... that he could bail me out... and... at first... I thought he did... He got me some cash..."

"Okay..."

"Then, about a month later..." he pointed at the two photos, "those two showed up."

"That would be the men you identified as Stomper and the Dragon..."

"Yep... They said they were here to collect the interest on a loan that had been arranged for me by James Simpson. He told me later that he had gotten the loan from the West End Rangers..."

"You had procured funds by taking money from St. Louis gang based loan sharks?"

"Well... I found out too late that Jimmy had done that very thing... only, he didn't say that they were gang members... When I asked him about the visit from these scary bikers, he told me that they were some business associates of his in a car deal... He was touchy but firm... 'Look' he says to me, 'you said you were tapped out and that you needed cash. I got you some...' which, of course, meant that he then passed them bastards on to me..."

"And?"

"The weekend before they showed up, I had taken another hit at the track... I didn't have two nickels to rub together..."

"Jackie!" was all Suzie said.

Fred continued, trying to draw it all out of Digger. "That wasn't good..."

"No... The worst possible timing, says I... So... they made me their version of a sweet proposition... they wouldn't hurt me if I completed some little jobs so that I could work off my debt..."

Greg jumped in, "So, just to be clear... Were they suggesting that you perform criminal acts to expunge this debt?"

Robbie touched Digger's arm to stop him, "If he answers you, he will be violating his 5th Amendment rights, Sheriff." Suzie began to cry quietly.

"Okay... Robbie... But, all three of you need to know that Mr. Jacobi has very little of his life left to protect... If the white collar forensics people at the IBI analyze certain aspects of this case the way Freddy has, they already have him, or will soon, for illegal cremations..."

Suzie sat up straight, "What? When?"

Fred took her hands in his, "Suzie...White collar crime forensics is what I do... In only one morning of working through only some of the available FBI files, I tracked your firm's illegal gas usage and, with state files, I discovered improper under reporting of cremations to the Health Department... maybe at a rate of two to one for local deaths..."

Suzie stared at her husband and partner, "Jackie???"

Greg jumped in, "So... If Sergeant MacGarn can track you guys through your utility bills and computer records in one morning, it won't take the white collar crime guys in Springfield much longer to follow the same trail..."

Suzie cried, "But, Sheriff... I had no idea any of this was going on!"

Fred looked at her levelly, "The four of you, as partners, are equally liable..."

Digger put his head on his arms. His shoulders shook as he sobbed. He looked up with a tear stained face. "You don't understand, Freddy... The slimy bastards didn't just threaten ME... They threatened Suzie and my kids... This Dragon guy..."

"Paolo Cesarino?"

"If you say so... Dragon gets in my face and sez maybe he won't kill her... Maybe, just for the fun of it, he might just have his way with her and then, burn my wife real bad and let me try to live with the scars and the pain..."

Suzie began to sob. He patted her back, "My Suzie... My beautiful, innocent Suzie...and later, he threatened the babies... my fucking grandbabies... He had photos of them at the park..."

"That's tough... I'm sure Robbie will agree with me that if we can verify these contentions, it will help your case... So, what were you coerced into doing?"

"These gangsters, wasted no time..." He gulped, "It turned out that they had brought a body with them in the back of their truck that day... They had a trailer that had motorcycles in it AND a body... They me made go with them out to the crematory and teach them how to fire it up... They just pitched the body in and then that Dragon guy laughed a high pitched crazy laugh..."

"That's the one that we have identified as Paolo Cesarino..."

"What ever... Like I said before, I never knew their names. But, I swear before God that I still hear that laugh in my nightmares..."

Greg jumped in, "We believe you... He has quite a rap sheet..."

Digger tapped on one of the photos, "This Stomper guy, he said that he had heard that the even the DNA would be burned up in there too..."

Greg said "True enough..."

"That Stomper guy is really jazzed up... 'What a little problem solver we got here,' he sez to me..."

Digger started to cry again. He and Suzie held each other. Fred spoke in a soft voice, "Calm down, Digger... Stomper's real name is Rico Fienetti..."

He didn't let go of his wife, "Like I said, I never heard their real names..."

"Okay... then, what happened?"

"Then, they just drove me back to my office and left me there pissing my pants... The next day, I got a text with a bank number and a pass code... The internet account had 4500 bucks in it... Like I said, I was beyond broke... So, I paid some bills and got braces for Helen's teeth... It never ends with kids, ya know..."

Suzie sobbed, "I never knew... I never knew..."

Greg piped in, "What we know is... You just admitted to a butt load of IRS problems..."

Fred did some math in his notebook and said, "So... by matching the gas usage to burn ratio, I calculate that you probably have cremated nearly one hundred corpses for them?"

"I made certain that I would have no idea... That first day, I gave a set of spare keys to that Dragon guy... I always went out to clean the fire box before I used it on legit cases... After each visit, a bunch more money would be in that account."

"We'll be subpoenaing his bank records, Robby..."

Digger said, "Don't bother... My bank is in the Bahamas... They don't honor your subpoena... Stomper told me that, too... I'll get you whatever printouts I have stashed..."

"Interesting..."

He held his wife's hand tightly, between sobs, he spoke softly to his old friend, "Freddy... I am actually relieved that you have found me... I've had enough... My fearful days ended when he brought me pictures of the grandkids... I became determined to get back at them somehow... They have gone too far... I have a deep anger for threatening us this way... plus, I figured this day was coming... Now, no matter what happens to me... I want to help you get their asses... They threatened my family... I need for you to take them down... All the way down..." His wife nodded firmly and patted her husband's back.

"All right, buddy... From this point on... We are a team... But, you are still busted for playing along with them at all..."

"Yeah... I know... originally, I would have pled cowardice... but no more... Now, I'm pissed... Each time that I they made me go out to clean the firebox, I just got madder... But, threatening my grandbabies was the last straw..."

"I get that, old buddy..."

"Sometimes there were clearly the remains of more than one body at a time in there... I never knew how many were actually cremated there..."

"Nobody knew they were using it?"

"When we built it, the tree huggers were all over us... so, to appease them, we had the latest greatest green oriented smoke scrubbers put in so that no one would even smell that the crematory was being used."

"Fascinating," said Fred as he was scribbling in his notebook.

"I scattered the ashes of whoever was found inside all over the former Jones farm. Since he became the meat chef in charge of loading the smoker at the crack of dawn, he lives in a fishing trailer behind the diner. So, his dad's farm is mostly abandoned these days. He's such a rummy, anyway, so, he has never even noticed... Hell... maybe human ash was good for his marijuana plants... who knows?"

"We'll be getting a search warrant for those remains, but, Fienetti, is right... There will be almost no way to trace the victims... It's just calcium and a couple of other heavy metals now..."

"I want you to know that I have worked very hard to keep the legit cremations on the up and up... My clients only buried their own remains..."

"You're an honest criminal, Jacobi..." said Greg.

"Anyway, that aint all... about a month after the first cremation, late at night, I'm all alone at my office when a man shows up... dark suit... soft voice... says he's from the Rangers..."

"Really... A Ranger in a suit... that's a new one..."

"He had all the mannerisms of a mortician..."

"Creepy..."

"Well, not to me..."

"No offense meant..."

"No worries... So, this feller, he had a casket in his old beat up Econoline van... He has paperwork and a big envelope of cash... He said that he wanted me to send it very quietly to a certain mortuary in Memphis... He just turned and walked out leaving the van... I called Denny... He followed me in his pickup... I paid him cash to drive me back... Suzie was at her mom's, so, I took it myself to get it out of there... We hit a casino on the way back and I won around $25,000 playing craps... Denny was passed out drunk in the room, so we slept and came back in the morning... "

"Where did you leave the van?"

"I have kept a copy in a stash of secret records... I can get you all the addresses..."

"Addresses?"

"Sure... I have shipped sixteen to twenty of these per year ever since... actually, it looks to me like they are the same couple of caskets over and over... the serial numbers are changed, but the boxes appeared to be the same ones... Also, a week later, one or more caskets would show up here from those same mortuaries... I was given a number to call when a delivery was waiting for them..."

"Uh huh... and?"

"My instructions were for me to leave the caskets in the garage... they knew my security code... The next morning, that casket would be gone and usually, another would be in it's place to be sent south..."

"Fascinating..."

"After the first couple of runs, I gave them to Denny Jones, you know, cash under the table, then, I would pocket the unused shipping costs...He's been as far as Memphis... but, I stopped sending him there because I've had to bail him out too many times from partying in Beal Street joints..."

Fred turned to Digger, "Did you ever look in one of them..."

"Yeah... I looked in one... Going north, the casket was filled with bags of white powder."

"Ever look in a south bound one?"

"Sure... As expected, it was stuffed to the gills with cash in plastic bags..."

Greg looked at Fred, "I think that we just found out how they are moving their cash and dope..."

Fred agreed, "Yeah... No one will touch a casket... They are usually just passed through if they are going from mortuary to mortuary..."

"And... You look as if you have something else to say...", said Fred.

"Almost every delivery had a small, silver metal locked box for Jimmy."

Peg cursed, "That rat bastard... This'll kill my parents..."

Fred put his arm around Peg, "Sweetie... We are going to try real hard never to tell them... Jimmy's dead... What's the point?"

She looked at Greg, "Can you do that sheriff?"

"We couldn't indict a dead man anyways, so, we'll try to down low Jimmy's involvement... It's those two Rangers we want...and their cronies in Memphis..."

Greg turned to Robbie, "Where you Jimmy's attorney, also?"

"My Daddy was his attorney from his first day in the majors... Because of all the travelling that I had to do to keep up with him, Jimmy was the first client my dad gave me..."

"All right... When did Jimmy buy the marina?"

"I'd have to check for sure... but I was still in law school... My recollection was that the marina was purchased the fall after he first made the Sox... He got a million dollar bonus for leading the bullpen in saves and helping them to the playoff's in his first season as a pitcher..."

Greg wrote in his notebook, "Okay...then, they probably won't impound that under the writ of mala fides..."

"What's that?" said Peg.

Fred answered her without looking up from his notes, "The government, mostly the IRS, will not allow criminals to benefit from the proceeds of their illegal activities..."

"Really?"

"Really... They will nullify the ownership of legitimate assets purchased using illegally garnered funds... Mala Fides, read 'bad doings', is the basis of money laundering schemes..."

"Oh..."

"So... I have good news and bad news..."

"I hate that game, Freddie..."

"Okay... The good news is that you don't have to worry about paying a bunch of estate taxes on most of the assets that you inherited... My estimate is that the IRS is going to seize the car lot and that POS dump of a house that we went to yesterday."

"Easy come... Easy Go..."

"The good news is that the money he gave to Papa Junior and that he used to buy that marina appears to have come from legitimate funds, so, those assets look safe. Still, it's their call..."

"Teeny will be glad if they let her and her parents alone... So will my parents..."

Peg sat there, "I'm actually a bit relieved...What the hell would I have done with all the crap that my dumb ass brother left me." They all laughed.

"Again... the less said, the better off we will all be... Do you understand, Suzie... You really can't tell anyone... We'll try to have this wrapped up in a couple of days..."

"This sucks, Freddy..."

Greg clicked off the player and looked around, "That's all we have for today... Go home... Go about your business..."

Suzie and Peg went out into the hallway.

Greg pulled Digger aside, " Digger... We're shutting you down... I am ordering you and your partners to turn all the funeral business that you have signed for over to another mortician... Officially... we'll blame the Health Department... Make up some infection in your central air or something... I just don't want anyone to be caught in this cross fire..."

"Right, Sheriff..." Greg left.

Robbie took Digger aside next and said, "Better liquidate to cash... The IRS will be swooping in soon... I don't know how long I can hold them off... I can hide about a million in my Cayman account... Here's the number... Suzie can draw from it on the road..."

"Okay..."

"Okay..."

Chapter 21; Tuesday PM; Dinner and a Proposal

As they were walking out, Fred turned to Suzie, "We have to talk seriously... Right now!"

"If possible, you are scaring me even more than before."

He turned to Peg, "Peg, where are your parents?"

"Dad is at the firehouse in a Texas Hold Em Tournament... Mom, of course, is at the church..."

He turned back to Suzie, "Please follow us to Peg's house."

"Okay..."

When they arrived at Peg's house, he waved the Jacobis into her back driveway and closed the privacy fence behind them.

Peg got some beers out of the kitchen and they went out to sit by the pool. Fred began right away. Fred turned to Digger, "I see that both your kids work with you and Suzie?"

"Yes, Sir... we are all four licensed morticians..."

"They have to disappear as well... I need your kids and your grandkids to disappear..."

Suzie fell silent. Digger tried to take her hand, but, she wouldn't let him. Her gaze bore into Fred, "But, Freddy... I am innocent... My kids are innocent..."

Fred took her hand, "Suzie... Your license is probably fine... and, if your husband's story can be corroborated, your kids may not lose their licenses either..."

"I made sure that I isolated them from the gang members... I made them warn me when they were coming so that I could get the others clear and to ensure that all the crimes were mine alone... Hell, Jack has only been out of school one year and Helen has only been out for four years... Suzie only works when we are swamped." It was easy really..."

Fred jumped in, "I think that the Rangers have spies in town that were watching Jimmy and Digger..."

"What?" said Suzie and Peg together.

"I guarantee that once word gets out that Digger has stopped being their doormat, things will get ugly fast... They're gonna be coming for all of you... You have to run..."

Suzie's face turned dead white, "Okay, Freddy..."

Fred looked around and saw a new grill. "Sweetie, can we invite them to dinner at your house?"

"Really?"

"You know, a little cook out to celebrate my new job... Invite Greg and Jeannie... Just good old boys down homing it..."

"Sure..."

"Really... I must insist that Jack and Helen and their spouses run, too..."

"What..? Why?"

"The safest way for us to pretend that you are going to be here...You have to get your family to understand the gravity of the situation... They are going to have to pack and run as well... If we can work it out, you will all be going under the FBI umbrella until we resolve this as well."

Greg turned to Digger and Suzie, "I want to speak to both about another thing..."

They both stood straight up and prepared for their medicine. "Tomorrow morning, you are going to the bank, draw out $5,000 or as much as they will give you... Give it to Jackie and Helen... Send them to Disney... Then, you two are going to have a huge fight... The more public and bitter the better..."

"What?" They said together.

"Suzie... You are about to give everybody in town the idea that you are have left your husband... for gambling... accuse him of cheating with Peg... It doesn't matter... No matter what... I need you to be out of town until we complete this investigation."

Peg added, "Digger... we need a cover story for your kids."

Digger smiled, "They have been talking about going to Disney all together..."

"But, what becomes of our house... our business?"

"Suzie... Haven't you been listening... When the IRS is done with you two, you'll be penniliess... you'll be starting over elsewhere... maybe even in a new line of work..."

Suzie breathed a sigh of frustration. Fred continued, "I need you both to come out of this alive... These men are very serious criminals... They kill for fun and pleasure... They have threatened your whole family... This is what we need to go after these two losers..."

She grabbed Fred's arm, "What about my Jackie?" She had always hated his knick name.

Greg answered, "We need Digger to help us draw out the bastards from St. Louis... But, for now, he'll be with you... Tomorrow... Get to a big city and get $5000... Then, just take off driving... use cash... stay in little motels... disappear... Digger... buy a new laptop... make yourself a yahoo email for Digger1971... I will tag you from time to time... Don't answer... Get cash only your secret accounts..."

"You want to use my husband as bait?"

Digger jumped in, "Honey I want to... no... I need to do this..."

Fred was firm, "I wanted to, but, it's too dangerous... Ultimately, your husband's willingness to help us bring these men to justice is his only chance to shorten any prison time."

"Well... I don't like it... not one bit..."

Fred said, "That's a good cover, but, Suzie... In a week or so... You and all the rest of your family will be able to stay in my apartment in Chicago... No phone calls... All your cell phones may be tapped by the Rangers... Surely Jackie's is... You simply must seem to disappear..."

"Your apartment?"

"Yeah... it's the only thing that we can come up with as a safe house on this short notice... I'll be meeting with the FBI on Friday... They may have something better once we play them this tape... This it the best lead that we have had."

"Anyway...stay low... act normal, but, keep moving... until I get back from Chicago... You can pack small stuff... quick running stuff... What Robbie said about only using cash was a good suggestion... Credit cards can be traced and, believe me... criminals are better at computers than cops will ever be..."

"Man... This is going to be Hell..."

"When we come back from Chicago..."

Peg said, "What? We?"

"Sure... You were just deputized onto the task force, Right?"

"Right..."

"We drive up Thursday... We meet with the FBI on Friday..."

"Okay...

"While we are there, we will hire Merry Maids or something to clean out my apartment, so the Jacobis can live there reasonably comfortably... until the FBI can relocate them..."

"Okay..."

He turned back to the undertakers, "Digger... something just struck me..." He flipped through the pages of his note books. He stopped and stared at a page and continued, almost mumbling to himself, "According to my calculations... Your criminal enterprises have generated around one million bucks."

"That sounds about right..."

Suzie cried, "Jackie..?"

Fred asked, "Digger... isn't it interesting that Robbie knew you had a million in that Grand Cay bank account?"

"Damn... It never occurred to me... I was in such shock from seeing those photos... Pretty damned sneaky, huh?"

Peg said shrewdly, "It occurs to me that the Rangers could have given him the access codes just as easily as they gave them to you..."

Fred looked soberly at his friend, "By your calm response, I gotta ask if you have more accounts?"

"Maybe... maybe not... I earned that other money fair and square..."

Suzie said disgustedly, "Jackie... Don't bullshit a bullshitter... You got that money by gambling..." She turned away from him.

Jackie looked pleadingly at Fred, "Gambling's not illegal in Illinois..."

"It's fruit of poisoned tree, Jack... Your seed money was illegally gained..."

Suzie grabbed his arm, "Jackie? Don't screw with the law... Freddy's our friend... He's trying to help us..."

Fred ignored her, "Care to tell me how much?"

"No... I will tell all someday... All I will say now is that as soon as I began this winning streak, I put back all of the money into the Ranger account... I wish I could say that I never used their money, but..."

"But... that wouldn't be true... would it?"

"No... it wouldn't..."

"All right... Enough about that... I don't want to know about the details now... Digger... Do what you have to do to get your wife and kids the hell out of here... You and I both need them to be safe..."

They shook hands grimly. He hugged Suzie and whispered in her ear, "We'll be back late Friday or mid-day Saturday. Can we have our dinner Saturday night."

"Okay, Freddy..." He opened the gate and the Jacobis left. What Fred never knew that Digger gave his children each $100, 000... He told them to run and stay hidden until he called them to come home. He stored three suitcases full of money in his trunk. Even Suzie didn't know that they had $300, 000. Digger was determined to become invisible.

Over the last year, he and Jimmy had bought six used cars. He had hired Denny to place them in long term storage around the country. He told Jackie and Helen where the two in Florida were stored and how to get them out. They were to abandon their current vehicles and disappear. He was ready to switch cars several times, if need be, to make good his escape.

Fred called dispatch. When Jeannie answered, he said, "Jeannie... I'm out!"

"Me too... See you at breakfast..."

"Roger that... See you in the morning..."

Fred walked up onto Peg's porch, "What a day!"

She leaned into him, "Jesus... When this story breaks, our little town will never be the same..."

"Still water's run deepest, I guess."

"But... Digger's secret life... Poor Suzie..."

They continued into the kitchen holding hands. He watched her as she pitched the bottles into her glass recycler. He leaned on the kitchen counter with his arms open as she moved easily into his embrace.

They just leaned on each other for a moment. Then, she spoke softly, not letting him go, "So... We're a detective agency again?"

"It all happened so fast... I was sworn to secrecy... So, I couldn't talk to you about it before it all happened... I knew that G had to make the final decision to read you in..."

"Right..."

"Well... there I was in my mama's kitchen having lunch in a safe place where no one would hear us talk..."

"Why 's that?"

"Greg thinks the Rangers have one of his deputies moled up..."

"This whole Task Force is a sham... While everyone thinks we are studying Jimmy's murder, we are involved in cracking a gang stranglehold on our county... We don't know who we can trust except you and Jeannie..."

"Damn, Sweetie... That's a tough row to hoe..."

"So, there I was... In the middle of my lunch, suddenly, asking the Sheriff to read you into the case."

"Whatever for?"

"I told him that I needed you..."

"You need me, Fred?"

"More every day, friend..." He kissed her softly.

She brightened, "Hey... I have an idea... you want to go for a boat ride?"

"What?"

"Let's go look at my marina..."

"A warning, Madam... If you throw yourself at me again... I might just catch you this time..."

"That a threat or a promise, Big City?"

"I have no idea why I even said that... Let's not talk about it... At least until I get used to having a heartbeat again..." He kissed her hard and deep.

This time, when she pulled away, she was as breathless as he was. "Sergeant... you keep that up and we might not even make it up those stairs." She hugged him tightly. He held onto her as well, enjoying the feelings that he had thought were buried with his dead wife.

After a moment, she let go and stepped back. The spark of energy that leaped between them shocked them both anew. "Whew..."

"If you stand here one more second, Big City... I might not be able to stop myself before I jump you right here in my kitchen..."

"It was my kitchen first..."

She smiled softly, glad that they could still tease each other, "Nah... Denny burned your kitchen... I built this... its my kitchen!" She ducked through the swinging door leaving him chuckling.

To distract himself from the intensity of her gaze, he flipped his phone open. When the Sheriff answered he said, "I'm offering my apartment in Chicago as the first stop in their safe house hunt..."

"That's a good idea... I was wondering what we were going to do... Sergeant, please let me reiterate how great it is to be partnered up with you again..."

"Aw, shucks... Sheriff... t'aint nothin'..."

"Not true, brother... You think fast on your feet and you make good choices... I'll tell you what... I still have most of last year's deer left... How many steaks do I bring?"

"With the parents... eight..."

"Perfect... I have more than enough venison steaks left... Jeannie's been after me to clean that freezer box out some..."

"Great!"

"Okay... I'll want to see you both at Teeny's for breakfast... We'll do roll call with the boys and then, we will finalize any changes in this case after they are gone..."

"Roger that, boss..." He clicked off and hit the new speed dial for dispatch.

Jeannie answered, "Dispatch... Hey Freddy..."

"Miss Jeannie... I'm out... Peg's out, too... "

"Oh, yeah... I heard we have a new Deputy..."

"I need her just like the Sheriff needs you, Mrs. Hansen..."

"Yeah... That boy would be lost without me..."

"We all would, sugar..."

"You Irish boys and your sweet blarney... So... while you boys are doing roll call tomorrow... Me and our new secret Deputy will get her paperwork done at another table... Got it?"

"Roger that... She'll be there..."

"See you then, Freddy..."

"Take care of that baby, Jeannie... See you in the morning..."

Peg asked, "Who'll be where in the morning?"

"Jeannie, in her official capacity as Department clerk has paperwork for our new deputy to do at Teeny's diner in the morning..."

"So... I'm to be properly spindled, folded, and mutilated then?"

"What we do without the paperwork?" They laughed.

She smiled at him, "Supper?"

"I should really check with my Mama..."

"Oh? She's next door... It's Tuesday night... They order pizza and watch the American Singer show together...they love to guess who the next big star will be and complain if their singer is not picked..."

"God... I hate that show..."

"Come on... It's mindless fun with the old folks... We need some down time..."

"Okay..." They cut through the back gate and clomped up onto the back porch.

Agnes looked at her daughter closely, but only said, "Oh, good... We saw you guys were just next door... We hoped you would join us. We ordered extra..."

"Sure... Great minds think alike..." She handed Freddy a plate with three pieces of pizza. Jim handed each of them a beer. They went into the den which was filled with chairs and TV trays. Fred and Peg were pushed to a small couch in the back row. Sarah and Agnes sneaked peaks at them and smiled to each other.

Peg ate her pizza and then leaned her head on Freddy's shoulder, occasionally sipping her beer. Fred ate his pizza as he sat in peaceful silence. He laughed inside to himself as the three parents carried on an active conversation about the strengths and weaknesses of the singers as they performed. In a few moments, all thoughts of murder and mayhem left his head as he reveled in the circus performed by their parents and the TV performers. They were far more entertaining to him than the TV show.

When it was over, everyone got up. Fred helped Big Jim break down and store the TV trays. Agnes looked back, "Pie, anyone?"

Fred laughed, "My stars, Peg... how come you are not as big as me?"

"I try and avoid this house on TV night, she laughed.

"Between Teeny and your mother, I'm going to be huge..."

"I'll take good care of you, Big City," she laughed, but, she meant it more than he would know.

Fred and Peg sat with the rest of them around Agnes's table. Fred looked around and said, "This is good... I need to speak to all of you together...Me and Peg will have to trust you with this next bit of info..."

Agnes sat up very straight, "Whatever do you mean, Freddy... Trust us?"

Fred forged ahead in his best cop voice, "Under penalty of law... because of the Sheriff's gag order that you already know about... Peg is now a SECRET deputy of Pope County..."

"Secret? We can't tell anyone?"

"Auntie Ag... This is a matter of life and death... Jimmy's already dead... The men we are after play rough and they like it..."

"God protect us," she said reflexively."

"Your daughter is now a member of the Task Force investigating Jimmy's murder... If Myrtle gets wind of it, Peg's life WILL be in danger and maybe yours as well..."

"Freddy... why scare them... They are our parents..."

"Look... I have always had two dads and two moms... All three of you need to help us now... If you hear anything about this buzzing on the network, you guys need to nip it in the bud!"

"How?"

"You can kill it by just laughing and saying that the whole topic is just pure foolishness... Your daughter does genealogy not police work... Yes... she is dating a cop, but, that's all..."

Both women perked up, "Dating?"

He looked at Big Jim, "All three of you... hell, maybe all four of you need to know that it's more than that... way more... Look, Big Jim... I'm no spring chicken... God knows, I bring way too much baggage to any relationship... but, because of your daughter's love for me... I quit drinking... I'm back working better than ever... I promise you that together, she and I are going to get to the bottom of this mess with Jimmy... And then, if she'll have me... I'm going to come to you for her hand..."

Peg launched herself at him, "Oh Freddy..." she said into his shoulder. All of the parents beamed.

Jim took Freddy's hand in a firm shake, "As near as I can tell, her heart has been yours since she was born... Life just takes its own sweet time to turn..." Fred nodded over Peg's shoulder.

Chapter 22; Tuesday PM; The Task Force Forms

They just leaned on each other for a moment. Then, she spoke softly, not letting him go, "So... We're a detective agency again?"

"It all happened so fast... I was sworn to secrecy... So, I couldn't talk to you about it before it all happened... I knew that G had to make the final decision to read you in..."

"Right..."

"Well... there I was in my mama's kitchen having lunch in a safe place where no one would hear us talk..."

"Why 's that?"

"Greg thinks the Rangers have one of his deputies on the take..."

"This whole Task Force is a sham... While everyone thinks me and Greg are studying Jimmy's murder, we are involved in cracking a gang stranglehold on our county... We don't know who we can trust except you and Jeannie..."

"Damn, Sweetie... That's a tough row to hoe..."

"So, there I was... In the middle of my lunch, suddenly, asking the Sheriff to read you into the case."

"Whatever for?"

"I told him that I needed you..."

She moved into his arms, "You need me, Fred?"

"More every day, Darlin'..." He kissed her softly.

She brightened, "Hey... I have an idea... you want to go for a boat ride?"

"What?"

"Let's go look at my marina..."

"A warning, Madam... If you throw yourself at me again... I might just catch you this time..."

"That a threat or a promise, Big City?"

"I have no idea why I even said that... Let's not talk about it... At least until I get used to having a heartbeat again..." He kissed her hard and deep.

This time, when she pulled away, she was as breathless as he was. "Sergeant... you keep that up and we might not even make it up those stairs." She hugged him tightly. He held onto her as well, enjoying the feelings that he had thought were buried with his dead wife.

After a moment, she let go and stepped back. The spark of energy that leaped between them shocked them both anew. "Whew..."

"If you stand here one more second, Big City... I might not be able to stop myself before I jump you right here in my kitchen..."

"It was my kitchen first..."

She smiled softly, glad that they could still tease each other, "Nah... Denny burned your kitchen... I built this... its my kitchen!" She ducked through the swinging door leaving him chuckling.

To distract himself from the intensity of his brand new feelings, he flipped his phone open. When the Sheriff answered he said, "I'm offering my apartment in Chicago to the Task Force for the Jacobi's as the first stop in their safe house hunt..."

"That's a good idea... I was wondering what we were going to do... Sergeant, please let me reiterate how great it is to be partnered up with you again..."

"Aw, shucks... Sheriff... t'aint nothin'..."

"Not true, brother... You think fast on your feet and you make good choices... I'll tell you what... I still have most of last year's deer left... How many steaks do I bring?"

"With the parents... eight..."

"Perfect... I have more than enough venison steaks left... Jeannie's been after me to clean that freezer box out some..."

"Great!"

"Okay... I'll want to see you both at Teeny's for breakfast... We'll do roll call with the boys and then, we will finalize any changes in this case after they are gone..."

"Roger that, boss..." He clicked off and hit the new speed dial for dispatch.

Jeannie answered, "Dispatch... Hey Freddy..."

"Miss Jeannie... I'm out... Peg's out, too... "

"Oh, yeah... I heard we have a new Deputy..."

"I need her just like the Sheriff needs you, Mrs. Hansen..."

"Yeah... That boy would be lost without me..."

"We all would, sugar..."

"You Irish boys and your sweet blarney... So... while you boys are doing roll call tomorrow... Me and our new secret Deputy will get her paperwork done at another table... Got it?"

"Roger that... She'll be there..."

"See you then, Freddy..."

"Take care of that baby, Jeannie... See you in the morning..."

Peg asked, "Who'll be where in the morning?"

"Jeannie, in her official capacity as Department clerk has paperwork for our new secret deputy to do at Teeny's diner in the morning..."

"So... I'm to be properly spindled, folded, and mutilated then?"

"What would we do without paperwork?" They laughed.

She smiled at him, "Supper?"

"I should really check with my Mama..."

"Oh? I saw her car... She's next door... It's Tuesday night... They order pizza and watch that American Singer show together...they love to guess who the next big star will be and complain if their singer is not picked..."

"God... I hate that show..."

"Come on... It's mindless fun with the old folks... We need some down time..."

"Okay..." They cut through the back gate and clomped up onto the back porch.

Agnes looked at her daughter closely, but only said, "Oh, good... We saw you guys were just next door... We hoped you would join us. We ordered extra..."

"Sure... Great minds think alike..." She handed Freddy a plate with three pieces of pizza. Jim handed each of them a beer. They went into the den which was filled with chairs and TV trays. Fred and Peg were pushed to a small couch in the back row. Sarah and Agnes sneaked peaks at them and smiled to each other.

Peg ate her pizza and then leaned her head on Freddy's shoulder, occasionally sipping her beer. Fred ate his pizza as he sat in peaceful silence. He laughed inside to himself as the three parents carried on an active conversation about the strengths and weaknesses of the singers as they performed. In a few moments, all thoughts of murder and mayhem left his head as he reveled in the circus performed by their parents and the TV performers. They were far more entertaining to him than the TV show.

When it was over, everyone got up. Fred helped Big Jim break down and store the TV trays. Agnes looked back, "Pie, anyone?"

Fred laughed, "My stars, Peg... how come you are not as big as me?"

"I try and avoid this house on TV night, she laughed.

"Between Teeny and your mother, I'm going to be huge..."

"I'll take good care of you, Big City," she laughed, but, she meant it more than he would know.

Fred and Peg sat with the rest of them around Agnes's table. Fred looked around and said, "This is good... I need to speak to all of you together...Me and Peg will have to trust you with this next bit of info..."

Agnes sat up very straight, "Whatever do you mean, Freddy... Trust us?"

Fred forged ahead in his best cop voice, "Under penalty of law... because of the Sheriff's gag order that you already know about... Peg is now a SECRET deputy of Pope County..."

"Secret? We can't tell anyone?"

"Auntie Ag... This is a matter of life and death... Jimmy's already dead... The men we are after play rough and they like it..."

"God protect us," she said reflexively."

"Your daughter is now a member of the Task Force investigating Jimmy's murder... If Myrtle gets wind of it, Peg's life WILL be in danger and maybe yours as well..."

"Freddy... why scare them... They are our parents..."

"Look... This aint new... I have always had two dads and two moms... All three of you need to help us now... If you hear anything about this buzzing on the network, you guys need to nip it in the bud!"

"How?"

"You can kill it by just laughing and saying that the whole topic is just pure foolishness... Your daughter does genealogy not police work... Yes... she is dating a cop, but, that's all..."

Both women perked up, "Dating?"

He looked at Big Jim, "All three of you... hell, maybe all four of you need to know that it's more than that... way more... Look, Big Jim... I'm no spring chicken... God knows, I bring way too much baggage to any relationship... but, because of your daughter's love for me... I quit drinking... I'm back... I'm working better than ever... I promise you that together, she and I are going to get to the bottom of this mess with Jimmy... And then, if she'll have me... I'm going to come to you for her hand..."

Peg launched herself at him, "Oh Freddy..." she said into his shoulder. All of the parents beamed.

Jim took Freddy's hand in a firm shake, "As near as I can tell, her heart has been yours since she was born... Life just takes its own sweet time to turn..." Fred nodded over Peg's shoulder.

Sarah sniffled a moment wiping her nose with a paper napkin, "Sonny... It's getting late."

"Okay... Friday, Peg and I have a meeting in Chicago with the FBI task force coordinator. We're driving up Wednesday or Thursday... We'll be back Saturday... We're having a cook out by the pool that Saturday... I need you three to come for supper..."

"Okay..."

"Then, because we have secret Task Force business, all three of you are going to plead old age, or something, and disappear..."

"Freddy?" said his mom, "There's no call to be rude..."

"Mama... You have to do this my way... I can't allow you guys to be on this task force if you won't go along... I swear I'll find another way..."

"Task Force!"

"Mama... Your assignment Saturday is to bore the ladies watching out their windows at the goings on at Peg's then, you three just sneak through the back fence over to the Simpson's..."

"Okay... We can help with that..."

"It's got to look like any old party... The cover story is that old friends are celebrating my new job. We have to become the local yawner."

"Okay..."

"I am afraid that your life wouldn't be worth a plugged nickel if you heard any of what we are planning... You gotta trust me... I know that you have no reason to..."

Big Jim put his big hand on Fred's shoulder, "Son... We have every reason to trust you... You're a Sergeant and a Sheriff of Pope County... You are both of my babies' best friend... Whatever you say is just what we'll do..." He looked firmly at both women and they nodded.

"Thanks for trusting me... Come on, sweetie... Like Mama said, it's getting late..."

Peg walked him to his car. They shared one sweet kiss and he followed his mother home. On the way home, his hands began to shake. "What the???" Automatically, as he had done a thousand times before, he pulled a small clear bottle of brown liquid out of the glove box and took a long drink. By the time he pulled in next to his mother's car, his hands were almost steady. He put the bottle into his pants pocket and strolled back around the cabin toward the lake.

Sarah watched him go out on the pier. She smiled to herself and went to bed. He sat down clumsily on the edge of the pier. He pulled off his shoes and socks. In another moment, he felt tears begin. For the next few minutes, he just sat there crying. After a while, the tears stopped. He took the bottle out of his pocket and stared at it.

"You don't need that, Big City."

He started almost falling into the water, "Peg... Sweetie... What are you doing here?"

He saw that Peg was dressed in sweats against the cool evening air. She came and sat beside him on the pier, "I had to come... I was afraid for you..."

"Afraid is an interesting word..."

"I smelled a smell on you this afternoon that I had not smelled in years. A musty chemical smell... When things were at their most tense in my yard, you started sweating pure alcohol out of your pores... I felt the shudders begin when we were relaxing on the couch... I don't know... I just had to follow you... I had to keep you safe..."

As naturally as if they had done it a million times, she leaned back against a corner post and he turned to lie on the planking with his head on her lap. She stroked his head like the feverish child that he was.

"How did you know?" he whispered.

"My second husband was about your age, an older man than me at the time. We met in Indianapolis at the Genealogy Society where I worked... I was a young, lonely divorcee and he was newly widowed. We started out getting roaring drunk together and fell into a sick pseudo-love triangle with liquor."

"That is certainly easy enough to do."

"Well... I fell out of love... first with the alcohol and then with Steve..."

"Yikes..."

"To paraphrase my favorite country singer... He wasn't much fun after I quit drinking."

"Double yikes..."

"He went into rehab to try to get me back... I was part of his long term therapy..."

"Interesting... Please tell me more..."

"We stayed together for another year... He'd be fine while he had a book or some other project to keep him straight..."

"So... He was a writer?"

"That's how we met... He was always in the Society vaults researching some family line or another thing for a story thread..."

"Okay..."

"Anyway... When he would finish a project, he would reward himself with a bender... Then, he'd come staggering into our house promising to sober up... yadda yadda yadda..."

"And the three day thing?"

"Well... It happened over and over... about three days after a binge, he would get sweats and shakes... He smelled like the booze was coming out his pores... I smelled that on your breath earlier today when I kissed you and I was worried... So, here I am..."

"And... Here I am thirty minutes after professing my interest in you to your parents, triggering sad memories..."

"Here's the difference, Big City... I never loved him... I was just profoundly lonely and lost... But... and this is a huge but... I have always loved you... That guy was just training me so I could rescue you someday..."

"And... Today is the day..."

"To be more accurate, sweetie... today is your third day..."

"What do we do?"

"First... You give me that bottle in your pocket..."

"My bottle?"

"I lived with a drunk, remember... You guys always have a bottle on you." He sighed and handed it to her. She continued, "Then, for the next day or so... I will give you one finger three times a day to fight off the worst of the demons... After that, you wean yourself down to none... Your liver just doesn't know how to act without constant poison to chemically alter. It's in shock..."

"You did this with Steve?"

"I did... We went through this four times... But, he was too determined to be a drunk... One night, in the middle of a bender, he took out a light pole and three cars..."

"Is he in prison?"

"No... He was the only casualty..."

"Then, he lived?"

"Not that time... He had walked away from five other wrecks, but not this one..."

"Triple yikes..."

"He had insurance... I took the money, sold our place, and I moved home... I bought Denny out after the fire, Then. I met Danny Thompson when he was rebuilding my kitchen... Any way, we got too serious, waaay too fast, killed the rabbit and once he found out I was pregnant, he bailed..."

"I aint saying nothing about him, because, I may not be that great of a catch either..."

"We'll see... I'm still betting on you, Freddy... I have a lifetime of memories to make me trust you..."

"I'll try and live up to your expectations..."

She felt around his forehead, "Your fever's down and you're not shaking any more..."

"I don't shake when you touch me like that..."

She pushed him off her lap and stood up. "Come on, Sergeant, we need to get to bed... We both have early meetings tomorrow..."

He got up as well. He was amazed at how well he did feel, "You are a miracle worker..."

They walked up to the cabin and went around it to her car. She kissed him, "We are the miracle, Freddy... You are going to heal me too... I just know it..." He smiled as he watched her drive off.

Chapter 23; Wednesday AM

As was becoming his pattern, Fred called Peg as soon as he was awake. "I was just thinking of you..." She said.

"I just had to see if the miracle is still working... Do you still want to be my partner?"

"Careful... You have the power to turn a hopeless romantic into a hopeful one..."

"Yeah...well... you did kind of ruin my plans to drink myself to death..."

"Not funny, MacGarn..." she said sadly.

"Sorry, sweetie... See you in thirty minutes. Are you packed for Chicago... We may leave early..."

"Roger that... I couldn't sleep so I threw some stuff in a bag... I haven't picked out a dress and shoes yet..."

Fred laughed, "It aint a fashion show, Deputy... Take that green sundress that you wore to church... Of course, I won't hear a thing that new agent says, but, I do love that dress..."

"Freddy! You are incorrigible..."

"All I'm saying is..."

"You've said quite enough, Sergeant... Hurry up now and get over here, before we are late..." they laughed and hung up.

Fred did his morning routine, threw some stuff in a small bag, and headed out. He left a note for his mom that he and Peg were headed for Chicago. As usual, Fred got lost trying a new short cut to Peg's. She ran out and threw her bag in the back. She hung a dress bag on the hook, "You better move it Mister, Jeannie already called me wondering if we were decent..."

As Peg feared, they were the last to arrive at Teeny's. Just outside of the diner, he stopped to talk to Papa Junior about the weather. By the time he made his way inside, Peg and Jeannie were deep in discussion in a booth far from the roll call meeting. He waved at both Teeny's working the donut crowd and went to talk to Jeannie and collect another morning kiss.

That done, he smiled at Jeannie. "How are you both doing this morning, Officer Hansen?"

"Okay so far, Sergeant..." She patted her tummy, "Me and Junior are getting along way better this morning... Mama Teeny has me off coffee for a while... She brewed me some juju tea that her Jamaican Grammy sent to her for me... This scone has extra baking soda and sweetened ginger in it to help settle the tummy troubles..."

