Promises
          Chapter 8  
 

"What do you remember, Michelle?" Frank asked.
"There was a delivery at the house on Monday…no Tuesday," she said struggling to remember. "I was getting ready to go register for school. When I opened the door to leave there was a man standing there and I jumped. He apologized for startling me, but he said he had a delivery for me and handed me a box of chocolates. I signed for it and he left. I noticed there was no card, but I assumed they were from Danny. When I got back home I got a message from Danny that he was working late again. I didn't feel like eating dinner alone, so I grabbed the box and ate a few of them while I watched television."
"You never mentioned anything to me about it," Danny said.
"Well, I haven't seen you much lately," she explained. "And truthfully, I started feeling so bad after that night, I forgot all about it until just now."
"Did you happen to recognize this delivery guy?" Frank questioned.
"No, I don't think so," she answered.
"Did you notice the vehicle he was driving? Was there a company name on the side?" he asked.
"There was a black van parked in the drive way," she answered. "It had yellow writing on the side, but I didn't pay attention to what it said. I was in a hurry and nothing seemed out of the ordinary with the delivery so I never thought twice about it. I guess with our track record I should have known better."
"Michelle, what did this guy look like?" Frank inquired.
"He was young, late twenties maybe, shoulder length dark hair and dark eyes," she began. "He was a little taller than you and a little overweight."
"Any distinguishing features? A scar? A tattoo?"
"No," she shook her head. "None that I noticed. He seemed like an ordinary guy."
"Is this box still in your house?" Frank quizzed.
"Yes," she said. "I ate just a few of them that night and I haven't eaten any since."
"Thank goodness you didn't," Danny sighed. "Frank, do you think if she had eaten more it could have…" He stopped, unable to get the words out of his mouth.
"I don't know," Frank uttered, knowing Danny's fear. "We need to get that box and have it analyzed. Do you remember where you left it?"
"It should still be on one of the tables in the living room at the house. I don't remember moving it anywhere," she answered.
"Okay, then," Frank said. "I'll need to get it from your house so I can take it to the lab for analysis."
"I'll give you my key," Danny stood, pulling his keys out of his pocket.
"It would be better if I had someone there with me," Frank explained, "just to make everything legal. It would take too long to get a search warrant."
"Danny can let you in," Michelle said.
"I'm not leaving you," Danny snapped.
"I'm feeling better," she defended. "I'll be fine until you get back."
"Michelle, somebody poisoned you," he demanded. "I'm not leaving you here alone."
"She won't be alone," came a voice from the door.
"Bill, hi," Michelle smiled. "I'm glad you're here. Now my overprotective husband can leave for a little while."
"I'm not trying to be overprotective. I'm just worried…" he began.
She pressed her finger to his lips. "I know, honey, I know. I understand. Bill's here so I won't be alone. Now go with Frank."
"I love you," his voice cracked as he leaned down to brush her lips with a kiss.
She put both hands on either side of his face to pull him closer. "I love you too," she whispered. "We're going to be okay."
"I'll be right back," he said, not realizing his hand was resting on her stomach.
"Take your time," she smiled. "Get something to eat, take a shower…"
"You trying to get rid of me?" he kidded.
"You know better than that," she smiled.
"Danny, we really need to get going," Frank interrupted.
"Okay," Danny sighed, turning to Bill. "Bill, you keep an eye on her for me. And don't leave her alone for a minute."
"Sure thing," Bill nodded.
"I'll be back soon," he said looking back at Michelle.
As he followed Frank out the door, he turned around for another look.
"He's really worried about you," Bill said, sitting down next to her bed. "You want to tell me what's going on with you?"
Michelle went through the story again about the delivery man and the box of chocolates and being poisoned. However, she left out the part about being pregnant. She and Danny had decided to keep the news of her pregnancy to themselves for now and Rick had promised he wouldn't tell anyone either. Danny didn't want anyone to know…not until he found out who had hurt Michelle.

"Okay," Danny sighed, opening the front door to his and Michelle's house. "The living room is right through here."
They both searched every table and the floor, even looking under the furniture. After searching every room and turning up nothing, Frank groaned, "It's not here."
"She said she left it here in the living room," Danny sighed.
"We've turned this house upside down, Danny. It's gone. Don't touch anything else," Frank said, pulling out his cell phone. "This is Cooper. I need Adams and Taylor at 420 Harvest Lane in reference to a possible home invasion."
"This is my fault," Danny slammed his hand against the wall. "I should have let you question her earlier. Then we would have known about the delivery and gotten here sooner. I thought with the security system we have here, there was no way anybody could get in."
"You were worried about your wife Danny," Frank consoled. "Whoever was here, probably came in days ago to get that box."
"Tuesday night," Danny suddenly remembered. "I get on to Michelle all the time about not setting the alarm. Tuesday night I was late getting home and the alarm was off. She swore to me she had set it, but I assumed she probably just forgot again."
"We'll check it out with the alarm company," Frank said.
"Listen, do you need me for anything else?" Danny asked.
"No," Frank said. "We're going to see if we can get some fingerprints in here and check around for any signs of a break in. I'll call the alarm company and let you know what I find out."
"Okay," Danny nodded. "You've got my cell phone number?"
"Yes," Frank said. "You going back to the hospital?"
"Not just yet," Danny's eyes blazed. "I have someone I need to see first."