Across State Lines

by C. J. Johnson

  “We are fully impressed,” Mia said.

  Baker raised his bottle and said, “Here’s to a successful all-nighter. May we not have another one for a long time!”

  “Here, here,” the crew said in unison.

  Frankie looked over at Fitz and said, “Hey man, I’m sorry. You were right. I put us all at risk by insisting we go in that door.”

  “You did, but you were also right. I don’t think I could have lived with myself if we had left those boys behind and something had happened.”

  “Are we good?” Frankie asked.

  “Better than good kid. Better than good,” Fitzmeyer said as he ruffled Frankie’s hair.

  Frankie turned to Craven and asked, “How was Candi?”

  Craven had stopped at the hospital on the way to the pub.

  “She was doped up, but I think she’ll be okay. Physically at least. I’m going to try to get her to leave the city when she gets released. There’s nothing but trouble for her here,” Craven said.

  “Sadly, I think you are right.”

  The group finished their beers, and one by one, left the bar. Frankie looked at her watch and realized her dad should be on his lunch break. Taking the chance, she dialed his number and chatted with him all the way home. Frankie barely remembered lying on her bed and closing her eyes.

  The next thing, Frankie knew the smell of bacon was waking her up. Breakfast for dinner was one of their favorite meals. She could hear the faint sounds of music coming from Dani’s room and the chatter of Tyler talking to James and Keith about the renovations they were planning for their house. Tyler was trying to convince them a treehouse was exactly what their yard needed. Frankie laid there listening to the happy sounds of her house before wiping the sleep from her eyes and joining them in the kitchen to help with dinner.

  Chapter 112

  Frankie and Mia spent the next few days catching up on paperwork and meeting with Sam about the upcoming grand jury. They were on their last night of second shift, and then they would both be off for a couple of days. Frankie was holding her breath, hoping for a quiet night. At 9:00 PM her cellphone rang.

  Assuming it was her children calling to say good night, Frankie did not stop typing or look at the caller-id before answering, “Hello!”

  Frankie stopped typing and grabbed a pen. The color drained from her face as she jotted information onto her notepad. Before hanging up, she told the caller she would meet her at the hospital in fifteen minutes.

  “What’s going on, Frankie?” Baker asked. “Rick and Brett can handle whatever it is. You and Mia need to finish up your reports.”

  “It’s Heather Whitaker. Apparently, William found her. I don’t have all the information, but it looks like he raped her. Again.”

  “Do you know where it happened? We can go out and do the scene,” Rick offered.

  “No. She’s down at County with Alex. Let me go meet with her, and then I’ll call you with the details,” Frankie said as she walked to the door. “This son of a bitch needs to be taken into custody. If Moon hadn't let him go in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened.”

  Baker nodded towards Mia.

  “I’m on my way, Sarge.”

  At the stairwell, Frankie turned to Mia and said, “You don’t have to go with me. I can handle getting her statement. You have just as many reports to work on as I do.”

  “I know, but I want to see this through with you.”

  Frankie nodded as they exited the garage. They both shuddered as the brisk, Midwest air hit them in the face.

  Chapter 113

  Heather and Alex were waiting in the forensic examination room when Frankie and Mia arrived. Heather still wore a cast and had stitches across her face. The bruises from the beating had begun to change colors. Heather forced a smile when Frankie and Mia entered the room, but the tears made the smile hollow.

  “Is she going to charge him now, Frankie,” Alex demanded.

  “There’s a new prosecutor on the case, Samantha Ryan. She’s already issued a warrant for William’s arrest in the other case. I haven’t called her about this one yet. I wanted to have all the details first. Heather, do you feel up to telling Detective Boden and me what happened?”

  Heather nodded but didn’t immediately speak. Alex began to say something, but Frankie shot her a look that told her to give Heather a minute.

  “I went to see my therapist, and when I got to the parking lot, he was there waiting for me. He had a knife and told me to get into my car. There were a lot of cars in the parking lot, so he said to drive. I was scared Detective….”

