Page 95 of Before We Ever Spoke

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“Clarence, my man, how’s everything going with the new gig? You keeping my sister safe, or what?” Jason Knox asked his former colleague from his cell phone as he drove towards 1st District headquarters.

Clarence couldn’t help but notice that Jason’s voice seemed more alive than it had in months. The EPK case was really wearing on his old protégé, and he had been worried about Jason’s mental well-being. Clarence knew firsthand that a good detective could lose himself in a big case, and in some instances, never recover.

“Who is this? I want to say it’s my old friend, Jason Knox, but I haven’t heard him this happy in months…” Clarence responded as he waited in his Escalade for Cara’s class to end.

“Damn straight it’s me, and you won’t believe who I’ve been watching the past two days.”

“I’ll bite,” Clarence replied. “Who?”

“None other than one Timothy Braun…”

“Tick?! I thought that little shit was out the game, or better yet, dead,” Clarence replied, shocked.

“He was, and might still be out of the drug game, but he’s definitely up to something. I’m on my way to figure out what that is, too. Just thought you’d get a kick out of it.”

“Hey, you think I should I tell Grace?” Clarence asked.

“I wouldn’t, at least not yet. Actually, don’t tell anyone, for that matter.”

“Roger that.”

“Take care of my baby sister.”

“Like she was my own!”

As he ended the call, Clarence peeked at his watch. Cara’s class would be letting out in ten minutes. It was time for him to pull to the front of the building and do a once-over on the scene.

Even though Clarence didn’t anticipate anything worse than the occasional paparazzi or ex-boyfriend harassing Cara, he never would let that deter him from planning for the worst and hoping for the best. It was the cornerstone of his success not only as an officer but later as a detective and owner of a security firm.

He parked his SUV in the drop-off zone near the entrance of Cara’s building, left the engine running, and exited the vehicle to scan the area just as he had earlier in the morning.

One of the benefits of being a former cop was knowing most of the patrolmen, and even some of the campus police, in the area. He had already contacted many of them to let them know that he’d be working a daily security detail for a high profile student at Cleveland State University. Since there weren’t too many of those at CSU not named Cara Knox, he didn’t have to explain much more than that.

After making sure the area was secured, Clarence returned to the vehicle and rolled down the rear passenger window. As he had instructed her earlier in the day, this would let Cara know that it was safe for her to exit the building.

A few minutes later, Clarence saw Cara emerge from the building where she had just completed her last class of the day. As she walked towards the SUV, Clarence had one hand on his door handle and another on his earpiece as he scanned the immediate area around her.

This way he could not only exit the vehicle in a hurry, but he could also radio dispatch if needed. He felt it was better not to stand outside the vehicle like a chauffeur, as it would draw too much attention.

There were always at least five other vehicles in the drop-off zone waiting for college students and staff members. Some of them were even more ostentatious than his Cadillac.

As Cara entered the SUV without any issues, Clarence pressed the button on his earpiece and informed his wife back at the office that they were on the move back to the Westcott.

“So… what’d you learn at school today?” Clarence jokingly asked as if he was a parent picking up a child from elementary school.

“To be honest, not much. I was too busy daydreaming. There’s so much going on in my brain that I can’t seem to focus on much of anything,” Cara said with a sigh.

“This, too, shall pass,” Clarence replied, using one of the most misattributed phrases of all time. For years, many people have uttered those words thinking that it came from the Bible. In reality, it likely derived from a fable written by a Sufi poet.

“I sure hope so. Please tell me that we are on our way back to the Westcott, Clarence. I need to chill out before I meet up with Lucy tonight.”

“Yes we are, and that reminds me… what time should I have Grace meet you in the lobby?”

“Well, I’m supposed to meet Lucy at Lola at six, so I’m guessing 5:30 would be good.”

“I will let her know, and if anything changes, you have my card. Grace will also have a card for you tonight with her contact info. She will make sure that you get to wherever you need to go. Just let her know if it’s going to be past 11, so she can make arrangements to stay on later if necessary.”

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