“Chill out for one damn second, you’ve got bigger fish to fry!” he whisper-shouted into the phone.
“Why the hell are you whispering to me?” I hollered back.
“I have her, Lane. I’ve been trying to get a hold of you to tell you. I have her.”
He may as well have been speaking a different language. I had to replay the words in my head ten times before I could wrap my mind around what he could possibly be saying.
“You...”
“Have her,” he repeated quietly.
I could hear Flores’ words in my brain. Check the bottom of the Sea of Cortez. All of a sudden, I was picturing boats and underwater search diving teams. But there was no way they could have found a body that fast. It had only been a few hours since he told me she was there. I couldn’t figure out what Charlie was saying, and all I could feel right then were the damn tears dripping down my face again.
“Lane? Are you still there?” He must have heard me sniff past the overwhelming grief lodged in my throat because he hurriedly said, “I have Kate… alive.”
My heart froze in my chest for so long, I began to wonder if I would even continue breathing. “Wha- how? I mean… is that possible?!” I exclaimed.
“She’s sitting right next to me. Yeah, it’s fucking possible, man. We finally did it!”
“Dude, just stop cussing.” I inhaled deeply and plopped down on the bed, dropping my head in my hands. Forgetting that one of my arms was in a sling, I let out a string of profanities when I moved it the wrong way. The irony that I had just told Charlie to knock off the sailor mouth was not lost on me. My body shot back up and I began pacing in my hotel room.
“How is it possible? Are you sure? Did you check her—”
“Her wrist?” he interrupted the onslaught of questions I was firing his way. “Tiny heart birth mark on the inside of her left wrist. It’s there, man. I know that missing persons report backward and forward. It’s Kate.”
All the air I had unintentionally been holding in flew out of my chest and my head became light. I quickly looked around for a place to sit, but I couldn’t make it so I slid down the side of the wall until my ass hit the ground.
“She’s so beautiful. Dude, you’ll be blown away. She still has the most stunning blonde hair, except it’s long now. Almost to the middle of her back.”
“Should I... I don’t know... should I say something to her?” My mind was jumping up and down in excitement, pumping its fists in pure joy, but my body was clearly still in shock.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, you just need to meet us in New York. Besides, she’s sleeping right now. She hasn’t heard anything I’m saying to you.”
“Where the hell are you guys?”
“On a plane back to New York. I picked her up five hours ago in San Diego,” he stated.
“San Diego?! I’m in fucking San Diego. You mean she was only a few miles away from me?” My heart plummeted at the thought. Was it possible she was always that close to me while I was living in San Diego?
“Before you start thinking what I know your thinking, she didn’t live there. She was south of the border like we thought. Look... it’s a long story. Get your ass to New York. I’m buying you the next available ticket right now. We’ll talk once you get there.”
“Wait, how are you talking to me on a plane?” I questioned.
“Dude, get with the times. The sky is not the limit anymore.”
I quietly chuckled but sobered when I thought about Kate sitting right next to him on the other end of this line. Kate. My beautiful Kate. I wanted to keep Charlie on the phone just so I could maintain the only connection I’ve had with her in years. I was so damn afraid to lose that feeling.
“How does she look?” I whispered.
“Good, man. Really good.”
“If she wants anything before I arrive, get it for her. Anything at all. I don’t care if it’s a fucking chocolate bar dipped in gold, you get it for her.”
“I think I’ve got it covered, Lane,” he chuckled.
My sigh of relief was enough of a response for him and he sounded off quickly. I placed the phone in my lap, staring at the tiny little device that managed to turn my world right-side up once again.
~~~~~~~
Me: Change of plans. I won’t be in on Monday
Jace: Dude, call Audrey. I can’t continue to keep this from her
Me: It’s all over, I’ll be telling her everything soon enough
Jace: What do you mean it’s all over?
Me: On my way to NY to pick up my girl
Jace: Are you serious? HELL YEAH!!!!
- FOUR -
My hands shook and a familiar smell permeated my nose as I pushed open the same doors I’d been through countless times since I was a kid. My dad was currently an officer, my uncle was an officer, and even my grandfather had been on the force. The 72nd precinct in Brooklyn would always feel like a small piece of home to me.
The place quieted down as I marched in and heads rose to double-check that they were seeing things correctly. Yeah, assholes it’s me.
“Parker?” I heard old Frank’s voice question from across the room.
“Yes, sir.” I nodded my head in his direction and continued toward the back, where I knew I would find the peeling, tiled stairs. All of the offices and interrogation, or “interview,” rooms were located upstairs. I smiled when I saw that the light bulb directly in front of the ladies’ restroom was still burned out. All these years and no one had thought to change that damn thing?
My shoulder hurt like a bitch and the pills I could hear rattling in my bag were calling my name, but they would have to wait. The taxi ride from JFK had taken about forty-five minutes and the entire time I battled with myself to not take anything before I saw her. I was pretty sure I smelled like I had been on an airplane all day, but I didn’t care. She was here. Kate was in the building and I was only moments away from her.
“No!” I suddenly heard a woman’s voice vehemently gasp from above where I was currently climbing up the stairwell. “We are not prisoners. We WILL NOT go into your little interrogation chamber, so you can all gawk at us through your stupid two-way mirror. Out here is fine, thank you,” she stated angrily.
My feet pushed forward up the last two steps and I rounded the corner into a packed hallway. Officers were leaning up against every wall; ones that I had worked with before and a few new ones as well. I tried to take in all the faces staring back at me, but I was only looking for one.
I heard a tiny intake of breath and then what sounded like a little boy whisper, “Superman!”
My eyes tried to peer through all of the bodies, but I couldn’t see where the pint-sized voice was coming from. There were too many people in such a close proximity. I decided to look for Charlie first. He would know where she was.
“That’s not Superman. That’s Daddy!” the sweetest little voice called out.
My body shot ramrod straight and all my attention was focused solely on that voice. My knees buckled and hit the ground with a loud thud, but now directly in my line of sight was the face of an angel. She barreled down the hall and through the crowd, running directly toward me.
Every time I played out this moment in my head, never did I imagine it happening like this. I watched her long, blonde hair trail behind her and heard her little pink shoes slap the tile loudly. Right before she launched her body at me, she came to an abrupt halt only inches in front of me. We both stared at one another. She looked at me with, curiosity, and I took in every single inch of her that had changed in the past four years. She was four now. Four years old. Four years that I had missed.