FAMILY
Chapter 3
We will take a short break from Bobby and Annie to spend some time with Mike Logan and a new character. This is still season 3, so of course Logan is still in exile on Staten Island. This story will run concurrently with the Bobby and Annie story. At the moment I have three chapters planned for Logan in this current story, and he will be showing up in future stories as well. I hope you are a Logan fan, as I am. I've loved him since the original first aired and he was the reason I began to watch LOCI.
All the usual disclaimers apply. Mike Logan, sadly, belongs to Dick Wolf and not me. Sarah Johnson, on the other hand, is all mine.
Sarah Johnson was contemplating murder. Not just any murder, this would need to be the perfect murder. She would need to be able to commit the murder in such a way that there would be no clues to lead back to her, since she really didn't think that she would like prison very much. It would also need to be a painful and gruesome death.
Her intended victim was a coworker who had committed an egregious wrong against her. So egregious that Sarah thought it was likely that a jury would acquit her if they knew the details. But of course she wasn't going to take any chances with a jury. No, she would have to be careful not to leave any clues. Although it was important that her coworker know that it was Sarah who was responsible for her painful and gruesome death.
She considered her options. A gun would be too quick and painless. A knife was a little more up close and personal than Sarah cared to get. Poison had much better possibilities. Poison that would take a few hours to work and would slowly eat from the inside. Yes, that had possibilities. Maybe she could research that tomorrow. Slow and painful. Her victim would have plenty of time to realize that it was Sarah who had done this thing to her and to contemplate her own actions that had brought her to this slow, painful death.
As slow and painful as this date had become. Sarah looked across the small table at the very drunk man who was still talking on and on about his Ferrari. He hadn't noticed that Sarah hadn't said a word in the last thirty minutes. She had to admit that the Ferrari was lovely and when he had arrived at Peter J's to meet her earlier that evening (Was it only that evening? It seemed as though she had been listening to him drone on for at least three days), she had actually been thrilled to ride in it.
Her coworker, Penny, had set her up on this blind date (or as it would be known in the future—The Blind Date From Hell). Penny assured Sarah that this man was handsome, interesting, and that he was a very successful investment banker. Handsome he certainly was. Almost too handsome, with his blond hair, blue eyes, and chiseled features. He looked like a model from the cover of a romance novel. Even his name was from a romance novel. Derek. Derek the rich, handsome, Ferrari-driving hero. Except that Penny had exaggerated just a bit about him being interesting. Interesting he was not. All he had talked about all evening had been his expensive car, his expensive apartment, his expensive paintings, his expensive vacation to Europe, and other expensive things that Sarah had lost track of. After attending a gallery opening, where Sarah had been embarrassed by the volume of his voice and the obnoxiousness of his comments about various paintings and sculptures as well as by his obvious growing intoxication, they had returned to Peter J's where he had proceeded to become completely and sloppily drunk.
So as he rambled on in his drunken stupor, Sarah sat and amused herself with thoughts of Penny's very painful murder.
Mike Logan sat at the bar, nursing his glass of Scotch. He was watching a couple sitting at a table across the room. "Couple" might be a rather loose term to describe them, he thought. The woman looked like she would rather be anywhere else than sitting with the drunk at her table. Mike had seen the man in Peter J's on occasion. He was usually drunk, usually bragging about his car, and usually looking for a woman to take home. He didn't seem to have a problem finding someone eager to ride in his Ferrari, but the woman with him tonight was clearly not eager for anything having to do with him. They were already seated when Mike came in an hour ago and he hadn't seen the woman say more than a few words. In fact he didn't think she had said anything at all in at least the last thirty minutes. She seemed to have given up any pretense of listening to him; she was staring off into space with a small smile. Mike was intrigued by that smile and wondered what she was thinking about.
The woman wasn't any great beauty, but she was pretty. Her hair was dark brown with a bit of wave to it and pulled up in a soft twist. Her eyes were also dark brown. Her skin was a dark shade that a lot of women spent hours in a tanning salon to achieve, but he suspected hers was natural. He hadn't seen her stand, but he thought she was tall. She was a few pounds overweight, but certainly not fat. She was wearing a soft blue dress made out of some kind of clingy material. It wasn't tight, but clung to her and just showed the outlines of her curves. He had only seen that slight, distracted smile but he wondered idly if her face lit up when she smiled for real. Then Mike looked at his drink and wondered if he was getting a little blitzed to be daydreaming about a complete stranger.
