ChiefE

The opening events went off without a hitch. In spite of the emotional upheaval from earlier in the day, both Caterina and Dan were the perfect hosts.

Opening festivities included all the Chiefs and their spouses to an open bar, followed by the Chiefs introducing themselves to each other. Many of the Chiefs wondered where the hosting State Police and the Honolulu Police Chiefs didn’t show up with their spouses until everyone started to sit down for the formal dinner.

The look of discomfort on several of the Chiefs faces could easily be seen from any where in the room. Many of the Chiefs speculated that there was a problem with the hotel to a possible tidal wave may be on the way.

The opening speech was turned over to the former Chief of Hawaii Five-O for a reason no one understood until he got up to speak. While Steve McGarrett gave the opening address, he apologized for his unexpected appearance for the opening ceremony. “It is my sad duty to inform my fellow Chiefs, that a good friend of the current Chief and Deputy Chief of Five-O was killed in the line of duty last night. Because of this, I was asked to welcome everyone to the Annual Police Chief Convention here in Honolulu. Because of this lost, we will be ending the evening earlier then expected. Lady Caterina informed me that there would be a memory service is being planned at this time for Monday morning. That will be the only change in the scheduled events. Tomorrow morning at breakfast your schedules will be handed out. For those of who wish to enjoy the band that has been hired for the evening, you are welcome to stay. For others, you are welcome to enjoy the evening night life that Honolulu and Waikiki offers,” then Steve sat down next to Caterina and squeezed her hand. “I think it’s time for Danno to take you home Kitten.”

Caterina didn’t protest her big Cousin suggestion but only turned to Dan, “Can we leave?”

“We sure can. It may a little time to get out of here but I’ll take you home now,” Dan said quietly getting up and putting the shawl over his wife’s shoulders. The Williams left without anyone stopping them. Right behind them was Honolulu and Maui Police Chiefs with their spouses.

When the evening ended unexpectedly early due to the news of Chief Olsen’s death it put a wet blanket on evening for everyone. Most of the visiting dignitaries opted to head for their hotels since several of the visiting Chiefs were still suffering from jetlag, and had a chance to get to bed earlier. Some of the others just went for a quiet walk on the beachfront by their hotels.

At six o’clock on Saturday morning, breakfast was served at the Academy cafeteria. Buses provided transportation to the Academy grounds for the Chiefs who were served breakfast and handed a schedule of events for the next five days. They found that each day the events would be over in the early afternoons, which would leave them, time to enjoy the rest of the day with their families. Suggested places to see or do were the beaches, Pearl Harbor, and the Iolani Palace, just to name a few.

During the breakfast the Chiefs were informed the memorial service was scheduled for ten o’clock on Monday morning. This memorial would not affect any of the scheduled events other then Lady Caterina’s lecture and that afternoon they would not have off as originally scheduled.

Still adversely affected by the death of her friend, Caterina did not feel up to the various festivities scheduled for the Chief’s spouses and their children. Duty and commitment forced her to attend several of the events because she had no choice. Other then that she remained at the Academy doing her normal job.

The Academy’s surveillance equipment was maintained and upgraded on a yearly basic with the most modern equipment. Part of the security agreement, required Remington Steele to make sure all was in perfect working condition and he was using this agreement to visit his old friend Caterina in her office.

But Steele’s real motive was to find out how Caterina was holding up after the death of her friend. Exiting the video room, he just happened to over hear her speaking with Deputy Chief Ground about the pending arrival of Olsen’s remains. Apparently he would arrive mid-week and that his last wish was to be buried on his adopted home island of Maui.

Being a kind and courteous person, Steele waited silently until Caterina was finished with her call. Once she was done, he lightly tapped on the door and stepped in taking a seat in front of her desk.

“I’ll make the arrangements for the transportation of the body Grounds . . . but first I want it flown to Honolulu,” Caterina informed him with a heavy heart. “A memorial service is going to be held at the Academy during the convention Monday morning. We’re also going to broadcast this via one of the local networks here so that the State Police in Montana can see it. I’ll let you know what station you turn on to see it. Or if you prefer, it can be just video taped and sent to you to play at a later time.”

