Mrs. Hogan would drive her car away from her house wearing large dark sunglasses and a black blouse. Sonia would switch with her in a dark place. Sonia would also be wearing large dark sunglasses and a black blouse when she drove Mrs. Hogan’s car back into the garage thirty minutes later. Sonia would be wearing a brown wig over her very noticeable hair. No one would be able to get a good look at either woman as Mrs. Hogan drove out and then Sonia drove back in.
As in all special operations such as this one, she had had to clear it through her commander and the chief. They had both enthusiastically approved her plans.
She thought about calling Wayne. For some reason, she wanted to talk to him. She didn’t even want to analyze her reasons for that . . . not now at least. When she called his cell phone, it went directly to voicemail. She realized that he must be in an important meeting to turn off his phone. So she gave up on that idea.
When it was time, Bill Hogan drove Sonia in his pickup to the mall and parked in a dark corner where several security lights had been turned off. When Mrs. Hogan drove her Cadillac up next to them, Sonia jumped out of the pickup and traded places with Mrs. Hogan.
As she drove back to the house, Sonia kept her eyes on her rearview mirror and all around in front of her. She also had several other detectives in unmarked cars parked along the route she was taking. And of course, others were already watching the house.
Everything seemed to go off just as planned as she drove the car into the garage and closed it. Once inside, she took off the oversized blouse she had on over her t-shirt and then checked her belt with her badge and gun on it. And especially for tonight, she also had a portable radio on it with an earplug that she immediately inserted in her left ear. She checked in with Grant.
It was only eight o’clock, so she tried to follow the nightly routine that Mrs. Hogan had outlined for her. She sat in the living room with the lights on and pretended to watch TV until ten o’clock when the early news was over. She turned off the lights out there and went into the master bedroom to pretend to get ready for bed.
Thirty minutes later, she turned the lights off and made her way carefully into the family room, which was between the kitchen and the back patio. Most break-ins were accomplished through a door or window at the rear of the house and most often through the patio door when there was one. This house had a sliding door that opened out onto the patio. That was Sonia’s bet as to where they would come in.
She had been sitting in a recliner for several hours and almost dozing when Grant spoke over the radio. “Company coming at the back. One cat. We’ll shadow him.”
She clicked her mike to let the others know she heard. She slowly rose from her chair to be on the side of the door when the guy came in. One cat was their code for one perp wearing black and shadow meant that they would follow the perp close enough to help if she needed it. So she knew what to expect at the door. She had her weapon ready.
She didn’t have long to wait. First, she heard metal on metal followed by a soft scraping sound then the door slid open a few inches. The perp paused as if to listen for any sign that he’d been heard.
Finally, he stepped inside the room. Sonia almost smiled to herself. The guy was at least four inches shorter than her and might even weigh less.
She stepped up behind him, turned the light on, and with her gun ready, said, “Police. Put your hands on your head and don’t move a muscle.”
The guy froze and didn’t move his arms. She thought quickly and said it again in Spanish. This time he complied.
Grant stepped up behind the guy quickly with his cuffs ready and hooked him up.
She keyed her mike. “Code Four! 10-15!”
Stan and two more detectives came through the sliding door at the same time with their guns drawn. They took one look at the little guy with his hands cuffed behind his back and holstered their guns.
Sonia turned to Grant and said, “Let’s get him down to the station. We’re going to need Victor down there. I’m sure this guy doesn’t speak English and I used up almost all of mine just getting him to put his hands on his head.
Grant and Stan both laughed at that and Grant made the call to Victor.
As they were walking their prisoner out and down the driveway, a black and white pulled up at the curb. They put him in the cage and the car roared off.
Stan was next to Sonia as they watched the patrol car drive away. “Now the fun begins, huh?” He laughed and she joined him as all of her tension and most of her adrenalin left her at once. They all headed for their vehicles and she rode with Grant to the station.
