Lana could tell Mike was getting anxious to solve this case. Sometimes he would stand back and look at the boards; sometimes he would get up close and stare at it for thirty minutes at a time. Right now he sat in the chair leaning back staring at it with his arms crossed with his eyes fixated on the board, and she could see his mind cranking. Lana walked over to the chair and started to massage his shoulders.
"Hey baby, was that your cousin-in-law on the phone yesterday?" Mike asked without taking his eyes off the board.
"Yes, she wanted me to meet with the family about James's will. Why do you ask?"
"What did you tell her?"
She could tell he was a little nervous, but she didn't know why. "I told her that I didn't want anything from James, and I would sign papers to give her everything. Then I told her to overnight the papers to me. I need an address to email her. I forgot to ask you about that yesterday."
"How about we mail the papers to the Boston office, and I'll make sure it gets to you. I'll write down the address and leave it by the computer for you."
"That sounds great." She understood why she couldn't receive papers at the beach house.
Mike didn't want anyone at this end of the road. Later she would email her the address. "Mike, how did you know that I talked with Sharon yesterday?"
"ESP… I'm just kidding. I opened the bedroom door and heard you say Sharon. I didn't want to interrupt your conversation, so I just shut the door quietly. I know you didn't get to talk to your family much considering our hectic week."
"Honey, you could have interrupted. You wanted to know about how many cans of beans to open, didn't you?"
He smiled and answered, "How did you know?"
"ESP," she said with a giggle. "I know because I would have done the exact same thing.
That's another thing we have in common—ESP," she giggled again.
He couldn't help smiling at her. He leaned his head back to give her a quick kiss, and she obliged. "Honey you are so funny."
"What are you doing? When I walked up you were intensely looking at the board."
"I'm trying to put everything together for Ken so we can figure out the next step or at least what's going on in the killer's mind." The board was covered with people's pictures, names and dates.
"I'll leave you alone and watch some TV."
"Baby, you don't have to leave me alone." He pulled up a chair next to him. "You sit right there so I can sneak a kiss now and then." He didn't want her to be across the room watching TV.
He wanted to be able to reach over and feel her warmth and see her smile. Mike had never felt love like this since Kathy, and he liked it. Everything about their love was perfect. They had so much common ground. Neither smoked, both were educated, both had a son and a daughter, and they both owned a Dodge truck. But most importantly they shared values, beliefs, spirituality, and love. Lana's love went a step further, she loved everyone. Maybe that's because she taught school or maybe it was because of her upbringing. Either way, he loved that part of her. He also noted they were opposite in some ways. She was outgoing and liked to meet new people, he didn't. She took everyone and everything at face value, he didn't trust enough for that. She was extremely sensitive, and he was not, except with Lana and his children. For the first time in his professional career, he thought about retiring. The past several years since his wife's death he had poured his life into his job. He didn't want to do that anymore. His life now belonged to Lana.
"Okay, I'll help if you want me to, but I'm not sure if I can help much." She sat down, crisscrossing her short legs on the chair.
Mike thought she was adorable. "I will certainly ask when I need some help, and you will be the first one on the list. I just have to think about all that is happening and try to get a jump on him."
"I agree." She sat there and watched Mike work. He was diligent, organized, and efficient.
After a few minutes, he said to Raymond, "Would you go to the store and buy the biggest cork board you can find… and get some pins? When Ken gets here, it will make it easier for us to back up and look at the situation. This board is full."
"I'm on my way—back in an hour."
*****
When heard a car come down the road. She could tell the vehicle was one of the guys. It was Joe with an armload of food. She ran out to help him.
Within just a few seconds, Mike stood at her side. "Lana if you go out, let me know. I would like to come out with you," he said as he reached for dinner bags.
"I'm sorry; I didn't know I had to ask permission."
"We are all trained to look for suspicious behavior and you're not. We just want to keep you safe, isn't that right Joe?"
"Absolutely, who else can make lasagna like you?" he answered with a smile and a wink.
"Okay guys, quit ganging up on me. You win. The next time I head outside, I'll ask your permission. I'm starving, let's go in and eat. Joe, I made you some sweet tea."
Mike asked, "You didn't make any for me?"
"I'll think about it, you scolded me," she said while tilting her nose in the air. As if to say, don't talk to me.
"You know Mike, Lana likes me better. Haven't you figured that out yet?"
Mike raised his eyebrow at her. "Is that true?"
"What can I say? Joe is adorable."
They were debating her affection when Raymond drove up and got out of the SUV with a cork board. "I see I made it in time for dinner, I'm starved. Hey Lana you shouldn't come outside until we patrol."
The three of them laughed, and Raymond looked at them bewildered.
The men fixed their plates and sat down at the kitchen table. All the men got spicy Chinese.
Lana got sweet and sour chicken.
Mike looked over at her dish. "I see you got the sissy dish."
The men tried not to laugh. "Well, I am a girl, so I guess it's okay if you call me a sissy.
