Jamie Hill Triple Threat (4 page)

He gathered his balance and ruffled the hair on their heads. “You’re more than welcome. Have fun.” They released him and he grinned at
Crystal
before heading out the door.

She grinned back, and watched him leave. He
was
one of the good guys, she decided.
And damned cute, too
.

* * * *

Crystal
changed Dave’s sheets and slept in his bed. The boys remained on their best behavior, and never questioned her about their father. She didn’t know what to tell them, so she was grateful they didn’t ask. She got them off to school and worried all day about Dave and what was going on with him.

She fretted when he was a no-show again that evening. After another uneasy night in his apartment, she was even more worried. She combed through both her own and Dave’s kitchens, but couldn’t come up with enough food for one person, let alone three. It was Saturday, and she didn’t have to work, but she hoped she could prevail upon Moe for a couple meals. With the diner closed Sunday, and not getting paid until Monday, it was going to be a long weekend. She could probably get a little food or maybe an advance on her pay if she explained the situation to Moe, but she hated like hell to do it after everything he'd already done for them.

They polished off the last of the Oreos and milk for breakfast.
Crystal
scraped together enough quarters to do one load of laundry and took the boys to the Laundromat. She cringed as she was forced to throw it all in together—whites, darks, jeans, underwear, everything. They passed the time playing poker with some of the other regulars. To the boys’ amusement,
Crystal
won fifty cents, which allowed her to completely dry their clothes. They were all in good moods when they hit the diner for lunch.

Moe didn’t act surprised to see them at all. After the meal, when
Crystal
told him quietly, “We may have to see you later,” he merely gave her a hug.

“You’re always welcome. You know that.” He pointed to Mark. “I’m baking a cake!”

“Chocolate?” Mark asked excitedly.

“What other kind is there?” Moe shrugged and grinned at them as they left.

Crystal
was grateful for his help, but knew things couldn’t continue this way. She hadn’t heard from Dave in four days. She tried calling the place she thought
he worked, but discovered she must have been mistaken. She had no other ideas where to contact him. They went back to her apartment, where she let the boys watch TV while she tossed and turned in her bed, thinking ‘nap’ but being unable to shake the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

She eventually sat up and reached for the business card she'd left sitting on her nightstand. She dialed the number she assumed would be a cell phone.

“Dunlevy,” he answered, and
Crystal
almost hung up. Her pride was at war with her brain, but the welfare of the children was at stake. Her brain won out. “Dunlevy,” he repeated gruffly.

“Detective Dunlevy, this is Crystal Cartwright. We met the other day.”

“Hi
Crystal
. I remember. How are you?”

“Well,” she hesitated, then just spit it out. “I’m in some trouble, and I hoped you could help.”

“Something about Manny Hooper?” he asked quickly.

“Who? Oh,
Manny
? So Hooper was his last name, huh? Well, no, it’s nothing to do with him. I know your card says you’re a homicide detective, but honestly, you’re the only police officer I know. I have a problem. I need help.”

“What can I do for you?” his voice was so kind that she could have cried.

“Well I—uh, it might be easier to talk to you face to face. Do you think you could meet me? I was thinking of taking the boys to the park over by the diner on Broadway. They could play and we could talk?”

“Of course. Say half an hour?”

She breathed a sigh of relief. “That would be great. Thank you.”

“I’ll see you shortly.” He disconnected.

“Thank you,” she whispered again softly, speaking to him or whoever might be listening.

* * * *

The boys were spinning on the merry-go-round when Dunlevy approached
Crystal
on the park bench. “Hey there.”

“Oh, Detective! Thank you so much for meeting me. I’m at my wit’s end trying to decide what to do.” She smiled up at him hopefully as he sat next to her.

“Why don’t you start at the beginning?” He turned sideways and crossed his arms.

“Well, I haven’t been exactly truthful with you. I didn’t lie, but you just never asked—”

“Is this something about Manny's death?”

“No, no. Forget about Manny! I told you it had nothing to do with him.”
Crystal
rubbed her hands over her face.

“Okay. Sorry. It’s just the detective in me trying to solve a case. Go ahead.”

“Well.” She glanced over at the boys and then back to Dunlevy. “Those kids. They aren’t mine.”

He looked at her skeptically as she asserted, “I never told you they were. You just assumed so.”

He closed his eyes and nodded. “You’re right, I did. So who are they? You didn’t kidnap them, did you?”

Crystal
laughed. “God no! I said I’m in trouble, but I never said I was crazy. Their father, Dave, is my next door neighbor. He pays me to watch the boys after school until he gets home from work. Trouble is, he hasn’t come home.”

He looked at her with speculation in his eyes. “The daddy you were waiting for on Thursday?”

She nodded. “We’re still waiting.”

“I called him your 'husband' and you didn’t correct me.”

“At first I didn’t say anything because I figured it wasn’t really any of your business. Then I thought it was just easier, you know, to go with the flow.”

He set his jaw and closed his eyes again briefly. He inhaled, exhaled, and then looked over at her.

She smiled at him hopefully.

He tried to give what she supposed was a disapproving look but couldn’t seem to do it successfully. “When’s the last time you saw him?”

“Wednesday morning,”
Crystal
replied.

The look he gave her this time made her add quickly, “He stopped by my place to see if I had plans that night. Sometimes when I didn’t, he’d go out for a drink with his friends. I told him I wasn’t doing anything Wednesday evening. That’s why I didn’t think much of it at first. But when he never showed up Thursday or Friday, I got worried.”

