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Trouble Magnets

By Mary Ellen

The two sets of blue eyes met, gazing across the waiting room. Neither man wanted to be here and neither would go home. Not without the people they cared about. There were others in the waiting room as well. The two groups had started off separated but had, over time, merged. Amazing what cops and teachers had in common.

“Chief, settle down. We’ll be there soon.” Jim Ellison liked seeing his partner so exuberant.  All too often, since the diss disaster, he’d been quiet and self-contained. Jim missed the “Energizer Bunny” more than he cared to admit. And he knew Blair missed teaching. Now, he had a chance, for a couple of afternoons, to teach. Younger kids to be sure, but still, it had him wound up. Much to Jim’s secret delight.

“Okay, Jim. And I won’t start the ‘are we there yet?’ for at least another five minutes.” Blair grinned cockily at his partner and best friend. “Are you sure that they’re okay with us visiting this evening?”

“That’s what Molly said, Chief. And I could hear him in the background. He didn’t sound hostile or angry. And I know Molly won’t put up with any abusive behavior.” Jim spoke confidently, though, privately, he still had his doubts.

The two men sat silently for a few minutes then, predictably, Blair spoke up with a grin, “Are we there yet?” Jim just growled.

Brent Collins tried to settle down and watch the news. He really wasn’t looking forward to sharing the evening with two out of town cops, one of whom he’d punched out not three months before. He’d last seen the two men at his wedding to Molly, two months ago. He’d gotten the distinct impression from Jim Ellison that if Molly complained about him, Ellison would kill him. And quite probably get away with it. He’d checked the guy out with his old police partner, now a sergeant. Ellison’s background was impressive. Brent did not get why he was partnered with a self-proclaimed fraud. Nor did he see how the fraud could possibly be a police detective. He’d voiced his opinion to his new wife and she’d just smiled at him and told him to “let it go”. He was trying, he really was. He wanted this marriage to work. So did Molly. And more for the sake of the kids.

He heard a vehicle pull into the side driveway and Molly went to open the back door. Without looking to see who was there. Some times she was just not careful. And, she attracted trouble. Boy, did she attract trouble.

“Hon, wait!” He looked out the side window and saw that it was indeed the expected visitors. Molly, not heeding his warning, had already opened the door and was hugging Jim Ellison. Brent steeled himself and went to shake the man’s hand and stop the neighbors from talking.

“Molly, you can’t just open the door because you’re *expecting* someone!” Jim scolded his old friend. Blair grinned and hugged the lady too.

“Hi, Molly. He tells me the same thing. All the time.” Blair looked up to see Brent approaching. “Hey, man.” He offered his hand and it was taken in a firm grip.

“Hello, Blair. Jim.” Brent replied.

Jim took the offered hand and gave a friendly smile. “Hello, Collins. How’re things going?”

“Pretty good.” Brent’s smile told both Jim and Blair he was speaking the truth. Molly smiled as well. “Come on in and meet the kids. And thanks for reminding my too trusting wife about answering the door.”

“No problem. If you ever find a way to make her remember, let me know what works. I’m *still* trying to get Sandburg to use the peephole. And he’s a cop now!” Blair and Molly gave identical theatric sighs and all four adults entered the house.

Dinner was excellent. Brent’s two children, Kara, age eight, and her younger brother, Kyle, age six, were very well behaved. Brent had quietly asked Jim to give the little boy some “cop” stories and some “soldier” stories. Jim was happy to oblige and made a friend for life in the six year old. Kara was more reserved. Jim noticed that the little girl seemed especially reserved around her step-mother, whom she referred to as “ma’am”. Even Brent winced a little at his daughter’s formality with his wife. Jim’s opinion was that Molly was being wise in not forcing a relationship with the child. Molly excused herself from the adult’s conversation to oversee the kid’s getting ready for the next day and going to bed. Suddenly, there was a furious scream.

“Don’t tell me what to do! Get out of my room! You’re NOT MY MOTHER! I HATE YOU! I WISH YOU WOULD DIE!” Then there was the sound of flesh hitting flesh. Even Blair could hear it. All three men ran to the bedroom area of the house.

