I do not like green eggs and ham
I do not like them Sam-I-Am
I do not like them here or there
I do not like them anywhere

 

The incessant knocking eventually broke through his sub conscious and Dan sat up in bed. He’d never intended to fall asleep and glancing around the room he observed Liz burrowed under the covers and sound asleep. Rubbing his eyes, he slid off the bed and grabbed his service revolver on the way to her front door. Remembering Trixie’s experience, he looked through the peephole and saw an older, well-dressed man who once again knocked on the door. He hesitated only long enough to secure his service piece at his back before opening the door.

“What do you want?” he asked brusquely his voice hoarse from the combination of a lack of sleep and no morning coffee.

“I’m looking for Elizabeth Wilson,” the man replied. His eyes carefully studied the young police detective through the crack in the door, noting the lack of shoes and morning stubble. “You must be Daniel Mangan.”

“What if I am?” Dan kept a firm grip on the door, not allowing it to open further.

“It would be my pleasure to meet you, Daniel. I’m Winston Wilson, Elizabeth’s father.”

Dan’s first inclination was to groan in dismay. He managed to suppress his next instinct and did not slam the door shut in the man’s face. Instead, he summoned everything he’d ever learned from G.W. Maypenny and opened the door wide while gesturing for the older man to enter the apartment.

Dan held out his hand. “My pleasure as well, Mr. Wilson. Please call me Dan.”

The first moments were awkward as he took Winston’s coat and hung it up in the tiny closet by the door. Mr. Wilson rubbed his hands together as if to warm them and turned to Dan. “It’s as cold as the dickens out there. That’s quite the polar vortex y’all are working here.” He paused and studied the young man, noting the bare feet, rumpled shirt, and beard stubble. “Does Elizabeth call you Dan?” he asked.

“Uh, not exactly. She prefers to use my full name, Daniel.”

“I’m not surprised.” He nodded. “For the most part, she’s not much a fan of nicknames. It’s one of the few traits she gets from her mother. But enough about that; please call me Winston. First things first -- is Elizabeth home?”

“Yes, but she’s out of it. She had a pretty rough night.” He hesitated and wondered how much to disclose to this man. “It might be best if you let her sleep a little longer.”

“I see.” Winston appeared to digest that detail and then gave a quick nod toward the kitchen. “If I know my daughter there will be coffee. Good coffee. How about we get some going and you can tell me about this rough night?”

From that point, the discussion led to a cautious understanding. It became clear to Dan that Winston Wilson had followed his daughter to Sleepyside out of genuine concern for her well-being, but at the same time he seemed hesitant to reveal any real details about Liz.

“Dan, this is excellent coffee. I’m not sure I’ve had coffee this good since my days in the service.” He took another sip and sighed. “Son, I’m not going to lie to you. Elizabeth is the most important person in the world to me. The last thing I want is for her to get hurt.”

“Sir, we can agree on that. She’s … I’m …” He was unsure what to say. “I’m not planning to hurt her.”

The silence between the two men was full of non-verbal communication as Elizabeth’s father studied the young man closely. As the two men drank coffee, a silent sizing up took place on both sides. At last, her father seemed satisfied and spoke.

“Exactly how well do you know Elizabeth? When did you meet her?”

“I met her several years ago when she was roommates with a good friend of mine, Trixie Belden.”

Winston leaned back. “Ahhhh, Trixie. Now there’s quite a girl. Do you just know her through Trixie or … more?” he pushed.

“We … me …” he stumbled over the explanation and then took a deep breath. “Since she moved here earlier this winter I’ve been getting to know her more,” Dan admitted reluctantly. “I’m still getting to know her, there are times when I feel like I’m totally in the dark and others …” he shrugged. “Let’s just say, that woman is the most exasperating, walking contradiction of everything I ever thought I knew about females.”

“An apt description,” her father agreed sipping the coffee. He lapsed into silence again, comfortable with taking things slow. He stood and crossed to the coffee pot to refill his cup of coffee and sat down before he spoke again.

