The Promise (2 page)

He was passionate, fearless, competitive and persistent to the point of being obsessive.

He was also a trivia expert and he had only lost one game of Trivial Pursuit in his life.

As he painfully recalled that defeat, “We were at a resort cabin on a family outing. My brother-in-law beat me on a fluke question, ‘What renowned golfer known as Champagne Tony, died in a plane crash in 1964?’

My brother-in-law lucked out. The previous guest had left a golf magazine and he read the article an hour before the game started. Until then, he had never heard of Tony Lema. Otherwise, I’d be undefeated.”

              In fact, Mike Gallagher used his trivial questions in his job to either catch a suspect off-guard or to harass his police partners.

He was an expert on most things, except for opera and the Old Testament. Other than that, Gallagher was a prime candidate for, “Jeopardy.”

Gallagher had a medium build, with thick, dark brown hair and twinkling bluish-green hazel eyes. He was also a pain in the ass if you were guilty of a crime thanks to his stubborn Irish nature.

He was the last person you wanted to tangle with in a confrontation. He was as fearless and tough as they came. He had a soft spot for the underdog but he didn’t care much for self-victimized people.

He believed in taking personal responsibility. That made Gallagher a social conservative and a moderate in international affairs.

He was also, in certain cases, a believer in the death penalty. He had seen evil in the world and had a strong opinion that there were criminals who were beyond rehabilitation.

              Gallagher had all the components of a successful homicide detective. He was tough, persistent, charming and street smart when it came to finding a solution to any setback.

He also had a sixth sense
in resolving a case.

He always seemed to be at the right place at the right time. He could sniff out, as if by instinct, the good guys and the bad guys.

He had weaknesses.

His flaws included a fear of failing and he sometimes got down on himself too much. He was an emotional man, not always good for his line of work. But, he cared strongly about people and a sense of responsibility towards them.

              Mike Gallagher was a family man. Raised as a faithful Roman Catholic, he had been married for seventeen years but he tended to spend too much time at work. This was especially true in the two years since his daughter's death. 

He seemed to be driven in a way that had not been present before the tragedy. A child's murder will do that to a parent. His family was more like a second home. He seemed to live full-time at the police station.

             
"Hey, Gallagher, come in here.  I've got something here for you."

              The detective turned and walked straight into the office of his chief, Albert Marston Parker.

Chief Parker was getting ready to retire after forty-two years on the job. He was well respected by all his officers, as a father figure and as a damn good cop.

He could be tough. But, he was always fair and he took time to listen to the men and women who served under him. He had a special relationship with Detective Mike Gallagher. 

It was Parker who hired the young patrolman and watched him develop into one of the best homicide detectives in the business.

The officer was like a son to the chief.  He had even been a godfather to Gallagher’s youngest child, Michael Jr., who was born soon after the tragedy that had devastated the family.

His young namesake was the perfect therapy for Mike and Alisha who desperately needed to experience life again in a fresh and new way.

He had reddish hair and an outgoing personality that daily brought smiles to the Gallagher clan which also included a son, Michael Jr.

Those two children made it even harder for the detective to be away from his family. He knew that work was an escape for the pain of his missing oldest child. It had helped him cope with her loss.

              "I have a tough one for you, Mike."

              The detective takes the file from his boss. Opening it, he whistles softly, "Allison Taylor?  The heir to the Home Buys fortune?

Missing?"

              Chief Parker nodded, "Yeah, it’s being kept hush hush.  She was seen walking on campus two days ago and she simply vanished and no one has heard from her since.

Her father has been calling me incessantly and it has been very difficult explaining our twenty-four hour waiting policy to him.

He angrily insists she’s not a runaway. The very minute the time period ran out, he came in and filed a detailed report."

              "Why call me in on this one? I'm homicide. A bit premature, isn’t it?”

              "Mike, my gut tells me there’s a very good chance that homicide could be involved here. This girl is not in the habit of disappearing and not telling anyone, especially daddy. I want you to get involved as soon as possible. I trust you, Mike."

              "Maybe, she met a guy and decided to run away with him."

              "Read the file. This girl does not take off. Everything in her life is planned out."

              Gallagher picked up the file and began to study it, "Maybe she got tired of always being organized. Maybe she disappeared to make a statement that she wanted to have fun for a while. Some young people have been known,"

              The chief interrupted his detective, "She isn't just some young person. She’s Allison Taylor and there is no evidence that she was unhappy or feeling confined or in a mood to walk away from her life.

