Too Close To Home
The rest of the day had been spent with Rae seeing Lauren and then she, Steve and Ron had started to work out a personality profile for their killer. It hadn't been a simple task however, and in the end they had decided to call it a day, and Rae and Steve had gratefully headed for home and a hopefully quiet evening.
Rae had arrived with a screaming headache, an aching back, and a bouquet of red roses in her hand. Jesse had seen her headlights as she turned into the driveway about fifteen minutes after Steve. He heard the slam of the car door, and then watched as she walked towards the entrance hall. The last words she had said to him that morning had been hard and hurtful, and he wasn't sure what mood she would be in now, so, taking his courage in both hands, he had smiled as she entered and moved closer to her.
"Hey, Sweetie, how was your day?" To his relief he got a smile, albeit a small one.
"Busy, confusing, relieving … and long."
"Well, the girls are with Michael, I could run you a hot bath, would that help?"
Rae had considered for a minute. "It might, but, first of all, I have an apology to make. Jesse what I said this morning was uncalled for, but more than that, it was untrue. You have always put your family first, and you are the most thoughtful person I know. I'm really sorry. I … I know it might be silly, but I bought these for you." Suddenly embarrassed Rae gave the roses to her husband.
"Wow, thank you! I don't think I have ever been given flowers before. They're beautiful, but you needn't have, I knew what a bad day you had yesterday …" Jesse stopped talking as Rae kissed him gently on the lips.
"Shhh. You know, you are just too nice. I know I was wrong, but thank you for being so … understanding about it all. Now, I think I have a house to see, don't I?"
Jesse's face lit up like a Christmas tree, and Rae had known that, unless it was infested with cockroaches, or structurally unsound, she would be living there by the following lunchtime.
The next hour had been spent looking round Jo's house, with Jesse pushing at randomly chosen books on the shelves hoping that a bar or secret passage would appear just like in Steve's study. Jo had never lived in the house, but apparently really liked it, Oak Place had belonged to her momma and papa, and they had stayed in it whenever they visited LA. Once they had died Jo's grandmamma had decided to rent it out, and it had been lived in, on and off, ever since. Jo had only decided to sell it because she knew that she would never live in it herself, and she had plenty of other property, not quite so close to home.
"So, what do you think? It's wonderful isn't it? We could be happy here, don't you think, maybe have more children… Ok, bad idea, no more children." Jesse watched Rae glare at him and knew that he was rambling but, he just wanted so badly to move in that he couldn't keep quiet.
"Jesse, how can we live in such a huge house? We don't have a Michael to keep it clean and sparkling, and before you say anything, there is no way in the world that I will ever have a butler." Rae looked around her. She knew that Jesse wanted to live here, but she didn't. However much she liked the look of the place, and she had to admit it was a beautiful house, she couldn't see herself bringing up two young children in a mansion in Beverley Hills.
"We could get a cleaner, maybe a nanny … no, no nanny." Jesse saw the glare once again, and knew that he was just making things worse. "Look, you won't know whether you are gonna like it until you give it try."
"Yes I will. I knew that the house we just lost was the right one before I went in through the front door. The house that Tony and I shared when we were married, I made up my mind as I walked down the driveway, and I know that this house isn't for me."
"Then what are we gonna do?" The disappointment was evident in Jesse's voice. "David and Debbie arrive tomorrow, you don't want to be at Jo's when they are, but you don't want to go stay in a hotel in case you have another nightmare. I heard Amanda's news today, about her and Ron, so we can't go there either. That leaves the beach house, but it isn't really big enough for the four of us, Mark and Alex, even if he is in Steve's old apartment now. It doesn't leave us much time to find somewhere else does it?" Jesse ran his fingers through his hair, he didn't want to be at Jo's when David arrived, it was one thing to sleep there for a couple of nights, but this could go on indefinitely, and that was wrong.
