by Jen Blood
“Uh huh.”
“It’s already two o’clock—we don’t have much time. They’ll be checking in with security now, all it takes is a phone call. Unfortunately, it’s not one I can make.”
“I thought Albie was in the hospital.”
“Fred must have checked him out this morning.”
“I’ll check into it,” Finnegan said. He didn’t sound happy. “But neither of these guys are under arrest. We asked them not to leave town, but it wasn’t an order.”
“They’re not leaving town, they’re leaving the country.”
“Canada has extradition to the U.S. for criminals, it’s not like they’re off to Mexico or something.”
“Maybe Fred doesn’t know about the extradition laws. Either way, it’s going to be a pain in the ass trying to get them back here, and in the meantime Bear Flint is stuck behind bars with a murder charge hanging over his head.”
“That wasn’t up to me,” Finnegan said immediately. “That was the Staties.”
“Well, they made the wrong call and you know it. As far as I’m concerned, Fred running now more than proves that.”
Finnegan sighed over the line. “Let me make a couple of calls. I’ll get in touch with you once I hear anything.”
They hung up, and Jack took a photo of the tickets, returned them to the waste basket, and left the room. If the police ended up actually following up and coming here, he wanted to be sure they were able to find any evidence Fred had left behind.
He returned to his apartment at three-thirty to find Jamie’s truck parked in front of his building and Jamie waiting for him at the street entrance, Phantom by her side. Phantom waved her tail at him and stood, which was about as much enthusiasm as he’d seen the dog greet anyone with. Jamie held out a coffee for him, and flashed a smile that made him pause. It was a good smile. Weighted, it was true, but definitely genuine.
“Thanks,” he said, accepting the coffee. “I’m surprised to see you here—I thought you’d be back on the island. Is everything okay?”
At the look on her face, he amended the statement. “I mean, did anything else happen? I know everything isn’t okay, obviously.”
“No,” she said. “I’ve been out there working since I left Bear this morning, but I feel like there are things I should be doing here. Something to get him out, instead of just trekking all over the island cleaning up dog crap and filing llama teeth.”
“You file llama’s teeth?” he asked. “I didn’t even know that was a thing.”
“I don’t do it personally, I just helped out this morning. The point is…”
“You feel like you should be doing more.”
“Or something else.” She sighed. “I need to feel like I’m helping to get him out of there.”
“How’s he doing?” Jack asked.
She looked around, and hesitated. “Let’s talk inside, okay? Small towns have big ears.”
“True—and this town’s ears are enormous,” he agreed. He unlocked the door, and stepped aside as Jamie and the dog went up.
This time, Cash barely bothered getting his back up when Phantom came through the door. Now that was progress. The kittens rushed the dog immediately, but Phantom didn’t seem particularly overwhelmed by them. Instead, she trotted into the next room with the lot of them in pursuit.
“You’re sure she’ll be okay?”
“She’ll be fine,” Jamie assured him.
They stood in the entryway to his apartment awkwardly for a moment before Jack ushered her in. “Can I get you anything? I was going to make a sandwich—I missed lunch. Have you eaten?”
“I have,” she said. “But you can go ahead.”
She followed him into the kitchen and sat down.
“So… Bear?” he prompted as he pulled out sandwich fixings. He got no response, and looked to find her seated at the table staring into space. “Jamie?”
“Sorry,” she said, coming to. She shook her head, as though bringing herself back from somewhere very far away. She sighed. “I don’t know. He’s…different. Distant. He won’t talk to me about anything anymore. It’s not like he was ever a chatterbox when it came to his feelings, but when he was little he at least used to tell me some things. Now, everything’s a secret with him.”
“He didn’t kill her, Jamie.”
“I know that,” she said impatiently. “I know he didn’t. I just wish I knew what in hell he’s thinking right now.”
“I’m not sure he knows what he’s thinking right now.”
