by Mark Nolan
Kelli just looked at him, not sure what to think. Jake put his cameras and telescoping tripod into the backpack and then whispered to Bartholomew that he would give Kelli a ride back to the city and if needed, to the hospital. She was also borrowing Bart’s coat but would return it tomorrow. Bartholomew nodded his head in agreement, and the trio began walking the gauntlet of media people. Jake reached into his jacket pocket for a pair of sunglasses and put them on. Kelli held tightly onto Jake’s arm above the elbow with both of her hands.
The news cameras began to flash in earnest now, and Jake got a taste of what it was like to be on the receiving end of far too much photographic attention. Some of the photographers behaved in a professional manner, the same way Jake always did, but others started yelling at him and getting in his face, just like the worst of the paparazzi. Jake felt the urge to punch one or two of the pushy ones, but he kept his cool and kept on walking. He faced straight ahead and ignored everything around him.
The street in front of the late Max Vidallen’s house was jammed with news media vehicles, reporters, and television cameras. Bartholomew walked in front of Jake and Kelli, and one reporter held a microphone up to Bart’s face and yelled, “Did that woman kill her lover?”
Another reporter said, “Was it a crime of passion?”
A third said, “Is she the attorney assassin that the police have been looking for?”
Jake and Kelli kept walking, never looking at or responding to anyone in the media crowd. The cameras took close-ups of Kelli’s tear-streaked face, and the heart-shaped sunglasses hiding her crying eyes. She looked like a pop music star who had just become a widow. The photos and video clips began to appear on news websites and go viral all over the internet.
Bartholomew cleared his throat, straightened his tie, and he started making a speech to the news reporters. It was a similar version of what he’d said to the police officers. He again spoke like an actor on the stage, similarly to the way he did in the courtroom. Soon most of the cameras and microphones were pointed in his direction.
“My client is a witness to a shocking murder,” he said. “Not a suspect, but a witness…”
The group of media people broadcast the speech, but it was the same one that Jake had already aired several minutes ago. Jake used the distraction to get Kelli into the Jeep’s front passenger seat, and then he got into the driver’s seat. Cody stuck his face between the two front seats and gave them a toothy grin, saying Ha-Ha-Ha.
Jake scratched Cody behind the ears. “Kelli this is my dog, Cody. And Cody, this is Kelli. She’s our friend, and she’s under our protection. Say Hi, Cody.”
Cody barked once and nodded his head, then rubbed his nose against Kelli’s shoulder. Kelli patted Cody on the head and said, “What a cute doggie you are Cody.”
As a former military dog, Cody would not let just anybody pet him, but he knew that this person was under the protection of his pack leader, and she was not a threat. He had permission to “say hi” which meant he was off duty and could be friendly. Cody sniffed at Kelli, taking in all of her various scents on her breath and body, and traces of the places she’d been today.
Cody also smelled a lot of pheromones coming from both of the people in the front seats. His alpha had some of the woman’s scent on his clothing. Their bodies had rubbed against each other recently. Cody knew it might be one of those evenings where the humans in his pack made fools of themselves over the mating ritual. People were so dramatic and complicated compared to dogs, but he loved them anyway. Some of them, not all of them.
Jake drove away from the house and passed by several police vehicles. Kelli looked straight ahead and took deep breaths as she thought about how thankful she was to be leaving the house in Jake’s car instead of a police car.
Chapter 45
After driving for a few miles, Jake realized that he’d never been to Kelli’s place, and had no idea where she lived. “Where to, mademoiselle?”
“I don’t think I really need to go to the hospital,” Kelli said. “But I’m kind of scared to go home and be alone in my apartment right now.”
“You’re welcome to hang out with me and Cody for as long as you want. We’ll protect you from harm, I promise.”
“Thank you, that’s sweet of you Jake. Do you think maybe we could go to a quiet restaurant?” As long as it’s far away from here.”
“Yes and I’ll even let you supersize the fries.”
