Keys To Redemption
Page 7
Chapter 7
It had been two weeks since Stacy ran into Evie in the ER. And he knew very well who she was, yet she had no knowledge of his true identity. He was a murderer plain and simple, but now he could add stalker to the long list of his transgressions. He couldn’t help it though. He had been in a dazed state ever since she spoke her name, and like anyone confounded, he had to learn more. He knew James Tyrell’s wife had been a nurse, but he didn’t know she worked at Mercy Hospital. How many nurses worked in that hospital? How is it that Evie just so happened to be the nurse assigned to take care of his suspect? If this wasn’t irony he didn’t know what was.
Although her husband’s face was etched in his memory, he hadn’t known what Evelyn Tyrell looked like. But now her face was there right alongside her husband’s. She was a beautiful woman and everything about her captivated him—her brown skin, the wild curly hair she pinned back, her brown eyes and the way they looked at him with worry when he’d almost had a heart attack after hearing her identify herself. Evie was attractive, but he had no right to think that—or so he felt.
The other pressing matter that haunted him was whether or not she’d gotten his letter. She must have, but he knew there was no way he could ask her that.
Unable to release her from his mind, Stacy found himself at Gabriel’s Mexican Food, which was located across the street from the hospital. When he was at the hospital with that kid Louis he’d overheard one of the nurses saying that Gabriel’s was where a lot of the hospital staff ate when they were sick of the cafeteria food. It was a long shot and he wasn’t even sure if Evie even came here to eat, but what he did know was that he needed to see her again.
He’d been eating lunch at Gabriel’s for the last two weeks and he was just about ready to give up running into her, when suddenly he spotted her in a pair of bright pink scrubs. She was approaching the food window, and for a moment he felt completely out of his element. What should he do now? Approach her? Ask how she was doing? He reprimanded himself for not having a game plan.
He watched as she ordered and paid for her food, and then made her way to the outside patio where he was seated. Though she sat down at one of the tables and waited for her order number to be called, she hadn’t spotted him.
Before he could rationalize his next step, he abandoned his food, stood up and walked over to her in a very compulsive action.
She didn’t notice his presence at first, so he cleared his throat and belted out what he could.
“Evelyn Tyrell?”
She looked up and was startled. It took a moment for her to examine his face and make the recognition.
“Oh, um Officer Walsh, right?”
To his surprise, she had remembered him.
“Yes. How are you ma’am?”
His words caused a slight grin to display across her face.
“You can call me Evie,” she said with a soft, kind tone.
Encouraged by her friendliness he smiled back and offered up the same informality.
“Feel free to call me Stacy.”
Evie nodded and Stacy relaxed a little bit, glad they were on a first name basis now.
“Would you mind if I joined you for a moment?” he asked. Evie didn’t answer at first. And if Stacy wasn’t mistaken he could swear that the offer to dine with him suddenly made her nervous. He couldn’t blame her. Everything he was doing right now was completely unorthodox.
Not wanting her to feel awkward any further, he said, “I’m sorry if I’m intruding.”
“No, it’s fine Stacy. You can join me. I don’t have long though. As soon as they call my number and I get my food I have to head back over to the hospital.”
Abandoning his food, Stacy sat down in one of the hard plastic patio chairs across from Evie. He tried to seem at ease, but that was difficult in his uniform with his gun—technically he was still on duty. If he was being completely honest with himself though, it was really the fact that Evie was sitting across from him that had him on guard and more anxious than he had ever been.
“So, do you patrol this area?” Evie asked.
“No. I usually patrol the downtown Los Angeles area, but I like Gabriel’s.”
“Oh.”
“What about you?” Stacy asked, quickly realizing what a stupid question that was. And Evie’s corresponding laugh proved it even more.
“No, I don’t patrol this area, but I’ve worked at this hospital for the last six years.”
Not quite knowing what to say, Stacy lamely asked, “Do you like it as a nurse?”
Evie nodded. “I do. I love my job. I think it might be just as dangerous as yours sometimes.”
“I’m inclined to agree with that. I heard that Louis kid tried to attack a nurse later on that night after I left.”
Evie had heard the same thing from Anna.
Silence engulfed them for a moment as Stacy mentally tried to grasp for things to talk about. What does one talk about with the woman whose husband you’ve killed? The weather? Besides, there were more burning matters on his mind, like the anonymous letter he had written her.
“So,” Evie said, suddenly breaking the silence and interrupting his thoughts. “Are you a good cop or bad cop?”
“Good cop, bad cop? Not really sure what you mean.” Stacy said forcing a laugh.
Evie shrugged her shoulders and then said, “My experiences with cops haven’t been all that great. But, I know that there are some decent one’s out there. I was just wondering which one you are.”
This was not how Stacy imagined this conversation going. He wracked his brain quickly for an appropriate response.
“I think that it’s easy to fall into the bad cop classification. On the other hand, I think that sometimes certain people and situations can push you into that good cop category.”
By the confused look on her face, he didn’t know if what he said made sense to her. In fact, he didn’t even know if he understood his own logic. But how in the world was he supposed to answer that question, especially considering what he’d done.
“That didn’t really answer my question,” she finally said, giving him a small smile.
What he said next was even more beyond him.
“No, I didn’t answer your question. If I said I was a bad cop, you’d get up from the table and leave. If I said I was a good cop, you would think I was egotistical and pretentious—and possibly lying. Let’s try this: if you let me spend more time with you, maybe you can form your own opinion.”
Clearly by the shocked look on her face, Evie wasn’t expecting that answer either.
“I - I – I don’t know about that,” she stuttered. By her appearance and mannerisms, Stacy swore she was blushing.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Are you married?” he quickly asked, attempting to cover up his mistake by assuming she was single.
“Yes…I mean no…widowed.” He could tell she was struggling to try and answer that question and process what he’d just aid and asked her.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Stacy said tenderly. And she had no idea just how sorry he was.
“Order number fifty-two,” the cashier called out from the restaurant’s order window.
Evie suddenly jumped up and shouted, “Oh that’s me!” It was the perfect or maybe imperfect timing given their awkward exchange.
“Is that a yes or no?” Stacy persisted.
He could just kick himself right now. What in the world was he doing?
Evie hesitated and then said, “Maybe if I run into you again I might consider it.”
Before he could respond, she turned and hurried away. As he watched her grab her bag of food and rush back across the street, he felt a surge of emotion run through him, but he couldn’t pinpoint the feeling. Was it excitement? Was it the anticipation of seeing her again?
He groaned to himself and ran his hand through his hair like he always did when he was nervous or out of sorts. He must be the stupidest man alive. He’d literal
ly just asked a woman whose husband he killed whether she was single or not. And it was obvious that by that statement he was attempting to ask her out on a date. He was either certifiably insane or a glutton for punishment. He tried to tell himself this as he finished his lunch and got back into his squad car. Nevertheless, he couldn’t help but think of various ways he could accidentally on purpose run into her again.