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...

On the way home, I told everyone how Hans was doing and that he sent his love. I told them that he wasn’t feeling up to more company and before I left him, he’d fallen back to sleep. When we got home, I showed Helmet to the guest room. I was coming out of the bathroom when I saw 3 boys sitting on the bed. “Ok boys, get undressed and use the bathroom.”

In record time, I had 3 naked boys cuddled around me and sound asleep. I too fell asleep in record time because the next thing I knew my bladder was telling me it needed to be emptied.

Chapter 31

I was coming out of the bathroom when my cell phone started ringing. I looked at the number and saw is was Capt. Blair. “Morning boss, to what do I owe the honor?”

I heard him giggling on the other end of the phone. “I just got a call from Capt. Harris and she was really ranting about some crazy man at the hospital last night.”

“Well sir, if Shamu had had the least bit of professionalism she would have talked with Hans’ father but she was bound and determined to act like a horse’s ass. So what does she want?”

My boss was now in total hysterics laughing. “Well, she wants to see this mad man so she can exact a pound of flesh.”

“She wants what?” I asked. “Does she realize what her detective has put herself and the department in?”

“Relax Lee,” he said in a calm voice. “I didn’t tell her who it was so go down there and talk with her. She’s a good cop and I have a feeling her detective will be singing another tune.”

“Alright boss,” I said giggling. “This just might be fun.”

I closed my phone and went downstairs to join the others. When I walked into the kitchen Helmet had fixed the boys’ their breakfast and there was a fresh pot of coffee. Kevin was the first to see me as I came in. “Daddy, grampa fixed us breakfast.”

I had my naked 13 year old son in my arms. “I see kiddo. Daddy has to go into the office for a little bit. Can you boys behave yourselves while I take grampa to his house so he can pick up his car then you can all go see Hans at the hospital.”

Kevin was nodding his head like a yoyo. “We’ll be good Daddy, won’t we?”

I quickly drank down a cup of coffee then went upstairs to get a shower and shave. I took Helmet over to his house then went over to the Police Administration Building. Homicide was on the same floor as Juvenile. I went inside and saw several detectives. “Excuse me; I need to see Capt. Harris.”

One of the detectives came over. “May I ask who needs to see her sir?”

I took out my ID. “Tell her Lt. Lee Jennings.”

The man left and went into an office. A few seconds a woman and Shamu came out. “There he is Ma’am. That’s the impersonator. She ran to her desk and pulled out her weapon. “GUN!” I shouted.

Capt. Harris looked over to the whale. “Put that damn thing away NOW.” She said walking over taking it out of her hand. “May I help you sir?”

I handed her my ID. “I’m Lt. Jennings from Juvenile Division.”

She handed my ID back to me then extended her hand. “It’s nice to meet you Lieutenant.”

I looked over at the woman and she was trying to find a hole to crawl into. “Is there some place we can talk?”

I followed her towards her office then she looked over to the other woman. “Downing, in my office.”

She sat down behind her desk and I took a seat while we waited for Det. Downing to come in. “You wanted to see me Ma’am?”

“Yes detective, now tell me again what happened last night at the hospital.”

I sat back because I knew this was going to be good. “When I arrived, I identified myself as a police officer then asked to talk with the stabbing victim. The nurse started mouthing off then this man came out and started putting his hands all over me telling me I wasn’t seeing anyone.”

Capt. Harris stopped her in mid sentence. “Before you go on detective, you better be telling me the truth. One other thing, I’ve already received 2 complaints this morning about your behavior last night.”

She tried to get smug. “I was just doing my job. I had a victim to question.”

I sat up. “You had what? That victim had just come out of surgery and was still in the recovery room.”

“Shut up mister,” she spat. “I know all about you and how you were just hired right off the street.”

Capt. Harris was not happy. “I heard how you tried to bully your way into the Recovery Room. And another thing, Lt. Jennings was NOT someone they hired off the street. This man has more experience than you and I combined. I’m surprised he wasn’t hired as a Captain. I also got a report from your college that you’ve flunked out of your Criminal Justice program. You knew being a detective was contingent on you passing that. Now, here is what WILL happen.”

She turned and headed for the door. “I don’t have to listen to this crap.”

“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE,” Capt. Harris barked. “I haven’t dismissed you yet.”

“Why should I stay?” She asked in the smug tone of hers.

I stood up and walked over to her. “You have a very serious attitude problem lady and if you don’t get that under control, you’ll cause this department some serious problems.”