“It sounds like he’s taking advantage of you, if nothing else. Why do you watch the kids for him, anyway?”

She chuckled bitterly. “Well, in a perfect world, waiting tables would pay enough to take care of rent, bills, and maybe a little extra for food. In this world, it catches the rent and some of the bills. If I want to eat anything Moe hasn’t cooked, I need a second job.”

She looked back over at the boys. “And now it seems I’ve got two extra mouths to feed. Dave’s cupboards are as bare as mine. Payday’s not until Monday. Maybe I’ll start hocking the son-of-a-bitch’s stuff to make some money.”

Dunlevy chortled and kicked his legs out in front of him. “So, do you want me to try to track the S.O.B. down?”

“Well, yeah, I guess. I can tell you everything I know about him.”

He flipped out his notebook and pen.

“Have notebook, will travel,” she quipped.

“Of course,” he replied, and smiled as he began to take notes. “David Erickson?”

“Yeah.” She was surprised he remembered the surname. “He said his wife Laura died about a year ago. It was drug related. He'd never volunteer more than that. I know her maiden name was
Devon
. That’s where the youngest son got his name. But that’s all I know about the family. Oh, and Dave told me he worked at the loading dock over at the rail station. But I called there and they said they'd never heard of him.”

“It’s a big place,” Dunlevy acknowledged. “You could have spoken to someone who didn't recognize the name. I could check with management. Maybe find a little more out.”

“If you could, I'd be eternally grateful. Dave led me to believe there were no grandparents in the picture. But maybe he just didn’t get along with them. Who knows? If they do have grandparents, the boys should be with them.”

“Yeah.” He put his pen down and watched the boys laugh and play. “Are they always so easy going? I’ve yet to see them fight.”

“They don’t. It’s almost scary how well-behaved they are. That’s why I can’t just turn them over to anybody. I’m the closest thing to family they’ve got right now. They haven’t admitted it, but they have to be frightened that their dad has disappeared.”

“I’m sure. It’s a lousy thing to do to your kids.”

“Uh-huh.”  She looked from the boys into the detective's eyes. “I know this isn’t your problem, but if you could help me, maybe I could repay you somehow.”

Dunlevy looked into her eyes and frowned. “Any police officer who wants ‘repayment’ from you in any way, shape, or form should be taken out back and shot. Actually, the same goes for any man who expects something in return for helping you.”

She dropped her gaze. “Thanks, Detective Dunlevy. I’ve been so worried. It feels good to have someone to share my burden with.”

He took her hand gently and squeezed it. “I’m going to do whatever I can to help you and the boys. But you’ve got to call me Jack. Every time you say ‘Detective Dunlevy’ I look around for my boss.”

She chuckled and looked back at him. “Okay, Jack. I’ll take your help. The boys didn’t do anything to deserve this mess. And I don’t know how to get them out of it by myself.”

He nodded slowly. “What’s for dinner?”

“Whatever Moe has on special. Saturday would be chicken.”

“Did you eat lunch there?”

She nodded.

He put his notebook back in his pocket and crossed his arms again. “There’s this pizza place close to where I live. I’ve never been there, but I’ve been itching to try it. Think the boys would be interested?”

“Why haven’t you tried it?”

He smiled. “Well, it seems the main attraction isn’t really the pizza, but this big ball pit and about a zillion video games for kids to play. I thought it might look weird for a middle-aged man to go there by himself.”

Crystal
laughed out loud. “You’ve got to be kidding! I’m afraid I used the last of my quarters at the Laundromat this morning. And that was after putting jeans and underwear and everything in one load. I can't afford to take them to a place like that.”

He cocked his head at her. “I wasn’t offering to go Dutch. I’d like to take you. Come on, it’ll be fun. Please?”

She gave him a skeptical look and he repeated, “Please?”

“Did anyone ever tell you that you’re cute when you beg?”

“Oh yeah, I get that from women all the time.”

She laughed, and the pure, simple sound seemed to move him. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he finally looked at her, he asked, “Can I take that as a yes?”

She smiled and nodded.

“Great!” He stood up. “We’ll go in a little bit.” He walked toward the boys and called out, “Hey, you guys want me to push you?”

They were back on the merry-go-round, taking turns spinning each other. “Yeah!” They both yelled and climbed aboard as Jack gave them a huge push.

Crystal
watched from the bench as he spun the merry-go-round until the kids were dizzy. He pushed them on the swings side by side, alternating pushes between Mark and
Devon
. She sighed and leaned back, feeling the weight lift off her shoulders for the first time in days.

“You guys want to try that slide over there? It’s pretty big.” Jack motioned to a large, silver piece of equipment.

“Sure!” Mark hopped out of his swing and ran to the slide.

Devon
didn’t seem quite so sure. “I don’t know.” He peered up the tall ladder.

“Come on, it’s fun!” Mark called from the top.

“Sit down, please,” Jack reminded patiently.

Mark sat and slid down, a wide grin on his face.

“I don’t think I want to,”
Devon
said nervously.

Jack stepped next to him. “How about if I go with you?”

The boy’s face lit up. “Would you?”

“Sure.” He peeled off his leather jacket, tossed it aside and led
Devon
up the ladder in front of him.

Crystal
wanted a closer vantage point, and wandered over. “Wish I had a camera.” She watched as Jack settled
Devon
on his lap at the top of the slide.

“Blackmail photos?” He grinned down.

“Maybe,” she replied, grinning back.

“Ready?” Jack inquired and
Devon
nodded. “Here we go!” Jack shoved off and they flew down the slide, stopping just at as they got to the bottom edge.