Resolved Memories (Sycamore P.D. Series Book 3)

by T. E. Killian

  Stan grinned. “She sure did. And that woman may be old but she must have eyes like an eagle. She said that she didn’t get a good look at the passenger since he was on the other side of the truck, but she said he was a small very dark Hispanic man with bushy black hair. But the other guy, she said she got a good look at him as he was getting in the driver’s side right in front of her.”

  He paused to take a drink of his Coke. “She said he wasn’t tall but had large arms and a big potbelly. She also said that his head was shaved and he looked real mean as he glared at her.”

  While Grant and Stan were still discussing the observation powers of the older woman, Sonia was trying to think of something that kept trying to pop up out of her memory.

  “Okay, we need to alert patrol to be on the lookout for a pickup fitting that description.” That was when she remembered. “Wait! I think I know who the driver is. I need to talk to Wayne.”

  She stood and started for the door and the other two fell in behind her. As they were walking down the hall toward the elevator, she threw over her shoulder, “That description fits one of the men I interviewed at Newcomb Motors last week.”

  She stopped and pointed at Stan. “Remember last year when Grant was on his honeymoon and we interviewed people after a bar fight? Well, the big guy who caused all the trouble, you and I talked to him, and he eventually got probation, a big fine, and had to pay for all the damages. Remember him?”

  Stan hit his palm with his other fist. “I sure do and he fits that description perfectly. But what was his name?”

  “Ralph Richardson.”

  By then, they were approaching Wayne’s room again.

  When they walked in, Wayne was still asleep and Sonia was disappointed until she looked down at Kelly.

  “Kelly, do you know a man who works at the dealership by the name of Ralph Richardson?”

  Kelly thought for a moment. “Sure, he’s not a very nice guy though. What did he do now?”

  Sonia shook he head. “I’ll tell you later. What I need to know right now is what kind of a vehicle he drives?”

  Kelly’s expression was blank then it opened up into a smile. “A dirty white pickup that’s pretty beat up. You think he’s the one don’t you?”

  Sonia frowned and said, “Could be. Would you call the dealership and see if he’s at work today?”

  When Kelly turned back to Sonia after making the call, she said, “He didn’t go in to work today and didn’t call in either.”

  Sonia opened her mouth to speak but Kelly smiled and handed her a small piece of paper. “Here is his address.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Sonia was beginning to get tired. She hadn’t slept much the night before for thinking of her meeting with her mother today. And that meeting had been extremely draining. As a result, though, she had been on an emotional high before finding out about Wayne and then walking into that hospital room to see him all banged up the way he was. That almost finished her off. Then she went on another emotional high when Wayne told her he loved her and then prayed to accept the Lord.

  Now, she felt like she was about headed for an adrenalin crash. She didn’t even argue when Grant offered to drive the three of them over to Richardson’s house. She simply climbed into the front passenger seat and sat there staring straight ahead until they arrived at the address Kelly had given them.

  Richardson’s house turned out to be an old singlewide in a small park in a neighborhood that generated more than its share of calls to the department. Sonia and Grant took the front door while Stan went around to the back. There was no answer to their repeated knocks at both doors. There were no vehicles parked near the trailer and especially not a battered white pickup.

  They were getting back into the car when a call came out over the radio about an abandoned vehicle.

  Sonia turned to Grant and said, “That description fits Richardson’s truck. Let’s go.”

  When they arrived at the scene, there were several patrol cars there already. The truck was parked in the middle of a narrow dirt road on the north edge of town that wound around in the desert. The road was mostly used for recreational purposes by jeeps and quads.

  They approached the truck where two officers were taping off the scene. Sonia walked up to the sergeant and said, “What do we have, Carl?”

  Sonia had known Carl Williams since she’d been on the force. In fact, he’d lateraled over from Phoenix P.D. shortly before she had started. He was a serious minded African-American who came from a cop family too and had come up from Phoenix for many of the same reasons Sonia had. Over the years, they had established a friendship of sorts.

  He shook his head, placed his hands on his hips and said, “I don’t know, Sonia, seems like we got bodies turning up all over town. What in the world’s going on?”

  She didn’t comment, just frowned along with him, and waited for him to finish.

  “White male, thirty-two years old, name of Ralph Richardson.” He shook his head again. “Ain’t seen a man with his throat cut like that since I left Phoenix. I’d be willing to bet it was done by one of those Mexican gangbangers.”

  Sonia walked up to the pickup but didn’t go near the body that was still slumped over on the seat. Instead, she walked around to the front and looked at the bumper.

  Grant and Stan were standing next to her when she reached down with a pen she’d pulled from her pocket and pointed it at several streaks of maroon paint all across the bumper.

  She turned back to her detectives. “Looks like we found the guy who ran Wayne off the road.” She groaned. “Just a little too late though. Kind of looks like he was no longer useful to whoever hired him.”

  Stan snorted. “There goes our only lead so far.” He turned back to Sonia. “I’ll bet Carl’s right and it was that Hispanic guy the older lady saw Richardson with this morning.”

