Chapter Twenty-five
Colleen was relieved that Frank and Jeanne had returned. She felt safer with them next door. The big issue was going to be the new neighbors across the street. She was concerned about Randy Gaynor, the twelve-year-old delinquent. She thought again about asking Officer Bob Pedone for information. Instead, she figured she would simply mention it and see if he could offer any information or thoughts. The last thing she needed was for a new kid to be a bad influence on Jackson.
Mitchel’s court date was coming up, and Colleen thought that would be a good excuse to call the policeman. She walked over to the bulletin board, picked up the phone, and nervously dialed the number.
“Pedone,” he answered.
Colleen hesitated, then cleared her throat. “Hello. It’s Colleen Haywood. How are you?”
“Well, hello, Colleen Haywood.” Pedone wasn’t sure if he should be informal and call her by her first name. “How are you? Everything all right?”
“Yes, fine, thank you.” Colleen felt like a schoolgirl talking to this man.
“What can I do for you today? You haven’t had to use that Taser, I hope.”
Colleen could sense he was smiling. “Oh, no, nothing like that. Mitchel’s court date is coming up, and I was checking to see if you were going to be there.”
“Yes, since I was the arresting officer and filed the report,” he explained.
“Oh, good. I thought that was the case, but I wanted to be sure.” Colleen hesitated. “Do you think you could stop by some time for coffee? I want to run a few things past you.” There. I said it.
“Anything serious?”
“I’m not sure yet.”
“What do you mean?” he prodded.
“I’d rather discuss it in person, if that’s OK with you.” She winced, waiting for his response.
“Sure. No problem. When do you want to meet?”
“I’ll be finished with school around three-thirty today. We have a meeting. I should be home by four, if that’s not too late. Or early.”
“Not a problem. Will Jackson be staying with you at school?” Pedone asked, recalling Colleen’s telling him about Mitchel hanging around.
“No. My neighbor Frank will meet him and walk him home. He’ll sit with him until he finishes his homework. Then Jackson will most likely go down the block to Ellie Bowman’s.”
“That’s good. Is Mitchel still hanging around at the end of the block?”
“He wasn’t there yesterday. Morning or afternoon. And I don’t see his car right now.”
“Maybe he’s behaving himself,” Pedone added.
“He and Jackson had a good visit on Saturday. I’m hoping that’s a step in the right direction.”
“There is something to be said for a good father/son relationship.”
“I agree. Mitchel’s dad died when he was only ten, so he never really had much of an opportunity to bond with him. Do you have any kids?” Colleen asked. “I’m sorry. It’s none of my business.”
“No problem. I have a son who’s a freshman in college.” It was his turn to clear his throat. “My wife and I—I should say my ex-wife and I—divorced when he was thirteen. But we were civil and made sure we did whatever was necessary to make sure Drew had a normal upbringing. As normal as you can, with divorced parents.”
“I could probably use some tips in that field.” Colleen was relieved to hear that the man wasn’t married. Or had he remarried? “So you’ve been divorced five years?”
“Give or take. It was my job as a cop that got to her. She didn’t like it if I was called away to a scene when I was supposed to be off duty.”
“That can be tough.”
“Well, it isn’t like Hibbing is the crime capital of Missouri,” he said, chuckling.
“True.”
“I think she just used it as an excuse. We got married straight out of high school. Right after I graduated from the academy, we had Drew. I think that after she turned thirty, she felt like she had missed something in her life and started to get restless. I don’t know. But enough about me.”
“Oh, that’s all right. We seem to have something in common.”
“What’s that?”
“Divorce,” Colleen sputtered. She had made up her mind. It was time to cut Mitchel loose. Or maybe herself.
“You’re planning on filing?”
“Yes. As soon as the hearing is over. I don’t want too many legal messes happening at the same time.”
“Good thinkin’,” Pedone said.
“I’d better get going and make sure Jackson is ready for school.”
“You betcha. See you around four. Enjoy your day, Colleen.” There, he said it. Her first name.
Colleen was all atwitter. She almost felt foolish. Was this normal behavior? Does every woman fall for the man who she thinks saved her? She shrugged, then smiled. At the moment, it didn’t matter. She felt safe, and she was moving forward.
“Jackson? Ready?”
“Yes, Mom.” Jackson came running out of his room. “Is it OK if I go to Ms. Bowman’s after I finish my homework?”
