After the madhouse that Saturday had been we all slept late on Sunday, I didn't wake up until seven when Seneca demanded food and attention. My phone warbled that I had a message and it was from Chase. He was up early for him and knew that I don't generally sleep late. We decided to go for a walk and discovered the Catering trucks had taken over Lawson park in their normal weekend fashion. We bought Belgian waffles and Canadian bacon from one truck and peach smoothies from another. We watched jugglers and acrobats doing impressive physical feats for a while and then headed back to our homes.
Art and Madeline were just leaving as I returned. The shuttle van arrived and whisked them away. I took a brief look at Madeline when I shook her hand and found nothing alarming. She was a pleasant looking young woman with an astounding intellect and certainly Art's equal. She had many complimentary traits that would help her and Art become a solid couple.
Around nine Mom got a call. It was her friend asking if John could come that day instead of Tuesday. Mom agreed immediately, she wanted to get on with the business of getting this boy settled and easing his worries.
I called Chase and told him about the developments. He told me that he and Carter would be over in fifteen minutes.
We all sat and waited in the large living room, in half an hour John was standing in our doorway with a tote bag holding everything he owned in the world. A small ragged teddy was in the top of the bag. Dad and I introduced ourselves squatting so John wouldn't have to crane his neck to see our faces. I introduced Chase and then Carter. Carter cut right to the chase and hugged John tight and John hugged him back.
"Do you live here too?" John asked Carter.
"No, I live across the street with Chase and our Daddy."
John smiled at the news that Carter lived close by.
Jem would you boys show John his new room while we sign the papers?"
"Sure Mom," I replied.
We walked to the stairs and I asked John if he could do stairs yet.
He shook his head, so I asked if I could carry him up, he smiled at me and agreed.
I lifted him up and there was nothing to him. He was lighter than Carter who isn't particularly heavy either. With his arms around my neck we climbed the stairs and I led him to his door. His eyes nearly popped out of his head. He walked around and touched everything and then looked at his bed. "It's big, how can I get in?" I showed him a drawer that doubles as a step showing him how to pull it out and climb into bed. His grin was a mile wide.
"Let's go through this door here and you can see my room and the bathroom."
"This is really big, how many of us sleep here?
"Mostly just me, but if you have a bad dream or just get lonely, come in here and crawl in with me."
"Won't I get in trouble? We weren't allowed to sleep in the same bed at Chances."
"Chances?" I asked.
"The place where they took me to stay until Tammy comes back."
I suppressed a pang of sorrow for this little boy, He was so innocent.
"Well John, here you can sleep with me if you need to and maybe Carter's Daddy will let him sleep with you some time."
Carter grinned and John matched him.
"Can we go back to John's room, I want to see his bed again," Carter requested.
Okay guys, we'll be right here."
"It looks like they're hitting it off. I'll ask Daddy about sleeping over tonight. It might help him settle in," Chase volunteered.
I kissed Chase on his sweet lips as a thank you.
"They look an awful lot alike but John weighs almost nothing, he's not as developed as Carter. Maybe good food and plenty of it will change that," I thought out loud.
"You're going to be very good for John, Jem.
Carter and John reappeared suddenly. "We have to pee!"
I opened the bathroom door and asked if either needed help. They said no but John returned to the door to ask if I could get his belt and zipper open. I helped him get them undone and they just fell off him. From what I could see he didn't look starved but he wasn't really well nourished either. I would discuss that with Mom and suggest some protein supplement or something like it. He needed to bulk up a bit or he wouldn't be able to grow.
"I just talked to Daddy, he's on his way over to meet your dad and John."
Chase and I sat on John's bed while Carter and John played with a few toys that Mom had acquired until she could take John shopping. We left them to play by themselves and sat on my bed. After some time had passed we heard muffled footsteps on the hall rug. A knock at John's door announced the arrival of Mom, Dad and Jeff.
Chase and I rose and joined them in John's room. John was in Mom's arms and Carter was in my dad's which surprised me. John was thanking Mom for the cool bed and the nice room. He had never had his own room and it was exciting for him. Carter was whispering in my dad's ear and Dad was smiling.