Molly was sitting in the hallway, holding her side and holding back tears. Brent knelt and checked her side gently. Jim heard him whisper “Sweetheart, I’m so sorry.” Jim knelt beside the couple.

“Collins, I was a medic in the Rangers and I’ve kept the training up. Will you let me check her out?” Jim was not going to make anything worse than it already was.

“Sure, Ellison. I know you think of Molly as a sister and you’re a proven friend to her.” Brent hesitated to leave his wife’s side.

Blair quietly asked if Brent wanted him to go talk to Kara. Brent squared his shoulders and refused the offer. Jim helped Molly up and got her into the living room. According to him, all was well. The blows had landed on her side and back. Jim was holding an ice pack to her side when Brent towed his daughter in. After a sullen, insincere apology, the little girl went to bed. Brent sat down with a sigh in the space vacated by Ellison and took over holding the ice to his wife’s side.

“She’s fine, Collins. A bit sore but fine.” Jim assured the worried man. “Has Kara hit Molly before?” Jim had to ask.

Brent looked at Molly, who would not meet his eye, before answering slowly, “Not that I’m aware of. Mol? Has she hit you before this?”

Molly sighed and leaned against her husband, eyes closed. At that moment, Blair entered with a quiet Kyle holding his hands.

“Hey, guys. Kyle was scared and we had a little talk. I think, Brent, you need to hear what he has to say.”

It bothered Brent that his son looked scared. It also bothered him a little that the little boy was looking at Sandburg with such trust. More trust than he’d seen since before…his eyes teared up as he tore his thoughts away from Kyle’s mother.

Kyle climbed into his daddy’s lap and quietly told them about some of the mean things his big sister had done. It turned out that Kyle was scared of his sister, scared of losing his step-mother, and scared of losing his daddy. Brent quietly reassured the little boy that he was safe and that Kyle could tell him anything. Molly also reassured Kyle she wasn’t leaving and that she loved him and that it was more than okay for him to love his real mom and her too. Then Molly took the Kyle to his room and said her goodnights to husband and friends.

Brent saw his guests to the door. “Thank you both for helping with that tonight.” was his simple thanks. It was all he could say. But, he was going to get help for his family. Immediately.

“No problem, man. See you tomorrow. I’m really looking forward to it.” Blair gave him an encouraging smile. “It’ll work out. You and Molly will see to that!”

Jim gave the tired man a final handshake. “I’ll see you tomorrow when I drop the ‘Energizer Bunny’ here off at the school. And he’s right, things will work out. You’ve got a plan and a way to implement it.”

Brent stuck his head into the school auditorium. Everything was fine, the kids, unbelievably, were sitting in silent, rapt fascination. Amazing. Sandburg had held their attention in the previous two class periods. He’d even seen Daniel sitting through the presentation. They’d laughed at lunch at the stuff Daniel had gotten behind on when he sat through the whole thing. It had been an exceptionally quiet day. None of the eighth graders who would hear the anthropologist’s presentation the next day were going to risk getting into trouble and missing it. He’d actually gotten caught up on the unending paperwork that seemed to be part and parcel of his job. He went back to his office to make several parent calls. They’d fed all the kids in the auditorium early so as not to interrupt the presentation and so he was through with lunch duty early today. He also made an appointment for the whole family for the following afternoon with a family therapist recommended by one of the school counselors. He was deeply worried about Kara.

He’d just hung up the phone when the fire alarm went off. What the heck…this wasn’t a drill. They never had fire drill during lunch. But, somehow, he didn’t think it was a fire either. Probably it was some kid thinking they’d get out of a test by setting off the alarm. Thank heavens for security cameras. They’d make it easy to catch the culprit. He hurried outside, intent on getting things back on track as soon as possible.

