Don't Look Twice (29 page)

A few days later

A
s Hauck approached them, Annie waved to him from along the harbor. The two of them were leaning against the railing, feeding a few gulls.

He waved back.

She was in the same short white parka as when she had come to dinner, a knit cap tucked over her ears. She took her son's hand and pointed.

The boy turned.

Hauck saw the same dark, happy features in his face. The bright, wide-eyed smile. It was a smile that suddenly made many things clear.

Her son had Down syndrome.

Hauck looked in Annie's eyes and smiled.

“Hey,” she said, putting her arm out and giving him a tight hug. He kissed her warmly on the cheek and hugged her back.

“Hey, you.”

She looked at him, and no matter how Hauck tried to mask it, he knew she could see the strain of the past weeks in his eyes.

“So I wanted you to meet Jared. Jared, this is Lieutenant Hauck.”

“Ty…”
Hauck said to him. He extended his hand. Jared squeezed it.
“Whoa!”
Hauck said, massaging his knuckles. “That's a major-league grip.”

“My mom said when you meet someone you should give them a good handshake and look them in the eyes.”

“Well, your mom is right.” Hauck winked at her. “And I thought all she knew about was making a quesadilla.”

“Full of surprises.” Annie smiled.

“So what have you two been up to?” Hauck asked.

“We've been up at the Bruce Museum. They had a great kids' exhibit there—on what, honey?”

“Robotics,”
Jared said. “They had Roomba from iRobot and you got to operate this one and put a puzzle together.”

“Pretty cool.” Hauck widened his eyes, impressed.

“Uh-huh.” Jared gazed up at him with a curious stare. “Mom said you were a policeman. Where's your gun?”

Hauck grinned. “Don't need it when I'm hanging out with the good guys,” he replied.

“Jared!
” Annie said reprovingly with a shake of her head.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“Not at all.” Hauck grinned conspiratorially. “How 'bout I bring it next time…”

“Why don't you go feed the gulls some more, honey?” Annie handed her son the remaining crusts of bread. “I'll come get you in a bit.”

“Okay, but you said we were going to take a drive and you were gonna show me snow…”

“We will. I promise. Go on.”

“He's adorable,” Hauck said as the boy went over to the railing.

“Thanks. That's means a lot, Ty.”

“He's just like you. He's got your same smile.”

Annie touched his arm. “Are you okay?”

Hauck shrugged. “I guess.”

“I wanted so much to come, Ty…I really did. I wish I could have shared some of this with you. It was just the day Jared was coming in…”

“Probably better you didn't. It was mostly family. My ex and my daughter were there. Only a couple of people from the office…”

Annie nodded.

“You know, he wasn't a bad guy…” Hauck rested his arms on the railing and stared out. “I know it's easy to think that, with all that's come out. But I just think of him when we were growing up…How he was like a hero to me…Somehow he just crossed the lines on what became important. And never crossed back.”

“All of us have crossed those lines at some point, Ty.”

Hauck nodded and glanced toward Jared. “And come back.”

“And so have you…” Annie looked at him. “Look, I don't want to push and you can shut me up if this sounds totally corny…But I'm hoping we might have something here. I know it's early, and I don't want to get ahead of things. But if you're up for it, Jared and I…We'd like to be near you, if you're okay with that. And if you're not…”

“If I'm not…
?”

“I don't know. I didn't think that all the way out. I guess if you're not, well, that's just tough…”

“Tough?”

“Yeah.” Annie nodded defiantly. “Tough.”

“So you want me to eliminate the suspense or let you twist around a bit…”

“Twisting works. I feel like I've been twisting for years.”

Hauck met her gaze with a smile. “I'd like that too. And the first step is…” He looked down the railing and called out to her son.
“Hey, Jared!”

Jared tossed a last piece of bread at a couple of gulls and ran over.

Hauck asked, “Anyone ever teach you how to skate?”

He shrugged. “We've gone Rollerblading, right, Mom? But I'm not so good.”

“
Rollerblading?
I'm talking
ice-skating,
dude. This is New England.”

Jared scratched his head and looked at Annie. “I could try.”

Hauck kneeled and pulled up the boy's jacket collar. “By the end of the day, I'll have you knocking people into the boards. What do you say we go lace 'em up, bud?”

Jared's face lit up. “What do you say, Mom?”

Annie's eyes grew bright. She looked at Hauck. “I say we go lace 'em up.”