Jeff caught my eye and gestured to follow him into my room. Chase came along and asked if it was private or did he want us both.
"No son, I just wanted to see if you were willing to watch over both boys this evening. Your parents and I discussed it Jem, and I think it would be good for both of them. I have to give Carter some bad news about Auggie tomorrow and it will help him to adjust knowing that John is just across the road."
"So they're moving for sure then?" I asked.
"Yes, I'm afraid so and it's going to hit both boys hard. They've been friends over a year now and they've grown very close."
I wondered if the communicators had anything to do with this, I would summon a messenger later and inquire.
"That's a long time when you're only four, more than a quarter of their lives," I observed.
Jeff smiled, "You really understand little ones don't you?"
"I remember being one, time has a different meaning for them," I supplied.
Chase watched the exchange with his beautiful eyes darting between us.
"Dad you know we'll be happy to watch them, tonight or any other night."
Jeff pulled Chase to him and kissed the top of his head.
We rejoined the others and chatted a bit longer.
"John, Carter, how would you feel about staying together tonight?" Mom asked.
No verbal reply was needed as the boys faces glowed with happiness.
"Would you like some help unpacking and putting away your stuff?" I offered.
"Okay, I don't have a lot even at home there's not much stuff. People just take it."
"Where is your house buddy?" I continued.
"We live in the orange house, lots of people live there but some of them aren't nice," John related.
"Do you know where the orange house is John?" I pressed gently.
"I can see the fireboats and tugboats and big ships from the widows. I don't know the name of the street," John explained.
"But it's painted orange though, right?" I probed carefully.
"No, it used to have oranges inside but now it's just people," John concluded.
We had finished unpacking and I looked up at Dad who had heard every word. I had noticed while we were handling his things, John had nothing to sleep in. John and Carter bounced back into my room and continued playing with my old Legos that I had retained in case of little guys visiting. Now I knew where they needed to be stored.
"Jeff is there a building like John described near docks and fireboats?" Dad inquired.
"It sounds like he's describing the area around Fire station five over on Alaskan way and there's a big empty warehouse near Columbia and I think it was a citrus place years ago. Are you going to check it out?" Jeff asked.
"Oh no, I don't have any standing to get in the middle of an active investigation but I will see if I can find out who caught the case. I have a contact with King County and he might be able to make introductions or at least pass it along," Dad explained.
Dad went downstairs and returned in a few minutes looking satisfied.
"I had a word with the undersheriff and he'll relay my number to the detective on the case."
****
Herb Talbert was a methodical plodder like most really good detectives he was good at collating all the information he collected and it would usually point the way. Tammy Reardon was an easy read; her file was well documented but not petty crime. Just Prostitution and pandering arrests, many of which were dismissed. No drug use either, and the coroner didn't find any in her system. Her case disturbed Herb because it looked like a pattern was emerging in the dock area. She was actually a very nice looking younger woman of thirty-five. She had no address and the one on her license was a closed down cheap motel in Federal way. He would talk to the guys in vice and ask how much they remembered, and her red hair might just ring a bell with one of them.
Now he had some amateur poking his nose in, but he would call the guy and see what he had. It was a California area code for Christ sake.
He sat in a quiet work room and dialed.
"Mr. MacGregor?" Herb inquired.
"Yes, that's me. Are you the detective?"
"Yes sir, I'm Sargent Talbert with the detective bureau here in King County."
"I'm Daegan MacGregor but for our purposes you can call me Mike. Wow, the undersheriff works fast, did he call you himself?" Dad asked.
"No sir, is that who you spoke to?"
"Yes, but I can see that didn't get transmitted to you but it doesn't matter. I wanted to speak to the detective that caught the case of a missing woman that left a little boy in a park in downtown Seattle. Her name was Tammy."
"Well that would be me, can you tell me how the case relates to you?"
"Sure, CPS have asked us to take care of the boy until they find his aunt, or determine if he's adoptable or if he has relatives," Mike replied.
"That's great, I was going to contact CPS tomorrow and find out if I could interview him, what has he told you so far?" Herb asked, his interest rising. He didn't know this guy but the guy knew the job. Maybe he was a retired cop. It's often a pain but sometimes helpful to meet someone who knows the more pertinent aspects in a case."
