“Good. That’s all good. But what else can be done?” He nodded toward Leo and Wayne. “What can the rest of us do to help?”
Grant looked at Leo and said, “Do I even have to ask if you’re armed?”
Leo smiled, spoke softly, and jerked his head toward his back. “9mm on my belt under my shirt and a .32 in my left boot.”
Stan shook his head as Grant grinned at the big man and said, “That’s about what I expected.”
Grant then turned to Wayne. “How about you?”
Wayne smiled and said, “I don’t usually carry it on me, but I have a .357 magnum in my car console.”
“Good.” He turned to Harold.”
The older man smiled, flicked his mustache with a forefinger and said, “I have handguns in my study, bedroom, office, limo, and even in the Town Car that I drive occasionally. You might say I’ll be prepared wherever I may be at any given time.”
Grant just grinned again and shook his head. “It appears that we are a well-armed group.” He looked at Leo who had a puzzled look on his face. “What’s the matter, Leo?”
Leo shook his head. “I grew up on the south side of Chicago and I never saw this much armament until I was in the Air Force.”
Grant laughed. “Welcome to Arizona, Leo. We take our firearms seriously here.”
The big man just nodded.
While Grant was in conversation with Harold and Leo about what roles, if any, the others could play in Alison’s protection, Wayne turned to Stan and said, “Could I ask you a question?”
Stan wasn’t sure he wanted to have this conversation, but forced himself to be polite to the guy. After all, they were in his grandfather’s house. But he wasn’t going to talk to him about Alison.
When Stan nodded, Wayne said, “You can rest easy, I never was interested in Alison. Sure, she’s a fine looking woman, but I’ve got my eyes on someone else right now.”
Wayne was getting his attention now. Stan knew, though, that if he waited the guy out, he would finish anyway.
Wayne blew out a breath. “Okay, here’s how it is. I’ve always liked playing the field with as many women as I could. For a while last year, though, I tried to focus on one woman, but that didn’t work out . . . for reasons I’d rather not mention.”
He looked over at his grandfather who was listening to something Grant was saying. “Sometime last August, when Kelly and Grant were just getting to know each other, she and I were in a restaurant at lunch and you and Grant came in with a group of detectives.”
Stan remembered that lunch very well. It had been memorable for two other reasons. The first was that he was able to witness just how hard his buddy had fallen for Kelly. The other reason it was memorable was that one of their suspects in the murder of Harry Newcomb was found dead and they were called out for it at that lunch.
“I remember.”
“Well, when the group you were with came into that restaurant, I only saw one person . . . your sergeant, Sonia Nordstrom.”
That was no news to Stan. He had seen Wayne hit on Sonia on two different occasions since then.
Wayne was talking again, so Stan brought his mind back to the present.
“That woman has turned me upside down.” His eyes were pleading now. “You’ve got to help me get to know her better.”
Stan couldn’t help it, but he felt sorry for the guy. He could see that Wayne was sincere in what he was saying.
“Well, the first thing you’ve got to do is quit hitting on her so hard.” At Wayne’s grimace, he laughed. “Yes, that’s what you’ve been doing. Sonia’s not like any other woman you’ve ever been around. She may be six feet tall and a rather tough cop to boot, but she’s still a woman, a very sensitive woman. And a woman like her doesn’t like that kind of approach.”
Stan could tell that the informal meeting was about to break up so he threw one last caution at Wayne. “One more thing I think you should know. Sonia is the youngest of four. All three of her older brothers are Phoenix cops and her dad’s a retired Phoenix cop.”
Wayne slapped his hand against his forehead and fell back in his chair. “Man! What have I gotten myself into?”
He turned back to Stan. “In spite of all that, I still want to get to know her better. Will you help me?”
Stan grinned. “I don’t know what I can do, but if something comes up, I’ll see what I can do.”
Wayne shook his hand as all the men came to their feet. “Thanks, that’s all I can ask.”
Stan walked away thinking how much his opinion of Wayne Newcomb had changed in such a short time.
Chapter Nine
Monday morning, Stan was eager to get to the station so that, with Grant now involved, they could all begin working together on this case. He knew the investigation had to pick up now. He hoped Sonia would treat Grant the same way she’d been treating him. If so, they should all be able to work together quite well.
When he arrived in the detective area, he was surprised to see Grant sitting in Sonia’s office and they were both laughing. Laughing? That should be a good sign.
Sonia looked up and motioned for Stan to come in, so he took the seat next to Grant.
Stan looked up at Sonia and noticed that the mirth was gone from her face now and she was glaring at him. Now what?
She picked a pen up off her desk and shuffled it around in one hand then transferred it to the other to do the same before she began to speak. “Becker, Grant and I were just having a good laugh about the way this Wayne Newcomb keeps coming on to me.” She paused and slammed the pen down on the desk. “He had better be the only person you’ve told this to.”
Stan wasn’t sure but he thought he caught a slight tightening of one corner of her mouth when she finished. Nevertheless, he decided to play it very straight. “No, ma’am. Grant is my partner and like a brother. We always tell each other everything. But, I haven’t told anyone else and I won’t.”