“Are you sure you’re not making a pest of yourself?” Colleen squatted down and looked him in the eye.
“Gee, I dunno, Mom. She was really nice yesterday.”
Colleen looked at him curiously. “You spoke to her?”
“Through the box.” Jackson was pulling on his backpack. “I showed her my arrowhead.”
“How did you do that?”
“What?”
“Show her your arrowhead?” Colleen’s curiosity was peaked.
“I held it up in the air.” Jackson thought nothing of it.
“OK. So you didn’t go in the house?”
“No, Mom.”
“And she didn’t come outside?”
“Nope.” Jackson checked his shoelaces. Tied. Double knots.
“What else did she say?”
“She said she was getting worried ’cause I was late. That’s when I showed her my good-luck charm.”
“Oh. OK.” Colleen realized that nothing Jackson had said differed from every other experience, even though she was secretly hoping for some kind of breakthrough.
“But she was cooking some kind of fried chicken when I was leaving. I told her it smelled real good.”
“So she was in the kitchen when you were there?”
“Yup.”
“And you could see her?”
“Yup,” Jackson repeated. “But I didn’t get a real good look.”
“Well, all righty! Let’s get moving. You remember that Frank is going to walk you home today, and he’ll sit with you while you do your homework. Then you can go play with Buddy.”
“Yippee!” Jackson put on his baseball cap and stomped out the door.
As the two of them headed toward school, Colleen noticed again that Mitchel’s car was not lurking on the side of the road. On the one hand, that made her feel better, but on the other, she wondered if Mitchel had some nefarious plan up his sleeve. She shrugged off her concern. For the moment.
* * *
At the end of the school day, Frank greeted Jackson outside the front entrance to the school. “Hey, Mr. Chadwick!” Jackson waved to his friends. “See ya tomorrow!”
“Hey, Jackson!” Frank put his hand on Jackson’s shoulder. “How was school today?”
“Oh, pretty much the same as yesterday, except Kevin brought a frog into class and it got out of its box. It was hopping all over the place. Some of the girls were screaming.” Jackson was laughing as he described the scene.
“Did someone finally catch it?”
“Yeah. Kevin put the box over him, but then he couldn’t figure out how to turn the box over without the frog getting out.”
“So then what happened?”
“Mrs. Massa called the custodian. He came with a net and threw it over the box. It was hard to see because he was bent over. But when he stood up, the frog was back in the box, and the lid was on it.”
“Well, that sounds like a bit of excitement, right?” Frank was amused.
“Then Mrs. Massa made Kevin put tape on the box so the frog wouldn’t get out again.”
“I assume there were holes in the box so the frog could breathe?”
“Oh, sure. He even had some grass stuff, but that got all over the floor. I guess the frog is gonna have to wait ’til it gets home before he can have a snack.”
Frank smiled. The wonder of childhood.
The walk home took less than ten minutes. Once they got inside, Jackson took off his backpack and pulled out his homework assignment.
“What are you working on today?” Frank asked.
“We’re studying the solar system.”
“Wow. That’s impressive.”
“I guess. We have to draw a map.”
“Do you get to look at your book while you’re doing it?”
“Yeah. Mrs. Massa said we should try to draw the planets first, then close the book and try to remember the names.”
“But you could peek if you wanted to?” Frank wanted to learn how Jackson would react to being honorable.
“I guess. But I won’t. That wouldn’t be fair.” Jackson said this as if it were obvious. “Besides, we’re going to get a quiz on it Friday. So if anybody cheats on their homework, they might not pass the test.”
“Jackson, you are very astute.”
“What is a stute?”
Frank chuckled. “The word is ‘astute.’ It means smart.”
“Uh. OK. I guess we’ll find out when I take the test on Friday!”
“Well, get busy then. I’ll check your work after you’re done.”
“Okeydokey.” Jackson sat at the kitchen table, took a blank sheet of paper, opened his science book to the map of the solar system, and began to make circles. He stopped once he got to Mars and realized he was not going to have room on his paper for the rest of the planets. He scrapped the first attempt and started again.
Frank leaned over and turned the paper sideways. “That oughta give you more room for Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto.”
Jackson looked up at Frank and nodded.
“Here’s a way to remember the names. M.V.E.M.J.S.U.N. M stands for Most. V stands for Valuable. E stands for Earth. M stands for My Name. J stands for Jackson. And the rest is easy. S.U.N.”
