Soul Sucker
Beset on All Sides

Mary Callahan’s POV

East Orange, New Jersey

Monday, December 5, 2022

“How was school today?”

Heather rolled her eyes. “Tony Calinotti pulled my hair from behind while I was walking to math class.”

I rolled my eyes; Heather was growing up, and not all boys could show interest in healthy ways. It wasn’t the first time Tony had messed with my girl. “How did you handle it?”

“I grabbed his wrist, twisted it behind his back, then pushed his arm towards his neck as I took him to the ground. I told him I’d break his fucking arm if he touched me again, and everyone would know he got his ass kicked by a girl.”

I set the fork down in the bowl of chicken and pasta. “Language!” Heather looked down at her food and apologized. “I didn’t sign you up for martial arts classes so you could threaten your fellow students. You are supposed to be learning how to settle things without violence.”

“I would have punched him in the nose before I started at the dojo, Mom. I didn’t even get sent to the Principal’s office, and all the girls think I’m a badass,” she said with a shrug.

I needed to have a talk with her Sensei about this. I’d also ask John for advice when he called after his training in Denver finished up. She was picking up Jiu-Jitsu like she was born to it, and I didn’t want her skills getting ahead of her maturity. “You know what Sensei teaches about fighting,” I warned her.

“He grabbed me first, Mom.”

We’d speak of this later.

It was a little after seven when the doorbell rang. We ate dinner late tonight because I had a late showing, and Heather had volleyball practice. “I’ll get it,” Heather said as she ran to the door. I’m sure the eagerness to end the conversation led to her jumping up. “It’s Terry,” she said as she opened the deadbolt.

I reached the entryway as she opened the door. Terry was still in his work suit, and I recognized the look on his face.

It’s the universal look of someone who has to give the bad news to the family left behind.

“Terry?”

He looked past me to the table. “We should sit down,” he said.

It must be about John. My stomach sank as I pulled Heather back to me, using her to stay upright. Terry grabbed my arm as I fought to control my body’s reaction. He led me to the table and helped me sit before taking the empty spot next to me. “What happened?”

“I got a call on the way home from Denver. John and an investigator from another company were visiting a potential client at a doctor’s office when John suddenly lost consciousness.” My hand went to my mouth, and Heather started crying. She reached for my hand, and I took it. “He hasn’t woken yet. They transported John by ambulance to Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Denver, where he remains in the Intensive Care Unit.”

A bunch of thoughts ran through my mind as I thought about it. “What was it? Heart attack? Stroke? Blood clot?”

“I don’t know, Mary. The hospital won’t say much because I’m not family. Samuel Kincaid is with John at the hospital. He was with him when he fainted. The doctors said his vitals were strong, but they don’t know why he lost consciousness yet. Samuel will call me if anything changes.”

“I have to go,” I said as a million things went through my mind. “John needs me.”

He pulled me back down to the chair. “There’s nothing you can do for him right now,” he told me. “He’s in the Intensive Care Unit, and they don’t allow visitors except immediate family. The hospital won’t release details on his condition to us. I spoke to his father; he will pass along any updates he gets.”

I felt so helpless. I fall in love with a great guy, and now this? “I can be there when he wakes up,” I said. “I can’t just sit here by the phone waiting for news.”

“It’s not a good idea to fly out until morning,” Terry said. “Make arrangements for Heather’s care, let your work know you’re leaving, and I’ll pick you up myself.”

“Are you going to Denver?”

He nodded. “He’s my friend and my employee. I’ll be there unless he calls me off.”

Heather squeezed my hand. “We should pray for him, Mom.”

I nodded through my tears and held their hands as we prayed for John’s healing and return to health. When I finished, Terry stood up and kissed my head. “I have to head home and pack for the morning. I’ll get us tickets on the first flight out.”

“Thank you.” We walked him to the door and said goodbye. Heather was clinging to me and crying as I locked the door. “It’s going to be all right, honey. John’s a tough guy.”

She helped me pack a back and set it by the front door. I left a message with my boss saying there was a family emergency and I’d be out for a few days. My parents said they’d be over in a few hours and stay with Heather, which didn’t make her happy. She wanted to miss school and go to Denver with me.

My phone rang with an unknown number just after nine at night. “Hello?”

“Mary Callahan? My name is Samuel Kincaid from First Insurance Investigations. I’m here in Denver with John Miller.”

“How is he? Any news?”

“I haven’t seen him, but a nurse passed me a message. John is awake and says he feels fine. He asked me to pass along that he loves you, and he doesn’t want you and Heather worrying about him.”

“That’s like telling a woman to calm down,” I joked as relief went through me. “It never works.”

“Well, the hospital is keeping him overnight for observation. The nurse said they don’t know why he fainted and didn’t wake up for hours, so they’ll run more tests in the morning.”

I thought about it. “I should get there mid-morning or so with the time change.”

Samuel laughed. “John said you’d insist on coming, but he wants you to stay home.”

“Why?”

“John insists he’ll be out of here in the morning. He’ll be back at the class tomorrow and can pass the exam Friday if he studies the material he missed at night. John hates the thought of wasting company time and money by dropping out now.”

“Are you sure?”

