Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

I’m Lieutenant Deviled Yeggs.  I work homicide in the big city of Tracy.  Working for me are my old partners: Detective Sgt. Jim Wednesday and Detective Poached Yeggs, my nephew who is slowly becoming a good detective.  But then again, I have all the detectives in the big city of Tracy reporting to me.  Even so, I HELP them when they need help, but I WORK homicide.

Editor’s Note: An APB is an All Points Bulletin.  Then there is ATL, which is Attempt to Locate.  That one would be confusing in Atlanta, GA since they shorten Atlanta to ATL.  I guess you could say this became a Dragnet, but that is getting ahead of the story.  You could say BOLO, Be On the Look Out, but we had a non-missing person missing person.  That means that the police do not get involved unless the person has been missing for 24 hours or there are extenuating circumstances.  The circumstances might be that there is blood where you thought the person was supposed to be.

It was the Eve of Christmas Eve and we had a major dinner party and gift giving scheduled for Christmas Eve.  Paddy McCreary was purchasing all the quilts from his “in-laws” that they had not given away or sold.  The new kitchen in the warehouse across the alley from the mission was just a dream a year ago, but with the money from Amy, Pink, and John Downing (Harold Dykstra’s friend – really Babs introduced them to each other), we had the finances to convert the upper level of the warehouse into the FHAT (Feeding the Homeless at Tracy) kitchen.  Thomas ver Waarloosd was in the kitchen by himself christening every pot, every pan, every stove eye, and every oven.  He had help with the preparation, but then everyone went home and left him to do the cooking.  Then all we had to do was to warm up the food the next morning.

The employees from Lily the Pink that were not on shift, just getting off shift, etc. had spent the day in the rooms next to the kitchen sorting the donations.  Many of the charities in town let the distribution of blankets, coats, and other warm items up to FHAT, since we had a better chance of getting it to the right people.  The homeless community was starting to trust us, but it was still an uneasy trust.

I wanted to go home, but something inside my head said to stay for a while.  The wind was howling and the temperature was dropping.  The local weather man said that we were headed for a white Christmas, but the one problem in that was that the snow wasn’t reaching the ground.  The winds were so high that it was possible that the snow would never touch the ground until it got into Missouri or Iowa or even Illinois.  Our local weather man, at least this one was prone to joke about the weather on occasion, but I could hear the wind howl from the squad room, far from the windows.

Then, the phone calls started coming in.  Easy had set up instruments on “Mount Baldy.”  Abigail, the Grand Oma at the Amish Community of the four Omas, had not built the observation deck on the bald hill behind her home, but she let Easy anchor some instruments on steel rods.  Easy (my son Easter Yeggs), Skinny (Kevin), and Flintstone (Fred) were the usual Turtle drivers.  Dr. Ben Casey was with them and they were drilling holes in stone, erecting the instruments and beacons.  They were expecting blizzard conditions.  Easy called to say they were all set in Stout County and Jemima was getting the data at their apartment at Lily the Pink.  Then Dr. Kildare, head of meteorology at T.R.U.S.T., called to say that the weather man’s joke might not be far wrong.  He knew we had a lot of friends among the homeless.  They needed shelter.  Then the mayor called.  Boaz had made an announcement on all television channels that no one needed to be working or staying outdoors tonight.  That included city services.  The Fire Department was sending crews to inspect all the lines.  All city buildings had been inspected for properly operated freeze protection.  There were a few more calls.  One was from Dr. Ellie who had Hoople (Wilma Slay) and Fitzi Mitzi with her.  They were near the T.R.U.S.T. campus.  They had almost lost sight of their half-mile beacon.  I asked if that made it a blizzard, and Dr. Ellie said that they had to lose sight of the quarter-mile beacon and for a set time, but the main part of the storm was not here yet.

Then, I got a call from Easter.  He used to give us wellness phone calls, but now that he lived on his own, a wellness phone call after a trip was rare.  Usually, Jemima called us.

“Dad,” Easter said, “The storm chased us all the way home.  Lucky all three of us live in the same building.  Wind is strong.  Visibility is almost non-existent.  Wind chill, or “feels like temperature,” is frigid.  I hope the homeless are seeking shelter.  Aunt Pink has opened the Crystal Mountain for them.  She is letting those with tents camp in the volleyball courts, and they moved vespers into the conference center so that they can have another tent encampment there, you know, where the chairs would be.”

