The Woman Next Door Read online

  Craig grabbed her before she fainted, lifted her in his arms, carried her across to the bed and laid her down once more. The doorbell rang, and he said, “You stay right here, honey, out of sight. That should be the officer I sent for.”

  Craig didn’t take chances. He looked out a window before going to the door. He recognized the officer and let her inside the house. He handed her Elizabeth’s cell phone and then gave her the orders he wanted followed exactly. “Don’t take chances, Sylvia. If you even suspect someone could be inside, you get out of there and call for backup immediately. I don’t want you to take any chances. We think we’re working with the McMaken Family.” She nodded and gave him an affirmative answer.

  Craig made sure his door was locked and that no one had followed Sylvia. He also called to Wally and warned him to be extra careful and told him why.

  “They’re still causing trouble, eh? I’ll be on the lookout, Lieutenant. Thanks for clueing me in on what to expect.”

  Craig then hurried back to check on Elizabeth, and found her where he’d left her, holding her head. “I’m going to get you your medication, Elizabeth.” She didn’t argue, and he looked in her handbag and found the bottle… along with a speeding ticket! He was shocked to learn that she’d been speeding, and decided to discuss the matter with her soon.

  Craig got a glass of fresh water from the bathroom faucet, and then brought the medication to her. He helped her sit up and take the pills, and then waited to see if they eased her pain. She was soon asleep, thanks to the pain pills. When his cell vibrated in his pocket, he hurried out of the room to answer the call so that he wouldn’t wake or disturb Lizzy.

  “Johnson…” He listened to Sylvia give her report. “You did a good job, Sylvia. Now, keep a sharp eye today in case they were watching you.”

  “I’ll be ready for any trouble, sir.” They ended their call, and Craig checked on Elizabeth once more. She was sleeping soundly.

  He was going to hope that they brought in either McMaken or Mixer so they could question them. Dealing with the mob families was never easy. Witnesses were afraid to speak up and if they did, they ended up dead unless they were put into protective custody and kept safe.

  His cell rang again and it was Sylvia. “A black car has been trailing me for a while, Lieutenant. I called for backup, and I wanted you to know.”

  “Keep your cool, Officer,” he said firmly, and stayed on the phone with her while the other car was surrounded and pulled over by three police cars. Craig heard gunfire, and an order to throw down their weapons immediately. He held his breath, and three suspects were taken into custody. “Be sure they are patted down for more weapons, Sylvia.”

  “The lieutenant wants them patted down for weapons,” she repeated.

  “Tell him we’ve got it. It’s not our first take-down you know.”

  “He can hear you, Morrison!” Sylvia said, mischief in her voice.

  “Huh? Oh, sorry, sir! No offense!”

  “None taken,” he said, realizing she’d put him on speakerphone. “Take them in for questioning, Morrison, and I’ll be there soon. Officer Grimes, could you come and sit with my witness?”

  “Yes, sir. On my way.”

  Craig didn’t like the uneasy feeling plaguing him. The car only followed Sylvia; they didn’t attempt to confront her. Why was that? The questions continued to bombard him as he prepared to go to the station and personally interrogate the men his officers had arrested. Sylvia arrived as requested, and looked competent as she entered his home.

  “Sylvia, Miss Matthews is asleep. I gave her pain medication, and it pretty much knocks her out. If she should wake and have questions, just call me and I will talk to her, even though I usually don’t like to be interrupted when I’m doing an interview.”

  “I understand, sir.”

  “Help yourself to some coffee or a soda if you want. Just don’t answer the door, and if you sense trouble, call for backup, and call Wally on the house phone. He was active up to a few years ago, and he’s still got street instincts and would help you if you need help.”

  “That’s good to know,” she answered.

  Craig stopped by the gatehouse to speak to Wally and keep him informed. “I’ll have Officer Grimes’ back, sir.”

  “Thanks, Wally. I have to admit, I’m puzzled by this. Those men didn’t attempt to take Sylvia when I’m sure they could have. I have to ask why.”