For a while the hallway was silent, but then Rae began to speak. "Are you prepared to compromise?" Rae moved a little closer to Jesse. She could see the longing in his eyes; he just couldn't hide how much he wanted to live in this house.
"What type of compromise?"
"I will agree to sign a six month lease … hold on, a six month lease, but then, if I still don't like it, or if we have as much dust as Texas had in her grandmamma's part of the house, we go find someplace else to live, deal?"
"Oh, deal, deal, I know you will just love it, and we will be here forever. Thank you, Rae, thank you. We could move in here tonight, right now in fact. I could run your bath here. What do you say?" Jesse was bouncing like a little child, and Rae, suddenly filled with the same childish enthusiasm, grinned at him.
"Maybe we could persuade Steve to have the girls tonight. It might be fun to be here on our own, just the two of us."
It hadn't taken long to arrange, Eliana and Anneya would stay with their Uncle Steve and Aunty Jo, on the understanding that Rae and Jesse would pick them up the following day long before David and Debbie arrived. They had then forgotten all about them, knowing that they were safe and happy where they were, and Rae, letting herself be pulled along by Jesse's enthusiasm, found herself enjoying everything immensely.
"Rae … Honey, your bath is ready. All you have to do is work out which bathroom I used." Jesse's voice floated down the stairs to where Rae had been told to wait in the morning room, which she had every intention of calling the breakfast room. She would put a table in here and they could eat in the sunshine when they were all home together. With a smile Rae put down the magazine she had been flicking through and headed for the stairs. They had brought just a few things back from Texas's house, mainly things that would ensure she had a relaxing bath, but also, on the table in the hallway was a vase with Jesse's flowers in. Rae smiled again as she saw them, and began her walk up the staircase that made her feel like a heroine in a romantic novel.
Jesse was standing in front of the door to the master bedroom. Rae smiled at him. If she'd thought they had a master bedroom in their last house, it was nothing compared to this one. "I'm standing here, because I'll give you a hint, I didn't use our bathroom."
"Oh, ok, well, I can't remember which doors lead to bedrooms and which to bathrooms so I guess I'll just have to try them all."
Rae and Jesse's new home had two wings, just like Steve and Texas's did, but they weren't quite so far apart. There was a kitchen, laundry, and breakfast room downstairs, along with a dining room, two living rooms, one of which they could use as a playroom, a library, a music room and two studies. Upstairs they had six bedrooms as well as two attic rooms, and every room had its own bathroom, including those in the loft, so Rae knew that it could take a while before she found her way into the water. It was the aroma of lavender that gave it away in the end. Rae had been through four bathrooms before she began to smell a very familiar scent.
"It's this one." She opened the door and a large, perfectly white bathroom appeared through the steam. There was a raised platform over to one side of the room, with a Victorian type bath on top of it. The sink unit, toilet and bidet Mmm, I've never had a bidet before, were also white, and beautifully ornate. The only colour in the room was in the blue tiles scattered here and there, the towels that matched them and the gold taps. Rae felt Jesse's arms go around her and then she felt the buttons of her shirt, as he gently undid them.
The shirt slipped to the floor, and then the jogging pants that she had worn to work followed. Jesse turned his wife round so that he could see her. "You are a beautiful woman Reagan Travis; even after all we've put you through."
Rae smiled at him. "Thank you. You haven't put me through anything I didn't want to be put through, but I think you already know that." She pulled away then and slipped out of her underwear. Tomorrow she would have to go and buy her own. She couldn't keep wearing Texas's clothes, they were far too big.
After an hour of wallowing and relaxing Rae pulled a large white fluffy bath robe around her slender shoulders and began the journey down the hallway towards her bedroom, knowing that it would help if she could remember which door it was. Suddenly there was, again, no doubt, because Jesse poked his head round the doorframe.
"Hi, beautiful, did you enjoy that?" Jesse had left the bathroom once Rae was comfortable, and as she entered the room she could see why. The bed that she had thought she would have to make was now already done and there was a glass of her wine on the nightstand.