I asked, “But Easy, you know about how high profile those buses are, the wind is too strong for the bus when it’s empty.”

Easy laughed, “Yeah, Dad, Blaise was in the lab, and he talked to Jim Kaiser before the buses went out.  They strapped the free weights from the exercise room underneath the seats to lower the center of gravity.  Once they have people in the bus, they are fine, but Grannie Fannie said it was white knuckle time going from Lily the Pink to the first bus stop.  Oh, and Harold Dykstra is here with Babs.  Harold knows where the encampments are.  He sent cars out first to tell as many as would be willing to relocate to go out to the road.  Harold mapped out the route that both covered all the bus stops, that is the closest place on the major street from the homeless encampment, not a real bus stop.  And he made their route going by a couple of gas stations.  They’ll keep making the circuit as long as they have people waiting at the bus stop.  Funny, what Grannie Fannie has called back with, the bus stop at the city center encampment has very few people.  I hope they aren’t trying to ride out the storm.”

I called Naomi (Glyce) and I told her I would stay at the precinct.  We might need someone to make a decision.  I would stay in the precinct and not out on patrol.  She did not have to worry.  She expected that I would play hero at some point on a raw night like this, and my intent was not to do that, just be the wise voice of caution when things went wrong.

When I hung up the phone with my wife, that is when everything went wrong.  Easy called back.  “Dad, when I got back to our apartment, Catherine was here so that her children could play with Stormie.  Levi and Stormie are both 2024 babies, but Levi is eight-months older than Stormie and there is a lot of differences between them.  But Catherine is worried about Thomas.  Jemi talked to him a couple of hours ago and suggested that he come home.  He told her that he could not leave the food in the ovens overnight.  He’d be home as soon as the food was cooked and cooled and transferred to the awaiting empty refrigerators.  He had placed some of the food in the rapid cooling system already.  Most of the baked food was baked in the shallow trays that the cooling system requires, but some had to be moved from one thing to another.  But he thought he would have that done in less than an hour.  And he does not answer his phone.”

I asked, “Call Thou, he’s right across the street.”

Easy said, “Already tried.  All the lights are off on the floor where the kitchen is located.  The car is not parked next to the building.  And Dad, remember that the ver Waarloosd family got here barely a year and a half ago, and Thomas had only ridden in a car a couple of times when he arrived here.  He has had his license less than a year.  I am sure he has never driven in a blizzard.  I have, and it is not fun even when you know what you are doing.”

I sighed, “Do not let Catherine hear you say blizzard.  The visibility and winds have to stay going for a while.  Use words that calm her down.  Maybe she knows something that Thomas said and she cannot remember.  I will see if we have a patrol.  The mayor has brought everyone inside, but that does not apply to officers in a patrol car.”

When I finished talking, Polly asked, “Where are we going, Lieutenant?”

I asked, “Where did you come from?  I thought I was in the squad room alone.”

Polly smiled, “Sgt. Weiss is still downstairs.  He was clearing up paperwork when the return to precinct alarm was sounded.  He sent us up here to check on you, and Francine and I heard you talk about a patrol car.  Ours is still warm.  I guess girls can be shining young knights dressed in armor.”

I smiled, “Drive to the FHAT kitchen.  Look for evidence or tracks.  Drive to Lily the Pink from there.  Thomas did not arrive home.  He had been cooking for the event tomorrow.  Thomas is not an experienced driver, and he might have slipped on an icy patch on the road.  Use your judgment.  If visibility is less than a half mile, he could easily have missed a curve in the road.  This is not a missing person yet, but Thomas is a key player in feeding the homeless.”

“Francine and I are on it.” Polly said with a nod.

I sent out an ATL to all precincts for a pink sedan.  They would all know that was a Lily the Pink vehicle.  I included that pink buses, large and small, were gathering homeless and transporting them to shelters.  There might be a few SUVs, but Thomas ver Waarloosd was in a sedan, inexperienced in winter driving, probably driving between the mission and Lily the Pink, but he could have become disoriented in the storm.  Some precincts complained since the mayor said to stay inside.  I clarified that mayoral order.  It said nothing about standard patrols in patrol cars, and criminals would love it if there were no patrols with just one more night before Christmas.