"Well my son got him talking about where he was living and my neighbor helped us narrow it down to an old citrus warehouse on Alaskan way near a fireboat station, does that sound familiar?" Mike elaborated.
"It does, that will save me a ton of leg work and showing her picture to every homeless hooker in the city. Sorry but that's the business that Tammy Reardon was in," Herb volunteered.
"Would you like to talk to him in person? He's a pretty bright little guy and a real whiz with Legos," Mike offered.
"That would be great, I'll do a little legwork and see if I can I.D. the building. Hey, I gotta ask are you a LEO or were you?" Herb asked.
"Yeah, I just left the Santa Barbara Sheriff's department to move here. I ran the reserve program and now Scott is romancing me to come aboard there."
"I thought so, you talk like a cop and you gave me uncluttered info and that helps. What time is convenient for you tomorrow?" Nate asked.
"Well we're in West Seattle so whatever time you can make it, we're still unpacking here and we'll be up early," Mike advised.
"Okay I'll give you call about twenty minutes out, does that sound good?"
"That's great, we'll be ready."
Herb disconnected after writing down the address and marveled at his good luck. The girls never wanted to talk about another girl. They needed to trust each other and being too free with somebody else's business was frowned upon in their circle. Finding her place would be a huge time saver.
"Hey Jem, where's Mom?" Dad asked.
"She went down to Westmart to get John some fleece sleepers and underwear. He only has the pair he's wearing. Even so he's a happy little guy considering his situation. We need to get him started on one of those dietary supplements for kids, he's way to thin and frail."
"I know son, we'll do that. We were going to get groceries tomorrow and they gave us a brand that he's been drinking at the shelter and we already have an appointment for a pediatrician on Wednesday. I see you're already looking out for him, thank you Jem."
Mom had done a bit of shopping while in town and brought back enough to cook dinner and breakfast. And boy could that little guy eat. He ate an entire chicken breast by himself and a huge portion of vegetables and potatoes with gravy. He demolished his bowl of ice cream and brownie and I handed him my bowl to finish. Carter just barely finished his dessert and he hadn't eaten near as much as John.
Both little guys were running out of steam so it was time to bathe them and get their sleepers on.
I asked John if he wanted a bath or shower and I discovered he hadn't had a bathtub to use for a while. He had always showered with his aunt Tammy except when they stayed at a motel.
Chase and I got Carter and John emptied out and then stuck them in the tub. Carter had a gift for John, it was a squeaky shark bath toy and they had a blast with it. We let them soak and play for a while and then gave them each a good scrub.
"John, I'm going to wash your penis and your bottom now is that okay?" I asked.
"Okay but I get real tickly there," he chirped happily.
I laughed and made a quick but careful job of it and they were ready to get out. We dried them each thoroughly and carried them to Johns bed. I had learned to remove my t-shirt before bathing little ones, it just gets soaked anyway. The feel of Johns body against my chest was heartwarming. His face was snuggled to my neck, I think I know what my dad felt before I no longer needed his help to bathe. I knew that I would enjoy my time with John, however long it lasted.
I gently dressed John in his new sleepers. Mom had laundered them and they were warm from the dryer. He looked adorable and very sleepy. I picked him up and Chase followed with an equally sleepy Carter. We lay them face to face and covered them up. I pulled out the step in case they needed to use the toilet and left my door open a crack after we kissed them goodnight.
"You're a natural Jem and John already loves you; he sees you as his brother and protector in a way that he'll never see Art. Not that Art isn't just as much his brother but he won't be able to spend time with John like you."
"I think Art will make a connection with John, it will be different but just as solid," I replied.
Chase only smiled a sweet smile. We went downstairs to say goodnight and let Mom and Dad know the boys were in bed. We exchanged kisses and Dad hugged and kissed Chase just like Jeff had done for me. They followed us up the stairs to check on the little guys. Mom really wanted to take a picture but she feared the flash would frighten them. She thought she might try again in the morning before they woke.
My parents left closing the hall door and Chase and I passed through to my room, we snuggled in and were asleep quite quickly.