"Yes, thank you, and I think I might enjoy this too. Are you ready for bed?" Rae tried to stifle a yawn, knowing that Jesse would have things other than sleep on his mind.
"Yeah, I am. It's tiring work being a stay at home dad." He pulled back the covers, and Rae let the bathrobe fall to the floor. She climbed under the smooth cold cotton sheets and couldn't help but shiver. "Hey, careful, you'll catch a chill, come here, I'll warm you up." Jesse had slid into bed too and Rae snuggled up against his smooth warm skin.
There was no sound or movement for about ten minutes, and then Rae shifted position slightly. "Could we just stay here, like this, for ever, do you think?" She waited, but there was no reply and so Rae looked up, into the peaceful face of her sleeping husband.
With a sigh Rae moved again, now that Jesse was fast asleep she found that she wasn't tired at all, and so, enjoying the feeling of his warm chest against her cheek, and the sound of his steady heartbeat in her ear, Rae began to look around her new room.
Whereas the furniture and soft furnishings in Texas's home were almost all gold or golden tones, the décor in this house was plain, almost in the extreme, and in the bedrooms and bathrooms the predominant colour was white.
The walls had a satin wall covering which looked like long strands of ribbon, this was a slightly off white in colour, and was only broken up by various pictures of colourful gardens. The drapes were a very deep burgundy, and Rae loved them. It was one of her favourite colours, and she liked the way that they swung into the three deep bay windows that the master bedroom had. The middle bay wasn't actually a window but a set of French doors leading out onto a large, private terrace, which Rae intended to investigate further at a later date.
Although they had called it the master bedroom it wasn't really just that, it was more accurately a suite of rooms, and Rae had to admit to already looking forward to curling up in one of the very comfortable looking burgundy armchairs with a good book and reading until she was ready to stumble into the next room and fall straight into bed, but she wasn't quite ready to tell anyone that yet. With a yawn Rae realised that her ruminations were causing her to become drowsy, and so with a sigh she snuggled down against Jesse and felt his arm pull her tighter in his sleep. She closed her eyes on a feeling that six months may not be long enough.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The Thursday morning had dawned bright and clear, and Rae and Jesse had lain in each other's arms watching the sun send patterns through a new set of curtains. As Jesse turned towards Rae, he saw a look of peaceful contentment on her face and his heart soared. He gently placed his finger on her cheek and turned her so that he could see her eyes, and then tenderly he began to kiss her.
Rae felt his tongue as it began to move against her own, and she altered her position slightly so that she could run her fingers into his hair. This seemed to give Jesse the encouragement he needed, and the kiss became more passionate, and he began to move his hands across her back and up and down her spine. His kiss became a gasp as he felt Rae mirror his movements until she reached his shorts, and then, pulling herself away from him slightly, she began to remove them.
Rae ran a finger up his half erect penis, and it moved instantly to attention, then as she felt him shudder, she took it suddenly into her warm, wet mouth. "Oh, Rae, Ohhh." Jesse couldn't speak any more, the feelings that his wife had suddenly made explode inside him rendered him speechless and he knew he was lost in time. He reached his hands up and grabbed hold of the pillow behind him, giving himself completely to her.
Rae felt the movements that her husband made, and, as she gently moved her mouth up and down his now rock hard erection, she saw him surrender his body to her, and her passion rose even higher. The gentle movements gradually became stronger, and Jesse moaned loudly as he felt her teeth on him. The feelings stopped as Rae moved away, but she blew cold air over the tip before massaging it with her hand and then her tongue before returning it to its warm and wet home and he was lost in her again
Eventually he moved his hands down and into her hair, pulling her up towards him, not wanting her to stop but needing to kiss and possess her. His tongue went back into her mouth and he rolled so that she was underneath him. "My turn." Jesse's voice was husky and deep as he spoke just two words before moving to her left nipple, which he began to tease back and forth with his tongue, knowing how much she loved it. As his hand found the centre of her right breast he began to lose himself once more, but this time, in giving the pleasure back to her.