As a result of patrols going out, there were five arrests around the city with people taking advantage of the lessened patrols due to the weather.  They were breaking into one store after another.  But in all that flurry of police protection, there was no sign of a pink sedan.  It seemed to have vanished.  With those reports coming in, the Commissioner bumped the ATL up to an APB.  That meant multiple patrols to find Thomas and his pink car.

In the meantime, I heard from Grannie Fannie that the relocation of the homeless was working well.  A lot were going to the mission downtown since it would only be for one night, according to the weather reports.  Christmas Eve would be colder, but relatively no wind.  If they could just get through one night.

Ruthie and Dieter came into the squad room.  Ruthie said, “Oo!  Oo!  Lieutenant, Polly called me.  She didn’t want you to be alone up here.  Have they found Thomas?”

I looked at Ruthie, “You and Dieter are not on nights today.  What are you doing?”

Dieter said, “Like Ruthie said, we are keeping you company.  We are on graveyards.  So, we came in early.  Who knows, if the blizzard gets worse, we might not be able to find the precinct.”  Dieter and Ruthie started to laugh.

But something was boiling inside me.  If it had not been for my promise to Naomi that I would not be a hero, I would have been out on the streets looking.  An order to hunker down or not, I was a detective, and I needed to detect.

I grabbed my hat and coat.  “Come on, you two.  I am going to see if you can be crime scene techs and detectives, along with your patrol duties.”

Dieter drove and I rode shotgun.  Ruthie was behind me in the back of the patrol car.  When we arrived at the mission, I got out and opened the door for Ruthie.

“Oo!  Oo!”  Ruthie said, “I must be a lady.  A handsome gentleman is holding the door for me.”

I groaned, “No, Ruthie, with this being a patrol car, the back seat doors only open from the outside.”

Ruthie gave me a dramatic hug, “But a woman can dream, can’t she?”

I chuckled, “I thought you and Trevor in Traffic control were an item.”

“Oo!  Oo!” Ruthie replied, “He’s nice and cuddly, but he’s not a lieutenant.”

I growled, “Don’t let my wife hear you say that.”

Ruthie let go of her hug and laughed.

My Dad, Thou, came into the alley.  “I have been keeping an eye out, son.  I think I see a light every now and then, but then I wonder if I’m dreaming or hoping.  At times, the snow blowing through the alley is whiteout.”

I used the security code to enter the outer door.  Dad had joined us.  The four of us walked up the stairs into the storage room that was filled with new coats and blankets.  We could hear breathing and snoring.  Ruthie and Dieter shined their flashlights.  The floor was covered with homeless people, many of them were people I had met.  All were trying to sleep except for a couple at the far wall.  We walked through the maze of people sleeping on the floor to reach Caroline and Jasmine.

Jasmine smiled, “Hi, Lieutenant, I didn’t expect you out here.  And Thou, aren’t you a bit old to be out on a night like this?”

Thou said, “We’re looking for Thomas ver Waarloosd.  Have you seen him?”

Caroline cackled, “Thomas!  If it weren’t for Thomas, we wouldn’t be here.  He’s been out picking up people and bringing them to the FHAT headquarters.  Jazz and I have been keeping our eyes out for anyone trying to steal one of them coats or blankets.  We all gonna wait our turn for Christmas.  Xander is at the bottom of the stairs.  He hears the secret knock.  No secret.  It’s shave and a haircut.  But then Xander opens the door and when they walk up the stairs.  Then, Jazz and me find a free spot of floor for them to sleep.  I think with all the snoring in here, Jazz and I might not get much sleep anyways.”

A grumpy voice from the dark said, “What snoring?  You too talk so much, we can’t sleep!”

My patrol of four went down the stairs to talk to Xander.  Xander was one of the first homeless people that I led to Jesus, although I think Pink Lady is right.  God does the leading.  We’re just there to give them a hug upon arrival.

Xander explained that the young boy that does the cooking doesn’t know a thing about driving in the snow, but he is learning fast.  The old truck entrance to the warehouse only has fire exits, but the alarm is turned off, and Xander can open the door from the inside.  The road is wider than the alley, so the wind is less treacherous.  Thomas pulls up and knocks on the door.  Xander opens the door and shows them to the stairs.  He hadn’t seen Thomas in the last several trips.  He’s already on his way to find more people.