  Heather began to sob. Frankie looked at Mia, then quickly looked away. Tears of anger filled Frankie’s eyes. Rationally she knew the only person to blame was William, but her current mind blamed Jessica Moon.

  When Heather had collected herself, she said, “He made me drive to the park, back by the pool. He forced me to get into the backseat and take my clothes off. He raped me, and when he finished, he said, ‘that was for Corey.’ Then he got out of the car and started walking. I called Alex and she told me to come here.”

  “Where is your therapist’s office, Heather?”

  “Right there off Blue Parkway and Cleveland, by Brush Creek. I talked to a counselor at the hospital, and she told me to go there. This was my first appointment since I got released.”

  “What time did this happen?” Frankie asked.

  “My appointment was at 4:00 PM. It was right afterward.”

  Daylight, Frankie thought. Aloud she said, “Do you know the name of the man that did this to you?”

  “William. I don’t know his last name, but he’s friends with Corey and Tubby,” Heather said.

  “What park did he take you to?”

  “Swope Park. Not at the zoo, though. He made me drive down by the pool since it’s still closed.”

  “Where’s your car?” Mia asked.

  “It’s here. In the garage,” Heather said.

  Frankie got Heather to sign a release waiver while Mia went and called Crime Scene and the office. They were going to ask the boys to process the car while they went to find William.

  By the time Mia returned, Frankie was finishing up with Heather’s statement. Heather told Frankie she thought she saw William get into a black Chevy Capris. She did not see the license plate number but said it had something hanging from the rearview mirror. Heather did not know where he went but Frankie and Mia had a pretty good idea. And it was time for this to end.

  Chapter 114

  Mia drove while Frankie pulled up the addresses associated with William and his mother. She was pretty sure he wasn’t there, but she had a patrol car sit nearby and watch, just in case. Frankie and Mia had talked to Sergeant Baker and decided they would try to hit all the addresses at the same time, or at least close to the same time. They did not want this guy in the wind again.

  Mia’s husband Erik was working and responded to the area to assist with the search. Erik and his partner went to one of the addresses not far from where Mia and Frankie were going. Frankie had called Craven. He and Fitzmeyer went to one of the houses on the list while Mac and Payne went to a fourth. In all, they had four houses covered and a patrol car roaming the streets in case he was on foot.

  The officers had switched their radios to the TAC channel temporarily so they could send the message to approach the houses. Mia and Frankie had their handheld radios with them but kept them on the same station as the dispatcher. Just in case.

  Frankie keyed up the car radio and said, “1061 to all cars. Let’s do this.”

  All four teams made contact at the house they were sent to at the same time. Erik and his partner were at William’s mother’s house. Laronda had no idea where her son was. She told Erik she had not seen him in over a week. She allowed them to search the house, but the only thing they found was an unmade bed and a duffle bag with a few pieces of clothes inside.

  Erik sent Mia a text message, “He’s not here. He left a duffle bag with
clothes on his bed. He was either just here or is planning to come back.”

  “Okay. Maybe sit up on the house and see if he comes back.”

  “Read my mind.”

  Fitzmeyer and Craven went to the house of one of William’s cousins. They talked to William’s cousin, who also said he had no idea where William was or where he might be. It took a little convincing, but he eventually let Fitzmeyer and Craven search the house.

  Fitz sent Frankie a text message, “No luck. Any other possible addresses?”

  “No. Keep an eye out for a black Chevy Capris. He may be rolling in that.”

  “Copy.”

  Mac and Payne went to the house of one of William’s associates. They attempted contact at the front and back door, but no one answered. The mailbox was overflowing with mail, and the doors were secure.

  Mac sent Frankie a text message, “House looks vacant. We will sit up and watch it for a few minutes.”

  “Copy.”

  Frankie and Mia were at the house of William’s girlfriend. They approached the house from an angle and noticed a black Chevy Capris parked in the driveway, half-hidden behind the house.