An hour later, Sonia, Grant, and Stan were all sitting at the conference table in her office when Victor Martinez walked in and sat down across from Sonia.
Sonia had always been happy to have Victor on her squad. They constantly needed him to speak to the large number of Hispanics that they dealt with. Now one of the new detectives was also Hispanic, giving her even more flexibility.
They all eagerly waited for what he had to say. He groaned and said with a frown. “I didn’t get much out of the kid. He’s only seventeen and knew virtually nothing about why he was there or even that much about what he was looking for.”
He leaned back in his chair and sighed loudly. “All I could get out of him is that this gringo with a real bad accent set it all up by phone. He was to break into that house and go straight to Hogan’s study. All he knew was that he was supposed look for a small digital recorder, a computer disk, or a thumb drive. He was to take any of those he found and wait for the guy to call him again and tell him where to leave it and his money would be there when he did.”
Sonia had a bad feeling that they were not much closer than they had been before. “Did he do the other two burglaries?”
“He said, no and I think I believe him. The kid was so scared that I thought he might mess his pants before I finished with him.”
When no one said anything, Victor looked back at Sonia and said, “If you don’t need me any more tonight, I think I’ll head home and try to get some sleep.”
Sonia smiled at him and said, “Thanks Victor, I really appreciate you. Go on and get some rest. It looks like we’re all going to be putting in a lot of overtime before this case is closed.”
Chapter Eight
When Sunday finally arrived, Wayne didn’t want to do this. He did not want to go to church. He’d been forced to go as a kid, but hadn’t been there much since he’d graduated from high school. He felt like he was being bribed to go to church or else Sonia might not have anything more to do with him. That was definitely coercion.
He finished tying his tie. Why was he wearing a tie? He didn’t usually wear a tie even to work. The answer to both questions came to him before he finished tying it. Sonia! She was the reason he was going to church. She was the reason he was wearing a tie. She was the reason he did most everything lately.
Whoa! Was that good? Was he being manipulated? Was that what Sonia was doing to him?
No! When he seriously thought about it, he knew Sonia was too genuine a person to resort to that kind of scheming to get what she wanted. Stop! That was a good question. What did Sonia want? But hadn’t he already thought all this through?
The bottom line is that Sonia is a good person through and through. If she wants him to go to church with her then her reasons must be good ones. He just wished she’d tell him what they were.
He finished dressing ten minutes before he needed to leave to pick up Sonia, and forced himself to sit in an overstuffed chair in his family room. It was next to the recliner he had there for Kelly when she came to his house.
Looking around, he picked up a magazine he’d been reading and tossed it back down without reading it.
Finally, it was time to leave.
This time when he drove up to Sonia’s condo, she wasn’t waiting for him. He went to the door to knock but it opened just as he started to knock. He had to step back when her security door swung out his way.
He took another step back and just looked at Sonia as she locked her door. She was wearing a dark blue dress with spaghetti straps and it flared out at the hips. He had no idea what the dress was made of, but it sure looked soft and shiny on her and it fit her perfectly. It was only a little above her knees but with a woman who was six feet tall, it still showed a lot of leg.
In fact, Wayne couldn’t keep his eyes off her legs and as she turned around, she caught him staring at them.
Sonia placed her fists on her hips and that drew his eyes up to her face. Uh oh, that look wasn’t good. She looked rather disgusted . . . with him.
He knew he had to say something and quick. But what came out, he wanted to take back immediately. “You’re wearing a dress. I’ve never seen you in a dress before.”
Sonia’s face went through several changes before she started laughing so hard that she bent slightly at the waist and eventually leaned against the door behind her.
Wayne tried to dig himself out of this mess. “I mean, you’re beautiful in a pantsuit but you’re unbelievable in that dress. With your exotic hair hanging down against that blue, you’re simply gorgeous.”
He knew that he’d gone too far when she stopped laughing and glared at him. “How do I know that’s not just empty flattery the way you did at first?”
