Waking Up Cuffed

by Melissa Stevens

  “Just messages or do the GPS locations on their phone confirm it? Can it possibly give us times they were together, or at least in the same vicinity?”

  “We’ve got both.” The grin on Zeke’s face turned predatory.

  This was good. They had the proof they needed to convict Becker even without a confession. Of course, if they could get a confession it would go a lot easier.

  “How long until they bring him in, you think?”

  “Shouldn’t be too long. After the last interview he was sure he’d gotten away with it. He had no reason to run and he’ll be confident that this is just another fishing expedition, so he’ll come in without a fight.”

  As if their talking about him had summoned him, Dillon Becker walked through the room, escorted by two uniformed officers, both nodded at Warren before the older turned to Zeke.

  “Where you want him?”

  “Put him in an interview room, we’ll be right there.”

  “How do you want to play this?” Warren had done the good cop / bad cop thing before and he could play either role, he just needed to know how his partner wanted this to go down.

  “We’re not going to play it. We’ll lay it out for him and give him a chance to confess, but if he continues to hold out, it’s no skin off my nose, we’ve got him either way.”

  “Can do. Mind if I grab a cup of coffee before we join him?”

  “Sounds good. I think I’ll join you then we’ll see if we can get a confession.”

  When he got home that night, Warren was ready for a shower. He let Jake out and thought back over the day as he waited for his four-footed friend to come back in and shook his head at how quickly Becker had collapsed and confessed when they’d confronted him with all the evidence. He’d claimed it was a moment of desperation, but Warren couldn’t believe him. He’d read the section of the transcripts of the messages between Becker and Snyder. Becker had threatened her that if she didn’t get rid of the baby then he’d take care of it for her. He’d said some pretty inflaming things, including that he wasn’t going to let some slut of a student ruin his life and his marriage. Becker hadn’t threatened her out right, at least not that Warren had seen, but it, along with the GPS information, had been enough to get Becker to confess.

  After that they’d gotten him booked, then Warren and Howard had picked up a new case and spent most of the afternoon questioning witnesses about a robbery that ended up being a couple of dumb kids from the neighborhood. They’d wrapped up the case in an afternoon, but it put him two hours late getting home. Now he his feet ached, and he just wanted to wash the sweat off, grab something to eat and get off his feet.

  Jake stepped past him with him with the light click of his claws on the tile of the entryway. Warren closed the door behind him, headed for the shower and climbed in. He stood under the spray and let the steaming water wash away the stress of the day.

  Warren stepped out of the shower and pulled the towel off the rack. He was patting the water off his face and rubbing the thick cotton over his head to pull the water from his hair as his cell phone rang. He tensed for a second then sighed and wrapped the towel around his waist as he headed for the bedroom where he’d left his phone, half-certain he was being called back to work. When he found the phone, still in the pocket of his jeans, it had stopped ringing, but the screen told him he’d missed a call from Hayley.

  The ball of dread that had formed in his stomach when he’d heard the phone ring instantly lifted. It wasn’t that he didn’t like being a detective, he did. It was great, he was just tired tonight. He’d not gotten much sleep the night before and it had been a long, eventful day. He needed a good night’s sleep. His stomach rumbled and he remembered that he hadn’t had a chance to eat lunch, and it was almost eight now. Thumbing the screen, he told the phone to dial Hayley back and put it on speaker as it started to ring. While he waited for her to pick up, he set the phone on top of his dresser and finished drying off.

  “Hey, there you are. I thought you might still be working.” Her smooth voice came over the line making him smile for the first time in what felt like days, thought he knew it hadn’t been that long.

  “Hey back. I was just getting out of the shower. How was your day?”

  She grunted. “Not something I want to talk about. How about you?”

  “The same. My feet hurt and I just want to relax and get some sleep.” He pulled a pair of sweat pants from the drawer and stepped into them. “Wish you were here with me.”

