C Weaver - Silent River

Jake and Robert watched the activity in the squad room. It looked a war had taken place, and everyone was a casualty. “Did we raid skid row or something?” Jake whispered. Men and women filled the chairs and benches waiting to be booked. The smell of body odor, wet wool, and mildew hung in the air.

Robert looked out the small window above his head; it was snowing a little mixed with rain. “Looking for a dry place to sleep even if it’s a jail.” He went into his office and shut the door, hoping to but a barrier between him and everything in the squad room.

He looked up at the sound of a soft knock on his office door. “Come in.”

Barbara pushed the door open all the way and walked to his desk. Robert smiled, unaware that his dimples caused Barbara’s heart to speed. He thought, She’s a beautiful woman. I wonder why she isn’t married. Her light brown hair curled softly on her shoulders, and when she was working hard at her typing, he noticed that sometimes she pursed her lips to blow air up and her bangs would fluff out. It was cute when she did it. Now she was staring at him. He gave a little cough.

“Barbara. What can I do for you?” He crossed his arms on the top of the desk.

She had a plate with some waxed paper taped to it. “My dad made some jerky in a new brine. I heard that you like it, and he asked if you would taste this.” She held out the plate for him.

A little surprised at her request, Robert pulled the tape off the bottom of the plate and lifted the edge. The pieces were the right color, not too thick or thin. Chewing on a chunk, he tasted sweet, salt, a bit of pepper, and the smoked hickory flavor. He liked to hunt and fish now and then. He smoked some of the salmon he caught, and his particular brine recipe was one that the rest of the guys were trying to worm out of him.

He nodded at her. “Mighty tasty. I think your dad has a good thing here. He must have added some liquid smoke to flavor it.” He nodded again, and as she reached for the plate, he stuck his hand beneath the wrapper. “Do you mind if I take a few more pieces?”

She gave him a slow smile that triggered a now familiar effect he didn’t want to dwell on. “Sure, take what you want. Dad has more. I’m going to put the rest in the break room.”

“Thanks.” He set a few pieces on a scrap sheet of paper. She stood looking at him. Her eyes were soft. She gave him a slight smile that stabbed at the armor he’d built around his heart since his wife died. “Was there something else you wanted?

“Yes, but you’re not ready for it.” She turned, and her skirt flared out a little. The wide, black belt accented her small waist and made her, well, he wasn’t going to admit that she had a magnificent chest. He had managed to keep from staring at it each time he walked by her. He might be a widower, but he wasn’t dead.

“So, what did Miss Babs want?” Jake leaned against the door. “You know she has the hots for you.”

“Come on, Jake, I’m too old for her.”

“I happen to know that she is just four years younger than you are. At twenty-six, my guess is that she’s ready to settle down, and I think she has you on her radar.”

Robert rubbed his palm nervously over his crew cut. “I am not cut out to be a husband. In this job, it just isn’t wise.”

“You think that I’m stupid for marrying Lorene?” Jake closed the door and picked up a pile of folders from a chair and sat down. “You think that any guy here is a fool for getting married and wanting a family?”

“No, I’m sure some women can handle the kind of pressure and worry that goes with our job. I—well—I.” He didn’t know how to go on.

“You’re just afraid that you’ll make the same mistake you made before.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yes.”

“I’m not a shrink or a counselor, but I know there are good women out there who have the stamina to handle the job. Lorene and I talked a lot before we got married about what she was going to face. She talked to other officer’s wives. She knew what she was getting into when I asked her to marry me. I’m not saying Babs is the right one, but at least she knows the rules, the situations, and the risks. She works here every day, probably knows you better than you do. Women talk, that’s all they do around here.” Jake joked to lighten the seriousness of what he said.

“You’re right. I don’t know that I’m ready to take that step.” A sigh crept into his voice.

“Maybe not, but you can at least get back up on the horse after you have been thrown off. Ask Barbara out on a date. The Policeman’s Ball is coming up in a month. Ask her as your date.”

A cold chill ran through him, and he almost shivered. Ask her out? “Ah, well, I’ll think about it.”

“You’re chicken.” Jake chuckled, “The great and mighty Robert Collins is afraid to ask a girl to a dance.”

“When you put it that way, no.” He rubbed a palm over his face.

Jake stood and leaned over the desk, resting his palms on the papers scattered in piles, “That is all it is. You aren’t asking her to marry you or to see you as a potential husband. You aren’t setting her up as a potential wife. You’re just a guy asking a girl on a date. Keep it at that, and you’ll do fine. Buck up, brother, I don’t want to have to go to this thing without my partner again.” He wrapped his hands around his neck as if in a chokehold and pretended to gasp for air.

“Come on, it’s not that bad.” Robert laughed.

“You said that, not me, so there’s no reason not to ask the young lady to the dance.” He saluted Robert as he walked out the door. “Don’t wait too long, Nate has been eyeing her.”

“Oh, Lord.” Robert dropped his head in his arms. No pressure? Not that he even considered Nate any competition, but he would have to gather his courage and ask really soon.

Two days later, Robert opened an envelope with no return address, marked Personal. That probably set Nate off on the run to the chief. The cancellation stamp read Portland, Oregon, possibly downtown. He took out a single sheet of paper.

Calvin and James were having a homosexual relationship. Calvin and his father fought about it, and he moved out of the house and into the apartment with James Corbett. Not long after that, Calvin shipped out back east to a seminary. You might want to know what went on at Kaeding’s parties.

Robert laid the sheet of paper on the desk and let it bend into the fold. Who was sending him these notes? On the one hand, someone wanted the truth to come out. On the other hand, someone was sending him threatening letters. He stuffed the note in his briefcase and made a call to Maggie.

Robert pulled up to Tom and Maggie Borman’s house. He accessed the modest home. It sat in a neighborhood similar to the Stevens’. Neither looked out of the ordinary. No one would have guessed what went on behind the Stevens’ door any more than what went on behind the Borman’s door, or any other entry on this street. What went on behind locked doors stayed there.

He slid out of the car and walked to the porch. He wondered how many women stood, shielded by a curtain, wondering what he was doing there. The neighbors on the Stevens’ block remarked how friendly the family was and how Calvin had mowed lawns for money when he was younger. Now, all that had changed. They had questions about the family. He would love to be at their dinner table talk. What little things did they now think odd?

He pressed the doorbell. Maggie opened the door and stepped aside for him to come in. She didn’t welcome him, just shut the door behind him, and proceeded him to the living room where Tom stood waiting.