Kelli was shocked for a moment until she saw his grin. Then she gave him a playful punch on the shoulder. “You know what I mean.”
“There’s an excellent Italian place in North Beach where we could relax for a while. Sit in a cozy booth and have some wine and pasta, comfort food. The people that own the restaurant would be very protective of you too. Nobody in their right mind would ever mess with that family.”
Cody barked twice and shook his head. Jake smiled at him in the rearview mirror. He knew that dogs get bored sitting in a car alone. And Cody wanted to do his job to help guard this person against harm. She was under his protection.
“Italian is always good; I’m a big fan of meatballs,” Kelli said.
“That’s right, you’re Swedish. We could go to IKEA and have some of their Swedish meatballs.
Kelli smiled and shook her head at him. “Any restaurant you like would be fine. But no sushi, that stuff scares me.”
“Uncooked sea animals are not your thing?”
“Ewww.”
“When you live on a boat, you call that bait.”
“Oh that’s right, I’d heard you were living the single life on a yacht now,” Kelli said. She spoke the word ‘yacht’ with reverence. “Maybe we could stop by your yacht for a while instead of going to a restaurant. I’d love to have a drink by the beautiful seashore, with Cody there to watch out for us. That would really help calm my nerves.”
Cody barked once and pressed his nose against Jake’s arm.
“Uhm, sure of course,” Jake said. “We could even take the yacht out on the water if you really want to get away from it all.”
Kelli’s shoulders relaxed, and she stopped clenching her hands.
“Yes please, that sounds wonderful.”
“Let’s do it, what do you like to drink?”
“Do you have any champagne?”
“Let me think, I’m pretty sure I saw a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label in the fridge,” Jake said.
“I love Veuve Clicquot. Didn’t I see on the news that they found some priceless old bottles of that champagne in a shipwreck?”
“Yes but the bottle in my fridge is not one of those.”
Kelli laughed and then put her hands over her face and took some deep breaths. When she took her hands away, she sighed.
“Thanks for making me laugh Jake. I’m feeling so stressed out right now I could use a few laughs, either that or I’m going to have to scream.”
“I’m sorry that one cop was tough on you. The Mill Valley Police are among the finest officers you’ll find anywhere, but that one guy was overdoing the bad cop act a little bit. I’ve never seen him before, so he must be new. Maybe he was just having a bad day.”
“Yes the rest of the police were very professional, but he was frightening, especially when I was in shock.”
“I think it’s his job to frighten suspects, but thankfully that’s all over now.”
“I was so relieved when we drove away from that house,” Kelli said. “You are my knight in shining armor.”
“Maybe a knight in rusty armor,” Jake said, and he shrugged his shoulders.
“If it wasn’t for you and that attorney, I might be sitting in a cold jail cell right now, shivering in my bikini.”
Kelli crossed her arms and shuddered at the thought of it. Jake decided to change the subject.
“By the way, you were very kind to send flowers to me when my dog Gracie died,” Jake said. “Thank you for that, it meant a lot to me.”
Kelli’s face softened, and sh
e reached over and put her hand on Jake’s shoulder.
“When I heard what had happened to Gracie, it broke my heart. But I'm glad you got another dog. Cody seems so nice.”
“He’s a good dog for sure. Except it looks like when I left him in the Jeep, he chewed up my flip flops I had in the back seat.”
Kelli laughed again and this time, it came a little more easily. Turning to Cody, she spoke to him in a sing-song voice. “Did you chew up those flip-flops, you silly doggie?”
Cody barked once and grinned at her, saying Ha-Ha-Ha with his breath.
Jake said, “I think he was telling me he doesn’t like being left in the car by himself.”
Jake glanced at Cody in the rearview mirror. “Sometimes it can’t be helped Cody. Sometimes that’s just the way it has to be. I’m the boss, and you’ll have to accept that. I was protecting you. There’s a nationwide epidemic of police officers killing family pet dogs nowadays. I’m not sure why or when it started but a small percentage of cops shoot dogs all the time now, it’s an awful fact. You have to trust me when I’m trying to keep you safe.”
