You Can Run
but
 You Can’t Hide
 by: Miguel Sanchez

© 2007 by the author

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

We got the boys settled down in bed then after hugs and kisses all around, Hans and I went into our room. After making beautiful love to Hans and him to me, we drifted off to sleep. Sometime the next morning I was awakened by my cell phone going off. I looked at the number and it was work. I guess being second in command meant I really didn’t have a day off. “Lt. Jennings here.”

“Sorry to bother you sir,” the voice said on the other end. “You’re needed at 223 Alamo Drive.”

Chapter 23

That address was familiar to me for some reason but I couldn’t place it. “Alright Officer, I’ll be there after I get a shower and shave.”

I closed my phone then got up heading for the shower. “You have to work today baby?”

I turned the shower on then took a much needed piss. “Yeah I do love. The address the officer gave me sticks out in my mind but for the life of me, I can’t place it.”

I stepped into the warm water and cleaned off the remnants of our love making then quickly shaved. I quickly dressed then gave Hans a kiss as I hurried out the door. I got into the Hummer and as soon as the engine was running, I heard dispatch calling me. “Dispatch to 1828.”

“1828, go ahead.”

“What’s your ETA to the Alamo Drive address?”

“I’m just leaving my house now. I should be there in about 15 minutes.”

“Respond priority 1 (lights and siren),” the voice said.

“10-4 dispatch, responding priority 1.”

I backed out of the driveway then turned my lights on. Since it was early on a Sunday morning I only used my siren when I needed to. I was almost to the street when I finally remembered the address. It was Sonny’s Mom’s house. When I turned the corner I saw lights flashing everywhere. The first thing I noticed were the fire engines there. I thought maybe the house caught fire and Gloria would need a place to stay. Then I saw several marked patrol cars there as well as two unmarked ones. I pulled up to the scene, cut my lights off and parked. I was about to get out when a fire man came over. “Hey buddy, this isn’t a picnic here. Get your ass the fucking hell out of here.”

Now I didn’t know who this jackass was but he sure wasn’t winning points with me. I had a late evening and was awakened out of a sound sleep and to top it off, I hadn’t had any coffee yet so I wasn’t in the best of moods. “I’ll tell ya what; there is a lumber yard near by so go there, get some lumber and build a bridge and get over it.”

I locked the doors on the Hummer and headed for the house. The fireman grabbed my by the arm, which was a very big mistake. “Listen fuck nuts, carry your ass the hell out of here.”

I reached into my pocket and pulled my ID out and held it about 6 inches away from his face. “No buddy, you listen to me. You need to learn how to talk to people. Cussing at them isn’t a way to win points.”

“Ah, ah,” he started stammering and stepping on his tongue.

I turned and walked away and he was on my heels still trying to make a coherent sentence. “Look man, just stay away from me, you got it.”

I hung my ID on my pocket then lifted the yellow tape. I’d taken two steps when a voice said, “Excuse me but you’re not supposed to be inside here.”

I knew he hadn’t seen my ID so I turned around and looked at the person speaking. “I’m Lt. Jennings, who’s in charge?”

“Excuse me sir,” the young officer apologized. “See Sgt. Nelson, he’s in charge right now.”

The fire department was just finishing up inside so I stepped back as they pulled their hoses out of the house. I bent down and rolled my pants legs up so I wouldn’t ruin them then went inside. As I entered the house, I could tell it was pretty much totaled. I saw a man in a suit and walked over to him. “Are you Sgt. Nelson?”

He turned around and looked at me. “Yes sir, I’m from Homicide Division and you are?”

“Lt. Jennings, Juvenile Division, I replied. “What do we have here?”

“Follow me Lieutenant,” the sergeant said as he led me down what was left of the hall.

When we got inside, I got the shock of my life. There were two badly charred bodies burned beyond all recognition. I could only assume one was Gloria Flowers. Who the other one was I wasn’t sure. “Why was I called here Sergeant?”

He led me over to the female body. “Well, she was murdered before the house was set on fire. We ran the plates on the car and the registration came back to one Gloria Flowers. We ran the name and we found out she had recently pressed charges against her ex-husband, Calvin Bates.”

