“Chief?”

Chief turned in his chair. The voice was so small and quiet he barely heard it.

“What are you doing in the dark?” 

Chief smiled at his youngest. “What are you doing up so late, pumpkin?”

She shrugged and walked over to his chair.

“Couldn’t sleep?” he asked her. He noticed the sad, resigned expression in her eyes. Her pupils, large from the lack of light in the room, caught the subdued orange of the fire and reflected it back to her father. “Another nightmare?”

“No sir. I ... I was just waiting up for you to get home. I kept listening for you when I heard the door close on yer truck. But you didn’t come up.”

Kelly looked at the fire, then turned back to her father.

“What are ya doin’, Chief?”

“Just thinking, pumpkin.”

“About what?”

“Things,” whispered Chief. He took a deep breath then turned to the fire. “Things that happened a long time ago.”

“Can I think with you?”

“Sure, baby, come on up.” 

Chief re-situated himself to allow extra room for his daughter to sit on his lap. She climbed into the space and leaned against his shoulder. He put an arm around her and they both stared into the flames.

It was a while before Chief broke the silence. 

“How was your day, pumpkin?”

“It was okay.”

“Just okay?”

“I had fun. I always have fun with Mike.”

“How was the drive into Bridgeport?”

“Long,” she said to the fire. Then she turned her face up to his. “There was an accident on the road. Mike didn’t say, but I think he even knew.”

Chief turned his attention to his daughter. “Knew what, pumpkin?”

She looked away and to the fire. “It weren’t no accident.”

“It wasn’t?”

“No, sir. The tiger did it.”

Chief, whose eyes never left the top of Kelly’s head, asked, “Where was this accident?”

“Outside o’ Springdale,” she answered quietly.

“Springdale?”

“Uh-huh. Mike thought it was strange too, because that meant the tiger was going the wrong way. But he wasn’t cuz he was goin’ to Huey.”

“Huey?”

“Yeah. We picked him up too.” At that she fell silent. Chief noticed her concentration was again on the fire.

*  *  *  *  *

Chief gently closed the door of his daughter’s room. It was seven o’clock and she had stayed awake with him in the back room all night. Maggy was just leaving her room and she nodded to her father as she closed the door.

“She all right?”

“Finally got her to bed. She’s having trouble sleeping. Can’t say as I blame her.”

“I see you’re suffering from the same affliction,” Maggy retorted, regarding her father’s own appearance.

“I got in late,” he said.

They descended the stairs together and arrived at the kitchen just in time to save the phone a second ring.

“Broden’s,” Chief said into the receiver.

“Bob?  It’s Frank.”

“Frank, how’s it going?”

“Well, fine, I guess. Look, the reason I called...” there was a pause. Chief waited patiently for Frank Dobbs to find his words. “The reason I’m calling Bob, is ... well I read yesterday’s paper.”

“I see.”

“Look, I know watching that child of yours is a full time job. I can’t see you doing that and trying to find that lunatic. I just want to offer you my help in this. You can bring Kelly over here if you want. I’ll take care of her while you’re working on this case.”

“I really appreciate that, Frank.”

“Not just me, Bob. I called some of the others as well. We all want to help. We’re willing to look after the young-un with both barrels if need be. Crawford, Douglas, O’Hara, Evers, even Porter if you can believe that.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Chief answered staring at the blue and white striped wallpaper. 

“I think the town realizes what it did to your family last fall, Bob. It’s their way of making it up to you. Anyways, we’re working up a schedule for you. As far as today is concerned, you can bring her over here any time you’re ready.”

Chief was silent for a long time. He knew the time they offered him was not offered lightly. Just by watching Kelly, these men put their own lives in danger as well as the lives of their families. Blackney, the tiger, was not about to let anything or anyone stand in his way of accomplishing his goal. Dominate and kill. The thought buckled Chief’s stomach. 

“Thank you,” he told the man on the other end of the line. That ‘thanks’ extended beyond the line- to all the men that offered their help.

“I was about to call you, Frank,” Chief said after another pause. “I need to borrow the hounds, if that’s alright?”

“I told you before, the Middleton Police Department is always welcome to my dogs whenever they’re needed. Part of the reason I got into the breed in the first place.”

“The treasury will pay for their time.”

