Mystery Woman

"Hey, my friend, it's Charlie Watt, how're you doing?"

"Ah, I've been better, Charlie. What's up?"

"I'm sorry to hear that, pal. I was calling to see if you play handball. I've got a court reserved for two o'clock and my partner just canceled."

"Jesus, Charlie, I'm in the car right now. I'm not dressed for it; besides, I haven't played in a couple of years. I'm not even sure I still have a glove."

"So, what's the problem? Run home and get changed, and don't worry about a glove. The kids get me a new one every Christmas," he laughed. "I've got four or five of them in a couple different sizes. I'm sure I've got one that'll fit you."

Morg thought for just a moment. "You know, that might be just what I need right now. Where's the court?"

"West Side YMCA."

"That's the one right off of Roosevelt?"

"That's it," Charlie confirmed.

"I don't know how much competition I'll be, but I'll be there." The call brightened his spirits a little. Spending time with a friend while taking out his hostilities on a little black ball, never sounded better. He checked the time. It was a little after twelve. He wasn't about to go home so he headed for a Target where he could get some gym clothes and a pair of sneakers. Charlie was already changing in the locker room when he walked in. They shook hands and greeted each other with smiles.

"How's the mystery woman doing?" Charlie inquired.

"You mean Corrine?"

"Yeah, I heard she's making progress, that's great. Has she anything to do with what's bothering you?"

"I suppose my troubles are the talk of the eighteenth, huh?"

"No, not really. The lieutenant mentioned you might need a friend about now, that's all. Listen, after this, what do you say we stop for a beer someplace, and you tell me all about it? After all, if you can't spill your guts to a cop, who can you spill 'em to?"

For the next hour, the two men battled each other as if the fate of the world hung in the balance. Morg lost the first two games but was able to pull out a win in the third, thanks to a miraculous diving save for the winning point. Their time was up before completing the fourth game, so they called it a draw even though Charlie was a point ahead. In the heat of battle, Morg didn't realize how hard he was hitting the ball until he tried taking his glove off after the match. The two friends showered and headed for a little hole-in-the-wall bar a couple blocks away.

"Okay, whose face was it on that little rubber ball," Charlie asked after they each ordered a beer. Morg had to think about the question, but before he figured out what it meant, Charlie clarified. "That ball must have represented somebody by the way you were going after it. Look at that hand. It's so swollen I doubt you can hold your camera."

Morgan forced a chuckle. "An old boyfriend of Brea's. She's been having lunch and going out to dinner with the asshole. Last month he drugged her and took her to a motel."

"Oh, shit, Morg. I'm so sorry. Did he rape her?"

"Almost. As luck would have it, Stan McCarthy was there investigating a robbery. He recognized her and got into the room before that prick had a chance to really do anything. If it hadn't been for Stan, though, that asshole would have had his way with her all night long."

"Jesus, Morg, I'm so sorry. Do you know who this guy is?"

"Oh yeah, we had a little talk this morning."

"Oh, shit, Morg, what'd you do?"

"He came after me, so I decked him. He swung first and I have a witness who's on my side, so I doubt very much the SOB swears out a complaint."

While the two men coursed through the afternoon discussing Morg's problems, Brea was helping Cory get ready for her big date with Jerrod. There was only one dress in Brea's closet that she thought suitable for Leonardo's. It was a slinky deep purple evening gown with a plunging neckline and a slit up the side. She'd only worn it once to an Illinois State awards banquet where her husband was honored for his photography the year before.

"Oh, Brea, I can't wear this. It must have cost a fortune. I'd be scared to death that I'd spill something on it."

"Nonsense," argued Brea. "I've only worn it on one occasion, anyway, and Leonardo's is a little out of our price range, so somebody should be seen in it."

After Cory's shower, Brea called her into the master bedroom. Cory was still using the basic essential make-up Brea gave her. It was fine for everyday, but Leonardo's was certainly not an everyday kind of place.

"Cory, sit down here," Brea said, directing her friend to her personal make-up mirror. "We'll use my make-up. It's a little better than that you stuff you have. Do you mind putting yourself in my hands?" she asked. "I've always had a knack for knowing what looks good on people."

"I'm all yours," Cory replied.

