Authors: R. E. Bradshaw
RAINEY DAYS (23 page)
He continued, “There hadn’t been any action in days, so we were hanging out, eating, listening to music, shit like that. Generally, no one was paying attention. It was after three in the morning. Your dad was standing down in the last hole, sort of by himself. He was looking for a place to get some sleep. He chose that hole, because it was away from all the noise we were making. Out of the blue, this gook jumps into the hole with your father and tried to stab him with that very knife. Right then all hell broke loose with regular NVA everywhere and mortars raining down on us. The North Vietnamese Army had launched a large-scale assault across the DMZ.”
“Dad always said they were sneaky little bastards,” Rainey added.
“Your dad didn’t have time to grab his gun. He popped that pajama-wearing piece of shit right in the face with his fist, took his knife and slit his throat. Billy jumped out of that hole and did a John Wayne, right through the middle of those little fuckers. He killed, I don’t know how many with it, before he picked up his M1 and started mowing them down. He kept the rest of us from getting killed, until we could get back in our holes and return fire. We were air lifted out later. Billy kept that knife the rest of the time we were in country. It was his talisman, because he should have been shot to pieces running through those guys and he came out without a scratch.”
“That’s amazing,” Rainey said, looking down at the knife. She could see now that the dark stains on the fabric were blood, not dirt.
“Your dad was a crazy fucker,” Mackie said, laughing
“He was always so calm and caring. I can’t picture him doing that,” Rainey said.
Mackie sat back in the recliner. He said, “It was a different world over there.” He grew silent and looked out the window.
Rainey knew that look. Her father got it, too, sometimes. He would get real quiet and stare into space. She wondered what they saw, in the images flashing through their heads and yet, at the same time, she probably really did not want to know all they had seen. Rainey had experienced enough human depravity right here in the United States. She could imagine what they had observed, without knowing the details.
Rainey put the dagger back on the shelf. She went back to pacing and looking out windows until the sun began to rise. A shift change took place at dawn, so they could get in and out without drawing any attention. Once the fresh team was in place, Rainey went to her bedroom and closed the door. She was exhausted from little sleep and the activity the night before. Rainey crawled into bed in her clothes. She thought about calling Katie, decided it was too early, and then changed her mind. She dialed Katie’s cell, so she would not accidently get JW. Katie answered before the first ring was completed.
“Rainey?”
“Yes, I hope I didn’t wake you,” Rainey said.
“No, I’ve been up since before dawn, waiting for you to call,” Katie said, sounding relieved.
“Well, everything’s okay. No sign of him, yet.”
Katie asked, “What do you do now?”
“I get some sleep,” Rainey said. “Somebody kept me up all Saturday night and I’m exhausted.”
“Somebody, huh?” Katie teased.
“Yeah, this good looking blonde stopped by and took me for a spin,” Rainey played along.
“Was it worth it?” Katie continued.
Rainey answered with enthusiasm, “Oh yeah, most definitely.”
“Do you think she’ll be back?” Katie asked.
Rainey smiled to herself, the thought of Katie in her arms, giving her a thrill. She said, “I hope so, real soon.”
Katie kept going, “Sounds like you like her.”
“Yes, I do, actually. She’s very nice and really hot,” Rainey said.
Katie giggled and then said, “I bet she thinks you’re hot, too.”
“Really?” Rainey asked.
“Oh, I think she thinks you are extremely sexy,” Katie said, giggling some more. “Your work outs are paying off. Your ab muscles alone are worth every sit up, if you know what I mean.”
Rainey laughed. The flirting was fun and making her hornier than she already was. She had been since Katie left. She tried not to think about it, but her body kept reminding her. It craved Katie as much as Rainey did. She almost wished they had waited until the manhunt was over, because now that she knew what she was missing, she wanted it more. It was out of character for Rainey to express what she was truly feeling, but she seemed to have no barriers with Katie, no walls to keep her emotions in check.
