The events in “The Black Jacket Mystery” take place in February 1976, when Dan Mangan is 15 years old. This story begins in 1969.

Dan always looked forward to May. All his mother's window boxes would be blooming with sweet smelling flowers. New York City would be sparkling, as if the winter had scrubbed it clean. His father would take him to the park to sail his toy boat. Most of all, May meant that summer was just around the corner. As a boy of 8, summer was very important.

That particular May afternoon, the dark haired boy walked into the apartment after school, as usual. "Mom, I'm home!" he called out.

The apartment wasn't huge, but it was big enough for the three of them. Dan had his own room, There was a nice big kitchen, and the living room was perfect for the evenings the three of them would sit and watch Bonanza together. Now, Dan walked into the kitchen and set his lunchbox on the counter.

Mom smiled at him. "Hello, sweetheart," she said. "Sit down, and I'll get some cookies and milk."

Mom, Dad sometimes called her Colleen, always worried about Dan. He was such a sensitive boy, and he was a little small for his age. No matter how many cookies he ate, he stayed a skinny, wiry boy.

Dan gladly sat at the snack bar to eat some of Mom's cookies - they were better than anything he'd ever tasted.

"How was school today?" Mom asked as he took a big bite of a chocolate chip cookie.

"Mmph," he said around the cookie. He took a drink of milk to swallow the cookie with. "School was fine, Mom." He made a face, "I have to write a story for Tuesday, though. It'll ruin the whole long weekend."

"What are you going to write about?"

Dan shrugged, swallowing another bite of cookie. "I dunno. Since it's Memorial Day weekend, the teacher said we should write about a hero or leader or something." He shrugged again, cramming the rest of the cookie in his mouth.

Mom frowned at him. "Danny, you shouldn't stuff your mouth like that."

Just then, the front door opened and a man's voice called out, "Where's my angel?"

Colleen's face lit up and she quickly stepped around the snack counter to hurry out of the kitchen. "Tim! What are you doing home so early?"

Dan followed his mother out of the kitchen and watched as his father picked her up and swung her around. Tim was as dark as Dan, with almost black hair and eyes. Tim was also wiry, but not as skinny as Dan. He was more than strong enough to pick up Colleen, who was a slender, petite woman. Her fiery red hair and green eyes were a shocking contrast to the darkness of her men. Dan groaned when his dad put is mother back on her feet and bent down to kiss her tenderly.

"I missed you too much to stay away, my pretty Colleen," he told her.

Dad looked up and saw Dan standing in the kitchen door. "Danny boy, I've got a surprise for you - for all of us." Dad tossed his policeman's hat on the table by the door as he strode in, drawing Mom along behind him.

Tim ruffled Dan's hair in greeting, asking, "How would you like to take a trip this weekend?"

Dan face split in a wide grin. "A trip? Where to? When can we leave?"

Tim laughed. "Well, if your Mom agrees," he glanced at Colleen from the corner of his eyes, "I thought we could go to Washington, D.C. for the weekend. We can leave as soon as we get packed."

"Washington?" Colleen asked, a frown creasing her forehead. "But how? There won't be any hotel space available, not for Memorial Day weekend."

Tim grinned. "That's where we lucked out. One of the secretaries was planning to go - she and her husband made reservations weeks ago. But her husband got called out of town on a last minute emergency, so he can't make it. She doesn't want to go by herself, so she was asking if anyone in the department wanted the room." Tim chuckled. "I wouldn't have said anything, but the captain told me I'd been working too hard, putting in too much time - he said I was making everyone else look bad." He shook his head. "Not that I believe that for a minute. Anyway, I've got the leave time, the captain told me to go, so here I am."

"I was just about to start dinner," Colleen began.

"Forget dinner," Tim told her. "We can stop at a restaurant on the way. Or we can wait until we get to the hotel - it's only about a 4 hour drive. Of course, that means we have to pack in a hurry ..."

Colleen still looked unsure. Tim and Dan exchanged a look, then turned back to her.

"Please, Mom," Dan pleaded.

"Please, Mom," Tim echoed him, grinning.

Colleen laughed. "All right, all right. Dan, go to your room and start laying out some clothes to take with you. You'll have to take your school books too, so you can work on your homework while we're gone."

"All right!" Dan yelled as he skipped joyfully to his room.

Colleen shook her head, watching him, an indulgent smile on her lips. Tim put his arm around her to draw her in for another kiss.

"Thank you, my angel," he whispered as he bent his head to hers.

Her arms went around his neck as she enthusiastically returned the kiss. After far too short a time, she broke away.

"You know you're going to pay for that later, right?" she whispered huskily in his ear.

Tim chuckled at her, playfully swatting her backside as she went into their room to pack.

