Eleven Days: An Unexpected Love

by Lora Lindy

  “What do you mean?” She was confused by his question.

  “The Borders were killed at least a week ago, and we don’t think it’s coincident or random. You have been here a week and I want to know if you remember seeing or hearing anything out of the ordinary.” Mike asked while swigging on his coffee, trying not to act upset or anxious. From past experience as a cop he knew if he acted calm everyone else would act calm.

  “Other than three men trying to kill me and your agent being killed, and I nearly died on the road last night, and I fainted at the police department, and people died next door. Yes I would say a few things happened out of the ordinary.” She was teary eyed by now. How could he ask her such a ridiculous question?

  Mike looked at her not knowing what to say. He realized how stupid that question was. Maybe he should have reworded it.

  Before she could fuss at him anymore she remembered something. “Wait a minute. Remember at the restaurant I saw a familiar face?”

  “Yes.”

  “I saw that same face at the police department when they loaded me in the ambulance.”

  “Where did you see him?”

  “He was standing with the news people, and he had that same mad look. But the oddest thing I noticed, he changed that mad look to a smirk, almost smiling. Another thing, as they loaded me in the ambulance I noticed he looked up, as if he noticed something. And Mike what I’m about to tell you may sound stupid.”

  “What?”

  “He had the same face, but his hair was different somehow. Maybe he dyed it or combed it different, but it was noticeably different. I never forget a face, but I couldn’t tell you anything about hair, clothing, guns, shoes, or coats. My best friend can tell you everything designer someone is wearing, but she won’t even know her sister as she passes by her. Is that weird?”

  “No, that’s not weird at all, but honey I wish you would have mentioned this earlier.”

  “I just thought of it. Remember I was a little out of my mind.”

  “I want you to think real hard where you remember that face. That might be the key to catch this person. Can you do that for me?” He got up and went to the bedroom door. “Raymond.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Lana saw a guy she recognized with the media crew at the police department. Get some more deputies here and block the road. Put deputies watching the rent houses down the road. No one and I mean no one gets past the road at the end of the cul-de-sac. Don’t let them give you any crap about their rights on the beach. If they get past the barrier arrest them for impeding an investigation.”

  “Yes sir and I’ll get the footage of the news crew and the police department.” Raymond knew Mike would give him more details later.

  “Thanks.” Mike shut the door behind him, and then he walked back and sat on the edge of the bed. “Go ahead honey.”

  “I was just saying, when I remember where I saw this guy I’ll tell you.”

  “Maybe retrace your steps from the minute you decided to come here. Sometimes that helps jog the memory. Listen babe, I’ve got to get busy making calls, come out if you’re ready. As you heard Raymond is getting the footage from the media, then I want you to look through every minute.” He kissed her and off he went to the other room digging out his cell phone.

  “Mike?” she couldn’t look him in the eye knowing she had withheld something else.

  He gave her his undivided attention. “Yes.”

  “Umm, I saw someone over at the Borders house a couple of days ago.”

  Mike tried not to look shocked or aggravated but asked.“What did you see?”

  “I saw someone with a red or bright orange coat and they were in the back yard. I thought maybe he was getting wood or wrapping pipes so I didn’t think anything about it.”

  “Tell me exactly what you saw.”

  “I was just standing there dipping my tea bag looking out the window when I saw the coat. The person moved from the front of the house to the back of the house and I think he did that twice.”

  “Keep going.”

  “That’s all, except once it looked like he stopped and looked at this house.”

  Mike was a somewhat aggravated because she withheld critical information. “Honey, if I sent an agent to the house, do you think you could remember all he did? We could have an agent retrace the movements of the person you saw.”

  “Yes, I think I can, but why?”

  “The Borders were already dead, and the person you saw was probably the killer. If you can see it all happen again maybe we can figure out his height, weight and hair color.”

  “I can tell you he had on a black ski hat.”

  “How could you tell that at this distance?” He was amazed of her uncanny ability to notice detail. She would have been a great cop.

  “When he turned to look at this house his face was so pale it looked white next to the black hat. I remember thinking his face needed a tan and he looked like a ghost. Then he pulled the mask over his face.”

  He reached down and kissed her and said. “Get up and get dressed, I need you to help me with detective work.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely, you are the only witness to a killer, and the more detail we can refresh your memory the better chance of catching him.”

  “Okay, give me a few minutes.” Since she didn’t pay that close attention, she hoped she could help at least a little bit. But first she needed her first cup of java, and try to think about where she saw that face. She needed quiet to think.

  Chapter 25

  7:28 a.m.

  “Hey Sara how is my favorite crime scene tech this bright and cheerful day. Do you have any news on the sperm DNA we sent you from my beach house?”

  She ignored Mike flattering comment. Sara Potter was all business, and the guys knew that. Because she was so serious they loved to give her a hard time. “We are processing it right now and with our new software, we can have finite results in six to seven days on the DNA. After looking at the specimen and it being older, it will be closer to the seven days. Then it might take several hours to match the perp to our data base. I’m sorry Mike that’s the best I can do.”

