Tuesday, August 19th -- Back To Work:
(Check out: http://ctaretz.xanga.com/755787380/murders-close-to-home----part-1/, http://ctaretz.xanga.com/755861297/murder-close-to-home----part-2/, http://ctaretz.xanga.com/756199130/murder-close-to-home----part-3/, http://ctaretz.xanga.com/756666341/murder-close-to-home----part-4/, http://ctaretz.xanga.com/757336374/murder-close-to-home----part-5/, http://ctaretz.xanga.com/757860842/murder-close-to-home----part-6/, http://www.ctaretz.com/758344236/murder-close-to-home----part-7/, http://ctaretz.xanga.com/761088449/murder-close-to-home----part-8/, Murder Close To Home -- Part 9, Murder Close To Home -- Part 10, Murder Close To Home -- Part 11 first if you haven't yet)
It was Six in the a.m when I answered Cynthia's beckoning call to come back to bed, eight o'clock rolled up quickly. Cynthia and I took a shower, I got the kids ready for their day, and we were both out the door. It was our first day of work and things are different between us. I was a bit nervous but, I was happier than I've been in a while. Cynthia and I knew the rules, we knew that we had to keep our relationship under wraps. I wasn't concerned about that. I was worried about the job getting over on one of us, I was worried about that sickening and horrifying nightmare of losing a partner. I wouldn't just lose a partner I worked with, I'd be losing a partner I have intimate feelings for -- someone who I made the decision to share my personal life with. I didn't let up that I was concerned about this though. Both Cynthia and I sat in the car, I was driving, and we talked about the weather, the news we were listening too, we stopped for coffee, and we got to the station laughing at the wacky deejay that started off the nine a.m. newscast.
When we arrived at the station I let Cynthia know that the perp called me on the cell, and that's why I was away from the bed this morning. Cynthia looked at me with a bothered look and asked me why I didn't tell her earlier. I let her know that there was a time and place to tell her things of that nature. At work is the time and place, and at my place in the sack after making love was not. She saw it my way, Holy Shit! She saw it my way. I think this relationship might work. When we got to our desks the captain called us in right away.
"Hello Joe and Cynthia, welcome back from your brief vacation. How are the kids Joe?"
"Peter is going to be okay, he's a strong kid."
"Good, how about you Cynthia, did you enjoy a little time off with pay?"
"I did, thank you Captain."
"So, after you two left the crime scene we studied and retraced the steps you took at the energy plant, it appears that the first building you went into was the main office building: that's where the pencil pushers worked, where the meetings took place, and apparently where people were trained. Those maps you found were aides to the new hires that needed to learn the whereabouts of all labs and appurtenances -- as well as a visual aide for the delivery companies that took deliveries to a particular building and department. The building directly across the quad from you was the water treatment facility, the building you past to get to the first and second buildings you entered was the storage facility, and of course you found the building with the boiler (pauses and wipes the sweat from his brow). The reason why I'm regurgitating all these facts to you is because, without those maps, you could have been a lot longer in trying to find those boys. We all know that time can be a cops enemy when running around with no direction. You told me that that scumbag walked up the stairs from the boiler room just when you were walking towards them. You had flashlights with you, what if you were in the wrong building and this asshole saw the glimmer of your torches? You would have been had. I can't have that. My finest cops would have possibly been killed, and then, so would one of my finest cops children. So I'm compelled to ask you this question -- are you sure you want to proceed on with this case? Are you sure you don't want to lay low Joe, take your kids away from this town for awhile, far and safe -- and Cynthia, are you sure you don't want to do the same? It's really no trouble at all, once this guy gets caught this town and your jobs will still be waiting for you."
Joe: "Running away never did anyone any good."
Cynthia: "I stand next to my partner."
Captain: "Well, okay then, brief me, what's your next move?"
Joe: "He called me again cap, he called me early in the A.M."
Captain: "Jesus, this guy has a knack of being a creep, sick bastard."
Joe: "Yeah, I think he knows us and we know him, I'm not sure what our move should be, but, I think a little bit of brainstorming about the people that are directly in our lives is in order: friends, associates, enemies (Cynthia nods)."
Captain: Good idea, I'll let you get to it."
Cynthia and I started to leave the office when the Captain asked me to stick around for a brief moment. I looked at Cynthia and told her I'd be right out.
Captain: "Oh, uh, good job with spotting that "throw away" the kidnapper snuck in, if you didn't see it in time you could have gotten a .32 caliber slug in your chest or head (the captain winks and gives Joe a raised-brow-smirk). Keep it level out there Joe, don't be taking things personal."
Joe: "I won't."
Captain: "(Nods towards the door) Get out of here, get to work."
The captain always did cover for the cops he liked.
Cynthia and I are sitting at our desks looking at each other with squints of concentration as we think of the people that could be legitimate suspects. It was almost comical the way we just stared off into each others faces, not even in our eyes, our faces. We were completely entranced and using each other as the focal point of our deep thinking. It was almost as if we had bubbles of dialogue lingering over our heads with question marks and occasional pictures of lunch, as our stomachs growled with hunger.
"Cynthia? Let's go get something to eat."
"Okay, sounds like a good idea."
"Chinese sound good?"
"Perfect?"
"I know just the spot."
We got up and went to Huang Fey's at the corner, not far from the station. On the way to the restaurant we ran into Dr. Schmitt. We both stopped in our tracks and started to talk.
"Hey Dr. Schmitt, how are you?"
"I'm good Joe, how's the case?
"It's good, hey, this is my new partner Cynthia."
"Hey Cynthia, listen Joe, the Captain briefed me on what's been going on a little bit..."
"Oh, what the fuck?! He's worst than my father!"
"Easy, Joe, easy, as your superior he needs to make sure that your heads right for this case, and if it isn't, that you talk to someone... Now listen I know that they got me at the station to do the criminal profiling but, I'm still a shrink. The captain knows this and he wants me to make sure that you know this."
"This is coming out of left field..."
"Joe! Listen this is serious, I heard that the perp called you this morning at six in the am, is this true?"
Something clicked in my brain right at that very moment, this unorthodox one man intervention has just caused a siren in my head, there's something really out of place with this, there's something suspicious about this. I didn't show the doctor that I was bothered and answered him:
"Yes, it's true."
"Okay, that can cause a tremendous amount of stress, if this man knows how to press your buttons he will do so and you WILL be bothered by it. That's when you come see me. You hang up, turn or unplug your phone or phones, and when you come to work you see me first thing, okay?"
"Okay."
Dr. Schmitt and I walk past each other and as he patted me on the back Cynthia and my eyes met.
Cynthia: "What was that all about?"
"I don't know Cynthia, all I know is I never told captain what time that creep called me."
Cynthia looked at me with wide eyes...
"Oh my God, no you didn't."
Tuesday, August 19th -- Suspects
TO BE CONTINUED...
I want to introduce the author of an interesting book, entitled Paycheck to Paycheck for sale on 
