I was speaking with Ewan and a boy named Eamon. Eamon was from the Irish Republic and his mother worked for Boeing.
"We wanted to talk to you about Wonky, he doesn't seem very happy. You're really good at making people feel better and I wondered if you'd talk to him," Ewan asked forlornly.
"Wonky? Why is he called Wonky? That doesn't seem very nice," I responded.
"I don't know, it's what people call him. Do you think that's what's making him sad?" Ewan asked.
"I won't know until I speak to him, where would I find him and what is his real name?" I asked.
"Wingate, I don't know his Christian name do you Ewan?" Eamon contributed.
"No, but he's usually in the library in the math building around this time. He's blonde and almost looks like a girl," Ewan added.
Since I was just rereading an old favorite book I thought I might go see this troubled boy, or at least see if he was troubled.
I found him in a private study room in the math building with a stack of books and his computer in front of him. He seemed quite at ease. And he was very attractive, almost feminine, pale grey blue eyes shown from dark eyelashes and his features were delicate with full lips and a cute nose. His blonde hair tended toward loose curls, but when he looked up and saw me he became tense and guarded, his expression changed to a somewhat fearful blank.
I tapped on the door and he gestured me in.
I entered and asked, "Is your name Wingate?"
"Yes, I'm Wingate, who are you?"
My name is Etienne Mac Gregor, do you just go by Wingate or do you have a given name that you use here?"
The blank expression changed to one of guarded curiosity.
"I prefer to be called Wil, my real name is Ewil but I prefer Wil," He replied.
"Wil it is then, I hear that you are fond of math, possibly much more so than me, What are you studying there?"
"Fractals, I find them fascinating and they affect so much of the real world. Are you familiar with them?"
"A bit but I'm hoping to take the class next semester from Prof. DeVane, I conceded.
"Well, you'll find that fractals rule and make up the world. Patterns within patterns and they replicate to an infinite extent," Wil explained.
"So fractals are you favorite then?" I inquired.
"At the moment, although the study of probability is intriguing, are you familiar with that?" Wil countered.
Well, there is this book I was reading earlier today, it's an old favorite and I find it keeps me sane to read it occasionally. But it delves rather humorously into probability or rather improbability. I believe the theory in the book was that if you figure out how improbable a particular event is to happen, then calculate the exact improbability factor, the event will occur immediately. Does it sound familiar?" I asked.
"You read Douglas Adams? So do I, I love his writing. A lot of Americans can't get through the wordplay but that's something I enjoy," Wil exclaimed.
"It's a very good trilogy in five books," I said hoping he'd get the joke.
"Have you listened to the radio shows? They're the best and the TV shows aren't bad. The movie sucked but movies of books like that usually do. They have to dumb it down for the general audience. It was amusing but not very good," Wil explained.
His expression now was one of joy at finding someone who shared some of his interests.
A fifteen year old called Adam Kingsley opened the door without knocking. "Hey Wonky, are you going to be around here awhile, I want your help with my Calculus,"
"Excuse me, we're having a private conversation here. You could at least knock. Show some decency at least. And by the way, his name is Wil," I said using my command voice.
"Oh yeah sorry, I'll check with you later Wil, y'know to see if you have time to help me," Adam apologized.
I held out my hand and introduced myself. While I had his hand I imparted the instruction to tell his friends that Wil shouldn't be called Wonky or ordered to tutor them any time they demanded it. I did this without speaking.
After Adam left, Wil asked me why I did that.
"He interrupted a private discussion, he was rude and he called you a nickname that I could see gave you pain. There's nothing wonky about you, you're just more able to see the nuances of math than they are. You shouldn't have to help people who abuse your gift for their own advancement. If you choose to tutor deserving students that's your business, what they were doing goes against the spirit of this school," I explained.
"Who told you it was bothering me? That they were bothering me?" Wil asked solemnly.
"I don't think you really want to know, just know that they were worried for you but powerless to assist you. So I was asked to see what could be done, would you rather I hadn't?" I pressed.
"No, I'm glad you did. They didn't really bully me they just made me feel used," Wil replied.
"That in itself is a type of bullying, even a type of extortion. They didn't seem to value your friendship, but only what you could do for them," I added.
"I think you're right, it's only three guys but if they want my help now they'll have to ask nicely and do it in public so it's out in the open. Is that too harsh?" Wil asked.
"I don't think so, and it will do their personalities and morals some good I suspect, but we were talking about fractals and improbability before we were interrupted," I reminded.
Wil and I chatted about math for quite a while and then returned to our respective dorm rooms to prepare for dinner.
