Chapter Nine - Sending a Mother's Love

I woke up Christmas morning on Sam’s living room floor, with my gun still in my hand.  Lara was near me on the couch still asleep.  My left arm was still sore from the accident, and I had grown tired of wearing the sling.  I got up slowly and looked outside.  It was snowing heavily.  Sam’s Christmas tree was still lit and there were a few presents nestled beneath it.  Somehow this brought peace to my restless thoughts.  It took me back to the days of my childhood, when I’d run downstairs Christmas morning, in search of what Santa had brought the night before.  But the times had changed.  Santa was a myth, and I no longer had the anticipation of happy times during the holidays. 

         “Did you sleep well?”  My father asked.  He was sitting on the love seat behind me with his coat on.

         “Not at all.”  I said, rubbing my eyes.  “Are you leaving?”

         “My flight leaves in an hour.  I’m going back to Chicago.”  He said.

         “Dad, it’s Christmas.”  I said, standing up.

         “All the more reason for me to get to the bottom of this.  Hopefully, soon, we can all sleep safe.  That would be gift enough for me.”  He said.

         I reached out my right hand, offering him a handshake.  He looked down at it, hesitated, but then shook it firmly. 

         “Be careful.”  I said.

         “You too.”  He said walking away.

         “Dad, if anything happens to-“  He cut me off by putting up his hand.

         “You’re in good hands kid.  I’ve always tried to protect you from the bad in this world.  Even when the bad was in me.  You’ll be fine, and I’ll see you later.” 

         He walked out the front door a moment later.  A part of me was sad to see him go.  I had gotten so used to resenting him over the years.  So comfortable with it.  Knowing the truth about my mother had changed that.  It changed the way I saw him.  It was clear he was very much in love with her, even still.  He went to her funeral because he knew there wouldn’t be many people there.  Regardless of my mother’s actions, I respected the man in him for that. 

         “Don’t worry, he’ll be back.”  Lara said from behind me. 

         She was half-sitting up on the couch.  Her long brown hair was very much flat on one side.

         “Hey, you’re awake.”  I said, walking over to her.  “That’s a sweet hair-do.” 

         She smacked my arm and stood up, cracking a smile. 

         “Merry Christmas.”  She said, looking up at me.

         “Merry Christmas to you.”  I said.

         “Alright, alright!”  Sam said coming down the stairs.  “At least let me leave before you two go at it!”  He was sporting a cheeky grin from ear to ear.  I laughed a little and Lara’s face turned pink. 

         “Where are you off to?”  I said.

         “I just gotta run to the station real quick, I’ll be right back.”  Sam said. 

         “I don’t think that’s a good idea Sam, we should go togeth-“  I was cut off again.

“I’ll be fine.  No one’s ever tried to kill me on Christmas before!”  He said, walking out the front door. 

         Lara and I just rolled our eyes at him.

         “Why don’t you go get cleaned up.  I’ll keep an eye on things out here.”  I said.

         Lara agreed and went upstairs to shower. 

         I stood in front of the window watching the snow come down.  All the decorations were scattered about on light poles, fences and house-fronts.  There was a thick layer of snow covering the ground and the town was quiet.  But it didn’t feel like Christmas.  I didn’t feel as though I had warmth in my heart to share.  The candle inside me had been blown out, leaving me with a cold, charred wick. 

         I began to have flashes of the night Jeni was murdered once again.  They came fast, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t fight them away.  I was coming in through the front door again.  ‘Martin!  Help!’  And then it would fast forward quickly.  ‘You need to know the truth.’  Her words echoed in my head like church bells on a Sunday morning.  And then I saw his face, again.  ‘You.’  And then they stopped.  My head was quieted.

         “Son of a bitch.”  I said, to myself.  “He recognized me.” 

         I had completely forgotten.  How did he know who I was?  How could he have known?  The thoughts in my head dwelled on this question, but I didn’t have an answer for them. 

         Later that day Sam agreed to meet Lara and I at her house for some sort of Christmas gathering.  Sam didn’t have any family around either, so I figured it would be best if we stuck together once again for the evening.  Sam got there around 7pm.  I answered the door and he was standing there looking around, like he was pre-occupied. 

         “Sam, you gonna come in?”  I asked him.

         “I don’t have a good feeling about this Marty.”  He said still looking about.

         “Hey, we’re all in this together.  We can handle what ever comes around.”  I said.

         “I think I’m going to stay out here.  You know, keep an eye on things from a distance.” 

         “What?  That’s crazy man, get in here and we’ll start dinner.” 

         “No, really man.  I’m okay.  You guys enjoy the night.  I’ll stay out here, make sure things stay quiet.”

         “Are you sure?  It’s Christmas man!”  I said.

         “And nothing would make my Christmas better than catching this guy Marty.  He said Lara is next.  Maybe he’ll come around, and when he does, we’ll be ready.  If I see anyone, I call you.  You’ll be warned, and we can close in on him.”