  “Oh that sounds nice. Curling up next to you and relaxing.” Her sigh echoed across the line. “Have you eaten anything yet?”

  “Not since I left you this morning.”

  “That’s not good.”

  “We were busy.” He shrugged even though he knew she couldn’t see it.

  “Hm…” She was quiet for a few seconds but he had no clue what she was thinking. “As it happens, I haven’t eaten tonight either. How about I pick something up then come join you. We can eat then relax.”

  “It’s late. You don’t have to do that.”

  “It’s only eight. It’s a little late for dinner, but other than that, not bad. I’d like to see you.” She paused a couple seconds, almost as if she was having second thoughts about what she’d been about to say. “I missed you today.”

  Her words melted any resistance he might have had, and it hadn’t been much. He was tired, but he couldn’t think of anything he’d like more than to hold her in his arms while he slept and to wake up with her beside him. This morning when he’d woken, she was already up and he’d missed getting to watch her sleep, the innocent flutter of her lashes just before she woke, her sleepy smile and soft warmth of her curled in his arms.

  “I missed you too. I’d love to have you here tonight.”

  “Text me your address and I’ll be there soon,” she said before they disconnected the call.

  He sent his address then pocketed the phone as he turned back to his bed. It sat unmade and open, as it had been for days. This wasn’t what he wanted her to see. He didn’t know how long he had, but he hurried to change the sheets and remake the bed so she wouldn’t know he’d done it after her call, and then he fed Jake and kicked back in his recliner to wait.

  Chapter 38

  Hayley stood on the front step of a nice ranch style home surrounded by a chain link fence. She’d parked beside Warren’s pick up and let herself in the unlocked gate, a bag of food from Angie’s Diner in one hand. She hit the doorbell and waited. It seemed to be taking Warren a long-time answer, but after a couple minutes the door opened revealing him standing there, wearing only a pair of baggy sweat pants, blinking and rubbing his eyes.

  “Come on in.” He stepped back.

  She walked inside, Jake sniffing at her leg. “Hey, Jake, how are you?”

  “Sorry. I fell asleep.”

  “You must be really tired. I’m sorry I woke you.”

  “I’m not.” Warren closed the door and his stomach rumbled. “Whatever you’ve got there smells amazing.”

  “I wasn’t sure what to get so I guessed.” She leaned in, braced herself with a hand on his bare chest and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek.

  “You know I’m not picky, but let’s go eat before my stomach goes on strike for my not feeding it in too long.” He padded on bare feet farther into the house.

  Hayley followed assuming they were headed for the kitchen. She hadn’t been wrong. Warren flipped on the lights as he passed the switch, revealing a neat, clean, though unused looking kitchen.

  “What do we need? Plates? Silverware?” he asked, pulling open a drawer.

  “Silverware would be good, but we can eat out of the to go boxes.” She turned, found a small four-seater table against one wall, sat the bag down and started unpacking. “I got two things, not sure which you’d prefer. I like them both so pick whatever speaks to you.”

  “What are my options?” He came up behind her, his body touching the length of hers as he looked over her shou
lder at the foam cartons.

  “Chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes or pot roast with potatoes and carrots.”

  “Tough decision.” Warren wrapped his arms around her middle and dropped a kiss below her right ear. “I’ll take the pot roast.”

  He broke away as she separated the plates and pulled a knife and fork out of his hand.

  “Let’s eat. I’m tired too and the sooner we’re done the sooner we can rest.”

  “My little nap seems to have re-invigorated me. I’m not quite as tired as I was before.”

  They sat facing each other at his small table in silence at first. After a few moments, when her plate was about half empty, she looked across the table and got her first good look at him since she’d arrived. Hayley couldn’t help but notice the lines of fatigue etched in his face.

  “Rough day?” She knew he might not be able to talk about it but if he could, and wanted to share, she wanted to be there for him.