“I’m truly sincere, Sonia. In fact, I’ve never been more serious in my life. Just looking at you does strange things go me. That’s why I sometimes say such stupid things.”
Sonia looked deep into his eyes for a long moment. Then she turned and started walking toward his car. He was frozen in place for a few seconds, but recovered in time to get to the car and open her door just before she could.
The drive to the church was quiet and thankfully short. Wayne didn’t know what to say, knowing that he’d probably already said too much. Sonia seemed to be deep in thought.
When he parked and switched the motor off, he turned to Sonia. “I know you have a new pastor because I saw him when you and I were in Alison and Stan’s wedding last year. Is he as pushy as the old one?”
She stared at him for a moment as if trying to decide what he really meant then she giggled softly. “No, Wayne, you don’t have to worry about Pastor Caldwell. And yes, he is much different from Pastor Burton. For one thing, as you saw last year he is much younger. I think you’ll like him.”
That didn’t fully satisfy him but he was afraid to ask any more questions right then. He’d just have to watch his step very carefully around the pastor.
They left the car and headed for the front entrance and Wayne felt great walking next to Sonia out in public. With that dress on, she drew quite a few looks.
As they approached the entrance, there were three sets of double doors that opened into the foyer and Wayne headed for one of the sets to the left but Sonia said, “No, Wayne, the only ones open right now are the center ones.”
As soon as he followed Sonia through the center doors, he realized why they were the only ones open. Pastor Caldwell was standing just inside the foyer greeting each person who passed through those doors.
Pastor Caldwell greeted Sonia and shook her hand. Then he turned to Wayne with his hand out and said, “Good to see you again Mr. Newcomb. Welcome to our worship service. I hope you will receive a blessing from being here today.”
Wayne was in shock as he followed Sonia into the sanctuary and sat next to her. He didn’t even realize how close to the front she had taken him. The former pastor had been the same one who was pastor when Wayne came here for the first time at sixteen. That old man had always bothered Wayne. He was good at making Wayne feel guilty for not doing something. Since he never paid attention to anything the guy said, he had never known exactly what it was the old boy wanted him to do.
This new pastor seemed much nicer. He didn’t make Wayne feel guilty the minute he walked through the door either.
Wayne finally looked over at Sonia and she was smiling at him. Now what?
“You look nice too.”
That floored him. She’d never said anything like that to him before. Maybe he was getting somewhere with her even though it seldom looked that way.
He felt eyes on him so he looked around and saw his grandparents sitting a row up and on the other side of the aisle from him and Sonia. Sarah, his stepmother, was sitting next to them. Or was she not his step-mother anymore since she had married the giant, Leo Cochran, who was sitting next to her. At least his sister wasn’t here too. She must have thought it was too soon to bring her new baby out like this.
The music started and Wayne kept his attention on Sonia instead of the front of the church. He could watch her all day long and never grow tired of it. Her face never seemed to stay the same for very long. It was always changing from each slight movement or from many different facial expressions. Then there were her eyes. His eyes were blue, but hers were like none he’d ever seen. They were so bright, yet so soft at the same time.
When the pastor stepped into the pulpit to deliver his message, Sonia caught him staring at her. She smiled slightly, elbowed him in the ribs, and nodded toward the front. Well, the show was over. He’d just have to pretend he was listening to the pastor now.
* * *
Sonia was watching Wayne as much as she could out of the corner of her eye. She wasn’t sure if she had ever seen anyone more uncomfortable in church. She could tell that he didn’t want to be there and suddenly felt bad about asking him to come with her.
Then she remembered what Kelly had told her. Wayne had never accepted the Lord the way she had. Sonia knew that Wayne had changed a lot for her, but she also knew that if they could ever have a future together, he would need to change that part of his life too.