Capt Harris took over. “I’ve talked with personnel and here is what is going to happen. First, you will go back to the hospital and apologise to the doctor and nurse you were rude to last night.”

“WHAT?” she screamed. “I will do no such thing.”

“Than you can pack your things and turn in your badge because your job is contingent on that and a few other things.” Capt Harris said, pulling out a piece of paper from her desk.”

“You just want to fire me because I’m black.” Downing said, trying to play the race card.

“You did a pretty good job of showing your lack of professional skills last night,” I said looking her right in the eyes. “And don’t even try to make race an issue here. There are a number of very good black officers here on the force and if you change that attitude of yours, you too have that ability.”

“And there are a few more things,” Capt. Harris said. “The biggest thing is you will be in the over weight program.”

“For what?” she bellowed.

“Look at you,” I said. “You’re morbidly obese. You couldn’t chase a suspect if your life depended on it. And another thing, you couldn’t defend yourself.”

“That’s what my gun is for,” she shot back.

“Oh right,” I said. “Shoot first and take names later? I don’t think that’s what they taught you in the academy.”

Capt. Harris stood up. “Now, before you leave this office, you WILL apologise to Lt. Jennings. You’re damn lucky he hasn’t brought you up on charges.”

She opened the door and stormed out heading for her desk. She reached into her bottom drawer and got her purse. I saw her search through it then slam something on the desk as she left. Capt. Harris turned to me with a saddened look on her face. “Lt. Jennings, I want to apologise.”

I stopped her before she could finish. “It’s not your fault Ma’am so there’s no need to apologise. If she’d have acted professionally, she could have talked with another eye witness. In fact, this person was the intended victim.”

“Oh?” She said sounding surprised. “Who is that?”

“Do you have the report the uniforms did?” I asked sitting back down in her office.”

She rifled through some papers then pulled one out. “Here it is. Ahh yes, it says a Helmet Johansen was the intended victim and Hans tried to protect his father but didn’t see the weapon in her hand.”

I nodded my head. “That’s right. Had she read that, she’d have had all the information she needed. The woman is in custody so she’s no longer a threat.”

“Will he be at the hospital today?” Capt Harris asked as she went over to Downing’s desk and picked up the woman’s badge then went over to another detective’s desk.

I went over to the door then stopped before leaving. “We’ll be there the better part of the day. I don’t know how with it Hans will be but his Dad should give you everything you’ll need.”

I left homicide then drove over to the hospital. Helmet and the boys were there when I arrived and I could tell Hans was still in a lot of discomfort. After lunch, another detective came in and spoke with Helmet and Hans then left, not wanting to disturb Hans any longer than he had to.

He spent 3 days in the hospital then came home with his arm in a sling. He stayed at the house during the day while I was at work and the boys were really good. They doted on Hans constantly and several times he had to chase them out so he could rest.

A week later, Helmet met with his wife in the city jail. “You look like hell Olga. Is this how it’s going to be?”

“Get me out of here Helmet,” she yelled.

Helmet nodded his head and smiled. “I will as long as you respect our son.”

She started yelling into the telephone. Helmet simply set the receiver in the cradle and left. On his way home, he stopped by a lawyer’s office and filed for divorce and packed her belongings and had them sent over to the jail.

I had just gotten in from work when Helmet knocked on the door. When I opened the door, I could see he was visibly upset. “Come in Helmet, what’s wrong?”

Hans was resting on the couch and got up to gently hug his father. “Yes, what’s wrong?”

He looked at his son and tears began to fall. “I saw your mother in jail this afternoon and I was prepared to get her out but I can tell nothing’s changed with her. She’ll never respect you son and that is something I can not have. You are an adult now, free to live your life as you see fit. We may not like it or understand it but as an adult you are due respect.”

Hans held the man in his arms as he cried. “Thank you Papa.”

He looked up at his son. “Don’t thank me just yet son. On my way home, I stopped by a lawyer’s office. I thought long and hard about this which is why I hadn’t gone to see your mother.”

I had a feeling I knew what he’d done. “Helmet, did you file for divorce?”

Hans looked over at me when I asked the question then looked back at his father for his answer. “Yes son, I did. I could no longer live with her while she cursed you. I don’t even know if I still love her.”

“Where will she live Papa,” Hans asked, almost sounding like a little boy again.

Helmet shook his head as he led Hans back to the couch. “I do not know son and that is not my concern. She broke the law when she tried to stab me and it was only by the grace of God that she did not kill you in her blind rage.”

