A/N This may not apeal to all readers, but this story was written for some friends with specific requests. It's a short fun piece.
I'll be posting my next story in a few minutes that's fits my normal format.
Henry was selling his cousin down the river and by doing so he had hoped he would get a lighter sentence.
Henry explained, "Valerie set this up, wrote the program and talked me into it. All I had to do was load it as part of the banks' new process, and for five to ten minutes work at each of the places I consulted with, I'd get five thousand bucks." He was worried about getting locked up and started out loud, "BUT," then corrected his volume, "I never really wanted to do it. She can talk any one into anything, any man into anything."
Peter stopped the tape and looked at Neal, "She sounds like she'll be a challenge for you."
Neal just raised an eyebrow.
Peter pulled out a file with details on Valerie.
Valerie knew her cousin would flip on her so she was on the lamb. Acting like it was a vacation, she would visit her friend Holly.
Valerie pulled out her blackberry and called Holly, "Hi Holly, I'm taking another vacation and was wondering if I could stop by, maybe stay a night?"
She had to leave a message, she continued, "Call me back and let me know."
Valerie knew she didn't have much time before her face would be all over the nightly news, maybe she should call Julie, she wondered.
"Hi, Val, sorry, I was talking with my Mom. I saw you called, whatcha doing?"
"Hi, Holly, thanks for calling me back so quickly. Did you get my message?" Valerie asked.
"No, just saw it was you and called you when I was done." Holly told her.
"I was wondering what you're up to tonight, I'm taking some time off and wanted to visit."
Holly hadn't seen Valerie in a while and was happy for a change in routine, "Come on down, we can go out to dinner."
"Thanks, Holly, I'll see you in a couple hours then." Valerie hung up as she ducked into the subway stairs.
Jones came in with a stack of papers. "Here's the last three months worth of cell phone records." He handed them to Peter.
"She has a handful of numbers she calls a lot. She called this one to a Miss Merriday last." Jones said pointing to a line on the top page. " We have no priors on Miss Merriday, she's a grade school teacher a couple hours South of here."
Peter looked at the recent bills and the print outs of the last few days. "No calls other than to Holly Merriday after we arrested her cousin."
Jones added, "And she hasn't been home either, by the neighbors accounts. They said it has been very quiet, they usually hear her in her basement, guess it gets loud."
Neal was excited on the drive South. "I haven't been this far out of my range in a long time." Just an observation as he looked out the window.
Peter pulled up to the house and said to Neal, "Here we are."
Both got out of the car walked across the lawn and up the three steps. Neal knocked on the door as Peter was ringing the bell.
"Oops, didn't see the bell." Neal said.
Holly opened the door, "Hello, I'm Peter Burke, FBI, and this is Neal Caffrey." Neal shook Holly's hand as Peter's cell phone rang.
Peter flipped it open and said, "Hi, Jones, just got here…."Holly waited, why would the FBI come here? She wondered.
"Miss Merriday, I'm sorry we have to leave."
Peter turned and started running to the car, "Let's go, Neal."
Neal looked to Holly, put his hands in the air and shrugged his shoulders and took off after Peter.
"Someone spotted Valerie in the subway, saw her picture on a news website and alerted the police. Valerie saw the whole thing and took off, they're chasing her."
Peter drove like a man possessed.
Valerie was quick and lucky. She has eluded the subway police officers and ducked into a shoe store. She spent a few minutes looking and then took off.
The van had become a rolling headquarters for Jones to coordinate the search. Valerie had flown out of the subway exit and Jones had parked the van there to go through the local shops with her picture.
Peter pulled up behind the van. Neal held the van door open for Peter.
Jones looked up and said, "Valerie was seen last in the shoe store, just up here." He pointed to a shop about a half block away. "Nothing for about two hours."
Gerald Neumann had lived in the neighborhood for sixty years, it had been twenty four since his wife, Isabel, had passed. He didn't get much company. He was kidding himself,
he never got company, but today he's about to go into his building and this lady comes up and offers to help him with the groceries. What a birthday!
"Shoot, I could carry 'em, carried 'em all the way here."
Valerie, was insistent, "It's too much for you to take by yourself." Going into someone's home she'd never met would be hard to trace.
Valerie saw him check the mail box and pull out a blue envelope. "Happy birthday!" She said.
