Steve met with the Chief and the city council. He told them he would like to go home to Texas for two weeks and give them an answer when he returned. Everyone was pleased, sure that he would accept.
Jason drove Steve to the airport. The two men got out of the car and walked into the terminal where Steve bought a ticket and insurance. “I always buy insurance when I travel. Jason, would you keep the policy for me? If anything happens to me you can send it to my parents.”
“Sure. I’ll be glad to do that for you. This is going to seem like an awful long two weeks to me. I can imagine how your family feels with you being gone for months.”
“They knew the department told me to take as long as needed. I hope they’ll understand when I tell them of the offer that was made to me. In actuality, I’ll be stepping down. My job is a very important government position, but to be Chief of police in a sweet place like the Village will more than make up for it.”
Jason placed a hand on Steve’s shoulder. “Suppose you change your mind and everyone begs you to stay in Texas?”
“I don’t know. I’ll face that if I come to it. They’re calling for me to board.” Steve reached and gave Jason a bear hug. “Thank you, my true friend. I’ve come to feel very fond of you.” He got in a short line and turned to wave when he got to the door leading to the plane.
Jason stayed to watch the plane take off. He smiled at the small children watching through the big floor to ceiling windows as the planes landed and left. They were so excited. His heart gave a wrench. There was a time when I would have had one of those. How I would have loved it and I know Linda would have been a perfect mother. He sighed deeply and left to go to his car.
* * * * *
Jason didn’t try to attend anything at the agency. He had told some of them if Elaine needed anything to let him know. He knew she was being very brave and coming in as often as she ever did.
The second week that Steve was gone he called Jason. “Hey! Good news. I’ve convinced everyone that I’m not going to be in the back of beyond. My family has agreed to visit with me next fall. My CO wasn’t happy but he under-stood. Chief Mason had called him twice and explained the situation to him. I hope you have some of that delicious spice tea when I get there.
Can you meet my plane?”
“I’ll make an effort to do so,” Jason teased him. “Of course I’ll meet your plane. Let me know the particulars and I’ll be there.”
“Good. I’ll call you in a couple of days and let you know what’s what.”
Jason hung up with a smile. He was looking forward to Steve’s return especially if he was going to work and live in the Village.
The next morning Jason brought his paper in and sat down to breakfast and to read his paper. Bold headline jumped out at him. Dear God. Not again. He read carefully about the partially decomposed body of a young woman found on a hiking trail near a river. She had not been sexually assaulted but had been beaten and it sounded as if she had been tortured. She was a twenty year old young woman that had just been hired as a teller at the bank. President Mason Phieffer was offering a reward and Chief Mason was asking for any one who might have seen her with someone.
“Well,” Jason said aloud. “They can’t blame this on Joe Harper.”
The next Friday Jason met Steve’s plane and was amazed at himself at how glad he was to see Steve.
“How was your trip and how was everyone? What did your CO say about your job offer? How did your family take it?”
Steve laughed. “Are you going to let me answer one question before you ask another? Let’s see. My trip was fine. I was surprised because I didn’t realize how much I had missed everyone. My family and everyone are well and happy. Remember I told you about my friends whose marriage broke up when their daughter was killed? Well, they came to their senses and realized they were better off together.”
Jason was pleased for them. “I’m so glad they are together again. We all need human comfort and under-standing when we have a heartache.”
“That’s right. Now, how did my CO take it? He was prepared because they had called him two or three times. He knew it was actually a step down but understood that I would like to have the experience. My family was not happy and wanted me to stay in Texas but they agreed to visit me next fall.
Did I answer all your questions?”
“Smarty. Yes, you did. I’m just so glad to have you back. I know we’ll both be busy, but it’s good to know I can call you and arrange to get together.”
“Jason, how is Mrs. Harper? I thought of them so often. I told my CO about it and he felt as I did. Mr. Harper is not a criminal; just a man who made an unwise decision. He’ll be out in a couple of years on good behavior.”
“Mrs. Harper is a remarkable woman. She rallied more than I thought she would. She had always been so close and dependant on her husband, but she has thrown her shoulders back and took over. I’m proud of her.”
Jason took Steve to a grocery store to get some needed supplies before he went home.
“Steve, I would have had dinner ready for you but I wasn’t sure if you would want to eat or when. I didn’t know whether you had eaten on the plane or not.”
“No, they don’t serve on most planes now, but my mother, bless her little heart, fed me as if I was being fattened for slaughter. I will only have a cereal and some fruit before I go to bed.”
“Come to my house tomorrow night for dinner and I’ll have the spice tea you like so much. There’ll also be a surprise.”
“What kind of a surprise?”
“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise. By the way. While you were gone we had unexpected crime committed and it has the county up in arms.
A twenty year old bank teller, Lisa Morrison, was found beaten and dead on one of our hiking trails. She had not been sexually molested but something had been done to her that they’re not telling.”
“I’m sure sorry to hear about that. No, we don’t always tell all the facts to the public hoping that someone will slip up and mention something we’ve held back. A guilty party is sometimes feeling guilty and will slip up and tell a fact. I know Chief Mason is upset.”