Across town, Jim was having a good time at the seminar Simon had sent him to. Simon hadn’t realized just how many people Jim knew on the Seattle PD and he was having a blast catching up. He’d also learned some good things in the sessions. Blair would be pumping him for information for weeks. He grinned at the thought as he went on to his next session.

Suddenly there was someone calling his name. He turned toward the voice. He recognized one of the police commanders he’d been introduced to. He couldn’t quite recall the man’s name.

“Ellison, where did you say your partner was today?” the man demanded.

“Oak Forest Middle School. Why?” Jim had a terrible, sinking feeling in his stomach.

“We’ve apparently got a hostage situation there. Since your partner’s there, you want to come along?” The commander, Parker was his name Jim suddenly recalled, was moving away as he spoke.

“You bet. Give me details.” Jim was glad he was armed and had his backup. His stomach twisted as he realized that his two favorite trouble magnets were at the middle school, together. Collins was going to punch his lights out again, he just knew it.

Molly had been in the teachers' work room when the alarm sounded. The inclusion teacher, Vicky Patman, was watching her class while she got a few more copies of the group assignment made up. She immediately exited the room and, since she was right next to the room with the kids who were not mainstreamed, she went to help get them out. Vicky knew where her gradebook was and could take roll easily. This was her smallest and probably best behaved class this period.

Helping Sharon on her mind, she literally ran into the man. He was holding a gun. And Blair. Great. Geeze, maybe they were both trouble magnets. Oh well, nothing to do but deal with the situation and protect the kids.

“Hello, sir. Can I help you find the office?” she asked brightly.

He continued to point the gun at Blair’s head and demanded “Where’s my kid?”

Forcing herself to sound much more confident than she felt, she calmly asked, “Who is your child, sir? If I know the student, I might be able to take you right to them.”

Instead of answering her, he gestured to the very room she wanted to get this manic away from. Unwilling to risk Blair’s life, she entered the room. Sharon was trying to get the students quiet, realizing that this guy was NOT going to understand these kids. Since she was great at what she did, they did quiet down.

“Where’s my kid?” he demanded again, pointing the gun directly at Molly’s five month’s pregnant belly. She flinched but answered firmly.

“I don’t know because I don’t know what student you are looking for.”

“Kara. I’m looking for Kara,” came the reply.

Molly flinched again. Not her favorite name at the moment. But she knew that surviving this situation was in her hands.

“Which Kara are you looking for? We have several students with that name enrolled here.” She hoped her voice came across as calm.

“Kara Lister, that’s her name.” he growled. “I want her NOW.”

“Sir, I need to call the office and find her. Also, these kiddos are really scared and need to leave. I’ll stay.”

The as yet unnamed man glared at the whimpering children. Even in his unbalanced state, he realized they weren’t “normal”.

Gesturing at the students, he asked “They retards?”

Molly reacted the way she always did to such horrible words. “They are NOT. They are, like every child in this school, special. Don’t you dare hurt any child with that language or tone!” Blair flinched as the man twisted his arm.

“You are a spitfire. Okay, the kids can go. Just the kids. After you call the office and get hold of my kid.”

Molly made the call and, of course, no one was in the office. She explained that the best way to find the man’s child was to send the children out with Sharon and Blair. The guy didn’t agree and the kids started crying again. He did finally agree to let Sharon give the request to the administrators. So, Sharon got her kids out. Sharon whispered as they got the kids together, “Collins is going to tear me a new one for leaving you here. I’d rather stay and send you out.” But the man wouldn’t have it. He apparently thought having a pregnant teacher for a hostage was a good thing. No one thought it was a good idea to let him know she was also an assistant principal’s wife. Fortunately she’d never gotten around to having a new ID page with her new name on it. And the kids all knew her as “Miss Molly” down here.

Jim could hear Brent Collins before he could see him.

“What do you mean you left her in there?” Collins bellowed. Jim was about to go calm the man down, with force if necessary, when another man stepped in.

