Heart of Fire (4 page)

She shook the image from her mind and reached for the glass of water on her nightstand and the bottle of anxiety pills her physician prescribed.  She felt shame when she looked at them.  It had been three months since she filled the prescription and only one was missing.  Danni was proud she was weaning herself off of them, but tonight was different.  The dream changed replacing the old reoccurring dream that she had become accustomed to where she would watch night after night in slow motion as the woman’s body burned in the flames and the agonizing screams that accompanied as she was forced to looked into the same bright blue eyes that turned grey within seconds.  Each night the same, but Danni was aware something had changed.  The only correlation to her two dreams was Annabel.

Danni reconciled that things would only get worse and she would never be able to move on if she did not face her demons once and for all.  It was time to face her fears, so she placed the bottle back on the nightstand.  She refused to be hostage to the pharmaceuticals. 

She jumped out of bed, slipped on her shoes and headed to the place where her nightmare began.  The night sky reached out for her as she drove the thirty minutes back to the house she once loved.  The empty lot came into full view as she pulled alongside the adjoining street and looked on.  She remembered the first time she entered the house.  She had to fight the urge to cough as recalled the smoke that had once filled her lungs.  She cursed under her breath.  She blamed God for taking away Annie’s parents and forcing her to watch helplessly as the roof collapsed and ending her life as she knew it. 

Within a few months, Danni moved, she could not stay there any longer.  The memories were pulling her into a depression that she would not be able to pull herself out of.  When she realized it was affecting her job, she put the house on the market and moved into the city.

Now, it was time to confront her past, determined to put it behind her, she got out of her car and stood in the middle of the empty lot.  “
Why God?” she ranted, lifting her hand to the sky.  She had seen so much death and despair, but nothing ever touched her like this.  She took a deep breath and prayed to the heavens above.  The rational side of her knew it was not her fault, and she did everything she could have.  She knew that the girl would have also perished if she did not get her out.  She did all she could that day and she finally realized it.  She felt the heaviness lift from her, a peace she had not felt since before that fateful night. 

She knelt on the cold hard ground and said a prayer, but it was not for the lost souls of the fire, but for Annabel who lay injured in the hospital.  She recalled the eyes, the uncanny resemblance.  She was not sure if Annabel was Annie, but the physical characteristics were unmistakable.  She was sure that God brought Annie or Annabel back into her life for a reason, and she would do everything in her power to protect her.  This was her chance now to make things right.

CHAPTER SIX

The light filtered through the shades, Annabel opened her eyes.  She looked around the room and shame over took her.  She was well aware of her surroundings and what brought her there.  The only thing she felt was anger, she wanted to catch the son of a bitch who put her there.  She got a slight look at the face, it appeared familiar in some way, but the pictures were still obscured and fuzzy.

She picked up the pad next to the bed, and wrote down what details she could remember.  She was afraid if she didn’t they would disappear as quickly as the pictures flashed in her mind.  She could recall the sound of the man’s voice.  Hoarse but clear.  There was no accent, and the way he demanded the women to stay in place, reminded her of a voice she had heard not long ago, but she could not put a face to it.  Frustrated, she slammed her fist on the bed.  She could not understand why she could not see his face.  It was as if something was blocking it.  The last thing she recalled was Danni knelt next to her, and the calming voice assuring her everything was going to be okay.

“Why can I not remember?” she cried out frustrated and feeling like a helpless little girl again.  She could have gotten herself killed, but she was so determined to make a good impression on Danni that she was making mistakes one after another.  The moment she took the stairs in stride, she knew she should have waited, and she walked right into his trap.  He waited in the doorway and as soon as she walked in, he hit her over the head with a metal object, she tried to force his hand away as he swung it, but he over powered her.  She felt the pain shoot into her head and the pain forced her to her knees, she did not lose consciousness at first, unable to move she lay and watched the scene before her play in slow motion.  She could not control the tears; she was there to protect the woman but failed.  She scolded herself for not seeing him sooner before he made it to the fire escape.  It was at that moment she realized she was not cut out to be a police officer. 

“Hey there,”
Danni smiled as she stuck her head in the room but shivered when she saw the look of despair on her face.

“Hi,”
Annabel mumbled but did not look in her direction.

“How are you feeling this morning?”

“Depends, physically I’m okay but mentally not so good!” Annabel’s voice trailed as she gesturing her hand for Danni to sit in the chair next to her bed.