         “Alright man.  Just be careful.”  I said.

         “I’ll be fine.  I’ll stay out of sight in my car a little ways down.  From there, I can still see the angles the house.” 

“Thanks man.”  I said, shaking his hand.

         “Tell Lara this doesn’t get her off the hook with cooking me a nice dinner.”  He said, walking away.

         I smiled, and closed the door, watching him walk off to his car.

         “He’s not coming in?”  Lara said.

         “No, he’s going to keep watch for a while.  You know, do the cop thing.”  I said, walking into the kitchen.

         “Do you think that’s necessary Marty?  It’s Christmas.”

         “Can’t hurt.”  I said.  “But he did say that you still owe him a dinner.” 

         She smiled and continued setting the table.

         Lara had made chicken parmesan for dinner.  The aroma of cheese and marinara sauce filled the house. 

         “So, do you miss the military?”  I asked.

         “In some ways I do.  In other ways, I couldn’t wait to get home.”  She said, bringing the food to the table.  “There’s a certain camaraderie that comes with the armed forces that you come to enjoy.  Everyone’s equal.  And everyone has a job to do.  You feel a very unique sense of purpose, you know?  Chivalry.” 

         “I don’t think I’ve ever heard it described quite like that before.”  I said, smiling.

         “You’ve just never met a woman like me before.”  She said, putting a helping of food onto my plate.  For the first time, I began to feel a slight attraction to her.  There was an awkward silence between us for a moment.

         “That is true.  Lord knows you could probably take me.”  I said.

         “So, what’s it like being a detective in this small town?” 

         “Well, sometimes it’s…dull, or uneventful.  Aside from recent events anyway.  Most of the time it’s vandalisms, burglaries and maybe auto theft.  That kind of thing.  I guess I just followed in my father’s footsteps and joined the force early on.  Sam and I graduated from the academy the same year.” 

         “Were you and Sam always partners?”

         “Yeah, up until a few years ago, when Raines took over as Captain.  He reorganized the department in efforts to make us more efficient, supposedly.” 

         “He seems okay.”  She said.

         “Mitch is alright, I guess.  He tends to take his authority as Captain a little too far sometimes, but all in all, he’s a good guy.  He’s been very understanding of my case, and that’s been helpful.  Him and my father didn’t get along when they were both on the force, so naturally, in the past, Mitch took some of that prior grudge out on me.” 

         “But you and your father haven’t exactly seemed close either.”  She said.

         “No, we haven’t been really.  Ever since my Mom left, things between us have never been the same.  I carried a lot of resentment around toward him for the compassion he held for her.  She was a screw-up that he thought he could fix, you know?  Most times, it felt like I was just along for the ride, or in the background.  I felt a lot like the result of a mistake he had made for staying with her.”

“Ouch.  I’m sure he doesn’t think of you that way Marty.  He’s your father.  I’m sure he’s proud of you.”  She said.

         “He did love Jeni.  Those two were unusually close for being in-laws.  He used to give her a hard time for being a legal assistant.  Over the course of time those conversations brought them closer together as friends.  It makes sense that she knew the truth about what happened between him and my mother.” 

         “Sometimes it’s easier for men to open up to women, you know?  He trusted her.  And he had every right to.  She sounded like a very endearing person.” 

         “Yeah, she was.”  I said, finishing my plate.  It felt like for a moment she noticed the sadness in my voice and chose to change the subject.

         She put her fork down on her plate, crossed her arms on the table and looked at me.

         “I think it’s time I gave you your gift!”  She said.

         “What gift?  Oh, man, you didn’t have to do that.” 

         “I know.  But it’s Christmas Marty.  This is what people do!”  She said, getting up from the table.

         The thought of going Christmas shopping for gifts hadn’t even entered my mind.  I shouldn’t have felt guilty for that considering what’s happened, but I did.  I was eating Christmas dinner with a woman who had saved my life a few weeks ago, and I hadn’t bothered to get her anything. 

         Lara disappeared for a moment going into the other room.  She came back out with a white box that was about a foot square, with a neatly tied red bow around it.  She laid it on my lap.

         “Lara, you really didn’t have to do this.”  I said.

         “Yes, I did.”  She said, smiling.

         Suddenly, I felt the box twitch.  I looked down at it and then back up to her.  I removed the ribbon and lifted the white lid.  Inside was a tiny Yellow Labrador puppy.  He got up on his hind legs, putting them on the rim of the box and started licking my fingers.  I was absolutely speechless.

         “Oh my God.  He is so cute!”  I said, picking him up out of the box.  “Look at him!” 

         “She.”  Lara said, smiling widely.

