by Robert Olsen
“Suki? Come here quick,” Kathryn yelled. “It’s the police. I need you.”
Suki jumped up and ran to the door.
“What’s this? Suki said?”
“We need to come inside for just a moment ma’am and search your apartment for a computer that may be evidence in a capital crime.”
“No, get lost,” Suki said to the patrolman. Kathryn, quickly grabbed Suki’s arm yanking her outside into the hallway.
“You be quiet, you’re my witness.”
“What’s this all about, officer?” Kathryn said, standing in the corridor with Suki.
“Which one of you is the owner of this apartment?” The young patrolman asked again.
Just than Kathryn spotted Detective Peters, and Detective O’Donnell walking toward her.
“She is,” Peters said to the officer, pointing to Kathryn.
“Miss Becker, I am sorry to disturb you at this hour, but we have a warrant to search your apartment for evidence we believe is in your apartment that pertains to a portion of an active murder investigation. May we come in?”
“I’d first like to see the warrant, please.”
Detective O’Donnell produced a copy of the warrant for Kathryn to review.
“We don’t have a choice Suki. Go ahead detective.”
“All right men, it’s clear. Please be respectful of Miss Becker’s property.”
There were three men in addition to Detective Peters who entered the apartment. Detective O’Donnell remained outside the apartment in the corridor. The police were required to restrict access during a search and seizure so someone remained outside the door to prevent any unauthorized entry.
One man entered the kitchen, the two others were in the living room. Anything and everything not nailed down was moved or lifted up, so as to ensure nothing remained underneath or behind the visible objects. Cushions were removed from the sofa and the two officers literally picked up the sofa, turned it over and inspected the back, underneath, and seats to make certain no false fronts or pockets existed that could hide other objects inside the furniture. They proceeded to do that with every piece of decor or furniture.
They even lifted up a rug and examined the hardwood flooring for hiding places. Once the searching of the main rooms and closets were finished, the two patrolmen who searched the living room, moved into the bedroom and carefully looked at the bed, tables, and other furniture pieces. Detective Peters, was going through her clothing which, of course, made Kathryn more uncomfortable. Neither she nor Suki appreciated the extent of the search.
“This is frigging ridiculous, Suki. I’m so mad maybe I could kill someone. They’re treating me like some criminal and I’ve never broken the law in my life. Why are they doing this? It’s not fair!”
“Try to let it pass honey. Yelling about it will only make it feel worse.”
The third man walked out of the apartment, and joined Detective O’Donnell. The two men were talking for a while, then Detective O’Donnell walked into the apartment and joined the others in the bedroom. Apparently, the man was just relieving O’Donnell.
While the police were in the other rooms, Kathryn and Suki sat down on the sofa. Kathryn leaned forward placing her head in her hands.
“This is awful, Suki. I feel terribly violated and don’t deserve this. I did nothing wrong.”
“It’ll soon be over, Kate. Just hang in there a little longer.”
“Miss Becker, could you please come in here for a minute?” Detective Peters hollered out to the living room. Kathryn immediately walked into her bedroom. Suki was right behind her.
“May I see the license and registration for this gun please?”
“You never told me you had a gun,” Suki said surprised at what she just learned.
“You never asked,” she said, responding to Suki. Although she was thinking clearly at that moment, and could speak alright, deep inside of her she could feel the tremors beginning again. Soon, Kathryn’s hands were visibly shaking.
Her nerves had just about had it, and she wondered how much more stress she could take. She grabbed her purse, pulled out the gun permit from her wallet, and returned to the bedroom, feeling very jittery. As Detective Peters reviewed it, Detective O’Donnell had removed a draw from her dresser, set it on top of the bed, and appeared to be going through her underwear one piece at a time.
He was holding a tiny little lacy white pair of panties, when Kathryn turned and noticed him staring at her underwear. Unable to hold it back, she blurted out to him, “I don’t think you’ll find a fucking computer inside my panties Detective. Are you serious you moose twit? Really?”
“Enough O’Donnell, let it go and put that stuff away.” Yelled Detective Peters. “I apologize Miss Becker,” said Detective Peters, as he handed back to her the gun permit. This is fine, Ma’am, thank you.”
“Alright men, I think we’re through, said Detective Peters quite loud and harsh. Everything is fine here, but please make sure everything is back where you found it. Then, let’s get out of here, and leave these two ladies alone.”
“Did you find what you were looking for?” Kathryn said to Detective Peters.
“Again, I apologize Miss Becker, for the inconvenience. We’re only doing our job. Thank you for cooperating with us. There honestly was nothing for either of us to be concerned with.”
Moments later, the police were gone. Kathryn sat down on her sofa and cried again.
Chapter 29
It was Monday morning and Kathryn still felt terrible. The entire weekend was horrible, especially since Richard never called her back after he hung up the phone on her. It was as if he just up and walked out of their relationship. She was more upset than ever, and panicked over the thought she was totally out of control. She still feared that she might start crying at the drop of a hat.
I can’t deal with this office shit right now. Who am I kidding? I can’t even think straight. Oh Richard, why won’t you just give me a second chance?