Fred, as usual, was mystified by the ways of women folk, but, he rolled with it, "Yeah... Mama's been doctoring this county with her white magic voodoo all my life... What ever it takes to see if that helps..."

He went to the men's table. No one stopped eating as they all exchanged nods. Fred noticed that Greg was not eating, so, he didn't order yet either. With a nod, he said, "Morning, Sergeant..."

"Sheriff..."

Without another word, the Sheriff was all business as he read them through his stack of 505's. Between sips of coffee, he doled out assignments and their accompanying 5's. he seemed to have it timed so that he was done just as they finished their breakfast. Each man saluted and, sneaking five dollar bills under their plates, jumped into their squad cars and headed out.

Greg gathered up his remaining papers and stuffed them into his briefcase. "Now... we'll go eat with our ladies..."

"Roger that, Sheriff." Passing near to the counter, Fred grabbed a carafe of coffee as he followed Greg to the women's table. Fred noticed that the papers that had been all over the table before were gone and four cups and silverware setups had replaced them. The girls scooted in and the boys sat with them.

As if she choreographed the whole thing, Big Teeny led a parade of Wilkinses out to bring four breakfasts just as the men sat. "Bon appetite..." she said sweetly. They thanked her and she sashayed back to the donut counter.

Greg spoke to Peg, "Are we all properly spindled, folded, and mutilated, Officer Thompson?"

"Yes, Sir, Sheriff... Officer Hansen is a wonder at the paperwork."

Greg looked at his wife, "May I have the purple folder, Sweetie?"

Jeannie already had it in her hand. She gave it to him. He turned it and placed it in front of Fred and Peg. Fred thanked them both. Greg spoke, "Here's your itinerary... The FBI offices are in the Daley Building, the conference room is on the 17th floor..."

"I remember the place..."

"Good... Your meeting is at 10... Are you staying at your old place?"

"No... I can't take anyone there... My apartment is a total dump..."

"And..."Jeannie added, "a ghost or two..."

Fred shrugged and continued, "I traded some of my credit card miles for a room at the Wilshire on Water Street... We're getting Tidy Maids to clean my old place for the Jacobis..."

Greg nodded, "That will be way better... We've stayed there...You guys can walk to your meeting..."

Fred continued, "Yep... So... I guess that's it until we get back Saturday for the cook out."

Jeannie looked at Peg, "How are you going to handle the food for the party if you're out of town?"

"Well... you guys have the meat handled..."

"Right..."

"Me and Freddy will get beer and pops and ice on our way through town... My mom's bringing cole slaw and Sarah is bringing her potato salad..."

"Oooh, yummy... I hope Junior cooperates and let's me eat some of it..." They all laughed as she patted her tummy.

Fred turned to Greg, "What do you have for me today, Sheriff?"

"Since you did as much work as I had budgeted for two days in one morning, I'm giving you a day off..."

"Good... I'm feeling a little puny anyway... But, Miss Peg has promised to nurse me through it..."

He looked at his wife, "Unless something big happens... keep him 10-7, 10-8 until Monday, 7 AM."

"Roger that, Sheriff..."

"Well... we got skateboarders to roust and other ne'er-do-wells to police... Y'all drive careful..."

"We'll keep Jeannie posted on everything..." said Peg. The Sheriff and his wife slid out of the booth, got in their cars and headed out in opposite directions along the river. Jeannie appeared to be taking the short cut to Golconda, while the Sheriff appeared to be heading for the nearest bridge to cut across the river so he could drive down the road on other side of Riverside Park to surprise the skateboarders.

"Holy Cow..." said Fred as he was refilling his coffee, "a whole day to kill... Unless you want to go up north early to get the Tidy Maids going quicker..."

"Sweetie... we don't need to be there physically to do that... Do you have a doorman?"

"No, but the super has a key."

She flipped open her phone and activated her browser. She typed some stuff into the screen and scribbled rapidly on a pad. "What is the address and the super's number?"

He flipped open his phone and gave it to her. She dialed a number and handed him her phone. "Tidy Maids," said the voice.

"Hello... may I speak to Alice Bedford?" After a brief pause, he continued, "Alice...This is Sergeant MacGarn... Yes... It has been a while... I have a huge favor to ask... Yes... I know... huge favors cost more... I need to get an apartment ready to sell... It's my apartment... but, no one's really been there for quite a while... As usual, I need it rush, rush... Whatever the three maid price is, I'll pay it... They'll see why when they see this dump... All of the personal affects found in the two bedrooms need to be packed and mailed in the care of Margaret Thompson to..." Peg wrote him her address. Although he should have known it, he read the address to the woman on the phone. "I would like it if your crew could get started on the common areas today. This is the super's number," he gave it to her and continued, "Please tell them not to touch the office until I get there Thursday evening to empty out the office. After I have removed all my files, if you guys want the office furniture, just take it... The new family needs more bedrooms... The super has some beds to lend me for a short while... Just a warning, this is probably a three day job... I know that's extra, but, like I said, it's trashed. I really need it done by Sunday... Thank you... Please call this number if there are any problems."

When he was done, he looked at Peg, "The Police impound houses and apartments all the time... Alice and I have become chums over the years as they have prepared these places for resale by CPD."

Chapter 24; Wednesday PM; The DT's

Peg nodded as she pursed her lips thinking, "I could go today... I'm all caught up with my projects... As long as I'm a deputy, I'll have cash flow, so I figured I'd postpone any new projects until I'm a civilian again... or work on them in bits once we see how much time you need from me..."

Fred tried to stand up and sat back down again, "Wait a second... I guess I wasn't kidding... I really don't feel well..."

"Okay... You can expect that your third day might be a long day and night of sweats... It's called delirium tremens..."

"I can't afford to let anybody see me like this..."

"Yeah... You look like you are in for a bad time... Can you make it to the door... I have an idea..."

Fred nodded grimly. He was relieved to note that the entire diner was empty. Papa Junior walked up with a coffee cup. "Freddy... You drink this fast..."

"What is in it, Papa?"

"You don't need to know...And, you don't want to know..."

"Smells terrible..."

Papa spoke to Peg, "It's his third day home, isn't it?"

"Yes, Sir..." Papa nodded knowingly.

"Mama sez that you been through this before..."

"Yes, Papa..." Fred drank the cup quickly and gagged.

"Alright... You need to know that what he just drank is going to come back up in 20 to 30 minutes and then, he's going to face the pure demons of hell until tomorrow..."

Little Teeny walked up and dropped a key on the table, "I reckon that I don't need this no more..." A single tear trailed down her cheek and into her pink uniform.

Peg pulled her down beside her. They held tightly to each other. "What is this, Sweetie?"

"It's my key to Jimmy's boathouse. I been meeting Jimmy there since he bought it. I reckon I was about nineteen. I was his woman here longer than three of them, you know... I knew you'd be going there soon, so, I spent the last three days cleaning out all my stuff. I'm done now..."

"Three days?"

"Hell, baby girl... I had that place for nearly twenty years of being mine and Jimmy's hide out... His last two wives didn't even know that the boathouse existed until they saw it on the property settlement... Of course, Jimmy had said it was abandoned and valueless, so, they didn't squawk much... Them hoes thought he was using it as a tie up for his boat... When he was supposed to be fishing out here, we were playing house... I wasn't playing, but, Jimmy was..." She started crying again and ran back into the kitchen.

Peg looked after her friend, more determined than ever to get Freddy out. Now, she knew where they were going, "Come on, Freddy... We have to go..." She pulled him up and practically dragged him out to her car."

"Wh where are we going..."

"We have to get you into a secret location so that we can face the sweats and the tremens..."

"Where?"

"I think we should go to Jimmy's boathouse..."

"Reaaly?" he was lost in his descending fog.

"Don't worry, Big City... I got this... If Jimmy and Teeny hid there for decades, we ought to be able to shake the busybody network for one night..."

"Okay..."

Seat belting him in, she ran around to the driver's side and gunned his car as they headed back toward the dam. "Away we go..." She drove like a mad woman.

She looked at Freddy's questioning face, "What? I'm a cop now... on a case... No more tickets for me..."

She pulled into the marina and parked in the old garage. Fred got out quickly and ran out a side door to some trees and threw up his entire breakfast while she grabbed the two bags and closed the rickety old doors. She went near him to assess his condition. She could tell that Fred wasn't done, so she went on with her preparations.

Moving quickly, Peg went to the door and opened it. It smelled a little musty, but, not too bad. She moved from window to window opening them to let the breeze off the lake air out the tiny rooms. She put the bags by a far wall and tried a tap on the kitchen sink. The water ran rusty for a second, then, flowed clear. She tried a light switch and opened the fridge. They both worked well enough. She was relieved that her idea was going to work.

She ran back outside to find Fred staggering toward her across the overgrown parking lot. She helped him up the deck stairs and into the boat house murmuring soft words of comfort and encouragement. Even as sick as he was, while she stripped him down to his undershorts, he was astounded at how clean and modern the inside of the boathouse was. As crappy as the outside looked, the inside was modernized and immaculate. Any more thinking about this puzzle was beyond him past that point. She took him over to the double bed and sat him on the edge.

He looked up at her, "Peg?"

She moved quickly to hold him against her, love pouring from her. He laid his head on her breast and hugged her as tightly as he could, repeating her name. After a moment, she helped him stretch out. Almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, he passed out on top of the covers.

Peg held his hand a moment until she was sure he was asleep. Before she even moved from the spot, she looked about and began to plan their day. To help her think, she walked slowly through the four rooms of the boat house. It had a kitchen with a breakfast nook eating area. It had a small living room with a couch and a chair and a small TV that was probably hooked to the satellite dish that she had seen outside.

To pass the time and to find things that she thought she might need later, she opened and closed the various cabinets and doors, noting in her organized way, the contents of each. She silently thanked Teeny for the freshly made bed. Passing though the bedroom into what used to be a doorway into the boat lift area, she was delighted to find a modern bathroom with a huge shower. As she put some towels out, she thanked Teeny under her breath again. Knowing her brother, he would never have made these improvements without some serious bitching.

Within a short time, the boat house was out of the shade and the inside temperature climbed rapidly. Peg was baking in the heat and humidity of the old shack as the summer sun beat heavily on the old tin roof. She stripped down to a T shirt and that she found in Fred's overnight bag. It smelled like Freddy and she loved the way he smelled.

She moved an old chair near to the bed. Overly conscious of her silk covered bottom, she put a towel on the chair and sat with her feet on the bed, just touching Fred's ankle. Even his feet were burning up. She thanked all the gods for the old ceiling fan over the bed. She would have bet anything that Teeny had made Jimmy get that thing hung as well. It looked way newer than some of the furnishings. She read an old book that Teeny must have left there as he slept.

Even with the breeze from the ceiling fan, in an hour, her shirt was soaked. She pulled it off thinking that, in his condition, he would never notice. "Even so," she thought to herself, "it wasn't like he hadn't seen these treasures before."

Two hours later, Fred awoke shaking and calling out. She poured him a shot of whiskey. His hands shook so badly that he spilled as much as he drank. She pulled back as if to leave him there, but, he clung to her like a child. "Peg... Peg..." he wailed.

Ignoring the fact that they were both nearly naked, she responded to his desperation. She crawled onto the rumpled damp sheets and took him in her arms. He clung to her like a child. She held him like a giant baby as he slept fitfully. Ever since the break in at Jimmy's house, she also had been unable to sleep much. Last night had been worse. She had been up most of the night worrying about what she had gotten herself into. Soon, comforted by his acceptance and his need for her, she gave in to her exhaustion and slept as well.

About the time that the sun dropped below the tips of the trees, Fred woke them both with a start. He ran outside and retched over the railing into the murky waters by the deck. Nothing much came out as he dry heaved. In a flash, she had thrown Fred's still damp T shirt over herself. It made a dress on her smaller frame. She moved across the deck and held onto his sweaty chest to balance and comfort him. Her words of love and encouragement never faltered.

Fred concentrated on the love sounds flowing out of Peg as he tried not to die. He did wonder vaguely where his clothes had gone.

When he had begun to settle, he leaned on her strong body as a brace as she took him back inside the shack before they were spotted by any passing fishing boats, "Come on, Freddy... You stink bad... Let's get you a shower..."

He allowed her to haul him across the living room of the boathouse. She took him into the bathroom. With a swipe of her hand, his soaked briefs hit the floor. She propped him up right in the corner of the large shower cabinet. "Stay!" she commanded.

"No problem," he whispered hoarsely.

Stepping back, she pulled her clothes off. Through bleary eyes, he watched the naked form of the woman he was falling in love with move into the shower with him and close the glass door.

"Not exactly how I had pictured our first shower..." he croaked.

"Me either..." She wanted to be mad at him. One look at his gray pallor and bleak smile broke her temper and melted her heart.

"One should go with one's strengths..." he chuckled hoarsely.

"Shut up, Big City..." she said softly turning on the water, "save your strength... You aint done being sick..."

"Roger that..."

When the temperature was right, she aimed the nozzle at him. He just stood there in the beautiful stream of refreshing water. It took all of his will not to slide to the floor and cry. She set her jaw to keep herself from crying and began to soap him all over. The feel of the water and rubbing with the scratchy wash cloth began to revive him a little. In reality though, he noted that the more awake he felt, the worse he actually felt.

When she was done with him, she began to bathe herself. He just stood there watching her soap her beautiful body and clean off a day of sweat and God knows what else.

"I want to tell you something..." he spoke softly.

She washed her hair with some shampoo that she had found earlier had stashed in the shower, "What's that, Big City?"

"I swear before all of the Gods that this is the last time we are ever going to take a shower without me touching you... God, you are so beautiful..."

She rinsed her hair and moved into his weak embrace. "You are so full of it, Mister..."

"No ma'am... I see what I see... and I can see you... You are beautiful inside and out..."

"Oh, Freddy..." She held him tightly as the water in the shower went luke warm and then cold. At first, it felt good against the heat of the old cabin and Freddy's fever. When Freddy began to shiver, she cut the flow from the tap and they moved out. She moved him back into the bedroom, sat him on the chair by the bed, and began drying him.

When he was reasonable dry, she helped him return to the bed. She laid him over on the dry side of the bed, since their sweat had soaked his side and it hadn't dried yet. Earlier, she had wanted to use the heat of the day to burn out his fever and sweat out the poisons ravaging him. Now, she wanted him to be more comfortable. After she pulled a comb though her hair and put what few clothes that she could stand back on, she closed all the windows and doors and plugged in the tiny window unit.

It rattled and clanked, but a cool stream of air was soon filling the bedroom. She pulled the curtain that covered the door to the living areas so that only one room would be cooled. The best part of this plan was that the AC unit was drying the air. She fluffed the sheets on the wet side of the bed and they soon dried as well. Her clothes dried and she returned to her book as Freddy slept.

As the shadows from the trees hit the edge of the cabin, she got hungry. She pulled on some shorts and ran out to the Whippy Dip for a couple of hot dogs, some fries, and cheese burgers. She stopped at the bait shop for a couple of bags of chips and a case of diet colas. She talked to no one but the clerks, just enough to do her business without drawing any attention to herself. As she had hoped, she met no one that she knew and she quickly returned to the boathouse.

Fred was up sitting on the comfy overstuffed couch when she returned. She put the bags on the coffee table in front of him, "Sorry, Freddy... I had hoped to get back before you woke up."

He sat there staring bleakly at her out of the gloomy corner of the boat house, "Peg... I am so sorry for all of this..."

She sat by him on the couch. She felt his forehead, happy that his fever had broken. "If you wish to prove that to me, Big City... Never... I mean NEVER put either of us through this again..."

"Okay... I don't think I would live through another bout of DT's..."

"No... You won't because I will kill you if you fall off this wagon I just put you on..."

"Roger that, Darling..."

"Right... Are you hungry, sweetie?"

"As usual, you are my angel of mercy..."

She kissed him and opened one of the hamburgers for him. She got one of Teeny's big bowls out and poured chips in. From this day on, she would only be able to think of this as Teeny's place. It made her sad a little, but, she was glad her and her brother had found a way, even such a sneaky way, to enjoy a real love.

"Someday, we are going to have to think of a way to repay Teeny for making such a grand hideout for herself and Jimmy that we needed to use."

Fred finished his bite and spoke, "You think Teeny did all this?"

She went to the fridge and put in the pops. She pulled out one for herself. She put it on the table, "My stupid assed irresponsible brother would never have fixed this place up like this..."

"Ya think?"

She sat and opened one of the hotdogs. As she put mustard from the little packet on her dog, she continued in a disgusted tone, "Hell... Teeny probably did all this around him and he barely noticed... He probably paid without even keeping track..."

"Yep... We certainly owe her a lot..."

"You want your shot of whiskey, now?"

"No ma'am... this food is settling nicely. Can I have some of your drinky?"

Without a word, she went back to the fridge and pulled another pop loose from the carton, "Go for it..."

In the gathering darkness, she turned on the lamp by the couch. It burned a dim blue. It was just enough light to see your way around the room, but, not to be seen by a passing boat of night fishermen. Fred muttered, more to himself than to Peg, "Jimmy was a smart... smart like a fox... He built a small town criminal enterprise under all of our noses."

Taking Jimmy's hint about maintaining secrecy, he got up and moved slowly but with resolve, like an old man determined not to be give in to the aches and pains of aging. He slowly went to the windows on the lake side. He pulled the rope at the side of the chocolate covered heavy drapes to close them in against prying eyes. "Well... His good planning is providing good cover for us now."

Assuming that they were safer now, he went to the TV and turned it on. He sat closer to Peg and held her hand as they watched a cooking show. After that, Peg flipped through the channels until she found some crap show about how to build a deck. He didn't care. He would have been content to watch a show about a poop throwing contest if he could just hold her hand, sip a soda, and bask in her love.

Her cell phone rang. She looked at it. "It's my mom."

Fred nodded. "We're dressed... Answer it."

"Oh, you!" She smacked his arm as she activated her phone to speaker mode, "Hey, Mama..."

"You alright?"

"Sure... Why?"

"Well... ummm... You're not home..."

"At roll call, the Sheriff gave us more stuff to do in Chicago... We headed right out..."

"I see..."

"Mother... What do you see?"

"Oh... Maybe that's why the network hasn't buzzed about you since you left Teeny's this morning..."

"Mother... I'm forty two years old... I run a successful business... I have offered my computer expertise to the Sheriff's department..."

Her dad's voice cut in, "See... I told you it was nothing... You old busybody..."

"Daddy? Are you on the extension?"

"Maybe... It's my phone, too... Besides... I'm on your side..."

Agnes jumped in, "Sides? There aint no sides... I was worried... That's all..."

Peg laughed, "Well... Feel better now?"

"Hang the phone up, Agnes... Peg, you be careful up there with them FBI fellows... See you Saturday evening..."

"Thank you, Daddy... Good night, Mother..." She clicked off the line before her mother could jump in again.

"Smooth..."

"Well, Big City... I could have told them about us sleeping together in our skivvy's... Or... Maybe... the naked shower story?"

"Your Dad has a bum ticker..."

"And, he's a crack shot with his deer rifle."

"Yeah... and that..." They moved into each other's arms and held tight laughing.

Peg noticed Fred was shivering again. She put her hand to his face, "Freddy... You are burning up again..." She moved to the shot glass and handed it to him. "Drink this, baby... You're going down again..."

In a flash, he poured the brown liquid into his mouth and swallowed it with a shudder. She pulled his T shirt over his head and helped him out of his cargo shorts. With practiced ease, she threw back the cover and helped him lay out. She drew the sheet and the comforter over him. He reached for her. "Peg..." he said in a voice barely heard.

"I'm here, Freddy...Just hold on to me..." she whispered as she gently laid herself down next to him. She rocked him, crooning softly while the chills of his fever wracked him. After a bout of shaking so bad that his teeth chattered, he passed into sleep. She held him until she was sure he was asleep, then, she slid herself out of his fevered grasp. She found another pillow and a blanket. She made a bed for herself on the couch and soon was asleep.

Chapter 25; Thursday AM Chicago

She awoke to find him sitting on the edge of the bed watching her. He smiled bleakly, "Good morning, sunshine..."

She was glad the gray pallor from yesterday was gone. His cheeks weren't pink, but, he definitely looked better. She sat up and went to feel his cheeks and forehead, "Back among the living, I see..."

"Just barely..."

"What's that I smell?"

"Ummm... I hope that you mean that you smell coffee..."

"Well... Aint you the best patient ever..."

He smiled sweetly at her, "I gotta make up for yesterday somehow..."

She got up and padded into the kitchen. She saw in a passing mirror that her hair was a mass of billowing curls, "Oh, my God! You weren't ever supposed to see me like this!" She ran into the bathroom.

Fred laughed and groaned at the pain in his abdomen. Bent over a little, he proceeded on his mission to the kitchen. Compared to the air conditioned half of the cabin, the kitchen was already hot and stuffy from the morning heat. He poured two cups of the brew. He put his cup on the counter and took the other into the bathroom. He stuck the cup into the steaming shower stall. He stopped to admire her as she washed her hair, "Damn, you are beautiful..."

She shrieked and almost made him dump the coffee, "Freddy... You are never supposed to see my hair like that..."

"Like what, sugar...ready to fly or plastered against your wet head?"

"Very funny..." She took the coffee cup and drank deeply, "Ahhh... Nectar of the Gods... I forgive you..."

Fred pulled his briefs off. They fell onto the pile of clothes by the door. He pushed her back into the stall and got under the spray. Ignoring her cries, he began rubbing soap suds all over her body. As before, he marveled at the feel of her. It filled his body with a current. He pulled her close and kissed her until they were both breathless and sputtering in the flow.

Then, as suddenly, he fell back against the corner. She looked closely at him. He was crying. "What is this?"

"I don't 'know..."

"Here..." she held him as he cried.

After a while, he stopped. He put his face in the shower stream, then, he looked at her bleakly, "Peg... I'm a wreck..."

"You've had better days... But, Mister, you've had worse days, too..."

"Why would you pick a useless old shoe like me?"

She took his face in both of her hands, "Fredrick MacGarn... I don't ever want to hear you say that about yourself again... Yeah... Right now... You're a mess... I am counting on you to get yourself out..."

"Not without you, Peg..."

"Nope..." She pulled him against her, "Not without me... Never again..."

His tears stopped as he kissed her deeply. They moved together in the water like a two headed snake. As their passions heated up, the water turned cold. Laughing they turned the water off and playfully dried each other's back.

He kissed her sweetly and let her go, "I tell you what..." he said.

She smiled at him as she began to whip her comb through her long dark hair, "What, Big City?"

"First thing... I'm getting you a bigger hot water heater..." She whoofed out a bark of laughter. He continued, "Talk about a mood killer... Yeesh..." he shivered.

Peg said through her laughter, "Amen to that, brother..."

Peg padded out to the kitchen to get his cup. He marveled at her beauty as she bent quickly to grab a small case out of her travel bag. She drank from his cup as she was bringing it to him, "Hey... You drank my coffee..."

"Shipping charges..." She laughed and shut herself back into the bathroom. "Damn," she said through the door.

He stopped dressing, "What now?"

"There's no lock on this damn door..."

"Aint no stinking bathroom door lock going to keep me away from you, little girl..."

"A girl needs her privacy!"

"Not from me, you don't... Hurry up, now!"

"What's your rush, Big City?"

"Oh... I don't know...We have an eight hour drive and we aint et yet... Right?"

She burst from the bathroom. Her wet hair was braided now, and her makeup was done, but, she was still apparently inconsiderate of the fact that she was naked. He sat on the old wooden chair by the bed, sipping his coffee, smiling and watching as she pulled items out of her travel bag. She bent and quickly covered her lower girlie parts with a scrap of flaming red silk. She did whatever magic trick girls do to get a matching red bra on by themselves. In a flash of flowery orange and red cotton, a sundress dropped over her head and she was decent. In fact, she was beautiful. "There... See? No rush..."

"I wasn't worried... Just mystified and fascinated... You are a one girl circus... Very entertaining..."

"You mean when I do this?" She said in a breathy voice moved in just close enough to take his breath away.

"Ummm...yeah..."

She put both hands on the arms of the chair and whispered in his ear using that same soft, husky voice, "I have only one question, Big City..."

He ducked under one arm and crossed over to zip his bag. Mostly, he was trying to catch his breath, "Ask away Darlin,"

She came up behind him and put her arms tightly around his chest, "What about my breakfast?" she continued softly.

He let his breath out, realizing that he had been holding it, "Ummm... I think that we gotta stay hidden from the network..."

She laughed, "Right... and?"

"So... While you were locked in your chambers... I checked the map... It looks like it's about an hour to the first truck stop on I-57..." To keep himself from jumping her on that rumpled bed, he extricated himself from her bear hug and went around the room, putting their dirty clothes into a grocery bag. He tried to cover his actual intentions with small talk, "Shall we take these?"

She nodded noncommittally, "What ever..."

"I figure that we could do some laundry up in Chicago, or, just buy some more."

She got her bags together, "That'll do..." she said in a normal tone of voice.

"Okay... Let's git er done..." Hand in hand, they walked out to the old garage, got in the car and headed out.

As promised, Fred got them to the truck stop on I-57 in under an hour. They ate quickly and got back on the road. Changing drivers every few hours, they made good time until the roads began to fill on the south west edge of the metropolis. Fred joined six lane mush of cars on the Dan Ryan. To Peg, it seemed that millions of cars were all going down this huge highway at dangerously fast speeds, all packed in, bumper to bumper. Freddy paid no attention. To him, this was a normal driving day in Chicago.

Peg was beside herself. She clutched his arm, "Freddy, for God's sake... Slow down!"

"We can't, sugar... They'll kill us..."

"Okay..." She visibly shrank into the corner of the front seat of the car as they barreled toward the rapidly growing tall buildings in the front window of the car.

She relaxed when he pulled off the slab. Using city streets, Fred drove them immediately to the apartment to check on the progress of the cleaners. Alice was just finishing the living room. Her son, Daniel was moving in and out of the back door, hauling black plastic bags down to the dumpster in the alley. "Morning, Alice..."

"Morning, Sergeant... What a dump..."

"Aren't they all?" He had no intention of telling her it was his place. He took several of the plastic bags and, starting at the office door, began throwing papers in. Peg watched him, "Aren't you even going to look at them?"

He spoke levelly, "No...All my bills are autopaid... I am going to sell this place even if I come back to CPD..."

"Oh," she said in a small voice, "You might come back?"

He moved to hold her, "No..."

Her face brightened, No?"

"No... Worse case scenario... I have twenty one months until I get my pension..."

"That's two years..."

"Not quite..."

"Two years..."she mumbled to herself.

"Margaret Eloise Simpson... If you'll let me get a word in edgewise..."

"What?" She looked at him with bleary eyes, filled with loss.

"Please...darling... Please listen! If you'll have me... and if Greg will have me... I'd like to make that move sooner..."

"Oh, Freddy... You big dope... Haven't I made my preferences clear..."

"And... Little Jimmy?"

She made a face, "That's a whole nother deal..."

"Exactly..."

"Look... I really have no idea... Let's just go easy on him until he gets used to you..."

"Okay... I have a gigantic favor to ask..."

She moved to his side. He looked so bereft just looking down the hallway towards their bedroom. She put her palm on his cheek, "Sure, baby..."

"Will you get Jen's stuff boxed up... Alice will have the boxes... Let's take it all home and put it in the church bazaar... She had nice clothes... Our mother's Missions Committee may as well benefit..."

"I can do that..."

"I'll do my clothes when I'm done with this..." She kissed him lightly and went to find Alice. She found her in the Master bedroom, just looking at the mess.

Alice shook her head, "Looks like he aint been in here since they took her out."

Peg nodded as she pulled on heavy rubber cleaning gloves, "He told me that he had been sleeping in the other room for years."

"Yeah... I been in there, too... It ain't much better..."

Peg made a face, "Well... I'm going to take care of him now..."

Alice stuck her gloved hand, Alice Petrovich... I run this outfit..."

"Peg Thompson... I'm the little sister of Freddy's oldest friend..."

Alice started talking as they assembled a couple of shipping boxes. Then, as "My husband Bobby, Danny's dad... Him and Freddy were blue shirts at the two seven back in the day... My Bobby got shot and couldn't run anymore... He ended up with a half a pension and a bad limp... This was his idea..."

"Really?"

"Yeah... There was always crime scenes to clean up or apartments to refurb... CPD has kept us busy over the last fifteen years or so... Then, y know, word gets around and we made a decent living..."

Peg spoke, listening to Alice's chatter, as she worked her way through Jen's drawers. "That's good... make lemonade and all those platitudes..."

Alice laughed a hearty laugh, "That's just what my Bobby said..." she continued, "At first, Bobby hired old cops to do the rehabbing and I did some of the cleaning, but, the cleaning part really took off and it got to be too much for me and my sister to do...so, Merry Maids was born... Now, we have maybe a hundred or more girls, women, really... who clean for us part time... Bobby is a whiz at organizing all the clients and the cleaners... Danny... my boy, there... he's whiz at computers... Between the two of them, we're about to have the best year ever..."

"Computers are great..."

"Wait!"

"What?"

"Hmmmm... Computers... Peg?"

"Yeah?"

"I feel like I know you... Are you, or are you not, the famous girl detective from all those fascinating stories Fred used to tell us at parties when we were young..."

"Ummm..."

"Well... Are ya?"

Peg blushed bright red. Her heart was in flight. Fred hadn't forgotten her all those years ago. Here was yet another person who had listened to her Freddy brag about their adventures. She gave out a small laugh, "Guilty as charged, your Honor..."

Alice grabbed her hand and pumped it, "Hell... Freddy was always such a bull shitter... I thought he made you up..."

"He can tell a fine yarn..."

"He never said you were beautiful, though..."

Peg covered her face with her hands, "Alice... You are looking at the original ugly duckling..."

"Well... You are definitely a swan, now..."

Fred was half listening to the women talk as he worked in the office. He would have been glad had he known what they were talking about. As it was, he was astounded at how little actually valuable paperwork was left among the piles that had accumulated in the tiny little office. During the last several years when Jen was still alive, he had spent as much time there as possible. That time increased in her last days so that he would be able to help care for her.

Sorting like a madman, he put the few papers that he wished to keep in a box. In a little over an hour, he was done with that room. He sealer the box with tape and put Peg's address on it. The bags for the shredder were marked with tape. The unmarked bags were just trash.

He went looking for Danny. He found him having a pop in the old kitchen. He marveled at how clean it looked compared to how he had last left it. He took Danny's proffered hand, "Hey, Danny... How're you doing, sonny boy?"

"I'm okay, Fred... How're you?"

"I think I'm just starting out of my tailspin...How's your Daddy?"

"Mean as ever... Bitches about his hip... Fighting the replacement surgery..."

"Heh heh heh... If he got that fixed, what would he have to bitch about?"

"Oh... He'd find something..." agreed the younger man.

"Can I show you some stuff in the office?"

"Sure... I have some stuff to show you as well..."

They went back into the office. Fred pointed at the bags with tape. Danny nodded and picked up two of them, "Shredder... As always?"

"Yes, please..." He watched as Danny moved the marked bags to a pile by the front door. Fred noticed that those bags had tape on them as well. He made a questioning face at Danny.

"Ummm... we found old bills and such from kitchen drawers and other drawers..."

"Okay... Good job, son..."

"Thanks, Freddy... I see that you have a mailer box also."

"Peg and your mama are going to have some out of the bedrooms, too..."

"Okay..."

"Did you or your folks want the office furniture?"

"Yeah... I'll take the stuff... It's way nicer than the crap in my office now..."

"You are welcome to it..."

"It'll be gone tomorrow... Al Duggin... You remember him?"

"Him and his boys bought a two ton truck... He does our lifting, now..."

"Is he still on the job?"

"No... He retired last year..."

"Good for him..."

"The Super showed us where the bed is that we are moving up here tomorrow..."

Alice and Peg walked up pulling off their gloves. Fred continued, looking at Alice, "We need two cribs... You got any? We need them two months tops..."

Alice looked at Danny. He nodded, "Yeah... My sisters use our storage as their personal lofts. I'll bet that we have five cribs up there... We'll have two of them set up tomorrow as well..."

"Okay... Good... It looks like we're pretty much done here... What's the damage, Alice..."

"Oh, come on, Freddy... we're practically family here..."

"Okay..." He quickly wrote out a thousand dollar check and gave it to Alice.

"Freddy!!! This is too much..."

"Stop it, Alice... You did a spectacular rush job for me... I've seen your bills to CPD... This was worse than a lot of other jobs... I have tons of money left from Jen's insurance... Consider it all the whiskey I won't be drinking since Peg saved me..."

"Again..." she said, a little embarrassed.

"Again..." he agreed and gave her a tiny kiss.

"Okay... but only cuz Bobby's gotta get a new hip..."

Peg said, "You be sure and keep us posted on that... We'll come and sit with you..."

Alice hugged her like they were old friends, "Why'd you ever let this one get away, Sergeant?"

Fred laughed, "Uhhh... to be fair... When we were young, she threw me over for a Notre Dame lawyer, as I recollect it..."

"After he threw me over for a Loyola school teacher..." Everyone was laughing now.

He put his arms around Peg, "Water under the bridge, people... I've got her now...And I'm keeping her!"

Alice moved to touch Fred's shoulder. She rubbed his upper arm, "It's so good to see you laughing again, Freddy..."

He grabbed her hand and held it tightly, "I know, sweetie... It has been so long since I have felt like I was even alive... That girl over there... She brought me back..."

Peg returned the hug, "I'm keeping you, too, Big City..." and they all laughed some more.

It was getting dark by the time they got the bags with his clothes in them in the trunk of the car. They moved their bags to the back seat. Fred helped her settle in her seat and kissed her, "Thanks... really..."

She took his face in her hands and stared into his eyes, "Big City... You never have to be alone again... All the steps you have taken since we were children together had to be made to bring you home to me... From now on, I will be glad to walk all the rest of the steps with you..."

"Still..."

"Do you love me, Big City?"

"More and more every day."

"Then... feed me!"

He saluted, "By your command, Majesty... What do you want?"

"Pizza... just like we used to..."

He jumped at the chance to make her head spin as he negotiated Chicago streets the way she wove her way between the low country back roads. He quickly made his way through the various tiny streets to the original Uno's on the Near North side. They went to sit in the bar while they waited for seats. When his name was called, they took a wide loop through the place until they were standing in the big room in the back where their families used to eat. He stopped and raised his glass, "To family memories and people we have loved..."

"...and lost," she finished, "Skoal..." They drank some of their iced tea and went to find their waitress. She was standing with a puzzled look on her face.

Fred shrugged, "Our families used to gather in that room to eat and hang out back in the day..."

The girl shrugged, "More drinks?"

Peg said, "We'll need refills with our pizza..."

"Which one?"

"You still have the Big Poppa?"

"The All Meat or the Veggie version?"

Fred looked at Peg, "Meat?"

"Meat!"

The waitress marked her pad and moved off to put their order in. Fred took Peg's hand across the table. He marveled at the sense of comfort that poured into him by the simple act of touching this woman. They said nothing for a long moment, just holding each other in their eyes. It must have been longer than he thought because, suddenly, the waitress appeared out of the darkness of the intimate room into the circle of light from the overhead lamp. She plopped a giant pizza on the raised stand. They both jumped, laughing in embarrassment at the intrusion.

The waitress ignored them, scooping large pieces onto plates and sticking one in front of each of them, "Enjoy..." she said and disappeared back into the gloom.

"Yummy..." Peg dove into her piece with knife and fork. She ate like a newly freed prisoner. Fred found that he was starving as well. They had stopped for lunch at a truck stop just outside the edge of the city, but, they had not eaten since then.

"I'm going to try to take better care of you, sweet heart..."

"What are you talking about, silly..."

"The way you are packing the pizza away, it looks like I'm starving you to death..."

"I am a full grown woman... If I need food... I'll tell you... I don't need tending like a rose bush..."

"Okay... I thought I was in trouble..."

She smiled at him, "I will promise to tell you when you're in trouble, as well, Big City... We had a big job to do today... We stayed at it and we got it done... Now, after completing three day's work in a single day, we can relax and enjoy the moment... and a world class pizza..."

"Okay... I just want to make sure that you know how much you mean to me..."

"One day at a time, Big City... one day at a time..." Laughing, she ate the last piece of pizza.

"I swear, I just don't know where you put it all..."They paid and went out.

"Fast metabolism..." she replied, "I got it from my Mom... Didn't you ever watch her eat?"

"No...Why?"

"Makes me look like an anorexic..."

Fred helped her into the car and into her seat again. He kissed her gently as he clicked her seat belt, then, he went around and got into his own seat. As he was pulling the seat belt over himself and snapping it in place, she grabbed his arm, "I know you have plenty of money, Fred..."

"Yeah?"

"I just don't want you to blow any of it on getting my own room at that fancy hotel you booked us into..."

"What?"

"Look... despite the fact that we may or may not be ready to consummate this love affair..."

"What?... Wait?"

"Don't get jumpy on me... Let me say this... After what we have been through in the last two days, sex is truly the last thing on my mind... But... and this town is waaay too scary for me to sleep alone in... Please let me sleep with you..."

"But, Peg?"

"I know how emotional a day like this has been for you... Jen may haunt you again as bad as ever for a few more days..."

Fred kissed her as much to shut her up as for the pure pleasure of it. "Peg... Shut up and listen... I never mean to spend a night away from you ever again... Besides, why the hell would I deprive myself the pleasure and comfort of your company for one second of whatever amount of life God gives me..."

"Oh, Freddy... You say the sweetest things... You take my breath away..."

"Maybe I'm being selfish... Maybe I'm a total chicken shit... I do fear the demons that may be coming to torment me tonight..."

"I'll fight them for you, my darling..."

"I'm just going to ask one thing..."

"Anything..."

"Keep some clothes on this time... You are killing me with your beauty..."

"No promises... I am a nudist at heart..." Fred blew out a long shuddering sigh.

"Okay... I'll try..."

Fred laughed and started the car. Following well known streets, he took them to the garage underneath the hotel. They gave their bags to the bellman and went to check in. "Hi, Penny... Reservation for MacGarn?"

With a couple of taps on her keyboard, the pretty girl at the desk confirmed, "Yes, Sergeant... We have you all ready to go..." Without another word, Fred filled out the paperwork. They followed the bellman to their room. She leaned against him in the elevator. The heat of her was intense, burning right through all of their clothes. Instead of worrying about them spontaneously combusting, Fred just smiled and enjoyed the ride. The bellman let them into their room. He put their bags on the luggage rack and turned. Fred slipped him a fiver and the man left.

Peg went into the bathroom. "Freddy... Look!"

Fred followed her into the large tiled room. Although he knew, he asked, "What?"

She was already running hot water into the giant Jacuzzi tub, "You are the best Sergeant in the history of Pope County Sheriff's Department...

"I... am the only Sergeant in the history of Pope County SD..." he laughed.

"Still... I declare that you are the very best, Big City..." She was already down to her undies.

"Only the best for you, baby girl..."

She turned to kiss him, "Is this the honeymoon suite?"

"No, sugar... It's the Starlet Suite... Visiting actresses always want this room... God knows what you would have done if I rented you a heart shaped tub... Plus... This tub is bigger."

"How do you know that?"

"I've been here lots of times on cases... I thought this room suited you... When I knew you were coming with me, I just called Penny..."

"Penny?"

"That girl at the desk... and she told me this room was available..."

"Well... Should I be jealous of Penny?" she asked sweetly as she dropped to her neck in the bubbling water.

He began to undress, "Sweetie... Penny is happily married... and, I have shoes older than her..."

"Good... I didn't feel like kicking her ass after all that pizza you fed me..." She laughed as she ducked her head below the water into the bubbles.

"She was helpful to CPD on several cases that occurred in this hotel...That's all..."

He got into the water. She settled between his legs and lay back against his chest. He rubbed her shoulders a while.

"Oh, my God... I'll give you exactly twenty years to quit that... It's heavenly..."

He started undoing the braids in her hair. She started to protest, then, she sat quietly. When her hair was loose, his fingers began rubbing her skull. "Oh, my God in heaven..." She was overcome with the feelings pouring out of his hands that sent shivers all down her body. "Freddy... unless you are going to be ready for me to jump you right here... You better quit..."

So... he quit. Then... she was sorry that she had complained, "No... wait! I changed my mind... Don't quit..."

"Nah... I'm out of the mood now." He opened the tiny shampoo bottle and poured it onto her head. He lathered her well and soon was driving her crazy again soaping her head.

She writhed and moaned until he pushed her down into the water to rinse her off. She rose up out of the water, sputtering and coughing, "Cheater... Not fair..."

"My turn... Switch..."

He moved into position between her legs and she began lathering his head. It did feel good, so, he just enjoyed it until she surprised him with an equally quick push on top of his head. Anticipating her move, he held his breath. He floated away from her and bit her on the leg.

She shrieked and he came up laughing, "See... You cheat..."

"I'm just a good Boy Scout... Always prepared... You ready for the shower?"

"Nope...I'm gonna lie here for a while longer..."

