InsaneJournal

Jim flips his cell phone closed as he watches the gang members clustered on the front walk a moment longer. Putting the phone into his pocket he said with no little impatience, “This is getting us nowhere. Sandburg’s staying with your grandmother, which leaves us with time on our hands.”

Earl glanced over at Jim. “There is something about Leron that seems familiar, I just can’t figure it out.”

Jim focused on Leron, letting his sense of sight tighten on him, glancing over him and cataloging different features. “He’s wearing regular clothes… a little jewelry. When was the last time you saw him?”

“Long time ago… what was that flash?” Earl narrowed his gaze, attempting to see better. Jim catches the flash again and recognizes it as a bracelet.

“Metal bracelet on his wrist, why?” Jim pulls back his sight and turns to Earl, who smiles at him.

“I think I know just the boy we need to roll for information. I remember the guy that shot Antoine had a metal bracelet on his arm.”

Jim started the truck and drove to where Earl directed him. They parked across the street from an alleyway where another 357 gang member stood, leaning against the brick wall behind him. Earl gets out of the truck, Jim follows from his side, and they both saunter down the street. It was becoming dark and the buildings cast long shadows across the alley.

“You got to be more careful, Jason. The streets are getting real dangerous these days. I thought maybe you and I could have a little talk you know, brother to brother? I want to talk about Leron and that little scar of his.” Earl reached out a hand, snagging the lapels of the jacket that Jason is wearing and drags him into the alley. Jim kept close, covering his fellow cop. Earl roughly handled the gang member, forcing him to face the wall. “Turn around right there. Now, I know Leron killed Antoine and you're his partner, so I figure you were driving. Only thing -- who put you up to it?”

“I don't know what you're talking about.” Snarled Jason belligerently. Earl growled.

“Wrong, man! One way or another, you're going to tell me.”

Jason moved to fake Earl out, trying to gain control of Earl’s gun, but Jim is there to snag the hood’s hand back, pinching a pressure point in the hand as he does so, rendering it useless for the time being. Together, Jim and Earl cuff the gang member and drag him out of the alley towards Jim’s truck. Jim smirked in satisfaction and said.

“You won’t talk to us here, maybe you will talk to us downtown, eh?” He shoved the hood into the backseat of his truck. Earl got into the back with him while Jim takes the driver’s seat.

From around the corner Leron watched and snarled. The plan was going sour. He turned and swiftly disappeared in the shadows.

o-O-o

Blair sat listening to Miss LaCroix tell him stories about her life here in Cascade. He was enjoying the old woman’s memories, but he knew something was going to happen. Wolf sat patiently at his side, laying his great head on Blair’s foot. Panther sat sentry on the door, his back straight and his head alert.

He was startled when sudden silence filled the tiny living room. He glanced up to see Miss LaCroix staring, as if she could actually see him. “You got something about you, boy. I ain’t seen it in a long time, but… you got some gift hovering over you, you know that don’t you?”

Blair blushed. He didn’t see it so much as a gift, but as a nuisance. He had a couple of spirit animals that tagged along in his wake, so what? He shook his head dejectedly. “No, Miss LaCroix, I don’t mean to be disrespectful. But there is nothing special about me.”

He turned the conversation back to her. “You, on the other hand, are amazing. You have a family, yet you insist on living alone in this neighborhood. Pardon my slight Jewish upbringing but… that takes some *khutspe*.”

Miss LaCroix laughed, “Not at all, Child. Just 'cause I live by my lonesome, don't mean I'm alone. Folks in this building watch out for each other.”

Blair smiled, and then turned thoughtful. This could work out after all. “These neighbors of yours… ever thought of calling a neighborhood watch? One person on their lonesome is easy to silence. The more witnesses you have, the harder it is to keep things quiet.”

Miss LaCroix canted her head thoughtfully. “I heard you tell your friend on the phone you wanted to stay… as a witness… you can see where as I cannot… I see the wisdom of your words. Let me make a couple calls.”