She must have decided she'd had enough of tall, blond, and drunk over there. Mike watched as she looked at her watch, leaned forward to smile and say something to him (and he noted that this was also not a smile that lit up her face), and reach into her purse for her keys. The man shook his head and reached for her arm but she stood quickly, said something else, and moved away as she headed for the door. The man got up and followed her, weaving a bit as he made his way through the bar.
Mike watched as they went out the door. Then he impulsively swallowed the last of his Scotch, tossed some money on the bar, and got up to follow them. Outside he saw them standing off to one side and Mike backed up into the shadows to watch them. It occurred to him that she was tall. He was guessing five foot eight, and with the heels she was wearing she was about two inches taller.
Sarah had decided enough was enough. The date was obviously over, Derek was only going to get drunker and more obnoxious, and she had run out of ideas for how to torture Penny when she went to work the next day. She looked at her watch and leaned slightly forward as she pulled her keys from her purse.
"Derek, it's been a….lovely….evening. But it's getting late and I have to work tomorrow, so I really should be getting home."
"But I wanted to show you my paintings in my apartment," he said as he reached to grab her arm.
Sarah pulled her arm away and stood up. "I really do have to be going. Thank you for the evening." She walked away and Derek got up to follow her.
Outside the bar she turned to walk to her car but turned back when Derek said, "OK, fine. Just thought you might like another ride in the Ferrari." He pulled his keys out of his pocket and jingled them before turning towards his car.
Sarah paused a moment. She was tempted to just get in her car and leave. But she hated to leave Derek to drive in his condition. She followed him to his car.
"You know, Derek, you probably shouldn't be driving. Why don't you leave the car here and we'll get you a cab?"
Derek snorted. "Leave this car out here on the street all night? Sure, why not put a sign on it that says 'Free Car'? C'mon, I'm fine to drive. Let's go back to my place." He turned to unlock the door.
"Really, Derek, you shouldn't drive. Tell you what, I'll drive you home and come up to look at your paintings, OK?" She thought that if she could get him to his building she could leave him with the doorman to get him to his apartment.
But Derek shook his head and laughed as the door beeped that it was unlocked. He opened the passenger door and made sweeping gesture with his hand, which caused him to lose his balance and nearly fall over. Sarah knew she should just walk away, but she felt responsible for making sure he got home safely and did not get behind the wheel of that car.
She moved close to him, with her body almost against his, and said in what she hoped was a seductive voice, "I've always wanted to drive one of these things. Could I drive us to your apartment? I would really, really be grateful."
She reached for his keys as she smiled up at him. Suddenly, moving faster than she thought possible in his drunken state, Derek grabbed her wrist. He turned her around and twisted her arm behind her back and shoved her against the car. He leaned his body against her, pinning her to the car and said in a menacing voice, "Nobody drives my freaking car. Nobody!" And he twisted her arm until she cried out in pain.
Suddenly he released her and his body was no longer against hers. She heard him yelp in pain and heard the keys hit the ground. Sarah turned around and saw Derek sitting on the ground, back against the building, and his head slumped on his chest. He didn't move and she thought he must have passed out. Standing between her and Derek was a tall man with dark hair.
"Are you hurt?" he asked her.
She realized she was staring at him with her mouth open. She closed her mouth and rubbed her wrist where Derek had grabbed her.
"I…I'm OK," she said. "Thank you."
The man said sarcastically, "I think he's just a bit too attached to his car."
She smiled at him. "Yes, I believe he is. Well…" she looked at Derek still on the ground. "I guess I should call him a cab and send him home."
The man picked up Derek's keys from the sidewalk where they had fallen.
"Yeah….you could do that. But, ya know….Derek here may be drunk on his ass, but he did have a point. Leaving that car here on the street all night is just an invitation to some enterprising thief."
"What would you suggest I do?"
He jingled the keys and grinned at her. "We could just pour him into a cab and drive it to his place for him."
"I'm not getting into that car with a total stranger!"
He laughed. "Right….because getting into that car with your friend Derek here was so much safer. But here…" He reached into his pocket. "My name's Mike Logan. I'm a cop. NYPD." He pulled out a badge and showed it to her.
She looked at him skeptically and reached for the badge. She examined it and thought it looked real. Her uncle was with the NYPD, so she had seen badges before. She handed it back to him.
"But still, driving his very expensive car doesn't seem like a very good idea."