"Okay..." He sat back down. He grabbed the remote and triggered the TV. He found the end of a Cubs game and they cuddled in the cooling water and watched in contentment. When the Cubs rallied in the ninth for a comeback win, they cheered and kissed. When the game was over, He triggered the drain. They stood up and pulled the curtain around. He changed the water flow into a shower and they washed each other, enjoying the beauty of simple touch. He held her close, "I declare that you, Margaret Simpson, have brought me back to life..."

"And I declare that you, Fredrick MacGarn, were totally worth the effort..."

They got out and dried themselves, suddenly shy. She went to her bag and took a cotton gown out of it. She threw the thin, pretty garment over her head and, taking the book that she had brought from the boathouse, set herself up on a pile of pillows on the bed. He pulled on a clean pair of briefs and joined her. He watched the news while she read.

When the news was over, he looked at her, "Ready to sleep?"

"One more kiss..."

"Always with the kissing..."

She snuggled against him. That gown was little enough cover but the legal limits were maintained. She pulled back and looked at him, "Complaints?"

"Oh, no... just a feeble attempt at a joke..."

"Well, all right, then..." she pulled him into a deep, sweet kiss. He held her and enjoyed the sweep of emotions that played back and forth through them. Breathless, they broke the kiss. She laid her head on his shoulder and was asleep in an instant. He laughed softly to himself as he lay there listening to her breathing. Before he knew it, Fred was asleep as well.

Chapter 26; Friday AM; Way Too Exciting Breakfast

When she awoke, she found that she had turned over during the night. Fred had settled himself spooned up against her. She felt something kinda funny poking against her back. Fred awoke then, too. Embarrassed, he backed away from her. She turned to grab him as he tried to leave the bed. "No, you don't..."

"Awwww... come on, Peg..."

She pulled him against her. She was a tiny bit disappointed that his morning visitor was leaving. "Or... are you just glad to see me?"

In a flash, he pulled himself from her grasp and held a pillow in front of himself, "See... I was thinking about what you must be thinking..."

She shook her curls, "What?"

"Look... I love you... no, really... I'm just not ready..."

"Well, pardon me, Sergeant, but, it looked to me like you WERE ready."

"Ummm... uhhhh... Parts of me may seem ready... But parts of me are not..."

She let one tear drop down her cheek. Fred leaped back onto the bed and gathered her up in his arms. "Come on, Peg...I'm sorry..."

"I'm sorry, too... I've just waited so long..."

"Right... You've been waiting years for me... But, me... I've just met you... THIS you, that is... I am slowly integrating my love for the old you into this new you... AND, the love I had for the old you was a brotherly love... That's a HUGE hurdle to get over..."

She spoke through the hands that were covering her face, "What an interesting word hurdle is..."

"Look... I am getting over it... Don't give up on me..."

They kissed and she relaxed in his arms. Then, she lay back, stretched her arms up and put her hands under her head, "Okay... I know how you can make this up to me..."

"Anything..."

"Anything?"

"Well, anything but that!"

She blew out a huge sigh that showed her breasts off through the thin nighty to their best advantage, "Well... if we have time..."

"It's not even seven yet... We have three hours until the meeting..."

"Ooooh... Yes... We have plenty of time... I want strawberry waffles, extra whipped cream... two egg whites scrambled with spinach and mushrooms... A gallon of coffee..."

"What? No fatted calf... no slaughtered whole pig roasted in the ground by peasants in colorful garb?"

"Not today... but you did cut me off before I could order a side of bacon, extra crisp..."

"How rude of me..."

"Exactly... Go on!" She wiggled her fingers at him, "Make the call!"

Shaking his head and laughing, he ordered two of everything that she had ordered. She padded into the bathroom, "Good job, Sergeant... How long do we have for a shower?"

"Twenty or thirty minutes..."

"Okay..."She went further, "Now, don't panic... I'm gonna shut this door just for a second... When you hear the water running, you will know that it is time for my royal shower..."

"And, mine?"

"Hold on..."

"Hold on?"

"Yes... I have decided that you, my darling Under Sheriff, are the best shampoo technician I have ever seen... So... In repayment for my hurt feelings, her ladyship will require your shampooing services..."

"I can do that..."

"AND, if you're really good, I may return the favor..."

"Oh, thankee marm... will there be anything else marm?" He bowed.

"No... that will do..."

"Just as long as her Majesty ignores all sounds that I might make before entering her shower as she may not approve of my showering behaviors if I wait..."

"Will there be smells?"

"I don't think so, marm..."

"Well...sounds I can live with... Smells are off my list..."

"I'll keep that in mind, marm..." As promised, she left him there. He went to the outside door and, ignoring the fact that he was only clad in his skivvies, grabbed the newspaper out of the empty hallway. He flipped through it and missed the water turning on.

"Oh, Fredrick... My water is running... Where are you?"

He carried the front page section of the Tribune into the bathroom, "Holy crap, Peg! Listen to this from the morning Trib!"

"What about my shower?" She stuck her wet head out of the shower.

He sat on the toilet and read to her. "Sorry... Game over... Our gig is blown..."

"What are you talking about?"

"Just listen to this article... Last night, the DEA, operating on info from a recently turned source, has raided sixteen mortuaries from here to Memphis. It says that they have rounded up more than two hundred suspects in one of the most wide spread and daring nighttime roundups in history."

"Holy Crap!"

"I couldn't have put it better myself..."

"Is there more?"

"Yep... It says that they and the St. Louis PD also raided a warehouse complex in St. Louis reputed to be the headquarters of a motor cycle gang rumored to be called the Rangers with national ties to clubs from Chicago to New Orleans. They found guns, marked bills of cash, diamonds, heroine, and cocaine..."

"The Feds didn't waste any time with the data from our little shakedown of Digger..."

"This is going to ruin our meeting this morning..."

"Really... Why?"

"The Fibbies HATE it when one agency..., supposedly on a taskforce... that was designed to share credit... jumps the gun and grabs all the glory..."

"Oh..."

"Yeah... This investigation had been going on through a myriad of agencies for more than a year... and here, the DEA jumps in at the last minute and takes the perps down... As if they had done the work... Glory hogs!"

"Hmmm... What do we do?" she asked just as the doorbell rang it's two note call.

He grabbed his slacks and slipped them on. He had his gun in his hand. He looked at it a second and laid it on the little sink. "I say... this prisoner demands a last meal." He shut the door on her laughter. She got out and dried herself.

Fred peeked out the peep hole. "Room service..." said a guy in a white coat.

Fred opened the door to the server. The man pushed his cart into the room. Out of the corner of his eye, Fred noticed that the man was sweating profusely. He turned to look at the man more closely just the man drew a silenced Rueger 9mm out of his belt. "You MacGarn?"

"Yes..." he put his hands up as a reflex.

The man was very nervous. In point of fact, the gun was very shakey. "You alone?"

"Yes," he lied.

"Where's our fucking diamonds?"

"Diamonds?" His mind was racing. Mostly, he was wondering how he was going to save Peg. "What diamonds?"

"We chased your fucking friend, Jimmy, all the way to Africa..."

At a loss, Fred tried to keep him talking, "Africa?"

"Yah...He decided to go after one of our shipments of diamonds..."

"Damn..."

"So, anyway... Our contact in Johannesburg said he saw Jimmy mail a small box..."

"So?"

"So...They tried to capture him, but, he's quite a tough guy...They got into it and our guys ended up shooting Jimmy. He killed two of our guys, but, the one that got away told us that he knew they hit Jimmy. He was pretty sure that it was a mortal wound, but the bastard slipped away from our guys. They never found him."

"Yeah... Well... They killed him all right... We buried him last week..."

"Yeah... We know... We had people there."

"You killed my brother!"

Both men turned toward Peg. Probably without knowing it, she had come up with the perfect distraction. She was pointing Fred's gun at the assailant. If that wasn't bad enough, she was completely, beautifully naked. The gunman wasted a full breath before bringing his gun to bear. As if she were a Police Academy graduate on a shooting range, she shot the intruder in the knee.

He screamed and reached for his leg. Fred jumped forward and knocked the gun from his grasp as it fired harmlessly into the wall next to Peg. Fred kicked the gun away and stood on the man's neck while he screamed. Once he was sure that the perp wasn't going anywhere, he pointed to his jacket, "Zip tie! Side pocket!" Peg ran to his jacket and grabbed a zip tie. Fred took it and bound his prisoner's hands with the practiced moves of an old pro.

Suddenly, realizing what she had done, Peg froze. Then, she dropped to her knees and the gun fell from her frozen fingers. "I shot him..."

With a deep sigh, He picked her up and carried her to the bed, "Baby... Please... You have to help me..."

She looked at him and attached herself at him, "Oh, Freddy... Please hold me..."

He looked into her face, "Peg!... Peg!"

She shook her head and came to a bit, "Wh...What?"

"You have to put some clothes on... This place will be crawling with our Brothers in Blue in seconds..."

He flipped open his phone and dialed the number for the FBI agent. As it was ringing, he turned to Peg. He handed her the room phone, "Call the desk... Get the house dick to come up here... Tell the clerk as little as you can..."

When his call was answered downtown, he said, "Special Agent... This Fred MacGarn... I am standing on the neck of a Ranger who tried to kill us a moment ago... Something about some diamonds that he thinks we have... I figured you'd like first crack at him before the DEA jumps in here and hogs more credit... Right... See ya in a few..."

The house detective came in the open door, "Hey... Macgarn, isn't it?"

"Gilhooly... Right?"

"Right... wadda you got?"

"Gang banger tried to pop me, but, we got him first..."

He pointed down at the guy who was trying to scream when Freddy left him any wind at all. "How bad is he?" he said.

"Officer Thompson nicked him in the leg... Then, I took his ass out..." Fred ripped the greasy jeans away from the oozing bullet wound, "Shaddap, you... It's just a scratch, ya pussie... It's already quit bleeding, mostly..." Gilhooly nodded.

"Where is Officer Thompson?"

"Probably getting her makeup right for the 6 o'clock news..." They laughed just as Peg came out with her hair braided and her makeup perfect. She was very pale but seemed to be functional. Then, the two men cracked up totally.

"What? Are you guys laughing at me?" The men laughed more.

"No, Sweetie... Gilhooley here just cracked a joke about the FBI.

She looked at them suspiciously, "Right..." She handed Fred his shirt. He buttoned it while he was distracted by a new commotion out in the hall. It appeared that both the Police and the FBI had arrived at the same moment. They were currently struggling to both get past each other, and to get through the mob of onlookers drawn by the shots and the noise.

As the two old friends hauled the perp into a sitting position against the wall, a tall distinguished looking Hispanic woman pushed her way in, flashed her ID, and said, "Special Agent Felicia Torrenz... Which of you is MacGarn?"

"That would be me..."

She pointed at the House Dick, "Who're you?"

"I'm head of security here at this hotel... Al Gilhooley..."

She turned to Peg, "Officer Thompson?"

"That's me..."

"Who shot him?"

"Me again..."

"Good to have real time target practice, no?"

Peg turned a tiny shade of green, but, she tried to play it off.

"She shot him with my weapon, ma'am..."

"Any port in a storm, eh, Sergeant?"

"Yes, m..."

The Beat Sergeant had finally managed to work his way into the room. His name badge said Blue. He turned to a uniform behind him, "Clear this hallway!"

"Yes, Sir." The cop closed the door as he was leaving.

Torrenz focused on the new arrival. "We are taking over here, Blue."

"Since when are you Fibbies interested in a room invasion?"

"You read the papers, Blue?"

"Yes,m..."

"As I read the colors on his smelly jacket..."

"Hey?" said the perp.

She ignored their prisoner, "... this fellow here appears to be affiliated with the West Side Rangers from St. Louis... Aint Ya?"

"I aint got nothin' ta say to you, puta..."

She turned on her heel. The pointy toe of her shiny stiletto shoe dug into the wound on the side of his leg. The man howled. "Oh, shit... now, I've got some crud on my brand new Lamberto's... I hate that..." She wiped her shoe on the other pant leg of the man. "Where are you taking him?"

"Fullerton lock up, Ma'am... They can patch him up... Fullerton and Bean... He'll take an hour tops for full processing..."

Torrenz turned to Fred. "Let's meet there in ninety minutes. Our original meet is blown now, anyways, by them cement heads in DEA..."

He looked at Peg and back to the FBI agent, "That works for us..."

She left. The Beat Sergeant said, "She ain't much for small talk, is she?"

The rest of them laughed. Fred added, "Just met her... We were supposed to be on that task force that just jumped the Rangers all over the country last night... On my tip, too..."

"Federal Glory Hounds... all of 'em..."

Fred said to the house dick, "Al... can you get us an ambulance for this sorry assed pedazo... The CPD doesn't want him bleeding on their car, do ya, Blue?"

"No, Sergeant... Thank you... I'll stay with him to ensure that he arrives at the Fullerton cop house on time..."

"Blue... You and Gilhooley here need to answer me something... Okay? Have we searched for the missing room service guy, yet?"

"Shit, no... We'll get right on that..."

"Take Officer Thompson with you..."

"Sure..." When they had dragged Peg out into the hall and closed the door. Fred took a cloth napkin from the pile of fallen clutter and broken dishes that had been their breakfast trays. He returned to the Ranger, "How did you find me?"

"What?"

Fred grabbed the man's ears and pulled them outwards as Fred stepped on the prisoner's wounded thigh, causing a new surge of blood to redden his toes. When the man opened his mouth to scream, Fred let go of his ears and stuffed the napkin in so far that he gagged. Fred kept asking him the same question over and over while he alternated twisting ears and standing on the wound until the man's eyes poured tears out. Then, he pulled the gag out, "I asked you... How'd you find us?"

The man whimpered, "I got rights... You can't do this..."

Fred slapped him. Placing his foot lightly on his leg wound, he said, "I asked you a question, dirt bag..." He gradually applied pressure to the wounded leg.

"Okay... okay... Please... Don't hurt me again... I'll tell ya..."

"Talk, tough guy!"

"Dragon's got a guy..."

"Guy...What guy!" He grabbed one ear and twisted.

The Ranger started crying again, "He's got his claws into a Deputy Sheriff... The poor bastard's into us deep for gambling... We had him put a GPS on your car. I've been tracking ya since your second gas stop..."

"What about this piss poor attempt at a hit?"

"I figgered that after one night in the Boom Boom suite with your hottie, you'd need breakfast... I waited... slugged the guy and came up in his place..."

"How'd that work for you?"

"Who knew the bitch could shoot..."

"She's a cop..."

"She's a genie co lolgist or somethin'... A computer geek..."

"She shot you..."

Just then, the paramedics showed up. The Beat Sergeant came with them, "We found the guy... He's got a lump on his noggin, but, he'll be okay... Al's taking care of him."

Peg took in the scene. When she saw the amount of fresh blood on the floor and on Freddy's foot, she went pale again. The crook sat up, yelling at the cop, "Hey... this guy just beat the crap outa me... I could sue..."

"Go ahead... It would be your word against his... crook against cop..."

"But, look at my leg!"

The Beat Sergeant stared at the leg for a moment. He said in a dead pan tone, "It had a hole in it when I left... It's got a hole in it now..."

"He like ta tore my ears off..."

"You were an ugly sumbitch when I left... You look no different to me now. Get him out of here..."

"See you in an hour, Blue..."

"Don't hurry, Freddy... State law says that we have to take this scum bag to Cook County Hospital's ER to Xray that leg and do a bunch of other crap... Sew him up and such..."

Peg said, "But you told Torrenz..."

He stopped just for a second as Al returned with a crew of housekeepers. They swarmed over the mess until it was completely cleaned as if nothing had happened. Gilhooley said, "We'll get this meal replaced... I'll guard it myself..." He disappeared.

The Beat Sergeant continued, "The Feds just love for us common street cops to clean up their messes so they'll look good on TV... Just so ya know... It'll be at least 1300 hours before the perp gets released from the ER... Torrenz is no dummy...She won't show before noon... She, of course, will be laboring under the delusion that we would have been waiting on her lovely ass... NOT!"

"Roger that!"

"See ya..." He hurried out to catch a ride on the ambulance.

Fred headed for the bathroom. Peg looked at him, "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to wash this scum bag's blood off my foot before I catch the creeping crud or something. In all the excitement, I never got that shower you promised me. These pants are ruined...The fucker got blood on my new shirt... You're going to have to take me shopping again..."

She tilted her head and said, "Okay...But, you have bags of clothes..."

"I used to weigh fifty pounds more... Give them to the church... I want to start over fresh..."

"Okay... Fresh it is!" She pulled the dress off over her head and laid it carefully over a chair. In two quick moves, her two remaining garments were added to the pile. She kicked off her shoes and jumped in with him.

"Well... hi, there..."

"Hi, yourself..." As promised, she poured shampoo in her hand and applied it to his head. He bent forward so she could give him a good scrub. She applied bar soap to a washcloth and began rubbing all over his arms and back. She looked down. The water swirling below them was red with blood.

"Am I going to have to get used to this, Freddy?"

"Used to what, Sweetie?"

"It's a real mood killer to find blood in my shower..."

"In a lifetime of police work, it has only happened to me a couple of times..."

Her voice was low with emotion, "I know that you hurt that man, Freddy..."

"You shot him..."

"I meant to kill him... I just suck at guns... I am a terrible disappointment to my father, the Bambi killer... But, when we were gone, you did something to him, didn't you?"

"Well... I had to... I needed information and we were running out of time... it was equally important that I be able to question him away from other ears..."

"Mine?"

"No... I got you out of there because I didn't want to hurt you..."

"Me?"

"Well...Me actually... I didn't want you to hate me for what I HAD to do..."

"I see..."

"Look... The FBI doesn't care about our mole... They want big splashy headlines... I had one shot to get real data that the FBI would never have let me ask him about..."

"I trust you more than any other person on this planet... Looking closely...I saw that you scared him more than you actually hurt him... me? I wanted to kill the bastard..."

"Now, You just listen to me, Margaret... You were only given one choice... Him or Us... Your quick thinking saved my life and, I might add, your own..."

"Just part of the service, Sire..." He took her in his arms and thanked her the best way he knew how. They held each other and healed one more step.

After a sweet kiss, he let her go. "Our breakfast should be here soon..." Reluctantly, they dried off and she redressed as she had been before.

He pulled a golf shirt and cargo shorts out of his bag, "I'm done dressing for success... I got blood all over my slacks and shirt, so I'm out of clothes... any way... we are heading home after the meeting..."

"Really?"

"Really... that gangster told me that he found us here because they have one of our deputies in their pocket. They got him to tag our car. Then, this bastard tracked us all the way here up I-57. He lost us in the city or he would have hit us at the apartment. By the time he found us again, we were here and asleep."

"God damn it... Okay... They want to play tricky... We do it tricky..."

"That's my girl... Mum's the word, sweetie... We say nothing to anyone up here about what the gang banger told us... I know Greg... he will want us to will solve this part of the crime in house, back home..."

"Roger that, Sergeant..." the bell chimed its two note song again.

Fred answered the door with his Glock 9mm pointed at the floor. He hid the pistol behind his leg, as the server pushed the cart past him into the room followed by the house dick. Al saw the gun and shrugged. "Once burned...Twice shy, Al..." Fred said softly, putting the gun in its holster.

"Yep..." replied Al.

"Dude... with our meeting blown, we are heading home today instead of tomorrow... The perp gave us some serious intel that we need to share with our team back home PDQ..."

Al sighed, watching his people set up there breakfast table, "I have talked to our managers. We are comping all of your expenses for this whole experience... We hope that you and Officer Thompson will think kindly on us for future bookings..."

"We will, Al... Don't worry... In a week or so, this will become a very funny story..."

Peg said softly, "Yeah, like how I was aiming at his heart when I shot him in the leg... After the shock wears off, that may even be funny to me... We'll see..." They all smiled softly together.

Al turned on the TV, "You made the noon news." It was the image of Torrenz in a head shot talking about how the FBI had apprehended a member of the Rangers gang before he could pull off a daring early morning hit on some unnamed local citizens. "Glory Hogs... all Feds are glory hogs!" They laughed quietly as Al followed his people out.

"Actually... The anonymity may work in our favor to hide us until we can get back home." They ate, although with considerably less relish than they had originally planned for this meal. There was no playfulness and half of it was never eaten. Quietly, they gathered their belongings, packed quickly, and checked out. They arrived at the Fullerton Station House a little after one in the afternoon.

Chapter 27; Friday Afternoon

They checked in with the Desk Sergeant. "Under Sheriff Sergeant MacGarn and Officer Thompson... Sergeant Blue asked us to meet him here at one-ish."

"This about the hotel thing?"

"Yes, Sir..." The Desk Sergeant opened a file and looked through it at the papers.

The DS pointed at Fred's Glock, "That the weapon that was discharged in my precinct this morning?"

"Yes, Sir..."

"I need you to surrender it..." Fred passed it across the desk, placing it in the large plastic bag held by the Sergeant. The sergeant gave it to one of the men standing around who moved off to take it to SD.

"You can pick it up in an hour in SD."

"Cool... I gotta talk to them anyway. "

Peg looked questioningly at Fred. He answered her unasked question, "That's the Science Division... Forensics... Electronics... that stuff..."

The Desk Sergeant looked at his 505 and then at Peg, "You the shooter?"

"Yes, Sir..."

"Good job, Officer... ummm... Thompson..." her face got red again. Peg brightened and then her face fell when she saw the stack of forms that he handed her. Before she could speak, he said, "Officer... You discharged a weapon in a hotel... in my precinct... inside the city limits of my city, out of your jurisdiction... Please explain why... In triplicate... Now!"

Fred laughed, "Come on, Officer... I'll help you..."

The Desk Sergeant continued, "Under Sheriff...Your perp is still at Cook County ER... Apparently, his leg is broken... So is Sergeant Blue... Special Agent Torrenz called to say that she is running late... Your Deputy there can sit back here away from the riff raff and fill my very important, although somewhat tedious, paperwork..."

"Thank you, Sergeant."

Fred steered Peg through the buzzing, green metal chicken wire doors to a scarred black table in a quiet corner behind the desk and away from the excitement of the hallway. They sat down. Fred rolled the form into an ancient typewriter. Using two fingers on each hand, he typed rapidly to fill the various boxes. He occasionally stopped to ask her for details and personal data. When he had reached the bottom, he pulled the multi-colored carbonless form out of the ancient typewriter and said, "Here! Sign here..! And here..! and initial here and here... There! All done..."

As over two hours had passed since he had surrendered his weapon, he headed down a wide staircase in search of the Science Division. Inside, he began telling the girl at the desk who he was and what he wanted. Before he was done, a short, stocky very young looking guy in a rumpled blue and yellow plaid shirt and a mustard stained dark blue tie came out of a back office with a big smile on his face.

He said, "Sergeant... You probably don't remember me but, we worked on the Simmons Corp embezzlement case four years ago... That was my first case... We cracked it good!"

Fred looked at him closely, "Wait... It's coming to me... You were fresh out of Academy then... You're Bobby Pilcher's kid..."

The young officer seemed to grow an inch taller, "That's right, Sergeant..."

"How's the old man?"

"He's a Captain, now... His house is the 417 up on Skokie Boulevard..."

"Well...Tell him I said 'hey' when you see him..."

"Sunday brunch...Every week..."

"Good... Remind me of your name, son..."

"My name's Bobby, too... Since I got my Ph.D., everyone calls me Doc... I like it way better than Junior..."

"Okay, Doc... My friends call me Fred..."

"Fred, then..." they shook hands.

"Doc, I got a problem only your SD squints can solve... In an early interview with my assailant, I found out that my car's been electronically tagged by some bad apples... Can you find the bug and kill it for me... It's the maroon Crown Vic in the side lot..."

"You betcha... and here's your gun, Fred... How long do I have?"

"I gotta find my perp from this morning... The FBI wants to talk to him,,, I kinda wanna be there since it was me he was trying to kill... Is an hour enough..."

"Yeah...We'll make it work..." Doc directed them to the elevator that would take them to conference room seven on the third floor. Peg leaned into him as they rode up on the elevator, "Police work is exhausting."

"Once we get to I-55..."

"Why that road?"

"I'm skittish... We're going home a different way..."

"Okay..."

"Then, you can sleep while I drive..."

"No way, Mister... I'll be fine once we get out of this scary noisy city."

Fred called Torrenz. She answered on the second ring, "Torrenz..."

"MacGarn here..."

"Are you at Fullerton?"

"Yes,m..."

"What's going on?"

"The perpetrator is still in surgery... He won't get out of Cook County until morning... I need to meet with you and then, scoot back home..."

"My office...thirty minutes..."

"Roger that... Let's go, Sweetie..." They went outside. Doc and a couple of his SD squints were moving around their car with magnetic wands. The one in Doc's hand began squawking. He hooted, "Six minutes... fifteen seconds... Pay up, bitches..."

He followed the guide of his detector until he reached into the back wall of the rear tire well. With a gloved hand, he pulled a tiny gold colored circle out. He dropped it on the street and stepped on it. Then, he put it in it a plastic sack.

He smiled as Fred walked up, "We have good news and bad news... The good news is that your car is clean...:

"And, the bad news?"

"The bad news is that we found three different bug units on your vehicle, Sergeant... All different types and frequencies... Seems everybody wants to know what you've been doing..."

"Were they all functional?"

"No, sir... The first one we found was..."

"Son of a bitch!"

"We ran it through Homeland Security Registration... It had DEA ID numbers... It had voice transponder... They were listening to everything within a hundred feet of the car..."

Fred seethed, "Shit... And?"

"Well, Fred...The second one was harder to find because its battery was almost dead... It still had a weak signal..."

"Whose was it?"

"It had FBI ID numbers... It was just a GPS like this one..." he pointed at the smashed one in his hand.

He grabbed onto Peg and said, "God damned bastards... No wonder the DEA jumped our claim... They were listening to my secret meetings with Digger..."

Peg put her hand on his arm to steady him, "Steady... We have to get them out of there..."

"Roger that!" He flipped open his phone. He speed dialed Digger. When he answered, Fred said quickly, "Digger... You are toast... All of our plans are toast... Get outa there... Take Suzie... Get your kids outa town... Don't call me... Don't call Greg... Buy new cheap phones at the Shop Mart... Just get your family the hell out of that town... Use cash only... Keep moving... Trust no one..." He clicked off.

Then, he called Greg. "G... we been screwed, blewed, and tattooed... I set Digger and his family loose... I know... We'll get them later... The Rangers tried to kill me this morning..."

"Yeah... Torrenz called me after her press conference... Everybody all right up there?"

"Yeah... Pretty much... SD is sending you and Eddie data about the bugs they found in my car... Maybe a fingerprint if we're lucky... We're gonna need Eddie to sweep all of the phones and cars... They've had us wired for weeks..."

"Who?"

"In my case... Doc... Bobby Pilcher's kid... he's SD here at the Fullerton Avenue cop house..."

"Okay... I remember his dad..."

"He found a DEA bug on my car..."

"Damn!"

"He also found an FBI bug with a dead battery..."

"Cheap bastards... serves them right!"

"And a bug planted yesterday by one of our guys with tracking frequencies given to the Rangers..."

"God Damn! I knew it..."

"That's how that bastard found us at the hotel this morning..."

"Okay... Did Peg really shoot him?"

"Yep," he gave her a squeeze, "She saved us both... Look... Wait an hour... call Torrenz... make up some shit... We are out of here right now... Probably get home late..."

"It's a live ammo day, Sergeant..."

"Ass over tea kettle, Sir... Lock and load!"

"Locked and loaded, Freddy!"

He turned to Doc, "You got our IP Address?"

"Yes, sir... Probably... Well... I can get it..."

Fred gave him one of the departmental cards with the office number on it. "Here... The #1 SD guy on our end is named Eddie... Call him... Tell him what you found... Look... He's a great kid... Just green like you were when we met... You get to be me on this one... Teach him what to look for... Show him some of your best tricks for finding bugs... He's probably going to have to clean out years of dead and live bugs from the Feds and IBI in our offices..."

"I'll be glad to help him, Sir..."

"Good... Say... Where's your weapon, Doc?"

"Downstairs in my desk, Sergeant..."

"You do carry a badge, right?"

"Yes, Sir..."

"From now on, after what happened to me this morning, I want you to keep your gun on your person every time you leave your office. You are a Chicago Police Officer, Mister."

"Sir, it's only a Remington .28..."

"You shoot a dirt bag in the knee with it, he's pretty much going to lay there until help arrives... You get me?"

"Gotcha, Sergeant..."

"Maybe you'll live longer if you act like a cop..."

"Most of the men out there don't think we're real cops..."

"Peg... What Division are you with down at Pope County?"

"I guess I'm in your SD, Sheriff..."

"Can you verify my description of your take down this morning..."

"My take down?"

"What were the main events?"

"Happened just like you said, Freddy... I shot him in the knee... He went down... and you cuffed him..."

"And we lived... You got that Detective Pilcher..."

The younger man stood straighter, "Roger that!"

"Son, we're leaving..."

"Okay..."

"If anybody asks... and they will..."

"Right..."

"You tell them that you heard us say that we were headed downtown to the Daley Center to meet with some FBI folks..."

"That's right... I heard you say that into your phone..."

"But, Sonny... for your ears only... we're not... We're headed south before anything else goes wrong..."

"Sorry... I never heard that last part, Sergeant." They laughed together.

They all shook hands. Fred and Peg headed south on Lake Shore Drive. Looking at the beautiful scenery and his beautiful companion, he said, "Do ya wanna know something?"

She turned to him, "What Sweetie?"

"I picked a hell of a day to quit drinking." They laughed all the way to the Skyway Bridge. They watched the sun turn the sky bright colors off toward Iowa from 63 feet in the air. In another hour, they had made their way to I-55. They took that route across the state at an angle south and west as if they were going to Springfield. This time, Fred was very alert for possible tails. They saw none.

He noted that, as expected, once they were doing eighty miles an hour on the open road, she was fast asleep holding his hand. He smiled and held her hand until they made it to the junction where they would cut south on I-57. They stopped to eat and check again for tails.

Then, Peg took over driving. She got off of the main roads. Following a winding path known only to the country folk, she made record time to the boathouse. Once their car was hidden and they were inside the shack, Fred went out to the deck and called Greg.

Jeannie's sleepy voice came over the line, "Hello?"

"We made it, Jeannie... We're 10-10 for sleep... Meet you guys at Teeny's for breakfast... Not too early... We'll call ya..."

"Okay... See ya then..."

When he went inside the boathouse, he laughed to see that Peg had crawled into the bed exhausted. When Fred clicked his phone shut, he looked over. She was asleep in her clothes. He watched her breathing softly for a while. She was so beautiful even when she was this rumpled. He took off her shoes and pulled the comforter off the couch to cover her up. He lay down next to her but, he could not sleep. In the dark, he took his pistol and quietly walked around the property, listening to the night. Satisfied, he went in and cuddled up next to Peg and slept.

Chapter 28; Saturday AM; A Bad Apple is Identified

They awoke as they had slept, fully clothed and in each other's arms. The bright morning sun was rapidly turning the shack into an oven. Peg crawled like a snake up onto Freddy's chest. She woke him with a kiss. "Good morning..."

He pulled her closer, "Good morning, yourself..."

"What's the plan, Stan?"

"We are meeting the Hansens at the diner whenever I call them..." he looked at his watch, "Shid... It's after 10!"

Peg laughed, "The last thing I remember... It was after one as we were coming in here... I was just gonna lay here a second...then, when you came in... I was going to have my way with you..."

Fred laughed softly, "And they say men have one track minds."

She sat up, "Well... it's too danged hot in here now for anything but a shower..." She left a trail of clothes as she headed into the bathroom.

Fred laughed and went into the kitchen to make coffee. When the brewer had dripped enough for the first cup into the jug, he poured it quickly into a clean mug. He put the jug back under the drip before he made too much of a mess. He carefully drank the top couple of inches off. He poured a generous amount of the powdered creamer in and stirred the mixture into a light brown. He quickly stripped and, taking the mug with him, went into the bathroom. A generous amount of steam was coming out of the shower.

He pushed the mug into the cloud of steam, "Anybody want coffee?"

She grabbed the cup and drank as if she had just come in from the desert, "God bless you, Sir..."

He poured shampoo into his hand. He lathered her head and rubbed it vigorously. She put the empty mug on the little shelf in the corner and started shampooing his head as well. Like two experts, they got each other very, very clean just as the water began to cool. Jumping out, they dried off. Peg went to find her bag.

They exchanged a quick kiss as they passed in the door. Peg already had dressed in shorts and tiny T shirt. She smacked his naked butt, "Better hurry, Sheriff... I need food..."

"Okay... So, you have a two track mind."

She laughed. He moved to his bag. He pulled out his phone. When Greg answered, he said, "Ready, G?"

"Okay! Teeny's in twenty?"

"Twenty it is, Sir..."

He grabbed underwear and a CPD softball tournament T shirt and put them on. He pulled on his cargo shorts and flip flops. "I'm ready..."

Peg came out of the bathroom, "Me too..." Her hair was braided in a long wide braid down the back. It was so perfect, Fred was overcome with the desire to mess it up. She saw the look in his eyes, "I weel keel you, Big City!"

As they were getting in the car, he said, "Peg... I need my own place... Can I stay here?"

"Why not? I'll always know where to find you..."

They talked easily as they drove to the diner. As always, they parked around back in family parking spaces. Fred stopped outside the kitchen door to talk to Junior, "Morning, Papa..."

The old man got slowly off the stump he had been sitting on while he watched Denny fill the smoker shelves with meat. He looked closely at Fred, "You's lookin' considerably better, Sheriff..."

"Sitting very carefully on this wagon, Papa... One day at a time..."

"You probly won't be sorry... That girl is sho nuff worth it..."

Fred laughed, "She sho nuff is, Papa..." He high fived the old man as he went inside.

Peg had gone inside immediately to thank Little Teeny for the marina. She had found her in the empty diner cleaning off a table in a far corner. They had talked low and animated about how much Peg loved Teeny's cabin. When Fred spied them, Teeny was whispering something into Peg's ear. He watched the girls jump up and down and hug. He went to see what the fuss was about. Teeny was drying her eyes.

"What are you two cooking up?"

Peg smiled through happy tears and said, "Big City... I'm about to be an Aunt..."

"Really?"

Teeny blew her nose. She managed to look both sad and happy at the same time, "Thirty years me and that boy danced with the Devil... Now... he's gone and I've got a bun in the oven..."

Fred gathered his old friend gently into his arms, "Here's something you need to know, Miss Delilah... You are not alone in this... The three of us have been just like family since we were kids and now, once I marry this girl...we really are gonna be..."

Peg jumped in, "Wait, Freddy... I KNOW you didn't just second hand propose to me again..."

"Peg... Please!" he turned back to Teeny, "Teeny... If you need anything... anything at all... We got your back, Sister..." Peg hugged them both, "What he said..."

Big Teeny strutted up, "What's going on back here?"

Little Teeny threw herself at her mother, "Oh, Mama... Mama..." She cried and told her mother how she had just peed on the stick and it was pink and she was a gramma.

The big woman twirled her much littler daughter around in a circle with a whoop, "That pasty faced sumbitch finally done somethin' right... Praise Jesus! I'm a gramma..." She dragged her daughter off to tell Junior.

Peg sat him down, "Look... You've proposed to my father and to my best friend... Shouldn't you be saying something to me about this?"

Fred fished around in his cargo pocket. He took a little box out. "I was going to give you this yesterday at breakfast, but some bastard tried to kill us... What a mood killer..." He took the green stone out. "My Mom wants you to have this Emerald one..."

"Your Mother?"

"She said I'd know when to give it you... How about now?"

"Now?" He got on one knee, "Margaret Eloise Simpson? I intend to spend my life making you happy..."

"And I will do my best to make you happy as well..."

"Will you marry me?" He slipped the ring on her finger. It fit perfectly.

She stared at it, "Oh, my God, Freddy..."

"She told me that it was her mother's and maybe she said that older than that... I forget... I'm sure that she has the history down..." Peg launched herself into his arms and kissed him. He laughed, "Is that a yes?"

"You dumb ass... of course it's a yes...Yes!"

"Cool... Let's eat..." She punched him gently in the chest.

They turned to applause from Greg and Jeannie and the two Teenys. Fred bowed as they walked over to the Hansen's booth. In a second, Peg was surrounded by screaming, chattering women. Fred slid into their booth, "That is certainly a lot of fuss over some pressurized carbon and some shiny metal..."

Greg laughed and shook his hand. When Peg and Jeannie came up, he said, "Are you checked out on that new ordinance, Officer... Ummm... Macgarn, is it?"

Peg blushed, "Not yet, Sheriff..."

"I'd just hate for it to go off and shoot me in the knee..."

Fred pretended to fall out of the booth laughing, "Only if she aims it at your heart, G..." They all laughed uproariously.

Peg acted mad, "Yeah... and you didn't even thank me..."

"Thank you? For what?"

"Saving your miserable life, ya idjit..."

"Shoot... I had that piece of crap right where I wanted him..."

"Right..."

"Then... you had to show boat and put a hole in his leg..."

Jeannie said, "Nice shooting, by the way... We kinda like our new Under Sheriff..."

Peg said in a little voice, "Freddy's right... I was aiming at his chest..."

Fred took her in his arms, "Don't look so sad, Baby... If you think the paperwork for shooting someone in the leg is bad... It aint nothing compared to a homicide... justifiable or not..." The laughter increased.

Then, Big Teeny and her daughter came up with their plates. They began eating. While they ate, Greg told them of the DEA's midnight raid at Digger's mortuary. They, of course, had torn the place finding nothing and left by three in the morning.

"Oh, yeah... A street cop named Blue called... he thought you'd want to know that your guy's leg wasn't busted... some kind of screw up in Xray... luckily the surgeon was sharp...He got another picture in the OR which showed Peg's bullet but no fracture... he's in Cook County jail isolation if you guys want to talk to him again..."

"What did Torrenz say?"

"It seemed to distract her from being pissed at you for taking a hike... I told her that I had ordered you home because we had to bust a mole... That seemed to pacify her a bit..."

"Well... that's the end of my FBI career..."

"Shoot... all those news conferences that you will miss taking credit for other people's real police work..."

"Exactly!" They all laughed.

After a minute, Greg said, "I almost forgot... Ed Handy was up all night following the instructions of his new best friend in Chicago, Doctor Pilcher..."

"Really... they are both such eager beavers... Did they find anything?"

"Working over the phone, they found twenty seven different devices on phones and in light fixtures... Most of them were old and had died... Chicago SD's running the numbers through Homeland Security... No word, yet..."

"Let's have him sweep all our cars and then, you and I can quietly sweep our houses... the mortuary... maybe Robby will let us sweep his office..."

"Even if he is dirty... he won't want just anyone listening in..."

Fred turned to Jeannie, "Jeannie... I'm setting up my house in the boathouse... I'm too old to live with my Mom..."

"Duly noted..."

Chapter 29; Saturday PM; Arresting Their Own

Just then, Greg's phone rang. They all listened with growing interest as the conversation played out in the empty diner. Greg's voice got lower and lower. "Yes... Officer Handy! Stop Talking just for a second... Look around you!... Are you alone in your lab?... Oh, really?... Okay, Eddy... Start again...You identified the prints on Freddy's bug?... Verified through AFIS?... Roger that... Doc Pilcher's on board with your analysis?... Okay, Mum's the word, Eddie... total lock down... In fact... Go home and go to bed... Turn off all of your phones..."

"What..? Tomorrow? Oh... You and your Dad are going to the Card's game tomorrow?... Eddy... No... You can't tell him about any of this...Telling him could get him killed... I'm serious... They took a shot at Freddy... Yesterday morning...I knew you'd see it my way... Jeannie says, wear sunscreen..." he blew a kiss to his wife. "Enjoy the game, buddy... Stay out of town until Monday..."

Greg snapped his phone closed, "Okay... let's pick him up..."

"Who???" they all said at once and laughed.

"Jeremy Foxx is the rat in our cellar..." He flipped open his phone. He spoke in a slow even tone, "Dispatch?... Where's Officer Foxx?... 10-7 where? Oh, the Jigger...Okay?... No...Don't disturb his lunch with his girlfriend... No... We're not done yet debriefing Fred and Peg about Chicago... Then, me and Jeannie are going 10-10 for the rest of the day... Yep... on Peg's boat... Time to drown some worms... Bye."

Jeannie looked at him, "What did you tell that boy?"

"If Foxx thinks we're going fishing, he'll be in no hurry to get back on the streets... Come on Fred... What do you got?"

Ignoring the girl's cries of alarm and consternation, Fred replied, "Uhhh... I have my Glock 9 under the seat... I have my POS in the glove box... I have an over under in the trunk... You?"

"I carry a really nice Rueger 9, these days... That's enough for me... Whose?"

"Mine... He may be tipped by that big assed SUV of yours..."

"Right..." Greg tossed his keys to his wife.

Jeannie exploded, "Gregory Devon Hansen... I KNOW you aint sending me shopping while you big strong men go nab the bad guy..."

He put both hands in surrender, "Sugar... You can come to the bust..."

