After the Storm

                                AFTER THE STORM



  There was a violent storm the night Chicago homicide detective Nick Spectre met Louella Ortiz. Their meeting had been tumultuous. Lou had put three slugs into the chest of Carlos Castillo, drug dealer and pimp who had just murdered Lou’s mother. But Nick couldn't bear the thought of sending Lou to prison. So he decided to take the blame for killing Castillo.

 

  When Nick traded her bloodstained jacket for his, Lou found Nick's address. She convinced the building superintendent that she was Nick's niece to let her into his apartment. Nick didn't have the heart to throw her out into the street and so she remained.



  Nick was gradually getting used to the idea of having a clean apartment and a hot meal when he got home. Since the death of her father brought her to Chicago with only the clothes on her back, Nick determined it was time to get her some proper clothes to wear.

 

  The smell of coffee beckoned him out of his bed and into the kitchen where Lou was seated, dressed in one of Nick’s white dress shirts with only one of the buttons fastened.

  “Good morning Lou, everything smells great. Would you mind? Buttons please.” He said as he pointed to the shirt she was barely wearing.

  “Good morning to you too Mr. Prude.” She said as she fastened the buttons.

  “And while we're on the topic,” Nick said as his brow furrowed, “you are wearing......Umm.... You know...” He said as he pointed down.

  “You mean panties?” Lou giggled, “As a matter of fact I am. Every other day they're in the wash so you're lucky you didn't ask me yesterday.” Lou was beautiful and uninhibited, being raised by a single father who was a New York City cop and was seldom at home. Nick scolded her often that week about her dress, or rather, the lack of it.

  “I didn't need to know that. I just want to eat breakfast.” Nick growled, his eyes on his plate trying not to look up. “Besides, today's the day we're going to do something about that.”

  “You're finally going to take me to Macy's?” Lou asked with a gleam in her eyes and a hint of excitement in her voice.

  “I was thinking J. C. Penny's” Nick said before he took a drink of coffee, willing the caffeine to his brain to chase away the cobwebs.

  “Awww.” Lou moaned in disappointment as she sank back down in her chair.

  “Sorry, I don't have a Macy's budget; I have a J. C. Penny's budget.” Nick said as he munched on his last bite of food. “You'll only have two hundred dollars to spend so you'll get a lot more at Penny's than you will at Macy's. But that's better than having you run around here half naked every day.”

  “You're the one complaining about the 'half naked' bit.” Lou remarked as she leaned over the table to pick up Nick's plate, making sure to bend low just to make him uncomfortable.

  She looked to see if Nick was going to give her his usual scowl, only to see he was already headed for the shower.

  Two hours later Nick and Lou entered the shopping mall. The mall was crowded with teenage girls window shopping and teenage boys that were checking out the teenage girls. There were older couples casually strolling along, others were sitting outside the coffee kiosk sipping exotic blends of coffee that filled your nostrils with that hypnotic aroma of caffeine. They finally arrived at J. C. Penny's and Nick handed Lou ten fresh twenty dollar bills. She had two hours and they were to meet back at the coffee kiosk. Nick walked along following the enticing aroma of coffee that beckoned him. He ordered a latte, paid the exorbitant price, and sat down to sip and watch the world go by.

  Nick was on his second sip when a scream pierced the air. He spun around to look in the direction of the scream when a young man in an old army jacket and a ski mask bumped into him, spilling his latte all down his shirt and sped off without looking back. Nick picked himself off the floor and headed in the direction of the scream. An elderly woman sat on the floor, her back against a storefront sobbing and pointing into the direction of the young man that had run away.

  “He stole my purse! It had all my money! I came here to buy my husband a present for our fiftieth anniversary and now all my money is gone!”

Nick pulled out his badge and showed it to the woman. “Was that the man that just ran past me?”

  “Yes! The man wearing the green jacket and the mask! Please, can you catch him?”

  “I'll sure try ma'am. Now, you wait here for a security guard to call an ambulance to check you out. I'll see if I can catch up to him.”

  With that Nick sped off after the thief. His only hope was that as crowded as the mall was, that would slow the mugger down.

  Nick didn't have a hard time following his trail. People along the hallway were staring in disbelief that someone would run like that through a crowded mall. Nick kept his badge in hand to show the crowd. They stepped aside and pointed in the direction of the assailant. Here and there people were picking themselves off the floor where they had been shoved aside. Nick came to a double glass doorway where people were pointing. He burst through the doors and got a glimpse of the man running toward the parking lot. He wouldn't have much time to catch him before he drove away.

  Then Nick heard the sound of an engine grinding but not starting. That spurred Nick to run faster. He followed the sound until he saw a rusted out red pickup truck with the mugger in it. Finally the engine roared to life. Tires squalled as the pickup pulled out of the parking space, turned, and rammed into a Mercedes, caving in its fender. He backed up quickly, turned the wheel and sped away. He quickly looked in his rearview mirror to see if anyone had followed him. Seeing no one he breathed a sigh of relief.

  Suddenly, a hand reached in through the open window and he felt himself being pulled out of the truck. The next thing he knew he was flying through the air. He landed like a bag of wet cement onto the pavement and looked up in time to see his truck crash into a telephone pole.

  Nick climbed out of the bed of the truck, retrieved the old woman's purse and caught up with the thief just as he was struggling to get to his feet. From behind Nick pushed him with his foot down to the pavement again. As the young man came to his senses he looked around and there was no one in sight but two security guards running toward him. That's when he discovered that he had his hands cuffed behind him around a pole.

  Nick walked back into the mall just as the ambulance arrived. They were just checking the old woman out as Nick came up and handed her the purse.

  “I hope you find your money is all there. I've already called headquarters. Someone will be in touch with you to get your statement.”

  “God bless you son.” the old woman said and squeezed his hand as she was lifted up and wheeled toward the exit.

  Nick walked back to the coffee kiosk looking down at himself. His blue shirt and khaki Dockers were covered with coffee stain. He walked up and ordered another latte but, when he pulled out his money to pay, the clerk held up his hand.

  “You won't need any money here officer, not after what you did for Mrs. Livingston.”

  “Mrs. Livingston? You know that woman?”

  “She owns this whole chain of coffee shops. You'll never have to pay for another cup of coffee again my friend.” With that he handed Nick his latte.

  Nick sank into his seat when he noticed Lou, laden with shopping bags.

  “My God! Can't I leave you alone? Look at you! Do we need to buy you a bib? Do you know how hard it's gonna be to get those stains out?”

  Without saying a word Nick smiled, rolled his eyes and took another sip of coffee.

THE END