Home for the Holidays

This story is part of an ongoing series.

The chronological order of my stories is listed in WifeWatchman's biography.

Feedback and

constructive

criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, language and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racial language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.

Part 23 - Dedications

Author's note: this is a 'bridge' story to fill the gap to the next series of mysteries. Thanks for your patience.

Dawn, Monday, December 24th. Christmas Eve.

I had gotten up early and exercised, then got dressed. As I was about to leave, Carole came down the stairs, fully dressed. "Can I come with you to see Aunt Teresa, Daddy?" she asked. I did not bother asking how she knew where I was going.

"Okay, Fussbudget." I said. "Let's go." We got into my Police SUV and drove to the cemetery. There were fresh flowers on Amy's grave; Teresa had already been here. I let Carole put the flowers I'd brought down next to what Teresa had brought, then we got back in the car.

"She's at the park." Carole said. "Where the building blew up last year. With me and her in it."

"Let's go check." I said.

When we got to Ward Harvester Park, the gate was unlocked, and another vehicle was already there. In the distance I could see Teresa, on her knees Japanese-style, meditating in front of the statues of the angels at the Public Service Memorial.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Teresa meditated, remembering Alexis and Amy, considering what their lives had meant to her. Then something told her to come back. She looked over her left shoulder and saw Don and Carole at the front gate, sitting on their knees and patiently waiting for her. She waved for them to come over.

I instructed Carole on bowing and getting up slowly, and she was a good student. We walked over to where Teresa was. I knelt down to her right; Carole to her left.

"Please excuse us for disturbing you." I said formally.

"You are not disturbing me. Thank you for coming." Teresa said formally. "And thank you for bringing this young lady for me to hug." Teresa gave Carole a warm hug, and Carole returned it.

"Why did you come here, Aunt Teresa?" Carole asked.

"Today is Christmas Eve." said Teresa. "My big sister Alexis died on Christmas Eve, and I found Amy on Christmas Eve. These angel statues look like them, so I'm here to remember them."

"Amy was Bud-dy's owner, wasn't she?" Carole said, knowing that to be true.

"Yes, and I'm very grateful to you and your dad for keeping him after Amy died." Teresa said.

"Was A-lexxx-is a good big sister?" Carole asked.

"Yes, she was a very good big sister to me." said Teresa, her voice showing the first signs of emotion.

"That's good." said Carole. "I'm a big sister, too. I will try to be a good big sister like your big sister was."

"Awww." Teresa said, hugging Carole again. "You're already a wonderful big sister. You just keep it up, okay?"

"O-kay." said Carole. "And thank you for saving me at this place last year."

"Yes." I said, finally speaking. "Thank you

very

much for that."

"Hey, that's what little sisters are for." Teresa said. We remained in place for a few moments, Teresa holding Carole, all of us contemplating all that had happened at this place. I also remembered my own big sister, and being wounded at this place several years before. (

Author's note: 'Sperm Wars: The Family Menace'.

)

"Please excuse me." I said. "I'll leave you two alone for a moment." I got up and backed up, and sat down well behind them. It was a formal gesture meant to show honor and respect for what Teresa and Carole had endured here. This morning was their morning...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

9:00am. I was in my office with Captain Croyle and Precinct Captain Abram.

"You're going to be Acting Chief from 4:00pm today through 8:00am Wednesday." I said to Abram, who was Jewish and had volunteered to work Christmas as he had every year for many years. "Don't let all that power go to your head."

Abram smiled. "I won't, sir. And of course I'll notify you if anything big happens."

"Well, handle it first, or try to." I said. "Then call me. I like the 'here is what happened, and here is what we're doing about it' approach, though keeping in mind that bad news does not get better with age."

"Yes sir." said Abram. After a few minutes of further business discussion, I dismissed him to his duties.

"He's good, very efficient." I said to Teresa after he left. "Glad we promoted him. Long overdue. Okay, any contingency issues cropping up?"

"No sir." said Teresa. "At 4:00pm the holiday shifts begin, and they end Wednesday morning. Bars are shutting down early, but a lot of stores may stay open until midnight. I'll be at your house tonight, of course."

Teresa and Todd wanted to be at home Christmas Day, and Santa would bring their boys their toys over there. Carole, Jim, Ian, Ross, and Tasha would be visited overnight by Santa at The Cabin. So we big kids would do our gift swaps that evening.

