A Snow Covered Nightmare: Refuge Series Book Two by Debbie Zello (18)

Chapter Eighteen

Aiden sat in the office of the therapist that drew the short straw and got him as a patient. He cancelled three appointments before he finally argued with himself sufficiently to show up for this one. Now he would give him one more minute and then he was leaving. One more minute to finish up with the previous appointment and get to him, or else it was over. Aiden had other things he could be doing.

The door opened and a teary-eyed woman walked out passing Aiden. In the door way, stood a tall man with sandy-colored hair and glasses that perched on the end of his nose, like snot about to drip off. “Mr. Baldwin if you will come in please,” he said stepping out of the way and motioning to the inside.

Aiden walked in first with the man right behind him. “I’m Jon Harmon,” he said extending his hand to shake Aiden’s hand. Aiden shook hands with him and took the seat he was positioned in front of. “I have read your employment record and personal file that the department sent over in contemplation of our meeting.”

“Good, then you know all about me. That will save a whole hell of a lot of time. My partner thinks I drink too much and I’m throwing my life and career away. That’s the only part that wasn’t in the file,” Aiden said with a strong voice.

“And what do you think, Aiden? Is your life and career in the crapper?”

“My life ended a few months back. I just haven’t been buried yet. My career…I haven’t cared much about that for a while either. My job ended my life.”

“So I guess we have some work to do. I’m into resurrecting the dead, so you’re in luck that you found me. Why don’t we begin with why you became a cop…”?

Aiden walked out an hour later with a card listing several more appointments and homework to do. He had to locate and attend AA meetings in his area. Jon didn’t tell him to stop drinking, but he suggested that he try not to drink alone or at home.

Aiden didn’t like being out of control in public. He had too many people that might want to take advantage of that. Drinking only in public would curtail much of his drinking. Jon was smart not insisting Aiden stop drinking entirely. Asking for the restrictions was genius. Preying on Aiden’s own well-established rules to guide him.

By the time they had met five times, Aiden had virtually stopped drinking and was beginning to face the loss of his Briah. The hundred-pound bag that Jon had hanging in the corner of his office was getting a work out from Aiden. He would stand in front of it with the gloves on and punch the hell out of it the whole time talking to Jon.

Jon smiled, figuring the bag was the best therapy tool he ever had. Some people need that physical connection to rid themselves of the inner feelings. Aiden was that kind of man. He needed corporeal release in order to get past the emotional pain.

By Thanksgiving Day, Aiden felt he had something to be thankful for, finally. He was able to put his relationship with Briah in a beautiful pink, lacy box in his memory. An attractive box, that he might be able to take out from time to time and open. Not right now, though. For now, she needed to be in the box for safekeeping.

Denver had its share of crime. Every large city did. Pete and Aiden always had a stack of files on their desks, as well as a file cabinet with more. They would work a case until the leads, witnesses, or evidence petered out and then they would file it away for a rest, hoping to reopen it when something new came in.

Alisa Garibaldi was such a case. Ms. Garibaldi had been robbed at gunpoint, in broad daylight, when she opened her door to who she thought was a washing machine technician. He knocked her out, tied her hands and feet, ransacked her house stealing thousands of dollars’ worth of jewelry and art, and then left. It was two days before a neighbor finally called for a wellness check when she noticed the three newspapers outside her door, and knew that Alisa hadn’t gone away.

Ms. Garibaldi recovered from her ordeal but could shed little light on her assailant. She said the line that Aiden hated the most…” It all happened so fast, I didn’t get a good look at him.” What they really mean is…” I was scared shitless and closed my eyes.” They don’t realize that they close their eyes. It’s a natural reaction to fear and we don’t even know that we do it.

Wednesday morning after Thanksgiving, a perp was doing his early Christmas shopping at the home of one of Denver’s citizens. This time the woman that answered the door had a son in his bedroom. The son was a Marine that was home on leave. Xavier is a big guy, standing six-foot four and weighing in at two twenty-five. Xavier also had a bigger gun. All the police had to do was drop by and pick up the perp.

“Good morning, Ms. Garibaldi?” Aiden said.

“Yes, this is Alisa Garibaldi,” she said.

“This is Detective Baldwin; do you remember me?”

