Good Tidings (25 page)

The debris rustled and Mary and Bradley watched as Kevin made his way down the steps. Halfway down, his gun barrel extended in front of him, Kevin stopped. “Who’s there?”

Mary and Bradley exchanged confused glances.

“
Who are you?” Kevin screamed. “Who the hell are you?”

Kevin turned and ran back up the stairs. “No, no, stay away.”

Mary and Bradley followed at a careful distance. Kevin ran up the stairs like he was being chased. “Do you see anything?” Bradley asked.

Mary shook her head, then put her hand in Bradley’s. “Do you?”

Bradley scanned the staircase. “No, nothing,” he said. “Maybe it’s the drugs.”

They entered the eighth floor and watched Kevin dash across the room. “No,” he screamed. “Stay away.”

“
Mary, stay here, by the stairs,” Bradley said, “I’ll circle around.”

Then Mary saw her, the ghost she had seen at the hospital and hotel room. She was on the other side of the room, but she was just standing there, not following Kevin.

The sound of the freight elevator’s descent rumbled throughout the building. Kevin turned and ran toward it.

“
Kevin, freeze,” Bradley yelled. “Police.”

Kevin turned, his gun drawn and aimed at Bradley.

“
No!” Mary screamed.

A light flickered across the room, its beam shone onto Kevin’s face, blinding him.

Mary heard a shot. Then there was silence.

She looked across the room. The ghost smiled sadly and faded away.

Mary turned to where she had last seen Bradley. He was lying, face down, on the ground near the work tables and Kevin was standing near the freight elevator shaft, gun in hand. “Bradley,” Mary screamed.

Kevin turned and looked directly at her. He started to lift his gun in her direction, but stopped and stared down as blood blossomed on his chest. He dropped his arm and staggered backwards. The doors of the freight elevator opened, but the elevator was on the bottom floor. Kevin toppled backward into the open shaft. Mary heard the crash when his body hit the ground.

Bradley stood up, brushing the debris from his clothes. “Well, that was close,” he said, he looked over at Mary. “You okay?”

She nodded slowly, as her legs gave out from underneath her and she slipped down to the floor.

*****

”
I want you to go to the Emergency Room,” Bradley insisted, motioning the paramedics over to where he and Mary sat on the floor.

“
I’m fine,” she said. “I just need to make sure Stanley’s okay and then I need to sleep.”

“
You fainted right in front of me,” Bradley argued.

“
I thought you were dead,” Mary argued back. “It was a little bit of a shock.”

“
Why in the world did you think I was dead?”

“
Because you were lying on the floor,” she said, “after I heard a shot.”

Bradley paused for a moment. “Oh,” he said. “I didn’t think about that, sorry. It was a tactical move, to avoid getting shot. But I still think you need to be checked over.”

She leaned forward and whispered in his ear, “Bradley, I really hate hospitals.”

He sighed and turned back to the waiting paramedics. “It seems I’m wrong,” he said. “Miss O’Reilly is perfectly fine.”

“
But you sit there quietly until I can help you down the stairs,” he whispered to her. “Got it?”

She nodded, “Got it. Thanks.”

Bradley walked over to a group standing by the freight elevator. A second set of paramedics at the bottom of the shaft had just zipped Kevin into a body bag and were getting ready to transport him to the morgue. “Make sure Sean O’Reilly, Special Victims Unit, Chicago Police Force gets a copy of the report,” he said to an officer standing close by.

“
Yes sir.”

“
I want all this stuff tagged and moved to the evidence locker,” he told one of his detectives. “There might be some evidence that will link him with some of the murders in Chicago.”

Another officer came running over, “Bradley, I just got a call,” he said. “They found Stanley in his store. He’s got a lump on his head, but he’s fine.”

“
Thanks, I’ll let Mary know.”

He walked back over to Mary who sat shivering on the floor. “Dammit, Mary, I’m sorry, I should have known you would have been cold,” he said.

Mary shook her head. “I’m not cold,” she stammered. “I just can’t seem to stop shaking.”

He sighed and scooped her up into his arms. “Come on, there’s another freight elevator in the front of the building,” he said. “I’m taking you home.”

She laid her head on his shoulder. “What’s wrong with me?”

“
I’d make a wild guess and say shock,” he said. “You’ve had a pretty frightening night.”

She shuddered again. “I just couldn’t let him drug me,” she said. “I just couldn’t let him touch me…”

He hugged her tighter, remembering the shackles he saw next to the work area. “Yeah, I know.”

“
Did you hear about Stanley?” she asked.

“
Yeah, they found him in his store. He’s got a bad bump on his head, but he’s going to be fine. Sounds like he was madder than all get-out because he missed the excitement, though.”

She laughed. “Sounds just like him.”

The elevator stopped on the first floor and the gates opened. “We can pick your car up later,” he said. “I’ll drive you home.”

He placed her in the cruiser, pulled a blanket from the back and tucked it firmly around her. “My purse, my briefcase,” she protested mildly.

“
My guys will get it for you,” he said. “You won’t need them tonight.”

Bradley’s phone rang as soon as he sat in his seat. He looked at the display. “It’s Sean,” he said. “I should talk to him.”

Mary nodded and listened to Bradley’s side of the conversation.

“
Sean. Yeah, she’s fine. Suffering from a little shock, but that’s understandable. Yeah, she was amazing. He was in pretty bad shape before I got there.”

He paused and listened for a moment.

“
No, we’re not going to the hospital, but I’ll make sure she’s okay. Yeah, he’s filling a space at the morgue right now,” Bradley looked over and saw the information register on Mary’s face. He reached over, took her hand in his and squeezed it softly. “If you want him, you can have him. I’ll take care of the paperwork tomorrow.”