"Where's Carole going to be today?" asked Teresa.

"At home." I said. "With her mother. No last-minute Christmas shopping, either."

"Good!" said Teresa. Then she said reflectively "It's hard to believe it's just been a year..."

Part 24 - Chariots of Fire

"Bring me my bow of burning gold,

Bring me my arrows of desire,

Bring me my spear: o clouds unfold!

Bring me my chariot of fire.

I will not cease from mental fight;

Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand

Till we have built Jerusalem

In England's green and pleasant land."

-- 'Jerusalem', the unofficial National Anthem of England.

If you ever wondered where the title of the movie and song 'Chariots of Fire' came from, it came from the second verse of the unofficial anthem of England, 'Jerusalem'. And it definitely came into my mind as the evening unfolded.

Our Christmas Eve dinner at The Cabin was very good. Joining Laura and me were Callie, Cindy, Betsy. Carole, Jim, Ian, Ross, Molly, Maggie, Tasha, Paulina, my mom Phyllis, Chief and Mrs. Griswold, Jack Muscone, Tanya, Tiffany, Jennifer, Pete, Teresa, Todd, Doug, little Jack, and little Todd, Edward and Stephanie Steele, Selena, Marie, and Chief Moynahan.

The kids that were not staying overnight exchanged gifts after the early dinner. Jim got Legos. Box after box of Legos. But that was all right with him. "I'm going to build a huge castle with all these!" he said happily to Laura.

"He's going to be an engineer one day." Laura said to me later. I agreed. By the way, the West Point degree says 'Bachelor of Science', but in reality is pretty much an Engineering degree...

Marie drew pictures of everyone, and they were renderings one might normally expect to see of experienced adult artists. They were all framed; that was Carole's contribution to the gifts. They were all black and white, pencil or charcoal on paper.

Her drawing of Carole and Buddy sitting on a picnic cloth on the grass was really good. Cindy and Callie got one of them sitting on the sofa, and Cindy was holding Betsy. But it was the drawing of Teresa that took our breaths away. On the right half was a well-drawn head shot of Teresa. On the left half was a drawing of a wolf on a perch in the woods, overseeing his (or her) territory, the moon rising above the trees.

"Oh wowwwww." Teresa said when she saw it. "Marie, this is beautiful!"

"Carole said you're the Iron Wolf, so I drew a wolf picture with yours." explained Marie.

"And you did an awesome job with it." Teresa said. She gave Marie a big hug.

"Okay," said Cindy, after all the other gifts were given out. "It's time for my gift to Teresa. As Don always says: 'Let's watch some TV!'."

We assembled in the front room, with Cindy, Teresa and Todd on the sofa in front. Cindy put a disc into the CD/DVR player and started it up.

The score of the piece was Vangelis's '

Chariots Of Fire

', from the movie of the same name. It was appropriately chosen, as this was about running races.

It first showed the dawn over the Town & County on the Independence Day Triathlon. Then it morphed into an older morning scene, which was copied from a VHS tape. The camera descended to show people preparing for a race.

Teresa's hand went to her mouth as she recognized herself and Alexis... this was not just any race, it was

the

race she had run with Alexis when she was sixteen... just months before Alexis's death. (

Author's note: 'Teresa's Christmas Story'.

)

As the first stanza of the music played, it showed Alexis starting the race and running down an street. Then it cut to another angle showing Alexis running back to towards the line to hand off the baton.

As the stanza changed, the movie morphed into Cindy running the Triathlon when she and Teresa had run it together. The music was well-timed to the shots of Cindy running up University Avenue and along North Street. Then Todd was shown running, one of him grinning as he ran up University Avenue, then ending as he was running for his life with young Tom Usagi chasing him down. (

Author's note: 'Media Matters', Ch. 01.

)

And then as the 'second verse' of the music started, the video showed young Teresa taking the baton from Alexis and running with it. And running fast. Teresa was as determined then as she ever was today. The scene switched to her coming back around to the Finish Line, but not crossing it. Then it switched to Teresa running in the Triathlon. The first scene showed her with blood on her legs and shirt from the attack on her on her bicycle, but running with fierce determination. (

Author's note: 'Teresa's Summer Race Reloaded'.