  “What do you mean old sperm?”

  “The sperm sent to me was at least a week old, minimum.”

  “It couldn’t have been, we found it immediately and saw the footprints in the snow to verify it. The footprints were imprinted in the fresh snow right under the window.”

  “I’m sorry Mike, but I’m telling you it’s around a week old.” Sara always got aggravated when they question her expertise. Never has she given them an answer until she is one hundred percent positive.

  Mike sat there trying to think, comprehend what she just said. “Do you have the blood type of the sperm?”

  “Yes hold on a minute.” She left to get the chart and came back and she picked up the phone. “The male blood type is AB+ and the female blood type is A+.”

  “What do you mean female?” Mike’s didn’t expecting that answer at all. The state police missed the female blood type. He was glad he had Sara double check the state’s results.

  “The sperm collected has two distinctive blood types male and female.” Sara was busy and she got annoyed Mike questioned her work. If he kept this up, it would be a long day.

  “Sara, have you gotten the samples from the Border home?”

  “Yes I think we did get some,” she answered while shuffling papers on her desk. “I don’t have them in front of me. Let me call you back in a few minutes.”

  “No if you don’t mind, I’ll wait.”

  She paused and thought a few minutes wouldn’t be detrimental. Pushing the red hold button, she scoured through several offices before she found them. She picked up the phone and pushed the hold button so she could be reconnected with Mike. “I have them in front of me fresh off the press. What do you want to know?”

  “I want to know the blood type of Ms. Border’s?” He didn’t know what answer he would
be, but he had a hunch.

  “Her blood type is A+.”

  “What was the blood type around her mouth?”

  “Um, that is B-.”

  “So according to your records, sperm is AB+, blood on mouth is B-and Ms. Borders blood typed is A+, and the female blood type with the sperm is A+?” Maybe Quent was right, and there are two perps.

  “I see where you’re going with this. I’ll run as many cross references as I can. Great work Mike.”

  “I have one more blood type for you to run, and maybe her DNA.”

  “Who?”

  “Lana, can you send someone to collect it?”

  “I’ll call and see if anyone is at the Border’s house and I’ll have them get a swab.”

  “Thanks, Sara. One more thing, could you find out if Ms. Border’s was raped? There might be two perps.”

  “I will find out for you and I’ll notify you when I get any news.”

  “I’ll be expecting your call,” he answered while writing down all the information she gave him.

  When Lana walked in the living room Mike was on the phone. Raymond and Joe were in the kitchen looking out the window towards the Borders house. They debated on who got to play the villain. Under normal circumstances they both would want to go, but it was cold outside, neither volunteered. They decided to flip a coin. When Raymond lost, he pulled rank and sent Joe.

  Joe whined that the coin toss wasn’t fair, but all the while smiling. Then he commented. “I can’t wait until we get a new guy then I can pull rank.”

  All the guys laughed.

  Lana interrupted. “Hi guys, do you all like some breakfast?”

  They looked at each other and said as the same time. “Yes ma’am.”

  She wondered how they stayed in such good shape eating out all the time. “Tell me what you want, and if one of you gentleman will run me to the grocery store, I will cook you a feast.”

  Mike got off the phone and answered Lana from the living room. “I want french toast.”

  The other two agreed, and they added bacon, ham, and eggs.

  When she got to cook, she was at her best.“So who’s going to take me to the store?”

  Mike raised his hand. He felt much better about the situation. The killings seemed to be someone after the Borders.

  She walked over to him and put her arm through his arm and said. “Okay tin man let’s follow the yellow brick road.”

  “We’ll be back in about an hour or so.” They were shocked Mike let her out of the house. But if anyone could handle any situation in the field it would be him.

  Raymond immediately got on his walkie to let the men at the end of the road know Mike was coming through shortly. “Hey guys, I just wanted to let you know there’s going to be a 204 in 1015.”

  Lana knew they had codes and she asked Mike. “What’s a 204 and a 1015?”

  Mike winked at the guys. “Well I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.”

  “And what would be the code for that?” She asked as she raised her left eyebrow at Mike.

  “That would be code 007,” said Mike. The men laughed hysterically.

  “What’s so funny?” She asked.

  “Come on babe I’ll tell you on the way to the store.” She looked at the guys and shrugged her shoulders.

  They laughed harder.

  He helped her with her coat, and when she glanced over at them they laughed even harder. “You better tell me or you’re not getting any breakfast.”

  The men laughed even harder.

  They got in the car and she noticed Mike looked all around to see if he could see anyone.

  “Okay Mike, what are the codes?” Curiosity got the best of her.

  He rolled his head back with laughter. “Code 007 means hot girl that’s dangerous. 204 code means we are traveling with two or more and a 1015 code means they will be coming with fifteen minutes. They were laughing because you are hot but not dangerous. Sometimes if we see a girl that looks hot, we’ll get on the walkie and say 007 and then give our location.”

  “Oh, really! Well you just wait until I bake you guys some brownies with ex-lax. Then my code will be number two. Then we’ll see how dangerous I am.”