“Wow! How did you do that?” Jackson’s knee was bobbing.
“It’s called a mnemonic.”
“A what?”
Frank replied phonetically. “A neh monic.”
“Do I have to remember that, too?” Jackson made a face.
Frank chuckled. “No. But give it a try.”
Jackson looked down at the letters. “But what if I forget the letters?”
“You know all the names, right?”
“Well, yeah.”
“OK. First thing you do is write down all the names. They don’t have to be in order. Then you take the first letter of each name and underline it,” Frank instructed. “Go ahead. Give it a try.”
Jackson got very serious and spoke as he wrote: “Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Earth, Venus, Neptune, Mercury, Uranus.” He looked up at Frank. “What about Pluto?”
“Is it still a planet?” Frank asked.
“They call it a dwarf planet.” Jackson was proud that he knew that tidbit.
“Well, then, it should be easy to remember him last. Like a period at the end of a sentence,” Frank said.
“What if I get Mars and Mercury mixed up?”
Frank hadn’t thought about that. “How about this. Earth is spelled ‘e, a, r, t, h.” What comes after the E in Earth?
“A.”
“Mercury starts with m, e. Mars starts with m, a. What comes after the E in earth?”
“An A.”
“Correct. So the planet that comes after earth, has an a.”
Jackson thought about all of this.
“Are you confused yet?” Frank half-teased him.
“Kinda.”
“Give it a try.”
Jackson thought really hard. He underlined the first letter of each planet. M is for Most. And it comes before Earth—E—so it can’t be Mars. Right?”
“Right.”
“V is for valuable. So it has to be Venus. Then Earth. Then Mars. Jackson, Jupiter!” He squealed with delight. “Saturn, Uranus, Neptune! And a period for Pluto!”
“Excellent! ”
“Wow. That was kinda hard. But I think I’ll remember them!” Jackson looked up at Frank, and they gave each other a high five. “How come you were never a teacher?”
“I taught other things.”
“In a classroom?”
“Sort of,” Frank explained. “I worked with men in the military, and I had to teach them tactical things. You play video games, right?”
“Only when my mom lets me.”
“Well, you know you have to develop skills to win, right?”
“Oh, sure.”
“That’s kind of the same thing. I taught soldiers how to win.”
“Cool.” Jackson took out a clean sheet of paper and drew his circles again. This time, he included the names of each planet inside the circles as he was going through the mnemonic Frank had just taught him. When he finished, he slid the paper over to Frank. “Did I get it right?”
“You did indeed! Good job!” They gave each other another high five.
“Is there anything else you need to work on today?”
“Nope. And ya know what, Mr. Chadwick? It didn’t take as long as I thought it would.”
“Glad to hear it. Now go change your clothes, then you can head over to Buddy’s.”
“Yay!” Jackson bolted from his chair.
“Hold on a second. Put away your papers and pack up your bag so it’s ready for you tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir.” Jackson spun around and did what he had been told.
“Good boy!” Frank patted him on the shoulder.
Jackson whipped down the hall and put on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. He grabbed his ball and glove, donned his cap, and marched toward the front door.
“Do you have a key?” Frank asked.
Jackson halted and thought a moment. “In my backpack.”
“Maybe you should take it with you.”
“Good idea, Mr. Chadwick. Jeepers, you are full of good ideas.”
“I don’t think my wife would agree with you.” Frank laughed, and so did Jackson.
Both left the house, with Jackson locking the front door. Frank went to his house, and Jackson headed to Buddy’s.
Right on schedule, Colleen returned home just before 4:00. She changed into a pair of linen pants and a clean blouse, checked her makeup, and ran a brush through her hair. She refreshed her perfume just a little. She didn’t want to knock Officer Pedone over when he came into the house. On the other hand . . .
When the front doorbell rang, she got butterflies in her stomach. She was almost giddy. She smoothed the front of her pants and opened the door.
“Good afternoon!” She was beaming.
“Good afternoon to you.” Officer Pedone removed his hat.
“Please come in.” She swung the door open and stepped back to let him in. She had forgotten how tall he was. Probably because she had been sitting down most of the time when he first came. He was also in great shape. She could see the muscles pushing against the sleeve of his shirt. Calm down, girl. “Sit. Please.” She motioned toward the dining-room table. “What kind of coffee do you prefer? Decaf? Caffeinated? Espresso? American?”
