Eleven Days: An Unexpected Love (34 page)

"Joe ate three boxes by himself."

"Are you serious? Mike your pulling my leg."
She
could tell by
his
bright eyes and grin
that
he
was
teasing
her
.

"Yep, I'm te
asing you. I think we had
fifteen men here. They were coming and going all evening bringing computers and tables. So I just ordered a bunch. Babe
, are you feeling well? D
o you want some medicine?"
Her
eyes looked lethargic, and normally they looked alert.

"I think I might
feel better if I took some medicine, but it makes me sleepy. Plus it makes me so hungry.
Would
you love me if I gained weight?"

"Honey, you could gain a few pounds. Besides, I
would
love you no matter what. If you need some medicine don't worry about sleeping. Since we're going to be up most of the night anyway
,
you might as well sleep."

She
leaned over and asked softly. "If I do take some medicine, will I be in the way if I stay in the living room and talk
with
you all for a little while?"

"I'd
love
that
. Honey, you can come in the living room any time you want. Or you can go to bed and watch TV if you want. You can watch Netflix in there as well. You go wherever
makes
you feel comfortable."

About
that
time Raymond walked in and poured himself some coffee. He
was
quiet so
she
spoke first. "I bet you all go through a lot of coffee during
your cases.
"

"Yes ma'am. Folgers loves us when we
have an
investigation going
strong
. In
that
sense we're the true stereotype cops. We even like donuts." He said while grinning.

Mike added. "We order a lot of pizza as well."

Lana
laughed looked at the stack of pizza boxes and shook
her
head in agreement. "I see
that
. How many do you all order?"

Mike and Raymond looked at each other.

Raymond looked at the ceiling trying to remember. "I think it
was
the
Costella
case when we order ov
er three hundred boxes of pizza, and we only had four people working.
"

Lana
toggled glances between the guys. "You're kidding, right?"

Mike raised
his
eyebrows and answered. "He's right. Pizza
was
the only decent food for miles. We were there about six weeks and we ate pizza for lunch and supper. I
hated pizza for a long time after
that
job.
" He glanced at Raymond. "I don't think we ordered pizza for several months after
that
case."

"At least seven months." Raymond cringed at the thought of how much pizza they ate. He
rummaged
through
the empty box of
donut
s
.

She
suddenly realized he wanted something sweet and
she
did too. It must be the medicine
that
made
her
have a sweet tooth. "
How about I make a batch of chocolate chip cookies?
Would
you guys like some homemade cookies?"

"Yes ma'am,
I
would
." Joe answered from the living room.

"Let's see what we can do about
that
."
She
looked through the fridge and cabinets.
She
didn't think
she
had everything
she
needed for the cookies, but
she
could make some brownies.
As
she
looked through the cabinets and fridge, they were empty.
What the hell,
she
looked bewildered.

Mike and Raymond looked at eac
h other. "Babe we had all the food
sent to the crime lab
, everything in the cabinet and the refrigerator.
"

"Why?"

"Since we know someone
was
in the house we don't know if they did anything to the food. We had to send it all to the crime lab for analysis. But if you want something sweet Joe can go
to the store.
Besides I don't want you to have to do a thing. Doctors orders, you need to rest."

"Mike you don't understand, cooking does relax me. I do understand about the food, and I
would
be devastated if something happened to your guys. I
sure could eat
something sweet. Do you mind if we run to the store and get something to cook and get some more coffee and creamer. Besides, I could use so
me fresh air."
She
thought Mike acted
too protective.

He could tell by the look in
her
eyes
she
was
determined. Besides, the store
was
only a few miles up the road. "I don't mind taking you. Joe and Raymond can stay and watch the house." He remembered the medic telling him
she
needed fresh air. Getting away from the house
would
relax
her
.

Joe smiled and said. "I don't mind at all."

She
could tell Mike
didn't want
her
to go, b
ut they did need
supplies.
His
look
did
not detour
her
, s
he
picked up
her
coat. "Are you ready?"
She
quickly made
a mental note of everything
she
need
ed
for cookies and breakfast. Sam's grocery
was
the closest and
s
he knew
they had
the basic ingredients.