Together their bodies moved and rocked, and Jesse could feel himself getting closer and closer to losing control completely. He moved his mouth down Rae's body, his tongue licking and swirling across it, while his fingers spread her legs ready for him to kiss and lick and nip her most private of places.
Rae felt Jesse's mouth as it began to move down her body and she almost stopped breathing as she waited for him to reach and then move past the hair between her legs. As his tongue began to delve deeper she cried out, wanting him to know how it felt.
"Jesse! Oh, God, that's good, Jesse, Ohhh." Her hands began to play with her own nipples, and the feelings began to merge together as her body moved in time with the waves of pleasure coursing through it. "Oh, Jesse, now, take me, now, Ohhh!" Suddenly Rae felt herself being taken by her husband and his throbbing manhood was thrust in to where she needed it most.
Their movements were one again, but Rae knew that she wouldn't be able to wait for Jesse to come with her. "Now, I can't … Ohhh…" Rae felt herself explode, as all her feelings came together, and then Jesse, his hands grabbing hold of the covers, stiffened for a moment.
"Keep going, Rae, Oh, my … Yes, Yes!" Jesse felt as if he was pouring everything that he had into Rae, and the feelings kept coming and coming, the sensations washing over him until he felt completely drained. "Will you catch me if I fall?" His voice was faint and breathless.
"Always, my darling, always." Rae moved her hands up and Jesse collapsed against them, then she lowered his spent body onto hers, feeling him leave her as she did so.
The room was silent apart from the sound of their breathing, and Rae gently ran her hands over her husband's back as he lay, his head on her shoulder, completely oblivious of everything except the presence of her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Rae had driven to the station, spoken with Steve, who had greeted her with a hearty 'howdy neighbour!' and had a tongue stuck out at him for his pains, and knew that they needed to speak with Captain Newman once they had sorted exactly what they wanted to tell him.
That plan however, looked to be thwarted about an hour after they arrived as the phone rang on Steve's desk. "Sloan here … Oh, hi, Alison … oh great … where in Van Nuys … no, we have a map … hold on.
"Rae, we just got a call on a body part out in Van Nuys."
"Wonderful. Did she say where in Van Nuys? Is it anywhere near Murietta Avenue? Ok, ok, I know, I'll get my map."
"You're looking for Vesper Avenue." Steve had made a note on his pad, and now he waited as Rae began to look in her desk.
It didn't take her long to find. "Vesper Avenue, it's about two blocks away from Murietta." She turned the map round so that he could see where she was pointing.
Steve listened again "Ok, thanks, Alison, hold on." He looked up. "The call was taken by a black and white from Van Nuys, but when they radioed in what they'd found it ended up with us."
"And what did they find?" Rae was studying the map, but she knew where she was going.
"Take this a minute and make notes, I'll check the map." Steve held the phone out to her and Rae had to smile, he wouldn't travel in Tom unless he absolutely had to, and she knew that today wasn't one of those times.
"Alison, it's Rae, can you tell me what they found?"
"A female foot." Alison's shudder was apparent in her voice. "Ughh, how do you deal with finding a foot?"
"The same way as you deal with finding a severed head in the freezer." Rae's voice was a little harder than she had meant, and she looked down, embarrassed by her sudden show of emotion. "I'm, sorry. We'll go see what we have. Oh, Alison, if you see him before we do, could you let the captain know we need some of his time today?"
"If you want to speak with him I would do it now. He's off to a conference in San Francisco at noon. I can call Van Nuys and let them know you will be a little delayed." The voice on the phone told Rae that their day was getting more complicated by the minute.
"Great. Ok, I guess we don't have much choice do we?" Rae sighed and shook her head as Steve began to pick up his jacket. "Thanks, Alison." Rae put Steve's phone down and ran her hand through her hair. "The Captain is going to a conference in San Fran he'll have left long before we get back from Van Nuys."
