Operation Stealing Christmas

by Vicki Hinze

  Oh, man. All the conflicts in her perceptions and emotional reaction to him proved conclusively that her judgment on men hadn’t improved a bit in the three years since Jack. It was still lacking. She’d been clueless then, and apparently she was clueless now.

  She drove on, berating herself for the next twenty minutes, wondering why—how—this had happened. When had she lost control of her emotions? Lost her memory of how badly a charming man—even a thoughtful one—could hurt a woman? And when had she lost her vivid recall of just how truly long it took to get over a man who impacted her like this? Who was she kidding? It’d been three years since she’d walked in on Jack and Karen, and Maggie wasn’t over it yet. What had happened still colored her view on all men, on Justin. Maybe she never would be over it.

  Maybe some scars cut too deep to ever really heal.

  She swallowed a lump of panic. She’d tried disproving it, determined to get beyond betrayal. She’d spent countless hours contemplating and researching why men are unfaithful and concluded that, in her case, a fourth of the reason was that being unfaithful was Jack’s basic nature, a fourth was her job, and the other half of the reason was because with her job, she was never around and she hadn’t seen the warning signs until it was too late.

  To be fair, for months after 9/11, she’d been lucky to make it home two nights a week, and then it hadn’t been for more than four hours. And while Maggie couldn’t just tell the country she’d sworn to defend and protect that she wouldn’t help against terrorists because her husband was lonely, she would take the blame for the part her career caused in the breakdown and breakup of their marriage. But not all the blame.

  What she had been doing had been important, hadn’t it? Besides, he should’ve had more self-control and discipline. They both should have respected each other and their marriage more. It had been a hard time for him, but it’d been hard on her, too. Jack was Jack and he’d done what he’d done. And she’d learned an important lesson from that—and from her own reaction in burning the bed and his clothes. And the fence, shed, and boat. Be slow to do anything you can’t undo.

  All that was wonderful, and the lessons learned were valuable, but none of it told her anything about Justin. Why had he been unfaithful?

  She couldn’t imagine. Now that she knew him personally—and far better than she had from just his dossier and reports—she had to wonder. Had he really stepped out on his wife because she spent too much time at her garden club?

  That was the findings in the reports, and Maggie had totally accepted them before getting to know Justin. But now... Well, now that finding seemed inappropriate, like a shallow and fickle conclusion, and not at all like Justin.

  She tapped on her blinker to make a right at the corner. Then again, disagreeing with the conclusions was a judgment call. And her judgment was conclusively flawed.

  Maggie cranked up the heater a notch. Someone else’s bottom line might be different, but Maggie’s personal bottom line was that there was no justifiable reason for running around on your spouse. You want to stay, then stay. You want to go, then go, but do it the right way. The respectful way. You don’t dishonor yourself or your spouse by playing both sides of the fence, straying. That’s just the worst insult to everyone involved.

  Her curiosity about Justin burned deeper, more compelling, and finally, pulling into an open parking slot in the mall parking lot, Maggie gave in to it. She reached over and stroked his arm. “Justin.”

  He came fully awake.

  “We’re here.”

  He sucked in a deep breath and his stomach growled.

  She grinned. “Is that invitation for dinner still open?”

  He smiled. “Of course.”

  “You’re on, then.” If there was a reason for infidelity she hadn’t weighed and considered, she wanted to know it. Not for a second did she believe it might apply to Jack. But it could apply to Justin...

  Maybe.

  Or maybe not.

  Well, that was what she wanted to know—and she intended to find out.

  Shown to their table inside Emerald Bay, Justin held out Maggie’s chair and seated her. When he sat, she chuckled. “Do you realize we automatically came back here?” It was an elegant little restaurant, sleek and simple and by far the quietest place in Santa Bella.

  “A reprieve from the noise and tension?” he suggested, unfolding his napkin and placing it on his lap.

  “Maybe.” Probably. They both were ready to treasure the last bit of calmness they’d see for a while.