“Brent, get hold of yourself and remember there are TV cameras here. You losing your temper will NOT help Molly or Detective Sandburg. And if you wish to remain employed here, you WILL follow my directions to the letter. Now, go apologize to Sharon and *mean* it! Who are you?” This last remark was made to Jim and Collins quietly crawled to the trembling teacher and began to make the apology. Jim was impressed. This guy, he assumed the principal, sounded like he had military experience.

“I’m Jim Ellison. I assume from your remarks to Mr. Collins that my partner is still in the school.”

The harried man replied, “I’m Daniel Cross, principal of this mad house. Yes, your partner is in there with Molly. They’re in the self-contained classroom. They did manage to get the students out with their regular teacher. Since these kids are the most vulnerable in the school, that’s good. According to Sharon, neither Detective Sandburg nor Mrs. Ross, I mean Collins, was hurt. I just wish we could find out what’s going on in there! If this had to happen, why couldn’t it have happened *next* week!”

“Why would that make a difference?” Jim asked as they walked to the command center.

“Because *next* week the installation of security cameras in that classroom would be complete and we could see and hear into it, that’s why.” Cross replied.

Jim nodded.

After making his apology to the teacher, who reacted with such shock that Jim figured that Collins didn’t apologize all that often, Brent joined them. Daniel Cross answered what questions he could about Kara Lister. She’d been withdrawn by her mother the previous week. Mom had remarried and they’d moved to Bremerton. The new husband, a local fellow that Cross had known for years, was a Navy man stationed there. The mother had a restraining order against her ex-husband, who had been violent to both her and their daughter.

Great, Jim thought, a true nutcase. Another true nutcase.

Brent thought about some of the research he’d done on his new wife’s old friend. It had started out of jealousy but that had faded quickly. He knew Molly really did think of Jim as another big brother. Heck, he’d been at their wedding, sitting with her family, those who deigned to come to. Bunch of snobs. Every instinct he had was to trust this man. And, he thought he’d figured out a thing or two about Ellison. One, the guy was really devoted to his partner…another adopted sibling. Two, the guy really did have five heightened senses. Made sense what Sandburg had done. Now, how to approach the man about finding out what was going on in there.

“Ellison,” Brent walked over, calling softly. Too softly to really be heard in all the noise of shuffling nearly a thousand kids home. Jim looked up at him anyway. Okay, that proved part of what he was thinking. “We need to talk.”

“Okay,” Jim said slowly. “About what?”

“You can hear what’s going on in there, can’t you?” Brent asked softly.

Jim looked at the younger man intently. Collins was desperate to get his pregnant wife out and knew Jim would do damn near anything to get Blair out. So, he decided to answer honestly. He’d known Molly a long time and the girl had always been picky. Her first husband had been a stand up kind of guy. She could really pick them.

“I might be able to, but there are risks. I might need some help and the person most able to do that is in there.” He jerked his head in the direction of the building.

Collins responded immediately, showing his experience as a cop. “What help do you need and can I do it?”

Jim looked at him again and replied, “Maybe… Here’s what I need you to do…”

In the self-contained classroom, the man, Ben Lister, was becoming more and more agitated. “Where’s my kid?” he screamed as he hit Blair again. Molly shrank back, actually more scared for the baby than for herself.

Blair slumped over, too winded from the beating to speak. Molly tried to reason with Lister again.

“Sir,” she started softly, “neither of us can answer you until we get some answers. There’s no computer in here, so I can’t even try to find your daughter. I don’t teach a child named Kara Lister, so, without reaching someone, I can’t help you. My friend is a guest speaker here and doesn’t know any of the students here.” She held her breath, hoping her words wouldn’t set him off again.

For some reason, this time Lister didn’t go ballistic. He actually appeared to think about what she’d said. After several long minutes, he asked a question with quiet despair. “How do I get my kid, then?”

Molly replied in a quiet tone. “First, I need to talk to my principal. Since I don’t know his cell phone number, I probably need to call 911 and get them to put me through to him…”

Lister interrupted, agitated. “NO. No police.”

“Mr. Lister, the police are already out there. There’s nothing we can do about that. But, if you really want to find your daughter, that’s the place to start.” She waited for the man to process the information. Finally he did.

