Chapter 32
Deja had finally woken up sometime that afternoon. Her body was still worn out, but she couldn't just sleep all day. She forced herself out of the bed, showered and got dressed.
Mort was at his desk, lost in thought. "Morning," Deja said, closing the bedroom door behind her.
"Morning? Morning already happened," he replied softly.
Deja checked the clock on the wall and sure enough it wasn't morning anymore. "Sorry I slept so long."
"No apologies necessary. You deserve to sleep all week."
She smiled and sat in the chair next to his desk. She didn't even need to talk to him. She just wanted to sit there and stare. She loved how he looked when he worked. His mind was totally consumed with what he was typing.
Glancing over at her, he asked, "What's up?"
"Nothing. Just thought I'd watch you work. If you don't mind."
"No, not at all."
Mort began typing and for the next hour Deja got comfortable in the chair and watched him. She wasn't sure when she'd fallen asleep, but when she awoke her body was cramped. Mort was still typing and still in deep thought.
"How long was I out for?" she asked.
"About an hour or so," Mort answered.
"Didn't know I was still so sleepy," she yawned.
"Yeah, seems like your sleeping the day away. You must be hungry."
"I guess so," she said, making her way downstairs to the kitchen to prepare something to eat.
She was seated at the kitchen table, eating her sandwich, when Mort walked in. "Can we talk?" he asked, sitting across from her.
"Sure."
"I think I may have a solution...about Shooter."
Deja nearly choked on her food. "Are you serious?"
"I was watching some show on the Discovery channel this morning and it was about multiple personalities. I learned a lot."
"And did the program have solutions for those with multiple personalities?"
"It had lots of options, but one kind of stuck out."
"Do tell." Deja was eager. Any solution, besides his suicide theory, was worth a shot to her.
"Well, this one guy, and his therapist, were able to draw the personalities out, confront them and they basically disappeared."
"What did they say to get rid of them?"
"The therapist just kind of stood back, he was just there to make sure the guy didn't hurt himself. But the man with the personalities took charge over his personalities. All his life they'd told him what to do and he was a passive bystander. He took charge of the situation. A struggle ensued and the guy won."
"Wow, do you think we could get the same results?"
"I don't see why not. The hard part will be drawing Shooter out. I tried it while you were gone, but it never seemed to work."
"Well, what provokes Shooter?" Deja asked seriously.
"Hmmmm...he gets drawn out whenever the cops show up," Mort gave a slight laugh, "or with you sometimes."
"We can't guarantee when the cops will show, so that's not a safe bet. But maybe I could do something to draw him out?"
"I don't want to take that chance. He could injure you in the process. It's not safe."
Deja knew Mort was right, but they needed to figure something out soon. She was coming up on her fifth month of pregnancy and she wanted to make sure Shooter was gone before she delivered.
Weeks passed and nothing happened. Deja and Mort were tired of waiting this out. It seemed like Shooter showed when neither of them wanted him to, but when they did he was nowhere to be found.
They tried to keep their lives as normal as possible. They went to their scheduled doctor appointments, Mort continued to work on his book and Deja visited Lilly and her kids whenever possible.
The police still hadn't tied her to Officer Johnson's disappearance, or at least they hadn't paid her a visit. She was thankful for that. Her pregnancy was getting the best of her and she wasn't sure if she could handle any added stress.
She and Mort had a game plan in case Shooter showed up. Mort knew that the police could definitely provoke him. The wrench in that plan was that they would never be certain if or when the cops would show. Mort had told Deja if the cops showed up and Shooter was brought forth after the cops left, she was to let Mort confront him alone. She should lock herself in the bedroom until the struggle is over. If for some reason that didn't work and Shooter won the struggle over Mort and came after her, she should shoot him. Deja didn't like the idea, but if it did come down to that, she could always shoot him in the arm or leg, some place that wouldn't be fatal.
Mort and Deja had just come back from seeing Dr. Phillips, when they spotted the two police cars in the driveway. Mort grabbed Deja's hand in his and squeezed it. He was sure after they left, they would finally get the breakthrough they'd been waiting for.