         “Really?”  I said.  “She’s a girl?”  I held the puppy in front of me so I could see her face.  She had big, sad brown eyes and a little brown nose.  Her gums and teeth were tiny, and her golden fur shined under the warm light.  She was the most perfect thing I had seen in a long time. 

         “You said you wanted a dog…”  Lara said.

         “Yeah, but I didn’t think you had taken me seriously!”  I said.  “Thank you so much Lara.  She’s adorable.”

         Lara and I stood up and I put the puppy on the floor so she could run around.  I then walked over to Lara and gave her a hug.  We held each other for a little while.  I could feel her heartbeat through my shirt, and I could smell a soft hint of her perfume.  Her long hair began to tickle my nose.

         “Merry Christmas, Marty.”  She said.

         I leaned back from her with my hands still around her waist.

         “Merry Christmas, and thank you.”  I said, looking in her eyes.

         “What will you name her?”  She asked.

         I hesitated in thought for a moment, and then it came to me.  I looked over at her on the floor.  She was rolling around on her back with her paws raving about.

         “Maya.”  I said, looking back at Lara. 

         She smiled at me with wide eyes that almost began to moisten.  The awkward silence came once again, except this time we were both staring at one another.  She put her hand on my cheek, caressing it.  I closed my eyes and felt her hand’s warmth on my face.  I realized again that my attraction to her was growing.  I moved back a little, opening my eyes, lowering my hands from her waist. 

         “I’m sorry, I can’t-“  I said, backing away.  “I’m not ready to feel-“

         “It’s okay Marty.  I didn’t mean to-“ 

         Her voice was cut off by the sound of the front door opening softly.  I could hear the hinges lightly creak.

         “Hey Sammy.  You finally wise up and decide to come in for a bite?”  I said.

         But there was no response.  I looked over at Lara, who shrugged, and then we both looked down the hallway toward the front door.  There was no sound.  Just dead silence.  I walked down the hallway to the front door, with Lara right behind me.  It was open, but there was no sign of anyone. 

         “Huh.”  I said.  “Must’ve not closed it all the way and the wind blew it open.” 

         Lara didn’t say anything and kept looking outside through the sidelight windows.  After a brief look outside, I closed the door and locked it and we started walking back to the kitchen.

         “C-mon, let’s clean up.”  I said, walking back down the hallway.

         “Yes, that might be a good idea.”  A voice said. 

         Lara and I came around the corner and in the kitchen stood a man about my height, dressed in black, wearing a mask that covered everything on his face except for his eyes.  In his right arm, he held Maya.

         “Who the hell are you?”  I snarled, slowly moving Lara behind me.

         “Oh, you’d like to know wouldn’t you?”  He said, petting Maya on the head.  He then shifted her to his left arm and drew a nine millimeter handgun from his backside and pointed it at us.

         “I’ve waited a long time for this.” 

         “If it’s me you want, let her go.  She has nothing to do with this.”  I said, referring to Lara.

         “On the contrary she does, Marty.  I had a plan in place to kill you earlier my friend, and she intervened by pulling you out of that car.”  He said.

The memories of the accident flashed before my eyes. 

         “What are you talking about!?”  Lara said.

         “The deer was fake.  You didn’t think it was odd that a deer would be standing on the other side of that hill?  A real deer would’ve seen your headlights coming!  He would’ve heard you a mile away and been gone by the time you got there.  You were driving a little fast, eh Marty?  Good thing she pulled you out before the car exploded huh?”

         “You son of a bitch!”  I said.

         “You would know wouldn’t you?!”  He said, yelling.

         “Who the hell are you?!”  I said.

         He put Maya down, still holding the gun on us.  He then reached back and removed his mask slowly, revealing the face of a young teenager.  He smiled, and ruffled his dark hair back.

         “You still don’t get it, do you bro?”  He said.

         “You’re just a kid!?”  I said. 

         “I’m fifteen to be exact.  Sixteen next month.”  He said.

         “Wait a second…”  I said. 

         “What?!”  Lara said. 

         “You called me bro.”  I said, a low voice.

         “Ah!  Give the man a prize, he’s putting the pieces together!”  He said, laughing. 

         “What’s your name?”  I said, growling at him.

         “Dylan.  Dylan Turnovsky.”  He said, smiling.

         “Holy shit.”  I said.

         “That’s right bro!  But I must say, you must take after your Dad, because you look nothing like Mom!”  He said, laughing. 

         “You’re Milo’s kid.”  I said.

         “Hot damn!  About time!  I really thought you were smarter than this Marty. I was so sure you would’ve figured it out already.  I mean, shit, you are a detective.” 

         I just stood there, glaring at him, trying to figure out my next move.

         “That’s right.  I’m your freaking brother.  Surprise!”

         His taunting made the rage in my stomach surface to the back of my throat.  The last time I felt that angry was when I killed a man with my bare hands.

         “Right about now, you’re wondering where Sam is.  Am I right?”