“Ren called me this morning,” she said. He looked at her in surprise. “He was talking to her the night Nancy was killed—when I got the call from Tracy about everything, Bear was up. He said he’d been on the phone with Ren. She confirmed that, so at least I know he wasn’t lying about that. It was good to talk to her. I’d been wanting to ask her some questions about him.”
“And?”
She shrugged. “She misses him. He misses her. She thinks something happened that night, but she doesn’t know what—when he called her, he was upset. But he didn’t tell her why.”
Jack nodded. He wasn’t particularly hungry at this point, but he dutifully finished off his sandwich and put the mayo, mustard, bread, and cold cuts back in the refrigerator before he sat down beside Jamie. She looked at the sandwich, and smiled.
“What?”
“That’s quite a sandwich,” she noted.
“Gotta eat,” he said with a shrug. “What did you have?”
“Clif Bar and some water.” He frowned at that, cut his sandwich in half, and pushed one half toward her.
“Eat,” he ordered.
“It’s got meat in it.”
He opened the sandwich up and took out the sliced turkey and ham, leaving the cheese and vegetables before he slapped the other piece of bread back on and pushed it back. “Okay?”
Her smile widened. “Thank you.” She ate the half sandwich without complaint while Jack told her what he’d learned over the course of the afternoon. She was particularly interested in what he had to say about Julie, and he could tell from her reaction that she didn’t trust the girl. What really made her sit up and take notice, however, was his news that Fred and Albie had apparently skipped town.
“I don’t understand—the police told them not to leave, right? They must be suspects in at least one of these deaths.”
“I don’t know exactly what their thinking is, but they’re not going to like the fact that Fred just took off like this.” He hesitated, studying her a moment. “It could actually work in your favor, though. As far as I know, Albie is the chief witness placing Bear at the scene—Barbara Monroe said she heard fighting and saw Bear there, but Albie is the one who’s tied him directly to the crime. If he’s no longer in the picture, I don’t think they’ll be able to hold Bear any longer. I’m still not clear on how they were able to get a warrant in the first place, but no one in their right mind is going to actually move forward with charges on what little they have.”
Her eyes widened, a flicker of hope there that brought a smile to his lips. “When can we get him out, then?”
“Not until Monday—he’ll have to stay until then. I’m not positive,” he added quickly. “They could have evidence I don’t know about. But unless that’s the case, I think you’ll probably be able to get him out without the need to even post bond. He just has to get through the weekend.”
“That’s good.” She let out a breath that he suspected she’d been holding for a very long time. “That’s really good.”
The front buzzer to his apartment sounded before he could reply. He went to the door and pressed the intercom button.
“Who is it?”
“I didn’t know people had these anymore,” a disembodied male voice said. “Only in Rockland. Heidi sent me over—I’ve got that list you asked for.”
He glanced at the clock. It was quarter past five—he’d completely forgotten about his earlier visit to the Loyal Biscuit.
“Com
e on up,” he said, buzzing the mystery man in.
“This is about the collar you found?” Jamie asked. She sat on the couch with Zen in her lap, while Marco, Polo, and Jasper chased Phantom’s tail. Cash and Harvey Danger, meanwhile, continued to skulk around the perimeter of the room glowering at the dog.
“Yeah,” he said. “I don’t know if it will do any good, but I’m hoping it will give us some kind of information. I’ve got a call into a friend in the Army, too. He might be able to give us some information on Reaver.”
“Without an ID number?” Jamie asked doubtfully.
He shrugged. “It’s worth a shot.”
A knock at the door interrupted the conversation, and he opened up to find Mike waiting there with a manila envelope in hand.
“No tip necessary,” he said when Jack opened the door, not bothering with a greeting, “if you’ll tell me why you needed these names.”
Jack looked at Jamie. Jamie looked at Mike. The kittens looked at the open door, and would have made a break for it if Phantom hadn’t herded them out of the way. Jack quickly ushered Mike in and shut the door behind him.
“Heidi didn’t say anything?” Jack asked.