Silence filled the space between them.  Danni sat unsure what to ask first. This was not an interrogation, but the details needed to be gathered for the case.  Danni had to scold herself several times to not take out her note pad and jump right on in.

“We’re going to get him Annabel,” Danni promised breaking the silence.

Annabel nodded her head knowing it was true.  “
I should have known better not to go into the situation without backup Danni.”  She turned her head in shame avoiding Danni stare.  “I bet you think I am an idiot.”

“No I don’t.” 
Danni’s concerned look gave Annabel comfort in a small way.  “It takes time to learn, and we all make mistakes when we first start out, and you have not been on the force that long.”  She smiled hoping she made her feel a little better.  “With all honesty,” Danni paused and collected her thoughts to find a gentle way to ask the question at hand.  “How long were you on the force before they promoted you to detective?”

Annabel laughed; she wondered how long it would take for Danni to ask her.  “
I joined the force right out of high-school.  Since I was a Jr. Officer for five years and made it to lieutenant, I was qualified to go right into the academy at eighteen.”

“Jr. Officer, what is that?  I never heard of it.” 
Danni looked at her puzzled.

“When I was fifteen, I moved to Chicago to live with my Aunt Doris and my Uncle Stan,” A
nnabel hesitated as she tried not to visualize the loss.  “Anyway,” she sighed.  “I was a handful and rebelled so badly they were at a loss.  To keep me out of trouble, they put me into the Police Explorer program developed for teenager who either wanted to pursue a career in law or kids like me who were going to probably end up in jail if they were not straightened out.”  She hid her eyes afraid her secrets would be discovered.  She was not ready to tell Danni she was that girl next door, whose life she not only saved but also shaped her future.  Since then, she wanted to become a cop.  She had no misconception that a child hood crush was just that, but the second Danni walked in the office, she felt a tingle in her stomach, and all the old feelings came fluttering back.  She planned on telling her by now, but she didn’t know how. 

“Interesting, maybe we should see if they would approve a program here like that.  It sure would be nice to see some of the kids I arrest have a better chance.” 
She made a mental note to bring it to the attention of the Mayor along with a few other things she believed needed to be updated in the police department starting with the locker room.

Changing the subject, Annabel handed Danni the piece of paper filed with notes from the time she ran into the apartment.  “
Here, I wrote down things that I remembered from last night.”

She was a little grateful that the conversation took a different direction, if it would have continued any longer; she was going to ask Annabel outright if she was Annie.  She had no clue how she was going to bring up the subject of the fire, and if she remembered it was her who pulled her from the house other than just ask outright.

“Did you get a good enough look at him where we can have a composite drawn up?”

“Yes and no,” s
he admitted, upset that as soon as her memory would come back it was gone as fast.

“Which one is it?”

“I get a flash, but not enough to hold onto.”

Frustrated, Danni shook her head.  The information Annabel had on the pad was not enough, she needed more.  “
Okay.  I have a few leads to follow-up on.  I’ll be back later.  Get some rest.”  She stood up and retrieved the phone from her pocket that was buzzing and walked out the door before Annabel could say anything else.

“What?”
Danni yelled at the person on the other end.  “How the hell did the pictures get accidently erased?  Son of a bitch!” she growled closing the phone.

Danni sat down on the bench by the elevator.  Rubbing her tired eyes, she reopened her phone.  She listened to it ring and was ready to disconnect when a voice came on the line.  “
This is Detective Pacelli; I left a message last night.”  The man on the other end interrupted as he confirmed and quickly advised he had the digital recordings for her to pick up.  “I’m on my way.”  She slapped the phone shut and elected to take the stairs instead of the elevator.

It did not take long before she was parked behind the church with the DVD’s in hand.  Danni had an uneasy feeling telling anyone about the surveillance, so she opted to keep out of sight.  She could not get the thought of the pictures being erased out of her mind.  The security in the forensic office had always been remarkable and the team never made mistakes like this.  The only conclusion she could come up with, was they were not lost by accident, but on purpose.

Several calls later, Danni pulled in front of the office of retired FBI forensic analyst Dr. Michael James’ office.  She sat legs crossed  and waited patiently as he went through the video frame by frame, he warned her it would take several hours to finish and he would call her when he was done, but Danni instantly said no. 

He worked feverishly as he enhanced the image of a man who exited an automobile just around the corner of the apartment building, and found the same man working his way up the fire escape on the next video.  He took several still shots and once done, he sighed in relief.  “I’m printing pictures for you and I am copying the edited version on CD as well.  Do you need extra copies?”

