Have you ever find yourself in a situation where you are losing sleep over a girl? You are not alone. Manley was losing sleep too, over Libby.
Here now is episode 18 in the series. And it is taken from Chapter eighteen of the book.
Chapter Eighteen
Working the night shift and overtime too
The clock on the night table was reporting six-thirty when I popped my eyes open the following morning, Friday morning. I propped myself up on my elbows in bed and blinked the eyes on rapid, I rubbed my hand over my eyes and stare again at the clock. It ain't lying, it really is 6:30.
I have been missing out on a lot of sleep over the past week or so and now it is finally catching up with me.
What I have to do can't wait too long, the Life and welfare of my beloved Libby could be laying in the balance, but my plan cannot be implemented under the lights of the noonday sun, so, back to the drawing board I must go.
This is Friday morning, Friday night is not the best night of the week for me to put into effect the plan, but it will have to suffice. I cannot put it off any longer.
I got to my stakeout point on the corner of the quiet street in Kirkland at exactly 12:15 AM that morning, and promptly set up my signal scanning system, all set, let's roll.
My head was down, the lion's share of my attention was focused on the computer screen when I heard it.
The police car had snuck up on me. There were no flashing lights, no siren, just that little croaking frog-like beep, beep.
I looked up from the computer screen, glanced at the rearview mirror and there it was. “Oh shit! I'm busted,” said I. Two cops got out, the one on the right quickly positioned himself to the tail end of my truck, a drawn gun in hand. The other one carefully approaching from the left, gun in hand also.
“Good evening sir,” said he, “do you live around here?”
“No.”
“What is your purpose for sitting out here in the truck? Is this your truck?”
More questions coming and faster than I could answer them.
“It is my truck, yes, and I am a computer technician,” I said this while reaching out to give him the business card I have tucked in between my fingers.
“Keep your hands where I can see them, keep your hands where I can see them,” he said.
Meanwhile, the other one who was posted at the rear of the truck quickly filled my right side window and promptly cracked at the door latch, which did not budge.
The other officer likewise, grabs hold of the other door latch, pulling and screaming - “get out of the vehicle, get out of the vehicle.”
I unlocked the door and slid out. They bounced my face up against the truck, twisting my arms in the most unnatural ways possible, as the handcuffs where being clamped on.
They didn't read me any rights like one might see in the movie, but this is not the movies, this is real life baby, and the pain and fear I was feeling right at that moment was as real as it gets.
They pushed my head down and squeezed me into the back seat of the police car.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked. “Down to the station for starters,” he replied, “and then where we go from there will be dependent on how cooperative you turn out to be.”
“What will become of my truck?” I asked several minutes later when we were about halfway to the station as it had turned out.
“It will probably be towed by tomorrow this time, unless...”
“Unless what?” I had asked several minutes later when it became clear that there was no intention of him finishing the statement.
“It all depends on how cooperative you turn out to be,” he repeated, “what answers you have for these troubling questions floating around in the air,” said the sergeant, “and which needs to be answered.”
“It's all a misunderstanding,” I said, after the preliminary questions which were designed to ID me.
“So Mr. Techno man, try to make me understand here, tell me what the story is, what's the real story?”
“Like I said before, sir, I'm a technician, amongst other things.”
“What other things, what else do you do? Home invasion? Stalking people in their homes? What is it?”
“Can I speak a word in your ear, your ear only?” I said to the Sergeant. He didn't speak, he just fanned him away - the young constable, with a little bit of waving movement of the hand.
He, the constable to his credit, had started to clear out of the office, as soon as I had said that I wanted to talk to the Sergeant, alone.
“Here's the deal”, I said when we were left alone, “I cut right through to the chase and give you what you are looking for, tell you what is going down, and you give me a break with this, interrogation bit, and let me go get my truck and get on home.”
“Is that it?” Asked the Sergeant.
“Well, one more thing, that you keep me updated on whatever you may find out.”
“No, oh no, that I cannot do, police work is serious business jack.”
“Okay, okay I got you. But I want you to understand that there might be people's lives at risk here, people that I care greatly about.”
“So start talking, I'm listening.”
“You’d ask me what I was doing over there, the truth is, I was doing your job, sort of. I do believe that someone is in that house who is in trouble and I wanted to be sure before I go on to make an alarm.”
“Who is this person? This someone of whom you speak?”
“A friend of mine, Libby is her name.”
“What kind of friend are we talking about here, are you seeing her?”
“Sort of, it's not official yet but we have been getting really tight of late, but her family is very controlling and overbearing. And…”
“Hang on right there, I'll be back,” he said...
And we are hanging it on this too for now folks,
That’s it for today. See you again tomorrow.
Continue reading this chapter and much more if you like it. Go get the Manley book and read the whole story.
Extra, extra. On this day in history.
Wed. Feb. 13th
2000 - Charles M. Schulz's last original Sunday "Peanuts" comic strip appeared in newspapers. Schulz had died the day before.
1990 - In Ottawa, the United States and its European allies forged an agreement with the Soviet Union and East Germany on a two-stage formula to reunite Germany.
1947 - "Family Theatre" was heard for the first time on Mutual radio.
1914 - The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (known as ASCAP) was formed in New York City. The society was founded to protect the copyrighted musical compositions of its members.
1741 - "The American Magazine," the first magazine in the U.S., was published in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1542 - Catherine Howard was executed for adultery. She was the fifth wife of England's King Henry VIII
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