Captain Newman looked up as he heard the knock on the door and saw the two experienced officers waiting to be allowed in. "Come." He watched them enter and gestured with his hand for them both to be seated. "Lieutenant, Detective, what can I do for you?"
"We need to speak with you about the 'Todd' case, Sir." Rae was anxious to get on, she didn't want to be doing this right now.
"The Todd case, oh yes, 'aka' the bits and pieces case. Of course. I heard what you found yesterday, I was a little concerned, but you both seem to be fine."
"Nothing a good therapist won't cure. We think we know who is behind this. Not an actual person, but where he works." Rae wasn't feeling as relaxed as she had been earlier that morning, and although she was far better than she had been the day before, she didn't want to discuss the head.
"I see, and do you plan to tell me? Or are you keeping it for your counsellor?" The Captains tone was short, and Rae knew she had pushed her limit.
"Do you want us to explain how we came to this conclusion, or just tell you, Sir?"
"Detective, just tell me."
"Yes, Sir. We know that the link is Steve and we think the killer is a cop, Sir." Rae said nothing more but her eyes never left the face of her boss.
"From here? This precinct? I think that you had better explain yourself, Detective Yeager, and very quickly."
"Yes, Sir. We think he is from here, and probably from the vice squad. It was Steve's case notes that gave us the clues." Rae looked at her partner but he just nodded. He still didn't like the fact that it was someone he worked with, and was quite prepared to let Rae do all the talking.
"The only part that was found when Steve wasn't available to deal with it was when he was on honeymoon, and he didn't know he was going himself until about five minutes before he left."
Again Steve nodded. He would happily return to that peaceful idyllic location right now, and not have to deal with sleazy cops, murdering and murdered cops, or any cops at all.
"That doesn't tell me why it is a vice cop, but I don't have time to listen to the details, I want all your evidence on my desk in ninety minutes. I am leaving for a conference and I can't wait around any longer that that."
"We, ah, have to take a call in Van Nuys. Another … part just turned up." Rae had stood up, knowing that the Captain had already effectively dismissed them.
"Very well. I will be back in three days. I think you should give all your information to the Chief instead. He will be speaking with me and I can ask for any new developments then. Lieutenant, if you would be so kind as to stay a moment… Detective."
This time there was no doubt that Rae had been dismissed and so she left the room, waved at Cheryl and then sat down at her computer. She would try to make as many notes as possible in the time that Steve was with Newman, at least then he would have something to go on.
"Lieutenant, I don't think you have ever come into my office and then not said a word. Do you have a problem with what Detective Yeager said?"
"No, Sir … Yes, yes, I do. It's not that I don't agree with them I just … I just don't want to agree with them. This guy is playing with me. He is cutting two people up and leaving parts of them all over town because he can goad me. And this is a guy who I have probably worked with, maybe closely. Hell, it's a guy from my old department." Steve stood up and moved away from the desk. He hadn't put his feelings into words the night before, and he wasn't sure if Rae realised how he felt, or even if she knew that he used to be a vice detective himself.
"Yes, yes. I can see how that would affect you. You know that I can actually remove you from this case if you would prefer. Detective Banks works very effectively with Detective Yeager, I'm sure she would be willing to take this over for you."
"No, Sir. Thank you, but no. I'll see this through. Crosier was a feeble excuse for a human being, but the woman, she didn't deserve this. Neither of them did. I want to be there at the end, when we get this guy."
"Good, I'm glad you feel that way. Now, I see your partner is typing away furiously, for which I am very grateful, as it means I will have something to go on before I leave. However, I think that you should go to Van Nuys now, and I will take how ever much she has already written."
Steve just nodded and left the room, shutting the door as he did so. Rae hearing the noise turned and smiled. "Five more minutes and I will be finished."
"Ok. We can wait five minutes." Without another word Steve walked over to where Cheryl was working quietly and began to talk to her.
