c. 2002

Chapter One

~May, 1976~

"Thanks, mister," the cab driver replied as he was handed the fare and a tip.

The slam of a door and his passenger was gone.

The hospital was busy that afternoon, nurses and doctors hurrying here and there and orderlies pushing carts and gurneys. People filled the waiting rooms, hoping for good news.

Lucius Snow was pensive as he waited for the elevator to arrive to take him upstairs. As a nurse approached the elevator, she noticed how tense he looked.

"Are you visiting someone?" she asked with a smile.

Startled, he jumped. "Oh, yes. I..I'm visiting a friend," he answered politely.

The door to the elevator opened and Lucius stepped aside to let the occupants exit, then held the door for the nurse to step on the elevator.

"Thank you," she said, surprised at his chivalry. So it wasn't dead after all.

He nodded, not saying a word as he punched the button for the eleventh floor. He glanced at his watch and sighed. Sensing that the nurse was watching him, he looked up. She immediately dropped her eyes.

She was attractive, he supposed, with short brown hair that had more than a hint of gray. A friendly face, with sparkling brown eyes.

The elevator stopped and a bell dinged as the door slid open. The nurse turned and smiled.
 
"You have a good afternoon," she wished him, before exiting the elevator. He returned her smile with a slight nod.

He arrived on the eleventh floor and began his trek to room 1122.  He walked slowly down the colorless hallway, trying to disassociate himself from the smell of antisceptic and sickness. He hated the odor and it seemed to linger on his clothes for hours after he'd left the hospital.

Slowly he pushed the door open and stuck his head in the room.  It was quiet except for the steady beat emitting from the heart moniter. His friend lay still, his eyes closed. Lucius hesitated, wondering if he should come back another time.

"I'm awake. You can come in, Lou."

Lucius smiled and shook his head. "How do you do that?" he asked as he entered the room.

"Now, if I told you, it would take all the fun out of it."

Lucius smiled warmly. "How are you doing today, Frank?"

Frank sighed. "Oh, I'm dying. How you doin'?"

Lucius grimaced at his friend's morbid sense of humor and flicked his fingers nervously.

"Sorry, buddy. Today's been a pretty good day," Frank replied.

"Good, I'm glad to hear that," Lucius said as he scooted a chair near the bed and sat down.

"So, what did the paper have in store for you today?" Frank asked.

Lucius pulled a phototcopy out of his coat pocket and handed it to his friend.

Since Frank had been in the hospital, Lucius had been making photocopies of the original stories that were in his paper, then telling Frank how he had changed them.

Lucius had met Frank Reynolds in 1944 when Frank had been transferred to his unit in Italy. They had been to hell and back together during the war. If it hadn't been for Lucius Snow, Frank Reynolds would have never made it home.

In a run-down, bombed out village in Italy, they waited for a signal from their sergeant to advance. When the signal came, they moved from their crouched position and cautiously made their way into the village. Lucius caught the glint of a scope in the bell tower and looked up to see a rifle pointed their way. He dove on Frank, seconds before a bullet hit a tree just inches behind where Frank had once stood.

Frank and his wife, Laura, moved to Chicago from New York in 1952 when Frank joined the Chicago Police Department.  Lucius had been handling the paper on his own for a few years before Frank showed up and he had not shared his secret with anyone.

After several incidences in which Lucius had run-ins with the police, he finally broke down and told Frank about the paper. Frank, not surprised that Lucius Snow would receive such a magical paper, began to help him with the newspaper.  At times, running interferance for Lucius put his career in jeopardy. Fortunately, it was a partnership that worked well--after they had ironed out all the kinks.

Frank had lost his wife in 1970 to cancer, and now he lay in a hospital bed, 6 years later, dying from the same disease.  They had one son, who was killed in Vietnam, so Lucius was all he had left in the way of family.

He looked at the photocopy Lucius had handed him. "Sears Tower Explosion Leaves 12 Dead. Investigators Hint at Sabotage," Frank read out loud.
"Now, how, my friend, did you manage to stop that one?"

