Chapter Fourteen
Chapter fourteen:
Kate slept, as sparingly as that turned out to be. She debated on whether or not she should go for a run. She made the conscious decision that no “would be” attacker was going to stop her normal routine. She put on jogging pants, a tee shirt with a light jacket to help conceal the Glock at her side.
When she made it out her front door to run, another woman from the neighborhood was there in jogging clothes and she saw another one running up the sidewalk.
Kate asked, “What’s going on?”
The neighbor who arrived first said, “We come to run with you, there is safety in numbers.”
Kate’s Glock wasn’t hidden very well and was easily seen when the wind blew Kate’s jacket back. She took off running and each neighbor ran on each side of her. Kate knew there was too big a group for any attack to take place. She made it all the way around the park, then headed back home with neighbors right along with her. They all separated at Kate’s front door with the neighbors yelling out, “We will see you in the morning.”
Kate was thinking to herself, “Jeez! I wonder what that was all about.”
Kate went in and made a quick breakfast and took a shower after she ate. She was ready to go in for an interview with Walter Sims. She tried to call Megan’s phone to wish her a good day but Megan never answered.
Kate said under her breath, “So that’s how it’s going to be.”
Sean’s car was in the parking lot when Kate got there. Kate knew that Sean was always there early. She didn’t know if he had a great work ethic or if he was just anxious for an excuse to get out of his house.
She saw Sean heading toward her when she was walking down the hall toward the cell area to request an interview with Walter Sims.
Sean said, “Come with me, we need to talk.”
Kate was surprised but followed Sean into an empty office. He closed the door and Kate wondered about the news she was about to receive.
Kate asked Sean, “What’s the matter, you look like somebody shot your dog.”
Sean said, “Walter isn’t here, he was released last night.”
Now Kate was the one who looked like someone shot her dog. Kate asked, “What the hell…what happened to him?”
Sean said, “His lawyer petitioned the court for a bail hearing and argued the attack never actually happened. They presented the judge with an argument and the judge set bail at fifteen thousand and they posted bail. They had no choice but to let him out.”
Kate’s reaction was predictable, Sean knew she would be upset. The term pissed came to mind and probably wasn’t strong enough to explain her demeanor. He saw her pounding her fist into the table.
Kate said, “I can’t believe a judge would do this to me. What a stupid idea and I bet he won’t make his hearing. Hell he is probably somewhere in South America by now, soaking in sun rays.”
Kate asked, “Do you have an address on Walter? I would still like to talk to him about the Linda Miles murder.”
Sean said, “If you go there now, they are going to charge you with harassment.”
Kate said, “I just wanted to ask a few questions.”
Sean agreed to go with Kate but when they got there Walter never came to the door.
Sean said, “We can keep coming back and trying.”
Kate said, “Or we could just park here and watch for a while.”
Sean said, “The department hasn’t authorized a stakeout for this suspect.”
Kate said, “I can do it on my own time. Someone is bound to show up here eventually. I will take you back to the station and come back here tonight on my own.”
Kate went back to her house after she dropped off Sean. She wanted to get together a stakeout bag with snacks and a thermos of coffee, which requires bringing a jar to pee in while spending long hours in a car.
It was sundown when Kate got back to Walter’s residence. She parked her car by some bushes to help conceal it and she slumped down with binoculars . She could see both the front and back door from where she was parked. She would be able to see anyone coming or going into the house.
She sat quietly and watched the house. She snacked, drank coffee from a thermos and even leaned her car seat back to help alleviate her back pain from sitting still so long. No one came to the house nor left. There were never any lights turned on, the house remained dark. Kate gave up at sunrise and headed home to shower and get ready for work.
Kate showered and put on fresh makeup. She wanted to appear as fresh as possible, certainly she didn’t want to look like someone who staked out an empty house all night.
Sean greeted Kate when she arrived at the station. He said, “Guess what? Our suspect was due at a pretrial hearing this morning and he never showed. The bonding company rescinded the bail and Walter is now officially a fugitive.”
Kate said, “Gee, I am so surprised.”
The sarcastic tone didn’t go unnoticed by Sean. Sean asked, “Have you talked to your daughter since all of this started?”
Kate answered, “I have tried, but she won’t answer her phone.”
Sean said, “She is worried about you, she just doesn’t know how to show it. You need to go home and sleep, you look worn out.”
Kate tried to look fresh, with fresh makeup and crisp clothes but the dark circles under her eyes had been hard to cover up.
Sean said, “Just go home and rest. I will tell the captain you are out interviewing people from the victim’s contact list and I will cover your shift. You need to get some rest.”
Kate said, “My guess now is that dear old Walter is sipping Margaritas poolside somewhere in South America.”
Kate told Sean she was headed home. When Kate pulled into her driveway she could see her front door partially open. She was cautious and pulled her Glock out of its holster and walked slowly to her front door, scanning the scene ahead to see if anything looked out of place.
Kate walked through the front door with her Glock pointing the way ahead. She saw nothing out of place as she walked through room by room. In her bathroom mirror, she saw a note. It was written in lipstick, from her own makeup kit.
The note read, “I saw you parked at my house. I know where you live too.”
The first thing Kate did was take a photo of the note to compare against her meet me note to see if there was a match. The second thing Kate did was to call Sean.
When Sean answered his phone Kate said, “He was here, Walter was in my house. I just sent you a photo of a note he left me.”
Sean looked at the photo Kate sent of Walter’s note. He said, “Holy crap Kate, this guy is not someone to be messed with. I will get some CSI guys over there to see if he left anything to tie him to breaking into your house.”
Kate replied, “Send the forensics guys, I am going to check on my daughter. This creep may have figured out where she is, or may even have been watching me.”
Kate looked for signs of being followed or watched while she drove to Addison’s house. She parked a block from the house, trying not to leave breadcrumbs for her nemesis. She rang the bell and Tom answered after just a couple of rings.
Tom asked, “Is everything okay? Megan is studying with Addison.”
Megan heard the commotion and came out where her mother was standing. Kate said, “Our house was broken into. I need to make sure you are safe. I am thinking about sending you to your grandparents in Nebraska.”
Megan said, “While you are working to protect me, what are you going to do about the embarrassment of me living in Nebraska.”
Kate replied, “I was counting on you still being alive counteracting the embarrassment. He left me a direct message.”
Kate held out her phone with the photo of the message on the mirror up on the screen.
Megan said, “Not one of your biggest fans it appears.”