"How'd you know it was my birthday?" Blue envelope, she thought, "Come on Grandpa, you don't remember me?"
He was lonely, had no kids but thought what the heck, "Is that you Susie? It's been a long time."
"Yes! Let me make you dinner." Valerie offered.
Gerald opened his door and Valerie was happy to see a television, she would try to catch up on their hunt for her.
All Gerald had was TV dinners and cantaloupes. Valerie looked in the refrigerator, melons.
Valerie opened the freezer, ice and TV dinners. "Why'd you go to the store? It seems you have plenty of meals here."
"Salsbury steak, I was out of 'em, I like the brownie, and it's my birthday." Gerald said.
"Well then, Happy birthday, I'll put one in for you." Valerie said.
Gerald sat in his recliner facing the television and opened the sports section.
Valerie checked the newspapers and didn't see anything about her.
When the TV dinner was done Valerie pulled over a TV tray next to Gerald and turned on the TV, it was an old set.
"OH, I don't watch that thing."
"But it's a 'TV dinner'" Valerie said. She had to turn the knob to change channels. Only a few stations came in.
Gerald said, "Thanks for making my dinner, it was nice to talk with you, but I don't have kids, so the grandpa act didn't really work. What's going on with you? Someone looking for you?"
"You can say that." Valerie looked Gerald in the eye, sorry for her ruse. No mention on the news.
"I'd bet it's probably safe now, you have a good night and happy birthday." Valerie slipped on the door.
"You forgot the TV!" Gerald was upset that it was still on, "Dag nab it!"
Valerie looked out the door and didn't see any police, she opened it a crack and slipped out.
She started walking down the street towards the subway, she might be able to make it to Holly's after all.
Peter and Neal were getting out of the van, thinking their leads had gone cold, and were ready to go home. They would check with Holly again tomorrow.
Neal walked to the passenger door, waiting for Peter to unlock it. Valerie was walking directly towards him. "There she is!"
Peter spun around to look.
Valerie took off sprinting. Neal took off after her.
Peter said she would be a challenge, but Neal didn't expect it to be in a foot race.
Peter banged on the Van door and then jumped into his car. Jones opened the door and saw Peter pointing, "She's right there!" he yelled to Jones.
Valerie went down a narrow alley, turned a corner and up a ladder onto a fire escape. The window was open and she ran through an apartment and out the door.
Neal was thirty second behind her. The family was in shock when Valerie went through, but yelled at Neal.
Valerie went down the stairs and back to the street. She turned into a subway entrance and ran across to the other side and came out across the street.
She peeked out, saw no one and took off.
All the yelling caused everyone in the building to open their doors and this slowed Neal considerably.
Valerie thought he was in the subway and started walking when Neal finally go to the street. "Hey, get outta here." Someone followed him out. Valerie turned and saw him and took off again.
She ran a block and turned and saw an open door and jumped inside the Hyland-Gleason gallery.
Peter had pulled up and jumped out of his car, he pulled his gun out of his holster.
Neal ran up, breathing hard from his running, when the alarm went off. Neal's hair was a mess, his shirt un-tucked and he was a little sweaty. He fanned his jacked to cool himself down.
Three ladies came out, the one in the middle struggling to get free. "This one came crashing inside and tried to go out the back, but that's locked" one said. Each lady had an arm.
Valerie was fighting to get loose. Neal grabbed both of her arms and pulled them behind her back and held her tight, "Settle down, you're not going anywhere. If you did, this guy would chase you until you're caught." Neal said nodding to Peter, " I know this from experience."
"Peter Burke, FBI, we've been chasing this one." Peter put his gun away and flashed his badge.
Peter pulled out the cuffs from behind his back and reached out for Valerie. Neal gave Peter Valerie's hand. "Turn around." he told her.
"We need to search her." Peter said standing with his legs at shoulder width and his arms on his hips.
"Oooh, Nice holster." The gallery owner said, "I'm Ms. Gleason." Peter blushed.
"We own the gallery", the other said, "I'm Ms. Hyland"
Neal said, "I remember this place, you have the Picassos in storage." He was a little upset they were not out for display.
"I can show you those." Ms. Hyland said and grabbed Neal's hand and let him inside.
~END~