**************
Good afternoon Mr. Mitchell, you're probably curious about why we invited you to spend the Christmas holidays with us," Mike said politely.
"Fuck Christmas and fuck you all. You got nothin'" Mitchell responded.
"You'd be surprised what we have, But we'll start slow. Do you recognize the boy in this photo?" Mike asked holding up a school photo of Evan Peterson.
"Na, never met him, ugly little fuck though," Mitchel sneered.
"Maybe you can explain how your DNA was found inside his body in a wound you caused?"
"Bullshit, you're just trying to scare me into saying I did something I didn't," Mitchell replied a bit less cocky.
"Let's take a look at a few other photos, "This boy was Sammy Olmos he lived in a trailer park outside of Eloy. Why did we find a nude photo of him in your trophy box?" Ron put in. "Oh that's right, you don't know. Your uncle didn't appreciate you taking over his shed to store your crap. Most of it was left in Idaho because it was stolen property. Stolen from Latah county residents, that's small potatoes compared to what you're facing now.
"No, we don't need to scare you, we have you by your rotten little neck," Mike snarled. "this boy was repeatedly raped by you and then emasculated and raped again. Unless you have an identical twin, you're pretty well screwed."
"But you can't have my DNA I never gave consent," Mitchell shouted.
"We didn't need it, we were supplied with a sample of your hair. It's a strange custom but I have heard of it before. Most families put a lock of hair in a baby book, but yours has an interesting custom of mounting baby's hair on a board. We were quite surprised when we received a small jar just packed with you hair. Here's a photo of the jar. Your name's right there in laundry pencil, see?" Ron smiled evilly.
"Just so you know, we don't need your consent, we have a court order forcing body fluids for testing, we'll be compelling blood and saliva, a bit later on. We'll get them too, stronger men than you have tried to resist, they weren't successful. We have a special chair to immobilize people who resist. Everyone booked into our jail gets a cheek swab," Toni grinned.
Mitchell said nothing but stared at Toni like he'd love to beat her to death.
"That immobilization chair is just like the one they use for lethal injection in Arizona, I think they use a table in Texas but I'm not sure. Maybe you thought you were really smart, but it's not looking that way to me. Are you sure you don't want to invoke your right to counsel?" Mike asked affably.
"Yeah, I want a fuckin' lawyer. You can't use anything from this whatever against me, cos' I didn't have a lawyer.
"No, you've got that wrong. We warned you that the interview was being recorded. We have you on digital video being Mirandized and then refusing counsel when it was offered. All of this interview is admissible in court, including this last bit. We'll be contacting several other counties along your route of the last twelve years. We know when you were in several locations. You picked up a lot of traffic citations during that time. Those all document your route. I talked to the Sheriff of Pinal county this morning, He's going to put a couple of detectives on a plane and they'll want to discuss a few things with you as well," Mike informed Mitchell.
Ron pressed a button on the wall. Three custody officers entered the room and
unchained Mitchel from the table. Then they rechained him to his transport belt. They assisted him in standing and led him out the door. Mitchel tried to body slam the female deputy and ended up face down in the hallway. He received a bite from a contact taser and was immobilized. Once contained he was strapped to a gurney and returned to custody. Each officer acted in accordance with regulations using only appropriate force to control the suspect.
"Man, I need to kick something really hard," Ron grumbled.
"There's a heavy bag set up just outside the orange door. That's what it's there for," Toni told him. "I've found it to be a source of comfort."
********************
My advanced French class had become quite interesting. I actually felt like I could wander through Le Bois de Boulogne in Paris and converse with the denizens of that well known place of madness. It was often populated by pimps, prostitutes and drug dealers and their customers. My Verlan was really coming along, but Mr. Janvier had warned that his knowledge of Verlan was a bit out of date.
"So guys, do you know of anywhere to rent a saddle horse for an afternoon around here? I inquired of the guys in the common room," I asked.
"Falconridge Farm, it's only 10 miles from here, there's a van that goes there twice a day and you can get a bus and go on from there after you're done riding. Are you thinking of taking a ride?" Bats inquired.
"Yes, I used to go after school and on weekends when I could, back in Santa Barbara. It's a nice way to spend the day," I replied.
"Take a lunch and drinks. The machines are robbery and the food trucks suck on a general basis. And they're expensive too," Bats added.
I returned to our dorm and asked if any of my roommates were interested in riding on the weekend.
Jake was in right away and Jael thought it was a great way to spend a Saturday, Chase was already on track but the other two had other plans.
