Jance, J.A. : Second Watch

The first dream or hallucination takes Beau back to his early days with the Seattle Police Department as a patrol officer. He and his partner, Rory (Mac) MacPherson, are called out to check on the discovery of a body some boys found in a barrel. Frankie and Donnie Dodd had been playing around where they shouldn’t have been and are afraid of what mom might do if she found out where they were.

A few days later Beau is elevated to the position of Detective. His partner, Rory, is transferred to the Motorcycle division where he has wanted to work for some time. The body of the young blond woman with red nail polish impressed the young cop and came floating into Beau’s dreams so many years later in the hospital. He had promised Monica Wellington’s mother that he would find her killer but more than 35 years later the case remained unsolved.

Every time Beau falls asleep more visitors from his past occur and as he wanders through this drug induced dreamland Beau feels a vast array of emotions. Most of the dreams are fleeting and the effects don’t linger, but some of them do.

Another dreamland visitor that lingers goes even farther back in his life. “Lennie D.” Beau’s Lieutenant while he was in Viet Nam made a visit to his hospital room with a deck of cards. Lennie had been instrumental in saving Beau’s life while in Viet Nam. In their dreamed conversation Lennie says “I never got to tell her goodbye.”

As Beau recovers and the need for pain relief lessens, he begins thinking in depth about these two dreams. Restless and in need of something to do he takes action. Mel Soames, Beau’s wife, is heavily involved with an out of town investigation of her own and some days is unable to get home at night. Beau hires a nurse and gets himself out of the hospital and goes home where he can begin work.

Re-opening the case of Monica Wellington reveals a bunch of surprises. Beau fi nds out why he and Rory so suddenly received their promotions. He also discovers missing documents in the case and in the end, after putting many miles on with his nurse as driver, solves the mystery.

A guilty conscience nudges Beau into looking for Lennie D.’s sweetheart with a message and keepsakes he wants to share with her. Be sure and read “The Story Behind Second Watch” at the end of the book, as it explains so much.

by Margie Gilbert