  Once he was gone, Wally puzzled over the matter for a few moments, and his mind went back several years to another case he’d worked. He suddenly jumped up, made sure his gun was loaded, and he put the expensive gate on lock. He could work it with his equally expensive remote if necessary. He hoped like hell he was wrong. Officer Grimes seemed like a nice young woman, but the crime families didn’t have any qualms about using a young police officer for their gain. He hurried as fast as he could drive to the lieutenant’s home!

  * * *

  Elizabeth came awake to find that something was over her face, and she was struggling to breathe. She tried to push it away, but she quickly realized that someone was kneeling over her, and holding a pillow against her face, trying to suffocate her, saying again and again, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Elizabeth put up a fight, and did her best to throw off whoever was doing this, but she was quickly losing breath. The more she fought, the more lightheaded she became. She wondered where Craig was, and if someone had harmed him in some way. He would never let anyone do this to her if he were alive and well!

  Suddenly, she heard a male voice yell. “Get off of her now, Officer, or I will shoot!” When Sylvia didn’t move quickly enough to suit Wally, he let loose with a punch and sent the woman flying off the bed, to land on the floor beside the wall. “Miss Matthews? Miss Matthews? Talk to me now. You’re safe.”

  Elizabeth gasped for air. “Where’s Craig?” she whispered.

  “At the police station. Don’t you worry; I wasn’t born yesterday and I put two and two together and got here in time to help you. You’re safe now.” He dialed his cell phone.

  Sylvia moaned, and then started sobbing. “They made me; they have my baby!” she cried out. “They’ll kill him!”

  “You settle down, Officer. If you’d handled this properly, we’d have your baby back by now. Just hush.” He was waiting for an answer, and when he got one, he said, “Retired Sergeant Wally Norton calling for Lieutenant Craig Johnson. The matter is urgent. He’s in the interview rooms.

  * * *

  Craig was getting nowhere fast. The three men lawyered up and once that happened he couldn’t get a peep out of one of them. When one of the officers notified him to say that he had a call, he picked it up. “Johnson.”

  “Lieutenant, Wally here. We have a situation, and need you to come immediately.”

  “I’m on my way, Wally. Is Lizzy safe?” he asked, his heart pounding in fear.

  “Scared, but all right. I have it under control.”

  “Thanks, Wally.” He was in his car by then, and put the light on top so he could speed all of the way to his house. When he got to the gate, his remote didn’t work! He called Wally’s cell. “I can’t get in, Wally.” The gate then opened just long enough for him to drive inside. Craig realized that something serious was going on for Wally to put the gate on lockdown. He hurried to his home and ran inside.

  Craig heard sobbing coming from Elizabeth’s bedroom and he hurried down the hallway to see his officer sitting on the floor, sobbing. Lizzy looked frightened, and Wally had his gun trained on Sylvia. “Wally, that is Officer Grimes!” he explained.

  “She just tried to kill Miss Matthews,” Wally explained, his voice cold and unemotional as he related the details. “They have her baby, Lieutenant; told her they’d kill him if she didn’t take out Miss Matthews.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me this, Sylvia? We would have helped you,” Craig said. He was angry and sympathetic at the same time.

  “I was too scared to think straight, Lieutenant. I didn’t want to do it
, but they have my baby, and they promised to torture him! I don’t know Miss Matthews, but my baby is my baby, my child! I can’t let them hurt him!” She was nearly frantic.

  “We have to get him back, Craig,” Elizabeth said emotionally, tears in her eyes. “Sylvia kept telling me that she was sorry, and I know she was crying, too! I couldn’t bear to be the cause of her child’s death. Please!” she begged.

  “I’ll do my best, Lizzy,” he promised, and wasn’t surprised when she went over to help Sylvia up off the floor.

  “What we need to do is let those heathens think their plan worked,” Wally said calmly.

  “You just might have something there, Wally,” Craig said. “How were you to get your son back, Sylvia?” he asked.

  “They were to leave him in my car and then call me.”

