Chapter 31
“So if I understand you correctly,” said Chase, “your grandmother caused all of this… destruction?”
“I don’t think she caused the explosions themselves,” said Odelia. “But yeah, she crashed into the academy’s armory, and she tried to mow down my fellow recruits.”
“And she mowed me down,” said her instructor as he held the bag of ice to the bump on the back of his head. “What was she driving? A tank?”
“Something like that,” said Odelia.
“It’s called a BearCat,” said Chase, “and it’s mainly used by the military on missions where they come up against terrorists and insurgents and the like.”
Zeke shook his head, then immediately realized this was a terrible idea and held it as still as he could. Fortunately for him, he hadn’t suffered any permanent or even serious damage. Looked like Gran was right when she said that she had only given him a light tap.
“But why?” asked Chase. “Why did she do all of this?”
The three of them were seated outside the armory, which was now mostly destroyed. The bomb squad had arrived on-site and had taken away everything they felt was unsafe, and had declared the structure unsound and ordered it to be demolished.
They were probably right, since it was now missing a wall, as Gran had simply smashed her BearCat into it.
“She thought there were terrorists on-site, and wanted to take them down,” said Odelia.
“If you want my opinion,” said Zeke, “the woman is a stark-raving lunatic, and she should be certified and put into a mental hospital. She is a clear menace to society.”
Chase grinned as his eyes met Odelia’s. “You’re not the first one to make that assessment, buddy,” he said.
“Are the other recruits unharmed?” asked Odelia.
“Oh, yeah. They all managed to jump clear of the incoming vehicle. Though apparently Vesta felt that she hadn’t done a great job the first time, and so she tried to run them down a second time.
But again, with not much to show for it.
All in all,” he said as he scratched his scalp and sported a goofy look on his handsome face, “the only real damage is to this building, and a lot of it is down to the ammo that exploded.”
“I have no idea how that happened,” said her instructor. “It just went… kaboom!”
“The fire experts will figure it out,” said Chase. “That is not our job. All we know is that the site is cleared, and you can all go back to whatever it is that you were doing before the interruption.”
“I think it’s best if we pick it back up tomorrow,” said Zeke. He tried to stand but must have been too woozy, and so he teetered for a few beats and then sat back down again. “I think I’m going to need crutches,” he said.
“Yeah, you should take it easy for a couple of days, buddy,” said Chase as he clapped the other man on the back.
“You two know each other?” asked Odelia. She shouldn’t have been surprised, as Chase had been a cop for a long time, so he probably knew all of his colleagues—even though the instructor wasn’t part of the Hampton Cove Police Department.
“Yeah, we’ve met,” said Chase with a grin. “Haven’t we, Zeke?”
“Sure,” said Zeke. “Chase and I go way, way back. Met when we were both rookies in the NYPD, didn’t we?”
“Yeah, those were the days,” said Chase as he shook his head. He had tucked away his notebook and looked up when his partner walked up.
“Nobody is pressing charges,” said Marva, who was an extremely attractive young woman and had only joined the Hampton Cove Police Department a couple of weeks ago. The only reason she was partnered with her husband was because Odelia was taking this training.
Nevertheless, she felt a pang of jealousy as she watched the two of them together. And if she wasn’t mistaken, Marva’s expression, as she gazed up at the lanky figure of her detective partner, was one of abject admiration.
“How about that?” said Chase. “I thought for sure they’d all want to see Vesta punished for trying to run them down.”
“When I explained that Vesta thought they were terrorists, they said they understood. After all, they all were armed, and so it was easy for her to misinterpret things.”
“Are you going to press charges, Zeke?” asked Chase.
“I don’t think so,” said Zeke. “Though, like I said, the woman is certifiable, and you should take a long, hard look at what she did and draw your own conclusions—as a family.”
He seemed to defer to Chase to make the decision about what to do with Gran, and the detective nodded. “I’ll give it some thought,” he said. “But mostly it will be the chief who decides. After all, it’s his jurisdiction, but also his mother we’re talking about here.”
“Are the cats all right?” asked Odelia.
“Oh, the cats are fine,” said Chase. “At least I think they are. Didn’t they look fine to you?”
“They looked… shaken,” said Odelia. “And so did that little dog. Who does she belong to, do you know?”
“No idea,” said Chase. “Most likely one of Vesta’s friends or something. She’s always collecting fresh pets, isn’t she, that grandmother of yours?”
