Chapter 13

Wednesday Morning …

T he next morning, Doreen’s mind was in overdrive, still waiting for Mack to call and to fill her in on what was going on. She was going stir-crazy, and the fact that he hadn’t called was starting to get to her. It’s not that she was afraid for his safety at this point, but she wanted answers, and yet she knew he was not prepared to give her any. That also drove her nuts.

So she’d already scrubbed the bathrooms, washed the floors, and put on laundry again. Having nothing else to do, she changed the bedding and even now was wiping out the inside of the cupboards. When her phone finally rang at ten o’clock this morning, and he asked what she was doing, she quickly gave him a rundown.

After a moment of shocked silence, he asked, “Seriously?”

“Yeah, I clean house when I’m waiting for you to call and to fill me in.” The frustration in her tone could not have been more evident.

“I can’t tell you very much,” he replied.

“But you can tell me more than you have, which is nothing.”

“Yeah, that was the plan,” he admitted, “but, at this moment in time, all I can tell you is that we have no sign of Jed or Frankie anywhere.”

“What about Tammy?”

“She’s disappeared into the woodwork too.”

“That’s not cool, Mack,” Doreen snapped.

A long silent moment came from the other end. “Leave it alone,” Mack said finally.

“ Sure ,” she muttered. “I’ll leave it alone all right, but we need answers, and we need them now, or I’m afraid we’ll find Tammy’s or Frankie’s body, or both of them, dumped somewhere.”

“Let’s hope not,” Mack replied. “We are working on this and are doing everything we can.”

“I know,” she conceded, “and I’m not blaming you. I’m still a little rattled knowing someone was intentionally shooting at us last night. That puts the whole thing in a whole different light.”

He hesitated, then replied, “Listen. I didn’t say anything last night, but that sounded an awful lot like a police-issue gun last night.”

“What?” she asked, her heart stopping. “Do you think one of the cops is after you? Is that what this has come to now?”

“No,” he stated. “I don’t.… It could be yet another stolen police weapon in the wrong hands.”

With his tone so firm, she relaxed slightly. “That would really not be cool. It’s bad enough that Arnold is dealing with this, without having more cops dealing with more issues like this.”

“I agree with you there,” Mack said, “so we’re not going in that direction.”

“Yeah? I’m not sure what we’re supposed to do about it right now then,” she said, “because it sure seems we’re heading in that direction. And it’s too soon for you to be sure a police-issue gun was used, right?”

“No, but …”

“Right, I get it. What about someone retired or anybody kicked off the force? Somebody who maybe ran into trouble and is looking for some payback or got into some trouble and now is being forced to cover somebody’s tracks?”

“All are possibilities that we’re looking into. My department looked for a stolen police gun but found nothing, even going back years and years. One of the guys is checking in Vancouver, just to see if maybe a police gun had been stolen over there. We’re not holding out much hope, just checking two departments. This is where that nationwide database would come in helpful,” Mack complained. “However, this is where you back off, and we take it a step up now.”

“ Ha .” She snorted. “The minute there’s any danger, I’m being told to back off.”

“Of course you are,” Mack agreed in exasperation. “We want to keep you safe, remember?”

“Of course you do,” she muttered in frustration, “and I want to keep you safe.”

After more silence on the other end, he replied, “I’ll count that as progress too.”

She groaned. “You know perfectly well that no progress is required on that front.”

“I’m not sure about that,” Mack countered. “I don’t think you’re fully into this relationship thing yet.”

“I am,” she declared. “I definitely am.”

His tone brightened. “In that case, we have a few things to talk about.”

“No, we really don’t,” she stated nervously, “unless it’s got to do with this case?”

“Oh, no, you’re not holding me hostage on any case. Not when I’m not allowed to hold you hostage to keep you safe. I’ll call you when I have something that I’m authorized to tell you.” And, with that, he was gone.

She groaned as she stared down at her phone. How was she supposed to get more information? At that, she immediately picked up the phone and dialed Nan. “Do you know anything about a Jed Barry, Frankie somebody, or Tammy Farrow—or maybe a cop who got kicked off the force for any disgraced or dishonorable discharges?”

A shocked silence came on the other end. “Good Lord,” Nan muttered. “I hadn’t realized you had another case, and obviously it’s important.”

“Well, let’s see. I was shot at downtown last night, twice,” Doreen began. When her grandmother gasped in shock, Doreen winced. “Don’t worry. It wasn’t as bad as that sounded.” She quickly explained further.

Nan replied, “But that sounded way worse than what you originally told me. What the devil is going on here?”

“I’m not sure. All I know is somebody broke into Arnold’s place ten years ago. By the looks of it, they stole some things, including his Taser, and now that Taser has showed up at a crime scene where some poor guy was basically zapped to death. Probably the guy your delivery people were talking about that you overheard.”

“Good Lord,” Nan muttered.