Mort stepped out of the car first and walked to Deja's side helping her out. She had about three months left in her pregnancy now and she was huge. She could barely manage on her own.
The policemen had gotten out of their vehicles and stood waiting for Deja and Mort to approach. Mort noticed there were four this time instead of the standard two. He knew Sheriff Newsome hadn't hired all new police officers. They must've been from New London. The police department was so small in Tashmore Lake that for serious cases, they often had help from the New London squad. The name on the side of the cars confirmed his suspicions.
"Afternoon officers," Mort said, his hand on the small of Deja's back, guiding her.
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Rainey," the only female officer said.
Deja blushed and said, "Oh we're not married...yet."
"I apologize," the woman said again. "Do you mind if we speak with you all for a minute?"
"Some how I think it'll be longer than that," Mort whispered to Deja, making her laugh.
"Why don't we take this inside," Deja said, "My back is hurting."
The four officers followed Mort and Deja inside the house. Deja and Mort had a seat on the couch while the female officer sat in the chair beside them. The other policemen stood in front of them.
"I'm sure you've heard by now about Officer Johnson, she spoke with you about the Todd Baker disappearance?" the woman said.
"What?" Deja asked, pretending her best to be confused.
"You haven't heard?" Officer Reid, Officer Johnson's partner who Deja had just noticed, said.
Mort and Deja both shook their heads. They hadn't been into town much lately and honestly hadn't heard from anyone about Officer Johnson's disappearance.
"She disappeared a few weeks ago. Her car was at the county library, but there was no trace of her there. Just wondering if either of you had seen or heard from her?" Officer Reid said.
"No, I haven't spoken with her since the two of you came here together," Deja answered.
"Well, I know she had to come here at least once since then?"
"Why would you say that?" Mort asked.
"She came here, under no supervision of the Sheriff mind you, and had a rock brought in for testing. She had it sent off. No one knew about it until her disappearance."
"Well, we must've not been home when that happened," Deja said, looking at Mort.
"What was on that rock?" Mort asked.
"I'm not at liberty to say," Officer Reid answered.
"Well, if she was here without orders from Sheriff Newsome, doesn't that mean she was trespassing?" Mort asked.
"I'm not at liberty to say."
"Are you at liberty to say anything?" Deja asked, her voice increasing in volume.
"Not much."
"Then I have to ask that you all leave," Mort said.
"Well, I think we're done here anyway," the woman officer said, standing up. "If we have any more questions we'll be back by."
Mort escorted them to the door and watched as they drove away. Sitting back down next to Deja, he let out a deep sigh. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"I'm just so tired of the police."
"I know, but hopefully this will blow over and we can move on."
He leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. "You know, I'd just love to leave Tashmore Lake."
"Really?" she asked.
"Yeah, you know. Maybe after the kids are born, we could move somewhere else."
"Like where?"
"I don't know. I hear Florida is pretty nice year round, or maybe California?"
"That's a bit far away isn't it?"
"What do we have tying us here? Your mom is in Jamaica, I don't have any family I'm close with. We have nothing keeping us here. I say we stick around a little longer, till this whole police investigation blows over, so they don't think we're trying to skip town. And after that, we go."
"It's not such a bad idea. We could start fresh in a new place where no one knows who we are." Deja seemed to be getting into the idea.
"Exactly. A new life for us and the kids."
"Well, first things first."
"And what's that?" Mort asked.
"Shooter. The police just came. He's liable to come here tonight."
"You know, I didn't even think about it. I guess we just wait it out."
"Yeah, I guess."
Three hours passed and still no Shooter. They were beginning to wonder if he'd show up at all. Mort suggested Deja go upstairs to bed. That Shooter would have a better chance of showing up if Mort was alone. He showed Deja where the gun was just in case she needed it.
Deja didn't know how long she'd been asleep for. The power had gone out earlier in the evening and the alarm clock's time blinked 5:00 pm. Deja heard the door squeak open and Mort entered. She held her breath because she wasn't sure if it was Mort or Shooter that had come to see her.