“I want you,” Rainey heard her own voice saying. It came out in a sultry whisper unfamiliar to Rainey’s ears.
Katie chimed in, “Oh honey, tell me about it.”
They laughed again. Katie told Rainey that she had contacted her two older sisters, both lived on the west coast, explaining what was happening at home with the stalking, because in this day and age electronic media made it a very small world. Katie also called her mother and father, who were on an extended holiday in the Mediterranean. Rainey did not have anybody to call. The people she really cared about already knew.
“Honey,” Katie said, after a few more minutes of chatting, “I would love to stay here and talk to you all morning, but I have to get dressed for school.”
Rainey grew serious, “You remember what I said. You don’t go anywhere alone.”
Katie teased her, “Yes ma’am, Special Agent Bell.”
Rainey was slightly amused, but said, “I’m serious. Promise me.”
Katie stopped teasing Rainey and answered her firmly, “I promise.”
“Katie, please be careful and call me after school, before the program,” Rainey paused, and then added, “I love you.”
“I love you, too. Get some rest. Sweet dreams,” Katie said, before hanging up.
Rainey knew her dreams would be sweet, because her mind was completely inundated with thoughts of Katie. She closed her eyes and was gone within minutes, dreaming of Katie in her arms.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Rainey awoke at four o’clock that afternoon to the phone ringing on the table by the bed. She was still fully clothed, having only kicked off her black Nikes, before she lay down. Rainey was still lying in the exact same spot. She had surfaced a couple of times from the land of nod, only to have the exhaustion pull her back down into her dreams, where Katie baked pies, wearing only an apron and a little French maid’s hat. Rainey sat on a stool watching her, as Katie explained her every move, like Julia Child on a cooking show.
She reached for the phone groggily and hoarsely said, “Hello.”
“Hey,” Katie, said, cheerfully, “Are you still asleep?”
Rainey looked at the clock. She had slept nine hours. Rainey considered five hours a good night’s sleep. This had been a marathon nap. She was hungry and had to pee. Rainey sat up on the edge of the bed, wiping the sleep from her eyes, and was reminded immediately of her need for a bathroom.
Rainey managed to say, “Hang on, I have to go to the bathroom,” almost forgetting she could take the cell phone with her. She made it just and time, holding the phone to her ear with her shoulder. After a yawn she asked, “How was your day?”
Katie was excited, as she said proudly, “I have the smartest and most talented first grade class in the school. We are going to shine tonight.”
Rainey yawned again, “Sorry about the yawning, nothing personal. I’m glad to hear your class is doing so well.”
Rainey sat on the toilet, even after she had finished, quietly talking to Katie. She was still groggy as she listened to Katie relaying stories of her “babies” and the program they practiced for today. Katie was pleased with how well they had all done. Even their mistakes were cute and fixable. Katie obviously adored her job and her students. As she talked about her kids, Rainey could hear the love in Katie’s voice.
Rainey’s head began to clear, so she stood up and walked to the sink. She looked at her nappy hair and sleepy eyes. She had slept like the dead, one of those heavy sleeps from which it is hard to emerge. Katie prattled on about costumes and forgotten lines, while a thought crept into Rainey’s head. Was Katie ready to give up her career to be with Rainey? This was the Bible belt, even if Chapel Hill was much more liberal than the rest of the state.
When Katie gave her a chance, Rainey said, “You obviously love teaching. Have you thought about what effect our relationship might have on your career?”
“Rainey, there are gay men and women, at least one, on every hallway at my school. They’re good teachers and wonderful people. As long as I don’t walk around with a sign saying I’m a lesbian and bring you to show and tell, I think I’m okay.”
Rainey was hit with a question, “Does sleeping with just one woman make you a lesbian?”
Katie answered with a scholarly tone, “I believe it is the quantity of sex, not the number of women you sleep with that makes you a lesbian.”
“Do you think we qualify?” Rainey asked, playfully.