When Caterina hung up the phone, she saw movement in her office, and then saw Steele sit down in front of her desk.

“You okay, Caterina?” he asked her, the care and concern clearly evident in the tone of his voice and his facial expression.

“I’m doing okay. Everything is going as planned for the convention,” Caterina replied attempting to smile but failed miserably.

“I’m doing okay, Harry, really I am,” Caterina said but not believing her own words. “I just can’t wait for is this DAMN convention to be over with so life to get back to normal around here,” Caterina said with some heated anger. She paused as she took a few deep breaths and a sip of her warm tea. “Dannya’s pleased that there has been no problems here in Oahu, unlike the Commissioner’s convention in New York a few months ago,” she said rubbing her tired and still slightly bloodshot eyes. The stress of the past couple of weeks and Ted’s death were quickly using up the last of her energy reserves.

“This convention hasn’t been as much fun as I had hoped my first Chief Convention would be. I had hoped to get a chance to relax and to enjoy just being Mrs. Chief Dan Williams,” Caterina finished saying.

“Maybe next year you will be able to have that kind of fun,” Steele told her with a light tone to his voice.

“Yeah, maybe next year. Maybe next year one of the kids will be too sick for me to go with Dannya. Maybe next year Dannya may not be chief. Maybe next year a lot of things could happen,” Caterina shot back resentfully.

Steele didn’t respond back because he knew she was hurting. This was her chance to vent some of her frustration.

After a brief pause Caterina continued, her voice heavy with emotion. “I’m sorry Harry. I’m just out of it with Ted’s death. The memorial service is tomorrow and then there is the Big Aloha for him at the end of the week in Maui,” she told him as the tears started to run down her cheeks again.

In one smooth action, Steele rose from his chair and plucked a few of the tissues out of the box on Caterina’s desk and handed them to her so she. He completely understood her feelings and knew what she needed right now was just to have someone listen to her.

“His parents are making the arrangements, as we speak, for the Big Aloha on Maui. I’ve arranged to have my small private jet flown over to Maui to pick them up so they can attend tomorrow services,” Caterina told him, the tone in her voice becoming more normal with each word spoken.

With a heavy heart and soul, she continued to do her job as the head of the Academy. She was doing nothing more then the mechanical duties of her job. Dan had checked in on her from time to time but had left her alone for the most part. So Steele’s visit was a welcome interruption and she was pleased to see that he didn’t seem to be in a hurry to leave.

His companionship was a welcome diversion for Caterina. They talked about their kids and what they were up to these days and of how proud he was being a dad. He even talked about some of the cases he and Laura had handled for the past several months. As they talked he noticed she only half heard what he was talking about. He also knew that when she got fed up with him she would kick him out of her office without a second thought.

Dan returned to his office when he heard male voice came from Caterina’s office. Although the voice sounded familiar, he couldn’t place it until he stepped over to her open door. Inside he found Steele sitting in the chair in front of his wife’s desk. “Why is it Steele, very time you are in town I find you alone with my wife?” he demanded, his arms crossed in front of him.

“Well at least it is her office, which beats you finding me alone with your wife anywhere else. Doesn’t it?” Steele teased with one of his dazzling smiles. “Beside if I got caught elsewhere, you and my wife would hand me my head on a silver platter.”

“True, true,” Dan replied with a laugh. “With you it mostly likely could be a stolen silver platter.”

“Is the surveillance equipment in working shape? Or are you here just to bother my Deputy Chief from her normal duties?” Dan asked without skipping a beat as he sat on the edge of the desk facing Steele in his very official manner.

“I’ve just finished checking the equipment, and you will be pleased to know that it’s in great shape. Plus, I’m here to go over Laura’s and my agenda for the seminar in the next couple of days,” Steele told him.

After Steele got what he came for, he decided not to push his luck with Dan and left. “See you later Catie. Oh, yeah, you to Daniel of course,” he said with a wink at Caterina that made her smile just a little.