“Several if you can.”   She didn’t want a replay of earlier events.  The more copies the better she thought extending her hand to retrieve the brown envelope from the spot on the desk in front of her where he laid it.  Danni offered to pay for his services, but he refused.  Anything to help the law catch a killer he added with a wiry smile.  She gratefully accepted his generosity but knew she would pay for it in the end.  It may not be today or next week, but nothing comes free, and he was like most civilians.  Once they do something for you, out of nowhere she would get a call to get someone he knows out of jail, fix a ticket or find someone he is looking for.  She always felt like she was making a deal with the devil, but at this moment she didn’t care.  Danni just wanted to get to her car, sit and look over the evidence.

Danni opened the envelope and deposited the contents in her lap.  With care she picked up the pictures.  She looked at the first one, and it was only a shot of his back.  Just as she was going to go to the next, she saw a shiny object on his belt buckle.  She gasped when she realized she was looking at a police badge only issued to detectives.  She tried to make it out, but the image was too small.  She flipped to the next picture and it was a side view of a familiar face.  “It can’t be!” she snapped and flipped to the next picture.  A full face shot of the sergeant in charge of robbery.  “What the fuck! What the hell is going on here?” Danni jumped out of her car and ran back into Dr. James office.  She handed him the picture of the badge and asked him if he could enlarge the picture which would show the badge number.

He saw the panic in her eyes as she thumbed through the rest of the pictures.  When she found the picture of the automobile he was driving, she handed it to him.  She gave instructions to narrow in on the license plate.  He smiled as he worked but glanced at her from the spot behind his desk several times.  He did not envy her job knowing the investigation she had in front of her.  Once done, he handed her the second set of edited prints and an additional envelope with copies.  “I think you might want to put these in a safe place just in case,” he instructed, his grin explained his understanding of her situation.

CHAPTER SEVEN

“What you doing her on your day off Pacelli?” Officer O’Conner hollered over his shoulder. 

“You know, this and that,” Danni shot back the answer sizing his frame.  She shook her head annoyed knowing until she solved this case, even a beat cop was now a suspect. 

She looked around the office cautiously as she printed the profiles of each officer and detective in the unit.  She guarded the printer, retrieving each paper as it landed in the chute facing them upside down in a pile.

She was grateful the office was empty other than a few cleaning crew scattered throughout mopping and emptying trash.  She snatched the last piece of paper and dashed out the door. 

“How are you feeling?” Danni inquired as she walked into Annabel’s room. 

“A whole lot better.”  She smiled eyeing the brown package in Danni’s hand.  “What’s that?”

“It’s the evidence we needed to put the bastard away,” she whispered as she cornered the bed and knelt down.  She put her finger to her mouth as a warning not to say anything as she handed her the package. 

She could not believe her eyes as she eyed each picture.  She looked at Danni then back to the pictures.  “Holy shit Pacelli, you know what this means?” She locked eyes with Danni in search of an answer.  “Now what?”

“Not sure yet, we can’t tell anyone about this until we figure this out,” she whispered and lowered her head into her hands.  “This is not like we’re going after the average Joe Smo who knows nothing about the law.”

“Do you think it goes deeper than just him?”

Danni nodded her head then explained the incident with the pictures from the camera conveniently deleted.  The shocked look on Annabel’s face made her shiver.  She realized at that moment she and her young partner were also in danger.  “Has anyone been here to talk to you today?”

“Yeah, a suit from Internal Affairs did.”

“What did he ask you?” Danni looked at her with curious eyes.

She frowned as she bit her bottom lip pondering the visit.  “Now that I think about it, he was acting kind of strange.  The only thing he seemed really interested in is if I got a look at the perp.”

“What did he look like?”

“Tall, about a hundred eighty pounds, black hair with grey around his temples, and he walked with a slight limp.” 

“Did he leave a card?” she sighed frustrated.

“That was another thing I thought it was strange when he left.  He said he would be in touch with me if he had any other questions.  I never dealt with I.A. before, so I don’t know the standard practice.  Maybe I’ve watched way too many cop shows growing up.”  She rubbed her temple trying to ward off the pain that was in her head.  “I always thought they gave a business card for you to call them if you think of anything else.”

“You’re right.  They do give out cards,” she snarled, anger reaching the surface.  “I’ll be back.”  She briskly walked to the door then turned around abruptly.  “What time was he here?”