“Good.” She turned back to Grant. “Now, let’s get started on our strategy for catching this guy before he goes after any more women.”
She turned to Stan. “Why don’t you get us started since Grant needs to catch up with all that has happened while he was gone?
As Stan went over everything that they had on the case so far, the other two listened with Sonia commenting a couple of times.
When he finished, Sonia turned to Grant. “Do you have any questions?”
Grant turned his eyes toward Stan for a second before he looked back at Sonia and said, “Yes, I do. It sounds like you’ve interviewed Stockton and Monroe, but not Baldwin. Is there a reason for that?”
She frowned for a few seconds then smiled at Grant. Stan could see that it took Grant back a little. Before, if anyone would have even hinted that they were questioning her actions, she would have torn them apart.
“I’m afraid you have a short memory Grant. Remember last year when the two of you had problems because a burglary suspect complained about you harassing him?”
When Grant nodded, she continued, “Well that guy was a nobody. Baldwin is a prominent businessman in this community.” She let that soak in. “In fact, the guy even does the chief’s taxes every year.”
She let the silence hang for a moment. “Are you ready to face the flack that would come from us interviewing him without something solid to tie him into these attacks?”
Grant looked at Stan. “Do you want to tell her what Alison told us yesterday?”
Stan was a little surprised that Grant wanted him to tell it, but didn’t dwell on it right then.
“Well, she talked more about her encounter with Baldwin at her open house last week. When she thought about it more, she realized that the guy didn’t quite threaten her, but he was angry and he gave her what she thought were threatening looks.”
When he didn’t continue, Sonia said, “That’s all?”
Grant said, “Isn’t that enough to at least talk to him . . . at his home?”
Sonia leaned back in her chair s
eeming to be deep in thought. When she leaned forward again she said, “I’m afraid I’m under direct orders from the chief on this one as well. If he says it’s enough then we’ll do it.”
Stan didn’t like that answer, and he could tell that Grant didn’t either.
Sonia picked up her pen again then tossed it back down. “Okay guys, I’m going to tell you exactly how it is. Then maybe we’ll all three be able to work together the rest of the way on this case.” She leaned back in her chair again.
Stan looked at Grant who was looking at him. By silent agreement, they decided to just wait her out and let her continue when she was ready.
“Literally, by department policy, neither of you should still be on this case.”
She let that sink in for a full minute. “But, I stuck my neck out with the chief and the Commander Jessup and they are willing to give you a chance.”
They both breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed a little.
“Only . . . if I am on the case and only . . . if I am with you at all times!” She glared at each one individually. “Is that perfectly clear?”
They both answered, “Yes.” and relaxed a little more.
“Now, before you think you’re free and clear, here are the rest of the rules.”
She held up one index finger. “First, as I implied just now, neither of you will do anything, and I mean anything, related to this case without me right there with you. Understood?”
After their affirmative replies she said, “Second, if either of you let your emotions get involved in any way, especially to the extent that you jeopardize the case or the safety of anyone, including yourselves, you’re off the case immediately.”
She looked straight at Grant then said, “For your information, I know that Becker is in love with your sister.”
Grant turned to Stan who grinned and shrugged his shoulders.
She laughed and said, “It’s about as clear to me as it was last year as soon as you met Kelly.”
Stan saw Grant flinch and he knew that his best friend was thinking the same thing he was. Sonia was much more perceptive than they’d given her credit for and they’d better not forget it.
Stan was sure he was blushing again but didn’t care. His only thoughts were how to keep Alison safe.
“Sonia, I would like to suggest that I go with Alison every time she shows a house or any time she’s out there alone.”
Sonia nodded. “I think that’s a great idea, except I think that all three of us should take turns doing it.”
Stan wasn’t sure he liked that so well. He wanted to be with Alison as much as possible. But he knew he had no choice. It looked like Sonia was firm on this one. “Okay, she has a showing this evening, why don’t I take the first turn?”
She looked at Grant who nodded. “Okay. Now, go on out to your desks and let me give the chief a call to see what he says about talking to Baldwin at his home.”
They stood to leave, but Grant paused in the doorway. “We’re going to take a long lunch this afternoon to move my mother into her new house.”
She waved him on. “That’s okay. We don’t have anything urgent for this afternoon anyway.”
As soon as they sat down at their desks, Stan said, “Are you kidding me? Is she that good or what?”
Grant laughed and Stan could see the tension melting off of him. “Yeah, I think we’ve both been underestimating her.”
“You’ve got that right.”
Grant smiled and said, “She sure has changed though. Before, she’d have come unglued if she thought I was questioning her judgment. But, no, she just explained everything without even getting mad.”
When Stan shook his head and grinned, Grant said, “Well I think it’s time to go help Mom move.”
Stan looked over at him. “Isn’t it strange to be calling her Mom?”
“Yeah, but thanks to Kelly pushing me, I’m getting used to it. And I kind of like having her around. Let’s go move her into her new house.”