“I know Father but I don’t want her in prison,” Hans replied in a soft voice.

Helmet sat down and looked at us. “That will be up to the Judge.”

Over the summer, Hans’ shoulder healed and he was soon back good as new. Helmet’s divorce was granted and Hans spoke at her sentencing hearing and asked the court for a light sentence. Rather than being given 5 years, she got 30 days suspended. She has to be on supervised probation for a year and she could have no contact with Hans, myself or any of the boys. Even after Hans requested mercy from the court, she wasn’t the least bit thankful because she started yelling and cussing as she was led out of the courtroom.

Right before school started, a German family moved in next door to us and immediately put up a big privacy fence around their property. The boys were outside playing in the front yard when a ball come bouncing over. Sonny picked it up when a boy about Kevin’s age came running out to get it. He forgot where he was because he turned bright red as Sonny tossed him the ball back. “I’m very sorry. I forgot I was naked.”

He ran back over to his yard and quickly closed the gate. Sonny walked over and politely knocked on it. The boy slowly stuck his head out. “It’s OK, we go naked in our house all the time.”

The boy smiled then pulled on a pair of shorts. “Really? People here in America make such a big deal about it.”

Jamie and Kevin came over and Sonny introduced them. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Kurt,” the boys said as Sonny grabbed his hand.

Hans and I were relaxing in the all together when the boys came in with their new friend. Sonny was almost dragging the poor boy as we were trying to slow him down and cover up at the same time. “Easy now son, you’ll break the boy’s arm.”

Sonny turned red as he let go of his friend’s hand. “Papa Hans, Dad, this is Kurt. His family just moved in next door.”

I tried to keep from blushing as I extended my hand. “Ah, it’s nice to meet you Kurt.”

He smiled as he saw Hans and I naked. “I see you’re naturists too?”

Hans picked up on the accent right away. “Yes, my parents raised me as a naturist.”

Before Hans could finish talking, our boys were naked. “So are my parents. My ball came over into your yard and in my haste I forgot to put my shorts on.”

Sonny came up to Kurt. “No harm done. We go naked too. Hey Dad, can we go over to Kurt’s place? They have a huge fence around their property.”

I had a feeling I was going to be talked into putting one around our yard so the boys could play naked outside. “Sure boys, just don’t get sun burnt.”

I was right and we put up a 12 foot privacy fence around the yard. Once that was finished, Seth and Margaret took the one between our yards down so the boys could have more room to play. Kurt was an only child and as the boys grew closer, his sexual preference became known and soon, Sonny had himself a boyfriend.

Hans and I talked with Kurt’s parents about the private school we were sending the boys to and they made an appointment to see about getting Kurt enrolled. Two weeks before school started, Kurt came running in through the back door. “Yippie.”

The boys were upstairs playing video games while Hans and I were watching television. “What’s all the excitement about Kurt?”

The boys came bounding down the stairs to join us. “I’m going to the same school with you guys.”

Sonny was the first one to great Kurt with more than a friendly hug. Hans and I watched as both boys were soon sporting some serious erections. Kevin and Jamie were watching intently then Kevin got a case of the giggles as he tapped Sonny on the shoulder. “Why don’t you two get a room?”

Sonny got an evil grin on his face then took Kurt by the hand. “Come on Kurt.”

Kevin looked disappointed when they disappeared into the 3^rd bedroom. Jamie kissed his boyfriend. “Well, you told them to get a room.”

Before school started, Kurt’s parents invited us for a weekend in Florida at a naturist resort. The boys and Hans thought it was great but I’d never been naked around anyone other then my new family so this did take some getting used to. I was amazed at the number of families that were there with children. Boys and girls of all ages were there. You could see boys getting erections all the time but no one gave them a second thought. Our three were used to going naked, it was like they were at home.

The weekend flew by and I had to admit I really enjoy myself and Hans managed to talk me into signing us up as members. When I went back to work, things went smoothly and time was flying. It’s just before our first Thanksgiving together and the 5 of us really do have a lot to be thankful for. I can’t imagine my life without Hans or the boys now. I looked back at how we were all brought together and I’m still saddened at the fact that two good men lost their lives but I feel their presence as Hans and I raise their sons. I hope Sonny’s mother is proud in how he’s being raised as well. As for Ed, he got what he deserved and it just goes to show, you can run but you can’t hide.

The End...

Posted: 05/30/08