Annabel looked at the clock then back to her partner as she replayed the events of the day.  “The doctor just left.  Maybe three or four minutes later he walked in.  The Price Is Right just started.”  She thought aloud, “Find out what time the Price Is Right comes on and you have the time.”

“On it,” Danni spouted and dashed out the door.

She sat in the hospital security office for over an hour impatiently waiting for them to agree to release the video footage.  The longer it took, the more annoyed she became.  She was eager to see who she was up against. She had always known that there was corruption in the precinct but Danni figured if she never saw it, then everything she heard was just rumors. 

The door to the office opened and a short stout man that smelled of cheap aftershave, wearing a coffee stained white shirt walked in.  “Let her have the footage,” he ordered and walked back out the door abruptly. 

The tall slender security officer smiled and handed her a disc.  “So, what do I have to do to become a cop?”  He stood erect, his thumbs tucked into his belt trying to show a level of confidence.

“Apply for the academy kid.”  She half smiled extending her hand in gratitude.  “If you apply, let me know, I’ll put in a good word for you.”

“Thank you Ma’am.”  He stood at attention and shook her hand in appreciation.

“Tell them Detective Pacelli sent you.”  She discouraged any further conversation.

As she walked down the hall to the elevators she froze.  Danni panicked when she realized the same man in the video was leaning against the post waiting for the same elevator she was going to take to go back up to Annabel’s room.  She took a deep breath and casually walked up and stood nonchalantly next to him.  She looked at her watch and took a mental note to write the time down in her pad. 

When the door opened, Danni allowed him to step in first.  She watched as he chose the same floor Annabel was on.  The ride up was uncomfortably silent.  She watched as each number lit, the elevator stopped and the doors opened on the fifth floor, a couple who got on the elevator at the same time got off leaving her alone with this man.  She was ready to defend herself if she had too.  She waited for any sudden movement, but none came.  The door opened to the ninth floor and he stepped out.  She sighed and moved quickly past him but opted to stop at the nurses’ station to see where he was going.  He walked right past Annabel’s room, but paused briefly pretending as if he was looking at his watch, but it was obvious he was looking in the room. 

That was enough for Danni to go into protective mode, she needed to get her out of the hospital or have an officer sit outside her room.  Then panic set in when she realized everyone at this point was a suspect, even her superior, so how was she going to request protective custody without revealing the evidence.  “I need a plan,” she said under her breath.

“Excuse me?” the cute blonde nurse behind the desk questioned when she heard Danni talk.

It never occurred to her that anyone was listening.  “Do we know when Detective Flanery in room 921 will be released?” Danni quickly questioned to avoid explaining she did her best thinking when she talked out load. 

“Actually, I’m working on her release papers now sweetie.”   She flashed a smile and winked.

Danni locked eyes with her for a few seconds and smiled back.  “Do you think we can have her out of here in ten minutes?” she flirted back trying to rush her along.

“I can be pretty motivated when there is something I want.”  The nurse moved in a little closer, and rubbed her hand over Danni’s.

She looked down at her hand then back to the attractive woman in front of her.  A little turned on, she half smiled.  “Here’s my card, get motivated, and in a few days call me and we can do dinner.”

The nurse took the card and smiled.  “I would like that.  My name is Monica.”

“That is a beautiful name for a beautiful woman.”  Danni winked as she walked off.

“Get dressed,” Danni ordered as she walked in Annabel’s room leaving no room for protest.

“Are you busting me out of here?” she teased.

Just as Danni nodded her head the nurse walked in with the discharge papers.  She gave instructions and limitations.  Once done, she turned her attention to Danni.  “When should I call you Detective?” she purred eying her up and down, then locking eyes with her long enough leaving no doubt what she wanted.

The air in the room suddenly became heavy as Danni looked at Annabel.  She could see the look of disapproval, but opted to ignore it.  “Call me anytime,” she hesitated briefly trying not to sound anxious. 

Annabel could feel the heat burn on her cheeks as her temper increased, she was obviously jealous but could not let Danni see it, so she cleared her voice as she signed the last piece of paper.  “Ready?” her question showed her disapproval of what was transpiring in front of her.

“Before you go, take my number.”  Monica stood in Danni’s path.  “Call me day or night; I look forward to dinner and anything else you would like to do.”  She half smiled as she raised her right eye brow in the direction of Annabel.

