Mop and Broom: Tales of the Twelfth

Chapter 25

"What's a stalker?" Mop asked. "That sounded really scary."

"Yeah, when Kate gets that look on her face you know something bad is going on," Broom agreed. "The stalkers I've heard about are people who follow other people around when they don't want them to. Sometimes they hurt them. It's a bad thing and Kate said Rick has one. She wants to put a security detail on Rick and have Tory help, but Scary Lady won't let her because there hasn't been an actual threat of harm - whatever that is. So Kate said Rick has to stay with her all the time because she has the gun."

"Nothing wrong about that part," Mop commented. "Seeing those two together is the best thing around here."

"I doubt that she meant together in the way that you're thinking," Broom replied disdainfully. "It would be hard for her to protect him if they're doing - that."

"Oh dirt pile!" Mop exclaimed. "You're always trying to ruin my fun. But if they did some in here and locked the door nobody will bother them. No one was bothering them just now."

"But they didn't make any fun for you either," Broom pointed out triumphantly. "I think Kate's more worried about catching whomever it is. She said the stalker sent emails to Rick's website saying she was watching Rick."

"So the stalker is a she," Mop reiterated. "That certainly didn't make Kate happy. Especially the part where the stalker said she was with Rick while he was missing and she would do anything to be with him again."

"It sounded like Kate might be the one in danger," Broom mused. "No other woman can be with Rick unless Kate is gone."

"Well at least they're going to stay here as much as possible," Mop opined. "It is a building full of cops. What the dirt pile was that?"

"Sounded like an explosion outside," Broom replied, his handle swaying anxiously. "I hear a lot of people going down the back stairs. Oh Master Cleaner! Someone just fired a gun in the bullpen."

"Did you find out what happened?" Mop demanded anxiously.

"Board told me as much as he could," Broom related. "After the explosion went off outside, a lot of the cops left the building, or at least the bullpen. Then a lady came in here with a gun, wanting Rick to go with her. She pointed the gun at Kate. Kate didn't even have a chance to go for her own gun, but she told Rick not to go. He said he couldn't let her get shot again, so he went. So now everyone is trying to figure out who the woman is and where she took Rick."

Mop swayed on his tendrils. "Kate must be going crazy."

"Board hasn't seen that much of her," Broom reported. "Scary Lady won't let her work on the case. She said she's too emotionally involved. She sent her home with a security detail."

Mop clacked his loop. "Oh so now Scary Lady comes up with a security detail! Nice going!"

"She does have to follow the rules," Broom reminded him. "I don't think she liked how things came out. Well anyway they think the woman who took Rick must be his stalker. Tory tried to find out where the messages came from to identify the suspect, but they were from an internet cafe. I guess that's a place where people drink coffee and go on the internet, kind of like the break room sometimes. Anyway, Esposito went down there to show a picture of the woman they got off the video in the precinct. They're going to try to find out who she is. They also have unis all over the area around the cafe trying to see if anyone saw Rick. Ryan has been looking at all the traffic video from around the precinct to see if he can find a car the woman might have taken Rick away in."

Mop's tendrils flew straight out. "Sounds like something is happening out there."

"Did you hear anything about Rick?" Broom asked as Mop was returned from cleaning a mess in the Men's Room.

"More like about Kate," Mop replied. "Ryan was in there. He said Kate couldn't just do nothing, even if Scary Lady did send her home. She put out a call to all of Rick's followers. Ryan was talking about Facebook and Twitter and some other things. Kate got a picture of the woman who took Rick from Esposito and posted it. Then she asked anyone who'd seen the woman or Rick to let her know where and when and send a picture if they could. She got some answers and sent them to Ryan. He and Esposito are going to check them out."

"Well good for Kate. I knew she'd think of something," Broom asserted.

"So did Ryan and Esposito find Rick?" Mop asked as the Janitor stuck Broom back on the cart.

"Well sort of," Broom answered. "According to Board, they talked to a clerk at a liquor store who thought he'd seen the woman, but he wasn't sure because she had a scarf and sunglasses. But she came back to buy a bottle of Sancerre, the favorite wine of Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook. The clerk called them. The woman had used a debit card at the ATM in the store before she bought the wine, so Ryan had Tory track it.

"They went to find her, but it turned out Rick had suggested to her they might share the wine if she got some. She'd duct taped Rick to a chair before she left, but he'd practiced getting out of tape for one of his books. By the time Ryan and Esposito got there, Rick had taken her by surprise when she came back with the wine, and taped her her up. He was already on the phone to Kate when Ryan and Esposito came through the door."

"So he could have gotten away all by himself?" Mop wondered.

"It sounded like it," Broom confirmed.

"So did Ryan and Esposito bring Rick back here?" Mop queried.

"No. Ryan and Esposito called Scary Lady and she said it would be all right if Kate took him home. Kate wanted to take care of him and let Alexis and Martha see he's okay. He's supposed to give his statement to Ryan and Esposito in the morning," Broom replied.

Mop twisted his tendrils. "Ooh, I hope I get to talk to Brush when they show up tomorrow. I bet Kate is giving him a great welcome home tonight. I want all the details."

Broom swayed perilously close to falling off the cart. "I have absolutely no doubt that's what you want."