"Why don't you see if Riga wants to go, I know he's missing horses," I suggested to Jael.
"The dining hall will supply sandwiches to order but we have to go off campus to buy drinks," Jake informed us.
"That's okay, we can take a bus to Ed's or some other market. I'll want to get bottled water and a soda or two. We'll all need backpacks. I have a spare. I'll put my freeze packs in the break room freezer so it will all be cold in the morning," I announced.
Saturday we boarded the Van at school and rode to the stables. It was quiet, and a familiar looking coffee truck was on hand. They always had great hot chocolate and we all indulged.
It was good to be riding again, the horses were healthy and well behaved. You still had to pay attention or you might have a problem. Horses are like people, and some of them are jerks.
Jael and I had helped Riga adjust his stirrups. While we were doing that I told Riga that the Mongols had been credited with the development the stirrup, but it was the fifth century Chinese that had the earliest recorded use. "All those movies with Romans using saddles with stirrups are anachronisms."
We stopped to let the horses drink and had a pee break ourselves. I called home and asked if Mom would object to having a few extra boys at the table.
"Bring them on home dear, I've got a roast in the crockpot and it'll feed an army. I could serve it over noodles as a stroganoff, do you think that would go over well?" Mom replied.
"I'm sure they'd enjoy it. I just have to verify if they want to and if they can get the okay from the D.O.S. ," I explained.
I called the Dean's office and inquired about the possibility. I was told that Jael would have to vouch for Riga because of Riga's age. The others simply needed to text in to the number provided for itinerary changes.
I made the invitation. Jael made his call and the rest of us sent the required text.
Once we had completed our ride, we returned to the stables and handed over the mounts. They were patted and petted by us, and then led away.
We boarded a bus that would follow Admiral way to Alki avenue and swing around to Beach drive, it stopped half a block from our homes.
I made introductions and Mom suggested that we all go up and shower.
Since we hadn't planned this, nobody had spare clothes. I was able to supply clothes that would fit Chase, Jake and Jael, but Riga found himself wearing one of my heavy T-shirts until we got everybody's clothes through the laundry.
John and Carter were across the street having a good time with three other boys their age.
"This is a nice house, Etienne," Jael noted, "It's really warm and comfortable. My mom is into the super modernistic furniture with glass tables and weirdly shaped chairs and stuff."
"I think our furniture is contemporary with the house. A lot of it is antique, although we have some reproduction Stickley style pieces. My desk there was built specially for me by a friend of Chase' and now myself. Hiro is a traditional Japanese craftsman. But only in his woodworking. He's quite a modern man otherwise," I shared.
I gave them the tour of the house and introduced them to Dad who was in remarkably good spirits.
Most of my friends had never seen a man wearing a gun belt before. And Dad, with his imposing size looked pretty formidable facing us with that seven pointed star on his belt.
Dinner was well received, and they weren't just being polite. Stroganoff was something the dining hall couldn't seem to get right. Mom knew how to get pasta to the correct texture and it was a great meal with all the veggies to go with it. Her oat dinner rolls were a hit as well.
After dinner, we sat and chatted in the living room.
"You seem happier than usual Dad, did you have a break in a case," I asked.
"Yes, our new cold case squad has identified a serial killer and he's now in custody. We have detectives from Texas, Arizona and Colorado headed our way to interview him. We've got him pinned on DNA evidence so he's never going to walk free again. I'm quite confident about that. Texas and Arizona both still have the death penalty, one of them may extradite him for trial as well. We're talking multiple jurisdictions from each state.
Sunday afternoon, we squeezed in to Mom's car and she drove us back to school. Back in the dorm our two youngest roommates had just returned from their weekend visit.
Ewan and Jean-Claude were envious of our adventures but they had enjoyed themselves at David's house. David's family had an enclosed heated Olympic sized pool.
"It'll be Spring soon, and then end of term. It sure goes by fast, Ewan observed.
Monday was the normal sequence until it wasn't. The alarm went off followed by an announcement that an intruder was on the grounds. He had been seen near the science buildings and everyone was to shelter in locked class rooms.
A combination of our security team and the police cornered the man, who was out of his mind on drugs. The police swarmed him and strapped him to a gurney. He was taken to a hospital for evaluation and our day returned to normal.
***************
"Mike, I've got visitors I'd like you to meet. This is Captain Dane Lewis from Amarillo PD and Lieutenant Wayne Harper from Potter county sheriff's department, The detective from Moffat county Colorado is currently swamped and can't leave," Frank began.