Once Brea completed her maquillage artistry, it was time to do something with Cory's hair. You couldn't even tell where they had shaved it anymore, but Cory had always simply let it hang naturally around her shoulders. Brea brought out her curling iron and hairspray and went to work styling Cory's hair up into an elegant look that coordinated with the dress. Cory didn't even recognize herself when looked into the mirror.

"Oh, my God, Brea, how did you do that? I look..."

"Absolutely gorgeous," Brea said, finishing her friend's sentence. She glanced at the time. "You'd better finish getting dressed, Cory, he'll be here pretty soon.

On the driver over, Jerrod couldn't keep from smiling. After the year-long battle with his ex, he thought it would be a long time before he was ready for another relationship, but here he was, already falling in love with a mystery woman. Thanks to the two kids fishing in the river, he at least knew she wasn't married. That had been preying on his mind. He kept thinking it'd be just his luck to fall head over heels, only to find out she was married and had two kids. One bullet dodged. The thought created a grin from ear to ear.

As Jerrod pulled into the apartment complex, his mind was so preoccupied with romantic thoughts of the future, that he completely missed seeing the dark Cadillac sedan parked at the end of the lot.

Cory wanted to make an entrance, so Brea answered the door. She invited Jerrod in for a quick cup of coffee, telling him Cory would be right out. Morg's absence was obvious. He wanted to ask how things were going but didn't dare. There was a clumsy silence as Brea joined him with a cup of java, but it was short-lived.

"You like?" Cory asked as she made her appearance.

Jerrod was speechless. He just stopped and stared with his cup halfway to his mouth as his date made a graceful pirouette to show off her dress. "Brea lent me the dress for tonight. I hope it's okay."

"Huh, oh, I... I mean, yeah, of course. Cory, you look downright stunning," he was eventually able to articulate. Finally, regaining his faculties, Jerrod set his cup down. "Thanks for the coffee, Brea." He stood and once again, feasted his eyes on the beautiful woman standing before him. "Honey, we'd better get going."

If he'd hadn't been so fixated with the woman sitting to his right, Jerrod would have most certainly spotted the tail he picked up while leaving the parking lot. On the way to the restaurant, Jerrod was able to ask about Brea and Morg. "How are things on the homefront?"

"I honestly don't know," she replied. "Brea says she would have never gone to bed with that guy and I believe her. What's more, Morg believes her, or at least he says he does. He still can't get past it though. You have to wonder what the hell she was thinking, going to dinner with that guy. I think that's what Morg is hung up about, not the lunches so much, but going out to dinner while he was working nights, especially after she knew the guy was trying to seduce her."

"It's amazing how idiotic mistakes can be made by intelligent people sometimes. I sure hope they can work it out. They really seem to be in love with each other."

They were still talking as they approached Leonardo's. The midnight blue Caddy following behind slowly drove by as Jerrod turned into the restaurant's parking lot.

Spinoso couldn't have been happier. He had identified the woman and where she was staying the previous week but had been unable to find an opportunity to whack the broad. The restaurant was perfect. He had been there several times and knew the layout. He also knew he could get in and out through the back door. The place would be packed on a Saturday night. The more people, the bigger the panic when the shooting started. Everyone would be too busy diving under tables to pay any attention to the shooter.

He drove around the block to make sure there were no surprises, then pulled into the alley. The back door of the building was supposed to be locked, but Spinoso knew from past experience that the waiters and chefs kept it propped open so they could sneak outside for a smoke. He reached into the glove compartment and pulled out his K6s snub nose. He was only interested in killing one person, so rather than leave the magnum loads in the gun, he exchanged them for regular thirty-eights before sticking the revolver into the pocket of his suit jacket.

No one paid any attention as the hitman maneuvered through the kitchen, and entered the dining area. A quick scan of the room revealed his target and her companion sitting along the opposite wall. Her escort had his back to Spinoso but she was facing in his direction. The key to an operation like that was getting in and out in a hurry, so with laser-like focus, he quickly began his approach in their direction.

The rapid movements of the advancing form caught Cory's attention. She looked up and suddenly remembered. "Jerrod, that's him," she cried. "That's the man who shot me!"