The four pages of notes came out of the printer and Rae picked them up and took them to her Captain. Newman just nodded and took them without a word other than thanks, and she left his room, tapped Steve on the shoulder and then they were gone.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The two police stations were only four and a half miles apart, and so it didn't take much over a quarter of an hour before Steve drove past the precinct house on his way to Vesper Avenue, which was only another mile or so further on.
All the tell tale signs of a new police investigation could be seen around a parked car, half way down the street. Rae looked at the yellow tape and then the vehicle in disbelief.
"That's my car!"
"What?" Steve looked at her.
"The car with the tape round it. It's … It's Tom!"
Steve looked over at where she was pointing and realised that the car was in fact her little tomato shaped vehicle. "Where did you leave it?"
"In the parking lot, just like I always do, same space, everything." Rae was shaking her head as she spoke, and they moved together towards the scene.
They both had their ID's in their hand knowing that the officers wouldn't recognise them.
"Hi, there, I'm Lieutenant Sloan, this is Detective Yeager. What have you got?"
"We have a foot, sticking out from under the driver's seat; there is blood on the actual seat."
"Have you checked to see if it is open?" It was Rae who asked, she knew that she hadn't left her car unlocked, which meant that it must have been broken into, she also decided that it would probably be a good idea to just mention that it belonged to her.
"No, Detective. When we called this in we got a message saying that we weren't to touch anything until you arrived."
"Oh, ok. Well, let's see then. If it is locked I can open it for you, it's my car." Rae took a pair of gloves out of her pocket and pulled them on. She tried to open her door and wasn't at all surprised when it was unlocked. Rae carefully opened the door and then crouched down on the ground and tried to see if she could get a view of what was under her seat, but found that it was impossible, the sill was in the way, and she knew better than to touch.
If the two officers were surprised by Rae's announcement they managed to keep it to themselves, and to their credit, carry on as usual. "The coroner's wagon is on its way, Detective. We had better wait until it gets here before we look too closely hadn't we?" One of the officers had crouched down as well, anxious to watch the English detective at work.
"Well, I don't think you could actually get any closer if you tried, but yeah, that sounds good to me." Rae stood up and brushed at the imaginary dirt on the knees of the jeans Texas had lent her. "Who called 911?"
"A very irate lady who lives at number 3802. She didn't know anything about the foot, or so she says. This is her parking space and someone was in it. So she called 911, mentioned that she just happens to know Chief Masters, and would someone please come and remove this nuisance. We got the call. I saw the foot just as I was about to try the door, and decided that it was a very bad idea."
Steve checked the badge on the young man's shirt. "Well, Officer Davis, I agree with you, it would have been a very bad idea. I guess we had better go and see her then. Can you let us know when the wagon arrives?" His tone left no doubt as to how he was feeling, and then he turned towards the house that had been pointed out by the patrolman.
"Oh, I don't know, they could send a push bike; it's not that big is it?" Rae smiled as she spoke to her partner. He had been silent a long time and she was getting worried about him. Hopefully if she lightened the mood a bit he might become more responsive.
"Mmm. As you are so cheerful you can deal with… what's her name?"
"Oh, sorry. Um, Mrs. Davenport."
The two detectives walked up the path to the neat and tidy house. Steve rang the doorbell, and then he stepped back and waited.
Very slowly the door opened and an elderly woman of about seventy looked through the small gap. Rae held her ID up to the crack and wasn't at all surprised when it was taken from her and the door closed. Five minutes later, just when she was wondering if she would ever see her wallet again, the door was opened fully.
"Detective Yeager, won't you come in? I have just spoken with Chief Masters, and he assures me that you are a very good officer."
Rae smiled, "Thank you, Ma'am." She walked through into the hallway, and Steve went to follow.
"Young man, I don't believe that I invited you in as well." Mrs Davenport's tone was strict, and instantly Steve knew that she had been a teacher of some sort.
"Mrs Davenport, this is Lieutenant Sloan, he's my partner, I would really prefer if you would let him in. We are supposed to work in pairs."
