Loose Ends

LOOSE ENDS: chapter three

chapter three

Danny O'Reilly looked like he had stepped out of a recruiting poster for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as he stood outside the main entrance to the hotel in downtown Winnipeg. His red tunic was tailored to fit perfectly, and his deep brown leather riding boots equipped with silver spurs gleamed in the afternoon sun. He was shorter than most police officers, but it wasn't too noticeable when he wore his riding boots.

Danny was looking forward to his transfer to the West Coast. It was no secret that he hated Public Relations. Today he was to open the door of a limousine when it arrived and salute the prime minister as he stepped out. A mannequin could have performed the same function. Any real threat or danger was to be handled by the plainclothes officers. Not that any serious threats had been identified.

He stared at the media and leaned slightly forward on his toes to relieve the pressure points on his heels, then used his brown leather gloves to dab at the perspiration that escaped from under his stetson.

He caught the hand signal of one of the plainclothes members of the VIP Security Detail. Estimated time of arrival for the prime minister was three minutes. About bloody time. He glanced at his watch. The PM's flight had been delayed, and it was two hours past the time that he had promised Susan he would be home.

Danny thought back four months to when Tiffany was born. He recently bought Susan a gift certificate for a massage and manicure. As a new mom, she really appreciated the idea. She had booked the appointment for this afternoon. She wouldn't be happy about missing it.

The spurs on Danny's boots jingled when he snapped to attention as the lead cars in the procession of limousines arrived in front of the hotel.

Danny was unaware that fate would alter his life within seconds, plunging him into a world of rules he didn't know existed. A world where the strong murdered the weak. A world where he would have to find out which category he was in.

Jack's footsteps echoed down an empty, antiseptic-smelling hallway as he walked away from the nursing station. Ben and Liz would want answers. He could tell them why. No doubt a drug deal. Whoever did it likely heard a noise and thought it was a ripoff, or maybe the cops.

Jack vowed that one day he would be able to tell Ben and Liz who did it.

But there was something he was afraid to tell them. If it was a dope deal, more than one person was involved. Defense lawyers would insinuate that the other lawyer's client did it, making any conviction tenuous. They would argue the murders weren't preplanned so any conviction would probably be the result of a plea bargain with the condition of an early release.

He wouldn't tell Ben and Liz that today. Let them go through their disbelief and shock. For them, anger would come later.

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled as he stepped into the room. Promise not to cry. They will need me. Must stay strong.

Ben's and Liz's eyes were windows to their terror. Jack saw their pain. Pain that gripped their throats and made talking or breathing difficult. Pain that no words could cure.

Jack broke his promise to stay strong.

It was a day that would be locked forever in their souls.

Damien squinted at one of the closed-circuit television monitors and saw Wizard looking up at the camera from his car.

Damien's voice was curt and to the point. "I'm out back, at the pool." He released the electronic gate, then walked outside to turn the heat down on his barbecue.