* * *
Alison spent Monday morning reviewing contracts that her associates had written over the weekend. Even though she hadn’t been very productive the last few days, the rest of the office had been rather busy. She was happy for that, at least.
Her mind began to wander after several hours though. Of course, it wandered to the attacks and the fact that the note had said she was next. That sent chills down her back.
Who was it? Who was doing all of this? Could it be one of the three men that Stan and Sonia thought it might be? Could it be Spencer? No, even if he was angry with her, he just wasn’t the violent type . . . was he?
Could it be Blaine? She had never been afraid of him before. She’d just thought of him as a nuisance, not a danger. But, ever since she put the For Sale sign on her lawn, he had changed. He had become very angry.
Could it be Wilson? Now him she could believe! He was much more forceful than either of the other two men. She didn’t know Wilson very well, but that last day, the day she’d had to fire him, she’d seen a side of him she didn’t know existed. She had seen hatred in his eyes just before he left her office.
Yes, if it was one of those three, she was certain that it had to be Wilson. Now, the question was, what was he going to do next? But, wasn’t that the job for her brother and the other detectives? Well, she wasn’t going to sit around and wait for him to attack her. What could she do? She had to do something
Her musings were interrupted when Mary buzzed her to remind her of her lunch with Kelly.
On her way to the restaurant, Alison thought about Kelly whom she’d thought at first was just another spoiled rich girl. But Alison had found out that Kelly was far from the typical rich girl. From what she saw of things, Kelly and her brother Wayne both worked very hard at the family company and always had. Grant had told her about how Kelly ran the entire financial department for the company with its eight dealerships.
Even if none of that was true, Kelly was just one of the nicest persons Alison had ever known. That too had been a surprise. At first, she’d thought that Kelly was just being nice to her because of Grant. But no, that wasn’t true of Kelly at all.
Alison had never had a best friend, even in high school. She’d always been a loner. Even now, as an employer, she couldn’t afford to get too close to any of her employees. But Kelly, who had also been a loner due to her bad leg, was bringing Alison out of her shell, and big surprise to her, she was beginning to like it.
When Alison arrived at the restaurant, Kelly was already sitting at a table in the rear. Alison slipped into the chair across from her and said, “I’m not late am I?”
“Oh, no, Alison. It’s just that I always like to get to a restaurant early to be first so I can request a table instead of a booth. It’s rather painful for me to get in and out of booths.”
Alison was surprised at how bad she felt. “I’m sorry Kelly, I didn’t think about that. If I’d gotten here first, I would have taken a booth, since they’re more private.”
“That’s okay, Alison, most people never think of things like that.”
Then Kelly smiled and a dreamy look came over her face. “That was one of the first things that caused me to start falling in love with Grant. That first time we came here, he chose a table because he assumed that booths gave me trouble.”
Alison laughed. “Are you saying my brother is thoughtful . . . and considerate? My Brother? You can’t be talking about my brother.”
Kelly joined in her laughter and the mood softened so much that Alison was surprised to realize that she was becoming comfortable with Kelly.
Kelly grew serious. “Alison, I love your brother very much, and I would want to be friends with you for his sake regardless. But, I have grown rather fond of you, and I want to be friends with you because of who you are.”
Alison didn’t know what to say, so she focused on her napkin as she unfolded it and spread it across her lap.
After their iced teas arrived, Kelly said, “Alison, I h
ope you don’t mind, but I guess you could say that I’m going to stick my nose into your business.”
Alison didn’t know what to expect, so she leaned a little toward Kelly, as she continued, “I would like to know your honest opinion of Stan.”
Alison was stunned. She didn’t see that one coming. What could Kelly be getting at?
It took her a moment but, when she was able to put words together into a sentence, it wasn’t the most intelligent sentence she’d ever uttered.
“Why? What do you mean?”
Kelly laughed. “Okay, let me rephrase that question. Do you like Stan?”
Now what should she say? What could she say?
“Sure, I guess I like him well enough. After all, he’s been Grant’s best friend for twenty years, and he lives two doors down from Sybil. We sort of grew up together. I’ve been around him a lot since I was eight years old.”
Kelly shook her head with a big smile on her face. “Now, I think I know just the question to ask.” She took a sip of her tea. “How would you describe Stan to someone who doesn’t know him?”
Another shocker! Describe him? That was tough. She knew Kelly didn’t want her to bash Stan, so what could she say about him that was nice?
“I guess I would say that he’s a very friendly sort of guy.” At Kelly’s encouraging smile and nod, she continued. “And I guess you could say he’s not bad looking.”
Kelly just sat there waiting for more.
“He laughs a lot. He jokes around a little too much for me.” Oops, she had been trying to be nice. “Well, I would have to say that he’s fun to be around . . . most of the time.”
Kelly was laughing so hard now that she had tears in her eyes. What was so funny?
Kelly wiped her eyes with a tissue. “I’m sorry Alison, but you should hear yourself and see the expressions on your face when you try to think of nice things to say about Stan.”
She waved a hand in front of her face. “Describe him the way you feel about him.”
Now she was cornered. What could she say?
Accepted Memories (Sycamore P.D. Series Book 2) Page 12