The day before the memorial services, Sir Gregg Merlin received an unexpected call from Caterina, his old friend and former classmate. She explained the situation and asked him if he would perform his magical act for the families of the Chiefs during the services.

Gregg readily agreed even under such short notice because he too had been a former classmate and close friend of Ted’s. He would like have to attend the services themselves, but in this way he was doing his part and he knew that Ted would have approved. Ted had been instrumental in encouraging him to follow his desires years ago and now he was a well-known magician in the State of Hawaii.

With his show set up in the gym, Gregg kept the families and some cadets entertained with his magick act which include various tricks, reading several palms and tarot cards of the Police Cadets that were assisting him. As his show progressed, other adults joined his audience from the Academy Staff. When the services were over, Caterina walked over to the gym and invited everyone to come outside for lunch. As his audience left several of the cadets who had assisted him during the performance helped him pack his equipment and put it into his van.

The Academy’s athletic field was packed Monday morning with the visiting Chiefs, their spouses, all the off duty Honolulu and Maui Police officers, the off duty Fire Department officers, a handful of the Emergency personnel, as well as several of the big wigs from the various governmental offices and community positions. Many of Chief Ted Olsen friends and former co-workers spoke of the many exploits and wonders the man had performed during his time on Oahu and of the many small community positions that he had held throughout the years before he took his position as Deputy Chief on Maui.

During the services the theme song from his Academy Days was playing in the background as Caterina got up to speak. The song was “The Night Chicago Died” song by Paper Lace from 1974. “Ted and I were good friends from our academy days and as you may think this song is in bad taste, but Ted and I use to have fund singing it together in the hallways. Of course, we both were usually out of tune and way to loud about it. We did it just to bug the heck out of our instructors.” Caterina laughed to herself at the memory of the two them. “Ted, I love you and will miss your weekly check-ins on how the State of Hawaii is doing versus the State of Montana. Good-bye old friend.” Then Caterina put a lea on the picture of the Ted that as on the stand behind her. That as followed by her coming to a full salute and a thunder of every officer in the stands also snapped to attention as well, to give there follow fallen officer a salute.

During the luncheon, Merlin tried several times to speak to Caterina, but it seemed like the other people always surrounded her. Time was getting late and he had to get to one of the five star hotels across town for an afternoon performance. He would be showcasing at that fancy hotel for the next month. Slightly disappointed he turned to leave but stopped when he heard a familiar voice called his name out.

Dan smiled and shook his hand in appreciation. “Thanks for your special performance this morning especially since it was on such a short notice. Catie and I both appreciate your help and contribution,” he told him as he handed him the check for his time.

“It was my pleasure to help in anyway I could. Plus, I’m glad to have this opportunity to do what I can for Ted and Lady Caterina,” Gregg replied as he pocked the folded check without looking at it. He had a feeling of guilt taking the check but was not sure how to tell Chief Williams that. After they said their good-byes, Gregg headed for his van.

As Gregg sat at the red light, he took a moment to look at the check. It had Caterina’s signature on it and had been drawn on her personal account, not on the Academy’s. The check was much more then he had expected. When he had talked to her she had agreed to pay him minimum wage for his performance, but this check was for four times that amount. He thought, * can’t take this money. Not for what I did this morning. It wouldn’t be fair to Ted. Ted was always so good to me and so very helpful when I needed him to be. He always loaned me a few extra bucks to get through the week when I started my magick act but now this check was too much for me to accept * As his van went around the corner, he decided to void the check and would return it to her with a note.

After lunch the visiting Chiefs bid their families goodbye before they went into the Academy auditorium for the afternoon lecture. There they listened to Caterina’s speech on ‘How Honolulu State Police and Fire Academy Became the Number One Training Facility In The Country.’ She had been asked on several occasions to make this speech over the last few years, but would never leave Hawaii to make it because she wanted to make this speech for the first time when her husband attended his first Chief’s convention.