An hour later, the Mangan family was packed and on the road headed out of the city. Colleen had cleaned the kitchen and notified the neighbors that they'd be gone for a couple of days. In the car, Dan bounced in his seat, barely able to contain himself.

Tall buildings and intertwined roadways slowly gave way to rolling countryside interspersed with small towns. Dan just couldn't sit quietly.

"Are we there yet? What're we gonna do when we get there? What'll we see? Is DC big?" Dan fired question after question at his parents.

Tim laughed. "Whoa, boy; Slow down, give me a chance to answer!" He glanced in the rear view mirror at his excited son. "You know that Washington, DC is the capital of our country, right?"

Dan nodded and shrugged. "Sure, everyone knows that."

"Well, that means that Congress meets there. We can visit their offices, and we can go to the White House, where the President works." Tim glanced sideways at Colleen. "Not that Nixon is doing that great a job, but it could still be interesting to see."

Colleen smiled at him, understanding his dislike of the Viet Nam War, and his dislike of the president who had gotten the country embroiled in it. Actually, Tim had an aversion to war in general, since it was a war that had taken his father from him. Viet Nam seemed even more senseless than normal, sending soldiers into a country where they weren't wanted. What a waste.

Tim smiled at Dan again in his rearview mirror. "We can visit the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. There's the Smithsonian - they've got lots of cool stuff we can see, like dinosaurs."

Dan whooped with glee. "Dinosaurs!" He'd really get to see dinosaurs!

Tim's smile slipped to a more melancholy expression. "On Monday, before we come home, I want to visit Arlington Cemetery. We can watch the presentation of the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns." In almost a whisper, he added, "and there's a special grave I want to visit."

Colleen gave Tim a somber smile, understanding the pain that special grave represented.

The rest of the drive, Tim happily told Dan of the things they could see in Washington. He also told stories of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, two heroes of American history who had been honored with monuments in the nation's capital. By the time they arrived, Tim was going hoarse.

After finding, and checking in at, the hotel, the Mangans decided to walk to a nearby restaurant for dinner. It was still daylight, and they all felt the need to stretch and work out the kinks from the long ride. Their hotel was located on Maine Ave, just a couple of blocks from West Potomac Park. After eating, they strolled down the grassy area between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. The monuments were lit with spotlights, allowing them a good view of Lincoln's craggy face. Visitors were not allowed inside the Washington Monument that late, however, so they decided to return in the morning, when they could climb to the top to get a good view of the city.

The next day, Dan woke up early. Trying to move quietly, to let his parents sleep a little longer, he went to the window to peep out between the curtains. He couldn't really see much from there, though. He decided to get himself washed and dressed, so he'd be ready as soon as his Mom and Dad were.

Colleen woke slowly, hearing the sound of water running in the bathroom. Snuggled in her husband's arms, she drowsily wondered what was happening. Noticing that the other bed was empty, she realized Dan must already be up. A few minutes later this was confirmed as the water shut off and Dan came into the room, his dark hair slicked down and fully dressed.

"Danny boy, what're you doing up so early?" she asked him softly.

Dan came to the side of the bed to whisper to her, in a voice loud enough to shatter the stillness in the room.

"I wanted to get up and be ready so we can go as soon as you and Dad get up, Mom."

Tim, not quite awake yet, groaned at the noise.

Colleen smiled. "Don't you think six a.m. is a little too early?"

Dan shrugged.

"Tell you what," Colleen told him. "It's good that you're dressed, but why don't you leave your shoes off for now, and lay back down on your bed. Just stay quiet for a few minutes, then Dad and I will get up. OK?"

Dan nodded. "OK, Mom."

Dan climbed back up onto his bed and lay down on top of the covers. He did his best to lie quietly, but his mind kept throwing up pictures from the stories Dad had told yesterday. He wanted to see for himself, and he couldn't wait. Five minutes later he bounced up again.

"Mom?" he asked in a loud whisper. "You awake?"

Colleen stifled a groan. "Yes, Danny, I'm awake," she said softly.

"Can we go get breakfast now?"

Colleen couldn't help but chuckle at his eagerness. "Okay, Danny boy, let me wake your father. You need to try to be patient for a little while longer while we get dressed."

For the next half hour, Dan tried to sit quietly. He really did. But he was practically vibrating with excitement. The paintings on the wall, which he guessed were supposed to be pretty scenes of the countryside, looked to him like nothing more than blotches of mud. The stripped wallpaper was ok, but he just wanted to jump up and follow the stripes into the ceiling. He tried to look out the window, and watch the cars on the street, but Mom scolded him to close the curtains while they got dressed. He moved the chair close to the window and draped the curtain around behind himself.

Tim came out of the bathroom, toweling his hair, to see Dan behind the curtains and couldn't help but laugh at him. "Danny boy - You do know that Washington isn't going anywhere, right? It's still going to be there in half an hour - it'll still be there tomorrow even!"

