Eleven Days: An Unexpected Love

by Lora Lindy

  Mike hugged her and kissed her booboo on her forehead and said. “You can let off steam anytime you want. All of us guys let off steam all the time. At the office we have a punching bag to hit. But please don’t hit me, not with your temper you might knock me out, with one hit.”

  She gave him a hug and said. “Set up the video and I’ll make a pot of coffee and I will be there in a few minutes.”

  Mike sat down on the bar stool so they would be eye level. “Are we good?”

  “Yes,” she answered. When he walked out of the kitchen, she took a deep breath and took a moment for her hands to stop shaking.

  *****

  “Honey, I want you to sit where you have a good view.”

  “Okay.” She grabbed her mug of coffee and sat in the middle of the floor, it appeared to be the best view with no glare on the TV.

  Mike was so sweet he came over and sat down beside her. Then she notice Joe and Raymond sat on the floor with their pens and pads on the coffee table ready to take notes.

  “You guys don’t have to sit on the floor next to me.”

  Joe sat right next to Lana and said. “I’m here for you to protect me. I bet you have a killer right hook.”

  They all laughed.

  They watched for about an hour, and then she saw him. “There he is. See he’s walking up to me and he sat next to me, there, did you see it he touched my purse? I don’t remember him having on a hat. Wait a minute, I don’t talk to him. Look he sits two chairs over from me. That’s when he plants the tracking device. Keep watching he comes back and he has on different clothes.”

  All the agents glanced at each other. They knew this was part of the profile, methodical. Sure enough it happened. He walked up in different clothes and no hat. He looked right at the camera. “Bingo, we gotcha,” said Mike grinning. All the men were whooping and hollering again. She knew how they felt.

  “Joe, it’s your turn up to bat. Work your Picasso and let’s send his picture to all law enforcement. Also run it through the database. You know how to work your miracles.”

  “Yes sir, with pleasure.”

  Mike put his arms around his sweetheart and said. “Babe, you did a great job. I will never doubt your memory.” He leaned over and whispered. “James would be proud of you and so am I.”

  Mike stood up and helped her up and she put her arms around him. “Thanks.”

  Chapter 26

  3:46 p.m.

  Mike’s phone rang. “Hey Sara, I’m hoping you’re calling with good news.”

  “I have great news. I found a match to the female part of the sperm and I’m sending the information to you.”

  “What? How did you get her DNA so fast?”

  “I didn’t, I ran a special blood test and she is a carrier of hemophilia. There was a trace of blood in the sperm and that little bit gave me enough to run tests. So unless Lana is a carrier she is excluded. “

  “Sara you are a genius.”

  “I have more good news, I’m running the sperm’s blood type through our data base and so far we have about forty hits in the United States. The blood type is so rare I thought I would give it a try. But this will only work if he has a record with his blood type on file. I thought it was worth a try. I’m also running the blood type around Ms. Border’s mouth and there are a lot more blood types to compare. So far there are over six hundred in the US. I’m going to try to narrow it down to one.”

  “You amaze me. When you get the list will you send it to the BAU and to me?”

  “I sure will and I will let you know of any new updates.”

  “Thanks Sara”

  “It’s my pleasure to help.”

  *****

  Mike walked over to the computer and watched Joe work his miracles. Joe downloaded the picture to the computer and he was playing around with it, trying to make it clear. When he finished he handed it to Mike for approval.

  Mike nodded. “Joe you did a great job and go ahead and process it to all the agencies and run it through the FBI database.”

  Joe knew exactly what Mike meant. They work so harmoniously together they almost didn’t have to speak. They did what needed to be done. When Joe finished processing everything he leaned back in his chair, happy with himself.

  Mike looked at the picture and spun it around to Lana and asked. “Is this the man you saw at the airport, restaurant, and grocery store?”

  She looked intently, and answered with a grin. “Yes, this is the man I saw and you know he kind of looks like that Peter guy.”

  “Yes he does, and we’ve sent all law enforcement the information on the real Peter Waters.”

  “Why Peter Waters?” She knew it wasn’t the real Peter Waters on the plane.

  “That way we have a better chance of catching him if he still using Peter’s name. Remember Lana, he doesn’t know we know the name he’s using. He doesn’t even know you remember him from the airport.”

  Joe added. “Let’s hope he gets stopped and he’s using Peters ID.”

  “In the meantime we are processes his airport photo through the FBI facial recognition database. That might give us another name, his real name,” said Mike.

  “How long does it take to get a match?”

  Joe answered. “On the positive side it could be minutes, and sometimes we don’t get a match at all.”

  You could tell Mike was in a good mood, and she knew exactly how he felt. He messaged her shoulders and it felt so good and it definitely helped her relax. “You know Joe we’re going to make an investigator out of Lana yet.”

  “Yes sir,” he said with a grin.

  Mike stopped messaging and she put his hands back. He started messaging again with a quick little kiss on the neck. “I can tell by the way you and Joe are looking at each other, you already processed the photos through the database, right?”

  Without missing a beat on messaging Mike said. “Yep.”

