Revenge

Chapter 16

"I will send some men out to guard the area of reporters. The sooner we do this, the better."

Officer Moore nodded and watched her leave. This was becoming a nightmare.

Groups of officers were asked to keep the area clear of reporters. Most of the reporters from earlier were still there trying to snap pictures and get information. Officer Peggy joined some of the officers in the back of the building making sure it was safe to move Barbie. She had to switch cars so they weren't followed so she ended up driving her own car. Her red PT Cruiser. She pulled it up to the door and stood watching the sun lower behind the hills. When it got dark enough, they would move her, until then, she would have to keep watch. She thought of Emma and where she could possibly be at the moment. She was sure that Emma had already read the paper. She would have to. The only way she could be hiding so well was because she was keeping up with the news and the papers. It was all a headache.

It got dark later that evening. The officers got Barbie and Loyd in the car and drove her to another hotel. The hotel was a mile from the last one she stayed in. It was nice and more isolated. Police were all over the hotel keeping watch. Barbie and her son got room 4 which was closer to the office. They snuck them in then returned to the office of the hotel. Chief Moore took Officer Peggy's place and allowed her to return to the station to keep an eye on the phones. It was going to be a long night, but she was okay with it. At least she wouldn't lose her job. If things went well tonight, she would definitely celebrate later. She was also glad she didn't have to witness Barbie's temper tantrum over not being able to go home. She fought them until she was tired of yelling and finally gave up. Oh to imagine that.

"This better go well." He took a long drink of his champagne and stumbled to the coat rack. "I'm calling it a night. My wife needs me to come home tonight due to her being sick. Can you handle things here?"

Officer Peggy nodded. "Yes, sir. Everything's under control."

"It better be. The best of luck."

Once he was gone, Officer Peggy sighed in relief and relaxed in her chair. She wished she could be home with Pepper right now. It seems that she hadn't been home inforever. She relied on coffee to keep her awake, but it mostly failedonce that high ended. She had found herself dozing off. What sheneeded was a long hot shower.

We really need to go onanother date. All this stress of dealing with this woman is reallybumming me out. What do you think?

Officer Peggy laughed atOfficer Moore's text and texted back.

Youare right, but if we think about that now, we are taking a risk ofmessing up again and losing our jobs. If we make it through this, Iwill take you up on that offer. Much needed right now.

Iwill hold you to that, sweetheart.

Officer Peggy smiled and sather phone aside. At least she had something to look forward to. Maybethe second date would be so much better then the first. Not that thefirst was so bad. She actually enjoyed it. Officer Moore wasdifferent then what she expected. He was a gentleman. She didn'tthink that way of him before. She had once thought he was a perv ormaybe a stalker, but he turned out to be exactly what she needed. Ata time like this, it was good to have someone to talk to.

Her alarm on her phone went offat 10:45. She didn't know she had fallen asleep until her alarm wentoff and she sat up with drool on her desk. She never drooled. Shewiped the drool from her mouth and checked her phone. No calls ormessages. Maybe everything was fine right now. She texted OfficerMoore just to check.

Everythinggood so far? Just want to make sure nothing happened. Chief might notbe so kind the next time.

Ifthat was him being kind the first time, then I would hate to see howhe is when trying to be mean. Everything's fine here. No sign of Emmaor danger. Cops are patrolling the area just to be sure. I will letyou know if anything slips through. You better go on home and restup. Everything's good so far.

Officer Peggy couldn't wait toget home. She was tired and if everything was fine there, then thatmeant it wouldn't be such a long night.

She took a long shower thenslipped into her pajamas. She grabbed a cup of hot tea and honey andsat on her bed to read. She loved reading romance books. She ownedfour of them. They kept her mind occupied when she had too much toworry about. She read the book for a bit then went to bed. She wasbeginning to feel like the sleep was dragging her down.

All the noise woke OfficerPeggy up. She was reminded it was another day. Another day to work onthis unending case. She went to the living room to find Pepperbarking at the door. When she opened it, Officer Moore stood there.

"I didn't hear you knocking."

He smiled and noticed herchoice of clothing. Officer Peggy felt embarrassed and folded herarms as if that would help.

"I just woke up. I didn'tknow how tired I was."

"That's quite alright. Ishould have called first, but thought maybe you would be eating orsomething. Barbie is requesting some of us return to her home andbring her some things. I figured you might want to go."

She nodded wanting to go morethen anything. She was starting to feel claustrophobic.

"Let me get ready."

She quickly got dressed andslipped her shoes on then followed Officer Moore to his car. Tony wasin the backseat waiting. When she climbed in, he mumbled hello andlowered his head.

Barbie's home was so clean andorganized that finding the things she needed was a breeze. She hadwritten a list out for them after fighting with them for hours aboutletting her go. She had wrote neatly so they could read it. SinceOfficer Peggy was a woman, she was in charge of getting the feminineproducts. The list mostly consisted of the basics. Toothpaste, atoothbrush, dental floss, mail, and etc. It didn't take that long togather it all and head back to the hotel. Thankfully, the reportershadn't found where Barbie was so they were safe to come back andforth to see her. Barbie was standing on the deck when they came in.She looked annoyed and was watching the cars in the parking lot as ifwaiting.

"It is about time. I neededthis stuff a while ago." She took them from Officer Peggy andtossed them on the counter. "I am tired of eating microwavablemeals. A lot of them make you fat. I prefer a home cooked meal. Doyou know what it's like to live off the microwave?"

"No mam. I am afraid wedon't." Officer Moore said in a voice very calm. Barbie glanced athim then Loyd.

"You don't think you canmention a stove? If I have to live here, I might as well be given astove to cook on."

"We will try our best. As fornow, we can buy you more groceries if you would like. Your son canguide is this time." Officer Peggy said.

Barbie nodded and slipped intothe bathroom. At least it would keep her off their tails for now.