Chapter 12
When Frank pulled into the hospital parking lot, his heart was pounding in his chest.
How could something like this happen? Shit, this is going to make things much more difficult. The words screamed in his mind. Frank wondered how he was going to handle things. He said a silent prayer it was not someone from the group he had brought to town.
After parking, Frank quickly jumped out of the suburban and rushed toward the hospital entrance. His mind was racing with what he would say, but he also worried about how Silas was doing. He had grown fond of Silas after their talk, so the thought of him lying in a hospital bed did not set well with him.
“May I help you, Sir?” The older woman asked Frank as he approached the desk in the main lobby.
“Yes, I need to know what room Chief Greer is in, please.”
“He’s in Room 317. Take the elevator to the third floor, go down the hall to your right, and it’s on the left about five rooms down.” The woman looked at Frank curious as to why he would be coming to see Silas.
“Thank you.” Frank wasted no time. He took the elevator then headed down the hall, reading the room numbers until he came to 317. He slowly opened the door and peered inside to see Silas relaxing on the bed, watching something on the television.
“Good afternoon, Silas. Do you mind if I come in? We need to talk.”
Silas turned his head, trying to make out who was at the door. Once he realized it was Frank, he said, “Of course, come in.”
As Frank walked toward Silas, he noticed the bandage on the side of his head. Damn, he’s lucky they only knocked him in the head.
Once Frank got closer to the bed, he grabbed the chair from the corner and pulled it next to the bed.
“So, what brings you here today, Frank?” Silas had a suspicion, but he wanted to hear it for himself.
Frank, consumed with guilt at seeing Silas lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to wires and tubes with a bandage on his head, suddenly found himself at a loss for words. He looked down at his clenched hands, embarrassed to meet Silas’ gaze.
“Are you alright?” Silas saw the conflicted look on Frank’s face and wondered how this must be difficult for him.
“I don’t blame you,” Silas said in a near whisper.
“Um, what? I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“I said that I don’t blame you,” Silas repeated, but, this time, a bit louder.
“Thank you; however, I must admit that I’m not sure if I can forgive myself for what happened to you.”
The first night that Silas had met Frank, he appeared tall, strong, and self-assured. However now, he seemed beaten down and questioning everything, he had ever believed about himself.
“Frank, you can’t feel that way. We both know there are no guarantees in our line of work. Now, pull yourself together, and tell me what brought you here. I’m pretty sure I already know. My wife went out there to talk to you, didn’t she?” Silas smiled wryly, after seeing the look on Frank’s face.
“Yes, she did, and I must admit that she’s very persuasive. I hadn’t heard of your attack yet, but she informed me it was without a doubt someone from the group I brought here.” Frank smiled, at remembering the determined and angry look on Jen’s face.
Silas shook his head in agreement. “Yeah, she can be a little firecracker when she wants to be.”
A serious look came over Frank, as he searched for the right words. “Do you believe those who attacked were from the group I brought in?”
Silas knew what Frank wanted to hear, but it would have been a lie. “Yes, I do. They spoke Spanish and had several tattoos on their bodies. None of the young Hispanic men that live here have tattoos like that. To be honest, they looked like gang tats.”
Those were not the words Frank wanted to hear. He had argued with his superiors about bringing the small group of teen men to Sandley. He knew they were gang members, and would end up being nothing but trouble. “Damn, I sure hate to hear that, Silas. Did you see any of their faces?”
“No, their faces were hidden in the shadows. I was only able to see their tattoos because of the full moon last night.” Silas strained his memory for anything else that might help with catching them, but everything else he remembered seemed wrapped in a thick fog.
Frank sat in silence, mulling over how he was going to broach the next subject. He assumed that Silas did not know that his gun was missing since he had not mentioned it.
Silas sensed that something else was bothering Frank, and wondered what else could be wrong. He hated to ask, but as Police Chief, he was sure it was something he should know. “Okay, what else is on your mind?”
Frank shook his head then lifted his face and looked directly at Silas. “We have more to worry about I’m afraid to say.”
“Okay, go ahead,” Silas responded with apprehension clearly in his voice.
Frank could not think of any other way to say it other than just to blurt it out. “They took your gun and extra magazine.”
Silence filled the room as each man contemplated what that statement truly meant. Both knew his weapon in the hands of gangbangers was dangerous. The problem was neither of them knew what to do to retrieve it before someone got hurt or worse.
It was Silas, who finally broke the silence. “Damn, I was worried about that, but when Jen didn’t say anything, I figured it was okay.”
Frank looked at Silas and could see the fear in his eyes. He understood his concern and wondered how they were going to retrieve the gun before it was too late. “I have an idea of who it probably was, but I can guarantee you that they have the gun hidden away from the mill. I don’t know what to do about this. I can file a report, but without any evidence; we both know that nothing will come of it.”
Silas reached up and rubbed the side of his head. “Damn, the little bastards sure did stir up some trouble. I can’t imagine how several of the men in town are handling this. Hell, they were mad enough when they lost their chance for a good job, but now this. No, I fear this sleepy little town may begin to heat up.”