Jerrod's head swiveled around and recognized the hitman just as Spinoso pulled his gun. There was no time for Jerrod to reach for his own backup piece. He launched himself over the table, knocking Cory to the floor and covering her with his own body.

Pandemonium broke out as the murmur of conversations was shattered by the sound of gunfire. Screams of terror and the noise of crashing glass and china added to the chaos as patrons dove for cover. Jerrod felt two slugs of hot lead rip through the flesh and muscle of his back.

Spinoso knew there could be no slip-ups this time. He worked his way around the overturned tables to line up for a headshot. Despite his condition, through sheer will and determination, Jerrod reached for his gun. Spinoso had no inclination his target's companion was a cop until he felt the three slugs from Jerrod's Glock slam into his chest.

From beneath his body, Cory heard her hero exhale what sounded like his last breath. She started screaming as she squirmed out from under him and saw the blood. "HELP! HELP! HE'S BEEN SHOT, SOMEONE CALL AN AMBULANCE, HE'S BEEN SHOT! Oh God, she cried as she lay her head on his dormant body, "he's been shot."

*****

Morgan was feeling better than he had in a while. Between the physical exercise and being able to bare his soul to a friend, he left the bar with a little brighter outlook. Earlier, when he left the apartment, he had every intention of spending another night in a motel but now had changed his mind. He was, however, going to stop off at a restaurant before heading home. He was starving and had no idea if Brea was making anything for dinner. It was almost seven-thirty by the time he walked in and saw the relief in Brea's face.

"I... I wasn't sure you'd be home. Are you hungry? I can quickly put something together."

"No, I stopped for something on the way home, but don't let me stop you from fixing something for yourself." Before either of them could say anything else, Morg's phone rang. He looked and saw it was Charlie. He smiled as he answered. "What, you want a rematch already?"

"Morg, was Cory with Jerrod tonight?" His voice was anxious.

"Ah, I don't know. Hold on," he replied as he looked up at his wife. "Where's Cory?"

"She out on a date with Jerrod, why?"

Charlie heard her reply and didn't need his friend to repeat it. "Morg, Jerrod's been shot."

"WHAT?" he yelled. "Is it bad?"

"I don't know anything yet. Our district commander is calling everyone to let them know."

"What about Cory?"

"I have no idea, Morg. Jerrod's been taken to Northwestern. I'm heading that way now. You might want to get up there, yourself. If she's been hit, I'm sure they'd take her there as well. They have the best trauma center in Chicago."

"I'm on my way, Charlie. I'll see you there."

Overhearing only her husband's side of the conversation, Brea had no doubt something was terribly wrong. "What is it, Morg? What's happened?"

"I'll tell you on the way, let's go," he responded. Once in the car, Morg relayed what he knew. By the time they rushed into the emergency entrance, they were both frantic. Morg approached the desk with Brea right on his heels.

"We're here about the gunshot victims. What can you tell us?" Morg impatiently asked.

The elder nurse looked at their faces and decided to forgo the usual questions about being relatives. "Both men are being prepped for surgery," she answered.

"What about the woman?" He questioned.

"I don't know anything about a woman," the nurse responded.

Her answer immediately invoked two different lines of thought. Not having the experience of her husband, Brea instantly took it to mean her friend was okay, Morgan, on the other hand, wondered if it meant they took her to directly to the morgue.

Morgan started looking for someone he knew when the nurse had a second thought. "Ah, there was a woman who came in with one of the men. I think she's in the back with the officers."

"Morg grabbed Brea and started for the door to the emergency room. "I'm sorry," the nurse said, raising her voice, "you can't go back there."

Morg was just about to start arguing with her when Charlie entered. "They're with me," he said, flashing his badge. "Come on."

As soon as they went through the doors, they saw a group of men and women standing in the hall, some were in uniform but others were in plain clothes. Brea spotted a flash of purple between all the moving humanity. "Cory!"

The distraught woman heard her name and rushed toward them, throwing her blood-stained body against her friend and wrapping her arms around Brea's neck. She was crying hysterically. "He can't die," she wept, "he can't die."

Charlie and Morgan left the two women to console one another to see what they could find out. Charlie spoke up. "How is he doing?"

