Eleven Days: An Unexpected Love (14 page)

Trying to sleep
was
an impossible task now because
her
emotions were too intoxicated by t
his
man.
His
muscular body and sweet breath
lay
only a few inches away.
Her
body wanted to wake him up to take care of business, but
her
heart knew he needed rest. Scientific research did show a person sleeps better after sex.
Her
mind and heart wrestled
with
waking him or not. The mind won.
She
acted out the next best alternative, snuggling.

Chapter 12

3:42 a.m.

The phone rang,
she
thought,
and being
half asleep so
she
couldn't be sure. Phone ringing in the middle of the night
couldn't be
good news.
She realized it was
his
cell phone.
"Mike, phone,"
she
said as
she
tried to wake him.
She
shook him, but he
was
dead to the world. "Mike, please wake up your phone is ringing."

He stirred and finally reached for the phone. "Hello … When ... I'm at the beach house … I can be ready in fifteen minutes …. Yea …. You can pick me up in twenty minutes …. No I'll tell them …. Bye." He hung up and just held
his
cell phone. He sat on the edge of the bed, and he didn't say a word.

"As much as I
would
like to stay, I have to go," he said as he took a deep breath.

"I know baby, and I am so sorry t
his
happened, and I wish I could help in some way."
Her
heart hurt for him because
she
knew what he needed to do, and
how hard it would be for him.
He rose from the bed and took a shower
with
out saying another word.
She
knew t
his
guy two days and already knew he liked to hold in
his
feelings of despair and hurt. Many men were like
that
and he
was
one of them.

She
went in the kitchen and made some coffee. Mike walked in the kitchen just as it finished. As
she
reached for the mugs he walked over and put
his
arms around
her
. They both needed
that
.
She
needed it for
her
loss of James and he needed it for
his
lost agent. "I didn't want our first morning together to be like t
his
. I hope you forgive me, but I do have to go." He
got
choked up as he put on
his
coat.

"There is nothing to forgive, and I certainly understand you have to go. We will have other mornings, so don't worry about t
his
one. Here is some coffee and I couldn't find a travel mug to take
with
you."

"
That
's okay I'll drink some until Colby gets here. Frank passed away a couple of hours ago, and our team is meeting at
his
house then we
're
going to the office. I will have to spend some time in the office, and I don't know how long
that
will be." He hated to say anything to
her
.
She
didn't need to be burdened
with
his
problems.

"I understand. I'll be here when you come home."
She
didn't know what else to say.

About
that
time
his
ride drove up, and Mike held
her
for a few seconds and
she
gave him a big squeeze to let him know
she
understood. He kissed
her
on the forehead, sat down
his
mug on the bar, and out the door he went.

She
stood at the
window and watched him drive down the road and turn the corner
.

Then
she
added logs to the fire.

Chapter 13

D
ay 4

October 18, 7:30 a.m.

Lana
awoke to
heavy sleet.
She
pea
ked outside and saw dark clouds
ushered in the cold northerner.

When
she
g
lance
d
at the wood left on the stoop
and outside
she
knew
she
need
ed
to order
some more wood
,
or call someone to fix the furnace. After making several calls,
she
found Johnson Tree Service and they could deliver a half cord of wood t
his
afternoon.
She
felt better knowing
she
would
have wood for a couple of day, and
that
certainly lifted a burden off
her
shoulders, and Mikes.

Once
she
completed
her
morning rituals; showering, breakfast, make-up, and cleaning up the kitchen.
She
relaxed snuggled in
her
favorite patch work quilt watching the news to see if
she
could find any information about the deceased federal agent.
She
flipped through several of the local channels and ended on CBS's station. The morning show
called
Today's Headlines
and they seemed to have the best coverage. The news covered the snowfall, the sluggish economy, dishonest politicians, and a dog
gave birth to fourteen puppies. Not one thing mention about the deputy. It's sad
that
a dishonest politician captured news time, and the deceased federal agent didn't even get mentioned.