The look she gave Monica conveyed she would have a fight on her hands.  With all the strength she could muster, Annabel stood up and led the way out the door. 

“Wait you can’t just leave, you have to be taken down in a wheelchair,” Monica protested.

“Stop me,” she protested and walked past her, Danni followed closely behind feeling like a child that was about to be scolded. 

The ride down in the elevator was quiet.  Danni could see the discontented look on Annabel’s face.  Until now, it never occurred to her that Annabel wanted anything from her outside of work, she wondered if it was a look of jealousy or she was imaging it.  There was no time to think about that now she scolded herself, I need to figure out our next move.

“I was thinking,” Danni broke the silence.  “My uncle has a little place on the outskirts of town.  I think it would be better if we stayed there until this case is solved.”

“Why would we want to do that?” Annabel cocked her head in confusion.

“When I was coming back to your room, I rode the elevator up to your floor with our perp.  He walked right past your room, but not before looking in.”  She took a deep breath and sighed.  “I think you might be the next target.”

“You got to be kidding?”  She looked at Danni in disbelief. 

Danni could see the fear in her eyes and there was nothing she could say or do to make it better, one of two things was about to happen, either they would catch the killer or killers or end up dead.  “I’ve been thinking about calling a friend of mine Frank Alexander from the FBI to help, I’m starting to think this goes further up the chain of command, and right now, until we know for sure, we can’t trust anyone.”  Her voice trailed, she didn’t want to admit she was just as scared and had no idea what they were up against, or who.  But, she was determined to get to the bottom of it, and keep her partner safe.  “I think I see a family emergency coming up and I still got time to burn from last year that rolled over,” Danni said as matter of factly and laughed.

The drive took longer than Danni would have liked, but she needed to be sure they were not being followed.  When she was sure there was no one around. She pulled into a CVS pharmacy to have Annabel’s prescription filled and pick up a few other things that they would need.

She started out with a hand held basket and before she knew it there was no room to put anything else and they still needed body wash and shampoo as well as clothes. Annabel joined Danni in the isle with a cart and she dumped the basket in it. They went from isle to isle and gathered socks, t-shirts and any other clothes items they could find. She was pretty sure they had enough to hold them over, but knew if she needed to, she could drive the twenty miles into the town of Pampa which she knew had a Wal-Mart. But for now, they had enough food items to hold them over for a few days. 

Once in the cabin, she set the alarm, but she still did not feel at ease.  She sat on the bar stool overlooking the kitchen and pondered an exit strategy if they needed to get out quick.  She didn’t know who to trust anymore.  She recalled the conversation she had with Lieutenant Hagerty, he seemed more interested in where she was going to be staying than the fact she was taking the time off within such short notice.  She lied when she said she was going to go up to Dallas to spend time with a cousin.  The conversation felt more like an interrogation, he asked question after question, what part of Dallas and what her cousin’s name was.  She was tempted to ask him why he wanted to know, but let it go as casual conversation. 

Annabel walked in the room with a towel wrapped around her head.  Danni smiled when she noticed how one blonde curl escaped captivity and cascaded around her neck.  She breathed in deep the clean scent as she walked past her, and the aroma reminded her of freshly picked flowers.  She watched her as she glided into the den and from her vantage point it was obvious that Annabel was not wearing a bra, as her nipples protruded through the thin material.  She could feel the heat rise within her, and had to quickly turn her head when she saw Annabel was looking at her.  Pull yourself together Pacelli.  She scorned herself under her breath.

“What?” Annabel giggled knowing her plan to get her attention directed towards her and off of Monica was working.

“Oh, um...nothing was just thinking about calling Frank down at the FBI office.”  The statement allowed her time to recover from the real question at hand.

“Are you going to call him now?”

“I already left him a voicemail and he still hasn’t called back.  I need to call him on his cell.” 

“Hey, did you call him from your cell earlier,” Annabel gasped as she recalled her last assignment.  “They have the capability to track you on your cell now.  If they’re on to us they might have tapped your phone.”

Danni laughed at her acute observation.  “I got this.”  She let out a hearty laugh.  “After I saw him at the hospital, I figured the same thing.  So I called from the pay phone outside of the drug store while you were getting your prescription.”

The conversation halted as she watched Danni walk over to the couch and retrieve her suitcase.  She gulped hard when the muscles in her arms flexed as she picked it up.  “Wow,” she whispered so Danni could not hear.  “Are you going to shower?” the words straggled out.