  “Not too bad, just long.” He sighed. “We caught a case this afternoon that meant I ended up working an eleven hour shift. On the plus side, we closed the Snyder case this morning.”

  “That’s the one that got you pulled to work with the detectives, right? And congratulations on your first close.”

  “It’s not my first close, just my first close here, but thank you. And yes, Tanalynn Snyder is the girl whose body Johnny and I were called out on and the reason I made detective.”

  “Who killed her? Can you tell me?” Her eating had slowed as she paid more attention to him and got caught up in the conversation.

  “Her psych professor at MNM. She was dating him and got pregnant. I have no idea if she knew he was married, it doesn’t really matter. But when she refused to terminate the pregnancy, he lost it. When we confronted him with the evidence this morning he broke down and confessed. He was afraid she was going to tell his wife and it would cost him his marriage.”

  “But he didn’t worry about sleeping with a student damaging his marriage?” Hayley shook her head. She knew there were people out there like that, but she didn’t understand them.

  “I guess not.”

  “How did his wife take the news of his arrest?”

  “Don’t know. I wasn’t around when she found out and I haven’t heard.”

  “We’ll hear it eventually. Blackjack isn’t very big and people talk. We’ll hear.”

  Warren chuckled, and they finished eating before heading back into the living room where they settled onto the sofa as Warren turned on the television.

  Chapter 39

  Warren woke the next morning to find the spot beside him empty but still warm. A faint smile crept across his face as he wondered where Hayley had gotten to. She couldn’t be far or her side of the sheets would have cooled. He stretched and yawned before throwing the covers back and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. The water turned on in the shower as he stood, revealing where she’d gone. His smile expanded to a grin as he made his way into the next room and joined her in the shower.

  Once they were clean and dressed, Warren started breakfast, enjoying cooking for Hayley for a change since she usually fed him.

  “How’s your day look?” Hayley sat at the bar and watched him as he scrambled eggs.

  “We’ll probably catch a case, but until we do, Zeke’s got me going over some cold cases, trying to see if there’s anything I can see that they might have missed, or if anything new has come up. What about you?”

  “I’m getting out of the office for a change today.” She grinned and Warren could see her excitement.

  “Out on patrol or something else?”

  “I’m gonna ride with one of the rookies. I want to see how he’s coming along in his training. I’ve been stuck in the office for weeks.”

  Warren dished up the eggs, added the tortillas he’d heated for her, and slid the plate across the bar in front of her. “Then you’ll need your energy. Eat up.” He moved around the bar and joined her. He remembered what it felt like to get back out on the beat after being off the roads for a while and he was glad she had the opportunity.

  She had to leave earlier than he’d like so she could go home and get ready for work. He hated to see her go before she had to, and wished he’d thought the evening before to have her bring her clothes for today when she’d come. He finished cleaning up the dishes from breakfast and went to get ready for his day.

  He was sitting at the double desk going over one of the cold cases his new partner had given him when the call came over the radio. He didn’t catch it at first, but word spread through the room like wild fire as men stood and rushed to gather their weapons and anything else they might need as they raced out of the station house.

  Officer down.

  His heart jumped. Not again. He pulled his Detonics .45 out of the drawer beside him where he’d put it not an hour ago when it had become uncomfortable as he bent over the table and opened the third file for the day. The ache in his back vanished as he stuffed the pistol into the holster resting under his arm and joined Howard on his way out to the car.

  “Who is it?” Warren asked as he slid into the passenger’s seat.

  “Not sure. All I hear was a shooting, an officer down and a rookie involved.”

  Shit. Shit. Shit. Hayley was riding with a rookie. He opened his mouth, but his heart filled his throat and nothing would come out. Zeke started the car and they pulled out into the stream of marked and unmarked cars headed to see what aid they might could give. Warren could only pray that the injured officer wasn’t Hayley.