  Justin reached inside his parka pocket, pulled out a small green box and passed it to her. “Darcy said to be sure to give you this, and to watch you put it on.”

  “Uh-huh.” Maggie took the box, pulled the little gold halo lapel pin inside it out and attached it to her jacket front.

  “I think she was afraid with so much on your mind, the pin would be forgotten.” He smiled. “Is it a good-luck charm?”

  “Yes, it is.” Maggie lied with a straight face. The halo was a camera that would transmit visual data to Darcy, giving her a real-time video stream of all Maggie was seeing. “Thanks for the reminder.” She fished her earpiece out of her fanny pack. “Time for these, too.”

  Justin inserted his earpiece without questioning her and then clipped the mike to his collar. “Do we run a test or something?”

  “Not necessary.” Darcy’s voice came through loud and clear. “I’ve got you.”

  Justin looked at the halo pin on Maggie’s chest. “Not to be rude, Darcy, but do you have to join us for dinner?”

  She giggled. “No, actually I don’t. Why don’t I take half an hour and grab my own dinner? That’ll give you two total privacy.”

  “Thanks,” Justin said, his face flushing. “No offense intended.”

  “None taken, Dr. Crowe. Enjoy your meal. Enjoy.”

  Recognizing that lilt in her voice—Darcy definitely considered Justin’s interest in Maggie personal—Maggie could have smacked her. And she wasn’t buying that total privacy bit, either. More likely, it was a white lie to appease Justin. And it’d worked; he clearly believed her.

  A gentle-looking waitress who seriously needed to gain a few pounds arrived with menus. “Would you like cocktails?”

  “Better not,” Maggie said. “Raspberry tea, please.”

  Justin grunted. “Is that good? I’ve never tried it.”

  “It’s my addiction,” Maggie said.

  “Who could resist an endorsement like that?” He nodded to the waitress. “Two, please.”

  Maggie felt disproportionately pleased. Justin might not trust her judgment, but he was acting on her tea endorsement. Of course, that meant nothing. The stakes weren’t significant. At worse, he’d hate it and order something else to drink. Still, he had asked her opinion and risked taking it....

  “Are you ready to order or do you need a few minutes?”

  “I’m ready,” Maggie said. “Crab cakes and rosemary potatoes, and a small salad with house dressing.”

  Justin started to say something, stopped suddenly and obviously ordered something else entirely. “Fried shrimp, fried oysters and French fries.”

  Maggie’s stomach flipped over. “Your arteries are going to hate you.”

  He shrugged. “I figured...” He glanced from the waitress to Maggie. “Considering...”

  He had a point. This could be their last decent meal. “Cancel my order,” she told the waitress. “I want a hamburger with everything on it, and do you have seasoned fries?”

  “Waffle or wedge,” she said. “We have both.”

  “Wedge.” Maggie’s mouth watered.

  The waitress departed and Justin smiled at Maggie. “I think I’ve corrupted you.”

  “Not at all.” She denied it. Maggie loved burgers and fries every bit as much as raspberry tea, but these days, she tended to watch her carb intake.

  Soon their food arrived and they ate heartily.

  When they were half done, a little boy with brown
hair and bright eyes ran up to the table with his arms spread wide. “Dr. J., Dr. J.!”

  Already grinning, Justin put down his fork, spun away from the table and opened his arms.

  A huge grin split the boy’s face and he hurled himself at Justin. “I knew it was you. I knew.”

  Justin caught the boy in a bear hug. “Rusty!”

  “Rusty?” The boy pulled back. “No, Dr. J. It’s me, Simon.”

  Justin laughed, deep and hard. “So it is.” He patted the boy on the back. “How could I not know you? I was just teasing.”

  “Oh.” Relief swelled and shone on the boy’s face.

  “Are you here alone?”

  He squirmed around and settled on Justin’s lap. “Nope. My mom’s over there.” Simon tossed a thumb backward. “We’re eating out tonight ’cuz Dad’s working late.”

  “Boy, I’ll bet he’s sorry he’s missing this.”

  “Mom says he’s gonna be.”

