Chapter 27

When Sarah pushed the door of the cobbler’s store open a chime sounded. “Well what a pleasant surprise. Good morning.”

“Yes it is,” replied Lieutenants Flanigan and Rose.

“Good morning,” said Mark.

“Mark, this is Terry a friend of ours.”

“Hello, Terry. It’s good to see all of you. Sarah I have two pairs of shoes for you to try on so we can see how well they fit.”

“I hope one is for exercising.”

“Yes. Let me get them. I’ll be right back.”

“Sarah. Rusty,” said Rose, “Would you take some information to Nancy for us? We were going to try to come up today, but now it doesn’t look like we will have time.”

“Sure we can do that,” replied Sarah laughing. “Is this about the ladies in New York?”

“Yes,” replied Rose with a perplexed expression. “From what we can determine, the authorities there don’t see any reason to provide the ladies with any additional support. In fact, they are considering the incident to be an isolated event. Fortunately they shared the documents they recovered from the place where the women were held.”

“We’ll do what we can.”

“Okay, I’ll get the envelope out of our car.” Rusty followed Rose outside, then stepped into the shade. He watched as she retrieved the envelope, then return to the shop. It was several minutes later before he went back into the shop.

“Did you see anything?” asked Sarah.

“Nothing that raises any immediate concern.”

“Are those your new shoes?” asked Rusty.

“Yes. This one is the dressy version. They feel very comfortable and stable.”

“They look comfortable,” said Rose.

“We need to be going,” said Flanigan. “The information that Diane gave us earlier this week fits with what we heard from several others. We don’t know how it fits with this case. We’ve noted it and shared it with the DA. They were interested but not quite sure how to use it.”

“When we first talked with Diane, we talked about that issue, it’s like a murder mystery but lacks a body and perpetrator.”

“Good analogy. Anyway we’ll be going. It was good to see you again.”

“Be careful and have a good day,” said Sarah, Rusty and Terry.

“See you Sunday,” said Mark as they left the store waving.

“They seem like a good team,” said Sarah.

“They are,” said Mark. “They’ve been in several times to chat about the case. Flanigan has an idea of my background, so I’ve been trying to mentor.”

“If you’re going to do that I hope you’re carrying.”

“Yes.”

“Can I take these shoes with me?”

“After seeing how well they fit, I don’t see why not.”

“How much do I owe you?”

“How would $300 a pair be?”

“Are you sure that is enough? They are very nice.”

“Yes, you can take both pairs today. How many more pairs do you need?”

“I think another pair for exercising and perhaps 4 more pairs of dress shoes. Neutral colors and not flashy, that way I can wear them with most anything.”

“It will probably take me several weeks before they are ready.”

“That’s fine. I’ll write you a check for $1200 which will cover about half.”

“Okay, but you don’t need to give me that much today. I know I asked before but would you mind if I made a pair for the window?”

“Not at all.”

“Thanks. Before you go I would like to show you some material samples. Based on your previous comments, I am leaning toward leather or suede for the uppers with a closed toe. Do you want a different style sandal?”

“Perhaps, as long as the straps are rather wide especially over the lower part.”

“If you have time, let’s look through this shoe catalog together.”

“Sure. I am not really picky. To me comfort is the most important factor. I prefer that they don’t attract attention.”

“Well I think regardless of what you do, the fact you are wearing tall heels will draw attention.”

“Then it needs to be brief,” said Sarah with a smile. “I’m well aware of the fact that I draw attention due to being this tall. Wearing heels just adds to it. So I don’t need to make it worse with a thick sole, glitter or flashy colors.” She began to thumb through the catalog, pointing out what she liked and didn’t like. When they reached the end, she said, “Are you more comfortable with my preferences now?”

“Yes. This has been a big help. Thank you for taking the time.”

“Well we need to be leaving for lunch. Mark, I really appreciate you making these shoes for me. They are very comfortable.”

“It was good to see all of you again. We should get together sometime.”

“Yes. I think we would like to do that, however, it will likely be a few weeks before we can.”

They left after Sarah and Terry gave him a hug and he shook hands with Rusty. Mark smiled as he watched Rusty scan the area before stepping through the door. He thought, “Still alert. I am sure glad we’ve connected again.”

After lunch, they went to Sarah’s house to meet the demolition contractors. One was waiting for them when they pulled up. He gave Terry and Sarah a cursory greeting before shaking hands with Rusty then said, “Are you the people who need this site cleaned up?”

“Scratch this one,” said Sarah.

“Yes,” said Sarah firmly causing the man to glance toward her before turning back to Rusty. She continued with, “I want the debris completely removed including the footings. The utilities are to be terminated and marked then the hole filled to grade level.” While Sarah was speaking, the man had turned back toward her. “You will take care of all the inspections and permits. I expect a detailed written quote by next Tuesday. The quote is to include a time line for completing the demolition that is based on the date the contract is signed.”

“Not a problem. If you have a fax number, I can have it to you Monday morning.”

Sarah handed him a card and said, “Send it to this fax number and include several recent customer references.”

“Okay. How soon do you want this done?”

“I want it done correctly as soon as possible.”

“Okay. Nice to meet you,” said the contractor as he started toward his truck. He had hardly pulled away before another truck came down the street.

Terry was chuckling then began laughing when Sarah said, “That was amazing, I wonder which contractor he was. He didn’t introduce himself. Barely acknowledged me. The sign on his truck wasn’t legible. He never asked to inspect the site.”

