Jack was finally relieved to be finished with the crime scene investigation. Six hours he had spent, as he had meticulously collected evidence and took notes. For six hours he had been submersed in a world where entire families were executed. And to make it even worse, he had found no real evidence that would lead to a conviction. It was times like these that he questioned his choice of professions. No one else had to live so close to the insanity. He knew that to catch these animals meant that you had to think like them, and at times that scared Jack. The last thing that he would want ever to do was to really understand what made one human being do something like this to another. There was just no logic to deal with such subversion of the human mind, and emotionally there was no place to file away the perversions that he had seen in his career.
As he drove back to the precinct, he cursed as he was caught up in the afternoon traffic, and then continued to spend the better part of an hour at a virtual stand still, bumper to bumper. The more he thought about the teenage girl and the two boys whose lives had been taken, the more he missed his own kids. His thoughts wandered to the day that Bella was born, and how small and fragile she had been. And then he remembered the last time he had seen her. She hadn’t known that he would leave the next day, but she still had made a special trip over to the couch to give him a good night kiss, before going to bed. Jack reached for his cell phone and tapped Mike in his contact list.
“Hey, man, I know it’s been less than a day, but if I call her now, is that harassment?” Jack asked.
“Hmm. Less than a day, huh. That’s pretty borderline. Why don’t you come up with something good to ask her. Like how’s the weather.” His brother replied.
“Come on, Mike. Be serious.”
“Actually Jack, I’m surprised that you haven’t already called her. Why don’t you call and ask her and the kids out for dinner. That’s a good solid reason, and she already knows that you can’t cook.” Mike suggested.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea. Do you want to come?”
“I’d love to, but I’ve got a consulting offer and I’m meeting with the guy tonight. I’ll have to pass.”
“How’s the consulting business coming anyway.”
“It’s always slow when you first start out, but this client looks promising. As a matter of fact, he came looking for me.”
“That’s great, Mike. Well wish me luck.”
“Good luck, Bro.” Jack hung up and quickly tapped Tracey on his contact list before he lost his nerve.
“Hello?” She answered. Jack hesitated for a moment as the sound of her voice permeated his thoughts. He had planned to tell her that he had called to speak to the kids, but as he heard her voice, it opened the void within him. He missed her so much.
“Trace. How’s it going.”
“Hey, Jack. As well as can be expected. How about you?” He knew that if he told her how he really felt, it would be a waste of time. Less than a day had passed since their separation had begun, and there would be no way that she would believe that he had changed in that short period of time.
“I was just thinking about the kids. You know. Wondering if they took it okay.” Jack said, as he had to slam on his brakes to keep from hitting the car in front of him. He mouthed a curse word, but was careful not let it become audible. He flipped off the driver in front of him.
“It wasn’t easy, Jack. But then none of this has been. They’re okay.” He thought that she sounded cold and disconnected. He knew that it was probably exhaustion, but his heart ached as he heard it. He could only imagine how hard the conversation had been, as she led their children through the explanation. It had to have been overwhelming.
“Can I see them?”
“Jack you’ve only been gone a day, for Christ’s sake.” She said suddenly.
“I know, Trace. But I miss them.” As traffic began to move again, he tried to change lanes, while Tracey chattered in his ear. He needed to be in the next lane or he would miss his turnoff and that would take him twenty minutes out of his way. No one would let him over. He even began to reach to hit the emergency light switch, but couldn’t get to it, with one hand on the steering wheel, and the phone in the other. Finally he gave up so that he could concentrate on the conversation at hand.
“Jack! Damn you, Jack! You haven’t heard a word that I’ve said, have you.” This was not what he had had in mind. He called to hear her voice. Not to hear her yell at him.
“I’m sorry honey, I’m in traffic, and I just missed the turnoff.”
“So I guess that’s my fault now?” She asked sarcastically.
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.” She sounded exasperated. “Well are you going to meet us there or not?” She said, obviously agitated at his lack of attention.
“Yeah. Where exactly is it?” He hoped that she hadn’t already told him.
“Pappa Louigi’s, Jack. You do know where that is, don’t you?” She replied sarcastically.
“Yes I do, Trace. What time?”
“Seven. The same time that I told you a few minutes ago. Do you have it, or do I need to go over it again.”
“I’ve got it, Trace. I’ll be there at seven.”
“Fine. We’ll see you there.” She hung up without a goodbye. Jack could kick himself. This was exactly what her complaint had been all along. Even when he did pay attention to her, his mind was elsewhere. Granted, he was in traffic when he called this time, but that would make little difference to her. To her it was simply the same thing as always. He was ignoring her. He looked down at his watch, and realized that it was already five-thirty. He put the phone down and activated the emergency lights. As the blue lights began to flash, he engaged the siren as well, and waited for the traffic to give him a clear shot to the emergency lane. If he didn’t hurry, he’d never get his report done in time to meet Trace and the kids for dinner. He wished now that he hadn’t volunteered to do the report, but Penelli had needed the time with his own kids.
The car in front of him pulled forward, and he forced his way into the lane to his left. He rolled his window down, and motioned for the car in that lane to stop. The driver threw his hands up in frustration, as his bumper was nearly touching the car in front of him. That car moved forward, just enough for Jack to shift across that lane into the far left emergency lane. He accelerated past the stopped traffic until he reached a break in the guard rail, and turned through it as he u-turned into the traffic that sped in the opposite direction. The oncoming cars honked, and slowed, as he crossed the three lanes of traffic and shot off of the expressway onto the exit. A few more intersections, and a couple of close calls, he was back at the precinct, and soon was back at his desk.
Jack furiously typed away on his computer console, and intentionally ignored the other officers as they hurried about the office. As he referenced his notes, and filled in the blanks in his report, he knew that there was no way that he’d ever be finished in time. The traffic jam had put him behind, and even though he had used his emergency lights, it had only helped slightly. He had never been particularly fond of the paperwork that his job required, but it was in fact part of his duties, and so he always attempted to do the best that he could. Rarely would he make a mistake in a written report, and would often type it more than once. Then he would print it out and edit it for the final draft. Jack wasn’t so much a perfectionist as he was attentive to details. Little things like a missing comma, or unclear statements irked him to no end. He took pride in his work, and refused to cut corners just to save time. As he typed the last few words, he knew that he’d have to make an exception this time, or he would miss his meeting with Tracey and the kids.
He saved his work, and began to print the first draft. He intended to edit it only once and then turn it in. One edit meant that he’d have to pay close attention to all details, ensure that all the facts were correct, and that it contained no typographical errors. As the paper beg
an to ease out of the laser printer beside his desk, he sharpened a pencil and went right to work. In his mind he ran through the time that was left. He had to meet them at seven, and allow thirty minutes to get there. That meant having to leave by six-thirty. He had four pages to edit and correct at five minutes a piece. That was twenty minutes. So he had to start on the final edit at no later than ten after six. His heart sunk as he looked at the clock on the wall. It was six-twenty-five already.
Chapter 12