  Maggie covered her smile with a hand to her mouth and Justin ruffled Simon’s shoulder. “I’m glad to see you, Simon.”

  “Who is that lady?” Simon looked shyly at Maggie.

  “She’s my good friend, Maggie.” Justin looked at her, his eyes shining. “Maggie, this is my good friend, Simon. He’s in the first grade now and rides the big school bus.”

  “Wow,” she said, suitably impressed.

  “The little kids ride in the van,” Simon said. “Dr. J. watched me at the bus stop until the bus came. Not now. When I was little.”

  “His parents had to leave early for work one day,” Justin explained.

  “Ah, I see.” Maggie offered him her hand. “I’m very pleased to meet you, Simon.”

  “Thank you.” He glanced back to his mother’s table, then held up a just-a-second finger. Simon told Justin all about first grade, about his teacher, Mrs. Sandlin, about the class bully, Jason Cray, and about soccer practice.

  Maggie sat back and watched the interaction between them, feeling a mix of surprise and envy and maybe just a little admiration for Justin for taking such an interest in a neighbor’s child.

  Something niggled at her. At first it twitched, soft and subtle, a gentle nudging, and then it grew more intense until she became consciously aware and couldn’t ignore it.

  The niggle took form. A memory of Daniel Barone interacting with the little boy who’d chased the ball into the security office and bumped into Barone’s leg. The boy had ducked to get away, out of Barone’s reach.

  An amazingly different reaction than Simon’s to Justin. Though, to be fair, Simon knew Justin and the child with Barone had been a stranger. Yet Maggie couldn’t honestly say that if the boy had known Barone, his reaction to the man would have been any different.

  That explained the niggle, but there was something more. Something in this that she was missing. Something significant...

  The recoil.

  She pegged it. The child had actually recoiled from Barone’s touch. Why?

  At most he should have been wary of a stranger and backed off, but he hadn’t. He’d recoiled, and that was an entirely different innate reaction. That one, according to Dr. Morgan Cabot, an expert on body language, was important to note.

  In Maggie’s study under Morgan, recoil signified hatred, disgust or fear. The child hadn’t known Barone, so hatred and disgust were out. That left fear. What had triggered such a strong reaction in the boy? It didn’t make sense.

  Oh, Maggie. What’s the big deal?

  Maybe nothing. But she couldn’t discount his reaction because it may be something. Kids were notoriously great judges of character. Morgan swore they had extra-sensitive radar of some sort that warned them whether or not a person was a danger to them. If Maggie had remembered that, she could have saved herself some serious misery with Jack. In her old neighborhood, Chris and Jay Simms’ kids, Candace and Craig, sure hadn’t trusted Jack. Kids did seem to have that radar that cut right through bull and anything fake. In no time flat, they seemed the truth. Facts were facts and research backed them up. Kids were seldom wrong. So what did it mean? Was Barone a body double or just a lousy man?

  “Mom’s crooking her finger so I gotta go now, Dr. J.” Simon crawled down from Justin’s lap.

  “See ya.” Justin waved.

  “See ya.” Simon returned to his mother.

  “He’s a nice boy.” Maggie smiled.

  “He is,” Justin said, his eyes shining. “His grandfather was murdered. Simon was with him when it happened. For a while, he had trouble being alone. That’s why I waited with him for the bus. He thought I could protect him from anything.”

  “His knight in shining armor.”

  Justin looked at Maggie and raw pain burned in his eyes. “Sometimes the world makes me sick, Maggie.”

  “Me, too.” A knot lodged in her throat. “But then something happens to make me glad I’m in it. Something like Simon being so happy to see you and jumping into your arms.”

  The pain dulled and softened, and Justin nodded. “Yeah.”

  They finished their meal, paid the check and then stepped out into the mall.

  Maggie examined her communications equipment, including the two-way radio hooked to her belt. Everything was functioning properly. “Well, we had dinner, but I still haven’t heard what you have to say about cheating.”

  “No, you haven’t.” He didn’t sound upset or eager. “We got a little sidetracked.”