)

And then as the music crescendoed, the 'GO TERESA' sign was shown, which was followed by Teresa running up University Avenue. I remembered how close she'd been to death at that moment, at the hands of Senator Nathan Allen's pro hitman. (

Author's note: 'Teresa's Summer Race'.

)

Then as the music reached its finale, the movie showed Teresa crossing the finish line and being hugged by an enthusiastic Alexis. I saw their father in the background, not moving to join the celebration, then the movie showed Alexis telling the cameraman how great her little sister was and how great Teresa had run. Our Teresa on the sofa had tears streaming down her face.

Then the movie showed Teresa finishing her races in the Triathlon. The final scene was of her collapsing, then Cindy helping her to her knees and them hugging after winning their race together. Then the photo of Teresa and Alexis with their medals was shown before it faded to black.

"Was it too much?" Cindy asked in the silence, seeing Teresa's head in her hands, covering her eyes.

Teresa shook her head. "No." she whispered. "It was just right. Thank you." She hugged Cindy, who returned it, for a long moment.

After that long moment, Tanya asked "Where did you get that video?"

"When we went to Teresa's hometown," Cindy said, "this old man told me that someone had died and left a lot of video tapes to the library. This was on one of the tapes. The FBI guys helped me copy the tapes to digital, then Priya helped me get the coverage of the Triathlons, and Callie has really good videography and editing skills from her... California job."

"That was awesome." said Chief Griswold. "Were there any other videotapes from that time?"

"Yes sir." said Cindy. "But none of interest to us today. I'll leave it at that." Something about the way Cindy said that piqued my interest...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

After most of the guests had left, I asked Cindy and Teresa to come to the back deck with me. Cindy sat on the loveseat with me, and Teresa in a chair to our right.

"Ladies, it's time for me to give you my 'extra' gifts." I said. I handed them each a box. "Cindy, you're upgrading. Teresa, these are your first ones. As always, if you lose them, let me know immediately. And tell no one, not even Laura nor your significant others nor anyone else, ever."

They were, of course, the bug-detectors and anti-bugging devices, one set in the form of ink pens, the other in the form of cylinders. Teresa was especially moved; the real gift was the complete trust I was giving them along with the devices. Both women hugged me warmly.

Teresa and Todd had to leave and take their boys home. "I'll be glad when our house next door is finished." Teresa said.

Before Cindy left, I said to her "Let me guess... one of those other tapes

shows the car crash where Alexis was killed

."

Cindy's eyes widened in shock, then she said "How did you know? The FBI guys tell you?"

"No." I said. "I guessed when you shut down Chief Griswold about it."

"Well, you're right." said Cindy. "I don't know if I should show it to Teresa...

"Show it to me next week." I said. "And then we'll decide if we should mention it to Teresa." Cindy nodded. I gave Betsy a big hug, then gave her back to her new mother.

After everyone was gone, and I was helping clean up everything, Laura said to me "That was a very emotional moment, when Teresa saw that tape of her race with her sister."

"Yes, it was." I said. "And you know, this is the first Christmas Eve since her sister died that I think she's really overcome the pain of that day."

"I was telling her how grateful I was that she'd saved Carole last year." Laura said. "She said doing that and then becoming Catholic has really helped her." I nodded.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The next day was Christmas Day, of course. Jim got... Legos. A huge barrel full of Legos. He was loving it, and I could almost see the gears in his four-year-old head turning as he thought of how he could make his castle even bigger and better...

But Laura's present for me was the grand prize: a package for her and me to go to Pasadena, California in early January. Private VIP Alumni events, the Tournament of Roses Parade, and two seats to the National Championship Game at the Rose Bowl!

"Aw, this is amazing!" I said. "How

do

you do these things?"

"I've still got connections." Laura said. "Might as well pull strings while I have the strings to pull,

n'est pas?

"

Needless to say, Laura got fucked very, very well that night...

Part 25 - New Year, Same Old Issues

Tuesday, January 1st. It was a clear, sunny, beautiful day. It had been cold the night before, but had warmed up a little bit. At 10:00am, all of the duly elected local politicians would be sworn in.

At 9:30am, Laura, Jim, Carole, and I drove down to Police Headquarters and parked, then walked to City Hall. I was in my formal Police uniform with medals, including the M.O.V., and Laura looked great in a clingy navy blue dress and matching navy blue high heel pumps.

