Twelve Days of Trauma Read online

  Twelve Days of Trauma

  Jasper Joshua West

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Epilogue

  Dear Reader,

  Follow JJ West

  Copyright © 2019

  Jasper Joshua West

  All rights reserved.

  Chapter 1

  December 13th

  I don’t know what woke me up, but my heart was racing. It could have been a bad dream. I looked around the dark room, and then I squinted at the time on my phone. It was 5:42. I closed my eyes and tried to remember what my dream was about but I came up with nothing.

  I turned on the lamp and saw that Suzy was still asleep. No surprise there. Even if I had screamed out loud, she might have slept through it. I could only see the top half of her face and her messy, light brown hair above the blanket.

  The small smile that touched my lips quickly disappeared. Something was bothering me, nagging at the back of my brain, and I couldn’t figure out what it was. It hadn’t been there when I’d gone to bed, but now it wouldn’t go away.

  I had learned from my years as a cop to trust my instincts; they had saved my life more than once. Those years were behind me now but the cop’s instincts were ingrained into me. A bad feeling in my gut often meant something terrible was going to happen and this one felt like the real thing. Or maybe it was nothing.

  I sighed, looking at the time again. 5:48. My alarm would go off at six o’clock. Might as well get up. I unlocked the screen and was about to open the email application but then I hesitated.

  I turned to Suzy again and decided to watch her wake up instead. Seeing her grumble and groan about having to get up in the morning always put a smile on my face. I thought that might lift the cloud of gloom that had been hanging over me.

  She’d gotten fast over the years, and the alarm clock barely had time to beep three times before Suzy, eyes still closed, slammed her hand down hard on the clock, bringing an end to the annoying sound.

  She groaned, scowled, and shook her head as she pushed herself up from the bed, shoving the covers off. Her messy hair completed the image of a bear waking from hibernation. I smiled at the thought.

  “What are you looking at?” she growled (she actually growled). I couldn’t stop the laughter from erupting. She threw a pillow at me and lay back down, stretching her body.

  “Nothing,” I replied in between gales of laughter. “Nothing at all.” I used the top sheet to wipe tears from my face.

  She grinned too so I moved over to her side of the bed and put an arm around her. “One more day,” she said. “Tomorrow, we can leave Celia in your folks’ care and take a break. I can’t remember the last time we slept in.”

  “It’s been eighty-four years,” I said, my voice sounding old and cracked.

  She laughed as we started making the bed. We went through our routine that we’d polished to perfection over the years, and twenty minutes later we both left the bedroom freshly showered and ready for the day. Suzy headed for Celia’s bedroom to wake her up while I headed downstairs to get breakfast started.

  I got out the eggs, bread, butter, milk, and, after hesitating a moment, grabbed a small piece of remaining cheddar that probably wouldn’t keep while we were away. There was still tightness in my stomach as I started grating the cheese and stared out the window over the kitchen sink, wondering again what could go wrong today.

  “Ouch!” I said, looking down at my finger as blood began to drip on the plate among the shredded cheese. I forgot about the feeling of impending doom for a moment while I went to the bathroom to tend to my injury.

  Ten minutes later, Celia came bursting into the room, as was her custom. Her straight blonde hair was already in pigtails which bounced with every step. Her big blue eyes tracked me and she came to stand by my side on her tiptoes, trying to see what I was doing.

  “It smells good, Daddy! What are you making?” she asked excitedly. The girl could eat.

  “This is just toast with butter,” I said, holding up a slice for her to see. “You probably smell the cheese omelet. Watch out though, there’s a little bit of Daddy somewhere inside.” I held up my bandaged finger.

  “Uh-oh, Daddy got a ‘boo-boo’,” Suzy said as she walked in and headed straight for the coffee maker.

  It felt comfortable and relaxing, almost, as we ate together. Then the girls got bundled up and headed for school.

  “Oh, I almost forgot, the van is making that noise,” Suzy said as they were almost out of the door. “So I’ll take the car to work?”

  I nodded. “It’s like a rattle, you said?”

  “Yeah, when I hit the brakes,” she said. She paused for a moment, looking at me. “What’s wrong?” she asked, her expression one of concern.

  “Nothing. I Just remembered something about work,” It was a lie; my feeling of impending doom had returned and she’d seen it in my face. “I’ll get the van sorted out. Remember, it’s Friday today.” I winked at her. We hadn’t told Celia we’d be picking her up early from school today and heading upstate to my parents’ place.

  “I love you, Tim,” Suzy said. She returned my wink but she didn’t smile. She hadn’t bought my lie. “Say bye to Daddy, sweetie.”

  “Bye, Daddy!” Celia shouted. She was always shouting these days. “We’re doing presents at school today!”

  “I hope you get something good! Love you girls. Have a great day!” I called as they closed the door behind them.

  The bad feeling was back with a vengeance as they walked out the door.

  Chapter 2

  It had fallen to the back of my mind while the girls were getting ready, but once they were gone and I had the house to myself, there it was again. Like my gut was trying to tell me something but didn’t know how.