  “Oh no please don’t do that, I only have two bathrooms. We’re getting close to the media, please duck down honey.” As they drove by a house that had a few TV vans no one was outside, but she got low so they couldn’t see her. She stayed low for about a half a mile.

  *****

  Stop & Shop grocery store was much bigger than the Sam’s grocery and much newer. This store was in a strip mall with about ten other small shops. The biggest stores were Best Buy, a liquor store, shoe store, and a tobacco store.

  They held hands as they walked in and acted as though they didn’t have a care in the world. “Okay babe, what would you like besides french toast?” She asked.

  “Um, I’m thinking ham and eggs, or maybe an omelet? I loved the omelet you cooked the other day.” He didn’t want to over exert her considering what happened yesterday.

  “Babe you can have an omelet if you want one. We just have to go to the vegetable isle.” The vegetable area did impressive her. It was fixed up like a huge Hawaiian hut with a hand written sign that read ‘veggie stand’.

  They shared the foods they like and hated. Mike teased her by asking her a question he already knew the answer. “Do you think we could have shrimp tonight or tomorrow? I know you don’t like it, but the guys do.”

  “Hey, you are on your own if you want shrimp. I don’t even like to cook it.” Mike liked shrimp and so do the guys, and how could she refuse. She changed her mind. “Okay, I’ll grill it if you do the prep work. I know the guys would like grilled shrimp. I’ll marinade it in Italian dressing a couple of hours, it’s delicious.”

  “That’s a deal.” He nearly ran to the fish counter to buy jumbo shrimp, and he was like a little kid. His mouth started watering just thinking about grilled shrimp.

  Life with Lana would be so different than it was with Kathy. Kathy didn’t like to cook. When they first married they didn’t have the money to eat out much. All they ate were hamburgers and chips. Since Kathy worked at a fast food, her burgers were great, but that was the only thing she knew how to cook. Later when they had a little more money he made it a point to grab something on the way home, something for his family to eat. He smiled thinking back about his kids calling him at work and asked. “Daddy, what will you bring home for dinner tonight?” Yep, life would a lot different with Lana, a difference he liked.

  They bought stuff for lasagna, shrimp, and chili. She looked at all this food, both carts full. “Mike, do you realize I get on a plane in a few days? I’m not sure I can cook all this in less than a week.”

  “Nope you’re not leaving, I have handcuffs.”

  A lady at the other end of the counter turned around and looked at them like they were crazy. Then she waddled away with her cart while looking over her shoulder at them.

  He kissed her on her forehead and said. “Honey this is only enough food for a couple of days. Remember there will be several men in and out of the house. We’ll probably have half the Marshals office here when they find out we’re cooking shrimp.”

  “I’m in such a good mood, I could cook all day. I feel great.”

  “I’m sure glad you feel better, and it shows in your eyes.”

  “My noggin hurts but I feel I have all the drugs out of my system. I’m okay as long as I don’t bend over, that’s when it hurts the most, when the blood rushes to my head.”

  Mike put on his John Wayne impersonation. He put his hands on his hips and then walked like John Wayne. “Well little lady, if you need to bend over to get stuff, just call me ���. and I’ll watch.”

  She smacked his arm and said. “You butt.”

  They paid for the groceries and they acted silly going to the car. Both pushed overloaded baskets. He jokingly played bumper carts with her. He rolled his head back with laughter watchin
g her. She grunted trying to push and pull her cart. The entire time her tongue stuck out as if that would help. He easily moved his with one arm. Every few feet he made a point to bump her cart pushing it back to where she started.

  She whined. “Mike that’s not fair I have heavier groceries than you. I think we should trade carts.”

  “Do you really think that would help?” But he did take her cart and pull it.

  They loaded the groceries in the back of the SUV, laughing, when all of a sudden she started sneezing. Between sneezes she noticed someone sitting in a car. There he was, the mystery man staring right at her, three rows over from her right. She screamed for Mike to see. “Mike there’s the man, and he’s in that black car.” She pointed at the car.

  The man took off immediately. He drove off like a mad man and almost ran over several people and cars. Mike ran after him, but the man got away. He ran several isles over but couldn’t catch him. “That was totally unexpected. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine did you get a look at him and did you get a license plate?”

  “I only saw him a little, and honey he didn’t look like anything you described. How in the hell did he know we were here? I worked every maneuver I was trained to do to detect anyone following me ���.” He paused and thought for a minute. “���. He must have some kind of tracking device planted on the one of us.” He made a phone call to Raymond. “Lana and I will be there in about fifteen minutes. I want you to call the tech department and have someone come to the beach house to run a sweep. We just saw the guy at the grocery store, and there is no way he would know we’d be there unless he tracked us. Also call Shop Rite and see if they have any roof cameras.” Mike’s face changed from his happy go lucky, to cop mode. His eyes hardened.

  Raymond wrote down all the orders Mike asked. “I’ll call them and have I’ll have them come right away. One more thing, I called all the TV stations to get their coverage of the police department. They won’t give it to us unless we grant them an exclusive. I checked with the police department and no cameras faced the media or the far side of the street. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”