“So I went to Arnold’s friend Frankie, who had been living with Arnold back then and yet not at home at the time of the B&E, who supposedly had not seen a thing. Yet, not only had Frankie seen an awful lot, he had basically blabbered to some unsavory acquaintances all about the fact that Arnold was working the night shift, so his place could be emptied. As you can imagine, they ripped off Arnold, and Arnold’s friend all but arranged it.”

“Of course,” Nan noted in that ironic tone that she was so good at. “That’s what friends are for.”

“Exactly. That led me to Jed, some scary roommate of Arnold’s and Tammy’s. Both work for this Jed guy, paying off what they owe, with Frankie running errands and Tammy working the streets for Jed.”

“Oh my,” Nan muttered. “Wow, you’ve really had a night of it.”

“Yeah, it’s turned quite ugly once the shooting started.”

“I didn’t see anything about it in the papers,” Nan said cautiously.

“Maybe Mack had something to do with that. I don’t know. As of this morning, he doesn’t have any more information, and nobody they’ve been looking for has been picked up yet.”

“But, as long as they’re looking to pick them up, that should be some progress.”

“Sure,” Doreen conceded, “but, in the meantime, somebody shot at us, and I want more information. I’m just restless, and I can’t let it go, Nan.”

Her grandmother sighed. “I can understand your being a little upset about that,” she murmured, “but maybe this is one that you need to let Mack handle. On other cases, any shooting came somewhat later, but, by the looks of it, you were barely on this case a day and were already shot at.”

“I would let it go if I wasn’t already involved and if Tammy wasn’t half ready to leave this Jed guy and get a life for herself.”

“And, of course, somehow you feel responsible.” Nan seemed exasperated.

“Not responsible,” Doreen clarified, “but, if I can do something to help, then I want to help.”

“And you really think you’re the person to do the helping?” Nan asked curiously.

“I certainly understand what she’s going through.”

“Yes, I can see that. What is it you want to do, dear?”

A wealth of understanding came in Nan’s tone. “I don’t really know. I guess I was hoping there would be a way to get the $400 to give her a bus ticket and get her out of town.”

“Will that really get her anywhere?”

“I researched on Google and got that as the average bus fare. Tammy told me that she has family to go to, but she doesn’t want them to know what she’s been doing. She wants to make a fresh start and not take any of this mess with her.”

“Of course not,” Nan agreed. “That wouldn’t be much fun. Obviously, when you start fresh, you don’t want to carry that kind of baggage along.”

“Exactly,” Doreen replied, “yet I don’t know whether she’s ready to leave Jed or not.”

“Interesting that somebody in such a mess isn’t ready to leave him.”

“Yeah, interesting, but maybe not that surprising.”

“Explain, please,” Nan said, her tone sharp.

“It’s easy for me to put myself in that same place, before I ended up separated from Mathew,” she began. “I found it very difficult to even contemplate or to accept that I had a problem. However, once I did, getting out was too much to consider. At least Tammy knows that she’s in a bad spot and wants to get out.”

“So, of course, you want to help her.”

“Yes, I guess I do.”

“Nothing wrong with wanting to help, my dear. It’s a matter of making sure that the help is of value and isn’t something you’ll end up regretting.”

“I don’t think I’ll regret it,” she replied, “but I don’t really have a whole lot of money.”

“But you do have a lot of money coming.”

“Exactly, but it’s just not here yet.”

“I can help a little bit, but…”

“Right, but .”

“Okay, why don’t you call and see how much a bus ticket would cost if we were to send Tammy back to her family. Then, if she does seem 100 percent invested in that new life, we’ll at least know for sure how much money is needed.”

“Right,” Doreen muttered.

“While you’re doing that, I’ll head down to the kitchen to see what I can snag for tea, and you can come on down, and we’ll talk more about it.”

“Okay, thanks, Nan. I didn’t really mean to bring you into this.”

“Of course you did,” she said immediately. “That’s what I’m here for. It’s important that you have the opportunity to contact me whenever it’s needed, particularly when it comes to stuff like this. My life wasn’t always so sweet and sunny that I don’t understand how, when trouble comes, sometimes you need a little help.”

“I knew that anyway,” Doreen stated. “You’ve always been there to help me.”

“And now you want to be there to help somebody else. I get it,” Nan said. “We just have to ensure that the help we provide is the help she needs.” And, with that, Nan disconnected.

Doreen quickly looked up the prices of a bus ticket to head back to the other side of the country, and it wasn’t cheap. They could get it on sale potentially for just over $600. That sounded like a hurdle, but if Tammy could manage the food along the way, then that would at least get her home.

Pondering that, Doreen packed up the animals and headed over to Nan’s place. Not seeing Nan on her patio, Doreen walked inside. Nan sat at her kitchen table, pondering a pad of paper in front of her. She looked up and smiled. “There you are, child.”