  They had, but Maggie still wanted to know and gave him a friendly shove. “I was hoping for some insight into that, Justin.”

  He stopped walking, faced her and clasped her hand in both of his. “I’m encouraged.”

  “By what?”

  “You’re at least giving me a temporary reprieve from being considered scum.”

  She grunted. “Reprieves from me mean nothing.” Not with her flawed judgment.

  His expression sobered. “Maybe not to you, but this one means a great deal to me.”

  Her breathing shallowed and her chest went tight. “Why?”

  “You know why, Maggie.” He dragged his lower lip with his teeth. “You knew why the first time I looked at you. How could you not know?”

  Maggie had no idea what to say.

  “I knew it. I knew it, Maggie. Oh, God, I’m good.” Darcy’s voice chimed in her ear. “He’s crazy about you.” Maggie watched for Justin’s reaction, mortified that he’d heard Darcy, but apparently Darcy had transmitted to Maggie privately. Which meant Maggie might just let the woman live.

  He dragged a gentle fingertip down her cheek. “Do us both a favor, okay?”

  “What favor?” Her voice sounded a little shaky. She resisted the urge to clear her throat and settled for a swallow.

  “Don’t judge me by other people’s actions or opinions,” he whispered, his eyes earnest and clear, his voice sincere and genuine. “Just get to know me—give me that much of a chance—and develop your own opinion.”

  “Sound advice, Maggie,” Darcy said. “I’d listen to him on that one.”

  “Here, here.” Kate chimed in unexpectedly, obviously also monitoring the private channel.

  “Totally fair and reasonable.” Amanda added her two cents. “I’d go for it, Maggie.”

  Maggie wanted to scream. So far the only one who hadn’t weighed in was Colonel Drake.

  Before Maggie could collect herself enough to respond, Darcy’s voice came through, this time, on the general frequency.

  “Unauthorized entry. Level One, Door Three. Repeat. Unauthorized entry. Level One, Door Three.”

  Maggie turned and ran.

  Chapter Six

  Darcy continued transmitting on the general frequency. “Adult male. Forty-five, five-eleven, 185 pounds. Brown hair and full beard. Black leather jacket, jeans and white sneakers. Suspect entered the mall carrying a handled Krane’s shopping bag. He’s now ditched the bag. Repeat. He’s now ditched the bag.”

  “Where, Darcy?” Maggie asked, cutting through groups of shoppers to get
to the site, feeling as worried as Justin looked. “Amanda, Kate, Mark, hold your positions.” Maggie snapped the release on the two-way attached to her belt. It was dedicated to communicating with Will. No one else was on that frequency. “Will, rally the troops. Level One, Door Three. Unauthorized entry. Suspect ditched a handled Krane’s shopping bag. We need to recover it and tag him. Do not, repeat, do not, touch the bag. Just secure the area surrounding it.”

  “On it, Maggie,” Will said, then relayed the transmission to his team.

  Justin caught up, fell into step at Maggie’s side. “Suspect has moved off the screen,” Darcy said. “Be advised that Base has lost visual contact and is faxing still photo to the FBI’s Security office, Providence P.D. and Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office now...”

  “Go right,” Justin told Maggie, then headed left.

  “Follow the bag. Will’s scrambled a team,” she said to Justin, then went back to Darcy. “We’re going to need HAZMAT in here to recover the bag. Where is it now?”

  “Northwest side of the round, directly across from So Secret.”

  Maggie relayed that to Will, then sidestepped a bunch of teen girls strolling.

  Within two minutes Will Stanton radioed back. “I’ve got the bag, Maggie. It’s empty.”

  “Don’t touch it,” Maggie reminded him, and picked up her pace. “It could be contaminated.”

  “Roger on that.”

  Finally, Maggie and Justin worked their way through the crowds and met up with Will. Half his security force was gathered, forming a human barricade around the bag. Shoppers slowed down, craned their necks to see what was going on. Maggie grimaced. If Barone saw this, he’d have a cow.