Chapter 31

I returned to my truck, opened the door and then shooed BJ over to her side so I could get in. I started the motor, but instead of moving on, I just sat there mulling over my chat with Jeff L. It disturbed me to have him so angry with me. Our friendship went back a long way, and I’d hate to lose it. Sitting there, BJ climbed into my lap, and I had no idea how long I just sat there stroking her, brooding over everything that had transpired so far. Finally, I picked BJ up and moved her over to the other seat and drove off.

At this point, what I should have done was go home. Just driven home, gone upstairs and poured some Scotch into a glass, and maybe even gone down and seen Sharon. Or, I could have curled up in my favorite chair and sipped my drink while I listened to some CDs, because I have many excellent CDs that don’t get played enough. Yes, there were a lot of things I should have done, but I didn’t.

Instead, I drove down a couple of blocks and pulled into a strip mall parking lot. One side of the lot provided an excellent view of the only way Jeff L. could leave his home. I sat there waiting, not knowing why I was sitting there, but something told me Jeff’s evening wasn’t done. I had a feeling he wasn’t done for the night. I wanted to see where he’d go and I sat there waiting, not knowing why I was sitting there. Because something told me Jeff’s evening wasn’t done, I wanted to see where he’d go.

BJ again climbed back in my lap and settled in. It was peaceful as I sat there waiting. What was I waiting for? I’d no idea, but if he had plans to go out again, I wanted to see where he was going. Maybe it was because he kept looking at his watch, but for some reason I had the feeling he was going out again tonight and I was going to follow. I know it wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had, but give me a break, I wanted to get to the bottom of this mess.

Time pushed on, and after I’d sat there for over two and a half hours, I decided I was wrong and was ready to leave. When I saw Jeff L’s squad car pull up to the stop sign, I ducked behind the steering wheel. Even this was a risk because I knew he might recognize my truck, but it was getting dark, and I felt I had a good chance of following him without being observed. In addition, my hope was Jeff L. wouldn’t dream I’d dare follow him. I waited for him to drive on past me and allowed a few cars to get between the two of us before I pulled out behind him.

I did well following him, even though I almost lost him at a red light. When I saw there was no traffic coming from either side, I ran the red light and caught up to him in just a few blocks. When he drove close to the freeway, I thought he would head north towards his office, but instead he turned south. I wondered where the hell he was going.

Again, I waited for a few cars to get between us and then tried my best to keep up with his breakneck speed. As we barreled down the freeway for about ten minutes, I prayed no police would stop me for speeding. If I told an officer I was following a cop because I wanted to see where he was going it would make a rather flimsy excuse. Finally, Jeff L. signaled he was about to pull off. As he exited the freeway, I realized there were very few cars in front of me and when we got to the stop sign, I’d end up directly behind him without anyone between us. Even as dark as it was, I was afraid he would glance in his rearview mirror and see me. With that fear in mind, I pulled to the side of the freeway and waited until he cleared the intersection.

I’d seen his car signal at the intersection for a right turn, but when I got there, I couldn’t see his car. We were now in an industrial park with several rows of warehouses, and due to the lateness of the hour, things were deserted. Even though it was dark I kept my lights turned off, looking for lights from another vehicle. I wandered up and down each street, looking between the buildings for Jeff L.’s car. Rolling past one large warehouse, I finally spotted the back end of his car sticking out from behind a dumpster. I pulled my truck to the curb and turned off the motor. Leaning over, I patted BJ on her head and told her to stay put. I rolled the windows down a few inches, so she had sufficient air, and locked the door before I headed towards Jeff’s car.

A quick inspection showed me there was no one in his car and I continued walking to the end of the alley between the two buildings. Turning the corner, I noticed the rear of the building on the left where someone had jammed a door open with a piece of wood. Carefully I pushed the door open and peeked inside.

At first glance, it looked strange. Ahead of me was nothing but a long hallway. It looked like there was no way out of the hallway except the doorway I was standing in and that didn’t make any sense. I had no idea which way to go so I took a chance and stepped into the hallway. When I started down the hallway, I finally noticed at the far end another door the same color as the walls. There was no doorjamb or any architectural details around the door, it was just set flush to the wall with nothing but a very small knob sticking out. This was weird.

I moved down the hall and flattened myself against the wall next to the door. When I pulled the knob, I was in luck because someone had left this door unlatched from the other side. I peeked through the doorway and around the corner. The door opened into a huge warehouse.

The warehouse was dark except for lights from the outside coming through windows located high up on the walls. Everything was just dark shadow.

I could hear voices somewhere in the warehouse, but due to its immense size, the voices were barely an echo. The sounds bounced around the room making it difficult for me to determine exactly where the voices were coming from. I slowly slipped into the warehouse a few feet and then stopped. Until I could get my bearings, I hid behind a bunch of boxes stacked on pallets.

A couple of lights, apparently on timers turned on. The lights were high in the rafters and were widely scattered throughout the large structure. They did very little to illuminate anything, but they were slightly helpful.

Now I could see, and I carefully made my way towards where I thought the voices were coming from. I made sure I stayed hidden as I slipped around the scattered pallets, and as I drew closer to where I thought the voices were located, I could tell one of the voices was angry. He was shouting, but the sounds were echoing so badly it was impossible for me to completely make out the words. One time I did I hear, “Listen pig, I’m telling you to stay away ... you have...” and the voice fell away.

I continued to listen, and I heard someone swearing, and then a loud shout. When I heard two gunshots, my heart stood still. Slowly I moved towards where the sound of gunfire had come from. At the same time, I heard someone running and then the sound of a door slamming. I picked up my pace to where I thought the gunfire had originated and as I rounded the end of a stack of pallets, with the help of the feeble overhead lighting, I found Jeff L. slumped over some boxes, a dark stain spreading across the right side of his chest.

I reached over and snatched Jeff’s cell phone from its holster and punched in 911. A female voice came on and asked me what I was reporting. I told her I was calling from a Seattle Police officer’s cell phone and there was an officer down. The voice on the cell phone immediately came back and asked me who I was. I knew I was in deep water. I also knew I didn’t want to get in any deeper after what Jeff had told me earlier this evening.