Cop Out

Chapter 1The beach was almost deserted, but then it was early. A couple of shellers had worked their way past him, not talking much, looking down at the area of sand exposed by the receding water. Then there’d been the two young guys jogging by, wearing only board shorts. That had been the bright spot of the morning so far, Grant thought. He idly watched the sanderlings skittering up to escape the advancing waves and then skittering back down to see what had been washed in. They seemed to do that endlessly. A mindless rut. And now he, like the sanderlings, was about to settle into a rut. Not mindless exactly but, after what he’d been used to, boring. You must take early retirement or a desk job, he’d been told after the…accident. So, like the sanderlings, he’d do what he had to in order to stay alive. One could only listen to so much music, even if it was Bach. The leg was throbbing. He couldn’t get comfortable either lying or sitting, so he heaved himself up, picked up his beach towel, and limped back across the sand to the condo where he knew Janet would have breakfast waiting for him. She was at the range when he entered the kitchen. “Hi, hon. Wash your hands. I’ve got scrambled eggs and hash browns, just the way you like ‘em.” He gave his sister a one-armed hug and then headed for the bathroom. When he got back, she asked, “How are you feeling this morning?” “Jan, dear, I’m fine.” Giving him an appraising look, she asked, “You say that, but do you mean it?” “Okay, so my leg still hurts. The doctor said it would be a while before that stopped.” She served up the eggs and potatoes and handed them to him. Then she poured a mug of coffee and put it at his place. “Where’s Ken? Golfing?” “Uh huh. He and some of the boys had an early tee time.” “Boys!” Janet giggled. “Well, they act like boys sometimes. They stop at Hardee’s for breakfast, and I’d love to hear the conversations that go on then.” “I pity the poor waitress who has to deal with that group.” “Oh, yes indeed!” She waited while Grant ate. “Sis, you don’t have to hover. I’ll rinse my plate and put it in the machine.” “I’m sorry, Jimmy. I didn’t mean to hover. I’m just worried about you.” She grabbed her mug of coffee and sat facing him. “No need to be. But, look, I’ve decided to go home. No offense, but I’m bored out of my mind. I can only take so much inactivity.” She looked concerned. Then her face became expressionless, neutral. “So you’re really looking forward to being a supervisor?” “No. That’s just paper shuffling. But at least it’s a job. I can’t lie around reading and listening to music and watching the damned sanderlings for the rest of my life.” “Doesn’t sound so bad to me. Just think how many men at fifty-five would like to be able to retire. You could find a place near here, so Ken and I could look after you…” “You’d wind up looking after us both. When do you have fun?” She grinned. “Don’t you worry about me, I love my life.” She tipped her mug to get the last of the coffee. “Think about this. It’s late October. You know what the weather will be like in Colby from November until about May. After all, we grew up in it. Do you really want to go back to that?” He chuckled. “Yeah, I’m used to coping with Northern Ohio winters. And we don’t have to worry about hurricanes.” “Well, it’s a trade-off. I realize that every summer.” “Okay,” Grant said. “Just remember you guys are welcome to come spend your summers with me. The old home place has lots of room. And we’ve got plenty of golf courses for Ken.” Janet sighed. “How often have we had this discussion?” He chuckled. “That doesn’t mean it isn’t sincere. I’m glad you love me, Sis, and you know I love you.” She smiled and put her hand on his. “Still no good man on the horizon for you, baby brother?” “Nope. And it’s probably too late. Who’d want a fifty-five-year-old crippled cop?” “You look incredible for fifty-five! You’ve always kept yourself in great shape. And the leg doesn’t really slow you down much, does it? I just hate to think of you living in that big old house all alone. You need to get out and find yourself a guy. Maybe the new job will give you time to do that. It’ll be a nine-to-five kind of thing, won’t it?” “Yeah, being supervisor of detectives is a matter of making assignments and keeping track of progress. So there shouldn’t be much overtime, night, or weekend crap to take care of.” He stood. “Now, I hope you won’t take this the wrong way, but I’m going to call and see if I can get a plane out of here tomorrow. I’ve imposed on you and Ken long enough.” “You know you’re not imposing. It’s been wonderful having you here. I wish you’d come more often.” He hugged her. “And I appreciate your taking me in when I was ordered to have this convalescent leave. It has been nice to be with you. And Ken. But I feel the need to get back and into harness again. Otherwise I’m useless.” The concern on her face apparent, Janet said, “You soon get used to retirement. You’ve paid your dues, you know. You’re entitled to enjoy yourself now.” “Remember, sis, I’m over a decade below standard retirement age. Except for my gimpy leg, I’m in perfect health. I expect I’ll have plenty of time to veg out after I’ve reached seventy or so.” She gave him a peck on the cheek. “Okay, sweetie, if you’re sure that’s what you want. I can take you to the airport anytime you need me to.” * * * * He settled himself into his seat and put on his earphones, just as if he were a teen. But the music he listened to on his iPod wasn’t typical teen fare. He was only a few bars into the music when someone put a jacket and a laptop in the overhead rack and sat beside him. Grant nodded and smiled at the man, who smiled back. One of the tricks of