“No,” Mike said. “I had to give her five bucks to get her to let me bring these over. Hey, Jamie.” He nodded toward the dog handler, who smiled at him.
“Hey, Mike. How are Tippy and Maggie?”
“Neurotic—no more than usual, though. Sounds like you guys are having quite a run over on the island. You coming to the fundraiser on Friday? Trackside’s hosting, so there should be a good turnout.”
“I’ll be there,” she promised. She stood and approached, eyeing the envelope he still held. “So, what have you got there?”
“It’s a long list,” Mike said.
“Why don’t you come in,” Jack said. “It’s more comfortable in the kitchen. You want tea?”
“Do you have beer?”
“Sure.” He squelched a smile. Anyone else and he felt sure Mike’s shtick would get old, but he found himself inexplicably charmed. “Sam Adams okay?”
“Perfect.”
The other man took in every detail of the apartment as Jack led him into the kitchen, where he and Jamie both sat while Jack served up a beer for each of them. He’d offered Jamie more tea, and she had surprised him with a request for something a little stronger.
“Okay, so,” Mike began, when they were all seated. “There’s a whole page of names—that’s for all the stores except Waterville. There’s something going on with their system, so you’ll have to wait a couple of days for that. But I’ll follow up.”
“And the time frame?” Jack asked.
“Past three months—that’s what Heidi said you asked for.”
“Can I ask,” Jamie interrupted, looking at Mike, “why you’re doing this? You don’t even work at the store.”
“I always thought I’d make a good detective,” he said with a shrug. He looked slightly embarrassed. “This is a lot more interesting than the crap I do every day.”
“Did any names jump out at you?” Jack asked.
“There are a few who had it in for Nancy,” Mike said. “Not a surprise—she wasn’t really topping anybody’s Christmas list around here. But I took a few minutes and called most of the people who popped. Everybody could account for the collar they bought, so obviously they’re not your guy.”
Jack raised his eyebrows. Mike shrugged. “Sorry. Heidi told me what you told her; I figured out the rest.”
“You said you called most of the people,” Jamie said, steering the conversation back on track. “Who were the ones you didn’t call?”
He frowned. “I’ll let you take a look for yourself.”
He took the list out, lay it on the table, and slid it toward her. Jack scooted closer and peered over her shoulder. About a dozen names were highlighted in yellow. Jack scanned them, aware that Mike had tensed perceptibly. At the last name, he understood why. Jamie looked away, and he knew she’d seen the same thing.
Bear Flint, right there in black and white.
“Bear bought one of these collars?” Jack asked Jamie.
“I don’t know,” she said. “He deals with a lot of dogs—it’s not unusual for him to buy new collars or leashes from the store. This doesn’t mean he was buying something for Reaver.”
“Is there a way you can find out?” Jack pressed. “Would Monty know?”
“Monty’s on his way down South to fish his daughter out of the belly of a hurricane. Therese or Sarah might know something, though.” She looked at Mike. “Is there a way for you to tell what else he bought when he got this collar?”
“Sure,” Mike said, with a nod. “I can look it up tonight if you want.”
“This was two months ago,” Jamie mused. “We had a shipment of dogs coming up from the South. A couple of them were pretty big. Bear might have gotten it for one of them.”
“We’ll check it out,” Jack assured her.
“Any chance the police will be looking at this same list?” Mike asked.
Jack looked at him uneasily. “Not unless someone mentions it to them.”
“Hey, I’m not going to say a thing. But… I mean, if someone asks me—”
“Tell them the truth,” Jamie said quickly. “There’s no reason to lie. Give them the same information you gave us.”
“And if they ask why Jack Juarez was having the Biscuit look up this information?” he pressed, his sharp eyes scanning Jack’s face.
“Whatever you need to tell them is fine,” Jack said. He felt a momentary pang of unease, only slightly reassured when Mike shrugged.
“It’s not like I know anything,” he said. “Not really. I’ll tell them you had us run the list—we didn’t ask any questions beyond that. They’re supposed to be the cops, right? If they want more answers than that, let ’em find them.”