“Just bring that bastard back in chains, Bob. That will be payment enough for me.”

“He was your friend once too, Frank,” Chief said quietly.

“Bob, that part of him was gone a long time ago, now wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, I guess it was at that,” Chief answered remembering his conversation with the doctor. “We just refused to see that, didn’t we?”

“Unfortunately you’re right,” Dobbs answered. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

Chief hung up the receiver. He stared at the phone a long time before Maggy brought him around.

“Chief?”

“Hmmm?” he asked then shook his head to clear it of the thoughts that had gathered there.

“I said,” Maggy repeated. “That I called Anne’s yesterday and told them not to expect me today. That way I can keep an eye on Kelly for you.”

Chief rubbed his chin, then returned to Maggy. “That won’t be necessary, honey.”

“But Chief, you won’t be able to do it–”

“Frank Dobbs has volunteered.”

“Oh?”

“Actually,” continued Chief. “It seems several members of the town have decided to pitch in and help us out.”

Maggy smiled.

“I’d feel better knowing Kelly is with someone who could handle a fire-arm, Maggy. I really do appreciate your offer–”

“I understand. I’ll call Anne’s and see if they need me today after all.”

“Make that the afternoon shift, honey. I need to go to the office right now and talk to Mike. I’d like Kelly to sleep as much as possible.”

“Want me to call you when she wakes?”

“Yeah, please do. I’m going to grab Mike and force-feed him at Elly’s. You can reach me there.”

“Force feed?”

“For the day I’ve got planned for him, he’s going to need his strength.”

Chief kissed Maggy on the forehead. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours. Don’t forget to keep the doors and windows locked while I’m out.”

Mike looked up as the office door was pushed open. He nodded to Chief, then returned his attention to the report he was two-finger typing on his Royal. Chief crossed the room to the coffee station and removed his mug from the side table. He poured himself a cup of the steaming liquid, despite the fact he was still experiencing the jitters from the two pots of coffee he had consumed mere hours ago.

He looked over at his deputy who had just completed the finishing touches on his report. The carriage return dinged its final bell as it swung back into its starting position.

Mike removed the paper and held it in the air for Chief.

“What’s that?” Chief asked coming closer.

“My report.”

“Report on what?”

“Yesterday’s fiasco, what else?” Mike stared at his boss. “Didn’t the Squirt tell you?”

“You mean the accident? She said you suspected the ‘tiger.’”

“Accident? Tiger?”

“Outside of Springdale.”

“Oh, yeah, that. It’s in the report too.”

Mike paused to read Chief’s expression. “She didn’t tell you,” he finally concluded.

“I asked how it went. She said she had fun, and might I add,” Chief said smiling. “She said she always has fun with Mike.”

“Fun? Jesus Christ, Chief! I damn near got her killed! Well here,” he added shoving the report into Chief Broden’s face. “Nine stitches and a tetanus shot. I can’t believe she didn’t say anything.”

“Stitches? Shot?”

“Read the report.”

“I don’t want to read any goddamned report, Mike. Tell me what happened, from the beginning.”

“I typed that thing up to get all the facts straight boss, you know cut out the emotional bullshit. Stick to the facts. It’s the only way to keep what happened straight in my head. If you could have been there… so much agony. I never saw so much goddamned agony in my life.”

Chief sat down on the top of his desk and glanced at the report. He handed it back to Mike. “Tell it from the beginning, Mike. And don’t skip the emotional bullshit on my account, please. Sometimes that’s where you find the clarity.”

Mike took a deep breath. He set the report carefully down on the top of his desk and proceeded to relay the events of the previous day. He didn’t leave out a single reaction- a single emotion or impression. He started with the departure from the police station and progressed through to the “accident” just outside of Springdale.

“I knew something was wrong, Chief. No skids. Two highway cruisers and three cars from Springdale. A little too much heat for a roadside collision, especially considering there was only one car involved.”

“Was it Blackney?”

“Oh yeah. Old method: strangulation and a quick snap.”

“Didn’t want to mess up the guy’s clothes?”

“My guess.”

“What about the scene?”

“Clean. The guy was killed somewhere else. Then he was driven to that spot.”

“Springdale sending a detailed report? Coroner report?”