his trade was to make a quick mental inventory of people without appearing to study them. The man sitting next to him was a fifty-something, an inch or two shorter than Grant’s 6’2”. His curly blond hair was showing a fair amount of gray on the sides, but he had a youthful look. Grant had missed the eye color. But he hadn’t missed the small gold stud in the guy’s right earlobe. It matched the gold of his glasses frames. Mr. X was wearing a blue oxford shirt, faded jeans, and the ubiquitous sneakers. Grant lost himself in the familiar music. After they were airborne and were allowed to unfasten their seatbelts, Mr. X looked over at him and said, “I love the Franck Symphony.” What are the chances? Grant asked himself. He turned off the iPod and took off his headphones. “I’m sorry. I must have had the volume up pretty loud.” The eyes were blue, amazingly blue, as Mr. X smiled at him. “Not at all. I doubt that anyone else on the plane can hear it. I just caught a bit of that unforgettable first movement theme. I have the Monteux recording. Thank goodness CDs don’t wear out!” Doing something that was rarely done on airplanes these days, he held out his hand. “I’m Jake Handley.” Turning so he could shake the proffered hand, Grant said, “I’m Jim Grant. Since this is a non-stop flight, I assume you’re going to Detroit, too.” Handley chuckled. “Yeah. Love your deductive abilities!” That made Grant smile. “A no-brainer, as the kids say, right?” “No problem. And yes, I’m going to Detroit Metro. After that I’ll hop in my car and drive home.” Unable to break a long-standing habit, Grant asked, “And where’s home?” “Colby, Ohio. It’s—” Grant interrupted him, smiling. “I know where Colby is. I live there, too.” Normally he would have cut the conversation short and gone back to listening to his music. But Jake Handley was more appealing than Franck at the moment. He set about getting to know his seatmate. During the course of the conversation he learned that Jake was a history professor at Colby State University, that he’d been attending a conference on 20th Century British History at the University of South Florida and that he’d presented a paper there. Then, he admitted, he’d played hooky from his teaching duties at CSU and spent a night visiting friends in Lake Polk. Oh, and he was wearing a subtle fragrance, something familiar. What was it? There’d been a sample in his last Macy’s bill. Acqua di Gio! Pleased with himself for remembering, he sat there chatting with the professor, finding him disturbingly attractive. About an hour into the flight, Grant cursed himself for drinking that extra mug of Janet’s coffee. He excused himself to go to the restroom. It was good to be up and moving. His leg had stiffened as he sat. When Grant was back in his seat, Handley said, “You know, Mr. Grant, I feel as if I’ve been doing a monologue. You know a lot about me, and you’ve told me nothing about yourself.” Grant grinned. “First of all, please call me Jim. And I apologize if you feel I’ve been interrogating you. It’s an occupational trait, I’m afraid.” Handley raised an eyebrow. “Oh?” “Yeah. I’m a cop.” “In Colby?” “Uh huh. Except for four years at Oberlin and a stint in the Army, I’ve lived in Colby all my life.” “Oberlin, huh?” He seemed surprised. “Yeah. Why?” “I don’t imagine many Oberlin grads become policemen.” “Yeah. I won’t bore you with the story, but you’re probably right.” “Would I be really nosy if I asked about your limp?” Grant scowled. “Oh, I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to pry.” “No, no, it’s okay. I just get pissed with myself when I think about how that happened.” Handley remained silent. “Long story short, I was chasing a bad guy in an empty warehouse at night and fell down a hole. Busted up my leg pretty good.” “Ouch.” Grant grinned. “Well, it hurt my pride almost as much as my leg. And it ended my career, more or less.” “How come?” “I’m always going to have this limp. So I’m not fit for normal duties, according to the regs of the Colby Police Force.” “So are you changing careers? You’re not old enough to retire, obviously.” “Well, actually I could retire, though on a reduced pension. But I’ve been offered a desk job. I’ve got to tell my boss when I get back which it’s gonna be.” “Oh, you’ve been on a convalescent leave, I take it.” “Uh huh. Staying with my sister and brother-in-law, actually. Soaking up sun. Letting the leg heal. And doing a lot of thinking.” “You, uh, don’t have any family in Colby?” “No, Janet, her husband, and their two grown kids are all the family I have.” Grant knew what Handley was trying to find out, but he’d always been in the closet except to Jan and her family and a very few people in Colby, so he wasn’t about to spill the beans to this man, however personable he was. “Have you made up your mind about retirement?” “I can’t see myself retired. So I think you’re looking at the new supervisor of detectives.” “Sounds impressive. But you say it’s a desk job?” “Yeah, paper shuffling. Assigning cases. Doing performance reviews. Not my thing, but better than staying home all day.” “I can certainly understand that. But you know, there would be worse things than being able to catch up on one’s reading, listen to music, maybe do some volunteer work.” “There’ll be plenty of time for that later. Right now I just want to stay in harness.” They continued to chat, and sooner than Grant expected, they were told to fasten their seat belts in preparation for landing. “Need a ride to Colby, Jim? My car’s here.” “Thanks. I appreciate the offer, but I’m being picked up. It’s been nice talking with you, though. Made the trip go quickly.” Jake handed Grant a card. “Call me. Let’s have lunch some time. Or a drink.”