“You don’t know? I thought you worked for the Founding Fathers. Who the fuck are you?” he shrieked as panic set in.
“Answer her question,” Jamison growled, his tone harsher than usual.
Kaplan jumped in his seat. “Jesus. I don’t want anything to do with this bullshit. I should have never taken the case.”
“Well, you did. So, answer the question. Why did Lynette Hastings hire you? I want to know everything you know about the Founding Fathers and The Last Supper. Remember: we found you once. We will find you again. I will keep coming for you. You think the Founding Fathers are scary, you haven’t seen anything yet,” Jess warned.
“Last supper? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Jamison braked hard at the red light, sending Jess lunging forward. The snap of the seatbelt would have hurt if she wasn’t already numb.
“That’s not good enough. Tell me what you do know. Start at the beginning,” Jess shouted. She was running out of time. She felt her tenuous grip on consciousness slipping. Her vision was clouding, going black at the edges.
“Okay, okay. At the end of September, I got this call from Lynette. Her son died at some wilderness camp. The school told her that he had committed suicide but she didn’t believe it. She tried getting answers from the school. They completely stonewalled her and then they told her that they would sue her for slander if she told anyone that her kid had committed suicide under their watch. They went after her hard. Threatened her at work. She lost her job, she had to start doing agency work, picking up shifts at any hospital that would take her. And then social services came after her and tried to take her kids. She tried to hire a lawyer. She thought if she sued them she might get some answers. At first the lawyer said she had a case and that he would get her answers, but then he changed his tune. Someone spooked him. He told her to stop asking questions, but it was her kid. She couldn’t just stop looking for answers until she knew what had happened.”
“So, she called you,” Jess guessed.
“Yeah and I wish to hell I would have hung up on her. I would still have a career. And I wouldn’t have to look over my shoulder all the fucking time.” He scrubbed his face with his hands.
“What did you find out?” Jamison asked.
“That the Founding Fathers will fuck up your life if you mess with them. That’s what I found out.”
“Who are they?” Jess asked.
“They are a secret society at the school. It’s like a fraternity. They say they are a charity group but it’s more like the goddamn mafia. Once you’re in, you’re in for life. At first, I thought it was like some sort of networking cult. They all scratch each other’s backs. You know, the usual cronyism. They give each other jobs and write letters of recommendation for other people’s kids. All your usual bullshit, but under that is something really dark. They take care of things. If one of them gets in trouble, the other ones circle the wagons and make sure it goes away, whatever it is: speeding tickets, lawsuits, nasty divorces. Whatever it is, they will fix it for you.”
“Why?” Jamison pulled in front of a black SUV. The driver beeped his horn but Jamison didn’t even blink. “Why would they do that? People don’t just break the law for other people. That’s not normal, even for a fraternity.”
“They have dirt on each other. All of them. I’m telling you. It’s mutually assured destruction. If one of them goes down, they all go down. That’s why they are loyal and they are everywhere.”
“What kind of secrets?” Jess asked.
“I don’t know. That’s what I was trying to find out. But then I was contacted by one of the members and told in no uncertain terms to stop investigating or they would make me disappear.”
“They threatened to kill you?” Jess asked.
“Yes. Not in those words but it was clear. And even when I agreed to stop investigating them, they kept coming after me. I’m convinced the only reason they didn’t kill me is because I told them that I had sent a dossier on them to three lawyers and told them to release it if anything happened to me.”
“Good thinking,” Jess said. “You’re smarter than you look.”
“Thanks.”
“Do you still have the dossier?” she asked.
He nodded.
“Good. Send it to me,” she said and then gave him Lindsay’s email. She had no doubt that her own email was now under surveillance but hopefully they wouldn’t think to check a dead woman’s account.
She waited for him to pull out his phone and forward the email. “Where did you get your information?”
“I promised him I wouldn’t tell. He was scared. He only agreed to talk to me if I swore I would never disclose my sources.”
