Cops and Robbers(Mary Eileen Callan) Cops and Robbers

She peered through a crack in the door at the figure lying on the faded bedspread. Pale rose curtains covered the two windows, but they were so worn morning sunlight filtered in. When she had knocked a few minutes ago at the back there was no answer. Now she knew why. No rise and fall of her chest; Alice looked dead. Fragrant Lavender scent filled the room. Terri hesitated. She wondered how long the woman had been there.
An old jewelry box on the dresser caught her eye. It might be worth a look, in case that diamond brooch was inside. No, as she checked the body it sparkled on the old lady’s dress. “I’m not going to touch a dead person; let it stay there.”
A window rattled as the noon train thundered past. Terri jumped at the sound. She stepped back into the hall and scrambled down the stairs. Someone might come by any minute. No need to get caught up in a police investigation; no need to waste hours answering questions down at the station. She remembered the interview room, faded institutional green walls and the table bolted to the floor. It wouldn’t help that she had been involved with that incident years ago. Since then she’d stayed out of trouble, sort of.
As she reached the back door she looked around the kitchen; it was hard to tell if anything was out of place. The maple table was set for two. Blue and white gingham curtains at the windows. The old linoleum floor, cracked and worn, was clean; the cuckoo clock showed the right time. There were no dirty dishes in the sink; in fact, nothing was out of place ; she smelled the coffee. She reached over the counter to touch the pot and drew her hand back at the last minute. “I better not leave any fingerprints. I'm getting out of here right now.“
From the vantage point of the shaded back porch Terri checked the houses next door. “Shadow”, the white-faced black Lab, hardly raised his head as he watched her from under the Lilac bush, his eyes coated with a crusty discharge. Feeling relieved she tiptoed down the wooden stairs and hurried around the house to the sidewalk. She didn’t notice the curtain move from the window in the house across the street.

Senior services gave Alice a caseworker to monitor her living situation. Terri was a substitute working part-time as needed. Nancy, the regular worker, was out pregnant. Terri could have called 911; she had a reason to be at the house, but her guilty conscience made her afraid to.
Over the last six months every time Terri visited Alice she checked out any valuables. Jake saw her job as a perfect setup. Though in this house there was not much there, except for the diamond brooch. Music floated through an open window as she hurried to the diner. Jake would be waiting to find out if she had picked up anything he could fence. Terri wondered if she should tell him about Alice. She could see his reaction; he knew about the diamond brooch. She winced at the thought of his temper, focused on her. She knew about abusive relationships; had taken a class about them after the last trip to the ER, yet here she was in one herself. Angry with Jake for his power over her and at herself for allowing him that power, she changed her direction. Instead of turning the corner to the diner she crossed the street to the gas station parking lot and dialed 911 at the payphone. Black chewing gum spots hardened on the floor and several phone numbers were scratched on the wall. There was a lingering smell of urine coming from the corner.
“Hello? I want to report a death. I found Alice Stauton dead in bed this morning at 703 Baylor Street. I just left the house. My name is Terri Fletcher. I’m her Personal Care Aide. I mean I was. I’m filling in for Nancy Connelly; she’s having problems with her pregnancy. Yeah I’ll wait for you; I’m at the Shell station on Elm.
“Okay, stay where you are. I’ll send a man over to get you right now,” the officer said. Terri’s heart beat faster at the thought of riding in a police car; she remembered the last time.
A single bad experience shouldn’t affect a relationship but in her case it did. Her high school boyfriend Tom had always wanted to be a policeman. When they dated that’s all he talked about. Then Terri graduated and Nick entered the picture a year later; Tom was away studying at the police academy.
Suddenly the memory of that day was with her once again. Shame and regret flooded her thoughts. If only she hadn’t listened to Nick, the dark and dangerous boy she had dated. He talked her into shoplifting at the local department store. He distracted the clerk in the men’s section while she placed a shirt in her bag and casually walked to the exit. It was all caught on camera and that was the first time she saw the inside of the interview room.
When she walked into that room and saw Tom she wished the floor would swallow her up. He was a rookie cop then and to her he had grown a foot and spread out, filling his uniform since the last time she had seen him. He was a man. He showed no emotion as the arresting officer began. Since then Nick was one of several losers Terri dated.

The Black and White pulled up to the curb and Tom jumped out and pulled the door open for her guiding her into the car. “How’re you doing Terri? You must have had quite a shock. Are you OK?”
Terri burst into tears at his concern. It had been a long while since a man had cared about her feelings. She blurted out the whole story leaving nothing out. “I don’t know what I’m going to say to Jake, he’s going to be steamed. I’m late and he hates to be kept waiting.”
“Let’s take a minute to talk before we go down to the station. Maybe there is a way you can help us.” He said.
She pulled a tissue from the box beside the cars console. There was a computer mounted against the dashboard and cameras both inside and outside. Some of the equipment Terri had never seen before.
“Jake is a person of interest Terri; we need help getting evidence on him. Will you keep that in mind as you answer the Detectives questions?
He is a bad guy. you don’t know how bad. We have been watching him for some time now. You don’t want to be around when he is taken down, believe me. Since you two are close you might be able to help.”
Terri told her story again, this time in the Detectives office. She could feel the small hairs prickling on the nape of her neck. Detective Scott might ask about her relationship with Jake, they had been going steady for six months. Sometimes he was generous, but he could be cruel; she had the bruises to prove it. Deep down she knew it was only a matter of time before he beat her badly enough to break something. Terri wanted out; maybe this was the chance she was looking for. She didn’t know if she had crossed over to the other side by reporting Alice’s death. Yet she couldn’t see any other way to go. It wasn’t going to be pleasant when she met Jake; that frightened her.

“We are going to take you back to Alice’s house so you can show us how it was when you found her. Would you like a cup of coffee first?
Tom had been leaning against the filing cabinets during the interview and now he slipped out the door and returned with two mugs of coffee and some sugar and creamer on a tray.
The scent of Detective Scott’s Old Spice aftershave couldn’t hide the smell of cigarettes and he told Tom he’d be back in a few minutes.
They sipped their coffee in silence. The wall clock ticked and in the squad room outside the office phones were ringing and men’s voices carried on conversations over the din. Terri looked over at Tom and she spoke, ”You must think I’m terrible after what happened back then. I was such a fool, now I’m an even bigger one. Nothing has changed.”
“We all make mistakes. I’ve made my share. The worst one was not trying to get back together with you.” Tom said.
Terri sipped her coffee. she didn’t know what to say. Tom was watching her with a kind expression; she so wanted to believe him. Maybe…
“Ready to go?" Detective Scott interrupted. “Yes sir. Tom took Terri’s coffee cup and placed both cups on the tray as Terri got to her feet.
She felt free, hopeful her life was going to be better.

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