CHAPTER 62
It was late afternoon when Medora finally made it over to Angie’s house that she had shared with Harper before their divorce. She had wanted to stop at her air bnb to pick up a few things and get dressed for nighttime combat, in case the impending fight spilled outside the house. She had her long hair tied back in a tight ponytail, was dressed in a light black turtleneck over a Kevlar vest, tight jeans that wouldn’t get caught on anything, and her sturdy hiking boots, in the event that she had to run through sand or on uneven ground. She had also grabbed sheathed hunting knife, her pepper spray, her police-issued taser, her backup gun, and her Maglight flashlight.
When Officer Mattis pulled onto Angie’s street, she perked up and studied the surroundings, wanting to absorb as much information as possible about the combat arena.
A sign by the entrance to the freshly paved road that traced the beach announced “The Ocean’s Embrace” development coming soon. Driving in, there were widely spaced lots on both sides of the road, some with construction in varying stages of completion, others with a “for sale” sign posted at the curb. A quarter mile further, the road ended in a small cul-de-sac, on the far side of which was parked a Wolf Hollow undercover police car, engine idling, with a small, peach-colored two-story home rising behind it. Mattis pulled into the driveway, nodding to the officers in the car, and Medora noticed that the mailbox still read “Jones 310 Pebble Lane”. Guess she hasn’t had time to change it, Medora thought. Or wants to.
The house was obviously new, as salt from the nearby ocean hadn’t had a chance to erode the paint yet. A small, open air front porch led into the house with a one car garage to the left, and a bay window to the right. As they walked up to the house, she could see on the second story, a balcony on the ocean side that she was sure gave a spectacular view of the beach and rolling Atlantic ocean when the sun made it’s fiery appearance in the morning.
Angie had seen them arrive, and opened the door, smiling nervously. “Come in!” She whispered, as though not wanting anyone to hear. She was definitely on edge, as Medora noticed her hand tremble slightly when she shut the door behind them.
Medora turned and looked her in the eye. “We’ll be fine.” She stated firmly to Angie. “Jericho might not even find us before the FBI catches him.” Fat chance of that, she thought to herself, as she looked around to get her bearings.
Immediately, she noted a panel for an alarm system by the front door, it’s alert light blinking a soft green. She looked briefly at Angie. “Are you keeping that on at all times?”
Angie nodded quickly, and punched in a code, turning the alert to a blinking angry red eye. Medora noted the code Angie had pressed in. Never know when I might need it, she thought grimly.
The rest of the ground floor was tastefully decorated, with the furniture and wall decorations in a soft pastel, giving the sense of light relaxation. The main living room was to the right, with a stone fireplace and big screen tv dominating the front wall. Farther down was the bay window, which gave beautiful lighting to a small dining area off an open kitchen.
The back corner by the kitchen had sliding glass doors leading out to a large screened in lanai, which gave way to a sandy path down to the beach. An officer sat on a chaise lounge next to a stone grill ensemble, his gaze swiveling from the gorgeous beach view to behind the house, where a dune with scrub brush gave way to trees that hugged the beachhead. To the left of the sliding glass doors was a staircase that undoubtedly led up to the master suite. The rest of the ground floor straight ahead of Medora consisted of a coat closet to the left, a guest bedroom and a bathroom.
“You have a beautiful house! Such a view out to the water!” Medora exclaimed, trying to ease Angie’s mind.
Angie smiled, coloring slightly. “Thanks.” She replied. “We were the first to buy here, so we had our pick of lots. That’s how we could afford it. Harper and I actually designed it together”. She looked away silently, then turned back, smiling brightly. “Let me show you upstairs.”
Upstairs was a huge bedroom with panel windows that took up virtually the entire north wall while the east wall was a sliding glass door that led out to the balcony that sat on top of the lanai she had seen earlier. The rest of the upstairs was a large bathroom with a jetted tub, two walk-in closets, and a small study which was now being used as storage.
“Are all the windows connected to the alarm system?” Medora asked.
Angie nodded. “And the sliding door too. The system is connected to the Wolf Hollow police department as well. They call within thirty seconds if the alarm goes off.” Angie’s eyes suddenly moistened.
“What’s wrong?” Medora asked, taking her shaking hand in comfort.
Angie drew a shuddering breath. “I called Chief Barnes, to get Harper out here. But he said that Harper was off pursuing a lead on his partner’s murder case. He said that he was driving a few hours away. Then I tried to call Harper, but he didn’t pick up!” She looked down, wringing her hands.
Perfect, Medora thought, wondering at the same time what Harper could have possibly discovered about Anders’ murder that could send him out of town. “It’s ok,” she said soothingly. “We’ll have three officers here tonight, plus myself, and here,” she reached down, rolled up her pant leg and unholstered her ankle gun.
Handing her Sig P365 to Angie, she asked “Have you ever used a gun before?”
When Angie shook her head, her eyes wide as she stared down at the gun in her hand, Medora said, “That’s ok, I’ll show you the basics. It’s basically flick off the safety, point, and pull the trigger. Tonight, I’m going to keep you up here in the bedroom, where you’ll be safest. If he does show, he’d have to first get past the officer on the porch below, and then climb like a monkey up the screening to get to the balcony. And then you still have the locked glass door and the alarm. And I’ll be right downstairs too.”
When Angie didn’t seem convinced, Medora added, “Look, I’ll try and call Harper too okay? I’m his partner, so he better answer me!”
That perked Angie up, and Medora smiled reassuringly. “I’ll keep trying until he picks up.” She promised. “Now, I’m going to go down and coordinate with the boys, see what the plan is for shift rotation and all that. Why don’t you stay up here and try to take a nap? I’ll whip up something in a little while for dinner, and hopefully by then, Harper will be on his way here.”
Angie nodded. “That sounds good actually,” as she went over and sat down on her turquoise bedspread, placing the gun on the nightstand. “Let me know if you reach Harper.”
“Of course.” Medora replied, making a show of checking the latches and sliding door before heading down the short hall to the stairs. “Get some sleep.”
Reaching the top of the stairs, she pulled out her phone and tapped Harper’s icon. She waited a split for the phone to try and connect, then quickly hung up. It wasn’t foolproof, but if Angie asked, she could show the attempt on her phone. Again, she briefly wondered what Harper was pursuing, then shook her head. It didn’t matter, she thought. He wasn’t here to get in the way, so that was good enough for her.
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