"Oh. Good!"

"But, the baby cant..."

She sat back down, "Oh... Right..."

Fred pointed at the questioning face of his new bride to be, "And you... You are in charge of guarding our God child..." He left, ignoring her protests.

Just as he reached the door, he was nearly tackled from behind. "Just you wait, Mister."

He turned into her arms, "What?"

"You are never to leave me without a kiss again!"

"Roger that..." he kissed until they were breathless. "How's that?"

"Way better..."

Greg got the point and went back to his wife. He picked her up like a doll and kissed her as well.

The two men looked at each and shrugged. Without a word, they went out. They drove quickly but silently to the bar on the edge of Eddyville. "There's Jeremy's car..."

Fred said, "I got front..."

"Okay... I've got back, then..."

Fred slipped his snub nosed .38 Police Officer Special into a baggy front pocket. In the dark bar, Freddv hoped it would look like he just had his hand in there. Jeremy was talking to the barmaid who was sitting on a stool next to him with a hand on his thigh. Fred was glad that she had totally distracted the younger man. Seeing him come sauntering in, she got up, kissed Jeremy, and ducked under the little gateway to get back to work.

Fred looked around the sleepy bar. Four or five people were in there all drinking alone. No one even looked his way. Sherry smiled a professional smile at Fred. "What'll it be?"

"Draw me a Lite, will you?"

As she finished putting the beer on the little cardboard circle on the bar, Greg caught her eye. He motioned her into the kitchen, "You... Out!"

"But... I have customers..."

"Just two minutes... Please... for your own safety..." She took one look at his pistol and left out the back door. Greg watched. When he saw Jeremy turning toward Fred, he moved quietly though the gate and took up a position in back of Jeremy.

Responding to the beer being placed on the back side of him, Jeremy turned toward Fred with a noticeable increase in the tension of his body. Fred sidled up to him, drawing the gun out of his pocket under the wide lip of the bar. "Hey, Jeremy..." he said in a mellow tone.

Jeremy turned to face him with a tight smile on his face, "Hey, Fred..." That is when he looked down and saw the gun.

He jumped back and bumped into Greg who was standing quietly just for that emergency. All the fight or flight tension left him as he felt Greg's gun dig into his back. "You're done, Jeremy..."

Fred spoke softly as he drank his beer, "What the hell... They came to my hotel room to kill me... Luckily, Peg showed up and got the drop on him... She shot him before he could shoot me..."

The younger man began to cry, "You don't understand... I owe them thousands... They said they were going to hurt Sherry here real bad if I didn't do this thing... They said they were just going to follow you..." He put his head on the bar and sobbed. Greg pulled his cuffs out of his belt and cuffed their former deputy. Fred heard him saying the Miranda chant. He just stood there with his gun on Jeremy until Greg was done.

Sherry came back into the bar as they were cuffing Jeremy, "What the fuck, Sheriff?"

"The weddings off..." Ignoring the sobbing cries behind them, they hauled their prisoner out to Freddy's car.

Greg locked Jeremy into the back seat and got in the other back door. Fred began driving and called Peg, "Got him... No shots fired..."

He heard her sigh of relief on the phone, "Good... You coming in?"

"In?"

"Oh, hell yeah... me and Jeannie are camped out in her office waiting for our big strong Sheriffs to bring in the bad guy..."

"You're in the bathroom?"

"Her other office... Oh, shut up!"

"Ten minutes, Sweetie..."

"Roger that, Sheriff... Ten minutes," she repeated for Jeannie's behalf.

They pulled up outside of the Hall of Justice. Greg dragged his former employee roughly out of the car and unceremoniously in front of the Dispatch window. Jeannie's face appeared sadly, "I have finished the paperwork while you were driving in, Sheriff."

The door that led to the cells buzzed. Each taking an arm, they dragged him back toward the cells. Fred unlocked the cuffs and Greg pushed Jeremy into the cell. Without a word, they turned to go.

"Hey... don't I get to make my call?"

Greg turned as if he were very sad, "Don't waste your call...Robby is in South Carolina fishing off the Barrier Islands... His dad is at the Card's game with the judge. You'll be able to call Robby's Dad Monday morning... You're not eligible for bonding out... If the Rangers get near your useless ass, you're a dead man... So... You're staying here as a guest of the Pope County Justice Services..."

"You didn't take my belt or shoestrings?"

"Nope... Feel free to save the county the expense of a trial..." Jeremy sat on the bed and began crying again. He and Fred left.

Greg went into his office and closed the door. Jeannie put her hand on Fred's chest to stop him, "I got this, Sergeant... He's going to hurt for a while... keeping his eye on the prize is my job."

"Yeah... I get that..."

"Now... Take your best friend home and let her have her way with you to take the taste of this weekend out of your heart..."

Peg exclaimed, "Jeannie!"

"Are you trying to tell me that you don't want that?"

"No..."

"The court rests..."

Fred put his hand out to grab Peg's hand. "Come on, Sugar...The fun's over for now..."

"My point exactly," said Jeannie.

"You got a hole in your schedule tomorrow, Dispatch?"

"No... He wasn't scheduled tomorrow... See ya Monday... I'm gonna need you to take calls then... Okay?"

"Roger that, Dispatch..."

"Take care, Sergeant..."

As he was helping Peg into the car, he said, "Let's go for a boat ride..."

Chapter 30; Saturday Night; Love Finally

As they were pulling out of the Justice Center, Peg called her mother's house phone. Her mother answered on the second ring, "Peg... I've been so worried!"

Peg activated the speaker mode so that Fred could hear. "Ma... What are you talking about?"

"There are so many stories on the network... Jimmy!... It's Peg... Yes!... Just grab the other phone, ya old goat... Ask her yourself..."

"Mom! Mom!... Talk to me! Stop yelling at Daddy in my ear!"

Her Dad got on the kitchen phone, "Tell me what happened in Chicago, Sister... Your mother's busybody network is telling everyone that you killed a guy in Chicago..."

"Daddy! No one died in Chicago..."

"There, Agnes! You and your silly friends have just ruined our daughter's reputation..."

Fred spoke, "Well... to be honest... she did shoot a guy..."

"That's my girl..."

"Daddy... Mama... I don't want to have this conversation on the phone... I just called to make sure that you guys were both there...

"But...But!"

"Listen! We'll be there in fifteen or twenty minutes..." She clicked her phone shut, breaking the connection. She looked at Fred and they both busted out laughing. Peg directed Fred through the new maze of country roads that only she knew until they had made the trip from the county seat to her parent's house in record time.

Hand in hand, they went into her house. She went to the fridge and grabbed three beers. "I am not facing this inquisition sober." She led him out the back and through the two yards.

"Okay..."

She sat on the couch swing. She patted the couch next to her, "They'll be out in a second, once they realize I'm not coming in..." Fred shrugged and sat. He twisted off the beer cap and switched with Peg.

Her parents came out as he was twisting off the second cap. Big Jim put his hand out and Fred gave him the beer. Peg handed him the third one and he opened it as well. Her mother was about to begin protesting the bringing of alcohol onto her premises when she noticed the emerald ring on Peg's beer drinking hand. She just stood there with her mouth open.

Big Jim saw what had brought his wife to a dead stop. Unlike his wife, he sat back. He was content to wait for the story, rather than hound it out his children.

"Ummm... Uh... Is that..."

"Oh, this? It's Freddy's Gramma Eudora's ring?"

Big Jim added, "Is that just jewelry?"

"Nope."

Big Jim laughed and said, "So... we throwing rice again?

"Yep..." Peg took another slow sip, playing her mother like a prize trout. The men exchanged knowing glances and vowed to themselves to stay out of this fray. Fred wondered which woman was the cat and which one was the canary. He took Big Jim's hand.

"Does that mean..?"

Peg shrugged, "He asked... I answered... Aint it purdy?" She wiggled it in the late afternoon sun. Her mother leaned in to look at it, making cooing sounds.

Fred said softly, "Actually... after she shot a guy to save my life... I had to ask her... She had proved herself worthy..."

Agnes put her hand over her heart, "Killed... killed... But you said..."

Fred and Peg busted out laughing, "It's okay, Ma... he'll probably live... He was in surgery when we left."

Fred let Agnes off the hook. "She nicked him on the leg... I judo chopped his gun hand and in a flash, he was cuffed and in custody."

"Okay... what about this nonsense story going around about that nice Foxx boy..."

"Now... Ma... I'm not able to tell you anything about that now... That's an ongoing investigation to which I am not allowed to comment..."

"But...?"

Big Jim said in low, commanding voice, "Agnes!"

Fred was astounded to see Agnes's mouth snap shut. Jim's hand went out, "Welcome back to the family, Son." He wrapped Fred in a bear hug and held on a moment.

"It's too bad it took this mess to get me home..."

"The Lord's ways are almost always a mystery to me, Son..."

Fred put his arms out for Agnes. She came easily into his embrace, "I swear I'll take good care of our girl, Ma..."

"See that you do, Son..." He held her tightly for another minute and then, she moved to grab tightly to Peg. They needed no words to share the love they had for each other.

Fred said, "We want to borrow your boat, Dad."

"I don't want that God Damned boat..."

"Still..."

"I don't even have a key..."

"We have the key..."

"Take it! Before any of this happened, we're had already committed to buy out one of your mother's partners... A couple days a week is all I want... and shared upkeep... have Robby move the boat to you..." He took the three bottles and went in the house.

Peg looked in her mother's eyes, "Please don't call anyone about this... I want to tell Sarah myself. Promise me!"

Agnes nodded with her lips in a tight line. "You have one hour..."

"Well... if that's the best you can do..."

"Come on, babe... We better get shaking if we are in a race with the busybody network." Loud laughter could be heard from the kitchen. The screen door slammed as Agnes stormed inside. They left to get their car.

He took the fastest route that he could remember to his mom's cabin. She didn't answer her phone. When they looked around the house at the dock, the boat was gone. He saw a set of gray curls peeping through a rose bush from next door.

"Sadie? Is my Mom out on her boat?"

Sadie's thin, reedy voice came through the bushes, "What business is it of mine what my neighbors do with their time?"

"Sadie? Please?"

"I might have noticed her and the Timbles going out on that boat of their's... Just in passing, ya know?"

"Thank you, dear?"

"You, uh... seem to have some new jewelry on, Miss Peg?"

"Actually... it's really old jewelry, Sadie..."

"It was my gramma's ring, Sadie... Now, it's Peg's..."

"Well... Congratulations are in order..."

"Thank you, dear..."

"Look... We gotta go find my Mom... See ya!"

They sped off to the marina. Laughing, they jumped on Jimmy's boat. Peg fished around in her beach bag and pulled out the key that Robbie had given her dad. She started the motor. After running rough for a moment, it warmed up and ran smoothly enough. Fred untied the ropes and they drove out into the lake.

It was approaching evening. The sun was barely over the trees. In the cooling day, the boats were pouring out of the villages from around the lake as the late day fishermen were heading for their lucky spots. Fred drove as Peg went into the little front cabin to put on her swim suit.

Fred laughed when she came out in his favorite, the little lime green bikini. She took over the con. He leaned by the gunwale and watched Peg as she stood steering the boat through the traffic. "At least the suit matches the bling..." he said laughing softly.

Without looking at him she asked, "What?"

"Your suit matches my ring..."

"It's my ring now, Big City..."

He walked over and kissed her, "That is a fact."

"Don't you forget it!"

"I guess you'll have to keep both pieces of that suit on, now..."

"Nah... In an hour, the sun will be down and the old poops will be heading in... If you play your cards right, I might not wear either piece..."

"For what? A moon tan?"

"Don't knock it if you aint tried it, Big City..."

"It's true...I have never done it, but, I plan to become quite a fan of watching you get a moon tan..."

"Well, all right, then..." She kissed him sweetly.

Then, they came near to a boat they recognized. Peg hooted her horn at Sarah and the two boats hove to. Exchanging ropes they tied up to Sarah's boat.

"Ahoy, Ma!" He followed Peg across to the other boat.

"Ahoy, yourselves... Do you guys remember the Timbles?"

"Sure... You guys live four cabins south."

"In the summer, we do..." The men shook hands and the woman smiled at each other.

Sarah, acting nonchalant, said, "Is that a new ring, Peg?"

"Actually... It's an old one... Freddy tells me that it was your mother's ring?" They laughed and went into each other's arms, "Welcome to the family... finally!"

Fred sipped the beer that Jake Timble had handed him, "So... How's it feel to be a gramma?" he said slyly.

Sarah sat suddenly, snatched his beer and took a drink, "Holy Cats! A gramma? After all these years... Good thing I already broke him in..." Everyone else laughed.

Sarah stood up and grabbed Peg, "And... I finally have you as my daughter..." More hugs and handshakes were exchanged.

Sarah looked at the gloom spreading across the lake. "Look, kids... This is wonderful, but, you know I hate steering in the dark... We got go!"

They untied the boats and jumped back to their vessel. Everyone waved as his mom's boat turned in a wide arc away from them and headed toward her dock. He noted that Peg was humming to herself as she turned their craft in the opposite direction and headed for their marina.

He looked around, "It's just like you said. Everyone is heading for shore. We seem to be all alone out here..."

"Hmmm... We are alone...here... You steer a while... Head over there..." Peg cut the motor and turned off the deck lights. In the moonlight, only the bow and stern lights could be seen as they skimmed along silently.

"But... we have no power..."

"We'll get there..." Humming a simple tune, she moved through the small bridge area and into the shadow of the little cabin. Then, Fred was distracted from her absence as he recognized where their momentum was taking them. Bobbing along on the still waters of Dragon Lake, he brought them slowly into their little hidden cove. When he had them well hidden, He dropped anchor.

After Peg didn't reappear in a few minutes, Fred went in looking for her, "Peg?"

He heard her voice softly coming out of the darkness, "Don't turn on the lights... It'll draw bugs... I'm in the forecastle... watch the three steps down...follow the sound of my voice... " Fred wondered what that meant. He knew that fore means the front of a boat, so, he ducked past the steering wheel and through the small doorway at the right side of the bridge. Lowering his head to avoid bumping his head, he tripped down the three steps. He went through the dark corridor toward the humming voice. As he entered the tiny forward cabin, the door closed behind him with a soft click. He found himself in a dimly lit bedroom built low into the nose of the boat.

Peg had popped a panel open in the ceiling. The only light was moonlight as it streamed in from a four feet square screened porthole in the ceiling. "Come on in, sailor..."

He saw Peg's dress on a hook by the door, "Peg?" He noticed that both pieces of her swim suit on the same hook.

"I think that you'll find that this will be way more romantic than skinny dipping in that cold lake water..."

"Are you certain?"

"About the temperature...? Very certain... I liked to killed myself on my last adventure."

"Peg... Get serious..."

"Serious... Sit down on the bed here and let me explain serious to you, Big City..." He sat. She put her hands under his shirt and rubbed up and down. A thousand velvety shocks coursed through his body. She continued softly, "You gave me your gramma's ring... We just told our parents that we are engaged... We've been chased... Shot at... and nearly killed... I guarantee you that I am serious..."

"All good arguments..."

"Yep... My Mama heard it... YOUR Mama heard it... Nuff sed..."

"Okay..."

"Well... here's my question..."

"Ask away..."

"Fredrick Waverly MacGarn... Do you love me?"

"Sugar, You know I do..."

"Would you like an opportunity to prove it?"

"Yes, ma'am, I believe that I would..."

"Then, Big fella... You are seriously overdressed..."

He began to undress slowly, "You need to know something about me..."

She raised her hands under her head. The sheet fell down, exposing those wonderful breasts, "If I get in that bed..." His shirt hit the floor.

"If?"

He ignored her. His eyes bore into hers as if to look at her very soul, "There'll be no going back..."

"For me neither, Freddy..."

His swim suit hit the floor. He stood there in all of his glory, "What if I suck at this? All that may happen is that a superior friendship will be ruined..."

She lifted up the sheet to invite him into her love nest, "I have confidence in you... and in my feelings for you... We won't suck at this... Talent is not what is required... Feelings are what are required... I have loved you all my life..."

"I have loved you all my life..."

"We have been best friends ever since that first day that you listened to my ideas about crime solving... You believed in me then..."

"It was easy."

"You were the only one..."

"Their loss..."

"Well... I never forgot... when things would be bad... Your faith in me kept me going."

"Wow, Peg... I never knew..."

"And... I believe in you now..."

He pulled her close. Their lips met with an ever increasing heat. It grew from a sweet smolder in a roaring volcano. He moved his mouth to run them down the side of her neck. She called his name and pulled his mouth back to hers. Their tongues tickled each other and danced a wild tango in and out of each other's mouths.

He broke free from her kiss and dropped his mouth to her breast. Her back arched as he licked and then drew the hardening stub of flesh into his hungry mouth. "Oh, my God... Oh, Freddy..."

He smiled as he moved farther down. His mouth followed the trails blazed by his hands. The silk turned to fire. The fire turned to thunder. The thunder roared in both of their ears until years of sadness was burned from them both. They slept the sleep of new lovers. Only the warmth of a well banked fire remained as they lay exhausted under the stars. The moon paid them no attention as it passed across the midnight sky taking its silver light. It set beyond the bobbing ship unnoticed by the sleeping lovers.

They awoke once more before the sunrise. This love was slow and gentle. This meal of love was savored. They knew when they slept that, this time, they had loved each other well. They had spent the coins of love, spending them in shared passion in the darkness. The last thing they both thought before they slept was that they were each happier than they had been in years.

Chapter 31; Sunday

In the gray light of pre-dawn, they woke in each other's arms. After laying there enjoying the gentle rocking of the boat, Peg noticed something that made her very glad. She pulled Fred close, "Is your friend back?"

"Yes..."

"Shame to waste it..." So, they didn't.

When they had recovered their breath, she padded around the bed into the water closet. After she was done, she looked out the tiny porthole. She shrieked and ran back and jumped under the covers, "Holy crap!"

"What?"

"We're surrounded by senior citizens... Heathen ones... Don't they know it's Sunday! They should be in church..."

"They worship at Our Lady of the Blue Shy..." Fred laughed.

She had drawn the covers up over her head. "Not funny..."

Fred went into the head to do his business. He pulled on his cargo shorts. Barefoot and shirtless, he went up the gangway. He looked back at her looking like a small child with only her wild, blond hair and giant blue eyes outside of the covers, "You just let me handle this, Little Woman..."

"Oh, you!" She threw an empty pop can. It bounced off the door as he shut it behind himself.

He laughed all the way to the steering bridge. He started the boat, got himself a soda while he was letting it warm up. After a while, he guided the square vessel through the pack of fishing boat s that packed the little cove. Once they were outside the cove and around a bend, he said, "You can come out now, Princess... The mobs of your admirers have been left far behind in our wake." He directed the boat out into deep water to avoid any other fishermen.

She came out dressed and looking around. It crossed his mind to ask her what was underneath the dress, but, he thought that if he asked her, then, she might show him. Then, they would definetly be late for church. Instead he leaned down as she kissed him.

"Mmmmm..." she said as she leaned her head on his shoulder. He held her hand and the comfort that streamed between them was both a surprise to and healing for them both. They stood like that as he brought the boat softly against the dock. Peg jumped off and tied the back end as he went through the shutdown procedures. Together, they tied the front and kissed again.

They went inside and took quick showers. They dressed casually and headed for Teeny's. Peg called ahead and ordered omelets and pancakes. It was already on the table when they arrived. Peg called, Hey, Papa..." He waved to them through the kitchen window as Big Teeny brought two steaming mugs of coffee.

"Delilah okay?"

"That brand new grandbaby of mine be giving her the morning pukes... She's layin' down out back..."

"Your magic juju tea didn't work, huh?"

"Oh, I made that whole magic juju story up for Miss Jeannie... It's really just a powder of ground sasparilly root... Sasparilly's good for settlin' the tummy on some people... Believing is healing... Now, that's from my granny!" She walked away laughing a deep rumbling laugh.

"And the Jamaican juju thing?"

"More meddlin'... My Jamaican granny been dead a long time... Papa showed our Sheriff a good back rub for his wife... makes him feel not so helpless... Gives him somethin' ta do..."

Fred laughed, "Whatever works, Mama..."

"This morning, I gave Little Teeny some boiled peppermint leaves and chinese black tea with dry toast... It settled her to sleep... It's been slow out here this morning, so, me and Papa, we got dis... We'll try that sasparilly after her nap.

Fred called Greg, "All quiet?"

"Well... Jeremy failed to do his duty again."

"Didn't hang himself, huh?"

"Nope... coward..."

"See ya in church?"

"Back row..."

"Roger that."

They headed for Eddyville. In the gathering, Peg got busy showing off the ring to every female above the age of ten . Fred shook hands with everyone as they congratulated him. As the music started inside the chapel, people filed in and took their places.

Fred sat by Greg and Peg sat by Fred. She leaned across him to show Jeannie her ring. Greg looked down at it as her hand was mooned over by his wife. "It's all downhill from here, Sergeant."

Fred laughed, "Roger that, boss... I see how horrible things are for you... Just couldn't let you go through it alone..." They laughed and shook hands warmly.

"Roll call at 7..."

"Roger that! Jimmy will be back, so, I'll catch Peg up..."

"Nah... bring him... I been missing that munchkin..."

As they were leaving church, there was an equally long gauntlet of women and girls to show the ring to. It seemed to take forever to make their way out of the old church. The older women knew Gramma Eudora well. Before she had passed, she had been one of the great ladies of the Mission's Guild.

Finally making her escape, Peg whispered to Fred, "Big City, I declare that I have never been so relaxed for Sunday service..."

"Go straight to hell... Do not collect 200 bucks..."

"Oh, Freddy... You are worth waaaay more than 200 bucks..." he kissed her as he helped her into her side of the car. The whole crowd outside of the church watched them kiss and broke into spontaneous applause. Fred and Peg waved and drove out as quickly as they dared.

Chapter 32; Sunday PM; The Prodigal Baby Returns

When they pulled up to Peg's, there was a shiny pickup in the drive. "He's home!" Peg called as she ran into her house. Fred hurried after her. In the living room was a tall, dark man quickly going to fat around his middle. He was reading Peg's paper and drinking a beer. Peg was standing by the door looking stiff. Fred couldn't tell if she was feeling angry or just uncomfortable.

"Fred... This is Danny and Sheila Thompson...Danny...This is the new Under Sheriff, Sergeant Fred MacGarn..."

The man just hoisted his beer on the way to a long pull, "Hey..." The woman wiggled her fingers at Fred and smiled like her pockets were full of sleeping snakes and she dare not disturb them.

Fred looked at Sheila. He saw a frizzy blond with obviously rebuilt hooters. Fred walked over and shook her hand.

Just then, a small tow headed rocket burst out of the kitchen to be scooped up expertly by his mother. "Mommy... Mommy!" he said as she swung him around. Then, Peg hugged him to her as if he might turn to smoke if she released him. In an obviously well practiced move, she sat down with him in a large soft chair. He held her face in both little chubby paws as he talked a mile a minute about Disney and alligators and a boat with a propeller on the back and a cow way out in the water.

After several machine gun stories, he wore down and laying his head on his mother's shoulder, he fell fast asleep. She looked at Fred as if her heart would just burst. He touched her face softly and stood there looking at the Madonna and child played out in front of him in her living room.

Danny finished his beer, stood stiffly, and belched, "He was so excited about getting home that he didn't sleep well last night. Come on, Darlin... Let's get us home, too... See how many jobs are on the answering machine..." Without a word between the women, Danny and his wife left.

Peg held her hand out, "Help me up, Freddy... He's getting heavy... I swear that he has doubled in size in two weeks..."

Freddy took the tiny boy from her arms and turned him onto his shoulder as if he had done it a thousand times. Jimmy settled himself on the large shoulders and finding his thumb, settled right down.

"That's impressive, Sergeant..."

"The police department is one big family... Picnics and ball games... I've had lots of practice with sleepy boys... Me and Jen always took other people's kids so they could have a weekend to make some more..."

"Do you have any more hidden talents?" She stretched up to kiss him softly and held both her boys at once.

Fred spoke softly into her hair, "I'll give exactly one thousand years to find out..."

"Too short..." She squeezed him again. "Go put him on his bed... I'll get Snuffles..." She looked through the tiny suitcase by the door and found a ratty stuffed dog. Fred went slowly up the stairs and, after she kissed her baby boy, put him on his bed. The boy found his dog, his thumb and a new position all without waking and resumed his nap. She pulled his shoes off and flipped a small blanket over his legs.

Then, the house phone rang. Peg ran to the upstairs hall phone grabbing it before the second ring, "Hello... Yes, he's home... No... lunch is out... Danny fed him Mickey D's on the way into town... He's asleep... Mama... Let him sleep... Let's do dinner... We'll come over as soon as he wakes... Oh, you already called Sarah? Swell... Let me make macaroni salad... It's no problem, Mother... He looks like he'll be down for hours... See ya..."

She went to find Fred. He was sitting in a bent wood rocker watching Jimmy sleep. She sat on his lap, "How am I gonna do as father?"

"Look... I remember this T shirt I bought Daddy one year... Fatherhood is the hardest job you're ever gonna love... Go easy... let it happen... You both love baseball and bicycles... You play catch... whatever..."

"Pretty scary..."

"I go through life every day half scared out of my gourd... But, now... I gotta make salad..."

"I'm just gonna sit here..."

She kissed him sweetly and got up, "Okay... You know where to find me..."

Fred found himself staring at the tiny form under the blanket. In a second, he was asleep as well. Peg smiled as she looked in on them. Her heart filled to see both of her boys... together at last. She headed back to the kitchen to see if the macaroni was cool enough to toss in the mayonnaise.

Peg had just returned to the door of the room to check on them when she saw Fred wake with a start. She stepped back and watched them interact. Fred found himself looking into giant blue eyes. "Who are you?" said a tiny voice.

"My name is Freddy... I was your Uncle Jimmy's best friend... Now, I'm your mommy's best friend..."

"Are you the one that Unka Jimmer calls Ready Freddy... from his detective stories?"

"Uhhh... Yes... I guess I am..."

The boy crawled off the bed and right up onto Fred's lap, "So... my mommy says that you're a real cop?"

"Yep"

"My Unka Jimmer told me that you taught him to pitch."

"I did... I guess..."

Tears flowed down her face as she heard her baby say, "Will you teach me to pitch? Unka Jimmer said he would when I was a little older, but, now my other mother, Sheila, said he was gone to live with Jesus in Heaven... But, you could teach me..."

"Yes... I could teach you... and... Your Unka Jimmer taught me to hit..."

Jimmy brightened, "So... You could teach me, then?"

"I could... I can still hit pretty good..."

"So...You and my Mommy are friends too?"

"More than friends, Jimmy... I love your Mommy..."

"So... You could be my other daddy..."

"What's that?"

"Well... first Doris was my other mommy... Now, Sheila is my other Mommy... You could be my other daddy..."

Peg's heart nearly burst as she heard her boys planning their future together. "Yes... If you help me to learn how..."

Jimmy stuck his hand out. Fred watched in amazement as Jimmy reproduced the same secret handshake that he and Jimmy had designed forty years earlier. Little Jimmy spit in his palm. Without missing a beat, Fred spit in his palm and they shook, "Deal!" they said together.

"Now... let's go find your mama..." Jimmy climbed down.

Fred turned to head for the door and found her standing there with a tearstained face. He opened his arms and she went into them. "Sweetie! What?"

She buried her face in his shoulder, "Oh, shut up, Big City... Just hold me! That was so sweet..."

"Me, too?" said Jimmy.

Fred reached down with one arm and lifted the boy into their embrace, "You, too, Jimmy."

"How much did you hear?"

"Every word... Enough to see that you have nothing to worry about being his... Other Daddy."

"At least Danny did us one favor..."

"Really?"

"He created a simple explanation for a complex problem..."

"Simple minds have simple ways..." She said holding her boys.

"Where's Gramma?" said Jimmy.

"I told her you were sleeping... We can go over there now, if you want... She's been waiting to see you..."

"Kool..." he slid down and started pulling her hand, "Come on Fred...let's go to Gramma's house, so we can tell them about our deal..."

"Okay, Buddy..."

"Freddy... Please grab that bowl there on the counter..." she said over her shoulder as Jimmy dragged her out of the house. Fred grabbed two beers and followed them. Jimmy had only made it as far as his bike. He was currently driving back toward the pool. He made a clean turn around the pool and headed back their way, making motorcycle noises.

Peg smiled, "he missed his bike..." Fred laughed as he put the beers in the little fridge on the back porch.

"Hi, Freddy..."His mother came out and started putting the table cloth on the table. Without a word, Freddy grabbed a corner of the cloth and put the clip on that corner to hold it down. Like a well trained machine, they went to opposite corners and finished the job. She smiled, "The prodigal returns, eh?"

"We brought macaroni salad for our fatted calf..." They hugged and watched the little boy pulling his mother through the back gate.

"I brought Devilled eggs... Jimmy's a big fan..."

When Jimmy saw Sarah, he let go of his mother and ran to her. The older woman sat at the picnic table bench and took his hurtling form into her arms, "Tantee Sarah!"

Fred sat by his mother at the table. "Jimmy...Let's talk about that, Little Man..."

"What?"

"Did you know that Sarah is my mother?"

"No..."

"Well... she is...so...Now that I'm going to be your other dad, she is going to be Other Gramma Sarah...Okay?"

"Kool... Unka Jimmer always said that we can't have too many grammas..."

Sarah sniffed and held him, "I never had any grandkids before... You are the first..."

"That makes me the best one, doesn't it?" They all laughed as Agnes and Big Jim came out.

"Man... I wish I had a grandson..."

"Me... Me!" Jimmy ran to Agnes and she hugged him close.

Then, he was swept up by Big Jim. The big man huffed out a breath, "Holy cats, Gramma... Our boy has doubled in size... What did they feed you down there in Florida? Live Gators?" Jimmy squealed as he tickled the tiny boy.

"Gramma... can I go swimming?"

"Yes..." said both grammas at once. Everyone laughed.

Agnes looked at Jim. "Twenty minutes..."was all that he said. Holding both his gramma's hands, they went back through the gate.

Fred and Big Jim started cooking the burgers and dogs. Once the women were gone, Freddy handed Big Jim a beer. They clinked bottles and quietly went about their duties. Fred was astounded at how natural it felt. "I wish my Dad could have seen this..."

"He's smiling down from heaven, sonny boy."

"God... I hope so..." They clinked bottles.

When the meat was done, Big Jim whistled a piercing sound. The whole neighborhood now knew that it was time to eat. It was a sound from Freddy's past that filled him with sadness and pleasure at the same time. Peg and her son showed first. Peg was carrying Jimmy as Sarah rubbed him with a colorful towel. Peg had gone and gotten clean clothes for Jimmy. Soon, he was dressed and warm.

With laughter and much chatter, Jimmy regaled them with stories of his Florida adventures with large cartoon characters, flying boats, and motel pools. They listened and ate their meal into the settling darkness. By the time they were done, evening was upon them.

Sarah insisted that Jimmy come and stay with her this weekend. She let him appear to manage her in such a way that, by the end of their bargain, he would be guaranteed to drive her boat. Fred smiled at his mother's interplay with her new grandson. Obviously, this play had been performed before many times.

Peg looked at Jimmy, "You need a bath, little boy... I can smell you from here..."

Jimmy sniffed himself, "You do not..."

"I think the Sniffle monster is here..." Peg grabbed him, and sniffed him all over, tickling him with her nose and her fingers.

Jimmy reached for Fred, "Save me, Fred... The Sniffle Monster's got me!"

Fred grabbed him and threw him over his shoulder. They ran screaming into their yard. Everyone else trailed along to see them as Fred dove into the pool, throwing Jimmy out in front of him, then, he grabbed him and stood in the water with Jimmy high on his shoulders, water streaming down their wet clothes."

He raised his arms. Jimmy did the same. "There, Mommy... All clean..."

Peg stood with her hands on her hips trying to look mad, "Uhhh... swell... Now I have two children to raise..."

Jimmy laughed and hugged Fred's head, "No... really... Freddy's the Dad... aren't you, Freddy... Mommy... I'm the child..."

With her heart totally melted, she turned and looked at her mother, Agnes, equally moved, said, "Out of the mouths of babes..." Sarah nodded in agreement.

Peg held out the towel, "Freddy...please get out of there before you ruin your shoes..."

"I've got lots more shoes, sweetie... but, I've only got one boy... Head's up, Grampa!" In another lightening move, he pitched Jimmy into his grandfather's arms.

"In coming!" Big Jim easily caught the laughing child. All of them were reminded that Fred's dad used to do that with Jimmy and Freddy and Peg when they were little. All of the adults exchanged a smile at the shared memory.

Peg wrapped Jimmy in the towel as Fred hauled himself out of the pool.

"I hate to drive in the dark... So... I'll see y'all..." Sarah left them with kisses and hugs.

Agnes and Big Jim kissed the wet baby and headed home. Peg and Fred went in as well. Jimmy was taken right to his bathroom. A bath was drawn and the tub was filled with boats. He played contentedly in the warm water.

Fred went into Peg's bathroom. He stripped down so she could throw his clothes in her dryer. While he was showering, she had gone out and gotten his bag. She had laid out dry clothes on her bed.

He dressed and went into Jimmy's room. "What's going on in here?"

Jimmy jumped and laughed, "Mommy's gonna read me a story..."

"Ooooh... can I listen, too?"

"Are you sleepy... cuz sometimes I go right to sleep..."

"We'll see..."

"Wait, said Peg, "I need to get something..." She went out.

When she was gone, Fred climbed up on Jimmy's bed and laid right on top of Jimmy, "There... I'm comfy... How about you?" He held his weight off the boy as he wiggled around, "This bed is lumpy..."

"No..." Jimmy laughed and struggled. Fred waited for the next push as Jimmy struggled to get out. When Jimmy gave a tiny push, Fred rolled himself off the bed onto the floor.

"Hey... that wasn't nice... I could have a broken carbuncle..." Then, he acted as if he were passed out unconscious, watching Jimmy through slitted eyes.

Jimmy came after him in a flash, "Freddy! You okay?"

Fred grabbed him and pulled him on top of him. "Tickle pile!" He began to tickle Jimmy. To both Fred and Peg's surprise, Jimmy tickled Freddy back. Fred, in self-defense, sent Jimmy flying back onto his bed and lifted himself up into the rocking chair. It did her heart good to see them play together.

"All right boys... Settle down!" She tucked Jimmy back into his bed.

"Freddy... I have something for you... I found these in a box in the attic..." She put five small notebooks in his lap. In the faded and water stained pages, Fred recognized the cramped writing style of his father's handwriting.

"What is this, Peg?"

"Your Daddy must have written down all of our adventures as detectives... maybe he was going to publish them... or, maybe, he just wanted the stories to be remembered..."

"You never read them?"

"No... I only found them a month or so ago... besides, I figured that he wrote them for you... I wanted to give them to you first... This seemed like the perfect moment..." Silently, the tears came. He nodded and wept.

"Mommy...Why is Freddy crying?"

Fred got up and went into the bathroom. They heard him blow his nose loudly. Then, they heard water running. He came back after a short while, "Sometimes, sonny... We cry when we are happy... Your mommy just gave me a precious gift..."

"Those books?"

"Those books were written by your Grampa Jack... my daddy... he went to be with Jesus before you were born..."

"Way back then?"

The adults laughed, "Yes, baby...way back then... Anyway, when we were just a little older than you are now, your mother and your Aunt Teeny... and your Unka Jimmer and me and some other boys..."

"I know this part... You were all famous detectives... Unka Jimmer told me..."

"Yep...that about covers it..." he and Peg laughed.

"Read me all of them..."

"Nope... just one at a time..." Fred opened the top notebook. It was wrinkled and spotted from water damage and years of neglect. He turned the first page. He was glad to see that the inside pages were still readable. Expecting to be saddened, Fred was surprised to feel a sense of new found joy as his father's version of the story unfolded.

He began, "Ready Freddy and The Great Pop Bottle Mystery..."

Peg sat on the bed, holding Jimmy's little hand. She and Fred laughed at the funny insights about the behind the scenes interplay that had been added by her Unka Jack. They shared the beauty of listening to the story of how a mystery was unraveled by the wit and daring of the intrepid members of the Ready Freddy Detective Agency. The story went as Fred remembered. When it ended and the true criminals were in custody, Fred said, "The end... Actually... it was the beginning..."

"Wow... That was all different than the one Unka Jimmer told me... Unka Jimmers versions had him as the hero...He told me he solved all the mysteries and fought all the bad guys alone..."

"What a shock..." said Peg.

"That's our Jimmy the credit hog...But, Sonny... Your Grampa Jack's version is the true version. I swear..."

"All right, Mister... That was your story. Now, time for sleep..." She kissed him. They backed out.

"Wait..."

"What?"

"I need a kiss from Freddy..." Fred went back in and obliged the boy.

They went downstairs. Fred was holding the books against his heart. They sat together on the couch, "I have been so unfair to my dad..."

"Really?"

"I am embarrassed to be this astounded at the writing skill displayed by my truck driving father. I never gave him enough credit. I feel terrible."

"Well... he kept his talent pretty hidden..."

"These books force me to see my father in a whole new light. He wrote with a sensitivity of the nuances of our whole story. He missed nothing..."

"You're the apple, Big City... he was the tree... Did you think you fell on your head and woke up with detecting skills..."

"But, the way he saw us... He saw your need to be taken seriously. He wrote so glowingly of the gift of acknowledgement that I gave you..."

"It was huge, Freddy... It changed my life..."

"All that from simple act of listening to your theories and plans of attack."

"No, sweetie... The greatest gift that you gave me was when you had implemented my solution and then, you kept following it through when it had not born immediate fruit."

"It was a good plan... It was better than anything me or your dumb assed brother had thought of..."

"Unka Jack had seen that solving this crime and saving Jimmy's reputation had been a team effort. This team was forged in the fire of effort and ultimate triumph."

"Even if it took us a life time to finish the circle..."

"God's time..." He gave her back the books. "These belong on Little Jimmy's bookcase. They are a gift to him from his Grampa Jack."

"Okay..."

"I've got one more question..."

"What's that, Big City?"

"Can you arrange a meeting some time tomorrow with Pastor Weston?"

"Sure... Why?"

"Ummm... Maybe he'll marry us next Sunday after Service... Almost everyone that we would have invited will already be there... We invite your parents and the Wilkinsons and we're full up..."

She jumped into his arms, "Oh, Freddy..."

"Again... Is that a yes?"

"Hell or high water, Big City... We are doing this... I will swear before God that have waited long enough for you!"

"Besides... If we wait, Teeny won't fit in that little red dress..."

She punched him in the chest, "You keep your mind on me, Big City..."

"You are so easy..."

She begins patting her pockets, "Where's my knife..."

"Ooops... Time to go! Good night, then..." He kissed her deeply.

She pulled back, "Wait? What?"

"Sugar... Every window on this block has some blue haired spy in it... I'll meet you and Jimmy at Teeny's. Roll Call is at seven... Every busybody on your street is going to see me leave at a decent hour... Kiss me and close the door..."

"You're going to the boathouse without me?"

"No way could I sleep in that place by myself... And... Teeny's shower is way too big for one at a time..."

She laughed, "All right, then you can go..." She kissed him and he left her. He got in his car and drove to his mother's cabin. He fell into an exhausted sleep.

Chapter 33; Monday AM

He woke early. He looked out the window at the still water of the lake. He poured a cup of cold coffee and went to sit on a bench by the dock. His mother came out in a loose cotton shift. She had heated up her own cup. He patted the seat next to him.

He spoke without looking at her, "You going to be in church next Sunday?" He finished his coffee and put the cup on the dock.

"What kind of a question is that? Of course I am..."

"Feel like buying a bouquet... Peg's gonna need one..."

She almost spilled her coffee putting it down. She hugged her son, "You will..? You are..? So soon..?"

"Mother... Peg and I agree that we've waiting long enough."

"When exactly..."

"We're meeting with Pastor Weston today if Peg can arrange it. I just thought... right after service... I mean, everyone would already be there... I'm kind of a big deal..."

His mother swatted his arm, "Oh, you!"

"However, Mother dear... Mum's the word until we meet with the pastor... Got it?"

Just then, his phone rang. He saw that it was Peg, "Good morning, sweetie..."

"I just talked to Pastor Weston... He'll meet us at eight at Teeny's..."

"You woke up the pastor..."

"Uhhhh... No... we generally jog in Lincoln Park together... I knew where he was and we ran together..."

"You run..?"

"Sure...three or four times a week...Gotta keep my coltish figure..."

"Who's got the baby?"

"Mom comes over... She's always been an early riser... She's running Vacation Bible School this week... She can read her lessons and prepare on my table as easily as her own... Daddy's working on his brakes before the heat comes..."

"Got it..."

"And... I offered him breakfast if we could talk..."

"God said...Let there be food!"

"You are a bad man..."

"So... Did you tell them?"

"Nothing to say yet?"

"True dat..."

"Oh, you are so 80's hip..."

"Word..."

She laughed, "See ya at Teeny's..."