"Yes ma'am," he said while grabbing
her
hand.

Off they went. It felt good to get out of the house, the cold air woke
her
up and
that
was
exactly what
she
needed.
She
took long deep breaths.

Mike knew
every breath
she
took helped clear
her
head. Immediate
ly he saw a change in
her
eyes, they were coming back to life.

Joe walked them out a
nd stood there as they drove away
.

They got maybe a tenth of a mile, and Mikes' phone talked to him.

Joe called him on
his
walkie-talkie. "Hey Mike, you may want to do a 311. A 412 is in progress."

Mike turned off
his
lights, slammed on
his
brakes and backed in between trees. The SUV
was
dark and
would
be well hidden.

"What is a 311 and a 412?"
she
asked.
She
did figure out it
was
some kind of code.

"
That
's a code we use
with
our team. We are the only ones
who
know the code
, so if anyone listens
in on our frequency they don't know our plan. A 311 is Joe heard a car start and leave
with
their lights off
and t
hey left when we did. The 412 means Joe is on
his
way to us
as we speak
. Raymond will stay
at the house." He explained while
watching the road.

"Joe
stood
outside listening?"

"Yes we always listen when an agent leaves in case someone is following
one of our cars
.
That
's one of the reasons we try to stay at isolated places, so we can hear and see what goes on around us."

"
That
's smart."

"
Lana
I want you to take a close look at t
his
car as it drives by to see if you know t
his
person." Mike pulled
his
Glock from
his
side and held it just in case he needed it. Concern and guilt overwhelmed
her
. What if there were several people in the car and they get out and
shot at
them.

"Okay. What do you want me to do if someone starts shooting?"

"Duck, and if you have to run--run towards Joe, he'll protect you."

The Explorer crept by and the windows were foggy and
she
couldn't see a thing. Mike instantly turned on
his
lights and darted out of their hiding place and started chasing the SUV. "If you need a gun there's one in the glove box." If
Lana
was
n't
with
him he
would
have rammed the SUV, or at least pull out in front of him so he
could
stop
the
m.
He should have listened to
his
instincts and left
her
at home.

"Are you kidding me, what do you mean if I need a gun? You're going after him?" Oh God, not again!
She
held on for dear life, praying.

"Yep, we always want
the upper hand
.
" He knew
she
would
n't understand
the danger of it all
, and it's like a firemen running into a burning buil
ding when everyone else runs the opposite direction
. Cops chase the bad guys when everyone else runs away from them.

"If you need me to do something, let me know," muttered
Lana
.

"Shoot out
his
tires." Mike grinned waiting for the shock look
she
was
about to give him.

"I thought I would shoot
the gas tank and blow it up
to smithereens
."

"Grab your gun Annie Oakley."

The man saw them chasing him and he drove faster and faster. "
Lana
, get your cell phone and text the license plate to me." He had
his
phone and
he talked to Joe. "Joe,
Lana
is texting
me the license plate
. W
e are in pursuit, and it's a green ford explorer, maybe a 2001. Looks like only one person, but the windows are foggy."

Joe responded. "I'm right behind you and I see your tail lights not far ahead, and I copy
that
. Be careful the road is slick."

Mike put both hands on the wheel because they slid side to side. He focused on
his
driving, when all of a sudden they spun out of control and hit a guard rail on a bridge
, bounced off
then landed in the ditch.

"Are you okay?" He tried to drive out of their predicament, but they were stuck.

"Yes,"
she
said
.

"Hey Joe I ditched the SUV. You need to hurry up and get here."

"I'm right here."

Mike and
Lana
got in Joe's SUV and started their pursuit of the Explorer, but it
was
long gone. They stopped and Mike got out, and he
couldn't have been more
pissed. "We should have had him."

Joe knew exactly what to say. "We have a license plate and make and model. We'll get him, and the police are on the way. Let's call in the license plate." Mike immediately looked
up
his
text and Joe called dispatch
.