She was correct about not being able to function. She was sitting at her desk, and felt like a lost little girl. Her mind was blank, and she had no idea what to do. At that very moment, concentrating on anything seemed to be the hardest thing in the world for her to do. Kathryn also felt like she wanted to be alone. To her confused mind, isolation seemed very attractive. She just wanted to be left alone and crawl into a hole somewhere.
When Barbara arrived in the office, she immediately knew Kathryn was not herself. Something dreadful had happened.
“Would you like to talk about it Kathryn? I can tell something really serious is bugging you.”
“Barbara, I’m a complete loser. I blew it. The cops think I’m a murderer, and Richard dumped me.”
“What? Richard dumped you? You poor thing, what happened?”
“You are very aware of the police visits.”
“Yes, of course, Kathryn.”
“Well, there have been no charges brought against anyone, however, everything they have done makes me feel like I’m their number one suspect.”
“Oh Kathryn, that’s silly. They aren’t thinking like that. They probably just know how smart you are and how much you know about their crime. Have they questioned Richard too?”
“Yes! That turned out to be a disaster. They brought up a lot of stuff about my school days and tried to tell Richard that he and I together did this. It is so confusing Barbara I can’t think straight.”
“Why did you say Richard dumped you?”
“He’s furious over the whole thing. He screamed at me on the phone, and hung up!”
“Oh dear.”
“I have been trying to call him, but he won’t call me back.”
“Maybe you should go home. Can you take a sick day?”
“I really don’t think I want to be home alone. The office may be a better place for
me to be, but I feel useless. I certainly can’t be effective doing anything. Look at me! I’m a wreck!”
“We’ll figure out something. I’m going to screen all your calls and try to defer everything I can.”
“Thank you Barbara. You’re a saint.”
Kathryn putzed around for an hour, accomplishing nothing. Feeling frustrated over her inability to get anything done, she wondered if maybe she should leave and go somewhere. Sort of take a break.
Maybe I can go outside, sneak over to a deli, or the park and sit in the fresh air and try to get a hold of Richard. If he won’t take my call, maybe I can call Thelma. Wait a minute? That’s it. I’ll go over to Physician Associates. I’ll stay until I can see Richard. He may talk to me just to avoid a scene in the office.
Feeling totally desperate over Richard’s reluctance to call, Kathryn decided to leave her office, and get a breath of fresh air.
“I’ll be back in a little while Barb,” Kathryn said to her secretary as she walked out of her office. “I’ve got to take a walk and try to clear my head. If anything important pops up, call me on my cell.”
“I won’t bother you unless it’s really urgent. I hope you feel better,” Barbara told her hoping that Kathryn would go without worrying about the office.
Kathryn left the building and headed straight for Central Park. She figured that slowly walking through the park, or even sitting on a rock or a bench would be peaceful. The quietness inside most of the park was surreal to Kathryn. You could sit inside Central Park in the middle of New York City, and amazingly the noise of the traffic could disappear like pigeons taking to the sky.
She entered on the south side and walked directly toward the ball field and concession stand. She followed the winding road with bike paths on both sides. Along the way she came upon huge boulders along the edge of the roadway, adjacent to the path. She stopped near the largest, and climbed up onto the big rocks. Once she reached the top, she found a clean rock to sit on and gazed out at all the people meandering through the greenery.
She felt good sitting there in the sun, and thought perhaps she really could relax, after all. When she thought the moment was right, she took out her phone and called Richard one more time.
I know you’re there, Richard, and you know it’s me. Pick up the phone, please!
She was more than disappointed when there was no answer. Suddenly, her mood took a turn for the worse. Kathryn sat perfectly still, feeling rejected and staring into blank spaces, realizing how many couples were in the park. Although untrue, to Kathryn it seemed that everywhere she looked at were happy couples, holding hands, kissing, running or biking together. At that moment, she truly felt alone.
Why can’t I be with Richard and look like everyone else? What’s wrong with me? Am I destined to be alone?
As her moment of relaxation waned, Kathryn knew what she needed to do. She needed to go to Richard.
Thelma can help me, I know she will. I’ve got to go to Physician Associates and just wait there until he’s free. One way or the other, I will see him.
So off she went, leaving Central Park the same way she entered, and walking south, zig zagging on the street corners as needed, until she made it to the doctor’s office.
The walk to the Physician Associates’ building was easy, and the thought of possibly seeing Richard, kept her in a better frame of mind. She felt extremely confident that Barbara could handle the office, but could Kathryn handle Richard? That was the question. Nothing meant more to her then speaking with Richard and trying to explain to him how much she loved him and that the police were dead wrong. But how would she react if she couldn’t see Richard, or if he rejected her?
I need to do this. There’s no turning around, now!
By the time she reached Physician’s Associates, Kathryn had time to get her thoughts together as well as calm down.
“Good morning Thelma.”
“Well, looky here at what I see,” Thelma spoke out loud. “Is this, our favorite salesperson paying us a visit? Or perhaps, the good doctor’s girlfriend is here for lunch? Maybe, it’s that wonderful benefactor of mine who sent me and my Melvin to the best musical in town. Oh my goodness, it’s all three wrapped up in one pretty package! Why good morning to you too, Miss Becker. What do we owe the honor of your presence, to?”