  “It sounds as though they don’t want you to see them, and how were you to explain Lizzy’s death to us?” Craig wanted to know.

  “I was to say she simply didn’t wake up. With the head injury, they told me you wouldn’t be able to tell what happened.”

  “They were wrong. An autopsy would have shown what happened,” Elizabeth told her. “They were only giving back your son to disprove your claim of being forced to commit murder. They were setting you up to take the fall.”

  “Oh my God!”

  “You would have had your freedom until tomorrow, and then nothing but trouble, Officer.”

  “I am so sorry!”

  “We’ll work it out.”

  “No, you don’t understand… I caved under pressure and I’ve lost my job and will probably go to prison!”

  “Craig?” Lizzy turned to him for help.

  “Let’s deal with getting the baby back. Where is your car parked, Sylvia?” She answered him, and he was careful in planning to have a stakeout. He had her call the number she’d been given to call when the deed was done. Within the hour they had the baby and the two people who returned him in custody.

  Craig also had Sylvia, her mother, and the baby in protective custody, hiding them from the McMaken Family. He knew that he was going to need to hide Elizabeth, too. Wally had an idea about that.

  “Lieutenant, I have a cabin you can use. As long as you stay inside, you won’t be seen by chopper, and the place has to be accessed on foot. I keep it stocked, so if I take a notion to escape civilization for a few days, I can just pick up and go. It’s yours if you want it.”

  “It can’t be traced to her or to me, and no one she knows will know of its existence. It sounds perfect, Wally.”

  “I want you to keep that little gal safe, Lieutenant. She’d make a perfect mate for you,” Wally stated.

  “I happen to think so, too, Wally.” If only he could keep her safe. The burning question was why did McMaken want her dead?

  Of course, telling Elizabeth of his plans did not elicit the cooperation he sought. She flat out told him ‘no’, and barely listened to him explain why it was necessary before losing her temper completely in Elizabeth’s fiery style.

  “No! I am not going to hide from that son of a bitch!” Lizzy yelled loudly, stomping her foot in pure temper. “I refuse to give him the satisfaction. I want to face him one on one and tell him I have no f’ing clue why he wants me dead! It would be different if I nearly killed him at the hospital, but I didn’t! I don’t know what he thinks I overheard, but I didn’t! I am not going into hiding as if I’ve done something wrong! Let him come and face me! I dare him!”

  “Elizabeth, your language is terrible.”

  “Too damn bad! Your officer may have to obey what you tell her to do, but I don’t. I am going home and that is that!”

  “You aren’t going anywhere close to that house, young lady. Now, settle down while I get the logistics worked out. I need to make sure there are no weak spots.”

  “Sylvia isn’t a weak spot, Craig. They had her baby!”

  “I understand that, honey. Trust me, I will do whatever I can to protect her, but ultimately Internal Affairs will make the decision regarding her future with the department. The District Attorney will also have to decide whether or not to prosecute her. I can speak in her defense, but I cannot predict what they will do when all of the evidence is in.”

  It wasn’t entirely what she wanted to hear. “I am going home, Craig. Either you take me, or I am going to take myself. I am not hiding from McMaken.”

  “You are going to stop arguing with me about this!” Craig firmly declared. He was at the end of his patience. “I suggest you go into your bedroom and lie down for a while so that you’ll feel like traveling when we are ready to go.”

  The look the redhead leveled on him was clearly her ‘fuck you’ look, and it was all Craig could do to keep from following her and turning her over his knee and wearing out his hand on her cute butt. He’d barely tapped her the other times he’d spanked her, but she was close to a spanking the likes of which he doubted she’d ever experienced. It was exactly what she needed to stop some of that sass she was so fond of unleashing on anyone who dared to disagree with her. However, she left him in the living room and went to her room.

  Elizabeth used the extension of the landline to call for a cab, and promised to meet the driver beside the gate. She slipped out the window, walked the distance to the gate, and told the ever-vigilant Wally that Craig needed him at the house immediately. Wally didn’t suspect a thing, and the cab pulled up as he raced to help Craig.