Lucius crossed his arms on his knees and leaned forward. "It wasn't easy...I ran into an old buddy of yours."

"Jack Brewer?"

Lucius nodded. "Jack Brewer. He's gonna lock me up and throw away the key, one of these days." He massaged his temples, as if to ease a headache.

"He just might," Frank replied, dryly.

Lucius leaned back in his chair. "That's comforting."

Frank chuckled. "So, tell me what happened."

"Well, I went to the tower and tried to warn them there was a bomb in the 3rd floor men's room. I said I had just been in there and had seen it. The young man I talked to called the cops, and they had the building evacuated when they found the bomb. After that, the headline changed," Lucius explained.

"You stuck around, even though the paper had changed?" Frank asked as he pushed himself into an upright position.

"No, Brewer caught up with me at the Sun-Times."

"Ah, they gave a description of you to the cops," Frank stated.

Lucius nodded.

"Maybe you should wear a disguise, like Spiderman or Batman," Frank suggested with a teasing grin.

"Hmph, with this body? I don't think so," Lucius laughed.

"Brewer didn't take you in?"

"Yes, but I managed to get out of it by the skin of my teeth. I told him I had business on the third floor and stopped off at the men's room on my way down and saw the bomb."

"He let you get by with that explanation?" Frank asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I could tell he didn't believe a word of what I'd just told him. Luckily the guy who planted the bomb was in the crowd that gathered outside and was a bit upset that his plot didn't go as planned. Someone noticed his odd behavior and reported it to the police. They gave a description of the guy and one of the workers in the tower remembered seeing someone fitting his description on the third floor. Since they had a better suspect, they let me go. They'll find the guy before nightfall with enough evidence that a conviction should be easy," Lucius said as he handed Frank his copy of the Sun-Times with the new article.

"Brewer warned me that from now on, he'll be watching me like a hawk and one of these days, I'll slip up. And he'll be able to catch me red handed," Lucius stated, an edge to his voice.

"You could tell him about the paper," Frank suggested.

Lucius threw his head back and laughed out loud. "Why prolong the agony, huh? Just tell him I get tomorrow's newspaper--today, so he can ship me off to the funny farm."

"It was just a suggestion. Take it ....or leave it," Frank said haltingly.  He closed his eyes slowly as his hand clasped the guardrail.

"I think I'll leave it," Lucius said as he glanced at his watch, realizing his friend was tiring. "Frank, I'm gonna...."

"Hafta go," Frank finished for him. "Something with the paper?" he asked as he handed it back to Lucius.

"No, that's taken care of for the day. I need to get to the Sun-Times and finish my...work." He dropped his head, knowing what Frank would say.

Frank shook his head sadly. "I don't know why you don't quit that job. Between that and the paper, you don't have time for a real life."

"A real life? You really think I could have a life with this thing?" Lucius asked as he snatched the photocopy from Frank's lap.

"You know you could if you wanted to....Now, don't give me that look. I was a cop for 30 years. I know what it's like to have a job that demands your time 24 hours, seven days a week. I was still able to make time for life and for love. We're not gonna live forever, Lou. I just don't want you to look back on your life with regrets when the end comes."

Chapter Two
~*~*~*~

"Meow!" *Thump*

Snow's eyes opened, and he stretched before tossing the covers back and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He slid his feet into his house shoes, grabbed his robe off the foot of the bed and put it on.  

"Meow!"

"I'm coming. I'm coming. I don't move as fast as I used to," he grumbled.

When he opened the door, there sat Cat, just like he'd been for the last 30 some odd years.  The feline rubbed against his leg before trotting into the kitchen to be fed.

Coffee--he needed coffee to start the morning. Without even looking at the paper, he tossed it on the counter, then began to make a pot of the brew.

Lucius rubbed his tired eyes. It had been after midnight before he'd made it home from the Sun-Times and he'd had a restless night,  haunted by dreams of a man he'd never seen before. It wasn't the first time he'd had dreams like this and he knew it involved the paper--somehow. It always did. Taking a deep breath, he picked up the paper and scanned the headlines.