  Sonia nodded. “You’re probably right. I’m thinking that this might have been the planned outcome for this morning’s events. Nice and neat, they got rid of the truck used to run Wayne off the road and the driver all in one action.”

  Stan kicked the dirt in front of him. “I’ll bet the guy’s already halfway back to Mexico by now.”

  They all turned when a white van with red and blue lights flashing pulled up.

  Sonia headed back toward Grant’s car and the other two followed her. “Well, there’s not much else we can do here until the lab finishes. Let’s head back to the hospital.”

  When Grant parked in the hospital lot, Sonia turned to him and Stan, “Why don’t you two go back to the station to start gathering information on Richardson. I have a feeling he’s the one who took the hit and run cars off the lot.”

  She let out a sigh. “I’m going back upstairs to see Wayne.”

  She ignored the smug looks she received from both detectives. She was thankful that they didn’t say anything. She wasn’t sure she would have handled it well right then. She felt tense and knew that she needed to unwind somehow.

  When she looked into Wayne’s room, Kelly was standing by the door as if coming out but had turned back to talk to her grandparents. When she looked toward the door and saw Sonia, she said, “Hi, Sonia, he’s awake now.”

  Then she turned to her grandparents and said, “Why don’t we all go down to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee or something?”

  The older couple rose as one and followed Kelly out the door. As they passed Sonia, who was still standing just outside the room, Beth Newcomb pulled Sonia into a hug and with tears in her eyes looked up at Sonia and said, “I’m so glad Wayne found you dear.”

  Before Sonia could think of anything to say, they were all three down the hallway waiting for the elevator.

  She entered the room to find Wayne awake, alert, and staring at her with wide eyes.

  “Have you thought any more about what I told you earlier?”

  Sonia knew what he meant, but tried to avoid it. “You mean when you were delirious before?”

  She
was immediately sorry she’d made light of it when his eyes lost their sparkle and he looked down at his hand on the bed beside his hip.

  She quickly sat in the chair next to him and tried to think of what to say. “Wayne, I hope you can understand how shy and unsure of myself I’ve always been around any man who showed an interest in me.” She reached out and touched the hand near her.

  “As I told you last week, I’ve never really dated much. Oh, a little in college and even less since I came here. You saw what my brothers are like. The only boys I was around much growing up were them and their friends.”

  She stopped and tried to catch Wayne’s gaze but he was still looking down at his hand which now had hers resting on top of it.

  “I do know that you were clearheaded when you said that you loved me, Wayne, but you’ve got to understand that I’m almost on overload here.”

  He turned to look at her then and that encouraged her to continue. “I met my mother today!”

  That brought life back into his face. “I’m sorry. With all that’s happened to me today, I forgot all about your meeting with that woman. You mean she really is your mother?”

  “Yes, she is and wait until I tell you where she’s been for the past twenty-eight years.”

  Sonia proceeded to tell Wayne all that her mother had told them at lunch. When she finished, he said, “Wow! I’ll bet you never could have imagined that your mother was in a convent all these years.”

  “No.” Then she remembered that she’d run out on her parents to come to the hospital hours ago. “Oh, Wayne, I left the two of them at Denny’s to come here. I need to call my Dad and find out what happened after I left them.”

  When she hung up and turned to Wayne, she said, “Would you believe, they’re still at Denny’s? Do you mind if I go back over there. I’ll try to stop back in later.”

  When he started to protest, she said, “I won’t have any trouble coming in after visiting hours are over.”

  On her way to the elevator, she met the officer who was assigned to stand guard at Wayne’s door overnight, which made her feel a little better about leaving him.

  * * *

  It was ten o’clock, and Wayne had awakened from another nap. He was about to give up on Sonia coming back to see him tonight. He was more than a little confused about her reaction to his declaration of love.

  But when he stopped to think about it, though, he realized that everything he had seen on her face and every word she had said to him had to be positive. He knew that was true since she didn’t react in any kind of negative way. That’s exactly how she would have reacted even just last week. She’d always been negative until very recently.

  Therefore, he had to feel encouraged. Sonia had had such a mixed-up life and it had just become more confusing with her mother suddenly appearing and her being a nun at that. Sure, she technically wasn’t a nun anymore, but she had been for all those years.

  He had to laugh when he thought of the distinction Sonia could claim. How many people could say that their mother was a nun?

  Wayne was about to doze off again when his room phone rang. When he picked it up, a muffled voice said, “Don’t say a word, just listen. If we don’t get what we want, your girlfriend the lieutenant is going to die. You’ll hear from us again . . . soon.”

  With that, the dial tone sounded in his ear. He was still trying to comprehend what had just happened when Sonia burst into the room. Should he tell her about the phone call or not? If he wasn’t laid up, he might not, but now, there was nothing he could do about it. He had to tell her so she could be on the lookout.

  One look at her face, and he realized she had plenty to tell him. So he decided to wait until she finished her story before he told her about the phone call.

  “How are you feeling Wayne?”

  He laughed. That wasn’t what he had expected her to say, but it gave him a warm feeling knowing that she thought of him first. “I’m getting tired again, but I don’t really feel too bad. I guess they’ve got me doped up on painkillers.”