“You kidding? Those Springdale ass-holes kept screamin’ jurisdictional crap in my face. Highway boys are sending one up. Oh, that reminds me. The sergeant at the scene claimed to be an old friend of yours. Sergeant Moss.”

Chief cracked a smile. “I haven’t heard from Moss in years. What’s he doing with the highway boys anyway? He was one of the best field agents out of Gainesville, last I knew him.”

"Fed?"

“Yeah, unorthodox as hell. He must have pissed Perkins off. I bet that’s what happened,” Chief mused, nodding his head. “What happened next?”

Mike continued to fill in the events of the previous day as he remembered them. Relating his initial belief that maybe Blackney was after Hank.

“It wasn’t until we were getting ready to pull over for lunch when I realized– well, actually, Hank realized what was going on in the back seat. He had me pull over to the side of the road. My god Chief, she looked like before. No expression. She just stared out the window. Well, Hank blows up at Huey....”

“I’m listening,” Chief said at Mike’s hesitation. 

“Hank pulled Kelly around to face us. She started crying at that point. The water just dumped out of her eyes, boss. Before I could say another word she was out the door–”

“Bolted?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“From what?”

“I guess to get away from the boy. He told her things, Chief.”

“What sort of things?”

“Exactly what his father wanted him to tell her. That’s what worries me. He’s playing a whole new game now.”

“Meaning?” asked Chief, but he was afraid he already knew what Mike was about to say.

Mike stared at Chief. He opened his mouth to answer, then decided to let Chief draw his own conclusions. “I went after the Squirt, caught her just shy of the woods. Huey tried fleeing, but Hank caught up with him. There was more yelling–it’s detailed in the report. Then Huey goes into it. He lets go of what he told her. One: that not only is his father going to ‘get’ her, but is also going to rip her head off–”

Mike heard the escaped breath of Chief. He looked up from his desk to face his boss. Chief was staring, transfixed, at the floor. The agony was there, in his eyes.

“Please continue, Mike,” Chief whispered to the floor.

“...just like the preacher’s,” Mike continued. “And two: that his pa was going to pay Hank back as well. For betraying the family, he plans to kill Hank too.”

“I can see why she was upset–”

“That’s not what did it, boss. It was when he mentioned killing you that the Squirt got all tensed up. It’s you she’s worried about.”

Chief nodded. “That explains it,” he mused. He looked up from the floor and eyed his deputy. “She waited up for me last night. I didn’t get in until well after three. She heard me pull in. When I didn’t go directly upstairs she came down to find me.”

“Anyway,” Mike said. “It explained the corpse past Springdale. Blackney was on his way to find Huey. Give him his assignment.”

“He’s trying to wear her down,” whispered Chief. He looked at Mike. “And it’s working.”

“Psychological torture. Isn’t that what they call it?”

“Yes,” Chief’s voice was still low. He directed his attention once more to the floor. “You’ve mentioned stitches? And a shot?”

“I should have been paying more attention, Chief. That was my fault. I didn’t know the kid had a knife.”

Chief looked up from the floor and rested his eyes on Mike. The stare was heavy, it kicked the wind out of Mike. But he continued. “I’m so sorry. I guess he used the knife to control her in the back seat, while he filled her head with fear. I should have kept a closer watch.”

“It’s not your fault,” Chief whispered. “He’s only an eleven year old boy for Christ’s sake. How could you have known?”

Mike swallowed. “I asked her after we got back why she didn’t say anything. Why she let him trap her. She told me she didn’t want him using the knife on me, Chief. Do you believe that?”

Chief nodded. “She knew he wouldn’t hurt her,” Chief said to Mike. Then he looked away. Into the empty air he continued. “Because that’s the tiger’s honors. She knows, Mike.”

The silence became heavy in the room. Stifling. Mike ended it before he choked on it. “So how did it go with you?” he asked. “That doctor know anything?”

“Oh, yeah. He knew plenty,” whispered Chief, still contemplating the empty air. Then he turned to Mike. “We’ll discuss it at Elly’s. I need something to eat.”

Mike said. “That bad?”

Chief just looked at him. “Worse,” he answered as he stood and walked to the door. Mike noticed the manila folder he carried in his left hand. He hadn’t laid it down since he entered the office.

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