If Angels Fall

EIGHTY

The shakewas strawberry, Zach Reed’s favorite. He sat up in the hospital bed to take itfrom his father.

“Thanks, Dad.”

Zach’s mother continued stroking his hair. She hadnever left his side once the doctors and the psychiatrist finished looking athim. Danny and Gabrielle were across the hall with their parents. Every now andthen, they could be heard laughing, along with the sound of Gabrielle’s cockerspaniel barking.

“The children are fine. They’ve suffered some shock,exhaustion, dehydration,” one of the doctors told Ann and Tom. “We want them toeat. At this stage, pizzas, burgers, shakes, and fries are good medicine.” Hewinked at Zach, adding, “We’ll have them spend the night here resting. Let himsleep naturally when he gets drowsy. And Dr. Martin’s available anytime, ifanybody wants to talk some more.”

The doctor left, closing the door softly.

“Everything’s going to be okay, right?” Zach said.

“Sure, honey.” His mother brushed his cheek.

Zach set his shake aside and bit his lip, worriedabout the fall out for breaking all the rules, for talking to that psycho doof,believing his lies. Still a little juiced from everything, he thought about howcool it was going to be telling Jeff and Gordie about the choppers. But theidea went away. He had almost drowned. He was still frightened. And there werea lot of other things. Things he couldn’t understand. That nice lady doctor,the psychiatrist, Dr. Kate whom Dad knew, said she could help with that whenthey talked some more. She actually knew the creep and promised to answer allthe questions she could. She was smart. Even after their short talk, she seemedto know what was going on with Zach. She didn’t get him wrong. He was happy,but he was still a little scared; scared about his mom, his dad. Everything.Well, Doc Kate wanted him to talk about it with his folks, so here goes: “Imean, I’m sorry about all this mess, for running away from Grandma’s, gettingin that creep’s van. I made a mistake.”

“Oh, sweetie.” His mother crushed him in her arms.

“Zach, it’s not your fault.” His dad smiled. “You didgood, calling me like you did, son. Very good.”

“You’re not mad at me?”

“No.” Ann touched her eyes with a crumpled tissue.

He stared at his parents. They looked different,older, relieved, like something had been decided.

“So are we going to talk about living together again?”

“I don’t think so.” Ann reached across the bed, takingTom’s hand, fingering his wedding band, looking into his eyes. “I don’t thinkwe need to talk anymore. I think it’s settled.”

“We’re moving back to our house? Together?” Zach said.

“Yes.” Ann smiled.

Zach hugged them.

“Hey,” Reed told him, “we’ll let you in on a secret.The President is going to be calling from the White House later.”

“The President? No way!”

“Come here.” Reed took Zach to the hospital window. TVsatellite trucks and news crews jammed the parking lot below.

“You’re big news, Zach.”

“Awe-Some! Wait ‘til I tell Jeff and Gordie!”

A quick knock on the door. It was SFPD Inspector LindaTurgeon. “Sorry to interrupt. Could I see you, Tom, about your statement?” Shesmiled at Ann and Zach. “How you doin’, sport?”

“Good. Great, actually.” He sucked on his shake.

Outside in the hall, Reed and Turgeon talked in aquiet alcove. A news conference with the children, parents, and police was setfor the hospital’s lecture room in ninety minutes. And tomorrow, Reed was to goto the Hall of Justice, to give his statement on the case.

No problem. He took Turgeon’s hand.

“Thank you, everybody, the FBI, the task force. Thankyou.”

“You and Zach helped break this.”

“Where’s Sydowski? I’d like to see him.”

“He wants to see you, too. Downstairs in the coffeeshop.”

Heading downstairs, Reed passed Danny’s andGabrielle’s rooms, smiling at the joy, the relief flooding the hallway.Professor Martin waved at him from Danny’s room. The uniformed officersstanding guard outside grinned at Reed, slapping his back.

Downstairs, he met Molly Wilson coming from the giftshop with balloons. She threw her arms around him, her bracelets chiming.