He listened again.

“
Hey, no need to thank me,” he said, looking at Mary once again. “Like I told you before, I wouldn’t think of doing anything else. Okay, I’ll touch base with you tomorrow. Good-bye.”

“
So, Kevin’s dead,” Mary said.

“
Yeah, the paramedics believe he died on impact,” Bradley said.

“
I wonder what was chasing him,” she mused. “I couldn’t see anything.”

“
And something started the freight elevator before he came near it,” Bradley said.

“
I saw Jack there earlier. He was in the freight elevator with us. He was pretty angry about how Kevin was treating me.”

Bradley skimmed his hand over her cheek, her bruises now showing more clearly under the street lights of the city. “I understand how he feels.”

“
I don’t know how I feel,” Mary said. “It’s almost too much to take in. He used to be my brother’s friend and now…”

“
Now he let drugs turn him into a different person,” Bradley said. “The Kevin that died tonight was not your friend. That Kevin died a long time ago.”

Mary nodded. “You’re right. It’s just so sad.”

Bradley pulled the cruiser to the curb in front of her house. “Stay seated,” he said, and walked over to her door and helped her out. “How are you doing?”

She stepped out of the car and, although a little shaky, she felt like she could walk on her own. “I’m good,” she said. “But don’t go too far.”

“
Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere,” he said, pulling the blanket tight, wrapping his arm around her and walking her to the door.

He led her upstairs to her bedroom. “I want you to take a hot shower and dress in something warm,” he ordered. “Did you eat dinner?”

She shook her head. “No, but really, I don’t think I could eat anything.”

“
Okay, shower, then come downstairs.”

Bradley was right, the hot shower really helped revive her. Dressed in sweats and thick cotton socks, she felt much better. She came down the stairs to find the downstairs dark.

“
Bradley?” she called, slightly panicked.

“
Mary,” he said, hurrying to her side. “Sorry, I wasn’t quite ready for you.”

He led her to the couch and wrapped a soft quilt around her, and then he turned on the Christmas tree and let the lights sparkle around the room. He clicked on the CD player and soft Christmas music filled the room.

She felt her whole body relax. He pulled a TV tray in front of the couch.

“
Be right back,” he said.

Moments later there were two cups of herbal tea and a plate of Christmas cookies on the tray. “Who can turn down Christmas cookies?” he asked.

She smiled up at him. “Thank you. This is exactly what I needed.”

He sat down next to her, pulled her into his arms and laid his cheek on the top of her head. He exhaled softly. “Thank you. This is exactly what
I
needed.”

*****

The next day, Bradley and Mary went to see Stanley in the hospital. “I see you got enough connections so you don’t have to stay in this god-forsaken place,” Stanley growled.

Mary smiled. “I didn’t get knocked over the head,” she said. “They were worried about a concussion.”

Bradley shook his head. “No, from what I heard, they just wanted to make him miserable,” he said. “The doc said his head was too hard to be in any danger.”

Stanley chuckled. “That’s what I thought.”

“
When can you go home?” Mary asked.

“
I’ll be out of here by noon,” he said. “It’s the day before Christmas Eve; I’ve got things to do.”

Mary leaned over and pressed a kiss on the top of Stanley’s head. “Thank you for being there for me. I’m sorry…”

Stanley caught her hand in his. “Listen, girlie, this bump on my head don’t have nothing to do with you. I’m embarrassed that I let that jackass get the best of me. I should have known better.”

Bradley nodded. “Yes, you of all people should have known better.”

“
Bradley!’ Mary chided. “That wasn’t nice.”

Stanley chuckled. “Not as slow as I thought you were.”

Bradley smiled. “No, indeed,” he replied.

“
What’s going on?” Mary asked.

“
I had a conversation with Sean this morning about why his local informant wasn’t very helpful last night,” Bradley said, “Seems his informant let some jackass get the best of him.”

“
Stanley?” Mary asked, astonished. “But…”

“
Sean? Sean who?” Stanley interrupted. “I understand a knock on the head can cause amnesia. I think I probably have the early signs of amnesia.”

“
Stanley,” Mary said, “don’t you try to pull that on me.”

Stanley leaned back on his pillow. “Can’t a man get any rest around here?” he asked. “I thought this place was supposed to be a hospital, not Grand Central Station.”

Bradley laughed out loud. “Come on, Mary,” he said. “We’d better let Stanley get his strength back. I have a feeling he’s going to need it.”

They heard Stanley chuckling to himself as they walked out of his room.

Later that evening, Mary and Bradley walked from his car down a quiet street in the Center School neighborhood. The houses were all decorated for the season, lights shining against the snow, glowing in the dark night. Mary wrapped her arm around Bradley’s and took a deep breath. “It smells like Christmas,” she said, and then she looked around. “Someone’s baking cookies.”

“
I wonder if there is a law on the books where it’s legal for the Police Chief to confiscate cookies?” he asked.

She grinned. “Hmmm, that’s certainly an ordinance that ought to be on the books. Of course, we’ll end up with a Police Chief the size of Boss Hogg.”

“
Wow, from Andy Taylor to Boss Hogg,” Bradley said, shaking his head. “I see I’ve come down in your estimation.”

“
Actually, it was Barney Fife to Boss Hogg,” she quipped. “So, really, if you measure by pounds, you’ve actually increased in my opinion.”

“
Oh, thanks a lot.”

“
My pleasure.”

They reached the tenth house of the block and climbed up the stairs.

“
I’m excited to see him again,” Mary said.

Bradley nodded. “Yes, me too,” he said.