Bob Moats - Jim Richards 01-03- 3 for Murder Box Set (9 page)

Trapper let all the air go out of his body and stood there for a while taking in the sunshine. Becker came out and said the CSU couldn’t find anything that would point to the woman. She had taken everything she came in contact with.

Trapper looked at him and rasped, “Not a one of the officers who were here could really ID her…old, gray hair, walked slow, etc. And the car she drove was reported stolen from a used car lot in Mt. Clemens early this morning. If we find it, I’ll bet my pension that it’ll be wiped clean.”

He sat on the hood of the nearest patrol car and just stared at the house.

“Murder doesn’t bother me; I’ve seen it way too much to be bothered. What bites my ass is this guy, person, old lady, whatever, is doing this while we’re watching the vic. That makes us look incompetent. I’m not retiring in two years with this blot on my record.  Becker, you’re in charge here. I’m going to see if I can still find Linda Grolich wherever she’s vacationing. Maybe we shouldn’t protect her. It might just get her killed!” He winced as if in pain, slid off the car hood, walked to his vehicle and then drove off. Becker stood there watching him then went back into the house.

~~*~~

I was trying to comfort Penny, but she was shaking so badly I could hardly hold her, so I sat her on the couch.

I called Trapper and told him about the note, and he told me about Sue Carter. I definitely wasn’t going to tell Penny about Sue at the moment.

“What about the cop watching Wickens?” he asked.

“He was on the job, but he was with us in the studio when someone slipped in her dressing room and left the note.”

“I’ll be there as soon as possible, with reinforcements. Again, don’t do anything.” He hung up.

I put my phone away, and Penny reached up to me, pulled me to the couch, and snuggled under my arm. She was still shaking, but not as bad.

“You’ll protect me won’t you?” Her eyes were misting now.

“You’re my girl now. Would I let anything harm you? Hell, no!” I was trying to reassure myself as well as her.

We had locked the door to her dressing room again until there was a banging on it. I asked who it was, and the now familiar voice of Trapper bellowed, “Open up, Richards!”

“What’s the password?” That got a brief smile out of Penny. Trapper started cussing, so I opened the door.

“Richards, if I really could find a good reason to haul you in, I would,” he threatened.

Penny stepped up next to me and said, “Over my dead body you will!” Then she realized what she said and started to cry on my shoulder. I moved her back to the couch where just an hour ago we were in bliss.

Trapper entered with two of the biggest uniformed cops I have ever seen. They would even make Buck look puny. He surveyed the room.

“Ok, fill me in,” said Trapper, more politely now.

I gave him all the details prior to Penny locking the door, skipping over the intimate details, and on to when she found the envelope.

Trapper sat on the chair and went thoughtful for a bit. “We need to get her to a safe location, one where the killer won’t find her. I’m not making her the fifth murder victim.”

Penny looked at him and said, “Fifth? Who else has died besides Dee, Joyce and Marge?”

Trapper was hesitant but volunteered, “Sue Carter was killed about two hours ago.”

Penny started shaking again, I held her closer and more firmly. She put her face into my shoulder and wept quietly.

Trapper got up and said, “I’m going to ask some questions around the studio, see if anyone saw someone go in or out of the dressing room.” He went out. The two giant cops just stood by staring at us while we sat on the couch.

I looked at the one closest and said with a big smile, “When do they throw the meat into your cage?”

He gave me a smile back. “They don’t feed us, so we go out and hunt for our own food, usually elephant.” 

The other big cop grinned and said, “I like water buffalo better.”

Penny was peeking out from my shoulder, listening to our conversation, and began to giggle.

Everyone laughed. It was good.

“Sweetie, will you stay with me?” she said in my ear like a child.

“Well, I’ll have to make a few phone calls. I’ll do what I can to stay around.” I explained to her about my situation with my parents. She understood and told me how good it was of me to do that. I think I scored a few more points with her, not that I was counting.

Trapper came back. “Amazing, no one saw anything. I talked to the floor manager, and he said a couple of people in the audience had asked to use the restroom. They don’t usually closely watch where these people may wander off to. So I guess someone could have slipped down the hall and left the note. They don’t keep track of names of people in the audience, but I’m sure he would have used a fake name anyway. There are no security cameras around which also amazes me. We are nowhere.”

He turned to the giant cops and said, “I want you two to stick to Wickens like glue. If anything happens to her, I’ll cut you both off at the knees, bringing you down to my level so I can smack your faces.” He asked Penny what her agenda was for the day. She said that she was done at the studio and would just be going home.

“Would it be a problem with having my officers hanging around your home?” Trapper asked.

“No, no problem. Besides Jim is going to help protect me too,” she said smiling at me.

Trapper grimaced and said, “Who’s going to protect you from him? I’m also going to put a couple officer outside of your home, so don’t worry.””

“As I understand it, four women have been murdered while under police protection, and you don’t want me to worry.” She sounded like she was interrogating a guest on her show.

Trapper’s face contorted. “Well, we will be on our toes this time. I promise.”