Something happened! She had been so intent on watching Wayne that she was embarrassed to realize she hadn’t been listening closely to what the pastor was saying. But something he just said must have made a dent in the armor that Wayne had clearly put in place the moment they’d walked into the church.
But what was it? What had made Wayne suddenly begin to listen to what the pastor was saying? She began paying close attention again. The sermon was on the prodigal son and she realized that Pastor Caldwell was now talking about the son repenting and coming home to his father.
She couldn’t wait, now, for the service to be over so she could talk to Wayne about it . . . if he would.
When they were exiting the church after the service, she was walking ahead of Wayne as they approached Pastor Caldwell at the door. As she was shaking the pastor’s hand, Wayne moved around her and was out the door before she realized what he was doing.
She started to apologize to Pastor Caldwell, but he winked at her and said, “Be patient with him, Sonia, God is working on him right now. Just be there when he needs you.”
Wayne’s puzzling behavior and the pastor’s even more puzzling words kept Sonia silent on the way up to the Newcomb estate. Wayne was silent too, seeming to be deep in thought. She hoped he would eventually share those thoughts with her.
When they walked into the great room, Wayne’s grandparents were waiting there for them. Mrs. Newcomb stepped up to Sonia and hugged her.
While their heads were close together, Mrs. Newcomb whispered to Sonia. “We noticed Wayne’s reaction to something in the sermon too. Why don’t you and I go somewhere so Harold can talk to him in the study?”
Sonia was, if anything, relieved because she had no idea what to say to Wayne right then. So she willingly went into the front parlor with Mrs. Newcomb.
As soon as they were seated on the same sofa, Maria came into the room to see if they wanted anything to drink. Mrs. Newcomb asked for an iced tea.
Sonia smiled at Maria and said, “I’ll have one too. And Maria . . . I wanted you to know that Wayne took me to your son’s restaurant the other day and the food was every bit as good as yours always is.”
Maria’s smile was much broader than usual. “Thank you Miss, you are very kind. Roberto tries much to make good like
he was taught.”
When Maria left, Mrs. Newcomb smiled at Sonia and said, “Thank you Sonia that was extremely nice of you. Maria is quite proud of Roberto and his restaurant’s success. I assume Wayne took you there at lunchtime. You should see the place for dinner. There’s usually a waiting list.”
Sonia had never talked privately like this with Mrs. Newcomb, but the sweet older lady was putting her at ease quickly.
“I only told her the truth. That was the best green chili burrito I’ve ever eaten.”
Mrs. Newcomb’s smile stayed in place for a moment longer then her face grew serious.
“Sonia, my husband and I have observed you from the first time you set foot in our home two years ago.”
This surprised Sonia and she wasn’t sure if she was supposed to respond or not. Mrs. Newcomb took the decision away when she said, “The first thing I would like to do is ask you to stop calling me Mrs. Newcomb and especially stop calling me ma’am.”
She giggled. Giggled? This matronly woman wearing a beautiful silk dress that probably cost as much as Sonia made in a month, was giggling?
“My name is Elizabeth, but I insist that all my friends call me Beth.” She paused to place a hand on Sonia’s arm. “Will you call me Beth please?”
“Yes, ma—.” She slapped her hand over her mouth then removed it to say. “I would be glad to call you Beth.”
“Marvelous.” She clapped her hands together softly. “Now, I would like to talk to you about you and my grandson.”
She paused apparently to allow Sonia to react, and she did. “Wayne and me? But . . . “
“It’s all right dear, I know you must have no idea right now where this thing with Wayne is going. But that’s okay. Don’t worry, it will all become clear to you soon enough.”
Sonia sat there so stunned that she couldn’t speak. It sure was a good thing that Beth seemed to have enough to say on her own.
“You see, dear, Wayne mentioned to Harold that you were concerned about the differences in how you grew up and how Wayne grew up.” She waved her hand around to indicate the huge, richly furnished home.
Resolved Memories (Sycamore P.D. Series Book 3) Page 11