"Hey... did anyone tell you that they loved you yet today?"

"Pastor told me that Jesus loved me..."

"Except for that... They pay him to say that..."

She paused a moment, and said slowly, "Nope... I don't think anyone has..."

"Well...let me be the first... Margaret Eloise Simpson... I love you..."

She laughed a little from the pure pleasure of hearing what she had waited so long to hear. "And I love you, Freddy..." She answered softly.

"My mom's coming to the diner... You better ask yours or we'll have hell to pay..." Sarah laughed at that.

"Yep... I'll get them there...Bye..." They clicked off together.

"Peg set up the meeting with the pastor. Care to come for breakfast at the diner?"

"Actually... I'm supposed to work at VBS with Agnes... But, not until 10ish... Lunch is generally a madhouse..."

"Showers?"

"Sonny... I've already had my shower... Your daddy's job got us up at 4 AM every day till he died... Never could shake the early riser thing..."

"Mama... Did you know Daddy wrote books about me and Jimmy and the Ready Freddy Detective Agency... and Peg... and Teeny... all of us?"

"I knew something about some notebooks that he kept in his truck... All that stuff came home in a box from his locker after he died. I was so torn up and lost that I told Big Jim to put that box in the attic... I guess I just forgot about it after that... I thought they burned up in the fire..."

"I read one to Little Jimmy last night... God, I love that boy already..."

They started walking up to the house, "That's great, Freddy... You sure seemed fine with him last night..."

"Jimmy had really helped... He used to tell his nephew the 'Jimmy' versions, you know, where he's the real hero, but still, it was the Ready Freddy stories... He told him that I had taught him to pitch... Little Jimmy kind of already knew me as part of their family..."

"That's a good start... You're a lot better at rough house play than we three women are... and Big Jim's knees keep him out of good wrestling matches..."

"Thanks, Mom... I was pretty scared of how it might go..." He hugged his mother and they went into their separate ends of the house to get ready for their day. They drove their own cars to the diner.

When Fred arrived, his mother waited outside for Agnes and Jim. Fred went in. He saw Greg and Jeannie at a far table. Little Jimmy was sitting by the Sheriff eating a single pancake. "Hey guys... I gotta talk to the Pastor for a second... You guys wanna join us or..?"

"Nah... we just got here...Jeannie and Teeny have been exchanging puke stories... Me and the pip squeak here were coloring on our place mats... Mine was better of course..."

"Was not..." said Jimmy with his mouth full, "Miss Teeny said I was great at coloring..."

Greg continued, "So...I just need to sit here a moment to collect myself..." he and Jimmy laughed as Jeannie punched his arm.

Fred went over to his other meeting. Peg and the Pastor were sitting at one of the big round tables at the other end of the diner from the Hansens. Pastor Weston was just finishing a stack of hotcakes. Peg's breakfast had already been demolished.

Fred looked at her empty plate. "Hey... I ran four miles... I was starving..."

Fred shook the other man's hand. "Pastor... in a second, we are going to be assaulted by our parents, so I have to ask you fast. Can you... Will you... marry us after service this Sunday?"

The Pastor turned to his smart phone. He punched a couple of buttons and said, "Umm... that will be swell..."

"Great... Thanks."

"So... I want to see you both in my office this evening at... ummm... 7... I assume you will have your paperwork done today...and... Rehearsal will be Friday at 6..." He typed into his phone and put it back in his pocket.

They looked at each other and nodded, "Yes!"

He slid out of the booth, ignoring the check, "Well... The county VBS starts today... Gotta go help any way I can... Even when bible school is not at my church, there are things for every pastor to do..."

Fred stood and shook his hand, "Thanks, Pastor..."

Fred sat, "That was easy..." They kissed good morning as the three parents came in.

Agnes said, "Was that Pastor Weston we saw driving off?"

Fred waited until they had all settled into seats, "So..? Do you suppose that your church could spare you both on Sunday..."

"I don't know... I make coffee and Big Jim is an usher... Wait!...Why are you asking such a silly question..."

"I don't know...maybe you could arrange some substitutes... kind of a big deal... You'd hate to miss it."

Big Jim had already figured it out. He sat back to watch Freddy mess with his wife's head. Agnes's mouth drew into a fine line, "Fredrick... This is not funny... What do you want?"

Peg leaned forward, "Mama... it's really about what I want..."

"Okay... What do you want, Margaret?"

"I want my parents to give me away to the man that I have loved since I was 6 years old."

"But, I'm already married..." said Big Jim and everyone but Agnes laughed. She looked from face to face, but, they all just sat there.

"Not you, Daddy... I have loved you since I was born, silly... I meant him!" Everyone but Agnes laughed again as she pointed at Fred.

Finally, Fred let her off the hook, "Agnes... On Sunday, after the regular service, Peg and I will be wed... We need you there..."

"Well of course we'll be there! Where else would we be?" But Agnes's mind was elsewhere. She had seen Little Teeny slip into the women's rest room looking sick, then a few moments later, Teeny had come out wiping her face with a wet towel.

Big Jim laughed, "We went to the other three weddings... and we love you..."

"Not funny, Daddy..."

Fred left them planning flowers and dresses and went to meet his boss. There was an uneaten plate. "Is this mine?"

"No... eat it! Jeannie's off her feed..."

"Okay..."

Greg looked up from his breakfast, "Big Pow wow over there?"

"Ummm... kinda... We're getting married after church on Sunday..."

"Oh, yay!" Jeannie scooted out of the booth and ran over to Peg, setting off a chorus of screaming and jumping. The two men shook their heads as Little Teeny came out of the kitchen setting off another bout of screaming and jumping.

"Cheerleaders," Fred said and Greg just nodded in agreement.

After a while, promising to keep things in a tight loop, Jeannie and Peg returned to the boy's table. Agnes came and collected Little Jimmy, "We'll be home about four..."

"Okay, Ma... Listen... we have to meet with the Pastor this evening about 7..." Agnes acted as if she were listening, but, her attention was on Little Teeny slipping into the women's again. Now, she had another mystery to solve.

Big Jim spoke in a low, serious tone, "Ya know... I haven't whupped anybody's butt at Putt Putt in weeks..."

Jimmy put his hands on his hips, "And you're not gonna beat me today either, Grampa!"

They all laughed as they left, heading for VBS. Agnes kept trying to see Little Teeny, but, she had to leave with the rest before Teeny came out.

Once the roll call was settled, Greg took a UPS envelope out of his brief case. "I am pleased to return your CPD shield, Sergeant."

"Pleased!?! What do you mean? I'm fired... This case isn't done!"

"Cool your jet's, Freddy... I wondered if I could talk you into sending it back to Chicago with your retirement papers... I seem to have a full time opening... I talked to the Pope County Justice Committee... With the increased appropriations and the staff hole we just plugged, I can almost pay you what you're worth..."

"Okay... That was my long term plan anyway... I was hoping that we could work something out so that we could stay..." He took his old friend's hand. Jeannie and Peg whooped again.

All of the Wilkinson's came out of the kitchen. "Little Teeny was just telling us what all the screaming was about..."

Peg hugged Mama, "Will you guys come to the wedding..."

"Yes, Child..."

Fred jumped in, "Here's a plan... Come with us to the Service... Then, you'll already be there for the wedding...Then, we'll party..."

Fred hugged Mama Teeny and shook Papa Junior's hand. "Wait... the party... Mama... Papa... I know that this is short notice, but, can we rent this place Sunday afternoon?"

"You surely can, Sheriff... As of now, we is officially closed this Sunday... Papa Junior can get the meat ready... he aint much for church... He'll come for wedding... Denny can watch things for an hour... We would be proud to host your fait deaux doe... That's a wedding party in Loosiana... and in Jamaica..."

He hugged the giant woman, "Fait deaux doe, it is, Mama..."

As they were getting ready to leave, Greg said, "Freddy... it was busy around here while you were gone... Denny got sent to East St. Louis on a DUI... the Marshall Service rounded up Digger and his kids... He plead out and turned state's evidence..."

"That's good for them, I guess..."

"Yeah... Jimmy was never indicted, since he's dead..."

"That's good for Peg and his folks..."

"Simpler and cheaper... So, for now, I want you to go roust the skateboarders first..."

"Roger that, Boss... but, I never catch them..."

"We don't want to catch them. They're not worth the paperwork. Still... It looks good if we chase them every other day or so..."

"Roger that!"

Jeannie said, "Freddy... I already filled out your retirement papers... Pick them up when you can..." Everyone laughed at her efficiency. "And, Peg, I have your marriage license application all filled out on my desk as well."

"Can I come get it now?"

"Okay... Sergeant, I am dispatching you to the Justice center to sign that form..."

"Roger that, Dispatch..."

Greg shook his head, "I'm only the Sheriff, while she is the Empress of all that she surveys..." They all laughed. "Okay... I'll go roust the skateboarders... You go do my wife's paperwork..."

"I hear and obey..." Greg and Jeannie took off towards Golconda.

"I aint even going to try and race you to the Court House, sugar..."

"You think you could beat me, Big City?"

"I might try to beat you and wreck the Chicago PD's car..."

"Caint have that now, can we?" She hugged him and got in her car.

Fred followed her to Golconda in his car. Peg took him through a new country road path that he could not possibly have found on his own. In half the expected time, they found parking spaces and went into their office. Fred finished his forms and signed them. He gave the envelope to Jeannie.

She gave him another form, "Sign next to Peg, Please!"

"Since I might have filed these forms before, I already know where to file. Once we have filed them and signed stuff in front of them, you can leave them with me, Big City. I will wait for them. You have to get on patrol..."

He looked at Jeannie, "I don't even have arrest forms... What if I actually catch someone?"

"You just go arrest whoever I tell you and bring them here. Then, I will help you with the forms when you get them here..."

"Roger that, Dispatch..."

"Come on, Freddy... They're waiting on us..."

"He waved to Jeannie. "I'll call you when we're done over at the Marriage Office..."

"Sounds good..."

Hand in hand, they made their way to the Old County Hall. They filed their papers. Peg kissed him and said, "I'll wait here for the documents. We will need them tonight..."

"Thanks, Sweetie..."

"Go get 'em, Sheriff..."

"That's Under Sheriff..."

"I know... You're my Sheriff... I would have gone back to Chicago with you, but, I am so glad we're staying here... We already have two houses and everything..." They kissed.

He found his car and keyed the radio on his belt, "Dispatch... I am clean and green for duty... What's my 20?"

"Set your radio to Tach 1... Why don't you start by heading out by the park again... Chase the skateboarders, But..."

"I know... Don't catch them... I remember..." He headed out along the river. He found himself moving along through the tiny roads in the shady park. Every time he saw skateboarders, he would pretend to give chase. Like birds in the wild, they would take flight in every direction. It was a dance that played out several times a day in the summertime.

He drove around in response to Jeannie's dispatched directions. The radio calls from the other deputies told Fred the day to day life story of the people of Pope County. He visited people that had not been seen for a while. He investigated broken windows. He knew that there were six other cars out on Pope county roads. Jeannie was giving him the powder puff calls.

Well into the morning, his phone rang. Without looking at it, he said, "MacGarn..."

"Hey, Big City..."

"Hey, pretty girl..."

"When's lunch?"

"It's pretty quiet... whenever..."

"How close are you to my boathouse?"

"I dunno... six minutes..."

"Call Jeannie..."

"You inviting her or me to lunch..."

"You figure that out and uh, come see me... I 've got sandwiches and sodies... I might be nekkid..."

"Ohhh... Jeannie would hate that..."

"But, you don't!"

"No, ma'am... I don't... I think that I'm supposed to meet you..."

"You are getting warm..."

"And... you are gonna share your lunch with me?"

"You are so smart... I should marry you..."

"Really?" and they laughed together.

He keyed his radio, "Dispatch!"

"Dispatch," came back.

"Going 10-10, 10-8 for lunch...off radio... on phone... Okay?"

"It's quiet today, Sergeant... Don't you have some moving issues to address..."

"Yes..."

"After 1300, I'm dropping your status to 10-7... We have to use up those 22 days of vacation that the CPD still owes you... So... go deal with your personal stuff... I don't have you scheduled here until Friday either... I can use the part timers... They love the time on duty."

"Who's playing in St. Louis tomorrow?"

"let me look... Holy cats... It's the Cubs!"

"That settles that... Me and my new family are going to see the birds play some ball..."

"You guys have fun and be safe..."

"10-4, Dispatch..." he pulled into the boathouse drive. He pulled into the garage next to Peg's car. He closed the doors and went up the steps to the boathouse. Pushing open the creaking door, he saw a pair of shorts thrown on the floor. He shut the door and pulled the curtains to save the cool inside air. Two steps away, he saw a flower print cotton shirt. He could see a path of garments all the way to the bed where Peg was pretending to sleep.

With a chuckle, he pulled his shirt out of his pants and kicked off his shoes. Paying no attention to the woman in the bed, he went on through into the bathroom. His stripped down and hung his clothes on the racks. He got into the shower and found the right temp. A long tanned arm reached in, "I geev you goot shower, Meester..."

He grabbed her and pulled her into the water. He kissed her deeply. "Now, that's the best lunch I ever had."

"You aint full yet, are you, Sheriff?"

He poured shampoo on her head and began to lather her hair. "We been out there sweating... let's have a clean meal?"

"Roger that, Sheriff." She began to lather his hair as well.

He rubbed soap and his hands all over her body until she was breathless. "We must be very, very clean."

She did the same to him paying special attention to her favorite spots. When he responded appropriately, she climbed on board. With moans and words of love, they joined in their favorite dance until the water turned cold and ruined the moment. "Damn... I forgot about that water heater," he said as they toweled each other off.

Peg moved quickly under the old quilt on the bed. She picked up the bedding to make a space for him, "Come to bed, my darling... we can't have you nervous when we are going to see the preacher." So, he did.

Their first visit to the land of loving had been ruined by the cold water. In a moment they picked up where they left off. Their loving was hot and fast. They sought and gave with the fire of new found joy. The quilt ended up on the floor unnoticed. Then, they rested a moment among the sweaty sheets and pillows.

Their second gift to each other was slower and sweeter. For the next hour, they did their best to remove each other's last bit of nervousness. They learned and they taught, exploring the needs and wants and the solution to best ways of meeting those needs and wants as they gave and took to the full extent of their union. Then, they slept a short while. Fred was awakened by Peg's hands doing wondrous and magical things to his favorite part.

He cupped her breast. The energy pouring into his hand astounded him. His hands ached to touch her and, as he did, he needed to touch her even more. The stiffened nipple massaging his palm healed them both. He asked himself how this level of power could flow between them in such a short time.

That was his last actual thought before the flames that Peg was creating caught hold of him and they dived into the cauldron of fire together. He pulled her to him and fit himself in her deepest vault of safe keeping. In a dance of the oldest and newest kind, the rhythms of life took over and they shared their sweet love until the flames burst around them.

When they were able to catch their breaths and were pretty happy with their level of relaxation, they lay in the cool room. He kissed her deeply, savoring the taste and the feel of her velvet soft lips. Breaking the kiss, he said, "As pleasant of a meal as you are, my sweet... I was enticed here with the promise of actual lunch..."

"Oh, my... Have I forgotten the true needs of a big city police sergeant?"

"Well... I don't want to complain, but, I am kind of hungry," he said in a whiney voice.

She padded off to the kitchen in all her naked glory. Fred thoroughly enjoyed the view. He whistled softly. She exaggerated her hip movements. She smiled over her shoulder as she entered the kitchen. In a moment, she returned with a large square plastic container and a couple of sweaty diet cokes. "How's this, master?"

"A promise well answered, fair maiden... A repast fit for the laird of the manor..."

They ate their sandwiches among the rumpled sheets of their lover's bed. Then, they took another quick shower and got dressed. Fred said, "Let's go see that boy... I feel the tickle monster coming on..."

Peg laughed and pushed him back onto the couch, "Race ya!"

"You are such a cheater..." He clawed his way up from the lumpy old couch and raced after her. As he made it to the deck, she was opening the garage and jumping into her car.

With a growl he ran across the parking lot and fired up his Crown Victoria. Hitting the lights and sirens, he peeled out backward and, making a classic three point turn, he peeled out onto the River Road toward his mother's cabin. Peg was nowhere in sight on the twisted old road. He went as fast as he dared. Even with his lights and sirens going, he never got near her. As expected, he caused quite a stir, roaring through his mother's quiet lakeside village. People came out to see what the fuss was about. After a minute, they shook their heads and went back to their soaps.

At the last few houses, he killed the Code 3. Running along the road, looking between the cabins, he saw his mother and Jimmy just tying up her boat. He jumped out of his car and ran around her cabin, but Peg was already there holding her son. Fred ran up to them with his arms out and his hands in claws.

Sarah, who recognized this game from Freddy's childhood screamed, "Eeeek... The Tickle Monster... Everybody run!" She ran flapping her arms into her house. Peg ran the other way and Fred scooped up Jimmy and fell into the grass so that he could tickle him. Jimmy was laughing and calling for his mother.

Peg ran back and said, "Come on, fight back..." She began to tickle Fred. Jimmy teamed up with his mom against Fred and a huge wrestling match ensued where everyone was tickling everyone. When they were all breathless, they lay in the grass and laughed. Both Peg and Jimmy lay on their backs with their heads on Fred's lap. Sarah was nearly brought to tears as she watched her son playing with his new family. With a smile on her face, she went into her small kitchen to start supper.

Fred for his part was more content than he could remember being. He lay there in the warm grass with one hand on each. "Peg, do me a favor?"

"Sure... what?"

"Go on line and get us Cardinals tickets for tomorrow..."

"What about VBS?"

"Both grammas will understand... I have to use up my CPD vacation time... I'm assigned off until Friday this week... I'll have three more days off next week for a honeymoon... We'll need some other days off to go sell the Chicago properties... It'll go like that until I use twenty two days up billed to CPD... Jeannie has it all worked out."

"I'll bet she does..." she laughed. "Do we have to take Jimmy... He hates baseball."

Jimmy jumped up, "No I don't... Come on... Take me with you guys... I'll be so quiet, you won't even know I'm there!"

Fred looked at Peg. As one, they shook their heads. "Nope," said Fred. "That's a terrible idea..." he said with mock seriousness.

"Awww... come on..."

"The only way for you to go is if you have to make as much noise as possible!" he scooped the boy up and threw him over his shoulder, running into the cabin.

"Yaaaayyy!"

"Yay!" replied the adults.

Fred started tickling Jimmy again, "Help me, Gramma... The Tickle Monster has got me!"

"Body slam!" Fred lifted Jimmy up to the ceiling and deposited him safely but at a fast speed onto the couch and began tickling him.

"Help me! Help me!"

Almost unable to breathe from the fullness of her heart, Sarah came to the rescue with a wooden spoon. She spanked Freddy and said, "You leave my baby alone, you mean Tickle Monster!" They all collapsed on the couch laughing. Peg watched them smiling, "Aunty Sarah..?"

"I think you better call me Mama..."

"Hey... let me ask her, okay?"

Fred laughed, "Go on, sonny..."

"Gramma Sarah, ya wanna go to the Cards game with us tomorrow?"

Sarah looked from face to face, "How could I say no to that... they can do without us tomorrow..."

Peg sat in the big chair and opened her laptop, "Okay... you boys go wash... I'll see about getting us four tickets..."

Fred and Jimmy went into the bathroom to wash up. Listening to them water fight as they cleaned each other, Peg laughed as she brought up the ticket site for the Cardinals. Since it was a weekday, they were able to get four tickets together. They ate a quiet supper of hotdogs and beans and potato salad. When they were done, Fred and Peg did the dishes together. Sarah and Jimmy went out to her deck and played checkers.

After a few games, Peg said, "Come on, Jimmy... We have to find all of our game clothes..."

"Okay... I'll pick you up so we can go meet the Rev... " he said.

"Okay... I'll drop Jimmy at my Mom's." At Peg's car, they kissed briefly and she drove off.

Later, Fred pulled up and honked. Peg came out of her house. She had changed into a flowing billowy dress in a hot pink with green flowers. "Man... You look good enough to eat..."

Her green eyes flashed, "Down, boy... You are NOT... I repeat NOT... messing up my hair or my make up on the way to see the preacher..."

He sighed heavily and dropped his cruiser into gear. He drove the thirteen miles to the Eddyville church that he had grown up in. As he drove along, he absent-mindedly rested his hand on her very warm thigh. He was instantly aware of electricity flowing into his hand. He began to move his hand up and down the velvety expanse which only increased the flow of energy between them. He was thoroughly enjoying the touch of her thigh against his open palm.

Fred watched Peg out of the corner of his eye. He noticed with great pleasure her deep intake of breath. When he saw her nipples push through the front of the light material of her dress, he smiled. She saw him smile and smacked his hand as she pulled her dress down over her knees, "Behave!"

He smiled, "Yes, ma'am..."

She backhanded his shoulder, "I mean it... I'm getting my church lady on..."

"I mean it, too... I cannot keep my hands off of you... Every day, I want you more..." He took her hand. He took it to his lips and kissed it softly. "I love you, Peg... I didn't think I would ever say that again..."

"Oh, You just keep on like that, Big City, and we are either going to wreck this car or pull over and then... we will definitely be late to see the Rev..."

"Not likely, Miss Hot Pants... There's the church."

Peg took a deep breath and tried to compose herself. She watched the church grow bigger in the front wind screen of the car. When they arrived, Fred helped her out of his car. They spent the next hour and a half going over the items and feelings that would help the Pastor get himself and them ready for their union in his church and the life they were planning together. He knew from the busybody network what their stories were. He could tell from just a few minutes that a lifelong friendship would help them get through. By the end of the meeting, he was glad that they had chosen him to officiate over their wedding and he told them so.

Chapter 34; Tuesday

The next morning, they drove in separate cars to Peg's house for breakfast. Fred and Sarah walked up and knocked on the door. Peg opened the door and stood gaping, "What are you wearing?"

Sarah smiled at her and went in, "Where's my new grandson?"

"What? This? It's what I always wear... It's a real Ryan Sanberg jersey... I paid two hundred bucks for it... He was our All Star Second Baseman for years..."

"Let me get this straight, Big City... You're wearing a Cubs jersey to a Cardinals game?"

"No... I'm wearing a Cubs jersey to a Cubs game... which happens to be in St. Louis..."

She pursed her lips and shook her head, "Okay..."

"You don't kiss guys who wear Cubs gear?"

"Okay... but only because I know what you look like under that hideous outfit..." She moved against him and joined her lips warmly and softly against him. He grabbed her and the kiss deepened until they were both breathless.

Big Jim came by, "Get a room..." and kept going into the kitchen. "Jimmy boy... Grampa has your glove... You left it on my porch again..."

"Thank you, Grampa..." jimmy's tiny voice came echoing from the kitchen.

"Come on breakfast is ready... As you can see, Mom and Dad are here, too."

"Yummy... Smells great..."

Morning greetings were exchanged. Fred laughed to note that Big Jim was wearing Jimmy's old White Sox jersey with his Cardinals hat. He said, "It's the funniest thing... Gramma here arranged for the Hoffenheimer sisters to cover for her at VBS... so, I got us some tickets, too... And... they are in the same section... And... we are only two rows back from you guys... Aint that a hoot..."

"It is excellent..."

"Yeah... When we get there, maybe we can trade with people to sit together..."

Fred laughed, "We'll keep a good thought..."

"Jerry, a guy who lives down the street, needed to borrow my pickup, so, he traded me his van. We can all fit in and save gas and parking..."

"Good thinking..."

They ate and got situated in the van. They drove without incident to St. Louis. The day was bright but not too hot. They all agreed that it was a perfect day for baseball. The game was an excellent example of this storied old rivalry. Through inning after inning, the pitchers were locked in a duel. The game was close and St. Louis pulled it out in their last at bat.

They went to a restaurant right by the stadium and had a great family dinner. The drive home was uneventful. Jimmy was asleep in the middle bench seat. Fred and Peg were in the far back seat. Peg, like Jimmy, was asleep before they got out of city traffic. Once they were home, they said good night to her parents.

He took a small gym bag out of his car and gave his mom a hug, "Good Night, Mom."

"You're sleeping on her couch, Right?"

"Probably not, Mom..."

Sarah just sighed, "You know that everyone is watching..."

"Mom... Let the busybody network do their worst..."

"Oh, you..."

"Mama... I love that girl... We're getting married on Sunday..."

"Sonny boy... I love her too..."

"Last word, Ma... I'm an adult...She's an adult..."

"I know very well how old you are."

"If I'm gonna live here next week, I'm moving in today..."

While all of this had gone on, Peg had carried Jimmy in and put him to bed in his clothes. She pulled off his shoes and kissed his forehead. She heard Sarah's car backing out of her driveway. She was surprised to Find that Fred was still in her kitchen when she came down. She walked over and kissed him softly, "You sure, Big City?"

"Serious as a heart attack, my darling Peg..."

"Come on, then, because Jimmy's an early riser and I'm tired as hell..."

"Lead on..." Unlike the boathouse, they had to be a lot quieter, but, somehow, they managed to be equally passionate, throwing off their clothes and jumping onto the unmade bed. They joined in the sweetest loving they had known. After some serious fun and then, some more fun in the shower, they made it back to the bedroom. Without saying a word, Peg watched him pull some cloth sports pants and a T shirt out of his overnight bag. She was surprised to see that Fred had dressed in pajamas before going to sleep.

He caught her eye. He shrugged, "What? Oh, these..? We learned to sleep in clothing when we used to do sleep over babysitting for our friends so they could get away... So... Jimmy, who, if he's like any other six year old, will end up in this bed before we are ready to wake... will not get a surprise... If you know what I mean..."

"Damn, Big City... What a gift you are... Smart and beautiful..."

"Awww... shucks, ma'am... Them's the bonuses..."

"Riiiight..." She smiled at him and pulled out a pretty white pajama set and put it on. It just made him want to explore under her garments for more treasures. He pulled her to him as she joined him on the bed.

"Down, Tarzan... Jane is exhausted..."

Chapter 35; Wednesday

She snuggled up to him and he was instantly aware that the best part of his night and morning was going to be that they were going to go to sleep and then, wake up in each other's arms. They were so tired from their adventures in St. Louis that neither one woke the other for any midnight shenanigans.

They woke in the early gray light of predawn when Jimmy, as predicted, was jumping on the bed. "Come on, guys... Fred promised me pancakes..."

Peg looked at him with one eyebrow cocked, "Really? Me too? I like pancakes."

"I might have alluded to some expertise at mouse shaped pancakes... We would make them at the Police and Fireman's Pancake Breakfasts up on Navy Pier. I will need some batter. I am only... the grill arteest..."

Peg laughed, "So... these are Big City pancakes?"

He just smiled and pulled Jimmy under the covers. He threw the blanket over them and started tickling him, "RRRRrrrrrr!" Then he started tickling Peg. In a flash, everyone was tickling everyone else until all the blankets and sheets were kicked off onto the floor and everyone was breathing hard. As they rested with Jimmy on one shoulder and Peg on the other, Fred was overcome with joy.

Peg looked at her son resting comfortably on Fred's chest with one arm thrown over him. For a moment, she thought he had gone back to sleep until he murmured, "Pancakes..."

She was astounded at how quickly Jimmy had taken to Fred's physical style of play. His own father, Danny had never been like this. Jimmy was his only child and mostly they seemed awkward together. She wondered where he had learned to be both very physical with Jimmy and gentle with him as well. He was able to maintain a balance between being just rough enough and knowing when to quit.

Danny's idea of play was to share his Nintendo controllers with Jimmy. She felt a wave of love that made her heartstrings tightened one more notch. She got up and said, "You boys get showered and dressed while I make the batter. Then while the big city arteest is making his creations, I'll get my shower."

Once Peg was gone, Fred poked Jimmy, "You heard the boss lady.., Go wash your stinky butt!"

Jimmy stood by the bed and looked at him indignantly, "My butt doesn't stink!"

Fred cut a huge fart, "Oh, yeah... That was my stinky butt."

Jimmy fell face first onto the bed laughing. Then he pushed out a small fart, "Oh, yeah... Me too!" He ran off to his bathroom.

Peg had stood listening in the hall. After Jimmy had gone into his bath, she stuck her head back in, "Freddy," she said in her best Mom voice, "I have spent years trying to get him to stop that..."

He stood and went to her. "What?" he asked innocently. He gave her a kiss that almost made her forget that she was mad. Then, he ruined it with, "I didn't hear nothing..."

She smacked his ass hard, "Oh, you..."

He ran into the shower leaving a trail of clothes that she desperately wanted to follow. Instead she picked them up and folded the pants onto the bed and pitched the T shirt into her hamper. Then, humming to herself, she went off to make coffee and batter for her boys.

Fred found her there trying to get some juice into Jimmy. Apparently, he wanted chocolate milk. Fred sprayed some oil on the griddle. It sizzled to show proper temperature. Then, he looked at Jimmy and drank his juice in one drink, "Ya know... Ordinary people do drink chocolate milk with pancakes, but, police and fireman drink juice..."

"I don't have any juice..."

Fred poured batter into a large and two small circles to make the classic mouse head shapes. It had been a while, but, it came back to him quickly. Four sets quickly filled the griddle. Jimmy's mother refilled his glass and he drank some, "You are right... that is good..."

Peg and Fred smiled at each other. "You're a natural, Big City..."

Fred talked as he cooked, "Decades of practicing on other people's kids... Don't tell him, but, he's a natural son, too... This aint a one boy dance..."

While he was cooking and talking to Jimmy, Peg ran up to get her shower. She came down wet and smelling of girlie smells to watch the end of his cooking process. She watched him use a wide spatula to flip pancakes like a professional chef. She watched him place raisins to make eyes, nose, and mouth on each. A couple of minutes on the second side and four mouse faces appeared on plates. "Butter crew!" He called.

Peg gave Jimmy one to work on as Peg began liberally buttering the other three. Fred made another set of two to use up the batter. They ate ravenously, talking about their shared day at the ballpark. Fred was surprised at how knowledgeable Jimmy was about the current Card players and even how well the Cubs were doing. He assumed that his Unka Jimmer had filled him with most of his data, but, Jimmy clearly understood it and used the information well.

He looked at Peg, "What's the plan, Stan?"

"I have a client who just got back from Italy... she found a long lost grandfather and some other relatives from the 100 BCE... She wants to do research... We have worked together before... She has booked four hours...maybe six... She'll be here right after Jimmy heads out with Mom for VBS."

"Yeah... I have to get uniforms and stuff..."

"Right! Ummm... That's our Uncle Steve's store... It's called Golconda Safety over by the court house... They will have everything that you need or they can order it... Although, I'd bet my badge, if I had one, that Miss Jeannie already has ordered your gear and you just have to go pick it up."

Fred laughed, "Yeah that's true... Oh, Good morning, Aunty Ag..."

"You can call me Mama, now, Sonny boy... Welcome to the family..."

Peg hugged her mother extra tight for not mentioning that Fred's car had been in the carport all night. "Morning, Mama..."

"Where's that boy?"

Jimmy burst in with is book bag. He ran to hug his Grandmother. "Right here, Gram!"

She hugged him, "Well... Let's get going then..." and, with kisses and hugs for his mom and Fred, out they went headed for Vacation Bible School.

Fred moved to Peg. She still smelled of her shower. He was overcome with the need to ruin that shower for her. He held her tightly. He felt her soft breasts pressed into his golf shirt. Instead, he asked, "Can you follow me up to return my cruiser to Chicago tomorrow? We need to check on the listing of the condo, too."

"Are you sure that you want to sell it?"

"I can't hardly think of that place without sadness. With the mortgage insurance the damned thing's all paid for... I can list it low to move fast... I just want to say goodbye to a few people and finish all my paperwork... blah, blah, blah..."

"That's a lot to do in one day, Big City... maybe we need to go this afternoon... It'll be an adventure for Jimmy..."

"Yeah... It could be fun for him..."

"But... then... you won't have a car..."

"No... Jeannie handled that, too... After Jeremy got arrested, his ride became available for me to use. It will be ready when we get back... Also... I wonder if I can get a good deal from your car lot on that six pack pickup that I saw over there last week."

"Isn't the IRS going to impound all that stuff?"

"Since Jimmy is dead and Digger is singing like a bird in the hands of the US Marshall Service, Greg didn't pursue any indictments on Jimmy. Digger's is blaming everything on the buttheads from St. Louis."

"Then... I think we can work something out on a fine vehicle... But then, as my Dad would say, we sell that turd of a car lot before it starts to stink up the place..."

"You don't want to be a used car salesman?"

"Very funny..."

He kissed her as the doorbell rang. "There's my client..."

He pecked her lips, "Have a nice day at work, dear..."

He passed a short, dark haired woman on the porch. She looked flustered to see a man coming out of Peg's house. When she had left for Italy a month before, Peg had sworn off men for life. He held the screen door for her. "Go on in, Peg's just cracking open the laptop." She watched him get into his car and drive off.

She found Peg in her office booting up. She took Peg in her ample arms, "Peggy... I'm so sorry about Jimmy... We can do this another day, if you want..."

"No, Junie... I'm good... I miss him, but, I've had time to process it..."

"And a distraction or two, I hear..."

Peg smiled, "Maybe..."

"Starting with... Who was that bee yoo ti ful man who just drove off in a cop car? A Chicago PD car at that?"

"June Petersen, you must tell me how you know that?"

"Girl's got eyes... Cook County plates... Cop ID... Gun in a back holster over truly fine behind parts... Grill built lights and sirens..."

"You saw all that just walking up to my house?"

"Not exactly..."

"No?"

"No... maybe I talked to my Aunty Beatrice yesterday..."

"Ohhh... The busybody network strikes again..."

June almost fell out of her chair laughing, "Is that what you call it?"

"Actually my dad and Fred's dad named it back in their younger days... Of course, they were talking about the mothers of the women who operate the network now..."

"Fred?"

"Brace yourself, Junie... The man who just left here was... is Fred MacGarn..."

"THE Ready Freddy of legend and heartbreak?"

"A lot has happened while you were off trotting around the continent of Europe... Me and that boy are getting married on Sunday..."

"I should say so! Now, Dish... Catch me up..."

"Let's input the new names into the search engine and I will tell all while the search strings run out."

"Okay..." June handed her the page with four new names on it. Peg typed them in and began four separate searches. They both knew that this part could take minutes or hours. Peg got coffee and began her tale. By the time her searches were through, June was up to speed and signed up to play the Bridal March for both the rehearsal on Friday and for the wedding on Sunday.

While that all happened, Fred drove to Golconda to shop. He went to the Safety Shop as directed. He went up to a man polishing the glass on a glass case holding various fighting knives and pistols, "Good morning..."

The man looked up and smiled a professional smile, "Morning..."

"My name is MacGarn..."

The man brightened noticeably, "The new Under-Sheriff... I am the proprietor here, Steve Barring... I am so glad to finally meet you, Sir... Come with me... We have much to do... Sadie! I'll be in the warehouse with Sergeant MacGarn..."

Fred saw a pretty young girl step out onto the sales floor. He followed the owner through a small door. The room behind the door opened into a corridor. Fred followed the man as he walked rapidly to a back door. They turned right through a door that opened into a large empty shooting range. They ducked through another door on the left into a warehouse area.

Near the door, was a table with piles of clothing on it. "Now... Some of this stuff is County Issue... You will need to return it here after employment, but, to hear my niece talk about you, Sir... We hope that you never leave... and now you're marrying my wife's cousin, the Simpson girl... well... let's just say... the Simpson's are a fine family... and she's a great girl..."

Fred was immediately reminded of his first day at boot camp. This time, though, he was first given a shopping cart. "Ready?"

"Ready..."

"Let's start with 6 sets of Dockers... Four Khaki... Two Black... 42/32, Right?"

"Check..."

"2 Class A Shirts for special occasions as called by the Sheriff... 2X, 18 neck... Right?"

"Check..."

"6 Black Polos for daily wear... 2X!"

"Check..."

"Black Kevlar...2X..."

"Check..."

"You are being reissued the shotgun currently in the locked rifle sling in your next vehicle, CSD Unit #3, over at the Justice Center's parking lot... You know about that?"

"Check..."

"Need side arms?"

"I'm keeping my own... A Sigg-Sauer 9mm... and a 38 Police Ordinance Special..."

"Couldn't give up your POS, huh?"

"Saved my life more than once..."

"Roger that! Ammo?"

"What's the usual?"

"One box for each pistol... locked at the Justice Center... or you can have a locker here at the range..."

"I'll take them... Leave some here and at Justice..."

"It's only across the street... Need shoes?"

"Covered..."

Okay... We done?"

"I am if you are..." Fred followed him back through the winding trail to the register. He stopped him in the lobby of the shooting range, "Steve?"

The man turned to find him looking at a display of gun safes. They dickered back and forth until Fred had bought one for the house in Delwood. It would be delivered to Peg's next week.

Now, they were ready to check out. Steve hit a few buttons and said, "That'll be five hundred and sixty three fifty, please... The gunsafe won't be billed until delivery..."

"No... Please put it on this card now..." Fred swiped his card and he was done shopping. When he had loaded everything in his car, he was surprised to see that he had spent an hour and a half in the store.

On his way back toward Delwood, he called Jeannie on the radio, "Dispatch..."

"You're on 10-7, Sergeant... Why are you bothering me?"

"I know, Dispatch... I just spent a shitload of money at your uncle's store..."

"Yeah... He called to thank me... Turn in the receipts... We'll reimburse you for the Class A shirts... one each black and khaki pants..., the ammo, and the Kevlar... You should have bought shoes... You get one pair a year."

"Maybe next week... after Peg throws me out for moving a gun safe into her house..."

Greg keyed in with a barking laugh, "Shit, Sherlock...You'll never make the weekend..."

"Lord... You people are harshing my mellow... I haven't even turned in my car yet... By the way, me and Peg are going up north today to do that today... I'll get Unit #3 when I get back..."

Jeannie said, "We'll have it cleaned up inside and out and delivered... at Peg's right?"

"I suppose the network has noted my new sleeping arrangements..."

Greg laughed, "You know it, brother... Big Teeny was on us first thing this morning..."

"Someone has to entertain these old biddies..."

"Roger that... We'll leave the keys with Big Jim..."

"Roger that, Dispatch... Just for fun, I'll go roust the skateboarders in the park on my way home..."

Greg chimed back in, "Roger that... See ya Friday..."

When he got to Peg's, June was gone. Peg was making sandwiches. He kissed her and asked where to put his cop clothes. "What if you use your mom's old sewing room as your dressing room. It's not my office anymore since I got more mobile and changed to a laptop and a wireless printer. Our bath is between the rooms and those closets are mostly empty."

"That'll work..."

"I'm sorry sugar, but these old houses weren't made with much closet space. I'm kinda hogging all the space in our bedroom."

Fred laughed, "No, really... I dig the idea... It is us carrying on a great tradition... my father dressed in there as well... Miss Sarah was quite the clothes horse in her day..."

She laughed, "I had no idea about your parents... Not mad, then?"

"Like I said, it's a family tradition..."He started to leave, then, stopped and turned to her, "Ummm... I think that I would like to requisition that room for my office, then since it's twenty three miles to Golconda..."

"Excellent trade... Shake on it..." He kissed her instead. He went up to hang up his new uniforms. As he made it back down to the bottom of the stairs, Jimmy burst in the door. He showed Fred some of his art work and projects from Bible School. They went on into the kitchen and Jimmy told his stories again. They ate and packed and headed for Chicago. They checked into the same hotel as before. They got a great rate since the last time they were there, someone tried to kill them. This time, they got a suite with two bedrooms. Jimmy was excited to have his own space in a hotel. His dad had made him share a room in Florida with his two step brothers and a four year old baby half-brother.

Peg sat on the edge of the king size bed while Fred told Jimmy the story of Ready Freddie's Third adventure called The Sandy Creek Mystery . He told it as well as he could remember it. Peg kicked in a few details here and there. It was all about some missing food from the Sandy Creek Summer Camp that they had all attended as children.

It seemed like food had been stolen. Peg and Fred and Jimmy solved it in two long nights and days. They found that one of the counselors, a scary man named, Jedidiah Clupess, (whom they called Jed Clueless...) had been double counting supplies and pocketing the extra money. He had been embezzling money from the camp this way for years. The camp had not been full all summer, so, he had covered his tracks by recycling uneaten food. His game fell apart when a power outage ruined all the food in the coolers and the meals had to be made fresh. He tried to make it look like someone had broken in, but, the truth came out when Peg got a look at his old computer which had records on it showing two sets of books.

Jimmy gave Fred a kiss and a hug, "That was a great story, Fred..."

"Me and your mom and our friends had great times, Jimmy..."

He snuggled under his blanket with Mr. Dog, "Wow... I wonder if I could ever do that..."

"You'll have your own adventures, Mister..."said Fred.

"After you get some sleep, little man!" said his mother as she kissed him goodnight.

They closed his door and walked hand in hand to their room. Once inside, they went to separate suitcases. She pulled out pale blue baby doll pajamas and Fred got his usual sports pants and T shirt pajamas out. Almost shyly, they dressed quickly and jumped into their king sized bed. They held each other closely and kissed. Then, there was a tiny knock on the door.

