Page 56 of Daybreak

Cliff Beale grabbed his phone and made the call while Rowdy and Frankie Adams began doing CPR.

A silence came over the room, Frankie and Rowdy doing chest compressions and breathing for him—all praying for the arrival of the EMTs. Then finally came the thunder of running footsteps out in the hall, and they ran to open the door.

Another kind of orderly chaos began, getting Samuels stabilized to transport, and then silence again as they carried him out.

The detectives were motionless. The boss was gone.

Cliff walked back to his desk and picked up the phone again, but this time to call the captain to alert him of what had just happened. He spoke briefly, answered half a dozen questions, and then hung up.

“What did he say?” Frankie asked.

“Carry on and that he’s sending a stand-in,” Cliff said.

“Oh great,” Rowdy muttered. “Hope they don’t send some hard-ass.”

Frankie snorted. “Anyone with a pay grade higher than ours is already a hard-ass or a badass. How about we just focus on our boss surviving this, instead?”

“She’s right,” Cliff said. “We know what to do. Like the captain said. Carry on.”

* * *

It didn’t take long for the news to spread about Andy Samuels’s heart attack. Samuels had been divorced for years, and his only son was in the military and stationed somewhere overseas. His daughter lived in a nearby state. The detectives from his department who weren’t actively on cases were gathered in the hallway of the ER, waiting for an update. The longer they waited, the quieter they became.

Finally, a doctor came out, asking for the family.

“We’re it,” Frankie said. “He’s our lieutenant. What’s the word?”

“He’s stable. We’re still running tests. He’s going to CCU for continued monitoring. I assume his family has been notified?”

“One son, in the military, stationed somewhere overseas. A daughter notified and flying in.” Frankie said. “Can he have visitors?”

“Maybe tomorrow, and follow the usual orders and visiting times,” he said and went back inside.

A visible sigh of relief spread through the gathering.

“He is one tough dude, and we have to believe he’s going to be okay,” Cliff said. “This has been one hell of a day, and I think I’m done. See you tomorrow. Come on, Rowdy. I’ll give you a ride back to the precinct to get your car.”

At that point they scattered. Some took the stairs down. Others chose the elevator, until the hall was empty of cops.

Cliff let Rowdy out in the parking lot of the precinct, then called Gunner as he was driving home.

* * *

Gunner had just put a couple of pork chops on the grill when his phone rang. When he saw who was calling, he answered.

“Cliff… What’s up?”

“Hey, Gunner… We had an incident in the department this afternoon. Samuels had a heart attack and collapsed. He’s in CCU at Baylor Scott and White Uptown. I knew you’d want to know.”

Gunner grimaced. “Damn it. Thanks for letting me know.”

Cliff sighed. “You don’t trust me anymore, do you? I’m not sure what I did to make you feel that way, but I’m sure sorry. I’m a fuck-up as a husband, and I’m going to Gambler’s Anonymous, but I would never betray you. You’ve saved my life twice since we’ve been partners. I would take a bullet for you without thinking. I just wanted you to know,” he said, and then he disconnected without giving Gunner a chance to respond.

Gunner laid his phone aside and turned down the grill on the chops. He didn’t know what to believe and hoped to God Samuels didn’t die. He had one question to ask that only Samuels could answer. Who told you it was safe for me to come back?

Smoke was rising from the grill up into the hood vent. Gunner shifted his focus back to the meat he was cooking, then dumped a handful of salad mix into a bowl and added some cherry tomatoes. He was sorry as hell about Samuels, and sorry Cliff was upset, but this was his life on the line, and if feelings were getting hurt in the process, then so be it. The longer this shit continued without a resolution, the easier it was going to be for him to walk away.

Later, as he ate, it dawned on him that with Samuels in the hospital and Cliff already acknowledging the distrust, it was likely safe for him to move around. At least for the time being. The truck that had driven past his house might not have had anything to do with him. It could have been someone just looking for an address, or a thief scoping out a place to hit. And with his security cameras in plain sight on both the front and back of the house, as well as on the gates leading into his drive, his house would never be a thief’s first choice.