CHAPTER 19
Matt woke up Friday morning to CJ smiling at him and holding out a steaming mug of coffee. He realized he was still in the recliner. So much for being home.
"Well, you certainly slept well." She laughed at the embarrassed expression on his face.
"Sorry, CJ." Matt sat up and took a sip of the coffee. "That sure didn't turn out like I had planned." He took her hand and kissed it. "Promise I'll make it up to you."
"That's okay. You looked really cute laying there zonked out. I don't think you moved at all." She reached out and ran her fingers through his hair. "Besides, I did some homework while you were checking your eyelids for holes. I found out the black rose connection." CJ said the last with a proud smile.
"Oh? What is it?" Matt was awake for sure now.
"See for yourself." She had paused the movie at the scene where the black roses were shown.
"Okay, but is that all there is to them, I mean they didn't really do anything for the story, right?" He looked confused.
"That's it. Evidently it was something that he fixated on – besides the leading lady, that is." CJ turned off the movie. "I called Hoyt last night and told him about it."
Matt pulled her down into his lap and began kissing her. CJ started in, "We're going to be late for work…" That was all she was able to get out before Matt stood up with her in his arms and carried her off to the bedroom.
"I'm the boss, who's going to get onto me?" He grinned as he carried her into the bedroom.
Two hours later, Matt and CJ stepped off the elevator into the office, both wearing big smiles.
"Well, there you two are. I was starting to wonder about you." Chris had been worried about the pair, but then the thought occurred to her that they were, after all, still newlyweds. Neither Matt nor CJ offered an excuse and walked right on into the main office.
"I'll call Uncle Roy and tell him you're on the way." CJ walked into her office and dialed Roy's cell phone.
"Hello there, my beautiful niece. How are you this morning?" Roy sounded as chipper as ever.
"I'm just fine, my handsome uncle. Matt is on his way to meet you, he's just running a little late this morning." She tried not to laugh.
"Uh huh, I just bet I know why. Tell him that all was calm here last night. I'll meet him at the parking lot." He smiled as he put down his cell.
Matt met Roy about thirty minutes later. He got out of his truck with a smile. Roy tried to give him a rough time about being late, but Matt never said a word, he just kept smiling, throwing off Roy's game plan. He left and went home for a few hours of sleep so that he would be ready in case Osterhouse decided to kill again that night.
Matt called the office later that afternoon and talked to Hoyt and Roy to work out the plan for that night's operation. They would let CJ take a turn in the van watching Osterhouse at work. When he left, she would follow at a safe distance and report his movements to Matt and Roy. They would then follow him to which ever theater he went to, and Roy would act as bait by sitting in the back of the theater with only one row between himself and the back wall.
"I don't know, Houston. That's putting Roy in a lot of danger. Even if you or I are in the theater, it's still putting him in danger." Hoyt was worried. Roy Houston was an experienced operative, but he was also a senior citizen.
"You'll have people planted in the theater, plus we'll have a spotter with night vision to direct your men. I don't think Uncle Roy will be in that much danger." Matt didn't want his uncle in harm's way, but knew that they didn't have a lot of choice in the matter; Osterhouse had already seen Matt.
"No, I'm not putting him in danger like that. I'll be the bait. I'm younger…" Hoyt began.
"So what you're saying is that I'm too old, is that it Michael?" Roy was visibly mad.
"Roy, it's just that…I couldn't take it if anything happened to you. Besides, you're a civilian. I'm in charge of this operation, you understand that." Hoyt didn't like to pull rank on Roy, but he couldn't take any chances on a civilian being injured in a police operation.
Matt couldn't remember the last time he had heard so much anger in his uncle's voice. He understood the position of both men. "Look, what if I was to wear a disguise? Plus it will be dark in there. Osterhouse wouldn't be able to make me out in the dark."
Roy just stared at Hoyt. He couldn't believe that his friend had so little faith in his ability. Hoyt knew that Roy was ready to strangle him. Neither of them spoke.
"Are you two still there? Hello?" Matt thought the connection had been broken.
"We're still here, Matt." Roy's voice sounded tight.
"So do we have a deal, Hoyt? Uncle Roy and I have put a lot of time and effort into this investigation. I think you owe us the opportunity to be in on the bust." Matt waited for an answer. He wondered what was going on between the two men at his office.
"Okay, Roy can do it, but I want him armed. Roy, don't you dare let anything happen to you." Matt heard the emotion in Hoyt's voice.
"Alright, Mattlock. We've got this worked out. I'll see you later." Roy hung up the phone.
Matt sure hoped they had it worked out. While he knew Roy wasn't getting any younger, he also knew that he could still move faster than most younger people and he was still mentally sharp. Hoyt was concerned because Roy was his friend plus he didn't want the brass to come down on him for a civilian injury during a police operation. Both sides had their valid points, but Matt was sure Roy would be fine or he never would have suggested for him to be the bait in the first place.
