"LIKE FATHER..."

Story of death and birth...

 

 

     Tyler got a restraining order against Dooley Crawford, though she knew it wouldn’t do any good. He’d never let a restraining order stop him. She changed the locks too, but of course if he wanted to get into the house he could.

 

     Tyler had given up being afraid for herself. But she was carrying Dooley’s baby, and though she hated him now, she wanted this child. He’d threatened to beat her until she lost it. Tyler applied to Sergeant Clover for help.

 

     “I’ll do what I can for you,” he said. “But unless Dooley actually attacks you, we can’t arrest him.”

 

     “By that time it’ll be too late,” she pointed out.

 

     “I’ll do what I can for you,” he repeated.

 

     Sergeant Clover cared more than he was willing to show. Tyler reminded him of Dawn, his sister. Dawn had lived with Dooley for several hellish months. During that time he had broken her arm once and her jaw twice, until her family had managed to get her away from him and relocated in another state.

 

     Clover decided to have a personal talk with Dooley. A police force bound by rules and red tape could accomplish less than one man with hard fists and a gun. But he left it until too late.

 

     Tyler managed to call 911. With what was almost her dying breath she managed to tell them where she was and what had happened to her. They were able to deliver a baby boy safely, but could not save his mother’s life.

 

     Dooley was taken into custody immediately. He had an alibi of sorts; he’d been drinking in a bar with several of his friends at the time Tyler was killed. But they’d all been too drunk to know exactly when he’d been with him. Or if he’d left at any point. Or, really, if he’d been with them at all.

 

     “I didn’t do it!” Dooley blustered. “It must have been someone else.” But his fingerprints were all over the place, and everyone had heard his threats to Tyler. He was arrested, tried, and convicted. The jury took less than fifteen minutes to bring in a verdict of guilty. Dooley’s court appointed lawyer made the customary appeals, but there was no doubt as to the outcome. Dooley Crawford was scheduled to die on June 1^st by lethal injection.

 

     It was over as far as Clover was concerned. He never expected to see Dooley again; never wanted to see Dooley again. The case should have been finished for him, but it wasn’t; not quite…

 

     Dooley had a final request. It was denied. He made it again and again. He asked the warden and he asked the warden’s superior, and he asked the chaplain. He wrote letters to the governor, and he didn’t give up.

 

     A week before Dooley’s execution Captain Gomez called Sergeant Clover into his office. “I got a call this morning from Governor Sinclair. It seems that Dooley Crawford has made a last request, and the Governor thinks it should be honored.”

 

     “What is it? Clover growled.

 

     “He wants to see his son?”

 

     “He what!? That b*****d! He has no right"”

 

     “He has a son,” Captain Gomez said patiently. “He wants to see the boy. He hasn’t asked for anything else; hasn’t requested a special last meal. Governor Sinclair made it clear he wants this to happen. Right now the baby is with an aunt. She’s willing for Dooly to see him. But she’s not willing to take the baby to the prison herself.

 

     Sergeant Clover suddenly felt suspicious. “What does this have to do with me,” he asked warily.

 

      “I want you to do it.”

 

     “Me? No! Why? Why not you? Or anyone else?”

 

     Captain Gomez sighed. “I know how you feel. Dooley is a monster. I was never in favor of capital punishment before, but the world will be better off without him. I would do this myself if I could, but I’m stuck here. And I’m not willing to send anybody else.”

 

     “Why does it have to be me?”

 

     “This has been kept as quiet as possible, but reporters always find things out. They’ll be all over this: ‘Condemned man asks to see son of the woman he murdered’. They’ll want pictures and they’ll want a story, and I can trust you to keep that from happening. I can’t trust anybody else.”

 

     Clover looked stubbornly at the floor.

 

     “He’s only got a week to live,” Captain Gomez pointed out.

 

     “He deserves to die,” Clover muttered. “Tyler didn’t. But all right. I’ll do it.”

+++

 

     Dooley was much frailer and thinner than he had been when Clover first booked him. There was an old bruise on his temple and one near his mouth. All his cockiness was gone. He moved like an old man.

The two men faced each other through the bars.

 

     “Hold the baby up where I can see him,” Dooley demanded.

 

     “His name is Brady. That’s what Tyler wanted.”

 

     Dooley looked for a long time into the eyes so much like his own. The nose and the mouth, those were Tyler’s, but the high, thin cheekbones, the set of the head were his. At last he lifted his gaze to Clover’s. “Watch him,” Dooley said hoarsely. “Watch him close. If you see he’s getting to be anything like me, stop it from happening. Do what you have to do. Will you?”

   

      Clover shrugged. “Maybe…”

 

     “I’m not asking for me. Or even for this little guy.” He looked down at Brady, who had gone peacefully to sleep. “Do it for Tyler. For she son she wanted.”

 

     Clover looked at the baby too. A baby who would never see his mother, never know his father. “All right,” he said. “Whatever it takes.”

 

 

Reviews

[marcus]

The poor child! I'm almost crying now.

[Marie]

I think of the mother more than the child. The father, of course, we can have no sympathy for...

[marcus]

yes of course! But the mother has died, the child now has to live on...

[613]

Wow. This was brilliantly written. Fantastic job.

- Brittney

[Marie]

Thank you.

[613]

You're welcome. If you'd like to read a novel, HIM - a manuscript I've been working on for five years, is uploaded to my profile. If not, I understand. We all have busy lives & lack of interests.

- Brittney

[Marie]

I actually did read a couple of chapters of your book, and I found it interesting. But I really don't have time to review books.

[613]

What you said right here was review enough for me. You found it interesting - awesome! Thank you!

[The Pheonix Lotus]

Aaah! My heart. It hurt just reading this. That was amazing! You can really see all the work and you can definitely see how much time writing you've spent in your life. I loved it!

[Marie]

Thank you. I'm never really sure where my stories are gong to end up when I write them, and I didn't expect this one to turn out the way it did.

[Woody]

domestic violence is all too common nowadays, unfortunately.
nicely told as usual, Marie. impeccable narration.

[Marie]

THanks. This was actually published, though I don't remember where.

[Stonz P.]

The story is good and the flow is fine too.
I had a bit of problems with the connectivity in the plot.

"Clover decided to have a personal talk with Dooley. A police force bound by rules and red tape could accomplish less than one man with hard fists and a gun. But he left it until too late."
Does this happen the same day or over a period of time?


I think that can be achieved by a lingering hint that Taylor is in continuous danger, even the minute she calls Dooley, so that can give an idea to the reader

And although, it seems apparent that Dooley did it, I found it difficult to believe by the narrative that he did it or someone else took advantage of the situation; but maybe that is a good open junction for the reader to keep them guessing. It does not really matter to me since Tyler is dead. But I think others may find it absurd that it was not clarified.

The only other thing was the relateability to the characters which I found it hard to do. And since such stories are bound more by narrative than dialogue I feel it would be a healthy addition to the story.
Well crafted nevertheless. I got the moral and plot by the end of it, just some minor issues which I have pointed out.

[Marie]

Thank you for reading and for your suggestions.