Hollow World (2 page)

“I know,” he laughed. “The old man practically threw me out of the office after that!”

“Good. Otherwise you’d have been there all night and then I’d be dragging two exhausted girls and a half-dead cop through the airport tomorrow morning. Just like last time…and the time before that.”

She joked, but her fingers found the three-inch long scar at the base of his throat, just inside the collar of his shirt. A few short months after he had finally become detective, the fates had brought him face-to-face with the serial rapist, torturer and murderer that the department had been hunting for several months. In an abandoned apartment complex on the city’s east side, her husband had been forced to fire his weapon for the first and only time in his career. The brilliant but savage criminal had been expecting him and was faster on the draw than the young detective—his single shot catching Charlie in the throat. Before falling, Charlie had squeezed off three rounds, the second finding a spot just above the murderer’s eye, putting a permanent end to a brutal spree.

Meghan felt a phantom pain in her chest and remembered the tense and terrible days after the incident. Charlie had lain on an operating table for four hours while surgeons frantically tried to repair the ragged hole in the young detective’s neck. The carotid artery had been nicked and the injury would have proved fatal had he been delayed at all in getting to the hospital. With no small bit of luck and perseverance, the surgeons successfully saved Charlie’s life. The next day, he was conscious and responsive. Within a couple of months he had made a full recovery but neither Charlie nor Meghan ever forgot how close to death he had been.

Charlie gently took hold of his wife’s hand and brought it away from his throat.

“This is going to be the best one yet. I promise,” he said, with his most disarming smile.

“You’d better be right,” she said, and they both quietly laughed. The girls still buzzed around the yard before them; two blue and yellow blurs ricocheting across the yard with no signs of slowing any time soon.

The Walker clan had visited Walt Disney World a couple of times every year since Violet had been born, only missing a single trip while Charlie was recovering from his injury. Charlie and Meghan had even gone at least once a year since the beginning of their relationship, long before the birth of their children. They were all lifelong Disney fanatics, and the World held a special place in all of their hearts. The biyearly vacation was always booked on the last day of each trip. It tended to make the bittersweet last day a little easier on the girls—and secretly on Charlie and Meghan—giving them all something to look forward to during the flight home.

Charlie sat for a few more minutes with his arms around his wife, simply enjoying the mild March evening and the sight of his girls expending all of their caffeine-enhanced energy. He thought back to the last trip they’d taken to Walt Disney World the previous September.

The entire vacation had been a disaster from the get-go. Charlie had been following up on a case until two hours before their flight and had not slept in almost two days. The girls had lain awake all night with excitement. All of this sleeplessness led to Meghan being forced to tow her three near-zombified loved ones through the busy airport early in the morning. Exhausted as they all were, father and daughters were asleep the moment they’d fastened their seatbelts on the plane.

Shortly after their arrival at Orlando International Airport, they were boarding one of the packed automated trams when Violet dropped her favorite ball. Catching an unlucky bounce, it rolled back out onto the loading platform. Frantically, the seven-year-old chased after it, only to have the doors close behind her, sending the rest of her family off toward the Hub, leaving her behind. For a frantic fifteen minutes, Charlie shouldered, elbowed and pushed his way through the throng of vacationers, hurrying to board the tram heading in the other direction. He breathed a long sigh of relief when he returned to where Violet had fled, only to find her waiting patiently near the large glass window, tapping her foot and checking her little white Hello Kitty watch, knowing that her Dad would be back for her any minute.

The next few days of the trip went remarkably well until, on the fourth night, both the girls picked up a nasty strain of stomach flu and had the entire family quarantined to their room. Two nights later, the girls had recovered, only to have passed the curse on to Charlie and Meghan. Finally, after four days of being holed up in their room, the Walker clan emerged to enjoy the last couple of days of their trip.

Charlie was hesitant when booking the next trip, but he knew that this was a freak occurrence and that they’d gotten their inevitable bad vacation out of the way. He was determined to make this trip the best one yet to make up for the train wreck that was the previous year’s fiasco.

Charlie had spared no expense on this trip. Using extra money from his holiday bonus, Charlie had secretly upgraded their standard room at the Caribbean Beach Resort to one of their newly remodeled pirate suites. His girls—while understandably infatuated with princesses—utterly
adored
everything pirate related. They owned all the
Pirates of the Caribbean
films on Blu-ray and it wasn’t an uncommon occurrence to see Violet and Katie marauding through the house—decked out in full princess garb—with cutlasses strapped to their waists. He’d known that this little surprise would make his girls extremely happy ever since he’d seen Violet and Katie swooning over a picture of the newly remodeled room on Meghan’s iPad. Charlie had also spent extra money on the Deluxe Dining Plan. He’d figured that since his family spent so much time expelling their food on the last vacation, they might as well have the freedom to overindulge this time around.