“Yes, and so is the sheriff. There was one other case like this just outside of Dayton. As far as I know these are the only two.”
“Humm. The person has either just started out or has other killings in other states that we don’t know about. Okay. Good night, Jason. Thanks a million, my friend. I’ll see you tomorrow night at seven.”
Jason went on home, glad that Steve was back and thinking of his own problems. The work in his place of business had picked up so fast that he could not believe it. Tax preparations would start soon and he knew he would be too busy to do any socializing.
The next night Steve be-bopped in full of the joy of living. “I can’t believe how glad I am to be back. I need to call the Chief and have a confab with him and maybe the council as well.”
“I hope you’ve decided to take the job and live here.” Jason said breathlessly, he was so happy.
“Yes, but don’t discuss it with anyone else. I need to talk to them first and let them decide how they’ll announce it. Okay, what’s that surprise?”
They carried their mugs of hot spice tea and walked into the living room. Jason turned on the lights with a flourish and waited a moment. “Well?”
“Well what? What’s the surprise?”
“You’re not looking. While you were gone, I attended an estate auction and found a perfectly good Louis XV Savonneries Aubusson. It is the right size I needed for the living room. Of course it isn’t new, but it’s been cleaned and is in excellent condition.”
“I thought you were going to leave your floors bare.”
“I meant to but Siobhan thought I needed to rethink that.”
“Siobhan, huh. What’s been developing in the short time I’ve been gone?”
“Nothing like you’re implying. We sing together in the church choir and she came here a couple of time so we could practice a duet with my piano. I’m glad now I listened to her. Look at the drapes. I got them at the same auction and they blend in with the green designs in the rug.”
He had found the hunter green drapes with pleated valance and gold tassels for the living room and dining room. There was a smaller rug under the dining room table.
“Have you done anything else with the other rooms?”
“Not yet, but I’m going to have wall to wall carpeting installed in the bedrooms. I find that getting out of bed on to wood floors is not always a joyful way to start the day, especially if it’s cold. I turn my heat down at night and it is sometimes chilly when I first get up.”
“I’m with you there man. I like my apartment, but I’d like to find a nice house later. Maybe you can guide me in that.”
They sat and talked until it was very late. “I need to go home and you look like you’re about to fall asleep on your feet, Jason.”
“I’ve had a few nights that puzzle me. I can go to bed exhausted and lay there wide awake until midnight or after. I tried reading one night and found I could have sat up and read all night. Bad idea.”
“Too bad. Maybe you need Siobhan to come sing you a lullaby.”
“Get out of here and don’t make something out of nothing. See you soon.”
* * * * *
Jason was asked to be on a committee to plan the October festival for the Village. There would be bands, vendors, fun booths, pie eating contests, cake walks and anything the committee could think of to make it a special weekend.
Jason had asked Steve to pitch in and help while he had some time to do so. Steve thought it was funny to talk in Lakota (Sioux) to Jason and make him guess what was being said.
One day when they were walking in the park, looking at the ground to determine what could be done, Steve touched Jason’s shoulder and said, “sunka sapa.”
“Okay, I’ll bite. What are you saying?”
“Look around you, Jason. What do you see?”
“I see park benches, children’s playground equipment, grass, trees, and there goes a black dog trotting across.”
“Yes! ‘sunka sapa.’ Black dog.”
“Steve, I’d never be able to wrap my tongue around that pronunciation. It’s a beautiful language, but I would think one would have to grow up with it to understand it.”
“True. It is easier to learn as a child, but adults can learn also. The one big thing I miss here is my sunkawakan. I may yet get one.”
“I hope that isn’t some bad disease,” Jason replied with a straight face.
“No. It means horse. Sunkawakan sa -- red horse.” Steve picked some wild daises growing in the park one at a time. “wanji, nunpa, yamni, topa, zaptan.” He handed Jason five flowers because he had just counted one to five.
“That’s wonderful, Steve. Why don’t you come to my Sunday School class on Sunday and pray in Lakota for the people. They would love it.”
Steve looked at him and started: Ate unyanpi, mahptya ekta nanke cin, nicaje wakanlapi kta nitokiconze, hi kta makpiya ekta tokel nitawacin econpi kin, he iyecel. Maka akanl econpi kta anpetu otoiyohi aguyapi kin. Anpetu kin le unqupo, na waunktanipi kin unkakiciktonjapo, unkis tona sicaya ecaunkiconpi kin iyecel awicaunkiciktonjapi na taku wawiyutanyan un kin el unkempt sni po. Tka taku sice cin etanhan eunglaku po. Umna”
“Steve, that was breathtaking. Please tell me what you said.”
“I just repeated the Lord’s Prayer, or as it’s sometimes called, the model prayer. Read your Bible. The Lord didn’t say to quote those exact words. What he said was, “Pray in this manner.” In other words, Our Father who art in Heaven simply means recognize the power of the Lord and recognize where He is.”
“Oh, Steve, please say you’ll attend church and share with us. Everyone will welcome you and be sincerely interested.”
“I’ll think about it. At the present time I need to be making an appointment to talk to the Chief and the council members.”