A Case of the Heart

by Beth Shriver

  Sanders yelped grabbing his shin with one hand, the other still holding her wrist. She yanked her wrist away causing him to fall on all fours.

  She ran for the door, popped open the screen and ran to the street. Fear radiated throughout her body, she couldn’t get away fast enough. Liz stopped by her car and bent over to catch her breath. She pulled her keys from her pocket, fumbling for the lock. Looking back at the house, she saw no sign of him.

  Unlocking the door she noticed some movement out of the corner of her eye. Liz reached for the handle and threw the door open, hitting Alex smack in the gut with the car door. He stepped back and then forward holding the door. He caught her by the arm as she started to get in.

  “Liz. Slow down. It’s me.”

  As she heard his familiar voice, the fleeing instinct began to dissipate. Her heart pounded in her chest and sweat trickled down her face. Thought overrode instinct and she stilled and turned to the voice.

  “Alex.” She could barley get the word out, her strength giving way.

  He reached out, pulling her to him. She took another look at Alex to reassure herself it was really him before collapsing into his arms.

  ****

  Not again, Alex thought as he held her. If she didn’t get herself off the streets and into an office he was going to go crazy. He knew he couldn’t push her, she was too obstinate, but he was ecstatic when she had asked him the other night about considering a promotion.

  Not that he minded being the knight in shining armor. As a matter of fact he had become involved with her personal life too, because she needed him to meet her parents. But looking at her now, as she lay limp in his arms, he knew he couldn’t continue to keep her safe.

  He helped her into his car while he radioed for backup. “Any weapons?” He asked her and shut the car door.

  She rolled down the window and shrugged. “I didn’t see any. But you might want to grab the little baggie on the family room floor before he does.”

  He eyed her, shook his head and pressed his lips together. Drugs? She never ceased to amaze him. No wonder the guy became so volatile.

  “Stay put.” He said firmly, as he motioned downward with his hands. He gave her one last look, pulled his gun and ran up to the side of the house. He climbed up the side of the porch and stepped to the edge of the door, peering in. He quickly opened the screen door and stepped inside.

  As he took a second step into the family room he heard a groan. Alex looked over toward the couch to see a man sitting on the floor rocking himself. He held one shin with both hands and grunted when he saw Alex.

  The man’s face was pasty white with drops of sweat on his forehead. Alex placed his gun back in the holster and approached the pain-ridden man. “Are you William Sanders?”

  He nodded and stretched his leg out on the floor. The bag Liz told Alex about was next to the couch. He reached for it and examined the contents. “Is this yours?”

  The man slowly shook his head. “No-o,” he slurred, and looked up at Alex with dilated pupils.

  “What’s it doing in your house then?” he stuck it in his pocket.

  “Stand, please.” Alex grabbed his arm and helped him up. He had to chuckle to himself realizing how hard Liz must have kicked the guy to cause him this much pain.

  Sanders pushed himself up off the floor and assumed the position. After Alex frisked him and read Sanders his rights, he walked him to the door thinking that this had to be the easiest drug apprehension he had ever made, all thanks to Liz.

  At that moment Alex’s back up arrived on the scene. Alex walked out with Sanders in cuffs. Sanders’ head hung down, brown curls falling onto his sweaty face. He limped slightly, catering to his left leg.

  Alex took Sanders over to Jake Brown, who was the backup officer. He had Jake run a check on him and went over to his car to check on Liz. She was out, head back, mouth open. He could stare at that face forever. She must have felt safe if she could fall asleep after something like that. That pleased him. He knew one thing for sure, she could always count on him, even if there was never anything more between them.

  Her eyes fluttered open. As soon as she looked up at him he leaned over her, touching his fingers to her chin and moving her head left to right checking for injuries. Her eyes followed his as he scanned every inch of her face.