Blair grinned as she stood and moved over to her phone. After making a call or two, she turned into the kitchen and began to pull out the ingredients for dinner. Blair stood up and went to help her, only to be shooed back by the Old Granny with a skillet in her hand. He was quick to oblige her threat and relaxed on the sofa. It was going to be a long night.

o-O-o

Jim walked along the bars to the holding cell where Jason was being held. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught what appeared to be a curl of smoke. He shook his head once, and then walked around the corner. Jason Garvey lay sprawled out on the cell floor. One gunshot to the head, his blood draining out of his skull and pooling on the floor.

Jim called out for help. One of the uniformed officers comes in, saw the dead body, and called for backup on his radio. Jim turned to the uniformed officer and grabbed his sleeve.

“Who was the last person to see him?” he demanded. The officer paused, rolling his eyes up to stare at the ceiling as he thought.

“Lieutenant Williams just left about five minutes ago.” He answered, finally. Jim let him go so that he could coordinate the forensics team and the coroner to deal with Jason’s body. He heads back up to the elevator at a fast clip.

His feet take him to Simon’ office where he knocks once in respect before opening the door and checking to see if anyone else is with his Captain. Simon is alone and Jim motions for the Captain to accompany him immediately. Within moments they are riding the elevator down to the garage.

Once in Jim’s truck, Jim takes out his cell phone and dials a number. Simon remains silent as they make their way out of the garage. Someone answers the phone line and Jim begins to talk.

“Where are you?” Pause for answer. “Good, stay there, there’s a problem. Open the door for no one.”

Jim hangs up. Simon watches the streets go by for another minute before he asks. “You want to explain this?”

“Not yet, sir…” replies Jim hesitantly. Simon sighed.

“I was afraid of that.”

o-O-o

Blair smiled as the old record player droned out the soft tunes of a blues piece. Miss LaCroix sat back and relaxed with him, her old eyes shining. They both jumped at the first knock on the door and the brash command from outside.

“Yo, Mrs. LaCroix! I got to talk to you. It's about your boy Earl.”

Blair growled as he stood quietly. He glanced at Miss LaCroix. “I got this. You ready?”

Miss LaCroix nodded. “Whenever you are, boy. Let them come.”

Blair smiled, then schooled his features into a tight mask and opened the door. He was pushed aside almost immediately by two gang members. One of them snarls, “You're going to have to come with us, ma'am. We're going to take you to him.”

Miss LaCroix narrowed her blind eyes, her head tilting to the side as she savored the voice of the young man before her. “I know that voice. That's Sylvia Hayes' boy, Marcus.”

Blair fairly beamed at the sight. She knew the boy; therefore it rattled him just a bit. Perfect. He heard the snarl of Panther and the growl of Wolf. No time to relax, the game was up now!

“Come on, we ain't got much time.” Rumbled Marcus. Of course, he would be impatient once his voice was recognized and he had been identified. Miss LaCroix appeared unruffled as she turned towards the kitchen.

“Just a minute. I need to take my medicine.” She warbled. On cue, several other men and women, tenants of the building that Blair had already spoken to that night, flooded in to surround the elderly woman, standing by her and bolstering her resolve. Blair sat back and grinned his fool head off. This was perfect! It was exactly as he had envisioned it before! Nothing had changed! The gang members began to get upset.

“Hey, what's going..? Back off. I'm warning you.” One member blustered. Blair smothered his chuckles behind a hand as he regained his composure. Finally he was able to announce to them their folly.

“Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet the Roosevelt Garden Safety Committee. Also called a neighborhood watch. You have exactly three minutes to leave the premises before the cops arrive. You are trespassing in Miss LaCroix’s apartment.” Blair folded his arms over his chest, watching the two gang members stammer and bluster.

“Out of my way, you old fool.” Growled gang member number two. The old man he pushed on, pushed back, his chest puffing up and out in an obvious gesture of defiance.

“You going to shoot me? You going to shoot all of us?” Blair watched as the flustered boy ran out of the room, leaving Marcus to fend for himself. Marcus pulled his gun up higher, not sure who to aim at.

“Where are you going?” yelled Marcus at his departing friend. The old man who had challenged the young buck took the weapon from Marcus’ hand and handed it to Miss LaCroix. Blair held back, letting the seniors stake their boundaries with pride.

