First Class Farewell (6 page)

After many phone calls and texts, it was decided that Mark
would begin the necessary arrangements. Family members would be arriving from
out of town starting tomorrow, but Matt didn’t want to wait to begin the
unpleasantness of planning a funeral. Mark agreed that it was better to get it
over and done with so that the grieving process could begin. Never having dealt
with a death as close as this, he sat on the sofa without even an inkling of
where to begin.

“The first thing I did when mom died was to talk to the
hospital,” Katy offered, sitting down next to him and taking her husband’s hand
in her own. “Maybe we should go down there and see what they have to say.
They’ll have a whole department just for this sort of thing. They deal with it
every day.”

Mark nodded. “Yeah. That’s the place to start.”

Matt, on the other hand, flew into CEO mode, it being much
easier than trying to deal with the emotional onslaught, immediately on the
phone with the police, as he would be the go-to person in the on-going murder
investigation. In fact, the two detectives handling the case were on their way
to his apartment to get some background on “the deceased” as they put it. At
first, Matt was put off by their callous nature, but Janie reminded him that
they saw death all day long. It would be impossible to remain focused enough to
do their job if they became emotionally involved with every one of their cases.
Matt nodded and called Eddie, the doorman, to have him send up the detectives
as soon as they arrived.

Andrew and Rory, along with Paul, had arrived at their
family home within minutes of the phone call. Liko had stayed with Maureen after
the police had left until her sons had arrived. They tried to talk to her but
she had gone into “mom” mode and was trying to make snacks for everyone. It was
going to be difficult to get her to sit down for more than two seconds. She was
obviously in shock…and denial.

David and Tim went to the hospital. They needed to be with
their father who was lying on a gurney in the hallway. The hospital was chaos,
with some kind of bizarre chemical accident sending dozens of people into the
E.R.

“Isn’t there anywhere else you can put him?” Tim demanded of
one of the nurses as she rushed past them.

“I’m sorry,” she replied, genuinely apologetic. “But there
isn’t at this time. Please try and be patient.”

“Tim, go home to Beth,” David pleaded. “I’m fine here with
Dad. And Mark and Katy just called to say they were on their way here. Beth
needs you more than he does right now,” he said nodding at his father lying
still beside them. “There’s nothing you can do here, anyway.”

So Tim took his father’s hand and kissed him on the
forehead. There was no response. He hugged his brother and left.

*****

Matt sat at his desk, pen in hand. Some thoughts had come to
his mind and he wanted to get them on paper before they were lost to him.

He put the
needs of his children above his own. Dedicated to giving his children the best
advantages possible. Kind hearted and giving. Responsible and honorable. Loved
by all who knew him.

A tear dropped from his cheek onto the paper under his hand.
How could this have happened?
But Janie stepped into the room to tell
him the detectives had arrived before he had the chance to try to come to terms
with the tragedy.

“I guess this is where we hear the ugliness of it all,” he
frowned.

And ugliness it definitely was.

He appeared to be high on drugs when he demanded the cash
from the till...in his early forties with nothing in his life but a long list
of drug-related arrests and incarcerations. Janie thought it was sad. Matt was
furious.

“So he killed a man over one hundred and forty-three
dollars.”

“It appears so,” the detective replied.

I’d’ve given the piece of shit a million dollars to have
him back again…to go back and do it all over and have it all be different now,
Matt thought. But what was done was done and all of his money couldn’t change
it.

“Thank you for your time,” one of the detectives was saying.
“We’re very sorry for your loss.”

Janie saw them out and Matt grabbed his wallet and cell
phone off the credenza and met her at the door.

“I’m going to the hospital,” he said.

She nodded. “Okay. Do you want me to come with you?”

Matt shook his head. “Stay here with the kids. They’re gonna
figure out something’s going on.”

“Should we go to your mom’s?”

Once again, Matt shook his head, knowing that his brothers
were with her.

“Okay,” she agreed. “Give him my love.”

