Date: Sat, 01 Mar 2003 10:08:05 -0500
From: Stan Unknown <stan992001@hotmail.com>
Subject: Chapter 15 of Obsession

"Look, I know you're upset. I would be too. But these things
take time. And we've made a lot of progress," Justyn said,
as he drove behind the wrecker that was taking Mike's car to
the local Ford dealership. "We already have a suspect. When
we finish at Cherokee Ford, I want you to look through some
pictures and see if you have ever seen him before."

"That's fine with me. My partners have given me as much time
off as I need. But this is really rubbing my nerves raw. The
boys are the same way. Maybe all of us just need to go away
until all of this is over," Mike answered, wiping his brow.

"That's not a bad idea, but I have a feeling that he would
just wait until you returned. This guy was trained in the
military. He is used to long waits until he can achieve his
goal," Justyn answered.

"And just what the Hell is his goal?" Mike asked,
exasperated.

"He wants to make Brian pay for betraying him. We're dealing
with a sick man, Dr. Brown. We both know that. But we don't
have anything on him except his fingerprints on a bottle
that he said was left on his car at the same movie theatre
that Brian and Rob attended, plus the woman's testimony
today that the car she saw leaving the parking lot resembled
a Trans Am that he now drives. But she didn't get the
license plate number, and the finger prints on the bottle
aren't nearly enough to get a search warrant," Justyn
explained.

Mike sighed heavily and then said, "I know. But I have a
feeling that this could go on for weeks before you get
enough evidence to arrest him. The boys are already going
stir crazy and this is just starting."

"Can I level with you, Dr. Brown?" Justyn asked.

"You can if you drop the Dr. Brown shit and call me Mike,"
he answered, smiling at Justyn.

Justyn smiled back at him. "I'm glad we're back to being on
the same team, Mike. I'm trying, I really am. I'm working on
this case almost exclusively now. I'm doing everything I
know to do."

"I know you are, Justyn. And thanks," Mike answered.

"Thank me after I catch the son of a bitch, OK? But just try
and help me. I'm on your side, you know," Justyn said
softly.

"I'm sorry. I guess I don't deal well with stress," Mike
admitted.

"I'll make you a deal. Do you have a room at home where I
can work?" Justyn asked.

"We have a guest bedroom," Mike answered.

"I could spend the night there for the next few nights until
we can catch him and make sure that he doesn't do any more
damage to your house or try and break in. All I need is my
lap top and a quiet place where I can work on this case,"
Justyn said.

Mike just stared at him for a moment as Justyn drove. "That
would be really nice of you, Justyn. I don't know if that
would be necessary, though."

"Do you own a gun, Mike?" Justyn asked.

"Yes. I have it in my bedroom," Mike admitted.

"Our suspect was in the Army. He was a Ranger. Special
Forces. I have a very strong suspicion he has a gun. What do
you think?" Justyn asked.

"Maybe you're right. I was yelling about Police protection.
Now, you are offering more than I ever thought we would get.
Why not?" Mike admitted.


                       *************

"And you will completely strip the body down to the sheet
metal and paint it back from scratch?" Mike asked.

"We can, but that isn't necessary. There's no way your
insurance company is going to pay for that," the body shop
manager answered.

"I don't care. I'll pay the difference. How long will it
take?" Mike asked.

"To do that much body work, it will take us 2 to 3 weeks,"
he answered.

"Fine. Do it. Do you have a salesman who wants to make a
quick sale?" Mike asked.

The shop manager was taken back for a moment, then said, "I
know we do. You want to buy a new car and also get your
Mustang repaired?"

"That's exactly what I want to do. And I don't want to
haggle over the price. I saw something as we drove in that
is exactly what I have in mind. But I want it prepped and
ready to go in 2 hours. If you can't do that, I'll go
somewhere else," Mike said sharply.

"Mr. Brown, I'll have someone here within a minute or two,"
he answered, as he headed for the overhead pager.


                      **************

"Are you always that free with your money? If so, I know a
certain Detective that sure could use some extra cash,"
Justyn joked.

"I've heard about that kind of thing before. Policemen are
always earning lots more under the table than their actual
salaries, aren't they?" Mike joked back.