Dan gathered his papers together and ascended the stairs to the stage. He took a few moments to allow the visiting Chief’s to settle back in their chairs. When he saw that everything was basically ready, he began his portion of the afternoon session. “Afternoon every one. I realize now may not be best time to continue this convention but in our line of work, we have to continue doing our jobs no matter what. Last night my youngest daughter Danielle asked me ‘Daddy why don’t you get time off after someone dies in the line of duty?’ Let me tell you that was one of the hardest question that I’ve had to answer. All I could tell her, and my other three children, ‘because the bad guys never stop just because a cop dies. As officers of the law we have to go after those bad guys. Police officers take it harder when one of our own dies and because of that maybe we try just a little harder to get that person’.”

“Now that I have said that, I’m going to have to pay my wife this evening for using part of her lecture she is going to use in her decision. I guess that’s the price you pay when you are lucky enough to be married to the top training officer in the State of Hawaii, no less the United States. It’s easy to borrow parts of her speech when you get to hear the same speech a number of times.

“So now without further ado my lifetime partner in crime, my wife, my number one Deputy Chief of Hawaii Five-0, Lady Caterina McGarrett Williams,” Dan said as he held out his hand to his wife. A large round of applause was heard from the auditorium.

“After that introduction, this lecture better be a good one, otherwise my annual raise and performance review will not be so great,” Caterina joked with her audience.

This comment brought a round of laughter from everyone. And a hardier laugh from Dan, before he whisper in Caterina’s ear, “You’ll do great sweetheart. Just relax and think of these people the same way you do the cadets you train or some of the woman’s groups you address.”

Caterina squeezed her husband hand for reassurance and took a deep breath before beginning her lecture. “For the next ninety minutes, I will give you a break down of how I took one of the last place Police Academy and helped bring it to the number one position it has held for the past few years. I’ll apologize now for the slide show presentation you are about to sit through but it’s the best way for me to show what has happened here since the day I entered the Academy as a cadet back in 1974. You well notice that this presentation also follows along my life as a cop.” She went on to describe in details her academy days through her street life as a cop, through the beginning of her career with Five-0 until she was assigned to the Police Academy, where she made many improvements and changes.

When the presentation was over, the audience broke up into various groups and was escorted through the Academy by an assigned instructor.

Caterina could breath easier now that her big lecture was over and once the auditorium was empty, she left the stage and sat down in one of the seats in the front row. Exhaustion allowed a loud sigh to escape as she looked down at the floor. Suddenly in front of her was a shinny pair of black shoes that she knew only to well. Slowly she looked up at the face of the man standing in front of her, who had the biggest and warmest smile in his eyes.

“That was the best lecture I have ever heard given at one of these conventions, plus it was the best you have ever gave. Congratulations Kitten on a job well done,” retired Chief Steve McGarrett said to his Cousin Caterina.

A very tired and weary Caterina embraced her big Cousin, “Thanks Steve. Coming from you that is high praise.”

“Your welcome, Kitten,” Steve said and returned the warm hug. “You have always done an excellent job for Five-0. I may not have told you that enough or in the right way but I’m very proud of you as one of Hawaii’s finest. I think even your parents would be very proud of what you have been able to do with your career.” He looked around to see if anyone was around, “you’re even a better cop then that husband of yours.”

Caterina giggle at the reference when she saw Dan come up behind Steve like old times.

“I’ve always told you Steve, how good she was and is,” Dan said to Steve’s surprise.

Steve just gave Dan one of those looks that in his younger years would have had Dan on the run for some reason, but now he stood tall and firm.

The final evening of the convention was upon them. Laura Holt Steele gave the final keynote speech as she spoke on the incorporation of the private detectives working along with the various police departments all over the United States and the world. Her speech included the first time she came to Honolulu to protect a multi-million dollar coin exhibit.P The speech, which lasted about an hour, was well received by all the Chiefs and their spouses at the final dinner.

A few of the Chiefs questioned Steele about his work with Laura. The fact that these questions were related to Laura’s performance and not his own surprised him. He knew what his wife was capable of and the great odds she had fought to have their agency known as one of the best in California.

