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************************************************** From: Patti Keiper <pattik1@hotmail.com> Date:
Sat 5/27/2017 7:18 PM Subject: Teeth
Dennis Becker looked at Vince Howard as a volunteer
crew loaded up the fire horses into a vet's van. "Where are they headed?"
"Same place we're
going. To their barnyard. Believe it or not, they're the last ones to have seen Mike Stoker. We're
going to poke around property for signs of him. Are you up to doing a little searching?"
"With
the city closed down, I've nothing pressing." Dennis shrugged. "I'll ride in with you. We don't get
the fire department channels in our cars."
"Hop in." Howard said, opening the passenger door of
his black and white squad car. "Put this on. Doesn't matter tonight if people know you're an undercover
officer. There's too much fire in the area."
"In more ways than one. Thanks for the ballistics
vest. I have a bad feeling we're going to need it." Lt. Becker sighed.
The two officers elected
to follow the assigned U.S.A.R. unit to the address they had received from L.A. to play it safe.
Flames from the canyon fire that the gun happy arsonist had started, was beginning to lick the edges
of brush alongside the outer fences of the distant downtown neighborhoods.
"Ah, d@mn. I hate
it when Mother Nature gets in the way of an investigation." Dennis mumbled. "Wildfires don't leave
much left behind."
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Jim Rockford pulled up alongside a city pay phone next to a gas station that was still in
a safe zone marked by the fire department.
"What are you doing, Jimmy?" Martin asked from the
back seat. "I've still got a ton of pictures to take of the wildfire."
"Aw, Angel, I'm not
here to play chauffeur to your photography session. We were ordered to evacuate." the P.I. moaned
tiredly. "Sorry your plans got smoked, but we've had a really rough night. All I wanna do is go home,
with one detour." he said, getting out of the car and deftly taking up his car keys so they were
out of reach of Martin.
"Who are you going to go call?" Sara asked.
"My Dad. He's being
discharged in a few minutes from the hospital and I'm his ride home. It's morning already, see?"
he pointed to the pale copper beginning to stain the east horizon.
Angel's eyes bugged out,
"Oh my G*d. Are you sure that isn't another branch of the fire flanking us?"
"Yes, Angel,
I'm sure. That direction's the ocean and towards the sunrise. Check your compass." Rockford said
sarcastically. Under his breath, he muttered. "Too bad your common sense compass doesn't work so
well."
"What?"
"Nothing. Did you find out your answer? Maybe you'll settle down a little
afterwards." Jim said, running a few fingers through his sweaty and fire smoke soot dusted hair.
Reflexively, the hyper Portuguese man did so, from a big, fat old style Navy one from the inside
of his shirt pocket. "Hey, that glow is east."
"And downwind. Fire doesn't ever suddenly appear as
a small, steady glowing ball and start rising straight up into the sky." Jim shared. "Excuse me while
I make a phone call."
"Here's a dime, Jim." Sara said, handing him one from her blue jean's
pocket.
"Thanks, doll." Rockford winked at Sara. Then he picked up the phone receiver on the
outdoors wall shelf unit and dialed."Hi, Dad. How are you feeling?"
**Like the china shop the
bull ran through. How long are ya going to be? That Dixie gal wheeled me down to the main lobby over
an hour ago!**
"Sorry, Dad. Ran into a few delays." Rockford admitted.
**Do you mean to
tell me you're on another date?**
"Shh! She'll hear you. Yes, we were, but that was hours ago.
We ran into a few issues on the way to Rampart."
**Oh, yeah, like what? I'm freezing my butt
off in these new fangled P.J.s. It's not fun at all waiting like this.**
"Try a fire and a
sniper. My car got wrecked by a bullet."
The kindly old white haired Rocky crossed his legs in
the waiting chair next to the nurses desk. He immediately uncrossed them when an ugly old lady sitting
across from him suddenly started smiling and staring up his patient gown. **Serves you right,
Jim! I told you to buy car insurance. But did you listen? No..** Then he mumbled in a softer tone.
**Glad you're not hurt, sonny.**
"I'm always careful." Jim replied.
**Not always. Sometimes
the bad guys do nail ya. Look at me. I got hurt and there were no bad guys in the equation at all!
Now where's the one who shot at you? Are you and whoever's in your company going to go after him
after you abandon me at the trailer?**
JIm's sighed and studied the cement cracks glowing
in the water the fire department had left on the sidewalk. It took a lot to not blow up at his father's
brutally glib comments.
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From the car, Angel perked up as he and Sara watched Jim hide his conversation in vain. "Oh.
I know that look of his, Sara.We're going hunting! Just you, Jim and I."
Sara shook her head,
wiping off some of Johnny's blood from her fingers with a water bottle's flow and a rag she found
in the glove compartment. "What makes you think we're going to go heading back straight into danger?"
Angel Martin met her gaze seriously. "Because I know his father, Rocky, Sweetcakes. It's a father/son
honor thing going on between them right now over there." Martin told her. "You see, Rockford's a
pushover when it comes to always doing what his old man wants. It's a guilt trip he can't possibly
ignore. It's all because his Dad was bad once, and he straightened up and began to fly right. Decades
ago. And Jim knows that he can't ever live up to that. Not in a million years."
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