Miss LaCroix snarled at the distraught gang member. “We're not scared of you, Marcus Hayes.” She waved the gun in his face for a moment before continuing, “We ain't scared of your punk friends neither. Now git! Git!”

Hayes left abruptly as Blair began to clap joyously. “All right, way to go Miss LaCroix. You all did great! I don’t see those guys messing with you anymore.”

Miss LaCroix smiled as she waved the gun in the air once. “Look out, I’m in a feisty mood!” she crowed before handing the gun off to Blair, who carefully unloaded it as he had seen Jim do before, and bag it for the cops who were only now arriving at the door.

He grinned as he reflected on the evening’s events. Jim was not going to believe this! Wolf chuffed a laugh as Panther snorted once.

o-O-o

Jim, Earl and Simon sat around the kitchen table in the loft, all three upset and confused. Simon broke the silence first. “Well, we have a short list of suspects here. You think Jason Garvey and Leron Maxwell killed Hollins?”

Earl nodded. “Yes sir, they are the only ones that fit. Why, I don’t know, but I do know that Leron was the one to pull the trigger on Antoine. I recognized that bracelet.”

Jim snarled, “And I can bet I know who signed Earl’s name on that lock-up sign-out sheet.”

Simon canted his head to stare at Jim. “You noticed something?”

Jim dropped his eyes. “I could smell smoke in the holding cells… Turkish blend cigarettes.”

Earl swore loudly. “Williams, he’s always smoking those damn things.”

“So, Williams and the 357’ were doing the drug thing together?” Simon clarified. Jim shook his head.

“No, Simon, not all of the 357’s. Tyrell wasn’t in this, as leader of the 357’s his word is law. This was something else.” Jim pulled a file over to spread papers out; some of the files are colorful in their highlights. Jim indicated to specific points as he explained.

The discussions range deep into the night and follow into the next afternoon. During a lull, Jim calls Blair, and is reassured that the young man is doing well.

o-O-o

The next day, the three cops made their plans..

Blair, still relaxing with Miss LaCroix, knew none of this until later in the afternoon when Jim and Earl showed up with Simon at the tenement building. Jim smiled at the easy, relaxed pose of the old people as they chattered on about the good old days. At some point he pulled Blair to the side, his arm draped over Blair’s shoulder.

“So, it seems that Williams had made a deal with two of the 357 gang members.” Jim began. Blair’s eyebrows crept up to his hairline.

“Deal for what?” he asked excitedly.

“Williams, Leron and Jason stole some of the drugs they were making in the lab behind the warehouse, killing the others. Later, Antoine heard that it was Williams who was the dirty cop, and tried to tell Gaines. He was shot for his trouble by Leron. Jason knew about it, so they had to silence him when Gaines and I retrieved him.” Jim grimaced. “Shot him right there in the holding cells and used Earl’s gun to do it. If it weren’t for the fact that I had left Earl in the loft without a weapon, it might have been believed. As it was, Williams had tried wiping the prints off the gun after he used it on Leron, not realizing at the time that Simon and I were Earl’s alibis for Leron’s murder.”

Blair grimaced. “Stupid, hoping to hang Earl on circumstantial evidence.”

Jim nodded grimly. “It might have worked, too, if it weren’t for the fact that A) you were living in the space on the other side, B) Simon and I were called in and got our noses in the situation, and C) you have a mind like a steel trap, and finally D) you suspected Williams from the beginning.”

Blair ducked his head, flushing. “No big, man. Just using what I got. Maybe you and Simon are rubbing off on me, eh?”

Jim reached out, hooked Blair into the crook of his elbow and mussed with the long curls he found. “Does that mean you’re gonna cut this mop?”

“Hey, not the hair man!” wailed Blair. He escaped quickly enough and made his way back over to the others talking with Miss LaCroix. She canted her head as she heard him approach, and smiled brightly.

“Earl, I want you and Blair to bring your friends over for dinner.” The old woman said. Gaines looked at Blair and sighed.