Matt kissed her cheek and pulled her into a tight embrace.
This was where he felt safe. Here in his wife’s arms was home.

“I love you,” he whispered and then he left.

*****

“I should go to the hospital,” Maureen said for the third or
fourth time. “I should be with him.”

Paul shook his head. “David says it chaos there. And
besides, there’s nothing that you can do. We’ll stay here with you until we
hear more from Matt. He just called to say he was headed over there.”

With an audible sigh, she sat down and closed her eyes. Her
boys watched her carefully, making sure she didn’t buckle under the stress.

“How about a cup of tea?” Rory suggested.

“Good idea,” Maureen agreed, opening her eyes and preparing
to stand.

“No! No, I’ll get it,” Rory insisted. “You stay there.”

“I’m not an invalid!”

“Of course you’re not. But let us do something for you for a
change,” Andrew said softly as he sat beside his mother. “Do you want to talk
about it?”

“Talk about what?”

“About what’s happened today,” Andrew said. “It probably
isn’t good to keep it all bottled up inside.”

“What’s done is done,” she replied. “Nothing I say will
change that. I guess we should be grateful they weren’t both killed, I suppose.
But I think I should be at the hospital. I want to be there when he’s
discharged.”

“David and Matt are taking care of that, Mom. Oh, here’s
your tea.”

Rory placed a dainty cup and saucer on the coffee table in
front of Maureen and then sat on the other side of her. “Can I get you anything
else?”

Maureen smiled. “No, thank you. I just need to see Peter. I
need
to see him. Why can’t I go?”

*****

Matt stomped through the Emergency Room looking for David.
After asking three different nurses he was finally directed to a small dark
room. David hugged him as he entered the room and for several seconds they just
held each other, not saying anything.

As they separated, David spoke. “I’m so sorry, Matt.”

Matt nodded and looked over at his father. His eyes were
closed. He looked peaceful, with the exception of the cut on his forehead over
his left eye. The paramedics had placed a small bandage over it but the blood
had seeped through and left a small red stain on the bright white gauze, a
stark contrast that made the events of earlier seem very real now.

“Apparently a murder and an assault are not high on the
priority list,” muttered Matt, as he stepped towards his father. “Have you even
talked to a doctor?”

“Very briefly. He’ll be fine. They’ve just given him a
sedative because he was a bit overwrought.”

“Naturally,” Matt said.

“We can take him home as soon as he wakes up.”

“Good.”

“What’s good?”

David and Matt swung around at the voice and rushed to the
side of the gurney.

“Dad!” they both exclaimed, each one grabbing a hand.

“I’m fine,” Peter muttered, trying to sit up.

“No,” David said as he held him down. “Just lie there and
relax. I’ll go find a nurse.”

“Matt,” Peter said looking up at his son. “What happened?
Where’s Ray?”

*****

“I haven’t told him anything,” Matt whispered to Paul, as he
opened the door to help his father from the taxi. “I want him to be with mom
when he hears the news. She’ll know how to comfort him.”

Paul understood. As a Navy Seal, death was sadly a reality
he had faced too many times to count, and having to share such horrible news
should be done carefully. He leaned into the car and helped his dad slide out
onto the sidewalk.

“What happened?” Peter demanded for the tenth time.

“Let’s get you inside and then we’ll tell you everything,”
Paul replied helping him down the steps to the family room door.

“Peter!” Maureen exclaimed and ran to the door to greet her
husband. “Oh, God! You’re hurt!”

“I’m fine,” he grumbled. “Is Ray here?”

With a startled expression, Maureen looked to her sons. They
guided Peter to his favorite armchair and settled him down with a pillow behind
his back. Matt knelt in front of him and held one of his hands.

“Dad,” he began. “What do you remember?”

Peter took a deep breath. “I walked into the market. I just
wanted some aspirin for your mother. Oh, Maureen!” His attention immediately
turned to his wife. “Are you alright? I never got the aspirin.”

She smiled at him. “I’m fine, dear. Don’t worry about me.”

“And then?” Matt asked.