•••

Pulling his iPhone from his jacket pocket, Charlie called up a weather app and checked the forecast for Walt Disney World. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect: low- to mid-eighties all week and sunshine for the entire trip. Smiling at his good fortune, he pocketed his phone and stood.

“I reckon I’ll head inside and get out of this monkey suit,” he told Meghan. “Hopefully by the time I get all my last-minute nonsense packed up, Penn and Teller over there will have finally run out of gas.” He leaned down and they kissed.

Meghan gave his hand a gentle squeeze and turned back once more to watch the girls as Charlie headed into the house. Passing through the kitchen, headed for the back stairs, Charlie saw the results of his daughters’ glorious plan firsthand. He couldn’t help but laugh aloud as he saw, on a chair near the table, two small, pink Hello Kitty teacups sitting on a matching tea tray. On the floor nearby lay the empty Dr Pepper bottle.

The Walkers’ dog—a five-year-old German shepherd named Zeus—casually wandered into the room and sniffed the cups and bottle, recognizing the scent of his two favorite girls. German shepherds have extraordinarily expressive faces, so it wasn’t difficult for the detective to spot the look of mischief written across his beloved friend’s face.

“Oh, Zeus,” said Charlie, shaking his head slowly in mock disappointment. “Valiant protector, loyal friend…and shrewd partner in crime. I’ll bet you had something to do with this, didn’t you? Yes? I’ll bet a shiny buffalo nickel that our clever little Vi sent you upstairs to distract your Mom, didn’t she?”

Zeus gave a slight whine and held up his paw to be shaken: his gold-standard canine apologetic gesture. The dog was smart—the move worked every time. Charlie obliged, then knelt down and scratched Zeus behind the ears with both hands. He spotted a small bit of soda remaining in one of the girls’ cups and he placed it on the floor before the dog.

“Don’t tell Mom,” he said, as he stood and headed for the staircase. He could hear the dog eagerly lapping up the remnants from all the way up the stairs.

Finally making his way to the bedroom that he and Meghan shared, he dropped heavily down onto the bed and removed his jacket. Unclipping the service pistol and badge that had been digging into his hip, he opened the top drawer of his nightstand. Taking up the entire space within was a custom-made handgun lockbox, complete with a biometric lock. Pressing his finger to the scanner, the lid quickly opened and he was free to stow the weapon. From within the space, he removed his smaller off-duty weapon—a Walther PPS—in its corresponding holster.

Leaving the unloaded weapon on the nightstand, Charlie showered, changed and began packing all of his last-minute necessities into his carry-on bag. Into the black canvas military backpack went the usual suspects: phone chargers, various medicines, bandages for all of the scraped knees and elbows the girls were destined to suffer from, a few sets of headphones, Meghan’s iPad and the most recent book that he had been reading—
Phantom
by Ted Bell. Noticeably absent was Charlie’s own laptop, for he had long ago learned never to bring his work with him on vacation.

Charlie had just laid his backpack atop the stack of other luggage and dropped back onto the bed when Meghan glided into the room.

“Want to hear a funny story?” she asked.

“Always,” Charlie shot back, grinning at his wife.

“It goes like this: I
finally
got the girls into bed and, next thing I know, there’s a wide-eyed German shepherd whining at me with a Frisbee in his mouth. It’s almost eleven-thirty; Zeus should be knocked out cold by now. How
strange
that he should be ready to play this late at night.”

“That is pretty strange,” Charlie agreed, laughing lightly.

Lying down on the bed next to him, Meghan said, “I saw the cup on the floor, genius.”

Charlie laughed again before pulling her over and kissing her.

“I had nothing to do with it…I swear.”

“You may be good at catching
liars, Charlie Walker, but you’re very bad at
being
one. You know that?”

“I have my moments,” he said, earning him a light punch on the shoulder for his trouble.

Within fifteen minutes, the entire Walker household was asleep—save for a newly nocturnal, Dr Pepper-fueled German shepherd patrolling the house, endlessly searching for intruders or someone to throw his Frisbee for him.

For once, the family’s vacation was off to a decent start. Maybe Charlie would actually make good on his promise this time.

Charlie awoke to find three sets of eyes patiently gazing at him from only a few inches away. When he was able to shake off the cobwebs of a deep sleep, his visitors came into focus. Violet, Katie and Zeus all sat—statue still—on the floor directly next to the bed, clearly anticipating the moment of his awakening.

Zeus recognized that his master was conscious and leaned forward, licking Charlie directly across the forehead.

“Thanks, Zeus. Love you too, buddy,” Charlie said as he sat up, wiping the slobber from his forehead. Zeus’s characteristic paw shot up for another handshake, and Charlie obliged.