In previous years there was a stage in front of City Hall like the ones for Medal of Valor presentations. Today, the swearing-ins were being done indoors, at the Civic Center Theater. Cost-savings and weather were cited as the reasons, but I knew the real reason was that Leftists were planning a massive rally against Daniel Allgood as an 'illegitimate' Mayor.

There were a number of people on the Square already, many of them wearing red shirts with the Antifa logo, and a number of people wearing "Eldrick X. Weaver for Mayor" shirts with the "X" very large in the middle. Right now they were just standing around in loose groups on the grounds of the Square, between the Civic Center, City Hall, and the statue of President Jefferson.

"Sir," said Corporal Hicks, coming up to us, "let me escort you into the Civic Center. We're worried about these protesters trying to start trouble."

"Have they done anything, so far?" I asked.

"No sir." said Hicks. "But I don't trust 'em."

"Neither do I." said Carole, giving wary glances their way.

"If they're just protesting, leave 'em be." I said. "If they start any trouble at all, blocking someone, throwing so much as a bubble gum wrapper on the ground, bring the full force of the TCPD down on 'em. Arrest as many as you can."

"Yes sir, we're ready to do that, and I think they know it." said Hicks, who let us go into the front doors of the Civic Center, but did not come inside himself.

"Zero tolerance, huh?" said Laura. "No complaints from me."

"Yeah, I'm not fooling around since that day they were trying to firebomb your office." I said. (

Author's note: 'Falsely Accused', Ch. 04.

)

We went down the opposite hall of the one we'd taken to get to the Policeman's Ball. Near the entrance to the auditorium I saw Sheriff-elect Griswold. He was wearing khaki pants and shirt and matching tie, and a darker brown jacket. Ribbons denoting his Police medals were over the right jacket pocket, and his M.O.V. was around his neck. His badge had black lettering instead of the blue that my badge had, and said 'SHERIFF" on top, but was the same badge number as his Police badge had been. The star of the badge was gold, but the wreath around it was silver, which denoted him to be an elected official. A single gold star adorned each epaulette on his shoulders.

"Hey Grandpa Grizz!" said a beaming Carole as we came up to him.

"Hello, young whippersnapper!" replied the Sheriff-to-be, leaning over and hugging Carole. Then he gave Jim a hug, too.

"I'll take Carole on in and sit down." said Laura.

"Interesting badge number, there." I said.

"Do you realize, Crowbar," said Griswold, "that I'm the first Police Chief to ever be elected Sheriff in this County?"

"Uh, no," I said, "but I'm not totally surprised." I reasoned that Chiefs stayed where they were for a long time, while Sheriff's got elected at fairly young ages, and would be re-elected often. And back in the day, the Sheriffs and Police Chiefs might not have been as honorable as Antonio Griswold.

"So the Sheriff usually has badge number zero-zero-one." said Griswold. "But I'm allowed to have my old Police badge number, and that's what I did."

"Don't blame you a bit." I said. "Oh, there's the Allgoods. Let's go speak to them. It's little Dan's birthday."

Jim was running up to give his cousin Dan a gift. It was a couple of toy trucks of the kind little Dan liked to play with.

"Well, I remember what happened four years ago." I said as i came up to them. Little Dan had decided to make his way into the world right as his father was being sworn in as Sheriff. (

Author's note: The Medical Murder Mystery', Ch. 01.

)

"That won't be happening this year." said Melina, who was standing next to her husband.

"Hi Uncle Don!" said little Dan as I told him happy birthday. "Wow, is that your Medal of Valor?"

"Uh, yes, it is." I said.

"Can I see it?" asked an excited Dan.

"Sure, let me just sit down on this bench here." I said. I suited the deed to the word and sat down. I did not take the medal off, so Dan climbed up next to me and held the metal medal part in his hand.

"Wow, it's heavy." he said.

"Yes, it is." I said.

"What's this brown thing on it?" he asked, referring to the oak leaf on the ribbon panel from which the medal hung.

"That's an oak leaf cluster." I said. "It means this is my second Medal of Valor."

"Wowwww!" Dan said. "Jim! your daddy is a he-ro!" I chuckled at that, perhaps a bit red-faced at the attention.

"I know." said Jim. "Grampa Griswold has one, too."

"Are you going to get another one?" asked Dan, to me.

"I hope not." I said. "I hope nobody else ever gets one, either... because people usually get them by getting hurt, and we don't want anyone to get hurt, do we?"