Eddie had gotten Chris Harding’s address earlier on Sunday when he began his paperwork for an arrest warrant. He drove over to Easterby and parked on the opposite side of the street from Chris’s one-bedroom cottage. He made sure that his unmarked car was far enough away from any streetlight that could illuminate the interior of his vehicle. With binoculars, he focused in on the cozy home’s interior.
There was a light on in the kitchen. Before long, Eddie saw Holly walk in, stir a pot on the stove and taste whatever it was she was cooking. As she stirred, Chris, shirtless, came up behind her, pulled her hair to one side, and nuzzled her neck. Holly turned, and they kissed.
Looks more like a scene out of Love Story than Psycho, Eddie thought. She is going to be disappointed when we lock up her new boyfriend!
Eddie reviewed his options, all of which needed to be considered. There was an excellent chance that the arrest, scheduled for seven-thirty the following morning, would go off without a hitch. Holly wasn’t in any immediate danger. At the moment, she was more of a love slave than a hostage.
Still, anything could go wrong. After all, Holly was shacked up with a man who had committed a brutal murder. And, for that matter, Eddie could find himself in serious trouble if one of his favorite people—crazy, lovable Holly—was harmed.
Eddie sat in the dark and kept an eye on the cottage as he thought about his next step. He chose the middle path between being overly cautious and disregarding an innocent civilian’s safety. He arranged to have a deputy in an unmarked sheriff’s department vehicle park across the street and remain there until Harding’s scheduled arrest.
As Eddie’s relief arrived, he headed home for what would undoubtedly be a fitful night’s sleep.
Rob came back and was greeted by Karin, who immediately asked, “Why do you look so worried?” Rob came close to answering honestly, sharing his concerns about Holly, but then changed course.
“I want to get this story in the best shape possible. After this, it’s back to reporting on guest speakers at the senior center and design review board meetings.”
“Oh, honey!” Karin said as she reached up to kiss him on the cheek, “Maybe you’ll get lucky, and in a few months someone else will get murdered.”
“You mean, like one of the Ladies of Liberty?”
“If gossiping gourmets are getting knocked off, I suppose anything is possible.”
Just before they turned off their lights, Rob got a text message from Eddie: "Easterby, 7:30 tomorrow morning. Walk halfway up the block and then hang back."
Neither Rob nor Eddie slept well that night.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Shortly before seven-thirty Rob walked into the 7-Eleven at the corner of Bridgeway and Easterby and got a cup of their usual burned and nearly tasteless coffee. As he stood outside the old wreck of a building, he looked up the block just as a black SUV with four large white letters printed on the side turned and headed up the block.
The SWAT armored vehicle stopped halfway up between where Rob stood and Chris Harding’s cottage. No police personnel got out; the vehicle just waited there. One minute later, two Sausalito police cars went up the block and pulled alongside the SWAT vehicle.
Two residents came out on their stoops and said in near unison, “What’s going on?” The patrol officers waved them back inside. As the neighbors went back in, shut and locked their doors, Eddie’s old unmarked black Plymouth rode past and stopped in front of Chris Harding’s small cottage.
So far, so good, Eddie thought, as he walked up the small rise of the driveway and went around back to the small red cottage’s only door, which faced in the opposite direction of the street. Placing his hand just inside his jacket, Eddie unsnapped his shoulder holster and removed his gun, but kept it hidden from sight.
Just as Eddie was about to knock, he heard the top bolt slide back. Eddie took a deep breath. As he often did at a moment like this, he thought about Sharon and his young son, Aaron. He all but laughed out loud when he saw Holly standing in the doorway alone, dressed, ready for work, and brushing her hair. She greeted Eddie with a smile.
“Hi, Eddie, what are you doing here?”
“Is Chris here?”
“Yeah, but sleepyhead is still snoozing. He doesn’t have to go to work until one today. Meanwhile, I’ve got to get moving. I’m sure it’s going to be another busy week with all this Bradley stuff still on the front burner.”
Eddie put his index finger up to his lips and signaled her to come outside. She did but with a look of complete bewilderment. “Stay right here, and don’t move.”
Eddie slipped inside and saw Chris shirtless, sound asleep on his back. Quietly as he could, Eddie cuffed Chris’s right hand to the side of the old iron rail headboard, and, to his relieved amazement, Harding continued his light rhythmic snoring.
He then went back out as Holly, who was still attempting to tame her curly black hair, asked, “What’s up, copper?”
Eddie took Holly by the arm and walked her around to the front of the driveway, where two armed SWAT officers moved her quickly away from the property.
Rob, who had been standing fifty yards down the road talking with two Sausalito patrol officers, walked up to Holly and slipped his hand around her arm. “I’ve got her from here, fellas. I’ll take her back to her place."
Holly, looking bewildered, asked “What in the hell is going on, Rob?”
“They’re arresting Chris Harding for the murder of Warren Bradley.”
Her eyes grew wide. “Oh, no! That can’t be! He’s—he’s such a sweet guy!”
“Come on, Holly,” Rob said. “I have a few things I've wanted to tell you since early yesterday.”