         I didn’t speak, or even blink at him.

         “Well, he’s gonna be a little late to the party.” 

         “I swear to God, if you-“  I said, moving toward him.

         “You’ll what?!”  He screamed, waiving the gun at us.

         “Hate me like you did your own mother!?”

         “So that’s what this is about…a son’s revenge.”  I said.

         “Aw, you make it sound so bittersweet when you say it like that.”  He said laughing.

“You killed my wife.”  I snarled again.

         “No!  Your father killed her, fifteen years ago, when he let my father fry!”  He screamed.

         “Your father had an affair with my mother!”  I yelled.

         “Yeah, and Dayton and your wife stood by, while they executed my Dad, hiding the truth that could’ve saved him!” 

          “That’s a lie!  My Dad tried to defend him.” 

         “Oh yeah, I forgot.  He did such a good job that they killed him anyway!  I almost had done him in too that night you came knocking.”

         I remembered what my Dad had told me about the encounter.  ‘It’s all your fault.’  Now it all made sense.  Except for one thing.

         “Why Darren?”  I asked.

         “Ha!  Oh yeah, the patsy who wasn’t supposed to die…”

         “He didn’t want to do it, did he?  The money alone wasn’t incentive enough.  You threatened his mother’s life, so he had no choice.”  I said.

         “You’re catching on, bro!  With him being a suspected rapist, he was the perfect fit!  But!  He wasn’t supposed to die.  I decided that little gift to Ms. Darren might help ease her suffering a bit.”

         He waited for me to respond.  I gave him nothing.

“It’s a pity too.  If I didn’t have to kill you, you might actually make Captain someday.  Raines would love that!  Now, move over there.”

         He motioned Lara and I to go in front of the window, facing the hallway, while he circled in front of us.  Lara stood next to me, holding my hand tightly.

         “Please, there’s got to be some way for us to settle this!”  Lara said.

         “Oh yes.  There is my dear.  As soon as dear old Dad gets back in town, he’ll be dead too, just like you people.”

         “She was pregnant.”  I said, in a low angry voice.

         “What?”

         “Yeah, that’s right.  You killed my wife and her unborn child.”  I said, louder.

         He hesitated for a second.  His eyes moved rapidly back and forth from me to Lara, as if I gave him pause by my comment.

         “Where’s the justice in that…bro?”  I continued.

         “Freaking bitch had it coming.  Pregnant or not.” 

         The rage began to surface again.  It felt like hot needles were endlessly poking at my chest, working their way up from my stomach.

         He tightened the stretch on his arm, holding the gun tighter, preparing to fire. 

         “Nooo!”  Lara screamed, and the next few moments passed by in slow motion.  She jumped in front of me as a sharp, deep crackle filled the air with the echo of a gunshot.  The sound of the gun made me jump, and I waited for the pain to fill my chest.  But there wasn’t any.  But Lara began to fall, and the reality hit me.  He had shot her instead.  She fell to the ground, holding her side. 

“Lara!!”  I screamed, bending down to her.  Her blood was beginning to seep out onto her white shirt.  Just then, Dylan fell to his knees and dropped his gun.  I looked up at him.  His face wore a look of shock.  He raised his hands to chest, and his hands became bloody.  My eyes focused on a figure that moved behind him in the hallway.  It was my father!  He had shot him from behind at the very second that Dylan had shot Lara. 

         Dylan looked down at his gushing chest, and then back up at me. 

         “I guess you’ll make…Captain after all someday…bro.”  He said, falling to the floor face first.  He was dead.

         “Dad!  I-“

“How is she Marty!?”  He said, running up to me. 

         I looked down at Lara who was looking up at me with painful eyes.  I moved her so I could see her backside and lifted her shirt.  There was blood on her backside and a small wound the size of bullet revealed itself.

         “She’s got an exit wound back here.  That’s a good sign.”  I said.

         “Keep pressure on it.  I’ll call an ambulance.”  My father said.

         “Martin…it hurts.”  She said, looking down at her wound. 

         “You’re going to be fine Lara, just hang on!” 

         “I…saved you…again.”  She said, reaching up for me, touching my face.  Her face tightened up, and her body tensed from the pain.  Her eyes closed slowly. 

         “Lara!  Lara, look at me!” 

         She opened her eyes and looked at me.

         “I…I just couldn’t bear the thought…of you enduring more pain.”  She said, in between swallows.

         She started to close her eyes again.

         “Stay with me!”  I said. 

         She opened her eyes and focused once more on me.

         “You’re not going to die unless I let you.”  I said. 

         She smiled, and let out a slight chuckle. 

         “You’re going to be fine.  I’m going to get you out of here.”  I said.

         My father returned a moment later.

         “The paramedics are on their way.”  He said.


Coming up next:  Chapter Ten - The Kind Doppelganger (The Final Chapter.)