Dan ducked out from behind the curtain, his face flushed. "I know, Dad. But I just can't wait!"

Tim laughed again, and ruffled Dan's hair. "I know, Danny boy, I know."

From the moment the Mangan family left the hotel that morning, Dan lead his parents around the city, running from one historical monument to another. Begrudging even the time it would take to get a table and be waited on in a restaurant, they got hot dogs from a cart for lunch. Dan was fascinated and awed by everything they saw, hanging avidly on every word of the tour guides. He peppered his parents with questions, which they answered as well as they could, sometimes unable to keep from laughing at his more unorthodox questions.

By eight o'clock that evening, Dan was exhausted. He had barely managed to stay awake through dinner, or through returning to the hotel and taking a bath. He smiled sleepily as his mother tucked him in bed.

"G'night, Mom," he said as she kissed his forehead.

She smiled back at him. "Good night, Danny."

Tim leaned around Colleen to ruffle Dan's hair. "Good night, Danny boy."

Dan smiled at his father as he fell into a deep sleep.

Sunday morning, Dan awoke early again - but not as early as the day before. He was still excited, but Saturday's explorations of the capital had tired him out. Still, he knew he was going to see dinosaurs today - by the time the family had gotten up and dressed, Dan was twitching with excitement as much as he had been the day before.

Tim and Colleen made sure that a good breakfast was eaten by their bouncing son. Both of them smiled at him as he chattered non-stop about everything they had seen yesterday, gesturing with his fork between bites. Finally, everyone was ready, and they headed out once again to take in the sights.

Dan again took the lead, trying to hurry his parents to the Smithsonian. They finally reached the Museum of Natural History. The day was spent in wonder, going from exhibit to exhibit and building to building. Of everything they saw, the skeleton of the Tyrannosaurus Rex was Dan's favorite. He stood gazing up at the head of this once fierce creature, imagining it alive and roaring. He jumped when Tim put his hand on his shoulder.

"Holy poop!" Dan squawked.

Tim choked, but decided to ignore Dan's exclamation, especially since he hadn't really said anything wrong. He smiled at his son. "Quite a monster, wasn't he?"

Dan nodded. "It would have been amazing to see him alive - but scary too!"

Tim laughed and ruffled Dan's hair. "Definitely scary!"

That night, their last night in Washington, the Mangans returned to the hotel a little early, in order to pack as much as they could. When Dan crawled in bed, he immediately fell asleep, exhausted once again.

The next morning, Memorial Day, Tim was the first one up for a change. He sat quietly looking out the window, his thoughts miles and years away.

"Your father was a hero, Timmy. A very brave man," his mother had told him. "You look just like him, with your dark hair and eyes. Very handsome!"

His mother pulled him close, holding him tight. "I know you do, son. I wish you could've known him too. But he must've accomplished all he needed to in this life. It was time for him to move on. Someday, when you've moved on, you'll be able to meet him. In the meantime, I'm sure he's watching over you."

Tim remembered the warmth of his mother's arms, and her words on that long ago day. His eyes shown with remembered tears. "Dad," he whispered, "I hope you can see me. I hope you can see Danny. I hope you're proud."

Later that morning, the Mangans drove over to Arlington Cemetery. They had loaded their suitcases in the trunk and checked out of their hotel so they could drive back to New York when they were done at the Cemetery.

"Dad?" Dan asked. "Whose grave do you want to visit?"

Tim took a deep breath. "Your grandfather's, Danny boy. My father's."

Colleen reached across to lay her hand gently on Tim's arm. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye and gave her a half smile and a nod.

Dan watched this by-play, not really understanding the tension in his father. "My grandfather?" he asked. "You told me he was a hero, in a war," he continued, probing for more information.

"That's right, Danny boy. He was a soldier in World War II - a hero in one of the final battles against Hitler's army. He's buried here, in Arlington."

The rest of the short drive was finished in silence. They parked in the lot by the front gates and walked up the hill. Stretching away from them were neat rows of identical white headstones. Many of the headstones boasted cheesy plastic flowers, placed there by visitors.

Dan reached out to his father to take his hand. Tim smiled at him and squeezed his hand. Together, they walked toward the monument at the top of the hill.

"First, I want to visit the Tomb of the Unknowns," Tim said. "There will be a big ceremony, with the president putting a wreath of flowers on the Tomb."

The Mangans reached the white marble tomb, with its sculpted figures on one side. They joined the crowds standing quietly, waiting for the ceremony to begin. Servicemen in dress uniforms of the Navy, Air Force, Army, Marines and Coast Guard stood at attention around the tomb.

"I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours, to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of Freedom." -- Abraham Lincoln, November 1864

The ceremony was solemn and restrained. A prayer by a service chaplain was followed by President Nixon reverently placing a wreath of flowers in front of the tomb.