Odelia smiled. “Yeah, she is.” Though she had never seen this particular dog before. She looked like a Coton de Tuléar and had looked as shocked as her cats. But then, who hadn’t? She had been shocked when the whole thing kicked off.
Good to know that no one had been hurt.
Except Zeke, of course.
She said goodbye to her husband and Marva and watched them walk off, engaged in an animated conversation. At one point, Marva actually put a hand on Chase’s arm, and Odelia frowned. She did not like to see that kind of behavior and hoped it wouldn’t lead to any trouble.
“Can you help me up, Odelia?” asked Zeke. “I still feel pretty woozy after what your gran did to me.”
“Of course,” she said, and helped the poor guy to his feet, and then led him in the direction of the main office, where he and the other instructors were based. “How are you going to get home? Do you want me to call someone?”
“I was hoping I could score a ride from you, actually,” said Zeke as he cut her a cheeky look.
She had to say he was a handsome man, even if he was several years her senior. He probably wasn’t handsome in the classical sense, but he was very muscular and exuded charm. He was graying a little at the temples and had a twinkle in his clear blue eyes that was so appealing.
She knew for a fact that a lot of the women in her class had a crush on the guy.
“Sure,” she said, and wondered if he didn’t have a girlfriend who could come and pick him up, or a wife. She didn’t really know a whole lot about him, apart from the fact that he was a veteran cop and knew his stuff.
“Let me get my things,” he suggested, “and then let’s go home. The day is shot anyway. We’ll start fresh tomorrow.”
They entered the main administrative area, and while he collected his stuff from his office, she looked around.
“What a day, huh?” a woman spoke up. Odelia started a little, as she hadn’t seen her. She was also one of the instructors, but she hadn’t had any classes with her yet.
“Yeah, you can say that again,” she said.
“Vesta Muffin, right? And her Neighborhood Watch?”
“Yeah, my gran heard the explosions and figured there were terrorists on the loose, so she decided to hunt them down and destroy them.”
“That woman’s got good instincts, but she stinks at the execution.”
Odelia smiled. “That about sums up my gran.”
“She means well, though,” said the woman, whose name Odelia didn’t know. All she knew was that she had been teaching at the police academy for several years. She was probably the person with the most seniority. “She always means well, Vesta does.”
“I guess.” Odelia didn’t really want to discuss her grandmother, as a lot of people had some pretty fixed opinions about Gran, and they didn’t always agree with her that in her heart of hearts, Gran was a good person.
She was a little crusty and outspoken, but she loved cats, she loved her family, and she tried to do the right thing. Mostly.
“Look, if I can give you one piece of advice,” said the woman as she got up from behind her desk, “it’s that you should watch it with Zeke.”
“Watch it?” she asked, surprised that the woman would mention her colleague. “What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I say. Just watch out with that guy. He loves nothing more than to flirt with the women in his class, and more often than not things end up in the bedroom—if you know what I mean.” She held up her hands.
“Hey, consenting adults and all of that stuff, right? So it’s no skin off my nose.
But you being married to such a great guy, I just thought you should know what he’s like.
He’s a real charmer, and he comes off as the greatest gift to women. But he’s not.”
Odelia smiled. “You don’t have to worry about me. I have absolutely no intention to?—”
“Let’s go,” a voice called out from the other side of the office. Then Zeke directed a rather frosty look at his colleague and said, “See you tomorrow, Freida.”
“Yeah, right back at you, Zeke.”
He held the door for her, and they were off. The moment they were outside, he asked, “What did you two talk about just now?”
“Oh, just the events of today,” she said, and wondered how much he had overheard. “You know, about my gran and what she did.”
“Right,” said Zeke, but she got the feeling that he didn’t believe her. “She didn’t mention me, by any chance?”
“You? No, we didn’t talk about you.”
“It’s just that Freida has some strong opinions about me, and they’re not always positive. She’s a real gossip, and you shouldn’t believe everything she says.”
“Thanks for the heads-up. But like I said, your name didn’t come up. It was all about Gran.”
“Sure,” he said vaguely, and then made a beeline for her car. She couldn’t help but notice how well he was doing all of a sudden. He wasn’t tottering or having problems with his balance anymore. In fact, he looked just like his old self again.
Amazing how quickly a person can recover.