Mike’s phone buzzed, and he checked his text messages with a sigh. “That’s April. We’re going out tonight—you two want to come? We could make a thing of it, I’ll make some calls.”
“We can’t make it tonight,” Jack said, with a shake of his head. “Another time, maybe?” He glanced at Jamie, encouraged when she nodded her agreement.
“Are you on stakeout tonight?” Mike asked. “Because I could tell April I’ve got something else to do.”
“I’ll let you know,” Jack said.
“You’ve got my number.”
#
After Mike had gone, Jack and Jamie dug into the list of Loyal Biscuit names.
“I didn’t expect that,” Jamie admitted. “It seems like you’re making friends around here.”
“It has gotten busy,” Jack agreed. “I’m not sure what that’s about, but I got very popular all of a sudden.”
They were in the living room, surrounded by kittens and Cash and Phantom. Jamie sat on the floor with the lot of them, while Jack had taken the sofa. The evening air was just coming in through an open window, and it smelled like salt and summer. Jamie turned to look at him and tipped her head slightly, a little half smile on her lips. “I can’t imagine why.”
“No?” he asked. He slid to the floor beside her.
She studied him with a soft, frank gaze that seemed to miss nothing. “It could be the eyes.”
He smiled. “Oh?”
She reached up and ran her hand along the side of his face. “Maybe the smile.”
“I don’t think Mike likes me for my eyes or my smile.”
“Maybe not,” she agreed, her voice quiet. She leaned in until their mouths brushed lightly, her hand still on his face.
And then, there was a knock at the door.
Jack groaned.
“Wow,” Jamie said. She pulled away. “You really are popular. You think it’s Mike again?”
“No,” he said. “I’m actually expecting someone else.”
She looked at him curiously, but he didn’t reply to her unspoken question. Instead, he rose and answered the door. Jamie scrambled
to her feet to follow alongside.
Chapter 25
JACK ANSWERED THE DOOR a moment later to find a very uncomfortable-looking Julie Monroe standing on the doorstep. She’d changed out of her cutoff jeans and T-shirt, and now wore a pretty summer dress that he found considerably more acceptable than her earlier attire. He was struck again by just how much the girl looked like her mother, from her too-large doe eyes to her trim figure and casual grace.
“Thank you for coming,” Jack said. “I really appreciate you taking the time to speak with me.”
“Uh—yeah. Sure.” She crossed her arms over her chest, easing herself forward enough to peer inside the apartment without actually stepping past the threshold. “I told my mom I had some stuff to do. She didn’t actually care anyway. Did you, uh…want me to come in?”
“Of course,” Jack said. He opened the door wider so the girl could see Jamie standing there. A mix of relief and perhaps a trace of disappointment crossed the teenager’s face once she realized they weren’t alone.
“Julie, you know Jamie Flint, I believe?”
“Sure,” she said, with a friendly enough nod. “I didn’t know you’d be here.” A trace of guilt was next on her face. Either Julie was a great actress, or she would never have much luck in Las Vegas; she was painfully easy to read. “How’s Bear?”
“He’s all right,” Jamie said. Her smile seemed genuine, and served to set the teenager at ease. “He’s pretty freaked out about everything, though.”
“Sure,” Julie agreed readily. “I mean, who wouldn’t be? I’m really sorry if anything my mom said got him in trouble.”
“She was only telling the truth as she knew it,” Jack said. “We’d just like to get a better picture of what happened that night. Do you have a few minutes to sit?”
She looked around uncertainly. Jack half expected her to come up with an excuse and flee—she had yet to cross the threshold. “I didn’t see that fight or whatever that my mom says happened,” she said. “I already told you that. And the police.”
If she folded her arms any more tightly around herself, Jack thought she might break something.
“So you’ve said,” Jack said easily. “That’s fine. I just had a couple of other questions I wanted to ask. I promise, it won’t take long.”