  She motioned for Mike to follow her to the chair to continue the message, and he did. She could feel the stress leaving her body. But that feeling didn’t last long, Mike’s phone rang. That damn phone.

  Mike pushed some buttons and answered while still messaging one side of her neck. “Hey Sara, what do you have for me.”

  She was breathless with excited. “Mike I have great news.”

  “Yes.”

  “I would say the luck of the Irish is on your side.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Both the male blood types are uncommon.”

  “Okay.”

  “Well I ran the sperm blood type in the national database with a starting point on the east coast.”

  “Okay.”

  “I then narrowed the search to Massachusetts and got seven close matches. Then I searched Plymouth and got two. I then ran a mitochondrial DNA and his sperm matched eighty percent of the pointers. This type of testing is much quicker to get a match. After all this I got a match with a guy names Tony Mitter out of Hull, he has a record and I’m sending it to you.”

  “Sara, I love you and send a copy to Quent, and of course the BAU.”

  “I already have.”

  Lana had never seen so much whooping and hollering in her life. It was like they won the Super bowl. All the men jumped up and Mike said. “Okay team we know our role so let’s get ready.”

  All the men ran outside and brought in tons of body armor. She didn’t realize they were a SWAT team. They were geared up in a matter of five minutes. She sat there in shock. She did notice Mike and Joe didn’t get out their SWAT uniforms. “Aren’t you going?”

  “No, Joe and I will stay with you. Raymond can lead the team.”

  “You don’t waste any time, do you?”

  “Honey we can’t, we have to move faster than the suspect.”

  She looked at Joe and asked. “Do you think this is the guy is the one who killed the Border’s?”

  “Let’s hope so, and let’s hope they find him.” Deep down Joe had a concern about the blood around Ms. Border’s
mouth, but maybe this guy would have some answers. Telling anything to Lana would be Mike’s job.

  Excitement overwhelmed her, and she knew how the guys felt. She couldn’t sit still she was so excited. “Joe, are you disappointed you don’t get to go?”

  “Maybe a little bit. It is pretty exciting when we break down doors and go in as a bad ass. It’s especially nice when you get to handcuff the bad guy.”

  “I can certainly understand that.”

  Mike walked over by the fire and stood near Lana.

  She couldn’t help herself but to run over to him and give him a hug, cold and all. She cried tears of relief.

  Mike held her close.

  Joe got up and walked outside partly to get information on Tony and partly to give them time alone. That’s Joe always considerate of others.

  Mike said. “Babe I love you so much.” He raised her head so he could look in her eyes. “What happened to that bad ass that was here a little while ago?”

  “Shut up, I thought about telling you I love you and thank you for taking care of me, but now I’m not.”

  He rolled his head back laughing at his cutie pie. “Baby I love to tease you.”

  She just buried her head in his chest with contentment. And she certainly understood why they loved their job so much.

  Joe walked back in with all the information about Tony Mitter. “He is a truck driver and he’s thirty-eight years old. He’s married with two children and he lives in Hull. He is six feet tall and had brown hair and hazel eyes. He has a receding hairline and he has six known tattoos. He has been arrested for several different crimes, but nothing major. His crimes are mostly drunk and disorderly, DWI, resisting arrest, and open container. It sounds like this guy has an alcohol problem.”

  Mike walked over to the couch and picked up the papers on Tony. He looked at Joe and asked. “What do you think?”

  “I don’t think he’s the guy,” he said that with confidence.

  “I don’t either. But one fact we do know is his sperm was on the wall outside of my house. Another fact, Ms. Borders DNA was with that sperm. So the question is how did his sperm get with the dead Ms. Borders DNA?”

  Joe put a pencil in his mouth and though that would help him think. “Maybe he had a pair of her underwear and he jacked-off using her underwear.”

  “There has to be another explanation,” answered Mike.

  “Maybe he had sex with her before he killed her. Then he took his sperm out of her and put it on the wall,” said Joe. Even though it was disgusting, it made sense.

  Mike added to that thought. “Okay let’s say he did that. Why? What would be the point of taking the sperm out of her and putting it on the wall, my wall?”

  Joe pulled the pencil from his mouth and held it like a cigarette. “Maybe after he killed the Borders’ he realized someone rented this house and he was afraid they saw him. So he put the knife in the steak and the sperm on the wall to distract from the crime.”

  Mike had a thought. “Joe you said he was a truck driver?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “See if you can find his route and where he’s been this past week.”

  Joe knew where Mike was going with this and he jumped up and went to the computer. She could hear him pecking away finding out the information his boss requested. Joe worked away when he found some credit card charges used for his rig. He glanced their way and then back and forth to the computer. “Mike I found he was gone all last week and he got back into town with his rig late last night. It looks like he filled his truck with gas in Boston, or at least someone using his credit card. But I also show he got a speeding ticket in Ohio day before yesterday.”

  “Do you show the state logs on his rig?”

  “Yes sir and he signed off on all the logs for the past week. He went cross country to California and every state between here and there.”

  “So he wasn’t here the night the sperm was put on the wall, or the stabbing of the steak?”

  “No sir, he wasn’t.”

  “That still doesn’t answer the question of how his sperm got out of him and got on my wall.”

