Thursday morning I rose early, Nate had called Wednesday night and let me know that he and his foster dad would be at Lincoln park trying out the trails with new bikes. We agreed to meet in the parking lot at nine and have a bit of fun. Chase called me before I had even finished dressing and told me he'd be over in half an hour. That gave me time to eat and put on my new boots and vest and stow my gloves and helmet by the kitchen door. I looked in on John and went back down.
"John's still sound asleep and looking peaceful," I told my mother.
"Well he was up a bit late last night, Daddy put him to bed after the movie ended," she informed me.
He and Dad are getting close, that's something he's never had. How are you and John getting along? I asked.
"Very well, he's so adorable and affectionate. He's also very smart, we'll go out today and get the computer we discussed for him. He knows quite a bit about container ships, he's very impressed by them . He had a learning program that got him started and he carried on learning about them on his own," she reported.
"With me it was dinosaurs, do you remember me correcting Art. He was making the mistakes on purpose to test me but I didn't know that then," I mused.
"Yes, John has many of your character traits, you might be too close to see them though. He gets so serious about buildings and cranes and the cargo ships. I guess it goes with the intellect," Mom speculated.
"I didn't get a lot of time to talk with Dad last night, is everything going okay for him so far?" I asked.
"Yes, I think so. He met his command yesterday, one hundred and twenty eight men and women except for a couple that are on special assignment. That's a lot of people to manage," Mom supplied.
"Have you met any of the neighbors yet?" I inquired.
"Yes, the lady in the green house is Cindra and her husband is Raj, She's an OB/GYN and her husband is a pharmaceutical researcher. Then there's Jessi on the other side in that rusty red house, She's a retired Seattle Police sergeant and her husband is with Boeing in the department your Dad would have been in, His name is Dale." Mom informed.
"We should have a party to get to know the people in the neighborhood. We have that huge patio area. We could invite Jeff and Janisse and Chase and I can watch the kids while you get to know the adults," I suggested.
"Cindra and Jesse said the same thing except they meant they should put on the party, I think an open house is probably in order. I'm sure everyone wants to know what all those workmen were doing here week after week," she chuckled.
"Well your tastes are very similar to Jeffs, their house is furnished very much the same as ours except for a few custom built pieces that Mr. Ozaki made. I've asked him to design a desk for me. We plan to go to his shop next week and go through the designs he's come up with. You should go over and see Jeff's sideboard and dining set."
"Mr. Ozaki? Did Jeff tell you about him?" Mom asked.
"No, Chase did, he takes wood working lessons from Hiro and has a desk and a chest of drawers that were built by Hiro. They're really beautiful, you have to see them." I insisted.
"Well I wouldn't mind replacing that old desk of mine, I may just have to discuss that with your Mr. Ozaki."
"I think you'll like it. Take some pictures of the Roycroft pieces and the Greene and Greene table and chairs. Jeff would probably enjoy a tour of our old furniture too. That set of Roycroft bookcases in your office would really impress them both," I assured.
A tap on the back door announced that Chase had arrived. I opened the door and pulled him in for a kiss.
"Good morning Minnie, how are you this morning?"
"Just fine Chase, I need to run up and get John moving, you boys have a good time," Mom admonished cheerfully.
"Chase and I are going to check our bikes and we'll let you know before we leave," I advised.
"Thank you Jem, I'll be down soon," Mom replied.
Chase and I went to the garage to check our tires and chains and such. Once ready we parked them outside and closed the garage door. We walked back inside and were met by Seneca who was keen for an ear scratch. We obliged and gave kisses to Mom and John and were on our way.
I checked my phone when we got to the park and a message from Nate told me they should be there in about ten minutes.
I saw a Subaru Crosstrek pull in with a double bike rack and Nate hopped out as soon as the car stopped rolling.
He looked like a different person, leaner, tanned and absolutely radiant. Nate rushed up and pulled me into a hug and then did the same with Chase.
"You look good Nate, like a completely different person. Are you feeling good these days?" I asked.
You wouldn't believe how good I feel. I still have a moment now and then when I get pissed about the way I was treated but Dusty works with me and calms me down and I get over it pretty quick.
Chase listened with half a smile. "I can't get over the change in you Nate, you really look, hot!"
"Thanks Chase; and thank you for caring about me. It means so much," Nate gave Chase a very tender embrace unlike the first hug, this one was deeply emotional."
A man stood next to the car smiling and I walked over to introduce myself.
"Hello Traveler, are you well?"
"I am and how is your life going?"
"Quite nice at the moment, better knowing that Nate is being cared for. He's had enough difficulty for quite a while," I uttered.
"He's a fine boy and I'm lucky to have him. I am in the process of adopting him."