CJ showed up to meet him in a grocery store parking lot a couple of blocks away from the pet cemetery. She swapped places with her husband and, after a hug and kiss, left to keep up the surveillance on Osterhouse.
Matt went back to the office where he, Roy, and Hoyt ran through the plan with the other officers who would be helping them. At 5:00 CJ called to let them know that Michael Osterhouse was on the move. He was headed toward his house, presumably to don his costume. CJ parked the van a few houses down and turned on the monitors. Matt, Roy, and the officers all went down to the parking garage, loaded up and headed in the direction of the suspect's house.
"Okay, Matt he's in the bedroom starting to put on a dress. Oh, that's just not right. Ewwwwww. That was something that I did NOT want to see." CJ wasn't enjoying this part of the job at all. "Thank goodness, he's got the dress on. Now he's moving on to hair and makeup."
Matt and Roy were trying their best not to snicker but they weren't having much luck. Neither were the police officers who were also hearing CJ's detailed reports. Even Hoyt chuckled a time or two.
"You know, Matt, I believe your friend Marquanda may have been right: there just AIN'T no way to make THAT pretty." CJ giggled herself after the last remark. Several of the officers, including Hoyt, finally broke down and burst into laughter.
"Alright. He's heading out the door now. Here we go. He's heading east." A couple of minutes later she reported again. "Now we're heading south on Arrington. Okay, now we're going west on Slauson. I believe there's a theater a few blocks away. Roy, do you have the list?"
"There's one in the 3400 block. Sounds like that's the target." He pulled his snub nosed .38 out of his shoulder holster and checked the load. Matt looked over at him.
"Uncle Roy, don't take any chances in there. Get a big bucket of popcorn and have your gun in there. He won't be able to see it, and it'll be handy." He was starting to get slightly nervous, but knew that Roy was a professional who had seen more action than Matt could even dream about.
"Yep, already got that one planned out, Matt. I must be a good influence on you. You're starting to think like me now." He smiled over at the younger man.
"Okay guys, he's pulling into the parking lot on the corner of Slauson and Western. Looks like this is the place." CJ passed by the parking lot and found a parking place on the street in front of a bakery that had gone out of business. She pulled out a pair of binoculars and was watching Osterhouse through the back window of the van. "He's out of the car and heading for the theater. This guy really has no idea how to accessorize: that purse does NOT go with his outfit."
Matt snickered as he pulled into a parking place at the curb a block down from the theater. He looked over at his uncle. "Okay, looks like this is it. You know we'll be in there with you, so the minute something starts to happen we'll be right on top of it. But don't be afraid to use that .38, okay?"
"Alright, boy. I'll see you inside." With that, Roy nimbly got out of the truck and casually walked up to the ticket office of the theater. "One for "Don't Look Back"." He paid the cashier and strolled inside and went straight to the concession stand for popcorn.
Matt and Hoyt were on the move. They waited until Osterhouse was in the theater, then made contact with the manager and they and the other officers one by one drifted into the theater. They had one officer with night vision binoculars who was stationed behind the curtain at the front of the theater and he was keeping an eye on the audience, which now included Uncle Roy.
"The suspect has just entered the theater. He's looking around now. Okay, he's moving in behind Roy." The officer wasn't taking his eyes off of Osterhouse.
Roy could tell that someone had just moved into the seat behind him. He had his pistol in hand inside the popcorn bucket. The previews began showing on the screen, then the opening music of the movie began. Roy was ready.
"It looks like the suspect is waiting for everyone to settle down. There are still a few people coming into the theater." Matt and Hoyt were waiting in the hallway just outside the theater, pistols in hand.
About 10 minutes into the movie, the officer with night vision reported again. "Okay, he's digging in the purse. Looks like he's got a rope. Get ready…NOW!"
On that word, the lights in the theater came on just as the rope went around Roy's neck. Officers moved in from every direction and Matt and Hoyt were the first to Roy's side with their guns pointed at Michael Osterhouse. "DROP IT!" Matt was about two feet from Osterhouse and could tell that he recognized him from the pet cemetery. The murderer had a crazed look on his face. Roy ducked down in the seat under the rope, then spun around as he got to his feet and drew his pistol on Osterhouse, who was now surrounded by eight men with weapons trained on his head. He reached down into his lap and pulled up the evisceration scoop – the instrument used to remove eyeballs – and held it up. "NO!" He shouted out.
Just as Osterhouse stood Matt saw that he also had a scalpel in his other hand. "DROP IT! NOW!" Matt had hardly gotten the words out when Osterhouse lunged toward him and stabbed him with the scalpel. As the blade penetrated his chest, he reflexively pulled the trigger on his Sig Sauer. The force of the shot sent the murderer backwards a few feet and he went down in a heap. Matt sank to his knees. The last thing he saw was Uncle Roy's worried face hovering over his own.