Cody made a growling noise in his throat, flopped down on the back seat and let out a loud huff.
“That must be what people mean when they say someone was all in a big huff,” Kelli said.
Jake smiled and he was glad to see Kelli starting to cheer up.
On the way to the yacht harbor they talked about work, music and movies; and they caught up on what they’d each been up to lately. When they arrived and got out of the Jeep, Jake went to Kelli’s side of the car, opened the door for her and held her hand as she got out. Jake was simply being over-protective of her due to the recent situation and how she was so stressed out about it.
Jake looked around the lot and was relieved that he didn’t see Gwen’s car. He wished now that he’d never given her that pistol.
Kelli took off the overcoat, folded it in half and set it on the car seat. She would return it to Bart when she had her meeting with him. Jake opened the back passenger door so Cody could get out. They walked across the parking lot, and Kelli held onto Jake’s arm.
“I’ll have to hang onto you while I try to walk on the pavement in these ridiculously high heels,” Kelli said.
When they reached the wooden dock, Jake knew that the spiked heels could get stuck between the boards. He spoke in an officious voice and said, “Kelli this is your yacht Captain speaking, we will be on a barefoot cruise so please take off those high-heeled shoes and proceed barefoot down the dock and onwards to the Far Niente.”
Kelli smiled and stood at attention and gave Jake a saucy salute. “Yes sir, Captain sir.”
“I could get used to hearing that,” Jake said. “Let’s go have some of that champagne, it’s calling our names.”
Kelli stepped out of her high heel pumps, picked them up in one hand and walked down the smooth wooden dock in her bare feet, with Cody trotting ahead of her and leading the way. Kelli didn’t do the model walk of heel and toe. She felt that she could be herself with Jake.
Jake smiled at the sight of Kelli walking barefoot and looking in wide-eyed wonder at all of the boats and the sparkling blue water. He was seeing the more innocent, happy and real side of her. And he hoped the yacht and the seashore would help her forget about everything else for a while.
As Jake watched Kelli walking barefoot in that black dress, she reminded him of the female lead singer from the Swedish band Roxette, when she’d performed a live concert version of the classic song Listen To Your Heart that Jake had seen on YouTube. Jake played the guitar and wrote songs as a hobby, and he wondered if Kelli was a singer as well as an actress.
They all boarded at the stern of the Far Niente. Jake unlocked the weather-tight sliding glass door, and everyone went inside, glad to get away from the rest of the world.
Chapter 46
Terrell Hayes had the afternoon off after the funeral. He spent it at home, curled up on the couch with Alicia, talking and kissing and watching movies. This moment was so good it made him ponder his life and how he might arrange it so he had more afternoons like this with his sweetheart. It occurred to him that the truth of the saying, work sucks but I need the bucks, was the reason this afternoon was such a rare treat. He was a cog in the machine like everybody else, and he had no idea how he could rise above it. They didn’t teach that in school, did they? No, they left that out when they told you how to be an obedient follower and a subservient tool to your masters in the organizations that run your life.
As it got closer to dinner time, Terrell and Alicia were talking about having a pizza delivered, or getting some takeout food. But Terrell got a call from work telling him to report to Police Chief Pierce about going on an impromptu undercover assignment.
After the call ended, Terrell groaned and said, “Oh man, not that gang-related homicide thing again; not tonight.”
Terrell apologized to Alicia, but she told him it was okay because the day had worn her out. She was going to go to bed early tonight for some much-needed sleep. They’d had a wonderful afternoon together so it was fine. Terrell knew that when his wife said things were “fine” she might mean they really were fine, or she might mean they were not at all fine. He wanted nothing more in this world than to join his wife for dinner and an early bedtime; but duty called, and he had to answer the call.