Dan was approached and complimented by several of the female Chiefs on how well they enjoyed the entire event. They mentioned how pleased they were to see so many women in high-ranking positions come from all over the United States and take part in the various lectures/sessions.

“I’m glad you enjoyed the convention but I have to say that it was Caterina who was responsible for lining up a number of the guest speakers,” Dan said as he put his arm around his wife’s waistline pulling her closer to his side.

Chiefs Baron, Vestors, Jread and Matella all looked at Caterina and spoke in unison “Very well done Lady Caterina.”

“Thank you, very much. I only followed the guidelines sent forth by the Chief Convention mandates. Besides putting a woman in charge can do amazing things that the male population doesn’t expect,” Caterina said a measure of tease to it.

“True, true. But it also takes a good support team to make it all work,” Chief Jread said.

“Agreed, I totally agree with you. I would put total trust into that equation,” Steele said from behind Caterina. “Women can do anything they wish to with the proper support and trust.”

“Mr. Steele it is a pleasure to meet you in person at last,” Chief Vestors said.

Steele walked around Caterina to shake Chief Vestors hand, “Thank you Chief. It’s pleasure to meet you. I was very pleased to be invited to your little gathering.”

Dan thought to himself, *If I had had my way, you wouldn’t have been invited at all.*

“Yes, the Steele Agency has worked with Five-0 on several occasions in the past,” Caterina told him graciously accepting the compliment. “In fact, Remington was instrumental in setting up the security system at our home as well as the one currently in place at the Police Academy.”

The reaction of several of the Chiefs was one of amazement that someone of Steele’s reputation would such a thing, after he was an international know detectives.

“We all had to start somewhere Chief, and The Williams’ family was amongst some one of our first clients to give the Steele Agency its early beginnings,” Steele said with Laura now standing by his side.

“That is so true. We started off small and gradually, through dedicated work and effort, became as large and as well known as we are today,” Laura commented to her husband statement.

The last evening continued its festivities with dance music in the background and different groups of Chiefs getting together to talk shop. The evening ended around ten o’clock in order to give everyone a chance to pack for the next day’s departure.

After everyone had left, Dan asked the DJ to play two more songs so he could dance with his wife. They danced to the music of Kenny Rogers ‘Lady’ topped off with David Cassidy singing “Cherish.” They continued to dance even after the music had died away. Saying their final goodbyes to the DJ and thanking him for favoring them with his last request, they departed and went home for a good night sleep.

The next morning was the farewell breakfast. Dan gave his farewell address just before introducing Caterina once again.

“Aloha and Mahalo for attended the Annual Chief’s Convention. I know this convention was little longer then usual. Two days longer in fact but that was because your entire families were invited and we knew that it would be a rare occasion for you to come and visit our beautiful Aloha State.

“My wife has told me of the many tall tales about her asking her cousin Steve McGarrett, the former Five-0 Chief, if she could attend past chief conventions. She had asked him for several years, ‘why can’t I come along with you,’ and he always replied with the same answer, ‘It’s a convention with a lot of training seminars and speeches for three days. Plus they wouldn’t have any time to have fun together’.”

“When I first joined Five-0, I witnessed one of these annuals rituals. I watched Catie in her cousin’s office saying a few things that were not to kind about her older cousin. After she left the office, I remember Steve saying to me with a big smile it’s an annual disagreement they have had every year. Then he said ‘I don’t know why but one day she will get her wish to attend one of these Chief convention and find out it is not all fun and games’. Then he laughed before saying “She really is a good kid.”

“As my wife’s first Chief convention, she has taken full advantage of her position as she set up this years convention. It was one of her main desires to make sure that the spouses and children were invited and had plenty of activities to keep them entertained. This way the entire family of each Chief could enjoy a short five-day working vacation in our Aloha state. As a result, she has driven everyone crazy as she prepared for this week. But she also did it with a great deal of pleasure. Unfortunately her first convention didn’t turn out the way she had dreamed, plotted and planned it would.