She looked at me. “You have some calls to make, and then we’ll go home.” I liked the way she said we would go home.

I went off into the bathroom and called my brother to ask if he could get Dad to bed. He said he would. Then I called Mom and told her that I had plans to do something with Buck and that my brother was filling in with Dad. She asked if I would be late. I said I probably would stay at Buck’s so not to worry about me. She was placated. I hated to tell her a tale, but she would have fretted all night if she knew I was camping out in a place where a serial killer might visit. I thought about that, and I called Buck.

“Hey, Jimmy, still alive?” Buck said as he heard my voice.

“Barely. Sue Carter was killed today, and a threat was made at Penny Wickens,” I replied.

“Whoa, what happened to Sue?”

I told him the gory details and then told him about my morning with Penny, leaving the intimate details just barely suggested. He congratulated me and asked when Penny and I were getting married.

“I just reconnected with her after forty years of not knowing she was crazy about me. I’m not rushing anything yet.”

There was a knock on the door. Penny called in to ask if I was OK. I said yes and that I was arranging for extra cavalry. She said she missed me and would wait. I smiled.

I asked Buck if he had any plans for tonight. He wasn’t working. He said he would help with anything I needed. I told him to hold on and went to the door. I opened it and called Penny in. I sat on the closed toilet, and she plopped down on my lap.

“Buck, get a paper and pen,” and then asked Penny for her address and directions. I gave them to Buck. “Bring your little silver persuader along and pick up a couple of good DVDs. We can meet around 7 P.M.” He agreed and I hung up.

Penny kissed me on the nose and thanked me for doing what I was doing. “I certainly hope we can get some privacy tonight. If not I’m sending everyone out of the house.”

“Including me?” I asked.

“No, silly, not you. I’ll need you.”

We gathered her stuff and took our little posse out to her car. One cop went to get their patrol car, and he picked up the other cop with us. I was surprised they could fit in the car. They followed us to Penny’s home on Lake St. Clair, and she pulled into the garage. I told her to wait in the car and lock the doors after I got out. Both of the cops and I went into her house and made a sweep of the place to make sure it was safe, then we went out and brought her in. Her black cat scared the hell out of me by jumping up on the counter in front of me. I jumped back and into one of the giant cops. He laughed out loud and picked up the cat.

“Hey, I wasn’t scared, just surprised,” I defended myself.

Penny put her things away and gave us a tour of the house so we knew where everything was. “You officers can camp out in the family room. It’s in the center of the house and easily accessible to the rest of the house.”

They thanked her and sat at the snack bar between the kitchen and the family room. She turned on the TV and gave them the remote, then grabbed my hand and led me to the back porch. It was enclosed with a fantastic view of the lake. I loved the water but hated contact with it. I was not into water activities.

We sat on a porch glider and swung slowly back and forth. The cat joined us and plopped down on my lap. I told her about my first sexual encounter.

“It was on an old metal porch glider like this one. It was in the girl’s parent’s basement, and it squeaked and groaned with our gyrating. I was surprised her parents didn’t come down to find out what all the racket was.”

She laughed and wondered what sex on a porch glider would be like. We’d have to try it sometime when there were fewer people around.

I thought about Buck and excused myself to go warn the officers about him. I noticed another patrol car pulling in the drive, and one of the giant cops and I went out to greet them. The newcomers stationed themselves outside blocking the only drive onto the property, a long way from the main road. I warned them about Buck, and they said they would watch out for him.

I left the four of them to plot world domination and went back to the house. Penny was standing at the door and hugged me as I came in. God, she felt so good, I didn’t want her to let go. We went to the kitchen, and she asked what I’d like to eat.

“Wow, you can cook?” I kidded.

“I’m hot in the kitchen, too, besides the bedroom.” That coy smile came back. I said to surprise me, and she went to work pulling foodstuff out of the fridge and cupboards. I sat at the snack bar and watched her. Even flitting around the stove, she looked luminous. I do believe I was falling in love.

Every now and then, she would stop to give me a kiss then back off to cook. She made a quick stew with ingredients she had on hand, and after a while, it was ready.

“Would you get plates out for everybody and the utensils are in that drawer,” she said pointing. I opened the drawer and pulled out the tray with the knives and forks.

I called the officers, and they took turns filling their plates with the stew. I hoped there would be some left for Penny and me. There was, so Penny and I sat at her dining table and ate while talking. I wanted to hear her life story after high school, and she gave me all the details. I filled in a few more of the holes in my life that I hadn’t covered earlier, and then we just sat there staring into each other’s eyes for a very long time.

The two giants came back in and one of them said, “Buck is arriving.” I was surprised that it was already 7:00 and went out to greet him, taking Penny with me.

Buck had seen Penny’s show so he was a fan already and was delighted to meet her. Penny was shorter than I was so Buck towered over her and lifted her off the ground when he gave her a friendly hug. She laughed and said she enjoyed the ride. Buck got a big chuckle out of that.