Just about the time
she
was
about to give up, NBC interrupted the program
with
a special report.
She
turned on the volume of the TV so
she
could hear every word. Mike stood on the steps of a courthouse
with
several microphones stuck in
his
face, and he said. "Today, tragically we lost a comrade, Deputy Frank Bellamy, who lost
his
battle for
his
life after being shot. He's from Denver Colorado and he
'll
be laid to rest
there
."
She
noticed how he emphasized the word
deputy
. He wanted the reporters to remember him as an officer of the law.

A female reporter asked. "It's been reported he
was
shot serving a felony warrant, is t
his
true?" The reporters
shoved
each other
as they tried to stick
their microphones in Mike's face.

"Yes."
That
's just like Mike to give short answers.
She
knew
that
part of Mike very well. He looked straight ahead and didn't focus on any one reporter. He didn't have
the
smiling face he had last night. He looked solemn and in command.

A male reporter asked. "Can you elaborate on
that
Deputy Ramsey?"

"He
went in as the
point man in serving a felony warrant and he
was
struck in the head by a bullet." Mikes experience led him to answer
with
the fewest words possible. Through the years he knew the more he said the more the media could twist
his
words
. All the deputies knew not to say a word at all, even if the media asked them specific questions.
That
was
not a policy of the marshals, only
Mike's rule. He didn't want to clean up anything misconstrued by what
his
men said.

The second reporter asked another question. "What caliber
was
the bullet and did he have on protected head gear?" He asked the question as though the agents were idiots and Mike
would
say.
No we did not have on protective head gear or armored suits, we went in wearing tutus
.
With
out a doubt to
Lana
or anyone watching,
that
question annoyed Mike.

Mike raised
his
left eyebrow, and
Lana
thought uh oh. "Yes we had on protective gear and I will not disclose the caliber of the bullet."
His
tone sounded annoyed. Mike didn't mind answering questions, but move on to legitimate questions. Mike wanted them to ask about how they're taking criminals off the street.

The first female reporter added to the question. "Did you arrest the shooter?" Mikes face softened as he looked at the female reporter.
Lana
noticed h
e liked
that
question
.

"Yes the suspect has been arrested and charged
with
capital murder. The rest is up the
prosecutor."

The second male report rudely asked another question. He didn't seem to have any couth. "So you're throwing your hands up at the rest of the investigation, and you're finished
with
the case? T
his
suspect isn't going to get a fair investigation because he killed one of your men?"

Mikes lips tightened and he glanced down in aggravation as he spoke. He shuffled
his
feet and then leaned on
his
right foot. Mike leaned in just a little, as if to get in the reporters face to say back off
, and he meant it
. "No, we are not finished
with
the case by any stretch of
your
imagination. The district attorney's investigators will take over the case to investigate,
that
's protocol."

The reporter
did n
ot give an inch. "Isn't it protocol
that
you typically investigate
all
other cases when there is a shooting, so why not t
his
one?"

"When an officer is shot, it is protocol and policy
that
another agency, DA, or another team will investigate."

All the other reporters were getting aggravated at t
his
idiot who obviously hadn't a clue of what kind of questions to ask. Not only
that
, he
was
n't giving the other reporters time to ask anything.
His
only goal
was
to make the Marshals look stupid and incompetent. But he
would
n't stop being obnoxious
. "So you're saying you can't be impartial to the investigation?"

"
That
will be all the questions for now. Any other questions can be directed to our public relations department. They will be releasing a statement in the next twenty-four hours. We expect respect to be given to the grieving family and friends of Deputy Frank Bellamy and please keep them in your prayers. Thank you." Mike made sure he said Frank Bellamy again. He didn't want anyone to forget the fallen agent's name.

As Mike walked off, the man tried to get in
his
face
with
a microphone. The other de
puties stepped between Mike and the
reporter. The other reporters shook their heads in disgust. Its reporters like him
that
made all the others look bad. The
deputies just moved on, a
pparently they were used to these kinds of idiots.

She
was
so proud Mike for not losing
his
temper, t
hat
's
another fine quality
she
could add to the list. He showed great self control.