Book Two: Part Four - Binding Evil - Chapter Three
Monday – June 18th – 10:00 a.m.
The time and day finally arrived. After listening to Dr. Lambert tell Stevie the procedure that was going to happen, he was in an operating room with a nervous mother in the wings.
Ed was by her side, and stayed close to her the entire time, and throughout the rest of that morning into early afternoon, other officers, and members of her team, and Captain Todd, dropped by with well wishes. Even the new Bishop, Father Larry Millen, stopped by to say a prayer.
By 1:55, Dr. Lambert stepped into the waiting room and gave Baker the news she wanted to hear. The surgery was a success and the nerve endings took hold of the wiring connected to his new leg.
The next step was plenty of rest, and then therapy.
Everything came in steps. One at a time.
By the end of June, Stevie was coming home to Baker’s townhouse; her home which was now every bit as much as his, for as long as he wanted to stay.
One of Stevie’s first comments when he left the hospital was, “Some guys wear glasses and we call them four eyes. Me? I have one real fake leg and a pair of crutches. What do they call me? Table leg?”
Baker hugged him to her side.
“No, Bub. They call that being a man.”
As they were leaving the hospital, Stevie asked to see their gravesites.
Since Mark and Donald were buried in McCandless, she took a drive to the memorial.
For the better part of an hour, a mother, and her son, sat by a headstone and talked.
And they cried.
July 6th
The Beginning
July brought on the therapy. Relearning how to walk with his new leg.
The biggest problem was getting the neural nerve endings to respond properly when he moved forward or backward and side-to-side. Sitting down or standing wasn’t much of a problem, and neither was laying down to sleep or getting up.
Both Dr. Lambert, and Stevie’s physical therapist, Mrs. Arlene Robertson, told Baker and Stevie the same thing.
“It’s quite all right to detach the micro-wiring from the leg. Especially in the beginning so it doesn’t feel so cumbersome or awkward.”
Stevie refused other than taking showers.
“The way I see it, mom, the only way I’ll ever get the hang of it, is to just keep it on and use it as normally as I can. Other than taking it off to shower or clean the sweat build up to keep my thigh clean, I’m wearing it all time.”
Of course, Baker wasn’t always close by him as she still had a job to do. She also has a relationship she had yet to explain to Stevie. A full, to half-time relationship with Ed Manning.
But in light of all that happened, things were quiet and without further incident, and she knew, sooner or later, Stevie would have to know.
Wednesday – August 22nd – 3:35 p.m.
“Mom. Earth calling mom? Yoo-hoo, mom!”
His words brought her back to the half-eaten foot-long hot dog.
“Sorry, bub. I was in the zone for a bit.”
No longer hungry, she slipped the remainder of her lunch in a bag, grabbed up everything else, stepped out of the car and walked over to a trash can and dumped the contents inside. Then she retraced her steps back into the car, turned the engine over, and they were on their way home.
“Hey, mom?”
“Yes.”
“Today’s the twenty-second, right?”
“Last I checked. Why? Oh wait, I remember. You wanted to go to Sallie’s Emporium this afternoon.”
“Yeah! That really cool writer, Edward Carter is there, autographing his new book. You did remember to bring my copy of his book with us, didn’t you?”
“Yes. It’s on the back seat.”
Stevie turned and saw the hardback cover facing him. ‘The Devil in Shadows’.
“Sweet. He writes some of the best horror stuff, ever.”
Baker just shook her head and continued west another two blocks before turning on the corner at Ralston and Mackay. Sallie’s was the first building around the corner on the right.
Sallie’s Emporium – 3:42 p.m.
“Listen up and no one gets hurt. My partner here has a bag, and in that bag, you are all gonna drop your wallets, purses, and any cash in your pockets, along with the cash in the register.
“Don’t get stupid and try to be a hero. This ain’t a movie. I’m holding the hero-stopper in my hand. Be a hero if you want, but you’ll die like a fool.”
His partner was already going around to the fifteen people in the store counting the cashier and writer.
Edward Carter sat in his seat. To his right were a few dozen books with his name on them, waiting to be purchased and autographed. Carter wasn’t really a fan of book signings, but it helped to promote his sales. Already today, he had signed nearly a hundred copies.