  Lana intently listened when she came up with her own theory. “Is it possible Ms. Border’s was having an affair with Tony? And maybe her husband found out and killed her and put the sperm on the wall. He would know no one would find the sperm so he put the knife in the steak. Then he went back home and killed himself. Then he thought all the evidence would point to Tony.”

  Joe thought a minute and said. “Mike, that’s a good theory.”

  “Joe, call the medical examiner and ask how Mr. Borders’ died and the time he died.”

  “Yes sir.”

  Mike asked her. “Are you hungry?”

  “Maybe a little.”

  They walked into the kitchen and they rummaged through the pantry and fridge. “You know it’s almost supper, and I don’t mind fixing us something to eat.”

  “Nope, I think I’m going to send Joe to town to get some buckets of chicken.”

  “I hate to admit this, but that does sound good. I can at least get to make the baked beans and coleslaw?”

  “That’s a deal.”

  Joe walked into the kitchen and he looked at his notes from his tablet. “Well Lana’s theory is wrong. It sure was a great theory, but Mr. Borders was shot in the back of the head and whoever shot him used a silencer and he died about the same time as Ms. Borders.”

  Mike looked at Joe and they both looked a little shocked.

  She looked at both of them. “How do you know he used a silencer?”

  Mike answered. “Forensics, the crime lab usually knows when they get a clean bullet from a victim. They can tell by the marks on the bullet if a silencer was used. It’s not common for a silencer to be used.”

  “So that’s why we didn’t hear anything?”

  “That’s right we would have definitely heard a gunshot.”

  “Is it common for a stalker to use a silencer?”

  Mike promised not to lie for any reason, but he felt he should be particular about what he did say and how he said it. “Most of the time a stalker does not use a silencer, but sometimes they do.”

  “Why do you think he used one this time.”

  This question was an easy and truthful one to answer. “He didn’t want you to hear the shots.”

  “I’m glad I didn’t hear any shots, I would have been scared and I would be dialing 911.”

  Mike and Joe laughed.

  “What’s so funny,” she asked.

  “It just seems funny you have a house full of cops at your disposal and all of us are packing, and you would call 911.”

  “Remember the killing was last week and you guys were not here.”

  Joe said. “Touch��.”

  Chapter 27

  4:41 p.m.

  The Hull City police and Sergeant Quentin pulled up to Tony Mitter’s home with warrant in hand. One concern the police feared was the presence of children. The policy of the police was to send undercover cops to feel out the situation. In this case the two cops were Aaron Wakefield and Calvin Drake, both familiar with the area and Tony Mitter’s record. Before they walked up to the house, they splashed whiskey on their face to play their role. They climbed the twenty or so steps to the porch and knocked loudly. The U.S. Marshal’s SWAT team waited one house over on Angier Street.

  Raymond anxiously waited on code word Cooper to move in on the house.

  Tony’s wife, Judy opened the door and asked. “May I help you?” Wakefield and Jones looked past her to see if any children were in sight. There didn’t appear to be any.

  “Hi I’m Zack and this is Arti, I live a few houses down and we wondered if your husband might be home?” They staggered around and made sure they breathed on her.

  “Yes, but he’s asleep. What do you need to talk to him about, is it about a woman?” She knew it was some thugs that wanted their money he owed them. Her demeanor changed to rudeness because she didn’t ha
ve time for this hogwash.

  “We were interested finding out who your husband works for because we are interested in driving a rig. When would be a good time to come back?”

  “Two hours?” She knew they weren’t interested in driving a big rig. She had enough. She refused to deal with her husband’s mistresses and thugs. They could come back and they could deal with her husband directly. She slammed the door in their faces.

  “Sounds great, we’ll come back.” Once the door was shut, Wakefield whispered in his microphone. “Cooper.”

  The SWAT team was in their home within twenty seconds. They found Tony sleeping. They handcuffed him and drug him to the police car. The whole fifty feet to the car he screamed at his wife for letting the police break down the door.

  She screamed back asking him what he did wrong. Whose husband had he pissed off, and did he owe money to anyone. Once the cold took hold of her, she went in and slammed the door behind her. Her husband disgusted her, and she wanted nothing else to do with him. The cops could have him.

  Raymond walked up to the police car and opened the back door. He had one of the guys bring over a blanket since Tony only had on boxers. “Mr. Mitter, just to satisfy my curiosity, can you tell me where you’ve been this past week?”

  He was angry they woke him up from his drunken stupor. “I’ve been on the road, and if you don’t believe me call my boss, you cop wantabe.” He couldn’t believe he was in this situation. Thinking back for the last few months he couldn’t think of anything illegal he did.

  “This cop wantabe wants to know how you know Donna Borders.”

  “I’ve never heard of her.”

  “Maybe I need to ask your wife if she’s ever heard of her.”

  Tony didn’t want his wife involved. They already have trouble over other women. “I think I’ve done some work for her and her husband a long time ago,” he finally admitted. He spit on the ground trying to look tough, and in the process he knocked off his warm blanket. “Hey asshole, cover me up, it can’t be over twenty degrees out here.”