Frank and Silas shared looks of understanding. They knew how things went whenever men felt threatened, and, to be honest; this was far beyond that. Their government had taken sides against its citizens. Those in the government had forced the people of Sandley’s hand, and no one could have known how to prepare for what was ahead.
“Frank, will you do me a favor?” Silas glanced out of the window and then exhaled a long, slow breath.
“Sure, anything you need,” Frank said, his voice dripping with compassion.
“Will you please make sure those people stay at the mill for a while? I’m afraid things could get out of control before my other officer returns from Georgia. He’s supposed to be flying in later tomorrow, so we’re relying on you and the County Sheriff’s Department to keep the peace until then,’ Silas chuckled then he continued.
“Now, I’m not saying those ole boys from the Sheriff’s department aren’t good at their job, but some of our townsfolk can stir up a shitstorm before you know it.”
“Sure, I’ll do my best to keep them away from town. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
Silas looked up at Frank and grinned, “Yeah, hand me the remote for the television. I can’t stand this soap opera crap.”
Jen decided to drop by the school and check on a few things before heading back to the hospital. When she pulled into the parking lot, she was surprised to see so many other cars parked there. “Damn, was there a meeting that I forgot about?”
Jen quickly got out of her car and walked up to the lobby door. She was about to open the door when Sarah Millington stormed out, nearly knocking Jen to the ground.
“Jen, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there,” Sarah said breathlessly.
“Oh, that’s okay. Is something wrong?”
Sarah stood still for a moment, trying to compose herself. She finally looked at Jen
with tears in her eyes and said, “We’re screwed, Jen. They’re bringing in thirty-seven children from Pre-K through High School. We can’t afford that large of an influx of children at one time, and the worst part is that most of them don’t speak any English.”
Jen could not believe her ears. “You have to be kidding. We can’t handle that many special needs children,” she said, as she nervously twisted a loose button on her shirt.
“Oh, and it gets even better. We have to teach our class’s bi-lingual now in order to accommodate them. How to you like that crap?” In all her years of working in education, Sarah had never seen anything as ridiculous as what she was ordered to do at the beginning of the new school year.
Jen shook her head, trying to clear her mind, as she was sure that she had heard wrong. “I don’t understand how this is even possible. Most of us don’t speak Spanish, so how are we supposed to teach in Spanish?”
“Exactly, that’s what I said, but they said we better learn before school starts in a month or find ourselves replaced with those who can.” Just saying the words made Sarah nauseous, but she knew there was no way of getting out of it.
How is this possible? Jen said silently to herself as she felt her body grow numb. She reached to steady herself on the wall then closed her eyes for a moment to compose her nerves.
“Are you okay, Jen?” Sarah reached out and took her by the arm, helping to steady her. “Oh, my, I forgot to ask; how is Silas doing? I heard about what happened at the grocery store last night. It’s just horrible, I tell you, horrible.”
Feeling better, Jen stood straight up again and looked at Sarah, noticing the look of concern on her face. “He’s okay. He took a hit to the head, and he has a couple of cracked ribs, but the doctor says he should be able to come home tomorrow.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful. I’ll keep him in my prayers,” Sarah smiled, hoping that nothing else terrible was going to happen.
“Thank you, Sarah. It means a lot to us.”
Both women stood in awkward silence for a few moments before Sarah finally spoke, “Well, I need to get some paperwork from my car. I guess I’ll see you inside.”
“Ah, yes…” Jen said absentmindedly, as she watched Sarah walk toward her car.
Jen took a deep breath and then reached for the door handle. “Okay, let’s see what’s going on.”
The meeting had lasted nearly an hour and had grown quite heated.
“What do you mean if I can’t speak Spanish by the time the school year begins that I could lose my job? I have taught at this school for going on seventeen years.” Connie Miller was the third-grade teacher and a favorite among the students. She was one of those teachers who made learning fun and easy.
“This is crazy. We’re in Texas, not Mexico. How are the children who already live here supposed to handle a class taught in two languages? It won’t be fair to them,” chimed in another teacher.
Sarah did not know how she was going to enforce the new rules set out by the federal government. “I don’t know what to say. No matter how much I complain, they just don’t care.”
“I’ve heard of other school districts being crushed under the new rules. How are we supposed to help these new children learn, and not hamper those already here?” Nancy, the second-grade teacher, asked.
“I wish I could answer all of your questions, but I just can’t at this time. I need all of you to do your best to prepare for the start of the school year in a few weeks and do your best to pick up on the language some. I’ll continue to fight against this unfair pressure from the Feds, and hopefully, they will finally realize the error of their ways. I’ll be joining with some other educators for a meeting with the Governor next week, so hopefully he’ll be of some help in this matter.” Sarah knew it was only wishful thinking on her part, but she hoped to calm some rather ruffled nerves.
Jen had sat in the rear of the room, listening to all of the comments from the other teachers. She knew there was no fighting against the government on this. However, she did hope that the Governor would step up and help. Once the group began to leave, Jen decided to go to her classroom and begin preparations for the start of the school year.