Secrets Among Friends

January, 2014

Dick Tracy stood at the bottom of the staircase. He rubbed his chin. The jackhammers had stopped some time ago, as the last of the dried cement had been broken up and taken away. The pit wasn’t especially deep, only about 8 feet, but it would have been enough to drown Tracy if he hadn’t kept his wits about him.

They’d discovered the rungs that led to the trap door, which was set into the pit at an upwards angle. Tracy had deduced that Kadaver had felt for the rungs which would have led to the door, then escaped through the tunnel.  There were a series of additional doors in the tunnel, each with locks – some combination, some keyed. There was no telling what other kinds of booby-traps Kadaver might have installed, and Tracy didn’t want to risk any of his people getting hurt by rushing.

Sam Catchem came down the stairs behind Tracy and offered him a cardboard cup full of hot coffee. Tracy waved it away.

“I’ve had too much already. I’ll get jittery.”

“Uh-huh.” Sam looked over the scene. “The Chief’s outside. Wants to see you.”

Tracy looked intently at his partner. “Did you tell him?”

Sam was stone-faced. “I barely said two word to him. Besides, what’s to tell? We received an anonymous tip that this is where we’d find you.”

Tracy smiled grimly.

“I’ll call your wrist wizard if anything happens down here.” Sam assured him.

Tracy hauled himself up the stairs and down the hallway to the front room. He passed several technicians and forensic scientists, all looking for evidence that might connect Abner Kadaver to the various crimes he was suspected of committing. Tracy was expecting that Fritz Ann Dietrich, or possibly some other representative of the FBI, would arrive soon.

Tracy stepped out of the house into the cold night. Chief Pat Patton was standing next to one of the flood lights that was aimed at the house. Pat was the only still figure. Tracy approached his old friend.

“Tracy.” Pat said. “You look terrible.”

“I haven’t shaved.” Tracy explained. “Didn’t want to miss anything.”

“Have you slept?” Patton asked.

“I grabbed a nap in one of the squad cars.” Tracy was non-committal.

“How long ago was that?” Pat asked.

“… A while.” Tracy admitted.

Pat looked at the ground and kicked a loose rock. “Tracy, you know I don’t like to pull rank on you.”

“Then don’t.” Tracy’s face was stony.

“You’ve been out here too long.” Pat urged. “You’ll get sloppy. Miss something. Contaminate evidence, maybe.”

“You know me better than that.” Tracy replied.

“I don’t know that I do. Not now.” Pat fixed Tracy with a steady gaze.  “Something happened here that you’re not telling me.”

“No, Pat, I-”

“Quiet!” Pat barked. Tracy was stunned. “You’re hiding something from me, Dick, and I don’t like it. You’ve got Sam covering for you, too. How long are you going to keep this up?”

“It’s not like that.” Tracy objected.

“I don’t know what it’s like, Dick!” Pat shouted. “We’ve been friends for years, saved each other’s lives a dozen times! And now, on THIS case, there’s something you won’t tell me? This is unprecedented.”

“I know it.” Tracy rubbed the bridge of his nose. “But this wasn’t like anything that’s happened before, Pat. I knew there would be risks when I became a police officer. That’s why it took me so long to marry Tess. Now, she knew what she was getting into, and she knew the danger, but my kids?”

“Tracy-“

“Sure, Junior got in plenty of scrapes, I couldn’t stop him. And somehow Bonnie and Joe would get mixed up in my cases from time to time, but those were always accidents or coincidences.

“This wasn’t that, Pat.” Tracy’s voice was strained. “This time, they took her. She’s my little girl and they took her. Made her a target just so they could get to me. None of them have ever done that before. Not even the most vicious killers we've faced. So when Blackjack told me he’d found her…”

Pat put his hand on Tracy’s shoulder.

“You let him go.” Pat said. “Blackjack’s the one who found Bonnie and Ray. He was here, he helped you, and you let him go.”

Tracy hung his head.

“This can’t go in the official record, Tracy.” Pat’s voice was low. 

Tracy thought for a moment, then he nodded.

“Go home.” Pat ordered. “Kiss your wife. Hug your daughter. Tell your son that you’re proud of him.”

“Not yet.” Tracy protested, weakly. “I want to tell them that we have leads on Kadaver.”

“They won’t care.” Pat said. “They just want you at home. This is an order.”

“I’ll be back here in the morning, maybe the lab guys will-”

“You’ll be at your desk in the morning.” Pat said, decisively. “I want you to prepare a statement for the press. You need to be well-rested, shaved, showered, in a pressed suit. And shined shoes.”

Tracy chuckled. “You going to read the dress code at me, Chief Patton?”

“If I have to.” Pat wasn’t laughing. “Now get out of here.”

Tracy walked past Pat and ducked under the police tape.

“If Kadaver’s alive, we’ll find him!” Pat called after his friend.

“I know it!” Tracy responded.

Pat paused, then hustled after Tracy, catching up to him before he reached his car.

“Oh, one more thing Tracy,” Pat puffed. “Ms. Steffihawk said you got a call from Vitamin. He claims it’s something urgent, but you know how he is. Give him a call when you get into the office tomorrow. It might be good for a laugh.”

End.