Summer in The County Ch. 03

Bowser barked, and Otis opened his eyes. A huge smile formed on his little face when he saw the dog. Bowser clamored to be let down and I set him down on the bed next to Otis. Nurse Jones was about to say something, but I just turned and looked at her, and whispered "Really?" She understood.

There was a fold in the plastic that was an opening for nurses to use to adjust Otis's oxygen or whatever was needed inside. Teresa knew what to do: she reached in and took Otis's hand and brought it to and through the opening. Bowser moved to brush the top of his head against the little hand that appeared. It was not clear who was petting whom, but I could feel a vibe of pure joy in the room as boy and dog shared their affections.

"Hi doggie." I heard Otis say, his voice barely audible, but the smile on his face an unmistakeable ray of light. Bowser seemed happy to be helping.

After a few moments of petting, I could see that Otis was tiring. I picked up Bowser and Nurse Jones took a wet wipe and wiped down Otis's hand, to try to keep killer germs from infecting the severely ill child. The parents thanked us for bringing Bowser to Otis.

Nurse Jones followed us out. "I hope that was worth it." she said. "If Otis catches a bug, it'll kill him."

"Nurse," I said, "look at him. He's dying. It was worth it to him, methinks, from the look of that smile on his little face." Teresa nodded vigorously in agreement.

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

Sunday, July 30th, 2:06am. The Death Cat came into Otis's room and hopped onto the bedside table, and watched.

Otis looked over and saw the cat watching him. "Hello, kit-ty." he whispered happily. The smile from petting Bowser hours before had not left his little face. In his final, supreme moment, Otis remembered how it felt to pet the dog, how soft Bowser's hair on his head was. He felt the presence of the Death Cat, which gave him reassurance that he was not alone and never would be. Then he saw the bright light, and he no longer felt any pain as he surrendered to the Inevitable...

His duty once again done, the Death Cat hopped off the table to the floor, and exited the room as the nurses opened the door in response to the monitor alarm.

Part 16 - Epilogue: Orange and Fed

Monday, July 31st. The members of the Orange Order convened at the Junction Station Depot. Chief Griswold grilled trout, and I grilled hamburgers, a lot of hamburgers. We also put a few hot dogs on, as well as some chicken strips. Cindy and Teresa made some massive salad bowls, and there were bowls full of potato chips. A good summer picnic.

Unfortunately, there were underlying tensions. Della Harlow and Janice Holloway sat on one end, along with Captain Briscoe and some of the older Officers from Admin and support positions, while myself, Cindy, Teresa, Tanya Perlman, Kirkpatrick, Rudistan, and the Chief sat on the other end, with the rest of the members sat in the middle.

After everyone ate, Corporal Kirkpatrick got up and said "First, I want to recognize Tanya Perlman's promotion to Captain with the SBI." Everyone applauded, some of us more strongly than others. Then Kirkpatrick called upon me to announce the TCPD promotions and medals. It was not clear to me how this had become my duty, but I accepted it happily enough.

"The best thing," I said, "is what is not being awarded tomorrow: no Purple Orders!" Everyone cheered. Many looked over at Teresa, who just nodded vigorously. I then listed the medals and ribbons. Mostly Achievement Medals. Lt.(B) Janice Holloway was getting a ribbon for Police Academy Advanced Course, as was Detective Joanne Warner. Detective Theo Washington was getting his Detective School ribbon.

I mentioned that all of the racers in the Triathlon would be rewarded for their accomplishments, and for making my Police Force look good. And Teresa would receive a Commendation Medal as the Police Boxing Matches Champion. Cindy would get an Achievement Medal for second place. And I was getting an Achievement Medal for solving cases, particularly around early June.

"And we have one lateral movement that is like a promotion." I said. "Detective Mary Milton will be reporting to Vice tomorrow." There were some 'oooooo's in surprise at that...

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

Tuesday, August 1st. Carole was used to getting up early, to go to work with her mom, but today was a special occasion: it was her fourth birthday. So we gave her her first present at the breakfast table, a coloring book and a big box of crayons. Molly was bringing the boys over that evening, and Marie was coming over with Selena, for supper and a party, complete with a cake and candles.