“I can ask, Grandma, but these men might be busy.” Gaines glanced at Jim and Simon and muttered sotto voice, “If you don’t she’ll hit you with a skillet…”

Blair interrupted before Jim or Simon would open their mouths. “Yes ma’am, we’d love to. You bet!”

In an aside, Blair added to Gaines’ mutter, “I’ve seen that skillet, man. You do not want to say no!”

Jim and Simon began to laugh as they were all ushered into the apartment building for some good old fashioned cooking.

o-O-o

Later that night Blair slept in the room under the stairs, when he woke with a start at a noise. Glancing this way and that in the rapidly darkening room, he wondered for a moment why the rats were suspiciously absent in his little part of the warehouse he called home. Then he remembered that he wasn’t at home, he was at the loft. He was just about to get up when he noticed a shadow in the doorway.

"Who's that? Who's there?" he whispered. The shadow moved into a patch of light and Jim appeared before him, hovering, silent. He gasped for a moment as he tried to control the surprise.

“Jim? What is it? Is something wrong?”

Jim came all the way into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. He whispered in the dark, his head tilted oddly to the side. “I knew I wasn’t hearing things… I wasn’t certain before… but now… I can hear it.”

"Hear what?" Blair whispered, matching Jim’s tone in the dark quiet.

Jim reached out a hand and laid it gently against Blair’s chest, "I can hear it... and its sorta hypnotic, the rhythm of the beat…” after a second of silence, Blair finally got it and pulled Jim’s hand away.

"My heartbeat... you can hear that?"

"All the way from upstairs... the first time I noticed it was when we were talking about Danny, during the Juno case." Jim ducked his head for a moment before going on. “And then I could hear the Juno brother's hearts in the funhouse and then when I realized what I was hearing, applied it to the sound I heard the night before..."

"That is so cool, man..." Blair sat forward, resting one hand on Jim’s shoulder. “How much distinction can you sift through? Can you tell one person’s heart from another?”

“If I work at it…” Jim’s face faded a bit, his eyes sliding into that unfocused state. Blair gently shook his friend.

“Jim, come back now,” he sighed. Jim obliged him by doing as ordered, snapping back to reality instantly.

“Wow, that’s the fastest that I’ve ever done that,” Jim breathed in astonishment. Blair smiled happily in the near dark.

“Helps when you got a friend to keep you out of trouble, huh?” Blair snarked as Jim reached out and laid his hand on Blair’s chest again. This time, Jim didn’t lose focus, but breathed in tandem with Blair, slowly in and out. Blair said nothing; simply letting Jim set the pace.

Jim relaxed into the welcoming embrace of the heart beating beneath his hand. He focused on all the high and low points of the beat, followed the rhythm. Once he was certain he had it memorized, he set it off to the side in his mind reserved for his companion. It only took a few moments, and then he was back, smiling at Blair with a secret deep within his heart. Blair smiled with him.

“You okay now? Think you can filter me out of the way when you need to concentrate?”

Jim nodded once before slowly removing his hand and reaching up to pat Blair on the top of his head. “Yeah, you better go back to sleep now. We’ve both got work in the morning.”

Blair watched as Jim stood and headed back out of the room as silently as he came in. A second later, Blair called out, “Don’t worry about me, man. I still have to find a place to stay. My week is up soon.”

Jim turned back, his eyes unerringly finding Blair’s in the semi-dark. His voice took on a soft tone as he replied, “You don’t have to go anywhere Chief. If you feel comfortable here, I think you should stay… I don’t think I can sleep without you nearby now.”

Blair’s breathing hitched in his throat and he swallowed with the intent on reassuring Jim. But he was interrupted by the big man’s voice once again. “I like having you here, Blair. Don’t leave. Please?”

Blair’s emotions warred with common sense within his mind, and finally he managed to force words from his throat. “Sure Jim. I like it here. It suits me fine.”

Jim nodded, smiling, and then turned and went back to bed. Blair carefully laid down on his futon and, mindful of the very acute hearing above him, blew out a soft sigh. *I am so seriously screwed now.*

Panther snorted in the darkness as Wolf chuffed out a laugh, and then followed the silence of night.

~Finis~