“You may not realize it, but Liz is a fighter and a survivor. I understand what you mean about a contradiction because she’s one of the smartest and toughest people I know and at the same time she’s one of the most fragile.”

Dan frowned. “Fragile, sir? I haven’t seen that side of her.”

“Hmmm,” Winston pondered that tidbit and decided not to continue in that direction. He took another couple of sips of coffee before speaking again. “Did she tell you that her mother, my ex-wife, had you investigated?”

“Yes, sir … she did.” He shrugged. “It’s not a problem. I’m a cop. Our lives are practically a matter of public record and I’ve never hid my past from anyone, much less a friend. If she’d wanted, she could have saved a lot of money because I’d have told her anything she wanted to know.”

“Somehow I doubt that, Dan,” he said dryly. “My ex-wife has her own way of doing things. Trust me, it’s not a way you’d ever want to emulate.” He paused and gave Dan a hard look. “Liz comes from a very wealthy family.”

Dan shrugged. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Just wanted to warn you that I have her money tied up so tightly that no boyfriend, significant other, or husband would ever have access to a single penny that I didn’t want him to access. You’ll be disappointed if that’s what you’re after.”

Dan’s eyes darkened. “You’re insulting both me and Liz. First, I don’t care if you insult me, but you should think more of your own daughter than to believe for one second she’d be oblivious to someone who was after her money. Besides, I don’t want her money and I sure don’t need it.”

Winston’s eyes narrowed. He’d run a credit check on Daniel. While the young man was by no means wealthy, and seemed to live within his means, Liz’s father discovered a respectable savings account and small trust that he’d received when he turned twenty-five. It was a good age, he’d thought, for a man to be given such a responsibility. He opened his mouth to pursue this line further when he was interrupted.

“Daddy!” Liz’s sleepy voice spoke from the door. “When did you get here? Did Daniel call you?”

“Elizabeth!” He moved quickly to embrace his daughter. “Of course he didn’t call me. I followed you as soon as I could after my plane got back to Memphis. Had to find another pilot or I’d have been here sooner.”

Dan looked at the floor, then the ceiling, then the coffee pot … anywhere but at Liz. She was still wearing his NYPD tee-shirt and what he was certain was that same pair of underwear that he knew would be his undoing one day.

“You should have let me handle your mother, after all –”

“Daddy, I just couldn’t,” Liz explained. “She … I’m ...” she took a deep breath. “It’s going to be a while before I can see her again.”

“You don’t have to explain to me, Elizabeth.” He glanced in Dan’s direction. “Why don’t you get dressed and we’ll all go to breakfast. I’ve been getting to know this young man and would like to hear more. Is there a place around here we can get a real breakfast?”

“There’s the local diner, sir.”

Liz shook her head. “When he says real breakfast he means a real southern breakfast. Sausage, biscuits and gravy, grits and eggs, Daniel. I don’t think there’s a place like that in Sleepyside.”

“Sure there is,” Dan grinned. “Mr. Maypenny makes some mean biscuits and gravy. Not when he does pancakes or waffles, but he can make them as good as your mother.”

Liz rolled her eyes. “Anyone can make better biscuits than my mother, trust me on that!”

Winston wisely took the conversation in a different direction. “Maypenny! I swear I haven’t heard that name in a coon’s age, not since my days in the military. Of course back then, we had every name from Murphy to Martinez as well. But where does this Maypenny work? Is he a chef?”

“No, he’s my guardian,” Dan explained. “He works as a gamekeeper for Matthew Wheeler’s estate here in Sleepyside.”

“We certainly can’t descend on him. That would be a tremendous intrusion.”

“No sir, he’d be more offended if he knew you were in town and I didn’t bring you to breakfast. But, if it makes you feel better, I’ll give him a call and maybe Lizard over there can get ready.” He raised his eyebrows at her in question.

She tossed her head and sniffed. “I can be ready quicker than you think.”