By contrast their meetings with the next two contractors went very smoothly. Both gave them an initial estimate of between $25,000 and $30,000. Both qualified the estimates as they weren’t sure of the costs associated with filling the hole.

As the last contractor was leaving Sarah’s neighbor came over with her two children. “Dottie, how are you?”

“Pretty good.”

After she hugged Sarah, Sarah knelt down and gave the two children hugs then said, “So how are you guys?”

“Good. We were sorry to see your house burn down,” said Earl.

“I’m sorry too,” replied Sarah as she stood back up. “Dottie, this is Rusty and Terry.”

“Nice to meet you,” replied Dottie.

“Her children are Earl and Saoirse.” Both Rusty and Terry knelt down as they greeted the two children.

“Do you know what happened?” asked Dottie.

“Not really,” replied Sarah. “The only one who really knew died in the fire. I hope your house doesn’t have any more damage than what shows. Have you been able to sort out getting it fixed?”

“Yes. Your insurance company has been very helpful. Are you going to rebuild?”

“I don’t think so. While I like the neighborhood with great neighbors, I am now working in an office that is quite a distance from here. I’ve asked contractors for bids to have the site cleaned up and fill the hole. Once that is complete, I’ll probably put it on the market.”

“While I can understand your reason, it’s disappointing to hear you’re leaving the area,” replied Dottie with her children nodding their agreement. “Let us know when you put it on the market, as we may be interested in buying it. Do you know how much you will list it for?”

“Not really as I haven’t thought that far ahead. Right now my goal is to get the lot cleaned up. I’ll be sure to let you know before it is listed. How are the others doing with getting their homes repaired?”

“I believe the neighbor on the other side is, at about the same stage we are. That is, we have estimates. We will probably decide this evening which one to take. As to the house behind you, I haven’t talked to them. I wouldn’t expect there to be much damage as there were people in their backyard watching the fire.”

“Well we need to be going so we can miss rush hour traffic. It was good to see you.”

“It is good to see you and know that you are all right. Many were concerned as we hadn’t seen you around for several weeks.”

“Fortunately I wasn’t. I had a sudden trip. While on the trip I had some medical issues which are resolved now. It’s taken me a while to become comfortable with them.”

“When I saw the three of you out here, it took me a while to decide it was you. Earl and Saoirse were certain it was you.”

“I’m glad you came over. Once the site is cleaned up, I don’t see any problem with Earl, Saoirse and the other neighborhood children playing here.”

“Thank you.”

“It won’t be as much fun without you here,” said Saoirse.

Sarah knelt down then put her arms around them before saying, “I’ll miss seeing both of you.” She stood after giving each of them a hug.

“Let’s keep in touch,” said Dottie. “I’m going to miss our chats.”

“Here is my card. I believe I have your contact information in my address book.”

Dottie was looking at the card while Sarah was speaking then said, “Your email address is on here so I’ll email you our information.”

Some two hours later, as they were entering the estate Sarah said, “I’m glad I don’t have to make that drive every day.”

“I didn’t think it would be that bad,” replied Rusty. “After all, we were going opposite to the flow of rush hour traffic.”

“But it is Friday, so many of them are probably picking up last minute items for the weekend.”

“Good point. Even without the traffic I wouldn’t want to make that drive every day.”

As they walked up to the house, Nancy came to the door. “Good you are back.”

“Traffic was a bear so we opted to come in the back way. What’s up?”

“Do you have a package for me?”

“Yes,” replied Sarah handing her the thick envelope. “Lieutenant Rose, was quite anxious for you to have this.”

“She is. She has called several times. When she gave it to you she thought you would be back sooner than this. Dinner will be at 6 this evening. Now I need to go over this with Bob and Sally.”

“I am going to clean up and relax,” said Sarah.

“Me too,” added Rusty.

“Okay. See you at dinner.”

Terry, Sarah and Rusty had just stepped in shower when they heard Sally say, “Good, I’m not too late.”

“We just started to clean,” said Sarah.

“I’ll bet.”

“Well that’s about all we have time for right now. We could come back here after dinner.”

“I like that idea. I missed you guys today.”

“Well we missed you,” said Rusty as he pulled Sally to him.

“I can see part of you missed me,” replied Sally as she wrapped her fingers around his swelling cock.

“Leave the weapon alone,” said Terry. “We want it fully charged for later.”

“Okay, spoil sport,” replied Sally as she released Rusty’s cock then gave Terry a kiss. She then kissed Rusty while hugging him. As she kissed Sarah, Rusty began shampooing her hair. Seeing what Rusty was doing, Terry began shampooing Sarah’s hair.

When their lips separated Sarah said, “I could get use to this.”

“I know,” said Sally. “I find it very relaxing when someone washes my hair. It is really a different feeling than when I do it.”

“That is one of the benefits of shared showers,” said Rusty.

“Another is the shared intimacy,” added Terry.

When they stepped out of the shower, Sarah dried her feet then stepped into her new shoes.

“You didn’t wear shoes in the shower,” said Sally.

“No. I’m finding I can stand on the balls of my feet without any support for short time. Terry when did you start wearing shoes in the shower.”

“Since shortly after I came here. It was due to a comment you made and I my legs aching while in the shower. The shoes help. I’ve been thinking I should ask Mark if he would make me some.”

“If you can you might want to wait to see how much your feet change. Mark seems like a nice person. Rusty, how well do you know him?”