  “I’m here! I’m here! What’s the problem?” Wally demanded of Craig, his gun drawn and his eyes searching the room for any sign of trouble.

  “There isn’t a problem that I know of.”

  “That little gal said to hurry and get here fast; that you needed me!”

  “What?” Craig ran to her bedroom and saw the window open. “She didn’t come with you, Wally?”

  “No, when she said to hurry, and she was all out of breath from running, I figured you were in trouble. Damn, I fell for the oldest trick in the book! Now, why’d she do that, do you reckon?”

  “Because she’s contrary and needs her butt blistered until she can’t sit down!”

  “Where do you think she went?” Wally demanded, angry with himself.

  “To her house. I’ve got to hurry and get to her before some of McMaken’s men do!”

  “You’d best get her on out of town, Lieutenant, and then call me for directions. She’s going to get herself killed if you don’t sit on her!”

  “I’m on my way. Lock up for me, Wally,” he said, and then ran to get into his car and go flying after her, lights flashing and moving cars out of his way. He was doing his best to beat her to the house, and the sight that greeted him was not a pretty one.

  Elizabeth was standing in front of her burning bush and Mrs. Huffy was standing there, too, and they were arguing and shouting at each other… again! He jumped out of the car. “Mrs. Huffy, take your butt home immediately and tell Hubert I said to keep you there.” When she gasped and ran off, he turned to Elizabeth, whisked her off her feet and threw her over his shoulder caveman style. He then proceeded to spank her upturned bottom hard the whole distance of the way to his car. He threw her inside and said, “Move one inch and I’ll take off my belt and wear it out on you!”

  Elizabeth burst into tears. Her butt was burning, her head was spinning, and she was in pain once again! Craig got in on his side of the car, and pulled out of there just as a black sedan pulled up. “Damn it, Lizzy; they’re onto us! Do you know how close you were to being killed in front of your house?”

  “I’m sorry!” she sniffled.

  “And don’t you dare cry and try to make me feel sorry for you, Elizabeth Matthews! You have earned a punishment spanking, and you are going to get one just as soon as I can be sure you aren’t going to get killed by some gun crazy hit man working for the mob.”

  “I didn’t think he would try to have me killed on a public street!” She whimpered in fear as the black sedan gained on them. “They’re coming, Craig!”


  “I know they are; trust me, sweetheart. I know what I’m doing.” Just when the sedan thought they were in the clear to pull up alongside them, Craig hit the gas and the brake at the same time and turned the car in the middle of the street. He then took off in the other direction as fast as he could.

  Elizabeth didn’t know if she was more terrified by the men… or by Craig’s driving. It seemed reckless to her, but Craig was concentrating so hard that she didn’t dare open her mouth to question him. He told her to pick up his radio, and told her what to say. She did, and within a couple of minutes there were cop cars everywhere. The sedan turned tail and ran, but the police officers gave chase.

  It wasn’t long until Craig and Elizabeth were out of the city, although he drove in circles for a long while before he was convinced they were truly safe and not being followed. He then called Wally and they used a code that was a safety on both ends.

  Once Wally was positive that Elizabeth was safe, he gave them directions to his cabin, and then said, “I’m not so sure that fancy car of yours can handle those dirt roads, Lieutenant.”

  “She’ll do just fine, Wally. Thank you for your help.”

  “Anytime. You go easy on that little gal. She ain’t used to dealing with the mob like we are.”

  “I know she isn’t, Wally, but she is certainly going to wise up real fast.” He ended the call, and headed his car in the direction of the cabin, doing his best to block out Elizabeth’s sniffling.

  “Would it do any good to tell you that I really am sorry, Craig?” she asked, rubbing her temples again as she tried to relieve her headache.

  “No. You let your temper get the best of you again, and I’m not going to permit that to happen one more time. You are in for one sound spanking, Miss Matthews!”

  Chapter Five

  “I would think your time would best be spent on trying to figure out what it is I overheard and McMaken doesn’t want me to recall.” This was said after an hour of driving in silence.