“Somehow, Dixie, I doubt that,” Dan said as he reached for his phone. “But go ahead and prove me wrong.”

Winston Wilson managed to suppress a grin as his daughter flounced out of the room. “Do you always use those uh, nicknames, with my daughter?” he asked.

“Sure,” Dan said easily. “It’s a kind of game we play. I try to find the right name, and she tries to pretend like she doesn’t like them.”

“Are you sure it’s a pretense?”

“Yep, I’m sure.”

“What makes you so certain?”

“Mostly the fact that I’m still living and breathing and have full use of both my legs and arms,” he replied with a grin.

“Ahhh … so you do know my daughter rather well.”

 

 

“Haven’t had a breakfast this good since my days in the Navy,” Winston remarked to Mr. Maypenny. “You can sure cook biscuits and gravy, Mr. Maypenny. That’s a real talent.”

“Call me G.W.,” he replied. “I thought you had the look of the military about you. I’m former Navy myself. ”

“And I’m Winston,” he replied. “Hooyah!” He raised his coffee cup in salute of a fellow sailor.

“You never told me you were in the navy, Mr. M.” Dan leaned forward, intrigued to learn something new about Mr. Maypenny.

“There’s lots I never told you, young man. Don’t like to talk about it. It’s not something I like to remember. War is hell, don’t you ever forget it.”

“Vietnam?” Winston asked.

“Yeah, you?”

“Desert Storm,” he answered. “Learned a lot, but I know what you mean. What did you come out with?”

“Master Chief E9, Corpsman,” he replied. “You?”

“Seal Team Four.”

Liz and Dan watched, fascinated as the two men in their lives exchanged stories, each of them sizing up the other.

“What brings you this far north?” Mr. Maypenny asked.

“Had to check on my girl here. She gave me a bit of a scare yesterday. Her mother, my ex-wife … well, you’d have to meet her to understand, but she’s more than little bit crazier that most women. Apparently she had your Daniel there investigated. Seemed to set Elizabeth off a bit, and I just felt better checking up on her.”

“Yep, a young girl like that needs someone keeping an eye out for her,” G.W. agreed.

“Really? Hello?” Liz waved her hand. “I’m sitting right here. I can take care of myself.”

Dan bit his lip to keep from reminding her of the previous evening while the two older men exchanged looks.

“Well, it’s good to meet some of this young lady’s family. It’s been a real joy having her around with all the other young people. Trying to keep up with them helps keep me active. You sure did pick some weather to fly up here, though. We’re having a polar freeze this week. I’m real lucky that Daniel and his friends keep my wood chopped for me.”

Mr. Maypenny moved to the large woodbin next to his fireplace. “I’ll be feeding this one for a while,” he explained, as he picked up a few logs and added them to the fire. “Elizabeth, would you mind handing me that poker?”

Liz stood to help but he no sooner finished speaking than she froze. As she stared, wordlessly at the black iron fire poker, her muscles tightened and her arms wrapped around her middle. She gave a low moan.

“Oh shit!” Winston muttered, moving around the table as fast as he could.

“Liz?” Dan asked, his eyes widening in surprise. “Are you okay?”

“It’s okay Elizabeth. That’s not it. It’s okay.” Winston’s arms encircled his daughter as he pulled her next to him, hugging her tightly. She buried her face in his chest. “It’s okay, sweetheart. No one here is going to hurt you. None of us will let anyone hurt you, not ever.”

Dan handed the poker to Mr. Maypenny and the two men exchanged anxious glances.

Once the fire was stirred, Dan took the implement from his former guardian, a question in his eyes. “Put it on the back porch, son. She doesn’t need to see it in here.”

Dan nodded and took the poker away. By the time he’d returned, G.W. Maypenny was bustling in the kitchen, filling a kettle with water and making tea. Winston Wilson had wrapped his daughter in a blanket, treating her as if she were in shock. Other than quiet words of comfort for Liz, no one spoke.

The room was strangely quiet for some time. Finally, Liz managed to drink most of the hot tea Mr. Maypenny urged on her.