"Very well, if you can vouch for him, then I will defer to you."
"Yes, Ma'am, I can vouch for him." Rae smiled, wondering whatever Steve would make of what had just happened.
The hallway to the Davenport home was carpeted in cream, and there was a box, on a mat, with a notice saying 'shoes' on it. Rae looked down, and with a small sigh took off her sneakers. They were the only shoes she had left, and she knew they weren't very presentable, but until she got some free time they would have to do. As she put them into the container she saw Steve do the same, and then, both of them feeling slightly vulnerable, they followed their hostess into the living room.
"Please sit down." The room was as cream and spotless as the entrance. It wasn't very big, it was the same shape as the hallway but a little wider. The carpet was identical to the one in the hall, and the suite was a coffee colour with cream cushions. "I expect you are here because of that ingrate who has parked in my space. I have spoken to your Chief about it on a number of occasions, but he insists there is nothing he can do, but this time … this time it wasn't even someone who lives in our street."
"You saw who left it there?" Rae moved forward in her seat, maybe they would finally get a lead.
"No, no, if I had I would have confronted him myself, I know all the cars in this avenue, and that little red thing isn't one of them."
"Oh, oh, I see." Rae couldn't believe how deflated she felt. "Do you know what time it was left there?"
"I went out for my morning paper at a little after nine, I was only gone ten minutes, and I left my cone in its place. When I got back there it was, no notice taken of the 'residents only' sign. This is a very busy street, we have to pay for our parking, and then you can't even park in front of your own house … Why aren't you taking all this down, my dear?"
"Ma'am, we aren't here about the fact that someone parked in your place. We are more interested in the actual car, and who left it there."
"Oh, I see." Mrs Davenport's tone had gotten extremely frosty, and she seemed to glare at Rae. "You appear to have gained entry to my house under false pretences, young lady."
"No, Ma'am, we need information on that car, you called it in, and we are following up on that call. The car … the car was stolen."
"Well, Detective, as I said, it was parked here when I was out, so there is nothing that I can help you with."
Rae stood up, knowing that they had been dismissed. She took one of her cards out of her pocket and handed it to the woman standing in front of her. "I thank you for your time, Ma'am, and if you do think of anything, could you let Lieutenant Sloan or myself know, on that number?"
"Of course, dear, I will do that…" Mrs Davenport seemed to stop talking for a moment, as if a thought had struck her, and then, her voice a little softer, she began again. "The lady two doors down from me was outside tending her garden when I left the house, she may have seen something."
"Thank you, do you know her name?" Rae finally took her notebook out of her pocket and saw the smile that crossed the features of the other woman.
"Yes, her name is Milton, Tasha Milton."
Rae crouched down on the mat and pulled her shoes back on, and then stood back up to shake hands with the lady. "Thank you, Ma'am, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding."
"That's all right, my dear. But if you do get a chance to have a word with the local police department, maybe they could keep a closer eye on this area."
"I'll see what I can do." Rae walked out and down the path, then she turned to wait for her partner. Steve had told her that he wouldn't question the woman but he hadn't said a word, and she was getting worried about him.
"Ok, before we do anything else, I want to talk to you." Rae put her hand on his arm.
"Leave it, Rae, ok? Let's just do our jobs and get back to the station." Steve's voice was as short and curt as it had been earlier and with a nod and a sigh Rae moved down towards where Mrs Milton lived but stopped as she heard her name being called.
"Detective Yeager." She turned to see the coroner's wagon drawing up beside her car and moved across, noticing that Steve was following at a distance. She watched as the patrolman showed the two men who had just arrived what it was that they would be taking with them and then she began to speak.
"Hi, I'm Detective Yeager, North Hollywood Division." She showed her ID once more. There had been a time when she hadn't needed to even carry it with her, everybody had known exactly who she was, but thankfully those days had passed. "Could you take this … this appendage to Doctor Amanda Bentley at Community General Hospital? Only she has all the other … the other bits."
