J. Gonzalez - They

Vince guessed Tracy was in a similar room being questioned too, so the best thing to do was cooperate and try to remember as many of the details as he could. The detective began by asking him what happened, telling him to take his time, to try to remember as much of the incident as possible. Vince thought hard and went slowly, starting with how he and Tracy were walking through the parking garage to their car, how she’d dropped her keys and he’d bent down to retrieve them and that first shot came zinging at him. The detective nodded. “Count yourself lucky, Mr. Walters. Count yourself very lucky.”

Vince nodded and continued. He told the detective that the gunman had fired at least two single shots at them, but once they started running he’d let loose with automatic fire. The detective nodded, jotting notes down in a small spiral notebook. He told the detective how scared he was, how strong the instinct of flight had been, and that he was fairly positive the gunman popped out of his hiding place to pursue them briefly. Then the gunfire stopped and he thought he heard running feet just as he and Tracy slipped under a car, but he didn’t know where the gunman was running. He thought he was running toward them, and that’s what propelled him to keep him and Tracy moving. The next thing he remembered was the first police officers arriving on the scene.

The detective asked him to repeat the story one more time. Then he asked Vince if he’d gotten a look at the gunman. Vince shook his head.

“Do you know why you might have been the target, Mr. Walters?”

Vince sighed. “No. Until lately, nothing like this has ever happened to me.”

“What do you mean, ‘until lately’?”

Figuring they were going to find out sooner or later, Vince told the detective about the trip he’d just returned from and the details of the murder of his mother. The detective looked real interested in this and jotted down notes. He asked Vince the name of the Police Chief in Lititz. “And they don’t have any suspects yet in your mother’s murder?”

Vince shook his head. “No.”

“And you say that the detectives in Pennsylvania think it’s a robbery gone bad?”

“That’s what they think.”

“What do you think?”

Vince shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Will you excuse me for a moment?” Vince nodded, and the detective left the room for a few minutes. Vince sat silently, his mind twisting and turning, going over the events of the last few days. It was obvious somebody had targeted his mother; it hadn’t been a robbery gone bad. Somebody had wanted her dead and now they wanted him dead as well.

The detective returned ten minutes later. “Just got off the phone with the Lititz P.D., and told them what just happened to you. They tell me that all indications in their investigation points to a robbery. I asked a detective there, a guy I believe you spoke with named Jacobs, if he had any reasons to believe that what happened with you today might be related to your mother’s murder and he told me probably not. Just the same, I think we’re going to check things out on our end just to be sure. Why don’t you tell me a little about your mother?”

For the next two hours, Vince told the detective—Rob Staley—everything he knew about his mother’s murder, how she’d lived as a religious recluse. After awhile, another detective joined them. Detective Staley asked Vince if his mother had any enemies. “As far as I know she didn’t,” he said, telling him what he’d told the detectives in Lititz. When he was finished they started over again, taking him through the last few days. Vince didn’t alter his story in any way, nor did recurring narratives bring to light anything he might have forgotten.

Detective Staley mustered a smile. “Sorry this all seems so rigorous, but we do this for several reasons. Sometimes talking about what happened can bring certain things back that the subconscious has buried. You remember more when you relive it.”

“Sorry.” Vince shrugged.

“Don’t worry about it. Sometimes it takes a few days. If you remember anything later, be sure to call me.” He handed Vince his card. Vince pocketed it quickly.

There was a knock on the door and the detective whom Vince wasn’t introduced to answered it. After conferring for a few minutes with somebody outside, he motioned to Detective Staley, who rose and joined him. Both men exited and closed the door, but Vince could tell they were standing right outside the door. Probably comparing notes , he thought. I wonder if they think we have anything to do with this . Vince thought it weird that he was thinking this way. He had always been a law-abiding citizen. Why would the police consider him a suspect in anything? Especially in what happened today at the airport? He and Tracy had clearly been the victims.

After a few minutes, Detective Staley and his unknown partner returned. “Tracy’s outside waiting for you. Her car’s been towed so we can continue our investigation into what happened, but your luggage was retrieved. I’ve got an officer lined up to drive you home.”

Vince rose to his feet and held out his hand. “Thanks. And I’m sorry I wasn’t much help.”

“You were a great help,” Detective Staley said. “Just get in touch with us if you remember any more details. And, between you and me, if I were you I’d get out of town for a few days. It’s obvious somebody has a grudge against you and until we can ascertain otherwise, it’s probably best that you lay low. Do you have any place you can stay for awhile?”

Vince shrugged. “I guess I can see if Tracy can put me up.”

“We’ll have you driven to her place then,” Detective Staley said. He clapped Vince on the back as he escorted him out. “And we’ll have your house checked out as well. I can’t guarantee you twenty-four hour police protection, but I can make sure you aren’t being followed to Ms. Harris’s place and that your place isn’t under surveillance.”

“Thanks.”

Tracy was talking on her cellular phone in the lobby. That worried look hadn’t left her face. Her eyes met his as he entered the lobby. “I’ve got to go. I’ll call you later.” Then she hit a button and folded the phone up. “Hi,” she said. She tried to smile.

“Hi yourself.” He kissed her. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” She nodded. “That was my mom,” she said, indicating the phone as she deposited it in her purse. “I… she gets worried about me and I had to tell her what happened.”

“And worry her even more?” Despite the gravity of the situation, Vince couldn’t help but try to keep the tone light.

It worked. Tracy smiled. It seemed to lift her spirits a little. “I… I guess I just had to talk about it, you know? I had to tell somebody what happened, and that I was okay. It made me feel better.”

“I’m sure it did.” He took her in his arms again, holding her close to him. It felt good holding her. He felt the presence of somebody behind him and turned around. It was a uniformed officer, a young man in his mid-twenties with a black crew cut and piercing brown eyes. “You’re our ride home?”

“I’m Officer Ruiz,” the cop said. They shook hands and detective Staley approached them, dragging Vince’s luggage. Vince thanked him, taking the handle. “I’m taking you to Ms. Harris’s place, right?”

The officer stowed the luggage in the trunk and drove calmly while Vince and Tracy sat in the back seat, listening to the squawks of the police radio. “There’s an unmarked car following us to make sure we aren’t being tailed,” Officer Ruiz said as they headed down the 55 Freeway to Newport Beach.

“How long will I have to be in hiding?” Vince wondered aloud. He traded a glance with Tracy, who still looked worried.