"Yeah, but do you know how hard it is to get a hundred
changed at a drive through restaurant? It's like they think
it is stolen money or something. Oh, I guess it could be,"
Justyn said, laughing.

They both laughed as they drove towards the Police Station.
Justyn had just purchased a new vehicle, but it wasn't a
car. It was a Ford Lighting truck. It had a back seat for
the boys, not really big, but it would have to do. But it
was the fastest truck on the market. And Mike wanted an
opportunity to see what all the extra weight would do if it
hit a certain Trans Am at high speed. The person after Brian
wasn't the only person out for revenge right now.

They arrived at the Police Station and Justyn escorted Mike
into a room while he set up the pictures he would show him.
In a case like this, you couldn't just come right out and
show him the pictures of the suspect. Any identification
without looking at a set of eight or so possible suspects
would immediately be thrown out in a court of law.

Once Justyn had everything set up, he showed nine photos to
Mike. Mike studied them as closely as possible, but couldn't
find any face that was even closely familiar.

"I'm sorry, Justyn. None of them look familiar to me," Mike
said.

"I really didn't think you would recognize him, honestly. I
think he's way too smart to show his face up close to any of
you," Justyn answered. "We just had to take the chance that
he was careless, though," he said, as he laid the pen that
he was holding down across the set of pictures, with the end
of the pen pointing at Bill in the center.

Mike noticed immediately what Justyn had done and looked up
at him for confirmation. Justyn just shook his head yes once
and totally compromised his investigation. But he felt that
the safety of the boys and Mike outweighed any procedures he
had just jeopardized.

Mike stared at the picture for an additional few seconds,
then nodded up at Justyn. They made eye contact and each
knew that this could never be spoken to anyone, but it was
important.

"Are you going back to your office?" Justyn asked.

"No way. There's no way I can treat sick kids today. All I
need to do is go back and pick up my new truck when it's
ready," Mike answered.

"I can take you there. I might have to do a few errands
first. Like drive by a certain apartment complex and also
stop by and pack a bag so I can stay at your house for a few
days. Want to ride with me?" Justyn asked.

"Sure. I would like that. I've never seen a Detective in
action before. Maybe I could see what all my tax dollars are
paying for," Mike kidded.

"Don't get your hopes up. Most of what I do is pretty
boring. But you are welcome to ride with me. Since you don't
have a vehicle of your own and everything," Justyn said and
smiled. Mike smiled back and they walked out of the room.


                       ***************

Justyn stopped off at his apartment first and packed a bag
with clean clothes. He left Mike in the living room to look
around.

Justyn wasn't one for many frills in his apartment. A big
screen TV dominated the room. There was a leather couch and
chair in a light gold color, two end tables with lamps, and
a coffee table. The rest of the room was empty. It still
looked nice and lived in.

He finally walked out with his bag in hand. "Want to go see
some apartments I am thinking about moving into?" he asked
with a smile.

"Sure. But this one looks nice to me. If I didn't have Brian
living with me, I could live here. Why do you want to move?"
Mike asked.

"I don't know. I guess the people who live here are pretty
boring. Where I'm looking, the neighbors are much more
interesting. I think I would enjoy spending time with some
of them a lot more than here. One in particular," Justyn
explained, looking sternly at Mike.

Mike understood immediately. "I'd really like to see this
place then. Why don't we drive over there before we go pick
up my truck?" Mike asked.

"I think that would be a really good idea. There are some
really nice cars in the parking lot and I know how you love
cars," Justyn added.


                      ****************

"This is it. It looks really nice, doesn't it?" Justyn
asked.

"Yeah. They're pretty new apartments. I think you would be
really happy here. Can we go inside one of them?" Mike
asked.

"No, the one I'm really interested in is occupied right now.
It has a spectacular view of the pool. That is why I am
really interested in it. You understand?" Justyn asked.

"Yes, I totally understand. You talked about cars I might be
interested in seeing here. Any you would care to show me?"
Mike asked.

"Yeah. Let me drive around here. There is a really nice
black Trans Am. Brand new. I met the owner just the other
night. He's not a very sociable guy, but I think you two
might have lots in common," Justyn answered.