At that moment, we heard a shave and a haircut knock.  Dieter and Ruthie stormed past the incoming homeless people to stop Thomas.

With Thomas “apprehended”, I called off the APB, but I think the precincts were maintaining their increased patrols.  It was less patrols than normal, but they were maintaining a police presence to cut down on opportunists trying to loot a store in a storm.

Inside the FHAT kitchen, that was still hot from all the cooking, Thomas offered everyone either hot chocolate or coffee.  Xander had stayed downstairs since the word had gotten out about the secret knock leading to a warm, dry place to sleep.  Some might wander over without being picked up by Thomas.

But Caroline and Jasmine welcomed the coffee, along with Ruthie and Dieter who were already on their shift.  The interrogation of the “suspect” was brief.  Aunt Jemima had told him that it was bitter cold and the homeless needed shelter.  But when the phone call was over, Thomas’ phone battery had died.  Thomas had been playing Christmas songs since he was all alone in the kitchen.  He put his phone on the charger and drove into the city center.  Thomas knew what alleys they used and which parks.  He packed as many into the car each trip, no use of seatbelts, people sitting on people, packed solid each time.  He had people on the first couple of trips that gave him driving tips for winter weather.  He was getting it down, but he hated steep hills.  So he avoided them whenever possible.  He heard the police vehicles driving by, but every time he heard one, he was in an alley with dumpsters blocking his view.

About this time, Polly and Francine walked in.  Xander had told them where we would be.  Polly said, “Francine thought she saw a flash of pink.  We tried to follow, but we lost the taillights.  Our only hint of where he was in the storm was when he hit the brakes.  After a while, we got the hint that Thomas was using the truck side of the warehouse.  How many people do you have in here?”

Thomas shrugged, “I never counted.  I just kept bringing more in.”

Francine laughed, “And you put the right person on the door down there.  We didn’t know the secret knock and that guy would not let us in, but then a guy walked up and gave the knock.  We walked in with him and congratulated the guard for doing a good job, but we were truly police.  And he said we were pretty police ladies.  I feel flattered.”

The grumpy guy walked into the kitchen.  “Even your whispering is too loud.”

Thou said, “Matt, if you are clean and dried out, you can return to the mission.”

The grumpy guy, Matt, smiled, “I’m clean and dry, Thou, but I was enjoying watching the stars at night.  It doesn’t take much to keep me from staying awake all night.  I grew up in the country and the frogs and crickets would serenade me to sleep.  City noises aren’t the same.”  Matt quickly drank a coffee and started to go back to his spot.  Polly followed him and offered a back rub.  She found the sweet spot and Matt would at least get thirty minutes of sleep, and being as tired as he was, he might not wake up until the sun came through the windows.

I took Thomas home in the pink car.  Polly and Francine were on their way to clock out, with paid overtime coming their way.  Ruthie and Dieter took a weaving patrol through the alleys of downtown Tracy.  They offered a ride to the shelter of choice: the mission, the FHAT kitchen, or Lily the Pink in the Crystal Mountain.  They had a few that accepted the offer.  It was colder than they thought it would be.

The reunion between Thomas and Catherine and the children made the unpaid overtime worth it.  Then again, I forgot to clock out.  For all my efforts to find a chef for the homeless right before Christmas, I was going to get a tongue lashing when I got back to work.

But Thou, my Dad, told me that I might be getting some more siblings.  Maeve was pregnant again.  He wanted me to keep it a secret for now.  I agreed if he would agree to keep it a secret that Naomi was pregnant again.  She thought Gigi needed a little sibling to terrorize, and she still was not as old as Pink when she delivered Pink Sparkle.

We might just have a noisy Christmas next year.

Credits

I wrote this on Thanksgiving and Good Friday.  A couple of days before, the wind was ferocious, and the light rain turned into snow as the temperature dropped.  And my heart went out to those who do not have a roof over their heads.

The idea of cooking ahead of time makes sense.  But the best way to handle food safety is to rapidly cool the food and then transfer to a refrigerator.  Then the food needs to be warmed back to serving temperature before placing the food in a “warmer” or in chafing dishes.  Those “warmers” that maintain the food at a safe temperature and chafing dishes are designed to keep food warm and should not be used to warm the food up to the right temperature.