  It took them hours to get to the scene, at least that’s how it felt. In reality, it probably wasn’t more than ten minutes. Zeke pulled the car in behind one of several marked patrol cars with the doors open and Warren bailed out before the car had come to a full stop. He had to find her. To make sure she was all right. His chest ached and he fought to remember to breathe as he searched for her.

  “Who is it?” he asked the first officer he came to, a face he recognized, but he couldn’t recall the man’s name. Panic raced through him and he didn’t know if he could keep everyone from seeing that he was more concerned than he should be for just another officer.

  “Not sure, but the ambulance is over there.” The officer nodded his head to one side of where a group of officers crowded in. Without waiting to find out what had happened, he headed in that direction.

  Warren broke through the edge of the crowd surrounding the ambulance and froze. His heart skipped a beat and his knees went weak. Hayley lay on the gurney being loaded into the ambulance, a bright splash of blood covering her left shoulder and her eyes closed.

  Fuck.

  “How is she?” he approached the EMTs loading her into the bus. “How bad is it?”

  Hayley’s green eyes blinked open. She looked up at him a moment and relief washed through his body. He’d thought she was unconscious, that she was awake made him feel at least a little better.

  “I’ll live,” she said with the ghost of a smile. “I’m glad to see you.”

  “Anyone else hurt?”

  “Just the guy who shot me. He’s down but not out.” She grimaced as the gurney jerked to a stop and the EMT’s locked it into place.

  “I’m sorry, sir but we need to go.”

  “I’d like to go with you.” He didn’t watch the EMT, instead he kept his gaze on Hayley, asking her permission, not the other man’s.

  “I’d like that.” Her voice was soft, weak.

  “We really need to go, sir,” the EMT said again.

  Warren stepped up in the ambulance and took a seat. “Then let’s go.” He picked up Hayley’s hand. “Thank you.”

  The driver closed the rear doors, securing them inside.

  “Thanks for coming, for being here.”

  Warren sighed, the exhale coming out in one long shaky breath. “Wild horses couldn’t have kept me away.” He gave her a sad smile. “But I think our cover’s blown.” He had to brace himself as the ambulance
started rolling, slowly at first as the driver hit the siren for a couple short blasts to get the people around them to move out of the way.

  “I don’t care.” She closed her eyes again. “I don’t have enough energy to care right now. Damn, this hurts.”

  “I know, babe. Just rest, we’ll figure the rest out.”

  “Wait.” She started wiggling, almost as if she was fighting the straps that secured her to the gurney.

  “Calm down.” He squeezed her hand trying to figure out what was wrong. “You’ll hurt yourself worse.”

  “No. I’m trying to get my phone. You need to call Denni.”

  “You’re sister?”

  “Yeah, her number’s in my phone.”

  “Where’s your phone?”

  “My pocket.”

  She kept wiggling and he wanted to hold her down, but knew it would only hurt her more. “Which side? I’ll get it.”

  She relaxed back against the thin mattress. “Right front.”

  “Okay, babe. I’ll take care of it.” He reached across her body, slipped two fingers into her front pocket and pulled out her cell. “Is there a password?” he pocketed the phone and reached back across and lifted her side arm out of her holster so the emergency room wouldn’t have to deal with it.

  “No.” She closed her eyes again. “Try two or three times and if she doesn’t answer she’s probably in court. Have an officer go tell her. She needs to know.” She spoke in short sentences as if each word hurt but she needed to get them out.

  “Anyone else?”

  “No. My parents are gone. It’s just me and Denni.”

  “Not anymore, baby.” He held her hand tighter. Now that he’d gotten to know Hayley, he couldn’t imagine how much it would hurt to lose her. “It’s not just the two of you anymore.”

  She started to say something then stopped and just lay there. A sharp pain shot through Warren’s chest as he feared she’s passed out. He wasn’t sure if it was from the pain or blood loss and he was afraid neither was good. The warmth of her hand in his was the only thing that kept him from losing what was left of his cool.