~*~*~
The morning's tragedies averted, he went to the Sun-Times to work on the type-set. When he had the page done, he took it down to printing.

He handed the form over to Watson and was heading up the stairs when he paused, noticing another group of students was there to tour the building.

He caught a young boy staring at him. He smiled and continued on his way up the stairs to his work station where he grabbed his coat. He had just enough time to make the next save. 

~*~*~

Lucius collapsed onto his bed late that same night, he was bone tired from a hectic day with the paper, then hours hunched over a table placing letters in the type-set frame. Maybe he should take Frank's advice and quit his job as type-setter. But if he did, what would he live on? He didn't feel right using the paper for financial gain. Not that he hadn't done that in times past, but it was always for a good cause.

He groaned as he rolled over and closed his eyes, instantly falling asleep.

~~"Meow!" Cat called out to him.

"What is it, boy? What do you want me to see?" Lucius heard himself ask, although he never opened his mouth.

Cat wove his way through the streets of Chicago and Lucius followed quickly behind. He rounded a corner and saw Cat hop onto a brick wall, then sit down.

"Meow!"

Lucius looked across the street to see a young man walking down the sidewalk, whistling. He was wearing a tan trench coat and carried a brown grocery bag with a loaf of bread peeking out of the top, and a bundle of red roses.

He watched as the young man--the same one from his dream the night before--tried to unlock the door of the brownstone he had just approached. His attempt failed.

"Marcia! Marcia, it's me," the man called out.

Lucius followed the man's gaze to the second floor as a window opened.

"Hon..... Hon? Happy Anniversary!"

"Heads up!" came a female voice from the window.

Lucius watched in disbelief as the woman tossed a suitcase out of the window. Out of habit, he cried out, "Look out!" But his words had no voice.

The young man hopped backwards in time to avoid being struck on the head by the falling suitcase. He stood there, looking up at the window, stunned.

"Meow!"

"What? What do I need to know?" Lucius asked the cat.

Cat meowed again, softly, before jumping down from his perch. He trotted a few feet and looked back at Lucius and meowed again.

"I don't understand," he grumbled as he followed the cat.

He ended up at the Blackstone Hotel and followed the cat into the elevator.

"What floor?" he asked as he looked down at his companion.

"Meow!"

Lucius steadied himself against the wall of the elevator as it began to move of its own accord. When it stopped and the door opened, Cat ran down to the end of the hall.

Lucius slowly followed. He looked around at his surroundings. He was in a long hallway, with dangling light fixtures.

"Meow!" *Thump*

Snow's head jerked down and before he could take a step to retrieve the paper, a door opened and he saw the man from earlier walk into the hall and pick up the paper, while Cat snuck into his room.

"Anything can happen," he heard the man say before he walked back into the room. He started to close the door, then opened it, took another look around, then closed the door all the way. Lucius heard the cat growl and the door was opened again quickly, as the man tossed the cat into the hall and shut the door again.

A thick mist clouded his vision and he reached out for something solid to hold onto. His toe stumped against something hard and when he pitched forward, his hands landed on cold granite, stopping his fall. The mist cleared and he realized he stood in a graveyard, his hands resting on a
tombstone. His tombstone.

Cat meowed at his feet and when he looked down he saw him pawing at an object lying in front of him.

The sun broke through the mist and glinted off whatever it was that had the cat's attention.

Lucius picked it up and turned it over in his hand. It was a small, red, Swiss army knife key chain with the initials G. H. engraved on it. His brow creased as he examined it.

He ran his hand across his face. What was going on?

When he removed his hand he was in front of the Congress Hotel and saw a young boy run by him and trip--propelling his body into the street, directly into the path of an oncoming Chevrolet pickup. Before he could move, Lucius saw himself rush to the boy and grab his hand, pulling him from certain death in the nick of time.

Lucius staggered backwards and leaned his frame against the wall of the hotel as he watched himself retreat quickly, leaving behind a stunned boy--the boy from the Sun-Times tour.