“There is no privilege for PIs,” Jamison said.
“I know but it’s common decency. This could get him killed.”
Jamison pulled into the ambulance bay at the hospital. “Yeah, it could, and we’re in a far better position than you to protect him. What’s his name?”
“Jim Iverson. He works at the school. He said there was some shady shit going down at the school and he wanted nothing to do with it, but he doesn’t know what to do. He said that the board of the charity is pulling the strings. Speak to Jim—he will back me up on all of this.”
“Jim Iverson is dead. They killed him,” Jess said.
“Oh, shit.”
“They will kill you too if they get a chance. You need to get out of DC today. You can’t wait. Clear your account and go. Pick a city and just go. Take a bus and pay cash so they can’t find you.”
“Oh, shit,” he said again. This time his words were lost to blubbering tears.
Jamison got out of the car, came around to the passenger side, and opened the door for her. He leaned across her and undid the seatbelt.
“Thanks. I’m okay I…” She tried to finish the sentence but the darkness dragged her under. She tried to fight it but she didn’t have the energy to keep her eyes open.
Jamison scooped her up off the seat.
She tried again to speak but she couldn’t so she just relaxed into Jamison’s embrace. Her body felt so light like she was floating, seeing everything from above. She felt warm and safe. Nothing could hurt her. There was no pain where she was.
“Come on, Jessie, stay with me.”
Thirty
“BP is eighty over fifty. She needs another bag of O negative.” A cacophony of frantic noise engulfed her. Machines beeped… doctors screeched orders… nurses reported stats.
Jess tried to open her eyes but the lids were too heavy. She wanted to tell them she was okay. They didn’t need to waste their time on her. She was fine. Go help someone who needs it. The words stuck in her throat because she couldn’t open her mouth. She was trapped in darkness. It was like being ensconced in black tar, dark and hot, but still she shivered.
And then she was flying again… white everywhere… she was weightless and free… nothing but eternity.
Thirty-One
Something was squeezing her arm. She wished it would stop already. She tried to pull her arm away but she was stuck.
Her eyes fluttered open.
“Hey there. You gave us quite a scare.” A nurse looked over at her.
Jamison was sleeping upright in a chair. His head hung to the side in an awkward position that could not be comfortable. His neck would be sore when he woke up.
The nurse nodded to him. “He’s been here all night. We don’t usually let family back here but he insisted.”
Family. She wondered what else he had told them to break the rules. “He’s my partner.” Her voice cracked.
“Here, let me get you some water.” The nurse poured her a glass of ice water from the jug on the bedside table. She put in a straw and then held it to Jess’s lips.
“Thank you,” Jess said. Her mouth was so dry she could drink forever and still feel thirsty.
“Little sips so you don’t make yourself sick.”
Jess tried to listen but she kept drinking unt
il all the water was gone. If she could move her arm, she would have fished out an ice cube and sucked on it.
“I’ll be back in fifteen minutes to check your vitals again.” The nurse put her chart at the end of the bed.
“Hey,” Jamison said. Sleep made his voice sound deeper than usual.
“Hey,” Jess replied. She glanced down at her bandaged arm.
“You needed surgery to clean it up and close the wound. You were pretty beat up. The cut was really deep.”
“Did they find out who did it?”
“We called the transit police to pull the video and they said it’s missing for that time and location. They said they think someone might have accidently deleted it.”
“Accidently? Huh. That’s convenient. Did they just delete the attack? Maybe we can find video of him a few stops back. He was on the carriage with me before. I’d recognize him if I saw him.”
“Everything is gone. They managed to find you getting on the Metro but then there is nothing until you come back out.”
Jess shook her head. She shouldn’t have let herself hope that they would finally have a concrete lead. “Hand me my phone.”
“Who do you want to call?”
“Tina and Jeanie. I need to warn them.”
“They’re in the waiting room. I’ll go get them,” Jamison said as he stood up.
