The Wife of a Lesser Man (LA Cops Series Book 1) (21 page)

“They sure will.  It’s such a tragedy.  How will the kids cope?”  She asked herself.

“Life must go on,” he said, and then asked.  “Is your husband here?”

“Not yet.  They’re all coming together after a meeting.”

“What about Sarah?  How’s she doing?”  Matt gestured for her to walk towards the room.

“Oh she’s fine.  I haven’t talked to her in a couple days, but she’s just busy with work.  Do you want me to hook you two up?”

Matt half laughed.  “We’ll talk, but maybe now isn’t the appropriate time?” 

“Very true.”  She blushed. 

They approached the room together, just as another hoard of people came through the front door.  She recognized Lisa, Richard and then Mark.

“I should be going.  I was hoping to catch yoga class tonight,” he said, looking at his watch with his back to the door.

“Oh, so soon.”  Shelley frowned.

“I just wanted to pay my respects.  These scenes are not for me,” he explained, holding her hands.

“Will you be there later?  At yoga?”

“Oh no, I’m staying until the last guest leaves.  I’m sure that’s what Mark will want,”  she said, shaking her head.

“Well, until next time then,” he said, kissing her hand.

Mark caught the back of Matt’s head and watched him as he spoke to his wife.  Nelson distracted Shelley from approaching Mark.  She followed him back into the room.  When Matt walked away, Mark watched him, noting he left using the opposite entrance door.

The crowd was subdued, but the room was as densely packed as the mosh pit of a rock concert.  Shelley and Mark were both lost among all the guests, unable to find each other. 

By the time things began to quiet down, Mark and Shelley were tired and Mark had forgotten about Matt even being there.  So had Shelley.

“Hey, I know you,” Shelley said, giving Mark a playful tug on the arm.

“Jesus.  Have you ever seen so many people?”

“It’s unbelievable.  Charlie and Madeline would have been proud.”

“It looks like we’re free to go pretty soon.  Not many people left.”

Mark nodded.  “I’ll walk you to your car.  You mind if Richard tags along?  I’ll see if he wants to swing by or go home.  We carpooled.”

“Sure.  I figured that.”  Shelley said.

Mark held the door open for Shelley and then remembered.  “Hey, I meant to ask you.  Who was that guy you were talking to when I got here?  He left?” 

Shelley waved.  “Oh, it’s a small world.  I met him at yoga but his dad was a friend of Charlie’s brother.  His name’s Matt.”

Mark smiled and kissed her on the cheek.  “I’ll see you at home.”  He whistled to Richard, sitting on the seat in the hallway drinking coffee.  “You ready?”

“Right behind you,” Richard said.

Mark watched Shelley pull out onto the street.  He kept watching until her lights were no longer visible. 

“So who was the suit she was rapping with when we got here?  He seemed to leave in an awful hurry,” Richard said.

“Some yoga faggot.”  Mark laughed.

“What was he doing at Charlie’s wake?”

Mark turned on the ignition as he answered.  “Apparently his dad was friends with Charlie’s brother.”

Richard cocked his neck back slightly and blinked.  “Hm.  That doesn’t make sense.”

Mark looked at him, waiting for the punch line.

“Charlie was an only child.  He didn’t have any siblings.”

…

Shelley pulled up to the house and turned off the ignition.  The house was bathed in darkness.  Mark was on his way home with Richard in tow.  She was exhausted and couldn’t wait to go to bed.  An early morning awaited her.

As she put her key in the hole, the door opened a crack.  Shivers went up her spine.  The lock had clearly been tampered with.  She froze.  Ever since she and Mark met, she’d never felt the need to dial emergency services, but at that moment she did.  Mark was right behind her but every moment he hadn’t arrived seemed like an eternity.  She heard squealing tires from afar and saw lights flashing.  The lights came toward her.  Mark and Richard flew out of the car.

“Shelley!  Get away from the door!”  Mark yelled and drew his pistol.

She ran to her car.  “The lock’s broken!”  Mark nodded.

“Get in your car and lock the door.”

Sirens were heard from a distance.  Shelley let out a breath of relief: they called for back up. 

She saw another cruiser pull up. Nelson and Wendell exited.  Shelley rolled down the window.  “They went inside,” she said. 

“Okay ma’am, you’re safe with me,” Nelson said, watching Wendell enter the house.

A few minutes later all three came back out. 

“It’s all clear.  Shelley, you want to come in and see if anything is out of place?”  Mark asked.

She nodded and went inside the house.  They searched, and everything was in order.

Their neighbour, Mabel, tapped lightly on the door before entering.  Shelley saw her and motioned her in.

“Sorry for the fuss, Mabel.  Everything’s okay,”   Shelley explained.

Mabel was a short, plump woman with snow white hair.  She was wearing a beige bulky knit sweater that met her knees; her white flannel night gown was poking under it, puddling the floor.

“What happened Shelley?  Were you robbed?”  Mabel asked.

“No, no, we had an intruder of some sort.  He must have came and went before any of us arrived.    The lock was broken when I came home from a wake, but nothing’s out of place or missing.” 

Mabel nodded.  “Thank God.  We have such a nice neighbourhood.  Everybody knows Mark lives here, so it’s quite peaceful.”

Richard approached.  “Did you see anyone near the house tonight?”

“No, I’m afraid I didn’t.  I was home all night, too.” 

“No funny business?  Nothing peculiar?”  Richard added.

“No, nothing at all.  Quiet as usual.” 

Richard nodded. 

“You let me know what comes of it, okay Shelley?”  Mabel said, turning back out the door.

“I sure will.  Thanks Mabel.”  Shelley said.

“Tell me everything you know about this ‘Matt’ guy,” Richard said, sitting down at the kitchen table with pen and paper.