  “Good.” She patted him on the arm. “Now, are you ready to hear what’s happened since I left the restaurant this afternoon?”

  He could tell she was anxious to tell him and that made him feel even better. “Sure. Everything about you is important to me Sonia.”

  She turned her head away and blinked several times as if fighting off tears before she turned back to him and began. “Well, while I was gone, my parents talked a lot, for several hours to be exact, and they made several decisions.”

  “My mother is going to stay in the area. In fact, she’s going to be staying with me. That’s why it took me so long to get back here. She’s there right now and my dad didn’t want to go back home so he’s getting a motel room here in town.”

  “Wow, that’s a lot for one day.”

  “Wait, that’s not all. All three of my brothers are coming up tomorrow too.” She shook her head and leaned back in her chair. “I can’t believe all that’s happened. It looks like my parents are going to try to get back together, but they decided that they should do it slowly and start dating to get to know each other again.”

  Wayne didn’t know what to say except, “That’s great Sonia . . . isn’t it?”

  “Oh yes, it is. But I’m afraid you’re going to get a lot of visitors tomorrow, starting bright and early with my dad. He wanted to come tonight, but I convinced him to wait since it was so late.”

  He laughed and was sorry for the pain that it caused in his head and ribs. “I’m glad you did. I don’t think I’m up to that kind of a visit anymore tonight.”

  Sonia was quiet for a moment as if she had run out of all her news, so he decided that he might as well tell her about the phone call now.

  “Sonia?”

  She had closed her eyes but at the tone of his voice opened them and leaned toward him.

  “I had a phone call just before you came in tonight.” He certainly had her attention now. “A man’s muffled voice told me that if they didn’t get what they wanted from me they were going to kill you.”

  He could tell that she started to laugh but looked closer at the seriousness of his face and didn’t.

  “Are you sure that’s exactly what he said?”

  “Positive.”

  She looked at her watch then pulled her cell phone out of her purse.

  Wayne concentrated on first her belt badge and then her gun while she called her chief and told him about the threat. Next, she called Grant then Stan and updated them as well.

  When she finally turned back to him, she said, “I’ve got to get back to my condo. I can’t leave my mother there alone especially now with this threat. I have to protect her too, now.”

  Wayne was surprised when Sonia leaned over him and placed a light kiss on his lips. She moved away so fast he couldn’t respond, but he knew he was grinning foolishly now.

  She stood and said, “I’ll be over here first thing in the morning and I’m afraid my dad will probably be with me.” She frowned. “At least my brothers probably won’t have time to get here by then.”

  He watched as she walked briskly out the door. He heard her say something he couldn’t understand to the police officer outside his door then nothing.

  He looked up at the ceiling. The only thing that he could think about was that Sonia had kissed him. Sure, it had been a chaste peck on the lips, but still it hadn’t been on the cheek anymore. She was coming around and he couldn’t wait for her to make it the rest of the way.

  As he was falling asleep, his thoughts were on how much he loved Sonia and how great a life they would have together.

  * * *

  Once Sonia stepped out of Wayne’s room, she leaned back against the closed door for a moment to gather her thoughts. She had just kissed Wayne and not on the cheek this time. He said he loved her and she believed him. What did that mean? She needed to think about that some.

  As she thought about it though, she remembered the feeling that had hi
t her when Stan told her that Wayne had been in an accident. It had been awful. Did that mean that she loved Wayne? Maybe she was beginning to love him. What should she do about it?

  Well, enough of those thoughts for now, she needed to get back over to her condo to be with her mother. Her mother? That sounded strange.

  The uniformed officer came up out of his chair as she looked over at him. She motioned him away from the door.

  “I don’t want you leaving this door for any reason, not even to go to the restroom. He just received a threat on the phone.”

  They talked for a few minutes as she explained the situation to him and then she left after spelling him long enough for him to go to the restroom.

  On her way home, she called her dad to update him.

  “Sonia, you know as well as I do that none of us are invincible. And I know you’re a good officer and detective, but that doesn’t matter when someone’s gunning for you.”

  “I know that Dad, but I have to keep doing my job. Besides, they probably told Wayne that just to scare him into giving them what they want.”

  “Yeah, that’s possible, but you don’t know that for sure. You have to take it just as seriously as you would any other threat to someone else.”

  “Yes, I know that. I’m going home to be there for Mom.” She laughed. “It sure sounds strange saying that word.”

  Her dad was quiet for a moment then, “I’m coming over there too. I’m at the motel getting ready to check in but I’m going over there to stay with you and your mother now. And I don’t want any argument.”

  She laughed softly. “I’m not arguing Dad. In fact, I agree that it would be best for you to stay at my condo. I can’t be there to protect her all the time.”

  They disconnected and Sonia was pulling up to her garage when her windshield shattered and she ducked down behind the dash. She hadn’t heard a shot, but she knew immediately that someone had shot at her.

  She grabbed her mike and called it in while peering out her side windows. She saw a hole in the windshield on the passenger side and a corresponding hole in the frame between the windshield and the door. As soon as she finished, she opened her door and slid out onto all fours on the ground.