“Wow. This is like a Starbucks,” Pedone joked. “Do you have something between espresso and American? Or did I come to the wrong coffee bar?”
“I have a Nespresso coffee maker. It uses capsules. I have a nice one that might be to your liking. Decaf or regular?”
Pedone checked his watch. “Better do decaf; otherwise, I might be up all night.”
“Decaf it is. How do you take it?”
“You are quite the barista, eh?” Pedone teased.
“Yeah. Just in case I need to get a second job.” She wasn’t joking.
Pedone sensed she wasn’t kidding. “Seriously?”
“Well, yes and no. But if Mitchel doesn’t have a job and can’t come up with child support, I just might have to.”
“What’s he doing to find gainful employment?”
“I have no idea. We haven’t spoken since that night.” Colleen was working on the coffee.
“How do you communicate about Jackson?”
“Through his mother, Vivian.”
“And how is that going?” Pedone asked.
“Not too bad, considering.”
“Considering what?”
“I don’t want to speak ill of people, but let’s just say that Vivian can be difficult at times.” Colleen was not exaggerating. There were always arguments as to who was going where during the holidays, and Vivian had never been flexible. And in Colleen’s mind, there was no reason for her not to be. It was just Vivian that Vivian had to worry about. It wasn’t as if she hosted a dozen people. Greg and Elaine were always flexible, so they weren’t the issue. After enough fights with Mitchel, Colleen acquiesced and spent her holidays resenting Vivian’s stubbornness. “But I have to admit, she’s been fine lately. No one can seem to guess what’s gotten into her.”
“What do you mean?” Pedone was curious.
“I don’t want to gossip, but evidently when she took Jackson and Mitchel out last Saturday, she came back in a most upbeat mood. Everyone was in shock. It was as if she’d had some kind of epiphany.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad.” Pedone nodded in her direction.
“True. I just hope it lasts.” Colleen took the mug from the coffee maker. “Cream? Sugar?”
“Just a little cream, please. Thank you,” Pedone said politely.
Colleen poured some into the mug, got a napkin and some cookies, and placed them on the table. “I baked them on Saturday. I think they might still be fresh. Or close.”
“A barista and a baker? You sure you don’t want to open your own café?” he teased her again.
“Not if I don’t have to.” She smiled and took a seat across from him.
“So, what did you want to talk about?” Pedone finally got to the point.
“I have new neighbors moving in across the street.” Colleen was fidgeting with her spoon. “They have two children. A son and daughter. The son is twelve, and the daughter is a little younger than Jackson.”
“Well, that should be a good thing for him. Having other kids on the block, right?”
“Here’s the thing.” Colleen went straight to the heart of the matter. “The kid was in trouble. He stole a motorcycle or moped or something. They knocked it down to shoplifting and sent him to a facility where he would be scared straight.”
“I’m familiar with the program. Surprisingly, if you get the kid at the right age, and he’s essentially not a bad kid, that often works. After a year of probation, we rarely see them again.” Pedone took a sip of his coffee. “This is good.”
“Thanks,” Colleen said, and continued, “Is there any way to know if he is a good kid who had a lapse in judgment? I know the records are sealed and all.” Her voice drifted off.
“That’s true.” He looked up at her and realized she was concerned about it. “But that doesn’t mean people can’t remember what happened.”
“I’m not following you.” And she wasn’t.
“Let’s just say someone has a conversation with someone who is familiar with the incident. There is no law saying that you can’t speak about it. You simply cannot have access to the legal documents; therefore, the information cannot be used against the person in any way, such as keeping the person from employment et cetera.”
Colleen gave him a sideways look. “Interesting. That makes sense because the real-estate agent had no problem telling me.”
“Exactly.” Pedone helped himself to a cookie. He took a bite. “I can attest that these are still fresh. And delicious.”
Colleen thought she might be blushing and got up to fix another cup of coffee. “Are you ready for a refill?” she asked over her shoulder.
“If you don’t mind, that would be great. Thank you.”
“Would it make you feel better if I ask around? See if anyone has any recollection? Obviously, I can’t access his jacket.”
“Jacket?”
“Police lingo for a file on someone who has a record.”
“Aha.” Colleen ran her wrists under cold water. “If you wouldn’t mind, and if it doesn’t get you into any trouble, I would appreciate it immensely.”