“To what do I owe this glorious wake-up call—um—an hour before the alarm was supposed to go off?” asked Charlie, noticing the time as he slipped his watch onto his wrist and fastened the clasp. He also noticed that Meghan’s side of the bed was empty.

Still sitting cross legged on the floor, between Zeus and Katie, Violet volunteered to answer.

“Mommy said we had to get up extra early today because we have to take Zeus to the dog-hotel and you have to talk to the airport people about your gun. She said that it took longer than we thought last time and she didn’t want to have to run to the gate again.”

“Makes sense. How was your sleep last night?” he asked. Zeus’ ears pricked up as he heard some rustling downstairs in the kitchen. He quickly took off toward the sound, hoping to catch Meghan in time to scam a treat out of her.

“Really good!” Katie exclaimed.

“Yeah,” agreed Violet. “It was like, as soon as we got done doing magic tricks, we just got super-tired. Magic isn’t easy, Daddy.”

“Hardest thing in the whole wide world,” Charlie agreed as he stood, lifting his girls to their feet. “That’s why I’m glad you guys are so good at it—you can do it for me and I can retire early. Why don’t you head on downstairs and see if Mom’s got any breakfast happening, I’ll meet you down there in a few.”

As his girls headed downstairs, he grabbed his empty Walther and badge from the nightstand and took them to the closet. In the back of the small space, he had a second biometrically-locked, fireproof safe where he kept various important documents and a small store of ammunition for his off-duty weapon. Setting the gun on top of the safe, he quickly dressed for the day in his I’m-just-a-tourist clothing: an old, navy-blue EPCOT Center T-shirt, some worn khaki cargo shorts and a well-made leather belt, to which he affixed the Walther and his badge. From the safe, he withdrew two magazines. After loading the Walther, he chambered the first round and holstered the pistol. On his way to the bathroom, he stowed the extra one in his suitcase.

While Charlie was required to carry a weapon at all times when off-duty, he was not permitted to carry it inside the private property of a Disney park. Upon reaching the main gate, Charlie was required to check in with security, present his law enforcement identification and have his pistol catalogued and locked up. When exiting the parks, Charlie could then sign his weapon out and be free to carry it once more.

This year, Charlie had decided not to bother bringing his weapon with him to the parks. It created an unnecessary extra step, when he could achieve the same results by simply locking the gun away in the wall safe back in their hotel room. Already, the family had to make extra time at the airport so that Charlie could clear his weapon.

In theory, the new process of using identifier codes along with credentials at the standard TSA checkpoints was
supposed
to be faster than the old method of presenting written authorization from the officer’s department. In practice, this made the process slower. Unfortunately, many of the TSA agents they’d encountered were not properly briefed on the newer system nor adequately trained in its execution or were simply skeptical of his police credentials. This normally led to a delay as they waited for a supervisor to come along and spout the obligatory, “Let this fine officer and his family through so they can enjoy their vacation; he’s already been cleared to carry on the new system, Steven.” While not a day-wrecker, anticipation of this event did force the Walkers to allow twenty or thirty additional minutes for the security checkpoint.

•••

A half-hour later, the Walkers were fed, clean and packed. Charlie loaded the luggage in the car and led the regal Zeus out first to find him a seat of his own. After locking up the house, Meghan and the kids piled into the car and they were off.

At record-breaking pace, Zeus was checked in at the kennels. The family was at the airport within another half-hour. Charlie encountered the anticipated security blunders—though they were handled much faster than in any previous trip.

The flight was on time and on schedule, the boarding was smooth and everything was going according to plan. Charlie breathed in the air circulating in the cabin, acknowledging the scents of disinfectant and freshly-brewed coffee, and finally felt that his vacation had begun.

He smiled while disembarking, experiencing that telltale ‘we’re here!’ moment when the cool, conditioned air from the plane met the humid Floridian air in the jetway. Charlie didn’t even bother to clean his sunglasses when this meteorological event caused his lenses to fog up.
To hell with it
, he thought.
We’re home
.

•••

His girls squealed with delight from their seats on the Magical Express when the on-board video started with the friendly voiceover thanking everyone and welcoming them aboard. Charlie felt a pang of nostalgic pleasure in his chest upon hearing that all-too-familiar voice.

At this moment, Detective Charlie Walker of the Detroit Police Department’s homicide division ceased to exist. In his place, sat the real Charlie Walker: devoted father, loving husband, Disney fanatic and man-child. Gone were any thoughts or concerns about open cases back home. Vanished were any worries about criminals, killers, thieves or any of the other human trash he dealt with on a daily basis. Even the Walther, holstered on his right hip, beneath his shirt, was nothing more than a mild discomfort.