“There was a man…with a gun. He was yelling at the young man
to give him all the money in the cash register. He was screaming and waving the
gun around and I yelled at him to leave.”

“Of course you did,” Paul shook his head.

Peter had always stepped in when he felt someone was being
mistreated. At work, at school, in the park, it didn’t matter. He’d said that
he felt a moral obligation to stand up for that which was right and he’d passed
his sense of responsibility down to his sons. He’d always said that he had a
duty to fight for those needing assistance. And a man with a gun pointed at him
was
surely
in need of assistance. Even at eighty years old, Peter would
never have backed away from that.

“And then?” Matt encouraged him to continue.

“He swung around and told me to shut up,” Peter said. “And I
told him that I would give him the money he needed if he’d just put the gun
away, but he wouldn’t. So I reached for my wallet and that’s all I remember. I
was going to give it to him so he’d leave but I guess he hit me.” Peter reached
for his forehead and winced as he touched the cut that was now causing his skin
to turn bright purple.

“I should call Katy and have her come change the bandage,”
Maureen said.

“I’m fine,” Peter repeated. “Tell me what happened, Matt.”

“Ray ran in when he saw what was happening is the police’s
guess. The cashier said that he fought the guy for the gun, but…it went off,
and…”

“And?” Peter asked, tears filling his eyes, somehow already
knowing the answer to his question.

“And Ray was shot. He died before the ambulance got there.”

“Oh, dear God,” Peter cried.

*****

Raymond Charles Thomas, beloved father and friend,
the
obituary in the paper began, written by Matt and Ray’s two daughters who had
arrived in New York from Michigan on Friday afternoon. They were devastated and
grateful to the Lathems for handling the funeral arrangements.

Separated from their dad in their childhood when their
mother had moved them to her hometown of Detroit, the girls hadn’t seen much of
their father, but in recent years had opened up communication and were slowly
becoming close with him again through email and phone calls. He was paying for
their college tuition and spoke with them as frequently as possible. Their
future with him had been mercilessly snatched from them and they mourned a man
they were just starting to get to know. How cruel life could be.

Ray had been raised by a single mother in Harlem. His older
brother had died at the age of seventeen in a gang related shooting and Mrs. Thomas
had done all she could to ensure Ray didn’t follow in his footsteps. And he
hadn’t. Joining the army, he’d served for eight years, spending five of them in
the Middle East during Desert Storm as an Army Ranger. He’d been employed by a
security firm for a couple of years before meeting Matt and accepting his offer
of employment. He’d said many times that next to having his daughters, it was
the smartest choice he’d ever made, working for MEL Holdings. He’d loved his
job and had grown to love the family. When his mother had died a few years
before, it was Matt and Janie who’d been there for him, whose shoulders he’d
cried on, who had comforted him. They were his family.

Ray had separated himself from the life he’d had as a boy.
He’d encouraged his cousins to follow in his footsteps, offering all the help
they needed to get out of and away from the gangs that ruled their neighborhood
and become respectable citizens, returning to school and being fathers to the
children they’d sired. But many of them hadn’t listened to him and they’d
drifted apart, and once again Ray claimed the Lathems as his family.

And the Lathems claimed him. First a reliable employee and
then a trusted driver, Ray became the man that Matt confided in and leaned on
in times of trial. He was the loyal friend who watched over Matt’s children,
Ella and Christopher, like they were his own. And they loved him back. Matt
didn’t know how to break the devastating news to his kids. They were too young
to experience such loss and be exposed to senseless violence like this. They
would be robbed of their innocence but it couldn’t be helped…he couldn’t
procrastinate too long.

The funeral service would be the following week. It would be
a small affair. The girls wanted it to be private…they wanted to be able to
mourn the loss of their father without hundreds of eyes on them. Ray wasn’t a
church-goer, and neither were his daughters, but they thought a religious
service would be appropriate, so it was arranged with Father James that St.
Luke’s would hold the service. They also would respect his wishes and have his
body cremated.