“Let me see what I can ferret out for you. I know you’ve been through a lot and have a rocky road ahead of you. You don’t need to be worrying about something else. You have his name?”
“Yes, it’s Randy Gaynor. I don’t know if it’s Randolph or not.”
“The name Randolph would be enough to put anyone in a bad mood,” Pedone joked.
Colleen laughed at his joke. “Oh, I cannot thank you enough. You are so right. I’m trying to keep it together for Jackson’s sake, and I almost unraveled the other day when the real-estate agent told me about the kid.”
Pedone initially resisted the temptation to take her hand, and he was delighted when she touched his. “You have no idea how grateful I am.”
“I haven’t done anything yet,” Pedone said, leaving his hand under hers.
“You have done more than you think.” Colleen realized that she had kept her hand on top of his for a tad longer than she probably should have and pulled it away. “Really. The night of the incident, the Taser, and your kindness.” She started to get choked up. “It has meant a lot to me.” As hard as she tried, she could not stop the tears from running down her face.
Pedone picked up his napkin and handed it to her. As much as he wanted to wipe her tears away, he thought that might be just a little too personal.
“Thanks.” She sniffled. Then she let out a big sigh and dabbed her face.
“Any time,” Pedone said. He was getting a little uncomfortable. His first reaction would have been to take her in his arms and tell her everything would be OK, but he couldn’t. It would be unprofessional, and how did he know if things really would be OK?
He finished his coffee and decided it was better that he leave before he made a fool of himself.
He checked his watch. It wasn’t as if he needed to be anywhere, but he thought the gesture would be a good way for him to leave graciously. “I’d better get going. Thanks very much for the coffee and cookies. It was a treat compared to the swill they serve at the station.”
“Thank you for coming by, and for, well, everything.” Colleen resisted the temptation to kiss him on the cheek.
“I’ll be in touch as soon as I hear anything.” Pedone put his hat under his arm.
“Thanks again.” Colleen opened the door for him to leave.
A few minutes later, her phone rang. It was Ellie. In unison, they both said, “Is everything all right?” And then they laughed. Ellie said, “You go first.”
Colleen told Ellie she thought something might have happened to Jackson, and Ellie told Colleen she was worried about the patrol car in front of the Haywood house again.
“Everything is fine.” Colleen was coming to grips. “I had some questions for Officer Pedone, and he was kind enough to come by so we could talk.”
“Glad to hear it. There have been more visits by the police in the past two and a half weeks than in the whole time I’ve lived here,” Ellie noted.
“It’s just that I’m so popular with the men in blue.” Colleen laughed lightly.
“Apparently so,” Ellie stated.
“It’s good to know someone has your back. You know what I mean?”
“Absolutely. I don’t know what I would do without Hector.”
“He’s a great kid,” Colleen said, acknowledging how much he did for Ellie.
“So all is OK on Birchwood Lane?” Ellie prodded.
“So far,” Colleen answered, and changed the subject. She didn’t want to let on that she might have a crush on the kind, attractive officer. “I hope Jackson isn’t making a pest of himself.”
“Jackson? Not at all. I look forward to his visits as much as Buddy does. I’m very happy my big pooch has someone who will play with him. For hours no less. It takes the guilt off me.” Ellie was acutely aware how easy it was to talk to Colleen. And she liked the feeling.
“You can send him home anytime,” Colleen reminded Ellie. “By the way, he mentioned something about Italian fried chicken.”
Ellie laughed. “Last night, I was making dinner when he and Jackson were in the yard. I guess the aroma wafted outside.”
“He said it ‘smelled real good,’ so I hope you’ll give me the recipe, unless it’s a family secret.”
Ellie thought, No, I’m the only family secret. “It’s not complicated. It’s called chicken Milanese, but when I told him what it was called, he didn’t seem to know what I was talking about. I mean, what kid knows what Milanese is, so I told him it was Italian fried chicken.”
“Too funny. It must be better than the Colonel’s, I’m sure.”
“Without a doubt. I’ll write the recipe down and have Hector bring it over to you.”
“Thanks, Ellie. That would make a nice surprise for Jackson.”
“Yes, but when I told him I put salad on top, he didn’t seem very impressed anymore.” Ellie chuckled.
“I’ll give it a go anyway. Thanks.”
“No problem. I’ve gotta go. Someone is having a computer crisis.”
“OK. Talk soon.” Colleen disconnected the call. She was feeling a lot better about things. Onward.