The Devil in Shadows.
It was his fourth in a series of books about a super-sleuth, Aiden Devil, who comes up with creative ways to thwart criminals. Sometimes it isn’t very pretty what he does. By night, a hero. By day, a federal prosecutor.
“You! So you’re Carter? You don’t look much like your picture.”
Carter looked up at the very tall, but very skinny man holding a gun.
“Yes, I’m Edward Carter.”
The man grabbed one of his books, then grabbed a second one.
“Sign these. Make the first one out to read: to my very best friend, A.J., and then make the other one read: friends to the end, best of luck, Andy.”
He slapped the books on the table in front of Carter and said firmly, “Do it.”
Without thinking, Carter went into signing mode. He kept thinking that if they didn’t kill him, he would have another Devil story.
Carter’s books always made the best seller lists. Currently, he’s number nine and rising on the New York Times list. After this episode, it may even propel his sales even more. He would check with his agent on how to spin this to the media.
When finished, he handed both signed copies to the skinny man.
“Which one’s mine?”
“Who are you?”
“Andy.”
“The one on top is yours.”
By that time, his partner, very possibly A.J., came up to him saying he got all he could get. Andy threw the books in the bag and both were on their way out the door to their car.
3:46 p.m.
Baker had pulled up just two minutes before Andy and A.J. were ready to leave.
She got on her cell phone, pressed 17, informing Ed to get a team together and meet her at Sallie’s, ASAP. She was about to work on an arrest. In the process, she told Stevie to stay down and out of sight until told to do otherwise.
Then she slowly slid out of her car and crept along the front wall and stood to the right about four feet from the entry doors. She held her service revolver raised level with her right shoulder, waiting for both men to exit.
Sallie’s has a large plate-glass window, and if she hadn’t seen the man fumbling with a couple books and still holding onto a gun, she, along with Stevie, may have walked right into a trap she wouldn’t have been able to get out from.
She waited another minute when they came outside.
Both men turned right and were facing Baker. Their guns were lowered to their sides as Baker squarely aimed hers at them.
“Party is over, fella’s. Drop’em and get face down on the sidewalk.”
The one who had Carter sign the books, Andy, was thinking about trying to outshoot her when three other cars pulled up from out of nowhere and had completely blocked the street off from any cars going anywhere.
The party was indeed over.
After being handcuffed and taken away, it was later found out that both Andy Rivers, and A.J. Duncan (Andrew James), were responsible for a rash of small-time heists all over the county. That wouldn’t happen any longer. They were found guilty and each man received a ten-year prison sentence.
As they were hauled away, each customer inside Sallie’s were given all their personal property back, including Sallie’s register receipts.
After everyone was questioned, and the area cleared, a young boy on crutches approached Edward Carter, who, at that moment, was about to pack up everything and get out of the store, and the city. He had had enough real-life action for one day.
“I just want to tell you that Adrian Devlin ranks up there with Alex Cross and Scarpetta. You are an awesome writer, Mr. Carter.”
After finishing up the last of the initial paperwork at the scene she would later file at her office, Baker stood next to her son.
Carter looked up.
“Thank you for your kind words young man.” Then he looked at Baker.
“I also want to express my gratitude and thanks for what you did out there, Miss …”
“It’s Lieutenant Baker. But, it’s all right, Mr. Carter. Just a case of being in the right place at the right time. If you would, please sign my son’s copy of your new book. That’s all the reward I want.”
And he did.
Baker and Stevie turned to walk out of Sallie’s and go back to her car. Edward Carter then continued to pack up his remaining materials he brought with him and walked up to the day manager and thanked her for having him on hand.
Outside and in the car, Stevie said, “Hey, mom. Check out what he wrote.” He handed her the book.
To Stevie, an exceptional son, blessed with an exceptional mother. May you both live in the light of love for all time.
“That was very nice of him, Stevie.”
After the adventure, as Stevie put it had died down, and they were once again on their way home, he couldn’t help but proud of his mom.
Baker was just grateful no one was injured or killed. There had already been enough bloodshed too last Montie for a long time to come.