Doreen gave her grandmother a hug. “Hey, I didn’t mean to worry you with all this.”

“If I don’t have something to worry about, I just create something to worry about. So better to have a real problem to solve,” she declared, with a smile. “Now, do you really feel Tammy was serious about leaving?”

“Yes. I do think she’s serious. I just don’t know if she’s ready.”

“There is a big difference, and that makes sense to me.”

“Unfortunately, just because she says she is, it doesn’t mean she’s all in.”

“What do you think it’ll take for her to get there?”

Doreen studied her grandmother for a moment. “I would think understanding that her situation is hopeless and going downhill, while knowing a ray of sunshine is out there waiting for her.”

“Right,” Nan replied. “I would agree with that.”

“What are you thinking?” Doreen asked her.

“I think we should buy the ticket, so she doesn’t use that money elsewhere. I have a little bit of money, and if a couple hundred dollars can make a difference in somebody’s life, then it’s worth spending the money on Tammy,” Nan added, looking at Doreen intently. Then she raised her glasses, put them on her nose, and looked over them. “I also know that, once you head down this pathway, you’ll want to help more people like this.”

“Is that wrong?” she whispered.

“No,” Nan stated, giving Doreen a beautiful smile. “Charity, particularly for those in need, is huge, but it can come at the expense of your own safety, which is not optimal. We’ve come so far to get you here, and putting you at risk now seems questionable.”

“It certainly won’t be Mathew who comes after me,” Doreen stated, “and I do understand what it’s like to have somebody like that in your life. I have lived that life, Nan.”

“That’s why you want to help, and I’m all for your helping,” Nan said. “Don’t get me wrong. I just want to ensure that the help we give is help that’ll give the best benefits with minimal risk.”

“I hadn’t really thought about that,” Doreen admitted, “and it’s something that we do need to consider. Just because Tammy says she’s ready, we don’t want her to turn around and spend that money on drugs. So I agree with your suggestion that we buy her ticket. It’s $600 plus, by the way, for the bus fare,” she shared. “That’s the cheapest rate I could find, and Tammy still has to have money for food. It will take several days to get there.”

“Of course it will. You can drive across Canada in three days but don’t plan on sleeping while you do it.”

“Have you ever taken that trip?” she asked Nan curiously.

“I have, but it was decades ago.” She waved her hand, as if of no consequence. “It might be nice to do that kind of traveling sometime, but I would do it better the second time around,” she noted.

Doreen frowned. “We have such a huge country, and I haven’t had a chance to really enjoy it or explore it.”

“One day you may get that chance,” Nan said, “but not now. Soon though, very soon.”

Doreen smiled at her grandmother. “What makes it soon , Nan? Do you expect Mack to take me on a road trip to see more of Canada?”

“He could. Yet I wouldn’t want you to leave while I’m still here,” Nan admitted. “So I’m being selfish when I say that.”

At that, Doreen frowned and patted her grandmother’s hand. “I have no intention of going anywhere for a long time, and I certainly don’t want to envision my life without you either.”

“Good. I’m just selfish enough and greedy enough to want to keep you to myself,” Nan admitted, “but I’m also fully aware that you and Mack need time alone to grow your relationship together. I support that, so that I don’t have to worry about you.” Nan gave her a beaming smile. “As I mentioned before, if I could arrange life to suit me, you and Mack would be married tomorrow and staying put locally, with lots of Nan time involved —or something along that line.” Nan chuckled. “Life isn’t quite so simple.”

As soon as the tea was ready, she poured two cups, while they discussed the options of helping Tammy. “You do realize that once you help one…” Nan began, looking over at her granddaughter.

Doreen nodded. “I know. I heard you the first time. Now, depending on how much money is coming in soon with the antiques and whatnot, I was wondering…”

Nan immediately nodded. “It’s important to give back, as long as you first ensure that you’re safe and secure financially,” she stated. “So, when all that money finally lands, we’ll look at what options you have and how much money you can free up in order to help some of these people. I’m right there with you, understanding what you want to do, even if you don’t.”

“I don’t really know what it entails,” Doreen admitted. “I mean, helping is something that I think I can do, but I don’t know how I would do it. So that’s still a bit of a challenge.”

“Challenge is a good thing,” Nan agreed, chuckling. “Do you think Mack will have a problem with it?”

“No, I don’t think so. And the more situations we can help like this, it might clean up the streets that much more.”

“Oh, my dear,” Nan replied. “You do realize that in our society, as soon as you clean up one of these problems, another one immediately pops up.”

“I understand,” Doreen replied, staring around the gardens. “I’m not na?ve. I just want to see the world as a rosier place.”

At that, Nan beamed at her affectionately. “Understood, so let’s start thinking about a plan.” And that’s what they did, the two women huddled over tea and conversation, talking out how they could possibly help Tammy and any others like her.