"Good to meet you gentlemen, I presume you're here for Adam Mitchel?" Mike smiled.
"Yes, once we read the bulletin, we had our samples from two child homicides run through the lab and they got a match to your suspect," Dane explained.
"That warms my heart, as you know, our DA will try him first and then once he's convicted, you guys can figure out the batting order on extradition. Wherever he ends up, he'll be in segregation. Convicts aren't known for following the rules. But most of them draw a line at killing kids," Mike told them. "I'm told that there isn't a judge in this state, liberal enough to give this asshole less than life. I do want to take care to shield his family members from unwanted scrutiny. They were very helpful and they don't deserve to be tainted by his conduct. I'd have to say that this is one case where the death penalty is warranted. We have to insure that this piece of crap, never breathes free air again.
Right now, my biggest worry is that custody will screw up and he'll get beaten to death by other inmates, before we get him tried and convicted.
I understand his MO got more violent as he went from west to east, is that correct?" Mike asked.
"Yes, I'm afraid so. He preyed on a lot of immigrant kids who were just looking to make a little change and help their family. The majority of our victims were Hispanic, with two black kids and a Caucasian kid that was snatched from a street corner early in the morning," Dane reported.
"I guess our next stop is our local DA's office. So if you're ready, let's hit the road," Mike suggested. "Ron, Mike, why don't you follow us over with the case file as we have it set up now?"
"Gentlemen, I'm Jim Shepherd and this is my boss Jack Kilroy," ADA Shepherd greeted the detectives.
"I will have to wait until Mr. Mitchel has been assigned an attorney before any other interviews can proceed. I would be willing to bet that Mitchell will ask for a deal that doesn't include extradition. He knows he's pretty well screwed in Texas and Arizona. And now Nevada and Utah are contacting me for verification. So it's going to be a busy couple years for Adam Mitchel. We will be prosecuting first. And then the batting order will be Texas, Arizona, Nevada and then Utah. And that's if he survives custody that long. I really doubt that even the most liberal of civil rights organizations will want to be associated with this case. They usually pick the battles they have a chance of winning. That at least, has been my experience.
"I think we're all in agreement here, and we'll be happy to fly him to Texas, once his challenge to extradition is laughed out of court. We have an agreement with several states and Washington is one of them. Our average stay on death row is about eleven years. I wish we still had the chair, but there's only five states that still have it," Capt. Lewis explained.
"So Mike, what about the initial match?" Jim Shepherd asked.
"Why don't I let Ron tell you about that one," Mike suggested.
"Yes sir, Our first move was when we recovered the sample from the old case storage. It was in some disarray, Lab personnel were the only ones to actually handle the DNA vials. The DNA service 23& Me, was contacted and we supplied them with a warrant to provide any matches. They didn't argue and they responded quickly with results which identified Mitchell's uncles and aunts. And inter view with the aunt turned up a sample of hair from the suspect and he was located by means of contacting the second uncle. We acquired his trophy collection and everything was printed before we examined it. I don't believe that anyone could find any procedural errors. Mitchell's family was very forthcoming and volunteered statements about Mitchell's character. He had a bad rep with family. We contacted the Latah county authorities and they released him to us after Mitchell unsuccessfully appealed the extradition. The only issue that might come up is the fact that we did the interviews with the family before we were officially sworn back into the department. We did have a uniformed deputy doing the driving and he was present for the interview. I don't think it could be said that we stepped outside our authority, and the family is more than happy to cooperate at this point," Ron explained at length.
"I don't think that's an issue. There was a sworn officer present and that's really all we need. We have precedent established with Lab technicians asking pertinent questions while assisting detectives. The technicians aren't sworn. But let's make sure that the interview logs indicate that the inspectors had a sworn officer while interviews were conducted," Jack Kilroy agreed.
*************
"Hi Etienne, Carter chirped at me when the door opened.
"Hi Carter, are you and my brother done with your collaboration?" I asked.
"Is that like doing something together," Carter asked about the word I had used.
"Spot on Carter, that's exactly what collaborate means. But Mom would like John to come home and get ready for dinner. We're having people Dad works with over for a celebration. I'm sure John would rather stay here and build with you, but it's kind of an important thing. It will probably be boring for John," I told him.
John walked home with me, while Chase stayed with Carter. Chase would join us once Jeff arrived home with Celeste. It was looking very much like Carter and Chase would have a new mom before the year was out. I had taken a reading and she was genuine. Janisse agreed with my impression and we watched the relationship grow.
I helped Mom with the banquet tables, we would have nearly twenty-four guests give or take extras.
