"Is bogus. She's got a healthy bank account."
"I don't even want to know how you found that out."
He smirked. "No, you don't."
Morgan visibly relaxed.
"No more guilt, my boy," Scott intoned solemnly. "This ends here and now. You don't owe her a dime. Based on the crap she's pulled, including decking my good friend, Harry, I imagine she won't be a problem."
"Is she still in jail?" Tanya asked. "We thought maybe the window incident was her getting revenge."
Chessman did some more typing. "Nope. She's still in. The judges seem to have closed ranks. None of them can fit her into their schedules. I imagine she'll warm the bunk at least one more night. After she hit that kid, the lawyers don't want a thing to do with her, either. Eventually, the system will have to push her through. If we're lucky, it could be a few days."
"Then who threw that rock?"
Morgan shook his head. He opened his mouth to speak, when his phone rang. Shortly after, Tanya's did. It wasn't the hospital as they first suspected. Hal was calling Morgan, the other was Tanya's alarm company.
Excusing themselves, they walked to opposite sides of the office, answering.
"What?" Tanya nearly dropped her phone as she burst into tears.
Morgan was having an uneasy conversation with Hal on his phone. He rushed to Tanya's side.
"I think she just got the news, buddy. Thanks for calling." He hung up, putting his arms around Tanya. "It's okay, baby. No one was hurt, and the house is all right."
"Doctor O'Toole!" the alarm company was still on Tanya's phone.
"This is Dr. Fellowes, Tanya's fiance. Dr. Perrine just called and told me the news. Have you been in the house?"
"Metro Police responded and they're investigating now. No one was home. There was some damage, but not serious. A nosy neighbor heard , and called in as the alarm started ringing. There was a cop down the road, going on shift. He responded."
"Did anyone see who it was?"
"A man. Mid to late twenties. Brown hair. The nosy neighbor caught him on video. They cops are going over it now, trying to match him up to a data base."
"Thanks. I'll let Tanya know. We're in Fellowes Falls right now. It might take us a while to get there."
"That's okay. The officers are talking to your renter, and the neighbors. You have as good a day as you can, Dr. Fellowes."
"Thank you." Morgan hung up and told the others what had happened.
Once Tanya found out no one was hurt, and the house was minimally damaged, she calmed down. She and Morgan took their leave. Scott promised to do a little more looking into the Vanessa issue, but felt that there was no reason to worry about her for some time.
They pulled up to Tanya's house, where Hal was now living, and saw the gaping hole in the front window. The police officers, and Hal, were gathered in the foyer with a laptop. Tanya's nosy neighbor, a woman in her late seventies, stood nearby. She was a good friend to Tanya's grandmother and had befriended Tanya early on. She was a busybody, but she had the best of intentions.
"Sweetheart!" she called out as Tanya came in. "Darling! Thank God you're all right!" She hugged and kissed Tanya before giving Morgan the same treatment. "We got him," she said gleefully. "Right on video!" She pointed to the screen.
A young man's face filled the screen. His face held pain, contorted with grief. The video moved in slow motion as he picked up the trash can and hurled it through the window. The alarm started and he ran, vaulting easily over the back gate, his feet connecting with the wall of the house as he ran along the brick.
"Sweet move," one police officer said. "Wonder how he did that."
"Could we focus?" his partner said. "How many guys do you know could even do a move like that?"
"No one I know."
Morgan squinted, pulling at his lip. "Could you run back to the close up of his face?"
"Sure." the cop fiddled with the laptop a moment, and the video went backward.
They watched the young man leap over the fence in reverse. Hal couldn't control a snicker as the impressive move was repeated backwards. When it got to the face, the officer froze the frame.
"I know him," Morgan said. "Wait a second." He closed his eyes, pinching his nose.
Hal stared at the screen. "He looks familiar to me, too."
Both men paced, concentrating. They spun, facing one another, simultaneously.
"The dad!" they chorused.
"The three year old we saved, that's his dad. The wife didn't make it, and he blamed us." Hal's face fell. "Her body was shattered. There was nothing we could do, but watch her slip away." He rubbed his face, eyes watering. "It was horrible."
© 2020 Dellani Oakes
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