Morgan had never met the district commander but assumed he was the one doing all the talking. "They just took him up to surgery," he told Charlie. "It looks like he took two in the back. The woman over there was with him. She's pretty shaken up. It looks like she was the target. Jerrod dove on top of her to protect her."

Morg joined the conversation. "The nurse said there were two men. Who's the second guy?"

"Who are you?"

"My name is Morgan Johnson. I'm a friend of Jerrod's. Cory, the woman Jerrod was with, is staying with my wife and me."

The command recognized the name and felt safe talking in front of him. "The second guy is the shooter, Tony Spinoso." Morgan and Charlie were shocked, they both knew the name and reputation. "We really don't know what happened yet.

He looked at Morg and continued. "Your friend is pretty sure she heard five shots which accounts for the two in Jerrod and the three he pumped into Spinoso, so for right now we're ruling out a second shooter. The girl seems to have the answers, but she's too frantic to talk right now. We do have to get her statement pretty soon, but I thought we'd let her calm down a little first. I've got a couple officers back at the restaurant, questioning the customers, but I doubt they're going to be able to give us anything."

Just then, Brea and Cory joined the others. Cory hugged Morgan and he hugged her back. Seeing her two friends seemed to calm her down considerably. "I remember, Morg, I remembered everything as soon as I saw his face."

To the commander, this looked like a good opportunity. He wanted to get her account of things while it was all still fresh in her mind. "Young lady, do you think you're ready to give us a statement."

"Yeah, I think so. Can she be with me?" she asked about Brea.

He gave his approval with a nod of his head. "Who has a squad car outside?" Several officers answered. He picked one of them. "Go get the recorder out of it and find a quiet place where this young lady can give you her statement."

"Yes, Sir," answered the man in blue. Both women followed him out to the waiting room. He told them to wait there and returned only a minute later with the recorder. He asked the nurse at the desk where they could go and she directed them to a small consulting room off the hall.

They all sat at a small table where the cop set up the recorder. After stating his own name, rank, date, and time, he asked both women to state their full names as well. "All right, Ms. Houston, start at the beginning, and in your own words, tell us what happened."

Cory started her story from when she woke up in the hospital void of any memories as to who she was or how she got there. After several minutes of clarifying the backstory, she finally reached the part that explained the night's events.

"So, I just sat on the side of the road crying after he pulled me out of the car and just left me there. I was scared to death. There was nothing around but woods on both sides of the road. After about twenty minutes without seeing a car, I decided to start walking. I figure I'd have to run into somebody sooner or later.

After a while, I had to pee. There were obviously no bathrooms around, so I trekked a little way into the woods and went behind a big tree. Just as I started to relieve myself, I heard a car coming. Then I heard it stop and was embarrassed because I thought maybe they saw me. I was just pulling my pants back up when I heard voices. The one guy sounded like he was begging. I peeked around the tree and saw a guy on his knees. There was another guy behind him with a gun. It was the same guy from tonight.

"Anyway, I screamed when I saw him shoot that other man. When I did, the guy with the gun saw me. I took off running but I guess he shot me in the head. That's all I remember until hearing voices. I must have been kind of semi-conscious when those three boys raped me, but that was after I'd been shot.

"That's the last thing I remember until waking up in the hospital. Dr. Wahlburg has been helping me remember things in bits and pieces, but when I saw that man tonight, it all came flooding back in an instant. I told Jerrod he was the guy who shot me and I'm not sure what happened after that. Jerrod jumped on top of me as I heard the shots. He saved my life," she said as she started to break down again.

The officer felt he had enough and ended the session. The three returned to the growing throng of cops and loved ones. "How'd it go?" the commander asked.

"Good," the officer replied. "Any word?"

"Spinoso died on the table. They're still working on Jerrod."

It was two in the morning when Cory saw the doctor coming toward them. The crowd had thinned out considerably by that time, but there were still a few die-hards sleeping in chairs along the wall. "How is he, doctor?" Cory asked.

The others woke up from hearing her voice. Everyone anxiously looked toward the grey-haired man in the lab coat. "He's in recovery," the doctor answered. "The bullets did quite a bit of tissue damage, but thankfully, missed the spine. There was also some bone damage in the right shoulder that we had to replace with a titanium plate, but with therapy, I think he'll make a full recovery."