"Gary! Gary Hobson. What's gotten into you? Running away like that!"

Lucius saw a blond haired woman approach the child, oblivious to the danger he had been in.

"Mom, you...you don't understand."

"No, I don't. You have some explaining to do, son."

Lucius looked down at the key chain he held in his hand.

G.H. ~~

"Meow!" *Thump*

Lucius sat upright in bed, breathing heavily. He raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his brow and realized he held something in his grasp.  

Slowly, he opened his fist and inhaled sharply when he saw a red Swiss army knife key chain, with the initials G.H. engraved on it.

Chapter Three

~*~*~*~
Lucius Snow expelled the air from his lungs in a long, loud sigh. He turned the knife over in his hand and examined it closely. There was nothing extraordinary about it except for the initials.

"Gary! Gary Hobson! What's gotten into you? Running away like that!" A voice echoed in his mind.

"Meow!"

"I'm getting too old for this," Lucius grumbled as he got out of bed to answer the insistent call of the cat.

Cat trotted into the apartment and wound his way around Snow's ankles as he opened the door.
 
"Do you know what I'm supposed to do with this?" he asked the cat as he held out the key chain.

A deep purr was his only answer. He bent over to pick up the paper, stopping halfway as he straightened.

'Indiana boy, 11, Killed.' Lucius straightened to his full height before turning and walking into his apartment. He slowly shut the door behind him as he began to read the article.

"Eleven year old, Gary Hobson, of Hickory, Indiana, was fatally struck by a pickup yesterday in the 500 block of North Michigan Avenue."  

Lucius looked at the cat, who had hopped up on the back of the sofa.

"This..this is the boy." He looked down at the key chain in his hand. "And is he also the man in the dream?"

"Meow." Cat nodded his head.

~*~
"What do you think it means?" Lucius asked Frank.

"You say, in the dream, the cat led you to this man's house, where his wife dumped a suitcase with his clothes out a window. Then, it led you to the Blackstone, where the cat delivered a paper to him? I suppose an Early Edition. Then, you were at your own grave where you found this key chain. And next, you saw yourself save this young boy from getting run over. The boy's name is Gary Hobson, and the initials on that knife are G.H.?" Frank said out loud, trying to keep things straight.

"That's pretty much it," Lucius replied.

"I think you need to not eat chili so close to bedtime," Frank replied dryly. When his joke didn't get the laugh he hoped for, he continued.  

"Well, it seems to me that this boy and this man are one and the same. Maybe you have to save this boy so he can be the next recipient of the paper," Frank deduced.

Lucius let out a breath that puffed his cheeks out. "That could be, but what's this for?" he asked as he held out the knife.

Frank's hand shook as he reached for it. Lucius looked at his friend, who seemed thinner and paler than he did two days ago.
 
"Maybe you're supposed to give him this, as a sign or something to remember you by. You know how it drives you crazy trying to find out about the man who got the paper before you," Frank suggested.

Snow raised an eyebrow. "Hmm," he muttered.

"Maybe you could convince him to have a life, so he won't spend his alone like you've done."

"You'll not give up on this, will you?"

"Not till I breathe my last breath," Frank replied as he handed the knife back to Snow.

"Frank..." he began, but was stopped by Frank holding up his hand.

"Look, Lou. I'm not long for this world, and I know it. I've accepted it. I wish you would too."

Lucius swallowed the lump in his throat and stood. "Forgive me if I hold out hope that you'll beat this thing. I still need help with this," he said, pointing to The Paper. not being able to admit out loud how much he needed his friend.

Frank smiled slightly as he slid down in his bed. "You'll find the help you need. You best go save that young man." 

Chapter Four
~*~*~*~

Lucius left the hospital with a heavy heart. He knew his friend was right; he was dying. He was glad Frank had made his peace, but he didn't know how he would go on without his friend. He shook his head to clear it. Unfortunately he didn't have time to dwell on it.  He had a boy's life to save.