Terrell kissed Alicia goodbye, patted their dog Boo-Boo on the head and got into his car. He drove toward the police station in a resigned mood. This day just kept pushing him, and he couldn’t seem to push back. He tried to be in charge of his life on most days, but lately, a lot of stuff he could not control was getting on his nerves. While Terrell drove away from his home, his wife and his life, he felt the old familiar tug of war between love versus duty. He was proud to be a cop, but he didn’t like it when his duty came before his relationship.
Alicia was very patient and understanding about Terrell’s career, but she’d also made it very clear that she didn’t like him having a job where he risked his life at all hours of the day and night. Not all spouses could tolerate being in a relationship with a cop as well as Alicia had managed to do so far. Terrell’s police partner Beth Cushman had been married for several years, but one day her husband had left her. He’d said it was because of all of the many difficulties and absences her career had caused. He wanted a normal life where they both worked in the daytime and spent evenings and weekends together. Was that too much to ask?
Terrell arrived at the Public Safety Building, went inside and headed to the Chief’s office. Terrell was wearing jeans, basketball shoes and a t-shirt. He would have to change into some kind of gangster clothing once he got more details about his undercover assignment. He’d probably have fake gang tattoos and fake needle tracks on his arms. It was difficult for Terrell to pretend to be a criminal. He’d been trained in the military to wear smartly pressed pants and carefully shined shoes. To pick up his feet, tuck in his shirt, wear a belt and stand up straight. He wanted to hold his head high in pride like a dangerous well-dressed badass. Terrell’s face had also been seen on TV news reports. He was the wrong person for this undercover scheme and he wished that the Chief could understand that.
Terrell arrived at the Chief’s office and knocked on the door frame. The door was standing open as usual. Chief Pierce was sitting at his desk. When Terrell saw him there, he thought about how the Chief always wore long-sleeved shirts and he never rolled up the sleeves. Terrell knew why. It was because the Chief had once been a member of a notorious gang in his youth and he had plenty of tattoos on his arms that told the story. There was even some pale scarring on the knuckles of his right hand where four tattooed letters had been removed with a laser, one near each knuckle. Terrell had never asked what four letter word that tattoo might have spelled out but he had a few ideas.
Terrell knew that Pierce put all of that behind him when he fell in love with a good woman, and she gave him an ultimatum. Get out of crime and go straight, or else forget
all about her and stay far away. Pierce became a cop to win her back, and many years later he’d worked his way up to become a highly admired Chief of Police. The cops and the people of San Francisco were lucky to have him, and Terrell had great respect for “the old man” as many of the cops called their demanding boss.
Some other cops called Pierce far worse things behind his back, but that was part of being the Chief. You were caught in the middle, between the cops you were in charge of and who blamed you for any policy that caused them more hassles, and the clueless city council that thought they could tell cops how to do their jobs. To top it off, as Chief you often had the general public criticizing you.
Chief Pierce looked up from his papers and nodded at Terrell and said, “Come in and have a seat, Hayes. Thanks for volunteering to work on your day off.”
As Terrell sat down, he raised his eyebrows at the Chief as if to say, “I didn’t volunteer, so please cut the ridiculous BS.” But he remained silent and stoic.
The Chief smiled a tired and knowing smile for a fellow cop, and he pushed a file toward Terrell. “Take a look at this and give me your thoughts.”
Terrell opened the file, grunted and rubbed the five o’clock shadow on his face. “This guy again?”
“Yeah. William T. Farmington, otherwise known as WTF.”
Terrell flipped through the photos and reports and said, “We know he’s killed people but it’s like the guy is Teflon coated. Nobody has been able to get anything on him and make it stick.”
“Maybe tonight you can change that. Maybe you’ll be the one who shows him he isn’t so slick after all.”
“I’m ready to give it the old precinct try Chief,” Terrell said, but he yawned and sounded like he was about to fall asleep.
“Try to curb your enthusiasm Hayes, let’s not get carried away here.”
“Where is Mai Thai when I really need a donut?”
“Short and sweet? That nice girl was just here a while ago and delivered a box of good stuff to the second shift. Go get yourself a coffee and donut and come back for the rest of the briefing.”
