Death Waxed Over - Tim Myers [74]
“Working around the clock now?” I asked, surprised to get the man himself.
“I’m just finishing up some paperwork and heading home. What’s up?” He sounded like he was dead on his feet, and I hated adding to his troubles.
As calmly as I could, I said, “I think I found the man who’s been stalking Becka Lane.”
“Where are you?” he asked, the weariness suddenly gone from his voice.
“I’m close to her apartment. How soon can you get somebody over here?”
“I’m on my way home. I can get there before anyone else can. Harrison, let me handle this. Don’t try to be a hero and do something stupid.”
“Hey, that’s why I called you. Hurry though, would you? I don’t want him to get away.”
“I’ll be there in four minutes.”
We were finally going to do something about this. “Good, I’ll meet you out in front of the complex.”
“Go home, Harrison. There’s nothing else you can do.”
“Either I go with you, or I’m going after this guy right now by myself.”
He paused, then said, “You’re a real pain in my rear, you know that? Okay, you can come, as long as you promise to stay out of my way.”
Morton showed up three minutes later. He must have been flying.
“So where’s this stalker?” he asked, carrying a long thick flashlight as he got out of the patrol car.
“He’s in the bushes over by her place. Come on, follow me.”
“Fine,” he said, “but when we get close, you have to promise to stay back and let me handle it. Is that a deal?”
“I’m just here to watch.”
We moved through the bushes as quietly as we could, but I still made more noise than Morton liked. There was enough light around us so that we could see where we were going, but the details of the landscape were all washed in dark gray. I found myself silently praying as we walked that the stalker hadn’t gotten spooked for some reason and left. All I needed was Morton on my back about creating false alarms.
I thought we’d overshot the stalker hidden in the bushes, or worse yet, lost him altogether, when Morton suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. I started to say something when he shook his head quickly. Pointing ahead to the shadows, I saw what I had missed on first glance.
Becka’s stalker was still there, hovering in the bushes, patiently watching for her.
Chapter 19
Morton turned on his flashlight and illuminated the suspect’s back. “I’m Sheriff Morton. Put your hands up and turn around. Slowly.”
I saw that the man standing there had something in his hand that looked like a crowbar. He started to tense as if to turn and fight or run, and Morton wasn’t going to allow either action.
“I said drop it! I’ve got a gun at your back. You don’t stand a chance.”
The crowbar dropped to the ground and the man turned slowly around to face us.
It was Vince, Becka’s maintenance man. He said, “I’m glad you got here. I’ve been watching Becka’s place, but somebody needs to relieve me.”
“Come on, you actually think we’re going to believe you’re here to help?” Morton said.
“He has been protective of her,” I said. “I can’t imagine him threatening her.”
Morton wasn’t buying it, though. “Then why is he hiding in the bushes? Come on, you’re coming with me.”
Vince’s face got red in the light. “Get that thing out of my eyes. I told you, I’m here to watch out for her.”
“Then you’ve got nothing to worry about, do you?”
Vince said angrily, “You’re not going to cuff me. I’d rather get shot.”
Morton said icily, “It’s your call.”
I saw his hand tense on the handle and I said, “Vince, you’d better do what he says.”
“Yeah, Vince, listen to your buddy here.”
All of the fight seemed to go out of him as Morton put the cuffs on him. As we walked back to the police car, he kept protesting his innocence, but Morton acted like he couldn’t hear a word.
I said, “What should I do?”
“Go home, Harrison. We caught the bad guy.”
Vince didn’t respond to the bait. I said, “But what if you’re