I had to run out of the house because I was getting sick on my stomach. When I got outside, the fresh air settled my stomach down. I pulled my cell phone out and called the office. I spoke with the duty officer and had him check on the status of Calvin. It would take a while so he would have to call me back. My next call was to Hans. “Hi lover.”

“Hi sweetheart,” Hans replied chipper. “Are you on your way home?”

I was fighting tears. “No love, are the boys around you or are you alone?”

I could hear the boys in the background. “Give me a minute love and I’ll go upstairs to our room. OK now, what’s going on?”

“You better sit down love,” I said as I leaned against the Hummer. “Sonny’s mom is dead.”

“Oh my god love, what happened?” Hans said in a shocked but muffled voice.

I saw a mobile caterer’s truck so I walked over to get a cup of coffee. “I’m not 100% sure yet but here is what I suspect. Somehow Calvin got out of jail and came over to Gloria’s house. Now, I don’t know if he was looking for Sonny and she wouldn’t tell him where he was or what but he shot her 3 times killing her. Then Calvin trashed the house, poured gas or something all around then set the house on fire. After that, it appears he killed himself. The reason I say it appears that he committed suicide is that both bodies are burned badly. The morgue will have to make the ID.”

“Oh god baby,” Hans said through the tears. “What’s Sonny going to do now?”

“Right now, he’s staying with us,” I said as I got my coffee. “I don’t want anyone telling him this baby expect you and me. This is gonna destroy him.”

“I understand love. The boys are knocking on the door.”

I took a sip of the hot liquid then leaned against the Hummer again. “OK baby, I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

I closed my phone then saw Sgt Nelson heading over. “Lieutenant, I found this photo. Where’s the child?”

“Relax Sergeant,” I said sipping my coffee. “He’s at my house spending the weekend.”

“You know I’m going to have to notify Social Services.”

I shook my head. “Easy Sergeant, I’m a foster parent. I’ll notify them but I need to be the one to tell Sonny what happened to his mother. He’s not going to give a shit about his father but the news about his Mom will devastate him.”

The Sergeant looked at me and shook his head. “Not so fast Lieutenant, this is Homicide’s case.”

I nodded my head as I headed back to get another cup of coffee. “You have everything inside that house. I’m not stepping on your toes but Sonny falls under Juvenile and that’s me.”

“How about I call your Commanding Officer?”

I whipped out my cell phone and pushed 5, which was where I had Capt. Blair’s office number set in my speed dial. “Here you go pal. Capt. Blair's phone is ringing.”

I watched as the Sergeant tip toed around his tongue for several minutes then he closed my phone and handed it back to me. “I didn’t know you were his second in command.”

I didn’t understand what that had to do with anything but I decided to get home because this day was going to be very long. “Well Sgt. Nelson, I’ll leave you to your work here. I will need to know if that other person in there is Calvin Bates. If it is, I can close out my case.”

I left the scene and stopped and got myself a decent cup of coffee. I returned to the Hummer and was about to start the engine when my cell phone rang. “Lt. Jennings here.”

I didn’t recognize the voice on the other end until he identified himself. “Lt. Jennings, this is the Medical Examiner. Sgt. Nelson told me what you’d told him but I hope you’re sitting down because you’re not going to believe this.”

I took a sip of my coffee then set it in the cup holder. “After a day like today, I’d believe just about anything.”

“Well, to start off with, the person with the 3 gunshot wounds to the chest is not a female.”

It’s a good thing I didn’t have a mouthful of coffee because I would have sprayed the inside of my vehicle. “Wait a minute, that person is not Gloria Flowers?”

“No sir, the person with the 3 bullets in them is a male. There is a female here and she has a single gunshot wound to the head.”

Now this was making absolutely no sense at all. Just then, I had a call on the radio. “Juvenile Division to 1828.”

“Hold on Doc, someone is calling me on the radio,” I said, putting the call on mute. “1828 go ahead.”

“1828 10-21 the office for important information.”

Now what else, I thought. “10-4, give me a minute. 1828 clear.”

I set my handheld down then un-muted the phone. “Doc, let me call you back. I have to call my office. Wait, better yet, I’ll drive back over there. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

I hung up with the Doc then called my office. “Juvenile Division.”