A few minutes later, he returned with Tina and Jeanie. Again, she wondered how he persuaded the medical staff to break the rules and let them all in.
“Oh, Jessica…” Jeanie stood in the doorway. Sadness clung to her. She didn’t finish the sentence, she just shook her head.
“I’m really fine. It looks worse than it is.” She didn’t want to waste time talking about the stupid cut; she was just glad none of them had been hurt in this. “Did Jamison tell you what Kaplan told us?”
“Yeah, he filled us in,” Tina spoke for both of them.
“Good. I told him to leave town. It’s not safe for him here.”
They both nodded.
“Tina, your brother lives in Hawaii, right?”
“Yeah on Oahu.”
“Good. You need to go see him. Take all your holiday time. Stay there until it’s safe to come back,” Jess said. “I’m sending everything we have to the DOJ anonymously. I think it should be enough for them to act on. Hopefully they will do the right thing but if things don’t get resolved, you might need to consider a transfer to the Honolulu office.” She tried her best to sound matter-of-fact. She hated mentioning this eventuality but there was every possibility that it would not be safe enough for Tina to return, and she deserved to know the truth. She didn’t want her to be blindsided with the information later.
“No, I’m not going to leave you, especially in the middle of an investigation.”
“I’m leaving too,” Jess lied. “I didn’t make it home for Thanksgiving so I’m going to go back to Texas until this blows over. Jeanie, you should go back to Utah. Stay with your family. Take precautions. If these guys stick to their MO, if they come after you, they will try to make it look like a suicide. So, be careful. I don’t want to admit defeat but this is too big. I hate saying that but it is, and I want to live to fight another day.”
“What about you, Jamison?” Jeanie asked.
Jamison cleared his throat. He looked momentarily back-footed but he quickly recovered. She hadn’t discussed the plan with him. “Um… I’m going to go stay with Felicia’s family in Alabama for a while.”
Tina’s eyes welled up. “I don’t want it to end this way.”
“I know.” Jess reached out for her hand and gave it a light squeeze. “It might just be temporary. We have to have faith in the Department of Justice. Things are going to work out. We have to believe that. This isn’t goodbye, not forever. I’ll see you again.”
Jeanie leaned over and hugged her. Her arms felt right around her, like a blanket keeping out the cold. For the first time that she could remember, Jess didn’t want to pull away. She wished it could last a little longer so she could remember later what it felt like to have someone touch her and not want anything in return. But too soon Jeanie pulled away so she could whisper in her ear, “I’m proud of you, Jessica. You’re not just a fine agent, you’re a fine person. Never forget that.”
Jess squeezed her lids together to keep herself from crying. She wouldn’t let herself; she’d already cried enough to last a lifetime.
She waited until Tina and Jeanie had gone before she pressed the call button for the nurse.
“What are you doing?” Jamison asked.
“I need to get discharged so I can get out of here. You heard me, it’s not safe for any of us to stay here, so I’m going back to Texas to stay with my mom and stepdad.” She pressed the buzzer again to make sure it had gone through.
“Bullshit.”
Jess’s eyes widened.
“They might buy what you’re selling but I’ve known you too long to fall for your shit. You have a plan and you want them gone so they don’t get caught up in it.”
She didn’t insult him by lying to him.
“Dammit, Jessie. When will you start taking care of yourself? You always make sure everyone else is safe. When will you do the same for yourself? I get it, you’re brave. But you don’t have to be stupid too.”
“Just go, Jamison. We don’t both need to put ourselves at risk. Go.”
“Why? Why do you care so little about yourself? Other people might see this as noble but I’m calling bullshit.”
Jess didn’t have time to formulate a response before the nurse came in. “Are you ready for me to take your vitals? I didn’t want to interrupt you before.” She pulled the chart off the end of the bed.
“No, I don’t want my vitals taken. I would like to be discharged, please. I know you must be busy but if you could find a doctor to sign off on it, that would be great. Thank you.”