“Thank you,” she finally whispered, handing the cup back to him. “That was good. Sweet, but good.”

“The sugar helps with a shock.”

The older men seemed to be silently communicating something that Dan didn’t understand. He reached for Liz’s fingers and gave them a squeeze. “You okay?”

She nodded. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I can’t … explain. Not right now.” She stared at him with anxious eyes.

He nodded and gave the fingers another squeeze, his throat tight. Mr. Maypenny spoke and the tense atmosphere seemed to ease.

“Don’t be silly, young lady. Don’t you think your father and I understand about PTSD? We’ve seen it with enough of our comrades, you don’t need to apologize. Not ever. Now, how about some more tea?”

She nodded and stared into the fire as he prepared another cup. She grasped it tightly in her hands, her fingers circling the cup as if the warmth helped more than the beverage.

Dan desperately wanted to know what had happened. Obviously something that involved a black iron fireplace poker, but he knew not to push. She would tell him when she could. But now, Winston’s comments about her being a survivor made sense. He leaned back and studied the tableau in front of him. Clearly there was much more to Elizabeth Anne Wilson than he had ever imagined.

 

 

“You should tell him, Elizabeth.” Winston Wilson sat in his rented car outside the Sleepyside train station. “If your mother told you anything about what she found, then you’d know he’d understand.”

“Of course I didn’t listen to anything mother said,” she sniffed. “You know better.” She paused and her eyes narrowed. “But you did, right? You read the investigator’s report.”

He shrugged. “Not the one your mother had her lawyer obtain. That was nothing but a piece of crap. But I did my some of my own checking, mostly about his finances, and I’m not going to apologize to you for that.” He paused. “You’re my only daughter, my only child and there is no way I’m not going to know everything I can about anyone in your life. Not after everything that’s happened. I checked him out and now that I’ve met him, I know my instincts were right. He’s a good man, Elizabeth. Tell him what happened. Trust me, he’ll understand more than you know.”

“I didn’t sleep with him.”

Winston groaned. “Daughter, you don’t have to tell me everything. And for God’s sake I implore you not to tell me when you do! You don’t want me to come back and kill the man, do you?”

“No,” she admitted. “I just wanted you to know that … he could’ve taken advantage of the situation last night, but he didn’t.”

“Wouldn’t have expected him to, sweetheart. Like I said, I could tell he was a good man.”

She looked out the car window and then back at her father. “You checked out his finances?”

“Yes. You’re a wealthy young woman, Elizabeth. There are some men who might want to take advantage of that fact.”

She shrugged. “He doesn’t know that. I’ve never really told anyone about my trust fund or the fact that our family has money. It never came up.”

“He knows now,” her father replied.

“Daddy? What did you do?”

“I let him know that I checked him out, that I wanted to make sure he wasn’t after your money.” He reached over and patted her hand. “If it makes you feel any better, he got the best of me in that round of questions.”

“Maybe a little better,” she sniffed. Her eyes narrowed. “Exactly what could you tell from his finances? I take it he has a good credit score?”

“His finances were fine. He lives well within his means and he received a small trust fund of his own a few years back. It’s invested and so far he hasn’t touched either the principle or the interest. He knows how to save and yeah, I’d say he has a good credit score. Not that he needs credit.”

“So if you were asked how he spends his money, what would you say?”

Winston opened his mouth to answer and then stopped. His eyes narrowed and he leaned toward his daughter, grabbing her arm. “Elizabeth Wilson, don’t tell me you’re trying to find out my mother’s seven things about this young man!”

“Okay, I won’t tell you I’m trying to find out those things.” She gave a small smile. “But I think that also tells you that I am trying to find them out.”

“You’re serious about this young man? Really serious, not just as a boyfriend.” He leaned back in his seat and moved his hands to grip the steering wheel of the rental car.

“I think he’s the one,” she said quietly.

He blew out a breath. She could do much worse than Daniel Mangan, much worse. “Just be sure, darling. Just be sure.”