Guys, I know this is an inside joke, but I don't get it. What is it with you guys and sissy stuff?
Mike thinks I'm a sissy because I drink cream in my coffee."
"We noticed Mike has started to use cream too," said Raymond grinning. It wasn't very often when he got to tease his boss.
Mike ignored them and answered her, “To relieve tension, sometimes we order Chinese and get the hottest Chinese we can stand. If one of the agents gets sweet and sour anything, it's considered the sissy dish. And babe, we will make you an honorary agent."
"Well, I'm not going to be the one with a stomach ache tonight. And I'll pass on being the honorary agent if it means I have to drink my coffee black or get extra spicy anything. You all are so mean." Thank goodness she was rescued by a car pulling up in the drive.
Mike was the first one who stood. "You all finish, I know it's Ken. I'll get the door." He pushed his chair and answered the front door. "Hey Ken, I'm glad you made it safe. How was your trip?"
"Bumpy, but we made it in one piece. Where do you want us to set up my computer?" He grunted as he was lifting his heavy suitcase.
Mike picked it up with no effort and sat it on the coffee table. "Right over here, we have a table set up and we have a cork board we bought for you. I thought we could set it up together and hash over the case. In the meantime, I'll make a pot of coffee."
"Sounds great, we'll need that for sure. While you do that, I'll get everything out of the car."
Joe heard him and immediately jumped up and met Ken at the door to offer his assistance.
She could see Mike smiling. He was proud of Joe.
That was also her cue. "I'll make the coffee." She walked over to Ken and introduced herself. "Hi Ken, I'm Lana. It's so nice of you to help."
He extended his hand and smiled. He was shocked at how beautiful and friendly she
appeared. "It is a pleasure to meet you. Many times when I get called in on a case I don't get to meet the victims. So this is a rare treat to be able to confer with you about the situation and be able to hear firsthand how all this unfolded. Besides, it's nice to meet the pretty lady who captured Mike's heart. Mike didn't tell me how beautiful you are."
"That hurts my feelings." Lana puckered up her lips in a pout.
Mike was not going to let that statement pass him by without a rebuttal. "I haven't had the time to discuss Lana. But you're right, she is beautiful." He couldn't help but reach over to give her a hug.
"How did you know about me and Mike?"
"I can just tell. It's written all over Mike's face and in his voice. I've know Mike for many years. I knew him when his wife died, and I've even introduced him to a few ladies. I must admit he has great taste, and I'm glad he found someone so nice."
She gave him a hug and whispered, "Thanks."
About that time, Joe walked in toting a suitcase, and that was Lana's cue. "I need to get busy and make you guys some coffee."
*****
The clock read midnight and the men had finished setting up their boards and were
discussing many different angles.
Exhaustion had set in, and she knew she wouldn't be any help. She walked into the living room and watched them work for a few minutes. "Mike if you all don't think you need me, I'm going to bed. It's been a long day."
Ken spoke first. "I think we have everything under control. But if you don't mind, we might wake you up if we have an epiphany. Sometimes the answer can come only from you."
"You can wake me up any time. I'm not as hard to wake up as Mike. Maybe in the morning you will have all the answers." She waved good night to everyone.
Mike followed her into the bedroom. He looked over his shoulder and told the guys, "Let's take a few minutes." Mike shut the bedroom door behind him.
"I guess I'm never going to get that back rub," she said.
"Yes you will, and you will get a lifetime of back rubs. I sure wish I could crawl in bed with you."
"Me too, it will be lonely tonight."
"We can only work so long, so in a few hours we will call it a night, and I'll come snuggle with you."
"Mike, have you ever not solved a case?"
He thought about it for a few minutes. "Off the top of my head I can't think of any, maybe a few, why do you ask?"
"I just hope this is added to your solved cases. But what if you don't solve it, will I have to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life?" She looked down thinking about how horrible that would be. That was no life at all.
"We are putting extra effort into this case, and we will solve it. We have already made a lot of headway in the other room, and by morning we will have accomplished a lot. Not only that, Ken brought his special computer. He will be up all night entering data. After that, we wait for the miracle."
"I sure hope so, that would be great." She did hate to say this, but it did not surprise her that Ken had a special computer. He seemed like the nerdy computer type. He was a smaller man, about five-eight. He wore glasses, and she noticed that he would squint his nose trying to hold the glasses in place. His ears stuck out a lot, and he was going bald.
Mike took her head with both hands and kissed her. "I'll see you in a little while."
"Okay, I love you."
Before he opened the door, he whispered, "I love you to infinity." Then he stepped into the living room and closed the door behind him.
Lana lay in the dark, and for some reason she was extremely nervous. Not so much nervous, but more of a feeling of weariness. Her granny always told her Indians had a six sense. She hoped her feeling went away by morning. She brushed it off as being tired. She snuggled up to Mike's pillow and fell asleep.