Chapter 7

The next day, House drove Karen to the police station in Doylestown. She'd called Officer Franklin and he met them when they got there. He took her to a room where the police artist was waiting.

She began to give him as much of a description as she could. But it had been dark, he'd been wearing a hat and she'd been pretty scared.

Still, when she was finished, they had a rough sketch that she said looked as close to him as she could remember. Officer Franklin was very pleased.

He told them where to pick up her car. House drove her to the lot, where they were told they would have to pay the towing charge. House gave the man the money and she got into her car and headed for Princeton, with House driving right behind her.

When they go back to his apartment, she headed right for the sofa. He watched her sitting there.

"You want to go out for lunch?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I'm not really hungry."

He stared at her, but she was just staring in space. "How about shopping? You said there was more stuff you needed."

"Not now. It can wait,"

He bit the bullet for this one. "Okay, you want to help me pack?"

"Greg, would you mind if I just kind of sit here for a while?"

He sat beside her. "I don't mind. But I don't like to see you this upset. It's over. Nothing is going to happen."

"How do you know that? He saw my license plate. He could find me. He knows I could identify him."

"First of all, if he was up to no good – and we still don't know that for sure – you don't know that he wrote down your license. He probably didn't get it when he first pulled up, 'cause he wouldn't think that he needed it. And when he left, he was in a hurry, so he still probably didn't get it.

"Even if he did, unless he has access to police databases, the chances of him being able to find out who it belongs to are almost nil.

"But if by some chance, he did, it's going to show your address in Lancaster and you'll be out of there in two weeks. So not much to worry about there."

"The other thing is that most cops wouldn't connect this guy to those other crimes. Most would have taken your statement and told you it was probably nothing and sent you on your way. The report would be filed and no one would think about it.

"It's only because Franklin is smarter than the average cop that you even know anything about the other crimes. The bad guy isn't going to know that the cops connected him."

She sighed. "All of that makes perfect sense. I know I'm being irrational and that nothing really bad actually happened to me. Other women have been mugged, raped, murdered. I was just approached by someone who may or may not have been dangerous.

"But I just feel…oh, I don't know, I'm just weirded out. Would you mind if I just sort of vegged out today?"

He settled next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. "I don't mind that at all. Vegging out is one of my favorite things."

She nestled in with him and tried to start feeling safe again.

By the time she was ready to leave on Sunday, she was starting to come out of the funk. And even though neither one of them wanted her to leave, she still set out early. She wanted to be sure there were lots of people on the road and he agreed.

But he held onto her for a while longer before she left.

"Next time I come, I won't be going back to Lancaster." She told him.

"I know." He still held on. "I know it."

Finally, she pulled away from him with a kiss. "I have to go."

"Call me on your way. I want to hear from you."

"I will, I promise."

He nodded and she got into her car and drove away. She called him every twenty minutes until she pulled into her driveway and then she told him she was safely home.

As each day passed, she tried to put the incident behind her. But at night, alone in her bed, she could feel the fear creeping in. That was when she wanted House there beside her to hold her and reassure her. She couldn't wait until she was with him every night.

On Friday, Officer Franklin called her.

"He was caught. He was on the Turnpike, this time out near Harrisburg. He stopped another woman and she was smart like you. They got him. He's not very smart. The rapist left DNA behind and if it matches, he's sunk."

"Will I need to testify?" Karen asked.

"Probably not. The DNA should be enough to convict him. And since he never actually committed a crime with you, there's really nothing he can be charged with concerning what happened. I'll let you know what we find out. But I wanted you to relax now that he's caught."

"I will. Thank you so much Officer Franklin."

"Good luck in Princeton, Ms Rossi. My best to Dr. House."

After that phone call, she felt so much better. She called House and told him what the officer had said.

He was more relieved than he could express to her. Despite giving her the rational reasons why she shouldn't be frightened, he'd been scared shitless when she returned to Lancaster. He tried to wait for her phone calls, but it was hard. When she finally reported that she was home, he'd relaxed at last.

Knowing that this guy was caught made it a lot easier. Now he could just anticipate her return. And he really couldn't wait until she came back and they could start their life together in the house they'd selected.

"So," she asked him. "Have you been packing?"

"Sure."

"Right. Well, I'll be there Thursday night, so I can help you finish up, okay?"

"Sounds good."

"And we get the keys on Friday, right?"

"Right."

"Oh, and Frank will keep the kids until the following Tuesday, so that we can have a little time to settle in. Then he has to be in New Jersey on Wednesday for business, so he'll bring them to us then."

"Works for me."

"Well, good. Then I'll see you next week."

She hung up and finished the preparations for the yard sale. She didn't believe that House had been packing, but assumed she'd be able to force him into it once she got there.

The closing on their house was Thursday morning. Karen made sure everything that the movers were taking for her was boxed up and loaded on the truck Wednesday. The stuff that Frank wanted was taken to his cousin's house and stored in the garage.

Karen loaded suitcases and boxes with her personal belongings into her car.

Frank and Karen met at the title clerk's office and spent the next hour signing paper after paper as they turned over possession of their house to the buyers, a young couple with a toddler and another baby on the way.

Karen felt a little melancholy relinquishing her home, the place where her children had been born and grown, to strangers. But these people were young and full of hopes, just as she and Frank had been once upon a time.

She looked at the man sitting there. She knew there would always be a part of her that cared for him. After all, he was the father of her children. But then, she thought of the man she was heading to. It was exciting and a little scary to think of that. Still, she had the feeling she was doing the right thing.

Finally, the paperwork was done and the keys were handed over to the excited buyers and she and Frank had a check. They would pay off what was left of the mortgage and still be able to pay off their loans and credit cards. There might even be a few hundred left for each of them when that was done.

But the important part was that they were financially free of each other. Frank would continue to pay child support, but she had not requested alimony. She could take care of herself.

Once it was finished, she got in her car and headed to Princeton for her new life.