  “Does anything feel broken? Is there any bleeding?” He asked as he took her arms and squeezed and moved them around. He was surprised she was letting him mess with her this much. Usually she’d get irritated with all the fuss. He wasn’t a worrier and had seen a lot worse injuries than anything she might have gotten during the scuttle with Sanders. He mused at his own concern.

  “I don’t think so, just a little roughed up...hey.” She moaned as he touched her wrist.

  He pulled up her sleeve and turned her arm over. A red two-inch raspberry ran across her wrist. The skin wasn’t broken but it was swollen and looked like it would be sore to the touch. He reached out his window and motioned for the EMTs.

  She scowled at him. “No.”

  They rushed up pulled her out of the car and laid her down on a low gurney by the ambulance. They started poking and prodding at her.

  “All right, already. I’m fine.” She barked.

  He knew she would be irritated with him but he wanted a full check done just to make sure.

  Liz started to get off the gurney causing the EMTs to scramble to their feet. She swayed, as if light headed but he knew she wouldn’t let on if she was. Briefly closing her eyes, she slowly stood and started walking towards the closest patrol car. There were two and she was heading for the closest one.

  Alex held her arm and had one hand behind the small of her back. “This way.”

  He guided her past Jake’s patrol car. Sanders was sitting in the back. He kept his head down but followed her with his eyes.

  Jake walked behind them and came up to her side, handing Liz her cell phone. Liz gave him a nod and a tired smile but didn’t stop until she was in Alex’s car again. Jake and Alex talked outside the car as Liz sat in the front seat, head back, eyes closed.

  Alex got in, stared at her and then touched her cheek.

  “Ow!” She scowled at him.

  “Sorry. Looks like you might have a bruise starting there.” As much as he wanted to keep checking her out he knew better and moved on to business. “Are you up to making a statement at headquarters?”

  “Sure, why not,” Liz said sarcastically and closed her eyes again.

  He knew she was worn out but he also knew he shouldn’t treat her any differently than he would another social worker. But other social workers didn’t get beat up all the time either.

  “If you do it now you’ll remember more, and I want to make sure this guy gets what he deserves.” He’d make sure of that.

  Alex started the car and slowly started down the street. He’d bring her back for her car later. He tried to keep his thoughts to himself but this was becoming too frequent and dangerous. “Next time you go on a call make sure I’m with you.”

  She opened her eyes and glared at him. “Are you my personal body guard now?”

  “Looks like you need one,” he said matter-of-factly.

  She snapped her eyes over at him. “I’ve been with the department for over three years and nothing like this has ever happened.”

  “Yeah? What about the chase on Capital Hill? Or the guy that took a shot at you in Lo Do? And what about last night? Do you just forget about these things?”

  Unbelievable. Had she just put those incidents out of her mind? Why didn’t she just admit it like she finally had last night? He hoped, although he knew better, that she was too tired to dispute the point any further.

  She closed her eyes again, as if hiding from him. “Those were flukes. I guess I meant I’d never gotten hurt before.”

  “Other caseworkers don’t have this many flukes .”

  He had actually gotten the last word. She must be tired.

  As they walked
in to the station a couple of cops said hello and asked how she’d been, while another cop razzed Alex because he was usually the one on calls with Liz. Obviously they were causing a buzz within the departments.

  Liz and Alex went into his office and he shut the door behind him. “Okay, tell me again what happened from the beginning. You know the routine.”

  She described the whole ordeal, giving as many details as she could remember, struggling to put facts in place of feelings. It was easier to keep things straight when she wasn’t the victim. The whole thing seemed like a blur. Alex took some notes but mostly remained silent. He only spoke when he needed to clarify something.

  His half-cocked grin showed his admiration. “Liz, I’ve got to hand it to you. You can get yourself out of a fix. Most people panic and get themselves into worse trouble.”

  She had grit that’s for sure. And thank God, due to all the trouble that came her way. One part of him felt like scolding her and another wanted to hold her. But since he couldn’t do either he just smiled, taking her all in. And as she smiled back at him he felt the tension loosen and slip away.