“This is Lt. Jennings.”

“Oh Lieutenant, I checked on Calvin Bates like you asked. You’re not going to believe this but a Gloria Flowers posted bond for him early this morning about 2AM.”

This was totally screwed up. Was this woman that mad at her ex she would kill him? But why would she burn her house down and then kill herself? This made absolutely no sense. “OK Sergeant, thanks for the information. Is Capt. Blair still in by chance?”

“No sir, he’s not. Do you want me to call him?”

“No Sergeant, there’s no need to bother him at home, but if he should call in, please tell him to call me.”

I closed the phone then drove back over to Gloria Flowers’ house. I walked under the crime scene tape then found the Medical Examiner and Sgt. Nelson talking in the living room. “OK Doc, what the hell is going on here?”

He led me back into the bedroom and stopped by who I originally thought was Sonny’s Mom. He lifted the sheet and I could see the chard remains of what once was a penis and scrotum. I still couldn’t understand how I thought this was a woman. “Lieutenant, this might answer your question as to how you thought this was a woman.”

He walked over to an evidence bag and held it up. “OK, it’s a burnt bra.”

He giggled. “Not just a burnt bra Lieutenant. But a bra stuffed with asbestos. This old girl put some thought into this.”

I scratched my head when he told me this. “I guess she did. Now, I don’t suppose there would be a suicide note.”

Sgt. Nelson shook his head. “Not that we could find here although not much is left.”

I was about to say something when it dawned on me. “I wonder about his place. They’ve been divorced for a while now and he has a place a couple blocks from my house. His car is still in front of my house from when he came over. I’ll call Hans and have him give me the license plate number then I’ll run it.”

I made the call and got the plate number. I ran it through our system and got the address. “Come on Sergeant let’s go over to his house. I have the address.”

We drove over to Calvin Bates house and the first thing we noticed was the front door hanging wide open. We looked around and there on the dining room table was a letter addressed to Sonny. I got a pair of latex gloves from Sgt. Nelson then removed the paper from the envelope. The letter read:

Dear Son,

I know you’ll probably never understand why I’ve done what I did but I can’t let your Father go on living after what he did to you. There are things I’ve found out about him that are just so vile, he deserves to die. You deserve better parents than us son but don’t think for a minute that I don’t love you. I do with all my heart. There is a notarized letter telling the court that I want Lt. Jennings to be your new Daddy. He’s a good man and I know he’ll raise you proper. Be a good boy for him son but I know you will.

I Love You,

Mom

Sgt Grainger took the letter and put it back into the envelope. “Lieutenant, I have no choice now but to contact Social Services.”

“Did you read that letter?” I asked. “Did you not read her wishes?”

“I read the writing of a deranged woman before she committed a heinous act.” He replied.

I took the envelope out of his hand and put it in my inside jacket pocket. “This is now a matter for Juvenile Division. You have a homicide to take care of.”

He held his hand out. “I don’t think so.”

I turned and headed for the door. “Considering as how I out rank you Sergeant, you have no say so in this matter.”

I reached for my cell phone and called Capt. Blair. “We’ll see about this,” he said as I pushed the button.

“Yes we will Sergeant,” I replied as I listened to the phone ring. “I’m calling Capt. Blair right now.”

I heard the Captain answer the phone as Sgt Nelson started ranting. “I know you’re a faggot cop and you’re raising two boys but I’ll see to it they’re removed from you and that other pervert. I’ll also see to it you’re kicked off the force. Your kind go against all good order to this department and against God’s will.”

Not again with the God’s will. “Lee, who’s that running off at the mouth?”

I stepped outside and closed the front door. “That twit was Sgt. Nelson from Homicide.”

“I thought I recognized that voice,” the Captain replied with exasperation in his voice. “He’s a holy roller and has tried to destroy several officer’s careers but don’t worry. I know Capt. Harris, the Homicide Division’s CO.”

I headed towards the Hummer so I could get home. “I hope so Sir, this case is so unbelievable it’s not funny. I need to get home before he tries and does something really stupid.”

“Hang on Lee,” Capt. Blair said. “I have another call coming in.”