"I'm very glad to hear that, he is deserving of a good home. I am told you are deserving of his company and it's obviously effective for both of you. You need each other."
"That is true brother, he will make the rest of this life tolerable. I am doing my best to enlighten him without telling him more than any human should know. I ask difficult questions. His answers are sometimes difficult but he is learning."
"Then you saw it to, he has potential and you have retrieved him from the abyss," I praised.
"You give me too much credit, it was you who set him on the path."
"They are approaching, tell me about this car please."
Dusty went through all the modifications he had made to the little car . It looked like it was prepared for Rally racing.
"I see you found Dad's favorite subject, he's a total gearhead and so am I. It's one of the reasons we get along so well," Nate supplied.
"It's a cool car, " I began but I was interrupted by another voice.
"Benny, is that you?" Jeremy called from behind me.
"Oh, Hi Jeremy, um, how have you been," Nate greeted nervously.
"Not bad man, you look great, I was really sorry to hear what happened to you," Jeremy said plainly.
"Jeremy, um, I'm really sorry about the way I acted, I was, well,"
"It's cool man, I understand. I didn't at first but I do now. So we're good as far as I'm concerned," Jeremy pledged while extending his hand.
Nate shook his hand and then embraced him whispering thanks in his ear.
"Well I gotta hit it, I have to be home for something. I thought I saw you and I had to stop. Take care of yourself okay?" Jeremy encouraged.
"I will man, you do the same. Thanks," Nate replied.
"Let's get these bikes off the car and go ride some trails guys," Dusty declared.
After taking two intermediate trails we arrived back at the car three hours later. I gave Mom a call and asked if she would mind if I brought Nate and his dad by for lunch. She said it would be fine so I gave Dusty the address and Chase and I took off while they loaded and tied the bikes down. We were three blocks from home when they passed us. Mom was chatting with Dusty when we arrived.
Lunch was lively with conversation and even John joined in and had no reservations hugging Nate when Dusty said they needed to head home before the afternoon rush.
Chase looked quite refreshed and laid back. Seeing Nate acting like a regular kid had reached him somehow. I had hope that he would be able to deal effectively with the thoughts that tormented him.
****
An hour after addressing his troops, Mike found Herb at his door.
"Hi Mike, I wanted to let you know that I heard back from the lab on the paint residue found on the victims and. I was able to scrape a few samples off the freshly painted handrails on three different ferries and they are a match. Same manufacturer same spectrographic pattern. We've notified the guys that are to be involved, that includes Grimes, and Chelsea, Berenson is busy with a pedo case and CPS work. Nakowski is in court all week but she'll join us when she's released from testimony," Herb reported.
"Grimes and Chelsea are two of the women in the bureau, correct?" Mike inquired.
"Yes, they're very good and they could be effective during the canvasing," Herb acknowledged.
"Are we doing any better with the targeting as far as crew and assignments?" Mike asked.
"Yes, there are fifteen floaters, those are people who bounce from boat to boat filling in for absent crew. Vacations sick days that sort of thing. Nine men six women. As you suggested the plan is to canvas the entire crew and ask about regular passengers and flash the photos around and see what we get. The whole time we're doing that the other half of the team will observe the subject and the crowd to see if anyone is showing undue interest," Herb supplied.
"Well after I tell the troops what we're up against, I'll let you walk them through the strategy. And you will be in charge of the task force. You will have Frank as a backup and me of course. It would be great to wrap this up before the press gets wind of a serial case but don't let that be a factor in doing it right. We need a solid case to take to the D.A. and I will be briefing him later today. We have to stress that observers need to watch the subject after the interviewer walks away. The reactions of the subject are key to finding our actor," Mike said emphatically.
"I think I've got it and this is a sharp crew. I believe if there's anything to be learned we'll strike paydirt tomorrow," Herb assured.
"I'm hoping that it will at least give us a couple of possible subjects to do a workup on. Have the employee lists been run through records for any previous issues or convictions?" Mike asked.
"Yes, but they didn't show anything of great interest. One of the ferry masters has a spousal abuse conviction but his spouse is male. It seems unlikely that a gay man would go after female victims. Not impossible but unlikely," Herb supplied.
"Do the masters move from ferry to ferry?" Mike asked.
"I checked and that's a no. There are former masters that substitute when a master is ill or on vacation. They're all upper management and none of the absences match our dates," Herb answered.
"Sorry Herb, it must sound like I'm second guessing you but I'm not. There might be something you didn't consider, I know I can't think of everything but we can bounce ideas off each other and cover more ground," Mike explained,
"No problem Mike, the more people working on a problem the more likely it is that we'll get a fresh idea. The idea of having an observer watch the interview is one I hadn't considered. Has that worked for you in the past?"