  She nodded slightly, too tired to talk anymore. He was grateful—of what he wasn’t exactly sure. Maybe just that she was okay and the ordeal over.

  “Let’s get you out of here. Just relax while I take care of a couple things. Stay here.” He made eye contact to show her he meant it and did those motions with his hands again. How she could get into trouble sitting in his office at the police station, he didn’t know. But she was on a roll and he didn’t want to push his luck.

  He finished up by making a phone call and talking to Jake about Sanders’ record. He saw her milling around his office. He grinned and ended his conversation and then walked back to his office and stood in the doorway.

  She scanned his office. The furniture was similar to what they had in her building. Age old stuff that would never be replaced until it fell apart. His desk was tidy with everything in its place. Maybe he should give her a lesson or two in organization, but it probably wouldn’t help.

  She glanced at various sports paraphernalia but also a couple of books. Catcher in the Rye and a Tom Grisham novel lay on his desk. Liz ran a finger over a leaf from the three-foot palm inhabiting a corner of the small room. Then she looked up to a frame hanging above the plant which was a fairly large picture of his family when he was a youngster.

  Maybe she’d realize that there was more to him that met the eye. He had more décor in his office than she did. Not that that was saying a lot but he was a guy, a guy that didn’t allude to a lot of the stuff she was seeing here for the first time.

  When she looked up he was braced against the doorjamb watching her, his arms crossed over his chest. “Ready?” He motioned for her to come.

  The drive to her house was quiet. She leaned her head against the headrest. “I hope this headache doesn’t get any worse before we got home.”

  Alex reached over and rubbed her temple. “We’re almost there.”

  He pulled into her driveway a few minutes later. As soon as they walked in the door she immediately collapsed on the couch and fell into a deep sleep.

  Chapter Seven

  “Come on Nuggets!” Alex’s exuberance for the game roused Liz from sleep. He sat next to her on the couch glued to the TV.

  Liz opened one eye, trying to decide if it was worth the effort to open both. Alex turned her way and set a glass on the coffee table. “How do you feel?” He touched her cheek.

  The heat from his touch seared her skin and she held a hand to her head. “Like I was in a bar room brawl.”

  He chuckled lightly. “You were. Are you hungry?”

  “I’m starving. But I need a shower first.”

  Liz sat up slowly and headed straight to her bathroom. She shut the door and stood behind it glancing across the room.

  The greenish-gray colored walls complimented the faint green in the tan tiles covering the floor. The brushed silver sink was built into an antique chest of drawers. A white shower curtain covered with tiny green and yellow daisies surrounded the freestanding oversized bathtub. She wanted to sink down into the huge, deep tub and soak in lilac scented bubbles, but Alex was in the next room, so she needed to be quick.

  As she turned on the taps, the events of the last two days became fresh in her mind, and she realized she had no direction in her life. Not just in her job but whether she was ready for a relationship. She was so used to fighting it, was it possible she’d missed someone along her solo journey over the last year?

  She stepped into the shower and let the warm water flow over her as her thoughts continued. She needed Christ’s guidance and strength with the challenges of her work and with Alex. Although he claimed he was just doing his job, she knew better. She also knew there was something happening between them, and it scared her more than Harris or Sanders ever would.

  Feeling refreshed, she climbed out of the shower smelling like a flower garden. She put on some sweats and walked into the kitchen toward the smell of chicken soup swirling in the air.

  ****

  Alex could smell her before he saw her, the fragrance fresh and clean. He looked her way and teased, “You must be as wrinkled as an old woman. I thought you drowned.”

  But she looked beautiful. Her hair was pulled up into a clip with wisps falling down around her neck. Bright eyes shone from her freshly scrubbed face.

  She gave him a weary smile and sat down at the old oak table. “I feel much better, just really hungry.”