Jimmy came in, "That bed's too big... I got lost in it..."

Peg looked at Fred. He smiled, "You know what? This bed is too big, too... I think it's a three man bed... Don't you?"

Jimmy's little face broke into a smile, "I don't know..."

"It's okay... Get up here..."

"Cool..." He climbed in and was instantly asleep.

Peg looked at Fred over the tiny boy between them. She whispered, "It's a conspiracy to keep us from having sex in this hotel..."

Fred snuggled in on his side of the bed, "Sex, sex, sex... That's all you think about."

She smacked his hip and rolled her own way. It had been a long day for both of them. All three were asleep in a flash.

Chapter 36; The 2nd Thursday; Three Days to Go

Fred awoke to the feeling that someone was staring at him. He opened one eye and almost started from fright. Jimmy had his face right up against Fred's and was staring at him, "You have more wrinkles than my daddy..."

"I'm fifteen years older than your daddy, son..."

"Really? Gotta go... Bad!" Jimmy scooted off the bed and went to his bathroom..."

Peg laughed, "Kids say the damnedest things..."

"They can be downright creepy sometimes..." He pulled her to him.

He kissed her until they both were breathing hard.

"Ewwww..." said a small voice by the door.

"Get your own girl, Jimmy!"

"I don't want any girls!" said Jimmy with his hands over his face.

Fred snuggled closer to Peg. He began kissing Peg's neck, making her wiggle and squeal. She may have played it up a bit, "No... Help... Don't... Stop... Don't stop!" She wiggled against him in a way that rubbed her very fine breasts against his bare arms. Fred's temperature and blood pressure spiked and another part of him responded as well. He relaxed his hold on her and she began to attack his neck. In a moment, he was totally incapacitated.

With great effort, Fred spoke to Jimmy, "You better run, Jimmy... I'm fixin' to kiss her again..."

With a squeal, Jimmy ran off, "I'm taking my shower..."

In a few deft moves, an appropriate path was made and Fred was safely inside of the center of her love and warmth. In their worked up state, they brought their lovemaking to a climax quite quickly. They held each and laughed. They kissed the happiest of kisses to thank each other for their shared love.

They heard Jimmy's shower turn off. "My turn..." Fred dashed from the room, leaving his usual trail of clothing.

"Hey, Jimmy..." she called, stretching languidly, "You can come out now... No more kissing..."

Jimmy came into her room, pulling a Cubs Tee shirt over his wet, uncombed hair. "What..?"

When he got close enough, she grabbed him and pulled him into the covers of the bed. "Gotcha!" She began kissing him.

"Hey!!! You said no more kissing!"

"I lied..." He wriggled from her grasp and ran back out, slamming the door.

"Comb your hair and brush ALL of your teeth!" She called after him. She went into the bathroom leaving a similar trail to the one Fred had left. She entered the shower and began shampooing her hair.

"Hey," said Fred, "That's my job!"

"Get to it, Mister... you already made us an hour late for the Zoo... That car service is probably already waiting for us..."

"I... made us late, Miss Dontcha Just Love these Boobies rubbing on your arm?"

"Boobies... What are you six years old?"

He latched onto one with his mouth. She tried to draw away from the overwhelming electric sensation but his hands held her firmly in place. Finally, she relented, drawing in a sharp breath and arching her back while holding his head tightly between her hands. Finally, she pushed his head enough to break his suction. When she could breath, she said, "Okay... Okay... You may call them whatever you like as long as you promise to do that every day until I die..."

Fred let go and held out his hand, "Deal!"

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly. "Damn, I love you and I love the way you love me..."

"I know that it takes two for this tango to be any fun at all."

They were disturbed by pounding on the door. "Mommy... there's somebody named Murphy at the door!"

"Breakfast..." yelled Fred and pulled on his pants. He went to the door and looked through the peephole. He threw the door open, "Murphy, you old sumbich... You got breakfast. "He looked at Peg who had come into the living room pulling on a giant hotel robe, "Look, Honey... It's Murphy!"

The hotel detective touched the brim of his hat, "I brought strawberry waffles, eggs, and coffee..."

Peg squealed and sat at the table. The serving staff set her up for her breakfast, "If you weren't married, Murphy..."

"So... you could be had for waffles and strawberries..."

"Oh, quit your whining, Freddy...I'm eatin' here..."

"Thanks, Murphy..."

"You people enjoy...Bye..."

"Bye..." they all called as the staff filed out and closed the door behind them.

After breakfast, they repacked their luggage. They checked out. Fred put Peg and Jimmy in the black car service. He headed for his old precinct. He had 45 minutes until his appointment with the Captain. He hurried across town. He got there with 5 minutes to spare. He went up to his old bullpen. He saw that another detective was already at his desk. Seeing no one that he knew, he went on down the hall.

The Captain looked up just as was about to knock, "Come in, MacGarn..." Fred sat and waited. Finally the Captain looked at him, "You sure about this?"

"I have found myself a niche down home, Sir... I'm off the sauce and on the case... I have found an old friend to help me adapt... actually, we are about to get married..."

"That's fast..."

"Nah... We've been waiting all of our lives..."

"Okay, then," he pushed a file foreward, "Here's the rest of your paperwork. Weapons..?"

"They offered me a Sigg/Sauer 9, so, you can have the Glock back. I'm keeping the .38..."

The captain wrote some stuff and did some figuring, "I expected that... We got some money from the Feds, so I can pay you for the rest of your off time... You can call it a wedding present from the FBI and the CPD. We deducted the 45 bucks for your Police Officer Special..."

He handed over the Glock 9, "Yeah... I'm keeping that one..."

Fred stood and they shook hands and wished each other luck. Then, Fred took a cab to the offices of Tidy Maids and North Side Realtors. He found both Alice and Danny Bedford there. He hugged Alice then shook Danny's hand, "So... any nibbles on my condo..."

"I was just gonna call you when I heard that you had talked to Alice yesterday to say that you were coming... Here!" He pushed a set of papers over for Fred to see.

"Danny... Is this what I think it is?"

"Yep...a sale contract..."

"Wow... That was fast..."

"Yep... a nice price for you... a fat commission for me..."

"When is closing?"

"I don't know... couple of weeks, or so... I'll call you..."

"Thanks, buddy... That's a load off..." They shook hands again. When he hugged Alice, he whispered in her ear, "I'm gonna marry that girl, Alice."

"Aint that swell, Freddy...When?"

"Sunday after services...Reception to follow..."

"We'll be there..."

He hugged her again, "We'll be honored by your prescence."

He headed out onto the sidewalk and called Peg's cell. When she answered, he said, "How's it going?"

"It's been grand...the car has just arrived."

"Meet you at the hotel, sweetie..."

He took a cab to the hotel and checked them out. By the time, the bellman was putting their luggage into the trunk of her car, Fred took Jimmy into the bathroom so they could be ready for a long ride.

Once in the car, Jimmy regaled him with stories of the animals and their antics. After a stop for food, Jimmy slept. Peg was almost overcome with emotions as she listened to her two boys bond. She just gripped the steering wheel and concentrated on the voices as they droned on with Jimmy's stories.

Fred drove after the stop. He told her about the condo being sold and the bonus money from the FBI. After a while, Peg and Jimmy slept in each other's arms. He drove quickly thought the changing roadways. He peeked at them through the rear view mirror from time to time and chuckled about Jimmy's stories as he made their way home.

Once they had arrived at their house in Dellwood, they pulled into the driveway. Sarah and Agnes and Big Jim came out. They had been watching a new reality shoe about city slickers camping without gear. It had just ended. Jimmy immediately began telling his stories.

Peg attempted to intervene, "Now, come on, Jimmy... These people are tired... You can tell your zoo stories some other day..."

Sarah said, "Well... I had a late nap today... I fell asleep fishing... Actually, I am not tired... Peg...Does he have one more outfit in that Spider Man suitcase?"

"Yes...Why?"

"I'm fixin' to take this boy home with me... He can tell me some stories and then we'll just stay out at the cabin...It's kind of lonely out there..."

"Oh, Mommy can I stay with Gramma Sarah?"

"Sure... I guess..."

Jimmy ran to the car, "Great!" He got his suitcase out of the back seat and grabbed Dawg, "Gramma... can I steer the boat?"

Fred and Peg walked over to the car. They heard her talking to Jimmy as she got his seat belt tightened around his booster chair, "Now, sonny boy, you know tomorrow is the last day of Bible School... You'd hate to miss the graduation, now...wouldn't ya?"

"I guess..."

Fred kissed his mama's cheek, "You sure?"

"As a heart attack... I have waited all my life to kidnap my own grandchild..." They laughed and she drove off with her precious cargo.

Fred and Peg waved good night to her parents and went into the house. Without unpacking, they went to bed. The lovemaking was slow and tender. Then, their exhaustion took over and they slept.

Chapter 37; Friday PM; Wedding minus 2 Days... But, First...

Something about Fecal Material and Rotating Blades

Again, they awoke in each other's arms. The difference was that, since Jimmy was at his Gramma's, there were no pajamas in the way. Fred found a handful of breast. Again he wondered how this much energy could pass between them without them combusting in each other's arms. He rubbed her breast to wake her, "Good morning, Sweetie."

She moved on top of him until her favorite part was buried into his favorite part. She moved slowly but effectively. "Good morning, Big City..." He rolled her over until he was on top and made good use of the next period of their time.

When he could breathe again, he said, "Come on, Sugar... Roll call at Teeny's..." He headed for the shower. She grabbed fro him but he laughingly dodged away, "Roll Call, Officer Thompson... Sex, sex, sex...That's all you think about..."

She scrambled up and ran after him into the shower, "Unfair... I'm on my honey moon..."

"Might I remind you that we are still two days away from wedded bliss, me darlin' wench... This is your lusty moon... not your honey moon..."

She snuggled up against him in the water, "That sounds suspiciously like a complaint, Big City..."

He put his face in the stream of water to center himself, "Not even a little, but, we're not twenty year old college kids ditching Econ 111..."

She stared off for a second, "Wow... those were the days, weren't they?"

"He gave her a tiny smack on the butt, "Focus, grass hopper..."

She sighed, "I know... but, I don't have to like it..."

"I don't like it either... but, I love you..." and he began their morning ritual of shampooing each other's hair and making sure that all those special places were very, very clean. The shower did take a while as he was forced to make love to her again. After that, they washed again and dressing hurriedly, they headed for Teeny's Diner in separate cars. Fred drove the SUV that someone had delivered while they were up north.

Roll call passed quickly and they got their assignments for today. Fred was on patrol and Peg was to go help Officer handy with some computer problem at the office. Fred looked at Greg, What's first, G?"

Jeannie answered, Greg laughed softly, "I need you to go along the Bend Road out to 6. Turn left on 6 to Franklin... Turn Right on Franklin to 77616... On the right hand side is a white bungalow... See a Miz Tanzy out there..."

"Let me get this straight... We have a call from my third grade teacher?"

"Yes..."

"She scares me..."

"She scares everybody..." She laughed. "Just remember, Sergeant... You have a gun..."

"She don't need no gun..."

"Enough already... She insists that someone is stealing her watermelons again..."

"Roger that... Bring a stake and a cross and go see Miz Tanzy..."

"You remember where she lives, now?"

"Affirmative... My mama used to make me go with her to take her cookies... She insists that Miz Tanzy is the only reason I didn't end up in jail before I was 12..."

"Wow.. I gotta meet her some time..."

"Very funny..."

"ETA?"

Fred looked at the screen of his phone, "GPS says I could be there in 17 minutes..."

"I'll call her to say that you're on your way..."

"Thanks, Jeannie... Code 3?"

"That's a big 10-4, Sergeant... Lights and Sirens!"

"I'm gone..."

"Tanzy will love it..."

With lights and sirens going, Fred poured the gas on as he flew around the corner off County Road 6 onto Franklin Road. He pulled in front of a very well kept bungalow. He saw neat flower beds and vegetable patches. He was met by a thin, precisely kept woman in a long, thin cotton dress with tiny flowers.

"Who are you...racing up here like a NASCAR racer... Your foolishness got dust all over my laundry, young man..."

"Miz Tanzy... I don't know if you remember me, but, I am Under Sheriff Fredrick MacGarn." He touched his hat brim.

"Fredrick? Oh, Freddy... Sarah's boy..."

"Sergeant is what I'm used to, please..."

"I bet your mama is so proud..."

He just barked a short, embarrassed laugh, "Dispatch said there was a robbery here, Ma'am."

"You just come lookie here, Sergeant!" She stalked off stiffly poking the ground with her four footed cane. She lead him around the side of her house and across a small back yard until they reached a soggy piece of bottom land behind her barn. With a wry smile, Fred tried to follow her, but, she was too fast. When he caught up with her, he found a patch of half-grown watermelons. Some were broken. Some of them were missing.

Fred immediately began taking photographs of the tracks in the mud. He never said a word to Miss Tanzy, but a tiny bit of sickness in the pit of his stomach told him that he recognized the boot print. The old woman watched a while, then, she got bored. "You want some sweet tea, Sergeant?"

He looked up from studying the ground, "I would love that..."

As soon as she was around the barn, Fred flipped his phone open. He keyed the Sheriff. He spoke as soon as Greg clicked on, "G... We have the same boot prints here at the Tanzy place as Jimmy's house last week. Can you send me Eddie?"

"Done... Stay there. I'll be there ASAP. We're going Tach 2..."

"Roger that..." Fred clipped his radio to his belt and turned it on.

Greg called his wife, "Announce a full tilt scramble... Assign Dispatch to 9 1 1... Call the part timers... Assembly at Tanzy's... Got your HH?"

"The Hand Held Radio is in my front seat, Sheriff..."

"Good... Switch to Tach 2 and tag in!"

"Roger that!" She yelled at Eddie, "Eddie... Get the van... Forensics needed at Miss Tanzy's... Code 3... Tach 2..."

Eddie Hardy ran to the back alley, jumped in the CSU unit, fired it up, and flipped his radio to channel 2 so he could hear all the chatter about the project. "God, I love this job!"

Back at the farm, Miss Tanzy returned with Fred's tea. He said, Thanks, dear, but, now, I need for you to go inside and stay there until the Science Unit comes. The Sheriff will be here PDQ..."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Ma'am... this is now a major crime scene..."

She looked around. Her face lightened up as she noted yellow tape and plaster casts of three of the shoe prints, "Oh! My... You are taking me seriously..."

"Miss Tanzy... ever since the days when you were taller than me..."

"What?"

"You know, since I was nine and you were my third grade teacher..."

"I remember that part very well, young man..."

"I have taken you seriously."

"Those other young officers don't have your good sense, Sergeant..."

"I'll do my best to set them straight, Ma'am."

"Umm... Thanks, Sergeant... I feel safer just knowing you are back in town..." Fred went to thank her, but she had already turned on her heel and was moving briskly into her house. Fred took a drink from the sweaty glass just as Eddie pulled his CSU van into the yard.

Fred waved him closer to the yellow tape. Peg pulled in behind him. Greg pulled in behind her. The tight white curls of Miss Tanzy were visible through the kitchen windows. She was on the phone. When Greg saw the old teacher, he put his SUV in reverse and backed down Franklin. He whipped the black vehicle with the gold Star around the shield of Pope County until it was at Miss Tanzy's west corner fence post. There wasn't room between him and the ditch, so the road was effectively blocked.

They all waited for Greg to walk over. Peg laughed a little to see their old third grade teacher, "It's been years since the poor thing has had any real news items to contribute to the busybody network. She's in hog heaven right now." Fred laughed with her as he walked them back to the scene.

Greg called Jeannie on his radio. They heard his side, "Yes... I can see her jaw jacking into her phone... You handed dispatch over to the county...Good... hurry up and get here... This place will be a zoo in minutes... I want you to barricade Franklin at 6... Use those lights and sirens that you begged me to put on that cute Jeep you drive... Not much to see here anyway... Go easy..." Nobody gets through... hear me... Nobody..."

They carefully walked around the edge of the crime scene. Fred pointed out various evidence items as he had first found them. Greg stopped them at the farthest edge from the house, "Eddy... looks like Fred already collected all the evidence that we need..."

Eddy tried not to look downcast, "I see that..."

"So... Now, what we need is to keep the local yayhoos out of your plaster until it dries... in this swamp, that could be a while... So... go stand by the Western perimeter vehicle and your instructions are the same as Jeannie's... Nobody gets by you..."

"Roger that Sheriff..." he mumbled.

Fred grabbed his arm, "Eddie... I won't touch 'em... Now that you're here... They're yours to collect... I'll switch with you on perimeter when the plaster is dry..."

"Thanks, Sergeant..." He looked a lot happier as he trotted off to his guard post.

"Sergeant... you do have a way with the young'uns..."

"G... I never forgot about those days when we were mere rookies..."

"Right..."

"We were lucky enough to have good street guys who stayed with us and kept our balls to the wall and out of the wringer..."

"That's so true... Still... He's going to be a better cop because of you..."

"This is our town, Sheriff... You and me and that boy over there are the thin blue line."

"Roger that, Freddy..."

Peg put her hands on her hips, "And, me and Jeannie, boys?"

"All part of my Master Plan, Peg... But, now... I need you to go keep Miss Tanzy inside and off that damned phone..."

"Roger that, Sheriff..."

"Wait, Sweetie... The footprints go off that way... What's over there?"

She looked around to get her bearings, "If I'm not mistaken, it's Denny Jones's abandoned trailer..."

"Holy Shit! That's as good a hideout as any..." Greg keyed his hand held radio, "Jeannie?"

His wife came on everyone's radio, "Hansen!"

"I need the National Guard MP's!"

"You mean my cousin Jerry... He's at his mom's for her birthday cook out. He's where we're supposed to be..."

"Well... Sugar, we fixin' to bust up her party... We can apologize to your Aunt later... Saddle up him and his whole crew... Tell him that we will meet at Teeny's... Tell him it's a live ammo day... He'll understand...

"Me too..." she said, "that means... Armed and Dangerous..."

"Tell him to call you with his ETA..."

"Wha... What is going on? I'm thinking this is bigger than some stolen watermelons..."

"I can't tell you on this thing... Anyone could be on this line... How's it going out there?"

"Couple of grumpy citizens... No biggy... They wandered around, then, they got bored and went on..."

"Good job... Wait five minutes, then, head for the diner... We gotta plan stuff..."

"Roger that... Calling Jerry."

Fred looked at him. Greg answered, "Thanks to the Patriot Act, the Army National Guard has an armory full of guys in Pope County. Lucky for us, our group is a Military Police Company... They can be temporarily assigned to me if I need back up. And... it doesn't hurt that Jeannie's cousin, Jerry, is the Major of a whole company of MP's. The company has five four man SWAT squads and a bomb removal unit. He keeps one squad at the armory at all times for emergencies. We are also lucky that most of the boys consider my calls as drill and practice."

Greg let out a piercing whistle. In a flash, the young deputy came running. "Handy... Go get those casts... Meet us at the diner... PDQ!"

"Roger that!" He took off at a trot for the watermelon patch.

Fred went in to Peg, "You armed?"

"No... Why?" He never answered her as they were distracted by the arrival of Jeannie Hansen in her black Jeep with Sheriff's Stars on each side. They watched out the window as Jeannie pulled up in the yard. They watched the Sheriff begin to talk with her. She was clearly angry. Fred just smiled. "I would bet my gold shield that life with Jeannie is never dull." Peg smacked him on the butt.

As Miss Tanzy returned, Fred turned to Peg, "Deputy Thompson... as long as this operation takes, this property will never be lower than a yellow zone... call your dad, get him home... You take Miss Tanzy and go to your parents' house... With Digger on the run, you and Teeny are a target for these bums... text me when you are all set... Get going!"

The look on his face made her forego her arguments and take the old woman's elbow. "Come on, sweetie... The Sheriff has set a wide perimeter around the trailer where the guys who stole your watermelons are hiding... My job is to get you out of here..."

Miss Tanzy never batted an eye, "Well... I'm sure that I'm gonna need a sweater and my purse... Where ever you're taking me probably has freezing cold air conditioning... Everybody lives in a meat locker these days..." She mumbled to herself as she went into a back bedroom.

Peg went with him out to his car. She moved into his arms. An impassioned kiss was shared between them. She held him tight. "I'm scared, Freddy."

"If you weren't, I'd have to fire you..."

"Oh, Freddy..." She held him tight as they were joined by Jeannie and Miss Tanzy.

Jeannie laughed, "Get a room..."

"Funny... Very funny, Deputy..."

Greg walked up, "If you two are done smooching... we have an operation to run..."

Fred looked at Jeannie, "Mrs. Hansen... We have all seen the results of when my best friend here shoots a pistol... So... You are in charge of their safety if those bastards get away from us..."

"Roger that, Sergeant!"

The women got into separate cars. Miss Tanzy got in Peg's car. They headed for town. Fred and Greg got into theirs. Fred set his radio in its holder on the dash and turned it up.

Chapter 38; Still Friday; The Fire

Fred and Greg peeled out along Franklin. They took the two miles of County Road 6 in NASCAR time and, then, just as they were turning onto the Bend Road, the two tone horn of the fire emergency claxon hooted out of the radio. Immediately after it stopped its claxon call, a voice called out the fire address, "Be warned... The Wilkinson's place known as Teeny's Diner is burning..." The Sheriff would have received this call anyway to do crowd control. Fred and Greg pushed their gas pedals to the floor and raced along the curves of the Bend Road.

Just as Fred pulled onto the property, all of the windows of the diner exploded outward at once. Smoke and flames were now pouring out of every side. Dry wood and thirty years of built up grease in the walls and attic turned the whole building into a bomb. Not really listening, Fred heard Greg talking to Eddie, "Where are you at, Handy?"

"Two minutes away..."

"You have the South perimeter... Firemen only!"

"Roger that!"

Junior had a sprinkler going on some grass of a picnic area off to the side of the diner. The hose was hooked to a small pump house building across a wide parking area. Fred grabbed a blanket out of his trunk and ran over. He held the blanket under the sprinkler until it was soaked. He threw the wet blanket over him and, staying low, went into the main room of the diner.

He saw the vehicles of the local volunteer fire fighters begin to line up across the road. The blast from the kitchen had blown all the furniture out against the walls or out the windows. In the dense smoke swirling about him, Fred saw a dark shape on the floor in the middle of the room. The sprinklers weren't working, but the cracked and broken pipes leading to them were soaking the building and the fires were staying away from the center of the room.

Greg had left his car as a partial perimeter on the North side of the diner on the Bend Road. He saw Fred enter the building with a dripping blanket over him. He took what was left of a two litre of water from his truck and wet a jean jacket. While he was making himself a shield, a pumper truck pulled onto the property.

Half-dressed fighters crawled over the lime green vehicle. In an instant, hoses began to be dispensed from both sides and from the back. The back hose was taken by two of them and fed down the bank into the river. All of the people, men and women in loose fitting, dirty lime jackets and bibber pants formed crews on each side of the truck. The hose was connected to the pumper on their side and water began to be played at the doorway where they had seen Fred and Greg go in. Some of the late arrivers didn't even suit up, they just grabbed the hose and helped do their crew's part. The second stream was aimed at a hole in the roof that had been opened by the blast.

Other fighters, in full head gear, mask, and oxygen tanks followed the Sheriffs into the burning door. The first hose changed their spray to a wide, cooling stream and entered the door to create an escape route for the men inside.

With his wet jacket over his head, Greg followed his best friend into the flames. He noticed, in his peripheral vision, all of the activity forming around them as support. He looked about. He saw Fred coming from a back corner. Then, he saw where Fred was going and headed that way. He got to the large shape at the same time as Fred.

"It's MamaTeeny..." Fred took a pulse under her chin. It took him a minute as he was fumbling around among her many chins. "She's alive...steady pulse..." She had almost no hair and no eyebrows, but, she did not appear to be burned too badly.

Two fire fighters came out of the gloom and smoke. Fred whipped off the still wet blanket and laid it on the floor by her. They unceremoniously rolled her onto the blanket. Getting good grips and running low to the ground, the four men dragged her from the burning building. She moaned as the got her out into the gravel of her driveway.

The two fighters went back into the now smoking ruins to look for any other victims. Paramedics began to work on Mama. Fred was suddenly too tired to do anything but cough. Greg sat there coughing as well. With teeth whitened by their blackened faces, they smiled like idiots. They high fived with their grubby hands and laughed, "Not tonight, G..."

"The Sheriff laughed, "No, suh... We aint dying tonight!"

A young woman with a Fire Explorers T shirt brought them each a warm bottle of water, "I'm so sorry these aren't cold, Sheriff..."

"These are perfect, Annie." She smiled as Greg poured a generous amount in his mouth and the rest on his head. "Are you my cousin or my niece, sweetie?"

"Your wife is my second cousin, Sir..."

Fred laughed, "Yeah... I think even Peg and Jeannie are some kind of cousins... So, you giving me this job might be nepotism..."

"Oh... Then you're fired..."

"Yeah, well... Good luck finding a deputy to replace me that your wife isn't related to..."

"Good... You're rehired..."

"You guys saved her life... I saw it... It was seriously excellent..."

A deep voice said, "It was damned foolishness for your deputy here to risk his life without proper equipment. It was equally foolish for you to go in there with him... Annie Hawkins, if I ever see you pull a bone head stunt like that, I'll tan your hide!" The girl made herself scarce.

Greg looked up "Wellllll... I was nice of you to join us, Davey... Now that we done recued people and the fire's nearly out."

The two men laughed. Greg looked at the young girl running around, handing out water bottles to fighters on break from the hose in the Red Cross cooling tent. The Captain yelled, "Six minutes on and six minutes off... This heat'll kill us all..."

"Kind of harsh on the Explorer, Chief..."

"She's my youngest daughter, Sheriff... It'd kill me if she were hurt trying some damned fool heroics... Training... Training... Training..."

"Roger that, Cap'm"

"Where'd you learn that blanket trick, Deputy?"

"We have had our share of multi-agency disasters up in Chicago, Cap'm. We had the Illinois Central go off the tracks by Michael Reese Hospital. I was in the ER with a collar. It was raining. Following the lead of a nurse, we wore wet blankets into the burning cars to pull people out. That was eighteen years ago and I never forgot it."

"I guarantee you that my baby daughter will tell and retell how you saved Mama Teeny. Maybe we'll save someone else with your damned fool trick..."

"I surely couldn't have gotten her out without Greg and two of your boys and a tunnel of water..."

"Boys, Sergeant?" He whistled to a firefighter. Fred recognized him as one of the fighters who had helped haul Mama Teeny out. Without the helmet and oxygen mask, Fred could now see that she was clearly a dirty faced woman. She stopped sloggin her way to the Red Cross cooling tent and turned and headed their way. When she got there, she smiled shyly.

Danny continued, "This is my oldest daughter, Hannah... Mother of two... This is her truck... Lieutenant Hannah Bennet... Second Grade teacher for her day job... Hannah, this is Under-Sheriff Sergeant Fred MacGarn..."

"That was a great thing you did, Sergeant..."

"Thanks for bailing me out... The water was a nice touch..."

"We are the thin, green line..."

"Well, the thin, blue line is most grateful..." They laughed as they shook hands. She went on her way. Her dad looked so proud as he watched his two girls chattering away in the cooling tent.

He shook himself, "Enough chatter... can I trust you boys to stay the hell out of my fire, now?"

"Roger that, Cap,m," they said simultaneously and laughed.

They got up and dusted themselves off, "So..? Where do we suppose Junior and Little Teeny were during this mess?"

Just then Papa Junior's brand new Ford F-150 pickup drove around Eddie Handy's road block as if he was invisible. It pulled to a stop in the muddy front area by the diner. Junior and Teeny jumped out and tried to rush into the smoking ruins of their restaurant. Fred stood in front of the giant man, "Papa... Listen to me Papa."

Four fire fighters had grabbed the gigantic old man and one had Teeny. The man stopped struggling, "Papa...Big Teeny's all right... She's a little singed... She just left here headed for the County Hospital... Do you know this boy?"

Papa Junior took his tiny daughter in his giant arms, "He eats in my restaurant, don't he? Your name is Eddie... Right?" Just then, Army 1 Tons and Hum Vee's started pulling into the parking lot. Fred ignored the distraction and spoke firmly to the Wilkinson family, "This is Deputy Handy... He's going to take you in his squad car to County Hospital... We'll sort this out and come find y'all this evening..."

Greg came up to them, "Miss Teeny... How is it that you and Papa were gone just now?"

She was talking through her tears, "I had a doctor's appointment... Mama made Papa drive me on account of I been feeling so puny..."

Fred leaned in to talk softer, "Everything okay down there?"

"Yes, Sir... except for the pukes, we are just fine..."

Papa stood taller, "Freddy... I'm a tell you what... Baby Teeny can go see to her Mama..."

"But, Daddy!" "Hush up, Child...You get along with this nice Deputy... Now!" Reluctantly, she left.

Papa started to get back into his truck, "Me... I got some bidness over ta Harry Jones's old place... Them bikers is probly hiding in dere..."

Fred stopped him, "Can't let you do that Papa... See these soldiers and deputies... We all have business at that nasty ass trailer as well." Greg crossed the parking lot to meet with his cousin, the Major.

Papa Junior grabbed his arm, "Look, Freddy... They came by here last night..."

He had Fred's attention now, "Really? Why didn't you call me?"

"I didn't think nothing about it... They been around here before... sniffing after my daughter and some of the other waitresses... I didn't pay them no never mind..."

"I wish you had... Were you here alone?"

"Yeah... It were near closing time... All the women folk were gone... Them boys be always acting all tough... Even at my age, I figured I could take them..."

"You probably could, Papa..."

"Any ways... What they done here today, they been saying that they was fixing to do it if'n we didn't give 'em their diamonds..."

Fred was aghast. He ranted a bit as he watched the MP's have a little meeting, "Again with those diamonds... The guy Peg shot in Chicago threatened to kill us over some diamonds... Damn!"

Fred looked the beloved old man's face, "You still can't go, Papa... You should leave things to us... Go on over to County and see to your wife..."

"Okay... I'm gonna go set in the trailer first... Take a load off... This plumb tuckered me out..."

"All right, Papa... You stay here, then... We'll see you..."

Chapter 39; Still Friday PM; The Battle

Fred walked over to the group of soldiers. They were all in battle fatigues and Kevlar riot gear. Greg spoke, "Jerry, this is my newest deputy and my oldest friend on the Chicago PD. His name is Sergeant Fred MacGarn."

Greg turned to Fred. He was wearing an his Sheriff's Department flak jacket and an Army green helmet as well. "Freddy, this is Major Jerry Brant, First Illinois Cavalry, Security and Logistics."

The major was a man who looked so much like Jeannie that he could have been her brother, handed him fatigue colored helmet and a rifle. "Right, Sergeant?"

"Thank you, Major. That will work just right." The major helped him with the straps of his new black flak jacket. It had PCSD in white letters on both sides.

"Good to meet you, Sir." The man nodded.

The firemen had pulled furniture out of the smoking diner. They set up a table and spread out some satellite photos of the Jones farm. "I had these aerials made this morning while the boys were mustering in." It showed the old trailer and two motorcycles. Off to the side was an old pickup. Even in the black and white photo, Fred easily recognized the nasty old, multi-colored truck that he had spotted leaving the alley behind Jimmy's house. The three new buildings built by Digger were in the next photo.

The Major began to outline his plan of attack. He split them into teams of two. Greg and Fred were Team 4. Pointing at various photos, he said, "Team 1,... Go to Tach 7...Take the Crematory drive as far in as you can... start your advance at the river... advance and contain... in case the bastards try to escape along the river... It's heavily wooded so stay sharp... heads on a swivel... No heroes... You got me?"

"Hoo Rah!" They had the farthest to go so they jumped in their Hummer and peeled out North.

The Major went through a similar routine with Team Two. He sent them to the river on the near side of the old farm right next to the Wilkinson's property. They took their little Jeep up the tiny, rutted road that would end by Junior's old still.

The Major watched them bounce on their way, then, he looked around, "Danny! Can you come over here a second?"

The Fire Chief had just come out of the smoking, steaming ruins of the diner. He pulled his hard hat off and mopped his bald head and face with an old T shirt that he pulled from his boot. He speeded up his pace until he was in the circle of men around the table, "Hey, Jerry..."

"Danny... You about done, here?"

"Yes, Sir... We're just supervising the Boy Scouts... Once we cleared the site, we let them in there chasing hot spots... Gives 'em good time on the hoses... They love to hack at the walls with axes... The hoses are on half pressure... Safer practice time for them..."

"We got another thing going... The two arsonist bikers from this fire are believed to be holed up at Harry's old trailer..." Greg pointed at the photos. "I'm gonna need medics on both sides... here and here... Just in case... Just medical... no Boy Scouts... It's a live ammo day, Danny."

"Roger that... Armed and dangerous..."

"Have your guys on Tach 7..." He called out to the Fire Chief's back as Danny had turned on his heel and headed for the two ambulances across the road.

The major keyed his Hand Held radio, "Okay... Three is key... Call in when you are in your starting positions... Hunker down... Wait for the key..." He pointed at the crematory gate by the road on the photo, "Greg...My team enters here..."

Both Sheriffs nodded, "You guys are going to move to the nearest edge of the property and begin a slow advance toward the trailer. We have a drive first, but, you have the longest walk... Plan A is to converge on the trailer from all sides at once and take custody..."

"Roger that!" Fred and Greg automatically changed their radios to Channel 7 so they could hear everything that was being said about this operation. The Major looked at one of his men, "Sparky?"

The radio man snapped to attention, "Major!"

"How many Auxiliaries do you have?"

"Handy says we will have sixteen if they all show...Six so far..."

"Greg... any of them up to this?"

"Yeah... Those three at that table are Afghan trained... those two have been to Iraq..."

"Okay... I want them..."

Greg whistled and the six who had been watching came hustling over. They were given riot gear and M-24's. They were assigned as three man teams and were headed in half way between the two side vectors. Now, fourteen people were headed into a gunfight with at least two Rangers. Handy was swapped out for the oldest of the part timers, Jeff Bingham. The three that were entering from the far side, jumped in a pickup and peeled out of the driveway throwing rocks.

The Major keyed his radio, "Count 'em, Sparky!"

"Hoo Rah," replied the radioman, "One?"

"One...Green... less than a click from entry point... 2minutes..."

"Two?"

"Two is green at river... Hunkered and Recon... All quiet..."

"Three?"

Greg keyed in, "Three is green and moving... we'll check in when we can see the trailer..."

"Roger that, Sheriff..."

"Four?"

"Four is green and moving...Nobody else move until I key in..."

"Five?"

"Five...uh... we're in position and uh... I guess we wait..."

"Six?"

"Ummm... we are the same as Jinxy... ummmm... ready and waiting..."

The major came back on the radio, "Okay... Sparky?"

"Bingham here, Sir..."

"You and Sparky are team 7... You are both the Command Post and backup..." Greg said, "I want you and Handy to corral all the deputized late arrivers who shows along the Bend Road edge of the property... Create more teams... Those teams will be tasked to containment... No heroes! No shooting! It could be us coming out!"

"Roger that, Major!" He went to talk with Sparky, who was his nephew, to plan.

The Major and a Corporal got in a Hummer and sped off for their entry point.

As Fred and Greg began their walk into the woods at the edge of the Jones farm, they enjoyed the drop in temperature in the dark wood. They had just spread out a few yards from each other when the screams started on the radio. The woods must have been just thick enough to mask the sounds of the explosions. Greg yelled into his radio, "Stop! Everybody stop! Get down behind a tree!"

Major Jerry barked, "Count!"

"One... Clear!"

"Two... Clear!"

"Three... Clear!

Greg spoke for them, "Four...Clear!"

"Five...Clear"

"Six is hit, Boss," It was Handy's shaky voice, "Stinky's got about 10 nails in his legs... Ben's got two... I'm fine... I was tying my boot when the Claymore was tripped... Took my nails in the flak and my helmet... Makes your ears ring..." he laughed in shock.

"All right, Eddie... Back out in your own tracks, By the time you reach your edge, EMT's will be waiting... You on this, Danny?"

"10-4, Sheriff... We'll bring drag litters..."

Eddy took off in a crouched run, ignoring the cries behind him. He listened as Greg instructed the troops on the next phase of the exercise, "Everybody... we are not stopping... That's what they want... Each of you needs to find a forked branch, the longer, the better... The branch will hook the trip wires... if the wire is tripped, you'll have less than 2 seconds, it will explode in front of you... When anyone yells, 'Drop!', You guys turtle down like Eddy accidentally did...Copy?"

"Copy that, Sheriff..." was repeated thirteen times as men went to find or break off a long branch to protect themselves..."

Fred looked at Greg with new admiration. Greg shrugged, "My misspent youth in Delta forces... Angola... Claymores were the weapon of choice for the rebels... We had to use Sheppard's crooks whenever we went anywhere... Not a tree to be found in the God forsaken place... Steel ball Claymore's are nasty, but, the one's with nails in them can be wicked, too..."

As promised, by the time Eddy got back to their Jeep, two EMT and fire crews were waiting. They had hard plastic carriers with runners on the bottom. Though he was white as a sheet and barely hanging on, the young deputy turned on his heel, "Come on!"

In single file, they ran back while stepping in Eddy's tracks back to the injured men. The two men were strapped to the gurneys and in five minutes, they were dragged out of the woods. The fire fighters got the men loaded in two ambulances. The EMT's got work on the wounds. Fire fighters drove the ambulances out of the woods and off to County Hospital.

"Our men are on their way, Sheriff."

"Team 6 is Red..."

"What?!?"

Everyone heard the Major on the radio. "Deputy Handy...Your team is cooked... Stay out of the woods... That's an order!"

Greg pitched in, "Look, Eddy... We aint kiddin'... If you got hurt back in this swamp all alone, we'd never find you... Sorry, son... Go back to Command... I want you as the the ranking deputy to take over the Command Post... Make sure who ever shows up is ready... Stay loose... We may need you to rescue someone else..."

Eddy sighed, "Roger that, Sheriff!"

"Count off..." The calls were repeated. Nobody saw the giant black shadow of the man that reached down and picked up the radio left by one of the fallen deputies. He turned the radio down as he listened to the quiet chatter of the other teams as they worked their way in. One team after another discovered and safely detonated the Claymore mines in their path.

He passed two trip wires. Like he had been trained to do in Viet Nam, he identified them. Each time, his training clicked in. He took cover hiding behind a large tree. Then, he set each one off by heaving a stick across the trip wire. Except for a few scratches that he ignored, he kept moving steadily forward.

By the time he reached the trailer, he was far behind the other teams. He heard the attack instructions as the plan was laid out on his radio. He knew from the shouting and cursing in the radio that the two bikers were good at setting up their defense. Using Uzi pistols and Russian rifles, they picked off the more inexperienced deputies and the greener members of the Military Police quickly. From his vantage point, he could see that the two sheriffs had become separated trying to rescus their wounded. Greg talked to Fred as they hunkered down behind an old tractor and a stone barn. Greg swore, "These bikers have fought police before."

"Man... They clearly knew to aim at our legs. During our first rush of the old trailer, five men were shot pretty quickly."

Jerry jumped in from wherever he was hiding, "Yeah... Two more men received arm wounds in the second attack. An Uzi at 200 rounds per minute can do some damage. Let's get all the wounded together behind the stone barn... It's the best cover..."

Just after they dragged the last of the wounded men into the relative safety of the old stone walled barn, they watched as Eddy Handy drove a giant armored Hum Vee into the perimeter. Despite bullets pinging off the outside, he drove past the trailer and back around their barn.

Greg ran at him, mad as hell, "Eddy? What the hell are you doing?"

"You got wounded, Sheriff... I'm here to get them out... The ambulances haven't returned from County... Isn't armor plating the coolest ever! I gotta get me one of these!"

"God damned crazy kid!"

Fred laughed, "You got any better ideas, G?"

"No... Handy... you buckin' for my job?"

The man smiled slowly, obviously buzzed on adrenaline, "Not yet, Sir... I thought I'd wait til my second year..." even some of the wounded guys laughed.

The major came over. "Hell of a way to field test armor plating, Deputy! Well... You came all this way... Let's get them out of here!"

"Roger that, Sir! Hoo Rah!" The four unwounded men helped to get the wounded men loaded. When they were piled in the Hummer, Handy drove out through another cloud of bullets evacuating the six wounded men. Soon, the only ones left were Jerry, Greg and Fred. They were hunkered together behind the barn to try and make a plan. Handy drove through another hail of bullets out of the clearing and into the safety of the woods.

Just then, their world was rocked by a huge explosion. They crawled out to the edge of the barn to look. The trailer looked like it had been pried open by a giant can opener. What was left of it was burning in piles all over the weed filled yard. "What the..?" said the Sheriff.

"Holy Shit!" was all that Fred could say.

"If those bikers were inside that trailer, they are toast," said Jerry.