  Frankie knocked on the door with force. The door was answered by a statuesque, African American woman with an attitude.

  “What the hell do you want?”

  “William Kennedy.”

  “He’s not here,” and with that slammed the door in Frankie’s face.

  Chapter 115

  Frankie knocked again, resisting the urge to mule-kick the door. She realized she did not have exigent circumstances, and quite frankly couldn’t prove he was there.

  Reluctantly Frankie and Mia returned to their car. Frankie announced over the radio they had struck out at the residence but asked officers in the area to be on the lookout for William, who might be on foot.

  “What do you want to do now?” Mia asked.

  “Kick that door in and make her tell us where that son of a bitch is.” Frankie gave a half-laugh and added, “But I guess we drive around then maybe sit up on the house for a few minutes.”

  Mia laughed and said, “I like your first idea, but guess we should do the second.”

  The pair drove the streets slowly, looking for William Kennedy or anyone he may have associated with. They were about to give up when Mac announced he had spotted Kennedy near the church on Gregory and Agnes.

  “Which way was he going, Mac?” Frankie asked.

  “He just crossed Gregory, heading south on Agnes.”

  “En route.”

  “242 copy a ped check….he’s running southeast through the houses. Hold the air.”

  “1061 and 1064 are 10-23 at Gregory and Bellefontaine.”

  Sirens could be heard as cars made their way to the area. Mia was mid-block when they saw Kennedy run out from between the houses. Frankie jumped out of the car before it was in park and began to run. She reached Kennedy just as Mac tackled him to the ground.

  Mac pulled Kennedy’s arms out from under his body while Frankie secured him in a leg lock. Once he was secure, Frankie released his leg, and Mac rolled Kennedy over and searched him. Satisfied he did not have drugs or weapons on him, Mac stood Kennedy up and walked him over to the patrol wagon.

  Frankie waited until Kennedy was secured in the wagon before saying anything. Just as the door was closing, she leaned in and said, “It’s over, William.”

  William hung his head and didn’t say a word.

  Chapter 116

  The next six weeks went by in a flurry of activity. Frankie and Mia worked endless hours, putting case files together for the new prosecutor who was intent on reviewing the ones Jessica Moon had previously declined. Frankie was tying up loose ends on the Kristof and Whitaker cases while counting down the days until school was out so she and the kids could start planning their summer vacation.

  Frankie was finishing up a report when her cellphone began to ring. She looked down and was shocked to see her ex-husband’s phone number on the screen. Frankie got up from her desk and went into the empty interview room.

  “Hey Chris. What’s up?”

  “I think we need to talk about Danielle,” Chris began. “She told me she wants to come live with…”

  “Wait, what?”

  “Danielle wants to live with us. She wants to go to church and school with the girls. I thought I’d talk to you and see if we could come up with a reasonable solution before getting an attorney involved.”

  “Attorney? You know what, never mind, Chris. I’m at work and can’t talk about this now. Why the heck would you bother me when I’m at work?”

  Chris let out an exasperated, “When aren’t you at work? That’s the whole point, Frankie.”

  Frankie took a deep breath and composed herself before saying, “Chris, can I call you when I get home? I should be leaving here soon.”

  “Call me back when you get home.” Chris added, “You know it’s the right thing for Danielle, Frankie.”

  Frankie hung up the phone and collapsed in the chair. Her mind was racing while her heart was breaking. Things had been going better between her and Danielle. She felt like she had been blindsided. The idea of her daughter living anywhere but with her in their house was unfathomable. Frankie didn’t understand how this was happening or why Chris was doing this. He had promised her when they divorced that he would never try to take Danielle from her. A light knock on the door jolted Frankie from her thoughts.

  Clearing her throat, Frankie said, “Yeah?”

  Mia opened the door and asked, “Are you okay, Frankie? You’ve been in here for a while. I thought I’d check on you before I left.”