“Tom! Oh, Tom. I’m so glad it all worked out!”

“Yeah, yeah, me, too.” He stepped back, gazing intoher blue eyes. “Everything worked out the way it was supposed to.”

She smiled her perfect-teeth smile. “That’s good.”

“You here working, Wilson?”

“Yes, but — ” She remembered she had a bouquet ofoversized balloons. “These are for Zach.”

Reed stared at them, then Wilson, saying nothing.Thinking.

“Maybe I’ll just have them sent up,” she said.

“Wait for me here. You can give them to Zachyourself.”

“Sure.”

“And I suppose you would like an exclusive chat withhim?”

“Yes, I would, if it’s alright?”

“Let me talk with Ann. I think it would be fine.”

“Thanks, Tom.”

“Molly, I appreciate what you did back in thenewsroom. Getting Tellwood’s help when I needed it.” Reed turned to leave.

“Tom, are you coming back to the paper? Tellwood’sleft the door open for you and Benson is gone.”

“I don’t know. I need time to think things through.”

Reed found Sydowski alone, huddled over a coffee,peering through is bifocals at bird show brochures.

“Well, well: Tom Reed. My favorite voychick.”

“Why you hiding out?”

“Reporters are dangerous to my health.”

Reed saw the gold in Sydowski’s smile and it was likethe shit a year ago never happened. He sat across from him, looking him in theeye. “Thank you, Walt. Thank you for everything.”

“No need to thank me.”

“And, I wanted to apologize for the fuckup withFranklin Wallace in the Tanita Marie Donner case. I was wrong.”

Sydowski shook his head, sipping some coffee. “Youwere never wrong,” he said.

“But, Virgil Shook was the guy, Wallace had nothing todo-”

“You were half right at the time. But we could nevertell you. I wanted to, but we couldn’t tell anybody.”

“Wallace was involved?”

“Yes. But Shook killed her. You scared the shit out ofus digging up what you did. You didn’t know that it was Shook who tipped you toWallace, thinking we would put it all on Wallace. We knew Wallace was involved,but he wasn’t alone. We needed him to bring us his partner, who turned out tobe Shook.”

“So you let me hang, the disgrace, the lawsuit?”

“It hurt me seeing you go through that shitstorm, butyou hanged yourself, Tom. I told you to sit on your stuff.”

“Wasn’t Shook afraid Wallace would roll on him?”

“No. Shook dominated him psychologically. Fed himcrap, faked his own suicide over the phone to Wallace. That’s what did it, lefthim thinking we were coming for him. And when you got there first, well, thatclosed the lid on his casket. Shook was a clever bastard.”

“What about Keller?”

“What can I tell you? You knew him as well as anyone.You practically solved the case, but I’ll deny I ever said that.” Reedchuckled.

Sydowski continued. “Edward died at the bottom of thePacific, like he wanted. Now he’s on a slab in the hospital basement, out ofhis fucking misery, like Shook. And you know what? The world feels a littlelighter without the burden of their presence.”

“Feel a song coming on there, Walt?”

Sydowski downed his coffee, tossing the paper cup inthe trash.

“Maybe. I got to check on my old man, head home, feedmy birds. Why not drop by some time, Reed? I’ll get some fresh kielbasa, someegg bread, sweet butter. And you can buy the beer.”

“I think you owe me. I’m solving your cases for you.”

“Listen, you’re still young. It’s not too late for youto join the SFPD. I’d put in a word for you. You think you can cut it?”

“Naw, I like being a hack. I like living dangerously.”

“You want danger? Let my old man give you a shave andhaircut.”

Sydowski clasped Reed’s shoulder warmly.

“Love your family, Tom.”

Before heading upstairs, Reed stepped into a washroomto cleanse his face. He was haggard; he needed a shower, a shave. Parts of himwere still tingling. Christ, he had come so close to losing it all.

And he would have done anything…

Like Keller?

“…eyes that haunt my dreams…”

Reed knew he would never be the same.

He had been given a second chance.