Who Will Find Them

Chapter 3

Jake turned to walk back to his bus when he heard a gruff-sounding voice call out.

“And just where do you think you’re going, buddy?”

Turning in the direction of the voice, Jake spotted a man in a cheap suit holding out what looked like some sort of official looking wallet with a badge attached.

I’m going back to the driver’s room and try and clean some of this NYC muck off my clothes. My run back to DC leaves in twenty minutes, and the passengers won’t be happy if I’m late.”

“Well, I guess your boss is going to have to find a different driver so those passengers will stay happy, because you’re coming to the station with me.”

“And just why would I do that, officer??? Am I under arrest?”

“It’s Detective Lieutenant Isenburg, and no, not yet, but that could change at any moment.”

“Ike, what are you doing?”

Dom had just handed the girl off to child protective services and walked back inside to find Jake and the Detective engaged in a battle of words.

“Ike, this is the driver that rescued the young girl. We never would have caught the guy if it weren’t for him.”

“Maybe so, but he still needs to come to the station and fill out a statement. Besides, I’m not convinced he wasn’t involved somehow.”

Jake was about to lose his cool when a third officer joined the conversation. This man was in his mid-fifties, with a starched white shirt, sharply creased pants, and a pair of oak leaves on his lapels. A feeling of authority radiated from him as he eyed Jake and the two policemen. He turned to Dom and asked, “Is this the bus driver I’ve been hearing about?”

“Yes, Inspector. This is Jake. It was his fast actions that allowed us to rescue the girl.”

“Good to meet you, Jake. I wish more people were aware of the things that are happening around them. I’m sure she will always be grateful to you.”

Jake actually felt a little bit embarrassed but regained his composure enough to thank the Inspector, then looked at his watch.

“If it’s okay with you, I’m scheduled to drive the 1pm back to DC which only gives me 15 minutes to get ready. I’ll be back tomorrow if there is any paperwork you need me to complete; I can do it then.”

“Tomorrow will be just fine. Contact officer Domenic Russo when you get in, and the two of you can get it all squared away. I think we’re done here, officers. This man needs to get back to work.”

Isenburg gave Jake a cold hard glare, then walked away. Jake waved goodbye to the Inspector and Dom, turned, and quickly strode down to his bus.

The looks each passenger gave Jake as they boarded were almost comical. His regular riders were used to seeing him neatly dressed, face clean, not a hair out of place, a perfect company representative. Today’s look, mud-smeared shirt and pants, shirt tail untucked, hair disheveled, and streaks of dirt across his cheeks was not who they were expecting. One man said as he stepped in the stairwell, “Having a bad day, I see.”

To which Jake replied, “Actually, this has been the best day of my life so far.”

The man paused in mid-step, looking confused, then moved on into the bus. Jake had to chuckle to himself at the guy's reaction. What happened less than an hour ago wasn’t something he was willing to share, but it made him feel good inside, even if he looked like crap on the outside.

Tickets collected and turned in, safety speech given, the bus was rolling out of the Port Authority Building and onto 39th street at two minutes past one. The rain had slowed to a lite drizzle and traffic going into the Lincoln Tunnel was light. Jake was pleased to see the world had seemed to calm down. He had dealt with enough drama for one day. Next stop: Baltimore and then DC, and home.