~~
He paid the cab driver and stepped out onto the sidewalk in front of the Congress Hotel, just as Gary Hobson ran out of the building. Lucius saw him trip and fall--just like in the dream--before he rushed to him, grabbing his hand and pulling him to safety.

Gary looked up at him, surprise and shock registering on his face, before he turned to look after the black and white pickup that hadn't even slowed down.

Lucius made his exit quickly, as he always tried to do.

~*~

He sat down on his bed and turned the knife over in his ink stained hands, wondering just what in the heck he was supposed to do with it. Maybe Frank was right and he was to give it to Gary Hobson. But how was he supposed to do that? "Hey kid. In about 20 years, your wife's going to dump you and you'll start getting tomorrow's newspaper today," he spoke out loud.

The cat jumped up on the bed next to him. Absentmindedly, he stroked the cat's fur.  "Sometimes I wish you could talk."

~*~
"How did you change it?" Frank asked as he compared the photocopy of the Sun-Times Lucius had given him to the copy of tomorrow's paper.

The story about Gary Hobson had changed, but so had another headline that originally read,  "Ross Convicted." Now it read, "Ross Granted Mistrial."

"I don't know. Best I can figure, it had to do with that Hobson boy. But how could saving his life change the outcome of a trial?" Lucius wondered.

"You say the boy was running? Like someone was after him, maybe?" Frank asked.

"Yeah, it did seem like that. I just assumed he was running from his mother. I still don't see how that connects him to the Ross trial. It had to be something else I did."

"Lou, don't worry about it. You saved the boy. Ross's life was in the hands of the jurors. They have to live with their decision. You have to live with yours."

Lucius sighed as he gathered the papers. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right." Frank smiled weakly.

"I need to be going. Take it easy, buddy," Lucius stated as he turned to leave the room.

Frank nodded slightly in return.

~*~
The cat sat perched on the nightstand, watching as Lucius tossed and turned. His subconscious was deluged with images he didn't understand.

~~Scenes flashed before him like slides being clicked by too quickly. He tried desperately to focus--to make sense of what he was seeing.

Just when he felt so dizzy he thought he'd collapse, things slowed down.

He recognized Gary Hobson as he sat alone on his balcony at the Blackstone Hotel and as he was hit with a cane by a woman he had just saved from being hit by a truck. He watched as people called him crazy and told him he had a hero complex. He watched as women walked out of his life, one by one. Sadness filled Snow's heart--he felt as if he were watching his own life.

"Meow!"

He looked down at the cat sitting at his feet and knelt down to take the feline in his arms. When he looked up, he was standing in Lincoln Park, but not the Lincoln Park he knew. He watched as an old man, slowly walked towards a bench and sat down.

The cat leaped from Snow's arms and ran over to the bench and jumped up onto the man's lap. A smile lit up his wrinkled face as he looked down at the orange tabby on his lap. "Hey, buddy. Where ya been? I thought you'd forgotten me."

Lucius cautiously approached the bench. "Mind if I sit down?" he asked.

"No, go right ahead," the older man invited.

"Your cat?" Lucius asked.

The man chuckled. "No, I'm more his, than he is mine. Or........I used to be," the man finished sadly.

"Used to be?"

"Yeah, a few years back he found a new owner. I...I thought I didn't want him anymore."

Lucius furrowed his brow.

"Funny thing is, I've missed the little guy. All the years he was underfoot, I considered him a pest, but now," he paused as his voice cracked.  "Now, I could use the company."~~

"Meow!" *Thump*

Snow's eyes snapped open and he felt an overwhelming sense of weariness and dread. Would Gary Hobson spend the rest of his life so alone, he would miss the company of an enigmatic cat?

He tried to shake the feeling off as he strode to the door and opened it. He snatched up the Paper and scanned the headlines, thumbing through the pages for any stories that required his attention. His hands froze when he spied one article in particular.

"No. Oh no!"

Chapter Five
~*~*~*~

The nurse standing over Frank's bed looked up as Lucius opened the door.

His gaze dropped from the nurse to Frank, then back to the nurse. She shook her head sadly, answering the question Lucius had on his mind. She wrote Frank's vitals down on his chart and made her way across the room.