Once the service was complete, everyone dispersed through the cemetery. Tim Mangan took his wife and son by the hand and led them silently through the grounds. He came to stop in front of one headstone, and bowed his head. Inscribed on the stone were the following words:

Daniel Patrick Mangan
November 11, 1923 - March 7, 1945
He served his country well

Dan stood in the bright sunshine, reading the headstone that had his name chiseled into it, and shivered.

Tim raised his head, then knelt next to his son.

"There's your grandfather, Danny boy. You were named for him. He served under General Omar Bradley. He was killed near Cologne, Germany, at the Battle at Ramagen." Tim took a deep breath and hugged Dan tight. "I was two years old when he was killed. He'd left to join the army before I was born. I never knew him."

Colleen laid a hand on his shoulder, gently lending him support.

"Dan, when I grew up, I swore that my son would never feel as lost and alone as I did. I swore that my son would know his father."

Tim gently turned Dan around so they were facing. "Dan, I swore that my son would know that I love him, and always will. You do know that, don't you?"

Dan swallowed hard against the lump in his throat. He could see tears in his father's eyes as he nodded. "Yes, Dad. I know that. I love you too."

Tim pulled Dan in tight and hugged him close. Colleen knelt and put her arms around both of her men. Eventually, the group broke apart. Tim ruffled Dan's hair and smiled at him. He then looked up into Colleen's eyes, soft with unshed tears. He leaned over to give her a quick kiss.

"Shall we go home?"

Three months later, a thief at a convenience store, high on angel dust, shot and killed Officer Timothy Mangan.

Memorial Day 1970, Dan and Colleen Mangan visited the cemetery in New York to lay flowers on Tim's grave. Colleen looked tired and thin.

As they walked away, Dan looked up at his mother. "Mom, I learned more about Dad's father last year. But I don't think I've ever heard you talk much about your family."

Colleen smiled sadly. "You know my parents are dead, too, right?"

Dan nodded.

"They were killed in a car accident when I was 17." She shook her head, remembering. "My brother, Bill, was only 7. I tried to keep him with me, but social services put him in an orphanage." She sighed. "That was years ago. Unfortunately, they wouldn't give me any information about him. I don't know where he is now." She squeezed Dan's shoulder. "So you and I are all we have, Danny boy."

The years passed. Colleen and Dan moved to a smaller, less expensive apartment. Colleen worked long, hard hours. Each year, on Memorial Day, they visited the cemetery and each year Colleen looked worse. They moved again, to a tiny apartment in Hell's Kitchen. Colleen continued to lose weight. Memorial Day 1974, Dan visited the cemetery alone, a skinny boy of 13. Colleen was too tired and ill to accompany him. Within a few months, she had died as well and Dan found himself alone.

Looking back on those years was hard for Dan. It had been a bad time, but with the help of his uncle and friends, he'd pulled himself around. Now, he had a wife and son of his own. He remembered his father's wish that his son would know him, and know that he loved him. Dan had the same wish for his son.

"Read, Daddy! Read!" Timmy demanded.

Dan pulled himself out of his reverie and smiled at his four year old. He ruffled his son's hair as he settled on the bed with the requested book. He stopped, suddenly remembering the times his father had ruffled his hair.

"Daddy?" Timmy asked.

Dan smiled. "OK, Timmy. Here we go. 'Because Your Daddy Loves You.'"

Dan read the book to his young son, until he fell asleep. Then he sat and quietly watched him, enjoying the sight of his innocent slumber.

Word count: 3714

I do intend to cover the years between in other stories. I also plan to introduce Dan's wife and son more thoroughly.

Many, many thanks to my editors: Mal, CarrieLynn and Trish (the absent-minded editor)!

CWP #2.5 - Father Figures, Leaders, and Heroes - required elements:

Somebody in the act of doing something realizes that it is what his/her father always did - ruffling his hair.

Late spring-to-summer event/holiday from May 20 through end of July - Memorial Day.

Historical document, edifice, monument, or event of great significance/impact - Tomb of the Unknowns, Arlington Cemetery (Please click on the link for more information.)

Father figure (Actual, figure, virtual, past, present, future, or otherwise) - Tim Mangan, Dan's father

Hero - Daniel Patrick Mangan, Tim's father

Leader - General Omar Bradley

A battle - Battle at Ramagen (Cologne, Germany) one of the final battles of WWII

Actual book with the word Father, Daddy, Dad, etc. in the title. - 'Because Your Daddy Loves You' by Andrew Clements, illustrated by R.W. Alley

The expression "Holy poop" - Dan says when startled near the T. Rex skeleton

Ugly/cheesy plastic flowers/mementos, such as might be on monuments or graves to mark historical occasions - flowers on the headstones at Arlington National Cemetery

A carryover from a previous CWP - A Lunchbox from CWP #2.2