“Yes, detective. What can I do for you?”

“I was wondering if you would be able to come down to the office. We are holding a man that was involved in a similar case to yours. I’d like to see if you could identify him as the man that was in your home.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can. Thank you very much for calling.”

“You are very welcome. I’ll see you soon.” Aiden hung up the phone. He smiled because he loved it when he could connect all of the dots to form the larger picture.

He was very smart and an excellent detective. He could absorb facts and spit them back to you like a machine gun. His memory was his gift. Once a case was dropped on his desk, he could remember the facts of it forever, waiting for a dot to come along with which to connect. Ms. Garibaldi’s case was four years old.

When she walked in an hour later, Aiden was at his desk reading through her case again. He had the pictures that had been taken of her at the scene and later at the hospital. He looked up from the less than flattering pictures to see the beautiful woman she really was.

Alisa wore a navy-blue suit. Red stilettos adorned her feet. Her skirt fell just above her knee. Her white blouse was tucked into a wide red leather belt. The jacket was more like a vest with sleeves, as it was cut short to show her tiny waist. It too had bright red buttons along the front. Her smile was framed by red lips, finishing off the entire package.

Aiden stared far too long to not be considered staring. She finally cleared her throat demurely and said, “Are you all right, detective?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” he replied shaking his head slightly. “Thank you for coming in so quickly.” He got to his feet and walked around his desk to shake her hand. “You look much better than you did the last time I saw you,” he stammered out.

“That is hardly a complement since the last time you saw me was four days after the robbery,” she said with a small giggle.

“Yes, I remember. It will take me a few minutes to set up the line. Please have a seat and tell me what you’ve been doing.” Aiden nodded to Pete as he picked up the phone to make the arraignments. Alisa sat in the spare chair near the two desks. She crossed her legs and Aiden stared at that hollow space where her skirt gaped. He could just make out the lacy top of her stockings. He nearly drooled.

Mentally chastising himself and going over in his head, his rules for professional behavior, he said, “Would you like some coffee?”

“No thanks, I’ve had my allotted quota for the morning,” she said smiling.

“Well, if you don’t mind, I need more. I don’t have a quota, thank God!” he quipped as he got up to get some. He shuffled past her shapely legs and Pete’s desk. Pete had just hung up his phone.

“They are setting it up. They said to give them fifteen minutes,” Pete said raising his eyebrow. Aiden gave him his ‘don’t go there’ look and went to get his coffee.

“Take your time, there is no hurry. They will file in and stand facing the way they walked in. They’ll be told to turn and face forward and then turn to the left. If you need to see their backs, we can do that too. If you want them to speak, tell me what you want them to say,” Aiden said explaining slowly.

“Okay,” Alisa said softly.

“Bring them in,” Pete spoke into a speaker. A door opened and six men walked in. They all looked so ordinary and yet Alisa knew that one of them was a suspect in a situation much the same as hers. They stood facing the sidewall. Pete said, “Face forward.” They turned. Alisa closed her eyes for a second.

“The second one in from my left,” she said when she opened her eyes. “The one in the blue tee shirt and jeans. He is the one that hit me.”

“You’re sure? Please look at him very closely. Do you want him to step closer to the window?” Aiden asked.

“No, I’m positive that is him,” she said walking away from the window. Aiden nodded to Pete.

“Take him back,” Pete said into the speaker. The two men on either side of the man Alisa identified took his hands and placed cuffs on him. Aiden placed his hand on the small of her back and walked her out of the room.

Once they were in the hall, she turned and said, “Was that him? Is he the one that was going to rob the other woman?”

“If you’ll wait for me at my desk, I’ll answer all of your questions in a minute. I have to finish things here,” he said turning to walk back into the room.

Pete was sitting in a chair with his feet up on another when Aiden walked back in. “Well, that was easy,” he said smugly.

“Do you want to do the paper work? I’d like to take her to lunch,” Aiden said.

“Do you know what you’re doing? I don’t want an instant replay. You’re just getting back on your feet.”

“I know all the clichés, Pete. I’m trying to put some semblance of life back into my life. It’s lunch, I’m not asking her to marry me.”

“Okay, I hope you know what you’re doing, that’s all.”