Katie continued, in her laboratory voice, “I think you should have a few more goes at it, collect more data, before I make that qualification.”
“I’ll take your recommendation seriously and I hope very soon,” Rainey said.
“Oh God, I know. Isn’t it driving you crazy? I guess not, you’ve been passed out, but I’ve had to walk around all day with my crotch on fire,” Katie said.
Rainey laughed loudly at Katie’s predicament. Katie had a tendency to ask a question and then answer it, herself. It was cute the way she talked fast, her accent dripping with just enough Southern sugar to keep you mesmerized, or at least it had that effect on Rainy. Her own body started reminding her again that it wanted Katie in the worst way.
The dichotomy of Rainey’s position was astonishing. Here she was experiencing falling in love with the woman of her dreams, at least the ones she had lately, and on the other hand, using herself as bait for a serial killer. Rainey was sure that she would just split into two people, at some point, if this situation did not work itself out quickly.
They talked for a few more minutes. Rainey made sure Katie was following the rules about being alone. Katie promised to call, after the program and then she was gone. Rainey showered and changed into fresh BDUs and a tee shirt. This one said FBI on the back in bright yellow letters. With the shoulder holster in place, she opened the door on another evening of surveillance.
Mackie was up making breakfast, the day having been turned upside down for them. The tactical team took care of themselves, but did not turn down the offer of a hot biscuit. Rainey ate the eggs and bacon ravenously. She jellied two biscuits and gobbled them as well. She drank two glasses of orange juice and a bottle of water. She could not seem to get enough to quench her dehydration. Coffee came next, creamy and sweet, just as she liked it.
It had been a beautiful day in the Triangle, the agents reported to Rainey. An older lady identifying herself as Ernestine Womble, and her two sons, had come by earlier. She left when the agents told her that Rainey and Mackie were asleep. She left some fresh vegetables and the agents had put them in the refrigerator. Oh no, Rainey had forgotten to call Ernie. She was pleased to find out Mackie had, but she still needed to let her know she was all right.
Ernie worried about Rainey, as if she was her own child. She had come to stay with Rainey in Virginia, that first week home from the hospital. Mackie had wanted to stay, but Rainey did not want another man around, she already had Danny sleeping on her couch. She needed a mother and her own was the last person she wanted, in her cramped apartment. She wished for a “mom” and Ernie came to her rescue. Rainey had always treasured her relationship with Ernie, but after that week, Rainey cherished her even more.
She went out on the front deck, just to get some air. There were too many people in the cottage, which was locked up tight, no movement in and out for hours, and all those people breathing the same air. The air conditioning helped, but only so much air moved about, and the smell of men penetrated every molecule of oxygen, in Rainey’s opinion. She had to get out of there and the deck was her only source of freedom.
Rainey dialed Ernie’s number. She picked up on the second ring, “So you finally remembered my number?” Ernie said sarcastically.
“I’m sorry, Ernie. It’s been a circus. Mackie told me he talked to you,” Rainey offered in apology. It did not work.
“Yes, at least he had the courtesy to call,” Ernie shot back.
Rainey tried again, “I’ll make it up to you. We’ll do a spa day, just me and you.”
Ernie started coming around. She loved spa days. “Okay, but you have to report once a day, preferably before you go to sleep in the morning, so people don’t think you’re dead, and drive all the way over there, thinking they’re going to find God knows what.”
Rainey’s tone was repentant, “I really am sorry, Ernie, and I promise to call every day, at least once.”
The older woman finally let it drop and they went on to other things. Rainey thanked Ernie for the vegetables and asked if she could pick up a few things at the store, and then bring them by tomorrow. She had not been shopping lately, and needed most of the staples and something to go with the vegetables, with which Ernie kept her supplied. She had to feed Mackie and that took some doing, not to mention all the other hungry men wandering around. Rainey knew what it was like on stakeouts. Everybody ate from boredom. Thank goodness, she had a deep freeze. Ernie was happy to do it. It made her feel involved in the investigation.
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