According to her father she was looking forward to starting college and succeeding like she always did. Can you possibly imagine how devastated he is?”

Almost immediately the chief realized his statement and tried to retract it. It was too late.

              Mike sadly looked at his boss, "Of course I can imagine it."

              "I know you can, Mike. I'm sorry.”

              "Forget it. I know you didn't mean anything by it. I just don't know if I can handle this case or not. It hasn't been that long since Megan was, uh, has been gone.

This is about a young girl here. I feel more comfortable trying to figure out why there are four adults dead in the back room of a restaurant."

              What's your theory with the Taylor girl?"

              "Well, my initial impression is a kidnapping. The old man is loaded. She brings a pretty fair price. I’m a little surprised she didn't have security."

              Parker clarified his statement, “She did. He was bringing the car around to pick her up. I guess he figured she would be safe walking across a crowded campus at noon.

It’s not exactly your ideal kidnapping scenario."

              "I know, Chief, and that’s what bothers me. According to this file, no one saw her on the other side of the library either.

No witnesses. It was like the earth swallowed her up and no one noticed. In order for a kidnapper to do that Allison would have to help him make her disappear."

              Parker mused, "Maybe she did. Isn’t it possible she knew the person or persons?"

              "That makes more sense than a stranger shoving her into a van in front of a thousand people."

              "Or maybe the stranger didn’t act like a stranger.  Maybe he made friends with her quickly by asking her for help."

              "You mean the Bundy method?"

This was in reference to the infamous Ted Bundy who killed several women by soliciting the aid of his female victims luring them close to his car before he rendered them unconscious by clubbing them with a blunt instrument.

It made the victims disappear quickly and quietly, like they never existed. 

              "I thought every woman knew Bundy’s ploy by now."

              "Trust me, they don't. There are a lot of sweethearts out there who are still nice to strangers, even male strangers."

             
"That is, if this person is a man."

              "Yeah, it could have been a man using a female partner as bait. That would be clever and effective. It could have put the Taylor woman at ease."

              Chief Parker walked back behind his desk, "Speaking of young women, I am assigning one as your partner in this case."

              Gallagher straightened up. "A young woman?  No, I have a partner we work together just fine!"

              "Yeah, well, your partner is thirty-nine years old and I don’t think he could pose as a female high school student and go undercover on this.

              Gallagher looked at him, “We’re going undercover on this one?”

              Parker nodded, “If she is the right gal for it, yep.”

              "So, my male partner buys a whistle and becomes the new football coach."

              "That's not a bad idea, Michael, but they don’t have a football team in a girl’s private school. You can relax under a tree with a few books and let your partner do the grunt work."

              Gallagher stiffened, “I don’t want to work with a woman. I’m not cut out for that kind of partner.”

              “Give it a chance, Mike. This is a special circumstance. We need an undercover cop here.”

              The detective finally relented, "So, when do I meet Nancy Drew?"

              "It's actually Elie, Detective Gallagher, pleased to meet you even if you’re not equally amenable to the relationship!"

              Mike Gallagher turned to see a young lady who looked about eighteen years of age, maybe even younger. He valiantly tried to stop the words before they left his mouth, but failed miserably, "How old are you?"

              Parker spoke up, "She’s old enough to know better, Mike and young looking enough looking to get carded when she orders a beer. And wise enough to know how to get the information she wants without getting caught.

Meet Elie Lee Larsen. She just arrived from the FBI Academy where she graduated third in her class."

              The young profiler laughed, "Actually it was second, but who's counting? That makes me even with Allison Taylor who also came in just behind the front runner, too."

              Mike Gallagher spoke, "You’ve done some homework here, impressive. I like your name, but then again, I always wanted to be like Tiger!’”

              Elie looked at him blankly.

              The detective shrugged, “Tiger Woods, the golfer? His wife’s name was Elie.”

Chief Parker laughed as he looked in Larsen’s direction, “One thing you will have to get used to Elie, is Gallagher’s love of trivia! He’s a walking dictionary. He knows a lot of information about everything. Humor him.”

              “You’re a trivia expert, huh?” She looked coyly at Gallagher, “Then, you would know the name of Tiger’s ex-wife is Elin, not Elie. Looks like you missed one. Now, are you ready for some trivia on Allison Taylor, sir?”

              The detective saw her folder and mildly argued, “Elie, Elin, close enough. You have some background on the missing girl."

              “Yes, sir, I always do my homework, detective. You can count on that. Ask anyone who knows me.”