"Yes it has, at least a dozen times. It works for any number of investigations. Pete Duran taught me that one in my first years in homicide in L.A. county. He was the best detective I ever worked with in my career. Nobody has ever surpassed his gift for interpreting evidence. His career would make a good TV series," Mike mused.
"Sounds like a good guy, maybe you can tell me more about him at another time," Herb smiled.
"Well let's get out there and have a chat with our people," Mike suggested.
Two hours later, teams had been assigned and assignments given. Herb opted to partner with a newer detective Carey Chelsea who everyone called C.C. , she was sharp and ambitious but not motivated by personal glory.
Snohomish county had sent an alternate detective who was just back from injury leave. He still had mobility issues due to his knee so it was decided he would coordinate from the office. That was good news for the newest detective on the team, Jack Maloney would have done the job but he didn't mind turning it over to Rich Calhoun. The original man from Snohomish was now involved in a homicide case in Monroe. Jack however had no one to work the case with. That would be solved by having him work directly with Mike. Not really what Jack had expected.
****
"Thank you," Chase said.
"What for," I asked.
"For last night, for today, for getting me out of my head, I feel a lot better," Chase whispered.
I could only kiss him, and it couldn't wait. We sat on the big glider on the front porch and kissed, completely oblivious to other people.
"Are you coming to the open school at Rainier tomorrow?" Chase asked.
"Yes, how about you? Would you come along with me?"
"Well, I was going to ask if you would come with us. If Janisse watches Carter and John, the four of us can go in one car."
"So your Dad is coming too?"
"Well I can't drive and it's a long ride on a bike, and Dad already planned to take the day off," Chase volunteered.
"Well maybe he wants some private time with you. You should probably ask. I mean if he's devoted the whole day to you, maybe he has something planned for afterwards," I speculated.
"I never thought of that. I'll ask him what his plans are and let you know a bit later."
"I think that would be best, you wouldn't want to hurt his feelings by spoiling his plans for an afternoon with you," I put in.
"It has been a while since he and I got a chance to do something fun together. I better find out before I mess things up," Chase decided.
"Okay then, what would you like to do now? I can play and we can sing together would you like that? Maybe we can teach John and Carter Jollity Farm and I know Carter has taught John the Coconut song, I heard them singing it in the yard."
"Yeah, let's do that. Minnie could probably use a break from them," Chase laughed.
"Hi Mom, where are the munchkins?" I inquired.
"Upstairs playing with your Legos as far as I know," Mom related.
"Those are John's Legos now, it's good to see them getting some use. He and Carter are a great engineering team and they never seem to argue," I corrected.
"That's so sweet, thank you Jem. Are you sure, those were your favorite for years?" Mom inquired.
"Yes, I'm sure. I just have different things to pursue these days.
"Yes I know, you're growing up; just don't go too fast. You'll miss it when it's gone, being a child that is," Mom insisted.
"That's possible, I just can't fathom that at the moment. Are we coming straight home tomorrow after the open house?"
"It's open school day Jem, you don't want to call it open house in front of the faculty," Chase reminded.
"Ah yes, I forgot again," I acknowledged.
"Yes Jem, Janisse will need to leave shortly after we get back but we'll have a little leeway to make it home if you want to make a stop. What about you Chase? Are you going to be there?" Mom asked.
"Yes Minnie, My Dad is taking the day off to be with me there," Chase replied.
"That's wonderful, I look forward to seeing you both there," Mom said cheerfully.
"We're going to go up and do some singing in my studio, we plan to invite Carter and John to learn a new song," I explained.
"Oh... which one?" Mom asked.
"Jollity Farm," I answered.
"They'll enjoy that, I taught them Frere Jacques this morning. They picked it up very quickly," Mom shared. "John already knew the song as it turns out.
"They're very smart little guys, it makes it nice to have them around," I intoned.
"Have fun boys, I'll see you soon."
I sat at the piano and warmed up with a song we both knew, I handed Chase the lyric sheet to Jollity Farm and he looked through the words. I played it through and sang along. He had the chorus by the second pass and sang it all the way through on the third. On the fourth pass we sang it together and it sounded great.
It was great fun teaching John and Carter to do the animal noises. They enjoyed it immensely and after that we all sang Lovely bunch of coconuts and Frere Jacques together. After the singing it was time for Chase and Carter to head home so we all walked over together after admiring the fortress they had built with the Legos. We carried our brothers across the street because of traffic concerns. More than one car went past as we waited and I could clearly see a phone in their hand as they passed. A Seattle fire truck stopped and the opposing lane stopped too so we hustled across with the little guys waving at the firefighters. The driver tooted the airhorn as they drove away, causing John and Carter both to squeal with delight.