"What happened?" he whispered.

Placing a hand on his arm, she guided him into the hallway.

"His vitals started slowing down early this morning......" she began.

Lucius dropped his head and nodded. "Is it okay if I go in and see him? Just for a short while?"

The nurse worked her jaw as she debated  what to say. Frank was very weak and any effort on his part to talk would weaken him more, but he probably didn't have much time left and she was sure he would want to see his friend.

"Okay, but please try not to upset him in any way."

Lucius nodded his head. "I promise."

He took a deep breath to steel himself before he entered the room. Quietly he walked over to the chair and sat down.

He hated moments like this. Moments where he knew things in advance, but was powerless to change the outcome.

"Is it in the paper?" Lucius heard Frank's raspy voice ask.

He raised his head to look into the weary eyes of his friend. "Is what in the paper?" Lucius asked innocently.

"Mmm hmm. What did you decide to do with that key chain?"

Lucius shook his head slowly as he pulled the item from his pocket. "I don't know."

"You'll figure it out. I've got faith in you."

Snow's eyes misted over. "You always did. You always had faith enough for the both of us."

"No telling what would have happened to you if I hadn't been around."

Lucius swallowed hard. "I *was* the one who saved you," he replied, trying to sound more cheerful than he felt.

"And I've spent the last 30 years of my life trying to return the favor."

Frank began to cough and Lucius handed him a cup of water. He took a drink and handed the cup back to Lucius before resting his head back on the pillow.

"Frank, I..." Lucius began, then paused when faded blue eyes looked up at him. "Thank you. Thank you for being the best friend I could have ever hoped for." Lucius cleared his throat.

A shaky finger pointed to the night table. "In there. For you," Frank croaked out.

Slowly, Lucius pulled the drawer open and saw an envelope with his name on it. He took the envelope from the drawer, then closed it.

"What's this for?"

"It's...it's a key.......to a safety deposit ....box....at...at the Illinois Trust.....Bank. What's in there.......is for......you."

"Frank..."

Frank struggled to raise his hand. "Please. Don't...argue....it's......what I ....want."

"Okay, okay. Just rest. Don't exert yourself. I'll take this," Lucius said as he pocketed the envelope.

"Thaaaaankk ...you," Frank drew out, his voice barely a whisper as he closed his eyes.

Lucius took a shaky breath and held it as he watched Frank's breathing become more shallow.

"So long, buddy."

A small smile appeared on Frank's lips as he drew his final breath. Machines went off, signaling the nurses that Frank had stopped breathing. Lucius moved out of the way as they rushed in and began working on his friend.

Slowly he walked out of the room and down the hall to the elevator and pushed the down button. When the doors slid shut, he pushed the first floor button and leaned against the wall. An emptiness permeated his soul as he swallowed the lump in his throat. He was now truly alone in this world.

Chapter Six
~*~*~*~

Lucius waited patiently for the bank clerk to set the box down on the table in front of him. He steadied himself with a long, cleansing breath before he lifted the lid.

Inside was an envelope with his name on it. He picked it up and slid his finger under the flap and lifted it so he could pull the contents out.

Lou,
If you are reading this, it means my time has come.

We have such a short time on this earth and we all should make the most of it. I was fortunate enough to find the love of a good woman, father a
son, and find a friend who stood by me through it all. But I was also unfortunate enough that my wife and son were taken from me too soon. Knowing what I know now, if given the opportunity, I would not change a thing about my life. The good more than outweighed the bad.

I know I have told you this time after time during the many years we have known each other, and maybe if it's the last thing I say to you, it will make more of an impact. Live your life, Lou. And live it well. Make more friends, find love. I know you have it within you to do so. Make the time to do things you love. Go fishing, go bowling. Live life.

You were the best friend I had, besides my dear Laura, and I want to leave this world knowing that at least you'll try. I'm not asking you to make a promise to a dying man. I'm asking you to make one to yourself. I have faith in you. Please find some in yourself.