I held on while I hurried home so I could talk with Sonny. I noticed another car out front but figured that was Bryce or Oliver. “Lee, it seems Nelson has already started some shit. That was internal affairs on the other line. It seems Nelson is claiming you’re interfering with a Homicide investigation and has made some strong charges against you with IA.”

“HE’S DONE WHAT?” I shouted, forgetting who was on the other end of the phone.

“Calm down Lee,” Capt. Blair said. “He’s also obtained a petition for Sonny’s arrest.”

“A petition for Sonny’s arrest,” I said trying to keep my cool. “Based on what? He was with me last night. I also know where he slept.”

“Relax Lee,” my boss said. “I have a copy of the affidavit he sent in. Now, what’s your home address?”

I gave him my address then he told me he was on his way over. I hung up the phone and hurried inside and saw Bryce and Oliver were playing Uncle to the boys. “Guys, I need to talk to Sonny.”

He came over and could tell I was worried. “Son, I have something to tell you and it’s not going to make a whole lot of sense and to be totally honest, this doesn’t make sense to me either.”

“What’s going on Pop?”

I took a deep breath as I slid him up onto my lap. “Ok son, here goes. It seems your Mom bailed your Father out of jail early this morning. Then they went over to his house where she left this letter for you.”

I took the envelope out of my pocket and removed the letter holding it up for Sonny to read. As he was reading it, tears started to fall. “Pop, why would she say this?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know son. Hans, I need you to call Tom with Social Services now and have him get his butt over here.”

He went into the kitchen to get the cordless phone. “Why baby?”

“Please love, just do it,” I said as I turned my attention back to Sonny. “Now son, there is more to this. There is a homophobic goof ball homicide detective who is going to try to arrest you but that’s not going to happen.”

Just then Oliver stood up. “Oh shit Lee, it’s Gimball from IAD. He’s as homophobic as they come. I wonder who that other guy is that’s with him.”

I set Sonny on his feet then headed for the door. Hans came in from the kitchen and was still on the phone. “Tom said he’d be right over baby.”

I nodded my head. “I want you boys to go up to your room and stay there until I call for you. Don’t come out for any reason.”

The boys ran upstairs then I opened the door. “Lt. Jennings, I’m Officer Gimball from Internal Affairs and I believe you know Sgt. Nelson from Homicide.”

Nelson had a smirk on his face that I would have loved to have removed for him. “I know Nelson, now what can I do for you?”

“May we come inside?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so. Anything we need to discuss we can do from right here.”

Nelson tried to bully his way past me. “Sgt. Nelson unless you want to be charged with unlawful entry, you better stay right there.”

Nelson stepped back at that point. “I have a petition for the arrest of one Sonny Bates so if you don’t want to be charged with obstruction, you better move.”

“Oh?” I said holding out me hand. “Kindly let me see it Sergeant.”

“It’s on its way,” he said grinning.

I shook my head. “Until I see the petition, you’re not coming in this house.”

He reached for his handcuffs. “Lt. Jennings, then I’m arresting you on charges of Obstruction of Justice.”

I looked at him and so did Gimball. “Based on what?”

Gimball shook his head. “He has the right to see the petition Sergeant, especially considering it’s concerning a minor.”

Just then a car pulled up. I didn’t recognize it at first then I saw Tom get out. He walked up and I shook his hand. “Hi Lee, I got a call about a child needing to go into foster care.”

Nelson stepped up. “I called you. There are two boys inside here that need emergency placement. This pervert is unfit to be a foster parent.”

Tom looked at the nut case and shook his head. “I’ll have you know that these two gentlemen are licensed foster parents. If I were you, I’d watch the slander.”

Just then two more cars arrived. My front yard was looking like a used car lot. I didn’t know one of the men who got out but I did the other. The men walked up. “Capt. Blair, glad you made it sir.”

The other man pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Nelson who in turn handed it to me. “Now, step out of the way.”

“Not so fast Sergeant,” I said opening the paper. “I’ve not had time to read this.”

I stood there and read the petition. When I got to the part pertaining to evidence my eyes got big. “You’ve made some very strong statements here Sergeant but you’ve not backed them up with any facts. You claim the boy’s finger prints are all over the house but how do you know the prints in there are even his? You also claim his prints were found on the suicide letter. You’ve made two false statements there. The first of which are, that letter was NEVER dusted for prints. It’s right here in my pocket. Next you claim to have motive. What motive would he have for killing his mother?”

