The Throwbacks, Book 1 of The Scotland Yard Exchange Program Series

The Throwbacks, Excerpt #5

Chapter 3

            “Yes.  Oscar.”

            Dan shook his head and looked away.  “Maria’s the perfect age for you.”

            David’s mood sobered somewhat, and he let the subject of Oscar go for the moment.  Dan was right about Maria.  This was exactly what he needed to do.  There was nothing wrong with dating a fourty-something year old woman.  That’s what he should do.  After all, he was nearly a fifty year old man. 

That was his exact problem.  He was getting old. But he, like millions of other men, had to get over it.  Unlike millions of other men, he was determined not to get over it by pretending he was young, finding a young wife and becoming a new father when he should be a grandfather.  The knot in his stomach would pass.

“Where are we off to?” David asked.  It was time for business.  At least he had the solace of his fake-homicide sting investigation scheme.  His initiation case would determine the fate of the new Scotland Yard exchange program--and quite possibly the rest of his career. That ought to keep him distracted.

            “We’re going back to headquarters to talk to the men who canvassed the area and look at the file.  Rick and Theresa agreed to postpone their wedding for a while.  The Mayor reminded me that we now have nine days to wrap up our investigation and hand him the attempted murderer case in a neatly closed package.”

            The tires screeched, unnecessarily, as they pulled out into the main road.  David raised his brows.  It was a short drive and they made it in silence.  They pulled into the Chief’s spot.  David slammed his door shut behind him and he had to ask.

            “Why are you avoiding talking about Oscar?”

            Dan sighed. “It bothers me.”

            “He did time.  I suppose it was inevitable,” David said and fell silent as they walked inside the double glass doors.

            “It’s still sad and painful to remember even after all these years.  I should have been able to do something,” Dan said as they got onto the elevator.  The doors slid closed.

            “I’m the one who should have been able to do something.  I almost quit school and ran away from home over it.  I should have.  Then maybe my father would have budged.  I was angry with my father for a very long time when he refused to do anything,” David admitted for the first time.  The elevator was silent.

            “What did you expect him to do?”

            David paused as he let the sharp pain in his gut slice through and subside, the way it did every time he thought about it, even now all these years later.  He spoke quietly.

            “I expected –I asked him to take Oscar in – to be part of our family.”

            “You were in London then.  That was crazy to expect.”

            “Oscar saved my life.  I was a kid,” David remembered and felt the tug of pain again.

            “He saved both of us,” Dan said. 

            They both fell silent.  The elevator delivered them to a carpeted corridor and they walked to Dan’s office and he closed the door behind them.  Dan took the seat behind his desk and David took one of the two uncomfortable but serviceable chairs in front.  They looked at each other and David nodded.  They needed to put Oscar aside for now.  But they’d get back to it.  Dan picked up his phone and called the detectives into his office.