Colt Crawford - Chapter 6 (Wednesday)

The iPhone came to life at 3:30 a.m. Colt blindly reached for it on the night stand, his fingers finding everything but the phone. Once it was in hand and shut off, he pulled the pesky device up to his face so he could make out the time. As soon as he realized how early it was, he was reminded of the plan for the day.

Within fifteen minutes he was showered, shaved, and dressed in trendy jeans, his faux bowling shoes and an untucked long-sleeved button down shirt. Another few minutes and his hair was gelled into position and he was out the door. He had absolutely no intention of staying in L.A. one second longer than necessary, so he decided to leave his luggage behind. He would be back in Santa Barbara by nightfall.

The drive from the Hotel Oceana to the police station was dark, marked only by the whimsical fog that had painted the landscape with blurry hues of yellow beneath each streetlight. It was eerily pleasant, almost surreal as he made his way down Cabrillo Boulevard toward the station where Krissy was waiting.

Colt, always one for punctuality, pulled his car into the parking lot at 3:58 by the clock on the dash. He glanced around and didn’t see Krissy or her car, but two minutes later, she emerged from behind the building, illuminated by the pale lights of the parking lot. She was dressed in casual slacks, stylish boots, and a black leather jacket. She looked every bit the professional while also maintaining a hint of flirty. Her hair was pulled neatly into a pony tail and a subtle coat of make up accentuated her face.

Without even thinking, Colt hopped out of the driver's seat and ran around behind the car to open the door for Krissy. “Good morning, Detective Malone,” Colt said as she stepped in.

“Ahh, the heater is already on. That feels nice,” Krissy said rubbing her hands together in front of the warm air. The weather was in the low forties and, given the fog, things were damp outside. Colt trotted back to his side, eager to rejoin the warmth and get the day started.

“We should miss any traffic at this hour,” he said.

“Especially since it’s Sunday,” Krissy added. Colt shifted the transmission into drive and depressed the gas pedal gently. The car rolled out into the street, turned left and headed toward the freeway.

The two-hour drive passed quickly, marked by pleasant conversation between Colt and Krissy, mostly about their career paths. Colt told of how he didn’t really care what he did, as long as he did it well. One day when he was in his early twenties a friend told him about a P.I. firm that was hiring, so he gave it a shot and ended up as the boss of his own place four years later.

Krissy recounted her days growing up as the daughter of a cop. She had never really given any other job much thought. “It’s a good career for now,” she said, but I don’t see myself doing it forever.

“What else do you see?”

“You really want to know?” she asked. Colt nodded, so she continued. “I wouldn’t mind being a mom someday. That would be full time enough for me.”

“That’s not a bad goal,” Colt said. “Might want to aim for wife first, but mom would be a good second.” Krissy laughed lightly and blushed at her own forwardness.

It was just shy of six a.m. when they pulled into the Greater Los Angeles Area. “My guess is they won’t be wanting visitors at the hospital at this time of morning,” Colt said. “How ‘bout some breakfast?” Krissy quickly agreed to his suggestion and Colt pulled off the freeway and into an IHOP parking lot. “Are pancakes okay?”

They stayed at the restaurant for about an hour before Krissy said, “Okay, maybe we tried a little too hard to miss the traffic.”

“We do seem to be a bit early,” Colt agreed. “But I prefer to be early than late, although I’m guessing visiting hours at the hospital start around 10:00.”

“Since we have some time to kill, why don’t we find a church and stop by? It is Sunday morning and I doubt there are any movies playing right now,” Krissy suggested.

“Do you usually go to church?” Colt asked.

“Most of the time,” she replied. “But the job eats up my weekends a lot. What about you?”

“Went when I was a kid at Easter. Other than that, can’t say I’ve been much.”

“Give me that fancy phone of yours. I’ll find us a place that has an 8:00 service. That way we can be at the hospital by 10:00,” Krissy said. Colt reached in his pocket and tossed the phone to her open hand. She poked her finger around the screen for a few minutes before announcing that she had found a place close to the hospital that would work.

“Am I dressed okay?” Colt asked.

“Doesn’t matter. You’ll probably never see any of these people again,” Krissy said.