Just then, they heard one of the motorcycles that had been under a tree on the far side of the yard, sputter to life. It made a cough and then, with an increasing roar, came flying out of the clouds and flame on a deer trail headed out toward the river. With a curse, Greg raised his pistol to fire at the two blood covered men on the bike. He fired, missing them as they zigged and zagged their bike across the rubble strewn yard. They aimed their bike around an old pump house before he could get a second shot off. The officers took off after them on foot.

Jerry was calling into his radio while they ran, "Sparky..? Command!"

"Command Post..."

"We have two perps making a break for it toward the river on a motorcycle... You got back up?"

"Roger that, Major... We got five new deputies just arrived..."

"Dressed?"

"Two dressed... Three waiting... said it was too hot..."

"Mister... You tell them to get their asses saddled up and moving up the crematory road... Head these fuckers off..."

"Hoo rah!"

Fred had a sinking feeling that the bikers were going to elude them again. Just as the cops were able to get around the pump house, they heard a roar louder than the damaged Harley. They saw a giant figure come out of the woods at a dead run. In a move that they were sure Papa Junior had not made since he had been an All State linebacker in high school, he dove at the men with his arms wide open.

The suddenly riderless motorcycle kept going down the deer track for a few feet before weaving its way into a tree. With a loud crunch, but the bikers were wiped off by the giant flying tackle. Papa landed on the bikers with the full weight of his four hundred pounds. The air went out of all three of them. Papa Junior was known to be strong. He had been known to lift a car motor out of a car without a hoist. He picked up the motorcycle and threw it onto the gunmen's legs. They were pinned under the Harley screaming.

As quickly as they could get there, Fred and Greg each took black plastic zip ties and bound the arms of the unconscious criminals. Then, the three men lifted the bike to free the perps.

Greg called into the radio, "Everybody in... We got 'em... Stay on the road... we have no idea how many mines they planted in those woods..."

Jerry ran to Papa Junior, "Papa... That was awesome!"

"I still got some of my old spunk left..."

"You sure do!" The old man rolled over on his back and coughed. He grunted out, "Them bastards burnt my diner... I couldn't let them get away..." He lay there panting.

"Good job, Papa... You okay?"

""Mostly..."

"Alright... The ambulance is on the way... You wait here..."

Just then, Fred came over to his old friend, "Papa... I thought you were going to the hospital?"

Papa tried to get up and lay back down, "Sheriff, I'm afraid that I will be going, now... I suspect I just might have hurt myself..."

Jerry called, "Command... We have one injured combatant and two injured perps... I need transport... Now!"

"The two ambulances are back from County and on their way in, Major... We had already sent the worst of the wounded in on some of the fire fighter's pickups..."

"Roger that... Good thinkin', Sparky!"

"The rest of us are already moving your way, Major!"

At that moment, three pickups full of firefighters, the Pumper truck, two ambulances, and four Hummers came roaring out of the woods into the cleared yard. Firefighters jumped off their vehicles and, taking extinguishers and two garden hoses, began to beat the grass fires back toward the trailer. Another fire crew quickly hooked to the well head and soon a pretty good sized stream of water was pouring on the central fires. Once the main fires were knocked down some, a crew of suited fighters with water spray support climbed up on the main trailer area. One of them worked his way into the burned out front room.

He became very excited. They all heard his voice on their radios. "Danny... there's someone in here..."

All of the hoses were immediately trained on the front end of the trailer. In a flash, that portion of the fire was reduced to steaming black charcoal. Then they heard the high pitched keening sound of a burn victim's wails coming from a corner of the blackened room.

Greg and Fred followed a paramedic up to the edge of the trailer. Even in Army fatigues, Greg recognized her as also being a nurse at County Hospital. They all restacked the cement blocks to rebuild the steps into the trailer. She ran up onto the platform. They followed her into the steaming, smoking rubble, but stayed back as she headed for the sound. They couldn't see well enough to find it. They all just followed the long, high wail that was coming through the fog from the corner of the old living room. As they got closer, they could tell that the sound was coming from behind a burned couch.

She said as she pointed in that direction, "Couch probably saved him... for what, I don't know...Poor Bastard!... I need hooks here... Get this couch out of here!"

Long, hooked poles came out of the clouds to grapple the couch away and off into the yard. She knelt by the man and took a pulse. She looked up at Fred and Greg, "Pulse is thin and thready... but, whoever he is... he's still alive... I don't know how, but, he is..."

Greg asked, "Can you take him and Papa in your vehicle? I want to follow both of the perps in the other one... I don't think they are injured much, but, I have to process the whiney ass bastards through the ER for paperwork's sake..."

She laughed, "Yeah... Mr. Wilkinson is already up and insisting on riding shot gun... so, this boy can have the bed..."

She keyed her radio, "County ER... This is 4186..."

Everyone heard the mechanical voice of the ER doctor coming out of her radio, "Dr. Fredricks... Is this Amy?"

"Roger that, Sir..."

"Report!"

"I'm up the Bend Road at the site of a gun battle that turned into a post explosion fire scene... we got a 90+% burn victim... Pulse thready... I wish to give pain meds before we transport... We have nowhere to hang a bag... Full shock... All peripheral veins are collapsed... Neck too burned to use carotids... Some abdomen fascia intact..."

"Okay... 100 units straight DiKetal Amenthol into the abdomen for pain... Warning!... It could also stop his heart... so, pay attention... ETA?"

"Twenty one minutes..."

"Make it fifteen if you can..."

As she was administering the shot, some other paramedics arrived with their gurney. Ignoring his screams, they moved him onto the bed and moving as quickly as they dared on the soggy, rotten flooring of the old trailer, carried him across the yard toward the Ambulance. Papa Junior was leaning on the side of the tailgate as they locked the gurney with the burned man in its spot. Papa climbed up into the ambulance and took the seat next to the paramedic.

The meds must have kicked in. The burned man looked strangely at Junior, "Papa..?"

As the door was shut behind them, he said softly, "Jimmy... I thought you was dead, son."

"Where am I?"

"You in an ambulance, son... You burned up bad!"

"How's Delilah?"

"She's fine... Yo baby's fine, too..."

"Oh, my God... a baby... after all these years..." Tears trailed down his smoke stained cheeks.

He tried to raise himself, but the restraints held him down. He grabbed Papa's hand, "I'm sorry I didn't have the balls to defy you or my parents all those years ago... I have loved that girl since we were kids... I shoulda married her..." He lay back.

The driver keyed his radio, "Uhhh... Sheriff?"

In the SUV running hot behind the two ambulances, Greg keyed his radio, "Hansen!"

The driver of the ambulance continued, "I'm listening to the burned guy and Papa..."

"Yeah?"

"I think it might be Jimmy Simpson!"

"Holy Crap!"

Greg broke in, "No more... I repeat... No more chatter about the John Doe... Got it!"

Back in the ambulance, Jimmy and Junior's conversation went on, "I know that you loved her, son... We should have just left you two alone... Love does what love wants..."

"And now, she won't be alone..."

"Stuff and nonsense, boy... We get you fixed up... You be fine..."

Jimmy spoke slowly and with great effort, "Don't shit a bull shitter, Papa... I was barely alive when I got here yesterday... and they tore me up before you guys attacked..."

"Jimmy, son... You gotta rest yourself..."

"No... I gotta get this out..."

"Okay... Go easy..."

"They hurt me bad... I knew I was a dead man even before I turned on the gas..."

"You blew up the trailer?"

"Yeah... I turned a knob on the stove with my foot when they weren't looking... I knew they'd never let me out alive... I was determined to take them with me..."

"How long have you been here?"

"I only just got to Memphis yesterday from Africa..."

"So you WERE in Africa..."

"Yeah... After they shot me over there, I got a terrible infection... I was near death for weeks... I was hidden by a woman... She got some black market antibiotics... I was in a coma with a fever... As soon as I was able, I got out of Africa two days ago..."

"They sent us ashes..."

"I sent those...before I was shot... Those ashes are of a dog that died over there..."

"Really..."

"I didn't know that you guys thought I was dead..."

"Wow! What happened when they took you last night?"

"I was going to see Delilah... They saw me waiting for her and snatched me outside of the diner last night... They've been working on me since then... They beat me bad... I vaguely remember that they left twice..."

"Probably to set the fire bomb that burnt my diner..."

"I don't know... I never told them where the diamonds were... I heard them talkin' about how much fun they were going to have getting them out of Teeny next... I had to kill them... I couldn't have them going after you guys..."

"I knew I shoulda kilt them muthas a week ago..."

"I guess they were talking in the back bedroom when one of the random tracer bullets must have set off the gas... It blew me into a corner and blew them out of the back wall... Stomper was screaming as his hair went up..."

Papa spoke in a satisfied growl, "Yeah... grease burns... heh, heh, heh..."

The nurse was messing with her phone. She said, "Wow! You are one scarey dude, Papa..."

Jimmy grabbed the nurse's arm, "No CPR... You got that?"

"I understand, Jimmy, uh, John Doe... No CPR!" She wiped a tear. Teeny Wilkinson was one of her best friends.

He spoke softer, now, so only Papa could hear, "Listen to me, Papa... I can feel myself slipping away even now... Tell Teeny to look in the ball glove... there's a diamond... in... the glove... She can sell it... It's worth 2 million..."

Papa was shocked. He saw that the EMT was busy on her phone and seemed to not hear what Jimmy had said. He tried to push Jimmy back down, "Now, you quit talkin' crazy... You just hold on, son... It aint but a minute more..."

Jimmy lay back closed his eyes. His breathing slowed and finally stopped. The ambulance pulled into the driveway outside of Pope County Hospital. Police and SWAT cars came flying in around it. Everyone rushed to the doors to see Jimmy. When they opened the back of the ambulance, Papa was holding Jimmy and rocking him, crying softly, "He died to save us, Sheriff... He blew himself up trying to end those bastards what tried to kill my family..." His big shoulders shook as he cried.

Jeannie and Peg ran out with the ER crew. The doctor crawled in ahead of the mob. "He said no CPR, Doc..."

When he heard that and checked his heart with a stethoscope, he said, "I'm calling this one... DOA at 1522, this date... For now, if you'll excuse me... I have an ER full of wounded soldiers." As he went back inside, he pulled off his gloves and threw them into a trash bin. Without missing a step, he pulled two more clean gloves out of his pocket, put them on, and ducked through a curtain.

Jeannie flew into her husband's arms. She held him like she never wanted to let him go. He held her as tightly, "Baby... baby... hush, now... It's all over, Sugar... Not a scratch on me... I promise..."

"I didn't want to cry... I'm a deputy for corn sake..."

"We'll blame it on the hormones..." They laughed and cried together.

Peg ran up and grabbed Fred, "It was horrible and exciting at the same time... Like an adventure movie... We listened on Channel 7, just like you said... Just like a movie... Except for the part where I knew everyone and real bullets were flying... We stayed together at Mom and Dad's, huddled around Jeannie's radio until we heard that it was over... Luckily, me and Peg had already left mom's heading here when we heard about Jimmy..."

"Do you mean, John Doe... Did you say anything to your folks?"

"That he died again... No way!"

"We may just leave it like that..." He made eye contact with Greg, "Let's check him in as a John Doe..." Greg pursed his lips and nodded.

He went with her over to look into the back of the ambulance. The nurse had her hand on Papa Junior's shoulder. The EMT/nurse looked over her shoulder at the group of enquiring eyes. She shook her head. "He was just too badly beaten and burned. How much of this trauma is from those criminals and how much was from the explosion is irrelevant now..."

Greg spoke to her, "Did you find any ID?"

"No, Sir... His clothes were badly burned."

"Let's leave him as a John Doe for now... Okay?"

Just then, Teeny came running up. Before anyone could stop her, she was in the ambulance and being held back by her father. Peg went into the ambulance, too. Between the two of them, she and her dad got the girl away from her beloved and back out on the street. They ignored her howling cries as her father gently carried her into the hospital. Her dad spoke softly to her, "Come on, sweetie... They gotta get this poor boy into the hospital so they can do their work..." They moved across the lobby and got into the elevator and headed for Big Teeny's room. It would help both women to comfort each other and keep Little teeny from prying eyes as she dealt with this new tragedy.

Fred and Greg stood mutely as the EMT's rolled the covered body of John Doe/Jimmy Simpson into the ER. Six MP's came right behind with the two West Side Rangers chained to wheel chairs. "Should I call the Fed's?"

Greg sighed in exasperation, "Yeah... let them race down here to hog the glory..." Greg went inside.

Fred called the only FBI number that he knew. The Special Agent in Charge of the Task Force answered, "Torrenz..."

"I have good news... We have the last two Rangers in custody... We have them on arson and murder of James Simpson..."

"Where?"

"We have them at Pope County Hospital in Colgotha, Illinois for processing..."

"How damaged are they?"

"Not very..."

"They have a Life Flight pad. Right?"

"Roger that, ma'am!"

"We'll be there in three hours to transport them back here..."

He closed his phone as he walked in to find Greg and Peg and Jeannie watching Jimmy's sad procession. "The race is on..."

The nurse from the ambulance walked up. She handed him her phone, "You can't see anything, but, I taped most of the dying statement of Mr. Simpson... ummm... John Doe on my phone."

They all stood in a circle and listened to the last minutes of Jimmy's sad life. "Wow... even though we can't hear everything, this was really good thinking, Amy... It will never be admissible in court, but, it will give us cause to hold these bastards for the Feds."

Peg turned to her, "Amy... You have my number, right?"

"Sure I do..."

"Send me that file... Where's Eddie?"

He walked over, "Right here, Miss Margaret."

She looked at Fred, "You have three hours here, right? We'll process this video at Justice..."

Fred looked stunned as they dashed off chattering about bit rates and processor speeds.

Greg shrugged and laughed, "Well... that's why we hire geeks... So they can be geeks!" They all laughed. Greg looked at his watch. "I'll take Rico Fienetti... I'll make sure to keep the Stomper under wraps... You stay with that Paolo Cesarino character... follow him even into surgery if you have to... Remember... He's still the Dragon... So... until we hand them over to the Feds, it's eyes on..."

"Roger that, G..."

Jeannie perked up, "And I have forms to process... I'll be at my desk... Let me see... Do I have another Gold badge for that Handy boy... He saved at least six to ten men today... Heroes deserve a gold badge... maybe another stripe...Corporal Handy... I like it."

They laughed as they watched her walk off mumbling to herself. They slapped hands in a high five, "Not today, Sergeant!"

"Nope... We didn't die today!" They went in to keep an eye on their very dangerous perpetrators. The Dragon had a broken arm. Except for a few scrapes and Stomper's singed hair, the two men were minimally damaged. They took over a small conference room that had a view of the Life Flight deck. Using zip ties, they bound the legs of the men to the table legs and tied their hands to the arms of their wheel chairs.

Dragon spoke, "Hey... I need a drink..."

"I don't give drinks to criminals who try to kill me..."

"We were just defending ourselves... It's our second amendment rights... anyways... You blew us up!"

"According to John Doe's dying statements, he blew you up to protect his family..."

"He... died?"

"And you two look mighty good for his murder since he had injuries consistent with a bad beating... He died from a ruptured spleen from being stomped... That's your specialty isn't it, Rico... Aren't you the one who became famous as the Stomper?" Rico Fienetti wisely kept silent. Paolo Cesarino began playing with the dragon tattoo that was on his skinny, hairless chest. He fell silent as well.

Chapter 40; Friday PM; FBI 6: DEA 1

As promised, in three hours and seven minutes, a Black Hawk 17 with FBI painted on its midnight blue fuselage landed on the Life Flight helipad. Agent Torrenz and six other agents disembarked at a run. Torrenz and her people came into the conference room where the Sheriff and his captives had been waiting.

Fred met them at the edge of the pad. "What kept you?"

Agent Torrenz looked stunned and then her darkly beautiful face cracked into a smile. She put her hand on a well formed hip, "Very funny, Sergeant... We were heading for Milwaukee when you called us. They busted three more Rangers up there... But, these are the two that we really wanted, so, we filed an amended flight plan and here we are. In four hours, we'll be in Milwaukee to get the other three... Then, we'll have five..."

"Six, if you count the one we shot..."

"True..." Fred could tell that she was editing her press release in her head as Greg came up.

They shook hands, "We'll be glad to get these bad boys off our hands..." With a minimum of further chatter, documents were signed and exchanged.

When they walked out to meet the two CNN types, the TV crew had set up a small well lit area. Once the lights were on, she took Greg's hand and shook it for the cameras, "Nice working with you, boys..." said Agent Torrenz.

Greg was equally polite, "Thank you, Ma'am..."

She turned to the cameras. Like a well-oiled political machine, she pitched right into her speech, "This evening in a daring raid, agents from the FBI aided by the Pope County Sheriff's Department and A unit of SWAT from the Illinois National Guard, rounded up and captured the Number One and Number Two members of the West Side rangers. In all there was one death, an unidentified John Doe, who had been a prisoner of the perpetrators... Our side lost eleven wounded soldiers and deputies. Both criminals were captured with minor injuries. We have a total of six officers of a motorcycle gang known as the Rangers now in FBI custody. Now, we must get these men to Chicago... Thank you for your time... We will have another update tomorrow..."

Off camera, as she was walking out to the helicopter, she called the FBI office in Milwaukee, "Finster... Torenz... I want you to move your three perps to your van and just drive them around until I call you to tell where I have been able to land to collect them. " She spoke to one of the agents with her, "There... now DEA can't snatch them while we are traveling..."

Fred and Greg watched in amazement, "How does she do that from memory?"

"Very impressive... She'll make Director one day..."

"Fer sure..." Fred and Greg went back into the hospital where they watched the whole thing replayed on CNN from a TV in the lounge. Then, they watched another live scenario through the big windows as the fibbies wheeled the chained perpetrators out to the flight deck and put them on board the craft. In a flash, everyone was on board and the helicopter flew away. Fred and Greg headed out into the evening heat. "I noticed that our names weren't mentioned." They drove to the Justice Center.

When they came into their office, there were two men in black nylon jackets with DEA on front and back. The smaller one jumped up and got into Greg's face, "Sheriff... this WOMAN won't let me exercise my warrants..." Fred noticed that the TV was off.

"Hello... nice to see you too... Agent Stratford... is it?"

"Sheriff... We have been here waiting here for over an hour... I am in possession of warrants for a Rico Fienetti... aka Stomper... and a Paolo Cesarino, aka Dragon..."

"Really?"

"Really..."

"Well... as of," Greg looked at the transfer documents in his hand, "mmmm... 1722 hours... A certain Agent Felicia Torrenz... You might remember her... She's the Agent In Charge of the Chicago FBI office..."

"Of course, I know her... What about her?"

"She just took off from Pope County Hospital helipad with both of those perpetrators in her custody..."

"But... I was here first..."

"I see that... but she was THERE first... I just didn't know what to do... I'm just a two bit Sheriff... Isn't that what you called me when you were here last time?"

"But... But..."

Greg turned and walked into his office. Fred went into his leaving the blustering DEA agents out in the lobby..."

Greg stuck his head back out, "I do have a rotten deputy that was working for them... Do you want him?"

"I don't have paperwork on him."

"Oh, we have plenty of paperwork... We could whip up some transfer documents, PDQ, couldn't we Deputy Hansen?"

"In two minutes or less, Sheriff..." Jeannie said, smiling sweetly. They both looked at the DEA guys.

"Okay... We'll take what we can get..." Jeannie turned to her computer. In less than two minutes the printer spit out the transfer papers. Greg signed them and took the agents back to the cells. They shackled Josh and led him out. The ex-deputy said nothing. His eyes never left the floor as he shuffled out.

Greg shook his head as the door shut behind them, "Damn... I hate it when a cop goes bad..."

When the DEA guys and their prisoner were gone, Fred called them all into their conference room. He turned on CNN. It was lucky that they were just in time to hit the story at the top. They all sat mutely until the whole set of scenes played out on the TV. "It was pretty clever of her to somehow twist her story to NOT include the sixty men and women of Pope County who actually risked life and limb to bring those two bastards in."

"Never let the truth get in the way of hogging all the glory," said Jeannie.

Greg kissed her, "I do love the taste of a woman with a smart mouth."

Chapter 41; Friday Night

They went back into lobby. Let's go see Eddy..." Jeannie joined them as they headed into the lab.

Eddy looked up in that owl eyed way that he had when he was disturbed, "Wha..? Oh, hey, Sheriff?"

"Let it go, Eddy... We have to pack this evidence up and ship it to Agent Torrenz up in Chicago... We handed over the perps twenty minutes ago... We got 'em..."

"You got it, boss... I was getting nowhere fast... Sergeant MacGarn nailed this stuff at the scene..."

"Eddy... In here, I'd rather you called me Fred..."

"Sorry, Sarge... Probably not gonna happen..."

"Sarge will do..."

Greg said, "Let's get to the hospital... Eddy... You need to go see your mama..."

"Why, Sheriff..."

"You gotta get her to fix your uniforms..."

"My uniforms?"

Greg handed him a manila envelope, "Look inside..."

Handy reached in and pulled out triple chevron patches. "What?"

"Edward Handy... Let me be the first to inform you that Fred MacGarn is elevated to Detective Lieutenant..."

"What?" Now, Fred was shocked.

Jeannie laughed, "Oh, yeah... We forgot to tell you..."

"I guess... I thought this was about Eddy..."

"I don't want too many Detective Sergeants...The Under-Sheriff needs to be a Lieutenant." He turned back to Eddy.

"Son," He handed him a gold star, "There some training that you're going to have to take and it'll technically temporary until you pass the test, but, we all agree that we've got to respond to your bravery in the field... and your quick thinking that saved your fellow deputies in jeopardy... Fred and I both know that we could never train a guy for that... So... go tell your parents that you are 10-10 until Monday..."

There were tears in Eddy's eyes, "I was just doin' my job, Sheriff..."

"And, for doing so well, come Monday morning, Acting Sergeant, I'm gone buy you big, old breakfast at Big Teeny's..."

"But, Sheriff... They burned Miz Teeny's Diner..."

"Oh, my God...What are we gonna do for decent food in this county?" They all laughed together.

Jeannie said, "And, Big Teeny's donuts... How am I going to feed my baby proper donuts?" They all laughed some more.

Peg said, "Let's go ask them!"

Fred shook Eddy's hand, "Good Luck, Sergeant."

"Now, what do I call you?"

"The appropriate response is Loot... okay?"

"Good Luck, Loot..."

With that, they all headed out. Eddy raced off to the hardware store to tell his parents. They heard him howling as he drove off. Peg got in Fred's squad car. Her car was still at Miz Tanzy's farm. She had come to Golconda with Eddy in the Forensics truck.

On the way to hospital, Peg moved into the center seat. She sat with her head on Fred's shoulder. "I have never been that scared, Freddy."

"To be honest, I was too busy to be scared... It's pretty freaky now, going through it in my head. I'm gonna have some serious paperwork to do..."

"Nah... Jeannie was following you guys on the radio and typed it all..."

"Really?"

"Yeah... she says it keeps her from going crazy... and Eddy already filed his 505's..."

"Works for me... I just have to edit her and Eddy's work..."

"Sounds like cheating off their tests..."

"I'm a Lieutenant now... What good is rank without privilege..."

She gave him a tiny punch in the shoulder. "Oh, you..."

They pulled their cruiser into a spot at the hospital next to Greg's SUV. They walked into the hospital together. In the lobby, Jeannie went to the desk to get Big Teeny's room. Greg was waylaid by a reporter from the local paper. Greg took her arm and lead her off, "You guys go on... I'll handle this. I'll catch up to you guys later..."

"Come on, Ruthie..." Greg said to the local reporter, "let's go get us a coffee... I'm tired...I've had a big day...I need to sit down while you let me tell you all about it..."

"Yes, Sir, Sheriff... From what I've heard all ready...It's my first front page story..." He took the reporter off to the cafeteria.

The three of them got in the elevator. As they went up in the elevator, Jeannie said, "They're in 348."

They found the room and went in. Big Teeny was in one of the beds with a terry cloth turban. Her daughter was laying on the bed with her. Junior was asleep in the other bed.

Teeny put her finger to her lips, "Shhhh... All my babies are asleep...It like to broke her heart seeing that man again."

Fred said softly, "Are you talking about the John Doe who got blown up today?"

She thinks a minute, then, nods, "I hear you, Sheriff... We done buried that boy already once..."

Fred touched her shoulder, "It seems best...What's done is done... There was no ID left from the explosion... His prints all burned off..."

"I get that, Freddy... His parents been through enough already..."

Peg said softly, "But we came to see how you were, Mama..."

"I'm fine... Doctor says I breathed in some smoke, so I gotta stay overnight here for observation... The Mister got admitted too...but, he says, he cant sleep in no hospital..."

"Could have fooled me..." They all laughed.

Peg says, "But, Mama, what about your hair?"

"My wig got burnt up... That's all..."

"Wig?"

"Child, I been bald as Junior Wilkins since I was fourteen... Down in Jamaica, I got scarlet fever and all my hair was gone forever... The reason I married that blowhard over there, was that he did not mind. He took me to Memphis on our first date and bought me my first real hair wig. I let the wigs age as I should have to keep the secret goin'..."

Peg nodded, "It was very effective, Mama... I have stayed overnight at your house and never knew what was under those big old towels that you wrapped around your head... You certainly fooled me..."

"Child...My baby daughter was nearly ten years old before she saw this ugly old bald head."

Jeannie piped in, "That is quite a story... and it will be our secret. Right, Peg?"

She took Big Teeny's hand, "Yes'm... I promise..."

"Thank you, ladies...If them bastards hadn't of burned down my restaurant, nobody would've known..."

Just then, Sarah and Agnes came quietly into the room. Each one kissed Mama's cheek and stood fidgeting. Peg said, Where's Daddy?"

"He is parking the van... He'll be along directly..."

Agnes looked at her daughter, "What y'all talking about?"

Peg calmly lied right into her mother's face, "We were just starting to talk about what we were going to do about the reception."

Big Teeny said, "Oh, child...We are having that fait d'eaux d'eaux come Sunday, as planned... There aint nothing wrong wif me or the Mister... We could cook you a dinner in the yard if'n we had to..."

Junior was awake. He and Fred had been watching the women talk. He sat up, "That's a fact, child...Before any of you was born, we done started that diner in a lean to shack and sold ribs by the road..."

Sarah said, "Agnes... can't we use the kitchens at your church? It's the biggest... I've already had more than fifty RSVP's for the reception..."

Fred looked at Junior, "What about your smoker?"

'Funniest thing, Freddy... On Thursday nights, I always take that thing down by the river and scrape out the droppings. I hadn't put it back yet when the bomb went off... After that, I plumb forgot it..."

Little Teeny woke up and was massively hugged by all the woman. Nothing was said about Jimmy because the older white women were there. All six women began to plan and discuss the finer points of getting everything that they needed for the wedding and the reception.

Fred laughed, "Lucky for us..."

"Yes, Sir..."

"Papa...let's me and you go for a stroll... This room is about to be overcome with girlie wedding plans..."

"Lawd...Lawd... I needs me a smoke anyways..."

On the way down, they picked up Greg just as he was getting off the elevator. "Boss... You do NOT want to go in there... That room is rapidly becoming the central command post for my wedding..."

Greg turned on his heel and fell in with them, "Report!"

"Big Teeny is fine...Delilah was asleep in her arms. When she woke up, they started planning in earnest..."

"So... you got out just in time?"

"Roger that, Sheriff!"

Just then, Big Jim came in from parking the van. "Evening, boys... Aint y'all going the wrong way?"

"No, Sir... we are running like roosters from a hen party... They are in full swing on wedding plans."

Big Jim turned and fell into step. They walked across the street to a little bar called The Greek's. Fred bought four beers and they went out on a designated patio smoking area. They all bummed cigarettes from Big Jim. Greg said, "After running through a minefield...a rasher of bombs... and a fusillade of bullets... One ciggy aint gonna kill me..."

Fred laughed, "Smoke 'em if Ya got 'em..." The men drew deeply and blew huge clouds of smoke out into the steaming hot night air.

Greg held his beer up, "To not dying today!"

"Here...Here!" echoed Fred and Papa. The beer bottles were clinked together in a toast.

They drank in silence. Greg phone buzzed in his pocket. He looked at the screen and said, "I gotta take this. It's another reporter..." He walked off down the sidewalk.

Papa got up, "I gotta go drain the dragon."

When they were alone, Fred said to Jim, "Big Jim... I don't know how you feel about this, but, you are about to be a grandfather again..."

Jim looked at him, "You work pretty fast don't you MacGarn?"

Fred jumped as if electrocuted, "Not me... I mean you misunderstand me... The child is Jimmy's..."

"Jimmy???"

"Yes, Sir... In about five more months, Jimmy and Miss Delilah will be delivering into this sad world your second grandchild... I will be honored to give you your third... someday... gotta marry her first..."

The older man scrubbed both of his hands though his buzz cut hair, "Holy crap!"

"Exactly... But... that's not your biggest problem..."

"No?"

"No... Your biggest problem is Auntie Ag..."

Still in shock Jim kept sputtering, "Agnes... Holy fucking crap! Agnes!"

"And you both are going to have to go figure out what to say to Delilah... and what to do about the baby..."

Just then, to break the conversation, Greg and Papa chose that moment to come back from their wanderings. They sat down.

Fred raised his glass. "To brand new grand babies..."

Jim took a giant drink. Greg said, "Easy there, Big Jim..."

Jim looked at the other men, "So... everybody knows but me?"

"No, Dad...Not everybody... The only ones who know so far are the Sheriff, his wife, me and Peg. We were in the diner two days ago when Delilah told her parents."

"What about the busybody Network?"

"Jim... You know very well that your wife would already know if they knew...and then, you'd have heard all about it." they all laughed.

They went back to get the women. The girls were standing outside of the door of the hospital looking at them as they returned from the Greek's. It both amused and frightened Fred that they stood in an identical pose with right fist cocked onto a right hip and pursed lips. Agnes spoke, "Big Jim...have you been smoking?"

Papa Junior ducked past the girls and went inside the hospital, "Night, ladies and gents... I gotta go see if the Mrs. Needs anything..." and he was gone through the revolving door.

Jeannie grabbed Greg arm and began towing him toward their car. Silently, he handed her the keys to his truck. "Come on, Sheriff... We've had a big day..."

Peg put her hand out. Fred held out his key. "Take me home... I'm done..." She hooked her elbow into his and they left the others.

"I love you," was all she said as she drove him home.

Something just dawned on Fred, "Where's Jimmy?"

"I talked to him on my phone while we were at the hospital... My mother took him to his best friend, Gruber's house... They haven't seen each other for weeks...Gruber's having a sleepover campout in his yard for his birthday... We'll stop and get him tomorrow..."

"I miss him already," said Fred as he laid his head on her shoulder while they cruised the back roads home. He woke when she pulled the cruiser in backwards in her drive.

"We are home, Sir..."

He saw how she had parked the cruiser in full view of the busy bodies, "Subtle..."

"We are the entertainment, ya know..."

He kissed her hard and grabbed her butt, "It's a big job, but, somebody's gotta do it..." They laughed and walked into their house hand in hand.

"Coffee?" she said going through the house into the kitchen.

"Yeah... For the first time in my life, I want to talk at the end of my day... Jen never wanted to know about police stuff... Her family culture was that the men talked in the man cave... and the women were elsewhere talking girlie crap..."

"Peg's the name... Talkin's my game..."

He kissed her, "Thanks... Really..."

"You act tough, but, you're just big old softy..."

Fred sighed, "So... What did you and Eddy get from the tape?

"Tape? Ohhhh... you mean the audio file?"

"You know what I mean... tape shmape!"

"Just teasing, Big City... Yeah... We cleaned it up some... I sent it to myself and Greg and you so you could hear it."

"Yeah... I had my phone off after the fight...reporters were calling... I had turned it on on the way to the Greek's. I saw that you had sent me a text, but I got talking to your Dad."

"My Dad?... What about?"

"I told him about Jimmy and Delilah's baby..."

"Yeah... I agree with that... It's best to get THAT over with before the busybody network gets their hands on it..."

"Exactly... I softened it as best as I could...I reminded him that he had to tell Auntie Ag before the network broke the story out into the universe."

"Man...Mom's gonna have a cow... Just in case you never noticed, she's the tiniest bit racist... It's her Georgis upbringing, I suspect..."

"No, I never noticed... but, my parents are from Alabama, so... it's in my culture, too... But this is about Teeny..."

"My blood sister since we were seven years old..."

"And, the only woman Jimmy ever loved..."

"Yeah... we recorded that... Listen!"

They heard him recognize Papa. They heard him say that he should have told both sets of parents that he loved her and that he should have been brave enough to stand up to them in defense of their love. Then, there was a part too soft to be heard. Peg told him that they had tried everything on that section of the recording, but, Jimmy was talking too softly and was drowned out by the road noise. The last thing they heard was, "No CPR..." and the response of the EMT.

One look in each other's face and they went into a hard embrace. Peg's voice was muffled by Fred's shoulder, "Jimmy...Oh, Jimmy..."

"Stubborn bastard...He saved us all ya know... He blew his own ass up doing it, but, he's a hero none the less..." Peg nodded silently against his shoulder.

"I'll go see Papa tomorrow and try to fill that gap in the recording..."

"Oh, yeah...Good news about the Wilkinson's..."

"Really?"

"Mama had been planning for some time to move the bakery portion of their business into one of the empty store fronts in Eddyville..."

"Interesting..."

"Well... the new store is nearer their condo in the senior citizens resort where they live... The fire just speeded up their plans... They were gonna sell the diner or close it anyway... Delilah's going to wait for the baby to be born, then look for a new place to open... She's only gonna serve breakfast and lunch... Jimmy made sure that they were well insured, so, they have money to set up. Mama Teeny is already talking about going to St. Louis to shop for new wigs and a modern baking stove..."

"I guess those bastards did them a favor..."

"Let's do roll call here in the morning... Could we?"

"Between me and Mom, I'm sure I can scare up enough eggs for the four of us... call 'em!"

"Fred flipped open his phone and speed dialed Greg. "Hansen..." came out of his open phone.

"Peg and I would like to invite you guys for breakfast..." Peg pointed at a bakery box on the counter, "Peg says to tell Jeannie that she has donuts for the baby..."

The sound changed indicating that Greg had put his phone on speaker. Jeannie said, "Okay... Greg Junior already ate all of mine..." They all laughed.

Greg's voice cut in, "Still... We gotta beg off..."

"Okay..."

"Listen... I had already made plans to quietly get the John Doe cremated in the morning by a local mortician who owes me a favor..."

"Roger that, G...I can help with expenses... He saved me, too... Then what?"

"We'll play that by ear... We can store him and deal with whatever comes next after the attention moves to other targets..."

"Yeah... he'll be less trouble in a cardboard box... So... Did you listen to the tape?"

"Yeah... we just played it again..."

"If we can get him alone tomorrow, let's you and me go have a quiet chat with Papa... See if we can fill the gaps..."

"I thought I heard that they were being dismissed from the hospital around noon..." said the ever vigilant Jeannie.

"We could hook up around elevenish and help them get home... They probably haven't no cars there at the hospital..."

"I get it... We take the women and you and Papa Junior have a quiet chat on the way to the diner to get his truck..."

"I'm buying a used pickup tomorrow morning... It'll be less intimidating for him to talk in than the cruiser..."

"Every day that you work for me I am more and more impressed with how sneaky smart you are..."

"It aint just about using a soft approach... This man helped raise me... He would take me and my Dad hunting on his river property. He taught me to track and to fish... I love that old man bone deep..."

"But... we STILL gotta know what they talked about..."

"Yep... If anyone can get him to talk... It'll have to be me..."

"You are such an asset to me and this department, Fred... I just want you to know that..."

"Thanks, Buddy... I'll try to live up to my hype..."

"Good night all... Me and the little mama here needs to sleep..."

"See ya tomorrow, peeps..."

"I'll bring you these donuts tomorrow..." said Peg.

"God bless you, Peg... I'll be typing reports at the Justice Center."

"I'll bring Jimmy. He loves the jail house."

"I'll have bread and water ready for the prisoner..." The women laughed and clicked the phones off.

Fred's coffee had gone cold and untouched. He poured it in the sink and stretched, "Take me to bed, woman, before I pass out right here."

"Come to Mama, my brave Lieutenant...Let's go celebrate not dying... the best way I know how." And they did, hot and fast. Long about 4 AM, they celebrated again, long and slow.

Chapter 42; Still Friday PM; The New Grandbaby

Next door, another drama had played out. Big Jim and Agnes had just dropped Sarah off at her cabin. He drove in a hard silence all the way home. The only change in his face was when he saw the Deputy Sheriff's cruiser in his daughter's drive, pointed out, ready for action. He set his jaw and followed his wife into their home of nearly fifty years.

Agnes put her purse down on the sofa and sat expectantly, "James Edward Simpson... I have put up with your sulking long enough...You must tell me what is bothering you..."

Usually, when they were in the living room together, he sat on a big leather lounger. This time, completely unlike himself, he moved her purse and sat by her on the couch. She reacted as if he had struck her, "Well, for heaven's own sake, Big Jim... are you dying? Is something wrong with the baby? Or with Peg? Tell me before I explode!"

He waited a second, then spoke softly, "It is funny that you mention a baby just now... You must be psychic."

"James! For the love of Peter...Quit sputtering this instant!"

He continued, ignoring her tone, "Well... There is going to be a new baby, Agnes..."

"Peg and Fred? Well...that's why they rushed to the altar..."

"No..."

"No... Who else is there?"

"Delilah..."

"Who in God's name is Delilah... Oh... Teeny...Oh..."

"Yes... Teeny..."

"Well then...you hurry up and tell me what this has to do with us?"

"She says... AND I believe her... that Jimmy is the father..."

"But... but... Jimmy is dead!"

"True enough, but, four or five months ago... who cares really... He was alive and clearly kicking down the barn door... so to speak..."

"Four or five months..." she mumbled in shock.

"Here's the good news... You are gonna be a grandmother again... well... one of them..."

Agnes stood. Her face was furious. "He's having a baby..! With a negress...! James... Thirty years ago, I... I told you to handle this..."

"For God's sake, Agnes... I thought I had... Me and that boy nearly came to blows more than once over that girl... umm... woman"

She turned to look at her husband. He almost shivered as a feeling as cold as daggers ran down his spine. Her voice had a dead sound to it, "How much does she want?"

Jim looked shocked, as if it had never occurred to him until this moment. Then, he was mad, too. He shouted at her, "She hasn't asked me for a cent."

Agnes's voice stayed cold. "Well... mark my words... She will!"

"Now wait a minute... Her father and I are lifelong pals... Forty years or more, we hunted and fished together... Since we were young men... These people... That family has eaten at your table..."

"That's where you're mistaken, sir... They have eaten at YOUR table... I fed them because you insisted that I do so... My sainted mother would have rolled over into her death bed had she ever seen it... My Daddy would have burned this house..."

"Oh, my God, Agnes! I had no idea... That girl practically grew up in this house..."

"That GIRL was the only child who would come anywhere near our baby after she took sick..."

"But you acted as if..."

"Lord, help this poor blind man... And the Academy Award for drama goes to... ME..!"

"Jesus Christ on a crutch!"

She let the blasphemy pass. "I was ACTING, James... I was taught to keep peace in a man's house...For you and for the children..."

"Well... You certainly fooled us..!"

"After a while, it was too late... Peg loved her so... I couldn't even cut Teeny out once Peg's social circle and standing had recovered from the fear of infection..."

"This is a lot to take in..."

"I mean...Teeny is sweet enough and all...She's a gifted baker...just like her mother... She's probably only an adequate waitress..."

He stood to stop her ranting, "That's quite enough out of you, Agnes... we have been small minded jerks for thirty years and it stops NOW!"

"Well I never!"

"I have listened to you...Now, you are going to listen to me...I have just lost my only son..."

Agnes put her chin up, treying to recapture control of the conversation, "As did I..!"

"The difference here is that I have no intention of losing any of my grandchildren..."

"If it's true..."

"I already know the answer to that question..."

"How?"

"Because Freddy told me... And he would have no reason to lie..."

"No... I guess not..."

"But, how?"

"While we were busy living our lives and trying to ignore Jimmy's troubles, they have been playing house together in that old marina for more than twenty years..."

"But that baby will be a N..."

"He stepped toward her and she flinched, "Don't you EVER say that word in my presence again... He or she... whichever...I don't care about the sex of the baby... according any one of the shouting matches Jimmy and I had about Miss Delilah..."

"You talked about her with him?"

"Yes...many times... I warned him off her as best I could..."

"But he was stubborn..."

"Or... he really loved her... The old Sheriff and I were breakfast buddies...I got many reports of Jimmy's car being seen parked on the Bend Road overnight... and then, they practically moved into that old boat house he bought... Another reason I don't want that boat... It's HER boat... and her boathouse... I know because I was in it once..."

"Really?"

"Yep...It looks like crap on the outside, but, inside it is completely remodeled... It has every bell and whistle... and the decorating was totally done by a woman..."

"Which woman?"