  It was getting to the point where I couldn’t focus on anything else. I had a list of things to do before we left town, and only a couple of hours to get everything done. That feeling kept nagging at me and distracting me.

  On top of everything, I had to get the van checked out for the rattling noise. “That must be what’s bothering me,” I said out loud. “The van’s making a funny noise. Once I get that fixed there will be nothing to worry about. Then I can stop talking to myself like a crazy person.”

  I closed my laptop and slipped it into a backpack, and then I grabbed a jacket. I was out the door, in the van and on the way to the shop within minutes.

  It was the top-rated garage covered by our insurance. They already knew me and both of our cars well. The shop was fully decked out for Christmas with garland in the windows, Jingle Bells playing, and Christmas tree shaped cookies next to the coffee maker in the waiting area.

  “Tim! What can I do for you today?” the head mechanic, Jackson, asked with a pleasant smile. He was a large, muscular man with dark skin and he had a Santa Claus hat on his bald head. He already had a work order in hand, ready to fill it out.

  “Well, the wife told me that she heard the car making some weird noises yesterday,” I explained. “I didn’t hear anything on the way over, but since we’re heading upstate to visit my folks, I told her I’d get you to have a look.
”

  “Better safe than sorry, right?” Jackson said with a laugh. “Give us a little while and we’ll check it out. What kind of noise?”

  I described the noise Suzy had mentioned and he went out to get the van. I snagged a Christmas cookie, opened my laptop and settled in to one of the uncomfortable fake leather chairs. Twenty minutes later, the van drove past the window and into the street. Probably one of the mechanics taking it for a drive to listen for that sound.

  A little while meant a couple of hours, apparently. It was a good thing that I brought my laptop with me. I got a few of the most important things ticked off on my to-do list. The first year had been tough, but I had managed to earn a decent living doing accounting and online advertising for small business owners who were usually too busy or lacked the skills to do it themselves. It wasn’t as exciting as being a cop, but I set my own hours and I mostly worked from home except for occasional meetings with new clients. Suzy was happy that I was home every night and she didn’t have to worry about me getting shot at work.

  “I’ll tell you something, Tim, we can’t hear any noise either,” Jackson said once they were finished. “We did a full inspection and greased your ball joints in case they were making noise. Engine, drivetrain and everything are in good shape. Could have just been a pebble in a hubcap or something. Your tires and your rear brake lines are a bit worn though. I recommend new brake lines and we’ve got some snow tires on sale if you like.”

  “I’ll take the tires and the brake lines,” I said with a small, forced smile, looking at my watch. It was almost eleven. “Better safe than sorry, right?”

  Jackson sensed my impatience. “Alright. It’s already on the lift so we’ll have you on the road in twenty minutes.”

  Chapter 3

  Most garages in my experience liked to slow their work down so they could charge more for labour. Jackson’s crew were the exception. They had a reputation to maintain, and it wasn’t long before I was on my way back home with a new set of winter tires and new brake lines. All worth it for peace of mind, right?

  Then I heard it on the way home. It was like a rattling in the back. It wasn’t distinctive, and at first, I thought that it was just my imagination. But my imagination wasn’t making the windows shudder as I pulled into the driveway. Something was wrong.

  “I’m not going crazy,” I whispered to myself, almost in a chiding voice as I pulled the van into our garage, waiting for the door to close before I stepped out and walked around the van, looking for something wrong. I stopped at the left rear wheel, where I could see that the lug nuts hadn’t been tightened. The short drive had rattled a couple of them loose.

  That was unacceptable. They needed to be better than that. I took a picture but held back on calling Jackson to give him a piece of my mind. I was already behind on what I needed to get done. Best to just focus on that for now. Get ready for the drive upstate. Dream about being able to sleep in for the first time in forever.

  I grabbed my own wrench and tightened the nuts myself, double-checking the other wheels as well. Then I sent Suzy a message saying the van was all good and I headed back to my office to get some work done.

  It was still difficult to focus, but it was a little easier to shrug the unsettling nagging in the back of my head off. At least the car was in tip-top shape. Or so I thought.

  Chapter 4

  I got the bags in the van and checked my watch, expecting Suzy to show up any minute. My phone chirped with a message.

  It was from Suzy. “Not done yet. Can you grab Celia first, then pick me up at work?”

  I sent her a thumbs up and sighed. Suzy was a dental hygienist and she only worked while Celia was in school. She’d only booked a few morning sessions today but sometimes patients showed up late or things took longer than expected. Usually not a big deal but today I wanted to hit the road without any delays.

  I parked in front of Celia’s school as the first snowflakes started to fall. I looked up at the sky. Thick cloud cover meant more would be on its way soon. So much for beating the storm.

  The classroom windows in view outside were decorated with paper snowflakes, the kind kids had been making since I was in school. “White Christmas,” the classic version I liked, was playing softly in the administration office.

  “Hi,” I said the secretary. “I’m here for Celia Jacobs. I called yesterday about fetching her early today.”

  “Sure, just one moment,” she said thumbing through some papers. “Here we are, just sign here please.” I signed where she indicated. “Okay, just have a seat and wait for Celia here.”