Hauck placed his hand on Jared's shoulder and they headed away from the harbor. Annie looped her arm through Hauck's. “You know, I probably never told the lieutenant this, but when I was at Michigan I had a boyfriend who played on the hockey team there and he used to take me skating all the time. I bet I skate even better than I cook…”

“Why am I not surprised?” Hauck looked at her with a smile.

T
he week before Christmas, Hauck sat in the Explorer and gazed up the old, familiar street.

A million memories rushed back to him.

His first elementary school was still on the corner. Mostly Hispanic these days. On Delevan, shops still looked like they did twenty years ago. Pepe's Market. Al's Guitars. Sophia's Fabric and Trim. Though he hadn't been up here in years, he would never forget the way.

Ms. Powers had been the last of their neighbors. She had passed away three years back. Hauck had gone to the funeral. He cruised up the short, hilly street until he stopped at the small white clapboard near the end of the block.

Three twenty-two.

It wasn't quite so small anymore.

To his surprise, it had been completely redone and expanded. Now it had a raised ceiling on the second floor, skylights, a large bay window. Pretty landscaping adorned the patch of lawn in front. Fancy wooden garage doors. A BMW X5 sat in the driveway. He laughed. “Upwardly mobile” had found its way even to Byram.

Hauck climbed out of the Explorer and stared up at the remodeled facade.

Why hadn't they ever thought to come here? So much of it went all the way back…

Above him, the front door suddenly opened. A woman with a baby stepped out onto the landing. Pretty. Latino. Maybe a little wary. Wondering who the stranger was staring up at their house.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

“I didn't mean to bother you. I'm Lieutenant Hauck. From Greenwich. I used to live in this house.”

“
This
house?” the woman exclaimed. With surprise.

Hauck nodded. “Grew up here. Shared the upstairs bedroom on the right with my brother. Course, we only had three of them then. Now it looks like there are more…”

“Oh, we expanded that old room up there,” the woman said. “We've changed a lot around. You're welcome to come in and see if you like.”

“No.” Hauck smiled and shook his head. “Looks nice though. But maybe if you wouldn't mind, there is something I'd like to check out in back.”

“Be my guest,” the woman said. She jiggled the baby. “Hear that, Carmelo? This nice man grew up
here.
”

Hauck waved and went up the short, steep driveway along the side of the house. There was a wire gate on top that led to the back. Hauck popped it open. They had a smart-looking in-ground pool. Covered up for the winter. Hauck thought back to when Pop first got theirs. It was tiny and round and aboveground. Still, he and Warren used to have some wars to the death splashing around in there.

He stood and looked back at the elevated redwood deck,
remembering the hundreds of times they had all had meals and barbecues out there. He heard the thuds of footsteps bounding up the stairs, glass breaking from an errant pitch that crashed through Mom's kitchen window. How they used to sneak in on their sister in the shower.

Hauck's eyes grew moist.

He stepped out to the edge of the property, the line of bushes and pines they shared with the Fraleys, whose yard backed up against theirs. The trees had grown. Hauck could barely even see into their backyard. Or that of whoever lived there now.

Hauck went up to the tall elm in the corner, its branches bare. He kneeled down.

And there it was.

Just above the root base, where he had carved it—Hauck thought back—twenty-five years ago.

To commemorate his greatest high school game.

12/8/83. 241 yds. 3 TDs
.
State Champions
.

Hauck placed his palm against the bark. It all rushed back to him. Like he was touching a part of his past, his family's past. Feelings that hadn't been opened in a long while.

Tears began to flow.

He never got to say it.

I did love you, Warren. I know you wanted the best for me. You saved me that time, and I never forgot it. I swear…

Hauck bowed his head, the tears refusing to stop.
You stupid sonovabitch, why didn't you come to me? How could you let yourself get that far?

Then he noticed something, something that turned the tears into a smile. Then the smile into a laugh, seeing the two words carved underneath.

2 Fumbles,
his brother had added.

V
ern?”

Hauck knocked on the door. The chief looked up from his desk, surprised. “Jeez, I didn't expect to see you in here today, Ty…Thought I told you to get a little Christmas shopping done. Take some time off.” He clasped his hands behind his head. “You just buried your brother, for Christ's sake. Shame we couldn't nail that government guy…But we got Raines.

And Vega…”

“Funny, I feel like I've taken enough time off, Vern,” Hauck said, looking at him.