"I'd say Delilah... since she was the only one in any of the photos...Just her and him..."

"Dang..."

"Anyway... According to one of our DISCUSSIONS... He calculates that any kid of his would be 10% negro or less..."

She sat back down. She closed her eyes and laid her head on the back of the couch as if she were exhausted, "Okay... Okay..! What outcome do you expect from this, James?"

"My expectation is simple...On the day my grandchild is born, I'm going to hold her in my arms and love him or her...I expect to look into those eyes and see Jimmy's steel blue eyes looking back at me... hell... To be perfectly honest... I'm gonna expect to see YOUR steel blue eyes looking at me and I am going to thank God..."

"God?"

"Agnes...ALL babies are a gift from God... That child is going to be the last bit of Jimmy that we will ever get on this planet."

Her shoulders wilted. She covered her face and she began to cry. He took her in his arms. "Jesus has the solution for us..."

"What?" she cried, dropping her hands into her lap.

He reached across her knee and lovingly picked up the tattered Bible that was always found right by her elbow. He put the Bible in her hands. "First...We get on our knees and beg forgiveness for keeping those two apart all these years... It wasn't any of our business who Jimmy loved... Jesus loved them both and He wants us to be His messenger..."

"And, then?"

"Tomorrow... We should go to Miss Delilah... who grew up in our house, by the way... and give her Jesus's message as we beg her for forgiveness..."

He aimed the picture that was looking lovingly at them so that the face was in full view. They had always kept a picture of Jesus on the table right by the couch for what they called their praying emergencies. They got down in front of the couch and began praying. Well, the truth was that, this time,...Jim prayed and Agnes cried. They followed the pattern that they had begun on their first night together. One would pray and one would listen. Usually, one would pray and the other would listen. Tonight, as always, they ended with saying the Lord's Prayer in unison.

As they went upstairs, Agnes said, "What shall we buy as a present for the baby to take over to the hospital?"

He checked the lock on the front door as they went by. "That's my girl...I tell you what... We'll stop at Shop Mart and you can oooh and ahhh and fondle every garment in the baby section in there... I'll probably give you twenty whole minutes... I'll try to distract myself by finding the biggest bear in the joint." They laughed and went to bed.

Chapter 43; Saturday AM; One Day to Go

Fred lay there a moment. The sounds of birds in the trees came in the open window. It wasn't the tree that he remembered because, technically, he was in his parents' bedroom. So, he thought, this must have been what they awoke to every morning. Then, he realized what wonderful soft mound was perfectly filling his hand. His fingers gently grazed the tip until it pressed firmly back at his palm. Peg came instantly awake as she shuddered with delight. She pressed her sleepy face against his face. She nuzzled around until her lips found their target. Fred was lost in a moment. When the kiss broke, he prayed, "Lord...please let me wake up like this forever..."

She smiled her cat with a canary smile, "Yes, Lord...me too..."

Maintaining a lip lock on Fred's mouth, she moved herself carefully until she had captured her favorite part in warm velvety softness of his favorite part. With an expert sense of rhythm, she began their dance of love. Since it was their third time in less than twelve hours, she took her sweet time and Fred let her. The waves of love that washed over him left him both stronger and weaker than he had ever been. When they were done, they slept for nearly another hour until the phone rang.

Fred got her phone and looked at it as he handed it to her as he fell back on his pillow, "It says McGruber?"

"Yeah... Gruber McGruber...It happened last year in Tball...They screwed up his shirt... But the kid liked it, so, he's now Gruber McGruber..."

"Fascinating..."

Before she could talk, Fred heard Jimmy yelling into the phone, "Mommy..! Save me..!"

She sat up, suddenly fully awake and concerned, "From what?"

"They're trying to feed me cereal!"

"James Edward Thompson III...You woke me up about CEREAL?'

"Mom! It has FIBER in it...They're gonna make us eat WOOD!"

She fell back on the bed laughing, "Jimmy...Give the phone to Mrs. McGruber... Hey, Judy... Aint they just pistols... that I'll be there in about an hour... Then, I am going to take Jimmy and Gruber and throw them in the lock up...Yeah... I know... Jeannie says there's no prisoners right now... I figure that'll interest them for a minute until I don't come to let them out... Just part of the service... Was he okay... before this, I mean? Good...did they sleep at all? Oh...good...You made Jeff stay out there with them...ha ha ha... Is he already asleep? Men... they're such babies... Jeannie and I have wedding plans to do...Yeah...You heard... from my mother...Crazy, huh?...Well...You know me...anything worth doing is worth over doing...ha ha ha You guys are staying after service for the event, right?... Cool... Jimmy is the ring bearer...I don't know... We're going over town for a look see...Probably just gold bands...I'll show you my ring when I come over..."

Fred had given up on making any sense of the machine gun half of a conversation going on in the bedroom. He padded off to get a shower. When he was done, he walked in on the last line, "If you ever get of that phone..." Peg made a face at him. "Just saying..."

Peg went on, "Right... Right... Okay... See ya in a few..." She jumped up and swatted Fred on his ass and ran into the bathroom.

"Heeeeyyy!" was his only reply.

He called the car lot. The answering machine tape said they would be open by nine. Peg came out of the bathroom. She was beautifully nakedly braiding her hair with her eyes closed. Fred stopped to watch her in total awe as, within less than a minute, she was tying it off with invisible hairpins and started pulling silky delights from a drawer. In a few more seconds, she was decadently decent. He shook his head as he pulled one of rattier old Notre Dame golf shirts over his head.

"So... the trust fund baby bum look is in this year... is it, Big City?"

"Hey... one of my old hoes gave me this shirt... It's my new favorite..."

"Well...as an alumnus of that venerable institution... I deplore the state that you have let that shirt get to..."

"Never got another one... I think she married a lawyer..."

She shook her head, "Freddy...what's with the shirt?"

"After you buy me a pickup this morning, Papa Junior and I are going to have a chat... The better I'm dressed... the less comfortable he's gonna be..."

"Two things...He should damned comfortable talking to you in that shirt...Then, I'm gonna order you one from the alumni website... and THEN, we are going to BURN that one...Got It?"

"Roger that, Ma'am!"

"You are turning out to be a lot of work, sweet boy..." She kissed him

"Yeah...but I'm worth it...:"

"Yes, Sir... You definitely are..." he kissed her until she was breathless, "You definitely are..."

She drove them to the McGruber's neat little robin's egg blue ranch a couple of streets over. They went up to the house. Jimmy burst out the door, "Mommy... Freddy... You came for me..."

Fred laughed, "you have only been here about twelve hours...good ball..."

Jimmy looked at him from around his mother's leg. "It seems like days..."

Judy McGruber came to the door with Jimmy's overnight bag. She had a one year old on her hip, "Well, thanks, buddy... I love you too..."

Peg took the baby and started kissing him and snuggling his neck to make him laugh. "I just love the way babies smell..."

"Yeah... well... he's just out of his bath... You wouldn't have liked him before that..."

Jimmy ran back and hugged her, "Thanks Mrs. Gruber... It was fun... except for the wooden cereal..."

A dark haired boy was shyly looking through the doorway. He remained partially behind the wall and just peeked one eye out. Jimmy looked at him, "Come on, Gruber...It's only my mom and my extra dad, Freddy... He's a defective..."

All of the adults burst out laughing, "Some days...that is too descriptive..."

Peg got control of her laughter, "Happy birthday, Gruber," she said.

"Are you gonna kiss me?"

"Maybe..."

"Are you gonna hug me?"

"Maybe..."

He got a very resolute look on his face, "Then I'm stayin' right here..."

"Fred leaned against the door post, "Fine...We were just fixin' to take Jimmy down to the county jail and lock him up for not eating his breakfast..."

Gruber, whose name was really Ralph, got excited, "Really! Can I get locked up, too... I dint eat my cereal neither... I hate that stuff... But we ran out of the Sugar Monsters that are my favorites... The baby poured them into the toilet last night..."

"While you were supposed to be watching him..."

"I dint think he could get the stupid box open..."

The mom smiled, "Jakie's a real safe cracking genius... Every day is an adventure to see what he can get into..."

"I remember... Jimmy was the same way..."

Fred stood straighter, "Jimmy... I have to go buy me a truck... I don't supposed you'd want to do that?"

"Can Gruber go?"

"I don't know, Gruber... You want to go with us?"

Gruber started jumping up and down in front of his mother, "Can I, Mommy...Can I?"

"Yes... Stop Jumping..." she looked at peg, "How long?"

"Do you need him for anything?"

"Nah..."

"A couple three hours, I don't know... I got my cell... Call me if you need me to get you something... some Sugar Monsters?"

"Oh... I don't know... Don't go out of your way..."

They all piled into peg's car and headed for her car lot. It looked much the same as it had the last time that they had been there. Fred and the boys took a walk around. Fred was glad to see that the gun metal gray F-150 was still there. He herded the boys into the glassed in building in the back. He plunked the boys down with cokes and chips at the TV in the lounge. He found Peg and a skinny guy in a white shirt open at the collar and a loosely knotted tie. Fred extended his hand, "Hi...I'm Fred MacGarn..."

"Hi... Randall Hoffelmeyer...please call me Randy..."

"I want to buy that Gray F-150..."

"Why... You already own it... or, you will tomorrow..."

"Well...technically, the car lot owns it and we own the car lot... Did Peg talk to you at all?"

"Yes... and yes, I would be willing to buy this place... I have already talked to my wife about what we might do..."

"Your wife?"

"Debby...she works in credit..." He hit a button on his desk. A stunningly beautiful blond came out of the back hallway.

She sashayed her way into the office, "Yes, sweetie?"

He got up so she could sit. "Sugar... These nice people want to sell us this business... How much would that... should that cost?"

She took a pad and paper. From memory and by ticking the vehicles off by looking out the window, she wrote down the actual cost asset value and added them as she went. "As you know, cars have a spec value and cost realization value..."

Peg said, "What? Can you go slower and in English, please?"

Randy spoke, "Spec value is cost allowed in trade or paid in cash plus any improvement that we made. Jimmy tried to keep this below 60% of book value... Some of those donkeys out there we got from police auctions at less than 20% of book..."

"Okay... that makes sense..."

"Cost realization value is what we honestly think we could get on an average day for that vehicle..."

Fred said, "Street book..." Randy smiled, "Some people call it that...the banks like the fancier title. Let's start with spec value..." He looked questioningly at his wife.

She smiled sweetly at him, "$7, 622 on stock...100K for the land and the buildings... give or take..."

Peg added, "Robby said that Jimmy had a mortgage insurance policy on everything. I don't want capital gains taxes on this crap. Your realization on Freddy's pickup would be 15ish... That's a straight trade for stock..."

Debby shook her hand. It was clear who wore the business pants in this family, "That's fair." Fred shook Randy's hand, one irrelevant male to another.

Peg finished the deal, "How much you got?"

Even though she knew, this time Debby deferred to her husband, "By week's end... I could cash out to about twenty grand and borrow the rest."

Peg looked at him a moment, "Tell you what... We both know that real estate is in the toilet... You guys give me $9, 999. That puts me under the capital gains radar... I walk away from a business that I have no interest in and you two own the business that you have been running, and doing a fine job of it by the looks of your books for these last six years." They shook hands all around.

Fred knew that Peg wanted to talk to Debby alone, so, he said, "Come on Randy. Let's get started on the paperwork for my truck..."

When they were out of hearing, Deb said, "You don't like me much do you?"

"No, I really don't..."

"Because I was Jimmy's second wife."

"No... You were in a tough spot... You married a baseball star and the second year, he threw his arm out for good... Then, he brought you here where you didn't know anyone and then, he gets another shot and he takes off with wife number three..."

"That pretty well sums it up... I was working here at the car lot and he up and took off..."

"Next thing I hear is that you are married to the man who ran Jimmy's car lot so he could rehab his arm and get a few more years in the big dance."

"True enough..."

"I've known Randy since grade school... He aint much to look at..."

"Well... that homely man has a beautiful heart...That's what I see when I look at him..."

"I see how he looks at you...Like you are a jade Goddess..."

"He treats me like that, too...Back when Jimmy dumped me here and then ran off, he took me under his wing and protected me... I was devastated until he made me feel whole again."

"I get that... I really do... Freddy and me are doing that for each other..."

"Well... the funniest part is that it turned out I had a head for numbers and a gift for financing... Randy out there has a gift for buying well and another gift for closing a deal. We made this business run and keep running... Your brother"

"Sounds like a marriage made in used car heaven..."

Deb laughed a little, "You see a man who aint much to look at... I see a man who was the only one around here who took my side after the divorce...God knows what would have happened to me if he hadn't put me in the credit office out of Jimmy's sight..."

"I loved my brother, but he could be a right bastard when he took a notion."

Chapter 44; Saturday PM; One Night to Go

Deb shook her hand, "We are sisters in more ways than one, Peg... We'll meet up at Robby's office when he comes back from vacation to finalize the deal. Until then, I'll type up something as a meeting note and we'll both sign it Monday...Okay..."

The two women watched Jimmy and Gruber crawling in and out of the rear window of the sixpack. Fred was just standing there watching with a dopey smile on his face. Peg said absently, "What the hell does a man need with a big assed truck like that..."

"Never you mind... It's a man thing... Just look at them...That man's a keeper, too, Peg... He's so good with them boys..."

"Only one of them is ours... The dark headed one lives down the street."

"Maybe me and Randy can adopt now that we own a business..."

"I hear that... there's sure a lot of kids out there looking for a good home..." Peg walked out.

Fred was cinching up their seat belts in the back seat of the truck. "The boys want to ride in the pickup."

"Okay... Meet you at Justice..." He followed her down winding country roads to the Justice Center. Every shallow ditch, he would drive off the road and back on. The boys howled their approval. The bumpier that he made it, the more they roared. Peg looked back from time and shook her head.

When they got there, Peg came up to the truck. What had been shiny metal was now splotched with caked on mud. He handed Jimmy and then, Gruber down out of the side window. As he held them there upside down, by one foot the boys screamed until Peg would set them aright. They were nearly hysterical from the ride. "I declare, Fredrick MacGarn...I don't know which of you is the youngest boy in this family..."

"He likes me..." He kissed her, "Now, you're stuck with me..." Fred said over his shoulder after he had thrown both boys over a shoulder each and ran into the Sheriff's department. When he got in, he went up to the glass window. Jeannie opened it and laughed, "What is all this commotion?"

"Two bums with no jobs... Resisting arrest, Your Honor..."

Jimmy laughed over Fred's shoulder, "We're only six years old... We can't have jobs..."

"No excuse..." said Fred.

"Well... that's it, then, throw 'em in the drunk tank"

"By your command, Your Honor." She buzzed him through the outside doors. He ran with the laughing boys into the holding cell. He threw one on the one bed and the other on the top bunk. Ignoring their protests, he ran out and clanged the door closed. He ran back out. They all watched on the screen as the boys howled a moment. Then, they noticed the table and chairs with cookies and juice on them. Then, they found the comic books hidden under the mattresses. In a flash, they were side by side on the bed, getting juice drops and cookie crumbs all over their new comic books.

Fred left the two women looking at dresses in a magazine. He stuck his head into the sheriff's office. "We ready?"

"Yep." Greg got up and put his gun in the back holster under his shirt.

As they are heading down the hall, Fred asked, "What about that other thing?"

"The body was delivered. We'll have delivery come Monday morning."

"Roger that..."

"Are we going to the hospital?"

"No... Just you... Little Teeny got a ride over and got her car from the diner. It's up to you to cull Junior out of that herd and see what we can piece together."

"Roger that...I'm on my way..."

"I'm on my way to scatter some skateboarders...Jeannie's been getting calls..."

As they passed Jeannie's desk, Fred said, "Miz Hansen...I am counting on you to have her at the jewelry store at 1500 hours sharp..."

"Roger that, Groom... 1500 hours..."

He headed to the hospital. He caught all of the Wilkinsons just as they were coming out the rotating door. He walked up to Junior, "We gotta talk..."

"I know, son...Me and the girls was just talkin' bout dat..."

"Okay... Here Mama...Let me carry your bag..."

They all went out to Little Teeny's car. While the girls got situated, Junior leaned a giant hip on the back hood and said, "Freddy...The last thing that Jimmy said was that they was a diamond in a ball glove for Teeny as insurance..."

"A Ball Glove..."

"That's what he said...Puzzlin' aint it..."

"It's a head scratcher, all right... Thanks, Papa..." They left and Fred went to find Greg. He called the girls. Peg answered her cell. "Sweetie... can you guys get situated to go to the Meyer's Jewelry store now?"

"Yes... My mother just picked up the boys... They were headed for my pool... We were going to the dress shop first, but, we could switch the order... What's up?"

"Papa filled in the blank...Say, does the old news stand still have a coffee shop?"

"Yes... he calls it a lunch counter, though no one will eat his food but the VFW poops in the morning..."

"Ask Jeannie to dispatch her husband to the news stand. When we are all together... I will give my report..."

"10-4, Loot..."

Fred sighed, "See ya..."

Fred was the last to arrive at the old breakfast joint across the square from the court house. When he walked in, for some reason, Eddy handy was also there. Fred looked at him inquisitively.

Ed pointed at the shoe shine stand in the corner, "I was here getting a good shine... Nobody shines a good jump boot like Jasper..."

"And a chance to show off your gold badge?"

The whole table laughed when Eddy said, "Maybe... Then, I saw all of y'all coming in here from all directions, so, I barged my way in..."

Fred sat down. When the table got quiet, he said softly, "Papa said that John Doe's last words were to check the ball glove. He told us that we would find a diamond for Teeny and the baby.

Greg said, "Holy crap! He was a professional ball player... He must have fifty ball gloves..."

Peg huffed, "More like seventy..."

"How would we look inside of that many gloves?"

Eddy pitched in, "What if we used the Xray scanner at the court house door... The density of the diamond should show off against the leather as either a dark ball or a white circle..."

"Good job, Sergeant! Do you know how to run the damned thing?"

"Uh... Yes, Sir...we had TSA experience in the police explorers..."

Peg slapped high fives with Eddy, "Geeks Rule!

Eddy answered, "Users drool!"

Greg looked them, "Pathetic... Useful, but, pathetic! Get over there and get it warmed up..." Eddy ran out.

Fred looked at Peg, "Can your dad collect up all of the ball gloves at his house and bring them to the court house?"

"I'll call him... I know that there are boxes of them in his garage... What do I say when he asks me why?"

Greg said, "Tell him it's part of the investigation and you can't tell him yet."

Fred pointed at Greg, "What he said." They all laughed.

Fred dialed the car lot. Debby answered, "Deb here... How may I help you?"

"Deb... It's Lieutenant MacGarn..."

"Lieutenant... everything okay with the truck?"

"Oh, sure...Have you collected up Jimmy's belongings from the office, yet?"

"Yes, Lieutenant..."

"Please call me Freddy... Were there any ball gloves?"

"Yeah...maybe seven or eight... Why?"

"I'm sorry... I can't tell you that... Can you have one of your boys run them over to my office?"

"I'll bring them. I have a hair appointment across the square. It seems I've been invited to a wedding this Sunday..."

"Please don't forget to attend the reception... Call Peg's mother to RSVP... We'd love for you and Randy to be there..."

"I'll do that... See you soon..."

"Thanks..."

He looked at Peg, "Did you get him?"

"Yep... He's already on his way..."

"Am I forgetting anything?"

"I can't think of any more gloves anywhere... If we find any more gloves, we'll just look at it ourselves."

"Yeah... Come on... let's go next door and buy us a ring."

They all got up and paid the bills. They went next door to Aaron Meyer's Jewelers. Aaron limped out of his office to wait on them personally. Fred and he shook hands warmly. "Up so soon, Aaron?" He looked at the women, "he was with us yesterday when the mines went off. He was hit by some of the shrapnel and got out in the first ambulance.

"Shoot... It takes more than three scratches and a nick to close this place...Feebee, my wife, was a little shook, but, ya know what we Army guys say... chicks dig scars..." They all laughed together.

It took Fred exactly two minutes to pick out the rings he wanted. It took Jeannie and Peg forty five minutes to try everything in the case on four or five times before they picked the same exact set. Fred and Greg just shrugged at each other. Aaron gave them a great deal. Greg, as the best man, took possession of the loot.

They headed for the Court House. They got good parking spots since the building was closed. Eddy let them into the front door. He had four boxes of baseball gloves. "Man... Were these all Jimmy's?"

Peg answered, "A professional player has four or five in his locker at every game. Something will go wrong in an inning and they will change gloves as if the glove made the error and not them. Jimmy had a new glove every inning that he pitched. He had them numbered. He used to scream at the bat boys if they brought him the wrong glove. He was a total freak about it. A glove manufacturer who wanted to sign him might send him 20 or even fifty with different stitchings or web configurations. Jimmy gave away hundreds to Little Leaguers...You ready to start feeding in the gloves, Eddy?"

"Yes'm..."

They stood off to the side where they could see the big screen above the scanner. Glove after glove went by with nothing irregular. Then a new box was opened and put through the machine. In various places, funny shaped densities were seen. Fred hit the stop button and they looked at the three ball gloves that were together in a batch. Fred called down to Eddy, "Which box were these three in?"

"Some pretty lady brought it... There's some trophies and other stuff in here yet...You want we should scan that stuff too, Sheriff?"

"No thanks, Sergeant..."

Fred and Peg looked at each other. He said, "Jimmy's car lot!"

She said, "Jimmy's office!" Everybody laughed.

Greg said, "Run the other four gloves... I think we found what we were looking for..."

All in all, they found eighty four diamonds of various sizes and quality in the eight ball gloves that had been stored at Jimmy's office. They found one small one in Little Jimmy's glove. Another stone was found in the glove that Big Jim took to Cardinal's games. Peg laughed sadly, "We must have had this nugget with us when we went to the game Tuesday..." Still, a single tear trickled down her cheek. She moved into Fred's arms for comfort. They held each other for a moment, then, kissed and stepped back.

Greg looked around at the pile of ball gloves and said, "Can you clean this up, Eddy... We have to go see the Wilkinson's."

"No problem, Sheriff... They'll never know we were even here..."

"Except for those surveillance cameras all around us, you mean?"

"Ummm...No... For reasons that no one will ever know...lightning , maybe... I don't begin to know... the system crashed about an hour ago... When I get a minute, I'm going to go re-boot that server... Probably be fine by morning..."

Greg shook his head slowly, "That's a damned shame, Sergeant...As long as it's fine in a about five minutes... I guess I'm okay with your solution."

"It'll be more like twelve minutes for cold reboot, Sir... I suspect that it'll give me just enough time to move these boxes out of sight... and for you guys to vacate the premises... That door right there locks behind you as you go... The window washers'll come by first thing Monday and any and all fingerprints will be smudged beyond recognition."

They laughed because Eddy said it all with a straight face. They went out the door that they had been let in. Fred pushed the crash bar with his hip so that no new prints would be exchanged. Greg said, "Those crash bars get touched hundreds of times a week... No prints could show up on there and, even if they did, we all work here..."

"Whatever...today, I am following our new Sergeant's instructions..." They laughed some more as walked out to their cars at how seriously Ed Handy took every task.

Peg headed toward Jeannie's car. Fred looked questioningly at her. She said, "We have more girlie wedding crap to do..."

"Okay...See you later..."

"Mmmmm... No... Why don't you stay at your mom's... Your suit's there anyway..."

Peg pitched in, "You shouldn't see the dress until the wedding... Bad luck, ya know..."

Peg walked back and kissed him, "It'll be better... You'll miss all the bridezilla stuff this way... I'll just see you tomorrow...Okay?"

Greg laughed and spoke to Jeannie, "So...uhhh... I'm alone tonight, too?"

"I don't know...We have three weeks of work to do overnight...We are meeting Little Teeny..."

"You are? Where?"

"At my mother's house...Her and her mom are using my stove and my mother's two ovens...they are baking the layers of the cake in stages and then, they are taking it over to the church. Then, the whole Ladies' Guild is going to pitch in to decorate it in stages and they will assemble it tomorrow after church for the cutting... It has to feed around two hundred guests...By the way, the Dellwood Inn is full of Chicago people..."

My God, this wedding has blossomed into a cottage industry..."

"Now that you mention it... Three other ladies have been working on the dress...We were just going over for the final fitting... Ya wanna come?"

Fred broke into his best Big Teeny impression, "Lawd... Lawd... Hep me Lawd!..." They all laughed together. "I'm pretty sure that the rule about me not seeing the dress was to protect the groom... Me!... So... Not just no, but, HELL no!"

"If you get bored... the Men's Guild is in the back of the church running the smoker with Papa Junior supervising what he calls his last barbeque." The women laughed as they drove off to the Daisy Mill Dress shop for a fitting.

Fred looked at Greg, "No point in going to the Wilkinson residence. They're all over town fixing me up for my nuptial slaughter."

"Hmmm... I say...Let's go see Aaron Meyer and get him started on the valuation of these diamonds..."

"Okay..."

They walked across the street to Meyer's Jewelers. They went in. Aaron limped out of the back to meet them. "Didn't change your mind, did you, Fred?"

Greg spoke, "No... we have some official police business that I hope you can help me with..."

Aaron turned on his heel, "Let's go back here so we won't be disturbed. He took them into a workroom. They could still see the store through a set of TV monitors. When the door was shut, Greg took the clear plastic sack of diamonds out of his pocket. He put it in Aaron's hand.

"Holy Crap, Sheriff!"

"Aaron, I am activating your Deputy Sheriff status... This is deep cover... Not a word leaves this room!"

Aaron stood straighter, "Yes, Sir... Are these... what they look like?"

"That's your field of expertise, buddy... You tell us."

Aaron popped a jeweler's loop in his eye. He picked up each jewel and examined it in a bright light. He made four piles of stones. The Sheriffs watched him quietly. Finally, he was done. He took off the loop and turned his attention to his guests. "I'm done for now..."

"What do you think?"

Aaron pointed at the first pile, "First... They're all diamonds... The stones in this pile have tiny numbers laser carved into one facet."

"Really?" Both men were shocked.

"I can have my daughter, Sissy, run the numbers for you against a database...She brought some scanner doo dah from Amsterdam this spring... I can't figure it out..." He punched a button to activate the overhead speaker system, "Sissy...Please come to the workroom!" He took a dark velvet cloth and covered the other three piles. He swept the smallest pile onto a soft velvet tray. A pretty girl came in and closed the door.

"Sissy...Run these stones against the database..."

"Now? But, Daddy, me and Eddy were going swimming!"

Greg said, "Sorry, Sissy...Police business!"

"Okay... I get that from Eddie all the time, too..." She put each stone in some kind of scanning device and clicked her mouse a couple of times. Once a printout began, she repeated the process until the seventeen stones were logged.

"Eddy?" said Fred.

"Your new Sergeant is my boyfriend."

Aaron looked at his daughter, "Thank you, dear... Have fun swimming..."

"Yes, Sissy...that was great..." She went out smiling.

Greg was looking through the file. Fred could tell that he was adding. My tally is ninety seven thousand give or take..."

"And?"

"What?"

"When you use that tone, there's always an AND!"

"They're not listed as stolen."

"What!?!"

"They're listed as sold bulk merchandise to a holding company called... Damn!"

"Damn?" repeated Fred.

Greg gave a big sigh and sat with a plop in the desk chair, "to a Ranger Corp in St. Louis..."

"What do you know... Them criminals were telling the truth... Jimmy did rip tem off, but, what about the rest?"

"I surely have no idea, Freddy..." And while Greg continued looking at the papers, Fred turned his attention to Aaron, "Whew... and these piles, Aaron?"

Aaron swept the black cloth out of his way. He pointed at the pile with the smallest stones. "Okay... beyond the ones we can track, meaning those seventeen marked stones... This stack of nineteen relatively small stones I value at roughly $1000 each... this stack of twenty five bigger stones has an estimated value of $10K each... and these twenty six here are worth at least $25K each..."

"Wow!" Fred and Greg said simultaneously.

Aaron typed the values into an old fashioned adding machine. "That's over 1 million dollars... Holy F'ing Crap, Freddy... That's more diamonds than have ever been in this shop... That batch of sparkly out there... Cubic Zirconium." We have some diamonds, but, they are low grade cheap ones for the high school kids who are running across the river to Tennessee before the rabbit dies... For adults, we order and can have stuff in two business days by Parcel Post Insured..."

"Makes sense..."

Aaron looked at Greg, "What would you like to do with these?"

"Right now, they are evidence in a racketeering case...Then, if the Feds don't confiscate them... The County is going to want you to sell them. I intend to use the money to fight crime. We will have to keep it all on the down low from the Feds. Simply, right now, I want you to hide them in your safe for me. Okay?"

"Okay... ummm... Roger that, Sheriff. I'll put them right into the safe."

"Thanks, Buddy..." They all shook hands and Greg and Fred left.

Fred stopped by Peg's house. He was halfway up the walk when Jeannie came screaming out of the house. "Stop, Fred, stop! Peg is in there pinned into her wedding dress. The ladies of the sewing circle are doing the final fitting...by hand, no less... You can't see her... Please, Freddy!"

He held up his hands in surrender, "I can't face the future with bad dress karma...I'll go..."

She hugged him, "Come on, Lieutenant...Tomorrow's only hours away... You can do this..."

While that drama was going on in the front yard, the phone rang at Peg's house. Teeny answered, "Hello..?"

It was Agnes, "Oh, good...Little Teeny... Can you come over here for a second?"

"I guess... There's not much for me to do here right now..." She said, "I'm going next door... They need me for somethin'." Peg nodded, distracted by the seamstresses and their pins.

When Teeny had arrived next door, the door opened before she could knock. It was Agnes with a bigger smile than Teeny had ever seen from this woman. "Oh, Teeny," she said as she hugged the younger woman. "Please come in. Big Jim? Teeny...ummm... Delilah Wilkinson is here!"

Big Jim came out of the kitchen wiping his hands, "Ummm... Hi..."

"Well... everyone is busy, so, we have a question for you and something to show you."

"Ummm... Okay..."

"Please follow me." The three people went down a hallway to a back bedroom. On the bed was a stack of crocheted baby clothes.

Teeny was stunned, "What...are... these?"

Big Jim picked up a tiny blue sweater, "My grandmother made this one on her way over the ocean from Krackow... My father wore it... I wore it... and Jimmy... wore... it." The man began to cry softly.

With tears streaming down her face, Agnes said, "We want you to know how grateful we are that you and Jimmy..." but she couldn't continue. She threw herself on the younger woman's shoulder and began to sob. Teeny was stunned looking from one crying person to the other.

Finally, Big Jim got control of himself, "Delilah... We want to ask your forgiveness... And... we want to help you any way that we can with the baby... We're real excited... Really... Both of us!"

"Both of you?"

Agnes looked her in the face, "Yes... Both of us... If you have a girl, we have layettes that are generations old in pink and yellow..."

Teeny's face broke into a smile. "Man...That's great... Thanks!" She hugged them both.

Fred had gotten in his car and driven toward the lake. Knowing that his mother would have already eaten and cleaned the kitchen, he stopped at the hot dog stand for a couple of chili dogs and a root beer float. He stopped at the bait shop to sit on lawn chairs with the old men and watch the end of a Cubs game. Once back at his mom's place, he went around the cabin and sat on the dock to watch the sun go down.

Peg came quietly over and sat next to him on the dock. He kissed her softly, "Hey, you..."

"Hey, yourself... They ran me out of my own house... It's wedding central there and every stove on the block is in use." She laughed softly, "The Women's Guild of both churches is cooking and baking for the expected 200 guests... You'd think the King of England had chosen me for his bride..."

"What? You sayin' I aint worthy?"

"No... sweetie... Oh, enough chatter...Take me to the marina, please... I have a 6 AM appointment at the Chat n Curl so I can be properly coiffured for the nuptials..."

"Damn... I wouldn't be a girl on a bet..."

"I know that it would sure ruin it for me if you were a girl..."

"Very funny!" They both got into their own cars. Fred just looked at her.

" What!?! I need my car to get to my hair appointment... Then, the dress shop... Then, the church, Hello!"

Fred followed her mad dash around the lake. Now that they weren't hiding, they parked right by the deck. After a frantic session of lovemaking, they fell asleep in each other's arms before it was fully dark.

(Meanwhile, across town...) Back behind the church around sundown, Papa Junior is sitting in shadows next to the smoker. All the shelves that could hold a pan are full. From time to time, he looks in through the stained portholes as the shelves rotate slowly past. Once every hour or so, he opens the door and sprays a secret mixture of spices onto passing racks to baste the fatbacks and bellies as they pass. It's an eight hour job, so he'll be here until midnight. Then, men from the Men's Guild will come pouring in here from all over the county to pull them out and carry the pans into the walk in cooler in the church kitchen.

Just before dark, Junior patted his shirt pockets looking for cigarettes. He opened the door to his pickup truck. Looking under the seat, he felt around in all the knooks and crannies. Then, he touches something soft and leathery. He looks at a rounded shadow under the front seat. He reached way back in there and found the ball glove Jimmy had given him years ago. They had often played catch in the evenings. Jimmy had said that he wanted him to have a better glove, so, that glove had appeared on his next trip through town. Jimmy had seen Junior get it from the truck often enough. He had to have known where it was.

Papa looked around to make sure that he was still alone. Remembering what Jimmy had said just before he died, he began searching into the fingers of the ball glove. Using the light of the cab of the truck, he probed the tight spaces in each of the fingers. Finally, he found a wad of newspaper way back in the thumb. He wiggled it. He pounded the glove on the wall. Gently, he coaxed at the wad until it dropped out on the seat of the truck. He worked at the wad of paper until he found the diamond inside the wad.

He had heard the women talking earlier about the eighty diamonds that had already been found in other ball gloves. He hoped that a million in diamonds would be enough to distract the police. This one was his. He would make sure that this money was going to his daughter and his grandchild as a last gift from the man she loved. He was pretty sure that he could fence it somewhere in St. Louis for some cold, hard cash. He put the diamond into a can of strangely potent mints in his glove box. It would be safe there. Smiling, he went back to tend the smoker.

Chapter 45; Sunday AM

When Fred awoke, Peg was gone. He found her out on the deck drinking coffee. There was a cool mug full of coffee sitting by her. The sky was barely light at all. She turned to kiss him, "Last chance, Big City..."

"I'll take that chance, my darling, Margaret Eloise Simpson... The first girl I ever loved will be last girl I will ever love..."

"You are a silver tongued Devil..."

"Come back to bed... I'll show you what this tongue can do."

Peg looked as if she were tempted, then, she shook her head, "No way are you making me late for my hair appointment."

He harrumphed as she sipped her coffee.

"You know... I tried to give Delilah back this marina..."

"Really?"

Yep... I figured that Jimmy had bought it for her..."

"What did she say?

"She said that wasn't really interested... She said that she was afraid that it would continue to have too many ghosts for her...Besides, she added that she had already made a bid to buy a whole building. She's going to use the insurance money to buy that building and live over the bakery. It is only a block or so away from the school. Really... It sounds perfect."

"Yep..."

"She said that she and the baby would go on boat rides with us, but, this house was for lovers, so, it is ours now." She turned and threw herself into Fred's waiting arms. "Oh, Jimmy..." she wailed.

Fred held her as her crying took her over and then, passed. She wiped her nose on her robe sleeve, "Good thing I'm wearing a veil today..."

"Except in church..."

"Sorry, lover boy, it will take every waking moment left in this day to turn THIS into wedded bliss... No church for me!"

"Oh, well..."

"Speaking of that... I gotta git!" Still in bathrobe and slippers, she ran to her car and headed towards Eddyville and the Chat n Curl.

Fred laughed as he took the two cups inside. He rinsed out the cups and the coffee maker. Next, he got showered and dressed and headed for his mom's to get his suit. Once he was redressed in his suit, he headed for Big Jim's to get Jimmy. When he got there, Big Jim was trying to wrangle Jimmy into a suit and straighten the knot in his tiny tie. Jimmy was not helping much. Fred walked over, "Dude that is totally the wrong suit!"

Both Jims looked at him. Little Jimmy said, "My suit's just like yours!"

Fred said, "No... Yours was supposed to have a green jacket and an orange skirt... and where's the pointy shoes?"

Jimmy fell on the couch laughing and Fred used his distraction to retie his tie in a proper Windsor knot. Big Jim looked at him, "You are a natural, Sonny boy...He's gonna be lucky to have you for a Dad."

"You and my Daddy were great role models." They hugged.

"Come on in the kitchen... I stole some donuts if you're hungry."

"I'm ravenous..." They went out to the kitchen. Fred downed a donut in three bites and poured some coffee. He poured a cup for Big Jim and a slosh of coffee in a mug for Jimmy. In amazement, Jimmy watched him pour a little milk into his and Big Jim's cups and fill his cup with milk. "It's a coffee day, son...We warriors are going unarmed into the world of women..." Big Jim laughed a snort of a laugh and took a bite of donut. Fred broke Jimmy's donut into bite sized pieces. Big Jim wrapped a bath towel around him to minimize the suit damage. They ate in peace. Fred washed up Jimmy. Big Jim cleaned the kitchen. They took Fred's pickup to church. "Where's your van? Am I wrong? I thought you rented one for this?"

"The van is at the dress shop to transport the giant dress to the church..."

"Ohhh..." Fred said as he drove them to the Eddyville church. When they drove up, Fred took the jacket from Little Jimmy and the tie. He left them in his truck, "You didn't think to bring...?"

Big Jim pulled shorts and a T shirt from a paper sack, "Oh, hell yeah... Not my first rodeo..." Jimmy climbed into the back and took off the white shirt and suit pants which were laid out neatly for later. "I'll redress him after church."

Fred looked at Little Jimmy, "You gotta look good later... Let Big Jim dress you without a fuss...I have a big job for you... You have to bring the rings up to the front of the church as part of the wedding."

"Wow...Thanks, Fred...uhhh... Dad."

Fred was nearly overcome with emotions, "You bet, son... I know that you can do it..." They took Jimmy to the children's area and went to church. The place was packed. Jim and Fred worked their way through the narthex gathering area like men running for office.

Chapter 46; Sunday PM; The Wedding

Greg waved him in, "I saved you guys a seat..."

"Thanks..." Church began around him, but, to be honest, Fred just sat there oblivious. In a moment, it was over and people were milling about again. Fred looked around. Chairs now filled the narthex and he was standing at the front of the church. He had no idea how he had gotten there, but, there he was, waiting by the altar and watching for something. He just could not, for the life of him, remember what that was.

Fred came to his senses and remembered where he was when he saw Little Jimmy wiggling in the central door in the back of the sanctuary. Two of Jeannie's nieces were wiggling in front of Jimmy, waiting to start. As the music started, the little girls began walking on their tiny legs up the aisle. The little red headed girl began handing flower petals to each person sitting in the aisle seat as she went by them. The other girl, a pudgy dark haired beauty grabbed handfuls of the petals and pitched them high in the air over the seats. Once the red head was past them, the people holding the flowers scattered them over a silk runner that had magically appeared down the center aisle. The laughter that followed the little girls swelled as the performance neared the front and more and more people in the stuffed church saw the flying pink rose petals going everywhere but where they were expected to be.

Jimmy waited by the door. Sarah went over to encourage him. It was clear that he was suddenly filled with stage fright. So, Sarah took one hand and Greg took the other and they walked him up the aisle. Greg sat them both on the Groom's side and Greg went back around to get Agnes. Once he had sat her on the Bride's side, he moved over to Fred's left. He nodded to Jimmy. Jimmy ran up, threw the box at him, and then, ran back to his new grand mother's arms.

Everyone laughed again, but the swelling strains of the Wedding March brought them to sobriety. Everyone stood and turned to honor the bride. First came Jeannie with Edward Handy. They made a stately march up, split at the correct spot and took their places. Next, came Little Teeny and Papa Junior. Fred noticed that both bride's maids had lots of gathers and extra folds in the front of their gowns to hide any pregnancy from prying eyes.

Then, like an angel in a cloud of white voile netting, Peg and her father filled the doorway. They moved slowly toward him. Before Fred could catch his breath, Big Jim was handing him her hand. The same tingle that had brought them together sparked between them again. He put the front of her veil up over her head. "Oh, there you are," he said softly.

She looked into his eyes. She saw her future and she was calmed. "Oh, there you are," she said softly.

They turned to the preacher as he smiled and said, "Dearly Beloved... We are gathered here today..."

The End ####

Thank You for reading Ready Freddy and The Kissing Stones, Book 4 of the Ready Freddy Mysteries...

Look for other titles by Ben Miller that have been published at Smashwords.com:

Bibliography:

Book 1; Ready Freddy and the Great Pop Bottle Caper 1976 Jimmy is accused of stealing Pop Bottles

Book 2; Ready Freddy and the Baby Snatchers 1976 Dolls are disappearing

Book 3; Ready Freddy and the Sandy Creek Mystery 1977 Summer Camp adventures

Chasing the Jewelled Throne, 1984, 2011

The Arms of the Watcher, 1993 (short story), 2005 (novella), 2011 (novel)

The Secrets of The Preacher Man, 1990, 2011
