Voices of Conflict

Chapter 12

Not able to get back to sleep after his conversation with Chris, Charlie looked over at the clock beside the bed, just four o'clock and still two and a half hours before he had to get up. He sighed and threw his arm over his eyes in a Gary Saunder’s fashion. That did nothing but make him think more about the events of the past couple of days.

He finally gave up and climbed out of bed and quietly walked over to the closet. He grabbed his uniform and shoes, some clean boxers, t-shirt and sox. He slipped out of the room to shower downstairs in the guest bath that Gary usually used. It seemed like everything he did reminded him of Gary. He smiled at himself and yawned.

Something was nagging at the back of his mind that he just couldn't figure out. That something made him wonder if everything was all right at Gary's ranch. It was still way too early to head out there, but since he obviously couldn't sleep he decided to go ahead and make some coffee and shower. At least then maybe he wouldn't wake Chloe up.

He tiptoed down the stairs purposefully skipping the step that always creaked loudly. He knew not to step on that one from experience. Once when he and Chloe were headed upstairs for some wedded bliss, they had forgotten to skip that step and as soon as the loud creaking noise permeated the quiet house, not one but both children were once again awake. At the bottom of the stairs he turned and felt his way down the darkened hallway.

While he fumbled for the bathroom light switch he remembered something Chris had said about when he had gone after the ball in the woods. He had said he smelled something funny, like his aftershave only it didn't smell as good. 'What else was it he said?'

Charlie placed his uniform and other things on the back of the commode and turned to the linen closet for a towel. He scratched the back of his head and thought for a minute. Chris had said he thought he heard something big and it smelled like bad aftershave. Charlie stood in the middle of the bathroom for a few minutes considering what his young son had said. There had been a lot of people at Gary's today. Any one of them could have been in the area where the ball rolled. One of the teenage boys could have been out there hiding with some teenage girl and they didn't want to get caught. One of the older men may have gone out there to…well 'use the facilities'. He shrugged his shoulders and decided to put the coffee on to make while he showered.

Once he found his way down the dark hallway to the kitchen he didn't turn on the light until he reached the sink. He knew where everything was so he didn't need much light anyway. He flipped on the light over the sink and grabbed the carafe from the coffee maker. He quickly rinsed it out and filled it with fresh water. He poured that into the back of the Mr. Coffee and replaced the carafe on the burner. Then he found the filter and filled it with the appropriate amount of coffee grounds to make a strong but not too strong pot of coffee. Gary had shown him how he made it. Gary's coffee was always good, rich but not bitter. Charlie still couldn't get it quite right, but his coffee was much better than it used to be. He pushed the brew button and watched as the water began sputtering into the waiting container.

Something else worried him about Chris' story. He had echoed Gary's words about someone being out there in the woods watching them, and then he had asked what if there was someone out there in the woods that wanted to hurt Gary. 'Why would anyone be watching Gary? Better yet, why would anyone want to hurt him?'

The hairs on the back of his neck just would not lie down.

He stood in the kitchen listening to the sounds of the coffee maker. Gary had heard the sounds of someone nearby when he was in the hammock. They hadn't believed him, but he had even said he heard someone cough. 'Could Chris be right? Gary had heard me at Mercy out on the patio. He could tell it was me before I even said anything. He does have really good hearing.' He chuckled to himself. 'He hears rattling in the squad all the time. Stuff I can't even hear, but Gary, he knows it's there and usually finds it.'

Charlie reached for a cup and waited for the last few drops to disappear into the rippled surface of the coffee. When it remained smooth he pulled out the carafe and poured himself a cup. Out of habit he raised the cup and smelled it. Then he took an experimental sip. 'That's good.'

Instead of going to the shower, Charlie sat at the kitchen table and enjoyed the first morning cup of coffee. While he drank it he continued thinking about the past few days. His thoughts ran through the accident and the burns to Gary's eyes. The party they had been planning for Cap and his picking Gary up at Mercy for the day pass. 'I'm glad Dr. Bushard let him sleep at home tonight. When I went to get him yesterday morning out on the patio he looked so lost and worried.'

He slid his chair back and got up to refill his cup. He remembered Gary looking so defeated. He remembered the way Gary's mouth had sagged in a deep frown, and how he sat so still, obviously disturbed about his prognosis. A helpless Gary Saunders was like a time bomb waiting to explode. But there was something else about that morning…what was it?

Charlie returned to the table and tried to remember what else it was that had bothered him about the time he and Gary spent on the patio. He raised the coffee to his lips to drink and stopped with the cup in mid air. 'There was someone there that looked familiar.'

How could he have forgotten that? The guy had been off in the corner. He had tried real hard to look away. 'He didn't want me to have time to recognize him.' Charlie's military training started kicking in and he began to really consider the ramifications of someone who might actually be trying to get to Gary. Then it suddenly occurred to Charlie that the guy at Mercy looked like one of the guy's he had seen at the party.

'Nah, Charlie, man you really have been hanging around Gary too much. That's crazy.'

He put his cup in the sink and headed for the shower.