"Well, he can't drive it, that's for sure. And leaving it here isn't a good idea. We could wrestle him into the passenger seat and you could drive him, but if he comes to and realizes you're driving his precious car it would be bad to be cooped up in that tiny space. This way he gets home safe and his car gets home safe…..It's the Christian thing to do, don't you think?"
She looked at him uncertainly. He jingled the keys again and said, "C'mon, I've always wanted to drive one of these things."
His smile was contagious and she found herself smiling back. She thought this was probably a mistake, but she decided to be impulsive. It couldn't be a bigger mistake than agreeing to a blind date with Derek had been. He saw the smile and the concession in her eyes and laughed triumphantly. She thought that the only thing nicer than Mike Logan's smile was his boyish laugh.
Mike went to the street and hailed a cab. He and Sarah managed to get Derek to his feet and pushed him into the cab. Mike pulled Derek's wallet out of his pocket and checked his address, then gave the driver the address and some money.
They went back to the car and Mike held the door for her as she got into the passenger seat. He got in and put the key in the ignition. When the engine roared to life, Mike laughed again and Sarah laughed with him.
"Oh man! I can't believe how amazing this is! So…." He looked at Sarah. "Do you think we have to take it directly to Derek's place? Maybe we could just go for a little ride?"
Sarah laughed at the look he gave her. He looked like a little boy pleading for one more cookie.
"No," she said firmly. "We have to take it straight to his building. No side trips. This is our 'Christian duty', remember? Not a test drive."
"OK, fine. Straight there." He pulled the car smoothly out into traffic. "So…you know who I am, but I don't know who you are."
"Sarah Johnson."
"Nice to meet you, Sarah Johnson. How long have you known Derek?"
She sighed. "I just met him tonight. A coworker set us up on a blind date. I used to think she was my friend."
Mike laughed and looked at her profile. It occurred to him that he had been right; her smile did light up her face, and when it did she went from pretty to beautiful.
"Where do you work?"
"New York Public Library," she told him.
"A librarian? Aren't you supposed to be wearing sensible shoes, big round glasses, and have your hair pulled up in a bun so tight it makes you look like you just got a facelift?"
Sarah laughed and said, "Oh we're allowed to dress down when we aren't at work."
They pulled up in front of Derek's building. Mike sighed and ran his hand lovingly over the dash as he turned off the car. He grinned and winked at Sarah, then got out and came around to open her door. The cab was already there, and the doorman was trying to help a very unsteady and incoherent Derek out of the back. Once he was out of the cab Mike showed his badge to the doorman, gave him the keys to the Ferrari, and warned him to make sure not to give them back to Derek until morning. Then he and Sarah climbed into the cab. Mike turned to her.
"Where do you live? I'll drop you off."
"Just take me back to Peter J's. My car is there."
Mike nodded to the driver and turned back to her. "So I take it you won't be going out with Derek again?" he asked with a chuckle.
"Not likely! Actually I was sitting there tonight while he was rambling on, planning how to murder my coworker and not leave any clues."
So that's what that little smile was about, thought Mike. "Gosh, I really wish you hadn't told me that. If I hear about someone being beaten to death with 'War and Peace' at the library, I'll have to let the local precinct know that you are the prime suspect."
Sarah laughed again. "Drat! Another great plan foiled by the coppers!"
They both laughed and made small talk until they arrived back at the bar. Mike paid the driver and then held her hand as she stepped out of the cab. He walked her to her car. Sarah turned and held her hand out to shake his hand.
"Detective Mike Logan, it was nice to meet you. Thank you for your help."
Mike shook her hand and then held onto it for a moment as he grinned and asked, "Could I see you again? Without Derek?"
Sarah leaned back against the car and looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, then pulled her hand away. She pulled a business card out of her purse and handed it to Mike. He took it and looked at the logo for the New York Public Library.
"You want me to call you at work?"
"Sure. Or drop by sometime. We have a great romance section."
Mike laughed and reached for her hand again, this time bringing it to his lips and planting a gentle kiss. Sarah felt like she couldn't breathe for a moment. She pulled her hand away and got into the car. She rolled the window down as Mike leaned down.
"So, should I be checking The Ledger tomorrow for any reports of murdered librarians?"
"No," Sarah said with a grin. "I think I might let Penny live after all. The blind date was a disaster, but the evening turned out surprisingly well."
She watched him in her rear-view mirror as she drove away, as he stood in the street and watched her.
End Chapter 3