“Okay, call them.” 

So she did.

Parker was *very* reluctant to go along with Collins harebrained scheme. Until he talked to Simon Banks, who was en route to Seattle. He’d heard of the man, of his reputation. And Banks said to “go along with whatever harebrained scheme Ellison came up with”. Parker also vaguely remembered the news stories about Ellison and his partner from a couple of years ago. Made the idiotic scheme seem less…idiotic.

“Okay, Ellison, your boss says you’re on the level, no matter how crazy this seems. Go ahead, both of you. Don’t get yourselves killed on my watch, you hear me?” And with that, Jim and Brent quietly entered the building.

Slipping downstairs, they stopped in the stairwell leading down to the self-contained classroom. There, Jim focused his hearing. And smiled a little at what he heard. Molly, talking very gently to the man holding her hostage. Blair was breathing quietly behind her. He was, apparently, conscious but it worried Jim that he wasn’t saying anything.

Brent waited very impatiently. He really wanted to know what was going on. But interrupting wasn’t going to get him what he wanted. Kris would be so proud he’d finally learned that. He pushed his grief aside. It had no place here. He had to concentrate on Molly. The kids! Oh, crap! He rapidly dialed his boss’s cell phone only to find out that Daniel had arranged to have them both transported from their elementary campus to Oak Forest. They were currently in the custody of Teresa Simmons, the eighth grade counselor. She was really good with scared kids and Brent knew she’d take care of the kids.

Ellison began to tip forward at that point and Brent barely caught him. Damn, his ability to multi-task was slipping. He pinched the guy, hard, and saw awareness come back. And his fist came up. “Hey, not yet. We’ve got people to rescue before you punch me out,” he quipped out of nerves.

Ellison smiled grimly. “Okay, I’ll punch you out later. After we find out how badly Blair is hurt. Molly seems to be okay, so far. She’s talking a blue streak and seems to be getting the guy to cooperate. His name is Lister; he’s trying to find his daughter, Kara. You know anything about this kid?”

Brent blanched. “Yeah, I do. She’s not here any more. Mom remarried and moved them to Bremerton. There’s a restraining order against him. He’s violent.”

“Get on the phone and tell your boss to stall the guy. Maybe the kid’s absent or she’s already gone home. Take some time to get her. Anything to give Molly more time to soften the guy up. There’s no other exit from that room, right?”

Brent nodded as he dialed Daniel. They brought Parker into the conversation and agreed that waiting was, for now, the best strategy.

It had been dark a long time. Kara was scared, even though her dad had come and talked to them a couple of times. She just knew this was all her fault. She’d wished bad things and they’d happened. Again. She didn’t hate Molly. She just really missed her mommy. And she felt so guilty because she’d made her mommy die. Tears streamed down the little girl’s face, in spite of all the adults trying to comfort her. No one understood.

Blair began to quietly chime in with Molly’s remarks. He realized, more than Lister, that Molly was quickly flagging and needed to get out of here. He thought the guy was weakening. But it sure was taking a long time. Blair was *really* glad there was a bathroom in this room or Molly would have *really* had a problem. And his head really hurt. He saw another trip to the emergency room in his future. He groaned softly in anticipation.

Molly looked over at him and, with a gesture from Lister, went to Blair.

“Blair, you doing okay?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at Lister.

“I’m doing good. How about you and the kid?” Lister seemed to process, again, the fact that Molly was pregnant. Blair was acutely aware that Molly’s was a high-risk pregnancy. And she looked really pale. And sweaty. Suddenly, she toppled over. He barely managed to catch her.

“Molly!” he cried softly.

Lister looked at him, confused. “What’s up with her?” he asked.

Blair looked up from the unconscious woman but he remembered to keep his voice soft. Loud noises bothered Lister. He’d noticed that. The man got violent every time the bell sounded. He’d calmed down considerably when the bells had stopped.

“She’s in a high-risk pregnancy and she’s hypoglycemic,” he replied tensely.