“It changed for Catie the afternoon of the opening event of the convention when she was informed her former classmate died. The other day, we all paid our respects to Chief Ted Olsen at the memorial services. It was Chief Amos Burke of LAPD Homicide who suggested that all the Chief’s would want to pay their respects. I know the Olsen Family was very pleased at the services that were held on Monday. Mrs. Olsen wrote me note requesting that I relay to all of you. ‘Thank you all for your support after the death of our son. The Olsen Family’

“Now it is time to say Aloha to you all. All of your luggage has been placed on the various buses, which are waiting outside this hotel for you to board. I’m sorry to say that all of them have been gone through to make sure they are safe from any unauthorized items. This will help to get your luggage through the check throw process quicker since curbside check in is not allowed at Honolulu airport. The various airlines have allowed us to do this for them, plus we have placed the Five-0 seal of approval on each piece of luggage in the form of a luggage tag that has already been checked.

“Everyone who is leaving on later flights will be going through the same process.

“I hope everyone has enjoyed their time here in Honolulu and will come back to visit us again. Hopefully the next time you will come it will be purely for vacation reasons only,” Dan finished with a big smile that got an additional round of laughter from everyone. With an inordinate amount of pride, Caterina stood next to her husband when he had finished.

“Mahalo and aloha everyone and I hope you all enjoyed your breakfast along with your last few hours in Honolulu. For those of you who are scheduled to take the early flights please follow these HPD officers to your buses,’ Caterina said as she pointed to the line of officers waiting at the door, “They can tell you which bus you will need to board.” For the next several hours, the hotels all over Honolulu gradually emptied out of the remaining Chief’s and their families.

With their tasks completed, Dan and Caterina returned to the Five-0 offices and began their regular duties. Even thought the exhaustion was clearly evident on Caterina’s face, Dan knew that going home was not an option at this point in time. They had work to catch up on and he knew that she needed to keep herself busy.

The many duties of setting up this convention had put Caterina way behind in her normal schedule, something she didn’t like. As soon as she sat down at her desk, she began to plow through the piles of work, which had managed to grow enormously in her short absence.

The pile of work that had accumulated on Dan’s desk kept him busy as well. Frequently he would check in on Caterina from time to time. The shared doorway made it easy for him to see that she was back into full swing of getting the Academy’s business done and up to date once again. * That’s my Lady McGarrett. When there is work to be done, a McGarrett will get it done every time, * he thought to himself with a smile while he thought of years past being part of what Caterina joked about as the McGarrett sandwich, Steve on one side and her on the other.

Before either of them knew it, it was the dinner hour and time to go home. Caterina had to leave alone since Dan had received a call to go somewhere once again.

Caterina, as usual, had prepared dinner for the family and had decided to eat with her children, who disappeared in their various directions when they finished their meal. She was just about to call a couple of them back to do the dishes when Dan walked in the front door.

The rules of house dictated that Dan put his shield and weapon away before entering the house proper. He heard noise in the a kitchen which he entered to put his arms around his wife and plant a loving kiss on the nape of his wife’s neck. He then turned her around for a more passionate kiss on her sweet lips.

“Mommy,” Quentin called as he came into the kitchen, “can I go over . . .” He saw his father and changed his mind about his request. “I’ll just call Johnny on the phone instead,” then left them alone.

They both loosened their embrace and chuckled, “You manage to get our children to disappear when you come through the door lately,” Caterina teased Dannya as she kissed him quickly on his sweet lips. “Why don’t you go say hello to them and I’ll heat up your dinner.”

The heady aroma of dinner still whiffed through the kitchen as Dannya left Caterina to heat up his favorite meal and tinker around the kitchen. A pleasured smile appeared on his face as he went to do his fatherly chore of seeing what trouble both sets of twins were up to. He was tired after a long day but enjoyed what time he got to spend with his children. He found Quentin in the living room on the phone. DJ was in family room on the computer researching information for a report. Genevieve and Daniella were on the phone in master bedroom. From what he could hear they were on the phone with Granddad Steve telling him about their day in school and Steve laughing at something the girls had said.