“I’m just beginning to build my case,” he said.

Then Capt. Blair stepped over. “You’re just beginning to build your case? Your case of what?”

“That boy brutally killed...”

“NO ONE,” I shouted.

“Can you account for his where abouts?”

“Yes I can,” I said. “But I don’t need to.”

“So you’re covering for him.”

“The boy was with me.” I shouted.

“Un huh,” Nelson said. “Still covering for him.”

“Do you happen to know where I was last night?”

“I could care less where you were,” Nelson spat.

“Well you better,” Capt. Blair said. “Lt. Jennings and his entire family were at the Academy last night attending graduation.”

Nelson got a smirk on his face. “Oh and how long was he there for?”

Capt. Blair had had enough of this. “Nelson, you’ve crossed the line here. If you thought this boy was a suspect, you should have called Juvenile so we could have had an officer work with Homicide on the case. I’ve seen sloppy police work in my time but this is nothing short of perjury on your part.”

“That boy IS involved here,” Nelson said.

Capt. Blair took the petition from my hand then looked at Gimball. “That boy was beaten senseless by his Father, that’s why he was in jail. The boy loved his mother and was happy his father was in jail so there was absolutely no motive. Officer Gimball, I want you to place Sgt. Nelson under arrest and charge him with perjury.”

Gimball reached for his cuffs. “Is it true that these men are homosexuals?”

Capt Blair shook his finger in Gimball’s face. “Weather he is or isn’t, is none of your business.”

I stepped over and quickly removed his weapon and checked his legs to make sure he wasn’t carrying a second gun on him. I then looked at Capt. Blair as we came inside. “Boys, you can come down now.” Thanks Captain, I knew Sonny was in no way involved with this. He read this letter and for the life of me, I can’t figure out why Gloria did this.”

Just then Sonny wrapped his arms around me. I leaned down and picked him up into my arms. “Pop, Mom’s had some problems Dad caused too before they were divorced. He used to beat her then said she fell and got hurt when she was drunk. She used to drink a lot when they were married but after the divorce, she stopped. That’s how I was able to start seeing her again. I guess the fact he started beating me caused her to snap, I don’t know. I did notice the night after she took me home she was acting strangely and I even thought I smelled booze on her breath. This might sound strange Pop but I’m sad she’s dead but I’m not too.”

I understood what he meant. “You saw your mom changing back to how she was before the divorce and you didn’t want to have to live like that again, did you son?”

“No Pop, I didn’t,” he said resting his head on my shoulder. “She got pretty mean when she was drinking.”

Capt. Blair rubbed his back. “Well Lee here will take very good care of you now son. And you have two brothers who look like they care a lot about you too.”

I looked around Sonny and saw Jamie and Kevin standing there with very sad faces. I set Sonny down and they ran over to him engulfing him in a group hug. I pulled the envelope out of my pocket and handed it to Tom. He pulled the letter out and there was another piece of paper inside. “Lee, this will make adopting Sonny very easy.”

I nodded my head then looked at Capt. Blair. “Sir, will I ever stop getting grief because of my lifestyle?”

“I don’t know Lee,” the Captain sighed. “It’s supposed to be no ones business what people do in the privacy of their own bedrooms but as you can see, there are bigots everywhere.”

Capt. Blair had to get home as he and his wife had something they had to do. “Tom, what are the chances of Hans and I adopting our boys?”

“I can start the paperwork,” he said putting the letter into his briefcase. “It will take several months to get everything done but you’ll have the department’s blessing so it should go pretty smoothly.”

Tom and I sat down and started on the paperwork. Once Tom got the basic information he needed, he left and said he’d finish the rest at home.

Since I’d shot the morning working I decided to take everyone over to Ft. Sam and spend the day at the pool. Before I left, I took some steaks out of the freezer to thaw for dinner. The adults got a serious workout with 3 very playful and energetic teens. After a couple hours in water, Bryce, Oliver and I were pooped and needed a little rest. By 4, everyone was ready to call it a day so we headed home for a good cookout.

To be continued...

Posted: 05/30/08