  “Thanks,” I said with a smile, sitting in a seat that was much like those at the repair shop. Five minutes later, a teacher brought Celia in.

  “Daddy!” she said, coming for a hug. “Why am I going home early?”

  I thanked her teacher and we headed out to the car. The snow was already falling heavier.

  “We’re headed to Grandma and Grandpa’s house early,” I told her. “There’s a big snowstorm coming so we’ll try to get there before that.” Fat chance of that happening, I thought, looking up at the sky again.

  Celia literally jumped up and down with excitement. My folks spoiled her rotten whenever we went up to visit, and so I could understand her excitement.

  “Can we make a snowman?” she asked. “Where’s Mommy?”

  “She’s just finishing up at work, so we’ll pick her up there,” I said. “And I don’t know about a snowman but I’m going to make some snowballs!” I gave her a mischievous smile and she giggled.

  I strapped her into her seat, sent suzy a text that we were on the way, and we made the short drive to Suzy’s office. “Let it Snow” was playing on the radio as the flakes swirled around outside. “XFM weather, including what might be a record-breaking snowstorm, coming up next!” the announcer said.

  Suzy was waiting outside when we got to the dental clinic. At least we didn’t have to wait for her, I thought.

  “Mommy!” Celia said as Suzy climbed in. “There are presents in the back!”

  “I know, sweetie, and most of them are for you!” Suzy said, reaching back to tickle her. “Did they find the cause of that noise I heard?” She asked as she put her seatbelt on.

  “They did a full inspection and they couldn’t find anything,” I replied. “I let them sell me some new snow tires and brake lines through. Just to be safe.”

  “Thanks, babe, you’re the best,” Suzy said with a small smile.

  “The car will be okay here for two weeks?” I asked.

  “Yep, Dr. Anderson let me have his reserved spot in the underground,” she said. “He’s driving to Jersey so he won’t need it.”

  The plan had been to stop at Celia’s favourite burger joint on the way out of town or get some lunch we could eat on the road, but the snow was falling hard now. A diner seemed like the better choice to get a bite to eat and wait for the snow to slow down a bit.

  I wasn’t very hungry so I just ordered a salad. Suzy orded the soup and a sandwich. We let Celia have her favourite, chicken nuggets (which she always called McNuggets) but with mashed potatoes instead of fries. The food came quickly and we ate and listened to Celia chattering excitedly about all the fun things we’d be doing at her grandparents’ house.

  I looked out the window as we finished, noting the snow hadn’t slowed down. If anything, it was snowing harder than before. Celia didn’t mind, bouncing in our booth as Christmas music played in the background and flakes swirled around outside.

  “I think we need to call your parents, Tim,” Suzy said, leaning back in her seat and taking a long sip from her coffee. “Let them know that we’re going to be late.”

  “Good idea,” I said. I dialled them on speaker and put my phone on the table.

  “Tim is that you?” my mother said.

  “Hi Mom, it’s all of us,” I said.

  “Merry Christmas, Grandma! Merry Christmas' Grandpa!” Celia shouted, getting the attention of the rest of th
e diner’s patrons for a second.

  “Merry Christmas, pumpkin!” my mother said, laughing.

  “We might be a little late in getting there,” I said. “Snowstorm is picking up.”

  “No worries about that, baby,” she replied. “You just drive safe now, you hear?”

  “I’m not your baby,” I grumbled under my breath.

  “You’ll always be my baby,” she insisted. “Love you.”

  I sighed before replying. “Love you too, Mom.”

  We paid the bill and headed for the car. I helped Celia into her booster seat, then bent to look at the wheel nuts I had tightened earlier.

  “Something wrong?” Suzy asked, noticing me scrutinizing the wheel.

  “One of the nuts was loose when I got back from Jackson’s, but I tightened it,” I said. It was actually all five of the nuts on one wheel. “I’m sure it’s fine now.”

  Suzy heard the rattling first as we merged onto the highway . “There it is again,” she said. “The same sound it was making yesterday.”

  I turned off the music (another Christmas song) and listened. Even Celia was silent, sensing our fear. I didn’t hear it at first, then I touched the brakes and it was there, faintly. It sounded different from the sound of the loose wheel earlier. It only seemed to happen when I slowed down.

  “Probably another loose nut,” I said, pulling over into the breakdown lane. The sound grew louder as I pushed harder on the brake pedal to bring the car to a stop. “I’ll check.”

  I looked at the wheel again and the nuts appeared to still be tight. I opened the hatch, moved the suitcases and Christmas presents and got the emergency lug wrench.

  “Is it okay, Daddy?” Celia asked. Her little face was frightened, tears threatening to pop out of her eyes.

  “It’s fine Cee-Cee,” I said. I’m just going to double check all the wheels.

  I put the lug wrench on the first nut and, with a grunt, managed to tighten it a bit more. The others on that wheel were the same. I then went around to all of the other wheels and checked them all, but they were so tight I couldn’t even get them to budge. Celia and Suzy watched worriedly out the windows while I worked amidst the swirling flakes.