Saturday morning, under a Honolulu and Montana State Police escort, Caterina’s private family jet flew the body of Chief Ted Olsen back to Maui for his Big Aloha services.

A multitude of friends and former co-workers attended the funeral where Ted was given a twenty-one-gun salute. The honor guard had been comprised of several of Honolulu, Maui and the Montana State Troopers, all dress formal uniforms.

His eulogy included his fine work as a top police officer in Maui before he accepted his position as the Chief of the Montana State Police. It also was mentioned that in Maui he had gone as far as he could as a Deputy Chief and that he knew it would be years before his boss Chief Gary would retire. The eulogy touched on how, as a child, he grown up in Montana where his father had served as a Sergeant in the Montana State Troopers. It was told how his father had been injured on the job and then moved his family back to Maui because his wife was from the Islands before they were married. The eulogy told of how much he loved Hawaiian Islands and how he had been part of the experimental class of 1975 at the Academy.P

At the end of the service, a long line of attendees draped the coffin with leis of flowers and Mali leaves as a last sign of respect to their fallen comrade. Then everyone paid their respects to the Olsen family, Ted’s parents, his sister-in-law plus his two children before they headed back to Honolulu.

The funeral had provided the needed closure for Caterina, who remained in their private area of the plane with Dan. There she spent the entire trip in his arms chatting about her relationship with Ted and the fun they had in the Academy. The two of them talked about some of the assignments she and Ted had had together and of many other things.

Dan knew his wife well. He knew she needed to do this to help her get past this loss in her life. He also but in his two cents about the relationship that had developed over the years. In his life, there was only one man that bothered him any time he was close to Caterina. He knew his wife well enough that he didn’t question her loyalty to him but STEELE bothered him every time he was alone with his wife. He knew it was stupid. He knew nothing happened but yet that MAN bugged him no end.

Caterina was concerned for Ted’s sons because she knew the feeling of losing both parents at an early age. Ted had been a widower for the past five years and left two adopted sons, Tom eleven and George ten without any parents. Now the grandparents and their Aunt Bett would have to bring up his children.

She also decided with Dan about setting up a trust fund for Ted’s sons so there would something in the bank for their future. He agreed, even though he knew she would do it with or without his blessing. Dan knew all to well how many trust funds Lady Williams had set up over the years for children of police officers that were close friends that had children.

By the time the jet had landed, Dan saw that Caterina had finally started to relax. Both of them looked forward to some much-needed rest before the normal Williams family craziness began again in the morning. The house was empty because the children were with their Granddad Steve for the day. This arrangement would allow Dan and Caterina to have a rare quiet evening together.

As soon as they entered the house, Caterina checked the mail. Most of it was just the normal monthly collection of bills, but there was a plain white envelope addressed directly to her ‘Lady Caterina Williams.’ Puzzled at this find, she noted that there was no stamp on it, which meant whoever it was from knew where she lived. In addition, there was no return address on the envelope. Being a cop, she was suspicious. The thought of all those mail bombing raced through her head, but for some reason her gut told it was safe. Maybe she knew it was safe because she recognized the handwriting on the envelope.

Dan was in the kitchen getting something for them to drink when he heard his wife start to cry again, so he quickly went over to her to see the note in her hand. He thought *what did it say that made her cry?*

Thank you for the chance to perform for the children during the Ted’s Memorial Service. It was an honor to do it for you but I can’t accept this check for my performance. My performance is my final tribute to our old friend and classmate. I wish you use this money for advancing the training at the Academy in Ted’s name. I know you will use it the right way.

Dan smiled warmly as he gave his wife a reassuring hug. “Gregg is a good man and some how I knew he wouldn’t accept payment for the other day,” he told her as he put the note and check into her Academy financial folder. Then he slowly turned to his wife to take her hand in his as he headed for the bedroom for some nice undisturbed peace, quiet and maybe a just little bit of pleasure.

P Please read “Shipp Caper” for the details of this coin collection. This story should be released soon.

P This is revealed in Academy Years Section” which is forthcoming in the near future.