There was a pause. “I don’t know John as well as you, but our job is about risk evaluation. I’m sure he’ll call you when he’s out of the ICU, and you can interrogate him then. If I hear anything else, I’ll call you.”

“Thank you, Samuel. Have you called anyone else?”

“I’m calling Terry next.”

“OK, I’ll call his parents and mine next.” He promised to call me in the morning, and I passed the news to the families. Terry called me when I finished. “Should we be going anyway?”

“I’ve talked to my wife about it, and we agreed we should wait to see how he is doing in the morning. Keep your bag ready just in case.”

I reluctantly agreed and told my parents not to come until morning. With the time difference, I could get Heather on the school bus before I’d hear anything.

Samuel called at nine. He’d briefly spoken to John as they wheeled him to another test. “He’s awake, alert, and mad that they haven’t let him leave yet. The doctors have more testing left, but they’ve ruled out significant physical issues like heart conditions or a stroke. John insisted he would be back in classes and didn’t want you missing work and wasting money on a flight.”

“When can I talk to him?”

“As soon as he’s out of intensive care and gets his phone back,” Samuel replied.

“Fine. Tell John I’ll stay here until we can talk more.”

He chuckled. “I will. He loves you, Mary. It shows in his eyes every time he talks about you.”

I called Terry off, texted Heather, and then talked to his parents. I’d already called in to work, so I turned on the news while I cleaned up around the house.

That was a mistake. The shooting at the pizza parlor was the lead on the news, which was a shock. Everyone said John was a hero, but that wasn’t what some in the media were saying. The leader of the street protests was calling for murder charges against him, and the usual suspects joined in. It didn’t matter what the facts were; the shooter was a white (former) cop, and the victim was black, so it MUST be murder!

Of course, it’s tough to make a gang member waving a shotgun around and shooting at police look like a victim, but they were doing their best. The controversy revolved around John shooting him in the back with no warning. I thought about what he said that night when I asked why he shot him. “Gunfights aren’t about honor or glory. We don’t live in Hollywood.” He had a vacant look when he continued. “Nobody wins, but you do what you need to do. Once the gunfire starts, you shoot the bad guys until the threat ends. How and where you shoot doesn’t matter as long as the right people get shot. In the end, there are only survivors and victims.”

“Is it hard to shoot someone?”

“In the moment, no. You fall back on your training and your instincts. It’s only later that it hits you.”

I’d cuddled in closer to him. “Will you be all right?”

“Only the bad guy died, and you and Heather are safe. Yeah, I’ll be all right.”

If it wasn’t a physical problem, I wondered if his collapse was related to the stress of the shooting. I’d have to talk to him later. MUCH later, like after a long evening of lovemaking.

John finally called just after two. “Hi, honey. I’m sorry it took so long, but I just got my phone and clothes back.”

“Are you all right?” He convinced me that he was, and despite my protests, insisted he was going back to the training session he’d flown out to attend. “I’ll take it easy, I promise. We’ve got classes all day, and I’ll study all night. I won’t even leave the hotel.”

“Fine.” Yeah, I’d lost this one, but there were other problems.

“The orderly is here to wheel me out. I’ll call you on the way home,” he promised. “I love you, Mary.”

“I love you too, John.”

When he called back later, he already knew about the protests. “I talked to Terry, and he agreed it’s best to be out of town until this situation blows over.”

“Are you still coming home Friday?”

“Yep. We take the exam at nine, finish by noon, and I’ll be kissing you by seven.”

“I can’t wait.” We talked about Heather, and he promised to call her tonight.

The rest of the day was fine, and I was back at work on Wednesday. The protests were getting bigger, and the District Attorney was under political pressure to indict. While driving to an appointment, I heard his press conference. The protestors were in the background, shouting over him at times. “Talk about potential charges are premature. The investigation is ongoing, and my office will review the results and take any actions required in the interests of justice.”

I didn’t trust him as far as I could throw him. That evening’s news had press coverage of a search warrant served on John’s apartment. They showed detectives carrying boxes and computers out of his apartment.

The shit hit the fan on Thursday night, and again, it was Terry delivering the news. Heather and I were with Cathy and the kids for dinner when he got home from work. He looked like hell when he pulled me into his office to talk. “I wanted you to hear this from me before the press release goes out,” he said as he sat heavily in his chair. I sat in the chair by the desk. “Have you seen the protests at our building about John?”

I nodded. The protestors were there all day, demanding that Manhattan Life fire my boyfriend. “They didn’t.”

He just shook his head. “I did all I could to head this off, but Human Resources and Legal won’t listen. The CEO gave the order at the end of the day. I’m placing John on paid suspension and pulling him from the Aspen class immediately.”

“Does he know?”

He nodded. “I asked him not to say anything until I could tell you in person. He’s packing his bags and heading for the airport now.” He handed me his flight information. “We’ll watch Heather while you are gone.”

“No, she’ll want to see him too,” I replied.

We waited for him outside John F. Kennedy Airport when his flight landed. I got a text once he was on the ground, and Heather was almost bouncy despite the late hour. There were a lot of NYPD squad cars along with the press. I figured someone leaked his arrival, so the cops were here to protect him.

Not even. Instead of seeing John come through the doors with his luggage, he came through in handcuffs as the cameras rolled.

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