Eleven Days: An Unexpected Love (40 page)

She
took a deep breath and kept going. "
His
name
was
James. All
his
life he wanted a sports car and we decided to look at one on Saturday. On Tuesday I went by a few places and got some brochures
on sports cars, to surprise him. I thought I
would
drop them off at
his
house, and I rang the doorbell and no answer. Even though I saw
his
car in the drive, I put the brochures in the mailbox. Mike, he
was
laying in there dying. If I
would
have used my key, he might be alive today."
She
couldn't help herself and
she
just let
her
confession roll off
her
tongue.
She
never told anyone t
his
story. "After the funeral I
was
so depressed I couldn't function. I felt such guilt. I thought the best thing for me
was
to get away and clear my mind, and
that
's why I'm here. So you can see how everything
has overwhelmed
me. My emotions were already fragile when I got here."

Mike held
her
close. "Baby, I'm here for you now, and I'll carry
that
burden for you. I know what it's like to lose family. What happened to your cousin has absolutely nothing to do
with
you and it isn't your fault. I can assure you he
would
feel the same way as I do."

"I can't help but feel some guilt."

"Honey you should not feel any guilt. If
was
a horrible incident and it
was
n't your fault." T
his
story flooded
his
mind of
his
own memories of helplessness and guilt
with
his
wife. He watched
his
wife die of breast cancer. What could he have done different? What if he stayed home more? He knew exactly how
Lana
felt.

"I mentally told myself from the moment I stepped on the airplane I
planned on
relax
ing and writing
down all my feelings. Then my last night here I
planned on
burn
ing
my journal in the fireplace, and
that
would
be a whole new start for me," said
Lana
.

Mike got up to get
her
some Kleenex and
she
blew
her
nose and wiped
her
eyes, and then
she
continued. "As a matter of fact I started writing on my laptop while I
sat down
on the plane, oh Mike, the plane."

"What are you talking about
, what plane
?"

"
That
is where I saw
that
guy, on the plane. He walked up and sat
with
me at the gate, umm … gate 14. Then on the plane he wanted to sit
with
me, and I said no. I can't believe I didn't remember
that
. He had every opportunity to touch my purse."

"Did he ever tell you
his
name?"

"I think so, umm, I think, oh Mike I can't remember."
She
tried to think real hard, but
she
couldn't remember. It had been several days and a lot has happened since then.

"
That
's okay we have it narrowed down to your flight." Mike squeezed
her
hand and got busy doing what he did best, being a great cop. He made one last glance over
his
shoulder and said to
her
. "Babe, you did great." He immediately got
his
phone out and called
his
office and had the tech people run a check on the passenger list. "Babe we have an
advantage he doesn't know about,
"
said Mike smiling.

"What's
that
?"

"Your uncanny ability to remember faces."

"Mike."

"What?"

"He sat toward the front
,
the first few rows, if
that
helps you any."

"It helps a lot." He went out to the kitchen and told the guys about their conversation. Everyone
with
in a mile radius heard them whooping and hollering as Mike told them the good news. Then Mike gave orders and everyone got busy. Raymond got on the computer to get a passenger list. Joe
headed
to th
e airport to get video and Mike got
on the phone to Sara to see if
she
got any fingerprints from the beach house and the Border's house.

Mike walked back in the bedroom. "Babe, I'm sorry I left so abruptly but I had to get the ball rolling. Are you feeling better?" Even though he
was
giving orders,
his
heart
was
with
her
.

"Some yes, and I want you to know I'm not normally a cry baby, but it has been a stressful couple
of weeks."

"Honey, you don't have to explain, I've seen people
with
less stress have to live on drugs to get through it all, and I think you are doing great. I have to say how impressed I am
with
your memory of faces. I've been in t
his
business for years, and never has anyone had a memory like yours. When Joe gets back we
'll
send him over to the Borders to get an idea of how tall the killer is. So in a little while I'll need your help again."

"You got it, just let me know when."
She
was
proud of herself for remembering. Relief flooded
her
.
She
couldn't believe how much weight
was
lifted off
her
shoulders.
She
felt like a new woman.

As Mike
walked
out he glanced back and asked. "By the way, what is your blood type?"

She
was
totally confused by the question but answered. "A+ Why?"

"I just wanted to make a mental note
just in case
someone asks."

"Oh, okay,"
she
said confused.

Mike joined Raymond who
was
sitting at their makeshift desk, wor
king on the computer. "What cha got
?" Raymond asked
with
out looking up
from the computer
.

"Lana's blood type is A+," Mike w
his
pered.

Mike had
his
full attention
with
that
statement. "Do you think it's
her
blood type on the wall?"

Mike shrugged
his
shoulders. "I don't know. I'm going to have to ask
her
if
she
is missing any dirty underwear.
She
's in the bedroom crying."

"Why?"

"
She
thinks
she
has put us in danger."

"Did you tell
her
we live t
his
every day? We thrive on danger."

"I will, but when
she
started crying, I just let
her
talk."

"Good move. But Mike the more
we know
the better
. Keep in mind
that
Ms. Border's blood type is A+."

"I know. Whose blood type do you think it is?" Mike asked.

"I think its Ms. Borders. Think about it. There
was
enough for Sara to find, and I don't think
she
could get
that
much just from worn underwear. And Mike I don't want to get personal, but I think your blood type
would
have shown up along
with
Lana's."

"True, unless he got some underwear before we were intimate."

"Did
she
ever mention anyone being around before the wood
was
delivered?" Raymond asked while taking notes.

"
She
did mention
she
had the creeps several times since
she
's been here.
She
said it
was
n't like
her
to get so scared all the time. You know we're taught as cops to listen to our instincts. We're also taught women have better instincts than cops."

"Being out here
with
no one around can give anyone the creeps. Have you been listening to the wind today? It's giving me the creeps."

"I can tell you t
his
much,
she
's not leaving t
his
house until we catch t
his
guy. I'm so afraid he'll follow
her
home."

"I agree, but I don't want you to worry. We'll catch
him or them
." He put
his
hand on Mik
e's shoulder and gave him a pat
.

*****

Crying out
her
feelings made
her
feel better.
She
was
hed
her
face and sat on the bed for a little while. Then
she
decided to clean the kitchen and watch some TV, anything to stay busy. Everything
was
quiet when
she
walked out of the bedroom, except for Mike talking on the phone.
She
rolled up
her
sleeves on the way to the kitchen. To
her
surprise the kitchen
was
spotless.
She
knew at
that
moment
she
would
have to adopt Joe and Raymond. How could
she
go wrong, they are gun toting house cleaner's.

Quietly
she
turned on the TV and sat down on the couch
with
the remote, surfed the channels. Since Mike
was
on the phone,
she
muted the volume.

When he hung up he kissed
her
on the neck and ran
his
hand down
her
leg. He could tell
she
cried a lot and
that
broke
his
heart. Other women crying never bothered him. Several months ago he dated a girl named Brenda, and they dated three months. He knew it
was
n't going anywhere and he decided to end their relationship. He
didn't know
how to end it, so he invited
her
over for grilled burgers. They ate and then he told
her
it
was
over between them.
She
cried
but he didn't care
, h
e just wanted
her
to go home. If he had to do it all over, he
would
have gone to
her
house, told
her
and left. All the women in
his
past always cried, but he didn't care. He cared for them, and hated they were upset. But once the door shut it
was
all
over
or at least in
his
mind
. If
Lana
walked out he
would
be the one crying. Deep down he knew
Lana
was
his
for life. He asked
her
. "How are you holding up
honey
?"