The nurse looked up from the chart and then to the IV still connected to her arm. “You’re not even done with your antibiotics. You need—”
“Is there any way you can speed them up?”
“No… I mean, you’re not ready to be discharged.”
“I feel fine.”
“Jessie, that is your battle cry.” Jamison rolled his eyes. “Just once, I would like to hear you say you need help. Just once.”
“You know what?” Jess said, glancing up at the almost empty IV bag. “Never mind. I think you’re right. I probably should stay a little longer. I’m kind of tired actually. Can I rest for a while?”
“Yeah, of course.” The nurse gave her an understanding smile before she picked up her arm to feel for her pulse on her wrist. “Your partner is right. There is no shame in admitting you need help.” She was silent as she counted the beat. “Pulse is fifty-five.”
“My resting pulse is always low,” Jess assured her. “I run.”
The nurse nodded. She took out the thermometer and put a plastic cover on the end before she said, “Open up.” She placed it under Jess’s tongue. When it beeped she pulled it out and then read the digital number on the machine. “Temp is normal. We’ll have you out of here in no time,” she assured her. “But for the time being, just relax. You’re in good hands.”
“Thanks.” Jess managed a faint smile.
She waited for a few seconds after the nurse left before she pulled at the adhesive that held her IV in place. The bandage on her other arm made her movements slow and awkward.
“Honestly, what the hell is wrong with you?” Jamison growled. “I can’t even deal with your bullshit today. Do you have any idea how seriously you were injured? This wasn’t a damn scratch. Your entire arm is covered in stiches.” His tone was harsh but under the anger was fear. He was worried about her. She didn’t need him to worry about her. She didn’t need anyone.
“Kaplan said they have dirt on everyone and the board keeps it in one location. You know who the chairman of the board is? It’s Chief Hagan. He has the files on everyone. I know it.” She
pressed her bandaged arm to the vein on the other side to stem the few drops of blood that appeared when she pulled out her IV. She could really use a Band-Aid but this would have to do. “The Founding Fathers take care of their own. That much we know. All of this is to cover up something that one of their members did. Thirteen people are dead because of it. We owe it to all of them to figure out why.”
Jamison scrubbed at his face. “You’re suggesting we break into the chief of police’s office and steal his files.”
“No.” Jess swung her legs over the bed. The vinyl floor was cold under her bare feet. “I’m going to break into Hagan’s office. You’re going to leave town.”
“Seriously? You want me to duck and cover and let you take all the heat? What kind of person do you think I am? This is what’s wrong with you, Jessie. You always assume the absolute worst of everyone.” He shook his head as he reconsidered. “No, that’s not true, not everyone, just all men. How many times do I have to tell you I’m not like your dad?”
She didn’t answer him. Instead, she leaned on the bed to bend over and open the cubicle that held her clothes. Her underwear, pants, and socks were there but nothing else.
“Where’s my bra and my shirt?”
“They cut them off you in the ER.”
“Oh.” She looked down at her hospital gown. It wasn’t ideal but she could tuck it into her pants.
Jamison stood up, stripped off his own sweater, and handed it to her. “Here.”
“Thank you.” She put on her pants and then turned away from him to take off her hospital gown, which was stupid because he had seen her naked before. She reached up to undo the tie that held the gown closed but her fingers could not manage the tight knot.
His clean, masculine scent surrounded her when she pulled on his sweater.
“There is independent and then there is pig-headed. We both know which side of the line you fall on.” He moved closer and undid the knot for her. “You don’t always have to fend for yourself.”
Jess squeezed her lids together to stop the pressure that was building behind her eyes. “I do, actually.” She hated talking about her feelings but this needed saying. “I don’t have anyone. I did. I had Lindsay but now she is gone. So please don’t tell me I’m not alone because I am. Stop pretending that I’m not.”
Catch Your Death Page 17