I felt a bit nostalgic. I'd heard that little Otis had passed away. It had been his happiest gift to just get to pet a dog on his last day on this earth. As I watched Carole open her gift, I felt extraordinary gratitude that my children were healthy and happy and able to receive gifts...

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

When I got to the Station, I knew something was 'awn'. First, Tanya Perlman and Jack Muscone were there, and joined the coffee klatch as Joanne and Theo talked about their experiences at their various Police Academy courses. No one paid attention to Bettina's broadcast, which was not worth watching anyway.

Chief Moynahan had told me to wear my full-medal jacket (no puns intended, there) instead of the semi-formal jacket with ribbons. Everyone else was resplendently attired, as well, and the Chief was going around Headquarters on unofficial uniform inspections. Hmmm...

And then I was shocked to see two lovely ladies come in, wearing Police Auxiliary uniforms: my mother and my wife. Laura rarely wore her Police Auxiliary uniform, and would only say she 'felt like it', when I asked what it was about. My mom was carrying a certain four-year-old birthday girl around, who was enjoying being told 'Happy Birthday!" and getting a doughnut from the MCD Detectives.

At 8:45am we began assembling for the 9:00am ceremony. I saw Team Lazarus: Martin Nash, Sandra Speer (heavily pregnant), Lindy Linares, Julius Jefferson, and Dana Fox on the front row of the bleachers, and my wife and mother in the stands... with the four-year-old birthday girl. Molly and her mother were also there, as was Callie Carrington, looking lovely in a nice blue dress and high heel pumps.

"Did you know that Callie had already met my mom?" Cindy asked (accused) me.

"Yes." I said. "I saw it happen, and your mom did not know who Callie was."

"She still doesn't." said Cindy. "They greeted each other as best friends, and Callie was pouring on the charm. Laura said my mom knows Callie is Laura's research assistant. And that brings me to question two: why is my family here, and yours?"

"I don't know." I said. "But all these FBI Agents here are my clue that they are trying to surprise us with something."

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

Teresa and Cindy were awarded their medals for the Boxing Matches, then all of the Triathlon recipients came up. Rudistan and Morton received Achievement Medals for their Top-10 finish. Barry Oliver and Joanne Warner also received Achievement Medals. Then came Teresa's, as the co-winner. Sheriff Allgood was on hand to award her the Public Safety Commendation Medal, having chosen to upgrade her award after she and Todd had come back from adversity to win. The applause for her was enough to make Carole put her hands over her ears and say "LOUD!".

Then came a surprise, as the retirement of the TCPD's oldest and longest-serving K-9 Corps member, Sergeant Stonewall, was announced. Stonewall came up to receive his K-9 Police Medal, which was personally awarded by the dog-loving Police Commander. I made sure to give Stonewall a good petting as he was applauded for his years of service to the County.

"We have two more awards." said Chief Moynahan. "We have with us today FBI Deputy Director William Hargreaves to make the special presentations." The DepDirector was coming up from the Headquarters building, escorted by Chief Griswold.

"Thank you." the DepDirector said to the applause that greeted him when he reached the podium. "I'm glad to be able to be here before I retire. First of all, I've been able to see the TCPD in action, and I've heard a lot of Commander Troy and Captain Ross bragging on how good you are... and every word was well-merited. You're a truly outstanding Police Force." The Force applauded, happy to be praised by one of the FBI's very highest personages.

"As you know," said the DepDirector, "the FBI recently broke up a national syndicate of hate groups. We could not have done this so successfully without the help of many of you in the TCPD. And the work of Commander Troy and Captain Ross as FBI Consultants was absolutely essential to cleaning up these disgusting crime rings. So I'd like to ask Commander Troy and Captain Ross to come up." Cindy and I half-shrugged as we got up out of our seats and walked up to the podium, not sure of what was going on. We soon found out.

Jack Muscone read the proclamations as the Deputy Director presented us with the FBI's Medals for Meritorious Achievement. These were no-kidding awards for and from the FBI. Yes, I was surprised; they got me. Cindy was also surprised. But it was a nice thing for the Deputy Director of the FBI to do for us, I thought as the Police Force applauded us mightily.

And amongst it all, I saw Carole in the stands, cheering and clapping her little hands, which of course melted her daddy's heart...

Finis.