She Tries to Forget

Passion in James County XVI

"Melissa, what is going on?" Ann asked Martin's daughter as the young woman and her fiancé bustled around the apartment, getting dressed. She knew the girl had gotten a call from Martin, and the way both Melissa and her fiancée were acting told her something was wrong.

Almost immediately after he got the call from Martin, Bill started making other calls. Ann had no idea what he was talking about, but she did recognize the urgency in his voice. That worried her. Had something happened to Martin?

"Dad's on his way up here," Melissa said. "He thinks the guy who's been stalking you is following him."

"Oh, God!" Ann said. Her worst fears were realized. She'd dragged Martin and his family into her messed-up life, too. Now they were in danger. "I-I have to leave."

"No way!" Melissa said. "We're going to give the guy a surprise."

"What...what do you mean?" Ann asked. "If...if he comes here there...there's no telling what he'll do."

"Dad's leading the guy to a house outside of town that Bill and I are planning to buy," Melissa explained. "We'll have a reception committee waiting for him when he gets there."

"Oh," Ann said.

"Look," Melissa said, "Bill and I have to get going. We need to be in place before Dad and that scumbag get there."

"I-I'm going, too," Ann said.

"No way!" Melissa replied. "You're staying here. You'll be safe here."

"If...if Mark thinks your father is leading him to me, and he doesn't see me, he might not stop," Ann said. "Then what?"

Melissa paused. She looked over at her fiancée. "Darn it, she might have a point," she said. "What do you think, hon?"

Bill, dressed in his tan state patrol uniform, grinned and shrugged. "I think, maybe, we ought to let her come along, I guess," he said. "You've got an extra vest here, don't you?"

"Yeah, I'll go get it," Melissa said. She disappeared into her bedroom.

Ann looked at Bill. "Vest?" she said.

Bill patted his chest. "So-called bullet-proof vest," he said. "It should keep you from getting hurt too bad if this turkey's armed and shoots at you."

"Oh," Ann replied. This was real, not TV. She realized she was trembling. She was scared! Actually, she was way beyond scared, maybe way beyond terrified, too.

Melissa came out with the vest and helped Ann put it on. Ann slipped a sweatshirt Melissa gave her over the vest, then the three of them went out and got in Melissa's unmarked police car. The young woman drove a short distance down the street while her fiancé talked on the police radio, then the car stopped in front of a real estate broker's office. Bill got out and went into the building.

"What's he doing?" Ann asked.

"Getting a key for the place we're going to," Melissa replied.

"Oh," Ann said.

Bill came out of the broker's office and got back in the car, and Melissa drove off. She pulled into the parking lot of a diner outside of town and drove up next to a State Patrol car in which two men were sitting. A tall young man wearing the tan State Patrol uniform got out of the cruiser on the passenger side. He turned, reached inside, and pulled out a long weapon of some kind. He closed the cruiser's door and started toward Melissa's car.

Ann looked at the young man and realized he looked like a younger version of Martin.

"Ann, that's my brother Marty who just joined you back there," Melissa said.

The young trooper got into the back seat of Melissa's car with Ann, and put his weapon down along his leg. "Hi," he said, smiling at Ann, "I'm Marty Flannigan, you must be Ann."

"Ah, hi, Marty," Ann said. "Nice to meet you."

"You got everything all set, Bill?" Marty asked Melissa's fiancée.

"Yeah," Bill said, "there will be two of our guys and a sheriff's deputy waiting here at the diner. James County's got at least one guy behind Martin, and there are a couple more of their people coming, too."

While Bill and Marty talked, Melissa put the car in gear, drove out of the parking lot, and headed down the road.

Their next stop was a relatively new ranch house about a mile from the diner. It sat some distance back from the highway, at the end of a long driveway. The nearest house to it was some distance away.

Melissa drove into the driveway and stopped in front of the garage. "Here we are," she said. "How are we going to do this?"

"I think I'll open the garage door," Bill said. "You can pull the car in. That will give Marty, here, some cover in the garage. You and I, and Ann, will wait in the breezeway between the house and garage. When Martin pulls in, you and Ann can go out to meet him." He turned to Ann. "You OK, Ann?" he asked.

"I'm so scared I'm shaking," she replied.

"Good," Bill said, "Stay scared. If this starts to look hairy, do whatever Melissa tells you and do it ten seconds before she tells you to. You got that?"

"Y-yes," Ann said.

Bill opened the door and got out of the car. He walked to the door of the house, unlocked it, and went into the breezeway. Then the garage door opened. Melissa drove the car into the empty garage and she, Marty, and Ann got out of the car.

"608 to 612 and 622, you in position?" Bill said into his portable radio.

"Roger, sarge, we're ready. The sheriff's unit's here, too," came the reply.

"608 to Lincoln," Bill said into the radio, "you got an ETA on James County A-1? We're all set here."

"Lincoln to 608," the dispatcher replied, "Stand by, I'll check."

All four people stood there, waiting.

"Lincoln to 608, his ETA is five minutes," she said.

"Copy, Lincoln," Bill said. He turned to his companions. "OK, folks, let's get in position."

Marty stayed in the garage, in front of his sister's car, while Bill, Melissa, and Ann went into the breezeway.

"Do...do you do this kind of thing a...a lot?" Ann asked Melissa and Bill.

"Not that much," Bill replied.

"How can you not be scared?" she asked.

"Who says we're not scared?" Melissa quipped. "We're just too tough to show it, right, honey?"

"Yeah, sure," her fiancée replied.

Melissa glanced down the road and her face grew serious. "There's Dad's car," she said.

Ann watched a stern-faced Melissa reach inside her blue jacket and pull out what looked like a huge silver gun. She glanced over at Bill and realized he was holding a gun, too, only his was black. She hugged herself and shuddered. She saw Martin's car slowing, then it turned into the driveway. Not far behind it was a black sedan. It, too, slowed down.