Your friend,
Frank
Live your life

"Meow!"

Lucius started when he heard the cat's meow. He blinked away the tears that were brimming in his eyes.

"Do you think it's too late for me, Cat?"

"Meow!"

"Well, I guess I better do something about that."

The legs of the chair scraped across the linoleum floor as he shoved the chair back and stood. He checked his watch. He still had some time before his next save.

~*~
He sat at the desk in his room, forehead resting on his hand. He grabbed the piece of paper in front of him and wadded it up and tossed it into the wastebasket and began writing on a clean sheet of paper.

Dear Gary,

I imagine by the time you get this letter, you have a whole lot more questions than I've got answers.

I can tell you, that I wasn't the first to get the paper, and I doubt that you'll be the last. But I am certain that by now, whatever debt you think you owe me, has been paid in full, a thousand times over. In this you've found your gift and you serve it with honor.

I can tell you, that we are the messengers between time and its keeper. You, of all people, know how fragile life is. So, somewhere between the pages of our newspaper, Gary Hobson, find time--to live it.

Satisfied with what he had written, he folded the paper and stuffed it inside the envelope and wrote 'Gary Hobson' on the outside. He slid his chair back and placed the letter inside his coat pocket. He pulled the safety deposit key out of his pants pocket and attached it to the Swiss army knife key chain
and dropped it back in his pocket. He then grabbed his coat and Paper before heading out of his apartment.

After stopping a woman from choking on a piece of lettuce in a downtown cafeteria, he went back to the Illinois Trust Bank and left the letter to Gary Hobson in the safety deposit box.

When that was done, he made his way to the Congress Hotel. He stopped when he spotted Gary talking to a young girl with glasses.

Gary shut the door to the cab and waved before turning toward the hotel.

Lucius stepped forward. "I think you dropped this, kid. You oughta be more careful, huh?" he stated as he handed the knife to Gary.

Gary took the object in both hands and looked down at it.

"It's not mine," he said as he looked back up at the tall man.

"You're Gary Hobson, right?"

"Yeah."

"Aren't those your initials right there?" Lucius asked, pointing to the knife.

Gary looked down again, puzzled, and turned the knife over to expose the initials, G.H. He shook his head in disbelief. "Yeah, but....."

"You hang on to it," Lucius said, a small smile on his face.

"Thanks, mister."

Lucius nodded as the young man put the knife, containing the key to the deposit box, in his pocket. They both turned and walked away, and Lucius felt more at peace than he had in a long while.

Epilogue
~*~*~*~

As Lucius made his way through the cemetery, Cat trotted along beside him till they reached their destination. Frank Reynolds' grave.

He put his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders against the cold November wind as he stared at the granite tombstone.

"Sorry, I haven't been by in a while, Frank. You know how busy the paper keeps me. Now, don't you start frowning. The paper *has* kept me busy,
but I've made a new friend. Actually, she's a nurse at the hospital. I..I ran into her one day when I came to visit you. We shared an elevator ride and she seemed to think I was rather attractive," Lucius chuckled.

"She asked around about me, until she found someone who knew me and she looked me up. It's nothing serious, so don't go jumping to any conclusions. She lost her husband a few years back and really isn't looking to get married. We just enjoy spending time together, when the paper allows. Can you believe it? I've even learned to play tennis. And, no, I haven't told her about the paper, yet. But, I will. In time."

"There have been a lot of changes in my life since you left. I know I put things off that I could have done sooner, and it really made me think and wish I'd paid more attention to what you tried to tell me. With that in mind, I've decided to try and keep Gary Hobson from making the same mistakes I did. You remember him, don't you? He's the kid I had the dream about......Well, I'm sure you.....If you even hear me," Lucius sighed.

"I'm sorry, Frank, but it's time for me to be going. I'll try not to be so long in between visits next time." Lucius patted the top of the stone, then looked down at the cat.

"Come on, buddy. We've got some work to do."

~The End~

Email the author:   ghobson4@hotmail.com
 

Back Home to McGinty's

Stories by Title

Stories by Author