Late in the afternoon, Tim woke up and found that he was still thinking about Heidi. Maybe he should call her. He might be able to do something to help protect her. No, he told himself, the detectives and patrol units would take care of that, especially now that shots had been fired at her house.
"What about when she's at work?" he wondered. "And going to and from work?"
He got up, dressed, got in his pickup truck and drove to the high school, knowing he was being silly. School was just letting out, so Tim sat in his truck, across the street, watching people leave. Finally, he saw Heidi emerge from the building, walk to a car and get in.
"She's just as pretty as ever," he mused. "I guess I miss her more than I wanted to admit."
When Heidi pulled out of the parking lot, he waited, then fell in behind her, scanning for other cars that might be following. He followed her home, then drove around the neighborhood until he located the day shift patrol unit. "I'm going to be keeping an eye on 1852 Johnson," he said. "I wanted you guys to know in case you get a suspicious vehicle complaint on my truck."
"This official?" the officer driving asked.
Tim shook his head. "Lady who lives there's a friend of mine," he said. "I know her from when I was in school."
"You want we should notify the shift commander?" the officer asked.
Again, Tim shook his head. "Like I said, this is unofficial," he told them. "I'm not sure the detectives would like it if they found out I'm free-lancing on this."
"OK," the officer said. "Where are you going to be?"
Tim told them, then drove off.
A while later, he sat in his truck in a spot that allowed him full view of Heidi's house without being too obvious. As he sat there, he thought about her, ant their time together.
One day in particular stuck in his mind. He'd gone to her house and surprised her. He knew Heidi didn't lock her doors - back then she didn't have to - so he slipped into the house and headed for her bedroom...
**********
He stopped at the bedroom door and watched Heidi. Wearing a skimpy, silky teddy, she sat at her dressing table, combing her hair. Then, as he continued to watch, Heidi, still unaware of his presence, got up, walked to her bed, and pulled back the covers.
He knocked on the bedroom door and smiled when he saw her jump. She turned and looked in his direction. Her face was flushed and her chest was heaving delightfully. "Tim!" she said, "You frightened me!"