Along the way, the bus driver pointed out a large alligator sunning himself along the side of the freeway. Violet and Katie had their faces pressed against the glass, giggling as they gazed at the massive reptile from the safety of the bus. Even Meghan leaned across Charlie as far as she could to catch a glimpse. There aren’t many gators back in Wayne County; the only time the Walkers had been close to one was in the reptile house at the Detroit Zoo—and they were small and hid beneath logs or foliage. It was just another happy occurrence to add to the already promising vacation.

Charlie had checked in online the day before, and their keycards and Welcome Packet were waiting for them at the desk inside Custom House—the front desk area—at the Caribbean Beach Resort. The Cast Member who presented the packet recognized Charlie, Meghan and the kids from their past visits. She was a middle-aged woman named Lucy and she had the memory of a supercomputer. It seemed that she was at the online check-in desk for every vacation the Walker’s had taken in the last three years. She remembered them all and spoke to them as if they were her own family.

“Well, if it isn’t Violet and Katie Walker!” Lucy exclaimed, beaming at the two small children. “I was hoping I would see you two sometime soon. Wait here for a second: I have something for you!”

With that, Lucy took off at a brisk pace and disappeared through a doorway. After a few moments, she returned with something clasped between her hands. Lucy presented to the children a familiar pink plastic container with a white handle atop it, roughly the size of a small tackle box. Violet and Katie’s names were written on the front in black permanent marker. It took Charlie a few moments to recognize what it was but when it came to him he could hardly believe his eyes.

“Oh my God, Lucy!” shouted Violet, taking the box from her and showing it to Katie. The girls’ giddy exclamations drew a few glances, smiles and polite giggles from the others in the building. “How
did
you find this?”

“Oh, I have my ways,” she joked, winking at Charlie and Meghan. “I figured I couldn’t have two of my favorite princesses staying here without their makeup kit.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” the girls shouted as Meghan led them outside to play with their long lost makeup box.

“Lucy, I don’t know what to say; that was amazing,” admitted Charlie.

“Oh it’s nothing, honey. I noticed the girls had left it in the corner over by the benches, but by the time I got to it your bus had taken off. I figured you’d be back sooner or later so I checked to see if you’d made any reservations and—sure enough—today’s the day.”

“I don’t know how to thank you. I thought we’d never see that thing again.”

“Never say never, detective. Never say never. Now get on out there; your room’s ready and the girls are probably going to explode if you don’t get them on Pirates of the Caribbean as soon as possible.”

“We owe you one, Lucy!”

“Don’t mention it,” she said, jokingly shooing him away. “Get out of here and enjoy your vacation!” Charlie smiled and nodded, heading for the door.

“Oh, and Charlie?”

He turned back.

“Yes?”

“Welcome home.”

•••

This trip really could not have gotten off to a better start. It seemed as if the cosmos was aligning and laying the magic on extra thick to make up for last year’s disaster. Charlie had no complaints—you can never enjoy a vacation
too
much.

Just as Charlie had expected, the room upgrade had sent his girls into a euphoric mania. Even Meghan couldn’t mask her surprise—Charlie hadn’t told her either. He watched as his three loves explored every inch of the gloriously pirate-themed lodgings. The girls had a blast jumping on the pirate ship beds, plotting out imaginary courses using the compass-themed table and discovering the mighty Kraken in all of his towel animal glory.

“I had a feeling you had something up your sleeve,” stated Meghan.

Charlie shrugged.

“One day, I just felt like upgrading,” he replied, winking at her.

“The place is amazing. Violet and I were checking it out a while back.”

“Oh, were you?” asked Charlie in exaggerated mock confusion.

“You noticed that did you, detective?” Meghan shot back.

“I notice everything,” he plainly stated, eliciting a laugh from his wife.

As much as he joked about it, Charlie really did have the uncanny ability to notice every single detail. Violet and Katie had learned this long ago; they had no chance of slipping some wrongdoing past him. Recently, the girls had started to adapt to the reality that they’d be caught red-handed no matter what they did, so they had begun running their schemes out in the open, blatantly obvious to any and all who cared to observe. Violet and Katie were very well behaved and their villainous plans were mostly harmless, so it just added another level of fun to Charlie’s home life. It entertained him immensely to see what these two creative little monsters could come up with next.

“Well, ladies, where to first?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

“Pirates!” both girls screamed in unison.

“Didn’t even need to ask,” stated Meghan.

“Tradition,” replied Charlie with a shrug.

And so it was Pirates of the Caribbean that would be the first attraction of the Walkers’ ten-day vacation.

•••

The next day seemed to be right on par with the first. Violet and Katie were, fortunately, entirely immune to the notorious midday meltdown that most children their age experience at some point during long days in the parks. Charlie and Meghan had trouble keeping up but considered themselves lucky that their girls were free from the stigma associated with most small children on vacations.