“Is the good doctor in? I would love to see him, but it’s a surprise, he doesn’t know I’m coming. Please don’t call to tell him I’m here. I just want to catch him when he’s free. I can wait as long as it’ll take.”
“Well, he’s with someone right now, but I doubt it will be much longer. You just sit tight honey, and we’ll get you two love birds together somehow!”
Oh Lord, I sure hope so, Thelma.
Kathryn walked over to the sitting area. There was no one there, but she chose a chair in the far corner to sit in and wait. From where she was sitting, she could clearly see anyone coming or going from the doctors’ offices into or from the lobby. She was reading a magazine article that really had her attention, when she vaguely heard two people talking. As she looked up, Dr. Marks walked through the doorway, directly into the lobby, with a tall platinum blonde. Kathryn immediately started getting up when the woman suddenly turned and gave Richard a hug and a kiss on his cheek, mumbling something in his ear. When she looked up, she spotted Kathryn.
“Kathryn? Is that you?” The blonde asked.
Kathryn completely froze in disbelief, as she recognized the platinum blonde. It was Lauren, from their Wednesday night card games.
What the hell? Lauren? That sexy flirt from our Wednesday card games?
“Damn it Richard, how could you!” Kathryn screamed in shock, as she turned and headed for the exit door.
“Kathryn, wait! What are you doing? Come back!” Richard cried out in vain. Kathryn, deeply upset, and in tears once again, just left the building as if forever banished to a world of isolation and hopelessness.
Chapter 30
Lauren stood speechless staring at Kathryn abruptly lacing into Richard and storming out of the office with a look of despair upon her face. Lauren, still in shock and barely able to speak, turned and looked into Richard’s eyes.
“My God Richard, what was that all about?” She asked confused over what possibly could have just happened to make Kathryn so upset.
“I don’t know, Lauren,” Richard said refusing to mention what he suspected even though, he too, was devastated over what had happened.
He did however, recognize the jealousy and hurt in Kathryn’s eyes. He felt terrible for Kathryn, especially knowing she had little justification for feeling jealous of Lauren. Richard knew how Lauren’s little flirting bothered Kathryn at the Wednesday card games, but didn’t think it really was that big of a deal since there was nothing going on between Lauren and Richard.
He also felt horrible because he knew there was only one reason Kathryn would have been sitting there quietly waiting. That emotionally struck his heart. A feeling of regret suddenly consumed him, knowing he had made a big mistake. A mistake that no doubt, hurt the woman he loved.
“I’m so sorry, Richard, but I haven’t a clue what just happened. I think you really need to go after that girl, or call her, or something. And, I think I better leave now. I’ll see you or call you soon,” Lauren said, still baffled by the mysterious incident.
“Goodbye Lauren.”
As soon as Lauren walked away, Richard called Kathryn, but as expected she didn’t answer. He then thought to call the offices of Rockne Pharmaceuticals.
“Hello, can you connect me with Suki Nikimora?”
“Can I tell her who is calling?”
“Doctor Richard Marks.”
Moments later Suki picked up. “Richard?”
“Suki, I apologize for bothering you at the office, but I really need your help. Do you have a few minutes?”
“Of course, Richard. What’s the matter?”
“It’s Kathryn, well, she...”
“Is Kathryn alright? Did something happen to her?”
“Oh, no, I’m sorry, she’s fine, nothing is wrong. It’s actually about me and Kathryn - our relationship. I’m sure you know a few things that have been happening lately.”
“I know you’re not taking her calls and refuse to speak with her, if that’s what you mean.”
“Yes. This is very awkward. Is there any way we could meet somewhere? Could I perhaps buy you a drink or a cup of coffee? I really could use your help.”
“It’s getting pretty late in the day. I suppose I could leave the office early. Where are you right now?”
“I’m at my office. We’re located at....”
“I know where it is. Let me think. What if I meet you at the Plaza Hotel, in the bar, in 45 minutes? Is that ok?”
“Perfect, it’s quiet. I’ll see you there.”
When Suki walked up to the bar, Richard was already seated with a drink in his hands. He immediately stood up and took her hand.
“Thank you so much for coming, Suki. I think I blew it, big time, and I think Kathryn has left me.”
“If there is any way I can help get you and Kathryn together again, it’s worth it.”
He ordered a glass of Chardonnay for her, picked up his drink and they walked over to a small table.
“I was wrong Suki to ignore her calls. The police are making a grave mistake and apparently think Kathryn and I had something to do with those murders. When they came to talk to me, they revealed some of Kathryn’s past that I’m sure I took the wrong way. It upset me a great deal, not that I’m trying to justify my behavior - I said I was wrong and mean it. I’m in love with Kathryn, Suki, and I don’t want to lose her. I just did a stupid thing. Anyway, today, I think Kathryn came to my office to try and talk with me. Well, there is this woman, her name is Lauren. Kathryn and I know her from our Wednesday card games. She was in my office.”