Chapter 4
"Danny! Hurry up or I'm leaving without you!" Lindsay yelled through the bathroom door.
Danny had returned from a crime scene smelling like the inside of refrigerator that had been unplugged for a few months. Lindsay had insisted that he take a shower or she was not going anywhere with him. So she waited in her living room for him to finish. Then they were going to the grocery store to stock Lindsay's cabinets. She wasn't going to be allowed out for a while and Lindsay wanted to stock up on essentials. She felt edgy and on her guard. She didn't like knowing that just outside there was a police officer watching her apartment.
Before she left the office for the day, Mac pulled Lindsay aside and introduced her to the two officers that would be her own personal police force. The first shift would be manned by Officer Sterling, a middle aged man with balding hair and a belly that resembled a five months pregnant woman. He seemed nice and regaled her with stories of his teenage boys. He was easy to like and Lindsay couldn't help herself.
The second shift was going to be manned by Officer Schwartz, a thirty something man with a head full of dark hair and a body that resembled Arnold Schwarzenegger in his early body building days. He kept more to himself and was less inclined to share his thoughts with Lindsay. Danny disliked him instantly.
"It's just not natural, the way he looks." Danny stated with a sneer of derision in his voice when he and Lindsay were discussing her detail later.
Lindsay chuckled, took his hand and said, "It's okay Cowboy, he's not my type."
Danny looked down at Lindsay and smirked, "Very funny Montana. I'm not jealous."
"Mmm Hmm" was Lindsay's only reply.
Lindsay chuckled as she thought over the conversation. The door to the bathroom opened and Danny stepped out with a cloud of steam rolling from the inner room.
"Did you leave any hot water in the building?" demanded Lindsay.
"What are ya talking about? I feel refreshed. Ready to go?" Danny said with an air of mischief.
Lindsay threw her hands into the air, as if the gods could save her. Danny chuckled and pulled Lindsay into an embrace.
"I know that you are wound up right now, but remember, I'm not the bad guy here. I come in peace." Danny said into Lindsay's hair. He could feel he slowly relaxing in his embrace.
"I know Danny. I really do, but this is horrible. I feel so trapped and it's only the first day! How am I going to make it if this lasts much longer?" Lindsay clung tighter to Danny and he returned the pressure.
"Hopefully, the name that I got from the florist will lead us right to this jerk. You never know, maybe this will be over before Officer Beefhead has to report for duty at 9:00 tonight. " Lindsay chuckled at his nickname for the Officer and Danny felt her tension melt away.
"You're right. I'm going to look at this optimistically. No longer will I let this get me down."
"Better, much better honey. Let's take it one step at a time, though." Danny sensed that she was putting on a false show and he wanted her to know that he knew.
Lindsay pulled away from Danny, looked up at him and said, "I am hungry Messer. Let's get to the store so that we can make a feast for tonight."
"A feast, huh? Sounds good to me. I'll make my mother's famous chicken carbonara. You'll love it! What are you making?" Danny nudged Lindsay in the side with his elbow as they walked into the foyer to gather their outerwear.
"I'm thinking tacos; with lots of cheese and salsa." Danny could hear Lindsay's stomach growl. He knew that she hadn't eaten lunch today. Stella told him before they left the Crime Lab.
"Sounds great. Our meal will be quite...eclectic." Danny laughed and dodged an ill aimed and half-assed punch toward his side.
Danny pulled open the front door as Lindsay picked up her purse from the foyer table. They walked over the threshold and Danny waited as Lindsay pulled out her keys to lock the deadbolt. After finishing, Danny led the way down the hallway and to the elevator. He hit the "down" button and they waited in silence for the elevator to reach Lindsay's third floor.
"I always forget how old this building is, the elevator takes forever to get here," said Danny.
"It's not old, it's got character" Lindsay stated. He should have known better, Lindsay loved this apartment building. She would defend it to her dying breath.
"Yeah, okay Montana." Danny replied as the elevator doors opened and they entered. Lindsay hit the "Lobby" button and the doors slowly closed. The ride down may take a while, thought Lindsay, but she loved the gilt gold reflection of herself that she got when looking into the doors. It felt so old Hollywood and elegant.
Once the elevator reached its destination, they waited as the doors slowly opened to allow them to exit. As they walked out, a man, attempting to enter, knocked into Danny.
"Sorry, dude. Didn't mean to," the stranger said. Danny looked him up and down and then smiled.
"No problem man. No harm, no foul," Danny replied. The man smiled and entered the elevator. Danny and Lindsay turned toward the front door of the building. They had only gone a few steps when Danny abruptly stopped.
"Did you recognize that man? The one who bumped into me?" he asked Lindsay.
"No", she shook her head and pursed her lips. "Come to think of it, I've never seen him before."
"I should ask Officer Sterling if he ID'd the man." Danny said.
"Why? Danny you can't ask the officers to ID every person that enters this building. There are several people that I'm sure I've never met. This is a big building." Lindsay stated with controlled calm. "That man didn't even fit the description of "P". He was well built, blond, and didn't have any glasses. The opposite of ordinary."
"Really. You got all that from seeing him for a moment?" Danny said slightly irritated.
Lindsay giggled, "Danny, I am a detective. It's my job to notice things. Remember?"
"Yeah, but…"
"No. I am good at noticing things and I question things as well, that's what makes me a good cop. I discredited him as the suspect when I saw him. Besides, he didn't give me the creep factor." Lindsay said as she continued to walk toward the door. Danny quickly followed suit.
"Remind me to never leave you alone with another guy, alright." Danny said.
As they walked out of the building, Officer Sterling materialized out of his cruiser and walked to the curb. "Where are we going tonight, Detective Monroe?" he asked jovially.
"Hello again Officer Sterling.." Lindsay started.
"Nick, I asked you to call me Nick. I can't have you constantly calling me "Officer Sterling". It would wear both of us out." Officer Sterling cut off Lindsay by saying.
Lindsay smiled warmly, "Of course, Nick and you must call me Lindsay."
"Deal. Now where are we off too?
Danny replied with, "The market about four blocks west." He wasn't really jealous of this guy, was he? Danny shook his head to clear it and Lindsay caught his eye and looked at him quizzically. "Nothing." He told her before she could ask what was wrong.
Lindsay shrugged her shoulders and continued with the conversation that she and Nick were having about tomorrow's forecasted snowfall.
That was too easy. P chuckled to himself as the elevator stopped on Lindsay's floor. No one had stopped him on his way into the building. He was afraid for a moment that he would be stopped and asked for his ID. He had one ready for just that occasion. No one did and P thought for a moment that he was wrong about her new security detail. The old guy in the cruiser outside would be easy to dispatch when the time came. He posed no real obstacle.
He was mostly worried about that damn Danny figuring him out. He had seen the five o'clock news earlier that evening and had seen the police sketch of a "person of interest" that resembled him from last night. He had removed the black wig and glasses. He also removed the extra padding that he had worn under his clothes last night. Today, he wore more form fitting jeans and a tighter sweater with a black leather jacket. People always saw what they wanted to see. Last night he dressed as a loser and expected that was how people saw him. Today, he dressed as though he fit in. No one questioned that either. He felt powerful. This would work. He would get his Lindsay.
P walked along the hallway until her reached the apartment number written on the piece of paper that he had been given. He stopped at 3F and knew that his Lindsay lived behind those walls. He quickly surveyed the area and found that 100 feet down the hall was a door that led to the emergency stairs. This just kept getting better. With a smile on his face, he turned back to the door and quickly went to work.