“What’s hypowhatyoumacallit?” Lister asked.

“It means that the sugar in her blood is too low. She could die, man. Please let me out of here with her. This is her first baby. Please…”

“Do you think when they arrest me, they could do it quietly?” was the only question the man asked. So, Blair, laying Molly down, picked up the phone and made the arrangements. Then he quietly passed out himself.

It all happened very quietly.

Brent didn’t know what worried him more. Molly’s continuing unconsciousness or Kara’s continuing silence. His little girl was curled against his side and his son was in his lap. He was kind of surprised that nearly all of the faculty was crowded into the waiting area and had spilled over into the chapel. He figured it was for Molly, not him. He’d known for a long time that most of them hated him. He was really surprised at the police presence. Both from Seattle and from Cascade. He didn’t think the doctor would ever come with an update. Ellison looked as impatient as he felt. He felt Kara stir against his side and he reached down to stroke her long, tangled hair.

“Who’s here for Sandburg and Collins?” It was a welcome question. The doctor was a bit overwhelmed at the response to his question. It seemed the entire room surged toward him. And he noticed, belatedly, that quite a few of these people were armed.

“I...I can only give information to immediate family.”

Brent replied promptly, “I’m Molly Collins husband and you can tell everyone here.”

Ellison chimed in as he presented the doctor with a well-worn sheaf of papers, “I’m Blair Sandburg’s legal next-of-kin and you’d better start talking fast.”

The doctor backed up and took Ellison’s advice.

“Mrs. Collins is awake and stable enough to complain bitterly about having to spend the night here. We really need to monitor her blood sugar overnight. Otherwise, I do have some news…”

“She’s okay?!? Really? You promise she’s not dead?” To everyone’s surprise, it was Kara who blurted out these questions. This was the first time the little girl had said a word.

The doctor earned everyone’s respect with his response to the frightened child. He got down on his knees so he was eye level with her before he answered. “Yes, sweetie, your mom’s going to be okay.” He did not understand when half the people there drew sharp breathes. Kara explained for them.

“She’s not my mom. She’s my step-mom. It’s my fault my mom’s dead. All my fault…” And she started to cry again. Brent gathered his little girl into his arms and murmured soft denials of her claim. He caught Teresa’s eyes and nodded when she made a phone call gesture. They’d get this fixed. All of them. Together.

The doctor then caught the laser blue gaze of a man with a gun tucked into the holster at his back. He quickly anticipated the question.

“Mr. Sandburg has a fairly severe concussion and he is also aware enough to complain about an overnight stay. He keeps saying that his partner will look after him. Oddly enough, our colleagues at Cascade General actually recommended that we release him to Detective Ellison here. I’m beginning to understand why.”

Jim had a question. For Brent. “Collins, would you have any problem with my partner sharing a room with your wife?” The doctor and several of the teachers looked scandalized. Brent looked relieved.

“I think that’s a terrific idea!”

And so if was arranged.

 After Blair and Molly were settled into a double room, Jim and Brent came in, with the children. Kara sobbed with relief to see Molly awake and alive. Molly immediately reached for her step-kids and her husband and was gently hugged by them all. The doctor quietly cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. Jim and Blair looked up at him and then the doctor drew the curtain to have a “private” conversation with the Collins family. Jim suddenly smiled broadly and choked back a laugh.

“What?” Blair demanded.

“Wait until he leaves,” was all Jim would say.

Finally the doctor left and Brent, looking a little stunned, pulled back the curtain. He glared at Ellison and shrugged. Blair asked again, “What’s going on? What did he say? Are you okay, Molly?”

Looking at her speechless husband, Molly replied at his nod, “Yes, I’m fine. They went ahead and did the sonogram I had scheduled for this afternoon.”

Jim still wasn’t speaking, so Blair asked, “So, are you having a boy or a girl?”

Molly giggled a little hysterically as she answered, “Both. I’m having a boy and a girl.”

Brent said in a hushed voice, “Twins. We’re gonna need a bigger house…”

The End