"Yes, that's no trouble."
With that problem solved Rae turned round and began the journey towards what she hoped might be a breakthrough in the case.
Tasha Milton lived in the same type of house as Mrs Davenport, but it was completely different. The hallway had a collection of Wellington boots in all sizes from very large to tiny in colours from green to pink. There were a myriad different coats hanging on an extremely full coat rack, and a little further down Rae could see a pair of roller skates and a tricycle.
"Won't you come through to the kitchen? I was just feeding the baby."
Rae had smiled, and nodded her head. They entered a warm and cosy room with a little boy of about eighteen month's old sitting in a high chair with a plate of sandwiches in front of him.
"Would you like a cup of tea or coffee? Or I have all the things that a mom would have. Fruit juice, milk, all the exciting stuff."
"A cold drink would be lovely, thank you." Rae looked over at Steve to see him shake his head, and as Tasha turned away to get her drink, she glared at him.
"No, thank you, Mrs. Milton, I'm fine." Steve sank back into silence then and left everything to Rae.
Tasha Milton had seen the red car arrive, and with a little prompting, was able to give Rae the first description of their suspect, although unfortunately only from the back. Including the fact that he seemed to be fiddling about under the seat for a few minutes after he had parked. Rae had rung through to the precinct and arranged for a police artist to be available later that day so that at least a partial sketch could be made up. As there would be no face she wouldn't normally have asked for the witness to go to the trouble of travelling to the station, but as up until now they'd had nothing Rae wanted a general description, she also wanted to show Mrs Milton photos of the vice squad detectives, and for that she needed the woman to be in the squad room.
"I knew he would be in trouble with Mildred if he left his car there, and so I tried to catch his attention to tell him, but he just walked off in the other direction. I wouldn't dare park there, not even if Darren was screaming, it was raining, and I had bags of shopping. She's a lovely lady, but park in her spot and bang, you are in serious trouble."
"Thank you. If you think of anything else, maybe you could call on this number. Just ask for either Lieutenant Sloan or Detective Yeager and we'll come back again. You really have been very helpful. Once we have your sketch, well, maybe we can get moving with this."
Mrs Milton read the card and saw Homicide Division and her eyes became worried. "With what, I thought it was just a stolen car." Tasha looked concerned. "I have three children under the age of nine, if there is any danger here, then I'm sorry but I can't do the sketch."
"No, Ma'am, I don't think there is any danger. But if you would prefer I could have the sketch artist come here." Rae could have bitten her tongue. The biggest lead so far and it could disappear in smoke.
"No, no, I'll come, my husband gets home at four thirty, so I will come over right after that. They don't have to know who I am do they?" The worry returned to her face as Mrs Milton thought of another problem.
"No, there is no need for the sketch artist to know who you are, and your name won't be on the picture."
"And if you catch him, whoever he is, what then?" Tasha was twisting a washcloth round and round in her hands and Rae moved across to her.
"Mrs Milton, I'm a mum myself, I can understand why you are scared, but there really isn't any need. When we get this guy we'll have so much evidence that your part in it will be forgotten. But until then I will make sure that your name isn't mentioned anywhere, ok?"
Tasha nodded her head and then smiled. "Thank you. I … I recognised your name, you have had so many things happen to you, and yet you are still here, still doing this. I guess it's silly for me to be scared over such a little thing."
"No, no, it's not, it's natural, you want to protect your children, just as I want to protect mine. We just do it in different ways."
"I guess." Mrs Milton didn't sound totally convinced, but she had stopped killing the cloth, and was stroking the head of her son as he devoured two biscuits.
"We'll see ourselves out, and thank you again, you really have been very helpful." With that Rae had left the kitchen, her silent partner behind her, and headed for the front door. Rae wasn't worried at all about what would happen to Mrs. Milton, but she was very worried about what was happening to her partner, and until she got to the bottom of it she had no intention of returning to the station.