  Frankie wiped the tears from her face and looked at her watch. 2:50 PM. Time for the dayshift to end.

  “Give me a second to shut down my computer, and I’ll walk out with you. Did the other squad already get the phones?”

  “Yep. Sarge and the boys left, so it’s just you and me here.”

  Frankie shut her computer down, grabbed her bag, and followed Mia down the stairs.

  “You want to talk about it?”

  “Not yet, but thanks.”

  Frankie wasn’t sure where to begin. Maybe Chris was wrong. Maybe he had

  misunderstood Danielle. After all, she hadn’t said a thing to Frankie. Sophie hadn’t said a word since the night they were all at the farm, and that was two months earlier. Surely someone would have said something before now.

  Chapter 117

  Frankie walked into a quiet house. She had about fifteen minutes before the kids would be home from school. Fifteen minutes to figure out what she was going to say to Danielle. Her drive home had yielded nothing.

  Frankie was still at a loss when Danielle walked through the front door.

  “Hey mom! I’m surprised you are home already,” Danielle said.

  “Why don’t you sit down for a minute. We need to talk.”

  Danielle gave Frankie a look of concern and asked, “Is everything okay? Did something happen to Grandpa?”

  “No, but I did get a phone call from your dad today. Any idea why he would call me at work?”

  Dani began to fidget in her chair. She looked at her lap to avoid looking at Frankie.

  “Danielle?”

  “I, um, I, um,” Danielle stuttered.

  “Dan…”

  Dani began to cry, “I just want to go to church and be on the Bible Quiz team with my sisters. You aren’t ever here, and I want to go live with my dad.”

  Frankie felt like someone had stabbed her in the stomach. She wanted to lash out and tell her daughter what a fool she was. She wanted to call her ex-husband and call him every name under the sun. Instead, Frankie sat there and fought the bile that was rising in her throat.

  Dani continued to ramble, but Frankie could not process what the child was saying. Tyler came through the door. Sensing something was wrong, he sat next to Frankie and reached for her hand. Dani started to tell Tyler to go to his bedroom, but Frankie stopped her.
<
br />   “No. You don’t get to tell him to leave. This impacts him too.”

  “What’s going on, mom?” Tyler asked.

  “Tell him, Danielle.”

  “I’m going to go live with my dad.”

  “I have not told you that you can go, Danielle.” Frankie looked down at Tyler and said, “I believe she meant to say she has asked to go live with her dad.”

  “But why would you want to live there? You wouldn’t get to see us every day. Who would be here when I get home from school? Who will play games with me and watch movies and…”. Tyler began to cry and let go of Frankie’s hand. He grabbed his cat, Koda, ran to his room and slammed the door shut behind him.

  Danielle glared at Frankie.

  Frankie did not fight the tears that filled her eyes and ran down her red cheeks. The pair sat in silence for what seemed like hours but was actually just minutes. Frankie stared at the photograph that hung above the television. A photograph of the three of them at the beach. A happy memory of their first family vacation.

  Taking a deep breath, Frankie said, “School is out in a week. I will let you stay the summer, but you will come back here in August so we can go on vacation as a family. And you will go to school here in the fall. That’s the only compromise I’m willing to give at this time.”

  “But…”

  “Don’t push me, Danielle or you won’t go for the summer. Do you understand?”

  Danielle nodded her head as she got up and left the room.

  Chapter 118

  Out of the corner of her eyes, Frankie saw something fall to the floor as she dropped her work bag onto the sofa table as Tyler ran to the kitchen for a snack before running out the back door. Frankie and Tyler were settling into a new summer routine with Danielle at her dad’s house. Absentmindedly she picked up the postcard, assuming it was junk mail, but something about the card caught her eye.

  The cover of the postcard was a bicycle leaning against a sand dune. The quote read, “Life is a beautiful ride. Ocracoke NC.” Frankie’s hand began to tremble as she flipped the card over. There, scrawled on the back next to her name and address, was a message. I will always remember you.