Art and I had moved a substantial amount of furniture out of the dining room and set up the rented tables.
Herb Talbert and Antonia Putnam arrived first.
"Thanks for inviting us Minnie, are you sure you're okay with what we want to do?" Toni inquired.
"We'll all be honored," Mom told her.
People trickled in of the space of fifteen minutes and finally everyone had checked in and was seated. Mom had prepared prime rib and Dad carved. Art and I served and then made our own plates. We sat with everyone else and enjoyed the chatter as everyone enjoyed the meal. Chase and I passed out champagne flutes once all the dinnerware had been collected.
"There are a few bits of business that I need to discuss because of some information I received late today. I don't think it will be badly received, by this robust company," Dad began. "I received a notification from Jim Shepherd that Adam Mitchell has agreed to plea guilty. After several months of preliminaries, and dancing around the weight of evidence against him, Mitchell has given up. I fully expect that the Captain from Abilene Texas will be here within a week to begin extradition proceedings. Since there is an agreement between Texas and Washington, a judge will inform Mitchell's counsel that he has no recourse to avoid extradition. I was expecting another four or five months of trial, but that has changed. Even if Texas fails to convict, which is unlikely, there are two more states with cases to prosecute.
This could only have been accomplished by the team in this room. The cold case squad has been extremely productive with their activities and the conviction rate is nearly 92%. Our bureau, which includes Cold Case, has recovered itself from the terrible events that arose from corrupt command staff. Reyes, Miller and Alvarez are all residing in Walla Walla as guests of the state of Washington. They may not be there long. The Feds are looking to charge them and several gang leaders on RICO charges," Mike grinned. "So consider yourselves vindicated.
So, I would like to propose a toast to the Homicide bureau as a group, and the Cold Case squad in particular. So raise your glasses," Mike cheered.
"While you are all feeling cheerful, Herb Talbert has something he's like to say, Lt. Talbert?" Mike indicated with his glass.
"Thanks Mike, It has been an honor to work so closely with some of this departments finest officers. This would not have occurred without Mike as the driving force behind our successes. But, that's not why I'm standing before you, I'm here to announce that Chief Inspector Antonia Putnam has agreed to marry me. You will all be notified as to where and when in due time. It will probably be sooner than later. We've agreed that we need nothing in the line of wedding gifts, so if you could make a donation to a favorite charity, that would be more than adequate. Merging households of two people who have lived single for more than a decade will be problematical. I'm sure we'll reach an equitable conclusion. Thanks to our hosts for allowing us to make our announcement here among the finest people this state has to offer," Herb grinned broadly.
Another toast to the promised couple and several tributes to Mike, Frank, Herb and several others. Everyone was feeling pretty good.
"Well Mike, that was a rousing tribute to the entire bureau and department," Scott remarked as they leaned on the porch rail.
"I thought it appropriate. The people inside and yourself are at the core of this bureau. Your support in the changes we've wanted to make has been exemplary. I think we've successfully mended fences between both forensics, patrol and even inter departmentally. I'm pretty pleased with what we've achieved in the last eleven months," Mike pointed out.
"Retention of retirement age officers is up across all the bureaus, there's a lot less infighting over jurisdictional concerns. We're even getting better cooperation from SPD and the DA's office. I think as long as we can keep the management we have, we can continue improving the record of the whole department. By the way, we've selected a site for a south county forensic support facility. It's between Auburn and the county line. It used to be a pharmaceutical lab of some sort. So it's ideal for evidence techs. I just thought you'd like to know. Between you and Frank, we've made a lot of progress, I'm proud to have been part of it," Scott smiled and offered his hand to Mike. They shook and continued watching the street.
***********
Chase and I left the adults to chat about weddings and casework. We holed up in our room after we put John to bed. There would be a final hearing concerning the adoption in a week. School would be out and John would become Caelan Michael Mac Gregor. Grampa had signed off on the choice of names.
"So, do you think our wedding announcement will be met with such a wide acceptance?" I asked Chase.
"From those we know, no question. It's still a few years off, but I don't see those plans changing Etienne. I love you with every part of my being and I know you love me. I think we can be very happy together. Even Celeste is supportive. She's a wonderful person, and Dad really deserves someone like her. I don't see Janisse going anywhere either. Celeste has a very important job with the Port, Carter loves her to pieces and she's really grown on me. No, I think we'll be fine for a good long time my love," Chase said with a kiss as emphasis.
I kissed him back, and thanked my fates for an opportunity to spend my life loving this gentle soul.