It was an unseasonably warm, sunny, autumn
day when Mystic Magill’s Big Top Carnival rolled into Philadelphia. Set up day was always busy and this one was
no exception. Tina, Clara, Manny along
with his son, Manuel, GoGo, and Jared struggled to focus on the task at hand.
Inside, they all wondered how Sam was going to catch Maven in the act. As they worked, they sent each other silent
messages: sideways glances, a wink, or a nod, all ways to say we’re in this
together and we’re doing our part to help BT.
Across town, Sam was cementing his
relationship with Jenny’s family. It had
been easy to charm her aunts and female cousins. His boyish charm and disarming smile had them
hooked from the first introduction. Her
uncles and male cousins were a tougher nut to crack yet there was something
endearing about their blue-collar, family-first demeanor. He’d gotten off on the right foot when he
insisted on sleeping on the couch, rather than expecting to share a bedroom with
Jenny. His second brownie-point had been
earned without even trying. An offhanded
remark about hating the New York Giants and he was in.
“You’re all right, there Sammy-boy,”
Uncle Mike laughed, tossing him a beer.
“There’s nothin’ worse than raisin’ your kids right….teachin’ ‘em to be proud
of their heritage and when they head out into the world; they turn their back
on their own hometown.”
Mike’s impromptu
diatribe inspired the clinking of beer bottles and a few scowls sent in the
direction of his daughter, Heather.
Mike’s son Jeremy explained that Heather was dating a Giants fan.
“There’s a picture of her up on
Facebook wearing a Giants jersey,” Mike whispered. ‘It’s quite the scandal. Dad nearly had a heart attack.”
Note to self, Sam thought silently, Pick up an Eagles, Phillies, Flyers or any
other Philadelphia team, tee-shirt while I’m here. Throughout the rest of
the day, he’d managed to win over the remainder of her family. He hated the thought that their approval
might be lost the instant they heard about his case, and Jenny’s involvement.
That evening, as Mike manned the grill, Sam had a private chat with him.
“So….Mike, Jenny tells me you’re a
police officer.”
“Yup, been on the force a little
over twenty years now,” Mike responded while masterfully flipping the steaks
and ribs on his grill. “So, if you don’t mind me asking, what made you decided
to go rogue instead of joining the police force, Sam?”
“You know, I never really thought of
it as ‘going rogue’ before,” he answered, chuckling. “I was with the police force for a while and I
was shot in the line of duty. They
wanted to relegate me to as desk job after the injury and I wanted to stay
active… so, I hung out my shingle and went into business for myself.”
“Good for you! Most fellas would
more than happy to get out of the line of fire and play desk jockey.”
As the
conversation progressed, Sam got the distinct impression Mike’s opinion of him
had elevated dramatically since their introduction, making it that much harder
to divulge his true purpose for joining Jenny on her trip. Eventually, he
sucked it up and blurted out the whole sordid tale.
“So, I’m guessing you’d like a
little a help from our department to catch this SOB,” Mike replied. “Lemme tell you something, it would be my
pleasure to nail this freak. I can’t
believe he almost snatched five hundred dollars from our Jenny. It’s a good thing you were thinking on your
feet there and managed to save her cash.
Too bad the rest of those poor suckers didn’t have someone to do the
same for them. After dinner, I’ll make a
few calls and we’ll just see what resources we can pull together.”
“Thank you, sir,” Sam gasped. “I thought for sure you’d be disgusted that I
got Jenny tangled up in this mess.”
“Well, I’m not particularly thrilled
that she was potentially exposed to danger but you couldn’t have known there
was some crazy-ass murder and extortion racket running out of a traveling
circus for cryin’ out loud. I’m not sure hypnotizing someone and subliminally
planting an order to send cash would technically classify as extortion but, geez,
it’s gotta be something close.”
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