  He ladled soup out of a saucepan. “I’ll give you more noodles since you fought with bad guys.” He grinned as he handed her a ceramic bowl and set the other on the table examining her as he inspected her injuries. “I hope you don’t mind my making us something to eat.”

  He brushed the hair from her face, feeling the silky length of it before it fell back against the other auburn strands. What a great excuse to do all the things he had always wanted to. But he felt guilty at the same time, like he was using her hardships to his advantage.

  She eyed him with a half grin as he took two bowls of salad out of the fridge. He loved to make her smile, and she had a great laugh. She was too tired tonight to laugh, so he would settle for a smile.

  “You didn’t have any crackers, so this will have to do.” He pulled out some bread from the refrigerator and laid it on the table.

  “I’m surprised you found this,” she said, gesturing to the food on the table.

  “Let’s go over this afternoon, one more time,” Alex suggested as they ate.

  “Sanders really panicked. Thank God you came when you did.”

  When she looked at him, he almost thought he saw her eyes mist.

  “You did pretty well on your own.” Amusement filled Alex when he thought back to the moment. “He hadn’t gotten up off the floor yet when I got inside.”

  There was the smile again, the one that sent his inside whirling.

  “Do you think this has anything to do with Scotty Harris or Rich Pirelli?”

  “Sanders claims he was a first-time customer of a frequent visitor that comes by the Harris place.”

  “Pirelli.” She mused.

  “We, I mean I, need do some more investigating. I’ll check with narcotics and make a visit to Carl’s.”

  “What’s going to happen to Sanders?”

  He could see her replaying the events again in her mind. Liz had close calls before but never had been physically hurt. If Sanders hadn’t been so drugged up, things might not have gone so far. But once again they had, and now Alex wished he had been there. “He’ll be out of commission for a while. Oh, and by the way, don’t do my job when you go on calls from now on.”

  “I didn’t mean to. It just sort of happened.” She cringed.

  She had the curiosity-of-the-cat-thing, and Alex knew it. He shook his head, glad to just be here with her. He only wished it were under different circumstances. “So this is a night out with Liz Adams.”

  “Yeah, I�
��m a great date, huh?” She crinkled her nose and held her palm to her cheek, elbow on the table, and almost looked embarrassed.

  He knew her evenings usually consisted of working long hours, just not to this extreme. “If you’re a guy who likes excitement, yes.”

  He continued to do more for her the more she got into these predicaments, but he didn’t want her to feel badly that he had spent the evening taking care of her—especially when it gave him a valid excuse to be with her.

  “I’ll make it up to you and take you out tomorrow night.” She scooped up a spoonful of soup and blew off the steam.

  He knew it, she felt guilty. He leaned back. “I like it here. You have a nice place, makes me feel at home.”

  Her smile broadened. The place was small, but she’d made it her own, and it had a warm and cozy feel to it.

  “I’ve enjoyed fixing this old house,” she beamed.

  “It fits you.” Feeling tranquil and relaxed, he put his hands behind his head and leaned back into a stretch.

  “You’re quite the knight in shining armor, coming to my rescue, nursing me back to health. I’m impressed.” Her gaze searched his face for a response.

  He smiled as he took their bowls back to the stove and ladled them both more soup. “It’s not hard to come to your rescue when you always need rescuing.” He placed their bowls on the table and refilled the glasses. “You make me look good though.”

  Liz stirred her spoon around in her soup. “This isn’t cramping your style is it?”

  He sat down and looked at her, wondering where he would be tonight if Sanders hadn’t gone off on her. Truth is, there wasn’t any place he’d rather be. “What do you mean?”

  “I didn’t even think to ask you if you’re dating anyone.” She looked away, still stirring.

  His lifted his gaze to meet hers. “No. As a matter of fact I haven’t dated anyone for a while now.”

  Liz dropped her spoon in the bowl with a clatter. “I’m surprised.”