The chief rocked back in his chair. “Is there something to how you mean that, Ty…?”

“I'm not sure.” Hauck stepped in, placed his hands on the back of one of the chairs facing Fitzpatrick's desk. “I guess I've been wondering…How'd Sculley and Taylor know I was bringing Raines in, Vern?”

The chief crossed his legs. “I don't know. They had their own investigation going. Maybe Raines called them. Told them you were coming up. What are you asking there, Ty?”

“They knew I went to see Vega. In prison. From the very beginning you've been pushing me to back off. When the guy in
the Dominican Republic was killed. When Vega was freed. When we were able to trace things to the casino. How did you phrase it, Vern? ‘
You better know what you're getting into, Ty…That casino has its paws on every politician in the state
.' Was that out of concern for me?”

The humor drained from the chief's expression. “Just what are you saying, Lieutenant?”

“I'm saying that this thing didn't end with Wachman, Vern. Or even with Scayne. It was set up. By Casey. Through Warren. Through the casino. For people higher up. I guess what I'm asking, Vern, is—did you get a call too?”

Fitzpatrick's gaze narrowed. “
A call
?”

“Cut it, Vern, you know exactly what I mean. Did they get to you too? The FBI. The Pequot Woods. Casey. All those new bleachers and highway bills, a hundred and twenty people on the force…”

“Get to me…?”
The chief clenched his teeth and grew red in the face. But he didn't answer.

“Jesus…”
Hauck felt like a weight toppled off a cliff inside him. He shook his head. “We lost Freddy, Vern.”

“You listen to me…” Fitzpatrick stood up. He looked at Hauck, a stonelike fixedness in his gaze. “You've got it mapped out for you here, Ty, if you want it. Everybody respects you. You're a goddamn hero, for Christ's sakes. You can have a nice life here. You just have to know not to push where it don't need pushing, Ty. You understand? That's a hard lesson for you, Lieutenant. Sometimes there's forces that you just don't buck. Whether it's your own state government, Ty, or the goddamn FBI. Sometimes you just have to know how it's done.”

“You're right,” Hauck said, nodding. “It is a tough lesson for me.” He backed away from the chair and let out a long
breath, then smiled. “But I'm learning…I'm slowly learning, Vern, just how it's done.”

 

Outside, Hauck stepped onto Greenwich Avenue. The streets were busy, shoppers crowding the stores. Christmas decorations shone brightly.

At the corner, he waved to a patrolman he recognized on traffic detail. The officer stopped the flow a moment and motioned Hauck across the street with a good-natured flourish. “The street is yours, Lieutenant…”

Hauck jogged across and waved back.

He went onto the small green at the top of the hill where Arch Street intersected, up from the fancy boutiques: Polo. Saks. Ferragamo. In that moment, Hauck saw what he loved about it here. The town had rescued him when he had been lost. Brought him back to life.

He also saw what he was prepared to walk away from too.

You've got it mapped out for you here, Ty…

He leaned against the ledge of the stone wall and took out his phone.

The number was still there on his call log. He had looked at it from time to time. Part of him urged him to call and another part warned him,
You could be making the biggest mistake of your life…

He'd been a policeman for eighteen years.

He punched in the number and drew his arms together against the wintry chill. The call connected after two rings.

“Tom Foley here.”

“Mr. Foley…” Hauck drew in a breath. “It's Ty Hauck.”

“Ty!”
The Talon partner seemed startled to hear his voice. “I heard about your brother…I'm very sorry.”

Hauck said, “I hadn't realized that the two of you knew each other when we met.”

“We didn't, actually. We only met once or twice. Somehow he must've heard we were looking for someone up here and he called to give me your name. I guess I always thought it better you never knew our interest came from him.”

“So it's legit…?”
Hauck asked. “The offer you made to me?”

“Completely legit, I assure you.” Foley seemed surprised.

“Then I was wondering,” Hauck moistened his lips, “with everything that's happened, if it still stood?”

The Talon partner remained silent for a long while. Hauck steadied himself for the worst.

“Yes, Lieutenant, it very much still stands. In fact, I was just waiting for the proper time to give you a call…”

Hauck gazed down the bustling street. The Christmas music coming out of Saks. Kids tugging at their parents. His mind drifted to Freddy. Gone. Then to Vern—the life that could still be his here. All he might be throwing away.

He thought of Warren and a smile crept onto his face.
You deserve this, Ty…

“Then I accept,” Hauck said.