Justyn drove slowly past Bill's apartment where the Trans Am
was parked in front. Mike stared long and hard at it,
including the paper tag in the back. He wanted to be sure
and tell the boys to be on the lookout for this new vehicle.

Justyn drove to the back of the lot and backed into a spot
in the rear. They both had a clear view of Bill's apartment.

"You must really like these apartments if you want to sit
and stare at them like this," Mike kidded.

"Oh I do. I plan to spend a lot of my free time sitting here
gazing at them. They are really pretty, don't you think?"
Justyn kidded back.

"They're pretty? Pretty? Is that something a rough, tough
Detective would say?" Mike kidded.

Justyn was about to reply when he saw Bill walking out of
his apartment. "You know, I think I have stared at these
apartments long enough. Want to ride around for a while?"

Mike had also seen him walk out. Bill was unlocking the
Trans Am and getting inside as he said, "Sure. Picking up my
truck could wait a little while. Any particular place you
want to go?"

"I'm not sure," Justyn said, as he cranked his car. I may
just drive around and enjoy the nice weather."

Bill backed out and headed for the exit. Justyn didn't move
until Bill was almost out of sight but then hurried to catch
up. Bill turned right onto a four lane road and Justyn
allowed several cars to get in between him and Bill. He
didn't want Bill to spot him.

But he was too late. Justyn had already warned him that he
would be watched from time to time and Bill was used to
being very careful. He was on the watch for Justyn's Mustang
and saw him almost immediately. He drove slowly and was able
to see Mike out of the passenger window sitting in the front
seat.

They both drove slowly through the traffic until Bill got
close to the highway exit ramp. He quickly merged into the
slow lane, catching Justyn by surprise, and sped up the ramp
at full speed.

It took Justyn precious seconds to also merge into the other
lane, and he also floored it up the ramp. Bill had a long
head start, though, and when he didn't see Justyn in his
rear view mirror, he got off on the first exit and went back
roads towards Brian's school.


                        *************

Brian and Rob were sitting on the steps, fuming. School had
been out for fifteen minutes and Mike, with what had
happened to his car and riding with Justyn, had forgotten
what time it was.

"This is fucking ridiculous. Mike won't let me have my own
car and yours is totaled. Now, he forgets about us," Brian
said.

"We could go back into the school and call his cell phone,"
Rob answered.

"I'm tired of being treated like we are the criminals, not
Bill. Let's just walk home. It's better than just sitting in
the house when we get there," Brian answered.

"Mike's going to be really mad if we do," Rob answered.

"Fuck him. He's the one that's late, not us. If he gets here
and finds that we have left, he'll come the same way that we
will be walking. Come on, let's go," Brian said, as he got
his book bag and stood up.

Both boys lifted the book bags over their backs and strapped
them in place, then crossed the street and started walking
home.

"I'm going to talk to Mike when we get home. Maybe we can go
camping this weekend. I just need to get away from all of
this for a little while," Brian said.

"That would be fun. We could use our tent. Lying next to
you all night in a tent sounds like lots of fun," Rob
giggled.

Brian looked up at Rob and also laughed. "I'll bet Mike
won't let us, though."

"Probably not," Rob agreed.

They walked the next two blocks in almost silence. Both were
thinking about another long night with nowhere to go and
nothing to do. They were both lost in thought when the black
Trans Am pulled in next to them.

"Could I offer you guys a ride?" Bill asked through the open
passenger side window.

Both boys looked over at the driver but didn't recognize
him. "No thanks," Brian answered, then quickly looked over
at Rob, who had a worried look on his face.

"Why not? You don't like my car?" Bill sneered.

"No, it's not that. We would just rather walk home, that's
all," Brian answered.

"What about your little boyfriend? Are you sure he wouldn't
rather ride than walk?" Bill asked.

Brian and Rob looked quickly at each other. Their eyes grew
wide. "B.B. Bill?" Brian stammered.

"That's me, lover. I was hoping that we could meet in a less
public place. Now, why don't you both get in so we can have
a little talk?" Bill growled.

Brian and Rob quickly looked over at each other. Then Brian
said, "Let's get out of here." They both turned and sprinted
the other direction as fast as they could.

                      To Be Continued

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