“I met him at yoga.  He has a lion tattoo on his arm.  He’s a Leo.”

“What did he tell you about himself?”

“He’s an engineer.  A student actually.  He said he’d been laid off and the government gave him money to go back to school.”

“Anything else?”

Shelley looked at Richard, he sensed the hesitation.  “Level with me,” He said comfortingly.

“He had interest in me.  It was pretty clear.  I told him I was married and encouraged him to go for Sarah.  She was interested in him.”

“Did he ever give you anything?”

“His card,” she said, pulling it out of her purse. 

Richard studied it, noting the smiley face over the ‘i’, and showed it quickly to Mark.  “I’ll bag this.”

He walked out to the car and Mark approached.

They exchanged looks.  There was a pause.  “I told him I was married.”  She admitted. She became focused on a spot on the floor.  A lump began to form in her throat.

“Did he touch you?”  he asked gently, almost whispering.  She nodded slowly. 

“He kissed me, and I didn’t push him away.” 

Mark came closer and took her gently by the waist.  She nuzzled into his chest.  He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back.

“When this is all over, we need to take care of
us
.” 

Richard re-entered and saw the embrace.  He said, “I think we’re all done here.”

Shelley’s head emerged.  “Thanks for everything guys.”  Nelson and Wendell saluted and walked out with Richard.

Mark let go of Shelley and gently took Richard by the arm before he closed the door.  “You mind staying?”

…

Shelley closed the bedroom door and began undressing for bed.  Mark had given Richard a pair of jogging pants and a t-shirt to wear overnight.  He was sleeping in Jennifer’s room.  Shelley removed her shoes and placed them under her dressing table, and took off her special occasion earrings.  The box wasn’t in its usual place: there was a compartment that it fit perfectly inside the top portion of her jewellery box.  As she searched her dressing table, she found it on the edge of the table, almost ready to fall on the floor. 

‘The guys must have knocked it when they searched earlier.’ She thought.  As she opened it, her eyes widened and she yelled for Mark.

Both Mark and Richard heard and ran to her, practically breaking down the door to get to her.  Shelley’s hands were shaking and she was hyperventilating as she held the box open so they could see what was inside.

The box had an unspent bullet sitting on the back lip with a small note scrunched into the top, just like the other box and bullet they found from Karen Reed’s belongings.

The note read ‘For You’, and the ‘o’s had smiley faces drawn in them.

Chapter 18

“You think it’s him?”  Richard said.

“I’d bet my life on it.  He’s a James Gruber wannabe, he likes redheaded kindergarten teachers, he dots his ‘i’s and ‘o’s with smiley faces.”  Mark counted the reasons on each finger.

“Plus, he lied about knowing Charlie.  He just wanted to make sure you and Shelley wouldn’t be there, so he could plant his little present.”

Mark immediately dialled Lisa’s cell number.  She answered on the first ring.

“Lisa, did you give the picture and details to Peggy over at WNYU?”

“Absolutely.  It hit the six o’clock news.”

“Okay, call her again.  We need to get this out immediately.  We need all hands on deck.  He is armed and dangerous and is going by the name of ‘Matt’.  I’m bringing Shelley over to the station to look at his mug shot.  We need to get his picture to all stations.  We need someone over at the rec center and a road block.  He’s been in my house.”

“Jesus Christ.  Is everybody alright?”

“Shelley’s a bit shaken.  He’s made friends with her over the last few weeks it seems.”

“Oh my god…..unbelievable….I’m heading to the station now.”

“I’ll meet you there.”

…

Nearly every police officer in the city was posted at various locations, including Andy.

When Lisa arrived at the station, the place was like a ghost town.  She tossed her handbag on the desk, checked to ensure her spare gun was still affixed to the underside of her desk, and logged in to her computer.

As she heard the chime of her software connecting, she also heard the front door open. 

Lisa said without looking up, “Boy that was quick. You guys didn’t stop for a coffee I bet.”  When there was no answer, she looked up and saw the barrel of a handgun pointed at her face.  He said from behind the desk, about ten feet away “No, but I’ll take you out for one….if you live that is.”

Lisa turned to face Matt, or Peter Hatcher, or whatever name he was using.  She put her hands up and rose slowly out of her chair.

“You know, I prefer redheads, but a cute blonde will do.  I might consider rethinking my taste.”  he said, his eyes looking her up and down seductively.

“Chief Tame will be here any second,” she said, looking back at her desk, trying to figure out if she could move fast enough to grab her gun.

“Yes, that’s what I was hoping for.  Do you think I came just for you?”  He laughed.

“What do you want?”

“Well, I’ve never actually met the chief.  I’ve heard lots about him through the years, but I’ve yet to have the pleasure.”

“He won’t be alone.  There will be two guns pointed at you.”

“Well, see, that’s where you come in.”  As he said this, the gun pointed up and down her body.

“What are you going to do with me?” 

“Ah, don’t you worry, pretty lady,” he said. 

When they both heard the car door close, Lisa prayed Matt was stupid enough to park somewhere that Mark or Richard would take notice.  Matt moved away from the door and came to her side, grasping her from behind.  He placed the barrel of the gun on her cheek.

Richard entered first and when he saw Matt he immediately went to draw his weapon. 

“Don’t even think about it!”  Matt shouted.

Richard obeyed.  Mark did the same.  Shelley came last and when she saw Matt, she let out a scream, placing both hands to her mouth in shock.

“Well, hello Shelley.  Did you miss me?”  Matt asked slyly.  She didn’t answer.  He ignored her silence and moved on to Mark.

“Chief Tame.  It seems you’re not as sharp these days, are you?”

Mark took the bait.  “How do you mean?”